Prevalence and trends of thinness, overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 3-18 years across Europe: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Increasing prevalence of both thinness and excess weight during childhood and adolescence is a significant public health issue because of short-term health consequences and long-term tracking of weight status. Monitoring weight status in Europe may serve to identify countries and regions where rates of these disorders are either slowing down or increasing to evaluate recent policies aimed at appropriate body weight, and to direct future interventions. This study protocol provides a standardised and transparent methodology to improve estimating trends of thinness, overweight and obesity in children aged 3-18 years and adolescents across the European region between 2000 and 2017. Methods and analysis This protocol is guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) and the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook. To identify relevant studies, a search will be conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Web of Science databases. From the selected studies, relevant references will be screened as supplemental sources. Finally, open search in websites from health institutions will be conducted to identify weight status data not published in scientific journals. Cross-sectional, follow-up studies and panel surveys reporting weight status (objectively measured height and weight) according to the International Obesity Task Force criteria, and written in English or Spanish will be included. Subgroup analyses will be carried out by gender, age, study year and country or European region. Discussion This study will provide a comprehensive description of weight status of children and adolescents across Europe from 2000 to 2017. The results will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal. This study will use data exclusively from published research or institutional literature, so institutional ethical approval is not required

Electron correlation in the Si(100) surface

Motivated by the controversy between quantum chemists and solid-state physicists, and by recent experimental results, spin-polarized density-functional (DFT) calculations are used to probe electron correlation in the Si(100) reconstructed surface. The ground state displays antiferromagnetic spin polarization for low dimer inclinations indicating, not magnetic order, but the importance of Mott-like correlations among dangling bonds. The lowest energy corresponds to a higher dimer inclination with no spin. DFT energies, however, should be taken with caution here. Our results together with quantum-chemical findings suggest dimers with highly correlated electrons that tend to buckle due to interactions with other dimers.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps figure, 1 table; RevTeX v3.1. To appear in Surface Science (proceedings of the European Conference On Surface Science, ECOSS-19, Madrid, Sept. 5-8, 2000

Factores de riesgo en fractura periprotésica femoral tras artroplastia sustitutiva primaria de rodilla

Introducción y objetivos Las fracturas periprotésicas tras artroplastia primaria de rodilla cobran gran importancia en nuestro medio debido tanto al aumento de su incidencia, como al reto que suponen para el cirujano. Múltiples factores se han asociado a su producción. El objetivo del estudio fue identificar los factores de riesgo que podían influir en la aparición de estas fracturas, cuáles de todos ellos son modificables y generar un modelo de predicción de probabilidad de las mismas en función de dichos factores. Material y método Estudio analítico, observacional, retrospectivo, no pareado, de 38 casos de fracturas periprotésicas femorales de rodilla y 80 controles con prótesis de rodilla. En total, fueron incluidos en el estudio 118 pacientes, 83 mujeres y 35 hombres con una edad media de 72, 49 años. Se recogieron datos sociodemográficos, antecedentes médicos y consumo de fármacos, así como los relativos a la cirugía. Se realizó un análisis uni- y bivariante de los factores determinantes de fractura, usando un modelo de regresión logística para evitar el sesgo de confusión. Resultados De todos los factores estudiados según el modelo de regresión logística, se obtuvo que el sexo femenino (OR = 7, 6), la demencia (OR = 5), la alteración motora/párkinson (OR = 19, 3) y el sobrecorte femoral anterior (OR = 8, 6) eran factores asociados al incremento de riesgo de este tipo de fracturas. Conclusiones Este trabajo permite concluir que hay factores de riesgo, como son el sexo femenino, la demencia y el párkinson, que aumentan la probabilidad de fractura periprotésica, que son inherentes al paciente y no son modificables. Sin embargo, existe algún otro totalmente modificable que puede evitarse siendo exigente y exhaustivo en la técnica quirúrgica, como es el sobrecorte femoral anterior. Introduction and objectives: Periprosthetic fractures after primary knee arthroplasty has great importance in our environment due to the increase in their incidence and to the challenge they pose to the surgeon. Multiple factors have been associated with its production. The objective of the study was to identify the risk factors that could influence the appearance of these fractures, which of them are all modifiable and generate a probability prediction model based on these factors. Material and methods: Analytical, observational, retrospective, unpaired study of 38 cases of periprosthetic femoral knee fractures and 80 controls with knee prostheses. In total, 118 patients, 83 women and 35 men with a mean age of 72.49 years were included in the study. Sociodemographic data, medical history and drug consumption were collected, as well as those related to surgery. A univariate and bivariate analysis of the fracture determining factors was performed, using a logistic regression model to avoid confusion bias. Results: Of all the factors studied according to the logistic regression model, it was obtained that female sex (OR = 7.6), dementia (OR = 5), motor/parkinson''s alteration (OR = 19.3) and femoral overcut Previous (OR = 8.6) were factors associated with the increased risk of this type of fractures. Conclusions: This work allows us to conclude that there are risk factors such as female sex, dementia and parkinson''s that increase the probability of periprosthetic fracture that are inherent to the patient and are not modifiable. However, there is any other totally modifiable that can be avoided by being demanding and thorough in the surgical technique, such as the anterior femoral overcut

Atmospheric effects on extensive air showers observed with the Surface Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Atmospheric parameters, such as pressure (P), temperature (T) and density, affect the development of extensive air showers initiated by energetic cosmic rays. We have studied the impact of atmospheric variations on extensive air showers by means of the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The rate of events shows a ~10% seasonal modulation and ~2% diurnal one. We find that the observed behaviour is explained by a model including the effects associated with the variations of pressure and density. The former affects the longitudinal development of air showers while the latter influences the Moliere radius and hence the lateral distribution of the shower particles. The model is validated with full simulations of extensive air showers using atmospheric profiles measured at the site of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Shrinking a large dataset to identify variables associated with increased risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in Western Kenya

Large datasets are often not amenable to analysis using traditional single-step approaches. Here, our general objective was to apply imputation techniques, principal component analysis (PCA), elastic net and generalized linear models to a large dataset in a systematic approach to extract the most meaningful predictors for a health outcome. We extracted predictors for Plasmodium falciparum infection, from a large covariate dataset while facing limited numbers of observations, using data from the People, Animals, and their Zoonoses (PAZ) project to demonstrate these techniques: data collected from 415 homesteads in western Kenya, contained over 1500 variables that describe the health, environment, and social factors of the humans, livestock, and the homesteads in which they reside. The wide, sparse dataset was simplified to 42 predictors of P. falciparum malaria infection and wealth rankings were produced for all homesteads. The 42 predictors make biological sense and are supported by previous studies. This systematic data-mining approach we used would make many large datasets more manageable and informative for decision-making processes and health policy prioritization

Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter

Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{$6\times 10^{19}$eV}. The anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less than $3.1^\circ$ from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc (using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron $12^{\rm th}$ catalog). An updated measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009. The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more precise measurement. The correlating fraction is $(38^{+7}_{-6})$, compared with $21$ expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early estimate of $(69^{+11}_{-13})$. The enlarged set of arrival directions is examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects: galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201

The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and precision of shower reconstructions.Comment: 53 pages. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section

Global Search for New Physics with 2.0/fb at CDF

Data collected in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron are searched for indications of new electroweak-scale physics. Rather than focusing on particular new physics scenarios, CDF data are analyzed for discrepancies with the standard model prediction. A model-independent approach (Vista) considers gross features of the data, and is sensitive to new large cross-section physics. Further sensitivity to new physics is provided by two additional algorithms: a Bump Hunter searches invariant mass distributions for "bumps" that could indicate resonant production of new particles; and the Sleuth procedure scans for data excesses at large summed transverse momentum. This combined global search for new physics in 2.0/fb of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV reveals no indication of physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version which appeared in Physical Review D Rapid Communication

Observation of Orbitally Excited B_s Mesons

We report the first observation of two narrow resonances consistent with states of orbitally excited (L=1) B_s mesons using 1 fb^{-1} of ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We use two-body decays into K^- and B^+ mesons reconstructed as B^+ \to J/\psi K^+, J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^- or B^+ \to \bar{D}^0 \pi^+, \bar{D}^0 \to K^+ \pi^-. We deduce the masses of the two states to be m(B_{s1}) = 5829.4 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2 and m(B_{s2}^*) = 5839.7 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2.Comment: Version accepted and published by Phys. Rev. Let

Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs "radio-hybrid" measurements of air shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions for fluoresence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on request.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM A, 13 pages, minor corrections to author list and references in v