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In this study, we present a novel approach for the exfoliation of titanium nitride (TiN) powders utilizing a rapid, facile, and environmentally friendly non-thermal plasma method. This method involves the use of an electric arc and nitrogen as the ambient gas at room temperature to generate ionized particles. These ionized species interact with the ceramic crystal of TiN, resulting in a pronounced structural expansion. The exfoliated TiN products were comprehensively characterized using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Remarkably, the cubic crystal structure of TiN was effectively retained, while the (200) crystal plane d-spacing increased from 2.08 to 3.09 Å, accompanied by a reduction in crystallite size and alterations in Raman vibrational modes. Collectively, these findings provide compelling evidence for the successful exfoliation of TiN structures using our innovative non-thermal plasma method, opening up exciting possibilities for advanced material applications.

Contribution: In the research presented in this article, a procedure for determining student workload has been designed, tested, and validated. This procedure also makes it possible to analyze how different teaching variables are affected by workload and to visualize the learning environment generated in the course. Background: When the project-based learning (PBL) methodology is used in a course, if the students' workload is not properly planned and controlled, important variables in the educational environment, such as the teaching organization and the students' approach to learning, can be affected. The PBL methodology may even become unfeasible as it affects the other courses with which it shares year and semester. This justifies the need to know the student workload of a subject. The previous research has presented procedures for establishing student workload. However, they use questionnaires with a high number of questions. A questionnaire with many questions affects the reliability of students' answers. The questionnaire presented in this article reduces the number of questions without affecting the results obtained and it is easily applicable to other courses. Research Questions: The questions to be answered in this research are: 1) is the workload of the students, when using the PBL methodology in a course, in line with the one established in the syllabus? and 2) is the learning environment created in the course as expected? Methodology: The methodology used to obtain the necessary data is based on students completing weekly surveys, two critical incident questionnaires (CIQs), and a final survey. The aim was always to minimize the number of questions to be answered, ensuring that the data collected provided a true picture of the workload and the educational environment. Findings: The analysis of the data obtained by applying the procedure provides mechanisms to control the workload, ensure involvement and motivation, improve students' academic results and show the learning environment created in the course. The implementation of this method, during three academic years, has allowed to test its effectiveness, validate some of the initial hypotheses, and confirm the conclusions of some previous studies.

Abstract This paper investigates the electrical, morphological, and mechanical behavior of ultrathin layer-by-layer polyaniline/poly(vinyl sulfonic acid) (PANI/PVS) ultrathin films for ammonia gas sensing. Atomic force microscopy shows that the PANI/PVS surface's roughness increases almost linearly with the number of PANI/PVS bilayers, while the surface morphology varies from a rod-like structure to a film-like architecture. Impedance measurements and their representation by a Cole-Cole model confirm this transition at ~15 bilayers. The designed sensor shows low response time (< 1 min), an optimal operating frequency range (1–100 Hz), high stability and sensibility to ammonia (~ 98 kΩ/ppm), and low sensibility to strain (~ 3.6 kΩ/%). This study suggests that hopping carriers' concentration remains constant, and hopping carriers' mobility changes with the number of bilayers. The simultaneous analysis of morphology with complex impedance measurements is a strategy for enhancing the electrical performance of low-cost and flexible organic sensing devices.

As crises sociais e econômicas têm se tornado cada vez mais frequentes na sociedade moderna, com causas, razões e consequências diferentes do que ocorriam no passado. Trata-se de situações praticamente inevitáveis, notadamente quando se toma por base a essência humana, sua necessidade de convivência em sociedade e como está, na atualidade capitalista, essa convivência. A par disso, as crises amplificam essas consequências e trazem, dentro da convivência social, um ambiente propício para ações e interferências prejudiciais ao mercado e à concorrência. Nisso se tem a inserção da importância do direito econômico: trabalhar as crises e suas consequências na economia para minimizar seus efeitos prejudiciais à sociedade, à concorrência e aos direitos fundamentais. Seguindo essa linha, em revisão bibliográfica e da legislação, observando a metódica exploratória descritiva, esta pesquisa objetiva analisar a sociedade capitalista moderna e a atuação do direito econômico no sentido de estabelecer um equilíbrio entre regulação estatal e autorregulação do mercado para minimizar os impactos das crises nas relações sociais e econômicas.

Women have a specific hormonal risk associated with contraception, pregnancy and menopause, in addition to more risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD); and rapid, non-invasive, low-cost cardiovascular risk prediction tools can streamline the identification and prevention of CVD. Objective of the study to evaluate the risk of developing CVD in adult women using cardiometabolic indices such as plasma atherogenic index (AIP) and triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index for insulin resistance. This is an observational, cross-sectional and retrospective study. Data on the metabolic, clinical and anthropometric profile of adult women were analyzed and used for risk stratification of developing CVD through the use of TyG and AIP indices. Of the participating women (n = 60, 28.55 ± 8.30 years), 50% women had an increased risk according to AIP despite having normolipidemia, normoglycemia, and normal BMI. Also, they had higher TyG index values. Further, the correlations of TyG and AIP with biometric and lipid parameters were associated with metabolic syndrome. AIP and TyG index can identify the risk of developing CVD, even in the presence of normal anthropometric and biochemical parameters.

Abstract This paper investigates the properties of the polyaniline (PANI) on açaí vegetable fiber (AVF), hereafter referred to as PANI-COATED:AVF. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopy showed that the incorporation of PANI produced a linear surface, while optical microscopy images showed that the semiconductor layer was flawed. The complex impedance measurements performed at room temperature indicated that the electrical properties of PANI were fully transferred to the PANI-COATED:AVF and that the Cole-Cole approach dominated over a frequency range from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed a thermal stability range of 0° to 300°C. Finally, the combination of PANI with AVF was a successful due to the ease of processing and obtaining semiconductor filaments with wide ranges of thermal and electrical stability. This article is a complement to another recently published [doi.org/10.1002/pc.27068].

The objective of this article is to analyze the international transfer of Brazilian public policies within the logic of foreign policy with regard to actions parallel to United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (Minustah) (2004 to 2017), as a way of understanding how the national agenda was articulated to the external plane, having Haiti as a destination, as well as identifying the main critical points of this integration process. The hypothesis is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought to take advantage of the window of opportunity opened by the peacekeeping operation, given the importance of Brazil to the operation, as a way of expanding international cooperation with Haiti, through the transfer of public policies, to, thus, demonstrating the ability to solve the root causes that produce conflicts, such as poverty - even if the results are subject to criticism. The research was carried out using the process tracing method, with the adoption of case study methodologies, document analysis and semi-structured discursive interview technique.

O diabetes mellitus (DM) é uma das endocrinopatias mais comuns em cães. É considerada uma síndrome multifatorial provocada pela deficiência absoluta ou relativa da insulina, podendo estar ligado a fatores diversos como os genéticos, hormonais, inflamatórios, infecciosos ou até mesmo imunológicos. O presente relato tem como objetivo descrever um caso de uma cadela sem raça definida, com 10 anos de idade, que apresentou quadro de diabetes transitória que cursa com a fase de diestro e uma infecção uterina como principais fatores de resistência insulínica. O tratamento foi realizado com ovarioslapingohisterectomia terapêutica e manejo de insulinoterapia junto de manejo nutricional com alimentação coadjuvante para diabetes. Após o início do tratamento, a paciente demonstrou melhora e remissão completa da condição de hiperglicemia persistente.

Resumo Objetivo Descrever o processo de elaboração da theory of change para implementação do Apoio Matricial em um município paulista de médio porte e refletir sobre contribuições dessa abordagem para o planejamento e avaliação dessa intervenção considerando as potencialidades e desafios a partir de sua execução no formato remoto. Métodos Estudo qualitativo realizado por meio de oficinas participativas e construção de narrativas com trabalhadores e gestores da Rede de Atenção Psicossocial seguindo as recomendações de um guia para o desenvolvimento de theory of change em intervenções complexas. Resultados A implementação do Apoio Matricial configura um dos três resultados distais que culminam na possibilidade de estabelecer a lógica do cuidado compartilhado relacionando-se à ativação da rede intersetorial e a implementação de um Comitê de Educação Permanente. Ainda foram reconhecidos componentes externos que deveriam ser garantidos pelo contexto organizacional para o efetivo alcance de alguns resultados intermediários e de longo prazo. Conclusão A elaboração da theory of change foi efetiva em delimitar objetivos e componentes da implementação a partir da perspectiva dos atores envolvidos, estabelecendo indicadores para seu monitoramento e avaliação a partir das condições do contexto e possibilitando o direcionamento de esforços dos trabalhadores para sua consolidação.

The study empirically tests whether regional differences in personal taxes (Personal Income Tax, Wealth Tax, and Inheritance and Gift tax) have had some influence on the decision of the richest Spanish taxpayers to change their residence. The estimates use the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) Panel database provided by the Ministry of Public Finance. The study offers evidence that regional tax differences affect the decision to change residence of the top income taxpayers and also that this decision is also affected by other attractiveness and opportunity factors offered by the regions, and by certain characteristics of the individuals. However, the marginal effects are very slight, except for the coefficient of the variable showing regional differences in IRPF: If the difference between average regional IRPF rates increases by 10 percentage points in favour of the other regions, the probability of a top 1% taxpayer changing its residence increases by 11.2 percentage points. The study also documents the importance of the Community of Madrid in the relocation decisions of rich taxpayers. Finally, the study finds that the behaviour of taxpayers aged 65 years and over in the top 1% does not seem very different from that of all taxpayers in the same income bracket.

A castração consiste na retirada das gônadas, promovendo esterilização e benefícios à saúde animal. Esse estudo avaliou o motivo no qual os tutores atendidos no hospital público castram seus cães. A pesquisa foi realizada com 500 tutores, por meio de questionários, em um período de cinco dias. Para verificar a influência do sexo, idade e grau de escolaridade do tutor em relação a decisão e aos benefícios da castração para saúde, bem como a influência do sexo e raça do animal na tomada da decisão, realizou-se o teste estatístico qui-quadrado (X2) com nível de significância de 5%. Entre as mulheres, 190 (52,5%) castraram seus animais e 172 (47,5%), não. O resultado foi semelhante entre os homens, pois 70 (50,7%) castraram e 68 (49,3%), não. Em relação a faixa etária, 23 pessoas eram jovens; 69 idosos; e 408 adultas. Dentro desses grupos, obteve-se as seguintes porcentagens de animais castrados: 43,5%; 52,2%; e 52,5%, respectivamente. Quanto a escolaridade observou-se uma influência significativa, pois 113 (64,6%) pessoas com ensino superior castraram seus animais, enquanto as porcentagens entres as pessoas com ensino fundamental e médio foram 44,8% e 45,1%. O sexo do animal revelou uma influência significativa, visto que 61,5% da fêmeas eram castradas enquanto nos machos esse percentual foi 41,7%. A análise da incidência da castração entre animais de raça comparado aos sem raça definida (SRD), não demonstrou influência significativa. O motivo “evitar doenças” foi mencionado por 71 (27,3%) pessoas sendo que, apenas, 14 (19,7%) souberam citar, pelo menos, uma doença. Não foram observadas diferenças, significativas, entre sexo, idade e escolaridade em relação ao conhecimento da castração para a saúde do animal. No grupo das pessoas que não castraram, 32 (13,3%) relataram que não tinham conhecimento e se arrependem. Esse levantamento constatou que ainda é baixo o número de informações sobre saúde animal e os benefícios da castração como parte da medicina veterinária integrativa.

Urbanization causes drastic changes in the diversity and distribution of many species in Brazil, there are insufficient data on the accessibility and quality of urban forest fragments for wildlife. Thus, we estimated the proportion of bird and bat species barred from entering the intra-urban area of Ponta Grossa (PR) through a multiscale study of landscape and vegetation quality in the core area and the avian and chiropteran fauna present. Phytosociological analyses were carried out by means of tree and shrub vegetation plots in three urban parks. Bird surveys were carried out in a non-systematic manner over 12 months at dawn and dusk at potential birding sites in the urban area. Data on bats were obtained from the literature on local sampling in the urban area. Finally, landscape fragmentation metrics were calculated to assess the resistance of urban areas to the transit of the target species. A total of 142 shrub and tree taxa were surveyed in forested urban remnants, with diversity H' ranging from 3.68 to 3.87. This vegetation supported 62 species of birds and 8 bats, exceeding the literature estimative. The urban space is frequented by 37% of the regional avifauna and 50% of the regional chiropterofauna. The forest fragments have significant areas with a good supply of resources, close enough to connect these populations. However, the species observed are mostly generalists due to the poverty of the transition area corridors, which causes those peri-urban source areas could strongly select species adapted to environments subjected to edge effects. An integrated analysis of the vegetation cover of riparian areas, street trees, and backyard vegetation could point out the bottlenecks that urban planning should focus on to increase the environmental quality of the urban area.

Bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are widely distributed in arthropods, particularly in ants; nevertheless, it is still little explored with the Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) methodology, especially in the genus Solenopsis, which includes species native to South America. Ants from this genus have species distributed in a cosmopolitan way with some of them being native to South America. In Brazil, they are widely spread and preferentially associated with areas of human activity. This study aimed to investigate the diversity of Wolbachia in ants of the genus Solenopsis through the MLST approach and their phylogenetic relationship, including the relationship between mtDNA from the host and the related Wolbachia strain. We also tested the geographic correlation between the strains to infer transmission and distributional patterns. Fifteen new strains and eleven previously unknown alleles were obtained by sequencing and analyzing the five genes that make up the MLST. The phylogenetic relationship between the strains showed a polyphyletic pattern, indicative of the complexity of the evolutionary history of these bacteria in the analyzed species. We detected the correlation of host’s mitochondrial DNA with Wolbachia diversity which imply that related strains exist in related hosts, strongly suggesting the occurrence of vertical transfer. We found no specificity of the Wolbachia strain for a given geographic region that could indicate either that there is no horizontal transfer of the strain from the environment for the host or that the human action could be shuffling the distribution of the Solenopsis ants and the endosymbiont Wolbachia, as well. Our study highlights the complexity and novelty of Wolbachia diversity with this specific group of ants and the need for further studies that focus on understanding of this intricate relationship.

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Abstract Background The knowledge of how owners view the body condition of their animals is an important factor for the success of the prevention/treatment of obesity and the engagement/adherence to nutritional interventions, which are fundamental to improve the animal prognosis. For this reason, the objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of the owners regarding the body condition score of their animals, compare the perception between cat vs. dog owners, and owners from the countryside vs. metropolitan region of São Paulo State in Brazil. Results 601 dogs and 110 cats were included in this study. There was no significant difference in body condition score assigned by owners by species. Owners of dogs and cats classified by the veterinarian as ideal, overweight, and obese who disagree with body condition score assigned by veterinarian mainly underestimate the body condition score of their animals, while lean dogs’ owners overestimate it. Countryside dog owners had a higher rate of disagreement with the veterinarian and more often underestimate the body condition score than owners from the metropolitan region. The owners of lean cats have the same judgments with veterinarians. Conclusions Owners of dogs and cats have difficulty assessing the body condition score, especially owners from countryside.

Objetivo: analisar a associação do sobrepeso com variáveis sociodemográficas, condições de saúde e indicadores do estilo de vida de colaboradores técnicos de uma instituição de ensino superior privada. Materiais e Métodos: Estudo transversal analítico, realizado em uma instituição particular do norte de Minas Gerais. Adotou-se uma amostra probabilística aleatória, constituída por 101 colaboradores técnicos. A coleta de dados foi realizada atraves da avaliação antropométrica e por meio de questionários (sóciodemográficas, condições de saúde e estilo de vida fantástico). Para análise estatística foi estimada a frequência absoluta e relativa. A associação entre as variáveis foi analisada pelo teste do qui-quadrado e as variáveis associadas até o nível de 20% foram analisadas em conjunto por meio de Regressão Logística, sendo assumidas no modelo final apenas as variáveis associadas até o nível de 5%. Resultados: A prevalência sobrepeso/obesidade foi de 64,4%. Entre os colaboradores técnicos o sobrepeso/obesidade foi associado ao estado civil (OR=1,30 p=

El turismo es una de las actividades que genera ingresos para el país, sin embargo, el proceso de aprovisionamiento dentro de su cadena de suministro limita las acciones del sector. Por ello, se plantea como objetivo caracterizar la cadena de suministros para la prestación de servicios turísticos en Ecuador, teniendo en cuenta que el turismo es una fuente directa de ingresos para la población, además, considerando la composición económica a nivel longitudinal y transversal, de modo que se conozca el desarrollo de las actividades productivas en el destino turístico. El trabajo es orientado desde la perspectiva del desarrollo de la amplitud y longitud, aspectos dentro de la cadena de suministro que no ha sido aplicado a nivel del turismo. La investigación se realiza bajo el enfoque social crítico y cuantitativo; se recopila información apoyados en la búsqueda en bases de datos del estado, y se complementa con la aplicación de 308 encuestas a empresas del sector turísticos. Los resultados muestran que la cadena de suministro desde su amplitud está constituida por agentes turísticos: gastronomía, hotelería, recreación, agencias de viajes y transporte; y desde su longitud a través de canales directos e indirectos. Se concluye que, en el sector turístico, la cadena de suministro requiere 4,8 proveedores por local, a excepción de las agencias de viajes que requiere 8,8 proveedores, la composición indica que los proveedores son principalmente nacionales; de estos, con el direccionamiento de recursos para innovación en productos y/o servicios turísticos se puede incrementar los beneficios en la economía.