Concatenación temporal de modelos espaciales y su aplicación al estudio de la meningitis en España

La cartografía de enfermedades infecciosas en periodos sucesivos plantea la necesidad de su extensión al caso dinámico. En este trabajo proponemos la concatenación temporal de modelos auto-regresivos espaciales para abordar el análisis de mortalidad por meningitis en España en el período 1950-1990 con datos agregados a nivel provincial. Para la estimación v selección del modelo usamos técnicas basadas en la función de verosimilitud

Identification of the best-performing novel microbial strains from naturally-aged graffiti for biocleaning research

[EN] Microorganisms that can act as biocleaning agents can potentially be isolated from existing graffiti. In this study, a total of 30 different isolates of bacteria, fungi and yeasts were obtained from black, blue, red and silver graffiti coatings exposed outdoors conditions for 10 years. An additional strain was obtained from samples of black powdered graffiti exposed under laboratory conditions for 5 years. Each of the isolates from the most prolific sources (i.e. red and silver graffiti coatings and black powdered graffiti) was evaluated alone and in combination with Tween? 20, to determine their potential as biocleaning agents, in test tube assays. Two strains isolated from the red graffiti coating (identified as Candida parapsilosis) and one strain isolated from the black powered graffiti (identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis) performed best alone. The quantity of live cells throughout the trials and biofilm formation indicated that both strains were able to utilize the paint as a substrate. When the microorganisms isolated were combined with Tween? 20, the quantity of live cells increased notably throughout the incubation time, and turbidity and graffiti discoloration were observed. Infrared spectroscopic examination revealed that R. erythropolis performed the best alone, while the addition of Tween? 20 to C. parapsilosis enhanced the oxidative degradation of the graffiti.J.S. Pozo-Antonio is grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) for a post-doctoral contract (Juan de la Cierva-Incorporacion, IJCI-2017-3277). P. Sanmartin is grateful for financial support from the Xunta de Galicia (grant ED431C 2018/32).Bosch-Roig, P.; Pozo-Antonio, J.; Sanmartín, P. (2021). Identification of the best-performing novel microbial strains from naturally-aged graffiti for biocleaning research. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation. 159:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2021.105206S1715

Low work-function coating for an entirely propellantless bare electrodynamic tether

We present the possibility of a low work-function material, calcium aluminate electride, being used for a coating on a bare electrodynamic tether system. Analyses suggest that the coating would eliminate the need for an active cathodic device like a hollow cathode and, consequently, eliminate the need for an expellant to the hollow cathode, thus resulting in an electrodynamic tether system that requires no consumables. Applications include on-orbit power generation and deorbiting debris from low Earth orbit in a simple and trouble-free manner

Influencia del tratamiento químico con cloroformo/metanol en el comportamiento elástico del pericardio de ternera utilizado en la construcción de bioprótesis cardiacas

Se estudia el comportamiento mecánico del pericardio de ternera utilizado en la construcción de bioprótesis cardiacas cuando se trata químicamente cloroformo/metanol (CM) comparándolo con tratamiento estándar con glutaraldehído.(G). Se ensayan a tracción hasta rotura 40 probetas, veinte con cada tratamiento y de estas el 50% suturadas en su parte central con seda 4/0.La perdida de resistencia media a la rotura de las probetas suturadas fue de alrededor de 6 MPa sin encontrar diferencias entre el tipo de tratamiento utilizado. No obstante en el análisis de las curvas promedio estrés/deformación para valores de estrés a tracción inferiores a 2.5 MPa, apenas encontramos diferencias entre las series suturadas y no suturadas tratadas con cloroformo/metanol anulando parcialmente el efecto deletéreo de la sutura en ese rango de estrés que incluye el estrés estimado de trabajo, de 0.25MPa.El tratamiento con cloroformo/metanol podría, además de retrasar los procesos de calcificación del pericardio, mejorar el comportamiento elástico de las probetas suturadas disminuyendo la interacción con la sutura. Ensayos de fatiga real con este tratamiento químico deberán ser realizados para verificar esta hipótesis.Peer Reviewe

Three-Body Dynamics and Self-Powering of an Electrodynamic Tether in a Plasmasphere

The dynamics of an electrodynamic tether in a three-body gravitational environment are investigated. In the classical two-body scenario the extraction of power is at the expense of orbital kinetic energy. As a result of power extraction, an electrodynamic tether satellite system loses altitude and deorbits. This concept has been proposed and well investigated in the past, for example for orbital debris mitigation and spent stages reentry. On the other hand, in the three-body scenario an electrodynamic tether can be placed in an equilibrium position fixed with respect to the two primary bodies without deorbiting, and at the same time generate power for onboard use. The appearance of new equilibrium positions in the perturbed three-body problem allow this to happen as the electrical power is extracted at the expenses of the plasma corotating with the primary body. Fundamental differences between the classical twobody dynamics and the new phenomena appearing in the circular restricted three-body problem perturbed by the electrodynamic force of the electrodynamic tether are shown in the paper. An interesting application of an electrodynamic tether placed in the Jupiter plasma torus is then considered, in which the electrodynamic tether generates useful electrical power of about 1 kW with a 20-km-long electrodynamic tether from the environmental plasma without losing orbital energy

Integrating phylogenomics, phylogenetics, morphometrics, relative genome size and ecological niche modelling disentangles the diversification of Eurasian Euphorbia seguieriana s. l. (Euphorbiaceae)

Next generation sequencing has revolutionised biology. Restriction-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) has primarily been used to study infraspecific relationships but has also been applied in multi-species phylogenomic analyses. In this study, we used a combination of phylogenomic (with RADseq data) and phylogenetic (with sequences of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer, ITS) methods to explore relationships within the taxonomically intricate Euphorbia seguieriana s. l., one of the most widespread Euphorbia taxa inhabiting zonal and extrazonal steppes from Iberia to Central Asia. In the inferred phylogenies the southeastern Balkan and Anatolian populations were clearly separated, supporting the distinction of E. niciciana from E. seguieriana at the species level. Within E. seguieriana, the populations from the Caucasus, Iran, and easternmost Anatolia were sister to all other populations based on RADseq, making necessary the description of a new, morphologically divergent subspecies, E. seguieriana subsp. armeniaca. Conversely, additional studies are needed to understand the status of E. seguieriana subsp. hohenackeri, which is sympatric with E. seguieriana subsp. armeniaca. Niche analyses indicated that differences in the climatic niche between E. niciciana and E. seguieriana are relatively small compared with the climatic differences between the regions over which they are distributed. Contrary to previous believes, E. niciciana and E. seguieriana are allopatric and have likely diverged during the Pleistocene in two different glacial refugia as suggested by distribution modelling. Euphorbia niciciana nowadays has a submediterranean distribution, occupying habitats that are slightly warmer, moister, and less seasonal in temperature but more seasonal in precipitation than E. seguieriana, a characteristic species of continental steppes. Using flow cytometry, we demonstrate that the relative genome sizes of E. niciciana and E. seguieriana differ significantly. Additionally, multivariate morphometric analyses of 56 morphological characters indicated clear morphological divergence of the two species. Importantly, we also provide a revised taxonomic treatment including formal nomenclatural changes, an identification key and species descriptions. Our study demonstrates that an integrative approach, combining modern phylogenomic methods with traditional phylogenetic, cytogenetic, environmental and morphological analyses can result in satisfactorily resolved relationships in intricate groups of closely related species. Finally, phylogenetic inference using ITS sequences is still a useful tool for resolving relationships among the taxa at the species level, but the phylogenomic approach based on RADseq data certainly provides better resolution both among and within species.Austrian Science Fund Tiroler Wissenschaftsfond

Resistencia mecánica del pericardio de ternera utilizado en la construcción de bioprótesis cardíacas tratadas con dodecil sulfato sódico

Para mitigar la calcificación de las bioprótesis cardiacas fabricadas con pericardio de ternera o válvulas porcinas se aplican tratamientos químicos posteriores al entrecruzamiento con glutaraldehído. Uno de los tratamientos ensayados ha sido el surfactante dodecil sulfato sódico(DSS). Este detergente inhibe, en modelos experimentales,en pequeños animales, la calcificación del pericardio de ternera utilizado en la construcción de bioprótesis cardiacas. Estudiamos el comportamiento mecánico del pericardio tratado, con este detergente, comparándolo con un tratamiento control con glutaraldehído (GA) 0.625% durante 24 horas. Se ensayaron al esfuerzo de tracción muestras pareadas, es decir, cortadas de forma contigua y en la misma dirección del corte, tratadas respectivamente con glutaraldehído (grupo de control) y con dodecil sulfato sódico (DSS). El tejido tratado con DSS fue a su vez incubado con dos tiempos diferentes 2 o 24 horas respectivamente y posteriormente tratados con glutaraldehído (GA). En las muestras tratadas dos horas con DSS,se observó un estrés de rotura similar al de las parejas que recibieron el tratamiento de control.Los valores estuvieron comprendidos entre 8.42 y 15.81 MPa. Las muestras tratadas con DSS, 24 horas perdieron su resistencia mecánica. El estrés de rotura medio osciló entre 1.77 y 1.95 MPa, existiendo diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p<0.001), cuando se las comparaba con el grupo control tratado con GA. Por otra parte cuando se analizó la elasticidad, las series tratadas con DSS y dos horas de incubación presentaron en la región elástica, módulos de elasticidad menores, cuando se comparan con valores similares de las series de control, dejando patente la mayor elasticidad del biomaterial tratado con DSS. Desde el punto de vista de investigación aplicada la buena correlación obtenida, cuando se comparan mediante mínimos cuadrados las muestras pareadas, permite predecir el comportamiento mecánico de una muestra, conocido el comportamiento de la muestra adyacente o pareja.Peer Reviewe

HISTORIA CLÍNICA INFORMATIZADA DE ENFERMERÍA EN EL DEPARTAMENTO DE TORREVIEJA SALUD COMO INSTRUMENTO DE GESTIÓN DE CALIDAD

In the information society of the 21st century, it is a fact that the Electronic Clinical History (ECH) is not developed in every country. In Torrevieja Salud Health Department, Alicante (Spain), they work with a unique ECH that includes all divisions, including the nursing ones and an advanced operability level in regards to data management.    Objectives: 1.- To develop all the information sources to facilitate the communication at all levels of care, so any professional in the community or at the hospital can retrieve information about the patient. 2.- To gather the nursing staff and computer technicians knowledge by working together. Methodology: In order to improve the nursing records, they have used a computer program named “FLORENCE”, which is a model of a unique clinical history for the Health Department of Torrevieja. Florence is divided in two environments: Florence Gestión (accountant,-financial, and HH RR scopes) and FLORENCE (clinical assitance scope). This program comes as the result of the teamwork from IT and nursing staff who are knowledgeable of the concerns of the professionals. A product with double value because it combines the nursing methodology and state-of-art technological advances. Conclusions:  Nursing records are valued as an effective instrument to empower the continuation of nursing care and coordinate that care at the best quality, as they are registered in a unique and single program. On the other hand, it ensures constant availability of all the information of the health-disease episodes of a patient, and most importantly, the information is kept confidential.  En la sociedad de la información del siglo XXI, la historia clínica electrónica (HCE) es un hecho que no está por igual desarrollado en todos los países. En el Departamento de Salud de Torrevieja, Alicante, se trabaja con un modelo de HCE único que engloba a todas las áreas incluida  enfermería y en un nivel avanzado de operabilidad en cuanto a manejo de datos.   Objetivos: 1.- Desarrollo de los sistemas de información con el fin de facilitar la comunicación e intercambio de datos entre los distintos profesionales de atención especializada y primaria que componen el Departamento de Salud. 2.- Aunar y optimizar los conocimientos propios  de los profesionales enfermeros e informáticos, a través del trabajo en conjunto.   Metodología: Para llevar a cabo esta mejora en los registros  de enfermería se ha utilizado la aplicación informática, “Florence”, modelo de Historia Clinica Electrónica única y global para el Departamento de Salud de Torrevieja que consta de dos entornos: Florence Gestión (área financiera- contable y  área de recursos humanos) y Florence clínico (área clínico-asistencial).   A través del trabajo en equipo de Informáticos y profesionales de enfermería que conocen el sistema e inquietudes de los profesionales se obtiene un producto doblemente valorado en cuanto a metodología enfermera y suma de los últimos conocimientos tecnológicos. Conclusiones:  Los registros de enfermería se consideran un instrumento efectivo para reflejar toda la información necesaria para poder coordinar y proporcionar unos cuidados de enfermería de máxima calidad al estar almacenados de forma integral. Por otro lado se asegura la disponibilidad de toda la información de los procesos salud-enfermedad de un individuo, asegurando la confidencialidad.

Plasma kinetics issues in an ESA study for a plasma laboratory in space

A study supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), in the context of its General Studies Programme, performed an investigation of the possible use of space for studies in pure and applied plasma physics, in areas not traditionally covered by ‘space plasma physics’. A set of experiments have been identified that can potentially provide access to new phenomena and to allow advances in several fields of plasma science. These experiments concern phenomena on a spatial scale (101–104 m) intermediate between what is achievable on the ground and the usual solar system plasma observations. Detailed feasibility studies have been performed for three experiments: active magnetic experiments, largescale discharges and long tether–plasma interactions. The perspectives opened by these experiments are discussed for magnetic reconnection, instabilities, MHD turbulence, atomic excited states kinetics, weakly ionized plasmas,plasma diagnostics, artificial auroras and atmospheric studies. The discussion is also supported by results of numerical simulations and estimates

Adrenomedullin as a potential biomarker involved in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Background: Adrenomedullin (AM) is a vasoactive peptide mostly secreted by endothelial cells with an important role in preserving endothelial integrity. The relationship between AM and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is unknown. We aimed to compare the serum levels and tissue expression of AM between HHT patients and controls. Methods: Serum AM levels were measured by radioimmunoassay and compared between control and HHT groups. AM levels were also compared among HHT subgroups according to clinical characteristics. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4910118 was assessed by restriction analysis and sequencing. AM immunohistochemistry was performed on biopsies of cutaneous telangiectasia from eight HHT patients and on the healthy skin from five patients in the control group. Results: Forty-five HHT patients and 50 healthy controls were included, mean age (SD) was 50.7 (14.9) years and 46.4 (9.9) years (p = 0.102), respectively. HHT patients were mostly female (60% vs 38%, p = 0.032). Median [Q1-Q3] serum AM levels were 68.3 [58.1-80.6] pg/mL in the HHT group and 47.7 [43.2-53.8] pg/mL in controls (p<0.001), with an optimal AM cut-off according to Youden's J statistic of 55.32 pg/mL (J:0.729). Serum AM levels were similar in the HHT subgroups. No patient with HHT had the SNP rs4910118. AM immunoreactivity was found with high intensity in the abnormal blood vessels of HHT biopsies