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Woven coronary disease is a rare pathology with unknown etiology. Although initially considered benign, recent publications report myocardial ischemia caused by the affected vessel. Since most patients are asymptomatic, long-term follow-up to understand its behavior is mandatory. We report a multivessel woven disease case with documented ischemia that was submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting and remained asymptomatic for two years of follow-up.

SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasive and neurotropic abilities may underlie delirium onset and neuropsychiatric outcomes. Only a limited number of studies have addressed the potential effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on mental health so far. Most studies mainly reported the acute onset of mixed neuropsychiatric conditions in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, characterized by agitated behavior, altered level of consciousness, and disorganized thinking, regardless of psychological or socioeconomic triggering factors. The present narrative review aims to analyze and discuss the mechanisms underlying the neuroinvasive/neurotropic properties of SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent mental complications. Delirium appeared as a clinical manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 brain infection in some patients, without systemic or multiple organ failure symptoms. A small number of studies demonstrated that neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with COVID-19, initially presenting as a confused state, may subsequently evolve in a way that is consistent with the patients’ neuropsychiatric history. A literature analysis on this topic prevalently showed case reports and case series of patients presenting delirium or delirium-like symptoms as the main outburst of COVID-19, plus a cognitive impairment, from mild to severe, which pre-existed or was demonstrated during the acute phase or after infection. Dementia appeared as one of the most frequent predisposing factors to SARS-CoV-2 infection complicated with delirium. Instead, contrasting data emerged on the potential link between COVID-19 and delirium in patients with cognitive impairment and without a neuropsychiatric history. Therefore, clinicians should contemplate the possibility that COVID-19 appears as delirium followed by a psychiatric exacerbation, even without other systemic symptoms. In addition, cognitive impairment might act as a predisposing factor for COVID-19 in patients with delirium.

Background Mental disorders in comorbidity with chronic skin diseases may worsen disease outcome and patients’ quality of life. We hypothesized the comorbidity of depression, anxiety syndromes, or symptoms as attributable to biological mechanisms that the combined diseases share. Methods We conducted a systematic review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis statement searching into PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scopus databases. We examined the literature regarding the comorbidity of psoriasis (Ps), atopic dermatitis (AD), or hidradenitis suppurativa with depression and/or anxiety in adults ≥18 years and the hypothetical shared underlying biological mechanisms. Results Sixteen studies were analyzed, mostly regarding Ps and AD. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin receptor kinase B signaling and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways arose as shared mechanisms in Ps animal models with depression- and/or anxiety-like behaviors. Activated microglia and neuroinflammatory responses emerged in AD depressive models. As to genetic studies, atopic-dermatitis patients with comorbid anxiety traits carried the short variant of serotonin transporter and a polymorphism of the human translocator protein gene. A GA genotype of catechol-O-methyltransferase gene was instead associated with Ps. Reduced natural killer cell activity, IL-4, serotonin serum levels, and increased plasma cortisol and IgE levels were hypothesized in comorbid depressive AD patients. In Ps patients with comorbid depression, high serum concentrations of IL-6 and IL-18, as well as IL-17A, were presumed to act as shared inflammatory mechanisms. Conclusions Further studies should investigate mental disorders and chronic skin diseases concurrently across patients’ life course and identify their temporal relation and biological correlates. Future research should also identify biological characteristics of individuals at high risk of the comorbid disorders and associated complications.

This work presents hydric conflicts in Brazil, its causes and effects and the case of conflicts related to the supply and demand of groundwater in the municipality of Araraquara, Brazil. In this municipality, the situation is classified as critical by the Tietê-Jacaré Basin Committee, to which it belongs. The main factors that cause conflicts in Araraquara and the key actors involved were identified. The demands of groundwater users were determined and the users responsible for most of the total demand were identified by the ABC Method. These users, even in small number, are the main potential causers for the conflicts, involving public and private water supply. Public policies related to water resources and conflicts management are also discussed and measures for conflict attenuation are proposed. Such measures should be implemented by key actors and the main groundwater users involved. Resumen En este trabajo se presentan conflictos hídricos en Brasil, sus causas y efectos y el caso de conflictos relacionados con la oferta y demanda de aguas subterráneas en la municipalidad de Araraquara-SP, Brasil. En ella, la situación se clasifica como crítica por el Comité de la Cuenca Hidrográfica Tietê-Jacaré, al que pertenece. Se identificaron los principales factores de conflicto en Araraquara y los actores clave involucrados. Se ha determinado las demandas de los usuarios de aguas subterráneas y se identificaron, por el Método ABC, los responsables por la mayor parte de la demanda total, que mismo en pequeño número, son los principales potenciales causadores de conflictos en el abastecimiento público y privado. Políticas públicas relacionadas con la gestión de los recursos hídricos fueron analizadas. Para la atenuación de los conflictos, fueron propuestas medidas a ser implementadas por actores clave y principales usuarios de aguas subterráneas involucrados. Resumo Neste trabalho são apresentados conflitos hídricos no Brasil, suas causas e efeitos e o caso de conflitos relativos à oferta e demanda de água subterrânea no município de Araraquara-SP, Brasil. Nele a situação é classificada como crítica pelo Comitê da Bacia Hidrográfica Tietê-Jacaré (CBH-TJ), ao qual pertence. Foram identificados os principais fatores de conflito em Araraquara e os atores-chave envolvidos. Determinou-se as demandas dos usuários de água subterrânea e foram identificados, por meio do Método ABC, os responsáveis pela maior parte da demanda total, os quais, mesmo em pequeno número, são os principais potenciais causadores de conflitos envolvendo o abastecimento público e o privado. São discutidas também políticas públicas relacionadas à gestão dos recursos hídricos e à ocorrência de conflitos, propondo-se medidas para a sua atenuação. Tais medidas devem ser implementadas pelos atores-chave e principais usuários de água subterrânea envolvidos.

Plant diseases are globally causing substantial losses in staple crop production, undermining the urgent goal of a 60% increase needed to meet the food demand, a task made more challenging by the climate changes. Main consequences concern the reduction of food amount and quality. Crop diseases also compromise food safety due to the presence of pesticides and/or toxins. Nowadays, biotechnology represents our best resource both for protecting crop yield and for a science-based increased sustainability in agriculture. Over the last decades, agricultural biotechnologies have made important progress based on the diffusion of new, fast and efficient technologies, offering a broad spectrum of options for understanding plant molecular mechanisms and breeding. This knowledge is accelerating the identification of key resistance traits to be rapidly and efficiently transferred and applied in crop breeding programs. This review gathers examples of how disease resistance may be implemented in cereals by exploiting a combination of basic research derived knowledge with fast and precise genetic engineering techniques. Priming and/or boosting the immune system in crops represent a sustainable, rapid and effective way to save part of the global harvest currently lost to diseases and to prevent food contamination.

The presence of technologies in the agronomic field has the purpose of proposing the best solutions to the challenges found in agriculture, especially to the problems that affect cultivars. One of the obstacles found is to apply the use of your own language in applications that interact with the user in Brazilian Agribusiness, which would bring gains in time, money and accuracy of the analyzes to be performed. This paper proposes the use of Natural Language Processing techniques for the development of an effective system to assist in the identification of pests and diseases in the soybean crop, stored in a database repository to facilitate access to information and diagnosis of the professional.

The effectiveness of using websites have a strong dependence on their ergonomic qualities, which affect directly the business. This is more significant when related to the e-commerce, especially considering the little known companies. To verify ergonomic features in a website, the evaluator may conduct inspections based on questionnaires that are answered by him/her or by final users to provide information about the interface.

In people suffering from schizophrenia, major areas of everyday life are impaired, including independent living, productive activities and social relationships. Enhanced understanding of factors that hinder real-life functioning is vital for treatments to translate into more positive outcomes. The goal of the present study was to identify predictors of real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia, and to assess their relative contribution. Based on previous literature and clinical experience, several factors were selected and grouped into three categories: illness-related variables, personal resources and context-related factors. Some of these variables were never investigated before in relationship with real-life functioning. In 921 patients with schizophrenia living in the community, we found that variables relevant to the disease, personal resources and social context explain 53.8% of real-life functioning variance in a structural equation model. Neurocognition exhibited the strongest, though indirect, association with real-life functioning. Positive symptoms and disorganization, as well as avolition, proved to have significant direct and indirect effects, while depression had no significant association and poor emotional expression was only indirectly and weakly related to real-life functioning. Availability of a disability pension and access to social and family incentives also showed a significant direct association with functioning. Social cognition, functional capacity, resilience, internalized stigma and engagement with mental health services served as mediators. The observed complex associations among investigated predictors, mediators and real-life functioning strongly suggest that integrated and personalized programs should be provided as standard treatment to people with schizophrenia. In people suffering from schizophrenia, major areas of everyday life are impaired, including independent living, productive activities and social relationships. Enhanced understanding of factors that hinder real-life functioning is vital for treatments to translate into more positive outcomes. The goal of the present study was to identify predictors of real-life functioning in people with schizophrenia, and to assess their relative contribution. Based on previous literature and clinical experience, several factors were selected and grouped into three categories: illness-related variables, personal resources and context-related factors. Some of these variables were never investigated before in relationship with real-life functioning. In 921 patients with schizophrenia living in the community, we found that variables relevant to the disease, personal resources and social context explain 53.8% of real-life functioning variance in a structural equation model. Neurocognition exhibited the strongest, though indirect, association with real-life functioning. Positive symptoms and disorganization, as well as avolition, proved to have significant direct and indirect effects, while depression had no significant association and poor emotional expression was only indirectly and weakly related to real-life functioning. Availability of a disability pension and access to social and family incentives also showed a significant direct association with functioning. Social cognition, functional capacity, resilience, internalized stigma and engagement with mental health services served as mediators. The observed complex associations among investigated predictors, mediators and real-life functioning strongly suggest that integrated and personalized programs should be provided as standard treatment to people with schizophrenia.

To evaluate a multidisciplinary clinical protocol for obesity treatment by mapping it against the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and to determine the areas, defined by the ICF, in which no standardized assessment tools are available.Assessment instruments used by a multidisciplinary team were linked to ICF categories and compared with a list of ICF categories composed by the ICF checklist and the comprehensive ICF core-set for obesity. Other relevant ICF categories were added, and not relevant ones were deleted when appropriate.Five ICF categories were deleted and 11 were added, and 166 ICF categories were linked to assessment tools and to semi-structured interviews. The majority were linked to assessment tools, but within the domain of the environmental factors all ICF categories were mapped using semi-structured interviews.Our results show that an extended list of ICF categories is adequate to cover a wide spectrum of clinical and functional information, and it could be employed to describe, disability profiles of obese patients, to develop preventive measures and to identify what factors in the environment need to be changed to improve rehabilitation's outcomes.

In the United States, roughly $600 billion is spent on pain management - usually in the form of addictive opioid drugs. Due to the dangers associated with long-term opiate-based pain medication, the development of additional strategies for chronic pain management is warranted. The advent of smartphones and associated technology has provided healthcare providers with a unique opportunity to provide pain management support. This review summarizes of the use of technology to supplement chronic pain management regimens. Smartphone and internet-based applications that employ online journals facilitate improved communication between patient and clinician and allow for more personalized care and improved pain management. For instance, the e-Ouch application provides a platform for pain logs as well as feedback and coaching to patients via Twitter postings and blogs. Other applications provide online resources and blogs to improve patient education, which has shown to relieve patient symptoms through lifestyle modification. Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on the psychological coping mechanisms. The application of technology and smartphone apps toward pain management shows promise toward reducing the use of opioids in pain management, but has yet to be incorporated as a standard practice. More robust studies critically evaluating the efficacy of these technology-based therapies need to be conducted before standardization and insurance coverage can become reality.

Talking through mobile apps has become common nowadays and something essential and the WhatsApp is one of this App that stands out with thousands of users. It has such a great popularity that even some teachers use it as an extracurricular teaching methodology. Therefore, considering this accessibility advantage, a chatbot was developed to disseminate the Brazilian Linguistic Atlas, adding to the project, interdisciplinary features in Linguistics and Computer Science area, with its main focus on Natural Language Processing. The idea with this chatbot, in addition to show the Brazilian Atlas, is to stimulate other researchers desire to develop other subjects that are related to education using the WhatsApp, which is a common tool among young people.

Diverse data sets have become key building blocks of translational biomedical research. Data types captured and referenced by sophisticated research studies include high throughput genomic and proteomic data, laboratory data, data from imagery, and outcome data. In this paper, the authors present the application of an XML-based data management system to support integration of data from disparate data sources and large data sets. This system facilitates management of XML schemas and on-demand creation and management of XML databases that conform to these schemas. They illustrate the use of this system in an application for genotype-phenotype correlation analyses. This application implements a method of phenotype-genotype correlation based on phylogenetic optimization of large data sets of mouse SNPs and phenotypic data. The application workflow requires the management and integration of genomic information and phenotypic data from external data repositories and from the results of phenotype-genotype correlation analyses. Our implementation supports the process of carrying out a complex workflow that includes large-scale phylogenetic tree optimizations and application of Maddison's concentrated changes test to large phylogenetic tree data sets. The data management system also allows collaborators to share data in a uniform way and supports complex queries that target data sets.

This paper aims to compare several damage identification methods based on the analysis of modal curvature and related quantities (natural frequencies and modal strain energy) by evaluating their performances on the same test case, a damaged Euler-Bernoulli beam. Damage is modelled as a localized and uniform reduction of stiffness so that closed-form expressions of the mode-shape curvatures can be analytically computed and data accuracy, which affects final results, can be controlled. The selected techniques belong to two categories: one includes several methods that need reference data for detecting structural modifications due to damage, the second group, including the modified Laplacian operator and the fractal dimension, avoids the knowledge of the undamaged behavior for issuing a damage diagnosis. To explain better the different performances of the methods, the mathematical formulation has been revised in some cases so as to fit into a common framework where the underlying hypotheses are clearly stated. Because the various damage indexes are calculated on 'exact' data, a sensitivity analysis has been carried out with respect to the number of points where curvature information is available, to the position of damage between adjacent points, to the modes involved in the index computation. In this way, this analysis intends to point out comparatively the capability of locating and estimating damage of each method along with some critical issues already present with noiseless data. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The authors would like to supply additional information in relation to the study. The characteristics of the sample population included in the study are outlined in the table supplied. The methods pertaining to this are as follows: Informed consent and inclusion into study: Each subject who qualified for the study was explained the purpose and procedures of the research and written informed consent obtained. Questionnaires were used to assess demographics, oral hygiene and diet. Oral hygiene habits were assessed by frequency of brushing, flossing, smoking history and visits to the dentist, while food habits were assessed by routine exposures to one of the four diet patterns: (i) Standard American (diet rich in red meat, bologna, sausages, hotdogs and similar foods, refined grains (for example, bread), pasta and similar dishes, and desserts). (ii) Hispanic and Latino (diet rich in rice, beans, corn (as flour, e.g. tortilla, or fresh), avocado, olives, fruits, sweet breads, red meats), (iii) Asian (diet rich in rice, noodles, millet, fresh and salted vegetables, seafood, poultry, eggs, legumes) or (iv) not fitting into any of the above categories. The legend for Figure 1 should be revised to read as below: Figure 1 Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) of t-RFLP peak areas.

Enabling data analysis in large data depositories for high throughput experimental data such as gene microarrays and ChIP-seq is challenging. In this paper, we discuss three methods for integrating QUEST, a data depository for epigenetic experiments, with a web-based data analysis platform GenePattern. These methods are universal and can serve as an exemplary implementation resolving the dilemma facing many similar database systems in integrating data analysis tools.

Pharmacists play an important role in providing information about natural products and in preventing risks related to these substances, particularly with respect to interactions with conventional drugs. For these reasons, a survey was specifically designed to investigate the quality of self-care counselling by pharmacists on phytotherapy. Twenty-three pharmacy stores took part in the project. Face-to-face interviews, using a pre-structured questionnaire, were undertaken by trained pharmacists to consumers buying a herbal product. The questionnaire included socio-demographic data and 17 items designed to elicit information regarding the reason of consumption, product knowledge, relationship/communication with healthcare providers, level of satisfaction, concurrent drug use and adverse reactions. The collection of interviews started in November 2006 until April 2007. From the analysis of 1420 questionnaires, it is evident that herbal use is increasing in Italy: 12% of our interviewees were buying a herbal product for the first time. The present survey highlights the favourable perception of efficacy of phytotherapic compounds by the pharmacy's consumers, who consider this healthcare modality to be an important and effective way to promote health/wellness and disease management as well as being safer overall than conventional drugs. Moreover, findings from this study demonstrate that pharmacists are more likely to answer correctly about the uses of herbal medicines than about drug interactions, adverse drug effects and cautions about these products.

Cuzco, Peru, is host to a dangerous mix of high altitude and rapid access from low elevation, which results in a high prevalence of acute mountain sickness (AMS). Thus, it is important that travelers entering Cuzco understand the basics of AMS. To this end, we assessed travelers' awareness of AMS, especially the resources used to obtain this knowledge. With this information we make recommendations with regard to better avenues for distribution of AMS information.One hundred foreign travelers, representing an international population, completed a 45-item written questionnaire that was subsequently analyzed.Over half of the respondents (51%) rated their knowledge of AMS as "low" or "none." Furthermore, very few respondents knew about acetazolamide (Diamox) as prophylaxis for (9%) or treatment of AMS (5%). People who consulted physicians for AMS information were more likely to know about the utility of acetazolamide than those who depended on a guidebook (P = .0266) but were less likely to correctly identify the symptomatology of AMS (P = .047). While AMS knowledge was poor, the majority of travelers (90%) indicated compliance with recommended pretravel vaccinations.This survey adds to the body of knowledge that indicates a lack of AMS knowledge among travelers. In addition, this survey identifies 2 potential avenues for improved dispersal of information: 1) guidebooks for countries of concern and 2) national health agency Web sites linked to information on pretravel vaccinations. Recommendations are made to utilize these commonly accessed resources to increase AMS information distribution to the general populous.

In this chapter, we introduce the sample application, which will serve as the foundation for all of the topics this book introduces. The sample project is similar to the one you will encounter during the Sun Certified Java Developer (SCJD) exam, and it will demonstrate the concepts needed for certification and those of J2SE 1.4. As new topics are introduced, you will make modifications to the sample project. The modifications will consist of both feature enhancements and improvements.

This chapter does not attempt to forge a new road, but rather leads down the well-worn paths of Java standards, such as coding conventions, Javadoc usage, packaging concepts, and the use of the new logging framework. Some of these tools are necessary in order to pass the Sun Certified Java Developer (SCJD) exam, and all are tactics that should be used every day by a Java developer.

A prospective study was carried out on 546 women interviewed during pregnancy about their drinking habits, in order to evaluate the association between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and spontaneous abortion. Pregnancy outcome (normal or abortion) was analysed as a dependent variable in a multivariate model where different levels of drinking were taken into consideration as independent-effect variables. A significant increase in the risk of abortion was observed in the 30+ age category and in the higher parity category; no significant trend was evidenced for alcoholic variables, even after controlling for the other potentially confounding variables. The possible underestimation of alcohol consumption, due to reluctance in declaring real consumption by the women interviewed, is discussed. It is concluded that, on the basis of these and other data reported in the literature, a low level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy does not appear to be a significant risk for abortion.