Measuring and mitigating behavioural segregation using Call Detail Records

The overwhelming amounts of data we generate in our daily routine and in social networks has been crucial for the understanding of various social and economic factors. The use of this data represents a low-cost alternative source of information in parallel to census data and surveys. Here, we advocate for such an approach to assess and alleviate the segregation of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Using a large dataset of mobile phone records provided by Turkey's largest mobile phone service operator, Türk Telekom, in the frame of the Data 4 Refugees project, we define, analyse and optimise inter-group integration as it relates to the communication patterns of two segregated populations: refugees living in Turkey and the local Turkish population. Our main hypothesis is that making these two communities more similar (in our case, in terms of behaviour) may increase the level of positive exposure between them, due to the well-known sociological principle of homophily. To achieve this, working from the records of call and SMS origins and destinations between and among both populations, we develop an extensible, statistically-solid, and reliable framework to measure the differences between the communication patterns of two groups. In order to show the applicability of our framework, we assess how house mixing strategies, in combination with public and private investment, may help to overcome segregation. We first identify the districts of the Istanbul province where refugees and local population communication patterns differ in order to then utilise our framework to improve the situation. Our results show potential in this regard, as we observe a significant reduction of segregation while limiting, in turn, the consequences in terms of rent increase

L’educació emocional com a prevenció de la discriminació de gènere

Postgrau en Educació Emocional i Benestar, Facultat de Pedagogia, Departament de Mètodes d’Investigació i Diagnòstic en Educació, Universitat de Barcelona, curs: 2016-2017, Tutora: Ruth Orti

Applying Qualitative Research to Develop a Guide for Parents of Newborns With Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Moderate-to-severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a significant cause of neonatal mortality and permanent disability in surviving newborns. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is the only effective intervention to reduce these outcomes. Being a parent of these babies is a traumatic and strenuous event. To address these difficulties, parents need information and support. The aim of this article is to describe a qualitative methodological process followed to develop a guide for parents of a newborn with HIE receiving TH as an addendum to clinical practice guidelines. The guide based on the experience of parents of newborns with HIE is presented as 16 meaningful questions and a glossary. It provides information to parents about HIE, treatment and care, future outcomes, and coping strategies. The final version, in Spanish and English, has a didactic format with simple wording, parents’ verbatim queries, and illustrations made expressly for the guide. Furthermore, we think showing the methodological process we followed to develop the guide, detailing the difficulties that arose in doing so, and making the reflexivity of the researchers explicit may provide support for other teams undertaking similar projects. Likewise, this article illustrates in a practical way how the perspective of family can be incorporated into clinical practice guidelines.Parents’ guide was part of the Spanish National Health System Clinical Practice Guideline on perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Funding was received for the development of it from the Institute of Health and the Health Quality and Assessment Agency of Catalonia. It has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services, and Equality (PIC-108-13)

Development of a Guide to Multidimensional Needs Assessment in the Palliative Care Initial Encounter (MAP).

Context Ensuring patient-centered palliative care requires a comprehensive assessment of needs beginning in the initial encounter. However, there is no generally accepted guide for carrying out this multidimensional needs assessment as a first step in palliative intervention. Objectives To develop an expert panel-endorsed interview guide that would enable proactive and systematic Multidimensional needs Assessment in the Palliative care initial encounter (MAP). Methods A preliminary version of the MAP guide was drafted based on a published literature review, published semistructured interviews with 20 patients, 20 family carers, and 20 palliative care professionals, and a nominal group process with palliative care professionals and a representative of the national patient's association. Consensus regarding its content was obtained through a modified Delphi process involving a panel of palliative care physicians from across Spain. Results The published systematic literature review and qualitative study resulted in the identification of 55 needs, which were sorted and grouped by the nominal group. Following the Delphi process, the list of needs was reduced to 47, linked to six domains: Clinical history and medical conditions (n = 8), Physical symptoms (n = 17), Functional and cognitive status (n = 4), Psycho-emotional symptoms (n = 5), Social issues (n = 8), and Spiritual and existential concerns (n = 5). Conclusion MAP is an expert panel-endorsed semi-structured clinical interview guide for the comprehensive, systematic, and proactive initial assessment to efficiently assess multiple domains while adjusting to the needs of each patient. A future study will assess the feasibility of using the MAP guide within the timeframe of the palliative care initial encounter.post-print820 K

A model for the simulation of the SHARON process: pH as a key factor

The SHARON process permits the partial nitrification of wastewaters with high ammonium content and coupled with the Anammox process represents a more sustainable alternative for N removal than a typical nitrification-denitrification. A mathematical model describing a continuously aerated SHARON reactor for the treatment of landfill leachate is presented. Haldane kinetics are used in both steps of the nitrification since ammonium-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing organisms are inhibited by their own substrates. Special attention is given to pH because it is a key factor, implementing an algorithm for its calculation. A preliminary calibration of the model using synthetic feed is presented.Postprint (published version

Smartphone and Tablet Usage during COVID-19 Pandemic Confinement in Children under 48 Months in Barcelona (Spain)

Pandèmies; Preescolar; Temps de pantallaPandemias; Preescolar; Tiempo de pantallaPandemics; Preschool; Screen timeBackground: Total lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic might have potentially increased screen time in children. This study aims to describe the smartphone and tablets usage in children under 48 months living in Barcelona during the COVID-19 confinement. Methods: Cross-sectional study using a non-probabilistic sample of parents with children under 48 months living in Barcelona (Spain) during COVID-19 confinement (n = 313). We calculated percentages of exposure to smartphones and tablets. Moreover, for those children were exposed, we calculated unadjusted and adjusted Geometric Mean Ratios (GMR) of daily smartphones and tablets usage and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) trough Generalized Linear Models with Gamma family and link log. Associations were adjusted for potential confounders. Results: During COVID-19 confinement, 67.5% of children under 48 months were daily exposed to smartphones and tablets. Further, those children who were exposed during meals, as well as before going to bed, spend longer durations using them, aGMR = 2.38 (95% CI 1.73, 3.34) and aGMR = 1.95 (95% CI 1.34, 2.91) respectively. Conclusion: Two out of three children under 48 months living in Barcelona were daily exposed to smartphones and tablets during total lockdown due to COVID-19. Taking this findings into account cohort studies are needed to assess any change in the screen time patterns due to total confinement in order to allow the Government help families, particularly those more vulnerable, in a possible pandemic resurgence.The Group of Evaluation of Health Determinants and Health Policies (À.C.-H., C.L., A.D.-I., J.C.M.-S., and J.M.M.-S.) receives support from the Ministry of Universities and Research, Government of Catalonia (grant 2017SGR609) from the Government of Catalonia

Sistemes de comunicació industrial

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Muscle-on-a-chip with an on-site multiplexed biosensing system for in situ monitoring of secreted IL-6 and TNF-α

Despite the increasing number of organs-on-a-chip that have been developed in the past decade, limited efforts have been made to integrate a sensing system for in situ continual measurements of biomarkers from three-dimensional (3D) tissues. Here, we present a custom-made integrated platform for muscle cell stimulation under fluidic conditions connected with a multiplexed high-sensitivity electrochemical sensing system for in situ monitoring. To demonstrate this, we use our system to measure the release levels and release time of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in vitro by 3D muscle microtissue under electrical and biological stimulations. Our experimental design has enabled us to perform multiple time point measurements using functionalized screen-printed gold electrodes with sensitivity in the ng mL−1 range. This affordable setup is uniquely suited for monitoring factors released by 3D single cell types upon external stimulation for metabolic studies

Reconocimiento de emociones en video mediante servicios cognitivos

El uso de video tutoriales se ha convertido en una práctica habitual en la docencia, incluso a nivel presencial. Diseñar video tutoriales de calidad es un reto para aquel docente que pretende mantener la atención del estudiante a lo largo de todo el visionado. No obstante, la utilización de este recurso de manera inapropiada puede generar el efecto contrario al que se persigue. El visionado de vídeos con contenidos obsoletos, anacrónicos, y/o con una proporción de texto excesiva, puede provocar desinterés y desmotivación en los alumnos. Esta problemática fue la que motivó a una estudiante del Grado en Informática y servicios que se imparte en nuestro centro, a presentar una propuesta de Trabajo de fin de grado (TFG) con un claro objetivo: detectar los distintos estados de ánimo de un estudiante cuando está visionando un video tutorial, con la intención de aprovechar esta información para un mejor diseño de los video tutoriales utilizados en clase. En este trabajo se presenta el diseño y la implementación de una aplicación de escritorio para Windows, escrita en lenguaje de programación C#, que ayuda al docente a evaluar, de manera asíncrona, la idoneidad del material audiovisual utilizado como soporte, observando qué impacto tienen los video tutoriales sobre los alumnos y analizando cómo éstos responden a su contenido. Esta aplicación permite la extracción de datos cuantitativos, acerca de las emociones detectadas en videos almacenados localmente. La metodología utilizada consistió en efectuar grabaciones de varios estudiantes mientras visualizaban un video tutorial para, con posterioridad, analizar dichas grabaciones mediante el uso de las herramientas disponibles en servicios cognitivos de Microsoft. Estos servicios permiten el reconocimiento de emociones tales como sorpresa, disgusto, miedo, felicidad, entre otras. La utilización de dichas funcionalidades generó algunos problemas técnicos que, una vez superados, permitieron asociar las emociones mostradas por el estudiante durante el visionado, con los instantes del video tutorial causantes de dichas emociones. Los resultados obtenidos han sido satisfactorios hasta el momento, aunque no se ha podido efectuar un número de análisis suficientemente grande como para extraer conclusiones de peso. Lamentablemente, la temporalidad propia del TFG ha condicionado el tiempo que se ha dedicado a probar la herramienta implementada. No obstante, se ha abierto una línea de trabajo que será seguida por otros estudiantes en el futuro.The use of video tutorials has become a common practice in teaching, even at the classroom level. Design quality video tutorials is a challenge for the teacher who intends to maintain the student's attention throughout the viewing. However, the use of this resource inappropriately can generate the opposite effect to the one pursued. The viewing of videos with obsolete, anachronistic content and/or with an excessive proportion of text can cause disinterest and demotivation in the students. This problem was the one that motivated a student of the Degree in Computer Science and services that is taught in our center, to present a proposal for Trabajo de fin de grado (TFG) with a clear objective: detect the different emotions of a student when is watching a video tutorial, with the intention of taking advantage of this information for a better design of the video tutorials used in class. This paper presents the design and implementation of a desktop application for Windows, written in C # programming language, which helps the teacher to evaluate, asynchronously, the suitability of the audiovisual material used as support, observing what impact the video tutorials have on the students and analyzing how they respond to their content. This application allows the extraction of quantitative data, about the emotions detected in videos stored locally. The methodology used consisted of making recordings of several students while viewing a video tutorial to later analyze those recordings by using the tools available in Microsoft cognitive services. These services allow the recognition of emotions such as surprise, disgust, fear, happiness, among others. The use of these functionalities generated some technical problems that, once overcome, allowed to associate the emotions shown by the student during the viewing, with the instants of the video tutorial that caused those emotions. The results obtained have been satisfactory up to now, although it has not been possible to carry out an analysis number large enough to draw conclusions of weight. Unfortunately, the temporality of the TFG has conditioned the time that has been dedicated to test the implemented tool. However, a line of work has been opened that will be followed by other students in the future

Microphysiological sensing platform for an in-situ detection of tissue-secreted cytokines

Understanding the protein-secretion dynamics from single, specific tissues is critical toward the advancement of disease detection and treatments. However, such secretion dynamics remain difficult to measure in vivo due to the uncontrolled contributions from other tissue populations. Here, we describe an integrated platform designed for the reliable, near real-time measurements of cytokines secreted from an in vitro single-tissue model. In our setup, we grow 3D biomimetic tissues to discretize cytokine source, and we separate them from a magnetic microbead-based biosensing system using a Transwell insert. This design integrates physiochemically controlled biological activity, high-sensitivity protein detection (LOD < 20 pg mL−1), and rapid protein diffusion to enable non-invasive, near real-time measurements. To showcase the specificity and sensitivity of the system, we use our setup to probe the inflammatory process related to the protein Interleukine 6 (IL-6) and to the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α). We show that our setup can monitor the time-dependence profile of IL-6 and TNF-α secretion that results from the electrical and chemical stimulation of 3D skeletal muscle tissues. We demonstrate a novel and affordable methodology for discretizing the secretion kinetics of specific tissues for advancing metabolic-disorder studies and drug-screening applications