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Binary sulfides were deposited by sequential thermal evaporation with the stacking order glass/CuS/SnS/ZnS and subsequently subjected to a sulfurization-crystallization process, considering two thermal treatment time intervals, 5 and 20 min. The objective of implementing different annealing durations was to identify the best conditions to form CZTS films in the pure kesterite phase. After being subjected to the annealing, the films show structural characteristics of the kesterite phase. However, XRD data showed that prolonged annealing causes degradation of the kesterite phase, leading to the formation of traces of CuS and Cu5Sn2S7. The films annealed for shorter duration, in this case 5 min, present a denser and more uniform surface morphology, better degree of preferential orientation, small Urbach energy of 0.302 eV, and higher photosensitivity. The band gap of the films was 1.46 eV and 1.53 eV for annealing durations 5 and 20 min, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of nanoparticles in TiO2 generates narrow bands located in the energy gap and its reduction. In this work, TiO2 films and the incorporation of Ni and Cr nanoparticles by the sol–gel method and assisting dip-coating technique are reported. Characterization of the TiO2 films in their structure was carried out using XRD and Raman, finding the anatase TiO2 structure for all the samples. Using AFM and TEM, it was possible to study nanoparticles' influence on topography and transmittance, finding roughness values lower than 1 nm and decreasing the gap energy and resistivity due to the decrease in porosity, which improvement the current conduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Admix of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) and ZnS phases in thin films were prepared on glass substrate by thermal evaporation from CuS, ZnS and SnS as precursors. Their composition, microstructure and optical properties of thin films were determine using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Vis absorption. The conglomerate grain shape of the obtained materialare elongated with dense morphology. Kesterite structure was obtained after heat treatment at 400 °C of precursors. By Rietveld refinement method was determined the presence of CZTS phase and ZnS phase at 65% and at 35%, respectively. By elemental analysis, it was notice Cu loss in the heating process. Band gap value of the resulting material was 1.49 eV. Regarding to the optoelectronic properties for make solar cells, this film shows good photoconductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the incremental validity of Perceived Emotional Intelligence (PEI) as measured by the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995) on the prediction of life satisfaction after controlling for personality and affect, which are known to be related to well-being. A sample of 173 undergraduate Spanish students completed three subscales of PEI (Attention, Clarity, and Repair), a Big Five personality inventory, and reported on the frequency of positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) during the two weeks before participating in the study. There were significant associations between life satisfaction and both Clarity and Repair. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that Clarity accounted for more variance in life satisfaction than personality or NA, but not when frequency of PA was taken into account. These results show the necessity of controlling for PA and NA independently and differentiating between intensity and frequency of affect when evaluating the incremental validity of PEI in the prediction of life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2 and ZnO films were synthesized by the dip-coating method. The coupling of thin films of metal sulfides: CuS and ZnS by thermal evaporation in each semiconductor oxide was analyzed. TiO2, CuS/TiO2, ZnS/TiO2, ZnO, CuS/ZnO, and ZnS/ZnO samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Raman microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and photoresponse. The optical and morphological analysis revealed that the CuS/TiO2 and CuS/ZnO samples present better properties than the pristine samples. This was attributed to the fact that their absorption edges move to lower energy regions and their roughness increases refraction, so there is a greater photoelectric response due to the accumulation of photo-injected electrons in the conduction band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2, TiO2-Cu, TiO2-CNTs y TiO2-CNTs-Cu films were obtained by Dip-coating technique and 500°C for 1h. The Anatase phase of TiO2 was identified and the TiO2-Cu film also presented the Tenorite secondary phase of CuO. The planes (101) and (200) of the Graphite 2H phase were identified in the films with CNTs. The crystal size was obtained between 5 to 16 nm. The morphology is homogeneous without pores and without cracks. The bandgap value for TiO2-CNTs-Cu and TiO2 films were 3.22 and 3.48 eV respectively. For photocatalytic evaluation Visible and UV irradiation were used and TiO2-CNTs showed a degradation of 53%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional Intelligence (EI) in teaching is associated with various educational outcomes and processes. However, it has typically been measured through self-reports and general EI assessments, lacking a specific performance test with greater ecological validity in relation to the demands of the professional educational context. This study describes the development and validation results of the Video-Test of Emotional Intelligence for Teachers (ViTIED), a new performance-based measure to assess the EI of secondary education teachers based on ability EI model and the situational judgment test paradigm. The test comprises 12 video scenes designed to elicit intra- and interpersonal processes, as well as both positive and negative emotions. A total of 163 Spanish teachers (36% male, 64% female; mean age = 40.32 years) completed the ViTIED, along with personality, perceived EI, and burnout assessments. Test scores provide initial evidence of adequate reliability, as well as content, convergent, and divergent validity. Continued validation of this measure will benefit evaluation and intervention processes with teachers, as well as research on the impact of teachers' EI on the teaching-learning processes and the well-being of the educational community.

Background: Malignant primary cardiac tumors are infrequent and can lead to an unfavorable prognosis if not identified and treated promptly. Early detection and prompt treatment of malignant primary cardiac tumors are crucial for a better prognosis. This article presents a case of primary cardiac leiomyosarcoma and reviews the literature on this topic., Case Presentation: Female patient that developed recurrent pericardial effusion and hemodynamic instability caused by a cardiac tumor, later identified as leiomyosarcoma. Multidisciplinary treatment was administered to the patient., Conclusions: The initial approach to this type of pathology should include multimodality imaging to establish a prompt diagnosis leading to complete standard treatment, to minimize risks to the patient's heart function which may include resection with complete margins of the neoplasm, otherwise the prognosis may be poor., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Learning communities for college students have been shown to improve first-year student outcomes and narrow equity gaps, but longer-term data to evaluate whether these benefits persist through multi-year retention and graduation are rare. This is especially important for students in science, technology, engineering and math, who often confront gateway courses and challenging academic cultures in their second and subsequent years. Here, we report on the second, third, and fourth year academic outcomes of three cohorts of a first-year placed-based learning community. Relative to a reference group, participants in the learning community generally showed similar grade acquisition in second- and third-year STEM courses, and initially higher GPAs for learning community participants later diminished to be statistically indistinguishable from the reference group. Nonetheless, units completed after one, two, and three years were slightly higher for learning community participants than for the reference group, and with narrower equity gaps. The learning community also increased and narrowed equity gaps in second- and third-year retention at the institution and in STEM specifically (+6 to +17%). Four-year graduation rates from the institution and in STEM specifically also increased (+8 to +17%), but equity gaps were only narrowed slightly. These results suggest that while benefits of first-year learning communities on grades decline over time, benefits for retention and graduation can persist, though they are insufficient to erase equity gaps. Future work should examine how scaffolding practices in students' second and third years can better sustain and even magnify inclusive success improvements initiated by first year learning communities., Competing Interests: Competing InterestsMatt Johnson and Amy Sprowles have received research grants from the US Dept of Education, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, CSUPERB, US Dept of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. Matt Johnson and Steven Margell are members of the California State University Center for Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

COVID-19 has become a major source of stress as it puts individuals at risk of a range of mental health problems. Personality traits may predispose people to use adaptive or maladaptive coping strategies that lead to different health-related outcomes. The goal of the present study was to examine whether the use of distinct coping strategies during this stressful COVID-19 outbreak mediates the relationships between Dark Triad (DT) traits and stress, depression, and anxiety. The study was conducted in Poland ( N  = 1086) and Spain ( N  = 582), thus cross-culturally validated measures were used to assess depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21), cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERQ) and socially aversive traits covered by DT (Dirty Dozen scale). The study shows that maladaptive CERS mediates the relationships between narcissism/Machiavellianism and stress, anxiety and depression. Additionally, adaptive CERS mediates the relationship between psychopathy and depression. The results provide a better understanding of the mediating role of CERS on the relationships between DT traits and the stress, anxiety and depression experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic., (© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

(1) Background: Many public bodies have warned of the increased consumption of cannabis, particularly among adolescents. From the Positive Youth Development approach, the promotion of personal protective factors takes on special importance against some risks, such as the consumption of addictive substances. (2) Methods: This research is one of the first to study the role of trait and ability emotional intelligence in relation to cannabis use and with respect to other personal variables of protection, such as coping styles and assertiveness. For this purpose, a final sample of 799 schoolchildren was obtained. (3) Results: After controlling for age and gender, the results of the regression analyses revealed that emotional perception, emotional facilitation, emotional clarity, emotional repair, active coping style, and assertiveness were inversely and significantly associated with cannabis use behaviors. On the other hand, the emotional attention and avoidant coping style factors were positively and significantly associated with these behaviors. (4) Conclusions: These findings provide new evidence that could be useful in terms of guiding health-promoting clinical and educational interventions at an early age.

We propose the use of the 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1STST) to evaluate the physical capacity and exertional desaturation one month after discharge in a sample of patients who survived COVID-19 pneumonia. This was a cross-sectional study that collected routine data from consecutive patients admitted to the outpatient program in a public hospital in Chile. Patients were asked to complete a 1STST. Data were analyzed according to those with and without a prolonged hospital stay of >10 days. Eighty-three percent of the patients were able to complete the test (N = 50). The median age was 62.7 ± 12.5 years. The average number of repetitions in the 1STST was 20.9 ± 4.8. Thirty-two percent of patients had a decrease in pulse oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) ≥ 4 points. The prolonged hospital stay subgroup had a significant increase in exertional desaturation (mean difference = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.2 to 3.9; p = 0.001) and dyspnea (mean difference = 1.1; 95% CI = 0.4 to 2.1; p = 0.042) compared to the group of length of stay ≤10 days. In-hospital survivors of COVID-19, the 1STST showed a decrease in physical capacity at one month in those 90% who were able to complete it. The 1STST was able to discriminate between those with and without a prolonged hospital stay and was able to detect exertional desaturation in some patients.

Although adolescence has been defined as a stage of vulnerability, due to the biopsychosocial changes that happen throughout this developmental stage, it is also one of growth. Some of the core personal competencies that have been identified to promote positive development at this stage while simultaneously preventing risks are: (1) a positive sense of self, (2) self-regulation, (3) decision-making skills, (4) a moral system of belief, and (5) prosocial connectedness. There are many factors and contexts that influence adolescent development. The school climate, for example, has the capacity to promote positive development and life satisfaction, yet on the other hand, it is a context within which different forms of violence, such as bullying, can occur. The principal aim of this study, therefore, is to analyze the influence that bullying has on one's life satisfaction, while taking into account participants' socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., gender and developmental stage), their core personal competencies (i.e., problem solving strategies, empathy, emotional repair, self-esteem, and values), and the school climate. To obtain data, a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted with a sample of 647 Spanish students (53.3% female), ranging in age from preadolescence (10-13 years old; 60.3%) to mid-adolescence (14-18 years old; 39.7%), and belonging to diverse socio-economic contexts (15.3% rural) and schools (32.1% public). After gaining informed consent from both the participants and their parents, students completed the survey voluntarily, and under anonymity. Initially results show that gender, developmental stage, and having been bullied were predictors of participants' levels of life satisfaction. When the core personal competencies were also considered in data analysis process, self-esteem, emotional repair, and social values were those demonstrating significant effects on one's life satisfaction; moreover, being bullied was a significant predictor too. Finally, after taking school climate into account, only this variable as well as self-esteem and emotional repair were significant predictors of life satisfaction: the other assessed variables were no longer found to be significant predictors (i.e., gender, developmental stage, being bullied, and social values). These results have important implications for education objectives, methodologies, and school functioning: school climate, self-esteem and emotional repair seem to be particularly important for promoting student life satisfaction and for preventing the negative consequences associated with being bullied.

Study Design: Multicenter, prospective, cohort study., Objective: To estimate the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) for the physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summaries of Short Form SF-12 (SF-12), in patients with low back pain (LBP)., Summary of Background Data: Quality of life is one of the core domains recommended to be assessed in patients with LBP. SF-12 is the most widely used instrument for this purpose, but its MCID was unknown., Methods: A total of 458 patients with subacute and chronic LBP were consecutively recruited across 21 practices. LBP, referred pain, disability, PCS, and MCS were assessed upon recruitment and 12 months later. Self-reported health status change between baseline and 12 month-assessment, was used as the external criterion. The MCID for SF-12 was estimated following four anchor-based methods; minimal detectable change (MDC); average change (AC); change difference (CD); and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), for which the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The effect on MCID values of pain duration and baseline scores was assessed., Results: Values for PCS were: MDC: 0.56, AC: 2.71, CD: 3.29, and ROC: 1.14. Values for MCS were: MDC: 3.77, AC: 3.54, CD: 1.13, and ROC: 4.23. AUC values were <0.7; MCID values were smaller among chronic patients and those with better baseline quality of life., Conclusion: Different methods for MCID calculation lead to different results. In patients with subacute and chronic LBP, improvements >3.77 in MCS and >3.29 in PCS, can be considered clinically relevant. MCID is smaller in patients with longer pain duration and better baseline quality of life., Level of Evidence: 2.

Background: The Godelieve Denys-Struyf method (GDS) is a motor learning intervention that may be applied in group or individualized sessions., Objective: The study objective was to compare the effectiveness of routine physical therapy, group GDS (GDS-G) sessions, and group and individualized GDS (GDS-I) sessions., Design: This was a cluster randomized controlled trial., Setting: The study took place in 21 primary care physical therapy units ("clusters") of the Spanish National Health Service (SNHS)., Participants: The participants were 461 people with subacute and chronic low back pain (LBP)., Intervention: Clusters were randomized into 3 groups. All participants received medical treatment and a 15-minute group education session on active management. Additional interventions were as follows: control (fifteen 40-minute sessions of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, microwave treatment, and standardized exercises), GDS-G (eleven 50-minute group GDS sessions), and GDS-I (the same 11 sessions plus four 50-minute individualized GDS sessions)., Measurements: Primary outcomes at baseline and 2, 6, and 12 months later were LBP and pain referred down the leg (separate pain intensity numeric rating scales) and disability (Roland-Morris Questionnaire [RMQ]). Secondary outcomes were use of medication and self-reported health (mental and physical component summaries of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-12]). Separate linear mixed models for LBP, pain referred down the leg, and disability were developed to adjust for potential confounders. Randomization, outcome assessment, and data analyses were masked., Results: At 12 months, disability improved 0.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.4, 1.8) RMQ point in the control group, 1.5 (95% CI=0.4, 2.7) RMQ points in the GDS-I group, and 2.2 (95% CI=1.2, 3.2) RMQ points in the GDS-G group. There were no differences in pain., Limitations: The amount of exercise was smaller in the control group, and GDS-I sessions were provided by junior physical therapists., Conclusions: The improvement in disability was slightly higher with group GDS sessions than with the program routinely used in clusters within the SNHS. Adding individualized GDS sessions eliminated this advantage. Further studies should compare the GDS with other types of exercise., (© 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.)

This article has been retracted.

Type 1 diabetes associated genes account for less than 50% of disease susceptibility. Human enteroviruses have been implicated as environmental factors that might trigger and/or accelerate this autoimmune disorder. We now report of a 12-year-old girl that developed pancreatic autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes after enteroviral infection. Diabetes-associated autoimmunity was evaluated by measurement of several islet cell related autoantibodies. Neutralizing antibodies to different enteroviruses were determined in the case and eight children suffering from aseptic meningitis during a large scale epidemic. Several types of diabetes-associated antibodies were detected post-infection in the adolescent with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, including islet cell antibodies (ICA) and tyrosine phosphatase antibodies (IA2A). ICA but not IA2A appeared in the non-diabetic enterovirus-infected subjects. Based on virological studies, type 1 diabetes pathogenesis process could have been triggered by echovirus 30 infections. This study provides the first evidence of an association between echovirus 30 infection with the presence of pancreatic autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes. Our data suggest that echovirus 30 Cuban strain could be considered a potentially diabetogenic enteroviral variant., (Copyright (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The introduction of a mollecular method to identify the Entoviruses based on the amplification sequecing and phylogenetic analysis of protein VPI was described. It was proved that this method reduces significantly the time required for the identification of the isolated Entoviruses and that it is very useful in the characterization of isolates which are difficult to typify by the routine immunoloigical reagents. As it is a very fast technqiue, its use is very important during epidemics to determine the causal agent rapidly.

From April to September 2000, an epidemic of aseptic meningitis spread throughout Cuba, with 16,943 reported cases. Virologic studies identified echovirus 16 as the cause of this epidemic. This is the first reported isolate of echovirus 16 from patients with viral meningitis in Cuba.

The erradication of poliomyelitis in the world is a goal that requires the adoption of effective and safe strategies for its attainment. Knowing how long the strains of poliovirus derived from the oral attenuated virus vaccine may circulate and remain in the environment was essential to define the measures to be taken and was also the objective of our paper. Specimens of stools and sewage water, which were weekly obtained at the end of the National Polio Vaccination Campaign, in 1998, were analyzed. Viruses were isolated and identified by culture and neutralization tests for the identification of poliovirus. In the particular case of the sewage water, it was also used the polymerase chain reaction. The curves of elimination in both media were drawn and it was concluded that the permanence of viruses in the environment did not exceed the 12 weeks after the immunization with the oral attenuated virus vaccine.

An increase in the reported cases of viral meningoencephalitis (VME) was detected in October and November, 1995, compared with the same period of 1994. 43 stock specimens from children with this diagnosis were received at the Laboratory of Enterovirus from the "Pedro Kourí" Institute of Tropical Medicine. 23 isolations (53.4%) were obtained and identified as Coxsackievirus B5. Besides, in 43 matched sera investigated by the neutralization test against some Enteroviruses, 21 proved to be positive (48.8%) to the isolated agent. This allowed us to affirm, supported by the clinical picture and by epidemiology, that we are in the presence of an VME outbreak produced by Coxsackievirus B5.

The results of the study of Enterovirus as viral meningoencephalitis producing agents, carried out from 1990 to 1994, are described, 546 feces samples, 95 cerebrospinal fluids and 1,058 matched sera were studied and obtained from 1,388 patients clinically diagnosed with this disease. Samples for viral isolation were inoculated into two different cellular systems. The highest number of isolation was found in diploid cells from human fibroblast. Antibody determinations were carried out by a neutralization test (micromethod) with 11 Enterovirus antigens (Echo 4, 6, 9, 11 and 30; and Coxsackie B1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and in epidemic periods with the isolated virus. During the years under study, 2 epidemic outbreaks took place: on caused by Coxsackie A9 (1990-1991) and the other one by Echo 30 (1994). A greater positivity to Echo 6 and 11 was found among the matched sera.

Determinations of neutralizing antibodies to the strain 47/93 IPK (CA9) and to the strain 590 were performed in serum samples from patients presenting with epidemic neuropathy and from a group of seemingly healthy subjects. Determinations were also done in the reference strains CA9 and CB1-6 by the microneutralization technique. Patients and their contacts showed significantly higher percentages of neutralizing antibodies to the strain 47/93 than the control group and residents of municipalities with a low rate of the disease. This difference was also confirmed regarding the geometric mean titres with the use of the reference strains CA9 and CB2-4. An increased circulation of the strain 47/93 within the infantile population from 1981 to 1993 was evidenced. Patients exhibited significantly lower percentages and geometric mean titres of neutralizing antibodies to the strain 590 than the control group, despite the fact that in 25/28 certain agents having a mild cytopathogenic effect had been isolated. The possibility of two mechanism of neutralization is stated and an hypothesis on the mechanism by which these viruses may be involved in the pathophysiology of the disease is formulated.