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Abstract Background In primary health care, social prescribing is an important tool which is gaining popularity. It is being studied significantly, however there is not enough evidence about different related issues. The aim of this study is to analyse the differences by sex in the application of a social prescription protocol in Primary Care. Methods This is a cross-sectional study carried out with data from the Electronic Health Record between September 2018 and March 2021. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses of data from 2,109 records of Social Prescription protocol in primary health care centers located in Aragón in northern Spain (Europe) were performed using Jamovi Statistics software (version 2.3.28). The comparisons by sex were carried out using a Mann-Whitney U or chi-squared test to analyse differences. Results The protocol was used correctly 1,482 times, where it was applied more in females (74.8% female vs. 25.2% male). The median age in females was higher than males (female 72 vs. males 70; p = 0.003). There were significant differences by sex in several aspects to strengthen with the social prescribing, physical, emotional and relational skills. Most females and males regularly attended the recommended asset and there were significant differences in the group that never attended. Mean satisfaction was statistically different, with 4.74 points out of 5 for females and 4.86/5 for males (p = 0.010). It can be observed that older females in rural areas (OR = 34.15), whose social prescription acts on Emotional Skills and Relational and Social Skills (OR = 6.10–8.23), with good prior self-care and greater participant satisfaction (OR = 8.96), have greater chance of improving their health. Conclusions Some results showed sex differences in the use and outcomes of formal asset recommendation. However, further research is needed to assess the relationship between social prescription, sex and gender and their implications.

ABSTRACT This work presents a multi-hurdle approach that addresses antimicrobial resistance by minimizing the selective pressure of antimicrobials using a novel colicinogenic–phage system. We have created two synthetic T7 phages (T7-E1 and T7-M) by inserting the gene of colicin E1 (Cea) or colicin M (Cma) into the genome of the T7 phage, thereby adding an additional colicin-based hurdle to the T7 lytic cycle. The colicin–phages' efficacy in suppressing the outgrowth of a T7-resistant sub-population within a mixed culture of Escherichia coli was demonstrated using a challenge matrix design under planktonic and structured conditions. When T7-resistant cells were present at 1% of the total planktonic population, T7-E1 delayed the outgrowth. At 0.1% resistance, T7-M delayed resistant outgrowth, whereas T7-E1 suppressed the resistant sub-population. When T7-E1 and T7-M were combined into a triple-hurdle treatment, the T7-E1/T7-M cocktail completely suppressed a mixed planktonic population of 50% resistance cell concentrations. In structured environments, the colicin–phage treatments formed clear and confluent plaque-like zones of clearing in the mixed populations of 50% resistant cells with a lawn density of 1 × 106 CFU/mL. Reducing the lawn density to 1 × 105 CFU/mL diminished the multi-hurdle treatments' effectiveness, as demonstrated by localized zones of clearing within turbid bacterial lawns, highlighting the relationship between bacterial lawn density and phage effectiveness in structured environments. Fluctuation assays revealed persistence as the predominant mechanism for overcoming the treatments by T7-sensitive E. coli. Results indicate that T7-M treatment significantly reduces persister formation compared to WT-T7, while T7-E1 unexpectedly increases persister formation significantly. This suggests a complex relationship between antimicrobial stress and persister formation.IMPORTANCEAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant challenge in treating bacterial infections. To address this, we present a multi-hurdle approach that combines the power of different antimicrobials to target resistance. We have weaponized the natural predator of Escherichia coli, the T7-phage, by engineering it to produce toxins called colicins, resulting in a colicin–phage antimicrobial. This multi-hurdled approach aims to decrease resistance risk because survival requires different tactics to overcome the phage and colicin activity, thus adding a hurdle in a bacterium's pathway to resistance. In cases of pre-existing resistance, the colicin effectively controlled the sub-population resistant to the phage. When investigating the emergence of resistance, we discovered that antimicrobial persistence was the predominant survival strategy. These findings reveal an essential slice of the AMR pie by emphasizing bacterial survival tactics that are not based on resistance genes. By expanding our AMR lens to include persistence, we can more effectively address treatment failure.

In February and March of 2024, an unusual illness began affecting dairy herds primarily in Texas and neighboring states. The causative agent of this illness was ultimately confirmed in late March 2024 to be a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 belonging to clade 2.3.4.4b. In the months following the emergence of this viral disease in cattle, infections have spread to at least 191 herds in 13 states at the time of this writing in August 2024, primarily through cattle and human movement. Surprisingly, early examination of raw milk samples from clinically affected animals indicated that the virus had an affinity for the mammary tissue, and viral shedding into raw milk occurred at high levels, exceeding 108 log10 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) in some cases. These high viral loads coupled with evidence that farm cats who consumed raw milk from clinically ill animals were infected and exhibited high mortality rates, raised concerns about the safety of the US milk supply for human consumption. To date, 4 cow-associated human infections have been reported, all from farm employees with direct contact with infected animals. Several parameters ultimately affect the theoretical public health risk from consumption of dairy products manufactured from a milk supply containing H5N1, namely (1) initial viral load, (2) persistence of H5N1 in raw milk, (3) viral inactivation through processing practices including pasteurization, and (4) human susceptibility and infectious dose. In the short period since the emergence of this disease in dairy cattle in the United States, research has begun to answer these critical questions, although our knowledge is still quite limited at this time. Here we review the literature available from the current H5N1 outbreak in US dairy cattle, as well as selected relevant literature from previous research in other animal agriculture sectors, that affect our current understanding of the parameters associated with the food safety risk of this disease in the US dairy supply chain.

IntroductionExtracting beat-by-beat information from electrocardiograms (ECGs) is crucial for various downstream diagnostic tasks that rely on ECG-based measurements. However, these measurements can be expensive and time-consuming to produce, especially for long-term recordings. Traditional ECG detection and delineation methods, relying on classical signal processing algorithms such as those based on wavelet transforms, produce high-quality delineations but struggle to generalise to diverse ECG patterns. Machine learning (ML) techniques based on deep learning algorithms have emerged as promising alternatives, capable of achieving similar performance without handcrafted features or thresholds. However, supervised ML techniques require large annotated datasets for training, and existing datasets for ECG detection/delineation are limited in size and the range of pathological conditions they represent.MethodsThis article addresses this challenge by introducing two key innovations. First, we develop a synthetic data generation scheme that probabilistically constructs unseen ECG traces from “pools” of fundamental segments extracted from existing databases. A set of rules guides the arrangement of these segments into coherent synthetic traces, while expert domain knowledge ensures the realism of the generated traces, increasing the input variability for training the model. Second, we propose two novel segmentation-based loss functions that encourage the accurate prediction of the number of independent ECG structures and promote tighter segmentation boundaries by focusing on a reduced number of samples.ResultsThe proposed approach achieves remarkable performance, with a F1-score of 99.38% and delineation errors of 2.19±17.73 ms and 4.45±18.32 ms for ECG segment onsets and offsets across the P, QRS, and T waves. These results, aggregated from three diverse freely available databases (QT, LU, and Zhejiang), surpass current state-of-the-art detection and delineation approaches.DiscussionNotably, the model demonstrated exceptional performance despite variations in lead configurations, sampling frequencies, and represented pathophysiology mechanisms, underscoring its robust generalisation capabilities. Real-world examples, featuring clinical data with various pathologies, illustrate the potential of our approach to streamline ECG analysis across different medical settings, fostered by releasing the codes as open source.

In Structural Silicone Glazing (SSG) when applied to unitised curtain wall systems typical practice incorporates a pair of dead load plates intended to carry the glass self-weight and so avoid subjecting structural silicone to permanent shear. However in reality, due to the fabrication sequence and system behaviour some loads can occur which will be resisted permanently by the structural silicone. In a hung and sworded system (H&S), designers typically assume that slab deflection, or inter-story drift will cause a unitised panel to lift off from one support and so change the load path within it. To conform with this new load path, shear deformation will occur in the SSG joints. The deformation in the SSG joint will be permanent unless the supporting main structure returns to its original position. The structural performance of SSG joints subjected to permanent shear deformation in combination with short term loads is not adequately covered by any guidance. The aim of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the effect of the permanent shear deformation on SSG joints. Experimental tensile and shear testing has been carried out by Sika on H-specimens (Sikasil® SG-500) while imposing prescribed levels of shear deformation in combination with different accelerated aging conditions. The testing procedure, results and main conclusions are explained and summarised.

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is an in-development technology that enables predictability over Ethernet or wireless networks. Network interfaces compliant with the IEEE 802.1Qbv standard provide different queues/gates on each bridge egress port. In this way, a global network schedule can be set by defining the opening and closing times (Gate Control List, GCL) for each gate. In this paper, we propose a new method to schedule GCLs by dividing the problem into several subproblems. We use Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ) to set the ordering of frames, and then generate an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) model to optimize the TSN scenario. Next, we assign gates to the scheduled windows, trying to ensure frame isolation whenever possible. Our results show that we can schedule GCLs around 2 times faster than previous studies and up to 5.5 orders of magnitude faster if we choose to obtain any valid solution instead of the optimal one. In addition, we are able to schedule systems with utilization up to 85%, whereas previous papers reach 65%. Moreover, our approach does not need to predefine the number of windows or gates, as required by other methods.

AbstractTissue barrier permeability plays a crucial role in determining the selective transport of substances across epithelial tissues, including drugs, cosmetic substances, and chemicals. The ability of these substances to cross through tissue barriers affects their absorption into the bloodstream and ultimately their effectiveness. Therefore, the determination of their permeability on these type of tissue barriers represents a useful tool for pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries as well as for toxicological studies.In this regard, microfluidic devices and organ-on-chip technologies are becoming more important to generate reliable data. We have designed and performed an alternative new stratified epithelia-on-chip model that allows to correlate the Stokes radius and the diffusion of molecules and/or nanoformulations through the in vitro generated barrier and establish a system suitable for the analysis of diffusion through stratified epithelium. Thus, extrapolating from experimental data we can predict the Stokes radius for unknown fluorescent labelled particles within a molecular size range, such as gold nanoparticles.

This study aims to find out how the groups that form the education community (students, teachers, families) differ in terms of the various characteristics surrounding the cyberbullying phenomenon. To do this, we conducted research using a selective correlational and cross-sectional design to analyze relationships and differences among variables: defining cyberbullying, typology, involved roles, possible causes and coping strategies in the different groups. The study recruited 116 participants as follows: 51% were year-6 Primary Education students; 29% were students' family members; 20% were school teachers. We collected data through an "ad hoc" questionnaire that a group of experts had previously validated. The results of the data analysis showed that significant differences appeared in terms of: how typologies were perceived; the importance of roles; coping strategies for cyberbullying.

Resumen Objetivos: Conocer la calidad de vida, la capacidad funcional, psicológica y cognitiva de las personas mayores de 60 años con insuficiencia renal crónica según el tipo de tratamiento utilizado. Metodología: Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática de la literatura desde el 1 de enero de 2014 hasta el 29 de abril de 2020 utilizando las bases de datos PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect y Scopus, y siguiendo la metodología propuesta en Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Resultados: La calidad de vida abarca múltiples dimensiones y, aunque hay variedad de instrumentos para medirla, se obtienen resultados similares pero dispares, lo que no facilita la obtención de resultados universales de impacto. Las mujeres en hemodiálisis tienen peores resultados en el dominio físico y psicológico. No hay datos concluyentes en lo que se refiere a la mejora o empeoramiento de la calidad de vida con el paso de los años. El tratamiento conservador parece ser una alternativa que arroja mejores resultados en la calidad de vida frente a terapias como la diálisis, pero no en lo que se refiere a la tasa de supervivencia en edades comprendidas entre 70 y 80 años. Conclusiones: Sería adecuado medir la calidad de vida de forma estandarizada, al inicio del tratamiento, del mismo modo que otras variables biológicas, y así poder diseñar estrategias y/o intervenciones que puedan evitar complicaciones.

El tiempo de uso de Internet y su uso problemático ha aumentado en edades tempranas, por lo que socialmente se promueve la supervisión familiar. Así, en los hogares es frecuente que el fin de semana se permita utilizar Internet durante más tiempo para diversas formas de ocio. Por otro lado, entre las actividades frecuentes está el uso de los videojuegos, existiendo evidencias de su uso problemático; sin embargo, no se conoce en qué medida pueden influir todos estos factores en la predicción del uso problemático de Internet en estudiantes de Educación Primaria. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio es analizar si el tiempo de uso de Internet entre semana y el fin de semana, la supervisión familiar y el uso problemático de videojuegos predicen el uso problemático de Internet. De forma adicional se examinan las diferencias según el género. Participan 319 estudiantes españoles de 5º y 6º de Educación Primaria (52.4% chicos) y edad media de 10.58 años. A través de regresiones lineales, los resultados muestran que el mayor predictor es el uso problemático de videojuegos en ambos géneros y algo mayor en los chicos. Así mismo, es relevante que el tiempo de conexión entre semana sea el segundo factor de riesgo, mayor al tiempo de uso del fin de semana. En lo que respecta a la supervisión familiar, solamente las chicas se benefician de su factor protector. Se discute la importancia de la supervisión familiar y de los centros educativos en el uso de Internet de los menores.

Vibrio vulnificus is a multi-host pathogenic species currently subdivided into five phylogenetic lineages (L) plus one pathovar with the ability to infect fish due to a transmissible virulence plasmid. This plasmid (or a fragment of it) has been transmitted between lineages within the species, contributing to the evolution of V. vulnificus. This study aimed to provide an experimental approximation to the V. vulnificus mutation rate by determining spontaneous mutation rates from bacterial cultures of representants of the different lineages by whole-genome sequencing. To this purpose, synonymous SNP differences, i.e., spontaneous mutation not subjected to the evolutive forces, between initial and final culture after serial growth were evaluated and used for mutation rate calculation.

Scotta is an underutilized whey by-product of ricotta making. In this study, we investigated the utilization of scotta in beer production. To understand the quality of regional scotta, samples from eight Sicilian ricotta makers were analyzed for pH, total protein, fat, lactose, titratable acidity, % salt, total plate count, lactic acid bacteria counts, and minerals. Overall, the samples had low amounts of residual protein and fat. The average lactose content was 4.81 g/100 mL ± 0.52 g, with a pH of 6.12 ± 0.17 and a salt content of 1.05% ± 0.24. The majority of lactic acid bacteria counts were below the limit of detection. The total plate counts were more variable, ranging between 102 to 103 CFU/mL, suggesting occasional post-processing contamination during handling. Scotta was then used to replace some of the water and sugar in the production of two beer styles: (i) a Gose, a salty and acidified German beer style, and (ii) a sweet milk stout. A trained panel used for sensory analysis found that these prototypes fit within the sensory profiles of commercial beers of these styles. This work highlights opportunities to upcycle dairy by-products into novel fermented beverages that would be appealing to consumers.

IntroductionElevated pulse pressure (ePP) is an independent marker of cardiovascular risk (CVR) in people older than 60, and a functional marker of subclinical target organ damage (sTOD) which can predict cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension (HTN), regardless of sTOD.ObjectiveTo evaluate the prevalence of ePP in adult population seen in primary care and its association with other vascular risk factors, sTOD and with cardiovascular disease (CVD).Materials and methodsObservational multicentre study conducted in Spain (8,066 patients, 54.5% women) from the prospective cohort study IBERICAN recruited in Primary Care. Pulse pressure (PP) was defined as the difference between the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥60 mmHg. Adjusted (for age and sex) ePP prevalence were determined. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of the possible variables associated with ePP were carried out.ResultsThe mean of PP was 52.35 mmHg, and was significantly higher (p

Previous studies highlighted Brettanomyces claussenii as a versatile yeast that produces ethanol or acetic acid from lactose, or selectively metabolizes glucose while leaving behind galactose, depending on different operational conditions. This flexibility enables the production of galactose-rich bioproducts from liquid dairy residues. The purpose of this study is to: (i) optimize the anaerobic fermentation of milk permeate (MP) by B. claussenii to maximize the yields of galactose and ethanol and minimize leftover glucose, and (ii) combine the optimized process with distillation and drying and characterize its multiple products. Response surface methodology was used for the optimization. Three fermentation parameters were chosen as input factors: temperature (25–35 °C), inoculation level (7.0–8.5 log cfu/mL), and time (4–40 days), with three metabolites as responses: galactose, glucose, and ethanol. The optimal combination of parameters resulted in temperature, 28 °C; inoculation level, 7.6 log cfu/mL; and time, 33 days. Under these conditions, the fermented product was predicted to have 63.6 g/L galactose, 4.0% v/v ethanol, and 0 g/L residual glucose. The optimal parameters were used to run 18 L fermentations followed by distillation and freeze-drying. As a result, four product streams were obtained and characterized for relevant physicochemical and nutritional attributes. Our results show that the partial fermentation of MP by B. claussenii can be the first step to develop lactose-free, low-in-glucose, galactose-rich bioproducts, which improve the value of this residue and broaden its applications in the food supply chain.

IntroductionThe protection of children is a major driver of behavior among those in charge of their care. We evaluated whether compliance with preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2 infection among adults living with children was different from that of those not living with them, in 2020.MethodsWe used the COSMO-SPAIN (N = 867) and the nationally representative ENE-COVID (N = 29,926) surveys to estimate prevalence of compliance (95% confidence interval). Logistic model based standardization methods were applied to estimate standardized prevalence differences (SPrD) to the overall distribution of age, sex, education, history of COVID-19, and residence of other >60 yrs in the household.ResultsWe observed that adults living with children more frequently avoided bars (SPrDENE−COVID: 4.2%; 95% CI: 2.3–6.1), crowded places (SPrDCOSMO: 8.0%; 95% CI: 0.6–15.1) and did not use public transportation (SPrDENE−COVID: 4.9%; 95% CI: 3.0–6.7). They were also more worried about work and family conciliation (SPrDCOSMO: 12.2%; 95% CI: 4.8–19.5) and about closure of education centers (SPrDCOSMO: 26.5%; 95% CI: 19.4–33.6).DiscussionIn general, adults living with children adopted slightly more frequently social distancing measures.

Resumen: Objetivo: Describir las agendas comunitarias creadas por los equipos de atención primaria (EAP) aragoneses, analizar las características de dichos EAP y explorar factores relacionados con la puesta en marcha de las agendas. Método: Estudio observacional descriptivo de las agendas comunitarias y los EAP aragoneses que las han creado desde la implantación de la Estrategia de Atención Comunitaria Aragón (EACA) en 2016 hasta marzo de 2021. Análisis bivariante y multivariante de las características de estos EAP que han creado una agenda con respecto a los que no la han desarrollado. Resultados: De los 123 EAP aragoneses, 75 (61%) han creado la agenda comunitaria. El 74,7% de ellos tienen también activo el Consejo de Salud de zona. De las 75 agendas, 45 son de tipo avanzado, con 41 EAP que tenían realizado el diagnóstico de salud de zona y 28 EAP que realizaban recomendación de activos. Se observó que la creación de la agenda comunitaria está relacionada con ser un EAP perteneciente a una zona básica de salud semiurbana (odds ratio [OR]: 3,02; intervalo de confianza del 95% [IC95%]: 1,22-7,47; p = 0,017) y que al menos un profesional del EAP hubiera recibido formación específica (OR: 5,29; IC95%: 1,09-25,72; p = 0,039). Conclusiones: La agenda comunitaria es una herramienta que apoya el desarrollo de la atención comunitaria de los EAP. La formación impartida desde la EACA se ha demostrado clave para el desarrollo de las agendas, debiendo continuar con este trabajo y haciendo especial énfasis en los EAP pertenecientes a zonas básicas de salud rurales o urbanas, pues son los que están teniendo mayores dificultades. Abstract: Objective: To describe the community agendas created by the Aragonese Primary Care Teams (PCT), to analyze the characteristics of said PCT, and to explore factors related to their implementation. Method: Descriptive observational study of the community agendas and the Aragonese PCT that have created them since the implementation of the Aragonese Community Care Strategy (ACCS) in 2016 until March 2021. Bivariate and multivariate analysis of the characteristics of these PCT that have created the agenda with respect to those who have not developed it. Results: 75 of the 123 Aragonese PCT (61%) have created the community agenda. 74.7% of them also have an active Health Council. 45 of the 75 agendas are of the advanced type, with 41 PCT that had carried out the zone health diagnosis and 28 PCT that made asset recommendations. It was observed how the creation of the community agenda is related to being a PCT belonging to a semi-urban basic health zone (odds ratio [OR]: 3.02; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.22–7.47; p = 0.017) and that at least one professional would have received specific training (OR: 5.29; 95% CI: 1.09–25.72; p = 0.039). Conclusions: The community agenda is a tool that supports the development of community care for PCT. The training provided by the ACCS has been shown to be key to the development of the agendas, and this work must continue, with special emphasis on the PCT belonging to rural or urban basic health zones, since they are the ones that are experiencing the greatest difficulties.

Resumen: Objetivo: Analizar la implementación de la «Guía de recomendación de activos para la salud en atención primaria Aragón». Diseño: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, transversal. Emplazamiento: Ciento veintitrés equipos de atención primaria aragoneses. Participantes: Recomendaciones de Activos para la Salud realizadas con el protocolo «Recomendación Activos-AP» de historia clínica electrónica de atención primaria Aragón desde septiembre de 2018 a marzo de 2021. Mediciones principales: Se describieron las variables más relevantes del protocolo: edad, sexo, provincia, sector sanitario, zona básica de salud, problema de salud, aspecto a potenciar, activo para la salud recomendado, tipo de profesional, grado de asistencia, satisfacción y mejoría. Resultados: El protocolo fue utilizado 2.109 veces y se realizaron 1.482 recomendaciones y 428 seguimientos. El uso del protocolo fue aumentando progresivamente hasta marzo de 2020. A 1.431 personas se les realizó una recomendación y a 51 más de una. La edad media de las personas beneficiarias fue de 67,9 años. El 74,8% de recomendaciones se dirigieron a mujeres. Diagnósticos relacionados con problemas sociales y psicológicos fueron los más vinculados a recomendaciones, y la esfera física fue el aspecto más potenciado. Los activos más recomendados se vinculaban con actividad física y recursos de promoción de la autonomía personal. Más del 90% de las personas asistieron con regularidad al activo. La satisfacción media fue de 4,8 (0/5) y el grado de mejoría de 4,3 (0/5). Conclusiones: La implementación de recomendación de activos para la salud dentro la Estrategia de Atención Comunitaria Aragón está funcionando. Sin embargo, es necesario revisar algunos aspectos. Es preciso continuar generando evidencia para poder adecuar y hacer más eficiente este proceso. Abstract: Objective: To analyze the implementation of social prescribing guideline in primary care Aragón. Design: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. Location: One hundred twenty-three primary care teams of Aragón. Participants: Social prescribing made with the protocol «Recomendación Activos - AP» of electronic health record of primary care Aragón from September 2018 to March 2021. Main measurements: The most relevant variables of the protocol were described: age, sex, province, health sector, basic health area, health problem, aspect to be enhanced, asset for health recommended, type of professional, degree of assistance, satisfaction and improvement. Results: The protocol was used 2109 times, 1482 recommendations were made and 428 follow-ups were performed. The use of the protocol increased progressively until March 2020. A total of 1431 people received one recommendation and 51 received more than one recommendation. The average age of the beneficiaries was 67.9 years. 74.8% of recommendations were addressed to women. Diagnoses related to social and psychological problems were the most frequently recommended, and the physical sphere was the aspect most promoted. Most social prescribing was linked to physical activity and resources for the promotion of personal autonomy. More than 90% of the people regularly attended the activity, the average satisfaction was 4.8 (0/5) and the degree of improvement 4.3 (0/5). Conclusions: The implementation of asset for health recommended within the Aragon community care strategy is working, however, some aspects need to be reviewed. It is necessary to continue generating evidence to be able to adapt and make this process more efficient.

As the Greek-style yogurt market continues to experience prosperous growth, finding the most appropriate destination for yogurt acid whey (YAW) is still a challenge for Greek yogurt manufacturers. This study provides a direct alternative treatment of YAW by leveraging the abilities of Mucor circinelloides and Mucor genevensis to raise the pH of YAW and to produce fungal biomass with a high lipid content. Aerobic cultivations of these species were conducted in YAW, both with and without the addition of lactase, at 30 °C, and 200 rpm agitation. The density, pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), biomass production, lipid content, fatty acid profile, and sugar and lactic acid concentrations were regularly measured throughout the 14-day cultivations. The data showed that M. genevensis was superior at deacidifying YAW to a pH above 6.0—the legal limit for disposing of cultured dairy waste. On the other hand, M. circinelloides generated more fungal biomass, containing up to 30% w/w of lipid with high proportions of oleic acid and γ-linolenic acid. Additionally, the treatments with lactase addition showed a significant decrease in the BOD. In conclusion, our results present a viable treatment to increase the pH of YAW and decrease its BOD, meanwhile generating fungal oils that can be further transformed into biodiesel or processed into functional foods or dietary supplements.

Background: To mitigate or prevent the effects of cyberbullying, adolescents are primarily influenced by how they have been educated and supervised at home in the use of technology. Objective: Our main objective was to examine the association of parental phubbing and family supervision of Internet and social networks use with cyberbullying victimization and aggression. Method: A survey was conducted to examine these factors in a sample of 1,554 students aged 10 to 18 years in the Aragon region of Spain. Results: Family supervision is a protective factor against becoming an aggressor or a victim of cyberbullying. Aggressor and victim roles correlate with higher levels of parental phubbing. Multigroup analysis applying structural equation modeling by age and gender revealed certain differences. Gender differences were found with parental phubbing associated with boys' likelihood of being aggressors. Although family supervision protected both boys and girls, there was a stronger association for girls' parents. Fewer differences were observed for age group. Conclusion: This study found strong relation between cyberbullying, family supervision, and parental phubbing. Our findings also suggest that cyberbullying prevention strategies need to differ depending on whether they are applied to girls or boys. Implications: The importance of model behavior for minors to follow in their optimal use of information and communication technologies and family supervision of smartphone use should be placed at the center of cyberbullying prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Detection and delineation are key steps for retrieving and structuring information of the electrocardiogram (ECG), being thus crucial for numerous tasks in clinical practice. Digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms are often considered state-of-the-art for this purpose but require laborious rule readaptation for adapting to unseen morphologies. This work explores the adaptation of the the U-Net, a deep learning (DL) network employed for image segmentation, to electrocardiographic data. The model was trained using PhysioNet’s QT database, a small dataset of 105 2-lead ambulatory recordings, while being independently tested for many architectural variations, comprising changes in the model’s capacity (depth, width) and inference strategy (single- and multi-lead) in a fivefold cross-validation manner. This work features several regularization techniques to alleviate data scarcity, such as semi-supervised pre-training with low-quality data labels, performing ECG-based data augmentation and applying in-built model regularizers. The best performing configuration reached precisions of 90.12%, 99.14% and 98.25% and recalls of 98.73%, 99.94% and 99.88% for the P, QRS and T waves, respectively, on par with DSP-based approaches. Despite being a data-hungry technique trained on a small dataset, a U-Net based approach demonstrates to be a viable alternative for this task.

The use of energy storage systems in standalone photovoltaic installations is essential to supply energy demands, independently of solar generation. Accurate prediction of the battery state is critical for the safe, durable, and reliable operation of systems in this type of installations. In this study, an installation located in the area of Aragon (Spain) has been considered. Two methods, based on different types of Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), are proposed to predict the battery voltage of the installation two days ahead. Specifically, the Nonlinear Auto Regressive with Exogenous Input (NARX) network and the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network are studied and compared. The implemented algorithms process battery voltage, temperature and current waveforms; and rely on the selection of different future scenarios based on weather forecasting to estimate the future voltage of the battery. The proposed methodology is capable of predicting the voltage with a Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) error of 1.2 V for batteries of 48 V, in critical situations where the installation is running out of energy. The study contributes to the ongoing research of developing preventive control systems that help reduce costs and improve the performance of remote energy storage systems based on renewable energies with a positive outcome.

Introducción: Las relaciones sociales se producen simultáneamente entre el entorno presencial y virtual y con mayor intensidad en tiempos de postpandemia. Con el uso de Internet han surgido nuevas conductas como el phubbing, que disminuyen la calidad de las relaciones y la convivencia, y cuyo impacto apenas ha sido estudiado en la adolescencia. Método: El objetivo de este estudio es conocer la incidencia y el impacto de esta nueva conducta en 379 adolescentes de 8 centros de Educación Secundaria de Aragón, así como analizar si su normalización neutraliza su efecto negativo mediante un análisis descriptivo incluyendo el test de ANOVA y de chi cuadrado. Resultados: Los resultados muestran que el phubbing es un fenómeno frecuente entre los adolescentes, alcanzando en las chicas mayores niveles de phubber (quién ejerce phubbing) y phubbee (quién lo recibe), incidiendo en ellas los efectos más negativos (sentimiento de exclusión), hecho que también aumenta con la edad. Además, el phubbing frecuente no disminuye el sentirse afectado negativamente por el hecho de que dicha conducta esté normalizada entre los adolescentes. Discusión: El presente estudio ofrece los primeros conocimientos sobre el impacto del phubbing en la salud emocional y relacional en la vida del alumnado adolescente según la edad y el género. Nuestros hallazgos revelan una importante novedad sobre este fenómeno, unas primeras evidencias de que la normalización de esta conducta no elimina los efectos negativos en la calidad de las relaciones personales y amplia el conocimiento sobre el phubbing.

Abstract This study aims to find out how the groups that form the education community (students, teachers, families) differ in terms of the various characteristics surrounding the cyberbullying phenomenon. To do this, we conducted research using a selective correlational and cross-sectional design to analyze relationships and differences among variables: defining cyberbullying, typology, involved roles, possible causes and coping strategies in the different groups. The study recruited 116 participants as follows: 51% were year-6 Primary Education students; 29% were students’ family members; 20% were school teachers. We collected data through an ad hoc questionnaire that a group of experts had previously validated. The results of the data analysis showed that significant differences appeared in terms of: how typologies were perceived; the importance of roles; coping strategies for cyberbullying.

Introduction: The omnipolar electrogram method was recently proposed to try to generate orientation-independent electrograms. It estimates the electric field from the bipolar electrograms of a clique, under the assumption of locally plane and homogeneous propagation. The local electric field evolution over time describes a loop trajectory from which omnipolar signals in the propagation direction, substrate and propagation features, are derived. In this work, we propose substrate and conduction velocity mapping modalities based on a modified version of the omnipolar electrogram method, which aims to reduce orientation-dependent residual components in the standard approach.Methods: A simulated electrical propagation in 2D, with a tissue including a circular patch of diffuse fibrosis, was used for validation. Unipolar electrograms were calculated in a multi-electrode array, also deriving bipolar electrograms along the two main directions of the grid. Simulated bipolar electrograms were also contaminated with real noise, to assess the robustness of the mapping strategies against noise. The performance of the maps in identifying fibrosis and in reproducing unipolar reference voltage maps was evaluated. Bipolar voltage maps were also considered for performance comparison.Results: Results show that the modified omnipolar mapping strategies are more accurate and robust against noise than bipolar and standard omnipolar maps in fibrosis detection (accuracies higher than 85 vs. 80% and 70%, respectively). They present better correlation with unipolar reference voltage maps than bipolar and original omnipolar maps (Pearson's correlations higher than 0.75 vs. 0.60 and 0.70, respectively).Conclusion: The modified omnipolar method improves fibrosis detection, characterization of substrate and propagation, also reducing the residual sensitivity to directionality over the standard approach and improving robustness against noise. Nevertheless, studies with real electrograms will elucidate its impact in catheter ablation interventions.

Biomaterials play an important role in the development of advancing three dimensional (3D) in vitro skin models, providing valuable insights for drug testing and tissue-specific modeling. Commercial materials, such as collagen, fibrin or alginate, have been widely used in skin modeling. However, they do not adequately represent the molecular complexity of skin components. On this regard, the development of novel biomaterials that represent the complexity of tissues is becoming more important in the design of advanced models. In this study, we have obtained aged human decellularized dermal extracellular matrix (dECM) hydrogels extracted from cadaveric human skin and demonstrated their potential as scaffold for advanced skin models. These dECM hydrogels effectively reproduce the complex fibrillar structure of other common scaffolds, exhibiting similar mechanical properties, while preserving the molecular composition of the native dermis. It is worth noting that fibroblasts embedded within human dECM hydrogels exhibit a behavior more representative of natural skin compared to commercial collagen hydrogels, where uncontrolled cell proliferation leads to material shrinkage. The described human dECM hydrogel is able to be used as scaffold for dermal fibroblasts in a skin aging-on-a-chip model. These results demonstrate that dECM hydrogels preserve essential components of the native human dermis making them a suitable option for the development of 3D skin aging models that accurately represent the cellular microenvironment, improving existing in vitro skin models and allowing for more reliable results in dermatopathological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-Pressure Processing’s (HPP) non-thermal inactivation of cells has been largely incompatible with food products in which the activity of selected cultures is intended (e.g., bio-preservation). This work aims to overcome this limitation using a cocoa butter encapsulation system for freeze-dried cultures that can be integrated with HPP technology with minimal detrimental effects on cell viability or activity capabilities. Using commercially available freeze-dried protective cultures, the desiccated cells survived HPP (600 MPa, 5 °C, 3 min) and subsequently experienced a 0.66-log increase in cell counts during 2 h of incubation. When the same culture was rehydrated prior to HPP, it underwent a >6.07-log decrease. Phosphate-buffered saline or skim milk inoculated with cocoa butter-encapsulated culture up to 24 h before HPP displayed robust cell counts after HPP and subsequent plating (8.37–9.16 CFU/mL). In addition to assessing viability following HPP, the study sought to test the applicability in a product in which post-HPP fermentation is desired While HPP-treated encapsulated cultures initially exhibited significantly delayed fermentative processes compared to the positive controls, by 48 h following inoculation, the HPP samples’ pH values bore no significant difference from those of the positive controls (encapsulated samples: pH 3.83 to 3.92; positive controls: pH 3.81 to 3.85). The HPP encapsulated cultures also maintained high cell counts throughout the fermentation (≥8.95 log CFU/mL).

Preclinical research remains hampered by an inadequate representation of human tissue environments which results in inaccurate predictions of a drug candidate’s effects and target’s suitability. While human 2D and 3D cell cultures and organoids have been extensively improved to mimic the precise structure and function of human tissues, major challenges persist since only few of these models adequately represent the complexity of human tissues. The development of skin-on-chip technology has allowed the transition from static 3D cultures to dynamic 3D cultures resembling human physiology. The integration of vasculature, immune system, or the resident microbiome in the next generation of SoC, with continuous detection of changes in metabolism, would potentially overcome the current limitations, providing reliable and robust results and mimicking the complex human skin. This review aims to provide an overview of the biological skin constituents and mechanical requirements that should be incorporated in a human skin-on-chip, permitting pharmacological, toxicological, and cosmetic tests closer to reality.

In Greek-style yogurt production, every kilogram of product yields 2 to 3 kg of acid whey (YAW); this coproduct’s composition and low pH pose challenges for its proper valorization and reinsertion into the food supply chain. However, 240 mL of YAW contains over 9 g of lactose and represents a good source of minerals; these traits can be leveraged to develop nutritious fermented beverages. The purpose of this study is to investigate the aerobic fermentation of dairy sugars by different yeasts by characterizing these processes and their products. This will determine whether such methods provide viable options for the production of acetic-acid-containing beverages from YAW. To achieve this, yeast nitrogen base was used to prepare four growth media formulations, each supplemented with lactose, glucose, galactose, or a 1:1 mix of glucose and galactose (GLU:GAL), and each adjusted to a pH of 4.20. Fermentations were performed by pure cultures of S. cerevisiae, K. marxianus, B. claussenii, or B. bruxellensis, and were held at 25 °C with agitation at 185 rpm. For each treatment, density, pH, and microbial enumeration were measured over time to obtain process profiles, while ethanol, organic acids, and sugars were analyzed at the beginning and the end of each fermentation via HPLC, to determine resulting products. ANOVA and Tukey’s honest significant difference test at a significance level of 0.05 were used to compare residual sugars and fermentation products. Variable rates of sugar consumption were observed for each species. In GLU:GAL, B. claussenii consumed all of the glucose, left behind most of the galactose, and produced a high concentration of acetic acid. These results suggest the potential to develop versatile processes that target glucose for acetic acid production, while leaving available galactose to confer products with prebiotic properties. The development of processes for the conversion of YAW into beverages with organic acids and other healthful components not only aligns with consumers’ demands for better-for-you products, but also promotes the valorization of this otherwise underutilized dairy coproduct.

The use of Structural silicone glazing (SSG) systems in large commercial glazed facades is well established in current practice, mainly due to the architectural aspiration of having a continuous smooth glass surface across the building elevation. Enhanced thermal and security (blast) performance are typically listed as an advantage for this particular type of systems. SSG façade systems are structurally complex due to the fact that multiple load-paths can be identified within the system. It is accepted as good practice to detail façade panels so that the dead load of the glass is not carried through the structural silicone. But can this be achieved in reality? The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss challenges with the assumption that the SSG is isolated from the glass self weight and provide a better understanding on the complexity of SSG systems. The influence of stress/strain and creep due to the long-term load on the system capacity will be investigated. Some degree of long term loads are usually present due to detailing and real system behaviour. Real project examples will be used to identify opportunities for improvement and findings will be summarised at the end of the paper.

Objective: To emphasize the importance of an early diagnosis and an adequate treatment in conjunctival tumors.Methods: We present two clinical cases and compare the course of each case: one of conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) which took a positive course, and a fatal case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with intraocular and orbital extension.Results: Epithelial conjunctival malignancies are one of the most prevalent ocular surface tumors. Among these, CIN are the most common. CIN have an excellent prognosis, given adequate treatment. However, when the diagnosis of CIN is late, the epithelial basement membrane will be affected, resulting in SCC. SCC may have poorer results due to its capacity to infiltrate near tissues and create distant metastasis.Conclusion: It is not common today to treat patients with orbital extension of SCC; however, it is crucial to note the importance of an early diagnosis of conjunctival malignancies. An early diagnosis is essential to prevent the transformation to other life-threatening types.

Background. Voltage mapping allows identifying the arrhythmogenic substrate during scar-related ventricular arrhythmia (VA) ablation procedures. Slow conducting channels (SCCs), defined by the presence of electrogram (EGM) signals with delayed components (EGM-DC), are responsible for sustaining VAs and constitute potential ablation targets. However, voltage mapping, as it is currently performed, is time-consuming, requiring a manual analysis of all EGMs to detect SCCs, and its accuracy is limited by electric far-field. We sought to evaluate an algorithm that automatically identifies EGM-DC, classifies mapping points, and creates new voltage maps, named “Slow Conducting Channel Maps” (SCC-Maps). Methods. Retrospective analysis of electroanatomic maps (EAM) from 20 patients (10 ischemic, 10 with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy) was performed. EAM voltage maps were acquired during sinus rhythm and used for ablation. Preprocedural contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (Ce-CMR) imaging was available for the ischemic population. Three mapping modalities were analysed: (i) EAM voltage maps using standard (EAM standard) or manual (EAM screening) thresholds for defining core and border zones; (ii) SCC-Maps derived from the use of the novel SCC-Mapping algorithm that automatically identify EGM-DCs measuring the voltage of the local component; and (iii) Ce-CMR maps (when available). The ability of each mapping modality in identifying SCCs and their agreement was evaluated. Results. SCC-Maps and EAM screening identified a greater number of SCC entrances than EAM standard (3.45 ± 1.61 and 2.95 ± 2.31, resp., vs. 1.05 ± 1.10; p