General Oceanics (United States)

Early-onset neonatal sepsis (EOS) remains a diagnostic challenge because clinical signs are nonspecific and blood cultures, although the diagnostic gold standard may yield false-negative results due to low blood volumes or maternal antibiotic exposure. To determine whether serum melatonin levels differ between term neonates with clinically suspected EOS and healthy controls, and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of melatonin relative to standard inflammatory markers. This prospective case-control study included 84 term infants: 42 with clinically suspected EOS, defined according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria, and 42 controls. Blood cultures, complete blood count, C-reactive protein, and serum melatonin levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were obtained within 24hours of life before antibiotic initiation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed for all suspected EOS cases and separately for culture-confirmed EOS. Eleven infants (26.2%) in the suspected EOS group had positive blood cultures. Mean melatonin levels were significantly lower in suspected EOS than in controls (193.5±61.8 vs 231.6±71.1pg/mL; P =.010). However, melatonin levels did not differ significantly between culture-positive and culture-negative suspected EOS cases. ROC analysis for suspected EOS yielded an area under the curve of 0.628; a melatonin cutoff of 242pg/mL provided 81% sensitivity but limited specificity (45.2%). ROC performance for culture-confirmed EOS was modest. Melatonin demonstrates limited diagnostic specificity and should be interpreted only as a supportive marker within a multimodal evaluation strategy.

Low back and neck pain are increasing worldwide, even in children. However, Italy lacks validated tools for the assessment of children and adolescents with spine disorders. The Young Spine Questionnaire (YSQ) seems to be an appropriate option. The aim of this study was to translate, adapt, and validate the YSQ to develop an Italian version of it. One hundred thirty-three participants were recruited in the area of Trieste, aged between 9 and 12years old. The YSQ and the KIDSCREEN-10 were assessed with regard to their reliability, test-retest reliability from 3 to 4days, and construct validity. The mean age of the sample was 10.25 (±1.5), with a slight prevalence of females (62.7%). The internal consistency was high, with an alpha score ranging from 0.62 to 0.92 and a total score of 0.82. The test-retest showed good reproducibility. The total score of the YSQ showed a Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.87. For the dimensions and the items of the questionnaire, the scores ranged from 0.52 to 0.79. Construct validity showed a strong correlation between the questionnaires, with a score of 0.61. The YSQ seems to be a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess spinal pain in Italian children. According to the results of the psychometric proprieties, the use of this questionnaire is recommended.

ABSTRACT Genotype by environment interaction (G×E) remains a central challenge for tree breeding, as it is difficult to extrapolate trial results to untested sites and complicates confident genotype deployment. Enviromics, by integrating environmental covariates into predictive models, offers a way to overcome these limitations and guide clonal deployment. This study evaluated an enviromic framework applied to 15 Eucalyptus spp. clones across 5,189 inventory plots located in southern Brazil. 10,000 Engineered Enviromic Markers (EEMs) were built from 3,869 soil, climate, and remote sensing covariates, using random forest and integrated into a mixed-model ensemble to predict mean annual increment standardized at seven years (MAI7) across the Target Population of Environments (TPE). Predictive accuracy was assessed through a Leave-One-Region-Out cross-validation procedure. The enviromic model achieved a higher performance than a baseline G×E model, with Pearson and Spearman correlations above 0.90 and a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 3.09, compared to 0.45–0.39 correlations and RMSE of 8.73 for the baseline. Spatial predictions enabled the delineation of breeding zones that minimized G×E, while also revealing regions with high discriminant power for testing new genotypes. We also applied a two-step clonal deployment procedure combining enviromic predictions with a frost-risk penalization map, refining recommendations for frost-prone areas. When comparing recommended versus planted clones in inventory plots, the framework indicated an average expected productivity gain of 13.4%. These results demonstrate the potential of enviromics as a decision-support tool for clonal deployment, enhancing productivity while accounting for environmental risks, and paving the way for future multi-omics integration.

To what extent does a nation's economic security drive its holistic security framework? The existing literature on national security highly concentrates on conventional military security, with the triviality of other dimensions of national security failing to gain adequate foreground in the academic debate. Traditionally, the economic dimension of national security was associated solely with defence spending, demonstrating the defensive orientation. Meanwhile, the economic power was just there to ensure the conventional security approach of militarization. While observing the definition of security from a broader vantage point, the intricate and complex interplay between national security and the economy can be underscored. Against this backdrop, this paper attempts to demonstrate how the perspective of national security has evolved to incorporate the economic dimension of national power and security. The objective of this paper is to unfold the ever-growing significance of economic security and portray it as a prerequisite to other forms of security, including military security. Thus, this article systematically understudies the relationship between economics and security, particularly in the case of Nepal, while positioning and forecasting Nepal's economic security and recommending actionable measures. The qualitative research approach, employing secondary data from academic books, journal articles, research reports, working papers, and newspaper articles, examines how a robust economy is crucial for sustaining and leveraging other national power elements, with military prowess no exception. Methodologically, the research study stresses the cases of advanced economies and the poorest economies globally through a nomothetic explanation to oversee how their economic growth leads to advancement in military capability and holistic national security, gaining a positive momentum through a causative portrayal. The study finds that Nepal faces significant economic insecurity due to the debt crisis, reliance on aid, imports, remittances, capital deficiency, and underdeveloped sectors. To enhance economic security and safeguard national security, Nepal should focus on managing interdependence, leveraging its geostrategic position, and prioritizing economic diplomacy and capital investment guided by effective leadership.

This article critically examines the growing tension between climate activism and state repression in the European Union, focusing on the legal and political implications of criminalising civil disobedience in environmental movements.It starts from the hypothesis that the legal frameworks of the EU member states and the EU itself insufficiently protect the rights of climate activists, leading to democratic backsliding and the erosion of fundamental freedoms.Grounded in John Rawls' theory of civil disobedience as a public, non-violent, and conscientious act aimed at changing unjust laws or policies, the article explores whether climate resistance should be considered a legitimate form of political expression rather than a threat to public order.Using a multidisciplinary and comparative legal method, the analysis draws on European and international human rights instruments-including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Aarhus Convention-EU climate policy frameworks such as the European Green Deal, and recent jurisprudence from national and European courts.It finds that while legal systems nominally protect freedom of expression and assembly, in practice, they often allow for disproportionate sanctions, police violence, and the misuse of antiterror laws against environmental activists.The article concludes that EU climate governance lacks a consistent human rights-based approach (HRBA), particularly in policy implementation and allocating EU funds.It calls for integrating fundamental rights into all aspects of climate governance, including litigation, policy design, and public participation, to ensure a just, democratic, and socially equitable green transition.

The “Right to the City” is a worldwide movement initiated by French sociologist and philosopher Henri Lefebvre in the 1960s. The premise of the movement is based on the concept that citizens have an unassailable right to build the city they live in, based on their needs and desires. In parallel the term “placemaking” was established as a response to modernist architecture and urban planning practices. Placemaking is a participatory process that integrates the ideas and skills of people who utilise the space in question and seek ways of improving it for their daily use and needs. The experiences of citizens coming from different social backgrounds and groups vary, however, as do their needs, making it pivotal to provide special attention to some groups during the process of placemaking. In practice, most activities initiated via top-down approaches fail to engage young people in a meaningful way. We have noticed, through our experiences, that there is a lack of understanding of young people’s needs and abilities, not to mention interests. In this chapter, we will discuss different approaches to playing that can help enable and empower young people. We believe these methods promote true engagement and have had a positive impact on their contribution in a placemaking project. In order to do so, we will specifically analyse and evaluate methods that involve playing as a means to encourage young people’s ideas and inspiration. The evaluated methods (three different games) are used in international projects (six different cases). The key aspects were to deal with the unimaginable, to understand what to change and, last but not least, who is going to have which role in the change. When evaluating the different methods, we will also look at the context cases alongside the needs of young people in participatory processes.

As Tecnologias Digitais de Informação e Comunicação (TDIC) possibilitam um diálogo rico e crítico entre educação e tecnologia. Este relato apresenta os resultados da implementação de uma TDIC nos processos de ensino e aprendizagem, com foco na plataforma Padlet. O objetivo foi descrever como essa ferramenta pode promover a eficácia do uso de tecnologias na avaliação em Educação em Saúde. A escolha do Padlet se deve à sua facilidade de uso e manejo, permitindo o compartilhamento de diversos tipos de conteúdo, tanto textuais quanto multimodais, além de recursos multimídia. Os resultados indicam que a efetividade no processo de ensino-aprendizagem é otimizada quando utilizamos plataformas de qualidade e há um envolvimento ativo dos participantes.

a um aumento brusco na quantidade de rao, sem perodo de adaptao.Foi possvel realizar o exame de necropsia em dois animais.A partir do histrico, sinais apresentados pelos animais e leses encontradas no exame post mortem, o diagnstico foi de acidose ruminal.Conclui-se que imprescindvel destacar a necessidade da transio alimentar gradual e monitorada, com acompanhamento profissional, visto que a negligncia dessa prtica resultou em srios impactos na propriedade, acarretando prejuzos na sade, e a morte de vrios animais.

Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito borne viral disease of mankind, with a 30 fold increase in global incidence over the last five decades. It is a major public health concern throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The present study was conducted with objective to study epidemiological and demographic characteristics of dengue infection during the year 2019 in Kutch region, Gujarat, India.The study was carried out from January 2019 to December 2019 at Department of Microbiology, Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, G.K. General Hospital, Bhuj. The patients having suspected dengue fever was based on standard criteria like presentation of febrile illness of 2-7 days duration were included in this study.A total of 1509 blood samples were collected during study period and serologically tested for dengue NS1 antigen and IgM antibody by capture ELISA testing method. Total 1509 blood samples were tested by ELISA for NS1 antigen and/or IgM antibody as per the protocols and personal, demographic and clinical details of each patient was recorded. Out of 1509 cases 761 tested positive for dengue. Amongst all positive cases 533(47%) were tested positive for NS1 antigen which helped in early diagnosis of dengue. Rise of dengue cases started after the month of October and falls down by the end of December. Analysis of this data revealed that age group 00-10 years had maximum dengue cases. Male cases 418(55%) were more than females 343(45%). Dengue cases were high in urban area.The present study reported that dengue mainly affected children, males and urban population. Perennial occurrence with seasonal increase during monsoon and post monsoon moths was reported. Effective implementation of vector control measures through efforts toward vector breeding source reduction and with the use of personal prophylactic measures against mosquito bites will help in reducing the dengue prevalence in the community.

Dengue is the most common arboviral infection prevalent in India. Aedes aegypti mosquito is the principal vector followed by Aedes albopictus.It presents in three clinical stages. It is diagnosed by detection of NS1 antigen, IgM antibody by ELISA and viral RNA by reverse transcriptase PCR. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential to prevent the complications of Dengue. The study was done in a Government Thiruvannamalai Medical College & Hospital about the seroprevalence from the month July 2021 to December 2021 by detection of NS1 antigen. The seroprevalence was found to be 11.4%.The highest number of patients (38.2%) belong to the age group between 21-40 years. Highest number of positive (39.5%) cases reported in October month.