The Perennial Threat of Yellow Fever

Despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine, yellow fever remains a major vaccine-preventable disease in endemic regions. Additionally, travelers risk acquiring yellow fever when visiting areas of endemic transmission or locations with ongoing outbreaks. Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever that has inflicted stigma, illness, and death among human societies. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, yellow fever remained a mysterious illness that predominantly affected tropical regions in Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. The disease was as feared as cholera or smallpox, and played a significant geopolitical role in shaping modern societies. Epidemics of yellow fever brought out the best and the worst of human nature: the disease spread to new regions during the Atlantic slave trade; while the identification of its causative viral agent and mode of transmission, as well as the development of a vaccine, were made possible by the sacrifice of selfless scientists. Confirmation of the vector transmission of YF paved the way for the development of an effective vaccine in the first half of the 20th century. Encroachment of human settlements into locations with sylvatic transmission has blurred the distinction between the urban and sylvatic cycles. Introduction or expansion of routine immunization activities and reaching hard-to-reach populations consitute public health priorities toward ensuring vaccine equity in endemic areas. It is also critical to ensure the timely immunization of at-risk populations during outbreaks and to promote vaccination of international travelers. We conclude that the threat of YF will linger far into the 21st century as a leading public health emergency of global concern under the International Health Regulations

Short range order of CCl4: RMC and MD methods

The main objective of this paper is to present a method to fully determine the six degrees of freedom regarding position and orientation of a neighboring molecule around a central one, i.e. the g(rCM,¿) distribution function. This is accomplished by completely determining the short range structure of liquid carbon tetrachloride, while employing results from two different methods, Molecular Dynamics (MD) [1] and Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) [2]. Exclusively, the structural ordering of the first four molecules will be detailed.Postprint (published version

La evasiva omnipresencia del inglés en la educación terciaria : el caso de Colombia

ABSTRACT: This article aims at describing how the educational actors of a private university make sense of language policies.The research was guided under a qualitative approach taking the historic-hermeneutic perspective as a paradigm. The data collected consists of news and information about the National Foreign Language Policy, the text corpus supporting the institutional policy, and semi-structured interviews. The results show how participants, albeit the pervasiveness of language policies in all the national educational system, conceive English far off from being necessary for professional life as the government intends. The study concluded that is imperative to take stances in the analysis and the enactment of language policies in order to obtain better results.RESUMEN: Este artículo tiene como objetivo describir cómo los actores educativos de una universidad apropian las políticas lingüísticas. La investigación se guió bajo un enfoque cualitativo tomando la perspectiva histórico-hermenéutica como paradigma. Los datos recopilados consisten en noticias e información sobre las políticas lingüísticas nacionales, el corpus de texto que respalda la política institucional y entrevistas semiestructuradas. Los resultados muestran cómo los participantes, a pesar de la omnipresencia de las políticas lingüísticas en todo el sistema educativo nacional, conciben el inglés lejos de ser necesario para la vida profesional como pretende el gobierno. El estudio concluyó que es imperativo adoptar posturas críticas en el análisis y la apropiación de políticas lingüísticas para obtener mejores resultados

Economic Dispatch of BESS and renewable generators in DC microgrids using voltage-dependent load models

This paper addresses the optimal dispatch problem for battery energy storage systems (BESSs) in direct current (DC) mode for an operational period of 24 h. The problem is represented by a nonlinear programming (NLP) model that was formulated using an exponential voltage-dependent load model, which is the main contribution of this paper. An artificial neural network was employed for the short-term prediction of available renewable energy from wind and photovoltaic sources. The NLP model was solved by using the general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) to implement a 30-node test feeder composed of four renewable generators and three batteries. Simulation results demonstrate that the cost reduction for a daily operation is drastically affected by the operating conditions of the BESS, as well as the type of load model used. © 2019 MDPI AG. All rights reserved

A variational model for fracture and debonding of thin films under in-plane loadings

We study fracture and debonding of a thin stiff film bonded to a rigid substrate through a thin compliant layer, introducing a two-dimensional variational fracture model in brittle elasticity. Fractures are naturally distinguished between transverse cracks in the film (curves in 2D) and debonded surfaces (2D planar regions). In order to study the mechanical response of such systems under increasing loads, we formulate a dimension-reduced, rate-independent, irreversible evolution law accounting for both transverse fracture and debonding. We propose a numerical implementation based on a regularized formulation of the fracture problem via a gradient damage functional, and provide an illustration of its capabilities exploring complex crack patterns, showing a qualitative comparison with geometrically involved real life examples. Moreover, we justify the underlying dimension-reduced model in the setting of scalar-valued displacement fields by a rigorous asymptotic analysis using Γ-convergence, starting from the three-dimensional variational fracture (free-discontinuity) problem under precise scaling hypotheses on material and geometric parameters. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

SEOM guidelines on hydroelectrolytic disorders

Hydroelectrolytic disorders are one of the most common metabolic complications in cancer patients. Although often metabolic alterations affecting various ions are part of the manifestations of the oncological disease, even in the form of paraneoplastic syndrome, we must not forget that very often, these disorders could be caused by various drugs, including some of the antineoplastic agents most frequently used, such as platin derivatives or some biologics. These guidelines review major management of diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of the most common alterations of sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium in cancer patients. Aside from life-sustaining treatments, we have reviewed the role of specific drug treatments aimed at correcting some of these disorders, such as intravenous bisphosphonates for hypercalcemia or V2 receptor antagonists in the management of syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion-related hyponatremia

Risk of Invasive Fungal Infections in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia treated with Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors – A Case-Control Propensity Score Matched Analysis

Background: Prior reports have suggested a possible increase in the frequency of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) with use of a Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi) for treatment of chronic lymphoid malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but precise estimates are lacking. We aim to characterize the prevalence of IFIs among patients with CLL, for whom BTKi are now the first line recommended therapy. Methods: We queried TriNetX, a global research network database, to identify adult patients with CLL using the ICD-10 codes (C91.1) and laboratory results. We performed a case-control propensity score-matched analysis to determine IFIs events by BTKi use. We adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and clinical risk factors associated with an increased risk of IFIs. Results: Among 5,358 matched patients with CLL, we found an incidence of 4.6% of IFIs in patients on a BTKi vs. 3.5% among patients with CLL not on a BTKi at five years. Approximately 1% of patients with CLL developed an IFI while on a BTKi within this period. Our adjusted IFI event analysis found an elevated rate of Pneumocytis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) (0.5% vs. 0.3%, p = 0.02) and invasive candidiasis (3.5% vs 2.7%, p = 0.012) with the use of a BTKi. The number needed to harm for patients taking a BTKi was 120 and 358 for invasive candidiasis and PJP, respectively. Conclusions: We found an adjusted elevated rate of PJP and invasive candidiasis with BTKi use. The rates are however low with a high number needed to harm. Additional studies stratifying other IFIs with specific BTKi are required to identify at-risk patients and preventive, cost-effective interventions

Multiplexing of encrypted data using fractal masks

This paper was published in OPTICS LETTERS and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.37.002895. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under lawIn this Letter, we present to the best of our knowledge a new all-optical technique for multiple-image encryption and multiplexing, based on fractal encrypting masks. The optical architecture is a joint transform correlator. The multiplexed encrypted data are stored in a photorefractive crystal. The fractal parameters of the key can be easily tuned to lead to a multiplexing operation without cross talk effects. Experimental results that support the potential of the method are presented.This research was performed under grants TWAS-UNESCO Associateship Scheme at Centres of Excellence in the South, CONICET No. 0863 (Argentina), ANCYT PICT 1167 (Argentina), and Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Nacional de La Plata No. 11/I125 (Argentina), Sostenibilidad 2011-2012, and CODI (Universidad de Antioquia-Colombia). W. D. Furlan and J. A. Monsoriua acknowledge financial support from Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (grant FIS2011-23175), Generalitat Valenciana (grant PROMETEO2009-077), and Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (grants PAID-05-11 and PAID-02-11), Spain.Barrera, J.; Tebaldi, M.; Amaya, D.; Furlan, W.; Monsoriu Serra, JA.; Bolognini, NA.; Torroba, RD.... (2012). Multiplexing of encrypted data using fractal masks. Optics Letters. 37(14):2895-2897. doi:10.1364/OL.37.002895S289528973714Refregier, P., & Javidi, B. (1995). Optical image encryption based on input plane and Fourier plane random encoding. Optics Letters, 20(7), 767. doi:10.1364/ol.20.000767Matoba, O., & Javidi, B. (1999). Encrypted optical memory system using three-dimensional keys in the Fresnel domain. Optics Letters, 24(11), 762. doi:10.1364/ol.24.000762Unnikrishnan, G., Joseph, J., & Singh, K. (2000). Optical encryption by double-random phase encoding in the fractional Fourier domain. Optics Letters, 25(12), 887. doi:10.1364/ol.25.000887Nomura, T. (2000). Polarization encoding for optical security systems. Optical Engineering, 39(9), 2439. doi:10.1117/1.1288369Tebaldi, M., Furlan, W. D., Torroba, R., & Bolognini, N. (2009). Optical-data storage-readout technique based on fractal encrypting masks. Optics Letters, 34(3), 316. doi:10.1364/ol.34.000316Situ, G., & Zhang, J. (2005). Multiple-image encryption by wavelength multiplexing. Optics Letters, 30(11), 1306. doi:10.1364/ol.30.001306Liu, Z., & Liu, S. (2007). Double image encryption based on iterative fractional Fourier transform. Optics Communications, 275(2), 324-329. doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2007.03.039Hwang, H.-E., Chang, H. T., & Lie, W.-N. (2009). Multiple-image encryption and multiplexing using a modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm and phase modulation in Fresnel-transform domain. Optics Letters, 34(24), 3917. doi:10.1364/ol.34.003917Matoba, O., & Javidi, B. (1999). Encrypted optical storage with angular multiplexing. Applied Optics, 38(35), 7288. doi:10.1364/ao.38.007288Fredy Barrera, J., Henao, R., Tebaldi, M., Torroba, R., & Bolognini, N. (2006). Multiplexing encryption–decryption via lateral shifting of a random phase mask. Optics Communications, 259(2), 532-536. doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2005.09.027Henao, R., Rueda, E., Barrera, J. F., & Torroba, R. (2010). Noise-free recovery of optodigital encrypted and multiplexed images. Optics Letters, 35(3), 333. doi:10.1364/ol.35.000333Barrera, J. F., Henao, R., Tebaldi, M., Torroba, R., & Bolognini, N. (2006). Multiple image encryption using an aperture-modulated optical system. Optics Communications, 261(1), 29-33. doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2005.11.055Mosso, F., Barrera, J. F., Tebaldi, M., Bolognini, N., & Torroba, R. (2011). All-optical encrypted movie. Optics Express, 19(6), 5706. doi:10.1364/oe.19.005706Monsoriu, J. A., Saavedra, G., & Furlan, W. D. (2004). Fractal zone plates with variable lacunarity. Optics Express, 12(18), 4227. doi:10.1364/opex.12.00422