176 research outputs found
Customization, extension and reuse of outdated hydrogeological software
Each scientist is specialized in his or her field of research and in the tools that he or she uses during the research in a specified site. Thus, he or she is the most suitable person for improving the tools by overcoming their limitations to realize faster and higher quality analysis. However, most scientists are not software developers. Hence, it is necessary to provide them with an easy approach that enables non-software developers to improve and customize their tools. This paper presents an approach for easily improving and customizing any hydrogeological software. It is the result of experiences with updating several interdisciplinary case studies. The main insights of this approachhave been demonstrated using four examples: MIX (FORTRAN-based), BrineMIX (C++-based), EasyQuim and EasyBal (both spreadsheet-based). The improved software has been proven to be a better tool for enhanced analysis by substantially reducing the computation time and the tedious processing of the input and output data files
Joining participatory approach and spatially-based modelling tools for groundwater resource management.
Although a lot of science has been produced on Water Resource Management (WRM) in the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) sector, WRM is still poorly addressed via scientific means. Some reasons for
this may be: the underrated importance given to this topic at political and decision-making level; the low-capacity
of the research environment to transfer results; and missing numerical modelling capacities at agencies and
governing authorities.
ICT may provide tools for water planning and management, as discussed within the ICT4WATER cluster initiative.
Among these, GIS-integrated numerical modeling is a robust method to represent hydrological systems and to
provide answers to problems of protection of groundwater resources. Because these tools require a high level
of knowledge pertaining to various disciplines, they are often disregarded as complex âtricky gamesâ providing
unrealistic results. This is a barrier to the uptake of technologies for water management.
To overcome this issue, the application of ICT tools has been combined with an innovative participatory approach,
and large capacity building activities, in the framework of the H2020 FREEWAT project (FREE and open source
software tools for WATer resource management; www.freewat.eu). The major result of the project consists in an
open source and public domain, QGIS-integrated modeling platform for promoting WRM.
FREEWAT capabilities have been demonstrated at 14 case studies in EU and non-EU Countries, where the
effectiveness of few measures foreseen in River Basin Management Plans for achieving good status of water
bodies was tested.
At each case study, a Focus Group (FG) participated by local stakeholders (e.g., river basin authorities, research
institutions, environmental protection agencies, environmental associations) was formed and seven meetings were
organized. During these meetings, the objective of each case study, the methodology to be adopted, including
definition of the conceptual model and of data needed, were discussed. The FG also took decisions on scenarios
to be simulated for testing the feasibility of the foreseen measures. FGs aimed at demonstrating that WRM may
be performed with open source and public domain software and participantsâ perception on using ICT tools for
WRM was discussed.
Some of the implemented models are now being used for operational purposes: Vrbansky plato (Slovenia),
where FREEWAT is used to monitor remediation of heating oil spillage and the water supply company intends to
maintain and use developed groundwater flow model for managed groundwater recharge with induced riverbank
filtration; the Bremerhaven case study (Germany), where the local water authority intends to use the developed
groundwater flow model for predictions; the Scarlino-Follonica case study (Italy), where the model will be used by
the regional authority to manage private groundwater remediation projects in a large industrial contaminated site;
the Gozo case study (Malta), where the model is being developed to support the assessment of good groundwater
quantitative status as part of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive
3D computer model to estimate induced electrical parameters in an in-vitro culture stimulated by low-frequency magnetic fields.
Los modelos computacionales son un ĂĄrea en continuo desarrollo e investigaciĂłn que se usan como apoyo
a los procedimientos experimentales. Estos representan una herramienta fundamental para definir
variables cada vez mĂĄs especĂficas a aplicarse reduciendo tiempo de investigaciĂłn y dinero. En este
estudio se desarrolló un modelo computacional 3D de células de fibroblastos y osteoblastos humanas
estimulados por campos magnéticos. El modelo se creó a partir del esquema experimental real formado
por la fuente (Bobina Helmholtz), una placa FalconTM de 96 pozos y el material celular. La resistencia
eléctrica para las células se midió en cada material biológico y en el modelo se asignó la resistividad. La
densidad de flujo magnético aplicada fue de 1.0 y 1.5 mT y frecuencias entre 15 y 105 Hz. Las variables
evaluadas fueron el campo eléctrico, la densidad de corriente y el calentamiento eléctrico. Se observó un
crecimiento exponencial de las señales inducidas con la frecuencia y la densidad de flujo magnético
generado, mĂĄs significativo para el primer caso
Aspectos genético-moleculares asociados con el desarrollo del carcinoma colorrectal
El presente trabajo es el resultado de la revisiĂłn bibliogrĂĄfica en PubMed y ScienceDirect, de 62 artĂculos, relacionados con aspectos genĂ©tico-moleculares del carcinoma colorrectal (CCR). El CCR constituye un problema de salud pĂșblica, agravado en los paĂses en desarrollo, porque la mayorĂa de los casos se diagnostican en estados avanzados, al punto que, en Colombia, los datos de mortalidad se asemejan a los de incidencia, lo cual no es comĂșn en los paĂses desarrollados. En consecuencia, es importante implementar mĂ©todos de detecciĂłn temprana, tratamientos efectivos y procedimientos genĂ©tico-moleculares, para diferenciar los casos y ofrecer tratamientos de acuerdo con el perfil genĂ©tico del paciente. Se hace referencia a las pruebas moleculares de inestabilidad microsatelital e inmunohistoquimica para proteĂnas del grupo mismatch repear (MMR), que por su alta sensibilidad y especificidad resultan indispensables para la clasificaciĂłn y tamizaje del CCR y la discriminaciĂłn del mismo, entre esporĂĄdico y hereditario
Essential versus accessory aspects of cell death: recommendations of the NCCD 2015
Cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical stimuli die in an uncontrollable manner, as a result of their immediate structural breakdown. Such an unavoidable variant of cellular demise is generally referred to as âaccidental cell deathâ (ACD). In most settings, however, cell death is initiated by a genetically encoded apparatus, correlating with the fact that its course can be altered by pharmacologic or genetic interventions. âRegulated cell deathâ (RCD) can occur as part of physiologic programs or can be activated once adaptive responses to perturbations of the extracellular or intracellular microenvironment fail. The biochemical phenomena that accompany RCD may be harnessed to classify it into a few subtypes, which often (but not always) exhibit stereotyped morphologic features. Nonetheless, efficiently inhibiting the processes that are commonly thought to cause RCD, such as the activation of executioner caspases in the course of apoptosis, does not exert true cytoprotective effects in the mammalian system, but simply alters the kinetics of cellular demise as it shifts its morphologic and biochemical correlates. Conversely, bona fide cytoprotection can be achieved by inhibiting the transduction of lethal signals in the early phases of the process, when adaptive responses are still operational. Thus, the mechanisms that truly execute RCD may be less understood, less inhibitable and perhaps more homogeneous than previously thought. Here, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death formulates a set of recommendations to help scientists and researchers to discriminate between essential and accessory aspects of cell death
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Haplotype analysis of the internationally distributed BRCA1 c.3331_3334delCAAG founder mutation reveals a common ancestral origin in Iberia
Background: TheBRCA1c.3331_3334delCAAG founder mutation has been reported in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer families from multiple Hispanic groups. We aimed to evaluateBRCA1c.3331_3334delCAAG haplotype diversity in cases of European, African, and Latin American ancestry. Methods: BC mutation carrier cases from Colombia (n = 32), Spain (n = 13), Portugal (n = 2), Chile (n = 10), Africa (n = 1), and Brazil (n = 2) were genotyped with the genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays to evaluate haplotype diversity aroundBRCA1c.3331_3334delCAAG. Additional Portuguese (n = 13) and Brazilian (n = 18) BC mutation carriers were genotyped for 15 informative SNPs surroundingBRCA1. Data were phased using SHAPEIT2, and identical by descent regions were determined using BEAGLE and GERMLINE. DMLE+ was used to date the mutation in Colombia and Iberia. Results: The haplotype reconstruction revealed a shared 264.4-kb region among carriers from all six countries. The estimated mutation age was similar to 100 generations in Iberia and that it was introduced to South America early during the European colonization period. Conclusions: Our results suggest that this mutation originated in Iberia and later introduced to Colombia and South America at the time of Spanish colonization during the early 1500s. We also found that the Colombian mutation carriers had higher European ancestry, at the BRCA1 gene harboring chromosome 17, than controls, which further supported the European origin of the mutation. Understanding founder mutations in diverse populations has implications in implementing cost-effective, ancestry-informed screening
Modelamiento geométrico del cambio de coordenadas UTM causadas por mudanza de referencial geodésico: Caso Sirgas - Chile
Galectin-3 and Beclin1/Atg6 Genes In Human Cancers: Using cDNA Tissue Panel, qRT-PCR, and Logistic Regression Model to Identify Cancer Cell Biomarkers
Cancer biomarkers are sought to support cancer diagnosis, predict cancer patient response to treatment and survival. Identifying reliable biomarkers for predicting cancer treatment response needs understanding of all aspects of cancer cell death and survival. Galectin-3 and Beclin1 are involved in two coordinated pathways of programmed cell death, apoptosis and autophagy and are linked to necroptosis/necrosis. The aim of the study was to quantify galectin-3 and Beclin1 mRNA in human cancer tissue cDNA panels and determine their utility as biomarkers of cancer cell survival.A panel of 96 cDNAs from eight (8) different normal and cancer tissue types were used for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) using ABI7900HT. Miner2.0, a web-based 4- and 3-parameter logistic regression software was used to derive individual well polymerase chain reaction efficiencies (E) and cycle threshold (Ct) values. Miner software derived formula was used to calculate mRNA levels and then fold changes. The ratios of cancer to normal tissue levels of galectin-3 and Beclin1 were calculated (using the mean for each tissue type). Relative mRNA expressions for galectin-3 were higher than for Beclin1 in all tissue (normal and cancer) types. In cancer tissues, breast, kidney, thyroid and prostate had the highest galectin-3 mRNA levels compared to normal tissues. High levels of Beclin1 mRNA levels were in liver and prostate cancers when compared to normal tissues. Breast, kidney and thyroid cancers had high galectin-3 levels and low Beclin1 levels.Galectin-3 expression patterns in normal and cancer tissues support its reported roles in human cancer. Beclin1 expression pattern supports its roles in cancer cell survival and in treatment response. qRT-PCR analysis method used may enable high throughput studies to generate molecular biomarker sets for diagnosis and predicting cancer treatment response
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