Clinical, electrodiagnostic findings and quality of life of dogs and cats with brachial plexus injury

Brachial plexus injury (BPI) represents a common consequence of road traffic accidents in humans and small animals. In humans, neuropathic pain is a common symptom after BPI. The aim of the study was to describe the clinical signs, the electrodiagnostic findings, the outcome and the quality of life (QoL) of a cohort of dogs and cats with BPI. Clinical records of 40 dogs and 26 cats with BPI were retrospectively reviewed. Specific attention was put on the evaluation of electrodiagnostic findings (35/40 dogs; 14/26 cats) and telephonic interview results (26/40 dogs; 18/26 cats). The most common neurological condition was the inability to bear weight and sensory deficits on the affected limb. Radial and ulnar motor nerve conduction studies (MNCSs) were absent respectively in 47% (radial) and 62% (ulnar) of dogs and 57% (radial) and 57% (ulnar) of cats. The absence of radial (p = 0.003) and ulnar (p = 0.007) MNCSs in dogs and ulnar MNCSs in cats (p = 0.02) was significantly associated to the amputation of the affected limb. The owners described signs of pain/discomfort in 73% of dogs and 56% of cats. This is the first report suggesting that neuropathic pain/discomfort should be adequately considered in order to improve the QoL

Measuring public value: a conceptual and applied contribution to the debate

Countries facing austerity measures need to create public value. Academics and practitioners have been discussing the ways in which public value can be created, managed and measured. This paper contributes to this conversation by proposing a public value measurement model. An Italian case study is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the model and the organizational implications when public value measures are available to public sector managers, politicians and the public

Measuring public value: a conceptual and applied contribution to the debate

Countries facing austerity measures need to create public value. Academics and practitioners have been discussing the ways in which public value can be created, managed and measured. This paper contributes to this conversation by proposing a public value measurement model. An Italian case study is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the model and the organizational implications when public value measures are available to public sector managers, politicians and the public

Special fast diffusion with slow asymptotics. Entropy method and flow on a Riemannian manifold

We consider the asymptotic behaviour of positive solutions $u(t,x)$ of the fast diffusion equation $u_t=\Delta (u^{m}/m)={\rm div} (u^{m-1}\nabla u)$ posed for x\in\RR^d, $t>0$, with a precise value for the exponent $m=(d-4)/(d-2)$. The space dimension is $d\ge 3$ so that $m<1$, and even $m=-1$ for $d=3$. This case had been left open in the general study \cite{BBDGV} since it requires quite different functional analytic methods, due in particular to the absence of a spectral gap for the operator generating the linearized evolution. The linearization of this flow is interpreted here as the heat flow of the Laplace-Beltrami operator of a suitable Riemannian Manifold (\RR^d,{\bf g}), with a metric ${\bf g}$ which is conformal to the standard \RR^d metric. Studying the pointwise heat kernel behaviour allows to prove {suitable Gagliardo-Nirenberg} inequalities associated to the generator. Such inequalities in turn allow to study the nonlinear evolution as well, and to determine its asymptotics, which is identical to the one satisfied by the linearization. In terms of the rescaled representation, which is a nonlinear Fokker--Planck equation, the convergence rate turns out to be polynomial in time. This result is in contrast with the known exponential decay of such representation for all other values of $m$.Comment: 37 page

Localization on a quantum graph with a random potential on the edges

We prove spectral and dynamical localization on a cubic-lattice quantum graph with a random potential. We use multiscale analysis and show how to obtain the necessary estimates in analogy to the well-studied case of random Schroedinger operators.Comment: LaTeX2e, 18 page

Visual behavior of infants in the first and second months of life

Este estudo objetivou avaliar e conhecer o comportamento visual de lactentes no primeiro e segundo meses de vida. Os participantes foram 66 lactentes procedentes da região metropolitana de Campinas, nascidos no Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (CAISM/UNICAMP), assintomáticos, com peso ao nascimento variando de 3000g a 4140g, integrantes do Programa de Detecção de Alterações Audiológicas em Neonatos (DAANE), que compareceram ao Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Reabilitação "Prof. Dr. Gabriel Porto" da Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (CEPRE/FCM/UNICAMP) para triagem auditiva e cujos pais concordaram em participar do estudo. Para avaliação do comportamento visual utilizou-se o Método de Avaliação da Conduta Visual em Lactentes. A análise dos resultados utilizando-se o SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, versão 13) revelou, no primeiro mês, um destaque para as provas: fixação visual 97,62%, contato de olho 97,62%, sorriso 52,38%, seguimento visual horizontal 97,62% e seguimento visual vertical 52,38%. No segundo mês obteve-se 100% de resposta para as provas fixação visual, contato de olho, sorriso, seguimento visual horizontal e vertical. Os resultados obtidos no presente estudo estão em concordância com dados de estudos recentes sobre o comportamento visual de lactentes no primeiro trimestre de vida. A possibilidade de detectar oportunamente alterações no desenvolvimento visual está ligada a um diagnóstico oportuno e a um pronto encaminhamento a serviços de habilitação infantil, favorecendo, assim, a qualidade de vida das crianças e suas famílias.The aim of this study was to assess as well as understand the visual behavior of infants in the first and second months of life. The participants were 66 asymptomatic infants from Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, born at the Integral Attention Center for Women's Health at Campinas State University (CAISM/UNICAMP), with birth weight ranging from 3000g to 4140g. These infants were participants in the Program for Detecting Audiological Alterations in Newborns (DAANE) who attended the Center for Studies and Research on Rehabilitation "Prof. Dr. Gabriel Porto" at the Faculty of Medical Sciences (CEPRE/FCM/UNICAMP) for auditory trial, and whose parents consented to participate in this study. Visual behaviors were assessed through the Method for Assessing Visual Acuity in Infants. The data analysis was performed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 13). In the first month, the infants showed: visual fixation (97.62%), eye contact (97.62%), smile (52.38%), horizontal tracking (97.62%), and vertical tracking (52.38%). In the second month, they reached 100% in these same tests. The results are in accordance with recent studies on visual behavior of infants in the first three months of life. The possibility of opportunely detecting alterations in visual development is related to a timely diagnosis and a prompt referral to rehabilitation services for infants. As a consequence, it may improve the quality of life of children and their families

Evidence for an Allelopathic Interaction Between Rye and Wild Oats

Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon in which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. Allelopathy has been the subject of a great deal of research in chemical ecology since the 1930s. The characterization of the factors that influence this phenomenon has barely been explored, mainly due to the complexity of this area. The main aim of the research carried out to date has been to shed light on the importance of these interactions in agroecosystems, especially in relation to the interactions between crops and weeds. Herein we report the characterization of a complete allelochemical pathway involving benzoxazinones, which are known to participate in allelopathic plant defense interactions of several plants of high agronomic interest. The production of the defense chemicals by a donor plant (crop), the route and transformations of the chemicals released into the environment, and the uptake and phytotoxic effects on a target plant (weed) were all monitored. The results of this study, which is the first of its kind, allowed a complete dynamic characterization of the allelopathic phenomenon for benzoxazinones

Phonotactic response of female crickets on the Kramer treadmill: methodology, sensory and behavioural implications

Since population-level variation in female mating preferences can shape intraspecific communication systems within the context of sexual selection it is essential to quantify these preferences and their sources of variation. We calculated individual female response functions for four male calling song traits in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, by performing untethered phonotaxis measurements on a spherical locomotor compensator (Kramer treadmill). Firstly, we quantify the population-level sources of phonotactic variation and correct for factors that adversely affect this measurement. Secondly, we develop methodology for the characterisation of individual female phonotactic response functions suitable for population-level analyses and demonstrate the applicability of our method with respect to recent literature on Orthopteran acoustic communication. Phonotaxis towards a preferred stimulus on different occasions is highly repeatable, with lower repeatabilities away from the most preferred signal traits. For certain male signal traits, female preference and selectivity are highly repeatable. Although phonotactic response magnitude deteriorated with age, preference functions of females remained the same during their lifetimes. Finally, the limitations of measuring phonotaxis using a spherical locomotor compensator are described and discussed with respect to the estimation of the selectivity of female response

Shake-table testing of a stone masonry building aggregate: overview of blind prediction study

City centres of Europe are often composed of unreinforced masonry structural aggregates, whose seismic response is challenging to predict. To advance the state of the art on the seismic response of these aggregates, the Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures (AIMS) subproject from Horizon 2020 project Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe (SERA) provides shake-table test data of a two-unit, double-leaf stone masonry aggregate subjected to two horizontal components of dynamic excitation. A blind prediction was organized with participants from academia and industry to test modelling approaches and assumptions and to learn about the extent of uncertainty in modelling for such masonry aggregates. The participants were provided with the full set of material and geometrical data, construction details and original seismic input and asked to predict prior to the test the expected seismic response in terms of damage mechanisms, base-shear forces, and roof displacements. The modelling approaches used differ significantly in the level of detail and the modelling assumptions. This paper provides an overview of the adopted modelling approaches and their subsequent predictions. It further discusses the range of assumptions made when modelling masonry walls, floors and connections, and aims at discovering how the common solutions regarding modelling masonry in general, and masonry aggregates in particular, affect the results. The results are evaluated both in terms of damage mechanisms, base shear forces, displacements and interface openings in both directions, and then compared with the experimental results. The modelling approaches featuring Discrete Element Method (DEM) led to the best predictions in terms of displacements, while a submission using rigid block limit analysis led to the best prediction in terms of damage mechanisms. Large coefficients of variation of predicted displacements and general underestimation of displacements in comparison with experimental results, except for DEM models, highlight the need for further consensus building on suitable modelling assumptions for such masonry aggregates