Psychometric attributes of the DISC Predictive Scales

Introduction: This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric attributes and screening efficiency of a Spanish version of the Children Predictive Scales (DPS) against the Spanish Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV). Method: This pilot cross-sectional study included 61 children aged 9 to 14 years in a mainstream school. The following psychometric attributes were analyzed: acceptability, scale assumptions, internal consistency, and precision, as well the predictive validity (AUC). Results: The scale did not show ceiling or floor effects (6.4%, 1.3%, respectively). The internal consistency was high (α±=0.92), and the standard error of measurement was adequate (SEM=1.54). The overall DPS AUC was 0.72 against DISC IV corresponding diagnosis. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the DPS-4.32 seems to be a reliable and precise tool for screening mental health disorders in a school-age population

Effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Depression Biomarkers in Women With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Study objectives: The effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on mediators of cardiovascular disease and depression in women with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is unknown. We aimed to assess the effect of CPAP therapy on a variety of biomarkers of inflammation, antioxidant activity, and depression in women with OSA. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized controlled trial in 247 women diagnosed with moderate-to-severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ? 15). Women were randomized to CPAP (n = 120) or conservative treatment (n = 127) for 12 weeks. Changes in tumor necrosis factor ? (TNF?), interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were assessed. Additional analyses were conducted in subgroups of clinical interest. Results: Women had a median (25th-75th percentiles) age of 58 (51-65) years, body mass index 33.5 (29.0-38.3) kg/m2, and AHI 33.3 (22.8-49.3). No differences were found between groups in the baseline levels of the biomarkers. After 12 weeks of follow-up, there were no changes between groups in any of the biomarkers assessed. These results did not change when the analyses were restricted to sleepy women or to those with severe OSA. In women with CPAP use at least 5 hours per night, only TNF? levels decreased compared to the control group (-0.29 ± 1.1 vs -0.06 ± 0.53, intergroup difference -0.23 [95% CI = -0.03 to -0.50]; p = 0.043). Conclusions: Twelve weeks of CPAP therapy does not improve biomarkers of inflammation, antioxidant activity, or depression compared to conservative treatment in women with moderate-to-severe OSA

Colombian consensus recommendations for diagnosis, management and treatment of the infection by SARS-COV-2/ COVID-19 in health care facilities - Recommendations from expert´s group based and informed on evidence

La Asociación Colombiana de Infectología (ACIN) y el Instituto de Evaluación de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Salud (IETS) conformó un grupo de trabajo para desarrollar recomendaciones informadas y basadas en evidencia, por consenso de expertos para la atención, diagnóstico y manejo de casos de Covid 19. Estas guías son dirigidas al personal de salud y buscar dar recomendaciones en los ámbitos de la atención en salud de los casos de Covid-19, en el contexto nacional de Colombia

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Determination of Soil Properties from Electrical Measurements in Agricultural Plots, Villa de Arriaga, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

El conocimiento de las propiedades del suelo agrícola es crucial para la selección óptima de los tipos de cultivo, riego y fertilización. Este estudio contiene los resultados de la aplicación en campo y en laboratorio de mediciones eléctricas para obtener el contenido de finos, la porosidad, la conductividad hidráulica y la capacidad de intercambio catiónico (CIC) en tres parcelas agrícolas dedicadas al cultivo de la cebada. Los valores del contenido de finos se obtuvieron mediante mediciones eléctricas en muestras de suelo de laboratorio y el algoritmo de Ryjov, que es comparable a los valores calculados a partir del análisis textural de Bouyoucos. En la parcela agrícola A, un perfil de Tomografía de Resistividad Eléctrica (TRE), junto con las mediciones de la humedad y la salinidad del suelo, muestran resultados de alta resolución para determinar las propiedades del suelo, a partir de una clara imagen del espesor del suelo, así como la identificación de sus horizontes. Un estudio de rápido avance con el método Perfilaje Eléctrico (PE) fue realizado en las tres parcelas, resultando en mapas de propiedades del suelo. Las parcelas muestran rango de valores de CIC como: A-bajo, B-moderado y C-alto. Este resultado se ajusta a los rendimientos de los cultivos por hectárea y al análisis de fertilidad realizado en cada parcela, lo que confirma no sólo la eficacia del método PE y del algoritmo de Ryjov para el estudio de las propiedades del suelo agrícola. doi: https://doi.org/10.22201/igeof.00167169p.2021.60.1.203

An affordable 3D-printed positioner fixture improves the resolution of conventional milling for easy prototyping of acrylic microfluidic devices.

International audienceWe present a simple and low-cost positioner fixture to improve the fabrication resolution of acrylic microchannels using conventional milling machines. The positioner fixture is a mechatronic platform that consists of three piezoelectric actuators assembled in a housing made of 3D printer parts. The upper part of the housing is raised by the simultaneous actuation of the piezoelectric elements and by the deformation of 3D-printed hinge-shaped supports. The vertical positioning (Z-axis) can be controlled with a resolution of 500 nm and an accuracy of ± 1.5 µm; in contrast, conventional milling machines can achieve resolutions of 10 to 35 µm. Through simulations, we found that 3D-printed hinges can deform to reach heights up to 27 µm without suffering any mechanical or structural damage. To demonstrate the capabilities of our fixture we fabricated microfluidic devices with three weir filters that selectively capture microbeads of 3, 6 and 10 µm. We used a similar weir filter design to implement a bead-based immunoassay. Our positioner fixture increases the resolution of conventional milling machines, thus enabling the fast and easy fabrication of thermoplastic fluidic devices that require finer microstructures in their design