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Effectiveness of electrical stunning and bleeding in finishing pigs: a case study from procedures to practice at two modern Colombian abattoirs
No full textThe utilisation of electrical equipment for the purpose of stunning animals prior to slaughter is a common practice in pig abattoirs across the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two-electrode electrical stunning on behavioural markers of unconsciousness in two commercial systems of physical restraint and exsanguination. A total of 959 Landrace X Large White commercial crossbred pigs, with an average live weight of 107.1 ± 10.7 kg, were assessed in two modern Colombian abattoirs. The pigs were desensitised using electrical stunning at two points, with different equipment and procedures employed at each site. The evaluations were conducted at three distinct stages: immobilisation, stunning and bleeding. The data were subjected to bivariate analysis and univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression across three stages: pre-stunning, stunning, and bleeding. The results demonstrated a markedly elevated level of behavioural reactivity during the herding process (p < 0.05) and at the stunning stage (p < 0.001) in both abattoirs. The percentage of pigs exhibiting at least one post-stunning reflex was higher in Abattoir A, while Abattoir B demonstrated a higher percentage of pigs with at least one post-bleeding reflex (p < 0.001). Moreover, notable correlations were observed between behavioural reactivity or reflexes and specific animal characteristics or logistical conditions (p < 0.05). Furthermore, distinct animal profiles were identified based on behavioural and consciousness indicators observed during stunning and bleeding procedures, contingent on the abattoir in question. The findings illustrate that a considerable number of animal welfare concerns do not manifest universally across all abattoirs, despite the utilisation of analogous stunning techniques. Consequently, it is imperative to further refine the risk analysis approach associated with specific scenarios, in addition to cross-cutting ones across multiple scenarios
Exploring the Integration of Occupational Therapy in Pediatric Oncology Care in Spain: A Descriptive Study
No full textBackground/Objectives: Childhood cancer leads to significant physical, cognitive, and psychosocial consequences that adversely affect the development and quality of life. Occupational Therapy (OT) has the potential to mitigate these effects. However, its integration into pediatric oncology care in Spain remains limited and underexplored. This study aims to examine the availability, characteristics, and perceived impact of OT services within pediatric oncology units across Spain and to identify key barriers to their implementation. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study using a mixed-methods approach was conducted. An online questionnaire was distributed to healthcare professionals working in pediatric oncology units nationwide. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Fisher’s exact test, and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals to explore associations. Effect sizes were calculated using Cramér’s V where applicable. Qualitative responses underwent inductive thematic analysis. Results: A total of 42 hospital centers from 12 autonomous communities participated. Only 16 reported having OT services in pediatric oncology, with notable regional disparities. A significant proportion of respondents were unaware of the integration of OT in their institutions. Identified barriers included lack of resources, insufficient specialized training, and limited institutional recognition of OT. Nonetheless, professionals familiar with OT interventions reported positive outcomes, particularly in improving patients’ functional autonomy, emotional well-being, and social participation. Conclusions: OT remains insufficiently integrated into pediatric oncology care in Spain. To optimize the quality of care, it is essential to address educational, structural, and institutional challenges and promote OT as a key component of multidisciplinary teams
Promoting Sustainability in an Aging City: Drivers of Proper Pharmaceuticals Disposal
No full textIn a demographic context marked by a rapid increase in the older adult population, pharmaceutical residues represent an increasing threat to sustainability. Promoting the proper disposal of this waste by households is fundamental in attaining the SDGs, particularly SDG 8. This paper assesses the determinants influencing household participation in take‐back programs for pharmaceutical waste in an aging city. To this end, we estimate an econometric model where pharmaceutical waste disposal habits are explained by factors grouped into environmental attitudes, socioeconomic factors, and dwelling characteristics. As environmental attitudes include an endogenous factor (individuals' environmental concern), a bivariate probit model is estimated to avoid inconsistent results. The study shows that environmental concern is the most relevant variable and is positively influenced by the knowledge of environmental campaigns and educational level. This research offers a valuable tool for promoting sustainable pharmaceutical waste management, allowing identification of relevant population segments and enabling targeted measures
Chair-Time During Polishing with Different Burs and Drills After Cement Customized Brackets Bonding: An In Vitro Comparative Study
No full textDigital planning and evolution of technology is allowing dentistry to be more efficient in time than before. In orthodontics the main purpose is to obtain fewer patient visits and to reduce the bonding time. For that, indirect bonding planned with CAD-CAM softwares is used to obtain a shorter treatment period, in general, and less chair-time. This waste of chair-time should also be reduced in other fields of dentistry such as endodontics, surgery, prosthodontics, and aesthetics. Methods: A total of 504 teeth were embedded into epoxy resin models mounted as a dental arch. Customized lingual multibracket appliances were bonded by a current adhesion protocol. After that, they were debonded, the polishing of cement remnants was performed with three different burs and two drills. The polishing time of each group was recorded by an iPhone 14 chronometer. Results: Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed with the different study groups. Statistical differences (p < 0.005) between diamond bur and tungsten carbide and white stone burs and turbine were obtained, with the first being the slowest of them. Discussion: Enamel roughness was widely studied in orthodontics polishing protocol as the main variable for protocols establishment. However, in lingual orthodontics, due the difficulty of the access to the enamel surfaces, the protocol is not clear and efficiency should be considered. It was observed that the tungsten carbide bur is the safest bur. It was also recommended that a two-step protocol of polishing by tungsten carbide bur be followed by polishers. Conclusions: A tungsten carbide bur mounted in a turbine was the most efficient protocol for polishing after lingual bracket debonding
La influencia del manga en los dibujantes de cómic españoles
No full textEl manga o cómic japonés, se ha diferenciado siempre del resto del cómic mundial gracias a las particularidades del dibujo, sistema de producción, géneros, códigos y temáticas que posee. En consecuencia, tanto el manga como otros productos audiovisuales japoneses actuales han gozado en las últimas décadas de gran repercusión fuera de Japón, siendo numerosos los artistas no nipones que han comenzado a imitar en sus obras alguna o varias de sus características. Así pues, nos encontramos ante una notable influencia de este tipo de cómic en diferentes lugares geográficos, generando distintos tipos de hibridaciones dignas de estudio. Especialmente España no supone una excepción, pues en los últimos años han ido aumentando exponencialmente los dibujantes de cómics nacionales cuya producción es plenamente representativa de este fenómeno. Desde que en los años 70 empezaron a llegar los primeros títulos de anime que se emitían en televisión y poco después su formato impreso (manga), numerosos artistas de diferentes generaciones han ido acercándose a este material que les fascinado y que les ha acabado influyendo notablemente en su carrera artística. Destacan autores como Luis Montes, Lolita Aldea, Xian Nu Studio o Ana C. Sánchez entre muchos otros que forman parte de una nueva corriente de creadores que integran en sus obras el estilo manga (temática, narración, recursos de expresión, estética, formatos, lenguaje¿) desde una perspectiva única y personal. El estudio de cómo ellos descubrieron el manga y decidieron aprender a dibujarlo, ya fuera a través de estudios reglados o de forma autodidacta, y la manera en la que utilizan y reinterpretan las particularidades del manga en sus obras, así como la respuesta del público, los cambios en los métodos de difusión y el papel que han ido teniendo las editoriales a lo largo del tiempo, resultan fundamentales para entender el fenómeno de impacto del manga en España. Hoy en día, esta influencia ha dado lugar a una rica variedad de cómics de estilo manga producidos en España, muchos de ellos de gran calidad y con un creciente reconocimiento tanto en el mercado nacional como extranjero. Se trata de títulos con cada vez mayor popularidad que se han convertido en evidencias de cómo los caminos de ida y vuelta en el ámbito artístico suponen hibridaciones entre estilos de historietas muy interesantes. <br /
Laser annealing of transparent ZnO thin films: a route to improve electrical conductivity and oxygen sensing capabilities
No full textThe chemical deposition of high-performance zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films is challenging, thus significant efforts have been devoted during the past decades to develop cost-effective, scalable fabrication methods in gas phase. This work demonstrates how ultra-short-pulse laser beam scanning (LBS) can be used to modulate electrical conductivity in ZnO thin films deposited on soda–lime glass by spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD), a high-throughput, low-temperature deposition technique suitable for large-area applications. By systematically optimizing laser parameters, including pulse energy and hatching distance, significant improvements in the electrical performance of 90 nm-thick ZnO films were achieved. The optimization of the laser annealing parameters – 0.21 μJ per pulse energy and a 1 μm hatching distance—yielded ZnO films with an electrical resistivity of (9 ± 2) × 10−2 Ω cm, 3 orders of magnitude lower than as-deposited films. This result suggests that laser post-deposition processing can play an important role in tailoring the properties of ZnO thin films. Excessive laser intensity can compromise structural integrity of the films, however, degrading their electrical transport properties. Notably, the electrical resistance of laser-annealed ZnO films exhibited high sensitivity to oxygen concentration in the surrounding atmosphere, suggesting exciting prospects for application in devices based on transparent oxygen sensors. This study thus positions ultra-short pulsed laser annealing as a versatile post-deposition method for fine-tuning the properties of ZnO thin films, enabling their use in advanced optoelectronic and gas-sensing technologies, particularly on temperature-sensitive substrates
Mitigating Silicon Amorphization in Si–Gr Anodes: A Pathway to Stable, High‐Energy Density Anodes for Li‐Ion Batteries
No full textSilicon–Graphite (SiGr) blended anodes represent a promising approach for enhancing the energy density of commercial Li‐ion batteries (LIBs). However, the ≈300% volume change of the silicon component during lithiation and delithiation induces significant mechanical stress, leading to particle cracking and pulverization that compromise electrode stability. This study presents the first evidence of controlled Si lithiation in Si‐rich blended anodes, where a crystalline silicon (c‐Si) core remains unreacted while the outer shell undergoes complete amorphization. Operando synchrotron X‐ray diffraction analysis of SiGr anodes over five consecutive cycles reveals a reversible lithiation of c‐Si, which was not previously reported. Complementary transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of focused ion beam (FIB)‐prepared lamellae from cycled electrodes confirms the formation of an amorphous shell and preservation of the c‐Si core. These findings validate the feasibility of a partial lithiation strategy for SiGr anodes and provide unprecedented insights for the design of mechanically stable electrodes. Additionally, the interpretation of lithiation/delithiation differential capacity plots is discussed in light of the observed structural evolution, offering both fundamental and practical advancements for the development of robust SiGr anodes for high‐energy‐density LIBs
Analytical Techniques for the Determination of Elemental Composition of Coffee
No full textAccording to the Coffee Market Report (2024) of the International Coffee Organization, the annual worldwide production of coffee increased 5.82% achieving 178 million bags between 2023 and 2024. South America is the coffee production leader accounting for 50.17% of the global production with Brazil playing a central role on it. To sustain the high quality standards under such a high demand, it is important to ensure the consumer health safety, while preserving the good flavor and aroma of coffee (terroir). Some key factors are required to allow the proper evaluation of crops and shipments using reliable parameters, which is the case of the determination of the elemental composition of coffee. Coffee organoleptic properties depend on several chemical elements of its composition, while accessing and monitoring their concentrations is challenging, since they might vary considerably according to some agronomical and climatic conditions that plantations are subjected. Yet, the analytes might not be homogeneously distributed throughout samples, demanding both refined solid sampling strategies and laborious sample preparation and pretreatment. Finally, several analytical techniques are available for researches and analysts to investigate the elemental composition of coffee samples, each one with their own advantages, limitations and particularities. Sometimes it is not a trivial task to choose a proper technique according to the aimed data. Therefore, an overview of the analysis of coffee elemental composition is herein presented, covering selected references from the last two decades. The selected works discuss the determination of elements affecting the quality of coffee in terms of terroir, toxicity, nutritional content, and geographical origin
Sensor Arrays: A Comprehensive Systematic Review
No full textSensor arrays are arrangements of sensors that follow a certain pattern, usually in a row–column distribution. This study presents a systematic review on sensor arrays. For this purpose, several systematic searches of recent studies covering a period of 10 years were performed. As a result of these searches, 361 papers have been analyzed in detail. The most relevant aspects for sensor array design have been studied. In relation to sensing technologies, different categories were identified: resistive/piezoresistive, capacitive, inductive, diode-based, transistor-based, triboelectric, fiber optic, Hall effect-based, piezoelectric, and bioimpedance-based. Other aspects of sensor array design have also been analyzed: applications, validation experiments, software used for sensor array data analysis, sensor array characteristics, and performance metrics. For each aspect, the studies were classified into different subcategories. As a result of this analysis, different emerging technologies and future research challenges in sensor arrays were identified
El book-trailer como herramienta para la lectura crítica de libros ilustrados de no ficción entre docentes en formación
No full textLa sociedad digital, caracterizada por la sobreabundancia informacional, demanda la formación de lectores críticos en entornos multimodales. En este contexto, los libros ilustrados de no ficción emergen como herramientas de interés, ya que reflejan un lector modelo curioso y activo en la construcción del conocimiento. Además, estas obras facilitan el propósito interdisciplinar del marco curricular actual al favorecer el desarrollo de estrategias de lectura y escritura inmersivas en situaciones auténticas basadas en la construcción de conocimientos en áreas no lingüísticas. El interés pedagógico del libro de no ficción para el ejercicio docente en Educación Primaria condujo al desarrollo de un proyecto de innovación centrado en su análisis mediante la creación de book-trailers. En el proyecto participaron 140 estudiantes del Grado en Magisterio en Educación Primaria de la Universidad de Zaragoza, y la experiencia formativa se acompañó de un estudio cualitativo enfocado a la exploración del modo en el que la creación de los epitextos podría mediatizar la lectura de las obras. El análisis de los book-trailers y las reflexiones del alumnado en torno a la tarea revelan el valor de la propuesta para favorecer la lectura reflexiva y la comprensión de las claves constitutivas del libro ilustrado de no ficción.