Estimación de evaporación en balsas de riego mediante el empleo de técnicas de teledetección. Estudio aplicado a la vertiente litoral sur de la Región de Murcia

En las regiones áridas y semiáridas las pérdidas de agua por evaporación en balsas de regulación de riego pueden provocar pérdidas económicas importantes. La evaluación de tales pérdidas en la Región de Murcia, como en el resto del Sureste de la Península Ibérica, es de indudable utilidad dada la necesidad de optimizar sus escasas disponibilidades hídricas para el desarrollo de una agricultura tradicionalmente de alto rendimiento. En el presente estudio se aplican técnicas de teledetección para el reconocimiento e identificación de balsas en las cuencas de las ramblas de Villalba, Pastrana y Ramonete (términos municipales de Mazarrón y Lorca). A través de las imágenes del satélite Landsat-8 (NASA, febrero de 2013), se han localizado las balsas de riego mediante métodos basados en el análisis de la reflectancia del agua. Las excelentes propiedades físicas de este tipo de superficies, en relación con la transmisión de la radiación electromagnética en el espectro visible y de absorción en el infrarrojo, permiten claramente su identificación. Tras efectuar una clasificación supervisada a partir de las imágenes de Landsat 8 (resolución 30 m) se ha obtenido una imagen en la que se representa la distribución espacial de las balsas. A continuación, se han aplicado las tasas de evaporación en tanque de clase A. correspondientes al área de estudio, para calcular la evaporación total anual de las citadas balsas y por tanto las pérdidas de agua que ello supone para el riego

Ballistic-like space-charge-limited currents in halide perovskites at room temperature

The emergence of halide perovskites in photovoltaics has diversified the research on this material family and extended their application toward several fields in the optoelectronics, such as photo- and ionizing-radiation-detectors. One of the most basic characterization protocols consists of measuring the dark current-voltage ( J - V) curve of symmetrically contacted samples for identifying the different regimes of the space-charge-limited current (SCLC). Customarily, J & PROP; V-n indicates the Mott-Gurney law when n & AP; 2 or the Child-Langmuir ballistic regime of SCLC when n = 3 / 2. The latter has been found in perovskite samples. Herein, we start by discussing the interpretation of J & PROP; V-3/2 in relation to the masking effect of the dual electronic-ionic conductivity in halide perovskites. However, we do not discard the actual occurrence of SCLC transport with ballistic-like trends. Therefore, we introduce the models of quasi-ballistic velocity-dependent dissipation (QvD) and the ballistic-like voltage-dependent mobility (BVM) regimes of SCLC. The QvD model is shown to better describe electronic kinetics, whereas the BVM model results are suitable for describing both electronic and ionic kinetics in halide perovskites as a particular case of the Poole-Frenkel ionized-trap-assisted transport. The proposed formulations can be used as the characterization of effective mobilities, charge carrier concentrations and times-of-flight from J - V curves, and resistance from impedance spectroscopy spectra.The authors acknowledge the financial support from European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Photonics Public Private Partnership (www.photonics21.org) with the project PEROXIS under the Grant Agreement No. 871336. O.A. thanks Dr. Gebhard J. Matt for his feedback on the link to the Poole–Frenkel ionized-trap-assisted transport mechanism. M.G.-B. acknowledges Generalitat Valenciana for Grant No. GRISOLIAP/2018/073

Energetic evaluation of swing adsorption processes for CO2 capture in selected MOFs and zeolites: Effect of impurities

We present a systematic computational study of Mg-MOF-74, CuBTC and zeolite 13X for CO2 separation from multi-component flue gas mixtures. The impurities' impact was evaluated at the molecular level and process conditions. Adsorption isotherms and isosteric heats of adsorption of pure (CO2, N2, O2, H2O, SO2 and NO2) components, binary and ternary mixtures were obtained from Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations. Working capacities, purities, recoveries and exergetic performances were evaluated for VSA/PSA/TSA processes. Results show that NO2 has a negligible effect in the studied range. For H2O and SO2 the energy requirements are reduced as the impurity content increases and recovery and purity increase, up to an 'optimal' point where a competition for CO2 preferred adsorption sites produces a sharp drop in purity and the energetic index grows exponentially. The minimum energy requirement were obtained for TSA at a desorbing temperature of 443 K in the three materials, with impurities of 1% H2O for CuBTC, 0.5% H2O for Mg-MOF-74 and 0.02% H2O for 13X, obtaining values of 1.13, 0.55 and 0.58 GJ/tCO2, respectively. Hybrid VTSA processes with impurities content in the feed mixture and CCS specifications achieve energy performances of 0.36 GJ/tCO2 and 0.46 GJ/tCO2 with Mg-MOF-74 and 13X, respectively. Mg-MOF-74 stands up as an attractive material for VTSA processes, presenting higher working capacities, purities and second-law efficiencies, with lower energy consumptions, also showing a better 'buffer' behavior than zeolite 13X when trace impurities are present. This work represents the first quantitative assessment of the process performance of MOFs adsorbents in swing adsorption process for CO2 capture considering impurities effects. Results reinforce the validity of molecular simulations for guiding the optimization of these processes

"El Sol de Burkina Fasso": un complejo educativo integral sostenible

En la presente comunicación se presenta el diseño del complejo educativo “La Luz de Burkina Faso” que se ha desarrollado en base a tres Proyectos Finales de Carrera de estudiantes de Ingeniería Industrial de la Escola Tècnica Superior d’Enginyeries Industrial i Aeronàutica de Terrassa (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya).Preprin

Computational simulation study of the influence of faujasite Si/Al ratio on CO2 capture by temperature swing adsorption

Grand Canonical Monte-Carlo simulations are used to assess ten faujasite structures, the well-known family of zeolites with different Al content in post-combustion CO2 capture via Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA) processes, at 313-473 K and 100 kPa. Selectivity, working capacity, regenerability, purity, isosteric heat and working capacity values, for each structure, have been calculated from simulations, providing a rather complete evaluation of adsorbents' performance. Additionally, for all the structures the temperature dependence of the heat capacity has been modeled to estimate the thermal regeneration energy. Calculated heat capacities range from 0.78-0.86 kJ/kg·K at 313K to 0.98-1.15 kJ/kg·K at 473K, values considerably lower than those corresponding to aqueous amine solutions. Comparison of TSA results with previous Vacuum and Pressure Swing Adsorption (VSA and PSA) ones shows that there is no structure that works well for all three processes. Instead, each process reaches optimum conditions for certain range of Al content. Results indicate that high Al content faujasites, 64-to-96-FAU, are the most effective for TSA with working capacities above 1.7 mol/kg, doubling PSA/VSA values. Intermediate Al content 48-,64-FAU perform better at VSA conditions and low Al content 12-,24-FAU structures are more suitable for PSA processes. At moderate operative conditions (i.e., regeneration temperature of 413 K), TSA shows the highest purities (above 99% for one-stage process), followed by VSA and PSA. Finally, TSA is more effective in cleaning faujasites with 48 or more Al, compared to PSA/VSA, leading to a higher regenerability (energetic cost index range between 2.3-2.4 GJ/tCO2)

Clinical outcomes after CPX-351 in patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia: A comparison with a matched cohort from the Spanish PETHEMA registry

Acute myeloid leukemia; Clinical observations; Intensive chemotherapyLeucemia mieloide aguda; Observaciones clínicas; Quimioterapia intensivaLeucèmia mieloide aguda; Observacions clíniques; Quimioteràpia intensivaBackground CPX-351 is approved for the treatment of therapy related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) and AML with myelodysplastic related changes (MRC-AML). The benefits of this treatment over standard chemotherapy has not been addressed in well matched cohorts of real-life patients. Methods Retrospective analysis of AML patients treated with CPX-351 as per routine practice. A propensity score matching (PSM) was used to compare their main outcomes with those observed in a matched cohort among 765 historical patients receiving intensive chemotherapy (IC), all of them reported to the PETHEMA epidemiologic registry. Results Median age of 79 patients treated with CPX-351 was 67 years old (interquartile range 62–71), 53 were MRC-AML. The complete remission (CR) rate or CR without recovery (CRi) after 1 or 2 cycles of CPX-351 was 52%, 60-days mortality 18%, measurable residual disease <0.1% in 54% (12 out of 22) of them. Stem cell transplant (SCT) was performed in 27 patients (34%), median OS was 10.3 months, and 3-year relapse incidence was 50%. Using PSM, we obtained two comparable cohorts treated with CPX-351 (n = 52) or IC (n = 99), without significant differences in CR/CRi (60% vs. 54%) and median OS (10.3 months vs. 9.1 months), although more patients were bridged to SCT in the CPX-351 group (35% vs. 12%). The results were confirmed when only 3 + 7 patients were included in the historical cohort. In multivariable analyses, SCT was associated with better OS (HR 0.33 95% CI: 0.18–0.59), p < 0.001. Conclusion Larger post-authorization studies may provide evidence of the clinical benefits of CPX-351 for AML in the real-life setting.This study was funded in part by a research grant from the Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Density functional theory-based adsorption isotherms for pure and flue gas mixtures on Mg-MOF-74. Application in CO2 capture swing adsorption processes

A simplified model is applied for the prediction of gas/solid adsorption isotherms of pure gases (i.e., CO2, N2, SO2) on the metal-organic framework Mg-MOF-74, based on periodic Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and a dual-site Langmuir approach (DFT/DSL), using a mean-field approximation for the inclusion of the lateral interactions. This model not only provides reliable adsorption isotherms (P ≤ 1 atm, 293 ≤ T ≤ 373 K) but also isosteric heats of adsorption in good agreement with both available experimental data and previous more refined models. Moreover, an extension of this model is used to study the effect of SO2 as an impurity in the efficiency of adsorption and desorption processes of some post-combustion gas mixtures. It is shown that a very low concentration of SO2 is enough to poison Mg-MOF-74 structure. Moreover, different swing adsorption techniques at different working conditions are analysed to reduce the impact of SO2 poisoning in CO2 separation

Micafungin as antifungal prophylaxis in non-transplanted haemotological patients

Introduction. Fungal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the haematological patients. These infections are mainly due to Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. Mortality by these infections is high, but rates have descended in the latest series due to better antifungal agents. Echinocandins are, in vitro, very active against Candida and Aspergillus spp. The objective of the study is to analyse the efficacy and safety of micafungin in the antifungal prophylaxis of haematological patients on chemotherapy. Material and methods. A multicentre, observational retrospective study was performed in 7 Haematology Departments in Spain. Patients admitted to these departments with chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment, and who had received antifungal prophylaxis with micafungin between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2014 were included. Results. There were 5 cases of probable or proven fungal infection (4.8%) according to the 2008 EORTC criteria: 2 proven, 3 probable. The types of fungal infection were 3 aspergillosis and 2 candidiasis. There were no drop-outs from the prophylaxis with micafungin due to toxicity. Conclusion. Micafungin is an antifungal agent which, used in prophylaxis, has demonstrated good efficacy and an excellent toxicity profile, making it an apparently interesting option in patients requiring antifungal prophylaxis during their hospitalisation episode

Evaluation of a viral DNA-protein immunization strategy against African swine fever in domestic pigs

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes serious disease in domestic pigs for which there is no vaccine currently available. ASFV is a large DNA virus that encodes for more than 150 proteins, thus making the identification of viral antigens that induce a protective immune response difficult. Based on the functional roles of several ASFV proteins found in previous studies, we selected combinations of ASFV recombinant proteins and pcDNAs-expressing ASFV genes, to analyze their ability to induce humoral and cellular immune responses in pigs. Pigs were immunized using a modified prime-boost approach with combinations of previously selected viral DNA and proteins, resulting in induction of antibodies and specific cell-mediated immune response, measured by IFN-γ ELISpots. The ability of antibodies from pigs immunized with various combinations of ASFV-specific antigens to neutralize infection in vitro, and antigen-specific activation of the cellular immune response were analyzed.U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number DHS-2010-ST-061-AG0001 for the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Disease (CEEZAD) and the State of Kansas National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF

Best Treatment Option for Patients With Refractory Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma in the CAR-T Cell Era: Real-World Evidence From GELTAMO/GETH Spanish Groups

Real-world evidence comparing the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy against that of the previous standard of care (SOC) for refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is scarce. We retrospectively collected data from patients with LBCL according to SCHOLAR-1 criteria treated with commercial CAR T-cell therapy in Spain (204 patients included and 192 treated, 101 with axicabtagene ciloleucel [axi-cel], and 91 with tisagenlecleucel [tisa-cel]) and compared the results with a historical refractory population of patients (n = 81) obtained from the GELTAMO-IPI study. We observed superior efficacy for CAR-T therapy (for both axi-cel and tisa-cel) over pSOC, with longer progression-free survival (PFS) (median of 5.6 vs. 4-6 months, p <= 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (median of 15 vs. 8 months, p < 0.001), independently of other prognostic factors (HR: 0.59 (95% CI: 0.44-0.80); p < 0.001] for PFS, and 0.45 [(95% CI: 0.31-0.64)] for OS). Within the CAR-T cohort, axi-cel showed longer PFS (median of 7.3 versus 2.8 months, respectively, p = 0.027) and OS (58% versus 42% at 12 months, respectively, p = 0.048) than tisa-cel. These differences were maintained in the multivariable analysis. On the other hand, axi-cel was independently associated with a higher risk of severe cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity. Our results suggest that the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy is superior to pSOC in the real-world setting. Furthermore, axi-cel could be superior in efficacy to tisa-cel, although more toxic, in this group of refractory patients according to SCHOLAR-1 criteria