New formulations and solutions for the strategic berth template problem

This paper develops new formulations for the Strategic Berth Template Problem, which combines strategic and operational decisions for medium-term berth planning of a given set of cyclically calling ships. The strategic decisions determine the ship calls that will be served, whereas the operational ones establish the berth template that will be applied in a cyclic fashion in the planning horizon. The proposed formulations use binary variables that classify served ships depending on whether or not their service starts in their arrival cycle or in the next one. This helps modeling the problem, since a closed linear expression can be obtained for the waiting times. Constraints imposing that the availability of the berths is respected at each time period can be derived by defining additional binary variables pointing to the starting service times of the served ships. Aggregating such variables over all berths leads to a relaxed formulation, which can be solved in remarkably small computing times. Furthermore, the solution of an auxiliary subproblem produces feasible solutions to the original problem as well as a simple optimality check. Disaggregating the initial service time variables for the different berths leads to a valid formulation. Numerical results from extensive computational tests over a set of benchmark instances from the literature are presented and analyzed. The obtained results assess the excellent performance of the proposed formulations, which outperform existing ones. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )This research was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and ERDF funds [Grant PID2019-105824GB-I0 0 (MINECO/FEDER) ] . This support is gratefully ac-knowledged. The authors are thankful to Eduardo Lalla-Ruiz who kindly made available to us the set of benchmark instances

Análisis del diseño gráfico de los Vinos DO “Sierras de Málaga”

Este trabajo es un análisis del diseño gráfico de los vinos, en concreto, de algunos de los vinos pertenecientes a la Denominación de Origen “Sierras de Málaga”. El creciente protagonismo del diseño gráfico en la toma de decisiones del consumidor tiene lugar en cada vez más sectores, siendo el sector vinícola uno en el que se torna imprescindible. Para llevar a cabo este análisis se determinan los elementos significativos en los que tomará parte el diseño, las nuevas tendencias que acontecen al sector y el nivel de consumo como antecedente. El desarrollo del análisis de la muestra consta de un estudio sobre el color, la tipografía, la composición y los logotipos que las bodegas plasman en sus vinos

Actividad biológica de fracciones de la esponja marina Iotrochota birotulata en células de mamíferos

ABSTRACT: Marine sponges are considered an important source of substances with pharmacological potential. They play a key role in the intensive investigation of promising new compounds to treat cancer and other diseases. Objective: To evaluate in CHOK1 and Jurkat cell lines, the cytotoxic, genotoxic and antiproliferative effects of two fractions of I. birotulata sponge from Colombian Caribbean. Methods: The cell viability (cytotoxic effect) was determined by Trypan blue exclusion and MTT assays. Genotoxicity was assessed by single cell gel electrophoresis, the antiproliferative effect was monitored with clonogenic test, sister chromatid exchange proliferative kinetic, and accumulation function. Data was analyzed with lineal regression, oneway ANOVA, and Bonferroni tests. Results: Both cytotoxic assays showed a similar dose dependent effect for the CHOK1 and Jurkat cell lines treated with both fractions (F5 y F6) of I. birotulata. They also revealed an effect on the cell membrane and mitochondrial activity of both cell lines. Fraction F5 exhibited a greater genotoxic effect on both cell lines, which is consistent with the antiproliferation results obtained by the clonogenic assay. These results are also consistent with the inhibitory effect on the cell cycle, which was evaluated with SCE, proliferative kinetic, and the accumulation function tests. Consequently, the results showed differential sensitivity to the treatment of the Jurkat cells compared to the CHOK1 cell line. Conclusions: Together, the results show a differential effect of the two assessed fractions on cell membrane integrity, mitochondrial activity, and antiproliferative effect on both mammalian cell lines.RESUMEN: Las esponjas marinas son una fuente importante de compuestos con propiedades farmacológicas potenciales. Desempeñan una función esencial en la intensa en la búsqueda de nuevas y prometedores compuestos que brinden tratamiento para el cáncer y otras enfermedades. Objetivo: Evaluar los efectos citotóxico, genotóxico y antiproliferativo en las líneas celulares CHOK1 y Jurkat de dos fracciones de la esponja Iotrochota birotulata del Caribe colombiano. Métodos: La viabilidad celular (efecto citotóxico) se determinó mediante ensayos de azul de Tripano y MTT. La genotoxicidad se evaluó mediante la electroforesis en gel de células individuales y el efecto antiproliferativo se monitoreó con pruebas clonogénica, cinética proliferativa por intercambio de cromátides hermanas y la función de acumulación. Los datos se analizaron mediante regresión lineal, ANOVA de una vía, y la prueba de Bonferroni. Resultados: Ambas pruebas citotóxicas mostraron un efecto similar dependiente de la dosis en las líneas celulares CHOK1 y Jurkat tratadas con dos fracciones (F5 y F6) de I. birotulata. Las pruebas citotóxicas también revelaron efectos en la membrana celular y en la actividad mitocondrial en ambas líneas celulares. La fracción F5 mostró mayor efecto genotóxico en las dos líneas celulares, consistente con los resultados de antiproliferación del ensayo clonogénico y con el efecto inhibitorio en el ciclo celular evaluado por las pruebas de intercambio de cromátides hermanas, cinética proliferativa y función de acumulación. Por consiguiente, los resultados revelaron mayor sensibilidad diferencial al tratamiento en las células Jurkat comparada con la línea celular CHOK1. Conclusiones: Los datos obtenidos demuestran el efecto diferencial de las fracciones F5 y F6, en la integridad de la membrana celular, la actividad mitocondrial y el efecto antiproliferativo en las dos líneas celulares de mamíferos evaluadas

Síntesis y evaluación citotoxica de derivados halogenados y peracetylados de nucleósidos en celulas de cancer de mama

Authors are grateful to the NMR facility, Student Instructor Scholarship and Young Research Program at University of Antioquia. Besides, to the Young Researchers Program at Colciencias. Furthermore, the authors thank to young researchers: Diana M. Mejía C., Suly S. Villa V., and Álvaro J. García O.Objetivos: Sintetizar derivados halogenados sobre la base nitrogenada, sus respectivos derivados tipo éster o amida de todos los grupos hidroxilo y amina presentes en los nucleósidos uridina y citarabina, y evaluar su actividad citotóxica sobre una línea celular de cáncer de mama. Metodología: primero se realizó la reacción de halogenación en la posición 5 de la base nitrogenada, posteriormente se formaron los ésteres y amidas de todos los grupos hidroxilos y amino presentes en los nucleósidos. Además, se preparó el derivado acetónido con catálisis ácida. Los compuestos se caracterizaron por espectroscopía de resonancia magnética nuclear (RMN 1H y RMN 13C) y espectrometría de masas por inyección directa en modo positivo. Los derivados se evaluaron sobre líneas celulares de tumor de Ovario de Hámster Chino (CHO) y de cáncer de mamá (MCF-7). Resultados: Se obtuvieron 4 derivados mono-halogenados con cloro y bromo de la uridina y citarabina, respectivamente, sus respectivos derivados per-acetilados, los nucleósidos per-acetilados y el acetónido de la uridina; los compuestos se obtuvieron con rendimientos superiores a 90%. Los nucleósidos peracetilados, y los derivados per-acetilados y halogenados no exhibieron una inhibición significativa de la viabilidad celular en ambas líneas celulares, sin embargo, de estos, los derivados per-acetilados y halogenados presentaron mayor actividad citotóxica que los respectivos nucleósidos per-acetilados. El derivado acetónido de la uridina mostró citotoxicidad significativa sobre ambas líneas celulares. Conclusiones: se obtuvieron los nucleósidos per-acetilados y los respectivos derivados clorados y bromados de estos, con rendimientos altos, sin embargo, estos compuestos no exhibieron una actividad anti-proliferativa significativa (p˂0,05), posiblemente debido a una baja activación intra-celular de los nucleósidos.Authors thank financing to the University of Antioquia (Project CODI CIQF-155 2012-2014 AND Strategy of Sustainability 2015-2016

Isolation of a bromotyrosine derivative compound of a bioactive fraction from the marine sponge Iotrochota birotulata from the Urabá Gulf (Colombia)

Ethanol and dichloromethane extracts from the marine sponge Iotrochota birotulata collected in the Urabá Gulf (Colombia) were tested against three human tumor cellular lines, including lung (A- 549), colon (HT29) and breast (MDA-MB-231), at 1 µg/mL, 5 &microg/mL and 25 &microg/mL. The most bioactive extract (ethanol), was separated by flash column chromatography obtaining six fractions which biological activity was evaluated on the same cellular lines A-549, HT29 and MDA-MB-231, at 1&microg/mL, 5 &microg/mL and 25 &microg/mL. The bioassay results showed that both extracts and two of the fractions totally inhibited the growing of the cellular line A549 at 25 &microg/mL, while the most active fraction showed total inhibition of the growing of the three tumor cell lines on the three evaluated concentrations. The most active fraction was separated by reversed phase HPLC which allowed isolating and then characterizing by mono- and bidimensional NMR, a halogenated compound derived from the bromotyrosine.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Optoelectronic properties of Ag2S/graphene and FeS2/ graphene nanostructures and interfaces: A density functional study including dispersion forces

The optoelectronic properties of several Ag2S/graphene and FeS2/graphene nanostructures are examined through density functional theory calculations including dispersion forces. First, we analyzed the electronic structure of Ag2S and FeS2 nanocluster models, as prototypes of quantum dots, focusing on the electronic structure and absorption spectra. In the case of FeS2 nanoparticle, both ferro- and antiferromagnetic arrangements were considered. Then, Ag2S and FeS2 nanoclusters were adsorbed on top of both graphite and graphene slab models to study the stability of the systems as well as the effect of the nanocluster–surface interaction in the electronic structure, including an insight into the electron injection mechanisms in these systems. Finally, interface models, consisting of Ag2S or FeS2 thin films adsorbed on a graphene layer, were built and their optoelectronic properties examined. Overall, the results obtained in this work, support the suitability of these systems for their usage in solar cells.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and EU-FEDER PID2019-106871GB-I00Junta de Andalucía-FEDER, US-138141

A database and digital signal processing framework for the perceptual analysis of voice quality

Bermúdez de Alvear RM, Corral J, Tardón LJ, Barbancho AM, Fernández Contreras E, Rando Márquez S, Martínez-Arquero AG, Barbancho I. A database and digital signal processing framework for the perceptual analysis of voice quality. Pan European Voice Conferenc: PEVOC 11 Abstract Book. Aug. 31-Sept.2, 2015.Introduction. Clinical assessment of dysphonia relies on perceptual as much as instrumental methods of analysis [1]. The perceptual auditory analysis is potentially subject to several internal and external sources of bias [2]. Furthermore acoustic analyses which have been used to objectively characterize pathological voices are likely to be affected by confusion variables such as the signal processing or the hardware and software specifications [3]. For these reasons the poor correlation between perceptual ratings and acoustic measures remains to be a controversial matter [4]. The availability of annotated databases of voice samples is therefore of main importance for clinical and research purposes. Databases to perform digital processing of the vocal signal are usually built from English speaking subjects’ sustained vowels [5]. However phonemes vary from one language to another and to the best of our knowledge there are no annotated databases with Spanish sustained vowels from healthy or dysphonic voices. This work shows our first steps to fill in this gap. For the aim of aiding clinicians and researchers in the perceptual assessment of voice quality a two-fold objective was attained. On the one hand a database of healthy and disordered Spanish voices was developed; on the other an automatic analysis scheme was accomplished on the basis of signal processing algorithms and supervised learning machine techniques. Material and methods. A preliminary annotated database was created with 119 recordings of the sustained Spanish /a/; they were perceptually labeled by three experienced experts in vocal quality analysis. It is freely available under Links in the ATIC website (www.atic.uma.es). Voice signals were recorded using a headset condenser cardioid microphone (AKG C-544 L) positioned at 5 cm from the speaker’s mouth commissure. Speakers were instructed to sustain the Spanish vowel /a/ for 4 seconds. The microphone was connected to a digital recorder Edirol R-09HR. Voice signals were digitized at 16 bits with 44100 Hz sampling rate. Afterwards the initial and last 0.5 second segments were cut and the 3 sec. mid portion was selected for acoustic analysis. Sennheiser HD219 headphones were used by judges to perceptually evaluate voice samples. To label these recordings raters used the Grade-Roughness-Breathiness (GRB) perceptual scale which is a modified version of the original Hirano’s GRBAS scale, posteriorly modified by Dejonckere et al., [6]. In order to improve intra- and inter-raters’ agreement two types of modifications were introduced in the rating procedure, i.e. the 0-3 points scale resolution was increased by adding subintervals to the standard 0-3 intervals, and judges were provided with a written protocol with explicit definitions about the subintervals boundaries. By this way judges could compensate for the potential instability that might occur in their internal representations due to the perceptual context influence [7]. Raters’ perceptual evaluations were simultaneously performed by means of connecting the Sennheiser HD219 headphones to a multi-channel headphone preamp Behringer HA4700 Powerplay Pro-XL. The Yin algorithm [8] was selected as initial front-end to identify voiced frames and extract their fundamental frequency. For the digital processing of voice signals some conventional acoustic parameters [6] were selected. To complete the analysis the Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) were further calculated because they are based on the auditory model and they are thus closer to the auditory system response than conventional features. Results. In the perceptual evaluation excellent intra-raters agreement and very good inter-raters agreement were achieved. During the supervised machine learning stage some conventional features were found to attain unexpected low performance in the classification scheme selected. Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients were promising for assorting samples with normal or quasi-normal voice quality. Discussion and conclusions. Despite it is still small and unbalanced the present annotated data base of voice samples can provide a basis for the development of other databases and automatic classification tools. Other authors [9, 10, 11] also found that modeling the auditory non-linear response during signal processing can help develop objective measures that better correspond with perceptual data. However highly disordered voices classification remains to be a challenge for this set of features since they cannot be correctly assorted by either conventional variables or the auditory model based measures. Current results warrant further research in order to find out the usability of other types of voice samples and features for the automatic classification schemes. Different digital processing steps could be used to improve the classifiers performance. Additionally other types of classifiers could be taken into account in future studies. Acknowledgment. This work was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Project No. TIN2013-47276-C6-2-R has been done in the Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, Universidad de Málaga. References [1] Carding PN, Wilson JA, MacKenzie K, Deary IJ. Measuring voice outcomes: state of the science review. The Journal of Laryngology and Otology 2009;123,8:823-829. [2] Oates J. Auditory-perceptual evaluation of disordered voice quality: pros, cons and future directions. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica 2009;61,1:49-56. [3] Maryn et al. Meta-analysis on acoustic voice quality measures. J Acoust Soc Am 2009; 126, 5: 2619-2634. [4] Vaz Freitas et al. Correlation Between Acoustic and Audio-Perceptual Measures. J Voice 2015;29,3:390.e1 [5] “Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP) Model 5105. Software Instruction Manual”, Kay PENTAX, A Division of PENTAX Medical Company, 2 Bridgewater Lane, Lincoln Park, NJ 07035-1488 USA, November 2007. [6] Dejonckere PH, Bradley P, Clemente P, Cornut G, Crevier-Buchman L, Friedrich G, Van De Heyning P, Remacle M, Woisard V. A basic protocol for functional assessment of voice pathology, especially for investigating the efficacy of (phonosurgical) treatments and evaluating new assessment techniques. Guideline elaborated by the Comm. on Phoniatrics of the European Laryngological Society (ELS). Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2001;258:77–82. [7] Kreiman et al. Voice Quality Perception. J Speech Hear Res 1993;36:21-4 [8] De Cheveigné A, Kawahara H. YIN, a fundamental frequency estimator for speech and music. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 202; 111,4:1917. [9] Shrivastav et al. Measuring breathiness. J Acoust Soc Am 2003;114,4:2217-2224. [10] Saenz-Lechon et al. Automatic Assessment of voice quality according to the GRBAS scale. Eng Med Biol Soc Ann 2006;1:2478-2481. [11] Fredouille et al. Back-and-forth methodology for objective voice quality assessment: from/to expert knowledge to/from automatic classification of dysphonia. EURASIP J Appl Si Pr 2009.Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech, Universidad de Málaga. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Projecto No. TIN2013-47276-C6-2-R

Estrategias para Minimizar el Riesgo de la Volatilidad del Precio del Sector Azucarero

Éste trabajo contiene los cambios presentados en los precios del contrato a futuro del azúcar identificado con el nemotécnico SB. H11.E. con vencimiento a 28 de febrero del 2011, realizando un monitoreo los días 18 y 28 de octubre, y 5 y 11 de noviembre, donde se muestra las variaciones de las primas Call y Put, en la fecha mencionadas. Se tomaron los precios del azúcar para hallar el porcentaje de volatilidad y valorar las opciones a través de los indicadores Delta, Gama, Vega, Theta y Ro, aplicando el modelo de Black-Scholes

Estrategias para minimizar el riesgo de la volatilidad del precio del sector azucarero contratos a futuros y opciones.

Éste trabajo contiene los cambios presentados en los precios del contrato a futuro del azúcar identificado con el nemotécnico SB.H11.E con vencimiento a 28 de febrero del 2011, realizando un monitoreo los días 18 y 28 de octubre, y 5 y 11de noviembre, donde se muestra las variaciones de las primas Call y Put, en la fechas mencionadas. Se tomaron los precios del azúcar para hallar el porcentaje de volatilidad y valorar las opciones a través de los indicadores Delta, Gama, Vega, Theta y Ro, aplicando el modelo de Black-Scholes

Molecular dynamics simulations of the role of salinity and temperature on the hydrocarbon/water interfacial tension

Interfacial tension of some hydrocarbon/water systems, including a mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, has been estimated on the basis of molecular dynamics simulations. The dependence of the interfacial properties on the salinity of the aqueous phase and the temperature has been simulated. Different concentrations in NaCl and CaCl2 up to 2 M have been used. It is found that, in all considered cases, interfacial tension increases with salt concentration. This effect depends on the preference of the salt ions for the bulk of the aqueous phase that, in turns, results in an increased difficulty for the water molecules to be at the interface. The influence of salinity is fundamentally electrostatic in origin and does not depends on the chemical nature of the salt cation. Finally, the impact of temperature on the dodecane/brine interfacial tension has also been inspected. A decreasing of the values of the interfacial tension is found in agreement, both in trend and magnitude, with experimental available dat