Physical-mechanical properties of a granite used in the UNESCO World Heritage of the north of Portugal after high-temperature pretreatment

This paper studies the evolution of physical and mechanical properties of 46 cubic samples of a granite widely used in the UNESCO World Heritage of the north of Portugal pre-treated at different temperatures (between 105 and 700 °C) and cooled under different conditions (i.e., aircooled and water-cooled). The results showed that specific gravity and mineralogy did not exhibit significant changes after the thermal pre-treatment. In contrast, density, porosity, ultrasonic properties, uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus showed important variations, mainly at temperatures higher than 500 ºC. The SEM analyses clearly show an increase in the density of cracks, as well as in the width and length of the cracks from 500 ºC. Furthermore, it was observed an amplification of the damage in those samples cooled by water immersion. These results are of relevance for the evaluation of the integrity level of buildings built using this rock after a fire.This work was partially funded by the University of Alicante (UAUSTI18-21, UAUSTI19-25 and UAUSTI20-20 projects), the Regional Governments of Comunidad Valenciana AICO/2020/175 and CIAICO/2021/335, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and EU FEDER under Project TEC2017-85244-C2-1-P, and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport under project CAS17/00392. The authors also want to thank Idael F. Blanco of the Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra de la Universidad de Alicante for the petrographic description of the thin section

Clinical Relevance of Medicinal Plants and Foods of Vegetal Origin on the Activity of Cytochrome P450

Drug metabolism is a pharmacokinetic process whose main objective is to modify the chemical structure of drugs to easily excretable compounds. This process is carried out through phase I and phase II reactions. The enzymes of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) participate in phase I reactions, and their activity can be inhibited or induced by xenobiotics. The aim of this chapter is to study the clinical relevance of the induction and inhibition of CYP450, by describing the effect that some bioactive compounds present in medicinal plants or foods can modify, either increasing or decreasing the activity of CYP450 enzymes and with it modify the bioavailability and depuration of drugs. Examples will be described on the interaction of medicinal plants and foods of vegetal origin that when combined with some drugs can generate toxicity or therapeutic failure; this will allow gathering relevant information on the adequate pharmacological management in different clinical situations

Administración de la cartera de créditos personales otorgados por cooperativa de viviendas y servicios múltiples COVISAMA R.L localizada en el municipio de san marcos, Carazo durante el periodo del año 2019 al año 2020

Esta investigación se analiza la administración de la cartera de créditos personales otorgados por la cooperativa de vivienda y servicios múltiples COVISAMA R, L localizada en el municipio de San Marcos, Carazo durante el periodo del año 2019 al año 2020, y conocer a fondo los factores principales que inciden en la administración y manejo del crédito personal otorgados por la Cooperativa, tales como lo son las condiciones, requerimientos, procesos iniciales y finales del crédito, métodos de pago, gestión de cobranza, cartera en mora etc. Covisama es una organización financiera dedicada a la prestación de servicios crediticios y múltiples servicios. En el estudio se abordan cuatro ejes teóricos: Cooperativa, Crédito, administración del crédito, cuentas por cobrar. Esta investigación es de tipo cualitativo, se aplicó entrevista semiestructurada a trabajador de Covisama, donde se desarrolló la investigación para cumplir con el objetivo de analizar los factores que inciden con la administración de los créditos personales. Como principal resultado se obtuvo que los factores que realizan el proceso de crédito de la empresa son: su política de entrevistar al fiador, tasas de intereses, gestión de cobro entre otras. Las principales estrategias propuestas son: aumento de periodicidad de los Comités de Aprobación, diseño de un plan publicitario y propagandístico más Eficaz en la administración de los créditos y sus métodos de cobranzas, diseño de un plan de actividades para el área de Crédito y capacitaciones de carácter operativas y administrativas

Aprovechamiento integral del grano de Quinoa. Aspectos tecnológicos, fisioquímicos, nutricionales y sensoriales.

El libro APROVECHAMIENTO INTEGRAL DEL GRANO DE QUINOA. Aspectos Tecnológicos, Fisicoquímicos, Nutricionales y Sensoriales, tiene por objeto difundir las investigaciones y desarrollos realizados en la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina por el “Grupo quinoa”. Este grupo está constituido por un conjunto de docentes-investigadores los que integran un equipo multidisciplinario que llevan a cabo su trabajo en el Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos (ICTA) y del Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos Córdoba (ICYTAC), Unidad Ejecutora del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)

Extraction, purification and characterization of galactomannans from non-traditional sources

This work presents a methodology for the extraction of galactomannans from seeds of four different species of Leguminosae (Adenanthera pavonina, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Gleditsia triacanthos and Sophora japonica) to be used e.g. in the food and biomedical industries. The galactomannans were obtained by aqueous extraction followed by a precipitation with ethanol. This methodology is simpler and easier to perform than other existing extraction and purification methodologies, and because it avoids the use of organic solvents (other than ethanol), it is able to generate food grade substances and is environmentally friendlier. The yield of extraction in different stages of the process, monosaccharide composition, as well as physical and chemical parameters of the isolated galactomannans were determined and compared with previously published results. The mannose/galactose ratio of the extracted galactomannans ranged from 1.35 (A. pavonina) to 5.75 (S. japonica). The intrinsic viscosity ranged from 11.34 dL/g (C. pulcherrima) to 8.74 dL/g (S. japonica), while the viscosity average molecular mass ranged between 1.81 * 10 6Da and 1.17 * 10 6Da (A. pavonina > C. pulcherrima > G. triacanthos > S. japonica). The results confirm the suitability of the extraction and purification procedure to obtain galactomannans from non-traditional sources.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil)Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)ALFA VALNATURA Project of Europe Aid Cooperation Office (EU

ERS International Congress 2022: highlights from the Respiratory Clinical Care and Physiology Assembly

It is a challenge to keep abreast of all the clinical and scientific advances in the field of respiratory medicine. This article contains an overview of the laboratory-based science, clinical trials and qualitative research that were presented during the 2022 European Respiratory Society International Congress within the sessions from the five groups of Assembly 1 (Respiratory Clinical Care and Physiology). Selected presentations are summarised from a wide range of topics: clinical problems, rehabilitation and chronic care, general practice and primary care, mobile/electronic health (m-health/e-health), clinical respiratory physiology, exercise and functional imaging

The metabolic microenvironment of melanomas: prognostic value of MCT1 and MCT4

BRAF mutations are known drivers of melanoma development and, recently, were also described as players in the Warburg effect, while this reprogramming of energy metabolism has been identified as a possible strategy for treating melanoma patients. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the expression and prognostic value of a panel of glycolytic metabolism-related proteins in a series of melanomas. The immunohistochemical expression of MCT1, MCT4, GLUT1, and CAIX was evaluated in 356 patients presenting melanoma and 20 patients presenting benign nevi. Samples included 20 benign nevi, 282 primary melanomas, 117 lymph node and 54 distant metastases samples. BRAF mutation was observed in 29/92 (31.5%) melanoma patients and 17/20 (85%) benign nevi samples. NRAS mutation was observed in 4/36 (11.1%) melanoma patients and 1/19 (5.3%) benign nevi samples. MCT4 and GLUT1 expression was significantly increased in metastatic samples, and MCT1, MCT4 and GLUT1 were significantly associated with poor prognostic variables. Importantly, MCT1 and MCT4 were associated with shorter overall survival. In conclusion, the present study brings new insights on metabolic aspects of melanoma, paving the way for the development of new-targeted therapies.This work was supported by FAPESP grant to VLV (2012/04194-1) and CP (2015/25351-6). VMG received a doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BD/51997/2012) from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and ON. 2 SR&TD Integrated Program (NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000017) co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2- O Novo Norte), Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (QREN), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Oral Anticoagulation and Risk of Symptomatic Hemorrhagic Transformation in Stroke Patients Treated With Mechanical Thrombectomy: Data From the Nordictus Registry

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate if prior oral anticoagulation (OAC) and its type determines a greater risk of symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) subjected to mechanical thrombectomy. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients with AIS included in the prospective reperfusion registry NORDICTUS, a network of tertiary stroke centers in Northern Spain, from January 2017 to December 2019 were included. Prior use of oral anticoagulants, baseline variables, and international normalized ratio (INR) on admission were recorded. Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome was the relation between INR and sICH, and we evaluated mortality and functional outcome at 3 months by modified Rankin scale. We compared patients with and without previous OAC and also considered the type of oral anticoagulants. Results: About 1.455 AIS patients were included, of whom 274 (19%) were on OAC, 193 (70%) on vitamin K antagonists (VKA), and 81 (30%) on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Anticoagulated patients were older and had more comorbidities. Eighty-one (5.6%) developed sICH, which was more frequent in the VKA group, but not in DOAC group. OAC with VKA emerged as a predictor of sICH in a multivariate regression model (OR, 1.89 [95% CI, 1.01–3.51], p = 0.04) and was not related to INR level on admission. Prior VKA use was not associated with worse outcome in the multivariate regression model nor with mortality at 3 months. Conclusions: OAC with VKA, but not with DOACs, was an independent predictor of sICH after mechanical thrombectomy. This excess risk was associated neither with INR value by the time thrombectomy was performed, nor with a worse functional outcome or mortality at 3 months

Gaining further insight into photo-Fenton treatment of phenolic compounds commonly found in food processing industry

A mixture of eight phenolic compounds, namely 2,4-dinitrophenol, tannic, ellagic, gallic, protocatechuic, vanillic, syringic and sinapic acids, have been treated by means of a photo-Fenton process under simulated and real sunlight. An experimental design methodology, based in Doehlert matrixes, was employed to check the effect of the concentration of Fe(II) and H2O2, as well as pH. Response surfaces show that photo-Fenton can be extended to pH values clearly above 2.8, probably due to complexation of iron with the phenolic substances. Experiments performed under solar irradiation at pH = 3.9 showed that complete removal of the monitored pollutants was achieved in less than 3 min; mineralisation was also efficient, although some organics remained in the solution. Toxicity was monitored according to Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Daphnia magna bioassays; Recombinant Yeast Assay (RYA) was employed to assess estrogenic and dioxin-like activities. 2,4-Dinitrophenol was demonstrated to be the major concern and, in general, photo-Fenton resulted in a detoxification of the solution. Finally, excitation emission matrix (EEM) fluorimetry was employed to obtain complementary information on the behaviour of organic matter. Most peaks associated with the parent pollutants disappeared after short irradiation periods and, at 12 min of irradiation chromophores were destroyed, what can be associated with the removal of complex molecules. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors want to thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Education y Ciencia (CTQ2012-38754-C03-02) and Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2015/074). Sara Garcia-Ballesteros would like to thank Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for her fellowship (BES-2013-066201).García Ballesteros, S.; Mora Carbonell, M.; Vicente Candela, R.; Sabater Marco, C.; Castillo López, MÁ.; Arques Sanz, A.; Amat Payá, AM. (2016). Gaining further insight into photo-Fenton treatment of phenolic compounds commonly found in food processing industry. Chemical Engineering Journal. 288:126-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2015.11.031S12613628

<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the HIPPARCOS and Tycho-2 catalogues – a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) – and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR-Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr−1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 HIPPARCOS stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr−1. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data