A Computational Efficient Nyquist Shaping Approach for Short-Reach Optical Communications

[EN] Recently, Half-Cycle Nyquist Subcarrier Modulation (HC-SCM) was proposed to achieve high spectral efficiency in intensity-modulator direct-detection optical links. This paper shows that the HC-SCM scheme has a high computational load and proposes the rational Oversampled Subcarrier Modulation (OVS-SCM) as a computational efficient alternative that, furthermore, improves the spectral efficiency. The presented experimental results show that our 256-QAM proposal allows to transmit below the hard-decision forward error correction, with a throughput of 17.8 Gb/s in a 2.5 GHz bandwidth, and a spectral efficiency of 7.2 b/s/Hz, through 20 km of single-mode optical fiber.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and FEDER under the Grant TEC2015-70858-C2-2-R and Grant RTI2018-101658-B-I00.Pérez Pascual, MA.; Bruno, JS.; Almenar Terre, V.; Valls Coquillat, J. (2020). A Computational Efficient Nyquist Shaping Approach for Short-Reach Optical Communications. Journal of Lightwave Technology (Online). 38(7):1651-1658. https://doi.org/10.1109/JLT.2019.2961506S1651165838

Complement Component C1q as a Potential Diagnostic Tool for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Subtyping

Myalgic encephalomyelitis; Blood analytics; DiagnosisEncefalomielitis miálgica; Análisis de sangre; DiagnósticoEncefalomielitis miàlgica; Anàlisi de sang; DiagnòsticBackground: Routine blood analytics are systematically used in the clinic to diagnose disease or confirm individuals’ healthy status. For myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a disease relying exclusively on clinical symptoms for its diagnosis, blood analytics only serve to rule out underlying conditions leading to exerting fatigue. However, studies evaluating complete and large blood datasets by combinatorial approaches to evidence ME/CFS condition or detect/identify case subgroups are still scarce. Methods: This study used unbiased hierarchical cluster analysis of a large cohort of 250 carefully phenotyped female ME/CFS cases toward exploring this possibility. Results: The results show three symptom-based clusters, classified as severe, moderate, and mild, presenting significant differences (p < 0.05) in five blood parameters. Unexpectedly the study also revealed high levels of circulating complement factor C1q in 107/250 (43%) of the participants, placing C1q as a key molecule to identify an ME/CFS subtype/subgroup with more apparent pain symptoms. Conclusions: The results obtained have important implications for the research of ME/CFS etiology and, most likely, for the implementation of future diagnosis methods and treatments of ME/CFS in the clinic.This research was partially funded by the Association of Patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia in Catalonia, Spain (ACAF; www.fibromyalgia.cat (accessed on 23 March 2019) to J.C.-M. and J.A.-M., and by a UCV 2020-270-001 grant to E.O

Hardware Architecture of a QAM Receiver for Short-Range Optical Communications

[EN] Short-reach optical fiber communications systems aim to achieve high throughput, in the order of tens of Gbps. The implementation of these high-speed systems requires parallel processing, which makes low-complexity designs of their subsystems a key to the successful large-scale deployment of this technology. Half-Cycle Nyquist Subcarrier Modulation (HC-SCM) was originally suggested for these systems with the goal of using as much bandwidth as possible and, therefore, achieving high communication rates. Recently, Oversampled Subcarrier Modulation (OVS-SCM) was proposed as an alternative more computational efficient than HC-SCM and also with a better spectral efficiency. This paper proposes a hardware-efficient architecture for an OVS-SCM receiver, which takes into account the inherent parallel processing of these systems. This receiver takes 16 samples in parallel from a 5 GSa/s analog-to-digital converter with a 3.2 GHz 3 dB bandwidth. Design solutions for the frame detection block, the mixer, the resampler, the fractional interpolator, the matched filter and the timing estimator are presented. Our results show that, compared to the HC-SCM receiver, this proposal reduces the computational load of the downconverter stages by 90%. FPGA implementation results are given to demonstrate that our proposal can be implemented in state-of-the-art devices.This work was supported in part by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 under Grants RTI2018-101658-B100 and PID2021-126514OB-I00, and in part by the European Union through "ERDF Away of making Europe."Valls Coquillat, J.; Torres Carot, V.; Pérez Pascual, MA.; Almenar Terre, V. (2023). Hardware Architecture of a QAM Receiver for Short-Range Optical Communications. Journal of Lightwave Technology. 41(2):451-461. https://doi.org/10.1109/JLT.2022.321735745146141

Ecocomedores de Canarias en la isla de El Hierro. Aproximación a la opinión de las familias.

Hoy en día, asumimos como pieza clave en nuestra salud la alimentación, y por tanto, los hábitos alimenticios que adquirimos. Este trabajo de investigación parte de la implantación del Programa de Ecocomedores de Canarias, concretamente en la isla de El Hierro. Siendo ésta la única en la que la totalidad de sus centros educativos se acogen a dicho Programa. El siguiente proyecto de investigación trata de abordar la implantación del Programa Ecocomedores de Canarias en los centros de la isla de El Hierro y la aceptación con la que cuenta por parte de su entorno. Teniendo en cuenta a las familias y a la dirección de los centros implicados como partes fundamentales del trabajo se les hace partícipes a través de dos cuestionarios; uno dedicado a conocer las expectativas de dichos participantes y otro, al final del Programa, para verificar si dichas expectativas se han cumplido.Nowadays, we assume food as a key piece in our health, and therefore, the eating habits we acquire. This research work is based on the implementation of the Canary Islands “Programa Ecocomedores”, especially on the island of El Hierro, the only one in which all of the schools take advantage of the Program. The following research project tries to study the impact and the acceptance that the implementation of the Program is receiving. Considering the families and the management of the schools involved as fundamental parts of the project, we asked both of them to filled two questionnaires; one at the beginning of the implementation (to know their expectations about the Program), and another one, three month later ( to verify if their expectations have been satisfied)

Chloride Penetration Prediction in Concrete through an Empirical Model Based on Constant Flux Diffusion

An empirical model based on constant flux is presented for chloride transport through concrete in atmospherical exposure conditions. A continuous supply of chlorides is assumed as a constant mass flux at the exposed concrete surface. The model is applied to experimental chloride profiles obtained from a real marine structure, and results are compared with the classical error-function model. The proposed model shows some advantages. It yields a better predictive capacity than the classical error-function model. The previously observed chloride surface concentration increases are compatible with the proposed model. Nevertheless, the predictive capacity of the model can fail if the concrete microstructure changes with time. The model seems to be appropriate for well-maturated concretes exposed to a marine environment in atmospherical conditions.The authors thank the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) for the funding received for this research through project BIA2010-20548. M. P. López is grateful for a fellowship with the Formación Personal Investigador (FPI) program (reference BES-2011-046401)

Heart transplantation using allografts from older donors: multicenter study results

33rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Session of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, April 24–27, 2013, Montreal, Canada.[Abstract] Background. The lengthy waiting time for heart transplantation is associated with high mortality. To increase the number of donors, new strategies have emerged, including the use of hearts from donors ≥50 years old. However, this practice remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of patients receiving heart transplants from older donors. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed 2,102 consecutive heart transplants in 8 Spanish hospitals from 1998 to 2010. Acute and overall mortality were compared in patients with grafts from donors ≥50 years old versus grafts from younger donors. Results. There were 1,758 (84%) transplanted grafts from donors < 50 years old (Group I) and 344 (16%) from donors ≥50 years old (Group II). Group I had more male donors than Group II (71% vs 57%, p = 0.0001). The incidence of cardiovascular risk factors was higher in older donors. There were no differences in acute mortality or acute rejection episodes between the 2 groups. Global mortality was higher in Group II (rate ratio, 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.18–1.67; p = 0.001) than in Group I. After adjusting for donor cause of death, donor smoking history, recipient age, induction therapy, and cyclosporine therapy, the differences lost significance. Group II had a higher incidence of coronary allograft vasculopathy at 5 years (rate ratio, 1.67; 95% confidence interval, 1.22–2.27; p = 0.001). Conclusions. There were no differences in acute and overall mortality after adjusting for confounding factors. However, there was a midterm increased risk of coronary allograft vasculopathy with the use of older donors. Careful selection of recipients and close monitoring of coronary allograft vasculopathy are warranted in these patients.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; RD12/0042/00

Differential contribution of the two major polygalacturonases from Penicillium digitatum to virulence towards citrus fruit

The fungus Penicillium digitatum is the causal agent of the citrus green mould, the major postharvest diseases of citrus fruit. Lesions on the surface of infected fruits first appear as soft areas around the inoculation site, due to maceration of fruit. The macerating activity has been associated with pectinases secreted by the fungus during infection. In order to evaluate the contribution to virulence and macerating activity of the two major polygalacturonases (PGs) secreted by P. digitatum, we have obtained and characterized mutants lacking either pg1 or pg2, the genes encoding PG1 and PG2, respectively. Disease incidence of deletants in either gene was not different from that of the parental strain or ectopic transformants. However, disease progressed more slowly in deletants, especially in those lacking the pg2 gene. The lesions originated by the Δpg2 deletants were not as soft and the pH was not as acid as those originated by either the wild type strain or the ectopic transformants. Total PG activity in the macerated tissue was also lower in fruits infected with the Δpg2 deletants. Interestingly, the macerated tissue of oranges infected with Δpg2 deletants showed around 50% reduction in galacturonic acid content with respect to lesions caused by any other strain.The technical assistance of Ana Izquierdo is gratefully acknowledged. LG-C's research is funded in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (AGL2011-30519-C03-01 and AGL2014-55802-R) and the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/027). ML-P was supported by a “Formación de Personal Investigador” scholarship (BES-2006-12983). Authors want to thank the technical assistance of S. Dashevskaya and the financial support by AGL2011-30519-CO3-03 from the “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” (MINECO, Spain), and the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya

Registro Español de Trasplante Cardiaco: XXXI Informe Oficial de la Asociación de Insuficiencia Cardiaca de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología

[Abstract] Introduction and objectives. The present report describes the clinical characteristics and outcomes of heart transplants in Spain and updates the data to 2019. Methods. We describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of heart transplants performed in Spain in 2019, as well as trends in this procedure from 2010 to 2018. Results. In 2019, 300 transplants were performed (8794 since 1984; 2745 between 2010 and 2019). Compared with previous years, the most notable findings were the decreasing rate of urgent transplants (38%), and the consolidation of the type of circulatory support prior to transplant, with an almost complete disappearance of counterpulsation balloon (0.7%), stabilization in the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (9.6%), and an increase in the use of ventricular assist devices (29.0%). Survival from 2016 to 2018 was similar to that from 2013 to 2015 (P=.34). Survival in both these periods was better than that from 2010 to 2012 (P=.002 and P=.01, respectively). Conclusions. Heart transplant activity has remained stable during the last few years, as have outcomes (in terms of survival). There has been a trend to a lower rate of urgent transplants and to a higher use of ventricular assist devices prior to transplant.[Resumen] Introducción y objetivos. Se presentan las características clínicas y los resultados de los trasplantes cardiacos realizados en España con la actualización correspondiente a 2019. Métodos. Se describen las características clínicas y los resultados de los trasplantes cardiacos realizados en 2019, así como las tendencias de estos en el periodo 2010-2018. Resultados. En 2019 se realizaron 300 trasplantes (8.794 desde 1984; 2.745 entre 2010 y 2019). Respecto a años previos, los cambios más llamativos son el descenso hasta el 38% de los trasplantes realizados en código urgente, y la consolidación en el cambio de asistencia circulatoria pretrasplante, con la práctica desaparición del balón de contrapulsación (0,7%), la estabilización del uso del oxigenador extracorpóreo de membrana (9,6%) y el aumento de los dispositivos de asistencia ventricular (29%). La supervivencia en el trienio 2016-2018 es similar a la del trienio 2013-2015 (p=0,34), y ambas mejores que la del trienio 2010-2012 (p=0,002 y p=0,01 respectivamente). Conclusiones. Se mantienen estables tanto la actividad del trasplante cardiaco en España como los resultados en supervivencia en los últimos 2 trienios. Hay una tendencia a realizar menos trasplantes urgentes, la mayoría con dispositivos de asistencia ventricular

Unravelling myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) : Gender-specific changes in the microRNA expression profiling in ME/CFS

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by medically unexplained debilitating fatigue with suggested altered immunological state. Our study aimed to explore peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for microRNAs (miRNAs) expression in ME/CFS subjects under an exercise challenge. The findings highlight the immune response and inflammation links to differential miRNA expression in ME/CFS. The present study is particularly important in being the first to uncover the differences that exist in miRNA expression patterns in males and females with ME/CFS in response to exercise. This provides new evidence for the understanding of differential miRNA expression patterns and post-exertional malaise in ME/CFS. We also report miRNA expression pattern differences associating with the nutritional status in individuals with ME/CFS, highlighting the effect of subjects' metabolic state on molecular changes to be considered in clinical research within the NINDS/CDC ME/CFS Common Data Elements. The identification of gender-based miRNAs importantly provides new insights into gender-specific ME/CFS susceptibility and demands exploration of sex-suited ME/CFS therapeutics