A mathematical model to simulate the dynamics of photosynthetic light reactions under harmonically oscillating light.

Alternating electric current and alternating electromagnetic fields revolutionized physics and engineering and led to many technologies that shape modern life. Despite these undisputable achievements that have been reached using stimulation by harmonic oscillations over centuries, applications in biology remain rare. Photosynthesis research is uniquely suited to unleash this potential because light can be modulated as a harmonic function, here sinus.

Water Supply Interruptions Are Associated with More Frequent Stressful Behaviors and Emotions but Mitigated by Predictability: A Multisite Study.

Water supply interruptions contribute to household water insecurity. Unpredictable interruptions may particularly exacerbate water insecurity, as uncertainty limits households' ability to optimize water collection and storage or to modify other coping behaviors. This study used regression models of survey data from 2873 households across 10 sites in 9 middle-income countries to assess whether water supply interruptions and the predictability of interruptions were related to composite indicators of stressful behaviors and emotional distress.

Identification of p53-target genes in human papillomavirus-associated head and neck cancer by integrative bioinformatics analysis.

Introduction: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a highly prevalent and heterogeneous malignancy. Although extensive efforts have been made to advance its treatment, the prognosis remained poor with increased mortality. Human papillomaviruses (HPV) have been associated with high risk in HNC.

COVID-19 outbreaks analysis in the Valencian Region of Spain in the prelude of the third wave.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented social and mobility restrictions on a global scale. Since its start in the spring of 2020, numerous scientific papers have been published on the characteristics of the virus, and the healthcare, economic and social consequences of the pandemic. However, in-depth analyses of the evolution of single coronavirus outbreaks have been rarely reported.

Problem instances dataset of a real-world sequencing problem with transition constraints and asymmetric costs.

This data article describes 30 instances of the real-world problem of sequencing steel coils in a continuous galvanizing line. Each instance is represented by a cost matrix that gives information of the cost of sequencing each pair of coils or items together (e.g.

Heterologous Production of Glycine Betaine Using sp. PCC 6803-Based Chassis Lacking Native Compatible Solutes.

Among compatible solutes, glycine betaine has various applications in the fields of nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Currently, this compound can be extracted from sugar beet plants or obtained by chemical synthesis, resulting in low yields or high carbon footprint, respectively. Hence, in this work we aimed at exploring the production of glycine betaine using the unicellular cyanobacterium sp.

Health-related economic benefits of universal access to piped water in Arctic communities: Estimates for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska.

This paper presents estimates of the potential health-related economic benefits of providing universal access to in-home water and sanitation services to households in rural Alaska. In particular, we use data on disease incidence rates, health care costs, and local estimates of the impact of piped water on disease reduction to estimate the potential health-related economic benefits of providing universal access to piped water in the Yukon Kuskokwim (Y.K.

Seasonal variations of electrical signals of Mill. in Mediterranean forests in dependence on climatic conditions.

The temporal evolution of the electrical signal generated by was measured in a sample of 15 trees. Weekly experiments were carried out during a long-term campaign lasting over a year, while trials with a high frequency of measurements were also performed during several days. In the latter case, day-night oscillations of the electrical magnitudes were observed.

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene services in health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa 2013-2018: Results of health facility surveys and implications for COVID-19 transmission.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted important needs in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and standard practices for infection prevention and control in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the availability of WASH and standard precautions for infection prevention in health facilities across 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as inequalities by location (rural/urban) and managing authority (public/private). Data from health facility surveys conducted between 2013 and 2018 in 18 sub-Saharan African countries were used to estimate the access to an improved water source within 500 m, an improved toilet, soap and running water or alcohol-based hand rub, and standard precautions for infection prevention at health facilities.

Development and application of tools to cost the delivery of environmental health services in healthcare facilities: a financial analysis in urban Malawi.

Background: Environmental health services (EHS) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) are critical for providing a safe, functional healthcare environment, but little is known about their costs. Poor understanding of costs impedes progress towards universal access of EHS in HCFs. We developed frameworks of essential expenses required to provide EHS and conducted an ex-post financial analysis of EHS in a network of medical research and training facilities in Lilongwe, Malawi, serving an estimated 42,000 patients annually through seven outpatient buildings.

Cost effectiveness of community led total sanitation in Ethiopia and Ghana.

We conducted cost effectiveness analyses of four different CLTS interventions implemented in Ethiopia and Ghana. In each country, a pilot approach in which additional local actors were trained in CLTS facilitation was compared to the conventional approach. Data were collected using bottom-up costing, household surveys, and observations.

Reconstruction of the absorption spectrum of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 optical mutants from the in vivo signature of individual pigments.

In this work, we reconstructed the absorption spectrum of different Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 optical strains by summing the computed signature of all pigments present in this organism. To do so, modifications to in vitro pigment spectra were first required: namely wavelength shift, curve smoothing, and the package effect calculation derived from high pigment densities were applied.

The effects of quantity discounts on supply chain performance: Looking through the Bullwhip lens.

Quantity discounts are a common pricing mechanism to stimulate large orders. We explore their impact on the dynamic behaviour of production and distribution systems by studying key operational and economic metrics. In a three-echelon supply chain, we observe that the discount generally increases the Bullwhip Effect, which especially harms the manufacturer.

Community water service and incidence of respiratory, skin, and gastrointestinal infections in rural Alaska, 2013-2015.

Background: Communities in rural Alaska have access to multiple types of water service (piped, vehicle-hauled, and self-hauled) and experience varying levels of water service coverage. We assessed the incidence rate of inpatient and outpatient infectious disease visits among communities with different water service types and coverage levels.

Methods: We classified ICD-9 codes for inpatient and outpatient visits to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation facilities between 2013 and 2015 into six infectious disease categories.

On strategic choices faced by large pharmaceutical laboratories and their effect on innovation risk under fuzzy conditions.

Objectives: We develop a fuzzy evaluation model that provides managers at different responsibility levels in pharmaceutical laboratories with a rich picture of their innovation risk as well as that of competitors. This would help them take better strategic decisions around the management of their present and future portfolio of clinical trials in an uncertain environment. Through three structured fuzzy inference systems (FISs), the model evaluates the overall innovation risk of the laboratories by capturing the financial and pipeline sides of the risk.

[Feedback on the implementation of a departmental physical activity project for the elderly].

Introduction: Regular physical activity is nowadays recognized as one of the keys for ageing well. A number of interventions are therefore developed for this target group. The goal of this study was to examine the establishment and impact of a structured physical activity program for subjects aged 60 or more on a departmental scale and according to the point of view of different actors engaged.

Perceptions of climate-related risk among water sector professionals in Africa-Insights from the 2016 African Water Association Congress.

The ability of water and wastewater utilities to provide safe and reliable water and sanitation services now and in the future will be determined, in part, by their resilience to climate change. Investment in infrastructure, planning, and operational practices that increase resilience are affected, in turn, by how water sector professionals perceive the risks posed to utilities by climate change and its related impacts. We surveyed water sector professionals at the 2016 African Water Association's Congress in Nairobi, Kenya to assess their perceptions of climate-specific and general risks that may disrupt utility service.

Measuring the efficiency of large pharmaceutical companies: an industry analysis.

This paper evaluates the relative efficiency of a sample of 37 large pharmaceutical laboratories in the period 2008-2013 using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. We describe in detail the procedure followed to select and construct relevant inputs and outputs that characterize the production and innovation activity of these pharmaceutical firms. Models are estimated with financial information from Datastream, including R&D investment, and the number of new drugs authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considering the time effect.

Generation and Evaluation of a Genome-Scale Metabolic Network Model of Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942.

The reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic models and their applications represent a great advantage of systems biology. Through their use as metabolic flux simulation models, production of industrially-interesting metabolites can be predicted. Due to the growing number of studies of metabolic models driven by the increasing genomic sequencing projects, it is important to conceptualize steps of reconstruction and analysis.

The long-term dynamics of mortality benefits from improved water and sanitation in less developed countries.

The problem of inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in less-developed nations has received much attention over the last several decades (most recently in the Millennium Development Goals), largely because diseases associated with such conditions contribute substantially to mortality in poor countries. We present country-level projections for WASH coverage and for WASH-related mortality in developing regions over a long time horizon (1975-2050) and provide dynamic estimates of the economic value of potential reductions in this WASH-related mortality, which go beyond the static results found in previous work. Over the historical period leading up to the present, our analysis shows steady and substantial improvements in WASH coverage and declining mortality rates across many developing regions, namely East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

[The advertising message of drugs advertisements in Spanish medical journals].

Objective: To describe the characteristics of advertising in Spanish medical journals and to analyze the advertising message in drug advertisements.

Methods: Six issues of 4 Spanish medical journals published in 2001 were reviewed to identify the number of advertisements and their characteristics. The journals selected were Atención Primaria, Anales Españoles de Pediatría, Medicina Clínica and Gaceta Sanitaria.

On macroeconomic characteristics of pharmaceutical generics and the potential for manufacturing and consumption under fuzzy conditions.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that is useful for analyzing, from a macroeconomic perspective, the aggregate demand and the aggregate supply features of the market of pharmaceutical generics. In order to determine the potential consumption and the potential production of pharmaceutical generics in different countries, two fuzzy decision support systems are proposed.

Methods And Materials: Two fuzzy decision support systems, both based on the Mamdani model, were applied in this paper.