LA LEY DE MENORES DE PUERTO RICO,'Y SUS IMPLICACIONES METODOL OGICAS Y SOCIALES PARA NUESTRA SOCIEDAD.

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Inconsistency in the Diagnosis of Functional Heartburn: Usefulness of Prolonged Wireless pH Monitoring in Patients With Proton Pump Inhibitor Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Background/Aims The diagnosis of functional heartburn is important for management, however it stands on fragile pH monitoring variables, ie, acid exposure time varies from day to day and symptoms are often few or absent. Aim of this study was to investigate consistency of the diagnosis of functional heartburn in subsequent days using prolonged wireless pH monitoring and its impact on patients' outcome. Methods Fifty proton pump inhibitotor refractory patients (11 male, 48 years [range, 38-57 years]) with a diagnosis of functional heartburn according to Rome III in the first 24 hours of wireless pH monitoring were reviewed. pH variables were analysed in the following 24-hour periods to determine if tracings were indicative of diagnosis of non-erosive reflux disease (either acid exposure time > 5% or normal acid exposure time and symptom index >= 50%). Outcome was assessed by review of hospital files and/or telephone interview. Results Fifteen out of 50 patients had a pathological acid exposure time after the first day of monitoring (10 in the second day and 5 in subsequent days), which changed their diagnosis from functional heartburn to non-erosive reflux disease. Fifty-four percent of non-erosive reflux disease vs 11% of functional heartburn patients (P < 0.003) increased the dose of proton pump inhibitors or underwent fundoplication after the pH test. Outcome was positive in 77% of non-erosive reflux disease vs 43% of functional heartburn patients (P < 0.05). Conclusions One-third of patients classified as functional heartburn at 24-hour pH-monitoring can be re-classified as non-erosive reflux disease after a more prolonged pH recording period. This observation has a positive impact on patients' management

Evolution de la résistance partielle à la pyriculariose foliaire selon l’âge, chez le riz de la sous-espèce japonica

La pyriculariose (Magnaporthe grisea) est la plus grave maladie fongique, pr&#233;judiciable &#224; la culture du riz en C&#244;te d&#8217;Ivoire. La maladie s&#233;vit avec une grande acuit&#233; en &#233;cologie pluviale marqu&#233;e par une forte pr&#233;sence des vari&#233;t&#233;s de type japonica. Pour lutter contre la pyriculariose, l&#8217;utilisation des vari&#233;t&#233;s r&#233;sistantes &#224; M. grisea appara&#238;t comme l&#8217;option adapt&#233;e &#224; la situation agro-&#233;conomique des exploitants. Des deux types de r&#233;sistance connus, la r&#233;sistance partielle s&#8217;est r&#233;v&#233;l&#233;e plus durable que la r&#233;sistance compl&#232;te, efficace mais de courte dur&#233;e. Cependant, la r&#233;sistance partielle demeure difficile &#224; &#233;valuer. Un essai a &#233;t&#233; conduit en milieu semi-contr&#244;l&#233; en vue de d&#233;terminer des param&#232;tres fiables permettant la s&#233;lection de vari&#233;t&#233;s munies d&#8217;un haut niveau de r&#233;sistance partielle. L&#8217;&#233;tude s&#8217;est focalis&#233;e sur les vari&#233;t&#233;s de riz de la sous-esp&#232;ce japonica, dominant en riziculture pluviale. Le dispositif exp&#233;rimental utilis&#233; a &#233;t&#233; un factoriel 2 en bloc, avec quatre r&#233;p&#233;titions, comportant 32 vari&#233;t&#233;s de riz (indica et japonica) &#224; cinq &#226;ges mat&#233;rialis&#233;s par les stades ph&#233;nologiques 3-4, 4-5, 5-6, 6-7 et 7-8 feuilles. Les r&#233;sultats obtenus montrent qu&#8217;&#224; l&#8217;instar des vari&#233;t&#233;s de riz indica, celles de la sous-esp&#232;ce japonica acqui&#232;rent &#224; des vitesses variables, un certain niveau de r&#233;sistance partielle &#224; la pyriculariose avec l&#8217;&#226;ge. En outre, pour la s&#233;lection d&#8217;un haut niveau de r&#233;sistance partielle &#224; la maladie, le nombre initial de l&#233;sions sporulantes, combin&#233; ou non &#224; la vitesse de diminution de ce nombre, apparaissent comme des param&#232;tres fiables. L&#8217;&#233;tude a par ailleurs r&#233;v&#233;l&#233; de potentiels g&#233;niteurs de r&#233;sistance partielle dans l&#8217;&#233;chantillon des g&#233;notypes de riz japonica test&#233;s.Mots cl&#233;s: Riz pluvial, Magnaporthe grisea, vari&#233;t&#233; r&#233;sistante, s&#233;lection, milieu semi-contr&#244;l&#233;, C&#244;te d&#8217;Ivoir

NLOS Identification and Mitigation Using Low-Cost UWB Devices

[Abstract] Indoor location systems based on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology have become very popular in recent years following the introduction of a number of low-cost devices on the market capable of providing accurate distance measurements. Although promising, UWB devices also suffer from the classic problems found when working in indoor scenarios, especially when there is no a clear line-of-sight (LOS) between the emitter and the receiver, causing the estimation error to increase up to several meters. In this work, machine learning (ML) techniques are employed to analyze several sets of real UWB measurements, captured in different scenarios, to try to identify the measurements facing non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation condition. Additionally, an ulterior process is carried out to mitigate the deviation of these measurements from the actual distance value between the devices. The results show that ML techniques are suitable to identify NLOS propagation conditions and also to mitigate the error of the estimates when there is LOS between the emitter and the receiver.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2016-045Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación de España; TEC2016-75067-C4-1-

Environmental Cross-Validation of NLOS Machine Learning Classification/Mitigation with Low-Cost UWB Positioning Systems

[Abstract] Indoor positioning systems based on radio frequency inherently present multipath-related phenomena. This causes ranging systems such as ultra-wideband (UWB) to lose accuracy when detecting secondary propagation paths between two devices. If a positioning algorithm uses ranging measurements without considering these phenomena, it will face critical errors in estimating the position. This work analyzes the performance obtained in a localization system when combining location algorithms with machine learning techniques applied to a previous classification and mitigation of the propagation effects. For this purpose, real-world cross-scenarios are considered, where the data extracted from low-cost UWB devices for training the algorithms come from a scenario different from that considered for the test. The experimental results reveal that machine learning (ML) techniques are suitable for detecting non-line-of-sight (NLOS) ranging values in this situation.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2016-045Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación de España; TEC2016-75067-C4-1-

Multi-Sensor Accurate Forklift Location and Tracking Simulation in Industrial Indoor Environments

[Abstract] Location and tracking needs are becoming more prominent in industrial environments nowadays. Process optimization, traceability or safety are some of the topics where a positioning system can operate to improve and increase the productivity of a factory or warehouse. Among the different options, solutions based on ultra-wideband (UWB) have emerged during recent years as a good choice to obtain highly accurate estimations in indoor scenarios. However, the typical harsh wireless channel conditions found inside industrial environments, together with interferences caused by workers and machinery, constitute a challenge for this kind of system. This paper describes a real industrial problem (location and tracking of forklift trucks) that requires precise internal positioning and presents a study on the feasibility of meeting this challenge using UWB technology. To this end, a simulator of this technology was created based on UWB measurements from a set of real sensors. This simulator was used together with a location algorithm and a physical model of the forklift to obtain estimations of position in different scenarios with different obstacles. Together with the simulated UWB sensor, an additional inertial sensor and optical sensor were modeled in order to test its effect on supporting the location based on UWB. All the software created for this work is published under an open-source license and is publicly available.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2016-045Xunta de Galicia; ED431G/01Agencia Estatal de Investigación de España; TEC2016-75067-C4-1-

Long-Term Stability in the Trophic Ecology of a Pelagic Forager Living in a Changing Marine Ecosystem

Natural or human-induced environmental changes can modify the structure of ecological communities and thus alter food web interactions. After the collapse of hake stocks (Merluccius hubbsi) provoked by fisheries over the Patagonian shelf in 1997 profound changes have taken place in the community, including long-term dietary shifts in some marine vertebrate predators. Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios in bone collagen of subadult and adult male South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) were measured for the period 1976–2017 to investigate if the changes occurred in the marine community from northern and central Patagonia affected the diet of this predator. Suess corrected δ13C values and δ15N values in bone collagen of fur seals did not change significantly over the study period. According to this, male fur seals have remained as pelagic foragers without changing their trophic position nor switching their main preys in the Patagonian food web over the last four decades. This long-term stability in the diet of fur seals contrasts with dietary changes reported for benthic foragers in the region. Although long-term diet studies are restricted to a few marine predators in the region, current evidence suggests that benthic-demersal foragers were more prone to dietary shifts than pelagic ones after perturbations that occurred in the marine community of northern and central Patagonia.Fil: Vales, Damián Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Cardona, Luis. Universidad de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Loizaga de Castro, Rocio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: García, Néstor A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Crespo, Enrique Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentin

Longer and less overlapping food webs in anthropogenically disturbed marine ecosystems: confirmations from the past

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The human exploitation of marine resources is characterised by the preferential removal of the largest species. Although this is expected to modify the structure of food webs, we have a relatively poor understanding of the potential consequences of such alteration. Here, we take advantage of a collection of ancient consumer tissues, using stable isotope analysis and SIBER to assess changes in the structure of coastal marine food webs in the South-western Atlantic through the second half of the Holocene as a result of the sequential exploitation of marine resources by hunter-gatherers, western sealers and modern fishermen. Samples were collected from shell middens and museums. Shells of both modern and archaeological intertidal herbivorous molluscs were used to reconstruct changes in the stable isotopic baseline, while modern and archaeological bones of the South American sea lion Otaria flavescens, South American fur seal Arctocephalus australis and Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus were used to analyse changes in the structure of the community of top predators. We found that ancient food webs were shorter, more redundant and more overlapping than current ones, both in northern-central Patagonia and southern Patagonia. These surprising results may be best explained by the huge impact of western sealing on pinnipeds during the fur trade period, rather than the impact of fishing on fish populations. As a consequence, the populations of pinnipeds at the end of the sealing period were likely well below the ecosystem's carrying capacity, which resulted in a release of intraspecific competition and a shift towards larger and higher trophic level prey. This in turn led to longer and less overlapping food webs.Fundacio´n BBVA funded this research as part of the project ‘‘Efectos de la explotacio´n humana sobre depredadores apicales y la estructura de la red tro´fica del Mar Argentino durante los u´timos 6000 an˜os’’ (BIOCON08-194/09 2009-2011). Agencia Nacional de Promocio´n Cientı´fica y Tecnolo´gica (Argentina) provided additional funding through the project ‘‘Ana´lisis del uso de los recursos tro´ficos y su relacio´n con cambios en la abundancia en tres predadores tope del Mar Argentino’’. FS has been supported by an FPU Fellowship granted by the Spanish Ministerio de Educacio´n, Cultura y Deporte (AP 2009- 4573). Half of the cost of the publication of this article has been funded by the University of Barcelona. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Manglar vivo en Cuba : costos y beneficios de las acciones basadas en ecosistemas. Análisis económico-ecológico en las provincias Sur Artemisa y Mayabeque

En Cuba, las poblaciones del sur de las provincias Artemisa y Mayabeque han sido afectadas por la indiscriminada tala de sus manglares durante años, lo que ha provocado la afectación de sus servicios ecosistémicos. La adaptación basada en el ecosistema (ABE) constituye un enfoque alternativo para aumentar la resiliencia de las comunidades vulnerables.El análisis de costo-beneficio es un método económico empleado para evaluar las opciones de inversión, donde se comparan directamente los costos y beneficios en términos monetarios. Esto muestra el impacto en valor de una manera que es fácil de entender por los tomadores de decisiones. En esta contribución se analizan los principales costos por: restauración, mantenimiento, activos fungibles, combustible, equipamiento y proyectos de conservación ejecutados, así como los beneficios obtenidos por estas acciones de ABEen el valor de los servicios ecosistémicosdelmanglar en estas localidades. De ellos se consideraron cinco servicios de provisión y seis de regulación y soporte. Se desarrollaron tres escenarios: un escenario base y dos modificados. La relación beneficio-costo varió de 6.81 a 14.91de acuerdo con elescenario reportado entre los tres escenarios realizados. Ello evidencia que por cada peso invertido se obtuvo un beneficio económico-ecológico superior a 6 pesos, demostrando así la rentabilidad integral de la aplicación del enfoque ABE en las zonas de trabajo.In Cuba, populations in the southern provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque have been affected by the indiscriminate deforestation of their mangroves for years, which has affected their ecosystem services. Ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) is an alternative approach to increasing the resilience of vulnerable communities. Cost-benefit analysis is an economic method used to evaluate investment options, where costs and benefits are directly compared in monetary terms. This shows the impact of the environmental management strategies applied in a way that is easy for decision makers to understand. This contribution analyzes the main costs for the restoration, maintenance, consumable assets, fuel, equipment and executed conservation projects, as well as the benefits obtained by these EBA actions in the value of the ecosystem services of the mangroves in these localities. Of these, the study includes five provision services and six regulation and support services. It also develops three scenarios: a base scenario for the areas intervened and two modified ones changing cost and area size assumptions. The benefit-cost ratio ranged from 6.81 to 15.25 according to the reported scenario of the three scenarios developed. This shows that each peso invested yielded an ecological economic benefit of more than 6 pesos, thus demonstrating the integral net benefits to the inhabitants of the region and the country of the application of the EBA approach in these study areas