A Probabilistic Model for the Distribution of GDP per Capita in NUTS 3 Zones of Europe

A macroeconomic indicator of productivity and economic development, used to obtain information on the economic and social conditions of a country, is the GDP per capita, which is also used as an indicator of social welfare. By construction it can be used directly to compare areas of interest. It is an indicator of great variability to which it is difficult to assign a probabilistic model to describe its distribution. In fact, it usually appears as a strongly asymmetric and frequently multimodal variable, which directly indicates a strong non-normality. In this work we propose to deal with the problem of finding a probabilistic model for this variable through the estimation of a model of finite mixtures of normal distributions. As an application example, we present the model obtained through the finite mixture for GDP per capita data from the NUTS 3 zones in the nomenclature of the European Union, EU countries and neighbouring countries. Thus, the model is estimated, its validity is checked and the results obtained are analysed, both for the GDP per capita variable and as a function of the countries to which the studied areas belong.

A Visual and Comprehensive Review on COVID-19-Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis (CAPA)

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19)-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) is a severe fungal infection complicating critically ill COVID-19 patients. Numerous retrospective and prospective studies have been performed to get a better grasp on this lethal co-infection. We performed a qualitative review and summarized data from 48 studies in which 7047 patients had been included, of whom 820 had CAPA. The pooled incidence of proven, probable or putative CAPA was 15.1% among 2953 ICU-admitted COVID-19 patients included in 18 prospective studies. Incidences showed great variability due to multiple factors such as discrepancies in the rate and depth of the fungal work-up. The pathophysiology and risk factors for CAPA are ill-defined, but therapy with corticosteroids and anti-interleukin-6 therapy potentially confer the biggest risk. Sampling for mycological work-up using bronchoscopy is the cornerstone for diagnosis, as imaging is often aspecific. CAPA is associated with an increased mortality, but we do not have conclusive data whether therapy contributes to an increased survival in these patients. We conclude our review with a comparison between influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) and CAPA.

High Variability of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Obtained via Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate Compared With Traditional Bone Marrow Aspiration Technique

Background: Bone marrow aspirate (BMA) is a common source for harvesting mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), other progenitor cells, and associated cytokines and growth factors to be used in the biologic treatment of various orthopaedic pathologies. The aspirate is commonly centrifuged into a concentrated volume that can be immediately administered to a patient using commercially available kits. However, the handling and efficacy of BMA concentrate (BMAC) are still controversial. Purpose: To characterize BMA versus BMAC for MSC quantity, potency, and cytokine profile. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: From 8 participants (age, 17-68 years), 30 mL of bone marrow was aspirated by a single surgeon from either the proximal humerus or distal femur and was separated into 2 equal samples. One sample was kept as BMA, and the other half was centrifuged into BMAC. The 2 samples then underwent flow cytometry for detection of MSCs, cell analysis for colony-forming units (CFUs), and cytokine profiling. A 2-tailed t test was used to detect differences between MSCs, CFUs, and cytokine density concentrations between BMA and BMAC. Results: The average concentration of MSCs in both BMA and BMAC was 0.001%. Average MSC events detected by flow cytometry were significantly higher in BMA versus BMAC (15.1 and 8.1, respectively; P < .045). Expanded MSCs demonstrated similar phenotypes, but CFUs were significantly increased in BMA compared with BMAC (104 vs 68 CFUs, respectively; P < .001). Total protein concentration and cytokine profiling demonstrated great variability between BMA and BMAC and between patients. Most importantly, BMAC failed to concentrate MSCs in 6 of 8 samples. Conclusion: There is great variability in MSC concentration, total protein concentration, and cytokine profile between BMA and BMAC. Clinical Relevance: When studying the clinical efficacy of BMAC, one must also evaluate the sample itself to determine the presence, concentration, and potency of MSCs if this is to be considered a cell-based therapy. Further standard operating procedures need to be investigated to ensure reproducible results and appropriate treatments.

Fruit Quality of Some Hot Peppers Cultivars from Vegetable Research Development Station Buzau

The aim of this study was to assess phenotypic diversity in terms of fruit quality traits and yield, and also to establish valuable genotypes for breeding purpose suitable for different direction of use. Ten cultivars of hot peppers bred at VRDS Buzau were collected and fruit quality (dry matter content, fruit firmness, the total soluble solids, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content) was evaluated at different ripening stages. A very highly significant difference (p<0.01) was found for the studied quantitative parameters, showing a great variability among the studied accessions. During ripening, the dry matter content, the firmness, the TSS content and the titratable acidity increase for all studied cultivars and there were significant differences between them. A broad range of variation was noted in Vitamin C content in both stages of maturity. In the present research work, a great variability among the studied accessions was found. Fully ripe fruits were found considerably richer in the bioactive factor than unripe fruits. Our results have selected two important genotypes: A12A, an accession suitable for obtaining chili powder, due to the his low content in dry matter and total soluble solids and accession A135 suited for fresh consumption and for long shelf life because it has a high firmness.

Analysis and Assessment of Controllability of an Expressive Deep Learning-Based TTS System

In this paper, we study the controllability of an Expressive TTS system trained on a dataset for a continuous control. The dataset is the Blizzard 2013 dataset based on audiobooks read by a female speaker containing a great variability in styles and expressiveness. Controllability is evaluated with both an objective and a subjective experiment. The objective assessment is based on a measure of correlation between acoustic features and the dimensions of the latent space representing expressiveness. The subjective assessment is based on a perceptual experiment in which users are shown an interface for Controllable Expressive TTS and asked to retrieve a synthetic utterance whose expressiveness subjectively corresponds to that a reference utterance.

Fuel Consumption Prediction for Construction Trucks: A Noninvasive Approach Using Dedicated Sensors and Machine Learning

Decision support and optimization tools to be used in construction often require an accurate estimation of the cost variables to maximize their benefit. Heavy machinery is traditionally one of the greatest costs to consider mainly due to fuel consumption. These typically diesel-powered machines have a great variability of fuel consumption depending on the scenario of utilization. This paper describes the creation of a framework aiming to estimate the fuel consumption of construction trucks depending on the carried load, the slope, the distance, and the pavement type. Having a more accurate estimation will increase the benefit of these optimization tools. The fuel consumption estimation model was developed using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms supported by data, which were gathered through several sensors, in a specially designed datalogger with wireless communication and opportunistic synchronization, in a real context experiment. The results demonstrated the viability of the method, providing important insight into the advantages associated with the combination of sensorization and the machine learning models in a real-world construction setting. Ultimately, this study comprises a significant step towards the achievement of IoT implementation from a Construction 4.0 viewpoint, especially when considering its potential for real-time and digital twins applications.

Psychological features of perception of their group in temporal perspective in moldovan youth

The article analyzes the results of an empirical study of Moldovan youth on the perception of their group in the past, present and future. The sample consisted of 200 respondents, Moldovans, university students in Chisinau. The basis for dividing the group of Moldovan youth into “optimists” and “pessimists” was their attitude to the future of their ethnic group. An empirical study of the characteristics of the perception of their group in the time perspective among young people of Moldovans revealed a great variability from “optimists”, who accounted for 43%, to “pessimists”, – 29%, which, according to researchers, is a reflection of the socio-cultural transformations taking place in Moldovan society.

Particle Source and Loss Processes

The main sources of charged particles in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere are the Sun and the Earth’s ionosphere. Furthermore, the Galactic cosmic radiation is an important source of protons in the inner radiation belt, and roughly every 13 years, when the Earth and Jupiter are connected via the interplanetary magnetic field, a small number of electrons originating from the magnetosphere of Jupiter are observed in the near-Earth space. The energies of solar wind and ionospheric plasma particles are much smaller than the particle energies in radiation belts. A major scientific task is to understand the transport and acceleration processes leading to the observed populations up to relativistic energies. Equally important is to understand the losses of the charged particles. The great variability of the outer electron belt is a manifestation of the continuously changing balance between source and loss mechanisms, whereas the inner belt is much more stable.

Management of patients with pulmonary mycobacteriosis in France: a multicenter retrospective cohort study

Background Recent studies report very low adherence of practitioners to ATS/IDSA recommendations for the treatment of nontuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary disease (NTM-PD), as well as a great variability of practices. Type of management could impact prognosis. Methods To evaluate management and prognosis of patients with NTM-PD cases with respect to ATS recommendations, we conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study (18 sentinel sites distributed throughout France), over a period of six years. We collected clinical, radiological, microbiological characteristics, management and outcome of the patients (especially death or not). Results 477 patients with NTM-PD were included. Respiratory comorbidities were found in 68% of cases, tuberculosis sequelae in 31.4% of patients, and immunosuppression in 16.8% of cases. The three most common NTM species were Mycobacterium avium complex (60%), M. xenopi (20%) and M. kansasii (5.7%). Smear-positive was found in one third of NTM-PD. Nodulobronchiectatic forms were observed in 54.3% of cases, and cavitary forms in 19.1% of patients. Sixty-three percent of patients were treated, 72.4% of patients with smear-positive samples, and 57.5% of patients with smear-negative samples. Treatment was in adequacy with ATS guidelines in 73.5%. The 2-year mortality was 14.4%. In the Cox regression, treatment (HR = 0.51), age (HR = 1.02), and M. abscessus (3.19) appeared as the 3 significant independent prognostic factors. Conclusion These findings highlight the adequacy between French practices and the ATS/IDSA guidelines. Treatment was associated with a better survival.

Content and Nutritional Evaluation of Zinc in PDO and Traditional Italian Cheeses

Zinc is an essential mineral which plays a key role in several important biological processes in the human body. The determination of its level in food matrices can contribute to the food quality characterization and to the adequacy of the diet. Animal food products generally have a higher zinc content compared to vegetables. Among them, dairy products consumption can provide a great contribution to the zinc reference intakes. In this study, different Italian cheeses (38 Protected Denomination of Origin and 9 Traditional) were evaluated for their zinc content. Cow cheeses generally showed the highest zinc content (1.83–7.75 mg/100 g cheese), followed by sheep cheeses (1.34–3.69 mg/100 g), and cheeses from mixed milk (0.39–4.54 mg/100 g). The only cheese from buffalo milk (Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO) showed a zinc content of 2.14 mg/100 g. The great variability in the zinc content observed among the samples is the result of the influence of several factors, such as the feeding system, the species (cow, sheep, goat, and buffalo), and the cheese-making. Most of the samples resulted in a great contribution (>10%) to the zinc Daily Reference Intake set by EU (10 mg/day), with only two samples contributing to less than 4%.