Summary
The Latin American (LA) population has similarities with the Spanish population which makes its integration into Spanish society easier. Objective: to analyze the attitude toward organ ...donation among Latin American citizens residing in Spain, to determine the psychosocial variables which affect this attitude, and to examine the correlation between donation rates of LA citizens in Spain and in their countries of origin. A random sample of LA residents in Spain was taken and stratified according to the respondent's nationality (n = 1.314), in the year 2010. Attitude was assessed using a validated questionnaire (PCID‐DTO Dr Rios). The survey was self‐administered and completed anonymously. Statistical analysis: Student's t‐test, the χ2 test, and logistic regression analysis. There was a 94% completion rate (n = 1.237). Attitude toward donation was favorable in 60% of cases (n = 745), 12% (n = 145) were against, and 28% (n = 347) were undecided. The following variables were associated with attitude toward donation: sex (P = 0.038), level of formal education (P < 0.001), country of origin (P = 0.002), attitude toward the donation of a family member's organs (P < 0.001), having discussed donation with the family (P < 0.001), carrying out prosocial activities (P = 0.025), attitude toward cremation of the body (P < 0.001), attitude toward burial of the body (P < 0.001), attitude toward having an autopsy carried out (P < 0.001), previous experience of the organ donation and transplantation process (P < 0.001), fear of mutilation after donation (P < 0.001), knowledge that the Church has a positive attitude toward organ donation and transplantation (P < 0.001), knowledge of one's partner's attitude toward organ donation (P < 0.001), and a belief that one might need a transplant in the future (P < 0.001). The donation rates in this population group in Spain are higher than those recorded in their countries of origin (55.76 vs. <10 pmp; P < 0.001). The attitude toward organ donation among LA citizens residing in Spain is slightly worse than that reported in the native Spanish population and is determined by many psychosocial factors. The donation rates of LA citizens in Spain are higher than those in their countries of origin.
Composite multiferroic materials were prepared using the conventional ceramic double sintering process, with composition of Ґ BaTiO
3
/(1 − Ґ) Cu
0.3
Ni
0.1
Zn
0.6
Fe
2
O
4
, where Ґ represents the ...mass fraction of the ferroelectric phase ranging from 0.3 to 0.9. The behavior of the bulk composites under external dynamic magnetic and electric fields was studied as a function of the ferroelectric phase content. The objective of this work is to establish a relationship between the irreversibility process and magnetic and electrical losses in composite magnetoelectric materials. Experimental measurements were correlated with the entropy production of materials. The results allow us to infer that in the explored frequency range (from 1 MHz to 1.8 GHz), entropy production not only decreases as the ferroelectric phase content increases but is also related to the magnetic losses.
Research about the use of Artificial Intelligence applied to journalism has increased over the years. The studies conducted in this field between January 2008 and December 2019 were analysed to ...understand the contexts in which they have been developed and the challenges detected. The method used consisted of a systematic review of the scientific literature (SLR) of 209 scientific documents published in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The validation required the inclusion and exclusion criteria, database identification, search engines and evaluation and description of results. The findings indicate that the largest number of publications related to this topic are concentrated in the United States and that the rise of scientific production on Artificial Intelligence in journalism takes place in 2015, when the remarkable growth of these publications begins, until reaching 61 in 2019. It is concluded that research is mainly published in scientific journals, which include works that handle a broad variety of topics, such as information production, data journalism, big data, application in social networks or information checking. In relation to authorship, the trend is the presence of a single signer.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with coronavirus infection is related to a cytokine storm with large interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) release. The IL‐6‐receptor blocker tocilizumab may control the ...aberrant host immune response in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) . In this pandemic, kidney transplant (KT) recipients are a high‐risk population for severe infection and showed poor outcomes. We present a multicenter cohort study of 80 KT patients with severe COVID‐19 treated with tocilizumab during hospital admission. High mortality rate was identified (32.5%), related with older age (hazard ratio HR 3.12 for those older than 60 years, P = .039). IL‐6 and other inflammatory markers, including lactic acid dehydrogenase, ferritin, and D‐dimer increased early after tocilizumab administration and their values were higher in nonsurvivors. Instead, C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels decreased after tocilizumab, and this decrease positively correlated with survival (mean 12.3 mg/L in survivors vs. 33 mg/L in nonsurvivors). Each mg/L of CRP soon after tocilizumab increased the risk of death by 1% (HR 1.01 confidence interval 1.004‐1.024, P = .003). Although patients who died presented with worse respiratory situation at admission, this was not significantly different at tocilizumab administration and did not have an impact on outcome in the multivariate analysis. Tocilizumab may be effective in controlling cytokine storm in COVID‐19 but randomized trials are needed.
This multicenter study reports the outcomes of kidney transplant patients treated with tocilizumab for COVID‐19, showing a mortality rate of 32.5% and higher levels of C‐reactive protein early after tocilizumab administration for patients with poor outcomes.
Background. Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self‐efficacy) refers to individuals’ emotion‐related self‐perceptions (Petrides, Furnham, & Mavroveli, 2007). The children's ...trait EI sampling domain provides comprehensive coverage of their affective personality. Preliminary evidence shows that the construct has important implications for children's psychological and behavioural adjustment.
Aims. This study investigates the associations between trait EI and school outcomes, such as performance in reading, writing, and maths, peer‐rated behaviour and social competence, and self‐reported bullying behaviours in a sample of primary school children. It also examines whether trait EI scores differentiate between children with and without special educational needs (SEN).
Sample. The sample comprised 565 children (274 boys and 286 girls) between the ages of 7 and 12 (M(age)= 9.12 years, SD= 1.27 years) attending three English state primary schools.
Method. Pupils completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire‐Child Form (TEIQue‐CF), the Guess Who peer assessment, the Peer‐Victimization Scale, and the Bullying Behaviour Scale. Additional data on achievement and SEN were collected from the school archives.
Results. As predicted by trait EI theory, associations between trait EI and academic achievement were modest and limited to Year 3 children. Higher trait EI scores were related to more nominations from peers for prosocial behaviours and fewer nominations for antisocial behaviour as well as lower scores on self‐reported bulling behaviours. Furthermore, SEN students scored lower on trait EI compared to students without SEN.
Conclusions. Trait EI holds important and multifaceted implications for the socialization of primary schoolchildren.
The main filamentous fungi producers of mycotoxins are Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., and Fusarium spp. Their effect can provoke a broad range of toxic properties including carcinogenicity and ...neurotoxicity, as well as reproductive and developmental toxicities. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the risk assessment of OTA in alcoholic drinks (beer and wine) by compiling the results obtained from studies and reviews related to the presence of OTA in these two drinks from southern European countries in the period 2005–2013 and comparing those results with the legislation available in the European Union.
Bioactive oils are commonly used for their pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional properties. Generally, these are volatile substances sensitive to oxygen, light, moisture, and heat. These reported ...special characteristics could diminish their applicability in the use of cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical industries. Thus, encapsulation is one of the most efficient methods for the formulation of bioactive oils and various investigations have been developed in this aspect. The encapsulation system is selected in line with the intended usage of the final formulation, which can vary depending on the size, shape or nature of selling components. In this review, we state an overview on the different systems for the encapsulation of bioactive oils, as well as, the elaboration methods currently utilized.
•Bioactive oils are used by food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.•The main disadvantage of bioactive oils is instability that limits applicability.•Encapsulation is a good approach to solve this problem.•Different encapsulation technologies are applied.•An overview of the advantages and disadvantages of these is given.
The exponentially correlated Hylleraas–configuration interaction method (E-Hy-CI) is a generalization of the Hylleraas–configuration interaction method (Hy-CI) in which the single rij of an Hy-CI ...wave function is generalized to a form of the generic type rijνije−ωijrij. This work continues the exploration, begun in the first two papers in this series (on the helium atom and on ground and excited S states of Li II), of whether wave functions containing both linear and exponential rij factors converge more rapidly than either one alone. In the present study, we examined not only 1s2 1S states but 1s2p 1P states for the He I, Li II, Be III, C V and O VII members of the He isoelectronic sequence as well. All 1P energies except He I are better than previous results. The wave functions obtained were used to calculate oscillator strengths, including upper and lower bounds, for the He-sequence lowest (resonance) 1S→1P transition. Interpolation techniques were used to make a graphical study of the oscillator strength behavior along the isoelectronic sequence. Comparisons were made with previous experimental and theoretical results. The results of this study are oscillator strengths for the 1s2 1S→ 1s2p1P He isoelectronic sequence with rigorous non-relativistic quantum mechanical upper and lower bounds of (0.001–0.003)% and probable precision ≤ 0.0000003, and were obtained by extending the previously developed E-Hy-CI formalism to include the calculation of transition moments (oscillator strengths).
The vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV‐VT) is a major route of HCV infection in children, but the risk factors remain incompletely understood. This study analyzed the role of interleukin ...28B (IL28B) in HCV‐VT and in the spontaneous clearance of HCV among infected infants. Between 1991 and 2009, 145 mothers were recruited for this study: 100 were HCV‐RNA+ve / human immunodeficiency virus negative (HIV−ve), with 128 children, and 33 were HCV‐RNA−ve/HCV antibody+ve, with 43 children. The infants were tested for HCV‐RNA at birth and at regular intervals until the age of 6 years. IL28B (single nucleotide polymorphism rs12979860) was determined in the mothers and children. HCV‐VT was assumed when children presented HCV‐RNA+ve in two subsequent blood samples. HCV‐VT‐infected infants were categorized as: (1) transient viremia with posterior HCV‐RNA−ve and without serum‐conversion; (2) persistent infection with serum‐conversion. Of the 31 mothers with CC polymorphism, 19 (61%) were HCV‐RNA+ve, whereas among the 68 mothers with non‐CC polymorphism, 56 (82%) were HCV‐RNA+ve. In all, 26 of 128 (20%) infants born to the HCV‐RNA+ve mothers acquired HCV infection, but only 9 (7%) were chronically infected. The rate of HCV‐VT was higher among the mothers with higher HCV viremia. No HCV‐VT was detected in the HCV‐RNA−ve women. Neither the mothers' nor the childrens' IL‐28 status was associated with an increased risk of HCV‐VT. The factors influencing viral clearance among the infected children were genotype non‐1 and genotype CC of IL28B. In logistic regression, child CC polymorphism was the only predictor of HCV‐clearance in HCV genotype‐1. Conclusion: High maternal viral load is the only predictive factor of HCV‐VT. IL28B plays no role in HCV‐VT, but IL28B CC child polymorphism is associated independently with the spontaneous clearance of HCV genotype‐1 among infected children. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
The oleogelation process has become in a great interest area for the food sector. The aim of this study was to understand the effect of cooling temperature profiles (CTP) applied during oleogelation ...on microstructure and some macroscopic properties of monoglycerides (MG) oleogels. To this purpose, oleogels from MG and high oleic sunflower oil were produced using programed CTP corresponding to the actual temperature evolution of the samples when they are left at rest to progress in a specific ambient temperature (AT). In order to evaluate the crystal formation during the gelation process, a torsional rheometer equipped with a rheo-microscope (RM) module was used. This allowed us to carry out simultaneously rheological measurements and record images of the gels during their formation process. Overall, microstructural characteristics were determined: fractions of crystalline material and oil, crystal length and shape, the Avrami index, and the fractal dimension. Although crystal formation took place during a similar range of temperatures (~55–46 °C), significant morphological differences in the distribution and size of crystal and aggregates were observed depending on the applied CTP, and the area occupied by the crystals and oil phase did not depend on CTP used. RM images were useful to follow the kinetics of crystallization as well as to identify a more restricted time domain in the rheological behavior allowing to find more accurate Avrami index values. Furthermore, the analysis of RM images turned out to be an efficient approach to obtain accurate measurements of the fractal dimension. High fractal dimension values were associated with gels exhibiting high number of homogeneous small crystals. Oleogels composed by this network generated a material with high capacity to retain oil. A weak-link regime approach applied to the dynamic systems was appropriate to describe the relationship between the elastic modulus and the crystal formation during the oleogels structuration. In conclusion, these findings may serve to the food industry to achieve a better understanding of the oleogelation process that allows it to control the quality of obtained oleogels, which could be utilized to replace and/or reduce the trans and saturated fats in food formulations.
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•Monoglycerides oleogels were produced using different cooling temperatures profiles•Rheomicroscopy was applied to evaluate crystal formation during gelation process•The weak-link regime model for colloidal dispersion was applied to dynamic systems•Images allow to obtain a more restricted time domain to analyze rheological data•The obtained findings may serve to the food industry to tailoring oleogel's quality
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