100 GHz Multiple Colliding Pulse Generation From Cleaved Facet-Free Multi-Section Semiconductor Laser Diode

We present a monolithically integrated mode-locked laser (MLL) with 25 GHz fundamental repetition rate frequency, which has been designed to operate in a fourth-order colliding regime, to generate 100 GHz. This device has been fabricated within a multi-project wafer (MPW) run in an InP-based active-passive generic foundry. The Fabry-Perot laser resonator, of around 1.66 mm length, is defined by two on-chip reflectors, eliminating the need of cleaved facet. Three saturable absorber sections are symmetrically located by spacing them a quarter of this total length, dividing the cavity into four gain segments. We show that this structure can generate an electrical beat note at 25 GHz as well as 100 GHz, with a linewidth of 350 kHz and 150 kHz, respectively, operating in passive operation regime

Difficulties in the energy renovation processes of district heating buildings. Two case studies in a temperate climate

Renovation at district scale is a key strategy to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumptions by optimising the implementation of renewable energy sources and taking advantage of economies of scale. In this context, this paper focuses on assessing the positive impacts and difficulties after the energy rehabilitation of thermal envelopes in two buildings that belong to two different District Heating systems. The methodology is based on the comparative analysis of indoor temperatures data and energy consumption data of 17 monitored dwellings. The results showed a significant association between the improvement of envelopes and the increase of indoor temperatures in winter (β=0,644). Due to some technical and social barriers, the heating system was not regulated after the rehabilitation, so energy consumption was unnecessarily high, there were situations of indoor overheating in winter (maximum average indoor temperatures between 24-26°C) and these issues produced dissatisfaction on neighbours. In order to avoid these negative consequences, some recommendations are provided, such as informing neighbours about expectations in each step of the long rehabilitation process, reconsidering payments to promote the envelope rehabilitation but maintaining a fixed cost to protect vulnerable groups, and promoting post-occupational studies that contribute to the viability and up-date of this kind of District Heating systems

GARBAN: genomic analysis and rapid biological annotation of cDNA microarray and proteomic data

Genomic Analysis and Rapid Biological ANnotation (GARBAN) is a new tool that provides an integrated framework to analyze simultaneously and compare multiple data sets derived from microarray or proteomic experiments. It carries out automated classifications of genes or proteins according to the criteria of the Gene Ontology Consortium at a level of depth defined by the user. Additionally, it performs clustering analysis of all sets based on functional categories or on differential expression levels. GARBAN also provides graphical representations of the biological pathways in which all the genes/proteins participate. AVAILABILITY: http://garban.tecnun.es

Nebulized ivermectin for COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases, a proof of concept, dose-ranging study in rats

Ivermectin is a widely used antiparasitic drug with known efcacy against several single-strain RNA viruses. Recent data shows signifcant reduction of SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro by ivermectin concentrations not achievable with safe doses orally. Inhaled therapy has been used with success for other antiparasitics. An ethanol-based ivermectin formulation was administered once to 14 rats using a nebulizer capable of delivering particles with alveolar deposition. Rats were randomly assigned into three target dosing groups, lower dose (80–90 mg/kg), higher dose (110–140 mg/kg) or ethanol vehicle only. A toxicology profle including behavioral and weight monitoring, full blood count, biochemistry, necropsy and histological examination of the lungs was conducted. The pharmacokinetic profle of ivermectin in plasma and lungs was determined in all animals. There were no relevant changes in behavior or body weight. There was a delayed elevation in muscle enzymes compatible with rhabdomyolysis, that was also seen in the control group and has been attributed to the ethanol dose which was up to 11 g/kg in some animals. There were no histological anomalies in the lungs of any rat. Male animals received a higher ivermectin dose adjusted by adipose weight and reached higher plasma concentrations than females in the same dosing group (mean Cmax 86.2 ng/ml vs. 26.2 ng/ ml in the lower dose group and 152 ng/ml vs. 51.8 ng/ml in the higher dose group). All subjects had detectable ivermectin concentrations in the lungs at seven days post intervention, up to 524.3 ng/g for high-dose male and 27.3 ng/g for low-dose females. nebulized ivermectin can reach pharmacodynamic concentrations in the lung tissue of rats, additional experiments are required to assess the safety of this formulation in larger animals

Validation of metabolic syndrome using medical records in the SUN cohort

The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of self reported criteria of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) cohort using their medical records as the gold standard. METHODS: We selected 336 participants and we obtained MS related data according to Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Then we compared information on the self reported diagnosis of MS and MS diagnosed in their medical records. We calculated the proportion of confirmed MS, the proportion of confirmed non-MS and the intraclass correlation coefficients for each component of the MS. RESULTS: From those 336 selected participants, we obtained sufficient data in 172 participants to confirm or reject MS using ATP III criteria. The proportion of confirmed MS was 91.2% (95% CI: 80.7- 97.1) and the proportion of confirmed non-MS was 92.2% (95% CI: 85.7-96.4) using ATP III criteria. The proportion of confirmed MS using IDF criteria was 100% (95% CI: 87.2-100) and the proportion of confirmed non-MS was 97.1% (95% CI: 85.1-99.9). Kappa Index was 0.82 in the group diagnosed by ATP III criteria and 0.97 in the group diagnosed by IDF criteria. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the different component of MS were: 0.93 (IC 95%:0.91- 0.95) for BMI; 0.96 (IC 95%: 0.93-0.98) for waist circumference; 0.75 (IC 95%: 0.66-0.82) for fasting glucose; 0.50 (IC 95%:0.35-0.639) for HDL cholesterol; 0.78 (IC 95%: 0.70-0.84) for triglycerides; 0.49 (IC 95%:0.34-0.61) for systolic blood pressure and 0.55 (IC 95%: 0.41-0.65) for diastolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported MS based on self reported components of the SM in a Spanish cohort of university graduates was sufficiently valid as to be used in epidemiological studies

Nebulized ivermectin for COVID‑19 and other respiratory diseases, a proof of concept, dose‑ranging study in rats

Ivermectin is a widely used antiparasitic drug with known efficacy against several single-strain RNA viruses. Recent data shows significant reduction of SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro by ivermectin concentrations not achievable with safe doses orally. Inhaled therapy has been used with success for other antiparasitics. An ethanol-based ivermectin formulation was administered once to 14 rats using a nebulizer capable of delivering particles with alveolar deposition. Rats were randomly assigned into three target dosing groups, lower dose (80-90 mg/kg), higher dose (110-140 mg/kg) or ethanol vehicle only. A toxicology profile including behavioral and weight monitoring, full blood count, biochemistry, necropsy and histological examination of the lungs was conducted. The pharmacokinetic profile of ivermectin in plasma and lungs was determined in all animals. There were no relevant changes in behavior or body weight. There was a delayed elevation in muscle enzymes compatible with rhabdomyolysis, that was also seen in the control group and has been attributed to the ethanol dose which was up to 11 g/kg in some animals. There were no histological anomalies in the lungs of any rat. Male animals received a higher ivermectin dose adjusted by adipose weight and reached higher plasma concentrations than females in the same dosing group (mean Cmax 86.2 ng/ml vs. 26.2 ng/ml in the lower dose group and 152 ng/ml vs. 51.8 ng/ml in the higher dose group). All subjects had detectable ivermectin concentrations in the lungs at seven days post intervention, up to 524.3 ng/g for high-dose male and 27.3 ng/g for low-dose females. nebulized ivermectin can reach pharmacodynamic concentrations in the lung tissue of rats, additional experiments are required to assess the safety of this formulation in larger animals

Encouraging natural ventilation to improve indoor environmental conditions at schools. Case studies in the north of Spain before and during COVID

The COVID pandemic has strongly affected daily life both in Spanish schools and worldwide. Providing the best environmental conditions for children allowing face-to-face learning with healthy and safe indoor spaces is a challenge. In the present study, empirical research about how these environmental conditions change with COVID is presented comparing the situation from March 2020 to January 2021. The methodology combines surveys conducted in nine schools with a case study in a selected school where a detailed monitoring of the building was developed during both heating seasons. This data ana- lyzes the impact of the new COVID prevention protocols on indoor environmental conditions (especially those related to natural ventilation). Results show a mean CO2 reduction of 1,400 ppm, having in the sec- ond term values around 1,000 ppm, although temperatures diminished nearly 2 °C to mean values of 18 °C. Evolution of temperature and CO2 concentration throughout the day was also analyzed, being these indoor conditions especially important for the children with poorer health. Mechanical ventilation with heating recovery should complement natural ventilation, at least during the coldest months or hours of the day, although systems have to be carefully designed and installed to work effectively

Identification of rare alleles and their carriers using compressed se(que)nsing

Identification of rare variants by resequencing is important both for detecting novel variations and for screening individuals for known disease alleles. New technologies enable low-cost resequencing of target regions, although it is still prohibitive to test more than a few individuals. We propose a novel pooling design that enables the recovery of novel or known rare alleles and their carriers in groups of individuals. The method is based on a Compressed Sensing (CS) approach, which is general, simple and efficient. CS allows the use of generic algorithmic tools for simultaneous identification of multiple variants and their carriers. We model the experimental procedure and show via computer simulations that it enables the recovery of rare alleles and their carriers in larger groups than were possible before. Our approach can also be combined with barcoding techniques to provide a feasible solution based on current resequencing costs. For example, when targeting a small enough genomic region (∼100 bp) and using only ∼10 sequencing lanes and ∼10 distinct barcodes per lane, one recovers the identity of 4 rare allele carriers out of a population of over 4000 individuals. We demonstrate the performance of our approach over several publicly available experimental data sets

A draft fur seal genome provides insights into factors affecting SNP validation and how to mitigate them

Custom genotyping arrays provide a flexible and accurate means of genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a large number of individuals of essentially any organism. However, validation rates, defined as the proportion of putative SNPs that are verified to be polymorphic in a population, are often very low. A number of potential causes of assay failure have been identified, but none have been explored systematically. In particular, as SNPs are often developed from transcriptomes, parameters relating to the genomic context are rarely taken into account. Here, we assembled a draft Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) genome (assembly size: 2.41Gb; scaffold/contig N50: 3.1Mb/27.5kb). We then used this resource to map the probe sequences of 144 putative SNPs genotyped in 480 individuals. The number of probe-to-genome mappings and alignment length together explained almost a third of the variation in validation success, indicating that sequence uniqueness and proximity to intron-exon boundaries play an important role. The same pattern was found after mapping the probe sequences to the Walrus and Weddell seal genomes, suggesting that the genomes of species divergent by as much as 23 million years can hold information relevant to SNP validation outcomes. Additionally, re-analysis of genotyping data from seven previous studies found the same two variables to be significantly associated with SNP validation success across a variety of taxa. Finally, our study reveals considerable scope for validation rates to be improved, either by simply filtering for SNPs whose flanking sequences align uniquely and completely to a reference genome, or through predictive modeling

Una ciudad sostenible para una familia sostenible

El objetivo de este trabajo se resume en su título, suficientemente expresivo en sí mismo, como guía del planteamiento de una contribución arquitectónica que responda al interés suscitado por el reto que el siglo XXI, con sus transformaciones, plantea abiertamente hoy a la familia incluso a su propia permanencia futura, es decir, a su sostenibilidad; un reto que adquiere también notas características si se tiene en cuenta que la arquitectura actual además de necesitar una mayor conciencia de servir directamente a la familia está dando clara prioridad a cuestiones relacionadas con la sostenibilidad global. Con ello apunta una pauta para su actuación futura, como sucede también en otros muchos campos filosóficos, científicos o técnicos. Lo que nos proponemos aquí es esbozar los rasgos fundamentales que deben inspirar proyectos más específicos, dirigidos a promover la sostenibilidad de la familia desde la Arquitectura, y, en general, un desarrollo sostenible desde la familia. Entendemos, en efecto, que la familia es esencial para la sostenibilidad del sistema global de desarrollo, en todos sus aspectos, incluido el urbano. La noción de desarrollo sostenible surge de la alarma ecológica, al hacerse más evidentes las consecuencias negativas que provoca un desarrollo incontrolado, ligado a cierto estilo de vida, de economía y de mercado, etc. Mantener el desarrollo y sus ventajas de modo que puedan disfrutarlo los que nos sucedan, es hacerlo sostenible. Del mismo modo, mantener la familia y sus valores en las futuras generaciones, asumiendo nuevos retos y resolviendo las influencias negativas que están surgiendo en nuestros días, sería, en consonancia con lo dicho, hacerla sostenible. Si en su primer planteamiento tanto la ecología como la sostenibilidad se consideraron a nivel medioambiental, ambos términos se han ido progresivamente ampliando hasta llegar a tener en cuenta todos los aspectos del equilibrio mundial. En esta comunicación, al incluir a la familia como sujeto activo y pasivo dentro de la ciudad, se plantea una específica ampliación de estas nociones. En este contexto, tiene interés mencionar la reciente aportación del Papa Francisco a la cuestión del desarrollo, concretada en la publicación de la Encíclica Laudato Si’1. En este documento, en efecto, Francisco hace llegar al gran público un concepto amplio de desarrollo, que expande las ideas de ecología y sostenibilidad desde lo material a lo cultural, lo vital y lo moral, incorporando incluso la dimensión espiritual de la persona. Dentro de este marco, que resalta las dimensiones éticas y no solamente técnicas del desarrollo, se incluyen referencias a la familia, a la arquitectura y a la ciudad, parcialmente incluidas en el tratamiento que se ha venido dando a la cuestión desde hace algunas décadas