Relationship between the risk of falling and prescribed medication in community-dwelling elderly subjects.

Abstract Introduction: The risk of falling increases with age. A third of the population over 65 has one or more falls per year. Objetive: to know the relationship between drug prescription and falls in the elderly. Materials and Methods: a study was carried out through a community intervention in individuals ≥ 70 years of age. Results: The sample was composed of 249 participants, 160 women (64%), with a mean age of 74.47 years (SD 5.33). During the 12 months prior to the study, the mean of falls per person was 0.5 (SD 0.94), the mean of the risk factors was 2.73 (SD 1.4) and the mean of the medication prescribed was 4.2 (SD 3.0). The percentage of the reduction of falls after the study was 12%. The amount of medication prescribed correlated with the incidence of falls before and after the study, r=0.193, p=0.002 y r2=0.170, p=0.009, respectively. Prior to the study, the individuals who were prescribed beta-blockers and antidepressants, had a fall incidence of 0.74 (SD 1.14) and 1.22 (SD 1.09), respectively, however after the intervention there was no relationship between drug prescription and falls. Conclusions: the fall prevention community program was effective since it prevented the negative effects of medication on falls. An interdisciplinary community intervention reduces the global incidence of falls and the incidence of falls related to some specific medication

WOOL4BUILD: Improved isolation material for eco-building based on natural wool

[ES] El proyecto europeo WOOL4BUILD se ubica dentro del programa de ECO-INNOVATION de EASME (Executive Agency for SMEs) de la European Commission. El objetivo de este proyecto es desarrollar un aislante térmico y acústico a partir de lana de oveja que pueda competir en cuanto a características técnicas y económicas con otros aislantes del mercado. En la Escuela Politécnica Superior de Gandía de la Universitat Politécnica de Valencia (EPSG-UPV) se han realizado diferentes ensayos acústicos de muestras elaboradas por otros socios del proyecto: ensayos de control en tubo de Kundt, de la resistividad al flujo del aire, en cámara reverberante, en cámaras a escala, etc. Estas muestras combinan diferentes densidades, espesores y porcentajes de calidad de lana de oveja. También desde la EPSG-UPV se ha confeccionado una herramienta informática, de libre acceso, que permite diseñar y justificar soluciones acústicas y térmicas basadas en estos nuevos materiales.[EN] The European WOOL4BUILD project is part of the European Commission's EASME (Executive Agency for SMEs) belonging to ECO-INNOVATION program. The objective of this project is to develop a thermal and acoustic insulation from sheep wool that can compete in terms of technical and economic characteristics with other insulation of this Market. Different acoustic tests have been carried out at the Polytechnic School of Gandía, of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (EPSG-UPV): control tests on Kundt tube, air flow resistivity, measurements in reverberant chamber of different samples made by other partners of the project, measurements in scale chambers, etc. The tested samples combine different densities, thicknesses and percentages of sheep wool quality. Adding to this, the EPSG-UPV has developed a free access computer tool, which allows making designs and also helps to justify acoustic and thermal solutions which are based on these new materials.This work was financially supported by Eco-innovation Initiative of the European Union. European Project ECO-INNOVATION - WOOL4BUILD ECO/13/630249 – WOOL4BUILD «IMPROVED ISOLATION MATERIAL FOR ECOBUILDING BASED ON NATURAL WOOL».Rey Tormos, RMD.; Alba Fernández, J.; Uris Martínez, A.; Candelas Valiente, P. (2017). WOOL4BUILD: Improved isolation material for eco-building based on natural wool. Revista de Acústica. 48(3):3-10. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/110303S31048

Cálculo de la vida útil remanente mediante trayectorias móviles entre hiperplanos de máquinas de soporte vectorial

[EN] A novel remaining useful life (RUL) prediction method inspired by support vector machines (SVM) classifiers is proposed. The historical instances of a system with life-time condition data are used to create a classification by SVM hyper planes. For a test instance of the system whose RUL is to be estimated, degradation speed is evaluated by computing the minimal distance defined based on the degradation trajectories, i.e. the system approach to the hyperplane that segregates good and bad conditions data at different time horizons. Therefore, the final RUL of a specific component can be estimated and global RUL information can then be obtained by aggregating the multiple RUL estimates using a density estimation method. The degradation process of a system may be affected by many unknown factors that complicate the degradation behavior and also make it difficult to collect quality data. Due to lack of knowledge and incomplete measurements, certain important context information of the collected data might be missing. Therefore, historical data of the system with a large variety of degradation patterns is mixed together. With such data, learning a global model for RUL prediction becomes extremely hard. This has led to look for advanced RUL prediction techniques beyond the traditional prediction models. The proposed model develops an effective RUL prediction method that addresses multiple challenges in complex system prognostics. Similarities between degradation trajectories can be checked in order to enrich existing methodologies in prognostics applications. Existing condition monitoring data for bearings is used to validate the model.[ES] Se propone un nuevo método de predicción de vida útil remanente (RUL) inspirado en clasificadores de máquinas de soporte vectorial (SVM). Los datos históricos de condición de un sistema durante su tiempo de vida se utilizan para crear una clasificación mediante hiperplanos en SVM. Para estimar la RUL de un sistema, la velocidad de degradación se evalúa calculando la distancia mínima definida con base en las trayectorias de degradación; es decir, el acercamiento del sistema al hiperplano que segrega información de las condiciones buenas y malas en diferentes horizontes de tiempo. Se puede estimar la vida final de un componente específico, o la información de la RUL de una población ser calculada, mediante la agregación de múltiples estimaciones RUL usando un método de estimación de densidad. La degradación de un sistema se ve afectado por muchos factores desconocidos que, además de complicar los comportamientos de degradación, dificultan la recolección de datos con calidad. Debido a falta de conocimiento y medidas incompletas, normalmente se carece de información importante del contexto de los datos recogidos. Por ello se agrupan datos históricos del sistema con gran variedad de patrones de degradación, con los que la búsqueda de un modelo global de predicción RUL es extremadamente difícil. Esto lleva a buscar técnicas avanzadas de predicción más allá de los modelos tradicionales. El modelo propuesto desarrolla un método eficaz de predicción RUL que aborda múltiples retos en pronósticos de sistemas complejos. Las similitudes entre trayectorias de degradación pueden contrastarse para enriquecer las metodologías actuales de prognosis. Para verificar el modelo se emplean datos del monitorizado de condición en rodamientosGalar Pascual, D.; Berges Muro, L.; Lambán Castillo, MP.; Huertas Talón, JL.; Tormos Martínez, BV. (2013). Cálculo de la vida útil remanente mediante trayectorias móviles entre hiperplanos de máquinas de soporte vectorial. Interciencia: journal of science and technology of the Americas. 38(8):556-562. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/77486S55656238

Effects of Aerobic Exercise, Cognitive and Combined Training on Cognition in Physically Inactive Healthy Late-Middle-Aged Adults: The Projecte Moviment Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Lifestyle interventions are promising strategies to promote cognitive health in aging. Projecte Moviment examines if aerobic exercise (AE), computerized cognitive training (CCT), and their combination (COMB) improves cognition, psychological health, and physical status compared to a control group. We assessed the moderating role of age and sex and the mediating effects of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), physical activity (PA), and psychological health on intervention-related cognitive benefits. Methods: This was a 12-week multi-domain, single-blind, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (RCT). 96 healthy adults aged 50-70 years were assigned to AE, CCT, COMB, and a wait-list control group. The per protocol sample, which completed the intervention with a level of adherence > 80%, consisted of 82 participants (62% female; age = 58.38 ± 5.47). We assessed cognition, psychological health, CRF, and energy expenditure in PA at baseline and after the intervention. We regressed change in each outcome on the treatment variables, baseline score, sex, age, and education. We used PROCESS Macro to perform the mediation and moderation analyses. Results: AE benefited Working Memory (SMD = 0.29, p = 0.037) and Attention (SMD = 0.33, p = 0.028) including the Attention-Speed (SMD = 0.31, p = 0.042) domain, compared to Control. COMB improved Attention (SMD = 0.30, p = 0.043), Speed (SMD = 0.30, p = 0.044), and the Attention-Speed (SMD = 0.30, p = 0.041) domain. CTT group did not show any cognitive change compared to Control. Sportive PA (S-PA) and CRF increased in AE and COMB. Age and sex did not moderate intervention-related cognitive benefits. Change in S-PA, but not in CRF, significantly mediated improvements on Attention-Speed in AE. Conclusion: A 12-week AE program improved Executive Function and Attention-Speed in healthy late-middle-aged adults. Combining it with CCT did not provide further benefits. Our results add support to the clinical relevance of even short-term AE as an intervention to enhance cognition and highlight the mediating role of change in S-PA in these benefits

Effects of Aerobic Exercise, Cognitive and Combined Training on Cognition in Physically Inactive Healthy Late-Middle-Aged Adults : The Projecte Moviment Randomized Controlled Trial

Lifestyle interventions are promising strategies to promote cognitive health in aging. Projecte Moviment examines if aerobic exercise (AE), computerized cognitive training (CCT), and their combination (COMB) improves cognition, psychological health, and physical status compared to a control group. We assessed the moderating role of age and sex and the mediating effects of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), physical activity (PA), and psychological health on intervention-related cognitive benefits. This was a 12-week multi-domain, single-blind, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial (RCT). 96 healthy adults aged 50-70 years were assigned to AE, CCT, COMB, and a wait-list control group. The per protocol sample, which completed the intervention with a level of adherence > 80%, consisted of 82 participants (62% female; age = 58.38 ± 5.47). We assessed cognition, psychological health, CRF, and energy expenditure in PA at baseline and after the intervention. We regressed change in each outcome on the treatment variables, baseline score, sex, age, and education. We used PROCESS Macro to perform the mediation and moderation analyses. AE benefited Working Memory (SMD = 0.29, p = 0.037) and Attention (SMD = 0.33, p = 0.028) including the Attention-Speed (SMD = 0.31, p = 0.042) domain, compared to Control. COMB improved Attention (SMD = 0.30, p = 0.043), Speed (SMD = 0.30, p = 0.044), and the Attention-Speed (SMD = 0.30, p = 0.041) domain. CTT group did not show any cognitive change compared to Control. Sportive PA (S-PA) and CRF increased in AE and COMB. Age and sex did not moderate intervention-related cognitive benefits. Change in S-PA, but not in CRF, significantly mediated improvements on Attention-Speed in AE. A 12-week AE program improved Executive Function and Attention-Speed in healthy late-middle-aged adults. Combining it with CCT did not provide further benefits. Our results add support to the clinical relevance of even short-term AE as an intervention to enhance cognition and highlight the mediating role of change in S-PA in these benefits

Effects and Mechanisms of Cognitive, Aerobic Exercise, and Combined Training on Cognition, Health, and Brain Outcomes in Physically Inactive Older Adults : The Projecte Moviment Protocol

Altres ajuts: It has also been rewarded with three pre-doctoral fellowships ( FPU014/01460, FI-2016, and FI-2018).Introduction: Age-related health, brain, and cognitive impairment is a great challenge in current society. Cognitive training, aerobic exercise and their combination have been shown to benefit health, brain, cognition and psychological status in healthy older adults. Inconsistent results across studies may be related to several variables. We need to better identify cognitive changes, individual variables that may predict the effect of these interventions, and changes in structural and functional brain outcomes as well as physiological molecular correlates that may be mediating these effects. Projecte Moviment is a multi-domain randomized trial examining the effect of these interventions applied 5 days per week for 3 months compared to a passive control group. The aim of this paper is to describe the sample, procedures and planned analyses. Methods: One hundred and forty healthy physically inactive older adults will be randomly assigned to computerized cognitive training (CCT), aerobic exercise (AE), combined training (COMB), or a control group. The intervention consists of a 3 month home-based program 5 days per week in sessions of 45 min. Data from cognitive, physical, and psychological tests, cardiovascular risk factors, structural and functional brain scans, and blood samples will be obtained before and after the intervention. Results: Effects of the interventions on cognitive outcomes will be described in intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses. We will also analyze potential genetic, demographic, brain, and physiological molecular correlates that may predict the effects of intervention, as well as the association between cognitive effects and changes in these variables using the per protocol sample. Discussion: Projecte Moviment is a multi-domain intervention trial based on prior evidence that aims to understand the effects of CCT, AE, and COMB on cognitive and psychological outcomes compared to a passive control group, and to determine related biological correlates and predictors of the intervention effects. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03123900

Effects and Mechanisms of Cognitive, Aerobic Exercise, and Combined Training on Cognition, Health, and Brain Outcomes in Physically Inactive Older Adults: The Projecte Moviment Protocol

Introduction: Age-related health, brain, and cognitive impairment is a great challenge in current society. Cognitive training, aerobic exercise and their combination have been shown to benefit health, brain, cognition and psychological status in healthy older adults. Inconsistent results across studies may be related to several variables. We need to better identify cognitive changes, individual variables that may predict the effect of these interventions, and changes in structural and functional brain outcomes as well as physiological molecular correlates that may be mediating these effects. Projecte Moviment is a multi-domain randomized trial examining the effect of these interventions applied 5 days per week for 3 months compared to a passive control group. The aim of this paper is to describe the sample, procedures and planned analyses. Methods: One hundred and forty healthy physically inactive older adults will be randomly assigned to computerized cognitive training (CCT), aerobic exercise (AE), combined training (COMB), or a control group. The intervention consists of a 3 month home-based program 5 days per week in sessions of 45 min. Data from cognitive, physical, and psychological tests, cardiovascular risk factors, structural and functional brain scans, and blood samples will be obtained before and after the intervention. Results: Effects of the interventions on cognitive outcomes will be described in intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses. We will also analyze potential genetic, demographic, brain, and physiological molecular correlates that may predict the effects of intervention, as well as the association between cognitive effects and changes in these variables using the per protocol sample. Discussion: Projecte Moviment is a multi-domain intervention trial based on prior evidence that aims to understand the effects of CCT, AE, and COMB on cognitive and psychological outcomes compared to a passive control group, and to determine related biological correlates and predictors of the intervention effects.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03123900

Effects of intubation timing in patients with COVID-19 throughout the four waves of the pandemic : a matched analysis

The primary aim of our study was to investigate the association between intubation timing and hospital mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated respiratory failure. We also analysed both the impact of such timing throughout the first four pandemic waves and the influence of prior non-invasive respiratory support on outcomes. This is a secondary analysis of a multicentre, observational and prospective cohort study that included all consecutive patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation due to COVID-19 from across 58 Spanish intensive care units (ICU) participating in the CIBERESUCICOVID project. The study period was between 29 February 2020 and 31 August 2021. Early intubation was defined as that occurring within the first 24 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to achieve balance across baseline variables between the early intubation cohort and those patients who were intubated after the first 24 h of ICU admission. Differences in outcomes between early and delayed intubation were also assessed. We performed sensitivity analyses to consider a different timepoint (48 h from ICU admission) for early and delayed intubation. Of the 2725 patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation, a total of 614 matched patients were included in the analysis (307 for each group). In the unmatched population, there were no differences in mortality between the early and delayed groups. After PS matching, patients with delayed intubation presented higher hospital mortality (27.3% versus 37.1%, p =0.01), ICU mortality (25.7% versus 36.1%, p=0.007) and 90-day mortality (30.9% versus 40.2%, p=0.02) when compared to the early intubation group. Very similar findings were observed when we used a 48-hour timepoint for early or delayed intubation. The use of early intubation decreased after the first wave of the pandemic (72%, 49%, 46% and 45% in the first, second, third and fourth wave, respectively; first versus second, third and fourth waves p<0.001). In both the main and sensitivity analyses, hospital mortality was lower in patients receiving high-flow nasal cannula (n=294) who were intubated earlier. The subgroup of patients undergoing NIV (n=214) before intubation showed higher mortality when delayed intubation was set as that occurring after 48 h from ICU admission, but not when after 24 h. In patients with COVID-19 requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, delayed intubation was associated with a higher risk of hospital mortality. The use of early intubation significantly decreased throughout the course of the pandemic. Benefits of such an approach occurred more notably in patients who had received high-flow nasal cannul

MEDIDAS PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DE LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE LOS POLINIZADORES SILVESTRES EN LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA

Los científicos y científicas abajo firmantes consideramos muy importante hacer llegar a instituciones, agricultores/as y a la sociedad en general, la necesidad urgente de implementar conjuntamente medidas y cambios que consigan frenar el declive de los polinizadores silvestres ocasionado por la actividad humana. Durante la última década, son múltiples los estudios que alertan de la creciente desaparición de los polinizadores por todo el mundo, en concreto de las abejas silvestres, (Biesmeijer et al. 2006; Potts et al. 2010; Burkle et al. 2013), y de las graves consecuencias que su déficit podría provocar sobre la biodiversidad global (Biesmeijer et al. 2006; Burkle et al. 2013; Lundgren et al. 2016) y sobre la producción agrícola (Aizen y Harder 2009; Garibaldi et al. 2013). No debemos olvidar que la península Ibérica es, por su condición mediterránea y su proximidad al continente africano, uno de los lugares con mayor diversidad de polinizadores de la Unión Europea y, en concreto, una de las zonas con mayor diversidad de abejas del mundo (Michener 2007; Nieto et al. 2014). Hasta el momento, el número de especies de abejas en España presentes en la zona íbero-balear es algo superior a 1.100, cifra a la que cabe añadir algunas especies exclusivas de Portugal más los nuevos hallazgos de los últimos años (Ortiz-Sánchez 2011). Esta gran diversidad de abejas y polinizadores en general está asociada al gran número de especies de plantas con flor presentes en la península Ibérica, alrededor de las 7.000 especies (Aguado Martín et al. 2015). En cuanto al número de mariposas y polillas (lepidópteros) se estima que existen en la península Ibérica unas 5.000 especies (Stefanescu et al. 2018). Más difícil es estimar el número exacto de especies de escarabajos florícolas (coleópteros polinizadores), pero atendiendo a la riqueza de los principales géneros podemos estimar su número en más de 750 (Stefanescu et al. 2018). Somos conscientes de que, a pesar del desarrollo explosivo de los últimos 10 años de la investigación en ecología y gestión de la polinización de los cultivos por insectos silvestres, hoy en día son numerosas las lagunas de conocimiento básico y aplicado sobre el estado de conservación de los insectos polinizadores silvestres. Y es, bajo esta premisa, que presentamos este trabajo de revisión de la literatura científica sobre insectos polinizadores desde principios del siglo XX hasta ahora, cuyo resultado ha quedado plasmado en una lista, no exhaustiva, de los aspectos que consideramos fundamentales para el desarrollo y debate de esta relevante cuestió

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation