How Much Do Teachers Earn?

In the continuing debate over how to improve education systems, many people argue that teachers` salaries need to be increased. This paper seeks to establish a reliable method for analyzing the issue using household survey data from Bolivia.

Influence of extraction methods on the composition of essential oils of Achillea millefolium L. from Lithuania

In this study, flowering aerial parts of Achillea millefolium were used as a matrix for supercritical CO2 extraction (SFE) of volatile oil. The collected extracts were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS methods and their composition were compared with that of the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation (HD). The composition of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation and SFE methods is widely different. Indeed, the SFE volatile oil had a pale yellow color whereas the HD oil had a blue color due to the presence of chamazulene (48.0% vs. 4.3%). Other important constituents of HD oil were (E)- caryophyllene (19.5 %) and γ-muurolene (13.1%). The CO2 supercritical extract was dominated by (E)-caryophyllene (26.0%), γ-muurolene (22.0%), and caryophyllene oxide (8.1%)

Cerebellar structural variations in subjects with different hypnotizability

Hypnotizability-the proneness to accept suggestions and behave accordingly-has a number of physiological and behavioral correlates (postural, visuomotor, and pain control) which suggest a possible involvement of cerebellar function and/or structure. The present study was aimed at investigating the association between cerebellar macro- or micro-structural variations (analyzed through a voxel-based morphometry and a diffusion tensor imaging approach) and hypnotic susceptibility. We also estimated morphometric variations of cerebral gray matter structures, to support current evidence of hypnotizability-related differences in some cerebral areas. High (highs, N = 12), and low (lows, N = 37) hypnotizable healthy participants (according to the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale, form A) were submitted to a high field (3 T) magnetic resonance imaging protocol. In comparison to lows, highs showed smaller gray matter volumes in left cerebellar lobules IV/V and VI at uncorrected level, with the results in left lobule IV/V maintained also at corrected level. Highs showed also gray matter volumes smaller than lows in right inferior temporal gyrus, middle and superior orbitofrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, and supramarginal parietal gyrus, as well as in left gyrus rectus, insula, and middle temporal cortex at uncorrected level. Results of right inferior temporal gyrus survived also at corrected level. Analyses on micro-structural data failed to reveal any significant association. The here found morphological variations allow to extend the traditional cortico-centric view of hypnotizability to the cerebellar regions, suggesting that cerebellar peculiarities may sustain hypnotizability-related differences in sensorimotor integration and emotional contro

A comparison of 0.375% ropivacaine psoas compartment block and 2% prilocaine spinal anaesthesia in dogs undergoing tibial plateau levelling osteotomy

BACKGROUND: In dogs undergoing routine elective orthopaedic surgeries carried out as same-day surgeries regional anaesthetic techniques (RATs) should aim to produce analgesia but minimising the postoperative motor dysfunction. Our objective was to compare the perioperative analgesic effects and the time to motor recovery between spinal anaesthesia (SA) with hyperbaric solution of prilocaine 2% (mg = 4 x [0.3 × BW (kg) + 0.05 × SCL (cm)]) and morphine (0.03 mg/kg) and combined ultrasound (US) and electro stimulator-guided psoas compartment and ischiatic nerve block (PB) with ropivacaine 0.375% (0.45 mL/kg). Dogs undergoing tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) were randomly assigned to receive either SA or PB. Procedural failure, perioperative rescue analgesia, motor block recovery and complications were recorded. RESULTS: Procedural failure rate (PFR) was 19% (7 out of 36) for SA and 9% (3 out of 32) for PB (p = 0.31). Intraoperative rescue analgesia was administered to 6/29 (21%) SA group dogs and in 15/29 (52%) PB group dogs, respectively (p = 0.03). At 3 h after RAT, percentage of dogs with complete block recovery was 25/29 (86%) and 25/29 (86%) in group SA and PB, respectively (p = 1). Two cases of pruritus and one case of urinary retention were recorded in the SA group. Residual ischiatic nerve block was noted at 12 h after RAT in 2/15 (13%) of dogs in group PB; it completely resolved 24 h after RAT. CONCLUSIONS: SA with prilocaine 2% and PB with ropivacaine 0.37% were found suitable for dogs undergoing same-day TPLO surgery. Pruritus and urinary retention in SA and residual block in both groups might occasionally delay the time of discharge. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-022-03277-6

SHELF-LIFE OF HALAL FRESH SLICED BEEF AND MINCED MEAT

Microbiological and chemical-physical characterization of Halal beef fresh and minced meat, vacuum-packaged and stored at +2°C and +8°C, were examined, at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days, to evaluate the shelf-life. Lactic Acid Bacteria and Coliforms were higher in samples stored at +8 °C, particularly in minced meat. Pseudomonas were the most prevalent flora in all the products, and the contamination level, above 4 log10 cfu/g, were reached at 7 days in all the samples and was maintained during the study. The shelf-life can be extended reducing the storage temperature (< +2°C), and improving the packaging conditions

Survey solutions for 3D acquisition and representation of artificial and natural caves

A three-dimensional survey of natural caves is often a difficult task due to the roughness of the investigated area and the problems of accessibility. Traditional adopted techniques allow a simplified acquisition of the topography of caves characterized by an oversimplification of the geometry. Nowadays, the advent of LiDAR and Structure from Motion applications eased three-dimensional surveys in different environments. In this paper, we present a comparison between other three-dimensional survey systems, namely a Terrestrial Laser Scanner, a SLAM-based portable instrument, and a commercial photo camera, to test their possible deployment in natural caves survey. We presented a comparative test carried out in a tunnel stretch to calibrate the instrumentation on a benchmark site. The choice of the site is motivated by its regular geometry and easy accessibility. According to the result obtained in the calibration site, we presented a methodology, based on the Structure from Motion approach that resulted in the best compromise among accuracy, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness, that could be adopted for the three-dimensional survey of complex natural caves using a sequence of images and the structure from motion algorithm. The methods consider two different approaches to obtain a low resolution complete three-dimensional model of the cave and ultra-detailed models of most peculiar cave morphological elements. The proposed system was tested in the Gazzano Cave (Piemonte region, Northwestern Italy). The obtained result is a three-dimensional model of the cave at low resolution due to the site’s extension and the remarkable amount of data. Additionally, a peculiar speleothem, i.e., a stalagmite, in the cave was surveyed at high resolution to test the proposed high-resolution approach on a single object. The benchmark and the cave trials allowed a better definition of the instrumentation choice for underground surveys regarding accuracy and feasibility