Electrical Subsurface Grounding Analysis

The purpose and objective of this analysis is to determine the present grounding requirements of the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) subsurface electrical system and to verify that the actual grounding system and devices satisfy the requirements

Pairwise dichotomous cohesiveness measures

Producción CientíficaAbstract In a framework where experts or agents express their opinions in a dichotomous way, we analyze the cohesiveness of their opinions on axed set of issues in a population. A parametric family of related measures are introduced and axiomatically characterized. They are ordinally equivalent when the population isxed, and some further properties are proved. In order to argue that this restricted dichotomous situation is nevertheless versatile, the paper ends with several empirical illustrations based on real forecasts (for the 2012 American presidential election) and elections (with real data from referenda in two countries and from elections in several scientic societies).Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project ECO2012-31933)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project ECO2012-32178)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Proyect CGL2008-06003-C03-03/CLI)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Project CGL2011-29396-C03-02)

Biobased catalyst in biorefinery processes: Sulphonated hydrothermal carbon for glycerol esterification

Sulphonated hydrothermal carbon (SHTC), obtained from D-glucose by mild hydrothermal carbonisation and subsequent sulphonation with sulphuric acid, is able to catalyse the esterification of glycerol with dif- ferent carboxylic acids, namely, acetic, butyric and caprylic acids. Product selectivity can be tuned by sim- ply controlling the reaction conditions. On the one hand, SHTC provides one of the best selectivity towards 20 monoacetins described up to now without the need for an excess of glycerol. On the other hand, excellent selectivity towards triacylglycerides (TAG) can be obtained, beyond those described with other solid cata- lysts, including well-known sulphonic resins. Recovery of the catalyst showed partial deactivation of the solid. The formation of sulphonate esters on the surface, confirmed by solid state NMR, was the cause of this behaviour. Acid treatment of the used catalyst, with subsequent hydrolysis of the surface sulphonate 25 esters, allows SHTC to recover its activity. The higher selectivity towards mono- and triesters and its renewable origin makes SHTC an attractive catalyst in biorefinery processe

Influence of ball milling on CaO crystal growth during limestone and dolomite calcination: Effect on CO2 capture at Calcium Looping conditions

The multicycle CO2 capture performance of CaO derived from the calcination of ball-milled limestone and dolomite have been tested under high temperature and high CO2 concentration environment for the first time. Here it is shown that the CO2 capture capacity of CaO is inversely related to the milling power applied to the starting mineral and the size of nascent CaO nanocrystals. In situ X-ray diffraction analysis used to follow the average crystallite size of CaCO3 and CaO during the calcination process as a function of temperature demonstrates that crystal growth is notably enhanced in a CO2-rich atmosphere for milled sorbents. Contrary to early reports suggesting improved reactivity towards carbonation of CaO from milled sorbents, promoted agglomeration, and crystal growth under these more “realistic” conditions lead to a severe deterioration of both capture capacity and recyclability, as observed from the multicyclic carbonation/calcination experiments. Yet the negative effect of milling is less pronounced in dolomite due to the constrained sintering effect of the inert MgO grains that results in smaller CaO crystallite sizes, reduced crystal growth rate, and improved performance. These results provide insight on the role of CaO crystallinity on the carbonation reaction, useful for devising strategies to improve sorbents performance.Peer reviewe

Physical and Chemical Nature of the Scaling Relations between Adsorption Energies of Atoms on Metal Surfaces

Catalysis and Surface Chemistr

Causality bounds for neutron-proton scattering

We consider the constraints of causality and unitarity for the low-energy interactions of protons and neutrons. We derive a general theorem that non-vanishing partial-wave mixing cannot be reproduced with zero-range interactions without violating causality or unitarity. We define and calculate interaction length scales which we call the causal range and the Cauchy-Schwarz range for all spin channels up to J = 3. For some channels we find that these length scales are as large as 5 fm. We investigate the origin of these large lengths and discuss their significance for the choice of momentum cutoff scales in effective field theory and universality in many-body Fermi systems.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables, version to appear in Eur. Phys. J.

CTCF knockout in zebrafish induces alterations in regulatory landscapes and developmental gene expression

Coordinated chromatin interactions between enhancers and promoters are critical for gene regulation. The architectural protein CTCF mediates chromatin looping and is enriched at the boundaries of topologically associating domains (TADs), which are sub-megabase chromatin structures. In vitro CTCF depletion leads to a loss of TADs but has only limited effects over gene expression, challenging the concept that CTCF-mediated chromatin structures are a fundamental requirement for gene regulation. However, how CTCF and a perturbed chromatin structure impacts gene expression during development remains poorly understood. Here we link the loss of CTCF and gene regulation during patterning and organogenesis in a ctcf knockout zebrafish model. CTCF absence leads to loss of chromatin structure and affects the expression of thousands of genes, including many developmental regulators. Our results demonstrate the essential role of CTCF in providing the structural context for enhancer-promoter interactions, thus regulating developmental genes

A gene variant near ATM is significantly associated with metformin treatment response In type 2 diabetes: A replication and meta-analysis of five cohorts

_Aims/hypothesis:_ In this study we aimed to replicate the previously reported association between the glycaemic response to metformin and the SNP rs11212617 at a locus that includes the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene in multiple additional populations. _Methods:_ Incident users of metformin selected from the Diabetes Care System West-Friesland (DCS, n=929) and the Rotterdam Study (n=182) from the Netherlands, and the CARDS Trial (n=254) from the UK were genotyped for rs11212617 and tested for an association with both HbA1c reduction and treatment success, defined as the ability to reach the treatment target of an HbA1c ≤7 % (53 mmol/mol). Finally, a meta-analysis including data from literature was performed. _Results:_ In the DCS cohort, we observed an association between rs11212617 genotype and treatment success on metformin (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.03, 1.58, p=0.028); in the smaller Rotterdam Study cohort, a numerically similar but non-significant trend was observed (OR 1.45, 95% CI 0.87, 2.39, p=0.15); while in the CARDS cohort there was no significant association. In meta-analyses of these three cohorts separately or combined with the previously published cohorts, rs11212617 genotype is associated with metformin treatment success (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04, 1.49, p=0.016 and OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.33, 1.38, p=7.8×10-6, respectively). _ Conclusions/inte

Distribution and outcomes of a phenotype-based approach to guide COPD management: Results from the CHAIN cohort

Rationale: The Spanish guideline for COPD (GesEPOC) recommends COPD treatment according to four clinical phenotypes: non-exacerbator phenotype with either chronic bronchitis or emphysema (NE), asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS), frequent exacerbator phenotype with emphysema (FEE) or frequent exacerbator phenotype with chronic bronchitis (FECB). However, little is known on the distribution and outcomes of the four suggested phenotypes. Objective: We aimed to determine the distribution of these COPD phenotypes, and their relation with one-year clinical outcomes. Methods: We followed a cohort of well-characterized patients with COPD up to one-year. Baseline characteristics, health status (CAT), BODE index, rate of exacerbations and mortality up to one year of follow-up were compared between the four phenotypes. Results: Overall, 831 stable COPD patients were evaluated. They were distributed as NE, 550 (66.2%); ACOS, 125 (15.0%); FEE, 38 (4.6%); and FECB, 99 (11.9%); additionally 19 (2.3%) COPD patients with frequent exacerbations did not fulfill the criteria for neither FEE nor FECB. At baseline, there were significant differences in symptoms, FEV1 and BODE index (all p<0.05). The FECB phenotype had the highest CAT score (17.1±8.2, p<0.05 compared to the other phenotypes). Frequent exacerbator groups (FEE and FECB) were receiving more pharmacological treatment at baseline, and also experienced more exacerbations the year after (all p<0.05) with no differences in one-year mortality. Most of NE (93%) and half of exacerbators were stable after one year. Conclusions: There is an uneven distribution of COPD phenotypes in stable COPD patients, with significant differences in demographics, patient-centered outcomes and health care resources use

Adipose tissue concentrations of non-persistent environmental phenols and local redox balance in adults from Southern Spain

The aim was to evaluate the associations of environmental phenol and paraben concentrations with the oxidative microenvironment in adipose tissue. This study was conducted in a subsample (n=144) of the GraMo cohort (Southern Spain). Concentrations of 9 phenols and 7 parabens, and levels of oxidative stress biomarkers were quantified in adipose tissue. Associations were estimated using multivariable linear regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders. Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) concentration was borderline associated with enhanced glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity [exp(β)=1.20, p=0.060] and decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) [exp(β)=0.55, p=0.070]. Concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) and methylparaben (MeP) were associated to lower glutathione reductase (GRd) activity [exp(β)=0.83, exp(β)=0.72, respectively], and BPA was borderline associated to increased levels of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) [exp(β)=1.73, p-value=0.062]. MeP was inversely associated to both hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and superoxide dismustase (SOD) activity, as well as to the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) [0.75 < exp(β) < 0.79]. Our results suggest that some specific non-persistent pollutants may be associated with a disruption of the activity of relevant antioxidant enzymes, in addition to the depletion of the glutathione stock. They might act as a tissue-specific source of free radicals, contributing to the oxidative microenvironment in the adipose tissue.This research was supported in part by research grants from the European Union Commission (H2020-EJP-HBM4EU and SOE1/P1/F0082), Biomedical Research Networking Center-CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), from the Institute of Health Carlos III, supported by European Regional Development Fund/FEDER (FIS-PI13/02406, FISPI14/ 00067, FIS-PI16/01820, FIS-PI16/01812, FIS-PI16/01858 and FIS-PI17/01743), and from the Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía (PS-0506-2016). Funding for the equipment used was provided by Velux Fonden, Augustinus Fonden and Svend Andersen Fonden. The authors thank Kirsten og Freddy Johansens Fond and the International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University) for economic support. Dr. Juan Pedro Arrebola is under contract within Ramón y Cajal Program (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad de España, RYC-2016-20155)