Magneto-hydrodynamical nonlinear simulations of magnetically confined plasmas using smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH)

The successful application of techniques inspired in Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) to magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) nonlinear simulations of magnetically confined plasmas requires the previous solution to a number of challenging issues that are still not fully resolved, namely, the construction of precise, arbitrary initial conditions in complicated geometries, the formulation of adequate boundary conditions for the magnetic field, and the correct treatment of three-dimensional toroidal boundaries of the arbitrary shape. In this paper, we present an SPH implementation of the nonlinear MHD equations that include our proposed solution to these issues and test its performance on a broad selection of nonlinear MHD problems: (1) the propagation of circularly polarized Alfven waves, (2) the occurrence of magnetic reconnection for a Harris current-sheet, and (3) the nonlinear MHD stability properties of various cylindrical pinches.This research was sponsored by DGICYT (Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica) under Project No. ENE2015-68265, MINECO (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) under Project No. UNC313-4E-2361, and the Erasmus Mundus Program: International Doctoral College in Fusion Science and Engineering FUSION-DC

Investigation on cam-follower lubricated contacts

The cam-follower contact is one of the most complex lubricated non-conformal contact due to its continuous variation of load, speed and geometry. The complexity of the phenomena occurring in the camshaft systems make experimental verifications very important. In this work, an already existing versatile experimental apparatus for investigation of non-conformal lubricated contacts, able to measure film thickness using the optical interference method and friction force trough a load cell, has been modified in order to tests cam-follower contacts. Some test have been carried out for investigating the behaviour of some fundamental components of the rig. A theoretical/numerical simulations has been performed to investigate the dynamic behaviour of the system and in order to provide some indications for the interpretation of the experimental results. Purposely developed versions of the programme have been also an important support for the design and of a new apparatus specifically addressed to the cam-follower contact and with increased potentialities capable of more detailed measurement of film thickness and contact forces. The apparatus is able to reproduce a cam-follower mechanism that uses a rocker as a link device between the cam follower set and the valve

Clinical characterization of patients with anal fistula during follow-up of anorectal abscess: a large population-based study

PurposeApproximately 15-50% of patients with an anorectal abscess will develop an anal fistula, but the true incidence of this entity is currently unknown. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of anorectal abscess and development of a fistula in a specific population area and to identify potential risk factors associated with demographic, socioeconomic and pre-existing disease (e.g. diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease).MethodsA longitudinal observational study was designed including a large cohort study in an area with 7,553,650 inhabitants in Spain 1st january 2014 to 31st december 2019. Adults who attended for the first time with an anorectal abscess and had a minimum of 1-year follow-up were included. The diagnosis was made using ICD-10 codes for anorectal abscess and anal fistula.ResultsDuring the study period, we included 27,821 patients with anorectal abscess. There was a predominance of men (70%) and an overall incidence of 596 per million population. The overall incidence of anal fistula developing from abscesses was 20%, with predominance in men, and a lower incidence in the lowest income level. The cumulative incidence of fistula was higher in men and in younger patients (p < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, patients aged 60-69 years (hazard ratio 2.0) and those with inflammatory bowel disease (hazard ratio 1.8-2.0) had a strong association with fistula development (hazard ratio 2.0).ConclusionsOne in five patients with an anorectal abscess will develop a fistula, with a higher likelihood in men. Fistula formation was strongly associated with inflammatory bowel disease

Weissella confusa Infection in Primate (Cercopithecus mona)

We describe systemic infection by Weissella confusa in a mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona) on the basis of microbiologic, molecular genetic, and histologic data. The same strain of W. confusa, as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, was isolated in pure culture from the primate’s brain, liver, spleen, and intestine. Histologic lesions showed inflammatory infiltrates mainly composed of neutrophils, indicating an acute septicemic process

Improving Graph Neural Networks at Scale: Combining Approximate PageRank and CoreRank

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have achieved great successes in many learning tasks performed on graph structures. Nonetheless, to propagate information GNNs rely on a message passing scheme which can become prohibitively expensive when working with industrial-scale graphs. Inspired by the PPRGo model, we propose the CorePPR model, a scalable solution that utilises a learnable convex combination of the approximate personalised PageRank and the CoreRank to diffuse multi-hop neighbourhood information in GNNs. Additionally, we incorporate a dynamic mechanism to select the most influential neighbours for a particular node which reduces training time while preserving the performance of the model. Overall, we demonstrate that CorePPR outperforms PPRGo, particularly on large graphs where selecting the most influential nodes is particularly relevant for scalability. Our code is publicly available at: https://github.com/arielramos97/CorePPR.Comment: Accepted at the "NeurIPS 2022 New Frontiers in Graph Learning Workshop (NeurIPS GLFrontiers 2022)

Exploring the Impact of a Positive Psychology Intervention with Latina/o Adolescents

Latina/o adolescents may begin middle school with lower levels of life satisfaction, hope, and self-compassion. In the current study, a small-series (N = 5) single-case research design was implemented to evaluate the impact of a positive psychology group counseling experience to increase Latina/o adolescents’ life satisfaction, hope, and self-compassion. Analysis of participants’ scores on outcome measures yielded treatment effects indicating that the positive psychology group counseling experience may be effective for increasing hope, life satisfaction, and self-compassion. Given that the positive psychology approach was a promising approach for improving Latina/o adolescents’ positive outcomes, implications for school counselors to integrate positive psychology into treatment processes are presented

Integrating Wellness within Group Counseling for Latinx Adolescents

Latinx adolescents may begin middle school with lower levels of life satisfaction and hope. In the current study, we implemented a small-series (N = 4) single-case research design to evaluate the impact of a group counseling wellness experience to increase Latinx adolescents\u27 life satisfaction and hope. Analysis of participants\u27 scores on outcome measures yielded treatment effects indicating that the group counseling wellness experience may be effective for increasing hope and life satisfaction. Implications for school counselors are provided

El patrimonio arquitectónico construido con tierra. Las aportaciones historiográficas y el reconocimiento de sus valores en el contexto de la arquitectura popular española

The earthen architectural heritage and, in general, the built ensembles integrating the so called “vernacular architecture”, have been repeatedly investigated for more than a century by archaeologists, architects, ethnologists, historians or geographers. During the last thirty years we can find a significant progress in the procedures for studying, cataloguing, protecting and watching over these cultural goods, which are representative of the diverse ways of inhabiting and constructing in the different regions of the world. However, currently there are few interventions in this kind of heritage that one can consider truly scientific, which is even more obvious in the case of the earthen buildings. In fact, the earth-built architectural heritage is one of the most fragile and endangered sections in the vernacular heritage, regardless of what we find barely developed up to now the essential intervention criteria. To go in depth regarding the essential features of this kind of architecture, identify its main values as cultural landscape shaper and emphasize the most important historiographical contributions on the subject are the main goals of this paper.El patrimonio arquitectónico construido con tierra y, de manera general, los conjuntos edificados que forman parte de eso que llamamos hoy la arquitectura vernácula, tradicional y popular, han venido concitando el interés de arqueólogos, arquitectos, etnógrafos, historiadores o geógrafos desde hace más de un siglo. A lo largo de los últimos treinta años han ido avanzando de forma significativa los procedimientos para el estudio, el inventario, la protección y la tutela de estos bienes de interés cultural representativos de los distintos modos de habitar y construir del hombre en las distintas regiones del mundo. Sin embargo, son muy escasas las restauraciones científicas de la arquitectura tradicional, más si cabe de la arquitectura construida con tierra, uno de los grupos del patrimonio popular más frágiles y amenazados. Profundizar en las características y rasgos esenciales de esta clase de arquitectura, identificar los valores que contiene en su condición de elemento conformador del paisaje cultural y destacar las contribuciones más importantes de la historiografía son los objetivos principales de este artículo

Mediterranean diet and cancer: epidemiological evidence and mechanism of selected aspects

Background: Populations living in the area of the Mediterranean Sea suffered by decreased incidence of cancer compared with those living in the regions of northern Europe and US countries, attributed to healthier dietary habits. Nowadays, we are assisting to a moving away from the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, but whether this changing is influencing risk of cancers is still unclear. The aim of the study was to review recent evidence on potential relationship between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and cancer. Discussion: The most recent pooled analyses of epidemiological studies supported strongly the hypothesis that the Mediterranean diet may play a role in preventing several types of cancers, especially those of digestive tract, whereas contrasting results were reported for hormone-dependent cancers. Specific aspects of the Mediterranean diet such as high fruit and vegetables and low red processed meat intake may explain such protective effects. Moreover, evidence regarding olive oil and whole grains increase the beneficial effects of such dietary pattern against cancer. Conclusions: Literature evidence actually demonstrates that the increased adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern is beneficial to health across populations and may translate a protective effect with certain cancers

The Intersection of GERD, Aspiration, and Lung Transplantation

Lung transplantation is a radical but life-saving treatment option for patients with end-stage lung diseases, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and scleroderma. In light of the proposed association and controversy linking gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) to IPF and lung transplant outcome, the American Gastroenterological Association convened during the DDW in Washington in May 2015 a multidisciplinary group of experts in the field of GERD and lung transplantation to make considerations about the care of these patients based on available data and subsequent expert panel discussion at this symposium. The following topics were discussed: (1) pathophysiology of GERD-induced pulmonary symptoms, (2) GERD evaluation before and after lung transplantation, (3) outcome of lung transplantation for IPF and scleroderma, and (4) role of laparoscopic fundoplication before or after lung transplantation