Formation of ZnO nanowires by anodization under hydrodynamic conditions for photoelectrochemical water splitting

The present work studies the influence of hydrodynamic conditions (from 0 to 5000 rpm) during Zn anodization process on the morphology, structure and photoelectrocatalytic behavior of ZnO nanostructures. For this purpose, analysis with Confocal Laser-Raman Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and photoelectrochemical water splitting tests were performed. This investigation reveals that hydrodynamic conditions during anodization promoted the formation of ordered ZnO nanowires along the surface that greatly enhance its stability and increases the photocurrent density response for water splitting in a 159% at the 5000 rpm electrode rotation speed

Visible-light photoelectrodegradation of diuron on WO3 nanostructures

The degradation of pesticide diuron has been explored by photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) under visible light illumination using two different WO3 nanostructures, obtained by anodization of tungsten. The highest degradation efficiency (73%) was obtained for WO3 nanosheets synthesized in the presence of small amounts of hydrogen peroxide (0.05 M). For that nanostructure, the kinetic coefficient for diuron degradation was 133% higher than that for the other nanostructure (anodized in the presence of fluoride anions). These results have been explained by taking into account the different architecture and dimensions of the two WO3 nanostructures under study

Artificial neural networks (Fuzzy ARTMAP) analysis of the dataobtained with an electronic tongue applied to a ham-curing processwith different salt formulations

tThis paper describes the determination of optimum values of the parameters of a Simplified FuzzyARTMAP neural network for monitoring dry-cured ham processing with different salt formulations tobe implemented in a microcontroller device. The employed network must be set to the limited micro-controller memory but, at the same time, should achieve optimal performance to classify the samplesobtained from this application.Hams salted with different salt formulations (100% NaCl; 50% NaCl + 50% KCl and 55% NaCl + 25%KCl + 15% CaCl2+ 5% MgCl2) were checked at four processing times, from post-salting to the end of theirprocessing (2, 4, 8 and 12 months).Measurements were taken with a potentiometric electronic tongue system formed by metal electrodesof different materials that worked as nonspecific sensors. This study aimed to discriminate ham samplesaccording to two parameters: processing time and salt formulation.The results were analyzed with an artificial neural network of the Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP (SFAM)type. During the training and validation process of the neural network, optimum values of the controlparameters of the neural network were determined for easy implementation in a microcontroller, and tosimultaneously achieve maximum sample discrimination. The test process was run in a PIC18F450 micro-controller, where the SFAM algorithm was implemented with the optimal parameters. A data analysiswith the optimized neural network was achieved, and samples were perfectly discriminated according toprocessing time (100%). It is more difficult to discriminate all samples according to salt formulation type,but it is easy to achieve salt type discrimination within each processing block time. Thus, we concludethat the processing time effect dominates salt formulation effects.This work was financially supported by the Spanish Government and European FEDER funds (MAT2012-38429-C04-04).Gil Sánchez, L.; Garrigues Baixauli, J.; Garcia-Breijo, E.; Grau Meló, R.; Aliño Alfaro, M.; Baigts Allende, DK.; Barat Baviera, JM. (2015). Artificial neural networks (Fuzzy ARTMAP) analysis of the dataobtained with an electronic tongue applied to a ham-curing processwith different salt formulations. Applied Soft Computing. (30):421-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2014.12.0374214293

Model del Programa d’atenció domiciliària (ATDOM) de l’atenció primària i comunitària (APiC)

Atenció domiciliària; Atenció primària i comunitària; Cartera de serveisHome care; Primary and community care; Portfolio of servicesAtención domiciliaria; Atención primaria y comunitaria; Cartera de serviciosAquest document defineix les bases del Programa d’atenció domiciliària (ATDOM) de l’atenció primària i comunitària a Catalunya: els principis en els quals s’inspira, la cartera de serveis, uns elements clau en la prestació i els resultats esperats, el seguiment i l’avaluació

Impact of the implementation of electronic guidelines for cardiovascular prevention in primary care: study protocol

Background The electronic medical records software of the Catalan Institute of Health has recently incorporated an electronic version of clinical practice guidelines (e-CPGs). This study aims to assess the impact of the implementation of e-CPGs on the diagnosis, treatment, control and management of hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertension.Methods Eligible study participants are those aged 35–74 years assigned to family practitioners (FPs) of the Catalan Institute of Health. Routinely collected data from electronic primary care registries covering 80% of the Catalan population will be analysed using two approaches: (1) a cross-sectional study to describe the characteristics of the sample before e-CPG implementation; (2) a controlled before-and-after study with 1-year follow-up to ascertain the effect of e-CPG implementation. Patients of FPs who regularly use the e-CPGs will constitute the intervention group; the control group will comprise patients assigned to FPs not regularly using the e-CPG. The outcomes are: (1) suspected and confirmed diagnoses, (2) control of clinical variables, (3) requests for tests and (4) proportions of patients with adequate drug prescriptions.Results This protocol should represent a reproducible process to assess the impact of the implementation of e-CPGs. We anticipate reporting results in late 2013.Conclusion This project will assess the effectiveness of e-CPGs to improve clinical decisions and healthcare procedures in the three disorders analysed. The results will shed light on the use of evidence-based medicine to improve clinical practice of FPs

Mendelian Randomisation Confirms the Role of Y-Chromosome Loss in Alzheimer’s Disease Aetiopathogenesis in Men

Mosaic loss of chromosome Y (mLOY) is a common ageing-related somatic event and has been previously associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, mLOY estimation from genotype microarray data only reflects the mLOY degree of subjects at the moment of DNA sampling. Therefore, mLOY phenotype associations with AD can be severely age-confounded in the context of genome-wide association studies. Here, we applied Mendelian randomisation to construct an age-independent mLOY polygenic risk score (mloy-PRS) using 114 autosomal variants. The mloy-PRS instrument was associated with an 80% increase in mLOY risk per standard deviation unit (p = 4.22 × 10−20) and was orthogonal with age. We found that a higher genetic risk for mLOY was associated with faster progression to AD in men with mild cognitive impairment (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.23, p = 0.01). Importantly, mloy-PRS had no effect on AD conversion or risk in the female group, suggesting that these associations are caused by the inherent loss of the Y chromosome. Additionally, the blood mLOY phenotype in men was associated with increased cerebrospinal fluid levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau181 in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Our results strongly suggest that mLOY is involved in AD pathogenesis.P.G.-G. (Pablo García-González) is supported by CIBERNED employment plan CNV-304-PRF-866. CIBERNED is integrated into ISCIII (Instituto de Salud Carlos III). I.d.R is supported by a national grant from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III FI20/00215. A.C. (Amanda Cano) acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities under the grant Juan de la Cierva (FJC2018-036012-I). M.B. (Mercé Boada) and A.R. (Agustín Ruiz) are also supported by national grants PI13/02434, PI16/01861, PI17/01474, PI19/01240, and PI19/01301. The Genome Research @ Fundació ACE project (GR@ACE) is supported by Grifols SA, Fundación bancaria “La Caixa”, Fundació ACE, and CIBERNED. Acción Estratégica en Salud is integrated into the Spanish National R + D + I Plan and funded by ISCIII (Instituto de Salud Carlos III)—Subdirección General de Evaluación—and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER—“Una manera de hacer Europa”). Genotyping of the ACE MCI-EADB samples was performed in the context of EADB (European Alzheimer DNA biobank) funded by the JPco-fuND FP-829-029 (ZonMW project number 733051061). This work was supported by a grant (European Alzheimer DNA BioBank, EADB) from the EU Joint Program—Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

PDGF-BB serum levels are decreased in adult onset Pompe patients

Adult onset Pompe disease is a genetic disorder characterized by slowly progressive skeletal and respiratory muscle weakness. Symptomatic patients are treated with enzymatic replacement therapy with human recombinant alfa glucosidase. Motor functional tests and spirometry are commonly used to follow patients up. However, a serological biomarker that correlates with the progression of the disease could improve follow-up. We studied serum concentrations of TGFβ, PDGF-BB, PDGF-AA and CTGF growth factors in 37 adult onset Pompe patients and 45 controls. Moreover, all patients performed several muscle function tests, conventional spirometry, and quantitative muscle MRI using 3-point Dixon. We observed a statistically significant change in the serum concentration of each growth factor in patients compared to controls. However, only PDGF-BB levels were able to differentiate between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients, suggesting its potential role in the follow-up of asymptomatic patients. Moreover, our results point to a dysregulation of muscle regeneration as an additional pathomechanism of Pompe disease