This is the first study to report the prevalence of general obesity and abdominal obesity (AO) in the adult population of Spain based on measurements of weight, height and waist circumference. The ...data are taken from the ENRICA study, a cross‐sectional study carried out between June 2008 and October 2010 in 12,883 individuals representative of the non‐institutionalized population on Spain aged 18 years and older. Anthropometry was performed under standardized conditions in the households by trained interviewers. Overweight was considered as body mass index (BMI) 25–29.9 kg m−2, and obesity as BMI ≥ 30 kg m−2. AO was defined as waist circumference >102 cm in men and >88 cm in women. The prevalence of obesity was 22.9% (24.4% in men and 21.4% in women). About 36% of adults had AO (32% of men and 39% of women). The frequency of obesity and of AO increased with age and affected, respectively, 35 and 62% of persons aged 65 and over. The frequency of obesity and AO decreased with increasing educational level. For example, 29% of women with primary education or less had obesity vs. only 11% of those with university studies. The prevalence of obesity was very high in the Canary Islands and in the south of Spain.
The importance of the six sigma methodology in industry is growing constantly. However, there are few empirical studies that analyse the advantages of this methodology and its positive effects on ...organisational performance. The purpose of this paper is to extend understanding of the success of six sigma quality management initiatives by investigating the effects of six sigma teamwork and process management on absorptive capacity. It also seeks to understand the relation between absorptive capacity and organisational learning as two sources of sustainable competitive advantage. The information used comes from a larger study, the data for which was collected from a random sample of 237 European firms. Of these 237 organisations, 58 are six sigma organisations. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. The main findings show that six sigma teamwork and process management positively affect the development of absorptive capacity. A positive and significant relationship is also observed between absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation. The findings of this study justify six sigma implementation in firms. This study provides us with an in-depth understanding of some structural elements that characterise the six sigma methodology, enabling us to provide an explanation for its success.
In the past few years, 3D electron microscopy (3DEM) has undergone a revolution in instrumentation and methodology. One of the central players in this wide-reaching change is the continuous ...development of image processing software. Here we present Scipion, a software framework for integrating several 3DEM software packages through a workflow-based approach. Scipion allows the execution of reusable, standardized, traceable and reproducible image-processing protocols. These protocols incorporate tools from different programs while providing full interoperability among them. Scipion is an open-source project that can be downloaded from http://scipion.cnb.csic.es.
Inter-annual variability and trends of annual/seasonal precipitation totals in Ghana are analyzed considering different gridded observational (gauge- and/or satellite-based) and reanalysis products. ...A quality-controlled dataset formed by fourteen gauges from the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) is used as reference for the period 1961–2010. Firstly, a good agreement is found between GMet and all the observational products in terms of variability, with better results for the gauge-based products—correlations in the range of 0.7–1.0 and nearly null biases—than for the satellite-gauge merged and satellite-derived products. In contrast, reanalyses exhibit a very poor performance, with correlations below 0.4 and large biases in most of the cases. Secondly, a Mann-Kendall trend analysis is carried out. In most cases, GMet data reveal the existence of predominant decreasing (increasing) trends for the first (second) half of the period of study, 1961–1985 (1986–2010). Again, observational products are shown to reproduce well the observed trends—with worst results for purely satellite-derived data—whereas reanalyses lead in general to unrealistic stronger than observed trends, with contradictory results (opposite signs for different reanalyses) in some cases. Similar inconsistencies are also found when analyzing trends of extreme precipitation indicators. Therefore, this study provides a warning concerning the use of reanalysis data as pseudo-observations in Ghana.
In this work, a synchronization scheme for networks of complex systems is presented. The proposed synchronization scheme uses a control law obtained with some definitions from graph theory and ...solving the Model-Matching Problem for complex networks. In particular, Rössler, Chen, Lorenz and Lü chaotic systems are used as complex chaotic systems into complex networks. Particular cases with regular and irregular networks of six identical chaotic systems are implemented, with some well-known topologies as star and ring small-world, and tree topologies. Highlighting, the obtained control law is applied to synchronize an irregular network of six different chaotic systems in a tree topology. The usefulness and advantages of the proposed synchronization scheme are highlighted performing numerical simulations of the chaotic complex networks.
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a highly prevalent maternal pathology characterized by maternal glucose intolerance during pregnancy that is, associated with severe complications for both ...mother and offspring. Several risk factors have been related to GDM; one of the most important among them is genetic predisposition. Numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes that act at different levels on various tissues, could cause changes in the expression levels and activity of proteins, which result in glucose and insulin metabolism dysfunction. In this review, we describe various SNPs; which according to literature, increase the risk of developing GDM. These SNPs include: (1) those associated with transcription factors that regulate insulin production and excretion, such as rs7903146 (
) and rs5015480 (
); (2) others that cause a decrease in protective hormones against insulin resistance such as rs2241766 (
) and rs6257 (
); (3) SNPs that cause modifications in membrane proteins, generating dysfunction in insulin signaling or cell transport in the case of rs5443 (
) and rs2237892 (
); (4) those associated with enzymes such as rs225014 (
) and rs9939609 (
) which cause an impaired metabolism, resulting in an insulin resistance state; and (5) other polymorphisms, those are associated with growth factors such as rs2146323 (
) and rs755622 (
) which could cause changes in the expression levels of these proteins, producing endothelial dysfunction and an increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines, characteristic on GDM. While the pathophysiological mechanism is unclear, this review describes various potential effects of these polymorphisms on the predisposition to develop GDM.
We report constraints on sub-GeV dark matter particles interacting with electrons from the first underground operation of DAMIC-M detectors. The search is performed with an integrated exposure of ...85.23 g days, and exploits the subelectron charge resolution and low level of dark current of DAMIC-M charge-coupled devices (CCDs). Dark-matter-induced ionization signals above the detector dark current are searched for in CCD pixels with charge up to 7e^{-}. With this dataset we place limits on dark matter particles of mass between 0.53 and 1000 MeV/c^{2}, excluding unexplored regions of parameter space in the mass ranges 1.6,1000 MeV/c^{2} and 1.5,15.1 MeV/c^{2} for ultralight and heavy mediator interactions, respectively.
Accessibility of multispectral, multitemporal imagery combined with recent advances in cloud computing and machine learning approaches have enhanced our ability to model habitat characteristics ...across broad spatial and temporal scales. We integrated a large dataset of known nest and roost sites of a threatened species, the Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida), in the southwestern USA with Landsat imagery processed using the Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) time series algorithm on Google Earth Engine. We then used maximum entropy modeling (Maxent) to classify the landscape into four 'spectral similarity' classes that reflected the degree to which 30-m pixels contained a multispectral signature similar to that found at known owl nest/roost sites and mapped spectral similarity classes from 1986-2020. For map interpretation, we used nationally consistent forest inventory data to evaluate the structural and compositional characteristics of each spectral similarity class. We found a monotonic increase of structural characteristics typically associated with owl nesting and roosting over classes of increasing similarity, with the 'very similar' class meeting or exceeding published minimum desired management conditions for owl nesting and roosting. We also found an increased rate of loss of forest vegetation typical of owl nesting and roosting since the beginning of the 21st century that can be partly attributed to increased frequency and extent of large (≥400 ha) wildfires. This loss resulted in a 38% reduction over the 35-year study period in forest vegetation most similar to that used for owl nesting and roosting. Our modelling approach using cloud computing with time series of Landsat imagery provided a cost-effective tool for landscape-scale, multidecadal monitoring of vegetative components of a threatened species' habitat. Our approach could be used to monitor trends in the vegetation favored by any other species, provided that high-quality location data such as we presented here are available.
Avian coccidiosis continues to be one of the costliest diseases of commercial poultry. Understanding the epidemiology of Eimeria species in poultry flocks and the resistance profile to common ...anticoccidials is important to design effective disease prevention and control strategies. This study examined litter samples to estimate the prevalence and distribution of Eimeria species among broiler farms in 4 geographic regions of Colombia. A total of 245 litter samples were collected from 194 broiler farms across representative regions of poultry production between March and August 2019. The litter samples were processed for oocysts enumeration and speciation after sporulation. End-point polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis was conducted to confirm the presence of Eimeria species. Anticoccidial sensitivity was determined with 160 Ross AP males in 5 treatment groups: noninfected, nonmedicated control (NNC), infected, nonmedicated control (INC), infected salinomycin treated (SAL, dose: 66 ppm), infected diclazuril treated (DIC, dose: 1 ppm), and infected methylbenzocuate-Clopidol treated (MET.CLO, dose: 100 ppm), All birds were orally inoculated with 1 × 106 sporulated oocysts using a 1 mL syringe, except for the NNC- group who received 1ml of water.Eimeria spp. were found in 236 (96.3%) out of 245 individual houses, representing 180 (92.8%) out of 194 farms. Eimeria acervulina was the most prevalent species (35.0%) followed by Eimeria tenella (30.9%), Eimeria maxima (20.4%), and other Eimeria spp. (13.6%). However, mixed species infections were common, with the most prevalent combination being mixtures of E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. tenella, and other species in 31.4% of the Eimeria-positive samples. PCR analysis identified E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. tenella, Eimeria necatrix, Eimeria mitis, and Eimeria praecox with variable prevalence across farms and regions. Anticoccidial sensitivity testing of strains of Eimeria isolated from 1 region, no treatment difference (P > 0.05) was observed in final weight (BW), weight gain (BWG) or feed conversion (FCR). For the global resistance index (GI) classified SAL and MET.CLO as good efficacy (85.79 and 85.49, respectively) and DIC as limited efficacy (74.52%). These results demonstrate the ubiquitous nature of Eimeria spp. and identifies the current state of sensitivity to commonly used anticoccidials in a region of poultry importance for Colombia.
Recently, it has been found that off-center carbon burning in a subset of intermediate-mass stars does not propagate all the way to the center, resulting in a class of hybrid CONe cores. The ...implications of a significant presence of carbon in the resulting massive degenerate cores have not been thoroughly explored so far. Here, we consider the possibility that stars hosting these hybrid CONe cores might belong to a close binary system and, eventually, become white dwarfs accreting from a nondegenerate companion at rates leading to a supernova explosion. We computed the hydrodynamical phase of the explosion of Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs harboring hybrid cores, assuming that the explosion starts at the center; this explosion occurs either as a detonation, as may be expected in some degenerate merging scenarios, or as a deflagration that afterward transitions into a delayed detonation. We assume these hybrid cores are made of a central CO volume, of mass MCO, surrounded by an ONe shell. We show that, in the case of a pure detonation, a medium-sized carbon-rich region, MCO (<0.4 M⊙), results in the ejection of a small fraction of the mantle while leaving a massive bound remnant. Part of this remnant is made of the products of the detonation, that is, Fe-group nuclei, but they are buried in its inner regions unless convection is activated during the ensuing cooling and shrinking phase of the remnant. In contrast, and somehow paradoxically, delayed detonations do not leave remnants other than for the minimum MCO we explored of MCO = 0.2 M⊙, and even in this case the remnant is as small as 0.13 M⊙. The ejecta produced by these delayed detonations are characterized by slightly smaller masses of 56Ni and substantially smaller kinetic energies than the ejecta obtained for a delayed detonation of a “normal” CO white dwarf. The optical emission expected from these explosions most likely do not match the observational properties of typical Type Ia supernovae, although they make interesting candidates for the subluminous class of SN2002cx-like or SNIax.
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