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Citrus germplasm programs can benefit from high-throughput polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods for the detection of graft-transmissible pathogens in propagative materials. These methods increase diagnostic capacity, and thus contribute to the prevention of disease spread from nurseries to citrus orchards. High quality nucleic acids, as determined by purity, concentration, and integrity, are a prerequisite for reliable PCR detection of citrus pathogens. Citrus tissues contain high levels of polyphenols and polysaccharides, which can affect nucleic acid quality and inhibit PCR reactions. Various commercially available RNA isolation methods are used for citrus and include: phenol-chloroform (TRIzol®, Thermo Fisher Scientific); silica columns (RNeasy® Plant Mini Kit, Qiagen); and magnetic beads-based methods (MagMAX™-96 Viral RNA Isolation Kit, Thermo Fisher Scientific). To determine the quality of RNA and its impact on the detection of graft-transmissible citrus pathogens in reverse transcription (RT) PCR-based assays, we compared these three RNA isolation methods. We assessed RNA purity, concentration, and integrity from citrus inoculated with different viruses and viroids. All three RNA isolation methods produced high quality RNA, and its use in different RT-PCR assays resulted in the detection of all targeted citrus viruses and viroids with no false positive or negative results. TRIzol® yielded RNA with the highest concentration and integrity values but some samples required serial dilutions to remove PCR inhibitors and detect the targeted pathogens. The RNeasy® kit produced the second highest concentration and purity of RNA, and similar integrity to TRIzol®. MagMAX™ isolation also provided high quality RNA but most importantly produced RNA with consistent results clustered around a median value for concentration, purity, and integrity. Subsequently, MagMAX™-96 was combined with the semi-automated MagMAX™ Express-96 Deep Well Magnetic Particle Processor, for high-throughput sample processing. MagMAX™-96 enabled the diagnostic laboratory of the Citrus Clonal Protection Program-National Clean Plant Network at the University of California, Riverside to process over 16,500 samples from citrus budwood source trees between 2010 and 2019. This high-throughput approach dramatically reduced the incidence of viroids in citrus nurseries and was key to the successful implementation of the mandatory Citrus Nursery Stock Pest Cleanliness Program in California.

This study illuminates how existential needs and spiritual needs are connected with health care ethics and individuals' mental health and well-being. The term existential needs is defined as the necessity of experiencing life as meaningful, whereas the term spiritual needs is defined as the need of deliverance from despair, guilt and/or sin, and of pastoral care. It discusses whether or not patients' needs are holistically addressed in Western health care systems that neglect patients' existential and spiritual needs, because of their biomedical view of Man which recognizes only patients' physical needs. It excludes a holistic health care which considers all needs, expressed by patients in treatment of mental illness. Addressing all needs is important for patients' improvement and recovery. For some patients, this is the only way to regain their mental health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical nursing supervision enables supervisees to reflect on ethically difficult caring situations, thereby strengthening their professional identity, integrating nursing theory and practice, and leading to the development of ethical competence. The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of the core ethical issues of clinical nursing supervision, using previous research as well as philosophical analysis of the theories of three moral philosophers: Harald Ofstad, Richard Hare and Carol Gilligan. The ultimate aim of this study was to develop a general model for ethical decision-making and to establish its relevance for clinical nursing supervision. The findings highlight four important values for the development of a basis for ethical decision-making. These values are caring, dignity, responsibility and virtue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of luminescent optical fibre sensor for structural health monitoring of composite laminates (CFRP) is proposed. The Nd3+ doped multi-core doubleclad fibre incorporated in composite structure was used as a distributed temperature sensor. The change of luminescence intensity (Nd3+ ions) at the wavelength of 880 nm (4F3/2 → 4I9/2) and 1060 nm (4F3/2 → 4I11/2) was used for internal temperature monitoring. The special construction of optical fibre was used as it assures an efficient pumping mechanism and, at same time, it increases the measuring sensitivity. The linear response with relative sensitivity 0.015 K−1 was obtained for temperature range from 30 up to 75ºC. The manufacturing process of CFRP with embedded optical fibre sensor is also discussed.

Mangrove fungi are known as sources of biological active compounds. The study and the report of secondary metabolites of mangrove fungi as insecticides is very limited in Indonesia. This study assess the insecticidal activities of ethyl acetate extract of Indonesian mangrove fungus Emericella nidulans BPPTCC 6038 against Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) neonate larvae and pupae. The fungus E. nidulans BPPTCC 6038 was isolated from leaves of mangrove Rhizophora mucronata and identified based on ITS rDNA sequence data, with the GenBank accession number KP165435, and confirmed with morphological observation. This fungus strain was grown on malt extract broth for 14 days on rotary shaker at 65 rpm, and incubated at room temperature. Mortalities of S. litura were observed on larvae fed on artificial diet containing ethyl acetate extract of E. nidulans at concentrations of 625 – 5000 ppm. The lethal concentration of the extract which causes 50% mortality of larvae (LC50 value) was 1102.27 ppm. The other effects of fungus extract on S. litura were decrease in growth rate, longer larval period, inhibition on pupal development and absence in adult emergence. The HPLC analysis of extract showed that the crude extract contained three major compounds. This study provides evidence that the extract of E. nidulans possesses insecticidal activities against S. litura.

In many classes of applications like active vibration control and active noise control, the disturbances can be characterized by their frequencies content and their location in a specific region in the frequency domain. The disturbances can be of narrow band type (simple or multiple) or of broad band type. A model can be associated to these disturbances. The knowledge of the disturbance model as well as of the compensator system is necessary for the design of an appropriate control system in order to attenuate (or to reject) their effect upon the system to be controlled. The attenuation of disturbances by feedback is limited by the Bode Integral and the “water bed” effect upon the output sensitivity function. In such situations, the feedback approach has to be complemented by a “feedforward disturbance compensation” requiring an additional transducer for getting information upon the disturbance. Unfortunately in most of the situations the disturbances are unknown and time-varying and therefore an adaptive approach should be considered. The generic term for adaptive attenuation of unknown and time-varying disturbances is “adaptive regulation” (known plant model, unknown and time-varying disturbance model). The paper will review a number of recent developments for adaptive feedback compensation of multiple unknown and time-varying narrow band disturbances and for adaptive feedforward compensation of broad band disturbances in the presence of the inherent internal positive feedback caused by the coupling between the compensator system and the measurement of the image of the disturbance. Some experimental results obtained on a relevant active vibration control system will illustrate the performance of the various algorithms presented.

The genus Nealiolus Mason, 1974 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Brachistinae) is recorded for the first time in the Atlantic forest remnants and traditional cocoa agroforests, Theobroma cacao (Malvaceae) in the northeastern Brazilian region. A new species Nealiolus seb Silva, Shimbori & Fernandes sp. n. is described and named in honor of the "Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil - SEB", on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary (golden jubilee). Digital images, map and an identification key for all Brazilian species of Nealiolus are provided., (© 2024. Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.)

Background: A study conducted in the city of Niterói/RJ, four years after the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Brazil, reported the emergence of non-vaccine serotype 6C Streptococcus pneumoniae associated with carriage in children. The multidrug-resistant (MDR) lineage ST386 was predominant among 6C isolates. A subsequent study, in 2019, reported the continued prevalence of 6C as the main serotype. This study aims to determine the genetic lineages of serotype 6C S. pneumoniae obtained from the 2019 study and evaluate the status of ST386 in this population., Methods: Serotype 6C S. pneumoniae isolates were obtained during the 2019 study. Lineages were determined by MLST and changes in ST386 status between 2014 and 2019 were verified by a two-tailed Fisher's exact test., Results: Of the 16 serotype 6C isolates recovered during 2019, 10 (62.5 %) belonged to ST386, remaining predominant in the population. The second most frequent was ST2777 represented by four (25 %) isolates. Both ST63 and ST3280 only had one (6.25 %) isolate each. Comparison of ST386 proportion between 2014 and 2019 showed no significant changes within the population., Conclusions: This study was able to confirm the stability on the occurrence of the MDR lineage ST386 in children in our setting nine years after the introduction of PCV10 in Brazil., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Continuous monitoring of pulse oximetry (S pO 2 ) is recommended during the 6-min walk test (6MWT) to ensure that the lowest S pO 2 is recorded. In this case, severe exercise-induced desaturation (EID; S pO 2 < 80%) triggers walking interruption by the examiner. Our main objective was to assess the impact of this approach on 6MWT distance in patients with chronic respiratory diseases and, second, to evaluate the safety of the test without interruption due to severe EID., Methods: 6MWTs with continuous monitoring of S pO 2 were prospectively performed in subjects with chronic respiratory disease. The participants were randomly allocated to walk with or without S pO 2 real-time assessment. S pO 2 visualization during the test execution was available only in the first group, and walking interruption was requested by the examiner if S pO 2 < 80%., Results: One hundred forty-five participants were included in each group (68.6% females, 62 [52-69] y old) without differences in demographic and resting lung function parameters between them. The main respiratory conditions were COPD ( n = 101), asthma ( n = 73), pulmonary hypertension ( n = 47), and interstitial lung disease ( n = 39). The walked distance was similar comparing groups (349.5 ± 117.5 m vs 351.2 ± 105.4 m). Twenty-five subjects presented with severe EID in the group with real-time S pO 2 assessment, and 20 subjects had severe EID in the group without real-time assessment respectively (overall prevalence of 15.5%). The 23 participants who had their test interrupted by the examiner due to severe EID in the first group (2 subjects stopped by themselves due to excessive symptoms) walked a shorter distance compared to the 11 subjects with severe EID without test interruption in the second group (9 subjects stopped by themselves due to excessive symptoms): 240.6 ± 100.2 m versus 345.9 ± 73.4 m. No exercise-related serious adverse events were observed., Conclusions: Interruption driven by severe EID reduced the walked distance during the 6MWT. No serious adverse event, in turn, was observed in subjects with severe desaturation without real-time S pO 2 assessment., Competing Interests: The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by Daedalus Enterprises.)

Studies on animal virome have mainly concentrated on chordates and medically significant invertebrates, often overlooking sylvatic mosquitoes, constituting a major part of mosquito species diversity. Despite their potential role in arbovirus transmission, the viromes of sylvatic mosquitoes remain largely unexplored. These mosquitoes may also harbor insect-specific viruses (ISVs), affecting arboviral transmission dynamics. The Cerrado biome, known for rapid deforestation and its status as a biodiversity hotspot, offers an ideal setting for investigating mosquito viromes due to potential zoonotic spillover risks from land use changes. This study aimed to characterize the viromes of sylvatic mosquitoes collected from various locations within Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The total RNA was extracted from mosquito pools of Psorophora albipes , Sabethes albiprivus , Sa. chloropterus , Psorophora ferox , and Coquillettidia venezuelensis species, followed by high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Bioinformatic analysis included quality control, contig assembly, and viral detection. Sequencing data analysis revealed 11 near-complete viral genomes (new viruses are indicated with asterisks) across seven viral families and one unassigned genus. These included: Xinmoviridae (Ferox mosquito mononega-like virus* and Albipes mosquito Gordis-like virus*), Phasmaviridae (Sabethes albiprivus phasmavirus*), Lispiviridae (Pedras lispivirus variant MG), Iflaviridae (Sabethes albiprivus iflavivirus*), Virgaviridae (Buriti virga-like virus variant MG and Sabethes albiprivus virgavirus 1*), Flaviviridae (Psorophora ferox flavivirus*), Mesoniviridae (Alphamesonivirus cavallyense variant MG), and the genus Negevirus (Biggie virus variant MG virus and Coquillettidia venezuelensis negevirus*). Moreover, the presence of ISVs and potential novel arboviruses underscores the need for ongoing surveillance and control strategies to mitigate the risk of emerging infectious diseases.

Advancements in decoding speech from brain activity have focused on decoding a single language. Hence, the extent to which bilingual speech production relies on unique or shared cortical activity across languages has remained unclear. Here, we leveraged electrocorticography, along with deep-learning and statistical natural-language models of English and Spanish, to record and decode activity from speech-motor cortex of a Spanish-English bilingual with vocal-tract and limb paralysis into sentences in either language. This was achieved without requiring the participant to manually specify the target language. Decoding models relied on shared vocal-tract articulatory representations across languages, which allowed us to build a syllable classifier that generalized across a shared set of English and Spanish syllables. Transfer learning expedited training of the bilingual decoder by enabling neural data recorded in one language to improve decoding in the other language. Overall, our findings suggest shared cortical articulatory representations that persist after paralysis and enable the decoding of multiple languages without the need to train separate language-specific decoders., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Early diagnosis of potentially malignant disorders, such as oral epithelial dysplasia, is the most reliable way to prevent oral cancer. Computational algorithms have been used as an auxiliary tool to aid specialists in this process. Usually, experiments are performed on private data, making it difficult to reproduce the results. There are several public datasets of histological images, but studies focused on oral dysplasia images use inaccessible datasets. This prevents the improvement of algorithms aimed at this lesion. This study introduces an annotated public dataset of oral epithelial dysplasia tissue images. The dataset includes 456 images acquired from 30 mouse tongues. The images were categorized among the lesion grades, with nuclear structures manually marked by a trained specialist and validated by a pathologist. Also, experiments were carried out in order to illustrate the potential of the proposed dataset in classification and segmentation processes commonly explored in the literature. Convolutional neural network (CNN) models for semantic and instance segmentation were employed on the images, which were pre-processed with stain normalization methods. Then, the segmented and non-segmented images were classified with CNN architectures and machine learning algorithms. The data obtained through these processes is available in the dataset. The segmentation stage showed the F1-score value of 0.83, obtained with the U-Net model using the ResNet-50 as a backbone. At the classification stage, the most expressive result was achieved with the Random Forest method, with an accuracy value of 94.22%. The results show that the segmentation contributed to the classification results, but studies are needed for the improvement of these stages of automated diagnosis. The original, gold standard, normalized, and segmented images are publicly available and may be used for the improvement of clinical applications of CAD methods on oral epithelial dysplasia tissue images., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine.)

Plutella xylostella is considered the main pest of cabbage in Brazil and the world, causing damage of up to 100%. Thus, this study evaluated the insecticidal activity of extracts obtained from the fruits, seeds, bark, leaves, and flowers of Handroanthus impetiginosus against the diamondback moth, P. xylostella larvae. The seed extract showed the highest mortality (97.0%) compared to the control treatment. The LC 50 values indicated that the seed and flower extracts (0.01003 and 0.01288 mg/L respectively) assumed the highest toxicity to P. xylostella larvae after 24 h of exposure. The results of this study indicated that the seeds extract is the most promising toxic extract, with measured mortality of approximately 97.0% for P. xylostella larvae after 144 h of exposure in kale plants. Seed extract showed the best insecticidal activity. Thus, this extract can be applied to develop an insecticide based on H. impetiginosus seed.

This article explores telecare from telehealth developments and the recent acceleration of the digital health transformation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). It addresses terminological issues, the scope of actions, the potential use for healthcare, and constraints and contingencies for telecare in Brazil, focusing on teleconsultations and interactions between health professionals and patients. Finally, it presents a set of propositions for the development of telecare policies and practices in Brazil, considering SUS principles, in two central themes: organizational political guidelines and operational propositions to organise services and healthcare delivery. The importance of clarifying the scope and limits of new technologies is highlighted in the attempt to avoid idealizations with proposed solutions to complex health problems. Telecare solutions should be compatible with SUS principles and with the recommended model of care, with the healthcare network coordinated and organised by primary care, ensuring access to health services and integrated and quality healthcare for the Brazilian society.

Loss of speech after paralysis is devastating, but circumventing motor-pathway injury by directly decoding speech from intact cortical activity has the potential to restore natural communication and self-expression. Recent discoveries have defined how key features of speech production are facilitated by the coordinated activity of vocal-tract articulatory and motor-planning cortical representations. In this Review, we highlight such progress and how it has led to successful speech decoding, first in individuals implanted with intracranial electrodes for clinical epilepsy monitoring and subsequently in individuals with paralysis as part of early feasibility clinical trials to restore speech. We discuss high-spatiotemporal-resolution neural interfaces and the adaptation of state-of-the-art speech computational algorithms that have driven rapid and substantial progress in decoding neural activity into text, audible speech, and facial movements. Although restoring natural speech is a long-term goal, speech neuroprostheses already have performance levels that surpass communication rates offered by current assistive-communication technology. Given this accelerated rate of progress in the field, we propose key evaluation metrics for speed and accuracy, among others, to help standardize across studies. We finish by highlighting several directions to more fully explore the multidimensional feature space of speech and language, which will continue to accelerate progress towards a clinically viable speech neuroprosthesis., (© 2024. Springer Nature Limited.)

Objective: To compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and non-axSpA patients with chronic back pain of < 2 years (2 y)., Methods: Baseline and 2 y data of patients included in the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early cohort were analyzed. HRQoL was assessed by the physical (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; and presenteeism, absenteeism, work productivity loss (WPL) and activity impairment (AI) by the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire. Linear or zero-inflated negative binomial regression was conducted to compare 2 y outcomes between groups (axSpA and non-axSpA), adjusting for the baseline value, sex, age and use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs., Results: There were 265 axSpA and 108 non-axSpA patients: males 52% vs 26%, mean age 29 vs 31 years, respectively. At baseline, non-axSpA patients showed worse PCS (mean 28.6 axSpA vs 26.6 non-axSpA), presenteeism (31.1% vs 37.3%), absenteeism (8.2% vs 10.3%), WPL (34.7% vs 44.1%) and AI (39.6% vs 48.5%). MCS was not impaired in either group. After 2 y, PCS, presenteeism, WPL and AI significantly improved in both groups; absenteeism only in axSpA. In multivariable analysis, axSpA (vs non-axSpA) was associated with 22% less WPL (incidence rate ratio [95% CI]: 0.78 [0.62; 0.98]) and 18% less AI (0.82 [0.69; 0.97])., Conclusion: HRQoL and work productivity are more impaired in non-axSpA (vs axSpA) at baseline and still after 2 y. Although most outcomes improve in both groups, axSpA is associated with larger improvements in work productivity and activity impairment., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology.)

To compare the effect of an intensity-controlled exercise program (ICEP) and a nonintensity-controlled exercise program (non-ICEP) on the variables responsible for blood pressure regulation in hypertensive older adults. 95 hypertensive older adults (65.40 ± 7.48 years/22 males and 73 females) performed hemodynamic, functional fitness, and biochemical evaluations before and after 12 weeks of the multicomponent exercises which included walking, muscle strength, hydrogymnastics, Pilates, dynamic balance, agility, flexibility, and others. A significant improvement was observed in general functional fitness index (GFFI: p ≤ 0.000, d  = 0.35), nitrite (NO 2 - : p ≤ 0.000, d  = 0.49), systolic blood pressure (SBP: p ≤ 0.000, d  = 0.65), diastolic blood pressure (DBP: p ≤ 0.013, d  = 0.40), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS: p ≤ 0.007, d  = 0.78), activity of the endothelial superoxide dismutase enzyme (ecSOD: p ≤ 0.032, d  = 0.41), double product (DP: p ≤ 0.015, d  = 0.43), and waist-hip ratio (WHR: p ≤ 0.000, d  = 0.44) for ICEP. Only GFFI ( p ≤ 0.047, d  = 0.12), TBARS ( p ≤ 0.000, d  = 0.77), SOD ( p ≤ 0.025, d  = 0.25), DP ( p ≤ 0.046, d  = 0.26), and BMI ( p ≤ 0.018, d  = 0.02) presented better results in non-ICEP. When the effect of the groups (controlled by age, BMI, and sex) was evaluated, an increase was observed in the NO 2 - , TBARS, and SOD and a reduction in the SBP and WHR variables in the ICEP group compared to the non-ICEP group. Twelve weeks of engagement in a controlled-intensity exercise program was enough to improve the level of functional fitness and variables regarding blood pressure regulation in hypertensive older adults. Conversely, physical exercise performed without intensity control was related to the limited effect on such variables., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Roberta Fernanda da Silva et al.)

This study presents fibers based on methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate (Eudragit L100) as Cu(II) adsorbents, resulting in antimicrobial complexes. Eudragit L100, an anionic copolymer synthesized by radical polymerization, was electrospun in dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol (EtOH). The electrospinning process was optimized through a 2 2 -factorial design, with independent variables (copolymer concentration and EtOH/DMF volume ratio) and three repetitions at the central point. The smallest average fiber diameter (259 ± 53 nm) was obtained at 14% w / v Eudragit L100 and 80/20 EtOH/DMF volume ratio. The fibers were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The pseudo-second-order mechanism explained the kinetic adsorption toward Cu(II). The fibers exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity (q e ) of 43.70 mg/g. The DSC analysis confirmed the Cu(II) absorption, indicating complexation between metallic ions and copolymer networks. The complexed fibers showed a lower degree of swelling than the non-complexed fibers. The complexed fibers exhibited bacteriostatic activity against Gram-negative ( Pseudomonas aeruginosa ) and Gram-positive ( Staphylococcus aureus ) bacteria. This study successfully optimized the electrospinning process to produce thin fibers based on Eudragit L100 for potential applications as adsorbents for Cu(II) ions in aqueous media and for controlling bacterial growth.

Background: The Decade of Healthy Aging 2021-2030 calls for a strengthening of the policies for older people in Latin America. An example of successful oral aging is the Japanese "8020" campaign, which achieved 50% of people aged 80 years having ≥20 teeth by 2016., Objective: To evaluate the association between having a functional dentition (≥20 teeth) and cognitive health, social participation, and quality of life in people aged ≥80 years., Methods: Cross-sectional data from 299 complete observations (weighted N = 436 981) of individuals aged ≥80 years from Chile's National Health Survey 2016-2017 were included (3% of the population; total = 5520 clinical observations/weighted N = 14 518 969). Generalised structural equation models (GSEM) evaluated the association between having a functional dentition and cognitive health, measured with the Mini-mental score, between having a functional dentition and social participation, and between having a functional dentition and quality of life, measured with the EQ-5D-3L. Models included the effect of mediators (daily fruit and vegetable consumption; oral health-related quality of life score) and controlled for the exposure-induced mediator-outcome variables: sex, educational level, and location. Data were analysed using the STATA-17 survey module. Statistical significance was set at P < .05 (95% confidence interval [CI])., Results: The sample was mostly female, had <8 years of education, and lived in urban areas. The prevalence of a functional dentition was 9.2% (95% CI 3.6,21.3/n = 21). GSEM demonstrated that the association between functional dentition and cognitive health was mediated by daily fruits and vegetables consumption (β = 0.12/95% CI 0.02,0.21/P = .015), with moderate strength of evidence. Additionally, there was strong evidence of an association between functional dentition and social participation frequency (β = 2.76/95% CI 0.60,4.73/P = .009). Finally, the association between functional dentition and quality of life was mediated by cognitive health (β =0.05/95% CI 0.02,0.09/P = .002) and oral health-related quality of life (β = -0.04/95% CI -0.08 to -0.01/P = .025), with strong and moderate evidence, respectively., Conclusion: Given the beneficial implications of functional dentition in social participation, nutritional benefits and quality of life and well-being of individuals aged ≥80 years., (© 2023 Gerodontology Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Air quality is directly affected by pollutant emission from vehicles, especially in large cities and metropolitan areas or when there is no compliance check for vehicle emission standards. Particulate Matter (PM) is one of the pollutants emitted from fuel burning in internal combustion engines and remains suspended in the atmosphere, causing respiratory and cardiovascular health problems to the population. In this study, we analyzed the interaction between vehicular emissions, meteorological variables, and particulate matter concentrations in the lower atmosphere, presenting methods for predicting and forecasting PM2.5., Methods: Meteorological and vehicle flow data from the city of Curitiba, Brazil, and particulate matter concentration data from optical sensors installed in the city between 2020 and 2022 were organized in hourly and daily averages. Prediction and forecasting were based on two machine learning models: Random Forest (RF) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network. The baseline model for prediction was chosen as the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model, and for forecast, we used the naive estimation as baseline., Results: RF showed that on hourly and daily prediction scales, the planetary boundary layer height was the most important variable, followed by wind gust and wind velocity in hourly or daily cases, respectively. The highest PM prediction accuracy (99.37%) was found using the RF model on a daily scale. For forecasting, the highest accuracy was 99.71% using the LSTM model for 1-h forecast horizon with 5 h of previous data used as input variables., Discussion: The RF and LSTM models were able to improve prediction and forecasting compared with MLR and Naive, respectively. The LSTM was trained with data corresponding to the period of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021) and was able to forecast the concentration of PM2.5 in 2022, in which the data show that there was greater circulation of vehicles and higher peaks in the concentration of PM2.5. Our results can help the physical understanding of factors influencing pollutant dispersion from vehicle emissions at the lower atmosphere in urban environment. This study supports the formulation of new government policies to mitigate the impact of vehicle emissions in large cities., Competing Interests: AS was employed by Perkons S.A. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chaves, da Silva, Mercuri and Noe.)

Objective: To assess the relationship between internet addiction, quality of life, and sleep problems among adolescents., Method: This research was conducted with a representative sample of 875 adolescents. This cross-sectional study used the Internet Addiction Test, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ version 4.0, Pediatric Daytime Sleepiness Scale, and sleep duration. Sociodemographic factors were also analyzed. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate relationships between variables., Results: After adjusting the model for covariances between the latent variables of daytime sleepiness and correlations between the physical and emotional domains of quality of life, the authors obtained satisfactory fit indices (RMSEA = 0.031, CFI = 0.926, TLI = 0.909, SRMR = 0.058). Internet addiction was positively associated with daytime sleepiness (rho = 0.549, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with quality of life (rho = -0.173, p < 0.001). By contrast, sleep duration was negatively associated with daytime sleepiness (rho = -0.089, p = 0.007), positively associated with quality of life (rho = 0.105, p = 0.014), and dependent on school shift (rho = 0.453, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Adolescents with higher levels of internet addiction had lower perceptions of quality of life and higher daytime sleepiness. Moreover, sleep duration had a positive correlation with quality of life. Given its detrimental effects on quality of life and daytime sleepiness, parents should better supervise internet use in adolescents., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Background: Reconstruction of large mandibular defects requires reestablishment of mandibular continuity with bone and soft tissue. The microvascularized fibula flap (MFF) has the advantage of providing both, with adequate length, low resorption rate, low infection risk and possibility of dental implant insertion. It can be adapted to mandibular defects in many different ways., Purpose: This retrospective study will present and evaluate the results of the male-female joint technique for flap positioning and fixation., Methods: The technique consists of designing osteotomies on the binding edge of the MFF and recipient jaw, increasing bone contact from one to five faces. Patients submitted to mandibular reconstruction through this technique were included and evaluated regarding systemic compromise, complication occurrence as well as primary and long-term stability., Results: Ten patients underwent mandibular reconstruction with the male-female joint technique. Sixteen joints were applied, and excluding an early loss due to vascular failure, all remaining 14 joints healed uneventfully. None showed signs of early or late mobility., Conclusion: Fitting the MFF through a male-female joint that provides greater bone contact may improve stability and reduce screw loosening and mini-plate removal rates., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no conflict of interest., (© The Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India 2021.)

Background: The number and specificities of telehealth service units that expanded their services and diversified with the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil need to be discovered. The objective of this manuscript is to present a methodology for the diagnostic evaluation of 19 telehealth units from different regions of the country for federal governmental decision-making., Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative study was carried out in the form of a census based on administrative records with an online survey and in-depth interviews with local telehealth managers., Results: Despite the discontinuity of regular funding, the results point to a diversity of initiatives and advances. Citizenship, sustainability, security, and budget management are recurring themes in the maturity analysis of telehealth services after the advent of the pandemic., Conclusion: It is necessary for Brazil to build a resilient model of the maturity of telehealth services that contemplates the different regional scenarios., (© 2024. The Author(s).)