Influenza challenging the diagnosis and management of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis

Funding There was no funding for this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in the population of Argentina

In addition to the implications that this pandemic has had on physical health, there are other circumstances that threaten the mental health of the population, such as lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the virus, uncertainty, and the increase in infections and deaths. For this reason, this study explored indicators of psychological distress in the Argentine population, as well as its relationship with sociodemographic and health variables. Cross-sectional observational study, with data collection from May to August 2020. A total of 1112 people over the age of 18 who responded to various measurement instruments through an online questionnaire participated. A bivariate analysis and logistic regression were carried out in order to determine predictive factors of psychological distress. The data revealed that 60.9% of the sample presented psychological distress. A greater number with this condition was observed in women, apart from younger people, with a greater number of symptoms associated with the disease and with worse self-perceived health. There was no evidence of association between psychological distress and contact with people infected with coronavirus disease 2019 or with material suspicious of being infected. This research provided an overview of the mental health status of a significant population sample in Argentina, months after the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. These findings complement those found in other national and international studies, allowing the accumulation of evidence that states the need to demand to draw attention to the mental health of the population, especially the most vulnerable groups, on behalf of the public authoritie

Epitaxial integration of CoFe₂O₄ thin films on Si (001) surfaces using TiN buffer layers

Epitaxial cobalt ferrite thin films with strong in-plane magnetic anisotropy have been grown on Si (001) substrates using a TiN buffer layer. The epitaxial films have been grown by ion beam sputtering using either metallic, CoFe₂, or ceramic, CoFe₂2O₄, targets. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rutherford spectrometry (RBS) in random and channeling configuration have been used to determine the epitaxial relationship CoFe₂O₄ [100]/TiN [100]/Si [100]. Mossbauer spectroscopy, in combination with XRD and RBS, has been used to determine the composition and structure of the cobalt ferrite thin films. The TiN buffer layer induces a compressive strain in the cobalt ferrite thin films giving rise to an in-plane magnetic anisotropy. The degree of in- plane anisotropy depends on the lattice mismatch between CoFe₂O₂ and TiN, which is larger for CoFe₂O₄ thin films grown on the reactive sputtering process with ceramic targets

Remote monitoring and automatic analysis of phonocardiographic signals in climbing of high mountains

The climbing of high mountains, like the Himalayas, comes accompanied, as result of the deficit of oxygen, of certain changes of the hemodynamics, that can derive sometimes in High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). With the objective to analyze the cardiological effects of that hemodynamics changes, a satellite monitoring of phonocardiographic (PCG) signals and pulseoxymetric data of a mountain climber was made during the development of the climbing to the Broad Peak, of 8,047 meters, located in the mountain range of the Karakorum, in Pakistan. Using an electronic estethoscope, signals were registered and sent to the hospital medical staff in Murcia by means of satellite phone, to be compared with basal registers. Different techniques for analysis in frequency and time domains were developed, mainly to detect and measure the first and second heart sounds and to observe possible modifications in the phonocardiographic patterns related to the altitude and pulseoxymetric data.This work has been partially supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain, under grant TIC2003- 09400-C04-02

Diagnóstico antenatal de la madurez pulmonar fetal en embarazos normales y patológicos

Hemos realizado un estudio de madurez fetal, en muestras de líquido amniótico obtenido en 112 mujeres en las que el parto se produjo antes de transcurridos 7 días tras la amniocentesis. Comparamos el test de Clements, el estudio de células naranaja, la DO a 650 y 400 NM y la determinación de creatinina, con el cociente lecitina/ esfingomielina. El test de Clements y la determinación de DO presentan una buena correlación con el cociente L/E

Impacto de la estimulación subtalámica a largo plazo sobre la situación cognitiva de los pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson avanzada

Objetivo El objetivo es evaluar los efectos de la estimulación cerebral profunda del núcleo subtalámico bilateral (STN-DBS) sobre el estado cognitivo de los pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson 5 años después de la cirugía. Materiales y métodos En este estudio prospectivo se incluyeron 50 pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson (62,5% hombres, edad media 62,2 ± 8,2 años y duración de la enfermedad 14,1 ± 6,3 años) sometidos a STN-DBS. Todos los pacientes fueron evaluados preoperatoriamente y un año después de la cirugía, y 40 pacientes fueron seguidos hasta 5 años. En cada visita se realizaron las siguientes evaluaciones neuropsicológicas: Mini-Mental State Examination, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS), test de secuencias números-letras de WAIS III-LN, Prueba de dibujo de reloj, Prueba de aprendizaje verbal auditivo Rey, la Prueba de retención visual de Benton, la Prueba de juicio de orientación de línea de Benton, la fluidez verbal fonética y semántica, la Prueba Stroop y la Escala de clasificación de depresión de Montgomery-Asberg. Resultados Anualmente se observaron reducciones en la puntación de Mini-Mental State Examination (–0,89%), Prueba del dibujo de reloj (–2,61%) y MDRS (–1,72%), fueron más marcados tanto para la fluidez verbal fonética (–13,28%) como semántica (–12,40%). Para la Prueba de aprendizaje verbal auditivo Rey observamos un deterioro en la capacidad de recuerdo diferido (–10,12%) un año después de la cirugía. A los 5 años la mayor parte del deterioro se produjo en la fluidez verbal, con reducciones adicionales de 16,10% y 16,60% para la fluidez verbal semántica y fonética, respectivamente. Se observó un empeoramiento más moderado del recuerdo inmediato (–16,87%), WAIS III-LN (–16,67%) y de la prueba de orientación lineal de Benton (–11,56%). Discusión La STN-DBS no condujo a deterioro cognitivo global a los 5 años de la cirugía. Hubo un deterioro significativo en la función verbal desde el primer año de la cirugía. El deterioro de la capacidad de aprendizaje y de las funciones visuoespaciales podría atribuirse al propio proceso degenerativo de la enfermedad.This study was partially funded by research grant INT-BC2016-1 from Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute

Real space observation of the magnetic coupling between a Co film and a barium hexaferrite film

RIVA ONLINE 2021 – IBERIAN VACUUM ONLINE MEETING. The Iberian Vacuum Conference, (Reunión Ibérica de Vacío, RIVA) is a joint meeting of the Portuguese Vacuum Society (SOPORVAC) and the Spanish Vacuum Society (ASEVA), 2021 RIVA will take place ON-LINE from 4-6th October 2021. .-https://aseva.es/conferences/riva-online/Barium ferrite (BaFe12O19, BFO) is a hexagonal ferrite with applications as permanent magnet in many different devices due to its high magnetocrystalline anisotropy, high coercive field and low cost. However, the moderate saturation magnetization of BFO means that the energy product is orders of magnitude smaller than the one that rare-earth-based magnetic materials offer. To overcome this limitation, a commonly proposed strategy to enhance the energy product is exchange-coupling the magnetically hard component (BFO) with a soft phase in order to improve the combined remanent magnetization without a high loss in coercivity. Nonetheless, the results obtained in other hard/soft systems (SFO/Co bilayers) have pointed out the difficulty to take advantage of this rigid coupling magnetic regime1. In this research, we focus on two steps to investigate the Co/BFO coupling in a bilayer system: first, we sought to obtain BFO films with an in- plane magnetic easy axis to avoid shape anisotropy competition, and second, we deposit Co on top of such a BFO film while monitoring both the BFO and Co magnetic domains

Quid: observatorio de medios

El informe está estructurado en seis partes. En la primera, “Transparencia y derecho a la información en Jalisco”, se presenta un artículo que sintetiza cómo fue que en diciembre de 2011, el Congreso y el Gobierno del Jalisco se organizaron para aprobar la “Ley de Información Pública de Jalisco y sus Municipios”, como un intercambio de favores entre estos poderes. En la segunda parte, "Medios de comunicación y periodismo en Jalisco", se presentan trabajos sobre los cambios en la prensa local, los medios de comunicación y los juegos panamericanos, las condiciones laborales de los periodistas en Guadalajara, y la prensa roja. En la tercer parte, "Economía política de los medios de comunicación y las industrias culturales en Jalisco" se incluyen trabajos sobre la industria de la música, la propaganda disfrazada de periodismo, y los medios públicos. En la cuarta parte, "Medios de comunicación y telecomunicaciones", se abordan los temas de la lucha por las telecomunicaciones en México, y la televisión abierta como una herramienta política para construir estrategias gubernamentales. En la quinta parte, "Producción de investigación académica del observatorio de medios", se presenta un análisis de contenido de cinco periódicos mexicanos con respecto al tema del medio ambiente. La sexta parte es una semblanza del periodista Víctor Wario Romo.ITESO, A.C

A Platform for Addressing Individual Magnetite Islands Grown Epitaxially on Ru(0001) and Manipulating Their Magnetic Domains

We have grown high-quality magnetite micrometric islands on ruthenium stripes on sapphire through a combination of magnetron sputtering (Ru film), high-temperature molecular beam epitaxy (oxide islands), and optical lithography. The samples have been characterized by atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism in a photoemission microscope. The magnetic domains on the magnetite islands can be modified by the application of current pulses through the Ru stripes in combination with magnetic fields. The modification of the magnetic domains is explained by the Oersted field generated by the electrical current flowing through the stripes underneath the magnetite nanostructures. The fabrication method is applicable to a wide variety of rock salt and spinel oxides

Designing for shape memory in additive manufacturing of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy processed by laser powder bed fusion

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are functional materials that are being applied in practically all industries, from aerospace to biomedical sectors, and at present the scientific and technologic communities are looking to gain the advantages offered by the new processing technologies of additive manufacturing (AM). However, the use of AM to produce functional materials, like SMAs, constitutes a real challenge due to the particularly well controlled microstructure required to exhibit the functional property of shape memory. In the present work, the design of the complete AM processing route, from powder atomization to laser powder bed fusion for AM and hot isostatic pressing (HIP), is approached for Cu-Al-Ni SMAs. The microstructure of the different processing states is characterized in relationship with the processing parameters. The thermal martensitic transformation, responsible for the functional properties, is analyzed in a comparative way for each one of the different processed samples. The present results demonstrate that a final post-processing thermal treatment to control the microstructure is crucial to obtain the expected functional properties. Finally, it is demonstrated that using the designed processing route of laser powder bed fusion followed by a post-processing HIP and a final specific thermal treatment, a satisfactory shape memory behavior can be obtained in Cu-Al-Ni SMAs, paving the road for further applications