Measuring the spatial frequency selectivity of second-order texture mechanisms

AbstractRecent investigations of texture and motion perception suggest two early filtering stages: an initial stage of selective linear filtering followed by rectification and a second stage of linear filtering. Here we demonstrate that there are differently scaled second-stage filters, and we measure their contrast modulation sensitivity as a function of spatial frequency. Our stimuli are Gabor modulations of a suprathreshold, bandlimited, isotropic carrier noise. The subjects' task is to discriminate between two possible orientations of the Gabor. Carrier noises are filtered into four octave-wide bands, centered at m = 2, 4, 8, and 16 c/deg. The Gabor test signals are w = 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 c/deg. The threshold modulation of the test signal is measured for all 20 combinations of m and w. For each carrier frequency m, the Gabor test frequency w to which subjects are maximally sensitive appears to be approximately 3–4 octaves below m. The consistent m × w interaction suggests that each second-stage spatial filter may be differentially tuned to a particular first-stage spatial frequency. The most sensitive combination is a second-stage filter of 1 c/deg with first-stage inputs of 8–16 c/deg. We conclude that second-order texture perception appears to utilize multiple channels tuned to spatial frequency and orientation, with channels tuned to low modulation frequencies appearing to be best served by carrier frequencies 8 to 16 times higher than the modulations they are tuned to detect

Rate of Transmission of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae Without Contact Isolation

The estimated rate of spread of extended-spectrum beta-lactamaseproducing Enterobacteriaceae was low in a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital with high levels of standard hygiene precautions, challenging the routine use of contact isolation in a non-epidemic settin

The impact of drop-out in cardiac rehabilitation on outcome among coronary artery disease patients

Background: The effect of adherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on outcome is not clear. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of drop-out for non-medical reasons of CR on event-free survival in coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: A total of 876 patients who attended CR after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were included. Drop-out was defined as attending 50% of the training sessions. A combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for a cardiovascular event was used to specify event-free survival. Differences in clinical characteristics were assessed and parameters with p<0.10 were entered in a multiple Cox regression analysis. Results: A total of 15% died or had a cardiovascular event during a median follow-up period of 33 months (interquartile range 24, 51). Overall, 17% dropped out before finishing half of the program. Patients who withdrew prematurely had a risk twice as high for a cardiovascular event or death (hazard ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval 1.28-2.90) than those who attended more than half of the sessions. Both ACS (2.36, 1.47-3.58) and PCI (2.20, 1.22-3.96), as primary indicators for CR, were associated with an adverse outcome and also a prior history of chronic heart failure (CHF) remained negatively associated with event-free survival (3.67, 1.24-10.91).Finally, the presence of hyperlipidemia was independently related to a worse outcome (1.48, 1.02-2.16). Conclusions: Drop-out for non-medical reasons was independently associated with a negative outcome in CAD. Therefore, underlying factors for drop-out should gain more attention in future research and should be taken into account when organizing CR

Timing and chronicity of maternal depression symptoms and children's verbal abilities

ObjectiveTo test the associations between the timing and chronicity of maternal depression symptoms (MDS)and children’s long-term verbal abilities.Study designParticipants were 1073 mother-child pairs from a population-based birth cohort in Canada. MDSwere assessed at ages 5 months, 1.5, 3.5, and 5 years using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies DepressionScale. Verbal abilities were measured at 5, 6, and 10 years using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised(PPVT-R). Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the association between timing (early: 5 monthsand/or 1.5 years vs late 3.5 and/or 5 years) and chronicity (5 months, 1.5, 3.5, and 5 years) of exposure to el-evated MDS and children’s mean PPVT-R scores.ResultsChildren exposed to chronic MDS had lower PPVT-R scores than children never exposed (mean differ-ence=9.04 [95% CI=2.28-15.80]), exposed early (10.08 [3.33-16.86]) and exposed late (8.69 [1.85-15.53]). Therewere no significant differences between scores of children in the early compared with the late exposure group. Weadjusted for mother-child interactions, family functioning, socioeconomic status, PPVT-R administration language,child’s birth order, and maternal IQ, psychopathology, education, native language, age at birth of child, and par-enting practices. Maternal IQ, (h2=0.028), native language (h2=0.009), and MDS (h2=0.007) were the main pre-dictors of children’s verbal abilities.ConclusionsExposure to chronic MDS in early childhood is associated with lower levels of verbal abilities inmiddle childhood. Further research is needed in larger community samples to test the association between MDSand children’s long-term language skills

Inpatient mother-and-child postpartum psychiatric care: factors associated with improvement in maternal mental health.

International audiencePURPOSE: This study assessed the underexplored factors associated with significant improvement in mothers' mental health during postpartum inpatient psychiatric care. METHODS: This study analyzed clinical improvement in a prospective cohort of 869 women jointly admitted with their infant to 13 psychiatric Mother-Baby Units (MBUs) in France between 2001 and 2007. Predictive variables tested were: maternal mental illness (ICD-10), sociodemographic characteristics, mental illness and childhood abuse history, acute or chronic disorder, pregnancy and birth data, characteristics and mental health of the mother's partner, and MBU characteristics. RESULTS: Two thirds of the women improved significantly by discharge. Admission for 25% was for a first acute episode very early after childbirth. Independent factors associated with marked improvement at discharge were bipolar or depressive disorder, a first acute episode or relapse of such an episode. Schizophrenia, a personality disorder, and poor social integration (as measured by occupational status) were all related to poor clinical outcomes. DISCUSSION: Most women improved significantly while under care in MBUs. Our results emphasize the importance of the type of disease but also its chronicity and the social integration when providing postpartum psychiatric care

La evasión tributaria y la recaudación fiscal en el sector ferretero de la ciudad de Espinar, 2019

La presente investigación tiene por objetivo general determinar la influencia de la evasión tributaria en la recaudación fiscal en el sector ferretero de la ciudad de Espinar, 2019, para lo cual se realizó una investigación de tipo correlacional con un diseño no experimental de corte transversal, teniendo como población a 30 contribuyentes , a quienes se les aplicó un cuestionario de 30 preguntas con cinco alternativas en escala de Likert, para la confiabilidad de cada instrumento se aplicó el alfa de Crombach que salió alta con una confiabilidad de 0,928 para el cuestionario de la variable evasión tributaria y 0.702 para el cuestionario de la variable recaudación fiscal, para lo cual se determina que existe confiabilidad en el instrumento. Mediante la información recolectada, obtenida de las encuestas se pudo evidenciar que la evasión tributaria influye de manera negativa en la recaudación fiscal. Asimismo se concluye que habiendo correlación entre las variables existe influencia de la evasión tributaria de los contribuyentes del sector ferretero de la ciudad de Espinar en la recaudación de impuestos ya que el coeficiente de correlación de Rho Spearman nos indica una correlación significativa demostrando la influencia de las dos variables.Trabajo de investigaciónJULIACAEscuela Profesional de ContabilidadTributo

Gastric Emptying Time and Volume of the Small Intestine as Objective Markers in Patients With Symptoms of Diabetic Enteropathy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) often suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, but these correlate poorly to established objective GI motility measures. Our aim is to perform a detailed evaluation of potential measures of gastric and small intestinal motility in patients with DM type 1 and severe GI symptoms. METHODS: Twenty patients with DM and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were included. GI motility was examined with a 3-dimensional-Transit capsule, while organ volumes were determined by CT scans. RESULTS: Patients with DM and HCs did not differ with regard to median gastric contraction frequency (DM 3.0 contractions/minute [interquartile range {IQR}, 2.9-3.0]; HCs 2.9 [IQR, 2.8-3.1]; P = 0.725), amplitude of gastric contractions (DM 9 mm [IQR, 8-11]; HCs 11 mm (IQR, 9-12); P = 0.151) or fasting volume of the stomach wall (DM 149 cm3 [IQR, 112-187]; HCs 132 cm3 [IQR, 107-154]; P = 0.121). Median gastric emptying time was prolonged in patients (DM 3.3 hours [IQR, 2.6-4.6]; HCs 2.4 hours [IQR, 1.8-2.7]; P = 0.002). No difference was found in small intestinal transit time (DM 5 hours [IQR, 3.7-5.6]; HCs 4.8 hours [IQR, 3.9-6.0]; P = 0.883). However, patients with DM had significantly larger volume of the small intestinal wall (DM 623 cm3 [IQR, 487-766]; HCs 478 cm3 [IQR, 393-589]; P = 0.003). Among patients, 13 (68%) had small intestinal wall volume and 9 (50%) had gastric emptying time above the upper 95% percentile of HCs. CONCLUSION: In our study, gastric emptying time and volume of the small intestinal wall appeared to be the best objective measures in patients with DM type 1 and symptoms and gastroenteropathy

Adaptation of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders for assessing depression in women during pregnancy and post-partum across countries and cultures

BackgroundTo date, no study has used standardised diagnostic assessment procedures to determine whether rates of perinatal depression vary across cultures.AimsTo adapt the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–IV Disorders (SCID) for assessing depression and other non-psychotic psychiatric illness perinatally and to pilot the instrument in different centres and cultures.MethodAssessments using the adapted SCID and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were conducted during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum with 296 women from ten sites in eight countries. Point prevalence rates during pregnancy and the postnatal period and adjusted 6-month period prevalence rates were computed for caseness, depression and major depression.ResultsThe third trimester and 6-month point prevalence rates for perinatal depression were 6.9% and 8.0%, respectively. Postnatal 6-month period prevalence rates for perinatal depression ranged from 2.1% to 31.6% across centres and there were significant differences in these rates between centres.ConclusionsStudy findings suggest that the SCID was successfully adapted for this context. Further research on determinants of differences inprevalence of depression across cultures isneeded

Lifestyle behaviour and risk factor control in coronary patients : Belgian results from the cross-sectional EUROASPIRE surveys

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess lifestyle behaviour as well as risk factor management across Belgian coronary patients who participated in the cross-sectional European Action on Secondary Prevention through Intervention to Reduce Events (EUROASPIRE) surveys. Methods: Analyses are based on a series of coronary patients by combining data from the Belgian participants in the EUROASPIRE III (328 patients; in 2006-2007) and EUROASPIRE IV (343 patients; in 2012-2013) surveys. Four hospitals located in the Ghent area participated in the surveys. Patients included in the analyses were >= 18 years old and had been hospitalised for a coronary event. Information on cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyle behaviour and medical treatment were obtained. Results: Overall, the proportion of smokers was 11% with 40% persistent smokers. Adequate physical activity levels were reported by 17%, 28% of patients were obese, 47% was central obese and known diabetes was prevalent in 21% of patients. Hypertension was observed in 46% of patients and 20% had a total cholesterol >= 5 mmol/L. About 80% had participated in a cardiac rehabilitation programme and the majority of patients were treated with blood pressure (92%) or lipid-lowering drugs (92%). Anxiety and depressive symptoms were reported by 30% and 24%, respectively. Differences between EUROASPIRE III and IV were limited. Conclusions: Compared to the overall EUROASPIRE results in Europe, Belgian CHD patients seem to do slightly better. However, tackling obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension and psychosocial distress remains an important challenge in the management of coronary patients