655 research outputs found
Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form: Brazilian Validation and Measurement Invariance between the United Kingdom and Latin-American Datasets
The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Brazilian adaptation of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF). In a sample of 512 participants, we tested model fit by bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM), followed by measurement invariance testing against UK and Chilean datasets of the measure. The Big Five Mini-Markers, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale were also administered as external validation measures. We obtained the following results: (a) final adequate bifactor ESEM model fit; (b) a significantly higher global trait EI mean for men (dâ=â.27); (c) high internal consistency for global trait EI (αâ=â.88), in spite of lower Cronbach's α values at the factor level (.60-.85); (d) high correlation (râ=â.89) in the test-retest; (e) significant correlation between global trait EI and most of the Big Five dimensions (râ=â-.66-.46), life satisfaction (.59) and happiness (.68); (f) evidence of incremental validity of trait EI for life satisfaction and happiness over and above the Big Five; (g) equivalent measurement across the Brazilian, UK and Chilean versions of the TEIQue-SF. We conclude that the Brazilian TEIQue-SF is psychometrically sound and can be recommended for research and practical use
Ureteritis Cystica: Important Consideration in the Differential Diagnosis of Acute Renal Colic
Ureteritis cystica is an uncommon cause of acute renal pain. The aetiology remains unclear and the diagnosis may be difficult to establish. We report the case of a 29 year old woman with a history of repeated urinary tract infections presenting with acute renal colic in the absence of lithiasis. We review the diagnostic tools available to make the diagnosis and the recent pertinent literature
First-line eradication rates comparing two shortened non-bismuth quadruple regimens against Helicobacter pylori: an open-label, randomized, multicentre clinical trial
OBJECTIVES: Helicobacter pylori eradication remains a challenge. Non-bismuth-based quadruple regimens (NBQR) have shown high eradication rates (ER) elsewhere that need to be locally confirmed. The objective of this study was to compare the first-line ER of a hybrid therapy (20 mg of omeprazole twice daily and 1 g of amoxicillin twice daily for 10 days, adding 500 mg of clarithromycin twice daily and 500 mg of metronidazole every 8 h for the last 5 days; OA-OACM) with that of a 10 day concomitant regimen consisting of taking all four drugs twice daily every day (including 500 mg of metronidazole every 12 h; OACM). A 10 day arm with standard triple therapy (OAC; 20 mg of omeprazole/12 h, 1 g of amoxicillin/12 h and 500 mg of clarithromycin/12 h) was included. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred consecutive patients were randomized (1: 2: 2) into one of the three following regimens: (i) OAC (60); (ii) OA-OACM (120); and (iii) OACM (120). Eradication was generally confirmed by a [(13)C]urea breath test at least 4 weeks after the end of treatment. Adverse events and compliance were assessed. EudraCT: 2011-006258-99. RESULTS: ITT cure rates were: OAC, 70.0% (42/60) (95% CI: 58.3-81.7); OA-OACM, 90.8% (109/120) (95% CI: 85.6-96.0); and OACM, 90.0% (107/119) (95% CI: 84.6-95.4). PP rates were: OAC, 72.4% (42/58) (95% CI: 60.8-84.1); OA-OACM, 93.9% (108/115) (95% CI: 89.5-98.3); and OACM, 90.3% (102/113) (95% CI: 84.8-95.8). Both NBQR significantly improved ER compared with OAC (P < 0.01), but no differences were seen between them. Mean compliance was elevated [98.0% (SD = 9.8)] with no differences between groups. There were more adverse events in the quadruple arms (OACM, 65.8%; OA-OACM, 68.6%; OAC, 46.6%; P < 0.05), but no significant differences between groups in terms of severity were seen. CONCLUSIONS: Hybrid and concomitant regimens show good ER against H. pylori infection with an acceptable safety profile. They clearly displace OAC as first-line regimen in our area
Internet of things
Manual of Digital Earth / Editors: Huadong Guo, Michael F. Goodchild, Alessandro Annoni .- Springer, 2020 .- ISBN: 978-981-32-9915-3Digital Earth was born with the aim of replicating the real world within the digital world. Many efforts have been made to observe and sense the Earth, both from space (remote sensing) and by using in situ sensors. Focusing on the latter, advances in Digital Earth have established vital bridges to exploit these sensors and their networks by taking location as a key element. The current era of connectivity envisions that everything is connected to everything. The concept of the Internet of Things(IoT)emergedasaholisticproposaltoenableanecosystemofvaried,heterogeneous networked objects and devices to speak to and interact with each other. To make the IoT ecosystem a reality, it is necessary to understand the electronic components, communication protocols, real-time analysis techniques, and the location of the objects and devices. The IoT ecosystem and the Digital Earth (DE) jointly form interrelated infrastructures for addressing todayâs pressing issues and complex challenges. In this chapter, we explore the synergies and frictions in establishing an efïŹcient and permanent collaboration between the two infrastructures, in order to adequately address multidisciplinary and increasingly complex real-world problems. Although there are still some pending issues, the identiïŹed synergies generate optimism for a true collaboration between the Internet of Things and the Digital Earth
Direct Measurement of Nuclear Dependence of Charged Current Quasielastic-like Neutrino Interactions using MINERvA
Charged-current interactions on carbon, iron, and lead with a
final state hadronic system of one or more protons with zero mesons are used to
investigate the influence of the nuclear environment on quasielastic-like
interactions. The transfered four-momentum squared to the target nucleus,
, is reconstructed based on the kinematics of the leading proton, and
differential cross sections versus and the cross-section ratios of iron,
lead and carbon to scintillator are measured for the first time in a single
experiment. The measurements show a dependence on atomic number. While the
quasielastic-like scattering on carbon is compatible with predictions, the
trends exhibited by scattering on iron and lead favor a prediction with
intranuclear rescattering of hadrons accounted for by a conventional particle
cascade treatment. These measurements help discriminate between different
models of both initial state nucleons and final state interactions used in the
neutrino oscillation experiments
Association between loop diuretic dose changes and outcomes in chronic heart failure: observations from the ESC-EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry
[Abstract]
Aims. Guidelines recommend down-titration of loop diuretics (LD) once euvolaemia is achieved. In outpatients with heart
failure (HF), we investigated LD dose changes in daily cardiology practice, agreement with guideline recommendations,
predictors of successful LD down-titration and association between dose changes and outcomes.
Methods
and results.
We included 8130 HF patients from the ESC-EORP Heart Failure Long-Term Registry. Among patients who had dose
decreased, successful decrease was defined as the decrease not followed by death, HF hospitalization, New York Heart
Association class deterioration, or subsequent increase in LD dose. Mean age was 66±13 years, 71% men, 62% HF
with reduced ejection fraction, 19% HF with mid-range ejection fraction, 19% HF with preserved ejection fraction.
Median [interquartile range (IQR)] LD dose was 40 (25â80) mg. LD dose was increased in 16%, decreased in 8.3%
and unchanged in 76%. Median (IQR) follow-up was 372 (363â419) days. Diuretic dose increase (vs. no change) was
associated with HF death [hazard ratio (HR) 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12â2.08; P = 0.008] and nominally
with cardiovascular death (HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.96â1.63; P = 0.103). Decrease of diuretic dose (vs. no change) was
associated with nominally lower HF (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.33â1.07; P = 0.083) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 0.62 95% CI 0.38â1.00; P = 0.052). Among patients who had LD dose decreased, systolic blood pressure [odds ratio
(OR) 1.11 per 10 mmHg increase, 95% CI 1.01â1.22; P = 0.032], and absence of (i) sleep apnoea (OR 0.24, 95% CI
0.09â0.69; P = 0.008), (ii) peripheral congestion (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.29â0.80; P = 0.005), and (iii) moderate/severe
mitral regurgitation (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37â0.87; P = 0.008) were independently associated with successful decrease.
Conclusion. Diuretic dose was unchanged in 76% and decreased in 8.3% of outpatients with chronic HF. LD dose increase was
associated with worse outcomes, while the LD dose decrease group showed a trend for better outcomes compared
with the no-change group. Higher systolic blood pressure, and absence of (i) sleep apnoea, (ii) peripheral congestion,
and (iii) moderate/severe mitral regurgitation were independently associated with successful dose decrease
A scalable analytical framework for spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood change: A sequence analysis approach
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. Spatio-temporal changes reflect the complexity and evolution of demographic and socio-economic processes. Changes in the spatial distribution of population and consumer demand at urban and rural areas are expected to trigger changes in future housing and infrastructure needs. This paper presents a scalable analytical framework for understanding spatio-temporal population change, using a sequence analysis approach. This paper uses gridded cell Census data for Great Britain from 1971 to 2011 with 10-year intervals, creating neighborhood typologies for each Census year. These typologies are then used to analyze transitions of grid cells between different types of neighborhoods and define representative trajectories of neighborhood change. The results reveal seven prevalent trajectories of neighborhood change across Great Britain, identifying neighborhoods which have experienced stable, upward and downward pathways through the national socioeconomic hierarchy over the last four decades
JVG9, a benzimidazole derivative, alters the surface and cytoskeleton of Trypanosoma cruzi bloodstream trypomastigotes
ICTs connecting global citizens, global dialogue and global governance. A call for needful designs
Humankind is on the transition to a supra-system of humanity, according
to which social relationships â that organise the common good â are re-organised
such that global challenges are kept below the threshold of a self-inflicted
breakdown. In order to succeed, three conditions are imperative: (1) Global governance
needs a global conscience that orients towards the protection of the common
good. (2) Such global governance needs a global dialogue on the state of
the common good and the ways to proceed. (3) Such a global dialogue needs
global citizens able to reflect upon the current state of the common good and the
ways to proceed to desired states. Each of these imperatives is about a space of
possibilities. Each space nests the following one such that they altogether form
the scaffolding along which institutions can emerge that realise the imperatives
when proper nuclei are introduced in those spaces. Such nuclei would already
support each other. However, the clue is to further their integration by Information
and Communication Technologies. An information platform shall be
launched that could cover any task on any of the three levels, entangled with the
articulation of cooperative action from the local to the global, based on the cybersubsidiarity
model. This model is devised to ensure the percolation of meaningful
information throughout the different organisational levels.2019-2
Differential game theory for versatile physical human-robot interaction
The last decades have seen a surge of robots working in contact with humans. However, until now these contact robots have made little use of the opportunities offered by physical interaction and lack a systematic methodology to produce versatile behaviours. Here, we develop an interactive robot controller able to understand the control strategy of the human user and react optimally to their movements. We demonstrate that combining an observer with a differential game theory controller can induce a stable interaction between the two partners, precisely identify each otherâs control law, and allow them to successfully perform the task with minimum effort. Simulations and experiments with human subjects demonstrate these properties and illustrate how this controller can induce different representative interaction strategies
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