Eye-Related COVID-19: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Scientific Production Indexed in Scopus

This paper analyzes, from a bibliometric viewpoint, those publications that relate COVID-19 and eye indexed in Scopus since the beginning of the pandemic, and it identifies the resulting main research lines. A bibliographic search in the Scopus database was conducted for publications that simultaneously include ocular and visual manifestations and aspects with COVID-19, from 1 January 2020 to 16 March 2021, and the obtained bibliographic information was processed with VOSviewer (v. 1.6.16). A total of 2206 documents were retrieved, and 60% were original articles. The USA published the most studies (24.6%). The retrieved documents had a total of 18,634 citations. The h index of the set of retrieved documents was 58. The Indian Journal of Ophthalmology was the most productive journal, while JAMA Neurology and The Lancet accounted for 20% of citations. Three keyword clusters representing hotspots in this field were identified. Eye-related COVID-19 research is an emerging field with plenty of scientific evidence whose growth is expected to increase as the aspects and manifestations of the disease, its treatment and the effect of vaccination on it become known.This study was supported by grants from the University of Alicante (VIGROB-093FI) Image Analysis, Optical Systems and Vision Group (IMAOS+V)

A MILP model for the teacher assignment problem considering teachers’ preferences

The Teacher Assignment Problem is part of the University Timetabling Problem and involves assigning teachers to courses, taking their preferences into consideration. This is a complex problem, usually solved by means of heuristic algorithms. In this paper a Mixed Integer Linear Programing model is developed to balance teachers’ teaching load (first optimization criterion), while maximizing teachers’ preferences for courses according to their category (second optimization criterion). The model is used to solve the teachers-courses assignment in the Department of Management at the School of Industrial Engineering of Barcelona, in the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Results are discussed regarding the importance given to the optimization criteria. Moreover, to test the model's performance a computational experiment is carried out using randomly generated instances based on real patterns. Results show that the model is proven to be suitable for many situations (number of teachers-courses and weight of the criteria), being useful for departments with similar requests.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Below-ground ectomycorrhizal community in natural Tuber melanosporum truffle grounds and dynamics after canopy opening

[EN] The ectomycorrhizal fungus Tuber melanosporum fruits in association with Quercus in natural forests of Spain. Some of these stands are managed to keep an open canopy and meet the habitat requirements of the fungus. However, there are few quantitative studies analysing in these forests the relationship between soil environment and T. melanosporum. Eight forest stands which produce T. melanosporum have been monitored for 6 years in order to characterise the below-ground ectomycorrhizal community and to assess its temporal dynamics after experimental canopy opening. The brûlé, the ground where T. melanosporum fruits, shows a distinct ectomycorrhizal community, characterised by lower density of active ectomycorrhizal tips, lower morphotype richness per soil volume, higher abundance of T. melanosporum and lower abundance of Cenococcum geophilum than soil closest to the trunk of the host Quercus ilex. Opening the canopy has not stimulated an increase in T. melanosporum, suggesting that a shift in the soil environment alone will not trigger the formation of new truffières in the short term. The dry climate of these truffières may be a factor as T. melanosporum abundance appears to be sensitive to annual weather conditions. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Conselleria de Medi Ambient (Generalitat Valenciana) and VAERSA. Comments from anonymous reviewers and editorial suggestions from Randy Molina greatly helped in improving the manuscript. The Fundacion CEAM is partly supported by Generalitat Valenciana, Fundacion Bancaja and the projects GRACCIE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010) and FEEDBACKS (Prometeo-Generalitat Valenciana).García Barreda, S.; Reyna Domenech, S. (2012). Below-ground ectomycorrhizal community in natural Tuber melanosporum truffle grounds and dynamics after canopy opening. Mycorrhiza. 22(5):361-369. doi:10.1007/s00572-011-0410-2S361369225Agerer R (1987–2002) Colour atlas of ectomycorrhizae 1st-12th del. Eihorn-Verlag, BerlinÁgueda B, Fernández-Toirán LM, De Miguel AM, Martínez-Peña F (2010) Ectomycorrhizal status of a mature productive black truffle plantation. For Syst 19:89–97Barry-Etienne D, Ricard JM, Diente S, Moundy PJ, Chandioux O, Fiorese D, Jaillard B, Serre F, Jourdan C (2008) Distribution of Tuber melanosporum mycorrhizas on rootstocks of holm-oaks (Quercus ilex) in production. 3º Congresso Internazionale di Spoleto sul Tartufo, Spoleto, ItalyBonet JA, Fischer CR, Colinas C (2001) Evolución mensual en campo de las ectomicorrizas de Tuber melanosporum Vitt. inoculadas en plantas de Quercus ilex. In: Actas del III Congreso Forestal Español. Junta de Andalucía. Available in http://www.congresoforestal.es . Accessed 3 June 2011Claus A, George E (2005) Effect of stand age on fine-root biomass and biomass distribution in three European forest chronosequences. Can J For Res 35:1617–1625. doi: 10.1139/X05-079Courty P-E, Franc A, Pierrat J-C, Garbaye J (2008) Temporal changes in the ectomycorrhizal community in two soil horizons of a temperate oak forest. Appl Environ Microbiol 74(8):5792–5801. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01592-08De Román M (2003) Las ectomicorrizas de Quercus ilex subsp. ballota y su dinámica post-incendio en una zona potencialmente trufera. Dissertation, Universidad de NavarraDeschaseaux A, Ponge J-F (2001) Changes in the composition of humus profiles near the trunk base of an oak tree (Quercus petraea (Mattus.) Liebl). Eur J Soil Biol 37:9–16. doi: 10.1016/S1164-5563(01)01064-0Dickie IA, Reich PB (2005) Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities at forest edges. J Ecol 93:244–255. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.00977.xGardes M, Bruns TD (1996) Community structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi in a Pinus muricata forest: above- and below-ground views. Can J Bot 74:1572–1583. doi: 10.1139/b96-190Granetti B (2005) Miglioramento e rinnovamento delle tartufaie. In: Granetti B, De Angelis A, Materozzi G (eds) Umbria terra di tartufi. Regione Umbria-Gruppo Micologico Ternano, Terni, Italy, pp 207–208Gregori G, Elisei S, Pasquini L, Sacchi A, Spezi D (2001) Rigenerazione di una vecchia tartufaia coltivata di Tuber melanosporum Vitt. In: Courvoisier M, Olivier JM, Chevalier G (eds) Actes du V Congrès International Science et Culture de la Truffe. Fédération Française des Trufficulteurs, Aix-en-Provence, pp 400–405Hagerman SM, Sakakibara SM, Durall DM (2001) The potential for woody understory plants to provide refuge for ectomycorrhizal inoculum at an interior Douglas-fir forest after clear-cut logging. Can J For Res 31:711–721. doi: 10.1139/cjfr-31-4-711Hall IR, Yun W, Amicucci A (2003) Cultivation of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. Trends Biotechnol 21:433–438. doi: 10.1016/S0167-7799(03)00204-XHall IR, Brown GT, Zambonelli A (2007) Taming the truffle: the history, lore and science of the ultimate mushroom. Timber, PortlandJones MD, Durall DM, Cairney JWG (2003a) Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in young forest stands regenerating after clearcut logging. New Phytol 157:399–422. doi: 10.1139/X09-072Jones RH, Mitchell RJ, Stevens GN, Pecot SD (2003b) Controls of fine root dynamics across a gradient of gap sizes in a pine woodland. Oecologia 134:132–143. doi: 10.1007/s00442-002-1098-yJones MD, Twieg BD, Durall DM, Berch SM (2008) Location relative to a retention patch affects the ECM fungal community more than patch size in the first season after timber harvesting on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. For Eco Manag 255:1342–1352. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2007.10.042Koide RT, Fernandez C, Petprakob K (2011) General principles in the community ecology of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Ann For Sci 68:45–55. doi: 10.1007/s1395-010-0006-6Lian C, Narimatsu M, Nara K, Hogetsu T (2006) Tricholoma matsutake in a natural Pinus densiflora forest: correspondence between above- and below-ground genets, in association with multiple host trees and alteration of existing ectomycorrhizal communities. New Phytol 171:825–836. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01801.xLloret F, Peñuelas J, Ogaya R (2004) Establishment of co-existing Mediterranean tree species under a varying soil moisture regime. J Veg Sci 15:237–244. doi: 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02258.xLuoma DL, Stockdale CA, Molina R, Eberhart JL (2006) The spatial influence of Pseudotsuga menziesii retention trees on ectomycorrhiza diversity. Can J For Res 36:2561–2573. doi: 10.1139/X06-143Martín-Benito D, Cherubini P, Del Río M, Cañellas I (2008) Growth response to climate and drought in Pinus nigra Arn. trees of different crown classes. Trees 22:363–373 doi: 10.1007/s00468-007-0191-6Mello A, Murat C, Bonfante P (2006) Truffles: much more than a prized and local fungal delicacy. FEMS Microbiol Lett 260:1–8. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00252.xOlivier J-M, Savignac J-C, Sourzat P (2002) Truffe et trufficulture. Fanlac, Périgueux, FrancePargney JC, Chevalier G, Dupré C, Genet P, Jalade M (2001) Étude des stromas fongiques se développant sur les racines des plants mycorhizés par la truffe. In: Courvoisier M, Olivier JM, Chevalier G (eds) Actes du V Congrès International Science et Culture de la Truffe. Fédération Française des Trufficulteurs, Aix-en-Provence, France, pp 167–172Parsons WFJ, Miller SL, Knight DH (1994) Root-gap dynamics in a lodgepole pine forest: ectomycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal fine root activity after experimental gap formation. Can J For Res 24:1531–1538. doi: 10.1139/x94-200Reyna S, Garcia S, Folch L, Pérez-Badia R, Galiana F, Rodríguez-Barreal JA, Domínguez-Núñez JA, Saiz de Omeñaca JA, Zazo J (2004) Selvicultura trufera en montes mediterráneos. In: Vallejo R, Alloza JA (eds) Avances en el estudio de la gestión del monte mediterránea. Fundación CEAM, Valencia, pp 523–546Ricard JM, Bergougnoux F, Callot R, Chevalier G, Olivier JM, Pargney JC, Sourzat P (2003) La truffe Guide technique de trufficulture. Ctifl, ParisSánchez-Durán S, De Miguel AM, Palazón C, González Armada B, Sáez R, Barriuso J (2009) Estado de micorrización de árboles truferos en función de su carácter productivo y su edad. In: Actas del 5º Congreso Forestal Español. Sociedad Española de Ciencias Forestales - Junta de Castilla y León. Available in http://www.congresoforestal.es . Accessed 3 June 2011Sourzat P, Génola L, Chaumeil F, Chédozeau N (2004) Questions d’ecologie appliquées à la trufficulture. Lycée Professionnel Agricole de Cahors-Le Montat, Le Montat, FranceSourzat P, Bouyssieres D, Brunet-Ruamps E, Chaumeil F, Dubiau J-M, Michels C, Génola L, Saenz W, Sanchez A (2008) La rénovation des anciennes plantations et la sylviculture truffière. Fédération Française des Trufficulteurs, Le Montat, FranceSplivallo R (2008) Biological significance of truffle secondary metabolites. In: Karlovsky P (ed) Secondary metabolites in soil ecology. Soil biology vol 14. Springer, BerlinTaylor AFS (2002) Fungal diversity in ectomycorrhizal communities: sampling effort and species detection. Plant Soil 244:19–28. doi: 10.1023/A:1020279815472Zavala MA (2004) Estructura, dinámica y modelos de ensamblaje del bosque mediterráneo: entre la necesidad y la contingencia. In: Valladares F (ed) Ecología del bosque mediterráneo en un mundo cambiante. Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Madrid, pp 249–28

Cultivation of Tuber melanosporum in firebreaks: Short-term persistence of the fungus and effect of seedling age and soil treatment

[EN] Wildfires are a major threat to Mediterranean forests. Firebreaks are built as a prevention measure, but require a periodic and expensive maintenance. Cultivating the ectomycorrhizal mushroom Tuber melanosporum Vitt. in firebreaks could reduce costs and improve their sustainability. But firebreaks are built on forest soil, considered nonoptimum for T. melanosporum cultivation. A pot experiment was used to study the persistence of T. melanosporum in firebreak soils in the short term, as a first step to assess the viability of these plantations. The influence of seedlings, soil heating, and liming was also tested. During the 2 y after plantation, T. melanosporum mycorrhizas increased their number, showing its ability to proliferate. Percent root colonisation by native fungi importantly increased from month 12 to 22; although T. melanosporum remained dominant, with a colonisation level similar to those in standard truffle plantations. The age of seedlings at the time of planting influenced T. melanosporum proliferation, supporting a key role for nursery seedling quality in the performance of young plantations. Heating the soil before planting reduced the richness of native fungi, suggesting that this could increase plantation success. The results tend to support the viability of T. melanosporum cultivation in firebreaks, and encourage experimental field plantations. (C) 2013 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work was funded by the INIA (Government of Spain) project PET2007-13-C07-04. The Fundacion CEAM is partly supported by Generalitat Valenciana and the projects GRACCIE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010) and FEEDBACKS (Prometeo-Generalitat Valenciana). Sylvain Robert collaborated in the setting-up and Ricardo Forcadell in the sampling.García Barreda, S.; Reyna Domenech, S. (2013). Cultivation of Tuber melanosporum in firebreaks: Short-term persistence of the fungus and effect of seedling age and soil treatment. Fungal Biology. 117(11-12):783-789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2013.10.001S78378911711-1

Effect of width and boundary conditions on meeting maneuvers on two-way separated cycle tracks

Cycle track design guidelines are rarely based on scientific studies. In the case of off-road two-way cycle tracks, a minimum width must facilitate both passing and meeting maneuvers, being meeting maneuvers the most frequent. This study developed a methodology to observe meeting maneuvers using an instrumented bicycle, equipped with video cameras, a GPS tracker, laser rangefinders and speed sensors. This bicycle collected data on six two-way cycle tracks ranging 13-2.15 m width delimitated by different boundary conditions. The meeting maneuvers between the instrumented bicycle and every oncoming bicycle were characterized by the meeting clearance between the two bicycles, the speed of opposing bicycle and the reaction of the opposing rider: change in trajectory, stop pedaling or braking. The results showed that meeting clearance increased with the cycle track width and decreased if the cycle track had lateral obstacles, especially if they were higher than the bicycle handlebar. The speed of opposing bicycle shown the same tendency, although were more disperse. Opposing cyclists performed more reaction maneuvers on narrower cycle tracks and on cycle tracks with lateral obstacles to the handlebar height. Conclusions suggested avoiding cycle tracks narrower than 1.6 m, as they present lower meeting clearances, lower bicycle speeds and frequent reaction maneuvers. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.García García, A.; Agustin Gomez, F.; Llorca Garcia, C.; Angel-Domenech, A. (2015). Effect of width and boundary conditions on meeting maneuvers on two-way separated cycle tracks. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 78:127-137. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2015.02.019S1271377

Evidence of the presence of nucleic acids and β-glucan in the matrix of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae in vitro biofilms

13 p.-9 fig.Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a Gram-negative bacterium that frequently colonizes the human nasopharynx; it is a common cause of chronic and recurrent otitis media in children and of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To date, no exopolysaccharide clearly contributing to NTHi biofilms has been identified. Consequently, there is some debate as to whether NTHi forms biofilms during colonization and infection. The present work shows that NTHi can form biofilms in vitro, producing an extracellular matrix composed of proteins, nucleic acids, and a β-glucan. Extracellular DNA, visualized by immunostaining and using fluorochromes, is an important component of this matrix and appears to be essential in biofilm maintenance. Extracellular RNA appears to be required only in the first steps of biofilm formation. Evidence of a matrix polysaccharide was obtained by staining with Calcofluor white M2R and by disaggregating biofilms with cellulase. Using strain 54997, residues of Glcp(1→4) in the NTHi biofilm were confirmed by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Evidence that N-acetyl-L-cysteine shows notable killing activity towards in vitro NTHi biofilm-forming bacteria is also provided.This work was supported by a grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (SAF2012-39444-C02-01). The CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer reviewe

Inequality in Education: Evidence for Latin America

This paper provides original empirical evidence on the evolution of education inequality for the Latin American countries over the decades of 1990 and 2000. The analysis covers a wide range of issues on the differences in educational outcomes and opportunities across the population, including inequality in years of education, gaps in school enrolment, wage skill differentials and public social expenditure. The evidence indicates a significant difference between the 1990s and the 2000s in terms of both the assessment of the equity of the education expansion and its impact on the income distribution. In particular, changes in the 2000s seem to have had an equalizing impact on earnings, given the more pro-poor pattern of the education upgrading and a more stable or even increasing relative demand for low-skill labour.Fil: Cruces, Guillermo Antonio. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Departamento de Ciencias Económicas. Centro de Estudios Distributivos Laborales y Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: García Domenech, Carolina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Departamento de Ciencias Económicas. Centro de Estudios Distributivos Laborales y Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Gasparini, Leonardo Carlos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Departamento de Ciencias Económicas. Centro de Estudios Distributivos Laborales y Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Measuring Technology Platforms impact with search data and web scraping

Resumen de la comunicación[EN] In recent years, European research policies and priorities in the agricultural sector have been developed through industry-based partnerships sponsored by the European Commission (EC). In 2004, the EC regulated a form of partnership called European Technology Platform (ETP) with the aim to define research agendas that would attract private investment. Monitoring the impact and performance of public policies, such as the implementation of ETPs, is basic for policy-makers. However, assessing the performance of ETPs frequently result into costly efforts given the current lack of indicators to monitor their variety of activities. In addition, since most ETPs have been set up recently it is difficult to assess their results, which are typically revealed after some time and take a considerable amount of time to be captured and processed with traditional methods such as surveys. In this study, we propose to assess the dynamics of ETPs through measures based on online information, given that it is fresh, available in real-time and is a publicly reflect of the activities of organizations. We firstly consider an ETP as an innovation intermediary and define its functions according to innovation literature. Then, we enumerate the particular activities within each function in which the ETP may be involved. To monitor such functions and activities, some indicators based on online data are proposed. This conceptual basis has been put into practice with a particular case study based on the agri-food technology platform “TP Organics”. Preliminary results show that the online-based indicators are able to measure the level of activity of the platform, if its scope is expanding or reducing, and how the importance of the different functions has evolved over time.Blazquez, D.; Domenech, J.; García Alvarez-Coque, JM. (2018). Measuring Technology Platforms impact with search data and web scraping. En 2nd International Conference on Advanced Reserach Methods and Analytics (CARMA 2018). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 259-259. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2018.2018.8363OCS25925

Búsqueda de modelos QSAR para la actividad repelente de sesquiterpenos naturales frente al mosquito de la Fiebre Amarilla, Aedes aegypti

El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido desarrollar modelos QSAR aplicando la topología molecular y el análisis de regresión multilineal para la predicción de la repelencia espacial frente al mosquito de la Fiebre Amarilla,  Aedesa egypti  de un grupo de sesquiterpenos naturales. Validados los modelos, se realiza un cribado molecular y se seleccionan nuevos sesquiterpenos potencialmente activos

Aplicación de la Topología Molecular para la predicción de la actividad frente a leishmania de un grupo de compuestos derivados del pirrol [1,2-α] quinoxalina

Leishmaniasis is present among the six greatest diseases reported in the WHO's Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). Nowadays, the available drugs show high toxicities or resistance has been developed. Therefore the search of new compounds that possess anti-leishmania activity is an attractive chemotherapeutic option. In the present study we have applied molecular topology and multilineal regression analysis to develop a QSAR model able to predict the activity of a series of pyrrolo [1,2-α] quinoxaline-derived compounds against L. major and L. donovani. Once validated the selected topological models, a molecular screening has been performed and new quinoxaline derivatives with potential anti-leishmania activity have been selected.La leishmaniasis se encuentra entre las seis enfermedades más importantes en el Programa Especial de Investigación y Adiestramiento en Enfermedades Tropicales (TDR) de la OMS. Los fármacos disponibles actualmente presentan altas toxicidades o se han desarrollado resistencias para los mismos, de modo que buscar nuevos compuestos que posean actividad anti-leishmánica es una opción quimioterapéutica atractiva. En el presente estudio hemos utilizado la topología molecular y el análisis de regresión multilineal para el desarrollo de un modelo QSAR capaz de predecir la actividad frente a L. major y L. donovani de un grupo de compuestos derivados del pirrol [1,2-α] quinoxalina.  Validados los modelos topológicos seleccionados, se ha realizado un cribado molecular y se han seleccionado nuevos derivados de la quinoxalina con potencial actividad anti-leishmánica