1,820 research outputs found
Craniocerebral gunshot injuries in South Africa – a suggested management strategy
Objective. To determine the outcome of craniocerebral gunshot injuries, analyse factors that affect prognosis and suggest a management protocol.Design. A retrospective analysis of civilian craniocerebral gunshot injuries treated over a 7-year period.Setting. Groote Schuur Hospital's neurosurgery and trauma unit service.Patients. One hundred and eighty-one patients with craniocerebral gunshot injuries were admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, over a 7-year period and a retrospective analysis of these patient records with regard to outcome and prognostic factors was carried out.Results. Seventy-six patients sustained non-penetrating injuries, 8 (11 %) of whom had underlying cerebral injury on computed tomography (CT) scan. The prognosis was good in the case of non-penetrating injuries. One hundred and five patients sustained penetrating injuries and 57% (62) had a poor outcome. A Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 5 or less following resuscitation was associated with a 98% mortality rate. CT scan evidence of transventricular injury was associated with 100% mortality, bihernispheric injury with 90% mortality, and diffuse cerebral swelling with 81% mortality.Conclusion. Patients with non-penetrating craniocerebral gunshot injuries should all undergo a CT scan as 10% will have cerebral injury. The prognosis is normally good. In penetrating craniocerebral gunshot injuries a GCS of 5 or less, or a GCS of 8 or less with CT scan findings of transventricular or bihernispheric injury have such a poor outcome that conservative treatment is indicated
El rol moderador de la eficacia percibida de las medidas de prevención frente al COVID-19 en la relación entre la percepción de riesgo y la salud mental percibida
The pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 led countries to adopt harsh and prolonged (over time) measures that—along with the high number of infections and deaths and continuous negative information—have affected the mental health of individuals. In this study, the impact on mental health of the COVID-19 health crisis in Spain was explored through the perceived efficacy of pandemic containment measures as a moderator of the relationship that COVID-19 perceived risk establishes with stress and depression. A questionnaire composed of scales conceived to measure COVID-19 perceived risk, perceived efficacy of COVID-19 prevention measures, stress, and depression was completed by 478 adults living in Spain (66.9% females, Mage= 36.30, SD= 15.32) between May 16, 2021, and June 6, 2021. The results confirmed the moderating role of per-ceived efficacy. Perceived efficacy acted as a protective factor for stress and depression by decreasing the negative impact that perceived risk had on both variables related to mentaldistress. Also, the perception that participants had about the effectiveness of prevention measures appeared to be a relevant protective factor regarding mental health during the pandemic. This study highlights the relevance of psychological interventions and government policies that improve positive risk communication and provide adequate information regarding the effectiveness of health-prevention measuresLa pandemia del COVID-19 ha llevado a los países a adoptar severas y prolongadas medidas que junto con el alto número de contagios y muertes y la continua información negativa ha afectado la salud mental de las personas. Este estudio analiza el impacto de la crisis sanitaria del COVID-19 en España explorando el rol moderador de la eficacia percibida de las medidas de contención en la relación que establece la percepción del riesgo del COVID-19 con el estrés y la depresión. Un total de 478 adultos residentes en España (un66.9% mujeres; Medad= 36.30, DT= 15.32) completaron un cuestionario con escalas concebidas para medir el riesgo percibido del COVID-19, la eficacia percibida de las medidas de protección, el estrés y la depresión entre el 16 de mayo y el 6 de junio de 2021. Los resultados confirmaron el rol moderador de la eficacia percibida, la cual actuó como un factor protector del estrés y la depresión al disminuir el impacto negativo que la percepción de riesgo del COVID-19 tiene en ambas variables relacionadas con el distrés mental. La percepción que tienen los individuos sobre la efectividad de las medidas de protección parece ser un factor protector relevante en relación con la salud mental durante una pandemia. Se subraya la relevancia de intervenciones psicológicas y de políticas gubernamentales que mejoren la comunicación positiva del riesgo y la información adecuada sobre la eficacia de las medidas de protección
Phase stability of lanthanum orthovanadate at high-pressure
When monoclinic monazite-type LaVO4 (space group P21/n) is squeezed up to 12
GPa at room temperature, a phase transition to another monoclinic phase has
been found. The structure of the high-pressure phase of LaVO4 is indexed with
the same space group (P21/n), but with a larger unit-cell in which the number
of atoms is doubled. The transition leads to an 8% increase in the density of
LaVO4. The occurrence of such a transition has been determined by x-ray
diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations. The combination of
the three techniques allows us to also characterize accurately the pressure
evolution of unit-cell parameters and the Raman (and IR)-active phonons of the
low- and high-pressure phase. In particular, room-temperature equations of
state have been determined. The changes driven by pressure in the crystal
structure induce sharp modifications in the color of LaVO4 crystals, suggesting
that behind the monoclinic-to-monoclinic transition there are important changes
of the electronic properties of LaVO4.Comment: 39 pages, 6 tables, 7 figure
Aplicaciones de la espectroscopía SERS (Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering) a la detección de pigmentos orgánicos naturales en objetos del Patrimonio Cultural
16 páginas, 17 figuras.La espectroscopía Raman, cuyas prestaciones se han visto considerablemente
mejoradas en los últimos 15 años debido a la introducción de técnicas de
microscopía (que han sido posibles gracias a importantes avances tecnológicos en
filtros ópticos y detectores de alta sensibilidad), se ha convertido en una técnica de
identificación molecular de gran utilidad en el campo del Patrimonio Cultural [1].
Al igual que la más conocida espectroscopía Infrarroja, la espectroscopía Raman
proporciona información sobre los compuestos moleculares presentes en la muestra
bajo estudio, ampliando por ello la información acerca de la presencia de elementos
químicos que suministran otras técnicas espectroscópicas tales como XRF, SEM -
EDX, PIXE y LIBS utilizadas habitualmente en el análisis de objetos artísticos [2].
Hoy en día podemos encontrar la técnica de microscopía Raman en los
departamentos de Conservación y Restauración de los más importantes Museos y
Bibliotecas de todo el mundo, utilizándose como técnica no destructiva (incluso in
situ) para diagnóstico de diferentes materiales que van desde los pigmentos
inorgánicos hasta los biomateriales, en objetos artísticos tan diferentes como
manuscritos, pinturas, textiles, cerámicas, vidrios, esculturas, monumentos, e incluso
momias o cañones hundidos. La información que se obtiene puede resultar decisiva
para la datación y autenticación de las obras artísticas, y ayuda a determinar los
cambios físicos y/o químicos que han contribuido a su deterioro a través de la
identificación de los productos de degradación de los materiales originales.Agradecemos al MICINN (Proyectos FIS2007-63065 y CONSOLIDER CSD 2007-
0058) y a la Comunidad de Madrid (MICROSERES, S2009TIC-1476) por la
financiación parcial de los trabajos aquí expuestos. Agradecemos también el apoyo
recibido de la Red Temática de Patrimonio Histórico y Cultural (CSIC). MVC y EdP
agradecen al CSIC y al FSE 2007-2013 la concesión de sus respectivos Contratos
post- y predoctoral.Peer reviewe
Phenomenology of the General NMSSM with Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking
We investigate various classes of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking
models and show that the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model can
solve the mu-problem in a phenomenologically acceptable way. These models
include scenarios with singlet tadpole terms, which are phenomenologically
viable, e.g., in the presence of a small Yukawa coupling <~ 10^{-5}. Scenarios
with suppressed trilinear A-terms at the messenger scale lead naturally to
light CP-odd scalars, which play the r\^ole of pseudo R-axions. A wide range of
parameters of such models satisfies LEP constraints, with CP-even Higgs scalars
below 114 GeV decaying dominantly into a pair of CP-odd scalars.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, typos corrected, reference adde
Light dark matter in the NMSSM: upper bounds on direct detection cross sections
In the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, a bino-like LSP can be
as light as a few GeV and satisfy WMAP constraints on the dark matter relic
density in the presence of a light CP-odd Higgs scalar. We study upper bounds
on the direct detection cross sections for such a light LSP in the mass range
2-20 GeV in the NMSSM, respecting all constraints from B-physics and LEP. The
OPAL constraints on e^+ e^- -> \chi^0_1 \chi^0_i (i > 1) play an important role
and are discussed in some detail. The resulting upper bounds on the
spin-independent and spin-dependent nucleon cross sections are ~ 10^{-42}
cm^{-2} and ~ 4\times 10^{-40} cm^{-2}, respectively. Hence the upper bound on
the spin-independent cross section is below the DAMA and CoGeNT regions, but
could be compatible with the two events observed by CDMS-II.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
A good practice guide for translating and adapting hearing-related questionnaires for different languages and cultures
Objectives: To raise awareness and propose a good practice guide for translating and adapting any hearing-related questionnaire to be used for comparisons across populations divided by language or culture, and to encourage investigators to publish detailed steps.
Design: From a synthesis of existing guidelines, we propose important considerations for getting started, followed by six early steps: (1) Preparation, (2, 3) Translation steps, (4) Committee Review, (5) Field testing and (6) Reviewing and finalising the translation.
Study sample: Not applicable.
Results: Across these six steps, 22 different items are specified for creating a questionnaire that promotes equivalence to the original by accounting for any cultural differences. Published examples illustrate how these steps have been implemented and reported, with shared experiences from the authors, members of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology and TINnitus research NETwork.
Conclusions: A checklist of the preferred reporting items is included to help researchers and clinicians make informed choices about conducting or omitting any items. We also recommend using the checklist to document these decisions in any resulting report or publication. Following this step-by-step guide would promote quality assurance in multinational trials and outcome evaluations but, to confirm functional equivalence, large-scale evaluation of psychometric properties should follow
Assessment of <i>TLL1 </i>variant and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in Latin Americans and Europeans
Introduction and Objectives: Tolloid like protein 1 (TLL1) rs17047200 has been reported to be associated with HCC development and liver fibrosis. However, to our knowledge, no studies have been performed on Latin Americans and comparative differences between TLL1 rs17047200 in HCC patients from Latin America and Europe are undefined. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional analysis performed on Latin American and European individuals. We analyzed TLL1 rs17047200 on DNA from 1194 individuals, including 420 patients with HCC (86.0 % cirrhotics) and 774 without HCC (65.9 % cirrhotics). Results: TLL1 rs17047200 genotype AT/TT was not associated with HCC development in Latin Americans (OR: 0.699, 95 %CI 0.456-1.072, p = 0.101) or Europeans (OR: 0.736, 95 %CI 0.447-1.211, p = 0.228). TLL1 AT/TT was not correlated with fibrosis stages among metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) patients from Latin America (OR: 0.975, 95 %CI 0.496-1.918, p = 0.941). Among Europeans, alcohol-related HCC had lower TLL1 AT/TT frequencies than cirrhosis (18.3 % versus 42.3 %, OR: 0.273, 95 %CI 0.096-0.773, p = 0.015). Conclusions: We found no evidence that the TLL1 rs17047200 AT/TT genotype is a risk factor for HCC development in Latin Americans or Europeans. A larger study integrating ethnic and etiology backgrounds is needed to determine the importance of the TLL1 SNP in HCC development.</p
Diversity, competition, extinction: the ecophysics of language change
As early indicated by Charles Darwin, languages behave and change very much
like living species. They display high diversity, differentiate in space and
time, emerge and disappear. A large body of literature has explored the role of
information exchanges and communicative constraints in groups of agents under
selective scenarios. These models have been very helpful in providing a
rationale on how complex forms of communication emerge under evolutionary
pressures. However, other patterns of large-scale organization can be described
using mathematical methods ignoring communicative traits. These approaches
consider shorter time scales and have been developed by exploiting both
theoretical ecology and statistical physics methods. The models are reviewed
here and include extinction, invasion, origination, spatial organization,
coexistence and diversity as key concepts and are very simple in their defining
rules. Such simplicity is used in order to catch the most fundamental laws of
organization and those universal ingredients responsible for qualitative
traits. The similarities between observed and predicted patterns indicate that
an ecological theory of language is emerging, supporting (on a quantitative
basis) its ecological nature, although key differences are also present. Here
we critically review some recent advances lying and outline their implications
and limitations as well as open problems for future research.Comment: 17 Pages. A review on current models from statistical Physics and
Theoretical Ecology applied to study language dynamic
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