Estudio comparativo de los Códecs de voz para comunicaciones de Voip utilizando teléfonos inteligentes - caso de estudio Universidad Católica de Cuenca sede Azogues

Este trabajo de investigación presenta un estudio comparativo de los códecs de voz para comunicaciones de VoIP en la Universidad Católica de Cuenca Sede Azogues, mediante la aplicación de diferentes escenarios reales de pruebas utilizando teléfonos móviles celulares inteligentes con cuentas SIP registradas en aplicaciones softphones y configuradas con la dirección IP interna del servidor de VoIP cuando la conexión sea a través de la red WLAN interna del campus universitario, o con la dirección IP pública de la institución, asignada por el proveedor de servicios de internet y datos CEDIA (Consorcio Ecuatoriano para el Desarrollo de Internet Avanzado) cuando la conexión se la realiza desde una red WLAN externa y/o plan de servicios de internet y datos móviles 3G. Utilizando la infraestructura de red de VoIP existente en la institución educativa. Esto permite determinar cuál es el códec de voz que se apegue más a las necesidades actuales requeridas en las comunicaciones de VoIP, con la finalidad de mantener una constante comunicación del personal que labora en ésta casa de estudios, mejorando la coordinación de las tareas dentro o fuera de la misma. Con los resultados obtenidos de ésta investigación se pretende poder en un futuro reemplazar las centrales telefónicas aún existentes en ésta institución de estudios superiores, las cuales utilizan líneas ADSL de telefonía fija convencional para su salida. Permitiendo tener una alternativa a la comunicación de voz tradicional

The interleukin-6 and noradrenaline mediated inflammation-stress feedback mechanism is dysregulated in metabolic syndrome: Effect of exercise

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a metabolic disorder associated with obesity, type-II diabetes, and "low grade inflammation", with the concomitant increased risk of cardiovascular events. Removal of the inflammatory mediator signals is a promising strategy to protect against insulin resistance, obesity, and other problems associated with MS such as cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the "inflammatory and stress status" in an experimental model of MS, and to evaluate the effect of a program of habitual exercise and the resulting training-induced adaptation to the effects of a single bout of acute exercise.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Obese Zucker rats (fa/fa) were used as the experimental model of MS, and lean Zucker rats (Fa/fa) were used for reference values. The habitual exercise (performed by the obese rats) consisted of treadmill running: 5 days/week for 14 weeks, at 35 cm/s for 35 min in the last month. The acute exercise consisted of a single session of 25-35 min at 35 cm/s. Circulating concentrations of IL-6 (a cytokine that regulates the inflammatory and metabolic responses), CRP (a systemic inflammatory marker), and corticosterone (CTC) (the main glucocorticoid in rats) were determined by ELISA, and that of noradrenaline (NA) was determined by HPLC. Glucose was determined by standard methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The genetically obese animals showed higher circulating levels of glucose, IL-6, PCR, and NA compared with the control lean animals. The habitual exercise program increased the concentration of IL-6, PCR, NA, and glucose, but decreased that of CTC. Acute exercise increased IL-6, CRP, and NA in the sedentary obese animals, but not in the trained obese animals. CTC was increased after the acute exercise in the trained animals only.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Animals with MS present a dysregulation in the feedback mechanism between IL-6 and NA which can contribute to the systemic low-grade inflammation and/or hyperglycaemia of MS. An inappropriate exercise intensity can worsen this dysregulation, contributing to the metabolic, inflammatory, and stress disorders associated with MS. Habitual exercise (i.e., training) induces a positive adaptation in the response to acute exercise.</p

Probabilistic meta-analysis of risk from the exposure to Hg in artisanal gold mining communities in Colombia

Colombia is one of the largest per capita mercury polluters in the world as a consequence of its artisanal gold mining activities. The severity of this problem in terms of potential health effects was evaluated by means of a probabilistic risk assessment carried out in the twelve departments (or provinces) in Colombia with the largest gold production. The two exposure pathways included in the risk assessment were inhalation of elemental Hg vapors and ingestion of fish contaminated with methyl mercury. Exposure parameters for the adult population (especially rates of fish consumption) were obtained from nation-wide surveys and concentrations of Hg in air and of methyl-mercury in fish were gathered from previous scientific studies. Fish consumption varied between departments and ranged from 0 to 0.3 kg d?1. Average concentrations of total mercury in fish (70 data) ranged from 0.026 to 3.3 lg g?1. A total of 550 individual measurements of Hg in workshop air (ranging from menor queDL to 1 mg m?3) and 261 measurements of Hg in outdoor air (ranging from menor queDL to 0.652 mg m?3) were used to generate the probability distributions used as concentration terms in the calculation of risk. All but two of the distributions of Hazard Quotients (HQ) associated with ingestion of Hg-contaminated fish for the twelve regions evaluated presented median values higher than the threshold value of 1 and the 95th percentiles ranged from 4 to 90. In the case of exposure to Hg vapors, minimum values of HQ for the general population exceeded 1 in all the towns included in this study, and the HQs for miner-smelters burning the amalgam is two orders of magnitude higher, reaching values of 200 for the 95th percentile. Even acknowledging the conservative assumptions included in the risk assessment and the uncertainties associated with it, its results clearly reveal the exorbitant levels of risk endured not only by miner-smelters but also by the general population of artisanal gold mining communities in Colombia

Unveiling the birth and evolution of the HII region Sh2-173

Based on a multiwavelength study, the interstellar medium around the H II region Sh2-173 has been analysed. The ionized region is clearly detected in the optical and the radio continuum images. The analysis of the H I data shows a region of low emissivity that has an excellent morphological correlation with the radio continuum emission. The H II region is partially bordered by a photodissociation region, which, in turn, is encircled by a molecular structure. The H I and CO structures related to Sh2-173 are observed in the velocity ranges from −25 to −31 km s−1 and from −27 to −39 km s−1, respectively. Taking into account the presence of non-circular motions in the Perseus spiral arm, together with previous distance estimates for the region, we adopt a distance of 2.5 ± 0.5 kpc for Sh2-173. Seven hot stars were identified in the field of Sh2-173, being only one O-type star. The amount of energetic photons emitted by this star is enough to keep the region ionized and heat the dust. Given that an expanding H II region may trigger star formation, a search for young stellar object (YSO) candidates was made using different infrared point source catalogues. A population of 46 YSO candidates was identified, projected on to the molecular clouds. On the other hand, Sh2-173 is located in a dense edge of a large (∼5°) H I shell, GSH 117.8+1.5-35. The possibility of Sh2-173 being part of a hierarchical system of three generations is suggested. In this scenario, the large H I shell, which probably originated due to the action of Cas OB5, would have triggered the formation of Sh2-173, which, in turn, is triggering new stars in its surrounding molecular cloud. To test this hypothesis, the ages of both the H II region and the large shell were estimated and compared. We concluded that Sh2-173 is a young H II region of about 0.6–1.0 Myr old. As for the large shell, we obtained a dynamical age of 5 ± 1 Myr. These age estimates, together with the relative location of the different structures, support the hypothesis that Sh2-173 is part of a hierarchical system.Instituto Argentino de RadioastronomíaFacultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Dilational Rheology of Fluid/Fluid Interfaces: Foundations and Tools

Fluid/fluid interfaces are ubiquitous in science and technology, and hence, the understanding of their properties presents a paramount importance for developing a broad range of soft interface dominated materials, but also for the elucidation of different problems with biological and medical relevance. However, the highly dynamic character of fluid/fluid interfaces makes shedding light on fundamental features guiding the performance of the interfaces very complicated. Therefore, the study of fluid/fluid interfaces cannot be limited to an equilibrium perspective, as there exists an undeniable necessity to face the study of the deformation and flow of these systems under the application of mechanical stresses, i.e., their interfacial rheology. This is a multidisciplinary challenge that has been evolving fast in recent years, and there is currently available a broad range of experimental and theoretical methodologies providing accurate information of the response of fluid/fluid interfaces under the application of mechanical stresses, mainly dilational and shear. This review focused on providing an updated perspective on the study of the response of fluid/fluid interfaces to dilational stresses; to open up new avenues that enable the exploitation of interfacial dilational rheology and to shed light on different problems in the interest of science and technology.This work was funded in part by MICINN under Grant PID2019-106557GB-C21 and by E.U. on the framework of the European Innovative Training Network—Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Nano Paint (Grant Agreement 955612)

The interplay between academic performance, emotional intelligence, and self-concept as predictors of violent behavior in higher education: a multi-group structural equation modeling

Higher education is a focus of increasing violent behavior. The evidence suggests an obsession to achieve the best academic performance in order to access working life. This research aims to develop an explanatory model of violent behavior and its relationship with self-concept and emotional intelligence according to in relation to their academic performance. A sample of 932 Spanish undergraduate students participated in the multi-group structural equation modeling. Findings revealed that students who have a higher academic performance have problems to control and regulate their emotions, showing signs of direct and indirect violence. Moreover, it was found that that emotional intelligence and self-concept have a direct influence on episodes of violent behavior, with academic performance being a key component affecting each variable. The present study provides some implications and suggests some avenues for future research

Smart vest for respiratory rate monitoring of COPD patients based on non-contact capacitive sensing

In this paper, a first approach to the design of a portable device for non-contact monitoring of respiratory rate by capacitive sensing is presented. The sensing system is integrated into a smart vest for an untethered, low-cost and comfortable breathing monitoring of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients during the rest period between respiratory rehabilitation exercises at home. To provide an extensible solution to the remote monitoring using this sensor and other devices, the design and preliminary development of an e-Health platform based on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) paradigm is also presented. In order to validate the proposed solution, two quasi-experimental studies have been developed, comparing the estimations with respect to the golden standard. In a first study with healthy subjects, the mean value of the respiratory rate error, the standard deviation of the error and the correlation coefficient were 0.01 breaths per minute (bpm), 0.97 bpm and 0.995 (p < 0.00001), respectively. In a second study with COPD patients, the values were -0.14 bpm, 0.28 bpm and 0.9988 (p < 0.0000001), respectively. The results for the rest period show the technical and functional feasibility of the prototype and serve as a preliminary validation of the device for respiratory rate monitoring of patients with COPD.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PI15/00306Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DTS15/00195Junta de Andalucía PI-0010-2013Junta de Andalucía PI-0041-2014Junta de Andalucía PIN-0394-201

Physical Activity, Energy Expenditure, Screen Time and Social Support in Spanish Adolescents—Towards an Explanatory Model about Health Risk Factors

Youth obesity has been a pandemic for decades. One of its causes is a low level of physical activity. It is necessary to know the specific situation of adolescents and the factors that influence it in order to be able to act accordingly. The first aim of the current study is to create an explanatory model to establish the relationships between light physical activity time, light physical activity energy expenditure, screen time and social support. The second aim is to propose a theoretical model specifying the relationships between moderate-vigorous physical activity time, moderate-vigorous physical activity energy expenditure, screen time and social support. The study design was non-experimental (ex post facto), descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional. A total of 694 adolescents from the region of Soria (12-17 years) participated in the study. The instruments administered were the Four by One-Day Physical Activity Questionnaire, Parent Support Scale and Peer Support Scale. Two structural equation models were developed to analyse the relationships between the variables that comprised the explanatory models. The results show that social support had a negative influence on screen time in the proposed model in relation to light physical activity (r = -0.210; p <= 0.001) and in the proposed one regarding moderate-vigorous physical activity (r = -0.173; p <= 0.05). Social support was negatively related to light physical activity time (r = -0.167; p <= 0.05). Family support had a greater influence than did peer support. In conclusion, the models for light and moderate-vigorous physical activity are useful to describe the relationships between time, energy expenditure, screen time and social support

Relationship between Physical Activity, Mediterranean Diet and Emotional Intelligence in Spanish Primary Education Students

There is an international social concern about the low levels of physical activity among young people. It is essential to know what factors influence the practice of physical activity in order to design effective proposals for health promotion. The study aims to: (1) classify primary school students according to their levels of out-of-school physical activity, Mediterranean diet, emotional attention, emotional clarity and emotional repair; (2) analyse descriptively and correlationally the adolescents' profiles of out-of-school physical activity, Mediterranean diet and emotional attention, clarity and repair. The study design was cross-sectional and descriptive-correlational. The sample consisted of 293 children aged 10-12 years in Granada (Spain). An ad hoc socio-academic questionnaire, the KIDMED test and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) were used for data collection. Four clusters were identified by the Ward's method and participants were classified using the K-means method. Subsequently, cluster classification was validated through the MANOVA test (F (861) = 106.12; p <= 0.001; f = 1.95). The strongest correlation was obtained in cluster 1 between emotional clarity and emotional repair (r = 0.56; p <= 0.01). In conclusion, the mean values of time spent in out-of-school physical activity, Mediterranean diet, emotional attention, emotional clarity and emotional repair of students are adequate and vary according to sex. There are significant differences among the physical activity levels of all clusters, as well as among the emotional variables of attention, clarity and repair. In addition, the correlations between the variables studied vary in each cluster

Heat capacities of different amine aqueous solutions at pressures up to 25 MPa for CO2 capture

Producción CientíficaA high-pressure flow calorimeter is used to determine isobaric heat capacities for aqueous solutions of some amines such as MEA, DEA TEA, DMAE, MDEA, PZ from T = (293.15 to 353.15) K and up to 25 MPa. The experimental device can measure heat capacities with an estimated total uncertainty better than 1% for a coverage factor k = 2. The isobaric heat capacity values are analysed in conjunction with their temperature and pressure dependencies. Furthermore, empirical equations are proposed to fit isobaric heat capacities as functions of temperature and pressure for given conditions, for this kind of mixtures, obtaining standard deviations within the uncertainty of the measurements. Finally, DMAE shows the highest value of heat capacity and TEA the lowest value, when they are compared at the same conditions of temperature, pressure and composition.Junta de Castilla y León - EU-FEDER (VA280P18 y CLU-2019-04)Fellowship “Beatriz Galindo Senior” (BEAGAL18/00259