The Maximum Chromatic Number of the Disjointness Graph of Segments on nn-point Sets in the Plane with n≤16n\leq 16

Let $P$ be a finite set of points in general position in the plane. The disjointness graph of segments $D(P)$ of $P$ is the graph whose vertices are all the closed straight line segments with endpoints in $P$, two of which are adjacent in $D(P)$ if and only if they are disjoint. As usual, we use $\chi(D(P))$ to denote the chromatic number of $D(P)$, and use $d(n)$ to denote the maximum $\chi(D(P))$ taken over all sets $P$ of $n$ points in general position in the plane. In this paper we show that $d(n)=n-2$ if and only if $n\in \{3,4,\ldots ,16\}$.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figure

Teaching technology: from knowing to feeling enhancing emotional and content acquisition performance through Gardner’s multiple intelligences Theory in technology and design lessons

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory (MIT) can be a cognitive and emotional improvement if is taken into account in the standard development of the Technology lessons. This work presents a preliminary evaluation of the performance enhancement in two concomitant aspects: contents acquisition and emotional yield. The study was made on up to 150 students with ages of 12-13 years old. The control group was submitted to traditional transmission-reception lessons, whereas the experimental one was submitted to novel educational techniques that included specific activities which took into account the different intelligences styles (IS) inside the classroom. The results clearly depicted that both studied variables underwent a statistical significant enhancement through the application of the MIT-based educational methodPeer Reviewe

Pharmacokinetics of Echinocandins in Suspected Candida Peritonitis: a Potential Risk for Resistance.

A possible increase of Candida resistance, specially in C. glabrata, has been speculated according to a poor diffusion of echinocandins to peritoneal fluid. Peritoneal and serum concentrations of Caspofungin, micafungin and anidulafungin were analyzed in surgical patients with suspected candida peritonitis. After four days of starting therapy serum and peritoneal samples (through peritoneal drainage) were obtained at baseline, 1 h, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h of drug administration. Micafungin and anidulafungin concentrations were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/F), whereas caspofungin concentration were stablished by bioassay. A total of 23 critically ill patients with suspected abdominal fungal infection who were receiving an echinocandin were prospectively recruited. No specific criteria were applied to prescribe one specific echinocadin. No special clinical differences were observed among the 3 groups of patients. All were receiving antibiotic therapy, 80% required inotropic drugs and finally fungal peritonitis were confirmed in 74% of them. The AUC0_24h (mg*h/L) obtained in serum and peritoneal fluid were: 126.84 and 34.38; 98.52 and 18.83; and 66.9 and 8.78 for anidulafungin, micafungin and caspofungin, respectively. The median concentration in peritoneal fluid ranged from 0.66 to 1.82 μg/ml for anidulafungin, 0.68 to 0.88 μg/mL for micafungin and 0.21 to 0.46 μg/ml for caspofungin. The results show a moderate penetration of echinocandins into the peritoneal fluid in these patients. These levels are below the threshold of resistance mutant selection published by other authors. It could justify a potential risk of resistance in patients with prolonged treatments with echinocandins and suboptimal control of the abdominal infection.The study received funding from the “Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias” of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS PI 15/1536). The work was supported by Plan Nacional de I + D+i 2013-2016 and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI RD16), and co-financed by European Development Regional Fund “A way to achieve Europe”, Operative program Intelligent Growth 2014-2020.S

Breakthrough invasive fungal infection among patients with haematologic malignancies: A national, prospective, and multicentre study

Objectives: We describe the current epidemiology, causes, and outcomes of breakthrough invasive fungal infections (BtIFI) in patients with haematologic malignancies.Methods: BtIFI in patients with & GE; 7 days of prior antifungals were prospectively diagnosed (36 months across 13 Spanish hospitals) according to revised EORTC/MSG definitions.Results: 121 episodes of BtIFI were documented, of which 41 (33.9%) were proven; 53 (43.8%), probable; and 27 (22.3%), possible. The most frequent prior antifungals included posaconazole (32.2%), echinocandins (28.9%) and fluconazole (24.8%)-mainly for primary prophylaxis (81%). The most common haematologic malignancy was acute leukaemia (64.5%), and 59 (48.8%) patients had undergone a hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. Invasive aspergillosis, principally caused by non-fumigatus Aspergillus, was the most fre-quent BtIFI with 55 (45.5%) episodes recorded, followed by candidemia (23, 19%), mucormycosis (7, 5.8%), other moulds (6, 5%) and other yeasts (5, 4.1%). Azole resistance/non-susceptibility was commonly found. Prior antifungal therapy widely determined BtIFI epidemiology. The most common cause of BtIFI in proven and probable cases was the lack of activity of the prior antifungal (63, 67.0%). At diagnosis, antifungal therapy was mostly changed (90.9%), mainly to liposomal amphotericin-B (48.8%). Overall, 10 0-day mor-tality was 47.1%; BtIFI was either the cause or an essential contributing factor to death in 61.4% of cases.Conclusions: BtIFI are mainly caused by non-fumigatus Aspergillus, non-albicans Candida, Mucorales and other rare species of mould and yeast. Prior antifungals determine the epidemiology of BtIFI. The exceed-ingly high mortality due to BtIFI warrants an aggressive diagnostic approach and early initiation of broad-spectrum antifungals different than those previously used.& COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The British Infection Association. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Safety and effectiveness of isavuconazole in real-life non-neutropenic patients

Objectives: Information is scarce on clinical experiences with non-neutropenic patients with invasive fungal infection (IFI) receiving isavuconazole. We aimed to report the safety and effectiveness of this drug as a first-line treatment or rescue in real life. Methods: A retrospective, observational multicentric study of non-neutropenic patients who received isavuconazole as an IFI treatment at 12 different university hospitals (January 2018-2022). All patients met criteria for proven, probable or possible IFI according to EORTC-MSG. Results: A total of 238 IFIs were treated with isavuconazole during the study period. Combination therapy was administered in 27.7% of cases. The primary IFI was aspergillosis (217, 91.2%). Other IFIs treated with isavuconazole were candidemia (n = 10), mucormycosis (n = 8), histoplasmosis (n = 2), cryptococcosis (n = 2), and others (n = 4). Median time of isavuconazole treatment was 29 days. Only 5.9% (n = 14) of cases developed toxicity, mainly hepatic-related (10 patients, 4.2%). Nine patients (3.8%) had treatment withdrawn. Successful clinical response at 12 weeks was documented in 50.5% of patients. Conclusion: Isavuconazole is an adequate treatment for non-neutropenic patients with IFIs. Toxicity rates were low and its effectiveness was comparable to other antifungal therapies previously reported. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Double-pulsed-carrier speckle-shearing pattern interferometry for transient deformation analysis

We report on a novel technique for the evaluation of transient phase in double-pulsed electronic speckle-shearing pattern interferometry. Our technique requires the acquisition of just two speckle-shear interferograms which are correlated by subtraction to obtain a fringe pattern. A spatial carrier is generated by means of an original optical setup based on the separation and later recombination of the two beams produced by a Nd:YAG twin pulsed laser. One introduces an optical path difference in the curvature radii of the illumination beams by mismatching the distances from two diverging lenses to a beam combiner. This procedure gives rise to a linear phase term in the second speckle- shear interferogram that plays the role of a spatial carrier and allows the use of spatial phase measurement methods to analyze the fringe pattern. We present the theoretical aspects of the technique as well as its experimental implementation.Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia | Ref. TAP970829-C03-01Xunta de Galicia | Ref. XUGA 32101B95Universidade de Vigo | Ref. 64502180

Measurement of transient out-of-plane displacement gradients in plates using double-pulsed subtraction TV shearography

We report a technique for the measurement of transient out-of-plane displacement gradients in plane objects by double-pulsed subtraction TV shearography. The fringe patterns are automatically and quantitatively analyzed by the Fourier transform method. A novel optical setup based on the separation and further recombination of illumination beams is demonstrated for the generation of carrier fringes. The principle of the proposed technique is theoretically described, and its immunity to environmental disturbances is discussed. Experimental results obtained with a metallic plate excited by the impact of a piezoelectric transducer are presented.Comisión Intermnisterial de Ciencia y Tecnología | Ref. TAP97-0829-C03-01Xunta de Galicia | Ref. XUGA 32105B97Universidade de Vigo | Ref. 64502I80

Evaluación de cambio de cobertura vegetal y uso de suelo en la cuenca del río Tecolutla, Veracruz, México; periodo 1994-2010

Los estudios relacionados con los cambios progresivos en la cobertura vegetal y de uso de suelo, han cobrado importancia en la investigación ambiental, ya que han permitido evaluar las tendencias espacio-temporales de procesos como la deforestación y degradación ambiental, provocadas por actividades humanas. En este contexto, el objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el impacto de las actividades antropogénicas en la cuenca del río Tecolutla, Veracruz, México; en un periodo de 16 años. Se utilizaron imágenes de satélite Landsat para los años de 1994 y 2010, distinguiéndose nueve usos y coberturas del suelo: selva, bosques, suelo agrícola, agua, vegetación perturbada, asentamientos urbanos, pastizales, cultivos de cítricos y matorrales. Se validaron los mapas temáticos, obteniéndose exactitudes globales mayores a 92%, y coeficientes de Kappa de 0.89 y 0.91 para las clasificaciones de 1994 y 2010, respectivamente. El análisis de la matriz de transición reveló una tendencia al incremento de superficies dedicadas a actividades humanas (agricultura y uso urbano), presentando porcentajes de cambio de 28% y 67% en un lapso de 16 años, respectivamente. En consecuencia, se observó una disminución (-1.1% anual) de superficies con coberturas naturales, específicamente de bosques y selvas, encontrándose similitudes con trabajos realizados a nivel nacional y estatal, donde se ha demostrado la transición de coberturas naturales por el incremento de actividades antropogénicas. Los resultados de este trabajo son de utilidad para futuros planes de desarrollo ambiental, planes de ordenamiento territorial, y en la planeación de estrategias de conservación de los recursos naturales en la cuenca

A Phase III, Randomized, Clinical Trial of a 0.5% Timolol + 0.2% Brimonidine + 2.0% Dorzolamide Fixed Combination, Preservative-Free Ophthalmic Solution vs 0.5% Timolol + 0.2% Brimonidine + 2.0% Dorzolamide Fixed Combination in Patients with Controlled Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

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