mm-Wave DRW Antenna Phase Centre Determination

This document presents an approach to the phase centre determination of a dielectric rod waveguide (DRW) antenna by means of measurements obtained with a planar measuring system at millimeter wave lengths. Phase centre determination by the least squares fit technique is described in this document for different DRW antennas (silicon and sapphire). Results at different operating frequencies are offered

Determinación del pH y recuento de mesófilos en carne de boquichico (Prochilodus nigricans) proveniente de los mercados de la ciudad de Pucallpa, Ucayali

The aim of this study was to determine the pH and the count of mesophiles in black prochilodus (“boquichico”) meat (Prochidolus nigricans), from the markets of the city of Pucallpa, Ucayali. In total, 115 samples of boquichico specimens were collected from the 23 stalls distributed in the 5 markets of the city (5 samples per stall, considering the stall as a lot), through a non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The processing was carried out by measuring the pH of the meat and the analysis for the count of mesophiles with the SPC method (aerobic plate count). The averages of the pH values in boquichico meat by market were below the neutral value (pH=7.0), but were higher in the samples from markets 3 and 5; likewise, the mesophilic counts in meat exceeded the Maximum Allowable Limits in 4 of the 23 stalls (two from market N° 1, one from market N° 2 and one from market N° 3). It is concluded that the boquichico meat commercialized in the markets of the city of Pucallpa is not suitable for consumption in three stalls in two Callería markets and in one stall in a market in Manantay.El objetivo del estudio fue determinar el pH y el recuento de mesófilos en carne de boquichico (Prochidolus nigricans), proveniente de los mercados de la ciudad de Pucallpa, Ucayali. Se recolectaron 115 muestras de ejemplares de boquichico de los 23 puestos de venta distribuidos en los 5 mercados de la ciudad (5 muestras por puesto, considerando al puesto de venta como un lote), mediante un muestreo no probabilístico por conveniencia. El procesamiento se realizó mediante la medición del pH de la carne y el análisis para el recuento de mesófilos con el método SPC (conteo de placas aeróbicas). Los promedios de los valores de pH en la carne de boquichico por mercado estuvieron por debajo del valor neutro (pH = 7.0), pero fueron mayores en las muestras procedentes de los mercados 3 y 5; asimismo, los recuentos de mesófilos en la carne sobrepasaron a los Límites Máximos Permisibles en 4 de los 23 puestos de venta (dos del mercado N.° 1, uno del mercado N.° 2 y uno del mercado N.° 3). Se concluye que la carne de boquichico comercializada en los mercados de la ciudad de Pucallpa no es apta para su consumo en tres puestos en dos mercados de Callería y en un puesto de un mercado en Manantay

Caracterización de las medidas de bioseguridad de las granjas avícolas en la provincia de Coronel Portillo, Ucayali – Perú

The objective of the study was to characterize the biosecurity measures of the poultry farms located in the province of Coronel Portillo, Ucayali - Peru. Fifty-three farms distributed in the districts of Campo Verde, Yarinacocha, Manantay, Callería and Nueva Requena were evaluated through a survey to the manager of the establishment. The data collected was verified visually and through records. Biosecurity measures were evaluated according to compliance, being 1 = met and 0 = not met. Twenty-nine farms were in a sanitary void, so the data of uniformity of the flocks and the handling of feed were not obtained. Within the seven obligatory biosecurity measures, all the farms had a disinfection program and 98.1% had a disposal system for dead birds; nevertheless, no farm complied with the seven measures, being the biggest problem the lack of human capacity building, where only 15.1% of farms complied. The complementary biosecurity measures were implemented in a variable way between the farms and between the districts.El objetivo del estudio fue caracterizar las medidas de bioseguridad de las granjas avícolas ubicadas en la provincia de Coronel Portillo, Ucayali - Perú. Se evaluaron 53 granjas distribuidas en los distritos de Campo Verde, Yarinacocha, Manantay, Callería y Nueva Requena mediante una encuesta al encargado del establecimiento. Los datos recolectados fueron verificados visualmente y a través de registros. Las medidas de bioseguridad se evaluaron de acuerdo con el cumplimiento, siendo 1 = cumplió y 0 = no cumplió. Veintinueve granjas se encontraban en vacío sanitario, por lo cual no se obtuvieron los datos de uniformidad de los lotes y del manejo de alimento. Dentro de las siete medidas de bioseguridad obligatorias, todas las granjas contaban con un programa de desinfección y el 98.1% con un sistema de disposición de aves muertas; sin embargo, ninguna granja cumplió con las siete medidas, siendo el mayor problema la falta de capacitación del personal, donde solo el 15.1% de granjas lo cumplía. Las medidas de bioseguridad complementarias fueron cumplidas en forma variable entre las granjas y entre los distritos

La figura del defensor del menor en la Comunidad de Madrid: un análisis intergubernamental y comparado

Esta publicación da cuenta de una investigación, financiada por el Defensor del Menor de la Comunidad de Madrid (Asamblea de la Comunidad de Madrid) en que, de manera pionera, se aplica la metodología de análisis intergubernamental en España a una institución pública. También se aplica el análisis comparativo. La investigación contó con la participación en el trabajo de campo de decenas de organizaciones e instituciones públicas españolas y extranjeras. El estudio se desenvuelve en ocho capítulos, sin contar las conclusiones y las fuentes y anexos. En los primeros se realiza una aproximación a la metodología intergubernamental como marco de comprensión del conjunto de trabajo, se tratan los asuntos normativos y se analizan las redes de actores de que forma parte del Defensor del Menor, mostrando el lugar central que ocupa en varias de ellas. El capítulo VI profundiza en la legitimidad y realiza una operativización cualitativa de la misma a partir de la clásica distinción entre legitimidad institucional y por rendimientos, esquema que se confronta con las actuaciones del Defensor. El capítulo VII se plantea en qué medida el Defensor del Menor puede considerarse una organización moderna, en tanto que el VIII se centra en el análisis comparativo de esta figura con otras organizaciones defensoras de los derechos de la infancia tanto a nivel nacional como internacional

Rationale and design of a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of an exercise program to improve the quality of life of patients with heart failure in primary care : the EFICAR study protocol

Background: Quality of life (QoL) decreases as heart failure worsens, which is one of the greatest worries of these patients. Physical exercise has been shown to be safe for people with heart failure. Previous studies have tested heterogeneous exercise programs using different QoL instruments and reported inconsistent effects on QoL. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a new exercise program for people with heart failure (EFICAR), additional to the recommended optimal treatment in primary care, to improve QoL, functional capacity and control of cardiovascular risk factors. Methods/Design: Multicenter clinical trial in which 600 patients with heart failure in NYHA class II-IV will be randomized to two parallel groups: EFICAR and control. After being recruited, through the reference cardiology services, in six health centres from the Spanish Primary Care Prevention and Health Promotion Research Network (redIAPP), patients are followed for 1 year after the beginning of the intervention. Both groups receive the optimized treatment according to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines. In addition, the EFICAR group performs a 3 month supervised progressive exercise program with an aerobic (high-intensity intervals) and a strength component; and the programme continues linked with community resources for 9 months. The main outcome measure is the change in health-related QoL measured by the SF-36 and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaires at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Secondary outcomes considered are changes in functional capacity measured by the 6-Minute Walking Test, cardiac structure (B-type natriuretic peptides), muscle strength and body composition. Both groups will be compared on an intention to treat basis, using multi-level longitudinal mixed models. Sex, age, social class, co-morbidity and cardiovascular risk factors will be considered as potential confounding and predictor variables. Discussion: A key challenges of this study is to guarantee the safety of the patients; however, the current scientific evidence supports the notion of there being no increase in the risk of decompensation, cardiac events, hospitalizations and deaths associated with exercise, but rather the opposite. Safety assurance will be based on an optimized standardised pharmacological therapy and health education for all the participants

The European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry Annual Report 2014 : a summary

Background: This article summarizes the European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association Registry's 2014 annual report. It describes the epidemiology of renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in 2014 within 35 countries. Methods: In 2016, the ERA-EDTA Registry received data on patients who in 2014 where undergoing RRT for ESRD, from 51 national or regional renal registries. Thirty-two registries provided individual patient level data and 19 provided aggregated patient level data. The incidence, prevalence and survival probabilities of these patients were determined. Results: In 2014, 70 953 individuals commenced RRT for ESRD, equating to an overall unadjusted incidence rate of 133 per million population (pmp). The incidence ranged by 10-fold; from 23 pmp in the Ukraine to 237 pmp in Portugal. Of the patients commencing RRT, almost two-thirds were men, over half were aged >= 65 years and a quarter had diabetes mellitus as their primary renal diagnosis. By day 91 of commencing RRT, 81% of patients were receiving haemodialysis. On 31 December 2014, 490 743 individuals were receiving RRT for ESRD, equating to an unadjusted prevalence of 924 pmp. This ranged throughout Europe by more than 10-fold, from 157 pmp in the Ukraine to 1794 pmp in Portugal. In 2014, 19 406 kidney transplantations were performed, equating to an overall unadjusted transplant rate of 36 pmp. Again this varied considerably throughout Europe. For patients commencing RRT during 2005-09, the 5-year-adjusted patient survival probabilities on all RRT modalities was 63.3% (95% confidence interval 63.0-63.6). The expected remaining lifetime of a 20-to 24-year-old patient with ESRD receiving dialysis or living with a kidney transplant was 21.9 and 44.0 years, respectively. This was substantially lower than the 61.8 years of expected remaining lifetime of a 20-year-old patient without ESRD.Peer reviewe

Pαx6 Expression in Postmitotic Neurons Mediates the Growth of Axons in Response to SFRP1

During development, the mechanisms that specify neuronal subclasses are coupled to those that determine their axonal response to guidance cues. Pax6 is a homedomain transcription factor required for the specification of a variety of neural precursors. After cell cycle exit, Pax6 expression is often shut down in the precursor progeny and most postmitotic neurons no longer express detectable levels of the protein. There are however exceptions and high Pax6 protein levels are found, for example, in postmitotic retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), dopaminergic neurons of the olfactory bulb and the limbic system in the telencephalon. The function of Pax6 in these differentiating neurons remains mostly elusive. Here, we demonstrate that Pax6 mediates the response of growing axons to SFRP1, a secreted molecule expressed in several Pax6-positive forebrain territories. Forced expression of Pax6 in cultured postmitotic cortical neurons, which do not normally express Pax6, was sufficient to increment axonal length. Growth was blocked by the addition of anti-SFRP1 antibodies, whereas exogenously added SFRP1 increased axonal growth of Pax6-transfected neurons but not that of control or untransfected cortical neurons. In the reverse scenario, shRNA-mediated knock-down of Pax6 in mouse retinal explants specifically abolished RGCs axonal growth induced by SFRP1, but had no effect on RGCs differentiation and it did not modify the effect of Shh or Netrin on axon growth. Taken together these results demonstrate that expression of Pax6 is necessary and sufficient to render postmitotic neurons competent to respond to SFRP1. These results reveal a novel and unexpected function of Pax6 in postmitotic neurons and situate Pax6 and SFRP1 as pair regulators of axonal connectivity

The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, MEDA. A Suite of Environmental Sensors for the Mars 2020 Mission

86 pags., 49 figs., 24 tabs.NASA’s Mars 2020 (M2020) rover mission includes a suite of sensors to monitor current environmental conditions near the surface of Mars and to constrain bulk aerosol properties from changes in atmospheric radiation at the surface. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) consists of a set of meteorological sensors including wind sensor, a barometer, a relative humidity sensor, a set of 5 thermocouples to measure atmospheric temperature at ∼1.5 m and ∼0.5 m above the surface, a set of thermopiles to characterize the thermal IR brightness temperatures of the surface and the lower atmosphere. MEDA adds a radiation and dust sensor to monitor the optical atmospheric properties that can be used to infer bulk aerosol physical properties such as particle size distribution, non-sphericity, and concentration. The MEDA package and its scientific purpose are described in this document as well as how it responded to the calibration tests and how it helps prepare for the human exploration of Mars. A comparison is also presented to previous environmental monitoring payloads landed on Mars on the Viking, Pathfinder, Phoenix, MSL, and InSight spacecraft.This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the projects No. ESP2014-54256-C4-1-R (also -2-R, -3-R and -4-R) and AYA2015-65041-P; Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, projects No. ESP2016-79612-C3-1-R (also -2-R and -3-R), ESP2016-80320-C2-1-R, RTI2018-098728-B-C31 (also -C32 and -C33) and RTI2018-099825-B-C31; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial; Ministry of Science and Innovation’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology; Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19; and European Research Council Consolidator Grant no 818602. The US co-authors performed their work under sponsorship from NASA’s Mars 2020 project, from the Game Changing Development program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate and from the Human Exploration and Operations Directorate

Lipid profile, cardiovascular disease and mortality in a Mediterranean high-risk population: the ESCARVAL-RISK study

The potential impact of targeting different components of an adverse lipid profile in populations with multiple cardiovascular risk factors is not completely clear. This study aims to assess the association between different components of the standard lipid profile with all cause mortality and hospitalization due to cardiovascular events in a high-risk population. Methods This prospective registry included high risk adults over 30 years old free of cardiovascular disease (2008±2012). Diagnosis of hypertension, dyslipidemia or diabetes mellitus was inclusion criterion. Lipid biomarkers were evaluated. Primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and hospital admission due to coronary heart disease or stroke. We estimated adjusted rate ratios (aRR), absolute risk differences and population attributable risk associated with adverse lipid profiles. Results 51,462 subjects were included with a mean age of 62.6 years (47.6% men). During an average follow-up of 3.2 years, 919 deaths, 1666 hospitalizations for coronary heart disease and 1510 hospitalizations for stroke were recorded. The parameters that showed an increased rate for total mortality, coronary heart disease and stroke hospitalization were, respectively, low HDL-Cholesterol: aRR 1.25, 1.29 and 1.23; high Total/HDL-Cholesterol: aRR 1.22, 1.38 and 1.25; and high Triglycerides/HDL-Cholesterol: aRR 1.21, 1.30, 1.09. The parameters that showed highest population attributable risk (%) were, respectively, low HDL-Cholesterol: 7.70, 11.42, 8.40; high Total/HDL-Cholesterol: 6.55, 12.47, 8.73; and high Triglycerides/ HDL-Cholesterol: 8.94, 15.09, 6.92. Conclusions In a population with cardiovascular risk factors, HDL-cholesterol, Total/HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides/HDL-cholesterol ratios were associated with a higher population attributable risk for cardiovascular disease compared to other common biomarkers