Methodology for the damage assessment of vehicles exposed to flooding in urban areas

Within urban areas, humans carry out a great diversity of activities, and some of them require the use of vehicles. Floods, especially in urban areas, can generate significant tangible direct damages to vehicles themselves and to the urban elements in case of loss of stability and collision, which cannot be dismissed. In this paper, after a state-of-the-art review on damage curves for vehicles, a methodology to assess the direct economic impact for vehicles exposed to flooding has been described, and applied within a study carried out in the framework of the BINGO H2020 EU Project. Only three different studies focused on damages to vehicles in contact with floodwater have been found. Contrasting damage curves for vehicles are found when comparing the three approaches, however, the ones proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) offer a high level of completeness and accuracy. Moreover, USACE''s development is the most current research and all the steps for the development of the damage curves are comprehensively described. Finally, after the description of a detailed methodology for flood damage mapping for vehicles, a procedure to evaluate the Expected Annual Damage for vehicles is offered

Non-Linear Models for Growth, Development, and Posture of L-33 White Leghorn Hens, according to Economic Indicators

The Zootechnical Factors established by the main indicators of bioeconomic behavior were determined for the pro-ductive-commercial cycle of L-33 White Leghorn hens in the province of Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. A number of 55 cycles were analyzed for validation of mathematical models between 2002 and 2014; other 18 cycles were studied between 2014 and 2016. Descriptive statistics, generalized mixed models (GLIMMIX), and five-function modelling were used. SAS 9.3 for Windows was also used. The productive cycles were similar to the standard set up for the breed and line in Cuba. Laying was 293 eggs/poultry, with a conversion of 1.40 feed kg/10 eggs, and a cost of $ 0.36 CUP an egg. The starting sheds and year had effects on live weight, tarsus length, uniformity, and daily weight gain up to 175 days. Sexual maturity, conversion, egg production, egg cost, and net income were influenced by farm, whereas each farm´s starting shed and the years, had negative effects on most biological indicators. Low, but significant effects of combined climate variables were observed in the bioeconomic indicators. The Gompertz´s model for growth, and Mc Nally´s for laying, were the best predicting tools for production. Along with GLIMMIX, they will contribute with suitable criteria for better decision making to increase egg production

Damage assessment methodology for vehicles exposed to flooding in urban areas

[EN] Urban floods may provoke important damages to vehicles, usually not taken into account within most studies related to urban flood risks damage assessments. Herein a methodology to estimate damages to vehicles exposed to urban floods is presented. After a state-of-the-art review, the most recent damage curves for vehicles developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE, 2009) are presented as the best adaptive and the most comprehensively performed so far. The proposed methodology is applied to the Spanish municipality of Badalona, framed in the H2020 European Project BINGO. In order to conduct this methodology some aspects such as the vehicular distribution are analyzed within the study area. Finally, Expected Annual Damage (EAD) for flooded vehicles is calculated based on inundations related to design storms of different return periods (1, 10, 100 and 500 years).[ES] Las inundaciones urbanas pueden provocar importantes daños a vehículos que, en general, no son considerados en la mayoría de estudios sobre evaluación de riesgo por inundaciones. En este artículo se propone una metodología para la estimación de los daños a vehículos expuestos a inundaciones urbanas. Se presenta inicialmente el estado de la cuestión en lo que se refiere a curvas de daños para vehículos, escogiéndose las desarrolladas por el U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE, 2009) por ser las más recientes, mejor justificadas y presentar mayor adaptabilidad al caso de estudio propuesto. La metodología propuesta se aplica al municipio español de Badalona, en el marco del proyecto europeo H2020 BINGO. Para llevar a cabo dicha metodología se definen y aplican conceptos como la distribución vehicular en toda el área estudiada. Finalmente, se evalúa el Daño Anual Esperado (DAE) relativo a coches a partir de los daños ocasionados por eventos sintéticos de 1, 10, 100 y 500 años de periodo de retorno.El trabajo presentado en este artículo se ha realizado en el marco del proyecto BINGO (Project ID: 641739) financiado por el programa H2020 de la Unión Europea (Acuerdo No. 641739).Martínez Gomariz, E.; Gómez, M.; Russo, B.; Sánchez, P.; Montes, J. (2017). Metodología para la evaluación de daños a vehículos expuestos a inundaciones en zonas urbanas. Ingeniería del Agua. 21(4):247-262. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2017.8772SWORD247262214Casas M. C., Rodríguez R., Redaño Á. (2010). Analysis of extreme rainfall in Barcelona using a microscale rain gauge network. Meteorological Applications 17(1): 117-123.Cummins, J.D., Suher, M., and Zanjani, G., 2010. Federal financial exposure to natural catastrophe. In: D. Lucas, ed. Risk Measuring and managing Federal financial risk. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 61-92.España (2016) Orden HFP/1895/2016, de 14 de diciembre. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 17 de diciembre de 2016, 304, pp. 87816-88485. [online: http://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2016-11948].Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Department of Homeland Security. Mitigation Division. (2015). Multi-hazard Loss Estimation Methodology. Flood Model. Hazus-MH MR5 Technical Manual. Washingtong, D.C., USA. 449p.Francés F., García-Bartual R., Ortiz E., Salazar S., Miralles J. L., Blöschl G., Komma J., Habereder C., Bronstert A., Blume T. (2008). Efficiency of non-structural flood mitigation measures: "room for the river" and "retaining water in the landscape." CRUE Research Report No I-6. 242p.Grigg N. S., Helweg O. J. (1975) State-of-the-art of estimating flood damage in urban areas. J Am Water Resour Assoc 11:379-390.Hammond M. J., Chen A. S., Djordjević S., et al (2015) Urban flood impact assessment: A state-of-the-art review. Urban Water J 12:14-29.Jongman, B., Kreibich, H., Apel, H., Barredo, J. I., Bates, P. D., Feyen, L., Gericke, A., Neal, J., Aerts,J. C. J. H., Ward, P. J. (2012). Comparative flood damage model assessment: towards a European approach. Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 12(12), 3733-3752.Martínez-Gomariz, E., Gómez, M., Russo, B., Djordjević, S. (2016a) Stability criteria for flooded vehicles: a state-of-the-art review. Journal of Flood Risk Management. 10pp. (record online).Merz, B., Kreibich, H., Schwarze, R., Thieken, A. (2010). Review article "Assessment of economic flood damage." Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 10(8), 1697-1724.Meyer V., Priest S., Kuhlicke C. (2011) Economic evaluation of structural and non-structural flood risk management measures: examples from the Mulde River. Nat Hazards 62:301-324.Shand T.D., Cox R.J., Blacka M.J., Smith G.P. (2011) Australian Rainfall and Runoff (AR&R). Revision Project 10: Appropriate Safety Criteria for Vehicles (Report Number: P10/S2/020). Sydney, Australia. 7p.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) (2009). Economic Guidance Memorandum, 09-04, Generic Depth-Damage Relationships for Vehicles. Washington, D.C, USA. 9p.Velasco, M., Cabello, À., Russo, B. (2015). Flood damage assessment in urban areas. Application to the Raval district of Barcelona using synthetic depth damage curves. Urban Water Journal, 13(4), 426-440White G. F. (1945) Human Adjustment to Floods: A Geographical Approach to the Flood Problem in the United States. PhD Thesis, University of Chicago, USA

Contenido de minerales en grano, harina y salvado de variedades de quinua.

Se comparan el contenido proteínico de la quinua con la cebada, maíz amarillo, maíz blanco y trigo. Para el efecto se determinan los elementos minerales: P, Ca, K, Mg, Na, Fe, Cu, Mn y Zn para 15 variedades de quinua cultivadas en los países andinos. La determinación se hizo en los 3 estratos: grano, harina y salvado. Los porcentajes de P en el grano, fluctuaron entre 0.62 a 0.33 por ciento con promedio de 0.47 por ciento para las 15 variedades. El Ca varió en el grano entre 0.39 a 0.14 por ciento con promedio 0.19 por ciento, siendo estos contenidos superiores a los reportados para los otros granos. Los contenidos promedios de K y Mg para el grano, fueron 0.87 y 0.26 oscilando entre 1.98 a 0.50 por ciento para el K y 0.46 a 0.13 para el Mg, siendo suficientes, en una dieta balanceada para humanos y llenando los requerimientos para ganado bovino. En cuanto a Na, Fe, Cu, Mn y Zn, a excepción del Na los valores se encuentran por encima de los reportados para cebada, maíz y trigo. En cuanto a los 3 estratos, los mayores niveles de minerales en todas las variedades lo presentó el salvado con relación a las cantidades encontradas para grano y harina. Comparando el contenido de minerales y saponina de estas mismas variedades, se observó una relación inversaQuinua-Amaranthus caudatu

Learning Meta-Descriptions of the FOAF Network

Postprin

Synbiotic therapy decreases microbial translocation and inflammation and improves immunological status in HIV-infected patients: a double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial

BACKGROUND: HIV-infection results in damage and dysfunction of the gastrointestinal system. HIV enteropathy includes pronounced CD4+ T-cell loss, increased intestinal permeability, and microbial translocation that promotes systemic immune activation, which is implicated in disease progression. A synbiotic is the combination of probiotics and prebiotics that could improve gut barrier function. Our study goal was to determine whether the use of a synbiotic, probiotics or a prebiotic can recover immunological parameters in HIV-infected subjects through of a reduction of microbial translocation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind controlled study was performed; twenty Antiretroviral treatment-naïve HIV-infected subjects were subgrouped and assigned to receive a synbiotic, probiotics, a prebiotic, or a placebo throughout 16 weeks. RESULTS: We had no reports of serious adverse-events. From baseline to week 16, the synbiotic group showed a reduction in bacterial DNA concentrations in plasma (p = 0.048). Moreover, the probiotic and synbiotic groups demonstrated a decrease in total bacterial load in feces (p = 0.05). The probiotic group exhibited a significant increment of beneficial bacteria load (such as Bifidobacterium; p = 0.05) and a decrease in harmful bacteria load (such as Clostridium; p = 0.063). In the synbiotic group, the CD4+ T-cells count increased (median: +102 cells/μL; p = 0.05) and the level of Interleukin 6 cytokine decreased significantly (p = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a significant increase in CD4+ T lymphocyte levels in the synbiotic group, which could delay the initiation of antiretroviral therapy and decrease costs in countries with limited resources

Changes in iron metabolism and oxidative status in STZ-induced diabetic rats treated with bis(maltolato) oxovanadium(IV) as an antidiabetic agent

The role of vanadium as a micronutrient and hypoglycaemic agent has yet to be fully clarified. The present study was undertaken to investigate changes in the metabolism of iron and in antioxidant defences of diabetic STZ rats following treatment with vanadium. Four groups were examined: control; diabetic; diabetic treated with 1 mgV/day; and Diabetic treated with 3 mgV/day. The vanadium was supplied in drinking water as bis(maltolato) oxovanadium (IV) (BMOV). The experiment had a duration of five weeks. Iron was measured in food, faeces, urine, serum, muscle, kidney, liver, spleen, and femur. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, NAD(P)H: quinone-oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) activity, and protein carbonyl group levels in the liver were determined. In the diabetic rats, higher levels of Fe absorbed, Fe content in kidney, muscle, and femur, and NQO1 activity were recorded, together with decreased catalase activity, in comparison with the control rats. In the rats treated with 3 mgV/day, there was a significant decrease in fasting glycaemia, Fe content in the liver, spleen, and heart, catalase activity, and levels of protein carbonyl groups in comparison with the diabetic group. In conclusion BMOV was a dose-dependent hypoglycaemic agent. Treatment with 3 mgV/day provoked increased Fe deposits in the tissues, which promoted a protein oxidative damage in the liver.The authors are grateful for support received from the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Andalusian Regional Government (Project P06-CTS-01435)

Stellar atmospheric parameters of FGK-type stars from high-resolution optical and near-infrared CARMENES spectra

With the purpose of assessing classic spectroscopic methods on high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra in the near-infrared wavelength region, we selected a sample of 65 F-, G-, and K-type stars observed with CARMENES, the new, ultra-stable, double channel spectrograph at the 3.5 m Calar Alto telescope. We computed their stellar atmospheric parameters (T_(eff), log g, ξ, and [Fe/H]) by means of the STEPAR code, a PYTHON implementation of the equivalent width method that employs the 2017 version of the MOOG code and a grid of MARCS model atmospheres. We compiled four Fe I and Fe II line lists suited to metal-rich dwarfs, metal-poor dwarfs, metal-rich giants, and metal-poor giants that cover the wavelength range from 5300 to 17 100 Å, thus substantially increasing the number of identified Fe I and Fe II lines up to 653 and 23, respectively, We examined the impact of the near-infrared Fe and Fen lines upon our parameter determinations after an exhaustive literature search, placing special emphasis on the 14 Gala benchmark stars contained in our sample, Even though our parameter determinations remain in good agreement with the literature values, the increase in the number of Fe l and Fe II lines when the near-infrared region is taken into account reveals a deeper T_(eff) scale that might stem from a higher sensitivity of the near-infrared lines to T_(eff)

A Community Program of Integrated Care for Frail Older Adults: +AGIL Barcelona

Objectives: To assess the 3-month impact on physical function of a program for community-dwelling frail older adults, based on the integration of primary care, geriatric medicine, and community resources, implemented in 'real life'. Design: Interventional cohort study. Setting: Primary care in Barcelona, Spain. Participants: Individuals aged ≥80 years (n=134), presenting at least one sign of frailty (i.e., slow gait speed, weakness, memory complaints, involuntary weight loss, poor social support). Intervention: After frailty screening by the primary care team, candidates were referred to a geriatric team (geriatrician + physical therapist), who performed a comprehensive geriatric assessment and designed a tailored multidisciplinary intervention in the community, including a) multi-modal physical activity (PA) sessions, b) promotion of adherence to a Mediterranean diet c) health education and d) medication review. Measurements: Participants were assessed based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment including physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery -SPPB- and gait speed), at baseline and at a three month follow-up. Results: A total of 112 (83.6%) participants (mean age=80.8 years, 67.9% women) were included in this research. Despite being independent in daily life, participants' physical performance was impaired (SPPB=7.5, SD=2.1, gait speed=0.71, SD=0.20 m/sec). After three months, 90.2% of participants completed ≥7.5 physical activity sessions. The mean improvements were +1.47 (SD 1.64) points (p<0.001) for SPPB, +0.08 (SD 0.13) m/sec (p<0.001) for gait speed, -5.5 (SD 12.10) sec (p<0.001) for chair stand test, and 53% (p<0.001) improved their balance. Results remained substantially unchanged after stratifying the analyses according to the severity of frailty. Conclusions: Our results suggested that a 'real-world' multidisciplinary intervention, integrating primary care, geriatric care, and community services may improve physical function, a marker of frailty, within 3 months. Further studies are needed to address the long-term impact and scalability of this implementation program