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Instruments for gamma-ray astronomy at Very High Energies (E>100GeV) have traditionally derived their scientific results through proprietary data and software. Data standardisation has become a prominent issue in this field both as a requirement for the dissemination of data from the next generation of gamma-ray observatories and as an effective solution to realise public data legacies of current-generation instruments. Specifications for a standardised gamma-ray data format have been proposed as a community effort and have already been successfully adopted by several instruments. We present the first production of standardised data from the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes. We converted 166hof observations from different sources and validated their analysis with the open-source software Gammapy. We consider six data sets representing different scientific and technical analysis cases and compare the results obtained analysing the standardised data with open-source software against those produced with the MAGIC proprietary data and software. Aiming at a systematic production of MAGIC data in this standardised format, we also present the implementation of a database-driven pipeline automatically performing the MAGIC data reduction from the calibrated down to the standardised data level. In all the cases selected for the validation, we obtain results compatible with the MAGIC proprietary software, both for the manual and for the automatic data productions. Part of the validation data set is also made publicly available, thus representing the first large public release of MAGIC data. This effort and this first data release represent a technical milestone toward the realisation of a public MAGIC data legacy.

This work discusses the effects of soluble mineral salts on ceramic brick masonry walls at Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil, located 780 km from the ocean. To understand this phenomenon, a mapping of the pathologies originating from the effects of soluble mineral salts in Petrolina was carried out and wells were implemented to monitor the underground water supply in five points considered to be where the most frequent occurrence of the phenomenon takes place. Samples of soil, groundwater, bricks affected by the phenomenon and the level of chloride in the atmosphere of these localities were collected and analysed in the laboratory in order to characterize their properties. The results obtained indicate that the building pathological manifestations present in ceramic block walls, located in the study areas, are strongly correlated with the high content of soluble salts observed in the soil and groundwater samples collected than by the amount of chloride content in the atmosphere soluble salt levels. Clay sands are a type of soil more prone to underground water runoff and, because of this feature, provide a more favourable environment for rising moisture that transports soluble mineral salts to the masonry walls accelerating their degradation process.

Arrays of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) fabricated in a 150 nm CMOS technology have been exposed to neutrons up to fluences of about $4.3 \times 10^{10}~1$ MeV neutron equivalent cm $^{-2}$ , with fluxes around $3 \times 10^{6}~1$ MeV neutron equivalent cm $^{-2}\text{s}^{-1}$ . Dark count rate (DCR) was monitored during irradiation and for some time, from 5 to 23 min, depending on the irradiation step, at the end of the irradiation interval to investigate the dynamics of defect formation and short-term annealing. Measurements were performed both on single- and on dual-layer devices, where SPAD arrays are face to face bonded and read out in coincidence. A range of different DCR behaviors were detected after single neutron interaction with the device substrate, including in particular partial performance recovery following a logarithmic relaxation process, but also damped oscillation phenomena, sudden step-shaped changes, and the emergence of RTS-like fluctuations, pointing to different defect reordering dynamics.

The proper management of construction and demolition waste (CDW) from the construction industry is an issue that has gained relevance over the last years and, in this context, research on the potential of using CDW in concrete construction has stood out. This work analysed the durability of concrete with CDW when exposed to aggressive agents. Prismatic and cylindrical samples were prepared using four mixtures: one reference (R) and three with 15%, 25%, and 50% of CDW, respectively. The experimental campaign included the measurement of the corrosion potential, compressive strength, water absorption by capillarity and immersion, and X-ray diffraction test. The results showed that the mixture with 50% CDW presented 16% higher compressive strength than the reference concrete. The mixtures with 25% and 50% CDW presented better results in the corrosion potential tests by the penetration of chloride ions. The results of the acceleration test of CO2, at the end of 28 days of exposure, showed that only the mixture with 50% CDW presented higher electronegative corrosion potential, -369.74 mV, and 9 mm of carbonation depth.

The acquisition of bone models to perform simulations is a complex and expensive process. The hierarchical structure of bones is very complex, so that studies are mainly focused on the larger scales of bones. The objective of this work is to perform a fracture simulation at the microscale level. For this purpose, the first part of the process focuses on segmenting a bone model and selecting an area of it to generate a representation of the microstructures that make up the bone tissue from a microscopic point of view. The second part is dedicated to carry out a fracture simulation in the microscopic bone model. The developed algorithm follows a statistical approach and solves the main problems of the traditional approach (FEM) to perform a bone fracture simulation. The method returns the path that a fracture follows and demonstrates how bone structures affect fracture growth. The parameters used are configurable and can be adapted for specific cases. In addition, users can reproduce as many clinical cases as desired within seconds without have to manually segment images obtained from a microscope. The data obtained may be exported to obtain synthetic images that could be used to generate datasets for machine learning tasks or other purposes.

In surveying the current landscape of the diamond sports market, and looking ahead to Spring 2013, it is clear that the stagnant economy and athletic department roster crunches at the [...]

H iiregions are ionized nebulae surrounding massive stars. They exhibit a wealth of emission lines that form the basis for estimation of chemical composition. Heavy elements regulate the cooling of interstellar gas, and are essential to the understanding of several phenomena such as nucleosynthesis, star formation and chemical evolution1,2. For over 80 years3, however, a discrepancy exists of a factor of around two between heavy-element abundances derived from collisionally excited lines and those from the weaker recombination lines, which has thrown our absolute abundance determinations into doubt4,5. Here we report observational evidence that there are temperature inhomogeneities within the gas, quantified by t2 (ref. 6). These inhomogeneities affect only highly ionized gas and cause the abundance discrepancy problem. Metallicity determinations based on collisionally excited lines must be revised because these may be severely underestimated, especially in regions of lower metallicity such as those recently observed with the James Webb Space Telescope in high-zgalaxies7–9. We present new empirical relations for estimation of temperature and metallicity, critical for a robust interpretation of the chemical composition of the Universe over cosmic time.

Objective: To characterize the presentation of burns in children and risk factors associated with their occurrence in a developing country as a basis for future prevention programs. Design: Case-control study. [...]

Due to the early deterioration of pile cap foundations in residential buildings and bridges in the metropolitan region of Recife, several samples taken from a pile cap block of a residential building, built about ten years ago, were studied. The problem of the extensive cracking in the pile cap foundation had its origin in the delayed ettringite formation, possibly due to a high heat of hydration due to the concreting of the large volume of concrete. In this work, laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the transport properties of concrete samples, as well as their physical and chemical composition using advanced analyses. The tests performed in the experimental campaign were the apparent porosity, gas permeability, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The presence of crystalline products of the alkali-aggregate reaction was proven through physical–chemical analyses, such as Raman spectroscopy and EDS. Moreover, the ettringite crystals were observed in XRD standards, SEM images and in the chemical composition of EDS. The porosity showed a high value (between 9 and 10%), as well as the concrete permeability (10–16m2and 10–15m2), determining the negative influence of ISR on the transport properties. Therefore, the methods used have proven to be effective in understanding the problem encountered and have the potential to be used in the design and execution of pile cap blocks.

Byline: Brito AlayEþn, A.,de Paz Carmona, H.,MacE as HernEindez, J. J.,Romero VEizquez, M.,Frontela Delgado, J. A promising route to obtain bio-gasoil (bioGO) or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is the catalytic [...]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to find predictive criteria for response to clozapine. Method: Single photon emission computed tomography studies of cerebral perfusion were done in 24 treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients while they were taking typical neuroleptics and again after they had been treated with clozapine for 6 months. Perfusion ratios of the subjects categorized as responders or nonresponders to clozapine and of the subjects in the two treatment conditions were compared. The ratios with significant between-group differences were compared to those from a normal database. Results: Before clozapine, while taking neuroleptics, subjects who became responders to clozapine showed higher thalamic, left basal ganglia, and right prefrontal perfusion. Nonresponders to clozapine had lower prefrontal perfusion and responders had higher subcortical perfusion than subjects in the normal database. The subcortical perfusion of the responders decreased when they received clozapine. Conclusions: The study of cerebral perfusion may contribute to the prediction of response to clozapine. (Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:1343-1346)

The paper discusses the structural behaviour of concrete struts deteriorated by internal swelling reactions due to delayed ettringite formation (DEF). To assess this behaviour, nonlinear finite elements analyses were performed using concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) model of ABAQUS, which was calibrated and validated. The effects of the internal swelling reactions were simulated numerically using a strategy of decreasing mechanical properties of concrete. MATLAB scripts were developed to automate the process of determining the CDP model parameters, especially those related to the damage in tension and compression with few input data. Decreases in the first crack and failure loads of 78% and 56% were observed which means that DEF expansions are an important issue in the load capacity of concrete structures. Besides, it was also observed a significant increase in cracks openings width, even for low expansion level, with values of 3.65 mm, and for high level of expansion with values of 4.51 mm. This is a relevant aspect for the durability of concrete structures that is severely affected by DEF expansions.

Valorar la utilidad del CURB-65 para predecir la mortalidad a 30 días en pacientes adultos hospitalizados con COVID-19.

Background: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a procedure that has had encouraging results for peritoneal metastases (PM) from diverse tumour origins, but it is not exempt from high morbidity. Recently, the important role of laparoscopy in oncologic surgeries and its benefits have been evaluated for CRS + HIPEC in selected patients, which has yielded promising results. The aim of our study is to analyse the use of laparoscopy for CRS + HIPEC in patients with limited peritoneal disease. Methods: We have conducted a retrospective study from a prospective database in our tertiary referral hospital within the period of January 2009 to July 2019, which includes 825 patients who had PM from varying tumour origins. We have compared the patients treated with the laparoscopic approach (L-CRS-HIPEC) to a matched population who have undergone the open approach (O-CRS-HIPEC) and fulfil the same selection criteria. We have analysed the postoperative outcomes and survival results. Results: We have confirmed the homogeneity between the sample of the O-CRS + HIPEC (n= 42) and the L-CRS + HIPEC (n= 18) regarding preoperative and intraoperative features. The L-CRS + HIPEC group had shorter hospital stays, (median of 4 [2–10] days versus 9 [2–19] days) and reduced wait time to return to chemotherapy (median of 4 [3–7] weeks and a median of 8 [4–36] weeks) than the O-CRS + HIPEC group. No differences were found regarding the need for perioperative blood transfusion, surgery time or postoperative morbi-mortality. No early locoregional relapse occurred in the L-CRS + HIPEC group and short term disease-free survival did not differ between groups. Conclusions: Laparoscopy for CRS + HIPEC is feasible and safe in highly selected patients, with no significant differences concerning postoperative morbi-mortality or early oncological results. We have found that patients who have undergone laparoscopic operations have shorter hospital stays and that they return to adjuvant chemotherapy sooner. Further investigation is required to confirm the benefits of minimally invasive procedures for the management of PM.

AbstractSeven non-linear growth models were compared in the Andalusian turkey, an endangered native breed. To this aim, turkeys were weekly weighted until they reached 35 weeks. The goodness-of-fit and flexibility criteria of Brody, Von Bertalanffy, Verhulst, Logistic, Gompertz, Richards, and Sinusoidal growth models were evaluated to quantify their ability to describe the biological growth curve. Goodness-of-fit criteria were assessed comparing the mean squared error (MSE) and adjusted determination coefficient (Pseudo-R2), while the flexibility criteria of Akaike (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC) were evaluated to quantify the explanatory and predictive ability of the models tested. Afterward, all criteria were considered in a combined index to determine the most efficient model to describe and predict growth patterns. The best-fitting model for males growth was Logistic (MSE: 250,349.87; Pseudo-R2: 0.97) which also reported the best explanatory and predictive properties (AIC: 18,949.25; BIC: 18,963.24), while best goodness-of-fit criteria, explanatory and predictive capacity in females were reported for the Richards model (MSE: 144,432.45; Pseudo-R2: 0.95; AIC: 17,529.83; BIC: 17,549.02, respectively). Von Bertalanffy and Richards models underestimated the weight at early age stages, contrary to Logistic and Verhulst models. The asymptotic weight was higher in males than in females at all evaluated models, being 11,085.37 g for Logistic and 5,706.38 g for Richards, respectively. In conclusion, a marked sexual dimorphism is evident, with females reaching maturity earlier than males. The higher inflection point in males may enable their relatively easier commercial standardisation than in turkey hens.HighlightsLogistic was the best fitting model for males' growth and Richards for females.Females reach maturity earlier than males with higher rates of maturity.Andalusian turkey breed shows an intense sexual dimorphism.

AbstractThe objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of non-genetic factors on milk yield, its composition (fat, protein, dry matter and lactose) and the count of somatic cells in Murciano-Granadina goat breed, through the application of alternative nonparametric tests to routine parametric tests to explain the variability found in the population with respect the aforementioned traits. 2594 milk yield and composition records belonging to 159 goats from the selection nucleus were analysed. Predictors evaluated were farm, type of birth and parity order, live kids, parturition month, season and year, control number, control type, control month, season and year, days in lactation, days from first control, days from last control to drying, drying month, season and year. All of them presented a significant influence (p< .0001) on all the variables studied with the exception of the number of stillborn kids which did not significantly influence the percentage of each component and the year of drying which seemed not to significantly influence dry matter percentage. Conclusively, nongenetic factors affect milk yield and its compositions in the Murciano-Granadina goat breed. Additionally, the inclusion of the type of milk control and information related to the drying period in models predicting for milk yield and content may provide interesting information, which must be included in genetic evaluations to promote higher and better-quality milk production improving the profitability of autochthonous breeds.HIGHLIGHTSNon-genetic factors may affect milk components more than milk yield.Including factors related to lactation cycle can help identifying critical points.Drying-off period information promotes milk yield and quality.Studying nongenetic factors helps maximising milk predictive model potential.Factor combinations studied explain up to 41.8% of variability of milk yield.

Apenas conocemos cómo es la asistencia de los recién nacidos (RN) con encefalopatía hipóxico-isquémica (EHI) en hipotermia terapéutica (HT), especialmente si existen protocolos asistenciales, la neuromonitorización que se realiza o cómo es la aproximación al pronóstico neurológico. Este conocimiento permite detectar e implementar áreas de mejora asistencial.

Aunque las guías de práctica clínica recomiendan un ajuste continuado del tratamiento del asma, reduciendo la medicación de mantenimiento cuando se alcanza el control (step-down), existen pocos estudios de práctica clínica habitual orientados a recabar información de los factores que condicionan su fracaso.

Analizar la frecuencia con que los pacientes presentan una reclamación escrita por la negativa de los médicos de atención primaria a indicar una prueba diagnóstica, tratamiento o derivación solicitada por un paciente.

Risk management and patient safety are closely related, following this premise some industries have adopted measures to omit number 13. Healthcare is not left behind, in some hospital the day of surgery's or bed numbering avoid number 13. The objective was to assess whether it is necessary to redesign the safety policies implemented in hospitals based on avoiding 13 in the numbering of rooms/beds.

Evaluar en pacientes diagnosticados de tuberculosis pulmonar la frecuencia de asistencias en Urgencias en los 6meses previos al diagnóstico, conocer los motivos de la asistencia, el grado de sospecha en Urgencias y los factores a los que se asociaba esta sospecha.

El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las características radiológicas de lesiones con diagnóstico histológico de metástasis en la mama.

Identificar predictores pretrasplante de mortalidad precoz (90 días postrasplante) y evaluar su capacidad discriminante en receptores adultos de trasplante hepático (RTH).

AbstractLimited sample sizes imply parametric assumptions could be violated, even if traits have been reported to fulfil parametric assumptions. Parametric studies have addressed a non-significant influence of CSN1S1 genes on Murciano-Granadina milk yield, fat, protein and dry extract. We used non-parametric categorical tests to find alternative statistical methods to analyse the power to explain the variability found in the population regarding milk yield and its components. We analysed 2090 records for milk yield, and its components from 710 Murciano-Granadina CSN1S1-genotyped goats. Categorical regression equations were issued to predict which and at what level these factors may determine milk yield (kg), fat (kg), protein (kg) and dry extract (kg). All environmental (farm and parturition year) and animal-inherent factors (genotype, birth type and age) resulted statistically significant (p < .05) except for birth season and month. CSN1S1 genotype was highly statistically significant and explained from 8.3% to 9.2% of protein and fat content variability, resembling the values for highly selected French breeds. Seasonal peaks and lows resembled other breeds’. Heterozygote advantage of certain combinations of E allele with those alleles strongly or weakly influencing milk components and yield such as A, B, B2, F and homozygote BB genotype reported the highest statistically significant effects on milk components and yield. Our results suggest that non-parametric tests may report contextually valid results when having a large sample size is not possible. Selecting for certain CSN1S1 genotypes may promote the efficient production of better-quality milk in greater amounts, improving the international competitiveness and profitability of local breeds.HighlightsNon-parametric tests are crucial if normality and heteroskedasticity analyses fail.Murciano-Granadina milk traits compared with highly selected international breeds’.E allele combinations and BB reported highest effects on milk components and yield.

AbstractIn recent years, many computational techniques have been proposed to help specialists in the fracture reduction process. This field of research is open and faces important challenges due to its intrinsic high complexity. The reduction of a complex bone fracture requires identifying the bone fragments, to estimate their proper position and to select and place adequate fixation devices in order to stabilise the fracture. The development of computer-assisted techniques aids the planning and the execution of those tasks. In this paper, the possibilities of mobile and wearable devices in a fracture reduction process are introduced and discussed from a global perspective. Specifically, we have reviewed opportunities and challenges of mobile and wearable devices in the following stages of the treatment of a bone fracture: diagnosis, planning, training, aiding and rehabilitation. Regarding mobile devices, the focus is placed on the visualisation of medical data, the human–computer interaction-specific issues, collaborative aspects and augmented reality possibilities.

No‐till and increased cropping intensity (CI) can increase yield and soil organic C (SOC) in the US Great Plains compared with traditional wheat (Triticum aestivumL.)–fallow management. However, gains in SOC and other C pools may not be permanent. Increasing frequency of drought may reduce C inputs and potentially reverse gains accrued during wetter periods. This study examined the effect of drought on the persistence of SOC with two objectives: (i) to determine soil C pools (0–20 cm) after 24 yr in no‐till as influenced by potential evapotranspiration (PET), landscape position (slope), and CI; and (ii) to compare the size of the C pools after the first 12 yr (wet) versus the subsequent 12 yr, notable for frequent droughts. Rotations were wheat–corn (Zea maysL.)–fallow (WCF), continuous cropping (CC), and a grass Conservation Reserve Program mixture planted across slopes at three sites in Colorado with similar precipitation but increasing PET. After 24 yr, water‐soluble organic C increased with CI from WCF to CC to grass with 250, 340, and 440 kg C ha−1, respectively. Soil microbial biomass C also increased with CI–1500, 1660, and 2135 kg C ha−1for WCF, CC, and grass, respectively. The particulate organic matter C pool had a three‐way interaction with PET, slope, and CI. Overall, between Years 12 and 24, SOC increased in grass by 16.9%, with a rate of 425 kg C ha−1yr−1sequestration compared with 10.5 and 1.4% for the WCF and CC systems, respectively. Active C pools increased with cropping intensity at the end of both wet and dry years.Small changes in a large SOC pool are best predicted by measurement of POM‐C.Cropping system did not significantly influence the P‐MAOC pool after 24 yr.SOC levels showed resilience by maintaining or increasing during dry years.

El síndrome de Williams-Beuren es la manifestación clínica de una alteración genética congénita en el gen de la elastina, entre otros. Existen antecedentes de parada cardíaca refractaria a maniobras de resucitación en contexto anestésico. Es alta la incidencia de isquemia miocárdica durante la inducción anestésica, pero existen pacientes que, sin esta causa, también presentan eventos cardíacos muy graves. Quedan cuestiones aún por resolver. La descripción de casos permitirá definir factores fisiopatológicos comunes y disminuir la morbimortalidad. Presentamos el caso de un niño de 3 años con parada cardíaca en la inducción anestésica, rescatado con asistencia circulatoria con membrana de oxigenación extracorpórea e hipotermia inducida como protección cerebral.

Genome studies of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have revealed the remarkable subclonal heterogeneity of the tumors, but the clinical implications of this phenomenon are not well known. We assessed the mutational status of 28 CLL driver genes by deep-targeted next-generation sequencing and copy number alterations (CNA) in 406 previously untreated patients and 48 sequential samples. We detected small subclonal mutations (0.6–25% of cells) in nearly all genes (26/28), and they were the sole alteration in 22% of the mutated cases. CNA tended to be acquired early in the evolution of the disease and remained stable, whereas the mutational heterogeneity increased in a subset of tumors. The prognostic impact of different genes was related to the size of the mutated clone. Combining mutations and CNA, we observed that the accumulation of driver alterations (mutational complexity) gradually shortened the time to first treatment independently of the clonal architecture, IGHV status and Binet stage. Conversely, the overall survival was associated with the increasing subclonal diversity of the tumors but it was related to the age of patients, IGHV and TP53 status of the tumors. In conclusion, our study reveals that both the mutational complexity and subclonal diversity influence the evolution of CLL.

In the phase 3 RESONATE study, ibrutinib demonstrated superior progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and overall response rate (ORR) compared with ofatumumab in relapsed/refractory CLL patients with high-risk prognostic factors. We report updated results from RESONATE in these traditionally chemotherapy resistant high-risk genomic subgroups at a median follow-up of 19 months. Mutations were detected by Foundation One Heme Panel. Baseline mutations in the ibrutinib arm included TP53 (51%), SF3B1 (31%), NOTCH1 (28%), ATM (19%) and BIRC3 (14%). Median PFS was not reached, with 74% of patients randomized to ibrutinib alive and progression-free at 24 months. The improved efficacy of ibrutinib vs ofatumumab continues in all prognostic subgroups including del17p and del11q. No significant difference within the ibrutinib arm was observed for PFS across most genomic subtypes, although a subset carrying both TP53 mutation and del17p had reduced PFS compared with patients with neither abnormality. Reduced PFS or OS was not evident in patients with only del17p. PFS was significantly better for ibrutinib-treated patients in second-line vs later lines of therapy. The robust clinical activity of ibrutinib continues to show ongoing efficacy and acceptable safety consistent with prior reports, independent of various known high-risk mutations.

La insuficiencia cardiaca (IC) constituye actualmente uno de los problemas sociosanitarios más importantes en nuestro país, con una prevalencia en continuo crecimiento. Los avances en el conocimiento de las distintas respuestas biológicas que favorecen el remodelado cardiaco y de la congestión venopulmonar constituyen la base del tratamiento actual.

Accurate and reliable groundwater level forecasting models can help ensure the sustainable use of a watershed’s aquifers for urban and rural water supply. In this paper, three time series analysis methods, Holt–Winters (HW), integrated time series (ITS), and seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA), are explored to simulate the groundwater level in a coastal aquifer, China. The monthly groundwater table depth data collected in a long time series from 2000 to 2011 are simulated and compared with those three time series models. The error criteria are estimated using coefficient of determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient (E), and root-mean-squared error. The results indicate that three models are all accurate in reproducing the historical time series of groundwater levels. The comparisons of three models show that HW model is more accurate in predicting the groundwater levels than SARIMA and ITS models. It is recommended that additional studies explore this proposed method, which can be used in turn to facilitate the development and implementation of more effective and sustainable groundwater management strategies.

For young patients with high-risk CLL, BTK-/PI3K-inhibitors or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloHCT) are considered. Patients with a low risk of non-relapse mortality (NRM) but a high risk of failure of targeted therapy may benefit most from alloHCT. We performed Cox regression analyses to identify risk factors for 2-year NRM and 5-year event-free survival (using EFS as a surrogate for long-term disease control) in a large, updated EBMT registry cohort (n= 694). For the whole cohort, 2-year NRM was 28% and 5-year EFS 37%. Higher age, lower performance status, unrelated donor type and unfavorable sex-mismatch had a significant adverse impact on 2-year NRM. Two-year NRM was calculated for good- and poor-risk reference patients. Predicted 2-year-NRM was 11 and 12% for male and female good-risk patients compared with 42 and 33% for male and female poor-risk patients. For 5-year EFS, age, performance status, prior autologous HCT, remission status and sex-mismatch had a significant impact, whereas del(17p) did not. The model-based prediction of 5-year EFS was 55% and 64%, respectively, for male and female good-risk patients. Good-risk transplant candidates with high-risk CLL and limited prognosis either on or after failure of targeted therapy should still be considered for alloHCT.

The notion that plasma cells (PCs) are terminally differentiated has prevented intensive research in multiple myeloma (MM) about their phenotypic plasticity and differentiation. Here, we demonstrated in healthy individuals (n=20) that the CD19−CD81 expression axis identifies three bone marrow (BM)PC subsets with distinct age-prevalence, proliferation, replication-history, immunoglobulin-production, and phenotype, consistent with progressively increased differentiation from CD19+CD81+ into CD19−CD81+ and CD19−CD81− BMPCs. Afterwards, we demonstrated in 225 newly diagnosed MM patients that, comparing to normal BMPC counterparts, 59% had fully differentiated (CD19−CD81−) clones, 38% intermediate-differentiated (CD19−CD81+) and 3% less-differentiated (CD19+CD81+) clones. The latter patients had dismal outcome, and PC differentiation emerged as an independent prognostic marker for progression-free (HR: 1.7; P=0.005) and overall survival (HR: 2.1; P=0.006). Longitudinal comparison of diagnostic vs minimal-residual-disease samples (n=40) unraveled that in 20% of patients, less-differentiated PCs subclones become enriched after therapy-induced pressure. We also revealed that CD81 expression is epigenetically regulated, that less-differentiated clonal PCs retain high expression of genes related to preceding B-cell stages (for example: PAX5), and show distinct mutation profile vs fully differentiated PC clones within individual patients. Together, we shed new light into PC plasticity and demonstrated that MM patients harbouring less-differentiated PCs have dismal survival, which might be related to higher chemoresistant potential plus different molecular and genomic profiles.

Criollo pig breeds are descendants from pigs brought to the American continent starting with Columbus second trip in 1493. Pigs currently play a key role in social economy and community cultural identity in Latin America. The aim of this study was to establish conservation priorities among a comprehensive group of Criollo pig breeds based on a set of 24 microsatellite markers and using different criteria. Spain and Portugal pig breeds, wild boar populations of different European geographic origins and commercial pig breeds were included in the analysis as potential genetic influences in the development of Criollo pig breeds. Different methods, differing in the weight given to within- and between-breed genetic variability, were used in order to estimate the contribution of each breed to global genetic diversity. As expected, the partial contribution to total heterozygosity gave high priority to Criollo pig breeds, whereas Weitzman procedures prioritized Iberian Peninsula breeds. With the combined within- and between-breed approaches, different conservation priorities were achieved. The Core Set methodologies highly prioritized Criollo pig breeds (Cr. Boliviano, Cr. Pacifico, Cr. Cubano and Cr. Guadalupe). However, weighing the between- and within-breed components with FSTand 1-FST, respectively, resulted in higher contributions of Iberian breeds. In spite of the different conservation priorities according to the methodology used, other factors in addition to genetic information also need to be considered in conservation programmes, such as the economic, cultural or historical value of the breeds involved.

Neoplasm history increases morbidity and mortality after solid organ transplantation and has disqualified patients from transplantation. Studies are needed to identify factors to be considered when deciding on the suitability of a patient with previous tumor for heart transplantation. A retrospective epidemiological study was conducted in heart transplant (HT) recipients (Spanish Post–Heart Transplant Tumor Registry) comparing the epidemiological data, immu‐nosuppressive treatments and incidence of post‐HTtumors between patients with previous malignant noncardiac tumor and with no previous tumor (NPT). The impact of previous tumor (PT)on overall survival (OS) was also assessed. A total of 4561 patients, 77 PTand 4484 NPT, were evaluated. The NPTgroup had a higher proportion of men than the PTgroup (p < 0.001). The incidence of post‐HTtumors was 1.8 times greater in the PTgroup (95% confidence interval [CI]1.2–2.6; p < 0.001), mainly due to the increased risk in patients with a previous hematologic tumor (rate ratio 2.3, 95% CI1.3–4.0, p < 0.004). OSduring the 10‐year posttransplant period was significantly lower in the PTthan the NPTgroup (p = 0.048) but similar when the analysis was conducted after a first post‐HTtumor was diagnosed. In conclusion, a history of PTincreases the incidence of post‐HTtumors and should be taken into account when considering a patient for HT. In order to compare the outcome of heart transplant recipients without previous malignant noncardiac tumors, the authors conduct a cohort study and observe that a history of malignancy before transplantation increases both the risk of posttransplantation tumors and mortality.

Cactus prickly pear (Tuna) harvest is a complicated operation that continues in a rudimentary way, in the majority of cases manual and with the help of tools such as knives and rods which sometimes affect the fruit. In this research is analyzing the possibility of building a tool that meets the characteristics sufficient for a good harvest, one of the factors to consider is access due to the restrictive features of the cactus prickly pear (height and distribution of the joints), forcing the use of tools to achieve it (with sometimes unfavorable results). This is how arises the need to create a device that adapts to the needs and solve the problem of harvest of tuna. Field studies which were fundamental to the design, such studies were obtained measurements and tests of strength, which were carried out with instruments properly designed for the type of fruit. Generated a picker mechanism of cactus prickly pear (tunas), which according to your design could achieve a high level of harvest compared to which today has, thanks to the configuration of the mechanism and the way they get their movements lead to a suitable environment for personnel performing this activity.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) the level of minimal residual disease (MRD) after therapy is an independent predictor of outcome. Given the increasing number of new agents being explored for CLL therapy, using MRD as a surrogate could greatly reduce the time necessary to assess their efficacy. In this European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC) project we have identified and validated a flow-cytometric approach to reliably quantitate CLL cells to the level of 0.0010% (10−5). The assay comprises a core panel of six markers (i.e. CD19, CD20, CD5, CD43, CD79b and CD81) with a component specification independent of instrument and reagents, which can be locally re-validated using normal peripheral blood. This method is directly comparable to previous ERIC-designed assays and also provides a backbone for investigation of new markers. A parallel analysis of high-throughput sequencing using the ClonoSEQ assay showed good concordance with flow cytometry results at the 0.010% (10−4) level, the MRD threshold defined in the 2008 International Workshop on CLL guidelines, but it also provides good linearity to a detection limit of 1 in a million (10−6). The combination of both technologies would permit a highly sensitive approach to MRD detection while providing a reproducible and broadly accessible method to quantify residual disease and optimize treatment in CLL.

The objective of the present study was to compare differences between elderly rats and young obesity-induced rats in their activity/inactivity circadian rhythm. The investigation was motivated by the differences reported previously for the circadian rhythms of both obese and elderly humans (and other animals), and those of healthy, young or mature individuals. Three groups of rats were formed: a young control group which was fed a standard chow for rodents; a young obesity-induced group which was fed a high-fat diet for four months; and an elderly control group with rats aged 2.5 years that was fed a standard chow for rodents. Activity/inactivity data were registered through actimetry using infrared actimeter systems in each cage to detect activity. Data were logged on a computer and chronobiological analysis were performed. The results showed diurnal activity (sleep time), nocturnal activity (awake time), amplitude, acrophase, and interdaily stability to be similar between the young obesity-induced group and the elderly control group, but different in the young control group. We have concluded that obesity leads to a chronodisruption status in the body similar to the circadian rhythm degradation observed in the elderly.

(Abstracted from Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol2018;51:738–742)The current approach to screening for preeclampsia (PE) is to identify risk factors from maternal demographic characteristics and medical history (maternal factors). According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), in the United Kingdom, women are considered to be at high risk of developing PE if they have any one high-risk factor (hypertensive disease in previous pregnancy, chronic hypertension, chronic renal disease, diabetes mellitus, or autoimmune disease) or any 2 moderate-risk factors (nulliparity, age ≥40 years, body mass index [BMI] ≥35 kg/m2, family history of PE, or interpregnancy interval >10 years).