Variabilidad de peso vivo: Efectos sobre el rendimiento y la gestión de los cebaderos porcinos

publishedTomo I . Sección: Sistemas Ganaderos-Economía y Gestión. Sesión: Conejos, abejas, peces y cerdos. Ponencia nº 2

Modulation of the electroluminescence emission from ZnO/Si NCs/p-Si light-emitting devices via pulsed excitation

In this work, the electroluminescence (EL) emission of zinc oxide (ZnO)/Si nanocrystals (NCs)-based light-emitting devices was studied under pulsed electrical excitation. Both Si NCs and deep-level ZnO defects were found to contribute to the observed EL. Symmetric square voltage pulses (50-μs period) were found to notably enhance EL emission by about one order of magnitude. In addition, the control of the pulse parameters (accumulation and inversion times) was found to modify the emission lineshape, long inversion times (i.e., short accumulation times) suppressing ZnO defects contribution. The EL results were discussed in terms of the recombination dynamics taking place within the ZnO/Si NCs heterostructure, suggesting the excitation mechanism of the luminescent centers via a combination of electron impact, bipolar injection, and sequential carrier injection within their respective conduction regimes

Photoelectrical reading in ZnO/Si NCs/p-Si resistive switching devices

The increasing need for efficient memories with integrated functionalities in a single device has led the electronics community to investigate and develop different materials for resistive switching (RS) applications. Among these materials, the well-known Si nanocrystals (NCs) have demonstrated to exhibit RS properties, which add to the wealth of phenomena that have been studied on this model material platform. In this work, we present ZnO/Si NCs/p-Si resistive switching devices whose resistance state can be electrically read at 0 V under the application of low-power monochromatic illumination. The presented effect is studied in terms of the inner structural processes and electronic physics of the device. In particular, the creation of conductive filaments through the Si NC multilayers induces a low-resistance path for photogenerated carriers to get extracted from the device, whereas in the pristine state charge extraction is strongly quenched due to the insulating nature of the NC-embedding SiO2 matrix. In addition, spectral inspection of the generated photocurrent allowed unveiling the role of Si NCs in the reported effect. Overall, the hereby shown results pave the way to obtain memories whose RS state can be read under low-power conditions

Hot wire chemical vapor deposition: limits and opportunities of protecting the tungsten catalyzer from silicide with a cavity

Hot Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition (HW-CVD) is one of the most promising techniques for depositing the intrinsic microcrystalline silicon layer for the production of micro-morph solar cells. However, the silicide formation at the colder ends of the tungsten wire drastically reduces the lifetime of the catalyzer, thus limiting its industrial exploitation. A simple but interesting strategy to decrease the silicide formation is to hide the electrical contacts of the catalyzer in a long narrow cavity which reduces the probability of the silane molecules to reach the colder ends of the wire. In this paper, the working mechanism of the cavity is elucidated. Measurements of the thickness profile of the silicon deposited in the internal walls of the cavity have been compared with those predicted using a simple diffusion model based on the assumption of Knudsen flow. A lifetime study of the protected and unprotected wires has been carried out. The different mechanisms which determine the deterioration of the catalyzer have been identified and discussed

Silicon nanocrystals-based electroluminescent resistive switching device

In the last few years, the emergence of studies concerning the resistive switching (RS) phenomenon has resulted in the finding of a large amount of materials being capable of acting as an active layer in such devices, i.e., the layer where the change in resistance takes place. Whereas the normal operation consists of the electrical readout of the modified resistance state of the device after electrical writing, electro-photonic approaches seek the involvement of light in these devices, be it either for the active Set or Reset operations or the readout. We propose in this work silicon nanocrystal multilayers (Si NC MLs) as an active material for being used in RS devices, taking advantage of their outstanding optical properties. The resistance states of Si NC MLs were obtained by electrical excitation, whose readout is carried out by electrical and electro-optical means, thanks to a distinguishable electroluminescence emission under each state. To achieve this, we report on an adequate design that combines both the Si NC MLs with ZnO as a transparent conductive oxide, whose material properties ensure the device RS performance while allowing the electro-optical characterization. Overall, such an occurrence states the demonstration of a Si NCs-based electroluminescent RS device, which paves the way for their future integration into photonic integrated circuits

Multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase IV-III study to evaluate the efficacy of cloxacillin plus fosfomycin versus cloxacillin alone in adult patients with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: Study protocol for the SAFO trial

Introduction Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteraemia is a frequent condition, with high mortality rates. There is a growing interest in identifying new therapeutic regimens able to reduce therapeutic failure and mortality observed with the standard of care of beta-lactam monotherapy. In vitro and small-scale studies have found synergy between cloxacillin and fosfomycin against S. aureus. Our aim is to test the hypothesis that cloxacillin plus fosfomycin achieves higher treatment success than cloxacillin alone in patients with MSSA bacteraemia. Methods We will perform a superiority, randomised, open-label, phase IV-III, two-armed parallel group (1:1) clinical trial at 20 Spanish tertiary hospitals. Adults (=18 years) with isolation of MSSA from at least one blood culture =72 hours before inclusion with evidence of infection, will be randomly allocated to receive either cloxacillin 2 g/4-hour intravenous plus fosfomycin 3 g/6-hour intravenous or cloxacillin 2 g/4-hour intravenous alone for 7 days. After the first week, sequential treatment and total duration of antibiotic therapy will be determined according to clinical criteria by the attending physician. Primary endpoints: (1) Treatment success at day 7, a composite endpoint comprising all the following criteria: patient alive, stable or with improved quick-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, afebrile and with negative blood cultures for MSSA at day 7. (2) Treatment success at test of cure (TOC) visit: patient alive and no isolation of MSSA in blood culture or at another sterile site from day 8 until TOC (12 weeks after randomisation). We assume a rate of treatment success of 74% in the cloxacillin group. Accepting alpha risk of 0.05 and beta risk of 0.2 in a two-sided test, 183 subjects will be required in each of the control and experimental groups to obtain statistically significant difference of 12% (considered clinically significant). Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from the Ethics Committee of Bellvitge University Hospital (AC069/18) and from the Spanish Medicines and Healthcare Product Regulatory Agency (AEMPS, AC069/18), and is valid for all participating centres under existing Spanish legislation. The results will be presented at international meetings and will be made available to patients and funders. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ

Pervasive lesion segregation shapes cancer genome evolution

Cancers arise through the acquisition of oncogenic mutations and grow through clonal expansion. Here we reveal that most mutagenic DNA lesions are not resolved as mutations within a single cell-cycle. Instead, DNA lesions segregate unrepaired into daughter cells for multiple cell generations, resulting in the chromosome-scale phasing of subsequent mutations. We characterise this process in mutagen-induced mouse liver tumours and show that DNA replication across persisting lesions can produce multiple alternative alleles in successive cell divisions, thereby generating both multi-allelic and combinatorial genetic diversity. The phasing of lesions enables the accurate measurement of strand biased repair processes, quantification of oncogenic selection, and fine mapping of sister chromatid exchange events. Finally, we demonstrate that lesion segregation is a unifying property of exogenous mutagens, including UV light and chemotherapy agents in human cells and tumours, which has profound implications for the evolution and adaptation of cancer genomes.This work was supported by: Cancer Research UK (20412, 22398), the European Research Council (615584, 682398), the Wellcome Trust (WT108749/Z/15/Z, WT106563/Z/14/A, WT202878/B/16/Z), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the MRC Human Genetics Unit core funding programme grants (MC_UU_00007/11, MC_UU_00007/16), and the ERDF/Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-Spanish State Research Agency/DamReMap Project (RTI2018-094095-B-I00)

Integrative pathway enrichment analysis of multivariate omics data

Multi-omics datasets represent distinct aspects of the central dogma of molecular biology. Such high-dimensional molecular profiles pose challenges to data interpretation and hypothesis generation. ActivePathways is an integrative method that discovers significantly enriched pathways across multiple datasets using statistical data fusion, rationalizes contributing evidence and highlights associated genes. As part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2658 cancers across 38 tumor types, we integrated genes with coding and non-coding mutations and revealed frequently mutated pathways and additional cancer genes with infrequent mutations. We also analyzed prognostic molecular pathways by integrating genomic and transcriptomic features of 1780 breast cancers and highlighted associations with immune response and anti-apoptotic signaling. Integration of ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data for master regulators of the Hippo pathway across normal human tissues identified processes of tissue regeneration and stem cell regulation. ActivePathways is a versatile method that improves systems-level understanding of cellular organization in health and disease through integration of multiple molecular datasets and pathway annotations

Identifying comorbidities and lifestyle factors contributing to the cognitive profile of early Parkinson's disease

Background: Identifying modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment in the early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) and estimating their impact on cognitive status may help prevent dementia (PDD) and the design of cognitive trials. Methods: Using a standard approach for the assessment of global cognition in PD and controlling for the effects of age, education and disease duration, we explored the associations between cognitive status, comorbidities, metabolic variables and lifestyle variables in 533 PD participants from the COPPADIS study. Results: Among the overall sample, 21% of participants were classified as PD-MCI (n = 114) and 4% as PDD (n = 26). The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in cognitively impaired patients while no between-group differences were found for smoking, alcohol intake or use of supplementary vitamins. Better cognitive scores were significantly associated with regular physical exercise (p < 0.05) and cognitive stimulation (< 0.01). Cognitive performance was negatively associated with interleukin 2 (Il2) (p < 0.05), Il6 (p < 0.05), iron (p < 0.05), and homocysteine (p < 0.005) levels, and positively associated with vitamin B12 levels (p < 0.005). Conclusions: We extend previous findings regarding the positive and negative influence of various comorbidities and lifestyle factors on cognitive status in early PD patients, and reinforce the need to identify and treat potentially modifiable variables with the intention of exploring the possible improvement of the global cognitive status of patients with PD

The Impact of Culturing the Organ Preservation Fluid on Solid Organ Transplantation: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study

Background. We analyzed the prevalence, etiology, and risk factors of culture-positive preservation fluid and their impact on the management of solid organ transplant recipients. Methods. From July 2015 to March 2017, 622 episodes of adult solid organ transplants at 7 university hospitals in Spain were prospectively included in the study. Results. The prevalence of culture-positive preservation fluid was 62.5% (389/622). Nevertheless, in only 25.2% (98/389) of the cases were the isolates considered ?high risk? for pathogenicity. After applying a multivariate regression analysis, advanced donor age was the main associated factor for having culture-positive preservation fluid for high-risk microorganisms. Preemptive antibiotic therapy was given to 19.8% (77/389) of the cases. The incidence rate of preservation fluid?related infection was 1.3% (5 recipients); none of these patients had received preemptive therapy. Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with high-risk culture-positive preservation fluid receiving preemptive antibiotic therapy presented both a lower cumulative incidence of infection and a lower rate of acute rejection and graft loss compared with those who did not have high-risk culture-positive preservation fluid. After adjusting for age, sex, type of transplant, and prior graft rejection, preemptive antibiotic therapy remained a significant protective factor for 90-day infection. Conclusions. The routine culture of preservation fluid may be considered a tool that provides information about the contamination of the transplanted organ. Preemptive therapy for SOT recipients with high-risk culture-positive preservation fluid may be useful to avoid preservation fluid?related infections and improve the outcomes of infection, graft loss, and graft rejection in transplant patients