The Upper Paraná River Basin (UPRB) has undergone remarkable land use and cover changes (LUCC) in recent decades. This paper analyses the hydrologic response to LUCC in the UPRB between 1985 and 2015, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The impacts of LUCC were examined for annual, wet, and dry season (both during calibrated and validated periods) between 1984 and 2015. The most

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is a burdensome problem affecting amateur cyclists. This cross-sectional study analysed Italian amateur cycling cohort's demographic and sport-specific characteristics, the prevalence and characteristics of LBP among this population, its possible association factors, the management strategies adopted to deal with LBP and the sample's beliefs among possible LBP trigg

OBJECTIVE: To examine the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic as lived by people with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA), in Italy.DESIGN: A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews.SETTING: Urban and suburban areas in northern Italy.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11 people with OA were enrolled through a purposeful sampling and completed the study.PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: The experience of I

The knowledge of the English language is fundamental for the application of evidence-based practice. Hence, this study explores, through an online survey, the (1) perceived and (2) actual level of Scientific English among Italian undergraduate (UGs) and postgraduate (PGs) physiotherapists. As for (1), the participants expressed their agreement with 10 statements regarding the attitude towards Scie

Several studies have investigated the effect of botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) for managing chronic musculoskeletal pain, bringing contrasting results to the forefront. Thus far, however, there has been no synthesis of evidence on the effect of BoNT-A as an adjunctive treatment within a multimodal approach. Hence, Medline via PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library-CENTRAL were searched until Novembe

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.INTRODUCTION: Flexion (Palmar Pinch, PP-MVC and Tip Pinch, TP-MVC) and extension (E-MVC) maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the index-thumb system offers a quick way to estimate the level of hands' impairment in several musculoskeletal and neurologic conditions.PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: This study established normative data of PP-MVC, TP-MVC, E-MVC in the Italia

The Sit-to-Stand (STS) test is used in clinical practice as an indicator of lower-limb functionality decline, especially for older adults. Due to its high variability, there is no standard approach for categorising the STS movement and recognising its motion pattern. This paper presents a comparative analysis between visual assessments and an automated-software for the categorisation of STS, relyi

One of the main issues in context of the severe economical changes on the local media market and the measures the media companies are forced to take is how to maintain high quality of news journalism in the local press. There are concerns that the quality of news will decline and content will be commercialized as McManus (1994) describes it as a market-driven journalism when profit becomes the leaThe local media organisations in Sweden have the last years been involved in initiating new model of business (Melesko 2013). They have mainly been based on economical actions, as cut-downs of editorial staff, integration of different pressrooms and expanded co-operation between papers within same media organisations (Nygren 2013). For instance, editorials and cover of culture news has on several

This cross-country study investigates the potential to improve pig welfare by exploiting consumer demand, domestically and in export markets, for welfare pork produced in indoor production systems. The analysis is based on questionnaire data collected in 2019 focusing on demand for Danish welfare pork both in Denmark and in two nearby export markets, Sweden and Germany. To reduce hypothetical biasThis cross-country study investigates the potential to improve pig welfare by exploiting consumer demand, domestically and in export markets, for welfare pork produced in indoor production systems. The analysis is based on questionnaire data collected in 2019 focusing on demand for Danish welfare pork both in Denmark and in two nearby export markets, Sweden and Germany. To reduce hypothetical bias

Mild to moderate renal impairment affects 10% of the general population. Renal impairment is difficult to detect because of the lack of symptoms, but it can be estimated by calculating the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) on the basis of plasma creatinine and/or cystatin C concentrations. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an increased risk of development of cardiovascular

Metallic glasses are non-crystalline metals that are obtained by rapid cooling of the melt to bypass crystallization. The amorphous atomic structure shows enhanced properties relative to the crystalline counterpart. For example, enhanced mechanical properties, improved corrosion resistance, as well as excellent soft magnetic properties. The unique properties of metallic glasses make them promising

The existing information supports the use of this material as described in this safety assessment. Dihydrocarvyl acetate was evaluated for genotoxicity, repeated dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity, local respiratory toxicity, phototoxicity/photoallergenicity, skin sensitization, and environmental safety. Data from read-across analogs dihydrocarveol (isomer unspecified) (CAS # 619-01-2) and aceti

BACKGROUND: The incidence of incisional hernia after major abdominal surgery via a midline laparotomy is 20-41 per cent with short-term follow-up, and over 50 per cent in those surviving an abdominal catastrophe. Abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) requires complex operations, often involving mesh resection, management of scarred skin, fistula takedown, component separation or flap reconstruction.

Background Most health service utilisation studies are of people with specific diagnoses or demographic characteristics, and rarely of specific chronic symptoms. The aim of this study was to establish whether population-level health service utilisation increases in people with chronic breathlessness. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was carried out of the South Australian Health Omnibus Survey 2

BACKGROUND: Meal-induced metabolic changes trigger an acute inflammatory response, contributing to chronic inflammation and associated diseases. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to characterize variability in postprandial inflammatory responses using traditional (IL-6) and novel [glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA)] biomarkers of inflammation and dissect their biological determinants with a focus on postprandial

BACKGROUND: Risk factors for, and long-term outcomes following, detection of varicella zoster virus (VZV) DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are unknown. METHODS: We performed a nationwide population-based cohort study of all Danish residents who had VZV DNA detected in the CSF by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) between 1 January 1997 and 1 March 2016 (VZV cohort; n = 517) and an age- and sex- m