Dominance-based rough set approach and analytic network process for assessing urban transformation scenarios

For half a century, the significant development of intensive farming has led to a massive use of products such as pesticides. The excessive use of these substances has contaminated surface water and groundwater. Drinking water extraction points have also had to be abandoned. Some thirty years ago, in the southwest of France, a group of farmers decided to improve their farming methods, as well as developing new Best Environmental Practices, such as grass strips along streams and riparian forests. By combining the use of ELECTRE TRI-C multi-criteria model with a GIS, we were able to characterise the contribution of each farming area to the risk of surface water contamination with pesticides. We also assessed the effectiveness of different environmental practices. We found that the use of Best Environmental Practices led to a reduction in the risk of pesticides transfer. This methodology re-enforces decision support tools for water resource managers and agricultural and environmental stakeholders

Invariant functionals on completely distributive lattices

In this paper we are interested in functionals defined on completely distributive lattices and which are invariant under mappings preserving {arbitrary} joins and meets. We prove that the class of nondecreasing invariant functionals coincides with the class of Sugeno integrals associated with $\{0,1\}$-valued capacities, the so-called term functionals, thus extending previous results both to the infinitary case as well as to the realm of completely distributive lattices. Furthermore, we show that, in the case of functionals over complete chains, the nondecreasing condition is redundant. Characterizations of the class of Sugeno integrals, as well as its superclass comprising all polynomial functionals, are provided by showing that the axiomatizations (given in terms of homogeneity) of their restriction to finitary functionals still hold over completely distributive lattices. We also present canonical normal form representations of polynomial functionals on completely distributive lattices, which appear as the natural extensions to their finitary counterparts, and as a by-product we obtain an axiomatization of complete distributivity in the case of bounded lattices

Attachments for the orthodontic aligner treatment—State of the art—A comprehensive systematic review

Background: In recent years the burden of aligner treatment has been growing. However, the sole use of aligners is characterized by limitations; thus attachments are bonded to the teeth to improve aligner retention and tooth movement. Nevertheless, it is often still a challenge to clinically achieve the planned movement. Thus, the aim of this study is to discuss the evidence of the shape, placement and bonding of composite attachments. Methods: A query was carried out in six databases on 10 December 2022 using the search string (“orthodontics” OR “malocclusion” OR “Tooth movement techniques AND (“aligner*” OR “thermoformed splints” OR “invisible splint*” AND (“attachment*” OR “accessor*” OR “auxill*” AND “position*”). Results: There were 209 potential articles identified. Finally, twenty-six articles were included. Four referred to attachment bonding, and twenty-two comprised the influence of composite attachment on movement efficacy. Quality assessment tools were used according to the study type. Conclusions: The use of attachments significantly improves the expression of orthodontic movement and aligner retention. It is possible to indicate sites on the teeth where attachments have a better effect on tooth movement and to assess which attachments facilitate movement. The research received no external funding. The PROSPERO database number is CRD42022383276

Construyendo Pedagogías Emancipatórias: La Escuela Campesina de Agroecología - Mendoza, Argentina

Neste artigo analisamos a experiência da Escola Camponesa de Agroecologia, na província de Mendoza, Argentina, com foco na construção de seu projeto político pedagógico. O principal objetivo da escola é a formação de educadores especializados em agroecologia, e contribuir para a construção de um novo paradigma no campo argentino, com base na garantia da soberania alimentar. Há o reconhecimento de que os processos de mudança e transformação da realidade dependem, diretamente, das ações relacionadas com a educação. Assim, os princípios políticos-pedagógicos, o desempenho escolar, a estrutura curricular e de avaliação consistentes são analisados ​​como uma pedagogia crítica e emancipatória

Immunity, Inflammation and Heart Failure. Their Role on Cardiac Function and Iron Status

Aims: Heart failure is a clinical syndrome characterized by subclinical systemic inflammation and immune system activation associated with iron deficiency. No data exist on the various activations of immune-mediated mechanisms of inflammation in heart failure patients with reduced/preserved ejection fraction. We aimed to (1) investigate possible differences in inflammatory parameters and oxidative stress, and (2) detect a different iron status between groups. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 50 consecutive Caucasian outpatients with heart failure. All patients underwent echocardiographic measurements, laboratory determinations, evaluation of iron status and Toll-like receptors, and NF-κB expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines. All statistical calculations were made using SPSS for Mac version 21.0. Results: Patients with reduced ejection fraction showed significantly lower hemoglobin levels (12.3 ± 1.4 vs. 13.6 ± 1.4 g/dl), serum iron (61.4 ± 18.3 vs. 93.7 ± 33.7 mcg/dl), transferrin iron binding capacity (20.7 ± 8.4 vs. 31.1 ± 15.6 %), and e-GFR values (78.1 ± 36.1 vs. 118.1 ± 33.9 ml/min/1.73 m2) in comparison to patients with preserved ejection fraction, while unsaturated iron binding capacity (272.6 ± 74.9 vs. 221.7 ± 61.4 mcg/dl), hepcidin (4.61 ± 0.89 vs. 3.28 ± 0.69 ng/ml), and creatinine (1.34 ± 0.55 vs. 1.03 ± 0.25 mg/dl) were significantly higher in the same group. When considering inflammatory parameters, patients with reduced ejection fraction showed significantly higher expression of both Toll-like receptors-2 (1.90 ± 0.97 vs. 1.25 ± 0.76 MFI) and Toll-like receptors-4 (4.54 ± 1.32 vs. 3.38 ± 1.62 MFI), respectively, as well as a significantly higher activity of NF-κB (2.67 ± 0.60 vs. 1.07 ± 0.30). Furthermore, pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-1, and interleukin-6, was significantly higher in patients with reduced ejection fraction, while the protective cytokine interleukin-10 was significantly lower in the same group. Correlational analyses demonstrated a significant and inverse relationship between left ventricular function and inflammatory parameters in patients with reduced ejection fraction, as well as a direct correlation between ferritin and inflammatory parameters. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate a different immune-mediated inflammatory burden in heart failure patients with reduced or preserved ejection fraction, as well as significant differences in iron status. These data contribute to further elucidate pathophysiologic mechanisms leading to cardiac dysfunction

Geopedagogia e luta camponesa: Contribuições para a extensão crítica dos processos educativos em Mendoza, Argentina

In this text we make a historical review of the peasant and indigenous struggle on a regional scale, with the intention of making visible a modality of theoretical-practical articulation: the dynamics of peasant education in rural territories. From a brief review of the Freirean legacy and its possible updating in the experiences of the Union of Landless Rural Workers of the National Indigenous Peasant Movement - We Are Land (UST/MNCI-ST), we argue that both popular education and the praxis of peasant organizations throughout Our America, constitute a central point of interaction in the fabric of peasant social movements and their geopedagogical proposals. We conclude by highlighting elements for a new critical extension agenda born from the link between peasant struggle and university extension.En este texto realizamos una reseña histórica de la lucha campesina e indígena a escala regional, con la intención de visibilizar una modalidad de articulación teórico-práctica: la dinámica de la educación campesina en los territorios rurales. A partir de una breve revisión del legado freireano y su posible actualización en las experiencias de la Unión de Trabajadores Rurales Sin Tierra del Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena-Somos Tierra (UST/MNCI-ST), sostenemos que, tanto la educación popular como la praxis de organizaciones campesinas en toda Nuestra América, constituyen un punto de interacción central en la trama de los movimientos sociales campesino y sus propuestas geopedagógicas. Concluimos resaltando elementos para una nueva agenda de extensión crítica que nazca del vínculo entre lucha campesina y la extensión universitaria

New insights and evidence on “Food Intolerances”: non-celiac gluten sensitivity and nickel allergic contact mucositis

The clinical examination of patients often comes across the observation of the existence of a close relationship between the ingestion of certain foods and the appearance of various symptoms. Until now, the occurrence of these events has been loosely defined as food intolerance. Today these conditions should more properly be called Adverse Food Reactions (AFRs) which can consist of the presentation of a wide variety of symptoms which are commonly identified as Irritable Bowel Disease (IBS) syndrome. In addition, systemic manifestations such as neurological, dermatological, joint and respiratory disorders may also occur in affected patients. Although the etiology and pathogenesis of some of them are already known, others, such as non-celiac gluten sensitivity and adverse reactions to nickel-containing foods, are not yet fully defined. The study was aimed at evaluating the relationship between the ingestion of some foods and the appearance of some symptoms, clinical improvement and detectable immunohistochemical alterations after a specific exclusion diet. One hundred and six consecutive patients suffering from meteorism, dyspepsia and nausea following the ingestion of foods containing gluten or nickel were subjected to the GSRS questionnaire, modified according to the "Salerno expert criteria". All patients underwent detection of IgA antibodies to tissue transglutaminase, oral mucosal patch test with gluten and nickel (OMPT), and EGDS including biopsies. Our data show that GSRS and OMPT, the use of APERIO CS2 software and the endothelial marker CD34 could be suggested as useful tools in the diagnostic procedure of these new pathologies. Larger, multi-center clinical trials could be helpful in defining these emerging clinical problems

Comparison between velocity of anaerobic threshold and critical velocity in swimmers aged 10 to 15 years

Estudos anteriores têm demonstrado que a velocidade crítica (VC) pode ser um método nãoinvasivo para estimar a resposta do lactato sangüíneo durante o exercício. Entretanto, a sua validade em crianças ainda não foi adequadamente verificada. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar se a VC determinada de acordo com o protocolo proposto por Wakayoshi, Yoshida, Udo, Kasai, Moritani, Mutoh & Miyashita (1992), pode ser utilizada como um método não-invasivo para estimar a velocidade correspondente a 4 mM (limiar anaeróbio - LAn) em crianças que estão sendo iniciadas no treinamento da natação. Participaram do estudo 18 crianças, que foram divididas em dois grupos: lo. grupo -10 a 12 anos e; 2o. grupo - 13 a 15 anos. Os indivíduos foram submetidos inicialmente a um protocolo para a determinação da velocidade equivalente a 4 mM de lactato sangüíneo (limiar anaeróbio). Posteriormente, durante as sessões de treinamento, foram realizados tiros máximos nas distâncias de 50, 100 e 200 metros, para o cálculo da VC. A velocidade (m/s) de LAn nos dois grupos (0,82 ± 0,09; 0,94 ± 0,12) foi significantemente maior do que a VC (0,78 ± 0,25; 0,90 ±0,13, respectivamente). Houve correlação entre a velocidade do LAn e a VC para os dois grupos (r = 0,96 e 0,94 respectivamente). A concentração de lactato (mM) correspondente a VC foi de 2,71 ± 1,12 e 2,82 ± 0,86, respectivamente para o lo. e 2o. grupo. Pode-se concluir, a partir dos dados obtidos, que a VC subestima a intensidade de nado correspondente ao LAn, determinado com concentração fixa de 4 mM de lactato, em nadadores em fase inicial de treinamento, na faixa etária de 10 a 15 anos. Porém, a VC parece se aproximar mais da intensidade de “Maximal Lactate Steady State”, já que as concentrações de lactato encontradas através desta metodologia, foram mais próximas do valor (2,5 mM) proposto por Williams & Armstrong (1991)Previous studies have shown that the critical velocity (CV) can be a non-invasive method to estimate the response of blood lactate during exercise. However, its validity in children was not still appropriately verified. The objective of this study was to verify if CV determined according to the protocol proposed by Wakayoshi, Yoshida, Udo, Kasai, Moritani, Mutoh & Miyashita (1992), can be used as a noninvasive method to estimate the speed corresponding to the 4 mM (anaerobic threshold - AT) in children beginning in swimming training. Eighteen children took part in the study and they were divided into two groups: Group 1 -10 to 12 years and; Group 2 - 13 to 15 years. The individuals were submitted initially to a protocol for the determination of the equivalent speed to the 4 mM of blood lactate (anaerobic threshold). Later on, during the training sessions, maximal bouts were accomplished in the distances of 50, 100 and 200 meters, for calculation of CV The speed (m/s) of AT in two groups (0.82 ± 0.09; 0.94 ± 0.12) was significantly larger than CV (0.78 ± 0.25; 0.90 ± 0.13, respectively). There was a correlation between the speed of AT and CV for two groups (r = 0.96 and 0.94 respectively). The lactate concentration (mM) corresponding CV was of 2.71 ± 1.12 and 2.82 ± 0.86, for Group 1 and 2, respectively. In conclusion, from data obtained here, CV underestimates the intensity of swimming corresponding to the AT, determined with fixed concentration of 4 mM, in swimmers with 10 to 15 years, in an initial phase of training. However, the CV seems to be closer to the Maximal Lactate Steady State, since the lactate concentrations found through this methodology, were closer to the value (2.5 mM) proposed by Williams & Armstrong (1991

Early Effects of a Hypocaloric, Mediterranean Diet on Laboratory Parameters in Obese Individuals

Calorie restriction is a common strategy for weight loss in obese individuals. However, little is known about the impact of moderate hypocaloric diets on obesity-related laboratory parameters in a short-term period. Aim of this study was to evaluate the variation of laboratory biomarkers in obese individuals following a Mediterranean, hypocaloric (1400–1600 Kcal/die) diet. 23 obese, pharmacologically untreated patients were enrolled and subjected to the determination of anthropometric variables and blood collection at baseline, 1 and 4 months after diet initiation. After 4 months of calorie restriction, we observed a significant decrease in body weight and BMI (both P < 0.0001), insulin (P = 0.037), HOMA-IR (P = 0.026), leptin (P = 0.008), and LDH (P = 0.023) and an increase in EGF (P = 0.013). All these parameters, except LDH, varied significantly already at 1 month after diet initiation. Also, lower levels of insulin (P = 0.025), leptin (P = 0.023), and EGF (P = 0.035) were associated with a greater (>5%) weight loss. Collectively, our data support a precocious improvement of insulin and leptin sensitivity after a modest calorie restriction and weight reduction. Moreover, EGF and LDH may represent novel markers of obesity, which deserve further investigations