Is the ‘Visual Fields Easy’ Application a Useful Tool to Identify Visual Field Defects in Patients Who Have Suffered a Stroke?

Aims: To determine the level of agreement between the visual Fields easy application (VFE) for iPad and a standard clinical test for assessing peripheral vision in stroke survivors. Study Design: This was a prospective cross-sectional study comparing the VFE application to the Humphrey Field Analyser (HFA) SITA Fast c30-2 program in identifying and diagnosing visual field defects post-stroke. Place and Duration of Study: The ophthalmic department at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Data collection was undertaken between January 2016 and August 2016. Methodology: A total of 50 participants with a diagnosis of stroke and a suspected visual problem were recruited to the study. Normative data was collected from 50 participants with no history of stroke or visual loss. Analysis comprised of comparing the extent of the visual field loss detected by both the VFE and HFA, and clinically assessing the results for normality. Results: Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that with more severe visual field loss, the agreement between both modalities was found to decrease. There was a higher proportion of false negatives with the VFE compared to the HVF. The bias towards detecting more missed test locations with the VFE application compared to the HFA was 6% for the normal participants and 2% for the stroke participants. The limits of agreement between the two modalities were large; 20% and 40% for the normal and stroke participants respectively. The sensitivity of the VFE application to determine an abnormal visual field in comparison to HFA was 88% and specificity was 76% in the stroke cohort based upon a clinical impression of its findings. The majority of stroke participants (88%) found the VFE test more comfortable to perform. Conclusion: As a screening tool, the VFE application is quick and easy to administer, preferred by patients and has good sensitivity and specificity for detecting the presence of an abnormal visual field when compared to HFA. In patients with extensive visual field loss, the VFE may overestimate visual field reduction

Un ejemplo de uso del análisis secuencial en la investigación en resolución de problemas en Educación Matemática

En este trabajo presentamos las posibilidades del análisis secuencial y la técnica de coordenadas polares para describir y analizar el proceso de resolución, por parejas, de un problema de optimización mediado por una i-actividad. Iniciamos el trabajo con algunos antecedentes teóricos y la descripción de las técnicas del análisis secuencial y de coordenadas polares. Finalmente ejemplificamos y describimos el potencial de estas técnicas

Diseño de una e-actividad orientada a la resolución de problemas de matemáticas

Proponemos una metodología para el diseño de e-actividades, la cual incluye un diseño inicial, puesta en práctica y revisión de la e-actividad hasta el logro de los objetivos propuestos. En este trabajo utilizamos un problema de optimización para diseñar una e-actividad que pretende trabajar diferentes fases en la resolución de problemas

Un sistema de categorías para el análisis de la interactividad en una i-actividad de resolución de problemas

Presentamos una propuesta de un sistema de categorías diseñado para describir y analizar el proceso de resolución de una i-actividad por parejas de estudiantes, y la influencia de la interactividad en este proceso. Utilizamos una i-actividad basada en un problema de optimización

Sensory evaluation of environmental impact : wine and oil industries

El objetivo de este trabajo fue probar y poner a punto un método para la valoración del impacto sobre el ambiente, generado por las industrias vitivinícolas y aceiteras. Sus efluentes líquidos se evaluaron sensorialmente durante dos años, en momentos y horarios clave de producción. Se practicaron pruebas de valoración de intensidad -mediante escalas de intervalo- y de ordenamiento, tanto para atributos: olor, color, turbidez y sedimento de efluentes líquidos, como para impactos: visual, olfativo y auditivo. Se caracterizaron las variables en cada tipo de establecimiento y por etapa considerada. Se elaboró una cartilla de color de efluentes líquidos mediante comparación con la escala Munsell. Se obtuvieron perfiles sensoriales de cada punto de muestreo. Las pruebas de ordenamiento (nivel de significancia = 0,05) arrojaron diferencias significativas para las variables y puntos de muestreo en estudio. Las pruebas de comparación múltiple indicaron los puntos de muestreo que debían mantenerse.This work was done in order to prove and to complete a methodology of valuation of the impact produced by wine and oil industries. Sensorial evaluations of liquid effluents and working environment were made at key moments and schedules of production, during two years. It was practiced intensity valuation test by means of interval scales and ordering test for smell, color, turbidity and liquid effuents sediment and visual, olfactory and auditory impacts of environment. The variables were characterized on each type of establishment and by considered stage. A liquid effluents color scale was made by means of comparison with Munsell scale. Sensory profiles of each point of sampling were obtained. Ordering test, for a level of significance of 0,05, giving significant differences for the variables and points of sampling. Multiple comparison test indicated the sampling points that should be maintained.Fil: Cánovas, Laura. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Biomatemática y FisicoquímicaFil: Herrera, María C.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Biomatemática y FisicoquímicaFil: Codina, Ramón A.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Agropecuari

Insights into the stability of a therapeutic antibody Fab fragment by molecular dynamics and its stabilization by computational design

Successful development of protein therapeutics depends critically on achieving stability under a range of conditions, while retaining their specific mode of action. Gaining a deeper understanding of the drivers of instability across different stress conditions, will potentially enable the engineering of protein scaffolds that are inherently manufacturable and stable. Here, we compared the structural robustness of a humanized antibody fragment (Fab) A33 using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations under two different stresses of low pH and high temperature. RMSD calculations, structural alignments and contact analysis revealed that low pH unfolding was initiated through loss of contacts at the constant domain interface (CL-CH1), prior to CL domain unfolding. By contrast, thermal unfolding began with loss of contacts in both the CL-CH1 and variable domain interface (VL-VH), followed by domain unfolding of CL and also of VH, thus revealing divergent unfolding pathways. FoldX and Rosetta both agreed that mutations at the CL-CH1 interface have the greatest potential for increasing the stability of Fab A33. Additionally, packing density calculations found these residues to be under-packed relative to other inter-domain residues. Two salt bridges were identified that possibly drive the conformational change at low pH, while at high temperature, salt bridges were lost and reformed quickly, and not always with the same partner, thus contributing to an overall destabilization. Sequence entropy analysis of existing Fab sequences revealed considerable scope for further engineering, where certain natural mutations agreed with FoldX and Rosetta predictions. Lastly, the unfolding events at the two stress conditions exposed different predicted aggregation-prone regions (APR), which would potentially lead to different aggregation mechanisms. Overall, our results identified the early stages of unfolding and stability-limiting regions of Fab A33, which provide interesting targets for future protein engineering work aimed at stabilizing to both thermal and pH-stresses simultaneously

FIC/FEM formulation with matrix stabilizing terms for incompressible flows at low and high Reynolds numbers

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00466-006-0060-yWe present a general formulation for incompressible fluid flow analysis using the finite element method. The necessary stabilization for dealing with convective effects and the incompressibility condition are introduced via the Finite Calculus method using a matrix form of the stabilization parameters. This allows to model a wide range of fluid flow problems for low and high Reynolds numbers flows without introducing a turbulence model. Examples of application to the analysis of incompressible flows with moderate and large Reynolds numbers are presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Multiplicación de especies silvestres mediterráneas para uso ornamental

Peer Reviewe

A continuous flow-batch hybrid reactor for commodity chemical synthesis enabled by inline NMR and temperature monitoring

Inline, real time NMR and temperature measurements have been used to optimise the continuous flow synthesis of difluoromethyltrimethylsilane (TMSCF2H) by the reduction of the Ruppert-Prakash reagent (TMSCF3). These measurements were used to maximise the space-time-yield, while ensuring this exothermic process remains safe. In this way, a three-fold increase in space-time-yield was achieved compared to the reported batch procedure, isolating 25 g of pure TMSCF2H after 105 min