Ventilatory function in young adults and dietary antioxidant intake

Artículo de publicación ISIDietary antioxidants may protect against poor ventilatory function. We assessed the relation between ventilatory function and antioxidant components of diet in young Chileans. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the ratio FEV1/FVC were measured in 1232 adults aged 22-28 years, using a Vitalograph device. Dietary intake was ascertained with a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) designed for this study, from which nutrient and flavonoid intakes were estimated. Dietary patterns were derived with Principal Component Analysis (PCA). After controlling for potential confounders, dietary intake of total catechins was positively associated with FVC (Regression coefficient (RC) of highest vs. lowest quintile of intake 0.07; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.15; p per trend 0.006). Total fruit intake was related to FVC (RC of highest vs. lowest quintile 0.08; 95% CI 0.003 to 0.15; p per trend 0.02). Intake of omega 3 fatty acids was associated with a higher FEV1 (RC for highest vs. lowest quintile 0.08; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.15 L; p per trend 0.02) and with FVC 0.08 (RC in highest vs. lowest quintile of intake 0.08, 95% CI 0.001 to 0.16; p per trend 0.04). Our results show that fresh fruits, flavonoids, and omega 3 fatty acids may contribute to maintain ventilatory function.Wellcome Trust 059448Z

Empirical research on youth transitions to and within the labour market

The research project aimed to provide research outcomes on the magnitude of youth transitions, the main drivers and barriers of youth transitions and potential long-term outcomes (‘scarring’) on people’s subsequent employment trajectories. This report summarises the evidence obtained by making use of a range of individual-level data sets and methods, in particular: • An analysis of Labour Force Survey (LFS) data creating pseudo-cohorts to examine long-term education and labour market trends affecting 16-to-24 year olds from 39 different birth cohorts and subsequent employment trajectories. • An analysis of the ‘Ad Hoc module’ of 2009 from the European Labour Force Survey (EU:LFS) on ‘Youth Transitions’ on individual long-term outcomes of particular youth labour market transitions. • An analysis of various cohort studies (National Child Development Study [NCDS], British Cohort Study [BCS], Youth Cohort Study [YCS], Longitudinal Study of Young People in England [LSYPE]) comparing the episodes young people experience when making transitions into the labour market in youth and early adulthood. This study uses sequential analysis for individual monthly panel data to describe biographies of young people until the age of 25 (based on BCS and NCDS) and until the age of 19 (for YCS and LSYPE). • An analysis of the transition from secondary schooling to further destinations using a recent cohort of School Leavers National Pupil Data (NPD) merged to records of National Client Casework Information System (NCCIS) on young people’s activities after the end of compulsory education including econometric models on drivers and barriers of particular transitions

Changes in symptoms of asthma and rhinitis by sensitization status over ten years in a cohort of young Chilean adults

BACKGROUND: We investigated the net changes in prevalence of symptoms of asthma and rhinitis over 10 years in a cohort of young by baseline sensitization status. METHODS: One thousand one hundred ninety three Chilean adults subjects aged 22-28 living in a semi-rural area of central Chile answered a lifestyle and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) questionnaires. Bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) and skin prick test (SPT) to eight allergens were measured at baseline in 2001. Ten years later, 772 participants completed the questionnaires again. Estimates of adjusted net changes in prevalence of symptoms by sensitization status at baseline and association between sensitization status at baseline and respiratory symptoms ten years later were assessed. RESULTS: A quarter of the participants were sensitized to at least one allergen in 2001. Prevalence of wheeze had a net change per year of -0.37 % (95 % Confidence Interval -0.71 to 0.02 %; p = 0.067). Self-reported nasal allergies in the last 12 months increased by 0.83 % per year (95 % CI 0.49 to 1.17 %; p < 0.001). Those sensitized to either cat fur (OR 1.76; CI 1.01 to 3.05), cockroach, (OR 2.09; 1.13 to 3.86) blend of grass and pollens (1.78; 95 % CI 1.08 to 2.92), or weeds (OR 1.77; 95 % CI 1.01 to 3.12) in 2001 were more likely to have wheeze in the last 12 months 10 years later. CONCLUSION: Symptoms of asthma remained stable or slightly changed over 10 years in adults, whilst rhinitis and nasal allergies greatly increased. Being sensitized to at least one allergen is a risk factor for persistent symptoms of asthma and rhinitis, but not for determining net changes of symptoms over time. The underlying causes for the contrasting trends between asthma and nasal allergy are unknow

Yard-Sale exchange on networks: Wealth sharing and wealth appropriation

Yard-Sale (YS) is a stochastic multiplicative wealth-exchange model with two phases: a stable one where wealth is shared, and an unstable one where wealth condenses onto one agent. YS is here studied numerically on 1d rings, 2d square lattices, and random graphs with variable average coordination, comparing its properties with those in mean field (MF). Equilibrium properties in the stable phase are almost unaffected by the introduction of a network. Measurement of decorrelation times in the stable phase allow us to determine the critical interface with very good precision, and it turns out to be the same, for all networks analyzed, as the one that can be analytically derived in MF. In the unstable phase, on the other hand, dynamical as well as asymptotic properties are strongly network-dependent. Wealth no longer condenses on a single agent, as in MF, but onto an extensive set of agents, the properties of which depend on the network. Connections with previous studies of coalescence of immobile reactants are discussed, and their analytic predictions are successfully compared with our numerical results.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to JSTA

Metodología DID-Matching aplicada a la política pública de promoción de exportaciones

This article shows how the Did Matching Methodology as an impact evaluation tool can be applied to a specific exportation public policyinstrument, called Export Marketing Assistance (EMA). The article presents a study in which 59 export firms of the Araucanía region in Chile were analyzed. The results show a positive relationship between export performance and exportation public policy instrument used. However, this relationship is not statistically significant.El artículo presenta una metodología de evaluación de impacto de instrumentos de políticas públicas, aplicados al marketing internacinoal. Específicamente, se aplica esta metodología a la Asistencia de Marketing de Exportación (AME) a un grupo de 59 empresas exportadores en la región de La Araucanía. Los resultados muestran que las empresas que utilizaron los instrumentos lograron un mejor desempeño exportador relativo a aquellas que no los utilizaron.No obstante lo anterior, los resultados no presentan diferencias estadísticamente significativas

Early careers on ecohydraulics:Challenges, opportunities and future directions

Early career researchers (ECRs) play a critical role in our knowledge-based society, yet they are the most vulnerable group in the scientific community. As a young, interdisciplinary science, ecohydraulics is particularly reliant on ECRs for future progress. In 2014, the Early Careers on Ecohydraulics Network (ECoENet) was created to help the development of young researchers in this field. In this paper, we synthesize the outcomes of a workshop for ECRs organized by ECoENet in February 2016. We aim to show how the potential of ECRs can be maximized to drive progress in ecohydraulics. According to the most recent entrants to the field, major challenges lie in becoming more integrated as a discipline, developing a common vocabulary and a collective vision, engaging effectively with policy-makers, and encouraging public participation. ECRs need to develop their careers on an international scale in a way that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries, including the social sciences, and allows them time to work at fundamental levels rather than focusing solely on individual applications. We propose a strategy to facilitate this by providing: a platform for disseminating research; an international support network; and a set of services for enhancing ECR training and experience. Early career researchers; interdisciplinary science; ecohydraulics; society; ecology; hydraulicsacceptedVersio

Grain refinement of deoxidized copper

This study reports the current status of grain refinement of copper accompanied in particular by a critical appraisal of grain refinement of phosphorus-deoxidized, high residual P (DHP) copper microalloyed with 150 ppm Ag. Some deviations exist in terms of the growth restriction factor (Q) framework, on the basis of empirical evidence reported in the literature for grain size measurements of copper with individual additions of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.5 wt pct of Mo, In, Sn, Bi, Sb, Pb, and Se, cast under a protective atmosphere of pure Ar and water quenching. The columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) has been observed in copper, with an individual addition of 0.4B and with combined additions of 0.4Zr-0.04P and 0.4Zr-0.04P-0.015Ag and, in a previous study, with combined additions of 0.1Ag-0.069P (in wt pct). CETs in these B- and Zr-treated casts have been ascribed to changes in the morphology and chemistry of particles, concurrently in association with free solute type and availability. No further grain-refining action was observed due to microalloying additions of B, Mg, Ca, Zr, Ti, Mn, In, Fe, and Zn (~0.1 wt pct) with respect to DHP-Cu microalloyed with Ag, and therefore are no longer relevant for the casting conditions studied. The critical microalloying element for grain size control in deoxidized copper and in particular DHP-Cu is Ag

Mapper of the IGM Spin Temperature (MIST): Instrument Overview

The observation of the global 21 cm signal produced by neutral hydrogen gas in the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the Dark Ages, Cosmic Dawn, and Epoch of Reionization requires measurements with extremely well-calibrated wideband radiometers. We describe the design and characterization of the Mapper of the IGM Spin Temperature (MIST), which is a new ground-based, single-antenna, global 21 cm experiment. The design of MIST was guided by the objectives of avoiding systematics from an antenna ground plane and cables around the antenna, as well as maximizing the instrument's on-sky efficiency and portability for operations at remote sites. We have built two MIST instruments, which observe in the range 25-105 MHz. For the 21 cm signal, this frequency range approximately corresponds to redshifts 55.5 > z > 12.5, encompassing the Dark Ages and Cosmic Dawn. The MIST antenna is a horizontal blade dipole of 2.42 m in length, 60 cm in width, and 52 cm in height above the ground. This antenna operates without a metal ground plane. The instruments run on 12 V batteries and have a maximum power consumption of 17 W. The batteries and electronics are contained in a single receiver box located under the antenna. We present the characterization of the instruments using electromagnetic simulations and lab measurements. We also show sample sky measurements from recent observations at remote sites in California, Nevada, and the Canadian High Arctic. These measurements indicate that the instruments perform as expected. Detailed analyses of the sky measurements are left for future work.Comment: Comments welcom