3D hydrodynamic model as a tool for more efficient port management and operations.

Ports have been attempting to increase their competitiveness by enhancing their productivity and operate in a more environmentally friendly way. The Port of Seville is located in the Guadalquivir River in the south of Spain and it is the unique Spanish inland port. The estuary has generated and is still generating conflicts of interests. The access channel to the port is being periodically dredged, the natural course has been anthropologically modified several times, original salt marshes have been transformed to grow rice and approximately one-fourth of the total surface of the estuary is now part of two protected areas, one of them is a UNESCO_MAB Biosphere Reserve. Despite its socio-economic and environmental significance there is a surprising lack of scientific and technical information about the environmental interactions between the port activities and the Guadalquivir estuary stakeholders. A 3D hydrodynamic model has been developed to study the tidal regime, water circulation, temperature and salinity distributions, flooding areas and the sediment dynamics in the estuary. The model output has been validated with in situ current speed, direction, water elevation and also with temperature and salinity measurements. Good agreement between modeled and real measurements have been obtained. Our preliminary results show that the vessel traffic management could be improved by using the tidal elevations and currents calculated by the model in the whole estuary. The interactions among the port activities (mainly due of changes in the sediments dynamics), the watershed management and the saline intrusion evolution will be studied in detail. 3D Hydrodynamic Modelling provide spatially explicit information on the key variables governing the dynamics of estuarine areas. The numerical model is a powerful tool to effectively guide the management and operations of ports located in a complex socio-ecological systems.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Heat fluxes between the Guadalquivir river and the Gulf of Cádiz Continental Shelf

An 18-year time series of daily sea surface temperature of Gulf of Cadiz and an 18-month time series of temperature collected in the vicinity of the Guadalquivir estuary mouth have been analyzed to investigate the heat exchange between the estuary and the adjacent continental shelf. The first time identifies a continental shelf area where seasonal thermal oscillation signal (amplitudes and phase) changes abruptly. In order to explain this anomaly, the second data set allows a description of thermal fluctuations in a wide range of frequencies and an estimation of the upstream heat budget of the Guadalquivir estuary. Results show that high frequency thermal signal, diurnal and semidiurnal, and water flux signal through Guadalquivir mouth, mainly semidiurnal, apparently interact randomly to give a small exchange of thermal energy at high frequency. There is no trace, at the estuary's mouth, of daily heat exchanges with intertidal mudflats probably because it tends to cancel on daily time scales. Results also show that fluctuations of estimated air-sea fluxes force fluctuations of temperature in a quite homogeneous estuarine, with a delay of 20 days. The along-channel thermal energy gradient reaches magnitudes of 300-400 J m-4 near the mouth during the summer and winter and drives the estuary-shelf exchange of thermal energy at seasonal scale. Particularly, the thermal heat imported by the estuary from the shelf area during late fall-winter-early spring of 2008/2009 is balanced by the thermal heat that the estuary exports to the shelf area during late spring-summer of 2008. In summary, Guadalquivir river removes/imports excess of thermal energy towards/from the continental shelf seasonally, as a mechanism to accommodate excess of heat from one side respect to the other side.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Autoridad Portuaria de Sevilla (APS

Physical characterization of the Guadiana Estuary using a 3D model

Guadiana estuary is an intertidal estuary situated in SW of Iberian Península, the latest 50 Km of which constitutes the natural border between Spain and Portugal. Tidal influence extends to about 80 Km upstream. The Guadiana River presents a high seasonal irregularity with wet winters and dry summers. A 3D hydrodynamic model based on the MOHID System has been developed to study the hydrodynamics of the Guadiana Estuary. The model has been validated by comparison the output with in situ data measurements in several points along the estuary.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Modelling extreme climatic events in Guadalquivir Estuary ( Spain)

Extreme climatic events, such as heat waves and severe storms are predicted to increase in frequency and magnitude as a consequence of global warming but their socio-ecological effects are poorly understood, particularly in estuarine ecosystems. The Guadalquivir Estuary has been anthropologically modified several times, the original salt marshes have been transformed to grow rice and cotton and approximately one-fourth of the total surface of the estuary is now part of two protected areas, one of them is a UNESCO, MAB Biosphere Reserve. The climatic events are most likely to affect Europe in forthcoming decades and a further understanding how these climatic disturbances drive abrupt changes in the Guadalquivir estuary is needed. A barotropic model has been developed to study how severe storm events affects the estuary by conducting paired control and climate-events simulations. The changes in the local wind and atmospheric pressure conditions in the estuary have been studied in detail and several scenarios are obtained by running the model under control and real storm conditions. The model output has been validated with in situ water elevation and good agreement between modelled and real measurements have been obtained. Our preliminary results show that the model demonstrated the capability describe of the tide-surge levels in the estuary, opening the possibility to study the interaction between climatic events and the port operations and food production activities. The barotropic hydrodynamic model provide spatially explicit information on the key variables governing the tide dynamics of estuarine areas under severe climatic scenarios . The numerical model will be a powerful tool in future climate change mitigation and adaptation programs in a complex socio-ecological system.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Autoridad Portuaria de Sevill

Errores de medicación en farmacias comunitarias: elaboración de un formulario para su detección

INTRODUCCIÓN Desarrollar mecanismos que prevengan errores de medicación o minimicen sus con- secuencias es una tarea que actualmente se desarrolla en todos los niveles asistenciales. Las farmacias comunitarias por su proxi- midad a los pacientes y la formación del farmacéutico representan un punto estraté- gico para llevar a cabo una labor preventiva de errores de medicación. No obstante, es necesario promover y desarrollar herramien- tas que puedan ser integradas en los siste- mas de organización de las farmacias y que garanticen la seguridad del paciente. OBJETIVO Elaborar un Formulario de Recogida de datos para detección de Errores de Me- dicación (FREM) en farmacias comuni- tarias con el objeto de identificar y pre- venir errores de medicación y sus causas, promoviendo a su vez la im- plantación de prácticas seguras en las farmacias comunitarias. MÉTODO Se elaboró un primer formulario basado en la clasificación de Ruiz-Jarabo y se realizó un estudio piloto en tres farmacias comunitarias de Sevilla y una de Málaga durante durante un mes, realizando los titulares de la farmacia la recogida de in- formación sobre los errores de medica- ción. Una vez analizado y consensuado por los investigadores se elaboró el for- mulario definitivo, aplicándolo de nuevo para analizar su efectividad

Errores de medicación en farmacias comunitarias elaboración de un formulario para su detección

INTRODUCCIÓN Desarrollar mecanismos que prevengan errores de medicación o minimicen sus consecuencias es una tarea que actualmente se desarrolla en todos los niveles asistenciales. Las farmacias comunitarias por su proximidad a los pacientes y la formación del farmacéutico representan un punto estratégico para llevar a cabo una labor preventiva de errores de medicación. No obstante, es necesario promover y desarrollar herramientas que puedan ser integradas en los sistemas de organización de las farmacias y que garanticen la seguridad del paciente.OBJETIVO Elaborar un Formulario de Recogida de datos para detección de Errores de Medicación (FREM) en farmacias comunitarias con el objeto de identificar y prevenir errores de medicación y sus causas, promoviendo a su vez la implantación de prácticas seguras en las farmacias comunitarias.MÉTODO Se elaboró un primer formulario basado en la clasificación de Ruiz-Jarabo y se realizó un estudio piloto en tres farmacias comunitarias de Sevilla y una de Málaga durante un mes, realizando los titulares de la farmacia la recogida de información sobre los errores de medicación. Una vez analizado y consensuado por los investigadores se elaboró el formulario definitivo, aplicándolo de nuevo para analizar su efectividad.RESULTADO Durante el pilotaje se recogieron un total de 36 formularios, con 46 errores. Se detectaron y registraron no sólo errores de dispensación (25,7%), sino todos los tipos incluidos en la clasificación. El más frecuente fue de prescripción (51,4%), y se determinó la frecuencia, gravedad y nivel de riesgo para cada uno de ellos. Tras el análisis y estudio se elaboró el formulario final, Formulario de Recogida de datos para detección de Errores de Medicación (FREM), específico para aplicar en las farmacias comunitarias.CONCLUSIONES El formulario de recogida de datos para detección de errores de medicación (FREM) es una herramienta muy útil para detectar y prevenir errores de medicación en farmacias comunitarias y, utilizado de forma rutinaria, puede contribuir a aumentar la seguridad del paciente en cuanto al uso de los medicamentos

El uso de youtube para enseñar el equilibrio macroeconómico.

La comprensión y retención del conocimiento por parte de los estudiantes requiere hoy en día la integración de las tecnologías en el proceso educativo. Los modelos macroeconómicos constituyen una herramienta básica para que los profesores describan el funcionamiento de una economía, así como para analizar los impactos de las políticas públicas en las variables macroeconómicas. En el caso de la macroeconomía introductoria e intermedia, la enseñanza se lleva a cabo básicamente mediante análisis gráficos concatenados que representan los mercados y los procesos dinámicos involucrados en el cambio de un equilibrio a otro. Sin embargo, los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales de la Universidad de Sevilla muestran dificultades para entender y conservar tanto las representaciones gráficas, como para involucrarse en el pensamiento prospectivo (es decir, los cambios concatenados en las variables macroeconómicas). Una posible explicación se puede encontrar en la naturaleza estática de los materiales de aprendizaje (básicamente, libros y notas del alumno tomadas durante las clases). En este sentido, el ofrecimiento de videos dinámicos a los estudiantes como material de complemento podría ayudar a mejorar la comprensión de los estudiantes y, por lo tanto, el rendimiento académico. Estos videos mostrarían los análisis gráficos y los procesos involucrados, estando disponibles en plataformas públicas de difusión como YouTube. Este documento presenta los resultados de un cuestionario hecho a 131 estudiantes de macroeconomía introductoria con respecto a su uso de videos de YouTube como material de aprendizaje. Los resultados muestran que el 48% de los estudiantes entrevistados ven videos de YouTube con fines de aprendizaje, disminuyendo al 19% cuando se refiere a temas relacionados con Economía. Sin embargo, más del 80% afirma que estaría dispuesto a ver videos de YouTube para aprender Macroeconomía. Además, los estudiantes indican que si el video es interesante y útil, su duración no determina su disposición a verlo. Finalmente, y con respecto a las posibles diferencias en las características personales de los estudiantes (por ejemplo, género, edad, factores socioeconómicos, asistencia de clase, motivación y calificaciones previas) entre diferentes perfiles de estudiantes (por ejemplo, los espectadores actuales de videos de YouTube como material de aprendizaje o no), se han encontrado diferencias.Student’s comprehension and retention of knowledge requires nowadays the integration of technologies in the educational process. Macroeconomic models constitute a basic tool for lecturers at describing the functioning of an economy, as well as to analyse the impacts of public policies in macroeconomic variables. In the case of introductory and intermediate macroeconomics, teaching is basically carried out by using concatenated graphical analyses that represent the involved markets and the dynamic processes involved in moving from one equilibrium to another. However, students of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Seville show difficulties at understanding and retaining both graphical representations, as well as at engaging in forward-looking thinking (i.e. the concatenated changes in macroeconomic variables). A possible explanation may be found on the static nature of learning materials (basically, books and student’s notes taken during lectures). In this regard, offering dynamic videos to the students as complement material could help to improve students’ understanding and thereby, academic performance. These videos would show the graphical analyses and the processes involved, being available at public diffusion platforms such as YouTube. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire made to 131 students of introductory macroeconomics regarding their use of YouTube videos as learning material. Results show that 48% of interviewed students view YouTube videos for learning purposes, decreasing to 19% when it refers to subjects related to Economics. Nevertheless, more than 80% affirm that they would be willing to view YouTube videos to learn Macroeconomics. Additionally, students indicate that if the video is interesting and helpful, its length does not determine their willingness to view it. Finally, and regarding potential differences in students’ personal characteristics (e.g. gender, age, socio-economic factors, class assistance, motivation and previous qualifications) between different student profiles (e.g. current viewers of YouTube videos as learning material or not), no significant differences have been found

Perinatal and childhood factors and risk of breast cancer subtypes in adulthood

BACKGROUND: Accumulated exposure to hormones and growth factors during early life may influence the future risk of breast cancer (BC). This study examines the influence of childhood-related, socio-demographic and anthropometric variables on BC risk, overall and by specific pathologic subtypes. METHODS: This is a case-control study where 1539 histologically-confirmed BC cases (23-85 years) and 1621 population controls, frequency matched by age, were recruited in 10 Spanish provinces. Perinatal and childhood-related characteristics were directly surveyed by trained staff. The association with BC risk, globally and according to menopausal status and pathologic subtypes, was evaluated using logistic and multinomial regression models, adjusting for tumor specific risk factors. RESULTS: Birth characteristics were not related with BC risk. However, women with high socioeconomic level at birth presented a decreased BC risk (OR=0.45; 95% CI=0.29-0.70), while those whose mothers were aged over 39 years at their birth showed an almost significant excess risk of hormone receptor positive tumors (HR+) (OR=1.35; 95% CI=0.99-1.84). Women who were taller than their girl mates before puberty showed increased postmenopausal BC risk (OR=1.26; 95% CI=1.03-1.54) and increased HR+ BC risk (OR=1.26; 95% CI=1.04-1.52). Regarding prepubertal weight, while those women who were thinner than average showed higher postmenopausal BC risk (OR=1.46; 95% CI=1.20-1.78), associated with HR+ tumors (OR=1.34; 95% CI=1.12-1.61) and with triple negative tumors (OR=1.56; 95% CI=1.03-2.35), those who were heavier than average presented lower premenopausal BC risk (OR=0.64; 95% CI=0.46-0.90) and lower risk of epidermal growth factor receptor positive tumors (OR=0.61; 95% CI=0.40-0.93). CONCLUSION: These data reflect the importance of hormones and growth factors in the early stages of life, when the mammary gland is in development and therefore more vulnerable to proliferative stimuli

Key Factors for Optimal Care Models for Heart Failure: An Integrative and Multidisciplinary Approach

[Resumen] Introducción y objetivos. La insuficiencia cardiaca (IC) supone un reto para los sistemas sanitarios que se puede responder a través del desarrollo de modelos integrales de atención. Un grupo multidisciplinar de expertos reflexionó sobre los factores clave para avanzar en el desarrollo de este tipo de modelos, planteando una hoja de ruta dirigida a todos los agentes (administraciones, gestores y profesionales sanitarios). Métodos. Se conformó un panel Delphi multidisciplinar integrado por un comité asesor de 15 expertos y un panel adicional de 31 expertos. A través de una revisión bibliográfica sistemática y entrevistas individuales semiestructuradas se realizó un diagnóstico e identificación de retos y áreas de mejora a lo largo del proceso asistencial. El panel Delphi consensuó y priorizó los factores clave con la metodología Delphi Rand/UCLA, valorando su adecuación y necesidad. Resultados. Tras 2 rondas de valoración Delphi se consensuó una propuesta de 7 retos y 75 factores clave para el desarrollo de modelos integrados para la IC. Los 25 factores clave considerados altamente prioritarios se relacionan con la necesidad de una mayor coordinación y planificación a nivel de gestión sanitaria, el abordaje integral durante la hospitalización y la implantación de medidas de continuidad y coordinación asistencial, garantizando que se cubren las necesidades específicas de diferentes perfiles de pacientes. Conclusiones. La propuesta y priorización de acciones para avanzar en modelos de atención integral a la IC debe surgir de reflexiones multidisciplinares y multinivel que incluyan la visión de los pacientes y cuidadores.[Abstract] Introduction and objectives. Heart failure (HF) is a challenge for health systems that can be responded through the development of comprehensive care models. A multidisciplinary group of experts reflected on the key factors that could facilitate the development of this type of models, proposing a roadmap aimed at all agents (politicians, managers, administrators, and health professional). Methods. A multidisciplinary Delphi panel was formed, made up of an advisory committee of 15 experts and an additional panel of 31 experts. After a systematic bibliographic review and semi-structured individual interviews, a diagnosis and identification of challenges and areas for improvement were made throughout the healthcare process. The Delphi panel agreed and prioritized the key factors applying Delphi Rand/UCLA methodology, assessing their appropriateness and need. Results. After 2 rounds of Delphi assessment, a proposal of 7 challenges and 75 key factors was agreed upon for the development of integrated models for HF. The 25 key factors considered high priority are related to the need for greater coordination and planning at the health management level, the comprehensive approach during hospitalization and the implementation of measures of continuity and care coordination, ensuring that the specific needs of different patient profiles. Conclusions. The proposal and prioritization of actions to advance in models of comprehensive care for HF must arise from multidisciplinary and multilevel reflections that include the vision of patients and caregivers.El proyecto MAIC ha sido financiado por Boehringer Ingelheim Españ

A computational study of CO2, N2, and CH4 adsorption in zeolites

8 pages, 8 figures.-- Printed version published Dec 2007.The adsorption properties of CO2, N2 and CH4 in all-silica zeolites were studied using molecular simulations. Adsorption isotherms for single components in MFI were both measured and computed showing good agreement. In addition simulations in other all silica structures were performed for a wide range of pressures and temperatures and for single components as well as binary and ternary mixtures with varying bulk compositions. The adsorption selectivity was analyzed for mixtures with bulk composition of 50:50 CO2/CH4, 50:50 CO2/N2, 10:90 CO2/N2 and 5:90:5 CO2/N2/CH4 in MFI, MOR, ISV, ITE, CHA and DDR showing high selectivity of adsorption of CO2 over N2 and CH4 that varies with the type of crystal and with the mixture bulk composition.This work is supported by the Spanish “Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia” (CTQ2007-63229/BQU), by the National Science Foundation (CTS-0507013), and by the resources, technical expertise and assistance provided by BSC-CNS. E. García-Pérez wishes to thank the MEC for a predoctoral fellowship. RK acknowledges the grant of a TOP subsidy from the Netherlands Foundation for Fundamental Research (NWO-CW) for intensification of reactors and NWO/NCF for provision of high performance computing resources. JBP thanks ITQ-CSIC for kindly supplying the silicalite.Peer reviewe