Holocene precipitation change in different monsoon sub-regions (time-slices and transient data) simulated by different global climate models, with links to model results

The recently proposed global monsoon hypothesis interprets monsoon systems as part of one global-scale atmospheric overturning circulation, implying a connection between the regional monsoon systems and an in-phase behaviour of all northern hemispheric monsoons on annual timescales (Trenberth et al., 2000). Whether this concept can be applied to past climates and variability on longer timescales is still under debate, because the monsoon systems exhibit different regional characteristics such as different seasonality (i.e. onset, peak, and withdrawal). To investigate the interconnection of different monsoon systems during the pre-industrial Holocene, five transient global climate model simulations have been analysed with respect to the rainfall trend and variability in different sub-domains of the Afro-Asian monsoon region. Our analysis suggests that on millennial timescales with varying orbital forcing, the monsoons do not behave as a tightly connected global system. According to the models, the Indian and North African monsoons are coupled, showing similar rainfall trend and moderate correlation in rainfall variability in all models. The East Asian monsoon changes independently during the Holocene. The dissimilarities in the seasonality of the monsoon sub-systems lead to a stronger response of the North African and Indian monsoon systems to the Holocene insolation forcing than of the East Asian monsoon and affect the seasonal distribution of Holocene rainfall variations. Within the Indian and North African monsoon domain, precipitation solely changes during the summer months, showing a decreasing Holocene precipitation trend. In the East Asian monsoon region, the precipitation signal is determined by an increasing precipitation trend during spring and a decreasing precipitation change during summer, partly balancing each other. A synthesis of reconstructions and the model results do not reveal an impact of the different seasonality on the timing of the Holocene rainfall optimum in the different sub-monsoon systems. They rather indicate locally inhomogeneous rainfall changes and show, that single palaeo-records should not be used to characterise the rainfall change and monsoon evolution for entire monsoon sub-systems.

Validación de dos herramientas para la evaluación de cambios en las actitudes de alumnos en situaciones frecuentes en cuidado paliativo

Objective: To determine the psychometric properties of two scales designed to examine attitudes regarding palliative care: Comfort Scale in Palliative Care (CSPC, Pereira et al.) and Tanatophobia Scale (TS, Merrill et al.)Method: Seventy-seven students who completed an online course on psychosocial aspects of palliative care offered by the Latin American Association of Palliative Care participated in the study. They also completed the scales before and after the course. Construct validity and reliability of the CSPC and the TS were assessed using a Principal Components Analysis, internal reliability coefficient and test-retest reliability. Further, comparative statistics between the pre-course and post-course results were obtained in order to determine changes in attitudes.Results: The Principal Components Analysis showed satisfactory fit to the data. 3 components were extracted: two for the CSPC and one for the TS, which explained 55.37% of the variance. Internal consistency coefficients were satisfactory in all cases and Cronbach´s Alphas were satisfactory for all the scales, particularly for the CSPC. Test-retest reliability in t1 and t2 was found to be non significant, indicating that measures were not related in time. Regarding pre-course/post-course comparisons, significant changes in comfort assisting patients (p = 0.004) and comfort assisting families (p = 0.001) following the course were identified, but changes in thanatophobia were non significant (p > 0.05).Conclusions: both scales are valid and reliable. Attitudes regarding the practice of palliative care and how they change, particularly regarding psychosocial issues, can be accurately measured using the examined scales.

Intervención cognitivo-conductual para el control de ansiedad ante la biopsia insicional en pacientes con cáncer de mama

Oncological patients are submitted to invasive exams in order to obtain an accurate diagnosis; these procedures may cause maladaptative reactions (fear, anxiety and pain). Particularly in breast cancer, the most common diagnose technique is the incisional biopsy. Most of the patients are unaware about the procedure and for that reason they may focus their thoughts on possible events such as pain, bleeding, the anesthesia, or the later surgical wound care. Anxiety and pain may provoke physiological, behavioral and emotional complications, and because of this reason, the Behavioral Medicine trained psychologist takes an active role before and after the biopsy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a cognitive-behavioral program to reduce anxiety in women submitted to incisional biopsy for the first time. There were 10 participants from the Hospital Juárez de México, Oncology service; all of them were treated as external patients. The intervention program focused in psycho-education and passive relaxation training using videos, tape-recorded instructions and pamphlets. Anxiety measures were performed using the IDARE-State inventory, and a visual-analogue scale of anxiety (EEF-A), and the measurement of blood pressure and heart rate). Data were analyzed both intrasubject and intersubject using the Wilcoxon test (p≤0.05). The results show a reduction in anxiety (as in punctuation as in ranges) besides, a reduction in the EEF-A.

Dopuszczalność i skutki potwierdzenia czynności dokonanej bez wymaganej przez umowę lub statut zgody organu spółki

W artykule autorzy podejmują się dokonania analizy zagadnienia dotyczącego możliwości naruszenia umowy spółki lub statutu przez członków zarządu oraz wpływu takiego naruszenia na ważność podjętej czynności prawnej. Zagadnienie to wywołuje liczne problemy praktyczne, chociażby z uwagi na obowiązek każdorazowej weryfikacji przed zawarciem umowy listy czynności, na dokonanie których statut lub umowa spółki zastrzega sobie taki wymóg. Nie ma tu znaczenia dobra czy zła wiara kontrahenta, który ma świadomość o istnieniu takiego zapisu dla ważności danej czynności prawnej. Zgoła odmienna jest sytuacja członka zarządu, dla którego uzyskanie takiej zgody jest ważne, z uwagi na naruszenia umowy spółki albo statutu, a w konsekwencji jego odpowiedzialność odszkodowawczą do dochodzenia ewentualnego odszkodowania za szkodę wyrządzoną działaniem lub zaniechaniem. Pamiętać jednak należy, że do istnienia odpowiedzialności niezbędne jest wykazanie szkody. Jednakże biorąc pod uwagę uwarunkowania biznesowe niekiedy trudno uzyskać zgodę rady nadzorczej lub walnego zgromadzenia wspólników na taką zgodę. Powstaje wtedy pytanie, czy można ją uzyskać następczo. Autorzy w artykule dokonują analizy stawiając tezę, iż możliwe jest następcze wyrażenie zgody na dokonaną bez uprzedniej zgody czynność prawną. Dokonując wnioskowania a maiori ad minus można w ocenie autorów dopuścić potwierdzenie takiej czynności następczo i to nie tylko w wymaganym dwumiesięcznym terminie, ale nawet późniejszym, co może mieć wpływ na ich ewentualne wyłączenie odpowiedzialności z tytułu naruszenia postanowień umowy spółki (statutu). Całość rozważań ściśle oscyluje wokół praktycznych problemów pojawiających się funkcjonowaniu spółki.

Evaluación del desempeño de pruebas diagnósticas de tuberculosis en pacientes VIH positivo en dos hospitales públicos de Bogotá

La tuberculosis TB es una de las principales causas de muerte en el mundo en individuos con infección por VIH. En Colombia esta coinfección soporta una carga importante en la población general convirtiéndose en un problema de salud pública. En estos pacientes las pruebas diagnósticas tienen sensibilidad inferior y la enfermedad evoluciona con mayor frecuencia hacia formas diseminadas y rápidamente progresivas y su diagnóstico oportuno representa un reto en Salud. El objetivo de este proyecto es evaluar el desempeño de las pruebas diagnósticas convencionales y moleculares, para la detección de TB latente y activa pacientes con VIH, en dos hospitales públicos de Bogotá. Para TB latente se evaluó la concordancia entre las pruebas QuantiFERON-TB (QTF) y Tuberculina (PPD), sugiriendo superioridad del QTF sobre la PPD. Se evaluaron tres pruebas diagnósticas por su sensibilidad y especificidad, baciloscopia (BK), GenoType®MTBDR plus (Genotype) y PCR IS6110 teniendo como estándar de oro el cultivo. Los resultados de sensibilidad (S) y especificidad (E) de cada prueba con una prevalencia del 19,4 % de TB pulmonar y extrapulmonar en los pacientes que participaron del estudio fue: BK S: 64% E: 99,1%; Genotype S: 77,8% E: 94,5%; PCRIS6110 S: 73% E: 95,5%, de la misma forma se determinaron los valores predictivos positivos y negativos (VPP y VPN) BK: 88,9% y 94,8%, Genotype S: 77,8% E: 94,5%; PCRIS6110 S: 90% y 95,7%. Se concluyó bajo análisis de curva ROC que las pruebas muestran un rendimiento diagnóstico similar por separado en el diagnóstico de TB en pacientes con VIH, aumentando su rendimiento diagnostico cuando se combinan

Validación de criterio concurrente del sistema de observación de tiempo de instrucción de condición física – SOFIT- para la medición de la actividad física durante las clases de educación física en escolares de 1º A 9º de Bogotá, Colombia

Determinar la validez concurrente del Sistema de Observación de Tiempo de Instrucción de Condición Física (SOFIT) a través de acelerometría, como método para medir los niveles de actividad física (AF) de los escolares de 1º a 9º durante la clase de educación física en tres colegios públicos de Bogotá, Colombia. Estudio transversal entre Octubre de 2014 y Marzo de 2015. La medición se realizó en tres colegios públicos de Bogotá. Participaron 48 estudiantes (25 niñas; 23 niños), entre 5 y 17 años, seleccionados de acuerdo al protocolo de SOFIT. El resultado se categoriza en porcentaje de tiempo en comportamiento sedentario, AF moderada, AF vigorosa, y AF moderada a vigorosa. Se validó utilizando como patrón de oro la acelerometría en las mismas categorías. Se realizó diferencia de medias, regresión lineal y modelo de efectos fijos. La correlación entre SOFIT y acelerometría fue buena para AF moderada (rho=,958; p=0,000), AF vigorosa (rho=,937; p=0,000) y AF de moderada a vigorosa (rho=0,962; p=0,000). Al igual que utilizando un modelo de efectos fijos, AF moderada (β1=0,92; p=0,00), vigorosa (β1=0,94; p=0,00) y AF de moderada a vigorosa (β1=0,95; p=0,00), mostrando ausencia de diferencias significativas entre los dos métodos para la medición de los niveles de AF. El comportamiento sedentario correlacionó positivamente en Spearman (rho=,0965; p=0,000), El sistema SOFIT demostró ser válido para medir niveles de AF en clases de educación física, tras buena correlación y concordancia con acelerometría. SOFIT es un instrumento de fácil acceso y de bajo costo para la medición de la AF durante las clases de educación física en el contexto escolar y se recomienda su uso en futuros estudios.

Caracterización clínica de pacientes pediátricos con tumores cerebrales primarios en un hospital de Bogotá entre 2007-2014

Introducción: En la población pediátrica los tumores cerebrales son la segunda causa de cáncer, la dificultad en su identificación produce tardanza en su diagnóstico y pocos estudios de caracterización han sido realizados en Colombia. Se realizó un estudio para identificar las características en el curso de la enfermedad. Materiales y Métodos: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, de corte transversal con pacientes pediátricos con tumores cerebrales primarios en la clínica infantil Colsubsidio entre 2007-2014. Se revisaron sistemáticamente las historias clínicas de niños con este diagnóstico en patología y posteriormente se desarrolló un análisis univariado de estos. Resultados: 56 niños fueron incluidos, encontrando que el número de consultas previas al diagnóstico fueron más de 4 con un promedio de tiempo entre la evolución de los síntomas y el diagnóstico de 161,1 días. Para la clasificación de la OMS los más frecuentes fueron los embrionarios y astrocíticos, entre estos el meduloblastoma es el más común por histología (14,29%), 50% de los pacientes presentaron remisión y 29,41% fallecieron. Discusión: Los tumores cerebrales primarios son una patología frecuente y con alta morbimortalidad. Este estudio mostró datos epidemiológicos y clínicos similares a la literatura respecto al sexo, edad, tipo de tumor y amplios rangos de tiempo en la evolución de síntomas lo que muestra la naturaleza variable de la enfermedad; se evidencia el diagnóstico tardío en pacientes reconsultantes por el mismo síntoma lo que es frecuente en estos pacientes al igual que en otros estudios nacionales.

Ecological perspectives and wellness

Since the industrial revolution, the development of a lifestyle lived predominantly indoors has resulted in less contact with nature. Research over the last twenty years has gradually been identifying the human health benefits attributed to re-connecting with the natural environment. The significance of feeling connected to natural environments, families and friends are described as a foundational requirement for human health and wellbeing (Maller et al., 2008). Also, the early findings of Schultz‟s (2002) work indicated that by feeling connected to the natural world a person is more likely to be committed to positively interact with and protect the natural world. Research on young people has indicated that young people are even more disconnected from the natural world. Leading some writers to call this disconnection a crisis termed “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Participants (n = 131) from 1st year university Physical Education and Human Movement Studies were asked to complete two questionnaires the Connectedness to Nature scale (CNS) (Mayer & Frantz, 2004) and the New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP) (Dunlap, Van Liere, Mertig, & Jones, 2000). The NEP and CNS are two scales most commonly used to explore beliefs and feelings of connectedness to the natural world (Schultz, 2002). The NEP was developed over thirty years ago by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978) and originally termed the New Environmental Paradigm. The NEP is now the foremost International tool for measuring beliefs about the natural world (Dunlap, 2008). The CNS measures an individual‟s trait levels of emotional connection to the natural world. It is a relatively new tool for understanding ecological behaviour based on ecopsychology theory and employed to predict behaviour (Mayer and Frantz, 2004). Both questionnaires are based on a 1-5 scale (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree). By combing both scales the researchers aim to develop a snap shot of beliefs and emotional feelings towards the natural world and therefore an idea of intended behaviour. The two questionnaires were combined as one online survey with additional material asking for demographics and self assessments of type of leader included before the surveys. An email inviting outdoor leaders to participate was sent out to networks and interest groups. A basic descriptive statistical analysis was used to interpret data.

Do strategy choices matter for nascent firms? A study on effectuation and causation impacts on new ventures outcomes

Principal Topic : Nascent entrepreneurship has drawn the attention of scholars in the last few years (Davidsson, 2006, Wagner, 2004). However, most studies have asked why firms are created focussing on questions such as what are the characteristics (Delmar and Davidsson, 2000) and motivations (Carter, Gartner, Shaver & Reynolds, 2004) of nascent entrepreneurs, or what are the success factors in venture creation (Davidsson & Honig; 2003; Delmar and Shane, 2004). In contrast, the question of how companies emerge is still in its infancy. On a theoretical side, effectuation, developed by Sarasvathy (2001) offers one view of the strategies that may be at work during the venture creation process. Causation, the theorized inverse to effectuation, may be described as a rational reasoning method to create a company. After a comprehensive market analysis to discover opportunities, the entrepreneur will select the alternative with the higher expected return and implement it through the use of a business plan. In contrast, effectuation suggests that the future entrepreneur will develop her new venture in a more iterative way by selecting possibilities through flexibility and interaction with the market, affordability of loss of resources and time invested, development of pre-commitments and alliances from stakeholders. Another contrasting point is that causation is ''goal driven'' while an effectual approach is ''mean driven'' (Sarasvathy, 2001) One of the predictions of effectuation theory is effectuation is more likely to be used by entrepreneurs early in the venture creation process (Sarasvathy, 2001). However, this temporal aspect and the impact of the effectuation strategy on the venture outcomes has so far not been systematically and empirically tested on large samples. The reason behind this research gap is twofold. Firstly, few studies collect longitudinal data on emerging ventures at an early enough stage of development to avoid severe survivor bias. Second, the studies that collect such data have not included validated measures of effectuation. The research we are conducting attempts to partially fill this gap by combining an empirical investigation on a large sample of nascent and young firms with the effectuation/causation continuum as a basis (Sarasvathy, 2001). The objectives are to understand the strategies used by the firms during the creation process and measure their impacts on the firm outcomes. Methodology/Key Propositions : This study draws its data from the first wave of the CAUSEE project where 28,383 Australian households were randomly contacted by phone using a specific methodology to capture emerging firms (Davidsson, Steffens, Gordon, Reynolds, 2008). This screening led to the identification of 594 nascent ventures (i.e., firms that are not operating yet) and 514 young firms (i.e., firms that have started operating from 2004) that were willing to participate in the study. Comprehensive phone interviews were conducted with these 1108 ventures. In a likewise comprehensive follow-up 12 months later, 80% of the eligible cases completed the interview. The questionnaire contains specific sections designed to distinguish effectual and causal processes, innovation, gestation activities, business idea changes and ventures outcomes. The effectuation questions are based on the components of effectuation strategy as described by Sarasvathy (2001) namely: flexibility, affordable loss and pre-commitment from stakeholders. Results from two rounds of pre-testing informed the design of the instrument included in the main survey. The first two waves of data have will be used to test and compare the use of effectuation in the venture creation process. To increase the robustness of the results, temporal use of effectuation will be tested both directly and indirectly. 1. By comparing the use of effectuation in nascent and young firms from wave 1 to 2, we will be able to find out how effectuation is affected by time over a 12-month duration and if the stage of venture development has an impact on its use. 2. By comparing nascent ventures early in the creation process versus nascent ventures late in the creation process. Early versus late can be determined with the help of time-stamped gestation activity questions included in the survey. This will help us to determine the change on a small time scale during the creation phase of the venture. 3. By comparing nascent firms to young (already operational) firms. 4. By comparing young firms becoming operational in 2006 with those first becoming operational in 2004. Results and Implications : Wave 1 and 2 data have been completed and wave 2 is currently being checked and 'cleaned'. Analysis work will commence in September, 2009. This paper is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on effectuation by measuring quantitatively its use and impact on nascent and young firms activities at different stages of their development. In addition, this study will also increase the understanding of the venture creation process by comparing over time nascent and young firms from a large sample of randomly selected ventures. We acknowledge the results from this study will be preliminary and will have to be interpreted with caution as the changes identified may be due to several factors and may not only be attributed to the use/not use of effectuation. Meanwhile, we believe that this study is important to the field of entrepreneurship as it provides some much needed insights on the processes used by nascent and young firms during their creation and early operating stages.

Real-time vision, tracking and control

This paper, which serves as an introduction to the mini-symposium on Real-Time Vision, Tracking and Control, provides a broad sketch of visual servoing, the application of real-time vision, tracking and control for robot guidance. It outlines the basic theoretical approaches to the problem, describes a typical architecture, and discusses major milestones, applications and the significant vision sub-problems that must be solved.

A qualitative study of older adults’ responses to sitting-time questions : do we get the information we want?

Background: In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in the health effects of sedentary behavior, which is often assessed using self-report sitting-time questions. The aim of this qualitative study was to document older adults’ understanding of sitting-time questions from the International Physical Activity (PA) Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the PA Scale for the Elderly (PASE). Methods: Australian community-dwelling adults aged 65+ years answered the IPAQ and PASE sitting questions in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. IPAQ uses one open-ended question to assess sitting on a weekday in the last 7 days 'at work, at home, while doing coursework and during leisure time'; PASE uses a three-part closed question about daily leisure-time sitting in the last 7 days. Participants expressed their thoughts out loud while answering each question. They were then probed about their responses. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded into themes. Results: Mean age of the 28 male and 27 female participants was 73 years (range 65-89). The most frequently reported activity was watching TV. For both questionnaires, many participants had difficulties understanding what activities to report. Some had difficulty understanding what activities should be classified as ‘leisure-time sitting’. Some assumed they were being asked to only report activities provided as examples. Most reported activities they normally do, rather than those performed on a day in the previous week. Participants used a variety of strategies to select ‘a day’ for which they reported their sitting activities and to calculate sitting time on that day. Therefore, many different ways of estimating sitting time were used. Participants had particular difficulty reporting their daily sitting-time when their schedules were not consistent across days. Some participants declared the IPAQ sitting question too difficult to answer. Conclusion: The accuracy of older adults’ self-reported sitting time is questionable given the challenges they have in answering sitting-time questions. Their responses to sitting-time questions may be more accurate if our recommendations for clarifying the sitting domains, providing examples relevant to older adults and suggesting strategies for formulating responses are incorporated. Future quantitative studies should include objective criterion measures to assess validity and reliability of these questions.

Predictors of and reasons for pacifier use in first-time mothers : an observational study

Background: The use of pacifiers is commonplace in Australia and has been shown to be negatively associated with breastfeeding duration. In order to influence behaviour related to the use of pacifiers it is important to understand the reasons for their use. The primary aim of this observational study was to investigate who (if anyone) advises first-time mothers to give a pacifier and the reasons for which they first give (or try to give) a pacifier to their infant. Additionally, this study investigated the predictors of pacifier use and the relationship between pacifier use and breastfeeding duration. Methods: In total, 670 Australian first-time mothers recruited as part of the NOURISH trial completed a questionnaire regarding infant feeding and pacifier use. Results: Pacifiers were introduced by 79% of mothers, of whom 28.7% were advised to use a pacifier by their mother/mother-in-law with a further 22.7% being advised by a midwife. The majority of mothers used a pacifier in order to soothe their infant (78.3%), to help put them to sleep (57.4%) and to keep them comforted and quiet (40.4%). Pacifiers given to infants before four weeks (adjHR 3.67; 95%CI 2.14–6.28) and used most days (adjHR 3.28; 95%CI 1.92–5.61) were significantly associated with shorter duration of breastfeeding. Conclusions: This study identifies an opportunity for educating new mothers and their support network, particularly their infant’s grandmothers, with regards to potential risks associated with the early and frequent use of a pacifier, and alternative methods for soothing their infant, in order to reduce the use of pacifiers and their potentially negative effect on breastfeeding duration