Autonomous University of Barcelona

About: Autonomous University of Barcelona is a education organization based out in Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 37833 authors who have published 80514 publications receiving 2321142 citations. The organization is also known as: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona & Computer Vision Center.

Consensus statement on definitions of disease, end points, and therapeutic response for pemphigus

Abstract: Our scientific knowledge of pemphigus has dramatically progressed in recent years. However, despite the availability of various therapeutic options for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, only a few multicenter controlled trials have helped to define effective therapies in pemphigus. A major obstacle in comparing therapeutic outcomes between centers is the lack of generally accepted definitions and measurements for the clinical evaluation of patients with pemphigus. Common terms and end points of pemphigus are needed so that experts in the field can accurately measure and assess disease extent, activity, severity, and therapeutic response, and thus facilitate and advance clinical trials. This consensus statement from the International Pemphigus Committee represents 2 years of collaborative efforts to attain mutually acceptable common definitions for pemphigus. These should assist in development of consistent reporting of outcomes in future studies.

The Chemistry behind Catechol-Based Adhesion

Abstract: The adhesion of some marine organisms to almost any kind of surface in wet conditions has aroused increasing interest in recent decades. Numerous fundamental studies have been performed to understand the scientific basis of this behaviour, with catechols having been found to play a key role. Several novel bio-inspired adhesives and coatings with value-added performances have been developed by taking advantage of the knowledge gained from these studies. To date there has been no detailed overview focusing exclusively on the complex mode of action of these materials. The aim of this Review is to present recent investigations that elucidate the origin of the strong and versatile adsorption capacities of the catechol moiety and the effects of extrinsic factors that play important roles in the overall adhesion process, such as pH value, solvent, and the presence of metal ions. The aim is to detail the chemistry behind the astonishing properties of natural and synthetic catechol-based adhesive materials.

The American-European Consensus Conference on ARDS, part 2: Ventilatory, pharmacologic, supportive therapy, study design strategies, and issues related to recovery and remodeling. Acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Abstract: The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) continues as a contributor to the morbidity and mortality of patients in intensive care units throughout the world, imparting tremendous human and financial costs. During the last 10 years there has been a decline in ARDS mortality without a clear explanation. The American-European Consensus Committee on ARDS was formed to re-evaluate the standards for the ICU care of patients with acute lung injury (ALI), with regard to ventilatory strategies, the more promising pharmacologic agents, and the definition and quantification of pathologic features of ALI that require resolution. It was felt that the definition of strategies for the clinical design and coordination of studies between centers and continents was becoming increasingly important to facilitate the study of various new therapies for ARDS.

The Oncosurgery Approach to Managing Liver Metastases from Colorectal Cancer: A Multidisciplinary International Consensus

Abstract: An international panel of multidisciplinary experts convened to develop recommendations for the management of patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim was to address the main issues facing the CRC hepatobiliary multidisciplinary team (MDT) when managing such patients and to standardize the treatment patients receive in different centers. Based on current evidence, the group agreed on a number of issues including the following: (a) the primary aim of treatment is achieving a long disease-free survival (DFS) interval following resection; (b) assessment of resectability should be performed with high-quality cross-sectional imaging, staging the liver with magnetic resonance imaging and/or abdominal computed tomography (CT), depending on local expertise, staging extrahepatic disease with thoracic and pelvic CT, and, in selected cases, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with ultrasound (preferably contrast-enhanced ultrasound) for intraoperative staging; (c) optimal first-line chemotherapy-doublet or triplet chemotherapy regimens combined with targeted therapy-is advisable in potentially resectable patients; (d) in this situation, at least four courses of first-line chemotherapy should be given, with assessment of tumor response every 2 months; (e) response assessed by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (conventional chemotherapy) or nonsize-based morphological changes (antiangiogenic agents) is clearly correlated with outcome; no imaging technique is currently able to accurately diagnose complete pathological response but high-quality imaging is crucial for patient management; (f) the duration of chemotherapy should be as short as possible and resection achieved as soon as technically possible in the absence of tumor progression; (g) the number of metastases or patient age should not be an absolute contraindication to surgery combined with chemotherapy; (h) for synchronous metastases, it is not advisable to undertake major hepatic surgery during surgery for removal of the primary CRC; the reverse surgical approach (liver first) produces as good an outcome as the conventional approach in selected cases; (i) for patients with resectable liver metastases from CRC, perioperative chemotherapy may be associated with a modestly better DFS outcome; and (j) whether initially resectable or unresectable, cure or at least a long survival duration is possible after complete resection of the metastases, and MDT treatment is essential for improving clinical and survival outcomes. The group proposed a new system to classify initial unresectability based on technical and oncological contraindications.

Channel Estimation and Performance Analysis of One-Bit Massive MIMO Systems

Abstract: This paper considers channel estimation and system performance for the uplink of a single-cell massive multiple-input multiple-output system. Each receiver antenna of the base station is assumed to be equipped with a pair of one-bit analog-to-digital converters to quantize the real and imaginary part of the received signal. We first propose an approach for channel estimation that is applicable for both flat and frequency-selective fading, based on the Bussgang decomposition that reformulates the nonlinear quantizer as a linear function with identical first- and second-order statistics. The resulting channel estimator outperforms previously proposed approaches across all SNRs. We then derive closed-form expressions for the achievable rate in flat fading channels assuming low SNR and a large number of users for the maximal ratio and zero forcing receivers that takes channel estimation error due to both noise and one-bit quantization into account. The closed-form expressions, in turn, allow us to obtain insight into important system design issues such as optimal resource allocation, maximal sum spectral efficiency, overall energy efficiency, and number of antennas. Numerical results are presented to verify our analytical results and demonstrate the benefit of optimizing system performance accordingly.