Determination of the spatial and temporal variation of tropospheric water vapour using CGPS networks

Tropospheric water vapour is the main limiting factor in using GPS to determine crustal deformation at highest accuracy. On the other hand, it is an important variable to monitor meteorological and climatic processes. This paper discusses both aspects: the modelling of tropospheric water vapour using meteorological data as well as the determination of the integrated amount of water vapour and its spatiotemporal variation using GPS data. Switzerland has been chosen as experiment area. The Swiss continuous GPS (CGPS) network AGNES is used as a reference network, which represents a realistic scenario for GPS-based water vapour determination. Data of the Swiss numerical weather model aLMo are used for systematic comparison and validation. For the first aspect, integrated tropospheric wet refractivity values are determined from meteorological measurements and compared with GPS path delays. An overall agreement of 1 cm of zenith wet path delay was achieved. For the second aspect a tomographic approach has been developed. A total of 6720 GPS-determined profiles are compared with data of the numerical weather model and radio soundings. The results are statistically evaluated and systematically compared with each other. A correlation between the accuracy and the weather situation was found. Overall, an agreement of 5-7 ppm (refractivity unit) was obtained compared to aLMo. The use of GPS-determined path delays from a permanent GPS network is the recommended method to correct GPS measurements. In all other cases, the two methods presented (COITROPA, COMEDIE) are a feasible alternative to determine path delays accurately. Furthermore, GPS is a convenient application to determine the amount of water vapour in the troposphere. It is demonstrated that the vertical distribution of water vapour can be deduced by applying the tomographic approac

Determination of the spatial and temporal variation of tropospheric water vapour using CGPS networks

Tropospheric water vapour is the main limiting factor in using GPS to determine crustal deformation at highest accuracy. On the other hand, it is an important variable to monitor meteorological and climatic processes. This paper discusses both aspects: the modelling of tropospheric water vapour using meteorological data as well as the determination of the integrated amount of water vapour and its spatiotemporal variation using GPS data. Switzerland has been chosen as experiment area. The Swiss continuous GPS (CGPS) network AGNES is used as a reference network, which represents a realistic scenario for GPS-based water vapour determination. Data of the Swiss numerical weather model aLMo are used for systematic comparison and validation. For the first aspect, integrated tropospheric wet refractivity values are determined from meteorological measurements and compared with GPS path delays. An overall agreement of 1 cm of zenith wet path delay was achieved. For the second aspect a tomographic approach has been developed. A total of 6720 GPS-determined profiles are compared with data of the numerical weather model and radio soundings. The results are statistically evaluated and systematically compared with each other. A correlation between the accuracy and the weather situation was found. Overall, an agreement of 5-7 ppm (refractivity unit) was obtained compared to aLMo. The use of GPS-determined path delays from a permanent GPS network is the recommended method to correct GPS measurements. In all other cases, the two methods presented (COITROPA, COMEDIE) are a feasible alternative to determine path delays accurately. Furthermore, GPS is a convenient application to determine the amount of water vapour in the troposphere. It is demonstrated that the vertical distribution of water vapour can be deduced by applying the tomographic approac

Co-Rooming Accounts for Socioeconomic Disparities in Infant Sleep Quality among Families Living in Urban Environments

Poor infant sleep quality is associated with negative maternal and infant health outcomes. This study measures socioeconomic disparities in infant sleep quality, and assesses whether child sleep location and maternal stress mediate associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and infant sleep quality. The study includes 86 socioeconomically diverse, mother-infant dyads living in an urban area with infants aged 6–12 months. Mothers reported socioeconomic demographics, infant sleep quality (Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire) and maternal subjective stress (Perceived Stress Scale). Maternal objective stress was measured via hair cortisol concentration (HCC). The associations among SES, infant sleep quality, infant co-rooming, and maternal stress were assessed. Infants from families with lower income-to-needs (ITN) ratios had poorer infant sleep quality. The association between familial ITN and infant sleep quality was mediated by whether the child co-rooms with parents. Maternal perceived stress was independently associated with infant sleep quality, but HCC was not associated with infant sleep quality

O direito penal argentino e os desafios da participação do cidadão como direito humano

The right to public participation is a human right with robust content (not limited to electoral participation), however, criminal law in Argentina is debated, created, modified and applied without a strong intervention of the citizenship. This is despite the existence of institutional and informal mechanisms that seek to enforce the right to public participation. In this work we propose to investigate the scope of public participation on the law enforcement procedures, the participation in judicial cases and the jury trial. To this end, firstly (I), we will analyze and contextualize the scope of the right to participation in the field of international human rights law. Then (II), we will evaluate whether or not the institutional channels of participation in the criminal field (and in general) are sufficient in light of human rights standards. This will lead us to analyze (III) certain non-institutionalized channels of participation. Finally (IV), we will set out the challenges facing Argentina's criminal law in order to comply with the scope of public participation from a human rights perspective.El derecho de participación ciudadana es un derecho humano con contenido robusto (no limitado a la participación electoral), sin embargo, las normas penales en Argentina se debaten, crean, modifican y aplican sin intervención robusta de la ciudadanía. Esto pese a que existen vías institucionales y canales informales que buscan dar cumplimiento a este derecho. En este trabajo nos proponemos indagar los alcances de la participación ciudadana en los procesos de sanción de leyes, en la participación en casos judiciales y el juicio por jurados. Para esto, en primer lugar (I), analizaremos y contextualizaremos los alcances del derecho de participación en el ámbito del Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos. Luego (II), evaluaremos si los canales de participación institucionales en el ámbito penal (y en general) son o no suficientes a la luz de las exigencias en materia de derechos humanos. Esto nos llevará a analizar (III) ciertos canales de participación no institucionalizados. Por último (IV), plantearemos los desafíos que enfrenta el derecho penal argentino para dar cumplimiento a los alcances de la participación ciudadana desde un enfoque de derechos humanos.Le droit à la participation citoyenne est un droit humain avec un contenu solide (non limité à la participation électorale), cependant, les réglementations pénales en Argentine sont débattues, créées, modifiées et appliquées sans intervention solide des citoyens. Ceci malgré le fait qu'il existe des canaux institutionnels et des canaux informels qui cherchent à se conformer à ce droit. Dans ce travail, nous proposons d'étudier la portée de la participation citoyenne aux processus de sanction des lois, à la participation aux affaires judiciaires et au procès par jury. Pour cela, en premier lieu (I), nous analyserons et contextualiserons la portée du droit de participation dans le domaine du droit international des droits de l'homme. Puis (II), nous évaluerons si les canaux de participation institutionnelle dans la sphère criminelle (et en général) sont ou ne sont pas suffisants au regard des revendications des droits de l'homme. Cela nous amènera à analyser (III) certains canaux de participation non institutionnalisés. Enfin (IV), nous présenterons les défis auxquels le droit pénal argentin est confronté pour se conformer à la portée de la participation citoyenne du point de vue des droits de l'homme.O direito à participação cidadã é um direito humano com conteúdo robusto (não limitado à participação eleitoral), no entanto, as regulamentações criminais na Argentina são debatidas, criadas, modificadas e aplicadas sem a intervenção robusta dos cidadãos. Isso apesar de existirem canais institucionais e canais informais que buscam o cumprimento desse direito. Neste trabalho propomos investigar o alcance da participação do cidadão nos processos de sanção de leis, na participação em processos judiciais e no julgamento por júri. Para isso, em primeiro lugar (I), analisaremos e contextualizaremos o alcance do direito de participação no campo do Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos. Em seguida (II), avaliaremos se os canais de participação institucional na esfera criminal (e em geral) são ou não suficientes à luz das demandas de direitos humanos. Isso nos levará a analisar (III) alguns canais de participação não institucionalizados. Finalmente (IV), apresentaremos os desafios enfrentados pelo direito penal argentino para cumprir o âmbito da participação cidadã desde uma perspectiva de direitos humanos

Psychosocial Deprivation, Executive Functions, and the Emergence of Socio-Emotional Behavior Problems

Early psychosocial deprivation can negatively impact the development of executive functions (EFs). Here we explore the impact of early psychosocial deprivation on behavioral and physiological measures (i.e., event-related potentials; ERPs) of two facets of EF, inhibitory control and response monitoring, and their associations with internalizing and externalizing outcomes in the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP; Zeanah et al., 2003). This project focuses on two groups of children placed in institutions shortly after birth and then randomly assigned in infancy to either a foster care intervention or to remain in their current institutional setting. A group of community controls was recruited for comparison. The current study assesses these children at 8-years of age examining the effects of early adversity, the potential effects of the intervention on EF and the role of EF skills in socio-emotional outcomes. Results reveal exposure to early psychosocial deprivation was associated with impaired inhibitory control on a flanker task. Children in the foster care intervention exhibited better response monitoring compared to children who remained in the institution on the error-related positivity (Pe). Moreover, among children in the foster care intervention those who exhibited larger error-related negativity (ERN) responses had lower levels of socio-emotional behavior problems. Overall, these data identify specific aspects of EF that contribute to adaptive and maladaptive socio-emotional outcomes among children experiencing early psychosocial deprivation

The beneficial effects of a positive attention bias amongst children with a history of psychosocial deprivation

Children raised in institutions experience psychosocial deprivation that has detrimental influences on attention and mental health. The current study examined patterns of attention biases in children from institutions who were randomized at approximately 21.6 months to receive either a high-quality foster care intervention or care-as-usual. At age 12, children performed a dot-probe task and indices of attention bias were calculated. Additionally, children completed a social stress paradigm and cortisol reactivity was computed. Children randomized into foster care (N=40) exhibited an attention bias toward positive stimuli but not threat, whereas children who received care-as-usual (N=40) and a never-institutionalized comparison group (N=47) showed no bias. Stability of foster care placement was related to positive bias, while instability of foster care placement was related to threat bias. The magnitude of the positive bias was associated with fewer internalizing problems and better coping mechanisms. Within the foster care group, positive attention bias was related to less blunted cortisol reactivity

Extended lymph node resection versus standard resection for pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Pancreatic and periampullary adenocarcinomas account for some of the most aggressive malignancies, and the leading causes of cancer-related mortalities. Partial pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) with negative resection margins is the only potentially curative therapy. The high prevalence of lymph node metastases has led to the hypothesis that wider excision with the removal of more lymphatic tissue could result in an improvement of survival, and higher rates of negative resection margins. OBJECTIVES To compare overall survival following standard (SLA) versus extended lymph lymphadenectomy (ELA) for pancreatic head and periampullary adenocarcinoma. We also compared secondary outcomes, such as morbidity, mortality, and tumour involvement of the resection margins between the two procedures. SEARCH METHODS We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase from 1973 to September 2020; we applied no language restrictions. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials (RCT) comparing PD with SLA versus PD with ELA, including participants with pancreatic head and periampullary adenocarcinoma. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two review authors independently screened references and extracted data from study reports. We calculated pooled risk ratios (RR) for most binary outcomes except for postoperative mortality, for which we estimated a Peto odds ratio (Peto OR), and mean differences (MD) for continuous outcomes. We used a fixed-effect model in the absence of substantial heterogeneity (I² 25%). Two review authors independently assessed risk of bias, and we used GRADE to assess the quality of the evidence for important outcomes. MAIN RESULTS We included seven studies with 843 participants (421 ELA and 422 SLA). All seven studies included Kaplan-Meier curves for overall survival. There was little or no difference in survival between groups (log hazard ratio (log HR) 0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) -3.06 to 3.31; P = 0.94; seven studies, 843 participants; very low-quality evidence). There was little or no difference in postoperative mortality between the groups (Peto odds ratio (OR) 1.20, 95% CI 0.51 to 2.80; seven studies, 843 participants; low-quality evidence). Operating time was probably longer for ELA (mean difference (MD) 50.13 minutes, 95% CI 19.19 to 81.06 minutes; five studies, 670 participants; moderate-quality evidence). There was substantial heterogeneity between the studies (I² = 88%; P < 0.00001). There may have been more blood loss during ELA (MD 137.43 mL, 95% CI 11.55 to 263.30 mL; two studies, 463 participants; very low-quality evidence). There was substantial heterogeneity between the studies (I² = 81%, P = 0.02). There may have been more lymph nodes retrieved during ELA (MD 11.09 nodes, 95% CI 7.16 to 15.02; five studies, 670 participants; moderate-quality evidence). There was substantial heterogeneity between the studies (I² = 81%, P < 0.00001). There was little or no difference in the incidence of positive resection margins between groups (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.13; six studies, 783 participants; very low-quality evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS There is no evidence of an impact on survival with extended versus standard lymph node resection. However, the operating time may have been longer and blood loss greater in the extended resection group. In conclusion, current evidence neither supports nor refutes the effect of extended lymph lymphadenectomy in people with adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas

The Impact of a Poverty Reduction Intervention on Infant Brain Activity

Early childhood poverty is a risk factor for lower school achievement, reduced earnings, and poorer health, and has been associated with differences in brain structure and function. Whether poverty causes differences in neurodevelopment, or is merely associated with factors that cause such differences, remains unclear. Here, we report estimates of the causal impact of a poverty reduction intervention on brain activity in the first year of life. We draw data from a subsample of the Baby's First Years study, which recruited 1,000 diverse low-income mother–infant dyads. Shortly after giving birth, mothers were randomized to receive either a large or nominal monthly unconditional cash gift. Infant brain activity was assessed at approximately 1 y of age in the child's home, using resting electroencephalography (EEG; n = 435). We hypothesized that infants in the high-cash gift group would have greater EEG power in the mid- to high-frequency bands and reduced power in a low-frequency band compared with infants in the low-cash gift group. Indeed, infants in the high-cash gift group showed more power in high-frequency bands. Effect sizes were similar in magnitude to many scalable education interventions, although the significance of estimates varied with the analytic specification. In sum, using a rigorous randomized design, we provide evidence that giving monthly unconditional cash transfers to mothers experiencing poverty in the first year of their children's lives may change infant brain activity. Such changes reflect neuroplasticity and environmental adaptation and display a pattern that has been associated with the development of subsequent cognitive skills

Infants’ experience-dependent processing of male and female faces: Insights from eye tracking and event-related potentials

The goal of the present study was to investigate infants' processing of female and male faces. We used an event-related potential (ERP) priming task, as well as a visual-paired comparison (VPC) eye tracking task to explore how 7-month-old "female expert" infants differed in their responses to faces of different genders. Female faces elicited larger N290 amplitudes than male faces. Furthermore, infants showed a priming effect for female faces only, whereby the N290 was significantly more negative for novel females compared to primed female faces. The VPC experiment was designed to test whether infants could reliably discriminate between two female and two male faces. Analyses showed that infants were able to differentiate faces of both genders. The results of the present study suggest that 7-month olds with a large amount of female face experience show a processing advantage for forming a neural representation of female faces, compared to male faces. However, the enhanced neural sensitivity to the repetition of female faces is not due to the infants' inability to discriminate male faces. Instead, the combination of results from the two tasks suggests that the differential processing for female faces may be a signature of expert-level processing

Is healthy neuroticism associated with health behaviors? A coordinated integrative data analysis

Current literature suggests that neuroticism is positively associated with maladaptive life choices, likelihood of disease, and mortality. However, recent research has identified circumstances under which neuroticism is associated with positive outcomes. The current project examined whether “healthy neuroticism”, defined as the interaction of neuroticism and conscientiousness, was associated with the following health behaviors: smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Using a pre-registered multi-study coordinated integrative data analysis (IDA) approach, we investigated whether “healthy neuroticism” predicted the odds of engaging in each of the aforementioned activities. Each study estimated identical models, using the same covariates and data transformations, enabling optimal comparability of results. These results were then meta-analyzed in order to estimate an average (N-weighted) effect and to ascertain the extent of heterogeneity in the effects. Overall, these results suggest that neuroticism alone was not related to health behaviors, while individuals higher in conscientiousness were less likely to be smokers or drinkers, and more likely to engage in physical activity. In terms of the healthy neuroticism interaction of neuroticism and conscientiousness, significant interactions for smoking and physical activity suggest that the association between neuroticism and health behaviors was smaller among those high in conscientiousness. These findings lend credence to the idea that healthy neuroticism may be linked to certain health behaviors and that these effects are generalizable across several heterogeneous samples