ALBERT

Description: Chronic joint pain is associated to an increase in the consumption of medication and decrease in life quality in elderly people, which requires developing non-pharmacological treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectivity of a group intervention, based on animal-assisted therapy and applied to elderly people with chronic joint pain and polymedication, regarding the decrease of chronic pain, use of analgesics and improvement of life quality. A randomized controlled trial, two arms and open-label was conducted in a Primary Health Center. Twelve weekly sessions of kinesitherapy; in the EG, these exercises were performed with the additional assistance of the therapy dog. A total of 52 participants (22 Control Group (CG), 30 EG), average age 77.50 (±7.3), women 90.4%. A significant reduction on post-intervention values of pain β = −0.67(−1.27, −0.08), p = 0.03 and pain induced insomnia β = −0.53(−1.01, −0.05), p = 0.03 was found in EG for increasing baseline values. Animal-assisted therapy leads to an additional reduction in the perception of pain and pain induced insomnia in individuals with higher baseline severity. The presence of the dog improves the attachment to intervention and the satisfaction of the participants.

Description: Sustainable smart buildings play an essential role in terms of more efficient energy. However, these buildings as electric loads are affected by an important distortion in the current and voltage waveforms caused by the increasing proliferation of nonlinear electronic devices. Overall, buildings all around the world consume a significant amount of energy, which is about one-third of the total primary energy resources. Optimization of the power transfer process of such amount of energy is a crucial issue that needs specific tools to integrate energy-efficient behaviour throughout the grid. When nonlinear loads are present, new capable ways of thinking are needed to consider the effects of harmonics and related power components. In this manner, technology innovations are necessary to update the power factor concept to a generalized total or a true one, where different power components involved in it calculation, properly reflect each harmonic interaction. This work addresses an innovative theory that applies the Poynting Vector philosophy via Geometric Algebra to the electromagnetic energy transfer process providing a physical foundation. In this framework, it is possible to analyse and detect the nature of disturbing loads in the exponential growth of new globalized buildings and architectures in our era. This new insight is based on the concept of geometric objects with different dimension: vector, bivector, trivector, multivector. Within this paper, these objects are correlated with the electromagnetic quantities responsible for the energy flow supplied to the most common loads in sustainable smart buildings. Besides, it must be considered that these phenomena are characterized by a quality index multivector appropriate even for detecting harmonic sources. A numerical example is used to illustrate the clear capabilities of the suggested index when it applies to industrial loads for optimization of energy control systems and enhance comfort management in smart sustainable buildings.

Description: Severity of drought in California (U.S.) varies from year-to-year and is highly influenced by precipitation in winter months, causing billion-dollar events in single drought years. Improved understanding of the variability of drought on decadal and longer timescales is essential to support regional water resources planning and management. This paper presents a soft-computing approach to forecast the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) in California. A time-series of yearly data covering more than two centuries (1801–2014) was used for the design of ensemble projections to understand and quantify the uncertainty associated with interannual-to-interdecadal predictability. With a predictable structure elaborated by exponential smoothing, the projections indicate for the horizon 2015–2054 a weak increase of drought, followed by almost the same pace as in previous decades, presenting remarkable wavelike variations with durations of more than one year. Results were compared with a linear transfer function model approach where Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Niño Southern Oscillation indices were both used as input time series. The forecasted pattern shows that variations attributed to such internal climate modes may not provide more reliable predictions than the one provided by purely internal variability of drought persistence cycles, as present in the PDSI time series.

Description: Sensing systems in combination with treatment tools and intelligent information management are the basis on which the cities and urban environments of the future will be built. Progress in the research and development of these new and intelligent scenarios is essential to achieve the objectives of efficiency, integration, sustainability, and quality of life for people who live in cities. To achieve these objectives, it is essential to investigate the development of cheaper, more accurate, and smarter hardware devices, which will form the basis of the intelligent environments of the future. This article focuses on an approach based on intelligent multi-agent systems that are integrated into basic hardware devices for the Internet of Things (IoT). A multi-agent architecture is proposed for the fast, efficient, and intelligent management of the generated data. A layer of services adapted to the needs of the new intelligent environments is built on this architecture. With the aim of validating this architecture, a case study based on electric vehicles of the e-bike type is proposed.

Description: Background: Rett syndrome has considerable effects on the quality of life of affected children, impairing everyday activities and potentially impacting the life of both the caregivers and the family. Our aim was to explore the experiences of a group of caregivers of children with Rett syndrome with regards to living and caring for their children. Methods: We conducted a qualitative case study to examine how 31 caregivers of children with Rett syndrome perceived living with their children. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus groups, researchers’ field notes and caregivers’ personal documents. A thematic analysis was performed following the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guideline. Results: The experience of being a caregiver of a child with Rett syndrome was expressed as being akin to an “obstacle course”, and was described via three main themes: (a) looking for answers, with two subthemes identified, namely ‘the first symptoms’, and ‘the need for a diagnosis’; (b) managing day to day life, with the subthemes ‘applying treatments’, and ‘learning to care’; and (c) money matters. Conclusions: Rett syndrome has a considerable impact on the lives of the caregivers involved. The health-care process and the management of economic resources are some of the aspects highlighted by caregivers. These findings have important implications for the planning of support services, health systems and health policies.

Description: Regardless of the rapid development of national gas centers around the world, oil price indexation remains the prevailing pricing process in Continental Europe and the Far East. The instance of Spain is a genuine case where gas supply conditions may, to some extent, clarify the slower pace of execution of a traded gas hub in the nation. This article seeks to explain the persistence of oil-indexed pricing mechanisms, a price model that differs oddly from that of other major commodities, the price of which is normally discovered on the market. In order to do that, we examine time-varying volatility to find that since 2013 until 2016, just about 33% of gradual volatility clustering rooted within oil Brent prices is reflected in Spanish gas prices. In this sense, our research provides quantitative tools to better understand that market-based approaches such as spot and medium-term supply alternatives seem to be a key driver for success in transforming gas markets. Regular updates on the size of the effects observed should facilitate an exact appraisal of the level of progression of national gas liberalization processes and enhance gas markets transparency, these issues of extraordinary importance for both policymakers and gas market agents.

Description: Recent advances in semantic web and deep learning technologies enable new means for the computational analysis of vast amounts of information from the field of digital humanities. We discuss how some of the techniques can be used to identify historical and cultural symmetries between different characters, locations, events or venues, and how these can be harnessed to develop new strategies to promote intercultural and cross-border aspects that support the teaching and learning of history and heritage. The strategies have been put to the test in the context of the European project CrossCult, revealing enormous potential to encourage curiosity to discover new information and increase retention of learned information.

Description: This article contains the results and analysis of the dynamic behavior of a poppet valve through CFD simulation. A computational model based on the finite volume method was developed to characterize the flow at the interior of the valve while it is moving. The model was validated using published data from the valve manufacturer. This data was in accordance with the experimental model. The model was used to predict the behavior of the device as it is operated at high frequencies. Non-dimensional parameters for generalizing and analyzing the effects of the properties of the fluid were used. It was found that it is possible to enhance the dynamic behavior of the valve by altering the viscosity of the working fluid. Finally, using the generated model, the influence of the angle of the poppet was analyzed. It was found that angle has a minimal effect on pressure. However, flow forces increase as angle decreases. Therefore, reducing poppet angle is undesirable because it increases power requirements for valve actuation.

Description: Models that incorporate known species-mixing effects on tree growth are essential tools to properly design silvicultural guidelines for mixed-species stands. Here, we developed generalized height–diameter (h-d) and basal area growth models for mixed stands of two main forest species in Spain: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.). Mixed-effects models were fitted from plot measurement and tree rings data from 726 Scots pine and 693 Maritime pine trees from mixed and pure stands in the Northern Iberian Range in Spain, with the primary objective of representing interactions between the species where they are interspersed in mixtures of varying proportions. An independent dataset was used to test the performance of the h-d models against models previously fitted for monospecific stands of both species. Basal area increment models were evaluated using a 10-fold block cross-validation procedure. We found that species mixing had contrasting effects on the species in both models. In h-d models, the species-mixing proportion determined the effect of species interactions. Basal area growth models showed that interspecific competition was influential only for Maritime pine; however, these effects differed depending on the mode of competition. For Scots pine, tree growth was not restricted by interspecies competition. The combination of mixed-effect models and the inclusion of parameters expressing species-mixing enhanced estimates of tree height and basal area growth compared with the available models previously developed for pure stands. Although the species-mixing effects were successfully represented in the fitted models, additional model components for accurately simulating the stand dynamics of mixtures with Scots pine and Maritime pine and other species mixtures require similar model refinements. Upon the completion of analyses required for these model refinements, the degree of improvement in simulating growth in species mixtures, including the effects of different management options, can be evaluated.

Description: During creep, magnesium alloys undergo microstructural changes due to temperature and stress. These alterations are associated with the evolution of the present phases at a microstructural level, creating different strain rates during primary and tertiary creep, and with the stability of the inter-metallic phase Mg17Al12 formed at these temperatures. In this paper, the results of creep testing of high-pressure die-cast AZ91 magnesium alloys are reported. During creep, continuous and discontinuous precipitates grow, which influences creep resistance. The creep mechanism that acts at these intermediate temperatures up to 150 °C is termed dislocation climbing. Finally, the influence of the type of precipitates on the creep behavior of alloys is determined by promoting the formation of continuous precipitates by a short heat treatment prior to creep testing.