Currently, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), one of the most infectious diseases in the 21st century, is diagnosed using RT-PCR testing, CT scans and/or Chest X-Ray (CXR) images. CT (Computed ...Tomography) scanners and RT-PCR testing are not available in most medical centers and hence in many cases CXR images become the most time/cost effective tool for assisting clinicians in making decisions. Deep learning neural networks have a great potential for building COVID-19 triage systems and detecting COVID-19 patients, especially patients with low severity. Unfortunately, current databases do not allow building such systems as they are highly heterogeneous and biased towards severe cases. This article is threefold: (i) we demystify the high sensitivities achieved by most recent COVID-19 classification models, (ii) under a close collaboration with Hospital Universitario Clínico San Cecilio, Granada, Spain, we built COVIDGR-1.0, a homogeneous and balanced database that includes all levelsof severity, from normal with Positive RT-PCR, Mild, Moderate to Severe. COVIDGR-1.0 contains 426 positive and 426 negative PA (PosteroAnterior) CXR views and (iii) we propose COVID Smart Data based Network (COVID-SDNet) methodology for improving the generalization capacity of COVID-classification models. Our approach reaches good and stable results with an accuracy of 97.72% ± 0.95%, 86.90% ± 3.20%, 61.80% ± 5.49% in severe, moderate and mild COVID-19 severity levels. Our approach could help in the early detection of COVID-19. COVIDGR-1.0 along with the severity level labels are available to the scientific community through this link https://dasci.es/es/transferencia/ open-data/covidgr/.
We examined associations of childhood physical and sexual abuse with risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). We also evaluated the extent to which childhood abuse was associated with self-reported ...general health status and symptoms of antepartum depression in a cohort of pregnant Peruvian women.
In-person interviews were conducted to collect information regarding history of childhood abuse and IPV from 1,521 women during early pregnancy. Antepartum depressive symptomatology was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Multivariable logistic regression procedures were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).
Any childhood abuse was associated with 2.2-fold increased odds of lifetime IPV (95%CI: 1.72-2.83). Compared with women who reported no childhood abuse, those who reported both, childhood physical and sexual abuse had a 7.14-fold lifetime risk of physical and sexual IPV (95%CI: 4.15-12.26). The odds of experiencing physical and sexual abuse by an intimate partner in the past year was 3.33-fold higher among women with a history of childhood physical and sexual abuse as compared to women who were not abused as children (95%CI 1.60-6.89). Childhood abuse was associated with higher odds of self-reported poor health status during early pregnancy (aOR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.04-1.68) and with symptoms of antepartum depression (aOR = 2.07, 95%CI: 1.58-2.71).
These data indicate that childhood sexual and physical abuse is associated with IPV, poor general health and depressive symptoms in early pregnancy. The high prevalence of childhood trauma and its enduring effects of on women's health warrant concerted global health efforts in preventing violence.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
La Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 1 (DMT1) es una de las enfermedades actuales más dañinas que afectan a personas de cualquier edad incluyendo niños desde el nacimiento. Las inyecciones de insulina exógena ...siguen siendo el tratamiento más común para estos pacientes, sin embargo, no es el óptimo. La comunidad científica se ha esforzado en optimizar el suministro de insulina usando dispositivos electrónicos y de esta manera mejorar la esperanza de vida de los diabéticos. Existen numerosas limitaciones para que esta evolución biomédica sea realidad tales como la validación de algoritmos controladores, experimentación con dispositivos electrónicos, aplicabilidad en pacientes de diferentes edades, entre otras. Este trabajo presenta el prototipado de un controlador inteligente neuro-fuzzy en la tarjeta LAUNCHXL-F28069M de Texas Instruments para formar un esquema de hardware en el lazo (HIL). Esto es, el controlador embebido manda los datos de la tasa de suministro de insulina al computador donde se capturan por el software Uva/Padova y se integran a la simulación metabólica de pacientes diabéticos virtuales tratados con bomba de insulina. Una tarea principal del algoritmo inteligente embebido es determinar la tasa óptima de infusión insulínica para cada uno de los 30 pacientes virtuales disponibles, los cuales llevan un protocolo de comida. La novedad de este trabajo se centra en superar las limitaciones actuales a través de un primer enfoque de algoritmo de control inteligente aplicable al páncreas artificial (PA) y analizar la factibilidad de esta propuesta en la trascendencia con la edad ya que los resultados corresponden a pruebas in-silico en poblaciones de 10 adultos, 10 adolescentes y 10 niños.
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) allows a fast and reliable bacterial identification from culture plates. Direct analysis of clinical ...samples may increase its usefulness in samples in which a fast identification of microorganisms can guide empirical treatment, such as blood cultures (BC). Three hundred and thirty BC, reported as positive by the automated BC incubation device, were processed by conventional methods for BC processing, and by a fast method based on direct MALDI-TOF MS. Three hundred and eighteen of them yield growth on culture plates, and 12 were false positive. The MALDI-TOF MS-based method reported that no peaks were found, or the absence of a reliable identification profile, in all these false positive BC. No mixed cultures were found. Among these 318 BC, we isolated 61 Gram-negatives (GN), 239 Gram-positives (GP) and 18 fungi. Microorganism identifications in GN were coincident with conventional identification, at the species level, in 83.3% of BC and, at the genus level, in 96.6%. In GP, identifications were coincident with conventional identification in 31.8% of BC at the species level, and in 64.8% at the genus level. Fungaemia was not reliably detected by MALDI-TOF. In 18 BC positive for Candida species (eight C. albicans, nine C. parapsilosis and one C. tropicalis), no microorganisms were identified at the species level, and only one (5.6%) was detected at the genus level. The results of the present study show that this fast, MALDI-TOF MS-based method allows bacterial identification directly from presumptively positive BC in a short time (<30 min), with a high accuracy, especially when GN bacteria are involved.
Biodegradable PEGylated nanospheres loading Dexibuprofen demonstrated to be suitable for ocular inflammation treatment.
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•Dexibuprofen PEGylated nanospheres optimization was carried ...out by DoE.•Developed Dexibuprofen loaded nanospheres are suitable for ocular administration.•Nanospheres increase tropism to the cornea enhancing drug retention and permeation.•Developed formulations confirmed to be non-irritant by ocular tolerance assessment.•Formulations were effective both preventing and treating inflammation.
Dexibuprofen-loaded PEGylated PLGA nanospheres have been developed to improve the biopharmaceutical profile of the anti-inflammatory drug for ocular administration. Dexibuprofen is the active enantiomer of ibuprofen and therefore lower doses may be applied to achieve the same therapeutic level. According to this, two batches of nanospheres of different drug concentrations, 0.5 and 1.0mg/ml respectively, have been developed (the latter corresponding to the therapeutic ibuprofen concentration for inflammatory eye diseases). Both batches were composed of negatively charged nanospheres (−14.1 and −15.9mV), with a mean particle size below 200nm, and a high encapsulation efficiency (99%). X-ray, FTIR, and DSC analyses confirmed that the drug was dispersed inside the matrix of the nanospheres. While the in vitro release profile was sustained up to 12h, the ex vivo corneal and scleral permeation profile demonstrated higher drug retention and permeation in the corneal tissue rather than in the sclera. These results were also confirmed by the quantification of dexibuprofen in ocular tissues after the in vivo administration of drug-loaded nanospheres. Cell viability studies confirmed that PEGylated-PLGA nanospheres were less cytotoxic than free dexibuprofen in the majority of the tested concentrations. Ocular in vitro (HET-CAM test) and in vivo (Draize test) tolerance assays demonstrated the non-irritant character of both nanosphere batches. In vivo anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated in albino rabbits before and after inflammation induction. Both batches confirmed to be effective to treat and prevent ocular inflammation.
Stream interaction regions (SIRs) dominate the large‐scale solar wind dynamics during the minimum of the solar cycle. The interaction of SIRs with the magnetosphere causes most of geomagnetic storms ...during this epoch. We used in‐situ solar wind observations at 1 AU to study 62 SIRs detected in the interval 2007–2008 (minimum of cycle 23) and 61 SIRs in the interval 2018–2019 (minimum of cycle 24). We compared distinct characteristics of SIRs, such as the solar wind streams velocities, the presence of forward and/or reverse shocks (RS), SIR radial widths, the relative position of the stream interface within the SIRs, SIR latitudinal orientation, and the geoeffectiveness. There were more geomagnetic storms driven by SIRs in cycle 23 than in cycle 24. The pattern of fast solar wind streams in cycle 23 tended to be faster than in cycle 24. We found more SIRs with RS in cycle 23 than in cycle 24. For the geoeffective SIRs, the momentum flows from the fast solar wind to the slow solar wind, as well as their stream interface is closer to the SIR front. Coronal holes associated with SIRs registered in cycle 23 tended to be wider in longitude near the solar equator and/or at midlatitudes. We did not find a clear relation between the geoeffectiveness of the SIRs and their latitudinal inclinations.
Key Points
Stream interaction regions at 1 AU had different characteristics in solar cycle minimum 23 and 24
We found differences in their patterns of solar wind streams, the presence of shock waves, and the relative position of their stream interface
Stream interaction regions were more geoeffective in the minimum of solar cycle 23 than in the minimum of cycle 24
Abstract Objective We sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of two widely used screening scales: the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) ...among pregnant Peruvian women. Methods This cross-sectional study included 1517 women receiving prenatal care from February 2012 to March 2013. A structured interview was used to collect data using PHQ-9 and EPDS. We examined reliability, construct and concurrent validity between two scales using internal consistency indices, factor structures, correlations, and Cohen׳s kappa. Results Both scales had good internal consistency (Cronbach׳s alpha>0.8). Correlation between PHQ-9 and EPDS scores was fair (rho=0.52). Based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA), both scales yielded a two-factor structure. EFA including all items from PHQ-9 and EPDS yielded four factors, namely, “somatization”, “depression and suicidal ideation”, “anxiety and depression”, and “anhedonia”. The agreement between the two scales was generally fair at different cutoff scores with the highest Cohen׳s kappa being 0.46. Conclusions Both the PHQ-9 and EPDS are reliable and valid scales for antepartum depression assessment. The PHQ-9 captures somatic symptoms, while EPDS detects depressive symptoms comorbid with anxiety during early pregnancy. Our findings suggest simultaneous administration of both scales may improve identification of antepartum depressive disorders in clinical settings.
CoCrMo alloys are used in a wide range of applications because of their acceptable fatigue strength and corrosion resistance. However, CoCrMo-based components exhibit a deleterious effect of wear. ...For this reason, surface modification through ceramic coatings has become in a useful alternative to improve mechanical resistance. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the tribological behavior of a system of diffusional boride layers formed on the substrate of CoCrMo alloy. For this purpose, different boron diffusion heat treatment parameters were performed: 1223, 1248 and 1273 K by 6, 8 and 10 h, respectively. Surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface roughness measurement, micro-hardness testing, and X-ray diffraction. The tribological response was studied by means of ball on disc tribometer under dry-sliding conditions tracking their friction coefficient, mass loss, wear rate and surface damage by stereoscopy and SEM. Boride coating at 1223 K by 6 h showed the better wear resistance, increased it 6 times relative to the wear resistance obtained for the CoCr alloy untreated sample.
•CoCr borided sample at 1223 K – 6 h increased 6 times the wear resistance in comparison with the CoCr untreated sample.•The wear resistant borided layer was correlated with temperature and time parameters of boronizing process.•The maximum hardness value achieved on the borided surface was 5 times higher than the hardness of the substrate.•The main wear mechanism was severe abrasion for the untreated sample and surface fatigue for the borided samples.
Resveratrol (RES), a polyphenol compound with anti‑proliferative properties, has been previously evaluated for its beneficial effects against a variety of tumour cells. The current study elucidated ...the means by which RES enhances the anti‑proliferative effects of cisplatin (CIS) on MCF‑7 cells, focusing on the inhibitory effects on DNA repair of double‑strand breaks (DSBs). Chemoresistant MCF‑7 cells (MCF‑7R) were generated by continuous exposure to low concentrations of CIS (10 µM CIS‑IC40) during 5 passages, with the IC50 value increasing ~3‑fold. Using an MTT assay, we estimated the changes in IC50 for CIS in MCF‑7, T47‑D, MDA‑MB‑231 and MCF‑7R cells in the presence of RES. The relative transcript level of Nbs‑1, Mre‑11 and Rad‑50 genes was assessed using RT‑qPCR analysis. Rad51 and H2AX pSer139 protein expression was determined by western blot analysis. RES at 50 and 100 µM significantly enhanced the anti‑proliferative effects of CIS in both MCF‑7 and MCF‑7R cells, decreasing the IC50 values for CIS to one‑tenth and one‑sixth, respectively. A total of 100 µM RES decreased the relative transcript levels of homologous recombination (HR) initiation complex components and the Rad51 protein level in MCF‑7 and MCF‑7R cells. After 48 h of CIS DNA damage, the levels of Rad51 protein increased, but this effect was inhibited by 100 µM RES. RES also maintained serine 139 phosphorylation of histone H2AX, suggesting that RES prevents the repair of DSBs. It was observed that RES exerts an antagonistic effect over CIS on the activation of Rad51 and sustained phosphorylation of H2AX. The results suggest that RES in combination with DNA damage‑based therapy has potential as a strategy to overcome resistance and provide much safer and more effective treatment for breast cancer.
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