186 research outputs found

    Audiometría con extensión en altas frecuencias (9.000-20.000 Hz): Utilidad en el diagnóstico audiológico

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    This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Acta Otorrinolaringológica 67.1 (2016): 40-44, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.otorri.2015.02.002Early detection and appropriate treatment of hearing loss are essential to minimise the consequences of hearing loss. In addition to conventional audiometry (125-8,000 Hz), extended high-frequency audiometry (9,000-20,000 Hz) is available. This type of audiometry may be useful in early diagnosis of hearing loss in certain conditions, such as the ototoxic effect of cisplatin-based treatment, noise exposure or oral misunderstanding, especially in noisy environments. Eleven examples are shown in which extended high-frequency audiometry has been useful in early detection of hearing loss, despite the subject having a normal conventional audiometry. The goal of the present paper was to highlight the importance of the extended high-frequency audiometry examination for it to become a standard tool in routine audiological examinations.La detección precoz y el tratamiento adecuado de la hipoacusia es fundamental para minimizar las consecuencias de la pérdida auditiva. Además de la audiometría convencional (125-8.000 Hz), disponemos de la audiometría con extensión en altas frecuencias (9.000-20.000 Hz), que puede ser de gran utilidad en el diagnóstico precoz de hipoacusia en ciertas patologías, como es el efecto ototóxico de los tratamientos quimioterápicos, la exposición a ruido o el mal entendimiento del lenguaje, especialmente en ambientes ruidosos. Aquí se presentan 11 casos clínicos en los que la audiometría con extensión en altas frecuencias ha ayudado en la detección precoz de la hipoacusia en diversas patologías, a pesar de tener una audiometría normal en frecuencias convencionales. Se pretende así destacar la importancia de la exploración audiométrica en altas frecuencias, con el fin de que se convierta en una herramienta habitual en la exploración audiológic

    Structural changes in water and Ar-water clusters under high pressure

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    1 pág.; 1 fig.; XXIX International Conference on Photonic, Electronic, and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC2015); Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 3.0Specific size gas-water clusters are currently receiving considerable attention, as models for inclusion compounds of different type of clathrate hydrates. As model microsolutions they retain many characteristics of the bulk, are theoretically tractable, and can be used to probe the relevant guest/host interactions, as well as to derive and to test intermolecular potentials that can be also used under different thermodynamic conditions.Peer Reviewe

    Antimicrobial effect of vancomycin electro-transferred water against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

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    Background: There is a number of alternative and complementary therapeutics that are unproven or have not been properly tested. For past twenty years, the transfer of bio-energetic information has been recognized as a novel scientific approach capable of contributing to improved therapy in the management of several diseases through the so-called bio-resonance therapy (BRT). Although BRT was discovered in the late 1980s, it is still poorly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of water samples transferred with electronic information of vancomycin, a well known drug against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), by using a BRT device on bacterial cultures.Material and Methods: MRSA cultures were treated with vancomycin electro-transferred water samples, vancomycin (4.0 and 8.0 μg/mL), sham electro-transferred (water to water) and non-transferred water samples (medium alone). Growth inhibition was evaluated in liquid and solid culture medium, spectrophotometrically and by CFU determination respectively.Results: The obtained data showed that by transferring vancomycin (4.0 and 8.0 μg/mL) information to water samples, the growth of cultured MRSA was significantly (p< 0.05) inhibited (up to 35%), compared with those cultures treated with electro-transferred water to water or cultured in medium alone (0% growth inhibition).Conclusion: This in vitro study suggests that water samples that are electronically transferred with vibration sustained information of vancomycin are capable of inhibiting growth of axenically cultured methicillin resistant S. aureus.Key words: Antimicrobial effect, electro-transferred water, bio-resonance, vancomycin, Sthaphylococcus aureus

    Eosinophilic esophagitis: A relevant entity for the otolaryngologist

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    This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Acta Otorrinolaringológica 67.3 (2016): 167-168, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.otorri.2015.06.002Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is a recently recognised pathologic entity whose prevalence has risen significantly since it was first described. Its diagnosis represents a challenge for different medical specialties, among which ENT specialists play an important role. Clinical suspicion in a patient with recurrent food impaction or a child with eating disorders and history of hypersensitivity constitutes the first warning sign of a possible EE.The purpose of this review is to highlight EE as a possible differential diagnosis in patients with deglutition disorders and describe the possible clinical symptoms that should alert the ENT specialist to perform appropriate diagnostic tests and procedures. The transnasal esophagoscopy, performed in-office by the ENT, is ideal for reducing possible underdiagnosed cases.Given the fact that an ENT specialist will evaluate a great many patients with deglutition disorders, it is paramount for possible EE cases to be suspected and recognised so that a correct multidisciplinary approach involving not only ENT specialists but also paediatricians, gastroenterologists, allergologists and pathologists can be established. Identifying the dietary component responsible for the esophageal inflammation and removing that food from the patient's diet is the key in the treatment of this immune-mediated disease.La esofagitis eosinofílica (EE) es una entidad clínico patológica reconocida recientemente y con una prevalencia que va en aumento desde su descripción inicial. Su diagnóstico representa un reto para diferentes especialistas, entre los que tiene un rol destacado el otorrinolaringólogo. La sospecha clínica ante un paciente que presenta episodios recidivantes de impactación de alimentos no punzantes o ante un niño con trastornos de la alimentación y antecedentes de atopia constituyen el primer signo de alerta de una posible EE. El objetivo de esta revisión persigue destacar el papel de la EE en el diagnóstico diferencial de los pacientes con trastornos de la deglución, así como dar a conocer las manifestaciones clínicas que deben alertar al otorrinolaringólogo para proseguir la realización de las pruebas encaminadas al diagnóstico de esta enfermedad. La esofagoscopia transnasal, realizada por el otorrinolaringólogo en consulta, ayudará a disminuir el número de casos infradiagnosticados. Dado que gran parte de los pacientes afectos de trastornos de la deglución van a ser evaluados por el otorrinolaringólogo, se hace imprescindible el reconocimiento de la EE, así como el manejo diagnóstico-terapéutico por un equipo multidisciplinar en el que se involucren, además del otorrinolaringólogo, pediatras, digestólogos, alergólogos y patólogos familiarizados con la enfermedad. La identificación del alimento responsable de la inflamación del esófago y su eliminación de la dieta es la clave del tratamiento de este desorden inmunomediad

    Examination of the Feynman-Hibbs Approach in the Study of NeN_N-Coronene Clusters at Low Temperatures

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    Feynman-Hibbs (FH) effective potentials constitute an appealing approach for investigations of many-body systems at thermal equilibrium since they allow us to easily include quantum corrections within standard classical simulations. In this work we apply the FH formulation to the study of NeN_N-coronene clusters (N=N= 1-4, 14) in the 2-14 K temperature range. Quadratic (FH2) and quartic (FH4) contributions to the effective potentials are built upon Ne-Ne and Ne-coronene analytical potentials. In particular, a new corrected expression for the FH4 effective potential is reported. FH2 and FH4 cluster energies and structures -obtained from energy optimization through a basin-hoping algorithm as well as classical Monte Carlo simulations- are reported and compared with reference path integral Monte Carlo calculations. For temperatures T>4T> 4 K, both FH2 and FH4 potentials are able to correct the purely classical calculations in a consistent way. However, the FH approach fails at lower temperatures, especially the quartic correction. It is thus crucial to assess the range of applicability of this formulation and, in particular, to apply the FH4 potentials with great caution. A simple model of NN isotropic harmonic oscillators allows us to propose a means of estimating the cut-off temperature for the validity of the method, which is found to increase with the number of atoms adsorbed on the coronene molecule

    In vitro gastrointestinal digestion of microencapsulated extracts of Flourensia cernua, F. microphylla, and F. retinophylla

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    Recently, some species of the genus Flourensia have been identified by their potential health effects (e.g. anti-inflammatory and apoptotic). Encapsulation of plant extracts is a process that can allow an adequate dosage administration, as well as to protect bioactive compounds and improve their controlled release in the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Therefore, the aims of this work were: to microencapsulate the ethanol extracts of F. cernua, F. microphylla, and F. retinophylla; and to evaluate the controlled release of the microencapsuled extracts in an in vitro GI system. Leaves of Flourensia spp. were collected in wild sites of Coahuila State, and the ethanol extracts were obtained by the Soxhlet method. The encapsulation was performed by the gelation technique, using alginate. The microcapsules formed were characterized in terms of total phenol content (Folin-Ciocalteu method), antioxidant activity by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic) diammonium acid (ABTS), and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermal analysis, and in vitro GI digestion. The microcapsules were found to have spherical-shape and a micro-scale dimension in the range of 2.168.8??m. Also, the built of microcapsules was confirmed by the appearance of an exothermic peak centered at 600?°C in the DSC analysis. F. microphylla noted for its strong antioxidant activity, even in its encapsulated form. In the gastric system the extracts of fresh microcapsules were released from 7.7% to 14.5%, while values of 26.5% to 53.3% were observed for those dried. For the intestinal system, the higher release was observed for dried microcapsules (59.9% to 78.4%) than for those fresh (26.3% to 30.2%). Thus, it was demonstrated that the alginate microcapsule protected the extracts until they were delivered to the target site in the GI model, and this effect was better with the dried microcapsules of Flourensia spp. This study would set the guide for the application of Flourensia spp. extracts in order to take advantage of their benefits to human health.Author G.N. Puente Romero thanks Mexican Science and Technology Council (CONACYT, Mexico) for MSc fellowship support. Authors would like to thank to María Guadalupe Moreno Esquivel, Edith E. Chaires Colunga, Olga L. Solís Hernández, and M. Leticia Rodríguez González of the Phytochemistry Laboratory from Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, for their support in the lab experiments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Sensor Networks and derived products at Biscay AGL observatory. State of the art operational oceanography at IEO

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    Since 1991, shelf and slope waters of the Southern Bay of Biscay are regularly sampled in a monthly hydrographical section north of Santander, and on June 2007, an ocean meteorological buoy was moored at the end of Santander Section (www. boya_agl.st.ieo.es). Both are part of IEOOS (IEO Observing System). Biscay AGL is one observatory for the EU FixO3 project. Many sensor networks have been deployed to monitor marine environment, and more will follow in the future. Due to the large number of sensor technologies, integrating diverse sensors into observation systems is not straightforward. By defining standardized service interfaces (like those based on OGC standards) it is possible to enable access to sensor networks and archived sensor data that can be discovered and accessed using standard protocols and application programming interfaces, therefore complying with the requirements of the INSPIRE directive. Future developments include the deployment of a full sensor network as well as adding new devices to the Biscay AGL tool in order to achieve a deeper knowledge of the ocean. Biscay AGL is more than the combination of the AGL Buoy and the hydrographical samplings. This observatory produces not only time series of several parameters at different time resolutions but also derived products, both in real and in delayed time. Derived products from this buoy include annual cycles as well as anomalies of physical and biogeochemical magnitudes like air-sea heat fluxes, salinity and water temperatures, sub inertial currents, surface chlorophyll. Different products are derived from in-situ measurements at the AGL buoy like estimates of the mixed layer depth, wind and currents roses and wave intensity diagrams

    Research and operational products from the combination of a monthly hydrographic station and an oceanic buoy: The Biscay AGL fixed-point water column observatory.

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    Long term time series are an important tool for increasing the knowledge of ocean processes as well as for studying water masses variability in different time scales and changes and tendencies in marine ecosystems. Time series has been classically obtained by oceanographic ships that regularly cover standard sections and stations. From 1991, shelf and slope waters of the Southern Bay of Biscay are regularly sampled in a monthly hydrographic line north of Santander to a depth of 1000 m in early stages and for the whole water column down to 2580 m in recent times. Nearby, in June 2007, the IEO deployed an oceanic-meteorological buoy (AGL Buoy, 43º 50.67’N; 3º 46.20’W, and 40 km offshore, www.boya-agl.st.ieo.es). The long-term hydrographical record have allowed to define the seasonality, trends, and interannual variability at all levels, including the mixing layer and the main water masses North Atlantic Central Water and Mediterranean Water. The relation of these changes with high frequency surface conditions has been examined using the AGL buoy data from 2007 as well as satellite and reanalysis data. On that context and using that combination of sources, some products and quality controlled series of high interest and utility for scientific purposes have been developed and are offered hourly in the web page. Main products obtained are: SST and SSS anomalies, wave significant height character with respect to monthly average, and currents with respect to seasonal averages. Ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes (latent and sensible) are computed from the buoy atmospheric and oceanic measurements. Estimations of the mixed layer depth and bulk series at different water levels are provided in a monthly basis. Quality controlled series are provided for sea surface salinity, oxygen and chlorophyll data. Some sensors are particularly affected by biofouling, and monthly visits to the buoy permit to follow these sensors behaviour. Chlorophyll-fluorescence sensor is the main concern, but Dissolved Oxygen sensor is also problematic. Periods of realistic smooth variations present strong offset that is corrected based on the Winkler analysis of water samples. The incorporation of these observatories on larger scale research programs, as done in 2003 in the framework of the VACLAN and COVACLAN projects, is important in order to provide them with a larger spatial dimension and maximize its utility for process-oriented studies. In 2003, the Santander section was extended 90 miles offshore in the framework of a large-scale hydrographic and circulation monitoring program. Partnerships in a large EU project as FixO3 has provided tools for coordination, homogenization and data validation as well as improve the use of chemical-biological data.0,000

    New developments on Biscay-AGL Observatory. From derived products to sensor networks.

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    Biscay-AGL Observatory. Since 1991, shelf and slope waters of the Southern Bay of Biscay are regularly sampled in a monthly hydrographical section north of Santander to a maximum depth of 2500m, as part of the IEO Radiales program. On June 2007, an ocean-meteorological buoy (AGL) was moored at the end of Santander standard section, 22nm north at 2850m depth, to complete the ocean information with the ocean-atmosphere interaction. All of them are part of IEO Observing System (1). The integrated system of AGL and its nearest hydrographic station (2600m depth) is named Biscay-AGL observatory. It is also one station for the EU FixO3 project. Joint resources and systematic analysis lead to a powerful tool, which is much more than the combination of the AGL buoy and the hydrographical samplings. Data Access. All AGL buoy collected data are added to the local database sited at IEO-Santander in real-time and, after rutinary automatised quality controls, they are immediately available through its dedicated webpage (www.boya_agl.st.ieo.es). Monthly CTDO2 data from the hydrographic section are lab-calibrated in order to obtain acurated values of salinity, dissolved oxygen and density, and added to the long-term time series. Biscay-AGL data are quality controlled, flagged and formatted according internationally agreed standards (2, 3) and routinely sent to the IEO Datacenter. This added-value controlled data are incorporated to the IEO permanent archive and made freely available through the SeaDataNet infrastructure for data access and discovery. Derived products. Data acquired by Biscay-AGL may be displayed as timeseries as usual, but end-users are benefited by derived products which provide direct information. A recently developed software tool produces not only timeseries of several parameters at different time resolutions but also derived products, both real and delayed time. Derived products from this buoy include, but not only, annual cycles as well as anomalous values, air-sea heat fluxes, salinity and water temperature anomalies, subinertial currents series, chlorophyll surface series, estimations of the mixed layer depth and wind and currents roses. Sensor Web Enablement (SWE). Sensor Web infrastructures are setup to access real-time data observed by sensors. This system has been implemented in AGL buoy sensors in order to simplify the retrieved events and alerts triggered through sensors. All those functionalities of the Sensor Web are provided in an interoperable way, following the standards stablished by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). By defining standardized service interfaces, these services hides the heterogeneity of the sensor network, its communication details, enabling the access to archived sensor data that can be discovered and accessed using standard protocols and application programming interfaces
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