Francisco Molina - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Francisco Molina

Revista Ingenierías Universidad de Medellín, 2011

Resumen es: En el marco de la formulacion del Plan de Ordenamiento del Recurso Hidrico (PORH) par... more Resumen es: En el marco de la formulacion del Plan de Ordenamiento del Recurso Hidrico (PORH) para las direcciones territoriales Tahamies y Zenufana de la jurisdicci...

Seismic testing of large-size models is nowadays possible thanks to the pseudodynamic (PsD) metho... more Seismic testing of large-size models is nowadays possible thanks to the pseudodynamic (PsD) method, which resembles a quasi-static method with the application of slowly varying forces to the test structure. Low testing velocity may change the behaviour of the materials with respect to their behaviour at real velocity due to strain rate effect (SRE). The SRE during a PsD test is not relevant for the classical construction materials. However, it can be very important for some new materials, such as rubber or silicon, mostly used in isolators or energy dissipative devices. Silicone fluid viscous dampers are an example of these dissipative devices, and they will be the subject of this paper. It is possible to extend the PsD method range of application to structures equipped with dissipative devices by introducing a correction technique (CT) developed by the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (European Commission) in Ispra, Italy. This technique consists of an on-line linear m...

An upgraded hybrid cyber-physical technique was introduced to assess the seismic response of a re... more An upgraded hybrid cyber-physical technique was introduced to assess the seismic response of a reinforced concrete motorway bridge and the effectiveness of the friction-pendulum seismic isolation. The two independent roadway bridge was built in the 1960s in Italy and it spans over twelve couples of portal frame piers. Two of the piers (scale 1:2.5) and two seismic isolators setups detached from the piers were constructed at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA). Altogether eighteen actuators where installed, of which six controlled horizontal displacements and twelve ensured vertical loading on the piers and isolators. To obtain the dynamic response of the whole bridge, the part not present physically in the laboratory was modelled numerically. In the upgraded cyber-physical technique, two processes were running in parallel, one for the numerical model and the other controlling the motion of the physical model in the laboratory. These two processes had different t...

Diagnostics

Objective: To develop and validate a tool for evaluating balance and neuromotor function in patie... more Objective: To develop and validate a tool for evaluating balance and neuromotor function in patients with fibromyalgia (FMS). Methods: Brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and pilot-testing were used to select a battery of 20 functional balance tests that were included in a screening tool. A total of 108 subjects (62 with fibromyalgia syndrome, 22 aged over 65 years, and 24 healthy subjects) participated in this validation study. Factor validity, internal consistency, the ability to discriminate between patients and healthy subjects, and concurrent validity with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI), the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and other tools for measuring balance, such as the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-16), the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and posturographic parameters, were evaluated. Results: The factorial analysis extracted four...

The Potato Crop, 2020

This chapter discusses the major potato diseases worldwide: late blight, early blight, wart, and ... more This chapter discusses the major potato diseases worldwide: late blight, early blight, wart, and powdery scab. Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, continues to be the main biotic constraint of potato production. Annual losses have been estimated to be about €6.1 billion, with major consequences to food security, especially in developing countries. Symptoms of the disease can be seen in leaves (water-soaked light to dark brown spots), stems (brown spots), and tubers (slightly depressed areas with reddish-brown color). High humidity and mild temperatures are essential for disease development and, under optimal conditions, the disease can destroy a field in a few days. Phytophthora infestans evolves continuously, mainly through recombination and migration from other

Nutrients

The link between fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and obesity has not been thoroughly investigated. Th... more The link between fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and obesity has not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body mass index (BMI) and body composition parameters, including fat mass, fat mass percentage, and visceral fat, as well as FMS features, such as tender point count (TPC), pain, disease activity, fatigue, sleep quality, and anxiety, in a population of FMS women and healthy controls. A total of seventy-three women with FMS and seventy-three healthy controls, matched on weight, were included in this cross-sectional study. We used a body composition analyzer to measure fat mass, fat mass percentage, and visceral fat. Tender point count (TPC) was measured by algometry pressure. The disease severity was measured with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-R) and self-reported global pain was evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS). To measure the quality of sleep, fatigue, and anxiety we used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality...

Sensors, 2013

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a technology that is becoming very popular for many applicati... more Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a technology that is becoming very popular for many applications, and environmental monitoring is one of its most important application areas. This technology solves the lack of flexibility of wired sensor installations and, at the same time, reduces the deployment costs. To demonstrate the advantages of WSN technology, for the last five years we have been deploying some prototypes in the Doñana Biological Reserve, which is an important protected area in Southern Spain. These prototypes not only evaluate the technology, but also solve some of the monitoring problems that have been raised by biologists working in Doñana. This paper presents a review of the work that has been developed during these five years. Here, we demonstrate the enormous potential of using machine learning in wireless sensor networks for environmental and animal monitoring because this approach increases the amount of useful information and reduces the effort that is required by biologists in an environmental monitoring task.

Advances in Performance- …, 2010

... is limited to the 1st translational mode, see Table 38.1; additional information may be found... more ... is limited to the 1st translational mode, see Table 38.1; additional information may be found in [4]. The evolution of the ... However, when structures experience inelastic phenomena in seismic engi-neering, it is much more effective to deal with hysteretic ... For a SDoF system it gives ...

Journal of Networks, 2013

Context awareness is an important issue in ambient intelligence to anticipate the desire of the u... more Context awareness is an important issue in ambient intelligence to anticipate the desire of the user and, in consequence, to adapt the system. In context awareness, localization is very important to enable a responsive environment for the users. Focusing on this issue, this paper presents a localization system based on the use of Wireless Sensor Networks devices. In contrast to a traditional RFID, these devices offer the possibility of a collaborative sensing and processing of environmental information. The proposed system is a range-free localization algorithm that uses fuzzy inference to process the RSSI measurement and to estimate the position of mobile devices. The main goal of the algorithm is to reduce the power consumption and the cost of the devices, especially for the mobiles ones, maintaining the accuracy of the inferred position.

Sustainability

The precipitation of struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O) from wastewater streams simultaneosuly recovers nit... more The precipitation of struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O) from wastewater streams simultaneosuly recovers nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) for reuse as fertilisers. Struvite crystallisation is controlled by pH, saturation index, temperature and other ions in the solution (e.g., Ca2+, Mg2+ and CO32−). This work studies the effect of pH and temperature on phosphorus and nitrogen removal via struvite precipitation and the quality of the resulting precipitate product (i.e., crystal size, morphology and purity). Struvite was precipitated in batch reactors from the supernatant produced during anaerobic sludge dewatering at a wastewater treatment works, under controlled pH (8, 9 and 10) and temperature (25, 33 and 40 °C) conditions. The optimal P removal as struvite, reduction of the co-precipitation with Ca and the increase in particle size of the struvite precipitates were determined. The results showed that temperatures of 33 °C and 40 °C are not recommended for struvite precipitation—i.e., at 33 °C...

Clinical Nursing Research

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess dietary intake in 92 FMS compared to 96 healthy c... more A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess dietary intake in 92 FMS compared to 96 healthy control patients and to examine the potential associations between daily intake and pain and the severity of symptoms in women with FMS. The tender point count (TPC), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) were assessed. FIQ-R correlated negatively with phosphorus ( r = −.230, p = .028), iron ( r = −.320, p = 0.002), zinc ( r = −.238, p = .023), vitamin B1 ( r = −.218, p = .038), vitamin B6 ( r = −.123, p = .012), folic acid ( r = −.250, p = .017), and vitamin C ( r = −.217, p = .039). A negative correlation was also found between VAS pain and the intake of vitamin B6 ( r = −.322, p = .002). Lower intakes of certain micronutrients correlated with higher scores in FIQ-R and a lower intake of vitamin B6 correlated with higher scores in VAS pain, supporting the potential relevance of these micronutrients in the severity of symptoms and in leve...

Gestión y Ambiente

El aumento en el uso de combustibles fósiles y el desarrollo industrial, ha llevado al aumento de... more El aumento en el uso de combustibles fósiles y el desarrollo industrial, ha llevado al aumento de la concentración de hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP) en los recursos naturales incluyendo el aire, el agua y el suelo, esto ha derivado en el incremento de enfermedades respiratorias, dérmicas, cancerígenas, mutagénicas y teratogénicas en la población. Esta revisión, tiene como objetivo presentar las fuentes de emisión, transporte, destino, los principales congéneres de HAP, sus propiedades fisicoquímicas, el muestreo pasivo, las técnicas de extracción y la aplicación de metodologías analíticas en agua y sedimentos como la cromatografía de gases acoplada a espectrometría de masas, que permiten la evaluación de estas sustancias y garantizar la calidad de los recursos hídricos. En Colombia se han presentado dificultades en la implementación de estas técnicas de extracción e identificación de HAP debido a su elevado costo y al desconocimiento de los riesgos ambientales y a la sa...

Journal of Clinical Medicine

Patients diagnosed with traumatic or non-traumatic spinal pain and idiopathic scoliosis frequentl... more Patients diagnosed with traumatic or non-traumatic spinal pain and idiopathic scoliosis frequently suffer from imbalance. The evaluation of the perception of verticality by means of visual tests emerges as a quick and easy tool for clinical management of the balance disorders. Several studies have assessed the visual perception of verticality in spinal diseases obtaining controversial results. The aim of our study is to analyze the perception of visual verticality in subjects with several spinal diseases in comparison with healthy subjects. A meta-analysis was carried out. PubMed MEDLINE, Scopus, WoS, CINAHL, and SciELO databases were searched until January 2020. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated to analyze differences between patients and healthy controls. Fifteen studies with a total of 2052 patients were included. In comparison with healthy subjects, a misperception of verticality was found in patients with spinal pain when the perception of the verticality wa...

Chemistry – A European Journal

Nutrients

We have recently reported that patients with fibromyalgia (FM) may be at increased risk for cardi... more We have recently reported that patients with fibromyalgia (FM) may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Olive oil reportedly has cardioprotective effects. We examined the influence of olive oil consumption on cardiovascular risk factors in FM. This preliminary study was performed on blood samples of women with FM who consumed 50 mL of organic olive oil daily for 3 weeks. Patients were randomized into two groups: 15 women ingested extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and 15 refined olive oil (ROO). Cardiovascular risk markers were measured at baseline (pre measure) and after consumption of olive oil (post measure). Red blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; both p < 0.05) declined significantly post-treatment in the EVOO group. Consumption of ROO increased mean platelet volume and reduced platelet distribution width (PDW), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, ESR and fibrinogen (all p < 0.05). Significant differences were found in pre–post change between the ...

Revista Ingenierías Universidad de Medellín, 2011

Resumen es: En el marco de la formulacion del Plan de Ordenamiento del Recurso Hidrico (PORH) par... more Resumen es: En el marco de la formulacion del Plan de Ordenamiento del Recurso Hidrico (PORH) para las direcciones territoriales Tahamies y Zenufana de la jurisdicci...

Seismic testing of large-size models is nowadays possible thanks to the pseudodynamic (PsD) metho... more Seismic testing of large-size models is nowadays possible thanks to the pseudodynamic (PsD) method, which resembles a quasi-static method with the application of slowly varying forces to the test structure. Low testing velocity may change the behaviour of the materials with respect to their behaviour at real velocity due to strain rate effect (SRE). The SRE during a PsD test is not relevant for the classical construction materials. However, it can be very important for some new materials, such as rubber or silicon, mostly used in isolators or energy dissipative devices. Silicone fluid viscous dampers are an example of these dissipative devices, and they will be the subject of this paper. It is possible to extend the PsD method range of application to structures equipped with dissipative devices by introducing a correction technique (CT) developed by the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (European Commission) in Ispra, Italy. This technique consists of an on-line linear m...

An upgraded hybrid cyber-physical technique was introduced to assess the seismic response of a re... more An upgraded hybrid cyber-physical technique was introduced to assess the seismic response of a reinforced concrete motorway bridge and the effectiveness of the friction-pendulum seismic isolation. The two independent roadway bridge was built in the 1960s in Italy and it spans over twelve couples of portal frame piers. Two of the piers (scale 1:2.5) and two seismic isolators setups detached from the piers were constructed at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA). Altogether eighteen actuators where installed, of which six controlled horizontal displacements and twelve ensured vertical loading on the piers and isolators. To obtain the dynamic response of the whole bridge, the part not present physically in the laboratory was modelled numerically. In the upgraded cyber-physical technique, two processes were running in parallel, one for the numerical model and the other controlling the motion of the physical model in the laboratory. These two processes had different t...

Diagnostics

Objective: To develop and validate a tool for evaluating balance and neuromotor function in patie... more Objective: To develop and validate a tool for evaluating balance and neuromotor function in patients with fibromyalgia (FMS). Methods: Brainstorming, the nominal group technique, and pilot-testing were used to select a battery of 20 functional balance tests that were included in a screening tool. A total of 108 subjects (62 with fibromyalgia syndrome, 22 aged over 65 years, and 24 healthy subjects) participated in this validation study. Factor validity, internal consistency, the ability to discriminate between patients and healthy subjects, and concurrent validity with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI), the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), and other tools for measuring balance, such as the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC-16), the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), and posturographic parameters, were evaluated. Results: The factorial analysis extracted four...

The Potato Crop, 2020

This chapter discusses the major potato diseases worldwide: late blight, early blight, wart, and ... more This chapter discusses the major potato diseases worldwide: late blight, early blight, wart, and powdery scab. Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, continues to be the main biotic constraint of potato production. Annual losses have been estimated to be about €6.1 billion, with major consequences to food security, especially in developing countries. Symptoms of the disease can be seen in leaves (water-soaked light to dark brown spots), stems (brown spots), and tubers (slightly depressed areas with reddish-brown color). High humidity and mild temperatures are essential for disease development and, under optimal conditions, the disease can destroy a field in a few days. Phytophthora infestans evolves continuously, mainly through recombination and migration from other

Nutrients

The link between fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and obesity has not been thoroughly investigated. Th... more The link between fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and obesity has not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body mass index (BMI) and body composition parameters, including fat mass, fat mass percentage, and visceral fat, as well as FMS features, such as tender point count (TPC), pain, disease activity, fatigue, sleep quality, and anxiety, in a population of FMS women and healthy controls. A total of seventy-three women with FMS and seventy-three healthy controls, matched on weight, were included in this cross-sectional study. We used a body composition analyzer to measure fat mass, fat mass percentage, and visceral fat. Tender point count (TPC) was measured by algometry pressure. The disease severity was measured with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-R) and self-reported global pain was evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS). To measure the quality of sleep, fatigue, and anxiety we used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality...

Sensors, 2013

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a technology that is becoming very popular for many applicati... more Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a technology that is becoming very popular for many applications, and environmental monitoring is one of its most important application areas. This technology solves the lack of flexibility of wired sensor installations and, at the same time, reduces the deployment costs. To demonstrate the advantages of WSN technology, for the last five years we have been deploying some prototypes in the Doñana Biological Reserve, which is an important protected area in Southern Spain. These prototypes not only evaluate the technology, but also solve some of the monitoring problems that have been raised by biologists working in Doñana. This paper presents a review of the work that has been developed during these five years. Here, we demonstrate the enormous potential of using machine learning in wireless sensor networks for environmental and animal monitoring because this approach increases the amount of useful information and reduces the effort that is required by biologists in an environmental monitoring task.

Advances in Performance- …, 2010

... is limited to the 1st translational mode, see Table 38.1; additional information may be found... more ... is limited to the 1st translational mode, see Table 38.1; additional information may be found in [4]. The evolution of the ... However, when structures experience inelastic phenomena in seismic engi-neering, it is much more effective to deal with hysteretic ... For a SDoF system it gives ...

Journal of Networks, 2013

Context awareness is an important issue in ambient intelligence to anticipate the desire of the u... more Context awareness is an important issue in ambient intelligence to anticipate the desire of the user and, in consequence, to adapt the system. In context awareness, localization is very important to enable a responsive environment for the users. Focusing on this issue, this paper presents a localization system based on the use of Wireless Sensor Networks devices. In contrast to a traditional RFID, these devices offer the possibility of a collaborative sensing and processing of environmental information. The proposed system is a range-free localization algorithm that uses fuzzy inference to process the RSSI measurement and to estimate the position of mobile devices. The main goal of the algorithm is to reduce the power consumption and the cost of the devices, especially for the mobiles ones, maintaining the accuracy of the inferred position.

Sustainability

The precipitation of struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O) from wastewater streams simultaneosuly recovers nit... more The precipitation of struvite (MgNH4PO4.6H2O) from wastewater streams simultaneosuly recovers nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) for reuse as fertilisers. Struvite crystallisation is controlled by pH, saturation index, temperature and other ions in the solution (e.g., Ca2+, Mg2+ and CO32−). This work studies the effect of pH and temperature on phosphorus and nitrogen removal via struvite precipitation and the quality of the resulting precipitate product (i.e., crystal size, morphology and purity). Struvite was precipitated in batch reactors from the supernatant produced during anaerobic sludge dewatering at a wastewater treatment works, under controlled pH (8, 9 and 10) and temperature (25, 33 and 40 °C) conditions. The optimal P removal as struvite, reduction of the co-precipitation with Ca and the increase in particle size of the struvite precipitates were determined. The results showed that temperatures of 33 °C and 40 °C are not recommended for struvite precipitation—i.e., at 33 °C...

Clinical Nursing Research

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess dietary intake in 92 FMS compared to 96 healthy c... more A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess dietary intake in 92 FMS compared to 96 healthy control patients and to examine the potential associations between daily intake and pain and the severity of symptoms in women with FMS. The tender point count (TPC), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) were assessed. FIQ-R correlated negatively with phosphorus ( r = −.230, p = .028), iron ( r = −.320, p = 0.002), zinc ( r = −.238, p = .023), vitamin B1 ( r = −.218, p = .038), vitamin B6 ( r = −.123, p = .012), folic acid ( r = −.250, p = .017), and vitamin C ( r = −.217, p = .039). A negative correlation was also found between VAS pain and the intake of vitamin B6 ( r = −.322, p = .002). Lower intakes of certain micronutrients correlated with higher scores in FIQ-R and a lower intake of vitamin B6 correlated with higher scores in VAS pain, supporting the potential relevance of these micronutrients in the severity of symptoms and in leve...

Gestión y Ambiente

El aumento en el uso de combustibles fósiles y el desarrollo industrial, ha llevado al aumento de... more El aumento en el uso de combustibles fósiles y el desarrollo industrial, ha llevado al aumento de la concentración de hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP) en los recursos naturales incluyendo el aire, el agua y el suelo, esto ha derivado en el incremento de enfermedades respiratorias, dérmicas, cancerígenas, mutagénicas y teratogénicas en la población. Esta revisión, tiene como objetivo presentar las fuentes de emisión, transporte, destino, los principales congéneres de HAP, sus propiedades fisicoquímicas, el muestreo pasivo, las técnicas de extracción y la aplicación de metodologías analíticas en agua y sedimentos como la cromatografía de gases acoplada a espectrometría de masas, que permiten la evaluación de estas sustancias y garantizar la calidad de los recursos hídricos. En Colombia se han presentado dificultades en la implementación de estas técnicas de extracción e identificación de HAP debido a su elevado costo y al desconocimiento de los riesgos ambientales y a la sa...

Journal of Clinical Medicine

Patients diagnosed with traumatic or non-traumatic spinal pain and idiopathic scoliosis frequentl... more Patients diagnosed with traumatic or non-traumatic spinal pain and idiopathic scoliosis frequently suffer from imbalance. The evaluation of the perception of verticality by means of visual tests emerges as a quick and easy tool for clinical management of the balance disorders. Several studies have assessed the visual perception of verticality in spinal diseases obtaining controversial results. The aim of our study is to analyze the perception of visual verticality in subjects with several spinal diseases in comparison with healthy subjects. A meta-analysis was carried out. PubMed MEDLINE, Scopus, WoS, CINAHL, and SciELO databases were searched until January 2020. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated to analyze differences between patients and healthy controls. Fifteen studies with a total of 2052 patients were included. In comparison with healthy subjects, a misperception of verticality was found in patients with spinal pain when the perception of the verticality wa...

Chemistry – A European Journal

Nutrients

We have recently reported that patients with fibromyalgia (FM) may be at increased risk for cardi... more We have recently reported that patients with fibromyalgia (FM) may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Olive oil reportedly has cardioprotective effects. We examined the influence of olive oil consumption on cardiovascular risk factors in FM. This preliminary study was performed on blood samples of women with FM who consumed 50 mL of organic olive oil daily for 3 weeks. Patients were randomized into two groups: 15 women ingested extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and 15 refined olive oil (ROO). Cardiovascular risk markers were measured at baseline (pre measure) and after consumption of olive oil (post measure). Red blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; both p < 0.05) declined significantly post-treatment in the EVOO group. Consumption of ROO increased mean platelet volume and reduced platelet distribution width (PDW), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, ESR and fibrinogen (all p < 0.05). Significant differences were found in pre–post change between the ...