Gender gap in self-rated health: a cohort perspective in eastern European countries

Background: The relationship between self-rated health and gender differs across countries and generations. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of socioeconomic conditions on self-rated health from a generational perspective, its differential effect on gender, and its influence on the gender gap in order to explore health diversity using a multidisciplinary approach and considering policy implications in Eastern European countries. Methods: We used data drawn from the European Health Interview Survey for eight Eastern European countries and EUROSTAT from 2006 through to 2009. We conducted multilevel analyses to understand the individual and national health determinants of self-rated health by gender and to determine whether national differences remain after controlling for micro variables. In order to analyze the role of equity (Gini quartile) in gender differences, Oaxaca analyses were used. Results: The self-rated health gender gap increases with age. Individual characteristics, such as educational level or smoking, influence citizens’ perceived health, and have a stronger effect on women than on men. Knowing both the characteristics (endowment effects) and the effects of individual characteristics (coefficient effects) on health is important in order to understand gender gaps among people from the silent generation. Conclusions: Our research indicates that random effects are greater for men than for women. Moreover, random effects might be explained to a certain extent by economic equity (Gini index). The combined effects of gender, cohort, and geographical differences on self-rated health have to be taken into account to develop public health policies. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Ingestion of microplastics by the chironomid Chironomus sancticaroli and effects on the microbiome in the presence of PBDEs

Microplastic particles in the environment can associate with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) due to the hydrophobic nature of plastics and organic chemicals. PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) are widely used as flame-retardants in products such as textiles and soft furnishings, with the potential to leach into the environment and be associated with microplastics. If ingested, the gut environment of an organism may favour desorption of adsorbed chemicals due to gut condition. Therefore the ingestion of microplastic particles has implications for uptake and bioaccumulation of these chemicals. Furthermore the presence of microplastics and chemicals in the gut of an organism can also influence the gut environment itself. Gut microbiomes are known to hold a vital role in host metabolism, nutrition and immunity and as such understanding the influence of chemicals and microplastics on the gut microbiota is key

Reproductive and seminal characteristics of Pelibuey rams infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the subclinical stage

Objective: To evaluate the reproductive and seminal characteristics of Pelibuey rams infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the subclinical phase. Design/methodology/approach: In order to determine whether paratuberculosis (PTB) affects the reproductive variables and seminal quality in Pelibuey rams naturally infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in the subclinical phase, weekly evaluations were conducted, over a period of two months, of the variables live weight, scrotal circumference, ejaculation latency and seminal characteristics: volume, pH, masal motility and progressive individual motility, concentration, live spermatozoids and dead spermatozoids, in five rams infected by MAP and a further five uninfected rams, of average weight and age 53.58 kg (± 3.26) and 2.91 years (± 0.59), respectively. Results: PTB was not found to affect the reproductive and seminal variables evaluated. Limitations of the study/implications: It would have been convenient to carry out the evaluation of the seminal characteristics for a longer time, however, the sampling was stopped in order to ensure the animal welfare of the rams as far as possible, since they began to show signs of PTB. Findings/Conclusions: The Pelibuey rams diagnosed with PTB in subclinical phase did not present any effect on the reproductive and seminal characteristics. Meanwhile, reproductive management can be carried out with PTB-infected Pelibuey lambs in a subclinical phase.Objective: To evaluate the reproductive and seminal characteristics of Pelibuey rams infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the subclinical phase. Design/methodology/approach: In order to determine whether paratuberculosis (PTB) affects the reproductive variables and seminal quality in Pelibuey rams naturally infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in the subclinical phase, weekly evaluations were conducted, over a period of two months, of the variables live weight, scrotal circumference, ejaculation latency and seminal characteristics: volume, pH, masal motility and progressive individual motility, concentration, live spermatozoids and dead spermatozoids, in five rams infected by MAP and a further five uninfected rams, of average weight and age 53.58 kg (± 3.26) and 2.91 years (± 0.59), respectively. Results: PTB was not found to affect the reproductive and seminal variables evaluated. Limitations of the study/implications: It would have been convenient to carry out the evaluation of the seminal characteristics for a longer time, however, the sampling was stopped in order to ensure the animal welfare of the rams as far as possible, since they began to show signs of PTB. Findings/Conclusions: The Pelibuey rams diagnosed with PTB in subclinical phase did not present any effect on the reproductive and seminal characteristics. Meanwhile, reproductive management can be carried out with PTB-infected Pelibuey lambs in a subclinical phase

Modelo de 75 nodos para evaluar la operación en estado estable de una red de sub-transmisión de energía eléctrica

This paper presents a 75 bus bars system interconnected with generating units, transmission lines, distribution grids and other elements seeking to model a sub-transmission grid. The survey has been focused on estimate the operating conditions of the transmission network during the steady state and transient using simulations tools. Results can be used to prevent, identify, and solve contingencies that affect the normal operation of the network in the short, medium and long term. They are also validated with real and updated information, demonstrating their reliability to evaluate power flow, short-circuits, reliability. Information can be used as reference by utilities, national operators in their usual activities of energy planning in the power grid. This applied survey contribute in validate operating ranges on forecasts of low, medium and high demand, control of active and reactive power; measure single and three phase levels of short-circuits in all buses; estimate the reliability of the power grid using the N-1 criteria; evaluate specific cases during steady state operatio

Desarrollo de una plataforma computacional para el modelado metabólico de microorganismos

La Biología Sintética (BS) se centra en el diseño y la construcción de sistemas genéticos artificiales, capaces de desarrollar una función específica después de haber sido introducidos en un sistema vivo. Con el desarrollo de la BS, se observa una nueva generación de bioingenieros que desarrollan complejos circuitos biológicos genéticos con un alto nivel de integración. La mejora de esta disciplina científica tiene por objeto establecer un marco computacional y conceptual que dé asistencia al desarrollo de sistemas biológicos artificiales modulares basándose en una metodología ingenieril y sistemática, para lo que se necesita proveer a la próxima generación de diseñadores en Biología Sintética y a los futuros biotecnólogos e ingenieros biológicos de nuevas herramientas computacionales integradas en un entorno común para el análisis de fenotipos metabólicos, el diseño de nuevos circuitos genéticos complejos y la visualización de mapas metabólicos. Como resultado de esta investigación se obtiene la plataforma Hydra (Hybrid Draw and Routes Analysis), que integra diversas herramientas para el diseño, análisis y visualización de las redes metabólicas.Synthetic biology focuses on the design and construction of artificial genetic systems that are capable of carrying out a specific function after being inserted into a living system. With the development of synthetic biology a new generation of bioengineers has appeared who develop complex, highly integrated genetic biological pathways. The improvement of this scientific discipline aims to establish a computational and conceptual framework that will support the development of modular artificial biological systems based on an engineering and systematic methodology. To achieve this, it will be necessary to provide new integrated computational tools in a common environment for the analysis of metabolic phenotypes, the design of new complex genetic pathways and the visualisation of metabolic maps to the next generation of designers in synthetic biology and future biotechnologists and biological engineers. A result of this research is the Hydra platform (Hybrid Draw and Routes Analysis) that integrates various tools for the design, analysis, and visualisation of metabolic networks.Ciencias Experimentale

Oval Domes. The Case of the Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados of Valencia

[EN] The dome of the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados of Valencia is an emblematic example of Valencian baroque architecture and painting. Its shape, oval or elliptical, has been the subject of controversy in various studies. The study of oval domes throughout history is a very interesting field of research because, among other things, the determination of the exact shape is important in order to conclude how it was built. We approach the problem from a new mathematical point of view, calculating the distances between the points that make up the real data cloud and the hypothetical form considered, oval or ellipse. The use of modern graphic surveying techniques, carried out with a 3D laser scanner, and computation with the powerful symbolic and numerical mathematical solver, Mathematica, has allowed us to accurately determine the shape of the dome and determine that its sections are not well-described by ellipses. A better fit is obtained assuming that sections are ovals. The programming and generalization of the mathematical method employed in this work will allow it to be applied to determine the exact geometry of other oval or ellipsoidal vaults.Calvo Roselló, V.; Capilla Tamborero, E.; Navarro Fajardo, JC. (2020). Oval Domes. The Case of the Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados of Valencia. Nexus Network Journal. 22(2):393-409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-019-00465-0S393409222Arphe i Villafañe, Juan de. 1585. Tratado De varia conmmensuracion para la Escultura y Architectura. Sevilla: imprenta de Andrea Pescioni i Juan de León.Barrallo J. 2011. Ovals and Ellipses in Architecture. Proceedings of ISAMA 2011, Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois; p. 9–18.Bérchez Gómez, J. 1995. Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados (Valencia). In: Monumentos de la Comunidad Valenciana. Catálogo de Monumentos declarados y conjuntos históricos incoados. Tomo X. Valencia. Arquitectura Religiosa. 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Chapter 8: La cúpula interior de la Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados de Valencia. Análisis geométrico y matemático. In: J. C. Navarro (ed.) Bóvedas Valencianas. Arquitecturas ideales, reales y virtuales en época medieval y moderna. Valencia: ed. UPV (Scientia), 196–237. ISBN: 978-84-9048-188-2.Connors, J. 1999. Un teorema sacro: San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. In Il giovane Borromini. Dagli esordi a San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Milano: Skira, 459–512.Dotto, E. 2001. Note sulle costruzioni degli ovali a quattro centri. Vecchie e nuove costruzioni dell’ovale. Disegnare Idee Immagini; XII 23: 7–14.Duvernoy, Sylvie. 2015. Baroque Oval Churches: Innovative Geometrical Patterns in Early Modern Sacred Architecture. Nexus Network Journal 17 (2): 425–456.Fernández Gómez M. 1996. La planta oval. Traza y símbolo. Loggia. Arquitectura & Restauración 3: 16–21.García Jara F. 2008. Las cúpulas de la arquitectura religiosa de la provincia de Alicante: del Renacimiento al siglo XIX. Ph.D. Thesis.García Jara F. 2010. La estereotomía de las cúpulas sobre base oval. In: X Congreso Internacional de Expresión Gráfica aplicada a la Edificación, APEGA 2010, Alicante: 767–780.Gentil Baldrich, J. M. 1994. Planta oval y traza elíptica en la arquitectura: Consideraciones geométricas y un ejemplo español. Valladolid.Gentil Baldrich J.M. 1996. La traza oval y la Sala Capitular de la catedral de Sevilla. Una aproximación geométrica. In: J. A. Ruiz de la Rosa et al. Quatro edificios sevillanos. Sevilla: Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Andalucía, Demarcación Occidental, 73–147.Gómez-Collado, M.C.; Calvo Roselló, V; Capilla Tamborero, E. 2018. Mathematical modeling of oval arches. A study of the George V and Neuilly Bridges. Journal of Cultural Heritage Vol. 32: 144–155; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2018.01.012Hatch, John G. 2015. The Science Behind Francesco Borromini’s Divine Geometry. In: Architecture and Mathematics from Antiquity to the Future, eds. Kim Williams and Michael J. Oswald, vol. II, ch. 61, 217–228. Basel: Birkhäuser.Hill, Michael. 2013. Practical and Symbolic Geometry in Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 72 (4): 555–583.Huerta Fernández, S. 2002. Informe sobre la estabilidad de la cúpula interior de la Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados de Valencia. Valencia. Conselleria Cultura, Educació y Ciència de la Generalitat Valenciana, 20 páginas.Huerta Fernández, S. 2007. Oval domes, geometry and mechanics. Nexus Network Journal 9(2), 211–248.Huerta Fernández, S. 2012a. Análisis estructural de cúpulas tabicadas: la cúpula interior de la Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados en Valencia. Construyendo Bóvedas Tabicadas. In: Actas del Simposio Internacional sobre bóvedas tabicadas. Valencia, 26 y 27 de mayo de 2011. Valencia: Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 318–335.Huerta Fernández, S. 2012b. Structural Analysis of Thin Tile Vaults and Domes: The Inner Oval Dome of the Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados in Valencia. In: Carvais et al (ed.) Nuts and Bolts of construction history. Culture, technology and society. Vol. 1. Paris: Picard, 375–383.Jung, W. 1997.) Arquitectura y ciudad en Italia. In Toman R. (ed.) El barroco. Arquitectura-escultura-pintura. Köln: Könemann, 12–75.Kluckert, E. 1997. Arquitectura barroca en Alemania, Suiza, Austria y Europa oriental. In Toman R. (ed.) El barroco. Arquitectura-escultura-pintura. Köln: Könemann, 184–273.López Manzanares, G. 2005. La contribución de R. G. Boscovich al desarrollo de la teoría de cúpulas: el informe sobre la Biblioteca Cesarea de Viena. In: Huerta, S. (ed.) Actas del Cuarto Congreso Nacional de Historia de la Construcción. Cádiz, 27–29 January 2005. Madrid: Instituto Juan de Herrera, 655–665.López Mozo A. 2011. Ovals for Any Given Proportion in Architecture: A Layout Possibly Known in the Sixteenth Century. 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Strategies to reengage patients lost to follow up in HIV care in high income countries, a scoping review

Background: Despite remarkable achievements in antiretroviral therapy (ART), losses to follow-up (LTFU) might prevent the long-term success of HIV treatment and might delay the achievement of the 90-90-90 objectives. This scoping review is aimed at the description and analysis of the strategies used in high-income countries to reengage LTFU in HIV care, their implementation and impact. Methods: A scoping review was done following Arksey & O'Malley's methodological framework and recommendations from Joanna Briggs Institute. Peer reviewed articles were searched for in Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science; and grey literature was searched for in Google and other sources of information. Documents were charted according to the information presented on LTFU, the reengagement procedures used in HIV units in high-income countries, published during the last 15 years. In addition, bibliographies of chosen articles were reviewed for additional articles. Results: Twenty-eight documents were finally included, over 80% of them published in the United States later than 2015. Database searches, phone calls and/or mail contacts were the most common strategies used to locate and track LTFU, while motivational interviews and strengths-based techniques were used most often during reengagement visits. Outcomes like tracing activities efficacy, rates of reengagement and viral load reduction were reported as outcome measures. Conclusions: This review shows a recent and growing trend in developing and implementing patient reengagement strategies in HIV care. However, most of these strategies have been implemented in the United States and little information is available for other high-income countries. The procedures used to trace and contact LTFU are similar across reviewed studies, but their impact and sustainability are widely different depending on the country studied

Worldwide trends in the burden of asthma symptoms in school-aged children: Global Asthma Network Phase I cross-sectional study

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children globally. The Global Asthma Network (GAN) Phase I study aimed to determine if the worldwide burden of asthma symptoms is changing. Methods: This updated cross-sectional study used the same methods as the International study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase III. Asthma symptoms were assessed from centres that completed GAN Phase I and ISAAC Phase I (1993–95), ISAAC Phase III (2001–03), or both. We included individuals from two age groups (children aged 6–7 years and adolescents aged 13–14 years) who self-completed written questionnaires at school. We estimated the 10-year rate of change in prevalence of current wheeze, severe asthma symptoms, ever having asthma, exercise wheeze, and night cough (defined by core questions in the questionnaire) for each centre, and we estimated trends across world regions and income levels using mixed-effects linear regression models with region and country income level as confounders. Findings: Overall, 119 795 participants from 27 centres in 14 countries were included: 74 361 adolescents (response rate 90%) and 45 434 children (response rate 79%). About one in ten individuals of both age groups had wheeze in the preceding year, of whom almost half had severe symptoms. Most centres showed a change in prevalence of 2 SE or more between ISAAC Phase III to GAN Phase I. Over the 27-year period (1993–2020), adolescents showed a significant decrease in percentage point prevalence per decade in severe asthma symptoms (–0·37, 95% CI –0·69 to –0·04) and an increase in ever having asthma (1·25, 0·67 to 1·83) and night cough (4·25, 3·06 to 5·44), which was also found in children (3·21, 1·80 to 4·62). The prevalence of current wheeze decreased in low-income countries (–1·37, –2·47 to –0·27], in children and –1·67, –2·70 to –0·64, in adolescents) and increased in lower-middle-income countries (1·99, 0·33 to 3·66, in children and 1·69, 0·13 to 3·25, in adolescents), but it was stable in upper-middle-income and high-income countries. Interpretation: Trends in prevalence and severity of asthma symptoms over the past three decades varied by age group, country income, region, and centre. The high worldwide burden of severe asthma symptoms would be mitigated by enabling access to effective therapies for asthma. Funding: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Boehringer Ingelheim New Zealand, AstraZeneca Educational Grant, National Institute for Health Research, UK Medical Research Council, European Research Council, and Instituto de Salud Carlos III