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This article examines the multidimensional problem of energy poverty, focusing on its connections to climate change and its manifestation at rural and urban scales across selected European countries and Israel. The study examined 31 locations in eight countries with diverse geographical and economic backgrounds: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, North Macedonia, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, and Israel. The article aims to understand how winter energy vulnerability in rural and urban locations in these countries could be identified using selected energy poverty indicators and how it evolves under the influence of climate change. A set of sociodemographic, infrastructural, and economic variables, combined with climate analysis, were selected and assessed for their impact on energy poverty. We found that energy poverty in most countries depends significantly on location and regional development. Due to a combination of factors influencing energy poverty, rural households tend to be more vulnerable. Furthermore, climate change consequences will likely leave rural areas more likely to experience energy poverty in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Dolutegravir plus lamivudine (2-DR) is suggested as an initial and switch option in HIV-1 treatment. The aim of this study was to analyze the effectiveness, durability, and safety of 2-DR compared to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (3-DR). Patients and methods: This was an observational, ambispective study that included all treatment-naïve (TN) and treatment-experienced (TE) people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH), who started 2-DR or 3-DR between 01 July 2018, and 31 January 2022. The primary endpoint was non-inferiority, at 24 and 48 weeks, of 2-DR vs 3-DR regarding the percentage of PLWH with viral load (VL)<50 and 200 copies/mL in TN (12% margin) and VL≥50 and 200 copies/mL in TE (4% margin). Durability of response and safety were also measured. Results: 292 PLWH were included (39 TN and 253 TE). In TN PLWH, non-inferiority was not achieved at 24 weeks (17; 95% CI -17 to 51 p = 0.348). By week 48, all PLWH on 3-DR maintained VL<50 copies/mL compared to 70% of PLWH on 2-DR although without reaching statistical significance (-33; 95% CI -60 to -10 p = 0.289). Non-inferiority was not achieved in TE PLWH either at 24 (0.4; 95% CI -9 to 10 p = 1) or at 48 weeks (4.5; 95% CI -0.5 to 9 p = 0.132). In TN, the risk of treatment discontinuation was similar between groups (HR: 0.31, p = 0.07); similar rates were also found in TE (HR: 1.3, p = 0.38). TE PLWH on 2-DR showed a better safety profile compared to 3-DR (p = 0.017). Conclusion: Our results did not show non-inferiority in terms of virological effectiveness. Additionally, durability and safety of 2-DR were confirmed to be similar to 3-DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liveability is determined by characteristics of a place including walkability and access to natural environments. These two attributes can be quantified at a fine spatial scale providing insights into liveability. Most liveability studies focus on metropolitan areas, and we identified a research gap in regional liveability research. Using a case study on two towns in Indigo Shire in regional Victoria and focusing on older residents, we examined walkability and access to and attitudes about the natural environment. We found that opportunities for walking in regional towns can be limited, and that only a small number of older people walk regularly. Despite being largely surrounded by nature in regional towns, connection to nature and sense of community is sometimes lacking. In addition, measures of walkability and access to natural environments designed to be used in metropolitan environments do not translate well to regional areas. However, the data and insights gathered in this research helped build a context-specific understanding of liveability in each community and allowed us to provide useful recommendations to local government. While these recommendations are specific to the study area, the methodologies used, and insights gained are applicable to regional and rural towns in a wide range of contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There is a need to integrate advancements in biomedical, information, and communication technologies with care processes within the framework of the inpatient safety program to support effective risk management of adverse events occurring in the hospital environment and to improve inpatient safety. In this respect, this work presents the development of a software platform using the Scrum methodology and the integrated technology of the Internet of Things for monitoring and managing inpatient safety. A modular solution is developed under a hexagonal architecture, using PHP as the backend language through the Laravel framework. A MySQL database was used for the data layer, and Vue.js was used for the user interface. This work implemented an RFID-based nurse call system using Internet of Things (IoT) concepts. The system enables nurses to respond to each inpatient within a given time limit and without the inpatient or a family member having to approach the nursing station. The system also provides reports and indicators that help evaluate the quality of inpatient care and helps to take measures to improve inpatient safety during care. In addition, diet management is integrated to reduce the occurrence of adverse events. A LoRa and Wi-Fi-based IoT network was implemented using a LoRa transceiver and the ESP32 MCU, chosen for its low power consumption, low cost, and wide availability. Bidirectional communication between hardware and software is handled through an MQTT Broker. The system integrates temperature and humidity sensors and smoke sensors, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is a drug product's biologically active chemical substance that produces the desired therapeutic effects. Most APIs are small organic molecules commercially available as a crystalline solid phase. Crystalline drugs are preferred in oral dosage formulations for their high purity and stability. However, some commercial drugs have low aqueous solubility, reducing their bioavailability and requiring high doses of API. Thus, discovering/investigating solid crystalline forms or controlling/designing more soluble forms with optimized pharmaceutical properties can be challenging or suitable for the pharmaceutical industry and academia. In this sense, the present work proposes a new physicochemical approach consisting of the average framework energy (Eframework) which is the average intermolecular interaction in crystalline solids to predict the modification of API solubility in new solid forms. This way, it was possible to correlate the intermolecular interactions of a given crystalline solid-state with its respective aqueous solubility. Overall, 60 crystalline forms are involved in this investigation derived from 25 distinct APIs. The results indicate that the average energy framework calculated and the aqueous solubility display a linear upward trend in the distribution of points, meaning that the greater the solubility, the lower the interaction energy. Such an approach is more evident in box plot-based drugs grouped by solubility range indicating a handy predictive model for drug solubility estimation based exclusively on energy framework features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving as a French or Dutch citizen to Belgium should be easy, given the freedom of movement of EU citizens. Reality paints a different picture, however. This paper analyses the practices of Belgian municipalities and the Immigration Office as to the registration of EU workers, self-employed, jobseekers and their family members. It is based on a desk study, a survey among a sample of municipalities as well as semi-structured interviews with municipal officials, the Immigration Office and other stakeholders. The paper adopts a legal understanding of 'procedural justice', focusing on dimensions of equal treatment and transparency. It shows that the achievement of procedural justice for EU citizens is impaired by divergent and at times questionable practices by street-level bureaucrats. These practices indicate, among others, that varying levels of 'deservingness' of residence in Belgium can be observed within the category of mobile EU workers. Furthermore, increased digitalization and the use of intermediaries in the registration procedure facilitate and reinforce differential treatments among EU citizens and their family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, consequences and factors associated with drug use among individuals over 50 years of age, from the perspective of their families, with particularly reference to cocaine use. Cross-sectional study based on secondary data with 624 family members of substance users who sought family support in 14 units of the Recomeço Família Program in São Paulo, Brazil. The participants were predominately men, aged 50 to 59 years (68%); cocaine users (inhaled and/ or smoked); living alone; with a low level of education and were unemployed. They were likely to use family money to pay for their substance use, with a history of theft and aggression against strangers, and were not in treatment. Unlike other participants [≥ 60 years (31.1%)]; who were better educated and retired. In this latter group, 32.8% are alcohol users, 14.8% cocaine users (inhaled and smoked), 32.6% has physically assaulted their family, 39.7% had assaulted someone else and 18.3% had stolen objects or money from home. The population has peculiar characteristics of vulnerability (cocaine use and violence) that remain under investigated; not only do routes into treatment for older adults (≥ 60) but appropriate treatment packages need to be developed too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]