Symptomatology of Depression and Anxiety After Ischemic Stroke in Different Evolution Periods

Background: Several studies suggest a high prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety after stroke. However, the prevalence and severity of this symptomatology may vary according to the period after a stroke in which the patient is assessed. Goals: This study aims to compare the depressive and anxious symptoms of a population of patients who suffered from ischemic stroke and who are in different evolution periods after stroke.Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study. Participants were all individuals with ischemic stroke, without previous history of psychiatric disease nor pathologies involving Central Nervous System compromise or cognitive deficits, recruited from hospitals or from support units of the Rede Regional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados of the Região Autónoma da Madeira, Portugal. Participants were divided into four groups according to the post- stroke evolution period: short duration (0 to 3 months after the stroke), medium duration (4 to 12 months), chronic period I (13 to 24 months) and chronic period II (more than 24 months after the stroke). Data were collected by a psychologist, with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Form Y (STAI-Y), in individual self-report sessions. Results: The study included 42 patients with ischemic stroke, 52.4% males, aged 55-88 years. The different post-stroke evolution period groups do not differ in age, sex, level of education, hemispheric location of the lesion or cognitive functioning. The results showed that the prevalence of depression is higher in the chronic group II; regarding the prevalence of anxiety, no significant differences were found between the four groups. As for the severity of symptoms of depression, it is also significantly higher in the chronic group II. With regard to anxiety, trait and state anxiety levels are higher in the medium duration group compared to participants in the short duration period. It was also observed higher levels of state anxiety in the medium duration group compared to the chronic group I. Discussion: These results suggest the need to identify early emotional changes inherent to this population. These changes can have a major impact on the assessment, follow-up and neuropsychological rehabilitation of patients, so that their early identification will allow a more adequate intervention.Keywords: Ischemic stroke; Depression; Anxiety; Emotional changes.

Atypical bovine interstitial pneumonia in a semi-intensive beef cattle system

ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to describe an outbreak of atypical interstitial pneumonia affecting 15 Angus cattle aged 7-30 months in the south of Rio Grande do Sul. The clinical course of the disease was approximately 1-3 days. The cattle were kept in the native field and had received feed containing the remains of wafers from a food factory before the outbreak. Clinical signs included dyspnea and abdominal breathing, with a clinical evolution period of up to 3 days. Nine animals presented apathy and respiratory difficulty and died within 24h, while three animals exhibited a clinical evolution period of 36-48h. Three other animals died without any clinical signs. The main macroscopic lesions were observed in the lungs, which did not collapse at the opening of the thoracic cavity and showed a rubbery consistency. On the cut surface, the organs were firm and dark red, with marked distension of the interlobular septa due to edema. Histopathological analysis revealed thickening of the interlobular pulmonary septa; interstitial edema and emphysema; mild mononuclear cell, eosinophil, and neutrophil infiltration; areas of type II pneumocyte proliferation, and thickening of the alveolar walls. Fibrin was observed in the alveolar lumen with the formation of hyaline membranes. On the basis of macroscopic and histological examinations and epidemiological data, a final diagnosis of atypical interstitial pneumonia was made. Although, the cause of the disease has not been identified, it is believed that the bran wafer meal contained ingredients that were not suitable for animals, consequently triggering the disease.

Numerical Simulations of Elliptical Hollow Gaussian Beams Propagating in Strongly Nonlocal Media

The evolution of elliptical hollow Gaussian beams propagating in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media is investigated. As examples, this paper mainly focuses on the evolutions of the transverse intensity and the beam width of elliptical hollow Gaussian beams with the beam order being 1 and 3. The results show that the evolutions of the transverse intensity and the beam width are both periodical and the size of the evolution period is determined by the input power. There exists the transverse reverse transform for the beam width when selecting a proper input power, which is quiet different from the circularly symmetric hollow Gaussian beams.

A Differential Evolution Algorithm Based on Self-Adapting Mountain-Climbing Operator

This paper presents a Differential Evolution algorithm based on Self-Adapting Mountain-climbing operator (LCDE) to overcome the problem of low convergence speed and bad local searching ability in the evolution period. The algorithm dynamically adjusts the value of climb radius during using the information of the individual search efficiency in the search process. The experiment results demonstrate that the new differential evolution algorithm has fast convergence speed and high computation precision.

The Social Status Of Female Characters In Chi Li’s Novels 池莉小说中女性的社会地位

Chi Li is a novelist writing “new realism” novels based on the custom of Wu Han people. Chi Li’s works have different social background according to different period stages. The first period of her works was at early 80s called beginner period. The second period was at mid 80s until mid 90s called famous period. The last period was at the end of 90s until now called evolution period. Chi Li created different female characters on different work stages. At the first period, Chi Li described the females were still obedient to the tradition. Their self-determination consciousness was weak and depended to men. At the second period, Chi Li’s female characters were changed into awaken ones who sought a new way of life. They could survive and make life by themselves, but the traditional concepts still influenced their thoughts. They still believed that devotion to men was the life idealism.Meanwhile, strong personality, strong self-determination consciousness, independence were female characters found in Chi Li’s last period works.

A Novel Global Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm with Improved Chaotic Search

The artificial fish swarm algorithm, it may be trapped in local optimum in the later evolution period and its search accuracy is dependent on step length which is hard to keep balance between rapidity and accuracy. Aimed at the defects of AFSA, a novel global artificial fish swarm algorithm is proposed in this paper, in which normal chaotic search on earlier stage is modified , and a differential evolution with improved chaos search was proposed to lead artificial fish into global optimum value. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is not only superior to traditional one but also can make the result greater.