Malnutrition as cause and consequence of sensory distorsiones

La malnutrición es una enfermedad provocada por un exceso o defecto en el consumo o aprovechamiento de los nutrientes. Habitualmente, se utiliza este término para referirse a la desnutrición, es decir, a un trastorno derivado del déficit de algún macro y o micronutrientes. Las alteraciones quimiosensoriales pueden reducir de forma importante la alimentación en el individuo, por lo que es importante verificar que el aporte de nutrientes y, de forma concreta, de algunos micronutrientes, sea suficiente, ya que alguno de ellos, como el zinc, desempeñan un papel primordial en las alteraciones del gusto y del olfato. Además, el paciente malnutrido o con una alimentación que excluya gran número de alimentos, tiene mayor riesgo de presentar déficits de dichos micronutrientes. Diversas enfermedades, tanto agudas como crónicas, se asocian a alteraciones de la percepción sensorial, y pueden llegar a afectar a más del 50% de las personas mayores de 65 años. Los efectos provocados por los fármacos y algunos tratamientos como la quimioterapia y la radioterapia, juegan también un papel muy importante en la distorsión sensorial y en la incidencia de malnutriciónMalnutrition is a pathological condition caused by an excess or deficiency in the consumption or the use of the nutrients. Usually this term refers to a lack of adequate nourishment, a disorder resulting from a deficiency of some macro and/or micronutrients. Chemo-sensory alterations can significantly reduce food choice and intake, so it is very important to verify that the supply of nutrients and specifically of some micronutrients are sufficient. Some of them, such as “zinc”, play a very important role in alterations in the sense of taste and smell. In addition malnutrition patients or a poorly-balanced diet or faulty utilization of foods have increased the risk of deficiencies in these micronutrients. Several types of diseases, both acute and chronic ones, are associated with sensory perception and can affect more than 50% of people over 65 years old. The effects caused by drugs and some treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy play an important role in sensory distortion and the incidence of malnutritio

Systematic Tools for the Conceptual Design of Inherently Safer Chemical Processes

Society is continuously facing challenges for safer chemical plants design, which is usually driven by economic criteria during the early steps of the design process, relegating safety concerns to the latest stages. This paper highlights the synergy of merging Process System Engineering tools with inherent safety principles. First, we design a superstructure that comprises several alternatives for streams, equipment, and process conditions, which exhibit different performance of economic and inherently safer indicators, the total annualized cost, and the Dow’s Fire and Explosion Index, respectively. The solution to this multiobjective problem is given by a Pareto set of solutions that indicates the existing trade-off between both objectives. The capabilities of the proposed framework are illustrated through two case studies, which solutions provide valuable insights into the design problem and are intended to guide decision-makers toward the adoption of inherently safer process alternatives.The authors acknowledge financial support from “Proyectos de l+D para grupos de investigación emergentes GV/2016/005” (Conselleria d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport, GENERALITAT VALENCIANA) and from the Spanish “Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad” (CTQ2016-77968-C3-02-P, AEI/FEDER, UE)

Short-term effect of heat waves on hospital admissions in Madrid: Analysis by gender and comparision with previous findings

Global warming affects health through multiple exposures and pathways, in and is turn deeply influenced by climate change. Every year, several million deaths are caused by environmental factors, many of which are aggravated by climate change or its drivers (WHO, 2016). The adverse effects of climate change on health are varied, complex and far-reaching. Essentially, climate change acts as a multiplier for global health threats, compounding many of the health issues communities already face. Disproportionately affect the health of vulnerable groups and people in lower income countries, thus exacerbating inequalities and gender differences (Watts et al., 2018)

A fish detection system in vertical slot fishways using laser technology and computer vision techniques

[EN] Vertical slot fishway are hydraulic structures which are widely used to allow the upstream migration of fish through obstructions in rivers. Learning about the frequency of fish’s movement through these systems can help determine the efficiency of a vertical slot fishway, as well as migratory patterns of species, determine if waterways are healthy or whether we can continue to fish with guaranteed conservation and improve wildlife. This paper presents a noninvasive method for fish detection. A laser sensor is used to detect fish and data collected by the sensor is analyzed automatically, using computer vision techniques.[ES] Las escalas de hendidura vertical son una de las estructuras más utilizadas para sortear obstáculos. Estas estructuras permiten a los peces sortear obstáculos como presas, centrales hidroeléctricas y otros. Conocer la frecuencia con la que los peces atraviesan este tipo de estructuras puede ayudar a conocer la eficacia de las mismas, así como conocer características migratorias de las especies, determinar si el curso fluvial está sano o determinar si se puede pescar con garantías de conservación y mejora de la fauna. La técnica expuesta en este artículo es un método no invasivo para detección de peces en tiempo real, sin necesidad de observación directa. Se utiliza un sensor láser para detectar los peces y los datos recogidos por el sensor son analizados de forma automática con técnicas de visión artificial en una aplicación informática.Este trabajo ha sido cofinanciado con fondos FEDER y por el Ministerio Español de Economía y Competitividad. Subprograma estatal de formación del Programa Estatal de Promoción de Talento y su Empleabilidad en I+D, en el marco del Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 (FPI Convocatoria 2013) (Ref. del proyecto CGL2012- 34688 Ref. de la ayuda BES-2013-063444).Rico Díaz, AJ.; Rabuñal, J.; Puertas, J.; Pena, L.; Rodríguez, A. (2016). Un sistema de detección de peces para escala de hendidura vertical utilizando tecnología láser y técnicas de visión artificial. Ingeniería del Agua. 19(4):229-239. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2015.3472SWORD229239194Balk, H., Lindem, T. (2000). Improved fish detection in data from split-beam sonar. Aquatic Living Resources, 13(5), 297-303. doi:10.1016/S0990-7440(00)01079-2Baumgartner, L., Bettanin, M., McPherson, J., Jones, M., Zampatti, B., Beyer, K. (2010). Assessment of an infrared fish counter (Vaki Riverwatcher) to quantify fish migrations in the Murray-Darling Basin. Industry y Investment NSW, Fisheries Final Report Series 116, 47.Belcher, E., Matsuyama, B., Trimble, G. (2001). Object identification with acoustic lenses. Paper presented at the OCEANS, 2001. MTS/IEEE Conference and Exhibition, Honolulu, HI. doi:10.1109/oceans.2001.968656Blake, R.W. (2004). Fish functional design and swimming performance. Journal of Fish Biology, 65(5), 1193-1222. doi:10.1111/j.0022-1112.2004.00568.xCraig, R.E., Forbes, S.T. (1969). Design of a sonar for fish counting. Fiskeridirektoratets skrifter, Serie Havundersøkelser, Vol 15(3), 210-219.Dewar, H., Graham, J. (1994). Studies of tropical tuna swimming performance in a large water tunnel - Energetics. Journal of Experimental Biology, 192, 13-31.Ehrenberg, J.E. (1972). A method for extracting the fish target strength distribution from acoustic echoes. Paper presented at the Engineering in the Ocean Environment, Ocean 72, Newport, RI, USA. doi:10.1109/OCEANS.1972.1161176Han, J., Honda, N., Asada, A., Shibata, K. (2009). Automated acoustic method for counting and sizing farmed fish during transfer using DIDSON. Fisheries Science, 75(6), 1359-1367. doi:10.1007/s12562-009-0162-5Haralick, R.M., Sternberg, S.R., Zhuang, X. (1987). Image Analysis Using Mathematical Morphology. IEEE Transactions on Pattern and Machine Intelligence, PAMI-9(4), 532-550. doi:10.1109/TPAMI.1987.4767941Holmes, J.A., Cronkite, G.M.W., Enzenhofer, H.J., Mulligan, T.J. (2006). Accuracy and precision of fish-count data from a ''dualfrequency identification sonar'' (DIDSON) imaging system. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 63(3), 543-555. doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2005.08.015Mitra, V., Wang, C.J., Banerjee, S. (2004). Lidar Detection of Underwater Objects Using a Neuro-SVM-Based Architecture. IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks.Ochoa-Somuanom, J., Pérez-Lara, C., Toscano-Martínez, J.H., Pereyra-Ramos, C.G. (2013). Clasificación de objetos rígidos a partir de imágenes digitales empleando los momentos invariantes de Hu. Paper presented at the X Congreso Internacional sobre Innovación y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Cuernavaca Morelos, México.Otsu, N. (1979). A Threshold Selection Method from Gray-Level Histograms. Systems, Man and Cybernetics, IEEE Transactions, 9(1), 62-66. doi:10.1109/TSMC.1979.4310076Pajares Martinsanz, G., De la Cruz García, J. (2007). Visión por computador imágenes digitales y aplicaciones, 2ª ed. Ra-Ma Ed.: Madrid, España.Puertas, J., Cea, L., Bermúdez, M., Pena, L., Rodríguez, A., Rabuñal, J., Balairón, L., Lara, A., Aramburu, E. (2011). Computer application for the analysis and design of vertical slot fishways in accordance with ther requirements of the target species. Ecological Engineering, 48, 51-60. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2011.05.009Puertas, J., Pena, L., Teijeiro, T. (2004). Experimental Approach to the Hydraulics of Vertical Slot Fishways. Journal of Hydraulics Engineering, 130(1), 10-23. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2004)130:1(10)Rodríguez, A., Bermúdez, M., Rabuñal, J., Aff.M.ASCE, Puertas, J., Dorado, J., Pena, L., Balairón, L. (2011). Optical Fish Trajectory Measurement in Fishways through Computer Vision and Artificial Neural Networks. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 25(4), 291-301. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)CP.1943-5487.0000092Rodríguez, R., Sossa, J.H. (2011). Procesamiento y análisis digital de imágenes, Ra-Ma Ed.: Madrid, España.Storbeck, F., Daan, B. (2001). Fish species recognition using computer vision and a neural network. Fisheries Research, 51(1), 11-15. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(00)00254-XTarrade, L., Texier, A., David, L., Larinier, M. (2008). Topologies and measurements of turbulent flow in vertical slot fishways. Hydrobiologia, 609, 177-188. doi:10.1007/s10750-008-9416-yWhite, D.J., Svellingen, C., Strachan, N.J.C. (2006). Automated measurement of species and length of fish by computer vision. 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Particle Patterning on Lithium Niobate waveguides via photovoltaic tweezers

Successful micro and nano-particle patterning on iron doped lithium niobate waveguides using photovoltaic fields is reported. This technique previously used in bulk crystals is here applied to waveguide configuration. Well defined particle patterns are obtained using two types of planar waveguides (by proton exchanged and swift heavy ion irradiation) and metallic and dielectric neutral particles. The use of waveguide configuration has allowed a reduction of the light exposure time until 3 s, two orders of magnitude smaller than typical values used in bulk

Novel Procedure for Laboratory Scale Production of Composite Functional Filaments for Additive Manufacturing

Successful 3D printing by material extrusion of functional parts for new devices requires high quality filaments. Uniform homogeneity and good dispersion of particles embedded in filaments typically takes several cycles of extrusion or well-prepared feedstock by injection molding, industrial kneaders or twin-screw compounding. These methods need specific production devices that are not available in many laboratories non-specialized in polymer research, such as those working on different material science and technology topics that try to connect with additive manufacturing. Therefore, laboratory studies are usually limited to compositions and filler concentrations provided by commercial companies. Here, we present an original laboratory scale methodology to custom-prepare the feedstock for extruding magnetic composite filaments for fused filament fabrication (FFF), which is attainable by a desktop single-screw extruder. It consists in encapsulating the fillers in custom made capsules that are used as feedstock and reach the melting area of the extruder maintaining the same concentration of fillers. Results have shown that our approach can create smooth and continuous composite filaments with good homogeneity and printability with fine level of dimensional control. We further show the good dispersion of the particles in the composite filament using X-Ray Tomography, which enabled a 3D reconstruction of the spacial distribution of the embedded magnetic particles. The major advantage of this new way of preparing the composite feedstock is that it avoids the hassle of multiple extrusion runs and industrial machinery, yet providing uniform filaments of well controlled filler concentration, which is predictable and reproducible. The proposed methodology is suitable for different polymer matrices and applicable to other functional particle types, not just limited to magnetic ones. This opens an avenue for further laboratory scale development of novel functional composite filaments, useful for any community. This democratization of complex filament preparation, including consumers preparing their own desired uniform novel filaments, will facilitate to unify efforts nearing 3D printing of new functional devices.Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional MAT-201677265-RJunta de Andalucía US-1260179, P18-RT-74

Will there be cold-related mortality in Spain over the 2021–2050 and 2051–2100 time horizons despite the increase in temperatures as a consequence of climate change?

Global warming is resulting in an increase in temperatures which is set to become more marked by the end of the century and depends on the accelerating pace of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Yet even in this scenario, so-called “cold waves” will continue to be generated and have an impact on health. Objectives: This study sought to analyse the impact of cold waves on daily mortality at a provincial level in Spain over the 2021–2050 and 2051–2100 time horizons under RCP4.5 and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios, on the basis of two hypotheses: (1) that the cold-wave definition temperature (T threshold) would not vary over time; and, (2) that there would be a variation in T threshold

A highly conserved metalloprotease effector enhances virulence in the maize anthracnose fungus Colletotrichum graminicola

[EN] Colletotrichum graminicola causes maize anthracnose, an agronomically important disease with a worldwide distribution. We have identified a fungalysin metalloprotease (Cgfl) with a role in virulence. Transcriptional profiling experiments and live cell imaging show that Cgfl is specifically expressed during the biotrophic stage of infection. To determine whether Cgfl has a role in virulence, we obtained null mutants lacking Cgfl and performed pathogenicity and live microscopy assays. The appressorium morphology of the null mutants is normal, but they exhibit delayed development during the infection process on maize leaves and roots, showing that Cgfl has a role in virulence. In vitro chitinase activity assays of leaves infected with wild-type and null mutant strains show that, in the absence of Cgfl, maize leaves exhibit increased chitinase activity. Phylogenetic analyses show that Cgfl is highly conserved in fungi. Similarity searches, phylogenetic analysis and transcriptional profiling show that C. graminicola encodes two LysM domain-containing homologues of Ecp6, suggesting that this fungus employs both Cgfl-mediated and LysM protein-mediated strategies to control chitin signalling

Theory of Mind in Borderline Personality Disorder A Possible Endophenotypic Factor

The purpose of this study is to examine whether theory of mind (ToM) is an endophenotypic marker of borderline personality disorder (BPD), thus constituting an etiopathogenic factor of the disease. This would suggest familial vulnerability to BPD. This was a case-control study involving 146 individuals with 57 BPD patients, 32 first-degree relatives, and 57 controls (median age of BPD and control = 33.4 years; relatives = 52.9 years; BPD females and controls = 91.2%; female relatives = 62.5%). All the participants completed the Spanish version of the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition test to evaluate the ToM subclassification: interpretation of emotions, thoughts and intentions. BPD patients and their healthy first-degree relatives exhibited significant deficits in the correct interpretation of emotions and intentions compared to healthy controls. Both patients with BPD and their healthy first-degree relatives exhibited significant deficits in ToM, which suggests that it may be an etiopathogenic factor of BPD, and ToM (interpretation of emotions, thoughts and intentions) is a possible endophenotypic marker of BPD, suggesting a genetic predisposition to the disorder. Therefore, ToM could be considered as an indicator for the early detection of the disorder of and intervention for BPD

Short-term impact of noise, other air pollutants and meteorological factors on emergency hospital mental health admissions in the Madrid region

A number of environmental factors, such as air pollution, noise in urbanised settings and meteorological-type variables, may give rise to important effects on human health. In recent years, many studies have confirmed the relation between various mental disorders and these factors, with a possible impact on the increase in emergency hospital admissions due to these causes. The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of a range of environmental factors on daily emergency hospital admissions due to mental disorders in the Madrid Autonomous Region (MAR), across the period 2013–2018