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Two-dimensional (2D) materials and Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMD) in particular are at the forefront of nanotechnology. To tailor properties for engineering applications, alloying strategies used for bulk metals in the last century need to be extended to this novel class of materials. Here we present a systematic analysis of the phase behaviour of substitutional 2D alloys in the TMD family on both the metal and chalcogenide site. The phase behaviour is quantified in terms of a metastability metric and benchmarked against systematic computational screening of configurational energy landscapes. The resulting Pettifor maps can be used to identify broad trends across chemical spaces and as starting point for setting up rational search strategies in phase space, thus allowing for targeted computational analysis of properties on likely thermodynamically stable compounds. The results presented here also constitute a useful guideline for synthesis of binary metal 2D TMDs alloys via a range of synthesis techniques., arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2207.02741

Rationale The use of intravenous valproate is not approved for clinical practice in psychiatry. Literature data pointed out for a potential usefulness of this route of administration for valproate, but there is no actual consensus. Objectives The aim of the present systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of intravenous valproate in agitation as well as general safety. Methods A systematic review of studies evaluating the use of intravenous valproate in agitation was conducted. Additionally, safety was evaluated in all randomized trials involving the use of intravenous valproate in all medical conditions (epilepsy, migraine and psychiatric conditions). Results For the systematic review on effectiveness in agitation, the search yielded 965 articles overall. After removing duplicates, 9411 articles were screened by title and abstract, and 39 of these were evaluated at a full-text level. Six studies were considered eligible for qualitative synthesis: one RCT and case report (n = 3), followed by cohort studies (n = 2). For the systematic review on safety, twenty-two RCTs were considered eligible for quantitative synthesis. Conclusion Intravenous valproate seems efficacious in reducing agitation in psychiatric patients; it generally appears safe compared to other neuroleptics or antiepileptics. However, the evidence is still not strong as it relies mainly on open-label studies or case series.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are known to be the world's leading cause of death and different factors are known to increase the risk of death, including aging, mainly due to increased oxidative stress and inflammation observed in older people. Acute myocardial infarctions and cerebrovascular accidents belong to CVD, and are the ones that cause the most deaths and disabilities, where greater platelet activation plays an important role in pathophysiology. These diseases are more prevalent in older people, which have a clear relationship with increased platelet function and are strongly related to aging. Platelet function is affected by diet, which varies in its requirements and characteristics according to age. Coffee belongs to the family of diet elements that can alter platelet function and an increase in coffee consumption with advancing age, and a U-shaped correlation with the risk of CVD have been reported. However, the effect of coffee consumption and its bioactive compounds on platelet function and aging presents controversial evidence, and therefore, a complex effect is not fully elucidated in the cardiovascular system. This review focuses on the relationship between coffee consumption (and its constituent bioactive compounds), and platelet function, and aging.

Foram avaliados os resultados visuais da cirurgia de catarata e os fatores de risco associados à deficiência social e cegueira em um hospital de nível secundário do interior de São Paulo. Foram analisados prontuários eletrônicos dos pacientes com catarata senil submetidos à cirurgia de facectomia com implante de lente intraocular no Hospital Estadual Américo Brasiliense, no período de 31 de outubro de 2013 a 31 de março de 2018. Foram coletados dados sobre acuidade visual (AV) apresentada no pré-operatório, acuidade visual melhor corrigida (AVMC) no momento da alta (29 a 50 dias após a cirurgia), presença das comorbidades oculares e complicações intraoperatórias e pós-operatórias. Os resultados foram avaliados e comparados com o período anterior e posterior ao início das atividades dos médicos residentes de oftalmologia no serviço. Também foram comparados aos padrões estabelecidos pela Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS): AVMC dois meses após a cirurgia: melhor ou igual a 0,3 para 90% dos olhos; e pior que 0,1 para menos de 5% dos olhos. A AVMC do pós-operatório tardio foi ≥0,3 em 93,3% dos olhos (3319 olhos). A comorbidade ocular esteve presente em 3,5% (130) dos olhos. A complicação cirúrgica mais frequente foi ruptura de cápsula posterior (RCP) com 3,5% (120 olhos). Não foram encontrados fatores relacionados à deficiência visual e cegueira. Nas cirurgias acompanhadas por médicos residentes foram obtidas AVMC no pós-operatório tardio melhor ou igual a 0,3 em 95,20% dos olhos e complicações cirúrgicas em 3,5% para RCP. O estudo mostrou que os resultados cirúrgicos, em serviços de nível secundário, podem atingir os padrões estabelecidos pela OMS. In this work we study the evaluation of the visual results of cataract surgery and the risk factors associated with social disability and blindness in a secondary level hospital in the countryside of São Paulo. Electronic medical records of patients with senile cataract who underwent cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation at Hospital Estadual Américo Brasiliense from October 31 st, 2013 to March 31 st, 2018 were analyzed. (VA) presented preoperatively and best-corrected visual acuity (BVA) at discharge (29 to 50 days after surgery were collected). As well as the presence of ocular comorbidities, intraoperative and postoperative complications. The results will be evaluated and compared with the period before and after the beginning of the activities of ophthalmology residents in the service. To verify the possible associations of risk factors with visual results, chi-square tests were performed. The linear regression model with mixed effects for the analysis and comparison of the variable VA. The results were compared to standards established by the World Health Organization (WHO) BVA two months after surgery: better or equal to 0.3 for 90% of the eyes; and worse than 0.1 for less than 5% of the eyes. Late postoperative CVA was greater than or equal to 0.3 in 93.3% of the eyes (3319 eyes). Ocular comorbidity was present in 3.5% (130 eyes). The most frequent surgical complication was posterior capsule rupture (CPR) with 3.5% (120 eyes). No factors related to visual impairment and blindness were found. Surgeries accompanied by residents had late postoperative CVA better than or equal to 0.3 in 95.20% of the eyes, surgical complications in 3.5% for CPR. The study shows that it is possible for surgical results, in secondary level services, to reach the standards established by the WHO.

The objective of this work was to characterize the effect of the osmotic potential of the culture medium on the control of direct somatic embryogenesis in coffee (Coffea arabica) tree. Leaf explants of the Mundo Novo cultivar and four hybrids were subjected to the direct route in the presence of polyethylene glycol 6000, at the following concentrations: 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, and 15.0%. Embryogenic structures and somatic embryos were formed at a threshold osmotic potential of up to -0.691 and -0.374 MPa, respectively, with a reduction or inhibition in these responses under a more negative osmotic potential. Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar o efeito do potencial osmótico do meio de cultura no controle da embriogênese somática direta em cafeeiro (Coffea arabica). Explantes foliares da cultivar Mundo Novo e de quatro híbridos foram submetidos à via direta na presença de polietilenoglicol 6000, nas seguintes concentrações: 0, 2,5, 5,0, 7,5, 10,0, 12,5 e 15,0%. Estruturas embriogênicas e embriões somáticos formaram-se no potencial osmótico limite de até -0,691 e -0,374 MPa, respectivamente, com redução ou inibição destas respostas nos potenciais osmóticos mais negativos.

O presente texto é resultado de parcerias em grupos de pesquisa na Amazônia Tocantina que teve como objetivo interpretar os tipos de brincadeiras e brinquedos utilizados pelas crianças indígenas Anambé, no município de Moju, região do Tocantins-Pará, analisando as formas de transmissão dos saberes tradicionais pela arte de brincar, além do ensino formal, através dos modos de brincar e confeccionar brinquedos no cotidiano da aldeia indígena Anambé. Metodologicamente, o trabalho foi desenvolvido por meio da prática da História Oral e da etnografia para a organização das narrativas orais e do caderno de campo que é o corpus de análise deste estudo. Durante a realização deste trabalho, foi possível perceber que a aprendizagem da criança Anambé se dá além do espaço institucionalizado de ensino. As crianças aprendem os saberes de seu povo, a sua tradição pela arte de brincar, no viver cotidiano; e na escola formal, aprendem o saber institucional, ocidental.

La Plataforma Nacional para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres, conformada en Chile en 2012, surge como un eficiente mecanismo de coordinación multisectorial en el país para abordar —formal e institucionalmente— la gestión del riesgo de desastres, dado su carácter transdisciplinario y representativo de los diversos actores que conforman el Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil. Bajo su alero se han elaborado e implementado ya dos instrumentos de alcance nacional y sus respectivos productos derivados, alineados a los marcos internacionales referentes vigentes a los que Chile ha adherido. A partir de la política y el plan estratégico nacional se han establecido las directrices para que la aplicación de diferentes instrumentos estratégicos y operativos, en los distintos niveles territoriales, genere una adecuada sinergia en el sistema. En el entendido de que la reducción del riesgo debe ser abordada de manera holística y transversal, esta plataforma representa un caso de estudio que evidencia la eficacia del compromiso coordinado de múltiples organismos, esfuerzo necesario en países como Chile, de alta exposición a distintas amenazas y con variedad de factores subyacentes del riesgo de desastres.

We present a study of chemistry toward 294 dense cores in 12 molecular clumps using the data obtained from the ALMA Survey of 70 $μ\rm m$ dark High-mass clumps in Early Stages (ASHES). We identified 97 protostellar cores and 197 prestellar core candidates based on the detection of outflows and molecular transitions of high upper energy levels ($E_{u}/k > 45$ K). The detection rate of the N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ emission toward the protostellar cores is 38%, which is higher than 9% for the prestellar cores, indicating that N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ does not exclusively trace prestellar cores. The detection rates of the DCO$^{+}$ emission are 35% for the prestellar cores and 49% for the protostellar cores, which are higher than those of N$_{2}$D$^{+}$, implying that DCO$^{+}$ appears more frequently than N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ in both prestellar and protostellar cores. Both N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ and DCO$^{+}$ abundances appear to decrease from the prestellar to protostellar stage. The DCN, C$_{2}$D and $^{13}$CS emission lines are rarely seen in the dense cores of early evolutionary phases. The detection rate of the H$_{2}$CO emission toward dense cores is 52%, three times higher than that of CH$_{3}$OH (17%). In addition, the H$_{2}$CO detection rate, abundance, line intensities, and line widths increase with the core evolutionary status, suggesting that the H$_{2}$CO line emission is sensitive to protostellar activity., Accepted for Publication in ApJ. 36 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables. Table 5 available at https://github.com/ShanghuoLi/70-um-dark-high-mass-clumps

Funding Information: We are grateful to B. J. Irving for carefully reading the manuscript. G.Z. thanks the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC, grant nos 11834017 and 61888102) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of CAS (grant no. XDB30000000) for their support. M.L. thanks the ESI Fund and the OPR DE International Mobility of Researchers MSCA-IF III at CTU in Prague (no. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/20_079/0017983) for their support. L.D. gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Academy of Finland (grant no. 3333099). D.S. thanks the support from NSFC (grant no. 61734001). K.W. and T.T. acknowledge support from the Elemental Strategy Initiative conducted by the MEXT, Japan, A3 Foresight by JSPS and the CREST (JPMJCR15F3), JST. M.L., P.N. and T.P. acknowledge support from the project Novel Nanostructures for Engineering Applications CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_026/0008396. This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic through the e-INFRA CZ (ID:90140). T.P., V.E.P.C. and A.S. acknowledge support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 721642: SOLUTION. The data and materials are available from the corresponding authors upon request. The authors acknowledge the use of the IRIDIS High Performance Computing Facility, and associated support services at the University of Southampton, in the completion of this work. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited. MoS2/graphite and MoS2/h-BN interfaces are shown to have ultra-low friction coefficients, whereas edges and interface steps mainly contribute to the friction force. Two-dimensional heterostructures are excellent platforms to realize twist-angle-independent ultra-low friction due to their weak interlayer van der Waals interactions and natural lattice mismatch. However, for finite-size interfaces, the effect of domain edges on the friction process remains unclear. Here we report the superlubricity phenomenon and the edge-pinning effect at MoS2/graphite and MoS2/hexagonal boron nitride van der Waals heterostructure interfaces. We found that the friction coefficients of these heterostructures are below 10(-6). Molecular dynamics simulations corroborate the experiments, which highlights the contribution of edges and interface steps to friction forces. Our experiments and simulations provide more information on the sliding mechanism of finite low-dimensional structures, which is vital to understand the friction process of laminar solid lubricants.

As Congress remains gridlocked on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform, immigration policy debates, particularly with respect to interior immigration enforcement, are increasingly taking place at state and local levels. Scholarship on immigration federalism has focused on federal and local governments, while states are passing laws that tighten or delimit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (i.e., “sanctuary policies”). Simultaneously, cities are passing laws contradictory to state policy. We examine how these state and local enforcement ambiguities affect undocumented immigrants’ trust in the efficacy of sanctuary policies. Using California as a case, we embedded an experiment in a survey of undocumented immigrants and find trust in sanctuary policies decreases when cities seek to opt out of statewide sanctuary laws. Further, “opting out” has negative implications for the daily behavior of undocumented immigrants, like the chilling effects resulting from local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Este trabalho inserido no campo da Política Linguística (PL) tem como objetivo investigar as ideologias linguísticas sobre a língua francesa (LF) presentes em textos de alunos de francês como língua estrangeira (FLE), em seis escolas de língua, na cidade de João Pessoa. Para atingirmos tal objetivo, analisamos, qualitativamente, as respostas a uma pergunta de um questionário aplicado a 174 alunos, explorando o conteúdo temático e os elementos textuais a partir da Linguística Textual (Koch, 2000a, 2000b). A análise foi realizada conforme os pressupostos teóricos das Ideologias Linguísticas (Del Valle, 2007; Arnoux & Del Valle, 2010; e Del Valle & Meirinho-Guede, 2016). Os resultados indicaram que as ideias sobre a LF apresentam conexões diversas com dimensões sociais: estética – LF como símbolo de elegância e requinte e LF como representativa de uma cultura superior-, epistemológica – LF como língua da ciência -, identidade nacional – LF como língua da França -, identidade internacional – LF como língua da diplomacia - e laboral – LF como língua para o mercado de trabalho.

Neste estudo, tivemos como objetivo pesquisar sobre a música como uma prática de linguagem discursiva nas aulas de Língua-Cultura Inglesa (LCI), numa escola pública de Cametá/PA, com a finalidade de interpretar o uso dessa materialidade discursiva como instrumento de prática de ensino nas aulas de Língua-Cultura Inglesa (LCI) pelos professores da zona urbana de Cametá-PA no Ensino Médio. Para desenvolvê-lo, realizamos uma pesquisa etnográfica, uma pesquisa de campo do tipo qualitativa na Escola Estadual do Ensino Médio Profa. Osvaldina Muniz, que por conta da pandemia de COVID 19, teve como recurso aparelhos tecnológicos, para que, de forma remota, fossem realizadas as entrevistas / questionários com os alunos e com o professor de Língua Inglesa (LI). Metodologicamente, além das narrativas orais, escritas, o corpus de análise também foi composto de documentos oficiais da legislação educacional brasileira, como por exemplo, a Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC). Teoricamente, fizemos uso dos dispositivos teórico-metodológicos da Pedagogia Freiriana e da Análise de Discurso Francesa.Ao serem interpretados, os dados da pesquisa e os discursos neles significados, observamos que, na maioria das turmas, a Língua Inglesa (LI) é desenvolvida de forma tradicional, decorada e sem motivação, e a música como prática de linguagem aparece como uma proposta didática, funcionando como um complemento extra., E- Revista de Estudos Interculturais , N.º 10 (2022)

Objective: Refractive management in keratoconus is challenging. Although some kinds of phakic intraocular lenses have been studied in keratoconus so far, no study evaluated the results of EyeCryl Phakic Toric intraocular lenses in this kind of patients. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective chart review study, including all keratoconus patients implanted with an EyeCryl Phakic Toric intraocular lens in at least one of their eyes by an experienced cornea surgeon in Colombia. Follow-up to 6 months after surgery was also included. Results: A total of 20 eyes of 14 patients were included, with an average age of 29.3 ± 4.2 years. Spherical equivalent improved from a pre-surgical value of -10.31 D to +0.09 D at 6 months. 65% of the patients improved at least one line in the best-corrected distance visual acuity. At 6 months, 70% of the patients were within ± 0.50 D of spherical equivalent emmetropia. No complications occurred in any of the patients. Conclusion: EyeCryl Phakic intraocular lenses are an excellent option in keratoconus patients with high refractive error. Abbreviations: KC = Keratoconus, P-IOL = phakic intraocular lenses, ICL = Implantable Collamer Lens, WTW = White to White, SD = standard deviation, ANOVA = an analysis of variance, UDVA = monocular uncorrected distance visual acuity, CDVA = corrected distance visual acuity.

El liderazgo efectivo de los directivos juega un rol crítico dentro de las instituciones educativas, ya que es el factor predominante del cumplimiento de los estándares educativos, que ayuda a influenciar los modelos y las reformas que se deben ejecutar a fin de promover una educación de calidad. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo diseñar estrategias innovadoras de liderazgo efectivo que ayude a los directivos educativos a influir positivamente sobre las relaciones interpersonales de los docentes, con el fin de mejorar el clima laboral institucional. Para lo cual se utilizó un cuestionario tipo encuesta basadas en el liderazgo, que fueron tomadas del Manual de Evaluación de los estándares de calidad educativa del Ministerio de Educación del Ecuador. Los resultados indicaron que dentro de la unidad educativa se ejercía 4 tipos de liderazgo que son autoritario coercitivo con el 50%, autoritario benevolente con 25%, consultivo 15% y participativo con el 10%. Concluyendo que La implementación de un plan de liderazgo efectivo ayudó a la comunidad educativa de la Escuela Fiscal José María Lequerica a mejorar el clima laboral aumentando las competencias, facilitando el desarrollo y la divulgación del proyecto educativo institucional en beneficio de la sociedad, promoviendo la calidad educativa y aumentando la eficiencia en la realización de sus procesos.

As novas tecnologias de softwares, que surgem em consonância com o crescente desenvolvimento científico, indicam as inovações dos produtos que podem, inclusive, servir de recursos para a promoção de saúde. Vários destes recursos para a promoção de saúde referem-se a softwares para monitoramento da fala; exercícios para diminuir a tensão muscular; corrigir episódios de disfluências; explorar a produção de fala; equilibrar respiração, fonação e articulação e tratar aspectos emocionais, incorporados à prática clínica fonoaudiológica. Diante do exposto, foi constatada a demanda por estudo de elementos do design das interfaces de dispositivos móveis para o enfoque clínico da gagueira. Os objetivos do presente estudo centram-se, portanto, na avaliação das interfaces de softwares com potencial aplicação ao campo da fala em ambiente clínico com ênfase nas pessoas que gaguejam. A metodologia aborda um levantamento de softwares aplicáveis a terapia de fala para o conhecimento do que já existe no mercado e como os usuários atingem seus objetivos de acompanhamento terapêutico. Tais softwares foram analisados em três níveis (configurações dos softwares; exercícios; e configurações dos elementos da interface). A análise foi pautada nos parâmetros da ISO 25010 (2011), eMAG (2014), Nielsen e Budiu (2014) e W3C Brasil (2008). Para a usabilidade as diretrizes avaliadas foram contexto e navegação; carga de informação; autonomia; erros; redação; consistência e familiaridade e desenho. Na sequência, os padrões da acessibilidade de comportamento; conteúdo e informação; apresentação e design; multimídia e formulário foram analisados. Finalmente, como forma de comparação entre as interfaces dos softwares, a escala likert foi aplicada. Resultados mostram que as necessidades e exigências das pessoas que gaguejam não são totalmente completamente contempladas e aprimoramentos são importantes no que se refere a organização; gravação de fala; visualizações e representações gráficas; calibração; registro de dados e desempenho. Comparativamente, os requisitos de acessibilidade revelaram-se mais escassos em relação aqueles de usabilidade, cabendo-se considerar que, em termos do último, houve avaliação ligeiramente superior daqueles softwares cuja finalidade não era exclusivamente terapêutica.

Given the continued revelation of police abuses of racial-ethnic minorities in America, it is of the utmost importance for scholars to focus on questions of how police conduct is related to minorit...

What prevailing conception of quality guides the training ofteachers? With this central question, this text, in the light of the meanings of quality of education and teaching in dispute in Brazilian educational policies, analyzes the understanding of the quality of teacher education for primary school, as it has been developing in the last decades. It adopts the historical-dialectic perspective as a research reference, and understands that the ideal of teaching quality, emerged from the interest of dominant groups for the reintegration of education in the economic agenda, in institutionalized initiatives, it brings simplistic theoretical-practical interpretations of teacher training policies to make students' right to quality education effective. The text brings arguments about the importance of understanding the quality of teacher training socially referenced by principles of emancipation and construction of an educational practice for all.

Measuring quality of life in keratoconus is important and demands for well-constructed instruments and scales. To date, the Keratoconus End-Points Assessment Questionnaire (KEPAQ) is the only disease-specific scale to measure both functional and emotional compromise due to disease. Nevertheless, not much information exists regarding whether both sub-scales of the test show unidimensionality, a necessary condition in well-functioning instruments. A sample of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of keratoconus were administered the full version of the KEPAQ. A Rasch analysis and principal component analysis were performed. A total of 249 patients with keratoconus were included. Their average age was 29.19 ± 10.91 years, and 51.40% were male. Mean score for the KEPAQ-E was 2.51 ± 3.29 logit while it was 2.26 ± 3.70 logit for the KEPAQ-F. For both sub-scales, Kaiser Criterion, Scree Plot Criterion, and Variability Criterion demonstrated unidimensionality. Reliability as measured by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.85 for the KEPAQ-E and 0.87 for the KEPAQ-F. The KEPAQ is a robust, well-designed disease-specific questionnaire that shows unidimensionality. It can be reliably used to measure quality of life in keratoconus patients.

A Organização Mundial de Saúde considera Diabetes Mellitus (DM) umapandemia e, consequentemente, um sério problema de saúde pública.Classicamente, os exames laboratoriais Glicemia em Jejum e TesteOral de Tolerância à Glicose são realizados para o diagnóstico de DM.Recentemente, a Associação Americana de Diabetes (ADA) preconizou ouso da Hemoglobina Glicada (HbA1C), com limiar de 6,5%, para essa finalidade.Esse trabalho tem como objetivo revisar a literatura acerca da utilizaçãode Hemoglobina Glicada no diagnóstico de pacientes diabéticos.A HbA1C é o exame laboratorial padrão ouro para o acompanhamentometabólico de diabéticos e apresenta várias vantagens, como: representaa média glicêmica no período de 30 a 90 dias precedente à realizaçãodo exame; apresenta uma maior comodidade para o paciente porqueprescinde o jejum; possui uma maior estabilidade pré-analítica quandocomparado aos outros exames utilizados com essa função; é menos susceptívelà perturbações cotidianas. Entretanto, existem várias limitaçõespara seu uso. O resultado do exame pode ser alterado por diversos fatores,como: presença de hemoglobinas variantes, anemias hemolíticas,anemias nutricionais, uremia, gravidez e perda aguda de sangue. Alémdisso, a literatura mostra diferenças de sensibilidade e especificidade deHbA1C quando avaliados pacientes de diferentes etnias e faixas etária.O limiar de 6,5% não deve ser considerado ideal para todas populações.Até a determinação de valores de corte que apresentem comprovada eficácia diagnóstica, é mais sensato o uso de Glicemia em Jejum e do Teste Oral de Tolerância à Glicose para avaliação de pacientes com suspeita de DM. The World Health Organization considers Diabetes Mellitus (DM) apandemic and, consequently, a serious public health issue. Classically,laboratory tests of Fasting Glucose and Oral Glucose Tolerance Test areperformed for the diagnosis of DM. Recently, the American Diabetes Association(ADA) advocated the use of Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1C),with a threshold of 6.5%, for this purpose. This work aims to review theliterature on the use of Glycated Hemoglobin in the diagnosis of diabeticpatients. HbA1C is the gold standard laboratory test for the metabolicfollow-up of diabetics patients and presents several advantages, such as:it represents the glycemic mean in the period from 30 to 90 days precedingthe test; presents a greater convenience because the patient doesnot need to fast; has a greater pre-analytical stability when compared tothe other tests used with this function; is less susceptible to daily disturbances.However, there are several limitations to its use. The result of theexamination can be altered by several factors, such as the presence ofvariant hemoglobins, hemolytic anemias, nutritional anemias, uremia,pregnancy and acute blood loss. In addition, the literature shows differencesin sensitivity and specificity of HbA1C when evaluated in patientsof different ethnicities and age groups. The 6.5% threshold should not beconsidered ideal for all populations. Until a determination of cutoff valuesthat have proven diagnostic efficacy, the use of Fasting Glucose andthe Oral Glucose Tolerance Test is more reasonable for the evaluation ofpatients with suspected of DM.

Background Keratoconus is a disease characterized by progressive corneal distortion and quality of vision. So far, no study using disease-specific scales has evaluated whether different stages of the disease correlate with higher quality of life (QoL) compromise. Methods A total of 114 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Keratoconus were included in this retrospective study. All patients underwent a clinical and a Pentacam evaluation. They were also administered the “Keratoconus End-Points Assessment Questionnaire” (KEPAQ). Belin ABCD criteria were used for Keratoconus classification. “Better eye” was defined as the eye with the lowest maximum keratometry value. Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used to determine the correlation between the different Belin criteria and the KEPAQ scores in both subscales. Results Mean age was 28.13 ± 11.57 years, with 39.47% of patients being male. Mean score for the KEPAQ-E was 2.33 ± 3.40 Logit, while for the KEPAQ-F, it was 1.85 ± 3.61 Logit. Criteria A (anterior elevation), B (posterior elevation) and D (visual acuity) in the worse eye correlated significantly with a greater decrease in QoL (p < 0.05 for all correlations). No correlation could be found regarding the better eye. Conclusion A greater corneal distortion in the worse eye, as determined by Belin ABCD, is associated with a greater decrease in patient’s QoL. Surgical improvement of the worse eye should probably be performed before surgery of the better eye, as it may provide a better response regarding the quality of life improvement.

Background Keratoconus is a disease characterized by progressive distortion of the corneal anatomy, coupled with a decrease in vision. Assessing quality of life (QoL) in keratoconus is essential. So far, no instrument in the world has been designed to evaluate both visual function and emotional distress in this population. The purpose of the following study is to develop and validate the "Keratoconus End-Points Assessment Questionnaire" (KEPAQ) in a population of ectatic patients, the very first disease-specific scale to measure emotional latent traits in keratoconus. Methods A last generation, Rasch analysis method was used for scale validation. First, a number of focus groups were carried out to create a pool of potential items. Then, a series of processes (such as "Content Validity Index") was carried out to develop a prior, 20-question version of the KEPAQ. Then, a study including 150 keratoconus patients was performed, followed by a careful Rasch analysis to validate and optimize both sub-scales (Emotional Compromise, KEPAQ-E, and Functional Compromise, KEPAQ-F). Results Initially, 86 items were considered as potential elements. After test optimization, 20 items were retained. A total of 150 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of keratoconus were included for the Rasch analysis. The mean age was 29.84 ± 9.96 years. In 150 patients, 12.6% had a history of keratoplasty, 46.0% had corneal rings, and 31.3% had crosslinking. For both sub-scales, misfitting items were removed until no misfitting was determined by repetitive Rasch runs. For the final version of the KEPAQ-E sub-scale, variance explained by the model was 62.4% with a dimensional scale. Person Separation Index and Person Number of Strata were 2.43 and 3.57, respectively. For the final version of the KEPAQ-F sub-scale, variance explained by the model was 61.3% with a unidimensional scale. Person Separation Index and Person Number of Strata were 3.19 and 4.59, respectively. Both sub-scales showed excellent Person Reliability. Conclusion The KEPAQ is a robust scale, developed and validated through the latest theoretical models. It shows excellent psychometric properties, which render it extremely useful for both clinical and research use. To date, the KEPAQ is the only disease-specific scale worldwide to evaluate both functional and emotional compromise in keratoconus patients.

We present a multi-scale computational framework suitable for designing solid lubricant interfaces fully in silico. The approach is based on stochastic thermodynamics founded on the classical thermally activated two-dimensional Prandtl-Tomlinson model, linked with First Principles methods to accurately capture the properties of real materials. It allows investigating the energy dissipation due to friction in materials as it arises directly from their electronic structure, and naturally accessing the time-scale range of a typical friction force microscopy. This opens new possibilities for designing a broad class of material surfaces with atomically tailored properties. We apply the multi-scale framework to a class of two-dimensional layered materials and reveal a delicate interplay between the topology of the energy landscape and dissipation that known static approaches based solely on the energy barriers fail to capture.

Plants modulate the soil microbiota and select a specific microbial community in the rhizosphere. However, plant domestication reduces genetic diversity, changes plant physiology, and could have an impact on the associated microbiome assembly. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to assess the microbial community in the bulk soil and rhizosphere of wild, semi-domesticated, and domesticated genotypes of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), to investigate the effect of plant domestication on microbial community assembly. In general, rhizosphere communities were more diverse than bulk soil, but no differences were found among genotypes. Our results showed that the microbial community's structure was different from wild and semi-domesticated as compared to domesticated genotypes. The community similarity decreased 57.67% from wild to domesticated genotypes. In general, the most abundant phyla were Actinobacteria (21.9%), Proteobacteria (20.7%), Acidobacteria (14%), and Firmicutes (9.7%). Comparing the different genotypes, the analysis showed that Firmicutes (Bacillus) was abundant in the rhizosphere of the wild genotypes, while Acidobacteria dominated semi-domesticated plants, and Proteobacteria (including rhizobia) was enriched in domesticated P. lunatus rhizosphere. The domestication process also affected the microbial community network, in which the complexity of connections decreased from wild to domesticated genotypes in the rhizosphere. Together, our work showed that the domestication of P. lunatus shaped rhizosphere microbial communities from taxonomic to a functional level, changing the abundance of specific microbial groups and decreasing the complexity of interactions among them.

Background: The evaluation of bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF) in clinical trials has shown high rates of virological suppression but information about its use in real-life settings is scarce. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness, safety, durability, and predictive variables of therapeutic failure of BIC/FTC/TAF in a real-life cohort. Methods This observational, retrospective, multicentered cohort study included treatment-naive (TN) and treatment-experienced (TE) adult patients living with HIV (PLWH) who started treatment with BIC/FTC/TAF from January 1, 2019, to January 31, 2022. Treatment effectiveness (based on intention-to-treat [ITT], modified ITT [mITT], and on-treatment [OT]), tolerability, and safety were evaluated in all patients who started BIC/FTC/TAF antiretroviral therapy. Results: We included a total of 505 PLWH of whom 79 (16.6%) were TN and 426 (83.4%) were TE. Patients were followed up for a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 19.6 (9.6-27.3) months, and 76% and 56% of PLWH reached month 6 and month 12 of treatment, respectively. Rates of TN PLWH with HIV-RNA 100 000 copies/mL were associated with therapeutic failure. Conclusion and relevance: Our real-life data showed that BIC/FTC/TAF is effective and safe for use in the treatment of both TN and TE patients in clinical practice.

Este artículo examina individualmente los factores internos y los factores externos que las empresas valoran para vincularse con las universidades que cuentan con Programa Dual de formación en Latinoamérica. Se ha realizado un estudio exhaustivo y sistemático de la bibliografía existente, se han recopilado fuentes de información primaria y secundaria con literatura relevante. Finalmente desarrollamos un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales que puede proporcionar una comprensión más amplia de los factores que determina la relación en la vinculación de las empresas con las universidades con programa dual de formación, así como la influencia de variables mediadoras como los costos de formación y la participación empresarial en la vida académica y su incentivo para la vinculación empresa universidad. Los factores hallados que muestran una mayor vinculación son los factores internos caracterizados por los recursos humanos que las universidades proveen a la empresa para la transferencia de conocimiento y el impacto económico generado por los proyectos ejecutados entre la empresa y la universidad. También se evidencia una relación positiva que favorece la vinculación cuando la empresa reconoce su participación en los quehaceres académicos. En ésta investigación proponemos un modelo sistematizado que permita a las universidades que buscan vincularse a las empresas potenciar sus factores internos los cuales son determinantes al momento de establecer una colaboración empresa y universidad.

© 2022 The Authors. United European Gastroenterology Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of United European Gastroenterology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made., Introduction: Evidence supporting transmural remission (TR) as a long-term treatment target in Crohn's disease (CD) is still unavailable. Less stringent but more reachable targets such as isolated endoscopic (IER) or radiologic remission (IRR) may also be acceptable options in the long-term. Methods: Multicenter retrospective study including 404 CD patients evaluated by magnetic resonance enterography and colonoscopy. Five-year rates of hospitalization, surgery, use of steroids, and treatment escalation were compared between patients with TR, IER, IRR, and no remission (NR). Results: 20.8% of CD patients presented TR, 23.3% IER, 13.6% IRR and 42.3% NR. TR was associated with lower risk of hospitalization (odds-ratio [OR] 0.244 [0.111-0.538], p < 0.001), surgery (OR 0.132 [0.030-0.585], p = 0.008), steroid use (OR 0.283 [0.159-0.505], p < 0.001), and treatment escalation (OR 0.088 [0.044-0.176], p < 0.001) compared to no NR. IRR resulted in lower risk of hospitalization (OR 0.333 [0.143-0.777], p = 0.011) and treatment escalation (OR 0.260 [0.125-0.540], p < 0.001), while IER reduced the risk of steroid use (OR 0.442 [0.262-0.745], p = 0.002) and treatment escalation (OR 0.490 [0.259-0.925], p = 0.028) compared to NR. Conclusions: TR improved clinical outcomes over 5 years of follow-up in CD patients. Distinct but significant benefits were seen with IER and IRR. This suggests that both endoscopic and radiologic remission should be part of the treatment targets of CD.

The understanding of friction at nano-scales, ruled by the regular arrangement of atoms, is surprisingly incomplete. Here we provide a unified understanding by studying the interlocking potential energy of two infinite contacting surfaces with arbitrary lattice symmetries, and extending it to finite contacts. We categorize, based purely on geometrical features, all possible contacts into three different types: a structurally lubric contact where the monolayer can move isotropically without friction, a corrugated and strongly interlocked contact, and a newly discovered directionally structurally lubric contact where the layer can move frictionlessly along one specific direction and retains finite friction along all other directions. This novel category is energetically stable against rotational perturbations and provides extreme friction anisotropy. The finite-size analysis shows that our categorization applies to a wide range of technologically relevant materials in contact, from adsorbates on crystal surfaces to layered two-dimensional materials and colloidal monolayers. published

Recovery and human rights promotion for people with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSDs) is fundamental to provide good care in Residential Facilities (RFs). However, there is a concern about rehabilitation ethos in RFs. This study aimed to investigate the care quality of Italian RFs, the quality of life (QoL) and care experience of residents with SSD.Fourty-eight RFs were assessed using a quality assessment tool (QuIRC-SA) and 161 residents with SSD were enrolled. Seventeen RFs provided high intensity rehabilitation (SRP1), 15 medium intensity (SRP2), and 16 medium-low level support (SRP3). Staff-rated tools measured psychiatric symptoms and psychosocial functioning; user-rated tools assessed QoL and satisfaction with services. RFs comparisons were made using ANOVA and Chi-squared.Over two-thirds patients (41.5 y.o., SD 9.7) were male. Seventy-six were recruited from SRP1 services, 48 from SRP2, and 27 from SRP3. The lowest QuIRC-SA scoring was Recovery Based Practice (45.8%), and the highest was promotion of Human Rights (58.4%). SRP2 had the lowest QuIRC-SA ratings and SRP3 the highest. Residents had similar psychopathology (p = 0.140) and functioning (p = 0.537). SRP3 residents were more employed (18.9%) than SRP1 (7.9%) or SRP2 (2.2%) ones, and had less severe negative symptoms (p = 0.016) and better QoL (p = 0.020) than SRP2 residents. There were no differences in the RF therapeutic milieu and their satisfaction with care.Residents of the lowest supported RFs in Italy had less severe negative symptoms, better QoL and more employment than others. The lowest ratings for Recovery Based Practice across all RFs suggest more work is needed to improve recovery.