Correct Approach Research Articles

Abordagem à agitação no serviço de urgência pediátrico

Psychomotor agitation and self/hetero-aggressiveness in children and adolescents can represent a challenge in the pediatric emergency department (ED), they are a frequent occurrence that account for up to 5% of emergency assessments in the United States. Agitation is a highly nonspecific sign, which may result from organic and/or psychiatric conditions, and requires, in its management, the adequacy of ED spaces, training of the professionals involved and an increase in mental health resources in the EDs. The initial diagnostic evaluation should lead to the most appropriate therapeutic choice, although in many situations it is necessary to intervene before finishing the diagnostic exploration. This intervention must firstly contemplate environmental and non-pharmacological measures. When necessary, pharmacological restraint can be carried out, physical restraint being discouraged at these ages. There is little literature on the correct approach to these occurrences, and there is no guideline, so that more than half of the ER professionals feel inadequately prepared in their management. This work aims to bring together the evidence and consensus available in the literature to create practical support for the approach of the agitated patient in pediatric emergency care, with a focus on non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches, it is based on a literature review, using multiple databases of articles in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines were also analyzed although they apply to aggressive and violent behavior and not psychomotor agitation, understanding the difference, but looking for overlapping and applicable elements.

Advancing sun glint correction in high-resolution marine UAV RGB imagery for coral reef monitoring

Sun glint presents a significant challenge in marine ecological remote sensing by obscuring valuable features of benthic communities, thus hindering accurate monitoring of these communities. More specifically, sun glint leads to inaccurate coral reef identification when it comes to utilize the high-resolution marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery. Despite the availability of many physical models that address this problem using ocean remote sensing satellite images, there is still a lack of effective sun glint correction solutions for high-resolution RGB imagery obtained by consumer-grade UAVs in marine ecological monitoring, particularly at the centimeter level. In this study, an innovative sun glint correction pipeline combining a Foreground Attention-based Semantic Segmentation Network (FANet) with optical flow-based pixel propagation has been proposed, aiming to achieve accurate sun glint detection and restoration of real texture of coral reefs. To further understand the inner mode of sun glint segmentation FANet model, we conduct explainable analysis to ensure that it learns the informative sun glint features and makes reliable decisions. According to the comprehensive experimental evaluation using three datasets, our FANet model exhibits accurate and effective sun glint detection, achieving an IoU range of 70.86%–83.96%. Moreover, the sun-glint free images processed by our sun glint correction method have been employed for large-scale image stitching and shallow-water coral reef habitat semantic mapping. The results demonstrate that our sun glint correction approach successfully restores the texture of coral reefs and prepares a reliable foundation for subsequent downstream applications. We believe that our method as an open-source sun glint correction solution in high-resolution marine UAV RGB images is able to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of various marine ecological remote sensing tasks at a low-cost. The relevant code can be found in https://github.com/jyqinnn/Sun-glint-correction.

Complementary to Multiple Labels: A Correlation-Aware Correction Approach.

Complementary label learning (CLL) requires annotators to give irrelevant labels instead of relevant labels for instances. Currently, CLL has shown its promising performance on multi-class data by estimating a transition matrix. However, current multi-class CLL techniques cannot work well on multi-labeled data since they assume each instance is associated with one label while each multi-labeled instance is relevant to multiple labels. Here, we show theoretically how the estimated transition matrix in multi-class CLL could be distorted in multi-labeled cases as they ignore co-existing relevant labels. Moreover, theoretical findings reveal that calculating a transition matrix from label correlations in multi-labeled CLL (ML-CLL) needs multi-labeled data, while this is unavailable for ML-CLL. To solve this issue, we propose a two-step method to estimate the transition matrix from candidate labels. Specifically, we first estimate an initial transition matrix by decomposing the multi-label problem into a series of binary classification problems, then the initial transition matrix is corrected by label correlations to enforce the addition of relationships among labels. We further show that the proposal is classifier-consistent, and additionally introduce an MSE-based regularizer to alleviate the tendency of BCE loss overfitting to noises. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Serum Zinc Concentrations by Inflammation Status, Time of Day, and Fasting Status for Estimating Zinc Deficiency in 6–59-Mo-Old Children: Results from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019)

BackgroundSerum zinc concentration (SZC) is considered the best biomarker of zinc status in population-level evaluations. However, zinc deficiency (ZD) estimations can be biased if they do not consider blood collection timing, inflammation, and fasting status. ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to determine SZC without and with adjustment for inflammation, according to blood collection timing and fasting status, estimate ZD prevalence, and evaluate the associated factors with ZD in a representative sample of Brazilian children aged <5 y. MethodsPopulation-based study with 7597 children aged 6–59 mo surveyed by the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition. SZC was adjusted for inflammation using the Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia regression correction approach, with high-sensitive C-reactive protein, assessed according to blood collection timing (morning/afternoon) and fasting status (<8 and ≥8 h). SZC <65 μg/dL (morning collection) or SZC <57 μg/dL (afternoon collection) were classified as ZD. The analysis between associated factors and ZD used the adjusted prevalence ratio (PR). ResultsAfter adjusting for inflammation, SZC was higher in all percentiles and varied according to collection timing and fasting status. Children who had blood collected in the morning without fasting or in the afternoon had lower SZC than those assessed in the morning with fasting. The differences in adjusted SZC according to the timing of collection and fasting status were greater in the higher percentiles of the distribution, with the greatest absolute difference observed when comparing the 95th percentile of morning fasting compared with nonfasting (20.3 μg/dL). The prevalence of ZD estimated without and with adjusting SZC for inflammation was 17.8% and 13.8%, respectively. The occurrence of diarrhea, fever, or respiratory symptoms in the 15 d before blood collection was associated with a higher prevalence of ZD (PR: 1.42; 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 1.94). ConclusionsAdjusting SZC for inflammation and considering fasting status is important to avoid overestimating the prevalence of ZD.

Abordagem da Saúde Ocupacional perante surtos de Escabiose

INTRODUCTION The occurrence of outbreaks of scabies in hospitals has been serving as an alert to the importance of early diagnosis and correct approach by Occupational Health services. OBJECTIVES Review the literature on the diagnosis and treatment of scabies, as well as describe the approach taken by Occupational Health services in the face of scabies outbreaks. METHODOLOGY Review of the topic in the scientific database (PubMed), using the search terms “scabies”, “diagnosis”, “treatment” and “outbreak” anywhere in the text. Only reviews published in the last five years and available for full reading were included. RESULTS Scabies (commonly known as human scabies) is a parasitic skin infection caused by a mite that only infects humans, called Sarcoptes scabei, variety hominis. Transmission occurs by direct skin-to-skin contact or through contaminated fomites (as bedding, towels, among others). There are two clinical variants, the classic and the crusted (or Norwegian). First-line treatments are topical permethrin and oral ivermectin. Occupational Health plays a key role in addressing and controlling outbreaks in health institutions. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Early detection of infected individuals, with due isolation in the case of crusted scabies; adequate and frequent cleaning of clothes; simultaneous treatment of all patients, professionals and family members who may have been exposed and continuous surveillance of affected professionals until cure are key aspects for controlling outbreaks. KEYWORDS: Scabies, Outbreaks, Diagnosis, Treatment, Occupational Health, Occupational Nursing and Occupational Medicine.

Abordagem da Saúde Ocupacional perante surtos de Escabiose

INTRODUCTION The occurrence of outbreaks of scabies in hospitals has been serving as an alert to the importance of early diagnosis and correct approach by Occupational Health services. OBJECTIVES Review the literature on the diagnosis and treatment of scabies, as well as describe the approach taken by Occupational Health services in the face of scabies outbreaks. METHODOLOGY Review of the topic in the scientific database (PubMed), using the search terms “scabies”, “diagnosis”, “treatment” and “outbreak” anywhere in the text. Only reviews published in the last five years and available for full reading were included. RESULTS Scabies (commonly known as human scabies) is a parasitic skin infection caused by a mite that only infects humans, called Sarcoptes scabei, variety hominis. Transmission occurs by direct skin-to-skin contact or through contaminated fomites (as bedding, towels, among others). There are two clinical variants, the classic and the crusted (or Norwegian). First-line treatments are topical permethrin and oral ivermectin. Occupational Health plays a key role in addressing and controlling outbreaks in health institutions. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Early detection of infected individuals, with due isolation in the case of crusted scabies; adequate and frequent cleaning of clothes; simultaneous treatment of all patients, professionals and family members who may have been exposed and continuous surveillance of affected professionals until cure are key aspects for controlling outbreaks. KEYWORDS: Scabies, Outbreaks, Diagnosis, Treatment, Occupational Health, Occupational Nursing and Occupational Medicine.

Effect of Development Finance Lending on Financial Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between development finance lending on the financial performance of SMEs and determine what components of development finance credit have the most impact on the growth of SMEs. The study was adopted with a target sample of 120 registered SMEs within the ABC Bank PLC, Sri Lanka. Secondary data was collected for the study using internal documents from the SME section in ABC Bank PLC and annual reports. SME financial performance has been considered as the dependent variable, whereas development finance credit amount, development finance loan period, initial credit amount, and collateral requirement have been considered as independent variables. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correction and multiple regression approach. Findings revealed that development finance credit positively influences the financial performance of SMEs through the amount of credit provided, the initial credit amount, the collateral requirement, and the loan period granted by the bank, which affects the financial performance negatively based on the analysis. The study also found that all SMEs borrow credit to increase their financial performance. The study concludes that return improved with each consecutive loan, showing that microfinance facilities enhance the financial performance of SMEs in Sri Lanka with the evidence from ABC Bank PLC. The regression results propose that development finance credit gives more to the financial performance of SMEs and thus higher return.

Assessment of nurses' level of knowledge of the management of chronic wounds

BackgroundChronic wounds are a challenge and a major cause of morbidity. A wound is considered chronic if healing does not occur within the expected time frame depending on the etiology and location of the wound. ObjectiveTo assess the level of knowledge about chronic wound management of postgraduate nurses in different areas of the health system and their previous satisfaction with the training received during their undergraduate studies. DesignCross-sectional study of a health system of 95,000 inhabitants and 557 nursing professionals working in it. ParticipantsNurses working in the study health system and in areas with care for patients with chronic wounds in social, primary and hospital care. ResultsSurvey results described a low knowledge of chronic wound management in general. Data on knowledge according to area of work showed that nurses in primary care had the highest knowledge of wound etiology. Nurses working in health and social care were most knowledgeable in diagnostic knowledge. Hospital nurses showed the lowest knowledge overall. A relationship was observed when nurses had a master's degree followed by an expert with better knowledge in the test. In addition, nurses reported little training in chronic wounds during their university studies (69.73 %, n = 106). ConclusionsTherefore, a review of this point should be considered to improve the management of chronic wounds and their correct approach among nursing students. A review of continuing and even specialised training needs in the clinical care setting should also be considered.

Investigation of electro-vascular phase-amplitude coupling during an auditory task

Multimodal neuroimaging using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) provides complementary views of cortical processes, including those related to auditory processing. However, current multimodal approaches often overlook potential insights that can be gained from nonlinear interactions between electrical and hemodynamic signals. Here, we explore electro-vascular phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) between low-frequency hemodynamic and high-frequency electrical oscillations during an auditory task. We further apply a temporally embedded canonical correlation analysis (tCCA)-general linear model (GLM)-based correction approach to reduce the possible effect of systemic physiology on fNIRS recordings. Before correction, we observed significant PAC between fNIRS and broadband EEG in the frontal region (p ≪ 0.05), β (p ≪ 0.05) and γ (p = 0.010) in the left temporal/temporoparietal (left auditory; LA) region, and γ (p = 0.032) in the right temporal/temporoparietal (right auditory; RA) region across the entire dataset. Significant differences in PAC across conditions (task versus silence) were observed in LA (p = 0.023) and RA (p = 0.049) γ sub-bands and in lower frequency (5–20 Hz) frontal activity (p = 0.005). After correction, significant fNIRS-γ-band PAC was observed in the frontal (p = 0.021) and LA (p = 0.025) regions, while fNIRS-α (p = 0.003) and fNIRS-β (p = 0.041) PAC were observed in RA. Decreased frontal γ-band (p = 0.008) and increased β-band (p ≪ 0.05) PAC were observed during the task. These outcomes represent the first characterization of electro-vascular PAC between fNIRS and EEG signals during an auditory task, providing insights into electro-vascular coupling in auditory processing.

Eğitim Yöneticilerinin Sahip Olması Gereken Roller ve Yetkinliklerin İncelenmesi

If the trainings are institution-specific information trainings, contain know-how, or are considered as permanent or long-term programs for a large number of employee groups, it would be a more correct approach to work with the educators who will be recruited. In this case, the preparation of detailed job descriptions for the educator and the clear definition of the requirements of the job are important both during the interview and assignments, making it easier to choose the right person and assign them to the right jobs. In the selection of trainers, resumes and application forms should be carefully examined, the candidate's communication skills and willingness should be tested, school and work experience, presentation skills, program preparation ability, knowledge of educational methods, expertise in the subject, willingness and special interest in education, beliefs, goals, values and passions, educational experience, physical fitness, appearance, intelligence, maturity, emotional stability and educational status should be taken into account. The activity of a trainer who will be selected from within or outside the organization; it depends on him focusing on the subject, being able to do what he wants to do and being able to devote himself. Focus refers to knowing the subject. Being able to do is related to skills reinforced by experience, while dedication is related to mental attitude. If an educator looks at his work and relationships positively, if he does the training willingly, if he is at peace with himself and sensitive to people, he works by dedicating himself. When deciding who the trainer is, the attitude, goals, beliefs and values of the person being considered should be focused on, and whether these are appropriate and adequate to the requirements of the training being considered, the expectations of the organization and the needs of the participants should be considered. During the selection process of the trainer or training organization, the experiences of the person or organization, training methods, references in other organizations, personal or corporate images should be taken into account. It is necessary to think that the monetary or non-monetary losses that will be caused if an education that is considered cheap is not effective will be much greater. It is necessary to realize that the cost of a good education is always much lower than the cost of lack of education or a bad and inadequate education. Key Words: Educational Management, Educational Managers, Executive Roles, Executive Competencies

Probiotics isolated from the shubat in chicken meat production: importance and HACCP analysis

Probiotics are becoming more widely acknowledged as a safe and effective alternative to antibiotics for improving the safety of chicken meat. The investigation of potential hazards throughout the chicken meat supply chain enables a thorough assessment of contamination risks, allowing for the establishment of control and corrective actions within the corresponding processes. The ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of chicken meat for consumers. The objective of this study is to ascertain the potential risks that may arise inside the chicken production process, encompassing physical, chemical, and biological factors, with the identification of critical control points (CCPs). The study is also aiming to identify corrective strategies and approaches for decreasing the hazards associated with using of probiotics obtained from shubat. The research conducted involved conducting microbiological evaluations to test the ability of probiotics to withstand the presence of pathogenic bacteria. Additionally, the study examined the use of probiotics in chicken production, employing careful monitoring and comprehensive analyses to figure out the effectiveness of the supplements. For hazard identification and risk assessment, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach was used, with the key findings showing that the most critical activities throughout the entire chain pertained to the use of probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics.

Navigating Uncertainty: Social Media Narratives of Tourism during COVID-19

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic and the travelling restrictions put in place by governments had an unprecedented effect on tourism in South Tyrol, with stays from the main markets experiencing a loss ranging from -36.3% to -73.4%. The present study explores the English-language social media communication of tourist destinations in South Tyrol during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. To do so, a combined methodological approach is adopted, based on ethnographic interviews with practitioners of the tourism sector and corpusassisted discourse analysis. The findings reveal that the deployment of futureoriented and corrective linguistic approaches to envision a post-crisis scenario is crucial in conveying hope and possibility. These findings not only enhance our understanding of tourism discourse in the context of communication crisis management but also have implications for the resilience of tourism industry during challenging periods.

Effectiveness of using a long-term individualized treatment regimen of tuberculosis with multiple drug resistance in elderly people with concomitant diseases

BACKGROUND. The actuality of the correct approach to the treatment of elderly patients with multidrug-resistance tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and concomitant diseases is unquestionable. We did not find in the available literature a study of the use of a completely oral long-term individualized treatment regimen (ITR) in this category of patients, which confirms the scientific novelty of the research.&#x0D; OBJECTIVE. To analyze the using of fully oral long-term ITR of MDR-TB in a 73-year-old patient with concomitant diseases on the example our own observation.&#x0D; MATERIALS AND METHODS. A clinical case of our own observation of a patient who was treated in the pulmonary TB department No. 2 of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Phthisiopulmonological Clinical Treatment and Diagnostic Center.&#x0D; RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. A 73-year-old man previously suffered from TB. He fell ill for the first time in 1987 and the first relapse of the specific process occurred in 2010. In both cases the patient received treatment of sensitive to antimycobacterial drugs TB, which ended with a positive outcome. During the relapse case described in the presented work, MDR-TB was diagnosed in the patient. Concomitant diseases of the cardiovascular system and the organ of vision were diagnosed in the patient. Before the ITR course completion the patient suffered a repeated myocardial infarction against the background of alcohol abuse. The patient received a completely oral long-term (18 month) course of MDR-TB ITR: 4 months of Lfx-Bdq-Cfz-Cs-Mpn-Amx/Clv, 2 months of Lfx-Bdq-Cfz-Cs, 12 months of Lfx-Cfz-Cs. Treatment was prescribed considering the data of the drug sensitivity test and the presence of contraindications to the appointment of Lzd. Complete cessation of bacterial excretion was registered after 4 months of antimycobacterial treatment. Tolerability of antimycobacterial therapy was satisfactory, adverse drugs’ reactions were not determined.&#x0D; CONCLUSIONS. The presented clinical case of our own observation demonstrates the high safety and effectiveness of a completely oral long-term (18 months) course of MDR-TB ITR in an elderly person with concomitant diseases, which is new data, since we did not find similar works in the available literature. The obtained data are an addition to the indications for use the all-oral long-term (18 months) course of ITR, including 4 months of Lfx-Bdq-Cfz-Cs-Mpn-Amx/Clv, 2 months of Lfx-Bdq-Cfz-Cs, 12 months of Lfx-Cfz-Cs in elderly patients with the simultaneous course of MDR-TB and concomitant cardiovascular and visual diseases.

OCEAN—An EXCEL add-in for 17O correction using a novel approximation

In this publication, an alternative mathematical approach for 17O correction is presented. It is shown comprehensively how the newly developed formulas are derived and what the differences are to the established algorithm recommended by Brand et al. Additionally, two simulations are presented, which demonstrate the performance (in terms of accuracy and precision) of the approach. Part of this work is an EXCEL Add-In, which allows users to perform 17O correction, normalization and uncertainty propagation on their own. This enables the users - who are limited to measure only the masses 44 to 46 - to fully control their data evaluation.•Improved accuracy over a wider range.•Easy use and implementation of the scheme.•Convenient uncertainty calculation in accordance with international standards.

Clinical observation of wild animals near the CRAS lake (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) submitted to homeopathic treatment by a slow dispersion device: a possible indication of environmental balance.

Abstract The environmental imbalance in all its parts (land, plant, animal, man) is one of the most significant challenges of modern times due to the difficulty of a comprehensive, effective, and non-aggressive corrective approach. Due to its biophysical qualities, water seems able to propagate physicochemical signals capable of producing effects on living systems, as recently demonstrated by the method of solvatochromic dyes. For this reason, a slow dispersion device containing a solid base soaked in a homeopathic ingredient was developed to treat animals living in defined ecosystems. This work aimed to evaluate the behavior and clinical status of tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) that inhabit the neighborhood of a lake subjected to the device's action as indicators of a possible balance of the entire system. The area under study was CRAS (Center for the Recovery of Wild Animals), inserted in an urban forest in Campo Grande - MS, Brazil. The anamnesis carried out with the park managers revealed the occurrence of attacks and mutilations among the animals due to stress and the vast infestation of ticks (Amblyomma cajennense) in wild mammals and their larvae in humans that visited the trails, which caused the closure of the park for school excursions given the risk of spreading zoonoses. The device contained a solid base of hydrocolloid and calcium carbonate soaked in a homeopathic formulation containing Chamomilla 12 cH, Artemisia absinthium 12 cH, Calcarea carbonica 30 cH, Psorinum 12 cH, Sulphur 12 cH, Artemisia lerchiana 12 cH, and Apis mellifica 12 cH, indicated for the treatment of animals whose signs of stress are an increase in ectoparasites and misbehavior. The devices were installed at three points: at the source, 500 meters away from the lake, at the watercourse, 200 meters from the lake, and at the lake itself on 10/08/2021, repeating the placement on 12/10/2021. The animals observed were four tapirs and three capybaras. Fifteen days after the date of the 1st placement of the devices, the manifestation of natural animal behavior was observed, such as teaching puppies to swim, indicating well-being. Twenty days after installation, a gradual decrease in teleogynes (adult forms) and larvae was observed, with the disappearance of ticks in all animals after six months of the device installation without chemical intervention to control the parasites. Park employees who frequent the trails and surroundings report that they have not suffered any more attacks from larvae (so-called “micuins”), even in times of greater occurrence, such as the dry seasons. Thus, it is suggested that installing slow dispersion devices in natural springs, dams, and lakes could be used as a resource for ecological balance, and the clinical observation of resident animals could be a possible indicator of environmental recovery. More studies using this approach are needed to consolidate these findings. Keywords: Homeopathic complexes, ecosystems, environmental homeopathy.

A Sub-1 ppm/°C dual-reference small-area bandgap reference comprising an enhanceable piecewise curvature compensation circuit

This paper presents a low-temperature coefficient (TC) dual-reference CMOS bandgap reference (BGR) for high-performance systems working under a wide temperature range. It consists of a correction approach to eliminate the high-order inaccuracy, in which an enhanceable curvature compensation circuit is adopted to extend the operating temperature range and generate reference voltages with sub-1 ppm/°C TC. In addition, a voltage level shifter (VLS) is used to generate the latter compensated reference voltage but no need for an additional compensation circuit. The proposed BGR designed in a 0.18-µm CMOS process has a simulated TC of 0.75 ppm/°C and 0.28 ppm/°C for the first and second reference outputs, respectively, over a wide temperature range of −50 °C to 130 °C. The proposed BGR occupies a 0.0079-mm2 silicon area. The overheads make the BGR appropriate to provide reference voltages in diverse chips with high-precision systems.

Spinal cord lipomas: lessons learned in the era of total resection.

Recent years have seen a paradigm shift towards total/near-total resection in spinal cord lipoma surgery. As this procedure is technically challenging, surgical candidates need to be selected appropriately through accurate image assessment and classification. The purpose of this paper is to describe a surgical series of paediatric spinal cord lipomas, their diagnosis, results and complications. We undertook a retrospective review of paediatric patients with spinal cord lipomas who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2022. The variables studied were age, gender, preoperative symptoms according to the Necker Functional Score (NFS), type of lipoma according to Morota's classification, functional and radiological surgical outcomes using the cord-sac ratio (CSR), need for re-operation, complications and follow-up. A total of 25 patients (average age 36months) underwent surgery. According to Morota's classification, MRI showed 13 type 1 lipomas, two type 2, two type 3 and eight type 4. The preoperative NFS was 16.06, with urological abnormalities being the most frequent manifestation. Total/near-total resection was attempted since 2015. Five patients with type 1 lipoma required re-operation due to clinical deterioration with suspected retethering, all of them with a CSR > 0.3. The series average CSR was 0.417. This paper highlights the importance of proper classification for a correct surgical approach to obtain favourable results and minimise possible complications. Based on our experience, given our results regarding the percentage of fistulae and retethering rates, we limited radical resection to symptomatic type 1 lipomas. Our future aim is to obtain better CSR rates and to decrease the retethering percentage.

Improving XYG3-type doubly hybrid approximation using self-interaction corrected SCAN density and orbitals via the PZ-SIC framework: The xDH@SCAN(SIC) approach

XYG3-type doubly hybrid (xDH) approximations have gained widespread recognition for their accuracy in describing a diverse range of chemical and physical interactions. However, a recent study [Song et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 12, 800–807 (2021)] has highlighted the limitation of xDH methods in calculating the dissociation of NaCl molecules. This issue has been related to the density and orbitals used for evaluating the energy in xDH methods, which are obtained from lower-rung hybrid density functional approximations (DFAs) and display substantial density errors in the dissociation limit. In this work, we systematically investigate the influence of density on several challenging datasets and find that xDH methods are less sensitive to density errors compared to semi-local and hybrid DFAs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the self-interaction corrected SCAN density approach offers superior accuracy compared to the self-consistent SCAN density and Hartree–Fock density approaches, as evidenced by performing charge analysis on the dissociation of heterodimers, such as NaCl and LiF. Building on these insights, we propose a five-parameter xDH method using the SCAN density and orbitals corrected by the PZ-SIC scheme. This new xDH@SCAN(SIC) method provides a balanced and accurate description across a wide range of challenging systems.

Effectiveness of Problem Based-Learning Model Assisted by Phypox Application to Improve Students' Critical Thinking Skills

With the correct approach to education, students may develop their capacity for critical thinking. With the use of the phypox app, this research intends to detail how well a problem-based learning paradigm may improve students' critical thinking abilities. Eleven students from Science 2, 4, and 5 at SMA Negeri 22 in Surabaya participated in this quasi-experimental study by taking pre- and post-tests as a group. A quantitative descriptive approach was used for data analysis. With an average n-gain score of 0.80 for XI Science 2, 0.83 for XI Science 4, and 0.78 for XI Science 5, the findings demonstrated that students' critical thinking abilities increased. Classes 4 and 5 of the XI Science program had the greatest and lowest n-gains, respectively. And a Non-Parametric Anova Test result of 0.13 was achieved. After considering the evidence, it is clear that phypox-assisted problem-based learning significantly enhances high school students' critical thinking abilities.

Ecotoxicological assessment of waste-derived organic fertilizers and long-term monitoring of fertilized soils using a multi-matrix and multi-species approach

The present study investigates the ecotoxicity of 7 biofertilizers, including biowaste-derived organic matrices. Real-field tests were conducted to assess the impacts of soil fertilization with sewage sludge digestate from high-solid thermophilic anaerobic digestion (HSTAD) compared to those obtained on non-amended and urea-fertilized soils. The physical-chemical and ecotoxic impact of HSTAD digestate on soil was monitored for 12 months, at 5 time points and 2 soil depths, on a maize field divided in 3 portions (non-treated, fertilized with urea, amended with digestate). The chemical and physical characteristics of the soil were previously analyzed for 3 years to provide a long-term outlook of the impacts of biofertilizer application. Seven bioindicators were utilized for direct (on whole soil) and indirect (on soil elutriates) ecotoxicological tests on fertilizers and amended soils, including plant seeds (Lepidium sativum, Sorghum saccharatum, and Sinapsis alba), the aquatic organism Daphnia magna, the alga Raphidocelis subcapitata, the luminescent bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri, and the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. No serious negative effects on soil fertilized with HSTAD digestate were evidenced. Conversely, bioassays rather showed positive effects, encouraging the utilization of HSTAD digestate in agriculture, considering the proper concentrations of use. The obtained data were interpolated and a test battery integrated index was generated, confirming the absence of ecotoxicological risk for the soils amended with the applied fertilizers. The long-term evolution of the physical-chemical soil characteristics (including the concentrations of potential contaminants) was similar for both HSTAD digestate and urea application as well as for non-fertilized soil, indicating no negative effects due to digestate application on land. On the contrary, digestate application improved the content of stabilized organic matter and nutrients in soil. This study proposes a more correct approach to ecotoxicity assessment of fertilized soils for biofertilizer evaluation and demonstrates the long-term safe application of HSTAD digestate on agricultural soil.