Dementia is a syndrome that is characterised by the decline of different cognitive abilities. A high rate of deaths and high cost for detection, treatments, and patients care count amongst its ...consequences. Although there is no cure for dementia, a timely diagnosis helps in obtaining necessary support, appropriate medication, and maintenance, as far as possible, of engagement in intellectual, social, and physical activities. The early detection of Alzheimer Disease (AD) is considered to be of high importance for improving the quality of life of patients and their families. In particular, Virtual Reality (VR) is an expanding tool that can be used in order to assess cognitive abilities while navigating through a Virtual Environment (VE). The paper summarises common AD screening and diagnosis techniques focusing on the latest approaches that are based on Virtual Environments, behaviour analysis, and emotions recognition, aiming to provide more reliable and non-invasive diagnostics at home or in a clinical environment. Furthermore, different AD diagnosis evaluation methods and metrics are presented and discussed together with an overview of the different datasets.
This article addresses one of the main challenges related to the practical deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions: the coordinated operation of entities at different infrastructures to ...support the automated orchestration of end-to-end Internet of Things services. This idea is referred to as "Internet of Things slicing" and is based on the network slicing concept already defined for the Fifth Generation (5G) of mobile networks. In this context, we present the architectural design of a slice orchestrator addressing the aforementioned challenge, based on well-known standard technologies and protocols. The proposed solution is able to integrate existing technologies, like cloud computing, with other more recent technologies like edge computing and network slicing. In addition, a functional prototype of the proposed orchestrator has been implemented, using open-source software and microservice platforms. As a first step to prove the practical feasibility of our solution, the implementation of the orchestrator considers cloud and edge domains. The validation results obtained from the prototype prove the feasibility of the solution from a functional perspective, verifying its capacity to deploy Internet of Things related functions even on resource constrained platforms. This approach enables new application models where these Internet of Things related functions can be onboarded on small unmanned aerial vehicles, offering a flexible and cost-effective solution to deploy these functions at the network edge. In addition, this proposal can also be used on commercial cloud platforms, like the Google Compute Engine, showing that it can take advantage of the benefits of edge and cloud computing respectively.
Abnormal development of the ocular anterior segment may lead to a spectrum of clinical phenotypes ranging from primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) to variable anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD). The ...main objective of this study was to identify the genetic alterations underlying recessive congenital glaucoma with ASD (CG-ASD). Next-generation DNA sequencing identified rare biallelic
CPAMD8
variants in four patients with CG-ASD and in one case with PCG.
CPAMD8
is a gene of unknown function and recently associated with ASD. Bioinformatic and in vitro functional evaluation of the variants using quantitative reverse transcription PCR and minigene analysis supported a loss-of-function pathogenic mechanism. Optical and electron microscopy of the trabeculectomy specimen from one of the CG-ASD cases revealed an abnormal anterior chamber angle, with altered extracellular matrix, and apoptotic trabecular meshwork cells. The CPAMD8 protein was immunodetected in adult human ocular fluids and anterior segment tissues involved in glaucoma and ASD (i.e., aqueous humor, non-pigmented ciliary epithelium, and iris muscles), as well as in periocular mesenchyme-like cells of zebrafish embryos. CRISPR/Cas9 disruption of this gene in F0 zebrafish embryos (96 hpf) resulted in varying degrees of gross developmental abnormalities, including microphthalmia, pharyngeal maldevelopment, and pericardial and periocular edemas. Optical and electron microscopy examination of these embryos showed iridocorneal angle hypoplasia (characterized by altered iris stroma cells, reduced anterior chamber, and collagen disorganized corneal stroma extracellular matrix), recapitulating some patients’ features. Our data support the notion that
CPAMD8
loss-of-function underlies a spectrum of recessive CG-ASD phenotypes associated with extracellular matrix disorganization and provide new insights into the normal and disease roles of this gene.
We propose this variant of the clip technique as a method that assist traction during endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD): traction on the mucosa plane using an hemoclip carrying a surgical silk ...and three rubber bands, before the incision, to allow easier access to the submucosa space. We propose this variant with the intention of facilitating access to ESD quickly and safely for beginners.
•Nest and roost tree density, and dead wood volume, vary across forest management sites.•Helmeted Woodpecker home range size decreased with more roost trees and bamboo cover.•Robust woodpecker home ...range size decreased with more density of dead wood.•Lineated Woodpecker home range size was not related to measured forest attributes.•We recommend increasing legal cutting diameters to conserve selected woodpecker resources.
Understanding the habitat requirements of forest-dependent species, such as woodpeckers, is crucial for effective management strategies in environments facing significant anthropogenic pressures. During 2013–2019, we investigated the variation in the availability of forest structural attributes in two unlogged forests, one forest with active selective logging, and one forest 33 years after it had been logged, in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest in Misiones, Argentina. Then, we studied the selection of the forest attributes by co-occurring populations of Helmeted Woodpecker (Celeus galeatus), Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus), and Robust Woodpecker (Campephilus robustus), along with their correlation to variations in home range sizes of woodpeckers. We found that the density of potential nest trees of the three woodpecker species, the density of potential Helmeted Woodpecker roost trees, the basal area ha−1 of live trees ≥ 30 cm DBH, the density of live large trees ≥ 30 cm DBH, and the volume of dead wood ≥ 30 cm diameter differed among study sites. Home range sizes of Helmeted Woodpeckers decreased with higher potential roost tree density and greater understory bamboo cover. The home range sizes of Robust Woodpeckers decreased with a higher density of dead trees, while home range sizes of Lineated Woodpeckers were not influenced by any of the variables we measured. The three woodpecker species selected diameter classes and tree species for foraging and nesting disproportionally to their availability. Helmeted Woodpecker preferred guatambú (Balfourodendron riedelianum) over other trees for roosting. We recommend considering key attributes associated with smaller home range sizes of the threatened Helmeted Woodpecker in sustainable forest management, as these attributes are also important for the other two woodpecker species. To ensure the availability of the resources selected by these woodpeckers, we recommend increasing the legal minimum cutting diameter to 60 cm for grapia (Apuleia leiocarpa), guatambú, rabo duro (Lonchocarpus leucanthus) and palo de canga (Symplocos uniflora), and to 50 cm for laurel negro (Nectandra megapotamica) and laurel amarillo (N. lanceolata). We found similar quantities of most of the tree resources we measured in unlogged forests and a forest undergoing a natural recovery for 33 years after the cessation of selective logging, and we recommend that more logged forests be restored in this manner.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has recently been described in children (MIS-C), partially overlapping with Kawasaki disease (KD). We hypothesized that (a) ...MIS-C and prepandemic KD cytokine profiles may be unique and justify the clinical differences observed, and (b) SARS-CoV-2-specific immune complexes (ICs) may explain the immunopathology of MIS-C. Seventy-four children were included: 14 with MIS-C, 9 patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR without MIS-C (COVID), 14 with prepandemic KD, and 37 healthy controls (HCs). Thirty-four circulating cytokines were quantified in pretreatment serum or plasma samples and the presence of circulating SARS-CoV-2 ICs was evaluated in MIS-C patients. Compared with HCs, the MIS-C and KD groups showed most cytokines to be significantly elevated, with IFN-γ-induced response markers (including IFN-γ, IL-18, and IP-10) and inflammatory monocyte activation markers (including MCP-1, IL-1α, and IL-1RA) being the main triggers of inflammation. In linear discriminant analysis, MIS-C and KD profiles overlapped; however, a subgroup of MIS-C patients (MIS-Cplus) differentiated from the remaining MIS-C patients in IFN-γ, IL-18, GM-CSF, RANTES, IP-10, IL-1α, and SDF-1 and incipient signs of macrophage activation syndrome. Circulating SARS-CoV-2 ICs were not detected in MIS-C patients. Our findings suggest a major role for IFN-γ in the pathogenesis of MIS-C, which may be relevant for therapeutic management.
The reduction of pollutant emissions and greenhouse gases, as well as the strong energy dependence on fossil fuels (gas and fuel oil), have, among other reasons, led many countries in recent years to ...develop policies to promote and encourage the use of alternative, sustainable, clean and predictable sources of energy. This paper presents an overview of the production of electricity from renewable sources (PE-RES) in Spain, and offers an outline of the current level of development of renewable energy. It also reviews the current support system, the costs of integrating renewable energy into the electric system as well as the effects of this type of energy on the electricity wholesale market price, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the environment, human health and employment.
► An overview of the current production of electricity from renewable sources in Spain is offered. ► The costs of integrating renewable energy and the downward effect on the market is reviewed. ► Other economic, social and environmental positive effects are also covered.
The profitability of household PV self-consumption, intended with the new renewable self-consumption regulation in Spain, is expected to boost its deployment. Renewable self-consumption, in addition ...to savings in the electricity bill of consumers, also unlocks a variety of benefits such as the reduction of CO2 emissions and electrical power losses in the transmission network, the reduction of electricity price in the wholesale market, the energy dependence rate or the creation of local work. In spite of all these advantages, many barriers have prevented the development of renewable self-consumption in Spain until October 2018, when a new regulation introduced the right to self-consume renewable electrical energy without charges. This work is intended to assess the profitability of residential PV self-consumption in Spain. To achieve that goal the hourly profiles of demand and PV self-production for an average dwelling have been elaborated based on one-year data from the System Operator. Our findings highlight that a 1.5–2 kW-peak PV commercial self-consumption kit yields to an optimum net billing situation for an average dwelling, which means an effective saving of the previous electricity bill.
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Cyanoacrylate(CA)-based tissue adhesives, although not widely used, are a feasible option to fix a mesh during abdominal hernia repair, due to its fast action and great bond strength. Their main ...disadvantage, toxicity, can be mitigated by increasing the length of their alkyl chain. The objective was to assess the in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo biocompatibility in hernia repair of CAs currently used in clinical practice (Glubran(n-butyl) and Ifabond(n-hexyl)) and a longer-chain CA (OCA(n-octyl)), that has never been used in the medical field.
Formaldehyde release and cytotoxicity of unpolymerized(UCAs) and polymerized CAs(PCAs) were evaluated by macroscopic visual assessment, flow cytometry and Alamar Blue assays. In the preclinical evaluation, partial defects were created in the rabbit abdominal wall and repaired by fixing polypropylene prostheses using the CAs. At 14 days post-surgery, animals were euthanized for morphology, macrophage response and cell damage analyses.
Formaldehyde release was lower as the molecular weight of the monomer increased. The longest side-chain CA(OCA) showed the highest cytotoxicity in the UCA condition. However, after polymerization, was the one that showed better behavior on most occasions. In vivo, all CAs promoted optimal mesh fixation without displacements or detachments. Seroma was evident with the use of Glubran, (four of six animals: 4/6) and Ifabond (2/6), but it was reduced with the use of OCA (1/6). Significantly greater macrophage responses were observed in groups where Glubran and Ifabond were used vs. sutures and OCA. TUNEL-positive cells were significantly higher in the Glubran and OCA groups vs. the suture group.
Although mild formaldehyde release occurred, OCA was the most cytotoxic during polymerization but the least once cured. The CAs promoted proper mesh fixation and have potential to replace traditional suturing techniques in hernia repair; the CAs exhibited good tissue integration and effective short-term biocompatibility, with the slightest seroma and macrophage response induced by OCA.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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