Application of Atmospheric Transport Models at the new atmospheric Ebre Delta station (ClimaDat network) in Eastern Spain

Abstract: The Ebre Delta atmospheric station (DEC3) was installed in Eastern Spain, within the framework of the ClimaDat project of the Institut Català de Ciències del Clima (IC3). This station offers continuous measurements of greenhouse gases and tracers concentrations (CO 2 , CH 4 , CO, N 2 O and SF 6 ), along with atmospheric concentrations of the natural radioactive gas 222 Rn. Meteorological parameters, such as humidity, temperature, wind speed and wind direction are also measured at DEC3 site. This qualitative analysis aims to use the FLEXPART and the HYSPLIT models, with meteorological input of ECMWF and with spatial resolution of 0.2 degrees, to perform back trajectories at DEC3 station and qualitatively analyze how different air masses coming from the Northern Western Europe or from the Mediterranean Sea influence observed gases concentrations

Comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of commercial NS1-based diagnostic tests for early dengue infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We compared the diagnostic accuracy and reproducibility of commercially available NS1-based dengue tests and explored factors influencing their sensitivities.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Paired analysis of 310 samples previously characterized as positive (n = 218) and negative (n = 92) for viral isolation and/or RT-PCR and/or IgM seroconversion. Masked samples were tested by two observers with Platelia™ Dengue NS1 Ag, second generation Pan-E™ Dengue Early ELISA, SD Dengue NS1 Ag ELISA, Dengue NS1 Ag STRIP™, and SD BIOLINE™ Dengue Duo (NS1/IgM/IgG).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SD BIOLINE™ NS1/IgM/IgG had the highest sensitivity (80.7% 95%CI 75-85.7) with likelihood ratios of 7.4 (95%CI 4.1-13.8) and 0.21 (95%CI 0.16-0.28). The ELISA-format tests showed comparable sensitivities; all below 75%. STRIP™ and SD NS1 had even lower sensitivities (<65%). The sensitivities significantly decreased in samples taken after 3 days of fever onset, in secondary infections, viral serotypes 2 and 4, and severe dengue. Adding IgM or IgG to SD NS1 increased its sensitivity in all these situations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The simultaneous detection of NS1/IgM/IgG would be potentially useful for dengue diagnosis in both endemic and non endemic areas. A negative result does not rule out dengue. Further studies are required to assess the performance and impact of early laboratory diagnosis of dengue in the routine clinical setting.</p

Outdoor characterization of CdTe technology and seasonal performance analysis at different latitudes in Europe.

: The aim of this work is to improve knowledge about the observed seasonal behavior of CdTe modules under real op-erating conditions. The study consists of a characterization of the CdTe photovoltaic (PV) technology based on the ap-plication of the Sandia Array Performance Model (SAPM) to two PV fields in Italy (Viterbo and Bolzano) and two PV test modules in Spain (Madrid and Jaén). SAPM is a semi-empirical power estimation model that takes into account the four main phenomena that affect the Performance Ratio (PR) of PV plants or modules: temperature, angle of incidence, irradiance and spectral effects. New outdoor experimental procedures were set up at the ESTER station of University of Rome Tor Vergata to validate the temperature coefficients, the angle of incidence coefficients and the spectral mismatch coefficients of CdTe modules to be used in the SAPM model implementation. A detailed analysis of the deviation be-tween the experimental PR data and the modeled PR estimated by SAPM reveals that it is possible to characterize the re-siduals and attribute them to phenomena not considered by the model

Patients with Crohn's disease have longer post-operative in-hospital stay than patients with colon cancer but no difference in complications' rate

BACKGROUNDRight hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection are used to treat benign conditions like Crohn's disease (CD) and malignant ones like colon cancer (CC).AIMTo investigate differences in pre- and peri-operative factors and their impact on post-operative outcome in patients with CC and CD.METHODSThis is a sub-group analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology's prospective, multi-centre snapshot audit. Adult patients with CC and CD undergoing right hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection were included. Primary outcome measure was 30-d post-operative complications. Secondary outcome measures were post-operative length of stay (LOS) at and readmission.RESULTSThree hundred and seventy-five patients with CD and 2,515 patients with CC were included. Patients with CD were younger (median = 37 years for CD and 71 years for CC (P &lt; 0.01), had lower American Society of Anesthesiology score (ASA) grade (P &lt; 0.01) and less comorbidity (P &lt; 0.01), but were more likely to be current smokers (P &lt; 0.01). Patients with CD were more frequently operated on by colorectal surgeons (P &lt; 0.01) and frequently underwent ileocecal resection (P &lt; 0.01) with higher rate of de-functioning/primary stoma construction (P &lt; 0.01). Thirty-day post-operative mortality occurred exclusively in the CC group (66/2515, 2.3%). In multivariate analyses, the risk of post-operative complications was similar in the two groups (OR 0.80, 95%CI: 0.54-1.17; P = 0.25). Patients with CD had a significantly longer LOS (Geometric mean 0.87, 95%CI: 0.79-0.95; P &lt; 0.01). There was no difference in re-admission rates. The audit did not collect data on post-operative enhanced recovery protocols that are implemented in the different participating centers.CONCLUSIONPatients with CD were younger, with lower ASA grade, less comorbidity, operated on by experienced surgeons and underwent less radical resection but had a longer LOS than patients with CC although complication's rate was not different between the two groups