Desarrollo de un programa en Python para seguimiento de imágenes de llamas esféricas

La mejora en la detección de imágenes es importante para la investigación en el campo de la combustión, permitiendo detectar y calcular, por medio de imágenes de alta velocidad, parámetros que caracterizan el comportamiento de la combustión en cada instante. Este proyecto surge de la necesidad de mejorar un programa ya existente, ejecutado en Matlab, que analizaba las llamas esféricas desarrolladas en una combustión para obtener datos de interés para el análisis del proceso, como son el radio del frente de llama o la densidad celular. Con este fin, se ha decidido desarrollar un programa utilizando el lenguaje de programación Python para resolver las carencias del programa de Matlab, empleando la librería OpenCV, que permite detectar los contornos y clasificarlos para obtener los parámetros que caracterizan el proceso. Finalmente, se han llevado a cabo estudios comparativos entre ambos para comprobar las mejoras que ha supuesto realizar el proyecto.Improving image detection is essential for combustion research, enabling the detection and calculation of parameters through videos that characterize combustion behavior at each moment. This project arises from the need to enhance an existing program, run in Matlab, which analyzed combustions to obtain data of interest in the analysis of combustion processes such as flame front radius and cellular density. A program was developed using the Python programming language to address the shortcomings of the Matlab program, employing the OpenCV library to detect image contours and classify them to obtain parameters of the flame front radius and cellular density. Finally, comparative studies were conducted between both programs to verify the improvements achieved by the project.Departamento de Ingeniería Energética y FluidomecánicaGrado en Ingeniería Mecánic

Investigación en educación: perfil e actitudes dos alumnos/as de mestrado

A investigación é a ferramenta coa que se dota á sociedade para acadar o seu futuro. No campo da educación a investigación segue a ser unha práctica non extendida, realizada polos teóricos, pero contemplada como unha dificultade para gran parte dos docentes que poñen en práctica os labores propios da acción educativa nas aulas. Este estudio desenvólvese coa vocación de recoller a experiencia relativa á investigación dos estudantes do Mestrado de Educación Secundaria, Bacharelato, Formación Profesional e ensinanza de idiomas durante o seu período como alumnos/as. Mediante unha enquisa preténdese obter un perfil da formación recibida polo alumno tipo e da súa influencia cara a unha posible actividade investigadora e as perspectivas de participar na mesma como futuros docentes

Use of the Therapy App Prescinde for Increasing Adherence to Smoking Cessation Treatment

Tobacco use poses major health risks and is a major contributor to causes of death worldwide. Mobile phone-based cessation apps for this substance are gaining popularity, often used as a component of traditional interventions. This study aimed to analyze adherence to an intervention using a mobile phone application (App-therapy Prescinde (v1)) as a function of sociodemographic variables (age, gender, educational level, and profession) as well as the primary activities supported by the app (reducing tobacco or cannabis use and increasing physical exercise). The participants were recruited through the web pages of the Occupational Risk Prevention Service and the Psychology Clinic of the University of Granada during the COVID-19 confinement period. The application’s contents include three components (self-report, motivational phrases, and goal setting). Our findings indicate that being male, being aged between 26 and 62, having a high school education, and being unemployed increase the likelihood of adherence to the Prescinde therapy app three months after usage. Our findings highlight the importance of developing new therapeutic approaches and conducting in-depth studies on the factors associated with adherence to tobacco cessation and cannabis cessation treatments via mobile phone applications.The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of University of Granada (568/CEIH/2018)

Sexually Transmitted Infections in 2000–2018 in a Specialised Centre: Comparison between Pre-Crisis, Crisis, and Post-Crisis Period

Background: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are a major public health problem due to their consequences in sexual and reproductive health. There is a close link between the crisis and the increase in communicable diseases. The objective of this study was to analyse the evolution of Sexually Transmitted Infections during the period 2000–2018 in the population attending the Centre for Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Sexual Orientation in Granada (Spain), specifically comparing the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis periods. (2) Methods: A retrospective, observational, and analytical study was conducted by reviewing medical records. The sample analysed comprised 1666 cases. (3) Results: During the pre-crisis period (2000–2007), the percentage of diagnoses was 41.6% (n = 126) compared to 58.4% (n = 177) of negative results; during the crisis, the percentages were 63.5% (n = 183) and 36.5% (n = 105), respectively; and during the post-crisis period, the percentages were 42.9% (n = 157) and 57.1% (n = 209), respectively. The variables that were significantly associated with STI diagnosis were the time periods analysed, sexual orientation, occupation, and age at first intercourse. The evolution of the number of positive diagnoses during the entire study period showed a trend of progressive increase in Sexually Transmitted Infections from 2000 to 2018. (4) Conclusions: The period of economic crisis presented a higher risk of infection, although this is a finding with certain limitations due to the lack of homogeneity between the periods analyse

Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Child Version (OCI-CV) in a Spanish community sample of children and adolescents

There is a growing interest in designing instruments to assess obsessive-compulsive symptoms in children. The Obsessive- Compulsive Inventory-Child Version (OCI-CV) has showed to be a valid in the evaluation of OCD in clinical and nonclinical populations. The main goal in this study was to analyze factor structure and psychometric properties of the OCI-CV in a community Spanish sample. Method: Data were collected from 914 children/adolescents with a mean age of 13.01 (SD = 1.96; Males = 51.3%). Exploratory factor analysis was carried out in order to study the internal structure of the OCI-CV Spanish version. Further, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity of the total score and the factors obtained were examined. Finally, age and gender differences were also explored. Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a similar structure to the original OCI-CV with the following six factors: Washing/Checking, Obsession, Ordering, Doubting, Neutralizing, and Hoarding. The internal consistency was strong for the total score, but moderate for the subscales. The Spanish version of the OCI-CV showed evidences of test-retest reliability and convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the OCI-CV is an instrument with adequate psychometric properties to assess obsessions and compulsions in Spanish children/adolescents.Psicologí

Detección cuantitativa de microorganismos resistentes a la tetraciclina en carne convencional y ecológica de ternera, cerdo y pollo

The use of antimicrobials has increased the number of resistant bacteria to these drugs; however, the organic production has restricted the use of these compounds. The objectives of this work were to assess counts of tetracycline-resistant bacteria using conventional microbiology, to compare these results with those obtained for tet(A) and tet(B) genes by qPCR and to investigate both genes in conventional and organic meat. Counts of mesophilic aerobic bacteria were higher in organic beef, while chicken meat obtained higher counts for Enterobacteriaceae. Only tet(B) was higher in conventional pork and chicken meat than in their organic counterparts. The tet(A) gene was found in almost 100% of samples and tet(B) gene changed according to the type of meat. The presence of tet genes suggests that they are widely distributed, especially tet(A), in food of animal origin, even in organic meat samples obtained from animals in which the use of antimicrobials is restrictedEl uso de los antimicrobianos ha incrementado sustancialmente el número de bacterias resistentes a estos fármacos sin embargo, la producción ecológica, ha limitado el uso de estos medicamentos. Los objetivos del trabajo fueron evaluar los recuentos obtenidos de bacterias resistentes a tetraciclina mediante microbiología convencional, obtener recuentos de bacterias con los genes tet(A) y tet(B)mediante qPCR e investigar la distribución de ambos genes en carne convencional y ecológica. Los recuentos de bacterias aerobias mesófilas fueron significativamente mayores en carne ecológica de ternera, mientras que los recuentos de Enterobacteriaceae fueron superiores en carne convencional de pollo. Sólo el gen tet(B) fue significativamente mayor en carne convencional de cerdo y de pollo que en sus homólogas ecológicas. El gen tet(A) se encontró en casi todas las muestras mientras que el tet(B) varió según la especie. La presencia de los genes tet sugiere que están ampliamente distribuidos, especialmente tet(A), en alimentos de origen animal, incluso en aquellos derivados de animales en los que el uso de antimicrobianos está seriamente restringidoThe authors are grateful to the Institute Pasteur for providing the E. coli BM13 (C600 RifR)/RP4 strain (tet(A)) and to the Health Protection Agency for providing the E. coli NCTC 50365 strain (tet(B)). Xunta de Galicia (project 09MRU010261PR) supported this work. We also thank Carmen Carreira and Rodrigo García for their technical supportS

Morphological Description of Frontal EEG Interictal and Ictal Discharges in an Adult Cohort of 175 Patients

EEG morphology; Electroencephalography; Frontal lobe seizuresMorfología EEG; Electroencefalografía; Convulsiones del lóbulo frontalMorfologia EEG; Electroencefalografia; Convulsions del lòbul frontalClinical and electroencephalogram (EEG) features in frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) vary considerably among patients, making the diagnosis a challenge. The objective of this study was to describe interictal and ictal EEG activity, identifying variables that could help to differentiate and diagnose frontal lobe epilepsy cases. A prospective cross-sectional study from patients with frontal interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) referred to the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona, Spain) after a clinical event compatible with epileptic seizures was designed. The interictal and ictal activity were analyzed to provide a detailed EEG description of the cases, using different statistical analyses. The morphological seizure pattern at the ictal onset remained globally unchanged over time in seizures arising from the frontal lobe for each patient. Isolated sharp waves were the most frequent waveforms in the expression of IED. Frontal lobe seizures are frequently short and sometimes appear grouped in clusters within the same recording. Often the ictal expression of the electrical activity in frontal lobe seizure is subtle and challenging to interpret. A description of the main findings is summarized to identify seizures arising from the frontal lobe and avoid false negatives findings in EEG interpretations.This research received no external funding

Impact of genotype, body weight and sex on the prenatal muscle transcriptome of Iberian pigs

Growth is dependent on genotype and diet, even at early developmental stages. In this study, we investigated the effects of genotype, sex, and body weight on the fetal muscle transcriptome of purebred Iberian and crossbred Iberian x Large White pigs sharing the same uterine environment. RNA sequencing was performed on 16 purebred and crossbred fetuses with high body weight (340±14g and 415±14g, respectively) and 16 with low body weight (246±14g and 311±14g, respectively), on gestational day 77. Genotype had the greatest effect on gene expression, with 645 genes identified as differentially expressed (DE) between purebred and crossbred animals. Functional analysis showed differential regulation of pathways involved in energy and lipid metabolism, muscle development, and tissue disorders. In purebred animals, fetal body weight was associated with 35 DE genes involved in development, lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. In crossbred animals, fetal body weight was associated with 60 DE genes involved in muscle development, viability, and immunity. Interestingly, the results suggested an interaction genotype∗weight for some DE genes. Fetal sex had only a modest effect on gene expression. This study allowed the identification of genes, metabolic pathways, biological functions and regulators related to fetal genotype, weight and sex, in animals sharing the same uterine environment. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular events that influence prenatal muscle development and highlight the complex interactions affecting transcriptional regulation during development.</p

Analysis of Tetracyclines in Medicated Feed for Food Animal Production by HPLC-MS/MS

The use of medicated feed is a common practice in animal food production to improve animal health. Tetracyclines and β-Lactams are the groups that are most frequently added to this type of feed. The measurement of the concentration of the analytes in these types of samples is sometimes due to the matrix characteristic, and manufacturers are demanding fast, precise and reproducible methods. A rapid confirmatory method based on a simple extraction protocol using acidified methanol and followed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer for the quantification of four tetracyclines in feed is presented. Validation was performed following the guidelines of Decision 2002/657/EC. Results indicated that the four tetracyclines can be identified and quantified in a concentration range between 50 and 500 mg/kg with recoveries between 84% and 109% and RSD for precision under reproducible conditions between 12% and 16%. Satisfactory results were also obtained with interlaboratory studies and by comparing the method with an HPLC-Fluorescent methodThe authors wish to thank the Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenacion Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia (project EM 2012/153) for financial supportS

Determination of the Presence of Three Antimicrobials in Surface Water Collected from Urban and Rural Areas

Due to the continuous release of antimicrobials into the environment, the aim of this study was to compare the frequency of detection of sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxypyridazine and trimethoprim in surface water collected from urban and rural areas in Northwestern Spain. A monitoring study was conducted with 314 river water samples analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The results indicated that 37% of the samples contained residues of at least one of the investigated antimicrobials, and every sampling site yielded positive samples. At sites located near the discharge points of wastewater treatment plants and near the collection point of a drinking-water treatment plant, more than 6% of the samples were positive for the presence of antimicrobial residuesThe authors wish to thank the Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural (FEADER) and the Consellería de Medio Rural for funding this study through the Project FMR331AS