Influence of Body Composition on Arterial Stiffness in Middle-Aged Adults: Healthy UAL Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objectives: Several anthropometric and body composition parameters have been linked to arterial stiffness (AS) as a biomarker of cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about which of these closely related factors is more strongly associated with AS. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship of different anthropometric and body composition parameters with AS in middle-aged adults. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 186 middle-aged participants (85 women, 101 men; age = 42.8 ± 12.6 years) evaluated as part of the Healthy UAL study, a population study conducted at the University of Almería with the main purpose of analyzing the etiology and risk factors associated with cardio-metabolic diseases. Anthropometric measures included neck, waist, and hip circumferences, as well as the waist-to-height ratio (WHtr). Bioimpedance-derived parameters included fat-free mass index (FFMI), fat mass index (FMI), and percent of body fat (%BF). AS was measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV). The relationships of interest were examined through stepwise regression analyses in which age and sex were also introduced as potential confounders. Results: Neck circumference (in the anthropometric model; R2: 0.889; β: age = 0.855, neck = 0.204) and FFMI (in the bio-impedance model; R2: 0.891; β: age = 0.906, FFMI = 0.199) emerged as significant cross-sectional predictors of AS. When all parameters were included together (both anthropometry and bio-impedance), both neck circumference and FFMI appeared again as being significantly associated with AS (R2: 0.894; β: age = 0.882, FFMI = 0.126, neck = 0.093). Conclusion: It was concluded that FFMI and neck circumference are correlated with AS regardless of potential confounders and other anthropometric and bioimpedance-derived parameters in middle-aged adults

Web analytics for the optimization of a photographic website

RESUMEN: El trabajo realizado muestra la creación y análisis de un sitio web de una fotógrafa profesional que quiere exponer sus trabajos en Internet. En el trabajo se analiza el comportamiento de los usuarios en el sitio web y la manera de que los datos que se generan a partir de las interacciones en el sitio web pueden ser utilizados para realizar estrategias empresariales. El objetivo de este trabajo es aplicar la analítica web a un sitio web de fotografía que se ha creado para ver el comportamiento de los usuarios en él. Se realiza para comenzar un pequeño resumen de lo que es la analítica web y las diferentes herramientas que se dispone, así como sus aspectos clave y sus funciones para posteriormente pasar a analizar el sitio web en concreto. En la parte práctica, se realizan informes acerca del comportamiento de los usuarios en el sitio web una vez definidos los objetivos del proyecto. En último lugar, se procede a analizar a las empresas competidoras y se propone una serie de mejoras de cara al futuro del sitio web. Este estudio termina con una serie de limitaciones a la realización de dicho trabajo y una serie de conclusiones extraídas del análisis.ABSTRACT: The work done shows the creation and analysis of a website of a professional photographer who wants to expose her work on the Internet. The work analyzes the behavior of users on the website and how the data generated from interactions on the website can be used to make business strategies. The goal of this paper is to apply web analytics to a photography website that has been created to see user behavior on it. It is done to start a small summary of what is web analytics and the different tools that are available, as well as its key aspects and functions to then move on to analyze the specific website. In the practical part, reports are made about the behaviour of users on the website once the objectives of the project have been defined. Finally, competitor companies are analysed and a series of improvements are proposed for the future of the website. This study ends with a series of limitations to the accomplishment of this work and a series of conclusions extracted from the analysis.Máster en Empresa y Tecnologías de la Informació

Flexible functional split and fronthaul delay: a queuing-based model

We study the delay over virtual RAN (vRAN) topologies, entailing base stations that are divided into centralized and distributed units, as well as the packet-switched fronthaul network that connects them. We consider the use of flexible functional split, where the functions that are executed at each of these two entities can be dynamically shifted. We propose a queuing-based model, which is able to precisely mimic the behavior of such nodes, and we validate it by means of extensive simulations. We also exploit Jackson Networks theory to establish the end-to-end delay over the fronthaul network, allowing us to assess the impact of having different networking policies and conditions (for instance, background traffic or heterogeneous technologies). Thanks to the simulator we can also broaden the analysis, by studying the delay variability. In addition, we conduct an in-depth analysis of the performance exhibited by a realistic network setup, whose particular characteristics might hinder the services performance, due to the longer dwell times at each split configuration. The results evince the validity of the proposed model, even under realistic conditions. We show that it might not be enough to guarantee an average stable operation of the centralized/distributed units, but the traffic load should remain below the slowest service rate, to avoid reaching unacceptable delays. An increase of >100× is observed in the delay, using the realistic network setup, when these conditions do not hold.This work was supported in part by the Spanish Government, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (MINECO-FEDER), through the Project FIERCE: Future Internet Enabled Resilient smart CitiEs under Grant RTI2018-093475-AI00; and in part by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (FlexNets) under Grant 64715

Systemic Candidiasis and TLR2 Agonist Exposure Impact the Antifungal Response of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells

We have previously demonstrated that Candida albicans induces differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) toward the myeloid lineage both in vitro and in vivo in a TLR2- and Dectin-1-dependent manner, giving rise to functional macrophages. In this work, we used an ex vivo model to investigate the functional consequences for macrophages derived from HSPCs in vivo-exposed to Pam3CSK4 (a TLR2 agonist) or C. albicans infection. Short in vivo treatment of mice with Pam3CSK4 results in a tolerized phenotype of ex vivo HSPC-derived macrophages, whereas an extended Pam3CSK4 treatment confers a trained phenotype. Early during candidiasis, HSPCs give rise to macrophages trained in their response to Pam3CSK4 and with an increased fungicidal activity; however, as the infection progresses to higher fungal burden, HSPC-derived macrophages become tolerized, while their fungicidal capacity is maintained. These results demonstrate that memory-like innate immune responses, already described for monocytes and macrophages, also take place in HSPCs. Interestingly, extended Pam3CSK4 treatment leads to an expansion of spleen HSPCs and myeloid cells, and drastically reduces the fungal burden in the kidney and spleen during systemic C. albicans infection. This protection against tissue invasion is abrogated by immunodepletion of HSPCs, suggesting their protective role against infection in this model. In addition, HSPCs produce in vitro cytokines and chemokines in response to C. albicans and Pam3CSK4, and these secretomes are capable of inducing myeloid differentiation of HSPCs and modulating peritoneal macrophage cytokine responses. Taken together, these data assign an active role for HSPCs in sensing pathogens during infection and in contributing to host protection by diverse mechanisms

Relative Handgrip Strength as Marker of Cardiometabolic Risk in Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

This study aimed to examine the association of relative handgrip strength (rHGS) with cardiometabolic disease risk factors in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: Seventy-seven women with SLE (mean age 43.2, SD 13.8) and clinical stability during the previous six months were included. Handgrip strength was assessed with a digital dynamometer and rHGS was defined as absolute handgrip strength (aHGS) divided by body mass index (BMI). We measured blood pressure, markers of lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation (high sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP]), arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity [PWV]), and renal function. A clustered cardiometabolic risk index (z-score) was computed. Results: Pearson0 s bivariate correlations revealed that higher rHGS was associated with lower systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglycerides, hs-CRP, PWV, and lower clustered cardiometabolic risk (rrange = from −0.43 to −0.23; all p < 0.05). Multivariable linear regression analyses adjusted for age, disease activity (SLEDAI), and accrual damage (SDI) confirmed these results (all p < 0.05) except for triglycerides. Conclusions: The findings suggest that higher rHGS is significantly associated with lower cardiometabolic risk in women with SLE.Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía (grant numbers: PI-0525-2016 and PIER-0223-2019)Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU15/00002)Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FPU18/01107)Gerty Cory pre-doctoral program for deficit areas at the University of Almerí

Trace Elements and Ferritin in Pig Saliva : Variations during Fattening, Time of Sampling, Effect of Dirtiness and Stability under Different Storage Conditions

Altres ajuts: The European Next Generation Funds RYC2021-033660-IThe objective of this study was to evaluate the possible changes of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and ferritin during the entire productive cycle in fattening pigs and at different diurnal sampling times. Moreover, the possible effects of the presence of pen contaminants and storage stability at different temperature conditions were assessed. The analytes changed along the different phases of the fattening productive cycle, showing, in general, higher values at the initial phases. In addition, statistically significant variations were found in Zn and Cu measurements at different sampling times of the day. In the spectrophotometric assays, the values of all analytes significantly increased after adding high concentrations of feces or feed. However, when low concentrations of feces or feed were added, only Cu showed a significant increase. Overall, the salivary levels of Zn, Cu, Fe and ferritin in pigs can change during different fattening phases and the different hours of the day. These analytes were more stable at −80 °C and, if saliva is contaminated with feces or feed, it can lead to an increase in these analytes

Unification of Treatments and Interventions for Tinnitus Patients (UNITI): a study protocol for a multi-center randomized clinical trial

The UNITI project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (grant agreement number 848261).Background: Tinnitus represents a relatively common condition in the global population accompanied by various comorbidities and severe burden in many cases. Nevertheless, there is currently no general treatment or cure, presumable due to the heterogeneity of tinnitus with its wide variety of etiologies and tinnitus phenotypes. Hence, most treatment studies merely demonstrated improvement in a subgroup of tinnitus patients. The majority of studies are characterized by small sample sizes, unstandardized treatments and assessments, or applications of interventions targeting only a single organ level. Combinatory treatment approaches, potentially targeting multiple systems as well as treatment personalization, might provide remedy and enhance treatment responses. The aim of the present study is to systematically examine established tinnitus therapies both alone and in combination in a large sample of tinnitus patients. Further, it wants to provide the basis for personalized treatment approaches by evaluating a specific decision support system developed as part of an EU-funded collaborative project (Unification of treatments and interventions for tinnitus patients; UNITI project). Methods/study design: This is a multi-center parallel-arm randomized clinical trial conducted at five different clinical sites over the EU. The effect of four different tinnitus therapy approaches (sound therapy, structured counseling, hearing aids, cognitive behavioral therapy) applied over a time period of 12 weeks as a single or rather a combinatory treatment in a total number of 500 chronic tinnitus patients will be investigated. Assessments and interventions are harmonized over the involved clinical sites. The primary outcome measure focuses on the domain tinnitus distress assessed via the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Discussion: Results and conclusions from the current study might not only provide an essential contribution to combinatory and personalized treatment approaches in tinnitus but could also provide more profound insights in the heterogeneity of tinnitus, representing an important step towards a cure for tinnitus.European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program 84826

Condrodisplasia punctata: a propósito de un caso neonatal

Se presenta el caso de un neonato de ocho días de nacido que sufre de condrodisplasia punctata, una displasia esquelética infrecuente que muestra características radiológicas de calcificaciones puntiformes del cartílago en las epífisis y en las vértebras, acompañadas de defectos oculares, dermatológicos, alteraciones del sistema nervioso central y retardo del crecimiento. Se abordan los hallazgos clínicos y radiológicos para su diagnóstico

Institutional Adaptation to Changing Risk of Water Scarcity in the Lower Guadalquivir Basin

Historically, the Spanish water management model's predominate goal has been resource augmentation. This mindset has had important consequences for the system's capacity to cope with droughts. It has impacted the system's overall vulnerability, the discourse of scarcity, the conceptualisation of risk and the stakeholders' interests and their approach to risk. The aim of this article is to present the traditional hydraulic paradigm, its current crisis and implications for present and future risk management, and to explore stakeholder and institutional reactions and adaptation to changing risk scenarios. The adaptation process will be framed within the wider context of macro-trends, such as marketisation and re-scaling of institutions and global warming

Sistema de soporte a la toma de decisiones para el análisis multifractal del genoma humano

En este artículo se presenta el modelo de datos multidimensional de dos data marts que forman parte de un Sistema de Soporte a la Toma de Decisiones en el área de la Genómica, el cual está basado en tecnologías de Bodegas de datos y OLAP. El primer data mart está relacionado con el “Análisis de unidades de información”, que permite almacenar y consultar información sobre las unidades de información (Exón o Intrón) en la estructura de un gen, el orden y la posición inicial y final de las unidades de información. El segundo data mart llamado “Análisis fractal” permite almacenar y consultar información sobre los genes, por ejemplo, el número de unidades de información y longitud del gen, y medidas adicionales obtenidas del análisis fractal realizadas por una investigación previa. Finalmente, se presentan los problemas durante el proceso de cargue de datos y el modelado de los datos, junto con las soluciones planteadas a los mismos, y algunas interfaces de la herramienta desarrollada