Immunization strategies for epidemic processes in time-varying contact networks

Spreading processes represent a very efficient tool to investigate the structural properties of networks and the relative importance of their constituents, and have been widely used to this aim in static networks. Here we consider simple disease spreading processes on empirical time-varying networks of contacts between individuals, and compare the effect of several immunization strategies on these processes. An immunization strategy is defined as the choice of a set of nodes (individuals) who cannot catch nor transmit the disease. This choice is performed according to a certain ranking of the nodes of the contact network. We consider various ranking strategies, focusing in particular on the role of the training window during which the nodes' properties are measured in the time-varying network: longer training windows correspond to a larger amount of information collected and could be expected to result in better performances of the immunization strategies. We find instead an unexpected saturation in the efficiency of strategies based on nodes' characteristics when the length of the training window is increased, showing that a limited amount of information on the contact patterns is sufficient to design efficient immunization strategies. This finding is balanced by the large variations of the contact patterns, which strongly alter the importance of nodes from one period to the next and therefore significantly limit the efficiency of any strategy based on an importance ranking of nodes. We also observe that the efficiency of strategies that include an element of randomness and are based on temporally local information do not perform as well but are largely independent on the amount of information available

1-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propan-1-one

The study of new catalytic protocols for the synthesis of organic compounds with a more sustainable perspective is of interest. The use of ionic organic solids, such as 1,3-bis(carboxymethyl)imidazolium chloride as a catalyst has allowed the Michael addition of N-heterocycles to chalcones. This methodology has been applied to the unique preparation of the potential bioactive compound 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propan-1-one with moderate yield, due to the retro-Michael reaction. Both synthetic reactions (i.e., preparation of chalcone and triazole Michael-addition to chalcone) have good green metrics.This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant number PID2021-127332NB-I00), and the University of Alicante (grant numbers VIGROB-316, UASTI22-23, UADIF22-104)

Les relacions de suport i el component emocional com a aspectes clau per al desenvolupament del procés resilient i el benestar dels infants al sistema de protecció

Podeu consultar el document complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/58585La present comunicació mostra el potencial que pot tenir l’establiment de certes relacions que ofereixen suport i recolzament emocional als infants i joves tutelats, en la promoció del benestar emocional i del procés resilient. La recerca es contextualitza al sistema de protecció a la infància, centrant-nos en adolescents que a causa de la seva situació de desprotecció han hagut d’abandonar el seu nucli familiar i entrar al sistema de protecció a la infància. L’afrontament d’aquesta situació afegit a l’entorn advers del qual provenen, comporta que els adolescents hagin de lidiar amb unes necessitats específiques de l’àrea emocional i relacional. Certs tipus de relacions interpersonals poden ajudar i mediar en aquest impacte emocional, promocionant un desenvolupament del procés resilient, així com millorant el seu benestar personal i social. Els resultats de la recerca que es presenta, permeten identificar elements característics d’aquest tipus de relacions i els beneficis que els adolescents perceben, essent els aspectes emocionals els que sustenten aquestes relacions..

Trasplantament renal pediàtric: experiència a l'Hospital Clínic de Barcelona

Resum Introducció. Amb la introducció de la ciclosporina A, el pronòstic dels trasplantaments d'òrgans ha variat radicalment. En aquest estudi es revisa el trasplantament renal pediàtrica des del punt de vista d'una UCIP centrada en la problemática postoperatória i en els resultats finals. Material i mètodes. Es revisen 27 trasplantaments renals que es van fer entre el 1986 i el 1994, la gran majoria entre els 10 i els 14 anys, amb un rang de 4 a 20 anys. Resultats. Quant a l'etiologia de la IRC: 8 casos de malformació quística, 6 de quadres amb patologia intersticial, 4 heredofamiliars i glomerulars i els 5 restants sistèmics o congènits. Tres quartes parts deis pacients (el 78%) ja estaven en diàlisi. Es va detectar risc immunológic elevat (presència l'anticossos limfocitotóxics o retrasplantacions) en el 38%. En l'evolució postoperatória immediata destaquen com a complicacions: un cas de trombosi renal i dos esclats renals; a curt termini es va detectar un rebuig en 16 casos i necrosi tubular aguda en 5, i van necessitar diàlisi el 18% del total. Als 5 anys la supervivència de l'empelt va ser del 78% i la del pacient del 100%. Conclusions. Comparant aquestes darreres dades amb registres similars nacionals, europeus i americans, s'han obtingut uns resultats equiparables

Measuring post-editing time and effort for different types of machine translation errors

Post-editing (PE) of machine translation (MT) is becoming more and more common in the professional translation setting. However, many users refuse to employ MT due to bad quality of the output it provides and even reject post-editing job offers. This can change by improving MT quality from the point of view of the PE process. This article investigates different types of MT errors and the difficulties they pose for PE in terms of post-editing time and technical effort. For the experiment we used English to German translations performed by MT engines. The errors were previously annotated using the MQM scheme for error annotation. The sentences were post-edited by students in translation. The experiment allowed us to make observations about the relation between technical and temporal PE effort, as well as to discover the types of errors that are more challenging for PE

Uso de internet para evaluar el distrés psicológico en pacientes con cáncer de mama

Objective: The object of this study is to determine the prevalence of distress symptoms and coping strategy among a large sample of Spanish-speaking breast cancer patients recruited on-line. Methods: We designed a cross-sectional study with breast cancer survivors (n=434) that were accrued via Internet (http://www.cancermama.org). Participants completed a demographic and medical questionnaire, and they were also evaluated using self-reporting measures of psychological distress and adjustment to cancer; the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the 29-item version of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC), respectively. Results: Global HAD as a measure of distress on-line is reliable in our study. The overall prevalence rate of distress for our sample was 50%, with no differences for socio-demographics or medical status variables. Concerning to anxiety punctuation 66.2% were clinical cases and 34.5% reached the clinical level for depression. These results were associated with Mini-MAC scales as expected. Conclusions: These results offer support for the use of Internet as valid tool for the psychological distress assessment in patients with breast cancer Spanish-speaking patients. Internet brings us the possibility to identify high-risk patients through psychological screening in order to provide early interventions, and Global HAD punctuation may be an accurate tool. However more studies are needed to analyze internet illness consulting situation as an anxious provoking space.Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio es determinar la prevalencia de síntomas de distrés y la estrategia de adaptación entre una amplia muestra de pacientes de habla hispana con cáncer de mama mediante el uso de internet.Métodos: Se diseñó un estudio transversal con pacientes con cáncer de mama (n = 434) reclutadas a través de Internet (http://www.cancermama.org). Las participantes completaron un cuestionario demográfico y médico, y también se usaron cuestionarios de evaluación psicológica ampliamente utilizados en Psicooncología, la HADs (Escala de Ansiedad y Depresión Hospitalaria) y la escala MAC (La Escala de Ajuste Mental al Cáncer), en su versión reducida de 29 ítems (Mini-MAC). Resultados: En nuestro estudio el resultado global de la HADs como medida de distrés en línea es confiable en nuestro estudio. La tasa de prevalencia general de distrés para nuestra muestra fue del 50%, sin diferencias según nivel socio-demográfico o variables médicas. En cuanto a puntuación de ansiedad 66,2% y 34% alcanzaron nivel clínico de ansiedad y depresión, respectivamente. Estos resultados se relacionaron con los de la Mini-MAC según lo esperado. Conclusiones: Estos resultados dan apoyo al uso de Internet como herramienta válida para la evaluación de los trastornos psicológicos en pacientes con cáncer de mama. Internet nos brinda la posibilidad de identificar pacientes de alto riesgo a través de screening psicológico con el fin de realizar intervenciones tempranas, y las puntuaciones globales de distrés pueden ser una herramienta precisa. Sin embargo se necesitan más estudios para analizar la situación de consulta en internet como un estímulo provocador de ansiedad

Tecnologías sostenibles para la potabilización y el tratamiento de aguas residuales

Actualmente 1100 millones de personas carecen de acceso a agua potable y 2600 millones de personas no disponen de sistemas de saneamiento adecuado, sistemas con los cuales se reducirían un gran número de enfermedades. Desde las instituciones internacionales se está trabajando para paliar esta crisis del agua, pero la tendencia sigue siendo negativa. El uso de tecnologías sostenibles es indispensable para avanzar hacia una mayor cobertura mundial,desde la captación de agua, su tratamiento y el reuso. Se presentan los humedales construidos como un ejemplo de tecnología adecuada y sostenible de tratamiento para una gran variedad de aguas residuales, incluyendo un origen urbano, agrícola o industrialAgradecemos el apoyo prestado por la Red ALFA TECSPAR II-0543-FI-FA-FCD “Tecnologías Sostenibles para la Potabilización y el Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales”, el Centro de Cooperación para el Desarrollo de la UPC y el Programa ALBAN “Programa de Becas de Alto Nivel de la Unión Europea para América Latina” (Beca nº E05D054184BR)Postprint (published version

Ontological Unpacking as Explanation:The Case of the Viral Conceptual Model

Inspired by the need to understand the genomic aspects of COVID-19, the Viral Conceptual Model captures and represents the sequencing of viruses. Although the model has already been successfully used, it should have a strong ontological foundation to ensure that it can be consistently applied and expanded. We apply an ontological analysis of the Viral Conceptual Model, using OntoUML, to unpack and identify its core components. The analysis illustrates the feasibility of bringing ontological clarity to complex models. The process of revealing the ontological semantics of a data structuring model provides a fundamental type of explanation for symbolic models, including conceptual models.</p

A Comprehensive Approach for the Conceptual Modeling of Genomic Data

The human genome is traditionally represented as a DNA sequence of three billion base pairs. However, its intricacies are captured by many more complex signals, representing DNA variations, the expression of gene activity, or DNA’s structural rearrangements; a rich set of data formats is used to represent such signals. Different conceptual models explain such elaborate structure and behavior. Among them, the Conceptual Schema of the Human Genome (CSG) provides a concept-oriented, top-down representation of the genome behavior – independent of data formats. The Genomic Conceptual Model (GCM) instead provides a data-oriented, bottom-up representation, targeting a well-organized, unified description of these formats. We hereby propose to join these two approaches to achieve a more complete vision, linking (1) a concepts layer, describing genome elements and their conceptual connections, with (2) a data layer, describing datasets derived from genome sequencing with specific technologies. The link is established when specific genomic data types are chosen in the data layer, thereby triggering the selection of a view in the concepts layer. The benefit is mutual, as data records can be semantically described by high-level concepts and exploit their links. In turn, the continuously evolving abstract model can be extended thanks to the input provided by real datasets. As a result, it will be possible to express queries that employ a holistic conceptual perspective on the genome, directly translated onto data-oriented terms and organization. The approach is here exemplified using the DNA variation data type but is applicable to all genomic information