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In this work, we propose a microwave sensor that allows the characterization of dielectric materials based on a differential configuration. A microstrip permittivity sensor of the surrounding material is proposed using a split ring-resonator to measure differentially. The geometry was optimized and was numerically analyzed using CST STUDIO. The numerical analysis of the metamaterial unit cells is carried out first, to determine the operating band. After that, the metamaterial cell was employed to design the differential microstrip permittivity sensor. The obtained results reveal that the proposed sensor has the capability to characterize different materials whose relative dielectric permittivity’s are in the range of 9.8 to 80 with great performance. The device has a total size of 86 mm × 60 mm and operates around 3 GHz. In this band, the sensor reaches a sensibility of 2.89 MHz and a Q-factor of 70.15. Thus, this work shows a compact, reusable, label-free, and non-destructive microwave sensing device and paves the way for high accuracy sensing of the dielectric properties of different materials due to its high- Q-factor as well as high sensitivity.

CD20 is a cell-surface receptor expressed by healthy and neoplastic B cells and is a well-established target for biologics used to treat B-cell malignancies. Pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) data for the anti-CD20/CD3 T-cell-dependent bispecific antibody BTCT4465A were collected in transgenic mouse and nonhuman primate (NHP) studies. Pronounced nonlinearity in drug elimination was observed in the murine studies, and time-varying, nonlinear PK was observed in NHPs, where three empirical drug elimination terms were identified using a mixed-effects modeling approach: i) a constant nonsaturable linear clearance term (7 mL/day/kg); ii) a rapidly decaying time-varying, linear clearance term (t½ = 1.6 h); and iii) a slowly decaying time-varying, nonlinear clearance term (t½ = 4.8 days). The two time-varying drug elimination terms approximately track with time scales of B-cell depletion and T-cell migration/expansion within the central blood compartment. The mixed-effects NHP model was scaled to human and prospective clinical simulations were generated.

Se desarrollo un proceso de sintesis en dos etapas para la obtencion de un material hibrido magnetico (PMHM) con matriz polimerica, el cual se compone de nanoparticulas de oxido de hierro sintetizadas in-situ en una matriz de polivinil butiral o PVB. En la primera etapa, se sintetizo un material precursor en forma de pelicula (Fe(II)-PVB). En la segunda etapa, el Fe(II)-PVB se trato con H2O2 bajo condiciones alcalinas para la obtencion del PMHM. Mediante caracterizacion de difraccion de rayos X o DRX se demostro que la estructura cristalina del oxido de hierro en el PMHM corresponde a fases de goethita y de maghemita o magnetita. Mediante espectroscopia FTIR se identifico que la matriz polimerica o PVB del PMHM conserva su estructura quimica. Imagenes obtenidas mediante HRTEM muestran que las nanoparticulas de oxido de hierro (~ 5 nm) tienen formas cuasi-esfericas y estan embebidas en la matriz de PVB. Por otra parte, los diagramas de magnetizacion versus temperatura, muestran que las nanoparticulas en el PVB tienen un comportamiento superparamagnetico. Finalmente, los resultados magnetoreologicos muestran que las propiedades viscoelasticas del PMHM pueden modificarse bajo la aplicacion de un campo magnetico externo, demostrando que es una buena alternativa para llevar a cabo funciones como actuador o sensor para el diseno de dispositivos electronicos o mecatronicos

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) has experienced significant development in the light of results obtained from numerous studies due to a series of advantages that it offers. The use of mineral admixtures at microscale and recently at nanoscale has permitted high-performance SCC to be obtained. Over the past few years, micro silica (mSi) and nano silica (nSi) have been the most used admixtures in continuing research into the areas of civil and agricultural engineering. This paper examines the behavior of 10 mixtures of SCC prepared with binary and ternary dosages through use of Portland cement (CEM I 52.5 R), mSi and nSi. As a reference, a SCC was designed which used no mineral admixtures, with the rest of the dosages using different percentages of mSi and nSi. Three were made with 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% of nSi; three more with 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% of mSi, and the remaining three by using both admixtures (ternary mixtures) mSi and nSi, with percentages of 2.5%/2.5%, 5%/2.5% and 2.5%/5%. The properties studied are rheological (flow test, funnel test and box test), mechanical (compressive strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity), and microstructural (hydration composites). According to the results obtained, all the concretes meet the requirements to be classified as SCCs by monitoring the quantity of superplasticizer additive according to the type and quantity of mineral admixture used. The higher compressive strength value was obtained by the ternary mixture with 2.5%/2.5% of mSi and nSi both at 28 and 90 days. Ternary mixtures of 2.5%/5% and 5%/2.5% reach values similar to those obtained by the mixture with 7.5% of nSi. Based on these results, it is possible to say that the compressive strength depends on the particle size and the amount of the admixture, and the particle-size distribution of the resulting mixture. This allows the advantage of obtaining considerably high compressive strength by using lower amounts both of nSi and of mSi and, therefore, of SP.

Improving the efficiency of solar-powered oxygen evolution is both critical for development of solar fuels technologies and challenging due to the broad set of properties required of a solar fuels photoanode. Bismuth vanadate, in particular the monoclinic clinobisvanite phase, has received substantial attention and has exhibited the highest radiative efficiency among metal oxides with a band gap in the visible range. Efforts to further improve its photoelectrochemical performance have included alloying one or more metals onto the Bi and/or V sites, with progress on this frontier stymied by the difficulty in computational modelling of substitutional alloys and the high dimensionality of co-alloying composition spaces. Since substitutional alloying concurrently changes multiple materials properties, understanding the underlying cause for performance improvements is also challenging, motivating our application of combinatorial materials science techniques to map photoelectrochemical performance of 948 unique bismuth vanadate alloy compositions comprising 0 to 8% alloys of P, Ca, Mo, Eu, Gd, and W along with a variety of compositions from each pairwise combination of these elements. Upon identification of substantial improvements in the (Mo,Gd) co-alloying space, structural mapping was performed to reveal a remarkable correlation between performance enhancement and a lowered monoclinic distortion. First-principles density functional theory calculations indicate that the improvements are due to a lowered hole effective mass and hole polaron formation energy, and collectively, our results identify the monoclinic distortion as a critical parameter in the optimization and understanding of bismuth vanadate-based photoanodes.

We study the kinetics of eosinophils during the development of the cellular infiltrate surrounding the nurse cell of Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) in experimentally infected mice. Male CD1 mice were experimentally infected with 50 viable muscle larvae of the MSUS/MEX/91/CM-91 T. spiralis strain. Tongues and diaphragms were obtained daily from days 13 to 39 post infection. Diaphragms were compressed and subjected to Giemsa stain. Tongues were histologically sectioned and stained with erythrosine B or hematoxylin and eosin. The cellular infiltrate and the nurse cell-larva complex were detected by optical microscopy since day 16 post infection. The size of the larva increased exponentially during the course of the infection. The kinetics of eosinophils showed a multimodal trend, with a bimodal predominance. The maximum peaks were reached on days 21 and 27 post infection. The results of this study demonstrate that eosinophils occur abundantly in two transcendent moments of the T. spiralis life cycle: first, when the stage 1 larva invades the myocyte and second when the nurse cell-larva complex has been fully developed. These results help one to understand the immunobiology of T. spiralis, highlighting the importance of eosinophils in the survival of the larva in skeletal muscle. Further studies are needed to characterize the cell populations that comprise the cellular infiltrate during the development of the mother cell.

The excretory/secretory (E/S) products released by infective transitory larvae (xL3) of Haemonchus placei have an important biological function in stimulating immune mechanisms during the invasive process. Our objective was to analyse the modulatory activity of 15 and 70 kDa E/S products from H. placei xL3. Both E/S products were collected from xL3 in vitro cultures at 24 and 72 h. Proteins were confirmed by SDS-PAGE, and the corresponding spots were elicited by gel isoelectrofocusing (IEF) and characterised by mass spectrometry. Additionally, flow cytometry of CD4+/γδ+ T cells and immune gene expression were performed by proliferation assays using each E/S product to stimulate lymphocyte and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from non-infected calves. The IEF results displayed two spots of 7.0 and 5.7 pI for the 15 and 70 kDa products, respectively. Additionally, 29 and 17 peptides from the 15 and 70 kDa E/S products, respectively, were identified with the hypothetical neurotransmitter and enzymatic functions necessary for larval development. The relative expression displayed upregulation of IL4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, IFNγ, and FCeR1A genes (from 2.0- to 17.6-fold, p 0.05), the 15-kDa protein reduced the levels of both T cells, and the 70-kDa proteins increased the γδ+ cells slightly. Additionally, there was increased PBMCs proliferation by the 70 kDa proteins (p

The Penaeidae family includes some of the most economic and ecological important marine shrimp, comprising hundreds of species. Despite this importance and diversity, the taxonomic classification for penaeid shrimp has constantly been revised, and issues related to the species identification are common. In this study, we implemented DNA barcoding analyses in addition to single-gene species delimitation analyses in order to identify molecular operational taxonomy units (MOTUs) and to generate robust molecular information for penaeid shrimp based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial gene. Our final data set includes COI sequences from 112 taxa distributed in 23 genera of penaeids. We employed the general mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) model, the Poisson tree processes (PTP), and the Bayesian PTP model (bPTP) for MOTUs delimitation. Intraspecific and interspecific genetic distances were also calculated. Our findings evidenced a high level of hidden diversity, showing 143 MOTUs, with 27 nominal species not agreeing with the genetic delimitation obtained here. These data represent potential new species or highly structured populations, showing the importance of including a non-distance-based species delimitation approach in biodiversity studies. The results raised by this study shed light on the Penaeidae biodiversity, addressing important issues about taxonomy and mislabeling in databases and contributing to a better comprehension of the group, which can certainly help management policies for shrimp fishery activity in addition to conservation programs.

Objetivos: describir el impacto de la consultoría neurológica, en el Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía Manuel Velasco Suárez (INNyN MVS), mediante su relación con el número de reingresos hospitalarios por mal cuidado en el hogar. Material y métodos: se trata de un estudio descriptivo, observacional, transversal y retrospectivo donde se incluye una muestra de 146 pacientes atendidos en consultoría neurológica en el periodo enero 2015 a marzo 2016, de cada uno de ellos se estudió la variable: reingreso hospitalario en el Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía MVS. Los datos se procesaron en el paquete estadístico SPSS y, para su análisis, en Excel. Resultados: se atendieron 146 pacientes a los que se otorgaron un total de 524 consultas, con un promedio de 3.6 consultas por paciente. Se encontró que el porcentaje de reingresos es de 27.4% de los cuales el 10.9% reingresaron por mal cuidado en el hogar, principalmente con diagnósticos de: Ulceras por Presión (UPP), deshidratación, desnutrición e infecciones y otros. Conclusiones: la Consultoría de especialidad permitirá desarrollar un modelo de atención, de enfermería neurológica, que no sólo contribuya con la demanda de atención disminuyendo reingresos sino que modifique, mejorando las condiciones clínicas del paciente dentro y fuera de la institución, y disminuya costos y favorezca la calidad de vida.

Summary This study determined the efficacies of four classes of anthelmintics (AH) in a goat flock where anthelmintic resistance (AR) to ivermectin was suspected. We selected and randomly distributed 105 animals with >500 eggs per gram of feces into seven groups of 15 animals: an untreated control group and groups treated with ivermectin, eprinomectin, albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole, levamisole, and closantel. The goats were individually weighed and treated with the recommended dose. Fecal samples were collected 14 days post-treatment to determine the fecal egg counts and for a fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). Coprocultures were also performed for identifying any resistant genera. A molecular assay (polymerase chain reaction, PCR) was used to confirm benzimidazole resistance. The FECRTs for the ivermectin, eprinomectin, albendazole sulfoxide, and albendazole treatments were Haemonchus spp. Levamisole had a FECRT confidence interval

Stress is a primary contributing factor of fish disease and mortality in aquaculture. We have previously reported that the red cusk-eel (Genypterus chilensis), an important farmed marine fish, demonstrates a handling-stress response that results in increased juvenile mortality, which is mainly associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and liver steatosis. To better understand the systemic effects of stress on red cusk-eel immune-related gene expression, the present study assessed the transcriptomic head-kidney response to handling-stress. The RNA sequencing generated a total of 61,655,525 paired-end reads from control and stressed conditions. De novo assembly using the CLC Genomic Workbench produced 86,840 transcripts and created a reference transcriptome with a N50 of 1426bp. Reads mapped onto the assembled reference transcriptome resulted in the identification of 569 up-regulated and 513 down-regulated transcripts. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed a significant up-regulation of the biological processes, like response to stress, response to biotic stimulus, and immune response. Conversely, a significant down-regulation of biological processes is associated with metabolic processes. These results were validated by RT-qPCR analysis for nine candidate genes involved in the immune response. The present data demonstrated that short term stress promotes the immune innate response in the marine teleost G. chilensis. This study is an important step towards understanding the immune adaptive response to stress in non-model teleost species.

We have studied the structural and morphological properties on the pyrochlore (Er2−x Srx)Ru2O6 system, for x = 0.0, 0.02, 0.05, 0.07, 0.10, and 0.15. Polycrystalline samples were prepared by solid-state reaction (SR) and sol-gel acrylamide polymerization (SGAP). Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) was used to follow the thermal transformations such as reagents decomposition, phase transformation, chemical stability, and volatilization of organic material of samples. The reagents and synthesized products by the different methods of synthesis were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). All samples crystallize Er2Ru2O6 PDF (72–7620) in the cubic unit cell with Fd####m (No. 227) space group and form a solid solution up to x = 0.15. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows considerable variations and similitudes in sizes, very few phases and shapes of polycrystals can be observed. Polycrystalline samples prepared by solid-state reaction (SR) present a grain size varies between 77 nm to 250 nm.

Lactoferrin, a large multifunctional glycoprotein, is involved in many physiological functions but its immunomodulatory pathways are not well characterized in fish. The objective of the present study was to investigate the temporal effect of dietary bovine lactoferrin (BLf) at low (0.1%) and high (1%) on immunological organs of rainbow trout juveniles. BLf diets did not affect specific growth rate, haematocrit, splenic index, spleen respiratory burst activity as well as humoral (mIgM) and neutrophils (MPO) gene expressions after short term - 35 days (D35) and long term nutrient test - 51 days (D51) of feeding. Both low and high BLf doses induced enhanced level of plasma alternative complement activity, plasma total immunoglobulin on D35 and D51, lymphocyte plus thrombocyte cell proportion on D35 and monocyte cell proportion in total blood leukocyte cells on D51. On D51 but not on D35, BLf diets upregulated the expression of inflammatory genes in kidney for il-1 at the low BLf dose, il-8 at both BLf doses and il-6 at the high BLf dose in spleen, and il-10 at both BLf doses in kidney. Moreover, the expression of T helper (cd4-2α; cd4-2β) genes was significantly upregulated only on D51 by both BLf doses in both spleen and kidney tissues. On D51, controls and BLf treated fish were intraperitoneally injected with A. salmonicida achromogenes. The expression of 13 immune genes was evaluated at 44 h post-injection (D54). The expression of lysozyme gene was upregulated by both BLf doses after bacterial infection both in spleen and kidney. The expression of mcsfrα (spleen) and tgf-β1 (kidney) was also modulated by both BLf doses. Low and high BLf doses enhanced disease resistance of rainbow trout juveniles with the cumulative survival rate of 36% and 38% respectively while those of the control was 19% after 14 days challenged with bacteria. The results indicate that BLf diets activated the humoral immunity, associated to blood leukocyte cells of rainbow trout after short term BLf administration, and the long term BLf administration was necessary for sensitizing other lymphoid organs such as in spleen and kidney. Only after long term test, BLf diets induced significantly higher levels of innate and adaptive immune gene expressions than those of the control. Dietary BLf activated more markedly the expression of innate immune genes than the adaptive ones; this upregulation of some immune genes could explain the high disease resistance observed in rainbow trout juveniles fed BLf.

We evaluated the forest structure, pore water salinity, geochemical characteristics, grain-size distribution and sediment accumulation rates (SAR) in 15 mangrove sites along the San Pedro Mezquital River, one of the major sources of fresh water supply to the Marismas Nacionales System. Sediments were sandy-silty with high organic matter content (5.8 ± 1.5% to 23.6 ± 1.7%). The marine (Na, Cl and Br) and terrigenous (Al, Ti, Rb and Zr) elements indicated that sediments were mostly of continental provenance, with small marine contribution. SAR ranged from 0.08 ± 0.01 to 2.29 ± 0.28 cm yr−1. Laguncularia racemosa was the dominant species in the northern sites (between Toluca Lagoon and Mexcaltitan Lagoon), with a mean basal area of 11.1–49.3 m2 ha−1, whereas Rhizophora mangle prevailed in the southern sites, closer to the river mouth (between Boca Camichin and Los Limones River, mean basal area of 2.0–11.0 m2 ha−1). The southern area was characterized by lower forest attributes, and higher pore water salinity and sediment accumulation rates than the northern area. We concluded that mangrove preservation along SPMR requires insuring appropriate fresh water and sediment supply, and the control of organic matter pollution sources.

In fish, the stress response and their consequences in the immune system have been widely described. Recently, a differential cytokine regulation between rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) and gilthead sea bream ( Sparus aurata ) was reported after treatment with stress hormones together with their receptor antagonists. Nevertheless, there is no evidence of whether antagonists for stress hormone receptors may influence the interaction between hormones and cytokines after bacterial administration. Thus, the aim of our study was to evaluate the cytokine expression in the presence of stress hormones (cortisol, ACTH, adrenaline), hormone receptor antagonists and inactivated Vibrio anguillarum bacterin in rainbow trout and gilthead sea bream head kidney primary cell culture (HKPCC). Mifepristone, spironolactone, propranolol and phentolamine were used to block GR, MR, MC2R, and β-/α-adrenoreceptors. Our results showed an expected increase of the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory response after inactivated V. anguillarum bacterin treatment in both species. Cortisol, ACTH and adrenaline did not modulate the expression of immune-related genes in rainbow trout, while in sea bream cortisol was able to reduce the stimulated gene expression of all cytokines. This effect was only restored to basal expression level in IL-1β and TNF-α by mifepristone. ACTH reduced both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, excluding IL-1β, only in sea bream. Adrenaline enhanced the expression of IL-1β and TGF-β1 stimulated by inactivated V. anguillarum in sea bream, and the effect was diminished by propranolol. In sum, our results confirm that the immunoendocrine differences reported at gene expression profile between two teleost species are also observed after exposure to inactivated V. anguillarum bacterin, suggesting that stress hormones would differentially modulate the immune response against pathogens in teleost species.

In the present research, the monoethanolamine‑copper-ammonium novel system was studied systematically to develop an alternative sustainable process for the dissolution of silver. This paper presents the effect of varying the concentration of cupric sulfate, ammonium sulfate, monoethanolamine and temperature on the silver leaching kinetics. The study was complemented with SEM-EDS, X-ray diffraction characterization techniques and thermodynamic analysis in order to understand the phenomena taking place in this novel leaching system. The results revealed that an increase in the cupric sulfate and ammonium sulfate concentration favors the silver dissolution rate and recovery. However, a massive increase in the concentration of cupric sulfate and ammonium sulfate, e.g., 0.4 M and 1.06 M, respectively, promotes the significant precipitation of Cu(OH) 2 , which hinders the silver dissolution. On the other hand, when the system is operated with a Cu 2 + and NH 4 + concentration lower than 0.3 M and 0.8 M, respectively, the silver dissolution is favored. The thermodynamic and SEM-EDS analysis along with the leaching tests revealed that Cu(NH 3 ) 4 2 + , Cu(MEA) 4 2 + and Cu(OH) 2 (partially precipitated on the silver particles) are the oxidizing agents for silver. Oxidized silver can be complexed by the free ammonia produced in the system and monoethanoamine (MEA). Temperature is an important variable to accelerate the silver dissolution kinetics, the results showed that 83% of silver can be leached at 360 min employing 0.3 M Cu 2 + , 0.8 M NH 4 + , 0.05 M MEA at 45 °C. Finally, the addition of MEA in the system is fundamental to decrease the massive precipitation of Cu(OH) 2 species, promoting the silver dissolution rate at 45 °C.

One metabolite against lamb gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) was identified from extracts of Lysiloma acapulcensis leaves. Firstly, an aqueous extract of L. acapulcensis leaves and two fractions, organic and aqueous, were evaluated at different concentrations against Haemonchus contortus eggs and histotrophic larvae. In other experiment, 35 Pelibuey GIN-infected lambs were randomly divided into five groups, as follows: (1) ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg BW); (2) control (untreated); (3) rutin (10 mg/kg BW, as a flavonoid comparison control); (4) L. acapulcensis leaves ethyl acetate fraction (EtAc-F, 25 mg/kg BW); and (5) L. acapulcensis leaves (dried and grinded, 5 g/kg BW). The EtAc-F fraction caused 94.8% egg-hatching inhibition (P

En gran parte de las empresas de galvanoplastia debido a la demanda y el tiempo de los procesos, es muy complicado realizar un estudio a nivel piloto para controlar las variables que determinan la cantidad y calidad de los depósitos. Por lo tanto, en este trabajo se presenta un estudio para determinar las condiciones de corriente y potencial, así como evaluar algunos tipos de agitación para controlar la calidad de los depósitos, utilizando soluciones electrolíticas de la industria. Se utilizó una celda electrolítica típica con capacidad de 72 L conectada a una fuente de poder, como ánodos se usaron placas de latón y como cátodo se utilizó una lámina de acero inoxidable 304, utilizando un multímetro para registrar la corriente y el potencial durante el electrodepósito. La agitación de la solución electrolítica se controló de tres formas: flujo de aire, propela y utilizando propela con un equipo sonotrodo. Los resultados mostraron que el codepósito de Cu-Zn (latonado) ocurre en un intervalo de corriente entre 0.35 a 0.37 A y un voltaje de -0.35 0 -0.42 V, para evitar la evolución de hidrógeno o que únicamente se deposite cobre. También se determinó que el tipo de agitación donde se controla mejor el depósito fue con la propela y el equipo sonotrodo juntos. Mientras que, de las tres formas diferentes de agitación, la que mejor dio resultado fue la agitación con el sonotrodo junto con la propela, que evita una pasivación de la superficie de los ánodos por la posible formación de óxidos, obteniendo además un flujo más controlado de los iones del ánodo hacia el cátodo.

La alúmina (Al2O3) u óxido de aluminio es considerada una cerámica avanzada termodinámicamente estable, presenta una alta dureza, resistencia al desgaste y tiene una elevada estabilidad a altas temperaturas. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio electroquímico a partir de las técnicas de voltamperometría cíclica, cronoamperometría y espectroscopia de impedancia electroquímica para la obtención de alúmina, partiendo de chatarra de aluminio como materia prima. El estudio fue llevado a cabo en un medio ácido utilizando placas de aluminio como electrodo de trabajo, en el cual se utilizó NH4OH para ajustar el pH a 3.6, evitando la formación de especies de sulfato de sodio como la Thenardita (Al2SO4). Los resultados mostraron que la obtención de algunos depósitos ocurre a potenciales lo suficientemente catódicos (≥ -1.9 V). Las especies que están presentes en los depósitos son principalmente óxido de aluminio cristalino (Al2O3) e hidróxido de aluminio de baja cristalinidad, como la [Al(OH)3]. Mientras que en los potenciales de -2.2 y -2.3 V, es donde se presenta un mayor porcentaje de la fase cristalina de alúmina (Al2O3), que no se encuentra pura, ya que también existe presencia de hidróxido de aluminio (Bayerita).

En la actualidad, los estudiantes de Ingeniería Mecánica e Ingeniería Eléctrica de la Facultad de Ingenierías y Tecnologías (FIT) de la Universidad Técnica ´Luis Vargas Torres´ de Esmeraldas cuentan con un laboratorio de termofluidos donde deben realizar prácticas experimentales de Control automático. Sin embargo no se dispone de suficientes recursos didácticos que desarrollen un ambiente propicio para lograr la medición de una variable física, el uso de controladores y el manejo de equipos para control. Por lo tanto sería beneficioso el diseño y construcción de equipo de laboratorio como el de control de nivel en un tanque el cual facilite el estudio de sistemas reales de instrumentación y control. Para ello es importante determinar el modelo matemático del sistema. A partir de ello este trabajo presenta como objetivo general, determinar el modelo matemático para la programación y funcionamiento del sistema de control de nivel en un tanque del laboratorio de Ingeniería Mecánica e Ingeniería Eléctrica de la Facultad de Ingenierías y Tecnologías (FIT) de la Universidad Técnica ´Luis Vargas Torres´ de Esmeraldas.

Raman spectroscopy combined with Confocal microscopy is a non-destructive technique that provides relevant structural information in materials. In this study, we present non-destructive Raman image and structural analysis of anhydrous cements with carbonation evidences by means of Confocal Raman Microscopy (CRM). The results obtained by CRM have been contrasted with the techniques commonly used for this purpose as FTIR and DTA/TG. CRM shows the main cement phases distribution (C2S and C3S) reveals their degree of weathering. The results obtained by CRM evidence a surprising coexistence of carbonate with amorphous carbon indicating that weathering mechanism in more complex than expected. Moreover, the size of sulphate particles contributes kinetically to weathering reaction. The weathering of cement particles by the atmospheric agents requires thus the combined action of amorphous carbon and sulphate. This study opens new analytical possibilities applied to commercial cements due to the combined chemical and spatial high resolution of CRM. This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the Project MAT2013-48009-C4 and the Spanish National Research Council under Project NANOMIND CSIC201560E068.

Flavobacterium psychrophilum is the etiologic agent of bacterial coldwater disease (BCWD) and rainbow trout fry syndrome (RTFS), which cause significant worldwide losses in aquaculture. Juvenile rainbow trout are particularly susceptible to F. psychrophilum infection, the main external clinical signs of which are extensive necrotic myositis and ulcerative lesions. Despite the economic relevance of this pathogen in aquaculture, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying F. psychrophilum infection and pathogenesis. In this study, cultured skeletal muscle cells from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were co-incubated with the virulent strain of F. psychrophilum JIP02/86 (ATCC 49511). Trypan blue exclusion analysis at 48h post-incubation revealed decreased cellular viability. Direct bacteria-myoblast contact was found a key factor in inducing F. psychrophilum cytotoxicity. Apoptosis was characterized by nuclear DNA fragmentation, decreased plasma membrane integrity, increased caspase activity, and the proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1). Moreover, bacterial infection induced an early inhibition of NF-κB signaling, as well as a differential expression of the pro- and anti-apoptotic genes, bax and bcl-2. These findings suggest that F. psychrophilum induces rainbow trout muscle apoptosis through the modulation of the NF-κB signaling as a mechanism for nutrient acquisition and survival.

There is little doubt that student motivation is essential in providing a beneficial learning experience. One way to provide such motivation is to stimulate it through the most suitable methods of assessment. This paper shares the experience acquired by the authors - university lecturers in Civil Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid – both through their assessment methods and the feedback received via the Moodle platform. Over the last eight years the authors have introduced increasingly dynamic methods in their teaching and assessment, with highly satisfactory results being obtained. Over the last three academic years a test through co-assessment has been added and during the two an assessment exercise implemented through the Moodle platform. Each test has a weight of 5% of the final mark for the module. After sitting the respective Moodle test, the students filled in a questionnaire that sought their views not only on the teaching methods but also on how motivational they found such methods. As expected, the results showed that the students considered the internet-based Moodle platform to be useful. However, the most notable finding was that the majority felt that alternative teaching and assessment methods such as, among others, cooperative learning, were those that were most beneficial to their learning experience.

We present a theoretical study of the nature of photonic band gaps of one-dimensional photonic crystals containing dispersive materials. Within the transfer-matrix formalism, we calculate the photonic band structure, transmission spectra and electric field profile for multilayered structures constituted by the periodic repetition of polaritonic and left-handed layers. It is suggested that the prediction of the existence of the 〈 n 〉 = 0 , plasmon-polariton, and ϕ e f f non-Bragg gaps, according to the frequency dependence of the permittivity and permeability of both layers, may be made simpler through the definition of more convenient quantities such as the generalized impedance and optical path length.

Anthracycline-based chemotherapy is associated with dose-dependent, irreversible damage to the heart. Childhood cancer survivors with hypertension after anthracycline exposure are at increased risk of cardiotoxicity, leading to the hypothesis that genetic susceptibility loci for hypertension may serve as predictors for development of late cardiotoxicity. Therefore, we determined the association between 12 GWAS-identified hypertension-susceptibility loci and cardiotoxicity in a cohort of long-term childhood cancer survivors (N = 108) who received anthracyclines and were screened for cardiac function via echocardiograms. Hypertension-susceptibility alleles of PLCE1:rs9327264 and ATP2B1:rs17249754 were significantly associated with cardiotoxicity risk conferring a protective effect with a 64% (95% CI: 0.18–0.76, P = 0.0068) and 74% (95% CI: 0.07–0.96, P = 0.040) reduction in risk, respectively. In RNAseq experiments of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived cardiomyocytes treated with doxorubicin, both PLCE1 and ATP2B1 displayed anthracycline-dependent gene expression profiles. In silico functional assessment further supported this relationship - rs9327264 in PLCE1 (P = 0.0080) and ATP2B1 expression (P = 0.0079) were both significantly associated with daunorubicin IC50 values in a panel of lymphoblastoid cell lines. Our findings demonstrate that the hypertension-susceptibility variants in PLCE1 and ATP2B1 confer a protective effect on risk of developing anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity, and functional analyses suggest that these genes are influenced by exposure to anthracyclines.

Antiferroelectric PbZrO3 is being considered for a wide range of applications where the competition between centrosymmetric and noncentrosymmetric phases is important to the response. Here, we focus on the epitaxial growth of PbZrO3 thin films and understanding the chemistry–structure coupling in Pb1+δZrO3 (δ = 0, 0.1, 0.2). High-quality, single-phase Pb1+δZrO3 films are synthesized via pulsed-laser deposition. Although no significant lattice parameter change is observed in X-ray studies, electrical characterization reveals that while the PbZrO3 and Pb1.1ZrO3 heterostructures remain intrinsically antiferroelectric, the Pb1.2ZrO3 heterostructures exhibit a hysteresis loop indicative of ferroelectric response. Further X-ray scattering studies reveal strong quarter-order diffraction peaks in PbZrO3 and Pb1.1ZrO3 heterostructures indicative of antiferroelectricity, while no such peaks are observed for Pb1.2ZrO3 heterostructures. Density functional theory calculations suggest the large cation nonstoichiometry ...

// Xiaoping Wang 1, 2, 3, * , Monica E. Reyes 1, 2, 3, * , Dongwei Zhang 1, 2, 3, * , Yohei Funakoshi 1, 2, 3 , Adriana P. Trape 1, 2, 3 , Yun Gong 1, 4 , Takahiro Kogawa 1, 2, 3 , Bedrich L. Eckhardt 1, 2, 3 , Hiroko Masuda 1, 2, 3 , David A. Pirman Jr 5 , Peiying Yang 6 , James M. Reuben 1, 7 , Wendy A. Woodward 1, 8 , Chandra Bartholomeusz 1, 2, 3 , Gabriel N. Hortobagyi 3 , Debu Tripathy 3 and Naoto T. Ueno 1, 2, 3 1 Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 2 Section of Translational Breast Cancer Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 3 Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 4 Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 5 Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 6 Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 7 Department of Hematopathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA 8 Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Naoto T. Ueno, email: nueno@mdanderson.org Xiaoping Wang, email: xiwang@mdanderson.org Keywords: inflammatory breast cancer, EGFR, COX-2, nodal, cancer stem-like cells Received: October 19, 2016 Accepted: June 17, 2017 Published: July 04, 2017 ABSTRACT Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal and aggressive type of breast cancer, with a strong proclivity to metastasize, and IBC-specific targeted therapies have not yet been developed. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has emerged as an important therapeutic target in IBC. However, the mechanism behind the therapeutic effect of EGFR targeted therapy is not well defined. Here, we report that EGFR regulates the IBC cell population that expresses cancer stem-like cell (CSC) markers through COX-2, a key mediator of inflammation whose expression correlates with worse outcome in IBC. The COX-2 pathway promoted IBC cell migration and invasion and the CSC marker-bearing population in vitro , and the inhibition of this pathway reduced IBC tumor growth in vivo . Mechanistically, we identified Nodal, a member of the TGFβ superfamily, as a potential driver of COX-2-regulated invasive capacity and the CSC phenotype of IBC cells. Our data indicate that the EGFR pathway regulates the expression of COX-2, which in turn regulates the expression of Nodal and the activation of Nodal signaling. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel connection between the EGFR/COX-2/Nodal signaling axis and CSC regulation in IBC, which has potential implications for new combination approaches with EGFR targeted therapy for patients with IBC.

Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy are used to investigate dynamic structure–function relationships in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite. The intensity of the 150 cm–1 methylammonium (MA) librational Raman mode is found to be correlated with PL intensities in microstructures of MAPbI3. Because of the strong hydrogen bond between hydrogens in MA and iodine in the PbI6 perovskite octahedra, the Raman activity of MA is very sensitive to structural distortions of the inorganic framework. The structural distortions directly influence PL intensities, which in turn have been correlated with microstructure quality. Our measurements, supported with first-principles calculations, indicate how excited-state MA librational displacements mechanistically control PL efficiency and lifetime in MAPbI3—material parameters that are likely important for efficient photovoltaic devices.

Ethnopharmacology relevance Acacia cochliacantha is a small tree whose foliage is traditionally used in Mexico for treatment of kidney pain, gastrointestinal illnesses and to kill intestinal parasites. In recent decades, the study of vegetal extracts has offered other possible alternatives for the control of Haemonchus contortus . Considering that this nematode affects dramatically the health and productivity of small ruminants, the aim of this study was to identify the anthelmintic compounds from A. cochliacantha hydro-alcoholic extract (HA-E) through an ovicidal test. Material and methods In vitro egg hatch assay was conducted to determinate the anthelmintic effects of a HA-E (60 g). Liquid-liquid ethyl acetate/water extraction gave two fractions (EtOAc-F, 1.92 g; Aq-F; 58.1 g). The less polar compounds from ethyl acetate fraction were extracted by addition of dichloromethane offering a precipitate phase (Mt-F, 1.25 g) and a soluble mixture (DCMt-F 1.15 g). All fractions were evaluated for ovicidal activity obtaining the egg hatching inhibition (EHI, 0.07–25 mg/mL). Ivermectin (0.5 mg/mL) was used as a reference drug (positive control), and distilled water, 2.5% DMSO and 2% methanol were used as negative controls. The isolated compounds from the most active fractions were subjected to spectroscopic ( 1 H NMR) Spectrometric (MS) and UV HPLC analysis in order to identify the bioactive compounds. Results The less polar treatments (AcOEt-F, DCMt-F, DCMt-P) showed the highest ovicidal activities (98–100% EHI; at 0.62–1.56 mg/mL) and the major compounds found in these fractions were identified as caffeoyl and coumaroyl derivatives, including caffeic acid ( 1 ), p -coumaric acid ( 2 ), ferulic acid ( 3), methyl caffeate ( 4 ), methyl- p -coumarate ( 5 ), methyl ferulate ( 6 ) and quercetin. In case of the less active fractions (Aq-F, Mt-F) were constituted principally by glycosylated flavonoids. Conclusion These results show that caffeoyl and coumaroyl derivatives from Acacia cochliacantha leaves had promising anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus contortus . This leguminous may offer an alternative source for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE) improves collaboration and patient care through joint education between health professions. Respiratory therapy (RT) faculty were surveyed to evaluate their knowledge and attitudes toward IPE. We report current opportunities for IPE from faculty and compare responses from associate9s, bachelor9s, and master9s degree programs and profit versus nonprofit institutions. METHODS: We developed an online survey based on IPE literature and questions modified for the RT discipline. The survey was distributed by email to 874 faculty from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care accredited programs. RESULTS: The response rate was 33%. Faculty identified IPE as an important component of RT education (n = 207, 80%) but reported challenges in integrating IPE into current curriculum. Overall, communication was ranked as the most important IPE competency (n = 104, 39%) and ethics least important (n = 131, 49%). When asked how many credit hours are required to teach IPE, 48% of respondents reported that they were unsure of an appropriate time requirement. Significant differences between associate9s and bachelor9s/master9s degree program faculty were found on the following topics: institutional resources needed for IPE (P CONCLUSIONS: IPE is recognized as an important component of RT education by all faculty respondents. However, significant differences in knowledge and attitudes toward IPE exist between faculty in associate9s versus bachelor9s/master9s degree programs. Revisiting the current accreditation standards program may allow IPE to take a more prominent role in RT curricula.

El uso indiscriminado y atentatorio del medio ambiente, ha ocasionado la preocupación por su protección. Al paso del tiempo, y en especial en los últimos años se ha hecho más importante, siendo un tema de gran interés para las empresas, los gobiernos, y los ciudadanos en general. A tales efectos se realizó una revisión bibliográfica exhaustiva para exponer algunos aspectos relacionados con esta temática. Se concluye que la auditoría ambiental, tiene un carácter multidimensional, integral y transdisciplinario, su finalidad es la evaluación de la gestión ambiental de la empresa.

Resumen Objetivo Conocer la incidencia de resultados perinatales en mujeres mexicanas con embarazo unico y lupus eritematoso sistemico. Materiales y metodos Estudio de cohorte historica en el que se incluyeron mujeres diagnosticadas con lupus eritematoso sistemico, embarazo unico, control prenatal y resolucion entre 2010 y 2015. Se calculo la incidencia de los siguientes resultados perinatales: nacimiento pretermino, muerte fetal temprana, oligohidramnios, aborto, rotura prematura de membranas, hipertension gestacional, preeclampsia, restriccion del crecimiento intrauterino y defectos congenitos. Resultados Se incluyeron 122 mujeres. Las caracteristicas de la poblacion de estudio al ingreso y resolucion fueron: edad materna 26.2 ± 6 anos, peso materno 63.4 ± 11.1 kg, indice de masa corporal 26 ± 3.9 kg/m 2 , numero de gestaciones 1.9 ± 1.2, semanas de gestacion al ingreso 16.6 ± 6.5, semanas de gestacion a la resolucion 36.1 ± 3.4, peso neonatal 2,417 ± 770 g. La incidencia de resultados perinatales adversos fue: nacimiento pretermino 41.8%, obito 1.6%, oligohidramnios 6.6%, aborto 5.7%, rotura prematura de membranas 9.8%, hipertension gestacional 5.7%, preeclampsia 24.6, preeclampsia de inicio temprano 15.6%, anemia 23%, restriccion del crecimiento intrauterino 14.7%, defectos congenitos 2.4% y cesarea 78.2%. Conclusiones Las mujeres mexicanas con lupus eritematoso sistemico tienen una alta incidencia de nacimiento pretermino, preeclampsia, anemia, preeclampsia de inicio temprano, restriccion del crecimiento intrauterino y cesarea, si bien la incidencia de nacidos vivos esta entre las mas altas reportadas en la literatura.

This work reports on the preparation and characterization of cement-based materials with additions of nano and micrometric silica. Their microstructure, mechanical properties and resistance to penetration of aggressive agents were studied. Mixtures of cement pastes and mortars with different percentages of nano and microsilica additions were prepared, with such additions being electrostatically incorporated into all cases in the anhydrous cement particles before the mixing process. The samples were characterized by the following experimental techniques: thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), compressive strength tests, determination of the chloride migration coefficient, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrical resistivity measurement and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). A relevant improvement in the mechanical and durable properties of the additivated samples when compared with the reference material was obtained.

The recent generation of polyolefin-based macro-synthetic fibres have shown to meet the requirements of the standards for structural use. Therefore, polyolefin fibres have become an attractive alternative to steel reinforcement in both forms of fibres and bars. The main advantages of polyolefin fibres rely on chemical stability and lower weights for analogous reinforcements. However, the constitutive models proposed for structural design issues are still based on steel fibre-reinforced concrete. In this study, a numerical model, based on the cohesive fracture approach, is proposed for modelling the fracture processes of macro-polymer fibre reinforced concrete (PFRC). The model has been successfully used when applied by the authors to plain concrete and even non-isotropic cohesive materials. In this work, it is extended to PFRC by means of an adapted tri-linear softening function that has been justified by experimental evidences. Using the proposed model experimental PFRC fracture test results supplied by the authors have been reproduced with remarkable accuracy. The study proposes constitutive relations for PFRC with several dosages, applicable and adaptable for future modelling and structural design. This successful approach provides not only a breakthrough in the existing structural models applied to PFRC but also widen the understanding of the material behaviour subjected to fracture under Mode I.

This study focused on applying different high hydrostatic pressure + carbon dioxide (HHP + CO2) processing conditions on refrigerated (4 °C, 25 days) farmed coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) to inactivate endogenous enzymes (protease, lipase, collagenase), physicochemical properties (texture, color, lipid oxidation), and microbial shelf life. Salmon fillets were subjected to combined HHP (150 MPa/5 min) and CO2 (50%, 70%, 100%). Protease and lipase inactivation was achieved with combined HHP + CO2 treatments in which lipase activity remained low as opposed to protease activity during storage. Collagenase activity decreased approximately 90% during storage when applying HHP + CO2. Combined treatments limited the increase in spoilage indicators, such as total volatile amines and trimethylamine. The 150 MPa + 100% CO2 treatment was the most effective at maintaining hardness after 10 days of storage. Combined treatments limited HHP-induced color change and reduced the extent of changes caused by storage compared with the untreated sample. Microbial shelf life was extended by the CO2 content and not by the HHP treatments; this result was related to an increased lag phase and decreased growth rate. It can be concluded that combining HHP and CO2 could be an effective method of inactivating endogenous enzymes and extend salmon shelf life.

[Background]: Neratinib is an irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for extended adjuvant treatment in early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer based on the phase III ExteNET study. In that trial, in which no antidiarrheal prophylaxis was mandated, grade 3 diarrhea was observed in 40% of patients and 17% discontinued due to diarrhea. The international, open-label, sequential-cohort, phase II CONTROL study is investigating several strategies to improve tolerability., [Patients and methods]: Patients who completed trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy received neratinib 240 mg/day for 1 year plus loperamide prophylaxis (days 1–28 or 1–56). Sequential cohorts evaluated additional budesonide or colestipol prophylaxis (days 1–28) and neratinib dose escalation (DE; ongoing). The primary end point was the incidence of grade ≥3 diarrhea., [Results]: Final data for loperamide (L; n = 137), budesonide + loperamide (BL; n = 64), colestipol + loperamide (CL; n = 136), and colestipol + as-needed loperamide (CL-PRN; n = 104) cohorts, and interim data for DE (n = 60; completed ≥six cycles or discontinued; median duration 11 months) are available. No grade 4 diarrhea was observed. Grade 3 diarrhea rates were lower than ExteNET in all cohorts and lowest in DE (L 31%, BL 28%, CL 21%, CL-PRN 32%, DE 15%). Median number of grade 3 diarrhea episodes was one; median duration per grade 3 episode was 1.0–2.0 days across cohorts. Most grade 3 diarrhea and diarrhea-related discontinuations occurred in month 1. Diarrhea-related discontinuations were lowest in DE (L 20%, BL 8%, CL 4%, CL-PRN 8%, DE 3%). Decreases in health-related quality of life did not cross the clinically important threshold., [Conclusions]: Neratinib tolerability was improved with preemptive prophylaxis or DE, which reduced the rate, severity, and duration of neratinib-associated grade ≥3 diarrhea compared with ExteNET. Lower diarrhea-related treatment discontinuations in multiple cohorts indicate that proactive management can allow patients to stay on neratinib for the recommended time period., CONTROL was sponsored by Puma Biotechnology Inc. Puma Biotechnology Inc. also funded the provision of writing/editorial support provided by Miller Medical Communications Ltd. CHB was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health [K12 grant Paul Calabresi Clinical Oncology Award grant number: 5K12CA088084-17] and the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health MD Anderson Cancer Support Grant [grant number P30CA016672].

© 2020 by the authors., This study focused on applying different high hydrostatic pressure + carbon dioxide (HHP + CO2) processing conditions on refrigerated (4 °C, 25 days) farmed coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) to inactivate endogenous enzymes (protease, lipase, collagenase), physicochemical properties (texture, color, lipid oxidation), and microbial shelf life. Salmon fillets were subjected to combined HHP (150 MPa/5 min) and CO2 (50%, 70%, 100%). Protease and lipase inactivation was achieved with combined HHP + CO2 treatments in which lipase activity remained low as opposed to protease activity during storage. Collagenase activity decreased approximately 90% during storage when applying HHP + CO2. Combined treatments limited the increase in spoilage indicators, such as total volatile amines and trimethylamine. The 150 MPa + 100% CO2 treatment was the most effective at maintaining hardness after 10 days of storage. Combined treatments limited HHP-induced color change and reduced the extent of changes caused by storage compared with the untreated sample. Microbial shelf life was extended by the CO2 content and not by the HHP treatments; this result was related to an increased lag phase and decreased growth rate. It can be concluded that combining HHP and CO2 could be an effective method of inactivating endogenous enzymes and extend salmon shelf life., This research was funded by FONDECYT Regular N◦1171305 Project.

© The Author(s) 2020., A microencapsulated feed additive composed by garlic, carvacrol and thymol essential oils (EOs) was evaluated regarding its protective effect in gills parasitized by Sparicotyle chrysophrii in Sparus aurata. A nutritional trial (65 days) followed by a cohabitation challenge with parasitized fish (39 days) were performed. Transcriptomic analysis by microarrays of gills of fish fed the EOs diet showed an up-regulation of genes related to biogenesis, vesicular transport and exocytosis, leukocyte-mediated immunity, oxidation–reduction and overall metabolism processes. The functional network obtained indicates a tissue-specific pro-inflammatory immune response arbitrated by degranulating acidophilic granulocytes, sustained by antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. The histochemical study of gills also showed an increase of carboxylate glycoproteins containing sialic acid in mucous and epithelial cells of fish fed the EOs diet, suggesting a mucosal defence mechanism through the modulation of mucin secretions. The outcomes of the in vivo challenge supported the transcriptomic results obtained from the nutritional trial, where a significant reduction of 78% in the abundance of S. chrysophrii total parasitation and a decrease in the prevalence of most parasitic developmental stages evaluated were observed in fish fed the EOs diet. These results suggest that the microencapsulation of garlic, carvacrol and thymol EOs could be considered an effective natural dietary strategy with antiparasitic properties against the ectoparasite S. chrysophrii., This work has been supported by the project "Nutritional strategies for the improvement of productive performance: the use of functional feeds and health diets in aquaculture (DIETAplus)", funded by JACUMAR (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment of Spain, MAPAMA) and the FEMP (EU). Joana P. Firmino has been subsidized by the Industrial PhD program of Generalitat de Catalunya (Doctorats Industrials) and TECNOVITFARMFAES S.L. (No. 2017 DI 017). Eva Vallejos-Vidal was fnancially granted with DICYT-USACH Postdoctoral fellowship (Nb.022043IB).

Antecedentes y Objetivos: El género Hypoxylon (Hypoxylaceae) tiene peritecios embebidos en un estroma oscuro o de colores brillantes, efuso-aplanado, efuso-pulvinado o glomerulado, ascas cilíndricas con poro apical amiloide, ascosporas elipsoides, equiláteras o inequiláteras, marrón claro a marrón oscuro, línea germinal recta o sigmoide y perisporio generalmente dehiscente con KOH al 10%. El género tiene una distribución mundial; se han descrito 115 especies con mayor diversidad en las regiones tropicales. En México se tenían registrados 36 taxones, de los cuales 20 se citan del bosque tropical caducifolio. El objetivo del presente estudio es ampliar la distribución conocida y describir las especies de Hypoxylon que crecen en el bosque tropical caducifolio de cuatro Áreas Naturales Protegidas (ANPs) de México.Métodos: Se realizaron seis exploraciones en las siguientes ANPs de México: Reserva de la Biosfera Chamela-Cuixmala (Jalisco), Reserva de la Biosfera Isla Cozumel (Quintana Roo), Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra de Álamos-Río Cuchujaqui (Sonora) y Reserva de la Biosfera El Cielo (Tamaulipas). Los ejemplares recolectados fueron estudiados, descritos y determinados de acuerdo con las técnicas tradicionales en micología. El material está depositado en el herbario ENCB.Resultados clave: Se determinaron 11 especies de Hypoxylon, y se describe por primera vez para México Hypoxylon jaklitschii de Jalisco, Quintana Roo y Tamaulipas. Además, se amplía la distribución conocida de H. anthochroum, H. cinnabarinum, H. erythrostroma, H. haematostroma, H. investiens, H. lividipigmentum, H. perforatum, H. rickii e Hypoxylon subgilvum a otros estados.Conclusiones: Hypoxylon está bien representado en México, siendo uno de los mejor estudiados del orden Xylariales. Hypoxylon cinnabarinum, H. haematostroma e H. lenormandii se encontraron en todas las ANPs del presente estudio. La Reserva de la Biosfera el Cielo es el ANP con mayor número de especies con nueve.

El esófago corto es una complicación infrecuente del reflujo gastroesofágico, polémico para algunos autores. Su diagnóstico se hace de manera intraoperatoria, ante la imposibilidad de conservar un esofago intrabdominal mayor a tres centímetros desde el hiato diafragmático. Algunos expertos niegan la existencia de esta entidad, argumentando que se debe a una mala disección del esófago. En este artículo, se presenta el caso de un paciente sometido a herniorrafia hiatal con colocación de malla, con gran dificultad para conservar una adecuada longitud del esófago abdominal, y que no requirió gastroplastia.

Indexación: Scopus. The activity of polycrystalline thin film photoelectrodes is impacted by local variations of the material properties due to the exposure of different crystal facets and the presence of grain/domain boundaries. Here a multi-modal approach is applied to correlate nanoscale heterogeneities in chemical composition and electronic structure with nanoscale morphology in polycrystalline Mo-BiVO4. By using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, the characteristic structure of polycrystalline film is used to disentangle the different X-ray absorption spectra corresponding to grain centers and grain boundaries. Comparing both spectra reveals phase segregation of V2O5 at grain boundaries of Mo-BiVO4 thin films, which is further supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and many-body density functional theory calculations. Theoretical calculations also enable to predict the X-ray absorption spectral fingerprint of polarons in Mo-BiVO4. After photo-electrochemical operation, the degraded Mo-BiVO4 films show similar grain center and grain boundary spectra indicating V2O5 dissolution in the course of the reaction. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the degradation mechanism and the impact of material heterogeneities on the material performance and stability of polycrystalline photoelectrodes. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.recursosbiblioteca.unab.cl/doi/10.1002/smll.202001600

BACKGROUND: Medical mistrust influences patients’ treatment seeking, adherence, health behaviors, and minority participation in research studies. However, medical mistrust remains understudied within neurological diseases like stroke despite disproportionately affecting minority populations. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the relationship of medical mistrust with stroke knowledge among Black, Latino, Korean and Chinese-Americans. METHODS: Subjects >60 years were enrolled from senior centers to test a culturally-tailored educational curriculum around stroke risk reduction in a randomized controlled trial. A Trust Physician Scale and a modified Trust of Medical Researchers Scale measured medical mistrust. The Stroke Action Test instrument measured stroke knowledge, focusing on intent to call 911 appropriately when presented with stroke symptoms. RESULTS: Of 225 subjects, 69.5% were female (n=157) with an average age of 73.7 years (standard deviation 6.7). Blacks had highest trust scores of physicians relative to Latino/a, Korean or Chinese subjects (p

Vibrio vulnificus is a zoonotic pathogen that lives in temperate, tropical and subtropical aquatic ecosystems whose geographical distribution is expanding due to global warming. The species is genetically variable and only the strains that belong to the zoonotic clonal-complex can cause vibriosis in both humans and fish (being its main host the eel). Interestingly, the severity of the vibriosis in the eel and the human depends largely on the water temperature (highly virulent at 28°C, avirulent at 20°C or below) and on the iron content in the blood, respectively. The objective of this work was to unravel the role of temperature in the adaptation to the host through a transcriptomic and phenotypic approach. To this end, we obtained the transcriptome of a zoonotic strain grown in a minimum medium (CM9) at 20, 25, 28, and 37°C, and confirmed the transcriptomic results by RT-qPCR and phenotypic tests. In addition, we compared the temperature stimulon with those previously obtained for iron and serum (from eel and human, respectively). Our results suggest that warm temperatures activate adaptive traits that would prepare the bacteria for host colonization (metabolism, motility, chemotaxis, and the protease activity) and fish septicemia (iron-uptake from transferrin and production of O-antigen of high molecular weight) in a generalized manner, while environmental iron controls the expression of a host-adapted virulent phenotype (toxins and the production of a protective envelope). Finally, our results confirm that beyond the effect of temperature on the V. vulnificus distribution in the environment, it also has an effect on the infectious capability of this pathogen that must be taken into account to predict the real risk of V. vulnificus infection caused by global warming.