Dual refractive index and viscosity sensing using polymeric nanofibers optical structures

Porous materials have demonstrated to be ideal candidates for the creation of optical sensors with very high sensitivities. This is due both to the possibility of infiltrating the target substances into them and to their notable surface-to-volume ratio that provides a larger biosensing area. Among porous structures, polymeric nanofibers (NFs) layers fabricated by electrospinning have emerged as a very promising alternative for the creation of low-cost and easy-to-produce high performance optical sensors, for example, based on Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometers. However, the sensing performance of these polymeric NFs sensors is limited by the low refractive index contrast between the NFs porous structure and the target medium when performing in-liquid sensing experiments, which determines a very low amplitude of the FP interference fringes appearing in the spectrum. This problem has been solved with the deposition of a thin metal layer (∼ 3 nm) over the NFs sensing layer. We have successfully used these metal-coated FP NFs sensors to perform several real-time and in-flow refractive index sensing experiments. From these sensing experiments, we have also determined that the sponge-like structure of the NFs layer suffers an expansion/compression process that is dependent of the viscosity of the analyzed sample, what thus gives the possibility to perform a simultaneous dual sensing of refractive index and viscosity of a fluid

"Capital Stock and Unemployment: Searching for the Missing Link"

The purpose of this paper is to examine the proposition that capital stock relative to aggregate output has been an important variable in the determination of the U.S. NAIRU (Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment) over the last four decades. We present new empirical evidence, obtained from the application of the cointegrated VAR methodology to U.S. time-series data, that lends strong support to the claim that the aggregate capital-output ratio, the real price of imports, and aggregate capacity utilization were determinants of the NAIRU in the period considered. The same evidence also shows that technical progress and changes in long-term unemployment did not affect the NAIRU. We believe this evidence suggests that, insofar as the aggregate capital-output ratio is affected by changes in real interest rates, the stance of monetary policy is one determinant of the NAIRU.

The miniJPAS survey : galaxy populations in the most massive cluster in miniJPAS: mJPC2470-1771

The Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) is a photometric survey that is poised to scan several thousands of square degrees of the sky. It will use 54 narrow-band filters, combining the benefits of low-resolution spectra and photometry. Its offshoot, miniJPAS, is a 1 deg2 survey that uses J-PAS filter system with the Pathfinder camera. In this work, we study mJPC2470-1771, the most massive cluster detected in miniJPAS. We survey the stellar population properties of the members, their star formation rates (SFR), star formation histories (SFH), the emission line galaxy (ELG) population, spatial distribution of these properties, and the ensuing effects of the environment. This work shows the power of J-PAS to study the role of environment in galaxy evolution. We used a spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting code to derive the stellar population properties of the galaxy members: stellar mass, extinction, metallicity, (u − r)res and (u − r)int colours, mass-weighted age, the SFH that is parametrised by a delayed-τ model (τ, t0), and SFRs. We used artificial neural networks for the identification of the ELG population via the detection of the Hα, [NII], Hβ, and [OIII] nebular emission. We used the Ew(Hα)-[NII] (WHAN) and [OIII]/Hα-[NII]/Hα (BPT) diagrams to separate them into individual star-forming galaxies and AGNs. We find that the fraction of red galaxies increases with the cluster-centric radius; and at 0.5R200 the red and blue fractions are both equal. The redder, more metallic, and more massive galaxies tend to be inside the central part of the cluster, whereas blue, less metallic, and less massive galaxies are mainly located outside of the inner 0.5R200. We selected 49 ELG, with 65.3% of them likely to be star-forming galaxies, dominated by blue galaxies, and 24% likely to have an AGN (Seyfert or LINER galaxies). The rest are difficult to classify and are most likely composite galaxies. These latter galaxies are red, and their abundance decreases with the cluster-centric radius; in contrast, the fraction of star-forming galaxies increases outwards up to R200. Our results are compatible with an scenario in which galaxy members were formed roughly at the same epoch, but blue galaxies have had more recent star formation episodes, and they are quenching out from within the cluster centre. The spatial distribution of red galaxies and their properties suggest that they were quenched prior to the cluster accretion or an earlier cluster accretion epoch. AGN feedback or mass might also stand as an obstacle in the quenching of these galaxies

PS/PMMA-CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots Hybrid Nanofibers for VOCs Sensors

Hybrid nanofibers containing CdSe/ZnS quantum dots have been produced by electrospinning of hybrid latexes to characterize the electro‐optical behavior of this novel luminescent sensing material. The latexes are synthesized by seeded semi‐batch emulsion polymerization yielding cross‐linked core‐shell PS/QDs/PMMA particles with efficiently encapsulated quantum dots guaranteeing a good optical stability. Addition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or polyethylene oxide (PEO) to the latexes is necessary to produce polymeric dispersions suitable for electrospinning manufacture of the nanometric fibers. The optimized polymeric dispersions are successfully electrospun obtaining fluorescent nanofibers in both cases. The hybrid nanofibers are sensitive to selected solvents (acetone, methanol and THF) and present positive response making them good candidates for the production of VOC sensors.Basque Government IT999-16 and ELKARTEK KK-2016/00030 and KK-2017/00089 and the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economía y competitividad Project CTQ2014-59016-P and TEC2015-63838-C3-3-R. Alicia de San Luis acknowledges de Spanish Government for the scholarliship (FPI-MICINN 2012). The sGIKER UPV/EHU is also aknowledged for the elctron microscopy facilities of the Gipuzkoa unit

Evaluation of 12 GWAS-drawn SNPs as biomarkers of rheumatoid arthritis response to TNF inhibitors. A potential SNP association with response to etanercept

Research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is increasingly focused on the discovery of biomarkers that could enable personalized treatments. The genetic biomarkers associated with the response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi) are among the most studied. They include 12 SNPs exhibiting promising results in the three largest genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, they still require further validation. With this aim, we assessed their association with response to TNFi in a replication study, and a meta-analysis summarizing all nonredundant data. The replication involved 755 patients with RA that were treated for the first time with a biologic drug, which was either infliximab (n = 397), etanercept (n = 155) or adalimumab (n = 203). Their DNA samples were successfully genotyped with a single-base extension multiplex method. Lamentably, none of the 12 SNPs was associated with response to the TNFi in the replication study (p > 0.05). However, a drug-stratified exploratory analysis revealed a significant association of the NUBPL rs2378945 SNP with a poor response to etanercept (B = -0.50, 95% CI = -0.82, -0.17, p = 0.003). In addition, the metaanalysis reinforced the previous association of three SNPs: rs2378945, rs12142623, and rs4651370. In contrast, five of the remaining SNPs were less associated than before, and the other four SNPs were no longer associated with the response to treatment. In summary, our results highlight the complexity of the pharmacogenetics of TNFi in RA showing that it could involve a drug-specific component and clarifying the status of the 12 GWAS-drawn SNPsThis work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII, Spain) through grants PI14/01651, PI17/01606 and RD16/0012/0014 to AG and PI12/01909 to JJG-R. These grants are partially financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the EU (FEDER

Rheumatoid arthritis response to treatment across IgG1 allotype - anti-TNF incompatibility: a case-only study.

INTRODUCTION: We have hypothesized that incompatibility between the G1m genotype of the patient and the G1m1 and G1m17 allotypes carried by infliximab (INX) and adalimumab (ADM) could decrease the efficacy of these anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) antibodies in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The G1m genotypes were analyzed in three collections of patients with RA totaling 1037 subjects. The first, used for discovery, comprised 215 Spanish patients. The second and third were successively used for replication. They included 429 British and Greek patients and 393 Spanish and British patients, respectively. Two outcomes were considered: change in the Disease Activity Score in 28 joint (ΔDAS28) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria. RESULTS: An association between less response to INX and incompatibility of the G1m1,17 allotype was found in the discovery collection at 6 months of treatment (P = 0.03). This association was confirmed in the replications (P = 0.02 and 0.08, respectively) leading to a global association (P = 0.001) that involved a mean difference in ΔDAS28 of 0.4 units between compatible and incompatible patients (2.3 ± 1.5 in compatible patients vs. 1.9 ± 1.5 in incompatible patients) and an increase in responders and decrease in non-responders according to the EULAR criteria (P = 0.03). A similar association was suggested for patients treated with ADM in the discovery collection, but it was not supported by replication. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that G1m1,17 allotypes are associated with response to INX and could aid improved therapeutic targeting in RA

Association between convalescent plasma treatment and mortality in COVID-19: a collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Funder: laura and john arnold foundationBACKGROUND: Convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under investigation in numerous randomized clinical trials, but results are publicly available only for a small number of trials. The objective of this study was to assess the benefits of convalescent plasma treatment compared to placebo or no treatment and all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19, using data from all available randomized clinical trials, including unpublished and ongoing trials (Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GEHFX ). METHODS: In this collaborative systematic review and meta-analysis, clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform), the Cochrane COVID-19 register, the LOVE database, and PubMed were searched until April 8, 2021. Investigators of trials registered by March 1, 2021, without published results were contacted via email. Eligible were ongoing, discontinued and completed randomized clinical trials that compared convalescent plasma with placebo or no treatment in COVID-19 patients, regardless of setting or treatment schedule. Aggregated mortality data were extracted from publications or provided by investigators of unpublished trials and combined using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman random effects model. We investigated the contribution of unpublished trials to the overall evidence. RESULTS: A total of 16,477 patients were included in 33 trials (20 unpublished with 3190 patients, 13 published with 13,287 patients). 32 trials enrolled only hospitalized patients (including 3 with only intensive care unit patients). Risk of bias was low for 29/33 trials. Of 8495 patients who received convalescent plasma, 1997 died (23%), and of 7982 control patients, 1952 died (24%). The combined risk ratio for all-cause mortality was 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.92; 1.02) with between-study heterogeneity not beyond chance (I2 = 0%). The RECOVERY trial had 69.8% and the unpublished evidence 25.3% of the weight in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Convalescent plasma treatment of patients with COVID-19 did not reduce all-cause mortality. These results provide strong evidence that convalescent plasma treatment for patients with COVID-19 should not be used outside of randomized trials. Evidence synthesis from collaborations among trial investigators can inform both evidence generation and evidence application in patient care