Use of cognitive interviewing in the development of a Spanish language genetic knowledge instrument

Study purpose. Genetic advances are significantly impacting healthcare, yet recent studies of ethnic group participation in genetic services demonstrate low utilization rates by Latinos. Limited genetic knowledge is a major barrier. The purpose of this study was to field test items in a Spanish-language instrument that will be used to measure genetic knowledge relevant to type 2 diabetes among members of the ethnically heterogeneous U.S. Latino community. Accurate genetic knowledge measurement can provide the foundation for interventions to enhance genetic service utilization. ^ Design. Three waves of cognitive interviews were conducted in Spanish to field test 44 instrument items Thirty-six Latinos, with 12 persons representative of Mexican, Central and South American, and Cuban heritage participated, including 7 males and 29 females between 22 and 60 years of age; 17 participants had 12 years or less of education. ^ Methods. Text narratives from transcriptions of audiotaped interviews were qualitatively analyzed using a coding strategy to indicate potential sources of response error. Through an iterative process of instrument refinement, codes that emerged from the data were used to guide item revisions at the conclusion of each phase; revised items were examined in subsequent interview waves. ^ Results. Inter-cultural and cross-cultural themes associated with difficulties in interpretation and grammatical structuring of items were identified; difficulties associated with comprehension reflected variations in educational level. Of the original 44 items, 32 were retained, 89% of which were revised. Six additional items reflective of cultural knowledge were constructed, resulting in a 38-item instrument. ^ Conclusions. Use of cognitive interviewing provided a valuable tool for detecting both potential sources of response error and cultural variations in these sources. Analysis of interview data guided successive instrument revisions leading to improved item interpretability and comprehension. Although testing in a larger sample will be essential to test validity and reliability, the outcome of field testing suggests initial content validity of a Spanish-language instrument to measure genetic knowledge relative to type 2 diabetes. ^ Keywords. Latinos, genetic knowledge, instrument development, cognitive interviewing ^

Development and Implementation of the Use of Optically Stimulated Luminescent Detectors in the Radiological Physics Center Anthropomorphic Quality Assurance Phantoms

The Radiological Physics Center (RPC) uses both on-site and remote reviews to credential institutions for participation in clinical trials. Anthropomorphic quality assurance (QA) phantoms are one tool the RPC uses to remotely audit institutions, which include thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and radiochromic film. The RPC desires to switch from TLD as the absolute dosimeter in the phantoms, to optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs), but a problem lies in the angular dependence exhibited by the OSLD. The purpose of this study was to characterize the angular dependence of OSLD and establish a correction factor if necessary, to provide accurate dosimetric measurements as a replacement for TLD in the QA phantoms. A 10 cm diameter high-impact polystyrene spherical phantom was designed and constructed to hold an OSLD to study the angular response of the dosimeter under the simplest of circumstances for both coplanar and non-coplanar treatment deliveries. OSLD were irradiated in the spherical phantom, and the responses of the dosimeter from edge-on angles were normalized to the response when irradiated with the beam incident normally on the surface of the dosimeter. The average normalized response was used to establish an angular correction factor for 6 MV and 18 coplanar treatments, and for 6 MV non-coplanar treatments specific to CyberKnife. The RPC pelvic phantom dosimetry insert was modified to hold OSLD, in addition to the TLD, adjacent to the planes of film. Treatment plans of increasing angular beam delivery were developed, three in Pinnacle v9.0 (4-field box, IMRT, and VMAT) and one in Accuray’s MultiPlan v3.5.3 (CyberKnife). The plans were delivered to the pelvic phantom containing both TLD and OSLD in the target volume. The pelvic phantom was also sent to two institutions to be irradiated as trials, one delivering IMRT, and the other a CyberKnife treatment. For the IMRT deliveries and the two institution trials, the phantom also included film in the sagittal and coronal planes. The doses measured from the TLD and OSLD were calculated for each irradiation, and the angular correction factors established from the spherical phantom irradiations were applied to the OSLD dose. The ratio of the TLD dose to the angular corrected OSLD dose was calculated for each irradiation. The corrected OSLD dose was found to be within 1% of the TLD measured dose for all irradiations, with the exception of the in-house CyberKnife deliveries. The films were normalized to both TLD measured dose and the corrected OSLD dose. Dose profiles were obtained and gamma analysis was performed using a 7%/4 mm criteria, to compare the ability of the OSLD, when corrected for the angular dependence, to provide equivalent results to TLD. The results of this study indicate that the OSLD can effectively be used as a replacement for TLD in the RPC’s anthropomorphic QA phantoms for coplanar treatment deliveries when a correction is applied for the dosimeter’s angular dependence.

Development and evaluation of a video-based modeling strategy for the dissemination phase of a school health tobacco -use prevention program

Even the best school health education programs will be unsuccessful if they are not disseminated effectively in a manner that encourages classroom adoption and implementation. This study involved two components: (1) the development of a videotape intervention to be used in the dissemination phase of a 4-year, NCI-funded diffusion study and (2) the evaluation of that videotape intervention strategy in comparison with a print (information transfer) strategy. Conceptualization has been guided by Social Learning Theory, Diffusion Theory, and communication theory. Additionally, the PRECEDE Framework has been used. Seventh and 8th grade classroom teachers from Spring Branch Independent School District in west Houston participated in the evaluation of the videotape and print interventions using a 57-item preadoption survey instrument developed by the UT Center for Health Promotion Research and Development. Two-way ANOVA was used to study individual score differences for five outcome variables: Total Scale Score (comprised of 57 predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing items), Adoption Characteristics Subscale, Attitude Toward Innovation Subscale, Receptivity Toward Innovation, and Reinforcement Subscale. The aim of the study is to compare the effect upon score differences of video and print interventions alone and in combination. Seventy-three 7th and 8th grade classroom teachers completed the study providing baseline and post-intervention measures on factors related to the adoption and implementation of tobacco-use prevention programs. Two-way ANOVA, in relation to the study questions, found significant scoring differences for those exposed to the videotape intervention alone for both the Attitude Toward Innovation Subscale and the Receptivity to Adopt Subscale. No significant results were found to suggest that print alone influences favorable scoring differences between baseline and post-intervention testing. One interaction effect was found suggesting video and print combined are more effective for influencing favorable scoring differences for the Reinforcement for the Adoption Subscale.^ This research is unique in that it represents a newly emerging field in health promotion communications research with implications for Social Learning Theory, Diffusion Theory, and communication science that are applicable to the development of improved school health interventions. ^

Mixed effects of elevated pCO2 on fertilisation, larval and juvenile development and adult responses in the mobile subtidal scallop Mimachlamys asperrima (Lamarck, 1819)

Ocean acidification is predicted to have severe consequences for calcifying marine organisms especially molluscs. Recent studies, however, have found that molluscs in marine environments with naturally elevated or fluctuating CO2 or with an active, high metabolic rate lifestyle may have a capacity to acclimate and be resilient to exposures of elevated environmental pCO2. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of near future concentrations of elevated pCO2 on the larval and adult stages of the mobile doughboy scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima from a subtidal and stable physio-chemical environment. It was found that fertilisation and the shell length of early larval stages of M. asperrima decreased as pCO2 increased, however, there were less pronounced effects of elevated pCO2 on the shell length of later larval stages, with high pCO2 enhancing growth in some instances. Byssal attachment and condition index of adult M. asperrima decreased with elevated pCO2, while in contrast there was no effect on standard metabolic rate or pHe. The responses of larval and adult M. asperrima to elevated pCO2 measured in this study were more moderate than responses previously reported for intertidal oysters and mussels. Even this more moderate set of responses are still likely to reduce the abundance of M. asperrima and potentially other scallop species in the world's oceans at predicted future pCO2 levels.

Limiting properties in the characterisation of mixed recycled aggregates for use in the manufacture of concrete

El objetivo principal de este trabajo de investigación es estudiar las propiedades del árido reciclado mixto para la fabricación de hormigón reciclado en aplicaciones no estructurales. Se ha realizado la caracterización completa de 35 muestras de áridos reciclados mixtos gruesos de distinta calidad, procedentes de 13 plantas de tratamiento diferentes de la geografía española. Se han estudiado las correlaciones que existen entre las diferentes propiedades, en particular, con la absorción de agua, el contenido de sulfatos y la composición. Se propone una clasificación de los áridos reciclados y se limita de forma indicativa el contenido de yeso para que una muestra de árido reciclado mixto cumpla con la limitación del 0,8% de los sulfatos solubles en ácido de la Instrucción EHE-08. Recycling of construction and demolition waste (CDW) has become a widespread concern in Spain for the last years, as a way to preserve natural resources and achieve a better control of waste disposal sites.Specific applications which make use of mixed recycled aggregates are of great importance, as this types of aggregates constitute the majority of the total production. Structural and non-structural concrete is one of the possible applications, being this the main goal of our study. This paper presents a study on the physical and chemical characteristics of mixed recycled aggregates which have been obtained from different CDW treatment plants of Spain. Correlations between the different properties were investigated in order to find criterions of acceptance for recycled aggregates to be used in concrete. The comparison between the properties offers the possibility of pre-selecting a great quantity of mixed recycled aggregates, these being suitable for either structural and non-structural concrete. The determination of water absorption and the gypsum content are good indicators in order to evaluate the quality of the mixed recycled aggregates for its application in the production of concrete.

MultiPARTES: Multicore Virtualization for Mixed-Criticality Systems

Modern embedded applications typically integrate a multitude of functionalities with potentially different criticality levels into a single system. Without appropriate preconditions, the integration of mixed-criticality subsystems can lead to a significant and potentially unacceptable increase of engineering and certification costs. A promising solution is to incorporate mechanisms that establish multiple partitions with strict temporal and spatial separation between the individual partitions. In this approach, subsystems with different levels of criticality can be placed in different partitions and can be verified and validated in isolation. The MultiPARTES FP7 project aims at supporting mixed- criticality integration for embedded systems based on virtualization techniques for heterogeneous multicore processors. A major outcome of the project is the MultiPARTES XtratuM, an open source hypervisor designed as a generic virtualization layer for heterogeneous multicore. MultiPARTES evaluates the developed technology through selected use cases from the offshore wind power, space, visual surveillance, and automotive domains. The impact of MultiPARTES on the targeted domains will be also discussed. In a number of ongoing research initiatives (e.g., RECOMP, ARAMIS, MultiPARTES, CERTAINTY) mixed-criticality integration is considered in multicore processors. Key challenges are the combination of software virtualization and hardware segregation and the extension of partitioning mechanisms to jointly address significant non-functional requirements (e.g., time, energy and power budgets, adaptivity, reliability, safety, security, volume, weight, etc.) along with development and certification methodology.

Mixed-criticality design of a satellite software system

The continuous increment of processors computational power and the requirements on additional functionality and services are motivating a change in the way embedded systems are built. Components with different criticality level are allocated in the same processor, which give rise to mixed-criticality systems. The use of partitioned systems is a way of preventing undesirable interferences between components with different criticality level. An hypervisor provides these partitions or virtual machines, ensuring spatial, temporal and fault isolation between them. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the development of a mixed-critical system. The attitude control subsystem is used for showing the different steps, which are supported by a toolset developed in the context of the MultiPARTES research project.

Post-­‐occupancy monitoring of two flats in Madrid: development and assessment of a mixed methods methodology

Recent research has shown large differences between the expected and the actual energy consumption in buildings. The differences have been attributed partially, to the assumptions made during the design phase of buildings when simulation methods are employed. More accurate occupancy profiles on building operation could help to carry out more precise building performance calculations. This study focuses on the post-occupancy evaluation of two apartments, one renovated and one non renovated, in Madrid within the same building complex. The aim of this paper is to present an application of the mixed-methods methodology (Creswell, 2007) to assess thermal comfort and occupancy practices used in the case studies, and to discuss the shortcomings and opportunities associated with it. The mixed-methods methodology offers strategies for integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate complex phenomena. This approach is expected to contribute to the growing knowledge of occupants’ behaviour and building performance by explaining the differences observed between energy consumption and thermal comfort in relation to people’s saving and comfort practices and the related experiences, preferences and values.

Agricultural use of organic wastes as source of nitrogen and phosphorus: risks and opportunities

El nitrógeno (N) y el fósforo (P) son nutrientes esenciales en la producción de cultivos. El desarrollo de los fertilizantes de síntesis durante el siglo XX permitió una intensificación de la agricultura y un aumento de las producciones pero a su vez el gran input de nutrientes ha resultado en algunos casos en sistemas poco eficientes incrementando las pérdidas de estos nutrientes al medio ambiente. En el caso del P, este problema se agrava debido a la escasez de reservas de roca fosfórica necesaria para la fabricación de fertilizantes fosfatados. La utilización de residuos orgánicos en agricultura como fuente de N y P es una buena opción de manejo que permite valorizar la gran cantidad de residuos que se generan. Sin embargo, es importante conocer los procesos que se producen en el suelo tras la aplicación de los mismos, ya que influyen en la disponibilidad de nutrientes que pueden ser utilizados por el cultivo así como en las pérdidas de nutrientes de los agrosistemas que pueden ocasionar problemas de contaminación. Aunque la dinámica del N en el suelo ha sido más estudiada que la del P, los problemas importantes de contaminación por nitratos en zonas vulnerables hacen necesaria la evaluación de aquellas prácticas de manejo que pudieran agravar esta situación, y en el caso de los residuos orgánicos, la evaluación de la respuesta agronómica y medioambiental de la aplicación de materiales con un alto contenido en N (como los residuos procedentes de la industria vinícola y alcoholera). En cuanto al P, debido a la mayor complejidad de su ciclo y de las reacciones que ocurren en el suelo, hay un mayor desconocimiento de los factores que influyen en su dinámica en los sistemas suelo-planta, lo que supone nuevas oportunidades de estudio en la evaluación del uso agrícola de los residuos orgánicos. Teniendo en cuenta los conocimientos previos sobre cada nutriente así como las necesidades específicas en el estudio de los mismos, en esta Tesis se han evaluado: (1) el efecto de la aplicación de residuos procedentes de la industria vinícola y alcoholera en la dinámica del N desde el punto de vista agronómico y medioambiental en una zona vulnerable a la contaminación por nitratos; y (2) los factores que influyen en la disponibilidad de P en el suelo tras la aplicación de residuos orgánicos. Para ello se han llevado a cabo incubaciones de laboratorio así como ensayos de campo que permitieran evaluar la dinámica de estos nutrientes en condiciones reales. Las incubaciones de suelo en condiciones controladas de humedad y temperatura para determinar el N mineralizado se utilizan habitualmente para estimar la disponibilidad de N para el cultivo así como el riesgo medioambiental. Por ello se llevó a cabo una incubación en laboratorio para conocer la velocidad de mineralización de N de un compost obtenido a partir de residuos de la industria vinícola y alcoholera, ampliamente distribuida en Castilla-La Mancha, región con problemas importantes de contaminación de acuíferos por nitratos. Se probaron tres dosis crecientes de compost correspondientes a 230, 460 y 690 kg de N total por hectárea que se mezclaron con un suelo franco arcillo arenoso de la zona. La evolución del N mineral en el suelo a lo largo del tiempo se ajustó a un modelo de regresión no lineal, obteniendo valores bajos de N potencialmente mineralizable y bajas contantes de mineralización, lo que indica que se trata de un material resistente a la mineralización y con una lenta liberación de N en el suelo, mineralizándose tan solo 1.61, 1.33 y 1.21% del N total aplicado con cada dosis creciente de compost (para un periodo de seis meses). Por otra parte, la mineralización de N tras la aplicación de este material también se evaluó en condiciones de campo, mediante la elaboración de un balance de N durante dos ciclos de cultivo (2011 y 2012) de melón bajo riego por goteo, cultivo y manejo agrícola muy característicos de la zona de estudio. Las constantes de mineralización obtenidas en el laboratorio se ajustaron a las temperaturas reales en campo para predecir el N mineralizado en campo durante el ciclo de cultivo del melón, sin embargo este modelo generalmente sobreestimaba el N mineralizado observado en campo, por la influencia de otros factores no tenidos en cuenta para obtener esta predicción, como el N acumulado en el suelo, el efecto de la planta o las fluctuaciones de temperatura y humedad. Tanto el ajuste de los datos del laboratorio al modelo de mineralización como las predicciones del mismo fueron mejores cuando se consideraba el efecto de la mezcla suelo-compost que cuando se aislaba el N mineralizado del compost, mostrando la importancia del efecto del suelo en la mineralización del N procedente de residuos orgánicos. Dado que esta zona de estudio ha sido declarada vulnerable a la contaminación por nitratos y cuenta con diferentes unidades hidrológicas protegidas, en el mismo ensayo de campo con melón bajo riego por goteo se evaluó el riesgo de contaminación por nitratos tras la aplicación de diferentes dosis de compost bajo dos regímenes de riego, riego ajustado a las necesidades del cultivo (90 ó 100% de la evapotranspiración del cultivo (ETc)) o riego excedentario (120% ETc). A lo largo del ciclo de cultivo se estimó semanalmente el drenaje mediante la realización de un balance hídrico, así como se tomaron muestras de la solución de suelo y se determinó su concentración de nitratos. Para evaluar el riesgo de contaminación de las aguas subterráneas asociado con estas prácticas, se utilizaron algunos índices medioambientales para determinar la variación en la calidad del agua potable (Índice de Impacto (II)) y en la concentración de nitratos del acuífero (Índice de Impacto Ambiental (EII)). Para combinar parámetros medioambientales con parámetros de producción, se calculó la eficiencia de manejo. Se observó que la aplicación de compost bajo un régimen de riego ajustado no aumentaba el riesgo de contaminación de las aguas subterráneas incluso con la aplicación de la dosis más alta. Sin embargo, la aplicación de grandes cantidades de compost combinada con un riego excedentario supuso un incremento en el N lixiviado a lo largo del ciclo de cultivo, mientras que no se obtuvieron mayores producciones con respecto al riego ajustado. La aplicación de residuos de la industria vinícola y alcoholera como fuente de P fue evaluada en suelos calizos caracterizados por una alta capacidad de retención de P, lo cual en algunos casos limita la disponibilidad de este nutriente. Para ello se llevó a cabo otro ensayo de incubación con dos suelos de diferente textura, con diferente contenido de carbonato cálcico, hierro y con dos niveles de P disponible; a los que se aplicaron diferentes materiales procedentes de estas industrias (con y sin compostaje previo) aportando diferentes cantidades de P. A lo largo del tiempo se analizó el P disponible del suelo (P Olsen) así como el pH y el carbono orgánico disuelto. Al final de la incubación, con el fin de estudiar los cambios producidos por los diferentes residuos en el estado del P del suelo se llevó a cabo un fraccionamiento del P inorgánico del suelo, el cual se separó en P soluble y débilmente enlazado (NaOH-NaCl-P), P soluble en reductores u ocluido en los óxidos de Fe (CBD-P) y P poco soluble precipitado como Ca-P (HCl-P); y se determinó la capacidad de retención de P así como el grado de saturación de este elemento en el suelo. En este ensayo se observó que, dada la naturaleza caliza de los suelos, la influencia de la cantidad de P aplicado con los residuos en el P disponible sólo se producía al comienzo del periodo de incubación, mientras que al final del ensayo el incremento en el P disponible del suelo se igualaba independientemente del P aplicado con cada residuo, aumentando el P retenido en la fracción menos soluble con el aumento del P aplicado. Por el contrario, la aplicación de materiales orgánicos menos estabilizados y con un menor contenido en P, produjo un aumento en las formas de P más lábiles debido a una disolución del P retenido en la fracción menos lábil, lo cual demostró la influencia de la materia orgánica en los procesos que controlan el P disponible en el suelo. La aplicación de residuos aumentó el grado de saturación de P de los suelos, sin embargo los valores obtenidos no superaron los límites establecidos que indican un riesgo de contaminación de las aguas. La influencia de la aplicación de residuos orgánicos en las formas de P inorgánico y orgánico del suelo se estudió además en un suelo ácido de textura areno francosa tras la aplicación en campo a largo plazo de estiércol vacuno y de compost obtenido a partir de biorresiduos, así como la aplicación combinada de compost y un fertilizante mineral (superfosfato tripe), en una rotación de cultivos. En muestras de suelo recogidas 14 años después del establecimiento del experimento en campo, se determinó el P soluble y disponible, la capacidad de adsorción de P, el grado de saturación de P así como diferentes actividades enzimáticas (actividad deshidrogenasa, fosfatasa ácida y fosfatasa alcalina). Las diferentes formas de P orgánico en el suelo se estudiaron mediante una técnica de adición de enzimas con diferentes substratos específicos a extractos de suelo de NaOH-EDTA, midiendo el P hidrolizado durante un periodo de incubación por colorimetría. Las enzimas utilizadas fueron la fosfatasa ácida, la nucleasa y la fitasa las cuales permitieron identificar monoésteres hidrolizables (monoester-like P), diésteres (DNA-like P) e inositol hexaquifosfato (Ins6P-like P). La aplicación a largo plazo de residuos orgánicos aumentó el P disponible del suelo proporcionalmente al P aplicado con cada tipo de fertilización, suponiendo un mayor riesgo de pérdidas de P dado el alto grado de saturación de este suelo. La aplicación de residuos orgánicos aumentó el P orgánico del suelo resistente a la hidrólisis enzimática, sin embargo no influyó en las diferentes formas de P hidrolizable por las enzimas en comparación con las observadas en el suelo sin enmendar. Además, las diferentes formas de P orgánico aplicadas con los residuos orgánicos no se correspondieron con las analizadas en el suelo lo cual demostró que éstas son el resultado de diferentes procesos en el suelo mediados por las plantas, los microorganismos u otros procesos abióticos. En este estudio se encontró una correlación entre el Ins6P-like P y la actividad microbiana (actividad deshidrogenasa) del suelo, lo cual refuerza esta afirmación. Por último, la aplicación de residuos orgánicos como fuente de N y P en la agricultura se evaluó agronómicamente en un escenario real. Se estableció un experimento de campo para evaluar el compost procedente de residuos de bodegas y alcoholeras en el mismo cultivo de melón utilizado en el estudio de la mineralización y lixiviación de N. En este experimento se estudió la aplicación de tres dosis de compost: 1, 2 y 3 kg de compost por metro lineal de plantación correspondientes a 7, 13 y 20 t de compost por hectárea respectivamente; y se estudió el efecto sobre el crecimiento de las plantas, la acumulación de N y P en la planta, así como la producción y calidad del cultivo. La aplicación del compost produjo un ligero incremento en la biomasa vegetal acompañado por una mejora significativa de la producción con respecto a las parcelas no enmendadas, obteniéndose la máxima producción con la aplicación de 2 kg de compost por metro lineal. Aunque los efectos potenciales del N y P fueron parcialmente enmascarados por otras entradas de estos nutrientes en el sistema (alta concentración de nitratos en el agua de riego y ácido fosfórico suministrado por fertirrigación), se observó una mayor acumulación de P uno de los años de estudio que resultó en un aumento en el número de frutos en las parcelas enmendadas. Además, la mayor acumulación de N y P disponible en el suelo al final del ciclo de cultivo indicó el potencial uso de estos materiales como fuente de estos nutrientes. ABSTRACT Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential nutrients in crop production. The development of synthetic fertilizers during the 20th century allowed an intensification of the agriculture increasing crop yields but in turn the great input of nutrients has resulted in some cases in inefficient systems with higher losses to the environment. Regarding P, the scarcity of phosphate rock reserves necessary for the production of phosphate fertilizers aggravates this problem. The use of organic wastes in agriculture as a source of N and P is a good option of management that allows to value the large amount of wastes generated. However, it is important to understand the processes occurring in the soil after application of these materials, as they affect the availability of nutrients that can be used by the crop and the nutrient losses from agricultural systems that can cause problems of contamination. Although soil N dynamic has been more studied than P, the important concern of nitrate pollution in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones requires the evaluation of those management practices that could aggravate this situation, and in the case of organic wastes, the evaluation of the agronomic and environmental response after application of materials with a high N content (such as wastes from winery and distillery industries). On the other hand, due to the complexity of soil P cycle and the reactions that occur in soil, there is less knowledge about the factors that can influence its dynamics in the soil-plant system, which means new opportunities of study regarding the evaluation of the agricultural use of organic wastes. Taking into account the previous knowledge of each nutrient and the specific needs of study, in this Thesis we have evaluated: (1) the effect of the application of wastes from the winery and distillery industries on N dynamics from the agronomic and environmental viewpoint in a vulnerable zone; and (2) the factors that influence P availability in soils after the application of organic wastes. With this purposes, incubations were carried out in laboratory conditions as well as field trials that allow to assess the dynamic of these nutrients in real conditions. Soil incubations under controlled moisture and temperature conditions to determine N mineralization are commonly used to estimate N availability for crops together with the environmental risk. Therefore, a laboratory incubation was conducted in order to determine the N mineralization rate of a compost made from wastes generated in the winery and distillery industries, widely distributed in Castilla-La Mancha, a region with significant problems of aquifers contamination by nitrates. Three increasing doses of compost corresponding to 230, 460 and 690 kg of total N per hectare were mixed with a sandy clay loam soil collected in this area. The evolution of mineral N in soil over time was adjusted to a nonlinear regression model, obtaining low values of potentially mineralizable N and low constants of mineralization, indicating that it is a material resistant to mineralization with a slow release of N, with only 1.61, 1.33 and 1.21% of total N applied being mineralized with each increasing dose of compost (for a period of six months). Furthermore, N mineralization after the application of this material was also evaluated in field conditions by carrying out a N balance during two growing seasons (2011 and 2012) of a melon crop under drip irrigation, a crop and management very characteristic of the area of study. The mineralization constants obtained in the laboratory were adjusted to the actual temperatures observed in the field to predict N mineralized during each growing season, however, this model generally overestimated the N mineralization observed in the field, because of the influence of other factors not taken into account for this prediction, as N accumulated in soil, the plant effect or the fluctuations of temperature and moisture. The fitting of the laboratory data to the model as well as the predictions of N mineralized in the field were better when considering N mineralized from the soil-compost mixture rather than when N mineralized from compost was isolated, underlining the important role of the soil on N mineralization from organic wastes. Since the area of study was declared vulnerable to nitrate pollution and is situated between different protected hydrological units, the risk of nitrate pollution after application of different doses compost was evaluated in the same field trial with melon under two irrigation regimes, irrigation adjusted to the crop needs (90 or 100% of the crop evapotranspiration (ETc)) or excedentary irrigation (120% ETc). Drainage was estimated weekly throughout the growing season by conducting a water balance, samples of the soil solution were taken and the concentration of nitrates was determined. To assess the risk of groundwater contamination associated with these practices, some environmental indices were used to determine the variation in the quality of drinking water (Impact Index (II)) and the nitrates concentration in the groundwater (Environmental Impact Index (EII)). To combine environmental parameters together with yield parameters, the Management Efficiency was calculated. It was observed that the application of compost under irrigation adjusted to the plant needs did not represent a higher risk of groundwater contamination even with the application of the highest doses. However, the application of large amounts of compost combined with an irrigation surplus represented an increase of N leaching during the growing season compared with the unamended plots, while no additional yield with respect to the adjusted irrigation strategy is obtained. The application of wastes derived from the winery and distillery industry as source of P was evaluated in calcareous soils characterized by a high P retention capacity, which in some cases limits the availability of this nutrient. Another incubation experiment was carried out using two soils with different texture, different calcium carbonate and iron contents and two levels of available P; to which different materials from these industries (with and without composting) were applied providing different amounts of P. Soil available P (Olsen P), pH and dissolved organic carbon were analyzed along time. At the end of the incubation, in order to study the changes in soil P status caused by the different residues, a fractionation of soil inorganic P was carried out, which was separated into soluble and weakly bound P (NaOH-NaCl- P), reductant soluble P or occluded in Fe oxides (CBD-P) and P precipitated as poorly soluble Ca-P (HCl-P); and the P retention capacity and degree of P saturation were determined as well. Given the calcareous nature of the soils, the influence of the amount of P applied with the organic wastes in soil available P only occurred at the beginning of the incubation period, while at the end of the trial the increase in soil available P equalled independently of the amount of P applied with each residue, increasing the P retained in the least soluble fraction when increasing P applied. Conversely, the application of less stabilized materials with a lower content of P resulted in an increase in the most labile P forms due to dissolution of P retained in the less labile fraction, demonstrating the influence of organic matter addition on soil P processes that control P availability in soil. As expected, the application of organic wastes increased the degree of P saturation in the soils, however the values obtained did not exceed the limits considered to pose a risk of water pollution. The influence of the application of organic wastes on inorganic and organic soil P forms was also studied in an acid loamy sand soil after long-term field application of cattle manure and biowaste compost and the combined application of compost and mineral fertilizer (triple superphosphate) in a crop rotation. Soil samples were collected 14 years after the establishment of the field experiment, and analyzed for soluble and available P, P sorption capacity, degree of P saturation and enzymatic activities (dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase). The different forms of organic P in soil were determined by using an enzyme addition technique, based on adding enzymes with different substrate specificities to NaOH-EDTA soil extracts, measuring the hydrolyzed P colorimetrically after an incubation period. The enzymes used were acid phosphatase, nuclease and phytase which allowed to identify hydrolyzable monoesters (monoester-like P) diesters (DNA-like P) and inositol hexakisphosphate (Ins6P-like P). The long-term application of organic wastes increased soil available P proportionally to the P applied with each type of fertilizer, assuming a higher risk of P losses given the high degree of P saturation of this soil. The application of organic wastes increased soil organic P resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis, but no influence was observed regarding the different forms of enzyme hydrolyzable organic P compared to those observed in the non-amended soil. Furthermore, the different forms of organic P applied with the organic wastes did not correspond to those analyzed in the soil which showed that these forms in soil are a result of multifaceted P turnover processes in soil affected by plants, microorganisms and abiotic factors. In this study, a correlation between Ins6P-like P and the microbial activity (dehydrogenase activity) of soil was found, which reinforces this claim. Finally, the application of organic wastes as a source of N and P in agriculture was evaluated agronomically in a real field scenario. A field experiment was established to evaluate the application of compost made from wine-distillery wastes in the same melon crop used in the experiments of N mineralization and leaching. In this experiment the application of three doses of compost were studied: 1 , 2 and 3 kg of compost per linear meter of plantation corresponding to 7, 13 and 20 tonnes of compost per hectare respectively; and the effect on plant growth, N and P accumulation in the plant as well as crop yield and quality was studied. The application of compost produced a slight increase in plant biomass accompanied by a significant improvement in crop yield with respect to the unamended plots, obtaining the maximum yield with the application of 2 kg of compost per linear meter. Although the potential effects of N and P were partially masked by other inputs of these nutrients in the system (high concentration of nitrates in the irrigation water and phosphoric acid supplied by fertigation), an effect of P was observed the first year of study resulting in a greater plant P accumulation and in an increase in the number of fruits in the amended plots. In addition, the higher accumulation of available N and P in the topsoil at the end of the growing season indicated the potential use of this material as source of these nutrients.

A framework for mixed-criticality partitioned real-time embedded systems

Los sistemas empotrados son cada día más comunes y complejos, de modo que encontrar procesos seguros, eficaces y baratos de desarrollo software dirigidos específicamente a esta clase de sistemas es más necesario que nunca. A diferencia de lo que ocurría hasta hace poco, en la actualidad los avances tecnológicos en el campo de los microprocesadores de los últimos tiempos permiten el desarrollo de equipos con prestaciones más que suficientes para ejecutar varios sistemas software en una única máquina. Además, hay sistemas empotrados con requisitos de seguridad (safety) de cuyo correcto funcionamiento depende la vida de muchas personas y/o grandes inversiones económicas. Estos sistemas software se diseñan e implementan de acuerdo con unos estándares de desarrollo software muy estrictos y exigentes. En algunos casos puede ser necesaria también la certificación del software. Para estos casos, los sistemas con criticidades mixtas pueden ser una alternativa muy valiosa. En esta clase de sistemas, aplicaciones con diferentes niveles de criticidad se ejecutan en el mismo computador. Sin embargo, a menudo es necesario certificar el sistema entero con el nivel de criticidad de la aplicación más crítica, lo que hace que los costes se disparen. La virtualización se ha postulado como una tecnología muy interesante para contener esos costes. Esta tecnología permite que un conjunto de máquinas virtuales o particiones ejecuten las aplicaciones con unos niveles de aislamiento tanto temporal como espacial muy altos. Esto, a su vez, permite que cada partición pueda ser certificada independientemente. Para el desarrollo de sistemas particionados con criticidades mixtas se necesita actualizar los modelos de desarrollo software tradicionales, pues estos no cubren ni las nuevas actividades ni los nuevos roles que se requieren en el desarrollo de estos sistemas. Por ejemplo, el integrador del sistema debe definir las particiones o el desarrollador de aplicaciones debe tener en cuenta las características de la partición donde su aplicación va a ejecutar. Tradicionalmente, en el desarrollo de sistemas empotrados, el modelo en V ha tenido una especial relevancia. Por ello, este modelo ha sido adaptado para tener en cuenta escenarios tales como el desarrollo en paralelo de aplicaciones o la incorporación de una nueva partición a un sistema ya existente. El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es mejorar la tecnología actual de desarrollo de sistemas particionados con criticidades mixtas. Para ello, se ha diseñado e implementado un entorno dirigido específicamente a facilitar y mejorar los procesos de desarrollo de esta clase de sistemas. En concreto, se ha creado un algoritmo que genera el particionado del sistema automáticamente. En el entorno de desarrollo propuesto, se han integrado todas las actividades necesarias para desarrollo de un sistema particionado, incluidos los nuevos roles y actividades mencionados anteriormente. Además, el diseño del entorno de desarrollo se ha basado en la ingeniería guiada por modelos (Model-Driven Engineering), la cual promueve el uso de los modelos como elementos fundamentales en el proceso de desarrollo. Así pues, se proporcionan las herramientas necesarias para modelar y particionar el sistema, así como para validar los resultados y generar los artefactos necesarios para el compilado, construcción y despliegue del mismo. Además, en el diseño del entorno de desarrollo, la extensión e integración del mismo con herramientas de validación ha sido un factor clave. En concreto, se pueden incorporar al entorno de desarrollo nuevos requisitos no-funcionales, la generación de nuevos artefactos tales como documentación o diferentes lenguajes de programación, etc. Una parte clave del entorno de desarrollo es el algoritmo de particionado. Este algoritmo se ha diseñado para ser independiente de los requisitos de las aplicaciones así como para permitir al integrador del sistema implementar nuevos requisitos del sistema. Para lograr esta independencia, se han definido las restricciones al particionado. El algoritmo garantiza que dichas restricciones se cumplirán en el sistema particionado que resulte de su ejecución. Las restricciones al particionado se han diseñado con una capacidad expresiva suficiente para que, con un pequeño grupo de ellas, se puedan expresar la mayor parte de los requisitos no-funcionales más comunes. Las restricciones pueden ser definidas manualmente por el integrador del sistema o bien pueden ser generadas automáticamente por una herramienta a partir de los requisitos funcionales y no-funcionales de una aplicación. El algoritmo de particionado toma como entradas los modelos y las restricciones al particionado del sistema. Tras la ejecución y como resultado, se genera un modelo de despliegue en el que se definen las particiones que son necesarias para el particionado del sistema. A su vez, cada partición define qué aplicaciones deben ejecutar en ella así como los recursos que necesita la partición para ejecutar correctamente. El problema del particionado y las restricciones al particionado se modelan matemáticamente a través de grafos coloreados. En dichos grafos, un coloreado propio de los vértices representa un particionado del sistema correcto. El algoritmo se ha diseñado también para que, si es necesario, sea posible obtener particionados alternativos al inicialmente propuesto. El entorno de desarrollo, incluyendo el algoritmo de particionado, se ha probado con éxito en dos casos de uso industriales: el satélite UPMSat-2 y un demostrador del sistema de control de una turbina eólica. Además, el algoritmo se ha validado mediante la ejecución de numerosos escenarios sintéticos, incluyendo algunos muy complejos, de más de 500 aplicaciones. ABSTRACT The importance of embedded software is growing as it is required for a large number of systems. Devising cheap, efficient and reliable development processes for embedded systems is thus a notable challenge nowadays. Computer processing power is continuously increasing, and as a result, it is currently possible to integrate complex systems in a single processor, which was not feasible a few years ago.Embedded systems may have safety critical requirements. Its failure may result in personal or substantial economical loss. The development of these systems requires stringent development processes that are usually defined by suitable standards. In some cases their certification is also necessary. This scenario fosters the use of mixed-criticality systems in which applications of different criticality levels must coexist in a single system. In these cases, it is usually necessary to certify the whole system, including non-critical applications, which is costly. Virtualization emerges as an enabling technology used for dealing with this problem. The system is structured as a set of partitions, or virtual machines, that can be executed with temporal and spatial isolation. In this way, applications can be developed and certified independently. The development of MCPS (Mixed-Criticality Partitioned Systems) requires additional roles and activities that traditional systems do not require. The system integrator has to define system partitions. Application development has to consider the characteristics of the partition to which it is allocated. In addition, traditional software process models have to be adapted to this scenario. The V-model is commonly used in embedded systems development. It can be adapted to the development of MCPS by enabling the parallel development of applications or adding an additional partition to an existing system. The objective of this PhD is to improve the available technology for MCPS development by providing a framework tailored to the development of this type of system and by defining a flexible and efficient algorithm for automatically generating system partitionings. The goal of the framework is to integrate all the activities required for developing MCPS and to support the different roles involved in this process. The framework is based on MDE (Model-Driven Engineering), which emphasizes the use of models in the development process. The framework provides basic means for modeling the system, generating system partitions, validating the system and generating final artifacts. The framework has been designed to facilitate its extension and the integration of external validation tools. In particular, it can be extended by adding support for additional non-functional requirements and support for final artifacts, such as new programming languages or additional documentation. The framework includes a novel partitioning algorithm. It has been designed to be independent of the types of applications requirements and also to enable the system integrator to tailor the partitioning to the specific requirements of a system. This independence is achieved by defining partitioning constraints that must be met by the resulting partitioning. They have sufficient expressive capacity to state the most common constraints and can be defined manually by the system integrator or generated automatically based on functional and non-functional requirements of the applications. The partitioning algorithm uses system models and partitioning constraints as its inputs. It generates a deployment model that is composed by a set of partitions. Each partition is in turn composed of a set of allocated applications and assigned resources. The partitioning problem, including applications and constraints, is modeled as a colored graph. A valid partitioning is a proper vertex coloring. A specially designed algorithm generates this coloring and is able to provide alternative partitions if required. The framework, including the partitioning algorithm, has been successfully used in the development of two industrial use cases: the UPMSat-2 satellite and the control system of a wind-power turbine. The partitioning algorithm has been successfully validated by using a large number of synthetic loads, including complex scenarios with more that 500 applications.

Major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted T cells are required for all but the end stages of diabetes development in nonobese diabetic mice and use a prevalent T cell receptor α chain gene rearrangement

Nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice develop insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus due to autoimmune T lymphocyte-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells. Although both major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted CD8+ and class II-restricted CD4+ T cell subsets are required, the specific role each subset plays in the pathogenic process is still unclear. Here we show that class I-dependent T cells are required for all but the terminal stages of autoimmune diabetes development. To characterize the diabetogenic CD8+ T cells responsible, we isolated and propagated in vitro CD8+ T cells from the earliest insulitic lesions of NOD mice. They were cytotoxic to NOD islet cells, restricted to H-2Kd, and showed a diverse T cell receptor β chain repertoire. In contrast, their α chain repertoire was more restricted, with a recurrent amino acid sequence motif in the complementarity-determining region 3 loop and a prevalence of Vα17 family members frequently joined to the Jα42 gene segment. These results suggest that a number of the CD8+ T cells participating in the initial phase of autoimmune β cell destruction recognize a common structural component of Kd/peptide complexes on pancreatic β cells, possibly a single peptide.

Prevention of development of autoimmune disease in BXSB mice by mixed bone marrow transplantation

Transplantations of fully allogeneic, autoimmune-resistant T-cell-depleted marrow (TCDM) plus syngeneic, autoimmune-prone TCDM into lethally irradiated BXSB mice were carried out to investigate the ability of the mixed bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to prevent development of autoimmune disease and, at the same time, to reconstitute fully the immunity functions of heavily irradiated BXSB recipients. Male BXSB mice were engrafted with mixed TCDM from both allogeneic, autoimmune-resistant BALB/c mice and syngeneic, autoimmune-prone BXSB mice. BMT with mixed TCDM from both resistant and susceptible strains of mice (mixed BMT) prolonged the median life span and inhibited development of glomerulonephritis in BXSB mice. BMT with mixed TCDM also prevented the formation of anti-DNA antibodies that is typically observed in male mice of this strain. Moreover, mixed BMT reconstituted primary antibody production in BXSB recipients, so that no annoying immunodeficiencies that are regularly observed in fully allogeneic chimeras were present in the recipient of the mixed TCDM. These findings indicate that transplanting allogeneic, autoimmune-resistant TCDM plus syngeneic, autoimmune-prone TCDM into lethally irradiated BXSB mice prevents development of autoimmune disease in this strain of mice. In addition, this dual BMT reconstitutes the immunity functions and avoids the immunodeficiencies that occur regularly in fully allogeneic chimeras after total-body irradiation.

Targeted deletion of all isoforms of the trkC gene suggests the use of alternate receptors by its ligand neurotrophin-3 in neuronal development and implicates trkC in normal cardiogenesis

We have generated null mutant mice that lack expression of all isoforms encoded by the trkC locus. These mice display a behavioral phenotype characterized by a loss of proprioceptive neurons. Neuronal counts of sensory ganglia in the trkC mutant mice reveal less severe losses than those in NT-3 null mutant mice, strongly suggesting that NT-3, in vivo, may signal through receptors other than trkC. Mice lacking either NT-3 or all trkC receptor isoforms die in the early postnatal period. Histological examination of trkC-deficient mice reveals severe cardiac defects such as atrial and ventricular septal defects, and valvular defects including pulmonic stenosis. Formation of these structures during development is dependent on cardiac neural crest function. The similarities in cardiac defects observed in the trkC and NT-3 null mutant mice indicate that the trkC receptor mediates most NT-3 effects on the cardiac neural crest.

Use of cDNA subtraction and RNA interference screens in combination reveals genes required for germ-line development in Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is an ideal organism for the study of the molecular basis of fundamental biological processes such as germ-line development, especially because of availability of the whole genome sequence and applicability of the RNA interference (RNAi) technique. To identify genes involved in germ-line development, we produced subtracted cDNA pools either enriched for or deprived of the cDNAs from germ-line tissues. We then performed differential hybridization on the high-density cDNA grid, on which about 7,600 nonoverlapping expressed sequence tag (EST) clones were spotted, to identify a set of genes specifically expressed in the germ line. One hundred and sixty-eight clones were then tested with the RNAi technique. Of these, 15 clones showed sterility with a variety of defects in germ-line development. Seven of them led to the production of unfertilized eggs, because of defects in spermatogenesis (4 clones), or defects in the oocytes (3 clones). The other 8 clones led to failure of oogenesis. These failures were caused by germ-line proliferation defect (Glp phenotype), meiotic arrest, and defects in sperm–oocyte switch (Mog phenotype) among others. These results demonstrate the efficacy of the screening strategy using the EST library combined with the RNAi technique in C. elegans.