Moving Walkways, Escalators, and Elevators

We study a simple geometric model of transportation facility that consists of two points between which the travel speed is high. This elementary definition can model shuttle services, tunnels, bridges, teleportation devices, escalators or moving walkways. The travel time between a pair of points is defined as a time distance, in such a way that a customer uses the transportation facility only if it is helpful. We give algorithms for finding the optimal location of such a transportation facility, where optimality is defined with respect to the maximum travel time between two points in a given set.Comment: 16 pages. Presented at XII Encuentros de Geometria Computacional, Valladolid, Spai

Adiabatic quantum pumping in graphene NIS junctions

We investigate adiabatic quantum pumping through a normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) junction in a monolayer of graphene. The pumped current is generated by periodic modulation of two gate voltages, applied to the insulating and superconducting regions respectively. In the bilinear response regime and in the limit of a thin high insulating barrier, we find that the presence of the superconductor enhances the pumped current per mode by a factor of 4 at resonance. Compared to the pumped current in an analogous semiconductor NIS junction, the resonances have a $\pi/2$ phase difference. We also predict experimentally distinguishable differences between the pumped current and the tunneling conductance in graphene NIS junctions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Acute mountain sickness susceptibility and basic cognitive function after a brief simulated altitude of 4800 M

Twelve climbers with not been exposed in the last 12 months at high altitude were evaluated using verbal, spatial, reasoning and numerical tasks from Thurstone''s (1969) Primary Mental Abilities (PMA) test. These tasks were undertaken before and immediately after completing the Richalet et al. (1988) Normobaric Hypoxic (NH) test, which evaluates the acute mountain sickness (AMS) risk using a FiO2 of 11.5% during rest and exercise. A control group of eight climbers did not perform the NH test, so as to rule out the possible learning effect of the PMA test. Four participants (33%) from the experimental group were classified as having high-susceptibility to AMS. However, the PMA test performed after the NH test did not significantly differ from the one carried out before the NH test or from the cognitive abilities measured in the control group (p > .05)

Use of Computer Experiments to Study the Current Collected by Cylindrical Langmuir Probes

A particle-in-cell simulation has been developed to study the behaviour of ions in the surroundings of a negatively biased cylindrical Langmuir probe. Here, we report our findings on the transition between radial and orbital behaviour observed by means of the aforementioned code. The influence of the ion to electron temperature ratio on the transition for different dimensionless probe radius is discussed. Two different behaviours have been found for small and large probe radii

Optimization of the Scarcity State Indicator in the Jucar river basin

[ES] Los indicadores de estado de escasez ayudan a evitar pérdidas económicas, sociales y ambientales que causan las sequías en las cuencas mediterráneas como la cuenca del río Júcar. El presente trabajo pretende optimizar la obtención del Indicador de Estado de Escasez (IEE) para reproducir las situaciones de escasez acontecidas en un sistema de recursos hídricos (RRHH). La metodología consiste en utilizar un modelo de gestión RRHH, Aquatool-Simges, para definir los períodos de escasez y su magnitud. A continuación, se calculan las variables del IEE y se aplica un algoritmo evolutivo para optimizar su ponderación. Los resultados muestran un incremento del 13.7% y del 78.8% del peso de las variables VE07 y EA03 respectivamente. Además, se obtiene un 62% de acierto del método para predecir estados de normalidad en la cuenca. Se puede concluir que esta propuesta de optimización del IEE presenta buenos resultados, aunque muestran una anticipación a los escenarios de escasez y falsos positivos que se solventarán en futuros estudios.[EN] Scarcity status indicators help to avoid economic, social and environmental losses caused by droughts in Mediterranean basins such as the Jucar River basin. The aim of this work is to optimize the Scarcity State Indicator (SSI) in order to reproduce the scarcity periods occurring in a water resource system (WRS). The methodology used consists of using an WRS model, Aquatool-Simges, to define the scarcity periods and their magnitude. Then we computed the SSI variables and applied an evolutionary algorithm to optimize their weighting. The results show an increase of 13.7% and 78.8% in the weight of variables VE07 and EA03 respectively. In addition, a 62% success rate is obtained from the method for predicting states of normality in the basin. It can be concluded that this proposal for optimization of the EEI presents good results, although they show an anticipation of the scenarios of scarcity and false positives that will be solved in future studies.Los autores agradecen a la Agencia Española de Investigación (MINECO) el apoyo económico al proyecto ERAS (CTM2016-77804-P, incluyendo fondos EU-FEDER). Además, también valoramos el apoyo de la Comunidad Europea que ha financiado el proyecto IMPREX (H2020-WATER-2014–2015, 641811).Palop-Donat, C.; Paredes-Arquiola, J.; Andreu, J. (2020). Optimización del indicador de escasez en la cuenca del río Júcar. Ingeniería del agua. 24(2):129-140. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2020.12275OJS129140242Alcamo, J., Acosta-Michlik, L., Carius, A., Eierdanz, F., Klein, R., Krömker, D., Tänzler, D. 2008. A new approach to quantifying and comparing vulnerability to drought. Regional Environmental Change, 8(4), 137-149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-008-0065-5Alcamo, J., Döll, P., Henrichs, T., Kaspar, F., Lehner, B., Rösch, T., Siebert, S. 2003. Global estimates of water withdrawals and availability under current and future "business-as-usual" conditions. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 48(3), 339-348. https://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.48.3.339.45278Andreu, J., Capilla, J., Sanchís, E. 1996. AQUATOOL, a generalized decision-support system for water-resources planning and operational management. Journal of Hydrology, 177(3-4), 269-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(95)02963-XBoletín Oficial del Estado (BOE). Instrucción de Planificación Hidrológica., 2008.CEDEX. 2017. Evaluación del impacto del Cambio Climático en los recursos hídricos y sequías en España. Recuperado de http://publicacionesoficiales.boe.es/CHJ. 2015. Plan Hidrológico del Júcar 2015-2021. Recuperado de https://www.chj.es/Descargas/ProyectosOPH/Consulta publica/PHC-2015-2021/PHJ1521_Memoria_151126.pdfCHJ. 2018. Plan Especial de Sequía Demarcación Hidrográfica del Júcar.EC, European Commission. 2012. Communication from the commission to the European parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions a Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water Resources. Recuperado de https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52012DC0673EC, European Commission. 2007. Addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the European Union. Official Journal of the European Union, (COM/2007), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004Estrela, T., Sancho, T. A. 2016. Drought management policies in Spain and the european union: From traditional emergency actions to drought management plans. Water Policy, 18, 153-176. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.018Estrela, T., Vargas, E. 2012. Drought Management Plans in the European Union. The Case of Spain. Water Resources Management, 26(6), 1537-1553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9971-2EU. 2000. Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy. Recuperado de http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.htmlFalkenmark, M. 1989. The Massive Water Scarcity Now Threatening Africa: Why Isn't It Being Addressed? Ambio, 18, 112-118. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4313541Guttman, N. B. 1998. Comparing the palmer drought index and the standardized precipitation index. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 34(1), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1998.tb05964.xIPCC. 2007. AR4 Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability - IPCC. Recuperado el 2 de Mayo, 2019, de https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar4/wg2/IPCC. 2014. AR5 Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability - IPCC. Recuperado el 2 de Mayo, 2019 dehttps://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/Kampragou, E., Apostolaki, S., Manoli, E., Froebrich, J., Assimacopoulos, D. 2011. Towards the harmonization of water-related policies for managing drought risks across the EU. Environmental Science and Policy, 14(7), 815-824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2011.04.001Lerma, N., Paredes-Arquiola, J., Andreu, J., Solera, A. 2013. Development of operating rules for a complex multireservoir system by coupling genetic algorithms and network optimization. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58(4), 797-812. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.779777Liu, J., Yang, H., Gosling, S. N., Kummu, M., Flörke, M., Hanasaki, N., Zheng, C. 2017. Water scarcity assessments in the past, present, and future. Earth's Future, 5(6), 545-559. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016EF000518MAAM. 2014. Plan Nacional De Adaptación al Cambio Climático. Madrid, España.Mckee, T. B., Doesken, N. J., Kleist, J. 1993. The relationship of drought frequency and duration to time scales. In Eighth Conference on Applied Climatology. Recuperado de https://climate.colostate.edu/pdfs/relationshipofdroughtfrequency.pdfOrtega-Gómez, T., Pérez-Martín, M. A., Estrela, T. 2018. Improvement of the drought indicators system in the Júcar River Basin, Spain. Science of the Total Environment, 610-611, 276-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.250Pedro-Monzonís, M., Solera, A., Ferrer, J., Estrela, T., Paredes-Arquiola, J. 2015. A review of water scarcity and drought indexes in water resources planning and management. Journal of Hydrology, 527, 482-493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.05.003Pérez-Blanco, C. D., Gómez, C. M. 2014. Drought management plans and water availability in agriculture: A risk assessment model for a Southern European basin. Weather and Climate Extremes, 4, 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2014.02.003Quiring, S. M., Papakryiakou, T. N. 2003. An evaluation of agricultural drought indices for the Canadian prairies. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 118, 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(03)00072-8Rijsberman, F. R. 2006. Water scarcity: Fact or fiction? Agricultural Water Management, 80(1-3 SPEC. ISS.), 5-22.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2005.07.001Sánchez-Quispe, S. 2000. Gestión de Recursos Hídricos con decisiones basadas en Estimación del Riesgo. Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia.Zaniolo, M., Giuliani, M., Castelletti, A. F., Pulido-Velazquez, M. 2018. Automatic design of basin-specific drought indexes for highly regulated water systems. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 22(4), 2409-2424. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2409-201

Influencia del aporte proteico parenteral en las alteraciones electrolíticas en recién nacidos prematuros

Recién nacidos prematuros; Hipercalcemia; Hipofosfatemiapreterm infants; Hypercalcaemia; HypophosphataemiaNounats prematurs; Hipercalcèmia; HipofosfatèmiaIntroduction Aggressive parenteral nutrition with delivery of high amino acid and energy doses is used to improve growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants. Recent findings, however, suggest that this approach may cause electrolyte imbalances. The aim of our study was to compare the prevalence of hypercalcaemia, hypophosphataemia, and hypokalaemia in 2 groups of preterm infants that received parenteral nutrition with different amounts of amino acids and to analyse perinatal and nutritional variables associated with the development of electrolyte imbalances. Methods We conducted a retrospective observational study comparing 2 groups of preterm infants born before 33 weeks’ gestation with birth weights of less than 1500 g managed with parenteral nutrition. One of the groups received less than 3 g/kg/day of amino acids and the other received 3 g/kg//day of amino acids or more. We analysed the prevalence of electrolyte imbalances and possible associations with aggressive parenteral nutrition, adjusting for potential confounders. Results We studied 114 infants: 60 given less than 3 g/kg/day of amino acids (low-intake group) and 54 given at least 3 g/kg/day (high-intake group). The prevalence of electrolyte imbalances was similar in both groups. The prevalence of hypercalcaemia was 1.67% in the low-intake group and 1.85% in the high-intake group (P > .99), the prevalence of severe hypophosphataemia 11.7% vs 9.3%, and the prevalence of hypokalaemia 15.0% vs 11.1% (P > .99). A calcium to phosphorus ratio greater than 1.05 had a protective effect against hypophosphataemia (P = .007). Conclusions We did not find an association between hypercalcaemia, hypophosphataemia, and hypokalaemia and the amino acid dose delivered by PN in the high-intake group of preterm infants.Introducción La nutrición parenteral agresiva con aportes energéticos y proteicos altos se utiliza para mejorar el crecimiento y el neurodesarrollo en recién nacidos prematuros de muy bajo peso. No obstante, hallazgos recientes sugieren que su uso puede ocasionar alteraciones electrolíticas. El objetivo del estudio era comparar la prevalencia de hipercalcemia, hipofosfatemia e hipopotasemia en dos grupos de recién nacidos prematuros que recibieron nutrición parenteral con distintos aportes de aminoácidos, y analizar variables perinatales y nutricionales asociadas a la ocurrencia de alteraciones electrolíticas. Métodos Estudio retrospectivo observacional, con comparación de 2 grupos de recién nacidos prematuros con peso < 1500 g y edad gestacional < 33 semanas manejados con nutrición parenteral. Uno de los grupos recibió < 3 g/kg/d de aminoácidos mientras que el otro recibió ≥3 g/kg/d. Se analizó la prevalencia de distintas alteraciones electrolíticas y su asociación con la nutrición parenteral agresiva, con ajustes para posibles factores de confusión. Resultados El análisis incluyó 114 recién nacidos: 60 que recibieron   0,99). Los respectivos valores para las otras alteraciones fueron 11,7% vs. 9,3% en el caso de la hipofosfatemia grave y 15,0% vs. 11,1% en el caso de la hipopotasemia (p >  0,99). Se observó que una relación calcio:fósforo superior a 1,05 ofrecía un efecto protector frente a la hipofosfatemia (p = 0,007). Conclusiones No se observó asociación entre la hipercalcemia, hipofosfatemia o la hipopotasemia y el aporte de aminoácidos mediante nutrición parenteral en la población de recién nacidos prematuros con ingestas altas de aminoácidos

Death kinetics of Escherichia coli in goat milk and Bacillus licheniformis in cloudberry jam treated by ohmic heating

In recent years, the world’s food industry has focused increasing attention on electrical techniques of food processing. Ohmic heating is one of these techniques that can be considered as a high temperature short time and a purely bulk heating method, having potential applications in processes such as blanching, evaporation and pasteurization in the food industry. However such technology would have to assure the microbiological safety obtained by the conventional cooking methods. Concerning this, the influence of heat treatment by ohmic and conventional technology on death kinetic parameters (D and z values) of Escherichia coli ATCC® 25922 was studied in goat milk. In ohmic treatment lower D values were obtained (D60ºC = 4.2 min, D63ºC = 1.9 min, D65ºC = 0.86 min) as compared to conventional treatment (D63ºC = 3.9 min, D65ºC = 3.5, D67ºC = 2.8 min, D75ºC = 1.5 min). The increase of temperature required for a ten fold decrease in D value was also lower in the ohmic inactivation (z = 8.4 ºC) comparing with the conventional inactivation (z = 23.1 ºC). The death kinetics for Bacillus licheniformis ATCC® 14580 spores in cloudberry jam were also studied under both types of heat inactivation (ohmic and conventional) and similar conclusions were drawn for the D values; lower D values were also obtained for ohmic treatment (D70ºC = 57.1 min, D75ºC = 25.2 min, D80ºC = 7.2 min) as compared to conventional treatment (D70ºC = 85.3 min, D75ºC = 51.0, D80ºC = 18.1 min, D85ºC = 6.0 min, D90ºC = 1.6 min). However, between the z values obtained for those treatments (z ohmic = 11.1 ºC and z conventional = 11.4 ºC) the differences were not significant. In general the results of present work indicate that the ohmic heating provides quicker death kinetics. This opens the perspective for shorter, less aggressive treatments

GluN2A NMDA Receptor Enhancement Improves Brain Oscillations, Synchrony, and Cognitive Functions in Dravet Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease Models.

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) play subunit-specific roles in synaptic function and are implicated in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. However, the in vivo consequences and therapeutic potential of pharmacologically enhancing NMDAR function via allosteric modulation are largely unknown. We examine the in vivo effects of GNE-0723, a positive allosteric modulator of GluN2A-subunit-containing NMDARs, on brain network and cognitive functions in mouse models of Dravet syndrome (DS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). GNE-0723 use dependently potentiates synaptic NMDA receptor currents and reduces brain oscillation power with a predominant effect on low-frequency (12-20 Hz) oscillations. Interestingly, DS and AD mouse models display aberrant low-frequency oscillatory power that is tightly correlated with network hypersynchrony. GNE-0723 treatment reduces aberrant low-frequency oscillations and epileptiform discharges and improves cognitive functions in DS and AD mouse models. GluN2A-subunit-containing NMDAR enhancers may have therapeutic benefits in brain disorders with network hypersynchrony and cognitive impairments

Amyloid-beta/Fyn–Induced Synaptic, Network, and Cognitive Impairments Depend on Tau Levels in Multiple Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder, is a growing public health problem and still lacks effective treatments. Recent evidence suggests that microtubule-associated protein tau may mediate amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) toxicity by modulating the tyrosine kinase Fyn.Weshowed previously that tau reduction prevents, and Fyn overexpression exacerbates, cognitive deficits in human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) transgenic mice overexpressing Aβ. However, the mechanisms by which Aβ, tau, and Fyn cooperate in AD-related pathogenesis remain to be fully elucidated. Here we examined the synaptic and network effects of this pathogenic triad. Tau reduction prevented cognitive decline induced by synergistic effects of Aβ and Fyn. Tau reduction also prevented synaptic transmission and plasticity deficits in hAPP mice. Using electroencephalography to examine network effects, we found that tau reduction prevented spontaneous epileptiform activity in multiple lines of hAPP mice. Tau reduction also reduced the severity of spontaneous and chemically induced seizures in mice overexpressing both Aβ and Fyn. To better understand these protective effects, we recorded wholecell currents in acute hippocampal slices from hAPP mice with and without tau. hAPP mice with tau had increased spontaneous and evoked excitatory currents, reduced inhibitory currents, and NMDA receptor dysfunction. Tau reduction increased inhibitory currents and normalized excitation/inhibition balance and NMDA receptor-mediated currents in hAPP mice. Our results indicate that Aβ, tau, and Fyn jointly impair synaptic and network function and suggest that disrupting the copathogenic relationship between these factors could be of therapeutic benefit

New symmetrical quinazoline derivatives selectively induce apoptosis in human cancer cells

In the search of new symmetrical derivatives with anticancer activity, we have looked for novel compounds able to induce a selective proapoptotic mechanism in cancer cells. The potential antitumoral activity of several quinazoline derivatives was evaluated in vitro examining their cytotoxic effects against human breast, colon and bladder cancer cell lines. The IC(50) value of the compounds that showed cytotoxic activity was calculated. These compounds were tested for their ability to induce caspase-3 activation and nuclear chromatin degradation. Non-tumoral human cell lines were used to test the selectivity of the cytotoxic compounds against cancer cells. Several compounds showed no cytotoxicity in these cell lines. Finally, JRF12 (2,4-dibenzylaminoquinazoline) was chosen as the best candidate and its mechanism of action was studied in more detail. A time dependent evaluation of apoptosis was performed in the three cancer cell lines, followed by an evaluation of the cell cycle regulation involvement that showed a decrease of cells in G(1) phase and increase of cells in G(2) phase before cell death. 2,4-dibenzylaminoquinazoline treatment produces few changes in the expression of genes as evaluated by using oligonucleotide microarrays and Q-RT-PCR assays. In conclusion, 2,4-dibenzylaminoquinazoline is a promising anticancer drug showing cytostatic and apoptotic effects mainly in a transcription independent manner