Error Process Indexed by Bandwidth Matrices in Multivariate Local Linear Smoothing

AbstractWe focus on nonparametric multivariate regression function estimation by locally weighted least squares. The asymptotic behavior for a sequence of error processes indexed by bandwidth matrices is derived. We discuss feasible data-driven consistent estimators minimizing asymptotic mean squared error or efficient estimators reducing asymptotic bias at points where opposite sign curvatures of the regression function are present in different directions

Use of 2% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose to prevent the corneal swelling during the in vitro mechanical characterization

The aim of this study was to assess the use of 2% HPMC during in vitro uniaxial tensile tests, with corneal strips immediately obtained or after storing the eyes for 24¿h in 0.9% NaCl solution at 4¿¿. The purpose was to establish a standardized procedure to prevent phenomena which can modify the mechanical properties of the tissue. Rabbit eyes were divided into four groups. Group A had seven eyes that were preserved in NaCl solution for 24¿h before testing. Group B had seven eyes that were immediately tested. In both groups, to prevent both swelling and dehydration, 2% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (2% HPMC) was applied. Group C had seven eyes that were preserved in NaCl solution for 24¿h before testing. Group D had seven eyes that were immediately tested. In both groups, HPMC was not applied. Regarding the mechanical response, groups with HPMC showed similar Cauchy stress–stretch curves and there were no statistically significant differences at 5%, 10% and 15% strain between them, which mean that both showed similar mechanical behavior. The same result was obtained between groups without HPMC. However, for coupled groups with and without HPMC, statistically significant differences at 10% and 15% strain were observed. On the other hand, when grouped by storage time, statistically significant differences were found between groups that had eyes preserved for 24¿h with and without HPMC, respectively, as well as between groups immediately tested with and without HPMC, respectively, at 15% strain. Nevertheless, if coupled groups were considered, between groups that were preserved for 24¿h in NaCl before testing and groups that were immediately tested, no statistically significant differences were obtained. In addition, the Cauchy stress–stretch curves of groups without HPMC showed a decreasing slope of the linear part (strain¿>¿8%) of the graph during the experiment. In summary, the use of HPMC during the handling of the tissue from excision to testing seems to prevent both swelling and dehydration

Assessment of corneal biomechanical properties and intraocular pressure in myopic Spanish healthy population

Purpose. To examine biomechanical parameters of the cornea in myopic eyes and their relationship with the degree of myopia in a western healthy population. Methods. Corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), Goldmann correlated intraocular pressure (IOP), and corneal compensated IOP (IOPcc) were measured using the ocular response analyzer (ORA) in 312 eyes of 177 Spanish subjects aged between 20 and 56 years. Refraction was expressed as spherical equivalent (SE), which ranged from 0 to -16.50 diopters (D) (mean: -3.88 ± 2.90 D). Subjects were divided into four groups according to their refractive status: group 1 or control group: emmetropia (-0.50 = SE 0.05); nevertheless, IOPcc was significantly higher in the moderatelymyopic (15.47±2.47mmHg) and highlymyopic (16.14± 2.59mmHg) groups than in the emmetropia (15.15 ± 2.06mmHg) and low myopia groups (14.53 ± 2.37mmHg). No correlation between age and the measured parameters was found. CH and IOPcc were weakly but significantly correlated with SE (¿ = 0.171, ¿ = 0.002 and ¿ = -0.131, ¿ = 0.021, resp.). Conclusions. Present study showed only a very weak, but significant, correlation between CHand refractive error, with CH being lower in both moderately and highlymyopic eyes than that in the emmetropic and low myopic eyes.These changes in biomechanical properties of the cornea may have an impact on IOP measurement, increasing the risk of glaucom

Overload screening of transmission systems using neural networks

The process of determining whether a power system is in a secure or insecure state is a crucial task which must be addressed on-line in any Energy Management System. In this paper, an Artificial Neural Network, capable of accurately identifying the set of harmful contingencies, is presented, along with several results obtained from a real-size power network. The proposed approach makes use of classical numerical techniques to compensate the ANN'S inputs so that it can deal with topological changes in the power system

Changes in anatomical and functional connectivity related to lower hippocampal volume

Anatomical 3D T1 weighted images have been widely used to assess the volume of subcortical structures. It has been demonstrated that volume loss of hippocampi, entorhinal cortex and amygdala are early biomarkers for the diagnosis of cognitive impairments and AD1. In this work, we investigate AD biomarkers based on brain connectivity. SC-FC differences have been reported between controls and patients at risk for AD2. We will try to anticipate to MCI or AD diagnoses by differentiating in a sample of healthy subjects, i.e. with no cognitive impairment, other than related to ageing, using as criterion of separation the normalized hippocampal volume (NHV). The sample is formed by volunteers in the Valleca?s Initiative, a longitudinal study evaluating normal ageing in a cohort of more than 600 healthy elder people (70-85 years). The prevalence of AD in people older than 65 years is 13%3 suggesting that a certain number of those subjects will develop AD in the next years. The subjects with lower NHV are more prone to have AD than subjects with higher NHV. Thus they are more likely to manifest connectivity patterns that can be considered as AD biomarkers

The mammalian peptide adrenomedullin acts as a growth factor in tobacco plants

Growth factors are extracellular signals that regulate cell proliferation and total body mass. Some animal growth factors can work on plant tissues and vice versa. Here we show that the mammalian growth factor adrenomedullin (AM) induces growth in tobacco plants. Addition of synthetic AM resulted in a dose-dependent growth of tobacco calluses. Furthermore, AM transgenic plants showed enhanced survival and significant increases in stem diameter, plant height, leaf length, weight of all organs, and a reduction in the time to flowering when compared to plants transformed with the control vector. These differences were maintained when organs were dried, resulting in a mean total biomass increase of 21.3%. The levels of soluble sugars and proteins in the leaves were unchanged between genotypes. AM transgenic plants had a significantly higher expression of cyclin D3 and the transcription factor E2FB than controls, suggesting that cell cycle regulation may be part of the intracellular signaling of AM in plants. In summary, mammalian AM increases vascular plants' survival and biomass with no apparent detriment of plant's morphological and/or biochemical properties, thus this strategy could be useful for crop productivity improvement

Optical properties of wurtzite GaN/AlN quantum dots grown on non-polar planes: the effect of stacking faults in the reduction of the internal electric field

The optical emission of non-polar GaN/AlN quantum dots has been investigated. The presence of stacking faults inside these quantum dots is evidenced in the dependence of the photoluminescence with temperature and excitation power. A theoretical model for the electronic structure and optical properties of non-polar quantum dots, taking into account their realistic shapes, is presented which predicts a substantial reduction of the internal electric field but a persisting quantum confined Stark effect, comparable to that of polar GaN/AlN quantum dots. Modeling the effect of a 3 monolayer stacking fault inside the quantum dot, which acts as zinc-blende inclusion into the wurtzite matrix, results in an additional 30% reduction of the internal electric field and gives a better account of the observed optical features

J-PLUS: The javalambre photometric local universe survey

ABSTRACT: TheJavalambrePhotometric Local UniverseSurvey (J-PLUS )isanongoing 12-band photometricopticalsurvey, observingthousands of squaredegrees of theNorthernHemispherefromthededicated JAST/T80 telescope at the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre (OAJ). The T80Cam is a camera with a field of view of 2 deg2 mountedon a telescopewith a diameter of 83 cm, and isequippedwith a uniquesystem of filtersspanningtheentireopticalrange (3500–10 000 Å). Thisfiltersystemis a combination of broad-, medium-, and narrow-band filters, optimallydesigned to extracttherest-framespectralfeatures (the 3700–4000 Å Balmer break region, Hδ, Ca H+K, the G band, and the Mg b and Ca triplets) that are key to characterizingstellartypes and delivering a low-resolutionphotospectrumforeach pixel of theobservedsky. With a typicaldepth of AB ∼21.25 mag per band, thisfilter set thusallowsforanunbiased and accuratecharacterization of thestellarpopulation in our Galaxy, itprovidesanunprecedented 2D photospectralinformationforall resolved galaxies in the local Universe, as well as accuratephoto-z estimates (at the δ z/(1 + z)∼0.005–0.03 precisionlevel) formoderatelybright (up to r ∼ 20 mag) extragalacticsources. Whilesomenarrow-band filters are designedforthestudy of particular emissionfeatures ([O II]/λ3727, Hα/λ6563) up to z < 0.017, theyalsoprovidewell-definedwindowsfortheanalysis of otheremissionlines at higherredshifts. As a result, J-PLUS has thepotential to contribute to a widerange of fields in Astrophysics, both in thenearbyUniverse (MilkyWaystructure, globular clusters, 2D IFU-likestudies, stellarpopulations of nearby and moderate-redshiftgalaxies, clusters of galaxies) and at highredshifts (emission-line galaxies at z ≈ 0.77, 2.2, and 4.4, quasi-stellarobjects, etc.). Withthispaper, wereleasethefirst∼1000 deg2 of J-PLUS data, containingabout 4.3 millionstars and 3.0 milliongalaxies at r <  21mag. With a goal of 8500 deg2 forthe total J-PLUS footprint, thesenumbers are expected to rise to about 35 millionstars and 24 milliongalaxiesbytheend of thesurvey.Funding for the J-PLUS Project has been provided by the Governments of Spain and Aragón through the Fondo de Inversiones de Teruel, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO; under grants AYA2017-86274-P, AYA2016-77846-P, AYA2016-77237-C3-1-P, AYA2015-66211-C2-1-P, AYA2015-66211-C2-2, AYA2012-30789, AGAUR grant SGR-661/2017, and ICTS-2009-14), and European FEDER funding (FCDD10-4E-867, FCDD13-4E-2685

What pulmonologists think about the asthma–COPD overlap syndrome

Background: Some patients with COPD may share characteristics of asthma; this is the so-called asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). There are no universally accepted criteria for ACOS, and most treatments for asthma and COPD have not been adequately tested in this population. Materials and methods: We performed a survey among pulmonology specialists in asthma and COPD aimed at collecting their opinions about ACOS and their attitudes in regard to some case scenarios of ACOS patients. The participants answered a structured questionnaire and attended a face-to-face meeting with the Metaplan methodology to discuss different aspects of ACOS. Results: A total of 26 pulmonologists with a mean age of 49.7 years participated in the survey (13 specialists in asthma and 13 in COPD). Among these, 84.6% recognized the existence of ACOS and stated that a mean of 12.6% of their patients might have this syndrome. In addition, 80.8% agreed that the diagnostic criteria for ACOS are not yet well defined. The most frequently mentioned characteristics of ACOS were a history of asthma (88.5%), significant smoking exposure (73.1%), and postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ,0.7 (69.2%). The most accepted diagnostic criteria were eosinophilia in sputum (80.8%), a very positive bronchodilator test (69.2%), and a history of asthma before 40 years of age (65.4%). Up to 96.2% agreed that first-line treatment for ACOS was the combination of a long-acting β2-agonist and inhaled steroid, with a long-acting antimuscarinic agent (triple therapy) for severe ACOS. Conclusion: Most Spanish specialists in asthma and COPD agree that ACOS exists, but the diagnostic criteria are not yet well defined. A previous history of asthma, smoking, and not fully reversible airflow limitation are considered the main characteristics of ACOS, with the most accepted first-line treatment being long-acting β2-agonist/inhaled corticosteroids

Revisión y Control del Plan de Vigilancia Ambiental de las obras de dragado del Puerto de Maó

Se integra información hidrográfica, geomorfológica, sedimentológica y biológica, para la caracterización de los ecosistemas marinos en el punto de vertido y área adyacente previa al inicio de las obras de dragado del Puerto de Maó.RESUMEN: En este documento se presentan los trabajos científicos realizados por el Instituto Español de Oceanografía, dentro del Plan de Vigilancia Ambiental del dragado del Puerto de Maó (Menorca, Islas Baleares), para la caracterización de los ecosistema marino en el punto de vertido y área adyacente, previa al inicio de las obras. Se incluyen los resultados y las conclusiones de los estudios realizados por diversos grupos de investigación, principalmente en Enero-Marzo 2014, en relación al fondo marino, la hidrodinámica, las praderas de Posidonia oceanica y el molusco bivalvo Pinna nobilis, el macro-bentos de los fondos circalitorales blandos y los contaminantes en agua, sedimentos y biota, así como en especies de interés comercial para el consumo humano. Este informe se contempla en el contrato entre la Autoridad Portuaria de Baleares y el Instituto Español de Oceanografía, suscrito el 5 Febrero 2014, para los trabajos de asistencia técnica para la revisión y control del Plan de Vigilancia Ambiental del dragado del Puerto de Maó.RESUM: En aquest document es presenten els treballs científics realitzats per l’Instituto Español de Oceanografía, dins del Pla de Vigilància Ambiental del dragat del Port de Maó (Menorca, Illes Balears), per a la caracterització dels ecosistemes marins en el punt de vessament i àrea adjacent, prèvia a l’inici de les obres. S’inclouen els resultats i les conclusions del estudis realitzats per diversos grups de recerca, principalment durant Gener-Març 2014, en relació al fons marí, la hidrodinàmica, les praderies de Posidonia oceanica i el mol•lusc bivalve Pinna nobilis, el macro-bentos dels fons circalitorals tous i els contaminants en aigua, sediments i biota, així com en espècies d’interès comercial pel consum humà. Aquest informe es contempla en el contracte entre l’Autoritat Portuària de Balears i el Instituto Español de Oceanografía, subscrit el 5 Febrer 2014, pels treballs d’assistència tècnica per a la revisió i control del Pla de Vigilància Ambiental del dragat de Port de Maó.ABSTRACT: This document presents the scientific actions developed by the Instituto Español de Oceanografía within the Environmental Monitoring Plan of the works of dredging the Port of Maó (Minorca, Balearic Islands), for the characterization of the marine ecosystems in the point of discharge of dredged material and adjacent area, before the beginning of the dredging. The results and conclusions of the studies developed by several research groups, mainly in January-March 2014, in relation to the bottom, hydrodynamics, Posidonia oceanica meadows, and the bivalve mollusc Pinna nobilis, the macro-benthos of the circalittoral soft bottoms and the contaminants in water, sediments and biota, as well as in commercial species for human consumption, are included. This report is contemplated within the contract between the Autoridad Portuaria de Baleares and the Instituto Español de Oceanografía, signed on 5 February 2014, for the technical assistance activities to review and control the Environmental Monitoring Plan of the works of dredging the Port of Maó.Autoridad Portuaria de Baleare