The 8-Odorant Barcelona Olfactory Test (BOT-8): Validation of a New Test in the Spanish Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19; Pèrdua d'olfacte; Prova de l'olfacteCOVID-19; Loss of smell; Smell testCOVID-19; Pérdida de olfato; Prueba del olfatoBackground and objective: Most smell tests are difficult to implement in daily clinical practice owing to their long duration. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a short, easy-to-perform, and reusable smell test to be implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study population comprised 120 healthy adults and 195 patients with self-reported olfactory dysfunction (OD). The 8-Odorant Barcelona Olfactory Test (BOT-8) was used for detection, memory/recognition, and forced-choice identification. In addition, a rose threshold test was performed, and a visual analog scale was applied. The Smell Diskettes Olfaction Test (SDOT) was used for correlation in healthy volunteers, and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) was used for patients with OD to establish cut-offs for anosmia and hyposmia. In order to take account of the COVID-19 pandemic, disposable cotton swabs with odorants were compared with the original test. Results: In healthy persons, the mean (SD) BOT-8 score was 100% for detection, 94.5% (1.07) for memory/recognition, and 89.6% (0.86) for identification. In patients with OD, the equivalent values were 86% (32.8), 73.2% (37.9), and 77.1% (34.2), respectively. BOT-8 demonstrated good test-retest reliability, with agreement of 96.7% and a quadratic k of 0.84 (P<.001). A strong correlation was observed between BOT-8 and SDOT (r=0.67, P<.001) and UPSIT (r=0.86, P<.001). Agreement was excellent for disposable cotton swabs, with a k of 0.79 compared with the original test. The cut-off point for anosmia was ≤3 (area under the curve, 0.83; sensitivity, 0.673; specificity, 0.993). Conclusion: BOT-8 offers an efficient and fast method for assessment of smell threshold, detection, memory, and identification in daily clinical practice. Disposable cotton swabs with odorants proved to be useful and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic

Synthesis of Ceramic Pigments by Non-Conventional Methods for New Ceramic Decoration Technologies

The ceramic tile industry increasingly commits to modernisation and implementation of new technologies in the decoration process. Current demands of advanced processes in this fi eld, such as rotational decoration, inkjet printing, PVD (physical vapour deposition), laser systems, etc., led to a great interest in developing ceramic pigments with controlled composition and microstructure. These pigments are thermally and mechanically stable in the production cycles, have reproducible and multifunctional properties, and meet ecological and economic demands. The research work in this fi eld made the ceramic sector dynamic and competitive with regard to opening new markets

Received signal strength–based indoor localization using a robust interacting multiple model–extended Kalman filter algorithm

Due to the vast increase in location-based services, currently there exists an actual need of robust and reliable indoor localization solutions. Received signal strength localization is widely used due to its simplicity and availability in most mobile devices. The received signal strength channel model is defined by the propagation losses and the shadow fading. In real-life applications, these parameters might vary over time because of changes in the environment. Thus, to obtain a reliable localization solution, they have to be sequentially estimated. In this article, the problem of tracking a mobile node by received signal strength measurements is addressed, simultaneously estimating the model parameters. Particularly, a two-slope path loss model is assumed for the received signal strength observations, which provides a more realistic representation of the propagation channel. The proposed methodology considers a parallel interacting multiple model–based architecture for distance estimation, which is coupled with the on-line estimation of the model parameters and the final position determination via Kalman filtering. Numerical simulation results in realistic scenarios are provided to support the theoretical discussion and to show the enhanced performance of the new robust indoor localization approach. Additionally, experimental results using real data are reported to validate the technique

Optimization Algorithms for Large-Scale Real-World Instances of the Frequency Assignment Problem

Nowadays, mobile communications are experiencing a strong growth, being more and more indispensable. One of the key issues in the design of mobile networks is the Frequency Assignment Problem (FAP). This problem is crucial at present and will remain important in the foreseeable future. Real world instances of FAP typically involve very large networks, which can only be handled by heuristic methods. In the present work, we are interested in optimizing frequency assignments for problems described in a mathematical formalism that incorporates actual interference information, measured directly on the field, as is done in current GSM networks. To achieve this goal, a range of metaheuristics have been designed, adapted, and rigourously compared on two actual GSM networks modeled according to the latter formalism. In order to generate quickly and reliably high quality solutions, all metaheuristics combine their global search capabilities with a local-search method specially tailored for this domain. The experiments and statistical tests show that in general, all metaheuristics are able to improve upon results published in previous studies, but two of the metaheuristics emerge as the best performers: a population-based algorithm (Scatter Search) and a trajectory based (1+1) Evolutionary Algorithm. Finally, the analysis of the frequency plans obtained offers insight about how the interference cost is reduced in the optimal plans.Publicad

A Measurement of B Meson Production and Lifetime Using D`− Events in Z0 Decays

A study of B meson decays into D l- X final states is presented. In these events, neutral and charged D mesons originate predominantly from B+ and B0 decays, respectively. The dilution of this correlation due to D** production has been taken into account. From 263700 hadronic Z0 decays collected in 1991 with the DELPHI detector at the LEP collider, 92 D0 --> K- pi+, 35 D+ --> K- pi+ pi+ and 61 D*+ --> D0 pi+ followed by D0 --> K- pi+ or D0 --> K- pi+ pi+ pi-, are found with an associated lepton of the same charge as the kaon. From the D0 l- and D*+ l-, the probability f(d) that a b quark hadronizes into a B- (or B0BAR),meson is found to be 0.44 +/-0.08 +/-0.09, corresponding to a total (B(s) + LAMBDA(b)) hadronization fraction of 0.12(-0.12)+0.24 .By reconstructing the energy of each B meson, the b quark fragmentation is directly measured for the first time. The mean value of the B meson energy fraction is: [X(E)(B)] = 0.695+/-0.015(stat.)+/-0.029(syst.) Reconstructing D-lepton vertices, the following B life-times are measured: tau(B) = 1.27(-0.18)+0.22(stat.)+/-0.15(syst.) ps, where bBAR --> D0 l- X, tau(B) = 1.18(-0.27)+0.39(stat.)+/-0.15(syst.) ps, where BBAR --> D+ l- X, T(B) = 1.19(-0.19)+0.25(stat.)+/-0.15(syst.) ps where BBAR --> D*+ l- X, and an average tau(B) = 1.23(-0.13)+0.14(stat.)+/-0.15(syst.) ps is found. Allowing for decays into D** l- vBAR, the B+ and B0 lifetimes are: tau(B+)= 1.30(0.29)+0.33(stat.)+/-0.15(syst. exp.) +/-0.05(syst. D**) ps, tau(B0)= 1.17(-0.23)+0.29(stat.)+/-0.15(syst. exp.) +/-0.05 (syst. D**) ps, tau(B+)/tau(B0) = 1.11(0.39)+0.51(stat.)+/-0.05(syst. exp.) +/-0.10(syst. D**) ps

Measurement of the triple-gluon vertex from 4-JET events at LEP

From the combined data of 1990 and 1991 of the DELPHI experiment at LEP, 13057 4-jet events are obtained and used for determining the contribution of the triple-gluon vertex. The relevant variables are the generalized Nachtmann Reiter angle theta(NR)* and the opening angle of the two least energetic jets. A fit to their two-dimensional distribution yields C(A)/C(F)=2.12+/-0.35 and N(C)/N(A)=0.46+/-0.19, where C(A)/C(F) is the ratio of the coupling strength of the triple-gluon vertex to that of gluon bremsstrahlung from quarks, and N(C)/N(A), the ratio of the number of quark colours to the number of gluons. This constitutes a convincing model-independent proof of the existence of the triple-gluon vertex, since its contribution is directly proportional to C(A)/C(F). The results are in agreement with the values expected from QCD: C(A)/C(F)=2.25, and N(C)/N(A)=3/8

Caracterización bioestratigráfica del Lías en San Felices (Prepirineo MeridionaL Extremo occidental de las Sierras Exteriores)

Se estudia un afloramiento de materiales jurásicos (Lías) recientemente descubierto en las proximidades del pueblo de San Felices, en el extremo occidental de las Sierras Exteriores, Prepirineo Occidental. Dicho afloramiento se encuentra en el flanco meridional de una compleja estructura antiformal (cabalgamiento de San Felices) que forma parte de ún sistema de cabalgamiento existente en Riglos. La sucesión estratigráfica muestra una estrecha correspondencia con la reconocida en otras áreas más orientales del Pirineo, asi como con la sucesión clásica de las unidades litoestratigráficas definidas para el Lías de la Cordillera Ibérica. El análisis bloestratigráfico de las asociaciones registradas de braquiópodos y ammonites ha permitido caracterizar el Domeriense medio-superior y las biozonas Tenuicostatum y Serpentinus del Toarciense inferior Dichas asociaciones muestran grandes afinidades con las de otros puntos del Pirineo y de la Cordillera Ibérica. El interés de este afloramiento reside en su carácter inédito y en su situación geográfica peculiar

Next station in microarray data analysis: GEPAS

The Gene Expression Profile Analysis Suite (GEPAS) has been running for more than four years. During this time it has evolved to keep pace with the new interests and trends in the still changing world of microarray data analysis. GEPAS has been designed to provide an intuitive although powerful web-based interface that offers diverse analysis options from the early step of preprocessing (normalization of Affymetrix and two-colour microarray experiments and other preprocessing options), to the final step of the functional annotation of the experiment (using Gene Ontology, pathways, PubMed abstracts etc.), and include different possibilities for clustering, gene selection, class prediction and array-comparative genomic hybridization management. GEPAS is extensively used by researchers of many countries and its records indicate an average usage rate of 400 experiments per day. The web-based pipeline for microarray gene expression data, GEPAS, is available at

Charged-particle multiplicities in pp interactions at root s=900 GeV measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The first measurements from proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented. Data were collected in December 2009 using a minimum-bias trigger during collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 900 GeV. The charged-particle multiplicity, its dependence on transverse momentum and pseudorapidity, and the relationship between mean transverse momentum and charged-particle multiplicity are measured for events with at least one charged particle in the kinematic range |eta|500 MeV. The measurements are compared to Monte Carlo models of proton-proton collisions and to results from other experiments at the same centre-of-mass energy. The charged-particle multiplicity per event and unit of pseudorapidity at eta = 0 is measured to be 1.333 +/- 0.003 (stat.) +/- 0.040 (syst.), which is 5-15% higher than the Monte Carlo models predict