Primary prevention for acute kidney injury in ambulatory patients

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by a sudden decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which usually induces the accumulation of nitrogenous-waste substances in the blood. It is expressed as an increase in serum creatinine levels (≥ 0.3 mg/dl within 48 hours or ≥1.5 times from baseline within the previous 7 days) or by a urine volume reduction of ˂0.5 ml/kg/h in 6 hours [1]. AKI is a relevant condition since it is usually associated with 1–7% and 30–50% of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, respectively; showing a significant morbidity-mortality rate, and progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD) [1–7]. Even though many strategies have been proposed to achieve an early AKI diagnosis (e.g. novel biomarkers, informatics alarms), and an AKI effective treatment (e.g. renal protective drugs, biocompatible renal replacement therapies), both objectives remain unachieved; therefore, AKI prevention is currently the best ‘therapeutic’ strategy for this condition

The Effect of Conservation Agriculture and Environmental Factors on CO2 Emissions in a Rainfed Crop Rotation

There are many factors involved in the release of CO2 emissions from the soil, such as the type of soil management, the soil organic matter, the soil temperature and moisture conditions, crop phenological stage, weather conditions, residue management, among others. This study aimed to analyse the influence of these factors and their interactions to determine the emissions by evaluating the environmental cost expressed as the kg of CO2 emitted per kg of production in each of the crops and seasons studied. For this purpose, a field trial was conducted on a farm in Seville (Spain). The study compared Conservation Agriculture, including its three principles (no-tillage, permanent soil cover, and crop rotations), with conventional tillage. Carbon dioxide emissions measured across the four seasons of the experiment showed an increase strongly influenced by rainfall during the vegetative period, in both soil management systems. The results of this study confirm that extreme events of precipitation away from the normal means, result in episodes of high CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. This is very important because one of the consequences for future scenarios of climate change is precisely the increase of extreme episodes of precipitation and periods extremely dry, depending on the area considered. The total of emission values of the different plots of the study show how the soils under the conventional system (tillage) have been emitting 67% more than soils under the conventional agriculture system during the 2010/11 campaign and 25% for the last campaign where the most appreciable differences are observed

The Isolation Concept in the 5G Network Slicing

The fifth generation (5G) of cellular networks shall host a number of tenants and provide services tailored to meet a wide range of requirements in terms of performance, dependability and security. Network slicing will be a key enabler, by assigning dedicated resources and functionalities to meet such requirements, where the isolation between slices, i.e., that a slice may operate without interference from other slices, becomes a core issue. The objective of this paper is to give a thorough insight into the isolation concept, discuss the challenges involved in providing it, and outline the means available to provide various levels of isolation. Fundamental concepts that can be used in further work to build an isolation solution tailored to specific needs. This paper defines important concepts such as the Provider Management, the Tenant Management, and the Means of Isolation in the context of the Isolation Dimensions. The conclusion of the study is that dealing with isolation between slices needs extensions in state of the art on the mentioned concepts, and in how to tailor the isolation to meet the needs in a cost-efficiency manner.acceptedVersio

Preliminary observations on carcass traits and meat yield of five types of Brahman-influenced grass-fed bulls

Benefiting from interventions of the savanna ecosystem, breeders in Los Llanos of Apure State (Venezuela) are exploring the opportunity to improve cattle genetics by implementing crossbreeding programs.  Fifty yearling bulls of five types of Brahman influence [ST-Brahman (n = 10), F1 Angus x Brahman (F1-Angus; n = 10), F1 Chianina x Brahman (F1-Chianina; n = 10), F1 Romosinuano x Brahman (F1-Romosinuano; n = 10), and F1 Simmental x Brahman (F1-Simmental; n = 10)] were selected to be compared in carcass performance (linear measurements, quality and quantity indicators, Venezuelan and U.S. grades, and cutability) at a desirable conformation endpoint with a suitable market weight of 480 kg.  Shorter ST-Brahman carcasses exhibited the most abundant finish, significantly different from the longer F1-Simmental and F1-Romosinuano counterparts.  All carcasses fell into the A youngest maturity and were eligible for the USDA "Bullock “class designation; 62% reached the top Venezuelan quality grade, 96% graded US Standard and 64% reached the US yield grade 1, indicating superior cutability. Significant differences in yield of individual cuts (ribeye + strip loin, and cuts from the round) were detected between F1-Romosinuano and St-Brahman, F1-Angus and F1-Chianina counterparts.  F1-Chianina bulls had slight but significant advantages in yield of high-valued boneless cuts as compared to those of F1-Romosinuano and F1-Simmental counterparts. Conversely, F1-Romosinuano outperformed F1-Chianina in 1.73 percentage points of medium-valued boneless cuts (P < 0.05).  Under the sample selection criteria and harvest endpoint, slight changes in carcass performance can be expected from crossbreeding.Con intervenciones del ecosistema sabana y aplicando un manejo adecuado de los pastos, ganaderos de Los Llanos del Estado Apure (Venezuela) estan explorando mejorar la genética del ganado con programas de cruzamiento.  Cincuenta machos enteros añosos de cinco tipos raciales con influencia Brahman [Brahman puro (n = 10), F1 Angus x Brahman (F1-Angus; n = 10), F1 Chianina x Brahman (F1-Chianina; n = 10), F1 Romosinuano x Brahman (F1-Romosinuano; n = 10) y F1 Simmental x Brahman (F1-Simmental; n = 10)] se compararon en desempeño de la canal (mediciones lineales, indicadores de calidad y cantidad, categorías de clasificación y rendimiento carnicero) a un punto final de conformación deseable con un peso corporal aproximado de 480 kg.  Canales más cortas de Brahman puros exhibieron acabado más abundante, diferente (P<0.05) de las contrapartes más largas F1-Simmental y F1-Romosinuano.  Todas las canales cayeron en la madurez más joven (A) y fueron elegibles para la designación de clase "Bullock" del USDA; el 62% alcanzó el grado de calidad superior venezolano (categoría A), el 96% calificó en el grado de calidad Standard y el 64% alcanzó el grado máximo de rendimiento carnicero (grado 1 USDA).  Los toretes F1-Chianina tuvieron ventajas leves pero significativas en rendimiento en cortes deshuesados de alto valor, en comparación con los de F1-Romosinuano y F1-Simmental.  Por el contrario, F1-Romosinuano superó a F1-Chianina en 1,73 puntos porcentuales de cortes deshuesados de valor medio (P <0.05).  Bajo los criterios de selección de la muestra y el punto final de la cosecha, no se pueden esperar grandes cambios en el rendimiento carnicero a partir del cruzamiento.Com o uso de tecnologias em um ecossistema de savana e aplicando um manejo adequado das pastagens, os criadores de Los Llanos do Estado de Apure (Venezuela) estão tentando melhorar a genética do gado através da utilização de programas de cruzamento.  Cinquenta bovinos machos não castrados, com peso de abate de ~480 kg, de cinco cruzamentos com Brahman [Brahman puro (n = 10), F1 Angus x Brahman (F1-Angus; n = 10), F1 Chianina x Brahman (F1-Chianina; n = 10), F1 Romosinuano x Brahman (F1-Romosinuano; n = 10) e F1 Simental x Brahman (F1-Simental; n = 10)], foram comparados quanto às características (medidas lineares, indicadores de qualidade e quantidade e rendimento de desossa) y tipificacao de carcaça.    Carcaças de Brahman puros apresentaram maior cobertura de gordura do que carcaças de animais F1-Simmental e F1-Romosinuano (P<0.05).  Todas as carcaças foram com maturidade “A” (jovem / Bullock), sendo que 96% se qualificaram no grau de qualidade USDA “Standard” e 64% alcançaram o grau máximo de rendimento de desossa (grau 1).  Pelo padrão venezuelano, 62% das carcaças alcançaram o grau de qualidade superior (categoria A).  Diferenças significativas foram detectadas no rendimento de cortes individuais (filé de costela e contrafilé e cortes do coxão) entre carcaças de F1-Romosinuano e F1-Simental e F1-Angus e F1-Chianina. Carcaças de F1-Chianina apresentaram maiores rendimentos em cortes desossados de alto valor em comparação com F1-Romosinuano e F1-Simmental.  Carcaças de F1-Romosinuano tiveram 1,73 pontos percentuais a mais de rendimento em cortes desossados de valor intermediário, que carcaças de F1-Chianina (P <0,05). Segundo os critérios de seleção da amostra e o ponto final de abate, não se podem esperar grandes mudanças na qualidade e rendimento das carcaças de diferentes cruzamentos. &nbsp

Lattice calculations for A=3,4,6,12 nuclei using chiral effective field theory

We present lattice calculations for the ground state energies of tritium, helium-3, helium-4, lithium-6, and carbon-12 nuclei. Our results were previously summarized in a letter publication. This paper provides full details of the calculations. We include isospin-breaking, Coulomb effects, and interactions up to next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral effective field theory.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures, final publication versio

Impact of non-synchronous generation on transmission oscillations paths

The large scale penetration of non-synchronous generation has been causing several impacts on the power systems dynamics. The low-frequency oscillations affect the power exchanged along the transmission lines/corridors. This paper uses the Multi-Prony Analysis mode estimation technique to monitor and suggest the dominant oscillation modes which can be useful for wide-area control purposes. Moreover, the oscillation modes are also monitored under gradual cases of non-synchronous generation integration in the system. The methodology is applied to two different test transmission systems: i) the two area system and, ii) the Nordic 32 system. The results illustrate the similarity and differences in the scenarios proposed

Desarrollo de un Plan de Gestión Comunitaria para Mejorar la Calidad de Vida y Factores Determinantes en la Población de Adultos Mayores en Machala

Introduction: Currently, population aging is one of the most relevant demographic problems. The protection of older adults and health actions to increase the quality of life is a priority of the Ecuadorian state. Objective: Design an intervention strategy to improve the quality of life of older adults. Methods: Applied research with a first descriptive-evaluative and strategy design stage and a second stage of carrying out interventions and evaluating results; carried out in the province of El Oro, with a universe of 175 older adults and a sample of 175 individuals who met the inclusion criteria. Sociodemographic variables: quality of life, self-esteem and lifestyles; The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Scale, the Guide for the Study of Lifestyle and the MGH Quality of Life Scale in the Elderly were applied.  Results: The female sex predominated, the quality of life was higher in people with a partner, there was no correlation with the level of education, nor was polypharmacy found in older adults; Self-esteem, healthy lifestyles and quality of life were significantly increased after the intervention. Conclusions: The designed intervention strategy contributed to raising the quality of life in older adults.Introducción: En la actualidad, el envejecimiento poblacional es uno de los problemas demográficos más relevantes. Constituye una prioridad del estado ecuatoriano la protección al adulto mayor y las acciones de salud para el aumento de la calidad de vida. Objetivo: Diseñar una estrategia de intervención para mejorar la calidad de vida de los adultos mayores. Métodos: Investigación aplicada con una primera etapa descriptiva – evaluativa y de diseño de la estrategia y una segunda etapa de realización de intervenciones y evaluación de resultados; efectuada en la provincia de el Oro, con un universo de 175 adultos mayores y una muestra de 175 individuos que cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Variables sociodemográficas: calidad de vida, autoestima y estilos de vida; se aplicó la Escala de Autoestima de Coopersmith, la Guía para el estudio del estilo de vida y la Escala MGH de calidad de vida en el adulto mayor. Resultados: Predominó el sexo femenino, la calidad de vida fue más alta en las personas con pareja, no existió correlación con el nivel de escolaridad ni se encontró polifarmacia en los adultos mayores; la autoestima, los estilos de vida saludables y la calidad de vida se elevaron considerablemente después de la intervención.  Conclusiones: La estrategia de intervención diseñada contribuyó a elevar la calidad de vida en los adultos mayores

A Comparative Study of Efficient Initialization Methods for the K-Means Clustering Algorithm

K-means is undoubtedly the most widely used partitional clustering algorithm. Unfortunately, due to its gradient descent nature, this algorithm is highly sensitive to the initial placement of the cluster centers. Numerous initialization methods have been proposed to address this problem. In this paper, we first present an overview of these methods with an emphasis on their computational efficiency. We then compare eight commonly used linear time complexity initialization methods on a large and diverse collection of data sets using various performance criteria. Finally, we analyze the experimental results using non-parametric statistical tests and provide recommendations for practitioners. We demonstrate that popular initialization methods often perform poorly and that there are in fact strong alternatives to these methods.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, 7 table

The effects of physical activity interventions on preventing weight gain and the effects on body composition in young adults with intellectual disabilities: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The aim of this study was to examine the literature on randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of physical activity interventions to prevent weight gain and the effects on body composition in young adults with intellectual disabilities.A systematic search of Medline, Emabse, CINHAL, PsychINFO, Cochrane library and ERIC was conducted from 1946 to September 2014. Eligibility criteria included; randomized controlled trials of a physical activity intervention: objective measure of body weight and body composition; young adults (age range 16-24 years) with intellectual disabilities. Six studies met the eligibility criteria. The interventions varied in their prescription of physical activity including aerobic and strength-based activities. The mean duration of the interventions was 15.3 (range 10-21 weeks). There was no significant effect of physical activity interventions on body weight (weighted mean difference: -0.17 kg, 95% confidence interval, -1.04 kg to 0.72 kg) and body composition outcomes. The meta-analysis showed that physical activity interventions did not prevent weight gain in young adults with intellectual disabilities. Published studies are inadequate to form firm conclusions. Future longer term studies of interventions specifically designed for this population group are required to elucidate the effects of physical activity interventions on body composition and the prevention of weight gain in young adults with intellectual disabilities