77823 research outputs found
Sort by
Cascade valorization of hazelnut industry by-products for industrial use through co-creative processes
No full textEvery year tons of hazelnut residues, like shell and skin, are produced because of the necessity of processing to be introduced into the food chain. Hazelnut by-products have an attractive economic valorization; however, despite their good properties and multiple opportunities, they are currently being used for low-value applications. Main objective of this study is the promotion and valorization of agri-food residues, such as hazelnut shell and skin. To this end, the proposed methodology, which also allows the properties and potential applications of the material to be known, has been used to develop novel concepts with high-added value using co-creative eco-ideation techniques.
A creative ideation activity, divided in preparation, conceptualization, generation and evaluation, were done with experts from different fields to develop new concepts and solutions. Creative sessions were satisfying; participants exchanged their knowledge and create a good atmosphere where many quality ideas to valorize the residues were generated. Adjustment of the evaluation session allowed to achieve very positive and complete results. Concepts generated in this project draw on the good properties of hazelnut residues and valorize the material in different sectors such as water treatment, bio-composites manufacturing or feed and food production; creating innovative products with many opportunities to be developed and implemented in the market
Optimal dose and pattern of physical activity to prevent diagnosed depression: prospective cohort study
Get PDFBackground:Little is known about the dose and pattern of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to prevent depression. We aimed to assess the prospective association of dose and pattern of accelerometer-derived MVPA with the risk of diagnosed depression.
Methods: We included 74,715 adults aged 40–69 years from the UK Biobank cohort who were free of severe disease at baseline and participated in accelerometer measurements (mean age 55.2 years [SD 7.8]; 58% women). MVPA at baseline was derived through 1-week wrist-worn accelerometry. Diagnosed depression was defined by hospitalization with ICD-10 codes F32.0-F32.A. Restricted cubic splines and Cox regression determined the prospective association of dose and pattern of MVPA with the risk of incident depression.
Results:Over a median 7.9-year follow-up, there were 3,089 (4.1%) incident cases of depression. Higher doses of MVPA were curvilinearly associated with lower depression risk, with the largest minute-per-minute added benefits occurring between 5 (HR 0.99 [95% CI 0.96–0.99]) and 280 (HR 0.67 [95% CI 0.60–0.74]) minutes per week (reference: 0 MVPA minutes).
Conclusion: Regardless of pattern, higher doses of MVPA were associated with lower depression risk in a curvilinear manner, with the greatest incremental benefit per minute occurring during the first 4–5 h per week. Optimal benefits occurred around 15 h/week
A new mediterranean lifestyle pyramid for children and youth: a critical lifestyle tool for preventing obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases in a sustainable context
Get PDFCardiovascular disease risk factors begin in childhood and track into adulthood, increasing the possibility of impaired cardiometabolic health. Adopting healthy dietary patterns can help curb childhood obesity, a worrisome epidemic problem at present. In the era of personalized nutrition, dietary recommendations should be adapted to different stages of life, including children (older than 3 y) and adolescents. In this study, we present an updated version of the Mediterranean Lifestyle Pyramid addressed to children and adolescents, which may be used as a prevention tool by health professionals, teachers, and stakeholders. This pyramid arises from a consensus position between participants in an International Congress on Mediterranean diet held in Barcelona. During this meeting, after reviewing all literature published, a consensus was reached on the new Mediterranean Lifestyle Pyramid for kids including details such as labels of the pyramid, position of foods, servings, type of foods, and healthy lifestyle habits. All components of the pyramid are supported by the most recent scientifically sound research and are based upon top-level evidence in nutritional sciences. Fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, wholegrains, and extra-virgin olive oil continue to be at the basis of the pyramid, but the importance of an adequate intake of fish, dairy products, and meat during these particular ages, when body and brain development occurs, is also considered. The promotion of physical activity, adequate sleep, and good emotional health are emphasized, as well as the consumption of seasonal and local products, and overall sustainability. Improving dietary habits in early stages of life should increase health in adulthood and reduce future incidence of noncommunicable chronic diseases. The Mediterranean diet and its graphic representation in the Lifestyle Pyramid should be a health-fostering tool not only for adults and children but also for the entire planet because it promotes the diversity of species, respect for the earth, and the local economy
Validation of ultrasound for quantification of knee meniscal tissue: a cadaveric study
Get PDFBackground: While MRI is the gold standard for meniscal assessment, its cost and accessibility limitations have led to growing interest in ultrasound, though its validity for quantifying meniscal tissue remains unclear. To validate the use of ultrasound in quantifying meniscal tissue across the anterior, middle, and posterior regions of both menisci (medial and lateral) in longitudinal and transverse planes by comparison with cadaveric dissection. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on ten cryopreserved anatomical donors, obtaining a total of 120 ultrasound scans from the different meniscal regions. Following ultrasound imaging, cadaveric dissection was performed to facilitate photometric measurements, thereby enabling validation of the ultrasound findings. The intra-examiner reliability of the ultrasound measurements was also assessed. Results: The intra-examiner reliability of ultrasound measurements ranged from moderate to excellent. A strong and statistically significant positive correlation was observed between ultrasound and photometric measurements across all meniscal regions (r > 0.821; p < 0.05). In the medial meniscus, ultrasound visualized 99.1% of the anterior region (8.71 mm with ultrasound; 8.64 mm with photometry), 96.3% of the middle region (9.09 mm with ultrasound; 9.39 mm with photometry), and 98.5% of the posterior region (10.54 mm with ultrasound; 10.61 mm with photometry). In the lateral meniscus, ultrasound visualized 107.1% of the anterior region, 105.1% of the middle region, and 97.8% of the posterior region. The observed excess in tissue visualization in some regions likely reflects the inclusion of adjacent connective tissue, indistinguishable from meniscal tissue on ultrasound. Conclusions: Ultrasound is a valid and reliable modality for visualizing most meniscal tissue across regions, with a measurement discrepancy under 0.7 mm compared to anatomical dissection. However, caution is advised as adjacent connective tissue may sometimes be misidentified as meniscal tissue during evaluations
Markov-bridge generation of transition paths and its application to cell-fate choice
Get PDFWe present a method to sample Markov-chain trajectories constrained to both the initial and final conditions, which we term Markov bridges. The trajectories are conditioned to end in a specific state at a given time. We derive the master equation for Markov bridges, which exhibits the original transition rates scaled by a time-dependent factor. Trajectories can then be generated using a refined version of the Gillespie algorithm. We illustrate the benefits of our method by sampling trajectories in the Müller-Brown potential. This allows us to generate transition paths which would otherwise be obtained at a high computational cost with standard kinetic Monte Carlo methods because commitment to a transition path is essentially a rare event. We then apply our method to a single-cell RNA sequencing dataset from mouse pancreatic cells to investigate the cell differentiation pathways of endocrine-cell precursors. By sampling Markov bridges for a specific differentiation pathway, we obtain a time-resolved dynamics that can reveal features such as cell types which behave as bottlenecks. The ensemble of trajectories also gives information about the fluctuations around the most likely path. For example, we quantify the statistical weights of different branches in the differentiation pathway to alpha cells
"Nostalgias que residen": identidad en la obra de Khédija Gadhoum y Farah Jerari
Get PDFLa poesía de la diáspora de la llamada “literatura hispanomagrebí” está marcada, en especial, por la hibridez. Este artículo se centrará en analizar la articulación de la identidad en la obra poética de dos integrantes de este conjunto: Khédija Gadhoum y Farah Jerari. El cotejo revela que, por un lado, la estadounidense-tunecina basa su proyecto poético en la temática de la migración y en la deconstrucción de la memoria, mientras que el de Jerari propone un viaje para deconstruir su identidad. Tras resaltar los puntos comunes de las obras de dos autoras tan diferentes, se valorará con la posibilidad de vincularlas con el macrocontexto de la poesía de la diáspora
Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors according to Life's Essential 8 in children and adolescents during the <scp>COVID</scp>-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis including 1¿526¿173 participants from 42 countries
Get PDFSummaryIntroductionCardiovascular health is a crucial aspect of overall health. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents during the COVID‐19 pandemic based on the Life's Essential 8 domains.MethodsPubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically searched until 24 February 2023. Studies had to meet the following criteria: (1) observational studies, (2) studies reporting proportion of selected risk factors, (3) studies involving children or adolescents, (4) studies that collected data during the COVID‐19 pandemic and (5) studies with representative samples. The outcomes included were diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, obesity, dyslipidaemia, diabetes and elevated blood pressure.ResultsSixty‐two studies with 1 526 173 participants from 42 countries were included. Of these, 41 studies were used in the meta‐analyses. The overall pooled prevalence of risk factors in the behavioural domain was as follows: poor quality diet 26.69% (95% CI 0.00%–85.64%), inadequate physical activity 70.81% (95% CI 64.41%–76.83%), nicotine exposure 9.24% (95% CI 5.53%–13.77%) and sleep disorders 33.49% (95% CI 25.24%–42.28%). The overall pooled prevalence of risk factors in the health domain was as follows: obesity 16.21% (95% CI 12.71%–20.04%), dyslipidaemia 1.87% (95% CI 1.73%–2.01%), diabetes 1.17% (95% CI 0.83%–1.58%) and elevated blood pressure 11.87% (95% CI 0.26%–36.50%).ConclusionsThese results highlight the need for prevention strategies to maintain better cardiovascular health from an early age, particularly by increasing physical activity levels, sleep time and promoting the consumption of more fruits and vegetables
Intraskeletal histovariability and skeletochronology in an ornithopod dinosaur from the Maestrazgo Basin (Teruel, Spain)
No full textOrnithopods are an extinct group of dinosaurs that were particularly abundant and diverse in the Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula, and whose abundance in the Maestrazgo Basin has allowed numerous taxa to be identified over the last decade. Many of these fossil remains are still taxonomically indeterminate and require a more detailed study on both a macroscopic and microscopic scale. In this contribution, an osteohistological analysis is carried out on a partial skeleton—composed of five incomplete vertebrae, two dorsal ribs, an ischium, a fibula, and a tibia—found in the province of Aliaga (Teruel, NE Spain). We identified a progressive slowdown in tissue apposition and a variation in the type of growth marks generated in every bone, allowing a more precise identification of the ontogenetic stage of the specimen as a subadult individual. The skeletochronological correlation between the different elements also suggests that the specimen reached sexual maturity at around seven years of age and died between nine and twelve years of age. Likewise, the usefulness of the three‐front model is proven for the first time in an ornithopod dinosaur, as a tool for analysing the histology expressed by the different bone elements of a single specimen and inferring their skeletochronological potential. Comparison with other ornithopod taxa reveals the great variability that each bone element shows depending on the taxon analysed, which prevents us from determining a single element suitable for studying the skeletochronology of any ornithopod taxon
Aberrometric, Geometrical, and Biomechanical Characterization of Sound-Induced Vibrational Modes of the Living Human Cornea
Get PDFRepeatable and reliable assessment of corneal biomechanics with spatial resolution remains a challenge. Vibrational Optical Computerized Tomography (V-OCT), based on sound-wave elastography, has made it possible to investigate the natural resonant modes of the cornea and obtain the elastic moduli non-invasively. This pilot study presents a characterization of four corneal vibrational modes from aberrometric, geometrical, and biomechanical approaches in the living human cornea of five healthy volunteers by combining a corneal sound-wave generator, dual Placido–Scheimpflug corneal imaging, and the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) devices. Sound-induced corneal wavefront aberration maps were reconstructed as a function of sound frequency and isolated from the natural state. While maps of low-order aberrations (LOA) revealed symmetric geometrical patterns, those corresponding to high-order aberrations (HOA) showed complex non-symmetric patterns. Corneal geometry was evaluated by reconstructing corneal elevation maps through biconical fitting, and the elastic and viscous components were calculated by applying the standard linear solid model to the ORA measurements. The results showed that sound-wave modulation can increase high-order corneal aberrations significantly. Two frequencies rendered the corneal shape more prolate (50 Hz) and oblate (150 Hz) with respect to the baseline, respectively. Finally, both the elastic and viscous properties are sensitive to sound-induced vibrational modes, which can also modulate the corneal stress-strain response. The cornea exhibits natural resonant modes influenced by its optical, structural, and biomechanical properties
Inquiring in the science classroom by PBL: A design-based research study
Get PDFThe aim of this study has been the design and evaluation of a sequence of activities that promotes the development of scientific skills in secondary school. For this purpose, design-based research was conducted using a problem-solving methodology to learn as a tool to engage in scientific inquiry practice. The research was structured around the design, implementation, and evaluation phases, with specific tools created to assess both student learning outcomes and the validity of the TLS. These tools helped identify the performance levels achieved by students in the various stages of scientific inquiry, from formulating hypotheses to interpreting data, and also allowed for the evaluation of the teaching methodology’s effectiveness. The results indicated that the TLS significantly enhanced students’ scientific competence by promoting skills related to scientific inquiry, such as hypothesis formulation, variable identification, observation, data collection, and interpretation. Additionally, the use of a weather station as the central topic provided a context closely tied to the students’ local environment, which facilitated deeper engagement and understanding. The evaluation revealed that students progressed in their scientific inquiry skills, moving from “pre-scientific” to “uncertain inquirer” performance levels. While challenges such as initial disorientation and difficulties in representing experimental data were observed, the overall performance of students demonstrated the success of the TLS. Furthermore, the students worked collaboratively, contributing their individual skills and experiences to achieve group goals. This study provides valuable insights into the potential of TLS as an alternative to traditional teaching methods, offering an innovative way to assess and enhance students’ scientific skills. It also highlights the importance of teacher guidance in inquiry-based activities and suggests that future projects could benefit from allowing students to choose the topic, further enhancing their motivation and engagement