D3.4 + D3.6: Annex 2 Results logistical case studies Aragon

In the S2Biom project the logistical case study in Burgundy was the first that wasperformed. The data were based on the results of the LogistEC project, which had already performed a thorough assessment of the case. Therefore, the S2Biom case study was especially used to develop the new tool LocaGIStics, and to illustrate the possibilities of such a new logistical tool in combination with an existing tool, the BeWhere model. So the results of the case study were not primarily intended to further assess the real life case or to advise an actual company for taking decisions on their biomass supply chain yet.The BeWhere model has been applied for the case study of Burgundy in order toidentify the optimal locations of bioenergy production plants. It should be emphasized that the locations of the plants were highly driven by the location and amount of the demand of heat over the transport collection of the feedstock at least for this particular case study. The collection points of the biomass are nevertheless very well concentrated around the production plants. Anyhow to validate those results, LocaGIStics is a valuable tool for the simulation of the feedstock collection from the plants determined from BeWhere. The quality check controls the feedstock collection, capacity and therefore the validity of the chosen location.The LocaGIStics model has especially been developed using the Burgundy casestudy. Several logistical concepts have been tested in the Burgundy case. These are:i) mixing different biomass types (straw as a biomass residue and Miscanthus as an energy crop), ii) applying pretreatment technology (pelletizing) to densify the material in order to lower the transportation costs and increase handling properties, iii) switching between different types of transport means (truck and walking floor vehicle)and iv) direct delivery to a power plant versus putting an intermediate collection point in the value chain. Due to the nature of this development case less value should be given to the exact results of the five variants that are described in this report. However, these variants are perfect examples of what effects can be achieved if the set-up of a lignocellulosic biomass value chain is changed, even if that change is only slightly. So the case was used successfully to build a first version of the locaGIStics tool. However, many improvements are still possible and could be achieved in future project cases

Double-delta potentials: one dimensional scattering. The Casimir effect and kink fluctuations

The path is explored between one-dimensional scattering through Dirac-$\delta$ walls and one-dimensional quantum field theories defined on a finite length interval with Dirichlet boundary conditions. It is found that two $\delta$'s are related to the Casimir effect whereas two $\delta$'s plus the first transparent P$\ddot{\rm o}$sch-Teller well arise in the context of the sine-Gordon kink fluctuations, both phenomena subjected to Dirichlet boundary conditions. One or two delta wells will be also explored in order to describe absorbent plates, even though the wells lead to non unitary Quantum Field Theories.Comment: 15 pages. To be published in the International Journal of Theoretical Physic

The interaction of amino acids with macrocyclic pH probes of pseudopeptidic nature

The fluorescence quenching, by a series of amino acids, of pseudopeptidic compounds acting as probes for cellular acidity has been investigated. It has been found that amino acids containing electron-rich aromatic side chains like Trp or Tyr, as well as Met quench the emission of the probes mainly via a collisional mechanism, with Stern–Volmer constants in the 7–43 M−1 range, while other amino acids such as His, Val or Phe did not cause deactivation of the fluorescence. Only a minor contribution of a static quenching due to the formation of ground-state complexes has been found for Trp and Tyr, with association constants in the 9–24 M−1 range. For these ground-state complexes, a comparison between the macrocyclic probes and an open chain analogue reveals the existence of a moderate macrocyclic effect due to the preorganization of the probes in the more rigid structure

Prevalence of hospital PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases in patients with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases

[Abstract] Background: The susceptibility of patients with rheumatic diseases and the risks or benefits of immunosuppressive therapies for COVID-19 are unknown. Methods: We performed a retrospective study with patients under follow-up in rheumatology departments from seven hospitals in Spain. We matched updated databases of rheumatology patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-positive PCR tests performed in the hospital to the same reference populations. Rates of PCR+ confirmed COVID-19 were compared among groups. Results: Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases had 1.32-fold higher prevalence of hospital PCR+ COVID-19 than the reference population (0.76% vs 0.58%). Patients with systemic autoimmune or immune-mediated disease (AI/IMID) showed a significant increase, whereas patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) or systemic lupus erythematosus did not. COVID-19 cases in some but not all diagnostic groups had older ages than cases in the reference population. Patients with IA on targeted-synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), but not those on conventional-synthetic DMARDs, had a greater prevalence despite a similar age distribution. Conclusion: Patients with AI/IMID show a variable risk of hospital-diagnosed COVID-19. Interplay of ageing, therapies and disease-specific factors seem to contribute. These data provide a basis to improve preventive recommendations to rheumatic patients and to analyse the specific factors involved in COVID-19 susceptibility.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; RD16/0012 RETICS Progra

Multicenter prospective clinical study to evaluate children short-term neurodevelopmental outcome in congenital heart disease (children NEURO-HEART) : study protocol

Altres ajuts: RETICS funded by the PN 2018-2021 (Spain).Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most prevalent congenital malformation affecting 1 in 100 newborns. While advances in early diagnosis and postnatal management have increased survival in CHD children, worrying long-term outcomes, particularly neurodevelopmental disability, have emerged as a key prognostic factor in the counseling of these pregnancies. Eligible participants are women presenting at 20 to < 37 weeks of gestation carrying a fetus with CHD. Maternal/neonatal recordings are performed at regular intervals, from the fetal period to 24 months of age, and include: placental and fetal hemodynamics, fetal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional echocardiography, cerebral oxymetry, electroencephalography and serum neurological and cardiac biomarkers. Neurodevelopmental assessment is planned at 12 months of age using the ages and stages questionnaire (ASQ) and at 24 months of age with the Bayley-III test. Target recruitment is at least 150 cases classified in three groups according to three main severe CHD groups: transposition of great arteries (TGA), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction (LVOTO). The results of NEURO-HEART study will provide the most comprehensive knowledge until date of children's neurologic prognosis in CHD and will have the potential for developing future clinical decisive tools and improving preventive strategies in CHD. , on 4th December 2016 (retrospectively registered)

Cardiovascular events in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: a nationwide study in Spain from the RELESSER Registry

This article estimates the frequency of cardiovascular (CV) events that occurred after diagnosis in a large Spanish cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and investigates the main risk factors for atherosclerosis. RELESSER is a nationwide multicenter, hospital-based registry of SLE patients. This is a cross-sectional study. Demographic and clinical variables, the presence of traditional risk factors, and CV events were collected. A CV event was defined as a myocardial infarction, angina, stroke, and/or peripheral artery disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the possible risk factors for atherosclerosis. From 2011 to 2012, 3658 SLE patients were enrolled. Of these, 374 (10.9%) patients suffered at least a CV event. In 269 (7.4%) patients, the CV events occurred after SLE diagnosis (86.2% women, median [interquartile range] age 54.9 years [43.2-66.1], and SLE duration of 212.0 months [120.8-289.0]). Strokes (5.7%) were the most frequent CV event, followed by ischemic heart disease (3.8%) and peripheral artery disease (2.2%). Multivariate analysis identified age (odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.03 [1.02-1.04]), hypertension (1.71 [1.20-2.44]), smoking (1.48 [1.06-2.07]), diabetes (2.2 [1.32-3.74]), dyslipidemia (2.18 [1.54-3.09]), neurolupus (2.42 [1.56-3.75]), valvulopathy (2.44 [1.34-4.26]), serositis (1.54 [1.09-2.18]), antiphospholipid antibodies (1.57 [1.13-2.17]), low complement (1.81 [1.12-2.93]), and azathioprine (1.47 [1.04-2.07]) as risk factors for CV events. We have confirmed that SLE patients suffer a high prevalence of premature CV disease. Both traditional and nontraditional risk factors contribute to this higher prevalence. Although it needs to be verified with future studies, our study also shows-for the first time-an association between diabetes and CV events in SLE patients

Relationship between damage and mortality in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: Cluster analyses in a large cohort from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Registry (RELESSER)

Objectives: To identify patterns (clusters) of damage manifestation within a large cohort of juvenile SLE (jSLE) patients and evaluate their possible association with mortality. Methods: This is a multicentre, descriptive, cross-sectional study of a cohort of 345 jSLE patients from the Spanish Society of Rheumatology Lupus Registry. Organ damage was ascertained using the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index. Using cluster analysis, groups of patients with similar patterns of damage manifestation were identified and compared. Results: Mean age (years) ± S.D. at diagnosis was 14.2 ± 2.89; 88.7% were female and 93.4% were Caucasian. Mean SLICC/ACR DI ± S.D. was 1.27 ± 1.63. A total of 12 (3.5%) patients died. Three damage clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (72.7% of patients) presented a lower number of individuals with damage (22.3% vs. 100% in Clusters 2 and 3, P < 0.001); Cluster 2 (14.5% of patients) was characterized by renal damage in 60% of patients, significantly more than Clusters 1 and 3 (P < 0.001), in addition to increased more ocular, cardiovascular and gonadal damage; Cluster 3 (12.7%) was the only group with musculoskeletal damage (100%), significantly higher than in Clusters 1 and 2 (P < 0.001). The overall mortality rate in Cluster 2 was 2.2 times higher than that in Cluster 3 and 5 times higher than that in Cluster 1 (P < 0.017 for both comparisons). Conclusions: In a large cohort of jSLE patients, renal and musculoskeletal damage manifestations were the two dominant forms of damage by which patients were sorted into clinically meaningful clusters. We found two clusters of jSLE with important clinical damage that were associated with higher rates of mortality, especially for the cluster of patients with predominant renal damage. Physicians should be particularly vigilant to the early prevention of damage in this subset of jSLE patients with kidney involvement

Associated factors to serious infections in a large cohort of juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus from Lupus Registry (RELESSER).

Objective: To assess the incidence of serious infection (SI) and associated factors in a large juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE) retrospective cohort. Methods: All patients in the Spanish Rheumatology Society Lupus Registry (RELESSER) who meet =4 ACR-97 SLE criteria and disease onset <18 years old (jSLE), were retrospectively investigated for SI (defined as either the need for hospitalization with antibacterial therapy for a potentially fatal infection or death caused by the infection). Standardized SI rate was calculated per 100 patient years. Patients with and without SI were compared. Bivariate and multivariate logistic and Cox regression models were built to calculate associated factors to SI and relative risks. Results: A total of 353 jSLE patients were included: 88.7% female, 14.3 years (± 2.9) of age at diagnosis, 16.0 years (± 9.3) of disease duration and 31.5 years (±10.5) at end of follow-up. A total of 104 (29.5%) patients suffered 205 SI (1, 55.8%; 2-5, 38.4%; and =6, 5.8%). Incidence rate was 3.7 (95%CI: 3.2–4.2) SI per 100 patient years. Respiratory location and bacterial infections were the most frequent. Higher number of SLE classification criteria, SLICC/ACR DI score and immunosuppressants use were associated to the presence of SI. Associated factors to shorter time to first infection were higher number of SLE criteria, splenectomy and immunosuppressants use. Conclusions: The risk of SI in jSLE patients is significant and higher than aSLE. It is associated to higher number of SLE criteria, damage accrual, some immunosuppressants and splenectomy