Sequential treatment of ADHD in mother and child (AIMAC study): importance of the treatment phases for intervention success in a randomized trial

Background: The efficacy of parent-child training (PCT) regarding child symptoms may be reduced if the mother has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The AIMAC study (ADHD in Mothers and Children) aimed to compensate for the deteriorating effect of parental psychopathology by treating the mother (Step 1) before the beginning of PCT (Step 2). This secondary analysis was particularly concerned with the additional effect of the Step 2 PCT on child symptoms after the Step 1 treatment. Methods: The analysis included 143 mothers and children (aged 6–12 years) both diagnosed with ADHD. The study design was a two-stage, two-arm parallel group trial (Step 1 treatment group [TG]: intensive treatment of the mother including psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy; Step 1 control group [CG]: supportive counseling only for mother; Step 2 TG and CG: PCT). Single- and multi-group analyses with piecewise linear latent growth curve models were applied to test for the effects of group and phase. Child symptoms (e.g., ADHD symptoms, disruptive behavior) were rated by three informants (blinded clinician, mother, teacher). Results: Children in the TG showed a stronger improvement of their disruptive behavior as rated by mothers than those in the CG during Step 1 (Step 1: TG vs. CG). In the CG, according to reports of the blinded clinician and the mother, the reduction of children’s disruptive behavior was stronger during Step 2 than during Step 1 (CG: Step 1 vs. Step 2). In the TG, improvement of child outcome did not differ across treatment steps (TG: Step 1 vs. Step 2). Conclusions: Intensive treatment of the mother including pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy may have small positive effects on the child’s disruptive behavior. PCT may be a valid treatment option for children with ADHD regarding disruptive behavior, even if mothers are not intensively treated beforehand. Trial registration: ISRCTN registry ISRCTN73911400. Registered: 29 March 2007

Non-nociceptive roles of opioids in the CNS: opioids' effects on neurogenesis, learning, memory and affect.

Mortality due to opioid use has grown to the point where, for the first time in history, opioid-related deaths exceed those caused by car accidents in many states in the United States. Changes in the prescribing of opioids for pain and the illicit use of fentanyl (and derivatives) have contributed to the current epidemic. Less known is the impact of opioids on hippocampal neurogenesis, the functional manipulation of which may improve the deleterious effects of opioid use. We provide new insights into how the dysregulation of neurogenesis by opioids can modify learning and affect, mood and emotions, processes that have been well accepted to motivate addictive behaviours

Study of single boosted top-quark production at the CMS experiment

In this master's thesis, a first feasibility study for the measurement of single top-quark production in the highly Lorentz-boosted kinematic regime is presented. The analyzed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ and was recorded by the CMS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in the year 2016, using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Differential cross sections of single top-quark production in association with a W boson are measured as function of the transverse momentum of the top quark in an interval ranging from 200 GeV up to 1.2 TeV, using the electron+jets and muon+jets final states, presuming that the top quark decays hadronically. Due to the boosted final-state topology, the top quark is reconstructed as one large jet. A multivariate method is used to discriminate between the signal process and the dominant background, top-quark pair production. In each bin of the transverse momentum of the top-jet candidate, the simulated model is fitted to data according to a maximum-likelihood estimate, utilizing the response distributions of boosted decision trees. In order to extract cross sections on parton level, a simplified bin-by-bin unfolding procedure is employed

Propuesta para la disposición final de residuos industriales líquidos en una central termoeléctrica de ciclo combinado a gas natura

Título de Químico AmbientalEn este Seminario de título se abordó el caso de una central termoeléctrica de ciclo combinado en base a gas natural en proceso de evaluación ambiental, que presenta indicaciones en cuanto a la solución propuesta para la disposición final de sus efluentes líquidos (descarga en un canal de regadío), debido a los potenciales impactos que pueda provocar ya sea en la agricultura, la ganadería y otras actividades en las cuales la comunidad utiliza las aguas del canal. De no ser resuelta satisfactoriamente estas observaciones, el proyecto puede generar conflictos con la comunidad al estar operativo. En virtud de lo anterior, se estudiaron distintas técnicas de tratamientos químicos para la disposición final de los residuos líquidos industriales, proponiéndose una solución para estos residuos líquidos. Con el objetivo de proponer una nueva solución para la disposición de residuos industriales líquidos (RILes) de la central, se recopiló material bibliográfico científico y técnico que contempla técnicas y sistemas para la disposición final de residuos líquidos industriales tratados, tomando en consideración la normativa ambiental, además de los parámetros operacionales y económicos que implica la implementación de estas técnicas. De forma paralela, se analizó y revisó otros EIA´s de proyectos similares, junto con información ambiental de la zona de ubicación de la central, y sistemas para la disposición de residuos líquidos de proyectos ubicados dentro y fuera del país que sean atingentes a la problemática que enfrenta el proyecto. La metodología empleada para buscar técnicas que representen una solución al problema que enfrenta la central corresponde a Mejores Técnicas Disponibles (MTD), que consiste en un conjunto de criterios enfocados en elegir métodos viables tanto técnica como económicamente. Utilizando esta metodología, y teniendo en consideración que cualquier solución propuesta para la disposición de los RILes generados contiene técnicas End-of pipe (es decir, aquellas en donde no se altera la configuración ni funcionamiento de la central, sino sólo están enfocadas a tratar el vertido final), se realizó una comparación entre 37 técnicas disponibles de este tipo sobre la participación en el abatimiento de 13 xi xi contaminantes. Las técnicas escogidas son la evaporación y la cristalización, que participan en el abatimiento de DBO, DQO, halogenuros orgánicos extraíbles y adsorbibles (EOX y AOX), Nitrógeno total, Amonio, fosfatos y metales pesados En base a lo mencionado antes, se propuso una solución para la disposición de residuos líquidos industriales (RILes) basado en las técnicas de evaporación y cristalización, denominado Zero Liquid Discharge (vertido cero, ZLD), debido a que permite el reciclaje de agua al interior de la central, evitando las descargas de residuos líquidos a cuerpos de aguas y de este modo, solucionando el problema ambiental que enfrenta la central.In this Thesis Seminar, the case of a combined-cycle thermoelectric power plant based on natural gas in the process of environmental impact statement (EIS) was analyzed, which presents remarks regarding the proposed solution for the final disposal of its liquid effluents (discharge into an irrigation canal), due to the potential impacts that may be caused either in agriculture, livestock and other activities in which the local community uses the waters of the canal. If these observations are not satisfactorily resolved, the project may suffer the rejection of the community when it is operational. Thus, different techniques of chemical treatments for the final disposal of industrial liquid waste were studied, proposing a solution for these liquid wastes. With the aim of proposing a new solution for the disposal of industrial wastewater of the plant, scientific and technical research was collected that includes techniques and systems for the final disposal of treated industrial wastewater, considering the nationals environmental regulations, in addition to the operational and economic parameters that the implementation of these techniques implies. On another hand, other EIS of similar works were analyzed and reviewed, along with environmental information on the area where the plant is located, and wastewater treatment systems for projects located within and outside of Chile that are relevant to the problem facing the power plant Using this methodology, and considerating that any solution proposed for the disposition of the generated RILs contains End-of-pipe techniques (that is, those where the configuration or operation of the plant is not altered, but are only focused on treating the final discharge), a comparison was made between 37 available techniques of this type on the participation in the abatement of 13 pollutants. The chosen techniques are evaporation and its derivative, crystallization, which participate in the abatement of BOD, COD, extractable and adsorbable organic halides (EOX and AOX), total nitrogen, ammonium, phosphates and heavy metals. xiii xiii According with the last, a solution was proposed for the disposal of industrial wastewater based on the evaporation and crystallization techniques, called Zero Liquid Discharge (zero discharge, ZLD), because it allows the recycling of water to the inside the plant, avoiding discharges of liquid waste to bodies of water and thus, solving the environmental problem facing the plant

Unmanned Ground Vehicle Perception Using Thermal Infrared Cameras

The ability to perform off-road autonomous navigation at any time of day or night is a requirement for some unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) programs. Because there are times when it is desirable for military UGVs to operate without emitting strong, detectable electromagnetic signals, a passive only terrain perception mode of operation is also often a requirement. Thermal infrared (TIR) cameras can be used to provide day and night passive terrain perception. TIR cameras have a detector sensitive to either mid-wave infrared (MWIR) radiation (3-5?m) or long-wave infrared (LWIR) radiation (8-12?m). With the recent emergence of high-quality uncooled LWIR cameras, TIR cameras have become viable passive perception options for some UGV programs. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has used a stereo pair of TIR cameras under several UGV programs to perform stereo ranging, terrain mapping, tree-trunk detection, pedestrian detection, negative obstacle detection, and water detection based on object reflections. In addition, we have evaluated stereo range data at a variety of UGV speeds, evaluated dual-band TIR classification of soil, vegetation, and rock terrain types, analyzed 24 hour water and 12 hour mud TIR imagery, and analyzed TIR imagery for hazard detection through smoke. Since TIR cameras do not currently provide the resolution available from megapixel color cameras, a UGV's daytime safe speed is often reduced when using TIR instead of color cameras. In this paper, we summarize the UGV terrain perception work JPL has performed with TIR cameras over the last decade and describe a calibration target developed by General Dynamics Robotic Systems (GDRS) for TIR cameras and other sensors