Structural and Electrochemical Characteristics of Sintered Nickel Electrodes

Sintered nickel electrodes were prepared from nickel powder ob-tained by thermolysis of Ni(NO3)2 ⋅ 6H2O and by reduction of formed oxides in controlled atmosphere and electrochemical activa-tion in 42% KOH solution. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and cyclic voltammetry were used to investigate the structural and electrochemical characteristics of the prepared electrodes. The diffusion coefficients of the proton in nickel hydroxide were determined. It has been found that the proton diffusion coefficient is higher for the oxidation process in 6 M KOH + 35 g/L LiOH than in 6 M KOH electrolyte. The characteristics and the performance of the prepared sintered nickel electrodes point to the possibility of their successful utilisation as cathodes in alkaline batteries

Pratiques parentales positives comme facteurs de protection des enfants contre les effets de la pauvreté

La pauvreté est un phénomène complexe et des nombreuses études longitudinales et des métanalyses affirment que le fait de vivre dans la pauvreté peut affecter la santé, le développement physique, le développement cognitif, affectif et social des enfants. La théorie économique, le modèle de socialisation parentale et le modèle écologique cherchent à expliquer les mécanismes dont cette influence négative s'exerce. D'une autre part, les pratiques parentales peuvent agir comme facteurs de protection contre cette tendance et exercer une influence positive sur le développement des enfants. Les recherches qualitatives au sujet des pratiques parentales ne sont pas nombreuses et l'expertise des parents pauvres n'est pas souvent prise en considération. En utilisant l'approche de Besnar (2008) pour décrire les pratiques parentales, la présente recherche a tenté de répondre aux questions suivantes : Quelles ont été les pratiques parentales qui ont contribué à annuler les effets négatifs de l'exposition de la personne à la pauvreté pendant l'enfance? Quel a été l'impact de ces pratiques sur le développement physique, cognitif, social et affectif des enfants? Une approche qualitative a été utilisée et un échantillon de type non probabiliste de convenance a été formé en recrutant des personnes vivant en Abitibi-Témiscamingue provenant d'une famille pauvre et qui ont bénéficié des pratiques parentales positives en plus de connaître un processus développemental sans difficulté. Chaque domaine à risque du développement des enfants a été associé avec les pratiques parentales utilisées. Les résultats confirment que les pratiques parentales ont joué un rôle de protection des enfants devant les effets négatifs de l'exposition à la pauvreté. La plupart des parents des participants à la recherche ont fait preuve d'un engagement significatif auprès de leurs enfants, ils ont utilisé des mesures disciplinaires adéquates et souples, ils ont manifesté de l'ouverture vers le milieu extérieur de la famille et ils avaient confiance en leurs capacités à exercer le rôle parental. Comme René et al. (2004, p.41) le soulignent, il faut considérer les parents vivant au milieu de la pauvreté comme citoyens à part entière et non comme des « parents à risque, bénéficiaires des programmes d'intervention. » Pour enrichir la connaissance au sujet à l'étude, des recherches devraient être réalisées en ayant des participants qui ont vécu au sein des familles se conformant à plusieurs modèles familiaux, car la majorité des participants ont vécu au sein des familles nucléaires traditionnelles. L'analyse des mécanismes par lesquelles l'influence positive des pratiques parentales s'exerce sur le développement des enfants peut aussi constituer le sujet d'étude des prochaines recherches à réaliser.\ud ______________________________________________________________________________ \ud MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : pauvreté, développement de l'enfant, pratiques parentales, facteurs de protection, facteurs d'influenc

Influence of Rootstock on Citrus Tree Growth: Effects on Photosynthesis and Carbohydrate Distribution, Plant Size, Yield, Fruit Quality, and Dwarfing Genotypes

Citrus species are the most widely produced fruit crops in the world, and Spain is one of the leading citrus producers that supply the fresh market. Rootstocks greatly influence variety behaviour as it ensures tolerance to abiotic stress conditions, as well as the provision of minerals and water for the total plant, and consequently impact crop yield and fruit quality. So, rootstock choice is one of the most important decisions a grower makes when establishing commercial citrus orchards. In this chapter, we attempted to provide an overview of the response in terms of plant growth, fruit quality and yield parameters of several citrus cultivar trees grafted onto different commercial rootstocks, plus new hybrids and some dwarfing genotypes, to reduce costs in some cultural practices. In particular, we considered the rootstock influence on scion photosynthetic capacity linked to carbohydrate distribution for plant vegetative and reproductive development

Diagnostic pathways of Chagas disease in Spain: a qualitative study

Background: Due to the mobility of the population in recent years and the spread of Chagas disease (CD) to non-endemic regions, early diagnosis and treatment of CD has become increasingly relevant in non-endemic countries. In order for screening to be effective, health system accessibility must be taken into consideration. This study uses Tanahashi's Health Service Coverage model to gain a deeper understanding of the main diagnostic pathways for Chagas disease in a non-endemic country and the barriers and bottlenecks present in each pathway. Methods: This study used a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach. Twenty-one interviews, two focus group sessions, and two triangular group sessions were conducted between 2015 and 2018 with 37 Bolivian men and women diagnosed with CD in Madrid, Spain. A topic guide was designed to ensure that the interviewers obtained the data concerning knowledge of CD (transmission, symptoms, and treatment), attitudes towards CD, and health behaviour (practices in relation to CD). All interviews, focus groups and triangular groups were recorded and transcribed. A thematic, inductive analysis based on Grounded Theory was performed by two researchers. Results: Three main pathways to CD diagnosis were identified: 1) pregnancy or blood/organ donation, with no bottlenecks in effective coverage; 2) an individual actively seeking CD testing, with bottlenecks relating to administrative, physical, and time-related accessibility, and effectiveness based on the healthcare professional's knowledge of CD; 3) an individual not actively seeking CD testing, who expresses psychological discomfort or embarrassment about visiting a physician, with a low perception of risk, afraid of stigma, and testing positive, and with little confidence in physicians' knowledge of CD. Conclusions: Existing bottlenecks in the three main diagnostic pathways for CD are less prevalent during pregnancy and blood donation, but are more prevalent in individuals who do not voluntarily seek serological testing for CD. Future screening protocols will need to take these bottlenecks into consideration to achieve effective coverage.This study was funded by the Carlos III Institute of Health (www.isciii.es) PI15CIII/00047. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors received no specific funding for this work.S

Mapping health behaviour related to Chagas diagnosis in a non-endemic country: Application of Andersen's Behavioural Model

Background: Chagas disease has become a challenge for non-endemic countries since population mobility has increased in recent years and it has spread to these regions. In order to prevent vertical transmission and improve the prognosis of the disease, it is important to make an early diagnosis. And to develop strategies that improve access to diagnosis, it is important to know the factors that most influence the decision of the population to know their serological status. For this reason, this study uses Andersen's Behavioural Model and its proposed strategies to explore the health behaviours of Bolivian population. Methods: Twenty-three interviews, two focus groups, and two triangular groups were performed with Bolivian men and women, involving a total of 39 participants. In addition, four interviews were conducted with key informants in contact with Bolivian population to delve into possible strategies to improve the Chagas diagnosis. Results: The most relevant facts for the decision to being diagnosed pointed out by participants were having relatives who were sick or deceased from Chagas disease or, for men, having their pregnant wife with a positive result. After living in Spain more than ten years, population at risk no longer feels identified with their former rural origin and the vector. Moreover, their knowledge and awareness about diagnosis and treatment still remains low, especially in younger people. Limitations on access to healthcare professionals and services were also mentioned, and proposed strategies focused on eliminating these barriers and educating the population in preventive behaviours. Conclusions: Based on Andersen's Behavioural Model, the results obtained regarding the factors that most influence the decision to carry out Chagas diagnosis provide information that could help to develop strategies to improve access to health services and modify health behaviours related to Chagas screening.This study was funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (www.isciii.es) PI15CIII/00047 to TBH. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors received no specific funding for this work.S

A Pilot Study Evaluating Preferences for Caffeinated Drinks Consumption Among Mures Medical Students

The scale of caffeinated drinks offered for young adults is large and also is the risk for abuse followed by heart or brain injuries due to high levels of caffeine, taurine, sugars etc. For this purpose, we chose to evaluate the risk behaviors in a group of Mures medical students and assess their practices and knowledge of excess caffeine drinks intake. For this study, we used a food frequency questionnaire containing 26 questions related to personal data, food behaviors, types of food and drink consumed and the frequency of consumption. The questionnaire was applied to 427 Mures medical students in 2016. On average, 2/3 of the Mures medical students associate an excess of coffee, energy drinks and other types of caffeinated beverages, especially during the exams period. From the list of preferred drinks that our students chose, in descending order, are: coffee, carbonated beverages, alcoholic beverages and energy drinks. Students often turn to alcoholic drinks, sometimes in combination with energy drinks, raising the risk for their health. 25% have only coffee in the morning, on empty stomach, skipping breakfast. More than half of them have at least 3 coffees per day, with possible health impact on long term. Our data emphasizes once more the importance of health education in schools and universities, especially for medical students and future doctors, and the need for efficient community interventions in order to prevent lifestyle behaviors at risk

Working as a Healthcare Professional and Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Work Recovery Experiences and Need for Recovery as Mediators

Considering the high impact strain that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has put on medical personnel worldwide, identifying means to alleviate stress on healthcare professionals and to boost their subjective and psychological wellbeing is more relevant than ever. This study investigates the extent to which the relationships between the status of working in healthcare and the subjective and psychological wellbeing are serially mediated by work recovery experiences and the need for recovery. Data were collected from 217 Romanian employees (44 health professionals and 173 employees from other domains) using a cross-sectional design with self-report instruments, during the first stage of the nationwide lockdown. The results of the serial mediation analyses revealed that working in the medical field is indirectly related to subjective and psychological wellbeing through the following: (i) mastery experiences and (ii) mastery experiences as an antecedent of the need for recovery. As such, our findings indicate that (i) working in the medical field is, in fact, linked to healthcare professionals' subjective and psychological wellbeing, and they provide some input on (ii) how recovery experiences and the need for recovery intervene in these relationships. Based on these findings, theoretical, methodological, and practical implications were suggested, and future research directions were proposed to maximize healthcare professionals' wellbeing

Long-term exhaustion of the inbreeding load in Drosophila melanogaster

Inbreeding depression, the decline in fitness of inbred individuals, is a ubiquitous phenomenon of great relevance in evolutionary biology and in the fields of animal and plant breeding and conservation. Inbreeding depression is due to the expression of recessive deleterious alleles that are concealed in heterozygous state in noninbred individuals, the so-called inbreeding load. Genetic purging reduces inbreeding depression by removing these alleles when expressed in homozygosis due to inbreeding. It is generally thought that fast inbreeding (such as that generated by full-sib mating lines) removes only highly deleterious recessive alleles, while slow inbreeding can also remove mildly deleterious ones. However, a question remains regarding which proportion of the inbreeding load can be removed by purging under slow inbreeding in moderately large populations. We report results of two long-term slow inbreeding Drosophila experiments (125–234 generations), each using a large population and a number of derived lines with effective sizes about 1000 and 50, respectively. The inbreeding load was virtually exhausted after more than one hundred generations in large populations and between a few tens and over one hundred generations in the lines. This result is not expected from genetic drift alone, and is in agreement with the theoretical purging predictions. Computer simulations suggest that these results are consistent with a model of relatively few deleterious mutations of large homozygous effects and partially recessive gene actionAgencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) | Ref. PGC2018-095810-B-I00Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) | Ref. PID2020-114426GB-C21Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2020-0