3,128 research outputs found
Macaronichnus ‘co-occurrence’ in offshore transition settings: Discussing the role of tidal versus fluid muds influence
We thank the Associate-Editor, Emmanuel Fara, and the reviewer, Alfred Uchman, for their detailed and useful comments that significantly contributed to improve the manuscript. This research was funded by Grants PID2019-104625RB-100 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and Grants BRNM-072-UGR18, A-RNM-368-UGR20 and P18-RT-4074 funded by Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. Research Group RNM178 (Junta de Andalucía), as well as the “Ichnology and Paleoenvironmental Research Group” (UGR). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA.Macaronichnus is a key trace fossil in palaeoceanographic, palaeoclimatic, and petroleum exploration research. Small ichnosubspecies such as Macaronichnus segregatis segregatis, M. s. lineiformins, M. s. maeandriformis and M. s. spiriformis, typically occur in wave-dominated foreshore sands where large M. s. degiberti was never found. The latter shows a wide environmental distribution, occurring in sandy deposits of tidal channels, tidal bar sand sandridges, tidal-flat sand sheets, shorefaces, bioturbated sandy shelf, shelf storm-sheets, shelf sand ridges, and upper slopes. Small M. segregatis and large M. s. degiberti have not been observed to date due the ecological segregation of the tracemakers. An abundant record of large M. s. degiberti in a Tortonian (Late Miocene) mixed carbonate-siliciclastic unit from the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain) has been studied. Occurrence of M. s. degiberti is the result of the interaction of tidal and waves, storm influenced environment determining high-energy conditions and associated palaeoenvironmental parameters as shifting substrates, organic matter availability, and oxygenated pore and bottom-waters. Locally, associated to M. s. degiberti appear small, sinuous traces infilled by light material that were originally assigned to M. s. maeandriformis, and very rare M. s. spiriformis. However, the absence of the typical rim of Macaronichnus avoid a conclusive assignment. The coexistence of both small traces (?M. s. maeandriformis) and large M. s. degiberti is identified in the deposits underlying mudstone layers, revealing the importance of mud deposition during tidal slack water intervals or linked to fluid mud events favouring the co-occurrence of the trace makers of both Macaronichnus ichnosubespecies. This fact would have significant palaeobiological and palaeoecological implications, and could be the first record of both ichnosubspecies in the same intervals.MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033: PID2019-104625RB-100Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación BRNM-072-UGR18, A-RNM-368-UGR20, P18-RT-4074“ERDF A way of making Europe”Junta de Andalucía: Research Group RNM178“Ichnology and Paleoenvironmental Research Group” (UGR)Universidad de Granada / CBU
A new geometrical method for 3D evaluation of non-rigid registration methods for radiotherapy in prostate cancer
Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy aims at delivering a high dose of radiation to the tumour, while sparing the surrounding normal tissue to a maximum extent. Image registration is an essential tool for monitoring radiation therapies, since allows morphological comparisons in presence of anatomic variations. The evaluation of non-rigid registration methods is very complicated owe to the absence of a known pointwise correspondence. The use of analysis of variations in target volume delineations has been proposed in the past for the evaluation of non-rigid registration methods. Delineation of the target volume is usually accomplished by outlining the contour of the volume in each separate tomographic slice. In the studies of reference, the 3D surface is rendered from the contours by means of a Delauney triangulation. This geometrical method only works correctly for convex structures. However the volumes involved on pelvic anatomy, such as bladder or prostate including the seminal vesicles, have relevant concavities that introduce a huge error in the evaluation. A new geometrical method for the evaluation of convex-concave target volumes delineation is proposed
Associations between sedentary time, physical activity and bone health among older people using compositional data analysis
Introduction : Aging is associated with a progressive decrease in bone mass (BM), and being physical active is one of the main strategies to combat this continuous loss. Nonetheless, because daily time is limited, time spent on each movement behavior is co-dependent. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between BM and movement behaviors in elderly people using compositional data analysis.
Methods : We analyzed 871 older people [395 men (76.9 +/- 5.3y) and 476 women (76.7 +/- 4.7y)]. Time spent in sedentary behavior (SB), light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), was assessed using accelerometry. BM was determined by bone densitometry (DXA). The sample was divided according to sex and bone health indicators.
Results : The combined effect of all movement behaviors (PA and SB) was significantly associated with whole body, leg and femoral region BM in the whole sample (p<0.05), with leg and pelvic BM (p<0.05) in men and, with whole body, arm and leg BM (p<0.05) in women. In men, arm and pelvic BM were negatively associated with SB and whole body, pelvic and leg BM were positively associated with MVPA (p<0.05). In women, whole body and leg BM were positively associated with SB. Arm and whole body BM were positively associated and leg BM was negatively associated with LPA and arm BM was negatively associated with MVPA (p<0.05). Women without bone fractures spent less time in SB and more in LPA and MVPA than the subgroup with bone fractures.
Conclusion : We identified that the positive effect of MVPA relative to the other behaviors on bone mass is the strongest overall effect in men. Furthermore, women might decrease bone fracture risk through PA increase and SB reduction, despite the fact that no clear benefits of PA for bone mass were found
DIFERENCIAS REGIONALES Y ESTRUCTURALES DE REPUTACIÓN EN LA EMPRESA HOTELERA ESPAÑOLA
In the present paper we try to determine, on the one hand, the existence of significative diferences in the reputation stock betwen the hotel firms situated in the six Spanish regions. On the other hand, we examine the influence of the category of the hotel (measured by the number of stars) as well as the type of the hotel (city or holiday) in the reputation level. The reputation measurement is carry out from the opinions of the competition hotels managers in the dimensions service quality, innovation capacity, financial and economic solidity and social and environmental responsibility. En el presente trabajo tratamos de determinar, por un lado, la posible existencia de diferencias significativas en cuanto a los niveles de reputación con el que cuentan empresas hoteleras situadas en seis Comunidades Autónomas españolas. Asimismo, se examina la posible influencia del factor categoría (medido por número de estrellas), así como tipo de hotel (vacacional o de ciudad) en los niveles de reputación corporativa. La medida de la reputación se ha elaborado a partir de las opiniones de directivos de hoteles de la competencia en las dimensiones calidad del servicio, capacidad de innovación, solidez económico-financiera y responsabilidad social y ambiental
Presentation of the paper “Definition of a Technological Ecosystem for Scientific Knowledge Management in a PhD Programme”
[EN]This is the presentation of the paper entitled “Definition of a Technological Ecosystem
for Scientific Knowledge Management in a PhD Programme” in the TEEM 2015
International Conference held in Porto (Portugal) in October 7-9, 2015
Attribution of risk factors for suicide in children and adolescents in the Latino immigrant community: a sample of Southern California
In the last years an alarming increase has taken place in the number of suicides in children and teenagers, being a daily reality in the panorama of the USA, especially in the case of
Latino immigrants. In the current study, a survey about the perceived risk factors for suicide was established between risk population. The sample was composed of 593 children and adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years, most Latino ethnicity, belonging to "Latina Youth Program" (LYP), a program of suicide prevention in risk population, developed by Pacifics Clinics, an organization that operates in Los Angeles, California. They interviewed the participants about the factors they considered risk for suicidal behavior. Participants were randomly selected in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The factors most commonly identified risk were the regulation of emotions (96.57%), poor family communication, poor school performance, the influence of the peer group (89.67%, 82. 73% and 41.57% respectively). The found trend is towards an increase in the perception of risk factors detected in any case up to ten risk factors for suicide. The higher quantity of variables impede the precise
determination of the (s) reason (s) that might end in this fatidical conclusion, being the most common a panorama in which converge multitude of variables, crucial to settling objectives in interventionsEn los últimos años se ha producido un incremento alarmante en el número de suicidios en niños y adolescentes, siendo una realidad cotidiana en el panorama de los EEUU, especialmente en el caso de inmigrantes latinos. En el presente estudio, se estableció un sondeo en población de riesgo acerca de los factores de riesgo de suicidio percibidos. La muestra quedó conformada por 593 niños y adolescentes de edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 18 años, la mayoría de etnia latina, pertenecientes a “Latina Youth Program” (LYP), un programa de prevención del suicidio en población de riesgo, desarrollado por Pacifics Clinics, una organización que desarrolla su actividad en Los Ángeles, California. Se entrevistó a los participantes acerca de los factores que ellos consideraban de riesgo para la conducta suicida. Los participantes fueron seleccionados aleatoriamente en los años 2003, 2005 y 2008. Los factores de riesgo más comúnmente señalados fueron la regulación de emociones (96.57%), la pobre comunicación familiar, bajo rendimiento escolar, la influencia del grupo de iguales (89.67%, 82. 73% y 41.57% respectivamente). La tendencia encontrada apunta hacia un aumento en la percepción de factores de riesgo, detectándose en cualquier caso hasta diez factores de riesgo de suicidio. La cantidad de variables puestas en juego complejizan la determinación precisa de la(s) causa(s) que podrían desembocar en este fatídico desenlace, siendo lo más común un panorama en el que confluyen multitud de variables, cruciales para asentar objetivos en las intervencione
Kinetic study of pilot-scale supercritical CO2 extraction of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) leaves
NOTICE: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Supercritical Fluids. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Supercritical Fluids, 55 (2011). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.supflu.2010.09.030Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extracts were obtained in a supercritical pilot-scale plant. Based on experimental information available in the literature for analytical or low-scale processes, extraction temperature and pressure were selected to be 313 K and 30 MPa. At these extraction conditions, the kinetic behavior of the pilot-scale overall
extraction curve were determined with respect to yield, antioxidant activity and carnosic
acid content. The overall extraction curve was represented using Sovova’s model; the
average deviation between measured and calculated yields was lower than 2%. Mass
transfer coefficients in the fluid and solid phases were determined and were compared with previous data reported in the literature for low-scale rosemary supercritical extraction.
A two-stage depressurization procedure was accomplished and the effect of both on-line fractionation and extraction time on the antioxidant activity of the samples collected was studied. The antioxidant activity of the different fractions could be straight correlated with the carnosic acid content with a regression coefficient of 0.92This work has been financed by Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (ALIBIRD-S2009/AGR-1469) and project FUN-C-FOOD, CSD2007-00063 (CONSOLIDER-INGENIO) from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain
Effect of green Spanish-style Manzanilla packaging conditions on the prevalence of the putative probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus pentosus TOMC-LAB2
This work focuses on the persistence of the putative probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus pentosus TOMC-LAB2 on green Spanish-style Manzanilla olives according to different packaging conditions and storage temperatures. The lactic acid bacteria population decreased with time but the highest survival counts (and lowest yeasts) at the end of storage (8 months) were observed in plastic pouches under nitrogen atmosphere and glass jars with brine stored at 20°C. Molecular techniques showed a 100% presence of the putative probiotic bacteria in biofilms adhered to olive epidermis, while it was absent in PPB (plastic pouches with brine) and in olives stored at 7°C. No changes in NaCl, pH or combined acidity were observed during the storage except for a slight increase in titratable acidity at 20°C. The color of the fruits was stable but degraded at 20°C for olives in plastic pouches with brine.The research leading to these results has received funding from the EU's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n°243471 (PROBIOLIVES) and the Junta de Andalucía (through financial support to group AGR-125). Thanks to JOLCA for supplying the fruits and the packages and to ASEMESA for its support. FNAL thanks the Spanish Government and CSIC for his Ramón y Cajal postdoctoral research contract, while VRG wishes to thank the AgriFood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), Bank of Santander, Spanish Government, and ‘Aloreña de Málaga’ Olive Manufacturing Association for her predoctoral fellowship (training program of PhD in companies).EUR 1,172 APC fee funded by the EC FP7 Post-Grant Open Access PilotPeer reviewe
Using visual attention in a Nao humanoid to face the RoboCup any-ball challenge
Visual attention is a natural tool which allows
animals to locate relevant objects or areas in a given scene,
discarding the rest of elements present and thus reducing the
amount of information to deal with. In this paper we present the
design an implementation of a visual attention mechanism based
on a saliency map and its implementation in the Nao humanoid.
This control mechanism is applied to solve one of the challenges
proposed in the RoboCup competition named ”any-ball”. The
results obtained are analysed and future works derived from
that analysis are presente
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