On the accuracy of WENO and CWENO reconstructions of third order on nonuniform meshes

Third order WENO and CWENO reconstruction are widespread high order reconstruction techniques for numerical schemes for hyperbolic conservation and balance laws. In their definition, there appears a small positive parameter, usually called $\epsilon$, that was originally introduced in order to avoid a division by zero on constant states, but whose value was later shown to affect the convergence properties of the schemes. Recently, two detailed studies of the role of this parameter, in the case of uniform meshes, were published. In this paper we extend their results to the case of finite volume schemes on non-uniform meshes, which is very important for h-adaptive schemes, showing the benefits of choosing $\epsilon$ as a function of the local mesh size $h_j$. In particular we show that choosing $\epsilon=h_j^2$ or $\epsilon=h_j$ is beneficial for the error and convergence order, studying on several non-uniform grids the effect of this choice on the reconstruction error, on fully discrete schemes for the linear transport equation, on the stability of the numerical schemes. Finally we compare the different choices for $\epsilon$ in the case of a well-balanced scheme for the Saint-Venant system for shallow water flows and in the case of an h-adaptive scheme for nonlinear systems of conservation laws and show numerical tests for a two-dimensional generalisation of the CWENO reconstruction on locally adapted meshes

Musculoskeletal Diseases Role in the Frailty Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.

Frailty syndrome severely burdens older age, and musculoskeletal diseases are of paramount importance in its development. The aim of this study is to unravel the contribution of musculoskeletal diseases to frailty syndrome. This is a case-control study, and we enrolled 55 robust community-dwelling age- and gender-matched patients, with 58 frail and pre-frail subjects. Frailty was diagnosed according to the Fried criteria (FP), and the Fragility Index (FI) was calculated. In all the subjects, a comprehensive geriatric assessment was carried out. Their nutritional status was evaluated by the Mini Nutritional Assessment and Bioelectrical Impedance Analyses. Their bone density (BMD), bone turnover, muscle mass, strength and performance were evaluated. Here, we show that the prevalence of frailty varies according to the diagnostic criteria used and that FP and FI showed a moderate to good agreement. Despite age and gender matching, frail subjects had lower muscle strength, performance and BMD. Their quality of life and cognitive performance were reduced in the frail subjects compared to the robust ones. Muscular strength and performance, together with mood, significantly predicted the diagnosis of frailty, whereas BMD and bone turnover did not. In conclusion, we show that sarcopenia plays a pivotal role in predicting the diagnosis of frailty, whereas osteoporosis does not

A rapid method to increase the number of F1 plants in pea (Pisum sativum) breeding programs.

In breeding programs, a large number of F2 individuals are required to perform the selection process properly, but often few such plants are available. In order to obtain more F2 seeds, it is necessary to multiply the F1 plants. We developed a rapid, efficient and reproducible protocol for in vitro shoot regeneration and rooting of seeds using 6-benzylaminopurine. To optimize shoot regeneration, basic medium contained Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts with or without B5 Gamborg vitamins and different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (25, 50 and 75 μM) using five genotypes. We found that modified MS (B5 vitamins + 25 μM 6-benzylaminopurine) is suitable for in vitro shoot regeneration of pea. Thirty-eight hybrid combinations were transferred onto selected medium to produce shoots that were used for root induction on MS medium supplemented with α-naphthalene-acetic acid. Elongated shoots were developed from all hybrid genotypes. This procedure can be used in pea breeding programs and will allow working with a large number of plants even when the F1 plants produce few seeds.Fil: Espósito, María Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Mejoramiento Vegetal y Producción de Semillas; ArgentinaFil: Almiron, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Gatti, I.. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Mejoramiento Vegetal y Producción de Semillas; ArgentinaFil: Cravero, Vanina Pamela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Anido, Fernando Sebastian. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Mejoramiento Vegetal y Producción de Semillas; ArgentinaFil: Cointry Peix, Enrique Luis. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Mejoramiento Vegetal y Producción de Semillas; Argentin

Development and standardization of a Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test for the detection of Babesia bigemina

Bovine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia. Babesia bigemina is one of the most prevalent and economically important parasite species that infects cattle because of its impact on the meat and milk production industry. Effective disease control strategies should include detection of reservoir animals and early and specific pathogen detection using rapid, economical, sensitive, and specific detection techniques. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification technique (LAMP) is a one-step molecular reaction that amplifies DNA sequences with high sensitivity and specificity under isothermal conditions and requires no special equipment. The results can be observed by the naked eye as color changes. The aim of this work was to develop and standardize the LAMP technique for B. bigemina detection and its visualization using hydroxynaphtol blue. For this situation, primers were designed from the conserved sequences of the B. bigemina ama-1 gene. The results showed that at 63 °C in 1 h and under standardized conditions, this technique could amplify B. bigemina DNA as indicated by the characteristic colorimetric change. Sensitivity evaluation indicated that DNA was amplified at a 0.00000001% parasitemia, and it was demonstrated that this technique specifically amplified the DNA of B. bigemina. Additionally, this technique could amplify DNA from 10 strains of B. bigemina from three different countries. It is concluded that the LAMP technique as modified in our case could specifically amplify B. bigemina DNA and shows high sensitivity, does not cross-react with related organisms, and the product is observed by 60 min of reaction time based on color changes. This report is the first LAMP report that uses sequences that are conserved between strains of the ama-1 gene, demonstrates the results by color changes using hydroxynaphtol blue. We propose LAMP as a rapid and economical alternative method for the molecular detection of B. bigemina.Fil: Lizarazo Zuluaga, Andrea P.. Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro.; MéxicoFil: Carvajal Gamez, Bertha I.. Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro.; MéxicoFil: Wilkowsky, Silvina Elizabeth. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Cravero, Silvio Lorenzo Pedro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Trangoni, Marcos David. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Mosqueda, Juan. Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro.; Méxic

Liquid biopsy for egfr mutation analysis in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients: Thoughts drawn from a real-life experience

none12noBackground: Liquid biopsy analysis for EGFR detection in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from NSCLC patients has become routine. The aim of this study was to explore its applicability in clinical practice. Methods: We collected data of EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients with liquid biopsy analysis. Data included test timing, concomitant tissue re-biopsy, therapy change, histology, stage, smoking habits, gender and age. All analyses were performed via a real-time PCR method to analyze EGFR mutations at exons 18, 19, 20 and 21. Variant allele frequency was performed for patients with available sequential EGFR mutation analysis in cfDNA. Overall survival was analyzed through the Kaplan–Meier method. We designed flow charts to show the real-life application of liquid biopsy. Results: We found that liquid biopsy is used in treatment-naïve patients as an alternative to EGFR detection in tumor tissue, and in patients with positive or negative EGFR from tumor biopsy. The majority of liquid biopsy analyses were performed in NSCLC patients who were disease progressive during TKI therapy. The presence of EGFR mutation in cfDNA was associated with a worse prognosis. In two patients, VAF of EGFR mutations in cfDNA was concordant with tumor volume changes. Conclusion: These findings suggest that liquid biopsy for EGFR detection can continue to be useful.openUlivi P.; Petracci E.; Canale M.; Priano I.; Capelli L.; Calistri D.; Chiadini E.; Cravero P.; Rossi A.; Delmonte A.; Crino L.; Bronte G.Ulivi, P.; Petracci, E.; Canale, M.; Priano, I.; Capelli, L.; Calistri, D.; Chiadini, E.; Cravero, P.; Rossi, A.; Delmonte, A.; Crino, L.; Bronte, G

Reduction in urea distribution volume over time in clinically stable dialysis patients

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Análisis de latencia de controladores de audio para aplicaciones de metrología acústica

La adquisición y reproducción en alta definición de señales acústicas implica cumplimentar diversos requisitos en función de las características de las señales y del sistema interviniente. La fidelidad del proceso de adquisición/reproducción de sonido, la latencia, la inmunidad al ruido y la diafonía son algunos de los factores que definen la calidad de un sistema de adquisición/reproducción de señales acústicas. Por lo general, en aplicaciones de metrología acústica, estos sistemas son de elevado costo y uso privativo. En este trabajo se presenta la comparación de la medición de latencia de dos controladores de audio que operan un sistema para aplicaciones de metrología acústica de bajo costo, evidenciando diferencias significativas entre ambos para dos condiciones de ensayo. Dicho sistema está conformado por computador personal, una tarjeta de adquisición/reproducción de sonido estándar y programas de cómputo numérico. El trabajo se presenta en el marco del proyecto de diseño y desarrollo de un sistema automático de medición de dispositivos acústicos, el cual permite caracterizar dispositivos acústicos activos y pasivos.Publicado en: Mecánica Computacional vol. XXXV, no. 3Facultad de Ingenierí