Evidence of magnetic accretion in an SW Sex star: discovery of variable circular polarization in LS Pegasi

We report on the discovery of variable circular polarization in the SW Sex star LS Pegasi. The observed modulation has an amplitude of ~0.3 % and a period of 29.6 minutes, which we assume as the spin period of the magnetic white dwarf. We also detected periodic flaring in the blue wing of Hbeta, with a period of 33.5 minutes. The difference between both frequencies is just the orbital frequency, so we relate the 33.5-min modulation to the beat between the orbital and spin period. We propose a new accretion scenario in SW Sex stars, based on the shock of the disk-overflown gas stream against the white dwarf's magnetosphere, which extends to the corotation radius. From this geometry, we estimate a magnetic field strength of B(1) ~ 5-15 MG. Our results indicate that magnetic accretion plays an important role in SW Sex stars and we suggest that these systems are probably Intermediate Polars with the highest mass accretion rates.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters. LaTeX, 14 pages, 3 PostScript figure

Simulation of macauba palm cultivation: an energy-balance and greenhouse gas emissions analysis

The expansion of the production and use of bioenergy is one of the most efficient mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of the production processes for many raw materials remains unexplored. Several studies have pointed to macauba palm as a promising species for biofuel production in the tropics, but investigations on the environmental benefits of its cultivation have not been reported so far. In this work, an analysis of macauba production system in terms of GHG emissions and CO2 uptake has been conducted for a productive cycle. The energy conversion efficiency per unit area of land has been put in relationship with crop productivity and related to the dilution effect of production inputs. Simulation results estimate GHG emissions of 180 Mg CO2eq·ha-1 and a CO2 fixation ranging from 796 to 1137 Mg CO2eq·ha-1. The net energy balance would reach 512.3 GJ·ha-1 and energy efficiency would be 24.2 GJ·GJ-1. These results suggest that macauba would outperform traditional energy crops such as sugarcane, oil palm, sunflower, corn or jatropha in terms of efficiency. The domestication and exploitation in extensive farming of this species as an agroforestry crop, although still at an early stage, has a bright future

Physical activity moderates the effect of sedentary time on an older adult's physical independence

Background/objectives: Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and breaks in sedentary time (BST) have been proposed as viable solutions to improve an older adult's physical independence, whereas sedentary time (ST) has been associated with detrimental effects. We sought to assess the joint effects of ST, BST, and MVPA on the physical independence of older adults and determine whether and to what extent the ST relationship with physical independence is moderated by MVPA and/or BST. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Laboratory of Exercise and Health, Faculty of Human Kinetics. Participants: Older adults (≥65 years old) from the national surveillance sys tem in Portugal (n = 821). Measurements: Physical activity and ST were assessed by accelerometry. Physi cal independence was assessed using a 12-item composite physical function (CPF) questionnaire. Multiple linear regression was used to model the outcomes. Results: Higher ST was related to lower CPF score (β = −0.01, p < 0.0001), whereas higher MVPA was related to better CPF score (β = 0.02, p < 0.0001). BST was not related to physical independence after accounting for MVPA and ST (β = 0.03, p = 0.074). MVPA had a moderating effect on the relationship of ST with CPF score (p < 0.0001), where MVPA ≥36.30 min/day ameliorated the significant inverse relationship between ST and CPF. Engaging in ≥107.78 of MVPA resulted in ST having a significant positive relationship with CPF score. No moderation effect was found for BST (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Regardless of the time spent in MVPA and BST, ST was inversely related to CPF. However, MVPA was found to be a moderator of the relationship between ST and physical independence, such that engaging in at least 36 min/day of MVPA may blunt the negative effects of ST. At high levels of MVPA (≥108 min/day), having some ST may actually provide some benefit to an older adult's ability to maintain physical independence

The dynamic use of EGFR mutation analysis in cell-free DNA as a follow-up biomarker during different treatment lines in non-small-cell lung cancer patients

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutational testing in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is usually performed in tumor tissue, although cfDNA (cell-free DNA) could be an alternative. We evaluated EGFR mutations in cfDNA as a complementary tool in patients, who had already known EGFR mutations in tumor tissue and were treated with either EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or chemotherapy. We obtained plasma samples from 21 advanced NSCLC patients with known EGFR tumor mutations, before and during therapy with EGFR-TKIs and/or chemotherapy. cfDNA was isolated and EGFR mutations were analyzed with the multiple targeted cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2. EGFR mutations were detected at baseline in cfDNA from 57% of patients. The semiquantitative index (SQI) significantly decreased from the baseline (median = 11, IQR = 9 5-13) to the best response (median = 0, IQR = 0-0, p < 0 01), followed by a significant increase at progression (median = 11, IQR = 11-15, p < 0 01) in patients treated with either EGFR-TKIs or chemotherapy. The SQI obtained with the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 did not correlate with the concentration in copies/mL determined by droplet digital PCR. Resistance mutation p.T790M was observed at progression in patients with either type of treatment. In conclusion, cfDNA multiple targeted EGFR mutation analysis is useful for treatment monitoring in tissue of EGFR-positive NSCLC patients independently of the drug received

A mobile-based solution for supporting end-users in the composition of services

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11042-016-3910-4Currently, technologies and applications evolve to create eco-systems made up of a myriad of heterogeneous and distributed services that are accessible anytime and anywhere. Even though these services can be used individually, it is their coordinated and combined usage what provide an added value to end-users. In addition, user¿s wide adoption of mobile devices for daily activities have fostered a shift in the role played by end-users towards Internet data and services. However, existing solutions to service composition are not targeted to ordinary end-users. More easy-to-use tools have to be offered to end-users to make sure that they are successfully accepted and used by them. To this end, the work presented in this paper supports end-users in the creation of service compositions by using mobile devices. We present a Domain Specific Visual Language (DSVL) for end-users that allows them to create service compositions. A tool specifically designed for mobile devices supports this DSVL.This work has been developed with the support of MINECO under the project SMART ADAPT TIN2013-42981-P and co-financed with ERDF.Valderas Aranda, PJ.; Torres Bosch, MV.; Mansanet Benavent, I.; Pelechano Ferragud, V. (2016). A mobile-based solution for supporting end-users in the composition of services. Multimedia Tools and Applications. 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-016-3910-4S131Athreya B, Bahmani F, Diede A, Scaffidi C (2012) End-user programmers on the loose: a study of programming on the phone for the phone. In IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), Innsbruck, Austria, pp. 75–82Atoma (2015) Atoomam, a touch of magic. Accesible at: https://www.atooma.com/ . 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Development of a Cyclic Voltammetry-Based Method for the Detection of Antigens and Antibodies as a Novel Strategy for Syphilis Diagnosis

54/2017). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.The improvement of laboratory diagnosis is a critical step for the reduction of syphilis cases around the world. In this paper, we present the development of an impedance-based method for detecting T. pallidum antigens and antibodies as an auxiliary tool for syphilis laboratory diagnosis. We evaluate the voltammetric signal obtained after incubation in carbon or gold nanoparticle-modified carbon electrodes in the presence or absence of Poly-L-Lysine. Our results indicate that the signal obtained from the electrodes was sufficient to distinguish between infected and non-infected samples immediately (T0′) or 15 min (T15′) after incubation, indicating its potential use as a point-of-care method as a screening strategy.publishersversionpublishe

Modeling, Evaluation, and Scale on Artificial Pedestrians: A Literature Review

Modeling pedestrian dynamics and their implementation in a computer are challenging and important issues in the knowledge areas of transportation and computer simulation. The aim of this article is to provide a bibliographic outlook so that the reader may have quick access to the most relevant works related to this problem. We have used three main axes to organize the article's contents: pedestrian models, validation techniques, and multiscale approaches. The backbone of this work is the classification of existing pedestrian models; we have organized the works in the literature under five categories, according to the techniques used for implementing the operational level in each pedestrian model. Then the main existing validation methods, oriented to evaluate the behavioral quality of the simulation systems, are reviewed. Furthermore, we review the key issues that arise when facing multiscale pedestrian modeling, where we first focus on the behavioral scale (combinations of micro and macro pedestrian models) and second on the scale size (from individuals to crowds). The article begins by introducing the main characteristics of walking dynamics and its analysis tools and concludes with a discussion about the contributions that different knowledge fields can make in the near future to this exciting area

Surface indicators are correlated with soil multifunctionality in global drylands

1. Multiple ecosystem functions need to be considered simultaneously to manage and protect the several ecosystem services that are essential to people and their environments. Despite this, cost effective, tangible, relatively simple and globally relevant methodologies to monitor in situ soil multifunctionality, that is, the provision of multiple ecosystem functions by soils, have not been tested at the global scale. 2. We combined correlation analysis and structural equation modelling to explore whether we could find easily measured, field‐based indicators of soil multifunctionality (measured using functions linked to the cycling and storage of soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus). To do this, we gathered soil data from 120 dryland ecosystems from five continents. 3. Two soil surface attributes measured in situ (litter incorporation and surface aggregate stability) were the most strongly associated with soil multifunctionality, even after accounting for geographic location and other drivers such as climate, woody cover, soil pH and soil electric conductivity. The positive relationships between surface stability and litter incorporation on soil multifunctionality were greater beneath the canopy of perennial vegetation than in adjacent, open areas devoid of vascular plants. The positive associations between surface aggregate stability and soil functions increased with increasing mean annual temperature. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our findings demonstrate that a reduced suite of easily measured in situ soil surface attributes can be used as potential indicators of soil multifunctionality in drylands world‐wide. These attributes, which relate to plant litter (origin, incorporation, cover), and surface stability, are relatively cheap and easy to assess with minimal training, allowing operators to sample many sites across widely varying climatic areas and soil types. The correlations of these variables are comparable to the influence of climate or soil, and would allow cost‐effective monitoring of soil multifunctionality under changing land‐use and environmental conditions. This would provide important information for evaluating the ecological impacts of land degradation, desertification and climate change in drylands world‐wide.This work was funded by the European Research Council ERC Grant agreement 242658 (BIOCOM). CYTED funded networking activities (EPES, Acción 407AC0323). D.J.E. acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (DP150104199) and F.T.M. support from the European Research Council (BIODESERT project, ERC Grant agreement no 647038), from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BIOMOD project, ref. CGL2013-44661-R) and from a Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. M.D.-B. was supported by REA grant agreement no 702057 from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-MSCA-IF-2016), J.R.G. acknowledges support from CONICYT/FONDECYT no 1160026

Severe manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents: from COVID-19 pneumonia to multisystem inflammatory syndrome: a multicentre study in pediatric intensive care units in Spain

Background Multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (MIS-C) has been described as a novel and often severe presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. We aimed to describe the characteristics of children admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) presenting with MIS-C in comparison with those admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection with other features such as COVID-19 pneumonia. Methods A multicentric prospective national registry including 47 PICUs was carried out. Data from children admitted with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection or fulfilling MIS-C criteria (with or without SARS-CoV-2 PCR confirmation) were collected. Clinical, laboratory and therapeutic features between MIS-C and non-MIS-C patients were compared. Results Seventy-four children were recruited. Sixty-one percent met MIS-C definition. MIS-C patients were older than non-MIS-C patients (p = 0.002): 9.4 years (IQR 5.5–11.8) vs 3.4 years (IQR 0.4–9.4). A higher proportion of them had no previous medical history of interest (88.2% vs 51.7%, p = 0.005). Non-MIS-C patients presented more frequently with respiratory distress (60.7% vs 13.3%, p < 0.001). MIS-C patients showed higher prevalence of fever (95.6% vs 64.3%, p < 0.001), diarrhea (66.7% vs 11.5%, p < 0.001), vomits (71.1% vs 23.1%, p = 0.001), fatigue (65.9% vs 36%, p = 0.016), shock (84.4% vs 13.8%, p < 0.001) and cardiac dysfunction (53.3% vs 10.3%, p = 0.001). MIS-C group had a lower lymphocyte count (p < 0.001) and LDH (p = 0.001) but higher neutrophil count (p = 0.045), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (p < 0.001) and procalcitonin (p < 0.001). Patients in the MIS-C group were less likely to receive invasive ventilation (13.3% vs 41.4%, p = 0.005) but were more often treated with vasoactive drugs (66.7% vs 24.1%, p < 0.001), corticosteroids (80% vs 44.8%, p = 0.003) and immunoglobulins (51.1% vs 6.9%, p < 0.001). Most patients were discharged from PICU by the end of data collection with a median length of stay of 5 days (IQR 2.5–8 days) in the MIS-C group. Three patients died, none of them belonged to the MIS-C group. Conclusions MIS-C seems to be the most frequent presentation among critically ill children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. MIS-C patients are older and usually healthy. They show a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and shock and are more likely to receive vasoactive drugs and immunomodulators and less likely to need mechanical ventilation than non-MIS-C patients