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Background The challenges faced during COVID-19 for the public health were unprecedent in the last 100 years. The necessity to adapt lifestyles during this period highlighted inequalities in health-related behaviors, quality of life and mental health of the population, especially in unequal countries like Brazil. Aim To analyze the associations of sociodemographic characteristics and recalled changes in health-related behavior, mental health, and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic Brazil. Methods Quantitative, web-based representative survey study of Brazilian adults (≥ 18 years). Sampling procedures proportionally considered state population and characteristics to complete quotas based on gender, age group, and socioeconomic status. Health-related outcomes included changes, from before the COVID-19 pandemic to during the COVID-19 pandemic, in habitual physical activity (no change, decrease and, increase), diet behaviors (no change, growth), quality of life (no change, decrease and, increase), and mental health tertile (4–6, 7–9 and 10–16). Variables used to characterize inequalities included gender (male/female), race (white, black, pardo and, other), and educational attainment (less than high school, high school and, higher education). Frequency distribution and multinomial regression were performed with SPSS 23.0 with a significance level 0.05. Results Most participants changed physical activity behaviors (77.5%), diet (56.5%), and perceived quality of life (37.9%). Women were less likely to decrease their physical activity, quality of life, and mental health. Among ethnic groups, blacks were less likely to increase unhealthy food consumption. Finally, groups with less than a high school education were more likely to have an unhealthy diet and lower odds of negative mental health scores. Conclusion Being a woman, black, or having lower educational attainment was found to be associated with changes in health-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, underscoring the contribution of COVID-19 to widening health inequities.

The construction industry is well known for its problems in completing projects on time and within budget. While constructability has been promoted as a best practice to address these challenges, a clear gap remains regarding its practical definition and implementation, exacerbated by industry reluctance to share proprietary knowledge. This narrative review investigated the current state of constructability in industrial plant construction projects, synthesizing literature from leading databases and professional sources. The methodology involved a critical qualitative analysis of studies addressing constructability frameworks, critical success factors, and the impact of BIM technologies. The findings revealed that traditional constructability reviews, though valuable, are limited by human expertise and subjectivity. The integration of BIM offers transformative potential by enabling collaborative, comprehensive constructability analysis and facilitating the transfer of tacit to explicit knowledge. This study clarifies the constructability concept and highlights persistent knowledge gaps and it illustrates how BIM-aided constructability can optimize the design and planning of industrial plant projects, ultimately enhancing project sustainability and delivery outcomes.

Common kinetic parameters were obtained for leached and non-leached samples of vine wood biomass. Both samples were considered to have different proportions of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin compositions as a result of the leaching process. The two samples were analyzed in terms of pyrolysis kinetic parameters using non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. Furthermore, the classic Friedman isoconversional method, a deconvolution procedure using the Fraser–Suzuki function, and a modified Friedman method from a previous study on the delay in conversion degree were satisfactorily applied. The observed difference when the deconvolution technique was applied suggests that the classic Friedman method is not adequate for studying the pyrolysis of individual vine wood biomass components. However, this issue was solved by studying the delay in conversion degree of both biomasses and calculating the kinetic parameters using the resulting information. This procedure was found to be useful for studying and comparing the kinetics of heterogeneous biomasses and has a sound scientific explanation, making this research a basis for future similar studies.

The aim of this work was to study the effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on sludge digestion, particle size distribution (PSD), and dewaterability of digestates (measured by capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF)). Sludge was pretreated with ultrasound (24 kHz) at an energy dosage of 4300 kJ/kg TS. Digestibility of sludge was increased by ultrasound pretreatment resulting in a higher specific methane production (SMP). The digestate of pretreated waste activated sludge (WAS) obtained under batch conditions presented a better dewatering performance. Digestion under semi-continuous conditions was evaluated using sewage sludge (mixture of primary sludge and WAS). In this case, digestates presented a much higher mean particle size for both cases evaluated (pretreated and non-pretreated) than that obtained under batch conditions. A wide PSD was a characteristic of these digestate samples. Flow dynamics inside the reactor resulted in the presence of high-diameter flocs, thus significantly affecting the mean particle size and specific surface area (SSA) values.

Does economic inequality warp voters' views about party platforms? If so, are voters' perceptual biases systemically shaped by their economic status? Drawing from a psychological theory of class conflict, we argue that income inequality heightens disagreement about party positions among people with different economic status. Analyzing survey responses on perceived ideological positions of 700+ parties in over 110 elections, we reveal that poorer and richer voters systematically misperceive the positions of parties in opposite directions, and that the extent to which they do so is larger in more unequal societies. We also show that class-based perceptual disagreement is particularly salient among left- and right-leaning parties, but not among centrist parties. Our findings question a fundamental principle of representative democracy, suggesting that even a basic consensus on the ideological placements of parties cannot be taken for granted in highly unequal societies.

Salvia hispanica L. (Chia), a member of the Lamiaceae, is an economically important crop in Mesoamerica, with health benefits associated with its seed fatty acid composition. Chia varieties are distinguished based on seed color including mixed white and black (Chia pinta) and black (Chia negra). To facilitate research on Chia and expand on comparative analyses within the Lamiaceae, we generated a chromosome‐scale assembly of a Chia pinta accession and performed comparative genome analyses with a previously published Chia negra genome assembly. The Chia pinta and Chia negra genome sequences were highly similar as shown by a limited number of single nucleotide polymorphisms and extensive shared orthologous gene membership. However, there is an enrichment of terpene synthases in the Chia pinta genome relative to the Chia negra genome. We sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 20 Chia accessions with differing seed color and geographic origin revealing population structure within S. hispanica and interspecific introgressions of Salvia species. As the genus Salvia is polyphyletic, its evolutionary history remains unclear. Using large‐scale synteny analysis within the Lamiaceae and orthologous group membership, we resolved the phylogeny of Salvia species. This study and its collective resources further our understanding of genomic diversity in this food crop and the extent of interspecies hybridizations in Salvia. Core Ideas Genomic diversity exists in Chia associated with genes involved in specialized metabolism. Access to multiple Chia and Salvia species genomes resolved the phylogeny of Salvia. Population structure is present within Chia that reflects geographic origins. Hybridization with Salvia tiliifolia has occurred with domesticated Chia yielding admixed accessions. Plain Language Summary Chia pinta is an economically important crop due to the high fatty acid present in the seeds. There are multiple types of Chia based on the seeds color including mixed white and black (Chia pinta), black (Chia negra), and white (Chia blanca). We sequenced and assembled the genome of Chia pinta along with 20 other accessions to determine population structure. Comparison of the Chia pinta and Chia negra genomes revealed a high degree of similarity but also key differences in terpene synthase composition. We also sequenced 20 other Chia accessions with different seed color and geographic origin to determine a population structure within Chia. The genomic resources generated further our understanding of Chia as a food crop.

Banking crises threaten the stability and growth of economies around the world. In response, politicians restore banks to solvency by redistributing losses from bank shareholders and depositors to taxpayers, and the burden the citizenry must bear varies from case to case. Whereas some governments stay close to the prescriptions espoused by Sir Walter Bagehot in the nineteenth century that limit the costs shouldered by taxpayers, others engage in generous bank bailouts at great cost to society. What factors determine a government's response? In this comparative analysis of late-twentieth-century banking crises, Guillermo Rosas identifies political regime type as the determining factor. During a crisis, powerful financial players demand protection of their assets. Rosas maintains that in authoritarian regimes, government officials have little to shield them from such demands and little incentive for rebuffing them, while in democratic regimes, elected officials must weigh these demands against the interests of the voters—that is, the taxpayers. As a result, compared with authoritarian regimes, democratic regimes show a lower propensity toward dramatic, costly bailouts.

is one of the main causative agents of hospital-acquired (HA) infections. In Mexico, information about the characteristics of clinical isolates is limited. Our aim was to characterize strains obtained from blood cultures of paediatric patients treated in a tertiary care hospital. We analysed 249 isolates over the period from 2006 to 2019, and their resistance profiles were determined. The isolates were classified into methicillin-resistant (MRSA) or methicillin-sensitive (MSSA). Staphylococcal cassettes chromosome (SCC ) were detected. Virulence genes ( and ) were amplified, and their clonal relationships were established by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and clonal complex (CC) typing. We reviewed one hundred medical files to collect clinical information. Thirty-eight percent of the isolates were MRSA and showed an expanded profile of resistance to other non-beta-lactam antibiotics, while MSSA strains presented a reduced resistance profile. SCC II was the most frequent element (86.3%). Eight virulence factors were detected in MSSA and six in MRSA. The gene was detected in four MRSA-SCC IV isolates ( ≤0.0001). MRSA isolates were distributed among 14 clones and were classified into 15 sequence types (ST); the most frequent was ST1011 (17%). The most common CC in MRSA was CC5 (69%, ≤0.0001), and in MSSA, it was CC30 (30%, ≤0.0001). Eighty-seven percent of MRSA isolates were HA-MRSA, and 13% were community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA). Of 21 HA-MRSA isolates, 17 had SCC -II, while two CA-MRSA isolates had SCC -IV. Of MSSA isolates, 77% were derived from HA infections and 23% from CA infections. MSSA isolates had more virulence factors. MRSA isolates were resistant to more non-beta-lactam antibiotics, and those with SCC -IV expressed a greater variety of virulence factors. Most isolates belonged to CC5.

Do politicians benefit electorally from connections to banks? Recent research illuminates how banks benefit from political connections, yet we do not know much about the impact of bank connections on a politician’s reelection chances. We consider the German system of publicly owned local savings banks to assess whether local politicians who sit on bank boards are likelier to win reelection for their parties. Based on data from 3,214 mayoral elections and 182 savings banks between 2006 and 2015, we find that mayors with a board seat in a savings bank have higher odds of winning reelection than mayors without a board seat. We address concerns about unobserved confounders and show that the electoral benefits of board membership are concentrated among conservative mayors. We also present preliminary evidence that mayors in bank boards increase bank donations to, and prevent branch closures in, their municipalities, which helps us understand why voters reelect them.