Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study in NMOSD

Objective To develop a resource of systematically collected, longitudinal clinical data and biospecimens for assisting in the investigation into neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Methods To illustrate its research-enabling purpose, epidemiologic patterns and disease phenotypes were assessed among enrolled subjects, including age at disease onset, annualized relapse rate (ARR), and time between the first and second attacks. Results As of December 2017, the Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study (CIRCLES) had enrolled more than 1,000 participants, of whom 77.5% of the NMOSD cases and 71.7% of the controls continue in active follow-up. Consanguineous relatives of patients with NMOSD represented 43.6% of the control cohort. Of the 599 active cases with complete data, 84% were female, and 76% were anti-AQP4 seropositive. The majority were white/Caucasian (52.6%), whereas blacks/African Americans accounted for 23.5%, Hispanics/ Latinos 12.4%, and Asians accounted for 9.0%. The median age at disease onset was 38.4 years, with a median ARR of 0.5. Seropositive cases were older at disease onset, more likely to be black/African American or Hispanic/Latino, and more likely to be female. Conclusions Collectively, the CIRCLES experience to date demonstrates this study to be a useful and readily accessible resource to facilitate accelerating solutions for patients with NMOSD

The Iberian Massif of western Asturias and Lugo: a record of landscape forming processes during 107 time-scales.

El relieve transitorio del occidente Asturiano y Lugo, desarrollado sobre rocas del Macizo Ibérico, contiene información sobre los procesos pasados y recientes que condicionan la topográfica. Un análisis geomorfológico, basado en el uso de Sistemas de Información Geográfica, combinado con técnicas de termocronología de baja temperatura y de análisis de isótopos cosmogénicos, ha permitido identificar varios componentes del paisaje con edades y significados geodinámicos diferentes. Estos son: 1) paleosuperficies de bajo relieve con bajas tasas de denudación, interpretadas como relictos de un periodo entre los 100 y 45 Ma en que se desarrollaron relieves maduros; 2) pequeños ríos costeros que presentan tasas de denudación moderadas asociadas a una lenta elevación del terreno durante el Neógeno; 3) una ancha superficie de abrasión submarina, elevada lentamente (0.07-0.15 mm/a) sobre el nivel del mar desde hace 1.5 Ma. Las rocas de esta región registran tasas de exhumación más altas antes del Cretácico Superior, durante la extensión Mesozoica en el Atlántico y Golfo de Vizcaya. Las tasas de exhumación se redujeron durante el periodo de relativa estabilidad tectónica iniciado después de la ruptura continental en el Cretácico Inferior. El sistema de denudación ha permanecido poco eficiente durante la elevación topográfica iniciada en el Eoceno.Estos estudios han sido financiados a través de los proyectos BTE2002-00330, CGL2005-24204 y CGL2007-60230/BTE de los Ministerios de Educación y Ciencia y de Ciencia e Innovación. Se incluyen en el marco del proyecto “TOPO-Iberia”, Consolider-Ingenio 2010, CSD2006-00041.Peer Reviewe

Evaluation of the efficiency potential of intermediate band solar cells based on thin-film chalcopyrite materials

This paper discusses the potential of the intermediate band solar cell _IBSC_ concept to improve the efficiency of thin-film chalcopyrite solar cells. The results show that solar cells based on CuGaS2, with a radiative limiting efficiency of 46.7%, exhibit the highest potential. A simple method for the identification of transition elements that when incorporated in CuGaS2 could possibly introduce an intermediate band is also described. The IBSC concept is also applied under the assumptions that thin-film solar cells are not to be operated under concentrated light and that a non-negligible contribution of nonradiative recombination exists

ICELUS: Investigating strategy switching for throughput maximization to a mobile sink

Wireless sensor networks offer a pragmatic solution for monitoring in a variety of scenarios. For efficient and practical data gathering, especially in large-scale systems deployed in inaccessible areas, unmanned vehicles are becoming a compelling solution. The added infrastructure flexibility comes at the cost of limited contact time between the mobile entity and the stationary devices. The channel fading caused by mobility further decreases the data yield.We address this challenge by analysing the relevant classes of data transfer schemes and identifying adaptation conditions that enable the selection of the best fitting strategy. The result of this analysis, ICELUS, provides an integrated protocol that exploits the available communication resources. © 2016 IFIP

IRIS: Efficient Visualization, Data Analysis and Experiment Management for Wireless Sensor Networks

The design of ubiquitous computing environments is challenging, mainly due to the unforeseeable impact of real-world environments on the system performance. A crucial step to validate the behavior of these systems is to perform in-field experiments under various conditions. We introduce IRIS, an experiment management and data processing tool allowing the definition of arbitrary complex data analysis applications. While focusing on Wireless Sensor Networks, IRIS supports the seamless integration of heterogeneous data gathering technologies. The resulting flexibility and extensibility enable the definition of various services, from experiment management and performance evaluation to user-specific applications and visualization. IRIS demonstrated its effectiveness in three real-life use cases, offering a valuable support for in-field experimentation and development of customized applications for interfacing the end user with the system

Photoreflectance analysis of a GaInP/GaInAs/Ge multijunction solar cell

We have analyzed the photoreflectance spectra of a GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple junction solar cell. The spectra reveal signatures from the window layer and middle and top subcells included in the stack. Additional contributions from the multilayer buffer introduced between the mismatched bottom and middle cells have been detected. Franz–Keldysh oscillations (FKOs) dominate the spectra above the fundamental bandgaps of the GaInP and GaInAs absorbers. From the FKO analysis, we have estimated the dominant electric fields within each subcell. In light of these results, photoreflectance is proposed as a useful diagnostic tool for quality assessment of multijunction structures prior to completion of the device or at earlier stages during its processing

Aneurisma postraumático de la arteria temporal superficial: Un caso reportado

Reportamos un caso de Aneurisma Postraumático de la Arteria Temporal Superficial Derecha, el paciente presentó 4 semanas antes de aparecer la tumoración en la zona periauricular derecha, un fuerte traumatismo con un objeto duro en dicha zona, a los 8 meses es remitido a nuestra consulta de cirugía vascular por el maxilofacial, donde constatamos una tumoración de aproximadamente 4cm x 4cm, que a la palpación era dolorosa, latía, se expandía, tenía thril y a la auscultación un soplo olosistólico. Se le realiza una Ecografía Doppler Color, demostrándose la Arteria Temporal Superficial Derecha aneurismática. Se decide la operación, comprobándose el Aneurisma en el acto quirúrgico y posteriormente se confirma el diagnóstico de Aneurisma Verdadero por anatomía patológica.Palabras claves: Aneurisma postraumático, arteria temporal superficial.</p

A complementary neutron and anomalous x-ray diffraction study

Distinguishing the scattering contributions of isoelectronic atomic species by means of conventional x-ray- and/or electron diffraction techniques is a difficult task. Such a problem occurs when determining the crystal structure of compounds containing different types of atoms with equal number of electrons. We propose a new structural model of Cu(InxGa1−x)3Se5 which is valid for the entire compositional range of the CuIn3Se5–CuGa3Se5 solid solution. Our model is based on neutron and anomalous x-ray diffraction experiments. These complementary techniques allow the separation of scattering contributions of the isoelectronic species Cu+ and Ga3+, contributing nearly identically in monoenergetic x-ray diffraction experiments. We have found that CuIII3Se5 (III=In,Ga) in its room temperature near-equilibrium modification exhibits a modified stannite structure (space group I4¯2m). Different occupation factors of the species involved, Cu+, In3+, Ga3+, and vacancies have been found at three different cationic positions of the structure (Wyckoff sites 2a, 2b, and 4d) depending on the composition of the compound. Significantly, Cu+ does not occupy the 2b site for the In-free compound, but does for the In-containing case. Structural parameters, including lattice constants, tetragonal distortions, and occupation factors are given for samples covering the entire range of the CuIn3Se5–CuGa3Se5 solid solution. At the light of the result, the denotation of Cu-poor 1:3:5 compounds as chalcopyrite-related materials is only valid in reference to their composition

Seismic structure of the northern continental margin of Spain from ESCIN deep seismic profiles

By the end of the Carboniferous, the crust of the continental shelf in northwestern Spain was made up of deeply rooted structures related to the Variscan collision. From Permian to Triassic times the tectonic setting had changed to mainly extensional and the northern Iberian continental margin underwent rifting during Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous times, along with sea-floor spreading and the opening of the Bay of Biscay until the Late Cretaceous. Subsequently, the northern Iberian margin was active during the north-south convergence of Eurasia and Iberia in the Tertiary. A multichannel seismic experiment, consisting of two profiles, one north-south (ESCIN-4) crossing the platform margin offshore Asturias, and another (ESCIN-3) crossing the platform margin to the northwest of Galicia, was designed to study the structure of the northern Iberian margin. The ESCIN-4 stacked section reveals inverted structures in the upper crust within the Le Danois Basin. North of the steep continental slope, ESCIN-4 shows a thick sedimentary package from 6 to 9.5 s, two-way travel time (TWT). Within this latter package, a 40-km-long, north-tapering wedge of inclined, mainly south-dipping reflections is thought to represent a buried, Alpine-age accretionary prism. In the north western part of the ESCIN-3 (ESCIN-3-1) stacked section, horizontal reflections from 6.5 to 8.5 s correspond to an undisturbed package of sediments lying above oceanic-type basement. In this part of the line, a few kilometres long, strong horizontal reflection at 11.2 s within the basement may represent an oceanic Moho reflection. Also, a band of reflections dips gently towards the southeast, from the base of the gently dipping continental slope. The part of ESCIN-3 line that runs parallel to the NW-Galicia coast (ESCIN-3-2), is characterized by bright, continuous lower crustal reflections from 8 to 10 s. Beneath the lower crustal reflectivity, a band of strong reflections dips gently toward the southwest from 10 to 13.5 s. The part of ESCIN-3 that parallels the northern margin (ESCIN 3-3), shows good reflectivity in all levels. Upper crustal reflections image the sedimentary fill of probable Mesozoic to recent basins. Mid-crustal reflectivity is characterized by dipping reflections until 8 s that are probably related to compressional Variscan features. The lower crustal level shows 'layered' reflections between 8 and 12 s. Dipping reflections are found below the continental Moho.J. Alvarez-Marrón held a post-doc research grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of Spain. The ESCI-N program was sponsored by the Spanish agencies CICYT (project GEO 90-0660) and FICYT, and STRIDE Program of the EU.Peer Reviewe