Simulating Turing Machines with Polarizationless P Systems with Active Membranes

We prove that every single-tape deterministic Turing machine working in t(n) t(n) time, for some function t:N→N t:N→N , can be simulated by a uniform family of polarizationless P systems with active membranes. Moreover, this is done without significant slowdown in the working time. Furthermore, if logt(n) log⁡t(n) is space constructible, then the members of the uniform family can be constructed by a family machine that uses O(logt(n)) O(log⁡t(n)) space.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TIN2012-3743

Does alexithymia have a mediating effect between impulsivity and emotional-behavioral functioning in adolescents with binge eating disorder?

Objective: Binge eating Disorder (BeD) has recently been included in the Dsm-5. like many other eating disorder symptoms, BED is often present in adolescence. No studies have specifically investigated the influence of impulsivity and alexithymia on the emotional-behavioural functioning of adolescents diagnosed with BeD. Method: in this study, we recruited n = 162 adolescents (age range: 14-18) and divided them into two groups: 78 adolescents diagnosed with BeD, according to the Dsm-5 criteria (group A), and 84 healthy controls (group B). participants completed the youth self-report (ysr/11-18), the toronto Alexithymia scale (tAs-20) and the Barratt impulsiveness scale (Bis-11). Results: the results showed that group A had higher scores of alexithymia, impulsivity and maladaptive emotionalbehavioural functioning than Group B. Furthermore, alexithymia had a mediating effect on the relationship between impulsivity and emotional-behavioural functioning. Conclusions: These results allow us to hypothesise that alexithymia is a key variable influencing the emotional and behavioural problems of adolescents affected by BED. Our data confirms the previous studies underlining the association of impulsivity and alexithymia with the diagnosis of BeD in adolescents, and our study contributes to the previous literature, emphasising the central role of alexithymia in the mediating effect between impulsivity and emotional and behavioural problems. these results suggest the importance of promoting prevention and treatment polices focused on alexithymia

Quality of Life and psychopathology in adults who underwent Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) in childhood: a qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Background: Patients who undergo pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) may experience long-term psychological sequelae and poor Quality of Life (QoL) in adulthood. This study aimed to investigate subjective illness experience, QoL, and psychopathology in young adults who have survived pediatric HSCT. Method: The study involved patients treated with HSCT in the Hematology-Oncology Department between 1984 and 2007. Psychopathology and QoL were investigated using the SCL-90-R and SF-36. Socio-demographic and medical information was also collected. Finally, participants were asked to write a brief composition about their experiences of illness and care. Qualitative analysis of the texts was performed using T-LAB, an instrument for text analysis that allows the user to highlight the occurrences and co-occurrences of lemma. Quantitative analyses were performed using non-parametric tests (Spearman correlations, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests). Results: Twenty-one patients (9 males) participated in the study. No significant distress was found on the SCL-90 Global Severity Index, but it was found on specific scales. On the SF-36, lower scores were reported on scales referring to bodily pain, general health, and physical and social functioning. All the measures were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with specific socio-demographic and medical variables (gender, type of pathology, type of HSCT, time elapsed between communication of the need to transplant and effective transplantation, and days of hospitalization). With regard to the narrative analyses, males focused on expressions related to the body and medical therapies, while females focused on people they met during treatment, family members, and donors. Low general health and treatment with autologous HSCT were associated with memories about chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and the body parts involved, while high general health was associated with expressions focused on gratitude (V-Test \ub1 1.96). Conclusion: Pediatric HSCT survivors are more likely to experience psychological distress and low QoL in adulthood compared with the general population. These aspects, along with survivors' subjective illness experience, show differences according to specific medical and socio-demographic variables. Studies are needed in order to improve the care and long-term follow-up of these families

Facies architecture, emplacement mechanisms and eruption style of the submarine andesite El Barronal complex, Cabo de Gata, SE Spain

El Barronal complex consists of a succession of andesite lavas and andesite volcaniclastic facies interbedded with carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. Carbonate and siliciclastic rocks were deposited in a shallow-marine environment during periods of volcanic quiescence. Lavas consist of an inner coherent core grading outward into hyaloclastite breccia made of dense clasts that in turn grade into hyaloclastite breccia made of vesicular clasts, in massive to layered zones. Volcaniclastic facies contain clasts produced during explosive eruptions and reworked clasts from sources above wave base. Volcaniclastic facies were deposited from cold granular flows with different grain size populations. Stratigraphy and facies architecture at El Barronal suggest that a succession of several discrete eruptive events occurred with a similar cyclic pattern made of an initial explosive phase followed by effusive emplacement of lavas, in turn followed by a period of quiescence of volcanic activity. Hyaloclastic fragmentation of magma took place in the final stages of lava emplacement, allowing only for local disorganization of the jigsaw-fit texture. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.This research has been funded by projects CGL2005-03511/BTE and HI2006-0073Peer Reviewe

The Gamma-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (GRIS): A new balloon-borne experiment for gamma-ray line astronomy

High resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy is a relatively new field that holds great promise for further understanding of high energy astrophysical processes. When the high resolution gamma-ray spectrometer (GRSE) was removed from the GRO payload, a balloon program was initiated to permit continued development and improvement of instrumentation in this field, as well as continued scientific observations. The Gamma-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (GRIS) is one of the experiments selected as part of this program. The instrument contains a number of new and innovative features that are expected to produce a significant improvement in source location accuracy and sensitivity over previous balloon and satellite experiments

Финансово-экономический механизм функционирования кредитных союзов в Украине

Цель статьи - исследование финансово-экономического механизма функционирования кредитных союзов как альтернативного финансирования населения, что позволяет максимально приблизить финансовые услуги к потребителям, создать надлежащие условия для долгосрочного кредитования с применением современной рыночной инфраструктуры и финансовых инструментов

T-L technique for HoLEP: perioperative outcomes of a large single-centre series

Introduction: The aim of this article was to describe, step-by-step, an original technique (T-L technique) in a single centre series of patients who underwent holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia and analyze perioperative outcomes. Material and methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of 567 patients who underwent HoLEP. The T-L technique consists of a series of incisions used as landmarks, performed at the beginning of the procedure before enucleation. Two T-shape incisions are performed at the level of bladder neck (at the 5-7 and 12 o'clock positions); two L-shape incisions are performed at the level of verumontanum, bilaterally, to mark the apex and to limit the sphincter. Another T-shape incision is performed on the bladder neck at the 12 o'clock position posterior to the level of verumontanum. Results: The median operative time (OT) was 80 minutes (IQR 64-105); 50 minutes (IQR 35-70) and 15 minutes (IQR 10-20) for enucleation and the morcellation phase, respectively. Conversion to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) was necessary in 3/567 (0.6%) patients. Intraoperative complications occurred in 3.4% of cases, capsule perforation occurred in 12/567 (2%) of cases, while bladder perforation during morcellation occurred in 8/567 (1.4%) of cases. Postoperative complications were observed in 20/567 (3.5%) of patients. Specifically, grade 1-2 occurred in 19/567 (3.3%) and grade 3 was recorded in 1/567 (0.2%). Conclusions: The T-L technique for HoLEP is safe and reproducible with a low rate of perioperative complications. The positioning of some landmarks before enucleation allows for the better orientation during enucleation and could be very useful in case of large prostates

Venous thromboembolism in patients with COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) may complicate the course of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of VTE in patients with COVID-19. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed were searched up to 24th June 2020 for studies that evaluated the incidence of VTE, including pulmonary embolism (PE) and/or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), in patients with COVID-19. Pooled proportions with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) and prediction intervals (PI) were calculated by random-effect meta-analysis. Results: 3487 patients from 30 studies were included. Based on very low-quality evidence due to heterogeneity and risk of bias, the incidence of VTE was 26% (95% PI, 6%–66%). PE with or without DVT occurred in 12% of patients (95% PI, 2%–46%) and DVT alone in 14% (95% PI, 1%–75%). Studies using standard algorithms for clinically suspected VTE reported PE in 13% of patients (95% PI, 2%–57%) and DVT in 6% (95% PI, 0%–60%), compared to 11% (95% PI, 2%–46%) and 24% (95% PI, 2%–85%) in studies using other diagnostic strategies or patient sampling. In patients admitted to intensive care units, VTE occurred in 24% (95% PI, 5%–66%), PE in 19% (95% PI, 6%–47%), and DVT alone in 7% (95% PI, 0%–69%). Corresponding values in general wards were respectively 9% (95% PI, 0%–94%), 4% (95% PI, 0%–100%), and 7% (95% CI, 1%–49%). Conclusions: VTE represents a frequent complication in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and often occurs as PE. The threshold for clinical suspicion should be low to trigger prompt diagnostic testing

Molecular targets of developmental exposure to bisphenol A in diabesity: a focus on endoderm-derived organs

Several studies associate foetal human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) to metabolic/endocrine diseases, mainly diabesity. They describe the role of BPA in the disruption of pancreatic beta cell, adipocyte and hepatocyte functions. Indeed, the complexity of the diabesity phenotype is due to the involvement of different endoderm-derived organs, all targets of BPA. Here, we analyse this point delineating a picture of different mechanisms of BPA toxicity in endoderm-derived organs leading to diabesity. Moving from epidemiological data, we summarize the in vivo experimental data of the BPA effects on endoderm-derived organs (thyroid, pancreas, liver, gut, prostate and lung) after prenatal exposure. Mainly, we gather molecular data evidencing harmful effects at low-dose exposure, pointing to the risk to human health. Although the fragmentation of molecular data does not allow a clear conclusion to be drawn, the present work indicates that the developmental exposure to BPA represents a risk for endoderm-derived organs development as it deregulates the gene expression from the earliest developmental stages. A more systematic analysis of BPA impact on the transcriptomes of endoderm-derived organs is still missing. Here, we suggest in vitro toxicogenomics approaches as a tool for the identification of common mechanisms of BPA toxicity leading to the diabesity in organs having the same developmental origin

Characterization of estrogenic activity and site‐specific accumulation of bisphenol‐a in epididymal fat pad: Interfering effects on the endocannabinoid system and temporal progression of germ cells

The objective of this work has been to characterize the estrogenic activity of bisphenol‐A (BPA) and the adverse effects on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in modulating germ cell progression. Male offspring exposed to BPA during the foetal‐perinatal period at doses below the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect‐level were used to investigate the exposure effects in adulthood. Results showed that BPA accumulates specifically in epididymal fat rather than in abdominal fat and targets testicular expression of 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and cytochrome P450 aromatase, thus promoting sustained increase of estrogens and a decrease of testosterone. The exposure to BPA affects the expression levels of some ECS components, namely type‐1 (CB1) and type‐2 cannabinoid (CB2) receptor and monoacylglycerol‐lipase (MAGL). Furthermore, it affects the temporal progression of germ cells reported to be responsive to ECS and promotes epithelial germ cell exfoliation. In particular, it increases the germ cell content (i.e., spermatogonia while reducing spermatocytes and spermatids), accelerates progression of spermatocytes and spermatids, promotes epithelial detachment of round and condensed spermatids and interferes with expression of cell–cell junction genes (i.e., zonula occcludens protein‐1, vimentin and β‐catenin). Altogether, our study provides evidence that early exposure to BPA produces in adulthood sustained and site‐specific BPA accumulation in epididymal fat, becoming a risk factor for the reproductive endocrine pathways associated to ECS