Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome Type 2 (PSPS-T2), (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome), dramatically impacts on patient quality of life, as evidenced by Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) assessment tools. However, the importance of functioning, pain perception and psychological status in HRQoL can substantially vary between subjects. Our goal was to extract patient profiles based on HRQoL dimensions in a sample of PSPS-T2 patients and to identify factors associated with these profiles. Two classes were clearly identified using a mixture of mixed effect models from a clinical data set of 200 patients enrolled in “PREDIBACK”, a multicenter observational prospective study including PSPS-T2 patients with 1-year follow-up. We observed that HRQoL was more impacted by functional disability for first class patients (n=136) and by pain perception for second class patients (n=62). Males that perceive their work as physical were more impacted by disability than pain intensity. Lower education level, lack of adaptive coping strategies and higher pain intensity were significantly associated with HRQoL being more impacted by pain perception. The identification of such classes allows for a better understanding of HRQoL dimensions and opens the gate towards optimized health-related quality of life evaluation and personalized pain management.

The quality of life (QOL) is an important indicator of human satisfaction and wellbeing. QOL is significantly and persistently affected for patients after a cancer diagnosis. Despite some evidence suggesting that psycho-oncologic interventions can provide lasting benefits, the inclusion of such interventions in cancer therapy is not universal. This article overviews known approaches to the evaluation of QOL in cancer patients and various interventions for improving patients’ outcomes with a focus on the Eastern European regional and specific Romanian context. With a mortality rate above and cancer care performance below the EU average and unequally distributed, Roma-nia urgently needs a national coordination program which is discussed in our review highlighting the main psychological tools needed for the assessment and its challenges towards implementing the program. In the end, we suggest some directions for future development of the psycho-oncologic approach in the context of social, policy and unexpected financial challenges the nation provides

Increasing quality of life (QoL) is both an end in itself and a means to optimize the impact of treatment in HIV-infected persons. Possibly due to cultural and social influences, the predictors of QoL vary across studies, which highlights the importance of studying specific populations. In the present study, we wanted to determine the sociodemographic (age, sex, schooling) and psychosocial correlates (meaning in life, social support, positive and negative affect) of QoL in HIV-infected patients living in Mozambique, a country with high prevalence of HIV, but also with well-structured strategies to fight the disease. To that end, we made correlational analyses followed by regression models, and we examined potential mediation processes among predictors. All correlates were relevant except sex. Meaning in life was the strongest predictor, while social support was the weakest. Schooling was both directly and indirectly related with QoL - in the latter case, it was mediated by meaning in life, social support and positive affect. Our findings suggest that investments in education may be highly rewarding to Mozambicans, and that satisfying needs of self-actualization and purpose may be more urgent than improving social connections.

The debate about the meaning of life in the literature has been around for a while and portraits a fundamental human need to find a personal path of existence. The meaning of life phenomenon purpose lies in its impact on the psychological wellbeing. Knowing your purpose in life can make it more structured and in balance, therefore more meaningful and comprehensible. However, in the existing body of the academic literature meaning of life is discussed more from the philosophic perspective rather than a practical area, which is not helping to solve the global issues of increasing mental health problems. When social and emotional wellbeing is being affected, it is urgent to apply a practical approach to effectively overcome these states. Introduction of a new, holistic meaning of life model is an attempt to offer a practical solution for society to maintain their mental health through awareness of their life’s purpose. Previously in the pilot study (Dombrovskis, 2017) in a sample group of 100 citizens of Latvia who self-reported being in a crisis situation at the given moment, using qualitive analysis the first component for the model structure was identified – antecedent. In our research antecedent is defined as something that triggers certain action, so in crisis situation person can regain a structure and stability in life. We found 8 different antecedents that trigger behavior of those affected by crisis: achievements; power; success; development; freedom; uniqueness; interesting life and fleeing. To continue to explore other components for our model in the setting of Latvia, this study aims to investigate the demographic and personality related variables that may serve as antecedents and as such become one of component in our model structure. The study used a sample of residents of Latvia representing the total population of 1,110 respondents (633 women, 57%, and 477 men, 43%) who have completed the self-assessment questionnaire Meaning of life scale (MOLS) (online and frontally) designed by the authors on their satisfaction with different factors regarding the meaning of life. Average age of respondents (M=33.88; SD=8,527) varied from 18 to 67. The exploratory and confirmatory analysis confirms the data regarding existence of totally 16 factors: 8 antecedents identified in the pilot study and 8 new antecedents identified in the present study - family relations; level of income; relations with friends/acquaintances; state of health; organization of free time; career growth (achievements); sexual life quality and quality of education. Findings confirm a model’s structure to be complex phenomenon consisting of various components. However, findings suggest that more research should be done to fill the following gaps: 1) identify actions, which are triggered by 16 antecedents; 2) figure out F1, F2 and F3 factor role in the model structure.

The global focus on geopolymer binder production has increased due to the adoption of waste materials and industrial byproducts. Given the gradual decline of the availability of fly ash and ground granular blast furnace slag (GGBFS) resulting from the decarbonization process in electricity and steel productions, waste clay brick powder (WCBP), could be a viable substitute of these pozzolanic by-products. This research is dedicated to thoroughly investigate the techno-eco-efficiency performance of WCBP when utilized as a geopolymer precursor. The favorable mechanical characteristics exhibited by fly ash-GGBFS-WCBP-based geopolymer binder emphasize the importance of assessing its sustainability alongside its technical viability. The study employed life cycle analysis (LCA), following ISO 14040-44 standards, and using the Simapro software, to evaluate the environmental implications of the use of WCBP-based geopolymer mixtures. Human toxicity emerged as the primary impact. Moreover, the analysis of life cycle costs highlighted key financial factors, with around 65-70% attributed to alkaline activators of the total cost. The production of alkaline activators was identified as a critical point for both environmental impact and economic considerations due to energy consumption. While WCBP-rich samples exhibit a 1.7-0.7% higher environmental impact compared to the control mix (CM), their high mechanical strength and cost-effectiveness make them technologically and economically efficient geopolymer mixes. In conclusion, the portfolio analysis for techno-eco-efficiency affirms that mixes containing 40%, 30%, and 20% WCBP are more efficient than those using 10% and 0% WCBP, respectively.

It has been known for nearly over 150 years that fatigue life data exhibits a considerable amount of variability. Furthermore, statistically modeling fatigue life adequately is challenging. Different empirical approaches have been used, each of which has merit; however, none is appropriate universally. Even when a sufficiently robust database exists, the scatter in the fatigue lives may be extremely large and difficult to characterize. The complications in empirical modeling are exacerbated for long life estimation when experimental observations are rare. The purpose of this work is to review traditional and more modern empirically based methodologies for estimating the cumulative distribution functions for fatigue life, given an applied load. To assess the applicability of the methods confidence bounds will be estimated. The analyses will be performed on an historic set of data for annealed aluminum wire tested in reverse torsion fatigue. These data are available in publications. It is recommended that a time dependent distribution function that is an based on principles of reliability that can be generalized for a variety of modeling applications should be considered for fatigue life estimation.

This cross-sectional study was aimed to investigate the relationship between gratitude and life satisfaction, and the mediation role of social support and enjoyment of life among older individuals. The Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test, the Enjoyment of Life Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Scale were administered to a sample of 260 older individuals aged between 60 and 80. The main findings revealed a positive association between gratitude and life satisfaction, and social support was a partial mediator in this relationship. Although enjoyment of life was not a direct mediator in the relationship between gratitude and life satisfaction, the final model indicated a significant serial pathway from gratitude to social support and then through enjoyment of life-to-life satisfaction. In conclusion, enhancing gratitude, promoting enjoyment of life, and social support in older individuals might increase their life satisfaction, which in turn might contribute to their successful aging

As the number of publications is quickly growing in any area of science, the need to efficiently find relevant information amidst a large number of similarly themed articles becomes very important. Semantic searching through text documents has the potential to overcome the limits of keyword-based searches, especially since the introduction of attention-based transformers, which can capture contextual nuances of meaning in single words, sentences or whole documents. The deployment of these computational tools has been made simpler and accessible to investigators in every field of research thanks to a growing number of dedicated libraries, but a knowledge of how meaning representation strategies work is crucial to make the most out of these instruments. The present work aims at introducing the technical evolution of the meaning representation systems, from vectors to embeddings and transformers tailored to life science investigators with no previous knowledge of natural language processing.

Any homeostatic protometabolism would have required orchestration of disparate biochemical pathways into integrated circuits. Extraordinarily specific moieties were also required. Assembly Theory conflated with its cousins—Complexity Theory, Chaos theory, Quantum Mechanics, Irreversible Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics and Molecular Evolution theory— collectively have great naturalistic appeal in hopes of their providing the needed exquisite steering and controls. They collectively offer the best hope of circumventing the need for active selection required to formally orchestrate bona fide formal organization (as opposed to the mere self-ordering of chaos theory) [1]. This paper focuses specifically on Assembly Theory’s contribution to life-origin models.

Tack is one of the most important factors affecting the operability of prepregs, but it is still very difficult to obtain the change of prepreg tack with time at different temperatures. In this paper, a newly designed T-peel device is used to test the tack decay rate of prepregs at different temperatures. The obtained decay rate deviates less than 8.9% from the manufacturer's data. The maximum deviation of the ratio of tack decay speeds calculated by the Arrhenius equation from the experiments is not higher than -9.7%. It is proved that the present method can obtain the decay rate of tack of prepregs at different temperatures. This method is also applicable to the other two types of prepregs. The article proposes the handling life unit, an operational life measurement unit for prepregs, and establishes that the relationship between tack and remaining shelf life reduces prepreg management costs.

Buildings are subject to intrinsic and extrinsic failures at all stages of the construction process, i.e., design to occupancy (i.e., use) as several failure types can affect them. There are three basic steps for researching building failures: listing, cataloging, and solving/deciding whether highlighting the least invasive and lowest cost intervention. Therefore, this research presents some methods used in construction for the intervention prioritization and seeks to illustrate the most suitable methodology for different settings failure x diagnosis x intervention. Therefore, the most traditional tools are shown: BASICO, SWIFT, FEMEA, AAF, and GUT matrix, where a critical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses is carried out. After that, a case study on maintenance services for the moisture on the building facades was performed. Finally, the GUT matrix and the FMEA method are the best results

Asthma, like other chronic diseases, affects children prone to transitions of various aspects of their lives. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the level quality of life of children with bronchial asthma and to what extent the disease affects them their everyday life. The literature search was conducted a review of the articles was done in Greek and English, through electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus. The terms and conditions their combinations used for the search were: “kids”, “children”, "pediatric asthma", "quality of life (QOL)", "health", "adolescents". The search was limited to the last five years (2015 – 2020) and finally 12 were selected articles. The most important areas negatively affected by quality of life of children with asthma are physical activity, their emotional state, school performance and sleep quality when it is connected to other factors. Important role in quality of life of these children has asthma management, disease severity and other environmental factors. Medical and nursing staff need to guide them asthmatic children and their families to have a good everyday life. Having the necessary knowledge needed for the quality-of-life health professionals should include in their medical nursing caring methods of achieving and maintaining a lifestyle that is no different than that of healthy children.

Our lives are comprised of moment-to-moment activity experiences. According to the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO), our occupational experiences can be affected by volition, which consists of personal causation, values, and interests. This study investigated how momentary volition affected occupational satisfaction and mind-wandering while performing occupations. This study also examined the relationship between momentary volition and the overall life perspectives of life satisfaction and life balance. Undergraduate students participated in this cross-sectional study. The experience sampling method (ESM) was used to measure students’ momentary states such as activity, volition, occupational satisfaction, and mind-wandering. After conducting the ESM, the participants’ life satisfaction was measured using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and their life balance was measured by the Life Balance Inventory (LBI). Forty-two participants and 1,092 sampling data were included in the analysis. Momentary personal causation, values, and interests contributed to occupational satisfaction. Mind-wandering was predicted negatively by interests but positively by personal causation. Momentary interests were positively correlated with SWLS and LBI scores. This study demonstrated that momentary volition was associated with occupational satisfaction and engagement, as well as life satisfaction and balance, in undergraduate students.

The multifarious internal workings of organisms are difficult to reconcile with a single feature defining a state of ‘being alive’. Indeed, definitions of life rely on emergent properties (growth, capacity to evolve, agency) only symptomatic of intrinsic functioning. Empirical studies demonstrate that biomolecules including ratcheting/rotating enzymes, ribozymes and pigment molecules undergo repetitive conformation state changes driven by energy absorption, excitation and relaxation. They exhibit disparate structures, but govern processes relying on directional physical motion (DNA transcription, translation, ATP synthesis, cytoskeleton transport, photosynthetic resonance energy transfer) and share the principle of repetitive uniplanar conformation changes driven by thermodynamic gradients, producing dependable unidirectional motion: ‘heat engines’ exploiting thermodynamic disequilibria to perform work. Recognition that disparate biological molecules share a heat engine principle governing directional motion, working in self-regulating networks, allows a mechanistic definition: life is a self-regulating process whereby matter undergoes cyclic, uniplanar conformation state changes that convert thermodynamic disequilibria into directed motion, performing work that locally reduces entropy. ‘Living things’ are structures including autonomous networks of units operating on the heat engine principle. Death is loss of integrated heat engine function. These principles are independent of any specific chemical environment, and can be applied to other biospheres.

Background The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship structure of quality of life (QOL) in survivors of breast cancer, including difficulty in daily life and negative experience as health-related indicators. Methods Participants were survivors of breast cancer for more than 2 years after primary breast cancer surgery and belonged to self-help groups. The assessment used FACT-B (QOL), HADS (anxiety and depression), SOC (sense of coherence), WHODAS 2.0 (difficulties in daily life), and CAOD (negative experiences). Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) was performed to analyze the hypothesized model. If the causal model was significant, multiplication of the path coefficient from anxiety and depression to QOL, and from SOC to anxiety and depression, was considered a direct effect on QOL, and from SOC to difficulty in daily life, from difficulty in daily life to negative experiences, and from negative experiences to anxiety and depression were considered indirect effects on QOL. Results Goodness of fit of the model in the BSEM was satisfactory. The direct effect was 0.274, and indirect effect was 0.163. Conclusions These direct and indirect approaches to difficulties in daily life are very significant because they can provide a basis for development of support strategies to increase QOL.

Adults’ with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) experiences on occupational participation were explored through the prism of Occupational Justice model (MOJ) aiming to shape and develop an occupation-centered model of Quality of Life (QoL). In this qualitative study participated thirteen adults with ID (N=13). A semi-structured interview based on MOJ was constructed and administered to explore perspectives on QoL, as well as injustices regarding occupational participation. The interviews were processed with QSR NVivo8 following content analysis research methodology. An Occupational – Quality of Life (O-QoL) model with an everyday occupations core component has been formed. This model includes three core O-QoL domains: (i) social well-being, (ii) emotional – physical well-being and (iii) material adequacy. Main indicators of O-QoL were the recreational occupations and social activities, while socio-environmental factors such as occupational deprivation have been identified as aggravating. In addition, specific occupations such as leisure activities, physical exercise / sports, art, video games and vocational training could also be beneficial for O-QoL. Moreover, the importance of promoting and supporting the rights of people with ID for employment, independent living and sexual expression was highlighted. The O-QoL could be a valuable conceptual framework in the field of ID, however further research for developing specialized assessment tools and Occupational Therapy interventions to promote O-QoL is needed.

In all forms of folk beliefs, ancestor worship is a universal traditional belief form of the Vietnamese people. As a Vietnamese people, “everyone worships their ancestors, everyone worships their parents and grandparent”. Ancestor worship is a common belief in the whole country. It is a belief that expresses the deeply humanistic spirit of the Vietnamese people and has great values in human life. So, what is the nature of ancestor worship? What is the values of ancestor worship in life? And in the context of globalization, how has this the belief changed? This study focuses on analyzing the above contents, thereby highlighting the value of this belief in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people; to point out the positive and negative changes of this belief in the current period; from that, take the right measures to bring into play the positive and limit the negative side of those changes in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

The origin of life has previously been subject to numerous studies and hypotheses. Typically, related models focus on the emergence of chemical networks such as the RNA world or the Krebs energy cycle. Here, the onset of life is described as a symmetry-breaking kinetic phase transition of the II. kind. The novel symmetry of life is the arbitrariness of code that is fundamental to symbolic information processing, coining all forms of life from the very beginning. Symbols evolved from non-symbolic, structural information of the inanimate physical world. The responsible transition process had been discovered a century ago in behavioural biology, regarded as 'ritualisation'. Physical properties of this transition include neutral Lyapunov stability and critical fluctuations of the associated Goldstone modes. As a conceptual model, a hypothetical simple molecular ritualisation process is suggested, along with the emergent semiotics of symbolic information processing.

Living processes are integral to open systems for multiple reasons. From a thermodynamic perspective, they reduce local entropy at the cost of increasing environmental entropy. Furthermore, these processes are inherently nonlinear owing to their feedback interactions with the environment. Nonlinear systems exhibit diverse behaviours: some stabilize at a constant value, whereas others display bifurcations and chaotic dynamics. This study introduces a model that describes living processes as the dynamics of nonlinear single-value diverging maps, whereas chaotic evolution is associated with the increasing entropy environment. This model enables us to describe the lifetime of different species simply by varying the model parameters. This model also simplifies explaining the transition from life to death.

The relationship between perception of anxiety and quality of life in caregivers of children with autism was verified. To verify quality of life, the Short Form Healthy Survey Item was used; perception of anxiety was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory. 80 caregivers of children with autism participated, with 68.7% of caregivers being mothers. Of the total number of caregivers, 68.8% had a severe level of anxiety. Regarding quality of life, they demonstrated greater impairment in Limitation due to physical aspects, Limitation due to emotional aspects, Vitality and Pain. Caregivers with severe anxiety levels had worse quality of life in the domains of pain (p = 0.012), social aspects (p =< 0.001), limitation due to emotional aspects (p = 0.001) and mental health (p =< 0.001). However, in the functional capacity domain, caregivers with a moderate level of anxiety had a better physical capacity score (p = 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the general anxiety score and the general physical (p = 0.029) and general emotional component of quality of life (p =< 0.001). It was found that caregivers of children with ASD present losses related to psychological factors, quality of life and the lack of social support.

Understanding the origins of life involves dealing with the unresolved question of how the first informational polymers and cell-like structures emerged from prebiotic chemistry. The formation of thermal proteinoids through the heating of mixtures of amino acids, leading to the spontaneous formation of protocells enclosed by membranes, presents a compelling model for the synthesis of polypeptides in an abiogenic context. Recent research has revealed the presence of electrical excitability and signal processing capacities in proteinoids, indicating the possibility of primitive cognitive functions and problem-solving capabilities. The present study provides a comprehensive examination of the features shown by heat proteinoids and their potential significance in the context of the artificial formation of polypeptides during the early stages of Earth’s development. Experiments showcasing the possibility for unconventional computing with proteinoids as well as modelling proteinoid assemblies into synthetic proto-brains are given. Proteinoids’ robust abiogenic production, biomimetic features, and computational capability shed light on potential phases in the evolution of polypeptides and primitive life from the primordial environment.

The study investigated the impact of traditional medicine on life expectancy in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quantitative research approach. Purposive or judgmental sampling was used to elucidate the data set used for the study. Cross-sectional data were gathered with the help of a well-designed questionnaire from a total of three hundred and fifty-seven (357) respondents who were available for the survey. The data set collected was analysed using descriptive and linear regression using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). From the results, 53%, 87%, and 56% were male, below 50 years old, and in the low-income class, respectively, suggesting that the bulk of the respondents under investigation were male, young, and had rather modest incomes. Also, 53% were married, and all had one form of formal education. 67% of respondents acknowledge using traditional medicine; however, the majority of respondents preferred Orthodox medical care over alternative kinds of care. Traditional medicine (TM) and factors that contribute to the advancement of traditional medicine (FITM) have a negative impact on life expectancy, according to the regression analysis. On the other hand, TM has no statistically significant impact on life expectancy, despite FITM having a statistically significant effect at the 5% level. All available data, however, indicates that TM and FITM have an impact on life expectancy, either directly or indirectly. Based on the results, this study concluded that traditional medicine has the potential to significantly increase life expectancy in Nasarawa State and throughout Nigeria. The study recommends that traditional health professionals, stakeholders, and concerned government agencies should put efforts in place to improve and promote modern traditional medicine among the people, especially its effectiveness and medicinal quality, increase its accessibility to people, and efficiently regulate its prices to increase its affordability for low-income earners.

Anthracnose is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) being the main disease that affects the soursop fruits. The objective was to evaluate the effect of chitosan-based coatings with essential oils on the physiological, antifungal, and shelf-life properties of soursop. Chitosan-based coatings were made with essential oils of cinnamon and thyme and applied to soursop. The parameters evaluated were respiration and ethylene by gas chromatography, shelf life, weight loss, total soluble solids, color, maturity index, and titratable acidity. Chitosan obtained had a molecular weight of 169 kDa and 83% degree of deacetylation, respiration, and ethylene values showed a significant reduction of 47 and 50%, with coatings. Weight loss was reduced by up to 50%, even on inoculated fruits, and shelf life increased by two days. The chitosan-based coatings with essential oils are a good alternative to improve the quality of soursop and decrease the effect of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.

Canine hypoadrenocorticism is a rare chronic disease, which demands intense dog-owner interaction, as its treatment requires to be individualised. The aim of this study was a qualitative analysis of the challenges owners face when dealing with the disease, especially regarding its management and how this affects quality of life. By promoting an online discussion between owners, we transcribed and summarised their experiential knowledge in dealing with the disease. Owners were recruited for the online seminars via social media. After a theoretical introduction, participants were free to share experiences and ask questions. The recorded events were retrospectively analysed. Twenty-four owners of 22 Addisonian dogs took part in four events. Owners felt most “traumatised” when experiencing their dog’s acute adrenal crisis. The initial adjustment phase and distinguishing the non-specific symptoms of hypoadrenocorticism from those of other diseases were also challenging. Overall, owners were well informed on the disease and committed to its long-term adjustment. Adrenal crisis and the initial adjustment phase may be more burdening to owners than expected. Understanding what their clients’ concerns are, can help veterinarians provide better care and reduce the negative impacts of canine hypoadrenocorticism. Promoting peer to peer support, as well as providing a framework for participative communication might also help.

Children living in residential care homes (RCH) often present conditions of abandonment due to separation, abuse and mistreatment; circumstances that are detrimental to proper emotional development, resulting in poor self-confidence, aggressive behaviors, low self-esteem, anxiety, among other developmental problems. Additionally, pandemic lockdown hinders access to mental health services for RCH service providers, and limits children to external mental health support and resources. The objective of this study was to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a remote-applied Emotional-Intelligence-based intervention program (RA-EIBI) for children living in RCH during pandemic lockdown. A non-parametric pre-test, treatment, post-test comparative design was used to evaluate effectiveness of the intervention program. Seven children living in RCH during pandemic lockdown were initially assessed using Evaluation of Neurological Soft Signs, and Empathy Quotient (EQ-I) to estimate emotional intelligence quotient. A 10 session RA-EIBI program was designed and applied to the children after initial assessment, and a final evaluation was conducted to perform related samples comparisons. Results shown a non-significant mean increase of intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, and emotional state, all emotional intelligence-related skills. A RA-EIBI program is an accessible resource for RCH, and children living under this condition. EI skills were maintained along the social isolation period due to COVID-19. Followup of emotional conditions of children demonstrated an improvement in self-perceived well-being.

Abstract Despite the lightning-fast advances in the management of SARS-CoV after 2 years of pandemic, COVID-19 continues to pose a challenge for fragile patients, who could benefit from early administration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to reduce the risk of severe disease progression. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate effectiveness of mAbs against SARS-CoV-2 among patients at risk for severe disease progression, namely elderly and those with comorbidities, before the omicron variant surge. Patients were treated with either casirivimab/imdevimab, sotrovimab, and bamlanivimab/etesevimab. The rates and risk factos for clinical worsening, hospitalization, ICU admission and death (unfavourable outcomes) were evaluated. A stratified analysis according to the presence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG was also performed. Among 185 included patients, we showed low rates of unfavorable outcomes (9.2%), which were more frequent in patients with chronic kidney disease (aOR: 10.44, 95CI: 1.73-63.03; p<0.05) and basal D-dimer serum concentrations >600 ng/ml (aOR 21.74, 95CI: 1.18-397.70; p<0.05). Patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 serology at baseline showed higher C-reactive protein values compared with patients with positive serology (p <0.05) and showed a trend toward a higher admission rate to SICU and ICU compared with patients with positive serology. Our results thus showed, in a real-life setting, the efficacy of mAbs against SARS-CoV-2 before Omicron surge when the available mabs become not effective.

The world’s human population is reaching record longevities. Consequently, our societies are experiencing the impacts of prolonged longevity, such as increased retirement age. A major hypothesised influence on ageing patterns is resource limitation, formalised under calorie restriction theory. This theory predicts extended organismal longevity due to reduced calorie intake without malnutrition. However, several challenges face current calorie restriction (CR) research and, although several attempts have been made to overcome these challenges, there is still a lack of holistic understanding of how CR shapes organismal vitality. Here, we conduct a literature review of 222 CR peer-reviewed publications to summarise the state-of-the-art in the field. We use this summary to highlight challenges of CR research in our understanding of its impacts on longevity. Our review demonstrates that experimental research in this field is biased towards short-lived species (98.2% of studies examine species with <5 years of mean life expectancy) and lacks realism in key areas, such as stochastic environments or interactions with other environmental drivers such as temperature. We argue that only by considering a range of short- and long-lived species and by taking more realistic approaches can the impacts of CR on longevity be examined and validated in natural settings. We conclude by proposing experimental designs and study species that will allow the discipline to gain a much-needed understanding of how restricting caloric intake affects long-lived species in realistic settings. Through incorporating more experimental realism, we anticipate crucial insights that will ultimately shape the myriad of socio-bio-economic impacts of senescence in humans and other species across the Tree of Life.

Background: The tsunami and earthquake occurred in 1927 and 2018 made life quality of Da’a Tribe women in refugee camps was affected by violence. It affects on women reproductive health in various aspects of life as high maternal mortality rate of 450 per 100 thousand live births and half of women victims of natural disasters have reproductive health problems such as anemia and malnutrition during pregnancy. The study objective is to explore the health quality of women related to the couple violence during the humanitarian crisis at refugees’ camps. Method: The population was 798 cases of violence. The 90 samples were selected by simple random sampling and calculated by Slovin method. Data analysis was done by descriptive qualitative and cross tabulation. The research location was Palu City. Results: The research findings showed that health quality of Da’a Tribe women after the couple violence is influenced by three factors, namely economic by 40%, psychological by 7%, violence during pregnancy 59.3%. Conclusion: Social life and women violence handling can be done by symbolizing the threat of criminal law for male perpetrators in accordance with applicable laws in Indonesia and improving the life quality of population, especially women in education and skills through empowering the family economy and increasing gender equality justice.

The evolution of life on the planet Earth is happening primarily in the universe and secondary on the Earth. We will examine in this article evolution of life as the cosmic phenomena. In our model multidimensional time-invariant superfluid quantum space that is the fundamental arena of the universe and represents about 95% of the energy in the universe has stable entropy. The increase of entropy happens only by about 5% of the energy in the universe that is in the form of matter. The evolution of life in our model is a process of matter organization into living systems that tends to develop towards the constant entropy of the time-invariant multidimensional quantum space. This process runs in the entire universe. The development of life into intelligent organisms is the universal process running throughout the entire universe.

The mitochondrial network is a dynamic organization within eukaryotic cells that participates in a variety of essential cellular processes, such as ATP synthesis, central metabolism, apoptosis and inflammation. The mitochondrial network is balanced between rates of fusion and fission that respond to pathophysiologic signals to coordinate appropriate mitochondrial processes. Mitochondrial fusion and fission are regulated by proteins that either reside or translocate to the inner or outer mitochondrial membranes or are soluble in the inter-membrane space. Mitochondrial fission and fusion are performed by GTPases on the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes with the assistance of other mitochondrial proteins. Due to the essential nature of mitochondrial function for cellular homeostasis regulation of mitochondrial dynamics is under strict control. Some of the mechanisms used to regulate the function of these proteins are post-translational proteolysis and/or turnover and this review will discuss these mechanisms required for correct mitochondrial network organization.

This paper presents a hypothesis about the origins of life in a clay mineral, starting with the earliest molecules, continuing through the increasing complexity of the development, in neighboring clay niches, of “Metabolism First,” “RNA World,” and other necessary components of life, to the encapsulation by membranes of the components in the niches, to the interaction and fusion of these membrane-bound protocells, resulting finally in a living cell, capable of reproduction and evolution. Biotite (black mica) in micaceous clay is the proposed site for this origin of life. Mechanical energy of moving biotite sheets provides one endless source of energy. Potassium ions between biotite sheets would be the source of the high intracellular potassium ion concentrations in all living cells.

This study explores individual and contextual risk factors for the onset of work interfering with private life (WIL) and private life interfering with work (LIW) among self-employed men and women across European countries. It also studies the relationship between interference (LIW and WIL) and wellbeing among self-employed men and women and the effect of macro level risk factors. Data from the fifth round of European Working Conditions Survey was utilized and a sample of self-employed men and women with active businesses was extracted. Applying multilevel regressions, results show that though business characteristics are important for level of WIL, time demand is the most evident risk factor for WIL and LIW. There is a relationship between wellbeing and WIL and LIW respectively, and time demands is the most important factor in this relationship. Gender equality on the labor market did not relate to level of interference, nor did it mediate the relationship between interference and wellbeing. However, the main and most important risk factor for experiencing WIL and LIW and for how interference relate to wellbeing is gender relation processes in work and life, both on individual and contextual level.

Nowadays, the development of civilization requires a vision of balancing the interests of employees and employers in the sphere of work as never before. Work-life balance is directly linked to social sustainability. The aim of this article is to analyse various dimensions of mutual enrichment of the professional and private life of an individual and to describe how positive experiences in professional and non-professional life influence the improvement of satisfaction, health and achievements, thus enabling the sustainable development of the individual. The conducted research was of a qualitative nature. Thematic exploration was used to analyse the findings of 34 in-depth interviews with experienced HR managers and employees at various levels of enterprises in Poland. The research shows that the work and personal life of the respondents interact, complement, and enrich in different ways, depending on the stage of the employee’s life. Habits developed by practicing a specific sport discipline or other type of hobby are helpful in the effective implementation of professional tasks. Also, non-professional interests, including communing with culture and art have a positive impact on professional activities. On the other hand, the respondents emphasized that thanks to their professional activities, specific to the type of work they perform, they are sometimes more extroverted, meticulous, organized and consistent when performing activities outside of work and in other aspects of private life.

To evaluate the used and End-of-Life tyre management chains, both direct observation and interviews with approximately 200 used-tyre dealers were conducted. The study revealed that while the used tyre business is well-organized, End-of-Life tyre treatment is nearly non-existent, often involving dumping, open burning for metal recovery, or use in meat processing, causing environmental and health risks. To address these challenges, an 8 t/hr capacity tyre recycling plant is planned, based on estimated tyre availability and development opportunities for sustainable recycling in Togo.

Various dietary supplements have been shown to extend the life span of Drosophila melanogaster, including several that promote autophagy, such as rapamycin and spermidine. The goal of the study presented here was to test numerous additional potential anti-aging supplements, primarily inhibitors of the target of rapamycin (TOR) and/or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K). Using a single, comparatively long-lived y w test strain, screening was performed in male flies supplemented either throughout adulthood or in a few cases beginning in middle or late adult life, with concentrations spanning 4-6 orders of magnitude in most cases. Supplementation with PP242 and deferiprone, an iron chelator, beginning in late adult life had no positive effect on life span. Lifelong supplementation with Ku-0063794, LY294002, PX-866-17OH, Torin2 and WYE-28 had no effect at any dose. Rapamycin, spermidine and wortmannin all had significant life-shortening effects at the highest doses tested. AZD8055, PI-103 hydrochloride and WYE-132 yielded slight beneficial effects at 1-2 doses, but only 100 nM AZD8055 was confirmed to have a minor (1.3%) effect in a replicate experiment, which was encompassed by other control groups within the same study. These compounds had no effect on fly fecundity (egg-laying) or fertility (development of progeny to adulthood), but equivalent doses of rapamycin abolished fertility. The solvent DMSO had no significant effect on life span at the concentrations used to solubilize most compounds in the fly medium, but it drastically curtailed both survival and fertility at higher concentrations. 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin also failed to extend the life span when provided throughout adulthood or beginning in mid-adult life. Collectively, the results suggest that inhibition of the TOR/PI3K pathway and autophagy through dietary intervention is not a straightforward anti-aging strategy in Drosophila, and that further extension of life is difficult in comparatively long-lived flies.

In the ongoing shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) primarily utilizing lithium-ion battery technology, a significant population of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) remains operational, reliant on established NiMH battery systems. Over the last twenty years, these HEVs have generated a substantial quantity of NiMH batteries that are either inoperable, experiencing performance degradation, or approaching the end of their service life. This results in a twofold challenge: a growing volume of environmentally hazardous waste due to the difficulty of NiMH battery reclamation, and escalating maintenance costs for HEV owners necessitated by replacement battery purchases. Patent WO2015092107A1, published in 2015, proposed a "Method for regenerating NiMh batteries." This method claims the ability to restore NiMH batteries to their original functionality. However, a comprehensive review of relevant scientific literature fails to identify any empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of the regeneration technique detailed in the patent. Within this context, this paper presents a detailed analysis and evaluation of the feasibility of the aforementioned patented method. To achieve this objective, the authors propose a prototype constructed utilizing NiMH battery cells sourced from a Toyota Prius. The experimental results obtained from this prototype demonstrate the potential for battery regeneration using the proposed method. These findings offer a promising solution for mitigating the challenges associated with NiMH battery disposal and maintenance within the HEV domain.

A proposed low-temperature forging method aims to enhance stainless steel bearings by creating a martensitic subsurface layer, significantly boosting bearing fatigue life due to increased surface hardness. This technique induces beneficial residual stresses, particularly in axial bearings, streamlining their construction and improving machine elements. Challenges persist, especially with radial bearings, but simplicity in axial bearing forging promotes compact, resource-efficient facility construction. Future research will focus on applying this technique to axial bearing washers, potentially replicating success in other bearing components. Despite the energy ex-penditure for cooling during forging, the substantial increase in bearing fatigue life offsets this, enhancing overall longevity and reliability of critical machine components. Integration of this forging technique into bearing fabrication appears seamless, offering a promising trade-off be-tween energy use and enhanced performance.

Hearing loss that arises from various causes at different stages of life has a direct impact on individuals' physical and mental well-being. This paper aimed to evaluate the employment, workplace adaptation, productivity, and professional success of individuals who have hearing loss and whose hearing loss is corrected with a cochlear implant. In this cross-sectional study, the data was collected between November 2022 and March 2023 with the participation of individuals with cochlear implants living in several settlements in all regions of Türkiye. A total of 142 participants with severe hearing loss who were corrected with a cochlear implant were included in this study. The survey method was used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire consisted of 32 questions and was distributed to the participants online. In the first part of the questionnaire (1-10 questions), general characteristics of implant patients were investigated. In the second part (11-32 questions), the positive or negative effects of implantation on the work life of the participants were evaluated. Almost half of the research group (49.3%, n = 70) consisted of women, and the mean age of the participants was determined to be 35.8 ± 14.8. There was no significant difference between gender, educational status, implanted side, working time, working style (physical, desk), and factors affecting work life (p > 0.05). Professional satisfaction and success at work increased significantly more in those with acquired hearing loss (p = 0.010). Post-implantation workplace compliance, success, and productivity were found to be higher in those with acquired hearing loss (p = 0.013). It was observed that hearing loss had a greater negative impact on the work life of married people (p = 0.006). Cochlear implantation greatly enhances workplace satisfaction, increases self-confidence, and has a positive impact on the future of profoundly deaf individuals.

Background: Given the extensive translation of the Prolapse Quality of Life Questionnaire (P-QoL) into many languages, it is imperative to develop an Arabic version to facilitate study on Pelvic organ health within the Arabian culture. Objective: To investigate, cross culturally adapt and validate Arabic version of the P-QoL. Study Design: Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric testing. Methods: A total of 90 participants were included in the study. This cross-sectional study went through two phases; during phase I, the P-QoL was translated and adapted from English into Arabic. The Arabic version was psychometrically validated during phase II using the test-retest reliability internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, convergent construct validity (CC) among the four study tools using Spearman’s coefficient (r) and discriminative validity using Mann-Whitney test to find differences between the means of the two samples. Results: A satisfactory level of semantic, conceptual, idiomatic, and content comparability was reached in the cross-cultural adaptation of the Arabic version of the P-QoL questionnaire. The internal consistency was high in terms of psychometric validation, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.971 for the P-QoL questionnaire. The test-retest results showed a high reliability with interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of P-QoL = 0.987. The convergent construct validity was highly accepted (moderately strong), reflecting a positive correlation between the Arabic version of the P-QoL and the Australian Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Questionnaire (APFD) r = 0.68 (p &lt; 0.001). Similarly, a significant convergent validity of P-QoL Arabic version and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) r = 0.47 (p &lt; 0.001) was found, as well as the correlation between the APFD and the VAS r = 0.46 (p &lt; 0.001). However, there were no significant correlation between the SF-12, the P-QoL, the APFD, and the VAS. Conclusion: Based on a significant correlation between the Arabic APFD and the VAS, the results reveal good reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. It is recommended that Arabic-speaking females with pelvic organ prolapse use the Arabic version of the P-QoL. More research is needed to assess the responsiveness of the P-QoL.

There are several forms of maintenance high-efficiency hemodialysis (HD) including hemodiafiltrations (HDF) in different technic modes and expanded HD using dialyzers with medium cut-off membranes. The aim of the study was to assess the intradialytic tolerance and length of dialysis recovery time (DRT) in these modalities. This is an exploratory, cross-over study in maintenance HD patients with low comorbidity and no clinical indications for the use of high-efficiency HD, who were exposed to five intermittent dialysis in random order: high flux hemodialysis (S-HD), expanded HD (HDx), pre-dilution HDF (PRE-HDF), mix-dilution HDF (MIX-HDF) and post-dilution HDF (POST-HDF). 24 dialysis sessions of each method were included in the analysis. Dialysis parameters including blood flow rate, dialysis fluid flow rate and temperature, and pharmacological treatment were constant. Average total convection volume for post-HDF, pre-HDF and mix-HDF were 25.6 (3.8), 61.5 (7.2) and 47.1 (11.4) l, respectively. During all therapies, patients had similar hydration status monitored using bioimpedance spectroscopy and similar variability over time in systemic blood pressure, cardiac output, and peripheral resistance monitored using impedance cardiography. The lowest frequency of all intradialytic adverse events were observed during HDx. Delayed DRT was the shortest during PRE-HDF. Patients were also more likely to report immediate recovery while receiving PRE-HDF. These differences did not reach statistical significance, however the study results suggest that, intradialytic tolerance and DRT may depend on the dialysis method used. This support the need of taking into account patient preferences and quality of life while individualizing high efficiency therapy in HD patients.

By virtue of the knowledge of the beneficial effect of the warm and dry storage, for the growth of the chincuya seed embryo, defined as morphological dormancy. The effect of the same type of storage was studied for the seed viability and germination by soaking gibberellic acid. Also, fatty acids and their kinetics were identified during the warm and dry storage. The following treatments were evaluated: storage time (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months), seed soaking in gibberellic acid at 350 mg L-1, and for the control, imbibition in distilled water, both for 72 h. The seed viability was evaluated through the stain test with tetrazolium chloride. The embedded seeds were germinated on absorbent paper towels and incubated at different temperatures of 30 ° C during the day and 25 ° C at night and 12 hours of photoperiod. The lipid profile was developed by gas chromatography. Seeds were held at constant temperature of 25 ± 3 ° C, in darkness, during the storage time. Results demon-strated that the high initial viability was maintained until the ninth month, when it decreases and is statisti-cally different from the other treatments. The smaller germination percentage (26.1 %) was observed in the freshly harvested seeds and, the higher one corresponded to the six months (65.6 %), with these differences being statistically significant. Regarding the identified fatty acids and their average content, it was found that 33.41 % corresponded to palmitic acid, 7.72 % to stearic acid; the arachidic acid with 1.30 %, making a total of saturated fatty acids of 42.44 %. The detected unsaturated fatty acids were: palmitoleic acid 1.52 %, oleic acid 43.37 % and linoleic acid 7.24 %, in total, 52.15 %. No significative changes were observed in the fatty acids content that are the largest part of the total seed reserves; although the higher concentrations matched with the longest germination (three months), with an average of 92.84 % total fatty acids. Specified regressions indi-cated with statistical robustness that palmitoleic and palmitic acids increased while the oleic acid decreased during the dry storage. The arachidic acid showed a slightly downward trend. Also, the concentrations of fat-ty acids were significatively different between unstored and unincubated seeds (intact) and unstored and in-cubated, but without germinating seeds (dormant), in the latter, the total fatty acids content was significantly lower. Given that the application of gibberellic acid and warm dry storage favored germination, as well as the change in fatty acid content during warm dry storage, added to the results already reported on morphological changes and embryonic growth as an effect of the same type of storage, it is established that Annona purpurea seeds present morphophysiological dormancy, also this is the first identification report of arachidic and pal-mitoleic acids in chincuya seeds and the higher germination percentage reported (65.6 %).

The study conducts a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis to assess the environmental impact of two different manufacturing processes used to produce transparent dental aligners. The former method consists of thermoforming a polymeric disc over 3D printed, customized models, while the second, more innovative approach involves the direct printing of aligners using additive manufacturing (AM), specifically applying digital light processing (DLP) technology. The analysis results highlight how adopting direct printing through AM brings significant advantages in terms of environmental sustainability, thanks to the substantial reduction in raw materials and electricity consumption. These drops translate into decreased potential environmental impacts across all impact categories considered within the EF 3.1 method. Furthermore, lowering the amount of raw materials needed in the direct printing process contributes to a notable decrease in the overall volume of waste generated, emphasising the environmental benefits of this innovative technique.

In view of the increasing age of cardiac surgery patients, questions arise about the expected postoperative quality of life and the hoped-for prolonged life expectancy. Little is known so far about this weighting by the patients concerned. This study aims to obtain information on the patient’s preferences. Between 2015 and 2017, data from 1349 consecutive patients from seven heart centers in Germany undergoing cardiac surgery were analyzed. Baseline data regarding the patient’s situation as well as a questionnaire regrading quality of life versus lifespan were taken preoperatively. Patients were divided by age into 4 groups: below 60, 60-70, 70-80, and above 80 years. As a result, if one had to decide between quality of life and length of life, about 60% of the male patients decided for quality of life, independent of their age. On the other hand, female patient’s decision for quality of life increased significantly with age, from 51% in the group below sixty to 76% in the group above eighty years. This finding suggests that the female patients adapt their preferences with age whereas male patients do not. This should impact further treatment decisions of elderly patients in cardiac surgery within a shared decision-making process.

Abstract: The migration and transformation of pesticides in the environment will have an impact on the ecosystem. This study collected greenhouse soil from Shouguang, Shandong Province, and studied the photodegradation and leaching of 17 common pesticides in the soil. The results of photodegradation experiments showed that the degradation rate of certain pesticides was increased in the light environment, compared with that in the dark controls. The light half-lives of emamectin benzoate, pyraclostrobin, and metalaxyl were all shorter than their respective dark half-lives, indicating that their residues in soil were greatly affected by light. The leaching experiment showed that the leaching potential of the leachable pesticides was: nitenpyram ≫ metalaxyl &gt; acetamiprid &gt; carbendazim &gt; diethofencarb ≈ chlorantraniliprole &gt; isoprothiolane &gt; oxadixyl &gt; boscalid ≈ tebuconazole &gt; hexaconazole. Pesticides that are easy to leach but not easy to degrade, such as chlorantraniliprole and metalaxyl, have a high potential risk of groundwater pollution, and more degradation technologies should be used to reduce their pollution risk. The study on photodegradation and vertical migration behavior of various pesticides in this study was conducive to providing references for the agricultural use and pollution control of pesticides.

This study explores the relationship between mental and physical therapeutic through three dimensions: man-environment relationships; a sense of place and symbolic landscapes. The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Local residents living in the coastal area of Xinglin Bay are the research objects. Quantitative data analysis revealed that the frequency of residents' visits was an important variable affecting their physical and treatment perceptions. In addition, the significance is higher for females than for males. The text analysis shows that the environment, especially the ecological restoration of water quality and migratory birds, is of great significance to the identity of local residents. Daily activities contribute to a sense of place and are what make the coast a place of therapeutic landscape function.

High-level performance in mountain sports would be unlikely unless different emotional factors are taken into account through the analysis of psychological characteristics such as mood, resilience or motivation, among many others. In this study, 788 people with a sports degree from the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME) participated, 75.3% are men and 24.5% are women. The mean age of the participants was 49.8 years (±12.8), ranging from 18 to 76 years. The Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS-S), the RS-14 Resilience Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) instrument were used. The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between the dimensions of emotional intelligence, resilience and life satisfaction. The results showed a relationship between several of the dimensions from the instruments used (p<.01). In terms of gender, higher scores were found for women than for men. The regression model shows that both the dimensions of emotional intelligence [Appraisal of own emotions (β=.104; p<.001); Use of emotions (β=.30; p&lt;.001); Emotional Regulation (β=.103; p<.001)] and resilience [Personal competence (β=.402; p<.001)], are predictors of greater life satisfaction, with 44.1% positively explained by the regression model. Further proposals should extend the results obtained with the analysis of more sports modalities and provide evidence that would complement those extracted in this research.

Viruses are the most numerically abundant biological entities on Earth. As ubiquitous replicators of information molecules and agents of community change, viruses have potent effects on life on Earth and may play a critical role in human spaceflight missions, life detection missions to other planetary bodies, and in planetary protection. However, major knowledge gaps constrain our understanding of the Earth’s virosphere: 1) the role viruses play in biogeochemical cycles, 2) the origin(s) of viruses, and 3) the involvement of viruses in the evolution, distribution, and persistence of life. As viruses are the only replicators that span all known types of nucleic acids, an expanded experimental and theoretical toolbox built for Earth’s viruses will be pivotal for detecting and understanding life on Earth and beyond. Only by filling in these knowledge and technical gaps will we obtain an inclusive assessment of how to distinguish and detect life on other planetary surfaces. Meanwhile, space exploration requires life-support systems for the needs of humans, plants, and their microbial inhabitants. Viral effects on microbes and plants are essential for Earth’s biosphere and human health, but virus-host interactions in spaceflight are poorly understood. Viral relationships with their hosts respond to environmental changes in complex ways which are difficult to predict by extrapolating from Earth-based proxies. These relationships must therefore be studied in space to fully understand how spaceflight will modulate viral impacts on human health and life-support systems, including microbiomes. This review addresses key questions that must be examined to incorporate viruses into Earth system models, life-support systems, and life detection. Further, the results of tackling these questions will help in our efforts to develop planetary protection protocols and further our understanding of viruses in astrobiology.

External stressors strongly increase cardiovascular activity and induce metabolic changes that ensure the availability of glucose and oxygen as part of a co-ordinated stress response. Exposure to stress during early life appears to have an exaggerated long-term effect on this response, leading to an increased risk or cardiometabolic disorders. Here we demonstrate that acute stress induced glucose release is impacted by the early life environment in rodent maternal deprivation and early-life infection models and this was validated in our EpiPath human early-life adversity cohort. In all three models differences in baseline blood glucose levels after ELA exposure were sex dependent. The human ELA model showed higher levels of basal glucose in females, similar to the mouse infection and rat maternal deprivation models. We anticipated that the stress induced glucose rise would be a GC dependent process. However, the kinetics of stress-induced glucose release, peaking 15-28 minutes before cortisol suggest that it is a GC-independent process. We confirmed this by administering an escalating dose of cortisol to a health human cohort, and the inability of an intravenous GC bolus induce a glucose rise in man confirms that it is a rapid, GC independent, process.In conclusion, we provide a novel perspective on the mechanisms behind stress related metabolic changes and highlights the importance of collecting early life data as a measure to understand an individual’s metabolic status in a better light.

Reducing overall food intake or lowering the proportion of protein relative to other macronutrients, can extend lifespan in diverse organisms. A number of mechanistic theories have been developed to explain this phenomenon, mostly assuming that the molecules connecting diet to lifespan are evolutionarily conserved. A recent study using Drosophila melanogaster females has pinpointed a single essential micronutrient that can explain how lifespan is changed by dietary restriction. Here, we propose a likely mechanism for this observation, which involves a trade-off between lifespan and reproduction, but in a manner that is conditional on the dietary supply of an essential micronutrient – a sterol. Importantly, these observations argue against previous evolutionary theories that rely on constitutive resource reallocation or damage directly inflicted by reproduction. Instead, they are compatible with a model in which the inverse relationship between lifespan and food level is caused by the consumer suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition when maintained on lab food. The data also indicate that animals on different lab foods may suffer from different nutritional imbalances and that the mechanisms by which dietary restriction benefits the lifespan of different species may vary. This means that translating the mechanistic findings from lab animals to humans will not be simple and should be interpreted in light of the range of challenges that have shaped each organism’s lifespan in the wild and the composition of the natural diets they would feed on.

The article presents an original method to assess the sustainability of concrete. The method uses three parameters, namely: performance, lifetime and environmental impact, to calculate a sustainability index. The originality and the simplicity of the proposed method presented in the article consists in the fact that by applying the relation to determine the sustainability index, the first two factors service life and performance are constant. This approach is possible in the context of the new proposals to specify the durability of structural concrete in EN 1992 and EN 206. That allows classification of concrete according to its performance, through Environmental action Resistance Classes (ERC). For this purpose, specific experimental methods were used in order to determine the performance of concrete exposed to carbonation. The concretes were prepared with two cement types with additions (CEM II / A-S and CEM II / A-M (S-LL)). Based on the carbonation resistance classes (the first constant - the performance) and exposure classes, the thickness of the concrete cover layer was determined to ensure a certain service lifetime (second constant - the service lifetime). Finally, the global warming potential was calculated for each composition, consequently allowing the users of the method, to select the compositions with the lowest impact on the environment.

This article presents a method to assess the sustainability of concrete based on three elements: service life, performance and environmental impact. The method proposes - to achieve similar performance and service life times, regardless of the component materials used, so that the sustainability assessment ultimately depends on the environmental impact criterion. To this end, specific experimental methods are used to determine the performance of concrete in terms of compressive strength and carbonation resistance for concrete cast with two blended cement types. The procedure needed to classify the concrete through carbonation resistance is detailed, in relationship with the performance obtained for compressive strength. The obtained results highlight the concrete formulations to be used to ensure similar performances regardless of the cement type used. In conclusion, the simplicity in the application of the method, which is closely related to the performance approach on concrete durability in the revision proposals of the European standards, is highlighted. The method is also a useful tool to encourage the widespread use in concrete formulation of blended cements with low environmental impact, without reducing the performance or service life time of the constructions.

Chemical weed control using herbicide glyphosate to manage emerged weeds is an important production practice in Florida citrus. Despite the extensive use of glyphosate in citrus orchards, very limited information is available on its environmental fate and behavior in Florida soils that are predominantly sandy in nature. Hence, the study's objective was to understand the adsorption-desorption, dissipation dynamics, and vertical movement or leaching of glyphosate in sandy soils in citrus orchards. Laboratory, field, and greenhouse experiments were conducted at Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, Florida. The adsorption-desorption behavior of glyphosate in the soils from three major citrus production areas in Florida was studied utilizing a batch equilibrium method. The dissipation of glyphosate was tracked in the field following its application at the rate of 4.20 kg ae ha-1. Soil leaching columns in greenhouse conditions were used to study the vertical movement of glyphosate. The results suggest that glyphosate has a relatively lower range of adsorption or binding (Kads = 14.28 to 30.88) in the tested soil types. The field dissipation half-life (DT50) of glyphosate from surface soil was found to be 26 days. Glyphosate moved vertically or leached into the soil profile, up to 40 cm in the soil column, when analyzed 40 days after herbicide application. The primary degradation product of glyphosate, i.e., aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA), was also detected up to the depth of 30 cm below the soil surface, indicating the presence of microbial metabolism of glyphosate in the soil.

(1)Background: This report was an effective evaluation of using multimedia educational program for self-care and quality of life in patients with a stoma at postoperative and established a simple threshold for enterostomy self-care skills.(2)Methods:108 patients with enterostomy were randomly assigned to receive either the intervention multimedia education program (including information about preparation for enterostomy care, cleaning method, manual bag replacement steps and precautions). The primary outcome was self-care ability and quality of life (defined as overall enterostomy self-care ability and overall quality of life), which was assessed at 2 weeks after intervention via an interview.(3)Results: Compared with those who in the conventional stoma education program, patients received the multimedia education program significantly improved their overall self-care ability and quality of life in statistically. The threshold of the enterostomy self-care skill scale was 20 points, and its corresponding sensitivity was 77.8%, and the specificity was 75.7%.(4)Conclusions: According to our study, the multimedia education program could enhance self-care ability of home care and quality of life in patients with enterostomy.

Secondary and tertiary prevention strategies targeting people with disabilities to improve their health and wellbeing is important. In Sweden, >95% of all children with cerebral palsy (CP) participate in a follow-up program, where one of the goals is the prevention of hip dislocations. We reviewed the incidence of hip dislocations from 2010 to 2019 and the number of children who underwent different types of hip surgeries. The number of hip dislocations was reduced from 8.8% before introduction of the program to 0.3-0.4% up to 2015, followed by a gradual increase to 0.8% in 2019. The proportion of children who underwent adductor-psoas lengthening as their primary preventive surgery decreased from 50% in 2017 to 37% in 2019 with a corresponding increase of children undergoing femoral osteotomy, indicating more children underwent surgery at a later stage. Reasons for the increased number of children with hip dislocation may be that more children have moved to Sweden in recent years without corresponding compensation in health care resources and increased waiting times for surgery due to, among other things, a shortage of nurses. The results highlight the importance of constantly monitoring follow-up programs.

Although increasing knowledge about biological systems has advanced exponentially in recent decades, it is surprising to realize that the very definition of Life keeps presenting theoretical challenges. Even if several lines of reasoning seek to identify the essence of life phenomenon, most of these thoughts contain fundamental problem in their basic conceptual structure. Most concepts fail to identify necessary and sufficient features to define life. Here, we analyzed the main conceptual framework regarding theoretical aspects supporting life concepts, such as (i) the physical, (ii) the cellular and (iii) the molecular approaches. Based on ontological analysis, we propose that Life should not be positioned under the ontological category of Matter. Yet, life should be better understood under the top-level ontology of “Process”. Exercising an epistemological approach, we propose that the essential characteristic pervading each and every living being is the presence of organic codes. Therefore, we explore theories in biosemiotics in order to propose a clear concept of life as a macrocode composed by multiple inter-related coding layers. Therefore, we suggest a clear distinction between the concept of life and living beings, a distinction that is not evident in theoretical terms. From the proposed concept, we suggest that the evolutionary process is a fundamental characteristic for life’s maintenance but not to its definition. The current proposition opens a fertile field of debate in astrobiology, biosemiotics and robotics.

Space missions have always assumed that the risk of spacecraft malfunction far outweighs the risk of human system failure. This assumption breaks down for longer duration exploration missions and exposes vulnerabilities in space medical system. Space agencies can no longer buy down the majority of human system risk through the crew member selection process and emergency re-supply or evacuation. No mature medical solutions exist to close the risk gap. With recent advances in biotechnology, there is promise in augmenting a space pharmacy with a biologically-based space foundry for on-demand manufacturing of high-value medical products. Here we review the challenges and opportunities of molecular pharming, the production of pharmaceuticals in plants, as the basis of a space medical foundry to close the risk gap in current space medical systems. Plants have long been considered an important life support object in space and can now also be viewed as programmable factories in space. Advances in molecular pharming-based space foundries will have widespread application in promoting simple and accessible pharmaceutical manufacturing on Earth.

Maximum entropy production principle (MEPP) has been formulated in the mid-twentieth century, and today it has acquired the status of an important principle of science, which is extremely effective in considering various non-equilibrium problems. In this study, for the first time, definition of life is based on an easily measurable physical quantity that is entropy production. Life and evolution are discussed from the point of view of MEPP and the Universe, but not a human

In order to synchronize foreign policies of governments, firm actions in the form of economic sanctions have long been employed by western countries. Those countries that tend to have independent views and policies are made to undergo economic adversity to fall in line. But the hardest hit by these coercive actions are the ordinary citizens who have to endure immense difficulty with social and economic issues not to mention the human rights violations. This paper provides a review regarding the effect of economic sanctions on mental health and quality of life of Iranian citizens based on data available from Iran post-sanctions. From 2012 stronger sanctions have been implemented on Iran as its nuclear program failed to draw faith in terms of its peaceful execution. Evidence have pointed out that economic sanctions imposed by western countries have a detrimental and destructive effect on the health of individual Iranians and they violated some basic human rights.

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder triggered by the ingestion of gluten and affects approximately 1% of the global population. Currently, the only treatment available is lifelong strict adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). Chronic diseases such as CD affect patients and their family members’ quality of life (QoL); particularly parents and caregivers who play an essential role in the child’s care and treatment. A higher level of psychological distress has been found in the parents of children with chronic ailments due to limited control over the child’s daily activities and the child’s illness. In this context, the validation of a specific questionnaire of QoL is a valuable tool to evaluate the difficulties faced by parents or caregivers of children with this chronic illness. A specific questionnaire for this population can elucidate the reasons for stress in their daily lives as well as the physical, mental, emotional, and social impact caused by CD. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate a specific questionnaire to evaluate the QoL of parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with CD. The study was developed in six steps: (i) development of the CD parent/caregiver QoL questionnaire (CDPC-QoL); (ii) subjective evaluation; (iii) validation of the questionnaire by the Delphi method; (iv) evaluation of the internal consistency and reproducibility of the CDPC-QoL; (v) application of the questionnaire to Brazilian CD parents or caregivers; and (vi) statistical analysis. Overall results showed that a higher family income resulted in a higher score of the worries domain. In addition, having another illness besides CD decreased the QoL (except in the worries domain). The other variables studied did not present a statistically significant impact on the QoL, which was shown to be low in all aspects. Knowledge of the QoL is important to help implement effective strategies to improve celiac patients’ quality of life and reduce their physical, emotional, and social burden.

Current cellular facts allow us to follow the link from chemical to biochemical metabolites, from the ancient to the modern world. In this context, the "RNA world" hypothesis proposes that early in the evolution of life, the ribozyme was responsible for the storage and transfer of genetic information and for the catalysis of biochemical reactions. Accordingly, the hammerhead ribozyme (HHR) and the hairpin ribozyme, belong to a family of endonucleolytic RNAs performing self-cleavage that might occur during replication. Furthermore, regarding the ultraconserved occurrence of HHR in several genomes of modern organisms (from mammals to small parasites and elsewhere), these small ribozymes have been regarded as living fossils of a primitive RNA world. They fold into 3D structures that generally require long-range intramolecular interactions to adopt the catalytically active conformation under specific physicochemical conditions. By studying viroids as plausible remains of ancient RNA, we recently demonstrated that they replicate in non-specific hosts, emphasizing their adaptability to different environments, which enhanced their survival probability over the ages. All these results exemplify ubiquitously features of life. Those are the versatility and efficiency of small RNAs, viroids and ribozymes, as well as their diversity and adaptability to various extreme conditions. All these traits must have originated in early life to generate novel RNA populations.

Understanding the reproductive patterns and strategies of a species is an important step in establishing the species’ life history. Campostoma oligolepis, the Largescale Stoneroller, is a species that has received little attention in the 90 years since it was first identified, and the work that has been done has been localized in the American Midwest. Collections of C. oligolepis were made monthly from the Flint River in Madison County in northern Alabama, USA, from March, 2014, to September, 2015. A total of 768 fish were collected over the collection period including 492 adults, 268 females and 224 males. We found strong evidence that the peak spawning time for C. oligolepis in the Flint River is March and April. Ovarian maturation, gonadosomatic index for both sexes, and monthly clutch size all support this conclusion. Two unexpected features were found. The first is how few females of mature size were found to carry either oocytes or a clutch except in the peak observed reproductive month of April, 2014. The second unusual feature is the prevalence of asymmetric ovaries, with the left the larger if a difference exists. Campostoma oligolepis may have unusually strong inter-annual responses to abiotic factors such as water temperature and river discharge.

Nietzsche is almost always regarded as one of the thinkers who advocate extreme individualism, totally indifferent to or exclusively polemical towards the public human dimension. While this is very difficult to contradict, if we read his texts carefully we can see how his constant celebration of the individual runs parallel to an acute awareness of living in a new era, which he defined as ‘the century of the multitude and the masses’. The herd, conformism, mediocrity, public opinion: a civilisation in which community attempts suffocate all individual inspiration, and which therefore seems to row in the opposite direction. Although Nietzsche often uses collective life merely as a negative pole for more effectively emphasising the individual, his provocative words—pushed to the limits of the inexorable victory of the herd and of the paradoxical impossibility of all that is ‘public’—offer us a direct testimony of the tragic way of life of the man of his time. This provides us with an extremely clear and interesting phenomenological cross-section of the social sphere, as well as a very finely tuned and valuable seismograph for the continual monitoring of our everyday coexistence with and perception of the constantly incumbent dangers of its degeneration.

Interrelationships between traditional dental variables are becoming more evident in far reaching aspects of life such as psychosocial interaction, self-esteem, overall health and even occupational performance. This study compares quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women (PMW) with poor oral health (POH) with QoL in PMW with good oral health. 200 randomly recruited PMW received a dental evaluation and completed Utian Quality of Life Survey. The participants were divided into POH and healthy groups based on dental exam. Mean scores were calculated for each QoL item, domain and the overall summary score. For each of the four parameters for periodontitis diagnosis, periodontitis patients’ QoL outcomes were compared to those of healthy patients using T-test with threshold of significance at p<0.05. QoL in all fields measured were significantly poorer in the POH compared to the healthy patients, occupational (19.95±5.35vs. 27.56±6.13), health (18.02±8.23 vs. 26.59 ±6.45), emotional (15.68±10.22vs. 21.15±9.15), sexual (6.2±5.98vs. 10.02±5.35), and total score (60.21±25.85 vs. 84.26±22.35). This study finds that PMW with POH, report significantly poorer quality of life. Clinicians caring for PMW should be aware of that oral health impacts QoL and make appropriate referral decisions for patients’ dental care. Keywords: Quality of Life, Oral Health, Post-menopause, Women

This paper presents a concise exploration of the synthetic biology currently to artificially 1 create life, juxtaposed against natural life’s emergence over Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history. It explores 2 the complexities of life’s origins, sustaining factors, and the consequences of synthetic life creation, 3 addressing key scientific milestones such as the Urey-Miller experiment and Jacques Monod’s pro- 4 posals. The narrative navigates through the roles of energy, Maxwell’s demons, bifurcations, and 5 genetic information in the emergence and evolution of complex biological systems. Despite significant 6 strides in genetic engineering, the challenge of creating life from scratch persists, necessitating a deep 7 understanding of diverse scientific disciplines. While synthetic biology holds promise for medicine 8 and biotechnology, the creation of truly autonomous synthetic life forms raises ethical concerns. The 9 paper also stresses the imperative for careful ethical evaluation of the societal and environmental 10 implications arising from these advancements.

In this review, we explore a broad-based view of technologies for supporting human activities on the Moon. Primarily, we assess the state of life support systems technology beginning with physicochemical processes, waste processing, bioregenerative methods, food production systems and the robotics and advanced biological technologies that support the latter. We observe that the Moon possesses in-situ resources but that these resources are of limited value in CELSS – indeed, CELSS technology is most mature in recycling water and oxygen, the two resources that are abundant on the Moon. This places a premium on developing CELSS that recycles other elements that are rarified on the Moon including C and N in particular but also other elements such as P, S and K which might be challenging to extract from local resources. Although we focus on closed loop ecological life support systems, we also consider related technologies that involve the application of biological organisms to bioregenerative medical technologies and bioregenerative approaches to industrial activity on the Moon as potential future developments.

Forces and mechanical energy are prevalent in living cells. This may be because forces and mechanical energy preceded chemical energy at life’s origins. Mechanical energy is more readily available in non-living systems than the various other forms of energy used by living systems. Two possible prebiotic environments that might have provided mechanical energy are hot pools that experience wet/dry cycles and mica sheets as they move, open and shut, as heat pumps or in response to water movements.

End-of-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries can be reused to reduce their environmental impact and economic costs. However, the growth of a second-life market is limited by the lack of information on the characteristics and performance of these batteries. As the volume of end-of-life EVs may exceed the amount of batteries needed for stationary applications, investigating the possibility of repurposing them in mobile applications is also necessary. This article presents an experimental test that can be used to collect the data necessary to fill a battery passport. The proposed procedure can facilitate the decision making process regarding the suitability of a battery for reuse at the end of its first life. Once the battery passport has been completed, the performance and characteristics of the battery are compared with the requirements of several mobile applications. Mobile charging stations and forklift trucks were identified as relevant applications for the reuse of high capacity prismatic cells. Finally, a definition of a state of health (SoH) is proposed to track the suitability of the battery during use in the second life application considering not only energy but also power and efficiency of the battery. This SoH shows that even taking into account accelerated ageing data, a repurposed battery can have an extended life of 11 years at 25~°C. It has also been shown that energy fade is the most limiting performance for lifetime and that cell-to-cell variation should be tracked as it has been shown to have a significant impact on battery life.

Mechanical forces and mechanical energy are prevalent in living cells. This may be because mechanical forces and mechanical energy preceded chemical energy at life’s origins. Mechanical energy is more readily available in non-living systems than the various forms of chemical energy used by living systems. Two possible prebiotic environments that might have provided mechanical energy are hot pools that experience wet/dry cycles and mica sheets as they move, open and shut, as heat pumps or in response to water movements.

Aim: Esophageal atresia (EA) is the most common congenital esophageal malformation. Thoracoscopic repair is gaining popularity, but controversy persist regarding the ideal surgical approach for this challenging anomaly. Study’s aim is to analyze outcomes in terms of quality of life (QoL) of children undergoing thoracotomy and thoracoscopy for type III EA repair. Methods: Perinatal characteristics, malformations, surgical procedures, complications, gastrointestinal and respiratory current symptoms were collected. QoL were investigated through Esophageal-Atresia-QoL(EAQoL) and Pediatric-QoL(PedsQL)4.0 standardized and validated questionnaires. Statical Mann-Whitney test with significance level p <0.05 was carried out. Main results: A total of 32 patients undergoing type III EA primary repair answered the questionnaire, including 17 thoracotomy and 15 thoracoscopy. Median birth weight was not significantly different between two groups (median[2.385;2.475], p=.3529) while gestational age showed statistically difference (median[36;38], p=.0063). Thirty-five associated malformations (15 thoracotomy, 20 thoracoscopy) in 23 patients were observed. Postoperative complications occurred in 9 patients in thoracotomy group (1 recurrent fistula, 2 leakages, 6 stenosis) and in 6 patients in thoracoscopic group (2 recurrent fistula, 4 stenosis). Analyzing EAQoL we found statistically significant difference in physical health between the two groups (median[83;96], p=0.0119), while there was no difference in social relations, eating and total score (median[100;100], p=0.3473)(median[91;97], p=0.5749)(median[91;96], p=0.1710). Investigating PedsQL, psychosocial-health score (median[88;98], p=0.0069) and total score (median [91;99], p=0.0043) were statically significant different between the groups, whereas there was no difference for physical-health score (median[91;100], p=0.0706). Conclusions: Thoracoscopic EA repair is safe and feasible, allowing patient to have a better QoL in terms of physical and psychosocial health score.

Sarcopenia, characterized by the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength, poses significant risks to physical health, leading to a reduced quality of life (QoL), increased disability, and higher mortality rates among older adults. Early detection and intervention are crucial to prevent the cascading effects of sarcopenia, including falls, fractures, and hospitalization. This study determined an optimal cut-off point of the SarQoL® score that can serve as an effective screening tool among community-dwelling Korean older adults. The study involved 451 South Korean older adults, assessing the correlation between SarQoL® scores and sarcopenia as defined by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria. Participants completed the Korean version of the SarQoL questionnaire. Findings revealed that individuals diagnosed with sarcopenia had significantly lower SarQoL® scores compared to non-sarcopenic participants, with a cut-off score of ≤ 58.5 providing good diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.768, sensitivity = 69.3%, specificity = 75.2%). These results underscore the questionnaire’s reliability and validity in screening for sarcopenia-related QoL impairment and its potential utility as a clinical tool. Implementing the SarQoL® in routine assessments could improve clinical outcomes by enabling earlier and more precise identification of sarcopenia.

Abstract Background The advent of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway has transformed the management of migraine, offering newfound optimism for clinicians and individuals with episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM). While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have provided crucial insights into the effectiveness and safety profiles of these treatments, their translation into real-world clinical practice remains a e challenge. Objective This review aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of real-world studies, offering valuable insights tailored for practical application in clinical settings. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, SCOPUS, and MEDLINE for real-life studies on erenumab, fremanezumab, and galcanezumab. Abstracts underwent rigorous screening by two reviewers for relevance. Data extraction from selected articles was performed using a standardized form, with verification by a second reviewer. Data synthesis was narrative, following PRISMA guidelines. Results Our search included 55 pertinent studies conducted between 2019 and 2023. Real-world study designs demonstrated notable variability in the selection and inclusion of migraine patients, influenced by factors such as attack frequency, data collection criteria, and primary/secondary objectives. Key findings commonly reported considerable improvements in efficacy outcomes (migraine frequency, analgesic use, pain severity, disability), high responder rates, and optimal safety and tolerability profiles. Conclusion Real-world evidence underscores the role of anti-CGRP mAbs as targeted therapies for both CM and EM patients. The overall results indicate that the effectiveness and tolerability of anti-CGRP mAbs in real-world applications may exceed those observed in RCTs, an unprecedented finding in clinical neurology.

Orthodontic appliances may cause discomfort for patients. It could influence person‘s psychological well–being. The aim was to examine psychological health of patients wearing orthodontic appliances. It is important to analyze well-being of patients during orthodontic treatment because it is started in a young age and it may affect one’s psychological health. Therefore, for doctors and patients it is important to understand and take every aspect of the treatment into consideration when deciding when to start the treatment and what appliance to choose. 339 patients answered anonymous questionnaire. They were divided into four groups according to their age and type of appliance. Main reasons to seek treatment were crooked teeth and bad bite. Statistically signifi-cant difference was between women and men as women seeked treatment because of crooked teeth, meanwhile men indicated bad bite as main reason. 48.7% of subjects noted that they were feeling good during treatment, however, 4% of all patients noted that they were feeling bad. 45% of subjects stated that they felt unhappy at least sometimes. 43% of subjects felt stress. Even though patients indicated various negative aspects on their well-being during treatment, for the majority of the subjects end results significantly increased their psychological well-being.

The main objective of this study was the adaptation of the scale named AUTODDIS in the cultural and social dimensions and analyze its reliability and validity. The reliability and validity were assessed through a pilot study conducted with a population of students with intellectual disabilities. The linguistic adaptation was done through expert judgment, including each indicator: the adequacy, the coherence, the relevance, and the clarity. After the scale adaptation, the scale pilot was conducted to explore its technical properties. It was performed in a public school for students with intellectual disabilities. For the content, the validity coefficient result was 0,998 while the complete reliability result was α, 978. For the reliability subscales, the results were the following: Autonomy α, 941; self-initiation α, 925; self-direction α, 970; self-regulation α, 804, and self-concept α, 935. The results confirm the AUTODDIS scale as a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate the self-determination. However, it is necessary to apply to a larger number of people with intellectual disability to generalize these results.

Abstract: Patients with Cleft Lip Palate (CLP) require comprehensive treatment, so the people who take care of them must constantly provide care and support, along with continuous care and support from their caregivers, often extending until youth. The purpose was to compare the Quality of Life (QoL) of caregivers of children with CLP with those without the condition. A cross-sectional paired study was conducted at the Dental Clinic of the Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores (ENES León), National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), from May to December 2021. Primary caregivers of patients with CLP (n=70) were included as well as those of the patients without CLP (n=70) of the same institution. Sample size was calculated considering an OR=2.5, establishing a convenience selection. Caregivers answered the WHOQoL Bref instrument to assess QoL. Of the total sample analyzed, 88.6% of the caregivers were female (p>0.05). Caregivers of patients with CLP reported poor QoL (64.8%), compared to caregivers in the control group (p

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic effects involved on pepper fruit post-harvest water loss, and correlated to morphology traits. Fruits of eight landraces of C. baccatum, and their 28 hybrids, were evaluated in a randomized complete block design. Analysis of variance, diallel analysis, phenotypic and genotypic correlation were performed to compare fruit water loss (WL), width (FW), length (FL), total soluble solids (TSS), dry matter content (DMC), pericarp thickness (PT), cuticle thickness (CT), and exocarp thickness (ET). WL varied from 14 to 68% during storage. Non-additive effects played more important role than additive, including CT, EP and TSS. Effective strategies to reduce WL should be achieved by repeated backcrosses followed by selection in segregating populations (SP). Therefore, the selection of hybrids should follow high specific combining ability traits. Selecting fruits with higher CT and lower TSS values are indirectly selecting fruits with lower WL. Varieties with low WL can be breed using landraces 04 and 58 as parents or by the hybrid 04 x 44 in open lines in SP. Brazilian C. baccatum landraces are a source of genetic variability, and the SP emerging from crossing lines with reduced WL should develop new ways for conventional breeding.

This article presents multiple novel and compelling arguments to systematically disprove two widely accepted notions: one is that entropy is a measure of disorder, and the other is Schrödinger's notion of negative entropy (negentropy). These two notions have been cited hundreds of times annually in scientific literature for decades. To mathematically describe the second law of thermodynamics, the concept of entropy was created and defined in the 1860s as heat energy divided by thermodynamic temperature, and the entropy of an object increases when it absorbs heat. This is the uncontroversial and fundamental nature of entropy, which is pivotal to current thermodynamics and from which multiple facts are deduced. These facts consistently disprove the above two notions. Some biological facts, such as the one that life orderliness is encoded and provided by inherited genes rather than entropy decline, can also disprove Schrödinger's negentropy notion. Moreover, this article further clarifies the reasoning errors of the two notions. It also shows that the tendency of many natural or social systems to become more disordered over time does not result from the second law of thermodynamics.

Prenatal maternal feeding plays an important role in fetal development and has potential to cause long-lasting epigenetic modifications. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding, single-stranded RNAs that serve as one epigenetic mechanism. Though miRNAs have crucial roles in fetal programming, growth, and development, there are limited data regarding maternal diet and sheep miRNA expression. Therefore, weanalyzed high and low maternal dietary protein for miRNA expression in sheep fetal longissimus dorsi. Pregnant ewes were fed an isoenergetic high-protein (HP, 160–270 g/day), low-protein (LP, 73–112 g/day), or standard protein diet (SP, 119–198 g/day) during pregnancy. miRNA expression profiles were evaluated using the Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA 4.0 Array. Twelve up-regulated, differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs) were identified targeting 65 genes. The oar-3957-5p miRNA was highly up-regulated in LP and SP compared to HP. Previous transcriptome analysis identified integrin and non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase genes targeted by miRNAs detected in the current experiment. A total of 28 GO terms and 10 pathway-based gene sets were significantly (padj &lt; 0.05) enriched in target genes. Most genes targeted by identified miRNAs are involved in immune and muscle disease pathways. Our study shows dietary protein intake during pregnancy affects fetal skeletal muscle epigenetics via miRNA expression.

In recent years, marine natural products have become one of the most important resources of novel lead compounds for critical diseases associated with age. Spirulina, a dietary supplement made from blue-green algae (cyanobacteria: scientific name Arthrospira platensis), is particularly rich in phycocyanin, a phycobiliprotein, which accounts for up to 20% of this cyanobacterium’s dry weight and is considered responsible for its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Although the anti-aging activity of phycocyanin has been investigated, how exactly this compound works against aging remains elusive. Aim of our research is to use the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism to investigate the anti-aging properties of phycocyanin from A. platensis. Our results show that phycocyanin has a powerful anti-aging effect, greatly extending the chronological life span of yeast cells in a dose-dependent way, being the effect pronounced also when cells were grown in SD medium under calorie restriction conditions (0.2% glucose). Both ROS and accumulation of dead cells were followed by staining chronologically aged cells with dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR123) and propidium iodide (PI). Interestingly, we found that most of the aged phycocyanin treated cells, which were unable to form colonies, were actually ROS+/PI–. Finally, we show that the moment in which phycocyanin is added to the culture does not substantially influence its effectiveness in counteracting chronological aging.

Background: Exercise is an accepted intervention to improve the quality of life (QoL) of breast cancer patients. Exercise programs have been developed and all have shown satisfactory results in improving QoL. There is a lack of research comparing different prescription modalities. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of physical exercise (in-person, home-based, prescription) on QoL in breast cancer patients actively undergoing treatment; Methods Quasi-experimental study with randomized assignment to three groups (in-person: guided and supervised in-person exercise program; home-based exercise: guided and supervised exercise program with streaming monitoring; recommendation: exercise recommendation). Quality of life was measured using the QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Baseline and 24-week analysis. Results: The total sample analyzed was n=80. QoL improved significantly at 24 weeks in the face-to-face and home-based exercise groups, but not in the advice group. Exercise in all modalities improved fatigue, nausea, vomiting, appetite, and constipation. QoL at 24 weeks depended on active chemotherapy, tumor type, and assigned exercise group (r2 = 0.503; p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: QoL in breast cancer patients undergoing active treatment improves after a 24-week exercise program, especially in face-to-face and home-based exercise. Home-based exercise, streaming-based recommendation is a viable option for exercise recommendation.

The present study focuses on the investigation of fatigue, social support and quality of life that characterizes social workers. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight the effect of demographic and occupational characteristics on the above factors. A total of 400 social workers with an average age of 39.05 years took part in the research. Most were women, single, residents of cities of more than 100,000, and health care workers. Participants were asked to answer online questionnaires (FAS for fatigue, MSPSS for social support and GHQ-28 for quality of life). From the analysis of the data, it was found that the level of fatigue of the social workers is at low levels. At the same time, the level of occurrence of negative symptoms is also low, with physical symptoms appearing more often than the rest. Participants receive a high level of support from their environment, and more so from the "significant other" in their life. Finally, it was found that the fatigue, social support and quality of life of social workers is affected by the age of the social workers, the total years of service, gender, marital status, place of residence, employer and position of responsibility.

Although agricultural crops production systems in subtropical plateau regions currently pose high environmental risks, especially in developing countries, their environmental impacts and emission-reduction potentials remain unclear, and the development potential of such systems is likely huge. We conducted a case study in Yunnan Province, China, to quantify the environmental impacts from crop production during 2002–2021. The life cycle assessment method was employed to identify factors driving the environmental impacts, and potential mitigation strategies were proposed. The yield and total nutrient input of grain crops in Yunnan Province increased over the 20-year period, and environmental footprint of crops production in Yunnan Province was higher than that of other regions. Average annual mean greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and soil acidification potentials (AP) and water eutrophication potentials (EP) of crops production during 2002–2021 were 732 kg CO2-eq·Mg-1, 15.8 kg SO2-eq·Mg-1, and 2.7 kg PO4-eq Mg-1, respectively. GHG emissions from g crops mainly originated from applying agricultural materials during the crop life cycle. There was a significant correlation between surplus nitrogen and environmental impacts. Scenario testing showed that through crop sowing, nutrient regulation, and crop management, the crop yield could be increased and environmental costs could be reduced. The greatest reductions were found in wheat production: 53.1%, 67.9%, and 67.7% for GHG emissions, AP, and EP, respectively. Adopting comprehensive agricultural management measures could reduce the negative impact of crops production on the environment in subtropical plateau areas and achieve sustainable agricultural development.

A rapid and efficient technique using an electronic nose based on a mass detector combined with headspace sampling (HS-SPME-MS e-nose) and chemometric tools was applied to classify beer samples between fresh and aged and between samples contained in aluminium cans or glass bottles, and to predict the shelf life of beer. The mass spectra obtained from the HS-SPME-MS e-nose contain information on the volatile compounds, recorded as the abundance of each ion at different mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios. The analysis was performed on 53 samples aged naturally for eleven months in the absence of light and with a controlled temperature of around 14° C +/- 0.5° C. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed on the data, showing a grouping of samples between fresh and aged. Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) allowed discriminating fresh from aged beers but was not able to discriminate samples packaged in aluminium cans or in glass bottles. Finally, Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) was applied to build a prediction model and showed to be effective to predict beer shelf life.

The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of quality of life (QOL) changes in breast cancer survivors (BCS) and to determine factors associated with subgroups of consistently low or deteriorated QOL. We enrolled 101 women recently diagnosed with breast cancer in South Korea and asked them to complete a questionnaire at baseline (within 1 month of diagnosis), 1 year later (Year 1), 2 years later (Year 2), and 3 years later (Year 3). We assessed QOL using the global QOL subscale from the EORTC QLQ-C30. We defined low QOL as a global QOL score 10 points below the mean score of the general population. Based on low QOL as defined in this study, we identified subgroups of QOL changes over 3 years. We identified four subgroups of QOL changes: improved (47.4%), stable (30%), continuously low (8.8%), and deteriorated (13.8%) and considered the last two categories (22.6%) as poor QOL. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that significant determinants of poor QOL were insomnia at Year 1, fatigue and anxiety at Year 2, and fatigue, depression, and comorbidity at Year 3. In conclusion, persistent symptoms of insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and comorbidity are potential risk factors for poor QOL in BCS.

Abstract: Like other plants, every PV power plant will one day reach the end of its service life. Calculations show that 20,400 tons of PV waste will be generated worldwide by 2030 and 60.2 million tons by 2050, not including the mass of the support structure. Such large amounts of waste pose a potential threat to the environment and people if not properly managed. The paper analysed the options for dealing with PV waste, namely reuse, recycling and landfilling. For recycling as the best option in terms of environmental protection and circular economy, an overview of recycling technologies and the percentage of achievable recycling for the materials contained in each PV system component is given. In addition, the current situation of legislation and recycling of PV modules in Europe was examined with special reference to the Balkan countries. There are a small number of factories for recycling PV modules in Europe, but none in the Balkan countries. The main reason for this is the small amount of PV waste in these countries and consequently the economic unprofitability. For this reason, PV modules (after dismantling the aluminum frame and cables) are mostly disposed of as non-hazardous waste in landfills in these countries. Finally, the main barriers to faster implementation of PV module reuse and recycling are listed, along with guidelines for their removal. The cost of recycling Si modules is about ten times higher than the cost of disposal. To change this ratio in favor of recycling, cheaper recycling methods need to be developed and taxes on landfill disposal need to be increased.

Background: Reminiscence studies and life reviews have a number of proven advantages. Future generations gain by learning from elders' life experiences, as do older adults themselves who share their memories. Despite Oman's sizable geriatric population, research on older individuals' life experiences is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to explore the life experiences of older Omani individuals across their many life stages, from childhood to the present. Methods: This was a qualitative study design. A total of 13 Omani older adults (9 females and 4 males) with an average age of 68 years were recruited for this study. Socio-demographic and life review information was gathered according to a set of semi-structured guiding questions. The responses were then captured on audio recordings, which underwent transcription and translation. Thematic analysis techniques were applied to the extracted data. Results: Three main themes were evident in the study’s findings: Childhood memories, Friendships, and Relationships, as well as the elders’ past. Additionally, older adults passed on a number of gems of wisdom to be shared with the younger generations. Conclusion: This study aided in revealing the resiliency, social connections, and life reflections of Omani older adults. Based on these findings, future studies might explore particular aspects of older experiences and pinpoint solutions to improve their quality of life and well-being.

Abstract Introduction. Burnout syndrome develops as a consequence of chronic stress among employees. The study objectives were to examine burnout syndrome and to evaluate the quality of life among security employees of the professional private security sector in Central Serbia. Methods. A multicenter cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed. The questionnaire for staff employed at institutions who are in direct contact with people (Human Services Survey, MBI-HSS) and Short Form 36 Health Survey-(SF-36). Results. A total of 353 respondents participated in the study. The response rate was 80%. Approximately one-third (32.6%) had symptoms of total burnout, and a much higher number of responders had a moderate or high level of burnout on individual subscales:- depersonalization (high 82.4%, moderate 16.2%) and emotional exhaustion (high 66.3%, moderate 19.8%) and, slightly more than one-third (34.5%) had low personal achievement, while about one-third (32.9%) had moderate personal achievement. Female sex and older age were associated with a higher risk of total burnout and the development of emotional exhaustion. Male sex, higher education, and managerial position were associated with higher personal achievement and lower risk of total burnout. Male sex, marital union, two or more children, and direct contact with clients were significantly associated with a lower quality of life of employees. Conclusion. Female sex and older age were associated with a higher risk of total burnout and the development of emotional exhaustion. Male sex, university education and managerial position were associated with greater personal achievement and were protective factors in relation to the development of burnout. Male sex, marital union, two or more children, and direct contact with clients were significantly associated with lower quality of life of employees. Keywords: burnout syndrome; security employees; professional private sector; quality of life

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in Poland. A significant proportion of prostate cancers can be cured, providing longer survival. Patients have the opportunity to undergo minimally invasive treatment methods like brachytherapy, while maintaining their previous quality of life. The disease itself, as well as treatment complications, primarily affect the functioning of the urinary and digestive systems and impact the sexual sphere. Aim: This study aims to assess the quality of life of patients after prostate brachytherapy. Methods: The research was conducted at the Lower Silesian Oncology Centre in Wroclaw. The study included fifty men aged between 51 and 85 years. The following questionnaires were used: EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-PR25. Scales: Katz, Mini-MAC, PSS-10. Moreover, the study used a self-designed survey covering socio-demographical factors. Results: Prostate brachytherapy has a significant impact on the degree of sexual dysfunction. Compared to sexually inactive individuals, sexually active individuals exhibit fewer negative psychological symptoms. Choosing a destructive coping strategy intensifies the occurrence of symptoms, lowers patients' level of independence, and negatively affects their quality of life. Conclusions: Brachytherapy contributes to worsening sexual function and temporarily affects urinary system function, which may lower the overall quality of life in patients.

Background: Music therapy (MT) is a non-pharmacological treatment increasingly used to reduce stress and anxiety in hospitalized children affected by cancers. The aim of this study was to eval-uate the impact of MT on quality of life of children with cancer. Methods: We have conducted a quasi-experimental study between April 1 and August 31, 2021 at Bechir Hamza children's Hos-pital in Tunis, including children treated for cancer. The child or the parent completed PedsQL Module Cancer french version 3.0 questionnaires before and after four weekly music therapy ses-sions. Child's respiratory and heart rate were measured before and after each session. Results: We included 20 children whose mean age was 7 ± 4.5 years [2-14]. The median value of the total questionnaire score increased from 57 [46; 70] to 72 [67; 85] (p < 10-3) with a significant reduction in pain (p = 0.02), nausea (p = 0.009), anxiety related to medical procedures (p = 0.009) and worry about the future (p = 0.005). We highlighted a significant decrease in respiratory and heart rate after MT (p<0,05). Conclusions: MT has positive impact of on quality of life of children with cancer.

Concerns have been made about how children's health and psychology could be hurt by the growing number of mobile apps they use. This abstract looks at intervention methods and best practices for getting kids to use mobile apps in a healthy way, find a balance with technology, and build up their resilience. Key points include promoting digital literacy and critical thinking, setting clear boundaries and rules, encouraging digital balance, modeling healthy tech habits, building resilience and coping skills, encouraging face-to-face communication, setting up tech-free times and spaces, monitoring app usage and content, promoting mindfulness and self-reflection, and getting professional help when needed. By using these tactics, parents, teachers, and other caretakers can help kids build a healthy relationship with technology, live a balanced life, and build the resilience they need to handle the challenges of the digital world. The goal of these interventions is to make sure that kids' app use is good for their general health, helps them learn and get along with others, and sets them up for long-term success in the digital age.

Endovenous thermal methods are superseding surgical stripping for treating chronic superficial venous disease but require tumescent anesthesia and can cause heat-related nerve injuries. Endovenous cyanoacrylate ablation is a more recent technique that does not share these drawbacks. Retrospective observational study of consecutive adults managed with endovenous cyanoacrylate in 2018–2021 at a single university center. Follow-up was 18 months. We identified factors associated with target vein closure at 18 months and measured changes in quality of life using the generic 36-item Short-Form tool (SF-36) and the venous disease-specific VEINES-QOL/Sym questionnaire. Adverse events were collected. In the 55 study patients with 67 treated veins, the closure rate at 18 months was 94% (95%CI, 85%–98%). Target vein diameter ≥9.5 mm had 81% sensitivity and 75% specificity for predicting recanalization. Both quality-of-life scores improved significantly (P&lt;0.001 for both). The only adverse event was a type IV allergic reaction to cyanoacrylate that resolved with corticosteroid and histamine-antagonist therapy. Endovenous cyanoacrylate ablation was highly effective and safe in experienced hands. Studies are warranted to determine whether changes in the protocol increase the closure rate in patients with target veins ≥9.5 mm in diameter.

Background: Evidences on the effects of chemotherapy treatment cycles on measures of muscle, mental state, social and cognitive performance are scarce. Objective: To analyze the effects of chemotherapy cycles on muscle strength and activation, functional capacity, quality of life, fatigue and anxiety of women with breast cancer. Methods: Twenty-two women divided into a treatment group (n = 10; 46.6 ± 9.6 years) and control group (n = 12; 51.6 ± 7.0 years) participated in the study. Analysis of muscle performance, quality of life, fatigue and anxiety after the 2nd and 4th cycle of chemotherapy with anthracyclines and cyclophosphamide were performed in women with breast cancer (TRA) and compared to healthy women (CTR). Two-way ANOVA was used to compare the variance of the means and the significance level was set as p≤0.05. Results: Differences were found in the muscular activation of the vastus medialis between the groups at post time (p = 0.038), as well as in the sit and stand test in the baseline (p<0.001) and post moment (p<0.001). Functional capacity performance was different between baseline (p<0.001) and post-time (p<0.001) groups. Additionally, the TRA group worsened the quality of life in the domains of functional capacity (p<0.001) and limitation of physical aspects (p=0.002), besides presenting negative changes in fatigue. Conclusion: Anthracycline and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy cycles reduce muscular performance and affect biopsychosocial variables in women with breast cancer.

Health related quality of life’s (HRQoL) different domains of functioning can serve as a good prognosticator of later life’s outcomes for children and adolescents. Understanding associated factors is crucial for promoting better health and life satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate the impact of socio-economic status (SES), physical activity (PA) and cardio-fitness on the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in 224 Italian early adolescents attending secondary school in the Emilia-Romagna region located in northern Italy. The present cross-sectional study included measures of SES, demographic factors, cardio-fitness measures and self-reported PA levels. In a multivariate model, younger students and females reported higher HRQoL (β=-0.139, P<.05, 95% CI: -0.254 – -0.023 and β=0.142, P<.05, 95% CI: 0.011 – 0.273 respectively). Having both parents employed and having higher familiar educational status resulted in higher HRQoL. Greater engagement in routine PA was positively associated with HRQoL (β=0.429, P<.001, 95% CI: 0.304 – 0.554). Endurance (speed) was positively associated with HRQoL (β=0.221, P<.01, 95% CI: 0.087 – 0.355) and students with longer times on the shuttle run reported less HRQoL (β=-0.207, P<.01, 95% CI: -0.337 – -0.077). Findings reinforced the importance of promoting regular PA among students and addressing SES disparities to improve HRQoL. The study suggests a focus on expanding research measures and evaluating targeted PA interventions for a more comprehensive understanding of children’s well-being. These findings highlight the crucial roles of demographic, PA and cardio-fitness measures in child’s HRQoL, thus providing relevant information for stakeholders who work in the education, public health, and health policy sectors.

During the Covid 19 pandemic, we saw a huge impact on the lives of individuals in cities. The way people responded was controlled and limited. The lockdown restricted a lot of movements in the cities as well as contained the citizens in their houses. Through a semi-structured interview, the research aims to understand the change in behaviour and response of individuals across various cities. The paper aims to understand how people change their day-to-day life in cities during the pandemic and while the restrictions getting released post the first wave. The paper also understands how the pandemic impacted urban spaces and what value they hold for people. By interviewing individuals from different cities, the data were transcribed and analysed to understand this behavioural change and the attitude of people. The outcome of the research was derived as a concept map through the codes generated during the research.

As the world's population ages and the resulting health problems become more serious, medical and health policies in developed countries are focused on how to prevent and treat the diseases of the aging population and how to maintain their quality of life. Typical age-related diseases include deafness, cataracts, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, and dementia. Although the mechanisms by which these diseases develop differ, they are all caused by the accumulation of molecular and cellular damage over time. In addition, age-related diseases can cause a decline in physical and mental functions and the ability to perform activities of daily living, as well as the loss of roles in society and a sense of fulfillment in life. Therefore, there is a need for treatment and measures to accurately grasp and maintain their quality of life.

The multiple crises that the world is facing – climate change, COVID-19 and war have halted or reversed the progress of the world towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. Using a case study of Dayalbagh, a locality in metropolitan Agra, India, and headquarters of the Radhasoami faith, we examine the potential benefits of employing agroecology to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The active, disciplined and cooperative community-based lifestyle followed in Dayalbagh with a strong focus on agriculture and service demonstrates how most of the SDGs can be achieved. It offers lessons for policy makers in terms of focus areas for policy support and reaching the last, lowest, least and the lost.

The present paper is concerned with the study of the quality of life index. Such an index has become an important index for measuring the well-being of individuals. However, the quality of life index is always a subjective, intangible, and often hard to quantify with precision due to the lack of quantitative models dealing with. The main goal of the present paper is thus to propose a mathematical, quantitative model for the measurement of a quality of life index. The main novelty is firstly the construction of a wavelet dynamic multiscale model to quantify and investigate the effect of time scale on the quality of life index measuring. The proposed procedure is acted empirically on a sample corresponding to Saudi Arabia as a case of study during the period from 2003 to 2020 as part of the 2030-vision plan. Saudi Arabia has implemented the so-called 2030-vision plan where the quality of life improvement is one of the main goals to be attempted. The findings show that wavelets are capable to localize the time-wise behavior of the index contrarily to classical studies which estimate a global view of the index. Moreover, the study shows the link between the quality of life behavior and many other indices.

Taste and smell function decline with age, with robust impairment in the very old. Much less is known about taste and smell function in young and middle old. We investigated taste and smell sensitivity via thresholds in a sub-sample of the NutriAct Family Study (NFS), the NFS Examinations cohort (NFSE; N=251, age M=62.5 years). We examined different aspects relating to taste and smell function: the degree to which taste and smell sensitivity relate to another and to taste and smell preferences, the role of gender and age, as well as effects on Quality of Life (QOL). Taste thresholds were highly correlated but no correlation was observed between taste and smell thresholds and between thresholds and preference. Women were more sensitive for both taste and smell than men. We found no effect of age on sensitivity and no effect of sensitivity on QoL. All null-findings were corroborated with Bayesian statistics providing evidence for the null hypotheses. Together our results indicate the independence of taste and smell despite their overlap during sensorial experiences. We found no evidence for age-related sensory decline, which could be due to our sample´s characteristics of non-clinical volunteers with good dental health and 93% non-smokers.

Concrete condition assessing penetrometers need to be able to distinguish between making contact with a hard (concrete) surface as opposed to a semi-solid (corroded concrete) surface. If a hard surface is mistaken for a soft surface, concrete corrosion may be over-estimated, with the potential for triggering unnecessary remediation works. Unfortunately, the variably-angled surface of a concrete pipe can cause the tip of a force-sensing tactile penetrometer to slip and thus to make this mistake. We investigated whether different shaped tips of a cylindrical penetrometer were better than others at maintaining contact with concrete and not slipping. We designed a range of simple symmetric tip shapes, controlled by a single superellipse parameter. We performed a finite element analysis of these parametric models in SolidWorks before machining in stainless steel. We tested our penetrometer tips on a concrete paver cut to four angles at 20∘ increments. The results indicate that penetrometers with a squircle-shaped steel tip (a=b=1,n=4) have the least slip, in the context of concrete condition assessment.

The aim of this study as to determine the relationship between the factors of demography, comor-bidity, medication, lifestyle, and access to health services related to the QoL of people with hy-pertension and its complications in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta. The study was conducted in a cross-sectional manner using data from Sleman HDSS (Health and Demographic Surveillance System) from 2015 to 2018 in cycles 3 and 2 with the inclusion criteria of hypertensive patients and their complications aged 25 years or older obtained by using a total sampling of 532 people. Measurement of QoL using Short Form 12v2 2a and 2b questionnaires presented in the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS). Data analysis using Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal Wallis test. The results showed factors related to the QoL in PCS were variables of gender, age, diagnosis of hypertension and its complications, the presence of comorbidities, fatty foods, drug consumption in the last two weeks, while factors related to the mental component (MCS) were education and occupation seen from the p-value <0.05. QoL with hypertension and its complications influence and decrease the physical than the patient's mental condition.

The increasing amount of municipal sludge in China requires safe and effective management to protect human health and ensure environmental sustainability. Pyrolysis is a thermochemical process that that decompose organic matter at elevated temperature and under anaerobic conditions, and it has attracted an increasing attention in sludge treatment in the recent years. However, comprehensive environmental and economic assessment of sludge pyrolysis in China's context is rare, due to the small quantities of full-scale sludge pyrolysis plant. In this paper, we applied our design and operation parameters of full-scale sludge pyrolysis plants to generate the material and energy consumptions of the pyrolysis system under various of conditions, including sludge organic content and moisture content, system size, system energy distribution, and whether or not heat substitution is applied. Life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment were then applied to investigate the environmental and economic performance of the system Our results demonstrate the significant environmental and economic impacts associated with sludge properties and system size. Generally, sludge with higher organic content and lower moisture content requires less natural gas consumption, which leads to a simultaneous improvement of the system environmental and economic performance. The system economic performance is more sensitive to the system size, and centralized sludge handling using a larger pyrolysis is more economic favorable. In the most ideal case, the average global warming potential and minimum sludge handling price of sludge pyrolysis could be as low as -32.5 kg CO₂-Eq/t DS and 188.8 $/t DS, respectively. Based on these results, we discussed the pathways that could be taken to further optimize the environmental and economic performances of the pyrolysis system.