Constrained pre-equalization accounting for multi-path fading emulated using large RC networks: applications to wireless and photonics communications

Multi-path propagation is modelled assuming a multi-layer RC network with randomly allocated resistors and capacitors to represent the transmission medium. Due to frequency-selective attenuation, the waveforms associated with each propagation path incur path-dependent distortion. A pre-equalization procedure that takes into account the capabilities of the transmission source as well as the transmission properties of the medium is developed. The problem is cast within a Mixed Integer Linear Programming optimization framework that uses the developed nominal RC network model, with the excitation waveform customized to optimize signal fidelity from the transmitter to the receiver. The objective is to match a Gaussian pulse input accounting for frequency regions where there would be pronounced fading. Simulations are carried out with different network realizations in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the solution with respect to changes in the transmission medium mimicking the multi-path propagation. The proposed approach is of relevance where equalization techniques are difficult to implement. Applications are discussed within the context of emergent communication modalities across the EM spectrum such as light percolation as well as emergent indoor communications assuming various modulation protocols or UWB schemes as well as within the context of space division multiplexing

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true

MIBiG 3.0: a community-driven effort to annotate experimentally validated biosynthetic gene clusters

Microbial Biotechnolog

MIBiG 3.0 : a community-driven effort to annotate experimentally validated biosynthetic gene clusters

With an ever-increasing amount of (meta)genomic data being deposited in sequence databases, (meta)genome mining for natural product biosynthetic pathways occupies a critical role in the discovery of novel pharmaceutical drugs, crop protection agents and biomaterials. The genes that encode these pathways are often organised into biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). In 2015, we defined the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG): a standardised data format that describes the minimally required information to uniquely characterise a BGC. We simultaneously constructed an accompanying online database of BGCs, which has since been widely used by the community as a reference dataset for BGCs and was expanded to 2021 entries in 2019 (MIBiG 2.0). Here, we describe MIBiG 3.0, a database update comprising large-scale validation and re-annotation of existing entries and 661 new entries. Particular attention was paid to the annotation of compound structures and biological activities, as well as protein domain selectivities. Together, these new features keep the database up-to-date, and will provide new opportunities for the scientific community to use its freely available data, e.g. for the training of new machine learning models to predict sequence-structure-function relationships for diverse natural products. MIBiG 3.0 is accessible online at https://mibig.secondarymetabolites.org/

Cervical spine trauma: how much more do we learn by routinely using helical CT?

Assessment of suspected cervical spine injuries remains a major debate in trauma care. It is generally accepted that many fractures are missed or incompletely shown at radiography, mainly because of suboptimal studies obtained in obtunded, uncooperative trauma victims. In a series of 88 severely traumatized patients, the authors retrospectively determined the type, distribution, and significance of such missed lesions. This assessment was made by comparing radiographs and helical computed tomographic (CT) scans of the cervical spine and reviewing medical records in these cases. Of the 88 patients, 32 patients had cervical spine fractures (n = 50) that were not revealed or were incompletely demonstrated at radiography. Most missed fractures occurred at the C-1 to C-2 and C-6 to C-7 levels, and most involved the transverse processes and the posterolateral elements of the vertebrae. One-third of the patients with missed fractures had either clinically significant or unstable injuries, as determined on the basis of mechanistic or imaging criteria. Helical CT can depict significant fractures not shown by plain radiography and should be added routinely to the initial screening for cervical spine fractures in polytrauma victims

Nanoparticles of 4,7-dichloro-2-quinolinemethylacrylate-based copolymers and their potential cytotoxic activity on human breast carcinoma cells

In this article, an improved synthesis strategy of the potent anticancer compound 4,7-dichloro-2-quinolinemethanol (QM) and its acrylate ester 4,7-dichloro-2-quinolinemethylacrylate (AQM) are described. AQM is copolymerized using free-radical polymerization with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) and the copolymers obtained from different molar ratios of monomers are subjected to nanoprecipitation to produce suspensions of nanoparticles (NPs) in phosphate buffered saline (PBS). The smallest and stable NPs are prepared with the AQM-VP copolymers 45:55 and 40:60 (118.9 and 128.7 nm in diameter, respectively) at 1 mg mL , and along with AQM and QM, are evaluated for their cytotoxic activity on MDA-MB-453 breast carcinoma cells using MTT bioassay. AQM and QM are highly cytotoxic (IC : 19 and 41 μM, respectively); however, the NPs are not cytotoxic in the range of the assayed concentrations. These results contribute to the search for new polymeric NPs with potential application as QM delivery systems for the treatment of cancer or other diseases treatable with QM. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47545.H. Valle and R.V. Mangalaraja acknowledge funding support from the Comisión Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONICYT), Chile, through the projects CONICYT/FONDECYT postdoctoral N3160296 and CONICYT PIA/APOYO CCTE AFB170007, respectively. R. Palao-Suay, M.R. Aguilar and J.S. Román acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the project MAT2017-84277-R. Authors also thank Dr. Mar Fernández and Rosa Ana Ramírez for their help in cell culture.Peer Reviewe

Spanish Guidelines for Diagnosis, Management, Treatment, and Prevention of DRESS Syndrome.

Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a complex multisystemic severe drug hypersensitivity reaction whose diagnosis and management are troublesome. DRESS syndrome requires management by various specialists. The correct identification of the culprit drug is essential to ensure safe future therapeutic options for the patient. There are no previous Spanish guidelines or consensus statements on DRESS syndrome. Objective: To draft a review and guidelines on the clinical diagnosis, allergy work-up, management, treatment, and prevention of DRESS syndrome in light of currently available scientific evidence and the experience of experts from multiple disciplines. These guidelines were drafted by a panel of allergy specialists from the Drug Allergy Committee of the Spanish Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC), together with other medical specialists involved in the management of DRESS syndrome and researchers from the PIELenRed consortium. A review was conducted of scientific papers on DRESS syndrome, and the expert panel evaluated the quality of the evidence of the literature and provided grades of recommendation. Whenever evidence was lacking, a consensus was reached among the experts. The first Spanish guidelines on DRESS syndrome are now being published. Important aspects have been addressed, including practical recommendations about clinical diagnosis, identification of the culprit drug through the Spanish pharmacovigilance system algorithm, and the allergy work-up. Recommendations are provided on management, treatment, and prevention. Algorithms for the management of DRESS in the acute and recovery phases have been drawn up. Expert consensus-based stepwise guidelines for the management and treatment of DRESS syndrome are provided