Effectiveness of a course in the control of tobacco use for university health students: A quasi-experimental community intervention trial

Introduction: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tobacco control course in the reduction of prevalence and the improvement of knowledge and attitudes among university health students. Method: Quasi-experimental study on a community based intervention. Interventional campus students received a tobacco control course in the first year of the degree. Data were collected by Self-Answered Questionnaire during three academic years in two graduations years among health students in both campuses. Results: 84.4% of students participated in the study. In both campuses tobacco use was reduced, not significantly, above all in those joining courses from origins other than baccalaureate. In the intervention and control campus showed an increase in the nicotine dependency according to Fagerstr?m test and a little change in motivation according toRichmondtest. The regression model best explaining the improving of the knowledge included academic course mainly and campus and academic background too. With regard to opinions and beliefs tobacco use was not influenced, being associated in general to the academic course. Conclusions: A specific tobacco control course did not change prevalence of tobacco, nicotine dependence and motivation to give up. The improvement in knowledge was associated with academic course in both campuses. We recommend to commence smoking cessation strategies in university health students.

In vitro adherence of conjunctival bacteria to different oculoplastic materials

AIM: To investigate the resistance to bacterial adhesion of materials used in oculoplastic surgery, particularly materials used in the manufacture of orbital implants.METHODS: Seven organisms of conjunctival flora(two strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis and one strain each of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus hominis, Corynebacterium amycolatum, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Serratia marcescens) were selected. A lactic acid bacterium(Lactobacillus rhamnosus) was also included as positive control because of its well-known adhesion ability. Eight materials used to make oculoplastic prostheses were selected(glass, steel, polytetrafluoroethylene, polymethylmethacrylate, silicone from orbital implants, commercial silicone, porous polyethylene, and semismooth polyethylene). Materials surfaces and biofilms developed by strains were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Kinetics of growth and adhesion of bacterial strains were determined by spectrophotometry. Each strain was incubated in contact with plates of the different materials. After growth, attached bacteria were re-suspended and colony-forming units(CFUs) were counted. The number of CFUs per square millimetre of material was statistically analyzed.RESULTS: A mature biofilm was observed in studied strains except Staphylococcus hominis, which simply produced a microcolony. Materials showed a smooth surface on the microbial scale, although steel exhibited 1.0-μm-diameter grooves. Most organisms showed significant differences in adhesion according to the material. There were also significant differences in thetotal number of CFUs per square millimetre from each material(P=0.044). CFU counts were significantly higher in porous polyethylene than in silicone from orbital implants(P=0.038).CONCLUSION: Silicone orbital implants can resist microbial colonization better than porous polyethylene implants.

The Importance of Communication and Interpersonal Relations in Agribusiness Enterprises

This study aims to investigate the importance of communication and interpersonal relationship in the development of activities in the agribusiness ventures. The study methodology includes theoretical search and field research with descriptive exploratory method. The results indicate that there is need to be investing in people management, demonstrating that there is still much to be improved, particularly as regards the development of workers. In this sense, it is recommended that invested more in continuing education and refresher courses for staff development, entrepreneurship training to show concern in giving them the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and still have other competitive advantages such as increased productivity, reduced costs, improved quality, and reduction in turnover of staff.

Pre-fire aboveground biomass, estimated from LiDAR, spectral and field inventory data, as a major driver of burn severity in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) ecosystems

Background:The characterization of surface and canopy fuel loadings in fire-prone pine ecosystems is critical for understanding fire behavior and anticipating the most harmful ecological effects of fire.Nevertheless,the joint consideration of both overstory and understory strata in burn severity assessments is often dismissed.The aim of this work was to assess the role of total,overstory and understory pre-fire aboveground biomass(AGB),estimated by means of airborne Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR)and Landsat data,as drivers of burn severity in a megafire occurred in a pine ecosystem dominated by Pinus pinaster Ait.in the western Mediterranean Basin.Results:Total and overstory AGB were more accurately estimated(R^(2) equal to 0.72 and 0.68,respectively)from LiDAR and spectral data than understory AGB(R^(2)=0.26).Density and height percentile LiDAR metrics for several strata were found to be important predictors of AGB.Burn severity responded markedly and non-linearly to total(R^(2)=0.60)and overstory(R ^(2)=0.53)AGB,whereas the relationship with understory AGB was weaker(R ^(2)=0.21).Nevertheless,the overstory plus understory AGB contribution led to the highest ability to predict burn severity(RMSE=122.46 in dNBR scale),instead of the joint consideration as total AGB(RMSE=158.41).Conclusions:This study novelty evaluated the potential of pre-fire AGB,as a vegetation biophysical property derived from LiDAR,spectral and field plot inventory data,for predicting burn severity,separating the contri-bution of the fuel loads in the understory and overstory strata in Pinus pinaster stands.The evidenced relationships between burn severity and pre-fire AGB distribution in Pinus pinaster stands would allow the implementation of threshold criteria to support decision making in fuel treatments designed to minimize crown fire hazard.

Neural network based approach for time to crash prediction to cope with software aging

Recent studies have shown that software is one of the main reasons for computer systems unavailability. A growing ac- cumulation of software errors with time causes a phenomenon called software aging. This phenomenon can result in system per- formance degradation and eventually system hang/crash. To cope with software aging, software rejuvenation has been proposed. Software rejuvenation is a proactive technique which leads to re- moving the accumulated software errors by stopping the system, cleaning up its internal state, and resuming its normal operation. One of the main challenges of software rejuvenation is accurately predicting the time to crash due to aging factors such as me- mory leaks. In this paper, different machine learning techniques are compared to accurately predict the software time to crash un- der different aging scenarios. Finally, by comparing the accuracy of different techniques, it can be concluded that the multilayer per- ceptron neural network has the highest prediction accuracy among all techniques studied.

Dark Fermentative H2 Production from Wastes： Effect of Operating Conditions

Hydrogen （H2） appears as one of the most promising alternative forms of energy supply, as it is non-pollutant and has a high heating value. The production of H2 by non-conventional ways, such as fermentative production, depends on economic factors and the H2 yield achieved in the process. Therefore, this review summarizes the basic aspects of hydrogen production, specifically focusing on the role of the dark fermentation process, as a way to produce this gas by biological means. The different parameters affecting the production of H2 are also discussed. The existence of different hydrogen producing microorganisms with different enzymes causes the necessity to investigate the effect of the conditions under which the process is carried out. Thus, the factors influencing the fermentative process, such as pH, temperature, inoculum pretreatment, hydraulic retention time, hydrogen partial pressure and substrate composition （metal ions, nitrogen source, etc.） are summarized.

A Review of Energy Efficiency in Data Processing Centers

This article explores, through a case study, measures of energy efficiency in data processing centers. An analysis of this case demonstrates how the design criteria could improve the rate of consumption in IT centers, which is currently the second most contaminating industry on the planet, and is the responsible for 2% of CO2 emissions, surpassed only by the aeronautical industry. The present and future situation of IT center energy consumption and associated environmental effects is analyzed, and also looks at how state-of-the-art technology, correctly implemented, could ensure significant rationalization of data processing center energy consumption. The article will examine optimization techniques, specific problems and case studies.

A new oxidative pathway of nitric oxide production from oximes in plants

Nitric oxide(NO)is an essential reactive oxygen species and a signal molecule in plants.Although several studies have proposed the occurrence of oxidative NO production,only reductive routes for NO production,such as the nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))-upper-reductase pathway,have been evidenced to date in land plants.However,plants grown axenically with ammonium as the sole source of nitrogen exhibit contents of nitrite and NO3−,evidencing the existence of a metabolic pathway for oxidative production of NO.We hypothesized that oximes,such as indole-3-acetaldoxime(IAOx),a precursor to indole-3-acetic acid,are intermediate oxidation products in NO synthesis.We detected the production of NO from IAOx and other oximes catalyzed by peroxidase(POD)enzyme using both 4-amino-5-methylamino-2′,7′-difluorescein fluorescence and chemiluminescence.Flavins stimulated the reaction,while superoxide dismutase inhibited it.Interestingly,mouse NO synthase can also use IAOx to produce NO at a lower rate than POD.We provided a full mechanism for POD-dependent NO production from IAOx consistent with the experimental data and supported by density functional theory calculations.We showed that the addition of IAOx to extracts from Medicago truncatula increased the in vitro production of NO,while in vivo supplementation of IAOx and other oximes increased the number of lateral roots,as shown for NO donors,and a more than 10-fold increase in IAOx dehydratase expression.Furthermore,we found that in vivo supplementation of IAOx increased NO production in Arabidopsis thaliana wild-type plants,while prx33-34 mutant plants,defective in POD33-34,had reduced production.Our data show that the release of NO by IAOx,as well as its auxinic effect,explain the superroot phenotype.Collectively,our study reveals that plants produce NO utilizing diverse molecules such as oximes,POD,and flavins,which are widely distributed in the plant kingdom,thus introducing a long-awaited oxidative pathway to NO production in plants.This knowledge has essential implications for understanding signaling in biological systems.

实验感染肝片吸虫的水牛体液免疫反应的研究

为研究水牛抗肝片吸虫的免疫反应机制,选择8头雄性去势水牛经粪便检查和 Dot-ELISA 检测确认无肝片吸虫感染.经2周适应性饲养后,随机分成感染(n=5)和对照组(n=3)。感染组水牛每天每头经口感染60个囊坳,连续20天,共接种1200个囊蚴。每周颈静脉采血,测定外周血的 T、B 淋巴细胞的比例、血清总蛋白含量和组分比例以及抗体(IgG)水平。结果表明:感染组水牛在感染肝片吸虫后第2周开始,T

Long-term open circuit microbial electrosynthesis system promotes methanogenesis

Microbial electrosynthesis(MES) can potentially provide a mean for storing renewable energy surpluses as chemical energy. However, the fluctuating nature of these energy sources may represent a threat to MES, as the microbial communities that develop on the biocathode rely on the continuous existence of a polarized electrode. This work assesses how MES performance, product generation and microbial community evolution are affected by a long-period(6 weeks) power off(open circuit). Acetogenic and H2-producing bacteria activity recovered after reconnection. However, few days later syntrophic acetate oxidation bacteria and H2-consuming methanogens became dominant, producing CH4 as the main product, via electromethanogenesis and the syntrophic interaction between eubacterial and archaeal communities which consume both the acetic acid and the hydrogen present in the cathode environment. Thus,the system proved to be resilient to a long-term power interruption in terms of electroactivity. At the same time, these results demonstrated that the system could be extensively affected in both end product generation and microbial communities.

Study on Blood Cell Immune Response in Water Buffaloes Infected Acutely with F. hepatica

Action mechanism of blood cell immune response in water buffaloes against acute infection with F. Hepatica was studied. The results showed that after water buffaloes were infected, the total levels of WBC surpassed control group during whole infection period; Eosinophiles (%) of DC were higher than control group at the 2nd week until 19th week, and then dropped and was close to control group; Neutrophiles(%) was low or significantly lower than control group within the 5 - 16th weeks; The total levels of lymphocytes (%) was lower than control group during the whole infection period; T-lymphocytes (%) dropped significantly, but B-lymphocytes(%) had opposite changes from the first week of infection, and they were close to the control group after 11 weeks; RBC-CR] and RBC-IC rosette rates dropped and rose during 2 - 16 and 2-18 weeks, respectively, and then approached the same between both groups. It was suggested that the violent changes of specific and nonspecific immune responses in water buffaloes with acute F. hepatica infection are related with the mechanism against infection with F. hepatica together.

T follicular helper expansion and humoral-mediated rejection are independent of the HVEM/BTLA pathway

The molecular pathways contributing to humoral-mediated allograft rejection are poorly defined. In this study, we assessed the role of the herpesvirus entry mediator/B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator （HVEM/BTLA） signalling pathway in the context of antibody-mediated allograft rejection. An experimental setting was designed to elucidate whether the blockade of HVEM/BTLA interactions could modulate de novo induction of host antidonor-specific antibodies during the course of graft rejection. To test this hypothesis, fully allogeneic major histocompatibility complex-mismatched skin grafts were transplanted onto the right flank of recipient mice that were treated with isotype control, anti-CD40L or modulatory antibodies of the HVEM/BTLA signalling pathway. The frequencies of CD4 T follicular helper （Tfh） cells （B220-, CD4＋ CXCR5＋ PD-lhigh）, extrafollicular helper cells （B220-, CD4＋ CXCR5- PD-1＋ and PD-1-） and germinal centre （GC） B cells （B220＋Fas＋ GL7＋） were analysed by flow cytometry in draining and non-draining lymph nodes at day 10 post transplantation during the acute phase of graft rejection. The host antidonor isotype-specific humoral immune response was also assessed. Whereas blockade of the CD40/CD40L pathway was highly effective in preventing the allogeneic humoral immune response, antibody-mediated blockade of the HVEM/BTLA-interacting pathway affected neither the expansion of Tfh cells nor the expansion of GC B cells. Consequently, the course of the host antidonor antibody-mediated response proceeded normally, without detectable evidence of impaired development. In summary, these data indicate that HVEM/BTLA interactions are dispensable for the formation of de novo host antidonor isotype-specific antibodies in transplantation.

Current status and potential of morphometric sperm analysis

The spermatozoon is the most diverse cell type known and this diversity is considered to reflect differences in sperm function. How the diversity in sperm morphology arose during speciation and what role the different specializations play in sperm function, however, remain incompletely characterized. This work reviews the hypotheses proposed to explain sperm morphological evolution, with a focus on some aspects of sperm morphometric evaluation; the ability of morphometrics to predict sperm cryoresistance and male fertility is also discussed. For this, the evaluation of patterns of change of sperm head morphometry throughout a process, instead of the study of the morphometric characteristics of the sperm head at different stages, allows a better identification of the males with different sperm cryoconservation ability. These new approaches, together with more studies employing a greater number of individuals, are needed to obtain novel results concerning the role of sperm morphometry on sperm function. Future studies should aim at understanding the causes of sperm design diversity and the mechanisms that generate them, giving increased attention to other sperm structures besides the sperm head. The implementation of scientific and technological advances could benefit the simultaneous examination of sperm phenotype and sperm function, demonstrating that sperm morphometry could be a useful tool for sperm assessment.

Correction to: T follicular helper expansion and humoralmediated rejection are independent of the HVEM/BTLA pathway

In this article,one of the grating agencies requested us to incorporate the information,Spanish Government and co-funded by European Union ERDF/ESF,“Investing in your future”,in the acknowledgments section.The correct acknowledgement is as follows:“This work has been supported by grants of the Spanish Ministry of Health(Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias,PI13/00029,Spanish Government and co-funded by European Union ERDF/ESF,“Investing in your future”),Department of Education of Castilla and Leon Regional Government(Grant#LE093U13)and Mutua Madrileña Foundation(Basic research grants 2012)to J.I.R.B.;by Miguel Servet National Program(Ministry of National Health)CP12/03063 and by Gerencia Regional de Salud GRS963/A/2014 to M.L.R.G.We are particularly grateful to Mr.Leonides Alaiz for outstanding animal husbandry.”The authors regret the errors.

HVEM,a cosignaling molecular switch,and its interactions with BTLA,CD160 and LIGHT

Temporal and spatial expression of cosignaling receptors and their ligands regulates the early stages of T-cell activation(signal 1,T-cell receptor(TCR)signaling and signal 2,costimulation/coinhibition),clonal expansion and T-cell survival during their differentiation towards effector T cells.Once the inflammatory stimulus is eliminated,effector T cells return to homeostasis after undergoing a contraction phase by activation-induced cell death and the intervention of ligands for coinhibitory receptors,leaving a population of long-term memory T cells.The expression of ligands for coinhibitory receptors on hematopoietic cells and,more importantly,on non-hematopoietic cells of peripheral tissues is a key process in tuning the functional activity of effector T cells to prevent excess tissue inflammation that may lead to immunopathology and subsequent tissue dysfunction.