Analyzing store features for online order picking in grocery retailing: an experimental study

The digital transformation is having a major impact on the consumer product market, pushing food retailers to foster online sales. To avoid large investments, e-grocers are tending to use their existing physical stores to undertake the online order picking process. In this context, these companies must choose in which traditional stores must prepare online orders. The aim of this study is to identify which store features affect order preparation times. The action research approach has been used at a Spanish e-grocer to analyze the characteristics that differentiate picking stores from each other; furthermore, the preparation times for a sample of online orders have been measured. The data were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVA to define the optimal store in terms of size, assortment, backroom and congestion. The study shows that three of the four characteristics are significant on the preparation time. Therefore, e-grocers using a store-based model can use this information to focus their efforts on optimizing this process, assigning online order picking to the most appropriate stores. The approach used allows the study to be suitable for different retail context. Moreover, the results serve as support for strategic decision-making of researchers and e-grocers seeking to become more competitive in this continually growing market

Heterogeneity in the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions during the first SARS-CoV2 wave in the United States

Background: Attempts to quantify effect sizes of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) to control COVID-19 in the US have not accounted for heterogeneity in social or environmental factors that may influence NPI effectiveness. This study quantifies national and sub-national effect sizes of NPIs during the early months of the pandemic in the US. Methods: Daily county-level COVID-19 cases and deaths during the first wave (January 2020 through phased removal of interventions) were obtained. County-level cases, doubling times, and death rates were compared to four increasingly restrictive NPI levels. Socio-demographic, climate and mobility factors were analyzed to explain and evaluate NPI heterogeneity, with mobility used to approximate NPI compliance. Analyses were conducted separately for the US and for each Census regions (Pacific, Mountain, east/West North Central, East/West South Central, South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic and New England). A stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial analysis was used, leveraging the phased implementation of policies. Results: Aggressive (level 4) NPIs were associated with slower COVID-19 propagation, particularly in high compliance counties. Longer duration of level 4 NPIs was associated with lower case rates (log beta -0.028, 95% CI -0.04 to -0.02) and longer doubling times (log beta 0.02, 95% CI 0.01–0.03). Effects varied by Census region, for example, level 4 effects on doubling time in Pacific states were opposite to those in Middle Atlantic and New England states. NPI heterogeneity can be explained by differential timing of policy initiation and by variable socio-demographic county characteristics that predict compliance, particularly poverty and racial/ethnic population. Climate exhibits relatively consistent relationships across Census regions, for example, higher minimum temperature and specific humidity were associated with lower doubling times and higher death rates for this period of analysis in South Central, South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, and New England states. Conclusion and Relevance: Heterogeneity exists in both the effectiveness of NPIs across US Census regions and policy compliance. This county-level variability indicates that control strategies are best designed at community-levelswhere policies can be tuned based on knowledge of local disparities and compliance with public health ordinances.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Lidocaína endovenosa domiciliaria en cuidados paliativos

Introduction: Neuropathic pain is a often difficult to control pain and is suitable of different therapeutic approaches. Method: Lidocaine is a local anesthesic and its endovenous use is sometimes necessary to control neuropathic pain. There is no reported use of this drug at home. Results: We performed the lidocaine endovenous infusion in two patients with neuropathic pain achieving significant clinical improvement. Conclusions: Endovenous lidocaine infusion at home, is a safe and effective proceeding for patients with neuropathic pain.Introducción: El dolor neuropático es, en numerosas ocasiones, un dolor de difícil manejo que precisa la combinación de diferentes grupos terapéuticos para su control óptimo. Método: La lidocaína es un anestésico local y su uso endovenoso es necesario ocasionalmente para el tratamiento del dolor neuropático; no hay experiencia en su uso domiciliario. Resultados: Realizamos la infusión endovenosa domiciliaria con lidocaína en 2 pacientes con dolor neuropático refractario con mejoría clínica. Conclusiones: La infusión de lidocaína endovenosa en domicilio es una técnica segura y eficaz en pacientes con dolor neuropático

Government interventions and control policies to contain the first COVID-19 outbreak: An analysis of evidence

Background: The overarching aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness over time of government interventions and policy restrictions and the impact of determinants on spread and mortality during the first-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, globally, regionally and by country-income level, up to 18 May 2020. Methods: We created a global database merging World Health Organization daily case reports (from 218 countries/territories) with other socio-demographic and population health measures from 21 January to 18 May 2020. A four-level government policy interventions score (low to very high) was created based on the Oxford Stringency Index. Results: Our results support the use of very high government interventions to suppress both COVID-19 spread and mortality effectively during wave one globally compared to other policy levels of control. Similar trends in virus propagation and mortality were observed in all country-income levels and specific regions. Conclusions: Rapid implementation of government interventions was needed to contain the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak and to reduce COVID-19-related mortality.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Uso del fuego y conflictividad social en la montaña cantábrica: el valle del Nansa (1750-1850)

En la montaña Cantábrica, el uso del fuego constituye un método habitual de mantenimiento de las áreas de pasto. A partir de documentación de archivo, se realiza una reconstrucción histórica de esta práctica en el valle del Nansa (Cantabria, España). El análisis de solicitudes y autorizaciones de quema y de expedientes de incendio permite determinar la causalidad, estacionalidad, frecuencia y procedimientos, técnico y administrativo, así como los agentes implicados. Los resultados evidencian distintas motivaciones: las de tipo económico, ligadas a la necesidad de mantener y ampliar la superficie de pasto para una población y cabaña ganadera en aumento; y las de origen social e institucional, vinculadas a actitudes de protesta frente a una administración que limita los usos y derechos de los espacios de monte

A GBD 2019 study of health and Sustainable Development Goal gains and forecasts to 2030 in Spain

This study aimed to report mortality, risk factors, and burden of diseases in Spain. The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 estimates the burden due to 369 diseases, injuries, and impairments and 87 risk factors and risk factor combinations. Here, we detail the updated Spain 1990-2019 burden of disease estimates and project certain metrics up to 2030. In 2019, leading causes of death were ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease, and lung cancer. Main causes of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) were ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, low back pain, and stroke. Leading DALYs risk factors included smoking, high body mass index, and high fasting plasma glucose. Spain scored 74/100 among all health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators, ranking 20 of 195 countries and territories. We forecasted that by 2030, Spain would outpace Japan, the United States, and the European Union. Behavioural risk factors, such as smoking and poor diet, and environmental factors added a significant burden to the Spanish population's health in 2019. Monitoring these trends, particularly in light of COVID-19, is essential to prioritise interventions that will reduce the future burden of disease to meet population health and SDG commitments

Aprendizaje histórico en gestión de bienes comunales : los pastos en Cantabria (España)

RESUMEN: Los montes de Cantabria albergan bienes comunales de indudable valor económico para las poblaciones rurales, uno lo suministra el bosque, es la leña que se emplea para proveer de fuego y calor a los hogares; otro son los pastos, recursos forrajeros para la alimentación del ganado doméstico. De ambos vienen disponiendo consuetudinariamente los vecinos vinculados a ayuntamientos o juntas vecinales titulares de los montes, lo que popularmente se conoce como el derecho a pastos y leñas. Esta investigación trata sobre los primeros, los denominados pastos comunales, ante la constatación de una progresiva degradación del recurso con graves repercusiones económicas, pero también ambientales, debido a su consideración de hábitats de interés para la conservación a nivel europeo y su localización preferente en espacios naturales protegidos. Tras constatar la dificultad que implica la transferencia de propuestas de mejora, aun sometiéndolas a procesos participativos, se avanza un enfoque metodológico innovador que permita incorporar a la planificación la experiencia histórica de gestión de las poblaciones locales. Con ello se contribuye a formular criterios de gestión coherentes no solo con la naturaleza semi-natural de los pastos, creada y reproducida secularmente por la acción del hombre y el ganado, sino también con los usos y costumbres de la población arraigada en el territorio, hacia quienes es fácil transferir prácticas que perciben como propias.ABSTRACT: The mountains of Cantabria include Commons of undoubted economic value for the rural population, one of which is provided by the forest, being the firewood that is used to heat the homes; another is the pastures to feed the domestic livestock. Both have been used by customary right by the residents in the municipalities or parishes which are the titleholders of the land. This research concerns the former, those known as common pastures, due to progressive degradation of the resource with serious economic repercussions, and also environmental consequences, as a result of their status as habitats of interest for conservation at a European level, and their location mainly in protected areas. After recognizing the difficulty of the transmission of proposals for improvement, even when they are submitted to participatory processes, an innovative methodological approach has been started, which allows the inclusion in the planning of the historical experience of management of the local population. In this way a contribution is made both to the planning, coherent with the semi-natural nature of the pastures, created and maintained for centuries by the action of man and livestock, and also in accordance with the traditional uses of the local population, to whom it is easy to transmit practices which they perceive as their own

Estimating the COVID-19 spread through real-time population mobility patterns: surveillance in low- and middle-income countries

Background: On January 21, 2020, the World Health Organization reported the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which rapidly evolved to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the virus has also rapidly spread among Latin American, Caribbean, and African countries. Objective: The first aim of this study is to identify new emerging COVID-19 clusters over time and space (from January 21 to mid-May 2020) in Latin American, Caribbean, and African regions, using a prospective space–time scan measurement approach. The second aim is to assess the impact of real-time population mobility patterns between January 21 and May 18, 2020, under the implemented government interventions, measurements, and policy restrictions on COVID-19 spread among those regions and worldwide. Methods: We created a global COVID-19 database, of 218 countries and territories, merging the World Health Organization daily case reports with other measures such as population density and country income levels for January 21 to May 18, 2020. A score of government policy interventions was created for low, intermediate, high, and very high interventions. The population’s mobility patterns at the country level were obtained from Google community mobility reports. The prospective space–time scan statistic method was applied in five time periods between January and May 2020, and a regression mixed model analysis was used. Results: We found that COVID-19 emerging clusters within these five periods of time increased from 7 emerging clusters to 28 by mid-May 2020. We also detected various increasing and decreasing relative risk estimates of COVID-19 spread among Latin American, Caribbean, and African countries within the period of analysis. Globally, population mobility to parks and similar leisure areas during at least a minimum of implemented intermediate-level control policies (when compared to low-level control policies) was related to accelerated COVID-19 spread. Results were almost consistent when regional stratified analysis was applied. In addition, worldwide population mobility due to working during high implemented control policies and very high implemented control policies, when compared to low-level control policies, was related to positive COVID-19 spread. Conclusions: The prospective space–time scan is an approach that low-income and middle-income countries could use to detect emerging clusters in a timely manner and implement specific control policies and interventions to slow down COVID-19 transmission. In addition, real-time population mobility obtained from crowdsourced digital data could be useful for current and future targeted public health and mitigation policies at a global and regional level.DF is a Serra Húnter Fellow and was supported by Marsden grant E2987-3648 administrated by the Royal Society of New Zealand, and by grant 2017 SGR 622 (GRBIO) administrated by the Departament d'Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain)Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Redesigning the picking process in e-grocery. A case in a store-based retailer

International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management (13th. 2019. Gijón