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A novel correlated effective-field theory (CFE) was proposed to elucidate the influence of the Dzyaloshinski-Moriya (DM) interactions on the magnetic properties of the spin-1/2 anisotropic Heisenberg model. These models were used to analyze a specific class of reentrant spin glass and insulators. The CFE theory included the Honmura-Kaneyoshi exponential operator technique.

Social insects can live in densely populated colonies where mortality risks are increased by inter-individual transmission of pathogens. Thus, diverse strategies are employed against such infection risks, including the display of sophisticated behavioural traits. Considering that the waste of the leaf-cutting ant contains pathogens, worker ants that tend the fungus garden – here called fungus garden workers – should exhibit avoidance behaviour toward midden workers to minimize contamination of the fungus garden. We studied the behaviour of garden workers when confronted with midden and forager workers in colonies ofAtta sexdens(Linnaeus, 1758). Eight colonies were used: in four colonies, the midden was inoculated with spores of the weed fungusEscovopsis weberi(Muchovej and Della Lucia, 1990), and in the other four colonies there was no artificial contamination. Grooming, self-grooming, inspection, immobilization and aggression behaviours were quantified. Additionally, we checked for fungal contaminants on the body surfaces of midden and garden workers from non-inoculated colonies. Garden workers displayed more intense behaviours (grooming, inspection and immobilization) toward midden workers than toward foragers; these behaviours did not differ betweenEscovopsis-inoculated and non-inoculated colonies. No antagonist behaviour was displayed by garden workers toward midden or forager workers independently of the inoculation treatment. Eight fungus species were isolated from the midden and garden workers, includingTrichodermasp., a probable antagonist of the fungus garden. Garden workers ofA. sexdensdiscriminate against midden workers; however, a previous hypothesis that pathogens from the midden induce the aggressiveness of internal workers is not supported by our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to study the effect of colony waste on the mortality of workers of Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel colonies fed with different plant substrates. Eight nests were used; two colonies each were fed with Acalypha wilkesiana Müller.Arg, Ligustrum japonicum Thunb, Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake or a mixture of the three substrates in equal proportions. Irrespective of diet, being kept with waste led to higher mortality. However, workers that were kept in contact with waste produced by colonies fed Acalypha had higher average survival rate and later death when compared with workers from the other treatments. Workers from the Eucalyptus-fed colonies had the lowest survival rate and 50% of them died within four days of exposure to Eucalyptus waste. Trichoderma viride Pers. ex Gray, a fungus garden antagonist, and the entomopathogen Aspergillus flavus Link. ex Gray were present in the colonies supplied with all plants. The largest fungus diversity was verified in the waste of colonies fed Acalypha and the mixture of Acalypha, Ligustrum and Eucalyptus. Therefore, antibiotic properties of Acalypha did not reduce contaminant diversity but apparently minimized effects of pathogenic microorganisms present in the waste such as Asp. flavus. This may explain the highest survival rate of workers in this treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the effect of low birthweight on linguistic development. Production of speech sounds; Creation of sound tract in the vocal tract.

Objetive: To assess the body image perception and to compare the results with the true measurements in a group of university students. Subjects: Participants were 28 volunteer females recruited from the degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetic from the University of the Basque Country (Spain). All participants gave their informed consent. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 22.01 (2.12) years (20,23- 28,25). Methods: Anthropometric measurement estimated directly and the derived indexes were compared with reference values. The assessment of body image perception was made using a somatomorphic software. The difference between the perceived measurements and the ideals were used as measure of body dissatisfaction. Data were analyzed using SPSS vs 14.0. Results and discussion: Prevalence of overweight and obesity was 10.7%, and of under-weight was 70.1%. The body fat perception was well, while the perception of the muscle index was significantly different from the real measure (3.91 ± 2.75 kg/m²; P < 0.001). The level of body dissatisfaction was higher for the body fat (6.00 ± 8.61%; P < 0.001) than for the muscle index (1.65 ± 2.82 kg/m²; P < 0.01). This result can be justified for the present canons of beauty and for the overvaluation of the thinness. Additional research is needed to further know the relation between female body image and true measurements of body composition. Future research will allow to compare the results with other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to assess whether a driving pressure-limiting strategy based on positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) titration according to best respiratory system compliance and tidal volume adjustment increases the number of ventilator-free days within 28 days in patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)., Methods: This is a multi-centre, randomised trial, enrolling adults with moderate to severe ARDS secondary to community-acquired pneumonia. Patients were randomised to a driving pressure-limiting strategy or low PEEP strategy based on a PEEP:FiO 2 table. All patients received volume assist-control mode until day 3 or when considered ready for spontaneous modes of ventilation. The primary outcome was ventilator-free days within 28 days. Secondary outcomes were in-hospital and intensive care unit mortality at 90 days., Results: The trial was stopped because of recruitment fatigue after 214 patients were randomised. In total, 198 patients (n=96 intervention group, n=102 control group) were available for analysis (median age 63 yr, [interquartile range 47-73 yr]; 36% were women). The mean difference in driving pressure up to day 3 between the intervention and control groups was -0.7 cm H 2 O (95% confidence interval -1.4 to -0.1 cm H 2 O). Mean ventilator-free days were 6 (sd 9) in the driving pressure-limiting strategy group and 7 (9) in the control group (proportional odds ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.39-1.32; P=0.28). There were no significant differences regarding secondary outcomes., Conclusions: In patients with moderate to severe ARDS secondary to community-acquired pneumonia, a driving pressure-limiting strategy did not increase the number of ventilator-free days compared with a standard low PEEP strategy within 28 days., Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04972318., Competing Interests: Declaration of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate whether functional internal rotation (fIR) following reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) differs based on diagnosis of either: primary osteoarthritis (OA) with intact rotator cuff, massive irreparable rotator cuff tear (MICT) or cuff tear arthropathy (CTA)., Methods: A retrospective review was carried out on RSAs performed by a single surgeon with the same implant over a 5-year period. Minimum 2-year follow-up was available in 235 patients; 139 (59.1%) were female, and the mean patient age was 72 ± 8 years. Additional clinical evaluation included the Subjective Shoulder Value and Constant score. Postoperative internal rotation was categorized as type I: hand to the buttock or hip; type II: hand to the lower lumbar region; or type III: smooth motion to at least the upper lumbar region. Type I was considered "nonfunctional" internal rotation, and type II and III were fIR., Results: Preoperatively, internal rotation was classified as type I in 60 patients (25.5%), type II in 114 (48.5%), and type III in 62 (26%). Postoperatively, internal rotation was classified as type I in 70 patients (30%), type II in 86 (36%), and type III in 79 (34%). Compared with preoperative status, fIR improved significantly in OA patients (P < .001), with 49 (52.6%) classified as type II or III postoperatively. In CTA patients, there was no significant change (P = .352). In patients with MICTs, there was a significant loss in fIR postoperatively (P = .003), with 25 patients (30.8%) deteriorating to type I after having either type II or III preoperatively, and only 5 patients (6.1%) improving to either type II or III., Conclusions: Patients who undergo RSA for primary OA have a better chance of postoperative fIR improvement. A decrease in fIR is common after RSA for MICTs., (Copyright © 2024 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.)

Biodiversity assessment is a mandatory task for sustainable and adaptive management for the next decade, and long-term ecological monitoring programs are a cornerstone for understanding changes in ecosystems. The Brazilian Long-Term Ecological Research Program (PELD) is an integrated effort model supported by public funds that finance ecological studies at 34 locations. By interviewing and compiling data from project coordinators, we assessed monitoring efforts, targeting biological groups and scientific production from nine PELD projects encompassing coastal lagoons to mesophotic reefs and oceanic islands. Reef environments and fish groups were the most often studied within the long-term projects. PELD projects covered priority areas for conservation but missed sensitive areas close to large cities, as well as underrepresenting ecosystems on the North and Northeast Brazilian coast. Long-term monitoring projects in marine and coastal environments in Brazil are recent (<5 years), not yet integrated as a network, but scientifically productive with considerable relevance for academic and human resources training. Scientific production increased exponentially with project age, despite interruption and shortage of funding during their history. From our diagnosis, we recommend some actions to fill in observed gaps, such as: enhancing projects' collaboration and integration; focusing on priority regions for new projects; broadening the scope of monitored variables; and, maintenance of funding for existing projects., Competing Interests: Juan P. Quimbayo is a PeerJ Academic Editor. The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2022 Cordeiro et al.)

Associations between language and executive functions (EFs) are well-established but previous work has often focused more on EFs than on language. To further clarify the language-EF relationship, we assessed several aspects of language and EFs in 431 Swedish children aged 4-6, including selective auditory attention which was measured in an event-related potential paradigm. We also investigated potential associations to age, socioeconomic status (SES), bi-/multilingualism, sex and aspects of preschool attendance and quality. Language and EFs correlated weakly to moderately, indicating that relying on measures of vocabulary alone may overestimate the strength of the language-EF relationship. Contrary to predictions, we found no correlations between selective attention and EFs. There were however correlations between morphosyntactic accuracy and selective auditory attention which is in line with previous work and suggests a specific link between morphosyntax and the ability to suppress irrelevant stimuli. In Sweden, socioeconomic differences are rather small and preschool is universally available, but nevertheless, aspects of parental SES predicted children's performance on all measures. Bi-/multilingual children performed lower on language also when controlling for SES, highlighting the need for interventions to reduce inequalities in educational outcomes already in preschool. A female advantage was found for both language and EFs, whereas preschool attendance and quality were not significantly related to outcome measures. Future work should include longitudinal studies of language and EF development, include children from diverse SES backgrounds and contribute toward a theoretical framework that further clarifies the language-EF relationship., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Tonér, Kallioinen and Lacerda.)