Characterization of commercial Tunisian monovarietal olive oils produced from autochthonous olive cultivars

Tunisian commercial monovarietal olive oils, produced from two predominant autochthonous olive cultivars (cvs Chétoui and Oueslati) and another less investigated olive cultivar (cv Sahli) were studied. Chemical and sensory data have shown that most olive oils should be classified as lampante olive oil, pointing out the need of improving producing and/or storage conditions. Sahli olive oils showed the lowest total phenols content (157±48 mg/kg), oxidative stability (6.5±2.1 h), DPPH scavenging activity (68%±14) and monounsaturated fatty acids content (63.1%±3.1). These olive oils had the highest saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids contents (19.9%±2.4 and 16.9%±1.4) as well as total tocopherols levels (222±49 mg/kg). Finally, the information of 12 selected parameters (total phenols, oxidative stability, nine fatty acids and -tocopherol), allowed establishing a linear discriminant model that correctly classified olive oils according to the olive cultivar with predictive rates of 90%±8. Heptadecenoic, behenic and eicosenoic acids were the three fatty acids identified as the most relevant chemical markers of Sahli olive oils.This work was financially supported by Project POCI-01– 0145-FEDER-006984 – Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM, Project UID/QUI/00616/2013 – CQ-VR, and strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2014 – CIMO all funded by FEDER - Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) – and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal. Strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit is also acknowledged. Nuno Rodrigues thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for the Ph.D. Grant (SFRH/BD/104038/2014). Souheib Oueslati is grateful for the support of the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improved X-ray detection and particle identification with avalanche photodiodes

Avalanche photodiodes are commonly used as detectors for low energy x-rays. In this work we report on a fitting technique used to account for different detector responses resulting from photo absorption in the various APD layers. The use of this technique results in an improvement of the energy resolution at 8.2 keV by up to a factor of 2, and corrects the timing information by up to 25 ns to account for space dependent electron drift time. In addition, this waveform analysis is used for particle identification, e.g. to distinguish between x-rays and MeV electrons in our experiment.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Reaction rate reconstruction from biomass concentration measurement in bioreactors using modified second-order sliding mode algorithms

This paper deals with the estimation of unknown signals in bioreactors using sliding observers. Particular attention is drawn to estimate the specific growth rate of microorganisms from measurement of biomass concentration. In a recent article, notions of high-order sliding modes have been used to derive a growth rate observer for batch processes. In this paper we generalize and refine these preliminary results. We develop a new observer with a different error structure to cope with other types of processes. Furthermore, we show that these observers are equivalent, under coordinate transformations and time scaling, to the classical super-twisting differentiator algorithm, thus inheriting all its distinctive features. The new observers’ family achieves convergence to timevarying unknown signals in finite time, and presents the best attainable estimation error order in the presence of noise. In addition, the observers are robust to modeling and parameter uncertainties since they are based on minimal assumptions on bioprocess dynamics. In addition, they have interesting applications in fault detection and monitoring. The observers performance in batch, fed-batch and continuous bioreactors is assessed by experimental data obtained from the fermentation of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae on glucose.This work was supported by the National University of La Plata (Project 2012-2015), the Agency for the Promotion of Science and Technology ANPCyT (PICT2007-00535) and the National Research Council CONICET (PIP112-200801-01052) of Argentina; the Technical University of Valencia (PAID-02-09), the CICYT (DPI2005-01180) and AECID (A/024186/09) of Spain; and by the project FEDER of the European Union.De Battista, H.; Picó Marco, JA.; Garelli, F.; Navarro Herrero, JL. (2012). Reaction rate reconstruction from biomass concentration measurement in bioreactors using modified second-order sliding mode algorithms. Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering. 35(9):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-012-0752-yS111359Aborhey S, Williamson D (1978) State amd parameter estimation of microbial growth process. Automatica 14:493–498Bastin G, Dochain D (1986) On-line estimation of microbial specific growth rates. Automatica 22:705–709Bastin G, Dochain D (1990) On-line estimation and adaptive control of bioreactors. Elsevier, AmsterdamBejarano F, Fridman L (2009) Unbounded unknown inputs estimation based on high-order sliding mode differentiator. In: Proceedings of the 48th IEEE conference on decision and control, pp 8393–8398Corless M, Tu J (1998) State and input estimation for a class of uncertain systems. Automatica 34(6):757–764Dabros M, Schler M, Marison I (2010) Simple control of specific growth rate in biotechnological fed-batch processes based on enhanced online measurements of biomass. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 33:1109–1118Davila A, Moreno J, Fridman L (2010) Variable gains super-twisting algorithm: a lyapunov based design. In: American control conference (ACC), 2010, pp 968–973Dávila J, Fridman L, Levant A (2005) Second-order sliding-mode observer for mechanical systems. IEEE Transact Automatic Control 50(11):1785–1789De Battista H, Picó J, Garelli F, Vignoni A (2011) Specific growth rate estimation in (fed-)batch bioreactors using second-order sliding observers. J Process Control 21:1049–1055Dochain D (2001) Bioprocess control. Wiley, HobokenDochain D (2003) State and parameter estimation in chemical and biochemical processes: a tutorial. J Process Control 13(8):801–818Edwards C, Spurgeon S, Patton R (2000) Sliding mode observers for fault detection and isolation. Automatica 36(2):541–553Evangelista C, Puleston P, Valenciaga F, Fridman L (2012) Lyapunov designed super-twisting sliding mode control for wind energy conversion optimization. Indus Electron IEEE Transact. doi: 10.1109/TIE.2012.2188256Farza M, Busawon K, Hammouri H (1998) Simple nonlinear observers for on-line estimation of kinetic rates in bioreactors. Automatica 34(3):301–318Fridman L, Davila J, Levant A (2008) High-order sliding modes observation. In: International workshop on variable structure systems, pp 203–208Fridman L, Levant A (2002) Sliding mode control in engineering, higher-order sliding modes. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, pp 53–101Fridman L, Shtessel Y, Edwards C, Yan X (2008) Higher-order sliding-mode observer for state estimation and input reconstruction in nonlinear systems. Int J Robust Nonlinear Control 18(3–4):399–412Gauthier J, Hammouri H, Othman S (1992) A simple observer for nonlinear systems: applications to bioreactors. IEEE Transact Automatic Control 37(6):875–880Gnoth S, Jenzsch M, Simutis R, Lubbert A (2008) Control of cultivation processes for recombinant protein production: a review. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 31(1):21–39Hitzmann B, Broxtermann O, Cha Y, Sobieh O, Stärk E, Scheper T (2000) The control of glucose concentration during yeast fed-batch cultivation using a fast measurement complemented by an extended kalman filter. Bioprocess Eng 23(4):337–341Kiviharju K, Salonen K, Moilanen U, Eerikainen T (2008) Biomass measurement online: the performance of in situ measurements and software sensors. J Indus Microbiol Biotechnol 35(7):657–665Levant A (1998) Robust exact differentiation via sliding mode technique. Automatica 34(3):379–384Levant A (2003) Higher-order sliding modes, differentiation and output-feedback control. Int J Control 76(9/10):924–941Lubenova V, Rocha I, Ferreira E (2003) Estimation of multiple biomass growth rates and biomass concentration in a class of bioprocesses. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 25:395–406Moreno J, Alvarez J, Rocha-Cozatl E, Diaz-Salgado J (2010) Super-twisting observer-based output feedback control of a class of continuous exothermic chemical reactors. In: Proceedings of the 9th IFAC international symposium on dynamics and control of process systems, pp 719–724. Leuven, BelgiumMoreno J, Osorio M (2008) A Lyapunov approach to second-order sliding mode controllers and observers. In: Proceedings of the 47th IEEE conference on decision and control. Cancún, México, pp 2856–2861Moreno J, Osorio M (2012) Strict Lyapunov functions for the super-twisting algorithm. IEEE Transact Automatic Control 57:1035–1040Navarro J, Picó J, Bruno J, Picó-Marco E, Vallés S (2001) On-line method and equipment for detecting, determining the evolution and quantifying a microbial biomass and other substances that absorb light along the spectrum during the development of biotechnological processes. Patent ES20010001757, EP20020751179Neeleman Boxtel (2001) Estimation of specific growth rate from cell density measurements. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 24(3):179–185November E, van Impe J (2002) The tuning of a model-based estimator for the specific growth rate of Candidautilis. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 25:1–12Park Y, Stein J (1988) Closed-loop, state and input observer for systems with unknown inputs. Int J Control 48(3):1121–1136Perrier M, de Azevedo SF, Ferreira E, Dochain D (2000) Tuning of observer-based estimators: theory and application to the on-line estimation of kinetic parameters. Control Eng Pract 8:377–388Picó J, De Battista H, Garelli F (2009) Smooth sliding-mode observers for specific growth rate and substrate from biomass measurement. J Process Control 19(8):1314–1323. Special section on hybrid systems: modeling, simulation and optimizationSchenk J, Balaszs K, Jungo C, Urfer J, Wegmann C, Zocchi A, Marison I, von Stockar U (2008) Influence of specific growth rate on specific productivity and glycosylation of a recombinant avidin produced by a Pichia pastoris Mut + strain. Biotecnol Bioeng 99(2):368–377Shtessel Y, Taleb M, Plestan F (2012) A novel adaptive-gain supertwisting sliding mode controller: Methodol Appl Automatica (in press)Soons Z, van Straten G, van der Pol L, van Boxtel A (2008) On line automatic tuning and control for fed-batch cultivation. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 31(5):453–467Utkin V, Poznyak A, Ordaz P (2011) Adaptive super-twist control with minimal chattering effect. In: Proceedings of 50th IEEE conference on decision and control and European control conference. Orlando, pp 7009–7014Veloso A, Rocha I, Ferreira E (2009) Monitoring of fed-batch E. coli fermentations with software sensors. 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The size of the proton and the deuteron

We have recently measured the 2S1/2⁼¹ − 2P3/2 ⁼ ² energy splitting in the muonic hydrogen atom μp to be 49881.88 (76) GHz. Using recent QED calculations of the fine-, hyperfine, QED and finite size contributions we obtain a root-mean-square proton charge radius of rp = 0.84184 (67) fm. This value is ten times more precise, but 5 standard deviations smaller, than the 2006 CODATA value of rp = 0.8768 (69) fm. The source of this discrepancy is unknown. Using the precise measurements of the 1S-2S transition in regular hydrogen and deuterium and our value of rp we obtain improved values of the Rydberg constant, R∞ = 10973731.568160 (16) m⁻¹and the rms charge radius of the deuteron rd = 2.12809 (31) fm

Epidemiological trends of HIV/HCV coinfection in Spain, 2015-2019

Altres ajuts: Spanish AIDS Research Network; European Funding for Regional Development (FEDER).Objectives: We assessed the prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies and active HCV infection (HCV-RNA-positive) in people living with HIV (PLWH) in Spain in 2019 and compared the results with those of four similar studies performed during 2015-2018. Methods: The study was performed in 41 centres. Sample size was estimated for an accuracy of 1%. Patients were selected by random sampling with proportional allocation. Results: The reference population comprised 41 973 PLWH, and the sample size was 1325. HCV serostatus was known in 1316 PLWH (99.3%), of whom 376 (28.6%) were HCV antibody (Ab)-positive (78.7% were prior injection drug users); 29 were HCV-RNA-positive (2.2%). Of the 29 HCV-RNA-positive PLWH, infection was chronic in 24, it was acute/recent in one, and it was of unknown duration in four. Cirrhosis was present in 71 (5.4%) PLWH overall, three (10.3%) HCV-RNA-positive patients and 68 (23.4%) of those who cleared HCV after anti-HCV therapy (p = 0.04). The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies decreased steadily from 37.7% in 2015 to 28.6% in 2019 (p < 0.001); the prevalence of active HCV infection decreased from 22.1% in 2015 to 2.2% in 2019 (p < 0.001). Uptake of anti-HCV treatment increased from 53.9% in 2015 to 95.0% in 2019 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In Spain, the prevalence of active HCV infection among PLWH at the end of 2019 was 2.2%, i.e. 90.0% lower than in 2015. Increased exposure to DAAs was probably the main reason for this sharp reduction. Despite the high coverage of treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents, HCV-related cirrhosis remains significant in this population

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Hepatits C Virus Coinfection in Spain: Elimination Is Feasible, but the Burden of Residual Cirrhosis Will Be Significant

Background: We assessed the prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV-Abs) and active HCV infection in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Spain in 2016 and compared the results with those of similar studies performed in 2002, 2009, and 2015. Methods: The study was performed in 43 centers during October-November 2016. The sample was estimated for an accuracy of 2% and selected by proportional allocation and simple random sampling. During 2016, criteria for therapy based on direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) were at least significant liver fibrosis, severe extrahepatic manifestations of HCV, and high risk of HCV transmissibility. Results: The reference population and the sample size were 38904 and 1588 patients, respectively. The prevalence of HCV-Abs in 2002, 2009, 2015, and 2016 was 60.8%, 50.2%, 37.7%, and 34.6%, respectively (P trend <.001, from 2002 to 2015). The prevalence of active HCV in 2002, 2009, 2015, and 2016 was 54.0%, 34.0%, 22.1%, and 11.7%, respectively (P trend <.001). The anti-HCV treatment uptake in 2002, 2009, 2015, and 2016 was 23.0%, 48.0%, 59.3%, and 74.7%, respectively (P trend <.001). In 2016, HCV-related cirrhosis was present in 7.6% of all HIV-infected individuals, 15.0% of patients with active HCV, and 31.5% of patients who cleared HCV after anti-HCV therapy. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that with universal access to DAA-based therapy and continued efforts in prevention and screening, it will be possible to eliminate active HCV among HIV-infected individuals in Spain in the short term. However, the burden of HCV-related cirrhosis will continue to be significant among HIV-infected individuals.This work was funded by grant Ref. no. GLD14-00279 from the GILEAD Fellowship Programme (Spain) and by the Spanish AIDS Research Network (RD16/0025/0017, RD16/0025/0018) that is included in the Spanish I+D+I Plan and is co-financed by ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluacion and European Funding for Regional Development (FEDER).S

The Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen 1

Abstract: The long quest for a measurement of the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen is over. Last year we measured the energy splitting (Pohl et al., Nature, 466, 213 (2010)) in mp with an experimental accuracy of 15 ppm, twice better than our proposed goal. Using current QED calculations of the fine, hyperfine, QED, and finite size contributions, we obtain a rootmean-square proton charge radius of r p = 0.841 84 (67) fm. This value is 10 times more precise, but 5 standard deviations smaller, than the 2006 CODATA value of r p . The origin of this discrepancy is not known. Our measurement, together with precise measurements of the 1S-2S transition in regular hydrogen and deuterium, gives improved values of the Rydberg constant, R ? = 10 973 731.568 16

Association between convalescent plasma treatment and mortality in COVID-19: a collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Funder: laura and john arnold foundationBACKGROUND: Convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under investigation in numerous randomized clinical trials, but results are publicly available only for a small number of trials. The objective of this study was to assess the benefits of convalescent plasma treatment compared to placebo or no treatment and all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19, using data from all available randomized clinical trials, including unpublished and ongoing trials (Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GEHFX ). METHODS: In this collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis, clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform), the Cochrane COVID-19 register, the LOVE database, and PubMed were searched until April 8, 2021. Investigators of trials registered by March 1, 2021, without published results were contacted via email. Eligible were ongoing, discontinued and completed randomized clinical trials that compared convalescent plasma with placebo or no treatment in COVID-19 patients, regardless of setting or treatment schedule. Aggregated mortality data were extracted from publications or provided by investigators of unpublished trials and combined using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman random effects model. We investigated the contribution of unpublished trials to the overall evidence. RESULTS: A total of 16,477 patients were included in 33 trials (20 unpublished with 3190 patients, 13 published with 13,287 patients). 32 trials enrolled only hospitalized patients (including 3 with only intensive care unit patients). Risk of bias was low for 29/33 trials. Of 8495 patients who received convalescent plasma, 1997 died (23%), and of 7982 control patients, 1952 died (24%). The combined risk ratio for all-cause mortality was 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.92; 1.02) with between-study heterogeneity not beyond chance (I2 = 0%). The RECOVERY trial had 69.8% and the unpublished evidence 25.3% of the weight in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Convalescent plasma treatment of patients with COVID-19 did not reduce all-cause mortality. These results provide strong evidence that convalescent plasma treatment for patients with COVID-19 should not be used outside of randomized trials. Evidence synthesis from collaborations among trial investigators can inform both evidence generation and evidence application in patient care