Impact of 3D EM model configuration on the direct optimization of microstrip structures

We apply the classical Nelder-Mead optimization algorithm to a low fidelity EM model, using different mesh and bounding-box configurations. We demonstrate that the interaction of the coarse mesh with the bounding box size can determine whether the optimization is successful or not.ITESO, A.C.Intel Lab

EM simulation of a low-pass filter based on a microstrip defected ground structure using COMSOL

We perform EM simulations of a lowpass microstrip filter consisting of a crossjunction open stub and two unit sections implemented as defected ground structures (DGS). The defect introduced by unit sections corresponds to an etched lattice on the copper backside ground plane. The filter presents wide and deep attenuation characteristics in the stopband. Different model implementations were carried out with the aim at evaluating the computational costs versus accuracy. Simulations of a high-fidelity model are in good agreement with experimental data reported in a previous paper. COMSOL simulation settings, enclosing box, computational costs, and simulation times for the considered models are provided.ITESO, A.C.Intel Guadalajara Design Cente

Pesticide Exposure Alters Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Levels in Mexican Agricultural Workers

Organophosphorous pesticides (OPs) are suspected of altering reproductive function by reducing brain acetylcholinesterase activity and monoamine levels, thus impairing hypothalamic and/or pituitary endocrine functions and gonadal processes. Our objective was to evaluate in a longitudinal study the association between OP exposure and serum levels of pituitary and sex hormones. Urinary OP metabolite levels were measured by gas–liquid chromatography, and serum pituitary and sex hormone levels by enzymatic immunoassay and radioimmunoassay in 64 men. A total of 147 urine and blood samples were analyzed for each parameter. More than 80% of the participants had at least one OP metabolite in their urine samples. The most frequent metabolite found was diethylthiophosphate (DETP; 55%), followed by diethylphosphate (DEP; 46%), dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP; 32%), and dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP; 31%). However, the metabolites detected at higher concentrations were DMTP, DEP, DMDTP, and dimethylphosphate. There was a high proportion of individuals with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations outside the range of normality (48%). The average FSH serum levels were higher during the heavy pesticide spraying season. However, a multivariate analysis of data collected in all periods showed that serum FSH levels were negatively associated with urinary concentrations of both DMTP and DMDTP, whereas luteinizing hormone (LH) was negatively associated with DMTP. We observed no significant associations between estradiol or testosterone serum levels with OP metabolites. The hormonal disruption in agricultural workers presented here, together with results from experimental animal studies, suggests that OP exposure disrupts the hypothalamic–pituitary endocrine function and also indicates that FSH and LH are the hormones most affected

Geographic factors associated with poorer outcomes in patients diagnosed with covid-19 in primary health care

Background: The prognosis of older age COVID-19 patients with comorbidities is associated with a more severe course and higher fatality rates but no analysis has yet included factors related to the geographical area/municipality in which the affected patients live, so the objective of this study was to analyse the prognosis of patients with COVID-19 in terms of sex, age, comorbidi-ties, and geographic variables. Methods: A retrospective cohort of 6286 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 was analysed, considering demographic data, previous comorbidities and geographic variables. The main study variables were hospital admission, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death due to worsening symptoms; and the secondary variables were sex, age, comorbidities and geographic variables (size of the area of residence, distance to the hospital and the driving time to the hospital). A comparison analysis and a multivariate Cox model were performed. Results: The multivariate Cox model showed that women had a better prognosis in any type of analysed prog-nosis. Most of the comorbidities studied were related to a poorer prognosis except for dementia, which is related to lower admissions and higher mortality. Suburban areas were associated with greater mortality and with less hospital or ICU admission. Distance to the hospital was also associated with hospital admission. Conclusions: Factors such as type of municipality and distance to hospital act as social health determinants. This fact must be taken account in order to stablish specifics prevention measures and treatment protocols

INFORMACIÓN AL USUARIO SOBRE LOS PROCEDIMIENTOS REALIZADOS POR EL PERSONAL DE ENFERMERÍA.

INTRODUCTION: The role of the professional of nursery compromised with the excellence on giving care competent of quality to the population user in the institutions of health is to provide information during the procedures that it realizes, and facilitates the acceptance and the fulfilment of the treatment. OBJETIVE: To identify the participation of nursery on the information that grants the users on having realized procedures and ministration of medicines. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Descriptive study elaborated in August and September 2004, the size of the sample was 43 adults users, in the services of internal medicine, gynaecology and surgery, in the shifts morning and vespertine of the Hospital Genreal Regional N°1 of IMSS. The information was gathered across a direct interview to the wer loy a constructed form with 16 items of multiple options,using for it´s measuring the categories: always, sometimes, never and doesn´t apply, the content of the instrument was valited by experts. For the analysis is used the arithmetic mean, frecuency and percentage. RESULTS: The nurse takes part giving information in them following procedures: capture of vital signs always77%, results of the vital signs always68%, venopunción always79% , Taken care of the venopunción always 74% , ministration of medicines :medicine name’s always 42%, possible allergies , interaction and contraindications always 39 % , in the signs of the alarm of the injuries always 30%. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results reflect that the nurse if it informs the users in the procedures that it realizes, the service that less reports is a surgery and the fact that more it reports it is gynaecology.INTRODUCCIÓN: El papel del profesional de enfermería comprometido con la excelencia al brindar cuidados competentes de calidad a la población usuaria en las instituciones de salud, le proporcionan información durante los procedimientos que realiza y facilita la aceptación y el cumplimiento del tratamiento. OBJETIVO: Identificar la participación de Enfermería sobre la información que otorga a los usuarios al realizar procedimientos y administración de medicamentos. MATERIAL Y MÉTODO: Estudio descriptivo elaborado en los meses de Agosto y Septiembre de 2004, el tamaño de la muestra fue de 43 usuarios adultos hospitalizados en los servicios de Medicina Interna, Ginecología y Cirugía, en los turnos matutino y vespertino del Hospital General Regional N°1 del IMSS. La información se recolectó a través de una entrevista directa al usuario con un formulario estructurado con 16 ítems de opción múltiple, utilizando para su medición las categorías siempre, algunas veces, nunca y no aplica, el contenido del instrumento fue validado por expertos. Para el análisis de los resultados se utiliza frecuencia y porcentaje. RESULTADOS: La enfermera participa dando información en los siguientes procedimientos: toma de signos vitales siempre 77%, resultado de los signos vitales siempre 68%; venopunción siempre 79%, cuidados de la venopunción siempre 74%; procedimiento de curaciones siempre 49%, signos de alarma de la lesión siempre 30%; administración de medicamentos: sobre el nombre del medicamento siempre 42%, posibles alergias, interacciones y contraindicaciones siempre 39%. CONCLUSIONES: Los resultados obtenidos reflejan que la enfermera informa a los usuarios en los procedimientos que realiza siempre en un 43%, en el servicio que menos informa es cirugía y el que más informa es ginecología

Identification of Phytoplankton Blooms under the Index of Inherent Optical Properties (IOP Index) in Optically Complex Waters

[EN] Phytoplankton blooms are sporadic events in time and are isolated in space. This complex phenomenon is produced by a variety of both natural and anthropogenic causes. Early detection of this phenomenon, as well as the classification of a water body under conditions of bloom or non-bloom, remains an unresolved problem. This research proposes the use of Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs) in optically complex waters to detect the bloom or non-bloom state of the phytoplankton community. An IOP index is calculated from the absorption coefficients of the colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), the phytoplankton (phy) and the detritus (d), using the wavelength (lambda) 443 nm. The effectiveness of this index is tested in five bloom events in different places and with different characteristics from Mexican seas: 1. Dzilam (Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean), a diatom bloom (Rhizosolenia hebetata); 2. Holbox (Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean), a mixed bloom of dinoflagellates (Scrippsiella sp.) and diatoms (Chaetoceros sp.); 3. Campeche Bay in the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic Ocean), a bloom of dinoflagellates (Karenia brevis); 4. Upper Gulf of California (UGC) (Pacific Ocean), a diatom bloom (Coscinodiscus and Pseudo-nitzschia) and 5. Todos Santos Bay, Ensenada (Pacific Ocean), a dinoflagellate bloom (Lingulodinium polyedrum). The diversity of sites show that the IOP index is a suitable method to determine the phytoplankton bloom conditions.CONACYT supported this research with a doctorate scholarship to Jesús A. Aguilar-Maldonado, with the announcement number 251025 in 2015. María-Teresa Sebastiá-Frasquet was a beneficiary of the BEST/2017/217 grant, supported by the Valencian Conselleria d Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport (Spain) during her stay at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (Mexico). Thanks are extended to the Strategic Action Program of the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem (GoM-LME), of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).Aguilar-Maldonado, J.; Santamaría-Del-Ángel, E.; González-Silvera, A.; Cervantes-Rosas, OD.; López-Acuña, LM.; Gutiérrez-Magness, A.; Cerdeira, S.... (2018). Identification of Phytoplankton Blooms under the Index of Inherent Optical Properties (IOP Index) in Optically Complex Waters. Water. 10(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/w10020129S102Gower, J., King, S., Borstad, G., & Brown, L. (2005). Detection of intense plankton blooms using the 709 nm band of the MERIS imaging spectrometer. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 26(9), 2005-2012. doi:10.1080/01431160500075857Carstensen, J., & Conley, D. J. (2004). Frequency, composition, and causes of summer phytoplankton blooms in a shallow coastal ecosystem, the Kattegat. Limnology and Oceanography, 49(1), 191-201. doi:10.4319/lo.2004.49.1.0191Legendre, L. (1990). 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Exploring the interactions between Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection and other risk factors of gastric cancer: A pooled analysis in the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project

Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is crucial in gastric carcinogenesis, but infection alone is not a sufficient cause, and the interaction between Hp infection and other risk factors has not been adequately studied. We conducted a pooled analysis of seven case-control studies from the Stomach cancer Pooling (StoP) Project, comprising 1377 cases and 2470 controls, to explore the interaction among Hp infection and tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, socioeconomic status (SES) and dietary salt intake on the risk of gastric cancer. We estimated summary odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by multivariate unconditional logistic regression. The analysis showed no consistent interaction between Hp infection and cigarette smoking, while interaction was more than multiplicative for alcohol drinking (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.07-1.77, P-interaction 0.02) and high intake of salt (OR = 2.62, 95% CI: 1.88-3.65, P-interaction = 0.04). The interaction with SES followed the multiplicative model (P = 0.49), resulting in a weakening among infected individuals of the protective effect of high SES among observed Hp-negative individuals. The interactions found were more pronounced in subjects with history of peptic ulcer. The interactions with Hp infection were stronger for cigarette smoking and dietary salt in the case of noncardia cancer, and for alcohol and SES in the case of cardia cancer. No differences were found when stratifying for histologic type. This large-scale study aimed to quantify the interaction between Hp infection and other modifiable risk factors of gastric cancer revealed that the benefit of combined Hp eradication and lifestyle modification on gastric cancer prevention may be larger than commonly appreciated.This study was supported by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC), Project no. 21378 (Investigator Grant), and by the Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer (LILT). The authors thank the European Cancer Prevention (ECP) Organization for providing support for the StoP meetings

Scalar-field Pressure in Induced Gravity with Higgs Potential and Dark Matter

A model of induced gravity with a Higgs potential is investigated in detail in view of the pressure components related to the scalar-field excitations. The physical consequences emerging as an artifact due to the presence of these pressure terms are analysed in terms of the constraints parting from energy density, solar-relativistic effects and galactic dynamics along with the dark matter halos.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, Minor revision, Published in JHE