The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA. A Suite of Environmental Sensors for the Mars 2020 Mission.

NASA's Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ∼1.5 m and ∼0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.

Evaluación de una intervención en actividad física en niños con síndrome de Down / Evaluation of a physical activity intervention among children with Down's syndrome

Introduction: In Chile there are no studies regarding the effects of physical activity on nutritional status of children with Down Syndrome. Objective: To evaluate the impact of a 12 week physical education program on the nutritional status, aerobic capacity and muscle strength in children with Down Syndrome. Subjects and Methods: Between August and November of 2006, a group of 18 children (10 males and 8 females) with Down Syndrome, aged between 5-9 years, underwent to a physical activity program over a 12 week period. A diagnostic and final evaluation of muscle strength variables (dorsal, abdominal and quadriceps) and aerobic capacity was done. Nutritional status was assessed by P/E and T/E (Fundación Catalana), IMC, IP/T and percentage of body fat. Results: Significant differences in muscle strength, aerobic capacity, IP/T and waist circumference were observed between the pre-test and post-test (p < 0.05). At the beginning of the intervention, 53 percent were overweight according to IMC, 26 percent to P/E and 68 percent according to IP/T; with an average percentage of body fat of 22.6 percent. Conclusion: Although the period of intervention was brief, a significant improvement was noted in muscle strength, aerobic capacity, IP/T and waist circumference. According to our results, there is a high prevalence of overweight status and obesity in this population of children with DS in which intervention with adequate physical activity is vital.

Introducción: En Chile no existen estudios acerca del efecto de la actividad física sobre el estado nutricional en niños con síndrome de Down. Objetivo: Conocer el estado nutricional en niños con síndrome de Down y la capacidad aeróbica y resistencia al esfuerzo muscular antes y después de una intervención en actividad física. Material y Método: Entre agosto y noviembre del año 2006, en un grupo de 18 niños (10 hombres y 8 mujeres) con síndrome de Down, con edades comprendidas entre 5 - 9 años, se desarrolló un estudio de intervención en actividad física de 12 semanas, realizándose una evaluación diagnóstica y una evaluación final de resistencia muscular (dorsal, abdominal y cuadriceps) y capacidad aeróbica. Se evaluó el estado nutricional a través de P/E y T/E (Fundación Catalana), IMC, IP/T y porcentaje de masa grasa. Resultados: Se observaron diferencias significativas en resistencia muscular, capacidad aeróbica, IP/T y circunferencia de cintura entre el pre-test y post-test (p < 0,05). AlI inicio de la intervención un 53 por ciento presentaba exceso de peso según IMC, un 26 por ciento según P/E y un 68 por ciento según IP/T; con un porcentaje masa grasa fue de 22,6 por ciento. Conclusión: Aunque el tiempo de intervención fue breve, se observó una mejora significativa en la resistencia muscular, capacidad aeróbica, IP/T y circunferencia de cintura. De acuerdo a nuestros resultados, existe una alta prevalencia de malnutrición por exceso en esta población de niños con SD en la que se hace vital intervenir con una actividad física adecuada.

[Prevalence and risk factors associated with postpartum depression in puerperal women consulting in primary care]. / Prevalencia y factores de riesgo asociados a la depresión posparto en puérperas de un Centro de Atención Primaria en el Sur de Chile.

BACKGROUND: Mood disorders are common in Chile. Among these, post partum depression (PPD) deranges the maternal and family relationships. AIM: To determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with PPD in puerperal women in Temuco, Chile. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was administered to 73 puerperal women aged 15 to 32 years, between 40 to 45 days after delivery. To detect risk factors, 20 women with and 20 women without post partum depression (PPD) were interviewed and their clinical records were reviewed to assess their perinatal care. RESULTS: The prevalence of PPD in the whole sample was 50.7%. The individual psychological risk factors detected were a feeling of discomfort with their body after giving birth, a personal history of mental health problems and a high level of overload associated to child care. An individual physical risk factor was alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Family risk factors were a poor relationship with the father of the child during pregnancy, a history of mental health problems in close family members, a history of family violence and a poor relationship with parents during puerperium. Having more children was a sociodemographic risk factor. CONCLUSIONS: Post partum depression is common. The characterization of risk factors should lead to the implementation of preventive strategies.

Prevalencia y factores de riesgo asociados a la depresión posparto en puérperas de un Centro de Atención Primaria en el Sur de Chile / Prevalence and risk factors associated with postpartum depression in puerperal women consulting in primary care

Background: Mood disorders are common in Chile. Among these, post partum depression (PPD) deranges the maternal and family relationships. Aim: To determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with PPD in puerperal women in Temuco, Chile. Material and methods: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was administered to 73 puerperal women aged 15 to 32 years, between 40 to 45 days after delivery. To detect risk factors, 20 women with and 20 women without post partum depression (PPD) were interviewed and their clinical records were reviewed to assess their perinatal care. Results: The prevalence of PPD in the whole sample was 50.7 percent. The individual psychological risk factors detected were a feeling of discomfort with their body after giving birth, a personal history of mental health problems and a high level of overload associated to child care. An individual physical risk factor was alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Family risk factors were a poor relationship with the father of the child during pregnancy, a history of mental health problems in close family members, a history of family violence and a poor realtionship with parents during puerpurium. Having more children was a sociodemographic risk factor. Conclusions: Pospartum depression is common. The characterization of risk factors should lead to the implementation of preventive strategies.

A bio-inspired two-layer mixed-signal flexible programmable chip for early vision.

A bio-inspired model for an analog programmable array processor (APAP), based on studies on the vertebrate retina, has permitted the realization of complex programmable spatio-temporal dynamics in VLSI. This model mimics the way in which images are processed in the visual pathway, what renders a feasible alternative for the implementation of early vision tasks in standard technologies. A prototype chip has been designed and fabricated in 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS. It renders a computing power per silicon area and power consumption that is amongst the highest reported for a single chip. The details of the bio-inspired network model, the analog building block design challenges and trade-offs and some functional tests results are presented in this paper.

CMOS realization of a 2-layer CNN universal machine chip.

Some features of the biological retina can be modelled by a 2-layer cellular neural network (CNN) composed of locally connected elementary nonlinear processors. In order to explore these complex spatiotemporal dynamics for image processing, a prototype chip has been designed and fabricated in a 0.5 microm CMOS technology. Design challenges, trade-offs, the building blocks and the tests results for this system with 0.5 x 10(6) transistors, most of them operating in analog mode, are presented in this paper.