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The objective of this study was to assess the mechanical characteristics and the clinical usefulness of beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) bioblocks grafted in edentulous jaws of 12 patients.The scaffolds were produced by robocasting ceramic inks containing 80%/20% β-TCP and HA, respectively, with an overall porosity of 60%, with a macropore size between 300 and 500 μm. The mechanical performance of cylindrical vs conical specimens was compared using a universal testing machine. The clinical study was performed on 12 edentulous patients who received 4 cylindrical bone bioblocks. After 10 to 16 weeks of osseointegration, the bioblocks were explanted with trephine for histologic analysis by Goldner and Von Kossa staining.Conical shapes were significantly stronger (96.4 ± 8.7 MPa) than cylindrical shapes (87.8 ± 12.2 MPa). The overall degree of porosity ranged from 53.4% to 58.1% in the coronal region to 62.5% to 66.9% at the apex. After the maturation period, 41 valid bioblocks (85.4%) were obtained for histologic study. Bone showing some cellularity was found in 68.4% of the samples, indicating biologically active bone, and adequate calcification was found in 31.7% of the samples. In terms of biomaterial degradation, 73.2% of the samples were completely resorbed or showed significant resorption.The 80%/20% β-TCP and HA grafts customized by robocasting appear adequate for regenerating self-contained defects.

To reduce treatment burden and optimise patient outcomes in diabetic macular oedema, we present 1-year results from two phase 3 trials of faricimab, a novel angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor-A bispecific antibody.YOSEMITE and RHINE were randomised, double-masked, non-inferiority trials across 353 sites worldwide. Adults with vision loss due to centre-involving diabetic macular oedema were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to intravitreal faricimab 6·0 mg every 8 weeks, faricimab 6·0 mg per personalised treatment interval (PTI), or aflibercept 2·0 mg every 8 weeks up to week 100. PTI dosing intervals were extended, maintained, or reduced (every 4 weeks up to every 16 weeks) based on disease activity at active dosing visits. The primary endpoint was mean change in best-corrected visual acuity at 1 year, averaged over weeks 48, 52, and 56. Efficacy analyses included the intention-to-treat population (non-inferiority margin 4 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] letters); safety analyses included patients with at least one dose of study treatment. These trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (YOSEMITE NCT03622580 and RHINE NCT03622593).3247 patients were screened for eligibility in YOSEMITE (n=1532) and RHINE (n=1715). After exclusions, 940 patients were enrolled into YOSEMITE between Sept 5, 2018, and Sept 19, 2019, and 951 patients were enrolled into RHINE between Oct 9, 2018, and Sept 20, 2019. These 1891 patients were randomly assigned to faricimab every 8 weeks (YOSEMITE n=315, RHINE n=317), faricimab PTI (n=313, n=319), or aflibercept every 8 weeks (n=312, n=315). Non-inferiority for the primary endpoint was achieved with faricimab every 8 weeks (adjusted mean vs aflibercept every 8 weeks in YOSEMITE 10·7 ETDRS letters [97·52% CI 9·4 to 12·0] vs 10·9 ETDRS letters [9·6 to 12·2], difference -0·2 ETDRS letters [-2·0 to 1·6]; RHINE 11·8 ETDRS letters [10·6 to 13·0] vs 10·3 ETDRS letters [9·1 to 11·4] letters, difference 1·5 ETDRS letters [-0·1 to 3·2]) and faricimab PTI (YOSEMITE 11·6 ETDRS letters [10·3 to 12·9], difference 0·7 ETDRS letters [-1·1 to 2·5]; RHINE 10·8 ETDRS letters [9·6 to 11·9], difference 0·5 ETDRS letters [-1·1 to 2·1]). Incidence of ocular adverse events was comparable between faricimab every 8 weeks (YOSEMITE n=98 [31%], RHINE n=137 [43%]), faricimab PTI (n=106 [34%], n=119 [37%]), and aflibercept every 8 weeks (n=102 [33%], n=113 [36%]).Robust vision gains and anatomical improvements with faricimab were achieved with adjustable dosing up to every 16 weeks, demonstrating the potential for faricimab to extend the durability of treatment for patients with diabetic macular oedema.F Hoffmann-La Roche.

Faricimab is a bispecific antibody that acts through dual inhibition of both angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor A. We report primary results of two phase 3 trials evaluating intravitreal faricimab with extension up to every 16 weeks for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).TENAYA and LUCERNE were randomised, double-masked, non-inferiority trials across 271 sites worldwide. Treatment-naive patients with nAMD aged 50 years or older were randomly assigned (1:1) to intravitreal faricimab 6·0 mg up to every 16 weeks, based on protocol-defined disease activity assessments at weeks 20 and 24, or aflibercept 2·0 mg every 8 weeks. Randomisation was performed through an interactive voice or web-based response system using a stratified permuted block randomisation method. Patients, investigators, those assessing outcomes, and the funder were masked to group assignments. The primary endpoint was mean change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline averaged over weeks 40, 44, and 48 (prespecified non-inferiority margin of four letters), in the intention-to-treat population. Safety analyses included patients who received at least one dose of study treatment. These trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (TENAYA NCT03823287 and LUCERNE NCT03823300).Across the two trials, 1329 patients were randomly assigned between Feb 19 and Nov 19, 2019 (TENAYA n=334 faricimab and n=337 aflibercept), and between March 11 and Nov 1, 2019 (LUCERNE n=331 faricimab and n=327 aflibercept). BCVA change from baseline with faricimab was non-inferior to aflibercept in both TENAYA (adjusted mean change 5·8 letters [95% CI 4·6 to 7·1] and 5·1 letters [3·9 to 6·4]; treatment difference 0·7 letters [-1·1 to 2·5]) and LUCERNE (6·6 letters [5·3 to 7·8] and 6·6 letters [5·3 to 7·8]; treatment difference 0·0 letters [-1·7 to 1·8]). Rates of ocular adverse events were comparable between faricimab and aflibercept (TENAYA n=121 [36·3%] vs n=128 [38·1%], and LUCERNE n=133 [40·2%] vs n=118 [36·2%]).Visual benefits with faricimab given at up to 16-week intervals demonstrates its potential to meaningfully extend the time between treatments with sustained efficacy, thereby reducing treatment burden in patients with nAMD.F Hoffmann-La Roche.

The idea of computable aggregation operators was introduced as a generalization of aggregation operators, allowing the replacement of the mathematical function usually considered for aggregation, by a program that performs the aggregation process. There are different reasons to justify this extension. One of them is the interest in exploring some computational properties not directly related to the aggregation itself but to its implementation (complexity, recursivity, parallelisation, etc). Another reason, the one driving to the present paper, is the need to define a framework where the quite common process of first sampling (over a large data set) and then aggregating the sample, could be analysed as a formal aggregation process. This process does not match with the idea of an aggregation function, due to its non-deterministic nature, but could easily be adapted to that of a (non-deterministic) computable aggregation. The idea of non-deterministic aggregation requires the extension of the concept of monotonicity (a key aspect of aggregation operators) to this new framework. The present paper will explore this kind of non-deterministic aggregation processes, first from an empirical point of view and then in terms of populations, adapting the idea of monotonicity to both of them and finally defining a common framework for its analysis.

Fuzzy relations R : A 2 → [ 0 , 1 ] are widely used in decision-making in order to represent degrees of preference between alternatives in A . Examining fuzzy relations, this paper first reflects on an inherent incompatibility inside the domain of reciprocal fuzzy preference relations and preference structures. Aiming at clarifying the semantics of reciprocal fuzzy relations by means of that of weak fuzzy relations, a general frame is then proposed for studying the transformation between them, based on the notion of reciprocal functions. Next, we show that reciprocal relations can be naturally endowed with a preference structure of their own, containing two relations respectively showing a semantics of strict preference and lack of preference. Finally, we study the compatibility between these reciprocal preference structures and the standard preference structures of weak fuzzy preference relations by means of an axiomatic approach, leading to a system of functional equations that is shown to admit different solutions, allowing to explicitly assign one of the available semantics for reciprocal preference relations.

Resumen Introduccion El deterioro de la funcion renal en ancianos puede tener importantes implicaciones clinicas, especialmente en la dosificacion de farmacos. No existe un consenso sobre la ecuacion para estimar el filtrado glomerular (FG) en este contexto. Mientras que la de Cockcroft-Gault (CG) es la mas usada durante el desarrollo de nuevos farmacos, la Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) es la mas utilizada por los laboratorios clinicos. Nuestro objetivo es analizar las diferencias e implicaciones de utilizar una ecuacion u otra al ajustar la dosis de antibioticos. Material y metodos Estudio transversal realizado con pacientes mayores de 80 anos ingresados en una unidad geriatrica de agudos por enfermedad infecciosa. Se recogieron variables sociodemograficas, funcionales, clinicas, asistenciales y analiticas, calculandose el FG segun CG y CKD-EPI. Se realizo un estudio de concordancia entre ambas formulas, analisis bivariante y regresion lineal multiple. Resultados Se reclutaron 100 pacientes, con edad media de 88,5 ± 4,2 anos, el 54% mujeres. Se observo una sobreestimacion relativa del FG segun CKD-EPI en 13,63 mL/min, con una concordancia baja-moderada entre ambas formulas. Se detecto mas necesidad de ajuste de dosis de antibioticos con CG que con CKD-EPI (38 vs. 23%; p Conclusiones Ambas ecuaciones no son intercambiables en ancianos. Al utilizarlas para ajustar la dosis de antibioticos la CKD-EPI puede sobreestimar el FG, pudiendo condicionar un incremento de reacciones adversas. Deben realizarse mas estudios con el objetivo de alcanzar un consenso respecto a la ecuacion mas adecuada para el paciente anciano.

In this paper we extend the notion of stability of each aggregation function as presented in a previous paper of the authors, where an aggregation function was denominated Family of Aggregation Operators (FAO) in order to stress that aggregation operators within an aggregation function should be consistent. We will show that the previous definition presents certain problems when dealing with a FAO that is not idempotent or continuous. Meanwhile the previous definition was based on the study of fixed points, without taking into account the environment of each point, as many applications demand, the new approach we propose now is more flexible, and at the end allows a more appropriate definition of the consistency of a FAO. It will be shown that under certain conditions our new proposal is equivalent to the previous definition of strict stability, but the new definition covers families of aggregation operators that are not strictly stable, but intuitively stable, and vice versa. In short, we will see that our new proposal fits much better the intuition of stability of a FAO. This reformulation of stability is based upon the concept of penalty function as a measure of proximity between a value and an array of values.

As a generalization of bivariate overlap functions, which measure the degree of overlapping (intersection for non-crisp sets) of n different classes, in this paper we introduce the concept of general overlap functions. We characterize the class of general overlap functions and include some construction methods by means of different aggregation and bivariate overlap functions. Finally, we apply general overlap functions to define a new matching degree in a classification problem. We deduce that the global behavior of these functions is slightly better than some other methods in the literature. The work has been supported by the Research Services of the Universidad Publica de Navarra, the research projects TIN2016-77356-P (AEI/FEDER, UE) and TIN2015-66471-P from the Government of Spain and by the Brazilian National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development CNPq (Proc. 233950/2014-1, 306970/2013-9, 307781/2016-0) and by Caixa and Fundación Caja Navarra of Spain.

Statement of problem Clinicians are aware that the vertical dimension of occlusion and the interocclusal rest space (IRS) are 2 major factors that require consideration in the management of patients needing oral reconstructive procedures. However, how the dimensions vary with age and prosthetic status is unclear. Purpose The purpose of this clinical study was to analyze the IRS in dentate, partially edentulous, and completely edentulous participants using both conventional and electromyographic (EMG)-based methods. The effect of age and prosthodontic status on the clinical and EMG assessment of the IRS was also explored. Material and methods The IRS was determined for a group of dentate (n=31) and partially edentate (n=31) participants, as well as a group of completely edentulous (n=31) participants who had worn dentures for at least 10 years before participating in the study. Clinical and EMG-based assessments (monitoring both elevator and depressor activity) were carried out using 5 different methods: rest, relaxing mask, phonetics, deglutition, and myobalance. Bivariate and multivariate analyses (forward stepwise linear regression models) were performed to compare the effect of age and prosthodontic status on the IRS (α=.05). Results The average IRS values obtained from clinical and EMG-based assessments were significantly greater among dentate participants (2.8 ±0.4 mm and 3.6 ±0.6 mm, respectively) than partially edentulous (1.9 ±0.5 mm and 2.6 ±0.5 mm) and completely edentulous participants (1.4 ±0.5 mm and 2.2 ±0.6 mm). The IRS values obtained using the 5 methods of clinical assessment were statistically smaller than those obtained by EMG. Correlation and regression analyses showed that age and extended edentulism significantly decreased the IRS. For the IRS determined clinically, a decrease was found of 0.01 to 0.02 mm/year, based on the age of the participant. However, this decrease became greater (0.05 to 0.6 mm) where the participant had changed from being dentate to partially edentulous and partially edentulous to completely edentulous. Conclusions The IRS becomes significantly smaller in relation to age and denture extension. The rest position in the clinical examination was located cranial to the position used to make the EMG-based measurement. Small but significant differences were found between the IRS values obtained in the clinical and EMG-based methods of assessment in all the prosthetic groups.

The packaging of a product is a key element in the communication between producers and consumers, so getting the consumer to interpret the packaging visual signs in the desired way is crucial to be successful in the marketplace. However, this is not easy as images can be ambiguous and may be interpreted in different ways. For example, depicting an icon of fire on the front of a bag of nuts may lead the consumer to interpret either that the nuts are spicy or that the nuts have been roasted. This paper addresses this problem and, using this case as an example, assesses if the interpretation of a fire icon (spicy vs roasted) can be modulated by manipulating its shape (angular vs rounded). 66 participants carried out an experiment which results show that there is a crossmodal correspondence between spiciness and pointy shapes and that this association can be used to modulate sensory expectations: in a speeded classification task, the bags of nuts depicting pointy fire icons were categorised more quickly as being spicy than as being roasted, while the opposite was true for the bags of nuts displaying rounded fire icons. In addition, the results of a mediation analysis suggest that this effect occurs indirectly through affective appraisal: the pointy fire icons were judged as being more aggressive than the rounded fire icons, which in turn raised spiciness expectations. These findings contribute to the research on crossmodal correspondences and semiotics by showing that the association between spiciness and abstract shapes can be used to modulate how people interpret an ambiguous image.

Statement of problem The impact of conventional prosthetic treatment on both the objective and subjective assessments of mastication as well as on well-being is unclear. Purpose The purpose of this clinical study was to compare the impact on oral health-related quality of life and masticatory function in participants treated with conventional dental prostheses. Material and methods A total of 72 patients requiring prosthetic rehabilitation were enrolled by referral from the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Granada, Spain. At baseline, demographic, behavioral, and clinical (prosthetic status, occlusal units) data were collected. In addition, the scores for quality of life, oral satisfaction, masticatory ability (Leake index), and masticatory performance (after 5, 10, and 15 cycles of bicolored chewing gum) were obtained. These records were obtained again at 6 to 8 weeks after insertion of the prostheses. Results The findings revealed that patients treated with fixed prostheses had better quality of life and better masticatory function than patients treated with removable prostheses. This result was even more pronounced for those treated with complete dentures. For all items, most of the treated patients improved the quality of life (average, 8.6 of the 4 items), although only between 5% and 15% of patients, especially those with a removable prosthesis, commented on functional impact after receiving treatment. Generally, masticatory performance was improved between 7% and 18% and was highly correlated not only with the number of natural teeth (r=0.61) and occlusal units (r=0.51) but also with subjective variables such as mastication satisfaction (r=0.31), impact on quality of life (r=0.30), or masticatory ability (r=0.30). Conclusions Treatment with fixed prostheses achieved better results regarding quality of life, oral satisfaction, and masticatory function than treatment with removable prostheses. A moderate but significant correlation exists between the objective and subjective assessments of the masticatory functions.

Objective The objective of the study is to know the incidence of dental cause of deep neck infections (DNI) through systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Methods systematic review on PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library Plus with strategy (((deep neck) OR (parapharyngeal [All Fields] AND (‘abscess’ [MeSH Terms] OR ‘abscess’ [All Fields]))) AND (((‘microbiology’[Subheading] OR ‘microbiology’[All Fields] OR ‘microbiology'[MeSH Terms]))). It was estimated the proportion of cases of dental origin according to models of random effects, the heterogeneity through inspection of the forest-plot and estimate of I2 and publication by the LFK index and diagram bias weighted funnel-plot. Results We selected 19 (3091 patients with DNI) studies that estimated dental origin in 1380 (pooled prevalence: 36%;) (95% CI 24%–49%). The heterogeneity of the studies is high and statistically significant (I2 = 98.03%, 95% CI 97.57% 98,40%; Cochran’s Q = 912,83). There were no graphical or statistical signs of publication bias (LFK index = −1.09). Conclusions Relationship between dental origin and variables as the affected areas, the microorganisms isolated or complications cannot be drawn. It is necessary to perform new studies with better records of data related to DNI, systematizing the criteria for diagnosis and localization of infection.

This paper analyses the influence of the illuminance level of a light source on how consumers evaluated certain attributes of sweetened natural yoghurt and on their willingness to buy during product tasting. It also seeks to identify whether or not gender differences played a role in these evaluations. To do this, we conducted an independent within-subjects experiment (N = 69) where illuminance level (low versus high) was studied. Participants had to assess one sensory attribute (‘Sweet’), three non-sensory attributes (‘Healthy’, ‘Natural’ and ‘Quality’) and willingness to buy for sweetened natural yoghurt. The results show that illuminance level influences the evaluation of some attributes and that there are discernible gender differences. In general, the consumers perceived the yoghurt to be healthier under low illuminance conditions and women perceived the yoghurt to be sweeter under high illuminance. Although the effects identified were not numerous, these findings suggest that illuminance level can influence consumers’ tasting experiences as well as their willingness to buy. The limitations of this research are discussed as well as their possible practical implications.

The problem of missing data is common in real-world applications of supervised machine learning such as classification and regression. Such data often gives rise to the need for functions defined for varying dimension. Here we propose optimization methods for learning the weights of quasi-arithmetic means in the context of data with missing values. We investigate some alternative approaches depending on the number of variables that have missing values and show results for several numerical experiments.

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the association between psychological factors (Personality and Dental anxiety) with self-reported bruxism-related symptoms. Methods 526 subjects, over 18 years old and not seeking dental treatment, were recruited from the families and acquaintances of dental students from the University of Salamanca. Bruxism activity was estimated by means of a six-item questionnaire aimed at recording common bruxism-related symptoms and clenching/grinding awareness. The Spanish version of the modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS) was used to determine the level of anxiety perceived in 5 typical scenarios of dental assistance. The NEO-FFI inventory was applied to assess personality profiles associated with 5 different factors (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness). Pearson correlations, Student T-tests, and logistic regression modelling were used for the statistical analyses. Results Thirty-five point nine percent of this adults sample was classified as being bruxers, where sleep bruxers comprised more than half of the sample at 20.2%. Bruxers tended to perceive more anxiety in all of the situations included within the MDAS, where they exhibited a higher level of phobia towards the teeth scaling and local anaesthetic injection. The risk of being considered a bruxer is reduced with age (OR: 0.99), and increases proportionally for some personality traits, such as neuroticism (OR: 1.06) and extraversion(OR: 1.04), to the MDAS total score (OR: 1.08) and in smokers (OR: 1.61), after controlling for all potentially confounding factors. Conclusions Self-reported bruxism is significantly associated to several personality traits (mainly neuroticism and extraversion) and to the level of dental anxiety (MDAS score). Clinical significance: Clinicians should be aware of the typical psychological profiles of patients who experience bruxism and the relationship with dental phobias.

Whether clinical or demographic variables affect the perception of treatment in terms of quality of life and satisfaction is unknown.The purpose of this prospective study was to make an evidence-based assessment of the treatment outcomes (patient- and clinically based) of locator-retained mandibular overdentures.This prospective observational study assessed patients with edentulism who had worn mandibular overdentures supported by 2 implants and retained by the locator system for at least 1 year of functional life (N=80). Medical histories were reviewed, and patients underwent oral examinations. Prosthetic clinical outcomes and patient well-being were registered using the Oral Health Impact Profile 20 (OHIP-20) and Oral Satisfaction Scale (OSS).Patient well-being scored an overall OHIP-20 score of 19.0 ±14.0 of 80 (the higher the score, the greater the impact and the worse the oral health-related quality of life); overall oral satisfaction was 8.3 ±1.7 of 10. Women suffered greater social impact (0.8 ±1.0) and disability (0.4 ±0.8) than men (0.4 ±0.7 versus 0.2 ±0.4, respectively). Impact on well-being was inversely proportional to both patient age and the age of the prosthesis (r=-0.25; P.01). Implants had been placed on average 73.6 ±39.2 months previously, showing a survival rate of 82.5%. Most of the overdentures had been functioning for over 60 months. Relining (46.3%), readjustments (82.5%), and changes of nylon retention (1.5 ±1.8 per patient over 60 months of use) devices negatively influenced well-being.Mandibular overdentures produced good results with regard to quality of life and oral satisfaction, but attention should be paid to factors affecting clinical outcomes and patient well-being.

OBJECTIVE To establish the thresholds of chromatic perception and clinical acceptability of gingival colour according to professional category and in accordance with the perceptibility/acceptability threshold of 50:50 (colour differences that can be perceived/accepted by 50 % of the observers). METHODS A total of 21 different coloured samples made of pink gingiva Heraceram porcelain were used. Dentists (n = 54), dental assistants (n = 56), dental students (n = 126) and participants unrelated to dentistry (n = 116) were asked to identify pairs of samples that appeared identical. In addition, they were asked to indicate the pairs of samples whose colour they considered to be acceptable for use in a dental rehabilitation. A least squares regression was adjusted using an S-shaped curve of the equation y = exp (B0 + B1/x). The adjusted model was used to predict a colour difference value for an acceptability percentage of 50 %. RESULTS The threshold value for the perception of colour changes in human gingiva varies from ΔEab* 2.3 ± 0.38 units and CIEDE2000 (ΔE00) 1.5 ± 0.28units (dental students) to ΔEab* 2.7 ± 0.43 units and ΔE00 1.8 ± 0.30 units (participants unrelated to dentistry). The threshold of gingival acceptability varies from ΔEab* 2.9 ± 0.43 units and ΔE00 2.0 ± 0.31 units (dental assistants) to ΔEab* 3.6 ± 0.54 units and ΔE00 2.5 ± 0.41 units (dental students). CONCLUSION From the total number of samples, the average threshold of perception for the gingival chromatic space is 3.1 units for ΔEab* and 2.1 units for ΔE00. Moreover, the mean gingival acceptance threshold is 4.1 units for ΔEab* and 2.9 units for ΔE00. These thresholds are similar for all professional categories studied. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE The determination of the perception and acceptability thresholds in the gingival chromatic space are of special relevance for designing the physical shade tabs used in gingival colour guides. The results from this work will aid in selecting optimal gingival colour for patients.

This paper studies the influence that serving suggestions on a popular Spanish soft cheese – known as “ queso fresco ”—packaging have on consumer expectations regarding certain attributes of the product, its ideal consumption time during the day and the consumer’s willingness to buy. Some 247 people participated in this investigation, evaluating 8 attributes and 5 possible consumption times of 5 different soft cheese packages with different accompaniments displayed on the serving suggestions. The results show that the consumer perceives the soft cheese to have the qualities and ideal consumption time based on the accompaniments shown in the serving suggestion. The study also shows that serving suggestion influences willingness to buy since there is a strong positive relationship between willingness to buy and accompaniments that are healthy and for special diets. These results have important implications for soft cheese producers, marketers, and packaging designers.

In this position paper we propose a consistent and unifying view to all those basic knowledge representation models that are based on the existence of two somehow opposite fuzzy concepts. A number of these basic models can be found in fuzzy logic and multi-valued logic literature. Here it is claimed that it is the semantic relationship between two paired concepts what determines the emergence of different types of neutrality, namely indeterminacy, ambivalence and conflict, widely used under different frameworks (possibly under different names). It will be shown the potential relevance of paired structures, generated from two paired concepts together with their associated neutrality, all of them to be modeled as fuzzy sets. In this way, paired structures can be viewed as a standard basic model from which different models arise. This unifying view should therefore allow a deeper analysis of the relationships between several existing knowledge representation formalisms, providing a basis from which more expressive models can be later developed., This research has been partially supported by the Government of Spain (grants TIN2015-66471-P and TIN2013-40765-P), the Government of Madrid (grant S2013/ICCE-2845) and the UCM (Research Group 910149).

In this paper we introduce the definition of n-dimensional overlap functions and we justify the axiomatization proposed in its definition. Basically, these functions allow to measure the degree of overlapping of several classes in a given classification system and for any given object. We also show a construction method for this class of functions, studying its relationships with the properties of migrativity, homogeneity and Lipschitz continuity. Finally, we propose an example where the use of n-dimensional overlap functions provides better results than those obtained with the commonly used product t-norm.

The aim of this work is to analyse the quality of long-term trends of surface incoming shortwave solar radiation (SIS) derived from two satellite datasets from the EUMETSAT Satellite Application on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF): the SIS Data Set from the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data, Edition 2 (CLARA-A2), and the SIS Data Set-Heliosat, Edition 2 (SARAH-2). In order to achieve this goal, reference ground-based SIS measurements recorded at 12 stations over the Iberian Peninsula for the period 1985–2015 are used in this study. Firstly, the two satellite datasets have been compared against ground-based SIS measurements at 12 surface sites, showing a good agreement (i.e., R = 0.83 in SARAH-2 and R = 0.80 in CLARA-A2 on an annual basis). However, the two satellite datasets substantially underestimate the SIS trends found for the ground-based measurements. Thus, while the ground-based SIS data reported trends between −0.5 and + 6.5 Wm−2decade−1 (with statistical significance at 95% level at most stations), the satellite datasets gave trends lower for all locations (without statistical significance); between −0.4 and + 3.8 Wm−2decade−1 for CLARA-A2, and between +0.2 and + 2.8 Wm−2decade−1 for SARAH-2. It is worth to mention that the seasonal analysis of the SIS trends for both ground-based and satellite data displays a reasonably good agreement in spring (i.e., high positive trends), in accordance with the notable decline in the cloudiness for this season in the study region. By contrast, satellite products exhibit smaller SIS anomalies than ground-based data in summer, particularly from the beginning 2000s, which could be related to well-known decrease in the aerosol load over the study region.

This study aimed to assess how packaging imagery used to convey that a natural yogurt is sweetened influences consumer expectations and willingness to buy. Four packages of sweetened natural yogurt were designed, in which the message that they were sweetened was conveyed through three different images (sugar cubes, a sack of sugar and a spoon of sugar) and through only text. The results of a pretest consisting of a word association task and a main experiment consisting of an online survey show that packages in which the message that the yogurt is sweetened is conveyed by using an image together with a textual claim instead of just a textual claim are expected to be sweeter. However, some differences can be appreciated depending on the specific image that is depicted (with the package showing an image of sugar cubes raising the higher sweetness expectations). Moreover, results show that Willingness to buy is positively associated with the attributes Natural Ingredients, Healthy and Quality, and in a slightly negative way with the attribute Sweet. Overall, these results suggest that although using packaging imagery to convey a message may enhance consumer expectations and willingness to buy, its effect on consumers' attitude towards the product may ultimately depend on the subject of the image that is depicted and in the valence of the message to be conveyed. These findings are discussed in the context of packaging design and consumer research, and directions for further research are provided. This study may help packaging designers and dairy companies to better communicate the desired message to consumers and to improve the marketing performance of their products.

Objectives To analyse natural tooth colour in the Spanish population according to the colour coordinates lightness (L*), chroma (C*), hue (h*), red–green axis (a*) and yellow–blue axis (b*) in order to quantify the correlation and changes of tooth colour with age and sex. Methods Natural tooth colour was measured in a sample of 1,361 Spanish participants of both sexes distributed within an age range of 16 to 89 years. The Easyshade Compact spectrophotometer was used and the CIELAB and CIELCh systems were followed. Results Pearson's bivariate correlations between age and colour coordinates were highly significant for L* (r = −0.674, P ≤ 0.001), h* (r = −0.468, P ≤ 0.001) and C* (r = 0.417, P ≤ 0.001). The correlation between age and colour coordinates was stronger for men than for women, for all colour coordinates. The results showed that C*, b* and a* increased by 0.60, 0.56 and 0.26 units/year on average, respectively, whereas L* and h* decreased progressively with age (by 0.60 units/year, on average), and colour differences increased in a systematic way as the gap between the ages being compared grew wider. Conclusions The strongest correlation was found between age and L*, then between age and h* (both inverse relationships) and then between age and a*, C* and b* (direct relationships). In addition, a similar degree of change in the colour coordinates L*, C* and h* (of 0.60 units/year on average) was observed for natural tooth colour. Knowledge of the chromatic range of natural teeth may help to choose colour for the replacement of missing elements.

This paper introduces a hierarchical clustering algorithm in networks based upon a first divisive stage to break the graph and a second linking stage which is used to join nodes. As a particular case, this algorithm is applied to the specific problem of community detection in social networks, where a betweenness measure is considered for the divisive criterion and a similarity measure associated to data is used for the linking criterion. We show that this algorithm is very flexible as well as quite competitive (from both a performance and a computational complexity point of view) in relation with a set of state-of-the-art algorithms. Furthermore, the output given by the proposed algorithm allows to show in a dynamic and interpretable way the evolution of how the groups are split in the network.

Trade-offs are important in life-history evolution and coexistence of competitors. However, how alternative life-history optima might promote competitor coexistence has received little attention. The rotifers Brachionus plicatilis and Brachionus manjavacas are two cryptic species with a considerable ecological overlap in relation to biotic factors. These species often co-occur in temporal brackish ponds characterised by environmental fluctuations. In these rotifers, sexual reproduction results in diapausing stages, which are able to survive through adverse conditions but constrain current population growth. In the present work, the differential responses of both cryptic rotifer species to varying salinities and temperatures in terms of population growth, sexual reproduction and diapause patterns (i.e., investment, viability and hatchability of diapausing eggs) were investigated to assess their possible roles in species coexistence. B. plicatilis and B. manjavacas showed differential responses to salinity and temperature and differed consistently in traits involved in diapause. The niche overlap between B. plicatilis and B. manjavacas decreased dramatically when the temperature and salinity response niche axes were added to a number of previously studied biotic niche axes. The results suggest that B. plicatilis exploits ephemeral and favourable conditions (low salinity) to invest in diapause, which would accelerate its exclusion from the water column but promote its long-term persistence. The findings show that cryptic species may evolve different compromises among life-history traits, allowing ecological divergence, and that ecological divergence may be uncoupled from morphological divergence for some factors in the abiotic environment.

This paper aims at identifying patterns of viewing chocolate snack packages and at exploring how the layout of packaging design elements affects the prospective buyer’s visual scanpath in impulse buying. For this purpose, different chocolate snack packages were designed and research participants viewed these for 1.5 s. After analysing the data obtained through an eye-tracking device, two basic viewing patterns were identified. The first was that of first viewing most important packaging design elements from a visual perspective and then moving towards the ones of lesser importance. The second relates to the subject’s reading system (in this case, the Western system), with a tendency to prioritise the top left of the packaging. When the packaging design is congruent with both patterns, the effect is amplified and the scanpath of most of the users is predictable. When packaging design does not follow these patterns, the scanpath is less certain; it is, however, mainly determined by the order of element surface size.

As recently proved in a previous work of Turunen, Tsoukias and Ozturk, starting from an evidence pair ( a , b ) on the real unit square and associated with a propositional statement α, we can construct evidence matrices expressed in terms of four values t, f, k, u that respectively represent the logical valuations true , false , contradiction (both true and false) and unknown (neither true nor false) regarding the statement α. The components of the evidence pair ( a , b ) are to be understood as evidence for and against α, respectively. Moreover, the set of all evidence matrices can be equipped with an injective MV-algebra structure. Thus, the set of evidence matrices can play the role of truth-values of a Lukasiewicz–Pavelka fuzzy logic, a rich and applicable mathematical foundation for fuzzy reasoning, and in such a way that the obtained new logic is paraconsistent. In this paper we show that a similar result can be also obtained when the evidence pair ( a , b ) is given on the real unit triangle. Since the real unit triangle does not admit a natural MV-structure, we introduce some mathematical results to show how this shortcoming can be overcome, and another injective MV-algebra structure in the corresponding set of evidence matrices is obtained. Also, we derive several formulas to explicitly calculate the evidence matrices for the operations associated to the usual connectives.

The interventions aimed at the early childhood are of a main interest in educational policy, since it is in this period when it is possible to produce a major impact in the subsequent human development. The quality of children's social environment is the main influence to consider in achieving sound child development, affecting throughout school life. For this reason, the development of child's environment indexes appears in a natural way in the evaluation of all kind of educational policy research and social programs. However, crisp measures and indexes, based on usual linear techniques, do not ensure an adequate representation of social reality, since this last has a fuzzy nature and a nonlinear behavior. The development of indexes can be seen as an aggregation problem. In this paper, we extend the notions of consistency and strict stability of a family of aggregation operators (FAO), proposed in a previous work of the authors for the case of an aggregation process in which the data have no particular structure, to the case in which the information has a prioritized hierarchical structure. This extended notion of strict stability is then used to address the construction of indexes. Particularly, we apply this approach to develop a construction method of child's home environment indexes in which a stable family of prioritized aggregation operators is used in order to ensure robustness of the aggregation process when the information has a lineal structure. These indexes are built using fuzzy data that fit into a hierarchical structure by means of a stable family of prioritized aggregation operators based on the prioritized operator formulated by Yager, where the order relationship over fuzzy information was defined by experts on child development.

Computing with words (CWW) explores the brain's ability to handle and evaluate perceptions through language, i.e., by means of the linguistic representation of information and knowledge. On the other hand, standard preference structures examine decision problems through the decomposition of the preference predicate into the simpler situations of strict preference, indifference and incomparability. Hence, following the distinctive cognitive/neurological features for perceiving positive and negative stimuli in separate regions of the brain, we consider two separate and opposite poles of preference and aversion, and obtain an extended preference structure named the Preference-aversion (P-A) structure. In this way, examining the meaning of words under an ordinal scale and using CWW's methodology, we are able to formulate the P-A model under a simple and purely linguistic approach to decision making, obtaining a solution based on the preference and non-aversion order.

In this paper we analyze the notion of family of aggregation operators (FAO), also refereed to as extended aggregation functions (EAF), i.e., a set of aggregation operators defined in the unit interval which aggregate several input values into a single output value. In particular, we address the key issue of the relationship that should hold between the operators in a family in order to understand that they properly define a consistent FAO. We focus on the idea of strict stability of a family of aggregation operators in order to propose an operative notion of consistency between operators of such a family. In this way, robustness of the aggregation process can be guaranteed. Some strict stability definitions for FAOs are proposed, leading to a classification of the main aggregation operators in terms of the properties they satisfy. Furthermore, we apply this approach to analyze the stability of some families of aggregation operators based on weights.

Aerial parts of Tanacetum oshanahanii collected at “Jardín Canario Viera y Clavijo”, Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum collected at Los Moriscos (Tejeda), and Tanacetum ferulaceum var. latipinnum collected at Anden Verde (Agaete) in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, afforded three sesquiterpenes related to nerolidol and six sesquiterpene lactones whose structures were established on the basis of their spectroscopic data and chemical transformations. In this work we show that this type of sesquiterpene lactones could be used as chemotaxonomic markers. A series of sesquiterpene lactones described in this paper were assessed for cytotoxicity against HL-60 and U937 cancer cell lines. The derivatives 106a and 98a displayed cytotoxic properties showing IC50 values between 5 and 11 μM. Furthermore, we demonstrated that these selected sesquiterpene lactones induce apoptotic cell death in human leukemia cells through a mechanism that involves activation of multiple caspases and moreover cell death was found to be associated with the release of cytochrome c., This work was supported in part by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (SAF2010-21380 to F.E), from the Instituto Canario de Investigación del Cáncer to F.E., and Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (C200801000174 to J.T). Q.A. Castillo wishes to thank the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional for his scholarship. M.T.M and S.E were supported by research studentships from the Instituto Canario de Investigación del Cáncer and from the Spanish Ministry of Education, respectively. F.L. was supported by JAE-Doc Program from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.

Objectives To evaluate the changes in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) reported by subjects treated with conventional prostheses. Methods A consecutive sample of 153 patients seeking prosthodontic rehabilitation was recruited. Socio-demographic and prosthetic-related factors (Eichner Index; number of occlusal, aesthetic, and lost units) were registered. Baseline impacts on OHRQoL were collected using the OHIP-14 questionnaire. One month after treatment, the participants answered whether the prostheses had generated better, equal, or poorer effects within the 14 items of a retrospective scale (Post-OHIP). The study patients were compared with the reference population (P-population; n = 123) in terms of OHRQoL. Such P-population consisted of Spanish adults wearing conventional dental prostheses who were not seeking any dental treatment. The reliability and validity of the tests applied and the factor structure of the Post-OHIP were investigated. A Poisson regression model was calculated to predict what items would change favourably after treatment. Results Four prosthetic cohorts were established according to the types of rehabilitations performed: 1-FDPs: metal–ceramic fixed dental prostheses; 2-M-RPDs: metal-based removable partial dentures; 3-ADs: acrylic partial dentures and 4-CDs: complete dentures. Both tests confirmed adequate psychometric properties. Most items of the Post-OHIP consistently loaded on a single factor. Patients requiring ADs or CDs reported significantly lower baseline OHRQoL than those needing M-RPDs or FDPs. Pain/discomfort was the only hampering issue subsequent to removable rehabilitation. M-RPDs are expected to provide the significantly highest therapeutic improvements. Conclusions Patients perceived benefits in chewing ability, aesthetics and satisfaction with their mouth after receiving conventional dental prostheses. Clinical significance Conventional prosthetic therapy enhances patients’ overall well-being although it can cause discomfort and chewing dysfunction in more than 20% of subjects. Metal-based removable partial dentures are the most predictable in terms of patient satisfaction. The higher the clinical impairment felt by patients, the higher the increase in OHRQoL after rehabilitation.

Fuzziness and bipolarity allow representing human knowledge, taking into account the gradual and the dialectic properties of language, focusing on the meaning of concepts. Under this cognitive and linguistic approach, we explore preference relations, examining their semantic decomposition through fuzzy preference structures and the specification of meaningful opposites. In particular, we introduce the Preference-Aversion (P-A) model, which allows analyzing, under an independent aggregation methodology, the possible gains and losses, like pros and cons, towards a given set of alternatives. As an attractive feature of this proposal, we show that the P-A model allows distinguishing between need and desire, contrary to common preference models where both notions are indistinguishable.

Here we demonstrate that the semi-synthetic flavonoid ayanin diacetate induces cell death selectively in leukemia cells without affecting the proliferation of normal lymphocytes. Incubation of human leukemia cells with ayanin diacetate induced G 2 -M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis which was prevented by the non-specific caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk and reduced by the overexpression of Bcl-x L . Ayanin diacetate-induced cell death was found to be associated with: (i) loss of inner mitochondrial membrane potential, (ii) the release of cytochrome c , (iii) the activation of multiple caspases, (iv) cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and (v) the up-regulation of death receptors for TRAIL, DR4 and DR5. Moreover, the combined treatment with ayanin diacetate and TRAIL amplified cell death, compared to single treatments. These results provide a basis for further exploring the potential applications of this combination for the treatment of cancer.

Objectives To evaluate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of implant-retained overdenture users. Methods 63 patients aged 50–90 years treated with at least one implant overdenture at the Complutense University (Madrid) in 2000–2010 were included. Of those, 42 answered the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14sp) questionnaire. The additive method was used in the OHIP analysis. Data regarding sociodemographic background, overdenture features, and clinical factors were recorded. Sociodemographic and overdenture-related variables for the lost patients ( n = 21) were also gathered from their history files. Descriptive probes, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests, and the Spearman correlation coefficient were applied ( p ≤ 0.05). Results The predominant participants’ profile was that of a 71–80-year-old woman wearing a mandibular overdenture with a bar retention system and a complete denture in the opposite jaw. 71.4% of the respondents suffered from some kind of impact on OHRQoL, showing an average score of 2.7 ± 3.0 (range: 0–13). 100% of respondents reported no impact for the “social disability” and “handicap” dimensions. The most prevalently affected domain was “physical pain”, followed by “functional limitation” and “psychological discomfort”. Variables such as the overdenture location or the retention system affected specific OHIP subscales ( p ≤ 0.05). The greatest total score was achieved when the antagonist was a complete denture ( p Conclusions Implant-retained overdentures provide a seemingly acceptable quality of life in the elderly population studied, irrespective of the influence of the location, retention system, and antagonist. Clinical significance Although further research is necessary, mandibular implant overdentures are more comfortable than maxillary ones. Ball-retained prostheses facilitate eating the most, whereas the presence of oral ulcers and/or candidiasis was only detected in the case of bars, thus impairing OHRQoL. A complete denture as antagonist decreases the patient overall satisfaction.

This paper brings a generalization of the migrativity property of aggregation functions, suggested in earlier work of some of the present authors by imposing the @a-migrativity property of Durante and Sarkoci for all values of @a instead of a single one. Replacing the algebraic product by an arbitrary aggregation function B naturally leads to the properties of @a-B-migrativity and B-migrativity. This generalization establishes a link between migrativity and a particular case of Aczel's general associativity equation, already considered by Cutello and Montero as a recursive formula for aggregation. Following a basic investigation, emphasis is put on aggregation functions that can be represented in terms of an additive generator, more specifically, strict t-norms, strict t-conorms and representable uninorms.

This paper studies the influence of two design variables of chewing gum packaging, those of colour and format, on consumer expectations of specific product attributes and willingness to buy. Some 390 consumers participated in this investigation, evaluating a total of 30 functional, sensory and experience attributes for nine different packaging designs. The results demonstrate that packaging format influences expectations of functional attributes, sensory attributes of texture and experience attributes, while colour influences expectations of sensory attributes of taste and flavour and experience attributes. The study also reveals that willingness to buy is more closely related to the colour of the packaging than to its format.

Risks derived from natural disasters have a deeper impact than the sole damage suffered by the affected zone and its population. Because disasters can affect geostrategic stability and international safety, developed countries invest a huge amount of funds to manage these risks. A large portion of these funds are channeled through United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which at the same time are carrying out more and more complex operations. For these reasons, technological support for these actors is required, all the more so because the global economic crisis is placing emphasis on the need for efficiency and transparency in the management of (relatively limited) funds. Nevertheless, currently available sophisticated tools for disaster management do not fit well into these contexts because their infrastructure requirements usually exceed the capabilities of such organizations. In this paper, a general methodology for inductive rule building is described and applied to natural-disaster management. The application is a data-based, two-level knowledge decision support system (DSS) prototype which provides damage assessment for multiple disaster scenarios to support humanitarian NGOs involved in response to natural disasters. A validation process is carried out to measure the accuracy of both the methodology and the DSS

In this paper we prove that, under suitable conditions, Atanassov's K"@a operators, which act on intervals, provide the same numerical results as OWA operators of dimension two. On one hand, this allows us to recover OWA operators from K"@a operators. On the other hand, by analyzing the properties of Atanassov's operators, we can generalize them. In this way, we introduce a class of aggregation functions - the generalized Atanassov operators - that, in particular, include two-dimensional OWA operators. We investigate under which conditions these generalized Atanassov operators satisfy some properties usually required for aggregation functions, such as bisymmetry, strictness, monotonicity, etc. We also show that if we apply these aggregation functions to interval-valued fuzzy sets, we obtain an ordered family of fuzzy sets.