Identificación de incidentes de tráfico en Panamá por medio del análisis de datos de redes sociales

En Panamá, la gran cantidad de carros en las vías y eventos aleatorios de tráfico producen embotellamientos constantes y extensos. Estos problemas no son solventados aun cuando las autoridades planifican y avanzan con la construcción de más carriles para el flujo vehicular. Se propone desarrollar un sistema que permita visualizar información publicada en las redes sociales acerca de incidentes de tráfico. Para esta tarea, diferentes librerías de Python son utilizadas para la extracción de información de redes sociales (Selenium y Tweepy), análisis (sklearn, Pandas, fuzzy wuzzy, etc), visualización de datos (Plotly, Dash y WordCloud) y un método de geocodificación para obtener la localización aproximada de las publicaciones obtenidas. Los resultados muestran que se han obtenido aproximadamente 180 mil tweets desde 2014. Además, se ha iniciado con la preparación de datos para los modelos de clasificación (detección de tweets correspondientes a incidentes de tráfico) y se ha desarrollado la interfaz gráfica. Este sistema presenta ventajas como la agilización y la rapidez de detección y visualización de incidentes de tráfico, que pueden ser de gran ayuda para las autoridades de tránsito del país

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Les claus del desenvolupament duna economia circular a Amèrica Llatina. Revisió bibliogràfica dels avenços del model en aquesta regió.

[ES] Esta investigación busca abordar el concepto de Economía Circular de forma transversal, desde sus inicios hasta nuestros días, tratando de plasmar sus características principales. Todo ello mostrándolo como una alternativa futura del actual modelo productivo lineal. El artículo, se centra en el estudio de este modelo en América Latina, efectuando una retrospectiva del término y todo lo que éste comprende en el territorio. Se ha buscado mostrar una mirada crítica respecto a lo que se está realizando con referencia a la economía, sociedad y medioambiente. Asimismo, se aportan una serie de propuestas que sería favorable que adoptasen en la región, ateniéndose a las bases de este sistema económico que pretende romper con todo lo establecido y marcar un nuevo rumbo en nuestro futuro a corto y largo plazo.[EN] This research seeks to address the concept of Circular Economy in a transversal way, from its beginnings to the present day, trying to capture its main characteristics. It shows it as a future alternative to the current linear production model. The article focuses on the study of this model in Latin America, taking a retrospective look at the term and all that it encompasses in the territory. The aim is to take a critical look at what is being done in terms of the economy, society and the environment. It also provides a series of proposals that it would be favourable for the region to adopt, in accordance with the bases of this economic system that aims to break with everything that has been established and set a new course for our short and long-term future.Galan Garcia, L. (2022). Las claves del desarrollo de una economía circular en América Latina. Revisión bibliográfica de los avances del modelo en esta región. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/18912

Sixty years of transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP) in Europe: where are we now? A European network approach to defining the epidemiology and management patterns for TTR-FAP

Purpose of revie

Symbiotic archaea in marine sponges show stability and host specificity in community structure and ammonia oxidation functionality

Archaea associated with marine sponges are active and influence the nitrogen metabolism of sponges. However, we know little about their occurrence, specificity, and persistence. We aimed to elucidate the relative importance of host specificity and biogeographic background in shaping the symbiotic archaeal communities. We investigated these communities in sympatric sponges from the Mediterranean (Ircinia fasciculata and Ircinia oros, sampled in summer and winter) and from the Caribbean (Ircinia strobilina and Mycale laxissima). PCR cloning and sequencing of archaeal 16S rRNA and amoA genes showed that the archaeal community composition and structure were different from that in seawater and varied among sponge species. We found that the communities were dominated by ammonia-oxidizing archaea closely related to Nitrosopumilus. The community in M. laxissima differed from that in Ircinia spp., including the sympatric sponge I. strobilina; yet, geographical clusters within Ircinia spp. were observed. Whereas archaeal phylotypes in Ircinia spp. were persistent and belong to 'sponge-enriched' clusters, archaea in M. laxissima were closely related with those from diverse habitats (i.e. seawater and sediments). For all four sponge species, the expression of the archaeal amoA gene was confirmed. Our results indicate that host-specific processes, such as host ecological strategy and evolutionary history, control the sponge-archaeal communities

Estimating the annual economic burden for the management of patients with transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy in Spain.

Background: Transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN) is a fatal disease associated with substantial burden of illness. Three therapies are approved by the European Medicines Agency for the management of this rare disease. The aim of this study was to compare the total annual treatment specific cost per-patient associated with ATTR-PN in Spain.Methods: An Excel-based patient burden and cost estimator tool was developed to itemize direct and indirect costs related to treatment with inotersen, patisiran, and tafamidis in the context of ATTR-PN. The product labels and feedback from five Spanish ATTR-PN experts were used to inform resource use and cost inputs.Results: Marked differences in costs were observed between the three therapies. The need for patisiran- and inotersen-treated patients to visit hospitals for pre-treatment, administration, and monitoring was associated with increased patient burden and costs compared to those treated with tafamidis. Drug acquisition costs per-patient per-year were 291,076€ (inotersen), 427,250€ (patisiran) and 129,737€ (tafamidis) and accounted for the majority of total costs. Overall, the total annual per-patient costs were lowest for patients treated with tafamidis (137,954€), followed by inotersen (308,358€), and patisiran (458,771€).Conclusions: Treating patients with tafamidis leads to substantially lower costs and patient burden than with inotersen or patisiran

The Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 (VA LV VFQ-48): Performance of the Italian version

The Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48 is among the most validated tools to collect patient-reported outcomes in a low-vision population. We have aimed to conduct a pilot validation of the Italian version of the Veterans Affairs Low-Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire-48

Phenotype and clinical outcomes of Glu89Lys hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis: a new endemic variant in Spain.

The p.Glu109Lys variant (Glu89Lys) is a rare cause of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) for which clinical spectrum remains unresolved. We sought to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of ATTR Glu89Lys amyloidosis and assess a potential founder effect in Spain. Patients with the p.Glu109Lys ATTRv variant from 14 families were recruited at 7 centres. Demographics, complementary tests and clinical course were analysed. Haplotype analysis was performed in 7 unrelated individuals. Thirty-eight individuals (13 probands, mean age 40.4 ± 13.1 years) were studied. After median follow-up of 5.1 years (IQR 1.7-9.6), 7 patients died and 7 required heart transplantation (median age at transplantation 50.5 years). Onset of cardiac and neurological manifestations occurred at a mean age of 48.4 and 46.8 years, respectively. Median survival from birth was 61.6 years and no individual survived beyond 65 years. Patients treated with disease-modifying therapies exhibited better prognosis (p < 0.001). Haplotype analysis revealed a common origin from an ancestor who lived ∼500 years ago in southeast Spain. Glu89Lys ATTRv is a TTR variant with a founder effect in Spain. It is associated with near complete penetrance, early onset and mixed cardiac and neurologic phenotype. Patients have poor prognosis, particularly if not treated with disease-modifying therapies.This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the projects “PI17/01941, PI18/0765 and PI20/01379” (Cofunded by European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund “A way to make Europe”/“Investing in your future”). Fernando de Frutos receives grant support from ISCIII (CM20/00101). The CNIC is supported by the ISCIII, MCIN, the Pro-CNIC Foundation, and the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence program [CEX2020- 001041-S].S