42 research outputs found
DigApp and TaphonomApp: Two new open-access palaeontological and archaeological mobile apps
Two new paleontological and archaeological Android applications, DigApp and TaphonomApp, are presented in this manuscript. DigApp is intended to aid data collection, storage and management in archaeological and palaeontological excavations. DigApp allows easily recording of common field information such as spatial data and fossil identification data. Online and offline versions of DigApp were developed to fit all needs, and they can be modified according to the excavation particularities. TaphonomApp was created in order to assist taphonomists while carrying out detailed taphonomical evaluations both in the field and in the laboratory, making data collection quicker, homogeneous and overall, more efficient. DigApp and TaphonomApp are free, open-access and flexible software, that can be easily modified by any user (without the need of expertise in computing or coding) as explained in this paper. An in-depth guide on how to modify the apps is provided within this paper. DigApp and TaphonomApp have been used during palaeontological excavations carried out at one of the Batallones Butte vertebrate sites (Batallones-10, Middle Miocene) in the Madrid basin (Spain)
Artificial Neural Networks for Short-Term Load Forecasting in Microgrids Environment Energy
The adaptation of energy production to demand has been traditionally very important for utilities in order to optimize resource consumption. This is especially true also in microgrids where many intelligent elements have to adapt their behaviour depending on the future generation and consumption conditions. However, traditional forecasting has been performed only for extremely large areas, such as nations and regions. This work aims at presenting a solution for short-term load forecasting (STLF) in microgrids, based on a three-stage architecture which starts with pattern recognition by a self-organizing map (SOM), a clustering of the previous partition via k-means algorithm, and finally demand forecasting for each cluster with a multilayer perceptron. Model validation was performed with data from a microgrid-sized environment provided by the Spanish company Iberdrola. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Hernandez, L.; Baladron, C.; Aguiar, JM.; Carro, B.; Sanchez-Esguevillas, A.; Lloret, J. (2014). Artificial Neural Networks for Short-Term Load Forecasting in Microgrids Environment Energy. Energy. 75:252-264. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.07.065S2522647
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy Observations of the Early Stage of Silver Deposition on Graphite Single Crystal Electrodes
The early stages of Ag overpotential deposition on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) from Ag+-ion-containing acid solutions have been studied by ex situ scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning electron microscopy imaging complemented with electrochemical, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and Auger electron spectroscopy data. Nucleation and 3D Ag growth initiate at surface defects. Unstructured 3D Ag nuclei decorating HOPG steps and flat geometric Ag islands are formed around the steps. The island structure is compatible with a local layer-by-layer growth. The entire morphology of the Ag deposit is consistent with a growth mechanism involving Ag atom diffusion from 3D nuclei at step edges toward Ag flat domains. Images with atomic resolution reveal large uncovered HOPG areas and Ag submonolayer domains with the nearest-neighbor distance d = 0.33 ± 0.02 nm, whereas flat Ag islands exhibit d = 0.29 ± 0.02 nm as expected for the nearest-neighbor distance in the Ag lattice. A model for these structures is discussed.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicada
The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs. Two temperate Earth-mass planet candidates around Teegarden’s Star
Context.Teegarden’s Star is the brightest and one of the nearest ultra-cool dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood. For its late spectral type (M7.0 V),the star shows relatively little activity and is a prime target for near-infrared radial velocity surveys such as CARMENES.Aims.As part of the CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs, we obtained more than 200 radial-velocity measurements of Teegarden’sStar and analysed them for planetary signals.Methods.We find periodic variability in the radial velocities of Teegarden’s Star. We also studied photometric measurements to rule out stellarbrightness variations mimicking planetary signals.Results.We find evidence for two planet candidates, each with 1.1M⊕minimum mass, orbiting at periods of 4.91 and 11.4 d, respectively. Noevidence for planetary transits could be found in archival and follow-up photometry. Small photometric variability is suggestive of slow rotationand old age.Conclusions.The two planets are among the lowest-mass planets discovered so far, and they are the first Earth-mass planets around an ultra-cooldwarf for which the masses have been determined using radial velocities.We thank the referee Rodrigo Díaz for a careful review andhelpful comments. M.Z. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschaft under DFG RE 1664/12-1 and Research Unit FOR2544 “BluePlanets around Red Stars”, project no. RE 1664/14-1. CARMENES isan instrument for the Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán de Calar Alto(CAHA, Almería, Spain). CARMENES is funded by the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the Spanish Consejo Superior de InvestigacionesCientíficas (CSIC), the European Union through FEDER/ERF FICTS-2011-02 funds, and the members of the CARMENES Consortium (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, LandessternwarteKönigstuhl, Institut de Ciències de l’Espai, Institut für Astrophysik Göttingen,Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg,Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Hamburger Sternwarte, Centro de Astro-biología and Centro Astronómico Hispano-Alemán), with additional contribu-tions by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, the German Science Foundationthrough the Major Research Instrumentation Programme and DFG ResearchUnit FOR2544 “Blue Planets around Red Stars”, the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, thestates of Baden-Württemberg and Niedersachsen, and by the Junta de Andalucía.Based on data from the CARMENES data archive at CAB (INTA-CSIC). Thisarticle is based on observations made with the MuSCAT2 instrument, devel-oped by ABC, at Telescopio Carlos Sánchez operated on the island of Tener-ife by the IAC in the Spanish Observatorio del Teide. Data were partly col-lected with the 150-cm and 90-cm telescopes at the Sierra Nevada Observa-tory (SNO) operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC).Data were partly obtained with the MONET/South telescope of the MOnitoringNEtwork of Telescopes, funded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und HalbachFoundation, Essen, and operated by the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen,the McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas at Austin, and the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory. We acknowledge financial support from theSpanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Inno-vación y Universidades and the European FEDER/ERF funds through projectsAYA2015-69350-C3-2-P, AYA2016-79425-C3-1/2/3-P, AYA2018-84089, BES-2017-080769, BES-2017-082610, ESP2015-65712-C5-5-R, ESP2016-80435-C2-1/2-R, ESP2017-87143-R, ESP2017-87676-2-2, ESP2017-87676-C5-1/2/5-R, FPU15/01476, RYC-2012-09913, the Centre of Excellence ”Severo Ochoa”and ”María de Maeztu” awards to the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (SEV-2015-0548), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709), and Cen-tro de Astrobiología (MDM-2017-0737), the Generalitat de Catalunya throughCERCA programme”, the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt throughgrants 50OW0204 and 50OO1501, the European Research Council through grant694513, the Italian Ministero dell’instruzione, dell’università de della ricerca andUniversità degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata through FFABR 2017 and “Mis-sion: Sustainability 2016”, the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council through grant ST/P000592/1, the Israel Science Foundation through grant848/16, the Chilean CONICYT-FONDECYT through grant 3180405, the Mexi-can CONACYT through grant CVU 448248, the JSPS KAKENHI through grantsJP18H01265 and 18H05439, and the JST PRESTO through grant JPMJPR1775
The cardiomyopathy of cystic fibrosis: a modern form of Keshan disease
IntroductionWe conducted a study to determine the prevalence of structural heart disease in patients with CF, the characteristics of a cardiomyopathy not previously described in this population, and its possible relationship with nutritional deficiencies in CF.MethodsWe studied 3 CMP CF patients referred for heart-lung transplantation and a prospective series of 120 adult CF patients. All patients underwent a clinical examination, blood tests including levels of vitamins and trace elements, and echocardiography with evaluation of myocardial strain. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) was performed in patients with CMP and in a control group. Histopathological study was performed on hearts obtained in transplant or necropsy.ResultsWe found a prevalence of 10% (CI 4.6%–15.4%) of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the prospective cohort. Myocardial strain parameters were already altered in CF patients with otherwise normal hearts. Histopathological examination of 4 hearts from CF CMP patients showed a unique histological pattern of multifocal myocardial fibrosis similar to Keshan disease. Four of the five CF CMP patients undergoing CMR showed late gadolinium uptake, with a characteristic patchy pattern in 3 cases (p < 0.001 vs. CF controls). Selenium deficiency (Se < 60 µg/L) was associated with more severe LV dysfunction, higher prevalence of CF CMP, higher NTproBNP levels, and more severe pulmonary and digestive involvement.Conclusion10% of adults with CF showed significant cardiac involvement, with histological and imaging features resembling Keshan disease. Selenium deficiency was associated with the presence and severity of LV dysfunction in these patients
RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true
Antimicrobial Activity of Amino Acid Analogues and Their Derivatives
Libraries of compounds containing unnatural amino acids or amino acid analogues were prepared from inexpensive substrates using sustainable processes [1–3]. [...
Rendimiento diagnóstico de la mamografía en pacientes con lesiones clínicamente ocultas. Análisis de 1005 lesiones
El cáncer de mama es un importante problema de salud pública. El diagnóstico precoz es el único método de prevención secundario eficaz en el control de la enfermedad al posibilitar un tratamiento adecuado y temprano de la misma. El objetivo de este estudio es realizar un análisis semiológico metódico que nos permita aumentar el rendimiento diagnóstico de la mamografía y disminuir el número de biopsias quirúrgicas innecesarias. MyM: Se seleccionaron lesiones mamarias no palpables en pacientes con sospecha radiológica de cáncer de mama a las que se practicó biopsia quirúrgica dirigida con arpón en el HCU Lozano Blesa de Zaragoza entre octubre de 1991 y enero del 2005. Resultados: Se analizaron un total de 1005 lesiones en 965 pacientes con una edad media de 57 años. En nuestra serie de 1005 lesiones conseguimos un VPP del 40%. Conclusiones: El diagnóstico de sospecha radiológico y la indicación de biopsia o control mamográfico son apreciaciones personales y subjetivas, pero basadas en el análisis sistemático de signos radiológicos de las lesiones elementales. Este análisis permite establecer un punto de corte e incluir las lesiones en el sistema BIRADS