IMPACT OF THE CAP REFORM ON THE SPANISH AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

This paper analyses the impact of the 2003 CAP reform on Spanish agricultural sector in the context of the recent CAP Health Check and high food prices, using PROMAPA, a positive mathematical programming model for representative farms. The analysis compares the model results for base year 2002 to the findings for a scenario with the CAP reform measures in place, taking into account recent modifications. The effect of adopting a full decoupling scheme instead of the present partial decoupling is also studied. Brief descriptions are given of the PROMAPA model, the representative farm considered and the assumptions about both price variations and the policy measures simulated. The findings showed that the farming area for cereals grew substantially after abolition of the compulsory set-aside and that the impact of transition to full decoupling was scant, except in the sheep and rearing cattle sub-sectors, where it considerably steepened the already sizeable decline in livestock numbers induced by the partial decoupling scheme.CAP reform, CAP Health Check, Decoupling, Spanish agricultural sector., Agricultural and Food Policy, Q10, Q12, Q18,

Kondo lattice model: Unitary transformations, spin dynamics, strongly correlated charged modes, and vacuum instability

Using unitary transformations, we express the Kondo lattice Hamiltonian in terms of fermionic operators that annihilate the ground state of the interacting system and that represent the best possible approximations to the actual charged excitations. In this way, we obtain an effective Hamiltonian which, for small couplings, consists in a kinetic term for conduction electrons and holes, an RKKY-like term, and a renormalized Kondo interaction. The physical picture of the system implied by this formalism is that of a vacuum state consisting in a background of RKKY-induced spin correlations, where two kinds of elementary modes can be excited: Soft neutral modes associated with deformations of the spin liquid, which lead to very large low-temperature values of the heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility, and charged modes corresponding to the excitation of electrons and holes in the system. Using the translational and spin rotational symmetries, we construct a simple ansatz to determine the charged excitations neglecting the effects of the spin correlations. Apart from the `normal', uncorrelated states, we find strongly correlated charged modes involving soft electrons (or holes) and spin fluctuations, which strongly renormalize the low-energy charged spectrum, and whose energy becomes negative beyond a critical coupling, signaling a vacuum instability and a transition to a new phase.Comment: 35 pages, revtex 3.

Q-dependence of the inelastic neutron scattering cross section for molecular spin clusters with high molecular symmetry

For powder samples of polynuclear metal complexes the dependence of the inelastic neutron scattering intensity on the momentum transfer Q is known to be described by a combination of so called interference terms. They reflect the interplay between the geometrical structure of the compound and the spatial properties of the wave functions involved in the transition. In this work, it is shown that the Q-dependence is strongly interrelated with the molecular symmetry of molecular nanomagnets, and, if the molecular symmetry is high enough, is actually completely determined by it. A general formalism connecting spatial symmetry and interference terms is developed. The arguments are detailed for cyclic spin clusters, as experimentally realized by e.g. the octanuclear molecular wheel Cr8, and the star like tetranuclear cluster Fe4.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figures, REVTEX

Validation and Search of the Ideal Cut-Off of the Sysmex UF-1000i (R) Flow Cytometer for the Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection in a Tertiary Hospital in Spain

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most prevalent infections. A rapid and reliable screening method is useful to screen out negative samples. The objective of this study was to validate the Sysmex flow cytometer UF-1000i by evaluating its accuracy, linearity and carry-over; and define an optimal cut-off value to be used in routine practice in our hospital. For the validation of the UF-1000i cytometer, precision, linearity and carry-over were studied in samples with different counts of bacteria, leukocytes and erythrocytes. Between March and June 2016, urine samples were tested in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at University Miguel Servet Hospital, in Spain. Samples were analyzed with the Sysmex UF-1000i cytometer, and cultured. Growth of >= 10(5) CFUs/mL was considered positive. The validation study reveals that the precision in all the variables is acceptable; that there is a good linearity in the dilutions performed, obtaining values almost identical to those theoretically expected; and for the carry-over has practically null values. A total of 1, 220 urine specimens were included, of which 213 (17.4%) were culture positive. The optimal cut-off point of the bacteria-leukocyte combination was 138.8 bacteria or 119.8 leukocytes with an S and E of 95.3 and 70.4%, respectively. The UF-1000i cytometer is a valuable method to screen urine samples to effectively rule out UTI and, may contribute to the reduction of unnecessary urine cultures

Variability of the prevalence of depression in function of sociodemographic and environmental factors: ecological model

Major depression etiopathogenesis is related to a wide variety of genetics, demographic and psychosocial factors, as well as to environmental factors. The objective of this study is to analyze sociodemographic and environmental variables that are related to the prevalence of depression through correlation analysis and to develop a regression model that explains the behavior of this disease from an ecological perspective. This is an ecological, retrospective, cross-sectional study. The target population was 1,148,430 individuals over the age of 16 who were registered in Aragon (Spain) during 2010, with electronic medical records in the community’s primary health care centers. The spatial unit was the Basic Health Area (BHA). The dependent variable was the diagnosis of Depression and the ecological independent variables were: Demographic variables (gender and age), population distribution, typology of the entity, population structure by sex and age, by nationality, by education, by work, by salary, by marital status, structure of the household by number of members, and state of the buildings. The results show moderate and positive correlations with higher rates of depression in areas having a higher femininity index, higher population density, areas with a higher unemployment rate and higher average salary. The results of the linear regression show that aging +75 and rural entities act as protective factors for depression, while urban areas and deficient buildings act as risk factors. In conclusion, the ecological methodology may be a useful tool which, together with the statistical epidemiological analysis, can help in the political decision making process

Comparing Two Automated Techniques for the Primary Screening-Out of Urine Culture

Urinary tract infection is the most common human infection with a high morbidity. In primary care and hospital services, conventional urine culture is a key part of infection diagnosis but results take at least 24 h. Therefore, a rapid and reliable screening method is still needed to discard negative samples as quickly as possible and to reduce the laboratory workload. In this aspect, this study aims to compare the diagnostic performance between Sysmex OF-1000i and FUS200 systems in comparison to urine culture as the gold standard. From March to June 2016, 1, 220 urine samples collected at the clinical microbiology laboratory of the "Miguel Servet" hospital were studied in parallel with both analysers, and some technical features were evaluated to select the ideal equipment. The most balanced cut-off values taking into account bacteria or leukocyte counts were 138 bacteria/mu L or 119.8 leukocyte/pl for the OF-1000i (95.3% SE and 70.4% SP), and 5.7 bacteria/mu L or 4.3 leukocyte/mu L for the FUS200 (95.8% SE and 44.4% SP). The reduction of cultured plates was 37.4% with the FUS200 and 58.3% with the UF-1000i. This study shows that both techniques improve the workflow in the laboratory, but the OF-1000i has the highest specificity at any sensitivity and the FUS200 needs a shorter processing time

The nature of circulating CD27+CD43+ B cells

Letter to the Editor.-- et al.M.C. van Zelm is supported by fellowships from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR-Fellowship) and the Erasmus MC, and by Veni grant 916.110.90 from ZonMW/NWO.Peer Reviewe

Avoidable Adverse Events Related to Ignoring the Do-Not-Do Recommendations: A Retrospective Cohort Study Conducted in the Spanish Primary Care Setting

Objective This study aimed to measure the frequency and severity of avoidable adverse events (AAEs) related to ignoring do-not-do recommendations (DNDs) in primary care. Methods A retrospective cohort study analyzing the frequency and severity of AAEs related to ignoring DNDs (7 from family medicine and 3 from pediatrics) was conducted in Spain. Data were randomly extracted from computerized electronic medical records by a total of 20 general practitioners and 5 pediatricians acting as reviewers; data between February 2018 and September 2019 were analyzed. Results A total of 2557 records of adult and pediatric patients were reviewed. There were 1859 (72.7%) of 2557 (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.0%-74.4%) DNDs actions in 1307 patients (1507 were performed by general practitioners and 352 by pediatricians). Do-not-do recommendations were ignored more often in female patients (P < 0.0001). Sixty-nine AAEs were linked to ignoring DNDs (69/1307 [5.3%]; 95% CI, 4.1%-6.5%). Of those, 54 (5.1%) of 1062 were in adult patients (95% CI, 3.8%-6.4%) and 15 (6.1%) of 245 in pediatric patients (95% CI, 3.1%-9.1%). In adult patients, the majority of AAEs (51/901 [5.7%]; 95% CI, 4.2%-7.2%) occurred in patients 65 years or older. Most AAEs were characterized by temporary minor harm both in adult patients (28/54 [51.9%]; 95% CI, 38.5%-65.2%) and pediatric patients (15/15 [100%]). Conclusions These findings provide a new perspective about the consequences of low-value practices for the patients and the health care systems. Ignoring DNDs could place patients at risk, and their safety might be unnecessarily compromised