An experimental analysis od the stability and the dynamics of asixymmetric liquid bridges between unequal disks

In this paper experimental results related to both stability an the dynamic of a asiximmetric liquid bridge between unequal disk are presented. Experiments have been performed by using a drop tower facility and the response of the liquid bridge to a sudden change of the acceleration level acting on it has bee obtained

Insuficiencia cardíaca congestiva en la clínica de pequeños animales : terapéutica práctica moderna III. Diuréticos y bases xánticas en la clínica diaria

En el presente trabajo revisamos los medicamentos de efectos diuréticos más usados en la clínica de animales de compañía y aportamos nuestra experiencia personal en su uso y en la posible utilización de otros productos menos difundidos. Junto a ellos, y como una parte importante del tratamiento de muchos casos de insuficiencia cardíaca congestiva en el perro, una breve revisión de efectos, usos y problemas que pueden aportar las Xantinas de la clínica diaria.This paper reviews the diuretic drugs most often used in small animal practice and discloses the authors' personal experience in their application and the possible use of other less common products. A brief review of effects, uses and problems of Xantines in routine practice is also made, as an important element of the treatment of many cases of Congestivo Heart Failure in dogs

Neuroendocrine abnormalities in Parkinson's disease

Neuroendocrine abnormalities are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and include disruption of melatonin secretion, disturbances of glucose, insulin resistance and bone metabolism, and body weight changes. They have been associated with multiple non-motor symptoms in PD and have important clinical consequences, including therapeutics. Some of the underlying mechanisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD and represent promising targets for the development of disease biomarkers and neuroprotective therapies. In this systems-based review, we describe clinically relevant neuroendocrine abnormalities in Parkinson's disease to highlight their role in overall phenotype. We discuss pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical implications, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions based on the current evidence. We also review recent advances in the field, focusing on the potential targets for development of neuroprotective drugs in Parkinson's disease and suggest future areas for research

Design of a training tool for improving the use of hand-held detectors in humanitarian demining

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the design of a training tool intended to improve deminers' technique during close-in detection tasks. Design/methodology/approach - Following an introduction that highlights the impact of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and the importance of training for enhancing the safety and the efficiency of the deminers, this paper considers the utilization of a sensory tracking system to study the skill of the hand-held detector expert operators. With the compiled information, some critical performance variables can be extracted, assessed, and quantified, so that they can be used afterwards as reference values for the training task. In a second stage, the sensory tracking system is used for analysing the trainee skills. The experimentation phase aims to test the effectiveness of the elements that compose the sensory system to track the hand-held detector during the training sessions. Findings - The proposed training tool will be able to evaluate the deminers' efficiency during the scanning tasks and will provide important information for improving their competences. Originality/value - This paper highlights the need of introducing emerging technologies for enhancing the current training techniques for deminers and proposes a sensory tracking system that can be successfully utilised for evaluating trainees' performance with hand-held detectors. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.The authors acknowledge funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007‐2013 TIRAMISU) under Grant Agreement No. 284747 and partial funding under Robocity2030 S‐0505/DPI‐0176 and FORTUNA A1/039883/11 (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo – AECID). Dr Roemi Fernández acknowledges support from CSIC under grant JAE‐DOC. Dr Héctor Montes acknowledges support from Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá and from CSIC under grant JAE‐DOC.Peer Reviewe

Faster disease progression in Parkinson's disease with type 2 diabetes is not associated with increased α-synuclein, tau, amyloid-β or vascular pathology

AIMS: Growing evidence suggests a shared pathogenesis between Parkinson's disease and diabetes although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of type 2 diabetes on Parkinson's disease progression and to correlate neuropathological findings to elucidate pathogenic mechanisms. METHODS: In this cohort study, medical records were retrospectively reviewed of cases with pathologically-confirmed Parkinson's disease with and without pre-existing type 2 diabetes. Time to disability milestones (recurrent falls, wheelchair dependence, dementia, and care home placement) and survival were compared to assess disease progression and their risk estimated using Cox hazard regression models. Correlation with pathological data was performed, including quantification of α-synuclein in key brain regions and staging of vascular, Lewy and Alzheimer's pathologies. RESULTS: Patients with PD and diabetes (male 76%; age at death 78.6 ± 6.2 years) developed earlier falls (P < 0.001), wheelchair dependence (P = 0.004), dementia (P < 0.001), care home admission (P < 0.001) and had reduced survival (P < 0.001). Predating diabetes was independently associated with a two to three-fold increase in the risk of disability and death. Neuropathological assessment did not show any differences in global or regional vascular pathology, α-synuclein load in key brain areas, staging of Lewy pathology or Alzheimer's disease pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-existing type 2 diabetes contributes to faster disease progression and reduced survival in Parkinson's disease which is not driven by increased vascular, Lewy or Alzheimer's pathologies. Additional non-specific neurodegeneration related to chronic brain insulin resistance may be involved

Ile-1781-Leu and Asp-2078-Gly Mutations in ACCase Gene, Endow Cross-resistance to APP, CHD, and PPZ in Phalaris minor from Mexico

Herbicides that inhibit acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) are commonly used in Mexico to control weedy grasses such as little seed canarygrass (Phalaris minor). These herbicides are classified into three major families (ariloxyphenoxypropionates (APP), cyclohexanodiones (CHD), and, recently, phenylpyrazolines (PPZ)). In this work, the resistance to ACCase (APP, CHD, and PPZ) inhibiting herbicides was studied in a biotype of Phalaris minor (P. minor) from Mexico, by carrying out bioassays at the whole-plant level and investigating the mechanism behind this resistance. Dose-response and ACCase in vitro activity assays showed cross-resistance to all ACCase herbicides used. There was no difference in the absorption, translocation, and metabolism of the 14C-diclofop-methyl between the R and S biotypes. The PCR generated CT domain fragments of ACCase from the R biotype and an S reference were sequenced and compared. The Ile-1781-Leu and Asp-2078-Gly point mutations were identified. These mutations could explain the loss of affinity for ACCase by the ACCase-inhibing herbicides. This is the first report showing that this substitution confers resistance to APP, CHD, and PPZ herbicides in P. minor from Mexico. The mutations have been described previously only in a few cases; however, this is the first study reporting on a pattern of cross-resistance with these mutations in P. minor. The findings could be useful for better management of resistant biotypes carrying similar mutations

Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessments in a Mouse Model of Implant-Related Bone and Joint Staphylococcus aureus Infection.

Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone, associated with an inflammatory process. Imaging plays an important role in establishing the diagnosis and the most appropriate patient management. However, data are lacking regarding the use of preclinical molecular imaging techniques to assess osteomyelitis progression in experimental models. This study aimed to compare structural and molecular imaging to assess disease progression in a mouse model of implant-related bone and joint infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. In SWISS mice, the right femur was implanted with a resorbable filament impregnated with S. aureus (infected group, n = 10) or sterile culture medium (uninfected group, n = 6). Eight animals (5 infected, 3 uninfected) were analyzed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 1, 2, and 3 weeks postintervention, and 8 mice were analyzed with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) at 48 h and at 1, 2, and 3 weeks postintervention. In infected animals, CT showed bone lesion progression, mainly in the distal epiphysis, although some uninfected animals presented evident bone sequestra at 3 weeks. MRI showed a lesion in the articular area that persisted for 3 weeks in infected animals. This lesion was smaller and less evident in the uninfected group. At 48 h postintervention, FDG-PET showed higher joint uptake in the infected group than in the uninfected group (P = 0.025). Over time, the difference between groups increased. These results indicate that FDG-PET imaging was much more sensitive than MRI and CT for differentiating between infection and inflammation at early stages. FDG-PET clearly distinguished between infection and postsurgical bone healing (in uninfected animals) from 48 h to 3 weeks after implantation. IMPORTANCE Our results encourage future investigations on the utility of the model for testing different therapeutic procedures for osteomyelitis.We thank Yolanda Sierra, Alexandra de Francisco, and María de la Jara Felipe, from the Imaging Laboratory for Small Animals of the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Gregorio Marañón, for their excellent work with animal preparation and imaging protocols. Additionally, we thank Daniel Calle, from the Advanced Imaging Unit of CNIC, for his help in imaging postprocessing. This study was partially supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grants PI20/ 01632 and PT20/00044), cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), A way to make Europe. This work was also supported by the Diagnosis and Treatment Follow-up of Severe Staphylococcal Infections with Anti-Staphylococcal Antibodies and Immune-PET project of the Grant Fundación BBVA a Equipos de Investigación Científica 2018, by the Fundación Ramón Areces, and by Comunidad de Madrid (S2022/BMD-7403 RENIM-CM). The CNIC is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN), and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and it is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (grant CEX2020-001041-S, funded by MICIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).S

Investigation of the fusion process for B 10 + Au 197 at near-barrier energies

In a previous work, we presented data for the B10+Au197 system, corresponding to quasielastic and elastic scattering, Au197 inelastic excitation, and one neutron pickup transfer, measuring the angular distribution of scattered beam-like ejectiles at several energies around the Coulomb barrier. In this paper, we present data for the fusion process of the same system, at several energies around the Coulomb barrier, as well as new data for one neutron pickup and stripping transfer. In this case, we detected offline γ rays stemming from the β-delayed decay chain of fusion-evaporation residues and heavy transfer products. As in our previous work, we analyzed this data set with coupled reaction channels calculations using the São Paulo potential. We show that the coupling to the one neutron transfer channel is quite important to describe the fusion data at the sub-barrier energy region. We also provide a comparison of the experimental fusion cross sections obtained for B10+Au197 with data for several other systems involving the same target nucleus.Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, Argentina) PIP00786COFondo para la Investigacin Cientfica y Tecnolgica (FONCYT, Argentina) PICT-2017-4088Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, Brazil) 2018/09998-8, 2019/07767-1, 2019/05769-7Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil) 302160/2018-3, 304056/2019-7Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PGC2018-096994-B-C2

Lockdown measures and relative changes in the age-specific incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain

During the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in 2020, Spain implemented an initial lockdown period on March 15 followed by a strengthened lockdown period on March 30 when only essential workers continued to commute to work. However, little is known about the epidemic dynamics in different age groups during these periods. We used the daily number of COVID-19 cases (by date of symptom onset) reported to the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE) among individuals aged 15-19y through 65-69y. For each age group g, we computed the proportion PrE(g) of individuals in age group g among all reported cases aged 15-69y during the pre-lockdown period (March 1-10, 2020) and the corresponding proportion PrL(g) during two lockdown periods (initial: 25 March-3 April; strengthened: 8-17 April, 2020). For each lockdown period, we computed the proportion ratios PR(g)= PrL(g)/PrE(g). For each pair of age groups g1,g, PR(g)>PR(g) implies a relative increase in the incidence of detected SARS-CoV-2 infection in the age group g compared with g for the lockdown period vs. the pre-lockdown period. For the initial lockdown period, the highest PR values were in age groups 50-54y (PR=1.21; 95% CI: 1.12,1.30) and 55-59y (PR=1.19; 1.11,1.27). For the second lockdown period, the highest PR values were in age groups 15-19y (PR=1.26; 0.95,1.68) and 50-54y (PR=1.20; 1.09,1.31). Our results suggest that different outbreak control measures led to different changes in the relative incidence by age group. During the initial lockdown period, when non-essential work was allowed, individuals aged 40-64y, particularly those aged 50-59y, had a higher relative incidence compared with the pre-lockdown period. Younger adults/older adolescents had an increased relative incidence during the later, strengthened lockdown. The role of different age groups during the epidemic should be considered when implementing future mitigation efforts

Identification of multiple system atrophy mimicking Parkinson's disease or progressive supranuclear palsy

WWe studied a subset of patients with autopsy-confirmed multiple system atrophy who presented a clinical picture that closely resembled either Parkinson’s disease or progressive supranuclear palsy. These mimics are not captured by the current diagnostic criteria for multiple system atrophy. Among 218 autopsy-proven multiple system atrophy cases reviewed, 177 (81.2%) were clinically diagnosed and pathologically confirmed as multiple system atrophy (i.e. typical cases), while the remaining 41 (18.8%) had received an alternative clinical diagnosis, including Parkinson’s disease (i.e. Parkinson’s disease mimics; n = 16) and progressive supranuclear palsy (i.e. progressive supranuclear palsy mimics; n = 17). We also reviewed the clinical records of another 105 patients with pathologically confirmed Parkinson’s disease or progressive supranuclear palsy, who had received a correct final clinical diagnosis (i.e. Parkinson’s disease, n = 35; progressive supranuclear palsy-Richardson syndrome, n = 35; and progressive supranuclear palsy-parkinsonism, n = 35). We investigated 12 red flag features that would support a diagnosis of multiple system atrophy according to the current diagnostic criteria. Compared with typical multiple system atrophy, Parkinson’s disease mimics more frequently had a good levodopa response and visual hallucinations. Vertical gaze palsy and apraxia of eyelid opening were more commonly observed in progressive supranuclear palsy mimics. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed an increased likelihood of having multiple system atrophy [Parkinson’s disease mimic versus typical Parkinson’s disease, odds ratio (OR): 8.1; progressive supranuclear palsy mimic versus typical progressive supranuclear palsy, OR: 2.3] if a patient developed any one of seven selected red flag features in the first 10 years of disease. Severe autonomic dysfunction (orthostatic hypotension and/or urinary incontinence with the need for a urinary catheter) was more frequent in clinically atypical multiple system atrophy than other parkinsonian disorders (Parkinson’s disease mimic versus typical Parkinson’s disease, OR: 4.1; progressive supranuclear palsy mimic versus typical progressive supranuclear palsy, OR: 8.8). The atypical multiple system atrophy cases more frequently had autonomic dysfunction within 3 years of symptom onset than the pathologically confirmed patients with Parkinson’s disease or progressive supranuclear palsy (Parkinson’s disease mimic versus typical Parkinson’s disease, OR: 4.7; progressive supranuclear palsy mimic versus typical progressive supranuclear palsy, OR: 2.7). Using all included clinical features and 21 early clinical features within 3 years of symptom onset, we developed decision tree algorithms with combinations of clinical pointers to differentiate clinically atypical cases of multiple system atrophy from Parkinson’s disease or progressive supranuclear palsy