169,809 research outputs found
An acceptance, role transition, and couple dynamics-based program for caregivers: A qualitative study of the experience of spouses of persons with young-onset dementia
No full textObjective: In this study, we assessed a support program based on acceptance, role transition, and couple dynamics for spouses of people with young-onset dementia. The qualitative feedback from the caregivers’ experience is analyzed. The goal was to explore how this home-based support program is perceived and to appraise the impact of the different approaches that were offered. Design: A thematic analysis was conducted on the answers to the end-of-session questionnaires and the follow-up semistructured interviews. Results: Five themes emerged from the analyses. They highlighted caregivers’ ability to overcome their emotional struggle as well as the control of their loved one’s behaviors. The results also showed the possibility for caregivers to access new ways to support their loved ones and to maintain the quality of their relationship. Conclusion: These findings represent preliminary evidence of this program’s efficacy for caregivers
Improvements in the hydrogen storage properties of the Mg(NH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>2</sub>–LiH composite by KOH addition
No full textKH thermodynamically destabilizes the Mg(NH2)2–LiH composite as it is actively involved in the dehydrogenation process.</p
Molecular identification and preliminary diversity analysis of Astylus atromaculatus Blanchard, 1843 (Coleoptera: Melyridae) based on mitochondrial COI sequences
No full textAstylus atromaculatus Blanchard, 1843 (Coleoptera: Melyridae) is a pollinivorous beetle native to southern South America, which has invaded South Africa more than a century ago. Adults and/or larvae may occasionally damage flowers, seeds, and seedlings of various crops. Severe cattle intoxication has also been reported in Argentina, Uruguay, and South Africa following consumption of alfalfa and forage grasses infested with A. atromaculatus. Despite its economic impact, essential genetic information is lacking for this species. The present paper provides the first DNA barcode reference sequences for A. atromaculatus based on the standard 5’ fragment (658 bp) of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene. The sequences obtained exhibited pairwise distances of ≤ 1.82% among them, and ~ 90% nucleotide identity with the homologous gene fragment in the morphologically similar Astylus variegatus Germar, 1824. The use of this molecular marker to explore the intraspecific variability of A. atromaculatus in central Argentina showed 21 different haplotypes, out of 32 individuals analyzed. A very high haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.962 ± 0.019) and a moderate nucleotide diversity (π = 0.00778 ± 0.00079) were recorded. The haplotype network displayed a diffuse structure due to the abundance of singletons and possible missing haplotypes, with the most common haplotype comprising only 15.6% of the specimens collected. Future research with increased sampling size and geographic coverage will allow for a better understanding of the population genetics of this pest, and consequently, for developing efficient management practices.Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola (IMYZA)Fil: Arneodo Larochette, Joel Demian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola (IMYZA); ArgentinaFil: Arneodo Larochette, Joel Demian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) – INTA – CONICET; ArgentinaFil: Arneodo Larochette, Joel Demian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Decker Franco, Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola (IMYZA); ArgentinaFil: Decker Franco, Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO) – INTA – CONICET; Argentin
First genetic analysis of Euschistus heros F. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) from Argentina and its relative abundance in a newly invaded soybean region
No full textThe Neotropical brown stink bug Euschistus heros F. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is the main soybean pest in Brazil, for which two major lineages (i. e. “Northern” and “Southern”) were identified. First recorded in Argentina in 2001, up to now no molecular studies have been performed on E. heros specimens occurring within the country. Here, partial sequencing of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cytb) genes revealed that brown stink bugs collected both in central and northern Argentina belonged to the “Southern” lineage and exhibited high genetic variability. This emerging pest has been detected recently in Marcos Juárez county, at the core of the Argentinian soybean producing region. The species composition of the soybean stink bug complex was investigated in this area during 2016, 2018 and 2020. The cosmopolitan Nezara viridula L. was the most abundant pentatomid along the whole study, accounting for 83–93% of the total captures in each season. The other members of the complex were Piezodorus guildinii West., Dichelops furcatus F., Edessa meditabunda F. (all of which were found during the three years of survey) and E. heros (recorded in 2018 and 2020). Though E. heros constituted a small share of the daily total stink bug catches (0—1.6%), this incipient pest invasion should be monitored in order to adopt adequate control measures for preventing eventual outbreaks.EEA Marcos JuárezFil: Balbi, Emilia Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Fernando Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Arneodo Larochette, Joel Demian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Arneodo Larochette, Joel Demian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Arneodo Larochette, Joel Demian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Clarifying the dehydrogenation pathway of catalysed Li4(NH2)3BH4-LiH composite
No full textThe effect of different metal oxides (Co3O4 and NiO) on the dehydrogenation reactions pathways of the Li4(NH2)3BH4-LiH composite was investigated. The additives were reduced to metallic species i.e. Co and Ni which act as catalysts by breaking the B-H bonds in the Li-B-N-H compounds. The onset decomposition temperature was lowered by 32 °C for the Ni-catalysed sample, which released 8.8 wt% hydrogen below 275°C. It was demonstrated that the decomposition of the doped composite followed a mechanism via LiNH2 and Li3BN2 formation as the end product with a strong reduction of NH3 emission. The sample could be partially re-hydrogenated (~1.5 wt%) due to the lithium imide/amide transformation. To understand the LiH role, the Li4(NH2)3BH4-LiH-NiO and the Li4(NH2)3BH4-NiO composites were compared. The absence of LiH as a reactant forced the system to follow another path, which involved the formation of an intermediate phase of composition Li3BN2H2 at the early stages of dehydrogenation and the end products LiNH2 and monoclinic Li3BN2. We showed evidence for the interaction between NiO and LiNH2 during heating and we propose that the presence of Li facilitates a NHx-rich environment and the Ni catalyst mediates the electron transfer to promote NHx coupling.Fil: Amica, Guillermina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Rönnebro, E. C. E.. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Arneodo Larochette, Pierre Paul. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Gennari, Fabiana Cristina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentin
A Multi-Language Comparison of Influences on Author Verification using Character N-Grams
No full textWe create a new multi-language corpus for author verification based on Wikipedia talkpages, and evaluate the influence that differences in topic and time have on character n-gram author profiles. Topic alignment between two texts is found to increase author verification precision, and an authors writing style is found to change over time, but not more significantly after 3 years than after 1 year.Information ArchitectureWISElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
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