Oxychloridoselenites( iv ) with cubane-derived anions and stepwise chlorine-to-oxygen exchange

The novel oxychloridoselenites(IV) [BMIm][Se$_3$Cl$_{13}$] (1), [BMIm][Se$_4$Cl$_{15}$O] (2), [BMIm]$_2$[Se$_4$Cl$_{14}$O$_2$] (3), [BMPyr]$_2$[Se$_4$Cl$_{14}$O$_2$] (4), [BMPyr]$_2$[Se$_6$Cl$_{18}$O$_4$] (5), [BMIm]$_2$[SeCl$_4$O] (6), [BMPyr]$_2$[Se$_2$Cl$_6$O$_2$] (7), and [BMPyr]$_2$[Se$_6$Cl$_{14}$O$_6$] (8) are prepared by ionic-liquid-based synthesis. Accordingly, SeCl$_4$, SeO$_2$ (1–6), and/or SeOCl$_2$ (7,8) as the starting materials are reacted in [BMIm]Cl or [BMPyr]Cl as ionic liquid (BMIm: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, BMPyr: 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium; partially with AlCl$_3$ in addition). Generally, the composition and structure of title compounds can be derived from the tetrameric, heterocubane-type (SeCl$_4$)$_4$ as the initial building unit. Thus, chlorine is successively exchanged by oxygen from 1 to 8. Moreover, the four edge-sharing (SeCl$_6$) octahedra in (SeCl$_4$)$_4$ are increasingly dismantled, ending with a [SeCl$_4$O]$^{2−}$ anion as a single pseudo-octahedron in 6. Based on the weakly coordinating ionic liquid, it is possible to selectively obtain the different species via synthesis near room temperature (20–80 °C). The oxychloridoselenite anions [Se$_4$Cl$_{15}$O]$^−$, [Se$_4$Cl$_{14}$O$_2$]$^{2−}$, [Se$_6$Cl$_{18}$O$_4$]$^{2−}$, and [Se$_6$Cl$_{14}$O$_6$]$^{2−}$ are obtained for the first time. The title compounds are characterized by X-ray structure analysis based on single crystals and powders as well as by infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis

Hipertiroidismo felino : caso clínico

Tras efectuar una revisión bibliográfica centrada en el diagnóstico clínico y laboratorial del hipertiroidismo felino, así como en el tratamiento mediante antitiroideos orales, el presente artículo describe un caso de esta patología felina geriátrica todavía poco frecuente en España. Posteriormente se discuten aspectos importantes del diagnóstico y tratamiento.After a bibliographic update focused on clinical and laboratorial diagnosis of feline hiperthyroidism, as well on its oral treatment, this article describes one case of this geriatric unfrequent disease in Spain. Then, important diagnostic and treatment issues are discussed

Phylogeny, Resistome, and Virulome of Escherichia coli Causing Biliary Tract Infections

Escherichia coli is the most frequent Gram-negative bacilli involved in intra-abdominal infections. However, despite high mortality rates associated with biliary tract infections due to E. coli, there is no study focusing on this pathogen. In this study, we have characterized a group of 15 E. coli isolates obtained from 12 patients with biliary tract infections. Demographic and clinical data of the patients were recovered. Phylogeny, resistome, and virulome analysis through whole genome sequencing and biofilm formation were investigated. Among the 15 E. coli isolates, no predominant sequence type (ST) was identified, although 3 of them belonged to unknown STs (20%). Resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cotrimoxazole, and quinolones was more present in these isolates; whereas, third and fourth generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, amikacin, tigecycline, and colistin were highly active. Moreover, high diversity of virulence factors has been found, with sfa, fimH, and gad the most frequently detected genes. Interestingly, 26.6% of the E. coli isolates were high biofilm-producers. Altogether, our data characterized for the first time E. coli isolates associated with biliary tract infections in terms of genomic relationship, resistome, and virulome.España, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (CP15/00132)España, Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2013-2016 and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (RD16/0016/0009

Cardiac multi-scale investigation of the right and left ventricle ex vivo: a review

The heart is a complex multi-scale system composed of components integrated at the subcellular, cellular, tissue and organ levels. The myocytes, the contractile elements of the heart, form a complex three-dimensional (3D) network which enables propagation of the electrical signal that triggers the contraction to efficiently pump blood towards the whole body. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), a major cause of mortality in developed countries, often lead to cardiovascular remodeling affecting cardiac structure and function at all scales, from myocytes and their surrounding collagen matrix to the 3D organization of the whole heart. As yet, there is no consensus as to how the myocytes are arranged and packed within their connective tissue matrix, nor how best to image them at multiple scales. Cardiovascular imaging is routinely used to investigate cardiac structure and function as well as for the evaluation of cardiac remodeling in CVDs. For a complete understanding of the relationship between structural remodeling and cardiac dysfunction in CVDs, multi-scale imaging approaches are necessary to achieve a detailed description of ventricular architecture along with cardiac function. In this context, ventricular architecture has been extensively studied using a wide variety of imaging techniques: ultrasound (US), optical coherence tomography (OCT), microscopy (confocal, episcopic, light sheet, polarized light), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and, more recently, synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging (SR X-PCI). Each of these techniques have their own set of strengths and weaknesses, relating to sample size, preparation, resolution, 2D/3D capabilities, use of contrast agents and possibility of performing together with in vivo studies. Therefore, the combination of different imaging techniques to investigate the same sample, thus taking advantage of the strengths of each method, could help us to extract the maximum information about ventricular architecture and function. In this review, we provide an overview of available and emerging cardiovascular imaging techniques for assessing myocardial architecture ex vivo and discuss their utility in being able to quantify cardiac remodeling, in CVDs, from myocyte to whole organ

Developing Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curves From Satellite-Based Precipitation: Methodology and Evaluation

Given the continuous advancement in the retrieval of precipitation from satellites, it is important to develop methods that incorporate satellite-based precipitation data sets in the design and planning of infrastructure. This is because in many regions around the world, in situ rainfall observations are sparse and have insufficient record length. A handful of studies examined the use of satellite-based precipitation to develop intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves; however, they have mostly focused on small spatial domains and relied on combining satellite-based with ground-based precipitation data sets. In this study, we explore this issue by providing a methodological framework with the potential to be applied in ungauged regions. This framework is based on accounting for the characteristics of satellite-based precipitation products, namely, adjustment of bias and transformation of areal to point rainfall. The latter method is based on previous studies on the reverse transformation (point to areal) commonly used to obtain catchment-scale IDF curves. The paper proceeds by applying this framework to develop IDF curves over the contiguous United States (CONUS); the data set used is Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks – Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR). IDFs are then evaluated against National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14 to provide a quantitative estimate of their accuracy. Results show that median errors are in the range of (17–22%), (6–12%), and (3–8%) for one-day, two-day and three-day IDFs, respectively, and return periods in the range (2–100) years. Furthermore, a considerable percentage of satellite-based IDFs lie within the confidence interval of NOAA Atlas 14