Differences in chronic pain prevalence between men and women at mid-life: a systematic review protocol

Introduction Epidemiological literature shows differences in chronic pain (CP) prevalence in men and women. Women are more likely to develop CP at different points of the life course, such as adolescence and old age. Less is known about the prevalence of CP by sex and the difference in prevalence during mid-life, when changes may predispose to an earlier differentiation in CP distribution. The aim of this study is to describe the difference in prevalence of CP at mid-life (ages 40-60) in men and women in the general population. Methods and analysis This systematic review follows Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Appropriate studies will be identified in the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED and PsycINFO. Two reviewers will independently screen each title and abstract. Studies eligible for data extraction will report estimates of CP prevalence for each sex, and/or a measure of the difference in prevalence between sexes. The findings will be reported in a narrative synthesis following the Social Research Council Methods Programme guidelines. A random effects meta-analysis will be conducted where the reviewers can justify combining results. Ethics and dissemination This review will summarise the prevalence of CP in men and women at mid-life, based on existing evidence. It is expected that the results will identify gaps in knowledge and areas for further research. The review will be submitted for publication in topic specific journals and disseminated to professional networks. Individual patient data are not included, so ethical approval is not required. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021295895

Reversible Image Watermarking Using Modified Quadratic Difference Expansion and Hybrid Optimization Technique

With increasing copyright violation cases, watermarking of digital images is a very popular solution for securing online media content. Since some sensitive applications require image recovery after watermark extraction, reversible watermarking is widely preferred. This article introduces a Modified Quadratic Difference Expansion (MQDE) and fractal encryption-based reversible watermarking for securing the copyrights of images. First, fractal encryption is applied to watermarks using Tromino's L-shaped theorem to improve security. In addition, Cuckoo Search-Grey Wolf Optimization (CSGWO) is enforced on the cover image to optimize block allocation for inserting an encrypted watermark such that it greatly increases its invisibility. While the developed MQDE technique helps to improve coverage and visual quality, the novel data-driven distortion control unit ensures optimal performance. The suggested approach provides the highest level of protection when retrieving the secret image and original cover image without losing the essential information, apart from improving transparency and capacity without much tradeoff. The simulation results of this approach are superior to existing methods in terms of embedding capacity. With an average PSNR of 67 dB, the method shows good imperceptibility in comparison to other schemes

Fabrication of optically smooth Sn thin films

The fabrication of optically smooth thin Sn films by vacuum or electrodeposition techniques is usually challenging. Little has been published on how to address this challenge mainly because very few applications require such smooth Sn surfaces. The excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on Sn surfaces by prism-based methods represents a case that requires very smooth surfaces and has motivated this work. It is shown that the deposition rate and the substrate temperature of a vacuum evaporation method can be optimized to obtain very smooth Sn films and this is supported by direct imaging evidence from atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.Comment: 7 figure

Quality of refrigerated raw milk from buffalo cows (Bubalus bubalis bubalis) in different farms and seasons in Brazil

The present research aimed to examine the chemical and microbiological characteristics of refrigerated raw milk collected from buffalo-only dairy herds from different farms and seasons. Samples were collected from twelve farms producing buffalo milk, located in the Mideast region of São Paulo state, in Brazil, once a month throughout the dairy calendar year from 2011 to 2014. The analysis of fat, protein, lactose, dry extract, and total solids contents were carried out using Infrared Absorption. Residues for antimicrobial analysis were carried out using Delvo Test Kit technique, and both somatic cell count and standard plate count analysis were carried out using Flow Cytometry. The analysis of the chemical components as well as for the microbiological analysis of SPC proved to be statistically significant throughout the period. No antibiotic residues were found in the totality of the sample, hence indicating that the farmers complied with the current sanitary legislation in that country, as well as SCC; however, higher values were found for the SPC. Significant results for all parameters analyzed were found among the farms, indicating that price incentives paid for the quality of raw milk could be an alternative to dairy processing companies, favoring yield and quality of the final product

A Search for Peculiar Objects with the NASA Orbital Debris Observatory 3-m Liquid Mirror Telescope

The NASA Orbital Debris Observatory (NODO) astronomical survey uses a transit 3-m liquid mirror telescope to observe a strip of sky in 20 narrow-band filters. In this article, we analyze a subset of data from the 1996 observing season. The catalog consists of 18,000 objects with 10<V<19 observed in 10 narrow-band filters ranging from 500 nm to 950 nm. We first demonstrate the reliability of the data by fitting the Bahcall-Soneira model of the Galaxy to the NODO magnitude counts and color counts at various galactic latitudes. We then perform a hierarchical clustering analysis on the sample to extract 206 objects, out of a total of 18,000, showing peculiar spectral energy distributions. It is a measure of the reliability of the instrument that we extract so few peculiar objects. Although the data and results, per se, may not seem otherwise particularly remarkable, this work constitutes a milestone in optical astronomy since this is the first article that demonstrates astromomical research with a radically new type of mirror.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables, gzipped-Postscript Revised version 27/04, added references and changed conten

Microgrid Demonstration Platform: Modbus TCP/IP Connection for Real-Time Monitoring of a Wind Turbine

Several countries promote wind energy despite their high installation cost, since over time these investments can become profitable. It is important that energy entrepreneurs have up-to-date information of operation parameters, to identify places where excessive energy consumption occurs. For energy management, it is necessary to have an overview of the whole system, such that reporting and further result analysis can be made. With monitoring and control systems, it is possible to enable an improved management of resources, especially in terms of balance between generation and consumption. In this work, it is proposed a graphical interface to monitor and control a wind turbine, in a simulation environment running four operation scenarios.The present work was done and funded in the scope of the following projects: H2020 DREAM-GO Project (Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 641794); EUREKA - ITEA2 Project SEAS with project number 12004; NETEFFICITY Project (P2020 - 18015); and UID/EEA/00760/2013 funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and by National Funds through FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Extended Source Diffraction Effects Near Gravitational Lens Fold Caustics

Calculations are presented detailing the gravitational lens diffraction due to the steep brightness gradient of the limb of a stellar source. The lensing case studied is the fold caustic crossing. The limb diffraction signal greatly exceeds that due to the disk as a whole and should be detectable for white dwarf sources in our Galaxy and it's satellites with existing telescopes. Detection of this diffraction signal would provide an additional mathematical constraint, reducing the degeneracy among models of the lensing geometry. The diffraction pattern provides pico-arcsecond resolution of the limb profile.Comment: 19 pages including 17 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ, Minor conceptual change from previous versio