Complete response (CR) is considered an important goal in most hematologic malignancies. However, in multiple myeloma (MM), there is no consensus regarding whether immunofixation (IF)-negative CR, ...IF-positive near-CR (nCR), and partial response (PR) are associated with different survivals. We evaluated the prognostic influence on event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) of these responses pre- and post-transplantation in newly diagnosed patients with MM.
We analyzed 632 patients from the prospective Grupo Español de Mieloma 2000 protocol who were uniformly treated with vincristine, carmustine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and predisone/vincristine, carmustine, adryamcine, and dexamethasone induction followed by high-dose therapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation.
Post-transplantation response markedly influenced outcomes. Patients achieving CR had significantly longer EFS (median, 61 v 40 months; P < 10(-5)) and OS (medians not reached; P = .01) versus patients achieving nCR, who likewise had somewhat better outcomes compared with patients achieving PR (median EFS, 34 months, P = .07 v nCR; median OS, 61 months, P = .04). EFS and OS and influence of response were similar among older (age 65 to 70 years) and younger (age < 65 years) patients. Similar findings were observed with pretransplantation response, with trends toward EFS (P = .1; P = .05) and OS (P = .1; P = .07) benefit in patients achieving CR versus nCR and PR, respectively. Post-transplantation response was markedly influenced by pretransplantation response; improvements in response were associated with prolonged survival.
Quality of response post-transplantation, notably CR, is significantly associated with EFS and OS prolongation in newly diagnosed patients with MM. There were trends toward similar associations with pretransplantation response status.
Olive‐derived biomass as a source of energy and chemicals Ruiz, Encarnación; Romero‐García, Juan Miguel; Romero, Inmaculada ...
Biofuels, bioproducts and biorefining,
November/December 2017, Letnik:
11, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Buckling of thermalized elastic sheets Morshedifard, Ali; Ruiz-García, Miguel; Abdolhosseini Qomi, Mohammad Javad ...
Journal of the mechanics and physics of solids,
April 2021, 2021-04-00, 20210401, Letnik:
149
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Steady progress in the miniaturization of structures and devices has reached a scale where thermal fluctuations become relevant and it is thus important to understand how such fluctuations affect ...their mechanical stability. Here, we investigate the buckling of thermalized square sheets under either compression or shear. We demonstrate that thermal fluctuations increase the critical buckling load compared to the classical Euler buckling load due to the enhanced scale-dependent bending rigidity for sheets that are much larger than a characteristic thermal length scale. The presented results are universal and apply to a wide range of microscopic sheets. These results are especially relevant for atomically thin 2D materials, where thermal fluctuations can significantly increase the critical buckling load because the thermal length scale is on the order of nanometers at room temperature.
Public and stakeholder participation in water management is a crucial element in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Theoretically, the WFD identifies several advantages of public participation, ...such as the better use of knowledge and experiences from different stakeholders, increases in public acceptance and reduced litigation, delays, and inefficiencies in implementation. However, few studies have gone as deep, in practical terms, as the existing difficulty to introduce public participation in water management. The aim of this study was to cover this issue. It aims to conduct a literature review on public participation looking for successful social innovation experiences by the EU member states and also for the main limitations and difficulties of implementation detailing the study of the Spanish case.
The literature has yielded promising data over the past decade regarding the use of inertial sensors for the analysis of occupational ergonomics. However, despite their significant advantages (e.g., ...portability, lightness, low cost, etc.), their widespread implementation in the actual workplace has not yet been realized, possibly due to their discomfort or potential alteration of the worker's behaviour. This systematic review has two main objectives: (i) to synthesize and evaluate studies that have employed inertial sensors in ergonomic analysis based on the RULA method; and (ii) to propose an evaluation system for the transparency of this technology to the user as a potential factor that could influence the behaviour and/or movements of the worker. A search was conducted on the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The studies were summarized and categorized based on the type of industry, objective, type and number of sensors used, body parts analysed, combination (or not) with other technologies, real or controlled environment, and transparency. A total of 17 studies were included in this review. The Xsens MVN system was the most widely used in this review, and the majority of studies were classified with a moderate level of transparency. It is noteworthy, however, that there is a limited and worrisome number of studies conducted in uncontrolled real environments.
Fluid flow networks are ubiquitous and can be found in a broad range of contexts, from human-made systems such as water supply networks to living systems like animal and plant vasculature. In many ...cases, the elements forming these networks exhibit a highly non-linear pressure-flow relationship. Although we understand how these elements work individually, their collective behavior remains poorly understood. In this work, we combine experiments, theory, and numerical simulations to understand the main mechanisms underlying the collective behavior of soft flow networks with elements that exhibit negative differential resistance. Strikingly, our theoretical analysis and experiments reveal that a minimal network of nonlinear resistors, which we have termed a 'fluidic memristor', displays history-dependent resistance. This new class of element can be understood as a collection of hysteresis loops that allows this fluidic system to store information, and it can be directly used as a tunable resistor in fluidic setups. Our results provide insights that can inform other applications of fluid flow networks in soft materials science, biomedical settings, and soft robotics, and may also motivate new understanding of the flow networks involved in animal and plant physiology.
This review is focused on the analysis of recent developments in the application of polymers in the detection and quantification of target species. The work begins with a description of the polymers ...that are employed as sensory materials, covering molecularly imprinted polymers or MIPs, hybrid polymers, acrylic polymers, conductive polymers, polymers with chiral motifs and also the use of polymeric arrays. After the description of the sensory polymers, the different target species which can be detected using sensory polymeric devices, including metallic cations and anionic species, gases, explosives, radionuclides and bacteria or the recent biomedical and biological applications is described. Finally, the sensory devices fabricated using smart polymers, including, for example, sensory devices based on Quartz Crystal Microbalances or the use of micro and nanoporous materials as substrates for sensory polymeric coatings is listed and reviewed. The work also details the different detection mechanisms based on the type of response of the sensory polymers, such as electrical, piezoelectric or fluorescence. In brief, the review details a review of the research work published in the last 10 years in this quickly evolving field, with special emphasis in the biomedical and biological applications, which have emerged recently raising great attention. To conclude, some perspectives and future challenges that must be overcome by this research field in the next years is exposed.
Summary
The objective of this work was to release bound phenolic compounds (PC) from chickpea by the interaction of the microbiota of a volunteer and to identify the enzymes implied to deliver these ...PC. The highest amount of PC was released at 12 and 24 h (16.8–18.5 mg GAE/g). Higher antioxidant capacity was observed in these hours through 2,20‐azino‐bis‐(3ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid), 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl, ferric reducing antioxidant power and 2,´2.Azobis (2 methylpropionamidine) techniques. Escherichia, Klebsiella, Bacteroides and Veillonella were some genera identified in the microbiota implied in delivered PC. The principal PC identified by ultra performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry were flavonoids. Proteomic analysis identified hundreds of proteins from the intestinal microbiota after 12 h of fermentation, including enzymes related to the release of bound PC from chickpea such as pectin esterase. Therefore, this enzyme could be used in other food sources for the release of PC bound to the food matrix and thus take advantage of their bioactive benefits.
Identification of the enzymes from the human intestinal microbiota responsible for the release of bound phenolic compounds from chickpea.
This paper deals with a new approach for using olive tree pruning biomass as raw material for ethanol and other chemical production. This process includes a water extraction step, followed by a high ...solids loading dilute phosphoric acid pretreatment and an ethanologenic Escherichia coli fermentation for the conversion of all of the sugars released. Results show that the operational conditions leading to the maximal hemicelullosic sugar recovery in the liquid fraction (near 70%) are 170 °C and 0.5% (w/v) phosphoric acid concentration. The fermentation of the mixed sugars found in the detoxified prehydrolysates by ethanologenic E. coli MS04 led to an ethanol concentration of 23 g/L and an ethanol yield of 0.46 g of ethanol/g of sugars consumed. When the ethanol production from the pretreated solids after enzymatic hydrolysis is also taken into account, 13.2 g of ethanol/100 g of original material was obtained. The production of other interesting compounds is also considered.
Cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) in Spain increased in summer 2020. Here we report on this increase and the local, regional and national public health measures taken in response. We ...analysed data from regional surveillance networks and the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network, both for human and animal West Nile virus (WNV) infection. During the 2020 season, a total of 77 human cases of WNV infection (median age 65 years; 60% males) were detected in the south-west of Spain; 72 (94%) of these cases developed WNND, presenting as meningoencephalitis, seven of which were fatal. In the previous two decades, only six human cases of WNND were detected in Spain. Reduced activities for vector control this season, together with other factors, might have contributed to the massive increase. Public health measures including vector control, campaigns to raise awareness among physicians and the general population, and interventions to ensure the safety of donations of blood products, organs, cells and tissues were effective to reduce transmission. Going forward, maintenance of vector control activities and an update of the vector-borne diseases response plan in Spain is needed.
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