Characterization of land cover-specific fire regimes in the Brazilian Amazon

Humans profoundly alter fire regimes both directly, by introducing changes in fuel dynamics and ignitions, and indirectly, by increasing the release of greenhouse gases and aerosols from fires, which can alter regional climate and, as a consequence, modify fuel moisture and availability. Interactions between vegetation dynamics, regional climate change and anthropogenic pressure lead to high heterogeneity in the spatio-temporal fire distribution. We use the new FireTracks Scientific Dataset that tracks the spatio-temporal development of individual fires to analyse fire regimes in the Brazilian Legal Amazon over the period 2002–2020. We analyse fire size, duration, intensity and rate of spread in six different land-cover classes. Particular combinations of fire features determine the dominant and characteristic fire regime in each of them. We find that fires in savannas and evergreen forests burn the largest areas and are the most long lasting. Forest fires have the potential for burning at the highest intensities, whereas higher rates of spread are found in savannas. Woody savanna and grassland fires are usually affected by smaller, shorter, less-intense fires compared with fires in evergreen forest and savanna. However, fires in grasslands can burn at rates of spread as high as savanna fires as a result of the easily flammable fuel. We observe that fires in deciduous forests and croplands are generally small, short and low intense, although the latter can sustain high rates of spread due to the dry post-harvest residuals. The reconstructed fire regimes for each land cover can be used to improve the simulated fire characteristics by models and, thus, future projections

Relationship between olive oil consumption and ankle-brachial pressure index in a population at high cardiovascular risk

The aim of this study was to ascertain the association between the consumption of different categories of edible olive oils (virgin olive oils and olive oil) and olive pomace oil and ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) in participants in the PREDIMED-Plus study, a trial of lifestyle modification for weight and cardiovascular event reduction in individuals with overweight/obesity harboring the metabolic syndrome. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Consumption of any category of olive oil and olive pomace oil was assessed through a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to assess associations between olive oil consumption and ABI. Additionally, ABI ≤1 was considered as the outcome in logistic models with different categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil as exposure. Results: Among 4330 participants, the highest quintile of total olive oil consumption (sum of all categories of olive oil and olive pomace oil) was associated with higher mean values of ABI (beta coefficient: 0.014, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.002, 0.027) (p for trend = 0.010). Logistic models comparing the consumption of different categories of olive oils, olive pomace oil and ABI ≤1 values revealed an inverse association between virgin olive oils consumption and the likelihood of a low ABI (odds ratio [OR] 0.73, 95% CI [0.56, 0.97]), while consumption of olive pomace oil was positively associated with a low ABI (OR 1.22 95% CI [1.00, 1.48]). Conclusions: In a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk, total olive oil consumption was associated with a higher mean ABI. These results suggest that olive oil consumption may be beneficial for peripheral artery disease prevention, but longitudinal studies are needed

Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study

Background In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new “Trigger Tool” represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery. Methods An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described “Trigger Tool” based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. Results The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The “Trigger Tool” had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the “Trigger Tool”. Conclusions The “Trigger Tool” has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies

Soy Niña

Este libro pretende contribuir al reencuentro de la educación con esas finalidades que verdaderamente importan a una niña o un niño: ser feliz, jugar, vivir juntos y (no) aprender. Para ello hemos puesto el arte, nuestras experiencias y el saber acumulado al servicio del disfrute, el cuestionamiento, el análisis crítico y la construcción común de un presente deseable. Un texto colaborativo coordinado por Ignacio Calderón Almendros y realizado por alumnado de Educación y Cambio Social en el Grado en Educación Infantil de la Universidad de Málaga

Tratamientos psicológicos empíricamente apoyados para adultos: Una revisión selectiva

Antecedentes: los tratamientos psicológicos han mostrado su eficacia, efectividad y eficiencia para el abordaje de los trastornos mentales; no obstante, considerando el conocimiento científico generado en los últimos años, no se dispone de trabajos de actualización en español sobre cuáles son los tratamientos psicológicos con respaldo empírico. El objetivo fue realizar una revisión selectiva de los principales tratamientos psicológicos empíricamente apoyados para el abordaje de trastornos mentales en personas adultas. Método: se recogen niveles de evidencia y grados de recomendación en función de los criterios propuestos por el Sistema Nacional de Salud de España (en las Guías de Práctica Clínica) para diferentes trastornos psicológicos. Resultados: los resultados sugieren que los tratamientos psicológicos disponen de apoyo empírico para el abordaje de un amplio elenco de trastornos psicológicos. El grado de apoyo empírico oscila de bajo a alto en función del trastorno psicológico analizado. La revisión sugiere que ciertos campos de intervención necesitan una mayor investigación. Conclusiones: a partir de esta revisión selectiva, los profesionales de la psicología podrán disponer de información rigurosa y actualizada que les permita tomar decisiones informadas a la hora de implementar aquellos procedimientos psicoterapéuticos empíricamente fundamentados en función de las características de las personas que demandan ayuda. Background: Psychological treatments have shown their efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency in dealing with mental disorders. However, considering the scientific knowledge generated in recent years, in the Spanish context, there are no updating studies about empirically supported psychological treatments. The main goal was to carry out a selective review of the main empirically supported psychological treatments for mental disorders in adults. Method: Levels of evidence and degrees of recommendation were collected based on the criteria proposed by the Spanish National Health System (Clinical Practice Guidelines) for different psychological disorders. Results: The results indicate that psychological treatments have empirical support for the approach to a wide range of psychological disorders. These levels of empirical evidence gathered range from low to high depending on the psychological disorder analysed. The review indicates the existence of certain fields of intervention that need further investigation. Conclusions: Based on this selective review, psychology professionals will be able to have rigorous, up-to-date information that allows them to make informed decisions when implementing empirically based psychotherapeutic procedures based on the characteristics of the people who require help

Impact of climatic and anthropogenic drivers on spatio-temporal fire distribution in the Brazilian Amazon

Das Amazonasgebiet hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten eine Intensivierung der menschlichen Aktivitäten erfahren, die in Verbindung mit häufigen schweren Dürren die Umwelt anfälliger für Brände gemacht hat. In dieser Dissertation wurden Fernerkundungsdaten analysiert, um die räumlich-zeitliche Verteilung der Feuer in den letzten 20 Jahren im brasilianischen Amazonasgebiet umfassend zu untersuchen und die verschiedenen Brandursachen zu entschlüsseln. (I) Die erste Forschungsarbeit wertete die Verteilung der verbrannten Fläche aus und zeigte, dass die meisten Brände auf bewirtschafteten Weiden und in den immergrünen Tropenwäldern auftraten, was die Behauptung stützt, dass ihr Auftreten stark auf anthropogene Landnutzungsänderungen reagiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigten auch, dass weder Entwaldung noch Walddegradierung mit Waldbränden korrelierte, wohl aber Feuer, die auf Weiden oder Ackerflächen gelegt wurden und in den angrenzenden Wald übergesprungen sind. (II) Die zweite Forschungsarbeit analysierte einzelne Brände, die durch den auf komplexen Netzwerken basierenden FireTracks-Algorithmus identifiziert wurden. Der Algorithmus wurde verwendet, um Feuerregime für sechs verschiedene Landnutzungsklassen zu ermitteln. Die integrierte Größe, Dauer, Intensität und Ausbreitungsrate dieser räumlich-zeitlichen Brandcluster in den verschiedenen Landnutzungstypen zeigte auf, wie seltene Waldbrände, die natürlicherweise nicht in immergrünen tropischen Wäldern vorkommen, sich zu einem Feuerregime entwickelten, das für Savannenbrände typisch ist. (III) Die dritte Forschungsarbeit analysierte extreme, d. h. die intensivsten Einzelfeuer in immergrünen tropischen Wäldern, und zeigte deren großen Anteil an der insgesamt verbrannten Waldfläche. Während der globale Klimawandel das Potenzial hat, die Trockenheit zu verstärken, sind die anthropogenen Ursachen der Waldzerstörung die Zündquellen, die die Verteilung extremer Brände in den empfindlichen tropischen Wäldern bestimmen.The Amazon region has experienced an intensification of human activities in the last decades, which combined with frequent severe droughts has led to an environment more susceptible to fire. Remotely sensed data is employed to comprehensively analyse the spatio-temporal fire distribution in the Brazilian Legal Amazon over the past 20 years to disentangle the diverse fire drivers in the region. Special focus is given to burned tropical evergreen forests.  (I) The evaluation of the burned area distribution revealed that most of it occurred in pastures and tropical evergreen forests, supporting the claim that fire incidence responds strongly to anthropogenic land-use changes. The results also showed that neither deforestation nor degradation correlated with forest fires, but escaping fires from pastures and agriculture do. (II) The analysis of individual fires identified by the complex networks based FireTracks algorithm led to the characterization of six different land cover-dependent fire regimes (fire size, duration, intensity, and rate of spread), which uncovered how evergreen forest fires have escalated from being naturally rare to showing characteristics more typical of savanna fires. (III) The analysis of extreme (most intense) fires in evergreen forests showed their large contribution to the total forest burned. While global climate change has the potential to increase drought conditions, anthropogenic drivers of forest degradation provide the ignition sources that determine extreme fire distribution in the tropical forests. The findings call for the development of control and monitoring plans to prevent fires from escaping from managed lands into forests, better management techniques to support effective land use and ecosystem management, targeting forest degradation in addition to deforestation, and considering the human factor in fire ignition and spread in Dynamic Global Vegetation Models in order to reduce uncertainty in fire regime projections

Spatio-temporal patterns of extreme fires in Amazonian forests

Fires are a fundamental part of the Earth System. In the last decades, they have been altering ecosystem structure, biogeochemical cycles and atmospheric composition with unprecedented rapidity. In this study, we implement a complex networks-based methodology to track individual fires over space and time. We focus on extreme fires—the 5% most intense fires—in the tropical forests of the Brazilian Legal Amazon over the period 2002–2019. We analyse the interannual variability in the number and spatial patterns of extreme forest fires in years with diverse climatic conditions and anthropogenic pressure to examine potential synergies between climate and anthropogenic drivers. We observe that major droughts, that increase forest flammability, co-occur with high extreme fire years but also that it is fundamental to consider anthropogenic activities to understand the distribution of extreme fires. Deforestation fires, fires escaping from managed lands, and other types of forest degradation and fragmentation provide the ignition sources for fires to ignite in the forests. We find that all extreme forest fires identified are located within a 0.5-km distance from forest edges, and up to 56% of them are within a 1-km distance from roads (which increases to 73% within 5 km), showing a strong correlation that defines spatial patterns of extreme fires