A Novel Ultrasound-based Measure of the Liver among Diabetes Mellitus Type II Patients

Diabetes mellitus type II (DM II) or adult onset diabetes is due to the inefficient use of insulin, which affects various organs and tissues. Patients with DM II are at risk of suffering non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that can later develop into more life threating forms such as hepatomegaly, cirrhosis or liver cancer. Following the logic of the non-inferiority trial test, we aim to establish a more accurate anatomical measure of the right liver lobe (RLL) to facilitate close monitoring of liver size with ultrasound (US). We hypothesize that US is not unacceptably worse than computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to accurately and reliably measure the size of the RLL when the measure is taken in the midaxillary line and craniocaudal plane (MAL-CC). Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct a non-inferiority trial to test our novel MAL-CC measure. To meet this aim, US measure of the RLL was taken from DM II (n=7) and non-DM II (n=5) patients, whom were recruited from 2 endocrinology clinics at SoM-UPR. Preliminary data shows that MAL-CC measure of the RLL from non-DM II patients is 13.99 + 2.53 cm whereas the same measurement among DM II patients is 15.25 + 3.25 cm (Mann-Whitney U test, p= 0.42). It is concluded that there is a non-significant trend for large RLL sizes among DM II patients. Future work aims to increase sample size and to validate our novel measurement with MRI

Optical Breakdown in Gases Induced by High-power IR CO2 Laser Pulses

This chapter reviews some fundamentals of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and describes some experimental studies developed in our laboratory on gases such as nitrogen, oxygen and air. LIBS of these gases at different pressures, in the spectral range ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR), was excited by using a high-power transverse excitation atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser (¿=9.621 or 10.591 ¿m; tFWHM=64 ns; and different laser power densities). The spectra of the generated plasmas are dominated by emission of strong atomic, ionic species and molecular bands. Excitation temperatures are estimated from the intensities of atomic and ionic lines. Electron number densities are deduced from the Stark broadening of several ionic lines. The characteristics of the spectral emission intensities from different species have been investigated as functions of the gas pressure and laser irradiance. Optical breakdown threshold intensities in different gases have been experimentally measured. The physical processes leading to laser-induced breakdown of gases have been analyzed. Plasma characteristics of LIBS in air are examined in detail on the emission lines of N+, O+ and C by using time-resolved optical-emission spectroscopy (OES) technique. The results show a faster decay of continuum and ionic spectral species than of neutral atomic and molecular ones. The velocity and kinetic energy distributions for the different species are obtained from time-of-flight (TOF) OES measurements. Excitation temperatures and electron densities in the laser-induced plasma are estimated from the analysis of spectral data at various times from the laser pulse incidence. Temporal evolution of electron density has been used for the estimation of the three-body recombination rate constant.Peer Reviewe

Temporal evolution of the laser-induced plasma generated by IR CO 2 pulsed laser on carbon targets

Time-resolved optical emission analysis was carried out for the plasma plume, produced by high-power tunable IR CO2 pulsed laser ablation of graphite, at λ=10.591 μm and in a regime of relatively high laser fluences (123-402 J/ cm2). Wavelength-dispersed spectra of the plasma plume, at medium-vacuum conditions (4 Pa) and at 9.0 mm from the target, show ionized species (C+, C2+, C3+, C4+, N2 +, N+, and O+), neutral atoms (C, H, N, and O), and neutral diatomic molecules (C2, CN, OH, CH, and N2). In this work, we focus our attention on the temporal evolution of different atomic/ionic and molecular species over a broad spectral range from 190 to 1000 nm. The results show a faster decay for ionic fragments than for neutral atomic and molecular species. The velocity and kinetic energy distributions for different species were obtained from time-of-flight measurements using time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. Possible mechanisms for the production of these distributions are discussed. Excitation temperature, electron density, and vibrational temperature in the laser-induced plasma were estimated from the analysis of spectral data at various times from the laser pulse incidence. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewe

Integrated analysis of mismatch repair system in malignant astrocytomas

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.Malignant astrocytomas are the most aggressive primary brain tumors with a poor prognosis despite optimal treatment. Dysfunction of mismatch repair (MMR) system accelerates the accumulation of mutations throughout the genome causing uncontrolled cell growth. The aim of this study was to characterize the MMR system defects that could be involved in malignant astrocytoma pathogenesis. We analyzed protein expression and promoter methylation of MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6 as well as microsatellite instability (MSI) and MMR gene mutations in a set of 96 low- and high-grade astrocytomas. Forty-one astrocytomas failed to express at least one MMR protein. Loss of MSH2 expression was more frequent in low-grade astrocytomas. Loss of MLH1 expression was associated with MLH1 promoter hypermethylation and MLH1 -93G>A promoter polymorphism. However, MSI was not related with MMR protein expression and only 5% of tumors were MSI-High. Furthermore, the incidence of tumors carrying germline mutations in MMR genes was low and only one glioblastoma was associated with Lynch syndrome. Interestingly, survival analysis identified that tumors lacking MSH6 expression presented longer overall survival in high-grade astrocytoma patients treated only with radiotherapy while MSH6 expression did not modify the prognosis of those patients treated with both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Our findings suggest that MMR system alterations are a frequent event in malignant astrocytomas and might help to define a subgroup of patients with different outcome.This work was supported by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS PI 10/00219), Instituto de Estudios de Ciencias de la Salud de Castilla y León IECSCYL and Junta de Castilla y León y Fondo Social Europeo (Orden EDU/330/2008).Peer Reviewe

Notes, new records, new combinations, a new genus and three new species in Hemilophini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae)

The number of specimens in the type series of Hemilophus leuconotus Laporte, 1840 (= Cirrhicera leu­conota) is corrected. Cirrhicera leucronota Thomson, 1857 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Hemilophini), currently considered lapsus calami or an error to C. leuconotus, and the number of specimens in the type series is also corrected. Cirrhicera leuconota is recorded from Guatemala for the first time. The sex of the holotype of Lamacoscylus albatus Martins, Santos-Silva and Galileo, 2015, is corrected, and a new state record in Mexico is provided. The description of the antennae in females of Lamacoscylus Martins and Galileo, 1991 is discussed; Malacoscylus humilis Bates, 1881 (currently Lamacoscylus humilis) sensu Gahan (1892) is discussed and the two varieties described by him, M. humilis var. fulvescens and M. humilis var. grisescens (only part of the speci­mens), as well as M. usingeri Linsley, 1935 are transferred to Schmidarius Santos-Silva, Heffern, Botero and Nascimento, new genus. Additionally, a new species from Mexico (Mexico) is described in Schmidarius as S. kondratieffi Santos-Silva, Heffern, Botero and Nascimento. The correct type-species of Phoebe Audinet-Serville, 1835 is determined as Saperda bicornis Olivier, 1800 and Phoebe phoebe Lepeletier and Audinet-Serville, 1825 and Phoebe tinga Martins and Galileo, 1998 are transferred to Phoebella Lane, 1966, which is redescribed. Leu­cophoebe Lane, 1976 is synonymized with Phoebe. A key to species of Hemilophini with 12-segmented antennae is provided. The differences between Callanga Lane, 1973 and Lapazina Lane, 1973 are discussed, and a new spe­cies of Callanga from Peru is described as C. ashaninka Santos-Silva, Heffern, Botero and Nascimento. A new species of Fredlanea Martins and Galileo, 1996 from Colombia is described as F. lazulina Santos-Silva, Heffern, Botero and Nascimento; a new department record in Colombia is provided for Fredlanea consobrina (Lane, 1970) and a chromatic variation in this species is discussed

Spectrally and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence of undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanowires: a local probe into activation of Mg acceptors in non-polar and semi-polar crystal faces

Producción CientíficaSpectrally and spatially resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements were carried out at 80 K on undoped/Mg-doped GaN core-shell nanowires grown by selective area growth metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy in order to investigate locally the optical activity of the Mg dopants. A study of the luminescence emission distribution over the different regions of the nanowires is presented. We have investigated the CL fingerprints of the Mg incorporation into the non-polar lateral prismatic facets and the semi-polar facets of the pyramidal tips. The amount of Mg incorporation/activation was varied by using several Mg/Ga flow ratios and post-growth annealing treatments. For lower Mg/Ga flow ratios, the annealed nanowires clearly display a donor-acceptor pair band emission peaking at 3.26-3.27 eV and up to 4 LO phonon replicas, which can be considered as a reliable indicator of effective p-type Mg doping in the nanowire shell. For higher Mg/Ga flow ratios, a substantial enhancement of the yellow luminescence emission as well as several emission subbands are observed, which suggests an increase of disorder and the presence of defects as a consequence of the excess Mg doping,Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA302U13

Adherencia al tratamiento con fármacos moduladores de la enfermedad sintéticos en la artritis reumatoide. Resultados del estudio OBSERVAR

[Abstract] Background: Treatment compliance with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) is essential to achieve the therapeutic goals in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, despite the need for good compliance, there is evidence that patients with RA frequently fail to use DMARD for the control of RA. Thus, the main objective of the OBSERVAR study is to evaluate the reasons for the lack of therapeutic adherence to synthetic DMARD in these patients. Patients and methods: A Delphi process involving 18 randomly selected Spanish rheumatologists determined the level of agreement with 66 causes of noncompliance selected from the literature in relation to synthetic DMARD in RA. Results: The reasons for noncompliance were consistent in 75.7%, although 3 reasons (4.5%) were highly consistent: 1) not knowing what to do in the case of an adverse event with DMARD; 2) not having undergone adherence screening by health personnel for early detection of "noncompliant patients"; and 3) not having undergone interventions or strategies that improve adherence. Conclusion: In order to improve adherence to RA treatment with synthetic DMARD, the patient should be adequately informed of each new treatment introduced, the patient's compliance profile should be incorporated into the clinical routine and the patient's motivation for therapeutic compliance be reinforced through the methods available to us.[Resumen] Introducción. La cumplimentación del tratamiento modificador de la enfermedad es esencial para alcanzar los objetivos terapéuticos en la artritis reumatoide (AR). Sin embargo, y a pesar de la necesidad de una buena adherencia, existe evidencia de que muchos pacientes con AR no cumplen adecuadamente con la prescripción del tratamiento indicado con fármacos moduladores de la enfermedad de acción lenta (FAME) sintéticos o convencionales. Conscientes de la importancia de este hecho, el estudio sobre observancia terapéutica en AR (estudio OBSERVAR) tiene como objetivo principal valorar los motivos de la falta de adherencia terapéutica a los FAME sintéticos en estos pacientes. Pacientes y métodos. Mediante un proceso Delphi entre 18 reumatólogos españoles seleccionados aleatoriamente se determinó el grado de acuerdo con 66 causas de incumplimiento seleccionadas de la bibliografía, en relación con los FAME sintéticos en la AR. Resultados. Los motivos de incumplimiento fueron consistentes en el 75,7%, si bien 3 razones (4,5%) destacaron como muy consistentes: 1) desconocer qué hacer cuando se sufre un acontecimiento adverso con el FAME; 2) no llevar a cabo métodos de cribado de la adherencia por el personal sanitario para detectar a los «pacientes incumplidores» de forma temprana y 3) no aplicar intervenciones o estrategias que mejoren la adherencia terapéutica. Conclusión. Para mejorar la adherencia al tratamiento de la AR con FAME sintéticos se debe informar al paciente de cada tratamiento nuevo introducido, incorporar el perfil de cumplimiento del paciente en la rutina clínica, y reforzar la motivación del paciente al cumplimiento terapéutico mediante los métodos a nuestro alcance

PPARα-targeted mitochondrial bioenergetics mediate repair of intestinal barriers at the host-microbe intersection during SIV infection.

Chronic gut inflammatory diseases are associated with disruption of intestinal epithelial barriers and impaired mucosal immunity. HIV-1 (HIV) causes depletion of mucosal CD4+ T cells early in infection and disruption of gut epithelium, resulting in chronic inflammation and immunodeficiency. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective in suppressing viral replication, it is incapable of restoring the "leaky gut," which poses an impediment for HIV cure efforts. Strategies are needed for rapid repair of the epithelium to protect intestinal microenvironments and immunity in inflamed gut. Using an in vivo nonhuman primate intestinal loop model of HIV/AIDS, we identified the pathogenic mechanism underlying sustained disruption of gut epithelium and explored rapid repair of gut epithelium at the intersection of microbial metabolism. Molecular, immunological, and metabolomic analyses revealed marked loss of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) signaling, predominant impairment of mitochondrial function, and epithelial disruption both in vivo and in vitro. To elucidate pathways regulating intestinal epithelial integrity, we introduced probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum into Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-inflamed intestinal lumen. Rapid recovery of the epithelium occurred within 5 h of L. plantarum administration, independent of mucosal CD4+ T cell recovery, and in the absence of ART. This intestinal barrier repair was driven by L. plantarum-induced PPARα activation and restoration of mitochondrial structure and fatty acid β-oxidation. Our data highlight the critical role of PPARα at the intersection between microbial metabolism and epithelial repair in virally inflamed gut and as a potential mitochondrial target for restoring gut barriers in other infectious or gut inflammatory diseases

Higgs algebraic symmetry of screened system in a spherical geometry

The orbits and the dynamical symmetries for the screened Coulomb potentials and isotropic harmonic oscillators have been studied by Wu and Zeng [Z. B. Wu and J. Y. Zeng, Phys. Rev. A 62,032509 (2000)]. We find the similar properties in the responding systems in a spherical space, whose dynamical symmetries are described by Higgs Algebra. There exists a conserved aphelion and perihelion vector, which, together with angular momentum, constitute the generators of the geometrical symmetry group at the aphelia and perihelia points $(\dot{r}=0)$.Comment: 8 pages, 1 fi

Orientar las Transiciones del alumnado inmigrante: más que un reto multiprofesional

ABSTRACTGuiding students through the educational transitions is essential for their correct development during their educational years and for their labor and social future. When dealing with immigrant students, this task acquires even greater importance, and becomes more complex due to other factors such as the culture of origin, the migratory processes, previous school experience, and the intrinsic difficulties to adapt to the new settings. In this article, based on a six instrumental case study, we have explored this dimension in the teaching and guiding strategies carried out in Spanish primary and secondary schools, separately and as whole, in order to reveal the possibilities, limitations and consequences of such strategies. Particularly, we show the difficulty to put into practice comprehensive interprofessional strategies, due to current official curricular policies and the dominant educational thinking of schools and their professionals. The cases studied show how, for these boys and girls, educational transitions become permanent processes of accommodation, mediated by teachers’ actions, guiding and mediation efforts, and traditional curricular structure, whose effectiveness is low, by the contradictions that occur between inclusive purposes pretended and daily practices to get them.RESUMENLa orientación de los procesos de transición dentro del sistema educativo es una labor esencial para ayudar a los estudiantes en su transcurrir académico y sociolaboral. Cuando se trata de alumnado inmigrante, esa tarea adquiere aún mayor importancia, al tiempo que se complejiza al interactuar otros factores como la cultura de origen, los procesos migratorios, las experiencias escolares previas, las dificultades adaptativas al nuevo contexto, etc. En este artículo, sustentado en un estudio multicaso -integrado por seis casos instrumentales, llevados a cabo en zonas escolares con significativo porcentaje de dicho alumnado-, hemos indagado en las estrategias docentes y orientadoras que se ponen en marcha en escuelas e institutos y las interacciones entre ellos, para cubrir esta dimensión ineludible del trabajo educativo, evidenciando las posibilidades, limitaciones y consecuencias de tales acciones; así mismo, se muestra la dificultad para poner en marcha actuaciones interprofesionales integrales, mediatizadas por las políticas curriculares oficiales y por el pensamiento práctico pedagógico hegemónico de los centros educativos y de sus profesionales. Los casos aquí estudiados, muestran cómo, para estos chicos y chicas, las transiciones académicas se convierten en procesos permanentes de re-acomodación encadenada, mediatizada por las acciones docentes, orientadoras, de mediación y estructura curricular tradicional, cuya efectividad es baja, debido a las contradicciones que se producen entre las finalidades inclusivas pretendidas y las prácticas cotidianas para conseguirlas.ABSTRACTGuiding students through the educational transitions is essential for their correct development during their educational years and for their labor and social future. When dealing with immigrant students, this task acquires even greater importance, and becomes more complex due to other factors such as the culture of origin, the migratory processes, previous school experience, and the intrinsic difficulties to adapt to the new settings. In this article, based on a six instrumental case study, we have explored this dimension in the teaching and guiding strategies carried out in Spanish primary and secondary schools, separately and as whole, in order to reveal the possibilities, limitations and consequences of such strategies. Particularly, we show the difficulty to put into practice comprehensive interprofessional strategies, due to current official curricular policies and the dominant educational thinking of schools and their professionals. The cases studied show how, for these boys and girls, educational transitions become permanent processes of accommodation, mediated by teachers’ actions, guiding and mediation efforts, and traditional curricular structure, whose effectiveness is low, by the contradictions that occur between inclusive purposes pretended and daily practices to get them.