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The new LHCb Vertex Locator (VELO) for LHCb, comprising a new pixel detector and readout electronics, will be installed in 2021 for data taking in Run 3 at the LHC. The electronics centers around the "VeloPix" ASIC at the front-end operating in a trigger-less readout at 40MHz. A custom serializer, called gigabit wireline transmitter (GWT), and associated custom protocol have been designed for the VeloPix. The GWT data are sent from the serializers of the VeloPix at a line rate of 5.12 Gb/s, reaching a total data rate of 2-3 Tb/s for the full VELO detector. Data are sent over 300-m optic-fiber links to the control and readout electronics cards for deserialization and processing in Intel Arria 10 FPGAs. Because of the VeloPix trigger-less design, latency variances up to 12 mu s can occur between adjacent datagrams. It is therefore essential to buffer and synchronize the data in firmware prior to onward propagation or suffer a huge CPU-processing penalty. This article will describe the architecture of the readout firmware in detail with focus given to the resynchronization mechanism and techniques for cauterization. Issues found during readout commissioning, and scaling resource utilization, along with the their solutions, will be illustrated. The latest results of the firmware data-processing chain can be presented as well as the verification procedures employed in simulation. Challenges for the next generation of the detector will also be presented with ideas for a readout processing solution. The new LHCb Vertex Locator (VELO) for LHCb, comprising a new pixel detector and readout electronics, will be installed in 2021 for data taking in Run 3 at the LHC. The electronics centers around the 'VeloPix' ASIC at the front-end operating in a trigger-less readout at 40MHz. A custom serializer, called gigabit wireline transmitter (GWT), and associated custom protocol have been designed for the VeloPix. The GWT data are sent from the serializers of the VeloPix at a line rate of 5.12 Gb/s, reaching a total data rate of 2-3 Tb/s for the full VELO detector. Data are sent over 300-m optic-fiber links to the control and readout electronics cards for deserialization and processing in Intel Arria 10 FPGAs. Because of the VeloPix trigger-less design, latency variances up to 12 $\mu \text{s}$ can occur between adjacent datagrams. It is therefore essential to buffer and synchronize the data in firmware prior to onward propagation or suffer a huge CPU-processing penalty. This article will describe the architecture of the readout firmware in detail with focus given to the resynchronization mechanism and techniques for cauterization. Issues found during readout commissioning, and scaling resource utilization, along with the their solutions, will be illustrated. The latest results of the firmware data-processing chain can be presented as well as the verification procedures employed in simulation. Challenges for the next generation of the detector will also be presented with ideas for a readout processing solution.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is the most common genetic heart disorder and the most common cause of sudden cardiac death among young population and a major cause of disability for patients of any age. An extended transaortic septal myectomy is the definitive treatment. It is very important to have a good knowledge of the characteristic pathophysiology of the disease in order to optimize intraoperative treatment of these patients. We present a case of a 68-year old woman who underwent hypertrophic elective cardiomyopathy surgery. Anesthetic management is crucial to guarantee maximum safety, since HOCM has the capacity to produce hemodynamic events of such severity that put patient's life at risk. The use and combination of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and direct measurement of the left ventricular outflow tract gradient provides vital information to ensure successful surgical outcome in patients with HOCM.

This study evaluates the energy and environmental performance of a cogeneration system operating simultaneously with bagasse and straw in a rankine cycle. Different process conditions, defined in terms of boiler operating pressure, moisture content and straw addition rate, were analyzed. The combination of these parameters led to the elaboration of one hundred and twenty-five analysis scenarios. The energy profile was based on the energy performance indicator, which is the ratio between the exported electricity and the intrinsic energy of biomass consumed for its generation, and the environmental assessment was performed in terms of climate change. Scenario modeling was developed according to the conceptual framework proposed by the life cycle assessment technique with a ‘from cradle-to-gate’ coverage. Results indicate that the best energy and environmental performances (energy performance indicator = 0.193 and 688 kg CO2eq/MWh) were obtained with the highest pressure (100 bar) and addition rate (50%), and the lowest moisture content (10%). Moreover, straw moisture has more influence on the system environmental performance than its addition rate.

ObjectiveTo determine the contribution of common genetic variants to risk of early onset ischemic stroke (IS).MethodsWe performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of early onset IS, ages 18-59, using individual level data or summary statistics in 16,927 cases and 576,353 non-stroke controls from 48 different studies across North America, Europe, and Asia. We further compared effect sizes at our most genome-wide significant loci between early and late onset IS and compared polygenic risk scores for venous thromboembolism between early versus later onset IS.ResultsWe observed an association between early onset IS and ABO, a known stroke locus. The effect size of the peak ABO SNP, rs8176685, was significantly larger in early compared to late onset IS (OR 1.17 (95% C.I.: 1.11-1.22) vs 1.05 (0.99-1.12); p for interaction = 0.008). Analysis of genetically determined ABO blood groups revealed that early onset IS cases were more likely to have blood group A and less likely to have blood group O compared to both non-stroke controls and to late onset IS cases. Using polygenic risk scores, we observed that greater genetic risk for venous thromboembolism, another prothrombotic condition, was more strongly associated with early, compared to late, onset IS (p=0.008).ConclusionThe ABO locus, genetically predicted blood group A, and higher genetic propensity for venous thrombosis are more strongly associated with early onset IS, compared with late onset IS, supporting a stronger role of prothrombotic factors in early onset IS.

In the field of strategic marketing, the recency, frequency and monetary (RFM) variables model has been applied for years to determine how solid a database is in terms of spending and customer activity. Retailers almost never obtain data related to their customers beyond their purchase history, and if they do, the information is often out of date. This work presents a new method, based on the fuzzy linguistic 2-tuple model and the definition of product hierarchies, which provides a linguistic interpretability giving business meaning and improving the precision of conventional models. The fuzzy linguistic 2-tuple RFM model, adapted by the product hierarchy thanks to the analytical hierarchical process (AHP), is revealed to be a useful tool for including business criteria, product catalogues and customer insights in the definition of commercial strategies. The result of our method is a complete customer segmentation that enriches the clusters obtained with the traditional fuzzy linguistic 2-tuple RFM model and offers a clear view of customers’ preferences and possible actions to define cross- and up-selling strategies. A real case study based on a worldwide leader in home decoration was developed to guide, step by step, other researchers and marketers. The model was built using the only information that retailers always have: customers’ purchase ticket details.

Early identification of patients with COVID-19 who may develop critical illness is of great importance.In this study a retrospective cohort of 264 COVID-19 cases admitted at Macarena University was used for development and internal validation of a risk score to predict the occurrence of critical illness in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Backward stepwise logistic regression was used to derive the model, including clinical and laboratory variables predictive of critical illness. Internal validation of the final model used bootstrapped samples and the model scoring derived from the coefficients. External validation was performed in a cohort of 154 cases admitted at Valme and Virgen del Rocio University Hospital.A total of 62 (23.5%) patients developed a critical illness during their hospitalization stay, 21 (8.0%) patients needed invasive ventilation, 34 (12.9%) were admitted at the ICU and the overall mortality was of 14.8% (39 cases). 5 variables were included in the final model: age59.5 years (OR: 3.11;95%CI 1.39-6.97), abnormal CRP results (OR: 5.76;95%CI 2.32-14.30), abnormal lymphocytes count (OR: 3.252;95%CI 1.56-6.77), abnormal CK results (OR: 3.38;95%CI 1.59-7.20) and abnormal creatinine (OR: 3.30;95%CI 1.42-7.68). The AUC of this model was 0.850 with sensitivity of 65% and specificity of 87% and the IDI and NRI were 0.1744 and 0.2785, respectively. The validation indicated a good discrimination for the external population.Biomarkers add prognostic information in COVID-19 patients. Our risk-score provides an easy to use tool to identify patients who are likely to develop critical illness during their hospital stay.

Commercially available grades of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) were printed in different shapes using an additive manufacturing (AM) printer based on material extrusion (ME). It is known that the quality of a 3D printed sample is closely connected to the rheological properties of the polymer matrix. However, some printing parameters, such as the feed rate and the print speed, might not be determined only by equipment design as usually reported in the literature. Instead, the thermal and rheological properties of the polymers should be carefully considered. The focus of many studies has relied on optimizing the specific properties of an ME printer through the adjustment of the printing parameters. Still, few researchers have shown how the rheological behaviour of a material can affect its final properties. Therefore, this paper would like to answer satisfactorily some recurring questions with clear practical importance, which is related to the fact that some materials have better print quality than others do and about the feasible margins for increasing the print speed according to the characteristics of a polymeric material. Thus, in this work, rheological characterization of the resins was conducted and it was detected that the processing condition for a specific thermoplastic is highly dependent on its rheological behaviour. A method of mass flow conservation was presented for determination and consideration of the rheological characteristics when selecting an appropriate process parameter for the additive manufacturing system. It was found that even a small recovery strain resulting from the characteristic morphology of ABS could provide lower layers’ roughness and good printing quality to the 3D printed samples. Thus, the main goal of this work was to evaluate the importance of the rheological properties of common thermoplastics used in extrusion-based process on the controlling of a 3D printer and on the final printing quality.

Background: Individuals with obesity are known to present cognitive deficits, especially in executive functions. Executive functions play an important role in health and success throughout the whole life and have been related to food decision-making and to the ability to maintain energy balance. It is possible to improve executive functions through targeted training. This would involve brain plasticity changes that could be studied through connectivity MRI. The general hypothesis of this study is that executive functions training in children with obesity can improve food choices and produce cognitive and neuroimaging changes (structural and functional connectivity), as well as improve emotional state and quality of life.Methods: Randomized controlled double-blind trial with 12-month follow-up. Thirty children with obesity will be randomly allocated into “executive training” (Cognifit with adaptive difficulty + Cogmed) or “control task” group (Cognifit without adaptive difficulty). Both groups will attend 30–45 min of individual gamified training (Cogmed and/or Cognifit systems) by iPad, five times per week during 6 weeks. Cogmed and Cognifit software are commercially available from Pearson and Cognifit, respectively. Participants will receive an iPad with both apps installed for a 6-week use. Participants will also receive counseling diet information via presentations sent to the iPad and will wear a Fitbit Flex 2 tracker to monitor daily activity and sleep patterns. Main outcomes will be cognitive, emotional, food decision, and quality-of-life measures, as well as neuroimaging measures. Participants are evaluated at baseline (T0), after treatment (T1), and 12 months since baseline (T2).Discussion: Longitudinal study with active control group and 3 time points: baseline, immediately after treatment, and 1 year after baseline. Threefold treatment: executive function training, psychoeducation, and feedback on activity/sleep tracking. We will evaluate the transfer effects of the intervention, including emotional and functional outcomes, as well as the effects on neural plasticity by connectivity MRI.Trial registration: This project has been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (trial registration number NCT03615274), August 3, 2018.

Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis may present without acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) (AD-No ACLF), or with ACLF phenotype (AD-ACLF) defined by organ failure(s). Precipitants may induce AD. This multicenter, prospective, observational PREDICT study (NCT03056612) analyzes and characterizes the precipitants leading to both of these AD phenotypes., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Applications for Interactive Digital Television (IDTV) are becoming increasingly popular. Users no longer interact only with software applications on computers or srnartphones, but also through a television set. Therefore, developers must address efficiency and effectiveness aspects when creating those applications to provide the user with a satisfying interaction experience. Thus, this paper proposes an Application Usability Model for IDTV based on two approaches: the quality of the software product and the quality in the use of the software product. Additionally, the model mainly draws upon the ISO/IEC 25010 standard in which a set of usability characteristics are defined. These characteristics have been divided into subcharacteristics of the IDTV to quantify each of their attributes according to several metrics, and with the obtained values, identify the usability problems that might exist in software applications. For instance, to have a better idea of how the evaluation should be performed, two examples are presented that employ the proposed usability model on applications designed for IDTV from different domains.

The elderly population has been growing at a significant rate, which leads to the development of technologies that contribute to healthy and active aging. Hence, recreational activities focus on improving: health status, cognitive abilities, physical and emotional skills. This document presents the development of a memory game made for Android platform, in which some usability and accessibility criteria focused on elderly people was used. To prove its functioning and perform an evaluation applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the game was presented to 63 elders who assist to the “Hogar de los Abuelos” in Cuenca, Ecuador.

This article describes the high-speed system designed to meet the challenging requirements for the readout of the new pixel VErtex LOcator (VELO) of the upgraded LHCb experiment. All elements of the electronics readout chain will be renewed to cope with the requirement of ~40-MHz full-event readout rate. The pixel sensors will be equipped with VeloPix ASICs and placed at ~5 mm from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beams in a secondary vacuum tank in an extremely high and nonhomogeneous radiation environment. The front-end (FE) ASICs with the highest occupancy will have to cope with pixel-hit rates above ~900 Mhits/s using up to four 5.13-Gb/s data readout links. Each module comprises six VeloPix ASICs, wire-bonded to two FE hybrid boards, while a third hybrid will employ a GBTx ASIC as the control interface. High-speed data will reach the wall of the vacuum chamber through low-mass flexible copper tapes. A custom board routes the signals outside the vacuum tank. On the air side, an optical and power board converts the electrical high-speed signals into optical signals for transmission from the underground cavern to the off-detector electronics that process data and send them to a farm of computers for further analysis. Several tests allowing the validation of the system are described here with special emphasis on a test with proton beams that confirms the correct operation of the whole readout hardware.

Acute decompensation (AD) of cirrhosis is defined as the acute development of ascites, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, infection or any combination thereof, requiring hospitalization. The presence of organ failure(s) in patients with AD defines acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The PREDICT study is a European, prospective, observational study, designed to characterize the clinical course of AD and to identify predictors of ACLF., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Brazil features prominently in the world’s textile industry due to its know-how in cotton cultivation. However, the denim production chain generates relevant environmental impacts due to some characteristics of its production chain. This study investigated the usefulness of actions for improving environmental – measured in terms of Climate Changes (CC) –, and energy performances, represented by Primary Energy Demand (PED), to be implemented in the supply chain of trouser jeans produced in Brazil. A diagnosis of the current process provided by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indicated CO2 (liming and mechanization) and N2O (N-fertilizer) emissions in cotton cultivation, and CH4 and CO2 (natural gas) releases from heat for the industrial branch as CC impact sources. Reliance on natural gas (heat supply) industrial processes and the BR grid (energy supply) provided PED contributions. With a view of improving this performance, scenarios based on cotton and yarn imports, and even trouser jeans themselves from the United States, as well as the replacement of natural gas for wood have been proposed. The LCA for such conditions did not offers a unanimous alternative. The lesser impact for CC (4.44 kg CO2eq/FU) refers to the manufacture of trouser jeans in Brazil using wood as a heat source. An Integrated Analysis combined the effects of both analyzed dimensions for all the different scenarios and the same alternative achieved the best combined indicator Moreover, if the CC estimate takes into account CO2 fixation from the air and biogenic CO2 emissions, the use of wood becomes advisable. The current scenario kept the best energy outcomes (124 MJ/FU) given a performance in terms of utilities and transport. Moreover, Sensitivity and Trend Analyzes sought to magnify the effects of the parameter oscillations that integrate the analyzed systems models. Overlap areas among scenarios were identified, confirming that measures to reduce consumptions along the trouser productive cycle are necessary to achieve satisfactory results in terms of environmental and energy performance.

Two constructed wetlands for treating industrial and sewage effluents (CW1 and CW2) and two natural wetlands (NW1 and NW2), located in Argentina, were studied. The aims of the study were (1) to assess the accumulation and distribution pattern of P in the surface sediments of both natural and constructed wetlands, and (2) to evaluate P long-term retention in sediment. In the sediment of all study sites, inorganic P fractions were dominant. Similar incoming water composition was determined between NW2 and CW1 and between NW1 and CW2. Water composition governed P concentration and distribution in sediment, being mainly P bound to CaCO3 in CW1 and NW2 and bound to Fe(OOH) in NW1 and CW2. According to water and sediment characteristics, the four wetlands will continue removing P from water. Studied wetlands are efficient and sustainable in terms of P retention. Fil: Di Luca, Gisela Alfonsina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina Fil: Maine, Maria Alejandra. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina Fil: Mufarrege, María de Las Mercedes. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina Fil: Hadad, Hernán Ricardo. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina Fil: Pedro, María del Carmen. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina Fil: Sánchez, Germán Hugo. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina Fil: Caffaratti, Sandra Ester. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Química Aplicada del Litoral.; Argentina

In the work of transnational feminist scholars, there is a share interest in investigating the colonial practices that affect women’s lives around the globe. In “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses” (1986) Mohanty claims that scholars in the field should “detect (…) colonialist move(s) in the case of a hegemonic first-third world connection in scholarship” (349) in order to recognize the peculiarities of the cultures whose discourses are being created and thus, avoid the universalization and “homogenization of class, race, religious, cultural and historical specificities of the lives of women” (348). In this regard, Dingo touches upon the vital role of translations in the transcoding of arguments: “the way policy makers and development experts translate the term gender mainstreaming into policy documents should be a crucial concern for feminist rhetoritians because this act of translation demonstrates how arguments shift and change due to economic and geopolitical contexts and thus shows how power informs rhetorics” (2012: 31). Dingo´s conceptualization of the term “translation” is ambiguous, sometimes used to refer to “transcoding” (resituate a taken-for-granted term within the same language in order to fit certain ideologies, 31) and other times as the transfer of words from the source language to the target language (104). In this article, I aim to investigate the “transcoding” of the concept "women empowerment" as it is translated from English to Spanish and vice versa with the attempt to “make visible the ways in which all of our knowledge is mediated” (Queen 2008: 486) from the perspective of a post-colonial theory of translation.

Background & Aims: We performed a randomized trial to determine whether albumin should be administered to patients with infections unrelated to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Methods: We performed a multicenter, open-label trial in which 118 patients with cirrhosis, non-SBP infections, and additional risk factors for poor outcome were randomly assigned to receive antibiotics plus albumin (study group; n = 61) or antibiotics alone (control group; n = 57). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality; secondary outcomes were effect of albumin on disease course. Results: There were no significant differences at baseline between groups in results from standard laboratory tests, serum markers of inflammation, circulatory dysfunction, or liver severity scores. However, the combined prevalence of acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) and kidney dysfunction was significantly higher in the study group (44.3% vs 24.6% in the control group; P = .02), indicating greater baseline overall severity. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome between groups (13.1% in the study group vs 10.5% in the control group; P = .66). Circulatory and renal functions improved in only the study group. A significantly higher proportion of patients in the study group had resolution of ACLF (82.3% vs 33.3% in the control group; P = .03). A significantly lower proportion of patients in the study group developed nosocomial infections (6.6% vs 24.6% in the control group; P = .007). Conclusions: In a randomized trial of patients with advanced cirrhosis and non-SBP infections, in-hospital mortality was similar between those who received albumin plus antibiotics vs those who received only antibiotics (controls). However, patients given albumin were sicker at baseline and, during the follow-up period, a higher proportion had ACLF resolution and a lower proportion had nosocomial infections. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02034279., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

This study examined the effect of Carbon Capture and Storage units on the environmental, energy and economic performance of the Brazilian electric grid. Four scenarios were established considering the coupling of Calcium Looping (CaL) processes to capture CO2 emitted from thermoelectric using coal and natural gas: S1: the current condition of the Brazilian grid, S2 and S3: Brazilian grid with CaL applied individually to coal (TEC) and gas (TGN) operated thermoelectric, and S4: CaL is simultaneously coupled to both sources. Global warming potential (GWP) expressed the environmental dimension, Primary Energy Demand (PED) was the energy indicator and Levelised Cost of Energy described the economic range. Attributional Life Cycle Assessment for generation of 1.0 MWh was applied in the analysis. None of the scenarios accumulated the best indexes in all dimensions. Regarding GWP, S4 totals the positive effects of using CaL to reduce CO2 from TEC and TGN, but the CH4 emissions increased due to its energy requirements. As for PED, S1 and S2 are similar and presented higher performances than S3 and S4. The price of natural gas compromises the use of CaL in TGN. A combined verification of the three analysis dimensions, proved that S2 was the best option of the series due to the homogeneity of its indices. The installation of CaL in TECs and TGNs was effective to capture and store CO2 emissions, but the costs of this system should be reduced and its energy efficiency still needs to be improved.

Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate is an important surfactant used by the Specialty Chemical Industry. However, little quantitative information regarding its environmental impacts in a systemic perspective is available. Therefore, this study assessed the environmental performance of 1.0 ton of Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate containing 3 mol of ethylene oxide (SLES 3EO), by means of a ‘cradle-to-gate’ Life Cycle Assessment. Environmental impacts were quantified in terms of Global Warming Potential and Primary Energy Demand (PED). Carbon Footprint was also estimated according to ISO 14067 guidelines. The Global Warming indicator was calculated as 1.87 t CO2eq/t for the baseline scenario, while PED was estimated as 71.7 GJ/t. Based on the main sources of impact, four individual alternatives aiming at environmental performance improvement were proposed, based on the Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production philosophy: S1) production using palm kernel oil from Brazil; S2) production from synthetic lauryl alcohol; S3) generation of thermal energy from biomass; S4) SLES 3EO synthesis using ethylene oxide obtained from sugarcane. Possible synergies deriving from the combinations of these propositions were also assessed, considering seven additional scenarios (S5 – S11). It was observed that lauryl alcohol performance was very influential and decisive for the results. Moreover, thermal energy from biomass was beneficial in terms of Global Warming, while increasing the renewable fraction of the PED indicator. On the other hand, ethylene oxide production from sugarcane ethanol was not an advantageous alternative, due to high fuel and thermal energy demands throughout its production chain. The Carbon Footprint assessment according to the ISO 14067 standard indicates a beneficial change in the impact profiles between the scenarios presenting renewable source assets participating in their life cycle, with a strong reduction in relation to the results obtained by applying the IPCC approach. Synergy among cleaner production propositions was observed and highly influenced by the amount of biomass incorporated to SLES 3EO life cycle. This can be considered an innovative approach regarding the Brazilian context. As a pioneer initiative, it is expected that the outcomes from this investigation would contribute to future initiatives investigating detergent formulation from an environmental perspective.

Background: For hernias that aren’t painful, choosing watchful waiting instead of immediate surgery isn’t tied to any long-term health problems. Many patients who took a wait-and-see approach with the groin bulges ended up eventually getting surgery when their hernias grew too big or started causing pain. Methodology: Watchful waiting were followed up at 6 months and annually and watched for hernia symptoms; repair patients received standard open tension-free Lichtenstein repair and were followed up at 3 and 6 months and annually. Results: Watchful waiting is an acceptable option for men with minimally symptomatic inguinal hernias. Delaying surgical repair until symptoms increase is safe because acute hernia incarcerations occur rarely

In a 57-year-old male, a persistent headache was evaluated by neurologists. MRI was done, and incidental superior cerebellar artery (SCA) aneurysm was discovered after assessment of abnormal image at the lateral aspect of the mesencephalon. CT-angio and angiography (Fig. 18.1) showed an aneurysm with saccular form at proximal portion of right SCA. Endovascular treatment was precluded by neuroradiologist due to the morphological characteristics of the aneurysm’s neck [1–3].

Introduction: Post-embolic syndrome term has been applied by analogy not only with post-phlebitic syndrome, but also to the apparently inexplicable persistence of dyspnea or intolerance to exercise after an episode of PE Aim: To analyze if the presence of dyspnea in the 6 month follow-up of patients after an acute PE episode, was associated with right and left ventricular size-function echocardiographic parameters Materials and Methods: Prospective study of OSIRIS study. In the 6 months follow-up after acute episode, patients underwent 6mWT, transtoracic echocardiograma (TTE) but also assessment of symptoms. To analyze dyspnea at 6mWT end (BORG-F) with each TTE variable, Spearman correlation coefficient was used. Median and interquartile range for central tendency Results: Between June 2014 to September 2016, 274 patients were enrolled in our center into the OSIRIS study (54% males, median age 72). To 234 of them (85.4%) TTE and 6mWT were performed in the 6 months follow-up. A totl of 86/234 (36.75% [CI95: 30,56-43,28]) reported limitations in their daily lives (NYHA2 73. NYHA3 13), although 66/234 (28.2% [CI95 22,54-34,44]) reported dyspnea at the end of WT6 at least as moderate (Borg ≥3) and 37 of 234 (15.8 % [CI95 11,38-31,13]) at least intense (Borg ≥4) Conclusions: 1. In our patients, right ventricular dysfunction has not been seem to be responsible for dyspnea after PE episode 2. We have not found association between pulmonary arterial pressure parameters but neither with left ventricular functionalism or with age 3. Six months after acute PE episode, almost half of patients reported NYHA≥2, although only 28.5% [IC95: 22,54-34,44) recognized at least a moderate level of dysnea after the 6mWT

The aim of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is to help people (e.g., elderly, children) to have an independent and monitored life with the use and assistance of technology. For this population, specific technologies have been developed; many of those technologies (i.e., hardware, software) use sensors and embedded systems. Although there are many studies that address AAL approaches, no systematic literature reviews have been presented that cover hardware and software working together and take into account specific disabilities. Therefore, in this paper a systematic literature review of primary studies related to AAL is presented, which is focused on establishing software and hardware relations working together in order to solve or support specific disabilities. In this study, 3297 articles were extracted, from them only 48 were selected after applying the corresponding inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI) facilitate human-machine interaction, through which the user makes use of a general system in a more efficient way. These interfaces are helpful for different types of users, specifically for people with disabilities, seniors, among others. These interfaces belong to a type of intelligent systems that are capable of self-adapt to users with different health problems, this is possible through the determination of behavior characteristics that distinguishes each user from another. In this paper, a systematic mapping of the Intelligent User Interfaces is presented, which allow developers to determine which applications are adopting those interfaces with emphasis on Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies. The Kitchenham's methodology has been applied in order to perform this secondary study, after the execution of the review, a total of 43 primary studies was selected and classified, thus allowing us to obtain the results presented in this contribution.

Introduction: Spirometry is the most widespread test for evaluating lung function, but it´s either underused and poorly performed in many situations. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality control of spirometries made by medical students in the setting of the Lung Development Study of the University of Granada. Methods: The Lung Development Study is a prospective observational study recruiting a volunteer-cohort from medical students in Granada (aged between 18 and 25 years old), aiming to study lung function changes during these years. Each participant will perform a spirometry once a year as well as a clinical history (regarding personal and familiar history, exposure to tobacco and air pollutants) and physical activity questionaries. Two independent reviewers graded the tests according to previously published criteria. Results: 89 adults were included in the cohort and performed a spirometry in the first year, and 35 performed the 2nd year spirometry. Mean number of spirometries per technician ranged form 17 to 1. The quality grade of the spirometries was Grade A (75 tests, 84% from total) Grade C (10 tests, 11%) and Grade D (4 tests, 5%) in the first year. Spirometries from the 2nd year showed Grade A (33 tests, 94%), Grade F (2 tests, 6%). Mean spirometric valuees were FEV1 3,83 L (±0,81), FVC 4,48 L (±1,02), FEV1/FVC 0,85 (±0,06) Conclusions: · More than 95% tests performed by medical students were considered grade A to C as recommended by guidelines. · Spirometry can be implemented as a teaching resource for medical students.

Background Second generation (2G) ethanol is produced by breaking down lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars. In Brazil, sugarcane bagasse has been proposed as the lignocellulosic residue for this biofuel production. The enzymatic cocktails for the degradation of biomass-derived polysaccharides are mostly produced by fungi, such as Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei. However, it is not yet fully understood how these microorganisms degrade plant biomass. In order to identify transcriptomic changes during steam-exploded bagasse (SEB) breakdown, we conducted a RNA-seq comparative transcriptome profiling of both fungi growing on SEB as carbon source. Results Particular attention was focused on CAZymes, sugar transporters, transcription factors (TFs) and other proteins related to lignocellulose degradation. Although genes coding for the main enzymes involved in biomass deconstruction were expressed by both fungal strains since the beginning of the growth in SEB, significant differences were found in their expression profiles. The expression of these enzymes is mainly regulated at the transcription level, and A. niger and T. reesei also showed differences in TFs content and in their expression. Several sugar transporters that were induced in both fungal strains could be new players on biomass degradation besides their role in sugar uptake. Interestingly, our findings revealed that in both strains several genes that code for proteins of unknown function and pro-oxidant, antioxidant, and detoxification enzymes were induced during growth in SEB as carbon source, but their specific roles on lignocellulose degradation remain to be elucidated. Conclusions This is the first report of a time-course experiment monitoring the degradation of pretreated bagasse by two important fungi using the RNA-seq technology. It was possible to identify a set of genes that might be applied in several biotechnology fields. The data suggest that these two microorganisms employ different strategies for biomass breakdown. This knowledge can be exploited for the rational design of enzymatic cocktails and 2G ethanol production improvement. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3857-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background A single nucleotide polymorphism within the phosphatase PTPN22 increases the risk of developing multiple autoimmune and connective tissue diseases.1 Ptpn22 is a negative regulator of Syk and Src family kinases downstream of immuno-receptor signalling cascades.2 Fungal β-glucan receptor dectin-1, signals via Syk kinase, and induces dendritic cells to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12/23p40 and TNFα, in turn allowing the induction of IL-17 secreting T-cell responses, which are critical to the clearance of fungal infections.3 IL-17 has been implicated as a key cytokine in inflammatory responses associated with RA, JIA, and psoriasis.4 Objectives To investigate if Ptpn22 regulates dectin-1 signalling and controls the capability of dectin-1 matured BMDC to promote adaptive immune responses. Methods GM-CSF bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDC) were generated from C57BL/6 WT, Ptpn22-/- or Ptpn22R619W (human PTPN22R620W orthologue) mice, and pulsed with OVA323–339 in the presence or absence of the dectin-1 agonist curdlan. Activated BMDC were co-cultured in vitro with OT-II T-cells or adoptively transferred into OT-II mice and the resulting T-cell response assessed. Cytokine secretion from curdlan activated Ptpn22 variant mouse BMDC was determined by immunoassay and the kinetics of Syk and Erk phosphorylation were determined by immunoblot. Results We observed that Dectin-1 activated Ptpn22-/- BMDC had an enhanced capability to induce T-cell IL-17 secretion both in vitro and in vivo compared to WT BMDC. Following dectin-1 priming Ptpn22-/- BMDC secreted increased IL-1β compared to WT BMDC, and the increase in IL-1β was found to be sufficient to cause the enhanced IL-17 response induced by Ptpn22-/- BMDC. Dectin-1 induced IL-1β secretion was found to be Syk and Erk dependent and assessment of Syk and Erk kinetics of phosphorylation revealed that dectin-1 activated Ptpn22-/- BMDC displayed enhanced Syk and Erk phosphorylation compared to WT BMDC. Furthermore, Ptpn22R619W BMDC (orthologue of human Ptpn22R620W) exhibited a similar enhancement in IL-1β secretion and induced enhanced T-cell dependent IL-17 responses in vivo, indicating that the PTPN22 polymorphism behaves as a loss-of-function allele in the context of dectin-1 signals. Conclusions Data highlight Ptpn22 as a novel regulator of dectin-1 signals and provide a link between genetically conferred perturbation to innate receptor signalling pathways and autoimmunity. References Burn, G. L., Svensson, L., Sanchez-Blanco, C., Saini, M. & Cope, A. P. Why is PTPN22 a good candidate susceptibility gene for autoimmune disease? FEBS Lett. 585, 3689–98 (2011). Cloutier, J. F. & Veillette, A. Cooperative inhibition of T-cell antigen receptor signaling by a complex between a kinase and a phosphatase. J. Exp. Med. 189, 111–21 (1999). Dambuza, I. M. & Brown, G. D. C-type lectins in immunity: recent developments. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 32, 21–27 (2015). Tabarkiewicz, J., Pogoda, K., Karczmarczyk, A., Pozarowski, P. & Giannopoulos, K. The Role of IL-17 and Th17 Lymphocytes in Autoimmune Diseases. Arch. Immunol. Ther. Exp. (Warsz). 63, 435–49 (2015). Disclosure of Interest None declared

Vinasse and filter cake are residues of bioethanol processing that are used to be recycled as fertilizers in sugarcane plantation. Studies related to the environmental dimension on this practice are concerned only with the effects on water and soil. The present study examines the systemic effects of replacing chemical fertilizers with vinasse and filter cake on the environmental performance of ethanol, via life cycle assessment (LCA). The analysis was carried out by comparing various scenarios structured from two control variables: crop management techniques (manual and mechanized harvesting) and source of nutrients (for supplying the nutritional needs of sugarcane crops): chemical fertilizers, chemical fertilizers + vinasse, and chemical fertilizer + vinasse + filter cake. Impact assessment was carried out in terms of primary energy demand, climate change, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. LCA has been applied according to both attributional and consequential perspectives. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was performed in order to verify the effects of the varying amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the composition of vinasse on the results obtained for the impact profile. From the attributional LCA perspective, the most expressive contributions regarding primary energy demand occurred in terms of depletion of non-renewable fossils. Replacing chemical fertilizers with vinasse and filter cake was beneficial for the environmental performance of ethanol as it reduces climate change, terrestrial acidification, and human toxicity impacts and sustains freshwater eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity unaltered in relation to scenarios using only fertilizers. In terms of consequential LCA, ethanol’s environmental performance is influenced by the inclusion of the production of calcium fluorite to compensate the hexafluorosilicic acid deficit occurring in conjunction to the decrease of phosphate fertilizer and is compensated by the benefits provided by the general reduced consumption of chemical fertilizers for most of the impact categories. The exception occurred for primary energy demand. The reuse of residues from bioethanol production—vinasse and filter cake—as primary nutrient suppliers for the cultivation of sugarcane instead of chemical fertilizers is a valid practice that improves the environmental performance of ethanol, even if it is analyzed under a consequential LCA perspective. The transport of these inputs to the field must be managed, however, in order to minimize primary energy demand and climate change impacts.

The expansion of the Brazilian energy supply from fossil sources prompted environmental concerns about the emission of Green House Gases (GHG). Furthermore, the Brazilian government was committed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce GHG emissions by 43% by 2030, compared to 2005. The aim of this study was to design the Brazilian electricity mix for 2030, while taking into account economic, technical and environmental criteria. In order to get this, Linear Programming optimization has been applied to obtain an electricity matrix with minimum cost of the Brazilian electricity generation system, considering GHG emission constraints – defined via the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) technique –, as well as capacity generation and supply needs. In addition, LCA was also applied to obtain the environmental performance of the projected scenario and results were compared with those of 2005 and 2015. The analysis depicted that renewable sources represent 88% of the projected Brazilian electricity production in 2030, mainly hydropower, which accounts for 66%. In terms of Climate Change there is an impact reduction of 12% compared to 2005, while other categories such as Ionized Radiation and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity doubled and upped more than forty times. These findings led to conclude that environmental management should not be limited to GHG analysis, and must encompass other adverse effects. Moreover, this reinforces the importance of conducting analyses such as those provided by the LCA approach and include these results in the planning and decision-making processes of the energy sector.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of two constructed wetlands (CW1 and CW2) for the wastewater treatment of metallurgical industries and determine if contaminants are retained by the sediment or the plants, key knowledge for suitable wetland management. Both systems are free water surface CWs and were designed to treat industrial wastewater (with high pH and salinity containing Cr, Ni and Zn) and sewage together. Wastewaters receive a primary treatment before reaching the wetlands. CW1 and CW2 have been operating for 14 and 7 years, respectively. Wastewater, sediment and plants were sampled monthly in the inlet and outlet zones of both CWs. In both CWs, removal efficiencies were satisfactory. T. domingensis, the dominant species, is tolerant to metallurgical wastewaters and efficient in metal accumulation. Metals and P were efficiently removed in both CWs, being metals retained mainly in sediment, and P was retained in sediment and plants of the inlet zone. Metal concentration in macrophyte tissues is related to influent concentration while metal concentration in sediment depends not only on influent concentration but also on the time of operation of the CWs. Metals are bound to sediment fractions that can be considered steady under chemical and environmental conditions of the wetlands. Since the conditions for metal removal are largely provided by the influents (high pH, alkalinity, Fe, Ca and ionic concentrations), the sediment will continue retaining metals as far as the composition of the influents remain the same. Fil: Maine, Maria Alejandra. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Hadad, Hernán Ricardo. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Sanchez, Gabriela Cristina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina Fil: Di Luca, Gisela Alfonsina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Mufarrege, María de Las Mercedes. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Caffaratti, Sandra Ester. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina Fil: Pedro, María del Carmen. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Laboratorio de Química Analítica; Argentina

A free water surface constructed wetland (CW) designed for effluent treatment was dominated by the emergent macrophyte Typha domingensis reaching a cover of roughly 80% for 5 years. Highly efficient metal and nutrient removal was reported during this period. In June 2009, a population of approximately 30 capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) caused the complete depredation of the aerial parts of macrophytes. However, plant roots and rhizomes were not damaged. After depredation stopped, T. domingensis showed a luxuriant growth, reaching a cover of 60% in 30 days. The objective of this work was to evaluate the sustainability of the CW subjected to an extreme event. Removal efficiency of the system was compared during normal operation, during the depredation event and over the subsequent recovery period. The CW efficiently retained contaminants during all the periods studied. However, the best efficiencies were registered during the normal operation period. There were no significant differences between the performances of the CW over the last two periods, except for BOD. The mean removal percentages during normal operation/depredation event/recovery period, were: 84.9/73.2/74.7% Cr; 66.7/ 48.0/51.2% Ni; 97.2/91.0/89.4% Fe; 50.0/46.8/49.5% Zn; 81.0/84.0/80.4% NO3 - ; 98.4/93.4/84.1% NO2 - ; 73.9/ 28.2/53.2% BOD and 75.4/40.9/44.6% COD. SRP and TP presented low removal efficiencies. Despite the anoxic conditions, contaminants were not released from sediment, accumulating in fractions that proved to be stable faced with changes in the operating conditions of the CW. T. domingensis showed an excellent growth response, consequently the period without aerial parts lasted a few months and the CW could recover its normal operation. Plants continued retaining contaminants in their roots and the sediment increased its retention capacity, balancing the operating capacity of the system. This was probably due to the fact that the CW had reached its maturity, with a complete root-rhizome development. These results demonstrated that faced with an incidental problem, this mature CW was capable of maintaining its efficiency and recovering its vegetation, demonstrating the robustness of these treatment systems. Fil: Maine, Maria Alejandra. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Hadad, Hernán Ricardo. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Sánchez, Gabriela Cristina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina Fil: Mufarrege, María de Las Mercedes. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Di Luca, Gisela Alfonsina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina Fil: Caffaratti, Sandra Ester. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina Fil: Pedro, María del Carmen. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingenieria Quimica. Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica; Argentina

Introduction: COPD and smoking are closely linked to each other. Aim: Compare main characteristics between current and former COPD smokers and analyze the association between smoking status and development of exacerbations and mortality. Methods: Retrospective study with COPD patients from the specialist clinic. Severe exacerbations (requiring hospitalization or visit to the emergency department) in the following 2 years after inclusion were recorded. Disease impact was measured by the CAT questionnaire. Results: Patients main characteristics are displayed in table 1. Focusing on the number of exacerbations,no differences were found between groups (table 2). No correlation was found between the number of years of abstinence and the number of exacerbations (Graphic 2). Conclusions: 33% of COPD patients were active smokers. Current smokers were younger, with a higher pack-years index, were diagnosed earlier, had less severe airflow obstruction, and similar disease impact. No correlation was found between smoking status and development of exacerbations. No mortality differences were found between groups.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate and it is rising in women and non-smokers.Due to the increase in smoking habit of women the data have become similar. OBJECTIVE: To determine the development of lung cancer in women comparing clinical-epidemiological features and survival rates of two cohorts from different decades. METHODS: Descriptive retrospective study.Two cohorts of women diagnosed with lung cancer.The data were presented at Lung Tumor Committee of our hospital from 2000-2002 and 2011-2013.Chi square and Student t-test were used.Survival was assessed in 2004 and 2015.Level of significance was set at p RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Age at which lung cancer in women is diagnosed has not been modified.There is an increase of active smokers although the majority are former smokers.Adenocarcinoma is still the most frequent histological type.There are no significant differences between patients in operable and inoperable stages of cancer.The majority of tumors are still diagnosed in late stages.Death due to lung cancer has been significantly reduced from 60.9%to31.8%(p=0.02).There are no significant differences in two-year survival rate when compared with the past decade.

Background: The selection of patients for genetic testing to rule out Lynch syndrome is currently based on fulfilment of at least one of the revised Bethesda criteria followed by mismatch repair (MMR) status analysis. A study was undertaken to compare the present approach with universal MMR study-based strategies to detect Lynch syndrome in a large series of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: 2093 patients with CRC from the EPICOLON I and II cohorts were included. Immunohistochemistry for MMR proteins and/or microsatellite instability (MSI) analysis was performed in tumour tissue. Germline MLH1 and MSH2 mutation analysis was performed in patients whose tumours showed loss of MLH1 or MSH2 staining, respectively. MSH6 genetic testing was done in patients whose tumours showed lack of MSH6 expression or a combined lack of MSH2 and MSH6 expression but did not have MSH2 mutations. PMS2 genetic testing was performed in patients showing isolated loss of PMS2 expression. In patients with MSI tumours and normal or not available MMR protein expression, all four MMR genes were studied. Results: A total of 180 patients (8.6%) showed loss of expression of some of the MMR proteins and/or MSI. Four hundred and eighty-six patients (23.2%) met some of the revised Bethesda criteria. Of the 14 (0.7%) patients who had a MMR gene mutation, 12 fulfilled at least one of the revised Bethesda criteria and two (14.3%) did not. Conclusions: Routine molecular screening of patients with CRC for Lynch syndrome using immunohistochemistry or MSI has better sensitivity for detecting mutation carriers than the Bethesda guidelines. Instituto de Salud Carlos III (INT09/208 and PI08/0726). Fundación de la CV para la Investigación en el Hospital General Universitario de Alicante. Grant SAF 07-64873 from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. Funds from the AGAUR (2009 SGR 849) Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FI07/00303) CIBERehd is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Grant from Conselleria d’Educació de la Generalitat Valenciana (VALi+d).

When aqueous suspensions of gold nanorods are irradiated with a pulsing laser (808 nm), pressure waves appear even at low frequencies (pulse repetition rate of 25 kHz). We found that the pressure wave amplitude depends on the dynamics of the phenomenon. For fixed concentration and average laser current intensity, the amplitude of the pressure waves shows a trend of increasing with the pulse slope and the pulse maximum amplitude. We postulate that the detected ultrasonic pressure waves are a sort of shock waves that would be generated at the beginning of each pulse, because the pressure wave amplitude would be the result of the positive interference of all the individual shock waves.

Purpose: The present study investigates sinus membrane rupture in direct maxillary sinus lift with the rotary technique and with ultrasound, examining the survival of implants placed after sinus augmentation, and analyzing the bone gain obtained after the operation and 12 months after placement of the prosthetic restoration. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was made of 45 patients requiring maxillary sinus lift or augmentaMethods: A retrospective study was made of 45 patients requiring maxillary sinus lift or augmentaethods: A retrospective study was made of 45 patients requiring maxillary sinus lift or augmentation for implant-prosthetic rehabilitation. Use was made of the handpiece and ostectomy drills for the rotary technique, and of specific tips for ultrasound. The implant success criteria were based on those developed by Buser. The bone gain obtained as a result of sinus lift was calculated from the postoperative panoramic X-rays. Results: A total of 57 direct elevations of the maxillary sinus were carried out: 32 with the rotary technique and 25 with ultrasound. Perforations of Schneider’s membrane with the rotary technique and ultrasound occurred in 7% and 1.7% of the cases, respectively, with membrane integrity being preserved in 91.2%. Of the 100 implants placed, 5 failed after one year of follow-up in the rotary technique group, while one implant failed in the ultrasound group. The rotary technique in turn afforded a bone gain of 5.9 mm, versus 6.7 mm with ultrasound. Conclusions: Perforations of the membrane sinusal in direct lift were more frequent with the rotary technique (7%) than with ultrasound (1.7%). Implant survival and bone gain were both greater when ultrasound was used.

The objective of the current research is to study the theoretical uncertainty of the CERES ERBE-like level 1 and level 2 instantaneous filtered and unfiltered radiance data products. The instrument views incident radiation from an Earth scene, which is then focused on a blackened thermistor bolometer, where it is converted to an electrical output. The measured digital counts are converted to a filtered radiance by means of instrument calibration coefficients. The filtered radiance is then converted to an unfiltered radiance with an algorithm that utilizes the instrument's spectral response function. Uncertainties in the calibration sources and the spectral response function of the instrument can negatively affect the quality of the final data products. A statistical study of the data products' sensitivity to various instrument and calibration parameters is performed using high-fidelity first-principle numerical models of the CERES instrument. Once the key parameters are identified, fidelity intervals of the data products are calculated using nominal parameter values and uncertainty distributions.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

12 The increasing use of probabilistic methods, such as the Monte Carlo ray-trace (MCRT) method, in thermal radiation and optical modeling, has created a general awareness in the community of the need for a protocol to predict, to a specified level of confidence, the uncertainty of the results obtained using these methods. This paper presents such a protocol applied to models of radiometric channels used in space-based Earth observations. It is anticipated that the same protocol, with suitable modification, may be extended to data from actual instruments. The authors and their colleagues have developed a powerful generic MCRT- based computational environment that, among other features, is capable of simulating radiative exchange among surfaces and within enclosures. As in any MCRT thermal- radiative/optical model, the spatial resolution and accuracy of the results obtained depend on the fineness of the mesh, the number of rays traced, and the accuracy of directional and spectral surface property models. The protocol presented in this paper identifies and quantifies the contribution of these factors to the ultimate uncertainty in predicted results and to their related confidence intervals.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Described is thermal radiation detector conceived for possible deployment on GERB (Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget). It consists of a linear array of 256 elements, each 60 micrometer square and separated by a 3-micrometer gap. Each element is the active junction of a single-junction-pair zinc- antimonide/platinum thermopile. The reference junction is mounted on an isothermal substrate, and the active junction is thermally isolated from the substrate by a thin layer of parylene. The detector is mounted on one wall of a wedge- shaped, mirrored cavity intended to increase the effective absorptivity and improve the spectral flatness of the detector through multiple reflections. A dynamic opto-electrothermal model of the detector/cavity combination has been formulated in order to facilitate its optimal design. The optical part of the model is based on a Monte-Carlo ray trace that takes into account diffraction at the entrance slit as well as the diffuse and specular components of reflectivity of the cavity surfaces. Heat absorption and diffusion through the thermopile structure has been modeled using the finite element method. The model has been used to validate a method for eliminating optical cross-talk among elements of the array through post- processing of data.

at least one new peak compared to the product from the matching normal tissue. Statistical Analysis: The Kaplan-Meier method was used for estimating recurrence-free survival. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to evaluate the association between MSI status and other clinicopathological factors for predicting recurrent distant metastasis. The P value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Stage II and III patients with MSI-L and/or EMAST had a shorter recurrence-free survival than patients with high levels of MSI (MSI-H) (P=0.0084) or with highly stable microsatellites (H-MSS) (P=0.0415) by Kaplan-Meier analysis. MSI-L and/or EMAST are independent predictors of recurrent distant metastasis in primary stage II and III CRCs by Cox proportional hazard analysis (Hazard Ratio: 1.83, 95%CI: 1.06-3.15, P=0.0301). Compatible with other studies, the present study also showed that MSI-H is associated with proximal location and exhibited lowest risk for recurrent distant metastasis. Conclusions: Our results showed that MSI-L/EMAST is a predictive factor of stage II/III primary CRC for recurrent distant metastasis. Because MSI-L/EMAST CRC is different from MSI-H and H-MSS CRC, we proposed to define MSI-L/EMAST as one group and named this group of CRC moderate MSI (MSI-M).

Hyperplastic polyps have traditionally been considered not to have malignant potential. New pathological classification of serrated polyps and recent discoveries about the serrated pathway of carcinogenesis have revolutionized the concepts and revitalized the research in this area. Until recently, it has been thought that most colorectal cancers arise from conventional adenomas via the traditional tumor suppressor pathway initiated by a mutation of the APC gene, but it has been found that this pathway accounts for only approximately 70%-80% of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. The majority of the remaining colorectal cancer cases follow an alternative pathway leading to CpG island methylator phenotype carcinoma with BRAF mutation and with or without microsatellite instability. The mechanism of carcinomas arising from this alternative pathway seems to begin with an activating mutation of the BRAF oncogene. Serrated polyposis syndrome is a relatively rare condition characterized by multiple and/or large serrated polyps of the colon. Clinical characteristics, etiology and relationship of serrated polyposis syndrome to CRC have not been clarified yet. Patients with this syndrome show a high risk of CRC and both sporadic and hereditary cases have been described. Clinical criteria have been used for diagnosis and frequent colonoscopy surveillance should be performed in order to prevent colorectal cancer. In this review, we try to gather new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of serrated polyps in order to understand their possible clinical implications and to make an approach to the management of this syndrome.