Differential impact of a multimodal versus pharmacological therapy on the core symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in childhood

The aim of this study was to analyze the relative and differential efficacy of a combined versus medical treatment to reduce the symptoms of ADHD children in the school and family environment. A total of 100 subjects participated: 20 children with ADHD, their 40 parents and their 40 teachers. Half of the subjects were assigned to the drug group and half to the combined (drug plus psychosocial, psychoeducational intervention with teachers and parents / mothers). Results: The group analyses indicated that both treatments were effective, without significant differences between them. Individualized clinical analyses indicated that higher percentages of improvement and normalization were obtained in the children in the combined group than in the drug only group. Our findings point to the desirability of implementing multimodal, multicontextual interventions, and long-lasting for ADHD in childhood

Detection of gamma rays of likely jet origin in Cygnus X-1

Aims: Probe the high-energy ($>$60 MeV) emission from the black hole X-ray binary system, Cygnus X-1, and investigate its origin. Methods: We analysed 7.5 yr of data by Fermi/LAT with the latest PASS8 software version. Results: We report the detection of a signal at $\sim$8 $\sigma$ statistical significance spatially coincident with Cygnus X-1 and a luminosity above 60 MeV of 5.5$\times$10$^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The signal is correlated with the hard X-ray flux: the source is observed at high energies only during the hard X-ray spectral state, when the source is known to display persistent, relativistic radio emitting jets. The energy spectrum, extending up to $\sim$20 GeV without any sign of spectral break, is well fitted by a power-law function with a photon index of 2.3$\pm$0.2. There is a hint of orbital flux variability, with high-energy emission mostly coming around the superior conjunction. Conclusions: We detected GeV emission from Cygnus X-1 and probed that the emission is most likely associated with the relativistic jets. The evidence of flux orbital variability points to the anisotropic inverse Compton on stellar photons as the mechanism at work, thus constraining the emission region to a distance $10^{11}-10^{13}$ cm from the black hole.Comment: accepted A\&A (9 pages and 7 figures

Measuring the complete transverse spatial mode spectrum of a wave field

We put forward a method that allows the experimental determination of the entire spatial mode spectrum of any arbitrary monochromatic wave field in a plane normal to its propagation direction. For coherent optical fields, our spatial spectrum analyzer can be implemented with a small number of benchmark refractive elements embedded in a single Mach-Zehnder interferometer. We detail an efficient setup for measuring in the Hermite-Gaussian mode basis. Our scheme should also be feasible in the context of atom optics for analyzing the spatial profiles of macroscopic matter waves

Er3+-doped fluorotellurite thin film glasses with improved photoluminescence emission at 1.53 µm

7 págs.; 5 figs.; 4 tabs.Transparent oxyfluoride tellurite thin film glasses have been produced at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition in O2 atmosphere from an Er-doped TeO2–ZnO–ZnF2 bulk glass. Thin film glasses present high refractive index (n≥1.95) and good transparency (T≥80%) in the visible (λ>400 nm) and near infrared range. However, their photoluminescence (PL) performance at 1.5 μm is poor. Thermal annealing at moderate temperatures (T≤315 °C), well below glass crystallization, increases the PL intensity by more than one order of magnitude as well as the PL lifetime up to τ≈3.3 ms. Film glasses present a larger fraction of TeO3 trigonal pyramids than the bulk glass and a very large OH− content. The structure and composition of film glasses do not change upon annealing and thus the activation of the PL response is related to the improvement of the surface morphology and the significant decrease of their OH− content. & 2015ElsevierB.V.This work has been supported by the Spanish Government (Projects MAT2009-14282-C02-01, MAT2009-14282-C02-02, TEC 2012-38901-C02-01, MAT2013-48246-C2-2-P and FIS2013-48087-C2-1-P).Peer Reviewe

Mid IR emission from highly transparent Er3+ doped tellurite glass ce- ramic for bio applications

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics: Laser Science to Photonic Applications, San Jose, California, USA, 08 - 13 Jun 2014Intense emission peaking at 2.18 ¿m was successfully obtained from erbium upon rigorous engineering of its glass host. Highly localized crystallization of erbium sites is substantiated by micro Raman and micro-PL along with TEM.Peer Reviewe

Active mid-IR emissions from rare-earth doped tellurite glass ceramics for bioapplications

16th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks, Graz (Grazer Messe), Austria, July 6th - 10th, 2014.Promising bio based applications such as bloodless surgery, non-invasive blood constituents monitoring or high sensitivity tracing of green house gases could be designed starting form optically active materials working within the 2.0-2.3 μm wavelength window. For this purpose, room temperature operated high power devices are entering the market of which rare-earth (RE) doped devices hold a prominent place. But such devices are based today on 3+ rare-earth doping of thulium and holmium. Though Er has an active 2.0 μm transition to achieve broad emission bandwidth, it is usually quenched in an amorphous matrix and hence rarely reported in glasses or any other 3+ as the active ion backbone would leverage efforts and investments done in the telecom industry to non-telecom applications which would allow a quick progression. This work successfully reports the engineering of the base glass matrix to produce the key 2.0 μm emission. This was obtained by specific selection of precursors and custom-designed heat treatment of an Er doped fluorotellurite glass.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Projects TEC2011-22422, FIS2011-27968 and TEC2012-38901-C02-01)Peer Reviewe

Think Globally, Act Locally: Global Requirements and Local Transformation in Sugar Pots Manufacture in Sicily in the Medieval and Post-Medieval Periods

Since medieval times, sugar production and consumption has had a huge impact on European social, cultural, and economic development. The introduction of sugar cultivation entailed knowledge transfer and new technological requirements, such as the manufacture of sugar pots used to crystallise sugar, which requires a specific design, and thermal and mechanical properties. This paper presents part of the results of the SPotEU project, funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which explores the development and impact of sugar production in western Europe through the study of sugar pot manufacture from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating archaeological and historical research with material science and material culture approaches. This paper focuses on sugar pots from Sicily, one of the main regions for sugar production in Western Europe in the 11-16th centuries A.D. Sugar pots were assessed from technological and performance points of view, aided by instrumental analysis (petrography, SEM, XRF, XRD, mechanical, and thermal property tests). The archaeological and analytical results are presented, revealing different centres of sugar pot production on the island, and specific choices in the design of the vessels and their properties. This allows us to discuss how craftspeople locally adapted their ceramic-making traditions to face the new product demands from the sugar production industry in the Mediterranean

Noves dades sobre la producció de ceràmica medieval de Barcelona. La caracterització arqueomètrica del taller del Carrer de Carders

Arran de la troballa d'un taller ceràmic al carrer de Carders de Barcelona, datat entre els segles XII i XIII, s'ha dut a terme la caracterització arqueomètrica de 31 individus per tal de definir les característiques químiques i petrogràfiques de la seva producció. A més, s'han contrastat els resultats amb els obtinguts per a l'altre taller del segle XIII conegut a la ciutat, el del carrer de l'Hospital. L'estudi ha permès de definir el grup de referència (GR) del carrer de Carders, com també indicar l'existència d"individus procedents d'aquesta excavació però que es relacionen amb la producció del carrer de l'Hospital. I a la inversa, l'existència d'individus procedents del carrer de l'Hospital que es relacionen amb el carrer de Carders. Finalment, entre els materials procedents del carrer de Carders s'han identificat dues noves produccions no conegudes anteriorment

Design and Experimental Performance Characterization of a Three-Blade Horizontal-Axis Hydrokinetic Water Turbine in a Low-Velocity Channel

The present work describes the design process of a 3D-printed prototype of a three-blade horizontal-axis hydrokinetic water turbine (HAHWT). The employed blade profile is an EPPLER818, which was previously studied through the Q-Blade software according to the velocity range presumed (v < 1 m/s) in the experiments. The prototype performance was studied in a recirculating water channel at the Polytechnic Engineering School of Mieres (Oviedo University), with a gate of variable height at the channel end, which allows for performing different hydrodynamic scenarios upon varying the considered flow rate. The results show that the extracted power increases due to the equally increased blockage ratio, which represents the ratio between the turbine area and the channel area. However, an excessive increase in the blockage ratio corresponds to a power reduction effect due to the reduction in the effective area and the generation of a two-phase air-water condition

Femtosecond laser inscription of nonlinear photonic circuits in Gallium Lanthanum Sulphide glass

We report on femtosecond laser writing of single mode optical waveguides in chalcogenide Gallium Lanthanum Sulphide (GLS) glass. A multiscan fabrication process was employed to create waveguides with symmetric single mode guidance and low insertion losses at 800 nm wavelength, compatible with Ti:Sapphire ultrafast lasers. {\mu}Raman and X-Ray microanalysis were used to elucidate the origin of the laser-induced refractive index change in GLS. Nonlinear refractive index measurements of the waveguides were performed by finding the optical switching parameters of a directional coupler, demonstrating that the nonlinear properties were preserved, evidencing that GLS is a promising platform for laser-written integrated nonlinear photonics