Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

In this paper we describe and compare the methods for the calculation of all the key points of the photovoltaic single-diode model. These include the short-circuit point, the open-circuit point, the maximum power point, the mean slope point, the maximum curvature point, and the jerk point. The main contribution of this paper is a new algorithm to obtain the maximum power point which is based on reducing its computation to solve a single-variable equation. Its unique solution leads to an explicit expression of the point by using a recent parametrization of the single-diode model current–voltage curve. In the numerical resolution of the previous equation, we will use as starting point the mean slope point which has been proved to be close to the maximum power point. Previously, we will provide for the first time in the literature an exact and explicit expression of the mean slope point. The new algorithm proposed reaches the accuracy of the best known numerical methods, but it is much faster, almost reaching the execution times of explicit formulas.

Background Scoring systems for severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) prediction should be used in conjunction with pre-test probability to establish post-test probability of SAP, but data of this kind are lacking. Objective To investigate the predictive value of commonly employed scoring systems and their usefulness in modifying the pre-test probability of SAP. Methods Following PRISMA statement and MOOSE checklists after PROSPERO registration, PubMed was searched from inception until September 2022. Retrospective, prospective, cross-sectional studies or clinical trials on patients with acute pancreatitis defined as Revised Atlanta Criteria, reporting rate of SAP and using at least one score among Bedside Index for Severity in Acute Pancreatitis (BISAP), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Examination (APACHE)-II, RANSON, and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) with their sensitivity and specificity were included. Random effects model meta-analyses were performed. Pre-test probability and likelihood ratio (LR) were combined to estimate post-test probability on Fagan nomograms. Pooled severity rate was used as pre-test probability of SAP and pooled sensitivity and specificity to calculate LR and generate post-test probability. A priori hypotheses for heterogeneity were developed and sensitivity analyses planned. Results 43 studies yielding 14,116 acute pancreatitis patients were included: 42 with BISAP, 30 with APACHE-II, 27 with Ranson, 8 with SIRS. Pooled pre-test probability of SAP ranged 16.6%–25.3%. The post-test probability of SAP with positive/negative score was 47%/6% for BISAP, 43%/5% for APACHE-II, 48%/5% for Ranson, 40%/12% for SIRS. In 18 studies comparing BISAP, APACHE-II, and Ranson in 6740 patients with pooled pre-test probability of SAP of 18.7%, post-test probability when scores were positive was 48% for BISAP, 46% for APACHE-II, 50% for Ranson. When scores were negative, post-test probability dropped to 7% for BISAP, 6% for Ranson, 5% for APACHE-II. Quality, design, and country of origin of the studies did not explain the observed high heterogeneity. Conclusions The most commonly used scoring systems to predict SAP perform poorly and do not aid in decision-making.

Femtosecond laser dissection is explained by the optical breakdown and photodisruption, which induce the creation of extremely precise incisions by separating lamellar fibers within the stroma of the corneal tissue. Nowadays, femtosecond laser technology is used during keratoplasty procedures in order to perform corneal dissection and incisions during the surgery. Even when recent scientific publications have reported that there is no clear benefit when using femtosecond laser over conventional keratoplasty procedures, many other studies demonstrate that femtosecond laser-assisted keratoplasty can perform corneal incisions, which provides better tissue coaptation, biomechanical stability optimizing clinical results, reduce the number of sutures and earlier suture removal compared to mechanical surgery. Future perspectives show the potential of femtosecond-assisted surgery to improve wound healing and vision recovery. An increasing number of trials are underway to develop more desirable cutting shapes to allow surgeons to perform early suture removal and reduce the amount of astigmatism related to keratoplasty procedures.

The cornea is one of the most frequently transplanted tissues. Moreover, due to its immunologically privileged properties, it is believed to be probably the most successful. In this chapter, we present a complete review of the main types of corneal grafts and their indications, complications and risk factors. The success of modern keratoplasty not only depends on the anatomical success (graft survival) but also the functional results as refractive outcomes. The real success rate of corneal transplantation procedures is determined by many factors that are still not under adequate clinical practical control. Thus, there is still a wide area and opportunity to improve such outcomes of penetrating keratoplasty with further improvements. In this chapter, we highlight the main factors involved in today’s outcomes and the perspectives of improvement that are foreseen.

Modern endothelial keratoplasty was introduced by Gerrit Melles in 1998 (PLK: Posterior Lamellar Keratoplasty) and later modified by Mark Terry (DLEK, Deep Lamellar Endothelial Keratoplasty). By this technique, endothelium, Descemet membrane (DM) and posterior stroma of a diseased cornea were replaced by a healthy disc with the same layers from a donor cornea. Nevertheless, the manual lamellar dissection was time-consuming and technically difficult, so it was rapidly abandoned due to the description of successive, easier and more reproducible endothelial keratoplasty techniques such as DSEK (Descemet’s Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty), DSAEK (Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty) and DMEK (Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty). However, the fact of replacing the posterior stroma together with the DM and endothelium is an advantage that can still give DLEK a very limited but real spectrum of indications. The assistance of femtosecond laser for the host preparation of this technique (FemtoDLEK) and the use of DSAEK/DMEK modern donor tissue material significantly simplifies the technique and makes it feasible, reliable and reproducible.

In the following chapter, we will describe the outcomes of femtosecond laser-assisted tuck-in penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) as a single-step surgical procedure for the visual and anatomical rehabilitation of patients with severe keratoglobus and endothelial damage, where regular tuck-in lamellar techniques are not an option. The only alternative surgical approach would be an epikeratoplasty followed by a central PK which would involve two surgeries and a very long visual recovery in these usually young patients with the potential risk of amblyopia. On the other hand, Femtosecond laser permits an accurate dissection of these already thin corneas without inadvertent perforation risk.

Corneal transplantation is the most commonly performed human tissue transplantation procedure worldwide. Because of the large number of transplants, corneal graft failure has become one of the most common indications for corneal transplantation. The relatively recently developed lamellar transplant techniques have brought about specific potential complications leading to graft failure that may require different approaches to repeat transplantation other than penetrating keratoplasty (PK). On the other hand, these new lamellar techniques also provide novel ways of rescuing failed penetrating grafts, with potential advantages over successive PKs, such as reduced intraoperative risks and faster visual rehabilitation. In the current chapter, we will summarize the incidence and risk factors of graft failure for penetrating corneal transplants and discuss the various surgical alternatives currently available to rescue such failed grafts, with a focus on the reported outcomes and limitations.

Throughout this book, we have witnessed the major evolution that corneal graft surgery has experienced over the last two decades. A better understanding of the corneal anatomy and physiology, technical improvements in the management of corneal bank tissue, improvements in surgical instrumentations (such as the availability of femtosecond laser), new surgical techniques that have emerged and have finally been consolidated as better options to the classical penetrating keratoplasty with better results, medical education and, above all, the skills and the talent of corneal surgeons, have made corneal surgery enter a final stage of development since its early beginnings with the description of PKP by Zirm in 1906 and popularized by Castroviejo in 1936. Over all these years, the evolution has been constant and always in the benefit of better techniques, better results and better solutions to corneal blindness.

Cellular therapy of the corneal stroma, with either ocular or extraocular stem cells, has been gaining a lot of interest over the last decade. Multiple studies are showing its potential benefits concerning its capacity to alleviate corneal scars, improve corneal transparency, generate new organized collagen within the corneal host stroma, and its immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory properties. Autologous extraocular stem cells do not require a healthy contralateral eye and they do not involve any ophthalmic procedures for their isolation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been the most widely assessed and have a high potential to differentiate into functional adult keratocytes in vivo and in vitro. While embryonic stem cells have been partially abandoned due to ethical issues. The induced pluripotent stem cells have opened a new and very promising field for future research, they are obtained from adult differentiated cells, and possess the capacity to theoretically differentiate into any cell type. Our group carried out the first clinical trial in this regard in 14 patients with advanced keratoconus. The selected patients were divided into 3 experimental groups. Group-1 (G-1) patients underwent implantation of adipose-derived adult stem cells (ADASCs) alone. Group-2 (G-2) patients received a decellularized human donor corneal stroma lamina (120 μm of thickness). Group-3 (G-3) patients received implantation of an ADASCs-recellularized human corneal stroma lamina. ADASCs were previously obtained by elective liposuction. Implantation was performed into a femtosecond-assisted 9.5-mm diameter lamellar pocket, under topical anesthesia. Follow-up data of 36 months was obtained, with any case showing adverse reactions such as infection, haze, or allogeneic graft rejection. Advanced stem cell therapy with implantation of autologous ADASCs with or without decellularized human corneal stroma showed good preliminary results for the treatment of advanced keratoconus.

To explore the connection between chloroplast and coffee resistance factors, designated as SH1 to SH9, whole genomic DNA of 42 coffee genotypes was sequenced, and entire chloroplast genomes were de novo assembled. The chloroplast phylogenetic haplotype network clustered individuals per species instead of SH factors. However, for the first time, it allowed the molecular validation of Coffea arabica as the maternal parent of the spontaneous hybrid “Híbrido de Timor”. Individual reads were also aligned on the C. arabica reference genome to relate SH factors with chloroplast metabolism, and an in-silico analysis of selected nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins (132 proteins) was performed. The nuclear-encoded thioredoxin-like membrane protein HCF164 enabled the discrimination of individuals with and without the SH9 factor, due to specific DNA variants linked to chromosome 7c (from C. canephora-derived sub-genome). The absence of both the thioredoxin domain and redox-active disulphide center in the HCF164 protein, observed in SH9 individuals, raises the possibility of potential implications on redox regulation. For the first time, the identification of specific DNA variants of chloroplast proteins allows discriminating individuals according to the SH profile. This study introduces an unexplored strategy for identifying protein/genes associated with SH factors and candidate targets of H. vastatrix effectors, thereby creating new perspectives for coffee breeding programs.

Emotional disorders in children are often associated with low self-concept and problems with peers, and in many cases externalizing symptoms. Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic treatment for emotional problems in children that has also shown benefits in other comorbid symptoms. This study aimed to examine, for the first time, the effect of SSL on a clinical sample of Spanish children aged 8–12 years with a major emotional disorder and comorbid externalizing symptoms and low self-concept. A quasi-experimental design with two groups, pretest and posttest, was carried out. Thirty-eight children received the SSL intervention, and 36 children were assigned to a wait-list control (WLC) group. Children in SSL showed statistically fewer posttest emotional symptoms ( p < .001), peer problems ( p = .002), and overall internalizing and externalizing difficulties ( p = .005) compared to children in WLC, in addition to higher posttest self-concept ( p = .002). There were no differences in the postinterventional changes between boys and girls in internalizing and externalizing symptoms. However, significant differences were found in some facets of self-concept. The results of this study suggest that the SSL protocol may be useful in Spanish clinical contexts. Still, more research is needed to overcome some of the inherent limitations.

Local biodiversity monitoring is important to assess the effects of global change, but also to evaluate the performance of landscape and wildlife protection, since large-scale assessments may buffer local fluctuations, rare species tend to be underrepresented, and management actions are usually implemented on local scales. We estimated population trends of 58 bird species using open-population N-mixture models based on count data in two localities in southeastern Spain, which have been collected according to a citizen science monitoring program (SACRE, Monitoring Common Breeding Birds in Spain) over 21 and 15 years, respectively. We performed different abundance models for each species and study area, accounting for imperfect detection of individuals in replicated counts. After selecting the best models for each species and study area, empirical Bayes methods were used for estimating abundances, which allowed us to calculate population growth rates ( λ ) and finally population trends. We also compared the two local population trends and related them with national and European trends, and species functional traits (phenological status, dietary, and habitat specialization characteristics). Our results showed increasing trends for most species, but a weak correlation between populations of the same species from both study areas. In general, local population trends were consistent with the trends observed at national and continental scales, although contrasting patterns exist for several species, mainly with increasing local trends and decreasing Spanish and European trends. Moreover, we found no evidence of a relationship between population trends and species traits. We conclude that using open-population N-mixture models is an appropriate method to estimate population trends, and that citizen science-based monitoring schemes can be a source of data for such analyses. This modeling approach can help managers to assess the effectiveness of their actions at the local level in the context of global change.

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) can provide key ecosystem services (ES) for human well-being. For this purpose, it is critical to ascertain which characteristics regulate the provision of ES by UGI. In this study, eight ES (water supply, water regulation, waste regulation, nutrient regulation, soil formation, carbon sequestration, air temperature regulation and air humidity regulation) of thirty UGI sites of Zaragoza (Spain), were evaluated using proxy indicators derived from analyzed soil samples, and in-situ measured air temperature and humidity. A principal component analysis was performed to group different ES, and to study the dispersion of different types of UGI along the distinct ES. Additionally, relationships, between the evaluated ES and predictors; flatness, imperviousness, regularity, naturalness and functioning of the UGI sites were studied through linear and quadratic regressions. Large UGI sites such as riparian zones, meanders and natural forests showed relatively high values of ES in contrast with more artificial sites. Moreover, the study showed that water supply, water regulation, soil formation, carbon sequestration and air temperature regulation were significantly and positively related to ecological naturalness and functioning, while imperviousness was the main predictor explaining the reduction of five ES. Our findings provide evidence for the existence of important interactions between predictor variables and ES in UGI. It also showed that the provision of urban ES can be improved expanding the variety and type of green infrastructure sites, decreasing impervious area, and increasing the naturalness and functioning of UGI.

A tight mixed integer linear programming modeling framework is presented for the multistage multiscale facility location multiproduct allocation network expansion planning under uncertainty. Two types of decisions are considered, namely, the strategic and the operational ones. The strategic decisions are the selection of facility locations in a network as well as the related capacity dimensioning and expansion along a time horizon. A comprehensive literature overview on the problem is performed. Two types of uncertain parameters are considered, namely, strategic and operational ones, to be represented in multistage and two-stage scenario trees, resp. By using the special structure of the facility location problem, the coherent time-consistent risk-averse measure to consider is the expected conditional second-order stochastic dominance. Given the intrinsic problem’s difficulty and the huge instances’ dimensions, it is unrealistic to seek an optimal solution. A specialization of the matheuristic algorithm SFR3 is presented to obtain a (hopefully good) feasible solution in reasonable time as well as a lower bound to assess the solution quality. The performance of the overall approach is computationally validated by considering a dynamic supply network design problem with 100 raw material, 50 products, 30 candidate facilities (10 plants and 20 distribution centers), 31 strategic scenario nodes in the time horizon, and 4 operational ones per stage.

Gemmatimonadota is a diverse bacterial phylum commonly found in environments such as soils, rhizospheres, fresh waters, and sediments. So far, the phylum contains just six cultured species (five of them sequenced), which limits our understanding of their diversity and metabolism. Therefore, we analyzed over 400 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) and 5 culture-derived genomes representing Gemmatimonadota from various aquatic environments, hydrothermal vents, sediments, soils, and host-associated (with marine sponges and coral) species. The principal coordinate analysis based on the presence/absence of genes in Gemmatimonadota genomes and phylogenomic analysis documented that marine and host-associated Gemmatimonadota were the most distant from freshwater and wastewater species. A smaller genome size and coding sequences (CDS) number reduction were observed in marine MAGs, pointing to an oligotrophic environmental adaptation. Several metabolic pathways are restricted to specific environments. For example, genes for anoxygenic phototrophy were found only in freshwater, wastewater, and soda lake sediment genomes. There were several genomes from soda lake sediments and wastewater containing type IC/ID ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). Various genomes from wastewater harbored bacterial type II RuBisCO, whereas RuBisCO-like protein was found in genomes from fresh waters, soil, host-associated, and marine sediments. Gemmatimonadota does not contain nitrogen fixation genes; however, the nosZ gene, involved in the reduction of N 2 O, was present in genomes from most environments, missing only in marine water and host-associated Gemmatimonadota. The presented data suggest that Gemmatimonadota evolved as an organotrophic species relying on aerobic respiration and then remodeled its genome inventory when adapting to particular environments. IMPORTANCE Gemmatimonadota is a rarely studied bacterial phylum consisting of a handful of cultured species. Recent culture-independent studies documented that these organisms are distributed in many environments, including soil, marine, fresh, and waste waters. However, due to the lack of cultured species, information about their metabolic potential and environmental role is scarce. Therefore, we collected Gemmatimonadota metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from different habitats and performed a systematic analysis of their genomic characteristics and metabolic potential. Our results show how Gemmatimonadota have adapted their genomes to different environments.

Abstract Background Despite the fact that prison inmates are a population at higher risk than other groups of suffering from intestinal parasite infections in relation to their living conditions, information about these diseases in prison environments is still scarce. Herein, we analyze the status of intestinal parasite infections in a Spanish prison. Methods A cross-sectional study involving 528 inmates was conducted from April to June 2022 among inmates at Centro Penitenciario Picassent (Valencia, Spain). Stool specimens were examined using the direct wet mount technique, the formol-ether concentration technique, and the Ziehl-Neelsen staining method. We used STATA 16.1 for data analysis. We consider a p-value less than 0.05 significant at a 95% confidence level. Results Of the 528 inmates (471 men and 57 women; a mean age of 41.94 years) enrolled in the study, 83 (15.7%) were infected. Only six species of protozoa were detected. The gut potential microeukaryotic pathobiont Blastocystis sp. was the predominant parasite, accounting for 37 (44.6%) of the infections. Gut parasite amebas (6.6%) and pathobionts (5.3%) were more prevalent than flagellates (2.3%). The prevalence of infection with pathogenic species (8.9%) was similar to that of non-pathogenic species (8.7%). Infection among men (15.2%) was higher than in women (0.6%) (p

Animal tracking has undergone a technological revolution providing insight into biological details that were impossible to address until now. However, the increasing ease of access to tracking devices (biologgers) may lead to trivializing this technology. Consequently, many projects may not extract as much scientific knowledge as possible and neglect the ethical duties towards the tagged animals. Here we demonstrate this process of trivialization empirically on a local and global scale and propose some guidelines to avoid it.