Flood generation: process patterns from the raindrop to the ocean

This article reviews river flood generation processes and flow paths across space scales. The scale steps include the pore, profile, hillslope, catchment, regional and continental scales, representing a scale range of a total of 10 orders of magnitude. Although the processes differ between the scales, there are notable similarities. At all scales, there are media patterns that control the flow of water, and are themselves influenced by the flow of water. The processes are therefore not spatially random (as in thermodynamics) but organised, and preferential flow is the rule rather than the exception. Hydrological connectivity, i.e. the presence of coherent flow paths, is an essential characteristic at all scales. There are similar controls on water flow and thus on flood generation at all scales, however, with different relative magnitudes. Processes at lower scales affect flood generation at the larger scales not simply as a multiple repetition of pore scale processes, but through interactions, which cause emergent behaviour of process patterns. For this reason, when modelling these processes, the scale transitions need to be simplified in a way that reflects the relevant structures (e.g. connectivity) and boundary conditions (e.g. groundwater table) at each scale. In conclusion, it is argued that upscaling as the mere multiple application of small scale process descriptions will not capture the larger scale patterns of flood generation. Instead, there is a need to learn from observed patterns of flood generation processes at all spatial scales.

Optimal Mean Arterial Pressure for Favorable Neurological Outcomes in Survivors after Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

We evaluated the optimal mean arterial pressure (MAP) for favorable neurological outcomes in patients who underwent extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR). Adult patients who underwent ECPR were included. The average MAP was obtained during 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after cardiac arrest, respectively. Primary outcome was neurological status upon discharge, as assessed by the Cerebral Performance Categories (CPC) scale (range from 1 to 5). Overall, patients with favorable neurological outcomes (CPC 1 or 2) tended to have a higher average MAP than those with poor neurological outcomes. Six models were established based on ensemble algorithms for machine learning, multiple logistic regression and observation times. Patients with average MAP around 75 mmHg had the least probability of poor neurologic outcomes in all the models. However, those with average MAPs below 60 mmHg had a high probability of poor neurological outcomes. In addition, based on an increase in the average MAP, the risk of poor neurological outcomes tended to increase in patients with an average MAP above 75 mmHg. In this study, average MAPs were associated with neurological outcomes in patients who underwent ECPR. Especially, maintaining the survivor’s MAP at about 75 mmHg may be important for neurological recovery after ECPR.

Difficulties in Establishing “Truth” Conditions in the Assessment of Addictive Smartphone Use in Young Adults

The smartphone revolution has placed powerful, multipurpose devices in the hands of youth across the globe, prompting worries about the potential negative consequences of these technologies on mental health. Many assessment tools have been created, seeking to classify individuals into problematic and non-problematic smartphone users. These are identified using a cutoff value: a threshold, within the scale range, at which higher scores are expected to be associated with negative outcomes. Lacking a clinical assessment of individuals, the establishment of this threshold is challenging. We illustrate this difficulty by calculating cutoff values for the Short Version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV) in 13 Spanish-speaking samples in 11 countries, using common procedures (i.e., reliability, validity, ROC methodology). After showing that results can be very heterogeneous (i.e., they lead to diverse cutoff points and rates of addiction) depending on the decisions made by the researchers, we call for caution in the use of these classifications, particularly when researchers lack a clinical definition of true addiction—as is the case with most available scales in the field of behavioral addictions—which can cause an unnecessary public health alert.

Physical Activity Model to Develop Basic Movement Skills in Kindergarten Students Based on Physical Literacy

The lack of physical activity that is applied in Kindergarten (PAUD) has a bad impact on the future of children. It was revealed that the designed curriculum was more dominant in the development of academic achievement. The study purpose was to develop basic movement skills in kindergarten students based on physical literacy. Materials and methods. The method used in this study was research and development methods using quantitative and qualitative settings. With a population of all kindergarten teachers in Cilacap Regency which amounted to 1,387 teachers from 350 kindergartens, the sample used was 52 teachers who were taken by proportional sampling. The data analysis technique used in his study was descriptive quantitative data analysis techniques with percentages. Results. The research findings show that each item of the statement of physical activity variables in developing students' basic movements can be seen from the average value of 4.205 which is in the very good category scale range. The statement that has the smallest average value in statement number 2 is “Do students have enough physical activity at school?” and has a value of 3.827 with a good category. While the highest average in statement number 1 is “Are Kindergarten students' physical activities held at school?” with an average value of 4.423 very good category. Conclusions. Therefore, it can be concluded that "kindergarten students' physical activities held in schools" give a very good impression and are beneficial for kindergarten (PAUD) children for their growth and development.

Family Caregiver Burden of Medication Administration for Older Adults Admitted to Home Hospice

Objective: To characterize FCG burden of medication administration for older adults in home hospice. Methods: Pilot clinical trial of a hospice-staff level communication and medication review program to facilitate goal-concordant prescribing, including deprescribing, for older adults in home hospice. Patients newly admitted to hospice were eligible if >=65 years, prescribed >= 5 medications and had a FCG. Exclusion criteria included being non-English speaking or having a Palliative Performance Score<40. Measurements include 24-item FCG Medication Administration Hassle Scale (range 0-96) at hospice admission and at 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-weeks and monthly until death. Descriptive statistics characterize baseline FCG Hassle score. Results: In this actively recruiting study, n=9 patient-caregiver dyads are enrolled to date. Mean patient age is 80.6 years (range 69-101). Of 9 caregivers, 7 were female, 5 children, and 3 spouses. The majority (67%) of caregivers were extremely involved in medication management. Mean FCG Hassle Score =17.1 (SE 5.9; range 2-58), and differed between spouses (mean =5 [SE 1.7; range 2-8]) and children (mean =31.4 [SE 9.53; range 3-58]). The highest burden concern was recognizing medication side effects, followed by feeling comfortable making medication decisions, arguing with the care-recipient about when to take medications, knowing why a medication is being given and whether it is effective, and knowing when to hold, increase, decrease a dose or discontinue the medication. Conclusion: FCGs of older adults in home hospice report different levels of medication administration hassle depending on their relationship to the patient. The most bothersome concern is recognizing medication side effects.

Multi-chip front-end electronics LYRA for X and γ Ray detector for HERMES mission

We present the experimental results of the Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), called LYRA, specifically designed for the High-Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) mission concept, a constellation of nano-satellites able to detect and localize high-energy rapid transient events (up to 2.2 MeV) as the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) from the deep space. LYRA has been desied for the detection system composed by a combination of Gadolinium Aluminum Gallium Garnet (GAGG) scintillators for high-energy photons, coupled to a matrix of 120 silicon drift detectors (SDD), used for detecting both scintillation light and low-energy photons. The LYRA ASIC has been conceived with a multi-chip architecture: 120 LYRA Front-End chips (LYRA-FE) are placed in close proximity to the anodes of the SDD matrix for a first processing of the detector signals and trasmit them in current mode to four 32-channel LYRA Back-End chips (LYRA-BE) to complete the elaboration. The requirements that the LYRA ASIC have to fulfill for the HERMES project are challenging: the maximum input energy measured in Silicon must reach 120 keV — corresponding to 2.2 MeV on GAGG — with a linearity error below 1%, the electronic noise must be less then 30 el. r.m.s. and the power consumption less then 1 mW per channel in a system with 120 channels working in parallel. The characterization of LYRA has been carried out on a dedicated test board, coupling one channel of the ASIC with a 25 mm2 SDD. An input full scale range of 5.2 fC and an electronic noise of 22 el. r.m.s. have been measured at -33∘C with a power consumption of 745 µW per channel.

The Length of Membership and Loneliness of Older Adults in Village Programs

Villages are consumer-driven programs supporting older adults to age in their own homes while staying socially connected through service referrals, coordination, and the organization of social activities. Although previous studies demonstrated an increase of perceived social support among Village members over time, few studies tested how Village membership influence older adults’ loneliness. To address this gap, a total of 112 members from four Village programs in a Midwest Metropolitan area completed a cross-sectional pilot survey on their social well-being between January and March 2020. The age of participants ranged from 51 to 92 years old (M=72.30, SD=8.38), over 74% of participants were female and over 88% of participants identified as White/Caucasian. The relationship between the 20-item UCLA loneliness scale and length of Village membership was roughly linear according to the Loess Curve. The scores of the UCLA scale range from 20-80 and higher scores indicate higher loneliness. The Cronbach’s alpha of the UCLA loneliness scale was 0.86 in the sample, indicating good internal consistency. The average loneliness score of the sample was 38.45, resembling the average of community-living older adults. Regression results suggested that a one-year increase in village membership was associated with approximately two points reduction in loneliness, holding all else constant. Being female, a racial/ethnic minority, retired, a driver, and having higher frequencies of socializing with friends and neighbors were associated with lower levels of loneliness among Village members. This pilot study provides initial support for the social impact of Villages and informs future larger sample longitudinal studies.

Hierarchical Modeling of the Liver Vascular System

The liver plays a key role in the metabolic homeostasis of the whole organism. To carry out its functions, it is endowed with a peculiar circulatory system, made of three main dendritic flow structures and lobules. Understanding the vascular anatomy of the liver is clinically relevant since various liver pathologies are related to vascular disorders. Here, we develop a novel liver circulation model with a deterministic architecture based on the constructal law of design over the entire scale range (from macrocirculation to microcirculation). In this framework, the liver vascular structure is a combination of superimposed tree-shaped networks and porous system, where the main geometrical features of the dendritic fluid networks and the permeability of the porous medium, are defined from the constructal viewpoint. With this model, we are able to emulate physiological scenarios and to predict changes in blood pressure and flow rates throughout the hepatic vasculature due to resection or thrombosis in certain portions of the organ, simulated as deliberate blockages in the blood supply to these sections. This work sheds light on the critical impact of the vascular network on mechanics-related processes occurring in hepatic diseases, healing and regeneration that involve blood flow redistribution and are at the core of liver resilience.

Revitalization of Moldovan alivanca: traditions and preparation experiences

Moldovan cuisine is a real treasure with tasty miracles, where the hearty soul of our people rules. These are the dishes generously and proudly served to all guests, who want to get familiarized with our country and culture. Moldovan cuisine is a part of the culture of the Republic of Moldova. Its diversity is due to the rich natural opportunities of our country. Grapes, fruit, vegetables, cattle breeding and aviculture – all such riches are successfully used in national cuisine. If speaking about traditional cuisine, we cannot but mention such dishes as Moldovan cozonac (sweet leavened bread), Moldovan pasca (Easter bread), sarmale (stuffed grape leaves or stuffed cabbage), zeama de gaina (sour chicken soup), alivanca (custard tart), Moldovan turta (cake), turta cu mac (poppyseed cake), and so on. The traditional dishes of the Republic of Moldova, which were forgotten in the mists of time, are the subject-matter of interest in this thesis paper, since they are less studied but still very valuable. The realized onsite study allowed us stating the existence of a large-scale range of recipes of alivanca, i.e. a peasant dessert, which is specific to Moldova, including: custard tart with sheep cheese (branza), custard tart with whey cheese (urda), custard tart with pork rinds (jumari), custard tart with dill and bunch onion, custard tart with nettle, custard tart with stevia, custard tart with garden orache, custard tart with chervil, custard tart with pumpkin, sweet custard tart.

To determine the effectiveness of physical therapy management among the toe walking children’s in Karachi Pakistan: An observational study

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Physical Therapy Management among the toe walking children’s in Karachi Pakistan. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted from June to October 2018 in Department of physiotherapy, Liaquat National medical college and hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. A self-fabricated questionnaire was used in 36 Toe walking children’s. The questionnaire consists of demographics (age and gender), evaluation of pain through visual analogue scale, range of motion through goniometer and cadence was measured .The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to interpret the data. Result: The majority (n=24, 66.6%) were belongs to age group of 8 to 12 years and (n=25, 69.4%) were male. Mostly (n=25, 69.4%) were clinically diagnosed cases of cerebral palsy. After checking the involvement it was found that (n=21, 58.3%) were suffering from bilateral toe walking and (n=22, 61.1%) were affected from the day of their birth. Conclusion: The study finalized that the Physical Therapy is effective in decreasing the pain, increasing the range of motion and improving the number of steps among the toe walking children’s.