Towards a determination of the chiral couplings at NLO in 1/N(C): L_8(mu) and C_38(mu)

We present a dispersive method which allows to investigate the low-energy couplings of chiral perturbation theory at the next-to-leading order (NLO) in the 1/N(C) expansion, keeping full control of their renormalization scale dependence. Using the resonance chiral theory Lagrangian, we perform a NLO calculation of the scalar and pseudoscalar two-point functions, within the single-resonance approximation. Imposing the correct QCD short-distance constraints, one determines their difference Pi(t)=Pi_S(t)-Pi_P(t) in terms of the pion decay constant and resonance masses. Its low momentum expansion fixes then the low-energy chiral couplings L_8 and C_38. At mu_0=0.77 GeV, we obtain L_8(mu_0)^{SU(3)} = (0.6+-0.4)10^{-3} and C_{38}(mu_0)^{SU(3)}=(2+-6)10^{-6}.Comment: Extended version published at JHEP01(2007)039. A NLO prediction for the O(p6) chiral coupling C_38 has been added. The original L_8 results remain unchange

Evaluación cualitativa del programa comunitario Irunsasoi para la promoción de la actividad física: la perspectiva de los médicos

Objectives: The sedentarism is an important conditioner of morbidity and mortality. The communitarian programs of promotion of physical activity that include a pursuit protocol can help and complement to the medical advice in the consultation. The objectives that we marked ourselves with this study have been to know the opinion the doctors on the prescription of physical activity and the implantation of the Irunsasoi program, collaboration between the doctors of Primary Attention and the technicians of physical activity of the council of Irún City to help the sedentary people. Methodology Design: Technique of focal groups. The discussions were recorded and later transcribed, previous authorization, for their analysis. Location: Primary attention. Irún Centro health Center. Subjects: The study population was the 15 doctors of AP. Two groups of 5 doctors, homogenous were made in age and sex, the recruitment was made, the invitation at random to participate was verbal by the investigator without no refusal took place. Measures: The discussion lines were grouped in: attitude before the advice and participation in the program, difficulties of collaboration and proposals of improvement. Results: Positive evaluation of the program to have enabled personnel, sufficient time and guarantees of pursuit. The collaboration difficulties are based on the forgetfulness not to have it built-in to our mechanics of work and to wort in other activities by lack of time. Conclusions: He is positive to work jointly with the technicians of physical activity. Aspects to improve: the formation in prescription of physical activity, the implication of nurses, the circuit of communication and the support in computerized historyObjetivos: El sedentarismo es un importante condicionante de morbilidad y mortalidad. Los programas comunitarios de promoción de actividad física que incluyan un protocolo de seguimiento pueden ayudar y complementar al consejo médico en la consulta. Los objetivos que nos marcamos con este estudio han sido conocer la opinión de los médicos sobre la prescripción de actividad física y sobre la implantación del programa Irunsasoi, de colaboración entre los médicos de Atención Primaria y los técnicos de actividad física del Ayuntamiento de Irún para ayudar a las personas sedentarias. Metodología: Diseño: Técnica de grupos focales. Las discusiones fueron grabadas y posteriormente transcritas, previa autorización, para su análisis. Emplazamiento: Atención primaria. Centro de salud Irún Centro. Sujetos: La población de estudio fueron los 15 médicos de AP. Se realizaron dos grupos de 5 médicos, homogéneos en edad y sexo, el reclutamiento se realizó al azar, la invitación a participar fue verbal por el investigador sin que se produjera ninguna negativa. Medidas: Los ejes de discusión se agruparon en: actitud ante el consejo y participación en el programa, dificultades de colaboración y propuestas de mejora. Resultados: Valoración positiva del programa por disponer de personal capacitado, tiempo suficiente y garantías de seguimiento. Las dificultades de colaboración se basan en el olvido por no tenerlo incorporado a nuestra mecánica de trabajo y priorización de otras actividades por falta de tiempo. Conclusiones: Es positivo trabajar conjuntamente con los técnicos de actividad física. Aspectos a mejorar: la formación en prescripción de actividad física, la implicación de enfermería, el circuito de comunicación y el soporte en la historia informatizad

Plausibility of a Neural Network Classifier-Based Neuroprosthesis for Depression Detection via Laughter Records

The present work explores the diagnostic performance for depression of neural network classifiers analyzing the sound structures of laughter as registered from clinical patients and healthy controls. The main methodological novelty of this work is that simple sound variables of laughter are used as inputs, instead of electrophysiological signals or local field potentials (LFPs) or spoken language utterances, which are the usual protocols up-to-date. In the present study, involving 934 laughs from 30 patients and 20 controls, four different neural networks models were tested for sensitivity analysis, and were additionally trained for depression detection. Some elementary sound variables were extracted from the records: timing, fundamental frequency mean, first three formants, average power, and the Shannon-Wiener entropy. In the results obtained, two of the neural networks show a diagnostic discrimination capability of 93.02 and 91.15% respectively, while the third and fourth ones have an 87.96 and 82.40% percentage of success. Remarkably, entropy turns out to be a fundamental variable to distinguish between patients and controls, and this is a significant factor which becomes essential to understand the deep neurocognitive relationships between laughter and depression. In biomedical terms, our neural network classifier-based neuroprosthesis opens up the possibility of applying the same methodology to other mental-health and neuropsychiatric pathologies. Indeed, exploring the application of laughter in the early detection and prognosis of Alzheimer and Parkinson would represent an enticing possibility, both from the biomedical and the computational points of view

Elastofibroma Dorsi

Se realiza un estudio clínico-patológico de dos casos, mujeres de 57 y 45 años, de "elastofibroma dorsi" intervenidos quirúrgicamente. En una enferma apareció como una tumoracion asintomática y en otra asociada a dolor en el hombro irradiado a miembro superior derecho. Se describen las particularizadas clínicas, las exploraciones complementarias, los hallazgos quirúrgicos y las características histológicas de estos tumores de partes blandas cuyo origen debe referirse a una alteración del tejido fibroelástico. Se confronta nuestra experiencia con los casos anteriormente publicados confirmándose su aparición en mujeres adultas o añosas dedicadas a trabajos manuales rutinarios, que parecen estar implicados en la patogenia del elastofibroma dorsi. En uno de los casos, aunque localizado en el espacio anatómico escápulo-torácico, su situación era supraescapular frente a la típicamente infraescapular del elastofibroma dorsi, y la consideramos la primera observación de la literatura.A clinical-pathological study of two cases of elastofibroma dorsi was carried out. Both patients were female, 57 and 45 years old, and underwent surgical operation. One patients was sympton-free, while the other complained of pain in the shoulder which spread to the upper right arm. The autors describe the clinical details, the diagnostic methods employed, the results of surgery and the histopathological features of these tumours which must have originated in a modification of conective tissue, especially in elastic fibres. We compare our findings with those of previously published cases and can confirm the appearence of these tumours in adults or middle-aged women who carry out rutinary manual work, which seems to be connected with the pathogeny of the elastofibroma dorsi. These are normally found adjacent to the vertebral border of the escapula at its inferior angle, but in one case ot was located in the supra-escapular region and we believe this is the first evidence of this kind in the literature

Plant height and hydraulic vulnerability to drought and cold

Understanding how plants survive drought and cold is increasingly important as plants worldwide experience dieback with drought in moist places and grow taller with warming in cold ones. Crucial in plant climate adaptation are the diameters of water-transporting conduits. Sampling 537 species across climate zones dominated by angiosperms, we find that plant size is unambiguously the main driver of conduit diameter variation. And because taller plants have wider conduits, and wider conduits within species are more vulnerable to conduction-blocking embolisms, taller conspecifics should be more vulnerable than shorter ones, a prediction we confirm with a plantation experiment. As a result, maximum plant size should be short under drought and cold, which cause embolism, or increase if these pressures relax. That conduit diameter and embolism vulnerability are inseparably related to plant size helps explain why factors that interact with conduit diameter, such as drought or warming, are altering plant heights worldwide

El hormigón armado en Cataluña (1898-1929): cuatro empresas y su relación con la arquitectura

Between 1898 and 1929 various business initiatives that introduced reinforced concrete in its architecture developed in Catalonia. This article studies the following four companies: Anónima Claudio Duran - Construcciones Monier, Marial Hermanos - Sociedad Colectiva, Construcciones y Pavimentos, S. A. and Material y Obras, S. A. Only thorough knowledge of the production complexities that studies these companies, their technicians and works in all its complexity will allow us to assess how reinforced concrete transformed the construction sector, with new companies of a different productive scale. However, the depressed economic cycle of 1929-1952 weighed down any initiative and artificially lengthened what was left of traditional “Catalan construction”.Entre 1898 y 1929 se desarrollaron en Cataluña variadas iniciativas empresariales que introdujeron el hormigón armado en la arquitectura. En el artículo se estudian las empresas Anónima Claudio Duran - Construcciones Monier, Marial Hermanos - Sociedad Colectiva, Construcciones y Pavimentos, S. A., y Material y Obras, S. A. Se propone una aproximación al entramado productivo que estudie las empresas, sus técnicos y sus obras en toda su complejidad con la intención de valorar cómo el hormigón armado transformó el sector de la construcción, con nuevas empresas de otra escala productiva. Sin embargo, el ciclo económico depresivo 1929-1952 lastró estas iniciativas y alargó artificialmente los restos de la tradicional «construcción catalana»