U-Pb zircon SHRIMP evidences of Cambrian volcanism in the Schistose Domain within the Galicia-Tras-os-Montes Zone (Variscan Orogen, NW Iberian Peninsula)

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon analyses have shown the complexity of dating volcanic rocks due to the presence of inner cores within zircon crystals. Using the cathodoluminescence studies assisting ion microprobe analyses allow us to conclude that: the two low-grade metavolcanic samples from the Schistose Domain of the Galicia-Trás-os-Montes Zone in the northeast limb of the Verín-Bragança synform (NW Spain and NE Portugal) yield ages of 488.7 ± 3.7Ma and 499.8 ± 3.7Ma (lowermost Ordovician-Upper Cambrian). The Schistose Domain had been traditionally considered as a parautochthonous tectonic unit, i.e. as the stratigraphic continuation of the autochthonous underlying rocks, only locally or moderately detached from them as a result of strong dragging forces from large allochthonous units above it. Current interpretation of the Schistose Domain suggests that this domain formed the outboard edge of the Iberian terrane. Important Arenig, felsic magmatism with similar geochemical signature to the volcanic bodies in the Schistose Domain of the Galicia-Trás-os-Montes Zone (GTMSD) series is present also in the adjacent Ollo de Sapo Domain of the Central Iberian Zone. This contemporary nature of magmatic events provides an additional argument to support the “Iberian” affinity of the Schistose Domain of the Galicia-Trás-osMontes Zone. However, the Cambro–Ordovician facies are very different in the Schistose Domain with respect to the autochthonous unit, the Central–Iberian Zone, suggesting that the Schistose Domain must be considered as a major allochthonous unit with a displacement of over several tens of kilometers

Applications of Deep Learning in Financial Intermediation: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract In finance, an infinite amount of datais generated daily, which is important for decision-making in the business world. Consequently, there is a need to create models that help to process and interpret this data. Deep learning has demonstrated important advances in the processing of large amounts of data, and for this reason, the objective of this systematic review of literature corresponds to the search for applications, deep learning model and techniques that were used to solve problems in the financial area. For this purpose, out of 346 articles found, 20 were selected that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria corresponding to the research questions. Among the most common applications, models, and techniques were: prediction in market actions, sales forecasting, detection of fraud risks and tax evasion; with respect to the models, convolutional neural networks CNN and recurrent neural networks RNN were among the most executed; the ReLu and Sigmoid techniques turned out to be the most used in these models.   Keywords: deep learning, finance, machine learning, Convolutional Neural Network CNN, Recurrent Neural Network RN

Bilateral adrenalectomy for asynchronous metastases of a malignant melanoma

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.Clinical case: We report a 70 years old male with a history of an ear lobe melanoma with was excised seven years ago, who had a bronchial relapse and required a right pneumonectomy. During a follow up abdominal CAT scan, a 9 cm tumor in the left adrenal gland was detected. The patient was operated, performing a left adrenalectomy and nephrectomy. The pathologic study confirmed the presence of a fusocellular melanoma. One year later, a right adrenal mass was detected and excised. The pathological study of the piece again confirmed a metastasis of a malignant melanoma. The patient died due to progression of the disease, 10 years after the adrenalectomy. Key words: Adrenal metastases, laparoscopic adrenalectomy, melanoma.Objetivo: Presentar un caso de metástasis suprarrenal bilateral asincrónica de Melanoma cutáneo tratado con adrenalectomía laparoscópica bilateral. Caso clínico: Paciente de 70 años con antecedente de melanoma del pabellón auricular extirpado 7 años antes de su consulta urológica. Posteriormente, presenta una recidiva bronquial tratada con quimioterapia, radioterapia y neumonectomía derecha. En sus exámenes de seguimiento una Tomografía computada muestra el hallazgo incidental de una lesión tumoral de 9 cm en la glándula suprarrenal izquierda. Se realizó nefrectomía y adrenalectomía izquierda laparoscópica en bloque sin incidencias. El análisis histopatológico confirmó el hallazgo de una metástasis de melanoma fuso-celular. Un año después el paciente presenta un nuevo hallazgo incidental de un tumor de 3 cm en la glándula suprarrenal derecha, la cual fue tratada con adrenalectomía laparoscópica, y cuyo análisis histopatológico demostró metástasis de melanoma maligno. El paciente fallece por progresión de su enfermedad 10 años después de su cirugía suprarrenal. Conclusiones: En los pacientes con metástasis suprarrenal de melanoma, la adrenalectomía incrementa la supervivencia cáncer especifica en relación a los pacientes tratados sin cirugía. El abordaje laparoscópico constituye una alternativa terapéutica con menor morbilidad que la cirugía abierta en cirujanos con experiencia laparoscópica. Palabras clave: Metástasis suprarrenal, adrenalectomía laparoscópica, melanoma.http://ref.scielo.org/mymgk

Vies moyennes de niveaux de 53Mn excités par la réaction 50Cr (α, pγ)53Mn

Les propriétés électromagnétiques du noyau 53Mn sont étudiées à l'aide de la réaction 50Cr(α, pγ)53Mn à Eα = 14,5 MeV. Les rayonnements γ sont détectés en coïncidence avec les groupes de protons observés à l'aide d'un détecteur annulaire placé à 180° dans l'axe du faisceau. Des rapports d'embranchement de transitions γ sont donnés. La méthode d'atténuation de l'effet Doppler a été utilisée pour déduire les vies moyennes : niveau de 3,42 MeV, τ = 1,0 +0,6-0,4 ps ; niveau de 3,44 MeV, τ = 0,13 +0,05-0,04ps ; niveau de 4,15 MeV, τ = 0,07 ± 0,02 ps. Pour les niveaux à Ex < 3 MeV nos valeurs de τ sont en accord avec des résultats obtenus ailleurs. Pour le niveau de 3,44 MeV nous déduisons Jπ = 15/2- sans ambiguïté. Certaines probabilités de transitions B(M1) et B(E2) sont déterminées et comparées aux prédictions des modèles récents

Usefulness of a quantitative real-time PCR assay using serum samples to discriminate between inactive, serologically positive and active human brucellosis

AbstractDiagnosis of brucellosis can be difficult in certain scenarios where conventional microbiological techniques have important limitations. The aim of this study was to develop a LightCycler Quantitative PCR assay in serum samples to discriminate between active and past brucellosis. In total, 110 serum samples from 46 brucellosis patients and 64 controls, including persons who had recently been treated for brucellosis, asymptomatic persons exposed to brucellosis, and patients with febrile syndromes involving a differential diagnosis with brucellosis, were studied. Brucella spp.-specific sequences of the PCR primers and probe were selected from the gene encoding an immunogenic membrane protein of 31 kDa (BCSP31). The analytical sensitivity was 1 × 101 fg of Brucella DNA. The mean threshold cycles for brucellosis patients and controls were 31.8 ± 1.7 and 35.4 ± 1.1, respectively (p <0.001). The best cut-off for bacterial DNA load was 5 × 103 copies/mL. At this cut-off, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was 0.963 (95% CI 0.920–1.005), with a sensitivity of 93.5% and a specificity of 98.4%. Under the assay conditions, the LightCycler Quantitative PCR in serum samples seems to be highly reproducible, rapid, sensitive and specific. It is therefore a useful method for both the initial diagnosis and the differentiation between past and active brucellosis

Estimation and comparison of benefits due to feeding hay and silage during the dry season on commercial dual-purpose cattle production systems in Honduras and Costa Rica

Smallholders with dual-purpose cattle production systems in most Central America experience a shortage of forages during the dry season (4-8 month. As a result, substantially lower milk production and weight gain occurs. Dual-purpose operations seeking to maximize milk and beef production in the dry season can produce and feed hay or silage to their livestock. The increase in milk and beef production due to feeding hay or silage during the dry season on commercial dual-purpose cattle productions systems, the production costs of making silage or hay and the benefits as a result of feeding silage or hay are estimated and compared in Honduras and Costa Rica. Due to feeding silage or hay, farmers in Honduras and Costa Rica have increased milk production during the dry season. The costs of feeding hay are lower in both countries, although farmers feed a higher amount (kg DM/cow/ day) than silage. Feeding silage or hay to milking cows is profitable in both countries. The income-cost ratio and the net benefit ($/ cow/day) due to feeding these feedstuffs are positive. Farmers with milking cows in Honduras realise a higher income-cost ratio and net benefit due to feeding silage and hay than farmers in Costa Rica. Likewise, beef cows or young livestock supplemented with these feeding alternatives don't loose weight during the dry season. In Honduras as well in Costa Rica, it is profitable to feed silage or hay to beef cows or young livestock. Currently, no silage and a small hay market exist in Honduras. Possibly, these will develop due to an increasing demand for these profitable feedstuffs. In Costa Rica thanks to the efforts of agricultural organisations, a hay market of different qualities is developing

High-SNR analytical performance of spatial multiplexing MIMO systems with CSI

In this paper, we investigate the average and outage performance of spatial multiplexing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with channel state information at both sides of the link. Such systems result, for example, from exploiting the channel eigenmodes in multiantenna systems. Due to the complexity of obtaining the exact expression for the average bit error rate (BER) and the outage probability, we derive approximations in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime assuming an uncorrelated Rayleigh flat-fading channel. More exactly, capitalizing on previous work by Wang and Giannakis, the average BER and outage probability versus SNR curves of spatial multiplexing MIMO systems are characterized in terms of two key parameters: the array gain and the diversity gain. Finally, these results are applied to analyze the performance of a variety of linear MIMO transceiver designs available in the literature.Peer Reviewe

Rapid diagnosis of human brucellosis by SYBR Green I-based real-time PCR assay and melting curve analysis in serum samples

SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to develop a LightCycler-based real-time PCR (LC-PCR) assay and to evaluate its diagnostic use for the detection of Brucella DNA in serum samples. Following amplification of a 223-bp gene sequence encoding an immunogenetic membrane protein (BCSP31) specific for the Brucella genus, melting curve and DNA sequencing analysis was performed to verify the specificity of the PCR products. The intra- and inter-assay variation coefficients were 1.3% and 6.4%, respectively, and the detection limit was 5 fg of Brucella DNA (one genome equivalent). After optimisation of the PCR assay conditions, a standard curve was obtained with a linear range (correlation coefficient = 0.99) over seven orders of magnitude from 107 to 10 fg of Brucella DNA. The LC-PCR assay was found to be 91.9% sensitive and 95.4% specific when tested with 65 negative control samples and 62 serum samples from 60 consecutive patients with active brucellosis. The assay is reproducible, easily standardised, minimises the risk of infection in laboratory workers, and has a total processing time of < 2 h. It could therefore form a promising and practical approach for the rapid diagnosis of human brucellosis

Review of Methodologies for Land Degradation Neutrality Baselines: Sub-National case studies from Costa Rica and Namibia

The objective of this report is to identify entry points and challenges for subnational LDN baselines in order to inform subnational planning processes as potential vehicle for the implementation of LDN targets on the ground. For this purpose two focus regions were chosen within two of the countries – namely Namibia and Costa Rica – that participated in the first LDN pilot phase. The focus areas in Namibia and Costa Rica are the regions of Otjozondjupa and Rio Jesus Maria watershed respectively. Both Namibia and Costa Rica provide interesting case studies given the differences in types of land degradation, national capacities, and land resources