Contribution to the development of mathematical programming tools to assist decision-making in sustainability problems

L'activitat humana està excedint la capacitat de resposta de la Terra, el que pot tenir implicacions perjudicials per al futur benestar humà i del medi ambient. Sens dubte, severs canvis estructurals seran necessaris, el que exigeix prendre solucions eficaces davant els problemes emergents de sostenibilitat. En aquest context, aquesta tesi es centra en dues transformacions clau per re-connectar el desenvolupament humà amb el progrés sostenible: la "seguretat alimentària sostenible", desacoblant la intensificació agrícola de l'ús insostenible dels recursos; i el "model energètic sostenible", donant suport al canvi cap a una economia respectuosa amb el medi ambient. El marc metodològic consisteix a abordar diferents problemes mitjançant el desenvolupament d'eines sistemàtiques de programació matemàtica amb l'objectiu de donar suport a la presa de decisions i la formulació de polítiques conduents a la consecució del desenvolupament sostenible. Aquesta tesi doctoral inclou quatre contribucions principals en forma d'eines de decisió i suport de polítiques prou flexibles com per abordar diferents casos d'estudi. En primer lloc, es proposa una eina multiobjectiu per assignar àrees de cultiu considerant simultàniament criteris productius i mediambientals. En segon lloc, es proposa un model multiperíode per determinar plans de cultiu òptims i subsidis efectius per tal de promoure pràctiques agrícoles sostenibles. En tercer lloc, es proposa una metodologia per a analitzar la sostenibilitat que permet avaluar sistemes muticriteri i proporciona potencials millores d'acord amb els principis de la sostenibilitat. En quart lloc, es proposa un nou enfocament basat en l'optimització d'accions cooperatives amb l'objectiu de promoure i enfortir la cooperació internacional en la lluita contra el canvi climàtic La informació derivada de la investigació, com la presentada en aquesta tesi, pot tenir un paper fonamental en la transició cap a una nova era en la qual l'economia, la societat i el medi ambient coexisteixin com a pilars clau del desenvolupament sostenible.La actividades humanas están excediendo la capacidad de carga de la Tierra, lo que puede potencialmente generar implicaciones perjudiciales para el futuro bienestar humano y del medio ambiente. Sin duda son necesarios profundos cambios estructurales, lo que exige tomar soluciones eficaces ante los problemas emergentes de sostenibilidad. En este contexto, esta tesis se centra en dos transformaciones clave para reconectar el desarrollo humano con el progreso sostenible: la "seguridad alimentaria sostenible", desacoplando la intensificación agrícola del uso insostenible de los recursos; y el " modelo energético sostenible", apoyando el cambio hacia una economía respetuosa con el medio ambiente. El marco metodológico consiste en abordar distintos problemas mediante el desarrollo de herramientas sistemáticas de programación matemática cuyo objetivo es apoyar la toma de decisiones y la formulación de políticas tendentes hacia la consecución del desarrollo sostenible. La tesis incluye cuatro contribuciones principales en forma de herramientas de decisión y apoyo de políticas suficientemente flexibles para abordar diferentes casos de estudio. En primer lugar, se propone una herramienta multiobjetivo para asignar áreas de cultivo considerando simultáneamente criterios productivos y medioambientales. En segundo, se propone un modelo multiperiodo para determinar planes de cultivo óptimos y subsidios efectivos con el fin de promover prácticas agrícolas sostenibles. En tercero, se propone una metodología para realizar análisis de sostenibilidad que permite evaluar sistemas muticriterio y proporciona potenciales mejoras de acuerdo con principios de sostenibilidad. En cuarto lugar, se propone un nuevo enfoque basado en la optimización de acciones cooperativas con el objetivo de promover y fortalecer la cooperación internacional en la lucha contra el cambio climático La información derivada de la investigación, como la presentada en esta tesis, puede desempeñar un papel fundamental en la transición hacia una nueva era en la que la economía, la sociedad y el medio ambiente coexistan como pilares clave del desarrollo sostenible.Impacts from human activities are exceeding the Earth’s carrying capacity, which may lead to irreversible changes posing a serious threat to future human well-being and the environment. There is no doubt that an urgent shift is needed for sustainability, which calls for effective solutions when facing ongoing and emerging sustainability challenges. Against this background, this thesis focuses on two key structural transformations needed to reconnect the human development to sustained progress: the “food security transformation”, through decoupling the intensification of agricultural production from unsustainable use of resources; and the “clean energy transformation”, supporting the transition towards a more environmentally friendly economy. Methodologically, different sustainability issues are tackled by developing systematic mathematical programming tools aiming at supporting sustainable decision and policy-making which ultimately will lead to the development of more efficient mechanisms to foster a sustainable development. This thesis includes four major contributions in the form of decision and policy- support tools which are flexible and practical enough to address different case studies towards a more sustainable agriculture and energy future. First, a multi-objective tool is proposed which allows allocating cropping areas simultaneously maximizing the production and minimizing the environmental impact on ecosystems and resources. Second, a multi-period model is proposed which allows determining optimal cropping plans and effective subsidies to promote agricultural practices beneficial to the climate and the environment. Third, a novel methodology tailored to perform sustainability assessments is proposed which allows evaluating multi-criterion systems and providing improvements targets for such systems according to sustainability principles. Fourth, an optimised cooperative approach is proposed to promote and strengthen international cooperation in the fight against climate change. Research-based work as the one proposed herein may play a major role in the transition towards a new era where the economy, society and the environment coexist as key pillars of sustainable development

BECCS based on bioethanol from wood residues: Potential towards a carbon-negative transport and side-effects

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is gaining broad interest as an effective strategy to go beyond carbon neutrality. So far, most of the work on BECCS focused on power systems, while its application to the transport sector has received much less attention. To contribute to filling this gap, this work investigates the potential of BECCS as a carbon-negative strategy in the transport sector by applying process modelling and life cycle assessment (LCA) to bioethanol production from lignocellulosic waste. The process was analyzed following a cradle-to-wheel approach, i.e., from biomass growth to the combustion of biofuel in the cars, assuming that the CO2 emitted in the fermentation and cogeneration units is captured, compressed and transported to be stored permanently in geological sites. Several scenarios differing in the bioethanol-gasoline blends (10–85% bioethanol) were considered for a functional unit of 1 km of distance travelled, comparing with fossil-based gasoline. Our results show that blends above 85% (ethanol/gasoline) could have the potential to deliver a net-negative emissions balance of −2.74 kg CO2 eq per 100 km travelled and up to −5.05 kg CO2 eq per 100 km using a low carbon electricity source. The final amount of net CO2 removal is highly dependent on the carbon intensity of the electricity and the heating utilities. Biofuels blends could, however, lead to burden-shifting in eutrophication, ozone depletion and formation, toxicity, land use, and water consumption. This work highlights the potential of BECCS in the transport sector, and the need to analyze impacts beyond climate change in future studies to avoid shifting burdens to other categoriesThis contribution was supported by the European project iFermenter (Grant Agreement 790507). S. Bello, G. Feijoo and M.T. Moreira belong to the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC ED431C 2017/29 and to the CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01). All these programs are co-funded by FEDER (EU)S

Effectiveness of a physical therapeutic exercise programme for caregivers of dependent patients: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial from Spanish primary care

Producción CientíficaFemale family caregivers (FFCs) constitute one of the basic supports of socio-health care for dependence in developed countries. The care provided by FFCs may impact their physical and mental health, negatively affecting their quality of life. In order to alleviate the consequences of providing care on FFCs, the Spanish Public Health System has developed the family caregiver care programme (FCCP) to be applied in primary care (PC) centres. The effectiveness of this programme is limited. To date, the addition of a physical therapeutic exercise (PTE) programme to FCCP has not been evaluated. A randomised multicentre clinical trial was carried out in two PC centres of the Spanish Public Health System. In total, 68 FFCs were recruited. The experimental group (EG) performed the usual FCCP (4 sessions, 6 h) added to a PTE programme (36 sessions in 12 weeks) whereas the control group performed the usual FCCP performed in PC. The experimental treatment improved quality of life (d = 1.17 in physical component summary), subjective burden (d = 2.38), anxiety (d = 1.52), depression (d = 1.37) and health-related physical condition (d = 2.44 in endurance). Differences between the groups (p < 0.05) were clinically relevant in favour of the EG. The experimental treatment generates high levels of satisfaction.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad - (Project MTM2017–86061-C2–1-P)Junta de Castilla y León y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) - (Projects VA005P17 y VA002G18

Deep eutectic solvents for improved biomass pretreatment: current status and future prospective towards sustainable processes

Pretreatment processes - recognized as critical steps for efficient biomass refining - have received much attention over the last two decades. In this context, deep eutectic solvents (DES) have emerged as a novel alternative to conventional solvents representing a step forward in achieving more sustainable processes with both environmental and economic benefits. This paper presents an updated review of the state-of-the-art of DES-based applications in biorefinery schemes. Besides describing the fundamentals of DES composition, synthesis, and recycling, this study presents a comprehensive review of existing techno-economic and life cycle assessment studies. Challenges, barriers, and perspectives for the scale-up of DES-based processes are also discussed.publishe

Pain Neuroscience Education and Physical Therapeutic Exercise for Patients with Chronic Spinal Pain in Spanish Physiotherapy Primary Care: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Producción CientíficaChronic musculoskeletal pain affects more than 20% of the population, leading to high health care overload and huge spending. The prevalence is increasing and negatively affects both physical and mental health, being one of the leading causes of disability. The most common location is the spine. Most treatments used in the Public Health Services are passive (pharmacological and invasive) and do not comply with current clinical guidelines, which recommend treating pain in primary care (PC) with education and exercise as the first-line treatments. A randomized multicentre clinical trial has been carried out in 12 PC centres. The experimental group (EG) conducted a program of pain neuroscience education (6 sessions, 10 h) and group physical exercise with playful, dual-tasking, and socialization-promoting components (18 sessions in 6 weeks, 18 h), and the control group performed the usual physiotherapy care performed in PC. The experimental treatment improved quality of life (d = 1.8 in physical component summary), catastrophism (d = 1.7), kinesiophobia (d = 1.8), central sensitization (d = 1.4), disability (d = 1.4), pain intensity (d = 3.3), and pressure pain thresholds (d = 2). Differences between the groups (p < 0.001) were clinically relevant in favour of the EG. Improvements post-intervention (week 11) were maintained at six months. The experimental treatment generates high levels of satisfaction.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (grant MTM2017–86061-C2–1-P)Junta de Castilla y León - Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (grants VA005P17 and VA002G18

Mycoplasma bovis in Spanish Cattle Herds: Two Groups of Multiresistant Isolates Predominate, with One Remaining Susceptible to Fluoroquinolones

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).This document is the Accepted version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Pathogens. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9070545Mycoplasma bovis is an important bovine pathogen causing pneumonia, mastitis, and arthritis and is responsible for major economic losses worldwide. In the absence of an efficient vaccine, control of M. bovis infections mainly relies on antimicrobial treatments, but resistance is reported in an increasing number of countries. To address the situation in Spain, M. bovis was searched in 436 samples collected from beef and dairy cattle (2016–2019) and 28% were positive. Single-locus typing using polC sequences further revealed that two subtypes ST2 and ST3, circulate in Spain both in beef and dairy cattle, regardless of the regions or the clinical signs. Monitoring of ST2 and ST3 isolates minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to a panel of antimicrobials revealed one major difference when using fluoroquinolones (FQL): ST2 is more susceptible than ST3. Accordingly, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) further identified mutations in the gyrA and parC regions, encoding quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) only in ST3 isolates. This situation shows the capacity of ST3 to accumulate mutations in QRDR and might reflect the selective pressure imposed by the extensive use of these antimicrobials. MIC values and detection of mutations by WGS also showed that most Spanish isolates are resistant to macrolides, lincosamides, and tetracyclines. Valnemulin was the only one effective, at least in vitro, against both STs

The addition of Lactobacillus spp. negatively affects Mycoplasma bovis viability in bovine cervical mucus

© The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This document is the Published version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in BMC Veterinary Research. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-02454-9Background Mycoplasma bovis is an important pathogen for the cattle industry worldwide causing significant economic losses. Several transmission routes, including those related to reproduction, have been described. Indeed, the pathogen can colonize the female reproductive tract after artificial insemination (AI) with contaminated semen. Lactobacillus spp.-based probiotics have been used for vaginal dysbiosis treatment in women and cows although their role in controlling cervico-vaginal infections due to M. bovis is unknown. The objective of the present work is to assess the viability of M. bovis (PG45, NCTC 10131) in experimentally contaminated cervical mucus after the addition of Lactobacillus spp. at different concentrations as a competing agent and pH acidifier. Results The addition of probiotic at a concentration higher than 108 colony forming units (CFU/mL had a detrimental effect (P < 0.05) on mycoplasma viability in cervical mucus. This coincided with a significant LAB growth and an important decrease in pH from 8.4 to 5.6 (P < 0.05). However, after the addition of less concentrated probiotic, M. bovis survival was not affected and there was no significant LAB growth despite the drop of pH from 8.4 to 6.73 (P < 0.05). Conclusion The addition of concentrations higher than 108 CFU/mL of Lactobacillus spp. negatively affects M. bovis viability in bovine cervical mucus under in vitro conditions. Although the effect observed on the pathogen viability seems to be related to the pH decrease after LAB proliferation in cervical mucus, further studies are necessary to elucidate if other factors are implicated. Nevertheless, the administration of Lactobacillus spp.-based probiotics might be used in the future to control M. bovis proliferation in the cervico-vaginal tract of cows

The Addition of Lactobacillus spp., Enrofloxacin or Doxycycline Negatively Affects the Viability of Mycoplasma bovis in Diluted Bovine Semen

© The Authors. 2020. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This document is the Published version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Animals. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10050837Mycoplasma bovis is an important etiologic agent of bovine mycoplasmosis in cattle. Different transmission routes have been described, including those related to reproduction. The presence of mycoplasma in semen has led to its appearance in infection-free areas through artificial insemination (AI). Semen was recently reported to be the initial source of two M. bovis mastitis outbreaks in two closed dairy herds in Finland. This questions the effectiveness of the antimicrobials currently used in semen extenders to control the pathogens in contaminated semen. They should be re-evaluated, or alternative measures to antimicrobials should be tested to obtain M. bovis-free semen. This in vitro study aimed to assess different strategies to reduce the risk of transmission of M. bovis through AI technologies. The viability of M. bovis (PG45, NCTC 10131) in bull semen diluted (DS) in a Tris-citrate-fructose solution was tested, after the addition of enrofloxacin, doxycycline or a Lactobacillus spp.-based probiotic. The data show the susceptibility of the pathogen to the addition of 0.125 μg/mL of enrofloxacin or 0.0625 μg/mL of doxycycline and to the addition of the probiotic at a concentration of 3.24 × 106 colony forming units (CFU)/mL or 3.24 × 108 CFU/mL in DS. The Tris-citrate-fructose medium negatively affected the viability of M. bovis, although this effect was lower than that observed after the addition of the probiotic and antimicrobials (p < 0.05). Our results may support new strategies for reducing the risk of M. bovis transmission through AI

Effectiveness of a universal personalized intervention for the prevention of anxiety disorders: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial (the prevANS project)

Background: To date, all preventive anxiety disorders interventions are one-fit-all and none of them are based on individual level and risk profile. The aim of this project is to design, develop and evaluate an online personalized intervention based on a risk algorithm for the universal prevention of anxiety disorders in the general population. Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two parallel arms (prevANS vs usual care) and 1-year follow- up including 2000 participants without anxiety disorders from Spain and Portugal will be conducted. The prevANS intervention will be self-guided and can be implemented from the prevANS web or from the participants' Smartphone (through an App). The prevANS intervention will have different intensities depending on the risk level of the population, evaluated from the risk algorithm for anxiety: predictA. Both low and moderate-high risk participants will receive information on their level and profile (risk factors) of anxiety disorders, will have access to stress management tools and psychoeducational information periodically. In addition, participants with a moderate-high risk of anxiety disorders will also have access to cognitive-behavioral training (problem-solving, decision-making, communication skills, and working with thoughts). The control group will not receive any intervention, but they will fill out the same questionnaires as the intervention group. Assessments will be completed at baseline, 6 and 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome is the cumulative incidence of anxiety disorders. Secondary outcomes include depressive and anxiety symptoms, risk probability of anxiety disorders (predictA algorithm) and depression (predictD algorithm), improvement in physical and mental quality of life, and acceptability and satisfaction with the intervention. In addition, cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses will also be carried out from two perspectives, societal and health system, and analyses of mediators and moderators will also be performedSpanish Ministry of Health, the Institute of Health Carlos III, co-funded by the European Social Fund “Investing in your future” (grant references: CP19/00056), and the Chronicity, Primary Care and Health Promotion Research Network ‘RICAPPS’ (RD21/0016/0012); and Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the State Investigation Agency (PID2020-119652RA-l00). These funding sources had no role in the design of this study and will not have any role during its execution, analyses, interpretation of the data, or decision to submit resultsS