Self-energy of image states on copper surfaces

We report extensive calculations of the imaginary part of the electron self-energy in the vicinity of the (100) and (111) surfaces of Cu. The quasiparticle self-energy is computed by going beyond a free-electron description of the metal surface, either within the GW approximation of many-body theory or with inclusion, within the GW$\Gamma$ approximation, of short-range exchange-correlation effects. Calculations of the decay rate of the first three image states on Cu(100) and the first image state on Cu(111) are also reported, and the impact of both band structure and many-body effects on the electron relaxation process is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

The effects of sample position and gas flow pattern on the sintering of a 7xxx aluminum alloy

The effects of sample position and gas flow pattern on the sintering of a 7xxx aluminum alloy Al-7Zn-2.5Mg-1Cu in flowing nitrogen have been investigated both experimentally and numerically. The near-surface pore distribution and sintered density of the samples show a strong dependency on the sample separation distance over the range from 2 mm to 40 mm. The open porosity in each sample increases with increasing separation distance while the closed porosity remains essentially unchanged. A two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to analyze the gas flow behavior near the sample surfaces during isothermal sintering. The streamlines, velocity profile, and volume flow rate in the cavity between each two samples are presented as a function of the sample separation distance at a fixed nitrogen flow rate of 6 L/min. The CFD modeling results provide essential details for understanding the near-surface pore distribution and density of the sintered samples. It is proposed that the different gas flow patterns near the sample surfaces result in variations of the oxygen content from the incoming nitrogen flow in the local sintering atmosphere, which affects the self-gettering process of the aluminum compacts during sintering. This leads to the development of different near-surface pore distributions and sintered densities

Insider trading restrictions and earnings management

We study whether firms that voluntarily restrict insider trading have lower incentives for earnings management. Using a large sample of US firms, we measure these restrictions based on the extent to which insider transactions happen shortly after quarterly earnings announcements. We find that the adoption of insider trading restrictions is associated with a reduction of 9.92 percent in absolute discretionary accruals. Our findings are robust to controlling for changes in corporate governance, and we do not find evidence of a substitution effect between accruals and real earnings management, target beating or timeliness of loss recognition. Taken together, our results indicate that the voluntary adoption of blackout periods that limit insider trading improves the quality of financial reporting

Feasibility and clinical usefulness of the Unified Protocol in women survivors of violence

Violence against women is a serious public health problem. Worldwide, one in three women experiences violence throughout their lives. According to the triple vulnerability theory, being a survivor of violence could constitute a psychological vulnerability that would favor the appearance of emotional disorders, affecting their health, their style of parenting, and family well-being. The objective of this study is to verify the feasibility and usefulness of Unified Protocol (UP) in a group format for improving emotion regulation in women survivors of violence attended in the Specific Child and Adolescent Intervention Team (SCAIT), a social community service. The sample consists of 11 women who have experienced different types of violence who received the UP through 11 weekly, two-hour long and in group format sessions. Assessments were conducted at pre and post intervention and at 3, 6, and 12 months follow-up. The results of the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) show an increase in quality of life (including family relationships), self-esteem and extraversion scores, and a reduction in interference (including family life), neuroticism, somatization, anxiety, emotional lack of control, negative affect, depression, and emotional rejection scores. This evolution of the scores with the MANOVA takes into account all the evaluation time points (post, and follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months). The results were statistically significant (p < 0.05), and had large effect sizes (η2p > 0.14). In addition, the reliable change index was calculated to assess the change at an individual level of each of the participants for the different outcomes. 90.9% of the participants rated the quality of the program received as “excellent” and we obtained a high rate of session attendance (82.64%). These results justify the need for randomized controlled clinical studies to demonstrate the feasibility and clinical efficacy of the UP in this context. This intervention would allow to address the needs of this population, by offering them comprehensive care and improving their mental health from a biopsychosocial model. Likewise, it might indirectly improve the well-being of the rest of the family members

Psychometric properties and validation of the Spanish versions of the overall anxiety and depression severity and impairment scales

Background Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most frequent disorders for which patients seek care in public health settings in Spain. This study aimed at validating the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) and the Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS), which are brief screening scales for anxiety and depression consisting of only five items each. Methods The study was conducted in a Spanish clinical sample receiving outpatient mental health treatment (N = 339). A subsample of participants (n = 219) was assessed before and after receiving a course of cognitive-behavioral treatment. Results The results revealed excellent internal consistency estimates (Cronbach's alpha for the OASIS and the ODSIS was 0.87 and 0.94, respectively), along with promising convergent and discriminant validity and test-criterion relationships (i.e., moderate correlation with other measures of depression and anxiety, as well as with neuroticism, quality of life, adjustment, and negative affect). A one-dimensional structure was obtained for the OASIS and the ODSIS. The ROC analyses indicated an area under the curve of 0.83 for the OASIS and the ODSIS when predicting moderate-to-severe anxiety and depression, respectively. Good sensitivity to therapeutic change was also evidence and the analysis of the sensitivity as a function of 1-specificity area suggested a cutoff value of 10 for both scales. Limitations Inter-rater reliability of diagnoses with the ADIS-IV interview could not be investigated and the results obtained may not be generalizable to other samples and health settings. Conclusions The availability of these two short and psychometrically sound measures should make screening of anxiety and depressive symptoms in routine care more feasible

LAS ORGANIZACIONES FRENTE A LAS TIC: CONCEPTUALIZACIÓN Y CARACTERÍSTICAS

La organización virtual y las redes interorganizacionales buscan enfrentar la tendencia de globalización definida por la posibilidad que tiene un cliente de obtener un producto o servicio desde cualquier lugar del mundo sobrepasando los límites físicos y temporales de las empresas. Esto exige que las compañías se adapten a la complejidad de las interacciones y cuenten con estrategias que  respondan a la demanda de los consumidores y que logren coordinar en forma adecuada y oportuna las actividades que desarrollan las compañías que están involucradas en el proceso productivo o servicio a ofertar

Methemoglobinemia presenting in a circumcised baby following application of prilocaine: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Local anesthesia with prilocaine has become a routine part of ambulatory circumcision procedures. Methemoglobinemia is a rare but potentially lethal complication of local anesthetics.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 40-day-old Turkish boy who presented with cyanosis after receiving local anesthesia with prilocaine. His methemoglobin level revealed severe methemoglobinemia (methemoglobin = 44%). His cyanosis resolved after intravenous administration of methylene blue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although the association between prilocaine use and methemoglobinemia has generally restricted the use of prilocaine in babies, it is still widely used in ambulatory procedures, especially during circumcision in the neonatal period. Prilocaine should not be used in babies who are less than 3 months old because of the risk of methemoglobinemia; other local anesthetics may be used for this age group. Furthermore, general anesthesia by mask ventilation may be favored for babies less than 3 months of age instead of local anesthetics.</p

Usability, acceptability, and feasibility of two technology-based devices for mental health screening in perinatal care: A comparison of web versus app

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (web pages and apps) in mental health has boosted. However, it is unknown which of these two devices can be better in terms of feasibility and acceptability. Our aim is to compare the feasibility, usability, and user satisfaction of two devices (web vs mobile application) of an online program for perinatal depression screening called HappyMom. In total, 348 and 175 perinatal women registered into HappyMom web and app version, respectively. The assessment protocol included different biopsychosocial evaluations (twice during pregnancy and thrice in the postpartum) and a satisfaction questionnaire. Results showed that a higher percentage of women in the web sample (27.3–51.1%) responded to each assessment compared to the app sample (9.1–53.1%). A smaller proportion of women in web sample never responded to any assessments. By contrast, the percentage of women who responded to all assessments was higher in app sample (longitudinal retention sample was 4.6% of web users and 9.1% of app users). In general, high satisfaction was found in both web and app users. Our result showed that online assessment methods are feasible and acceptable by perinatal women. However, dropout rates are a real problem that urge a solution that will be discussed further in the paper. Web and App devices present different advantages and limitations. The choice of one of them must be made taking into account the study’s objective, the sample characteristics, and the dissemination possibilities

Computational Identification and Analysis of the Key Biosorbent Characteristics for the Biosorption Process of Reactive Black 5 onto Fungal Biomass

The performances of nine biosorbents derived from dead fungal biomass were investigated for their ability to remove Reactive Black 5 from aqueous solution. The biosorption data for removal of Reactive Black 5 were readily modeled using the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Kinetic analysis based on both pseudo-second-order and Weber-Morris models indicated intraparticle diffusion was the rate limiting step for biosorption of Reactive Black 5 on to the biosorbents. Sorption capacities of the biosorbents were not correlated with the initial biosorption rates. Sensitivity analysis of the factors affecting biosorption examined by an artificial neural network model showed that pH was the most important parameter, explaining 22%, followed by nitrogen content of biosorbents (16%), initial dye concentration (15%) and carbon content of biosorbents (10%). The biosorption capacities were not proportional to surface areas of the sorbents, but were instead influenced by their chemical element composition. The main functional groups contributing to dye sorption were amine, carboxylic, and alcohol moieties. The data further suggest that differences in carbon and nitrogen contents of biosorbents may be used as a selection index for identifying effective biosorbents from dead fungal biomass