The Synthesis of Sponge-like VO/CNT Hybrid Nanostructures Using Vertically Aligned CNTs as Templates.

The fabrication of sponge-like vanadium pentoxide (VO) nanostructures using vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) as a template is presented. The VACNTs were grown on silicon substrates by chemical vapor deposition using the Fe/Al bilayer catalyst approach. The VO nanostructures were obtained from the thermal oxidation of metallic vanadium deposited on the VACNTs.

Neurofunctional correlates of a neurorehabilitation system based on eye movements in chronic stroke impairment levels: A pilot study.

Introduction: Rehabilitation after a stroke is widely considered fundamental to improve secondary functional impairments. Accessible methods based on motor learning, motor transfer and virtual environments are necessary to help to improve stroke patients' quality of life.

Objectives: Continuing the line of our previous studies, this work investigated the effect of our new and innovative game-based virtual reality training using the control of virtual objects with gaze in three chronic stroke survivors.

Multicenter Database of Patients with Germ-Cell Tumors: A Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group Registry (LACOG 0515).

Introduction: Germ-cell tumors (GCTs) are the most common malignancy in young men. There is a paucity of data on GCTs in developing countries. LACOG 0515 study aimed to evaluate clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes in patients with GCTs from Brazilian cancer centers.

[Concentrating ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery in specialized centers].

Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) is an arterial emergency with an overall mortality of 80%-90% secondary to massive hemorrhage. If a patient with RAAA presents in a primary hospital without resolution capacity, survival will depend on early transfer to a center with adequately trained specialists. This article reviews the evidence supporting the centralization of AAAR treatment in qualified centers, specifying the criteria used for the selection of referral centers and the role of a coordinating unit.

Two-Dimensional Titanium Dioxide-Surfactant Photoactive Supramolecular Networks: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications for the Conversion of Light Energy.

The desire to harness solar energy to address current global environmental problems led us to investigate two-dimensional (2D) core-shell hybrid photocatalysts in the form of a 2D-TiO-surfactant, mainly composed of fatty acids. The bulk products, prepared by two slightly different methods, consist of stacked host-guest hybrid sheets held together by van der Waals forces between alkyl carboxylate moieties, favoring the synergistic conjugation of the photophysical properties of the core and the hydrophobicity of the self-assembled surfactant monolayer of the shell. X-ray diffraction and the vibrational characteristics of the products revealed the influence of synthesis strategies on two types of supramolecular aggregates that differ in the core chemical structure, guest conformers of alkyl surfactant tails and type, and the bilayer and monolayer of the structure of nanocomposites.

A Learning Analytics Framework to Analyze Corporal Postures in Students Presentations.

Communicating in social and public environments are considered professional skills that can strongly influence career development. Therefore, it is important to proper train and evaluate students in this kind of abilities so that they can better interact in their professional relationships, during the resolution of problems, negotiations and conflict management. This is a complex problem as it involves corporal analysis and the assessment of aspects that until recently were almost impossible to quantitatively measure.

A Multimodal Real-Time Feedback Platform Based on Spoken Interactions for Remote Active Learning Support.

While technology has helped improve process efficiency in several domains, it still has an outstanding debt to education. In this article, we introduce NAIRA, a Multimodal Learning Analytics platform that provides Real-Time Feedback to foster collaborative learning activities' efficiency. NAIRA provides real-time visualizations for students' verbal interactions when working in groups, allowing teachers to perform precise interventions to ensure learning activities' correct execution.

Adjuvant therapy versus watch-and-wait post surgery for stage III melanoma: a multicountry retrospective chart review.

Aim: To describe treatment patterns among patients with stage III melanoma who underwent surgical excision in years 2011-2016, and assess outcomes among patients who subsequently received systemic adjuvant therapy versus watch-and-wait.

Methods: Chart review of 380 patients from 17 melanoma centers in North America, South America and Europe.

Results: Of 129 (34%) patients treated with adjuvant therapy, 85% received interferon α-2b and 56% discontinued treatment (mostly due to adverse events).

Using Depth Cameras to Detect Patterns in Oral Presentations: A Case Study Comparing Two Generations of Computer Engineering Students.

Speaking and presenting in public are critical skills for academic and professional development. These skills are demanded across society, and their development and evaluation are a challenge faced by higher education institutions. There are some challenges to evaluate objectively, as well as to generate valuable information to professors and appropriate feedback to students.

Introducing Low-Cost Sensors into the Classroom Settings: Improving the Assessment in Agile Practices with Multimodal Learning Analytics.

Currently, the improvement of core skills appears as one of the most significant educational challenges of this century. However, assessing the development of such skills is still a challenge in real classroom environments. In this context, Multimodal Learning Analysis techniques appear as an attractive alternative to complement the development and evaluation of core skills.

Relations between Touch Target Size and Drag Distance in Mobile Applications for Users with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

In recent years, the development of mobile applications for people within the autism spectrum has proliferated to help enhance skills that could be diminished in users with this condition. However, the usability of these applications does not appear to be the focus of development because users with autism can have difficulty with fine motor skills. This article focuses on evaluating the optimal drag distance and the sizes of the interaction elements for users with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Using Black Hole Algorithm to Improve EEG-Based Emotion Recognition.

Emotions are a critical aspect of human behavior. One widely used technique for research in emotion measurement is based on the use of EEG signals. In general terms, the first step of signal processing is the elimination of noise, which can be done in manual or automatic terms.

A critical review of conscientious objection and decriminalisation of abortion in Chile.

From 1989 through September 2017, Chile's highly restrictive abortion laws exposed women to victimisation and needlessly threatened their health, freedom and even lives. However, after decades of unsuccessful attempts to decriminalise abortion, legislation regulating pregnancy termination on three grounds was recently enacted. In the aftermath, an aggressive conservative drive designed to turn conscientious objection into a pivotal new obstacle, mounted during the congressional debate, has led to extensive, complex arguments about the validity and legitimacy of conscientious objection.

Predicting Handwriting Difficulties Through Spelling Processes.

This study examined whether spelling tasks contribute to the prediction of the handwriting status of children with poor and good handwriting skills in a cross-sectional study with 276 Spanish children from Grades 1 and 3. The main hypothesis was that the spelling tasks would predict the handwriting status of the children, although this influence would decrease with age due to a gradual automatization of handwriting skills. The results confirmed this hypothesis.

Analytical Validation of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Methods for Quantification of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in Blood Samples from Chagas Disease Patients.

An international study was performed by 26 experienced PCR laboratories from 14 countries to assess the performance of duplex quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) strategies on the basis of TaqMan probes for detection and quantification of parasitic loads in peripheral blood samples from Chagas disease patients. Two methods were studied: Satellite DNA (SatDNA) qPCR and kinetoplastid DNA (kDNA) qPCR. Both methods included an internal amplification control.

Surface enhanced Raman scattering study of the antioxidant alkaloid boldine using prismatic silver nanoparticles.

Prismatic silver nanoparticles (PNps) were used in the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) study of the antioxidant alkaloid boldine (5,6,6a,7-tetrahydro-1,10-dimethoxy-6-methyl-4H-dibenzo[de,g]quinoline-2,9-diol). Prismatic and quasi-spherical (QsNps) silver nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by UV-Vis spectra, topographic profile (AFM) and zeta potential measurements. Raman and infrared (IR) spectra of the boldine were registered.

Syntactic Awareness and Arithmetic Word Problem Solving in Children With and Without Learning Disabilities.

Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving is a highly demanding task for children with learning disabilities (LD) since verbal and mathematical information have to be integrated. This study examines specifically how syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to manage the grammatical structures of language, affects AWP solving. Three groups of children in elementary education were formed: children with arithmetic learning disabilities (ALD), children with reading learning disabilities (RLD), and children with comorbid arithmetic and reading learning disabilities (ARLD).

[Frequency of chronic kidney disease among ambulatory patients with type 2 diabetes].

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the main cause of chronic kidney disease in developed countries.

Aim: To study the prevalence of chronic kidney disease among adults with diabetes mellitus attended at a public primary health care clinic in southern Chile.

Material And Methods: One hundred patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged more than 15 years participated in this cross sectional study.

Submerged membrane bioreactor at substrate-limited conditions: activity and biomass characteristics.

A pilot-scale membrane bioreactor was operated for advanced treatment of secondary effluent from a wastewater treatment plant. The performance and biomass characteristics were evaluated under two different hydraulic retention time (HRT) values (7.5 and 15 hours).

Genome-scale Arabidopsis promoter array identifies targets of the histone acetyltransferase GCN5.

We have assembled approximately 20 000 Arabidopsis thaliana promoter regions, compatible with functional studies that require cloning and with microarray applications. The promoter fragments can be captured as modular entry clones (MultiSite Gateway format) via site-specific recombinational cloning, and transferred into vectors of choice to investigate transcriptional networks. The fragments can also be amplified by PCR and printed on glass arrays.

Disease survey of free-ranging grey brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) in the Gran Chaco, Bolivia.

Samples from 17 free-ranging hunter-killed grey brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) in the Gran Chaco, Bolivia, were collected during June-August 1999. All 17 deer appeared to be in good condition at the time of death. Gross necropsies were performed, serum was collected for serologic evaluation of selected infectious disease agents, and feces and ectoparasites were collected for evaluation of internal and external parasites.

Efficacy of acupuncture in asthma: systematic review and meta-analysis of published data from 11 randomised controlled trials.

Contradictory results from randomised controlled trials of acupuncture in asthma suggest both a beneficial and detrimental effect. The authors conducted a formal systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomised clinical trials in the published literature that have compared acupuncture at real and placebo points in asthma patients. The authors searched for trials published in the period 1970-2000.

Sarcoptic mange in free-ranging pampas foxes in the Gran Chaco, Bolivia.

Sarcoptes scabiei infestation was diagnosed in two freshly dead free-ranging pampas foxes (Pseudalopex gymnocercus) in the Gran Chaco, Bolivia. Diagnosis was made based on histologic evaluation of skin biopsies and identification of the parasite from skin scrapings. Characteristic gross lesions consistent with mange were noted in 19 of 94 observations of free-ranging pampas foxes in the region from December 1998 to January 2000.

Comprehensive analysis of gene expression in Nicotiana tabacum leaves acclimated to oxidative stress.

The molecular mechanisms by which plants acclimate to oxidative stress are poorly understood. To identify the processes involved in acclimation, we performed a comprehensive analysis of gene expression in Nicotiana tabacum leaves acclimated to oxidative stress. Combining mRNA differential display and cDNA array analysis, we estimated that at least 95 genes alter their expression in tobacco leaves acclimated to oxidative stress, of which 83% are induced and 17% repressed.