Reusing intravaginal progesterone releasing devices for oestrous synchoronization in ewes

In this study, the second use of an intravaginal progesterone-releasing device or controlled intravaginal drug release device (CIDR) was evaluated. After a first use of 11 days, the CIDR was again used for either nine or 12 days with 200 or 300 IU equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) being injected on its removal. Sixty-four ewes were randomly distributed to four treatments (n=16/group): CIDR9+eCG200, CIDR9+eCG300, CIDR12+eCG200, and CIDR12+eCG300. The eCG was administered intramuscularly on withdrawal of the device. Thus, the experiment was a completely randomized design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Oestrus presentation did not differ between treatments (P =0.29). However, with the dose of 200 IU of eCG, oestrus presentation tended to increase (P =0.08). The onset and duration of oestrus, percentage of gestation, and return to oestrus did not differ between treatments (P >0.05). Progesterone concentration in serum was greater (P < 0.05) in ewes treated with CIDR12+eCG300. Prolificacy was greatest (1.44) with the CIDR12+eCG300 treatment and was different (P = 0.001) from the treatments CIDR9+eCG200 (1.21) and CIDR9+eCG300 (1.20), but not from the CIDR12+eCG200 treated ewes (1.31). The CIDR12+eCG300 treatement produced the highest percentage of twin births (45.8%) (P =0.001). Leaving the device in place for 12 days increased (P =0.001) the incidence of twin births. Use of the CIDR for a second time synchronized oestrus in ewes successfully with better fertility being obtained when the device was left in place for 12 days, and 300 IU of eCG was injected on its removal. Key words: gonadotropin, progesterone device, synchronizatio

Equivalence regimes for geometric quantum discord and local quantum uncertainty

The concept of quantum discord aims at unveiling quantum correlations that go beyond those described by entanglement. Its original formulation [L. Henderson and V. Vedral, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34, 6899 (2001); H. Ollivier and W. H. Zurek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 017901 (2001)] is difficult to compute even for the simplest case of two-qubits systems. Alternative formulations have been developed to address this drawback, such as the geometric measure of quantum discord [L. Chang and S. Luo, Phys. Rev. A 87, 062303 (2013)] and the local quantum uncertainty [D. Girolami, T. Tufarelli, and G. Adesso, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 240402 (2013)] that can be evaluated in closed form for some quantum systems, such as two-qubit systems. We show here that these two measures of quantum discord are equivalent for 2×D dimensional bipartite quantum systems. By considering the relevant example of N00N states for phase estimation in lossy environments, we also show that both metrics of quantum discord quantify the decrease of quantum Fisher information of the phase estimation protocol. Given their ease of computation in 2×D bipartite systems, the geometric measure of quantum discord and the local quantum uncertainty demonstrate their relevance as computable measures of quantum discord.We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (“Severo Ochoa” program for Centres of Excellence in R&D No. SEV-2015-0522), from Fundacio Privada Cellex, from Fundacio Mir-Puig, and from Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA program. This work was partially funded through the EMPIR project 17FUN01-BeCOMe. The EMPIR initiative is cofunded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme and the EMPIR participating states. A.V. acknowledges financial support from PREBIST that has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 754558. J.R.A. acknowledges funding by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Marie Sklodowska- Curie 765075-LIMQUET). R.J.L.M. thankfully acknowledges financial support by CONACyT under the project CB-2016-01/284372, and by Direcci n General de Asuntos del Personal Acad mico, Universidad Nacional Aut noma de M xico (DGAPA-UNAM), under the project UNAM-PAPIIT IN102920.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

On scattering off the extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole in N=2 supergravity

The scattering amplitudes for the perturbed fields of the N=2 supergravity about the extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole is examined. Owing to the fact that the extreme hole is a BPS state of the theory and preserves an unbroken global supersymmetry(N=1), the scattering amplitudes of the component fields should be related to each other. In this paper, we derive the formula of the transformation of the scattering amplitudes.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, no figures, a few typing errors correcte

Nutritional valuation of schoolchildren from three Ibero-American countries: A comparative analysis of the references proposed by International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and World Health Organization (WHO)

Introducción: El índice de masa corporal (IMC) resulta un indicador útil para valorar la condición nutricional en la infancia y adolescencia. Si bien no existe consenso respecto a los valores o puntos de corte de IMC que deben utilizarse para la diagnosis del sobrepeso, la obesidad o la insuficiencia ponderal, las referencias propuestas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y la International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) son las más aceptadas. No obstante, existen discrepancias importantes en los resultados obtenidos en función de una u otra referencia. Objetivo: Analizar y comparar la condición nutricional de una muestra internacional a partir del IMC, mediante la aplicación simultánea de las referencias recomendadas por la IOTF y la OMS. Métodos: Se calculó el IMC de 1289 escolares de 10 a 13 años de México, Venezuela y España. A cada niño le fue atribuida una categoría nutricional (bajo peso, normopeso, sobrepeso y obesidad) utilizando el criterio de la IOTF (puntos de corte equivalentes a 18,5; 25 y 30 en adultos) y OMS (-1 DE: bajo peso + 1 DE: sobrepeso y +2 DE: obesidad). Las prevalencias de estado nutricional obtenidas por cada criterio fueron comparadas mediante la prueba de Chi-Cuadrado. Resultados: El porcentaje de escolares en cada una de las categorías nutricionales varió significativamente en función de la referencia empleada. La prevalencia de malnutrición por exceso o por defecto fue, en ambos sexos y en los tres países, superior al emplear los parámetros OMS. La referencia OMS evidenció un 10,9% menos de niños normonutridos y un 13,1% más de malnutridos que la IOTF. Discusión: Los resultados de esta investigación permiten inferir que la referencia propuesta por la OMS resulta ser más “preventiva” al momento de identificar individuos malnutridos. Se subraya la importancia de especificar los criterios empleados para la determinación del estado nutricional en los estudios de carácter epidemiológico, así como de contrastar las referencias empleadas para el diagnóstico. Conclusiones: Las referencias OMS para IMC sobrestiman la prevalencia de bajo peso, sobrepeso y obesidad en relación a los puntos de corte propuestos por el IOTF para el diagnóstico de la malnutrición.Introduction: Body Mass Index (BMI) is a useful tool for assessing nutritional status in childhood and adolescence. Although there is no consensus on BMI values or cutoffs to be used for the diagnosis of overweight, obesity and underweight references proposed by World Health Organization (WHO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) are the most accepted. However, there are significant discrepancies in the results obtained in terms of either reference. Objective: To analyze and compare the nutritional status of an international sample from IMC, by simultaneous application of IOTF and WHO recommended references. Methods: 1289 schoolchildren’s BMI between 10 and 13 years of Mexico, Venezuela and Spain was estimated. Each child was assigned a nutritional category (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese) using the IOTF criteria (points cut equivalent to 18,5, 25 and 30 in adults) and WHO (-1 SD: low weight +1 DE: overweight and +2 SD: obesity). The prevalence of nutritional status of each criterion was compared using the Chi-square test. Results: The percentage of students in each of the nutritional categories mottled significantly depending on the reference used. The prevalence of excess or defect malnutrition, in both sexes and in all three countries, was exceeded using the WHO parameters. WHO reference showed 10,9% less than well-nourished children and 13,1 % more malnourished than the IOTF. Discussion: The results of this research allow inferring that the reference proposed by WHO appears to be more “protecting” when identifying malnourished individuals. The importance of specifying the criteria for determination of nutritional status in epidemiologic studies, as well as to contrast the references used for diagnosis, is emphasized. Conclusions: The WHO BMI references overestimate the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity in relation to the cutoff points proposed by the IOTF for diagnosing malnutrition.Fil: Bergel Sanchís, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Cesani Rossi, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Cordero, Maria Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucuman. Instituto Superior de Estudios Sociales. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Instituto Superior de Estudios Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Navazo, Bárbara. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Antropología. Cátedra de Antropología Biológica Iv; ArgentinaFil: Olmedo, S.. Programa de Ecología Reproductiva del Gran Chaco Argentino. Formosa; ArgentinaFil: Quintero, F.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Antropología. Cátedra de Antropología Biológica Iv; ArgentinaFil: Sardi, Marina Laura. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Cs.naturales y Museo. Departamento de Antropología; ArgentinaFil: Torres, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras; ArgentinaFil: Arechiga, J.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Méndez de Pérez, B. Universidad Nacional de Venezuela; VenezuelaFil: Marrodán, M. D.. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; Españ

Deep sequencing evidence from single grapevine plants reveals a virome dominated by mycoviruses

We have characterized the virome in single grapevines by 454 high-throughput sequencing of double-stranded RNA recovered from the vine stem. The analysis revealed a substantial set of sequences similar to those of fungal viruses. Twenty-six putative fungal virus groups were identified from a single plant source. These represented half of all known mycoviral families including the Chrysoviridae, Hypoviridae, Narnaviridae, Partitiviridae, and Totiviridae. Three of the mycoviruses were associated with Botrytis cinerea, a common fungal pathogen of grapes. Most of the rest appeared to be undescribed. The presence of viral sequences identified by BLAST analysis was confirmed by sequencing PCR products generated from the starting material using primers designed from the genomic sequences of putative mycoviruses. To further characterize these sequences as fungal viruses, fungi from the grapevine tissue were cultured and screened with the same PCR probes. Five of the mycoviruses identified in the total grapevine extract were identified again in extracts of the fungal cultures

Incidence and management of inguinodynia after inguinal plasty

Background: Hernia is defined as a defect of fascial and muscle-aponeurotic structures, allowing the protrusion of elements. The most frequent is inguinal region, prevailing in men 3:1 vs female. The most frequent complications are persistent chronic pain.Methods: A descriptive, prospective and cross-sectional study was performed in postoperative inguinal plasty patients, using a laparoscopic approach and open approach, the presence or absence of inguinodynia was studied using the visual analogue pain scale (VAS) and the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament, in addition to a systematic investigation in the following PubMed, Medline, Clinical Key and Index Medicus databases, with articles from July 2019 to April 2020.Results: Inguinodynia was present in laparoscopic surgery and open approach, 58 patients had inguinodynia at two weeks associated with the inflammatory response of the tissues and the presence of a foreign body (mesh), 77% of the patients with persistence of pain at 3 months reported mild pain (VAS 1-4), 21% moderate pain that did not limit their daily activities (VAS 5-8) and 2% of the patients reported severe pain which limited physical activity and effort   (VAS 9-10).Conclusions: Inguinodynia has an impact on hospital costs and quality life, we consider it is essential to domain the anatomical variants of the region. We propose an extensive follow-up of this group of patients, to make a comparison of diagnostic methods, as well as conservative management vs. modern techniques for pain control

SAlBi educa (Tailored Nutrition App for Improving Dietary Habits): Initial Evaluation of Usability

In recent years, the use of applications to improve dietary habits has increased. Although numerous nutrition apps are available on the market, only few have been developed by health and nutrition professionals based on scientific evidence and subsequently tested to prove their usability. The main objective of this study was to design, develop, and evaluate the usability of a tailored nutrition application to be used to promote healthy eating habits. In order to decide app design and content, three focus groups took place with fifteen professionals from primary healthcare, nutrition, and food science and computer science, as well as expert users. For the general and feedback message design, a reference model based on the scientific literature was developed. To address the multi-perspective approach of users' and external healthcare professionals' feedback, a one-day pilot testing with potential users and healthcare professionals was conducted with four focus groups. To evaluate the relevance and potential usability of the app a 1-month pilot test was conducted in a real-life environment. A total of 42 volunteers participated in the one-day pilot testing, and 39 potential users participated in the 1-month pilot test. The SAlBi educa app developed includes an online dietary record, a self-monitoring tool to evaluate dietary patterns, general and feedback messages, and examples of traditional Mediterranean recipes. The usability study showed that volunteers think that SAlBi educa is pleasant (59%) and easy to learn to use (94%). Over 84% of the volunteers declared that the nutritional messages were clear and useful. Volunteers stated that general and tailored recommendations, as well as self-monitoring, were SAlBi educa's most motivating and useful features. SAlBi educa is an innovative, user-friendly nutritional education tool with the potential to engage and help individuals to follow dietary habits based on the Mediterranean model.Junta de Andalucía PIN-0050-201

Short-Term Pilot Study to Evaluate the Impact of Salbi Educa Nutrition App in Macronutrients Intake and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet: Randomized Controlled Trial

Promoting a healthy diet is a relevant strategy for preventing non-communicable diseases. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an innovative tool, the SAlBi educa nutrition app, in primary healthcare dietary counseling to improve dietary profiles as well as adherence to the Mediterranean diet. A multi-center randomized control trial comprising 104 participants was performed. Both control (n = 49) and intervention (n = 55) groups attended four once-weekly sessions focusing on healthy eating habits and physical activity, over one month. As well as attending the meetings, the intervention group used the app, which provides self-monitoring and tailored dietary advice based on the Mediterranean diet model. In a second intervention (one arm trial), the potential of SAlBi educa was evaluated for three months during the COVID-19 pandemic. At 4 weeks, the intervention group had significantly increased their carbohydrate intake (7.7% (95% CI: 0.16 to 15.2)) and decreased their total fat intake (−5.7% (95% CI: −10.4 to −1.15)) compared to the control group. Significant differences were also found for carbohydrates (3.5% (95% CI: −1.0 to 5.8)), total fats (−5.9% (95% CI: −8.9 to −3.0)), fruits and vegetables (266.3 g/day (95% CI: 130.0 to 402.6)), legumes (7.7g/day (95% CI: 0.2 to 15.1)), starchy foods (36.4 g/day (95% CI: 1.1 to 71.7)), red meat (−17.5 g/day (95% CI: −34.0 to −1.1)), and processed meat (−6.6 g/day (95% CI: −13.1 to −0.1)) intakes during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAlBi educa is a useful tool to support nutrition counseling in primary healthcare, including in special situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Trial registration: ISRCTN57186362.Consejería de Salud y Familia, Junta de Andalucía (Innovative Project in Health) grant number PIN-0050-2018

Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies $E>E_{th}=5.5\times 10^{19}$ eV. These show a correlation with the distribution of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at $E>E_{th}$ are heavy nuclei with charge $Z$, the proton component of the sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies $E/Z$. We here report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above $E_{th}/Z$ (for illustrative values of $Z=6,\ 13,\ 26$). If the anisotropies above $E_{th}$ are due to nuclei with charge $Z$, and under reasonable assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies