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This paper presents a new approach for geometrically constrained path planning applied to the field of robotic grasping. The method proposed in this paper is based on the Fast Marching Square (FM
$\, ^2$
) and a path calculation approach based on an optimization evolutionary filter named Differential Evolution (DE). The geometric restrictions caused by the link lengths of the kinematic chain composed by the robot arm and hand are introduced in the path calculation phase. This phase uses both the funnel potential of the surroundings created with FM
$\, ^2$
and the kinematic constraints of the robot as cost functions to be minimized by the evolutionary filter. The use of an optimization filter allows for a near-optimal solution that satisfies the kinematic restrictions, while preserving the characteristics of a path computed with FM
$\, ^2$
. The proposed method is tested in a simulation using a robot composed by a mobile base with two arms.
Preterm infants show postnatal deficits of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) which are essential for adequate growth and neurodevelopment. Human milk is a primary source of fatty acids (FAs) for the preterm infant, and therefore, knowledge about milk FA levels is required to design appropriate supplementation strategies. Here, we expanded on our previous study (Nilsson et al., 2018, Acta Paediatrica, 107, 1020–1027) determining FA composition in milk obtained from mothers of extremely low gestational age (<28 weeks) infants on three occasions during lactation. There was a clear difference in FA composition in milk collected at Day 7 and milk collected at postmenstrual weeks (PMW) 32 or PMW 40. Notably, the proportion of LCPUFAs was low and declined significantly during milk maturation. These results strengthen previous data that the content of FAs required by the preterm infant is not supplied in sufficient amounts when the mother’s own milk is the sole source of these essential nutrients.
Brucellosis remains one of the main zoonoses worldwide. Epidemiological data on human brucellosis in Spain are scarce. The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiological characteristics of inpatient brucellosis in Spain between 1997 and 2015. A retrospective longitudinal descriptive study was performed. Data were requested from the Health Information Institute of the Ministry of Health and Equality, which provided us with the Minimum Basic Data Set of patients admitted to the National Health System. We also obtained data published in the System of Obligatory Notifiable Diseases. A total of 5598 cases were registered. The period incidence rate was 0.67 (95% CI 0.65–0.68) cases per 100 000 person-years. We observed a progressive decrease in the number of cases and annual incidence rates. A total of 3187 cases (56.9%) came from urban areas. The group most at risk comprised men around the fifth decade of life. The average (±s.d.) hospital stay was 12.6 days (±13.1). The overall lethality rate of the cohort was 1.5%. The number of inpatients diagnosed with brucellosis decreased exponentially. The group of patients with the highest risk of brucellosis in our study was males under 45 years of age and of urban origin. The lethality rate has reduced to minimum values. It is probable that hospital discharge records could be a good database for the epidemiological analysis of the hospital management of brucellosis and offer a better information collection system than the notifiable diseases system (EDO in Spanish).
According to Childe, the Bronze Age in Europe is thought to be the first ‘golden age’ in European history. The development of metallurgy, clearly associated with the production of weapons, and the expansion of exchange networks covering all types of goods are considered essential in the process of consolidation of social elites, and, by extension, of social inequalities. The significance of textile production has, however, been undervalued as a specialized craft and as a manufacturing process that creates cultural differences and signals social inequalities. Being associated with domestic contexts rather than with specialized workshops, textile production in the eastern Iberian Peninsula has been underestimated; it is addressed here, as is its potential importance in societies immersed in a process of social stratification.
A cumulative environmental exposure score for schizophrenia (exposome score for schizophrenia [ES-SCZ]) may provide potential utility for risk stratification and outcome prediction. Here, we investigated whether ES-SCZ was associated with functioning in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, unaffected siblings, and healthy controls.
Methods
This cross-sectional sample consisted of 1,261 patients, 1,282 unaffected siblings, and 1,525 healthy controls. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale was used to assess functioning. ES-SCZ was calculated based on our previously validated method. The association between ES-SCZ and the GAF dimensions (symptom and disability) was analyzed by applying regression models in each group (patients, siblings, and controls). Additional models included polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ) as a covariate.
Results
ES-SCZ was associated with the GAF dimensions in patients (symptom: B = −1.53, p-value = 0.001; disability: B = −1.44, p-value = 0.001), siblings (symptom: B = −3.07, p-value < 0.001; disability: B = −2.52, p-value < 0.001), and healthy controls (symptom: B = −1.50, p-value < 0.001; disability: B = −1.31, p-value < 0.001). The results remained the same after adjusting for PRS-SCZ. The degree of associations of ES-SCZ with both symptom and disability dimensions were higher in unaffected siblings than in patients and controls. By analyzing an independent dataset (the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis study), we replicated the results observed in the patient group.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that ES-SCZ shows promise for enhancing risk prediction and stratification in research practice. From a clinical perspective, ES-SCZ may aid in efforts of clinical characterization, operationalizing transdiagnostic clinical staging models, and personalizing clinical management.
This paper presents a novel method for modeling a 3-degree of freedom open kinematic chain using quaternions algebra and neural network to solve the inverse kinematic problem. The structure of the network was composed of 3 hidden layers with 25 neurons per layer and 1 output layer. The network was trained using the Bayesian regularization backpropagation. The inverse kinematic problem was modeled as a system of six nonlinear equations and six unknowns. Finally, both models were tested using a straight path to compare the results between the Newton–Raphson method and the network training.
There is evidence that environmental and genetic risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum disorders are transdiagnostic and mediated in part through a generic pathway of affective dysregulation.
Methods
We analysed to what degree the impact of schizophrenia polygenic risk (PRS-SZ) and childhood adversity (CA) on psychosis outcomes was contingent on co-presence of affective dysregulation, defined as significant depressive symptoms, in (i) NEMESIS-2 (n = 6646), a representative general population sample, interviewed four times over nine years and (ii) EUGEI (n = 4068) a sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the siblings of these patients and controls.
Results
The impact of PRS-SZ on psychosis showed significant dependence on co-presence of affective dysregulation in NEMESIS-2 [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI): 1.01, p = 0.037] and in EUGEI (RERI = 3.39, p = 0.048). This was particularly evident for delusional ideation (NEMESIS-2: RERI = 1.74, p = 0.003; EUGEI: RERI = 4.16, p = 0.019) and not for hallucinatory experiences (NEMESIS-2: RERI = 0.65, p = 0.284; EUGEI: −0.37, p = 0.547). A similar and stronger pattern of results was evident for CA (RERI delusions and hallucinations: NEMESIS-2: 3.02, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 6.44, p < 0.001; RERI delusional ideation: NEMESIS-2: 3.79, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 5.43, p = 0.001; RERI hallucinatory experiences: NEMESIS-2: 2.46, p < 0.001; EUGEI: 0.54, p = 0.465).
Conclusions
The results, and internal replication, suggest that the effects of known genetic and non-genetic risk factors for psychosis are mediated in part through an affective pathway, from which early states of delusional meaning may arise.
This study attempted to replicate whether a bias in probabilistic reasoning, or ‘jumping to conclusions’(JTC) bias is associated with being a sibling of a patient with schizophrenia spectrum disorder; and if so, whether this association is contingent on subthreshold delusional ideation.
Methods
Data were derived from the EUGEI project, a 25-centre, 15-country effort to study psychosis spectrum disorder. The current analyses included 1261 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, 1282 siblings of patients and 1525 healthy comparison subjects, recruited in Spain (five centres), Turkey (three centres) and Serbia (one centre). The beads task was used to assess JTC bias. Lifetime experience of delusional ideation and hallucinatory experiences was assessed using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences. General cognitive abilities were taken into account in the analyses.
Results
JTC bias was positively associated not only with patient status but also with sibling status [adjusted relative risk (aRR) ratio : 4.23 CI 95% 3.46–5.17 for siblings and aRR: 5.07 CI 95% 4.13–6.23 for patients]. The association between JTC bias and sibling status was stronger in those with higher levels of delusional ideation (aRR interaction in siblings: 3.77 CI 95% 1.67–8.51, and in patients: 2.15 CI 95% 0.94–4.92). The association between JTC bias and sibling status was not stronger in those with higher levels of hallucinatory experiences.
Conclusions
These findings replicate earlier findings that JTC bias is associated with familial liability for psychosis and that this is contingent on the degree of delusional ideation but not hallucinations.
The behavior problems in residents may affect professionals’ performance at work, quality of work life, and even their health. Thus, it is important to have instruments that allow to estimate their prevalence. The objective of this study was to validate the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist-Nursing Homes (RMBPC-NH; Allen et al., 2003) in a Spanish population. Specifically, it was tested the factor structure of the RMBPC-NH proposed by Wagner et al. (1995). Moreover, the relevance of the different types of problems for the working performance, at the level of individuals and institutions, was explored.
Method
In the present study, a total of 200 professionals participated.
Results
A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted using WLSMV estimator in Mplus 7. Results showed a good fit to the data for the four-factor model (?2(813) = 1733.73, p<.001, CFI = .90, TIL = .90, RMSEA = .08). Thus, it can be concluded that the original factor structure proposed by Wagner et al. (1995) and replicated by Allen et al. (2003) can also be applied to Spanish staff nursing homes. The reliability of the scale was adequate (α from .86 to .93). Moreover, different descriptive and correlational results showed that both the factor scores of the Spanish adaptation of the RMBPC-NH and the importance of each type of problem were associated to different variable related.
Discussion
After analyzing the factor structure, reliability and validity of the adaptation of the RMBPC-NH scale for Spanish staff nursing homes it has found that it has good psychometric properties, so it could be a useful tool for this population.
This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant number PSI2016-79803-R).
Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) tend to lack insight, which is linked to poor outcomes. The effect size of previous treatments on insight changes in SSD has been small. Metacognitive interventions may improve insight in SSD, although this remains unproved.
Methods
We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the effects of metacognitive interventions designed for SSD, namely Metacognitive Training (MCT) and Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT), on changes in cognitive and clinical insight at post-treatment and at follow-up.
Results
Twelve RCTs, including 10 MCT RCTs (n = 717 participants) and two MERIT trials (n = 90), were selected, totalling N = 807 participants. Regarding cognitive insight six RCTs (n = 443) highlighted a medium effect of MCT on self-reflectiveness at post-treatment, d = 0.46, p < 0.01, and at follow-up, d = 0.30, p < 0.01. There was a small effect of MCT on self-certainty at post-treatment, d = −0.23, p = 0.03, but not at follow-up. MCT was superior to controls on an overall Composite Index of cognitive insight at post-treatment, d = 1.11, p < 0.01, and at follow-up, d = 0.86, p = 0.03, although we found evidence of heterogeneity. Of five MCT trials on clinical insight (n = 244 participants), which could not be meta-analysed, four of them favoured MCT compared v. control. The two MERIT trials reported conflicting results.
Conclusions
Metacognitive interventions, particularly Metacognitive Training, appear to improve insight in patients with SSD, especially cognitive insight shortly after treatment. Further long-term RCTs are needed to establish whether these metacognitive interventions-related insight changes are sustained over a longer time period and result in better outcomes.
A large body of research states that cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is static. Nevertheless, most previous studies lack a control group or have small study samples or short follow-up periods.
Method
We aimed to address these limitations by studying a large epidemiological cohort of patients with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders and a comparable control sample for a 10-year period.
Results
Our results support the generalized stability of cognitive functions in schizophrenia spectrum disorders considering the entire group. However, the existence of a subgroup of patients characterized by deteriorating cognition and worse long-term clinical outcomes must be noted. Nevertheless, it was not possible to identify concomitant factors or predictors of deterioration (all Ps > 0.05).
Conclusions
Cognitive functions in schizophrenia spectrum disorder are stable; however, a subgroup of subjects that deteriorate can be characterized.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: BURRITO is an efficient strategy that provides full disclosure in the electronic medical record of a patient’s preference in real time. BURRITO uses printed materials only to inform patients and has a <50% rates of consent. We hypothesized that adding an informational video to the printed materials would increase donations. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This study was IRB-approved and was considered minimal risk. The BURRITO self-consent workflow process (Soares et. al, Biopreservation and Biobanking, IN PRINT) was developed in an outpatient cardiology clinic. In the same clinic, patients were randomized to receiving printed materials only (standard procedure) or the printed materials plus a 2.5-minute informational video (intervention) while waiting for the physician in the exam room. Randomization occurred at the level of the day in clinic. Patients were blinded to the nature of the study. Following the presentation of information, the patient’s decision on consent for donation was documented in the electronic record by ancillary clinical staff. Rates of consent were analyzed by a statistician not involved in the experiment and after completion of trial. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Thirty-five clinic days were randomized to either intervention (17 days) or standard (18 days), and a total of 255 patients decided during their visit to either “opt-in” or “opt-out” to donating remnant biospecimens for future research. One hundred patients opted to defer deciding (28%). No significant demographic differences were noted between the study arms. The rate of consent was 73% vs. 58% in the intervention group and the control group, respectively (p-value = 0.014). This represents an increase in the odds of consenting with an informational video by 96% (OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.15 to 3.34). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This is the first randomized trial to show that an informational video with printed materials is superior for when patients are self-consenting to opt-in for clinical remnant biospecimen donation. This result adds to the evidence that the BURRITO process plus video (BURRITOv) is an effective approach for biospecimen universal consenting.
Hurricanes can interrupt communication, exacerbate attrition, and disrupt participant engagement in research. We used text messaging and disaster preparedness protocols to re-establish communication, re-engage participants, and ensure retention in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-test study.
Methods:
Participants were given HIV home test kits to test themselves and/or their non-monogamous sexual partners before intercourse. A daily text message-based short message service computer-assisted self-interview (SMS-CASI) tool reminded them to report 3 variables: (1) anal sex without a condom, (2) knowledge of partners’ testing history, and (3) proof of partners’ testing history. A disaster preparedness protocol was put in place for hurricanes in Puerto Rico. We analyzed 6315 messages from participants (N = 12) active at the time of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Disaster preparedness narratives were assessed.
Results:
All participants were able to communicate sexual behavior and HIV testing via SMS-CASI within 30 days following María. Some participants (n = 5, 42%) also communicated questions. Re-engagement within 30 days after the hurricane was 100% (second week/89%, third week/100%). Participant re-engagement ranged from 0–16 days (average = 6.4 days). Retention was 100%.
Conclusions:
Daily SMS-CASI and disaster preparedness protocols helped participant engagement and communication after 2 hurricanes. SMS-CASI responses indicated high participant re-engagement, retention, and well-being.
The present study investigates the adsorption of fluorides (F) by a hydrotalcite MgFe (HT MgFe) and an iron-based metal oxide (MgFe oxide). Both materials were synthesized by the coprecipitation method and were calcined at the same temperature HT MgFe, HTC MgFe, oxide MgFe and oxide MgFeC. Both solids were characterized by the XRD technique. Materials showed typical crystalline forms; in the case of HT MgFe, an octahedral crystalline form and for the oxide MgFe cubic crystalline form, the analysis of the BET method classifies the materials as mesoporous. In the adsorption study, it was determined that the optimal pH for adsorption is 7. Regarding the adsorption kinetics, the HTC MgFe and oxide MgFeC samples were adjusted to the pseudo-second order model, which describes the process as chemiadsorption; meanwhile, for the samples, isotherms were adjusted to the Langmuir model, which describes the material as homogeneous with a strong interaction between the sorbate and the sorbent.
Disturbed sleep and activity are prominent features of bipolar disorder type I (BP-I). However, the relationship of sleep and activity characteristics to brain structure and behavior in euthymic BP-I patients and their non-BP-I relatives is unknown. Additionally, underlying genetic relationships between these traits have not been investigated.
Methods
Relationships between sleep and activity phenotypes, assessed using actigraphy, with structural neuroimaging (brain) and cognitive and temperament (behavior) phenotypes were investigated in 558 euthymic individuals from multi-generational pedigrees including at least one member with BP-I. Genetic correlations between actigraphy-brain and actigraphy-behavior associations were assessed, and bivariate linkage analysis was conducted for trait pairs with evidence of shared genetic influences.
Results
More physical activity and longer awake time were significantly associated with increased brain volumes and cortical thickness, better performance on neurocognitive measures of long-term memory and executive function, and less extreme scores on measures of temperament (impulsivity, cyclothymia). These associations did not differ between BP-I patients and their non-BP-I relatives. For nine activity-brain or activity-behavior pairs there was evidence for shared genetic influence (genetic correlations); of these pairs, a suggestive bivariate quantitative trait locus on chromosome 7 for wake duration and verbal working memory was identified.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that increased physical activity and more adequate sleep are associated with increased brain size, better cognitive function and more stable temperament in BP-I patients and their non-BP-I relatives. Additionally, we found evidence for pleiotropy of several actigraphy-behavior and actigraphy-brain phenotypes, suggesting a shared genetic basis for these traits.
This project is designed for children under 18 years that have to frequently visit hospitals or that have to endure long-term hospital stays. The aims are to entertain these children and their families, to increase their scientific culture, and to promote scientific vocations. So far we have visited one hospital in Mexico City bringing astronomy to the patients and their families. We have developed five hands-on activities and one musical activity that ensures that all the children can participate independently of their conditions. We plan to expand this project to other hospitals and other cities in the country. Our next challenge is to start virtual visits to hospitals.
In the past, Western academic astronomy has conceived in a very specific way its interests. However, in recent decades there has been a promising openness to the rest of the society, in the context of areas such as education, heritage and outreach. Despite this, there has not been an adequate scientific approach to do it, which would imply taking into account the social sciences and a truly interdisciplinary perspective. Here we want to develop the idea that this interdisciplinary approach already exists and it is called: Cultural Astronomy. Unfortunately, in the context of academic astronomy it has been only seen as a study of the “astronomies of others”, intended as previous stages or failed attempts of Western academic astronomy. We will seek to show that Cultural Astronomy, as a critical reflection on the social character of the astronomical knowledge, is key to the success of these opening efforts.
An Eclipse is an astronomical event that convenes a large audience. Few days before it, most of the community is aware of the event and the press is activated fully on it. The alignment recovers our most intrinsic human aspects, the curiosity, and enthusiasm for a natural phenomenon. This work is focused to enjoy and perceive it in three different ways: visually, listening, and in an artistic expression.
We focused on the construction of more than one hundred LightSound devices, which the main purpose is to record the light intensity and transform it into different tones. Besides, we created an artistic representation of the Eclipse motivated by the ancestral culture of the people residing in the totality zone. This music adds a sensorial joy to the eclipse event.