Commissioning and performance results of the WFIRST/PISCES integral field spectrograph

The Prototype Imaging Spectrograph for Coronagraphic Exoplanet Studies (PISCES) is a high contrast integral field spectrograph (IFS) whose design was driven by WFIRST coronagraph instrument requirements. We present commissioning and operational results using PISCES as a camera on the High Contrast Imaging Testbed at JPL. PISCES has demonstrated ability to achieve high contrast spectral retrieval with flight-like data reduction and analysis techniques.Comment: Author's copy - Proceedings of SPIE Volume 10400. Citation to SPIE proceedings volume will be added when availabl

The Disability Burden Associated With Stroke Emerges Before Stroke Onset and Differentially Affects Blacks: Results From the Health and Retirement Study Cohort

Background. Few longitudinal studies compare changes in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) among stroke-free adults to prospectively document IADL changes among adults who experience a stroke. We contrast annual declines in IADL independence for older individuals who remain stroke-free to those for individuals who experienced a stroke. We also assess whether these patterns differ by sex, race, or Southern birthplace. Methods. Health and Retirement Study participants who were stroke-free in 1998 (n = 17,741) were followed through 2010 (average follow-up = 8.9 years) for self- or proxy-reported stroke. We used logistic regressions to compare annual changes in odds of self-reported independence in six IADLs among those who remained stroke-free throughout follow-up (n = 15,888), those who survived a stroke (n = 1,412), and those who had a stroke and did not survive to participate in another interview (n = 442). We present models adjusted for demographic and socioeconomic covariates and also stratified on sex, race, and Southern birthplace. Results. Compared with similar cohort members who remained stroke-free, participants who developed stroke had faster declines in IADL independence and a lower probability of IADL independence prior to the stroke. After a stroke, independence declined at an annual rate similar to those who did not have a stroke. The black-white disparity in IADL independence narrowed poststroke. Conclusion. Racial differences in IADL independence are apparent long before stroke onset. Poststroke differences in IADL independence largely reflect pre stroke disparities

Comprehensive Management model for increasing the competitiveness of small and medium artisan jewelry enterprises in Peru

Today, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) either go out of business or see their growth being stalled due to poor activity management and organization, which is why they are often unprepared to engage against large companies leading their competitive markets. This study aims to develop a comprehensive management model, exclusively designed for SMEs in the jewellery sector, which may encompass all areas that create value and make them competitive. The development of this comprehensive management model was deployed in 21 steps classified into three tiers based on three major philosophies. This study uses lean manufacturing to identify activities that add value and reduce waste, and lean green was used to provide the environmental care and culture approach required for a friendly and fair workplace environment. The selected scenario is a jewelry workshop, wherein techniques and tools were completely applied and yielded a 20% increase in operating performance and a 15% increase in annual return

A randomized placebo-controlled N-of-1 trial: the effect of proton pump inhibitor in the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease

Control de acidez; Esomeprazol; Reflujo gastroesofágicoControl d'acidesa; Esomeprazol; Reflux gastroesofàgicAcid control; Esomeprazole; Gastroesophageal refluxBackground. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most frequent chronic gastrointestinal disorder. It is defined as a condition developed when the reflux of gastric contents causes troublesome symptoms (heartburn and regurgitation). This requires adequate treatment since it can lead to long-term complications including esophagus adenocarcinoma. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are generally used to treat GERD due to their high-security profile and efficiency on most patients. However, recurrent reflux despite initial treatment is frequent. N-of-1 trial is a study that allows the identification of the best treatment for each patient. The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of standard dose with double dosage of esomeprazole, to improve the GERD symptoms in a single patient. Methods. A single-patient trial, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, was carried out from September 25th, 2012, to April 26th, 2013. It included one outpatient at the gastroenterology service in a fourth-level hospital, diagnosed with nonerosive reflux disease (NERD). Yet, his symptoms were heartburn and reflux, and his endoscopic results were normal esophageal mucosa, without hiatal hernia, though pathological pH values. A no-obese male without any tobacco or alcohol usage received esomeprazole 40 mg/day and 40 mg/bid for 24 weeks. A standardized gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GerdQ) was used weekly to evaluate symptom frequency and severity. The consumption of 90% of the capsules was considered as an adequate treatment adherence. D’agostino–Pearson and Wilcoxon test were used to determine normal or nonnormal distribution and compare both treatments, respectively, both with a significant statistical difference of p0.05). Conclusion. There was no significant improvement in the patient GERD symptoms increasing the dose of oral esomeprazole during the 6 months of study. N-of-1 trials in chronic pathologies including GERD are recommended due to their potential value as systematic methods that evaluate therapies without strong scientific evidence

Simulating the WFIRST coronagraph Integral Field Spectrograph

A primary goal of direct imaging techniques is to spectrally characterize the atmospheres of planets around other stars at extremely high contrast levels. To achieve this goal, coronagraphic instruments have favored integral field spectrographs (IFS) as the science cameras to disperse the entire search area at once and obtain spectra at each location, since the planet position is not known a priori. These spectrographs are useful against confusion from speckles and background objects, and can also help in the speckle subtraction and wavefront control stages of the coronagraphic observation. We present a software package, the Coronagraph and Rapid Imaging Spectrograph in Python (crispy) to simulate the IFS of the WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI). The software propagates input science cubes using spatially and spectrally resolved coronagraphic focal plane cubes, transforms them into IFS detector maps and ultimately reconstructs the spatio-spectral input scene as a 3D datacube. Simulated IFS cubes can be used to test data extraction techniques, refine sensitivity analyses and carry out design trade studies of the flight CGI-IFS instrument. crispy is a publicly available Python package and can be adapted to other IFS designs.Comment: 15 page

Risk scores for type 2 diabetes mellitus in Latin America : a systematic review of population-based studies

Aim To summarize the evidence on diabetes risk scores for Latin American populations. Methods A systematic review was conducted (CRD42019122306) looking for diagnostic and prognostic models for type 2 diabetes mellitus among randomly selected adults in Latin America. Five databases (LILACS, Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health) were searched. type 2 diabetes mellitus was defined using at least one blood biomarker and the reports needed to include information on the development and/or validation of a multivariable regression model. Risk of bias was assessed using the PROBAST guidelines. Results Of the 1500 reports identified, 11 were studied in detail and five were included in the qualitative analysis. Two reports were from Mexico, two from Peru and one from Brazil. The number of diabetes cases varied from 48 to 207 in the derivations models, and between 29 and 582 in the validation models. The most common predictors were age, waist circumference and family history of diabetes, and only one study used oral glucose tolerance test as the outcome. The discrimination performance across studies was similar to 70% (range: 66-72%) as per the area under the receiving-operator curve, the highest metric was always the negative predictive value. Sensitivity was always higher than specificity. Conclusion There is no evidence to support the use of one risk score throughout Latin America. The development, validation and implementation of risk scores should be a research and public health priority in Latin America to improve type 2 diabetes mellitus screening and prevention.Peer reviewe

Characterization of odorous emissions from a civil wastewater treatment plant in Italy

The characterization and reduction of odour emissions represents an open debate among the scientific community. Odour nuisances are connected to a large number of substances, mostly detectable at low concentrations. Direct estimation of odour impacts through olfactometry is not always applicable, as this approach requires air sampling and a pool of trained panellists. Measuring the concentration of odorous substances provides support to the characterization of emission sources and the design of odour monitoring systems. Civil wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are known sources of odours. The objective of this project is the design and development of an integrated odour emission monitoring system at the Castiglione Torinese WWTP in Italy. In this paper, the preliminary characterization of the emission sources and the odour emitting components are presented. The characterization of the emission sources and tracers was obtained by mean of a number of site inspections and measurement campaigns held between 2017 and 2019. In the last campaign, held in January 2019, chemical odour tracers (H2S, NH3, VOC) and dynamic olfactometry measurements were performed simultaneously. The screening of VOC species through gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer analysis of air samples was also performed. Odour emitting components were ranked in terms of odour activity value (OAV). Results show that VOC is the only group of compounds that is always detectable on the site. NH3 and H2S may, in some cases, be present at considerable concentrations. Results of OAV calculations show that a number of VOCs are detected on the site with a high spatial and temporal frequency. Additional considerations are reported on the site-specific correlation between chemical species and odour measurements. This detailed characterization of the emission sources and tracers results in the design of the final integrated monitoring system, which will be based on continuous measurement of H2S, NH3 and VOC and advanced dispersion modelling

Analysis of Sex-Specific Prostanoid Production Using a Mouse Model of Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition

Background: Prostanoids are a family of lipid mediators formed from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase enzymes and serve as biomarkers of vascular function. Prostanoid production may be different in males and females indicating that different therapeutic approaches may be required during disease. Objecti ves: We examined sex-dependent differences in COX-related metabolites in genetically modified mice that produce a cyclooxygenase- 2 (COX2) enzyme containing a tyrosine 385 to phenylalanine (Y385F) mutation. This mutation renders the COX2 enzyme unable to form a key intermediate radical required for complete arachidonic acid metabolism and provides a model of selective COX2 inhibition. Design and Methods: Mice heterozygous for the Y385F mutation in COX2 were mated to produce cohorts of wild-type, heterozygous, and COX2 mutant mice. We investigated whether the genotype distribution followed Mendelian genetics and studied whether sex-specific differences could be found in certain prostanoid levels measured in peritoneal macrophages and in urinary samples. Results : The inheritance of the COX2 mutation displayed a significant deviation with respect to Mendel’s laws of genetics, with a lowerthan- expected progeny of weaned COX2 mutant pups. In macrophages, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon gamma (IFNγ) stimulation was COX2-dependent in both males and females, and data indicated that crosstalk between the nitric oxide (NO) and COX2 pathways may be sex specific. We observed significant differences in urinary PGE2 production by male and female COX2 mutant mice, with the loss of COX2 activity in male mice decreasing their ability to produce urinary PGE2. Finally, female mice across all 3 genotypes produced similar levels of urinary thromboxane (measured as 11-dehydro TxB2) at significantly higher levels than males, indicating a sex-related difference that is likely COX1-derived. Conclusions: Our findings clearly demonstrate that sex-related differences in COX-derived metabolites can be observed, and that other pathways (such as the NO pathway) are affected

Prevalence and associated factors to suicide attempts in low-income adolescents from the Caribbean region of Colombia

Objectives to establish the prevalence and associated factors to suicide attempts (SA) in low-income adolescents from the Caribbean region of Colombia Methods A cross sectional study was conducted. Adolescents between 10-24 years of age residents in 21 municipalities in the Caribbean region of Colombia were randomly selected from the population affiliated to a subsidized-regime insurance company between 2014-2018. A previously constructed questionnaire was used to obtain information regarding sociodemographic variables and potential risk factors. A self-reported antecedent of suicide attempt was defined as a case. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to establish associated factors. Absolute and relative frequencies were reported. Relative frequencies were compared with the Chi2 test and continuous variables were compared with the t-test. A p value <0.050 was considered significan