Soft gripper for small fruits harvesting and pick and place operations.

Agriculture 4.0 presents several challenges for the automation of various operations, including the fundamental task of harvesting. One of the crucial aspects in the automatic harvesting of high value crops is the grip and detachment of delicate fruits without spoiling them or interfering with the environment.

Impact of malnutrition on the quality of life in older patients with advanced heart failure: a cohort study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of malnutrition, the clinical characteristics associated with malnutrition and the impact of nutritional status on mortality, quality of life, self-care abilities, and activities of daily living in the older patients with advanced heart failure.

Methods: A prospective multicentre cohort study including 260 community-dwelling elderly patients with advanced HF was conducted between June 2017 and December 2019. The study was carried out in 22 primary healthcare centres, three university hospitals, one acute-care hospital, and one geriatric rehabilitation unit in the city of Barcelona (Spain).

Obesity and related comorbidities in a large population-based cohort of subjects with type 1 diabetes in Catalonia.

Introduction: Obesity, an increasing global health problem, can affect people with other disease conditions. The prevalence of obesity in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is not well known. The aim of this study was to describe extensively the characteristics and prevalence of different classes of obesity according to BMI (body mass index) categories in a large cohort of patients with T1D.

Latent tuberculosis infection: approach and therapeutic schemes.

Tuberculosis continues to be a major public health problem. A priority objective is the implementation of early diagnosis, contact investigation and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) testing. World Health Organization (WHO) concludes that there is no gold standard for the diagnosis of LTBI; both the tuberculin test and IGRA (interferon gamma release assays) indirectly identify tuberculosis infection; both tests are considered acceptable but imperfect.

Comorbid autoimmune diseases and burden of diabetes-related complications in patients with type 1 diabetes from a Mediterranean area.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of autoimmune diseases (AID) in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to evaluate whether the rate of diabetes-related complications differs depending on the presence of AID.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 13,570 T1D patients aged ≥ 18 years registered in the SIDIAP database. The association between AID and diabetes-related complications was assessed by multivariable logistic regression models.