Estrategias evolutivas como una opción para la optimización de funciones no lineales con restricciones

Estrategias de evolución es una técnica bio-inspirada, eficiente y robusta para resolver problemas de optimización donde el espacio de soluciones es no restringido. Sin embargo, esta suposición es irreal en muchos casos porque el espacio de soluciones es limitado por fronteras complejas en la forma de restricciones tanto lineales como no lineales. En este artículo de investigación, se propone una modificación al algoritmo original de estrategias de evolución para optimizar problemas donde el espacio de soluciones es limitado usando restricciones complejas. El método propuesto es basado en el uso de una función de penalización la cual es cero dentro de la región factible, e igual al máximo valor dentro de la región factible cuando se considera un punto que es no factible. La aproximación propuesta es probada usando seis problemas de prueba bien conocidos. En todos los casos, esta aproximación encontró un punto óptimo igual o menor que los valores reportados en la literatura

The Effects of Isoprene and NOx on Secondary Organic Aerosols Formed Through Reversible and Irreversible Uptake to Aerosol Water

Isoprene oxidation produces water-soluble organic gases capable of partitioning to aerosol liquid water. The formation of secondary organic aerosols through such aqueous pathways (aqSOA) can take place either reversibly or irreversibly; however, the split between these fractions in the atmosphere is highly uncertain. The aim of this study was to characterize the reversibility of aqSOA formed from isoprene at a location in the eastern United States under substantial influence from both anthropogenic and biogenic emissions. The reversible and irreversible uptake of water-soluble organic gases to aerosol water was characterized in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, using measurements of particulate water-soluble organic carbon (WSOCp) in alternating dry and ambient configurations. WSOCp evaporation with drying was observed systematically throughout the late spring and summer, indicating reversible aqSOA formation during these times. We show through time lag analyses that WSOCp concentrations, including the WSOCp that evaporates with drying, peak 6 to 11 h after isoprene concentrations, with maxima at a time lag of 9 h. The absolute reversible aqSOA concentrations, as well as the relative amount of reversible aqSOA, increased with decreasing NOx / isoprene ratios, suggesting that isoprene epoxydiol (IEPOX) or other low-NOx oxidation products may be responsible for these effects. The observed relationships with NOx and isoprene suggest that this process occurs widely in the atmosphere, and is likely more important in other locations characterized by higher isoprene and/or lower NOx levels. This work underscores the importance of accounting for both reversible and irreversible uptake of isoprene oxidation products to aqueous particles

Information System of Assistant Technology in Bogotá

El Objetivo fue caracterizar los dispositivos de tecnología de asistencia disponibles en Bogotá como parte del desarrollo de un sistema de información en esta área. Dirigido a personas con discapacidad, a sus familias y a profesionales del área de la rehabilitación. Metodología: éste es un estudio descriptivo para el cual se desarrolló un instrumento de recolección de la información. El procedimiento consistió en visitas a los fabricantes y distribuidores de los dispositivos, diligenciamiento del instrumento, toma de fotografías y caracterización de cada producto basándose en la Norma Técnica Colombiana (NTC)-ISO 9999 (Ayudas técnicas para personas con limitación). Resultados: de los 95 productos caracterizados, se encontró que los de mayor disponibilidad están representados por ortesis y prótesis (52,6%) y ayudas para la movilización personal (23,15%). El 24,25% restante está representado por ayudas para el cuidado y la protección personal, mobiliario y adaptaciones para vivienda, ayudas para el manejo de bienes y productos y ayudas para actividades domésticas. Conclusiones: en Bogotá D.C. la mayoría de los fabricantes y distribuidores de dispositivos de tecnología en rehabilitación producen dispositivos ortésicos y ayudas para caminar, es mínimo el número de ayudas disponibles para apoyo en las actividades de la vida diaria y para la comunicación y el acceso a la información.This project has the objective to create a system of information that includes and manages data related to devices of Assistive Technology available in Colombia and its main characteristics; the project is directed to people with disability, their families and professionals in been the rehabilitation area. For the development of this project four phases have settled down: Bibliographical revision, Gathering of Information, Development of Engineering of the Software and Amplification of the study at National level. At the moment the project is at the phase II, during the time of investigation the results obtained have been tools for gathering of Information, Instructive which explains the correct form for obtaining this tools, home visits to orthopedic facilities, analysis of diverse products and development road of user’s way access

Palynotaxonomy of the genus Gladiopappus (Dicomeae, Asteraceae) with special emphasis on the exine ultrastructure and mesoapertures

The pollen morphology of Gladiopappus vernonioides was studied with transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopy and with light microscopy (LM). An Anthemoid pattern of exine ultrastructure was found. The pollen morphology of Gladiopappus supports the inclusion of this genus in the tribe Dicomeae and subtribe Dicominae but not in the Mutisieae s.str. The apertural system of G. vernonioides includes a mesoaperture that intersects the foot layer and the upper layer of the endexine, a condition already pointed out for several tribes of Asteroideae (Helenieae, Gnaphaliinae, Heliantheae, Inuleae, Senecioneae) and Carduoideae (Cardueae, Dicomeae). It is suggested that the existence of an intermediate aperture could characterize the apertural system of the Asteraceae as a synapomorphyS

Development and validation of vulnerable and enabling indices for hiv viral suppression among people with hiv enrolled in the ryan white program

Background: Numerous factors impact HIV care, often requiring consideration of indices to prevent collinearity when using statistical modeling. Using the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations, we developed vulnerable and enabling indices for people living with HIV (PLWH). Methods: We used Ryan White Program (RWP) data and principal component analysis to develop general and gender-and racial/ethnic-specific indices. We assessed internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha), convergent validity (correlation coefficient), and predictive utility (logistic regression) with non-viral suppression. Results: Three general factors accounting for 79.2% of indicators’ variability surfaced: mental health, drug use, and socioeconomic status (Cronbach’s alpha 0.68). Among the overall RWP population, indices showed convergent validity and predictive utility. Using gender-or racial/ethnic-specific indices did not improve psychometric performance. Discussion: General mental health, drug use, and socioeconomic indices using administrative data showed acceptable reliability, validity, and utility for non-viral suppression in an overall PLWH population and in gender-and racial/ethnic-stratified populations. These general indices may be used with similar validity and utility across gender and racial/ethnic diverse populations

Improved classification of rheumatoid arthritis with a score including anti‑acetylated ornithine antibodies

The presence of rheumatoid factor (RF) or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) autoantibodies contributes to the current rheumatoid arthritis (RA) classification criteria. These criteria involve stratification on antibody levels, which limits reproducibility, and underperform in the RA patients without RF and anti-CCP. Here, we have explored if two anti-acetylated peptide antibodies (AAPA), anti-acetylated lysine (AcLys) and anti-acetylated ornithine (AcOrn), could improve the performance of the current criteria. The analysis was done in 1062 prospectively-followed early arthritis (EA) patients. The anti-AcOrn were more informative than the anti-AcLys, the conventional RA antibodies and the anti-carbamylated protein antibodies. The anti-AcOrn produced a classification that did not require antibody levels and showed improved specificity (77.6% vs. 72.6%, p = 0.003) and accuracy (79.0% vs. 75.8%, p = 0.002) over the current criteria. These improvements were obtained with a scoring system that values concordance between anti-AcOrn, RF and anti-CCP. No significant gain was obtained in sensitivity (80.2% vs. 78.8%, p = 0.25) or in improving the classification of the RA patients lacking RF and anti-CCP, although the anti-AcOrn ranked first among the analysed new antibodies. Therefore, the anti-AcOrn antibodies could contribute to the improvement of RA classification criteria by exploiting antibody concordance.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain) through grants [RD16/0012/0014 and PI17/01606 to AG; RD16/0012/0012 to AB; PI14/00442 and RD16/0012/0011 to IG-A]. These grants are partially financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the EU (FEDER). LRM was supported by Xunta de Galicia (Spain) through a Gain pre-doctoral fellowship. CR was supported by Ministerio de Educacion Cultura y Deporte (Spain) through a FPU pre-doctoral fellowship [FPU15/03434]

Seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in cattle from Sotaquirá, Colombia

Worldwide distributed Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) represents a high risk of infection in most bovine farms, in which it is associated with gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive diseases. The purpose of this research was to establish the seroprevalence and the main risk factors associated with the presentation of BVDV in the municipality of Sotaquirá, Colombia. Samples were taken from 1000 cattle of Holstein, Ayrshire, Jersey, Normande Gyr and Holstein x Gyr. Epidemiological surveys were implemented, reproductive and management variables were taken into consideration. Indirect ELISA was performed to detect specific antibodies against BVDV using the commercial kit SERELISA® BVD p80 Ab Mono Blocking. The overall seroprevalence of antibodies against BVDV was 42.5% (425/1000), where the Gyr breed (59.1% apparent prevalence (AP); 60.3% real prevalence (PR)) and the age group > 4 years (53.0% PA; 54.4% PR) presented the highest seroprevalences. A significant statistical association was found for the breed, age, management practices evaluated and the presentation of PI3 (p ≤ 0.05). Age group > 4 years, Normande breed, presentation of PI3 and grazing lease were established as risk factors associated with BVDV in the herds. These infections are mainly associated with dairy cattle and herds with many animals, so it is important to consider vaccination plans as a preventive system and follow up on the most common diseases

Removal of Azo Dyes Through a Natural Coagulant Obtained from Coffee Waste (coffea Arabica)

The present work evaluated the performance of coffee (Coffea Arabica) Caturra variety waste extracts for the removal of two azo dyes used in the textile industry. Ultrasonic extractions were performed to evaluate the effect of particle size and type of residue on the concentration of polyphenols in the extracts, finding that the dehydrated pulp with a particle diameter of 3.375 mm is the residue with the highest yield with 6.96 ± 0.08 milligrams of Gallic Acid in a gram of dry base (mgGAE/gBD); The extract of polyphenolic compounds was dosed in synthetic waters with azo dyes to test its efficacy as a coagulant, using a jar test by varying the doses and pH. It was found that the maximum removal for the acid red dye was 59.37 % of the acid red dye #88 (RD-88) at a concentration of 15 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of the natural coagulant at acid pH and 49.76 % of the acid yellow dye #36 (YD-36) at a concentration of 15 mg/L of the polyphenolic extract at neutral pH. Finally, the results obtained were compared with the performance of aluminum sulfate (AS), which achieved a 65.44% removal of YD-36 at a concentration of 15 mg/L at neutral pH and 95.04% of RD-88 at a concentration of 10 mg/L of metallic coagulant at acid pH. natural coagulants obtained from coffee residues have the potential to be used in the removal of cationic dyes by coagulation processes, it is necessary to carry out tests to optimize the process and improve the coagulant by means of chemical modifications and the use of complementary flocculants

Deposición de capas funcionales sobre esmaltes cerámicos mediante la técnica sol-gel (revisión)

Functionalized enamels for the ceramic tile industry has been a research topic since the past 15 years. Different researchers have focused their efforts on achieving surfaces with functional attributes that increase product value and provide technical solutions for the technological needs of our times. This article presents a review of the scientific literature dedicated to obtaining functional surfaces by means of a sol gel technique, that provides a means for deposition and formation of thin layers on traditional ceramic enamels in order to provide functional characteristics. The document presents: typical used alcoxidic solutions, the different deposition techniques emphasizing the experimental findings obtained by the authors, and presents a synthesis of the functional effects obtained by means of the technique.La funcionalización de esmaltes para la industria de las baldosas cerámicas ha sido un frente de investigación importante en los últimos 15 años. Diferentes investigadores han centrado sus esfuerzos en conseguir superficies con atributos funcionales que incrementen el valor agregado del producto y a su vez aporten respuestas a las necesidades tecnológicas de nuestros tiempos. El presente artículo se concentra en hacer una revisión de la literatura científica dedicada a la obtención de superficies funcionales por medio de la técnica de sol-gel, la cual es apta para la fabricación de soluciones que se depositan formando capas finas sobre los esmaltes de cerámica tradicional con el fin de aportar características funcionales al mismo. El documento presenta las principales soluciones alcóxidicas usualmente empleadas, las diferentes técnicas de deposición haciendo énfasis en los hallazgos experimentales obtenidos por los diferentes autores, y presenta una síntesis de los efectos funcionales hasta la fecha obtenidos por medio de la técnica