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The recycling of heavy metals contained in alkaline batteries allows minimizing the environmental impact and gives an alternative use to this waste, which can be used in the pyrometallurgical industry. In the present research work, we evaluated the possibility of reducing the manganese oxide black mass from discarded alkaline batteries to produce metallic manganese, using charcoal as a reducing agent. The procedure begins with the characterization of the raw materials, the stoichiometric calculations and the preparation of a practical method to produce self-reducing pellets, composed of manganiferous material, charcoal and bentonite as agglomerant. Computer simulations were performed, to establish the appropriate thermodynamic conditions for reduction. The tests were carried out in a tubular-type furnace, and the results obtained were evaluated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with microchemical analyses and X-ray diffraction techniques. It was verified that the agglomerates showed a self-reducing behavior, so an increase of the %Mn in the samples due to increasing the temperature of the reduction treatment was found, as well as the presence of a metallic manganese phase that was identified by X-ray diffraction analysis.Flow sheet for the production of self-reducing pellets containing eucalyptus charcoal for the recycling of manganese contained in spent alkaline batteries

Breast cancer (BC) is the malignant tumour that has been most frequently diagnosed, being the second most common cancer worldwide and the most frequent in women. To analyse the probability of 5-year overall survival according to age, stage of disease, immunohistochemical subtype, histological grade and histological type in patients with BC. Operational research that used a cohort design of patients diagnosed with BC at the SOLCA Núcleo de Loja-Ecuador Hospital from 2009 to 2015 and with follow-up until December 2019. Survival was estimated with the actuarial method and Kaplan-Meier method, and, for multivariate analysis, the proportional hazards model or Cox regression was used to estimate the adjusted Hazard Ratios (HRs). Two hundred and sixty-eight patients were studied. Mean overall survival was 4.35 years (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 40.20-4.51) and 66% survived to 5 years. The main predictors of survival were advanced stage of disease (III-IV) (HR = 7.03; 95% CI: 3.81-12.9); patients human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-neu (HER2-neu) overexpressed (HR = 2.26; 95% CI = 1.31-4.75) and triple negative (HR = 2.57; 95% CI = 1.39-4.75). The other variables were not significant. The results show a higher mortality associated with higher clinical stage, more aggressive histological grades and immunohistochemical subtype HER2-neu overexpressed and triple negative tumours.

Ambush marketing is a practice that will usually occurs in large-scale events, is not a sponsor seeks to gain benefits of brand exposure and awareness in a context that it would otherwise be available only to official sponsors. This paper addresses why and to what extend ambush marketing be contrasted, provided that it is a practice that current intellectual property and competition law has been unable to deter as well as an alternative measures are difficult to adopt at an international level. This difficulty jeopardizes official sponsoring’s interest on major events and the events themselves. As a result, this paper will (i) briefly examine the intersection between intellectual property rights and sport business in order to (ii) encase ambush marketing as a controversial –yet not necessarily illegal- business practice that exploits another’s commercial effort and deflects attention from official sponsorship of major events. It will then present (iii) the traditional and extraordinary legal responses to these practices, and the issues that they raise, to finally conclude that (iv) there is an urgent need to harmonize, at an international level, the legality –or not- of the matter, regardless of (v) the inherent ambush marketing paradoxes.

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the highest warming rates globally. In polar regions, macroalgae thrive under extreme environmental conditions, which could worsen because of future climate change scenarios, including increased ultraviolet exposure, extremely low light availability, and fluctuating temperatures, particularly in the intertidal zones. To investigate the potential role of photoprotective and antioxidant mechanisms in response to future increases in sea surface temperatures caused by climate change, we conducted laboratory experiments using three intertidal macroalgae model species: Adenocystis utricularis (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae), Pyropia endiviifolia (Rhodophyta, Bangiophyceae), and Monostroma hariotii (Chlorophyta, Ulvophyceae). These algae were collected in Punta Artigas (King George Island, Antarctica) and acclimated at 2°C for 48 h. They were then assessed in laboratory experiments for up to 5 days under two treatments: (1) control conditions at 2°C and (2) elevated tem.perature conditions at 8°C, representing the most negative increment in SSTs estimated by the end of the 21st century. Carbon, nitrogen, pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids), mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), and phenolic compounds were quantified after 3 and 5 days of exposure. For M. hariotii , elevated temperatures led to an increase in the C/N ratio, total antioxidant capacity, and levels of nitrogen, total carotenoids, chlorophyll-a, pigments (chlorophyll-b and violaxanthin), and phenolic compounds. For A. utricularis , elevated temperatures led to elevated C/N ratio and levels of chlorophyll-a and carotenoids (fucoxanthin and β-carotene). For P. endiviifolia , elevated temperatures resulted in elevated levels of carotenoids (lutein and β-carotene), phenolic compounds, and MAAs (porphyra-334, shinorine, and palythine). Thus, our study suggests that increasing water temperatures due to global warming can enhance the photoprotective abilities of three Antarctic intertidal macroalgae ( M. hariotii, A. utricularis , and P. endiviifolia ), with each species showing specific responses.

Comprehensive and timely, Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms: Technology and Applications provides the most up to date information on the various edible mushrooms on the market. Compiling knowledge on their production, application and nutritional effects, chapters are dedicated to the cultivation of major species such as Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus subrufescens, Lentinula edodes, Ganoderma lucidum and others. With contributions from top researchers from around the world, topics covered include: • Biodiversity and biotechnological applications • Cultivation technologies • Control of pests and diseases • Current market overview • Bioactive mechanisms of mushrooms • Medicinal and nutritional properties Extensively illustrated with over 200 images, this is the perfect resource for researchers and professionals in the mushroom industry, food scientists and nutritionists, as well as academics and students of biology, agronomy, nutrition and medicine.

Multiple major health organisations recommend the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for COVID-19-related acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure. However, initial reports of ECMO use in patients with COVID-19 described very high mortality and there have been no large, international cohort studies of ECMO for COVID-19 reported to date. We used data from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Registry to characterise the epidemiology, hospital course, and outcomes of patients aged 16 years or older with confirmed COVID-19 who had ECMO support initiated between Jan 16 and May 1, 2020, at 213 hospitals in 36 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital death in a time-to-event analysis assessed at 90 days after ECMO initiation. We applied a multivariable Cox model to examine whether patient and hospital factors were associated with in-hospital mortality. Data for 1035 patients with COVID-19 who received ECMO support were included in this study. Of these, 67 (6%) remained hospitalised, 311 (30%) were discharged home or to an acute rehabilitation centre, 101 (10%) were discharged to a long-term acute care centre or unspecified location, 176 (17%) were discharged to another hospital, and 380 (37%) died. The estimated cumulative incidence of in-hospital mortality 90 days after the initiation of ECMO was 37·4% (95% CI 34·4–40·4). Mortality was 39% (380 of 968) in patients with a final disposition of death or hospital discharge. The use of ECMO for circulatory support was independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio 1·89, 95% CI 1·20–2·97). In the subset of patients with COVID-19 receiving respiratory (venovenous) ECMO and characterised as having acute respiratory distress syndrome, the estimated cumulative incidence of in-hospital mortality 90 days after the initiation of ECMO was 38·0% (95% CI 34·6–41·5). In patients with COVID-19 who received ECMO, both estimated mortality 90 days after ECMO and mortality in those with a final disposition of death or discharge were less than 40%. These data from 213 hospitals worldwide provide a generalisable estimate of ECMO mortality in the setting of COVID-19. None.

Este prolegómeno expone la discusión sobre la personalidad jurídica de los colectivos de personas y su impacto en el problema de la titularidad de derechos fundamentales de las asociaciones y las personas jurídicas. Estas consideraciones permiten mostrar dónde se encuentra reconocida la titularidad de derechos fundamentales de los grupos intermedios en el sistema constitucional chileno, así como sus importantes limitaciones. This prolegomenon refers to the scholarly discussion on the legal personality of groups of persons and the impact that this has on the problem of associations and juridical persons’ entitlement to fundamental rights. These considerations make it possible to define where the Chilean constitutional system recognizes the entitlement to fundamental rights of intermediate groups, as well as its important limitations.

Introducción. La satisfacción del usuario es considerada un componente importante en la calidad de la prestación de los servicios hospitalarios. El modelo SERVQHOS permite evaluar la percepción del usuario en los diferentes servicios.Objetivo. Identificar la percepción del usuario en relación con la calidad del servicio de cirugía ambulatoria en una institución prestadora de servicios de salud en Boyacá, Colombia.Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un estudio de tipo descriptivo y de corte transversal con un enfoque cuantitativo para analizar las dimensiones objetivas y subjetivas de la calidad en la prestación del servicio de cirugía ambulatoria.Resultados. En las variables sociodemográficas se destaca: predominio del sexo femenino, edad promedio de 47.5 años y nivel de escolaridad de bachillerato. Según la evaluación con la escala SERVQHOS, los aspectos mejor valorados por los usuarios de la calidad subjetiva son la amabilidad del personal, el trato personalizado y la confianza, mientras que en la calidad objetiva se destacan la apariencia del personal, la señalización, la tecnología y la apariencia de la infraestructura.Conclusión. La percepción del paciente sobre la calidad de los servicios se ha convertido en un factor determinante para establecer planes de mejora dentro de las actividades administrativas de las instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud.

Waveguide integration of terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) is demonstrated at frequencies above 4.7 THz. A precision micromachining technique, followed by diamond‐turning and electroless‐plating has been used to manufacture hollow rectangular waveguides with integrated diagonal feedhorns. It is shown that surface roughness at the ≈1μm$\\approx {1}\\,{\\mu }\\text{m}$ level is achieved, enabling outcoupling of radiation in the 4.75–5.05 THz band, with a divergence angle of <5∘${<5^{\\circ }}$ along the plane of the QCLs substrate. The internal structure of a THz QCL waveguide module.

This paper presents an approach to determine a model of superficial tissue temperature dynamics during continuous wave CO 2 laser irradiation. The main contribution of this research is the use of real data to model the thermal state of targets being irradiated with surgical laser, using statistical learning methods. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that these methods have been applied in this field. This work extends previous results which demonstrated, in simulation, the relevance and utility of machine learning methods in modeling the thermal state of tissue during laser surgical procedures. Here we use real data, captured with a thermal camera, to learn the function mapping from laser inputs to the corresponding changes in tissue temperature. Based on features observed in the real data, a new structure for the model as well as a different learning approach are proposed.