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Abstract: Two different low Ni content (10wt.%) anode catalysts were investigated for intermediate temperature (800°C) operation in solid oxide fuel cells fed with dry propane. Both catalysts were prepared by the impregnation of a Ni-precursor on different oxide supports, i.e. gadolinia doped ceria (CGO) and La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Co0.2O3 perovskite, and thermal treated at 1100°C for 2h. The Ni-modified perovskite catalyst was mixed with a CGO powder and deposited on a CGO electrolyte to form a composite catalytic layer with a proper triple-phase boundary. Anode reduction was carried out in-situ in H2 at 800°C for 2h during cell conditioning. Electrochemical performance was recorded at different times during 100h operation in dry propane. The Ni-modified perovskite showed significantly better performance than the Ni/CGO anode. A power density of about 300mWcm−2 was obtained for the electrolyte supported SOFC in dry propane at 800°C. Structural investigation of the composite anode layer after SOFC operation indicated a modification of the perovskite structure and the occurrence of a La2NiO4 phase. The occurrence of metallic Ni in the Ni/CGO system caused catalyst deactivation due to the formation of carbon deposits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of barium doping on a fuel cell anode consisting of a Ni0.53Cu0.47 alloy and gadolinia doped ceria cermet (50:50wt.) was investigated in an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) fed with dry methane. IT-SOFCs containing the same cathode-electrolyte configuration but equipped with different anodes were compared in terms of performance, steady state operation, and formation of carbon deposits on the anode surface. After proper cell conditioning, similar maximum power densities of 284mWcm−2 and 310mWcm−2 were obtained in dry methane fuel at 750°C for the anodic compositions with and without barium, respectively. The anode containing barium did not show significant carbon deposits after a 200h time-study in dry methane whereas the anode without barium showed the presence of carbon deposits as evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Both anode formulations showed carbon deposits when exposed to dry CH4 in ex-situ experiments. The electrochemical profile recorded during the time-study was different in the two systems. In the absence of barium, a slow and progressive increase in performance as a function of time was achieved. On the contrary, the Ba-doped anode achieved optimum performance in a short time. It is determined that the presence of barium reduces carbon deposition under fuel cell conditions and influences the electrochemical behaviour. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Background: Bronchial stenosis (BS) is currently found in 7–15% of lung transplantation (LT) recipients. Current treatment strategies have included Nd:Yag laser, cryotherapy, bougie dilatation and stent placement. Bronchoscopic balloon dilatation has been used as alternative treatment in a few cases with controversial results. This is a study to prospectively assess the efficacy of bronchoscopic balloon dilatation as a first step in the management of post-LT BS. Methods: From January 1995 to December 2002, bronchoscopic balloon dilatation was evaluated as first therapeutic option in all consecutive LT patients with BS. Symptoms, pulmonary function tests, airway diameter and use of other therapeutic techniques were evaluated. Results: A total of 10 out of 284 anastomed airways (3.5%) in 9 out of 152 LT patients were included in the study and follow-up lasted from 6 to 81 months. Dilatation of all but one BS met with initial success: increase of both luminal dimensions and forced vital capacity (), and relief of symptoms. Bronchoscopic balloon dilatation long-term follow-up showed effective results in 5 out of 10 (50%) bronchial stenoses, after an average of 4 bronchoscopic balloon dilatation procedures (range 1–8). No severe complications were observed. Stent placement was required in the other 5 bronchial stenoses. Conclusions: Bronchoscopic balloon dilatation is a safe method that should be considered as first therapeutic treatment of post-LT BS. Its use avoids the need for stent placement in up to 50% of cases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soil protection requires the improvement of agricultural land use, its planning and its management, in order to achieve a sustainable development. Land evaluation analysis is considered an interface between land resources survey and land use planning and management. The application of information and communication technology has exerted an impact on sustainable land use decision support. Since the early 1990s and following this trend, MicroLEIS (Mediterranean Land Evaluation Information System) has evolved towards an agro-ecological decision support system. The original project corresponds to a set of qualitative land evaluation methods converted to PC computer programs to automate their application. Today, MicroLEIS DSS is a set of useful tools for decision-making which in a wide range of agro-ecological schemes. The design philosophy follows a toolkit approach, integrating many software tools: databases, statistics, expert systems, neural networks, Web and GIS applications, and other information technologies. The MicroLEIS DSS system, in English and Spanish simultaneously, is available ready-for-use from the following website address: . The new, re-designed MicroLEIS DSS will provide considerable opportunities for greater cooperation in interdisciplinary research and in the application of knowledge to solve problems of soil protection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The multilingual soil profile database (named SDBm Plus) is user-friendly software designed to store and retrieve in an efficient and systematic way the large amounts of geo-referenced soil attribute data collected in soil surveys and laboratories. The database has the following main characteristics: (i) running on Windows platforms; (ii) ‘assist menus’ facilitating data entry; (iii) automatic translation from English to Spanish, French and German; (iv) metadata facility to describe the methods used in laboratory analysis; (v) temporal mode to collect over time the analytical, physical and hydraulic soil properties; and (vi) interface for the automatic transfer of soil attribute data to GIS and computerised land evaluation models. The following soil attribute datasets are included in SDBm Plus: (i) site characteristics, information related to the identification and taxonomic classification of the soil profile; (ii) horizon description; (iii) conventional soil survey analytical results; (iv) soluble salts and most trace elements present in the soil or considered as major soil contaminants; (v) general soil physical analytical results; (vi) water retention and hydraulic conductivity at different tensions; (vii) photographs; and (viii) analytical methods and procedures used. This database can be used in soil monitoring and evaluation regardless of scale (regional, national or local), and especially to implement tools on choosing optimal land use and management decisions in sustainable agriculture development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Seismic waves can significantly amplify in firm soil with abrupt geometric changes due to topographic effects. Moreover, nonlinearities associated with soil layering and geometrical interactions of the incoming waves can lead to changes in frequency content and duration. This paper presents a case study of the effects of the September 19, 2017 earthquake, in the seismic response of a building-hill system 60 m high located in the western part of Mexico City. The performance of the building-hill system was evaluated for this event accounting for site response, topographic, and soil-structure interaction effects, using three-dimensional finite difference models developed with the program FLAC3D. From the numerical study, the seismic response of the slope was evaluated, accounting for the seismic building-hill interaction effect in the distribution of factors of safety (i.e. capacity over demand), and ground deformations during the event. The damage predicted by the numerical simulation in the building and the hill slope during the 2017 earthquake was in good agreement with that observed during post-earthquake site reconnaissance. To study the effects of the frequency content, seismic intensity, and duration in the distribution of factor of safety and slope deformation patterns, the building-hill seismic response was further studied for subduction and normal events, considering uniform hazard spectra with return period of 250 years. From the results gathered in here, a clear dependency of the expected damage on the hill slope as a function of the seismogenic zone (i.e. subduction or normal) was observed. Image 1 • Observed damage was successfully estimated by the numerical model. • Amplification factors were 1.7 in the horizontal, and about 2.0 in the vertical direction. • Damage pattern depends on input frequency content, duration, and intensity. • For stiff soils ground motion amplification is larger for normal events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nosocomial infections (NI) are significant cause of mortality and hospital costs. Annual costs have approximately estimated of US﹩6·8 billion in the USA. Hand hygiene is the most important measure to prevent NI reducing them a 30% on average and to reduce MRSA attack rate. There is spare information about this in middle income countries. The aim was to explore the impact of the program in hospital costs, nosocomial infections and MRSA attack rate and clonality. Methods & Materials: Program "Vamos por el CIEN-Go for 100" (CIEN Spanish acronif of infection control by integration and innovative strategies"): based on the WHO hand hygiene multimodal strategy but focalizing education and awareness for every hospital sector and adding periodically innovative strategies. Here weanalyze 2013-2015. Direct costs of this program were evaluated monthly. Active nosocomial infections surveillance was done. A collection of 43 S. aureus clinical isolates from pediatric patients (one isolate per patient) was collected from January 2012 to May 2015. Molecular genotyping assays. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in the S. aureus clinical isolates was performed. The DNA fragment patterns generated by PFGE were analyzed using NTsys program 2.0 with the Sorencen-Dice coefficient and the unweighted pair group method with an arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering system. Results: Over 1,000 sessions took place from 2013-2015, impacting more than 15,000 people, the consumption of BPA increased from 125L/month to 400L/month, 2400 posters were allocated, the cost of the program per year was $217,618 dlls. Hand hygiene compliance increased from 48% to 74%, NI decreased from 7.68 to 6.47/100 discharges (15.7%), and the MRSA attack from 8.3 to 2.13/100 discharges. High clonality among nosocomial isolates MRSA was found, suggesting the presence of clones scattered in hospital environment that can interfere with program strategies. Conclusion: Probably due to a better distribution of resources the program costs were lower than the year before the program (﹩3743031.7dlls). We also demostrate that in a middle income country a hand hygiene program can decrease in NI especially in S. aureus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that hand hygiene has a direct impact on the clonality of MRSA hospital origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to analyse lung function decline over time in bronchiectasis, along with the factors associated with it. Spirometry was measured every year in this observational, prospective study in 849 patients from the Spanish Bronchiectasis Registry (RIBRON). The main outcome was the decline in the rate of forced expiratory volume during the first second (FEV1). To be included in this study, patients needed a baseline assessment and at least one subsequent assessment. FEV1 decline was analysed using a mixed-effects linear regression model adjusted for clinically significant variables. We recruited 849 bronchiectasis patients with at least two annual lung function measurements (follow-up range 1–4 years). A total of 2262 lung function tests were performed (mean 2.66 per patient, range 2–5). Mean baseline FEV1 was 1.78 L (standard deviation (SD) 0.76; 71.3% predicted). Mean age was 69.1 (SD 15.4) years; 543 (64% women. The adjusted rates of FEV1 decline were –0.98% predicted/year (95% confidence interval (CI) –2.41 to –0.69) and –31.6 (95% CI –44.4 to –18.8) mL. The annual FEV1 decline was faster in those patients with chronic bronchial infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (–1.37% (52.1 mL) vs –0.37% (–24.6 mL); p < 0.001), greater age, increased number of severe exacerbations in the previous year and higher baseline FEV1 value. In patients with bronchiectasis, the annual rate of FEV1 decline was –31.6 mL/year and it was faster in older patients and those with chronic bronchial infection by P. aeruginosa , increased number of previous severe exacerbations and higher baseline FEV1 value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An anodic cermet of NiCu alloy and gadolinia doped ceria has been investigated for CH4 electro-oxidation in IT-SOFCs. Polarization curves have been recorded in the temperature range from 650 to 800°C. A maximum power density of 320mWcm−2 at 800°C has been obtained in the presence of dry methane in an electrolyte-supported cell. The electrochemical behaviour during 1300h operation in dry methane and in the presence of redox-cycles has been investigated at 750°C; variation of the electrochemical properties during these experiments have been interpreted in terms of anode morphology modifications. The methane cracking process at the anode catalyst has been investigated by analysing the oxidative stripping of deposited carbon species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]