Síntesi litoestratigráfica del Paleógeno del borde oriental de la depresión del Ebro

En esta nota se estudian las unidades litoestratigráficas recientemente propuestas para el Paleógeno de la Cordillera Prelitoral Catalana y las correlaciones litológicas a lo largo de la rnisma con referencias de los nombres locales clásicamente empleados

Nota sobre la estratigrafía de unos niveles con Carófitas existentes en el tramo rojo de la base del Eoceno al S de los Catanálides (Provincia de Barcelona)

Con motivo del estudio de unas series estratigráficas en el Eoceno de Los Catalánides, colaborando en un trabajo de equipo que, dirigido por el profesor Solé Sabarís, venimos realizando desde hace algún tiempo, hallamos, en el tramo rojo inferior del Eoceno, un nivel muy constante con Carófitas cuyo estudio permite precisar su datación, hasta hoy establecidasólo relativamente, teniendo en cuenta las series marinas del techo y del yacente. El motivo de la presente nota es, pues, el de situar dentro del tramo rojo continental de la base del Eoceno estos niveles con Carófitas, y, al mismo tiempo, intentar su datación

Transoesophageal detection of heart graft rejection by electrical impedance: using Finite Element Method simulations

Previous studies have shown that it is possible to evaluate heart graft rejection level using a bioimpedance technique by means of an intracavitary catheter. However, this technique does not present relevant advantages compared to the gold standard for the detection of a heart rejection, which is the biopsy of the endomyocardial tissue. We propose to use a less invasive technique that consists in the use of a transoesophageal catheter and two standard ECG electrodes on the thorax. The aim of this work is to evaluate different parameters affecting the impedance measurement, including: sensitivity to electrical conductivity and permittivity of different organs in the thorax, lung edema and pleural water. From these results, we deduce the best estimator for cardiac rejection detection, and we obtain the tools to identify possible cases of false positive of heart rejection due to other factors. To achieve these objectives we have created a thoracic model and we have simulated, with a FEM program, different situations at the frequencies of 13, 30, 100, 300 and 1000 kHz. Our simulation demonstrates that the phase, at 100 and 300 kHz, has the higher sensitivity to changes in the electrical parameters of the heart muscle.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Total body water changes using segmental bioimpedance in healthy population with similar anthropometry

Electrical bioimpedance was measured in 7 body segments, and also with the standard right-side method, using 11 electrodes at 6 different frequencies in 8 healthy male subjects with similar anthropometry. Our objective was to determine the capability of segmental bioimpedance measurements to estimate small changes of water on each segment (TWsegi)and total body water (TBW) in comparison with the standard right-side method. Water was also estimated with 40K and DXA. Volunteers were measured before and after a 3.5% water load of their individual TBW. The expected TBW mean increment after water load was 1.45 l. The estimator with lower Standard Error SE was the weight of the subject (0.15 l). For impedance methods, the SE of the segmental method was 0.94 l vs. 1.41 l for right-side. Segmental volume changes obtained by DXA and Impedance compared with expected values showed maximum differences of almost 2 l for DXA and 0.5 l for Z in the abdomen. In conclusion, in a healthy sample with similar anthropometry, such as astronauts and athletes, the use of a segmental impedance method improves the accuracy of the right-side method to estimate TBW. Changes in water segments estimated by impedance where more close to expected values than using DXA.Postprint (author’s final draft

Clinical, neuropathologic and genetic studies of a large spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) kindred: (CAG)n expansion and early premonitory signs and symptoms

Article abstract-We report the clinical, neuropathologic, and genetic studies of a large kindred (family M-ADCA1) with autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), ascertained in 41 members, with clinical data available in twenty-two. The mean age of onset was 36.3 +\- 6.2 years (ages, 26 to 52), the mean duration of the disease was 15.8 +\- 6.5 years (range, 10 to 28 years), and the mean age at death was 54.1 +\- 9.5 years (ages, 39 to 72). Premonitory signs and symptoms appeared earlier than the usual onset symptoms in many of the clinically unaffected patients who inherited the mutated SCA1 gene. Anticipation was present when we compared the seventh and eighth generations. A more severe course of the disease occurred in offspring of affected males. Neuropathologic examination, performed on three patients, showed the usual findings of SCA1; Golgi and immunocytochemistry studies suggested primary damage of the Purkinje cells. We analyzed the CAG-repeat mutation responsible for the SCA1 phenotype in a total of 41 family members. There was expansion in 19 subjects (10 clinically affected, seven with early signs and symptoms, and two asymptomatic individuals), and all showed heterozygosity, with one allele between 41 and 59 repeats (SCA1 mutation) and the other in the range of 6 to 39 repeats (normal range). The clinical analysis of 'at risk' patients with the SCA1 mutation showed that minor signs and symptoms begin before full clinical diagnosis, and these premonitory manifestations can herald full development of SCA1 by years

Centralised and Distributed Optimization for Aggregated Flexibility Services Provision

The recent deployment of distributed battery units in prosumer premises offer new opportunities for providing aggregated flexibility services to both distribution system operators and balance responsible parties. The optimization problem presented in this paper is formulated with an objective of cost minimization which includes energy and battery degradation cost to provide flexibility services. A decomposed solution approach with the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is used instead of commonly adopted centralised optimization to reduce the computational burden and time, and then reduce scalability limitations. In this work we apply a modified version of ADMM that includes two new features with respect to the original algorithm: first, the primal variables are updated concurrently, which reduces significantly the computational cost when we have a large number of involved prosumers; second, it includes a regularization term named Proximal Jacobian (PJ) that ensures the stability of the solution. A case study is presented for optimal battery operation of 100 prosumer sites with real-life data. The proposed method finds a solution which is equivalent to the centralised optimization problem and is computed between 5 and 12 times faster. Thus, aggregators or large-scale energy communities can use this scalable algorithm to provide flexibility services.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Phase angle by electrical bioimpedance is a predictive factor of hospitalisation, falls and mortality in patients with cirrhosis

The phase angle is a versatile measurement to assess body composition, frailty and prognosis in patients with chronic diseases. In cirrhosis, patients often present alterations in body composition that are related to adverse outcomes. The phase angle could be useful to evaluate prognosis in these patients, but data are scarce. The aim was to analyse the prognostic value of the phase angle to predict clinically relevant events such as hospitalisation, falls, and mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Outpatients with cirrhosis were consecutively included and the phase angle was determined by electrical bioimpedance. Patients were prospectively followed to determine the incidence of hospitalisations, falls, and mortality. One hundred patients were included. Patients with phase angle ≤ 4.6° (n = 31) showed a higher probability of hospitalisation (35% vs 11%, p = 0.003), falls (41% vs 11%, p = 0.001) and mortality (26% vs 3%, p = 0.001) at 2-year follow-up than patients with PA > 4.6° (n = 69). In the multivariable analysis, the phase angle and MELD-Na were independent predictive factors of hospitalisation and mortality. Phase angle was the only predictive factor for falls. In conclusion, the phase angle showed to be a predictive marker for hospitalisation, falls, and mortality in outpatients with cirrhosis

Analysis of the impact of length of stay on the quality of service experience, satisfaction and loyalty

Although length of stay is a relevant variable in destination management, little research has been produced connecting it with tourists' post-consumption behaviour. This research compares the post-consumption behaviour of same-day visitors with overnight tourists in a sample of 398 domestic vacationers at two Mediterranean heritage-and-beach destinations. Although economic research on length of stay posits that there are destination benefits in longer stays, same-day visitors score higher in most of the post-consumption variables under study. Significant differences arise in hedonic aspects of the tourist experience and destination loyalty. Thus, we propose that length of stay can be used as a segmentation variable. Furthermore, destination management organisations need to consider length of stay when designing tourism policies. The tourist product and communication strategies might be adapted to different vacation durations

Sintesis litoestratigráfica del Paléogeno del borde oriental de la depresión del Ebro

En esta nota se estudian las unidades litoestratigráficas recictiterriente propuestas para el Paleógeno de la Cordillera Prelitoral Catalana y las correlaciones litológicas a lo largo de la rnistna con referencias de los nombres locales clásicamente eriiplrados