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En la presente investigación surgió la necesidad de utilizar herramientas didácticas que permitieran conocer la mejor optimización de un sistema fotovoltaico para el abastecimiento de las cargas de una bananera. En correspondencia a lo anterior, este estudio presenta un modelo y simulación de un sistema conectado a la red, considerando la variación de la irradiancia solar. En primera instancia, se utilizó el instrumento piranómetro en la zona a estudiar. Luego se consideró las cargas de la bananera, para luego hacer uso de la herramienta HOMER Pro para hallar la mejor viabilidad del sistema fotovoltaico con sus algoritmos de optimización. Para su validación se utilizó otros algoritmos de modelos matemáticos realizados en Matlab/Simulink, estableciendo la potencia del sistema, el costo nivelado de energía ($/kWh), como también el voltaje (V), corriente (A) y potencia (W) tanto del panel solar como la energía que sale a la carga, además, se determinó el punto de máxima transferencia de potencia (MPPT) del sistema. Por último, se evaluó el payback del modelamiento para conocer el tiempo de retorno de la inversión del sistema.

Self-similar fractals provide a degree of freedom for varying the resonance frequency due to the multiscale geometric features involved and are an ideal candidate for ultrabroadband absorbing devices – especially in the terahertz (THz) band where there is a lack of natural absorbing materials. Metasurface-based THz absorbers often suffer from poor broadband performance, whereas strongly absorbing broadband devices are typically complex multilayer structures. Here, we numerically demonstrate an ultrabroadband, ultrathin, polarization-insensitive, wide-angle, single-layer planar metasurface THz absorber by integrating different Cayley tree fractal resonators into one supercell based on the frequency shifting and multiresonance bands of different fractal orders. In terms of physics, we have exploited the self-similar nature of fractal geometry to engineer the multimodal spectrum of this system. With increasing fractal order N, an increasing number of modes can be excited with certain degeneracies where each mode corresponds to plasmon oscillations at different geometric scales inside fractal. As a result, broad, multipeaked spectra with large degeneracy numbers can be achieved with larger N. Finally, by placing fractals of different order N into one supercell, the coupling and superposition of the neighboring resonances exhibit the desired ultrabroadband response. The proposed absorber provides a wide incident wave angle with a full-width half-maximum absorption bandwidth of more than one octave, i.e. 3.88 THz. Greater than 80% absorption is achieved over a frequency range of 3 THz. Owing to its performance, this work is a step forward in realizing perfect blackbody absorbers that can be easily integrated with bolometric sensing technology to make high-efficient THz-sensing devices.

This chapter discusses how community-based narrative encounters can enhance medical students' narrative humility, the practice of recognizing the value of multiple narratives of health and reducing narrative privileging. The study in this chapter suggests that through exposure to individuals' lived experience of health, medical students are able to recognize both professional and personal narrative bias, leading to reflection on improved patient-centered care centered on testimonial justice and narrative respect.

Living and working through the challenges of a pandemic offered a unique research opportunity to engage with some core questions about what really matters in Religious Education (RE) in countries across Europe. The "What COVID Reveals to Religious Education Specialists" research project sought to provide a reflective space for RE specialists, drawn from the board members of the European Forum for Teachers of Religious Education (EFTRE), to consider their experiences of RE during the COVID-19 pandemic and to begin to articulate what they might want in the future for RE in light of their experiences. Areas explored in the online qualitative survey included: challenging questions and issues, social unrest, student-teacher relationships, learning scenarios, valued dimensions in RE, opportunities for the future, and 'ideal' RE. Respondents were from sixteen of the twenty-two countries present on the EFTRE Board, offering their individual perspectives from Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe. Using the tool ATLAS.ti, an inductive analytical approach was employed; a number of key group 'themes' emerged from the responses, which provided a basis for further analysis. This paper will present some of the main findings in dialogue with the focusing research stimulus question: "What does COVID-19 reveal to RE specialists about their subject?" The project is a European collaboration involving researchers from Austria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Wales.

Teaching preparation is critical to success in graduate school, as many doctoral students across disciplines are expected to teach or assist in teaching undergraduate classes as part of a graduate assistantship or in the capacity of adjunct faculty. Many go on to enter their chosen fields in the academy with the expectation that they are fully prepared to develop and teach their own courses at the undergraduate and even graduate level. This paper explores the frequency and type of teaching preparation and professional development coursework in 40 criminology and criminal justice doctoral programs. Findings reveal that nearly half of these programs offered none of these courses whatsoever. Required coursework formalizes the knowledge and skills that are key to success in teaching during graduate school and beyond.

Background: A grading system was developed for computerized tomography (CT) scans evaluating patients with suspected small bowel obstruction (SBO). We hypothesized that patients with a higher grade of suspected SBO on CT scan would be more likely to require surgical intervention. Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients who presented to the Emergency Room (ER) who had a CT of the abdomen and pelvis for suspected SBO. Patients were divided into 5 groups: Grade 1 (SBO unlikely), Grade 2 (probable partial or early SBO), Grade 3 (probable high grade SBO), Grade 4 (SBO with changes concerning for ischemia) and Not Graded. Results: The CT scans of 655 patients were graded. Of the 22 patients with a grade 1 SBO, only 1 went for surgery (4.5 %). For grade 2 patients, 23 out of 299 had an operation (7.7 %), for grade 3 it was 84 out of 299 (28.1 %) and for grade 4 SBO, 25 out of 35 patients (71.4 %) had surgery. The p value is

Abstract: For large, regulated rivers, operators can impact abiotic conditions for the benefit of the ecosystem, primarily by controlling the volume of discharge from upstream reservoirs. Understanding the decision space around discharge is necessary for evaluating tradeoffs between environmental and other objectives. As a result of climate change, warming water temperatures are increasingly becoming a concern for thermally‐sensitive fauna. In California's largest river, the Sacramento, extinction risk of salmon populations is linked to high water temperatures. Yet, little is known about how much water temperature in lower reaches can be affected by reservoir discharge operations, and the potential benefits to salmon. We used a process‐based water temperature model to estimate the ability of reservoir discharge to mediate river temperature heating processes impacting downstream locations (discharge‐mediated temperature management). To bound this analysis, we used historical forcings over a recent 29‐year span. Results indicate reservoir discharge increases of up to 340 cms over the historical record could have decreased water temperature in the lower reaches by up to 3.6°C. Salmon require water below 20°C during most stages of their lifecycle, and we found that normative water operations could ensure 20°C was rarely exceeded for two potential management seasons, in late‐spring and early‐fall. These periods coincide with important rearing and migratory periods for salmon, during which they frequently experience excessive temperatures under the management status‐quo. This analysis provides stakeholders tools to manage conditions for native fauna in the face of a warming climate, and a framework for developing similar tools in other large, regulated rivers.

Juvenile salmonids migrate hundreds of kilometers from their natal streams to mature in the ocean. Throughout this migration, they respond to environmental cues such as local water velocities and other stimuli to direct and modulate their movements, often through heavily modified riverine and estuarine habitats. Management strategies in an uncertain future of climate change and altered land use regimes depend heavily on being able to reliably predict their ocean entry timings, route use, and survival rates through rivers and estuaries. We developed a spatially-explicit agent-based model of fish movement in response to hydrodynamic flows that uses movement dynamics gleaned from multi-dimensional tracking datasets of acoustically tagged juveniles moving through an urbanized, branched tidal estuary. We demonstrate how such models can be calibrated, and we apply it to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Central California. The quality of the out-of-sample validation of the model to predict juvenile salmon survival and route selection indicates that the model is versatile and flexible enough to be used in novel hydroclimatological conditions

BackgroundTreatment patterns for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) differ, but limited studies exist comparing them. This study examines differences in molecular profiling rates and treatment patterns in these populations, focusing on use of adjuvant, liver-directed, targeted, and investigational therapies.MethodsThis multicenter collaboration included patients with ICC or ECC treated at 1 of 8 participating institutions. Retrospective data were collected on risk factors, pathology, treatments, and survival. Comparative statistical tests were 2-sided.ResultsAmong 1039 patients screened, 847 patients met eligibility (ICC = 611, ECC = 236). Patients with ECC were more likely than those with ICC to present with early stage disease (53.8% vs 28.0%), undergo surgical resection (55.1% vs 29.8%), and receive adjuvant chemoradiation (36.5% vs 4.2%) (all P

In the domain of precision livestock farming, the integration of diverse data sources is crucial for advancing sustainability and evaluating the implications of farm management practices on cow health. Addressing the challenge of data heterogeneity and management diversity, we propose a key-feature-based clustering method. This approach, merging knowledge-driven feature selection with unsupervised machine learning, enables the systematic investigation of management effects on cow health by forming distinct clusters for analysis. Utilizing data from 3,284 Austrian farms, including 80 features related to feeding, milking, housing, and technology systems, and health information for 56,000 cows, we show how this methodology can be applied to study the impact of technological systems on cow health resulting from the incidence of veterinary diagnoses. Our analysis successfully identified 14 distinct clusters, further divided into four main groups based on their level of technological integration in farm management: “SMART,” “TRADITIONAL,” “AMS (automatic milking system),” and “SENSOR.” We found that “SMART” farms, which integrate both AMS and sensor systems, exhibited a minimally higher disease risk for milk fever (OR 1.09) but lower risks for fertility disorders and udder diseases, indicating a general trend toward reduced disease risks. In contrast, farms with “TRADITIONAL” management, without AMS and sensor systems, showed the lowest risk for milk fever but the highest risk of udder disease (OR 1.12) and a minimally higher incidence of fertility disorders (OR 1.07). Furthermore, across all four groups, we observed that organic farming practices were associated with a reduced incidence of milk fever, udder issues, and particularly fertility diagnoses. However, the size of the effect varied by cluster, highlighting the complex and multifactorial nature of the relationship between farm management practices and disease risk. The study highlights the effectiveness of the key-feature-based clustering approach for high-dimensional data analyses aimed at comparing different management practices and exploring their complex relationships. The adaptable analytical framework of this approach makes it a promising tool for planning optimizing sustainable and efficient animal husbandry practices.

IntroductionAndrogen deprivation therapy has been shown to improve cancer control when combined with radiotherapy. Relugolix is an oral GnRH receptor antagonist that achieves rapid profound testosterone suppression, which may increase the perception and/or impact of fatigue. This study sought to evaluate neoadjuvant relugolix-induced fatigue in prostate cancer patients prior to the start of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).MethodsRelugolix was initiated at least two months before SBRT. The 13-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) questionnaire was collected at baseline and one hour prior to SBRT initiation. A five-point scale was used to score individual items. Overall scores range from 0-52 and individual item scores were converted to 0-100, with higher scores reflecting less fatigue. Five “experience” items explored self-perceptions of fatigue, and eight “impact” items sought to evaluate the effect of fatigue on daily activities. Items were evaluated for statistical significance (paired t-test, p < 0.05) and clinical significance (minimally important difference (MID); 0.5 standard deviation from baseline).ResultsBetween March 2021 to December 2023, 89 men were treated at Georgetown with neoadjuvant relugolix and SBRT. Mean age was 71 years (range: 49-87). Median initiation of relugolix was 4.5 months prior to SBRT (range: 2-14.2 months). 93% patients achieved castration (testosterone levels ≤ 50 ng/dL) and 85% patients achieved profound castration (testosterone levels ≤ 20 ng/dL). 87 patients completed the FACIT-F questionnaire, with an average overall score of 45.6 at baseline and 41.0 at SBRT initiation. This difference was statistically and clinically significant (p < 0.01, MID = 3.55). Patients experienced an increase in fatigue for 12 of 13 items, with statistically significant changes for 11 items. Three of five experience items showed a clinically significant increase in fatigue. Only two of eight impact items were clinically significant.DiscussionOur study shows that relugolix significantly increases fatigue, affecting multiple areas of life. While the fatigue does not appear to generally impact a patient’s ability to carry out normal activities, patients demonstrate frustration with being too tired for these activities. It is essential for clinicians to counsel prostate cancer patients on the impact of neoadjuvant relugolix on quality-of-life issues like fatigue.

Background High levels of catecholamines are cardiotoxic and associated with stress‐induced cardiomyopathies. Using a septic shock model that reproduces the reversible cardiomyopathy seen over 10 days associated with human septic shock, we investigated the effects of catecholamines on microcirculatory perfusion and cardiac dysfunction. Methods and Results Purpose‐bred beagles received intrabronchial Staphylococcus aureus (n=30) or saline (n=6). The septic animals were than randomized to epinephrine (1 μg/kg per minute, n=15) or saline (n=15) infusions from 4 to 44 hours. Serial cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, catecholamine levels, and troponins were collected over 92 hours. Serial adenosine‐stress perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was performed on septic animals randomized to receive saline (n=8 out of 15) or epinephrine (n=8 out of 15). High‐dose sedation was given to suppress endogenous catecholamine release. Despite catecholamine levels largely remaining within the normal range throughout, by 48 hours, septic animals receiving saline versus nonseptic animals still developed significant worsening of left ventricular ejection fraction, circumferential strain, and ventricular‐aortic coupling. In septic animals that received epinephrine versus saline infusions, plasma epinephrine levels increased 800‐fold, but epinephrine produced no significant further worsening of left ventricular ejection fraction, circumferential strain, or ventricular‐aortic coupling. Septic animals receiving saline had a significant increase in microcirculatory reserve without troponin elevations. Septic animals receiving epinephrine had decreased edema, blunted microcirculatory perfusion, and elevated troponin levels that persisted for hours after the epinephrine infusion stopped. Conclusions Cardiac dysfunction during sepsis is not primarily due to elevated endogenous or exogenous catecholamines nor due to decreased microvascular perfusion‐induced ischemia. However, epinephrine itself has potentially harmful long‐lasting ischemic effects during sepsis including impaired cardiac microvascular perfusion that persists after stopping the infusion.

Background Septic shock is associated with increases in end‐diastolic volume (EDV) and decreases in ejection fraction that reverse within 10 days. Nonsurvivors do not develop EDV increases. The mechanism is unknown. Methods and Results Purpose‐bred beagles (n=33) were randomized to receive intrabronchial Staphylococcus aureus or saline. Over 96 hours, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiograms were performed. Tissue was obtained at 66 hours. From 0 to 96 hours after bacterial challenge, septic animals versus controls had significantly increased left ventricular wall edema (6%) and wall thinning with loss of mass (15%). On histology, the major finding was nonocclusive microvascular injury with edema in myocytes, the interstitium, and endothelial cells. Edema was associated with significant worsening of biventricular ejection fractions, ventricular‐arterial coupling, and circumferential strain. Early during sepsis, (0–24 hours), the EDV decreased; significantly more in nonsurvivors (ie, greater diastolic dysfunction). From 24 to 48 hours, septic animals' biventricular chamber sizes increased; in survivors significantly greater than baseline and nonsurvivors, whose EDVs were not different from baseline. Preload, afterload, or heart rate differences did not explain these differential changes. Conclusions The cardiac dysfunction of sepsis is associated with wall edema. In nonsurvivors, at 0 to 24 hours, sepsis induces a more severe diastolic dysfunction, further decreasing chamber size. The loss of left ventricular mass with wall thinning in septic survivors may, in part, explain the EDV increases from 24 to 48 hours because of a potentially reparative process removing damaged wall tissue. Septic cardiomyopathy is most consistent with a nonocclusive microvascular injury resulting in edema causing reversible systolic and diastolic dysfunction with more severe diastolic dysfunction being associated with a decreased EDV and death.