Looking at Okuda’s artwork through GeoGebra: A Citizen Science experience

In this paper, we describe an experience to test the predominant presence of Delaunay triangulations in the artwork of Okuda, a quite famous, young, contemporary Spanish artist. We addressed this task involving, as a citizen science activity in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) education context, several hundreds of students (of different kinds: secondary education, university undergraduates, in particular, following teacher training degrees). Each student was asked to select an Okuda archive and, with the concourse of a dynamic geometry program provided with some computational geometry commands, to measure the ratio of coincident triangles in Delaunay’s and artist’s triangulations, over an ample region of the chosen artwork. The results show a very large percentage of coincidence ratios. We conclude with some reflections about how to interpret this fact, and about the potential role of future, enhanced, dynamic geometry systems to automatically address similar issues, concerning mathematical properties of figures from the real worl

Handgrip strength and work limitations:A prospective cohort study of 70,820 adults aged 50 and older

The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between handgrip strength and the incidence of work limitations in European adults aged 50 and older. We conducted a prospective cohort study among adults aged 50 and older from 27 European countries and Israel. Data were collected from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) waves 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Handgrip strength was measured using a hand dynamometer (Smedley, S Dynamometer, TTM) and participants replied to questions about work limitations. Cox regression was conducted for statistical analyses. A total of 70,820 older adults (mean age 61 ± 7.7 years; 54.3 % women) were followed during a mean of 3.8 ± 2.9 years. The fully adjusted model showed that participants with low handgrip strength (<16 kg in women and <27 kg in men) had a significantly higher risk of work limitations compared with participants with normal values of handgrip strength (hazard ratio: 1.36; 95 % confidence interval: 1.28–1.44). Kaplan-Meier trajectories revealed that the survival probability to experience work limitations in the normal handgrip category was 20 % lower than in the low handgrip category in most of the follow-up period. We identified low level of handgrip strength as a risk factor for work limitations in adults aged 50 years or older. This could be used as an accessible measure to screen workers at risk of developing work limitations

Foraging in the Anthropocene: Feeding plasticity of an opportunistic predator revealed by long term monitoring

For centuries, human activities have altered the population dynamics of wildlife. New anthropogenic food sources provide a predictable and abundant food supply that often induces very significant changes in the size, distribution, and behaviour of many populations, with ultimate consequences on the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. Here, we combine historical and contemporary feather samples of a population of a su-perabundant, opportunistic predator, the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis, to assess its trophic ecology and relate it to human activities in the long term. Dietary assessments were based on stable isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur (δ13C, δ15N and δ34S), and were conducted through three end-point (marine prey, waste from landfills-slaughterhouses, and terrestrial invertebrates) Bayesian mixing models. Our results suggest that gulls’ diet showed a progressive decrease in the consumption of marine prey throughout the most recent period (late 20th century onwards), linked to an increase in the consumption of meat waste and small terrestrial invertebrates. Reported dietary changes over the sampling period correlated positively with the availability of marine resources around the breeding area. We provide evidence suggesting that the ability of gulls to exploit efficiently diverse anthropogenic food subsidies likely resulted in the exponential demographic increase of this population throughout the 20th century. In addition, current regulations affecting the availability of these food resources (e.g., fishing discards and landfill waste) likely reversed this trend over the last decade. Long-term evidence of population trophic plasticity, like the one we present here, is essential to implement and support management and conservation actions that limit the availability of anthropogenic resources, especially when it comes to superabundant, problematic species.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Transmission expansion planning by quantum annealing

The transmission expansion planning problem (TEP) is a mixed integer linear problem (MILP) that aims at finding the optimal way to expand the capacity of an energy system. It decides how many components to build in order to satisfy the energy demand on a distributed energy system with a high share of renewable energy sources . The TEP scales badly using classical algorithms and, at the same time, energy system models are getting larger and more complex due to the integration of decentralized weatherdependent renewable energy sources, sector coupling and the increase of storage components. Currently, the problem is often linearized or the scope and granularity of the model are reduced using clustering algorithms. For this reason, any computational time reduction will have substantial implications in closing the granularity gap between what the current models can solve and the desired resolution needed by energy system operators. With the goal of reducing computational time in mind, we plan to apply quantum annealing (QA) to the optimization of small energy system models. We also plan to decompose the TEP using Benders' decomposition into an integer master problem and a linear slave problem so that we can use a hybrid classical-quantum approach to tackle bigger problems. This would allow us to take advantage of cuttingedge classical algorithms to solve the linear part along with QA to solve the more challenging non-linear part

Does the persistence of sweet chestnut depend on cultural inputs? Regeneration, recruitment, and mortality in Quercus- and Castanea-dominated forests

[EN]Quercus secondary forests show a gradual transition toward mixed forests, with sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) becoming increasingly abundant in the western Spanish Central System.It shows a certain resistance to competitive displacement by Quercus pyrenaica.Sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa, is a component of European broadleaf forests and is one of the most managed trees.Our work aimed to identity the main factors that limit the establishment of C. sativa and to analyze the recruitment and mortality processes of C. sativa trees. The age, growth ring patterns, regeneration density, and the spatial structure of trees and saplings in 11 plots in the Spanish Central System were analyzed.s Chestnut seedling density increased with C. sativa basal area, but transition toward the sapling stage appeared limited owing to light availability. In Quercus pyrenaica secondary forests, sparse canopies did not constrain chestnut regeneration, and in old chestnut stands, C. sativa showed a certain resistance to competitive displacement. By contrast, mixed young coppices showed a high mortality, most likely due to competition with other vigorous resprouter

Can a Healthy Lifestyle Prevent Disability Pension among Female Healthcare Workers with Good and Poor Self-Rated Health?:Prospective Cohort Study with 11-Year Register Follow-Up

Background: Our purpose was to investigate whether healthy lifestyle habits prevent disability pension among female healthcare workers. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with an 11-year register follow-up in which 8159 female healthcare workers from Denmark completed a questionnaire concerning self-rated health, work environment, leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), smoking, and body mass index (BMI). Data on disability benefit payments were obtained from the Danish Register for Evaluation of Marginalization during an 11-year follow-up. Potential confounders included age, occupational education, psychosocial work factors, and physical exertion during work. Results: Among workers in good health at baseline, smoking, obesity, and low levels of LTPA were risk factors for disability pension during 11-year follow-up. Among workers with poor health, only low levels of physical activity were a risk factor for disability pension. Conclusions: This underscores the importance of a healthy lifestyle, specially being physically active, for preventing premature exit from the labor market in female healthcare workers

Foraging in the Anthropocene: Feeding plasticity of an opportunistic predator revealed by long term monitoring

For centuries, human activities have altered the population dynamics of wildlife. New anthropogenic food sources provide a predictable and abundant food supply that often induces very significant changes in the size, distribution, and behaviour of many populations, with ultimate consequences on the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. Here, we combine historical and contemporary feather samples of a population of a superabundant, opportunistic predator, the yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis, to assess its trophic ecology and relate it to human activities in the long term. Dietary assessments were based on stable isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur (δ13C, δ15N and δ34S), and were conducted through three end-point (marine prey, waste from landfills-slaughterhouses, and terrestrial invertebrates) Bayesian mixing models. Our results suggest that gulls' diet showed a progressive decrease in the consumption of marine prey throughout the most recent period (late 20th century onwards), linked to an increase in the consumption of meat waste and small terrestrial invertebrates. Reported dietary changes over the sampling period correlated positively with the availability of marine resources around the breeding area. We provide evidence suggesting that the ability of gulls to exploit efficiently diverse anthropogenic food subsidies likely resulted in the exponential demographic increase of this population throughout the 20th century. In addition, current regulations affecting the availability of these food resources (e.g., fishing discards and landfill waste) likely reversed this trend over the last decade. Long-term evidence of population trophic plasticity, like the one we present here, is essential to implement and support management and conservation actions that limit the availability of anthropogenic resources, especially when it comes to superabundant, problematic species

Diferencias de percepción en la decisión de compra vs precio. Una aplicación de semántica diferencial en el ámbito inmobiliario.

[ESP] El escenario económico actual se caracteriza por la alta competencia que existe entre las empresas en el mercado. Desde este concepto las empresas consiguen un reclamo para captar clientes, incrementando su nivel de competitividad. Por ello, es cada vez más común que se utilicen técnicas novedosas de diseño que se centran en investigar las percepciones del usuario para trasladarlas a los atributos objetivos del producto a diseñar, cumpliendo las expectativas y deseos esperados. El punto inicial de este estudio se centra en la percepción entendida como el conjunto de sensaciones interiores que resultan de una impresión material hecha en nuestros sentidos. La novedad es que mediante técnicas metodológicas se evita el inconveniente del análisis de parámetros establecidos por expertos y, a diferencia de lo que sucede en la mayoría de técnicas de desarrollo de productos, se identifica y utiliza un esquema conceptual definido por el propio usuario y cliente. Con esto se consigue dar un paso más, y establecer unos nuevos criterios en el diseño de producto como son los propios del usuario más perceptivos y sensitivo-emocionales de una manera científica, objetiva y parametrizada

Importance of frequency and intensity of strength training for work ability among physical therapists

The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between frequency and intensity of strength training participation and work ability among physical therapists (PTs). The Work Ability Index questionnaire (WAI) and a questionnaire about participation in strength training during leisure time were administered to a sample of Spanish PTs. In addition, participants provided information on gender, age, body mass index, education, substance use, working experience and working hours per week. The odds for having excellent WAI (score 44–49) as a function of intensity or frequency of strength training participation were determined using binary logistic regression controlled for various confounders. Data from 981 PTs were analysed. High-intensity strength training (&gt; 80% 1 RM) showed strong associations with excellent WAI (odds ratio = 9.7; 95% confidence interval, 2.9–31.6). In addition, performing strength training more than 3 times per week was associated with excellent WAI (odds ratio = 1.79; 95% confidence interval, 1.24–2.59), however, no significant associations were found with lower levels of frequency and intensities. High-intensity strength training 3 times per week is associated with excellent WAI among PTs. Training programs meeting these features may importantly contribute to maintain or improve WAI

Proyecto docente innovador desarrollado en Grado en Ingeniería en Diseño Industrial y Desarrollo de Producto para la consecución de un Prototipo Funcional mediante trabajo en equipo

[ES] Se propone un método docente innovador para fomentar el trabajo en equipo a la vez que se adquiere habilidades en nuevas tecnologías de interés para el ingeniero de diseño industrial y del producto. Inicialmente a los estudiantes se les propone realizar una investigación siguiendo una metodología de aprendizaje inverso, invitándoles a analizar experimentalmente cómo funcionan muchos de los aparatos tecnológicos que los rodean. Se trata de redescubrir la curiosidad innata de aprendizaje desmontando un producto para ver de qué está hecho y qué mecanismos lo hacen funcionar. Además, durante estas jornadas teórico-prácticas se les muestra materiales, instrumentos y metodologías para realizar prototipos funcionales, como son materiales luminiscentes, escáneres 3D, arcillas de modelado y tecnologías novedosas de código abierto dedicadas al prototipado. Las posteriores evaluaciones y la experiencia adquirida con esta metodología demuestra que la metodología implantada consigue favorecer el trabajo en equipo a la vez que se recupera el entusiasmo por un aprendizaje nutrido desde la curiosidad. La mayoría de los estudiantes coincidieron en lo valioso que les resultó el conocimiento adquirido, incluso han podido aprovechar estas experiencias para desarrollar un modelo funcional para sus respectivos PFG.Aroca Martínez, A.; Calles Díaz, H.; Chisbert Victory, D.; Cremades Navarro, MÁ.; Diago De Rozas, R.; Esplugues Calabuig, D.; Férez Navarro, M.... (2016). Proyecto docente innovador desarrollado en Grado en Ingeniería en Diseño Industrial y Desarrollo de Producto para la consecución de un Prototipo Funcional mediante trabajo en equipo. En In-Red 2016. II Congreso nacional de innovación educativa y docencia en red. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2016.2016.440