Annuaire du Cosmos : manuel de la science

1868 (A10).

Annuaire du Cosmos : manuel de la science

1860 (A2).

Annuaire du Cosmos : manuel de la science

1863 (A5).

Annuaire du Cosmos : manuel de la science

1859 (A1,PART2).

Annuaire du Cosmos : manuel de la science

1859 (A1,PART1).

Low-fat dairy products and blood pressure: follow-up of 2290 older persons at high cardiovascular risk participating in the PREDIMED study

High blood pressure (BP) has been ranked as the most important risk factor worldwide regarding attributable deaths. Dietary habits are major determinants of BP. Among them, frequent intake of low-fat dairy products may protect against hypertension. Our aim was to assess the relationship between low-fat dairy product intake and BP levels and their changes after 12 month follow-up in a cohort of asymptomatic older persons at high cardiovascular risk recruited into a large-scale trial assessing the effects of Mediterranean diets on cardiovascular outcomes. Data from 2290 participants, including 1845 with hypertension, were available for analyses. Dairy products were not a specific part of the intervention; thus, data were analysed as an observational cohort. Dietary information was collected with validated semi-quantitative FFQ and trained personnel measured BP. To assess BP changes, we undertook cross-sectional analyses at baseline and at the end of follow-up and longitudinal analyses. A statistically significant inverse association between low-fat dairy product intake and systolic BP was observed for the 12-month longitudinal analysis. In the longitudinal analysis, the adjusted systolic and diastolic BP were significantly lower in the highest quintile of low-fat dairy product intake ( 2 4·2 (95% CI 2 6·9, 2 1·4) and 2 1·8 (95% CI 2 3·2, 2 0·4) mmHg respectively), whereas the point estimates for the difference in diastolic BP indicated a modest non-significant inverse association. Intake of low-fat dairy products was inversely associated with BP in an older population at high cardiovascular risk, suggesting a possible protective effect against hypertension.

Polymorphisms cyclooxygenase-2 -765G>C and interleukin-6 -174G>C are associated with serum inflammation markers in a high cardiovascular risk population and do not modify the response to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with virgin olive oil or nuts

Inflammation is involved in cardiovascular diseases. Some studies have found that the Mediterranean diet (MD) can reduce serum concentrations of inflammation markers. However, none of these studies have analyzed the influence of genetic variability in such a response. Our objective was to study the effect of the -765G.C polymorphism in the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene and the -174G.C polymorphism in the interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene on serum concentrations of IL-6, C-reactive protein, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 as well as their influence on the response toa nutritional interventionwithMD.An intervention study ina high cardiovascular riskMediterranean population (314 men and 407 women) was undertaken. Participants were randomly assigned to consume a low-fat control diet or a MD supplementedwith virgin olive oil ornuts.Measureswereobtained at baseline and after a 3-mointervention period.At baseline, the COX-2 -765G.C polymorphismwas associated with lower serum IL-6 (5.85 6 4.82 in GG vs. 4.74 6 4.14 ng/L in C-allele carriers; P ¼ 0.002) and ICAM-1 (265.8 6 114.8 in GG vs. 243.0 6 107.1 mg/L in C-carriers; P ¼ 0.018) concentrations. These differences remained significant aftermultivariate adjustment. The IL-6 -174G.C polymorphism was associatedwith higher (CC vs. G-carriers) serumICAM-1concentrations in bothmenandwomenandwithhigherserumIL-6 concentrations inmen.Following the dietary intervention, no significant gene x diet interactions were found. In conclusion, although COX-2 -765G.C and IL-6 -174G.C polymorphismswere associatedwith inflammation, consuming aMD(either supplemented with virgin olive oil or nuts) reduced the concentration of inflammation markers regardless of these polymorphisms.

Reflexiones y propuestas sobre la especialización médica en España

Los rápidos cambios tecnológicos, poblacionales, de conocimientos científicos, organizativos, profesionales, económicos y sociales obligan a una adaptación del sistema de formación médica posgraduada. La lentitud en esta adaptación puede ser perjudicial para la próxima profesión. La reconocida credibilidad del sistema MIR no debería actuar como freno de las reformas necesarias. Para implementar las mismas se señalan una serie de problemas detectados como: inadecuación en la cantidad de determinados especialistas, solapamiento de áreas competenciales entre especialidades afines, rigidez en los sistemas de formación, déficit en los programas formativos y evaluativos (tanto a la entrada como durante el propio período de formación), falta de profesionalización de los tutores, formación heterogénea para la investigación y dificultades en la incorporación al trabajo como especialistas. Para poner remedio a estos problemas se proponen una serie de soluciones que, en caso de aplicarse, pueden aproximar a los profesionales especializados a las nuevas necesidades, logrando de esta manera mejoras en la calidad de la atención sanitaria.

Conflicting claims problem associated with cost sharing of a network

A minimum cost spanning tree (mcst) problem analyzes the way to efficiently connect individuals to a source when they are located at different places. Once the efficient tree is obtained, the question on how allocating the total cost among the involved agents defines, in a natural way, a confliicting claims situation. For instance, we may consider the endowment as the total cost of the network, whereas for each individual her claim is the maximum amount she will be allocated, that is, her connection cost to the source. Obviously, we have a confliicting claims problem, so we can apply claims rules in order to obtain an allocation of the total cost. Nevertheless, the allocation obtained by using claims rules might not satisfy some appealing properties (in particular, it does not belong to the core of the associated cooperative game). We will define other natural claims problems that appear if we analyze the maximum and minimum amount that an individual should pay in order to support the minimum cost tree. Keywords: Minimum cost spanning tree problem, Claims problem, Core JEL classification: C71, D63, D71.

Enjoying cooperative games: The R package GameTheory

This paper focuses on cooperative games with transferable utility. We propose the computation of two solutions, the Shapley value for n agents and the nucleolus with a maximum of four agents. The current approach is also focused on conflicting claims problems, a particular case of coalitional games. We provide the computation of the most well-known and used claims solutions: the proportional, the constrained equal awards, the constrained equal losses, the Talmud and the random arrival rules. Keywords: Cooperative game, Shapley value, nucleolus, claims problem, claims rule, bankruptcy.

La canalització de l'Ebre a la regió de Tortosa (1347-1851)

En aquest article es repassaran sumàriament els projectes de canalització de l"Ebre a la zona de Tortosa entre el s. XIV, moment en què tenim constància de les primeres intervencions, i el 1850. Per la seva importància, es deixa expressament fora el projecte que fou plantejat per la Real Compañía de Canalización del Ebro l"any 1851, ja que va ser la base de l"actual xarxa de regadiu i requereix un estudi individualitzat. Ens referirem, en certa manera, als antecedents d"aquesta realització, cosa especialment important a causa que la formulació de la proposta de la Real Compañía tingué en compte moltes de les coses que s"havien fet o intentat fer fins llavors, com ara l"assut o els canals de navegació.