We introduce a versatile high-repetition-rate solid tape target system suitable for relativistic laser-plasma driven secondary sources. We demonstrate the operation and stability monitoring based on a petawatt laser focused at 1 Hz. Experiments were carried out at the VEGA-3 laser system of the Centro de Láseres Pulsados facility where results for different tape materials and thicknesses are presented. Experimental proton spectra were recorded by a Thomson parabola spectrometer and a time-of-flight detector. In addition, non-invasive detectors, such as a target charging monitor and ionization chamber detectors, were tested as metrology for the stability of the source. Degradation of the proton signal at high-repetition-rate operation was observed and it was solved by online optimization of the relative focus position of the target and laser beam parameters. We report the use of the tape target for bursts of 1000 shots at 1 Hz with mean cut-off energies of about 10 MeV in optimized interaction conditions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural and chemical modifications of phyllosilicates that occur under natural conditions, using the progressive deformation of chlorite (sudoite) present in quartz-rich veins from the Internal Zone of the Rif range (Morocco) as the model system. Signs of chlorite deformation include kinks, chevron-like folds, and fractures. The samples also contain later, undeformed grains, which sealed the fractures or grew with (001) perpendicular to the compressive stress. Deformation-induced structural changes consist mainly of basal cleavages associated with ordered replacement of brucite sheets by hydrated layers, thus leading to irregular microdomains of mixed-layer chlorite-vermiculite and sudoite. Such structural modifications represent a mechanism for accommodating the compressive stress. Structural changes were accompanied by minor chemical ones, which lead from di,tri-chlorite (sudoite) to phases with a more trioctahedral character (mixed-layer chlorite-vermiculite). The hydration reaction occurred throughout a topotactic replacement of the pre-existing sudoite grains. Later, undeformed grains consist of mixed-layer chlorite-vermiculite intergrown with retrogressive kaolinite and minor Fe oxide, and are interpreted as having formed through a dissolution-precipitation process, during deformation. Retrogression of sudoite probably occurred during the latest stage of exhumation, in low-temperature conditions.

Relational values are a way of recognizing and valuing the complex and interconnected relationships between people and nature, such as caregiving, place attachment and spiritual meaning, as well as the social and cultural impacts of degradation and environmental and conservation efforts. However, the implications of these values for the management and conservation of protected areas are little known. We explored the role of relational values in shaping local communities’ connectedness to a protected area of Ecuador that had been used by the military in the past and the implications of the values for well-being. Four hundred individual face-to-face surveys in the surroundings of Arenillas Ecological Reserve (south-west Ecuador) indicated high levels of connectedness towards this natural reserve amongst local communities through multiple values of nature. However, relational values were identified as the most prominent value explaining the strength of connectedness to nature, followed by intrinsic and instrumental values. We also showed that combinations of different natural values (instrumental, intrinsic and relational) might explain the support for specific well-being components. Our findings offer understanding of human behaviour towards protected areas with a military past and represent a first step in Ecuador towards comprehending how relational values shape the connectedness of local communities to nature.

The burden of depression is increasing worldwide, specifically in older adults. Unhealthy dietary patterns may partly explain this phenomenon. In the Spanish PREDIMED-Plus study, we explored (1) the cross-sectional association between the adherence to the Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS), an a priori-defined high-quality food pattern, and the prevalence of depressive symptoms at baseline (cross-sectional analysis) and (2) the prospective association of baseline PDQS with changes in depressive symptomatology after 2 years of follow-up. After exclusions, we assessed 6612 participants in the cross-sectional analysis and 5523 participants in the prospective analysis. An energy-adjusted high-quality dietary score (PDQS) was assessed using a validated FFQ. The cross-sectional association between PDQS and the prevalence of depression or presence of depressive symptoms and the prospective changes in depressive symptoms were evaluated through multivariable regression models (logistic and linear models and mixed linear-effects models). PDQS was inversely associated with depressive status in the cross-sectional analysis. Participants in the highest quintile of PDQS (Q5) showed a significantly reduced odds of depression prevalence as compared to participants in the lowest quartile of PDQS (Q1) (OR (95 %) CI = 0·82 (0·68, 0·98))). The baseline prevalence of depression decreased across PDQS quintiles (Pfor trend = 0·015). A statistically significant association between PDQS and changes in depressive symptoms after 2-years follow-up was found (β (95 %) CI = −0·67 z-score (–1·17, −0·18). A higher PDQS was cross-sectionally related to a lower depressive status. Nevertheless, the null finding in our prospective analysis raises the possibility of reverse causality. Further prospective investigation is required to ascertain the association between PDQS and changes in depressive symptoms along time.

More and more studies indicate that leisure plays a fundamental role in active ageing. Our study describes the current leisure patterns of older adults, comparing them with other age groups. Consequently, 445 adults, stratified by age (young, middle-aged and older adults), were selected and subsequently administered a set of tests. The results indicate that older people claim having more time for their leisure activities; however, the diversity of activities performed is lower, showing a negative gradient based on age. The leisure patterns of older people reflect a predominance of passive leisure, little cultural leisure time and moderate levels of social and physical leisure activities. Older people’s leisure seems to be influenced by ageist stereotypes and attribution biases. Our findings imply that these results could be used to design and implement programs aimed at promoting leisure styles that contribute to increase active ageing.

Investigations of the Proyecto Arqueológico Tlajinga Teotihuacan (PATT) in 2019 focused on the southern neighborhood center of this cluster of non-elite residences in the southern periphery of the ancient Mexican metropolis. Our objective was to better understand the social infrastructure of public space within the district and how it tied its inhabitants together. Our methods included excavations at two large architectural complexes, geophysical prospection of these and adjacent structures and plazas, and chemical residue analysis of floors and sediments. They revealed architecturally elaborate complexes decorated with mural painting that appear to have been the loci of civic-ceremonial activities. Materials from the excavated portions of the complexes are inconsistent with residential uses, although it is possible that local elites lived elsewhere in the complexes or in others located nearby. The investigations therefore demonstrate that the semipublic spaces of neighborhood centers were distributed as distantly as this periphery of Teotihuacan and could be as elaborate as those in the urban epicenter, underscoring the city's more muted social inequality.

Diseases and host dynamics are linked, but their associations may vary in strength, be time-lagged, and depend on environmental influences. Where a vector is involved in disease transmission, its dynamics are an additional influence, and we often lack a general understanding on how diseases, hosts and vectors interact. We report on the occurrence of six zoonotic arthropod-borne pathogens (Anaplasma, Bartonella, Borrelia, Coxiella, Francisella and Rickettsia) in common voles (Microtus arvalis) throughout a population fluctuation and how their prevalence varies according to host density, seasonality and vector prevalence. We detected Francisella tularensis and four species of Bartonella, but not Anaplasma, Borrelia, Coxiella or Rickettsia. Bartonella taylorii and B. grahamii prevalence increased and decreased with current host (vole and mice) density, respectively, and increased with flea prevalence. Bartonella doshiae prevalence decreased with mice density. These three Bartonella species were also more prevalent during winter. Bartonella rochalimae prevalence varied with current and previous vole density (delayed-density dependence), but not with season. Coinfection with F. tularensis and Bartonella occurred as expected from the respective prevalence of each disease in voles. Our results highlight that simultaneously considering pathogen, vector and host dynamics provide a better understanding of the epidemiological dynamics of zoonoses in farmland rodents.

Population ageing and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and their consequences, changes in family structure and a decrease in the potential pool of family care, increase the need for formal long-term care for older adults in Mexico, and the need to understand the experiences of informal care-givers and how this impacts their social, family and personal conditions. This study investigates the experience of informal care-givers of dependent older adults using a cross-sectional qualitative study with an ethnographic focus. Thematic analysis was performed. The study comprised 48 semi-structured interviews with care-givers of dependent older adults who are beneficiaries of an in-home medical programme in Mexico City. The average age of care-givers was 54.7 years (standard deviation = 13.1, range = 24–86) and 75 per cent (36) were women. Results show care-giving experiences are diverse and complex, and profoundly affect the care-giver's life in terms of emotional burden, health deterioration and adverse life conditions due to economic deprivation. They also revealed key aspects such as the need to improve communication between care-givers and health-care personnel, the need for training about specific care needs and opportunity costs incurred. This information can serve as a basis for generating support strategies that may be integrated into the in-home programme. It is essential to promote actions that consider the ‘dependent older adult–informal care-giver’ dyad, and that aim to reduce the care-giving burden.

As a whole neurogenetic diseases are a common group of neurological disorders. However, the recognition and molecular diagnosis of these disorders is not always straightforward. Besides, there is a paucity of information regarding the diagnostic yield that specialized neurogenetic clinics could obtain. We performed a prospective, observational, analytical study of the patients seen in a neurogenetic clinic at a tertiary medical centre to assess the diagnostic yield of a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation that included a personalized clinical assessment along with traditional and next-generation sequencing diagnostic tests. We included a cohort of 387 patients from May 2008 to June 2014. For sub-group analysis we selected a sample of patients whose main complaint was the presence of progressive ataxia, to whom we applied a systematic molecular diagnostic algorithm. Overall, a diagnostic mutation was identified in 27·4% of our cohort. However, if we only considered those patients where a molecular test could be performed, the success rate rises to 45%. We obtained diagnostic yields of 23·5 and 57·5% in the global group of ataxic patients and in the subset of ataxic patients with a positive family history, respectively. Thus, about a third of patients evaluated in a neurogenetic clinic could be successfully diagnosed.

This paper describes the mechanical properties under nanoindentation of a new glassy alloy with a nominal composition of Ni60Nb37B3, in the form of melt-spun ribbons and 1-mm-thick copper mold-cast sheets. The alloy composition was designed based on the synergy between the topological instability criterion and the difference in electronegativity among the elements. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses confirmed that both ribbon and sheet samples possess totally amorphous structures with relatively high thermal stability (supercooled liquid region of about 60 K), as evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Nanoindentation tests revealed that the hardness of this alloy, about 15 GPa, is among the highest reported for metallic glasses. The elastic modulus of the cast sheet is higher and its hardness is similar to that of the ribbon. This correlates well with the different amounts of frozen-in free volume in both types of samples detected by DSC.

This study applied a gender perspective to establish some of the anthropometric, body composition, health and socio-cultural determinants of active ageing. The variable ‘active ageing’ (presence/absence) was created based on cognitive and disability/illness/physical functioning, subjective health, satisfaction with life and productive activity performed, and used in predictive models to establish its relationship with anthropometric variables, physical health indicators and educational level. The sample consisted of 456 home-living individuals (169 men and 287 women; age range 54–75 years) from Madrid and Toledo in Spain. The women had a higher prevalence of obesity than the men (37.6% vs 29.0%), significantly greater fat accumulation in the abdominal area and worst perceived health (p=0.003). The frequency of active agers is higher in men than in women (38.4% vs 21.9%; p<0.001). Men and women were found to have distinctive ageing patterns. Health factors condition the presence of active ageing in women, while education factors are also relevant in men.

Background: There has been limited focus on evaluation of continuing education (CEU) and continuing medical education (CME) in the fields of gerontology and geriatrics. The increasing elderly population combined with the limited clinical workforce highlights the need for more effective methods of continuing education. Traditionally, outcomes of CEU and CME programs relied on self-report measures of satisfaction with the scope and quality of the training, but more recent efforts in this area have focused on outcomes indicating level of improved skills and attitudinal changes of medical and allied health professionals towards working with elderly patients in need of assistance.

Methods: This study focused on the use of “Action Plans” as a tool to stimulate changes in clinical programs following training, along with attempting to determine typical barriers to change and how to deal with them. More than 600 action plans were obtained from participants attending various continuing education classes providing training on care of patients with dementia (PWD) and their families. Both qualitative and quantitative methods, including logistic regression models were used to analyze the data.

Results: Three months following training 366 participants reported whether they were successful in implementing their action plans and identified factors that either facilitated or hindered their goal to make changes outlined in their action plans. Despite the low response rate of program participants, the “action plan” (with follow up to determine degree of completion) appeared to stimulate effective behavioral changes in clinicians working with dementia patients and their family members. Seventy three percent of the respondents reported at least some level of success in implementing specific changes. Specific details about barriers to change and how to overcome them are discussed.

Conclusions: Our results support that developing and writing action plans can be a useful tool to self- monitor behavioral change among trainees over time.