Multivariate Thermo-Hygrometric Characterisation of the Archaeological Site of Plaza de l Almoina (Valencia, Spain) for Preventive Conservation

Preventive conservation requires monitoring and control of the parameters involved in the deterioration process, mainly temperature and relative humidity. It is important to characterise an archaeological site prior to carrying out comparative studies in the future for preventive conservation, either by regular studies to verify whether the conditions are constant, or occasional ones when the boundary conditions are altered. There are numerous covered archaeological sites, but few preventive conservation works that give special attention to the type of cover installed. In particular, there is no background of microclimatic studies in sites that are in the ground and, as in the Plaza de l'Almoina (Valencia, Spain), are buried and partially covered by a transparent roof. A large effect of the transparent cover was found by the sensors located below this area, with substantial increases in temperature and a decrease in the relative humidity during the day. Surrounding zones also have values above the recommended temperature values. On the other hand, the influence of a buried water drainage line near the site is notable, causing an increase in relative humidity levels in the surrounding areas. Multivariate statistical analyses enabled us to characterise the microclimate of the archaeological site, allowing future testing to determine whether the conservation conditions have been altered.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) under projects HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02. The authors thank the collaboration of the archaeologist Albert Ribera and Carmen Perez from Instituto Valenciano de Conservacion y Restauracion de Bienes Culturales (IVC+R).Fernández Navajas, Á.; Merello Giménez, P.; Beltrán Medina, P.; García Diego, FJ. (2013). Multivariate Thermo-Hygrometric Characterisation of the Archaeological Site of Plaza de l Almoina (Valencia, Spain) for Preventive Conservation. Sensors. 13(8):9729-9746. doi:10.3390/s130809729S97299746138Camuffo, D., Bernardi, A., Sturaro, G., & Valentino, A. (2002). The microclimate inside the Pollaiolo and Botticelli rooms in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 3(2), 155-161. doi:10.1016/s1296-2074(02)01171-8Corgnati, S. P., & Filippi, M. (2010). Assessment of thermo-hygrometric quality in museums: Method and in-field application to the «Duccio di Buoninsegna» exhibition at Santa Maria della Scala (Siena, Italy). Journal of Cultural Heritage, 11(3), 345-349. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2009.05.003legnér, M. (2011). On the Early History of Museum Environment Control - Nationalmuseum and Gripsholm Castle in Sweden, c.1866-1932. Studies in Conservation, 56(2), 125-137. doi:10.1179/sic.2011.56.2.125Camuffo, D., Sturaro, G., & Valentino, A. (1999). Thermodynamic exchanges between the external boundary layer and the indoor microclimate at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Italy: the problem of conservation of ancient works of art. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 92(2), 243-262. doi:10.1023/a:1002026711404Tabunschikov, Y., & Brodatch, M. (2004). Indoor air climate requirements for Russian churches and cathedrals. Indoor Air, 14(s7), 168-174. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0668.2004.00285.xGarcía-Diego, F.-J., & Zarzo, M. (2010). Microclimate monitoring by multivariate statistical control: The renaissance frescoes of the Cathedral of Valencia (Spain). Journal of Cultural Heritage, 11(3), 339-344. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2009.06.002Zarzo, M., Fernández-Navajas, A., & García-Diego, F.-J. (2011). Long-Term Monitoring of Fresco Paintings in the Cathedral of Valencia (Spain) Through Humidity and Temperature Sensors in Various Locations for Preventive Conservation. Sensors, 11(9), 8685-8710. doi:10.3390/s110908685Maekawa, S., Lambert, F., & Meyer, J. (1995). Environmental Monitoring at Tiwanaku. MRS Proceedings, 352. doi:10.1557/proc-352-885Merello, P., García-Diego, F.-J., & Zarzo, M. (2012). Microclimate monitoring of Ariadne’s house (Pompeii, Italy) for preventive conservation of fresco paintings. Chemistry Central Journal, 6(1). doi:10.1186/1752-153x-6-145Visco, G., Plattner, S. H., Fortini, P., Di Giovanni, S., & Sammartino, M. P. (2012). Microclimate monitoring in the Carcer Tullianum: temporal and spatial correlation and gradients evidenced by multivariate analysis; first campaign. Chemistry Central Journal, 6(S2). doi:10.1186/1752-153x-6-s2-s11Ribera i Lacomba, A. (1998). The discovery of a monumental circus at Valentia (Hispania Tarraconensis). Journal of Roman Archaeology, 11, 318-337. doi:10.1017/s1047759400017360Hygrochron Temperature/Humidity Logger iButton with 8 KB Data-Log Memoryhttp://www.datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS1923.pdfTemperature Logger iButton with 8KB Data-Log Memoryhttp://www.datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS1922L-DS1922T.pdfIBM Software, SPSS 16http://www-01.ibm.com/software/es/analytics/spss/Fernández-Navajas, Á., Merello, P., Beltrán, P., & García-Diego, F.-J. (2013). Software for Storage and Management of Microclimatic Data for Preventive Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Sensors, 13(3), 2700-2718. doi:10.3390/s13030270

Characterisation of thermo-hygrometric conditions of an archaeological site affected by unlike boundary weather conditions

This paper applies statistical techniques to analyse microclimatic data (temperature and relative humidity) recorded at the archaeological site of Plaza de l'Almoina (Valencia, Spain). This study has allowed us to quantify the effect of certain measures that were adopted for preventive conservation. The first monitoring campaign took place in 2010 at this archaeological site, showing harmful effects on the conservation state of the remains due to the presence of a skylight that partly covers the remains and causes a greenhouse effect. This skylight was covered with a water layer to prevent overheating of this archaeological site. However, this layer was removed in 2013 due to water leaks, and the indoor conditions changed. Over the summer, a temporary canvas was installed over the skylight to avoid heating of the archaeological site below by preventing the incidence of direct sunlight. The main importance of this work was to characterise the effect of unlike boundary weather conditions of different years in the indoor microclimate of the archaeological site, and to study the effect of the new boundary situation. This paper shows that the removal of water from the skylight caused a temperature increase inside the museum; meanwhile, the subsequent installation of the canvas cover allows appropriate daily cycles of temperature and relative humidity, especially in areas under the skylight. This work also shows that the replacement of a water ditch near the archaeological site by a PVC pipe was also detected by the sensors due to the difference in water vapour pressure.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) with grants numbers HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02. The authors thank the personal collaboration of the archaeologist Albert Ribera and Carmen Perez.Merello Gimenez, P.; Fernández Navajas, A.; Curiel Esparza, J.; Zarzo Castelló, M.; García Diego, FJ. (2014). Characterisation of thermo-hygrometric conditions of an archaeological site affected by unlike boundary weather conditions. Building and Environment. 76:125-133. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.03.009S1251337

Software for Storage and Management of Microclimatic Data for Preventive Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Cultural Heritage preventive conservation requires the monitoring of the parameters involved in the process of deterioration of artworks. Thus, both long-term monitoring of the environmental parameters as well as further analysis of the recorded data are necessary. The long-term monitoring at frequencies higher than 1 data point/day generates large volumes of data that are difficult to store, manage and analyze. This paper presents software which uses a free open source database engine that allows managing and interacting with huge amounts of data from environmental monitoring of cultural heritage sites. It is of simple operation and offers multiple capabilities, such as detection of anomalous data, inquiries, graph plotting and mean trajectories. It is also possible to export the data to a spreadsheet for analyses with more advanced statistical methods (principal component analysis, ANOVA, linear regression, etc.). This paper also deals with a practical application developed for the Renaissance frescoes of the Cathedral of Valencia. The results suggest infiltration of rainwater in the vault and weekly relative humidity changes related with the religious service schedules.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) under projects HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02.Fernández Navajas, Á.; Merello Giménez, P.; Beltrán Medina, P.; García Diego, FJ. (2013). Software for Storage and Management of Microclimatic Data for Preventive Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Sensors. 13(3):2700-2718. doi:10.3390/s130302700S2700271813

Statistical tools applied in the characterisation and evaluation of a thermo-hygrometric corrective action carried out at the noheda archaeological site (Noheda, Spain)

The Noheda archaeological site is unique and exceptional for its size, and the quality and conservation condition of the Roman mosaic pavement covering its urban pars. In 2008 a tent was installed as protection from rain and sun. Being of interest to characterise the microclimate of the remains, six probes with relative humidity and temperature sensors were installed in 2013 for this purpose. Microclimate monitoring allowed us to check relative humidity differences resulting from the groundwater level, as well as inner sensors reaching maximum temperatures higher than the outdoors ones as a consequence of the non-ventilated tent covering the archaeological site. Microclimatic conditions in the archaeological site were deemed detrimental for the conservation of the mosaics. Thus, in summer 2013, expanded clay and geotextile were installed over the mosaics as a corrective action. The outcomes of this study have proven the effectiveness of this solution to control temperature and relative humidity, helping to configure a more stable microclimate suitable for preservation of the mosaic.Our thanks to the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage of the Council of Education, Culture and Sport in the Community Council of Castilla-La Mancha, and to the Provincial Deputation of Cuenca for the institutional and economical support that they have been giving us throughout these years, which has been vital for the maintenance and adequate progress of the research project that offers relevant scientific results. This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) under projects HAR2010-21944-C02-01 and HAR2010-21944-C02-02.Valero, MÁ.; Merello Gimenez, P.; Fernández Navajas, A.; García Diego, FJ. (2014). Statistical tools applied in the characterisation and evaluation of a thermo-hygrometric corrective action carried out at the noheda archaeological site (Noheda, Spain). Sensors. 14(1):1665-1679. doi:10.3390/s140101665S16651679141Valero Tévar, M. Á. (2013). The late-antique villa at Noheda (Villar de Domingo García) near Cuenca and its mosaics. Journal of Roman Archaeology, 26, 307-330. doi:10.1017/s1047759413000172Nava, S., Becherini, F., Bernardi, A., Bonazza, A., Chiari, M., García-Orellana, I., … Vecchi, R. (2010). An integrated approach to assess air pollution threats to cultural heritage in a semi-confined environment: The case study of Michelozzo’s Courtyard in Florence (Italy). Science of The Total Environment, 408(6), 1403-1413. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.07.030Kisternaya, M., & Kozlov, V. (2012). Preservation of historic monuments in the «Kizhi» Open-Air Museum (Russian Federation). Journal of Cultural Heritage, 13(3), S74-S78. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2012.03.013Calia, A., Lettieri, M., Leucci, G., Matera, L., Persico, R., & Sileo, M. (2013). The mosaic of the crypt of St. Nicholas in Bari (Italy): integrated GPR and laboratory diagnostic study. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(12), 4162-4169. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.005Moropoulou, A., Bakolas, A., Karoglou, M., Delegou, E. T., Labropoulos, K. C., & Katsiotis, N. S. (2013). Diagnostics and protection of Hagia Sophia mosaics. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 14(3), e133-e139. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2013.01.006Alberghina, M. F., Barraco, R., Basile, S., Brai, M., Pellegrino, L., Prestileo, F., … Tranchina, L. (2014). Mosaic floors of roman Villa del Casale: Principal component analysis on spectrophotometric and colorimetric data. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 15(1), 92-97. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2012.12.004Faella, G., Frunzio, G., Guadagnuolo, M., Donadio, A., & Ferri, L. (2012). The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: Non-destructive tests for the structural knowledge. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 13(4), e27-e41. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2012.10.014La Gennusa, M., Rizzo, G., Scaccianoce, G., & Nicoletti, F. (2005). Control of indoor environments in heritage buildings: experimental measurements in an old Italian museum and proposal of a methodology. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 6(2), 147-155. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2005.03.001Hygrochron Temperature/Humidity Logger iButton with 8KB Data-Log Memoryhttp://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS1923.pdfTemperature Logger iButton with 8KB Data-Log Memoryhttp://datasheets.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/DS1922L-DS1922T.pdfIBM Software. SPSS 16http://www-01.ibm.com/software/es/analytics/spss/García-Diego, F.-J., Fernández-Navajas, Á., Beltrán, P., & Merello, P. (2013). Study of the Effect of the Strategy of Heating on the Mudejar Church of Santa Maria in Ateca (Spain) for Preventive Conservation of the Altarpiece Surroundings. Sensors, 13(9), 11407-11423. doi:10.3390/s13091140

Entorno psicosocial y estrés en trabajadores sanitarios de la sanidad pública: diferencias entre atención primaria y hospitalaria

Objetivos: Describir el entorno psicosocial de los profesionales sanitarios de la sanidad pública en atención primaria y hospitalaria, compararlo con el de la población asalariada española y valorar el efecto de los factores de riesgos psicosociales sobre síntomas relacionados con el estrés percibido. Diseño: Estudio observacional transversal, con muestreo aleatorio estratificado. Emplazamiento: Trabajadores de atención sanitaria de la provincia de Granada, distribuidos en 5 centros hospitalarios y 4 distritos sanitarios. Participantes: Se invitó a 738 empleados (personal facultativo y de enfermería) del Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS). Mediciones principales: Cuestionario CopSoQ/Istas21, desarrollado para el análisis del ambiente psicosocial en el trabajo de forma multidimensional. Los síntomas de estrés se midieron con el cuestionario Stress Profile. Resultados: La tasa de respuesta fue del 67,5%. En comparación con la población laboral española, nuestra muestra mostró altos niveles de exigencias psicológicas cognitivas, emocionales y sensoriales, posibilidades de desarrollo personal y sentido de su trabajo. El personal facultativo de atención primaria es el que presenta un ambiente psicosocial más desfavorable, aunque todos los grupos mostraron niveles elevados de síntomas relacionados con el estrés percibido. El análisis multivariante mostró que las variables asociadas con el estrés percibido fueron menor edad y posibilidades de relación social, el conflicto de rol, y mayores exigencias psicológicas emocionales e inseguridad en el trabajo. Conclusiones: Nuestros hallazgos muestran que el ambiente psicosocial de los trabajadores sanitarios difiere del de la población asalariada española, siendo más desfavorable en el colectivo de facultativos/as de atención primaria

Potato consumption does not increase blood pressure or incident hypertension in 2 cohorts of Spanish adults

5 TablasBackground: Potatoes have a high glycemic load but also antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It is unclear what mechanisms are involved in relation to their effect on blood pressure (BP) and hypertension. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the association between potato consumption, BP changes, and the risk of hypertension in 2 Spanish populations. Methods: Separate analyses were performed in PREDIMED (PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea), a multicenter nutrition intervention trial of adults aged 55-80 y, and the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) project, a prospective cohort made up of university graduates and educated adults with ages (means±SDs) of 42.7±13.3 y for men and 35.1± 10.7 y for women. In PREDIMED, generalized estimating equations adjusted for lifestyle and dietary characteristics were used to assess changes in BP across quintiles of total potato consumption during a 4-y follow-up. Controlled BP values (systolic BP < 140 mm Hg and diastolic BP < 90 mm Hg) during follow-up were also assessed. For SUN, multivariateadjusted HRs for incident hypertension during a mean 6.7-y follow-up were calculated. Results: In PREDIMED, the total potato intake was 81.9 ± 40.6 g/d. No overall differences in systolic or diastolic BP changes were detected based on consumption of potatoes. For total potatoes, the mean difference in change between quintile 5 (highest intake) and quintile 1 (lowest intake) in systolic BP after multivariate adjustment was 20.90 mm Hg (95% CI: -2.56, 0.76 mm Hg; P-trend = 0.1) and for diastolic BP was 20.02 mm Hg (95% CI: -0.93, 0.89 mm Hg; P-trend = 0.8). In SUN, the total potato consumption was 52.7 ± 33.6 g/d, and no significant association between potato consumption and hypertension incidence was observed in the fully adjusted HR for total potato consumption (quintile 5 compared with quintile 1: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.80, 1.19; P-trend = 0.8). Conclusions: Potato consumption is not associated with changes over 4 y in blood pressure among older adults in Spain or with the risk of hypertension among Spanish adults.Supported by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish Government, Instituto de Salud Carlos III through grants provided to research networks specifically developed for the trial (RTIC G03/140, to RE; RTIC RD 06/0045, to MAM-G) and through Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), and by grants from Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC 06/2007), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional [Proyecto de Investigación (PI) 04-2239, PI 05/2584, CP06/00100, PI07/0240, PI07/1138, PI07/0954, PI 07/0473, PI10/01407, PI10/02658, PI11/01647, P11/02505 and PI13/00462], Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación [Recursos y teconologia agroalimentarias (AGL)-2009-13906-C02 and AGL2010-22319-C03 and AGL2013-49083-C3-1-R], Fundación Mapfre 2010, the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0105/2007), the Public Health Division of the Department of Health of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Generalitat Valenciana [Generalitat Valenciana Ayuda Complementaria (GVACOMP) 06109, GVACOMP2010-181, GVACOMP2011-151], Conselleria de Sanitat y AP; Atención Primaria (CS) 2010-AP-111 and CS2011-AP-042, and Regional Government of Navarra (P27/2011)

Dietary inflammatory index and all-cause mortality in large cohorts: The SUN and PREDIMED studies

[Background]: Inflammation is known to be related to the leading causes of death including cardiovascular disease, several types of cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression-suicide and other chronic diseases. In the context of whole dietary patterns, the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) was developed to appraise the inflammatory potential of the diet. [Objective]: We prospectively assessed the association between DII scores and all-cause mortality in two large Spanish cohorts and valuated the consistency of findings across these two cohorts and results published based on other cohorts.[Design]: We assessed 18,566 participants in the “Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra” (SUN) cohort followed-up during 188,891 person-years and 6790 participants in the “PREvencion con DIeta MEDiterránea” (PREDIMED) randomized trial representing 30,233 person-years of follow-up. DII scores were calculated in both cohorts from validated FFQs. Higher DII scores corresponded to more proinflammatory diets. A total of 230 and 302 deaths occurred in SUN and PREDIMED, respectively. In a random-effect meta-analysis we included 12 prospective studies (SUN, PREDIMED and 10 additional studies) that assessed the association between DII scores and all-cause mortality.[Results]: After adjusting for a wide array of potential confounders, the comparison between extreme quartiles of the DII showed a positive and significant association with all-cause mortality in both the SUN (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.15, 2.98; P-trend = 0.004) and the PREDIMED cohort (HR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.02; P-trend = 0.009). In the meta-analysis of 12 cohorts, the DII was significantly associated with an increase of 23% in all-cause mortality (95% CI: 16%–32%, for the highest vs lowest category of DII).[Conclusion]: Our results provide strong and consistent support for the hypothesis that a pro-inflammatory diet is associated with increased all-cause mortality. The SUN cohort and PREDIMED trial were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02669602 and at isrctn.com as ISRCTN35739639, respectively.Supported by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish Government, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through grants provided to research networks specifically developed for the trial (RTIC G03/140, to R.E.; RTIC RD 06/0045, to Miguel A. Martínez-González) and through Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), and by grants from Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC 06/2007), Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (Proyecto de Investigación (PI) 04-2239, PI 05/2584, CP06/00100, PI07/0240, PI07/1138, PI07/0954, PI 07/0473, PI10/01407, PI10/02658, PI11/01647, P11/02505, PI13/00462, PI13/00615, PI13/01090, PI14/01668, PI14/01798, PI14/01764), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Recursos y teconologia agroalimentarias(AGL)-2009-13906-C02 and AGL2010-22319-C03 and AGL2013-49083-C3-1- R), Fundación Mapfre 2010, the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0105/2007), the Public Health Division of the Department of Health of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Generalitat Valenciana (Generalitat Valenciana Ayuda Complementaria (GVACOMP) 06109, GVACOMP2010-181, GVACOMP2011-151), Conselleria de Sanitat y, PI14/01764 AP; Atención Primaria (CS) 2010-AP-111, and CS2011-AP-042), and Regional Government of Navarra (P27/2011).). Drs. Shivappa and Hébert were supported by grant number R44DK103377 from the United States National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases