675 research outputs found
A NEW SHORT VERSION OF INTERNET GAMING DISORDER-20: AN EXPLORATORY STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING
Objective: The purpose of this paper was to contribute to the psychometric
properties and dimensionality of the IGD-20.
Method: An online survey was completed by 392 Italian online gamers (Mage
= 29.2, SD = 11.3; 45.2% males). A battery of self-report questionnaires was
administered to assess internet gaming disorder, internet addiction, loneliness,
anxiety, depression, stress, social-interaction anxiety, self-esteem, and perceived
social support. To test the factor structure of IGD-20, both traditional (i.e., EFA and
CFA) and innovative (i.e., ESEM) techniques were applied. Convergent, concurrent,
discriminant, and criterion-related validity were evaluated.
Results: Our study revealed the outperforming 3-factor ESEM model (χ2=39.951,
p = 0.0021; RMSEA = 0.056, 90% C.I. [0.032 - 0.079]; CFI = 0.986; TLI = 0.965;
and SRMR = 0.017; ω = .76, .77, and .79, respectively) as a new short version (IGD-
10SV) for the IGD-20. The validity of the IGD-10SV was supported by significant
associations with theoretically related measures.
Conclusions: The current findings support the adoption of the analytic ESEM
approach for complex multidimensional measures and the use of the IGD-10SV for the assessment of internet gaming disorder
Precision measurements of Linear Scattering Density using Muon Tomography
We demonstrate that muon tomography can be used to precisely measure the
properties of various materials. The materials which have been considered have
been extracted from an experimental blast furnace, including carbon (coke) and
iron oxides, for which measurements of the linear scattering density relative
to the mass density have been performed with an absolute precision of 10%. We
report the procedures that are used in order to obtain such precision, and a
discussion is presented to address the expected performance of the technique
when applied to heavier materials. The results we obtain do not depend on the
specific type of material considered and therefore they can be extended to any
application.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Performance of the galactomannan antigen detection test in the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in children with cancer or undergoing haemopoietic stem cell transplantation
AbstractSerum galactomannan (GM) antigen detection is not recommended for defining invasive aspergillosis (IA) in children undergoing aggressive chemotherapy or allogeneic haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The ability of the GM test to identify IA in children was retrospectively evaluated in a cohort of children. Test performance was evaluated on samples that were collected during 195 periods at risk of IA. Proven IA was diagnosed in seven periods, all with positive GM test results (true positives, 4%), and possible IA was diagnosed in 15 periods, all with negative GM test results (false negatives, 8%). The test result was positive with negative microbiological, histological and clinical features in three periods (false positives, 1%), and in 170 periods it was negative with negative microbiological, histological and clinical features (true negatives, 87%). The sensitivity was 0.32 and the specificity was 0.98; the positive predictive value was 0.70 and the negative predictive value was 0.92. The efficiency of the test was 0.91, the positive likelihood ratio was 18.3, and the negative likelihood ratio was 1.4. The probability of missing an IA because of a negative test result was 0.03. Test performance proved to be better during at-risk periods following chemotherapy than in periods following allogeneic HSCT. The GM assay is useful for identifying periods of IA in children undergoing aggressive chemotherapy or allogeneic HSCT
Suicide inhibition of alpha-oxamine synthases:structures of the covalent adducts of 8-amino-7-oxononanoate synthase with trifluoroalanine
The suicide inhibition of the α-oxamine synthases by the substrate analog, L-trifluoroalanine was investigated. The inhibition resulted in the formation of a complex with loss of all three fluorine atoms. Decarboxylation and loss of fluoride occurred immediately after aldimine formation. The inherent flexibility could allow the difluorinated intermediate complex to adopt a suitable conformation. Decarboxylation in the normal mechanism occurs after formation of the ketoacid intermediate.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Thermal effects on electron-phonon interaction in silicon nanostructures
Raman spectra from silicon nanostructures, recorded using excitation laser
power density of 1.0 kW/cm^2, is employed here to reveal the dominance of
thermal effects at temperatures higher than the room temperature. Room
temperature Raman spectrum shows only phonon confinement and Fano effects.
Raman spectra recorded at higher temperatures show increase in FWHM and
decrease in asymmetry ratio with respect to its room temperature counterpart.
Experimental Raman scattering data are analyzed successfully using theoretical
Raman line-shape generated by incorporating the temperature dependence of
phonon dispersion relation. Experimental and theoretical temperature dependent
Raman spectra are in good agreement. Although quantum confinement and Fano
effects persists, heating effects start dominating at higher temperatures than
room tempaerature.Comment: 9 Pages, 3 Figures and 1 Tabl
Early gut microbiota signature of agvhd in children given allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for hematological disorders
Background: The onset of acute Graft-versus-Host Disease (aGvHD) has been correlated with the gut microbiota (GM) composition, but experimental observations are still few, mainly involving cohorts of adult patients. In the current scenario where fecal microbiota transplantation has been used as a pioneer therapeutic approach to treat steroid-refractory aGvHD, there is an urgent need to expand existing observational studies of the GM dynamics in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). Aim of the present study is to explore the GM trajectory in 36 pediatric HSCT recipients in relation to aGvHD onset. Methods: Thirty-six pediatric patients, from four transplantation centers, undergoing HSCT were enrolled in the study. Stools were collected at three time points: before HSCT, at time of engraftment and > 30 days following HSCT. Changes in the GM phylogenetic structure were studied by 16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing and phylogenetic assignation. Results: Children developing gut aGvHD had a dysbiotic GM layout before HSCT occurred. This putative aGvHD-predisposing ecosystem state was characterized by (i) reduced diversity, (ii) lower Blautia content, (iii) increase in Fusobacterium abundance. At time of engraftment, the GM structure underwent a deep rearrangement in all patients but, regardless of the occurrence of aGvHD and its treatment, it reacquired a eubiotic configuration from day 30. Conclusions: We found a specific GM signature before HSCT predictive of subsequent gut aGvHD occurrence. Our data may open the way to a GM-based stratification of the risk of developing aGvHD in children undergoing HSCT, potentially useful also to identify patients benefiting from prophylactic fecal transplantation
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation for patients with advanced rhabdomyosarcoma: A retrospective assessment
BACKGROUND: Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) may provide donor cytotoxic T cell-/NK cell-mediated disease control in patients with rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). However, little is known about the prevalence of graft-vs-RMS effects and only a few case experiences have been reported. METHODS: We evaluated allo-SCT outcomes of 30 European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT)-registered patients with advanced RMS regarding toxicity, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) after allo-SCT. Twenty patients were conditioned with reduced intensity and ten with high-dose chemotherapy. Twenty-three patients were transplanted with HLA-matched and seven with HLA-mismatched grafts. Three patients additionally received donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs). Median follow-up was 9 months. RESULTS: Three-year OS was 20% (s.e.±8%) with a median survival time of 12 months. Cumulative risk of progression was 67% (s.e.±10%) and 11% (s.e.±6%) for death of complications. Thirteen patients developed acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) and five developed chronic GvHD. Eighteen patients died of disease and four of complications. Eight patients survived in complete remission (CR) (median: 44 months). No patients with residual disease before allo-SCT were converted to CR. CONCLUSION: The use of allo-SCT in patients with advanced RMS is currently experimental. In a subset of patients, it may constitute a valuable approach for consolidating CR, but this needs to be validated in prospective trials
Photoelectric Emission from Interstellar Dust: Grain Charging and Gas Heating
We model the photoelectric emission from and charging of interstellar dust
and obtain photoelectric gas heating efficiencies as a function of grain size
and the relevant ambient conditions. Using realistic grain size distributions,
we evaluate the net gas heating rate for various interstellar environments, and
find less heating for dense regions characterized by R_V=5.5 than for diffuse
regions with R_V=3.1. We provide fitting functions which reproduce our
numerical results for photoelectric heating and recombination cooling for a
wide range of interstellar conditions. In a separate paper we will examine the
implications of these results for the thermal structure of the interstellar
medium. Finally, we investigate the potential importance of photoelectric
heating in H II regions, including the warm ionized medium. We find that
photoelectric heating could be comparable to or exceed heating due to
photoionization of H for high ratios of the radiation intensity to the gas
density. We also find that photoelectric heating by dust can account for the
observed variation of temperature with distance from the galactic midplane in
the warm ionized medium.Comment: 50 pages, including 18 figures; corrected title and abstract field
Wave-formed sediment ripples: Transient analysis of ripple spectral development
A new method has been developed that models the changes a wave-formed rippled sediment bed undergoes as it is actively evolving between two given equilibrium states due to a change in surface wave conditions. The transient analysis of rippled beds has received very little attention within the literature. Dynamic changes within ripple parameters have implications for the estimation of flow dissipation and sediment transport by changing the bottom roughness height. The method uses the spectral density function of the rippled bed and is based on a series of ripple growth and ripple transition experimental tests. The ripple evolution model was developed from the well-known Logistic Growth Law. Fitting the general solution of the logistic nonlinear differential equation to the experimental data enabled the evolution rate of the bed to be determined for each experimental test. It was concluded that there was no difference between the evolution rate determined from the ripple growth tests and the ripple transition tests. This indicated that the two types of growth are special cases of the same evolution processes, which is adequately modeled by the logistic growth equation. A functional dependence was established between the ripple evolution rate and the Shields parameter. This allows the evolution rate to be estimated from flow and sediment properties. The estimation of the rate at which rippled sediment beds evolve under a variable sea state has the potential to lead to significant improvements to the way ripple transition and hence bottom roughness is approximated in coastal wave models.Joseph P. Davis, David J. Walker, Murray Townsend, Ian R. Youn
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