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The problem of propagation of nonlinear waves in a 1D bar is studied, wherein the linearized strain tensor is considered as a function of the Cauchy stress tensor. Specifically, two constitutive equations for non-Green elastic solids are investigated, introducing a novel numerical iterative method capable of obtaining approximate solutions of one nonlinear constitutive equation for rock, and one constitutive equation that shows a strain-limiting behaviour. The numerical results are compared with exact solutions for the case of a linearized elastic solid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Los bosques húmedos premontanos (bh-pm) presentan alto grado de deterioro por efecto de la intervención antrópica, principalmente por actividades agrícolas y ganaderas. Dada la pérdida de conectividad en estos paisajes fragmentados, es prioritario estudiar la contribución de agroecosistemas cafeteros a la diversidad regional. Este estudio evaluó la diversidad florística de cafetales y estimó del índice de intensificación agrícola (IA) en dos estrategias agronómicas de café y en bosques en La Meseta de Popayán, Cauca, Colombia, en altitudes entre 1600 y 1750 m. Se midieron 13 variables de la vegetación tales como riqueza, densidad y estructura arbórea en 20 sitios de muestreo: ocho cafetales a plena exposición, ocho con sombrío y cuatro bosques de referencia. Se determinó que la diversidad florística disminuyó en función del IA, donde las variables relacionadas al componente arbóreo y epífito fueron las que más aportaron a la medición de la IA. La composición arbórea estuvo conformada principalmente por especies pioneras que son relevantes en la conservación y restauración regional. Se concluye que el IA aplicado a estos agroecosistemas ayuda a medir el grado de intervención antrópica; que los cafetales con sombra y parches de bosque son fuente de biodiversidad vegetal, de hábitat y de conectividad entre los paisajes Andinos fragmentados; y que la aplicación del IA en cafetales resulta en una herramienta útil para examinar hipótesis sobre sostenibilidad y conservación.

Aim: Climate change is transforming mountain summit plant communities worldwide, but we know little about such changes in the High Andes. Understanding large‐scale patterns of vegetation changes across the Andes, and the factors driving these changes, is fundamental to predicting the effects of global warming. We assessed trends in vegetation cover, species richness (SR) and community‐level thermal niches (CTN) and tested whether they are explained by summits' climatic conditions and soil temperature trends. Location: High Andes. Time period: Between 2011/2012 and 2017/2019. Major taxa studied: Vascular plants. Methods: Using permanent vegetation plots placed on 45 mountain summits and soil temperature loggers situated along a ~6800 km N‐S gradient, we measured species and their relative percentage cover and estimated CTN in two surveys (intervals between 5 and 8 years). We then estimated the annual rate of changes for the three variables and used generalized linear models to assess their relationship with annual precipitation, the minimum air temperatures of each summit and rates of change in the locally recorded soil temperatures. Results: Over time, there was an average loss of vegetation cover (mean = −0.26%/yr), and a gain in SR across summits (mean = 0.38 species m2/yr), but most summits had significant increases in SR and vegetation cover. Changes in SR were positively related to minimum air temperature and soil temperature rate of change. Most plant communities experienced shifts in their composition by including greater abundances of species with broader thermal niches and higher optima. However, the measured changes in soil temperature did not explain the observed changes in CTN. Main conclusions: High Andean vegetation is changing in cover and SR and is shifting towards species with wider thermal niche breadths. The weak relationship with soil temperature trends could have resulted from the short study period that only marginally captures changes in vegetation through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River dolphins are strongly affected by the construction of hydroelectric dams. Potential isolation in subpopulations above and below such dams and the resulting low genetic variability of these subpopulations can cause extinction at a local level. Here we aimed to estimate density and population size of South American river dolphins (boto Inia geoffrensis and tucuxi Sotalia fluviatilis), map their distribution, and estimate potential biological removal (PBR) limits in order to evaluate the effects of population fragmentation between planned dams in the TapajÛs River, Amazonian basin, Brazil. Boat-based surveys were conducted following a line transect sampling protocol covering different dolphin habitats in 2 stretches of the river divided by rapids. The mark-recapture distance sampling method was applied to account for animals missed on the trackline. After the estimation of population sizes by habitat, PBR was calculated. The farthest upriver sighting of tucuxis was close to the S„o Luiz do TapajÛs rapids, whereas the farthest upriver sighting of botos was upstream of the rapids, suggesting that botos move upstream through the rapids. Estimated abundance of tucuxis (3372 ind., CV = 0.38) was twice as high as that estimated for botos (1815 ind., CV = 0.4). The PBR ranged from 11 to 18 ind. for boto and 21 to 34 for tucuxi. Throughout this study, we identified low abundances of river dolphins compared to other Amazon rivers. Boto may not be sustainable at a population level, due primarily to population fragmentation which would result from the construction of the proposed dams. Precautionary measures are urgently needed before construction of dams begins in the TapajÛs River.

Objective. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the digestibility of different nutritional and energy components of artificial diets containing flour fishsilage used in growing of arawana fingerlings (O. bicirrhossum). Materials and methods. 240 fingerlings distributed in 12 tanks with 20 fish per experimental unit were handled, in a completely randomized design made up of 4 treatments with three replicates, each with inclusions of 0 (0ESH), 10 (10ESH), 20(20ESH) and 30% flour fish silage (30ESH) of treatments T0, T1, T2 and T3 respectively; fromflour fish silagein order to formulate isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets in the different treatments to avoid sources of miscalculation of the experimental variables. Results. High digestibility coefficients were observed in treatments T1 (10ESH) and T3 (30ESH). The protein, lipid and energy utilization ratios were greater than 60%, which shows the importance of including flour fish silage as a source of protein to improve the various growth parameters. Significant differences between treatments were found in the increase of length (p≤0.05), showing that the T1 was the best treatment with an average of 1.21±0.29 cm. Conclusions. According to the coefficients of digestibility, length increase and benefit – cost ratio, the best treatment was T1 (10ESH) used to feed arawana (O. bicirrhossum), during the growing period, demonstrating the economic and ecological advantages for utilization of this source of protein in aquaculture.

There is no an antiviral medicament for treatment of patients suffering dengue fever. Products from plants can be a rich source of antiviral compounds. In this study, essential oils from seven aromatic plants grown in Colombia were screened in vitro for their cytotoxicity and virucidal effect against the dengue virus serotype 2 on Vero cells. The cytotoxicity ([CC.sub.50]) of the essential oils was evaluated by the MTT reduction method. Viruses were incubated for 2 h at 37[degrees]C with essential oil before adsorption onto cells. The viral inhibitory effect was determined by using a plaque reduction assay and yield reduction assay with real-time RT-PCR quantification of the extracellular amount of virus. The [CC.sub.50] values were from 683.5 to 57.6 to pg/ml. Five from seven selected essential oils exhibited virucidal activity in accordance with the criteria used. At a noncytotoxic concentration (100 [micro]g/ml) of Tagetes lucida, Lippia alba, Lippia citriodora, Pimenta racemosa and Zingiber officinale essential oil, plaque formation was reduced between 72 and 100% and the extracellular viruses between 67 and 99%. P. racemosa and L. alba were the most active. For all essential oils tested, the ratio of the viral inhibitory effect and cell cytotoxicity at 100 [micro]g/ml was estimated between 2.6 and 1.3, indicating that their virucidal activity was high enough to justify further analysis. Key words: essential oil, antiviral, dengue virus, Flavivirus, phytochemicals

A class of constitutive relations for elastic bodies has been proposed recently, where the linearized strain tensor is expressed as a nonlinear function of the stress tensor. Considering this new type of constitutive equation, the initial boundary value problem for such elastic bodies has been expressed only in terms of the stress tensor. In this communication, this new type of nonlinear wave equation is studied for the case of a one-dimensional straight bar. Conditions for the existence of the travelling wave solutions are given and some self-similar solutions are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Caldasia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia is the property of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinaria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Davidson Rogério de Medeiros Florentino,1 Eric Lucas dos Santos Cabral,2 Wilkson Ricardo Silva Castro,2 João Florêncio da Costa Junior,3 João Gomes de Torres Neto,2 Francisco de Cássio de Oliveira Mendes,4 Helio Roberto Hekis,5 Amália Cinthia Meneses Rêgo,6 Irami Araújo Filho7 1Logistics and Hospital Infrastructure Division, Graduate Program in Production Engineering, UFRN, Natal, Brazil; 2Department of Production Engineering, Graduate Program in Production Engineering, UFRN, Natal, Brazil; 3School of Applied Social Sciences, Education, Arts and Humanities, Laureate International Universities (Potiguar University), Natal, Brazil; 4Diagnostic Imaging Unit and Graphic Method, Graduate Program in Health Management and Innovation, UFRN, Natal, Brazil; 5Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate Program in Production Engineering, UFRN, Natal, Brazil; 6Graduate Program in Biotechnology, Laureate International Universities (Potiguar University), Natal, Brazil; 7Department of Surgery, Graduate Program in Health Management and Innovation, UFRN, Natal, BrazilCorrespondence: Irami Araújo Filho Tel +55 84 98876-0206Fax + 55 84 3342-5079Email irami.filho@uol.com.brPurpose: The hospital is an organization that has its own characteristics that differentiate it from other institutions. It is characterized as a company providing services of social purpose, with a great operational complexity, due to the diversity of services provided. These organizations are dependent on technology to play the role of assisting society. Technology is onerous: it is up to the aforementioned institutions to adopt management tools to control these costs. The present study explains the process of implementing a shared service centre (CENTROMED) for the management of hospital medical equipment (HME) at the Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes (HUOL) in the city of Natal, RN.Patients and Methods: In order to achieve a successful implementation, four key steps were taken: process modelling; determination of key performance indicators, organization of physical arrangement; and adequate training and development of human resources. The work followed an action research approach focusing on three main methodological steps: identification of HUOL clinical engineering team’s demands, definition of the process for providing the equipment service, and definition of the supply items that will be managed.Results: The preliminary results of this research indicate that the centralization of the management of the HME contributed to the optimization of the processes, the reduction of the costs and the availability of the equipment, thus providing a powerful management tool to support the hospital operational management.Conclusion: The utilization of the shared service center for the management of hospital medical equipment is ultimately linked to the patient’s well-being as it contributes to the agility in hospital procedures and provides support in maintaining the capacity of attendance of the assistance teams.Keywords: hospitals, shared services center, hospital equipment and supplies, hospital maintenance and engineering, health services administration

Objetivo. Analizar la digestibilidad de los diferentes componentes nutricionales y energéticos en dietas balanceadas con niveles de harina de hidrolizado de vísceras de cachama en el alevinaje de arawana (O. bicirrhossum). Materiales y métodos. Se evaluaron 240 alevinos, distribuidos en 12 acuarios a razón de 1 animal/5 L. Se utilizó un diseño completamente al azar, conformado por cuatro tratamientos con tres réplicas cada uno, con inclusiones de 0 (0ESH), 10 (10ESH), 20 (20ESH) y 30% de extracto seco de hidrolizado de vísceras de cachama (30ESH) para los tratamientos T0, T1, T2 y T3 respectivamente; para evitar fuentes de error en el cálculo de las variables experimentales, se formularon dietas isoenergéticas e isonitrogenadas. Resultados. Se detectaron diferencias estadísticas significativas en el incremento de longitud (p⩽0.05), indicando que el T1 (10ESH) es el mejor tratamiento con un promedio de talla de 1.21 ±0.29 cm, además, se obtuvieron coeficientes de digestibilidad superiores al 60% en los tratamientos T1 (10ESH) y T3 (30ESH) en lo referente a proteína, lípidos y Coeficientes de Utilización Energética (CUE); demostrando la importancia de incluir el extracto seco de hidrolizado de vísceras de cachama, en las dietas de los peces para mejorar las distintas variables zootécnicas, teniendo en cuenta la importancia acuariofílica de la especie. Conclusiones. De acuerdo con los coeficientes de digestibilidad, incrementos de longitud y la relación beneficio - costo el mejor tratamiento fue el T1 (10 ESH) en dietas de levante para O. bicirrhossum; demostrando las ventajas económicas y ecológicas de la incorporación de esta materia prima en la alimentación acuícola. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia is the property of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinaria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Acacia saligna (Labill.) H.L. Wendl. forage is an alternative feed supply for goats during dry periods It was used as feed during pregnancy and lactation to evaluate production response and some blood parameters. Six animals in each group were fed with 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of acacia as alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) hay replacement in a completely randomized design. Forage chemical analysis was done to calculate nutrient intake. Blood samples were analyzed for albumin, urea N, globulin, total protein, Ca, and P. Productive parameters were analyzed by ANOVA, Duncan, and regression analyses between acacia and dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), metabolizable energy (ME), and milk production. Acacia consumption during pregnancy was 65.5% of control, affected by the consumption of CP, ME intake and body condition (P < 0.01). Body weight showed no change and 25.9% was the inflection point of the response curve. Birth weight was different for 100% acacia in the diet (P < 0.05). In lactation DM, CP, and ME intake increased (P < 0.01). Body weight and body conditions decreased for groups with 50% and 25% acacia. Only urea N and albumin were affected by inclusion of acacia. Milk production decreased (P < 0.01) with over 50% acacia. Milk production was 160.2, 163.4, 128.2, 125.9, and 66.5 L for 0, 25,50, 75, and 100% of acacia, respectively. Goat diets should not include more than 25% acacia forage during pregnancy and lactation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternative meshless finite-point method (FPM) technique for the numerical solution of the Regularized long wave (RLW) equation is presented. In this context, we derive the discretized system by combining finite difference (FD) techniques for the time derivative and FPM for the spatial derivatives. The accuracy of this alternative approach is tested with L2, L∞ error norms and the conservation properties of mass, energy, and momentum under the RLW equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to develop and assess metric proprieties of the Portuguese version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A sequential sample includes 1322 participants diagnosed with cancer, stroke, epilepsy, coronary heart disease, diabetes, myotonic dystrophy, obstructive sleep apnoea, depression and a non-disease group, which completed the HADS. The first step includes translation, retroversion, inspection for lexical equivalence and content validity, and cognitive debriefing. Then we reproduce oblique exploratory factor analysis and use confirmatory factor analysis. We explore the sensibility of the questionnaire. The validation process of the Portuguese HADS version shows metric properties similar to those in international studies, suggesting that it measures the same constructs, in the same way, as the original HADS form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: IMCI ( Integrated Management Childhood Illness) is a sort of strategy for childhood attention that aims to reduce mortality by prevalent diseases in population below 5 years old. In acute diarrhoea the IMCI's preventive activities are to promote the maternal knowledge about danger signs, to look for opportune care and to improve oral hydration therapy (ORT).Objectives: To establish maternal knowledge about children's danger signs in acute diarrhoea below 5 years old. To determine hydration practices in acute diarrhoea.Methods: A descriptive study was carried out in Hospital del Norte of Popayán, Colombia, first level of attention health centre for establishing mother's knowledge of danger signs in acute diarrhoea. A survey based of an instrument from IMCI to 204 mothers chosen consecutively was applied. Variables measured were: maternal age, sex, child age, region (urban-rural), socioeconomic status, bond to the Colombian Social Security National System, scholarship, number of sons, coexistence with partner, coexistence with child's grandmother. The knowledge variable was determined from a dichotomy way. The mother's knowledge was established if she knew 2 or more danger signs in acute diarrhoea.Results: Only 54% of mothers knew at least 2 danger signs in diarrhoea. Mothers used: Homemade liquids, 49%; commercial ORT, 49%; homemade serum, 23%. The fact of living with the grandmother was independent associated with an increase in maternal knowledge (p<0.05).Conclusion: Since nearly half of the mothers don't know a danger sign makes necessary an educational intervention in acute diarrhoea and to divulge IMCI's recommendations. In this intervention grandmothers must be included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of aquaculture, carrying capacity is generally understood as the standing stock of a particular species at which production is maximised without negatively affecting growth rates. The estimation of carrying capacity for aquaculture is a complex issue. That complexity stems from the many interactions between and among cultivated and non-cultivated species, as well as between those species and their physical and chemical environments. Mathematical models may help to resolve these interactions, by analysing them in a dynamic manner. Previous carrying capacity models have considered the biogeochemical processes that influence growth of cultivated species in great detail. However, physical processes tend to have been addressed very simplistically. Further, most modelling has been for monocultures, despite the increasing importance of multi-species (=polyculture) systems.We present here a two-dimensional coupled physical–biogeochemical model implemented for Sungo Bay, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China. Sungo Bay is used for extensive polyculture, where bivalve shellfish and kelp are the most important cultivated species. Data collected over 13 years (1983–2000) was available for modelling. Our main objectives were to implement the model, achieving reasonable calibration and validation with independent data sets, for use in estimating the environmental carrying capacity for polyculture of scallops and oysters.Findings indicate that the model successfully reproduces some of the main features of the simulated system. Although requiring some further work to improve predictive capability in parts, predictions clearly indicate that Sungo Bay is being exploited close to the environmental carrying capacity for suspension-feeding shellfish. Comparison of different culture scenarios also indicates that any significant increase in yield will depend largely on a more optimal spatial distribution of the different cultivated species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There are several approaches to deal with tinnitus patients, and the benefits obtained are not quite evident, which may be due to the great heterogeneity of tinnitus and the great difficulty in their intervention. Complements to the therapeutic strategies, both physical and psychological, are support materials such as small books or manuals, with explanations concerning tinnitus problem and description of support strategies. Thus, the objectives of this study were: a. to develop a manual with information on tinnitus and strategies to deal with it, b. to evaluate its efficacy. The sample was composed by 58 individuals, with an average age of 56.6 years, (27-66; SD=9.09), 37 men (63.8%), with an average hearing loss of 26.1 dB (11.9-40.0 dB; SD=7.16) and with tinnitus complaints with an average of 4.96 years (0.5-40.0; SD=7.37). Two groups were obtained, the control group (GCG - N=31), and the experimental group (EG - N=27), with access to a small manual, been informed about their propose, utility and use. The values obtained in relation to the usefulness of the manual (M=5.81) are in moderate values as those found in the literature. The low schooling of the sample may be one of the aspects that justify this result. From the results obtained, the individuals who had access to the manual showed the perception of a decrease tinnitus intensity and improvement of the Quality of Life. It will be useful to carry out further studies in order to understand the usefulness of these types of intervention with other individuals, for example with hearing loss and hyperacusis, and in other samples of tinnitus patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background An antiviral drug is needed for the treatment of patients suffering from yellow fever. Several compounds present in plants can inactive in vitro a wide spectrum of animal viruses. Aim In the present study the inhibitory effect of essential oils of Lippia alba, Lippia origanoides, Oreganum vulgare and Artemisia vulgaris on yellow fever virus (YFV) replication was investigated. Methods The cytotoxicity (CC50) on Vero cells was evaluated by the MTT reduction method. The minimum concentration of the essential oil that inhibited virus titer by more than 50% (MIC) was determined by virus yield reduction assay. YFV was incubated 24 h at 4°C with essential oil before adsorption on Vero cell, and viral replication was carried out in the absence or presence of essential oil. Vero cells were exposed to essential oil 24 h at 37°C before the adsorption of untreated-virus. Results The CC50 values were less than 100 μg/mL and the MIC values were 3.7 and 11.1 μg/mL. The CC50/MIC ratio was of 22.9, 26.4, 26.5 and 8.8 for L. alba, L origanoides, O. vulgare and A. vulgaris, respectively. The presence of essential oil in the culture medium enhances the antiviral effect: L. origanoides oil at 11.1 μg/mLproduced a 100% reduction of virus yield, and the same result was observed with L. alba, O. vulgare and A. vulgaris oils at100 μg/mL. No reduction of virus yield was observed when Vero cells were treated with essential oil before the adsorption of untreated-virus. Conclusion The essential oils evaluated in the study showed antiviral activities against YFV. The mode of action seems to be direct virus inactivation.

Background The Collaborative Brazilian Pediatric Renal Transplant Registry started in 2004 as a multicenter initiative aiming to analyze, report, and share the results of pediatric kidney transplantation in Brazil. Data from all pediatric kidney transplants performed between January 2004 and December 2013 were recorded electronically and periodically updated. All patients under 18 years old from the participating centers were enrolled. Demographic data, etiology of chronic kidney disease, and patient and graft survival were analyzed. From a total of 2443 pediatric kidney transplants performed in Brazil during the study period, we report data from 1751 pediatric renal transplants performed in 13 centers enrolled in the collaborative study. Median age at transplantation was 12.4 years, and most of recipients were male (56%). The most common underlying renal etiologies were obstructive uropathy (31%) and glomerulopathy (26%). Methods According to donor source, 1155 (66%) of transplants were performed with deceased donors (DD). Initial immunosuppression consisted mainly of tacrolimus, mycophenolate, steroids, and induction therapy with anti–IL-2R antibodies. Results One-year graft survival (death-censored) was 93% and 90% (log rank test, P < .01), respectively, for living donor (LD) and DD. Graft losses (15%) were most frequently caused by vascular thrombosis, chronic allograft nephropathy, death with functioning kidney, acute rejection, and recurrent renal disease. Recipients of DD had 2.02 (95% confidence interval: 1.14–3.59) times the hazard of graft loss compared with those of LD ( P = .015). Patient survival rates at 1 and 5 years were 98% and 97% for LD and 97% and 93% for DD, respectively. The mortality rate was 3.8%, mainly as the result of infection and cardiovascular disease. Conclusions The results of this collaborative pediatric transplant study are comparable to international registries. Our effort has been able to maintain an exchange of information, both among the participating centers and with other international registries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]