Influence of seasonal factors in the earned value of construction

[EN] The objectives in each construction process can be multiple. However, the constructions have to be carried out under some restrictions concerning price and terms. They constitute some strategic and interdependent goals. In other words, ¿time is money¿. Several papers support that seasonal effects influence the execution rate of construction. Thus, most of them try to improve the forecasts by evaluating and joining them to the planning, although always measuring their influence indirectly. In this paper, we suggest a methodology to directly measure the influence of the seasonal factors as a whole over the earned value of construction. Additionally, we apply it to a certain case study regarding the subsidised housing of public promotion in the Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain). It is worth mentioning that our results are clarified: we have calculated the average monthly production for each month a year with respect to the annual monthly mean. Moreover, the differences regarding the average monthly production we have contributed are quite significant, and hence they have to be taken into account for each earned value forecast so that a project becomes reliable.The authors would like to thank Gicaman SA, Eres SA, and Urvial SA (construction companies) by the cession of their outcome data corresponding to 161 public promotions that gave rise to 5,319 subsidised housing.Ruiz-Fernández, JP.; Benlloch Marco, J.; López, MA.; Valverde-Gascueña, N. (2019). Influence of seasonal factors in the earned value of construction. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences. 4(1):21-34. https://doi.org/10.2478/AMNS.2019.1.00003S213441Koehn, E., & Brown, G. (1985). Climatic Effects on Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 111(2), 129-137. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(1985)111:2(129)El-Rayes, K., & Moselhi, O. (2001). Impact of Rainfall on the Productivity of Highway Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 127(2), 125-131. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9364(2001)127:2(125)Kenley, R., & Wilson, O. D. (1989). A construction project net cash flow model. Construction Management and Economics, 7(1), 3-18. doi:10.1080/01446198900000002Skitmore, M. (1992). Parameter prediction for cash flow forecasting models. Construction Management and Economics, 10(5), 397-413. doi:10.1080/01446199200000038Chan, D. W. M., & Kumaraswamy, M. M. (1995). A study of the factors affecting construction durations in Hong Kong. Construction Management and Economics, 13(4), 319-333. doi:10.1080/01446199500000037Kaka, A. P., & Price, A. D. F. (1993). Modelling standard cost commitment curves for contractors’ cash flow forecasting. Construction Management and Economics, 11(4), 271-283. doi:10.1080/01446199300000027Blyth, K., & Kaka, A. (2006). A novel multiple linear regression model for forecasting S‐curves. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 13(1), 82-95. doi:10.1108/09699980610646511Khosrowshahi, F., & Kaka, A. P. (2007). A Decision Support Model for Construction Cash Flow Management. Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, 22(7), 527-539. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8667.2007.00508.

Community pharmacy is the key to improving vitamin D levels

Introduction: Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient that participates in the body's fundamental physiological processes. The pharmacist should involve the patient in his medication adherence, leading to a change in the patient's attitude towards his medication and towards his health problem, in order to achieve the pharmacological objective set. Methods: Quasi-experimental multicenter study design with non-probabilistic convenience sampling. A pharmacist-led intervention in health educationwas carried out, divided in two groups, face-to-face interviewand on-line survey, and the results were evaluated 3 months later to observe if there was any change in the patient's health status or in their vitamin D levels. Results: The study was conducted in four pharmacies through face-to-face interviews (n=49 patients) and online surveys (n = 23). Pharmaceutical intervention improved habits of exercise (0.81 ± 1.44 days/week face-to-face interviews vs −0.09 ± 2.35 days/week online surveys (p = 0.048)). In face-to-face interviews, consumption of vitamin D-rich foods was increased (0.55 unit of tuna/week; p = 0.035 and 0.56 unit of avocado/week; p = 0.001) and was improved correct intake of vitamin D supplements (32.5% baseline to 69.8% at 3 months). The increase in 25- hydroxyvitamin D levels (11.5 ng/mL after 3 months (p = 0.021)) was correlated to salmon consumption (0.951; p = 0.013) and the improvement of quality of life was correlated to avocado consumption (1; p < 0.001). Conclusion: There are habits that improve vitamin D production such as increased physical activity, the correct use of vitamin D supplements and the consumption of foods with high vitamin D levels. The role of the pharmacist is crucial, involving the patient in the treatment making aware of the benefits for his/her health status of increasing vitamin D levels

Aproximación Proteómica al síndrome de apneas-hipopneas del sueño

Comunicaciones a congreso

Systemic Effects of Repeated Intraocular Dexamethasone Intravitreal Implant in Diabetic Patients: A Retrospective Study.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of repeated intraocular dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex) injections on metabolic control in type 2 diabetic patients. Retrospective study of 165 type 2 diabetic patients starting Ozurdex treatment who received no less than three consecutive injections. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum creatinine, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides (TGs) were evaluated during 15 months of follow-up after Ozurdex treatment onset. Fifty-seven patients met inclusion criteria. Mean baseline values for HbA1c, creatinine, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and TGs before treatment (7.1%, 1.3, 176.7, 51.1, and 125.6 mg/dl, respectively) were similar to mean values after Ozurdex onset (Wilcoxon test p values were 0.68, 0.41, 0.06, 0.87, and 0.33, respectively) and remained stable during the follow-up period. Mean LDL cholesterol levels increased slightly after Ozurdex treatment onset (90.1 vs 88.2 mg/dl, p = 0.04) but after 15 months of follow-up they had returned to baseline values. Transient increase in LDL cholesterol was remarkable in the group of 24 bilaterally treated patients (96.8 vs 88.4 mg/dl, p = 0.03). A third of these patients increased their baseline LDL values by more than 20%. Even with continuous injections of Ozurdex, LDL cholesterol levels also declined back to baseline by month 15. Ozurdex injections had no influence on HbA1c or renal function. Lipid profile changes were mild and transient. However, a significant temporary increase has been found in LDL cholesterol levels in patients receiving simultaneous bilateral injections. Lipid levels should be monitored in patients starting with bilateral Ozurdex injections especially in those with recent history of acute myocardial infarction

IAA : Información y actualidad astronómica (22)

Sumario : Estrellas binarias: un matrimonio muy ventajoso.-- Mujeres y ciencia: rompiendo techos.-- La estrella más masiva.-- DECONSTRUCCIÓN Y otros ENSAYOS : Criterios termodinámicos en la evolución de agujeros negros.-- ACTUALIDAD.-- ENTRE BASTIDORES.-- CIENCIA: PILARES E INCERTIDUMBRES. Núcleos de galaxias activas .-- HISTORIAS DE ASTRONOMÍA: “Serendipia” cósmica.-- El increíble y asombroso viaje de Fotón. II Parte.-- ACTIVIDADES IAA.Esta revista se publica con la ayuda de la Acción Complementaria CCT005-06-00178 del Programa Nacional de Fomento de la Cultura Científica y Tecnológica.N

Ulva spp. (Ulvales, Chlorophyta) en sistemas de acuicultura multitrófica integrada en recirculación

Postprint (published version

Metformin reduces macrophage HIF1α-dependent proinflammatory signaling to restore brown adipocyte function in vitro

© 2021 The Authors.Therapeutic potential of metformin in obese/diabetic patients has been associated to its ability to combat insulin resistance. However, it remains largely unknown the signaling pathways involved and whether some cell types are particularly relevant for its beneficial effects. M1-activation of macrophages by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) promotes a paracrine activation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) in brown adipocytes which reduces insulin signaling and glucose uptake, as well as β-adrenergic sensitivity. Addition of metformin to M1-polarized macrophages blunted these signs of brown adipocyte dysfunction. At the molecular level, metformin inhibits an inflammatory program executed by HIF1α in macrophages by inducing its degradation through the inhibition of mitochondrial complex I activity, thereby reducing oxygen consumption in a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-independent manner. In obese mice, metformin reduced inflammatory features in brown adipose tissue (BAT) such as macrophage infiltration, proinflammatory signaling and gene expression, and restored the response to cold exposure. In conclusion, the impact of metformin on macrophages by suppressing a HIF1α-dependent proinflammatory program is likely responsible for a secondary beneficial effect on insulin-mediated glucose uptake and β-adrenergic responses in brown adipocytes.This work was funded by grants RTI2018-094052-B-100 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER) , S2017/BMD-3684 (Comunidad de Madrid, Spain), Fundación Ramón Areces (Spain) and CIBERdem (ISCIII) to A.M.V., grant S2010/BMD-2423 (Comunidad de Madrid, Spain) to M.J.O. and A.M.V., PID2019-106371RB-I00 (MCIN/ AEI /10.13039/501100011033/ FEDER) to J.A and PI16/00789 (ISCIII, Spain) to M.A.F.-M. We also acknowledge all members of AMV's laboratory for helpful discussions. M.F. and B.V were supported by Inserm, CNRS, Université de Paris, and Région Ile-de-France. We also acknowledge the EFSD Albert Reynolds travel grant fellowship to V.F

Corrigendum to: Comparative study of obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (OAPS) and non-criteria obstetric APS (NC-OAPS): report of 1640 cases from EUROAPS registry

Rheumatology 2020;59:1306–1314. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kez419 In the original article, the affiliation of co-author Cecilia Beatrice Chighizola should have read: “Experimental Laboratory of Immunological and Rheumatologic Researches, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Cusano Milanino, Milan, Italy”. These details have been corrected only in this corrigendum to preserve the published version of record

The impact of rehabilitation-oriented virtual reality device in patients with ischemic stroke in the early subacute recovery phase: Study protocol for a phase III, single-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial

Stroke is considered the most common cause of adult disability. Intensive rehabilitation protocols outperform nonintensive counterparts. The subacute stroke phase represents a potential window to recovery. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to provide a more stimulating environment, allowing for increased patient compliance. However, the quality of current literature comparing VR with standard therapies is limited. Our aim is to measure the impact of VR versus standard therapy on the recovery of the upper limb motor function in patients with stroke in the early subacute recovery phase.; This is a randomized, controlled trial that will assign 262 patients to tailor-made standard rehabilitation (TMSR) or TMSR plus immersive VR device. The trial will be conducted in an urban rehabilitation clinic in the United States with expertise in the management of poststroke patients. Patients will be 18 to 70 years of age and in the early subacute period (30-90 days post ischemic stroke). The primary outcome will be the change of Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) score, measured at baseline and 13 weeks after randomization. The secondary outcome will be the change in the UK Functional Independence Measure and Functional Assessment Measure (UK FIM-FAM) score at the same time points.; If the use of VR in the rehabilitation of patients with stroke proves to have a significant impact on their motor recovery, it will constitute an extremely important step into decreasing the functional impairment associated with stroke and the related health care expense burden