Planetary Atmosphere and Surfaces Chamber (PASC): A Platform to Address Various Challenges in Astrobiology

The study of planetary environments of astrobiological interest has become a major challenge. Because of the obvious technical and economical limitations on in situ planetary exploration, laboratory simulations are one of the most feasible research options to make advances both in planetary science and in developing a consistent description of the origin of life. With this objective in mind, we applied vacuum technology to the design of versatile vacuum chambers devoted to the simulation of planetary atmospheres’ conditions. These vacuum chambers are able to simulate atmospheres and surface temperatures representative of the majority of planetary objects, and they are especially appropriate for studying the physical, chemical and biological changes induced in a particular sample by in situ irradiation or physical parameters in a controlled environment. Vacuum chambers are a promising potential tool in several scientific and technological fields, such as engineering, chemistry, geology and biology. They also offer the possibility of discriminating between the effects of individual physical parameters and selected combinations thereof. The implementation of our vacuum chambers in combination with analytical techniques was specifically developed to make feasible the in situ physico-chemical characterization of samples. Many wide-ranging applications in astrobiology are detailed herein to provide an understanding of the potential and flexibility of these experimental systems. Instruments and engineering technology for space applications could take advantage of our environment-simulation chambers for sensor calibration. Our systems also provide the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the chemical reactivity of molecules on surfaces under different environments, thereby leading to a greater understanding of interface processes in prebiotic chemical reactions and facilitating studies of UV photostability and photochemistry on surfaces. Furthermore, the stability and presence of certain minerals on planetary surfaces and the potential habitability of microorganisms under various planetary environmental conditions can be studied using our apparatus. Therefore, these simulation chambers can address multiple different challenging and multidisciplinary astrobiological studies.The work performed at CAB was supported by the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial and Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO). We acknowledge funding through the Spanish research project MAT2010-17720. Thank you to PASC’s users to make possible such a wide range of astrobiological applications.We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI)Peer reviewe

Comparative study of several machine learning algorithms for classification of unifloral honeys

Unifloral honeys are highly demanded by honey consumers, especially in Europe. To ensure that a honey belongs to a very appreciated botanical class, the classical methodology is palynological analysis to identify and count pollen grains. Highly trained personnel are needed to perform this task, which complicates the characterization of honey botanical origins. Organoleptic assessment of honey by expert personnel helps to confirm such classification. In this study, the ability of different machine learning (ML) algorithms to correctly classify seven types of Spanish honeys of single botanical origins (rosemary, citrus, lavender, sunflower, eucalyptus, heather and forest honeydew) was investigated comparatively. The botanical origin of the samples was ascertained by pollen analysis complemented with organoleptic assessment. Physicochemical parameters such as electrical conductivity, pH, water content, carbohydrates and color of unifloral honeys were used to build the dataset. The following ML algorithms were tested: penalized discriminant analysis (PDA), shrinkage discriminant analysis (SDA), high-dimensional discriminant analysis (HDDA), nearest shrunken centroids (PAM), partial least squares (PLS), C5.0 tree, extremely randomized trees (ET), weighted k-nearest neighbors (KKNN), artificial neural networks (ANN), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) with linear and radial kernels and extreme gradient boosting trees (XGBoost). The ML models were optimized by repeated 10-fold cross-validation primarily on the basis of log loss or accuracy metrics, and their performance was compared on a test set in order to select the best predicting model. Built models using PDA produced the best results in terms of overall accuracy on the test set. ANN, ET, RF and XGBoost models also provided good results, while SVM proved to be the worst

Violencia de género : reflexiones conceptuales, derivaciones prácticas

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el término violencia de género, destacando sus características y potencialidades, tanto teóricas como prácticas. En este sentido, puede definirse la violencia de género como aquella violencia basada en las relaciones y definiciones de género dominantes en una sociedad dada. Partiendo de esta definición, el centro de atención ha de situarse en los fundamentos socioculturales de esta violencia y en las posibles transformaciones que en este ámbito puedan tener lugar.In this article we analyse the term gender violence, pointing out its theoretical and practical characteristics and potentialities. In this sence, gender violence can be defined as that violence based on prevalent gender relations and definitions. Hence, the center of atention must concentrate on the sociocultural bases of this violence and in their transformation

Cirurgia coronària amb i sense circulació extracorpòria. Morbimortalitat postoperatòria i seguretat a curt i llarg terme

OBJETIUS: Les malalties cardiovasculars representen el 25-40% de totes les morts a Europa i Amèrica del Nord amb una majoria causada per coronariopaties. La cirurgia de revascularització coronària amb circulació extracorpòria (CEC) segueix sent el “gold stàndard” del tractament quirúrugic d’aquesta patologia. Malgrat la millora de les tècniques i l'experiència quirúrgica, part de la morbiditat relacionada amb la cirurgia coronària és causada per la CEC i és per aquest motiu l’augment de procediments de revascularització coronària sense CEC les darreres dècades. L’ objectiu d’aquesta tesi és descriure l’experiència del nostre centre durant 20 anys (1993-2013) en la cirurgia cardiaca de revascularització coronària sense circulació extracorpòria front a la cirurgia cardiaca de revascularització coronària amb circulació extracorpòria comparant els resultats intra i postoperatoris. Objectius primaris: Quantificació i comparació dels resultats perioperatoris (morbiditat, mortalitat i seguretat) de la cirurgia coronària sense circulació extracorpòria (CABG SCEC) comparada amb la cirurgia coronària amb circulació extracorpòria (CABG ONCEC) a curt i llarg terme. Objectius secundaris: Avaluació i comparació entre ambdues tècniques quirúrgiques de les següents variables: Variables intraoperatòries: Número d’empelts coronaris realitzats en cada grup. Territori miocàrdic revascularitzat en cada grup: cara anterior, lateral i postero-inferior. Número d’empelts durant els primers 10 anys de l’estudi (1993 a 2003) realitzats en cada grup. Número d’empelts durant els darrers 10 anys de l’estudi (2004 a 2013) realitzats en cada grup. Temps de circulació extracorpòria (CEC) i de pinçament aòrtic. Variables postoperatòries: Mortalitat hospitalària als 30 dies, Mortalitat a llarg plaç, complicacions cardiovasculars, neurològiques, respiratòries, renals, reintervenció per sagnat, i complicacions infeccioses. També es recull l’estada en UCI i Sala d’hospitalització. Es creen dues variables compostes, la variable composta de morbiditat i la variable composta de morbiditat i de mortalitat hospitalària. S’identifiquen els factors predictors preoperatoris de morbi-mortalitat. Es quantifica la despesa de material per procés utilitzat en quiròfan, i la despesa per estada en UCI i hospitalària. MATERIAL I MÉTODES: Estudi retrospectiu i observacional de cohorts. Les dades han estat recollides de forma prospectiva en pacients intervinguts de forma consecutiva de cirurgia coronària aillada en el Consorci Hospital General de València entre gener de 2003 y juny de 2013. Les dades s’han extret de la base de dades del Servei de Cirurgia Cardiaca del centre (PalexData®, Barcelona). La mostra resultant conté la informació clínica detallada de 3097 pacients, dels quals 1327 van ser sotmesos a CABG SCEC i 1770 a CABG ONCEC. Per tal de disminuir l’efecte biaix sobre la sel.lecció de pacients i l’efecte dels factors de confusió, es va utilitzar un emparellament 1:1 mitjançant un emparellament estadístic per técniques de regressió logística i anivellament del grau de propensió (propensity score matching) amb les principals variables de risc preoperatoris i comorbiditats durant els anys 1993 i 2013, que es va traduir en 1.004 pacients sotmesos a CABG SCEC aparellats amb el mateix nombre de pacients sotmesos a CABG ONCEC. Els pacients sotmesos a CABG SCEC sense pinçament aòrtic, els que reberen altres procediments i/o reoperacions van ser exclosos de l’estudi. La selecció quirúrgica (amb o sense CEC) va ser a criteri del cirurgià. Estudi estadístic Les dades continues s’expressen com a mitjana ± desviació estàndard, i les dades categòriques com a percentatges. S’ha usat la prova de Kolmogorov-Smirnov per comprovar la normalitat de les dades en els 2 grups abans de la seva posterior anàlisi. Les diferències entre CABG SCEC i CABG ONCEC es comparen amb una prova estadística de Txi quadrat, T o Wilcoxon rang. Es realitza un emparellament 1:1 mitjançant un emparellament estadístic per técniques de regressió logística i anivellament del grau de propensió (propensity score matching) amb les principals variables de risc preoperatori i les comorbiditats. Es du a terme una anàlisi de regressió logística univariant i multivariant per avaluar els predictors independents de la variable combinada de morbiditat (complicacions cardiovasculars, neurològica, pulmonar i/o renal) i de la variable combinada morbimortalitat (mortalitat als 30 dies i morbiditat). S’utilitza una significació de 0,2 per entrar en l'anàlisi de regressió logística multivariant. Els resultats es presenten com a percentatges i odds ratio amb intervals de confiança del 95%. La supervivència global es calcula utilitzant el mètode de Kaplan-Meier i s’expressa com a percentatge. Un valor de p 0,05 es considera estadísticament significatiu. Les anàlisis estadístiques es realitzen amb el programa estadístic SPSS (versió 18; IBM, corporació, Armonk, NY). RESULTATS: Es van identificar 1.004 pacients en cada grup. Les complicacions cardiovasculars, renals neurològiques, respiratòries van ser més freqüents en el grup CABG ONCEC que en el SCEC, amb significació estadística en les complicacions cardiovasculars i les respiratòries. No hi va haver diferències significatives en la mortalitat entre CABG ONCEC/SCEC, 2,8% vs 3,8%, respectivament (p = 0,21). L’estada en la Unitat de cures intensives (UCI) i la durada de l'estada hospitalària van ser majors en el grup ONCEC, 4,1 ± 2,6 vs 3,4 ± 2,3 (p <0,001) que en el SCEC 9,7 ± 5,8 vs 7,8 ± 4,1 (p <0,001), així com la despesa econòmica. La mitjana dels empelts realitzats va ser major en el grup ONCEC que en el SCEC, 3,50 ± 0,96 vs 2,87 ± 0,99 (p <0,001) respectivament. A llarg terme, la mortalitat va ser de 12,3% front 12,9% en el CABG SCEC vs el grup CABG ONCEC (p= 0,42). Tant en l’anàlisi uni com multivariant, la insuficiència renal preoperatòria, la malaltia pulmonar obstructiva crònica i l’ús de la CEC van ser predictors independents de la morbiditat i de la variable composta de mortalitat i morbiditat. CONCLUSIONS: Les dues tècniques de revascularització coronària són opcions segures. No obstant això, CABG SCEC s'associa amb menor morbimortalitat postoperatòria, estada en UCI i hospitalària més curta i menor despesa econòmica. A llarg terme la mortalitat no és inferior en el grup CABG SCEC.Objective: To describe our Hospital experience in coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass vs without comparing intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. Method: From January 1993 to June 2013, 3097 patients underwent consecutive emergent and scheduled CABG surgery. 1770 underwent on-pump CABG (ONCABG) and 1327 off-pump CABG (OPCABG). A propensity score matching was performed to identify appropriate matched pair patients univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to assess significant predictors of hospital and 30 days morbidity and mortality composite endpoint. Morbidity composite endpoint was defined as any renal, pulmonary, cardiovascular and neurological complication that occurred during hospital stay. We collected all cause mortality during the study period. Results: We identified 1004 patients in each group. There were no significant differences in mortality, 2.8 % vs 3.8 %, in OPCABG and ONCABG, respectively (p= 0.21). Cardiovascular, neurological, respiratory and renal complications were more frequent in the ONCABG group, 13.9% vs 8.7% (p< 0.001), 3.9 % vs 2.2% (p=0.03), 13.5 % vs 7.5% (p <0.001), 7.1% vs 5.3% (p=0.095). Long term all cause mortality was 12.3% vs 12.9% in the OPCABG vs ONCABG group (p=0.42). In both uni and multivarible analysis preoperative renal failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ONCABG were independent predictors of mortality and morbidity composite endpoints. Conclusion: OPCABG is associated with less postoperative morbi-mortality and shorter hospital and ICU LOS. No statistically significant differences were observed in long term all cause mortality between groups

La infrahumanización de grupos estigmatizados: el caso del síndrome de down.

The term stigma stems from marks on the slaves who showed infamy, disgrace and moral turpitude of the wearer. Subsequently, from a psychosocial perspective, stigma has been identified as a mark, signal or sign, overt or not, that includes their members in a social category and generates a negative response to them (Marichal & Quiles, 2000). According with the visibility of stigma, people with Trisomy 21 have a higher risk of being socially rejected because they have physical signals that reflect their psychological stigma. Goffman (1963) said that stigma explains the inferiority and the danger of its wearer. The author also claimed that by definition people believe that the person with stigma is not quite human. This thesis is based on infrahumanisation theory, and analyses the degree of humanity attributed to people with Down syndrome. Infrahumanisation theory postulates that people attribute human characteristics (secondary emotions) to their own group and restrict this possibility to the outgroups, attributing emotions that humans and animals share (Leyens et al., 2000, 2001). Infrahumanisation focuses on secondary emotions and states that the attribution of fewer secondary emotions to the outgroup (compared to the ingroup) is a subtle way to deny their full humanity (Leyens Rodriguez-Perez, Rodriguez-Torres, Paladino & Vaes, 2001). This perspective has been the basis of different empirical studies that are part of this work. The chapters included in this thesis focus on knowing how is the social perception of people with Down syndrome, as well as the differential factors of prejudice towards them. Through various investigations, it is shown the perception of society towards this group stigmatized and places the focus of attention on stereotypes associated with their condition, the attitudinal response, and emotional reactions that the members of the category of syndrome generate. Furthermore, we analyze the attribution of human traits to people with Down syndrome, and the different metaphors (child or animal) that are associated with this social group

Análisis de envejecimiento en paneles sándwich de madera/ Ageing tests study on wood-based sandwich panels

Los paneles sándwich de madera son un producto de creciente aplicación en la edificación de nuestro país. Este ascendente uso del material debe estar acompañado de las garantías necesarias avaladas por un estudio previo de sus prestaciones. Como es preceptivo y entre otros, se evalúa su durabilidad frente a las condiciones climatológicas, clave en los productos derivados de la madera, acorde a la normativa actual definida con tal fin, la Guía ETAG 016. Sin embargo, debido a la clase de uso del material, se ha detectado que dicha normativa tal y como está concebida no es capaz de valorar su envejecimiento adecuadamente. En este trabajo se proponen ensayos alternativos al establecido tras exhaustivos aná- lisis que recrean las condiciones reales de uso y más acordes a los productos de madera. Se concluye que la incorporación de una lámina impermeable, pero permeable al vapor de agua hacia el exterior, como las utilizadas en el montaje, aportan el mejor procedimiento de ensayo. Composite lightweight wood panels are being increasingly used in construction in Spain. Their growing use should be accompanied by necessary guarantees based on studies of their properties. As it is prescriptive and in addition to others tests, in the present work is examinated the durability of these panels when exposed to the climatic conditions, a characteristic of great importance for wood products, according to Guide ETAG 016, the current standard defining the ageing tests to be used. However, due to the use class of this material, there are indications that the testing outlined in this Guide is inappropriate for assessing the ageing of wood-based sandwich panels. Alternative tests are here proposed that recreate rather better the real conditions under which these products are used. Covering the samples in a waterproof sheeting permeable to the outward movement of water vapour, which is in fact used in the installation, provided the best procedure for testing these panels

Students with dyslexia between school and university: Post-diploma choices and the reasons that determine them. An Italian study

Italian Dyslexia Association (Messina section); Orientation and Placement Centre -University of Messina (Italy)Although the number of students with dyslexia enrolled in Italian universities is constantly growing, their presence remains relatively limited. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the choices made by students with dyslexia in relation to university studies, and the underlying reasons for their choices. This study also compares these choices for students with and without dyslexia. In all, 440 high school students and their families agreed to take part in this project. Socio-demographic data was collected for the 47 students with dyslexia and 47 class-matched students without dyslexia, along with information on their current schools and their future educational plans. A specially developed questionnaire was used for the students, in combination with structured interviews with their families. The results show significant differences between these groups regarding both choices for university studies and the underlying motivations for these choices. Furthermore, certain psychological and emotional factors are implicated here in the decisions of the students with dyslexia regarding both university studies and their underlying reasons. Future research is needed to further investigate these factors in the educational choices of students with dyslexia.Italian Dyslexia Association (Messina section)Orientation and Placement Centre - University of Messina (Italy

Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Methods to Predict Growth of F. sporotrichioides and Production of T-2 and HT-2 Toxins in Treatments with Ethylene-Vinyl Alcohol Films Containing Pure Components of Essential Oils

The efficacy of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer films (EVOH) incorporating the essential oil components cinnamaldehyde (CINHO), citral (CIT), isoeugenol (IEG), or linalool (LIN) to control growth rate (GR) and production of T-2 and HT-2 toxins by Fusarium sporotrichioides cultured on oat grains under different temperature (28, 20, and 15 °C) and water activity (aw) (0.99 and 0.96) regimes was assayed. GR in controls/treatments usually increased with increasing temperature, regardless of aw, but no significant differences concerning aw were found. Toxin production decreased with increasing temperature. The effectiveness of films to control fungal GR and toxin production was as follows: EVOH-CIT > EVOH-CINHO > EVOH-IEG > EVOH-LIN. With few exceptions, effective doses of EVOH-CIT, EVOH-CINHO, and EVOH-IEG films to reduce/inhibit GR by 50%, 90%, and 100% (ED50, ED90, and ED100) ranged from 515 to 3330 µg/culture in Petri dish (25 g oat grains) depending on film type, aw, and temperature. ED90 and ED100 of EVOH-LIN were >3330 µg/fungal culture. The potential of several machine learning (ML) methods to predict F. sporotrichioides GR and T-2 and HT-2 toxin production under the assayed conditions was comparatively analyzed. XGBoost and random forest attained the best performance, support vector machine and neural network ranked third or fourth depending on the output, while multiple linear regression proved to be the worst