The singular properties of photosynthetic cytochrome c 550 from the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum suggest new alternative functions

Cytochrome c 550 is an extrinsic component in the luminal side of photosystem II (PSII) in cyanobacteria, as well as in eukaryotic algae from the red photosynthetic lineage including, among others, diatoms. We have established that cytochrome c 550 from the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum can be obtained as a complete protein from the membrane fraction of the alga, although a C-terminal truncated form is purified from the soluble fractions of this diatom as well as from other eukaryotic algae. Eukaryotic cytochromes c 550 show distinctive electrostatic features as compared with cyanobacterial cytochrome c 550 . In addition, co-immunoseparation and mass spectrometry experiments, as well as immunoelectron microscopy analyses, indicate that although cytochrome c 550 from P. tricornutum is mainly located in the thylakoid domain of the chloroplast – where it interacts with PSII –, it can also be found in the chloroplast pyrenoid, related with proteins linked to the CO 2 concentrating mechanism and assimilation. These results thus suggest new alternative functions of this heme protein in eukaryotes.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad BIO2015-64169-PJunta de Andalucía PAIDI BIO-02

Small-Packet Flows in Software Defined Networks: Traffic Profile Optimization

This paper proposes a method for optimizing bandwidth usage in Software Defined Networks (SDNs) based on OpenFlow. Flows of small packets presenting a high overhead, as the ones generated by emerging services, can be identified by the SDN controller, in order to remove header fields that are common to any packet in the flow, only during their way through the SDN. At the same time, several packets can be multiplexed together in the same frame, thus reducing the overall number of frames. The method can be useful for providing QoS while the packets are traversing the SDN. Four kinds of small-packet traffic flows are considered (VoIP, UDP and TCP-based online games, and ACKs from TCP flows). Both IPv4 and IPv6 are studied, and significant bandwidth savings (up to 68 % for IPv4 and 78 % for IPv6) can be obtained for the considered kinds of traffic. The optimization method is also applied to different public Internet traffic traces, and significant reductions in terms of packets per second are achieved. Results show that bandwidth consumption is also reduced, especially in those traces where the percentage of small packets is high. Regarding the effect on QoS, the additional delay can be kept very low (below 1 millisecond) when the throughput is high, but it may become significant for low- throughput scenarios. Thus, a trade-off between bandwidth saving and additional delay appears in those cases

Precision on leptonic mixing parameters at future neutrino oscillation experiments

We perform a comparison of the different future neutrino oscillation experiments based on the achievable precision in the determination of the fundamental parameters theta_{13} and the CP phase, delta, assuming that theta_{13} is in the range indicated by the recent Daya Bay measurement. We study the non-trivial dependence of the error on delta on its true value. When matter effects are small, the largest error is found at the points where CP violation is maximal, and the smallest at the CP conserving points. The situation is different when matter effects are sizable. As a result of this effect, the comparison of the physics reach of different experiments on the basis of the CP discovery potential, as usually done, can be misleading. We have compared various proposed super-beam, beta-beam and neutrino factory setups on the basis of the relative precision of theta_{13} and the error on delta. Neutrino factories, both high-energy or low-energy, outperform alternative beam technologies. An ultimate precision on theta_{13} below 3% and an error on delta of < 7^{\circ} at 1 sigma (1 d.o.f.) can be obtained at a neutrino factory.Comment: Minor changes, matches version accepted in JHEP. 30 pages, 9 figure

Clinical characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at the time of insulin initiation: INSTIGATE observational study in Spain

Little information is available on the management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) in regular clinical practice, prior to and at the point of initiating treatment with insulin. The INSTIGATE study provides a description of the clinical profile of the patient with DM2 who begins treatment with insulin in both primary and secondary care. A total of 224 patients who had been diagnosed with DM2, were not responding to oral treatment, and began receiving insulin were included in the INSTIGATE study in Spain. Demographic data were collected, as well as data on macro- and microvascular complications of diabetes and comorbidities, past medical history of diabetes and oral treatment administered, the clinical severity of diabetes (HbA1c concentration) and insulin treatment initiated. Mean age of the sample was 65.4 years and 56.7% were men. There were 87% of patients who had a diagnosis of at least one significant comorbidity, notably hypertension and hyperlipidemia. The patient profile for metabolic syndrome was met by 75.1% of the patients. There was a higher incidence of macrovascular complications (38.4%) than microvascular complications (16.1%). Prior to insulin initiation, the most recent mean HbA1c was 9.2%. The majority of patients had been treated in the last 12 months with sulfonylureas and/or metformin (69.6 and 57.6%). The most common treatment prior to insulinization was the co-administration of two oral antidiabetics (OADs) (37.5%). Patients with DM2 observed in the study presented with elevated mean HbA1c and body mass index levels, comorbidities and complications related to diabetes at the time of insulin initiation. Changes and adjustments in treatment from diagnosis of diabetes occur when HbA1c levels are far above those recommended by the IDF (International Diabetes Federation), a factor which could be contributing to the development of both macrovascular and microvascular complications in the patient profile described in the study

Àrea de Suport a Departaments i Instituts (ASDI): un nou model de gestió i serveis

Projecte presentat al 5è Premi a la Qualitat de la Gestió Universitària, convocat pel Consell Social de la UPCCreació i posada en funcionament d’una Àrea específica per donar suport administratiu al PDI vinculat a l’ETSEIB, i de gestió als directors i als òrgans de govern de totes les unitats acadèmiques que avarca la Unitat Transversal de Gestió de l’àmbit de l’Enginyeria Industrial de Barcelona.Postprint (author’s final draft

Implantació i Millora de l'European Project Semester (EPS) a l'EPSEVG

L'EPSEVG de la UPC va implantar l’European Project Semester (EPS) un programa formatiu innovador que respon a les demandes plantejades per la societat i l’Espai Europeu d’Ensenyament Superior (EEES) durant el curs 2007‐2008. L’EPS permet cobrir la demanda d’estudiants estrangers que volen venir a estudiar a l’escola, demanda, que, a nivell de grau en enginyeria no esta coberta en cap universitat catalana.L’EPS també és una oportunitat per augmentar el compromís de l’EPSEVG vers la sostenibilitat. El programa s’ha ambientalitzat d’acord amb les directrius del Pla UPC Sostenible 2015 essent la sostenibilitat un dels eixos transversals que li dona contingut i que identifica a tots els projectes desenvolupats. A més de la sostenibilitat, el programa inclou altres matèries transversals (com ara, la innovació, la gestió de projectes, l’accessibilitat...). L’EPS utilitza el model d’aprenentatge basat en projectes (Project Based Learning), i hi introdueix dos components nous: la docència en anglès i la interculturalitat dins de l’aula. Les noves tecnologies s’utilitzen tant per dinamitzar el treball dels grups com per facilitar el seu aprenentatge, doncs l’EPS inclou tallers i seminaris en la modalitat semipresencial.Peer Reviewe

Updating the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for the Spanish Population: The Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) Proposal

Diet-related risk factors and physical inactivity are among the leading risk factors for disability and are responsible for a large proportion of the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases. Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) are useful tools for nutrition policies and public health strategies to promote healthier eating and physical activity. In this paper, we discuss the process followed in developing the dietary guidelines for the Spanish population by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) and further explain the collaboration with primary healthcare practitioners as presented in the context of the NUTRIMAD 2018 international congress of SENC. From a health in all policies approach, SENC convened a group of experts in nutrition and public health to review the evidence on diet-health, nutrient intake and food consumption in the Spanish population, as well as food preparation, determinants and impact of diet on environmental sustainability. The collaborative group drafted the document and designed the graphic icon, which was then subject to a consultation process, discussion, and qualitative evaluation. Next, a collaborative group was established to plan a dissemination strategy, involving delegates from all the primary healthcare scientific societies in Spain. A product of this collaboration was the release of an attractive, easy-to-understand publication

Sperm whale long-range echolocation sounds revealed by ANTARES, a deep-sea neutrino telescope

[EN] Despite dedicated research has been carried out to adequately map the distribution of the sperm whale in the Mediterranean Sea, unlike other regions of the world, the species population status is still presently uncertain. The analysis of two years of continuous acoustic data provided by the ANTARES neutrino telescope revealed the year-round presence of sperm whales in the Ligurian Sea, probably associated with the availability of cephalopods in the region. The presence of the Ligurian Sea sperm whales was demonstrated through the real-time analysis of audio data streamed from a cabled-to- shore deep-sea observatory that allowed the hourly tracking of their long-range echolocation behaviour on the Internet. Interestingly, the same acoustic analysis indicated that the occurrence of surface shipping noise would apparently not condition the foraging behaviour of the sperm whale in the area, since shipping noise was almost always present when sperm whales were acoustically detected. The continuous presence of the sperm whale in the region confirms the ecological value of the Ligurian sea and the importance of ANTARES to help monitoring its ecosystemsThe authors acknowledge the financial support of the funding agencies: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat a lenergie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA), la Commission Europeenne (FEDER fund and Marie Curie Program), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), IdEx program and UnivEarthS Labex program at Sorbonne Paris Cite (ANR-10-LABX-0023 and ANR-11-IDEX-0005-02), Region Ile-de-France (DIM-ACAV), Region Alsace (contrat CPER), Region Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Departement du Var and Ville de La Seyne-sur-Mer, France; Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Germany; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy; Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), the Netherlands; Council of the President of the Russian Federation for young scientists and leading scientific schools supporting grants, Russia; National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS), Romania; Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Prometeo and Grisolia programs of Generalitat Valenciana and MultiDark, Spain; Agence de l'Oriental and CNRST, Morocco. We also acknowledge the technical support of Ifremer, AIM and Foselev Marine for the sea operation and the CC-IN2P3 for the computing facilitiesAndre, M.; Caballé, A.; Van Der Schaar, M.; Solsona, A.; Houégnigan, L.; Zaugg, S.; Sanchez, AM.... (2017). Sperm whale long-range echolocation sounds revealed by ANTARES, a deep-sea neutrino telescope. Scientific Reports. 7:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45517S1127Aguilar, J. A. et al. ANTARES: the first undersea neutrino telescope. Nucl Inst and Met Phys Res A. 656, 11–38 (2011a).Aguilar, J. A. et al. AMADEUS - The Acoustic Neutrino Detection Test System of the ANTARES Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescope -. Nucl Inst and Met Phys Res A. 626–627, 128–143 (2011b).Ruhl, H. et al. Societal need for improved understanding of climate change, anthropogenic impacts, and geo-hazard warning drive development of ocean observatories in European Seas. Prog Oceanog. 91, 1–33 (2011).Tamburini, C. et al. Deep-sea bioluminescence blooms after dense water formation at the ocean surface. PLoS One. 8(7), e67523. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067523 (2013).Van Haren, H. et al. Acoustic and optical variations during rapid downward motion episodes in the deep North Western Mediterranean. Deep Sea Res I. 58, 875–884 (2011).Van der Graaf, A. J. et al. European Marine Strategy Framework Directive - Good Environmental Status (MSFD GES): Report of the Technical Subgroup on Underwater noise and other forms of energy (2012).Hatch, L. T., Clark, C. W., Van Parijs, S. M., Frankel, A. S. & Ponirakis, D. W. Quantifying Loss of Acoustic Communication Space for Right Whales in and around a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary. Conserv Biol. 26, 983–994 (2012).André, M. et al. Low-frequency sounds induce acoustic trauma in cephalopods. Front. Ecol. Environ. 9, 489–493 (2011).Solé, M. et al. Does exposure to noise from human activities compromise sensory information from cephalopod statocysts? Deep Sea Res. II. 95, 160–181 (2013).Solé, M. et al. Ultrastructural damage of Loligo vulgaris and Illex coindetii statocysts after low frequency sound exposure. PLoS One 8(10), e78825. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078825 (2013).André, M. et al. Listening to the Deep: Live monitoring of ocean noise and cetacean acoustic signals. Mar Pollut Bull. 63, 18–26 (2011).Whitehead, H. Sperm whales: social evolution in the ocean(The University of Chicago Press, Chicaho, 2003).Mohl, B., Wahlberg, M., Madsen, P. T., Heerfordt, A. & Lund, A. The monopulsed nature of sperm whale clicks. J Acous Soc Am. 114, 1143–1154 (2003).André, M., Johansson, T., Delory, E. & van der Schaar, M. Foraging on squid: the sperm whale mid-range sonar. Jour Mar Biol Assoc. 87, 59–67 (2007).Madsen, P., Wahlberg, M. & Møhl, B. Male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) acoustics in a high-latitude habitat: implications for echolocation and communication. Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 53, 31, doi: 10.1007/s00265-002-0548-1 (2002).Gannier, A., Drouot, V. & Goold, J. C. Distribution and relative abundance of sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea . Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 243, 281–293 (2000).Drouot, V., Gannier, A. & Gould, J. C. Summer social distribution of sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea. J Mar Biol Ass. 84, 675–680 (2004).Pavan, G. et al. G. Short Term and Long Term Bioacoustic Monitoring of the Marine Environment. Results from NEMO ONDE Experiment and Way Ahead in Computational bioacoustics for assessing biodiversity . Proceedings of the International Expert meeting on IT-based detection of bioacoustical patterns(ed. Frommolt, K. H., Rolf Bardeli, R. & Clausen, M. ) 7–14 (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, 2008).Frantzis, A. et al. Sperm whale presence off South-West Crete, Eastern Mediterranean Sea in Proc. 13th Ann. Conf. ECS. 214–217 (Eur Res Cet, Valencia, 1999).Notarbartolo-Di-Sciara, G. Sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the Mediterranean Sea: a summary of status, threats, and conservation recommendations. Aquatic Conserv. Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 24, 4–10. doi: 10.1002/aqc.2409 (2014).Pace, D. S., Mussi, B., Gordon, J. C. D. & Würtz, M. Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation of Sperm Whale in the Mediterranean Sea in Aquatic Conserv . Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 24 (ed. Wiley, J. ) 1–118 (Wiley Online library, 2014).Rendell, L. E. & Frantzis, A. Mediterranean sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus: the precarious state of a lost tribe In Medit. Mar. Mam. Ecol. Cons. 75 (ed. Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Podestà, M. P. & Curry, B. E. ) 37–74, doi: 10.1016/bs.amb.2016.08.001 (Advances in Marine Biology, Academic Press/Elsevier, 2016).Di Natale, A. & Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. A review of the passive fishing nets and trap fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea and of the cetacean bycatch In Gillnets and cetaceans(ed. Perrin, W. F., Donovan, G. P. & Barlow, J. ) 189–202 (Rep Int Whal Comm, 1994).Jaquet, N., Whitehead, H. & Lewis, M. Relationship between sperm whale distribution and primary productivity over large spatial scale in the Pacific ocean. Eur Res Cet. 9, 188–192 (1995).Millot, C. Circulation in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Oceanol Acta. 10, 143–150 (1987).Morel, A. & André, J. M. Pigment distribution and primary production in the Western Mediterranean as derived from coastal zone color scanner observations. J Geophy Res. 96, 2685–12698 (1991).Crépon, M., Wald, L. & Monget, J. M. Low-frequency waves in the Ligurian Sea during December 1977. J Geophys Res. 87, 595–600 (1982).Prieur, L. & Sathyendranath, S. An optical classification of coastal and oceanic waters based on the specific spectral absorption curves of phytoplankton pigments, dissolved organic matter, and other particulate materials. Limnol Oceanogr. 26, 671–89 (1981).Kawakami, T. A review of sperm whale food. Sci Rep Whales Res Inst. 32, 199–218 (1980).Roper, C. F. E. & Young, R. E. Vertical distribution of pelagic cephalopods. Smithson Contrib Zool. 209, 1–51 (1975).Matsushita, T. Daily rhythmic activity of the sperm whales in the Antarctic. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish. 20, 770–73 (1955).Zaugg, S. et al. Real-time acoustic classification of sperm whale clicks and shipping impulses from deep-sea observatories. Appl Acoust. 71(11), 1011–1019 (2010).Nelder, J. & Wedderburn, R. Generalized linear models. J R Stat Soc. 135, 370–384 (1972)

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income&nbsp;countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of&nbsp;countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified