Behavioural recovery after treatment for varicose veins

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess behavioural recovery from the patient's perspective as a prespecified secondary outcome in a multicentre parallel-group randomized clinical trial comparing ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS), endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) and surgery for the treatment of primary varicose veins. METHODS: Participants were recruited from 11 UK sites as part of the CLASS trial, a randomized trial of UGFS, EVLA or surgery for varicose veins. Patients were followed up 6 weeks after treatment and asked to complete the Behavioural Recovery After treatment for Varicose Veins (BRAVVO) questionnaire. This is a 15-item instrument that covers eight activity behaviours (tasks or actions an individual is capable of doing in an idealized situation) and seven participation behaviours (what the individual does in an everyday, real-world situation) that were identified to be important from the patient's perspective. RESULTS: A total of 798 participants were recruited. Both UGFS and EVLA resulted in a significantly quicker recovery compared with surgery for 13 of the 15 behaviours assessed. UGFS was superior to EVLA in terms of return to full-time work (hazard ratio 1·43, 95 per cent c.i. 1·11 to 1·85), looking after children (1·45, 1·04 to 2·02) and walks of short (1·48, 1·19 to 1·84) and longer (1·32, 1·05 to 1·66) duration. CONCLUSION: Both UGFS and EVLA resulted in more rapid recovery than surgery, and UGFS was superior to EVLA for one-quarter of the behaviours assessed. The BRAVVO questionnaire has the potential to provide important meaningful information to patients about their early recovery and what they may expect to be able to achieve after treatment

Assessment of the antifungal efficacy of whey fermentate alone or in combination with citrus extract to control Aspergillus flavus mold in semi-moist pet food for dogs

Semi-moist pet foods contain moisture levels ranging from 15 to 40%, making them ideal for mold growth and mycotoxin production. To control spoilage, synthetic mold inhibitors such as potassium sorbate have been used, but consumers prefer “natural” preservatives. Whey fermentate (WPF) is an efficient antifungal, but it requires large doses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the antifungal effect of WPF alone or in combination with citrus extract oil (CEX) against Aspergillus flavus in semi-moist pet food. Nutritionally complete semi-moist pet foods were produced with WPF alone [0.25, 0.5, and 1.0% (w/w)] and in combination with CEX; 0.25% WPF+ 0.015% CEX, 0.25% WFP+ 0.15% CEX, 0.5% WPF+ 0.015% CEX, and 0.5% WFP+ 0.15% CEX (w/w). The negative control (NC) contained no antifungal additive and the positive control (PC) had potassium sorbate (0.1% w/w). The semi-moist pet food was thermally formed and was cut into 3 cm × 3 cm square pieces. Individual food pieces were inoculated with 0.1 mL of Aspergillus flavus (ATCC 204304) to achieve a final concentration of ~5.0 log CFU/piece. The inoculated pieces were individually incubated at 25°C. Fungal analysis was performed on day 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 28 by surface plating on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) followed by incubation at 25°C for 72 h. The total log reductions were calculated by subtracting the initial inoculum from the final log counts on day 28. Higher log reductions of Aspergillus flavus (p < 0.05) were observed when WPF at 0.25 and 0.5% was combined with 0.15% CEX compared to when 0.015% CEX was used individually. All treatments were different from the NC (p < 0.05). Citrus extract at 0.15% potentiated the antifungal effect of WPF at 0.5% to give a similar log reduction (p > 0.05) to WPF at 1.0% in the food. In conclusion, CEX potentiated the antifungal efficacy and reduced the dose of WPF required to control Aspergillus flavus in semi-moist dog food

External validation of novel clinical likelihood models to predict obstructive coronary artery disease and prognosis

Objectives The risk factor-weighted and coronary artery calcium score-weighted clinical likelihood (RF-CL and CACS-CL, respectively) models improve discrimination of patients with suspected obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). However, external validation is warranted. Compared to the 2019 European Society of Cardiology pretest probability (ESC-PTP) model, the aims were (1) to validate the RF-CL and CACS-CL models for identification of obstructive CAD and revascularisation, and (2) to investigate prognosis by CL thresholds. Methods Stable de novo chest pain patients (n=1585) undergoing coronary CT angiography (CTA) were investigated. Obstructive CAD was defined as &gt;70% diameter stenosis in a major epicardial vessel on CTA. Decision of revascularisation within 120 days was based on onsite judgement. The endpoint was non-fatal myocardial infarction or cardiovascular death. The ESC-PTP was calculated based on age, sex and symptom typicality, the RF-CL additionally included number of risk factors, and the CACS-CL incorporated CACS to the RF-CL. Results Obstructive CAD was present in 386/1585 (24.4%) patients, and 91/1585 (5.7%) patients underwent revascularisation. Both the RF-CL and CACS-CL classified more patients to very-low CL (&lt;5%) of obstructive CAD compared with the ESC-PTP model (41.4% and 52.2% vs 19.2%, p&lt;0.001). In very-low CL patients, obstructive CAD and revascularisation prevalences (≤6% and &lt;1%) remained similar combined with low event risk during 5.0 years follow-up. Conclusion In an external validation cohort, the novel RF-CL and CACS-CL models improve categorisation to a very-low CL group with preserved prevalences of obstructive CAD, revascularisation and favourable prognosis.</p

Comparison of the Antifungal Efficacy of EverWild and Citrus Extracts Challenged Against Aspergillus flavus in Semi-Moist Pet Treats

There are increasing requests by pet owners to pet food manufacturers to formulate diets with fewer synthetic additives in favor of more ‘natural’ and sustainably sourced substitutes. Pet owners believe that natural alternatives are healthier and offer longevity to their pets. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate and compare the antifungal efficacy of two natural products, fermented whey protein (EverWild; EV) and citrus extract essential oil, when challenged against Aspergillus flavus inoculated in semi-moist pet treats. Semi-moist treats generally contain moisture levels of 20–30%, which is ideal for mold proliferation. The experiment was completely randomized in design. The model and nutritionally complete semi-moist pet treats were produced with three levels of EV (1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0%), citrus extract (1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0%), a positive control that contained 0.1% potassium sorbate, or a negative control that contained no treatment. Each treatment was replicated twice and plated in duplicate during fungal analysis. The semi-moist treats were cut into biscuits and inoculated with 0.1 mL aliquots of Aspergillus flavus cultures. Fungal analysis was performed at 0, 3, 6, 9,12, 15, 18, 21, 24, and 28 days. Overall, the survivors of Aspergillus flavus were reduced over time in all treatments including the negative control. When determining the log reduction from d 0 to 28, the EV included at 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% had a 1.90, 3.89, and 4.58 Log CFU/biscuit reduction while the positive and negative control had 1.19 Log CFU and 0.84 Log CFU/biscuit reduction, respectively. There was a significant difference (P \u3c 0.05) in log reduction between EV at 3.0% and 5.0% compared to 1.0% EV, the positive and negative controls, 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% citrus extracts. Citrus extract at 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% had a 1.19, 2.34, and 2.63 Log CFU/biscuit reduction compared to the positive and negative controls (1.19 Log CFU and 0.84 Log CFU/biscuit). In conclusion, a fermented whey protein could be used to inhibit mold growth in semi-moist pet treats

Measuring solid precipitation using heated tipping bucket gauges: an overview of performance and recommendations from WMO‐SPICE

Comunicación presentada en: TECO-2016 (Technical Conference on Meteorological and Environmental Instruments and Methods of Observation) celebrada en Madrid, del 27 al 30 de septiembre de 2016

Errors and adjustments for WMO-SPICE tipping-bucket precipitation gauges

Presentación realizada en: 19th Symposium on Meteorological Observation and Instrumentation celebrado del 7 al 11 de enero de 2018 en Austin, Texas

QuantumATK: An integrated platform of electronic and atomic-scale modelling tools

QuantumATK is an integrated set of atomic-scale modelling tools developed since 2003 by professional software engineers in collaboration with academic researchers. While different aspects and individual modules of the platform have been previously presented, the purpose of this paper is to give a general overview of the platform. The QuantumATK simulation engines enable electronic-structure calculations using density functional theory or tight-binding model Hamiltonians, and also offers bonded or reactive empirical force fields in many different parametrizations. Density functional theory is implemented using either a plane-wave basis or expansion of electronic states in a linear combination of atomic orbitals. The platform includes a long list of advanced modules, including Green's-function methods for electron transport simulations and surface calculations, first-principles electron-phonon and electron-photon couplings, simulation of atomic-scale heat transport, ion dynamics, spintronics, optical properties of materials, static polarization, and more. Seamless integration of the different simulation engines into a common platform allows for easy combination of different simulation methods into complex workflows. Besides giving a general overview and presenting a number of implementation details not previously published, we also present four different application examples. These are calculations of the phonon-limited mobility of Cu, Ag and Au, electron transport in a gated 2D device, multi-model simulation of lithium ion drift through a battery cathode in an external electric field, and electronic-structure calculations of the composition-dependent band gap of SiGe alloys.Comment: Submitted to Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Análisis del proceso de electro-obtención de cátodos de cobre a través de la utilización de técnicas de diseño experimental

Este estudio fue desarrollado en una empresa minera ubicada en el norte de Chile con el propósito de identificar las variables que tienen mayor incidencia en la producción de cátodos de cobre de alta calidad, específicamente se hizo hincapié en  los porcentajes de plomo y azufre que son las impurezas relevantes en la discriminación de cátodos de alta calidad, considerando la Norma L.M.E (London Metal Exchange), que rige el mercado del cobre.El experimento fue desarrollado utilizando un segmento de datos representativos de las condiciones actuales de operación bajo un enfoque de diseño experimental con dos niveles y con cuatro factores para el análisis del plomo y de seis factores para el caso del azufre.Los resultados obtenidos ofrecen un importante referente para orientar futuras acciones de mejoramiento de la calidad y productividad así como poder identificar  factores metalúrgicos que poseen un fundamento estadístico objetivo y, además, contar con ecuaciones preliminares para estimar porcentajes de impurezas ante eventuales cambios en las condiciones de operación