Objective: This study measured the cortisol levels of professional athletes during a CrossFit® championship. Then, it evaluated the physiological response caused by cortisol. Increased cortisol levels may interfere with the athletes’ performance and muscle recovery. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational cross-sectional study was performed with a sample of eight female professional athletes, aged between 20 and 34 years, enrolled in the 2017 Brazil CrossFit Championship (TCB), held in Valinhos, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.  The salivary samples were obtained during the three days of the championship in two different moments: in the morning, before athletes’ warm-up, and 15 minutes after the last workout of each day. Results: Before warming up, the mean values of salivary cortisol were 15.9 ng/mL, 13.2 ng/mL, and 13.1 ng/mL, respectively. After the last workout, the mean values for cortisol were 6.4 ng/mL, 9.6 ng/mL, and 7.1 ng/mL, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found on the first day of competition.  The results presented the expected diurnal cycle of this hormone.  Conclusion: CrossFit® is a sport that alternates medium- to high-intensity exercises, including gymnastics, metabolic conditioning, and weight lifting. This competitive sport presents a variability of stressors, which may increase cortisol production and secretion according to different studies. This study found that the physiological stress of a CrossFit® championship affects the production of cortisol and increases the stimulation of the hypothalamic axis. However, the normal cortisol secretion response suggests a physiological adaptation or alteration in the cortisol receptor in the athletes studied.  Further studies carried out with a larger sample are necessary to assess these neuroendocrine changes.Keywords: CrossFit®. Cortisol. Physical activity. Women.

Background and aims: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical syndrome that has been consistently linked with increased morbidity and mortality risk. Prognosis, as well as incidence, varies depending on patients characteristics and health care setting. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of AKI and related outcomes in a population of hospitalised patients taking into account the time of onset and severity of the syndrome. Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015, who had at least one inpatient serum creatinine (SCr). We distinguished between AKI apparent at admission (CA-) and afterwards during hospitalisation (HA-AKI). Results: The incidence of AKI was 15.2 %, of which 68% of episodes developed during hospital care. Baseline characteristics of CA-AKI and HA-AKI were similar, but CA-AKI patients were more likely to have more severe episodes and shorter length of stay than patients with HA-AKI (30.9% vs 14.5% with AKI stage 3 and 8.1 vs 14.8 days, respectively). We found a strong, gradual association (after multivariate adjustment) between stage of AKI and mortality. Irrespective the type of AKI, stage 3 was related to the five-fold risk of in-hospital death and a two-fold risk of death at the 6th-month in comparison to No AKI. Conclusions: One in six of hospitalised patients experienced AKI, and almost two-thirds of events developed during the hospital stay. There were no differences in short-term mortality between AKI type, but the risk of death related to the severity of the syndrome.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) prevalence substantially increased over the past two decades with relatively high impact on large dairy herds, raising the concern of regulatory authorities and industry stakeholders, and threatening animal and public health. Lack of resources, together with the economic and social consequences of whole-herd stamping-out, makes depopulation an impractical disease control alternative in these herds. The increase in bTB-prevalence was associated with demographic and management changes in the dairy industry in Uruguay, reducing the efficacy of the current control program (i.e. status quo) based on intradermal serial testing with caudal fold- and comparative cervical- tuberculin test-and slaughter of reactors (CFT-CCT). Here, we aimed to assess the epidemiological effectiveness of six alternative control scenarios based on test-and-slaughter of positive animals, using mathematical modeling to infer bTB-within-herd dynamics. We simulated six alternative control strategies consisting of testing adult cattle (>1 year) in the herd every three months using one test (in-vivo or in-vitro) or a combination in parallel of two tests (CFT, interferon-gamma release assay –IGRA- or Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Results showed no significant differences overall in the time needed to reach bTB-eradication (median ranging between 61 to 82 months) or official bovine tuberculosis-free status (two consecutive negative herd-tests) between any of the alternative strategies and the status quo (median ranging between 50 and 59 months). However, we demonstrate how alternative strategies can significantly reduce bTB-prevalence when applied for restricted periods (6, 12, or 24 months), and in the case of IGRAc (IGRA using peptide-cocktail antigens), without incurring on higher unnecessary slaughter of animals (false-positives) than the status quo in the first 6 months of the program (P-value <0.05). Enhanced understanding bTB-within-herd dynamics with the application of different control strategies help to identify optimal strategies to ultimately improve bTB-control and -eradication from dairies in Uruguay and similar endemic settings.

In this article, we study the exponential behavior of 3D stochastic primitive equations driven by fractional noise. Since fractional Brownian motion is essentially different from Brownian motion, the standard method via classic stochastic analysis tools is not available. Here, we develop a method which is close to the method from dynamic system to show that the weak solutions to 3D stochastic primitive equations driven by fractional noise converge exponentially to the unique stationary solution of primitive equations. This method may be applied to other stochastic hydrodynamic equations and other noises including Brownian motion and Lévy noise.

In this paper, we consider the Cauchy problem for three-dimensional isentropic compressible radiation hydrodynamic equations with density-dependent viscosity coefficients. When the viscosity coefficients are given as power of density ($\rho^\delta$ with $\delta>1$), we establish the local-in-time existence of classical solutions containing a vacuum for large initial data. Here, we point out that the initial layer compatibility conditions are not necessary.

A document by Sayed Saber. Click on the document to view its contents.

In this study, our aim is to provide a modification of the so-called Ismail-May operators that preserve exponential functions eAx, A ∈ ℝ. In consonance to this, we begin with estimating the convergence rate of the operators in terms of usual and exponential modulus of continuity. We also provide a global approximation and a quantitative Voronovskaya result. Moreover, to validate the modification, we exhibit some graphical representations using Mathematica software to compare the original operator and its modification. We conclude that the modified operators not only preserve exponential functions but also provide faster rate of convergence when A > 0.

In this paper, we employ three integration algorithms namely, the well known Kudryashove method, the new Kudryashov method and the unified Riccati equation expansion method to extract optical soliton solutions for the generalized Kudryashov's equation with power nonlinearities. Straddled soliton, bright solitons, dark solitons and singular solitons have been found

In this paper, we have proved two main theorems under more weaker conditions dealing with absolute weighted arithmetic mean summability factors of infinite series and trigonometric Fourier series. We have also obtained some new results for different absolute summability methods.

Recent researches show that virus-to-cell infection and cell-to-cell transmission are two HIV infection modes. In this paper, we propose a delayed HIV infection model including both virus-to-cell infection and cell-to-cell transmission and CTL immune response. The time delay describes the phenomenon between viral entry and viral production. We show the nonnegativity and boundedness of solution, obtain the equilibrium points and prove local asymptotic stability of the equilibrium points. Then the optimal control problem with antiretroviral therapy and pharmacological delay is posed. We establish and analyze two types of objective functions, one is linear control and the other is quadratic control. Numerical simulations have been performed to verify the stability of equilibrium points and show the optimal control strategies and the effects of control on cells concentration by Matlab and Lingo.

The aim of this work is to investigate the exponential mean-square stability for neutral stochastic differential equations with time-varying delay and Poisson jumps. We give some conditions that all the drift, diffusion and jumps coefficients can be nonlinear, to obtain the stability of the analytic solution. It is revealed that the implicit backward Euler-Maruyama numerical solution can reproduce the corresponding stability of the analytic solution under these nonlinear conditions. This is different from the explicit Euler-Maruyama numerical solution whose stability depends on the linear growth condition. With some requirements related to the delay function and the property of compensated Poisson process, we deal with time-varying delay and Poisson jumps. One highly nonlinear example is provided to confirm the effectiveness of our theory.

Cardiac leiomyoscarcomas is a rare subset of the already infrequent primary malignant cardiac neoplastic spectrum. The most common site for a primary leiomyosarcoma is the right ventricle with fewer than five globally reported cases in the left ventricle. Most present with non-specific symptoms but attention is usually sought after the appearance of compressive symptoms or arrhythmias. We present the case of a left ventricular leiomyosarcoma that had a delayed diagnosis and its subsequent surgical management.

Colonoscopy is generally considered a safe procedure, with a low rate of complications. Although rare, the migration of the colonoscope may represents a life-threating events, requiring emergency treatment. We herein describe the case of an elective colonoscopy complicated by an irretrievable colonoscope that migrated, through a previous traumatic diaphragmatic hernia, in the chest cavity. This hernia was likely a chronic complication of a previous abdominal trauma. Several attempts to retrieve the scope were unsuccessful. After further investigations and collegial discussion, a left thoracotomy was performed, with the aim to retrieve the colonoscope and to reduce the hernia.

Objective:Identification of patients who are nonresponders to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with the use of simple and objective parameters may be helpful in tailoring treatment. The aim of this study is to investigate whether E/(Ea×Sa) could be a predictor of CRT nonresponders (E=early diastolic transmitral velocity, Ea=early diastolic mitral annular velocity, Sa=systolic mitral annular velocity). Methods:In total, 53 heart failure patients were evaluated for this study, and 33 patients were included according to the study criteria. Before and six months after CRT-D(CRT with a defibrillator) implantation, E, Ea, and Sa were determined at the medial and lateral mitral annular sites, and the average values were obtained. E/(Ea×Sa) was calculated (medial, lateral, average). The patients were followed for six months to monitor their CRT response. A responder was defined as a patient with a reduction in end-systolic volume of <15% and an increase in six-minute walking distance of 50 meters. Results:At a six-month follow-up, 24(72.7%) of the 33 patients responded to CRT. At the six-month follow-up, in the responder group, the E/Ea ratio, lateral mitral, and average E/(Ea×Sa) indices were significantly reduced (p<0.01 for all). The baseline lateral mitral, medial mitral, and average E/(Ea×Sa) indices were significantly lower in the responder group than in the nonresponder group (p≤0.01 for all). The ROC analysis showed that all the E/(Ea×Sa) indices predict the CRT nonresponder patients. The AUC values were 0.89(lateral E/(Ea×Sa)), 0.85(average E/(Ea×Sa)), and 0.77(medial E/(Ea×Sa))(p≤0.01 for all). Conclusion:We found that the E/(Ea×Sa) index is a novel predictor of CRT nonresponder patients.

The goal of this research is to leverage computational molecular biophysics to guide process development, reduce experimental burden and focus purification activities on feasible targets. Here, we distill a complex separation problem (e.g. chromatographic retention of monoclonal antibodies) into a tangible model (ligand/protein complex), which is computationally feasible while preserving enough detail (atomistic level for interaction site) to support industrially relevant separation challenges. Computational docking, coupled with molecular dynamics simulation, produces results that are directionally consistent with chromatography for proteins (mAb). This approach is generalizable and can be applied to a range of ligands (AEX, CEX, and Mixed Mode). A detailed model of the chromatography base matrix (agarose) was constructed to obtain a biophysical understanding of potential protein/base matrix interactions. The base matrix was then modified in silico with ligands over a range of ligand densities representative of commercial chromatography resins to generate an agarose/ligand complex. A generic approach was developed to model the impact of avidity and ligand density on mAb/ligand interaction. The results revealed that increasing ligand density mask contributions of base matrix binding. Increasing the number of ligands that can interact with mAb results in more favorable free energy of binding or ΔG (more negative) with a limited incremental increase in ΔG by increasing N (number of ligands per agarose cluster) above three. Additionally, for protein/ligand interactions at each binding site, not all ligands contribute equally to the binding affinities or interaction energies and a redistribution of binding interactions/energies occur as N increases. These observations yield insights into the impact of avidity on retention (macroscopic affinity measurement via k’). The generic approach described in this manuscript can be leveraged to inform resin selection and design as well as targeted ligand selection/purification development in a rational manner.

We report a case of intravenous drug use-associated tricuspid valve endocarditis in a 28-year-old pregnant female at 26-weeks gestation. Despite appropriate intravenous antibiotics, the patient developed life-threatening complications and underwent planned cesarean delivery at 28 weeks 6 days gestation followed by interval tricuspid valve replacement one week later. Both the patient and her infant were successfully managed through the perioperative period.

Case series was done to discuss the use of cemented dahl appliance for increasing the occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) and effectively restore esthetics and function in worn anterior teeth.

In heterogeneous catalysis, oxygen vacancies of metal oxides play a key role by modulating properties of coordination, electron states, electrical conductivity, and surface property. However, the investigation of oxygen vacancies in nonmetal oxides and their catalytic applications have rarely been reported. Here, we present oxygen vacancies-rich BPO4 hollow spheres covered by few-layer hexagonal boron nitride (BN) with a sandwich-like structure (BN@BPO4@BN) through an in-situ growth method. The as-prepared catalyst showed better catalytic activity and higher selectivity than that of commercial BN in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene because of the synergetic effect between oxygen vacancies-rich BPO4 and h-BN. Oxygen vacancies increase the adsorption amount of propane and the confined space at the interface of BN and BPO4 weakens the adsorption of propene, benefiting the recycle of active sites. Moreover, the confined space and oxygen vacancies result in the transformation of reaction kinetic model.

Since December 2019, the rapid spread of SARS CoV-2 across the border, shuffled into a world pandemic situation with an alarming rate of morbidity and mortality. Concerns are mounting as the reports indicate tangled circumstances among the COVID-19 patients due to blood coagulopathy followed by organ dysfunction. COVID-19 induced an alteration in coagulation function increase the risk of pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis associated with poor prognosis as well as high mortality. An elevated level D-dimer and other fibrin degrading protein are documented among the patients with COVID-19; especially in severe cases. Differences in coagulopathy among severe and non-severe cases, required prompt attention to adopt a more effective management strategy.

Lignin is considered as a promising substitute for fossil resources, but the efficient conversion of the lignin remains a huge challenge due to its structural complexity and immiscibility with typical solvents. Herein, a series of surfactant-free microemulsion reactors comprised of octane, water and n-propanol were designed and their corresponding phase behaviors alongside their ability to intensify oxidative depolymerization of lignin was explored. Experimental results show that the phenolic monomer yield improves substantially (40-500 wt.%) when the novel microemulsion systems are employed by comparison with processes performed in a single solvent. Detailed characterizations also suggest that the above intensification is rationalized by the solubilization effect of the microemulsion system, which arise as a consequence of directional aggregation of lignin at the microemulsion interface.

Figure 1 Solenoid based linearly movable armature systemThe magnetic flux linkage can be described byWhereInitial magnetic flux linkageDifferential inductanceCoil inductanceThe magnet circuit equation will beThe force exerted by the magnetic circuit to the mass becomeThe spring-mass system model equation is given byUpon selecting the voltage V(t) as the variable to be manipulated and the linear displacement as the variable to be controlled, substituting Equation (3) in to Equation (4) and in to Equation (2) and taking the Laplace transform results the transfer functionThe system parameters are shown in Table 1 belowTable 1 System parameters

Figure 1 Electromechanical car mirror wiper systemThe motor shown is a servomotor, a dc motor designed in particular for use in a control system. The operation of this device is as follows: A fixed voltage is carried out to the field winding. A voltage is implemented as an input to the servo motor and the angular position c of the wiper arm is the output of the device. The input voltage is implemented to the armature circuit of the dc motor. A constant voltage is carried out to the field winding. If an errors exists, the motor develops a torque to rotate the output load in the sort of way as to reduce the error to zero. For constant field current, the torque evolved by using the motor isWhere K1 is the motor torque constant and ia is the armature current.When the armature is rotating, a voltage proportional to the fabricated from the flux and angular velocity is brought on within the armature. For a constant flux, the brought about voltage eb is without delay proportional to the angular velocity orWhere eb is the back emf, K 2 is the back emf constant of the motor, and is the angular displacement of the motor shaft.The speed of an armature-managed dc servomotor is managed via the armature voltage e(t). The differential equation for the armature circuit isSubstituting Equation (2) in to Equation (3) yields:Taking the Laplace transform the equation will beThe equation for torque equilibrium isTaking the Laplace transform the equation will beWhere J0 is the inertia of the combination of the motor, load, and gear train referred to the motor shaft and b0 is the viscous-friction coefficient of the aggregate of the motor, load, and gear train mentioned the motor shaft.By eliminating from Equations (5) and (7), we obtainWe assume that the gear ratio of the gear train is such that the output shaft rotates n times for each revolution of the motor shaft. Thus,The wiper arm speed can be evaluated by using an integrator to the wiper arm position asSubstituting Equation (10) in to Equations (9) and to Equations (8) gives us the transfer function between the applied voltage and the wiper speed asThe parameters of the system is shown in Table 1 below.Table 2 Parameters of the system

Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 is one of the most important pathogens affecting both wild and domestic carnivores. Here, we reported the genetic characterization of canine parvovirus strains from a rescued guiña (Leopardus guigna) and domestic dogs from Chile. Guiña sequence was classified as CPV-2c and phylogenetic analysis of the complete coding genome showed that the guiña CPV-2c strain share a recent common ancestor with Chilean domestic dogs strains. These viruses presented >99% identity and showed three changes in the NS1 protein, CHL-17 V596A, CHL-71 E661K and CHL-guigna L582F. This is the first detection and genetic characterization of CPV-2c infection in guiña worldwide and one of the few comparative studies that undoubtedly determine that the source of infection were domestic dogs. The current findings highlight that guiña is a susceptible species to protoparvovirus infection and that domestic dogs represent an important thread to its conservation. The CPV cross-species transmission between domestic dogs and guiña should be taken into account for protection programs of this endangerous species.

Similar to the effects of changes in land use and cover, forest transitions have implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, forest transition theory ignores ecologically important characteristics, such as forest age, species composition, vertical structure, and all but the most severe levels of degradation. In this study, based on National Forestry Inventories (NFIs) data and socioeconomic panel data covering more than 40 years (1977–2018), we investigate the spatial-temporal dynamics and the spatial determinants of forest quality transition at the province level in China using spatial econometric regression models. Based on our results, we reached the conclusions that follow. (1) Forest area, forest volume, and forest coverage have greatly improved as of 2018, especially for plantations, but uneven forest distribution is an important feature of forest adaptation to the environment. (2) The global Moran’s I value is greater than 0.3, and the forest quality of the provinces has a positive spatial correlation and exhibits obvious spatial clustering characteristics. In particular, the spatial expansion of forest quality has shown an accelerated concentration from 1977 to 2018. (3) The most suitable model for empirical analysis and interpretation was the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) with fixed effects. The average annual precipitation and the area ratio of the collective forest are positively correlated with forested quality (significance level 1%). Ultimately, this framework can guide future research, describe actual and potential changes in forest quality associated with forest transitions, and promote management plans that incorporate forest area changes.