In this work, graphene quantum dots (GQD) were prepared through a hydrothermal process. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectrum for GQD prepared with high NH4OH concentration (sample D1-t) was ...attained at lower wavelength (406 nm), compared to GQD synthesized with low NH4OH concentration (sample D2-t attained at 418 nm). From these results, a smaller particle size for D1-t was deduced; according to TEM images the GQD particles are around 5 nm. The Raman ID3/IG ratio which is related to C–O groups at the edges of GQD and the full width at half maximum was lower for D1-t than D2-t. This was ascribed to the amine group incorporation at the edges and at the basal planes in D1-t, whilst in D2-t they prefer principally the edges of the GQD structure. The ZnO nanoparticles bonded to GQD (ZnO–GQD, nanocomposites) enhance the PL emission intensity. The H2O2 detection tested by photoluminescence spectroscopy, was found to occur thanks to the ZnO from the nanocomposite and its interaction with H2O2, producing a quenching effect. This quenching was accentuated by the increase of the H2O2 concentration. Such properties suggest the ZnO–GQD nanocomposite as a candidate to be used as a sensor material.
RESUMEN Se presentan resultados parciales del Proyecto Institucional “Evaluación del impacto de la metodología para el desarrollo del capital intelectual en los servicios de salud”, en ejecución por ...la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Guantánamo desde el 2016. La investigación permitió fundamentar la necesidad de mejorar el nivel de conocimientos de profesionales y población en general acerca de la relación entre el deterioro en los ecosistemas y la emergencia y la reemergencia de enfermedades. Los métodos de investigación empleados aportaron la información primaria a partir de la cual pudo caracterizarse el estado actual del problema y el diseño de un sistema de acciones para el avance en ese aspecto, que, como objetivo cumplido, propician, según el criterio de expertos, lograr integralidad en el manejo de los ecosistemas en función de elevar el nivel de calidad de vida con una gestión ambiental sostenible y saludable.
Laminar mixing of Newtonian and shear‐thinning fluids induced by a Hockmeyer®‐type impeller was investigated. Two unbaffled tanks at three impellers off‐bottom clearances (c) were studied. Six ...geometric combinations, i.e., two d/T and three c/T, were examined where d and T are the impeller and tank diameters, respectively. Determination of the Metzner‐Otto constant (Ks) was undertaken. The effects of d/T, c/T, and fluid rheology on Ks, power demand, pumping, shear and viscous dissipation were analyzed. The evaluated geometric ratios and rheology do not significantly affect Ks and power demand, only the rheology had an impact on the remaining hydrodynamic parameters. Pumping was favored with the Newtonian fluid, and shear and viscous dissipation increased with the shear‐thinning fluid.
The hydrodynamic performance in the laminar regime of a ring‐style high‐shear impeller of two rings mixing Newtonian and shear‐thinning fluids was evaluated. The highest shear and viscous dissipation values induced by this impeller with the shear‐thinning fluids suggest that in the laminar regime these fluids exhibit a superior performance for powder dispersion processes than Newtonian fluids.
Metzner-Otto's concept regarding the existence of an average shear rate (γ˙av) around the impeller was numerically undertaken for shear-thinning fluids. This study focuses on investigating the region ...around the pitched blade turbine (PB4) which could be considered as the region where Metzner-Otto's constant can be extracted directly from non-Newtonian simulations as Ks=γ˙av/N (where N is the impeller speed). For this purpose, ten succeedingly increasing volumes enclosing the impeller were defined in the mesh with the objective of studing γ˙av in these zones. Results show that γ˙av in the volume swept by the blades for the PB4 is similar with that reported for the Rushton turbine. However, the region where Ks can be computed for the PB4 extends approximately up to 1.22 impeller radii and 2.5 impeller blade heights. The Metzner-Otto's constant in this region (Ks = 8.86) was found to be in good agreement with our experimental (Ks = 8.53) result and with reported data (Ks = 8.58).
•The Metzner-Otto concept is numerically revisited for the pitched blade turbine.•The region where the Ks constant can be directly calculated is determined.•Average and local shear rate profiles around the impeller are described.
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the greatest challenges in modern history, with more than four million confirmed deaths worldwide. To date, evidence regarding the psychological impact of the COVID-19 ...pandemic on grievers is scarce for developing countries such as Mexico. This study aimed to assess the levels of anxiety and associated concerns in a sample of Mexican adults bereaved during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional study was conducted through the
(COVID Grief) platform, which is a self-guided online treatment. A total of 5,224 participants reported their anxiety, depression, sleep quality, avoidance, and arousal, prolonged grief symptoms, and medication consumption. Independent sample Mann-Whitney
-tests, chi-square tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as well as multinomial logistic regression, were conducted. Results indicated that 90.4% of the participants reported clinical levels of anxiety, depression, and sleep affectations. The people who lost someone during the last 5 months scored higher in normal grief symptoms compared to the people whose loss was 6 months ago or more, and 9.8% of individuals reported the use of prescription medication, with anxiolytics and antidepressants being the most common. Females, younger respondents, unemployed people with a lower educational level, and participants who disclosed a recent suicide attempt were among those who reported medication consumption. Sleep problems were more frequent in older participants.
COVID-19 has taken many lives worldwide and due to this, millions of persons are in grief. When the grief process lasts longer than 6 months, the person is in risk of developing Complicated Grief ...Disorder (CGD). The CGD is related to serious health consequences. To reduce the probability of developing CGD a preventive intervention could be applied. In developing countries like Mexico, the psychological services are scarce, self-applied interventions could provide support to solve this problem and reduce the health impact even after the pandemic has already finished.
To design and implement a self-applied intervention composed of 12 modules focused on the decrease of the risk of developing CGD, and increasing the life quality, and as a secondary objective to reduce the symptomatology of anxiety, depression, and increase of sleep quality. The Intervention Duelo COVID (Grief COVID) follows the principles of User Experience (UX) and is designed according to the needs and desires of a sample of the objective participants, to increase the adherence to the self-applied intervention, considered one of the main weaknesses of online interventions.
A Randomized Controlled Trial will be conducted from the 22nd of December of 2020 to the first of June 2021. The participants will be assigned to an intervention with elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness and Positive Psychology. The control group will be a wait-list condition, that will receive the intervention 1.5-2 months after the pre-measurement were taken. The Power Size Calculation conducted through G
Power indicated the need for a total of 42 participants, which will be divided by 21 participants in each group. The platform will be delivered through responsive design assuring with this that the intervention will adapt to the screen size of cellphones, tablets, and computers.
The study counts with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, México, and it is registered in Clinical Trials (NCT04638842). The article is sent and registered in clinical trials before the recruitment started. The results will be reported in future conferences, scientific publications, and media.
Background: Patients with unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit (UPVD) experience vertigo, dizziness, disability, negative influences on their quality of life, anxiety, and depression. In ...vestibular rehabilitation, virtual reality (VR) has proven to be effective. This investigation sought to evaluate the efficacy of the Balance Rehabilitation Unit (BRUTM) (MedicaaTM Montevideo, Uruguay, Balance Suite, version BRU 415) in patients with UPVD.Methods: A prospective, randomized, controlled study involved 38 patients from the Otoneurologic Service at the National Institute of Rehabilitation "Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra" in Mexico. A physician specialist diagnosed the patients with UPVD and assigned them randomly to one of two groups. Group 1 (n = 19) received traditional vestibular rehabilitation, whereas Group 2 (n = 19) received BRUTM-supported vestibular rehabilitation. Both groups were monitored by medical professionals. Patients were evaluated with the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, static and dynamic balance assessments, the dynamic gait index, and the sensory organization test. The statistical analysis was conducted using the Student's t-test, with p 0.05 considered statistically significant.Results: The difference in mean age between the conventional therapy and BRUTM groups was not statistically significant. Both conventional vestibular rehabilitation and the BRUTM led to statistically significant improvements in all assessed parameters, with no statistically significant differences between the two groups.Conclusion: Balance, mobility, and quality of life were enhanced similarly in UPVD patients by BRUTM-supported vestibular rehabilitation and conventional vestibular rehabilitation. In addition, BRUTM facilitated patient motivation, exercise feedback, and confidence enhancement.
In Mexico, cacao production is endangered by pathogenic fungi, such as
spp. and
that cause black pod rot and moniliasis, respectively. In this study the biocontrol agent
sp. NMA1017 was tested in ...cacao fields against the previous diseases. The treatments applied were shade management, inoculation of the bacterial strain with or without an adherent, and use of chemical control. The statistical analysis showed that the incidence of black pod rot in tagged cacao trees diminished when the bacterium was applied (reduction of 44.24 to 19.11%). The same result was observed with moniliasis when the pods were tagged (reduction of 66.6 to 27%). The use of
sp. NMA1017 with an integrated management might be a solution to cacao diseases and to having a sustainable production of cacao in Mexico.
Abstract
Background
Emotional and stress-related disorders show high incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and comorbidity rates in Mexico. In recent decades, research findings indicate that cognitive ...behavioral interventions, from a disorder-specific perspective, are the effective front-line treatment for anxiety and depression care. However, these treatments are not often used. Reasons include limited access and low availability to effective interventions and comorbidity between mental disorders. Emotional deregulation of negative affectivity has been found to be a mediating factor in addressing emotional disorders from a transdiagnostic perspective, aimed at two or more specific disorders. In addition, technological advancement has created alternatives for psychological assistance, highlighting the possibilities offered by technologies since Internet-supported intervention programs have been empirically tested for effectiveness, efficiency and efficacy and can be key to ensuring access to those who are inaccessible. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy, moderators of clinical change and acceptability of a transdiagnostic guided Internet-delivered intervention versus a transdiagnostic self-guided Internet-delivered intervention for emotional, trauma and stress-related disorders, and waiting list in community sample.
Methods
A three-armed, parallel group, superiority randomized controlled clinical trial with repeated measurements at four times: pretest, posttest, follow-up at 3, 6 and 12 months. Outcomes assessor, participant, care provider and investigator will be blinded. Participants aged 18 to 70 years will be randomly allocated 1:1:1 to one of three study arms: a) Transdiagnostic guided internet-delivered intervention with synchronous assistance, b) Transdiagnostic self-guided internet-delivered intervention, c) Waiting list group. Based on sample size estimation, a minimum of 207 participants (69 in each intervention group) will be included.
Discussion
The study could contribute to improving the efficacy of transdiagnostic internet-delivered interventions to promote the dissemination of evidence-based treatments and eventually, to decrease the high prevalence of emotional and trauma-related disorders in the Mexican population.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrial.gov:
NCT05225701
. Registered February 4, 2022.
The death of a loved one was a challenge many people faced during the COVID-19 pandemic within the context of extraordinary circumstances and great uncertainty. Grief is an unavoidable part of life, ...and for most people, feelings of grief decrease naturally over time. However, for some people, grieving can become a particularly painful process with clinical symptoms that may require professional help to resolve. To provide psychological support to people who had lost a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic, an unguided web-based psychological intervention was developed.
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the web-based treatment, Grief COVID (Duelo COVID in Spanish; ITLAB), in reducing clinical symptoms of complicated grief, depression, posttraumatic stress, hopelessness, anxiety, and suicidal risk in adults. The secondary aim was to validate the usability of the self-applied intervention system.
We used a randomized controlled trial with an intervention group (IG) and a waitlist control group (CG). The groups were assessed 3 times (before beginning the intervention, upon completing the intervention, and 3 months after the intervention). The intervention was delivered on the web in an asynchronous format through the Duelo COVID web page. Participants created an account that could be used on their computers, smartphones, or tablets. The evaluation process was automated as part of the intervention.
A total of 114 participants were randomly assigned to the IG or CG and met criteria for inclusion in the study (n=45, 39.5% completed the intervention and n=69, 60.5% completed the waitlist period). Most participants (103/114, 90.4%) were women. The results indicated that the treatment significantly reduced baseline clinical symptoms in the IG for all variables (P<.001 to P=.006), with larger effect sizes for depression, hopelessness, grief, anxiety, and risk of suicide (all effect sizes ≥0.5). The follow-up evaluation showed that symptom reduction was maintained at 3 months after the intervention. The results from the CG showed that participants experienced significantly decreased levels of hopelessness after completing the time on the waitlist (P<.001), but their suicidal risk scores increased. Regarding the usability of the self-applied intervention system, the results indicated a high level of satisfaction with the Grief COVID.
The self-applied web-based intervention Grief COVID was effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, hopelessness, risk of suicide risk, posttraumatic stress disorder, and complicated grief disorder. Grief COVID was evaluated by the participants, who reported that the system was easy to use. These results affirm the importance of developing additional web-based psychological tools to help reduce clinical symptoms in people experiencing grief because of the loss of a loved one during a pandemic.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04638842; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04638842.
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