Rockfall Magnitude-Frequency Relationship Based on Multi-Source Data from Monitoring and Inventory

Quantitative hazard analysis of rockfalls is a fundamental tool for sustainable risk management, even more so in places where the preservation of natural heritage and people's safety must find the right balance. The first step consists in determining the magnitude-frequency relationship, which corresponds to the apparently simple question: how big and how often will a rockfall be detached from anywhere in the cliff? However, there is usually only scarce data on past activity from which to derive a quantitative answer. Methods are proposed to optimize the exploitation of multi-source inventories, introducing sampling extent as a main attribute for the analysis. This work explores the maximum possible synergy between data sources as different as traditional inventories of observed events and current remote sensing techniques. Both information sources may converge, providing complementary results in the magnitude-frequency relationship, taking advantage of each strength that overcomes the correspondent weakness. Results allow characterizing rockfall detachment hazardous conditions and reveal many of the underlying conditioning factors, which are analyzed in this paper. High variability of the hazard over time and space has been found, with strong dependencies on influential external factors. Therefore, it will be necessary to give the appropriate reading to the magnitude-frequency scenarios, depending on the application of risk management tools (e.g., hazard zoning, quantitative risk analysis, or actions that bring us closer to its forecast). In this sense, some criteria and proxies for hazard assessment are proposed in the paper

Machine Learning-Based Rockfalls Detection with 3D Point Clouds, Example in the Montserrat Massif (Spain)

Rock slope monitoring using 3D point cloud data allows the creation of rockfall inventories, provided that an efficient methodology is available to quantify the activity. However, monitoring with high temporal and spatial resolution entails the processing of a great volume of data, which can become a problem for the processing system. The standard methodology for monitoring includes the steps of data capture, point cloud alignment, the measure of differences, clustering differences, and identification of rockfalls. In this article, we propose a new methodology adapted from existing algorithms (multiscale model to model cloud comparison and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise algorithm) and machine learning techniques to facilitate the identification of rockfalls from compared temporary 3D point clouds, possibly the step with most user interpretation. Point clouds are processed to generate 33 new features related to the rock cliff differences, predominant differences, or orientation for classification with 11 machine learning models, combined with 2 undersampling and 13 oversampling methods. The proposed methodology is divided into two software packages: point cloud monitoring and cluster classification. The prediction model applied in two study cases in the Montserrat conglomeratic massif (Barcelona, Spain) reveal that a reduction of 98% in the initial number of clusters is sufficient to identify the totality of rockfalls in the first case study. The second case study requires a 96% reduction to identify 90% of the rockfalls, suggesting that the homogeneity of the rockfall characteristics is a key factor for the correct prediction of the machine learning models

Effects of systemic or local administration of mesenchymal stem cells from patients with osteoporosis or osteoarthritis on femoral fracture healing in a mouse model

The purpose of this study was to analyze the regenerative capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the treatment of fractures. MSCs extracted from patients with osteoporotic hip fractures or hip osteoarthritis undergoing hip replacement surgeries were cultured and injected into mice with femoral fracture. Two experimental models were established, one for the systemic administration of MSCs (n = 29) and another one for local administration (n = 30). Fracture consolidation was assessed by micro-CT and histology. The degree of radiological consolidation and corticalization was better with MSCs from osteoporosis than from osteoarthritis, being significant after systemic administration (p = 0.0302 consolidation; p = 0.0243 corticalization). The histological degree of consolidation was also better with MSCs from osteoporosis than from osteoarthritis. Differences in histological scores after systemic infusion were as follows: Allen, p = 0.0278; Huo, p = 0.3471; and Bone Bridge, p = 0.0935. After local administration at the fracture site, differences in histological scores were as follows: Allen, p = 0.0764; Huo, p = 0.0256; and Bone Bridge, p = 0.0012. As osteoporosis and control groups were similar, those differences depended on an inhibitory influence by MSCs from patients with osteoarthritis. In conclusion, we found an unexpected impairment of consolidation induced by MSCs from patients with osteoarthritis. However, MSCs from patients with osteoporosis compared favorably with cells from patients with osteoarthritis. In other words, based on this study and previous studies, MSCs from patients with osteoporosis do not appear to have worse bone-regenerating capabilities than MSCs from non-osteoporotic individuals of similar age.Funding: This work was supported by a grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III [PI16-915], which can be cofounded by EU Feder funds. Acknowledgments: Álvaro del Real received support from the postdoctoral grant “Augusto González de Linares” of the University of Cantabria

Association of periodontitis with cognitive decline and its progression: Contribution of blood‐based biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease to this relationship

Aim To assess whether periodontitis is associated with cognitive decline and its progression as well as with certain blood-based markers of Alzheimer's disease. Materials and Methods Data from a 2-year follow-up prospective cohort study (n = 101) was analysed. Participants with a previous history of hypertension and aged ≥60 years were included in the analysis. All of them received a full-mouth periodontal examination and cognitive function assessments (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) and Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]). Plasma levels of amyloid beta (Aβ)1-40, Aβ1-42, phosphorylated and total Tau (p-Tau and t-Tau) were determined at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Results Periodontitis was associated with poor cognitive performance (MMSE: β = −1.5 [0.6]) and progression of cognitive impairment (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.0–3.1). Subjects with periodontitis showed greater baseline levels of p-Tau (1.6 [0.7] vs. 1.2 [0.2] pg/mL, p < .001) and Aβ1-40 (242.1 [77.3] vs. 208.2 [73.8] pg/mL, p = .036) compared with those without periodontitis. Concentrations of the latter protein also increased over time only in the periodontitis group (p = .005). Conclusions Periodontitis is associated with cognitive decline and its progression in elderly patients with a previous history of hypertension. Overexpression of p-Tau and Aβ1-40 may play a role in this associationThis study was partially supported by grants from the Xunta de Galicia (TS & JC: IN607A2018/3, TS: IN607D 2020/09 and IN607A2022/07), Institute of Health Carlos III (TS: PI22/00938 and CB22/05/00067) and Spanish Ministry of Science (TS: RTI2018-102165-B-I00 and RTC2019-007373-1). Furthermore, this study was also supported by grants from the INTERREG Atlantic Area (TS: EAPA_791/2018_NEUROATLANTIC project), INTER-REG V A España Portugal (POCTEP) (TS: 0624_2IQBIONEURO_6_E) and the European Regional Development Fund. Moreover, several members of the research team are supported by the Institute of Health Carlos III: MAN holds an iPFIS contract (IFI18/00008), DR-S and YL are recipients of a Sara Borrell fellowship (CD21/00166 and CD22/00051, respectively) and TS held a Miguel Servet contract (CPII17/00027). Finally, AC is supported by a predoc contract of Xunta de Galicia (IN606A-2021/015). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscriptS

SUCNR1 regulates insulin secretion and glucose elevates the succinate response in people with prediabetes

Pancreatic beta cell dysfunction is a key feature of type 2 diabetes, and novel regulators of insulin secretion are desirable. Here, we report that succinate receptor 1 (SUCNR1) is expressed in beta cells and is upregulated in hyperglycemic states in mice and humans. We found that succinate acted as a hormone -like metabolite and stimulated insulin secretion via a SUCNR1-GqPKC-dependent mechanism in human beta cells. Mice with beta cell-specific Sucnr1 deficiency exhibited impaired glucose tolerance and insulin secretion on a high -fat diet, indicating that SUCNR1 is essential for preserving insulin secretion in diet -induced insulin resistance. Patients with impaired glucose tolerance showed an enhanced nutrition -related succinate response, which correlates with the potentiation of insulin secretion during intravenous glucose administration. These data demonstrate that the succinate/SUCNR1 axis is activated by high glucose and identify a GPCR-mediated amplifying pathway for insulin secretion relevant to the hyperinsulinemia of prediabetic states

Paisajes comerciales y turismo: Virtualización de casos de estudio para el aprendizaje autónomo del estudiante

El proyecto tiene como objetivo realizar casos de estudio de paisajes comerciales derivados/ generados por el turismo. Los ejemplos serán virtualizados y servirán de modelo para facilitar al profesorado y alumnado su utilización y consulta. El turismo es una de las actividades globales más importantes del mundo el cual supone una de las cinco mayores partidas de las exportaciones de servicios mundiales en la mayor parte de los países. El turismo transforma el espacio y da como resultado diferentes paisajes pero con características similares en cualquier lugar del mundo. Un ejemplo de ello en las repercusiones del turismo urbano en la transformación del paisaje de las grandes ciudades turísticas y este es uno de los aspectos que este proyecto pretende abordar. El proyecto se centrará en casos de estudio de la Comunidad de Madrid, para evitar posibles desplazamientos no permitidos actualmente debido a la situación actual de pandemia por COVID19. Los casos de estudio, serán discutidos por el equipo de investigación durante las primeras fases del proyecto, pero en principio se intentaría cubrir tipologías diferentes y entre ellos estarían: Las Rozas Village, Calles de Lujo, Gran Vía, la zona comercial del aeropuerto Madrid, el centro comercial , Xanadu, los mercados tradicionales, y los distritos de cooperación

Cultivos y sabores de nuestra América

El presente libro es una creación conjunta de la Red Latinoamericana ProHuerta creada en el marco del Convenio JICA MREyC INTA MDS para la ejecución del Curso “Autoproducción de alimentos, seguridad alimentaria y desarrollo local” con el objetivo de compartir y promover el modelo ProHuerta en distintos países de América Latina, Caribe y ahora África. El desafío que nos propusimos como red fue recopilar cultivos y recetas populares que formen parte de nuestra cultura culinaria de los distintos países de nuestra américa grande y ponerlos en manos de las nuevas generaciones. El resultado es un libro con las técnicas de cultivo de 13 especies que rescatan recetas y usos ancestrales en las voces de las mujeres y hombres que integran y conforman nuestra américa "para que en la gente del maíz siga caminando sin morir sobre la tierra"ProHuertaFil: Abdo, Guadalupe Del Carmen. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). ProHuerta; ArgentinaFil: Morales Mata, Adolfo. Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería; Costa RicaFil: Villota, Guadalupe. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP). ConQuito; EcuadorFil: Blanco Beteta, Francisco José. Instituto de Desarrollo Rural; NicaraguaFil: Vigil, Carlos. Ministerio de la Presidencia, Despacho de la Primera Dama; PanamáFil: Saavedra, Fanny. Ministerio de la Presidencia, Despacho de la Primera Dama; PanamáFil: Núñez de Olmedo, Teresa Concepción. Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería; ParaguayFil: Castellanos, Aurelia. Asociación Cubana de Producción Animal; CubaFil: Figueroa, Vilda. Asociación Cubana de Producción Animal; CubaFil: Pujols, Ramón. Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura; República DominicanaFil: Membreño, Jonathan. Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura; República DominicanaFil: Naut, Laura. Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura; República DominicanaFil: Rodríguez, Angel. Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura; República DominicanaFil: Figuereo, Leonardo. Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura; República DominicanaFil: Pérez Aquino, Frank. Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura; República Dominican

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Aplicación didáctica de la canción popular en los estudios de Musciología. Recursos audiovisuales (televisión y radio) para el discente activo

Memoria ID-0149. Ayudas de la Universidad de alamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2015-2016