1,059 research outputs found

    The Role of Medications for the Management of Patients with NAFLD

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    The article is intended to provide an overview of the strengths and limits of controlled trials of pharmacological treatment of NAFLD. No drug has so far been approved, although validated on histological outcomes. Several new drugs are under scrutiny, acting with different mechanisms along the chain of events from fatty liver to fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We need to know which drug, if any, should be preferred for a tailored intervention in individual patients, according to age, comorbidities and disease severity, and if treatment should be continued lifelong, to prevent disease progression and long-term occurrence of cirrhosis

    Epidemiological review of spinal cord injury due to road traffic accidents in latin america

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    Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disease that affects the normal function of the spinal cord. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represent the main cause of SCI worldwide. SCI may generate physical disability and economic dependency, which is especially significant in low- and middle-income countries such as most of the Latin American countries. The main objective of this study was to present an epidemiological review of SCI secondary to RTAs. Stronger evidence on this condition in Latin America is important for future-specific data collection and prevention strategies. A literature review was carried out using specific search strategies in databases of indexed journals from the period 2000 to 2019. Data on SCI secondary to RTAs in the Latin American region were collected and analyzed. After initial screening and removal of duplicates, 16 articles met the inclusion criteria and were chosen for analysis. Data from 7 Latin American countries were retrievable. On average, RTAs were responsible for 40.81% of SCI. Data from different studies are heterogeneous. Car accidents and moto accidents were equally responsible for SCIs (50.61% vs. 49.06%). The thoracic segments were the most commonly affected (57.87%). Males in their 30s were the most affected category (76.6%). SCI due to RTAs may represent a severe but preventable condition that affects mostly men in their productive age, generating important social and economic issues. Data about this condition in Latin America are scarce, and could limit prevention and treatment strategies. Prospective data collection about this condition is recommended

    Green synthesis of a Cu/SiO2 catalyst for efficient H2-SCR of NO

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    In this work, the synthesis of Cu/SiO2 catalysts starting frompre-formed copper nanoparticle (CuNP) colloidal suspensions was carried out. Two different protocols for the CuNP synthesis were tested: (i) a green approach using water as solvent and ascorbic acid as reducer and stabilizing agent, and (ii) a second solvothermal method involving the use of diethylene glycol as solvent, sodium hypophosphite (NaH2PO2) as reducer, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as stabilizing agents. In addition, and for the sake of comparison, a third catalyst was prepared by solid state conventional grinding of CuO with SiO2. The catalysts were tested in the environmentally relevant catalytic reduction of NOX with H2, in a temperature range from 300 to 500 °C. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR) cycles, Raman spectroscopy, and N2 adsorption for specific surface BET measurements. From these techniques CuO and Cu(0) species were detected depending on the synthesis protocol. CuNP size and size distribution in the colloid suspensions were determined by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). The catalyst prepared from the aqueous suspension (CuAsc/SiO2) exhibited higher NO conversion (100%) and selectivity (85%) toward N2 at the lower reaction evaluated temperature (300 °C). The CuCTAB/SiO2 catalyst obtained by the solvothermal approach showed activity at high reaction temperature (400 °C) preferentially. The metal-support mechanical mixture exhibited a negligible response at low temperature and low conversion (68%) and selectivity (88%) at 500 °C. Nanoparticle size and distribution on the support, together with the metal-support interaction, were postulated as the most plausible parameters governing the catalytic performance of the different Cu/SiO2 materials

    Epidemiological review of spinal cord injury due to road traffic accidents in latin america

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    Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disease that affects the normal function of the spinal cord. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) represent the main cause of SCI worldwide. SCI may generate physical disability and economic dependency, which is especially significant in low- and middle-income countries such as most of the Latin American countries. The main objective of this study was to present an epidemiological review of SCI secondary to RTAs. Stronger evidence on this condition in Latin America is important for future-specific data collection and prevention strategies. A literature review was carried out using specific search strategies in databases of indexed journals from the period 2000 to 2019. Data on SCI secondary to RTAs in the Latin American region were collected and analyzed. After initial screening and removal of duplicates, 16 articles met the inclusion criteria and were chosen for analysis. Data from 7 Latin American countries were retrievable. On average, RTAs were responsible for 40.81% of SCI. Data from different studies are heterogeneous. Car accidents and moto accidents were equally responsible for SCIs (50.61% vs. 49.06%). The thoracic segments were the most commonly affected (57.87%). Males in their 30s were the most affected category (76.6%). SCI due to RTAs may represent a severe but preventable condition that affects mostly men in their productive age, generating important social and economic issues. Data about this condition in Latin America are scarce, and could limit prevention and treatment strategies. Prospective data collection about this condition is recommended

    Geomorphometry 2020. Conference Proceedings

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    Geomorphometry is the science of quantitative land surface analysis. It gathers various mathematical, statistical and image processing techniques to quantify morphological, hydrological, ecological and other aspects of a land surface. Common synonyms for geomorphometry are geomorphological analysis, terrain morphometry or terrain analysis and land surface analysis. The typical input to geomorphometric analysis is a square-grid representation of the land surface: a digital elevation (or land surface) model. The first Geomorphometry conference dates back to 2009 and it took place in Zürich, Switzerland. Subsequent events were in Redlands (California), Nánjīng (China), Poznan (Poland) and Boulder (Colorado), at about two years intervals. The International Society for Geomorphometry (ISG) and the Organizing Committee scheduled the sixth Geomorphometry conference in Perugia, Italy, June 2020. Worldwide safety measures dictated the event could not be held in presence, and we excluded the possibility to hold the conference remotely. Thus, we postponed the event by one year - it will be organized in June 2021, in Perugia, hosted by the Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection of the Italian National Research Council (CNR IRPI) and the Department of Physics and Geology of the University of Perugia. One of the reasons why we postponed the conference, instead of canceling, was the encouraging number of submitted abstracts. Abstracts are actually short papers consisting of four pages, including figures and references, and they were peer-reviewed by the Scientific Committee of the conference. This book is a collection of the contributions revised by the authors after peer review. We grouped them in seven classes, as follows: • Data and methods (13 abstracts) • Geoheritage (6 abstracts) • Glacial processes (4 abstracts) • LIDAR and high resolution data (8 abstracts) • Morphotectonics (8 abstracts) • Natural hazards (12 abstracts) • Soil erosion and fluvial processes (16 abstracts) The 67 abstracts represent 80% of the initial contributions. The remaining ones were either not accepted after peer review or withdrawn by their Authors. Most of the contributions contain original material, and an extended version of a subset of them will be included in a special issue of a regular journal publication

    HFF-DeepSpace photometric catalogs of the 12 Hubble frontier fields, clusters, and parallels : photometry, photometric redshifts, and stellar masses

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    We present Hubble multi-wavelength photometric catalogs, including (up to) 17 filters with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 from the ultra-violet to near-infrared for the Hubble Frontier Fields and associated parallels. We have constructed homogeneous photometric catalogs for all six clusters and their parallels. To further expand these data catalogs, we have added ultra-deep KS-band imaging at 2.2. mu m from the Very Large Telescope HAWK-I and Keck-I MOSFIRE instruments. We also add post-cryogenic Spitzer imaging at 3.6 and 4.5. mu m with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), as well as archival IRAC 5.8 and 8.0. mu m imaging when available. We introduce the public release of the multi-wavelength (0.2-8 mu m) photometric catalogs, and we describe the unique steps applied for the construction of these catalogs. Particular emphasis is given to the source detection band, the contamination of light from the bright cluster galaxies (bCGs), and intra-cluster light (ICL). In addition to the photometric catalogs, we provide catalogs of photometric redshifts and stellar population properties. Furthermore, this includes all the images used in the construction of the catalogs, including the combined models of bCGs and ICL, the residual images, segmentation maps, and more. These catalogs are a robust data set of the Hubble Frontier Fields and will be an important aid in designing future surveys, as well as planning follow-up programs with current and future observatories to answer key questions remaining about first light, reionization, the assembly of galaxies, and many more topics, most notably by identifying high-redshift sources to target

    Métodos y tecnología informática aplicada al desarrollo de sistemas de gerenciamiento energético en apoyo a ISO 50001

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    El objetivo de este proyecto es realizar actividades de I&D en temas relacionados a Ingeniería de Software Basado en Modelos (ISBM) y Common Information Model (CIM) en conjunción con métodos de producción de sistemas software para gestión de eficiencia energética, siguiendo bases de la norma internacional ISO 50001. Con el interés particular de evaluar e implementar mecanismos que automatizan actividades del gerenciamiento energético, resulta de valor importante explorar distintas áreas de la disciplinas de ingeniería eléctrica para una mejor captura de requerimientos software – de aplicación genérica – en ámbitos industriales de la región, con fuerte necesidad de administración de valores energéticos medibles en términos económicos. En este contexto es necesario establecer un marco de trabajo para construir herramientas informáticas que ofrezcan mecanismos para automatizar alertas y controles sobre dominios específicos, en un ambiente de administración, control y gerenciamiento energético. Considerando aspectos que incluyen extensión de funcionalidad para distintos tipos de energía y evolución de la reciente norma ISO 50001, se presenta en este trabajo una propuesta de herramienta software de soporte a la gestión y ahorro de energía eléctrica. Resulta finalmente un valor importante en este proyecto, integrar actividades I+D+i multidisciplinario entre distintos departamentos de carrera: Electrotecnia & Sistemas de Información.Eje: Innovación en Sistemas de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

    Feedback and the Structure of Simulated Galaxies at redshift z=2

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    We study the properties of simulated high-redshift galaxies using cosmological N-body/gasdynamical runs from the OverWhelmingly Large Simulations (OWLS) project. The runs contrast several feedback implementations of varying effectiveness: from no-feedback, to supernova-driven winds to powerful AGN-driven outflows. These different feedback models result in large variations in the abundance and structural properties of bright galaxies at z=2. We find that feedback affects the baryonic mass of a galaxy much more severely than its spin, which is on average roughly half that of its surrounding dark matter halo in our runs. Feedback induces strong correlations between angular momentum content and galaxy mass that leave their imprint on galaxy scaling relations and morphologies. Encouragingly, we find that galaxy disks are common in moderate-feedback runs, making up typically ~50% of all galaxies at the centers of haloes with virial mass exceeding 1e11 M_sun. The size, stellar masses, and circular speeds of simulated galaxies formed in such runs have properties that straddle those of large star-forming disks and of compact early-type galaxies at z=2. Once the detailed abundance and structural properties of these rare objects are well established it may be possible to use them to gauge the overall efficacy of feedback in the formation of high redshift galaxies.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Minor changes to match published versio
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