OpenCLIPER: an OpenCL-based C++ Framework for Overhead-Reduced Medical Image Processing and Reconstruction on Heterogeneous Devices

Medical image processing is often limited by the computational cost of the involved algorithms. Whereas dedicated computing devices (GPUs in particular) exist and do provide significant efficiency boosts, they have an extra cost of use in terms of housekeeping tasks (device selection and initialization, data streaming, synchronization with the CPU and others), which may hinder developers from using them. This paper describes an OpenCL-based framework that is capable of handling dedicated computing devices seamlessly and that allows the developer to concentrate on image processing tasks. The framework handles automatically device discovery and initialization, data transfers to and from the device and the file system and kernel loading and compiling. Data structures need to be defined only once independently of the computing device; code is unique, consequently, for every device, including the host CPU. Pinned memory/buffer mapping is used to achieve maximum performance in data transfers. Code fragments included in the paper show how the computing device is almost immediately and effortlessly available to the users algorithms, so they can focus on productive work. Code required for device selection and initialization, data loading and streaming and kernel compilation is minimal and systematic. Algorithms can be thought of as mathematical operators (called processes), with input, output and parameters, and they may be chained one after another easily and efficiently. Also for efficiency, processes can have their initialization work split from their core workload, so process chains and loops do not incur in performance penalties. Algorithm code is independent of the device type targeted

Sentimientos de gestantes VIH-positivas sobre aspectos relacionados con la transmisión vertical

En sus orígenes, el Virus de la Inmunodeficiencia Humana (VIH) fue una epidemia vinculada principalmente a hombres homosexuales y personas drogadictas. Sin embargo, en los últimos años se ha producido un incremento del número de casos por transmisión heterosexual, donde la infección de la mujer es de 2 a 10 veces más probable. Este cambio epidemiológico ha provocado un aumento de casos entre la población femenina en todo el mundo, dando lugar a lo que se conoce como la feminización de la epidemia

Correlation of fatigue with other disease related and psychosocial factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tocilizumab

Rheumatoid arthritis; Fatigue; TocilizumabArtritis reumatoide; Fatiga; TocilizumabArtritis reumatoide; Fatiga; TocilizumabTo assess the hypothesis if tocilizumab (TCZ) is effective on disease activity, and also its effect in fatigue and other clinical and psychological disease-related factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with TCZ.A 24-week, multicenter, prospective, observational study in patients with moderate to severe RA receiving TCZ after failure or intolerance to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or tumor necrosis factor-alpha was conducted.Of the 122 patients included, 85 were evaluable for effectiveness (85% female, 51.9 ± 12.5 years, disease duration 8.7 ± 7.4 years). Mean change in C-reactive protein level from baseline to week 12 was -11.2 ± 4.0 (P < .001). Mean Disease Activity Index score (DAS28) decreased from 5.5 ± 1.0 at baseline to 2.7 ± 1.3 (P < .001) at week 24. Mean change in Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy score was -5.4 ± 11.2 points at week 24. Multiple regression analysis showed that the improvement in DAS28, sleep, and depression explained 56% and 47% of fatigue variance at week 12 and 24, respectively.Tocilizumab is effective in reducing disease activity and results in a clinically significant improvement in fatigue, pain, swollen joint count, morning stiffness, sleepiness, depression, and DAS28; the last 3 were specifically identified as factors explaining fatigue variance with the use of TCZ in RA patients

Pre-competitive anxiety in U12, U14 and U16 paddle tennis players

The main aim of this research is to analyze the level of precompetitive anxiety in female paddle players and male paddle players of Castilla y León in the categories U12, U14 and 16 before the beginning of the competition. Thus, 221 players participated in the study: 100 female athletes and 121 male athletes. The results showed that the level of self-confidence of athletes is higher than the levels obtained in the cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety, respectively. In relation with the sex of the athletes, male players showed higher levels in self-confidence and somatic anxiety, while the female players counted higher on cognitive anxiety. Finally, depending on the category in which they compete, U12 players are those who have more confidence in themselves, whereas U16 players are those who counted higher in the variables of cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety.El objetivo principal que se propone con este trabajo de investigación es analizar el nivel de ansiedad precompetitiva en los jugadores y las jugadoras de pádel de Castilla y León en las categorías alevín, infantil y cadete, en los minutos previos al comienzo de la competición. Para ello, participaron 221 jugadores: 100 deportistas de sexo femenino y 121 del sexo masculino. Los resultados demostraron que el nivel de autoconfianza de los deportistas es mayor que los niveles obtenidos en las variables ansiedad cognitiva y ansiedad somática, respectivamente. En relación con el sexo, los jugadores mostraron niveles superiores en autoconfianza y ansiedad somática, mientras las jugadoras puntuaron más alto en ansiedad cognitiva. Por último, en función de la categoría en la que compiten, los alevines son los que más confianza tienen en ellos mismos, mientras que los cadetes son los que puntuaron más alto en las variables de ansiedad cognitiva y ansiedad somática

Promoting dignified end-of-life care in the emergency department: a qualitative study

Background: Preservation of a dying person’s dignity in the emergency department (ED) is fundamental for the patient, his/her relatives and healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to explore and interpret physicians’ and nurses’ experiences regarding conservation of dignity in end-of-life care in dying patients in the ED. Methods: A qualitative study based on the hermeneutic phenomenological approach, was carried out in the emergency department of two general hospitals. A total of 16 nurses and 10 physicians participated in the study. Data collection included 12 individual in-depth interviews and 2 focus groups. Results: The findings revealed that two themes represent the practices and proposals for the conservation of dignity in the emergency department: dignified care in hostile surroundings and the design of a system focused on the person’s dignity. Conclusion: Dignifying treatment, redesigning environmental conditions, and reorienting the healthcare system can contribute to maintaining dignity in end-of-life care in the ED

Astrophysics at n-TOF facility

Heavy elements with Z ≥ 30 are made by neutron capture reactions during stellar He burning and presumably in supernovae. This contribution deals mainly with the slow neutron capture (s) process which is responsible for about one half of the abundances in the mass region between Fe and Bi. The slow time scale implies that the reaction path of this process involves mostly stable isotopes which can be studied in detail in laboratory experiments. The neutron time of flight (n_TOF) facility at CERN is a neutron spallation source, its white neutron energy spectrum ranges from thermal to several MeV, covering the full energy range of interest for nuclear astrophysics, in particular for measurements of the neutron capture cross section required in s-process nucleosynthesis. This contribution gives an overview on the astrophysical program made at n_TOF facility, the results and the implications will be considered.European Commission (EC) FIKW-CT-2000-0010

Patients' experiences and perceptions of dignity in end‐of‐life care in emergency departments: A qualitative study.

Aims: To explore and understand the experiences of patients with advanced illness inrelation to dignity during end-of-life care in emergency departments.Design: Qualitative study based on Gadamer's hermeneutics.Methods: Between September 2019 and February 2020, 16 in-depth interviews werecarried out with advanced illness patients who attended emergency departments.The participants were informed priorly and signed informed consent. The data wereanalysed using an inductive strategy for finding emerging themes. The ConsolidatedCriteria for Reporting Qualitative Research was used for writing the study's report.Results: In the data analysis process, two main themes emerged that glean the ex-periences of patients in relation to dignity during end-of-life care in emergency de-partments. ‘Dignity as an individual's attribute’ and ‘Acting with dignity: Dignity as abehavioural attribute’.Conclusion: Patient dignity in end-of-life care is centred around the principle of con-trol (of oneself, one's death and one's emotions). The strategies required for patientsto preserve their dignity can be somewhat incompatible with the dynamics and objec-tives of healthcare professionals who work in emergency departments.Impact statement: The dignity of patients with advanced illness who attend emer-gency departments is a relevant issue that merits being addressed from the patients'perspective. Participants have identified that dignity is a way of being and behavingin the face of illness. Emergency departments need to respect end-of-life patients'desires by supporting and accompanying them, avoiding therapeutic obstinacy. Werecommend care to be centred on patients' well-being, to respect their autonomy anddecision-making processes, and to allow prompt referrals to palliative care services.Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos yTransformación Digital, Gobierno deEspaña, Grant/Award Number: FFI2016-76927-

Female Spanish athletes face pre-competition anxiety at the highest levels of competition

Pre-competition anxiety is one of the most common emotions experienced among athletes in high performance sport. It can cause both positive and negative effects, which makes the ability to manage this anxiety one of the most important parts of an athlete's preparation. This study analyzes the anxiety levels in athletes from the Spanish Women's National Track & Field Team who participated in the European Championships, the World Championships, and the Olympic Games. The study evaluates how these athletes cope with pre-competition anxiety by examining three variables in the moments prior to the competition-cognitive anxiety, self-confidence, and somatic anxiety-and the way these variables impacted the results achieved by these athletes. The study indicates that a significant difference exists between cognitive anxiety and self-confidence, which shows that the higher an athlete's self-confidence, the lower the levels of cognitive anxiety. Higher levels of self-confidence and lower levels of cognitive anxiety were also shown to have a positive impact on performance results.La ansiedad precompetitiva es una de las emociones más generalizadas en el deporte de alto rendimiento deportivo. Provoca efectos tanto positivos como negativos, por lo que el control de la misma es uno de los objetivos más importantes dentro de la preparación del atleta de alto nivel. El objeto de este estudio es analizar los niveles de ansiedad en las atletas españolas del equipo nacional de atletismo que participan en la máxima competición tanto a nivel español como en campeonatos de Europa, del Mundo y Juegos Olímpicos. Se realizó un estudio desde la perspectiva de cómo afrontan las atletas españolas la ansiedad precompetitiva a partir de las variables ansiedad cognitiva, autoconfianza y ansiedad somática, y la manera en que estas tres variables inciden en el resultado obtenido por las atletas españolas en el momento previo a la competición. Los resultados obtenidos muestran diferencias significativas entre la ansiedad cognitiva y la autoconfianza, lo que provoca que, a mayores niveles de autoconfianza, los niveles de ansiedad cognitiva sean menores. Esto les permite evitar los signos negativos que causa la ansiedad cognitiva, con lo que esta no afecta a su rendimiento

Efecto agudo del chaleco lastrado sobre la condición física del portero de fútbol

There are few studies related to the physical condition of young soccer goalkeepers. The aim of the study is to analyze the acute effect on the goalkeeper's physical condition through a session by wearing a weight-bearing vest at 5% of body weight. The variables analyzed are explosive strength (SJ and CMJ) through the application "My Jump" and the agility test Lloureq (Llopis, Ulloa &amp; Requena, 2010) adapted. A session with a weight-bearing vest is carried out at 5% of his body weight, on 6 young goalkeepers of high sporting skill, with a mean age of 16.17 (± 1.17 years). The main results show that there are no significant differences between the pretest and posttest SJ and CMJ force levels, however, there are significant differences (p &lt;.05) in the other variables analyzed in relation to specific agility and technical elements Specific to the goalkeeper. The use of the ballast vest with acute effect can be considered as a good training material specific to the goalkeeper of soccer.Son pocos los estudios relacionados con la condición física de los porteros jóvenes de fútbol. El objetivo del estudio es analizar el efecto agudo sobre la condición física del portero a través de una sesión mediante el empleo de un chaleco lastrado al 5% del peso corporal. Las variables analizadas son fuerza explosiva (SJ y CMJ) a través de la aplicación “My Jump” y el test de agilidad Lloureq (Llopis, Ulloa &amp; Requena, 2010) adaptado. Se realiza una sesión con chaleco lastrado al 5% de su peso corporal, sobre 6 porteros jóvenes de alta pericia deportiva, con una media de edad de 16.17 (±1.17 años). Los principales resultados muestras que no existen diferencias significativas entre los niveles de fuerza SJ y CMJ pretest y postest, sin embargo sí que existen diferencias significativas (p &lt;.05) en el resto de variables analizadas en relación a la agilidad específica y los elementos técnicos específicos del portero de fútbol. El uso del chaleco lastrado con efecto agudo se puede considerar como un buen material de entrenamiento específico del portero de fútbol