Sleep Duration is Inversely Associated with Serum Uric Acid Concentrations and Uric Acid to Creatinine Ratio in an Elderly Mediterranean Population at High Cardiovascular Risk

The aim of the study was to evaluate sleep duration and sleep variability in relation to serum uric acid (SUA) concentrations and SUA to creatinine ratio. This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 1842 elderly participants with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome in the (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) PREDIMED-Plus trial. Accelerometry-derived sleep duration and sleep variability were measured. Linear regression models were fitted to examine the aforementioned associations. A 1 hour/night increment in sleep duration was inversely associated with SUA concentrations (β = −0.07, p = 0.047). Further adjustment for leukocytes attenuated this association (p = 0.050). Each 1-hour increment in sleep duration was inversely associated with SUA to creatinine ratio (β = −0.15, p = 0.001). The findings of this study suggest that longer sleep duration is associated with lower SUA concentrations and lower SUA to creatinine ratio.Instituto de Salud Carlos III Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS)European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2013–2018; 340918)Consejería de Salud de la Junta de AndalucíaGeneralitat ValencianaGeneralitat de Catalunya (PERIS 2016–2020 Incorporació de Científics I Tecnòlegs, SLT002/0016/00428)Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS) (B-0003-2017

Electronic Noses Applications in Beer Technology

This chapter describes and explains in detail the electronic noses (e-noses) as devices composed of an array of sensors that measure chemical volatile compounds and apply classification or regression algorithms. Then, it reviews the most significant applications of such devices in beer technology, with examples about defect detection, hop classification, or beer classification, among others. After the review, the chapter illustrates two applications from the authors, one about beer classification and another about beer defect detection. Finally, after a comparison with other analytical techniques, the chapter ends with a summary, conclusions, and the compelling future of the e-noses applied to beer technology

Hiperficción constructiva en el tercer entorno

Writing models are undergoing major transformations as a result of the contemporary technological revolution. Although cybertexts and hypertexts as realities are not exclusive to digital culture, since they were present in previous cultural contexts, the truth is they provide alternative ways of thinking involving implications that are epistemological (network thinking), aesthetic (reformulation of authorship), and ethical (requiring an active and reflective commitment on the part of the recipient). In this work, such a scenario will be approached comparing the literary writings Hypertext Hotel (1992) and Leyenda mayor de Ian Curtis (2017) with the audiovisual writings +101 (2012) and Quién lo impide (2018), with the aim of understanding the transformations they represent both in the aesthetic experience and in the digital cultural field. To do this, a comparative methodology will be used that takes into account the concomitances between the two series of writings.Los modelos de escritura están experimentando grandes transformaciones como consecuencia de la revolución tecnológica contemporánea. Aunque los cibertextos y los hipertextos no son realidades exclusivas de la cultura digital, pues se dan en contextos culturales precedentes, aportan formas de pensamiento alternativas, que pasan por implicaciones epistemológicas –el pensamiento en red–, estéticas –reformulación de la autoría– y éticas –exigen un compromiso por parte del receptor. En este trabajo se abordará dicha coyuntura comparando las escrituras literarias Hypertext Hotel (1992) y Leyenda mayor de Ian Curtis (2017) con las escrituras audiovisuales +101 (2012) y Quién lo impide (2018) con el objetivo de comprender las transformaciones que suponen tanto en la experiencia estética como en el campo cultural digital. Para ello, se empleará una metodología comparatista que tenga en cuenta las concomitancias entre las dos series de escrituras

Multivariate explanatory model for sporadic carcinoma of the colon in Dukes’ stages I and IIa

We obtained before an explanatory model with six dependant variables: age of the patient, total cholesterol (TC), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), VLDL cholesterol (VLDL-C), alkaline phosphatase (AP) and the CA 19.9 tumour marker. Our objective in this study was to validate the model by means of the acquisition of new records for an additional analysis.Ministerio de Educación y Cienci

Triangulación de un estudio cualitativo mediante regresión logística

Fundamento y Objetivo: La investigación cualitativa complementa su visión de la realidad mediante la triangulación. La regresión logística binaria es un instrumento de predicción de riesgo en epidemiología analítica. Nuestro objetivo ha sido triangular una investigación cualitativa de tipo pedagógico con modelos de regresión logística. Material y Método: Sobre la información recogida por un grupo focal, organizamos los datos en tres variables: Aforismo / Frase corta (variable dependiente), Profesor y Tipo (variables predictoras) y construimos dos modelos con regresión logística binaria. El error alfa fue del 5 y del 10%. El tamaño muestral venía impuesto por el grupo focal anterior (saturación cualitativa). Se diseñaron rutinas para trabajar con los datos en el programa R. Resultados: Con 127 elementos (44 aforismos y 83 frases cortas) se obtuvieron significaciones crudas del 10% para dos de los diez profesores con información relevante para el grupo focal (odds ratios de 0.42 y 2.33 respectivamente; índice de Brier escalado = 0.06 y área bajo curva ROC = 0.63) y significaciones menores del 5% para cuatro de los cinco epígrafes en que habíamos dividido la variable tipo (epidemiológicos, epistemológicos, estadísticos y pragmáticos o heurísticos). El epígrafe “Estadístico” fue significativo con respecto a “Epistemológico” (OR=5,00; IC al 95% = 14.431-1.743) y con respecto a “Pragmático” (OR=4.80; IC al 95%=14.602-1.577). El epígrafe “Difusión Científica” no resultó significativo. Conclusiones: En un entorno de investigación cualitativo-pedagógica sobre aforismos y frases cortas, la regresión logística binaria se ha mostrado eficaz, dentro de una estrategia de triangulación, para identificar docentes originales para el grupo focal (p<0.10) y señalar epígrafes con interés clasificatorio (p<0.05). La capacidad predictiva de los modelos ha sido baja y la capacidad discriminativa aceptable.Background and objectives: Qualitative research seeks to enrich its vision of reality through triangulation. Binary logistic regression is a prediction tool in analytical epidemiology. Our aim was to complement a qualitative study by logistic regression models. Methods: On gathered information by a previous focus group, we organized the data into three variables: Aphorism / short phrase (dependent), Professor and Type (predictive) and built two models with binary logistic regression. The alpha error was 5 and 10%. The sample size was imposed by the previous focus group task (qualitative saturation). Routines were implemented to work with the program R. Results: With 127 elements (44 aphorisms and 83 short sentences) we obtained a 10% raw signification for two of the ten teachers with relevant information for the focus group (odds ratios of 0.42 and 2.33 respectively; Brier scaled =0.06 and area under ROC curve = 0.63) and significations less than 5% for four the five sections in which we divided the variable “Type” (epidemiological, epistemological, statistical, pragmatic or heuristic). The heading "Statistics" was significant with respect to "Epistemological" (OR = 5.00, CI 95% = 14.431-1.743) and with respect to “Pragmatic” (OR = 4.80, CI 95% = 14.602-1.577). The label "Scientific Spread" was not significant. Conclusions: In an environment of qualitative and pedagogical research on aphorisms and short phrases, binary logistic regression has been shown effective in identifying original teachers for focus group (p<0.1) and to identify qualifying entries with interest (p<0.05). The predictive capability of models has been low and acceptable the discriminative capacity.FIBAOHospital Infanta Luisa de SevillaInstituto de Salud Carlos II

Adopting a High-Polyphenolic Diet Is Associated with an Improved Glucose Profile: Prospective Analysis within the PREDIMED-Plus Trial

The prevalence of diabetes is experiencing an increasing trend, and in 2019 it was the ninth leading cause of death in the world. Additionally, individuals with diabetes are more likely to suffer from other noncommunicable diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, or kidney disease. The expectations for the forthcoming years are not encouraging since the prevalence of diabetes has been increasing over the past decades. Nevertheless, type-2 diabetes (T2D), the most prevalent type, can be prevented by modifying harmful behavioral risk factors such as smoking, an unhealthy diet, sedentarism, and alcohol abuse [1]. In the search for the best dietary pattern to prevent or stop the progression of T2D, plant-based diets such as Mediterranean-style, vegetarian or vegan diets have been studied in several prospective observational studies and clinical trials [2]. Healthy plant-based diets are based on the consumption of large amounts of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, as well as healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil, which are associated with a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and T2D [3]. A trait all these foods have in common is a richness in polyphenols, bioactive plant secondary metabolites with a vast structural diversity. According to their structure, polyphenols are classified into two main groups: flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Polyphe nols in the flavonoid group share the C6-C3-C6 structure and can be divided into the following subgroups: flavones, flavonols, theaflavins, catechins, proanthocyanidins (poly meric forms), flavanones, anthocyanidins, and isoflavones, whereas the non-flavanoids are classified as phenolic acids, lignans, and stilbenes [4]. Protective effects of polyphenols against the incidence and complications of T2D are supported by mechanistic studies conducted in animals [5] as well as clinical and epidemiological studies [6], although the available evidence is still limited and inconsistent. Furthermore, no previous study has examined the association between changes in the intake of all polyphenolic groups and subgroups and T2D-related parameters in a population with or at high-risk of T2D. The aim of the present work was to determine whether changing to a high polyphenol diet is associated with an improved glucose profile. Due to the heterogeneity of polyphenols in terms of bioavailability and metabolism, they were studied in separate groups

Redesign and performance of an automatic segmentation method

[Resumen] La información más relevante de las angiografías coronarias se extrae empleando técnicas de segmentación, que pueden ser automáticas, semiautomáticas o manuales. Existen numerosos algoritmos de segmentación vascular, obteniendo mejores resultados, por normal general, aquellos que emplean múltiples técnicas e imágenes a diferentes escalas para proporcionar los resultados requeridos. Se presenta un nuevo método de segmentación automatizado basado en el método manual de Hamarneh incluyendo un estudio estadístico que demuestra su idoneidad para el problema

Fruit and vegetable consumption is inversely associated with plasma saturated fatty acids at baseline in PREDIMED plus trial

Scope: Plasma fatty acids (FAs) are associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome. The aim of our study is to assess the relationship between fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and plasma FAs and their subtypes. Methods and Results: Plasma FAs are assessed in a cross-sectional analysis of a subsample of 240 subjects from the PREDIMED-Plus study. Participants are categorized into four groups of fruit, vegetable, and fat intake according to the food frequency questionnaire. Plasma FA analysis is performed using gas chromatography. Associations between FAs and F&V consumption are adjusted for age, sex, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), total energy intake, and alcohol consumption. Plasma saturated FAs are lower in groups with high F&V consumption (-1.20 mg cL−1 [95% CI: [-2.22, - 0.18], p-value = 0.021), especially when fat intake is high (-1.74 mg cL−1 [95% CI: [-3.41, -0.06], p-value = 0.042). Total FAs and n-6 polyunsaturated FAs tend to be lower in high consumers of F&V only in the high-fat intake groups. Conclusions: F&V consumption is associated with lower plasma saturated FAs when fat intake is high. These findings suggest that F&V consumption may have different associations with plasma FAs depending on their subtype and on the extent of fat intake

Automatic multiscale vascular image segmentation algorithm for coronary angiography

[Abstract] Cardiovascular diseases, particularly severe stenosis, are the main cause of death in the western world. The primary method of diagnosis, considered to be the standard in the detection and quantification of stenotic lesions, is a coronary angiography. This article proposes a new automatic multiscale segmentation algorithm for the study of coronary trees that offers results comparable to the best existing semi-automatic method. According to the state-of-the-art, a representative number of coronary angiography images that ensures the generalisation capacity of the algorithm has been used. All these images were selected by clinics from an Haemodynamics Unit. An exhaustive statistical analysis was performed in terms of sensitivity, specificity and Jaccard. Algorithm improvements imply that the clinician can perform tests on the patient and, bypassing the images through the system, can verify, in that moment, the intervention of existing differences in a coronary tree from a previous test, in such a way that it could change its clinical intra-intervention criteria.Galicia. Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria; GRC2014/049Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; TIN2015-70648-

Astrophysics at n-TOF facility

Heavy elements with Z ≥ 30 are made by neutron capture reactions during stellar He burning and presumably in supernovae. This contribution deals mainly with the slow neutron capture (s) process which is responsible for about one half of the abundances in the mass region between Fe and Bi. The slow time scale implies that the reaction path of this process involves mostly stable isotopes which can be studied in detail in laboratory experiments. The neutron time of flight (n_TOF) facility at CERN is a neutron spallation source, its white neutron energy spectrum ranges from thermal to several MeV, covering the full energy range of interest for nuclear astrophysics, in particular for measurements of the neutron capture cross section required in s-process nucleosynthesis. This contribution gives an overview on the astrophysical program made at n_TOF facility, the results and the implications will be considered.European Commission (EC) FIKW-CT-2000-0010