596 research outputs found
Pre-validación de un método de Cromatografía de Líquidos-Espectrometría de Masas para el análisis simultáneo de toxinas lipofílicas
[ESP] Las biotoxinas marinas de origen fitoplanctónico y de carácter
lipofílico pueden acumularse en diferentes tipos de moluscos bivalvos,
presentando un importante riesgo para la salud pública. La legislación de la
UE, a través del Reglamento (CE) nº 2074/2005, establece los métodos de
ensayos reconocidos para la detección de toxinas lipofílicas, señalando
como método de referencia los ensayos biológicos e indicando posibles
métodos alternativos al método de referencia, entre los que se encuentra la
Cromatografía de líquidos acoplada a la Espectrometría de masas (LC-MS).
Este Reglamento también indica la necesidad de sustituir lo antes posible los
métodos biológicos por métodos de detección alternativos que hayan sido
validados conforme a un protocolo acordado a nivel internacional. De
acuerdo con esto, el Laboratorio Comunitario de Referencia de Biotoxinas
Marinas (LCRBM) está actualmente coordinando, a nivel europeo, diversos
estudios enfocados a la validación de un método de LC-MS para la
determinación de toxinas lipofílicas. En el presente trabajo se describen los
diferentes estudios realizados en la etapa de pre-validación del método, cuyo
objetivo se centra en la optimización y estandarización de un protocolo para
el análisis simultáneo de ácido ocadaico (AO) y dinofysistoxinas (DTXs),
pectenotoxinas (PTXs), azaspirácidos (AZAs), yesotoxinas (YTXs) y
espirólidos. A partir de los resultados obtenidos en esta etapa se elaboró un
“Procedimiento Normalizado de Trabajo”, candidato a ser validado a través
de un estudio colaborativo. Actualmente dicho procedimiento está en fase
de evaluación y perfeccionamiento.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por DG SANCO (Comisión Europea,
Bruselas), la Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición
(AESAN) y por el proyecto STREP FOOD-CT-2004-514055
(DETECTOX).
Agradecer a INTECMAR (Instituto Tecnológico para o Control do
Medio Mariño de Galicia) por facilitarnos muestras de moluscos
naturalmente contaminados con toxinas lipofílicas
Actividades del Laboratorio Comunitario de Referencia de Biotoxinas Marinas
[ESP] El Laboratorio de Biotoxinas Marinas de la Agencia Española de
Seguridad Alimentaria en Vigo es Laboratorio Comunitario de Referencia
para el control de las biotoxinas marinas (LCRBM), lo que conlleva unas
tareas de coordinación y liderazgo en el análisis de biotoxinas marinas en el
marco de la Unión Europea. Por otro lado, el LCRBM es también el
Laboratorio Nacional de Referencia (LNRBM) en España. Las funciones
que como LCR y como LNR le asigna la legislación europea, incluyen
labores de coordinación de actividades de los laboratorios europeos o
nacionales, según el caso, en la aplicación de los métodos oficiales de
análisis de biotoxinas marinas. Entre ellas, la organización de ensayos
comparativos y su adecuado seguimiento de acuerdo con los protocolos
internacionalmente reconocidos; así como la provisión de información,
formación y asistencia científico-técnica a los laboratorios nacionales de
control oficial, a los laboratorios de la red europea, a las autoridades
competentes y a los Países Terceros. En el presente trabajo, se describen las
diferentes actividades llevadas a cabo por el LCRBM, en especial, en cuanto
a la organización de ensayos comparativos para la determinación de toxinas
PSP y lipofílicas, dirigidos a la red europea y nacional, así como todas
aquellas actividades encaminadas a la armonización de los métodos que se
vienen aplicando y al desarrollo y validación de nuevos métodos analíticos
alternativos al bioensayo en ratón, por tratarse de una urgente necesidad en
este campo de la seguridad alimentaria.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por DG SANCO (Comisión Europea,
Bruselas) y la Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición
(AESAN).
El LCRBM quiere agradecer a INTECMAR (Instituto Tecnológico
para o Control do Medio Mariño de Galicia) y a la asociación gallega de
productores de mejillón SOCOMGAL por el suministro de material tóxico
para estos estudios
Disminución de la reserva de flujo coronario en pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca no isquémica
Introduction and objectives. Coronary flow reserve
(CFR) is impaired not only in ischemic heart disease, but
also in cardiac diseases that may or may not course with
heart failure. The aim of the present study was to determine
if the severity of heart failure can influence CFR impairment.
Methods. Forty patients with non-ischemic heart disease
and heart failure were studied 41 times. Four groups
were established: 1. 10 patients in functional class III-IV;
2. 10 patients in functional class II not taking beta-blockers;
3. 11 patients in class II treated with carvedilol, and 4.
10 patients in class I. These patients had a history of heart
failure and systolic dysfunction. Myocardial blood flow
(MBF) was measured with positron emission tomography
(PET) and N-13 ammonia at rest (r) and during adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) infusion.
Results. MBF and CFR were significantly higher in
group 4 (1.95 ± 0.58 and 2.40 ± 0.95 ml/min/g) than in
group 1 (1.02 ± 0.52 and 1.46 ± 0.48 ml/min/g). CFR tended
to be higher in groups 2 (1.73 ± 0.72), and 3 (1.89 ±
0.75) vs group 1. No significant correlation was found between
CFR and the following variables: age, systolic blood
pressure, ventricular mass index, ventricular volume indexes,
and ejection fraction.
Conclusions. Coronary microvascular function is impaired
in non-ischemic heart failure, and the impairment is
related to functional class, regardless of the underlying
responsible heart disease
Fostering economic growth, social inclusion & sustainability in Industry 4.0: a systemic approach
The most modern and mature industrial manufacturing revolution is known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Technological advance seeks to minimize all sorts of waste, optimizing the firm's performance operations aligning this its competitive advantage. While in developing economies often overlooked the society and environment under the current neoliberalism strategy, whose competitive approach is enforced by the State, with a detriment of local SMEs such as Mexico. Thereby, to lead I4.0 implementation for SMEs, the role of the State for a long-term strategic approach is of utmost importance. The industrial strategy should regard the imminent industrial revolution without leaving behind environmental and social dimensions to implement it, like the Scandinavian economies example. This research proposes the soft systems methodology for dealing with the sustainable complexity context and inclusive industrial development phenomena. Its holistic nature provides useful insights that devise how I4.0 and social inclusion fit into the Mexican context. The theoretical proposal builds upon the social inclusion state-of-the-art in the industry 4.0 and a survey for an affordable I4.0 initiative through a stakeholder system's network communication approach. The inclusive strategy is an effort to align root systems for sustainable development with stakeholders for Mexican SMEs in the manufacturing sector
Notulae taxinomicae, chorologicae, nomenclaturales, bibliographicae aut philologicae in opus "Flora Iberica" intendentes
Transcriptome and proteome response of Rhipicephalus annulatus tick vector to Babesia bigemina infection
Funding Information: RHIBAB - PTDC/CVT/112050/2009 “Differential expression and functional characterization of tick (Rhipicephalus annulatus) genes in response to pathogen infection (B. bigemina).” SA is the recipient of a post-doctoral grant supported by FCT Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for funds to GHTM – UID/Multi/04413/2013. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2019 Antunes, Couto, Ferrolho, Sanches, Merino Charrez, De la Cruz Hernández, Mazuz, Villar, Shkap, de la Fuente and Domingos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.A system biology approach was used to gain insight into tick biology and interactions between vector and pathogen. Rhipicephalus annulatus is one of the main vectors of Babesia bigemina which has a massive impact on animal health. It is vital to obtain more information about this relationship, to better understand tick and pathogen biology, pathogen transmission dynamics, and new potential control approaches. In ticks, salivary glands (SGs) play a key role during pathogen infection and transmission. RNA sequencing obtained from uninfected and B. bigemina infected SGs obtained from fed female ticks resulted in 6823 and 6475 unigenes, respectively. From these, 360 unigenes were found to be differentially expressed (p < 0.05). Reversed phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry identified a total of 3679 tick proteins. Among them 406 were differently represented in response to Babesia infection. The omics data obtained suggested that Babesia infection lead to a reduction in the levels of mRNA and proteins (n = 237 transcripts, n = 212 proteins) when compared to uninfected controls. Integrated transcriptomics and proteomics datasets suggested a key role for stress response and apoptosis pathways in response to infection. Thus, six genes coding for GP80, death-associated protein kinase (DAPK-1), bax inhibitor-1 related (BI-1), heat shock protein (HSP), heat shock transcription factor (PHSTF), and queuine trna-ribosyltransferase (QtRibosyl) were selected and RNA interference (RNAi) performed. Gene silencing was obtained for all genes except phstf. Knockdown of gp80, dapk-1, and bi-1 led to a significant increase in Babesia infection levels while hsp and QtRibosyl knockdown resulted in a non-significant decrease of infection levels when compared to the respective controls. Gene knockdown did not affect tick survival, but engorged female weight and egg production were affected in the gp80, dapk-1, and QtRibosyl-silenced groups in comparison to controls. These results advanced our understanding of tick-Babesia molecular interactions, and suggested new tick antigens as putative targets for vaccination to control tick infestations and pathogen infection/transmission.publishersversionpublishe
Creative innovation in Spanish construction firms
"This material may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the American Society of Civil Engineers"Small and medium-sized contractors are characterized by organizational structures that are highly focused on control. As a result, employees concentrate on day-to-day activities with little time or motivation to generate creative ideas. Generally, the technological improvements of these companies arise as a result of problem-solving at the construction site. Nevertheless, the actual status quo is changing. In fact, some Spanish public agencies are already considering innovation as an added value in public procurement; thus, large contractors are starting to systemize their innovative efforts. This means that small and medium-sized enterprises must modify their attitudes towards innovation in order to sustain their competitiveness. The implementation of a system that enhances innovation and acquisition of knowledge may be the solution to overcome this disadvantage. The authors analyzed the implementation of an innovation management system in a Spanish construction firm of medium size for nine years. The system builds on a set of processes aimed to generate innovation projects that allow the contractor to document the innovation, not only for internal purposes related to knowledge management, but also for external ones associated with obtaining better results in public tenders. These processes are: (a) technology watch; (b) creativity; (c) planning and executing innovation projects; (d) technology transfer; and (e) protection of results. The last step is the feedback of the entire process through the assessment of the final outcomes. The implementation of the innovation system is ensured within the organization, through training of personnel, participation of stakeholders and encouragement of the innovation culture.The research reported in this paper was partially funded by the Universidad Catolica del Maule (UCM) [Project Mejoramiento de la Calidad y Equidad de la Educacion Superior (MECESUP)-UCM0205], the Spanish Ministry of Infrastructure (Project 2004-36), and the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) (Contract UPV-2008-0629). Francisco Vea, Ricardo Lacort, and Manuel Civera are thanked for their help and support throughout the implementation of the system. Dr. Debra Westall is thanked for revising the text.Yepes, V.; Pellicer Armiñana, E.; Fernando Alarcón, L.; Correa Becerra, CL. (2015). Creative innovation in Spanish construction firms. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. 141:04015006-1-04015006-10. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000251S04015006-104015006-1014
Seismotectonic and geologic characterization of the february 1999 Mb: 4,8 Mula earthquake using geological data, seismological data and RADAR interferometry (INSAR)
La secuencia sísmica de Mula (Murcia) iniciada el 2 de Febrero de 1999 con un terremoto máximo de Mb: 4,8 alcanzó una intensidad MSK máxima de VI-VII causando numerosos daños materiales. Los datos sismológicos existentes hasta la fecha, y concretamente la profundidad hipocentral y los mecanismos focales difieren de forma significativa en función del método de cálculo usado. En este trabajo se ha
utilizado una técnica novedosa como es la interferometría de RADAR (INSAR) con el fin de identificar posibles deformaciones superficiales asociadas el terremoto que ayuden a identificar la fuente sismogenética. La combinación de los resultados obtenidos con esta técnica unidos a los datos geológicos de superficie apunta, como fuente más probable, a la reactivación de la falla de Crevillente con una componente de desgarre importante y con un epicentro somero (profundidad inferior a 10 km).The 1999 Mula (Murcia) seismic sequence started in February 2nd with a Mb: 4.8 mainshock, that reached a MSK intensity VI-VII. This earthquake produced significant economic losses in the region. The seismological data available to date give different focal mechanisms and different focal depths depending on the applied method. In this work we used a modern technique as RADAR interferometry (INSAR) with the aim to identify coseismic surface displacements linked with the Mula earthquake. The correlation of the results from RADAR interferometry with geological data support a reactivation of the Crevillente fault, with a high strike-slip component and a shallow hipocenter (less than 10 km), as the more likely seismic source.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEEspaña. Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologíapu
Validation of Calprotectin As a Novel Biomarker For The Diagnosis of Pleural Effusion: a Multicentre Trial
Discriminating between malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and benign pleural effusion (BPE) remains difficult. Thus, novel and efficient biomarkers are required for the diagnosis of pleural effusion (PE). The aim of this study was to validate calprotectin as a diagnostic biomarker of PE in clinical settings. A total of 425 patients were recruited, and the pleural fluid samples collected had BPE in 223 cases (53.7%) or MPE in 137 patients (33%). The samples were all analysed following the same previously validated clinical laboratory protocols and methodology. Calprotectin levels ranged from 772.48 to 3,163.8 ng/mL (median: 1,939 ng/mL) in MPE, and 3,216-24,000 ng/mL in BPE (median: 9,209 ng/mL; p < 0.01), with an area under the curve of 0.848 [95% CI: 0.810-0.886]. For a cut-off value of </= 6,233.2 ng/mL, we found 96% sensitivity and 60% specificity, with a negative and positive predictive value, and negative and positive likelihood ratios of 96%, 57%, 0.06, and 2.4, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that low calprotectin levels was a better discriminator of PE than any other variable [OR 28.76 (p < 0.0001)]. Our results confirm that calprotectin is a new and useful diagnostic biomarker in patients with PE of uncertain aetiology which has potential applications in clinical practice because it may be a good complement to cytological methods
- …