Dynamic Range Extension of a SPAD Imager Using Non-Uniformity Correction Techniques

The extraordinary sensitivity of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) makes these devices the ideal option for vision systems aimed at low-light applications. Nevertheless, there exist large dark count rate and photon detection probability non-uniformities, which reduce the dynamic range of the detector. As a result, the capability to create image contrast is severely damaged or even lost. This paper presents the implementation of a correction algorithm to compensate for the mentioned non-uniformities and thus extend the contrast of the generated images. To demonstrate its efficiency, the proposed technique is applied to real images obtained with a fabricated SPAD image sensor. An increase of more than 3 b of contrast is obtained.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Test de activación de basófilos en el diagnóstico de alergia a medicamentos

In this paper we study the reliability of the basophil activation test (BAT) in the "in-vitro" diagnosis of allergy to betalactams and to metamizol, and the sensitivity and specificity of the technique are analyzed. To this end, we studied 58 patients allergic to betalactam antibiotics with a positive cutaneous test facing any derivative of penicillin and 30 healthy controls who tolerated betalactams, and 26 patients allergic to metamizol with an immediate reaction and 30 healthy controls who tolerated the medicine. Sensitivity to BAT in allergy to betalactams was 52.8%, and specificity was 92.6%. For metamizol, sensitivity was 42.3% and specificity was 100%. The positive predictive value of BAT in allergy to betalactams was 18.9% and the negative predictive value was 98.4%. For metamizol, the positive predictive value of the technique was 100% and the negative predictive value was 99.4%. The joint use of BAT and CAP (specific IgE) makes it possible to diagnose some 65% of patients allergic to betalactams. The combined use of cutaneous tests and BAT in allergy to metamizol detects 70% of the cases. BAT is a useful, non-invasive technique in the "in-vitro" diagnosis of allergy to betalactams and metamizol

Microbial assemblages associated with the invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida in Patagonian coastal waters: Structure and alginolytic potential

Undaria pinnatifida is a brown algae native to Asia that has settled in various regions worldwide, periodically contributing with large quantities of C and nutrients during its annual cycle. In this work, we analyzed a coastal site in Patagonia (Argentina) that has been colonized for three decades by U. pinnatifida, focusing on associated microbial communities in three different compartments. An important influence of algae was observed in seawater, especially in the bottom of the algal forest during the austral summer (January) at the moment of greater biomass release. This was evidenced by changes in DOC concentration and its quality indicators (higher Freshness and lower Humification index) and higher DIC. Although maximum values of NH4 and PO4 were observed in January, bottom water samples had lower concentrations than surface water, suggesting nutrient consumption by bacteria during algal DOM release. Concomitantly, bacterial abundance peaked, reaching 4.68 ± 1.33 × 105 cells mL −1 (January), showing also higher capability of degrading alginate, a major component of brown algae cell walls. Microbial community structure was influenced by sampling date, season, sampling zone (surface or bottom), and environmental factors (temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients). Samples of epiphytic biofilms showed a distinct community structure compared to seawater, lower diversity, and remarkably high alginolytic capability, suggesting adaptation to degrade algal biomass. A high microdiversity of populations of the genus Leucothrix (Gammaproteobacteria, Thiotrichales) that accounted for a large fraction of epiphytic communities was observed, and changed over time. Epiphytic assemblages shared more taxa with bottom than with surface seawater assemblages, indicating a certain level of exchange between communities in the forest surroundings. This work provides insight into the impact of U. pinnatifida decay on seawater quality, and the role of microbial communities on adapting to massive biomass inputs through rapid DOM turnover.Fil: Lozada, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Zabala, Maria Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Patricia Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Dieguez, Maria del Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Bigatti, Gregorio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Fermani, Paulina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Unrein, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto Tecnologico de Chascomus. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - la Plata. Instituto Tecnologico de Chascomus.; ArgentinaFil: Dionisi, Hebe Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentin

Resistin Regulates Pituitary Lipid Metabolism and Inflammation In Vivo

The adipokine resistin is an insulin-antagonizing factor that also plays a regulatory role in inflammation, immunity, food intake, and gonadal function and also regulates growth hormone (GH) secretion in rat adenopituitary cells cultures with the adipokine. Although adipose tissue is the primary source of resistin, it is also expressed in other tissues, including the pituitary. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible action of resistin on the lipid metabolism in the pituitary gland in vivo (rats in two different nutritional status, fed and fast, treated with resistin on acute and a chronic way) and in vitro (adenopituitary cell cultures treated with the adipokine). Here, by a combination of in vivo and in vitro experimental models, we demonstrated that central acute and chronic administration of resistin enhance mRNA levels of the lipid metabolic enzymes which participated on lipolysis and moreover inhibiting mRNA levels of the lipid metabolic enzymes involved in lipogenesis. Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time that resistin has a regulatory role on lipid metabolism in the pituitary gland providing a novel insight in relation to the mechanism by which this adipokine can participate in the integrated control of lipid metabolism

Estradiol regulates brown adipose tissue thermogenesis via hypothalamic AMPK

Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Alfalfa snakin-1 prevents fungal colonization and probably coevolved with rhizobia

Background: The production of antimicrobial peptides is a common defense strategy of living cells against a wide range of pathogens. Plant snakin peptides inhibit bacterial and fungal growth at extremely low concentrations. However, little is known of their molecular and ecological characteristics, including origin, evolutionary equivalence, specific functions and activity against beneficial microbes. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize snakin-1 from alfalfa (MsSN1). Results: Phylogenetic analysis showed complete congruence between snakin-1 and plant trees. The antimicrobial activity of MsSN1 against bacterial and fungal pathogens of alfalfa was demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. Transgenic alfalfa overexpressing MsSN1 showed increased antimicrobial activity against virulent fungal strains. However, MsSN1 did not affect nitrogen-fixing bacterial strains only when these had an alfalfa origin. Conclusions: The results reported here suggest that snakin peptides have important and ancestral roles in land plant innate immunity. Our data indicate a coevolutionary process, in which alfalfa exerts a selection pressure for resistance to MsSN1 on rhizobial bacteria. The increased antimicrobial activity against virulent fungal strains without altering the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis observed in MsSN1-overexpressing alfalfa transgenic plants opens the way to the production of effective legume transgenic cultivars for biotic stress resistance.Instituto de GenéticaFil: Garcia, Araceli Nora. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Ayub, Nicolás Daniel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Fox, Ana Romina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentina.Fil: Gomez, Maria Cristina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Dieguez, María José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Pagano, Elba Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Berini, Carolina Andrea. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA; ArgentinaFil: Muschietti, Jorge Prometeo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, “Dr. Hector Torres”; ArgentinaFil: Soto, Gabriela Cinthia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Genética; Argentin

RET signalling provides tumorigenic mechanism and tissue specificity for AIP-related somatotrophinomas

International audienceIt is unclear how loss-of-function germline mutations in the widely-expressed co-chaperone AIP , result in young-onset growth hormone secreting pituitary tumours. The RET receptor, uniquely co-expressed in somatotrophs with PIT1, induces apoptosis when unliganded, while RET supports cell survival when it is bound to its ligand. We demonstrate that at the plasma membrane, AIP is required to form a complex with monomeric-intracellular-RET, caspase-3 and PKCδ resulting in PIT1/CDKN2A-ARF/p53-apoptosis pathway activation. AIP-deficiency blocks RET/caspase-3/PKCδ activation preventing PIT1 accumulation and apoptosis. The presence or lack of the inhibitory effect on RET-induced apoptosis separated pathogenic AIP variants from non-pathogenic ones. We used virogenomics in neonatal rats to demonstrate the effect of mutant AIP protein on the RET apoptotic pathway in vivo. In adult male rats altered AIP induces elevated IGF-1 and gigantism, with pituitary hyperplasia through blocking the RET-apoptotic pathway. In females, pituitary hyperplasia is induced but IGF-1 rise and gigantism are blunted by puberty. Somatotroph adenomas from pituitary-specific Aip -knockout mice overexpress the RET-ligand GDNF, therefore, upregulating the survival pathway. Somatotroph adenomas from patients with or without AIP mutation abundantly express GDNF, but AIP -mutated tissues have less CDKN2A-ARF expression. Our findings explain the tissue-specific mechanism of AIP-induced somatotrophinomas and provide a previously unknown tumorigenic mechanism, opening treatment avenues for AIP -related tumours

Spanish Validation of the Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire (LEBQ)

[EN] The concept of empowering leadership (EL) has attracted widespread academic and practical interest and different questionnaires have been developed to measure it. However, there are no instruments to measure EL in the Spanish language. This article presents the translation, adaptation, and validation of a scale to measure this construct. In addition, it analyzes the relationship between managers¿ EL and employees¿ job satisfaction. In turn, the study analyzes whether employees who participate in a greater number of continuous improvement (CI) programs have supervisors who favor more empowering behaviors. A total of 739 participants with various occupations from different companies that have implemented CI processes filled out the Spanish version of the Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire (LEBQ-sp). Two different subsamples were used to test the relationships between the LEBQ and job satisfaction and CI, by means of Pearson¿s correlation coefficient and analysis of variance, making it possible to provide evidence about the validity of the Spanish LEBQ. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the original structure of the six-factor model. The factors show a high level of internal consistency, as well as sufficient convergent and discriminant validity. Moreover, the results show that the more companies invest in formal CI programs, the more important it is for their leaders to adapt their behavior by displaying more EL. The LEBQ-sp is a valid and reliable instrument for use in research and a useful tool for applied purposes in the context of Spanish-speaking countries.Bonavía Martín, T.; Marin-Garcia, JA. (2019). Spanish Validation of the Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire (LEBQ). Frontiers in Psychology. 10:1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02368S191

Relationship between employee involvement and lean manufacturing and its effect on performance in a rigid continuous process industry

Relationship between employee involvement and lean manufacturing and its effect on performance in a rigid continuous process industry DOI: 10.1080/00207543.2014.975852 Juan A. Marin-Garciaa* & Tomas Bonaviab Received: 1 Aug 2013 Accepted: 30 Sep 2014 Published online: 04 Nov 2014 This research aims to empirically test the effect of employee involvement on lean manufacturing (LM), and the effect of LM on production outcomes. Employee involvement is operationalised through four related variables: empowerment, training, contingent remuneration and communication. The effects are tested by recording management perceptions in a different industrial sector from those usually studied in previous research ceramic manufacturers, a highly competitive and internationally successful sector. We obtained data from 101 ceramic tile plants (64% of response rate) in the Valencia region of Spain. This approach is developed using a statistical method called partial least squares. All paths are significant except for contingent remuneration; specifically, relationships were found between empowerment, training, communication and LM, and between LM and performance.This paper has been written with financial support from the Project "Path Dependence and decision-making for selecting LM tools and practices" (PAID-06-12-SP20120717) of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Marín García, JA.; Bonavía Martín, T. (2015). Relationship between employee involvement and lean manufacturing and its effect on performance in a rigid continuous process industry. International Journal of Production Research. 53(11):3260-3275. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2014.975852S32603275531

Multi-employment in health in the province of Buenos Aires: cross-sectional study of professions involved in COVID-19 patient care

INTRODUCCIÓN: La pandemia de COVID-19 expuso el impacto del multiempleo en los servicios de salud. El objetivo de este estudio fue caracterizar el multiempleo en médicos y enfermeros que trabajaron en internación general y cuidados críticos durante la pandemia en la provincia de Buenos Aires. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio exploratorio, descriptivo y transversal. Los datos se recolectaron en el primer trimestre de 2021 con una encuesta estructurada anónima autoadministrada mediante muestreo no probabilístico en cadena. RESULTADOS: El 96,3% de los médicos y el 68,1% de los enfermeros declararon estar multiempleados. La media de empleos fue 3,1 para médicos (entre 1 y 5) y 1,9 para enfermeros (entre 1 y 3). Los enfermeros declararon trabajos con mayor carga horaria, predominio del empleo público y contratación estable. Los médicos multiempleados manifestaron mayor diversidad en la forma de contratación. En ambas profesiones el multiempleo es motivado principalmente por razones de índole económica. DISCUSIÓN: El multiempleo es difícil de medir mediante los registros oficiales. La proporción de multiempleo autorreportado en este estudio supera las cifras comunicadas por las estadísticas e informes oficiales. Aun así, las diferencias halladas entre médicos y enfermeros respecto al número de empleos son coincidentes con estudios previos. El problema del multiempleo requiere ser abordado desde la desprecarización del empleo, con mejoras en las condiciones económicas y de trabajo.INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the impact of multi-employment in health services. The objective of this study was to characterize multi-employment among physicians and nurses working in general hospitalization and critical care during the pandemic in the province of Buenos Aires. METHODS: An exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected in the first quarter of 2021 with a structured anonymous self-administered survey using non-probabilistic chain sampling. RESULTS: A total of 96.3% of physicians and 68.1% of nurses reported being multi-employed. The mean number of jobs was 3.1 for physicians (between 1 and 5) and 1.9 for nurses (between 1 and 3). Nurses reported having jobs with longer hours, mostly public and stable employment. Multi-employed physicians reported greater variety in the form of hiring. In both professions, multi-employment is mainly motivated by economic reasons. DISCUSSION: Multi-employment is difficult to measure through official records. The proportion of self-reported multiemployment in this study exceeds the figures shown by official statistics and reports. The differences found between physicians and nurses regarding the number of jobs are still consistent with previous studies. The problem of multi-employment needs to be tackled by making employment less precarious, with improvements in economic and working conditions.Fil: Chaz Sardi, María Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Martinez, Cintia Karina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Mirofsky, Matías Alberto. Sociedad Argentina de Medicina; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Francisco Javier. Federacion Medica de la Provincia de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Garzaniti, Ramiro. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud; ArgentinaFil: Gubilei, Eliana Soledad. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Lhopital, Cintia. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud; ArgentinaFil: González, Verónica. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud; ArgentinaFil: Duré, María Isabel. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Dieguez, Marcelo. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentin