Effect of preparation conditions on the polymorphism and transport properties of lanthanum molybdates

In this work, La6MoO12-based compounds were investigated as part of a new family of materials very competitive as hydrogen separation membranes [1,2]. La5.4MoO11.1 was synthesized by the freeze-drying precursor method and the calcination conditions were optimized in order to obtain single phases. Several cooling rates were applied and different polymorphs were obtained: a simple cubic fluorite symmetry (Fm-3m) for the sample cooled by quenching, and two different rhombohedral (R-3) space groups for the samples cooled at 50 ºC•min-1 and 0.5 ºC•min-1 (see Figure below). For the quenched sample, the Rietveld refinement was satisfactory in a Fm-3m space group. For the other two compositions no structural model was available and were indexed in a R-3 space group, however some small reflections were not given any intensity by the model used. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of superstructures for those samples. All ceramic materials were obtained with relative densities close to 100% after sintering at 1500 ºC. Stability studies demonstrated that all three polymorphs were stable in oxidizing and reducing conditions at 800 ºC for 48 hours. The three samples present a significant proton contribution to the conductivity at temperatures lower than 800 ºC. These results were confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. The highest conductivity values were observed for the samples prepared by quenching. The three polymorphs display a small p-type electronic contribution to the overall conductivity in oxidizing conditions and n-type electronic one in very reducing conditions, much more significant for the samples cooled by quenching and at 50 ºC•min-1.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

A CFD-based Approach to Predict Explosion Overpressure: A Comparison to Current Methods

A CFD-based approach has been developed in this work to predict the overpressure produced during an explosion. An adiabatic exothermal reaction allows computing the explosion energy release. To validate the proposed CFD approach, overpressure predictions based on this methodology are compared with results produced with the TNObased method. It is demonstrated that the physics adopted in our model produces satisfactory predictions in the open area. The CFD simulations were carried out in the ANSYS CFX tool. The source of energy corresponds to the one produced by a stoichiometric proportion in reactants without energy generation. The explosion analysis considered that explosion occurs geometrically as a sequence of control volumes. Thus, the explosion in a volume is assumed to occur when the maximum pressure is achieved in the previous control volume. This way, the explosion is propagated and it is shown that it is equivalent to conventional predicting methods

Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacteria Isolated from Exotic Pets : The Situation in the Iberian Peninsula

Literature related to antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in exotic pets is minimal, being essential to report objective data on this topic, which represents a therapeutic challenge for veterinary medicine and public health. Between 2016 and 2020, laboratory records of 3156 exotic pet specimens' microbiological diagnoses and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) results were examined. The samples were classified into three animal classes: birds (n = 412), mammalia (n = 2399), and reptilian (n = 345). The most prevalent bacteria in birds and mammals were Staphylococcus spp. (15% and 16%), while in reptiles they were Pseudomonas spp. (23%). Pseudomonas was the genus with the highest levels of AMR in all animal groups, followed by Enterococcus spp. By contrast, Gram-positive cocci and Pasteurella spp. were the most sensitive bacteria. Moreover, in reptiles, Stenotrophomonas spp., Morganella spp., and Acinetobacter spp. presented high levels of AMR. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria were isolates from reptiles (21%), birds (17%), and mammals (15%). The Enterobacterales had the highest MDR levels: S. marcescens (94.4%), C. freundii (50%), M. morganii (47.4%), K. pneumoniae (46.6%), E. cloacae (44%), and E. coli (38.3%). The prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa strains was 8%, detecting one isolate with an XDR profile. Regarding antimicrobial use, many antibiotics described as critically important for human use had significant AMR prevalence in bacteria isolated from exotic pets. Under the One-Health approach, these results are alarming and of public health concern since potential transmission of AMR bacteria and genes can occur from exotic pets to their owners in both senses. For this reason, the collaboration between veterinarians and public health professionals is crucial

Displasia congénita de tibia : 12 años de seguimiento

Congenital dysplasia of the tibia, previously named congenital pseudoarthrosis, is a very rare disorder, affecting 1 in 140,000 live-born children. Some of those cases are associated with neurofibromatosis or Von Recklinghausen disease and involvement of the fibula has been reported in 62% of cases . The diagnosis is usually made at birth. The natural history of the disease is extremely dark and once a fracture occurs, there is no tendency to heal spontaneously. We would like to report a 12 years followed-up case, treated with different methods with the aim of revise different treatment techniques depending on the age of the patient and the kind of fracture

¿Adelantan el diagnóstico de la diabetes tipo 2 los nuevos criterios de la Asociación Americana de Diabetes?

ObjetivoAnalizar el intervalo temporal entre la primera hiperglucemia basal ocasional (HBO) y el diagnóstico de diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) al aplicar los criterios de la OMS y de la Asociación Americana de Diabetes (ADA).DiseñoEstudio observacional, retrospectivo. Ámbito del estudio. Centro de atención primaria urbano.SujetosUn total de 104 pacientes con DM2, diagnosticados entre 1991 y 1995, con antecedentes de HBO.Mediciones o intervencionesEdad, género y otros factores de riesgo, fechas de la primera HBO (glucemia basal 3 110 mg/dl), del diagnóstico según criterios OMS (2 glucemias basales 3 140 mg/dl o 3 200 mg/dl a las 2 horas de la sobrecarga oral de glucosa [SOG]) y aplicando criterios ADA (2 glucemias basales 3 126 mg/dl) y los intervalos en meses entre ellas.ResultadosDe los 222 pacientes diagnosticados, 104 (47%) presentaban antecedentes de HBO. La edad en el momento del diagnóstico fue 60,8 años (DE, 10,1), siendo un 53% mujeres. En 51 casos (49%) se realizó SOG. La mediana (rango) del intervalo entre la primera HBO y el diagnóstico fue de 16 meses (0–101) en los que se realizó la SOG y de 45 (1–104) en los que no se practicó (p = 0,003). En estos últimos, los criterios ADA lo redujeron a 31 meses (0–97) (p < 0,001) y en 27 de ellos que no cumplían ambos criterios a la vez el intervalo fue de sólo 10 meses (0–93) (p < 0,001). Conclusiones. La no realización de la SOG comporta un retraso en el diagnóstico que puede ser contrarrestado con la aplicación de los criterios de la ADA.ObjectiveTo analyze the period of time between the first occasional fasting hyperglycaemia (OFH) and the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria or the American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria.DesignRetrospective, observational study.SettingUrban primary care centre.Subjects104 patients with DM2 diagnosed between 1991 and 1995 who had a previous OFH.MeasurementsAge, gender and other risk factors, dates of the first OFH (fasting plasma glucose 3 110 mg/dl), the diagnosis according to WHO criteria (2 fasting plasma glucose 3 140 mg/dl or 3 200 mg/dl two hours after the oral glucose test tolerance (OGTT)) or with the ADA criteria (2 fasting plasma glucose 3 126 mg/dl), and the intervals in months between them.ResultsOf the 222 diagnosed patients, 104 (47%) had previous OFH. Age at diagnosis was 60.8 (SD 10.1) and 53% were women. OGTT was performed in 51 cases (49%). The median (range) of the interval between the first OFH and diagnosis was 16 months (0–101) for those who were undertaken an OGTT, and 45 months (1–104) for those who were not (p = 0.003). In these last ones, ADA criteria reduced the interval to 31 months (0–97) (p < 0.001). In 27 of these patients who did not satisfy both criteria at the same time, ADA criteria reduced the interval to 10 months (0–93) (p < 0.001).ConclusionsNot performing the OGTT means a delay in diagnosis which can be countered by applying the ADA criteria

Morbidity, outcomes and cost-benefit analysis of wildlife rehabilitation in Catalonia (Spain)

Background There are few studies of careful examination of wildlife casualties in Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers. These studies are essential for detecting menaces to wild species and providing objective criteria about cost-benefit of treatments in those centers. The release rate is considered the main outcome indicator, but other parameters such as length of stay at the center and a cost-benefit index expressed as number of released animals per euro and day, could be used as reliable estimators of the rehabilitation costs. Methodology A retrospective study based on 54772 admissions recorded from 1995-2013 in the database of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Torreferrussa (Catalonia, NW Spain) assessed the morbidity, outcomes and cost-benefits of the rehabilitation practices. Results Three hundred and two species were included: 232 birds (n = 48633), 37 mammals (n = 3293), 20 reptiles (n = 2705) and 13 amphibians (n = 141). The most frequent causes of admission were: 39.8% confiscation of protected species (89.4% passerines), 31.8% orphaned young animals (35.3% swifts, 21.7% diurnal raptors and owls) and 17.4% trauma casualties (46.7% raptors and owls). The highest proportion of releases was found in the captivity confiscation category [87.4% passerines (median time of stay: 12 days)], followed by the orphaned category [78% owls (66 days), 76.5% diurnal birds of prey (43 days), 75.6% hedgehogs (49 days), 52.7% swifts (19 days) and 52% bats (55 days)]. For the trauma group, 46.8% of releases were hedgehogs (44 days) and 25.6% owls (103 days). As regards the cost-benefit index, the trauma casualties and infectious diseases had the worse values with 1.3 and 1.4 released animals/euro/day respectively, and were particularly low in raptors, waders, marine birds and chiroptera. On the contrary, captivity (4.6) and misplacement (4.1) had the best index, particulary in amphibian, reptiles and passerines. Conclusions/significance Cost-benefit studies including the release rate, the time of stay at the center and the costbenefit index should be implemented for improving management efficiency of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers

Electrical-thermal analytical modeling of monopolar RF thermal ablation of biological tissues: determining the circumstances under which tissue temperature reaches a steady state

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES doi:10.3934/mbe.2015003 AND ENGINEERING following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering (MBE) Pages: 281 - 301, Volume 13, Issue 2, April 2016 is available online at http://www.aimsciences.org/journals/displayArticlesnew.jsp?paperID=11998[EN] It has been suggested that during RF thermal ablation of biological tissue the thermal lesion could reach an equilibrium size after 1-2 minutes. Our objective was to determine under which circumstances of electrode geometry (needle-like vs. ball-tip), electrode type (dry vs. cooled) and blood perfusion the temperature will reach a steady state at any point in the tissue. We solved the bioheat equation analytically both in cylindrical and spherical coordinates and the resultant limit temperatures were compared. Our results demonstrate mathematically that tissue temperature reaches a steady value in all cases except for cylindrical coordinates without the blood perfusion term, both for dry and cooled electrodes, where temperature increases infinitely. This result is only true when the boundary condition far from the active electrode is considered to be at infinitum. In contrast, when a finite and sufficiently large domain is considered, temperature reaches always a steady state.This work received financial support from the Spanish "Plan Estatal de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad" under Grant TEC2014-52383-C3-R (TEC2014-52383-C3-1-R).López Molina, JA.; Rivera Ortun, MJ.; Berjano, E. (2016). Electrical-thermal analytical modeling of monopolar RF thermal ablation of biological tissues: determining the circumstances under which tissue temperature reaches a steady state. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering. 13(2):281-301. https://doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2015003S28130113