Optimization of the Enzymatic Saccharification Process of Milled Orange Wastes

Orange juice production generates a very high quantity of residues (Orange Peel Waste or OPW-50–60% of total weight) that can be used for cattle feed as well as feedstock for the extraction or production of essential oils, pectin and nutraceutics and several monosaccharides by saccharification, inversion and enzyme-aided extraction. As in all solid wastes, simple pretreatments can enhance these processes. In this study, hydrothermal pretreatments and knife milling have been analyzed with enzyme saccharification at different dry solid contents as the selection test: simple knife milling seemed more appropriate, as no added pretreatment resulted in better final glucose yields. A Taguchi optimization study on dry solid to liquid content and the composition of the enzymatic cocktail was undertaken. The amounts of enzymatic preparations were set to reduce their impact on the economy of the process; however, as expected, the highest amounts resulted in the best yields to glucose and other monomers. Interestingly, the highest content in solid to liquid (11.5% on dry basis) rendered the best yields. Additionally, in search for process economy with high yields, operational conditions were set: medium amounts of hemicellulases, polygalacturonases and β-glucosidases. Finally, a fractal kinetic modelling of results for all products from the saccharification process indicated very high activities resulting in the liberation of glucose, fructose and xylose, and very low activities to arabinose and galactose. High activity on pectin was also observed, but, for all monomers liberated initially at a fast rate, high hindrances appeared during the saccharification process.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICIIN)Depto. de Ingeniería Química y de MaterialesFac. de Ciencias QuímicasTRUEpu

Impact of a multifaceted intervention to improve the clinical management of osteoporosis. The ESOSVAL-F study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A study to evaluate the impact of a combined intervention (in-class and on-line training courses, a practicum and economic incentives) to improve anti-osteoporosis treatment and to improve recordkeeping for specific information about osteoporosis.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>A before/after study with a non-equivalent control group to evaluate the impact of the interventions associated with participation in the ESOSVAL-R cohort study (intervention group) compared to a group receiving no intervention (control group). The units of analysis are medical practices identified by a Healthcare Position Code (HPC) referring to a specific medical position in primary care general medicine in a Healthcare Department of the Region of Valencia, Spain. The subjects of the study are the 400 participating "practices" (population assigned to health care professionals, doctors and/or nurses) selected by the Healthcare Departments of the Valencia Healthcare Agency for participation as associate researchers in the ESOSVAL-R study (intervention group), compared to 400 participating "practices" assigned to primary care professionals NOT selected for participation as associate researchers in the ESOSVAL-R study, who are selected on the basis of their working in the same Healthcare Centers as the practices receiving the interventions (control group). The study's primary endpoint is the appropriateness of treatment according by the Spanish National Health System guide (2010) and the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF, 2008) and International Osteoporosis Foundation guidance (IOF, 2008).</p> <p>The study will also evaluate a series of secondary and tertiary endpoints. The former are the suitability of treatment and evaluation of the risk of fracture; and the latter are the volume of information registered in the electronic clinical records, and the evaluation of risks and the suitability of treatment.</p

Adherence to and appropriateness of anti-osteoporotic treatments in patients aged 50 and over in the Valencia Region (Spain). The ESOSVAL-AD Study

<p>Summary</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A study to evaluate the adherence to and appropriateness of anti-osteoporotic treatments in a cohort of men and women aged 50 and over participating in the ESOSVAL-R study.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p><it>Design</it>: An observational, longitudinal, prospective cohort study; Study subjects: Men and women aged 50 and over living in the Valencia Region (Spain) who initiated treatment between June 15, 2009, and June 15, 2011, in primary healthcare centers with electronic medical records; <it>Data sources</it>: The main data source will be electronic medical records. <it>Measurement of results: </it>Degree of compliance with and persistence of anti-osteoporotic treatments, and the proportion of patients with appropriate anti-osteoporotic treatment in accordance with the most relevant and high impact recommendations with clearly defined treatment algorithms in Spain (the Spanish National Health System guide (2010), the General Practitioners' Society (2007) and the General Directorate for Pharmacy and Medical Products of Madrid (2007)), and with the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF, 2010), and the International Osteoporosis Foundation guidelines (IOF, 2008); <it>Analysis</it>: 1.) Descriptive analysis of patients undergoing treatment and the treatments prescribed; 2.) Descriptive analysis of compliance with and persistence of anti-osteoporotic treatments; 3.) Analysis of factors associated with compliance with and persistence of treatments by Cox proportional hazard regression models, 4.) Descriptive analysis of appropriateness of treatment; 5.) Analysis of factors associated with the appropriateness of treatment by multilevel models (4 levels: patient, doctor, Basic Healthcare Zone/Primary Healthcare Center, and Health Area variables).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>ESOSVAL-AD will provide information regarding adherence to osteoporosis treatments and the factors associated with a higher or lower adherence (including the appropriateness of the treatment) in the Spanish context. A better understanding of this phenomenon and the interventions needed to address it would contribute to the increased effectiveness of therapeutic measures, a reduction in morbidity and mortality, and a corresponding reduction in healthcare costs.</p

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p &lt; 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics

La renovación de la palabra en el bicentenario de la Argentina : los colores de la mirada lingüística

El libro reúne trabajos en los que se exponen resultados de investigaciones presentadas por investigadores de Argentina, Chile, Brasil, España, Italia y Alemania en el XII Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Lingüística (SAL), Bicentenario: la renovación de la palabra, realizado en Mendoza, Argentina, entre el 6 y el 9 de abril de 2010. Las temáticas abordadas en los 167 capítulos muestran las grandes líneas de investigación que se desarrollan fundamentalmente en nuestro país, pero también en los otros países mencionados arriba, y señalan además las áreas que recién se inician, con poca tradición en nuestro país y que deberían fomentarse. Los trabajos aquí publicados se enmarcan dentro de las siguientes disciplinas y/o campos de investigación: Fonología, Sintaxis, Semántica y Pragmática, Lingüística Cognitiva, Análisis del Discurso, Psicolingüística, Adquisición de la Lengua, Sociolingüística y Dialectología, Didáctica de la lengua, Lingüística Aplicada, Lingüística Computacional, Historia de la Lengua y la Lingüística, Lenguas Aborígenes, Filosofía del Lenguaje, Lexicología y Terminología

Análisis de aspectos de interés sobre privacidad y seguridad en la Historia Clínica Electrónica

One of the main advantages of using Electronic Health Record (EHR) is the information´s availability at any time and place. In order to achieve this, the global security is mandatory. That security has got some important issues such as Access Control, confidentiality, and the audit. Although, there are some solutions already developed, the standardization is vital in order to achieve guaranteed privacy requirements over any platform. In this article, these security issues are shown in detail, relating them to the legal Acts of both Spanish and US law.Una de las principales ventajas del uso de la Historia Clínica Electrónica (HCE) es la posibilidad de disponer de la información en cualquier momento y lugar. Para ello es imprescindible dotar de seguridad a todo el conjunto. Esta seguridad pasa por distintos aspectos como el control de acceso, la confidencialidad o la auditoría. Aunque existen soluciones ya desarrolladas es fundamental la estandarización para lograr que los requisitos de privacidad sean garantizados en cualquier plataforma. En el presente artículo se exponen en detalle estos aspectos de seguridad, poniéndolos en relación con los mandatos legales tanto de España como de los Estados Unidos

Voxel Extraction and Multiclass Classification of Identified Brain Regions across Various Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Machine Learning Approaches

This study sought to investigate how different brain regions are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at various phases of the disease, using independent component analysis (ICA). The study examines six regions in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage, four in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), six in the moderate stage, and six in the severe stage. The precuneus, cuneus, middle frontal gyri, calcarine cortex, superior medial frontal gyri, and superior frontal gyri were the areas impacted at all phases. A general linear model (GLM) is used to extract the voxels of the previously mentioned regions. The resting fMRI data for 18 AD patients who had advanced from MCI to stage 3 of the disease were obtained from the ADNI public source database. The subjects include eight women and ten men. The voxel dataset is used to train and test ten machine learning algorithms to categorize the MCI, mild, moderate, and severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The accuracy, recall, precision, and F1 score were used as conventional scoring measures to evaluate the classification outcomes. AdaBoost fared better than the other algorithms and obtained a phenomenal accuracy of 98.61%, precision of 99.00%, and recall and F1 scores of 98.00% each