Exercises using a touchscreen tablet application improved functional ability more than an exercise program prescribed on paper in people after surgical carpal tunnel release: a randomised trial

Question: In people who have undergone surgical carpal tunnel release, do sensorimotor-based exercises performed on the touchscreen of a tablet device improve outcomes more than a conventional home exercise program prescribed on paper? Design: Randomised, parallel-group trial with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants: Fifty participants within 10 days of surgical carpal tunnel release. Intervention: Each participant was prescribed a 4-week home exercise program. Participants in the experimental group received the ReHand tablet application, which administered and monitored exercises via the touchscreen. The control group was prescribed a home exercise program on paper, as is usual practice in the public hospital system. Outcome measures: The primary outcome was functional ability of the hand, reported using the shortened form of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaire. Secondary outcomes were grip strength, pain intensity measured on a 10-cm visual analogue scale, and dexterity measured with the Nine-Hole Peg Test. Outcomes were measured by a blinded assessor at baseline and at the end of the 4-week intervention period. Results: At Week 4, functional ability improved significantly more in the experimental group than the control group (MD –21, 95% CI –33 to –9) on the QuickDASH score (0 to 100). Although the mean estimates of effect on the secondary outcome also all favoured the experimental group, none reached statistical significance: grip strength (MD 5.6 kg, 95% CI –0.5 to 11.7), pain (MD –1.4 cm, 95% CI –2.9 to 0.1), and dexterity (MD –1.3 seconds, 95% CI –3.7 to 1.1). Conclusion: Use of the ReHand tablet application for early rehabilitation after carpal tunnel release is more effective in the recovery of functional ability than a conventional home exercise program. It remains unclear whether there are any benefits in grip strength, pain or dexterity. Trial registration: ACTRN12618001887268

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) bring new life to hydrogen-bonding organocatalysts in confined spaces

Hydrogen-bonding organocatalysis has emerged as a promising biomimetic alternative to Lewis acid catalysis. Urea, thiourea and squaramide moieties represent the most common hydrogen-bond donors used for the preparation of these catalysts. However, their significant tendency to undergo self-quenching (self-aggregation) often decreases their solubility and reactivity. Recently, scientists have found a promising way around this problem by immobilizing the hydrogen-bonding organocatalysts on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). Along with advantageous modular synthesis and recycling properties, the tunable porosity and topology of MOFs also allows fast mass transport and/or interactions with substrates. Herein, we highlight the existing examples dealing with the fabrication and testing of hydrogen-bonding organocatalyst-containing MOFs, providing also our vision for further advances in this area. The results derived from these studies will likely serve as inspiration for the future development of superior hydrogen-bonding organocatalysts to accomplish in confined spaces chemical transformations that are either slow or unaffordable under standard homogeneous conditions

Extreme climatic events affect populations of Asian chestnut gall wasps, Dryocosmus kuriphilus, but do not stop the spread

1 Global climate change affects the frequency of extreme weather events that can influence plant–insect interactions. 2 We evaluated how the late-spring frost and severe drought that occurred in Spain in 2017 affected interactions between the invasive gall insect, Dryocosmus kuriphilus, and the native tree, Castanea sativa. We assessed effects on insect survival, fertility, population growth, and effects through changes in tree palatability and in other pests and pathogens. 3 Late-spring frost reduced D. kuriphilus to 25–40% of previous abundance. Wasp populations recovered rapidly (>7-fold in 3 years), consistent with density-dependence in population dynamics. 4 Larvae affected by freeze or drought were smaller. Female fecundity was affected by the freeze 1 year later. 5 Late-spring frosts and severe drought affected leaf size and physiology.Water content was higher within galls, but nitrogen was higher within galls in non-freeze plots after weather conditions improved. 6 Freezing also influenced the secondary chemistry of leaves. Phenol concentrations were lower, and terpenes higher, in frozen plots, while condensed tannins remained the same. Condensed tannins were reduced to half in the drought year. 7 Freezing had limited effects on damage from other pests and pathogens. 8 Our work expands understanding of how climate and weather affects forest pestsThis work was supported by FEDER/Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Research (Grant AGL2016-76262-R)S

A mathematical programming tool for an efficient decision-making on teaching assignment under non-regular time schedules

[EN] In this paper, an optimization tool based on a MILP model to support the teaching assignment process is proposed. It considers not only hierarchical issues among lecturers but also their preferences to teach a particular subject, the non-regular time schedules throughout the academic year, different type of credits, number of groups and other specific characteristics. Besides, it adds restrictions based on the time compatibility among the different subjects, the lecturers' availability, the maximum number of subjects per lecturer, the maximum number of lecturers per subject as well as the maximum and minimum saturation level for each lecturer, all of them in order to increase the teaching quality. Schedules heterogeneity and other features regarding the operation of some universities justify the usefulness of this model since no study that deals with all of them has been found in the literature review. Model validation has been performed with two real data sets collected from one academic year schedule at the Spanish University Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Solano Cutillas, P.; Pérez Perales, D.; Alemany Díaz, MDM. (2022). A mathematical programming tool for an efficient decision-making on teaching assignment under non-regular time schedules. Operational Research. 22(3):2899-2942. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12351-021-00638-12899294222

DIATOMS AND DINOFLAGELLATES DIVERSITY INHABITING A COASTAL UPWELLING SYSTEM: A METABARCODING APPROACH

Small eukaryotic plankton has been traditionally characterized using conventional microscopy techniques. Current advances in sequencing technologies allow the cost-effective study the diversity within microbial plankton based on DNA sequences. This technique has been implemented in the last 15 years for investigating prokaryotic diversity, but its application to unravel the diversity and ecology of eukaryotic organisms is still incipient. In this study we analyze the diversity of the diatoms and dinoflagellates in the marine communities using rDNA sequencing techniques, as well as the taxonomic resolution provided by the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene. Twenty monthly 6L seawater samples for DNA metabarcoding were collected and filtered through 3 μm polycarbonate filter in a station off the Ría de A Coruña (NW Iberian Peninsula). DNA was extracted, the V4 region of the 18S rRNA was PCR amplified and subsequently sequenced using the High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) platform Illumina. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were differentiated using DADA2 implemented in R. Sequences were aligned against PR2 v4.12.0 and SILVA 132 18S rRNA databases as references, as well as studied using BLAST and phylogenetic trees. Sequence-based taxonomic approach found 128 and 416 metabarcodes corresponding to diatoms and dinoflagellates, respectively. Sequences had limited resolution at species or even genus level, and overall the taxonomic resolution of diatoms was substantially higher than those of dinoflagellates

Nano- and microplankton diversity inhabiting a coastal upwelling system: a metabarcoding approach

Small eukaryotic plankton has been traditionally characterized using conventional microscopy techniques. Current advances in sequencing technologies allow the costeffective study the diversity within microbial plankton based on DNA sequences. This technique has been implemented in the last 15 years for investigating prokaryotic diversity, but its application to unravel the diversity and distribution of eukaryotic organisms is still incipient. Alleged advantages of this approach include the ability of detecting the smaller fraction of the community that trend to be overlooked in microscopy studies, as well as improving the resolution of taxonomic identification for groups whose morphological study is challenging due the paucity of morphological characters. In this study we characterize the diversity of the nano- and microplankton marine communities using microscopy and rDNA sequencing techniques. The aim of this work is to compare results of both techniques, assessing whether rDNA data can provide new insights into the study of the diversity of eukaryotic planktonic communities. Twenty monthly samples were collected in a station off the Ría de A Coruña (NW Iberian Peninsula). Planktonic samples for DNA studies were collected by filtering seawater samples through a 3 μm pore size polycarbonate filter. DNA was extracted, the V4 region of the 18S rRNA was PCR amplified and subsequently sequenced using the High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) platform Illumina. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were differentiated using DADA2 implemented in R. Sequences were aligned against PR2 v4.12.0 and SILVA 132 18S rRNA databases as references. Microscopic identification of plankton taxa (phytoplankton and protozoa) was made using the Uthermöhl technique. In total 1182 ASVs were identified based on rDNA data, which contrasts with only 65 species identified by microscopy. Morphological identifications of eukaryotic plankton was restricted mainly to diatoms, dinoflagellates and ciliates, while rDNA data allowed the detection of additional taxonomic groups (i.e. protist). Some of them were very abundant, such as the algae Cryptophyceae and Mamiellophyceae or the heterotrophs Ascomycota or parasitic Stramenopiles. Therefore, our study further evidenced that DNA metabarcoding is a valuable tool to uncover part of the great diversity within microbial plankton, improving the detection of small eukaryotes

Watermelon Juice: Potential Functional Drink for Sore Muscle Relief in Athletes

L-Citrulline is an excellent candidate to reduce muscle soreness, and watermelon is a fruit rich in this amino acid. This study investigated the potential of watermelon juice as a functional drink for athletes. An in vitro study of intestinal absorption of l-citrulline in Caco-2 cells was performed using unpasteurized (NW), pasteurized (80 °C for 40 s) watermelon juice (PW) and, as control, a standard of l-citrulline. l-citrulline bioavailability was greater when it was contained in a matrix of watermelon and when no heat treatment was applied. In the in vivo experiment (maximum effort test in a cycloergometer), seven athletes were supplied with 500 mL of natural watermelon juice (1.17 g of l-citrulline), enriched watermelon juice (4.83 g of l-citrulline plus 1.17 g from watermelon), and placebo. Both watermelon juices helped to reduce the recovery heart rate and muscle soreness after 24 h.Actividad Física y Deport

Cultivating positive ethnic identity in southern California's youth through 4-H day camps

One approach to cultivating positive ethnic identity is aiming to foster pride in cultural heritage through helping youth learn about their ethnic groups' histories and providing opportunities to participate in cultural forms such as music, theater, dance, and other artistic expression. During the summer of 2017, 4-H staff and academics partnered with the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino, CA and designed and delivered a four-week day camp targeting youth ages five to eleven. The objective of the camp was to provide a space for the youth to explore Mexican history from the pre-Hispanic times through the Independence Era, as well as some customs and traditions of modern Mexico. All the activities were designed following the hands-on 4-H model, where the youth had the opportunity to learn-reflect-apply. Conducted in English and Spanish by community volunteers and college students with the support of 4-H staff, the program included a variety of activities to keep the youth interested and active, as art, games, crafts, movies, and even science activities framed around weekly cultural themes. The program was evaluated and its success was determined by a) community participation/response; b) partners' satisfaction; and c) ability to replicate the program in coming years. This article provides an overview of the program design and implementation, as well as lessons learned.Includes bibliographical reference

Leptostráceos (Crustacea: Phyllocarida) de la Ría de Ferrol (Galicia, NO península Ibérica) con la descripción de una nueva especie de Nebalia Leach, 1814.

Knowledge on taxonomy and ecology of leptostracan crustaceans is still scarce in many parts of the world. Sampling in subtidal sediments in the Ria of Ferrol (NW Spain) between 2006 and 2007 yielded several leptostracan specimens belonging to six species. This is, so far, the largest number of leptostracan species reported from a single area. Some specimens belong to an undescribed species of Nebalia Leach, 1814, which is described herein as N. reboredae n. sp. The new species has a rostrum about 2.2 times as long as wide, the antennular scale is slightly more than twice as long as wide, the fourth article of the antennule has one short thick distal spine, the first article of the endopod of the second maxilla is 1.3 times as long as the second one, the exopod of the second maxilla is longer than the first article of the endopod, the posterior dorsal borders of pleonites 5-7 are provided with distally rounded to truncated denticles, and the uropods are as long as pleonite 7 and the anal somite combined. All the species collected are reported, including the number of specimens, sexual condition and substrate type. A key to all known neritic species of the Iberian Peninsula is provided.El conocimiento sobre la taxonomía y ecología del orden Leptostraca en muchas partes del mundo es todavía fragmentario. El examen de muestras infralitorales recolectadas en la Ría de Ferrol (NO península Ibérica) entre 2006 y 2007 ha revelado la presencia de seis especies de leptostráceos. Hasta la fecha, este es el mayor número de especies encontradas en una única área. Varios de los ejemplares encontrados pertenecen a una especie no descrita del género Nebalia Leach, 1814, que es descrita en el presente trabajo como N. reboredae n. sp. La nueva especie se caracteriza por presentar un rostro 2.2 veces más largo que ancho, una escama antenular algo más de dos veces más larga que ancha, el cuarto segmento de la anténula porta una única espina corta gruesa distal, el primer segmento del endopodio de la segunda maxila es 1.4 veces más largo que el segundo segmento, el exopodio de la segunda maxila es más largo que el primer segmento del endopodio, los dentículos del borde posterior dorsal de los pleonitos 5-7 son distalmente de redondeados a truncados, y los urópodos son tan largos como el pleonito 7 y el somita anal combinados. Se indica para todas las especies encontradas tanto el número de ejemplares como estado sexual y tipo de sustrato. Se incluye una clave para todas las especies de leptostráceos neríticos encontrados en la península Ibérica hasta la fecha