A SPARQL Query Transformation Rule Language — Application to Retrieval and Adaptation in Case-Based Reasoning

International audienceThis paper presents SQTRL, a language for transformation rules for SPARQL queries, a tool associated with it, and how it can be applied to retrieval and adaptation in case-based reasoning (CBR). Three applications of SQTRL are presented in the domains of cooking and digital humanities. For a CBR system using RDFS for representing cases and domain knowledge, and SPARQL for its query language, case retrieval with SQTRL consists in a minimal modification of the query so that it matches at least a source case. Adaptation based on the modification of an RDFS base can also be handled with the help of this tool. SQTRL and its tool can therefore be used for several goals related to CBR systems based on the semantic web standards RDFS and SPARQL

Estimación de la mortalidad atribuible a gripe estacional en España. Temporadas 1980-2008.

El objetivo de este estudio es estimar los excesos de mortalidad atribuibles a gripe estacional por grupos de edad, durante el período 1980-2008 en España, según las causas de mortalidad por "gripe y neumonía", "circulatorias y respiratorias" o "todas las causas". Se aplicó un modelo de regresión cíclica (Serfling modificado) a los datos de mortalidad obtenidos del Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), estimándose los excesos de defunciones mensuales atribuidas a gripe en períodos de circulación viral, con respecto a un nivel basal de mortalidad esperada en ausencia de actividad gripal, para los grupos de causas y de edad planteados. Para todas las temporadas y grupos de causas, más del 90% de los excesos de defunciones atribuibles a gripe estacional se produjeron en el grupo de mayores de 64 años. Se estimó una tasa media anual de excesos de defunciones por gripe y neumonía de 2,68 (IC 95%: 2,65; 2,71) defunciones/100.000 habitantes

Removal efficiency for emerging contaminants in a WWTP from Madrid (Spain) after secondary and tertiary treatment and environmental impact on the Manzanares River

The effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be an important contamination source for receiving waters. In this work, a comprehensive study on the impact of a WWTP from Madrid on the aquatic environment has been performed, including a wide number of pharmaceuticals and pesticides, among them those included in the European Watch List. 24-h composite samples of influent (IWW) and effluent wastewater after secondary (EWW2) and after secondary + tertiary treatment (EWW3) were monitored along two campaigns. Average weekly concentrations in IWW and EWW2 and EWW3 allowed estimating the removal efficiency of the WWTP for pharmaceutical active substances (PhACs). In addition, the impact of EWW3 on the water quality of the Manzanares River was assessed, in terms of PhAC and pesticide concentrations, through analysis of the river water collected upstream and downstream of the discharge point. After a preliminary risk assessment, a detailed evaluation of the impact on the aquatic environment, including a toxicological study and screening of pharmaceutical metabolites, was made for the seven most relevant PhACs: sulfamethoxazole, azithromycin and clarithromycin (antibiotics), metoprolol (antihypertensive), diclofenac (anti-inflammatory/analgesic), irbesartan (antihypertensive), and the antidepressant venlafaxine. Among selected PhACs, irbesartan, clarithromycin and venlafaxine presented moderate or high risk in the river water downstream of the discharge. Albeit no acute toxicity was detected, more detailed studies should be carried out for these substances, including additional toxicological studies, to set up potential sublethal and chronic effects on aquatic organisms.This work was developed under the financial support of DRACE INFRAESTRUCTURAS S.A. as a part of the project Estudio de contaminantes emergentes en aguas residuales y superficiales de Madrid. The authors acknowledge the support of Jose Ramon Rodriguez from DRACE INFRAESTRUCTURAS S.A., for collection of wastewater and surface water samples, as well as the discussion and useful suggestions from Jesus Angel López, Pedro Miguel Catalinas and Maria Elvira Benito, from Sub-Direccion General de Aguas, Ayuntamiento de Madrid. The University Jaume I of Castellón, Spain (project UJI-B2018-55), the Ministry of Science, Innovation and University, Spain (Ref RTI2018-097417-B-I00) and Generalitat Valenciana, Spain (research group of excellence PROMETEO 2019/040) are also acknowledged. The authors are very grateful to the Serveis Centrals d'Instrumentació Científica (SCIC) of University Jaume I for the use of LC-MS/MS instrumentation

Examining virtual driving test performance and its relationship to individuals with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders

SIGNIFICANCE: Existing screening tools for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are often clinically impractical for detecting milder forms of impairment. The formal diagnosis of HAND requires an assessment of both cognition and impairment in activities of daily living (ADL). To address the critical need for identifying patients who may have disability associated with HAND, we implemented a low-cost screening tool, the Virtual Driving Test (VDT) platform, in a vulnerable cohort of people with HIV (PWH). The VDT presents an opportunity to cost-effectively screen for milder forms of impairment while providing practical guidance for a cognitively demanding ADL. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to: (1) evaluate whether VDT performance variables were associated with a HAND diagnosis and if so; (2) systematically identify a manageable subset of variables for use in a future screening model for HAND. As a secondary objective, we examined the relative associations of identified variables with impairment within the individual domains used to diagnose HAND. METHODS: In a cross-sectional design, 62 PWH were recruited from an established HIV cohort and completed a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (CNPA), followed by a self-directed VDT. Dichotomized diagnoses of HAND-specific impairment and impairment within each of the seven CNPA domains were ascertained. A systematic variable selection process was used to reduce the large amount of VDT data generated, to a smaller subset of VDT variables, estimated to be associated with HAND. In addition, we examined associations between the identified variables and impairment within each of the CNPA domains. RESULTS: More than half of the participants ( CONCLUSION: We identified a subset of VDT performance variables that are associated with HAND and assess relevant functional abilities among individuals with HAND. Additional research is required to develop and validate a predictive HAND screening model incorporating this subset

Removal efficiency for emerging contaminants in a WWTP from Madrid (Spain) after secondary and tertiary treatment and environmental impact on the Manzanares River

The effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be an important contamination source for receiving waters. In this work, a comprehensive study on the impact of a WWTP from Madrid on the aquatic environment has been performed, including a wide number of pharmaceuticals and pesticides, among them those included in the European Watch List. 24-h composite samples of influent (IWW) and effluent wastewater after secondary (EWW2) and after secondary + tertiary treatment (EWW3) were monitored along two campaigns. Average weekly concentrations in IWW and EWW2 and EWW3 allowed estimating the removal efficiency of the WWTP for pharmaceutical active substances (PhACs). In addition, the impact of EWW3 on the water quality of the Manzanares River was assessed, in terms of PhAC and pesticide concentrations, through analysis of the river water collected upstream and downstream of the discharge point. After a preliminary risk assessment, a detailed evaluation of the impact on the aquatic environment, including a toxicological study and screening of pharmaceutical metabolites, was made for the seven most relevant PhACs: sulfamethoxazole, azithromycin and clarithromycin (antibiotics), metoprolol (antihypertensive), diclofenac (anti-inflammatory/analgesic), irbesartan (antihypertensive), and the antidepressant venlafaxine. Among selected PhACs, irbesartan, clarithromycin and venlafaxine presented moderate or high risk in the river water downstream of the discharge. Albeit no acute toxicity was detected, more detailed studies should be carried out for these substances, including additional toxicological studies, to set up potential sublethal and chronic effects on aquatic organisms.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

Under the Skin of a Lion: Unique Evidence of Upper Paleolithic Exploitation and Use of Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Spain)

ABSTRACT: Pleistocene skinning and exploitation of carnivore furs have been previously inferred from archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the evidence of skinning and fur processing tends to be weak and the interpretations are not strongly sustained by the archaeological record. In the present paper, we analyze unique evidence of patterned anthropic modification and skeletal representation of fossil remains of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Cantabria, Spain). This site is one of the few that provides Pleistocene examples of lion exploitation by humans. Our archaeozoological study suggests that lion-specialized pelt exploitation and use might have been related to ritual activities during the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 14800 cal BC). Moreover, the specimens also represent the southernmost European and the latest evidence of cave lion exploitation in Iberia. Therefore, the study seeks to provide alternative explanations for lion extinction in Eurasia and argues for a role of hunting as a factor to take into account

Shells and humans: molluscs and other coastal resources from the earliest human occupations at the Mesolithic shell midden of El Mazo (Asturias, Northern Spain)

Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains (molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms) from stratigraphic units 114 and 115 (dated to the early Mesolithic c. 9 kys cal BP) at El Mazo cave (Asturias, northern Spain) were studied in order to establish resource exploitation patterns and environmental conditions. Species representation showed that limpets, top shells and sea urchins were preferentially exploited. One-millimetre mesh screens were crucial in establishing an accurate minimum number of individuals for sea urchins and to determine their importance in exploitation patterns. Environmental conditions deduced from shell assemblages indicated that temperate conditions prevailed at the time of the occupation and the morphology of the coastline was similar to today (rocky exposed shores). Information recovered relating to species representation, collection areas and shell biometry reflected some evidence of intensification (reduced shell size, collection in lower areas of exposed shores, no size selection in some units and species) in the exploitation of coastal resources through time. However, the results suggested the existence of changes in collection strategies and resource management, and periods of intense shell collection may have alternated with times of shell stock recovery throughout the Mesolithic.This research was performed as part of the project “The human response to the global climatic change in a littoral zone: the case of the transition to the Holocene in the Cantabrian coast (10,000–5000 cal BC) (HAR2010-22115-C02-01)” funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. AGE was funded by the University of Cantabria through a predoctoral grant and IGZ was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through a Juan de la Cierva grant. We also would like to thank the University of Cantabria and the IIIPC for providing support, David Cuenca-Solana, Alejandro García Moreno and Lucia Agudo Pérez for their help. We also thank Jennifer Jones for correcting the English. Comments from two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the paper

Anthropic resource exploitation and use of the territory at the onset of social complexity in the Neolithic-Chalcolithic Western Pyrenees: a multi-isotope approach

Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analyses from bone collagen provide information about the dietary protein input, while strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) from tooth enamel give us data about provenance and potential territorial mobility of past populations. To date, isotopic results on the prehistory of the Western Pyrenees are scarce. In this article, we report human and faunal values of the mentioned isotopes from the Early-Middle Neolithic site of Fuente Hoz (Anuntzeta) and the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic site of Kurtzebide (Letona, Zigoitia). The main objectives of this work are to analyze the dietary and territorial mobility patterns of these populations. Furthermore, as an additional aim, we will try to discuss social ranking based on the isotope data and existing literature on this topic in the region of study. Our results show that, based on the bioavailable Sr values, both purported local and non-local humans were buried together at the sites. Additionally, they suggest similar resource consumption based on C3 terrestrial resources (i.e. ovicaprids, bovids, and suids) as the main part of the protein input. Overall, this study sheds light on how individuals from different backgrounds were still buried together and shared the same dietary lifestyle at a time in the Prehistory of Iberia when social complexities started to appear

Anales de Edafología y Agrobiología Tomo 47 Número 3-4

Suelos. Física. Resistencia del suelo y susceptibilidad a la compactación en terrenos a monte sometidos a pastoreo. Por R. Pérez Moreira y F. Diaz-Fierros Viqueira.-- La reserva de agua útil de los suelos de Galicia. l. Relación con la textura y el contenido de materia orgánica. Por A. M. Martinez Cortizas.-- Química Empleo de aminas alifáticas en el estudio de asociaciones haloisita-esmectita en suelos. Por F. J. Aragoneses, J. Casas, y J. L. Martin de Vidales.-- Quelación por EDDHA de micronutrientes en suelos calizos. Ecuación de límite máximo. Por M. Juárez, J. Sánchez-Andréu, L. Pla y J. Jorda.-- Quelación por EDDHA de micronutrientes en suelos calizos. Ecuación de orden "n ".Por J. Sánchez-Andréu, M. Juarez, L. Pla y J. Jordá.-- Génesis, Clasificación y Cartografía Caracterización de un podsol ferro - húmico en el Puerto de la Quesera (Sierra del Ayllón). Por R. Espejo Serrano, F. Guerrero López y A. Saa Requejo.-- Natrixerales en el Baix Segre (Lleida). Por J. Bech i Borrás, J. Garrigo i Reixach y J. R. Torrento i Marselles.-- Aspectos micromorfológicos del horizonte superior en suelos artificiales (Sorribas) de las Islas Canarias. Por A. Rodríguez Rodríguez y J. M. Ontañón Sánchez.-- Fertilidad Influencia de diferentes factores del suelo sobre su contenido en microelementos asimilables: Mn, Fe, Cu y Zn. Por B. C. Ortega, Ma C. Ortega y J. G. de las Heras.--Incidencia de la salinidad del agua de riego en la mineralización del nitrógeno orgánico en suelos calizos del sureste español. Por J. García-Serna, J. Sánchez Andréu, M. Juárez y J. Mataix.-- Biología Vegetal-Fisiología Efectos de la toxicidad del flúor sobre el ciclo biológico en especies herbáceas dicotiledoneas. Por M. Ibarra, F. López Belmonte y Ma A. Diez.-- Efectos de la toxicidad del flúor sobre el ciclo biológico de especies de monocotiledoneas. Por M. Ibarra, F. López-Belmonte y Mª A . Diez.-- Proteasas ácidas en uvas Vitis vinifera (variedad Macabeo). l. Actividad proteásica durante su maduración. Por J. Marín Expósito, C. Miguel Gordillo, J. l. Maynar Mariño y J. L. Mesias Iglesias.-- Agro biología Efectos de enmiendas calcáreas en suelos fijadores de fósforo. Por S. G. Ramos Hernández y N. Aguilera Herrera.-- III. Trabajo Recapitulativo. Una deriva hacia hemiparasftismo de los líquenes epifitos: Análisis fisiológico de las relaciones con sus fitoforos. Por C. VicentePeer reviewed2019-08.- CopyBook.- Libnova.- Biblioteca IC