bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intensive Care Management of Multi-Systemic Complications Following Major Postpartum Haemorrhage in a Resource-Limited Setting
Authors: Chukwu Ifeanyichukwu Michael , Edomwonyi Nosakhare Philomena , Ikhifa Charles Ehichoya , Ojebo Julian , Ezeife Benedict Chuks , Adeaga Mojolaoluwa Oluwatomisin , Obazenu Lawson Ohwofasa
Published: February 2021

Postpartum hemorrhage with its attendant systemic complications can pose a challenge in the developing world, resulting in morbidity and mortality. We present a case of an unbooked 38-year-old para-3 woman, who had elective Cesarean section at term on account of placenta praevia type IV under spinal anesthesia in a private facility. She developed major obstetric hemorrhage that necessitated massive blood transfusion and emergency hysterectomy. She was managed in the intensive care unit for 43 days and remained unconscious for 35 days. She developed many systemic complications that necessitated a multi-disciplinary management with a favorable outcome. She was transferred to the general ward where she spent 30 days before she was discharged home in a satisfactory condition.
Crystalline Maculopathy
Authors: Oluleye T. S. , Babalola Y. O. , Majekodunmi O. I. , Ijaduola M. A. , Abiola Olabimpe Ruth
Published: February 2021

We present two patients with crystalline maculopathy seen at the Eye Clinic of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Both patients had diabetes, with the first patient having systemic hypertension controlled on medications. There was no history of kola nut ingestion in the two patients. Medical examination by the internist revealed no other systemic disease. The central vision was good in both patients. Optical coherence tomography localized the crystals to the inner retina, and there was no associated macular edema. Some pathogenetic mechanisms are proffered based on available literature.
Burden of Care among Caregivers of Patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Calabar
Authors: Okafor Chidi John , Emedoh Thomas
Published: February 2021

Background:

The advent of community-based care and de-institutionalization of persons with mental disorders have led to a progressive shift of care from formal health-care systems to informal care providers such as the family. This shift of care, from hospitals to the families, has led to a significant level of the burden on the family caregiver. This study aimed to identify factors which are associated with burden of care among caregivers of patients with bipolar affective disorder (BAD) seen at the Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar.

Materials and Methods:

A simple random sampling technique of “yes or no” balloting was utilized to select 105 caregivers of bipolar patients seen at the outpatient clinic of the hospital. The selected caregivers (those who picked “yes”) were recruited along with their respective patients after obtaining their consent. They were assessed using a set of five questionnaires, of which three (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9], Young Mania Rating Scale [YMRS] and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale [BPRS]) were administered by the researchers on the patients whereas the remaining two (sociodemographic questionnaire and Family Burden Interview Schedule) were self-completed by the caregivers.

Results:

One hundred out of the 105 caregivers who were recruited completed the study procedure and returned properly filled questionnaires. The rates of objective and subjective burden on the caregivers were 79% and 74%, respectively. While the objective burden was associated with the patient's educational attainment and his/her scores on the YMRS and BPRS, the subjective burden was associated with the caregiver's monthly income and marital status, the patient's gender, number of suicide attempts, and scores on PHQ-9, YMRS, and BPRS. Of all the variables, the patients' scores on YMRS (P = 0.025) and PHQ-9 (P = 0.011) were the significant predictors of objective and subjective burden, respectively.

Conclusion:

This study identified the extent and factors associated with burden of care on caregivers of patients with BAD. Awareness of those factors might guide clinicians in instituting treatment strategies toward reducing the burden on caregivers.
Sonographic Evaluation of Maternal Splenic Dimensions in Normal Pregnancy
Authors: Udoh Benjamin Effiong , Ukpong Ekaete Vincent , Paulinus Samson Omini , Okokon Comfort , Erim Akwa Egom
Published: February 2021

Aim:

We aimed to establish sonographically the range of splenic dimensions in healthy pregnancy and to investigate their relationships with gestational age, maternal age body mass index (BMI), and parity of the mother.

Materials and Methods:

A prospective cross-sectional descriptive study of splenic dimensions was performed on 339 healthy, normal pregnant women aged 23–42 years. The spleen was measured with women in supine position on the couch. Scanning of the spleen was done with the women in deep inspiration so that the spleen descends. A Sonoline Omnia ultrasound imaging system with serial number 526,206,526 and model number Cc-13 H71 fitted with a 3.5 MHz ultrasound probe was used in scanning the spleen along the lower left costal margin from the 9th to the 11th rib at the anterior, mid, and posterior axillary lines with the woman in the right lateral decubitus position using the oblique intercostal approach. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The relationship between splenic dimensions and gestational age, maternal age, and BMI was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

The result of the study shows that the mean length, width, thickness, and volume of the spleen of the mothers were 11.9 ± 0.7 cm, 5.7 ± 0.7, 9.5 ± 0.8 cm, and 381.6 ± 111.4 cm3, respectively. Gestational age was significantly correlated positively with splenic length and splenic volume of the mother (r = 0.37 and 0.31, P = 0.000).

Conclusion:

Splenic dimensions are higher in pregnant women compared to values reported for nonpregnant women and increases with gestational age and BMI of the mother.
Sociodemographic and clinical profile of drug treatment seekers attending the State Psychiatric Hospital and Drug De-addiction Center at Agartala, Tripura
Authors: Majumder Udayan , Das Joysree , Barman Swapan Chandra , Ghosh Jyotirmoy , Bhowmic Bimal Krishna
Published: February 2021

Background:

Substance use disorders have become a widespread public health problem, especially in the northeastern states, and limited studies have been undertaken to reflect the picture of the same.

Aims:

The aim of the study was to study the sociodemographic and clinical profile of drug treatment seekers attending a State Psychiatric Hospital and De-addiction Center of Northeastern India.

Materials and Methods:

It was a cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted from October 2018 to August 2019. Two hundred and ten consecutive treatment-seeking patients, fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria and diagnosed with the International Classification of Diseases version 10 for substance dependence, were included in the study.

Results:

Most common abused drug was opioids (42.9%), followed by alcohol (14.3%), whereas 29.0% were people who inject drugs. Peer pressure in 55.2% and curiosity in 32.9% were reported to be the most common causes for initiating substances. Hepatitis C was the most common (52.4%) comorbidity related to intravenous drug users.

Conclusions:

Results of the current study will definitely encourage further large-scale community-level studies to assess the prevalence of substance abuse in the state as well as in drug policymaking.
Parenting skills of patients with chronic schizophrenia
Authors: Rabha Anjumoni , Padhy Susanta Kumar , Grover Sandeep
Published: February 2021

Aim of the Study:

This study aims to evaluate the parenting skills of patients with schizophrenia as perceived by themselves and their children and compare the same with a matched healthy control group of parents and their children.

Materials and Methods:

Fifty-one patients with schizophrenia and their 51 children were assessed on the Alabama Parenting Scale. A healthy control group of 51 parents and their children were also assessed for parenting.

Results:

The mean age of parents with schizophrenia was 45.23 years. Compared to the parents in the healthy control group, patients with schizophrenia reported deficits in the domains of positive involvement, positive parenting; more often report poor monitoring/supervision, and inconsistent discipline. When the children of patients with schizophrenia and children of healthy parents were compared, children of healthy control parents reported higher positive involvement, positive parenting; and lower corporal punishment and inconsistent discipline. Except for few associations, parenting was not affected by demographic and clinical profile of the patients with schizophrenia.

Conclusion:

The present study suggests that patients with schizophrenia have deficits in parenting and there is a need to improve the parenting skills of the patients with schizophrenia.
Addiction-like behavior associated with social media usage in undergraduate students of a government medical college in Delhi, India
Authors: Basu Saurav , Sharma Ragini , Sharma Pragya , Sharma Nandini
Published: February 2021

Background:

Excessive use of social media is increasingly being recognized as a source of technological addiction in young people globally.

Objective:

The aim of this study is to assess social media addiction in medical students using a self-designed questionnaire.

Materials and Methods:

We collected data from undergraduate medical students (MBBS) in Delhi, India using a self-administered 20-item social media addiction questionnaire (SMAQ) to measure addiction-like behavior, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess sleep quality.

Results:

We enrolled 264 (62.3%) male and 160 (37.7%) female participants of mean (standard deviation) age 19.83 (1.6) years. The Cronbach's alpha of the SMAQ was 0.879. A principal component analysis revealed a 4-component SMAQ structure based on eigenvalue cutoff (>1), loading score >0.3, and inspection of the Scree-plot that explained 54.7% of the total variance. We observed strong loadings of impaired control items on Component 1, decreased alternate pleasure items on Component 2, intense desire items on Component 3, and harmful use items on Component 4. The mean SMAQ score was significantly higher in the students reporting poor sleep quality and older students.

Conclusion:

The SMAQ has acceptable psychometric properties, with higher scores associated with sleep deprivation. A majority of students were unable to reduce their time spent on social media despite wanting to do so, signifying the presence of tolerance and impaired control.
School mental health program in India
Authors: Kumar Devvarta
Published: February 2021

School mental health program (SMHP) has been recognized worldwide as key to improve the mental health and wellbeing of school going children. Unfortunately, in India, SMHP is badly neglected. There is no comprehensive SMHP that covers all school children (from rural and urban areas) across the country. A few sporadic activities that occur are praiseworthy; however, they lack a long-term approach. Major reasons for such neglect of SMHP in India could be lack of a steering body, poor intersectoral coordination, and minimal stakeholders' involvement. India, as any other country, needs to implement countrywide SMHP on the model of mental health promotion, prevention, and early intervention (PPEI). This paper outlines the deplorable state of SMHP in India and the needed steps to implement an effective countrywide SMHP on the PPEI model.
Gandhian thought and mental health – A critique
Authors: Mahajan Smriti , Mahajan Suman
Published: February 2021

The entire gamut of psychiatric literature heavily references notions derived from western impressions. For many concepts, however, one need not go that far. The roots for various concepts, when examined closely, can be found in Gandhian thought and philosophy. Apart from his precious kernels in the fields of diet, sanitation and exercise; there are concepts in psychology, mental well-being and psychotherapy which seem like allusions to Gandhian principles. Nevertheless, to state that all his ideas hold true would be overzealous. His concepts of sexuality would not find favour with the modern mental health professional. The trick probably would be to see Gandhi in a more human light rather than the superhuman divinity that has been associated with him. This would allow us to better incorporate his principles in everyday life of regular individuals.
Adverse effects and short-term developmental outcomes of infants exposed to atypical antipsychotics during breastfeeding
Authors: Sinha Santosh Kumar , Kishore M. Thomas , Thippeswamy Harish , Kommu John Vijay Sagar , Chandra Prabha S.
Published: February 2021

Background:

Postpartum period in women is vulnerable to the occurrence and exacerbation of psychiatric disorders. Mothers with postpartum psychosis or bipolar disorder need treatment with psychotropic medications, especially atypical antipsychotics. However, many mothers and families will have reservations about the use of psychotropics during the perinatal period, particularly during breastfeeding because of its presumed side effects and adverse developmental outcomes of the child. Since there are limited data in this area, the present study aimed to examine the adverse effects, if any, and the short-term developmental outcome of infants exposed to atypical antipsychotics during breastfeeding.

Methods:

The study involved infants of postpartum women (n = 28) who were admitted in the mother and baby inpatient psychiatry unit of a tertiary care center in India. The medication side effects were checked every alternate day for 1–2 weeks using a checklist based on common side effects that infants may experience due to lactation exposure of atypical antipsychotics. Developmental assessments of the infants were done using the Developmental Assessment Scales for Indian Infants and through anthropometric measurements such as weight, length, head circumference, and chest circumference in follow-up when they came as an outpatient after 1–3 month interval.

Results:

The occurrence of adverse side effects was quite low (17.85%). The main side effects directly attributable to atypical antipsychotics were constipation and sedation. Of the 17 infants who attended follow-up, 52.9% (n = 9) showed some form of developmental delay at the time of the first follow-up. However, low birth weight, higher maternal age (>35 years), and exposure to medications (quetiapine and phenytoin) during pregnancy may be confounding risk factors.

Conclusions:

The acute adverse effects of atypical antipsychotics such as sedation and constipation in the infant through breast milk were seen in less than a fourth of the sample. Developmental delay was noted in a proportion of infants; however, this may be due to other risk factors.
Memory changes following adjuvant temporo-parietal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in schizophrenia
Authors: Gupta Preeti , Sahu Anamika , Prasad Surjit , Sinha Vinod Kumar , Bakhla Ajay Kumar
Published: February 2021

Objective:

The use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in schizophrenia has shown improvement as well as deficits in memory. Though most studies had focused on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex only, but impact of rTMS on cognitive functions remain inconclusive. The need of the study is to assess the impact of rTMS on memory in schizophrenia.

Materials and Methods:

Forty right-handed male patients with schizophrenia were included by purposive sampling and rated on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) before starting the rTMS treatment with the experimental group. Low frequency 1 Hz rTMS including 1200 stimulations were given over temporo-parietal cortex for 20 min as add on to medications. At the end of 10 session treatment (5 days a week for 2 weeks), the patients were re-evaluated.

Results:

A total of 39 patients (20 for experimental group and 19 for control group) with mean age of 29.70 ± 9.05 and 31.26 ± 7.78 years, respectively, shows significant difference to pre- and post-treatment mean PANSS score in positive, negative and general psychopathology domains. The pre- and post-treatment mean Postgraduate Institute Memory Scale Scores with multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant improvements in all memory domains (P < 0.01) except remote memory in both experimental and control groups.

Conclusion:

RTMS in combination with antipsychotics has shown improvement in psychopathology in patients of schizophrenia without any deterioration of memory.
Lunatic asylums
Authors: Jiloha R. C.
Published: February 2021

The knowledge about “maladies of the mind” was in the early stages of development and far from being considered as medical conditions till the mid-19th century. Around this period, the British began to establish “Native-Only” lunatic asylums in India, particularly in the Bengal Presidency of their colonial empire. These institutions were primarily meant to provide custodial care and to rehabilitate those creating nuisance, particularly the wanderers and vagrants. However, these facilities turned into forced labor houses producing goods for the British Empire in the name of treatment. As traders, the British amassed India's wealth in several ways, and the establishment of lunatic asylums for the natives was one of the profit-making businesses. Undercover of Victorian morality, the reports of medical treatment had evolved into profit margin data. This article explores some of the obscure facts of British colonial rule in regards to mental health.
Qualitative research methods in psychiatry in India
Authors: Mahapatra Pranab , Sahoo Krushna Chandra , Jitendriya Pritam , Samal Mousumi , Pati Sanghamitra
Published: February 2021

Background:

Qualitative research methods (QRMs) bear a critical role in psychiatry as they explore the phenomenology of psychiatric illness and its sociocultural dimensions. However, there is limited evidence regarding its use in psychiatric research in India.

Aim:

This study, under the aegis of mapping qualitative health research in India initiative, attempted to landscape the use of QRMs in psychiatry and elicited expert opinion on its potential, perceived quality, and scope for improvement.

Materials and Methods:

We reviewed studies using qualitative methodology published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (IJP) and the abstracts presented at the Annual Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS) between 2010 and 2019. Titles and abstracts were screened and shortlisted; full-text articles were checked to identify the relevant ones. In addition, ten experts comprising psychiatry journal reviewers, editors, and conference scientific committee members were interviewed to elicit their views and suggestions.

Results:

Out of 356 papers published in IJP between 2010 and 2019, only 12 papers used QRMs: five qualitative and seven mixed methods. Out of 2297 abstracts published between 2010 and 2019 in ANCIPS, only 28 had used QRMs, consisting of 20 qualitative and eight mixed methods. The findings reveal that qualitative research is still an understudied domain in Indian psychiatry with a substantial need for rigor and quality.

Conclusions:

To catalyze the use of qualitative research in Indian psychiatry, continuing medical education programs through workshops or webinar mode need to be imparted. These trainings should aim at building skills on qualitative study design, data collection, analysis, and writing.
Development and validation of Vellore Inventory of Life Skills among people with severe mental illness
Authors: Chandran Meghana C. , Saji Febin , Samuel Reema , Jacob K. S.
Published: February 2021

Background and Aim:

Rehabilitation for people with severe mental illness is incomplete without life skills assessment and intervention. The aim of the study was develop a culturally specific performance-based measure assessing life skills of patients with severe mental illness.

Materials and Methods:

The items for the Vellore Inventory of Life Skills (VILS) were drawn after consultation with a reference group and from existing standardized scales. The items were categorized into two sections with six components each, which was further hierarchically arranged into activities at either basic, intermediate, or advanced level. One hundred consecutive clients between 18 and 60 years of age who provided written informed consent were assessed on the Comprehensive Evaluation of Basic Living Skills (CEBLS) and the VILS to evaluate convergent validity and inter-rater reliability. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to evaluate divergent validity. The assessments were repeated after a week to evaluate test–retest reliability.

Results:

The scale had good inter-rater reliability 0.938 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.887–0.967) and test–retest reliability 0.907 (95% CI 0.865–0.937). The correlation between total score of VILS and CEBLS (Pearson's correlation coefficient [PCC] = 0.611; P = 0.001) suggested moderate convergent validity. The correlation between total score of VILS and GHQ-12 (PCC = −0.260; P = 0.105) implied good divergent validity.

Conclusion:

Preliminary data suggest that the VILS is clinically useful for the Indian population.
Factors associated with dropout from treatment
Authors: Grover Sandeep , Mallnaik Sridhar , Chakrabarti Subho , Mehra Aseem
Published: February 2021

Aim:

To evaluate the factors associated with treatment dropout among patients attending the psychiatric outpatient services.

Materials and Methods:

Seventy-two patients who dropped out from treatment were contacted and they were compared with 200 regular attendees for sociodemographic and clinical variables, medication adherence, treatment satisfaction, attitude toward medication, insight, and therapeutic alliance.

Results:

Compared to “regular attendees,” those who dropped out from treatment were significantly older, were more likely to be married, had higher age of onset, had longer duration of illness, received less supervision for medication at home, higher proportion of them continued to remain symptomatic, had more negative attitude toward medications, had poorer insight, were poorly complaint with medication, were less satisfied with the treatment provided, and had poor quality of therapeutic alliance.

Conclusion:

This study suggests that dropout from treatment can be avoided by addressing issues of negative attitude toward medications, improving satisfaction with the treatment contact and enhancing therapeutic alliance.
Validation of revised reading the mind in the eyes test in the Indian (Bengali) population
Authors: Chakrabarty Madhushree , Dasgupta Gargi , Acharya Rudraprasad , Chatterjee Seshadri Sekhar , Guha Prathama , Belmonte Matthew K. , Bhattacharya Kaberi
Published: February 2021

Background:

Social cognition deficits are common in clinical populations but there is a dearth of standardized social cognition assessment tools in India. Theory of mind (ToM) is an important aspect of social cognition which is often assessed with the revised reading the mind in eyes test (RMET-R). However, we do not have a statistically validated version of the test for the Indian population.

Aim:

This study aims to assess the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the Bengali version of the RMET-R.

Materials and Methods:

We administered the RMET-R to 23 patients with chronic schizophrenia (SCZ), 22 patients with bipolar disorder, and 104 healthy controls (HCs) to evaluate the reliability and validity of the instrument in the Indian (Bengali) population.

Results:

We obtained moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.6) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.64, P < 0.001). Positive correlations were found between RMET-R and Wechsler picture arrangement (r = 0.60, P < 0.001), picture completion (r = 0.54, P < 0.001), and comprehension subtests (r = 0.48, P < 0.001). Patients with SCZ (M = 49.7, standard deviation [SD] = 16.5) scored significantly lower than HCs (M = 68.9, SD = 13.8) (P = 0.008; Cohen's d = 1.3) on the RMET-R. Thus this tool could discriminate patients who are reported to have Theory of Mind deficits from healthy controls.

Conclusion:

The Bengali version of the RMET-R is a reliable and valid tool for assessing first-order ToM insofar as the original RMET-R measures this construct.
Does academic streams influence alcohol use in colleges?
Authors: Menon Priya G. , Thamby Abel , Jayaprakashan K. P. , Rani Anjana , Nair B. Sivasankaran , Thennarasu K. , Jaisoorya T. S.
Published: February 2021

Background:

Alcohol use among college students is a major public health priority owing to its high prevalence and numerous negative outcomes. Most interventions targeting alcohol use among college students consider them as a homogenous entity. There is preliminary evidence from high-income countries that patterns of alcohol use differ across academic streams. This remains unstudied in India.

Aims:

To compare the prevalence and correlates of alcohol use among students enrolled in various collegiate educational streams (medical, nursing, engineering, arts and science, and others [law/fisheries]) in the state of Kerala, India.

Settings and Design:

This is a cross-sectional survey conducted among college students.

Materials and Methods:

5784 students completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing alcohol use and its correlates in the psycho-social domains.

Statiscal Analysis:

Lifetime prevalence and severity of alcohol use was determined across examined academic streams. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was done separately for each course, to identify factors influencing alcohol use.

Results:

The lifetime prevalence of alcohol use varied between 10.6% among nursing students to 41.7% among students pursuing “other” stream (law/fisheries). Students pursuing medicine and nursing had a relatively lower proportion of hazardous users. Consistently across all academic streams, being male and using tobacco increased the risk, while those from the Muslim community had a lower risk of alcohol use. Other examined psychosocial correlates showed varying relationship across courses.

Conclusion:

The prevalence and psychosocial correlates of alcohol use vary among students pursuing various academic streams. This finding has public health importance as the incorporation of course level characteristics in intervention programs will improve effectiveness.
The effect of hepatic steatosis on COVID-19 severity
Authors: Parlak Selçuk , Çıvgın Esra , Beşler Muhammed Said , Kayıpmaz Afşin Emre
Published: February 2021

Background:

The objective of our study was to investigate the location, extension and type of novel coronavirus-induced disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection involvement and hepatic steatosis on initial chest computed tomography (CT). The relationship between fatty liver and severity of the disease was also investigated by measuring the liver attenuation index (LAI).

Methods:

This study evaluated the chest CT images of 343 patients (201 male, mean age 48.43 years) who were confirmed to have COVID-19, using nasopharyngeal swab. The chest CTs were analyzed for laterality, number of involved lobes, diffuseness, number of lesions, and lesion types. The CT attenuation values of liver and spleen were measured, and LAI was calculated for the detection of hepatic steatosis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to identify the independent early predictors for severe COVID-19.

Results:

There was no significant difference between genders in terms of clinical course. Liver density and LAI were significantly lower in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The prevalence of severe disease was higher in the patients with hepatic steatosis than in the non-steatotic group (odds ratio [OR] 3.815, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.97–7.37, P < 0.001). After adjusting for age and comorbidities including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was an independent risk factor for COVID-19 severity (OR 3.935, 95% CI 1.77-8.70, P = 0.001). The optimal cut-off value for LAI was calculated as 0.5 for predicting patients who required ICU treatment.

Conclusions:

On the initial chest CT images of COVID-19 patients, presence of fatty liver is a strong predictor for severe disease.
A note on the zeroes of the Fredholm series
Authors: Zannier Umberto
Published: February 2021

The issue had been raised whether the function $z + z^2 + \cdots + z^{2n}, sometimes called
Fredholm series
, has infinitely many zeroes in the unit disk. We provide an affirmative answer, proving that in fact every complex number occurs as a value infinitely many times, even restricting the function to any open set meeting the unit circle.
Totally $T$-adic functions of small height
Authors: Faber Xander , Petsche Clayton
Published: February 2021

Let

\mathbb F_q (T)

be the field of rational functions in one variable over a finite field. We introduce the notion of a totally

T

-adic function: one that is algebraic over

\mathbb F_q (T)

and whose minimal polynomial splits completely over the completion

\mathbb F_q ((T))

. We give two proofs that the height of a nonconstant totally

T

-adic function is bounded away from zero, each of which provides a sharp lower bound. We spend the majority of the paper providing explicit constructions of totally

T

-adic functions of small height (via arithmetic dynamics) and minimum height (via geometry and computer search). We also execute a large computer search that proves certain kinds of totally

T

-adic functions of minimum height over

\mathbb F_q (T)

do not exist. The problem of whether there exist infinitely many totally

T

-adic functions of minimum positive height over

\mathbb F_q (T)

remains open. Finally, we consider analogues of these notions under additional integrality hypotheses.
Hilbert-type inequalities in homogeneous cones
Authors: Garrigós Gustavo , Nana Cyrille
Published: February 2021

We prove

L^p-L^q

bounds for the class of Hilbert-type operators associated with generalized powers

Q^a

in a homogeneous cone

\Omega

. Our results extend and slightly improve earlier work from [16], where the problem was considered for scalar powers

\mathbf a = (\alpha, \dots, \alpha)

and symmetric cones. We give a more transparent proof, provide new examples, and briefly discuss the open question regarding characterization of

L^p

boundedness for the case of vector indices

\mathbf a

. Some applications are given to boundedness of Bergman projections in the tube domain over

\Omega

.
Effective cycles on the symmetric product of a curve, II: the Abel–Jacobi faces
Authors: Bastianelli Francesco , Kouvidakis Alexis , Lopez Angelo Felice , Viviani Filippo
Published: February 2021

In this paper, which is a sequel of [BKLV17], we study the convex-geometric properties of the cone of pseudoeffective

n

-cycles in the symmetric product

C_d

of a smooth curve

C

. We introduce and study the Abel–Jacobi faces, related to the contractibility properties of the Abel–Jacobi morphism and to classical Brill–Noether varieties. We investigate when Abel–Jacobi faces are non-trivial, and we prove that for

d

sufficiently large (with respect to the genus of

C

) they form a maximal chain of perfect faces of the tautological pseudoeffective cone (which coincides with the pseudoeffective cone if

C

is a very general curve).
On the limit as $s \to 1^-$ of possibly non-separable fractional Orlicz–Sobolev spaces
Authors: Alberico Angela , Cianchi Andrea , Pick Luboš , Slavíková Lenka
Published: February 2021

Extended versions of the Bourgain–Brezis–Mironescu theorems on the limit as

s \to 1^-

of the Gagliardo–Slobodeckij fractional seminorm are established in the Orlicz space setting. Our results hold for fractional Orlicz–Sobolev spaces built upon general Young functions, and complement those of [13], where Young functions satisfying the

\Delta_2

and the

\nabla_2

conditions are dealt with. The case of Young functions with an asymptotic linear growth is also considered in connection with the space of functions of bounded variation.
Time quasi-periodic traveling gravity water waves in infinite depth
Authors: Feola Roberto , Giuliani Filippo
Published: February 2021

We present the recent result [9] concerning the existence of quasi-periodic in time traveling waves for the

2d

pure gravity water waves system in infinite depth. We provide the first existence result of quasi-periodic water waves solutions bifurcating from a completely resonant elliptic fixed point. The proof is based on a Nash–Moser scheme, Birkhoff normal form methods and pseudo-differential calculus techniques. We deal with the combined problems of small divisors and the fully-nonlinear nature of the equations.
Modeling of a gas slug rising in a cylindrical duct and possible applications to volcanic scenarios
Authors: Farina Angiolo , Matrone Jacopo , Montagna Chiara P. , Rosso Fabio
Published: February 2021

The paper deals with the mathematical modelling of a gas slug rising in a cylindrical duct filled with an incompressible liquid. This research is motivated by a phenomenon commonly observed during Strombolian eruptions at basaltic volcanoes, that is, mildly explosive events driven by a large bubble of magmatic gas (a slug) rising up the conduit and bursting at the surface. The model is compared with the laboratory experiments described in [15] and we prove that the constancy of the slug ascent velocity observed in these experiments is fully justifiable. The model is developed both in the case of a Newtonian fluid and in the case of a non-Newtonian power law fluid, more suitable for magmas, and applied to a volcanic scenario.
An $\varepsilon$-regularity result for optimal transport maps between continuous densities
Authors: Goldman Michael
Published: February 2021

The aim of this short note is to extend the recent variational proof of partial regularity for optimal transport maps to the case of continuous densities.
A note on the construction of Sobolev almost periodic invariant tori for the 1d NLS
Authors: Biasco Luca , Massetti Jessica Elisa , Procesi Michela
Published: February 2021

We announce a method for the construction of almost periodic solutions of the one dimensional analytic NLS with only Sobolev regularity both in time and space. This is the first result of this kind for PDEs.
Higher regularity estimates for the porous medium equation near the heat equation
Authors: Araújo Damião J.
Published: February 2021

In this paper we investigate regularity aspects for solutions of the nonlinear parabolic equation

u_t= \Delta u^m, \quad m > 1,

usually called the porous medium equation. More precisely, we provide sharp regularity estimates for bounded nonnegative weak solutions along the free boundary

\partial\{u > 0\}

, when the equation is universally close to the heat equation. As a consequence, local Lipschitz estimates are also established for this scenario.
Effects on academic performance in secondary students according to the use of ICT
Authors: Benítez Díaz Luis Miguel , Sevillano García M.ª Luisa , Vázquez Cano Esteban
Published: February 2021

The main interest of this study was to evaluate the degree of association that the use of ICT could have to school performance in mathematics, within a limited geographical area. The data was obtained thanks to the International Student Assessment Program (PISA). 1376 students from the Canary Islands participated. To obtain the best possible approximation to the phenomenon, a mixed research method was used, in which a linear hierarchical model (HLM) analysis was used to assess the characteristics of students and schools. The results reflected positive changes in school performance influenced by the effective use of ICT. It was shown that learning can be enhanced thanks to ICT, unless its use is not appropriate.
El sinuoso e inconcluso proceso de adhesión de España a la Carta Social Europea: resistencias, imperfecciones y retos de futuro
Authors: García González Guillermo
Published: February 2021

La relación de España con la Carta Social Europea (CSE) ha venido marcada por la indiferencia y por la ausencia de compromiso. Cuando en 1978 España se adhiere al Tratado, las esperanzas eran muchas. Sin embargo, durante estas cuatro décadas, la CSE ha ido penetrando en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico de forma esporádica, inconexa y con escasa coherencia. Las razones que pueden explicar esta situación son muchas, pero, sobre todas ellas, la escasa relevancia que ha venido teniendo la CSE en España debe ser ligada necesariamente al reducido interés que ha suscitado este Tratado en la clase política. Esta situación se ha revertido, siquiera parcialmente, en los últimos años; y ello, por las resoluciones de ciertos jueces y tribunales que, en un entorno de crisis económica y de progresiva laminación de los derechos sociales, toman conciencia de la CSE y proceden a aplicarla como estándar de protección más favorable, declarando inaplicable la legislación nacional en algunos de los casos enjuiciados por ser contraria al compromiso internacional asumido por España. Esta labor judicial desencadena un repentino interés de los actores políticos por la CSE, que se ha visto finalmente materializado, aunque de modo imperfecto y fragmentado, en el Acuerdo del Consejo de Ministros de 1 de febrero de 2019.
Accidentes de contaminación en plataformas marinas: ¿cambio de paradigma ambiental?
Authors: Radovich Violeta S.
Published: February 2021

El objetivo del presente artículo consiste en analizar los informes de las Comisiones designadas por los respectivos Gobiernos para investigar los accidentes ocurridos en las plataformas marinas Montara en el Mar Timor en la Zona Económica Exclusiva (ZEE) australiana y en la plataforma Deepwater Horizon en el Golfo de México. Particularmente, se analiza si a partir de estos accidentes se ha generado un cambio de paradigma ambiental en la sociedad.
ION ACOUSTIC INSTABILITY IN DUSTY PLASMA
Authors: Susayev Y.V. , Olshansky V.V.
Published: February 2021

The computer simulation results of the ion acoustic instability evolution in the dusty plasma are presented. The dusty plasma consists from electrons, ions, massive charged dust grains and neutral atoms. In the simulation the implicit PIC-code is used. To this code the implicit scheme of particles movement is applied, namely the direct implicit method of Langdon-Fridman. Realization of the algorithm is presented too.
DAMAGING OF PURE TUNGSTEN WITH DIFFERENT MICROSTRUCTURE UNDER SEQUENTIAL QSPA AND LHD PLASMA LOADS
Authors: Herashchenko S.S. , Byrka O.V. , Makhlaj V.A. , Wirtz M. , Aksenov N.N. , Garkusha I.E. , Petrov Yu.V. , Malykhin S.V. , Surovitskiy S.V. , Masuzaki S. , Tokitani M. , Lebedev S.I. , Shevchuk P.B.
Published: February 2021

The cracking thresholds were evaluated for tungsten samples with different microstructure in the course of QSPA Kh-50 repetitive plasma loads. No damage has been observed on the exposed surfaces under 0.1 MJ/m2. Nevertheless, cracks were detected in the bulk of irradiated tungsten (with longitudinal grain orientation). Increasing heat load up to 0.2 MJ/m2 caused the damaging of all types of tungsten targets. The observed cracks propagate to the bulk mainly transversely and parallel to the irradiated surface. The effect of the subsequent exposure with LHD divertor plasma on the tungsten samples was analyzed. The obtained results are discussed.
PECULIARITIES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FILTER OPERATION IN PENNING SOURCE WITH METAL HYDRIDE CATHODE
Authors: Sereda I. , Hrechko Ya. , Babenko Ie. , Kashaba A.
Published: February 2021

The paper describes a method of negative hydrogen ions separation from axial flow of charged particles extracted from Penning discharge with a metal hydride cathode. For this purpose, an electromagnetic filter has been designed basing on numerical solution of motion equations of charged particles in the filter. The optimal parameters of the filter operation were determined for the effective registration of negative hydrogen ions extracted in axial direction. Performed calculations together with experimental verification shows that there are not more than 10% electrons in the registered H– current. This model could be applied for the interpretation of any experiments with H– ions separation from an axial flow of charged particles extracted from a source with cylindrical geometry.
EMISSION SPECTRA AND CURRENT CHARACTERISTICS OF NEGATIVE CORONA DISCHARGE IN AN ELECTRODE SYSTEM WITH LIQUID ANODE
Authors: Bolotov O.V. , Golota V.I. , Taran G.V.
Published: February 2021

Experimental study of emission spectra and current characteristics of negative corona discharge over the surface of aqueous salt solutions have been carried out. The radiation spectra from the active zone of the discharge in the wavelength range 200…600 nm were obtained and identified. It was found that most of the spectral lines correspond to the lines of second positive system of molecular nitrogen. The spectral lines of the nitrogen ion N2+ and the lines corresponding to the emission of the OH radical in the UV spectral region are also observed. Current-voltage characteristics of the discharge were obtained at the non-stationary and diffuse stages of the discharge. It was shown that obtained current-voltage characteristics are in good agreement with the results of theoretical calculations using the Townsend expression.
MAGNETRON DISCHARGE INTENSIFICATION FOR EFFECTIVE DEPOSITION OF COATINGS FROM DIFFICULT SPRAY METALS
Authors: Chunadra А.G. , Sereda К.N. , Tarasov I.K. , Vereshchaka Y.A.
Published: February 2021

The work is devoted to improvement of magnetron discharge parameters based on a standard magnetron sputtering system (MSS) of the MAG-5 type with an additional anode magnetic trap for discharge electrons in the conditions of localization of the discharge zone in the gap between electrodes to prevent charged particles losses. Possibilities of such configuration of MSS for depositing of coatings of materials with low coefficient of sputtering (tungsten) are investigated. The increase of the coating rate has been demonstrated. The mass of the deposited tungsten increased by more than 35 % compared to the use of the same MSS without additional anode magnetic trap.
BURNING MODES OF A BIPOLAR PULSED DISCHARGE IN CO2
Authors: Lisovskiy V.A. , Dudin S.V. , Vusyk M.M. , Yegorenkov V.D.
Published: February 2021

We have studied the burning modes of the bipolar pulsed discharge in CO2 within the frequency range between 20 and 300 kHz and the duty cycle of 11...97 %. The current and voltage waveforms within the pressure range between 0.1 to 1 Torr were registered. We have established that the duty cycle values may affect the axial structure of the discharge considerably causing the voltage drop redistribution across the electrodes. The bipolar pulsed discharge may burn in a high-current mode (with cathode sheaths near every electrode) as well as in a low-current one (with a low discharge current and weak glow). The transition between these modes may be observed at high duty cycle values. We have found that one may make a shift of the complete oscilloscope voltage pattern higher or lower along the voltage axis and produce a self-bias constant voltage the value and sign of which depend on the duty cycle, amplitude and frequency of the applied voltage.
STUDYING CO₂ CONVERSION IN DC GLOW DISCHARGE
Authors: Lisovskiy V.A. , Dudin S.V. , Platonov P.P. , Yegorenkov V.D.
Published: February 2021

We have registered the mass-spectra of the gas mixture leaving the chamber and the discharge current-voltage characteristics and determined the specific energy input (SEI), the absolute conversion coefficient χ and the conversion energy efficiency η in the CO₂ pressure range of 0.05...5 Torr. Converting CO₂ molecules was performed in the glow discharge in a chamber with distributed same-side gas supply and pumping. As a result the conversion coefficient χ equaling 70% was achieved, but the conversion energy efficiency η did not exceed 1...3 % because of considerable power loss due to acceleration of positive ions, gas and electrode heating as well as to inelastic collisions between electrons and gas molecules not leading to CO₂ conversion.
IMPACT OF CORONA DISCHARGE ON ASPERGILLUS NIGER SPORES
AND CYATHUS OLLA MYCELIUM GROWTH
Authors: Nedybaliuk O.A. , Veremii Yu.P. , Tsvyd N.V. , Sukhomlyn M.M. , Tyshchenko V.G. , Shevchenko O.V. , Fedirchyk I.I.
Published: February 2021

The article presents an investigation of the influence of the corona discharge with needle-ring electrode configuration on the efficiency of Aspergillus niger spore germination and Cyathus olla mycelium development. Current-voltage characteristics were measured for different distances between the needle and the metal ring. The plot of the dependence of conductance on voltage was built and the corona discharge breakthrough voltage was determined to be (2.7±0.1) kV. The treatment of Aspergillus niger spores was conducted at different development stages: at the germination stage (corona discharge treatment 1 day after the seeding) and dormant state (corona discharge treatment on the day of seeding). The growth rate of Cyathus olla mycelium in samples treated by corona discharge and in control group samples was investigated. The influence of the corona discharge on the potato dextrose agar growth medium before the seeding of Cyathus olla was studied. The pure cultures were obtained from the Culture Collection of Fungi at Kyiv University (FCKU) at the «Institute of Biology and Medicine» Educational and Scientific Centre of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Vacunación contra el covid-19 en pacientes con enfermedades autoinmunes
Authors: by PANLAR Global Rheumatology
Published: February 2021

Diversas han sido las inquietudes en torno a la vacunación contra el covid-19 y, sobre todo, las dudas en pacientes con enfermedades autoinmunes. El doctor Juan Manuel Anaya (Colombia) resuelve algunas de las principales preguntas del tema y habla de los documentos que han emitido las diferentes asociaciones en sus países acerca de estos puntos.
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: an Emerging Pathogen of Ascites Disease in Farmed Yellow Catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco
Authors: Haipeng Cao H. , Guo C. , An J , .Lu L. , Yang X. , Yang Y.
Published: February 2021

Ascites disease causes significant economic losses in yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Yet only scare information is reported on Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as a pathogen for yellow catfish. In this study, a virulent strain, temporarily named WY1, was isolated from diseased yellow catfish fry suffering from ascites disease, identified phenotypically and molecularly as S. maltophilia. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to examine isolate WY1 and compare it to other known isolates. In addition, isolate WY1 is apparently susceptible to aminoglycosides and tetracycline drugs for veterinary uses in aquaculture as revealed when screened against a range of common antibiotics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of S. maltophilia as a pathogen of ascites disease in farmed yellow catfish.