A computational comparison of several formulations for the multi-period incremental service facility location problem

The Multi-period Incremental Service Facility Location Problem, which was recently introduced, is a strategic problem for timing the location of facilities and the assignment of customers to facilities in a multi-period environment. Aiming at finding the strongest formulation for this problem, in this work we study three alternative formulations based on the so-called impulse variables and step variables. To this end, an extensive computational comparison is performed. As a conclusion, the hybrid impulse–step formulation provides better computational results than any of the other two formulations

Relationship of Body Composition with the Strength and Functional Capacity of People over 70 Years

Producción CientíficaBackground: Aging is a multifactorial physiological phenomenon, in which a series of changes in the body composition occur, such as a decrease in muscle mass and bone mineral density and an increase in fat mass. This study aimed to determine the relationship of muscle mass, osteoporosis, and obesity with the strength and functional capacity of non-dependent people over 70 years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed, whose study population was all people aged over 70 years, living independently and attending academic and recreational programs. Muscle strength and functional capacity of the participants were assessed by isometric exercises of lower and upper limbs and by four tests taken from the Senior Fitness Test, respectively. Bone mineral density, total mass, fat mass, total lean mass, arms lean mass, legs lean mass, and appendicular lean mass (ALM) was calculated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Differences in muscle strength and functional capacity, according to the sex, muscle mass, mineral bone density and fat mass, were measured by χ2 test, independent samples Student’s t-test, analysis of covariance and a 2-factor analysis of covariance; Results: 143 subjects were included in the study group. Men and women with an adequate amount of ALM adjusted for body mass index (BMI) had a maximal dynamic biceps strength in a single repetition, a maximal isometric leg extension strength, a maximal dynamic leg extension strength in a single repetition, a maximum right hand grip strength and maximum hand grip strength (the highest). Significantly higher values were observed in the maximal isometric biceps’ strength in men with osteoporosis. Obese men had less isometric strength in the biceps and took longer to perform the chair stand test; Conclusions: Men and women with an adequate amount of ALM adjusted for BMI obtained better results in tests of muscle strength and functional capacity. However, osteoporosis and obesity are not related to these parameters

Sobre las colecciones burgalesas y otras europeas de Enrique Pérez Arbeláez (1896-1972), depositadas en el Herbario Nacional Colombiano, 3

About Spanish and other European plant collections of Enrique Pérez Arbeláez deposited in the Colombian National Herbarium. After a introduction dedicated to gloss the personality of the Colombian botanist, stopping in some biographical notes, a critical relationship is made on the 214 sheets of the Herbarium of Enrique Pérez Arbeláez. Collections in Europe, collected in Spain between 1922 and 1925, deposited in the Colombian National Herbarium (COL)

Preparation of amides mediated by isopropylmagnesium bromide under continuous flow conditions

A safe, green and functional-group-tolerant flow version of the direct amide bond formation mediated by Grignard reagents (the Bodroux reaction) is described. The procedure can be applied to a wide variety of primary and secondary amines and anilines, as well as to aromatic and aliphatic esters. The flow approach leads to improved yields and selectivities in the reaction, which has a sustainable purification procedure and a simple scale-up. This reaction represents an efficient and green alternative to the use of alkylaluminium and metal-catalyzed procedures

Effect of cover crops on greenhouse gas emissions in an irrigated field under integrated soil fertility management

Agronomical and environmental benefits are associated with replacing winter fallow by cover crops (CC). Yet, the effect of this practice on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions remains poorly understood. In this context, a field experiment was carried out under Mediterranean conditions to evaluate the effect of replacing the traditional winter fallow (F) by vetch (Vicia sativa L.; V) or barley (Hordeum vulgare L.; B) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the intercrop and the maize (Zea mays L.) cropping period. The maize was fertilized following Integrated Soil Fertility management (ISFM) criteria. Maize nitrogen (N) uptake, soil mineral N concentrations, soil temperature and moisture, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and GHG fluxes were measured during the experiment. Our management (adjusted N synthetic rates due to ISFM) and pedo-climatic conditions resulted in low cumulative N2O emissions (0.57 to 0.75 kg N2O-N ha-1 yr-1), yield-scaled N2O emissions (3-6 g N2O-N kg aboveground N uptake-1) and N surplus (31 to 56 kg N ha-1) for all treatments. Although CCs increased N2O emissions during the intercrop period compared to F (1.6 and 2.6 times in B and V, respectively), the ISFM resulted in similar cumulative emissions for the CCs and F at the end of the maize cropping period. The higher C:N ratio of the B residue led to a greater proportion of N2O losses from the synthetic fertilizer in these plots, when compared to V. No significant differences were observed in CH4 and CO2 fluxes at the end of the experiment. This study shows that the use of both legume and non-legume CCs combined with ISFM could provide, in addition to the advantages reported in previous studies, an opportunity to maximize agronomic efficiency (lowering synthetic N requirements for the subsequent cash crop) without increasing cumulative or yield-scaled N2O losses

Validation of the spanish version of the multiple sclerosis international quality of life (musiqol) questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Multiple Sclerosis International Quality Of Life (MusiQoL) questionnaire, a 31-item, multidimensional, self-administrated questionnaire that is available in 14 languages including Spanish, has been validated using a large international sample. We investigated the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of MusiQoL in Spain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Consecutive patients with different types and severities of multiple sclerosis (MS) were recruited from 22 centres across Spain. All patients completed the MusiQoL questionnaire, the 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) health survey, and a symptoms checklist at baseline and 21 days later. External validity, internal consistency, reliability and reproducibility were tested.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 224 Spanish patients were evaluated. Dimensions of MusiQoL generally demonstrated a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.70-0.92 for all but two MusiQoL domain scores). External validity testing revealed that the MusiQoL index score correlated significantly with all SF-36 dimension scores (Pearson's correlation: 0.46-0.76), reproducibility was satisfactory (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.60-0.91), acceptability was high, and the time taken to complete the 31-item questionnaire was reasonable (mean [standard deviation]: 9.8 [11.8] minutes).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Spanish version of the MusiQoL questionnaire appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring quality of life in patients with MS in Spain and constitutes a useful instrument to measure health-related quality of life in the clinical setting.</p

A crowdsourcing database for the copy-number variation of the Spanish population

Background: Despite being a very common type of genetic variation, the distribution of copy-number variations (CNVs) in the population is still poorly understood. The knowledge of the genetic variability, especially at the level of the local population, is a critical factor for distinguishing pathogenic from non-pathogenic variation in the discovery of new disease variants. Results: Here, we present the SPAnish Copy Number Alterations Collaborative Server (SPACNACS), which currently contains copy number variation profiles obtained from more than 400 genomes and exomes of unrelated Spanish individuals. By means of a collaborative crowdsourcing effort whole genome and whole exome sequencing data, produced by local genomic projects and for other purposes, is continuously collected. Once checked both, the Spanish ancestry and the lack of kinship with other individuals in the SPACNACS, the CNVs are inferred for these sequences and they are used to populate the database. A web interface allows querying the database with different filters that include ICD10 upper categories. This allows discarding samples from the disease under study and obtaining pseudo-control CNV profiles from the local population. We also show here additional studies on the local impact of CNVs in some phenotypes and on pharmacogenomic variants. SPACNACS can be accessed at: http://csvs.clinbioinfosspa.es/spacnacs/. Conclusion: SPACNACS facilitates disease gene discovery by providing detailed information of the local variability of the population and exemplifies how to reuse genomic data produced for other purposes to build a local reference database

Healthcare workers hospitalized due to COVID-19 have no higher risk of death than general population. Data from the Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Aim To determine whether healthcare workers (HCW) hospitalized in Spain due to COVID-19 have a worse prognosis than non-healthcare workers (NHCW). Methods Observational cohort study based on the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, a nationwide registry that collects sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data on patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Spain. Patients aged 20-65 years were selected. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. Results As of 22 May 2020, 4393 patients were included, of whom 419 (9.5%) were HCW. Median (interquartile range) age of HCW was 52 (15) years and 62.4% were women. Prevalence of comorbidities and severe radiological findings upon admission were less frequent in HCW. There were no difference in need of respiratory support and admission to intensive care unit, but occurrence of sepsis and in-hospital mortality was lower in HCW (1.7% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.024 and 0.7% vs. 4.8%; p<0.001 respectively). Age, male sex and comorbidity, were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare working with lower mortality (OR 0.211, 95%CI 0.067-0.667, p = 0.008). 30-days survival was higher in HCW (0.968 vs. 0.851 p<0.001). Conclusions Hospitalized COVID-19 HCW had fewer comorbidities and a better prognosis than NHCW. Our results suggest that professional exposure to COVID-19 in HCW does not carry more clinical severity nor mortality

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality