Protocol for assessing the effectiveness of protective coatings for roofing slate

España es líder mundial en producción de pizarras de techar; la producción supera las 600.000 toneladas de pizarra de gran calidad, suponiendo más de 300 millones de euros. La aplicación de la pizarra con productos protectores permite comercializar placas más oxidables reduciendo escombreras y problemas ambientales. El presente protocolo sirve para evaluar estos nuevos productos protectores que empiezan a utilizarse en el sector pizarrero. Se propone una combinación de tres ensayos tecnológicos junto con un cuestionario visual para otorgar índices de calidad. Cada ensayo está orientado para clarificar una propiedad importante en el uso de la pizarra de techar: (i) Ciclo térmico para determinar el grado de oxidación de los sulfuros de hierro; (ii) Exposición al gas SO2 para conocer su comportamiento en ambientes urbanos ácidos; (iii) Exposición a la niebla salina y rayos UV para evaluar la eficacia de la capa protectora frente a la corrosión salina y la radiación solaroduction, quarriying more than 600,000 tons of slate of great quality and generating around 300 euros million in sales each year. However, an enormous quantity of slate plates is considered as a low quality product or discarded every year as waste. The application of protective products on roofing slate tiles helps to commercialise slate with higher oxidation rates, reducing wastes and environmental problems. The present protocol serves to evaluate the new protective products that are now used by slate producers. A combination of three technological tests is proposed here, along with a visual questionnaire to grant quality indices. Each test is oriented to clarify critical properties for the future use of the roofing slate, as follows: (i) Thermal cycles were used to determine the oxidation rate of iron sulphides; (ii) Slate behaviour in acid urban atmospheres was interpreted by exposition of slate tiles to SO2 gas; (iii) Effectiveness of the protective layer under saline corrosion and solar radiation was obtained by exposition to saline fog and UV-irradiationFinancial support was provided by the project “Development of a new methodology to protect the roofing slate from oxidation” sponsored by Dirección Xeral de I+D de la Consellería de Industria de la Xunta de Galicia. Thanks are also due to projects S-0505/MAT/000094 of author J.G.Guinea and CGL2004-03564/BTES

Traversed Graph Representation for Sparse Encoding of Macro-Reentrant Tachycardia

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.Macro-reentrant atrial and ventricular tachycardias originate from additional circuits in which the activation of the cardiac chambers follows a high-frequency rotating pattern. The macro-reentrant circuit can be interrupted by targeted radiofrequency energy delivery with a linear lesion transecting the pathway. The choice of the optimal ablation site is determined by the operator’s experience, thus limiting the procedure success, increasing its duration and also unnecessarily extending the ablated tissue area in the case of incorrect ablation target estimation. In this paper, an algorithm for automatic intraoperative detection of the tachycardia reentry path is proposed by modelling the propagation as a graph traverse problem. Moreover, the optimal ablation point where the path should be transected is computed. Finally, the proposed method is applied to sparse electroanatomical data to demonstrate its use when undersampled mapping occurs. Thirteen electroanatomical maps of right ventricle and right and left atrium tachycardias from patients treated for congenital heart disease were analysed retrospectively in this study, with prediction accuracy tested against the recorded ablation sites and arrhythmia termination points

Human adult bone marrow-derived stem cells decrease severity of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome in sheep

Introduction. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most common cause of respiratory failure among critically ill subjects, sepsis and severe bacterial pneumonia being its most common causes. The only interventions that have proven beneficial are protective ventilation strategies and fluid conservation approaches. New therapies are needed to address this common clinical problem. Others and we have previously shown the beneficial effect of infusion of exogenous adult stem cells in different pre-clinical models of ARDS. Methods. In the present study endotoxin was infused intravenously into 14 sheep from which 6 received different doses of adult stem cells by intrabronchial delivery to evaluate the effect of stem cell therapy. Results: After administration of endotoxin, there was a rapid decline in oxygenation to hypoxemic values, indicative of severe-to-moderate ARDS. None of the animals treated with saline solution recovered to normal baseline values during the 6 hours that the animals were followed. In contrast, sheep treated with a dose of 40 million adult stem cells returned their levels of oxygen in their blood to baseline two hours after the cells were infused. Similarly, improvements in carbon dioxide (CO2) clearance, pulmonary vascular pressures and inflammation were observed and confirmed by histology and by the decrease in lung edema. Conclusions: We concluded that instillation of adult non-hematopoietic stem cells can diminish the impact of endotoxin and accelerate recovery of oxygenation, CO2 removal and inflammation in the ovine model, making the use of adult stem cells a real alternative for future therapies for ARDS. © 2014 Rojas et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Quantitative analysis of dribble volumes and rates using three-dimensional reconstruction of X-ray and diffused back-illumination images of diesel sprays

[EN] Post-injection fuel dribble is known to lead to incomplete atomisation and combustion due to the release of slow-moving, and often surface-bound, liquid fuel after the end of injection. This can have a negative effect on engine emissions, performance and injector durability. To better quantify this phenomenon, we developed an image-processing approach to measure the volume of ligaments produced during the end of injection. We applied our processing approach to an Engine Combustion Network 'Spray B' 3-hole injector, using datasets from 220 injections generated by different research groups, to decouple the effect of gas temperature and pressure on the fuel dribble process. High-speed X-ray phase-contrast images obtained at room temperature conditions (297 K) at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, together with diffused back-illumination images captured at a wide range of temperature conditions (293-900 K) by CMT Motores Termicos were analysed and compared quantitatively. We found a good agreement between image sets obtained by Argonne National Laboratory and CMT Motores Termicos using different imaging techniques. The maximum dribble volume within the field of view of the imaging system and the mean rate of fuel dribble were considered as characteristic parameters of the fuel dribble process. Analysis showed that the absolute mean dribble rate increases with temperature when injection pressure is higher than 1000 bar and slightly decreases at high injection pressures (>500 bar) when temperature is close to 293 K. Larger maximum volumes of the fuel dribble were observed at lower gas temperatures (similar to 473 K) and low gas pressures (<30 bar), with a slight dependence on injection pressure.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The image processing research was supported by the United Kingdom's Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (Grants EP/K020528/1 and EP/M009424/1) and BP Formulated Products Technology. The X-ray measurements were performed at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Use of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DEAC02-06CH11357. The X-ray component of this research was partially funded by DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.Sechenyh, V.; Duke, DJ.; Swantek, AB.; Matusik, KE.; Kastengren, AL.; Powell, CF.; Viera, A.... (2020). Quantitative analysis of dribble volumes and rates using three-dimensional reconstruction of X-ray and diffused back-illumination images of diesel sprays. International Journal of Engine Research. 21(1):43-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468087419860955S4354211Örley, F., Hickel, S., Schmidt, S. J., & Adams, N. A. (2016). Large-Eddy Simulation of turbulent, cavitating fuel flow inside a 9-hole Diesel injector including needle movement. International Journal of Engine Research, 18(3), 195-211. doi:10.1177/1468087416643901Benajes, J., Novella, R., De Lima, D., & Tribotté, P. (2014). Analysis of combustion concepts in a newly designed two-stroke high-speed direct injection compression ignition engine. International Journal of Engine Research, 16(1), 52-67. doi:10.1177/1468087414562867Moon, S., Huang, W., Li, Z., & Wang, J. (2016). End-of-injection fuel dribble of multi-hole diesel injector: Comprehensive investigation of phenomenon and discussion on control strategy. Applied Energy, 179, 7-16. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.06.116Kook, S., Pickett, L. M., & Musculus, M. P. B. (2009). Influence of Diesel Injection Parameters on End-of-Injection Liquid Length Recession. SAE International Journal of Engines, 2(1), 1194-1210. doi:10.4271/2009-01-1356Kastengren, A., Powell, C. F., Tilocco, F. Z., Liu, Z., Moon, S., Zhang, X., & Gao, J. (2012). End-of-Injection Behavior of Diesel Sprays Measured With X-Ray Radiography. Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, 134(9). doi:10.1115/1.4006981Manin, J., Bardi, M., Pickett, L. M., & Payri, R. (2016). Boundary condition and fuel composition effects on injection processes of high-pressure sprays at the microscopic level. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 83, 267-278. doi:10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2015.12.001Payri, R., Bracho, G., Marti-Aldaravi, P., & Viera, A. (2017). NEAR FIELD VISUALIZATION OF DIESEL SPRAY FOR DIFFERENT NOZZLE INCLINATION ANGLES IN NON-VAPORIZING CONDITIONS. Atomization and Sprays, 27(3), 251-267. doi:10.1615/atomizspr.2017017949Gimeno, J., Martí-Aldaraví, P., Carreres, M., & Peraza, J. E. (2018). Effect of the nozzle holder on injected fuel temperature for experimental test rigs and its influence on diesel sprays. International Journal of Engine Research, 19(3), 374-389. doi:10.1177/1468087417751531Payri, R., Salvador, F. J., Manin, J., & Viera, A. (2016). Diesel ignition delay and lift-off length through different methodologies using a multi-hole injector. Applied Energy, 162, 541-550. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.10.118Duke, D. J., Matusik, K. E., Kastengren, A. L., Swantek, A. B., Sovis, N., Payri, R., … Powell, C. F. (2017). X-ray radiography of cavitation in a beryllium alloy nozzle. International Journal of Engine Research, 18(1-2), 39-50. doi:10.1177/1468087416685965Duke, D., Swantek, A., Kastengren, A., Fezzaa, K., & Powell, C. (2015). Recent Developments in X-ray Diagnostics for Cavitation. SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants, 8(1), 135-146. doi:10.4271/2015-01-0918Walko, D. A., Adams, B. W., Doumy, G., Dufresne, E. M., Li, Y., March, A. M., … Zhu, Y. (2016). Developments in time-resolved x-ray research at APS beamline 7ID. doi:10.1063/1.4952871Fessler, J. A., & Macovski, A. (1991). Object-based 3-D reconstruction of arterial trees from magnetic resonance angiograms. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 10(1), 25-39. doi:10.1109/42.75608Canny, J. (1986). A Computational Approach to Edge Detection. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, PAMI-8(6), 679-698. doi:10.1109/tpami.1986.4767851Kastengren, A. L., Tilocco, F. Z., Duke, D. J., Powell, C. F., Zhang, X., & Moon, S. (2014). TIME-RESOLVED X-RAY RADIOGRAPHY OF SPRAYS FROM ENGINE COMBUSTION NETWORK SPRAY A DIESEL INJECTORS. Atomization and Sprays, 24(3), 251-272. doi:10.1615/atomizspr.2013008642Edelsbrunner, H., & Mücke, E. P. (1994). Three-dimensional alpha shapes. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 13(1), 43-72. doi:10.1145/174462.156635Lafarge, T., Pateiro-López, B., Possolo, A., & Dunkers, J. P. (2014). RImplementation of a Polyhedral Approximation to a 3D Set of Points Using theα-Shape. Journal of Statistical Software, 56(4). doi:10.18637/jss.v056.i04Koci, C., Dempsey, A., Nudd, J., & Knier, B. (2017). Understanding Hydrocarbon Emissions in Heavy Duty Diesel Engines Combining Experimental and Computational Methods. SAE International Journal of Engines, 10(3), 1093-1109. doi:10.4271/2017-01-070

Constrained distance transforms for spatial atlas registration

BACKGROUND: Spatial frameworks are used to capture organ or whole organism image data in biomedical research. The registration of large biomedical volumetric images is a complex and challenging task, but one that is required for spatially mapped biomedical atlas systems. In most biomedical applications the transforms required are non-rigid and may involve significant deformation relating to variation in pose, natural variation and mutation. Here we develop a new technique to establish such transformations for mapping data that cannot be achieved by existing approaches and that can be used interactively for expert editorial review. RESULTS: This paper presents the Constrained Distance Transform (CDT), a novel method for interactive image registration. The CDT uses radial basis function transforms with distances constrained to geodesics within the domains of the objects being registered. A geodesic distance algorithm is discussed and evaluated. Examples of registration using the CDT are presented. CONCLUSION: The CDT method is shown to be capable of simultaneous registration and foreground segmentation even when very large deformations are required

Effectiveness of Fosfomycin for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infections

IMPORTANCE The consumption of broad-spectrum drugs has increased as a consequence of the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli. Finding alternatives for these infections is critical, for which some neglected drugs may be an option. OBJECTIVE To determine whether fosfomycin is noninferior to ceftriaxone or meropenem in the targeted treatment of bacteremic urinary tract infections (bUTIs) due to MDR E coli. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This multicenter, randomized, pragmatic, open clinical trial was conducted at 22 Spanish hospitals from June 2014 to December 2018. Eligible participants were adult patients with bacteremic urinary tract infections due to MDR E coli; 161 of 1578 screened patients were randomized and followed up for 60 days. Data were analyzed in May 2021. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized 1 to 1 to receive intravenous fosfomycin disodium at 4 g every 6 hours (70 participants) or a comparator (ceftriaxone or meropenem if resistant; 73 participants) with the option to switch to oral fosfomycin trometamol for the fosfomycin group or an active oral drug or pa renteral ertapenem for the comparator group after 4 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was clinical and microbiological cure (CMC) 5 to 7 days after finalization of treatment; a noninferiority margin of 7% was considered. RESULTS Among 143 patients in the modified intention-to-treat population (median [IQR] age, 72 [62-81] years; 73 [51.0%] women), 48 of 70 patients (68.6%) treated with fosfomycin and 57 of 73 patients (78.1%) treated with comparators reached CMC (risk difference, -9.4 percentage points; 1-sided 95% CI, -21.5 to infinity percentage points; P = .10). While clinical or microbiological failure occurred among 10 patients (14.3%) treated with fosfomycin and 14 patients (19.7%) treated with comparators (risk difference, -5.4 percentage points; 1-sided 95% CI. -infinity to 4.9; percentage points; P = .19), an increased rate of adverse event-related discontinuations occurred with fosfomycin vs comparators (6 discontinuations [8.5%] vs 0 discontinuations; P = .006). In an exploratory analysis among a subset of 38 patients who underwent rectal colonization studies, patients treated with fosfomycin acquired a new ceftriaxone-resistant or meropenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria at a decreased rate compared with patients treated with comparators (0 of 21 patients vs 4 of 17 patients [23.5%]; 1-sided P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study found that fosfomycin did not demonstrate noninferiority to comparators as targeted treatment of bUTI from MDR E coli; this was due to an increased rate of adverse event-related discontinuations. This finding suggests that fosfomycin may be considered for selected patients with these infections

COMPARISON BETWEEN FOUR USUAL METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION OF Candida SPECIES

SUMMARY Infection by Candidaspp. is associated with high mortality rates, especially when treatment is not appropriate and/or not immediate. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly identify the genus and species of Candida. The aim of this study was to compare the identification of 89 samples of Candida spp. by the manual methods germ tube test, auxanogram and chromogenic medium in relation to the ID 32C automated method. The concordances between the methods in ascending order, measured by the Kappa index were: ID 32C with CHROMagar Candida(κ = 0.38), ID 32C with auxanogram (κ = 0.59) and ID 32C with germ tube (κ = 0.9). One of the species identified in this study was C. tropicalis,which demonstrated a sensitivity of 46.2%, a specificity of 95.2%, PPV of 80%, NPV of 81.1%, and an accuracy of 80.9% in tests performed with CHROMagar Candida;and a sensitivity of 76.9%, a specificity of 96.8%, PPV of 90.9%, NPV of 91%, and an accuracy of 91% in the auxanogram tests. Therefore, it is necessary to know the advantages and limitations of methods to choose the best combination between them for a fast and correct identification of Candidaspecies

A multidimensional segmentation evaluation for medical image data.

Evaluation of segmentation methods is a crucial aspect in image processing, especially in the medical imaging field, where small differences between segmented regions in the anatomy can be of paramount importance. Usually, segmentation evaluation is based on a measure that depends on the number of segmented voxels inside and outside of some reference regions that are called gold standards. Although some other measures have been also used, in this work we propose a set of new similarity measures, based on different features, such as the location and intensity values of the misclassified voxels, and the connectivity and the boundaries of the segmented data. Using the multidimensional information provided by these measures, we propose a new evaluation method whose results are visualized applying a Principal Component Analysis of the data, obtaining a simplified graphical method to compare different segmentation results. We have carried out an intensive study using several classic segmentation methods applied to a set of MRI simulated data of the brain with several noise and RF inhomogeneity levels, and also to real data, showing that the new measures proposed here and the results that we have obtained from the multidimensional evaluation, improve the robustness of the evaluation and provides better understanding about the difference between segmentation methods