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A classical school choice problem consists of a set of schools with priorities over students and a set of students with preferences over schools. Schools' priorities are often based on multiple criteria, for example, merit-based test scores as well as minimal-access rights (siblings attending the school, students' proximity to the school, etc.). Traditionally, minimal-access rights are incorporated into priorities by always giving minimal-access students higher priority over non-minimal-access students. However, stability based on such adjusted priorities can be considered unfair because a minimal-access student may be admitted to a popular school, whereas another student with a higher merit score but without a minimal-access right is rejected, even though the former minimal-access student could easily attend another of her minimal-access schools. We therefore weaken stability to minimal-access stability: minimal-access rights promote access to only at most one minimal-access school. Apart from minimal-access stability, we also would want a school choice mechanism to satisfy strategy-proofness and minimal-access monotonicity, that is, additional minimal-access rights for a student do not harm her. Our main result is that the deferred acceptance mechanism is the only mechanism that satisfies minimal-access stability, strategy-proofness, and minimal-access monotonicity. Because this mechanism is in fact stable, our result can be interpreted as an impossibility result: fairer outcomes that are made possible by the weaker property of minimal-access stability are incompatible with strategy-proofness and minimal-access monotonicity. Funding: This work was supported by the Spanish State Research Agency [Grant PID2020-114251GB-I00], AGAUR–Generalitat de Catalunya [Grant 2021-SGR-00416], the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (Barcelona School of Economics) [Grant CEX2019-000915-S], and the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung [Grant 100018_192583]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Knee injury prevention is a critical aspect in sport rehabilitation sciences, and taping is a widely used technique in this field. Nevertheless, the role and effectiveness of a long-term application of Kinesio Taping (KT) on knee function, disability, and injury prevention remain unclear. Objective: To determine the effect of KT, alone or in combination with balance exercises (BE), on dynamic and static knee balance and flexibility. Design: Randomized trial design. Setting: University of Valencia (Spain). Participants: Forty-eight male amateur soccer players. Intervention: Participants were assigned to 3 groups: Sham KT (sKT) + BE, KT + BE, and KT in isolation. The intervention period lasted 4 weeks. Three evaluations were performed: at baseline (pre), at 2 weeks (mid), and at 4 weeks posttreatment (post). Main outcome measures: Y Balance Test, unipedal stance test, the toe touch test, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. Results: Both sKT + BE and KT + BE groups achieved significant pre-post improvements in SEBT, unipedal stance test, and toe touch test. The KT group only showed significant intragroup differences in the left and right unipedal stance test variable (P < .05, d = 0.76, d = 0.62, respectively). The sham KT group obtained the strongest results in all physical variables. Regarding the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, pre-post significant changes were found in the sham group (P < .05, d = 0.28). Conclusions: Both sham and real KT in combination with BE achieved significant improvements on all physical variables, and these differences were significantly greater compared with those found in the KT in the isolation group, suggesting that benefits in knee function are due to the BE. Level of evidence: Therapy level 1b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crossbreeding programs allow the selection of new genotypes with better agronomic and oenological properties for the production of quality wine, and allow the development of a more sustainable form of viticulture. This paper describes the white genotype 'Calblanque', and the red genotypes 'Calnegre', 'Gebas' and 'Myrtia', the first wine grape varieties registered by the Instituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarollo Agrario y Medioambiental (IMIDA) as commercial varieties after confirming the winemaking quality of their grapes in a semi-arid climate with high temperatures. These new varieties have recently been authorized for winemaking in the Region of Murcia. 'Calblanque', 'Calnegre' and 'Gebas' were obtained from crosses between 'Monastrell' and 'Cabernet Sauvignon', and 'Myrtia' from crosses between 'Monastrell' and 'Syrah'. The red genotypes were selected for their phenolic quality—which was very superior to that of the parentals—and for their different harvest dates that allow a staggered harvest and their cultivation in different areas. 'Calblanque' was selected for its good balance of acidity and aromatic profile. The attributes of these new varieties could allow their better adaptation to the effects of climate change on grape and wine quality in warm areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cromoglycate (SCG) is widely used for allergy processes, and inflammatory states acting as a mast cell membrane stabilizer that inhibits the histamine and mediator release. Currently, SCG topical extemporaneous compounding formulations are prepared in hospitals and community pharmacies, as no industrial fabricated medicines are available in Spain. The stability of these formulations is unknown. Additionally, there are no clear guidelines on which concentration and vehicle are more suitable to enhance permeation across the skin. In this work, the stability of commonly prescribed topical SCG formulations in clinical practice was evaluated. Different vehicles commonly employed by pharmacists daily for formulating topical SCG were investigated (Eucerinum, Acofar Creamgel, and Beeler's base) at different concentrations, ranging from 0.2 to 2%. The stability of topical extemporaneous compounded SCG formulations can be extended for up to three months at room temperature (25 °C). Creamgel 2% formulations significantly improved the topical permeation of SCG across the skin, being 4.5-fold higher than formulations prepared with Beeler's base. The reason attributed to this performance can be related to the lower droplet size formed upon dilution in aqueous media combined with a lower viscosity, which facilitates its application and extensibility on the skin. The higher the SCG concentration in Creamgel formulations, the higher the permeability across both synthetic membranes and pig skin (p-value < 0.05). These preliminary results can be used as a guide to prompt a rational prescription of topical SCG formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consequences of social trust are comparatively well studied, while its societal determinants are often subject to debate. This paper studies both in the context of Catalan attempts to secede from Spain: First, we test whether Catalonia enjoys higher levels of social capital that it is prevented from capitalizing on. Second, the paper examines whether secessionist movements create animosity and political divisions within society that undermine trust. Employing the nine available waves of the European Social Survey for Spain, we only find weak indications that social trust levels are higher in Catalonia than in the rest of the country. Interestingly, we further find testimony of a purely transient "exuberance effect" after secession became a real option, indicating that the long‐run evolution of social trust may best be thought of as a stable punctuated equilibrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finite element analysis is conducted to study the causes of the failure of the caisson quay wall at Malaga Port Container Terminal in Spain. It was found that the marine clay lenses were the main reason for the accident because their low strength reduced the overall stability of the structure. The thickness of the marine clay lens increasing from 0 to 2.5 m decreases the factor of safety (FoS) from 1.288 to less than 1.0. The finite element analyses are also conducted to investigate the effects of dredging the marine clay lenses underneath the rubble mound and installing the vertical pipe piles on the stabilities of the caisson quay wall. The FoS increases nonlinearly with the increase of excavation depth of the marine clay lens underneath the rubble mound and the maximum magnitude is 1.267 when the excavation depth reaches ±29 m from the sea surface. Two lines of pipe pile installed in a square pattern with a spacing of 1.2 m and length of 23 m have an optimum distance to the caisson wall of 6 m to improve the FoS of the caisson quay wall with its maximum magnitude of 1.222. • The numerical analysis is conducted to study the caisson quay wall at Malaga Port Container Terminal. • Parametric studies are conducted to study the effect of the thickness and position of the marine clay lenses on the stability of the caisson quay wall. • Effects of dredging the marine clay lenses and installing the vertical pipe piles on the stabilities of the caisson quay wall are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This 4-year longitudinal study explored the stability of dating violence (DV) during adolescence and the reciprocal associations between perpetration and victimization over time. Participants were 991 high school students (52.4% females; mean age at baseline = 14.80 years) from Bizkaia (Spain), who completed a measure of DV perpetration and victimization at four measurement points spaced 1 year apart. Findings evidenced stability of teen perpetration and victimization of DV, which appears to increase in late adolescence. Moreover, longitudinal reciprocal influences were demonstrated, but in general, the cross-lagged paths from one's partner's aggression to one's own perpetration and vice versa were lower than the autoregressive paths obtained from stability. The model showed an adequate fit for both females and males, although some paths were significantly higher for the females than for the males. Preventive interventions should consider these findings about stability and longitudinal reciprocal associations of DV during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flowering is one of the most critical processes in the reproductive phenology in fruit trees including olive. Under Mediterranean climate, olive flowering period normally occurs from early to late spring. Therefore, flowering time could be affected by environmental conditions such as water availability and temperature, thus influencing flower quality as well. Previous works have demonstrated the effect of genotype and environment on olive flowering, but those factors have never been compared in a single study nor their interaction evaluated. In the present work, we used a multi-environment trial established in four different agro-climatic conditions of Andalucía, Southern Spain, to test the genetic and environmental influences on flowering timing (flowering period, full bloom period, and full bloom date) and flower quality (flower number, perfect flower number and perfect flower percentage). Most of the variability found for flowering phenology parameters was due to environmental influence. On the contrary, for flowering quality parameters, most of the variability was of a genetic nature. In all cases, the genotype-environment interaction was significant. In this sense, the genotype by environment effects biplot model used to analyse the interaction showed that most of the genotypes evaluated have low stability for most of the parameters evaluated, except 'Picual' for flowering phenology parameters and 'Koroneiki' for quality. This emphasize the benefits of multi-environment trials on olive in order to select the best genotypes adapted to different environments and as a tool to face the future variability of environmental conditions caused by the climate-warming scenario. In conclusion, multi-environment trials allowed to efficiently quantify the effects of genetic and environmental factors and of their interaction on flowering phenology and on flower quality in olive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granitic boulders are widespread geomorphological elements, particularly found in humid granitic areas. Although they seldom represent a hazard for people or infrastructures, sometimes their location in steep or natural slopes may jeopardise their stability and potentially affect people or infrastructures. In addition, their complex geometry makes the instability mechanisms difficult to identify, so it is even more difficult to compute factors of safety regarding their stability. In this paper, the authors analyse potential failure mechanisms of granite boulders based on analytical mechanic calculations and physical tilt tests, permitting understanding the phenomena under scrutiny. Then, they study the stability of one of these boulders: the Pena do Equilibrio or equilibrium rock. To do that they resort to standard geotechnical characterization and advanced geometrical characterization derived from UAV photogrammetric and 3D Laser Scanning of the boulder. The presented results exemplify how the application of these recently available topographic technologies, in combination with rock mechanics approaches, enable a rigorous analysis of the stability of granite boulders. • Failure mechanisms of granite boulders have been analysed through analytical calculations and tilt tests in laboratory. • Pena do Equilibrio boulder, located in NW Spain, has been selected for the presented analysis. • UAS and Terrestrial Laser Scanner have been resorted for geometrical calculations like volume and position of the centroid. • The stability of the granitic boulder has been assessed through rock mechanics approaches combined with remote sensing techniques. • A 3D-printed 1:50-scale plastic replica of the boulder has been utilized for analyzing results in laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses temporary work and job satisfaction among salaried workers during the Spanish economic crisis of 2008. Using data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) 2013 Economically Active Population Survey (EAPS), we find that temporary workers lost their job more than others during this period. However, salaried workers have higher average levels of satisfaction in 2007-2010, possibly due to the lower requirements of workers. We find a positive relationship between the unlikeliness of keeping a job and low job satisfaction levels in data from the Survey of Quality of Life at Work (2010) through a correspondence analysis. A linear model with a level of job satisfaction as a dependent variable shows negative coefficients for a level of job satisfaction if the probability of keeping the job is somewhat unlikely or very unlikely. Finally, an ordinal probit regression finds that the estimated likelihood to reach high job satisfaction is lower in temporary workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Intrathecal administration of methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone is commonly used to treat and prevent central nervous system involvement in leukemias and lymphomas. The use of intrathecal solutions with pH and osmolarity values close to physiologic range of CSF (pH 7.31–7.37, osmolarity 281–306 mOsm/kg) and standardization of the methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone doses in children and adults based on age is highly recommended. Stability studies of standardized intrathecal mixtures under these conditions have not yet been published. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical stabilities of four standardized mixtures of methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone stored at 2–8℃ and 25℃ up to 7 days after preparation. Methods Four different standardized intrathecal mixtures were prepared and stored at 2–8℃ and 25℃ and protected from light. Triplicate samples were taken at different times and precipitation, appearance, color, pH, and osmolarity were analyzed. Methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone concentrations were measured using a modified high-performance liquid chromatography method. Results No variation greater than 10% of the initial concentration of methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone was observed in any of the four standardized mixtures for the 7 days of study when stored at 2–8℃ and 25℃ and protected from light. The osmolarity of the four preparations was within the physiologic range of CSF for 7 days at both 2–8℃ and 25℃. The pH values close to the physiologic range of CSF were stable for 48 h at 25℃ and for 120 h at 2–8℃. Conclusions Triple intrathecal standardized preparations of methotrexate, cytarabine, and hydrocortisone sodium phosphate are physically and chemically stable at 25℃ for 48 h and at 2–8℃ for 5 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated five types of personality trait continuity using two measurement waves of Spanish adolescents (N = 234). Personality traits were measured with the short form of the Junior Spanish NEO-PI-R (JS NEO-S) at ages 12 and 15. The results showed stability in the personality trait structure, as well as decreases in the mean levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness. The results also showed moderate rank-order consistency. Individual-level changes were more pronounced for neuroticism and conscientiousness. Approximately 90% of the participants showed ipsative consistency. The findings showed some personality trait changes occurred from age 12 to 15, but the changes were less marked than expected during this period of biological and social development. Our results also support the disruption hypothesis, as we found dips in conscientiousness and, to a lesser degree, agreeableness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were as follows: (a) to examine the possible presence of an identifiable group of stable victims of cyberbullying; (b) to analyze whether the stability of cybervictimization is associated with the perpetration of cyberbullying and bully–victim status (i.e., being only a bully, only a victim, or being both a bully and a victim); and (c) to test whether stable victims report a greater number of psychosocial problems compared to non-stable victims and uninvolved peers. A sample of 680 Spanish adolescents (410 girls) completed self-report measures on cyberbullying perpetration and victimization, depressive symptoms, and problematic alcohol use at two time points that were separated by one year. The results of cluster analyses suggested the existence of four distinct victimization profiles: “Stable-Victims,” who reported victimization at both Time 1 and Time 2 (5.8% of the sample), “Time 1-Victims,” and “Time 2-Victims,” who presented victimization only at one time (14.5% and 17.6%, respectively), and “Non-Victims,” who presented minimal victimization at both times (61.9% of the sample). Stable victims were more likely to fall into the “bully–victim” category and presented more cyberbullying perpetration than the rest of the groups. Overall, the Stable Victims group displayed higher scores of depressive symptoms and problematic alcohol use over time than the other groups, whereas the Non-Victims displayed the lowest of these scores. These findings have major implications for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing cyberbullying and its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Spanish Journal of Finance & Accounting / Revista Espanola de Financiacion y Contabilidad is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Tourmaline occurs in peraluminous granites from the Central Iberian Zone associated with two main AFM mineral assemblages: (1) muscovite + biotite ± cordierite ± andalusite in the Araya-type granites; (2) muscovite ± biotite ± garnet in leucogranites from the Alamo complex. When tourmaline is dominant, biotite is an accessory or absent, and vice versa. We present field and petrographic relations, mineral chemistry, and geochemical data for tourmaline-bearing and tourmaline-free granitic rocks from various localities in the Central Iberian Zone. Compositional phase diagrams are used to evaluate the factors controlling the occurrence of tourmaline relative to biotite in granitic rocks, with particular emphasis on the relationships between mineral assemblage and whole-rock chemistry and its petrological implications. Although tourmaline stability in felsic magmas depends on the interplay between rates of changing environmental conditions such as bulk composition, T, aH2O, and fO2, the principal factor dictating tourmaline formation is the B content of the melt, judging from phase relations. In short, regardless of other variables, granitic melts have to surpass a critical boron threshold to achieve tourmaline saturation. Experimental constraints, combined with petrographic and geochemical data, suggest minimum boron contents in the range of ∼500–3000 µg g–1 (depending on temperature) to saturate melt in tourmaline. Acting in concert with boron content, other variables such as Al2O3 , mafic components, T, fO2, and so on, control not only the formation of tourmaline during melt crystallization, but also the magnitude of boron loss from the magma to the surrounding rocks. The analysis of phase relations suggests that tourmaline granites usually form units distinct from biotite granites because common granitic melts have restricted accessibility to the three-phase Tur–Bt–Ms field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Children and adolescents'' subjective well-being (SWB) has been recognized as an important component in understanding their quality of life. However, little is known about differences in the SWB of children from different groups, particularly those who are living in diverse households. The purpose of this study is to explore differences in SWB between young adolescents in care and in two other living arrangements. The study used data from a large representative sample of Spanish 1st year students in the second compulsory education (mean age=12.08, SD=0.68). 5381 adolescents were divided into three groups according to their living arrangements: ‘living in care’ (0.9%), ‘living in single parent families’ (18.7%) and ‘living in two-parent families’ (80.4%). Self-administered reports were used to measure SWB in five life domains: school, social relationships, leisure time, health, and oneself. Overall life satisfaction was also measured. Background characteristics were obtained mainly in relation to stability in the adolescents'' lives in the past year. Adolescents living with two parents reported better SWB in all life domains than those in the other two groups. Differences between adolescents living with one parent and adolescents living in care were mostly found in relation to interpersonal relationships and health. Furthermore, it was found that adolescents living in care have the least stable lives, followed by adolescents living with one parent, while adolescents living with two parents lead much more stable lives. These findings highlight the need to address the SWB of vulnerable children, particularly those living in care. Results are discussed in view of the value of stability to children''s lives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The objective of this paper is to show to what extent it is possible to speak of the existence of permanently precarious or discontinuous trajectories in Spain, beyond the well-known age effect. The available variables for the 2001-2006 period coming from the Fundació Jaume Bofill's Inequalities Panel have been exploited by means of a cluster analysis coupled with a logistic regression. The results of this analysis show that gender and age are among the most important variables when determining precarious trajectories. These results also seem to point towards the existence of a generation gap in labour trajectories, although the limited length of the available panel data does not make it possible to state that this gap can be extended to any social profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Treball Social is the property of Col·legi Oficial de TreballSocial de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Pôle Sud is the property of Centre Comparatif d'Etudes sur les Politiques Publiques et les Espaces Locaux and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To enhance the debittering of olive oil, 500-kg olive fruit ( Olea europaea L.) samples in duplicate from different olive cultivars and orchard locations in Spain (Manzanilla olive fruits from Villarrasa during the 2002/2003, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons, or from Dos Hermanas during the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons, Picual olive fruits from Cabra during the 2004/2005 season and Verdial olives from Villarrasa during the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons) were treated by dipping in hot water under different conditions (50–68 °C for 3 or 5 min), which had been previously determined based on laboratory-scale experiments, and subsequently processed for virgin olive oil extraction. Heat treatment produced a change in the intensity of the oil bitterness in all cases, increased the pigment content, decreased stability and reduced the sensory freshness of the oil. Although heat treatment reduced the phenolic content of the oil, this effect was not uniform among the different phenolic compounds and depended on the crop season and olive variety. Therefore, the determination of debittering conditions will require a series of preliminary laboratory-scale experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A maize synthetic population was improved for resistance to the Mediterranean corn borer (MCB, Sesamia nonagrioides) while maintaining yield. The objectives of this research were to investigate whether yield and yield stability of the maize synthetic population named EPS12 were affected by selection for MCB resistance; also to determine which genotypic and environmental covariates could explain the genotype (G), environment (E) and genotype × environment (GE) effects for yield under corn borer infestation. Plants from three cycles of selection and their testcrosses to three inbred testers (A639, B93 and EP42) were evaluated at two locations in 2 years, under MCB and European corn borer infestations. After selection EPS12 was a more stable genotype. Hybrids derived from crosses between B93 and inbreds obtained from the initial cycles of selection could be recommended for cultivation in northern Spain. The yield of crosses between cycles of selection and testers increased when there were fewer days with temperatures >25°C and higher mean maximum temperatures. Differences in yield among these genotypes were mostly explained by resistance to corn borer attack. In general, among EPS12-derived materials, genetic characteristics that contribute to increased grain yield were also responsible for increased abiotic stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel method for modelling internal migration dynamics using non-stationary causative matrices. Its application to annual migration flows in Spain reveals changes in location preferences of migrants between 1986 and 2003. Our approach also indicates some instability in Spain's migratory system prior to the late 1990s, as opposed to a negligible instability after that. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examined whether habitat complexity or stability affects the feeding ecology and breeding of Eurasian otter (Lutra luta L.). The study was conducted along rivers in the Ebro River basin. The study used several parameters to characterize the diet which include the percentage of crayfish in the diet and the percentage of amphibians in the diet. Results of the study showed a narrow link between trophic diversity and stability of the freshwater ecosystems. Also cited are the changes in foraging behavior of Eurasian otter within unstable habitat.

Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the mobilization of the dolmen of Dombate, a megalithic monument situated in the Northwest of Spain. The study is founded on simple static principles, with the application of basic concepts of soil mechanics (soil reactions were computed by the reaction modulus method) and rock mechanics (a simple secant approach was adopted to model the contact between orthostats). In addition, a simplified geometric model for dolmens was adopted. On the basis of these concepts, a numerical solver able to provide quick estimations of the system''s mobilization was developed. Using this tool, a number of sensitivity analyses were conducted to estimate the mobilization that could be caused by a conservation project currently under consideration. It was found that mobilization might be excessive, and therefore, a safer procedure is proposed. In short, this paper puts forth a new rational approach for archaeological practices which may help to estimate the possible consequences of excavations and rehabilitations on megalithic structures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Papers: Revista de Sociologia is the property of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

One of the main objectives of this study was to evaluate an alternative final destination for the growing production of sludge from sewage treatment plants. At present, a significant quantity of dry sludge is obtained in Catalonia. That is why this paper examines the possibility of adding this waste product to plain concrete with Portland cement.Taking into account the authors'' previous work, this study focused on making specimens of concrete containing different percentages of sludge from a sewage treatment plant, studying both their physical properties (density, porosity, and absorption capacity) and their mechanical properties (compressive strength, flexural strength, and elastic modulus) over time.The results confirmed that up to 10% of treatment plant sludge can be added to concrete for use in certain very specific applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Stability of grain quality characteristics is an interesting feature of today’s durum wheat breeding programmes, due to the high annual variation in both grain yield and quality, particularly in the Mediterranean area. Ten field trials were carried out during two seasons (1998 and 1999) in both the north (Lleida) and south (Granada and Jerez) of Spain. Ten durum wheat genotypes were used, including four Spanish commercial varieties and six advanced lines from the durum wheat breeding programme of CIMMYT-ICARDA. Many quality parameters were evaluated in this study including thousand kernel weight, test weight, vitreousness, ash content, protein content, pigment content and the SDS sedimentation test. Several statistical methods and techniques were used to describe the genotype×environment (G×E) interaction and to define stable genotypes in relation to the seven quality parameters considered in this study. The partition and interpretation of the G×E interaction revealed that the joint regression analysis was not efficient and demonstrated the usefulness of AMMI for describing the interaction patterns. The study of genotypic stability demonstrated that the Spanish commercial varieties, Altar-aos and Jabato and the CIMMYT-ICARDA advanced line, Waha, had high stability for quality characteristics and proved to be the best within the pool of the studied genotypes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper a method is offered for calculating the power of political parties in the Spanish parliament. This is a modification of the Shapley--Shubik index which allows the ideological affinities between parties to be taken into account. It extends Myerson's model of games with restricted communication. A version of Hart and Kurz's model is also used to study the stability of government coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious diseases have been one of the major causes of human mortality, and mathematical models have been playing significant roles in understanding the spread mechanism and controlling contagious diseases. In this paper, we propose a delayed SEIR epidemic model with intervention strategies and recovery under the low availability of resources. Non-delayed and delayed models both possess two equilibria: the disease-free equilibrium and the endemic equilibrium. When the basic reproduction number $ R&#95;0 = 1 $, the non-delayed system undergoes a transcritical bifurcation. For the delayed system, we incorporate two important time delays: $ \tau&#95;1 $ represents the latent period of the intervention strategies, and $ \tau&#95;2 $ represents the period for curing the infected individuals. Time delays change the system dynamics via Hopf-bifurcation and oscillations. The direction and stability of delay induced Hopf-bifurcation are established using normal form theory and center manifold theorem. Furthermore, we rigorously prove that local Hopf bifurcation implies global Hopf bifurcation. Stability switching curves and crossing directions are analyzed on the two delay parameter plane, which allows both delays varying simultaneously. Numerical results demonstrate that by increasing the intervention strength, the infection level decays; by increasing the limitation of treatment, the infection level increases. Our quantitative observations can be useful for exploring the relative importance of intervention and medical resources. As a timing application, we parameterize the model for COVID-19 in Spain and Italy. With strict intervention policies, the infection numbers would have been greatly reduced in the early phase of COVID-19 in Spain and Italy. We also show that reducing the time delays in intervention and recovery would have decreased the total number of cases in the early phase of COVID-19 in Spain and Italy. Our work highlights the necessity to consider the time delays in intervention and recovery in an epidemic model.

• Lucuma fruits are rich sources of carotenoids (4–6 mg/100 g fresh weight). • Pulps had a high qualitative diversity of 9 xanthophylls, 9 carotenes and 15 xanthophyll esters. • Violaxanthin and antheraxanthin esters were the main carotenoids in lucuma fruits. • Carotenoids were deposited in amylochromoplasts and globular chromoplasts. • Carotenoids presented high stability but low bioacessibility. Lucuma is a starchy orange-yellow fruit native to the Andean region. It is widely consumed in Latin America and has been recently adapted to the agronomical characteristics of the south region of Spain. However, its carotenoid profile has never been reported. The aim of this study was to characterize the carotenoid and carotenoid ester composition of lucuma pulps (var. Molina and Beltran) and assess their bioaccessibility with an in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion according to the INFOGEST® methodology. The carotenoid profile in lucuma pulps revealed a high qualitative diversity composed of 33 compounds, corresponding to 9 free xanthophylls, 9 hydrocarbon carotenes and 15 xanthophyll esters. (13 Z)-violaxanthin, (all- E)-violaxanthin and (all- E)-antheraxanthin were the most abundant carotenoids in lucuma fruits and were naturally present as xanthophyll esters: (all- E)-antheraxanthin 3-O-palmitate, (all- E)-violaxanthin laurate and (all- E)-violaxanthin palmitate. Carotenoids were stable during in vitro digestion; however, their release from the food matrix was limited which contributed to their low bioaccessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this first contribution to the study of virgin olive oils from the area assigned to the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) "Aceite de la Alcarria" (Spain), both monovarietal oils obtained under ideal conditions in a pilot plant, as well as blend oils made in the oil mills located in the study area, were characterized. Special interest was focused on the influence of the ripening state of the fruits. The oils from the Castellana variety, the main variety found in the study area, were characterized by a high content of tocopherols, medium oxidative stability and high content in palmitic, palmitoleic and linolenic acids. As the ripening process progresses, the oils lose fruitiness, bitterness, pungency, stability, and some organoleptic defects appear, to the point of lowering the category (from extra virgin to virgin) in some of the Castellana samples. Thus, early collection of olives of this variety is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meropenem generics are often imposed on prescribers, however scarce information is available on key properties such as antimicrobial potency, stability and colouration in solution, and dissolution time. This study aimed to generate comparative information for products available in Europe. The originator (ASTRA) and four generics (HOSPIRA, SANDOZ, FRESENIUS and AUROVIT) were compared for: (i) MICs against Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates (range, 0.125-191 mg/L); (ii) colouration (visual and photometry) and stability of concentrated solutions for prolonged or continuous infusion and maintained at 25-37 °C for up to 8 h (acceptable limit, ≥90% of original concentration); and (iii) dissolution time of concentrated solutions (50 mg/mL [for bolus administration]: turbidimetry and nursing personnel assessment). No significant difference was observed for MICs (except 2/80 isolates). For concentrated solutions storage: (i) SANDOZ produced about two times more yellow-coloured degradation products than the other preparations; (ii) meropenem loss was time-, concentration- and temperature-dependent; (iii) FRESENIUS was the least stable (limit for 1 g/48 mL, ~8 h at 25 °C and 4.5 h at 37 °C); (iv) at 2 g/48 mL, the storage time limit was 5-6 h at 25 °C and ~3 h at 37 °C for all preparations. Complete dissolution (turbidimetry) required 240 s for generics (120 s for ASTRA), and nurses reported longer but highly variable times for generics. Substantial differences between innovator and generics have been identified that could impact on their clinical use and/or make multicentric studies difficult to interpret, requiring suitability studies in the environments of their intended use., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: Risk prediction models aim at identifying people at higher risk of developing a target disease. Feature selection is particularly important to improve the prediction model performance avoiding overfitting and to identify the leading cancer risk (and protective) factors. Assessing the stability of feature selection/ranking algorithms becomes an important issue when the aim is to analyze the features with more prediction power., Methods: This work is focused on colorectal cancer, assessing several feature ranking algorithms in terms of performance for a set of risk prediction models (Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Logistic Regression, k-Nearest Neighbors and Boosted Trees). Additionally, their robustness is evaluated following a conventional approach with scalar stability metrics and a visual approach proposed in this work to study both similarity among feature ranking techniques as well as their individual stability. A comparative analysis is carried out between the most relevant features found out in this study and features provided by the experts according to the state-of-the-art knowledge., Results: The two best performance results in terms of Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) are achieved with a SVM classifier using the top-41 features selected by the SVM wrapper approach (AUC=0.693) and Logistic Regression with the top-40 features selected by the Pearson (AUC=0.689). Experiments showed that performing feature selection contributes to classification performance with a 3.9% and 1.9% improvement in AUC for the SVM and Logistic Regression classifier, respectively, with respect to the results using the full feature set. The visual approach proposed in this work allows to see that the Neural Network-based wrapper ranking is the most unstable while the Random Forest is the most stable., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that stability and model performance should be studied jointly as Random Forest turned out to be the most stable algorithm but outperformed by others in terms of model performance while SVM wrapper and the Pearson correlation coefficient are moderately stable while achieving good model performance., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of storage time and temperature on the measured concentrations of a profile of biomarkers of oxidative stress in canine serum: Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) measured by two different methods, using acidic medium (TEAC A ), and horseradish peroxidase (TEAC H ), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), total thiol, Paraoxonase 1 (PON1), total oxidant status (TOS), ferrous oxidation xylenol orange (FOX), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and thiobarbituric reactive species (TBARS). Six serum pools from healthy dogs were divided in various aliquots and stored at 4 °C and 25 °C for a period of 6, 24 and 72 h, and at -20 °C and - 80 °C for a period of 7, 14, 30, 60, 180, and 360 days. In addition, the effect of repeated freeze-thaw cycle was evaluated. For the short-term storage of biomarkers of oxidative stress in canine serum, 4 °C is preferred to room temperature. In case of long-term storage, the optimal stability was achieved when samples were stored at -80 °C. Most of the biomarkers were affected after two freeze-thaw cycles. In addition, as individual oxidative biomarkers can show differences in stability, it is important to consider the stability of each different analyte when it is measured in stored samples and avoid the use of samples stored in conditions in which the analyte is not stable., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Morningness-Eveningness Stability Scale improved (MESSi) is a newly constructed measure to assess circadian types and amplitude. In this study, we applied this measure to participants from three different countries: Germany, Spain and Iran. Confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) of MESSi displayed mediocre fit in the three countries. Comparing increasingly stringent models using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses indicated at least partial measurement invariance (metric invariance) by country for Morning Affect and Distinctness subscales. Age was positively related to Morning Affect (MA), and negatively related to Eveningness (EV) and Distinctness (DI). Men reported higher MA than women, whereas women reported higher DI than men. Regarding country effect, Iranian participants reported highest MA compared to Spaniards and Germans, whereas Germans reported higher DI compared to Iranians and Spaniards. As a conclusion, our study corroborated the validity and reliability of MESSi across three different countries with different geographical and cultural characteristics.