Internalization of the ‘Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability’ System Motivations and performance in Spanish road transport firms

The Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability (SQAS) system aims to measure sustainability levels – quality, safety, security and environmental requirements – of logistics providers in the distribution of European chemicals. In the context of SQAS adoption, the purpose of this work is twofold. First, it examines how the motivations of road transport companies carrying dangerous goods to evaluate through the SQAS system condition the real (not symbolic) internalization of the system. Secondly, it analyzes how the internalization of the SQAS system impacts sustainability performance. The study analyzes a sample of 78 Spanish companies assessed according to the SQAS Transport Service module. We use structural equations models applying partial least squares to test the research hypotheses. Results suggest that customer pressure is the main motivation for a company to undergo the assessment. In addition, in line with the literature on management standards, the results show that internal motivations impact to a greater extent than external ones in the internalization of SQAS, and that greater internalization contributes to better sustainability performance.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

Optimal Power Dispatch in a Microgrid

This paper is concerned with the power dispatch in a microgrid. The dispatch problem is formulated as linear program. Thus, the proposed solution is the application of neural network that solves linear programming on-line. This proposal in motivated by the increasing electric energy demand and the rising need to incorporate sustainable energy sources to the power grid in a reliable scheme. A microgrid is an interconnection of distributed energy sources (DES), with the tendency to include renewable energies that offer many advantages to customers and utilities. The different DES that compose the microgrid are controlled independently to track the optimal reference provided by the proposed method in order to supply a demanded power output minimizing the consumed power from the main grid.ITESO, A.C.CINVESTAV-IP

Superefficient microcombs at the wafer level

Photonic integrated circuits utilize planar waveguides to process light on a chip, encompassing functions like generation, routing, modulation, and detection. Similar to the advancements in the electronics industry, photonics research is steadily transferring an expanding repertoire of functionalities onto integrated platforms. The combination of best-in-class materials at the wafer-level increases versatility and performance, suitable for large-scale markets, such as datacentre interconnects, lidar for autonomous driving or consumer health. These applications require mature integration platforms to sustain the production of millions of devices per year and provide efficient solutions in terms of power consumption and wavelength multiplicity for scalability. Chip-scale frequency combs offer massive wavelength parallelization, holding a transformative potential in photonic system integration, but efficient solutions have only been reported at the die level. Here, we demonstrate a silicon nitride technology on a 100 mm wafer that aids the performance requirements of soliton microcombs in terms of yield, spectral stability, and power efficiency. Soliton microcombs are reported with an average conversion efficiency exceeding 50%, featuring 100 lines at 100 GHz repetition rate. We further illustrate the enabling possibilities of the space multiplicity, i.e., the large wafer-level redundancy, for establishing new sensing applications, and show tri-comb interferometry for broadband phase-sensitive spectroscopy. Combined with heterogeneous integration of lasers, we envision a proliferation of high-performance photonic systems for applications in future navigation systems, data centre interconnects, and ranging

Associations of sleep-related outcomes with behavioral and emotional functioning in children with overweight/obesity

Objective To evaluate the associations of parent-reported sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and deviceassessed sleep behaviors with behavioral and emotional functioning in pediatric patients with overweight/ obesity. Study design A total of 109 children with overweight/obesity (mean age, 10.0 (±) 1.1 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. We used the Spanish version of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) to assess SDB and its subscales (ie, snoring, daytime sleepiness, and inattention/hyperactivity). Device-assessed sleep behaviors (ie, wake time, sleep onset time, total time in bed, total sleep time, and waking after sleep onset) were estimated using wrist-worn accelerometers. We used the Behavior Assessment System for Children, second edition to assess behavioral and emotional functioning (ie, clinical scale: aggressiveness, hyperactivity, behavior problems, attention problems, atypicality, depression, anxiety, retreat, and somatization; adaptive scale: adaptability, social skills, and leadership). Results SDB was positively associated with all clinical scale variables (all b > 0.197, P ≤ .041) and with lower adaptability and leadership (all b 0.196, P ≤ .045) and lower adaptability (b = 0.246, P = .011). The inattention/hyperactivity subscale was significantly associated with the entire clinical and adaptive scales (all b > |0.192|, P ≤ .046) except for somatization. The snoring subscale and device-assessed sleep behaviors were not related to any behavioral or emotional functioning variables. Conclusions Our study suggests that SDB symptoms, but not deviceassessed sleep behaviors, are associated with behavioral and emotional functioning in children with overweight/obesity. Specifically, daytime sleepiness, a potential SDB symptom, was related to higher attention problems, depression, anxiety, and retreat and lower adaptability. (J Pediatr 2022;246:170-8).The ActiveBrains project was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (DEP2013-47540, DEP2016-79512-R, DEP2017-91544-EXP, and RYC-2011-09011). L.V.T.-L. is supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU17/04802). C.C.-S. is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (FJC2018-037925-I). J.H.M. is supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (FPU15/02645). Additional support was provided by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence, Scientific Excellence Unit on Exercise and Health, by the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades, and European Regional Development Fund (SOMM17/6107/UGR). Funding was also provided by the SAMID III network, RETICS , funded by the PNI + D + I 2017-2021 (Spain), ISCIII Sub-Directorate General for Research Assessment and Promotion, the European Regional Development Fund (RD16/0022 ), the EXERNET Research Network on Exercise and Health ( DEP2005-00046/ACTI ; 09/UPB/19; 45/UPB/20; 27/UPB/21), the European Union's 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant Agreement 667302, and the HL-PIVOT network Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection . Additional funding was obtained from the Andalusian Operational Programme supported with European Regional Development Fund (project B-CTS-355-UGR18)

Physical activity and bone health in schoolchildren: the mediating role of fitness and body fat

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: The relationship between physical activity (PA) and bone health is well known, although the role of percent body fat (%BF) and fitness as confounders or mediators in this relationship remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the association between PA and bone mineral content (BMC) is mediated by %BF and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). METHODS: In this cross sectional study, BMC, total %BF (by DXA), vigorous PA (VPA), CRF, age and height were measured in 132 schoolchildren (62 boys, aged 8-11 years). ANCOVA was used to test differences in BMC by %BF, CRF and VPA, controlling for different sets of confounders. Simple mediation analyses and serial multiple mediation analyses were fitted to examine whether the relationship between PA and BMC is mediated by %BF and fitness. RESULTS: Children with high %BF had higher total body BMC than their peers after controlling for all sets of confounders. Children with good CRF or VPA had significantly less total body BMC after controlling for age and sex but in children with good CRF this inverse relation disappeared after adjusting by %BF. %BF and CRF both act as a full mediator in the association between VPA and BMC, after inclusion of the potential confounders in the models. CONCLUSION: Fitness and %BF seem to have a mediator role on the relationship between physical activity and bone mass.This study was funded by grant numbers PII1I09-0259-9898 and POII10-0208-5325 from the Ministry of Education and Science - Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, and Ministry of Health (FIS grant number PI081297). Additional funding was provided by the Research Network on Preventative Activities and Health Promotion (RD06/0018/0038)

Primary vs. secondary curved fold axes: Deciphering the origin of the Aït Attab syncline (Moroccan High Atlas) using paleomagnetic data

The Aït Attab syncline, located in the Central High Atlas, displays a curved geometry in plan view, and is considered as one of the most spectacular fold shapes in the Central High Atlasic belt. We conducted a paleomagnetic study in Jurassic-Cretaceous red beds to investigate the origin of this geometry. The Natural Remanent Magnetization (NRM) is dominated by a secondary magnetization carried by haematite with unvarying normal polarity that has been dated at about 100 Ma. The regional fold test performed in both limbs of the syncline is positive and the paleomagnetic vectors (after tectonic correction) are parallel throughout the curvature, indicating a negative oroclinal bending test. These results are inconsistent with previous works that consider the bent geometry of this syncline to result from subsequent distortion of originally NE–SW trending structures by rotation about a vertical axis. We interpret the NRM data to demonstrate that the changing trend of the Aït Attab syncline is a primary feature, resulting from the influence of pre-existing, NE–SW and E-W-striking extensional faults that developed during a strike-slip regime. Paleomagnetic results also reveal that the tilting observed in the sampled red beds is post Albian, probably linked to the Cenozoic inversion of the High Atlasic belt

Correlaciones entre la infección por microquistes de S. lamacanis y CK-MB, Ast y LDH alpacas

El presente estudio tuvo objetivo determinar la correlación entre el número de microquistes de S. lamacanis en miocardio (N°Mq) y los niveles en sangre de las enzimas CK-MB, AST y LDH en alpacas, a fin de usarlos como predictores de salud o grado de infección por sarcocystiosis. Se utilizaron 41 alpacas de 3-5 años de edad del matadero Municipal Ninacaca, Pasco-Perú, las muestras de sangre se colectaron ante-mortem y las de miocardio post-mortem. El 100 % de los animales presentaron microquistes de S. Lamacanis, y los coeficientes de correlación entre el N°Mq y CK-MB fue de 0.17, AST 0.04 y para LDH 0.06. Se concluye que la correlación es muy baja o casi nula, por lo que las enzimas evaluadas no tendrían mayor importancia para determinar daño cardiaco por infección de microquistes de S. Lamacanis en alpacas

Tectonic fabrics vs. mineralogical artifacts in AMS analysis: A case study of the Western Morocco extensional Triassic basins

New magnetic fabric data from 48 sites in Upper Triassic red beds from the Argana, Asni and Tizi n''Tichka areas in the western High Atlas, in combination with rock magnetic analyses, SEM observations and qualitative chemical analyses, reveal that mineralization processes can affect the primary (extensional) or secondary (post-depositional) magnetic fabrics. Twenty out of the 48 analyzed sites show tectonic-related fabrics consistent with the rifting stage (primary). Their orientation suggests that the extensional Atlasic (for the Asni area) and Atlantic (for Argana area) distinct directions prevailing during Liassic times are already present in the Upper Triassic sediments. The other 28 sites show axes switching (including different possibilities, kmax-kmin or kint-kmin), indicating their secondary development related to mineralogical changes after deposition. However, orientation of magnetic susceptibility axes (without considering their relative value) is consistent with the main directions obtained for the rifting stage. This magnetic fabric study also suggests that (i) extension had a small transtensional component and (ii) there is a limited influence of compressional inversion tectonics