RESUMO
Corn salad (Valerianella locusta) is a popular winter salad, cultivated as an ingredient for ready-to-eat salads. The application of mild salinity stress (eustress) can increase the flavor and reduce the nitrate content of certain crops but, at the same time, a wrong choice of the eustress type and dose can negatively affect the overall productivity. In this research, the effects of different isosmotic salt solutions, corresponding to two different electrical conductivity (EC) levels, were investigated on the yield and mineral composition of hydroponically grown Valerianella locusta "Elixir". Five nutrient solutions (NS) were compared, including a basic NS used as the control, and four saline NS were obtained by adding to the basic NS either NaCl or CaCl2 at two rates each, corresponding to two isosmotic salt levels at a low and high EC level. Corn salad proved moderately susceptible to long-term salinity stress, suffering growth losses at both low and high EC levels of saline solution, except from the low NaCl treatment. Hence, it appears that mild salinity stress induced by NaCl could be employed as an eustress solution and corn salad could be cultivated with low-quality irrigation water (20 mM NaCl) in hydroponic systems.
RESUMO
Bedside infotainment technology has been gaining popularity, helping providers to address patient needs and improve hospitalization experience. Such systems have the potential to become valuable tools for medical and nursing personnel, with the integration of patient monitoring features, bolstering efficiency and coordination. Extending their utility beyond conventional monitoring, the incorporation of affective computing capabilities would allow for early detection of potentially dangerous situations, as an individual's emotional state has a direct effect on their health, cognitive status, behaviour and quality of life. Furthermore, the addition of a serious games module would provide additional value for patients with cognitive decline or mobility issues. This work presents a novel bedside infotainment system, equipped with the aforementioned capabilities and designed to address the needs of patients in long-term care facilities, such as recreation and rehabilitation centres.
