Application of GC-PC-SAFT EoS to Organic Sulfur Compounds

International audienceÉquations d'état en thermodynamique: des équations cubiques aux équations issues de la thermodynamique moléculaire Design and optimization of separation processes require accurate knowledge of the thermodynamic properties and phase equilibria of involved pure compounds and mixtures. Thermodynamic models are thus needed to determine these properties. Model development relies on not only appropriate theory but also experimental data. However, for the organic sulfur compounds which are commonly found in diverse industrial sectors, few or even no experimental data exist in the literature. Therefore, models with predictive features may act as an alternative to handle engineering purposes. Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (SAFT) equation of states (EoS) has been proved to be a powerful tool for modeling phase equilibria, as statistic mechanics and molecular theory were incorporated into the development. In this work, the Perturbed-Chain SAFT (PC-SAFT) EoS [1] was combined with the Group Contribution method proposed by Tamouza et al. [2]. The predictive model (named GC-PC-SAFT) was applied to investigate two series of typical organic sulfur compounds: sulfide (R-S-R') and 1-thiol (R-SH). The group parameters of (S) and (SH) were fitted to vapor pressure and liquid density data (from [3]) of 9 sulfides and 7 1-thiols, respectively. The regression results show that the average deviations on vapor pressure are generally lower than 5%, while those on liquid density are generally lower than 2%

An improved static–analytic apparatus for vapor–liquid equilibrium (PTxy) measurement using modified in-situ samplers

International audienceAn improved apparatus based on the static-analytic method for reliable vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data measurement is presented in this work. It has been applied to investigate systems containing organic sulfur compounds. New sampling mechanisms were combined with ROLSI TM capillary samplers to achieve on-line sampling for both vapor and liquid phases in a pressure range between 0.1 and 10 bar. Phase samples were directly sent to a gas chromatograph for composition analysis. The equipment was tested against other commonly used experimental methods in this pressure range on the (n-butane + ethanol) and (diethyl sulfide + ethanol) systems. The obtained data were correlated by Wilson model and compared with existing data. The improved apparatus has shown comparable performances to existing methods, while showing some advantages such as complete PTxy phase measurements and less product consumption. After the validation step, additional VLE data for binary systems of interest, (diethyl sulfide + n-butane) and (1-pentanethiol + 1-pentanol), were reported and modeled in this work

A New Static Analytic Apparatus for Complete Determination of Phase Equilibrium Data from Sub-atmospheric Pressures up to 10 bar

International audienceA new static-analytic apparatus equipped two ROLSI TM capillary samplers was presented.The proposed improvements allow ROLSI TM to perform in-situ sampling even at P < P carrier gas. The apparatus has shown comparable performances to existing methods, while showing some advantages. Two binary systems of interest were investigated. New systems are expected to be investigated for various applications in chemical engineering. The liquid sampling mechanism is expected to be used for liquid-liquid equilibrium measurement

La docencia de Hábitat, Territorio y Medio Ambiente en el grado de Trabajo Social: una relación de aprendizaje y compromiso con el planeta

El Trabajo Social necesita un verdadero cambio de paradigma que afecte al conjunto de las actividades sociales de forma transversal: profesionales, medios de comunicación, investigadoras, docentes...si queremos superar la actual situación de emergencia planetaria y trabajar por un verdadero desarrollo social sostenible e igualitario

VLX-Stories: a semantically linked event platform for media publishers

In the recent years, video sharing in social media from different video recording devices has resulted in a exponential growth of videos on the Internet. Such video data is continuously increasing with daily recordings related to a wide number of topics. In this context, video understanding has become a critical problem to address. Video search and indexation benefits from the use of keyword tags related to the video content, but most of the shared video content does not contain these tags. Although the use of deep learning has become essential for image analysis in several areas, video domain is still a relatively unexplored field for these type of methods. On the other hand knowledge graphs as Freebase or WordNet store high quantities of information about the word and relations that can be used to disambiguate concepts and relate them through contextual information In this research project we search to explore and improve the understanding of video content through the use of automatic tagging models based on Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques, improved by the use of knowledge bases.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Incidence of Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Catalonia: An Observational Study of Protective and Risk Factors

Pregnancy and childbirth have a great impact on women's lives; traumatic perinatal experiences can adversely affect mental health. The present study analyzes the incidence of perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Catalonia in 2021 from data obtained from the Registry of Morbidity and Use of Health Resources of Catalonia (MUSSCAT). The incidence of perinatal PTSD (1.87%) was lower than in comparable studies, suggesting underdiagnosis. Poisson regression adjusting for age, income, gestational weeks at delivery, type of delivery, and parity highlighted the influence of sociodemographics, and characteristics of the pregnancy and delivery on the risk of developing perinatal PTSD. These findings underline the need for further research on the risk factors identified and for the early detection and effective management of PTSD in the perinatal setting

Evaluation of somatic mutations in cervicovaginal samples as a non-invasive method for the detection and molecular classification of endometrial cancer

Background The incidence of endometrial cancer is increasing worldwide. While delays in diagnosis reduce survival, case molecular misclassification might be associated with under- and over-treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate genetic alterations to detect and molecularly classify cases of endometrial cancer using non-invasive samples. Methods Consecutive patients with incident endometrial cancer (N = 139) and controls (N = 107) from a recent Spanish case–control study were included in this analysis. Overall, 339 cervicovaginal samples (out of which 228 were clinician-collected and 111 were self-collected) were analysed using a test based on next-generation sequencing (NGS), which targets 47 genes. Immunohistochemical markers were evaluated in 133 tumour samples. A total of 159 samples were used to train the detection algorithm and 180 samples were used for validation. Findings Overall, 73% (N = 94 out of 129 clinician-collected samples, and N = 66 out of 90 self-collected samples) of endometrial cancer cases had detectable mutations in clinician-collected and self-collected samples, while the specificity was 80% (79/99) for clinician-collected samples and 90% (19/21) for self-collected samples. The molecular classifications obtained using tumour samples and non-invasive gynaecologic samples in our study showed moderate-to-good agreement. The molecular classification of cases of endometrial cancer into four groups using NGS of both clinician-collected and self-collected cervicovaginal samples yielded significant differences in disease-free survival. The cases with mutations in POLE had an excellent prognosis, whereas the cases with TP53 mutations had the poorest clinical outcome, which is consistent with the data on tumour samples. Interpretation This study classified endometrial cancer cases into four molecular groups based on the analysis of cervicovaginal samples that showed significant differences in disease-free survival. The molecular classification of endometrial cancer in non-invasive samples may improve patient care and survival by indicating the early need for aggressive surgery, as well as reducing referrals to highly specialized hospitals in cancers with good prognosis. Validation in independent sets will confirm the potential for molecular classification in non-invasive samples. Funding This study was funded by a competitive grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the projects PI19/01835, PI23/00790, and FI20/00031, CIBERESP CB06/02/0073 and CIBERONC CB16/12/00231, CB16/12/00234 (Co-funded by European Regional Development Fund. ERDF: A way to build Europe). Samples and data were provided by Biobank HUB-ICO-IDIBELL, integrated into the Spanish Biobank Network, and funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PT20/00171) and by Xarxa de Bancs de Tumors de Catalunya (XBTC) sponsored by Pla Director d’Oncologia de Catalunya. This work was supported in part by the AECC, Grupos estables (GCTRA18014MATI). It also counts with the support of the Secretariat for Universities and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and grants to support the activities of research groups 2021SGR01354 and 2021SGR1112

Highly sensitive microsatellite instability and immunohistochemistry assessment in endometrial aspirates as a tool for cancer risk individualization in Lynch syndrome

Women with Lynch syndrome (LS) are at increased risk of endometrial cancer (EC), among other tumors, and are characterized by mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency and microsatellite instability (MSI). While risk-reducing gynecologic surgeries effectively decrease EC incidence, doubts arise regarding the appropriate timing of the surgery. We explored the usefulness of highly sensitive MSI (hs-MSI) assessment in endometrial aspirates for individualizing gynecologic surveillance in LS carriers. Ninety-three women with LS, 25 sporadic EC patients (9 MMR-proficient and 16 MMR-deficient), and 30 women with benign gynecologic disease were included in this study. hs-MSI was assessed in prospectively collected endometrial aspirates in 67 LS carriers, EC cases, and controls. MMR, PTEN, ARID1A, and PAX2 protein expression patterns were evaluated in the LS samples. Follow-up aspirates from 8 LS carriers were also analyzed. Elevated hs-MSI scores were detected in all aspirates from MMR-deficient EC cases (3 LS and 16 sporadic) and negative in aspirates from controls and MMR-proficient EC cases. Positive hs-MSI scores were also detected in all 4 LS aspirates reported as complex hyperplasia. High hs-MSI was also present in 10 of 49 aspirates (20%) from LS carriers presenting a morphologically normal endometrium, where MMR protein expression loss was detected in 69% of the samples. Interestingly, the hs-MSI score was positively correlated with MMR-deficient gland density and the presence of MMR-deficient clusters, colocalizing PTEN and ARID1A expression loss. High hs-MSI scores and clonality were evidenced in 2 samples collected up to 4 months before EC diagnosis; hs-MSI scores increased over time in 5 LS carriers, whereas they decreased in a patient with endometrial hyperplasia after progestin therapy. In LS carriers, elevated hs-MSI scores were detected in aspirates from premalignant and malignant lesions and normal endometrium, correlating with MMR protein loss. hs-MSI assessment and MMR immunohistochemistry may help individualize EC risk assessment in women with LS

Highly sensitive MLH1 methylation analysis in blood identifies a cancer patient with low-level mosaic MLH1 epimutation

Constitutional MLH1 methylation (epimutation) is a rare cause of Lynch syndrome. Low-level methylation (<= 10%) has occasionally been described. This study aimed to identify low-level constitutional MLH1 epimutations and determine its causal role in patients with MLH1-hypermethylated colorectal cancer. Eighteen patients with MLH1-hypermethylated colorectal tumors in whom MLH1 methylation was previously undetected in blood by methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MS-MLPA) were screened for MLH1 methylation using highly sensitive MS-melting curve analysis (MS-MCA). Constitutional methylation was characterized by different approaches. MS-MCA identified one patient (5.6%) with low-level MLH1 methylation ( 1%) in blood and other normal tissues, which was confirmed by clonal bisulfite sequencing in blood. The patient had developed three clonally related gastrointestinal MLH1-methylated tumor lesions at 22, 24, and 25 years of age. The methylated region in normal tissues overlapped with that reported for other carriers of constitutional MLH1 epimutations. Low-level MLH1 methylation and reduced allelic expression were linked to the same genetic haplotype, whereas the opposite allele was lost in patient's tumors. Mutation screening of MLH1 and other hereditary cancer genes was negative. Herein, a highly sensitive MS-MCA-based approach has demonstrated its utility for the identification of low-level constitutional MLH1 epigenetic mosaicism. The eventual identification and characterization of additional cases will be critical to ascertain the cancer risks associated with constitutional MLH1 epigenetic mosaicism

An Integrated Approach for the Early Detection of Endometrial and Ovarian Cancers (Screenwide Study): Rationale, Study Design and Pilot Study

Screenwide is a case-control study (2017-2021) including women with incident endometrial and ovarian cancers (EC and OC), BRCA1/2 and MMR pathogenic variant carriers, and age-matched controls from three centers in Spain. Participants completed a personal interview on their sociodemographic factors, occupational exposure, medication, lifestyle, and medical history. We collected biological specimens, including blood samples, self-collected vaginal specimens, cervical pap-brush samples, uterine specimens, and, when available, tumor samples. The planned analyses included evaluation of the potential risk factors for EC/OC; evaluation of molecular biomarkers in minimally invasive samples; evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of molecular tests; and the generation of predictive scores to integrate different epidemiologic, clinical, and molecular factors. Overall, 182 EC, 69 OC, 98 BRCA pathogenic variant carriers, 104 MMR pathogenic variant carriers, and 385 controls were enrolled. The overall participation rate was 85.7%. The pilot study using 61 samples from nine EC cases and four controls showed that genetic variants at the variant allele fraction > 5% found in tumors (n = 61 variants across the nine tumors) were detected in paired endometrial aspirates, clinician-collected cervical samples, and vaginal self-samples with detection rates of 90% (55/61), 79% (48/61), and 72% (44/61) by duplex sequencing, respectively. Among the controls, only one somatic mutation was detected in a cervical sample. We enrolled more than 800 women to evaluate new early detection strategies. The preliminary data suggest that our methodological approach could be useful for the early detection of gynecological cancers