A potential protection against COVID-19 by a high-quality dietary pattern is to be expected given the biological plausibility supporting the beneficial effects of an adequate dietary intake on the ...immune system. However, knowledge on the relationship between long-term maintained healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is still sparse. We longitudinally assessed this association in a well-known Mediterranean cohort.
We assessed 9,677 participants from the SUN Project, a prospective cohort of middle-aged university graduates in Spain. We inquired about a positive result in a COVID-19 diagnostic test during the months of February to December 2020. After excluding health professionals (HP), 5,194 participants were included in the statistical analyses (mean age: 52.6, SD: 12.4; 55.2% women). Food habits were assessed at baseline using a previously validated semiquantitative 136-item food frequency questionnaire. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (cumulative average of 2 repeated measurements 10 years apart) was assessed using the 0-to-9 Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). We used multivariable logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for incident COVID-19 according to the MDS.
Among 5,194 non-HP participants, 122 reported to have received a positive COVID-19 diagnostic test. Participants with intermediate adherence to the Mediterranean diet (3 < MDS ≤ 6) had a significantly lower odds of developing COVID-19 (multivariable-adjusted OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34–0.73), and those with the highest adherence (MDS > 6) exhibited the lowest risk (multivariable-adjusted OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.16–0.84, p for trend < 0.001) as compared with participants with MDS ≤ 3. This inverse association remained robust within subgroups and in sensitivity analyses. Notwithstanding, no significant associations were observed for health professionals (p for interaction = 0.06).
In conclusion, better adherence to the Mediterranean diet may be associated with a lower risk of COVID-19. Our results are applicable only to persons who are not health professionals.
Despite the large research effort on reporting quantities of coastal litter, the dynamics of this litter is not yet sufficiently understood. Litter inputs in five cobble beaches located in the ...Mediterranean (Spain) were studied over three months during winter by biweekly litter tagging. Plastic represented the dominant material that reached the beaches (77%). In remote and narrow beaches, storms constituted the main driver in litter dynamics, favouring the accumulation of floating items such as plastic bottles and wood fragments as well as the largest but contrasting effects, increasing litter inputs and outputs from the beach, respectively. In rural beaches, beach users, mainly fisher people, but also tourists, contributed to a notable input of litter to the beach. Burial and exhumation of litter were reported as common occurring processes. Better management actions are required to improve beach environmental quality.
•Marine litter can remain on the beach surface for several months.•Fishermen were an important source of litter during winter in studied rural beaches.•Litter burial and exhumation processes occur in studied cobble beaches.•Floating litter can easily move between beaches due to coastal currents.
•The geometrically exact rod model as underlying mechanical model.•Explicit solution search using dynamic relaxation.•Translations and rotations are updated by means of 6 DoFs per node.•The ...form-finding process is driven by kinematic constraints.•Anisotropic cross-sections can be modelled.
In the field of bending-active structures, the complexity of finding beforehand the equilibrium configuration and the non-linearity of the structural response are main issues during the conceptual phase. The use of tools based on classical form-finding procedures as dynamic relaxation is the main trend today; different mechanical models with 3, 4 or 6 degrees of freedom have been implemented for modelling the bending effect. However, there is a well-established class of mechanical models which has been specifically designed to reproduce the behaviour of very flexible structures and has not been used so far in form-finding of bending-active structures. These are derived from the so-called geometrically exact (or Reissner-Simo) beam theory, and they are able to treat arbitrarily large rotations and displacements. In this paper, we present the development of a form-finding tool based on Reissner-Simo’s theory and the dynamic relaxation method, in order to find the static equilibrium of the system. The choice of form-finding parameters as the target curve length and the kinematic constraints at beam ends will determine the shape of the final structure in the ‘design-oriented’ process. Several numerical examples on a range of structures are tested to validate the formulation.
Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is the new active ingredient authorized by Brazilian legislation, which acts as herbicide and may be used to control weeds in rice cultivation, but studies on toxicity to humans ...and the environment are still under review. Due to recent insertion in the world pesticide market, there are still few studies related to the extraction and detection methodologies of this compound. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize and validate solid-liquid extraction with low temperature purification (SLE-LTP) for determining florpyrauxifen-benzyl in soil using highperformance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The results showed that the best conditions were achieved using Poroshell column, a temperature of 30 °C, mobile phase composition of acetonitrile:water (85:15 v/v) acidified with formic acid 0.1% (v/v), a flow rate of 0.3 mL min-1, and 243 nm as the wavelength. The best extracting phase was acetonitrile acidified with formic acid 0.1% (v/v) which achieved a recovery rate ca. 100% and relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 3.9%. The methodology was precise, accurate, linear and selective, with a limit of quantification of 20 μg kg-1. The stability study of this compound in soil showed that approximately 17.5 days is the half-life of florpyrauxifen-benzyl in soil.
•Bending-active tied arches have been modelled as individual structural modules.•The relationship between structural shape, activation forces and stress levels has been discussed.•The serviceability ...limit state and the ultimate limit state have been analyzed according to the Eurocode.•Results are applicable to variable scales and cross-section properties.
Active bending is recently attracting considerable attention as a new paradigm to build lightweight structures both in research and practice. While there are many references dealing with form-finding methods for bending-active structures, the literature on their performance in relation to their shape and member proportioning is still scarce. This paper addresses the relationship between configuration finding and structural performance in bending-active tied arches: planar arches composed of a bent (active) rod, lower spanning cables and secondary struts that are joined to the rod and act as cable deviators. This simple bending-active arrangement allows to state key relationships between shape, proportion and performance. Starting from the fact that rod segments between struts behave as elastica segments, and selecting the mechanical slenderness of the rod as key parameter, scale-independent relationships between rise-to-span ratio, rod slenderness and stresses after activation have been established for a three-strut tied arch. The limitations posed by keeping stresses in cables after the activation within an acceptable range have been also addressed. Span-deflection ratios corresponding to Eurocode loads for the serviceability limit state have been obtained for a set of three-strut configurations using a non-linear structural model. Results have been represented in terms of rod slenderness, cable slenderness and rise-to-span ratio. The same procedure has been used to determine and represent proper utilization ratios for rod cross-sections in ultimate limit state. All the results have been combined to show the design space corresponding to the given constraints and to exemplify how to extract from it a suitable structural configuration. Finally, we explain how to extend the proposed method to design bending-active tied arches with an arbitrary number and proportion of deviators.
Purpose
To evaluate differences between patients with unilateral and bilateral adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) in the prevalence of autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) and related comorbidities.
Methods
...In this multicentre retrospective study, AIs ≥ 1 cm without overt hormonal excess were included in the study. ACS was defined by a post-dexamethasone suppression test (DST) serum cortisol ≥ 5.0 µg/dl, in the absence of signs of hypercortisolism. For the association of ACS with the prevalence of comorbidities, post-DST serum cortisol was also analysed as a continuous variable.
Results
Inclusion criteria were met by 823 patients, 66.3% had unilateral and 33.7% bilateral AIs. ACS was demonstrated in 5.7% of patients. No differences in the prevalence of ACS and related comorbidities were found between bilateral and unilateral AIs (
P
> 0.05). However, we found that tumour size was a good predictor of ACS (OR = 1.1 for each mm,
P
< 0.001), and the cut-off of 25 mm presented a good diagnostic accuracy to predict ACS (sensitivity of 69.4%, specificity of 74.1%).
During a median follow-up time of 31.2 (IQR = 14.4–56.5) months, the risk of developing dyslipidaemia was increased in bilateral compared with unilateral AIs (HR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1–3.0 but, this association depended on the tumour size observed at the end of follow-up (HR adjusted by last visit-tumour size = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.1–16.2).
Conclusions
Tumour size, not bilaterality, is associated with a higher prevalence of ACS. During follow-up, neither tumour size nor bilaterality were associated with the development of new comorbidities, yet a larger tumour size after follow-up explained the association of bilateral AIs with the risk of dyslipidaemia.
Cambro-Ordovician palaeogeography and fragmentation of the North Gondwana margin is still not very well understood. Here we address this question using isotopic data to consider the crustal evolution ...and palaeogeographic position of the, North Gondwana, Iberian Massif Ossa-Morena Zone (OMZ). The OMZ preserves a complex tectonomagmatic history: late Neoproterozoic Cadomian orogenesis (ca. 650-550 Ma); Cambro-Ordovician rifting (ca. 540-450 Ma); and Variscan orogenesis (ca. 390-305 Ma). We place this evolution in the context of recent North Gondwana Cambro-Ordovician palaeogeographic reconstructions that suggest more easterly positions, adjacent to the Sahara Metacraton, for other Iberian Massif zones. To do this we compiled an extensive new database of published late Proterozoic-Palaeozoic Nd model ages and detrital and magmatic zircon age data for (i) the Iberian Massif and (ii) North Gondwana Anti-Atlas West African Craton, Tuareg Shield, and Sahara Metacraton. The Nd model ages of OMZ Cambro-Ordovician crustal-derived magmatism and Ediacaran-Ordovician sedimentary rocks range from ca. 1.9 to 1.6 Ga, with a mode ca. 1.7 Ga. They show the greatest affinity with the Tuareg Shield, with limited contribution of more juvenile material from the Anti-Atlas West African Craton. This association is supported by detrital zircons that have Archaean, Palaeoproterozic, and Neoproterozoic radiometric ages similar to the aforementioned Iberian Massif zones. However, an OMZ Mesoproterozoic gap, with no ca. 1.0 Ga cluster, is different from other zones but, once more, similar to the westerly Tuareg Shield distribution. This places the OMZ in a more easterly position than previously thought but still further west than other Iberian zones. It has been proposed that in the Cambro-Ordovician the North Gondwana margin rifted as the Rheic Ocean opened diachronously from west to east. Thus, the more extensive rift-related magmatism in the westerly OMZ than in other, more easterly, Iberian Massif zones fits our new proposed palaeogeographic reconstruction.
The provision of accurate wet tropospheric corrections (WTC), accounting for the delay of the radar pulses caused mostly by the atmospheric water vapor in the altimeter‐range observations, is pivotal ...for the full exploitation of altimeter‐derived surface heights. The WTC is best retrieved by measurements from Microwave Radiometers (MWR) on board the same altimeter mission. However, these instruments fail to provide valid WTC over land and ice and under rainy conditions. The GNSS‐derived Path Delay Plus (GPD+) algorithm has been designed to provide WTC over these surfaces where the onboard MWR WTC is invalid. This study focuses on the estimation of enhanced GPD+ WTC for the Copernicus Sentinel‐3A and Sentinel‐3B satellites, for the latest Baseline Collection 005.02 (BC005.2), spanning the period since the beginning of the missions until March 2023. GPD+ corrections are being provided operationally since 2022 and have been adopted as the default WTC in the calculation of the sea level anomaly (SLA). Compared to previous versions, the BC005.2 GPD+ WTC features improved data combination procedures, possesses a larger percentage of points estimated from observations, a better intermission alignment and reduced systematic differences among ascending and descending passes. Overall, GPD+ WTC are consistent, calibrated corrections, valid over all points present in the Non Time Critical marine product, allowing to recover, on average, about 17% of the altimeter observations with valid SLA, which otherwise, most of them would be rejected. Impacts of these WTC are most significant over coastal and inland water regions, at high latitudes and during rain events.
Plain Language Summary
Satellite radar altimetry is a powerful technique to measure the Earth's topography during day and night, in all weather conditions. It uses radar pulses to measure the distance between the satellite and the surface beneath the satellite, from which the height of the mean sea level, rivers and lakes, for example, can be obtained. The atmosphere affects the propagation by delaying the signal and increasing the measured trajectory. The effect of the atmospheric water vapor is particularly difficult to model, since it is highly variable. This study concerns with a method to estimate the so‐called wet tropospheric correction, which accounts for the water vapor effects in the altimeter measurements. Over open ocean, the correction is usually based on the measurements from a dedicated instrument collocated on the same satellite, which fails to provide valid information over non‐water surfaces. The method, called GNSS‐derived Path Delay Plus (GPD+), aims to fill the gaps left by the previous instrumental correction. The study describes the latest version of the GPD+ wet tropospheric corrections for the Copernicus Sentinel‐3 altimeter products. It is demonstrated that these corrections can extend the altimeter observations to important regions such as coastal regions, rivers and lakes and high latitudes.
Key Points
New GPD+ wet tropospheric corrections have been produced for Sentinel‐3, for the latest Baseline Collection (BC) 005.02
These corrections are consistent, calibrated, valid over all surface types, improving data coverage mainly over coastal and polar regions
GPD+ are improved wet tropospheric corrections with respect to the Sentinel‐3 onboard radiometer and to the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational model
In this paper, a
planar heterojunction simulation of Sn-based iodide perovskite solar cell (
) is proposed. The solar cell structure consists of a Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate on which ...titanium oxide (TiO
) is placed; this material will act as an electron transporting layer (ETL); then, we have the tin perovskite CH
NH
SnI
(MASnI
) which is the absorber layer and next a copper zinc and tin sulfide (CZTS) that will have the function of a hole transporting layer (HTL). This material is used due to its simple synthesis process and band tuning, in addition to presenting good electrical properties and stability; it is also a low-cost and non-toxic inorganic material. Finally, gold (Au) is placed as a back contact. The lead-free perovskite solar cell was simulated using a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D). The simulations were performed under AM 1.5G light illumination and focused on getting the best efficiency of the solar cell proposed. The thickness of MASnI
and CZTS, band gap of CZTS, operating temperature in the range between 250 K and 350 K, acceptor concentration and defect density of absorber layer were the parameters optimized in the solar cell device. The simulation results indicate that absorber thicknesses of 500 nm and 300 nm for CZTS are appropriate for the solar cell. Further, when optimum values of the acceptor density (
) and defect density (
), 10
cm
and 10
cm
, respectively, were used, the best electrical values were obtained:
of 31.66 mA/cm
,
of 0.96 V,
of 67% and
of 20.28%. Due to the enhanced performance parameters, the structure of the device could be used in applications for a solar energy harvesting system.
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