Effectiveness of hypnoanalgesia for dermatological surgery in children: Randomised clinical trial

Background and Objective. Diagnostic or therapeutic procedures may generate pain, fear or anxiety. The aim of this paper is to assess whether hypnosedation in children undergoing dermatological surgery is effective in reducing the doses of sedation and analgesia during the periprocedure. Patients and methods. Clinical trial in which paediatric patients scheduled for removal of benign skin lesions in a hospital were randomised to receive hypnosis (intervention group) or attention-distracting techniques (control group). The outcome measures used were doses of sedation (propofol) during surgery, and the need for analgesia (paracetamol and others) and pain assessment by visual analogue scale (VAS), post-surgery and at 24 hours. Results. Thirty patients between 5 and 16 years of age were selected consecutively, two of them being excluded because they did not meet the criteria; 15 patients were assigned to the hypnosis group and 13 to the control. Patients treated with hypnosis as an adjuvant to conscious sedation showed a lower need for propofol (median 1.8 mg/Kg; P25-75 1.6 - 2.0) than those treated with distraction (2.9; 2.5 - 3.0; p=0.001). Eighty percent of the children in the hypnosis group needed post-surgical paracetamol versus 100% in the control (p=0.226); after 24 h after discharge the difference in need of ibuprofen was 6.7% versus 38.5% (p=0.041) and of analgesics in general 46.7% versus 84.6% (p=0.082). The VAS of pain during the procedure in the hypnosis group was VAS 0 (0-0) vs 0 (0-5.5) (p=0.142). Conclusions. Hypnosis as an adjuvant to sedation in children undergoing major outpatient surgery&nbsp

Blue organic seven segment display based on poly (9,9-dioctyfluorene)with β-phase emission

In this work, organic seven segment displays based on poly(9,9-dioctyfluorene), PFO, have been fabricated. PFO has consolidated as an attractive material for PLEDs due to its efficient blue emission [1] and high hole mobility. Additionally, PFO has a particular conformation, called β-phase associated to extended PFO chain conformation, which is of great interest for potential device applications because, among all others, it has the highest photoluminescence quantum efficiency [2] and the best colour stability [3]. The structure fabricated uses Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) as anode, Poly(3,4 -ethylenedioxythiophene) /poly(4- styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as hole transport layer and Ba:Al as cathode. After thoroughly cleaning the substrates (covered with ITO) a photolithography process is carried out in order to pattern the anode. Next, the organic layers (PEDOTT:PSS and PFO) are spin casted. Finally, metals (Ba~30 nm and Al~100 nm) are thermally evaporated in an atmosphere of 6x10 -6 Torr. PFO is dissolved in toluene at 1 % wt. A detailed description of the fabrication process can be found in [4]. Finally, the device is encapsulated (using an epoxy and a glass tap) and contacts are indium soldered on the pads. In figure 1, we can observe the shadow mask used for the anode photolitography process (left) and the final device lighting in a zero configuration (right)

The relative age effect in the Spanish elite male handball

El nacimiento en diferentes trimestres del año conlleva diferencias entre los jugadores respecto al desarrollo madurativo, las cuales pueden influir en la selección, desarrollo y consolidación en el alto nivel en balonmano. El presente estudio pretendió analizar el efecto relativo de la edad en el balonmano de élite masculino en España. Para ello, fueron analizados los datos de nacimiento y puesto específico de los 586 jugadores participantes en la Liga ASOBAL en las temporadas comprendidas entre 2003-04 y 2008-09, realizándose comparaciones y estudiándose las diferencias mediante pruebas χ2 y Z. El análisis de resultados reveló la existencia de un mayor porcentaje de jugadores nacidos en el primer trimestre del año, constatándose diferencias significativas en función de la nacionalidad. Concretamente, se encontraron porcentajes muy elevados de jugadores nacidos en los primeros meses del año en los puestos específicos de la primera línea ofensiva y en el portero Por tanto, parece confirmarse un efecto relativo de la edad en los jugadores analizados, teniendo este relación con la nacionalidad y los puestos específicos.The birth in different quarters of the year involved differences regarding maturational development in handball players, which may influence the selection, development and consolidation in the elite in handball. This study sought to investigate the relative age effect in elite male handball players in Spain. To do this, data of birth and specific position of 586 players were analyzed, who participe in the League ASOBAL in seasons between 2003-04 and 2008-09. Comparisons and differences were studied by χ2 tests and Z. Analysis of results revealed a higher percentage of players born in the first quarter, significant differences were confirmed in spanish players. Specifically, the highest percentages of players born in the first months of the year were the specific positions of the first offensive line and the goalkeeper. In conclusion, the results seem to confirm a relative effect of age on the players analyzed. The nationality and specific positions have a significant relationship with this.peerReviewe

Conductivity variations of multi-walled carbon nanotubes oriented in liquid crystal cells

The control of carbon nanotubes conductivity is generating interest in several fields since it may be relevant for a number of applications. The self-organizing properties of liquid crystals may be used to impose alignment on dispersed carbon nanotubes,thus control-ling their conductivity and its anisotropy. This leads to a number of possible applications in photonic and electronic devices such as electrically controlled carbon nanotube switch- es and crossboards. In this work, cells of liquid crystals doped with multi-walled nanotubes have been prepared in different configurations. Their conductivity variations upon switching have been investigated. It turns out that conductivity evolution depends on the initial configuration (either homogeneous, homeotropic or in-plane switching), the cell thickness and the switching record. The control of these manufacturing paramenters allows the modulation of the electrical behavior of carbon nanotubes

Thermally tunable polarization by nanoparticle plasmonic resonance in photonic crystal fibers

A photonic crystal fiber selectively filled with silver nanoparticles dispersed in polydimethylsiloxane has been numerically studied via finite elements analysis. These nanoparticles possess a localized surface plasmon resonance in the visible region which depends on the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The refractive index of polydimethylsiloxane can be thermally tuned leading to the design of polarization tunable filters. Filters found with this setup show anisotropic attenuation of the x-polarization fundamental mode around ?x = 1200dB/cm remarkably higher than the y-polarization mode. Moreover, high fiber birefringence and birefringence reversal is observed in the spectral region of the plasmon

2D tunable graded index prism beam steering device based on nematic liquid crystals

Liquid crystal devices are being used in many non-display applications in order to construct small devices controlled by low voltage electronics without mechanical components. In this work, we present a novel liquid crystal device for laser beam steering. In this device the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules can be controlled. A change in the liquid crystal orientation results in a change of the refractive index. When a laser beam passes through the device, the beam will be deviated (Fig.1) and the device works a prism. The main difference between this device and a prism is that in the device the orientation profile of the liquid crystal molecules can be modified so that the laser beam can be deviated a required angle: the device is tuneable

Tunable liquid crystal-photonic crystal fiber interferometer

In this work, we present a novel interferometer based on liquid crystal and photonic crystal fiber technology. The objective of this project is the development of a tunable (switchable) modal (Mach-Zehnder) interferometer for optical communications or sensing

Validity of the Computerized Battery for Neuropsychological Evaluation of Children (BENCI) in Spanish Children: Preliminary Results

Study of the neurodevelopment of children is vital to promote good quality of life during childhood. Few batteries showing adequate reliability and validity indices are available to evaluate the different neuropsychological domains. The objective of this study was to obtain initial evidence on the validity of the Computerized Battery for Neuropsychological Evaluation of Children (BENCI) in a Spanish population. To assess the validity of the BENCI battery and other measures of task switching, abstract reasoning, linguistic abilities, processing speed, and attention were used. The sample was composed of a total of 73 children aged 9, 10, and 11 years. Significant differences among age groups were observed in the domains of sustained attention, memory, and executive function. In addition, the BENCI subtests showed statistically significant correlations with the other neuropsychological tools. Further research is warranted on the relationship of the BENCI with other tests in wider age groups and to assess the factorial structure of the scale and the reliability values of the subtests. In conclusion, this study seems to indicate that the Spanish version of the BENCI has promising validity to be used for evaluating the main neuropsychological domains in children.Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana (Proyectos I+D+i desarrollados por grupos de investigacion emergentes) GV/2017/166Agencia Andaluza de Cooperacion Internacional al Desarrollo de la Junta de Andalucia (Proyectos de Investigacion para la Cooperacion Internacional al Desarrollo AACID-Universidades) 2020U100

An Optical Method for Pretilt and Profile Determination in LCOS VAN displays

Pretilt angle and cell thickness are two extremely important parameters in predicting the behavior of vertically aligned negative nematic liquid crystal (LC) displays. The accurate estimation of pretilt angle and cell thickness is not a trivial task when these devices work in reflective mode, as in liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) vertically aligned nematic (VAN) displays. Usual experimental setups are based on the proportionality between the retardation of the polarization components of the incident light and the product effective birefringence times thickness. However, any attempt to separate the two product variables is cancelled out by symmetry from reflection. This work shows a relatively simple method capable of separating both variables, allowing accurate, independent measurements of pretilt and thickness, as well as other configurations details, such as residual twist. A simulation model based on the properties of actual reflective displays has been developed. An experimental setup specifically designed for measuring LCOS VAN cells has been prepared. Initial comparisons between experimental measurements of intensity and theoretical results showed some discrepancies that could be explained assuming that the LC profile contains a residual twist from the manufacturing process. Including that twist in the model, an excellent agreement between theory and experiment has been achieved. Matching simulations and experimental results yield separate determinations of pretilt angle and thickness, and give good estimates for the residual twist angle

Polarization dependent photonic liquid crystal fiber tunable interferometer

The Polarization Maintaing Photonic Crystal Fiber PM-1550-01 has been employed to create intermodal interferometers by splicing short (cm) portions of PCF between two single mode fiber (SMF) pigtails and PANDA fibers. It has been shown that this setup generates a intermodal interferometer. The interferometers have been made tunable by the inclusion of liquid crystal inside the PCF portion