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1.
Violence Vict ; 39(1): 21-37, 2024 03 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38453372

ABSTRACT

This study examined 1,134 cases of violence against women in intimate partner relationships with violations of protective orders in a monitoring period of up to 15 months. The dynamics of time and violence were analyzed in the cases of multiple violation versus one-time violation, with the objective of identifying and thus neutralizing the risk factors for this type of recidivism. The results showed that early violation, serious physical violence, death threats, as well as jealousy, harassment, and control are related to multiple violation. This article discusses the results in comparison with other research and proposes measures to avoid revictimizations.


Subject(s)
Intimate Partner Violence , Spouse Abuse , Humans , Female , Spouse Abuse/prevention & control , Sexual Behavior , Sexual Partners , Risk Factors , Violence , Intimate Partner Violence/prevention & control
2.
Sports Biomech ; : 1-12, 2024 Jan 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38190260

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to analyse the differences in joint kinematic patterns among runners with different spatiotemporal characteristics in the running cycle. Lower extremity kinematic data and spatiotemporal stride parameters were collected for ninety-two recreational runners during a treadmill run at a self-selected comfortable speed. A K-means clustering analysis was conducted on normalised stride cadence and Duty Factor to identify running style. Cluster 1 characterised by reduced stance times and low Duty Factor; Cluster 2, long stance times and low stride cadence; Cluster 3, high Duty Factor and stride cadence. Functional principal component analysis was used to identify patterns of variability between runners. Runners who used a combination of high cadence and Duty Factor showed differences in hip, knee and ankle sagittal kinematics compared to other runners. On the contrary, the joint kinematics was not altered when the Duty Factor was increased along with a decrease in the stride cadence. This study has demonstrated that the combination of several spatial-temporal parameters of the running cycle should be considered when analysing the movement pattern of the lower limb.

3.
Rev Esp Enferm Dig ; 116(1): 1-6, 2024 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37522317

ABSTRACT

Abernethy syndrome (AS or extrahepatic portosystemic shunt) is an uncommon congenital malformation consisting of agenesis or hypoplasia of the portal vein (PV) in such a way that splanchnic venous blood drains directly into the systemic circulation through aberrant communications, resulting in a portosystemic shunt that bypasses the liver AS is an underdiagnosed condition with unknown incidence and complication rate given that symptoms are usually absent. AS identification is increasingly common because of improved imaging techniques, hence prognostic implications and clinical management need be understood. This editorial reviews the natural history of AS and its diagnostic-therapeutic implications, illustrating the process with a series of cases from our institution.


Subject(s)
Liver Neoplasms , Vascular Malformations , Humans , Liver Neoplasms/complications , Vascular Malformations/complications , Portal Vein/diagnostic imaging , Portal Vein/abnormalities , Portasystemic Shunt, Surgical , Syndrome
5.
Rev Sci Instrum ; 94(9)2023 Sep 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37712775

ABSTRACT

This article describes a new measurement system for the comparison of two electronic signals of different frequencies with application to high resolution comparison of laser wavelengths using a Michelson interferometer. It was built within the framework of research projects made by the University of Vigo and the Laboratorio Oficial de Metroloxía de Galicia (LOMG) in cooperation with Escolas Proval High School. The new hardware is based on a cheap high-speed module for the acquisition of data and a microcontroller module for processing, which can also be used for practical lessons in vocational training. The system has been tested with electronic signal generators. The novel measurement method reduces the uncertainty using multiple consecutive measurements and the fractional part of the fringes and could achieve precisions in the range 10-12 of the wavelength ratios.

6.
Eur J Crim Pol Res ; : 1-21, 2023 Mar 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37361423

ABSTRACT

The study explores in depth the relationship between missing persons' psychosocial and criminological characteristics/circumstances and violent-fatal outcomes (suicide and homicide). A relational analytical explicative study of 929 cases and controls was designed using a retrospective and stratified design. Data gathering was conducted through the content analysis of judicial and police information, as well as the development of psychological autopsy techniques and semi-structured interviews with the persons involved in the missing person cases including offenders in prison. Bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques were utilised for analyses. The findings showed that there are different risk and protective factors which can distinguish between good state of health, suicide, and homicide outcomes. This research entails implications for prevention and police risk assessment system.

7.
Span J Psychol ; 26: e7, 2023 May 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37121599

ABSTRACT

Imagine that you are a researcher interested in disentangling the underlying mechanisms that motivate certain individuals to self-sacrifice for a group or an ideology. Now, visualize that you are one of a few privileged that have the possibility of interviewing people who have been involved in some of the most dramatic terrorist attacks in history. What should you do? Most investigations focused on terrorism do not include empirical data and just a handful of fortunate have made face-to-face interviews with these individuals. Therefore, we might conclude that most experts in the field have not directly met the challenge of experiencing studying violent radicalization in person. As members of a research team who have talked with individuals under risk of radicalization, current, and former terrorists, our main goal with this manuscript is to synopsize a series of ten potential barriers that those interested in the subject might find when making fieldwork, and alternatives to solve them. If all the efforts made by investigators could save the life of a potential victim, prevent an individual from becoming radicalized, or make him/her decide to abandon the violence associated with terrorism, all our work will have been worthwhile.


Subject(s)
Terrorism , Violence , Male , Female , Humans , Terrorism/prevention & control
8.
Sensors (Basel) ; 23(5)2023 Feb 24.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36904731

ABSTRACT

The causes of ventricular fibrillation (VF) are not yet elucidated, and it has been proposed that different mechanisms might exist. Moreover, conventional analysis methods do not seem to provide time or frequency domain features that allow for recognition of different VF patterns in electrode-recorded biopotentials. The present work aims to determine whether low-dimensional latent spaces could exhibit discriminative features for different mechanisms or conditions during VF episodes. For this purpose, manifold learning using autoencoder neural networks was analyzed based on surface ECG recordings. The recordings covered the onset of the VF episode as well as the next 6 min, and comprised an experimental database based on an animal model with five situations, including control, drug intervention (amiodarone, diltiazem, and flecainide), and autonomic nervous system blockade. The results show that latent spaces from unsupervised and supervised learning schemes yielded moderate though quite noticeable separability among the different types of VF according to their type or intervention. In particular, unsupervised schemes reached a multi-class classification accuracy of 66%, while supervised schemes improved the separability of the generated latent spaces, providing a classification accuracy of up to 74%. Thus, we conclude that manifold learning schemes can provide a valuable tool for studying different types of VF while working in low-dimensional latent spaces, as the machine-learning generated features exhibit separability among different VF types. This study confirms that latent variables are better VF descriptors than conventional time or domain features, making this technique useful in current VF research on elucidation of the underlying VF mechanisms.


Subject(s)
Electrocardiography , Ventricular Fibrillation , Animals , Electrocardiography/methods , Neural Networks, Computer
9.
Comput Biol Med ; 155: 106655, 2023 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36812811

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIM: In atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation procedures, it is desirable to know whether a proper disconnection of the pulmonary veins (PVs) was achieved. We hypothesize that information about their isolation could be provided by analyzing changes in P-wave after ablation. Thus, we present a method to detect PV disconnection using P-wave signal analysis. METHODS: Conventional P-wave feature extraction was compared to an automatic feature extraction procedure based on creating low-dimensional latent spaces for cardiac signals with the Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) method. A database of patients (19 controls and 16 AF individuals who underwent a PV ablation procedure) was collected. Standard 12-lead ECG was recorded, and P-waves were segmented and averaged to extract conventional features (duration, amplitude, and area) and their manifold representations provided by UMAP on a 3-dimensional latent space. A virtual patient was used to validate these results further and study the spatial distribution of the extracted characteristics over the whole torso surface. RESULTS: Both methods showed differences between P-wave before and after ablation. Conventional methods were more prone to noise, P-wave delineation errors, and inter-patient variability. P-wave differences were observed in the standard leads recordings. However, higher differences appeared in the torso region over the precordial leads. Recordings near the left scapula also yielded noticeable differences. CONCLUSIONS: P-wave analysis based on UMAP parameters detects PV disconnection after ablation in AF patients and is more robust than heuristic parameterization. Moreover, additional leads different from the standard 12-lead ECG should be used to detect PV isolation and possible future reconnections better.


Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation , Catheter Ablation , Cryosurgery , Pulmonary Veins , Humans , Heart Conduction System , Electrocardiography , Cryosurgery/methods , Catheter Ablation/methods , Treatment Outcome , Recurrence
10.
Microbiol Spectr ; 11(1): e0369822, 2023 02 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36622234

ABSTRACT

We report the findings of a prospective laboratory diagnostic accuracy study to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis detection in fresh stool specimens from children under 15 years of age with confirmed tuberculosis (TB) disease from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Six hundred eighty-eight (688) participants were enrolled from April 2019 to October 2021. We identified 16 participants (2.3%) with confirmed TB disease, defined as ≥1 TB sign/symptom plus microbiologic confirmation. With the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay for stool, we found a sensitivity of 68.8% (95% CI, 46.0 to 91.5) and a specificity of 98.7% (95% CI, 97.8 to 99.5) in confirmed TB disease. Our results are comparable to other published studies; however, our cohort was larger and our confirmed TB disease rate lower than most. We also demonstrated that this assay was feasible to implement in a centralized hospital laboratory in a low-middle-income Central Asian country. However, we encountered obstacles such as lack of staffing, material ruptures, outdated government protocols, and decreased case presentation due to COVID-19. We found eight patients whose only positive test was an Xpert Ultra stool assay. None needed treatment during the study; however, three were treated later, suggesting such cases require close observation. Our report is the first from Central Asia and one of a few from a low-middle-income country. We believe our study demonstrates the generalizability of the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay on fresh stool specimens from children and provides further evidence supporting WHO's approval of this diagnostic strategy. IMPORTANCE The importance of this report is that it provides further support for WHO's recent recommendation that fresh stool is an acceptable sample for GeneXpert TB testing in children, especially small children who often cannot produce an adequate sputum sample. Diagnosing TB in this age group is difficult, and many cases are missed, leading to unacceptable rates of TB illness and death. In our large cohort of children from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the GeneXpert stool test was positive in 69% of proven cases of TB, and there were very few false-positive tests. We also showed that this diagnostic strategy was feasible to implement in a low-middle-income country with an inefficient health care delivery system. We hope that many more programs will adopt this form of diagnosing TB in children.


Subject(s)
Antibiotics, Antitubercular , COVID-19 , Mycobacterium tuberculosis , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary , Tuberculosis , Humans , Child , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/microbiology , Rifampin , Antibiotics, Antitubercular/therapeutic use , Tajikistan , Prospective Studies , Sensitivity and Specificity , Sputum/microbiology , Tuberculosis/diagnosis , Tuberculosis/drug therapy
11.
Sex Abuse ; 35(4): 465-487, 2023 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36065618

ABSTRACT

Multiple-perpetrator rape is an under-studied topic, but there has been a recent increase in studies on the differences between multiple-perpetrator sexual offenses and the ones perpetrated by solo offenders. This study aims to have a deeper understanding of the differences between multiple-perpetrator and solo-offender sexual assaults committed by strangers, from a sample of 400 sexual aggressions reported to the Spanish police in 2010. Differences were explored on variables related to characteristics of perpetrators, the assault (approach, control, maintenance, termination, and sexual behavior), and the victims. Data were obtained from police files on sexual assaults committed around the country. Significant differences found were similar to other studies conducted in other countries and proved that multiple perpetrator assaults committed by strangers are a different subtype. Additionally, four predictive variables of multiple-perpetrator rape were identified: older age (OR = 0.943, 95% CI = [0.92, 0.97]), alcohol or drug use (OR = 2.499, 95% CI = [1.50, 4.32]), non-Spanish nationals (OR = 1.980, 95% CI = [1.14, 3.45]), and use of violence to control the victim (OR = 2.465, 95% CI = [1.03, 5.90]). The cultural and leisure characteristics of Spanish society provide facilitating opportunities for multiple-perpetrator rapes and prevention strategies should be urgently addressed.


Subject(s)
Crime Victims , Criminals , Rape , Sex Offenses , Humans , Violence
12.
Span. j. psychol ; 262023. graf
Article in English | IBECS | ID: ibc-220247

ABSTRACT

Imagine that you are a researcher interested in disentangling the underlying mechanisms that motivate certain individuals to self-sacrifice for a group or an ideology. Now, visualize that you are one of a few privileged that have the possibility of interviewing people who have been involved in some of the most dramatic terrorist attacks in history. What should you do? Most investigations focused on terrorism do not include empirical data and just a handful of fortunate have made face-to-face interviews with these individuals. Therefore, we might conclude that most experts in the field have not directly met the challenge of experiencing studying violent radicalization in person. As members of a research team who have talked with individuals under risk of radicalization, current, and former terrorists, our main goal with this manuscript is to synopsize a series of ten potential barriers that those interested in the subject might find when making fieldwork, and alternatives to solve them. If all the efforts made by investigators could save the life of a potential victim, prevent an individual from becoming radicalized, or make him/her decide to abandon the violence associated with terrorism, all our work will have been worthwhile. (AU)


Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Goals , Violence/ethnology , Violence/psychology , Terrorism/ethnology , Terrorism/psychology , Aggression/psychology
13.
Nefrologia (Engl Ed) ; 42(4): 438-447, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36266230

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The choice of renal replacement therapy (RRT) is an important decision that determines the quality of life and survival. Most patients change from one RRT modality to another to adapt RRT to clinical and psychosocial needs. This has been called «integrated model of RRT¼ that implies new questions about the best sequence of techniques. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study describes the impact of transitions between RRT modalities on survival using the Madrid Registry of Renal Patients (2008-2018). This study used the proportional hazards models and competitive risk models to perform an intention-to-treat (ITT), according to their 1st RRT modality and as-treated (AT) analysis, that consider also their 1st transition. RESULTS: A total of 8971 patients started RRT during this period in Madrid (6.6 Million population): 7207 (80.3%) on hemodialysis (HD), 1401 (15.6%) on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 363 (4.2%) received a pre-emptive kidney transplantation (KT). Incident HD-patients were older (HD group 65.3 years (SD 15.3) vs PD group 58.1 years (SD 14.8) vs KTX group 52 years (SD 17.2); p < 0.001) and had more comorbidities. They presented higher mortality (HD group 40.9% vs PD group 22.8% vs KTX group 8.3%, p < 0.001) and less access to a transplant (HD group 30.4% vs PD group 51.6%; p < 0.001). Transitions between dialysis techniques define different groups of patients with different clinical outcomes. Those who change from HD to PD do it earlier (HD â†’ PD: 0.7 years (SD 1.1) vs PD â†’ HD: 1.5 years (SD 1.4) p < 0.001), are younger (HD â†’ PD: 53.5 years (SD 16.7) vs PD â†’ HD: 61.6 years (SD 14.6); p < 0.001), presented less mortality (HD â†’ PD: 24.5% vs PD â†’ HD: 32.0%; p < 0.001) and higher access to a transplant (HD â†’ PD: 49.4% vs PD â†’ HD: 31.7%; p < 0.001). Survival analysis by competitive risks is essential for integrated RRT models, especially in groups such as PD patients, where 51.6% of the patients were considered as lost follow-up (received a KTX after during the first 2.5 years on PD). In this analysis, survival of patients who change from one technique to another, is more similar to the destination modality than the origin one. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that transitions between RRT-techniques describes different patients, who associate different risks, and could be analyzed in an integrated manner to define improvement actions. This approach should be incorporated into the analysis and reports of renal registries.


Subject(s)
Kidney Failure, Chronic , Peritoneal Dialysis , Humans , Kidney Failure, Chronic/therapy , Quality of Life , Renal Replacement Therapy/methods , Renal Dialysis/methods , Peritoneal Dialysis/methods
14.
Nefrología (Madrid) ; 42(4): 438-447, Julio - Agosto 2022. tab, graf
Article in Spanish | IBECS | ID: ibc-205785

ABSTRACT

Introducción y objetivos : La elección del tratamiento sustitutivo renal (TSR) es una decisión importante que determina la calidad de vida y la supervivencia. La mayoría de los pacientes cambiará de una modalidad de TSR a otra para adaptarla a sus necesidades dentro de lo que se conoce como modelo de TSR integrado. En estas circunstancias surgen nuevas preguntas sobre la mejor secuencia de técnicas o las consecuencias de las transiciones.Material y métodosDescribimos las transiciones entre técnicas de TSR y su impacto en la supervivencia a partir del Registro Madrileño de Enfermos Renales (REMER), durante un periodo de 11 años. Se utilizaron los modelos de riesgos proporcionales y de riesgos competitivos para realizar un análisis por intención de tratar (ITT) según su 1.er tratamiento y como tratado (AT) considerando la 1.ª transición.ResultadosUn total de 8.971 pacientes iniciaron su primer TSR durante este periodo en Madrid (6,6 millones habitantes): 7.207 (80,3%) en hemodiálisis (HD), 1.401 (15,6%) en diálisis peritoneal (DP) y 363 (4,1%) recibieron un trasplante renal anticipado (TXR). En el análisis ITT, los pacientes incidentes en HD eran mayores (HD 65,3 años (DE 15,3) vs. DP 58,1 años [DE 14,8] vs. TXR 52,0 años (DE 17,2); p<0,001) y tenían más comorbilidades. Presentaron mayor mortalidad (HD 40,9% vs. DP 22,8% vs. TXR 8,3%, p<0,001) y menor acceso a trasplante (HD 30,4% vs. DP 51,6%; p<0,001). Las transiciones entre las técnicas de diálisis identifican diferentes fenotipos de pacientes con diferentes resultados clínicos en el análisis AT. Los pacientes que cambiaban de HD a DP lo hacían más precozmente (HD→DP: 0,7 años (DE 1,1) vs. DP→HD: 1,5 años [(DE 1,4); p<0,001), eran más jóvenes (HD→DP: 53,5 años (DE 16,7) vs. DP→HD: 61,6 años, (DE 14,6) p<0,001), sufrían menor mortalidad (HD→DP: 24,5% vs. DP→HD: 32%, p<0,001) y tenían mayor acceso al TXR (HD→DP: 49,4% vs. DP→HD: 31,7%, p<0,001). ... (AU)


Introduction and objectives : The choice of renal replacement therapy (RRT) is an important decision that determines the quality of life and survival. Most patients change from one RRT modality to another to adapt RRT to clinical and psychosocial needs. This has been called «integrated model of RRT» that implies new questions about the best sequence of techniques.Material and methodsThe study describes the impact of transitions between RRT modalities on survival using the Madrid Registry of Renal Patients (2008–2018). This study used the proportional hazards models and competitive risk models to perform an intention-to-treat (ITT), according to their 1st RRT modality and as-treated (AT) analysis, that consider also their 1st transition.ResultsA total of 8971 patients started RRT during this period in Madrid (6.6 Million population): 7207 (80.3%) on hemodialysis (HD), 1401 (15.6%) on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 363 (4.2%) received a pre-emptive kidney transplantation (KTX). Incident HD-patients were older (HD group 65.3 years (SD 15.3) vs PD group 58.1 years (SD 14.8) vs KTX group 52 years (SD 17.2); p<0.001) and had more comorbidities. They presented higher mortality (HD group 40.9% vs PD group 22.8% vs 8.3% KTX group, p<0.001) and less access to a transplant (HD group 30.4% vs DP group 51.6%; p<0.001). Transitions between dialysis techniques define different groups of patients with different clinical outcomes. Those who change from HD to PD do it earlier (HD→PD: 0.7 years (SD 1.1) vs PD→HD: 1.5 years (SD 1.4) p<0.001), are younger (HD→PD: 53.5 years (SD 16.7) vs PD→HD: 61.6 years (SD 14.6); p<0.001), presented less mortality (HD→PD: 24.5% vs PD→HD: 32.0%; p<0.001) and higher access to a transplant (HD→PD: 49.4% vs PD→HD: 31.7%; p<0.001). ... (AU)


Subject(s)
Humans , Renal Insufficiency, Chronic , Renal Replacement Therapy , Mortality , Waterway Transitions , Spain
15.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak ; 22(1): 78, 2022 03 26.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35346166

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus (COVID-19) is a novel pandemic and recently we do not have enough knowledge about the virus behaviour and key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the mortality risk forecast. However, using a lot of complex and expensive biomarkers could be impossible for many low budget hospitals. Timely identification of the risk of mortality of COVID-19 patients (RMCPs) is essential to improve hospitals' management systems and resource allocation standards. METHODS: For the mortality risk prediction, this research work proposes a COVID-19 mortality risk calculator based on a deep learning (DL) model and based on a dataset provided by the HM Hospitals Madrid, Spain. A pre-processing strategy for unbalanced classes and feature selection is proposed. To evaluate the proposed methods, an over-sampling Synthetic Minority TEchnique (SMOTE) and data imputation approaches are introduced which is based on the K-nearest neighbour. RESULTS: A total of 1,503 seriously ill COVID-19 patients having a median age of 70 years old are comprised in the research work, with 927 (61.7%) males and 576 (38.3%) females. A total of 48 features are considered to evaluate the proposed method, and the following results are achieved. It includes the following values i.e., area under the curve (AUC) 0.93, F2 score 0.93, recall 1.00, accuracy, 0.95, precision 0.91, specificity 0.9279 and maximum probability of correct decision (MPCD) 0.93. CONCLUSION: The results show that the proposed method is significantly best for the mortality risk prediction of patients with COVID-19 infection. The MPCD score shows that the proposed DL outperforms on every dataset when evaluating even with an over-sampling technique. The benefits of the data imputation algorithm for unavailable biomarker data are also evaluated. Based on the results, the proposed scheme could be an appropriate tool for critically ill Covid-19 patients to assess the risk of mortality and prognosis.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Deep Learning , Aged , Algorithms , Area Under Curve , Female , Humans , Male , Prognosis
16.
J Forensic Sci ; 67(4): 1579-1592, 2022 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35348213

ABSTRACT

High scores in psychopathy were associated with acts of violence, and the prevalence of this condition is greater among the prison population than among the general population. In terms of its relation to femicide, two studies, one carried out in Sweden and another in Spain with a prison population, found that psychopathy is an uncommon condition among perpetrators of femicide. This study analyzes 97 cases of femicide in the whole of Spain, in which it was possible to evaluate the degree of psychopathy of the perpetrators using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The scores are analyzed not only directly, but also in terms of Factors and Facets. The results show an average in the total score of the PCL-R of 14.4, with only 13 subjects (13.4%) presenting scores of 25 or more, and just 3 (3.1%) of these presenting scores of 30 or higher. It was found that, in general, high scores in psychopathy are associated with shorter relationships and less time between the first complaint, the breakup, and the femicide. What is more, characteristics of the victims, such as addiction to toxic substances or economic dependency, also demonstrated a relationship to the scores of the perpetrators of femicide in the PCL-R. Lastly, it was found that the scores in the different dimensions of psychopathy are associated with different types of violence, whereby there was a noteworthy difference between the most explicit violence and control exercised over the partner.


Subject(s)
Antisocial Personality Disorder , Homicide , Antisocial Personality Disorder/epidemiology , Humans , Prevalence , Sexual Partners , Violence
17.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng ; 69(10): 3029-3038, 2022 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35294340

ABSTRACT

Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI) aims to estimate the intracardiac potentials noninvasively, hence allowing the clinicians to better visualize and understand many arrhythmia mechanisms. Most of the estimators of epicardial potentials use a signal model based on an estimated spatial transfer matrix together with Tikhonov regularization techniques, which works well specially in simulations, but it can give limited accuracy in some real data. Based on the quasielectrostatic potential superposition principle, we propose a simple signal model that supports the implementation of principled out-of-sample algorithms for several of the most widely used regularization criteria in ECGI problems, hence improving the generalization capabilities of several of the current estimation methods. Experiments on simple cases (cylindrical and Gaussian shapes scrutinizing fast and slow changes, respectively) and on real data (examples of torso tank measurements available from Utah University, and an animal torso and epicardium measurements available from Maastricht University, both in the EDGAR public repository) show that the superposition-based out-of-sample tuning of regularization parameters promotes stabilized estimation errors of the unknown source potentials, while slightly increasing the re-estimation error on the measured data, as natural in non-overfitted solutions. The superposition signal model can be used for designing adequate out-of-sample tuning of Tikhonov regularization techniques, and it can be taken into account when using other regularization techniques in current commercial systems and research toolboxes on ECGI.


Subject(s)
Electrocardiography , Pericardium , Algorithms , Animals , Body Surface Potential Mapping/methods , Electrocardiography/methods , Humans , Normal Distribution , Pericardium/diagnostic imaging
18.
Sci Rep ; 12(1): 2596, 2022 02 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35173239

ABSTRACT

Is terrorism just another form of criminal activity, as many nations' justice systems assume? We offer an initial answer using face-to-face interviews and structured surveys in thirty-five Spanish prisons. Recent theories of extreme sacrifice inform this direct observational and comparative study. Islamist terrorists display levels of self-sacrifice for their primary reference group similar to that of Latino gangs, but greater willingness to sacrifice for primary values than other inmates (non-radical Muslims, Latino gangs, and delinquent bands). This disposition is motivated by stronger perceived injustice, discrimination, and a visceral commitment to such values (risk/radicalization factors). Nevertheless, state authorities, prison staff, and families are (protective/de-radicalization) factors apt to reduce willingness to sacrifice and keep foreign fighters, now being released in large numbers, from returning to terrorism.

19.
J Interpers Violence ; 37(13-14): NP11761-NP11790, 2022 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33637002

ABSTRACT

Typological approaches in research of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) have been discussed on the basis of their validity and applicability in professional practice; yet most of the published studies on offender typologies are limited due to the use of relatively small, non-representative samples. The current study explored typologies of IPVAW perpetrators in a large-scale representative Spanish sample (n = 9,731 cases extracted from the Comprehensive Monitoring System of Gender-Based Violence Cases; VioGén System), according to classic batterer typologies proposed by Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994). To this end, the risk factors measured by the most extended Spanish police recidivism risk assessment tool (Valoración Policial del Riesgo; VPR) were used as clustering variables. Multiple correspondence analyses revealed the appropriateness of a bi-dimensional model to conceptualize IPVAW offender typologies. Our four-group solution may be described based on the levels of instability and antisociality of IPVAW offenders, as objectively measured by VPR5.0 risk indicators. Statistically significant differences between the IPVAW suggested typologies were found on all indicators, except for the presence of perpetrators younger than 24 years old and the presence of bidirectional intimate partner violence, which were equally distributed across the four groups. High instability/low antisociality (HiLa) and high instability/high antisociality (HiHa) individuals shared most risk indicators related to the aggressor's psychological instability; whereas HiHa and low instability/high antisociality (LiHa) men endorsed more antisociality indicators than statistically expected. The low instability/low antisociality (LiLa) group was characterized by the less presence of VPR risk indicators. Although the four subtypes identified in our study resembled classic typologies, we propose a new subtype, with high levels of instability and antisociality (i.e., HiHa). This work contributes to existing knowledge of the heterogeneity of these men, by providing useful typologies that can help inform prevention and treatment.


Subject(s)
Criminals , Intimate Partner Violence , Adult , Antisocial Personality Disorder , Female , Humans , Intimate Partner Violence/psychology , Male , Risk Factors , Sexual Partners , Young Adult
20.
J Interpers Violence ; 37(11-12): NP9880-NP9902, 2022 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33371767

ABSTRACT

The phenomenon of homicide followed by suicide (HS) has a low prevalence worldwide, although the literature has identified that these cases represent a significant percentage in homicide subtypes such as intimate partner homicide or filicide. In the present study, HS (n = 41) and homicides in which the perpetrator did not commit suicide after the event (n = 556) are compared. The information was extracted from police reports of homicides committed in Spain between 2010 and 2012 and belonging to the jurisdictions of the National Police and Civil Guard. The results showed that out of the total number of homicides analyzed, HS accounted for 4.9%, which implies a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 inhabitants. The findings of the study show that the profile of a HS victim of a 52-year-old Spanish woman. The perpetrator is of Spanish origin, 50 years old, unemployed, or retired, with a mental disorder, and with substance use being uncommon at the time of the event. HS events take place at the perpetrator's home, are related to interpersonal conflicts, involve a single perpetrator, several victims, and are mainly committed with a firearm. The findings are mostly consistent with previous studies and the prevalence of HS in the couple setting is highlighted (56.5%). However, the importance of studying cases outside of this setting is emphasized since it has been found that 30.5% of cases involve other family relationships and 13% occurred outside the domestic sphere.


Subject(s)
Homicide , Suicide , Cause of Death , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Population Surveillance , Spain/epidemiology
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