A Finite Element‑Based Methodology for the Thermo‑mechanical Analysis of Early Age Behavior in Concrete Structures

This paper presents a general procedure based on fracture mechanics models in order to analyze the level of cracking and structural safety in reinforced concrete elements at early ages, depending on the stripping time. Our procedure involves the development of a thermo-mechanical numerical model based on the finite element method that accounts for the change in the mechanical properties of concrete with time. Moreover, fracture mechanisms are analyzed by means of a material damage model, which is characterized via specific experimental results obtained for standard specimens and notched beams under three-point bending testing. The loading conditions are both thermal and mechanical, and are obtained from the hydration process for a given concrete dosage. The presented methodology allows for the determination of the optimal stripping time, whereas it helps assessing the analysis of the cracking and the stress states of the elements under consideration. A practical application, namely the analysis of a retaining wall, is used to validate our methodology, showing its suitability in engineering practice.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIA2016-75431-

Efectos del programa CIPRES sobre el riesgo de suicidio en adolescentes

El estudio tuvo por objetivo evaluar los cambios específicos generados por el programa CIPRES sobre el riesgo suicida en adolescentes. La muestra se configuró con 106 adolescentes entre los 13 y 18 años (53 experimentales, 53 controles), de los cuales el 54.7% eran mujeres (n = 58). El estudio utilizó un diseño cuasi-experimental de medidas repetidas pretest-postest con grupo de control. Se administraron dos instrumentos de evaluación antes y después de la aplicación del programa: la Escala de Riesgo Suicida (ERS) y el Inventario de Ideación Suicida Positiva y Negativa (PANSI). Los ANCOVAs pretest-postest evidenciaron que el programa redujo significativamente (p < .05) las puntuaciones en ideación suicida, planificación, autolesión, aislamiento/soporte social, falta de apoyo familiar, y riesgo suicida global. Además, aumentó significativamente las puntuaciones en ideación positiva. Los resultados apuntan a la relevancia de este programa para reducir el riesgo suicida en adolescentes.Effects of the CIPRES program on suicidal risk in adolescents. The objective of the study was to evaluate the specific changes generated by the CIPRES program on suicidal risk in adolescents. The sample comprised 106 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years old (53 in the experimental group, 53 in the control group), of which 54.7% were women (n = 58). The study used a quasi-experimental design of repeated pretest-posttest measures with a control group. Two assessment instruments were administered before and after the program: The Scale of the Suicide Risk (ERS) and the Inventory of Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation (PANSI). The pretest-posttest ANCOVAs showed that the program significantly reduced (p < .05) the scores of suicidal ideation, planning, self-harm, isolation/social support, lack of family support, and global suicide risk. In addition, it significantly increased positive ideation scores. The results support the relevance of this program to reduce suicidal risk in adolescents

Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis (CBQp): Spanish Validation and Relationship With Cognitive Insight in Psychotic Patients

Introduction: Cognitive biases are key factors in the development and persistence of delusions in psychosis. The Cognitive Biases Questionnaire for Psychosis (CBQp) is a new self-reported questionnaire of 30 relevant situations to evaluate five types of cognitive biases in psychosis. In the context of the validation of the Spanish version of the CBQp, our objectives were to (1) analyze the factorial structure of the questionnaire with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (2) relate cognitive biases with a widely used scale in the field of delusion cognitive therapies for assessing metacognition, specifically, Beck's Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) (1), and, finally, (3) associate cognitive biases with delusional experiences, evaluated with the Peters Delusions Inventory (PDI) (2). Materials and Methods: An authorized Spanish version of the CBQp, by a translation and back-translation procedure, was obtained. A sample of 171 patients with different diagnoses of psychoses was included. A CFA was used to test three different construct models. Associations between CBQp biases, the BCIS, and the PDI were made by correlation and mean differences. Comparisons of the CBQp scores between a control group and patients with psychosis were analyzed. Results: The CFA showed comparative fit index (CFI) values of 0.94 and 0.95 for the models with one, two, and five factors, with root mean square error of approximation values of 0.031 and 0.029. The CBQp reliability was 0.87. Associations between cognitive biases, self-certainty, and cognitive insight subscales of the BCIS were found. Similarly, associations between total punctuation, conviction, distress, and concern subscales of the PDI were also found. When compared with the group of healthy subjects, patients with psychoses scored significantly higher in several cognitive biases. Conclusion: Given the correlation between biases, a one-factor model might be more appropriate to explain the scale's underlying construct. Biases were associated with a greater frequency of delusions, distress, conviction, and concern as well as worse cognitive insight in patients with psychosis

Defective HNF4alpha-dependent gene expression as a driver of hepatocellular failure in alcoholic hepatitis

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a life-threatening condition characterized by profound hepatocellular dysfunction for which targeted treatments are urgently needed. Identification of molecular drivers is hampered by the lack of suitable animal models. By performing RNA sequencing in livers from patients with different phenotypes of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), we show that development of AH is characterized by defective activity of liver-enriched transcription factors (LETFs). TGFβ1 is a key upstream transcriptome regulator in AH and induces the use of HNF4α P2 promoter in hepatocytes, which results in defective metabolic and synthetic functions. Gene polymorphisms in LETFs including HNF4α are not associated with the development of AH. In contrast, epigenetic studies show that AH livers have profound changes in DNA methylation state and chromatin remodeling, affecting HNF4α-dependent gene expression. We conclude that targeting TGFβ1 and epigenetic drivers that modulate HNF4α-dependent gene expression could be beneficial to improve hepatocellular function in patients with AH

Efficacy and safety of HCV-treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents interferon-free, in patients with severe renal impairment in clinical practice

Abstrac

Safety and Efficacy of Sofosbuvir plus Simeprevir in a Spanish Cohort of 622 Cirrhotic Patients Infected with Genotypes 1 or 4

Presentation Poste

Influence of surroundings natural habitats in the olive pest Prays oleae Influencia de los hábitats naturales adyacentes en la plaga del olivo Prays oleae

Recent research highlights the predator Anthocoris nemoralis as an effective biocontrol agent against an important olive pest, Prays oleae. This work tries to corroborate that an increase of natural habitats proportion surrounding the crop, together with a high abundance of the secondary pest Euphyllura olivina, could increase the population of A. nemoralis, and as a consequence, if a higher abundance of this predator would improve the biological control of P. oleae. For this purpose, the community of arthropods present in nine farms with different landscape composition was sampled during four key phenological stages of olive tree. Statistical models were used to evaluate the relationship between pairs of species and the proportion of natural habitats at different distances. During flowering season, a positive effect between proportion of adjacent natural habitats and the abundance of A. nemoralis and E. olivina on the olive tree crown was observed, as well as a positive relationship between the abundance of both species. During fruit development, higher abundances of A. nemoralis were associated with lower abundances of P. oleae. Assessed hypothesis are reinforced, surface of natural habitats surroundings olive groves and presence of the secondary pest E. olivina have a positive effect on the abundance of the polyphagous predator A. nemoralis, and this can contribute to the control of the pest P. oleae.Recientes investigaciones destacan al depredador Anthocoris nemoralis como un agente efectivo contra una importante plaga del olivar, Prays oleae. Este trabajo intenta corroborar que un incremento de la proporción de hábitats naturales cercanos al cultivo, unido a una alta abundancia de la plaga secundaria Euphyllura olivina, podría aumentar las poblaciones de A. nemoralis, y como consecuencia, si una mayor abundancia de este depredador mejoraría el control biológico de P. oleae. Para ello se muestreó la comunidad de artrópodos presente en nueve fincas con diferente composición paisajística durante cuatro momentos fenológicos clave del olivo, evaluando posteriormente, a través de modelos estadísticos, la relación entre los pares de especies y la proporción de hábitats naturales a diferentes distancias. En la época de floración se observó un efecto positivo entre la proporción de hábitats naturales adyacentes y la abundancia de A. nemoralis y E. olivina en la copa del olivo, así como una relación positiva entre la abundancia de ambas especies. Durante el desarrollo del fruto, mayores abundancias de A. nemoralis se asociaron a menores abundancias de P. oleae. Se refuerza la hipótesis de que tanto la superficie de hábitats naturales adyacentes al olivar como la presencia de la plaga secundaria E. olivin

Efectos del programa CIPRES sobre el riesgo suicida en adolescentes

Abstract: Effects of the CIPRES program on suicidal risk in adolescents. The objective of the study was to evaluate the specific changes generated by the CIPRES program on suicidal risk in adolescents. The sample comprised 106 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years old (53 in the experimental group, 53 in the control group), of which 54.7% were women (n = 58). The study used a quasi-experimental design of repeated pretest-posttest measures with a control group. Two assessment instruments were administered before and after the program: The Scale of the Suicide Risk (ERS) and the Inventory of Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation (PANSI). The pretest-posttest ANCOVAs showed that the program significantly reduced (p &lt; .05) the scores of suicidal ideation, planning, self-harm, isolation/social support, lack of family support, and global suicide risk. In addition, it significantly increased positive ideation scores. The results support the relevance of this program to reduce suicidal risk in adolescents.Keywords: CIPRES; suicide risk; adolescents; psychological intervention; quasi-experiment.Resumen: El estudio tuvo por objetivo evaluar los cambios específicos generados por el programa CIPRES sobre el riesgo suicida en adolescentes. La muestra se configuró con 106 adolescentes entre los 13 y 18 años (53 experimentales, 53 controles), de los cuales el 54.7% eran mujeres (n = 58). El estudio utilizó un diseño cuasi-experimental de medidas repetidas pretest-postest con grupo de control. Se administraron dos instrumentos de evaluación antes y después de la aplicación del programa: la Escala de Riesgo Suicida (ERS) y el Inventario de Ideación Suicida Positiva y Negativa (PANSI). Los ANCOVAs pretest-postest evidenciaron que el programa redujo significativamente (p &lt; .05) las puntuaciones en ideación suicida, planificación, autolesión, aislamiento/soporte social, falta de apoyo familiar, y riesgo suicida global. Además, aumentó significativamente las puntuaciones en ideación positiva. Los resultados apuntan a la relevancia de este programa para reducir el riesgo suicida en adolescentes.Palabras clave: CIPRES; riesgo de suicidio; adolescentes; intervención psicológica; cuasiexperimento

Submicroscopic Malaria in Migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, Spain

In a screening program, we detected submicroscopic malaria in 8.9% of recent migrants to Spain from sub-Saharan Africa. Hemoglobinopathies and filarial infection occurred more frequently in newly arrived migrants with submicroscopic malaria than in those without. Our findings could justify systematic screening in immigrants and recent travelers from malaria-endemic areas