Since systemic sclerosis (SSc) also involves the heart, the aim of the present study was to evaluate possible differences in right ventricular (RV) pump function between SSc-associated pulmonary ...arterial hypertension (PAH; SScPAH) and idiopathic PAH (IPAH). In 13 limited cutaneous SScPAH and 17 IPAH patients, RV pump function was described using the pump function graph, which relates mean RV pressure ((RV)) and stroke volume index (SVI). Differences in pump function result in shift or rotation of the pump function graph. (RV) and SVI were measured using standard catheterisation. The hypothetical isovolumic (RV) ((RV,iso)) was estimated using a single-beat method. The pump function graph was approximated by a parabola: (RV) = (RV,iso)1-(SVI/SVI(max))(2), where SVI(max )is the hypothetical maximal SVI at zero (RV), enabling calculation of SVI(max). There were no differences in SVI and SVI(max). Both (RV) and (RV,iso) were significantly lower in SScPAH than in IPAH ((RV) 30.7+/-8.5 versus 41.2+/-9.4 mmHg; (RV,iso) 43.1+/-12.4 versus 53.5+/-10.0 mmHg). Since higher pressures were found at similar SVI, the difference in the pump function graph results from lower contractility in SScPAH than in IPAH. Right ventricular contractility is lower in systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension than in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
This study aims to explore the potential of existing digital solutions to improve the quality and safety of healthcare and analyse the emerging trend of digital medicine. Systematic Literature Review ...(SLR) of the period 1973–2018. To select articles, a prioritization index is proposed, aggregating the characteristics of the score of journals (2017 basis), number of article citations and year of publication, through the Simple Multi-attribute Rating Technique Exploiting Ranks (SMARTER) method. Of the 749 articles listed, 53 were selected and analysed. The majority of research in digital medicine has been focused on integrated management, electronic medical records and medical images, but a research trend is observed in new areas such as virtual service, the use of portable devices as instruments for monitoring the patient and concern about the privacy of medical documents. Categorization in seven areas was carried out, focusing on integrated management of information technology in health, medical images, electronic medical records, development of portable, mobile devices in health, access to e-health, telemedicine and privacy of medical data. Longitudinal analysis of systematized studies, keeping the focus on digital technological developments in health is a trend to extend researchers’ vision, by providing important indications for further study. Suggestions for future investigations are formulated for each identified category. This study reveals great possibilities for SLR with the use of Simple Multi-attribute Rating Technique Exploiting Ranks (SMARTER).
Coronene is one of the basic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) used to test the reliabilty of a multidimensional potential energy surface (PES) and to assess its influence on the formation ...dynamics of PAH clusters with defined physical and chemical properties. We report an analytical potential energy surface for modeling the coronene–coronene interaction, whose parameters were fine-tuned on dispersion-corrected DFT estimations performed within the generalized gradient PBE approximation, that is suitable for describing molecular aggregates involving aromatic species. This model was used to build a potential function for coronene clusters (Cor n ) that was then applied in a detailed global geometry optimization study with an evolutionary algorithm. A large variety of low-energy structures were obtained for the Cor n (n = 2–15) clusters ranging from columnar-type to two-stacked in a handshake association motifs. Moreover, it was found that a transition from a single-stack columnar regime to other more complex shapes occurs at n = 6, whereas previous results based on a simpler coarse-grained potential pointed to a transition at n = 8. Geometry reoptimizations were also performed at the DFT level for the most representative low-energy structures of Cor n (n = 3–6), which confirmed the reliability of the present findings.
ABSTRACT
Fundamental cosmology observations, such as the detection of the redshift drift and tests of the universality of physical laws, are key science and design drivers of the ArmazoNes high ...Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph (ANDES), an Extremely Large Telescope instrument. While separate forecasts for each of them have been reported, we have developed Fisher matrix based forecast tools combining both of these observables. We demonstrate the synergies between the two ANDES data sets, quantifying the improvements in cosmology and fundamental physics parameter constraints for two separate theoretical paradigms. We publicly release this forecast code, which is one of the tools for the optimization of the ANDES observing strategy.
Nowadays, the development of sustainable high-performance functional nanomaterials is in the spotlight. In this work, we report the preparation of a new generation of flexible and high ...electroconductive nanopapers based on nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and copper nanowires (CuNWs). Homogeneous red brick color nanopapers (thickness 30.2–36.4 μm) were obtained by mixing different amounts of NFC aqueous suspensions and CuNWs (1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 wt %), followed by vacuum filtration and drying. scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis confirmed the incorporation of the different amounts of CuNWs, and their uniform and random distribution. All of the nanomaterials displayed good mechanical properties, viz., Young’s modulus = 2.62–4.72 GPa, tensile strength = 30.2–70.6 MPa, and elongation at break = 2.3–4.1% for the nanopapers with 50 and 1 wt % of CuNWs mass fraction, respectively. The electrical conductivity of these materials strongly depends on the CuNW content, attaining a value of 5.43 × 104 S·m–1 for the nanopaper with a higher mass fraction. This is one of the highest values reported so far for nanocellulose-based conductive materials. Therefore, these nanopapers can be seen as an excellent inexpensive and green alternative to the current electroconductive materials for applications in electronic devices, energy storage, or sensors.
The fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine aim at promoting the regeneration of tissues or replacing failing or malfunctioning organs, by means of combining a scaffold/support ...material, adequate cells and bioactive molecules. Different materials have been proposed to be used as both three-dimensional porous scaffolds and hydrogel matrices for distinct tissue engineering strategies. Among them, polymers of natural origin are one of the most attractive options, mainly due to their similarities with the extracellular matrix (ECM), chemical versatility as well as typically good biological performance. In this review, the most studied and promising and recently proposed naturally derived polymers that have been suggested for tissue engineering applications are described. Different classes of such type of polymers and their blends with synthetic polymers are analysed, with special focus on polysaccharides and proteins, the systems that are more inspired by the ECM. The adaptation of conventional methods or non-conventional processing techniques for processing scaffolds from natural origin based polymers is reviewed. The use of particles, membranes and injectable systems from such kind of materials is also overviewed, especially what concerns the present status of the research that should lead towards their final application. Finally, the biological performance of tissue engineering constructs based on natural-based polymers is discussed, using several examples for different clinically relevant applications.
We have developed an evolutionary algorithm (EA) for the global minimum search of molecular clusters. The EA is able to discover all the putative global minima of water clusters up to (H2O)20 and ...benzene clusters up to (C6H6)30. Then, the EA was applied to search for the global minima structures of (C6H6) n + with n = 2−20, some of which were theoretically studied for the first time. Our results for n = 2−6 are consistent with previous theoretical work that uses a similar interaction potential. Excluding the very symmetric global minimum structure for n = 9, the growth pattern of (C6H6) n + with n ≥ 7 involves the (C6H6)2 + dimer motif, which is placed off-center in the cluster. Such observation indicates that potentials commonly used in the literature for (C6H6) n + cannot reproduce the icosahedral-type packing suggested by the available experimental data.
•Grazing abandonment decreased soil fertility and carbon storage in annual grasslands.•Soil multifunctionality was higher in wet than dry habitats.•Soil multifunctionality decreased with ...abandonment.•Soil multifunctionality was mediated by plant community functional structure.
Extensive livestock grazing is a global land use activity that has numerous social, cultural, and environmental benefits. Many marginal zones grazed for centuries are now suffering from abandonment, which has been found to be interrelated with species and functional diversity loss, and has potential consequences for the provision of ecosystem services such as soil fertility and soil carbon storage. We sampled soil and plant species abundance in a total of 64 plots (5×5m), in wet and dry habitats under different grazing regimes (from moderate grazing to grazing abandonment for at least 30 years) in Central Spain. We tested the influence of grazing intensity and water availability on different variables related to soil fertility and also on soil carbon storage. In addition, Community weighted mean and Rao quadratic entropy were calculated for two effect traits (specific leaf area and plant height), in order to assess the ultimate effects of these functional attributes on multifunctionality (i.e., the provision of several simultaneous ecosystem functions). We found that grazing abandonment generally produces a reduction in soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available potassium and phosphorus, aggregate stability and soil carbon storage. In addition, grazing abandonment had a negative effect on soil texture with loss of fine particles (clay and silt) and water holding capacity, but only in dry habitats and in longer-term abandoned situation. In general, soil multifunctionality was higher in wet than dry habitats, decreased with grazing abandonment in both habitats. Soil multifunctionality was indirectly mediated by the functional structure of size and leaf traits of the local plant communities, but our results suggested that macroscale grazing effects, i.e. translocation of nutrients by grazers among habitats via dung and urine deposition, might be important mechanisms that influence soil multifunctionality at the local level. Agri-environmental policies should be aware of the risk of widespread grazing abandonment and take advantage of the benefits of low-intensity grazing regimes for ecosystem services such as soil fertility and stability, and soil carbon storage.
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•Thermoeconomic model to assess the feasibility of ORC cogeneration systems was made;•Case based on the energy demands of an laboratory university building was analyzed;•Two mode ...simple (S) and combined (C) of the Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) were analyzed;•ORC-C allowed increases of 33.6% in power production and 34.5% energy efficiency;•ORC-S and ORC-C mode achieve up to 24.5 and 37.5% of the electricity demand, respectively;•Specific cost of hot water has a strong influence on the total cost of the products;
This paper proposes a cogeneration system to achieve the partial electric and thermal demands of a building in the public University. This proposed system comprises an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), and equipment that will operate as a sink. For the latter, two types of equipment were selected: a cooling tower and an Absorption Refrigeration System (ARS). The building selected to propose the cogeneration system is the Institute of Sustainable Energies (IES), located at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), in the Northeast of Brazil. The performance of the system based on energetic and exergetic points of view operating under two distinct modes; ORC Simple (ORC-S) and ORC Combined (ORC-C), was compared. Both modes are based on the energy availability of the ICE exhaust gases. The thermodynamic models for both modes were developed based on the first and second laws of thermodynamic considering input parameters, such as inlet temperature, pressure ratio, and outlet temperature of the expander and the cold-water storage tank. For the exergoeconomic technique, the SPECO Method (Specific Exergy Costing) was used and implemented along with the Thermodynamic model. The ORC system studied uses a scroll expander and operates with R-134a as the working fluid and water/ammonia pair for the single-effect ARS. The results showed that the ORC-C mode can meet from 18.9% to 37.5% of the IES electricity demand, while the ORC-S mode can meet from 12.4% to 24.5%. The thermodynamic analysis reported that the ORC-C allowed a 33.6% increase in mechanical power production, an increase from approximately 4.5% to 34.5% in energy efficiency as well as exergy efficiencies around 40% and reduction of the total destroyed exergy. From the exergoeconomic point of view, the specific cost of the chilled water has a slight influence on the total cost of the products, while the specific cost of hot water has a strong influence on the total cost of the products (a variation of approximately 46% for a distinct heat source).
► Estuarine meiofauna communities were studied spatially and seasonally. ► Nematodes are considered good indicators of ecological status of estuaries. ► Communities followed the estuarine gradient, ...with a low temporal variability. ► Diversity and ecological indices presented different classification of the stretches. ► Ecological status of estuaries must integrate taxonomic and functional approaches of nematodes communities.
Estuarine meiofauna communities have been only recently considered to be good indicators of ecological quality, exhibiting several advantages over macrofauna, such as their small size, high abundance, rapid generation times and absence of a planktonic phase. In estuaries we must account not only for a great natural variability along the estuarine gradient (e.g. sediment type and dynamics, oxygen availability, temperature and flow speed) but also for the existence of anthropogenic pressures (e.g. high local population density, presence of harbors and dredging activities).
Spatial and temporal biodiversity patterns of meiofauna and free-living marine nematodes were studied in the Mondego estuary (Portugal). Both taxonomic and functional approaches were applied to nematode communities in order to describe the community structure and to relate it with the environmental parameters along the estuary. At all sampling events, nematode assemblages reflected the estuarine gradient, and salinity and grain size composition were confirmed to be the main abiotic factors controlling the distribution of the assemblages.
Moreover, the low temporal variability may indicate that natural variability is superimposed by the anthropogenic pressures present in some areas of the estuary. The characterization of both meiofauna and nematode assemblages highlighted the usefulness of the integration of both taxonomic and functional attributes, which must be taken into consideration when assessing the ecological status of estuaries.
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