Gastric polyps in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis Portuguese patients: the first Western cohort with Asian features.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic atrophic gastritis may contribute to gastric polyps (GP) phenotype in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Considering the high prevalence of Helicobacter-pylori (HP) infection in Portugal, we aim to characterise GP in a series of Portuguese patients. METHODS: In a retrospectively-selected series of 53 FAP patients, clinical data and histopathological features of GP and background gastric mucosa were studied. SPSS (27.0) was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Thirteen patients (24.5%) developed fundic gland polyps (FGP), seven (13.2%) gastric adenomas (GA) and ten (18.9%) both FGP and GA. Out of 100 GP, four were hyperplastic polyps, 58 FGP (24 with dysplasia), 35 intestinal-type GA (intGA) and three foveolar-type GA (fovGA). IntGA were larger (60% >7mm, p=0.03), occurred predominantly in the distal stomach (66.7%, p=0.024), in patients harbouring gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM) (86.7%, p<0.001) and duodenal adenomas (86.7%, p<0.001) Conclusion: This is the first Western series showing high prevalence of intGA in FAP patients, comparable to Asian cohorts. HP infection and chronic atrophic gastritis/intestinal metaplasia are likely responsible for this difference, with risk of neoplastic transformation and management implications. Biopsy/excision of GP >7mm, in the distal stomach, and in patients harbouring gastric intestinal metaplasia/duodenal adenomas should be considered.

Combined loss of CDH1 and downstream regulatory sequences drive early-onset diffuse gastric cancer and increase penetrance of hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Germline CDH1 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants cause hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC). Once a genetic cause is identified, stomachs' and breasts' surveillance and/or prophylactic surgery is offered to asymptomatic CDH1 carriers, which is life-saving. Herein, we characterized an inherited mechanism responsible for extremely early-onset gastric cancer and atypical HDGC high penetrance. METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing (WES) re-analysis was performed in an unsolved HDGC family. Accessible chromatin and CDH1 promoter interactors were evaluated in normal stomach by ATAC-seq and 4C-seq, and functional analysis was performed using CRISPR-Cas9, RNA-seq and pathway analysis. RESULTS: We identified a germline heterozygous 23 Kb CDH1-TANGO6 deletion in a family with eight diffuse gastric cancers, six before age 30. Atypical HDGC high penetrance and young cancer-onset argued towards a role for the deleted region downstream of CDH1, which we proved to present accessible chromatin, and CDH1 promoter interactors in normal stomach. CRISPR-Cas9 edited cells mimicking the CDH1-TANGO6 deletion display the strongest CDH1 mRNA downregulation, more impacted adhesion-associated, type-I interferon immune-associated and oncogenic signalling pathways, compared to wild-type or CDH1-deleted cells. This finding solved an 18-year family odyssey and engaged carrier family members in a cancer prevention pathway of care. CONCLUSION: In this work, we demonstrated that regulatory elements lying down-stream of CDH1 are part of a chromatin network that control CDH1 expression and influence cell transcriptome and associated signalling pathways, likely explaining high disease penetrance and very young cancer-onset. This study highlights the importance of incorporating scientific-technological updates and clinical guidelines in routine diagnosis, given their impact in timely genetic diagnosis and disease prevention.

Genotype-first approach to identify associations between CDH1 germline variants and cancer phenotypes: a multicentre study by the European Reference Network on Genetic Tumour Risk Syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Truncating pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants of CDH1 cause hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC), a tumour risk syndrome that predisposes carrier individuals to diffuse gastric and lobular breast cancer. Rare CDH1 missense variants are often classified as variants of unknown significance. We conducted a genotype-phenotype analysis in families carrying rare CDH1 variants, comparing cancer spectrum in carriers of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (PV/LPV; analysed jointly) or missense variants of unknown significance, assessing the frequency of families with lobular breast cancer among PV/LPV carrier families, and testing the performance of lobular breast cancer-expanded criteria for CDH1 testing. METHODS: This genotype-first study used retrospective diagnostic and clinical data from 854 carriers of 398 rare CDH1 variants and 1021 relatives, irrespective of HDGC clinical criteria, from 29 institutions in ten member-countries of the European Reference Network on Tumour Risk Syndromes (ERN GENTURIS). Data were collected from Oct 1, 2018, to Sept 20, 2022. Variants were classified by molecular type and clinical actionability with the American College of Medical Genetics and Association for Molecular Pathology CDH1 guidelines (version 2). Families were categorised by whether they fulfilled the 2015 and 2020 HDGC clinical criteria. Genotype-phenotype associations were analysed by Student's t test, Kruskal-Wallis, χ2, and multivariable logistic regression models. Performance of HDGC clinical criteria sets were assessed with an equivalence test and Youden index, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were compared by Z test. FINDINGS: From 1971 phenotypes (contributed by 854 probands and 1021 relatives aged 1-93 years), 460 had gastric and breast cancer histology available. CDH1 truncating PV/LPVs occurred in 176 (21%) of 854 families and missense variants of unknown significance in 169 (20%) families. Multivariable logistic regression comparing phenotypes occurring in families carrying PV/LPVs or missense variants of unknown significance showed that lobular breast cancer had the greatest positive association with the presence of PV/LPVs (odds ratio 12·39 [95% CI 2·66-57·74], p=0·0014), followed by diffuse gastric cancer (8·00 [2·18-29·39], p=0·0017) and gastric cancer (7·81 [2·03-29·96], p=0·0027). 136 (77%) of 176 families carrying PV/LPVs fulfilled the 2015 HDGC criteria. Of the remaining 40 (23%) families, who did not fulfil the 2015 criteria, 11 fulfilled the 2020 HDGC criteria, and 18 had lobular breast cancer only or lobular breast cancer and gastric cancer, but did not meet the 2020 criteria. No specific CDH1 variant was found to predispose individuals specifically to lobular breast cancer, although 12 (7%) of 176 PV/LPV carrier families had lobular breast cancer only. Addition of three new lobular breast cancer-centred criteria improved testing sensitivity while retaining high specificity. The probability of finding CDH1 PV/LPVs in patients fulfilling the lobular breast cancer-expanded criteria, compared with the 2020 criteria, increased significantly (AUC 0·92 vs 0·88; Z score 3·54; p=0·0004). INTERPRETATION: CDH1 PV/LPVs were positively associated with HDGC-related phenotypes (lobular breast cancer, diffuse gastric cancer, and gastric cancer), and no evidence for a positive association with these phenotypes was found for CDH1 missense variants of unknown significance. CDH1 PV/LPVs occurred often in families with lobular breast cancer who did not fulfil the 2020 HDGC criteria, supporting the expansion of lobular breast cancer-centred criteria. FUNDING: European Reference Network on Genetic Tumour Risk Syndromes, European Regional Development Fund, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal), Cancer Research UK, and European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

A systematic review and functional bioinformatics analysis of genes associated with Crohn's disease identify more than 120 related genes.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease is one of the two categories of inflammatory bowel diseases that affect the gastrointestinal tract. The heritability estimate has been reported to be 0.75. Several genes linked to Crohn's disease risk have been identified using a plethora of strategies such as linkage-based studies, candidate gene association studies, and lately through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Nevertheless, to our knowledge, a compendium of all the genes that have been associated with CD is lacking. METHODS: We conducted functional analyses of a gene set generated from a systematic review where genes potentially related to CD found in the literature were analyzed and classified depending on the genetic evidence reported and putative biological function. For this, we retrieved and analyzed 2496 abstracts comprising 1067 human genes plus 22 publications regarding 133 genes from GWAS Catalog. Then, each gene was curated and categorized according to the type of evidence associated with Crohn's disease. RESULTS: We identified 126 genes associated with Crohn's disease risk by specific experiments. Additionally, 71 genes were recognized associated through GWAS alone, 18 to treatment response, 41 to disease complications, and 81 to related diseases. Bioinformatic analysis of the 126 genes supports their importance in Crohn's disease and highlights genes associated with specific aspects such as symptoms, drugs, and comorbidities. Importantly, most genes were not included in commercial genetic panels suggesting that Crohn's disease is genetically underdiagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: We identified a total of 126 genes from PubMed and 71 from GWAS that showed evidence of association to diagnosis, 18 to treatment response, and 41 to disease complications in Crohn's disease. This prioritized gene catalog can be explored at http://victortrevino.bioinformatics.mx/CrohnDisease .

Solving the genetic aetiology of hereditary gastrointestinal tumour syndromes- a collaborative multicentre endeavour within the project Solve-RD.

BACKGROUND: Patients and families with suspected, but genetically unexplained (unsolved) genetic tumour risk syndromes lack appropriate treatment and prevention, leading to preventable morbidity and mortality. To tackle this problem, patients from the European Reference Network on Genetic Tumour Risk Syndromes (ERN GENTURIS) are analysed in the European Commission's research project "Solving the unsolved rare diseases" (Solve-RD). The aim is to uncover known and novel cancer predisposing genes by reanalysing available whole-exome sequencing (WES) data of large cohorts in a combined manner, and applying a multidimensional omics approach. APPROACH: Around 500 genetically unsolved cases with suspected hereditary gastrointestinal tumour syndromes (polyposis, early-onset/familial colorectal cancer and gastric cancer) from multiple European centres are aimed to be included. Currently, clinical and germline WES data from 294 cases have been analysed. In addition, an extensive molecular profiling of gastrointestinal tumours from these patients is planned and deep learning techniques will be applied. The ambitious, multidisciplinary project is accompanied by a number of methodical, technical, and logistic challenges, which require the development and implementation of new analysis tools, the standardisation of bioinformatics pipelines, and strategies to exchange data and knowledge. RESULTS: and Outlook. The first re-analysis of 229 known and proposed cancer predisposition genes allowed solving 2-3% of previously unsolved GENTURIS cases. The integration of expert knowledge and new technologies will help to identify the genetic basis of additional unsolved cases within the ongoing project. The ERN GENTURIS approach might serve as a model for other genomic initiatives.

Gastric cancer genetic predisposition and clinical presentations: Established heritable causes and potential candidate genes.

Tumour risk syndromes (TRS) are characterized by an increased risk of early-onset cancers in a familial context. High cancer risk is mostly driven by loss-of-function variants in a single cancer-associated gene. Presently, predisposition to diffuse gastric cancer (DGC) is explained by CDH1 and CTNNA1 pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants (P/LP), causing Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC); while APC promoter 1B single nucleotide variants predispose to Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Proximal Polyposis of the Stomach (GAPPS). Familial Intestinal Gastric Cancer (FIGC), recognized as a GC-predisposing disease, remains understudied and genetically unsolved. GC can also occur in the spectrum of other TRS. Identification of heritable causes allows defining diagnostic testing criteria, helps to clinically classify GC families into the appropriate TRS, and allows performing pre-symptomatic testing identifying at-risk individuals for downstream surveillance, risk reduction and/or treatment. However, most of HDGC, some GAPPS, and most FIGC patients/families remain unsolved, expecting a heritable factor to be discovered. The missing heritability in GC-associated tumour risk syndromes (GC-TRS) is likely explained not by a single major gene, but by a diversity of genes, some, predisposing to other TRS. This would gain support if GC-enriched small families or apparently isolated early-onset GC cases were hiding a family history compatible with another TRS. Herein, we revisited current knowledge on GC-TRS, and searched in the literature for individuals/families bearing P/LP variants predisposing for other TRS, but whose probands display a clinical presentation and/or family history also fitting GC-TRS criteria. We found 27 families with family history compatible with HDGC or FIGC, harbouring 28 P/LP variants in 16 TRS-associated genes, mainly associated with DNA repair. PALB2 or BRCA2 were the most frequently mutated candidate genes in individuals with family history compatible with HDGC and FIGC, respectively. Consolidation of PALB2 and BRCA2 as HDGC- or FIGC-associated genes, respectively, holds promise and worth additional research. This analysis further highlighted the influence, that proband's choice and small or unreported family history have, for a correct TRS diagnosis, genetic screening, and disease management. In this review, we provide a rational for identification of particularly relevant candidate genes in GC-TRS.

The CDH1 c.1901C>T Variant: A Founder Variant in the Portuguese Population with Severe Impact in mRNA Splicing.

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) caused by CDH1 variants predisposes to early-onset diffuse gastric (DGC) and lobular breast cancer (LBC). In Northern Portugal, the unusually high number of HDGC cases in unrelated families carrying the c.1901C>T variant (formerly known as p.A634V) suggested this as a CDH1-founder variant. We aimed to demonstrate that c.1901C>T is a bona fide truncating variant inducing cryptic splicing, to calculate the timing of a potential founder effect, and to characterize tumour spectrum and age of onset in carrying families. The impact in splicing was proven by using carriers' RNA for PCR-cloning sequencing and allelic expression imbalance analysis with SNaPshot. Carriers and noncarriers were haplotyped for 12 polymorphic markers, and the decay of haplotype sharing (DHS) method was used to estimate the time to the most common ancestor of c.1901C>T. Clinical information from 58 carriers was collected and analysed. We validated the cryptic splice site within CDH1-exon 12, which was preferred over the canonical one in 100% of sequenced clones. Cryptic splicing induced an out-of-frame 37bp deletion in exon 12, premature truncation (p.Ala634ProfsTer7), and consequently RNA mediated decay. The haplotypes carrying the c.1901C>T variant were found to share a common ancestral estimated at 490 years (95% Confidence Interval 445-10,900). Among 58 carriers (27 males (M)-31 females (F); 13-83 years), DGC occurred in 11 (18.9%; 4M-7F; average age 33 ± 12) and LBC in 6 females (19.4%; average age 50 ± 8). Herein, we demonstrated that the c.1901C>T variant is a loss-of-function splice-site variant that underlies the first CDH1-founder effect in Portugal. Knowledge on this founder effect will drive genetic testing of this specific variant in HDGC families in this geographical region and allow intrafamilial penetrance analysis and better estimation of variant-associated tumour risks, disease age of onset, and spectrum.

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on drug service provision in European prisons.

PURPOSE: This paper aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 containment measures on the provision of drug treatment and harm reduction services in European prisons in15 countries during the early phase of the pandemic (March -June 2020). DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper is based on a mixed method research approach that triangulates different data sources, including the results of an on-line survey, the outcome of a focus group and four national case studies. FINDINGS: The emergence of COVID-19 led to a disruption in prison drug markets and resulted in a number of challenges for the drug services provision inside prison. Challenges for health services included the need to maintain the provision of drug-related interventions inside prison, while introducing a range of COVID-19 containment measures. To reduce contacts between people, many countries introduced measures for early release, resulted in around a 10% reduction of the prison population in Europe. Concerns were expressed around reduction of drug-related interventions, including group activities, services by external agencies, interventions in preparation for release and continuity of care. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Innovations aimed at improving drug service provision included telemedicine, better partnership between security and health staff and an approach to drug treatment more individualised. Future developments must be closely monitored. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The paper provides a unique and timely overview of the main issues, challenges and initial adaptations implemented for drug services in European prisons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of Visual Design Elements and Principles in Human Electroencephalogram Brain Activity Assessed with Spectral Methods and Convolutional Neural Networks.

The visual design elements and principles (VDEPs) can trigger behavioural changes and emotions in the viewer, but their effects on brain activity are not clearly understood. In this paper, we explore the relationships between brain activity and colour (cold/warm), light (dark/bright), movement (fast/slow), and balance (symmetrical/asymmetrical) VDEPs. We used the public DEAP dataset with the electroencephalogram signals of 32 participants recorded while watching music videos. The characteristic VDEPs for each second of the videos were manually tagged for by a team of two visual communication experts. Results show that variations in the light/value, rhythm/movement, and balance in the music video sequences produce a statistically significant effect over the mean absolute power of the Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma EEG bands (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we trained a Convolutional Neural Network that successfully predicts the VDEP of a video fragment solely by the EEG signal of the viewer with an accuracy ranging from 0.7447 for Colour VDEP to 0.9685 for Movement VDEP. Our work shows evidence that VDEPs affect brain activity in a variety of distinguishable ways and that a deep learning classifier can infer visual VDEP properties of the videos from EEG activity.

A mosaic PIK3CA variant in a young adult with diffuse gastric cancer: case report.

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) is associated with germline deleterious variants in CDH1 and CTNNA1. The majority of HDGC-suspected patients are still genetically unresolved, raising the need for identification of novel HDGC predisposing genes. Under the collaborative environment of the SOLVE-RD consortium, re-analysis of whole-exome sequencing data from unresolved gastric cancer cases (n = 83) identified a mosaic missense variant in PIK3CA in a 25-year-old female with diffuse gastric cancer (DGC) without familial history for cancer. The variant, c.3140A>G p.(His1047Arg), a known cancer-related somatic hotspot, was present at a low variant allele frequency (18%) in leukocyte-derived DNA. Somatic variants in PIK3CA are usually associated with overgrowth, a phenotype that was not observed in this patient. This report highlights mosaicism as a potential, and understudied, mechanism in the etiology of DGC.

Citation Classics in Consumer Neuroscience, Neuromarketing and Neuroaesthetics: Identification and Conceptual Analysis.

Neuromarketing, consumer neuroscience and neuroaesthetics are a broad research area of neuroscience with an extensive background in scientific publications. Thus, the present study aims to identify the highly cited papers (HCPs) in this research field, to deliver a summary of the academic work produced during the last decade in this area, and to show patterns, features, and trends that define the past, present, and future of this specific area of knowledge. The HCPs show a perspective of those documents that, historically, have attracted great interest from a research community and that could be considered as the basis of the research field. In this study, we retrieved 907 documents and analyzed, through H-Classics methodology, 50 HCPs identified in the Web of Science (WoS) during the period 2010-2019. The H-Classic approach offers an objective method to identify core knowledge in neuroscience disciplines such as neuromarketing, consumer neuroscience, and neuroaesthetics. To accomplish this study, we used Bibliometrix R Package and SciMAT software. This analysis provides results that give us a useful insight into the development of this field of research, revealing those scientific actors who have made the greatest contribution to its development: authors, institutions, sources, countries as well as documents and references.

Histological and mutational profile of diffuse gastric cancer: current knowledge and future challenges.

Gastric cancer (GC) pathogenesis is complex and heterogeneous, reflecting morphological, molecular and genetic diversity. Diffuse gastric cancer (DGC) and intestinal gastric cancer (IGC) are the major histological types. GC may be sporadic or hereditary; sporadic GC is related to environmental and genetic low-risk factors and hereditary GC is caused by inherited high-risk mutations, so far identified only for the diffuse histotype. DGC phenotypic heterogeneity challenges the current understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis. The definition of a DGC-specific mutational profile remains controversial, possibly reflecting the heterogeneity of DGC-related histological subtypes [signet-ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) and poorly cohesive carcinoma not otherwise specified (PCC-NOS)]. Indeed, DGC and DGC-related subtypes may present specific mutational profiles underlying the particularly aggressive behaviour and dismal prognosis of DGC vs IGC and PCC-NOS vs SRCC. In this systematic review, we revised the histological presentations, molecular classifications and approved therapies for gastric cancer, with a focus on DGC. We then analysed results from the most relevant studies, reporting mutational analysis data specifying mutational frequencies, and their relationship with DGC and IGC histological types, and with specific DGC subtypes (SRCC and PCC-NOS). We aimed at identifying histology-associated mutational profiles with an emphasis in DGC and its subtypes (DGC vs IGC; sporadic vs hereditary DGC; and SRCC vs PCC-NOS). We further used these mutational profiles to identify the most commonly affected molecular pathways and biological functions, and explored the clinical trials directed specifically to patients with DGC. This systematic analysis is expected to expose a DGC-specific molecular profile and shed light into potential targets for therapeutic intervention, which are currently missing.

Towards a circular economy: A novel microalgal two-step growth approach to treat excess nutrients from digestate and to produce biomass for animal feed.

Implementing a circular economy aimed at reusing resources is becoming increasingly important for industry. Microalgae fit within a circular economy by being able to bioremediate nutrient waste and as a source of biomass for several commercial applications. Here, we report a novel validation of a circular economy concept using microalgae at a relevant industrial scale with a new two-phase process. During the first phase biomass was grown autotrophically, biomass was then concentrated using membrane technology for the second phase where mixotrophic conditions were applied to boost growth further. Microalgae cultures were able to grow (13.8 g/L), uptake and bioremediate nutrients (Nitrogen > 134 mg/L/day) from an anaerobic digestion side-stream (digestate), obtaining high quality microalgae biomass (>45% protein content) suitable for use as animal feed, closing the circular economy loop for industrial applications.

Newmark displacement data for low to moderate magnitude events in the Betic Cordillera.

Land-use decisions in relation to seismic-induced landslide hazard are usually made through the preparation of hazard maps. The rigid-block method is probably the most used for this purpose. Under this method, Newmark displacement is computed for each slope unit and this displacement is used as a guide for establishing categories of hazard. At present, most relations used for computing Newmark displacement are established from moderate-to-high magnitude earthquakes (Mw ≥ 6.5). This data article provides Newmark displacements computed from accelerograms recorded in the Betic Cordillera for low-to-moderate magnitude earthquakes (Mw = 3.5-6.3). Records come from the Spanish Strong Ground Motion database (Instituto Geográfico Nacional). Newmark displacements were computed focusing on yield accelerations frequently recorded in such scenarios (0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.10), although higher accelerations were also considered (0.125, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30 g's). These data are useful for the study of the hazard in seismic scenarios of low-to-moderate magnitude, very frequent in practice. These data have been used in the study by Delgado et al. [1].

Sentiment Analysis and Emotion Understanding during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain and Its Impact on Digital Ecosystems.

COVID-19 has changed our lives forever. The world we knew until now has been transformed and nowadays we live in a completely new scenario in a perpetual restructuring transition, in which the way we live, relate, and communicate with others has been altered permanently. Within this context, risk communication is playing a decisive role when informing, transmitting, and channeling the flow of information in society. COVID-19 has posed a real pandemic risk management challenge in terms of impact, preparedness, response, and mitigation by governments, health organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), mass media, and stakeholders. In this study, we monitored the digital ecosystems during March and April 2020, and we obtained a sample of 106,261 communications through the analysis of APIs and Web Scraping techniques. This study examines how social media has affected risk communication in uncertain contexts and its impact on the emotions and sentiments derived from the semantic analysis in Spanish society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unbiased logic-tree data for earthquake-induced landslide hazard maps for low-to-moderate magnitude events.

Land-use planning in regard of earthquake-triggered landslides is usually implemented by means of the production of hazard maps. The well-known Newmark rigid block methodology is the most frequent used approach for this purpose. In this method, slope stability is evaluated by the estimation of the Newmark displacement, which is used to set different categories of hazard. This methodology presents limitations due to the difficulty of incorporating the variability of the used variables. For that reason, the logic-tree approach has been used in order to incorporate the epistemic uncertainties and compute probabilistic seismic-landslide hazard maps. However, the used weights in the logic-tree are usually set for each branch based on an expert judgement or subjective criteria. This article provide data obtained from the use of logic-tree methodology; this dataset is useful for deriving the unbiased weights to use in such methodology and in moderate-to-low magnitude scenarios. The data presented here are related to the article entitled "Obtaining suitable logic-tree weights for probabilistic earthquake-induced landslide hazard analyses" (Rodríguez-Peces et al., 2020) [1].

Sanitary landfill site selection using multi-criteria decision analysis and analytical hierarchy process: A case study in Azuay province, Ecuador.

Despite environmental regulations in Ecuador, particularly in the Province of Azuay, the solid waste final disposal management is still a socio-environmental problem, worsened by weak governance processes. The province has three sanitary landfills with almost expired service lives. The site selection was based on circumstantial reasons, which makes landfills more likely to cause environmental pollution and, therefore, have negative implications for public health. The largest landfill serves Cuenca and also leases service to other small cities. The remaining two are small and, accordingly, have limited technology and fewer resources. In this context, the main aim of this study is to evaluate the terrain of the province to find the most suitable area for landfill siting. A multi-criteria decision analysis, integrated with a geographical information system and analytical hierarchy process methodology, was conducted. Fourteen factors and seven constraints were simultaneously analysed, divided into technical, environmental, social, and economic categories; 15 of these criteria were from the Ecuadorian Unified Text of the Secondary Legislation of the Environmental Ministry. According to the results, 76.17% of the territory is not suitable for landfill implementation, and the unrestricted area represents the remaining 23.83%. The highest landfill suitability index (70-81%) is located in the south of the province in Santa Isabel, Oña, and Nabón cantons, which are dry and clay-rich areas.

Up-to-date earthquake and focal mechanism solutions datasets for the assessment of seismic hazard in the vicinity of the United Arab Emirates.

This article presents updated and unified Poissonian earthquake and focal mechanism catalogs for the United Arab Emirates and its surroundings. Data were compiled from different local, regional, and international sources. Several magnitude-conversion relationships have been applied to obtain the unified moment magnitude estimates for the final datasets. Dependent earthquakes were identified and removed from the compiled data via a declustering process to ensure a time independent Poissonian distribution of seismicity. The final compiled earthquake catalog is comprised of 1464 mainshocks, which span the time period of 658-2019 [1]. The range of their spatial region is 21°-31°N on the latitude and 47° to 66°E on the longitude. Additionally, an overall number of 583 focal mechanism solutions spanning the time period of 1923-2015 were acquired [1]. Such datasets are compatible with other published catalogs from across the globe which provide a basis for the estimation of seismic hazard and risk, as well as, the establishment of a unified seismic action representation in the building codes for the United Arab Emirates. This paper and its dataset are a companion for a published article in the Journal of Asian Earth Sciences under the title "A State-Of-The-Art Seismic Source Model for the United Arab Emirates" [2].

An updated and unified earthquake catalog from 1787 to 2018 for seismic hazard assessment studies in Mexico.

Here we present a new updated and unified Poissonian earthquake catalog for Mexico. The details about the catalog compilation, the removal of duplicate events, unifying the magnitude scales, removal of dependent events through the declustering process and its completeness analysis are presented. Earthquake and focal mechanism data have been compiled from various local, regional and international sources. Large earthquake events (MW ≥ 6.5) have been carefully revised for their epicentral locations and magnitudes from trusted publications. Different magnitude-conversion relationships, compatible with available local and regional ones, has been established to obtain unified moment magnitude estimates for the whole catalog. Completeness periods for the declustered catalog were estimated for the definition of appropriate seismic source models for the whole territory. The final unified Poissonian earthquake catalog spans from 1787 to 2018, covering a spatial extent of 13° to 33°N and 91° to 117°W. This catalog is compatible with other published catalogs providing basis for new analysis related to seismicity, seismotectonics and seismic hazard assessment in Mexico.

The influence of habitual consumption of chewing gums in the outcome of masticatory performance tests using two-coloured chewing gums.

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of regular consumption of chewing-gums on the Masticatory Performance (MP); and to determine if increasing the consumption improves the MP of non-regular consumers. We recorded the chewing-gums consumption rate (CGC) and measured the MP of 265 participants (µ = 47.09, σ = 22.49 years) using the Variance of the Histogram of the Hue (VhH) image processing method. Then, participants were instructed to increase the consumption, and the MP was measured again (SESSION) two and four days after. Normality of MP was verified with Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. The association between the age and the consumption rate was measured with GEE and the eta-squared statistic. Finally, a 3 × 3 mixed ANOVA with SESSION as the within-subject factor and CGC as the between-subjects factor was run. Session-wise and group-wise comparison were performed with post hoc Bonferroni. No systematic error was detected for VhH (p = 1.00). Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests confirmed the normality of the distribution of MP (p > 0.05). There was a significant effect of SESSION on MP, F(1.746, 457.328) = 59.075, p < 0.001; furthermore, there were significant differences in MP between SESSIONs. Additionally, there was a significant effect of CGC on MP, with F (2, 356.53) = 564.73, p < 0.001. In conclusion, the chewing-gum consumption habits influence the two-coloured chewing gum mixing test. The apparent MP of non-regular consumers can be improved by prescribing a controlled increase in the consumption of chewing-gums for a few days.