On mixed radial Moore graphs of diameter 3

Radial Moore graphs and digraphs are extremal graphs related to the Moore ones where the distance-preserving spanning tree is preserved for some vertices. This leads to classify them according to their proximity to being a Moore graph or digraph. In this paper we deal with mixed radial Moore graphs, where the mixed setting allows edges and arcs as different elements. An exhaustive computer search shows the top ranked graphs for an specific set of parameters. Moreover, we study the problem of their existence by providing two infinite families for different values of the degrees and diameter $3$. One of these families turns out to be optimal

Professional interventions to implement guidelines to prevent hazardous alcohol consumption by patients in primary care settings (Protocol)

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Patient preferences and treatment safety for uncomplicated vulvovaginal candidiasis in primary health care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vaginitis is a common complaint in primary care. In uncomplicated candidal vaginitis, there are no differences in effectiveness between oral or vaginal treatment. Some studies describe that the preferred treatment is the oral one, but a Cochrane's review points out inconsistencies associated with the report of the preferred way that limit the use of such data. Risk factors associated with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis still remain controversial.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This work describes a protocol of a multicentric prospective observational study with one year follow up, to describe the women's reasons and preferences to choose the way of administration (oral vs topical) in the treatment of not complicated candidal vaginitis. The number of women required is 765, they are chosen by consecutive sampling. All of whom are aged 16 and over with vaginal discharge and/or vaginal pruritus, diagnosed with not complicated vulvovaginitis in Primary Care in Madrid.</p> <p>The main outcome variable is the preferences of the patients in treatment choice; secondary outcome variables are time to symptoms relief and adverse reactions and the frequency of recurrent vulvovaginitis and the risk factors. In the statistical analysis, for the main objective will be descriptive for each of the variables, bivariant analysis and multivariate analysis (logistic regression).. The dependent variable being the type of treatment chosen (oral or topical) and the independent, the variables that after bivariant analysis, have been associated to the treatment preference.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Clinical decisions, recommendations, and practice guidelines must not only attend to the best available evidence, but also to the values and preferences of the informed patient.</p

J Med Genet

BACKGROUND: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases are rare disorders whose prevalence is estimated around 1 in 5000. Patients are usually tested only for deletions and for common mutations of mtDNA which account for 5-40% of cases, depending on the study. However, the prevalence of rare mtDNA mutations is not known. METHODS: We analysed the whole mtDNA in a cohort of 743 patients suspected of manifesting a mitochondrial disease, after excluding deletions and common mutations. Both heteroplasmic and homoplasmic variants were identified using two complementary strategies (Surveyor and MitoChip). Multiple correspondence analyses followed by hierarchical ascendant cluster process were used to explore relationships between clinical spectrum, age at onset and localisation of mutations. RESULTS: 7.4% of deleterious mutations and 22.4% of novel putative mutations were identified. Pathogenic heteroplasmic mutations were more frequent than homoplasmic mutations (4.6% vs 2.8%). Patients carrying deleterious mutations showed symptoms before 16 years of age in 67% of cases. Early onset disease (16 years) were associated with mutations in tRNA genes. MTND5 and MTND6 genes were identified as 'hotspots' of mutations, with Leigh syndrome accounting for the large majority of associated phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Rare mitochondrial DNA mutations probably account for more than 7.4% of patients with respiratory chain deficiency. This study shows that a comprehensive analysis of mtDNA is essential, and should include young children, for an accurate diagnosis that is now accessible with the development of next generation sequencing technolog

Síntesis de hidrocarburos por acoplamiento oxidativo de metano. Utilización de reactores de membrana

El uso de tecnicas sol-gel y de tecnicas de impregnacion ha conducido al desarrollo, mediante la modificacion de tubos de alumina, de una membrana ceramica apta para la reaccion de acoplacimiento oxidativo de metano (A.O.M.). Para medir esta actividad se realizaron experimentos en blanco. A partir de una extensa revision bibliografica se seleccionaron tres grupos de catalizadores, cuyos resultados correspondian a los mejores obtenidos en otros laboratorios usando reactores convencionales de lecho fijo. Estos catalizadores fueron probados en experimentos con reactores convencionales y con reactores de membrana. De entre todos ellos se eligion el Li/Mgo. Utilizando el catalizador Li/Mgo se estudio la influencia de las condiciones de operacion y de la configuracion del reactor de membrana. Se ha comprado ademas el funcionamiento del reactor de membrana y del reactor convencional. Se ha modificado el diseño basico del reactor de membrana hasta obtener reactores mas eficaces: reactores mixtos donde una parte de la pared es porosa y la otra impermeable y reactores de membrana con permeacion diferenciada a lo largo de su longitud. Tambien se ha explorado la posibilidad de utilizar diluyentes inertes (N2 y He) y activos (Co2 y H2o) a fin de mejorar los resultados del reactor de membrana en la reaccion de A.O.M. Con Li/Mgo. Se ha modelado la reaccion de A.O.M. En un reactor de membrana ceramica porosa. Para finalizar, se ha explorado la utilidad del reactor de membrana en otras aplicaciones mas alla del proceso de A.O.M.:(1) Utilizacion del reactor de membrana como un reactor intrinsecamente mas seguro, (2) utilizacion del reactor de memebrana en la deshidrogenacion oxidativa de etano, y (3) utilizacion del reactor de membrana en la produccion de gas de sintesis a partir de metano. A new reactor concept was presented for methane oxidative coupling. It consisted of a microfiltration ceramic membrane which had been modified to be used as an oxygen distributor for methane oxidative coupling in a fixed-bed catalytic reactor using Li/MgO as catalyst. In this work, the reactor developed has been tested under reaction conditions. The main operating variables such as the methane to oxygen ratio, residence time and reactor configuration have been investigated, and the performance of the membrane reactor presented in this work has been compared to that obtained in a conventional quartz reactor with cofeeding of methane and oxygen. The results show that the use of a porous ceramic membrane to effect the oxygen distribution can significantly improve the selectivity obtained at a given methane conversion. The membrane reactor concept was also applied for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane with Li/MgO and to the synthesis gas using a two-zone fixed bed of a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst inside a modified ceramic membrane. Finally, The porous-wall ceramic membrane reactor can be considered a new type of contacting device presenting significant advantages from the safety point of view. Some of these are discussed in this paper, and experimental results are presented which show that the reactor can be operated in a safer and more easily controllable way than a conventional fixed-bed reactor