Search Results (41)

Longitudinal road markings provide visual guidance for drivers and are essential for safe driving, particularly at night. The aim of this study is to investigate possible differences in road marking performance, with regard to retroreflectivity, visibility and preview time between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The results are compared to current recommendations and regulations regarding road marking performance in the three countries. This study is based on condition assessments of 30,000 km of edge road markings from 2017 to 2021. The results showed that the performance requirement fulfillment for retroreflectivity of white road markings (150 mcd/m²/lx) is 38% in Denmark, 65% in Norway and 66% in Sweden. No large differences in dry road marking performance were found between the three countries. The performance regarding all variables was rather stable during the five years investigated. The mean preview time was 4.7 s in Sweden, 4.9 s in Norway and 5.6 s in Denmark. The observed preview times are higher than the recommended minimum preview times (ranging from 1.8 to 3.65 s) found in the literature. The results do not raise any need for revision of the current regulations regarding road marking retroreflectivity and geometry in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Full article

Hyperammonaemia in dogs is most frequently associated with hepatic encephalopathy caused by portosystemic shunting. This retrospective multicentre study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hyperammonaemia and hepatic encephalopathy in dogs with recent or ongoing epileptic seizures. Furthermore, we sought to evaluate if transient post-ictal hyperammonaemia as a sequela to seizure activity occurs, as reported in humans and recently in cats. The medical records of all dogs presented between 2014 and 2024 to ten AniCura Veterinary Hospitals in Sweden were retrospectively reviewed to obtain those with recent or ongoing epileptic seizures with concurrent analysis of ammonia. The records of 267 dogs were extracted for further review. Inclusion criteria included information regarding the description and characterisation of the seizures and the analysis of ammonia within 24 h after last reported seizure activity. Additionally, hepatic function tests were required in dogs with elevated ammonia. In total, 58 dogs fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and 10 of those dogs (17%) had hyperammonaemia. Three dogs had documented hepatopathy, and two of them had surgically corrected portosystemic shunts. In seven dogs, no definitive cause of hyperammonaemia could be established. Three of the seven dogs had no evidence of portosystemic shunts, and six had no laboratory evidence supporting acute liver failure. According to the findings in this retrospective study, hyperammonaemia in the absence of evident acute hepatic failure or portosystemic shunting can occur in dogs with epileptic seizures, indicating that other differentials than hepatic encephalopathy should be considered. This study could not confirm the hypothesis of hyperammonaemia being a transient consequence of seizures. Full article

SCALENEo (Smart ClinicAL rEasoning iN physiothErapy) is an innovative online serious game designed to improve clinical reasoning in musculoskeletal physiotherapy education. Adapted from the “Happy Families” card game, it provides an interactive, structured approach to developing students/learners’ ability to categorize clinical information into families of hypotheses. This digital platform supports both self-directed and collaborative learning, eliminating the need for continuous instructor supervision while ensuring meaningful engagement. SCALENEo features a unique feedback and scoring system that not only assesses students/learners’ decision-making processes but also promotes cautious and reflective reasoning over random guessing. By aligning with evidence-based pedagogical strategies, such as serious games and formative assessment, SCALENEo offers educators a powerful tool to reinforce critical thinking, improve student/learner engagement, and facilitate deeper learning in clinical reasoning education. Full article

Living Labs are collaborative, real-world environments for co-creating sustainable innovations that rely on trust-based engagement with local communities. However, while many studies emphasise scaling up or out of such innovations, the potential for achieving qualitative transformations in relation to local values (“scaling deep”) remains underexplored. In response, we adopted a design ethnographic approach that blended immersive, reflexive ethnographic methods with the participatory co-design characteristics of Living Labs. This approach involved closely partnering with a local community champion through participant observation and co-creation workshops embedded in the community’s daily life. Our findings show that community champions acted as co-creators and mediators, building trust and aligning Living Lab activities with local values through a relational ethic of care. By immersing the research team in day-to-day community life via shared activities and open dialogue, champions enabled situated learning about local needs, thereby facilitating “scaling deep” through mutual trust and understanding. Overall, the study demonstrates that scaling deep in Living Labs hinges on embodied researcher–community partnerships in mutual care and shared responsibility. The study contributes to the Living Lab literature by illustrating how community champions can bridge understanding about sustainable transformations through relational engagement. Full article

Lot sizing and cutting stock problems are critical for manufacturing companies seeking to optimize resource utilization and minimize waste. This paper addresses the interconnected nature of these problems, often occurring sequentially in industries involving cut items or packaging. We propose a novel mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model that integrates the capacitated lot sizing problem with the one-dimensional cutting stock problem within a multi-level manufacturing framework. The cutting stock problem is addressed using an arc flow formulation. Our model aims to minimize setup, production, holding, and waste material costs while incorporating capacity constraints, setup requirements, inventory balance, and the use of various cutting machines. The effectiveness of our model is demonstrated through numerical experiments using a commercial optimization package. While the model efficiently generates optimal solutions for most scenarios, larger instances pose challenges within the specified time limits. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the effect of changing essential parameters of the integrated problem on model performance and to provide managerial insights for real-life applications. Full article

Background: Growing environmental concerns and the vulnerability of global supply chains to disruptions, such as pandemics, natural disasters, and logistical failures, necessitate the design of sustainable and resilient supply chains. Methods: A novel multi-period mixed-integer linear programming model is developed with the objective of maximizing supply chain profit to design a complete citrus supply chain, which incorporates the production of citrus fruit and juice, and accommodates resilience and sustainability perspectives. Results: A comprehensive citrus supply chain scenario is presented to support the applicability of the proposed model, leveraging real data from citrus supply chain stakeholders in Egypt. Moreover, an actual case study involving a citrus processing company in Egypt is demonstrated. Gurobi software is used to solve the developed model. To build a resilient supply chain which can cope with different disruptions, different scenarios are modeled and strategies for having multiple suppliers, backup capacity, and alternative logistics routes are evaluated. Conclusions: The findings underscore the critical role of resilience in supply chain management, particularly in the agri-food sector. Moreover, the proposed model not only maximizes supply chain profitability but also equips stakeholders with the tools necessary to navigate challenges effectively. Full article

Citrus fruits are among the most produced and traded agricultural products worldwide, with significant economic and social importance. Despite their importance in the European Union, Middle East, and Africa, the existing literature is limited. Several studies have reviewed different aspects of general agri-food supply chains, but a product-based literature review on citrus supply chains has not been conducted. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the citrus supply chain in these regions, identifying the key research topics, methodologies, and supply chain echelons addressed in the literature. The study employed a systematic review, real-world case studies, and supply chain stakeholders’ interviews. This multi-faceted approach allows researchers to highlight research gaps, map a complete citrus supply chain, and provide a detailed material flow and sustainability-oriented overview of potential inputs and outputs at different stages. By incorporating real-world case studies and stakeholder interviews, this paper offers a nuanced and practical perspective on the operational and sustainability challenges unique to the citrus supply chain. This study serves as a guide for future research and enables practitioners to pinpoint areas and strategies for operational improvement across the supply chain. Full article

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that affects a considerable fraction of the global population, primarily women. Physical activity is often recommended as a tool to manage the symptoms. In this study, we tried to replicate a positive result of pain reduction through physical activity. After collecting pain and physical activity data from seven women with fibromyalgia, one patient experienced a considerable reduction in pain intensity. According to the patient, the improvement was related to physical activity. Our study was conducted to investigate the replicability of this result through personalized activity recommendations. Out of the other six patients, three experienced a reduction in pain. The remaining three patients did not experience any pain relief. Our results show that two of these were not able to follow the activity recommendations. These results indicate that physical activity may have a positive effect on chronic pain patients. To estimate how effective physical activity can be for this patient group, an intervention with longer follow-ups and larger sample sizes needs to be performed in the future. Full article

This pilot cross-sectional study was designed to determine the profile of obstetric violence in Ecuador in recent years. An online survey was conducted between March 2022 and April 2022, including women over 18 years who granted their informed consent to participate (n = 1598). We used non-probabilistic sampling to obtain our sample. Fisher’s exact test was performed to assess the association between violence and type of birth, healthcare facility, and education level. Out of the women who participated in the study, 89.2% (n = 1426) identified themselves as Mestiza. Additionally, 88.3% (n = 1411) had completed university-level education. The majority of the participants, specifically 63.6% (n = 1017), received their care in public institutions, and 98.2% (n = 1569) reported structural negligence, while 74.5% (n = 1190) reported violation of their right to information. The entire sample affirmed to have experienced violation of the right of presence. This report shows that obstetric violence is present in Ecuador in different ways and that women experience negligence and violation of their right to receive ethical healthcare during childbirth. Full article

Soil characteristics, land management practices, and plant genotypes influence arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities, leading to the proliferation of AMF taxa with different growth and nutritional outcomes in their hosts. However, the specific patterns driving these relationships are still not well understood. This study aimed to (1) evaluate the influence of soil characteristics, land use, and rootstock on AMF diversity and community structure and (2) assess the effect of those AMF communities on grapevine growth and nutrition. Soil samples were collected from vineyard and non-agricultural areas in Lisbon and Pegões, Portugal, and trap cultures established using Richter 110 and 1103 Paulsen rootstocks. After 3.5 months growth under greenhouse conditions, root-associated AMF communities were assessed by amplicon metagenomic sequencing using AMF-specific primers. Alpha diversity was only influenced by the soil type, while in β-diversity, an interaction was found between the soil type and land use. Both diversity measures were positively correlated with foliar K and negatively with leaf Mn and Mg. Notably, the concentrations of these nutrients were highly correlated with the relative abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within the genera Glomus, Rhizophagus, and Claroideoglomus. These results are valuable for supporting AMF selection for improved plant nutrition based on varying soil types and land uses. Full article

Salt-affected soils have detrimental effects on agriculture and ecosystems. However, these soils can still be used for halophyte (salt-tolerant plants) cultivation using brackish and/or saline water. In this study, we employed soil technologies and mutualistic microorganisms as a sustainable strategy to improve the growth and reproduction of the halophyte Limonium algarvense Erben’s growth and reproduction under saline conditions. A microcosm assay was conducted under controlled greenhouse conditions to cultivate L. algarvense using a saline Fluvisol (FLU) amended—or not—with a Technosol (TEC). Plants were inoculated with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Rhizoglomus irregulare and/or a consortium of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), and they were irrigated with estuarine water. Soil enzyme analysis and physicochemical characterisation of the soils, collected at the beginning and at the end of the assay, were carried out. The physiological status of non-inoculated and inoculated plants was monitored during the assay for 4 months, and AMF root colonisation was evaluated. In FLU, only plants inoculated with the AMF survived. These plants had lower number of leaves, and shoot and root dry biomass than the ones grown in the TEC by the end of the assay. In the TEC, PGPB inoculation led to higher NDVI and PRI values, and AMF inoculation promoted higher reproductive development but not pollen fertility. The findings show that the combined use of soil and microbial technologies can be successfully applied to cultivate L. algarvense, suggesting their generalized use for other Limonium species with economic interest, while contributing to the sustainable use of marginal lands. Full article

Since Voas and Crockett (2005), a consensus has emerged in the sociology of religions on the fact that secularization is largely due to a cohort effect. That is, each birth cohort is less religious than the previous one. We use data from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP), a multi-thematic survey based on a random sample representative of the general population since 1999, to understand what is the cohort effect in Switzerland on three indicators of religiosity: religious affiliation, frequency of religious service attendance, and personal prayer, taking into account the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals, which could interfere with cohort, period, or age effects. A first general observation can be drawn from the SHP: for the three religious indicators, a cohort effect is a key factor in explaining the decline of religiosity. Each birth cohort is less religious on all three indicators, that is, younger individuals are less affiliated, practice less often, and pray less than the older cohort. More subtly, we also observe an effect of age or life cycle, especially on the practice, and a period effect on the religious disaffiliation of individuals. Each birth cohort shows a more religious profile of individuals at the start of the cohort than at the end. There is, therefore, an initial movement of distancing from religion by birth cohorts, but this is further accentuated by a period effect for disaffiliation and sometimes accelerated and, at other times, slightly contained by a life-cycle effect. Full article

Plasmodium falciparum parasites carrying deletions of histidine-rich protein 2 and 3 genes, pfhrp2 and pfhrp3, respectively, are likely to escape detection via HRP2-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and, consequently, treatment, posing a major risk to both the health of the infected individual and malaria control efforts. This study assessed the frequency of pfhrp2- and pfhrp3-deleted strains at four different study sites in Central Africa (number of samples analyzed: Gabon N = 534 and the Republic of Congo N = 917) and West Africa (number of samples analyzed: Nigeria N = 466 and Benin N = 120) using a highly sensitive multiplex qPCR. We found low prevalences for pfhrp2 (1%, 0%, 0.03% and 0) and pfhrp3 single deletions (0%, 0%, 0.03% and 0%) at all study sites (Gabon, the Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Benin, respectively). Double-deleted P. falciparum were only found in Nigeria in 1.6% of all internally controlled samples. The results of this pilot investigation do not point towards a high risk for false-negative RDT results due to pfhrp2/pfhrp3 deletions in Central and West African regions. However, as this scenario can change rapidly, continuous monitoring is essential to ensure that RDTs remain a suitable tool for the malaria diagnostic strategy. Full article

Cancer metabolism is characterized by an increased utilization of fermentable fuels, such as glucose and glutamine, which support cancer cell survival by increasing resistance to both oxidative stress and the inherent immune system in humans. Dialysis has the power to shift the patient from a state dependent on glucose and glutamine to a ketogenic condition (KC) combined with low glutamine levels—thereby forcing ATP production through the Krebs cycle. By the force of dialysis, the cancer cells will be deprived of their preferred fermentable fuels, disrupting major metabolic pathways important for the ability of the cancer cells to survive. Dialysis has the potential to reduce glucose levels below physiological levels, concurrently increase blood ketone body levels and reduce glutamine levels, which may further reinforce the impact of the KC. Importantly, ketones also induce epigenetic changes imposed by histone deacetylates (HDAC) activity (Class I and Class IIa) known to play an important role in cancer metabolism. Thus, dialysis could be an impactful and safe adjuvant treatment, sensitizing cancer cells to traditional cancer treatments (TCTs), potentially making these significantly more efficient. Full article

Nowadays, the better assessment of low back pain (LBP) is an important challenge, as it is the leading musculoskeletal condition worldwide in terms of years of disability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relevance of various machine learning (ML) algorithms and Sample Entropy (SampEn), which assesses the complexity of motion variability in identifying the condition of low back pain. Twenty chronic low-back pain (CLBP) patients and 20 healthy non-LBP participants performed 1-min repetitive bending (flexion) and return (extension) trunk movements. Analysis was performed using the time series recorded by three inertial sensors attached to the participants. It was found that SampEn was significantly lower in CLBP patients, indicating a loss of movement complexity due to LBP. Gaussian Naive Bayes ML proved to be the best of the various tested algorithms, achieving 79% accuracy in identifying CLBP patients. Angular velocity of flexion movement was the most discriminative feature in the ML analysis. This study demonstrated that: supervised ML and a complexity assessment of trunk movement variability are useful in the identification of CLBP condition, and that simple kinematic indicators are sensitive to this condition. Therefore, ML could be progressively adopted by clinicians in the assessment of CLBP patients. Full article