Forecasting human entrances at a commercial store using facial recognition data

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

24-h urinary free cortisol from mid-pregnancy to 3-months postpartum: gender and parity differences and effects

Background: Pregnancy and postpartum have been associated to several physiological changes;however, empirical evidence was almost exclusively obtained in primiparous women and few studies focus on hormonal changes in men and second-time parents. The main aim of this study is to examine 24-h urinary free cortisol from mid-pregnancy to 3-months postpartum, comparing women/men and first/second-time parents.Methods: Twenty-six women and 22 men (N = 48) were recruited from an antenatal obstetric unit in Porto, Portugal. 24-h urinary free cortisol was measured at the 2nd and 3rd trimester and at 3-months postpartum. Repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted, in order to analyze 24-h urinary free cortisol patterns of change over this period. Gender and parity were included in the analyses as potential modifiers, in order to compare women and men, and first-and second-time parents.Results: An increase from the 2nd to the 3rd trimester (p = .006) and a decrease from the 3rd trimester to 3-months postpartum (p = .005) were reported in all parents’ 24-h urinary free cortisol. The interaction effects for Time * Gender (p = .03) and Time * Parity (p = .02) were found. Women and first-time parents revealed higher levels, while men and second-time parents showed lower 24-h urinary free cortisol levels at the 2nd trimester than at 3-months postpartum.Conclusions: Findings appear to clarify the direction, as well as, the timing, gender and parity extension of 24-h urinary free cortisol changes from mid-pregnancy to 3-months postpartum.The same pattern of change in all parents’ 24-h urinary free cortisol from mid-pregnancy to 3-months postpartum is consistent with the proposed role of hormones in preparation to parenting.

Anxiety and depression symptoms in women and men from early pregnancy to 3-months postpartum: parity differences and effects

This study aimed to investigate both anxiety and depression symptoms from early pregnancy to 3-months postpartum, comparing women and men and first and second-time parents. Methods: A sample of 260 Portuguese couples (N=520), first or second-time parents, recruited in an Obstetrics Out-patients Unit, filled in the State-Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and the Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale (EPDS) at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pregnancy trimesters, childbirth, and 3-months postpartum. Results: A decrease in anxiety and depression symptoms from early pregnancy to 3-months postpartum was found in both women and men, as well as in first and second-time parents. Men presented less anxiety and depression symptoms than women, but the same pattern of symptoms over time. Second-time parents showed more anxiety and depression symptoms than first-time parents and a different pattern of symptoms over time: an increase in anxiety and depression symptoms from the 3rd trimester to childbirth was observed in first-time parents versus a decrease in second-time parents. Limitations: The voluntary nature of the participation may have lead to a selection bias; women and men who agreed to participate could be those who presented fewer anxiety and depression symptoms. Moreover, the use of self-report symptom measures does not give us the level of possible disorder in participants. Conclusions: Anxiety and depression symptoms diminish from pregnancy to the postpartum period in all parents. Patterns of anxiety and depression symptoms from early pregnancy to 3-months postpartum are similar in women and men, but somewhat different in first and second time parents. Second-time parents should also be considered while studying and intervening during pregnancy and the postpartum.

Multidimensional schemes for hyperbolic conservation laws on triangular meshes

Genuinely multidimensional schemes, hyperbolic systems, wave equations, Euler equations, evolution Galerkin schemes, space-time conservative methods, high order accuracy, shock solutions

Early-Life Insults Impair Parvalbumin Interneurons via Oxidative Stress: Reversal by N-Acetylcysteine.

BACKGROUND: A hallmark of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia is a dysfunction of parvalbumin-expressing fast-spiking interneurons, which are essential for the coordination of neuronal synchrony during sensory and cognitive processing. Oxidative stress as observed in schizophrenia affects parvalbumin interneurons. However, it is unknown whether the deleterious effect of oxidative stress is particularly prevalent during specific developmental time windows. METHODS: We used mice with impaired synthesis of glutathione (Gclm knockout [KO] mice) to investigate the effect of redox dysregulation and additional insults applied at various periods of postnatal development on maturation and long-term integrity of parvalbumin interneurons in the anterior cingulate cortex. RESULTS: A redox dysregulation, as in Gclm KO mice, renders parvalbumin interneurons but not calbindin or calretinin interneurons vulnerable and prone to exhibit oxidative stress. A glutathione deficit delays maturation of parvalbumin interneurons, including their perineuronal net. Moreover, an additional oxidative challenge in preweaning or pubertal but not in young adult Gclm KO mice reduces the number of parvalbumin-immunoreactive interneurons. This effect persists into adulthood and can be prevented with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine. CONCLUSIONS: In Gclm KO mice, early-life insults inducing oxidative stress are detrimental to immature parvalbumin interneurons and have long-term consequences. In analogy, individuals carrying genetic risks to redox dysregulation would be potentially vulnerable to early-life environmental insults, during the maturation of parvalbumin interneurons. Our data support the need to develop novel therapeutic approaches based on antioxidant and redox regulator compounds such as N-acetylcysteine, which could be used preventively in young at-risk subjects.

Age-associated modulations of cerebral oscillatory patterns related to attention control.

Visual attention depends on bottom-up sensory activation and top-down attentional guidance. Although aging is known to affect sensory processing, its impact on the top-down control of attention remains a matter of debate. We investigated age-related modulations of brain oscillatory activity during visual attention using a variant of the attention network test (ANT) in 20 young and 28 elderly adults. We examined the EEG oscillatory responses to warning and target signals, and explored the correlates of temporal and spatial orienting as well as conflict resolution at target presentation. Time-frequency analysis was performed between 4 and 30Hz, and the relationship between behavioral and brain oscillatory responses was analyzed. Whereas temporal cueing and conflict had similar reaction time effects in both age groups, spatial cueing was more beneficial to older than younger subjects. In the absence of cue, posterior alpha activation was drastically reduced in older adults, pointing to an age-related decline in anticipatory attention. Following both cues and targets, older adults displayed pronounced motor-related activation in the low beta frequency range at the expense of attention-related posterior alpha activation prominent in younger adults. These findings support the recruitment of alternative motor-related circuits in the elderly, in line with the dedifferentiation hypothesis. Furthermore, older adults showed reduced midparietal alpha inhibition induced by temporal orienting as well as decreased posterior alpha activation associated with both spatial orienting and conflict resolution. Altogether, the results are consistent with an overall reduction of task-related alpha activity in the elderly, and provide functional evidence that younger and older adults engage distinct brain circuits at different oscillatory frequencies during attentional functions.

Do youths gamble? You bet! A Swiss population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the gambling prevalence among Swiss resident youths, to estimate the associations between gambling frequency and substance use, poor mental health and social support and to determine the correlation between gambling pattern and gambling frequency. METHODS: Cross-sectional population-based survey conducted in 2007. From 1233 eligible participants aged 15-24 years, adequate information was available for 1116 (582 males), distributed into: non- (n=577), occasional (n=388) and frequent gamblers (n=151). Outcome measures: Substance use, social activities, presence of a reliable person among friends or family, psychological distress, major depression and gambling pattern. RESULTS: Overall, the 48.3% (n=539) of youths who had gambled during the previous year; were older and more likely to be male than non-gamblers. 13.5% (n=151) gambled at least weekly and could be differentiated from occasional gamblers on the basis of their gambling pattern. After controlling for gender, age and language area, occasional gamblers were significantly more likely to be occasional binge drinkers, whereas frequent gamblers were more likely to be daily smokers. CONCLUSION: Almost half of Swiss resident youths are involved in gambling. Both occasional and frequent gambling are associated with further health compromising behaviour. Practitioners dealing with young people should be aware that gambling is a behaviour that might be part of a more global risky behaviour framework.

Assessment of the in vitro synergy of daptomycin plus linezolid against multidrug-resistant enterococci

The widespread incidence of enterococci resistant to ampicillin, vancomycin and aminoglycosides, the first-line anti-enterococcal antibiotics, has made the treatment of severe enterococcal infections difficult and alternatives should be explored. We investigated the activity of daptomycin combined with linezolid against three Enterococcus faecalis and four Enterococcus faecium strains resistant to standard drugs used for therapy. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the broth dilution method. Drug interactions were assessed by the checkerboard and time-kill methods. Synergy was defined by a fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of ≤0.5 or a ≥2 log10 CFU/mL killing at 24 h with the combination in comparison with killing by the most active single agent. Indifference was defined by a FICI > 0.5-4.0 or a 1-2 log10 CFU/mL killing compared with the most active single agent. MICs of daptomycin were 2-4 μg/mL for E. faecalis and 2-8 μg/mL for E. faecium. MICs of linezolid were 1-2 μg/mL for all bacteria. In the checkerboard assay, five isolates showed synergism (FICI < 0.5) and two showed indifference (FICIs of 0.53 and 2). Killing studies revealed synergy of daptomycin plus linezolid against four isolates (2.2-3.7 log10 CFU/mL kill) and indifference (1.1-1.6 log10 CFU/mL kill) for the other three strains. Antagonism was not observed. In conclusion, the combination of daptomycin and linezolid had a synergistic or indifferent effect against multidrug-resistant enterococci. Additional studies are needed to explore the potential of this combination for severe enterococcal infections when first-line antibiotic combinations cannot be used.

Control d'il·luminació i ventilació d'un pàrquing

El treball presentat ve motivat per la necessitat d’instal•lació d’un pàrquing públic i privat de nova construcció a nivell d’il•luminació i ventilació. Per poder satisfer les necessitats del nostre client d’estalvi energètic i confort en l’edifici es decideix d’implementar una instal•lació immòtica que és l’aplicació de tècniques de gestió i control automatitzat a un edifici terciari amb bus de comunicació KNX/EIB. Per a la il•luminació s’han utilitzat fluorescents amb balasts DALI, que permeten la seva regulació i control, per així poder adequar en tot moment l’encesa i intensitat de llum d’aquests. En quant a la ventilació s’han utilitzat variadors de freqüència per també poder optimitzar el funcionament dels ventiladors podent posar-los en marxa quan realment sigui necessari i a la potència que calgui. Per enllaçar tots els elements de la instal•lació, detectors i actuadors, sorgeig la necessitat d’implementar xarxes de comunicació com el KNX/EIB, DALI, Modbus i Ethernet. Per gestionar variables, comunicacions i controlar elements, s´hi han implementen dos autòmats programables a més d’un PC integrat per la visualització i el control del pàrquing. S’ha aconseguit de realitzar un pàrquing totalment automàtic on no és necessaria l’actuació dels operaris i amb les principals càrregues elèctriques totalment regulables en potència. S’ha comprovat que la instal•lació funciona per sota de la potència nominal de les càrregues amb l’estalvi energètic que això suposa.

Cohesion, satisfaction with family bonds, and emotional well-being in families with adolescents

The present paper investigated whether higher cohesion and satisfaction with family bonds were associated with the daily experience of emotional well-being in varying social circumstances. Using a sample of school-age adolescents (N = 95) and both their parents, data were gathered daily over 1 week using a diary approach in addition to self-report instruments. Multilevel analyses revealed higher cohesion to be associated with well-being in fathers and adolescents, but not in mothers. Parents also reported higher well-being when with friends or colleagues than when alone. Moreover, fathers who scored higher on cohesion reported higher well-being when with family members than when alone, whereas adolescents who scored higher on satisfaction with bonds reported lower well-being when with peers or siblings than when alone.

EEG alpha activity reflects motor preparation rather than the mode of action selection

Alpha-band activity (8-13 Hz) is not only suppressed by sensory stimulation and movements, but also modulated by attention, working memory and mental tasks, and could be sensitive to higher motor control functions. The aim of the present study was to examine alpha oscillatory activity during the preparation of simple left or right finger movements, contrasting the external and internal mode of action selection. Three preparation conditions were examined using a precueing paradigm with S1 as the preparatory and S2 as the imperative cue: Full, laterality instructed by S1; Free, laterality freely selected and None, laterality instructed by S2. Time-frequency (TF) analysis was performed in the alpha frequency range during the S1-S2 interval, and alpha motor-related amplitude asymmetries (MRAA) were also calculated. The significant MRAA during the Full and Free conditions indicated effective external and internal motor response preparation. In the absence of specific motor preparation (None), a posterior alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) dominated, reflecting the main engagement of attentional resources. In Full and Free motor preparation, posterior alpha ERD was accompanied by a midparietal alpha event-related synchronization (ERS), suggesting a concomitant inhibition of task-irrelevant visual activity. In both Full and Free motor preparation, analysis of alpha power according to MRAA amplitude revealed two types of functional activation patterns: (1) a motor alpha pattern, with predominantly midparietal alpha ERS and large MRAA corresponding to lateralized motor activation/visual inhibition and (2) an attentional alpha pattern, with dominating right posterior alpha ERD and small MRAA reflecting visuospatial attention. The present results suggest that alpha oscillatory patterns do not resolve the selection mode of action, but rather distinguish separate functional strategies of motor preparation.

Detection of HIV drug resistance during antiretroviral treatment and clinical progression in a large European cohort study.

OBJECTIVE(S): To investigate the relationship between detection of HIV drug resistance by 2 years from starting antiretroviral therapy and the subsequent risk of progression to AIDS and death. DESIGN: Virological failure was defined as experiencing two consecutive viral loads of more than 400 copies/ml in the time window between 0.5 and 2 years from starting antiretroviral therapy (baseline). Patients were grouped according to evidence of virological failure and whether there was detection of the International AIDS Society resistance mutations to one, two or three drug classes in the time window. METHODS: Standard survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression model with time-fixed covariates defined at baseline was employed. RESULTS: We studied 8229 patients in EuroSIDA who started antiretroviral therapy and who had at least 2 years of clinical follow-up. We observed 829 AIDS events and 571 deaths during 38,814 person-years of follow-up resulting in an overall incidence of new AIDS and death of 3.6 per 100 person-years of follow-up [95% confidence interval (CI):3.4-3.8]. By 96 months from baseline, the proportion of patients with a new AIDS diagnosis or death was 20.3% (95% CI:17.7-22.9) in patients with no evidence of virological failure and 53% (39.3-66.7) in those with virological failure and mutations to three drug classes (P = 0.0001). An almost two-fold difference in risk was confirmed in the multivariable analysis (adjusted relative hazard = 1.8, 95% CI:1.2-2.7, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Although this study shows an association between the detection of resistance at failure and risk of clinical progression, further research is needed to clarify whether resistance reflects poor adherence or directly increases the risk of clinical events via exhaustion of drug options.

In vitro activities of tigecycline combined with other antimicrobials against multiresistant gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens.

OBJECTIVES: To test the activity of tigecycline combined with 16 antimicrobials in vitro against 22 gram-positive and 55 gram-negative clinical isolates. METHODS: Antibiotic interactions were determined by chequerboard and time-kill methods. RESULTS: By chequerboard, of 891 organism-drug interactions tested, 97 (11%) were synergistic, 793 (89%) were indifferent and 1 (0.1%) was antagonistic. Among gram-positive pathogens, most synergisms occurred against Enterococcus spp. (7/11 isolates) with the tigecycline/rifampicin combination. No antagonism was detected. Among gram-negative organisms, synergism was observed mainly with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole against Serratia marcescens (5/5 isolates), Proteus spp. (2/5) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (2/5), with aztreonam against S. maltophilia (3/5), with cefepime and imipenem against Enterobacter cloacae (3/5), with ceftazidime against Morganella morganii (3/5), and with ceftriaxone against Klebsiella pneumoniae (3/5). The only case of antagonism occurred against one S. marcescens with the tigecycline/imipenem combination. Selected time-kill assays confirmed the bacteriostatic interactions observed by the chequerboard method. Moreover, they revealed a bactericidal synergism of tigecycline with piperacillin/tazobactam against one penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and with amikacin against Proteus vulgaris. CONCLUSIONS: Combinations of tigecycline with other antimicrobials produce primarily an indifferent response. Specific synergisms, especially against enterococci and problematic gram-negative isolates, might be worth investigating in in vitro models and/or in animal models simulating the human environment.

Post-switching beta synchronization reveals concomitant sensory reafferences and active inhibition processes

It is known that post-movement beta synchronization (PMBS) is involved both in active inhibition and in sensory reafferences processes. The aim of this study was examine the temporal and spatial dynamics of the PMBS involved during multi-limb coordination task. We investigated post-switching beta synchronization (assigned PMBS) using time-frequency and source estimations analyzes. Participants (n = 17) initiated an auditory-paced bimanual tapping. After a 1500 ms preparatory period, an imperative stimulus required to either selectively stop the left while maintaining the right unimanual tapping (Switch condition: SWIT) or to continue the bimanual tapping (Continue condition: CONT). PMBS significantly increased in SWIT compared to CONT with maximal difference within right central region in broad-band 14âeuro"30 Hz and within left central region in restricted-band 22âeuro"26 Hz. Source estimations localized these effects within right pre-frontal cortex and left parietal cortex, respectively. A negative correlation showed that participants with a low percentage of errors in SWIT had a large PMBS amplitude within right parietal and frontal cortices. This study shows for the first time simultaneous PMBS with distinct functions in different brain regions and frequency ranges. The left parietal PMBS restricted to 22âeuro"26 Hz could reflect the sensory reafferences of the right hand tapping disrupted by the switching. In contrast, the right pre-frontal PMBS in a broad-band 14âeuro"30 Hz is likely reflecting the active inhibition of the left hand stopped. Finally, correlations between behavioral performance and the magnitude of the PMBS suggest that beta oscillations can be viewed as a marker of successful active inhibition.

Wigner higher-order spectra: definition, properties, computation and application to transient signal analysis

The Wigner higher order moment spectra (WHOS)are defined as extensions of the Wigner-Ville distribution (WD)to higher order moment spectra domains. A general class oftime-frequency higher order moment spectra is also defined interms of arbitrary higher order moments of the signal as generalizations of the Cohen’s general class of time-frequency representations. The properties of the general class of time-frequency higher order moment spectra can be related to theproperties of WHOS which are, in fact, extensions of the properties of the WD. Discrete time and frequency Wigner higherorder moment spectra (DTF-WHOS) distributions are introduced for signal processing applications and are shown to beimplemented with two FFT-based algorithms. One applicationis presented where the Wigner bispectrum (WB), which is aWHOS in the third-order moment domain, is utilized for thedetection of transient signals embedded in noise. The WB iscompared with the WD in terms of simulation examples andanalysis of real sonar data. It is shown that better detectionschemes can be derived, in low signal-to-noise ratio, when theWB is applied.