Progressive Decrease in the Potential Usefulness of Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (4CMenB, Bexsero (R)) in Gipuzkoa, Northern Spain

The effectiveness of a vaccine is determined not only by the immunogenicity of its components, but especially by how widely it covers the disease-causing strains circulating in a given region. Because vaccine coverage varies over time, this study aimed to detect possible changes that could affect vaccine protection during a specific period in a southern European region. The 4CMenB vaccine is licensed for use in Europe, Canada, and Australia and is mainly directed against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. This vaccine contains four main immunogenic components: three recombinant proteins, FHbp, Nhba and NadA, and an outer membrane vesicle [PorA P1.4]. The allelic distribution of FHbp, Nhba, NadA, and PorA antigens in 82 invasive isolates (B and non-B serogroups) isolated from January 2008 to December 2013 were analyzed. 4CMenB was likely protective against 61.8% and 50% of serogroup B and non-B meningococci, respectively, in the entire period, but between 2012 and 2013, the predicted protection fell below 45% (42.1% for serogroup B isolates). The observed decreasing trend in the predicted protection during the 6 years of the study (X-2 for trend = 4.68, p=0.03) coincided with a progressive decrease of several clonal complexes (e. g., cc11, cc32 and cc41/44), which had one or more antigens against which the vaccine would offer protection.

A Real-Time Sliding Mode Control for a Wind Energy System Based on a Doubly Fed Induction Generator

In this paper, a real time sliding mode control scheme for a variable speed wind turbine that incorporates a doubly feed induction generator is described. In this design, the so-called vector control theory is applied, in order to simplify the system electrical equations. The proposed control scheme involves a low computational cost and therefore can be implemented in real-time applications using a low cost Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The stability analysis of the proposed sliding mode controller under disturbances and parameter uncertainties is provided using the Lyapunov stability theory. A new experimental platform has been designed and constructed in order to analyze the real-time performance of the proposed controller in a real system. Finally, the experimental validation carried out in the experimental platform shows; on the one hand that the proposed controller provides high-performance dynamic characteristics, and on the other hand that this scheme is robust with respect to the uncertainties that usually appear in the real systems.

Ecologia e comportamento de Callitrichidae (Primates) no Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro

Espécies exóticas são consideradas a segunda maior ameaça ao meio ambiente, sendo um risco às espécies nativas devido à predação, competição, hibridação e transmissão de patógenos. Callithrix jacchus e Callithrix penicillata são espécies exóticas amplamente difundidas no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. No presente estudo, dados comportamentais e ecológicos foram amostrados entre Setembro de 2008 e Agosto de 2009 usando-se o método animal focal com amostragem instantânea, acompanhando sete grupos mistos de Callithrix spp. no arboreto do Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (JBRJ). A densidade dos saguis foi estimada em cerca de 130 indivíduos por Km2. Na dieta, foram identificadas 51 espécies arbóreas fontes de exsudatos e 39 espécies fontes de frutos, folhas, flores e néctar. Os saguis se alimentaram também de invertebrados, pequenos vertebrados, e alimentos direta ou indiretamente fornecidos por visitantes do JBRJ. O consumo de exsudatos foi maior na estação mais seca, e de frutos e insetos na estação mais chuvosa. Os saguis utilizaram mais os estratos verticais intermediários e sub-bosque nas suas atividades diárias, e áreas protegidas por epífitas no dossel de 30 espécies diferentes de árvores como locais de dormida. Os saguis apresentaram relações interespecíficas harmônicas, neutras e desarmônicas com diversas espécies de aves e mamíferos. A dispersão de sementes de árvores exóticas e o uso exagerado de espécimes vegetais para gomivoria pelos saguis podem afetar a integridade da coleção do JBRJ. A alta densidade de saguis e predação de espécies da fauna local podem afetar o equilíbrio da comunidade faunística. Com base nas observações in situ, as espécies alóctones C. jacchus e C. penicillata causam danos e necessitam de manejo, que deve ser estudado e implementado para o controle criterioso de suas populações.

The impact of the great recession on employment polarization in Spain

This article analyzes changes in the occupational employment share in Spain for the period 1997-2012 and the way particular sociodemographic groups adapt to those changes. There seems to be clear evidence of employment polarization between 1997 and 2012 that accelerates over the recession. Changes in the composition of the labour supply cannot explain the increase in the share of occupations at the low end of the wage distribution. Sector reallocation may have partially contributed to explain the polarization process in Spain during the years of expansion (1997-2007) but it is a minor factor during the recession. The polarization of occupations within sectors observed, especially during the recession, appears to be related to a decline in routine tasks which is compensated by an increase in occupations with non-routine service contents, which are found both in the low and high end of the wage distribution. Instead, jobs with a higher degree of abstract contents do not appear to increase their share in total employment during these 15 years. The paper finds that this process has affected males more strongly than females because of their higher concentration in occupations more focused on routine tasks. Among males, for workers under 30 years old, we find a decrease in the share of occupations with more routine tasks which turns into increases in those with more abstract content and particularly with more non-routine service content. Instead, male workers over 30 years old seem to remain in declining occupations to a greater extent. Females of different ages are not affected by the abovementioned changes.

Spatial-temporal excess mortality patterns of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in Spain

Background: The impact of socio-demographic factors and baseline health on the mortality burden of seasonal and pandemic influenza remains debated. Here we analyzed the spatial-temporal mortality patterns of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Spain, one of the countries of Europe that experienced the highest mortality burden. Methods: We analyzed monthly death rates from respiratory diseases and all-causes across 49 provinces of Spain, including the Canary and Balearic Islands, during the period January-1915 to June-1919. We estimated the influenza-related excess death rates and risk of death relative to baseline mortality by pandemic wave and province. We then explored the association between pandemic excess mortality rates and health and socio-demographic factors, which included population size and age structure, population density, infant mortality rates, baseline death rates, and urbanization. Results: Our analysis revealed high geographic heterogeneity in pandemic mortality impact. We identified 3 pandemic waves of varying timing and intensity covering the period from Jan-1918 to Jun-1919, with the highest pandemic-related excess mortality rates occurring during the months of October-November 1918 across all Spanish provinces. Cumulative excess mortality rates followed a south-north gradient after controlling for demographic factors, with the North experiencing highest excess mortality rates. A model that included latitude, population density, and the proportion of children living in provinces explained about 40% of the geographic variability in cumulative excess death rates during 1918-19, but different factors explained mortality variation in each wave. Conclusions: A substantial fraction of the variability in excess mortality rates across Spanish provinces remained unexplained, which suggests that other unidentified factors such as comorbidities, climate and background immunity may have affected the 1918-19 pandemic mortality rates. Further archeo-epidemiological research should concentrate on identifying settings with combined availability of local historical mortality records and information on the prevalence of underlying risk factors, or patient-level clinical data, to further clarify the drivers of 1918 pandemic influenza mortality.

Incidental Memory of Younger and Older Adults for Objects Encountered in a Real World Context

Effects of context on the perception of, and incidental memory for, real-world objects have predominantly been investigated in younger individuals, under conditions involving a single static viewpoint. We examined the effects of prior object context and object familiarity on both older and younger adults' incidental memory for real objects encountered while they traversed a conference room. Recognition memory for context-typical and context-atypical objects was compared with a third group of unfamiliar objects that were not readily named and that had no strongly associated context. Both older and younger adults demonstrated a typicality effect, showing significantly lower 2-alternative-forced-choice recognition of context-typical than context-atypical objects; for these objects, the recognition of older adults either significantly exceeded, or numerically surpassed, that of younger adults. Testing-awareness elevated recognition but did not interact with age or with object type. Older adults showed significantly higher recognition for context-atypical objects than for unfamiliar objects that had no prior strongly associated context. The observation of a typicality effect in both age groups is consistent with preserved semantic schemata processing in aging. The incidental recognition advantage of older over younger adults for the context-typical and context-atypical objects may reflect aging-related differences in goal-related processing, with older adults under comparatively more novel circumstances being more likely to direct their attention to the external environment, or age-related differences in top-down effortful distraction regulation, with older individuals' attention more readily captured by salient objects in the environment. Older adults' reduced recognition of unfamiliar objects compared to context-atypical objects may reflect possible age differences in contextually driven expectancy violations. The latter finding underscores the theoretical and methodological value of including a third type of objects-that are comparatively neutral with respect to their contextual associations-to help differentiate between contextual integration effects (for schema-consistent objects) and expectancy violations (for schema-inconsistent objects).

Diseño y programación del control numérico para el mecanizado del escudo del Real Madrid.

[ES]El objetivo de este proyecto es programar el control numérico para la mecanización del escudo del Real Madrid. Para conseguir esto, primero es necesario aprender cómo funcionan los programas que se van a usar. Después de esto se va a crear el archivo CAD, usando el programa Solid Edge. Luego, usando el programa SurfCam Velocity 4.0 se programará el control numérico necesario para la fabricación del escudo.

Genotypes, Recombinant Forms, and Variants of Norovirus GII.4 in Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain), 2009-2012

Background: Noroviruses (NoVs) are genetically diverse, with genogroup II-and within it-genotype 4 (GII.4) being the most prevalent cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. The aim of this study was to characterize genogroup II NoV causing acute gastroenteritis in the Basque Country (northern Spain) from 2009-2012. Methods: The presence of NoV RNA was investigated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in stool specimens from children younger than 15 years old with community-acquired acute gastroenteritis, and from hospitalized adults or elderly residents of nursing homes with acute gastroenteritis. For genotyping, the open reading frames ORF1 (encoding the polymerase) and ORF2 (encoding the major capsid protein) were partially amplified and sequenced. Recombinant strains were confirmed by PCR of the ORF1/ORF2 junction region. Results: NoV was detected in 16.0% (453/2826) of acute gastroenteritis episodes in children younger than 2 years, 9.9% (139/1407) in children from 2 to 14 years, and 35.8% (122/341) in adults. Of 317 NoVs characterized, 313 were genogroup II and four were genogroup I. The GII.4 variants Den Haag-2006b and New Orleans-2009 predominated in 2009 and 2010-2011, respectively. In 2012, the New Orleans-2009 variant was partially replaced by the Sydney-2012 variant (GII.Pe/GII.4) and New Orleans-2009/Sydney-2012 recombinant strains. The predominant capsid genotype in all age groups was GII.4, which was the only genotype detected in outbreaks. The second most frequent genotype was GII.3 (including the recently described recombination GII.P16/GII.3), which was detected almost exclusively in children. Conclusion: Nine different genotypes of NoV genogroup II were detected; among these, intergenotype recombinant strains represented an important part, highlighting the role of recombination in the evolution of NoVs. Detection of new NoV strains, not only GII.4 strains, shortly after their first detection in other parts of the world shows that many NoV strains can spread rapidly.