The occurrence and distribution of Xiphinema species (Nematoda : Dorylaimida) in spanish fir woodlands

Une étude comparative a été réalisée en vue de définir l'influence des facteurs édaphiques sur la présence et l'abondance relative de quatre espèces de #Xiphinema observées dans le sol de cinq forêts de sapin (#Abies pinsapo Boiss) du sud de l'Espagne. Les prélèvements ont été effectués de façon saisonnière pendant une année. Afin de relier la présence des espèces avec les caractéristiques de l'habitat et mettre en évidence leur mode de répartition dans les aires étudiées, les méthodes d'analyses univariées (analyse linéaire de la variance) et multivariées (analyses en grappe et de correspondance) ont été utilisées. La répartition de trois des espèces s'est révélée correspondre aux gradients de texture du sol. #X. sphaerocephalum montre ses plus grandes fréquence et abondance relative dans les sols à roche-mère calcaire, mais n'a pas été trouvé sur les péridotites, c'est-à-dire dans des sols plus sableux, préférant les textures plutôt limoneuses. #X. pachtaicum est rencontré dans les sols à texture argileuse plus nettement soumis aux conditions climatiques méditerranéennes. La répartition de #X. diversicaudatum est très nettement liée aux sols acides de texture plus sableuse avec un taux élevé d'argile fine. #X. turcicum, enfin, n'est rencontré que très rarement et en faible nombre, aussi sa répartition dans ces sols demeure-t-elle obscure. (Résumé d'auteur

Influence of silver content on the tribomechanical behavior on Ag-TiCN bioactive coatings

Surface modification of bulk materials used in biomedical applications has become an important prerequisite for better biocompatibility. In particular, to overcome the particle generation, low-wear coatings based on carbon (nitrogen) and containing antimicrobial elements such as silver are promising candidates. Thus, the present work explores the potentialities of silver-containing carbonitride-based (Ag-TiCN) thin films prepared by direct current unbalanced reactive magnetron sputtering. The silver content in the coatings was varied from 0 to 26.7 at.% by changing the targets and the fraction of C2H2 and N2 in the gas mixture with Ar. The obtained Ag-TiCN based coatings were characterized in terms of composition and microstructure. Mechanical and tribological properties of the films were studied by nanoindentation and reciprocating pin-on disk testing in a fetal bovine serum solution, respectively. Raman, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray analysis was carried out in the contact region after tribological tests to obtain information about the friction mechanism. The cytotoxicity of the coatings was assessed by in vitro tests using fibroblast cells. The coatings comprised a mixture of TiCxN1−x, Ag and a-C(N)x phases whose relative proportion varied depending on the Ag/Ti ratio. The mechanical, tribological and cytotoxicity properties were correlated with the chemical and phase composition. When the Ag/Ti ratios were below 0.20 (Ag contents b6.3 at.%) the films resulted harder (~18 GPa) with higher wear resistance (~10−6 mm3/Nm), showing similar friction coefficient (~0.3) and good biocompatibility.The authors are grateful to the financial support of the CRUP Institution by the project "Accao No E-1007/08", the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects FUNCOAT CSD2008-00023 and HP2007-0116), Junta de Andalucia (project TEP 06782) and CSIC-FCT institutions (2007PT0043). The work was financially supported by Portuguese national funds through the FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, (project PTDC/CTM/102853/2008) and partially sponsored by FEDER funds through the program COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade

Non-motor symptom burden in patients with Parkinson's disease with impulse control disorders and compulsive behaviours : results from the COPPADIS cohort

The study was aimed at analysing the frequency of impulse control disorders (ICDs) and compulsive behaviours (CBs) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in control subjects (CS) as well as the relationship between ICDs/CBs and motor, nonmotor features and dopaminergic treatment in PD patients. Data came from COPPADIS-2015, an observational, descriptive, nationwide (Spain) study. We used the validated Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease-Rating Scale (QUIP-RS) for ICD/CB screening. The association between demographic data and ICDs/CBs was analyzed in both groups. In PD, this relationship was evaluated using clinical features and treatment-related data. As result, 613 PD patients (mean age 62.47 ± 9.09 years, 59.87% men) and 179 CS (mean age 60.84 ± 8.33 years, 47.48% men) were included. ICDs and CBs were more frequent in PD (ICDs 12.7% vs. 1.6%, p < 0.001; CBs 7.18% vs. 1.67%, p = 0.01). PD patients had more frequent previous ICDs history, premorbid impulsive personality and antidepressant treatment (p < 0.05) compared with CS. In PD, patients with ICDs/CBs presented younger age at disease onset, more frequent history of previous ICDs and premorbid personality (p < 0.05), as well as higher comorbidity with nonmotor symptoms, including depression and poor quality of life. Treatment with dopamine agonists increased the risk of ICDs/CBs, being dose dependent (p < 0.05). As conclusions, ICDs and CBs were more frequent in patients with PD than in CS. More nonmotor symptoms were present in patients with PD who had ICDs/CBs compared with those without. Dopamine agonists have a prominent effect on ICDs/CBs, which could be influenced by dose

La concepción simple de la lectura en alumnos de 4º de primaria de Quito

The simple view of reading is a model that tries to explain the reading comprehension from two variables which are decoding accuracy and oral language comprehension. There is an extensive research on this model in English readers. Although, some studies have been done in other languages with transparent orthographic systems, there are few investigations with Spanish readers. The purpose of this study has been to collect data on the applicability of the simple view of reading to Spanish reading comprehension, so 87 students of a public school from Quito were assessed with the PROLEC-R and CLP tests. The results show that join fluency or reading speed to the model may be more appropriate to explain the Spanish reading comprehension. Oral comprehension was the most related variable to the text reading comprehension; even thought decoding and reading speed made a small additional contribution. On the other hand, reading comprehension of sentences was only related in a significant way to decoding accuracy. These results show that the oral comprehension, the decoding accuracy and the decoding speed are essential in teaching and assessing reading. La concepción simple de la lectura es un modelo que trata de explicar la comprensión lectora a partir de dos variables, que son la habilidad para la descodificación y la comprensión del lenguaje oral. En los últimos años se ha desarrollado un extenso conjunto de investigaciones sobre este modelo en lectores de inglés. Aunque se han realizado estudios en otros idiomas con sistemas ortográficos transparentes, apenas ha habido investigaciones en lectores de español. El propósito de esta investigación ha sido recoger datos sobre la aplicabilidad de la concepción simple de la lectura a la lectura del español. Para ello se evaluó con la batería PROLEC-R y con el test CLP a 87 alumnos de una escuela pública de la ciudad de Quito. Los resultados indican que incorporar la fluidez o velocidad de lectura al modelo puede ser más adecuado para explicar la comprensión lectora del español. La variable más relacionada con la comprensión lectora de textos fue la comprensión oral, aunque la descodificación y la velocidad de lectura hicieron una pequeña contribución adicional. En cambio, la comprensión lectora de oraciones sólo se relacionó de forma significativa con la descodificación. Esto indica que en la enseñanza y en la evaluación de la lectura es necesario considerar especialmente la comprensión oral, la precisión en la descodificación y la velocidad en la descodificación

Association between Psychopathological Dimensions and Sexual Functioning/Sexual Arousal in Young Adults

Psychological-psychiatric factors have a different effect on sexual functioning in men and women. This research aimed to examine the association between psychopathological dimensions and dimensions of sexual functioning in Spanish young adults in two studies. Study 1 examined sexual functioning and psychopathological dimensions in 700 women and 516 men. Study 2 conducted an experimental laboratory task to evaluate subjective sexual arousal and genital sensations when watching visual sexual stimuli in a subsample of participants from Study 1 (143 women and 123 men). As a result, the first study showed that depression and anxiety-related symptoms had a negative effect, both in men and women, and having a partner had a positive influence on the dimensions of sexual functioning. The second study showed that anxiety symptoms were positively associated with subjective sexual arousal in both men and women, and anxiety was associated with the assessment of genital sensations in men. The differences between the results of anxiety may be explained because sexual arousal was evaluated in general terms in Study 1, whereas it was evaluated as a state in Study 2. These findings confirm that the presence of psychopathological symptoms contributes to sexual functioning, as well as the necessity of strengthening mental illness prevention programs that include sexual health components.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant number PSI2010-15719)Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant number PSI2014-058035-R