The development of the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder Scale (CSBD-19): an ICD-11 based screening measure across three languages

Background: Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) is included in the eleventh edition of The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an impulse-control disorder. Aims: The aim of the present work was to develop a scale (Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder Scale-CSBD-19) that can reliably and validly assess CSBD based on ICD-11 diagnostic guidelines. Method: Four independent samples of 9,325 individuals completed self-reported measures from three countries (the United States, Hungary, and Germany). The psychometric properties of the CSBD-19 were examined in terms of factor structure, reliability, measurement invariance, and theoretically relevant correlates. A potential threshold was determined to identify individuals with an elevated risk of CSBD. Results: The five-factor model of the CSBD-19 (i.e., control, salience, relapse, dissatisfaction, and negative consequences) had an excellent fit to the data and demonstrated appropriate associations with the correlates. Measurement invariance suggested that the CSBD-19 functions similarly across languages. Men had higher means than women. A score of 50 points was found as an optimal threshold to identify individuals at high-risk of CSBD. Conclusions: The CSBD-19 is a short, valid, and reliable measure of potential CSBD based on ICD-11 diagnostic guidelines. Its use in large-scale, cross-cultural studies may promote the identification and understanding of individuals with a high risk of CSBD

Loschmidt echo and stochastic-like quantum dynamics of nano-particles

We investigate time evolution of prepared vibrational state (system) coupled to a reservoir with dense spectrum of its vibrational states. We assume that the reservoir has an equidistant spectrum, and the system - reservoir coupling matrix elements are independent of the reservoir states. The analytical solution manifests three regimes of the evolution for the system: (I) weakly damped oscillations; (II) multicomponent Loschmidt echo in recurrence cycles; (III) overlapping recurrence cycles. We find the characteristic critical values of the system - reservoir coupling constant for the transitions between these regimes. Stochastic dynamics occurs in the regime (III) due to inevoidably in any real system coarse graining of time or energy measurements, or initial condition uncertainty. Even though a specific toy model is investigated here, when properly interpreted it yields quite reasonable description for a variety of physically relevant phenomena.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Оптимізація комплексного лікування гнійно-некротичних інфекцій м’яких тканин

В останні роки спостерігається збільшення числа хворих із генералізованими формами гнійно-некротичних інфекцій м’яких тканин (ГНІМТ), при яких клініку різних форм сепсису реєструють у 65,5–78,4 % випадків, при цьому на частку тяжкого сепсису припадає 2–18 %. На високому рівні зберігається показник смертності при даній патології, складаючи від 19 до 70 %. Незважаючи на безліч запропонованих підходів до лікування, досі залишається спірним питання про терміни й об’єм операційного втручання, дренування та санацію гнійного вогнища при генералізованих формах інфекції

Committed to restoring tropical forests: an overview of Brazil’s and Indonesia’s restoration targets and policies

The restoration of tropical forests has become a popular nature-based solution for climate change mitigation, protection of biodiversity, and improving the livelihoods of local populations. The Bonn Challenge and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration underscore the international momentum of the restoration movement, with many countries committing to restore millions of hectares of deforested and degraded land in the next decade. Brazil and Indonesia are among the ones with the most ambitious restoration commitments globally. Since both their economies are highly dependent on the export of agricultural commodities, reconciling economic growth with environmental sustainability will be a major policy challenge. In this paper, we (a) identify the main restoration targets and the policies supporting their implementation in both countries, (b) provide a descriptive overview of these restoration-supportive policies, and (c) discuss the main challenges that Brazil and Indonesia face in the implementation of their restoration commitments. We find that Brazil has an explicit and dedicated strategy to achieve its restoration target, but that recent political developments have weakened environmental governance in the country, affecting the implementation of its restoration commitment. In the case of Indonesia, we find that the government has rather focused and progressed on the restoration of peatlands and mangroves, whereas its commitment to restore forestlands has yet to benefit from a dedicated plan that allows to coordinate policies and agencies’ efforts towards the achievement of its restoration target

First results from the CRESST-III low-mass dark matter program

The CRESST experiment is a direct dark matter search which aims to measure interactions of potential dark matter particles in an earth-bound detector. With the current stage, CRESST-III, we focus on a low energy threshold for increased sensitivity towards light dark matter particles. In this manuscript we describe the analysis of one detector operated in the first run of CRESST-III (05/2016-02/2018) achieving a nuclear recoil threshold of 30.1eV. This result was obtained with a 23.6g CaWO$_4$ crystal operated as a cryogenic scintillating calorimeter in the CRESST setup at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). Both the primary phonon/heat signal and the simultaneously emitted scintillation light, which is absorbed in a separate silicon-on-sapphire light absorber, are measured with highly sensitive transition edge sensors operated at ~15mK. The unique combination of these sensors with the light element oxygen present in our target yields sensitivity to dark matter particle masses as low as 160MeV/c$^2$.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Coordination in climbing: effect of skill, practice and constraints manipulation

BACKGROUND: Climbing is a physical activity and sport involving many subdisciplines. Minimization of prolonged pauses, use of a relatively simple path through a route and smooth transitions between movements broadly define skilled coordination in climbing. OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of the constraints on skilled coordination in climbing and to explore future directions in this emerging field. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted in 2014 and retrieved studies reporting perceptual and movement data during climbing tasks. To be eligible for the qualitative synthesis, studies were required to report perceptual or movement data during climbing tasks graded for difficulty. RESULTS: Qualitative synthesis of 42 studies was carried out, showing that skilled coordination in climbing is underpinned by superior perception of climbing opportunities; optimization of spatial-temporal features pertaining to body-to-wall coordination, the climb trajectory and hand-to-hold surface contact; and minimization of exploratory behaviour. Improvements in skilled coordination due to practice are related to task novelty and the difficulty of the climbing route relative to the individual's ability level. CONCLUSION: Perceptual and motor adaptations that improve skilled coordination are highly significant for improving the climbing ability level. Elite climbers exhibit advantages in detection and use of climbing opportunities when visually inspecting a route from the ground and when physically moving though a route. However, the need to provide clear guidelines on how to improve climbing skill arises from uncertainties regarding the impacts of different practice interventions on learning and transfer

Specific Regulation of T Helper Cell 1–mediated Murine Colitis by CEACAM1

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cellular adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) is a cell surface molecule that has been proposed to negatively regulate T cell function. We have shown that CEACAM1 is associated with specific regulation of T helper cell (Th)1 pathways, T-bet–mediated Th1 cytokine signaling, and Th1-mediated immunopathology in vivo. Mice treated with anti–mouse CEACAM1-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) CC1 during the effector phase exhibited a reduced severity of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid colitis in association with decreased interferon (IFN)-γ production. Although oxazolone colitis has been reported as Th2 mediated, mice treated with the CC1 mAb or a CEACAM1-Fc chimeric protein exhibited a reduced severity of colitis in association with a significant reduction of IFN-γ and T-bet activation, whereas signal transducer and activator of antigen 4 activation was unaffected. Both interleukin-4 and IFN-γ gene–deficient mice exhibited less severe colitis induction by oxazolone. Direct ligation of T cells in vitro with the murine hepatitis virus spike protein, a natural ligand for the N-domain of CEACAM1, inhibited the differentiation of naive cells into Th1 but not Th2 cells and activation of Th1 but not Th2 cytokine production. These results indicate that CEACAM1 isoforms are a novel class of activation-induced cell surface molecules on T cells that function in the specific regulation of Th1-mediated inflammation such as that associated with inflammatory bowel disease

Agua Salud alphavirus infection, dissemination and transmission in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are competent vectors for many important arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). In addition to arboviruses, insect-specific viruses (ISV) have also been discovered in mosquitoes. ISVs are viruses that replicate in insect hosts but are unable to infect and replicate in vertebrates. They have been shown to interfere with arbovirus replication in some cases. Despite the increase in studies on ISV–arbovirus interactions, ISV interactions with their hosts and how they are maintained in nature are still not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the infection and dissemination of the Agua Salud alphavirus (ASALV) in the important mosquito vector Aedes aegypti through different infection routes (per oral infection, intrathoracic injection) and its transmission. We show here that ASALV infects the female Ae. aegypti and replicates when mosquitoes are infected intrathoracically or orally. ASALV disseminated to different tissues, including the midgut, salivary glands and ovaries. However, we observed a higher virus load in the brain than in the salivary glands and carcasses, suggesting a tropism towards brain tissues. Our results show that ASALV is transmitted horizontally during adult and larval stages, although we did not observe vertical transmission. Understanding ISV infection and dissemination dynamics in Ae. aegypti and their transmission routes could help the use of ISVs as an arbovirus control strategy in the future

Simulation-based design study for the passive shielding of the COSINUS dark matter experiment

The COSINUS (Cryogenic Observatory for SIgnatures seen in Next-generation Underground Searches) experiment aims at the detection of dark matter-induced recoils in sodium iodide (NaI) crystals operated as scintillating cryogenic calorimeters. The detection of both scintillation light and phonons allows performing an event-by-event signal to background discrimination, thus enhancing the sensitivity of the experiment. The construction of the experimental facility is foreseen to start by 2021 at the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy. It consists of a cryostat housing the target crystals shielded from the external radioactivity by a water tank acting, at the same time, as an active veto against cosmic ray-induced events. Taking into account both environmental radioactivity and intrinsic contamination of materials used for cryostat, shielding and infrastructure, we performed a careful background budget estimation. The goal is to evaluate the number of events that could mimic or interfere with signal detection while optimising the geometry of the experimental setup. In this paper we present the results of the detailed Monte Carlo simulations we performed, together with the final design of the setup that minimises the residual amount of background particles reaching the detector volume.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure