Detección del daño sísmico de un marco tridimensional de concreto reforzado mediante pruebas de vibración ambiental y forzada

Se presenta el estudio experimental de un marco tridimensional de concreto reforzado de dos niveles, el cual se daño progresivamente hasta que alcanzó un nivel de daño estructural importante. El marco se sometió a diferentes etapas progresivas de carga dinámica, las cuales simulan incrementos de la intensidad del movimiento sísmico del terreno. El marco se excitó mediante un péndulo de pruebas, el cual es un dispositivo que excita la estructura fija a su plataforma mediante un movimiento armónico a lo largo de una dirección horizontal para frecuencias seleccionadas. Para cada nivel de excitación se realizaron pruebas de vibración ambiental y forzada al marco de concreto. De esta forma fue posible caracterizar su nivel de daño estructural en función de la correlación estadística entre dos funciones de transferencia (FT), correspondientes a la condición inicial sin daño y a otros estados con determinado nivel de daño

A novel application of entropy analysis for assessing changes in movement variability during cumulative tackles in young elite rugby league players

The aim of this study was to identify between-position (forwards vs. backs) differences in movement variability in cumulative tackle events training during both attacking and defensive roles. Eleven elite adolescent male rugby league players volunteered to participate in this study (mean ± SD, age; 18.5 ± 0.5 years, height; 179.5 ± 5.0 cm, body mass; 88.3 ± 13.0 kg). Participants performed a drill encompassing four blocks of six tackling (i.e. tackling an opponent) and six tackled (i.e. being tackled by an opponent while carrying a ball) events (i.e. 48 total tackles) while wearing a micro-technological inertial measurement unit (WIMU, Realtrack Systems, Spain). The acceleration data were used to calculate sample entropy (SampEn) to analyse the movement variability during tackles performance. In tackling actions SampEn showed significant between-position differences in block 1 (p = 0.0001) and block 2 (p = 0.0003). Significant between-block differences were observed in backs (block 1 vs 3, p = 0,0021; and block 1 vs 4, p = 0,0001) but not in forwards. When being tackled, SampEn showed significant between-position differences in block 1 (p = 0.0007) and block 3 (p = 0.0118). Significant between-block differences were only observed for backs in block 1 vs 4 (p = 0,0025). Movement variability shows a progressive reduction with cumulative tackle events, especially in backs and when in the defensive role (tackling). Forwards present lower movement variability values in all blocks, particularly in the first block, both in the attacking and defensive role. Entropy measures can be used by practitioners as an alternative tool to analyse the temporal structure of variability of tackle actions and quantify the load of these actions according to playing position

Crustal structure below Popocat\'epetl Volcano (Mexico) from analysis of Rayleigh waves

An array of ten broadband stations was installed on the Popocat\'epetl volcano (Mexico) for five months between October 2002 and February 2003. 26 regional and teleseismic earthquakes were selected and filtered in the frequency time domain to extract the fundamental mode of the Rayleigh wave. The average dispersion curve was obtained in two steps. Firstly, phase velocities were measured in the period range [2-50] s from the phase difference between pairs of stations, using Wiener filtering. Secondly, the average dispersion curve was calculated by combining observations from all events in order to reduce diffraction effects. The inversion of the mean phase velocity yielded a crustal model for the volcano which is consistent with previous models of the Mexican Volcanic Belt. The overall crustal structure beneath Popocat\'epetl is therefore not different from the surrounding area, and the velocities in the lower crust are confirmed to be relatively low. Lateral variations of the structure were also investigated by dividing the network into four parts and by applying the same procedure to each sub-array. No well-defined anomalies appeared for the two sub-arrays for which it was possible to measure a dispersion curve. However, dispersion curves associated with individual events reveal important diffraction for 6 s to 12 s periods which could correspond to strong lateral variations at 5 to 10 km depth

Diabetes gestacional compensada con insulina

Introduction: the population incidence of gestational diabetes varies approximately between 3 and 10 %, according to ethnic groups, diagnostic criteria and population areas studied and is associated with a higher frequency of maternal and perinatal complications.Objective: to identify the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with insulin-compensated gestational diabetes.Method: a prospective, analytical and cross-sectional research was carried out at the “Abel Santamaría Cuadrado” General Teaching Hospital in Pinar del Río during the 2016 - 2018 period. The universe was made up of all the pregnant women treated at the reference institution in the period studied. (N=5967). The sample consisted of a Study Group of 134 pregnant women with insulin-compensated gestational diabetes and the Control Group of 204 diet-compensated diabetics who had their births in the same period.Results: the group of 20-24 years of age and the diagnoses of gestational diabetes between 19-23 weeks were significant. Predominantly in pregnant women with insulin-compensated gestational diabetes: the normal weights and those with adequate weight gain. The most frequent maternal morbidity was bacterial vaginosis.Conclusions: insulin-compensated gestational diabetes is not an adverse risk factor for the development of maternal and fetal complications.Introducción: la incidencia poblacional de diabetes gestacional varía aproximadamente entre un tres y un 10 %, según etnias, criterios diagnósticos y áreas poblacionales estudiadas y se asocia con una mayor frecuencia de complicaciones maternas y perinatales. Objetivo: identificar las características clínicas y epidemiológicas de las pacientes con diabetes gestacional compensada con insulina.Método: se realizó una investigación prospectiva, analítica y transversal en el Hospital General Docente “Abel Santamaría Cuadrado” de Pinar del Río durante el período 2016 - 2018. El universo estuvo conformado por todas las gestantes atendidas en la institución de referencia en el período estudiado (N=5967). La muestra quedó constituida por un Grupo Estudio de 134 gestantes con diabetes gestacional compensada con insulina y el Grupo Control de 204 diabéticas compensadas con dieta que tuvieron sus nacimientos en igual período.Resultados: resultó significativo el grupo de 20-24 años de edad y los diagnósticos de diabetes gestacional entre las 19-23 semanas. Predominando en las gestantes con diabetes gestacional compensadas con insulina: las normo pesos y las que presentaron incremento adecuado de peso. La morbilidad materna más frecuente fue la vaginosis bacteriana. Conclusiones: la diabetes gestacional compensada con insulina no constituye un factor de riesgo adverso para el desarrollo de complicaciones maternas y fetales

Staging Parkinson's Disease Combining Motor and Nonmotor Symptoms Correlates with Disability and Quality of Life.

Introduction: In a degenerative disorder such as Parkinson's disease (PD), it is important to establish clinical stages that allow to know the course of the disease. Our aim was to analyze whether a scale combining Hoehn and Yahr's motor stage (H&Y) and the nonmotor symptoms burden (NMSB) (assessed by the nonmotor symptoms scale (NMSS)) provides information about the disability and the patient's quality of life (QoL) with regard to a defined clinical stage. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study in which 603 PD patients from the COPPADIS cohort were classified according to H&Y (1, stage I; 2, stage II; 3, stage III; 4, stage IV/V) and NMSB (A: NMSS = 0-20; B: NMSS = 21-40; C: NMSS = 41-70; D: NMSS ≥ 71) in 16 stages (HY.NMSB, from 1A to 4D). QoL was assessed with the PDQ-39SI, PQ-10, and EUROHIS-QOL8 and disability with the Schwab&England ADL (Activities of Daily Living) scale. Results: A worse QoL and greater disability were observed at a higher stage of H&Y and NMSB (p < 0.0001). Combining both (HY.NMSB), patients in stages 1C and 1D and 2C and 2D had significantly worse QoL and/or less autonomy for ADL than those in stages 2A and 2B and 3A and 3B, respectively (p < 0.005; e.g., PDQ-39SI in 1D [n = 15] vs 2A [n = 101]: 28.6 ± 17.1 vs 7.9 ± 5.8; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The HY.NMSB scale is simple and reflects the degree of patient involvement more accurately than the HΨ Patients with a lower H&Y stage may be more affected if they have a greater NMS burden

Country-level gender inequality is associated with structural differences in the brains of women and men

Gender inequality across the world has been associated with a higher risk to mental health problems and lower academic achievement in women compared to men. We also know that the brain is shaped by nurturing and adverse socio-environmental experiences. Therefore, unequal exposure to harsher conditions for women compared to men in gender-unequal countries might be reflected in differences in their brain structure, and this could be the neural mechanism partly explaining women's worse outcomes in gender-unequal countries. We examined this through a random-effects meta-analysis on cortical thickness and surface area differences between adult healthy men and women, including a meta-regression in which country-level gender inequality acted as an explanatory variable for the observed differences. A total of 139 samples from 29 different countries, totaling 7,876 MRI scans, were included. Thickness of the right hemisphere, and particularly the right caudal anterior cingulate, right medial orbitofrontal, and left lateral occipital cortex, presented no differences or even thicker regional cortices in women compared to men in gender-equal countries, reversing to thinner cortices in countries with greater gender inequality. These results point to the potentially hazardous effect of gender inequality on women's brains and provide initial evidence for neuroscience-informed policies for gender equality

Combined fit to the spectrum and composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory including magnetic horizon effects

The measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory of the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays can be interpreted assuming the presence of two extragalactic source populations, one dominating the flux at energies above a few EeV and the other below. To fit the data ignoring magnetic field effects, the high-energy population needs to accelerate a mixture of nuclei with very hard spectra, at odds with the approximate E$^{-2}$ shape expected from diffusive shock acceleration. The presence of turbulent extragalactic magnetic fields in the region between the closest sources and the Earth can significantly modify the observed CR spectrum with respect to that emitted by the sources, reducing the flux of low-rigidity particles that reach the Earth. We here take into account this magnetic horizon effect in the combined fit of the spectrum and shower depth distributions, exploring the possibility that a spectrum for the high-energy population sources with a shape closer to E$^{-2}$ be able to explain the observations

A search for ultra-high-energy photons at the Pierre Auger Observatory exploiting air-shower universality

The Pierre Auger Observatory is the most sensitive detector to primary photons with energies above ∼0.2 EeV. It measures extensive air showers using a hybrid technique that combines a fluorescence detector (FD) with a ground array of particle detectors (SD). The signatures of a photon-induced air shower are a larger atmospheric depth at the shower maximum (X$_{max}$) and a steeper lateral distribution function, along with a lower number of muons with respect to the bulk of hadron-induced background. Using observables measured by the FD and SD, three photon searches in different energy bands are performed. In particular, between threshold energies of 1-10 EeV, a new analysis technique has been developed by combining the FD-based measurement of X$_{max}$ with the SD signal through a parameter related to its muon content, derived from the universality of the air showers. This technique has led to a better photon/hadron separation and, consequently, to a higher search sensitivity, resulting in a tighter upper limit than before. The outcome of this new analysis is presented here, along with previous results in the energy ranges below 1 EeV and above 10 EeV. From the data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory in about 15 years of operation, the most stringent constraints on the fraction of photons in the cosmic flux are set over almost three decades in energy

Study on multi-ELVES in the Pierre Auger Observatory

Since 2013, the four sites of the Fluorescence Detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory record ELVES with a dedicated trigger. These UV light emissions are correlated to distant lightning strikes. The length of recorded traces has been increased from 100 μs (2013), to 300 μs (2014-16), to 900 μs (2017-present), to progressively extend the observation of the light emission towards the vertical of the causative lightning and beyond. A large fraction of the observed events shows double ELVES within the time window, and, in some cases, even more complex structures are observed. The nature of the multi-ELVES is not completely understood but may be related to the different types of lightning in which they are originated. For example, it is known that Narrow Bipolar Events can produce double ELVES, and Energetic In-cloud Pulses, occurring between the main negative and upper positive charge layer of clouds, can induce double and even quadruple ELVES in the ionosphere. This report shows the seasonal and daily dependence of the time gap, amplitude ratio, and correlation between the pulse widths of the peaks in a sample of 1000+ multi-ELVES events recorded during the period 2014-20. The events have been compared with data from other satellite and ground-based sensing devices to study the correlation of their properties with lightning observables such as altitude and polarity