Situational-Context for Virtually Modeling the Elderly

The generalized aging of the population is incrementing the pressure over, frequently overextended, healthcare systems. This situations is even worse in underdeveloped, sparsely populated regions like Extremadura in Spain or Alentejo in Portugal. In this paper we propose an initial approach to use the Situational-Context, a technique to seamlessly adapt Internet of Things systems to the needs and preferences of their users, for virtually modeling the elderly. These models could be used to enhance the elderly experience when using those kind of systems without raising the need for technical skills. The proposed virtual models will also be the basis for further eldercare innovations in sparsely populated regions

Variación radial de la anatomía, densidad y durabilidad de la madera de teca (Tectona grandis) procedente de dos calidades de sitio y dos regiones climáticas de Costa Rica

The objective of this study was to show the radial variation of some anatomic characteristics, wood density and natural durability of teak (Tectona grandis L.F.) growing in Costa Rica. Samples of trees 13 years old were obtained from two growing sites (high and low growing) of plantations established in a humid tropical climate (CHT) and dry tropical climate (CST). The variables measured of the fibers as well as for the rays were not affected by the climate or the type of growing site, except for the length of the fibers. The fibers of teak wood from the best growing site were significantly larger. Vessels were found with a greater frequency for the CST but mostly solitary in comparison with the CHAverage density, maximum density and the variation within the ring presented a light higher magnitude for the CSThe quality of the growing site did not affect these variables. The resistance of fungus attack was similar in the area of heartwood near the pith compared to the heartwood near the sapwood for all the conditions evaluated. Nevertheless, it was observed in some trees a similar resistance of fungus attack for areas of sapwood compared to similar areas of heartwood.Con el objetivo de mostrar la variación radial de las características anatómicas, de densidad normal y de durabilidad natural de la madera de Tectona grandis L.f. creciendo en Costa Rica, se muestrearon plantaciones de 13 años procedentes de dos regiones con clima diferente: clima húmedo tropical (CHT) y clima seco tropical (CST). En cada una de ellas se analizaron dos tipos de sitios con diferente fertilidad: bueno (SB) y malo (SM). Se encontró que las fibras y los radios no fueran afectados por el tipo de clima o calidad de sitio, a excepción de la longitud de la fibra que sí fue afectada. Se encontró que CST produce mayor frecuencia de vasos, pero en su mayoría solitarios en relación al CHT, la densidad normal promedio, máxima y su variación dentro del anillo, presentan magnitudes mayores en CST que CSH. La calidad de sitio no afectó estas variables. La resistencia al ataque de hongos fue similar en el duramen próximo a la médula y el duramen próximo a la albura para los dos tipos de clima y las calidades de sitio. No obstante, se observó que en algunos árboles la resistencia al ataque de los hongos del duramen fue similar a la albura

Emerging markets portfolio creating a Latin American portfolio peruvian case study

The case study seeks to identify the most important issues encountered in developing a new portfolio in a Latin America country, exploring several alternatives which include not only stock and sovereign bonds but also more sophisticate products such as American Depositary Receipt (ADR) or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) from emerging countries, and determine what are the risks involved in the process following not only Basil III standards, but also the local best practice recommend by the local regulators. The study at the beginning used historical information (normal distribution formulas) of several equities and bonds (n = 142) and then selected five Peruvian instruments (one of this involved at least 25 equities, N = 5, n = 30) and then other 30 (one of this include an ETF, N = 30, n = 55) in order to determine the best return and risk combination for an emerging market portfolio. Besides, the additional objective is to examine and introduce the reader in some statistics formulas used in finance and risk management. Senior management must evaluate the issues associated with the new portfolio and strategy developed

The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26): Reliability and Validity in Spanish Female Samples

This paper focuses on the validation of the Spanish form of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26; Garner, Olmsted, Bohr & Garfinkel, 1982) across two studies. Participants in Study 1 were 778 females recruited from community settings (aged 12-21). Study 2 included 86 females recruited from clinical and 86 females from community settings (aged 12- 35). Results from Principal and Simultaneous Component Analyses showed a unidimensional structure of the EAT-26 item scores. Reliability analyses supported the internal consistency of the scale. Study 1 also explores the ability of the EAT-26 to discriminate between subjects with Eating Disorder (ED), Symptomatic or Asymptomatic by means of ROC analyses and using results from the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnoses (Q-EDD; Mintz, O’Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997) as criterion. The EAT-26 demonstrated good specificity but insufficient sensitivity to detect a full or partial ED. Study 2 explores the ability of the questionnaire to discriminate between subjects with and without ED. The EAT-26 demonstrated good specificity and moderate sensitivity to detect ED. Clinical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed

Prediction and Measurement of the local extinction coefficient in sprays for 3D simulation/experiment data comparison

AbstractIn the recent years, large progresses in laser imaging techniques have allowed to extract spatially resolved 2D and 3D quantitative spray information even in optically dense situations. The main breakthrough of these techniques is the possibility of suppressing unwanted effects from multiple light scattering using Structured Illumination. Thanks to this new feature, effects due to light extinction can also be corrected allowing the measurement of the local extinction coefficient. These quantitative information which is available even in challenging conditions, where Phase Doppler does not work anymore, can be used for data comparison between experiment and simulation. The local extinction coefficient is particularly valuable for the description of the droplet field, defined as the “spray region”, as it contains information related to both droplets size and concentration. In this article we detail, then, the procedure enabling the modelers to obtain numerically this local extinction coefficient over the full 3D spray system. Following this procedure, results can now be adequately compared between simulation and experiment. The proposed comparison approach can better guide model adjustments in situation where the initial droplet size distribution is unknown or approximated and presents a step towards future validations of spray simulations, especially those based on Lagrangian Particle Tracking. The approach is exemplified here for the case of a Diesel-type spray. The results reveal at which specific spray locations discrepancies occur, and highlight the sensitivity of the initial droplet size distribution on the resulting extinction coefficient

LiDAR applications to the archaeological topography: The Irueña Hillfort (Fuenteguinaldo, Salamanca)

Este trabajo pretende demostrar la utilidad de las nuevas tecnologías de Información Geográfica (TIC) aplicadas a las prospecciones extensivas en Arqueología. Sobre un caso concreto, el llamado castro de Irueña, los autores han realizado un estudio de campo combinando las prospecciones sobre el terreno con la aplicación de tecnologías LiDAR y SIG, para ofrecer una planta topográfica totalmente novedosa que permite, junto a algunos posibles hallazgos externos, interpretar mejor los restos arqueológicos conocidos previamenteIn this paper, the authors try to defend the utilities that they have obteined from new geographical information technologies to the Archaeological surveys. They have applied LiDAR system and GIS software, besides a ground survey, over a study case, the so-called “castro de Irueña” (Salamanca, Spain) and they managed a new mapping of the site, with new inside and outside findings that allow to explain much better archaeological remains from older excavationsTrabajo realizado dentro del proyecto HAR2016-77739-P “La Arquitectura Protohistórica en el Occidente de la Meseta. Arqueotectura y Arqueometría aplicada al patrimonio construido de los castros vettones.” del MINECO y de la Unidad Asociada IAM – UAM “ANTA” del CSI

Audiometría con extensión en altas frecuencias (9.000-20.000 Hz): Utilidad en el diagnóstico audiológico

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Acta Otorrinolaringológica 67.1 (2016): 40-44, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.otorri.2015.02.002Early detection and appropriate treatment of hearing loss are essential to minimise the consequences of hearing loss. In addition to conventional audiometry (125-8,000 Hz), extended high-frequency audiometry (9,000-20,000 Hz) is available. This type of audiometry may be useful in early diagnosis of hearing loss in certain conditions, such as the ototoxic effect of cisplatin-based treatment, noise exposure or oral misunderstanding, especially in noisy environments. Eleven examples are shown in which extended high-frequency audiometry has been useful in early detection of hearing loss, despite the subject having a normal conventional audiometry. The goal of the present paper was to highlight the importance of the extended high-frequency audiometry examination for it to become a standard tool in routine audiological examinations.La detección precoz y el tratamiento adecuado de la hipoacusia es fundamental para minimizar las consecuencias de la pérdida auditiva. Además de la audiometría convencional (125-8.000 Hz), disponemos de la audiometría con extensión en altas frecuencias (9.000-20.000 Hz), que puede ser de gran utilidad en el diagnóstico precoz de hipoacusia en ciertas patologías, como es el efecto ototóxico de los tratamientos quimioterápicos, la exposición a ruido o el mal entendimiento del lenguaje, especialmente en ambientes ruidosos. Aquí se presentan 11 casos clínicos en los que la audiometría con extensión en altas frecuencias ha ayudado en la detección precoz de la hipoacusia en diversas patologías, a pesar de tener una audiometría normal en frecuencias convencionales. Se pretende así destacar la importancia de la exploración audiométrica en altas frecuencias, con el fin de que se convierta en una herramienta habitual en la exploración audiológic

Seasonality of coastal upwelling trends in the Mauritania-Senegalese region under RCP8.5 climate change scenario

The Mauritania-Senegalese upwelling region (MSUR), the southernmost region of the Canary current upwelling system, is well-known for its coastal productivity and the key role it plays in enriching the oligotrophic open ocean through the offshore transport of the upwelled coastal waters. The great ecological and socio-economic importance makes it necessary to evaluate the impact of climate change on this region. Hence, our main objective is to examine the climate change signal over the MSUR with a high resolution regional climate system model (RCSM) forced by the Earth system model MPI-ESM-LR under RCP8.5 scenario. This RCSM has a regional atmosphere model (REMO) coupled to a global ocean model (MPIOM) with high-resolution in the MSUR, which allows us to evaluate the wind pattern, the ocean stratification, as well as the upwelling source water depth, while maintaining an ocean global domain. Under RCP8.5 scenario, our results show that the upwelling favourable winds of the northern MSUR are year-round intensified, while the southern MSUR presents a strengthening in winter and a weakening in March–April. Along with changes in the wind pattern, we found increased ocean stratification in the spring months. In those months southern MSUR presents a shallowing of the upwelling source water depth associated to changes in both mechanisms. However, in winter the whole MSUR shows a deepening of the upwelling source water depth due to the intensification of the upwelling favourable winds, with the increased ocean stratification playing a secondary role. Our results demonstrate the need to evaluate the future evolution of coastal upwelling systems taking into account their latitudinal and seasonal variability and the joint contribution of both mechanisms.publishedVersio

When archaeological context is lacking. Lithology and spatial analysis, new interpretations of the “verracos” Iron Age sculptures in Western Iberian Peninsula

The most distinctive productions from Iron Age archaeology in the western part of the Central Iberian Peninsula are large ramparts, and big animal sculptures, both of which were usually made in granite. The latter, known as ‘verracos’, are representations of male boars and bulls. A characteristic of these ‘verracos’ is their lack of original context, thus leading to mere speculation regarding their dates and functions. The aim of this paper is to find an answer to this dilemma using archaeometric methods. This document proposes an approach through geochemical and petrological analyses, as well as statistical analyses using variables. Our target tries to recognize any differences in the making of these sculptures that might help explain functional and symbolic changes to help in understanding their unknown original contexts. For this purpose we arranged 84 sculptures by sizes, technical features and anatomical detail using a Correspondence multivariate analysis and, with the results by series, observed their spatial relationship with 34 quarries too, through kernel density applications. In order to know the origins of the stones of each sculpture, we have made geochemical characterization by mineral and chemical analyses of mayor and minor elements. Therefore, we looked for quarries around the finding place of the verracos. When the possible places were found by lithological affinities, we took samples from those, mostly granite rocks. These geochemical and petrological analyses of the sculptures have contributed towards identifying the potential locations of the quarries of origin, which coincide with the analyses of ‘verracos’ found far away from those quarries and that are completely decontextualized. Therefore, we could obtain least-cost paths distances between quarries and matched sculptures by GIS software (over a digital elevation map) and, then, calculate averages distances per series and quarries. Sizes, shapes and spatial relationships with quarries and nearby oppida, big fortified settlements of Iron Age, allow us to identify oldest verracos as symbols of the emergence of ethnical and communal values, as a result of the impact of the first Mediterranean people arriving to the Spanish plateau, such as the Punic and Roman armies. In this way, big verracos were transported 'till 20 and 30 km away from the quarries. However, with the Roman rule over this region, verracos became smaller and simpler, and displacements were outstandingly smaller. This is related with a change of functions, from protection symbols of the communities to funerary stelae of individual grave