A
bstract
The European Spallation Source (ESS), presently well on its way to completion, will soon provide the most intense neutron beams for multi-disciplinary science. Fortuitously, it will also ...generate the largest pulsed neutrino flux suitable for the detection of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE
ν
NS), a process recently measured for the first time at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. We describe innovative detector technologies maximally able to profit from the order-of-magnitude increase in neutrino flux provided by the ESS, along with their sensitivity to a rich particle physics phenomenology accessible through high-statistics, precision CE
ν
NS measurements.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) have been identified as a significant factor driving declines in wildlife populations. These contaminants exhibit a dual tendency to biomagnify up the food chains ...and persist within tissues, rendering long-lived vertebrates, such as raptors, highly vulnerable to their adverse effects. We assessed the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in fledglings of two vulture species, the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), coexisting in northern Spain. Vultures, currently facing a severe threat with a population decline exceeding 90%, represent one of the most critically endangered avian groups in the Old World. Despite this critical situation, there remains a scarcity of research examining the intricate relationship between contaminant levels and individual foraging behaviors. In parallel, we analyzed stable isotope levels (δ15N and δ13C) in fledgling's feathers and prey hair to determine the association between individual dietary and contaminant burdens. Our findings revealed higher levels of PCBs in Egyptian vultures, while pesticide concentrations remained very similar between focal species. Furthermore, higher individual values of δ13C, indicating a diet based on intensive farming carcasses and landfills, were associated with higher levels of PCBs. While the levels of POPs found do not raise immediate alarm, the presence of individuals with unusually high values reveals the existence of accessible contamination sources in the environment for avian scavengers. The increasing reliance of these birds on intensive livestock farming and landfills, due to the decline of extensive livestock farming, necessitates long-term monitoring of potential contaminant effects on their populations.
Display omitted
•Monitoring of avian scavengers POP contamination with diet and trophic strategies.•Griffons and Egyptian vultures had similar lower pesticide values through their diets.•Egyptian vultures had higher PCBs and values of 13C linked to farms or landfills.•The ban of PCBs and DDT in Spain several decades ago has proven to be effective.
The management of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) is established in clinical practice guidelines, which are based on randomized studies according to the level of evidence. In Spain, the degree of ...compliance with these guidelines in clinical practice is unknown.
To describe the profiles of PCa patients at the time of diagnosis and the management of patients with localized PCa and those with BCR in Spain.
A medical survey was conducted in specialized care (85 urologists UROs, 64 radiation oncologists ROs, and 21 medical oncologists MOs). Three questionnaires were developed for this study with 22 (UROs and ROs) or 21 questions (MOs).
The annual incidence of PCa was 24,057 in participating hospitals (N = 131). The extrapolated annual incidence in Spain is 40,531 cases. The estimated prevalence of PCa in Spain is 221,689. Of note, 79% and 80% of patients seen by UROs and ROs, respectively had localized PCa at diagnosis. Biopsy was the most used diagnostic test among the three specialties, followed by abdominopelvic computer tomography. More than 90% of patients with BCR underwent standard tests. Next generation imaging tests and PET-choline/PSMA are still used residually. Most patients with localized PCa are currently treated with either surgery or radiotherapy, while for BCR patients, UROs and ROs prefer radiotherapy and MOs androgen deprivation therapy alone or in combination.
This study describes patient profiles at the time of diagnosis and provides an overview of the current therapeutic management of localized PCa and BCR in clinical practice in Spain.
El tratamiento de los pacientes con cáncer de próstata (CaP) está establecido en las guías de práctica clínica, las cuales se basan en estudios aleatorizados según el nivel de evidencia. En España se desconoce el grado de cumplimiento de estas guías en la práctica clínica.
Describir los perfiles de los pacientes con CaP en el momento del diagnóstico y el manejo de los pacientes con CaP localizado y con RBQ en España.
Se realizó una encuesta médica en tres especialidades médicas (85 urólogos URO, 64 oncólogos radioterapeutas OR y 21 oncólogos médicos OM). Para este estudio se elaboraron tres cuestionarios, dos con 22 preguntas (URO y OR) y uno con 21 preguntas (OM).
La incidencia anual de CaP en los hospitales participantes (N = 131) fue de 24.057 casos. La incidencia anual extrapolada a España fue de 40.531 casos. La prevalencia estimada de CaP en España es de 221.689. Cabe destacar que el 79% y el 80% de los pacientes atendidos por URO y OR, respectivamente, presentaban CaP localizado en el momento del diagnóstico. La biopsia fue la prueba diagnóstica más utilizada en las tres especialidades, seguida de la tomografía computarizada de abdomen pelvis. Más del 90% de los pacientes con RBQ se sometieron a estas pruebas. Las técnicas de imagen de nueva generación y la PET con colina/PSMA se siguen utilizando en menor medida. Actualmente, la mayoría de los pacientes con CaP localizado reciben tratamiento con cirugía o radioterapia, pero en el caso de los pacientes con RBQ, los URO y OR prefieren la radioterapia y los OM la terapia de deprivación androgénica exclusiva o combinada.
Este estudio describe los perfiles de los pacientes en el momento del diagnóstico y proporciona una visión general del manejo terapéutico actual del CaP localizado y con RBQ en la práctica clínica en España.
Purpose
To evaluate the association in the change of circulating tumor cell (CTC) levels and clinical outcomes (PFS and OS) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated ...homogenously with docetaxel and gemcitabine administered every 2 weeks.
Methods
We prospectively evaluated 37 patients for CTC levels at baseline and after 2 months of chemotherapy (before third cycle). Detection was carried out with the CellSearch system.
Results
Nine of the 37 patients (24 %) had ≥2 CTCs at the baseline determination. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.3 months (95 % CI 2.5–8.3) for patients with CTC 0–1 as compared to 9.4 months (95 % CI 1.2–12.2) for those with CTC ≥2 (
p
= 0.3506). Median overall survival (OS) was 8.1 (95 % CI 2.8–16.3) and 12.2 (95 % CI 1.4–12.2) months for patients with 0–1 CTCs and ≥2 CTCs, respectively (
p
= 0.7639). Patients with a second CTC quantification were classified as: group 1, CTC = 0–1 at baseline and CTC = 0–1 after second chemotherapy cycle (18 patients); group 2, CTC ≥2 at baseline and CTC = 0–1 after second determination (5 patients). Median PFS was 7.7 and 9.9 months for group 1 and group 2, respectively (
p
= 0.4467).
Conclusions
CTCs ≥2 at baseline were detected only in 24 % of this group of patients with advanced NSCLC and poor performance status. No significant differences in PFS and OS between patients with or without CTCs at baseline were observed.
This article provides a general methodology for calculating the retreat of the coastline and the volume of sand necessary to renourish a beach due to sea level rise (SLR) in the medium-long term. An ...example is presented, Victoria Beach, and a projection is made for the years 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2100. The results obtained take into account global sea level rise (GSLR), which is worldwide, and local sea level rise (LSLR), which considers climate variability and vertical land movements. Regarding GSLR, data were provided by the projections from IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) scenarios and empirical models, such as Rahmstorf and Pfeffer. The LSLR data came from the tide gauge station located in Cadiz. Finally, the results obtained showed that global warming impacts erosive effects and the subsequent volume of sand required to renourish beaches. The total sea level rise (TSLR) projections indicated for Victoria Beach are relatively higher than the GSLR projections. Even in the best IPCC scenario (RCP 2.6), Victoria Beach presents a significant erosion of 52 m, requiring a volume of sand of 1.0 Mm3 to supply renourishment.
▸ Verifying correct operation-energy yield and safety- of PV plants: crucial issue. ▸ We propose a checking procedure that completes the existing IEC 62446 standard. ▸ PV generator peak power, ...inverter response and earth electrode are also measured. ▸ This procedure was carried out in six PV plants sited in Spain. ▸ PV plants pass the safety tests but some show a noticeable drop in their peak power
Assessing the correct operation of PV grid-connected systems (PVGCS) is paramount not only for mere energy and profitability concerns but also for safety reasons. Intended to this purpose, the IEC 62446 standard is open to some tests to be required in some circumstances, in addition to those stated in this document. Our work proposes a procedure to carry out quality checks in PVGCS complying with this standard and dealing with some tests not mentioned in it – namely, PV generator peak power measurement, inverter response and earth electrode measurement – so that the verification of the system gets more comprehensive. This procedure was carried out in six PV plants sited in different locations with a Mediterranean climate in Spain. The most remarkable results of this experimental campaign may be summarized as follows: an excellent on-site behavior of the inverters, in general very good figures for the isolation and earth electrode resistance and a scarcely relevant existence of hot spots. On the down side, some figures for the peak power of the tested PV generators well below their nominal value were found. The procedure described in this paper has proved to be a useful tool to assist in the verification of a PVGCS after installation and for subsequent re-inspection or maintenance.
Due to the high mortality rates and poor growth generally observed in
Octopus vulgaris paralarval rearing experiments, it was decided to organize a working group in order to formulate recommendations ...to tackle this problem. Over a dozen scientists representing the most active current research groups related to this subject attended the meeting in Vigo, Spain, in November 2005. The aim of this working group was to determine the bottlenecks that prevent success in paralarval rearing, define the most appropriate rearing conditions, and identify required future research.
This paper describes rearing techniques for the
O. vulgaris paralarvae used by the different research participant teams, with regard to tank systems, feeding environment, and diets (
Artemia, crustacean zoeae, sandeel flakes, copepods,
etc.). Additionally, it includes other related themes such as the culture of
Artemia and copepods, organisms that are commonly used in paralarval rearing.
When embarking on
O. vulgaris rearing it is advised to use prey rich in DHA (docosaenoic acid, 22:6n-3) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5n-3), and with high DHA/EPA ratio. Such prey could be enriched
Artemia, accompanied or not by crustacean zoeae or any microdiet. It is also recommended that, in future studies, values of growth and survival rates are recorded at the beginning of the benthic phase, in order to compare them to successful previous studies. Dry weight and DHA/EPA ratio of paralarvae may also be good criteria to define paralarval viability and evaluate success of the rearing system.
It is further concluded that the nutritional aspect is the most important factor influencing larval mortality. Certain lipids (phospholipids, cholesterol, and polyunsaturated fatty acids), amino acids (lysine, leucine and arginine), and essential elements (
e.g. copper) play a relevant role in the larval nutrition. It is believed that the PUFA content, especially DHA and EPA, constitutes one of the basic nutritional requirements.
Regarding new research lines, no standardized system for paralarval rearing exists, and it is essential to make progress on this issue. Research on nutritional requirements is considered an area of highest priority, especially the development of a specific enrichment for
Artemia, the search for alternative live preys, and the development of suitable formulated diets.
The NEXT White (NEW) detector Monrabal, F.; Gómez-Cadenas, J.J.; Toledo, J.F. ...
Journal of instrumentation,
12/2018, Letnik:
13, Številka:
12
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Conceived to host 5 kg of xenon at a pressure of 15 bar in the fiducial volume, the NEXT-White apparatus is currently the largest high pressure xenon gas TPC using electroluminescent amplification in ...the world. It is also a 1:2 scale model of the NEXT-100 detector for 136Xe ββ0ν decay searches, scheduled to start operations in 2019. Both detectors measure the energy of the event using a plane of photomultipliers located behind a transparent cathode. They can also reconstruct the trajectories of charged tracks in the dense gas of the TPC with the help of a plane of silicon photomultipliers located behind the anode. A sophisticated gas system, common to both detectors, allows the high gas purity needed to guarantee a long electron lifetime. NEXT-White has been operating since October 2016 at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC), in Spain. This paper describes the detector and associated infrastructures, as well as the main aspects of its initial operation.
A
bstract
NEXT-100 is an electroluminescent high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber that will search for the neutrinoless double beta (0
νββ
) decay of
136
Xe. The detector possesses two ...features of great value for 0
νββ
searches: energy resolution better than 1% FWHM at the
Q
value of
136
Xe and track reconstruction for the discrimination of signal and background events. This combination results in excellent sensitivity, as discussed in this paper. Material-screening measurements and a detailed Monte Carlo detector simulation predict a background rate for NEXT-100 of at most 4 × 10
−4
counts keV
−1
kg
−1
yr
−1
. Accordingly, the detector will reach a sensitivity to the 0
νββ
-decay half-life of 2.8 × 10
25
years (90% CL) for an exposure of 100 kg·year, or 6.0 × 10
25
years after a run of 3 effective years.
We investigate the potential of using deep learning techniques to reject background events in searches for neutrinoless double beta decay with high pressure xenon time projection chambers capable of ...detailed track reconstruction. The differences in the topological signatures of background and signal events can be learned by deep neural networks via training over many thousands of events. These networks can then be used to classify further events as signal or background, providing an additional background rejection factor at an acceptable loss of efficiency. The networks trained in this study performed better than previous methods developed based on the use of the same topological signatures by a factor of 1.2 to 1.6, and there is potential for further improvement.
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