Validation of the Regicor Short Physical Activity Questionnaire for the Adult Population

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a short questionnaire to estimate physical activity (PA) practice and sedentary behavior for the adult population. METHODS: The short questionnaire was developed using data from a cross-sectional population-based survey (n = 6352) that included the Minnesota leisure-time PA questionnaire. Activities that explained a significant proportion of the variability of population PA practice were identified. Validation of the short questionnaire included a cross-sectional component to assess validity with respect to the data collected by accelerometers and a longitudinal component to assess reliability and sensitivity to detect changes (n = 114, aged 35 to 74 years). RESULTS: Six types of activities that accounted for 87% of population variability in PA estimated with the Minnesota questionnaire were selected. The short questionnaire estimates energy expenditure in total PA and by intensity (light, moderate, vigorous), and includes 2 questions about sedentary behavior and a question about occupational PA. The short questionnaire showed high reliability, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging between 0.79 to 0.95. The Spearman correlation coefficients between estimated energy expenditure obtained with the questionnaire and the number of steps detected by the accelerometer were as follows: 0.36 for total PA, 0.40 for moderate intensity, and 0.26 for vigorous intensity. The questionnaire was sensitive to detect changes in moderate and vigorous PA (correlation coefficients ranging from 0.26 to 0.34). CONCLUSION: The REGICOR short questionnaire is reliable, valid, and sensitive to detect changes in moderate and vigorous PA. This questionnaire could be used in daily clinical practice and epidemiological studies

New insights on phylogeography and distribution of painted frogs (Discoglossus) in northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

Painted frogs (Discoglossus) contain five to six species of Western Palearctic anurans that are mainly distributed in allopatry. We here provide the first comprehensive assessment of the phylogeography of the Moroccan species D. scovazzi and geographically characterize its contact zone with D. pictus in Eastern Morocco. Discoglossus scovazzi shows, in general, a weak phylogeographic structure across Morocco on the basis of mitochondrial DNA sequences of the cytochrome b gene, with only populations centered in the Atlas Mountains characterized by the presence of slightly divergent haplotypes. In eastern Morocco, all populations east of the Moulouya River were clearly assignable to D. pictus. This species was also found along the Mediterranean coast west of the Moulouya, in the cities of Nador and Melilla, suggesting that not the river itself but the wide arid valley extending along much of the river (except close to the estuary) acts as a possible distributional barrier to these frogs. No sympatry of D. scovazzi with D. pictus was observed, and all specimens were concordantly assigned to either species by DNA sequences of cytochrome b and of the nuclear marker RAG1. Species distribution models of the two taxa show largely overlapping areas of suitable habitat, and the two species’ niches are significantly more similar than would be expected given the underlying environmental differences between the regions in which they occur. Comparative data are also presented from the southern Iberian contact zone of D. galganoi galganoi and D. g. jeanneae. These taxa showed less clear-cut distributional borders, extensively shared RAG1 haplotypes, and had instances of sympatric occurrence on the basis of cytochrome b haplotypes, in agreement with the hypothesis of a yet incomplete speciation. In this wide contact zone area we found mitochondrial sequences containing double peaks in electropherograms, suggesting nuclear pseudogenes or (less likely) heteroplasmy, possibly related to the ongoing admixture among the lineagesPeer reviewe

Spectroscopic and Mechanistic Studies of Heterodimetallic Forms of Metallo-β-lactamase NDM-1

In an effort to characterize the roles of each metal ion in metallo-β-lactamase NDM-1, heterodimetallic analogues (CoCo-, ZnCo-, and CoCd-) of the enzyme were generated and characterized. UV–vis, 1H NMR, EPR, and EXAFS spectroscopies were used to confirm the fidelity of the metal substitutions, including the presence of a homogeneous, heterodimetallic cluster, with a single-atom bridge. This marks the first preparation of a metallo-β-lactamase selectively substituted with a paramagnetic metal ion, Co(II), either in the Zn1 (CoCd-NDM-1) or in the Zn2 site (ZnCo-NDM-1), as well as both (CoCo-NDM-1). We then used these metal-substituted forms of the enzyme to probe the reaction mechanism, using steady-state and stopped-flow kinetics, stopped-flow fluorescence, and rapid-freeze-quench EPR. Both metal sites show significant effects on the kinetic constants, and both paramagnetic variants (CoCd- and ZnCo-NDM-1) showed significant structural changes on reaction with substrate. These changes are discussed in terms of a minimal kinetic mechanism that incorporates all of the data

Earth Observation Technologies: Low-End-Market Disruptive Innovation

After decades of traditional space businesses, the space paradigm is changing. New approaches to more efficient missions in terms of costs, design, and manufacturing processes are fostered. For instance, placing big constellations of micro- and nano-satellites in Low Earth Orbit and Very Low Earth Orbit (LEO and VLEO) enables the space community to obtain a huge amount of data in near real-time with an unprecedented temporal resolution. Beyond technology innovations, other drivers promote innovation in the space sector like the increasing demand for Earth Observation (EO) data by the commercial sector. Perez et al. stated that the EO industry is the second market in terms of operative satellites (661 units), micro- and nano-satellites being the higher share of them (61%). Technological and market drivers encourage the emergence of new start-ups in the space environment like Skybox, OneWeb, Telesat, Planet, and OpenCosmos, among others, with novel business models that change the accessibility, affordability, ownership, and commercialization of space products and services. This chapter shows some results of the H2020 DISCOVERER (DISruptive teChnOlogies for VERy low Earth oRbit platforms) Project and focuses on understanding how micro- and nano-satellites have been disrupting the EO market in front of traditional platforms

Implementación de un controlador de VirtualBox para OpenNebula

El "Cloud Computing" ("Computación en la Nube") se ha convertido en el nuevo paradigma tecnológico de la década. Las ventajas son palpables -optimización de los recursos, diversificación de los servicios, independencia real entre hardware y software, adaptación en tiempo real a las demandas de capacidad y la flexibilidad...- y han hecho que esa cosa conocida como "la nube" se esté convirtiendo en el lugar en el que muchos proveedores almacenan sus datos y desde el que ofrecen sus servicios. Este proyecto se sumerge de lleno en "la nube" y explora tanto el ámbito de aplicación -publico/privado-, como los diferentes servicios para los que se utiliza: software como servicio "SaaS", plataforma como servicio "PaaS", infraestructura como servicio "IaaS". Centrándose en este último, se estudian algunas de las aplicaciones software que hacen posible la IaaS, es decir, que posibilitan la utilización de diversos recursos físicos (procesadores, memorias,discos duros) por múltiples clientes (sistemas operativos, programas...): OpenStack, Eucalyptus, VMware y, más en profundidad, OpenNebula. De la mano de esta última, revisamos las soluciones de virtualización (hipervisores) más populares y que permiten la utilización del hardware por múltiples sistemas operativos al mismo tiempo. Centrarán nuestra atención KVM, XEN, VMware y, sobre todo, VirtualBox. El grueso de nuestro trabajo estará en el desarrollo de un "driver" de VirtualBox para OpenNebula. Mediante este driver, OpenNebula será capaz de crear, monitorizar, administrar y migrar máquinas virtuales que funcionan sobre VirtualBox. El driver de VirtualBox, escrito en Ruby e integrado a modo de "plugin", será totalmente independiente de OpenNebula y fácilmente instalable. Tomando como base las descripciones en XML de máquinas virtuales generadas por OpenNebula, interactuará directamente con VirtualBox a través de la interfaz de línea de comandos que ofrece. Evitaremos así la utilización de capas intermedias (como libvirt), y procuramos un mayor control sobre las acciones que se realizan. De esta manera, conseguimos ampliar las posibilidades de utilización de OpenNebula con una característica demandada por su comunidad de usuarios, aumentando su versatilidad y habilitando a VirtualBox como una opción más de virtualización dentro del campo de la "IaaS". [ABSTRACT] Cloud Computing has become the new technological paradigm of the decade. The advantages are real (resource optimization, diversification of services, real independence between hardware and software, real-time response to the capacity and flexibility demands) and have made that many providers keep their data and offer their services from that thing known as “The Cloud”. This project dives into The Cloud, and explores both the public/private use case and the different services supported: Software As A Service (SaaS), Platform As A Service (PaaS), Infrastructure As a Service (IaaS). Paying attention to the latter, some of the applications making IaaS possbile are studied. These applications allow the use of several physical resources (processors, memories, storage) by multiple clients (operating systems, software...). OpenStack, Eucalyptus, VMware and OpenNebula, in which we will go in depth, are some of them. Hand in hand with OpenNebula, we will explore the most popular virtualization solutions (hypervisors) which allow the use of a single piece of hardware by several operating systems at the same time, together with the management and assignment of its resources. We will mention KVM, XEN, VMware and above all, VirtualBox. Our work will be focused on the development of a VirtualBox driver for OpenNebula. Using this driver, OpenNebula will be able to create, monitor, manage and migrate virtual machines running on VirtualBox. The VirtualBox driver, written in Ruby and pluggable to the OpenNebula installation, will be totally independent and will come with an easy setup. Taking the XML virtual machine’s descriptions generated by OpenNebula as the starting point, the driver will communicate directly with VirtualBox through its command line interface. This way, we will avoid using extra layers (such as libvirt) and gain greater control over the actions that are runned. By making VirtualBox one more option for IaaS virtualization, we will manage to increase OpenNebula’s versatility and use cases and give answer to a feature which was requested by its user community

The impact of traffic-related air pollution on child and adolescent academic performance : A systematic review

Background The negative health impacts of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) have been investigated for many decades, however, less attention has been paid to the effect of TRAP on children’s academic performance. Understanding the TRAP-academic performance relationship will assist in identifying mechanisms for improving students’ learning and aid policy makers in developing guidance for protecting children in school environments. Methods This systematic review assessed the relationship between TRAP and academic performance. Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, Scopus and ERIC databases were searched for relevant, peer reviewed, articles published in English. Articles assessing exposure to TRAP pollutants (through direct measurement, local air quality monitoring, modelling, or road proximity/density proxy measures) and academic performance (using standardised tests) in children and adolescents were included. Risk of bias was assessed within and between studies. Results Of 3519 search results, 10 relevant articles were included. Nine studies reported that increased exposure to some TRAP was associated with poorer student academic performance. Study methodologies were highly heterogeneous and no consistent patterns of association between specific pollutants, age groups, learning domains, exposure windows, and exposure locations were established. There was a serious risk of bias within individual studies and confidence in the body of evidence was low. Conclusions This review found evidence suggestive of a negative association between TRAP and academic performance. However, the quality of this evidence was low. The existing body of literature is small, lacks the inclusion of high-quality exposure measures, and presents limitations in reporting. Future research should focus on using valid and reliable exposure measures, individual-level data, consistent controlling for confounders and longitudinal study designs

Attitude control for satellites flying in VLEO using aerodynamic surfaces

This paper analyses the use of aerodynamic control surfaces, whether passive or active, in order to carry out very low Earth orbit (VLEO) attitude maneuver operations. Flying a satellite in a very low Earth orbit with an altitude of less than 450 km, namely VLEO, is a technological challenge. It leads to several advantages, such as increasing the resolution of optical payloads or increase signal to noise ratio, among others. The atmospheric density in VLEO is much higher than in typical low earth orbit altitudes, but still free molecular flow. This has serious consequences for the maneuverability of a satellite because significant aerodynamic torques and forces are produced. In order to guarantee the controllability of the spacecraft they have to be analyzed in depth. Moreover, at VLEO the density of atomic oxygen increases, which enables the use of air-breathing propulsion (ABEP). Scientists are researching in this field to use ABEP it as a drag compensation system, and consequently an attitude control based on aerodynamic control could make sense. This combination of technologies may represent an opportunity to open new markets.In this work, several satellite geometric configurations were considered to analyze aerodynamic control:3 axis control with feather configuration and 2 axis controlwith shuttlecock configuration.The analysis was performed by simulating the attitude of the satellite as well as the disturbances affecting the spacecraft. The models implemented to simulate the disturbances were the following: Gravitational gradient torque disturbance, magnetic dipole torque disturbance (magnetic field model IGRF12), and aerodynamic torque disturbances (aerodynamic model DTM2013 and wind model HWM14). The maneuvers analyzedwere the following: detumbling orattitude stabilization, pointing and demisability. Different VLEO parameterswere analyzed for every geometric configuration and spacecraft maneuver. The results determined which of the analyzed geometric configurations suits better for every maneuver. This work is part of the H2020 DISCOVERER project. Project ID 737183This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, DISCOVERER project, under grant agreement No ID 737183Postprint (published version

Performance of low-cost monitors to assess household air pollution [dataset]

Sampling was conducted in a non-smoking private single-family house in the municipality of Terrassa (Spain) during February-March 2016. There are 16 files of .txt format and 7 files of .csv format. The lightest file is 3KB and the heaviest 371KB. Counting all 23 files , there are 2,01MB. Files from the HAPEX device are those which start with “HAPEX”. The following numbers correspond respectively to sensor ID_Day_Month_Year_Hour_Minute_Second of the sampling start. Files from the TZOA-R device are those which start with “TZOA”. The following 4 digits correspond to the sensor ID. Files from the DustTrak device are those which end with “dusttrak”. From 22 Feb to 25 Feb the number of the files’ name corresponds to DayMonthYear (DDMMYY) and HourMinute (HHMM) of the sampling start. In contrast, from 29 Feb, the number of the files’ name corresponds to DayMonthYear (DDMMYYYY) of the sampling start. Files from the EL-USB-CO devices are those which end with “co”. From 22 Feb to 25 Feb the number of the files’ name corresponds to DayMonthYear (DDMMYYYY) of the sampling start plus DayMonthYear (DDMMYYYY) of the sampling end. The numbers before “co” correspond to the sensor ID (e.g. “1co”). In contrast, from 29 Feb, the number of the files’ name corresponds to DayMonthYear (DDMMYYYY) of the sampling start only. File from the Q-Trak device is the one that ends with “qtrak”. The number of the files’ name corresponds to DayMonthYear (DDMMYYYY) of the sampling start. File from BGI concentrations is the one that start with “BGI”. This is a database where the variable corresponding to the PM2.5 concentration is called “PMconcentration” (reported in µg/m3).Raw data of PM2.5 and CO from an indoor wood-combustion experiment. We evaluated the performance of two low-cost sensors measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (HAPEX Nano, Climate Solutions Consulting, and TZOA-R Model RD02, MyTZOA) and one measuring carbon monoxide (CO) (EL-USB-CO, Lascar Electronics Ltd.) in a real-world wood-combustion experiment. PM2.5 devices were compared against a DustTrak (Model 8534, TSI Inc.) and a BGI pump (BGI4004, BGI Inc.) and the EL-USB-CO data-logger was compared against a Q-Trak (Model 7575, TSI Inc.). Sampling was conducted in a single-family house in Terrassa (Spain) during five non-consecutive days. All devices were co-located 1 meter away from an indoor fireplace and 0.6 meters above the ground. Fire was set once per day with hardwood logs and kept burning for 12 hours including a minimum of 2 hours with an opened window. The data provided is the raw output from all the devices tested for the 5 sampling days aiming interested researchers to play with the data and reproduce our findings.The research leading to these results received funding from the Brown India Initiative of Brown University and the European Research Council under ERC Grant Agreement number 336167 for the CHAI Project

Performance of low-cost monitors to assess household air pollution

Exposure to household air pollution is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. However, due to the lack of validated low-cost monitors with long-lasting batteries in indoor environments, most epidemiologic studies use self-reported data or short-term household air pollution assessments as proxies of long-term exposure. We evaluated the performance of three low-cost monitors measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) in a wood-combustion experiment conducted in one household of Spain for 5 days (including the co-location of 2 units of HAPEX and 3 units of TZOA-R for PM2.5 and 3 units of EL-USB-CO for CO; a total of 40 unit-days). We used Spearman correlation (ρ) and Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) to assess accuracy of low-cost monitors versus equivalent research-grade devices. We also conducted a field study in India for 1 week (including HAPEX in 3 households and EL-USB-CO in 4 households; a total of 49 unit-days). Correlation and agreement at 5-min were moderate-high for one unit of HAPEX (ρ = 0.73 / CCC = 0.59), for one unit of TZOA-R (ρ = 0.89 / CCC = 0.62) and for three units of EL-USB-CO (ρ = 0.82–0.89 / CCC = 0.66–0.91) in Spain, although the failure or malfunction rate among low-cost units was high in both settings (60% of unit-days in Spain and 43% in India). Low-cost monitors tested here are not yet ready to replace more established exposure assessment methods in long-term household air pollution epidemiologic studies. More field validation is needed to assess evolving sensors and monitors with application to health studies.This work was supported by the Brown India Initiative of Brown University and the European Research Council under ERC Grant Agreement number 336167 for the CHAI Project. ISGlobal is a member of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya. CT was funded through a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (RYC-2015–17402) awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness