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After nearly 35 years of stable activity, the Kilauea volcanic system in Hawaii went through sudden changes in May 2018 with the emergence of 20 volcanic fissures along the Lower Eastern Rift Zone (LERZ), destroying 700 homes in Leilani Estates and forcing more than 2,000 people to evacuate. Elevated volcanic emissions lasted for several months between May and September 2018, leading to low visibility and poor air quality in Hawaii and across the western Pacific. The NASA-funded VolKilau mission was rapidly mounted and conducted between 11 and 18 June 2018 to (i) profile volcanic emissions with SO2 and aerosol measurements, (ii) validate satellite observations, and (iii) increase readiness for the next large volcanic eruption. Through a series of balloon-borne measurements with tethered and free-released launches, we measured SO2 concentration, aerosol concentration, and optical properties 60–80 km downwind from the volcanic fissures using gas sensors, optical particle counters, backscatter sondes, and an aerosol impactor. While most of the measurements made during the Kilauea eruption were ground based, the VolKilau mission represented a unique opportunity to characterize plume properties, constrain emission profiles, study early chemistry involving the conversion of SO2 into sulfuric acid, and understand the influence of water clouds in the removal of SO2. This unprecedented combination of measurements has significantly improved our team’s ability to assess the atmospheric and human impacts of a major event such as this.

In ophthalmologic practice, retinal images are routinely obtained to diagnose and monitor primary eye diseases and systemic conditions affecting the eye, such as diabetic retinopathy. Recent studies have shown that biomarkers on retinal images, for example, retinal blood vessel density or tortuosity, are associated with cardiac function and may identify patients at risk of coronary artery disease. In this work we investigate the use of retinal images, alongside relevant patient metadata, to estimate left ventricular mass and left ventricular end-diastolic volume, and subsequently, predict incident myocardial infarction. We trained a multichannel variational autoencoder and a deep regressor model to estimate left ventricular mass (4.4 (–32.30, 41.1) g) and left ventricular end-diastolic volume (3.02 (–53.45, 59.49) ml) and predict risk of myocardial infarction (AUC = 0.80 ± 0.02, sensitivity = 0.74 ± 0.02, specificity = 0.71 ± 0.03) using just the retinal images and demographic data. Our results indicate that one could identify patients at high risk of future myocardial infarction from retinal imaging available in every optician and eye clinic.

The evolution of the Spanish cities towards their digital transformation, integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), and improvement of social cohesion have been promoted by the government. However, this evolution has not yet been evaluated, and this assessment is considerably relevant as more than 200 M€ has been spent from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through five calls divided into two national plans (2014–2020). In this evaluation, the projects of 61 beneficiary local entities have been analysed. The lines of action executed have been identified and compared, using standardised indicators, with the actions conducted in the European metropolis that are smart city references. The actions planned in the last call (Smart Territories National Plan) closely resemble the philosophy of the latest generation paradigm of smart cities (holistic approach and specialisation in topics such as tourism or intelligent buildings) from the initial point where the areas of technology, software, and governance were focused. This work offers a precise picture of the priorities and lines of the progress of smart cities at each period of the last decade and helps technicians and investigators evaluate executed projects and design new lines of development.

The biomechanical performance of hip prostheses is often suboptimal, which leads to problems such as strain shielding, bone resorption and implant loosening, affecting the long-term viability of these implants for articular repair. Different studies have highlighted the interest of short stems for preserving bone stock and minimizing shielding, hence providing an alternative to conventional hip prostheses with long stems. Such short stems are especially valuable for younger patients, as they may require additional surgical interventions and replacements in the future, for which the preservation of bone stock is fundamental. Arguably, enhanced results may be achieved by combining the benefits of short stems with the possibilities of personalization, which are now empowered by a wise combination of medical images, computer-aided design and engineering resources and automated manufacturing tools. In this study, an innovative design methodology for custom-made short femoral stems is presented. The design process is enhanced through a novel app employing elliptical adjustment for the quasi-automated CAD modeling of personalized short femoral stems. The proposed methodology is validated by completely developing two personalized short femoral stems, which are evaluated by combining in silico studies (finite element method (FEM) simulations), for quantifying their biomechanical performance, and rapid prototyping, for evaluating implantability.

Supplementary Material 1

Hispanics are the majority ethnic population in Puerto Rico where we reviewed charts of 109 hospitalized COVID-19 patients to better understand demographic and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 and determine risk factors for poor outcomes. Eligible medical records of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 illnesses were reviewed at four participating hospitals in population centers across Puerto Rico and data were abstracted that described the clinical course, interventions, and outcomes. We found hospitalized patients had a median of 3 underlying conditions with obesity and diabetes as the most frequently reported conditions. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission occurred among 28% of patients and 18% of patients died during the hospitalization. Patients 65 or older or with immune deficiencies had a higher risk for death. Common symptoms included cough, dyspnea, and fatigue; less than half of patients in the study reported fever which was less frequent than reported elsewhere in the literature. It is important for interventions within Hispanic communities to protect high-risk groups.

Shape reconstruction from sparse point clouds/images is a challenging and relevant task required for a variety of applications in computer vision and medical image analysis (e.g. surgical navigation, cardiac motion analysis, augmented/virtual reality systems). A subset of such methods, viz. 3D shape reconstruction from 2D contours, is especially relevant for computer-aided diagnosis and intervention applications involving meshes derived from multiple 2D image slices, views or projections. We propose a deep learning architecture, coined Mesh Reconstruction Network (MR-Net), which tackles this problem. MR-Net enables accurate 3D mesh reconstruction in real-time despite missing data and with sparse annotations. Using 3D cardiac shape reconstruction from 2D contours defined on short-axis cardiac magnetic resonance image slices as an exemplar, we demonstrate that our approach consistently outperforms state-of-the-art techniques for shape reconstruction from unstructured point clouds. Our approach can reconstruct 3D cardiac meshes to within 2.5-mm point-to-point error, concerning the ground-truth data (the original image spatial resolution is ∼1.8×1.8×10mm3). We further evaluate the robustness of the proposed approach to incomplete data, and contours estimated using an automatic segmentation algorithm. MR-Net is generic and could reconstruct shapes of other organs, making it compelling as a tool for various applications in medical image analysis. ispartof: MEDICAL IMAGE ANALYSIS vol:74 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

III-V semiconductor lasers integrated on Si-based photonic platforms are eagerly awaited by the industry for mass-scale applications, from interconnect to on-chip sensing. The current understanding is that only quantum dot lasers can reasonably operate at the high dislocation densities generated by the III-V-on-Si heteroepitaxy, which induces high non-radiative carrier recombination rates. Here we propose a strategy based on a type-II band alignment to fabricate quantum well lasers highly tolerant to dislocations. A mid-IR GaInSb/InAs interband cascade laser grown on Si exhibits performances similar to those of its counterpart grown on the native GaSb substrate, in spite of a dislocation density in the 10 8 c m − 2 range. Over 3800 h of continuous-wave operation data have been collected, giving an extrapolated mean time to failure exceeding 312,000 h. This validates the proposed strategy and opens the way to new integrated laser development.

The infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 presents changes in the coagulation processes such as venous thromboembolism (VTE) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and it has been shown that this coagulopathy is associated by some means with the mortality. Studies suggest that these anticoagulants reduced the mortality of hospitalized patients. However, the studies for this point are not demonstrative, since they are evaluated as multiple variables and the results obtained are not the answer to experimental designs with controlled variables. In most of the cases, the obtained responses are the result of isolated cases or experimental models that do not differentiate statistical data, probably because of the differences related to the study groups. However, in models adjusted for age and sex, the reduction in mortality was statistically significant in patients who were treated with heparins, even when other variables were added to the model. In view of this, there is no consensus regarding the dose and type of anticoagulant, between different countries and entities, but what is most often cited is the use of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in a prophylactic dose for all hospitalized patients with the disease. The use of anticoagulants such as heparins has suggested results applicable to the treatment of coagulopathy caused by COVID-19, which makes the subject important for the centralization and analysis of the results. In order to continue with the construction of knowledge around this theme, the objective of this work was to review the use of heparins in the treatment of COVID-19. La infección por SARS-CoV-2 presenta alteraciones en los procesos de coagulación como tromboembolismo venoso (TEV) y coagulación intravascular diseminada (CID) y se ha demostrado que este cuadro de coagulopatía se asocia de alguna manera con la mortalidad. Los estudios sugieren que los anticoagulantes reducen la mortalidad hospitalaria. Sin embargo, los estudios no son demostrativos, ya que se consideran múltiples variables y los resultados obtenidos no son la respuesta a diseños experimentales con variables controladas. En la mayoría de los casos, las respuestas obtenidas son el resultado de casos aislados o modelos experimentales que no mostraron significancia estadística, probablemente por diferencias relacionadas con los grupos de estudio. Sin embargo, en los modelos ajustados por edad y sexo, la reducción de la mortalidad fue estadísticamente significativa en los pacientes tratados con heparina, incluso cuando se añadieron otras variables al modelo. Ante esto, no existe consenso en cuanto a dosis y tipo de anticoagulante entre diferentes países y entidades, pero lo que se cita con mayor frecuencia es el uso de heparina de bajo peso molecular (HBPM) en dosis profiláctica para todos los pacientes hospitalizados por la enfermedad. . El uso de anticoagulantes como las heparinas ha sugerido resultados aplicables al tratamiento de la coagulopatía por COVID-19, lo que hace que el tema sea importante para la centralización y análisis de resultados. Para continuar con la construcción de conocimiento sobre el tema, el objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar una revisión sobre el uso de heparinas en el tratamiento del COVID-19. A infeção causada pelo SARS-CoV-2 apresenta alterações nos processos de coagulação como tromboembolismo venoso (TEV) e coagulação intravascular disseminada (CIVD) e foi demonstrado que esse quadro de coagulopatia está associado de alguma maneira com a mortalidade. Estudos sugerem que anticoagulantes diminuíram a mortalidade de pacientes internados. No entanto, os estudos não são demonstrativos, uma vez que são consideradas múltiplas variáveis e os resultados obtidos não são a resposta a planejamentos experimentais com variáveis controladas. Na maioria dos casos, as respostas obtidas são o resultado de casos isolados ou de modelos experimentais que não apresentaram significância estatística, provavelmente, por causa das diferenças relacionadas aos grupos de estudo. No entanto, em modelos ajustados para idade e sexo, a redução na mortalidade foi estatisticamente significativa em pacientes que foram tratados com heparinas, inclusive quando outras variáveis foram adicionadas ao modelo. Frente a isso, não existe um consenso em relação à dose e ao tipo de anticoagulante, entre os diferentes países e entidades, mas o que é citado com mais frequência é o uso da heparina de baixo peso molecular (HBPM) em dose profilática para todos os pacientes internados com a doença. O uso de anticoagulantes como as heparinas têm sugerido resultados aplicáveis ao tratamento da coagulopatia causada pela COVID-19, o que torna o tema importante para a centralização e a análise dos resultados. Com o intuito de continuar com a construção do conhecimento na temática, o objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma revisão narrativa sobre o uso das heparinas no tratamento da COVID-19.

Current EO satellite missions providing imagery in the VIS- TIR region at high spatial resolution offer the possibility to estimate a number of important parameters to monitor volcanic activities at worldwide level. Therefore, space missions contribute in understanding the ongoing phenomena to mitigate the volcanic risk when population and infrastructures are exposed. New hyperspectral and thermal missions which could provide images at high spatial and temporal resolution are under study in cooperation between Space Agencies (NASA, ASI, ESA etc.) and hopefully will improve the monitoring capabilities of active volcanoes in highly populated areas. In the present work we describe several results obtained in the last years by EO satellite missions for the volcanic risk. While the satellite data provide a wide description of scenes, in situ and proximal measurements are crucial to retrieve gas emissions and analyze surface characteristics at very high spatial resolution. Data acquired from drones (UAV) and thermal cameras in volcanic areas are presented and discussed. Moreover, this work shows the need of validation process for satellite products comparing with measurements collected during field campaigns.

Pandemy caused by the new coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2) represents a challenge for public health worldwide, due to the high transmissibility of the virus, consequent overload of health systems and large number of deaths. Studies and research are being carried out in order to identify safe and effective therapeutic alternatives for COVID-19, a disease caused by SAR-CoV-2, since there is still no consensus or scientific evidence that any drug can suppress viral excretion without causing massive side effects to the patient. In this perspective, some drugs are being used in clinical practice and, among them, is the combination of Lopinavir with Ritonavir, antiretroviral drugs commonly used in HIV treatment. The aim of this narrative review is to analyze the use of the Lopinavir/Ritonavir combination as a therapeutic alternative for COVID-19. The results indicate that the Lopinavir/Ritonavir combination has been used as an adjunctive treatment in cases of COVID-19, usually combined with other medications. Studies suggest that this combination does not interfere with ICU time and that the percentage of deaths is not significant. When applied at the onset of symptoms, these medications cause reduced viral excretion and fewer intubations. However, there is a contradiction regarding this, as some studies suggest an increase in viral excretion in patients who received these drugs. It reinforces the need to intensify studies related to treatment for COVID-19 in order to generate conclusive data so that medications can be used effectively and safely. La pandemia provocada por el nuevo coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2) representa un desafío para la salud pública a nivel mundial, debido a la alta transmisibilidad del virus, la consiguiente sobrecarga de los sistemas de salud y la gran cantidad de muertes. Así, se están realizando estudios e investigaciones con el fin de identificar alternativas terapéuticas seguras y efectivas para COVID-19, una enfermedad causada por SAR-CoV-2, ya que aún no existe consenso o evidencia científica de que algún fármaco pueda inhibir la excreción viral. sin causar efectos secundarios masivos al paciente. En esta perspectiva, algunos fármacos se están utilizando en la práctica clínica y, entre ellos, se encuentra la combinación de Lopinavir con Ritonavir, fármacos antirretrovirales comúnmente utilizados en el tratamiento del VIH. El objetivo de esta revisión narrativa es analizar el uso de la combinación Lopinavir / Ritonavir como alternativa terapéutica para COVID-19. Los resultados indican que la combinación de Lopinavir / Ritonavir se ha utilizado como tratamiento adyuvante en casos de COVID-19, generalmente combinado con otros medicamentos. Los estudios sugieren que esta combinación no interfiere con el tiempo en la UCI y que el porcentaje de muertes no es significativo. Cuando se aplican al inicio de los síntomas, estos medicamentos reducen la excreción viral y provocan menos intubaciones. Sin embargo, existe una contradicción al respecto, ya que algunos estudios sugieren un aumento de la excreción viral en los pacientes que recibieron estos fármacos. Refuerza la necesidad de intensificar los estudios relacionados con el tratamiento del COVID-19 con el fin de generar datos concluyentes para que los medicamentos se puedan utilizar de forma eficaz y segura. A pandemia causada pelo novo coronavírus (SAR-CoV-2) representa um desafio para a saúde pública do mundo inteiro, em função da alta transmissibilidade do vírus, consequente sobrecarga dos sistemas de saúde e grande número de óbitos. Assim, estudos e pesquisas estão sendo realizados no intuito de identificar alternativas terapêuticas seguras e eficazes para a COVID-19, doença causada pelo SAR-CoV-2, visto que ainda não há um consenso nem evidência científica de que algum medicamento possa suprimir a excreção viral sem trazer massivos efeitos colaterais ao paciente. Nessa perspectiva, alguns fármacos estão sendo utilizados na prática clínica e, dentre eles, encontra-se a combinação do Lopinavir com o Ritonavir, antiretrovirais comumente utilizados no tratamento do HIV. O objetivo dessa revisão narrativa é analisar o uso da combinação Lopinavir/Ritonavir como alternativa terapêutica para a COVID-19. Os resultados indicam que a associação Lopinavir/Ritonavir tem sido utilizada como tratamento coadjuvante nos casos de COVID-19, normalmente combinada com outros medicamentos. Estudos sugerem que essa combinação não interfere no tempo de UTI e que a porcentagem de óbitos não é significativa. Quando aplicada no início dos sintomas, essas medicações causam redução na excreção viral e menor número de intubação. No entanto, há contradição referente a isso, já que alguns estudos sugerem aumento na excreção viral em pacientes que receberam esses medicamentos. Reforça-se a necessidade de intensificar os estudos relacionados ao tratamento para COVID-19 no sentido de gerar dados conclusivos para que as medicações possam ser utilizadas com eficácia e segurança.

Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 52 años, sin antecedentes personales o familiares de cáncer, con clínica de epigastralgia y sin mejoría, a pesar de dosis plenas con inhibidores de la bomba de protones. Por la persistencia de los síntomas, se decidió solicitar una nueva gastroscopia en la que se encontraron lesiones duodenales que describen como linfangiectasias; se tomaron biopsias y se enviaron a Anatomía Patológica, con diagnóstico de linfoma intestinal primario.

Software requirements are often described in natural language because they are useful to communicate and validate. Due to their focus on particular facets of a system, this kind of specifications tends to keep relevant concerns (also known as early aspects) from the analysts’ view. These concerns are known as crosscutting concerns because they appear scattered among documents. Concern mining tools can help analysts to uncover concerns latent in the text and bring them to their attention. Nonetheless, analysts are responsible for vetting tool-generated solutions, because the detection of concerns is currently far from perfect. In this article, we empirically investigate the role of analysts in the concern vetting process, which has been little studied in the literature. In particular, we report on the behavior and performance of 55 subjects in three case-studies working with solutions produced by two different tools, assessed in terms of binary classification measures. We discovered that analysts can improve “bad” solutions to a great extent, but performed significantly better with “good” solutions. We also noticed that the vetting time is not a decisive factor to their final accuracy. Finally, we observed that subjects working with solutions substantially different from those of existing tools (better recall) can also achieve a good performance. Fil: Rago, Alejandro Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de La Salud; Argentina Fil: Diaz Pace, Jorge Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto Superior de Ingeniería del Software; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de La Salud; Argentina Fil: Marcos, Claudia Andrea. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina