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This article aims to assess the association between household demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) in Argentina during 2017-2018. CHE was estimated as the proportion of household consumption capacity (using both income and total consumption in separate estimations) allocated for Out-of-Pocket (OOP) health expenditure. For assessing the determinants, we estimated a generalized ordered logit model using different intensities of CHE (10%, 15%, 20% and 25%) as the ordinal dependent variable, and socioeconomic, demographic and geographical variables as explanatory factors. We found that having members older than 65 years and with long-term difficulties increased the likelihood of incurring CHE. Additionally, having an economically inactive household head was identified as a factor that increases this probability. However, the research did not yield consistent results regarding the relationship between public and private health insurance and consumption capacity. Our results, along with the robustness checks, suggest that the magnitude of the coefficients for the household head characteristics could be exaggerated in studies that overlook the attributes of other household members. In addition, these results emphasize the significance of accounting for long-term difficulties and indicate that omitting this factor could overestimate the impact of members aged over 65.

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Road traffic is the primary source of environmental noise pollution in cities. This problem is also spreading due to inadequate urban expansion planning. Hence, integrating road traffic noise analysis into urban planning is necessary for reducing city noise in an effective, adaptable, and sustainable way. This study aims to develop a methodology that applies to any city for the stratification of urban roads by their functionality through only their urban features. It is intended to be a tool to cluster similar streets and, consequently, traffic noise to enable urban and transportation planners to support the reduction of people's noise exposure. Three multivariate ordered logistic regression statistical models (Model 1, 2, and 3) are presented that significantly stratify urban roads into five, four, and three categories, respectively. The developed models exhibit a McFadden pseudo-R2 between 0.5 and 0.6 (equivalent to R2 >0.8). The choice between Model 1 or 2 depends on the scale of the city. Model 1 is recommended for developed cities with an extensive road network, while Model 2 is most suitable in intermediate and growing cities. On the other hand, Model 3 could be applied at any city scale but focused on local management of transit routes and for designing acoustic sensor installations, urban soundwalks, and identification of quiet areas. Urban features related to road width and length, presence of transport infrastructure, and public transport routes are associated with increased traffic noise in all three models. These models prove useful for future action plans aimed at reducing noise through strategic urban planning.

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The Discretizable Molecular Distance Geometry Problem (DMDGP) plays a key role in the construction of three-dimensional molecular structures from interatomic distances acquired through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, with the primary objective of validating a sequence of distance constraints related to NMR data. This article addresses the escalating complexity of the DMDGP encountered with larger and more flexible molecules by introducing a novel strategy via the Molecular Ordered Covering Problem, which optimizes the ordering of distance constraints to improve computational efficiency in DMDGP resolution. This approach utilizes a specialized Branch-and-Bound (BB) algorithm, tested on both synthetic and actual protein structures from the protein data bank. Our analysis demonstrates the efficacy of the previously proposed greedy heuristic in managing complex molecular scenarios, highlighting the BB algorithm's utility as a validation mechanism. This research contributes to ongoing efforts in molecular structure analysis, with possible implications for areas such as protein folding, drug design, and molecular modeling.

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The flexibility of the ATP synthase's ß subunit promotes its role in the ATP synthase rotational mechanism, but its domains stability remains unknown. A reversible thermal unfolding of the isolated ß subunit (Tß) of the ATP synthase from Bacillus thermophilus PS3, tracked through circular dichroism and molecular dynamics, indicated that Tß shape transits from an ellipsoid to a molten globule through an ordered unfolding of its domains, preserving the ß-sheet residual structure at high temperature. We determined that part of the stability origin of Tß is due to a transversal hydrophobic array that crosses the ß-barrel formed at the N-terminal domain and the Rossman fold of the nucleotide-binding domain (NBD), while the helix bundle of the C-terminal domain is the less stable due to the lack of hydrophobic residues, and thus the more flexible to trigger the rotational mechanism of the ATP synthase.

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Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic paramyxovirus with a fatality rate of up to 92% in humans. While several pathogenic mechanisms used by NiV to counteract host immune defense responses have been described, all of the processes that take place in cells during infection are not fully characterized. Here, we describe the formation of ordered intracellular structures during NiV infection. We observed that these structures are formed specifically during NiV infection, but not with other viruses from the same Mononegavirales order (namely Ebola virus) or from other orders such as Bunyavirales (Junín virus). We also determined the kinetics of the appearance of these structures and their cellular localization at the cellular periphery. Finally, we confirmed the presence of these NiV-specific ordered structures using structured illumination microscopy (SIM), as well as their localization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM). Herein, we describe a cytopathogenic mechanism that provides a new insight into NiV biology. These newly described ordered structures could provide a target for novel antiviral approaches.

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The Ca2MnReO6double perovskite is a spin-orbit-assisted Mott insulator with exotic magnetic properties, including a largely non-collinear Mn2+spin arrangement and nearly orthogonal coupling between such spins and the much smaller Re 5dmagnetic moments. Here, the electron-doped compound Ca1-xYxMnReO6(x= 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) is reported and a detailed investigation is conducted forx= 0.3. Neutron and x-ray powder diffraction confirm that nearly full chemical order is maintained at the Mn and Re sites under the Y substitution at the Ca site. X-ray absorption measurements and an analysis of the Mn-O/Re-O bond distances show that the Mn oxidation state remains stable at +2 whereas Re is reduced upon doping. The electron doping increases the magnetic ordering temperature fromTc= 121 to 150 K and also enhances significantly the ferromagnetic component of the Mn spins at the expense of the antiferromagnetic component at the base temperature (T= 3 K). The lattice parameter anomalies atTcobserved in the parent compound are suppressed by the electron doping. The possible reasons for the enhanced magnetism and the suppressed magnetoelastic coupling in Ca1.7Y0.3MnReO6are discussed.

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This paper exploits individual-level data before the implementation of a national policy to understand the factors driving avoidance of plastic consumption and explore potential inconsistencies between revealed and stated preferences for a plastic bag ban policy. We estimate a bivariate ordered probit model that allows us to account for a potential correlation between these types of preferences. The data reveals that while 71% of respondents take a reusable bag for shopping, only 58% of the sample state to strongly agree with prohibiting plastic bags. We find that gender, age, environmental concerns, environmental efforts, participation in environmental causes and pro-environmental behavior determine avoidance of plastic consumption, but no effects are found for being in favor of the prohibition. We also find inconsistencies decrease for individuals demonstrating higher pro-environmental behavior in related domains. This indicates waste management policies may benefit from local grounded knowledge from related environmental initiatives.

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Routine immunization against diphtheria and tetanus has drastically reduced the incidence of these diseases worldwide. Anti-diphtheria/tetanus vaccine has in general aluminum salt as adjuvant in its formulation that can produce several adverse effects. There is a growing interest in developing new adjuvants. In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of SBA-15 as an adjuvant in subcutaneous immunization in mice with diphtheria (dANA) and tetanus (tANA) anatoxins as well as with the mixture of them (dtANA). The tANA molecules and their encapsulation in SBA-15 were characterized using Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), Dynamical Light Scattering (DLS), Nitrogen Adsorption Isotherm (NAI), Conventional Circular Dichroism (CD)/Synchrotron Radiation Circular Dichroism (SRCD) Spectroscopy, and Tryptophan Fluorescence Spectroscopy (FS). The primary and secondary antibody response elicited by subcutaneous immunization of High (HIII) and Low (LIII) antibody responder mice with dANA, tANA, or dtANA encapsulated in the SBA-15 were determined. We demonstrated that SBA-15 increases the immunogenicity of dANA and tANA antigens, especially when administered in combination. We also verified that SBA-15 modulates the antibody response of LIII mice, turning them into high antibody responder. Thus, these results suggest that SBA-15 may be an effective adjuvant for different vaccine formulations.

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The development of more sustainable societies has become an urgent goal worldwide. Electrical batteries are currently seen as one of the most important energy storage technologies for the development of decarbonized societies. However, many lithium-ion battery manufacturers currently utilize cobalt, a toxic and hazardous mineral, in their batteries. Lithium-deficient manganese nickel oxide spinels are considered promising candidates owing to their high potential and environmental friendliness. Their electrochemical performance highly depends on their average and local structures, such as phase purities, lattice parameters, and cation sites. Thus, a synthesis protocol should be designed to control these structural parameters to improve their electrochemical performance. In this study, we controlled the average and local structures of Li0.9Mn1.6Ni0.4O4 spinels obtained by co-precipitation by optimizing their cooling rates. High-resolution techniques, including transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and Auger-composition analysis combined with density functional theory calculations, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and electrochemical analysis, were used to understand the average and local structural variations and their effects on the electrochemical properties. As a result, the control of oxygen diffusion at different cooling rates can promote the rearrangement of the structure, resulting in a cation-disordered spinel with minimal variations in lattice parameters and composition. Excellent electrochemical properties were noted in the cation-disordered spinel with high crystallinity and a slightly oxygen-rich surface produced via optimized cooling rates.

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SBA-15 ordered mesoporous silica can be considered a promising inorganic nanocarrier with emerging potential as an oral vaccine adjuvant. In this study, we investigated its application in the encapsulation of the diphtheria anatoxin (dANA). We observed a considerable preservation of dANA secondary and tertiary structures, even after the drying process by means of Circular Dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopies. Antigen loading was assessed at a number of different ratios of adjuvant-to-antigen using a combination of nitrogen adsorption porosimetry and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). Our data showed that the mass ratio of 1:10 (dANA:SBA-15) is recommended for total encapsulation of dANA in the mesopores, considering that at this relative mass concentration antigen clustering was avoided, which is deleterious effect for immunization purposes. dANA release in mimetic intestine fluid, at a pH equal to 6.8, was followed by in-situ SAXS measurements and shown to be slow, being more pronounced after 6 h and continuous up to 35 h. Finally, the immunogenic complex was tested in isogenic Balb C mice by oral and subcutaneous immunization routes, including a comparison with the only permitted adjuvant for human use, aluminum hydroxide. A higher antibody titer was obtained by subcutaneous and oral administration routes using SBA-15 as the vehicle of dANA, compared with the conventional aluminum hydroxide, demonstrating the viability to use this ordered mesoporous silica in the formulation of oral vaccines, as already proved for the Virus Like Particles (VLP) Hepatitis B (HBsAg) case.

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In this work, atomically substituted three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) spinels based on Co and Mn (MnCo2O4 and CoMn2O4) were synthetized and used as cathodic electrocatalysts in a primary Zn-air battery. Scanning/transmission electron microscopy images show a 3DOM structure for both materials. Skeleton sizes of 114.4 and 140.8 nm and surface areas of 65.3 and 74.6 m2 g-1 were found for MnCo2O4 and CoMn2O4, respectively. The increase in surface area and higher presence of Mn3+ and Mn4+ species in the CoMn2O4 3DOM material improved battery performance with a maximum power density of 101.6 mW cm-2 and a specific capacity of 1440 mA h g-1, which shows the highest battery performance reported to date using similar spinel materials. The stability performance of the electrocatalyst was evaluated in half-cell and battery cell systems, showing the higher durability of CoMn2O4, which was related to its better capability to perform the electrocatalytic process as adsorption, electron transfer, and desorption. It was found through density functional theory calculations that the CoMn2O4 spinel has a higher density of states in the Fermi level vicinity and better conductivity. Finally, the unique shape of 3DOM spinels promoted a high interaction between electroactive species and catalytic sites, making them suitable for oxygen reduction reaction applications.

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Nickel nanopillar arrays were electrodeposited onto silicon substrates using porous alumina membranes as a template. The characterization of the samples was done by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and alternating force gradient magnetometry. Ni nanostructures were directly grown on Si by galvanostatic and potentiostatic electrodeposition techniques in three remarkable charge transfer configurations. Differences in the growth mechanisms of the nanopillars were observed, depending on the deposition method. A high correlation between the height of the nanopillars and the charge synthesis was observed irrespective of the electrochemical technique. The magnetization measurements demonstrated a main dependence with the height of the nanopillars. The synthesis of Ni nanosystems with a controllable aspect ratio provides an effective way to produce well-ordered networks for wide scientific applications.

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In this work, we propose a spatio-temporal Markovian-like model for ordinal observations to predict in time the spread of disease in a discrete rectangular grid of plants. This model is constructed from a logistic distribution and some simple assumptions that reflect the conditions present in a series of studies carried out to understand the dissemination of a particular infection in plants. After constructing the model, we establish conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of the model parameters. In addition, we show that, under further restrictions based on Partially Ordered Markov Models (POMMs), the MLE of the model is consistent and normally asymptotic. We then employ the MLE's asymptotic normality to propose methods for testing spatio-temporal and spatial dependencies. The model is estimated from the real data on plants that inspired the model, and we used its results to construct prediction maps to better understand the transmission of plant illness in time and space.

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The membrane translocation efficiency of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) has been largely studied, and poly-arginines have been highlighted as particularly active CPPs, especially upon negatively charged membranes. Here we inquire about the influence of membrane mechanical properties in poly-arginine adsorption, penetration and translocation, as well as the subsequent effect on the host membrane. For this, we selected anionic membranes exhibiting different rigidity and fluidity, and exposed them to the nona-arginine KR9C. Three different membrane compositions were investigated, all of them having 50% of the anionic lipid 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1'-rac-glycerol) (DOPG), thus, ensuring a high affinity of the peptide for membrane surfaces. The remaining 50% was a saturated PC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, DPPC), an unsaturated PC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, DOPC) or a mixture of DOPC with cholesterol. Peptide-membrane interactions were studied using four complementary models for membranes: Langmuir monolayers, Large Unilamellar Vesicles, Black Lipid Membranes and Giant Unilamellar Vesicles. The patterns of interaction of KR9C varied within the different membrane compositions. The peptide strongly adsorbed on membranes with cholesterol, but did not incorporate or translocate them. KR9C stabilized phase segregation in DPPC/DOPG films and promoted vesicle rupture. DOPC/DOPG appeared like the better host for peptide translocation: KR9C adsorbed, inserted and translocated these membranes without breaking them, despite softening was observed.

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In recent years, hopanoids, a group of pentacyclic compounds found in bacterial membranes, are in the spotlight since it was proposed that they induce order in lipid membranes in a similar way cholesterol do in eukaryotes, despite their structural differences. We studied here whether diplopterol (an abundant hopanoid) promoted similar effects on model membranes as sterols do. We analyzed the compaction, dynamics, phase segregation, permeability and compressibility of model membranes containing diplopterol, and compared with those containing sterols from animals, plants and fungi. We also tested the effect that the incubation with diplopterol had on hopanoid-lacking bacteria. Our results show that diplopterol induces phase segregation, increases lipid compaction, and decreases permeability on phospholipid membranes, while retaining membrane fluidity and compressibility. Furthermore, the exposition to this hopanoid decreases the permeability of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and increases the resistance to antibiotics. All effects promoted by diplopterol were similar to those generated by the sterols. Our observations add information on the functional significance of hopanoids as molecules that play an important role in membrane organization and dynamics in model membranes and in a bacterial system.

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The large-scale production of high-quality and clean graphene devices, aiming at technological applications, has been a great challenge over the last decade. This is due to the high affinity of graphene with polymers that are usually applied in standard lithography processes and that, inevitably, modify the electrical proprieties of graphene. By Raman spectroscopy and electrical-transport investigations, we correlate the room-temperature carrier mobility of graphene devices with the size of well-ordered domains in graphene. In addition, we show that the size of these well-ordered domains is highly influenced by post-photolithography cleaning processes. Finally, we show that by using poly(dimethylglutarimide) (PMGI) as a protection layer, the production yield of CVD graphene devices is enhanced. Conversely, their electrical properties are deteriorated as compared with devices fabricated by conventional production methods.

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In this work we show how the concept of majorization in continuous distributions can be employed to characterize mixing, diffusive, and quantum dynamics along with the H-Boltzmann theorem. The key point lies in that the definition of majorization allows choosing a wide range of convex functions ϕ for studying a given dynamics. By choosing appropriate convex functions, mixing dynamics, generalized Fokker-Planck equations, and quantum evolutions are characterized as majorized ordered chains along the time evolution, being the stationary states the infimum elements. Moreover, assuming a dynamics satisfying continuous majorization, the H-Boltzmann theorem is obtained as a special case for ϕ ( x ) = x ln x .

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This work reports the preparation of HZSM-5/SBA-15 micro-mesoporous materials with composite structure by mechanosynthesis and their use as templates to micro-mesoporous carbons, with palm oil cooking waste as carbon source. HZSM-5/SBA-15 composites were prepared in different mass proportions (25:75, 50:50 and 75:25) by a mechanosynthetic strategy. The palm oil waste was infiltrated into the template pores by a two-step procedure involving grinding followed by stirring the suspension in an oil solution and carbonization under inert atmosphere. SEM images showed the efficiency of mechanosynthesis for all mass proportions, while textural properties were strongly influenced by the presence of SBA-15. A comparison of 50% HZSM-5/SBA-15 mixture with pristine SBA-15 and uncalcined SBA-15 as carbon templates evidenced that the 50% HZSM-5/SBA-15 mixture lead to the carbon with the highest surface area and pore volume. The resulting carbon material was studied as adsorbent to different dye molecules, including molecules with different charges and sizes. Results revealed that the carbon has a significantly higher affinity for cationic dyes, that the mesopore structure favors high diffusion rates and that the surface groups have a very high affinity for cationic dye molecules.

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ß-Galactosylsphingosine or psychosine (PSY) is a single chain sphingolipid with a cationic group, which is degraded in the lysosome lumen by ß-galactosylceramidase during sphingolipid biosynthesis. A deficiency of this enzyme activity results in Krabbe's disease and PSY accumulation. This favors its escape to extralysosomal spaces, with its pH changing from acidic to neutral. We studied the interaction of PSY with model lipid membranes in neutral conditions, using phospholipid vesicles and monolayers as classical model systems, as well as a complex lipid mixture that mimics the lipid composition of myelin. At pH 7.4, when PSY is mainly neutral, it showed high surface activity, self-organizing into large structures, probably lamellar in nature, with a CMC of 38 ±â€¯3 µM. When integrated into phospholipid membranes, PSY showed preferential partition into disordered phases, shifting phase equilibrium. The presence of PSY reduces the compactness of the membrane, making it more easily compressible. It also induces lipid domain disruption in vesicles composed of the main myelin lipids. The surface electrostatics of lipid membranes was altered by PSY in a complex manner. A shift to positive zeta potential values evidenced its presence in the vesicles. Furthermore, the increase of surface potential and surface water structuring observed may be a consequence of its location at the interface of the positively charged layer. As Krabbe's disease is a demyelinating process, PSY alteration of the membrane phase state, lateral lipid distribution and surface electrostatics appears important to the understanding of myelin destabilization at the supramolecular level.

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Abstract The aim of the article is to investigate the impacts of co-residence over spouce and/or children on self-perceived health among Brazilian elderly. The database used was the health supplement of the National Sample Survey of Households (PNAD) conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 2008. The sample consists of 36 551 people from all regions of the country such as urban areas and rurals. The results indicate that seniors with better socioeconomic status, who don't have physical mobility problems are more propenspos to a better self report among their health, regardless of the gender of the elderly. Regarding the impact of co-residence family health of respondents, living with daughters increases the probability that perception is better (specifically good or very good). Moreover,the results are consistent with the hypothesis that elderly brazilians realize better their health with home living with daughters and/or spouse.

Resumo Este artigo tem como objetivo investigar os impactos da corresidência de cônjuge e/ou filhos sobre a autopercepção de saúde dos idosos brasileiros. A base de dados utilizada foi o suplemento de saúde da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílio (PNAD) realizada pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) no ano de 2008. A amostra é composta de 36.551 pessoas de todas as regiões do país de áreas urbanas e rurais. Os resultados indicam que os idosos com melhor status socioeconômico e sem problemas de mobilidade física são mais propenspos a um melhor autorreporte de sua saúde, independente do gênero. Quanto ao impacto da corresidência familiar na saúde dos pesquisados, a convivência com filhas aumenta a probabilidade que a percepção seja melhor (especificamente boa ou muito boa). Ademais, os resultados são compatíveis com a hipótese de que os idosos brasileiros percebem melhor sua saúde com a convivência domiciliar com filhas e/ou cônjuge.

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