R-SQL: An SQL Database System with Extended Recursion

The relational database language SQL:1999 standard supports recursion, but thisapproach is limited to the linear case. Moreover, mutual recursion is not supported,and negation cannot be combined with recursion. We designed the language R-SQLto overcome these limitations in [ANSS13], improving termination properties in re-cursive definitions. In addition we developed a proof of concept implementation ofan R-SQL system. In this paper we describe in detail an improved system enhanc-ing performance. It can be integrated into existing RDBMS’s, extending them withthe aforementioned benefits of R-SQL. The system processes an R-SQL databasedefinition obtaining its extension in tables of an RDBMS (such as PostgreSQL andDB2). It is implemented in SWI-Prolog and it produces a Python script that, uponexecution, computes the result of the R-SQL relations. We provide some perfor-mance results showing the efficiency gains w.r.t. the previous version. We alsoinclude a comparative analysis including some representative relational a deductive systems

Nuestra primera startup: El TFG en el Grado en Ingeniería Química

Se plantea constituir una compañía startup con un grupo de estudiantes del TFG del Grado en Ingeniería Química cuyo objetivo es el diseño de una planta química para la producción de fertilizantes

Cooperación entre Universidad y Empresa en el desarrollo del TFG en el Grado de Ingeniería Química

Se ha constituido de modo ficticio una empresa de ingeniería con estudiantes del TFG en el Grado en Ingeniería Química, encargada de diseñar las distintas secciones de una planta industrial de producción de detergentes. El diseño de las distintas unidades de acuerdo con las directrices publicadas en la Guía Docente del TFG constituyen las memorias presentadas por el estudiante. Como formación complementaria se ha propuesto el diseño de páginas web, ya que hoy en día es la principal vía de información y publicidad. Se ha realizado un curso para emprendedores de la Cámara de Comercio de la Comunidad de Madrid. Además se han presentado las principales fuentes de financiación para poder constituir una empresa y desarrollar una actividad empresarial. Se han programado varias charlas y coloquio ofrecidas por profesionales de las empresas Maxam y Técnicas Reunidas, referentes en el sector químico y de la ingeniería. Se han establecido tutorías en grupo para realizar el seguimiento de los TFG. Además se ha planificado y realizado una visita guiada a planta de detergentes de CEPSA Química en Algeciras (Cádiz). Como formación específica para estudiantes de doctorado se ha asistido al 4º Congreso de Innovación Educativa en Ingeniería Química en Santander

Phase II study of high-sensitivity genotyping of KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA to ultra-select metastatic colorectal cancer patients for panitumumab plus FOLFIRI: the ULTRA trial

Background: Several studies show the importance of accurately quantifying not only KRAS and other low-abundant mutations because benefits of anti-EGFR therapies may depend on certain sensitivity thresholds. We assessed whether ultra-selection of patients using a high-sensitive digital PCR (dPCR) to determine KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA status can improve clinical outcomes of panitumumab plus FOLFIRI. Patients and methods: This was a single-arm phase II trial that analysed 38 KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA hotspots in tumour tissues of irinotecan-resistant metastatic colorectal cancer patients who received panitumumab plus FOLFIRI until disease progression or early withdrawal. Mutation profiles were identified by nanofluidic dPCR and correlated with clinical outcomes (ORR, overall response rate; PFS, progression-free survival; OS, overall survival) using cut-offs from 0% to 5%. A quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis was also performed. Results: Seventy-two evaluable patients were enrolled. RAS (KRAS/NRAS) mutations were detected in 23 (32%) patients and RAS/BRAF mutations in 25 (35%) by dPCR, while they were detected in 7 (10%) and 11 (15%) patients, respectively, by qPCR. PIK3CA mutations were not considered in the analyses as they were only detected in 2 (3%) patients by dPCR and in 1 (1%) patient by qPCR. The use of different dPCR cut-offs for RAS (KRAS/NRAS) and RAS/BRAF analyses translated into differential clinical outcomes. The highest ORR, PFS and OS in wild-type patients with their lowest values in patients with mutations were achieved with a 5% cut-off. We observed similar outcomes in RAS/BRAF wild-type and mutant patients defined by qPCR. Conclusions: High-sensitive dPCR accurately identified patients with KRAS, NRAS, BRAF and PIK3CA mutations. The optimal RAS/BRAF mutational cut-off for outcome prediction is 5%, which explains that the predictive performance of qPCR was not improved by dPCR. The biological and clinical implications of low-frequent mutated alleles warrant further investigations

Amber and the Cretaceous Resinous Interval

Amber is fossilized resin that preserves biological remains in exceptional detail, study of which has revolutionized understanding of past terrestrial organisms and habitats from the Early Cretaceous to the present day. Cretaceous amber outcrops are more abundant in the Northern Hemisphere and during an interval of about 54 million years, from the Barremian to the Campanian. The extensive resin production that generated this remarkable amber record may be attributed to the biology of coniferous resin producers, the growth of resiniferous forests in proximity to transitional sedimentary environments, and the dynamics of climate during the Cretaceous. Here we discuss the set of interrelated abiotic and biotic factors potentially involved in resin production during that time. We name this period of mass resin production by conifers during the late Mesozoic, fundamental as an archive of terrestrial life, the `Cretaceous Resinous Interval (CREI).This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades [research agreement CRE CGL2017-84419 AEI/FEDER, UE] and by the Consejería de Industria, Turismo, Innovación, Transporte y Comercio of the Gobierno de Cantabria through the public enterprise EL SOPLAO S.L. [research agreement #20963 with University of Barcelona and research contract Ref. VAPC 20225428 to CN-IGME CSIC, both 2022–2025]; the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (Brazil) [research grand PQ 304529/19–2]; National Geographic Global Exploration Fund Northern Europa [research agreement GEFNE 127-14]; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) [research agreement SO 894/6-1]; VolkswagenStiftung [research agreement 90946]; the Secretary of Universities and Research (Government of Catalonia) and by the Horizon 2020 program of research and innovation of the European Union under the Marie-Curie [research contract no. 801370, Beatriu de Pinós]; the Secretary of Universities and Research (Government of Catalonia) and the European Social Fund [research contract 2021FI_B2 00003]; this work is a contribution to the grant RYC2021-032907-I, funded by the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union «NextGenerationEU»/PRTR; and the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) Scholarship Program [BECAS CHILE 2020-Folio 72210321].Abstract Keywords 1. Introduction 2. Definition of the Cretaceous Resinous Interval 3. Conditional factors on resin production and preservation 3.1. Abiotic factors 3.1.1. Atmospheric gas composition, temperature, and wildfires 3.1.2. Volcanism and changes in sea level 3.1.3. Oceanic physicochemical properties and hurricanes 3.1.4. Climatic overview throughout the CREI 3.2. Biotic factors 4. Present limitations and future directions 5. Conclusions Funding Author contributions Declaration of Competing Interest Acknowledgements Appendix A. Supplementary data Data availability Reference

Proyecto AMBERIA (CGL2014-52163): avance de resultados

Bienal de la Real Sociedad de Historia Natural (22º. 2017. Coimbra)En la XXI Bienal de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural celebrada en Burgos en el año 2015, se expuso una presentación del proyecto AMBERIA: “El ámbar de Iberia: un excepcional registro de los bosques cretácicos en los albores de los ecosistemas terrestres modernos”, subvencionado por el MINECO, que acababa de ser concedido. El objetivo de ese trabajo fue exponer las líneas maestras de las investigaciones que se iban a realizar en un tema tan apasionante como son las resinas fósiles con inclusiones biológicas del Cretácico Inferior (Albiense superior, alrededor de 105 Ma). Ahora el objetivo del presente trabajo es dar a conocer algunos de los resultados más interesantes que hemos obtenido durante el desarrollo de este proyecto.Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, EspañaMuseo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaDepartamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, EspañaDepartament de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l’Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, Universitat de Barcelona, EspañaMuseo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria, EspañaMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Estados UnidosDepartament Ciències Agràries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I, EspañaUniversidad Nebrija, EspañaInstitut de Ciència i Tecnologia ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, EspañaPeer reviewe

Amber in Portugal: state of the art

XXXIV Jornadas de Paleontología y IV Congreso Ibérico de Paleontología (Villareal, Portugal. Sep 2018) p 279-287Portuguese amber has received very little attention from the paleontological and geological points of view. To our knowledge, only twelve amber outcrops or amber-bearing areas have been detected in Portugal. The first outcrops were cited in times as old as 1867 and 1910, and although some of them were considered Jurassic in age, most likely the amber came from Cretaceous deposits. The Portuguese outcrops are poor in amber and, thus far, only a dipteran (Nematocera) insect has been found as bioinclusion (Cascais amber); the area of Estoril-Cascais, near Lisbon, provides amber interesting from the paleoentomological standpoint. In contrast, prehistoric amber from Portugal, namely as diverse types of beads and pendants, has been researched in some detail during the last decades. The 25 archeological localities known occur from north to south, ranging in ages from the Neolithic through the Chalcolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Further research is required to prospect the known paleontological localities, and also to look for new ones, in order to obtain stratigraphically contextualized samples and to perform the first infrared and/or Raman spectroscopy analyses. This will allow comparing these with the infrared and/or Raman spectra of archeological pieces to shed light on the origin of the amber as a raw material during prehistoric times. The potential discovery of a paleontological locality yielding abundant bioinclusions would be of great interest, as it would allow taxonomic and paleoecological comparisons with the rich Cretaceous outcrops from the north and northeastern Iberian PeninsulaMuseo Geominero, Instituto Geológico y Minero de EspañaDepartament de Dinàmica de la Terra i del Oceà and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio). Facultat de Ciències de laTerra. Universitat de BarcelonaDepartamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología. Universidad de SalamancaDepartamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Biología, Universidad ComplutenseMuseo de Ciencias Naturales de ÁlavaDepartamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de GranadaOxford University Museum of Natural HistoryInstitute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA)Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de MadridDepartamento de História, Estudos Europeus, Arqueologia e Artes, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Coimbra, Instituto de Arqueologi

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Early high-titer plasma therapy to prevent severe Covid-19 in older adults

BACKGROUND: Therapies to interrupt the progression of early coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) remain elusive. Among them, convalescent plasma administered to hospitalized patients has been unsuccessful, perhaps because antibodies should be administered earlier in the course of illness. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of convalescent plasma with high IgG titers against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in older adult patients within 72 hours after the onset of mild Covid-19 symptoms. The primary end point was severe respiratory disease, defined as a respiratory rate of 30 breaths per minute or more, an oxygen saturation of less than 93% while the patient was breathing ambient air, or both. The trial was stopped early at 76% of its projected sample size because cases of Covid-19 in the trial region decreased considerably and steady enrollment of trial patients became virtually impossible. RESULTS A total of 160 patients underwent randomization. In the intention-to-treat population, severe respiratory disease developed in 13 of 80 patients (16%) who received convalescent plasma and 25 of 80 patients (31%) who received placebo (relative risk, 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.29 to 0.94; P = 0.03), with a relative risk reduction of 48%. A modified intention-to-treat analysis that excluded 6 patients who had a primary end-point event before infusion of convalescent plasma or placebo showed a larger effect size (relative risk, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.81). No solicited adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS Early administration of high-titer convalescent plasma against SARS-CoV-2 to mildly ill infected older adults reduced the progression of Covid-19. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Fundación INFANT Pandemic Fund; Dirección de Sangre y Medicina Transfusional del Ministerio de Salud number, PAEPCC19, Plataforma de Registro Informatizado de Investigaciones en Salud number, 1421, and ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04479163.).Fil: Libster, Romina Paula. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Pérez Marc, Gonzalo. Hospital Militar Central, Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Wappner, Diego. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Coviello, Silvina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Bianchi, Alejandra. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Braem, Virginia. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Esteban, Ignacio. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Caballero, Mauricio Tomás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Wood, Cristian. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Berrueta, Mabel. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Rondan, Aníbal. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Lescano, Gabriela Mariel. Hospital Dr. Carlos Bocalandro; ArgentinaFil: Cruz, Pablo. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Ritou, Yvonne. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Viña, Valeria Silvina. Hospital Simplemente Evita; ArgentinaFil: Álvarez Paggi, Damián Jorge. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Esperante, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Ferreti, Adrián. Hospital Dr. Carlos Bocalandro; ArgentinaFil: Ofman, Gaston. University of Oklahoma; Estados UnidosFil: Ciganda, Álvaro. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Hospital Interzonal Especializado de Agudos y Cronicos San Juan de Dios.; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Rocío. Hospital Simplemente Evita; ArgentinaFil: Lantos, Jorge. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Valentini, Ricardo. No especifíca;Fil: Itcovici, Nicolás. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Hintze, Alejandra. No especifíca;Fil: Oyarvide, M. Laura. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Etchegaray, Candela. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Neira, Alejandra. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Name, Ivonne. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Alfonso, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Swiss Medical Group; ArgentinaFil: López Castelo, Rocío. Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno"; ArgentinaFil: Caruso, Gisela. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Rapelius, Sofía. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Alvez, Fernando. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Etchenique, Federico. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Dimase, Federico. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Darío. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Aranda, Sofía S.. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez Yanotti, Clara Inés. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: De Luca, Julián. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Jares Baglivo, Sofía. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Laudanno, Sofía. Fundación Hematológica Sarmiento; ArgentinaFil: Nowogrodzki, Florencia. Swiss Medical Group; ArgentinaFil: Larrea, Ramiro. Hospital Municipal San Isidro; ArgentinaFil: Silveyra, María. Hospital Militar Central; ArgentinaFil: Leberzstein, Gabriel. No especifíca;Fil: Debonis, Alejandra. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Molinos, Juan. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: González, Miguel. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Eduardo. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Kreplak, Nicolás. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Pastor Argüello, Susana. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Gibbons, Luz. Hospital Municipal de San Isidro; ArgentinaFil: Althabe, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Bergel, Eduardo. Sanatorio Sagrado Corazón; ArgentinaFil: Polack, Fernando Pedro. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio de Salud; Argentin