Recipient age as a determinant factor of patient and graft survival

Producción CientíficaBackground. Age of renal transplants has been related to death, alloimmune response and graft outcome. We reviewed the influence of patient age on transplant outcome in three cohorts of patients transplanted in Spain during the 1990s. Methods. Patient age was categorized into four groups (I, 18–40; II, 41–50; III, 51–60; and IV, > 60 years). Risks factors for acute rejection were evaluated by logistic regression adjusting for transplant centre and transplantation year, while a Cox proportional hazard model was employed for analysing patient and graft survival. Results. Older patients had a higher death rate (I, 3.5%; II, 7.7%; III, 13.2%; and IV, 16.9%; P<0.001), but a lower standardized mortality index (I, 7.6; II, 7.0; III, 5.8; and IV, 4.1; P = 0.0019). Older patients had the lowest risk of acute rejection [odds ratio (OR) 0.79 and 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66–0.97 for group II; OR 0.75 and 95% CI 0.62–0.91 for group III; OR 0.43 and 95% CI 0.33–0.56 for group IV). Death-censored graft survival was poorer in patients older than 60 years (relative risk 1.40; 95% CI 1.09–1.80), but this result was not explained by any combination of patient age with donor age, delayed graft function or immunosuppression. Conclusions. Patient age is a main determinant of transplant outcome. Although death rate is higher for older patients, standardized mortality was not. Thus, the efforts to reduce mortality should be also implemented in younger patients. Old patients have a low risk of acute rejection but a poorer death-censored graft survival. This last result was not explained by any controlled variable in our study

Can performance indicators and skydiving experience prognosticate competitive state anxiety in elite paratroopers?

Competition has characteristics that position sport as a fruitful field for the study of human affective processes of interest for psychology, such as anxiety, especially in disciplines such as military parachuting due to its uniqueness. This study aimed to analyse the validity of the Spanish version of the CSAI-2R inventory through a reliable model and to determine the interrelation, both among themselves and with anxiety, of certain specific technical variables related to sports performance in parachuting. The questionnaire was supplied to 42 jumpers in the Spanish National Military Championship. The results indicate that a reliable model has been established, but it is necessary to realise a multivariate relationship between components of competitive anxiety and specific variables of military skydiver's sporting experience in competition. It would be appropriate to reflect on what other psychological and technical variables may influence the sporting performance achieved, because it is a modality that has very particular conditions compared to the rest, not only because of the space, environment and form where and how the activity itself is carried out but also because of the context in which it is framed, as a result of the peculiarities that define the group to which the competitors belong

Analysis of the acute inflammatory response produced during the game of padel

There is a multitude of scientific evidence that shows that the practice of physical activity is very beneficial for health. One of its benefits is the maintenance of the immune system. Currently one of the most popular sports in Spain is padel. However, despite the significant increase in people who practice it, there is no scientific evidence to describe the effects produced by padel on the body. The objective of this study was to investigate the acute inflammatory response of a padel match. A total of 29 professional players, 15 men (28.2 ± 7.9 years) and 14 women (29.7 ± 3.7 years), participated voluntarily in the study. Different pro-inflammatory (TNFα and IL-8) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and IL-13) were analyzed before and after a match. The results showed a decrease in IL-8 (p <0.03) and increases in IL-13 (p <0.05) in both sexes and IL-10 in men. The results obtained suggest that the practice of high-level padel induces a moderate pro-inflammatory response. The sport of padel could be considered as a sport beneficial to health

Behavioral traits predicting cocaine-conditioned place reference in mice: role of anxiety adn the basolateral amygdala

Aims. The individual susceptibility to cocaine addiction, a factor of interest in the understanding and prevention of this disorder, may be predicted by certain behavioral traits. However, these are not usually taken into account in research, making it difficult to identify whether they are a cause or a consequence of drug use. Methods. Male C57BL/6J mice underwent a battery of behavioral tests (elevated plus maze, hole-board, novelty preference in the Y maze, episodic-like object recognition memory and forced swimming test), followed by a cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) training to assess the reinforcing effect of the drug. In a second study, we aimed to determine the existence of neurobiological differences between the mice expressing high or low CPP by studying the number of neurons in certain addiction-related structures: the medial prefrontal cortex, the basolateral amygdala and the ventral tegmental area. Results. Anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze successfully predicted the cocaine-CPP behavior, so that the most anxious mice were also more likely to search for cocaine in a CPP paradigm. In addition, these mice exhibited an increased number of neurons in the basolateral amygdala, a key structure in emotional response including anxiety expression, without differences in the others regions analyzed. Conclusions. Our results suggest a relevant role of anxiety as a psychological risk factor for cocaine vulnerability, with the basolateral amygdala as potential common neural center for both anxiety and addiction.Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PSI2013-44901-P, FPU13/04819, CD12/00455, Red de Trastornos Adictivo

High Efficiency Power Amplifier Based on Envelope Elimination and Restoration Technique

Due to complex envelope and phase modulation employed in modern transmitters it is necessary to use power amplifiers that have high linearity. Linear power amplifiers (classes A, B and AB) are commonly used, but they suffer from low efficiency especially if the transmitted signal has high peak to average power ratio (PAPR). Kahn's technique based on envelope elimination and restoration (EER) is based on idea that high efficiency power supply (envelope amplifier) could be used to modulate the envelope of high efficient non linear power amplifiers (classes D or E). This paper presents solutions for power amplifier that performs envelope modulation and class E amplifier that is used as a non linear amplifier. The envelope amplifier is implemented as a multilevel converter in series with linear regulator and can provide up to 100 W of instantaneous power and reproduce 2 MHz sine wave. The implemented Class E amplifier can operate at 120 MHz with efficiency near to 85%. The envelope amplifier and class E amplifier have been integrated and efficiency and linearity of the implemented transmitter has been measured and presente

Physical fitness and upper limb asymmetry in young padel players: differences between genders and categories

This study aimed to assess the physical fitness and upper body asymmetries of young padel players aged between 13 and 16 years and to determine the possible differences between genders and categories. A total of 60 padel players were divided into four groups: under-14 male (n = 15; age: 13.75 ± 0.45 years; height: 1.64 ± 0.07 m; weight: 54.7 ± 8.3 kg), under-14 female (n = 15; age: 13.75 ± 0.44 years; height: 1.60 ± 0.05 m; weight: 51.5 ± 6.0 kg), under-16 male (n = 15; age: 15.44 ± 0.51 years; height:1.71 ± 0.04 m; weight: 63.88 ± 6.2 kg) and under-16 female (n = 15; age:15.46 ± 0.52 years; height:1.63 ± 0.05 m; weight: 55.08 ± 3.6 kg). Handgrip strength, ischiosural flexibility, gestural speed of the dominant arm, vertical jump, cardiorespiratory capacity, lateral movement, lateral acceleration and reaction time were measured. Male players showed better results in manual grip strength, vertical jump power, cardiorespiratory capacity and lateral movement (p < 0.05). Moreover, males presented a higher percentage of asymmetry in upper limb strength. Female players showed better reaction time and greater flexibility (p < 0.05). Regarding the differences between categories, the under-16 players showed greater flexibility, gestural speed, vertical jump power, cardiorespiratory capacity and lateral movement compared to the under-14 players. These results can be used as reference values for coaches/physical trainers of younger categories to improve health control and physical performance planning

Effect of climatic factors on the diversity and abundance of Scolytinae and Platypodinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in a pine-oak forest

Objective: The aim of this work &nbsp;was to evaluate the diversity and abundance of bark beetles and ambrosial beetles and their relationship with temperature and relative humidity. Design/methodology/approach: The study was carried out in a pine-oak forest of the northeastern Sierra of the state of Puebla, where a monitoring system was established using Lindgren traps baited with frontalin, brevicomine, alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. Results: The presence of 23 species of bark beetles and ambrosial beetles was recorded. Gnathotrichus sulcatus (LeConte) and Pseudips mexicanus (Hopkins) were the most abundant species and their presence was significantly associated with places having &nbsp;high relative humidity. Limitations on study/implications: The results obtained are limited to the studied ecosystem.&nbsp; Findings/conclusions: It was concluded that the abundance of the species observed was closely related with climatic factors.Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the diversity and abundance of bark beetles and ambrosial beetles and their relationship with temperature and relative humidity. Design/methodology/approach: The study was carried out in a pine-oak forest of the northeastern Sierra of the state of Puebla, where a monitoring system was established using Lindgren traps baited with frontalin, brevicomine, alpha-pinene and beta-pinene. Results: The presence of 23 species of bark beetles and ambrosial beetles was recorded. Gnathotrichus sulcatus (LeConte) and Pseudips mexicanus (Hopkins) were the most abundant species and their presence was significantly associated with places having high relative humidity. Limitations on study/implications: The results obtained are limited to the studied ecosystem.  Findings/conclusions: It was concluded that the abundance of the species observed was closely related with climatic factors. Resultados: Se registró la presencia de 23 especies de escarabajos descor

De los paquetes didácticos hacia un repositorio de objetos de aprendizaje: un reto educativo en matemáticas. Uso de las gráficas, un ejemplo

This work points out the main aspects from the design of Mathematics Didactic Package (MDP). Due to their didactic well designed aspects, they can be turn into Learning Objects Repositories, which could be accessed by any interested learner. A main emphasis is made on the reusability of their learning tasks. That is to say, the MDP can be used as a starting point in the creation of a didactic flexible design to build up learning sequences such as learning networks with more complex learning objectives. Finally, it is important to mention that the MDP integrate the products of the research in Mathematics Education field and the use of the ICT.En este estudio se muestran los principales aspectos del diseño de los Paquetes Didácticos de Matemáticas (PDM). Gracias a su diseño, los PDM pueden transformarse en repositorios de objetos de aprendizaje de acceso libre para cualquier discente interesado. En su descripción se pone énfasis en la reutilización de las actividades de aprendizaje y en la concepción de un diseño didáctico robusto y flexible que permita recorrer diversas trayectorias de aprendizaje, mediante redes de actividades que contribuyan a lograr objetivos educativos complejos. Los PDM integran los conocimientos de la investigación en Matemática Educativa con la innovación de las TI C

The design of a multilevel envelope tracking amplifier based on a multiphase buck converter

Envelope Tracking (ET) and Envelope Elimination and Restoration (EER) are techniques that have gained in importance in the last decade in order to obtain highly efficient Radio Frequency Power Amplifier (RFPA) that transmits signals with high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR). In this work a multilevel multiphase buck converter is presented as a solution for the envelope amplifier used in ET and EER. The presented multiphase buck converter generates multilevel voltage using “node” duty cycles and non-linear control. In this way the multilevel is implemented using only one simple power stage. However, the complexity of the multilevel converter implementation has been shifted from complicated power topologies to complicated digital control. Detailed discussion regarding the influence of the design parameters (switching frequency, output filter, time resolution of the digital control) on the performance of the proposed envelope amplifier is presented. The design of the output filter is conducted fulfilling the constraints of the envelope slew rate and minimum driver pulse that can be reproduced. In the cases when these two constraints cannot be fulfilled, they may be relieved by the modified control that is presented and experimentally validated. Finally, in order to validate the concept, a prototype has been designed and integrated with a nonlinear class F amplifier. Efficiency measurements showed that by employing EER it is possible to save up to 15% of power losses, comparing to the case when it is supplied by a constant voltage. Additionally, Adjacent Channel Power Ratio (ACPR) has been measured. The obtained results showed the value higher than 30dB for signals up to 5 MHz of bandwidth, without using predistortion technique

Dataset of occurrence and incidence of pine processionary moth in Andalusia, south Spain

This dataset provides information about infestation caused by the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)) in pure or mixed pine woodlands and plantations in Andalusia. It represents a long-term series (1993–2015) containing 81,908 records that describe the occurrence and incidence of this species. Data were collected within a monitoring programme known as COPLAS, developed by the Regional Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning of the Andalusian Regional Government within the frame of the Plan de Lucha Integrada contra la Procesionaria del Pino (Plan for Integrated Control Against the Pine Processionary Moth). In particular, this dataset includes 4,386 monitoring stands which, together with the campaign year, define the dataset events in Darwin Core Archive. Events are related with occurrence data which show if the species is present or absent. In turn, the event data have a measurement associated: degree of infestation.This work has been carried out under the conceptual framework and cooperative spirit of the Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory and it was supported by the H2020 project “ECOPOTENTIAL: Improving future ecosystem benefits through earth observations” (http://www.ecopotential-project.eu/), which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 641762. Thanks are due to the projects that fund the research with the following contracts: A. J. Pérez-Luque has a contract within the project LIFE-ADAPTAMED (LIFE14 CCA/ES/000612): “Protection of key ecosystem services by adaptive management of Climate Change endangered Mediterranean socioecosystems” and A. Ros Candeira has a contract within the National Youth Guarantee System and the operational programme “Youth Employment” financed by the European Social Fund