Definitive diagnosis of Craniosynostosis (CS) with computed tomography (CT) is readily available, however, exposure to ionizing radiation is often a hard stop for parents and practitioners. Lowering head CT radiation exposure helps mitigate risks and improves diagnostic utilization. The purpose of the study is to quantify radiation exposure from head CT in patients with CS using a ‘new’ (ultra-low dose) protocol; compare prior standard CT protocol; summarize published reports on cumulative radiation doses from pediatric head CT scans utilizing other low-dose protocols. A retrospective study was conducted on patients undergoing surgical correction of CS, aged less than 2 years, between August 2014 and February 2022. Cumulative effective dose (CED) in mSv was calculated, descriptive statistics were performed, and mean ± SD was reported. A literature search was conducted describing cumulative radiation exposure from head CT in pediatric patients and analyzed for ionizing radiation measurements. Forty-four patients met inclusion criteria: 17 females and 27 males. Patients who obtained head CT using the ‘New’ protocol resulted in lower CED exposure of 0.32 mSv ± 0.07 compared to the prior standard protocol at 5.25 mSv ± 2.79 (p < 0.0001). Five studies specifically investigated the reduction of ionizing radiation from CT scans in patients with CS via the utilization of low-dose CT protocols. These studies displayed overall CED values ranging from 0.015 mSv to 0.77 mSv. Our new CT protocol resulted in 94% reduction of ionizing radiation. Ultra-low dose CT protocols provide similar diagnostic data without loss of bone differentiation in CS and can be easily incorporated into the workflow of a children’s hospital.

In marginalized ecosystem-dependent rural communities, access to ecosystem services plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable livelihoods. This study was conducted to find out the influence of various livelihood capital components on the access mechanism for forest-based Provisioning Services (PS) in some selected villages of the Gosaba Block on the fringes of the Sundarban. The contribution of the livelihood capitals to gain access to Provisioning Services (PS) was identified using factor analysis on 160 households, selected through cluster random sampling. The sustainability levels of livelihood capitals were analyzed using the Prescott-Allen method (2001). The natural, financial, social, and physical capitals were significantly below average, while the human capital was close to average. Enhancement of human, physical, financial, and social capital, ease in issuing Biometric Fisherman cards for entering forests, flexibility in borrowing loans, and ecotourism by involving local villagers must be encouraged to enhance forest-based provisioning services in the near future.

This paper is devoted to the determination of the dispersive component of the surface energy of two boron materials such as h-BN and BPO₄ surfaces by using the inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution. The specific interactions and Lewis’s acid-base parameters of these materials were calculated on the light of the new thermal model concerning the dependency of the surface area of organic molecules on the temperature, and by using also the classical methods of the inverse gas chromatography as well as the different molecular models such as Van der Waals, Redlich-Kwong, Kiselev, geometric, Gray, spherical, cylindrical and Hamieh models. It was proved that h-BN surface exhibits higher dispersive surface energy than BPO₄ material.

The specific properties of interaction of the two boron materials were determined. The results obtained by using the new thermal model taking into account the effect of the temperature on the surface area of molecules, proved that the classical IGC methods, gave inaccurate values of the specific parameters and Lewis’s acid base constants of the solid surfaces. The use of the thermal model allowed to conclude that h-BN surface has a Lewis basicity twice stronger than its acidity, whereas, BPO₄ surface presents an amphoteric character.

The characteristics of agricultural products are influenced by the ecosystem, from the perspective of biotic and abiotic factors, which produce in the plant physiological responses and in turn in the fruit unique physicochemical properties, which are the basis for designations of origin and strategies to add value to the product in the current market. In the present work, ten cocoa materials (Theobroma cacao L.) were selected for their outstanding productivity (FSV41, FLE3, FEAR5, FSA12, FEC2, SCC23, SCC80, SCC55, ICS95 and CCN51), which were established in the departments of Santander (931 m a.s.l.), Huila (931 m a.s.l.), Huila (931 m a.s.l.), Huila (931 m a.s.l.), Huila (931 m a.s.l.), Huila (931 m a.s.l.) and Huila (931 m a.s.l.). These were established in the departments of Santander (931 m a.s.l.), Huila (885 m a.s.l.) and Arauca (204 m a.s.l.), the main cocoa-producing areas in Colombia. For the evaluation of the physical characteristics of the collected materials, 21 quantitative descriptors were used to determine the physical variability of the fruit according to clone and place of collection. The data collected were analyzed by means of Pearson’s correlation matrix and principal component analysis, it was possible to identify those descriptors that contribute most to the variability among materials (ear index, diameter length ratio, seed weight and diameter, and fruit weight and length). In addition, it was possible to verify the effect of the place of harvest on the physical characteristics of the materials, high-lighting the importance of the adaptation study prior to the planting of the cocoa material, with the objective of guaranteeing a premium, productive and quality cocoa crop for the industry, which is competitive in the market.

With fresh bitter melon and green tea as main ingredients, xylitol, sucrose and citric acid as auxiliary ingredients, a new cool health tea beverage was developed. The optimum formula of low sugar bitter melon green tea compound beverage was developed by single factor experiment and orthogonal test based on sensory evaluation. The results showed that the optimum formula was as follows: Bitter melon juice was added at 7%, green tea extract was added at 20%, total xylitol and sucrose was 6% (mass ratio 1:1), citric acid was added at 0.2%, and the volume was fixed to 100% with deionized water. The product has light green color, harmonious aroma, moderate acidity and sweetness, and clear texture. The aftertaste is long, with tea polyphenol content of 342 mg/kg, soluble solids of 5.2% and pH 5.8.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the combined effect of bovine manure, Pseudomonas putida and Trichoderma aureoviride on the development of lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The promotion of plant growth by microorganisms may be a viable and sustainable alternative for lettuce crop management. The experimental design was entirely randomized with five treatments: T0 (witness without fertilization, P. putida and T. aureoviride), TE (cattle manure), TEB (cattle manure + P. putida), TEF (cattle manure + T. aureoviride), TEFB (cattle manure + P. putida + T. aureoviride) and ten repetitions each. The following variables were analyzed: germination velocity index (GVI), first count (FC), germination percentage (GP), leaf area index and productivity. The TEFB treatment proved to be a viable alternative for the production of lettuce, especially for small producers, since all the vegetable production in the region comes from family farming.