Assessment of pavement deflection under vehicle loads using a 3D-DIC system in the field

This study aims to introduce the use of 3D-digital image correlation (DIC) to the in situ testing of pavements and to support the development of techniques for a rapid evaluation of the conservation status of existing roads. Little research was found on this topic. The passage of a car wheel on an asphalt pavement was adopted as a case study. The DIC measurements were compared to those gathered by contact sensors. From a qualitative point of view, the DIC measurements captured the realistic shape of a deflection basin. From a quantitative point of view, the deflection values provided by the DIC system had a mean error of 0.015 mm and a standard deviation of 0.011 mm. At the moment of highest load, these errors had a mean value and standard deviation of − 0.016 mm and 0.021 mm, respectively. Thus, to improve the accuracy of the system, we propose modifying the camera support, speckle pattern, and control of natural lightWe thank Extraco S.A. for allowing us to perform the test on their company facilities. This work was supported by the Strategic Researcher Cluster BioReDes funded by the Xunta de Galicia (Regional Government of Galicia) under project ref. ED431E 2018/09 and by the Xunta de Galicia under the grant “Financial aid for the consolidation and structure of competitive units of investigation in the universities of the University Galician System (2020-22)” under project ref. ED341B 2016/30. This work was also made possible due to the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), since Dr. Bastos was contracted in the frame of the postdoctoral grant Juan de la Cierva – Formación (FJC2019-039743-I/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)S

Evaluation of the patient with temporomandibular dysfunction : what are the steps to arrive at a correct diagnosis?

Temporomandibular disorders are heterogeneous group of disorders involving the temporomandibular joint, masticatory muscles and associated structures. With a multifactorial origin, usually the patient with mandibular temporomandibular disorder reports multiple complaints, associated or not to comorbidities and non-repairing sleep. Anamnesis directed to the correct diagnosis is fundamental for the elaboration of a successful therapy. The diagnostic process should be able to categorize the pain as well as identify the involved tissues in addition to pointing out the specific source of pain within that tissue system. The steps to arrive at a correct diagnosis should cover: anamnesis, clinical evaluation for temporomandibular joint, the clinical examination through inspection of the cranial nerves, intra-oral evaluation and musculoskeletal examination, imaging tests, anesthetic block diagnosis, laboratory tests and evaluation of sleep pattern. This process begins in the clinical history, presence or not of associated comorbidities, sleep pattern and other factors that may somehow contribute to the patient’s clinic. This information supports the correct diagnosis and is essential for adequate and successful therapy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance evaluation of the high sensitive troponin I assay on the Atellica IM analyser

The Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction Global Taskforce recommends the use of high sensitive troponin (hs-Tn) assays in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. We evaluated the analytical performance of the Atellica IM High-sensitivity Troponin I Assay (hs-TnI) (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., Tarrytown, USA) and compared its performance to other hs-TnI assays (Siemens Advia Centaur, Dimension Vista, Dimension EXL, and Abbott Architect (Wiesbaden, Germany)) at one or more sites across Europe. Precision, detection limit, linearity, method comparison, and interference studies were performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute protocols. Values in 40 healthy individuals were compared to the manufacturer’s cut-offs. Sample turnaround time (TAT) was examined. Imprecision repeatability CVs were 1.1–4.7% and within-lab imprecision were 1.8–7.6% (10.0–25,000 ng/L). The limit of blank (LoB), detection (LoD), and quantitation (LoQ) aligned with the manufacturer’s values of 0.5 ng/L, 1.6 ng/L, and 2.5 ng/L, respectively. Passing-Bablok regression demonstrated good correlations between Atellica IM analyser with other systems; some minor deviations were observed. All results in healthy volunteers fell below the 99th percentile URL, and greater than 50% of each sex demonstrated values above the LoD. No interference was observed for biotin (≤ 1500 µg/L), but a slight bias at 5.0 g/L haemoglobin and 50 ng/L Tn was observed. TAT from was fast (mean time = 10.9 minutes) and reproducible (6%CV). Real-world analytical and TAT performance of the hs-TnI assay on the Atellica IM analyser make this assay fit for routine use in clinical laboratories

Calidad de vida y sus factores determinantes en universitarios españoles de Ciencias de la Salud

La calidad de vida en la población universitaria adquiere una especial importancia ya que permite obtener información sobre las condiciones de vida de los universitarios y, sobre todo, de cómo éstos las perciben. Objetivo: Evaluar la calidad de vida de los universitarios que cursan estudios en ciencias de la salud y su relación con diferentes factores tales como: hábitos de vida, parámetros antropométricos y la influencia de las distintas variables sobre su percepción. Material y Método: Estudio transversal de una muestra de 1.753 estudiantes de ciencias de la salud de nueve universidades españolas con diseño muestral aleatorio y estatrificado según curso y facultad al que se le aplicó un cuestionaro ad hoc que recogía todas las variables a estudio. Resultados: La calidad de vida percibida por los participantes fue Me = 75. Los factores explorados de la calidad de vida se co-relacionaron significativamente con la percepción global de calidad de vida de los estudiantes (p<0,001). Se establecieron 3 dimensiones y el impacto de cada una de ellas sobre la percepción de calidad de vida global fue p<0,001. Los varones percibieron mejor calidad de vida que las mujeres y también los estudiantes con menor Índice de Masa Corporal (IMC). Conclusión: Los universitarios son una población clave para realizar actividades de promoción y prevención de la salud por lo que resulta necesario crear mejores infraestucturas y recursos educativos para mejorar la CV y fomentar hábitos y estilos de vida saludable con especial atención en la alimentación y la realización de una adecuada actividad física.Abstract Introduction: The quality of life of university students acquires special importance because it provides information about their life conditions and especially how they perceive it. Objetive: Evaluate the quality of life of students who are enrolled in health science studies and its relation with the following diverse factors: life and dietetic habits, anthropometric parameters and the influence of distinct variables on their perception. Methods: Transversal study of a sample of 1753 health science degree students of nine Spanish universities with a randomized design and stratified by course and faculty for which we applied an ad hoc questionnaire that considered all study variables. Results: The quality of life (QoL) perceived by the participants had a Median of 75. The factors that were explored about the quality of life correlated significantly with their global perception of it (p<0.001). Three dimensions were established and the impact of each one of them on their global perception of QoL was p<0.001. Men perceived better QoL then women and the students with lower Body Mass Index (BMI). Conclusions: University students are a key population for realizing health promotion and prevention activities therefore it is necessary to develop and provide better infrastructures and educative resources in order to enhance their QoL and to promote healthier habits and life styles with special attention on dietetics habits and the performance of an adequate physical activity

Antiretroviral therapy duration and immunometabolic state determine efficacy of ex vivo dendritic cell-based treatment restoring functional HIV-specific CD8+ T cells in people living with HIV.

Dysfunction of CD8+ T cells in people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has restricted the efficacy of dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapies against HIV-1. Heterogeneous immune exhaustion and metabolic states of CD8+ T cells might differentially associate with dysfunction. However, specific parameters associated to functional restoration of CD8+ T cells after DC treatment have not been investigated. We studied association of restoration of functional HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses after stimulation with Gag-adjuvant-primed DC with ART duration, exhaustion, metabolic and memory cell subsets profiles. HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cell responses from a larger proportion of PLWH on long-term ART (more than 10 years; LT-ARTp) improved polyfunctionality and capacity to eliminate autologous p24+ infected CD4+ T cells in vitro. In contrast, functional improvement of CD8+ T cells from PLWH on short-term ART (less than a decade; ST-ARTp) after DC treatment was limited. This was associated with lower frequencies of central memory CD8+ T cells, increased co-expression of PD1 and TIGIT and reduced mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis induction upon TCR activation. In contrast, CD8+ T cells from LT-ARTp showed increased frequencies of TIM3+ PD1- cells and preserved induction of glycolysis. Treatment of dysfunctional CD8+ T cells from ST-ARTp with combined anti-PD1 and anti-TIGIT antibodies plus a glycolysis promoting drug restored their ability to eliminate infected CD4+ T cells. Together, our study identifies specific immunometabolic parameters for different PLWH subgroups potentially useful for future personalized DC-based HIV-1 vaccines. NIH (R21AI140930), MINECO/FEDER RETOS (RTI2018-097485-A-I00) and CIBERINF grants.NIH (R21AI140930), MINECO/FEDER RETOS (RTI2018-097485-A-I00) and CIBERINF grants. We would like to thank the NIH AIDS Reagent Pro- gram, Division of AIDS, NIAID, NIH for providing HIV-1 PTE Gag Peptide Pool from NIAID, DAIDS (cat #11057) for the study. We would also like to thank Alvaro Serrano Navarro, for his help on adapting the lin- ear mixed model previously described by Martin- C ofreces N. et al83 to our data. Graphical schematic rep- resentations were created with BioRender.com. EMG was supported by the NIH R21 program (R21AI140930), the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC2018- 024374-I), the MINECO/FEDER RETOS program (RTI2018-097485-A-I00), by Comunidad de Madrid Talento Program (2017-T1/BMD-5396) and by Gilead becas de investigaci on (GLD19/00168). EMG and IDS are supported by Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBERINF) de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CB21/ 13/00107). MCM was supported by NIH R21 program (R21AI140930), “La Caixa Banking Foundation (H20- 00218) and Gilead becas de investigaci on (GLD19/ 00168). MJB is supported by the Miguel Servet program funded by the Spanish Health Institute Carlos III (CP17/00179), the MINECO/FEDER RETOS program (RTI2018-101082-B-100), and Fundació La Marat o TV3 (201805-10FMTV3). EMG and MJB are both funded by “La Caixa Banking Foundation (H20-00218) and by REDINCOV grant from Fundació La Marat o TV3. FSM was supported by SAF2017-82886-R and PDI-2020- 120412RB-I00 grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci on, and HR17-00016 grant from “La Caixa Banking Foundation. HF was funded by PI21/01583 grant from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Instituto de Salud Carlos III. MJC was supported by PID2019- 104406RB-I00 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. ISC was funded by the CM21/00157 Rio- Hortega grant. IT was supported by grant for the pro- motion of research studies master-UAM 2021.S

Analysis of the information about Doctoral Degrees presented in the Spanish universities websites.

Globalization has intensified competition, as evidenced by the growing number of international classification systems (rankings) and the attention paid to them. Doctoral education has an international character in itself. It should promote opportunities for graduate students lo participate in these international studies. The quality and competitiveness are two of the most important issues for universities. To promote the interest of graduates to continue their education after the graduate level, it would be necessary to improve the published information of ihe doctoral programs. It should increase the visibility and provide high-quality, easily accessible and comparable information which includes all the relevant aspects of these programs. The authors analysed the website contents of doctoral programs, it was observed a lack of quality of them and very poor information about the contents, so that it was decided that any of them could constitute a model for creating new websites. The recommendations on the format and contents in the web were made by a discussion group. They recommended an attractive design; a page with easy access to contents and easy to find on Ihe net and with the information in more than one language. It should include complete program and academic staff information. It should also be included the study's results which should be easily accessible and includes quantitative data, such as number of students who completed scholars, publications, research projects, average duration of the studies, etc. It will facilitate the choice of progra

Sustained low disease activity measured by ASDAS slow radiographic spinal progression in axial spondyloarthritis patients treated with TNF-inhibitors: data from REGISPONSERBIO

Background To evaluate the influence of the disease activity on radiographic progression in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients treated with TNF inhibitors (TNFi). Methods The study included 101 axSpA patients from the Spanish Register of Biological Therapy in Spondyloarthritides (REGISPONSERBIO), which had clinical data and radiographic assessment available. Patients were classified into 2 groups based on the duration of TNFi treatment at baseline: (i) long-term treatment (>= 4 years) and (ii) no long-term treatment (= 2 mSASSS units. At inclusion, approximately half of the patients (45.5%) were receiving long-term treatment with TNFi (>= 4 years). In this group of subjects, a significant difference in averaged Ankylosing Spondylitis disease Activity Score (ASDAS) across follow-up was found between progressors and non-progressors (2.33 vs 1.76, p=0.027, respectively). In patients not under long-term TNFi treatment (54.5%) though, no significant ASDAS differences were observed between progressors and non-progressors until the third year of follow-up. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in progression status, when disease activity was measured by Bath Ankylosing spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and C reactive protein (CRP). Conclusions Patients on long-term TNFi treatment with a mean sustained low disease activity measures by ASDAS presented lower radiographic progression than those with active disease

Levelling Profiles and a GPS Network to Monitor the Active Folding and Faulting Deformation in the Campo de Dalias (Betic Cordillera, Southeastern Spain)

The Campo de Dalias is an area with relevant seismicity associated to the active tectonic deformations of the southern boundary of the Betic Cordillera. A non-permanent GPS network was installed to monitor, for the first time, the fault- and fold-related activity. In addition, two high precision levelling profiles were measured twice over a one-year period across the Balanegra Fault, one of the most active faults recognized in the area. The absence of significant movement of the main fault surface suggests seismogenic behaviour. The possible recurrence interval may be between 100 and 300 y. The repetitive GPS and high precision levelling monitoring of the fault surface during a long time period may help us to determine future fault behaviour with regard to the existence (or not) of a creep component, the accumulation of elastic deformation before faulting, and implications of the fold-fault relationship

Plan de contingencia para los servicios de medicina intensiva frente a la pandemia COVID-19

In January 2020, the Chinese authorities identified a new virus of the Coronaviridae family as the cause of several cases of pneumonia of unknown aetiology. The outbreak was initially confined to Wuhan City, but then spread outside Chinese borders. On 31 January 2020, the first case was declared in Spain. On 11 March 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. On 16 March 2020, there were 139 countries affected. In this situation, the Scientific Societies SEMICYUC and SEEIUC, have decided to draw up this Contingency Plan to guide the response of the Intensive Care Services. The objectives of this plan are to estimate the magnitude of the problem and identify the necessary human and material resources. This is to provide the Spanish Intensive Medicine Services with a tool to programme optimal response strategies