Objective
The aim was to examine the heterogeneity of psychosocial outcomes in euthymic bipolar disorder (BD) patients and analyse the potential influence of distinct variables on functioning.
Method
...Using a hierarchical cluster exploratory analysis, 143 euthymic patients with diagnosis of BD were grouped according to their functional performance based on domains scores of the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST). The resulting groups were compared on sociodemographic, clinical and neurocognitive variables to find factors associated with each functional cluster.
Results
Patients were grouped in three functional profiles: patients with good functioning in all the FAST areas, patients with an intermediate profile showing great difficulties in the occupational domain and milder difficulties in most of the rest domains, and a third group with serious difficulties in almost all functional areas. Both functionally impaired groups were characterized by higher subthreshold symptoms (depressive and manic) and higher unemployment rates. The most functionally impaired group also showed lower scores on some measures of processing speed.
Conclusion
Two of three functional profiles showed some kind of impairment which was associated with subsyndromal symptoms and cognitive performance. These patterns should be taken into consideration to develop more individualized interventions to restore, or improve, psychosocial outcomes.
We report on the thermal neutron flux measurements carried out at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC) with two commercial
2
″
×
2
″
CLYC detectors. The measurements were performed as part ...of an experimental campaign at LSC with
3
He detectors, for establishing the sensitivity limits and use of CLYCs in low background conditions. A careful characterization of the intrinsic
α
and
γ
-ray background in the detectors was required and done with dedicated measurements. It was found that the
α
activities in the two CLYC crystals differ by a factor of three, and the use of Monte Carlo simulations and a Bayesian unfolding method allowed us to determine the specific
α
activities from the
238
U and
232
Th decay chains. The simulations and unfolding also revealed that the
γ
-ray background registered in the detectors is dominated by the intrinsic activity of the components of the detector such as the aluminum housing and photo-multiplier and that the activity within the crystal is low in comparison. The data from the neutron flux measurements with the two detectors were analyzed with different methodologies: one based on an innovative
α
/neutron pulse shape discrimination method and one based on the subtraction of the intrinsic
α
background that masks the neutron signals in the region of interest. The neutron sensitivity of the CLYCs was calculated by Monte Carlo simulations with MCNP6 and GEANT4. The resulting thermal neutron fluxes are in good agreement with complementary flux measurement performed with
3
He detectors, but close to the detection limit imposed by the intrinsic
α
activity.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Adiponectin is one of the most clinically relevant cytokines associated with obesity. However, circadian rhythmicity of adiponectin in human adipose tissue (AT) has not been analyzed. To assess ...whether the mRNA levels of adiponectin and its receptors (ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2) might show daily circadian rhythms in visceral and sc fat explants obtained from morbid obese women, visceral and sc abdominal AT biopsies (n = 6) were obtained from morbidly obese women (body mass index ≥40 kg/m2). Anthropometric variables were measured and fasting plasma glucose, lipid, and lipoprotein concentrations were analyzed. To investigate rhythmic expression pattern, AT explants were cultured during 24 h, and gene expression was analyzed at the following times: 0800, 1400, 2000, and 0200 h, using quantitative real-time PCR. All genes investigated showed a circadian rhythmicity and oscillated accurately and independently of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in both AT explants (P < 0.05). Adiponectin gene expression fluctuated in the same phase as its receptors. Correlation analyses between the genetic circadian oscillation and components of the metabolic syndrome revealed that adiposity and abdominal obesity correlated with a decrease in adiponectin and adiponectin receptors ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2 amplitude (P < 0.05). Visceral fat showed a trend toward a phase delay and dampening of the mRNA amplitude of adiponectin as compared with sc fat. The mRNA expression of adiponectin and its receptors showed 24-h rhythmicity in human AT from morbidly obese patients.
Rhythm amplitude of circadian rhythmicity of adiponectin in human adipose tissue is related to metabolic syndrome features.
Antioxidant response was used to assess the effects of the main pollutants in wild mussels (
Mytilus galloprovincialis) along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Antioxidant enzyme activities – those ...of catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidases, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase and DT-diaphorase – as well as lipid peroxidation and metallothionein concentrations were measured in gills of mussels from 16 selected sites. Furthermore, concentrations of the main contaminants (Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, As, PAH, PCB, and DDT) were quantified in mussel tissue, and environmental parameters were measured in water samples collected at each site. Results showed that the glutathione-dependent antioxidant enzymes offered an increased and coordinated response against metal (Hg, Pb and Cd) contamination. These enzymatic activities correlated positively to temperature, suggesting the influence of this environmental parameter on antioxidant responses in gill tissues. Furthermore, although temperature did not reach stressful levels in the study area, it seemed to add a synergistic effect to that produced by metals to induce antioxidant enzymes in the most metal-polluted sites. Catalase activity appeared to be involved in a different antioxidant pathway, more related to organic pollutant bioaccumulation, offering an efficient protection mechanism against reactive oxygen species generation due both to organic exposure and high physiological activity, reflected by high condition indices. In general terms, increased levels of antioxidant enzymes at some sites suffering from metal and organic pollution indicated a situation of oxidative stress that nevertheless did not appear to be harmful, since lipid peroxidation levels showed no peroxidative damage in gill tissues of mussels collected from even the most heavily polluted sites. On the other hand, metallothionein and DT-diaphorase did not reflect pollutant exposure and seemed to be more influenced by environmental variables than by the pollutants.
Purpose: Blepharoplasty is a common surgical technique, performed mainly for aesthetic purposes and for functional disorders of the periorbital, which corrects excess skin of the upper eyelids or ...excess fat in the lower bags. As a side effect, periorbital hematomas usually occur, which can be annoying for patients. Ice water compresses and head elevation are used, without scientific evidence, for recovery, but specific creams, such as those with lactoferrin, can accelerate tissue repair processes. The study aimed to assess the efficacy of a cream containing lactoferrin encapsulated in liposomes, Kelador®, to reduce post-blepharoplasty bruises. Methods: This controlled, prospective, randomized, single-centre pilot clinical study was conducted at the Barraquer Clinic in Barcelona, Spain. All patients underwent a blepharoplasty, and periorbital hematomas were treated with a Chelating Cream (Kelador®). Patients were followed up two and nine days after surgery, where clinical data and photographs were taken. Images were assessed through an objective analysis method developed with the ImageJ® software. Results: Nineteen patients were enrolled, 16 women and three men. The median age was 60.37 years (SD 14.22), and the median of treatment days was 8.2 (SD 1.6). The mean Reduction % in the treated eyes was 33.3 (SD 31,0), and in untreated eyes, 17.7 (SD38,1). Differences were statistically significant (p = 0.00667). Conclusions: Using a Chelating Cream containing lactoferrin encapsulated in liposomes, such as Kelador®, accelerates the reduction of bruise colour after a periocular intervention such as blepharoplasty.
An expeditious procedure for the challenging computation of the free energy barriers (Δ
G
≠
) for the solvation of carbocations is presented. This procedure is based on Marcus Theory (MT) and the ...popular B3LYP/6-31G(d)//PCM method, and it allows the easy, accurate and inexpensive prediction of these barriers for carbocations of very different stability. This method was validated by the fair mean absolute error (
ca.
1.5 kcal mol
−1
) achieved in the prediction of 19 known experimental barriers covering a range of
ca.
50 kcal mol
−1
. Interestingly, the new procedure also uses an original method for the calculation of the required inner reorganization energy (
Λ
i
) and free energy of reaction (Δ
G
). This procedure should pave the way to face computationally the pivotal issue of carbocation chemistry and could be easily extended to any bimolecular organic reaction.
An expeditious procedure for the challenging computation of the free energy barriers (Δ
G
≠
) for the solvation of carbocations is presented.
In this work, we present the synthesis of TiO2 photocatalysts modified with different % mol of tin using the sol–gel method. The materials were characterized using different analytical techniques. ...The Rietveld refinement, XPS, Raman and UV-Vis techniques confirm the substitution of tin in the TiO2 structural lattice due to changes in crystal lattice parameters, the low-energy shift of the Sn 3d5/2 orbital, generation of oxygen vacancies and the decreased band gap and increased BET surface area. The material with 1 mol% tin shows superior catalytic activity compared to the references for the degradation of 40 ppm 4-chlorophenol (3 hours of reaction) and 50 ppm phenol (6 hours of reaction). Reactions fit pseudo first order kinetics in both instances. The increase in photodegradation efficiency was attributed to the generation of energy levels below the TiO2 conduction band caused by the incorporation of 1% mol of tin, oxygen vacancies, and the heterojunction formed between the brookite–anatase–rutile, causing inhibition of the recombination of the electron (e−) and hole (h+) photogenerated species. The easy synthesis, low cost and increased photodegradation efficiency of the photocatalyst with 1 mol% tin have the potential to favor the remediation of recalcitrant compounds in water.
Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) infections are frequent and highly impact cancer patients. We developed and validated a scoring system to identify cancer ...patients harboring ESBL-PE at the National Institute of Cancer of Colombia. The score was based on eight variables (reported with Odds Ratio and 95% confidence interval): Hospitalization greater than or equai to7 days (5.39 2.46-11.80), Hospitalization during the previous year (4, 87 2.99-7.93), immunosuppressive therapy during the previous 3 months (2.97 1.44-6.08), Neutropenia (1.90 1.12-3.24), Exposure to Betalactams during previous month (1.61 1.06-2.42), Invasive devices (1.51 1.012-2.25), Neoplasia in remission (2.78 1.25-1.17), No chemotherapy during the previous 3 months (1.90 1.22-2.97). The model demonstrated an acceptable discriminatory capacity in the Derivation phase, but poor in the Validation phase (Recipient Operating Characteristic Curve: 0.68 and 0.55 respectively). Cancer patients have a high prevalence of risk factors for ESBL-PE infection. The scoring system did not adequately discriminate patients with ESBL-PE. In a high-risk population, other strategies should be sought to identify patients at risk of resistant ESBL-PE infection.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Context.
White-light continuum observations of solar flares often have coronal counterparts, including the classical ‘white-light prominence’ (WLP) phenomenon.
Aims.
Coronal emissions by flares, seen ...in the white-light continuum, have only rarely been reported. We seek to use modern data to understand the morphology of WLP events.
Methods.
We have identified a set of 14 examples of WLPs detected by the Heliospheric and Magnetic Imager (HMI) experiment on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite using a new online catalogue that covers 2011–2017. These WLPs invariably accompanied white-light flare (WLF) emission from the lower atmosphere from flares near the limb, as identified by hard X-ray images from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). HMI provides full Stokes information, and we have used the linear polarisations (
Q
and
U
) to distinguish Thomson scattering from cool material.
Results.
The event morphologies fit roughly into three categories – ejection, loop, and spike – but many events show multiple phenomena.
Conclusions.
The coronal white-light continuum, observed by HMI analogously to the observations made by a coronagraph, reveals many examples of coronal emission and dynamics. Using the Stokes linear polarisation, we estimate the masses of hot coronal plasma in 11 of the 14 events and find them to be similar to typical coronal-mass-ejection masses, but without exceeding 10
15
g. We note that the HMI observations do not occult the bright solar disk and were not designed for coronal observations, resulting in relatively low signal-to-noise ratios. We therefore believe that future such observations with better optimisation will be even more fruitful.
Introduction
Studing the scope of differences found in terms of gender in First Psychotic Episodes patients, should enhance our understanding of such disorders and improve the therapeutic approaches.
...Objectives
Our main objective was to compare the sociodemographic variables between men and women included in the Early Intervention Program in Psychosis of the Regional University Hospital of Malaga between the years 2016-2020.
Methods
Retrospective study in which the characteristics of 135 patients who started the Early Intervention Program in Psychosis of the Regional University Hospital of Malaga between the years 2016-2020 were analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 25.0. For the comparison of variables, Student’s t was used for quantitative variables and Chi square for dichotomous variables.
Results
Patients included in the Program; 32% were women and 68% were men. The average of age at the beginning was 35.56 for women and 28,47 for men. Most of the women were married and most of the men were single. The majority of men lived with their original family and for women with their own family. In relation with the consumption of toxins, alcohol and to smoke, were more frequent in men. More results in poster.
Conclusions
Despite the limitations due to our study design, the results obtained are in agreement with some of the discussions that are currently in force. Given that, female gender is associated with lower risk of psychosis, better premorbid adjustment, lower drug consumption and a later onset of the disease in the first-episode psychosis.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
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