Proposal of an FTIR Methodology to Monitor Oxidation Level in Used Engine Oils: Effects of Thermal Degradation and Fuel Dilution

This article describes a procedure, based on ASTM standards D7214 and E2412, that has been defined to improve quantification of oil oxidation in used engine oils. Taking into account typical problems that can be found in this type of sample, including thermal oxidation and fuel dilution, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were analyzed also considering the effect of the oil formulation. Two zones were considered inside the typical wave number range for quantification of oxidation, where those problems can be detected and assessed more easily: zone A between 1725 and 1650 cm-1, where the main oxidation products, such as aldehydes, carboxylic acids, and ketones, occur due to thermal degradation of the oil; and zone B between 1770 and 1725 cm-1, where esters due to potential biodiesel dilution problems are detected. Copyright © Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.The authors are grateful for Spanish Grant TRA2008-06508 (GLAUTO) from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion-Direccion General de Investigacion for supporting this work.Macian Martinez, V.; Tormos, B.; Gomez Estrada, YA.; Salavert Fernández, JM. (2012). Proposal of an FTIR Methodology to Monitor Oxidation Level in Used Engine Oils: Effects of Thermal Degradation and Fuel Dilution. Tribology Transactions. 55(6):872-882. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402004.2012.721921S87288255

High throughput estimation of functional cell activities reveals disease mechanisms and predicts relevant clinical outcomes

This work is supported by grants BIO2014- 57291-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and “Plataforma de Recursos Biomoleculares y Bioinformáticos” PT13/0001/0007 from the ISCIII, both co-funded with European Regional Development Funds (ERDF); PROMETEOII/2014/025 from the Generalitat Valenciana (GVA-FEDER); Fundació la Marató TV3 (ref. 20133134); and EU H2020- INFRADEV-1-2015-1 ELIXIR-EXCELERATE (ref. 676559) and EU FP7-People ITN Marie Curie Project (ref 316861)

Improving knowledge management through the support of image examination and data annotation using DICOM structured reporting

[EN] An important effort has been invested on improving the image diagnosis process in different medical areas using information technologies. The field of medical imaging involves two main data types: medical imaging and reports. Developments based on the DICOM standard have demonstrated to be a convenient and widespread solution among the medical community. The main objective of this work is to design a Web application prototype that will be able to improve diagnosis and follow-on of breast cancer patients. It is based on TRENCADIS middleware, which provides a knowledge-oriented storage model composed by federated repositories of DICOM image studies and DICOM-SR medical reports. The full structure and contents of the diagnosis reports are used as metadata for indexing images. The TRENCADIS infrastructure takes full advantage of Grid technologies by deploying multi-resource grid services that enable multiple views (reports schemes) of the knowledge database. The paper presents a real deployment of such Web application prototype in the Dr. Peset Hospital providing radiologists with a tool to create, store and search diagnostic reports based on breast cancer explorations (mammography, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, pre-surgery biopsy and post-surgery biopsy), improving support for diagnostics decisions. A technical details for use cases (outlining enhanced multi-resource grid services communication and processing steps) and interactions between actors and the deployed prototype are described. As a result, information is more structured, the logic is clearer, network messages have been reduced and, in general, the system is more resistant to failures.The authors wish to thank the financial support received from The Spanish Ministry of Education and Science to develop the project "CodeCloud", with reference TIN2010-17804.Salavert Torres, J.; Segrelles Quilis, JD.; Blanquer Espert, I.; Hernández García, V. (2012). Improving knowledge management through the support of image examination and data annotation using DICOM structured reporting. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 45(6):1066-1074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2012.07.004S1066107445

The response of perennial and temporary headwater stream invertebrate communities to hydrological extremes

The headwaters of karst rivers experience considerable hydrological variability, including spates and streambed drying. Extreme summer flooding on the River Lathkill (Derbyshire, UK) provided the opportunity to examine the invertebrate community response to unseasonal spate flows, flow recession and, at temporary sites, streambed drying. Invertebrates were sampled at sites with differing flow permanence regimes during and after the spates. Following streambed drying at temporary sites, dewatered surface sediments were investigated as a refugium for aquatic invertebrates. Experimental rehydration of these dewatered sediments was conducted to promote development of desiccation-tolerant life stages. At perennial sites, spate flows reduced invertebrate abundance and diversity, whilst at temporary sites, flow reactivation facilitated rapid colonisation of the surface channel by a limited number of invertebrate taxa. Following streambed drying, 38 taxa were recorded from the dewatered and rehydrated sediments, with Oligochaeta being the most abundant taxon and Chironomidae (Diptera) the most diverse. Experimental rehydration of dewatered sediments revealed the presence of additional taxa, including Stenophylax sp. (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) and Nemoura sp. (Plecoptera: Nemouridae). The influence of flow permanence on invertebrate community composition was apparent despite the aseasonal high-magnitude flood events

Autobiographical memory and default mode network function in schizophrenia : an fMRI study

The brain functional correlates of autobiographical recall are well established, but have been little studied in schizophrenia. Additionally, autobiographical memory is one of a small number of cognitive tasks that activates rather than de-activates the default mode network, which has been found to be dysfunctional in this disorder. Twenty-seven schizophrenic patients and 30 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing cue words that evoked autobiographical memories. Control conditions included both non-memory-evoking cues and a low level baseline (cross fixation). Compared to both non-memory evoking cues and low level baseline, autobiographical recall was associated with activation in default mode network regions in the controls including the medial frontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus, as well as other areas. Clusters of de-activation were seen outside the default mode network. There were no activation differences between the schizophrenic patients and the controls, but the patients showed clusters of failure of de-activation in non-default mode network regions. According to this study, patients with schizophrenia show intact activation of the default mode network and other regions associated with recall of autobiographical memories. The finding of failure of de-activation outside the network suggests that schizophrenia may be associated with a general difficulty in de-activation rather than dysfunction of the default mode network per se

Brain imaging correlates of self- and other-reflection in schizophrenia

An alteration in self/other differentiation has been proposed as a basis for several symptoms in schizophrenia, including delusions of reference and social functioning deficits. Dysfunction of the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), a region linked with social cognition, has been proposed as the basis of this alteration. However, imaging studies of self- and other-processing in schizophrenia have shown, so far, inconsistent results. Patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls underwent fMRI scanning while performing a task with three conditions: self-reflection, other-reflection and semantic processing. Both groups activated similar brain regions for self- and other-reflection compared to semantic processing, including the medial prefrontal cortex, the precuneus and the TPJ. Compared to healthy subjects, patients hyperactivated the left lateral frontal cortex during self- and other-reflection. In other-reflection, compared to self-reflection, patients failed to increase right TPJ activity. Altered activity in the right TPJ supports a disturbance in self/other differentiation in schizophrenia, which could be linked with psychotic symptoms and affect social functioning in patients. Hyperactivity of the lateral frontal cortex for self- and other-reflection suggests the presence of greater cognitive demand to perform the task in the patient group

Revisiting and modelling the woodland farming system of the early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture (LBK), 5600–4900 B.C

International audienceThis article presents the conception and the conceptual results of a modelling representation of the farming systems of the Linearbandkeramik Culture (LBK). Assuming that there were permanent fields (PF) then, we suggest four ways that support the sustainability of such a farming system over time: a generalized pollarding and coppicing of trees to increase the productivity of woodland areas for foddering more livestock, which itself can then provide more manure for the fields, a generalized use of pulses grown together with cereals during the same cropping season, thereby reducing the needs for manure. Along with assumptions limiting bias on village and family organizations, the conceptual model which we propose for human environment in the LBK aims to be sustainable for long periods and can thereby overcome doubts about the PFs hypothesis for the LBK farming system. Thanks to a reconstruction of the climate of western Europe and the consequent vegetation pattern and productivity arising from it, we propose a protocol of experiments and validation procedures for both testing the PFs hypothesis and defining its eco-geographical area

Early Stepdown From Echinocandin to Fluconazole Treatment in Candidemia: A Post Hoc Analysis of Three Cohort Studies

[Background] There are no clear criteria for antifungal de-escalation after initial empirical treatments. We hypothesized that early de-escalation (ED) (within 5 days) to fluconazole is safe in fluconazole-susceptible candidemia with controlled source of infection.[Methods] This is a multicenter post hoc study that included consecutive patients from 3 prospective candidemia cohorts (2007–2016). The impact of ED and factors associated with mortality were assessed.[Results] Of 1023 candidemia episodes, 235 met inclusion criteria. Of these, 54 (23%) were classified as the ED group and 181 (77%) were classified as the non-ED group. ED was more common in catheter-related candidemia (51.9% vs 31.5%; P = .006) and episodes caused by Candida parapsilosis, yet it was less frequent in patients in the intensive care unit (24.1% vs 39.2%; P = .043), infections caused by Nakaseomyces glabrata (0% vs 9.9%; P = .016), and candidemia from an unknown source (24.1% vs 47%; P = .003). In the ED and non-ED groups, 30-day mortality was 11.1% and 29.8% (P = .006), respectively. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio [OR], 3.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48–10.61), Pitt score > 2 (OR, 4.39; 95% CI, 1.94–9.20), unknown source of candidemia (OR, 2.59; 95% CI, 1.14–5.86), candidemia caused by Candida albicans (OR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.48–10.61), and prior surgery (OR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.08–0.97) were independent predictors of mortality. Similar results were found when a propensity score for receiving ED was incorporated into the model. ED had no significant impact on mortality (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.16–1.53).[Conclusions] Early de-escalation is a safe strategy in patients with candidemia caused by fluconazole-susceptible strains with controlled source of bloodstream infection and hemodynamic stability. These results are important to apply antifungal stewardship strategies.This research forms part of an activity that has received funding from EIT Health. EIT Health is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union that receives support from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program. This study has been cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund. E. M.-G. (PI18/01061), P. P.-A. (“Rio Hortega” contract CM18/00132), M. F.-R. (“Miguel Servet” contract CP18/00073), and C. G.-V. (FIS PI18/01061) have received research grants from the Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer reviewe