Due to the negative implications of transactional sexual relationships (TSRs) for women’s sexual and reproductive health, studies of social norms in sub-Saharan and South Africa have sought to inform HIV-related risk and interventions in this key population. To date, however, little research has investigated the normative conflicts facing women in African settings when initiating, continuing or ab

Objective: Antimuscarinic treatment in fasted mice and rats causes clonic convulsion soon after food intake. This study was designed to evaluate the electrophysiological markers of these convulsions and fasting in electrocorticograms in rats. Methods: Male Wistar albino rats were stereotaxically implanted with 10 cortical electrodes, and baseline electroencephalogram recordings were taken for 10 m

An increased frequency of droughts due to anthropogenic climate change can lead to considerable stress for soil microorganisms and their functioning within northern peatlands. A better understanding of the diversity and relative abundance of methane producing and oxidizing taxa, and their functional genes, can help predict the functional potential of peatlands and how the microorganisms respond to

Black fungi are among the most resistant organisms to ionizing radiation on Earth. However, our current knowledge is based on studies on a few isolates, while the overall radioresistance limits across this microbial group and the relationship with local environmental conditions remain largely undetermined. To address this knowledge gap, we assessed the survival of 101 strains of black fungi isolat

Background and aims: Several different scoring systems for early risk stratification after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have been developed, but few have been validated in large datasets. The aim of the present study was to compare the well-validated Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) and Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis (CAHP)-scores to the less complex MIRACLE2- and Target Temperature Mana

Objective: To determine the association between meniscal body extrusion and bone marrow lesion (BML) development/enlargement in overweight and obese women at high risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Design: We used baseline and 30 months follow-up data of the PROOF study, Netherlands, comprising overweight or obese women aged 50–60 years, free of clinical knee OA. All subjects (n = 395) completed a

The Primeiras and Segundas archipelagos are a string of coralline islands in northern Mozambique. The presence of upwelling, clockwise and anticlockwise eddies, and the influence of Zambezi river’s discharge result in nutrient and biodiversity dispersion along the coastline and a connection between Mozambique’s southern and northern reef systems. The fringing spur and groove reef structure and rel

This chapter presents the mapping of ecosystem service hotspots in the city of Trento, in the Italian Alps, and discusses the possible uses of the results to support the drawing of the new Urban Plan. Hotspots are defined as areas characterized by high levels of provision of multiple services. Particularly, the following ecosystem services were selected: biodiversity support, risk mitigation, miti

Objectives: During targeted temperature management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest infusion of vasoactive drugs is often needed to ensure cerebral perfusion pressure. This study investigated mean arterial pressure after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the association with brain injury and long-term cognitive function. Methods: Post-hoc analysis of patients surviving at least 48 hours in th

Background: Up to 40% of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) present later than 12 hours after symptom onset. However, data on clinical outcomes in STEMI patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) ≥12 hours after symptom onset are non-existent. We evaluated the association between primary PCI performed later than 12 hours after symptom onset

In Padova, the municipal department of green infrastructure monitors the urban forest through a continuously updated database that stores information about locations, species, dimensions, health conditions, and management of more than 47,000 trees. The aim of the research presented in this chapter was to support urban forest planning and management by integrating the existing database with informa

Meeting stricter legal emission limits and the simultaneous introduction of new synthetic fuels are key challenges for current and future research in the field of engine combustion. A deep knowledge of spray behavior is mandatory to address these problems, as air‐fuel mixture and spray propagation in gasoline direct injection (GDI) are essential processes to achieve a highly efficient and clean co

Biopharmaceuticals are of ever-growing importance for human health. The development and production of biopharmaceuticals has the potential for efficiency improvements by switching from batch-wise to continuous production. This change demands more advanced process control in the form of automation and digital tools such as digital twins, which in turn need adequate mathematical models and accessibl