Principles of surgical resection in hilar cholangiocarcinoma

The aim of this article is to describe the surgical techniques for the treatment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HC). Resection with microscopically negative margin (R0) is the only way to cure patients with HC. Today, resection of the caudate lobe and part of segment IV, combined with a right or left hepatectomy, bile duct resection, lymphadenectomy of the hepatic hilum and sometimes vascular resection, is the standard surgical procedure for HC. Intraoperative frozen-section examination of proximal and distal biliary margins is necessary to confirm the suitability of resection. Although lymphadenectomy probably has little direct effect on survival, inaccurate staging information may influence post resection treatment recommendations. Aggressive venous and arterial resections should be undertaken in selected cases to achieve a R0 resection. The concept of "no-touch proposed" in 1999 by Neuhaus et al combine an extended right hepatectomy with systematic portal vein resection and caudate lobectomy avoiding hilar dissection and possible intraoperative microscopic dissemination of cancer cells. More recently minor liver resections have been proposed for treatment of HC. As the hilar bifurcation of the bile ducts is near to liver segments IV, V and I, adequate liver resection of these segments together with the bile ducts can result in cure

Improving the Performance of Low Voltage Networks by an Optimized Unbalance Operation of Three-Phase Distributed Generators

This work focuses on using the full potential of PV inverters in order to improve the efficiency of low voltage networks. More specifically, the independent per-phase control capability of PV three-phase four-wire inverters, which are able to inject different active and reactive powers in each phase, in order to reduce the system phase unbalance is considered. This new operational procedure is analyzed by raising an optimization problem which uses a very accurate modelling of European low voltage networks. The paper includes a comprehensive quantitative comparison of the proposed strategy with two state-of-the-art methodologies to highlight the obtained benefits. The achieved results evidence that the proposed independent per-phase control of three-phase PV inverters improves considerably the network performance contributing to increase the penetration of renewable energy sources.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad ENE2017-84813-R, ENE2014-54115-

Bayesian inference of solar and stellar magnetic fields in the weak-field approximation

The weak-field approximation is one of the simplest models that allows us to relate the observed polarization induced by the Zeeman effect with the magnetic field vector present on the plasma of interest. It is usually applied for diagnosing magnetic fields in the solar and stellar atmospheres. A fully Bayesian approach to the inference of magnetic properties in unresolved structures is presented. The analytical expression for the marginal posterior distribution is obtained, from which we can obtain statistically relevant information about the model parameters. The role of a-priori information is discussed and a hierarchical procedure is presented that gives robust results that are almost insensitive to the precise election of the prior. The strength of the formalism is demonstrated through an application to IMaX data. Bayesian methods can optimally exploit data from filter-polarimeters given the scarcity of spectral information as compared with spectro-polarimeters. The effect of noise and how it degrades our ability to extract information from the Stokes profiles is analyzed in detail.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Cultural identity in alcoholic beverages advertising

Determinados anuncios utilizan el imaginario colectivo que identifica a una región o país para construir un mensaje eficaz y asociar así los valores de dicha cultura a la marca en cuestión. En este sentido, los anuncios de bebidas alcohólicas destacan por la frecuente creación de universos que remiten al lugar de origen del producto, apoyándose en imágenes que en ocasiones son fruto de estereotipos. Desde una perspectiva semiótica, es posible distinguir cómo las isotopías presentes en los anuncios de bebidas alcohólicas se manifiestan de forma diferente según el país emisor, rescatando los lugares comunes que configuran su identidad cultural. El objetivo del presente artículo es, por tanto, determinar la presencia de rasgos culturales distintivos de determinadas regiones que se observan en la publicidad de bebidas alcohólicas.In order to create an efficient message and to associate specific cultural values to a brand, advertisements refer to the elements within the collective imaginary which identify a region or a country. In this sense, alcoholic beverages advertising stands out for creating universes which refer to the origins of the product, by turning to images which result from stereotypes at times. Thus, when taking a semiotic point of view, it is possible to distinguish how the isotopes which appear within advertisements of alcoholic drinks are different depending on the country, feeding on commonplaces that constitute their cultural identity. Thus, the goal of the present article is to determine the presence of cultural distinctive characteristics of certain regions which are found in advertisements of alcoholic drinks

Decision-making tool for the assessment and selection of construction processes based on environmental criteria: Application to precast and cast-in-situ alternatives

This paper presents a quantitative environmental impact assessment tool for the decision making of construction processes including structures, infrastructures and buildings by means of an Environmental Impact Index (EII) to be applied at design and/or construction stages. The research is based on multi-attribute utility theory, interviews with experts representatives of the different stakeholders in construction, and an analysis of fifty-nine European and Spanish environmental legislative acts. The resulting tool was applied to two construction alternatives for road drains (one precast and one cast-in-place). The findings show that the tool enables the prioritisation of construction processes and the selection of the best alternative in terms of environmental impact and that the results are stable to reasonable weight variations. The tool contributes to decision making in the context of project management in construction: it can help professionals in public administration, and design and construction companies. It helps to quantify the cradle-to-gate impact of construction work, which has usually been less studied than the operational impact in the life-cycle assessment of buildings. The tool is being piloted in construction projects of the Barcelona City Council.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

La identidad cultural en la publicidad de bebidas alcohólicas

In order to create an efficient message and to associate specific cultural values to a brand, advertisements refer to the elements within the collective imaginary which identify a region or a country. In this sense, alcoholic beverages advertising stands out for creating universes which refer to the origins of the product, by turning to images which result from stereotypes at times. Thus, when taking a semiotic point of view, it is possible to distinguish how the isotopes which appear within advertisements of alcoholic drinks are different depending on the country, feeding on commonplaces that constitute their cultural identity. Thus, the goal of the present article is to determine the presence of cultural distinctive characteristics of certain regions which are found in advertisements of alcoholic drinks.Determinados anuncios utilizan el imaginario colectivo que identifica a una región o país para construir un mensaje eficaz y asociar así los valores de dicha cultura a la marca en cuestión. En este sentido, los anuncios de bebidas alcohólicas destacan por la frecuente creación de universos que remiten al lugar de origen del producto, apoyándose en imágenes que en ocasiones son fruto de estereotipos. Desde una perspectiva semiótica, es posible distinguir cómo las isotopías presentes en los anuncios de bebidas alcohólicas se manifiestan de forma diferente según el país emisor, rescatando los lugares comunes que configuran su identidad cultural. El objetivo del presente artículo es, por tanto, determinar la presencia de rasgos culturales distintivos de determinadas regiones que se observan en la publicidad de bebidas alcohólicas

NGC 6309, a Planetary Nebula that Shifted from Round to Multipolar

We present new narrow-band Ha, [N II], and [O III] high-resolution images of the quadrupolar planetary nebula (PN) NGC 6309 that show in great detail its bipolar lobes and reveal new morphological features. New high- and low-dispersion long-slit spectra have been obtained to help in the investigation of the new nebular components. The images and spectra unveil two diffuse blobs, one of them located at 55 arcsec from the central star along the NE direction (PA= +71) and the other at 78 arcsec in the SW direction (PA= -151). Therefore, these structures do not share the symmetry axes of the inner bipolar outflows. Their radial velocities relative to the system are quite low: +3 and -4 km/s, respectively. Spectroscopic data confirm a high [O III] to Ha ratio, indicating that the blobs are being excited by the UV flux from the central star. Our images convincingly show a spherical halo 60 arcsec in diameter encircling the quadrupolar nebula. The expansion velocity of this shell is low, 66 km/s. The software SHAPE has been used to construct a morpho-kinematic model for the ring and the bipolar flows that implies an age of 4,000 yrs, the expansion of the halo sets a lower limit for its age 46,000 yrs, and the very low expansion of the blobs suggests they are part of a large structure corresponding to a mass ejection that took place 150,000 yrs ago. In NGC 6309 we have direct evidence of a change in the geometry of mass-loss, from spherical in the halo to axially-symmetric in the two pairs of bipolar lobes.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA