Characterization of deposits formed on diesel injectors in field test and from thermal oxidative degradation of n-hexadecane in a laboratory reactor

Solid deposits from commercially available high-pressure diesel injectors (HPDI) were analyzed to study the solid deposition from diesel fuel during engine operation. The structural and chemical properties of injector deposits were compared to those formed from the thermal oxidative stressing of a diesel fuel range model compound, n-hexadecane at 160°C and 450 psi for 2.5 h in a flow reactor. Both deposits consist of polyaromatic compounds (PAH) with oxygen moieties. The similarities in structure and composition of the injector deposits and n-hexadecane deposits suggest that laboratory experiments can simulate thermal oxidative degradation of diesel in commercial injectors. The formation of PAH from n-hexadecane showed that aromatization of straight chain alkanes and polycondensation of aromatic rings was possible at temperatures as low as 160°C in the presence of oxygen. A mechanism for an oxygen-assisted aromatization of cylcoalkanes is proposed

High yield and high packing density porous carbon for unprecedented CO2 capture from the first attempt at activation of air-carbonized biomass

The first attempt at activation of air-carbonized carbon reveals unusual resistance to activation and unprecedentedly high yields (32–80 wt%) of high packing density (0.7–1.14 g cm−3) microporous carbon dominated by 5.5–7 Å pores, which are just right for CO2 uptake (up to 5.0 mmol g−1) at 1 bar and 25 °C. The high gravimetric uptake and packing density offer exceptional volumetric storage, and unprecedented performance for low pressure swing adsorption (PSA) with working capacity of 6–9 mmol g−1 for a pure CO2 stream (6 to 1 bar) and 3–4 mmol g−1 for flue gas (1.2 to 0.2 bar). The working capacity for vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) is attractive at 5.0–5.4 mmol g−1 under pure CO2 (1.5 to 0.05 bar), and 1.8–2.2 mmol g−1 for flue gas (0.3 to 0.01 bar). The pure CO2 volumetric working capacity breaks new ground at 246–309 g l−1 (PSA) and 179–233 g l−1 (VSA). For flue gas conditions, the working capacity is 120 to 160 g l−1 (PSA). The performance of the activated air-carbonized carbons is higher than the best carbons and benchmark zeolites or MOFs

Pathogenic Huntingtin Repeat Expansions in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

We examined the role of repeat expansions in the pathogenesis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by analyzing whole-genome sequence data from 2,442 FTD/ALS patients, 2,599 Lewy body dementia (LBD) patients, and 3,158 neurologically healthy subjects. Pathogenic expansions (range, 40-64 CAG repeats) in the huntingtin (HTT) gene were found in three (0.12%) patients diagnosed with pure FTD/ALS syndromes but were not present in the LBD or healthy cohorts. We replicated our findings in an independent collection of 3,674 FTD/ALS patients. Postmortem evaluations of two patients revealed the classical TDP-43 pathology of FTD/ALS, as well as huntingtin-positive, ubiquitin-positive aggregates in the frontal cortex. The neostriatal atrophy that pathologically defines Huntington's disease was absent in both cases. Our findings reveal an etiological relationship between HTT repeat expansions and FTD/ALS syndromes and indicate that genetic screening of FTD/ALS patients for HTT repeat expansions should be considered

Seguimiento de las guías españolas para el manejo del asma por el médico de atención primaria: un estudio observacional ambispectivo

Objetivo Evaluar el grado de seguimiento de las recomendaciones de las versiones de la Guía española para el manejo del asma (GEMA 2009 y 2015) y su repercusión en el control de la enfermedad. Material y métodos Estudio observacional y ambispectivo realizado entre septiembre del 2015 y abril del 2016, en el que participaron 314 médicos de atención primaria y 2.864 pacientes. Resultados Utilizando datos retrospectivos, 81 de los 314 médicos (25, 8% [IC del 95%, 21, 3 a 30, 9]) comunicaron seguir las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2009. Al inicio del estudio, 88 de los 314 médicos (28, 0% [IC del 95%, 23, 4 a 33, 2]) seguían las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015. El tener un asma mal controlada (OR 0, 19, IC del 95%, 0, 13 a 0, 28) y presentar un asma persistente grave al inicio del estudio (OR 0, 20, IC del 95%, 0, 12 a 0, 34) se asociaron negativamente con tener un asma bien controlada al final del seguimiento. Por el contrario, el seguimiento de las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015 se asoció de manera positiva con una mayor posibilidad de que el paciente tuviera un asma bien controlada al final del periodo de seguimiento (OR 1, 70, IC del 95%, 1, 40 a 2, 06). Conclusiones El escaso seguimiento de las guías clínicas para el manejo del asma constituye un problema común entre los médicos de atención primaria. Un seguimiento de estas guías se asocia con un control mejor del asma. Existe la necesidad de actuaciones que puedan mejorar el seguimiento por parte de los médicos de atención primaria de las guías para el manejo del asma. Objective: To assess the degree of compliance with the recommendations of the 2009 and 2015 versions of the Spanish guidelines for managing asthma (Guía Española para el Manejo del Asma [GEMA]) and the effect of this compliance on controlling the disease. Material and methods: We conducted an observational ambispective study between September 2015 and April 2016 in which 314 primary care physicians and 2864 patients participated. Results: Using retrospective data, we found that 81 of the 314 physicians (25.8%; 95% CI 21.3–30.9) stated that they complied with the GEMA2009 recommendations. At the start of the study, 88 of the 314 physicians (28.0%; 95% CI 23.4–33.2) complied with the GEMA2015 recommendations. Poorly controlled asthma (OR, 0.19; 95% CI 0.13–0.28) and persistent severe asthma at the start of the study (OR, 0.20; 95% CI 0.12–0.34) were negatively associated with having well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up. In contrast, compliance with the GEMA2015 recommendations was positively associated with a greater likelihood that the patient would have well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up (OR, 1.70; 95% CI 1.40–2.06). Conclusions: Low compliance with the clinical guidelines for managing asthma is a common problem among primary care physicians. Compliance with these guidelines is associated with better asthma control. Actions need to be taken to improve primary care physician compliance with the asthma management guidelines

Surgery and risk of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Denmark and Sweden: registry-based case-control studies

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic evidence of surgical transmission of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) remains controversial. METHODS: From Danish and Swedish registries we selected 167 definite and probable sCJD cases (with onset between 1987 and 2003) and 3,059 controls (835 age-, sex-, and residence-matched, and 2,224 unmatched). Independent of case/control status, surgical histories were obtained from National Hospital Discharge Registries. Surgical procedures were categorized by body system group and lag time to onset of sCJD. Exposure frequencies were compared using logistic regression. RESULTS: A history of any major surgery, conducted >/=20 years before sCJD onset, was more common in cases than both matched (OR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.46-4.07) and unmatched controls (OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 1.48-3.44). This observation was corroborated by a linear increase in risk per surgical discharge (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.13-2.18; OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.18-1.91). Surgery of various body systems, including peripheral vessels, digestive system and spleen, and female genital organs, was significantly associated with increased sCJD risk. CONCLUSIONS: A variety of major surgical procedures constitute a risk factor for sCJD following an incubation period of many years. A considerable number of sCJD cases may originate from health care-related accidental transmission.Funding was obtained from the EU Research Commission, Concerted Action QLRG3-CT-2002-81223, NEUROPRION and the Spanish RECSP C03-09, CIEN C03-06 and CIBERNED networks, and from the Karolinska and Carlos III National Health Institutes. Ethical evaluation was cleared by the KI Forskningsetikkommittee Syd (Dnr 452/02) on December 2, 2002. Preliminary results were presented at the EUROCJD/NEUROCJD Public Health EU meeting in Paris on December 5, 2006. J.P.-C. had full access to all study data, and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis

Trends in HIV testing, prevalence among first-time testers, and incidence in most-at-risk populations in Spain: the EPI-VIH Study, 2000 to 2009.

During 2000 to 2009, data on people undergoing HIV testing and on those newly diagnosed with HIV were collected in a network of 20 Spanish clinics specialising in sexually transmitted infections and/or HIV testing and counselling. The number of tests performed, overall and disaggregated by different variables, was obtained. HIV prevalence among first-time testers and HIV incidence among repeat testers were calculated. To evaluate trends, joinpoint regression models were fitted. In total, 236,939 HIV tests were performed for 165,745 individuals. Overall HIV prevalence among persons seeking HIV testing was 2.5% (95% CI: 2.4 to 2.6). Prevalence was highest in male sex workers who had sex with other men (19.0% (95% CI: 16.7 to 21.4)) and was lowest in female sex workers (0.8% (95% CI: 0.7 to 0.9)). Significant trends in prevalence were observed in men who have sex with men (MSM) (increasing) and heterosexual individuals (decreasing). The incidence analysis included 30,679 persons, 64,104 person-years (py) of follow-up and 642 seroconversions. The overall incidence rate (IR) was 1.0/100 py (95% CI: 0.9/100 to 1.1/100). Incidence was significantly higher in men and transgender females than in women (1.8/100 py (95% CI: 1.6 to 1.9), 1.2/100 py (95% CI: 0.5 to 2.8) and 0.1/100 py (95% CI: 0.09 to 0.2) respectively) and increased with age until 35–39 years. IRs in MSM and people who inject drugs were significantly greater than in heterosexual individuals (2.5/100 py (95% CI: 2.3 to 2.7), 1.6/100 py (95% CI: 1.1 to 2.2) and 0.1/100 py (95% CI: 0.09 to 0.2) respectively), and an upward trend was observed in MSM. Our results call for HIV prevention to be reinforced in MSM and transgender women in Spain.This work has been supported with grants No. 36303/02, 36537/05 and 36794/08 from FIPSE (Fundación para la Investigación y la Prevención del Sida en España). The au-thors wish to thank Kathy Fitch for the English review.S