The radio frequency (RF) laboratory hosted in the Corpuscular Physics Institute (IFIC) of the University of Valencia is designed to house a high-power and high-repetition-rate facility to test normal ...conduction RF accelerator cavities in the S-Band (2.9985 GHz) in order to perform R&D activities related to particle accelerator cavities. The system, which manages the entire process of RF signal generation, data acquisition and closed-loop control of the laboratory, is currently based on a modular and compact PXI platform system. This contribution details the development of a platform with similar features, but which is based on open architecture standards at both the hardware and software level. For this purpose, a complete system based on the μTCA platform has been developed. This new system must be able to work with accelerator cavities at other operating frequencies, such as 750 MHz, as well as to explore different options at firmware and software levels based on open-source codes.
Emotional instability has been extensively considered the main core of the borderline personality disorder (BPD) that is characterised by an important bias towards emotional information. The aim of ...this study was to determine the emotional bias in patients with BPD by means of an emotional Stroop paradigm.
Sixty-one women (38 Borderline Personality Disorder outpatients and 23 healthy matched control subjects) were included. All of them underwent a computerised version of an emotional Stroop which included four valences: borderline-related negative, negative, positive and neutral.
The results showed that BPD patients were slower in spotting the ink of the words F(1.59)=4.33; p=0.04, and this effect was mainly for borderline-related and neutral words. Likewise, the more severe the BPD the slower the subjects F(2.57)=4.81; p=0.012, indicating difficulties in processing information.
The findings suggest that the emotional dysregulation may account for selective processing with emotional stimulus, which in turn triggers emotional responses in BPD patients, rather than to reflect a more general hypervigilance and an attentional bias for any kind of stimulus.
MĚŘENÍ DOHLEDNOSTI DIGITÁLNÍM FOTOAPARÁTEM Vladimír Brázda; Muhammad Ijaz; Joaquín Pérez Soler Soler ...
Perner's contacts,
11/2012, Letnik:
7, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Snížená dohlednost výrazně ovlivňuje přenos optických bezkabelových spojů a zároveň je kritickým faktorem bezpečnosti v dopravě. V příspěvku je navržena a otestována metoda měření dohlednosti ...využívající digitální fotoaparát. Navržená metoda je schopna měřit dohlednost mezi dvěma pevně danými body a využívá definice dohlednosti o poklesu kontrastního poměru na 2 %. Naměřené hodnoty za přítomnosti dvou různých typů mlhy jsou úspěšně ověřeny porovnáním s Kimovým vzorcem. Další testování navržené metody odhalilo, že je nutné mít správně nastavené vyvážení bílé barvy (White Balance) ve vztahu ke zdroji světla.
Las redes y sistemas de telecomunicación actuales se enfrentan a la necesidad de proporcionar regímenes binarios en la red de acceso cada vez más elevados a un mayor número de usuarios. El principal ...objetivo de esta Tesis Doctoral es proporcionar y evaluar nuevas técnicas que permitan la distribución eficiente de señales de radiofrecuencia con elevado régimen binario, como las tecnologías inalámbricas UWB y WiMAX, en redes de acceso integradas basadas en sistemas radio-sobre-fibra. Por ello se ha contemplado el estudio de la coexistencia y distribución de comunicaciones UWB y WiMAX tanto en el acceso vía radio, como en la transmisión óptica. Sin olvidar el estudio de la linealización del modulador electro-óptico Mach-Zehnder como dispositivo clave en las redes de acceso integradas.
En primer lugar, esta Tesis Doctoral estudia los requisitos para la convergencia inalámbrica de servicios basados en MB-OFDM UWB y WiMAX 802.16e en entornos de redes inalámbricas personales, proporcionando márgenes de seguridad para asegurar la interoperabilidad entre ambas. Estos márgenes pueden aplicarse en el futuro desarrollo de tecnologías avanzadas de mitigación de la interferencia como detección y exclusión en cognitive radio. La coexistencia de MB-OFDM UWB y WiMAX en redes ópticas de acceso utilizando RoF. Los resultados obtenidos, tanto para sistemas RoF sobre fibra multimodo como monomodo, permiten delimitar el alcance en cada tipo de medio óptico para el despliegue de sistemas RoF sobre FTTH. A su vez, se propone y demuestra experimentalmente una nueva técnica de multiplexación por división de polarización en la transmisión óptica que facilita la coexistencia en RoF. Finalmente, se propone y demuestra experimentalmente una técnica de linealización óptica dual paralelo para moduladores Mach-Zehnder que permite aumentar el margen dinámico de este modulador y mejorar las prestaciones de los sistemas RoF con señales de banda ancha.
Pérez Soler, J. (2009). Coexistencia e integración de comunicaciones inalámbricas en sistemas de transmisión ópticos Tesis doctoral no publicada. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/6476
Palancia
Current network and telecommunication systems are required to provide higher data rates in access networks to an increasing number of users. This fact is mainly due to the increase in the Internet ...traffic data, which is related with the higher demand of online videogames and software, the increased complexity in the content of web pages, the joint distribution of audio-visual and added-value online content, and the introduction of high-definition services and contents such as video on demand, as a result of a society increasingly more interconnected. In order to satisfy these higher data rates requirements, new techniques for the joint distribution of several wireless communication systems are proposed in this Thesis. The aim of these techniques is to facilitate the deployment of an integrated access network at the customer premises, enabling the integration of optical transmission over an optical access network and radio-frequency transmission in the same infrastructure. Two main wireless communication systems are considered in this Thesis, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) and UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) according to WiMedia Alliance recommendation. Comparing the bit rate and expected range, WiMAX and UWB are complementary radio technologies expected to coexist in a near future in integrated access networks. The optical access network considered in this Thesis can be regarded as a FTTH network (Fibre-to-the-Home). The wireless signals are natively transmitted over optical network, that is, without frequency upconversion and remodulation stages, over one or several optical carriers. This technology, which is known as Radio-over-Fibre (RoF), is well suited for integrated access networks. First, the requirements for the wireless convergence of services based on Multi-Band Orthogonal-Frequency Division-Multiplexing UWB (MB-OFDM UWB) and WiMAX 802.16e in Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) are stated. The aim of this study is to provide relevant protection margins in order to ensure the coexistence between both technologies. The obtained protection margins are of great interest for the development of advanced interference mitigation techniques such as DAA (Detect-and-Avoid), in the framework of future cognitive radio technologies. In a second step, the wireless coexistence of MB-OFDM UWB and WiMAX technologies is analyzed from the point of view of access networks based on RoF systems. Two experimental field trials are here carried out. In the first one, the wireless convergence is evaluated in a multi-mode fibre RoF system, whereas in the second one, the RoF system is based on a standard single-mode fibre. These experimental results provide relevant fibre link transmission distances to enable the deployment of RoF networks. Moreover, a new optical transmission technique based on polarization division multiplexing is proposed and experimentally evaluated in order to ensure the wireless coexistence in RoF systems. Finally, the impact of the electro-optical Mach-Zehnder modulator is analyzed, since the dynamic range of this device limits the performance of the RoF system. Moreover, a new optical linearization technique for Mach-Zehnder modulators is proposed and evaluated in order to overcome this limitation.
Background & Aims Colorectal cancers (CRCs) with microsatellite instability (MSI) and a mismatch repair (MMR) immunohistochemical deficit without hypermethylation of the MLH1 promoter are likely to ...be caused by Lynch syndrome. Some patients with these cancers have not been found to have pathogenic germline mutations and are considered to have Lynch-like syndrome (LLS). The aim of this study was to determine the risk of cancer in families of patients with LLS. Methods We studied a population-based cohort of 1705 consecutive patients, performing MSI tests and immunohistochemical analyses of MMR proteins. Patients were diagnosed with Lynch syndrome when they were found to have pathogenic germline mutations. Patients with MSI and loss of MSH2 and/or MSH6 expression, isolated loss of PMS2 or loss of MLH1 without MLH1 promoter hypermethylation, and no pathogenic mutation were considered to have LLS. The clinical characteristics of patients and the age- and sex-adjusted standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of cancer in families were compared between groups. Results The incidence of CRC was significantly lower in families of patients with LLS than in families with confirmed cases of Lynch syndrome (SIR for Lynch syndrome, 6.04; 95% confidence interval CI, 3.58–9.54; SIR for LLS, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.16–3.56; P < .001). However, the incidence of CRC was higher in families of patients with LLS than in families with sporadic CRC (SIR for sporadic CRC, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.27–0.79; P < .001). Conclusions The risk of cancer in families with LLS is lower that of families with Lynch syndrome but higher than that of families with sporadic CRC. These results confirm the need for special screening and surveillance strategies for these patients and their relatives.
Obesity is characterized by a resistance to appetite-regulating hormones, leading to a misalignment between the physiological signals and the perceived hunger/satiety signal. A disruption of the ...synthesis rhythm may explain this situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary-induced weight loss on the daily rhythms of leptin and ghrelin and its influence on the daily variability of the appetite sensations of patients with obesity. Twenty subjects with obesity underwent a hypocaloric dietary intervention for 12 weeks. Plasma leptin and ghrelin were analyzed at baseline and at the end of the intervention and in 13 normal-weight controls. Appetite ratings were analyzed. Weight loss decreased leptin synthesis (
< 0.001) but not the rhythm characteristics, except the mean variability value (
= 0.020). By contrast, the mean ghrelin level increased after weight loss. The rhythm characteristics were also modified until a rhythm similar to the normal-weight subjects was reached. The amount of variability of leptin and ghrelin was correlated with the effectiveness of the dietary intervention (
< 0.020 and
< 0.001, respectively). Losing weight partially restores the daily rhythms of leptin and modifies the ghrelin rhythms, but appetite sensations are barely modified, thus confirming that these hormones cannot exercise their physiological function properly.
Grazing livestock derive most of their mineral requirements from foraging. The presence of toxic elements in soils has become a significant concern for food safety and ecosystem services. ...Understanding the mineral content profiles in soil and forage is crucial for assessing animal health, predicting potential transfers of minerals or heavy metals into the food-chain, and assessing threats to the environment and human health. In this study, Na, Mg, P, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb were measured to determine the mineral status of three different pasture-based farming systems (with grazing sheep livestock) in a Spanish region of significant economic importance. A risk assessment evaluation of animal, environmental, and human health was performed on soil, forage, feed, serum, milk, and wool. Notably, traces of Pb, and As were identified in pastures in all farms. Our calculation of pollution indices revealed moderate levels of contamination by various elements, including Co, Cu, Zn, Se, As, Cd, Hg, and Pb. The two farms with more intense agrosystem practices showed a significant potential ecological risk, characterized by high soil levels of Hg and Cd. Animals from these farms also had high concentrations of these metals in wool. Although the target Hazard Quotient derived from milk consumption suggests that dairy products from this area are safe for consumption for adults, only milk from a dehesa farm (mix of woodland and pastureland) was free of potential health concerns related to Pb exposure. Our assessment of mineral profiles reveals a cohesive relationship between soil quality and derived animal products, particularly of the Merino sheep breeding and farming system. The results reveal the importance of adopting and reinforcing strategies to preserve dehesas as a sustainable and environmentally friendly agrosystem in the western Mediterranean region.
Display omitted
•Environmental monitoring in three pasture-based Merino sheep breeding farms•Insights from forest-dehesa, crop-stubble, and grazing systems•High Fe concentrations detected in soil, food, serum, milk and wool•Se potential pollution found in soils from three farms•Potential health concerns related to Pb derived from milk consumption for children
Nine kDa granulysin (GRNLY) is a human cytolytic protein secreted by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and NK cells of the immune system whose demonstrated physiological function is the elimination of ...bacteria and parasites. In previous studies by our group, the anti-tumor capacity of recombinant granulysin was demonstrated, both in vitro and in vivo. In the present work, we developed lipid nanoparticles whose surfaces can bind recombinant granulysin through the formation of a complex of coordination between the histidine tail of the protein and Ni2+ provided by a chelating lipid in the liposome composition and termed them LUV-GRNLY, for granulysin-bound large unilamellar vesicles. The objective of this formulation is to increase the granulysin concentration at the site of contact with the target cell and to increase the cytotoxicity of the administered dose. The results obtained in this work indicate that recombinant granulysin binds to the surface of the liposome with high efficiency and that its cytotoxicity is significantly increased when it is in association with liposomes. In addition, it has been demonstrated that the main mechanism of death induced by both granulysin and LUV-GRNLY is apoptosis. Jurkat-shBak cells are resistant to GRNLY and also to LUV-GRNLY, showing that LUV-GRNLY uses the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway to induce cell death. On the other hand, we show that LUV-GRNLY induces the expression of the pro-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family Bim and especially PUMA, although it also induced the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL. In conclusion, we demonstrate that binding of GRNLY to the surfaces of liposomes clearly augments its cytotoxic potential, with cell death executed mainly by the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of MUTYH mutations in patients with multiple colonic polyps and to explore the best strategy for diagnosing MUTYH-associated polyposis (MAP) in ...these patients.
This study included 405 patients with at least 10 colonic polyps each. All cases were genetically tested for the three most frequent MUTYH mutations. Whole-gene analysis was performed in heterozygous patients and in 216 patients lacking the three most frequent mutations. Polyps from 56 patients were analyzed for the KRAS-Gly12Cys and BRAF V600E somatic mutations.
Twenty-seven (6.7%) patients were diagnosed with MAP, of which 40.8% showed serrated polyps. The sensitivity of studying only the three common variants was 74.1%. Of 216 patients without any monoallelic mutation in common variants, whole-gene analysis revealed biallelic pathogenic mutation in only one. G396D mutation was associated with serrated lesions and older age at diagnosis. There was a strong association between germinal MUTYH mutation and KRAS Gly12Cys somatic mutation in polyps. BRAF V600E mutation was found in 74% of serrated polyps in MUTYH-negative patients and in none of the polyps of MAP patients.
We observed a low frequency of MUTYH mutations among patients with multiple adenomatous and serrated polyps. The MAP phenotype frequently included patients with serrated polyps, especially when G396D mutation was involved. Our results show that somatic molecular markers of polyps can be useful in identifying MAP cases and support the need for the complete MUTYH gene analysis only in patients heterozygous for recurrent variants.
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