Aprendizaje de algoritmia mediante desafíos de programación

Esta presentación describe las características de un sistema de autoevaluación de código, similar a los utilizados en los concursos de programación, que permite a los estudiantes aplicar los conocimientos teóricos de la disciplina de algoritmia para resolver problemas prácticos y, a la vez, reforzar las competencias generales de programación adquiridas en cursos previos. La experiencia de varios cursos en su aplicación demuestra que la utilización de un sistema competitivo introduce un aliciente adicional para la realización de los ejercicios.Peer Reviewe

Zoonotic parasite infection from a funerary context: A Late Antique child case from Cantabrian Spain

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at doi:10.1016/j.ijpp.2023.03.003Objective: To evaluate the presence of Dicrocoelium sp. in a child from a Late Antique funerary context from Cantabrian Spain and discuss whether the infection is true infection or pseudoparasitosis. Materials: Four skeletons, including one from a 5–7 year old child, have been analysed from the archaeological site of El Convent ́on, dated between the sixth and seventh centuries AD. Methods: The paleoparasitological study was conducted through the analysis of soil samples from different parts of the skeleton and funerary context using the rehydration, homogenization, and micro-sieving method, and visualized through brightfield microscopy. Results: A soil sample from the pelvic region tested positive for Dicrocoelium sp. (possibly D. dendriticum). Conclusions: The child was infected with Dicrocoelium dendriticum, which based on archaeological and historical contexts may be related to hygiene or dietary behaviour. Significance: We present one of the few cases of the identification of a Dicrocoelidae parasite directly associated with a human skeleton that provides historical knowledge of a zoonotic disease. Limitations: The diagnosis of a zoonosis through the identification of ancient parasites is complex. In addition, Dicrocoelium sp. in association with skeletal human remains is rare due to the potential low prevalence of this parasite. Suggestions for Further Research: Highlight the importance of paleoparasitological analysis to link parasitic infection diseases with socioeconomic issues by using funerary contexts with skeletal remains.European Union’s Horizon 2020 the Marie Skłodowska-Curie TRAUMOBITA 89571

Deficit irrigation in fruit trees and vines in Spain

[ENG] Water has become the most precious of natural resources in many areas of Spain and, since agriculture is the major consumer of water, improvements in water use efficiency are increasingly sought. Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is an irrigation strategy based on applying only a fraction of the plant water requirements during certain periods of plant development. The paper reviews the available information on RDI strategies, in woody tree crops and vines based on studies by Spanish research groups. Both the promising results obtained and the drawbacks are covered. [ESP] El agua se ha convertido en el más preciado de los recursos naturales en muchas zonas de España y, dado que la agricultura es el principal consumidor, es prioritario mejorar la eficiencia de uso del agua en la agricultura de regadío. El riego deficitario controlado (RDC) es una estrategia de riego que se basa en aplicar tan sólo una fracción de los requerimientos hídricos del cultivo durante determinados períodos del ciclo vegetativo. En este trabajo se presenta la información disponible sobre diferentes estrategias de RDC aplicadas en cultivos leñosos y vid, basada en estudios realizados por grupos de investigación españoles. Se discuten las ventajas y desventajas así como los prometedores resultados obtenidos.This research was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MICINN (AGL2006-12914- C02-01; AGL2007-66279-C03-03/AGR; AGL2009- 06981), Séneca Foundation, Murcia (08845/PI/08; 08847/PI/08), and Rideco-Consolider CSD2006-00067 grants to the authors

Can we measure mesopic pupil size with the cobalt blue light slit-lamp biomicroscopy method?

Producción CientíficaThe aim of this work is to assess a previously described slit-lamp biomicroscopy-based method (SLBM) for measuring pupil diameter and compare it to Colvard infrared pupillometry (CIP). METHODS: Two examiners performed three repeated measurements with each instrument in 40 healthy eyes. We determined the agreement of SLBM and CIP, intraobserver and interobserver repeatabilities, and interobserver concordance (kappa) and SLBM ability for detecting pupil sizes over 6.0 mm. RESULTS: The mean (±standard deviation [SD]) pupil diameter was 5.81 ± 0.70 mm with SLBM and 6.26 ± 0.68 mm with CIP (p = 0.01) averaging both examiner's results. Mean differences between the SLBM and CIP were -0.60 mm and -0.30 mm for each examiner using the average of the three readings (p = 0.02), and they were very similar using the first reading. Intraobserver reproducibility: the width of the 95% LoA ranged from 1.79 to 2.30 mm. The ICCs were 0.97 and 0.92 for SLBM, and 0.96 and 0.90 for CIP. Interobserver reproducibility: the width of the LoA ranged from 1.82 to 2.09 mm. Kappa statistics were 0.39 and 0.49 for the first and mean SLBM readings, respectively, and 0.45 for both the first and mean CIP readings. Sensitivity and specificity of SLBM for detection of pupils larger than 6 mm ranged from 55.56% to 73.68% and from 76.19% to 95.45%, respectively. The best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity ranged from 5.4 mm to 6.2 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Although the SLBM is quite repeatable, it underestimates mesopic pupil size and shows a too wide range of agreement with CIP. SLBM shows low sensitivity in detecting pupils larger than 6 mm, which may be misleading when planning anterior segment surgery. Previous grading-consensus training strategies may increase interrater reproducibility, and compensation for the systematic underestimation could improve accuracy of the SLBM

Extraordinary MHC class II B diversity in a non-passerine, wild bird: the Eurasian Coot Fulica atra (Aves: Rallidae)

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) hosts the most polymorphic genes ever described in vertebrates. The MHC triggers the adaptive branch of the immune response, and its extraordinary variability is considered an evolutionary consequence of pathogen pressure. The last few years have witnessed the characterization of the MHC multigene family in a large diversity of bird species, unraveling important differences in its polymorphism, complexity, and evolution. Here, we characterize the first MHC class II B sequences isolated from a Rallidae species, the Eurasian Coot Fulica atra. A next-generation sequencing approach revealed up to 265 alleles that translated into 251 different amino acid sequences (b chain, exon 2) in 902 individuals. Bayesian inference identified up to 19 codons within the presumptive peptide-binding region showing pervasive evidence of positive, diversifying selection. Our analyses also detected a significant excess of high-frequency segregating sites (average Tajima’s D = 2.36, P < 0.05), indicative of balancing selection. We found one to six different alleles per individual, consistent with the occurrence of at least three MHC class II B gene duplicates. However, the genotypes comprised of three alleles were by far the most abundant in the population investigated (49.4%), followed by those with two (29.6%) and four (17.5%) alleles. We suggest that these proportions are in agreement with the segregation of MHC haplotypes differing in gene copy number. The most widespread segregating haplotypes, according to our findings, would contain one single gene or two genes. The MHC class II of the Eurasian Coot is a valuable system to investigate the evolutionary implications of gene copy variation and extensive variability, the greatest ever found, to the best of our knowledge, in a wild population of a non-passerine birdPeer reviewe

Do the low molecular weight heparins improve efficacy and safety of the treatment of deep venous thrombosis? A meta-analysis

We compared the efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) and unfractionated heparin (UFH) in the treatement of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). A comparison between two daily subcutaneous injections of LMWH against a single injection was also performed. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was performed by a meta-analysis. Clot improvement in venography, recurrency, total mortality and major hemorrhages were assessed in 4,472 patients with DVT from 21 studies treated with subcutaneous LMWH or UFH. RESULTS: An improvement in clot reduction (odds ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 0.90, p = 0.004), a decrease in total mortality (0. 68, 0.50 to 0.91, p = 0.012) and a lower incidence of hemorrhage (0. 65, 0.43 to 0.98, p = 0.047) were observed in LMWH treated patients. There were no differences in recurrences (0.78, 0.59 to 1.04, p = 0. 10). A single dose of LMWH was better than two in reducing major bleeding (c2 = 4.99, p = 0.025); however, the two dose regimen was more effective in clot reduction (c2 = 8.56, p = 0.004). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: LMWH is superior to UFH in terms of safety and efficacy. A single daily dose of LMWH dose is a suitable therapeutic regimen and could facilitate the outpatient treatment of venous thromboembolism

Scalar Loops in Little Higgs Models

Loops of the scalar particles present in Little Higgs models generate radiatively scalar operators that have been overlooked before in Little Higgs analyses. We compute them using a technique, recently proposed to deal with scalar fluctuations in non-linear sigma models, that greatly simplifies the calculation. In particular models some of these operators are not induced by loops of gauge bosons or fermions, are consistent with the Little Higgs symmetries that protect the Higgs boson mass, and must also be included in the Lagrangian. In general, scalar loops multiplicatively renormalize the tree-level scalar operators, O_S -> O_S [1- N \Lambda^2/(4\pi f)^2] with large N (e.g. N ~ 20 for the Littlest Higgs), suggesting a true UV cutoff \Lambda < 4 \pi f/\sqrt{N} significantly below the estimate 4\pi f of naive dimensional analysis. This can have important implications for the phenomenology and viability of Little Higgs models.Comment: 28 pages, LaTe

West Nile virus neutralizing antibodies in wild birds from southern Spain

West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging vector-borne arbovirus with a zoonotic life-cycle whose main reservoir hosts are birds. In humans and horses, WNV infections rarely result in clinical disease but on occasions - depending on factors such as climatic conditions, insect communities and background immunity levels in local populations - they can lead to outbreaks that threaten public and animal health. We tested for the presence of WNV antibodies in 149 birds belonging to 32 different species. Samples were first tested using a bird-specific ELISA kit and then both positive and doubtful results were confirmed by neutralization tests using WNV and Usutu virus. WNV antibodies were confirmed in a resident Sylvia melanocephala juvenile, supporting the idea of local transmission of WNV in southern Spain in 2013. In addition, the serum from an adult blackbird (Turdus merula) showed neutralization of both WNV and Usutu virus. We discuss our results in light of the occurrence of WNV on horse farms in southern Spain in 2013.Peer reviewe

Aprendizaje de algoritmia mediante desafíos de programación

Esta presentación describe las características de un sistema de autoevaluación de código, similar a los utilizados en los concursos de programación, que permite a los estudiantes aplicar los conocimientos teóricos de la disciplina de algoritmia para resolver problemas prácticos y, a la vez, reforzar las competencias generales de programación adquiridas en cursos previos. La experiencia de varios cursos en su aplicación demuestra que la utilización de un sistema competitivo introduce un aliciente adicional para la realización de los ejercicios

A 3-year Mediterranean-style dietary intervention may modulate the association between adiponectin gene variants and body weight change

Purpose Adiponectin gene variations have been associated with obesity. There are few interventional studies analyzing this association. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a nutritional intervention with Mediterranean-style diet and three (-4034A/C, +45T/G and +276 G/T) adiponectin gene variants on 3-year body weight changes in high cardiovascular risk patients Subjects and methods A total of 737 participants, aged 55-80 at high cardiovascular risk were assigned to a low-fat diet or to a Mediterranean-style diet (MD) groups, one with high intake of virgin olive oil (VOO) and the other with high intake of nuts. Anthropometric parameters were taken at baseline and after 3-year follow-up, and the genotyping of the -4034A/C, +45T/G and +276 G/T polymorphisms was done. Results GG genotype of the +45T/G polymorphism was associated with 3-year higher body weight gain (B=1.399; B=0.043). TT genotype of the +276G/T polymorphism was linked to the highest 3-year body weight gain in men. Both Mediterranean diets appeared to reverse this effect (p for interaction=0.053). Conclusion Adiponectin gene variation appeared to be associated with 3-year body weight changes in a high cardiovascular risk population. This association may be modulated by a nutritional intervention with a Mediterranean-style diet