Characteristic times in the English Channel from numerical modelling: supporting decision-making

A numerical model that simulates the dispersion of radionuclides in the English Channel has been applied to study the dispersion of conservative and non-conservative radionuclides released from the La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. The model is based upon previous work and now is able to simulate dispersion over long timescales (decades), explicitly including transport by instantaneous tidal currents and variable wind conditions. Wind conditions are obtained from meteorological statistics using a stochastic method. Outputs from the model are treated using time-series analysis techniques. These techniques allow the determination of characteristic times of the system, transport velocities and dispersion factors. This information may be very useful to support the decision-making process after an emergency situation. Thus, we are proposing that time-series analysis can be integrated with numerical modelling for helping decision-making in response to an accident. The model is first validated through its application to actual releases of 99Tc and 125Sb, comparing measured and computed concentrations, and characteristic times for three radionuclides are given next: a perfectly conservative one, a very reactive one (239,240Pu) and 137Cs, which has an intermediate behaviour. Characteristic transport velocities and dispersion factors have been calculated as well. Model results are supported by experimental evidenc

Modelling the spatio-temporal evolution of H-3 in the waters of the River Tagus

Measurements of tritium specific activity levels and of temperatures in waters of the Torrejo´neTagus reservoir (Spain) showed that their radioactive characteristics were basically influenced by the radioactive liquid effluent from the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant. This enters the Torrejo´neTagus reservoir via the Arrocampo cooling reservoir, which exchanges water with the first. We studied the temporal and spatial (in two dimensions) evolution of the mentioned parameters for years 1997 and 1998. The tritium levels were found to be significantly correlated with temperature. Two numerical models were constructed for a quantitative study of the tritium levels along Torrejo´n reservoir: a 1D model was used for the dispersion of tritium along the whole length of the reservoir, and a 2D depth-averaged model was used for a detailed study of the area where tritium is released into the reservoir. Both models solve the hydrodynamic equa tions, to obtain the currents induced by the exchanges of water between the reservoirs in the River Tagus and Arrocampo, and the advection/diffusion equation to calculate the dispersion of tritium. In general, the model results were in agreement with the experimental observationsJunta de Extremadura 2PR02A02

Comparison of the design and methodology of Phase 3 clinical trials of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF) and dolutegravir-based dual therapy (DTG) in HIV: a systematic review of the literature

Introduction: Current recommended antiretroviral regimens include a combination of two (dual; DT) or three (triple; TT) antiretroviral drugs. This study aims to determine whether the quality of evidence from clinical trials of dolutegravir (dolutegravir/lamivudine [DTG/3TC] or dolutegravir/rilpivirine [DTG/RPV]) is methodologically comparable to that of clinical trials conducted with bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF). Areas covered: A systematic review of the medical literature was carried out in PubMed without date or language restrictions, following the PRISMA guidelines. All aspects of the methodological design of phase 3 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of DT and TT, evaluated by the European Medicines Agency (registration trials), were reviewed. The quality of clinical trials was assessed using the Jadad scale. Expert opinion: The search identified 5, 3 and 2 phase 3 RCTs with BIC/FTC/TAF, DTG/3TC and DTG/RPV, respectively, that met the inclusion criteria. The designs would not be comparable due to differences in pre-randomization losses, blinding, patient recruitment, as well as differences in methodological quality, with the average score of the RCTs conducted with BIC/FTC/TAF, DTG/3TC and DTG/RPV being 4.2 (high quality), 3.0 (medium quality) and 3.0 (medium quality), respectively. Due to methodological differences between the BIC/FTC/TAF, DTG/3TC and DTG/RPV RCTs, the results of these are not comparable

Analytic solutions to the accretion of a rotating finite cloud towards a central object - II. Schwarzschild spacetime

We construct a general relativistic model for the accretion flow of a rotating finite cloud of non-interacting particles infalling onto a Schwarzschild black hole. The streamlines start at a spherical shell, where boundary conditions are fixed, and are followed down to the point at which they either cross the black hole horizon or become incorporated into an equatorial thin disc. Analytic expressions for the streamlines and the velocity field are given, in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions, under the assumptions of stationarity and ballistic motion. A novel approach allows us to describe all of the possible types of orbit with a single formula. A simple numerical scheme is presented for calculating the density field. This model is the relativistic generalisation of the Newtonian one developed by Mendoza, Tejeda, Nagel, 2009 and, due to its analytic nature, it can be useful in providing a benchmark for general relativistic hydrodynamical codes and for exploring the parameter space in applications involving accretion onto black holes when the approximations of steady state and ballistic motion are reasonable ones.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, references and minor changes added to match version accepted for publication in MNRA

Prospective multicenter study of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from 83 hospitals in Spain reveals high in vitro susceptibility to colistin and meropenem

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in Spain in 2013 by describing the prevalence, dissemination, and geographic distribution of CPE clones, and their population structure and antibi- otic susceptibility. From February 2013 to May 2013, 83 hospitals (about 40,000 hospital beds) prospectively collected nondupli- cate Enterobacteriaceae using the screening cutoff recommended by EUCAST. Carbapenemase characterization was performed by phenotypic methods and confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Multilocus sequencing types (MLST) were determined for Kleb- siella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. A total of 702 Enterobacteriaceae isolates met the inclusion criteria; 379 (54%) were CPE. OXA-48 (71.5%) and VIM-1 (25.3%) were the most frequent carbapenemases, and K. pneumoniae (74.4%), Enterobacter cloacae (10.3%), and E. coli (8.4%) were the species most affected. Susceptibility to colistin, amikacin, and meropenem was 95.5%, 81.3%, and 74.7%, respectively. The most prevalent sequence types (STs) were ST11 and ST405 for K. pneumoniae and ST131 for E. coli. Forty-five (54.1%) of the hospitals had at least one CPE case. For K. pneumoniae, ST11/OXA-48, ST15/OXA-48, ST405/ OXA-48, and ST11/VIM-1 were detected in two or more Spanish provinces. ST11 isolates carried four carbapenemases (VIM-1, OXA-48, KPC-2, and OXA-245), but ST405 isolates carried OXA-48 only. A wide interregional spread of CPE in Spain was ob- served, mainly due to a few successful clones of OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae (e.g., ST11 and ST405). The dissemination of OXA-48-producing E. coli is a new finding of public health concern. According to the susceptibilities determined in vitro, most of the CPE (94.5%) had three or more options for antibiotic treatment

Prospective multicenter study of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from 83 hospitals in Spain reveals high in vitro susceptibility to colistin and meropenem

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in Spain in 2013 by describing the prevalence, dissemination, and geographic distribution of CPE clones, and their population structure and antibiotic susceptibility. From February 2013 to May 2013, 83 hospitals (about 40,000 hospital beds) prospectively collected nonduplicate Enterobacteriaceae using the screening cutoff recommended by EUCAST. Carbapenemase characterization was performed by phenotypic methods and confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Multilocus sequencing types (MLST) were determined for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. A total of 702 Enterobacteriaceae isolates met the inclusion criteria; 379 (54%) were CPE. OXA-48 (71.5%) and VIM-1 (25.3%) were the most frequent carbapenemases, and K. pneumoniae (74.4%), Enterobacter cloacae (10.3%), and E. coli (8.4%) were the species most affected. Susceptibility to colistin, amikacin, and meropenem was 95.5%, 81.3%, and 74.7%, respectively. The most prevalent sequence types (STs) were ST11 and ST405 for K. pneumoniae and ST131 for E. coli. Forty-five (54.1%) of the hospitals had at least one CPE case. For K. pneumoniae, ST11/OXA-48, ST15/OXA-48, ST405/OXA-48, and ST11/VIM-1 were detected in two or more Spanish provinces. ST11 isolates carried four carbapenemases (VIM-1, OXA-48, KPC-2, and OXA-245), but ST405 isolates carried OXA-48 only. A wide interregional spread of CPE in Spain was observed, mainly due to a few successful clones of OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae (e.g., ST11 and ST405). The dissemination of OXA-48-producing E. coli is a new finding of public health concern. According to the susceptibilities determined in vitro, most of the CPE (94.5%) had three or more options for antibiotic treatment.This work was supported by a grant from the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (grant PI12/01242); the Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Programme of the Spanish Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; the Plan Nacional de I+D+I 2008–2011; and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI RD12/0015), cofinanced by the European Development Regional Fund (ERDF) “A way to achieve Europe.”S

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. Methods: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015. Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years, 65 to 80 years, and = 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. Results: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 = 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients =80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%, 65 years; 20.5%, 65-79 years; 31.3%, =80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%, <65 years;30.1%, 65-79 years;34.7%, =80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%, =80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age = 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI = 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88), and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared, the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. Conclusion: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age = 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI), and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Provirus reactivation is impaired in HIV-1 infected individuals on treatment with dasatinib and antiretroviral therapy

The latent viral reservoir formed by HIV-1, mainly in CD4 + T cells, is responsible for the failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to achieve a complete elimination of the virus in infected individuals. We previously determined that CD4 + T cells from individuals with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on treatment with dasatinib are resistant to HIV-1 infection ex vivo. The main mechanism for this antiviral effect is the preservation of SAMHD1 activity. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of dasatinib on the viral reservoir of HIV-infected individuals with CML who were on simultaneous treatment with ART and dasatinib. Due to the low estimated incidence of HIV-1 infection and CML (1:65,000), three male individuals were recruited in Spain and Germany. These individuals had been on treatment with standard ART and dasatinib for median 1.3 years (IQR 1.3-5.3 years). Reservoir size and composition in PBMCs from these individuals was analyzed in comparison with HIV-infected individuals on triple ART regimen and undetectable viremia. The frequency of latently infected cells was reduced more than 5-fold in these individuals. The reactivation of proviruses from these cells was reduced more than 4-fold and, upon activation, SAMHD1 phosphorylation was reduced 40-fold. Plasma levels of the homeostatic cytokine IL-7 and CD4 effector subpopulations TEM and TEMRA in peripheral blood were also reduced. Therefore, treatment of HIV-infected individuals with dasatinib as adjuvant of ART could disturb the reservoir reactivation and reseeding, which might have a beneficial impact to reduce its size

Monitorización del consumo de sustancias de abuso legales e ilegales en España a través de las aguas residuales en el marco de la red ESAR-Net

Trabajo presentado en el 4th Congreso Internacional y XLIX Jornadas Nacionales de Socidrogalcohol - VIII Congreso Nacional Patología Bio-Psicosocial, celebrado en Tenerife del 06 al 08 de octubre de 2022