Symbolic transfer entropy test for causality in longitudinal data

© 2020 Elsevier B.V.. This document is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the accepted version of a published work that appeared in final form in Economic Modelling.In this study, we use multiple-unit symbolic dynamics and transfer entropy to develop a non-parametric Granger causality test procedure for longitudinal data. Monte Carlo simulations show that our test exhibits the correct size and a high power in situations where linear panel data causality tests fail, such as (1) when the linearity assumption does not hold, (2) when the data generating process is heterogeneous across the cross-section units or presents structural breaks, (3) when there are extreme observations in some of the cross-section units, (4) when the process exhibits causal dependence on the conditional variance, or (5) when the analysis involves qualitative data. We illustrate the usefulness of our proposed procedure by analyzing the dynamic causal relationships between public expenditure and GDP, between firm productivity and firm size in US manufacturing sectors, and among sovereign credit ratings, growth, and interest rates

Human Translational Research in Psoriasis Using CLA+ T Cells

Focusing on the study of human memory CLA+ T cells to understand psoriasis pathology constitutes an innovative approach to explore the pathological mechanism of this chronic cutaneous inflammatory disease. CLA+ T cells can be considered peripheral cell biomarkers in the study of T-cell mediated human skin diseases. During the last few years, new evidences have been found that link streptococcal infection with IL-17 response in psoriasis by studying the interaction between Streptococcus pyogenes with CLA+ T cells and autologous epidermal cells. S. pyogenes constitutes the best clinically characterized trigger of psoriasis and by exploring its effect on CLA+ T cells and epidermal cells in psoriasis may allow understanding psoriasis by using patient’s clinical samples ex vivo

Portafolio digital de aprendizaje: un nuevo medio de comunicación en la educación

Propósito: La Generalitat de Catalunya tiene previsto introducir antes del año 2017 el portafolio digital, una iniciativa vinculada con los nuevos métodos de aprendizaje. Constatado el creciente interés por el portafolio digital como medio de comunicación en la educación, este artículo tiene por objetivos describir detalladamente su funcionamiento e identificar una lista de criterios, útiles a los centros educativos, para seleccionar la aplicación de gestión del portafolio digital que mejor se adapte a sus necesidades. Diseño/metodología/enfoque: En primer lugar se fija el marco teórico de funcionamiento del portafolio digital. Luego se tipifican las aplicaciones que son usadas comúnmente para su implementación. A continuación se realiza un análisis de requisitos de una aplicación ideal con acuerdo a las fases de creación del portafolio identificados en el marco teórico. Finalmente, a partir de estos requisitos se identifica una lista de criterios útiles para seleccionar la aplicación de soporte al portafolio. Resultados y originalidad/valor: El artículo aporta un proceso estructurado en etapas y fases para la creación del portafolio digital que va más allá de los existentes en la literatura. Además, define una lista de criterios útiles para seleccionar la aplicación de soporte al portafolio digital que más convenga a un centro educativo, obtenidos con una metodología bastante exhaustiva. Limitaciones/implicaciones de investigación: Para poner en práctica los criterios identificados se propone completar, en un nuevo estudio, el modelo de decisión multicriterio, especificando los procesos para pesar los criterios y normalizarlos. Después se podría analizar la validez del modelo estudiando la satisfacción obtenida por su uso en una muestra de centros educativos. Implicaciones prácticas: La lista de criterios se espera facilite la selección de la aplicación informática de soporte al portafolio de aprendizaje a los centros educativos, con acuerdo a sus necesidades específicas.Postprint (published version

A systematic review on the use of action research methods in mental health nursing care

Aims: To identify and synthesize evidence on the use of action research methods in mental health nursing care. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus databases were searched in January 2021. Review methods: Data were selected using the updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis framework. Two reviewers independently conducted the study selection, and quality appraisal using Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research, data extraction and data analysis procedures. Results: Sixteen studies, half of which used participatory action research, were included in this review. Nurses, along with other stakeholders, were an active part of the action research process. The main topics of interest addressed were categorized as improving the adoption of a person-centred approach to care and improving decision-making procedures. The use of action research helped the participants to identify the meaning they attached to the topic of interest to be improved. Moreover, this method helped to identify needs and strategies for improving care. The studies concurred that the use of action research enabled participants to gain awareness, improve attitudes and acquire knowledge. In addition, it enabled participants to gain confidence and security in the group context, as key aspects of their empowerment. Conclusion: This review shows the usefulness of action research in any mental health nursing context, contributing to the improvement of care at both the individual and collective levels. Impact: This paper demonstrates the use of the action research method in the field of mental health nursing. Its use has improved the clinical practice of nurses as well as that of teams in both community and hospital settings, addressing issues of the person-centred approach to care and decision-making procedures

Statistical Evaluation of Metaproteomics and 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing Techniques for Study of Gut Microbiota Establishment in Infants with Cystic Fibrosis

Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) can identify affected but asymptomatic infants. The selection of omic technique for gut microbiota study is crucial due to both the small amount of feces available and the low microorganism load. Our aims were to compare the agreement between 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and metaproteomics by a robust statistical analysis, including both presence and abundance of taxa, to describe the sequential establishment of the gut microbiota during the first year of life in a small size sample (8 infants and 28 fecal samples). The taxonomic assignations by the two techniques were similar, whereas certain discrepancies were observed in the abundance detection, mostly the lower predicted relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and the higher predicted relative abundance of certain Firmicutes and Proteobacteria by amplicon sequencing. During the first months of life, the CF gut microbiota is characterized by a significant enrichment of Ruminococcus gnavus, the expression of certain virulent bacterial traits, and the detection of human inflammation-related proteins. Metaproteomics provides information on composition and functionality, as well as data on host-microbiome interactions. Its strength is the identification and quantification of Actinobacteria and certain classes of Firmicutes, but alpha diversity indices are not comparable to those of amplicon sequencing. Both techniques detected an aberrant microbiota in our small cohort of infants with CF during their first year of life, dominated by the enrichment of R. gnavus within a human inflammatory environment. IMPORTANCE In recent years, some techniques have been incorporated for the study of microbial ecosystems, being 16S rRNA gene sequencing being the most widely used. Metaproteomics provides the advantage of identifying the interaction between microorganisms and human cells, but the available databases are less extensive as well as imprecise. Few studies compare the statistical differences between the two techniques to define the composition of an ecosystem. Our work shows that the two methods are comparable in terms of microorganism identification but provide different results in alpha diversity analysis. On the other hand, we have studied newborns with cystic fibrosis, for whom we have described the establishment of an intestinal ecosystem marked by the inflammatory response of the host and the enrichment of Ruminococcus gnavus

Impacto y medidas de adaptación del sector ganadero español durante el confinamiento en la primera ola del Covid-19

La excepcional crisis sanitaria ocasionada por el Covid-19 y la entrada en vigor del RD 463/2020, por el que se declaró el estado de alarma, supuso la implementación de medidas preventivas con gran incidencia en el sector ganadero en España. Aunque éste fue considerado como un sector estratégico y continuó su actividad para garantizar el suministro de alimentos a una población confinada, los productores se vieron afectados por la limitación de la movilidad y el cierre de los canales de distribución donde obtenían un mayor valor añadido a sus productos, como el canal HORECA (hoteles, restaurantes y catering). El objetivo de este trabajo fue explorar el impacto socio-económico del confinamiento debido a la pandemia por Covid-19 sobre los productores ganaderos y visibilizar las estrategias de adaptación adoptadas para afrontar la situación y garantizar la sostenibilidad de su actividad.Postprint (published version

Climate change facilitated the early colonization of the Azores Archipelago during medieval times

Humans have made such dramatic and permanent changes to Earth's landscapes that much of it is now substantially and irreversibly altered from its preanthropogenic state. Remote islands, until recently isolated from humans, offer insights into how these landscapes evolved in response to human-induced perturbations. However, little is known about when and how remote systems were colonized because archaeological data and historical records are scarce and incomplete. Here, we use a multiproxy approach to reconstruct the initial colonization and subsequent environmental impacts on the Azores Archipelago. Our reconstructions provide unambiguous evidence for widespread human disturbance of this archipelago starting between 700 -60/+50 and 850 -60/+60 Common Era (CE), ca. 700 y earlier than historical records suggest the onset of Portuguese settlement of the islands. Settlement proceeded in three phases, during which human pressure on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems grew steadily (i.e., through livestock introductions, logging, and fire), resulting in irreversible changes. Our climate models suggest that the initial colonization at the end of the early Middle Ages (500 to 900 CE) occurred in conjunction with anomalous northeasterly winds and warmer Northern Hemisphere temperatures. These climate conditions likelyinhibited exploration from southern Europe and facilitated human settlers from the northeast Atlantic. These results are consistent with recent archaeological and genetic data suggesting that the Norse were most likely the earliest settlers on the islands

Bose-Einstein correlations of same-sign charged pions in the forward region in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Bose-Einstein correlations of same-sign charged pions, produced in protonproton collisions at a 7 TeV centre-of-mass energy, are studied using a data sample collected by the LHCb experiment. The signature for Bose-Einstein correlations is observed in the form of an enhancement of pairs of like-sign charged pions with small four-momentum difference squared. The charged-particle multiplicity dependence of the Bose-Einstein correlation parameters describing the correlation strength and the size of the emitting source is investigated, determining both the correlation radius and the chaoticity parameter. The measured correlation radius is found to increase as a function of increasing charged-particle multiplicity, while the chaoticity parameter is seen to decreas

Study of Bc+B_c^+ decays to the K+K−π+K^+K^-\pi^+ final state and evidence for the decay Bc+→χc0π+B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}\pi^+

A study of $B_c^+\to K^+K^-\pi^+$ decays is performed for the first time using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8$ TeV. Evidence for the decay $B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}(\to K^+K^-)\pi^+$ is reported with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations, resulting in the measurement of $\frac{\sigma(B_c^+)}{\sigma(B^+)}\times\mathcal{B}(B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}\pi^+)$ to be $(9.8^{+3.4}_{-3.0}(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.8(\mathrm{syst}))\times 10^{-6}$. Here $\mathcal{B}$ denotes a branching fraction while $\sigma(B_c^+)$ and $\sigma(B^+)$ are the production cross-sections for $B_c^+$ and $B^+$ mesons. An indication of $\bar b c$ weak annihilation is found for the region $m(K^-\pi^+)<1.834\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V\!/}c^2$, with a significance of 2.4 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-022.html, link to supplemental material inserted in the reference