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Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most prominent bioresorbable materials, currently used in several medical applications (screws, craniofacial plates etc.). Looking to extend the knowledge about the thermomechanical behavior of bioresorbable medical materials, this research presents a series of experiments and results based on nonhomogeneous compression tests for the polymer PLGA 85/15. Instead of focusing on tensile and bending conditions for compression-molded products, such as usually presented in the literature, attention is given to compression tests and samples machined from injection-molded parts. Additionally, PLGA strain rate sensitivity, which is an issue less discussed in the literature, is analyzed. In the current study, this material is tested by observing the main features related to resorbable medical materials. The effects of a material heat treatment that are associated with PLGA shape-memory properties are investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was also employed in the thermal characterization. A finite element analysis of the compression testing provides a complementary overview of the mechanical behavior of PLGA 85/15. Results indicate that PLGA has a linear rate-insensitive response for small strains but presents a strong rate dependence for strains beyond the material yielding. PLGA shows a remarkable post-yielding strain-softening behavior, with a steep descent slope. Samples present significant mechanical changes after heat treatment at temperatures above T g , with reduction of 35% in the material elastic modulus and 30% in the upper-yielding stress and no significant changes for further heat-treatment procedures. DSC analysis confirmed the existence of significant residual stress in PLGA specimens. Mechanical deformation and manly heat treatment seem to reduce this residual stress caused by molecular orientation and rapid solidification. Finally, finite element simulations show that the limit of the homogeneity hypothesis is associated with the yield strain, after which highly non-uniform stresses develop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ceftazidime/avibactam-resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) is a topic of great interest for epidemiological, diagnostic, and therapeutical reasons. However, data on its prevalence and burden on mortality in patients with bloodstream infection (BSI) are lacking. This study was aimed at identifying risk factors for mortality in patients suffering from ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp BSI. Methods: An observational retrospective study (January 2018–December 2022) was conducted at a tertiary hospital including all consecutive hospitalized adult patients with a ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp BSI. Data on baseline clinical features, management, and admission outcomes were analyzed. Results: Over the study period, among all the KPC-Kp BSI events recorded, 38 (10.5%) were caused by ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp strains, 37 events being finally included. The ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp strains revealed susceptibility restoration to at least one carbapenem in more than 60% of cases. In-hospital and 30-day all-cause mortality rates were 22% and 16.2%, respectively. Non-survivors suffered from more baseline comorbidities and experienced a more severe ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp BSI presentation (i.e., both the Pitt Bacteremia and INCREMENT-CPE scores were significantly higher). Presenting with a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index, chronic kidney disease—KDIGO stage 3A or worse—having recently gone through renal replacement therapy, having suffered from an acute kidney injury following the ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp BSI, and being admitted for cardiac surgery were the strongest predictors of mortality. Conclusion: Ceftazidime/avibactam resistance in KPC-Kp BSI easily emerged in our highly KPC-Kp endemic area with remarkable mortality rates. Our findings might provide physicians possibly actionable information when managing patients with a ceftazidime/avibactam-resistant KPC-Kp BSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Akerlof and Kranton (2005) In Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(1), 9-32, who argue that group identity and social norms influence individual preferences towards work effort, a model is developed to understand why firms create good job conditions, taking into account the cost of implementing them and their impact on wages and productivity. Then, using individual-level data from the Gallup World Poll for 18 Latin American countries, the main predictions of the model are tested using propensity score matching. We find a positive link between good job conditions and wages when there are several simultaneous signals of a good work environment. We conclude that there is a positive payoff of investing in good job conditions for both workers and firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect diverse hosts, including dogs. Although T. gondii infection in dogs is usually subclinical, they are susceptible to infection and develop a specific immune response to the parasite. In 2018, the largest outbreak of human toxoplasmosis in the world occurred in Santa Maria, in southern Brazil; however, the impact of this outbreak on other hosts was not investigated at the time. Considering that dogs often share the same environmental sources of infection as humans, mainly water sources, and that in Brazil, the detection rates of anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) in dogs is very high, this study investigated the frequency of anti-T. gondii IgG in dogs in Santa Maria before and after the outbreak. A total of 2.245 serum samples were analyzed, 1159 collected before the outbreak and 1086 collected after the outbreak. Serum samples were tested for anti-T. gondii antibodies using an indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). The infection detection of T. gondii was 16% (185/1159) before the outbreak and 43% (466/1086) after the outbreak. These results showed the infection of dogs with T. gondii and the high frequency of anti-T. gondii antibodies in dogs after the outbreak in humans in 2018, reinforcing water as a possible source of infection and the importance of including toxoplasmosis in the differential diagnosis of dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we look at the state of Portuguese research in economics, with an emphasis on the 2000–2019 period. For this purpose we use three distinct data sets, namely on publications, citations, and the situation of economics researchers in Portuguese universities. Over the last 20 years, the number of publications in international journals that show affiliations to Portuguese institutions as well as publications by Portuguese authors with foreign affiliations increased considerably. However, after peaking in 2013, the number of publications has since decreased. This may be partly due to the 2010–2014 financial crisis that imposed several restrictions on Portuguese universities, but other factors may also have contributed to the decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease, but disease-modifying or preventive treatments are lacking. Physical activity is a modifiable factor that decreases the PD risk and improves motor symptoms in PD. Understanding which dimensions of gait performance correlate with physical activity in PD can have important pathophysiological and therapeutic implications. Clinical/demographic data together with physical activity levels were collected from thirty-nine PD patients. Gait analysis was performed wearing seven inertial measurement units on the lower body, reconstructing the subjects' lower body motion using 3D kinematic biomechanical models. Higher physical activity scores were significantly correlated with MDS-UPDRS part III scores (r = − 0.58, p value = 9.2 × 10−5), age (r = − 0.39, p value = 1.5 × 10−2) and quality-of-life (r = − 0.47, p value = 5.9 × 10−3). Physical activity was negatively associated with MDS-UPDRS part III scores after adjusting for age and disease duration (β = − 0.08530, p value = 0.0010). The effect of physical activity on quality-of-life was mediated by the MDS-UPDRS part III (62.10%, 95% CI = 0.0758–1.78, p value = 0.022). The level of physical activity was correlated primarily with spatiotemporal performance. While spatiotemporal performance displays the strongest association with physical activity, other quality-of-movement dimensions of clinical relevance (e.g., smoothness, rhythmicity) fail to do so. Interventions targeting these ought to be leveraged for performance enhancement in PD through neuroprotective and brain network connectivity strengthening. It remains to be ascertained to which extent these are amenable to modulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a rationale for the mixed relationship between product market competition and unionized wage, and more importantly, for a generally unexplained empirical evidence of a positive relationship between product market competition and unionized wage. We show that a higher product market competition decreases (increases) unionized wage if the external scale economies are weak (strong). However, a higher product market competition may decrease or increase the unionized wage if the external scale economies are moderate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three decades, the price of machinery and equipment fell dramatically relative to other prices in advanced and emerging market and developing economies. Using cross-country and sectoral data, we show that the decline in the relative price of tangible tradable capital goods provided a significant impetus to the capital deepening that took place during the same time period. The broad-based decline in the relative price of machinery and equipment, in turn, was driven by the faster productivity growth in the capital goods producing sectors relative to the rest of the economy, and deeper trade integration, which induced domestic producers to lower prices and increase their efficiency. Our findings suggest an additional channel through which rising trade tensions and sluggish productivity could threaten real investment growth going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that if the product market is not very much concentrated, open shop union, where the union density is less than one, may not be a justification for a positive relationship between product market competition and unionized wage, irrespective of the union density, bargaining power of the union and the union's preference for wage and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upgrades implemented over a number of years in an open source version of the Eta model, posted at the CPTEC web site , are summarized and examples of benefits are shown. The version originates from the NCEP's Workstation Eta code posted on the NCEP web site , which differs from the NCEP's latest operational Eta by having the WRF-NMM nonhydrostatic option included. Most of the upgrades made resulted from attention paid to less than satisfactory performance noted in several Eta results, and identification of the reasons for the problem. Others came from simple expectation that including a feature that is physically justified but is missing in the code should help. The most notable of the upgrades are the introduction of the so-called sloping steps, or discretized shaved cells topography; piecewise-linear finite-volume vertical advection of dynamic variables; vapor and hydrometeor loading in the hydrostatic equation, and changes aimed at refining the convection schemes available in the Eta. Several other modifications have to do with the calculation of exchange coefficients, conservation in the vertical diffusion, and diagnostic calculation of 10-m winds. Several examples showing improved performance resulting from the dynamics changes are given. One includes a case of unrealistically low temperatures in several mountain basins generated by a centered vertical advection difference scheme's unphysical advection from below ground, removed by its replacement with a finite-volume scheme. Another is that of increased katabatic winds in the Terra Nova Bay Antarctica region. Successful forecast of the severe downslope zonda wind case in the lee of the highest peaks of the Andes is also shown, and some of the recent successful verification results of the use of the upgraded model are pointed out. The code is used at numerous places, and along with setup information it is available for outside users at the CPTEC Eta web site given above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatric disorders, notably mood and anxiety disorders, are frequently associated with migraine and chronic daily headaches. The obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is included in the spectrum of anxiety disorders and may be a comorbid condition in headache patients. However, little information has been reported in the literature about this association. This is an important issue as OCD may contribute to the development or maintenance of treatment-resistant chronic headaches. In this paper, we describe a young female patient with refractory chronic migraine and OCD. Considerations on diagnosis, management and treatment of these comorbid conditions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces new dynamic measures for examining changes in international trade patterns. Using data for 20 OECD countries over the 1980–2000 period, we show that inter-industry trade changes contrary to countries’ previous specialization are frequently the dominant form of trade expansion. The econometric analysis indicates that the observed changes in trade patterns were explained by initial endowments of human-capital and industry-specific changes in labour productivity and labour costs. The results also suggest that trade liberalization induced an increase in the previous specialization of larger OECD economies in industries with increasing returns to scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]