The search for sustainability has led to the utilization of more ecological materials with at least, a similar structural performance to those used at present. In this regard, reed fits the ...environmental and structural requirements as it is a sustainable and biodegradable lignin-cellulose material with remarkable mechanical properties. This research confirms the reed's structural efficiency as it demonstrates that it has excellent strength and stiffness in relation to its density. The reed anisotropy has a large impact on its properties. Indeed, the strength and stiffness parallel to the fibers are clearly higher than in the perpendicular direction. The results confirm that strength and stiffness decrease with the moisture content and nodes act as reinforcement in compression and bending. If compared with steel, timber and concrete, the reed possesses the highest value for strength. Hence, reed constitutes a strong candidate for environmentally friendly engineering.
Among the priority concerns that figure in the public manager’s portfolio, the existing problems in cities when planning a more efficient management of urban space are well known. Within the wide ...range of reflections that local corporations consider, one of their main concerns is based on achieving a more livable city model, where the quality of life of its inhabitants is substantially improved and founded on sustainable development parameters. In view of these considerations, the purpose of this research is to establish an analysis of the formal relationship between urban sustainability and spatial morphology in a medium-sized Spanish city chosen as a pattern. The methodological process established combines the application of open data (from public administrations) with the calculation of urban sustainability indicators and GIS tools, with a particular focus at the neighborhood level. The results obtained at a global level throughout the city show that a large number of indicators including density, green areas, public facilities, public parking and cultural heritage elements are above the minimum standards required, which means that they comfortably meet the regulatory requirements and presumably present an adequate degree of sustainability. On the other hand, other indicators such as building compactness, urban land sponging and organic and recycling bins are below the minimum required standard. Considering the evaluation of the urban model obtained and, through the urban planning instruments set out in the law, the necessary corrective measures must be established to try to adapt the urban configuration to the objectives of sustainable development. It can be concluded that the implementation of urban sustainability indicators as a territorial planning tool linked to GIS tools would objectively facilitate the application of measures to promote the improvement of the citizens’ quality of life. However, the availability of open data sources must be taken into account as a prerequisite to develop the transformation into useful parameters for their practical application for citizens in urban environments.
The public decision-making process at the municipal level becomes extremely complicated for government managers when unpopular measures must be adopted. In this sense, citizen participation processes ...become a tool of undoubted added value that allows municipalities to adapt their policies to the needs and feelings of their inhabitants. The aim of this research was to focus on addressing the point of view of the citizens of a medium-sized Spanish city in the face of the imminent implementation of a low-emission zone, in order to identify which aspects were of concern to citizens. The methodology used in the research was based on a declared preferences survey that allowed us to determine the daily behaviour of the user in terms of urban mobility and to anticipate the citizen’s reaction to the implementation of socially unacceptable initiatives, such as restrictions on access, circulation, and the parking of vehicles. The results obtained in relation to the consultation on alternative measures to tackle pollution, noise and traffic jams showed that citizens are receptive to improvements in universal accessibility, subsidies for public transport, increased road safety for PMV’s infrastructure, subsidies for the purchase of environmentally friendly vehicles and PMV, and the promotion of pedestrianisation. However, there are undoubted threats to the implementation of the LEZ, such as the lack of acceptance of the measure. Therefore, it is considered imperative for public administrations to work on the search for sustainable actions that contribute to improving the degree of compliance with the measure, while at the same time making an effort to disseminate the advantages of the LEZ for the quality of life and health of citizens (through information campaigns). There is a knowledge gap in scientific research on the ex ante assessment of the effects of possible transport measures to improve air quality in city centres and consultation through citizen participation. It is estimated that the resolution of this research gap could contribute to a more feasible, reasonable, and effective implementation of various urban mobility policies in medium-sized Spanish cities.
At a local level, public authorities’ decision making has a significant influence on the development, structure and spatial configuration of the city. For this reason, it is considered essential to ...combine political positions with urban sustainability criteria, particularly in cities that have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The objective of this research is based on establishing an analysis of the formal relationship between sustainability and spatial morphology in the city of Cáceres, taking into account the urban planning conditions in two areas of study: The Historic Centre (PCH) and the city as a whole. The methodology applies a series of urban indicators from four different fields, namely land use, public space, mobility, and urban complexity, with later GIS analysis using a 1 ha grid pattern. Results show correlation exists between historical zones and the degree of some indicators like density, compactness, acoustic comfort or street proportion, and streetscape, while others seem to depend on further conditions. The case of Caceres provides new findings in the Human Heritage Cities research field for Spain and Southern Europe. Grid pattern analysis has shown to be useful to most of the indicators, although some would require different approaches in the future. The authors consider the use of geoinformation tools as an opportunity for mid-sized and similar historical cities’ policymakers, with our ultimate goal being achieving further equity in urban quality conditions. In conclusion, it is considered that there is a knowledge gap regarding the existence of multiple open data sources belonging to different public administrations and the transformation of these data into useful parameters for their practical application at the citizen level.
The key factor in moving towards a more sustainable travel model is based on improving mobility, especially in rural areas that share territorial dynamics with urban areas and are connected by a ...daily flow of inhabitants. The purpose of this article is to carry out a diagnosis of the daily mobility patterns of the inhabitants of a number of rural municipalities, with the aim of promoting sustainability and mitigating the phenomenon of territorial depopulation in future local planning policies. The research methodology is based on the use of revealed preference surveys together with accessibility analysis using GIS tools, allowing for an in-depth knowledge of the mobility patterns of the municipalities in the area under analysis. In this respect, the reference parameters in terms of territorial accessibility are determined by applying the network analysis procedure to basic public services. The results reflect the existence of an unbalanced modal split with a preponderance of private vehicle use (regardless of the destination or the reason for the journey). In addition, a very weak inter-municipal connection dynamic is observed. There is a knowledge gap in the verification of the long-term suitability of sustainable measures in rural areas implemented after the development of mobility plans (in order to assess their effectiveness).
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) represents the main metabolic alteration during pregnancy. The available methods for diagnosing GDM identify women when the disease is established, and pancreatic ...beta-cell insufficiency has occurred.The present study aimed to generate an early prediction model (under 18 weeks of gestation) to identify those women who will later be diagnosed with GDM.
A cohort of 75 pregnant women was followed during gestation, of which 62 underwent normal term pregnancy and 13 were diagnosed with GDM. Targeted metabolomics was used to select serum biomarkers with predictive power to identify women who will later be diagnosed with GDM.
Candidate metabolites were selected to generate an early identification model employing a criterion used when performing Random Forest decision tree analysis. A model composed of two short-chain acylcarnitines was generated: isovalerylcarnitine (C5) and tiglylcarnitine (C5:1). An analysis by ROC curves was performed to determine the classification performance of the acylcarnitines identified in the study, obtaining an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.934 (0.873-0.995, 95% CI). The model correctly classified all cases with GDM, while it misclassified ten controls as in the GDM group. An analysis was also carried out to establish the concentrations of the acylcarnitines for the identification of the GDM group, obtaining concentrations of C5 in a range of 0.015-0.25 μmol/L and of C5:1 with a range of 0.015-0.19 μmol/L.
Early pregnancy maternal metabolites can be used to screen and identify pregnant women who will later develop GDM. Regardless of their gestational body mass index, lipid metabolism is impaired even in the early stages of pregnancy in women who develop GDM.
The main objective of this study was to analyse the overall performance of the urban public transport franchise in the city of Cáceres, including its degree of use and the profiles of potential ...users. A further aim was to ascertain the motives for the journeys and the population's level of accessibility to the service, taking into account the city's current sustainable urban mobility plan. The intention is to provide a possible solution to the city's current problems of mobility. The frequent use of private vehicles over public transport for reasons of convenience creates congestion on the main access roads to the city centre, and generates the need for more parking spaces, sources of stress for the citizens and increasing the levels of environmental and noise pollution. The local administration and users’ satisfaction with the quality of their urban public transport service supports the conclusion that a service is being provided that is well adjusted to the particular needs of the city, promoting sustainable mobility and adaptation to the financial resources allocated to providing that service. However, there is room for improvement in its efficacy by implementing public transport lanes on high ADT (Average daily traffic) roads, increasing passage frequencies, encouraging interchanges, providing greater spatial coverage, and instituting traffic light priority systems for public transport.
The objective of this study was to examine critically the city of Cáceres's current sustainable urban mobility plan, analysing the measures already implemented by the City Council from the ...perspective of their functionality, and proposing different approaches to improving traffic and road safety in order to optimize the effectiveness of those measures. The current state of mobility in the city was examined to determine how effective the plan's lines of action have been, and to propose alternatives that should result in effective and sustainable improvements in the conditions of urban mobility. In general, the actions proposed in the city's mobility plan are fairly consistent with the city's reality and with the situation in other medium-sized Spanish cities. However, the plan does not provide for the development of measures of institutional, physical, and tariff integration of the various systems of public transport and their intermodality (understandable given the size of the city and the limited number of modes of transport). Another aspect not evaluated in the plan, but whose inclusion is vital, is the improvement of children's mobility to and from school. Specific proposals are presented to improve road safety at certain strategic points of the city which have a high accident rate, and whose urgent need for solutions is a genuine headache for the city's management.
Abstract
Background and study aims
The adherence to and knowledge of physicians about colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and surveillance guidelines is still suboptimal, threatening the effectiveness ...of CRC screening. This study assessed the usefulness of a mobile decision support system (MDSS) to improve physician ability to recommend proper timing of and intervals for CRC screening and surveillance.
Patients and methods
This was a binational, single-blinded, randomized clinical trial including gastroenterologists and colorectal surgeons from Argentina and Uruguay. The specialists were invited to respond to a questionnaire with 10 CRC screening and surveillance clinical scenarios, randomized into two groups, with and without access to a dedicated app (CaPtyVa). The main outcome measure was the proportion of physicians correctly solving at least 60 % of the clinical cases according to local guidelines.
Results
A total of 213 physicians were included. The proportion of physicians responding correctly at least 60 % of the vignettes was higher in the app group as compared to the control group (90 % versus 56 %) (relative risk RR 1.6 95 % confidence interval CI 1.34–1.91). The performance was also higher in the app group for both vignette categories: CRC screening (93 % vs 75 % RR 1.24, 95 %CI 1.01–1.40) and surveillance (85 % vs 47 % RR 1.81 95 %CI 1.46–2.22), respectively. Physicians considered the app easy to use and of great utility in daily practice.
Conclusions
A MDSS was shown to be a useful tool that improved specialist performance in solving CRC screening and surveillance clinical scenarios. Its implementation in daily practice may facilitate the adherence of physicians to CRC screening and surveillance guidelines.
On several occasions, when the problem of urban transport is addressed, only the supply and demand, number of users, urban design, i.e., aspects that influence the operational functioning of the ...concession of this public service, are considered.
The research proposed in this article aims to examine the situation of public transport stops in the city of Cáceres in accordance with the criteria required by current legislation on universal accessibility. In this context, an attempt has been made to identify the architectural barriers faced by users of the service who have some physical limitation.
After an in-depth evaluation of the existing regulations and identification of the technical requirements to be met, a critical study of compliance with the legislation in force is carried out on the existing bus stops on the different urban public transport lines.
Subsequently, constructive solutions are provided in case of non-compliance, with the aim of arranging the adequacy of urban transport in terms of accessibility. In order to achieve this goal, specific solutions for improvement are formulated in several areas under study. Furthermore, the main operational problems detected in the accessibility infrastructures for this means of transport are identified.
Finally, after having analysed in detail the problems of the urban public transport stop network, it can be concluded that most of them are the result of the lack of coordination between the general urban development plan and the sustainable urban mobility plan, which makes it impossible to provide an adequate service.
PDF
