A soft-computing approach for non-invasive temperature estimation

The domain of thermal therapies applications can be improved with the development of accurate non-invasive timespatial temperature models. These models should represent the non-linear tissue thermal behaviour and be capable of tracking temperature at both time-instant and spatial position. If such estimators exist then efficient controllers for the therapeutic instrumentation could be developed, and the desired safety and effectiveness reached

Firms´productivity and the export market: a nonparametric approach

This paper examines total factor productivity differences between exporting and nonexporting firms. These differences are documented on the basis of a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 1991-1996 drawn from the ESEE. The paper also examines two complementary explanations for the superior productivity of exporting firms: 1) the market selection hypothesis, and 2) the learning hypothesis. Nonparametric tests are implemented for testing these hypothesis. Results indicate clearly higher levels of productivity for exporting firms than for non-exporting firms. Evidence favours the hypothesis of self-selection of more efficient firms into the export market. However there is little evidence that these efficiency gains are supportive of the learning-by-exporting hypothesis

Engineered bacteria as therapeutic agents

Although bacteria are generally regarded as the causative agents of infectious diseases, most bacteria inhabiting the human body are non-pathogenic and some of them can be turned, after proper engineering, into ‘smart’ living therapeutics of defined properties for the treatment of different illnesses. This review focuses on recent developments to engineer bacteria for the treatment of diverse human pathologies, including inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune disorders, cancer, metabolic diseases and obesity, as well as to combat bacterial and viral infections. We discuss significant advances provided by synthetic biology to fully reprogram bacteria as human therapeutics, including novel measures for strict biocontainment.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) (BIO2014- 60305R and BIO2011-26689), BACFITERed (SAF2014-56716-REDT)Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (S2010-BMD-2312)La Caixa FoundationMINECO (BES-2009-02405)Peer reviewe

Effects of no tillage on the abundance and diversity of soil and olive tree canopy arthropods.

Soil tillage is a traditional practice in the olive groves of Trás-os-Montes region (Northeast of Portugal) where the soil is maintained without any vegetal cover. However, this agronomic practice may have dangerous environmental effects of several orders. In this way, with the present work we aimed to contribute for the knowledge about the effect of two soil management practices in the olive grove (traditional tillage in comparison to no tillage) on the arthropods abundance and diversity of the olive grove soil and the olive tree canopy with special reference to Formicidae family. The work was developed between April and October of 2004, in two continuous plots submitted to the following agronomical practices: one plot submitted to frequent tillage to control weeds, and the other plot was no tilled. Monthly, the soil fauna was evaluated by 30 pitfall traps and olive canopy fauna was monitored by the beating technique of 25 trees per plot. The recovered material was sorted and identified. The results showed the existence of a diverse and rich fauna associated to the soil of olive grove and olive tree canopy. The olive soil arthropods are constituted mainly by Formicidae and Collembola

Thoracic Manifestations of Connective Tissue Diseases

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) comprise several immunologic systemic disorders, each of which associated with a particular set of clinical manifestations and autoimmune profile. CTDs may cause numerous thoracic abnormalities, which vary in frequency and pattern according to the underlying disorder. The CTDs that most commonly involve the respiratory system are progressive systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and mixed connective tissue disease. Pulmonary abnormalities in this group of patients may result from CTD-related lung disease or treatment complications, namely drug toxicity and opportunistic infections. The most important thoracic manifestations of CTDs are interstitial lung disease and pulmonary arterial hypertension, with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia being the most common pattern of interstitial lung disease. High-resolution computed tomography is a valuable tool in the initial evaluation and follow-up of patients with CTDs. As such, general knowledge of the most common high-resolution computed tomographic features of CTD-related lung disease allows the radiologist to contribute to better patient management

Damage tolerance assessment by bend and shear tests of two multilayer composites: Glass fibre reinforced metal laminate and aluminium roll-bonded laminate

The damage tolerance of an aluminium roll-bonded laminate (ALH19) and a glass fibre reinforced laminate (GLARE) (both based in Al 2024-T3) has been studied. The composite laminates have been tested under 3-point bend and shear tests on the interfaces to analyze their fracture behaviour. During the bend tests different fracture mechanisms were activated for both laminates, which depend on the constituent materials and their interfaces. The high intrinsic toughness of the pure Al 1050 layers present in the aluminium roll-bonded laminate (ALH19), together with extrinsic toughening mechanisms such as crack bridging and interface delamination were responsible for the enhanced toughness of this composite laminate. On the other hand, crack deflection by debonding between the glass fibres and the plastic resin in GLARE, was the main extrinsic toughening mechanism present in this composite laminateFinancial support from CICYT (Project MAT2003-01172) is gratefully acknowledged. C.M. Cepeda-Jiménez thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science for a Juan de la Cierva contract. Authors also thank Delft University of Technology for providing the GLARE.Peer reviewe

Stochastic locality and master-field simulations of very large lattices

In lattice QCD and other field theories with a mass gap, the field variables in distant regions of a physically large lattice are only weakly correlated. Accurate stochastic estimates of the expectation values of local observables may therefore be obtained from a single representative field. Such master-field simulations potentially allow very large lattices to be simulated, but require various conceptual and technical issues to be addressed. In this talk, an introduction to the subject is provided and some encouraging results of master-field simulations of the SU(3) gauge theory are reported.Comment: Talk given at the 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 18-24 June 2017, Granada, Spain; LaTeX source with 6 figure