Chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction and ophthalmoplegia in a patient with mitochondrial myopathy

A 38 year old woman having chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction associated with mitochondrial myopathy is reported. The clinical and radiographic features suggested the diagnosis of chronic intestinal pseudoobstruction. Muscular atrophy and ophthalmoplegia led to muscle biopsy, which disclosed accumulation of normal and abnormal mitochondria ('ragged red fibres'), characteristic of mitochondrial myopathy.

Entrenament d'un ciclista esprinter mitjançant la força explosiva: avaluació dels efectes d'un entrenament específic

La principal fita dels ciclistes ha estat sempre l’entrenament per millorar les seves condicions i prestacions fisiològiques. Al llarg dels anys, el ciclisme com pràcticament tot l’esport s’ha anat modernitzant, no només tecnològicament. Això ha provocat l’aparició d’especialistes, corredors destinats a destacar, només en unes determinades condicions, per sobre els demés. Una d’aquestes condicions més restringides son les arribades massives, terreny dels anomenats esprinters, els quals brillen per sobre els demés degut a la seva potència, velocitat punta i arrancada. L’entrenament d’aquesta tipologia d’especialitat ha deixat entreveure varies ambigüitats i algunes problemàtiques de fonament teòric. L’esprint en el ciclisme es dona després d’un gran desgast de les reserves energètiques i de fatiga muscular. Per tant, entrenar-lo amb blocs de velocitat no té lògica. Tampoc es una opció viable el recurs que molts equips utilitzen: agafar corredors joves de la pista, i que la seva genètica (fibres ràpides) i les seves característiques de pistard1 facin la resta, perquè al pas dels anys perden aquesta exclusivitat. Aquest estudi es proposa buscar una manera de treballar i potenciar l’esprint del ciclista a partir de la força explosiva, garantint preservar les condicions aeròbiques per tal de que no perjudiqui per altra banda la seva resistència. Per tal d’aconseguir-ho, s’efectuaran uns tests. Un focalitzat en mesurar les prestacions en un esprint dels subjectes. L’altra es basarà en avaluar la força explosiva d’aquets, a partir de salts verticals. Un cop obtinguts els resultats de la primera tanda, els subjectes seran sotmesos a un entrenament combinat de sobrecàrrega, per tal de observar, en la segona tanda, si els resultats son significatius. Com a conclusió, es podria destacar el fet de millora en la majoria d’aspectes en tots els tests per part de tots els subjectes, i que probablement, hi ha una correlació significativa entre la força explosiva i la capacitat per esprintar, tot i que s’haurien de corroborar els resultats amb una mostra més gran.

What are the success factors for Spanish textile firms? An exploratory multiple-case study

The objective of this article is to identify differential traits of successful SMEs in comparison to average SME firms in the textile and clothing sector. The method used is the multiple case-study of 12 firms based on qualitative and quantitative data obtained by means of in-depth interviews. Building on recent academic literature, we use four main dimensions that may explain success: i) knowledge generation (R&D) and acquisition; ii) innovation activity; iii) product and market characteristics and iv) strategic characteristics. Our results indicate that a higher R&D intensity and knowledge acquisition do not explain success. The main differential characteristic is that successful firms have a higher level of innovation activity, since innovation is their strategic priority, being a result of perceiving the key success factors of their markets differently. From the analysis it also follows that the prevalent strategy of successful firms is the niche strategy, with a demand pull focus, and a high proximity to the customer

Capillarity and fibre types in locomotory muscles of wild yellow-legged gulls (Larus cachinnans)

This study analyzes the capillarity and fibre-type distribution of six locomotory muscles of gulls. The morphological basis and the oxygen supply characteristics of the skeletal muscle of a species with a marked pattern of gliding flight are established, thus contributing to a better understanding of the physiology of a kind of flight with low energetic requirements. The four wing muscles studied (scapulotriceps, pectoralis, scapulohumeralis, and extensor metacarpi) exhibited higher percentages of fast oxidative glycolytic fibres (>70%) and lower percentages of slow oxidative fibres (<16%) than the muscles involved in nonflight locomotion (gastrocnemius and iliotibialis). Capillary densities ranged from 816 to 1,233 capillaries mm(-2), having the highest value in the pectoralis. In this muscle, the fast oxidative glycolytic fibres had moderate staining for succinate dehydrogenase and relatively large fibre sizes, as deduced from the low fibre densities (589-665 fibres mm(-2)). All these findings are seen as an adaptive response for gliding, when the wing is held outstretched by isometric contractions. The leg muscles studied included a considerable population of slow oxidative fibres (>14% in many regions), which suggests that they are adapted to postural activities. Regional variations in the relative distributions of fibre types in muscle gastrocnemius may reflect different functional demands placed on this muscle during terrestrial and aquatic locomotion. The predominance of oxidative fibres and capillary densities under 1,000 capillaries mm(-2) in leg muscles is probably a consequence of an adaptation for slow swimming and maintenance of the posture on land rather than for other locomotory capabilities, such as endurance or sprint activities.

Absence of flash-lag when judging global shape from local positions

When a flash is presented aligned with a moving stimulus, the former is perceived to lag behind the latter (the flash-lag effect). We study whether this mislocalization occurs when a positional judgment is not required, but a veridical spatial relationship between moving and flashed stimuli is needed to perceive a global shape. To do this, we used Glass patterns that are formed by pairs of correlated dots. One dot of each pair was presented moving and, at a given moment, the other dot of each pair was flashed in order to build the Glass pattern. If a flash-lag effect occurs between each pair of dots, we expect the best perception of the global shape to occur when the flashed dots are presented before the moving dots arrive at the position that physically builds the Glass pattern. Contrary to this, we found that the best detection of Glass patterns occurred for the situation of physical alignment. This result is not consistent with a low-level contribution to the flash-lag effect.

Valors típics de pH i DP del suport de tela en la pintura de cavallet

Ja fa varies decades que els conservadors-restauradors de paper van comenc;ar a tenir en compteel pH de les obres que tractaven, ja que es va veure que I'acidesa incidia molt directament en comde rapid I'objecte es debilitava mecimicament. De fet, trobem tant aviat com el 1936, una patenten registrada per OJ. Schierholtz per desacidificar el paper d'empaperar parets (Porck, 1996).La tela d'un quadre, essent un teixit fet a base de fibres vegetals compastes majoritariament perceHulosa, com les fibres del paper, és lógicament també facilment degradable si I'ambient ñes acid(te un baix pH).Sorprenentment, pero, I'acidesa de la tela deis quadres, tot i que en ocasions puntuals ha estatanalitzada (Bajocchi, 2009; Young, 1999), encara no és un parametre que es miri de forma rutinariai per tant, fins recentment, no se sabia quins eren els valors de pH més típics que pot tenir unquadre.Aquest estudi és una primera recopilació sistematica d'aquest t ipus d' in formació per a partir d'aquícrear un banc de dades que vagi recollint aquest t ipus d'informació sobre el majar nombre possiblede quadres.Si I'acidesa present en la tela ens indica com de rapid es degradara aquesta en el futur, la mesura delgrau de polimerització de la tela (DP), ens indica si la tela té una al ta o baixa resistencia mecanica enel moment actual. Així doncs, aquests dos parametres ens aporten informació molt úti l sobre I'estatde conserva ció del suportoAquesta recerca pretén respondre a les preguntes de quins són els valors de pH i DP que típicamentpodem trabar en la tela deis quadres, així com analitzar la relació entre aquests dos parametres i també la relació entre la data de producció deis quadres i els valors de pH i DP.

Modificacions estructurals i arquitectóniques d’un Origami/mòbil

El cas de intervenció que presentem, tracta d’una escultura monumental d’Origami/Movil, construïda amb cartolina de fibres de lli. L’obra està suspesa del sostre per fins cordills de cotó fins a l’alçada de l’abast de la gent, i instal·lada en el vestíbul de una sala d’actes.L’ humitat ambiental absorbida per el paper de l’origami, i el propi pes de la peça,es la causa de que els plecs del paper en lloc de mantenir-se rìgits i rectes, es dobleguessin i estiguessin flàccids, perdent la seva funcionalitat estructural característics de aquesta mena d’obres.La intervenció que efectuada es centrà en retornar la rigidesa dels plecs del paper, a la vagada que modifiquen l’alçada de la seva instal·lació, escorçant la llargada total de la peça, per evitar ser tocada pel públic.

Valors típics de pH i DP del suport de tela en la pintura de cavallet

Ja fa varies decades que els conservadors-restauradors de paper van comenc;ar a tenir en compteel pH de les obres que tractaven, ja que es va veure que I'acidesa incidia molt directament en comde rapid I'objecte es debilitava mecimicament. De fet, trobem tant aviat com el 1936, una patenten registrada per OJ. Schierholtz per desacidificar el paper d'empaperar parets (Porck, 1996).La tela d'un quadre, essent un teixit fet a base de fibres vegetals compastes majoritariament perceHulosa, com les fibres del paper, és lógicament també facilment degradable si I'ambient ñes acid(te un baix pH).Sorprenentment, pero, I'acidesa de la tela deis quadres, tot i que en ocasions puntuals ha estatanalitzada (Bajocchi, 2009; Young, 1999), encara no és un parametre que es miri de forma rutinariai per tant, fins recentment, no se sabia quins eren els valors de pH més típics que pot tenir unquadre.Aquest estudi és una primera recopilació sistematica d'aquest t ipus d' in formació per a partir d'aquícrear un banc de dades que vagi recollint aquest t ipus d'informació sobre el majar nombre possiblede quadres.Si I'acidesa present en la tela ens indica com de rapid es degradara aquesta en el futur, la mesura delgrau de polimerització de la tela (DP), ens indica si la tela té una al ta o baixa resistencia mecanica enel moment actual. Així doncs, aquests dos parametres ens aporten informació molt úti l sobre I'estatde conserva ció del suportoAquesta recerca pretén respondre a les preguntes de quins són els valors de pH i DP que típicamentpodem trabar en la tela deis quadres, així com analitzar la relació entre aquests dos parametres i també la relació entre la data de producció deis quadres i els valors de pH i DP.

Effect of tow-drop gaps on the damage resistance and tolerance of Variable-Stiffness Panels

This paper presents an experimental study of the effects of tow-drop gaps in Variable Stiffness Panels under drop-weight impact events. Two different configurations, with and without ply-staggering, have been manufactured by Automated Fibre Placement and compared with their baseline counterpart without defects. For the study of damage resistance, three levels of low velocity impact energy are generated with a drop-weight tower. The damage area is analysed by means of ultrasonic inspection. Results of the analysed defect configurations indicate that the influence of gap defects is only relevant under small impact energy values. However, in the case of damage tolerance, the residual compressive strength after impact does not present significant differences to that of conventional straight fibre laminates. This indicates that the strength reduction is driven mainly by the damage caused by the impact event rather than by the influence of manufacturing-induced defects

Variable-stiffness composite panels: Defect tolerance under in-plane tensile loading

Automated Fiber Placement is being extensively used in the production of major composite components for the aircraft industry. This technology enables the production of tow-steered panels, which have been proven to greatly improve the structural efficiency of composites by means of in-plane stiffness variation and load redistribution. However, traditional straight-fiber architectures are still preferred. One of the reasons behind this is related to the uncertainties, as a result of process-induced defects, in the mechanical performance of the laminates. This experimental work investigates the effect of the fiber angle discontinuities between different tow courses in a ply on the un-notched and open-hole tensile strength of the laminate. The influence of several manufacturing parameters are studied in detail. The results reveal that 'ply staggering' and '0% gap coverage' is an effective combination in reducing the influence of defects in these laminates

Optimal Traffic Grooming in WDM using Lighttours

Recent developments in optical communications have allowed simpler optical devices to improve network resource utilization. As such, we propose adding a lambda-monitoring device to a wavelength-routing switch (WRS) allowing better performance when traffic is routed and groomed. This device may allow a WRS to aggregate traffic over optical routes without incurring in optical-electrical-optical conversion for the existing traffic. In other words, optical routes can be taken partially to route demands creating a sort of "lighttours". In this paper, we compare the number of OEO conversions needed to route a complete given traffic matrix using either lighttours or lightpaths

G+: Enhanced Traffic Grooming in WDM Mesh Networks using Lighttours

In this article, a new technique for grooming low-speed traffic demands into high-speed optical routes is proposed. This enhancement allows a transparent wavelength-routing switch (WRS) to aggregate traffic en route over existing optical routes without incurring expensive optical-electrical-optical (OEO) conversions. This implies that: a) an optical route may be considered as having more than one ingress node (all inline) and, b) traffic demands can partially use optical routes to reach their destination. The proposed optical routes are named "lighttours" since the traffic originating from different sources can be forwarded together in a single optical route, i.e., as taking a "tour" over different sources towards the same destination. The possibility of creating lighttours is the consequence of a novel WRS architecture proposed in this article, named "enhanced grooming" (G+). The ability to groom more traffic in the middle of a lighttour is achieved with the support of a simple optical device named lambda-monitor (previously introduced in the RingO project). In this article, we present the new WRS architecture and its advantages. To compare the advantages of lighttours with respect to classical lightpaths, an integer linear programming (ILP) model is proposed for the well-known multilayer problem: traffic grooming, routing and wavelength assignment The ILP model may be used for several objectives. However, this article focuses on two objectives: maximizing the network throughput, and minimizing the number of optical-electro-optical conversions used. Experiments show that G+ can route all the traffic using only half of the total OEO conversions needed by classical grooming. An heuristic is also proposed, aiming at achieving near optimal results in polynomial time

Analysis of the tensile modulus of polypropylene composites reinforced with stone groundwood fibers

One of the most relevant properties of composite materials to be considered is stiffness. Fiberglass has been used traditionally as a fibrous reinforcing element when stiff materials are required. However, natural fibers are been exploited as replacements for synthetic fibers to satisfy environmental concerns. Among the different natural fibers, wood fibers show the combination of relatively high aspect ratio, good specific stiffness and strength, low density, low cost, and less variability than other natural fibers of such those from annual crops. In this work, composites from polypropylene and stone groundwood fibers from softwood were prepared and mechanically characterized under tensile loads. The Young’s moduli of the ensuing composites were analyzed and their micromechanics aspects evaluated. The reinforcing effect of stone groundwood fibers was compared to that of conventional reinforcement such fiberglass. The Halpin-Tsai model with the modification proposed by Tsai-Pagano accounted fairly for the behavior of PP composites reinforced with stone groundwood fibers. It was also demonstrated that the aspect ratio of the reinforcement plays a role in the Young’s modulus of injection molded specimens

The effect of lignin as a natural adhesive on the physico-mechanical properties of Vitis vinifera fiberboards

Lignin was used as a natural adhesive to manufacture Vitis vinifera fiberboards. The fiberboards were produced at laboratory scale by adding powdered lignin to material that had previously been steam-exploded under optimized pretreatment and pressing conditions. The kraft lignin used was washed several times with an acidic solution to eliminate any contaminants and low molecular weight compounds. This research studied the effects of amounts of lignin ranging from 5% to 20% on the properties of Vitis vinifera fiberboards. The fiberboard properties evaluated were density, water resistance in terms of thickness swelling, water absorption, and the mechanical properties in terms of modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and internal bond. Results showed that fiberboards made from Vitis vinifera without lignin addition had weaker mechanical properties. However, the fiberboards obtained using acid-washed kraft lignin as a natural adhesive had good mechanical and water resistance properties that fully satisfied the relevant standard specifications