Point cloud optimization based on 3D geometric features for architectural heritage modelling

[EN] The present article shows a novel methodology to classify 3D point clouds related to architectural heritage elements based on dimensional features, and using open software. The 3D point cloud is the key element for the extraction of semantic and/or vector information, as well as the meshing step for architectural heritage modelling. A point cloud classification that optimizes the point cloud while preserving the relevant information will improve the subsequent operations. The present methodology is based on the extraction of the geometric properties of the 3D point clouds on the basis of the 3D covariance matrix. Among all the possible dimensional features, the omnivariance (Ω) is considered the most suitable for the variety of situations of the architectural heritage elements. For a study case of the Niculoso Pisano Portal of the Monastery of Santa Paula of Seville (Spain), three clusters are defined according to the different level of details. As a result, and in comparison, to a standard spatial sampling of 1 cm, the proposed clustering allowed a weight spatial sampling within the interval 20 – 1 cm, achieving an 85%-point reduction, keeping 3D points in the complex areas, whereas the low detail areas, like planes, were considerably reduced in size for the next steps of parametric modelling. The error of the optimized point cloud, by the comparison with the original point cloud has a mean value of 0.3 mm and a standard deviation of ± 4.6 mm.S

Prenatal Diagnosis of Fetal Nasal Glioma

A34-year-old primigravida with no significant medical history underwent a routine ultrasound at 21 weeks’ gestation. Fetal sonography revealed the presence of a solid mass, 14 mm 19 mm in size, arising from the region of the glabella (Figure 1B). No other abnormalities were detected. Fetal MRI was performed at 21 weeks (Figure 2A) to clearly define the lesion and rule out calvarial defects. The patient chose to continue with the pregnancy. A male fetus was uneventfully delivered at 39 weeks. The presence of a solid friable mass located in the left internal canthus was noticed (Figure 2B). The mass was resected with no complications at 2 weeks of age (Figure 2C), and pathological study confirmed the presence of neuroglial heterotopic tissue (nasal glioma). Although benign in nature, gliomas are cosmetically unfavorable, and early surgical intervention is the treatment of choice to minimize nasal distortion.1,2 Differential diagnosis includes encephalocele, teratoma, dermoid cyst, dacryocystocele, retinoblastoma, and hemangioma.2,3 Prenatal suspected diagnosis and assessment is of paramount relevanceS

Diagnosis of Acute Renal Colic by Imaging Tests: A Retrospective Observational Study

Introducción El cólico renal (CR) de etiología litiásica es una causa frecuente de asistencia al servicio de urgencias en nuestro medio. El diagnóstico suele basarse en la clínica del paciente, pero a veces es necesario realizar pruebas de imagen complementarias. La tomografía computarizada de abdomen y pelvis es la prueba gold standard para confirmar el CR por litiasis, pero expone al paciente a altas dosis de radiación. Por ello, es necesario implementar y analizar el rendimiento de otras pruebas de imagen como la ecografía abdominal (EA), que está adquiriendo cada vez un papel más importante en la práctica clínica. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el papel de la EA ante la sospecha de CR complicado por litiasis y el uso de otras pruebas de imagen en la práctica clínica real. Metodología Se trata de un estudio retrospectivo observacional de una cohorte de pacientes a los que se solicitó una EA por sospecha de CR complicado desde el servicio de urgencias de un hospital de tercer nivel. Se analizaron distintas variables relacionadas con la clínica del paciente, las pruebas realizadas y los hallazgos de imagen. Se realizaron análisis descriptivos y analíticos de las variables principales de interés: diagnóstico positivo, uso de protocolos de baja dosis de radiación, asociación entre la intensidad del dolor y otras variables relevantes. Resultados En este estudio analizamos un total de 80 pacientes. Se realizó radiografía a 64 de ellos (80 %). De las radiografías realizadas, el urgenciólogo evaluó el 90,6 % y diagnóstico litiasis en un 7,8 %, mientras que el radiólogo evaluó el 34,4 % y realizó el diagnóstico en un 18,8 %. La EA confirmó la existencia de litiasis en el 43,8 % de los pacientes. La tomografía computarizada (TC) se realizó de forma complementaria y diagnosticó litiasis en el 38,8 % de los pacientes, de los cuales un 90,3 % no tenían diagnóstico de litiasis previo. Al 48,3 % de éstos, se le aplicó protocolo de bajas dosis, encontrándose diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la dosis media de radiación recibida respecto a los casos en que no se aplicó dicho protocolo. No se encontró asociación significativa entre la intensidad del dolor del cuadro clínico ni haber tenido litiasis previas con el resultado ecográfico. Conclusión La EA es una prueba no invasiva que ofrece buenos resultados diagnósticos ante la sospecha de CR complicado. Aunque los protocolos de baja dosis de radiación en TC se emplean con cierta frecuencia ante la sospecha de CR complicado, es necesario implementar protocolos de actuación que garanticen el adecuado uso de esta prueba de imagen en la práctica clínica.Introduction Renal colic (RC) caused by lithiasis is a common reason for presentation to the emergency department. Its diagnosis is usually based on the patient’s clinical picture, but it is sometimes necessary to perform complementary imaging tests. Even though the patient is exposed to high radiation doses, computed tomography (CT) of abdomen and pelvis is the gold standard test to confirm RC by lithiasis. That is why it is necessary to implement and analyze the performance of other imaging tests such as abdominal ultrasound (AUS), which is increasingly becoming more important in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of AUS in diagnosing a suspected acute RC by lithiasis and the use of other imaging tests in clinical practice. Methods This is a retrospective observational study of a cohort of patients with suspected acute RC who underwent an AUS, as requested by the emergency department of a third-level hospital. Different variables related to the patient’s clinical picture, the performed imaging tests and their findings were analyzed. Moreover, both descriptive and analytical analysis of the main variables of interest were conducted: positive diagnosis, use of low radiation dose protocols, and association between pain intensity and other relevant variables. Results In this study, a total of 80 patients were analyzed. Of the 64 patients (80% out of the overall sample) who underwent an abdominal radiography (AR), the radiologist was able to detect lithiasis in 18.8% of patients (34.4%), whereas the emergency physician identified it in 7.8% of them (90.6%). The presence of lithiasis was confirmed by AUS in 43.8% of patients. CT was complementarily conducted, diagnosing lithiasis in 38.8% of patients, of whom 90.3% had not been previously diagnosed with lithiasis. A low radiation dose protocol was applied to 48.3% of the latter, and statistically significant differences were found between the mean radiation dose to which those patients were exposed and the one administered when such protocol was not applied. AUS results were neither significantly associated with the pain intensity of the patient’s clinical picture, nor with a previous diagnosis of lithiasis. Conclusion AUS is a non-invasive test that offers significant diagnostic results if acute RC is suspected. Low radiation dose protocols are employed in CT with certain frequency when the presence of acute RC is suspected. However, it is necessary to implement intervention protocols that guarantee the appropriate use of this imaging test in clinical practice

Dinosaur swim tracks from the Lower Cretaceous of La Rioja, Spain: An ichnological approach to non-common behaviours

The reconstruction of behavioural patterns performed by non-avian dinosaurs is an important task of palaeontology in order to globally understand how these animals interacted with their environment. Their relation with aquatic lifestyles has always been an intriguing question that has been extensively studied during the last decades, especially focused on some specific groups. The present work describes a new tracksite with 27 swimming tracks located in a fluvial setting from the Lower Cretaceous Urbion Group of La Rioja (Spain). They are preserved as natural casts with sizes between 8.5 and 29.2 cm and a predominant orientation. The tracks have been classified into 6 different morphotypes according to their morphology, and grouped into 5 different categories depending on the different pes-substrate interactions, following the proposal of Romilio et al. (2013). Some tracks were produced while the animal was moving in partial or complete buoyancy, and displacement was conducted by water and sediment impulsion, not just a mere paddling. Other tracks could be impressed in a bottom-walked, when the trackmaker touched the digit tips on the ground vertically or sub-vertically. This new tracksite confirms the capabilities of some groups of non-avian dinosaurs to interact with shallow water environments where they could print their pedes as they moved, either in complete buoyancy or during a displacement with some vertical component in the water column. It also contributes to the better understanding of swimming track morphologies as especially dependent on pes-sediment interaction and environment more than differences in pes configuration itself, causing the high variability of swimming footprints even when they belong to the same trackway. The classification of swimming tracks and footprints into categories dependent on the pes-substrate interaction could be a good guiding principle to avoid problematics about ichnotaxonomical definition.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEUniversidad de La RiojaConsejeria de Educacion y Cultura (Gobierno de La Rioja)Instituto de Estudios RiojanosMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y UniversidadesEuropean Regional Development FundUniversidad del País VascoMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovaciónpu

School victimization and psychosocial adjustment among Eastern European adopted adolescents across Europe

Background: Little is known about bullying experienced by internationally adopted teens residing in Europe. Objectives: Within the framework of an international research effort involving several European countries, the main goal of this study was to explore the experiences of bullying victimization suffered by adopted adolescents, as well as its impact on their psychological adjustment. Methods: The sample consisted of 199 adolescents born in Eastern European countries and adopted in France (n = 50), Italy (n = 59), Norway (n = 25) and Spain (n = 65). Results: More than half of the adopted adolescents had been exposed to some form of peer victimization in the previous 2 months, with verbal harassment and social exclusion being the most common forms of victimization. Differences between receiving countries were not statistically significant, suggesting a common pattern for Eastern European adopted adolescents living in Western Europe. More frequent experiences of peer victimization were associated with more psychological difficulties among the adopted adolescents. Conclusions: Findings highlight that adopted adolescents might have considerable difficulties in social integration with peers; these experiences of peer victimization might play an important role hindering their psychosocial adjustment. The socioemotional development of adopted people is not only linked to their pre-adoptive experiences; factors in their daily lives (i.e., peer relationships) may also be associated with their psychological adjustment later in life. Interventions are needed to promote the real inclusion of these groups of children in their social and educational contexts.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad PSI2015-67757-RMinisterio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad PID2020-115836RB-I00Unión Europea PSI2015-67757-RUnión Europea PID2020-115836RB-I0

Modelo prolab: Kusi Wasi, hotel y guardería para perros, propuesta sostenible para mejorar la calidad de vida de las mascotas en Lima

En Lima Metropolitana vemos que, la adquisición y adopción de mascotas en la Zona 7 de Lima Metropolitana de los segmentos A y B, quienes ven en sus mascotas un miembro de su familia, requiriendo cuidados especiales y asegurando su bienestar. En ese sentido, los negocios dedicados a brindar servicios y productos a mascotas se han multiplicado. Debido al estilo de vida de sus dueños, muchas veces las mascotas no tienen donde quedarse cuando estos se ausentan, pues no los pueden llevar consigo ni dejar en alguna casa o guardería. En dicho contexto, se ve la necesidad de proponer un proyecto de negocio que brinde dichos servicios de alojamiento y de guardería. Por ello, con la idea de negocio propuesta se ha buscado materializarla a través de diversas etapas. Primero, se ha desarrollado una estrategia hacia el cliente. Con herramientas como la construcción del perfil del cliente, encuestas e investigación, visibilizando la importancia de brindar un buen servicio al dueño de la mascota. Segundo, se ha desarrollado una estrategia de servicio, mediante una investigación de las ofertas actuales, la propuesta de valor del negocio dirigido a la sostenibilidad social y ambiental, así como las facilidades de pago, atención al cliente y distancia. Tercero, se ha desarrollado una estrategia comercial mediante un análisis de la viabilidad financiera para poder ver si es sostenible el plantear una rentabilidad de dicho negocio. En ese sentido, el presente trabajo presenta una investigación profunda de propuesta de negocio innovadora y factible, que busca no solo su éxito económico sino también cambiar la percepción de la sostenibilidad.In Metropolitan Lima, the acquisition and adoption of pets by the B and C socioeconomic sectors, who see their pet as a member of their family, which requires special care and must ensure their welfare, is growing. In this sense, businesses dedicated to providing services and products for pets have multiplied in the city. Due to the lifestyle of their owners, many times pets have nowhere to stay, since they cannot take them with them or leave them in a house or dog daycare center because the ones they are waiting for are far from their economic reach and distance. In this context, it is necessary to propose a business project that provides such dog boarding and daycare services to these sectors that are not absorbed by the current market. Therefore, the business idea has been sought to materialize through several stages. First, a customer-focused strategy has been developed. With tools such as the construction of a client profile, surveys and research, the importance of providing a good service to the pet owner, who, although he/she does not receive the services directly, is the one who qualifies and pays for them, has been made visible. Second, a service strategy has been developed, through an investigation of the current offers, the value proposition of the business aimed at social and environmental sustainability, as well as payment facilities, customer service and distance. Third, a commercial strategy has been developed through an analysis of the financial viability to be able to sustain whether it is sustainable to propose a profitability of such business. In this sense, this paper presents an in-depth research on an innovative business proposal that seeks not only its economic success and to meet a demand, but also to change the perception of sustainability within the pet business

Symbiotic skin bacteria as a source for sex-specific scents in frogs

Amphibians are known to possess a wide variety of compounds stored in their skin glands. While significant progress has been made in understanding the chemical diversity and biological relevance of alkaloids, amines, steroids, and peptides, most aspects of the odorous secretions are completely unknown. In this study, we examined sexual variations in the volatile profile from the skin of the tree frog Boana prasina and combined culture and culture-independent methods to investigate if microorganisms might be a source of these compounds. We found that sesquiterpenes, thioethers, and methoxypyrazines are major contributors to the observed sex differences. We also observed that each sex has a distinct profile of methoxypyrazines, and that the chemical origin of these compounds can be traced to a Pseudomonas sp. strain isolated from the frog´s skin. This symbiotic bacterium was present in almost all individuals examined from different sites and was maintained in captive conditions, supporting its significance as the source of methoxypyrazines in these frogs. Our results highlight the potential relevance of bacteria as a source of chemical signals in amphibians and contribute to increasing our understanding of the role that symbiotic associations have in animals.Fil: Brunetti, Andrés Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; Argentina. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Lucio Lyra, Mariana. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Melo, Weilan G. P.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Andrade, Laura Elena. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Palacios Rodríguez, Pablo. Universidad de los Andes; ColombiaFil: Prado, Bárbara M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Baptista Haddad, Célio Fernando. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Tallarico Pupo, Monica. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Peporine Lopes, Norberto. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

Simultaneous inhibition of pan-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases and MEK as a potential therapeutic strategy in peripheral T-cell lymphomas

Obtained from Haematologica/the Hematology Journal website http://www.haematologica.orgPeripheral T-cell lymphomas are very aggressive hematologic malignancies for which there is no targeted therapy. New, rational approaches are necessary to improve the very poor outcome in these patients. Phosphatidylinositol- 3-kinase is one of the most important pathways in cell survival and proliferation. We hypothesized that phosphatidylinositol- 3-kinase inhibitors could be rationally selected drugs for treating peripheral T-cell lymphomas. Several phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase isoforms were inhibited genetically (using small interfering RNA) and pharmacologically (with CAL-101 and GDC-0941 compounds) in a panel of six peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cell lines. Cell viability was measured by intracellular ATP content; apoptosis and cell cycle changes were checked by flow cytometry. Pharmacodynamic biomarkers were assessed by western blot. The PIK3CD gene, which encodes the δ isoform of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, was overexpressed in cell lines and primary samples, and correlated with survival pathways. However, neither genetic nor specific pharmacological inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase δ affected cell survival. In contrast, the pan-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor GDC-0941 arrested all T-cell lymphoma cell lines in the G1 phase and induced apoptosis in a subset of them. We identified phospho-GSK3b and phospho-p70S6K as potential biomarkers of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitors. Interestingly, an increase in ERK phosphorylation was observed in some GDC-0941-treated T-cell lymphoma cell lines, suggesting the presence of a combination of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase and MEK inhibitors. A highly synergistic effect was found between the two inhibitors, with the combination enhancing cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 in all T-cell lymphoma cell lines, and reducing cell viability in primary tumor T cells ex vivo. These results suggest that the combined treatment of pan-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase + MEK inhibitors could be more effective than single phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor treatment, and therefore, that this combination could be of therapeutic value for treating peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.This work was supported by grants from the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer, Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (PI051623, PI052800 and PI080856), RTICC (RD06/0020/0107) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF2008-0387-1). EMS is supported by a grant from the Department of Education, Universities and Research of the Basque Government (BFI08.207). MSB is supported by a Contract Miguel Servet from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (CP11/00018

Impact of Early Interferon-β Treatment on the Prognosis of Patients with COVID-19 in the First Wave: A Post Hoc Analysis from a Multicenter Cohort

Background: Interferon-p is an attractive drug for repurposing and use in the treatment of COVID-19, based on its in vitro antiviral activity and the encouraging results from clinical trials. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of early interferon-p treatment in patients admitted with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: This post hoc analysis of a COVID-19@Spain multicenter cohort included 3808 consecutive adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from 1 January to 17 March 2020. The primary endpoint was 30-day all-cause mortality, and the main exposure of interest was subcutaneous administration of interferon-beta, defined as early if started <= 3 days from admission. Multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify the associations of different variables with receiving early interferon-beta therapy and to assess its impact on 30-day mortality. A propensity score was calculated and used to both control for confounders and perform a matched cohort analysis. Results: Overall, 683 patients (17.9%) received early interferon-p therapy. These patients were more severely ill. Adjusted HR for mortality with early interferon-p was 1.03 (95% CI, 0.82-1.30) in the overall cohort, 0.96 (0.82-1.13) in the PS-matched subcohort, and 0.89 (0.60-1.32) when interferon-beta treatment was analyzed as a time-dependent variable. Conclusions: In this multicenter cohort of admitted COVID-19 patients, receiving early interferon-beta therapy after hospital admission did not show an association with lower mortality. Whether interferon-beta might be useful in the earlier stages of the disease or specific subgroups of patients requires further research

Few-layer antimonene electrical properties

Antimonene -a single layer of antimony atoms- and its few layer forms are among the latest additions to the 2D mono-elemental materials family. Numerous predictions and experimental evidence of its remarkable properties including (opto)electronic, energetic or biomedical, among others, together with its robustness under ambient conditions, have attracted the attention of the scientific community. However, experimental evidence of its electrical properties is still lacking. Here, we characterized the electronic properties of mechanically exfoliated flakes of few-layer (FL) antimonene of different thicknesses (∼ 2–40 nm) through photoemission electron microscopy, kelvin probe force microscopy and transport measurements, which allows us to estimate a sheet resistance of ∼ 1200 Ω sq−1 and a mobility of ∼ 150 cm2V−1s−1 in ambient conditions, independent of the flake thickness. Alternatively, our theoretical calculations indicate that topologically protected surface states (TPSS) should play a key role in the electronic properties of FL antimonene, which supports our experimental findings. We anticipate our work will trigger further experimental studies on TPSS in FL antimonene thanks to its simple structure and significant stability in ambient environmentsWe acknowledge financial support through the “Maríade Maeztu” Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2018-000805-M), the Spanish MINECO through projects PCI2018-093081, FIS2016-80434-P, PID2019-109539GB-C43, PID2019- 106268GB-C31 and -C32, MAT2016-77608-C3-1-P and -3-P, MAT2013-46753-C2-2-P and MAT2017-85089-C2-1R, the EU Graphene Flagship funding (Graphene Flagship Core3 881603 and JTC2017/2D-Sb&Ge), the EU via the ERC-Synergy Program (GrantERC-2013-SYG-610256 NANOCOSMOS), the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid through MAD2D-CM, S2018/NMT-4321 (NanomagCOST-CM) and the European StructuralFunds via FotoArt CM project (S2018/NMT-4367), and the Fundación Ramón Areces. S.P. acknowledges financial support by the VILLUM FONDEN via the Centre of Excellence for Dirac Materials (Grant No. 11744