Magnetically tunable Brewster angle in uniaxial magneto-optical metamaterials for advanced integration of high-resolution sensing devices.

In this Letter, we introduce a concept to produce high-resolution, highly integrable biosensing devices. Our idea exploits the highly absorbing modes in multilayered metamaterials to maximize the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE). Results are discussed in the context of dielectric uniaxial (ε eff,∥ ε eff,⊥>0) and hyperbolic metamaterial (ε eff,∥ ε eff,⊥<0) regimes. For applications in gas sensing, we obtained sensitivities of S = 46.02 deg/RIU and S = 73.91 deg/RIU when considering the system working in the uniaxial and hyperbolic regimes, respectively, with figures of merit (resolution) in the order of 310 or higher. On the contrary, when considering the system for biosensing applications (incidence from an aqueous medium), we observed that the proposed mechanism can only be successfully used in the uniaxial regime, where a sensitivity of 56.87 deg/RIU was obtained.

Small-form-factor Gaussian-modulated coherent-state transmitter for CV-QKD using a gain-switched DFB laser.

We report a directly modulated distributed feedback laser operating in gain-switching mode for preparing the coherent states required for the Gaussian-modulated coherent-state (GMCS) continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocol. The proposed single-component quantum transmitter design eliminates the need for external modulators, decreasing the complexity of GMCS CV-QKD systems. The experimental results demonstrate a potential asymptotic secret key rate value of 2.63 Mbps over an 11-km fiber link, making the directly modulated GMCS transmitter particularly suitable for metropolitan optical networks where compactness, robustness, and low cost are key desirable features.

Random number generation by coherent detection of quantum phase noise.

In 2010 Qi et al. [Opt. Lett.35(3), 312 (2010)] demonstrated a random number generator based on the drift of the phase of a laser due to spontaneous emission, The out-of-the-lab implementation of this scheme presents two main drawbacks: it requires a long and highly unbalanced interferometer to generate a random phase with uniform probability distribution, or alternatively, a shorter and slightly unbalanced interferometer that notwithstanding requires active stabilization and does not generate a uniform probability distribution without randomness extraction. Here we demonstrate that making use of the random nature of the phase difference between two independent laser sources and two coherent detectors we can overcome these limitations. The two main advantages of the system demonstrated are: i) it generates a probability distribution of quantum origin which is intrinsically uniform and thus in principle needs no randomness extraction for obtaining a uniform distribution, and ii) the phase is measured with telecom equipment routinely used for high capacity coherent optical communications. The speed of random bit generation is determined by the photodetector bandwidth and the linewidth of the lasers. As a by-product of our method, we have obtained images of how phase noise develops with time in a laser. This provides a highly visual alternative way of measuring the coherence time of a laser.

Fractura-avulsión pélvica en la actividad deportiva en edad pediátrica / Apophyseal avulsion fractures in sports activity in pediatric age

Las fracturas por avulsión apofisaria son fracturas poco frecuentes que se producen generalmente tras una contracción muscular violenta y rápida. El diagnóstico es fundamentalmente clínico, por la edad del paciente y el mecanismo de la lesión. La radiografía simple confirma el diagnóstico, aunque puede ser útil la ecografía, la tomografía axial computarizada y la resonancia magnética. La mayoría de los pacientes responden favorablemente al tratamiento conservador. Presentamos 2 casos clínicos de avulsión apofisaria a nivel de la pelvis en futbolistas en edad pediátrica con distinta localización, presentación clínica y evolución. En el primer caso se presenta una avulsión del trocánter menor, lesión muy poco frecuente, y en el segundo una avulsión de la espina ilíaca antero-inferior que pasó desapercibida y fue diagnosticada un mes después de la lesión. El conocimiento de la anatomía, el mecanismo de la lesión y el tratamiento de estas fracturas permite el diagnóstico precoz y el tratamiento adecuado (AU)

Apophyseal avulsion fractures are uncommon injuries that usually occur after a sudden and forceful muscle contraction. The diagnosis is fundamentally clinical, suggested by the patient’s age and injury mechanism. A plain radiograph usually confirms the diagnosis, but ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may be useful. Conservative treatment is usually successful in most cases. We report two cases of pelvic apophyseal avulsion fractures with different location, clinical presentation and outcome in young soccer players. In the first case, we present an avulsion of the lesser trochanter, a very uncommon injury, and in the second case an avulsion of the anterior-inferior iliac spine that went unnoticed and was diagnosed a month after the injury. With careful understanding of the anatomy, mechanism of injury and treatment, these fractures can be successfully diagnosed and treated (AU)

Evaluación de la respuesta muscular como herramienta de control en el campo de la actividad física, la salud y el deporte / Assessment of muscle response as a control tool in the area of physical activity, health, and sports

La tensiomiografía es un método de evaluación muscular desarrollado en la década de los noventa en la Facultad de Ingeniería Eléctrica de la Universidad de Ljubliana (Eslovenia), bajo la dirección de Vojko Valenèiè. Mide la deformación radial de un músculo cuando este es estimulado eléctricamente. La magnitud de estos cambios y el tiempo en el que se producen nos permiten obtener información sobre las características mecánicas y la capacidad contráctil de los músculos superficiales evaluados. El objetivo de este trabajo es hacer una revisión actualizada de la producción científica publicada y revisar los procedimientos metodológicos para su correcta aplicación e interpretación, aportando algunas reflexiones y propuestas que ayuden a sus usuarios y amplíe la información disponible hasta el momento(AU)

Tensiomiography is a muscle assessment method developed in the nineties in the School of Electric Engineering of the University of Ljubliana (Slovenia) by Vojko Valenèiè. It is based on measuring muscle radial displacement when muscle is electrically stimulated. The magnitude of the changes, and the time during which these changes take place allows the researcher to obtain information on mechanical characteristics and the contractile capacity of the superficial muscles assessed. The present study aims at presenting an updated revision on the published scientific articles, while offering at the same time valuable thoughts and proposals that may help researchers in the field and increase the present available information(AU)

Echocardiographic study of structure and functional cardiac profile of football referees.

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze, through echocardiography, the structure and functional cardiac profile of national category Spanish soccer referees. METHODS: The sample consisted of 54 licensed referees, who belonged to the Football Inter-Insular Federation of Las Palmas. The sample presented a mean age of 28.52 ± 6.39 years, a height of 1.76 ± 0.07 m, a body mass of 77.26 ± 10.74 kg and a Body Mass Index of 24.90 ± 2-73 kg/m2. The diastolic and systolic dimensions of the left ventricle were 50.03 ± 4.79 mm and 33.74 ± 5.23 mm, respectively. The thicknesses of the interventricular septum and the posterior wall of the left ventricle were 9.77 ± 1.53 mm and 9.47 ± 1.54 mm, respectively. The left ventricular mass was 112.80 ± 26.53 g/m2, the diastolic volume of the left ventricle 135.09 ± 39.63 mL and the ejected volume 47.34 ± 12.44 mL/m2. RESULTS: This study shows that the echocardiographic profile of football referees is characterized by presenting an increase in the left ventricular mass caused by an increase of the cardiac chambers and a normal systolic and diastolic function. The values obtained by football referees were higher than those found in sedentary people and lower than in professional football players. CONCLUSION: These differences may be due to the different physical training workloads employed by football players and referees.

A phase I trial of intravenous infusion of ONYX-015 and enbrel in solid tumor patients.

ONYX-015 is an attenuated chimeric human group C adenovirus, which preferentially replicates in and lyses tumor cells that are p53 negative. The purpose of this phase I, dose-escalation study was to determine the safety and feasibility of intravenous infusion with ONYX-015 in combination with enbrel in patients with advanced carcinoma. Enbrel is a recombinant dimer of human tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha receptor, previously shown to reduce the level of functional TNF. Nine patients, three in each cohort received multiple cycles of ONYX-015 infusion (1 x 10(10), 1 x 10(11) and 1 x 10(12) vp weekly for 4 weeks/cycle) in addition to subcutaneous enbrel (only during cycle 1) injections per FDA-indicated dosing. Of the nine patients, four had stable disease. No significant adverse events were attributed to the experimental regimen, confirming that enbrel can be safely administered along with oncolytic virotherapy. Two of the three patients in cohort 3 had detectable viral DNA at days 3 and 8 post-ONYX-015 infusion. Their detectable circulating viral DNA was markedly higher during cycle 1 (with enbrel coadministration) as compared with cycle 2 (without enbrel) at the same time points. Area under the curve determinations indicate a marked higher level of TNF-alpha induction and accelerated clearance at cycle 2 in the absence of enbrel. Further assessment is recommended.

Hominin lower second premolar morphology: evolutionary inferences through geometric morphometric analysis.

Mandibular premolars are increasingly used in taxon-specific diagnostic analyses of hominins. Among the principal difficulties in these evaluations is the absence of discrete, discernible, and comparable anatomical structures for rigorous quantitative assessment. Previous research has addressed either internal crown surface features (such as cusps and fossae) or the morphology of the crown outline. In the present paper, we integrate both types of information in the examination of morphological variation of lower P4s (n = 96) among various fossil hominin species with an emphasis on genus Homo. We use a set of 34 2D landmarks combining coordinate data from four classical dental landmarks on the occlusal surface and 30 sliding semilandmarks of the crown outline. Our results indicate that external shape variation is closely related to the configuration of the occlusal morphological features and influenced by dental size. The external and internal shapes of P4 are polymorphic but still useful in depicting a primitive-derived gradient. The primitive pattern seems to have been an asymmetrical contour with a mesially displaced metaconid, development of a bulging talonid, and a broad occlusal polygon. The trend toward dental reduction during the Pleistocene produced different morphological variants with a reduced occlusal polygon and decreased lingual occlusal surface in later Homo species. Homo heidelbergensis/neanderthalensis have fixed plesiomorphic traits in high percentages, whereas in modern humans a symmetrical outline with a centered metaconid and talonid reduction evolved.

Enamel hypoplasias and physiological stress in the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene hominins.

This study presents an analysis of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) and plane-form defects (PFD) in the hominine dental sample from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) Middle Pleistocene site in Atapuerca (Spain). The SH sample comprises 475 teeth, 467 permanent and 8 deciduous, belonging to a minimum of 28 individuals. The method for recording PFD and LEH is discussed, as well as the definition of LEH. The prevalence of LEH and PFD in SH permanent dentition (unilateral total count) is 4.6% (13/280). Only one deciduous tooth (lower dc) showed an enamel disruption. Prevalence by individual ranges from 18.7-30%. The most likely explanation for the relatively low LEH and PFD prevalence in the SH sample suggests that the SH population exhibited a low level of developmental stress. The age at occurrence of LEH and PFD was determined by counting the number of perikymata between each lesion and the cervix of the tooth. Assuming a periodicity of nine days for the incremental lines, the majority of LEH in the SH sample occurred during the third year of life and may be related to the metabolic stress associated with weaning.

Rates of anterior tooth wear in Middle Pleistocene hominins from Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain).

This study presents quantitative data on the rates of anterior tooth wear in a Pleistocene human population. The data were obtained for the hominin sample of the Sima de los Huesos site in Atapuerca, Spain. The fossil record belongs to a minimum of 28 individuals of the same biological population, assigned to the species Homo heidelbergensis. We have estimated the original and the preserved crown height of the mandibular incisors (I1 and I2) of 11 individuals, whose age at death can be ascertained from the mineralization stage and tooth eruption. Results provide a range of 0.276-0.348 and 0.288-0.360 mm per year for the mean wear rate of the mandibular I1 and I2, respectively, in individuals approximately 16-18 years old. These data suggest that incisors' crowns would be totally worn out toward the fifth decade of life. Thus, we expect the life expectancy of this population to be seriously limited. These data, which could be contrasted with results obtained on hominins at other sites, could be of interest for estimating the death age of adult individuals.

Una fundamentación de la bioética desde la interdisciplinariedad y el diálogo entre paradigmas / Bioethics fundamentation from interdisciplinariety and dialog between paradigms

En el presente texto la autora se propone indagar sobre algunos aspectos que deben ser revisados por parte de los estudiosos de la bioética por las implicaciones que de ellos se derivan, en lo que se refiere al conocer y al actuar de los seres humanos en relación con la vida misma y sus procesos

Dental size variation in the Atapuerca-SH Middle Pleistocene hominids.

The Middle Pleistocene Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos (SH) site in Spain has yielded the largest sample of fossil hominids so far found from a single site and belonging to the same biological population. The SH dental sample includes a total of 452 permanent and deciduous teeth, representing a minimum of 27 individuals. We present a study of the dental size variation in these hominids, based on the analysis of the mandibular permanent dentition: lateral incisors, n=29; canines, n=27; third premolars, n=30; fourth premolars, n=34; first molars, n=38; second molars, n=38. We have obtained the buccolingual diameter and the crown area (measured on occlusal photographs) of these teeth, and used the bootstrap method to assess the amount of variation in the SH sample compared with the variation of a modern human sample from the Museu Antropologico of the Universidade of Coimbra (Portugal). The SH hominids have, in general terms, a dental size variation higher than that of the modern human sample. The analysis is especially conclusive for the canines. Furthermore, we have estimated the degree of sexual dimorphism of the SH sample by obtaining male and female dental subsamples by means of sexing the large sample of SH mandibular specimens. We obtained the index of sexual dimorphism (ISD=male mean/female mean) and the values were compared with those obtained from the sexed modern human sample from Coimbra, and with data found in the literature concerning several recent human populations. In all tooth classes the ISD of the SH hominids was higher than that of modern humans, but the differences were generally modest, except for the canines, thus suggesting that canine size sexual dimorphism in Homo heidelbergensis was probably greater than that of modern humans. Since the approach of sexing fossil specimens has some obvious limitations, these results should be assessed with caution. Additional data from SH and other European Middle Pleistocene sites would be necessary to test this hypothesis.

Epidemiología y clínica de una serie de quistes maxilares / The epidemiologic and clinic study on series of jaw cysts

Se ha estudiado la distribución de los pacientes por edades y sexo, así como los síntomas clínicos, tiempo de evolución y antecedentes de 170 casos de quistes óseos maxilares. La máxima incidencia de quistes óseos maxilares se produce en la década de los 21 a los 30 años. Existe un ligero predominio en el sexo masculino. El síntoma clínico más frecuente fue la deformidad clínica. La mayor parte de nuestros quistes tuvieron un tiempo de evolución mayor de un año. Los antecedentes más frecuentes en nuestros pacientes fueron la presencia de restos radiculares y la inclusión dentaria (AU)

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Shigellosis: más allá de la enterocolitis / Shigellosis: more to the enterocolitis

Con el fin de estudiar la frecuencia de bacteremias en niños con diarrea producidas por Shigella y sus características clínicas, se revisaron 9.833 hemocultivos realizados en el Hospital de Niños "J. M. de los Ríos", entre 1995 y Agosto 1998, así como las historias clínicas de los pacientes cuyos hemocultivos resultaron positivos a Shigella. Se encontró que 4 de los niños (0,4 por ciento) presentaron bacteremia a Shiguella flexneri, de los cuales, 3 (75 por ciento) evolucionaron tórpidamente y 1 (25 por ciento) sufrió meningitis con secuelas neurológicas permanentes. Se identificó déficit nutricional en uno de ellos (25 por ciento). El 100 por ciento de las cepas fueron Shigella flexneri resistentes in vitro a ampicilina y sulfatrimetropin y sensibles a cefalosporinas de tercera generación. Una (25 por ciento) prsentó sensibilidad disminuida al cloranfenicol