Timed Concurrent Constraint Programming for Analysing Biological Systems

AbstractIn this paper we present our first approach to model and verify biological systems using ntcc, a concurrent constraint process calculus. We argue that the partial information constructs in ntcc can provide a suitable language for such systems. We also illustrate how ntcc may provide a unified framework for the analysis of biological systems, as they can be described, simulated and verified using the elements provided by the calculus

Static Model of Cement Rotary Kiln

En este trabajo, se presenta un modelo estático de un horno rotatorio de cemento. El modelo del sistema se obtiene a través de series de polinomio. El modelo propuesto se verifica con datos reales de la planta, donde se obtuvieron resultados óptimos. Los resultados esperados son medidos con respecto a la producción de Clinker. El consumo de combustible se mide en relación con el consumo calorífico. Los resultados esperados del enfoque es el incremento de los beneficios de la empresa a través de la reducción en el consumo de combustible.In this paper, a static model of cement rotary kilns is proposed. The system model is obtained through polynomial series. The proposed model is contrasted with data of a real plant, where optimal results are obtained. Expected results are measured with respect to the clinker production and the combustible consumption is measured in relation with the consumption calorific. The expected result of the approach is the increase of the profitability of the factory through the decrease of the consumption of the combustible

Las elecciones de 1997 : ¿transición o restauración?

Libro que presenta trabajos de Enrique Valencia, sobre la coyuntura económica; de María Marván, Jorge Narro y Jaime Preciado, sobre el momento político nacional, con énfasis en el proceso electoral y sus previsibles escenarios; y de Jorge Alonso, sobre la situación política en Jalisco. Esta obra busca colaborar, al igual que los otros y los de otros, en la formación no sólo de profesionistas sino de ciudadanos más y mejor dotados para enfrentar el reto de nuestros tiempos —y de todos: la construcción de una sociedad "en paz con justicia y dignidad".ITESO, A.C

The consequences of heavy-tailed service time distribution on a basic queuing model and its performance indicators

Recent research showing theoretical generative models for heavy-tailed service time queues and its empirical validation implies the need for a better knowledge of the key performance indicators’ behavior under such assumption. The behavior of the average length of the queue () and the average waiting-time (Wq) were analyzed through simulation, varying system capacity, average service utilization factor ( ρ ) and the number of servers in the systems as parameters. Comparisons were also made with service times based on Poisson processes. The results showed more sensitive variations of Lq and Wq for heavy-tailed service times than for Poisson-based service times. Systems having a capacity of over 1,000 entities might be considered as being systems having infinity capacity and the number of servers has a greater importance in heavy-tailed ruled processes than in Poisson processes. There was a lack of adequacy of Lq and Wq as key performance indicators for heavy-tailed service times, lea- ding to unexpected and unstable results.La reciente aparición de modelos generatrices de líneas de espera con tiempos de atención heavy-tailed y su comprobación empírica implican la necesidad de conocer el comportamiento de las medidas clásicas de desempeño de una línea de espera bajo estas condiciones. El objetivo del estudio fue el de analizar el comportamiento de Lq (longitud promedio de la fila) y Wq (tiempo promedio de espera en fila) variando los parámetros capacidad del sistema, nivel de utilización promedio ( ρ ) y número de servidores para líneas de espera con tiempos de atención heavy-tailed, y contrastar dicho comportamiento con los resultados clásicos basados en procesos de Poisson, usando para ello la simulación de eventos discretos. Los resultados mostraron que la sensibilidad de los modelos con tiempos de atención heavy-tailed a variaciones en los parámetros es mayor que la de los modelos basados en procesos de Poisson. En particular, a partir de capacidades de sistema de 1.000 entidades ciertos procesos heay-tailed pueden considerarse infinitos, y la importancia del número de servidores es mayor en los procesos heavy-tailed analizados que en los procesos de Poisson. Por último, la utilización de Lq y Wq como medidas de desempeño es inadecuada para tiempos de atención heavy-tailed al generar resultados inestables y contraintuitivos

Demand energy forecasting using genetic algorithm to guarantee safety on electrical transportation system

Demand estimation models are used for energy planning activities. Their primary function is focused on securing energy supply to final users using available resources in generation, transport and interconnection. Long-term planning models typically use non-linear optimization techniques considering an error not exceeding 5%. The reference model used by UPME in Colombia is limited to an average error of 1.6% considering non-linear modeling estimation techniques. However, they are limited in their ability to anticipate uncharacteristic variations in curves or externalities, which increases the probability of an erroneous prediction. Therefore, this research proposes a model to forecast electricity demand using neural networks in order to anticipate non-characteristic variations. The study first documents current methodologies for the prediction of maximum power demand, as well as the current deficiencies in the used forecasts, A new model is then formulated with the application of neural networks using the algorithm Cascade-Forward Back propagation using MATLAB R2017a. During the model comparison process, it was identified that the data obtained reflects the characteristics of demand behavior with an acceptable margin error equal to 0.5%

México y Jalisco en la coyuntura: segundo semestre de 1997

Análisis de coyuntura sobre los principales sucesos del segundo semestre de 1997 en Jalisco, a nivel político, económico y social: la transición política y las elecciones locales de noviembre de ese año, el impacto en México de la crisis de las economías asiáticas, el tema de la inseguridad pública y la cuestión de Chiapas.ITESO, A.C

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction services in Spain

Containment policies and other restrictions introduced by the Spanish government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic present challenges for marginalised populations, such as people who use drugs. Harm reduction centres are often linked to social services, mental health services, and infectious disease testing, in addition to tools and services that help to reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services in four autonomous communities in Spain. This is a cross-sectional study that employed a seven-section structured survey administered electronically to 20 centres in July 2020. Data from the most heavily affected months (March-June) in 2020 were compared to data from the same period in 2019. Averages were calculated with their ranges, rates, and absolute numbers. All 11 responding centres reported having had to adapt or modify their services during the Spanish state of alarm (14 March-21 June 2020). One centre reported complete closure for 2 months and four reported increases in their operating hours. The average number of service users across all centres decreased by 22% in comparison to the same period in the previous year and the average needle distribution decreased by 40% in comparison to 2019. Most centres reported a decrease in infectious disease testing rates (hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis) for March, April, and May in 2020 compared to the previous year. Reported deaths as a result of overdose did not increase during the state of alarm, but 2/11 (18%) centres reported an increase in overdose deaths immediately after finalisation of the state of alarm. Overall, Spanish harm reduction centres were able to continue operating and offering services by adjusting operating hours. The number of overall service users and needles distributed fell during the Spanish state of alarm lockdown period, suggesting that fewer clients accessed harm reduction services during this time, putting them at greater risk of reusing or sharing injecting equipment, overdosing, acquiring infectious diseases with decreased access to testing or discontinuing ongoing treatment such as methadone maintenance therapy, hepatitis C treatment, or antiretroviral therapy

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction services in Spain.

--- - Label: BACKGROUND NlmCategory: BACKGROUND content: Containment policies and other restrictions introduced by the Spanish government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic present challenges for marginalised populations, such as people who use drugs. Harm reduction centres are often linked to social services, mental health services, and infectious disease testing, in addition to tools and services that help to reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services in four autonomous communities in Spain. - Label: METHODS NlmCategory: METHODS content: This is a cross-sectional study that employed a seven-section structured survey administered electronically to 20 centres in July 2020. Data from the most heavily affected months (March-June) in 2020 were compared to data from the same period in 2019. Averages were calculated with their ranges, rates, and absolute numbers. - Label: RESULTS NlmCategory: RESULTS content: "All 11 responding centres reported having had to adapt or modify their services during the Spanish state of alarm (14 March-21 June 2020). One centre reported complete closure for 2\xC2\xA0months and four reported increases in their operating hours. The average number of service users across all centres decreased by 22% in comparison to the same period in the previous year and the average needle distribution decreased by 40% in comparison to 2019. Most centres reported a decrease in infectious disease testing rates (hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus, and tuberculosis) for March, April, and May in 2020 compared to the previous year. Reported deaths as a result of overdose did not increase during the state of alarm, but 2/11 (18%) centres reported an increase in overdose deaths immediately after finalisation of the state of alarm." - Label: CONCLUSION NlmCategory: CONCLUSIONS content: Overall, Spanish harm reduction centres were able to continue operating and offering services by adjusting operating hours. The number of overall service users and needles distributed fell during the Spanish state of alarm lockdown period, suggesting that fewer clients accessed harm reduction services during this time, putting them at greater risk of reusing or sharing injecting equipment, overdosing, acquiring infectious diseases with decreased access to testing or discontinuing ongoing treatment such as methadone maintenance therapy, hepatitis C treatment, or antiretroviral therapy

Paratuberculosis control strategies in dairy cattle: A systematic review

Background: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the causative agent of paratuberculosis (PTB), incurable enterocolitis, affecting domestic and wild ruminants. Economic losses, impacts on animal health and welfare, and public health concerns justify its herd-level control.Aim: To systematically collect information to answer: What are the control and eradication strategies of PTB in dairy cattle worldwide?Methods: The search procedure was carried out on October 2nd, 2019, and updated on August 3rd, 2021, using OVID®, SciELO, and Redalyc databases, and the registers from the International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis (1991–2018). The inclusion criteria considered articles published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish and in peerreviewed journals. The exclusion criteria included irrelevant topics, species other-than bovines, and not original articles. Definitive studies were obtained through the consensus of the authors on eligibility and quality. Data extraction was performed, considering bibliographic information, control and outcome strategies, follow-up time, and results.Results: Twenty-six relevant studies were found, reporting the use of three grouped control strategies: hygiene and management strategy (HMS), test-and-cull strategy (TCS), and vaccination strategy (VS). The HMS was the most common one (20/26), followed by TCS (17/26) and VS (7/26). Combined control strategies such as TCS-HMS (12/26), TCS-VS (1/26), and HMS-VS (1/26) were also described, and the consideration of the three control strategies (TCSHMS-VS) was reported in two articles. The HMS included practices such as neonates/juvenile livestock hygiene, biosecurity, prevention of infection introduction into the herd, and environmental management. Within HMS, the most frequent practices were to remove calves from their dams as soon as possible after birth and to keep the minimal exposure of calves and heifers to adult cattle. As limitations, within the HMS, it is considered that some strategies cannot be included due to lack of compliance, or the application of the same strategy among one study and another may have a different degree of interpretation; publication bias was not controlled since the results of the control programs in endemic countries may be not available.Conclusion: The main PTB control strategies in dairy cattle worldwide are HMS, TCS, and VS. The use of one or several combined strategies has been found to succeed in controlling the disease at the herd-level

The Mediterranean diet and incidence of hypertension: the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Study

The Mediterranean diet is receiving increasing attention in cardiovascular epidemiology. The association of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with the incidence of hypertension was evaluated among 9,408 men and women enrolled in a dynamic Spanish prospective cohort study during 1999–2005. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline with a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire, and a 9-point Mediterranean diet score was constructed. During a median follow-up period of 4.2 years (range, 1.9–7.9), 501 incident cases of hypertension were identified. After adjustment for major hypertension risk factors and nutritional covariates, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was not associated with hypertension (the hazard ratio was 1.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.81, 1.41) for moderate adherence and 1.12 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.60) for high adherence). However, it was associated with reduced changes in mean levels of systolic blood pressure (moderate adherence, 2.4 mm Hg (95% CI: 4.0, 0.8); high adherence, 3.1 mm Hg (95% CI: 5.4, 0.8)) and diastolic blood pressure (moderate adherence, 1.3 mm Hg (95% CI: 2.5, 0.1); high adherence, 1.9 mm Hg (95% CI: 3.6, 0.1)) after 6 years of follow-up. These results suggest that adhering to a Mediterranean-type diet could contribute to the prevention of age-related changes in blood pressure