Photo-catalysis of phenol derivatives with Fe2O3 nanoparticles dispersed on SBA-15

E. Montiel-Palacios,A. K. Medina-Mendoza,A. Sampieri,C. Angeles-Chávez,I. Hernández-Pérez,R. Suarez-Parra 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2009 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.10 No.4

Highly ordered hexagonal (p6mm) mesoporous silica SBA-15 was synthesized through a hydrothermal treatment under acidic conditions. Fe2O3/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared by impregnation of SBA-15 media with iron(III) acetylacetonate, iron(III) chloride or iron(II) sulfate solutions. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and nitrogen physisorption characterization were carried out for SBA-15 and Fe2O3/SBA-15 materials. After impregnation and calcination at 823 K, the iron oxide dispersion in SBA-15 was analyzed by STEM and EDX. FeCl3 provides the highest amount of Fe loading in mesoporous SBA-15. The photocatalytic properties of Fe2O3/SBA-15 samples at pH = 3 and pH = 6 were evaluated in catechol and hydroquinone photodecomposition by inducing visible radiation. The conversion of catechol and hydroquinone, at pH = 3 and pH = 6 with iron(III) acetylacetonate and FeCl3 as the precursor of iron oxide nanoparticles, were measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Highly ordered hexagonal (p6mm) mesoporous silica SBA-15 was synthesized through a hydrothermal treatment under acidic conditions. Fe2O3/SBA-15 catalysts were prepared by impregnation of SBA-15 media with iron(III) acetylacetonate, iron(III) chloride or iron(II) sulfate solutions. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and nitrogen physisorption characterization were carried out for SBA-15 and Fe2O3/SBA-15 materials. After impregnation and calcination at 823 K, the iron oxide dispersion in SBA-15 was analyzed by STEM and EDX. FeCl3 provides the highest amount of Fe loading in mesoporous SBA-15. The photocatalytic properties of Fe2O3/SBA-15 samples at pH = 3 and pH = 6 were evaluated in catechol and hydroquinone photodecomposition by inducing visible radiation. The conversion of catechol and hydroquinone, at pH = 3 and pH = 6 with iron(III) acetylacetonate and FeCl3 as the precursor of iron oxide nanoparticles, were measured by UV-Vis spectroscopy, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis.

Administration of Herbarium Mixture (Guazuma ulmifolia/Tecoma stans) on Metabolic Profile in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Sara Pascoe-González,María Guadalupe Ramos-Zavala,Miguel Angel Buenrostro Ahued,Sandra Ofelia Hernández-González,Ernesto Germán Cardona-Muñoz,Leonel García-Benavides,Fernando Grover-Páez 한국식품영양과학회 2021 Journal of medicinal food Vol.24 No.5

The use of herbarium mixture has been empirical, and the properties are not yet known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral administration of herbarium mixture (Guazuma ulmifolia [G. ulmifolia]/Tecoma stans [T. stans]) on metabolic profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial was carried out in 40 patients with T2DM. They were between 40 and 65 years of age, with body mass index (BMI) between 25.0 and 34.9 kg/m2 and HbA1c >7.0%. BMI, waist circumference, fasting glucose, HbA1c, lipids, kidney, and liver function were measured. The patients were randomly assigned to receive the herbarium mixture (G. ulmifolia/T. stans) 400 mg before each meal, or placebo for 90 days. Herbarium mixture group showed decreased waist circumference (99 ± 14 vs. 98 ± 15 cm; P = .019), fasting glucose (12.0 ± 5.7 vs. 10.3 ± 5.1 mM; P = .019), and HbA1c (9.9% ± 2.7% vs. 8.9% ± 2.5%, P = .002). In conclusion, the administration of herbarium mixture (G. ulmifolia/T. stans) improved the glycemic profile in patients with T2DM. ClinicalTrial registration: NCT03313856 ClinicalTrials.gov

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis in Polymedicated Patient Treated With Radiotherapy

Remedios Pérez-Calderón,M. Angeles Gonzalo-Garijo,Silvia Corrales-Vargas,Gloria Jiménez-Ferrera,Isabel Rodríguez-Nevado,Mario Díaz-Delgado 대한천식알레르기학회 2015 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research Vol.7 No.2

Temozolomide is an oral alkylating agent indicated for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma multiforme concomitantly with radiotherapy andsubsequently as monotherapy treatment. We report the case of a patient who developed toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) while she was beingtreated with chemoradiotherapy and several drugs. Cutaneous tests were performed with the drugs involved with negative result. Although the occurrenceof TEN contraindicates suspected drug readministration, we based the decision to perform the controlled administration of temozolomideon the following reasons: (1) the poor prognosis of the underlying disease, (2) the lack of therapeutic alternatives, (3) the suspicion that other drugstaken by the patient simultaneously may be responsible (as anticonvulsants and trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole [TMP-SMX]), and (4) temozolomidewas the first choice for treating the patient’s disease. The administration of a cumulative dose of 60 mg of temozolomide caused a slight skin reaction. Given this result, we conducted controlled administration of other drugs involved. Dexamethasone, codeine, omeprazole and levetiracetamwere well tolerated. However, TMP-SMX produced a similar reaction to that caused by temozolomide. In conclusion, we present the first case ofTEN induced by temozolomide and TMP-SMX associated with cranial radiotherapy confirmed by controlled administration. Radiotherapy in combinationwith these drugs could have favored TEN, as some authors have postulated, but we cannot prove this.

Effect of tumor burden and radical surgery on survival difference between upfront, early interval or delayed cytoreductive surgery in ovarian cancer

Martina Aida Angeles,Bastien Cabarrou,Antonio Gil-Moreno,Asunción Pérez-Benavente,Emanuela Spagnolo,Agnieszka Rychlik,Carlos Martínez-Gómez,Frédéric Guyon,Ignacio Zapardiel,Denis Querleu,Claire Illac 대한부인종양학회 2021 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.32 No.6

Objective: We sought to evaluate the impact on survival of tumor burden and surgical complexity in relation to the number of cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (OC) with minimal (CC-1) or no residual disease (CC-0). Methods: This retrospective study included patients with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics IIIC–IV stage OC who underwent debulking surgery at 4 high- volume institutions between January 2008 and December 2015. We assessed the overall survival (OS) of primary debulking surgery (PDS group), early interval debulking surgery after 3–4 cycles of NACT (early IDS group) and delayed debulking surgery after 6 cycles (DDS group) with CC-0 or CC-1 according to peritoneal cancer index (PCI) and Aletti score. Results: Five hundred forty-nine women were included: 175 (31.9%) had PDS, 224 (40.8%) early IDS and 150 (27.3%) DDS. Regardless of Aletti score, median OS after PDS was significantly higher than after early IDS or DDS, but the survival difference was higher in women with an Aletti score <8. Among patients with PCI ≤10, median OS after PDS was significantly higher than after early IDS or DDS. In women with PCI >10, there were no differences between PDS and early IDS, but DDS was associated with decreased OS. Conclusion: The benefit of complete PDS compared with NACT was maximal in patients with a low complexity score. In patients with low tumor burden, there was a survival benefit of PDS over early IDS or DDS. In women with high tumor load, DDS impaired the oncological outcome.

Predicting the internal model of a robotic system from its morphology

Duran, Angel J.,del Pobil, Angel P. Elsevier 2018 Robotics and autonomous systems Vol.110 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>The estimation of the internal model of a robotic system results from the interaction of its morphology, sensors and actuators, with a particular environment. Model learning techniques, based on supervised machine learning, are widespread for determining the internal model. An important limitation of such approaches is that once a model has been learnt, it does not behave properly when the robot morphology is changed. From this it follows that there must exist a relationship between them. We propose a model for this correlation between the morphology and the internal model parameters, so that a new internal model can be predicted when the morphological parameters are modified. Different neural network architectures are proposed to address this high dimensional regression problem. A case study is analyzed in detail to illustrate and evaluate the performance of the approach, namely, a pan–tilt robot head executing saccadic movements. The best results are obtained for an architecture with parallel neural networks. Our results can be instrumental in state-of-the-art trends such as self-reconfigurable robots, reproducible research, cyber–physical robotic systems or cloud robotics, in which internal models would available as shared knowledge, so that robots with different morphologies can readily exhibit a particular behavior in a given environment.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> A model to correlate the morphology and internal model parameters for a robotic system is presented. </LI> <LI> Different neural network architectures are proposed to solve this regression problem. </LI> <LI> A case study is used to illustrate and evaluate the neural network proposed. </LI> <LI> Due to the properties of the maximum likelihood estimator, the best performance is reached with parallel neural network architectures. </LI> </UL> </P>

Determinants of customer satisfaction with airline services: An analysis of customer feedback big data

Park, Eunil,Jang, Yeonju,Kim, Jina,Jeong, Nam Jeong,Bae, Kunwoo,del Pobil, Angel P. Butterworth-Heinemann 2019 Journal of retailing and consumer services Vol.51 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Given that the global airline industry is considered one of the most competitive markets, numerous attempts have been made to explore strategies for success in this industry. Among these, improving customers’ perceived satisfaction is an important topic for airline service providers. Thus, the current study investigates the potential determinants of customers’ perceived satisfaction with airline services through a close examination of their feedback on these services. A sentiment analysis is conducted on a dataset comprising feedback from more than 133,000 customers. Applying the structural equation modeling method in the proposed research model reveals that customers’ affective values have notable effects on their satisfaction with airline services. Moreover, notable statistical differences in customer groups exist between low-cost carrier and full-service carrier services. The current study presents both managerial and practical implications.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Potential determinants of customers’ satisfaction with airline services are explored. </LI> <LI> The feedback information of more than 133,000 customers is employed and analyzed. </LI> <LI> Customers’ affective values play significant roles in determining the satisfaction. </LI> <LI> There are notable differences between low-cost carrier and premium carrier services. </LI> </UL> </P>

A Biologically Inspired Approach for Robot Depth Estimation

Martinez-Martin, Ester,del Pobil, Angel P. Hindawi 2018 Computational intelligence and neuroscience Vol.2018 No.-

<P>Aimed at building autonomous service robots, reasoning, perception, and action should be properly integrated. In this paper, the depth cue has been analysed as an early stage given its importance for robotic tasks. So, from neuroscience findings, a hierarchical four-level <I>dorsal</I> architecture has been designed and implemented. Mainly, from a stereo image pair, a set of complex Gabor filters is applied for estimating an egocentric quantitative disparity map. This map leads to a quantitative depth scene representation that provides the raw input for a qualitative approach. So, the reasoning method infers the data required to make the right decision at any time. As it will be shown, the experimental results highlight the robust performance of the biologically inspired approach presented in this paper.</P>

An Active System for Visually-Guided Reaching in 3D across Binocular Fixations

Martinez-Martin, Ester,del Pobil, Angel P.,Chessa, Manuela,Solari, Fabio,Sabatini, Silvio P. Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2014 The Scientific World Journal Vol.2014 No.-

<P>Based on the importance of relative disparity between objects for accurate hand-eye coordination, this paper presents a biological approach inspired by the cortical neural architecture. So, the motor information is coded in egocentric coordinates obtained from the allocentric representation of the space (in terms of disparity) generated from the egocentric representation of the visual information (image coordinates). In that way, the different aspects of the visuomotor coordination are integrated: an active vision system, composed of two vergent cameras; a module for the 2D binocular disparity estimation based on a local estimation of phase differences performed through a bank of Gabor filters; and a robotic actuator to perform the corresponding tasks (visually-guided reaching). The approach's performance is evaluated through experiments on both simulated and real data.</P>

A Hierarchical System for a Distributed Representation of the Peripersonal Space of a Humanoid Robot

Antonelli, Marco,Gibaldi, Agostino,Beuth, Frederik,Duran, Angel J.,Canessa, Andrea,Chessa, Manuela,Solari, Fabio,del Pobil, Angel P.,Hamker, Fred,Chinellato, Eris,Sabatini, Silvio P. IEEE 2014 IEEE transactions on autonomous mental development Vol.6 No.4

<P>Reaching a target object in an unknown and unstructured environment is easily performed by human beings. However, designing a humanoid robot that executes the same task requires the implementation of complex abilities, such as identifying the target in the visual field, estimating its spatial location, and precisely driving the motors of the arm to reach it. While research usually tackles the development of such abilities singularly, in this work we integrate a number of computational models into a unified framework, and demonstrate in a humanoid torso the feasibility of an integrated working representation of its peripersonal space. To achieve this goal, we propose a cognitive architecture that connects several models inspired by neural circuits of the visual, frontal and posterior parietal cortices of the brain. The outcome of the integration process is a system that allows the robot to create its internal model and its representation of the surrounding space by interacting with the environment directly, through a mutual adaptation of perception and action. The robot is eventually capable of executing a set of tasks, such as recognizing, gazing and reaching target objects, which can work separately or cooperate for supporting more structured and effective behaviors.</P>

Uppsala Consensus Statement on Environmental Contaminants and the Global Obesity Epidemic

Lind, Lars,Lind, P. Monica,Lejonklou, Margareta H.,Dunder, Linda,Bergman, Å,ke,Guerrero-Bosagna, Carlos,Lampa, Erik,Lee, Hong Kyu,Legler, Juliette,Nadal, Angel,Pak, Youngmi Kim,Phipps, Richard P. National Institute of Environmental Health Science 2016 Environmental health perspectives Vol.124 No.5

<P>Summary: From the lectures presented at the 2nd International Workshop on Obesity and Environmental Contaminants, which was held in Uppsala, Sweden, on 8–9 October 2015, it became evident that the findings from numerous animal and epidemiological studies are consistent with the hypothesis that environmental contaminants could contribute to the global obesity epidemic. To increase awareness of this important issue among scientists, regulatory agencies, politicians, chemical industry management, and the general public, the authors summarize compelling scientific evidence that supports the hypothesis and discuss actions that could restrict the possible harmful effects of environmental contaminants on obesity.</P>