Vulnerability of Coastal Areas Due to Infrastructure: The Case of Valencia Port (Spain)

[EN] The vulnerability of coastal areas is related to the existence and functionality of infrastructure. Ports have had increased activity in the last few decades due to growing needs of the market. At the same time, there have been huge changes in maritime traffic, and some ports are specialized in container traffic. The port in Valencia developed notably in the last expansions, in the 1980s and in the recent northern expansion. Valencia¿s port specializes in container traffic, and has become a Mediterranean leader and the metropolitan area is an important logistics center. Ports can create coastal erosion by altering wave patterns. The environmental effects of the port of Valencia were analyzed. The Spanish Mediterranean coastline as well as morpho-dynamic units were monitored. The solid transport capacity to the north and south of the Valencia port was estimated, and the effects of other infrastructure on sedimentary sources of beaches were also studied. The port of Valencia¿s barrier effect is responsible for the situation at the beaches to the north and south. This effect is total and impedes net sediment transport, predominantly to the south along the stretch of coastline. However, the port is not the only factor responsible for this situation, and the lack of continental sediments must also be considered. In addition, climate change has an influence on the behavior of the coastline. The vulnerability of the coast has increased due to changes in coastal morphology, variations in littoral transport rates, and coastal erosion. To promote sustainable port management, some correction measures, such as sand bypassing, dune rehabilitation, and dune vegetation, are proposed.Esteban Chapapría, V.; Serra Peris, JC. (2021). Vulnerability of Coastal Areas Due to Infrastructure: The Case of Valencia Port (Spain). Land. 10(12):1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10121344115101

Influencia de los constituyentes coloidales del petróleo en el comportamiento térmico e hidrotérmico de los residuos de destilación

Con ester etílico del ácido acético se pueden separar asfaltenos y resinas del petróleo y se pueden recuperar fracciones con puntos de ebullición ligeros con baja viscosidad y bajo contenido metálico y de azufre a partir de petróleos pesados y de residuos de destilación. En los últimos tiempos ha habido un creciente interés en el craqueo térmico en base a las mejoras en el diseño de reactores, mejores controles de proceso y costos más bajos. Como craqueo térmico se entiende la separación de destilados de petróleo de alto punto de ebullición y residuos de productos fluidos y ligeros por la aplicación de altas temperaturas. Con el hidrocraqueo térmico se buscan las ventajas del craqueo térmico y de hidrogenación pues este proceso no tiene el problema del envenenamiento catalítico. La presencia de hidrógeno frena las reacciones de condensación y demora la precipitación de asfaltenos. En este trabajo se investiga la influencia de los constituyentes coloidales en craqueo térmico e hidrotérmico de residuos de destilación de petróleo considerando la generación de gas, coque, asfaltenos, resinas, aromáticos e hidrocarburos saturados, así como el contenido en metales (Ni, V) y azufre. Por lo anterior se investigó especialmente un conocimiento sobre los productos y los petróleos tratados. Para esto se realizaron los siguientes análisis: destilación hasta 200 ºC, tamaño de masa relativa promedio, análisis elemental (C,H), análisis de gas, determinación gravimétrica del coque, termogravimetría, cromatografía de capa fina (Iatroscan TLC-FID), análisis ICP de Ni, V, S, viscosidad. El coque de algunos experimentos se caracterizó por espectroscopía infrarroja y mediciones NMR de estado sólido. Para los experimentos se utilizó un autoclave batch con 104 ml de volumen y enfriamiento, diseñado para 500 ºC y 500 bar, así como 1 Hz de agitación. Se investigó la influencia de la temperatura para los residuos de destilación de petróleo Kuwait y Laguna, así como para sus aceites desasfaltados. Se aplicaron tres temperaturas: 400, 425, 450 ºC, con tiempos de residencia de 0, 20, 40, 80, 120 min. Las mismas condiciones y 68 bar (en frío) de presión de hidrógeno se aplicó para el craqueo hidrotérmico. Los cálculos cinéticos indican un craqueo más rápido de los aceites desasfaltados. Se encontró que el hidrógeno se incorpora mejor en ausencia de los constituyentes coloidales del petróleo.Alemania. Servicio Alemán de Intercambio AcadémicoTesi

Dietary Inclusion of Halobacterium salinarum Modulates Growth Performances and Immune Responses in Farmed Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.)

The use of natural immunostimulants is considered the most promising alternative to promote fish health, productive performance and quality, increasing the aquaculture profitability, sustainability and social acceptance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the integration of a potential probiotic strain, Halobacterium salinarum, belonging to the Archaea domain, in the formulated diets of farmed gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) in terms of growth performances and immunity responses. The experiment was set up to test two different levels of inclusion of the bacteria in the diet: 0.05% (D1) and 0.1% (D2). The effects on fish growth performances; humoral (peroxidase, protease, antiprotease and IgM levels) and cellular immunity parameters (phagocytosis, respiratory burst and myeloperoxidase), along with bactericidal activity, were evaluated after 15 and 30 days of experimental feeding. The obtained results showed that the inclusion of H. salinarum at the highest concentration (D2 0.1%) improved growth performances, bactericidal activity against Vibrio anguillarum and some parameters related both to the humoral and cellular immune response, suggesting exploring other aspects of welfare in view of future supplementations of this probiotic strain in the diet of S. aurata

Assessing the Suitability of King Topologies for Interconnection Networks

In the late years many different interconnection networks have been used with two main tendencies. One is characterized by the use of high-degree routers with long wires while the other uses routers of much smaller degree. The latter rely on two-dimensional mesh and torus topologies with shorter local links. This paper focuses on doubling the degree of common 2D meshes and tori while still preserving an attractive layout for VLSI design. By adding a set of diagonal links in one direction, diagonal networks are obtained. By adding a second set of links, networks of degree eight are built, named king networks. This research presents a comprehensive study of these networks which includes a topological analysis, the proposal of appropriate routing procedures and an empirical evaluation. King networks exhibit a number of attractive characteristics which translate to reduced execution times of parallel applications. For example, the execution times NPB suite are reduced up to a 30 percent. In addition, this work reveals other properties of king networks such as perfect partitioning that deserves further attention for its convenient exploitation in forthcoming high-performance parallel systems

Machine learning-based model for prediction of clinical deterioration in hospitalized patients by COVID 19

[EN] Despite the publication of great number of tools to aid decisions in COVID-19 patients, there is a lack of good instruments to predict clinical deterioration. COVID19-Osakidetza is a prospective cohort study recruiting COVID-19 patients. We collected information from baseline to discharge on: sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities and associated medications, vital signs, treatment received and lab test results. Outcome was need for intensive ventilatory support (with at least standard high-flow oxygen face mask with a reservoir bag for at least 6 h and need for more intensive therapy afterwards or Optiflow high-flow nasal cannula or noninvasive or invasive mechanical ventilation) and/or admission to a critical care unit and/or death during hospitalization. We developed a Catboost model summarizing the findings using Shapley Additive Explanations. Performance of the model was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic and prediction recall curves (AUROC and AUPRC respectively) and calibrated using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. Overall, 1568 patients were included in the derivation cohort and 956 in the (external) validation cohort. The percentages of patients who reached the composite endpoint were 23.3% vs 20% respectively. The strongest predictors of clinical deterioration were arterial blood oxygen pressure, followed by age, levels of several markers of inflammation (procalcitonin, LDH, CRP) and alterations in blood count and coagulation. Some medications, namely, ATC AO2 (antiacids) and N05 (neuroleptics) were also among the group of main predictors, together with C03 (diuretics). In the validation set, the CatBoost AUROC was 0.79, AUPRC 0.21 and Hosmer-Lemeshow test statistic 0.36. We present a machine learning-based prediction model with excellent performance properties to implement in EHRs. Our main goal was to predict progression to a score of 5 or higher on the WHO Clinical Progression Scale before patients required mechanical ventilation. Future steps are to externally validate the model in other settings and in a cohort from a different period and to apply the algorithm in clinical practice. Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04463706.This work was supported in part by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the European Regional Development Fund COVID20/00459; the health outcomes group from Galdakao-Barrualde Health Organization; the Kronikgune Institute for Health Service Research; and the thematic network–REDISSEC (Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas)–of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. The funder of the study had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, management or interpretation, or writing of the report

Efectividad de la suplementación nutricional con polifenoles sobre el daño muscular y marcadores de estrés oxidativo en diferentes tipos de ejercicios físicos: Una revisión de la literatura.

During exercise, there is a redox imbalance that increases reactive oxygen species, generating oxidative stress that favors muscle damage, affecting physical and sports performance. Different antioxidant supplements have been used to optimize muscle recovery after physical exercise. However, the effects of various antioxidants have been counterproductive, since the reactive oxygen species generated by exercise are necessary for muscle adaptation and their reduction prevents correct intracellular signaling and consequently the adaptation of skeletal muscle to exercise. Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant that are present in various fruits and herb extracts that have different characteristics depending on their structure and composition, some presenting a cell signaling pathway similar to exercise, generating different stimuli at the skeletal muscle level, being able to reduce the oxidative damage generated by exercise and even being able to enhance its effects. The aim of this literature review is to describe the effect of various polyphenols on muscle damage and biomarkers of oxidative stress on different forms of physical exercise and sports in adults.Durante la realización de ejercicio, existe un desbalance redox que aumenta las especies reactivas de oxígeno generando un estrés oxidativo que favorece el daño muscular incidiendo en el rendimiento físico y deportivo. Diferentes suplementos antioxidantes han sido utilizados para optimizar la recuperación muscular posterior a la realización de ejercicio físico. Sin embargo, los efectos de diversos antioxidantes han sido contraproducentes, ya que las especies reactivas de oxígeno generadas por el ejercicio son necesarias para la adaptación muscular y la disminución de éstas, impide la correcta señalización intracelular y con esto, la adaptación del músculo esquelético frente al ejercicio físico. Los polifenoles son un tipo de antioxidantes que están presentes en diversos frutos y extractos de hierbas que poseen diversas características dependiendo de su estructura y composición, presentando algunos una ruta de señalización celular similar al ejercicio físico, generando diferentes estímulos a nivel del músculo esquelético, pudiendo reducir el daño oxidativo generado por el ejercicio e incluso, pudiendo potenciar sus efectos. El objetivo de la presente revisión a la literatura es determinar y describir el efecto de diversos polifenoles en el daño muscular y marcadores de estrés oxidativo posterior a diferentes modalidades de ejercicio físico y deportes en adultos

Cancer stem cells from human glioblastoma resemble but do not mimic original tumors after in vitro passaging in serum-free media

Human gliomas harbour cancer stem cells (CSCs) that evolve along the course of the disease, forming highly heterogeneous subpopulations within the tumour mass. These cells possess self-renewal properties and appear to contribute to tumour initiation, metastasis and resistance to therapy. CSC cultures isolated from surgical samples are considered the best preclinical in vitro model for primary human gliomas. However, it is not yet well characterized to which extent their biological and functional properties change during in vitro passaging in the serum-free culture conditions. Here, we demonstrate that our CSC-enriched cultures harboured from one to several CSC clones from the human glioma sample. When xenotransplanted into mouse brain, these cells generated tumours that reproduced at least three different dissemination patterns found in original tumours. Along the passages in culture, CSCs displayed increased expression of stem cell markers, different ratios of chromosomal instability events, and a varied response to drug treatment. Our findings highlight the need for better characterization of CSC-enriched cultures in the context of their evolution in vitro, in order to uncover their full potential as preclinical models in the studies aimed at identifying molecular biomarkers and developing new therapeutic approaches of human gliomas.Peer reviewe

Avances del Sargo Archosargus probatocephalus (WALBAUM, 1792) en la acuicultura como respuesta al cambio climático

Se espera una disminución hasta el 40% de la pesca por efecto del cambio climático en regiones tropicales, causando la repercusión en la productividad primaria afectando mayormente a poblaciones de peces que llevan a cabo su reproducción en arrecifes y estuarios; sumado a esto no se cuenta con el acceso físico y económico a alimentos suficientes, seguros y nutritivos para satisfacer las necesidades alimentarias de la población. Por estas razones se pensó en la acuacultura como respuesta a la disminución de la pesca y para producción de alimento sustentable, con un pez nativo que habita en zonas de estuarios y arrecifes, como el sargo que por sus características biológicas y económicas puede ser idóneo para la acuacultura. Para ello se estableció un cultivo experimental de diciembre 2011 a marzo 2012 en el Instituto Tecnológico de Boca del Río consistió de 2 estaques circulares de 25 m3, en área cerrada, con sistema de recirculación acuícola, salinidad de 30 ppm (+ 1), pH de 8.3 (+ 0.4) y temperatura de 26 °C (+ 2). Al inicio se observó un comportamiento agresivo por lo cual se introdujeron refugios y se observó una mejoría. Se estableció una dieta de moluscos bivalvos, después con un flan a base de calamar y finalmente con alimento balanceado. Resultando que tuvo buena adaptación al cautiverio, buena aceptación del alimento balanceado, obteniendo una supervivencia del 95 % en cultivo, además el sargo tiene buen pecio en el mercado, por estas razones se considera una especie idónea para el cultivo