Forecasting Spanish unemployment with Google Trends and dimension reduction techniques

This paper presents a method to improve the one-step-ahead forecasts of the Spanish unemployment monthly series. To do so, we use a large number of potential explanatory variables extracted from searches in Google (Google Trends tool). Two different dimension reduction techniques are implemented to decide how to combine the explanatory variables or which ones to use. The results reveal an increase in predictive accuracy of 10-25%, depending on the dimension reduction method employed. A deep robustness analysis confirms this findings, as well as the relevance of using a large amount of Google queries together with a dimension reduction technique, when no prior information on which are the most informative queries is available

Steps to build a DIY low-cost fixed-wing drone for biodiversity conservation

Despite the proved usefulness of drones in biodiversity studies, acquisition costs and difficulties in operating, maintaining and repairing these systems constrain their integration in conservation projects, particularly for low-income countries. Here we present the steps necessary to build a low-cost fixed-wing drone for environmental applications in large areas, along with instructions to increase the reliability of the system and testing its performance. Inspired by DIY (Do It Yourself) and open source models, this work prioritizes simplicity and accounts for cost-benefit for the researcher. The DIY fixed-wing drone developed has electric propulsion, can perform pre-programmed flight, can carry up to 500 g payload capacity with 65 minutes flight duration and flies at a maximum distance of 20 km. It is equipped with a RGB (Red, Green and Blue) sensor capable of obtaining 2.8 cm per pixel Ground Sample Distance (GSD) resolution at a constant altitude of 100 m above ground level (AGL). The total cost was $995 which is substantially less than the average value of similar commercial drones used in biodiversity studies. We performed 12 flight tests in auto mode using the developed model in protected areas in Brazil, obtaining RGB images that allowed us to identify deforestation spots smaller than 5 m2 and medium-sized animals. Building DIY drones requires some technical knowledge and demands more time than buying a commercial ready-to-fly system, but as proved here, it can be less expensive, which is often crucial in conservation project

A New Antifungal-Loaded Sol-Gel Can Prevent Candida albicans Prosthetic Joint Infection

This article belongs to the Special Issue Prosthetic Joint Infection: The Challenges of Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment and Opportunities for Future Research.Fungal PJI is one of the most feared complications after arthroplasty. Although a rare finding, its high associated morbidity and mortality makes it an important object of study. The most frequent species causing fungal PJI is C. albicans. New technology to treat this type of PJI involves organic–inorganic sol-gels loaded with antifungals, as proposed in this study, in which anidulafungin is associated with organophosphates. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an anidulafungin-loaded organic–inorganic sol-gel in preventing prosthetic joint infection (PJI), caused by Candida albicans using an in vivo murine model that evaluates many different variables. Fifty percent (3/6) of mice in the C. albicans-infected, non-coated, chemical-polished (CP)-implant group had positive culture and 100% of the animals in the C. albicans-infected, anidulafungin-loaded, sol-gel coated (CP + A)-implant group had a negative culture (0/6) (p = 0.023). Taking the microbiology and pathology results into account, 54.5% (6/11) of C. albicans-infected CP-implant mice were diagnosed with a PJI, whilst only 9.1% (1/11) of C. albicans-infected CP + A-implant mice were PJI-positive (p = 0.011). No differences were observed between the bone mineral content and bone mineral density of noninfected CP and noninfected CP + A (p = 0.835, and p = 0.181, respectively). No histological or histochemical differences were found in the tissue area occupied by the implant among CP and CP + A. Only 2 of the 6 behavioural variables evaluated exhibited changes during the study: limping and piloerection. In conclusion, the anidulafungin-loaded sol-gel coating showed an excellent antifungal response in vivo and can prevent PJI due to C. albicans in this experimental model.This research received financial support from the Mutua Madrileña Foundation (04078/001)

Intravenous alteplase for stroke with unknown time of onset guided by advanced imaging: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data

Background: Patients who have had a stroke with unknown time of onset have been previously excluded from thrombolysis. We aimed to establish whether intravenous alteplase is safe and effective in such patients when salvageable tissue has been identified with imaging biomarkers. Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data for trials published before Sept 21, 2020. Randomised trials of intravenous alteplase versus standard of care or placebo in adults with stroke with unknown time of onset with perfusion-diffusion MRI, perfusion CT, or MRI with diffusion weighted imaging-fluid attenuated inversion recovery (DWI-FLAIR) mismatch were eligible. The primary outcome was favourable functional outcome (score of 0–1 on the modified Rankin Scale [mRS]) at 90 days indicating no disability using an unconditional mixed-effect logistic-regression model fitted to estimate the treatment effect. Secondary outcomes were mRS shift towards a better functional outcome and independent outcome (mRS 0–2) at 90 days. Safety outcomes included death, severe disability or death (mRS score 4–6), and symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42020166903. Findings: Of 249 identified abstracts, four trials met our eligibility criteria for inclusion: WAKE-UP, EXTEND, THAWS, and ECASS-4. The four trials provided individual patient data for 843 individuals, of whom 429 (51%) were assigned to alteplase and 414 (49%) to placebo or standard care. A favourable outcome occurred in 199 (47%) of 420 patients with alteplase and in 160 (39%) of 409 patients among controls (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1·49 [95% CI 1·10–2·03]; p=0·011), with low heterogeneity across studies (I2=27%). Alteplase was associated with a significant shift towards better functional outcome (adjusted common OR 1·38 [95% CI 1·05–1·80]; p=0·019), and a higher odds of independent outcome (adjusted OR 1·50 [1·06–2·12]; p=0·022). In the alteplase group, 90 (21%) patients were severely disabled or died (mRS score 4–6), compared with 102 (25%) patients in the control group (adjusted OR 0·76 [0·52–1·11]; p=0·15). 27 (6%) patients died in the alteplase group and 14 (3%) patients died among controls (adjusted OR 2·06 [1·03–4·09]; p=0·040). The prevalence of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage was higher in the alteplase group than among controls (11 [3%] vs two [<1%], adjusted OR 5·58 [1·22–25·50]; p=0·024). Interpretation: In patients who have had a stroke with unknown time of onset with a DWI-FLAIR or perfusion mismatch, intravenous alteplase resulted in better functional outcome at 90 days than placebo or standard care. A net benefit was observed for all functional outcomes despite an increased risk of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage. Although there were more deaths with alteplase than placebo, there were fewer cases of severe disability or death. Funding: None

Efecto del inicio precoz de medidas dietéticas en la prevención de la Diabetes Gestacional

[spa] Objetivo: determinar si la implantación de medidas higiénico-dietéticas de manera precoz al comienzo de la segunda gestación previene el desarrollo de diabetes gestacional en embarazadas cuya primera gestación fue diagnosticada de diabetes gestacional. Diseño: ensayo clínico aleatorizado de carácter experimental, longitudinal y prospectivo, cuya variable independiente (VI) son las recomendaciones higiénico-dietéticas suministradas a las gestantes, y cuyas variables dependientes (VD) son el desarrollo de diabetes gestacional, el consumo de fibra dietética, el consumo de alimentos de alto índice glucémico, y el nivel de actividad física de las gestantes. Ámbito del estudio: Atención Primaria, en la consulta de la matrona de los Centros de Salud pertenecientes al área de salud V (Altiplano) de la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia. Sujetos de estudio: el número de participantes asciende hasta un total de 60 mujeres, distribuidas aleatoriamente en dos grupos idénticos, formado cada uno de ellos por 30 embarazadas, todas ellas secundigestas y sin factores de riesgo adicionales más allá de haber sido diagnosticadas de diabetes gestacional durante la gestación anterior. Instrumentación: test de O’Sullivan y sobrecarga oral de glucosa (SOB) para el cribado y el diagnóstico de la diabetes gestacional respectivamente; registro dietético y cuestionario de frecuencia de alimentos para la determinación de las posibles modificaciones en el consumo de hidratos de carbono y de fibra dietética; y cuestionario internacional de actividad física (IPAQ) para la determinación del nivel de actividad física de la embarazada durante la gestación. Determinaciones: consumo de alimentos de bajo índice glucémico, consumo de fibra dietética y nivel de actividad física de la embarazada durante el embarazo actual

Forecasting unemployment with Google Trends: age, gender and digital divide

This paper uses time series of job search queries from Google Trends to predict the unemployment in Spain. Within this framework, we study the effect of the so-called digital divide, by age and gender, from the predictions obtained with the Google Trends tool. Regarding males, our results evidence a digital divide effect in favor of the youngest unemployed. Conversely, the forecasts obtained for female and total unemployment clearly reject such effect. More interestingly, Google Trends queries turn out to be much better predictors for female than male unemployment, being this result robust to age groups. Additionally, the number of good predictors identified from the job search queries is also higher for women, suggesting that they are more likely to expand their job search through different queries

Exámenes “online” con corrección automática: Más allá de las pruebas tipo test de opción múltiple

Depto. de Análisis Económico y Economía CuantitativaFac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesFALSEsubmitte

Genetic and compound screens uncover factors modulating cancer cell response to indisulam

Discovering biomarkers of drug response and finding powerful drug combinations can support the reuse of previously abandoned cancer drugs in the clinic. Indisulam is an abandoned drug that acts as a molecular glue, inducing degradation of splicing factor RBM39 through interaction with CRL4DCAF15 Here, we performed genetic and compound screens to uncover factors mediating indisulam sensitivity and resistance. First, a dropout CRISPR screen identified SRPK1 loss as a synthetic lethal interaction with indisulam that can be exploited therapeutically by the SRPK1 inhibitor SPHINX31. Moreover, a CRISPR resistance screen identified components of the degradation complex that mediate resistance to indisulam: DCAF15, DDA1, and CAND1. Last, we show that cancer cells readily acquire spontaneous resistance to indisulam. Upon acquiring indisulam resistance, pancreatic cancer (Panc10.05) cells still degrade RBM39 and are vulnerable to BCL-xL inhibition. The better understanding of the factors that influence the response to indisulam can assist rational reuse of this drug in the clinic