Ice morphology modification and solute recovery improvement by heating and annealing during block freeze-concentration of coffee extracts

Several treatments on ice blocks can be applied during block freeze-concentration to increase the solute recovery from the ice. In the present study, the changes in the ice block’s temperature and the application of annealing during the block freeze-concentration of aqueous coffee extracts were studied. The ice block was subjected to heating and annealing prior to the thawing stage. The effect of coolant temperature during ice block heating (T = -10 and -5 °C) and the application of annealing (+, -) on solute recovery and ice structure morphology was evaluated. The use of annealing during block freeze-concentration modified the ice crystal morphology and increased the solute recovery only when it is applied at the highest temperature. In general, the annealing process increased the size and circularity of the ice crystals, consequently improving the solute recovery. Thus, annealing can be used to increase the solute recovery during block freeze-concentration.Postprint (published version

Mineralogía de los materiales detríticos de la Fm. Escucha (Albiense inferior) en el distrito minero de Teruel (sector Suroriental de la Cordillera Ibérica)

The present study focuses on the determination of the source areas of the Escucha Fm. (Albian) sediments in the Teruel Mining District (NE Spain). To this en4 we have carried out a detailed study of the heavy mineral fraction of the sandstone beds from this sedimentary unit at three stratigraphic successions at the Ariño-Oliete and Utrillas subbasins. The minerals found in the stratigraphic successions studied are in low proportions and a few mineral phases are present. Quartz is the dominant phase in the light mineral association, whereas potassium feldspars and plagioclase are in trace amounts. The opaque heavy minerals are hematite and goethite with minor amounts of pyrite. Finally, the transparent heavy minerals may be divided into the three following major associations: a) turmaline, zircon and rutile (resistant minerals); b) kyanite, staurolite and almandine (metamorphic association); and c) metamorphic mineral association from the Ctrillas sub-basin, characterised by very low heavy mineral proportions, and by the absence of one or various mineral phases from the association b. The flow directions from paleochannels and the absence of metarnorphic minerals in the sandstone levels of the upper unit of the Escucha Fm at the northern areas point to the "Platuforma del Ebro" as a possihle source area The minerals with this origin, with variable morphoscopy, could proceed from sedimentary recycling The metamorphic assemblage found in the southern areas may proceed from the "Macizo Castellano", where gneiss and mica-schists are present. It is not possible to precisse exactly the age of the source areas of the detrital sediments of the Escucha Fm This is due to the fact that these may have been different through the basin evolution, and also to the evidence of recycling processes The middle and lower units of the Escucha Fm at Ariño and Oliete, where the workable coa1 seams are present, show a metamorphic assemblage which demonstrate the Paleozoic age of the source lands Consequently, the Triassic units could also supply detrital minerals to the delta system of the Escucha Fm. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of the Triassic origin of the sulphur enrichment of the coals from the Ariño-Oliete area The recycling of detrital sediments from the Escucha Fm or a different source lana could account for the proteciion of the Utrillas sub-basin against the Triassic sulphate supply, and consequently for the lower sulphur content of the coals from this area.

Mineralogía de los materiales detríticos de la Fm. Escucha (Albiense inferior) en el distrito minero de Teruel (sector Suroriental de la Cordillera Ibérica)

The present study focuses on the determination of the source areas of the Escucha Fm. (Albian) sediments in the Teruel Mining District (NE Spain). To this en4 we have carried out a detailed study of the heavy mineral fraction of the sandstone beds from this sedimentary unit at three stratigraphic successions at the Ariño-Oliete and Utrillas subbasins. The minerals found in the stratigraphic successions studied are in low proportions and a few mineral phases are present. Quartz is the dominant phase in the light mineral association, whereas potassium feldspars and plagioclase are in trace amounts. The opaque heavy minerals are hematite and goethite with minor amounts of pyrite. Finally, the transparent heavy minerals may be divided into the three following major associations: a) turmaline, zircon and rutile (resistant minerals); b) kyanite, staurolite and almandine (metamorphic association); and c) metamorphic mineral association from the Ctrillas sub-basin, characterised by very low heavy mineral proportions, and by the absence of one or various mineral phases from the association b. The flow directions from paleochannels and the absence of metarnorphic minerals in the sandstone levels of the upper unit of the Escucha Fm at the northern areas point to the "Platuforma del Ebro" as a possihle source area The minerals with this origin, with variable morphoscopy, could proceed from sedimentary recycling The metamorphic assemblage found in the southern areas may proceed from the "Macizo Castellano", where gneiss and mica-schists are present. It is not possible to precisse exactly the age of the source areas of the detrital sediments of the Escucha Fm This is due to the fact that these may have been different through the basin evolution, and also to the evidence of recycling processes The middle and lower units of the Escucha Fm at Ariño and Oliete, where the workable coa1 seams are present, show a metamorphic assemblage which demonstrate the Paleozoic age of the source lands Consequently, the Triassic units could also supply detrital minerals to the delta system of the Escucha Fm. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of the Triassic origin of the sulphur enrichment of the coals from the Ariño-Oliete area The recycling of detrital sediments from the Escucha Fm or a different source lana could account for the proteciion of the Utrillas sub-basin against the Triassic sulphate supply, and consequently for the lower sulphur content of the coals from this area.

La Generación Interactiva frente a un nuevo escenario de comunicación. Retos sociales y educativos

A lo largo de los últimos años se ha configurado un escenario de comunicación al que niños y jóvenes se han adaptado rápidamente. Por este motivo, surge en nuestra sociedad el reto de averiguar las fórmulas de protección y educación más adecuadas para evitar que los menores naufraguen en este nuevo entorno, así como formular las oportunas reflexiones que ayuden en esta tarea a sus padres y responsables para alcanzar un uso y consumo responsable de las pantallas audiovisuales (televisión, teléfonos móviles, Internet y videojuegos). El Consejo Audiovisual de Navarra (CoAN), con este estudio y otras iniciativas –entre las que destaca la campaña de alfabetización mediática “Familia y Pantallas Audiovisuales”–, dirige sus esfuerzos hacia la defensa de los intereses legítimos de los usuarios de los medios de comunicación audiovisual y, muy especialmente, los intereses de los menores para preservar su correcto desarrollo físico, mental y moral

Prevalence of Cognitive Frailty, Do Psychosocial-Related Factors Matter?

Cognitive frailty (CF) is a topic of growing interest with implications for the study of preventive interventions in aging. Nevertheless, little research has been done to assess the influence of psychosocial variables on the risk of CF. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of CF in a Spanish sample and to explore the influence of psychosocial variables in this prevalence. Physical frailty and cognitive, functional, psychosocial, and socio-demographic aspects were assessed in a sample of 285 participants over 60 years. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were carried out. Aprevalence of 21.8% (95% CI 17.4-26.9) was established when both frail and pre-frail conditions were included, and a prevalence of 3.2% (95% CI 1.7-5.9) if only frail individuals were considered. Age, educational level, profession and psychological well-being variables significantly predicted CF. Frailty and pre-frailty are high-prevalence health conditions in older adults influenced by socio-demographic, socio-educative and affective factors

An Integration Scheme for Biomedical CT Image Segmentation

The 3D reconstruction of bones is very useful in medical applications such as presurgical planning of prosThesis implant. A vital step in the geometrical modeling of the bone/implant interface is the bone segmentation, which, usually needs a lot of human interaction. In order to release the surgeon from this tedious work, a robust segmentation system is needed. As noted by some authors, the integration of information from different segmentations could give robustness to this process. Here, an automatic integration method for the problem of delineating the contours of bone structures is presented. The system will integrate the classification information obtained from two segmentation methods, one based on region growing and the other based on snakes, using a Markov random field model

Iterative Structural and Functional Synergistic Resolution Recovery (iSFS-RR) Applied to PET-MR Images in Epilepsy

Structural Functional Synergistic Resolution Recovery (SFS-RR) is a technique that uses supplementary structural information from MR or CT to improve the spatial resolution of PET or SPECT images. This wavelet-based method may have a potential impact on the clinical decision-making of brain focal disorders such as refractory epilepsy, since it can produce images with better quantitative accuracy and enhanced detectability. In this work, a method for the iterative application of SFS-RR (iSFS-RR) was firstly developed and optimized in terms of convergence and input voxel size, and the corrected images were used for the diagnosis of 18 patients with refractory epilepsy. To this end, PET/MR images were clinically evaluated through visual inspection, atlas-based asymmetry indices (AIs) and SPM (Statistical Parametric Mapping) analysis, using uncorrected images and images corrected with SFS-RR and iSFS-RR. Our results showed that the sensitivity can be increased from 78% for uncorrected images, to 84% for SFS-RR and 94% for the proposed iSFS-RR. Thus, the proposed methodology has demonstrated the potential to improve the management of refractory epilepsy patients in the clinical routine

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care of cancer patients in Spain

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Càncer; EspanyaCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Cáncer; EspañaCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Cancer; SpainBackground Studies evaluating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public healthcare systems are limited, particularly in cancer management. As no such studies have been carried out in Spain, our objective is to describe and quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients in Spanish hospitals during the first wave of the pandemic. Materials and methods This retrospective, multicenter, nationwide study collected information from hospital departments treating oncology patients. An electronic questionnaire comparing outcomes and management of oncohematological patients for the March-June 2019 and March-June 2020 periods was used. Results Information from 78 departments (36 tertiary hospitals) was analyzed. Forty-four departments implemented adapted protocols during March 2020. Most of these (n = 38/44; 86.4%) carried out COVID-19 triage, while 26 of 44 (59.1%) carried out onsite polymerase chain reaction tests for clinically suspected cases. A shift from in-person to telephone visits was observed in 43 of 44 (97.7%) departments. Comparing the March-June 2019 and March-June 2020 periods, the number of new patients decreased by 20.8% (from 160.2 to 126.4). Decreases were also seen in the mean number of total (2858.2 versus 1686.1) and cancer (465.5 versus 367.2) biopsies, as well as the mean number of bone marrow biopsies (30.5 versus 18.6). Concerning the number of patients visiting specific cancer care departments, a decrease from 2019 to 2020 was seen for mean number of chemotherapy treatments (712.7 versus 643.8) and radiation therapy (2169.9 versus 2139.9). Finally, a reduction from 2019 to 2020 of 12.9% (from 8.6 to 7.4) in the mean number of patients included in clinical trials was noted. Conclusions This study provides the first comprehensive data concerning the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in Spain. The pandemic caused a 20.8% decrease in newly diagnosed patients, which may impact future outcomes. Measures must be taken to ensure cancer management receives priority in times of healthcare emergencies.This work was supported by funding from the AECC, a non-profit organization, whose medical department funded the study and the medical writing (no grant number)

Lung metastases share common immune features regardless of primary tumor origin

BACKGROUND: Only certain disseminated cells are able to grow in secondary organs to create a metastatic tumor. Under the hypothesis that the immune microenvironment of the host tissue may play an important role in this process, we have categorized metastatic samples based on their immune features. METHODS: Gene expression data of metastatic samples (n=374) from four secondary sites (brain, bone, liver and lung) were used to characterize samples based on their immune and stromal infiltration using gene signatures and cell quantification tools. A clustering analysis was done that separated metastatic samples into three different immune categories: high, medium and low. RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the immune profiles of samples metastasizing in distinct organs. Metastases in lung showed a higher immunogenic score than metastases in brain, liver or bone, regardless of their primary site of origin. Also, they preferentially clustered in the high immune group. Samples in this cluster exhibited a clear inflammatory phenotype, higher levels of immune infiltrate, overexpression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) pathways and upregulation of genes predicting clinical response to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade (T-cell inflammatory signature). A decision tree algorithm was used to select CD74 as a biomarker that identify samples belonging to this high-immune subtype of metastases, having specificity of 0.96 and sensitivity of 1. CONCLUSIONS: We have found a group of lung-enriched metastases showing an inflammatory phenotype susceptible to be treated with immunotherapy