Metodologías para la ubicación de plantas de biomasa mediante modelos de localización basados en programación lineal y evaluación multicriterio en el entorno de los Sistemas de Información Geográfica

La necesidad de fomentar el desarrollo de energías renovables forma parte de una estrategia política y comunitaria que debe tener en cuenta las materias relacionadas con el medio ambiente, crecimiento, competitividad y empleo, competencia, investigación, desarrollo tecnológico y demostración, así como en el ámbito de la política agraria y de desarrollo rural. Es por ello que, en las últimas décadas, se empezó a dar un papel importante a estas energías como alternativa energética a las fuentes tradicionales, poniendo latente la necesidad de la búsqueda de nuevas herramientas y técnicas que puedan dar respuesta a conceptos tan importantes como la planificación energética de un territorio. De este modo, se comenzó un proceso de integración de las energías renovables mediante diversas actuaciones políticas a nivel mundial (Protocolo de Kyoto), siendo necesario además llevar a cabo iniciativas energéticas locales. En este contexto, la utilización de la biomasa con fines energéticos ofrece múltiples ventajas con respecto a las fuentes de energía convencionales, así como en relación con otras fuentes de energía renovables, en particular unos costes relativamente bajos, una menor dependencia de las alteraciones climáticas a corto plazo, el fomento de las estructuras económicas regionales y la creación de fuentes de ingresos alternativas. Entre los principales beneficios destacaríamos reducir la dependencia de los combustibles fósiles, disminuir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y estimular la actividad económica en zonas rurales (Comisión de las Comunidades Europeas 2005). En este trabajo se presentan diferentes metodologías y estrategias para impulsar el desarrollo del aprovechamiento de la biomasa procedente de residuos agrícolas y forestales, incluyendo los distintos y numerosos elementos implicados en la utilización de la biomasa como fuente energética: recursos disponibles y tipología, logística para su recogida y distribución, restricciones medioambientales y sociales, transporte, almacenamiento, costes, pre-tratamientos, demanda potencial, etc.Perpiñá Castillo, C. (2012). Metodologías para la ubicación de plantas de biomasa mediante modelos de localización basados en programación lineal y evaluación multicriterio en el entorno de los Sistemas de Información Geográfica [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/14721Palanci

An Assessment and Spatial Modelling of Agricultural Land Abandonment in Spain (2015¿2030)

[EN] This article presents a study based on the outputs from the LUISA Territorial modelling platform (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) focused on regional and local future projections of land abandonment between 2015 and 2030. Spain is taken as representative of one of the countries highly affected by agricultural land abandonment in the European Union. The most relevant factors driving land abandonment (biophysical, agroeconomics, farm structure and demographic) are described and mapped. Results from the analysis reveal that the Galicia region, northern Spain (Asturias, Cantabria, Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia), north-eastern Spain (Aragon region), central Pyrenees/Ebro basin (Huesca, Navarra, Lleida) and south-eastern Spain (Murcia, Almeria, Alicante, Malaga) are expected to undergo important abandonment processes. The study also concludes that land abandonment within mountainous, high nature value farmland and Natura 2000 areas is lower compared to the outside area without conservation and protection measuresPerpiñá Castillo, C.; Coll-Aliaga, E.; Lavalle, C.; Martínez Llario, JC. (2020). An Assessment and Spatial Modelling of Agricultural Land Abandonment in Spain (2015¿2030). Sustainability. 12(2):1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020560S123122Gellrich, M., & Zimmermann, N. E. (2007). Investigating the regional-scale pattern of agricultural land abandonment in the Swiss mountains: A spatial statistical modelling approach. Landscape and Urban Planning, 79(1), 65-76. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2006.03.004Alonso‐Sarría, F., Martínez‐Hernández, C., Romero‐Díaz, A., Cánovas‐García, F., & Gomariz‐Castillo, F. (2015). Main Environmental Features Leading to Recent Land Abandonment in Murcia Region (Southeast Spain). Land Degradation & Development, 27(3), 654-670. doi:10.1002/ldr.2447Falcucci, A., Maiorano, L., & Boitani, L. (2006). Changes in land-use/land-cover patterns in Italy and their implications for biodiversity conservation. Landscape Ecology, 22(4), 617-631. doi:10.1007/s10980-006-9056-4Poyatos, R., Latron, J., & Llorens, P. (2003). Land Use and Land Cover Change After Agricultural Abandonment. Mountain Research and Development, 23(4), 362-368. doi:10.1659/0276-4741(2003)023[0362:lualcc]2.0.co;2A Step-By-Step Approach to Building Land Management Scenarios Based on Multiple Viewpoints on Multi-Agent System Simulations Ecology and Society http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/6/2/2.htmlMacDonald, D., Crabtree, J. ., Wiesinger, G., Dax, T., Stamou, N., Fleury, P., … Gibon, A. (2000). Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: Environmental consequences and policy response. Journal of Environmental Management, 59(1), 47-69. doi:10.1006/jema.1999.0335Corbelle-Rico, E., Crecente-Maseda, R., & Santé-Riveira, I. (2012). Multi-scale assessment and spatial modelling of agricultural land abandonment in a European peripheral region: Galicia (Spain), 1956–2004. Land Use Policy, 29(3), 493-501. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2011.08.008Leal Filho, W., Mandel, M., Al-Amin, A. Q., Feher, A., & Chiappetta Jabbour, C. J. (2016). An assessment of the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment in Europe. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 24(6), 554-560. doi:10.1080/13504509.2016.1240113Van Leeuwen, C. C. E., Cammeraat, E. L. H., de Vente, J., & Boix-Fayos, C. (2019). The evolution of soil conservation policies targeting land abandonment and soil erosion in Spain: A review. Land Use Policy, 83, 174-186. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.01.018Rey Benayas, J. M. (2007). Abandonment of agricultural land: an overview of drivers and consequences. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources, 2(057). doi:10.1079/pavsnnr20072057Terres, J.-M., Scacchiafichi, L. N., Wania, A., Ambar, M., Anguiano, E., Buckwell, A., … Zobena, A. (2015). Farmland abandonment in Europe: Identification of drivers and indicators, and development of a composite indicator of risk. Land Use Policy, 49, 20-34. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.06.009Prishchepov, A. V., Müller, D., Dubinin, M., Baumann, M., & Radeloff, V. C. (2013). Determinants of agricultural land abandonment in post-Soviet European Russia. Land Use Policy, 30(1), 873-884. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.06.011Levers, C., Schneider, M., Prishchepov, A. V., Estel, S., & Kuemmerle, T. (2018). Spatial variation in determinants of agricultural land abandonment in Europe. Science of The Total Environment, 644, 95-111. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.326Lasanta-Martínez, T., Vicente-Serrano, S. M., & Cuadrat-Prats, J. M. (2005). Mountain Mediterranean landscape evolution caused by the abandonment of traditional primary activities: a study of the Spanish Central Pyrenees. Applied Geography, 25(1), 47-65. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2004.11.001RODRIGO-COMINO, J., MARTÍNEZ-HERNÁNDEZ, C., ISERLOH, T., & CERDÀ, A. (2018). Contrasted Impact of Land Abandonment on Soil Erosion in Mediterranean Agriculture Fields. Pedosphere, 28(4), 617-631. doi:10.1016/s1002-0160(17)60441-7Cerdà, A., Rodrigo-Comino, J., Novara, A., Brevik, E. C., Vaezi, A. R., Pulido, M., … Keesstra, S. D. (2018). Long-term impact of rainfed agricultural land abandonment on soil erosion in the Western Mediterranean basin. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 42(2), 202-219. doi:10.1177/0309133318758521Arnaez, J., Lasanta, T., Errea, M. P., & Ortigosa, L. (2010). Land abandonment, landscape evolution, and soil erosion in a Spanish Mediterranean mountain region: The case of Camero Viejo. Land Degradation & Development, 22(6), 537-550. doi:10.1002/ldr.1032Romero-Díaz, A., Ruiz-Sinoga, J. D., Robledano-Aymerich, F., Brevik, E. C., & Cerdà, A. (2017). Ecosystem responses to land abandonment in Western Mediterranean Mountains. CATENA, 149, 824-835. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2016.08.013Baumann, M., Kuemmerle, T., Elbakidze, M., Ozdogan, M., Radeloff, V. C., Keuler, N. S., … Hostert, P. (2011). Patterns and drivers of post-socialist farmland abandonment in Western Ukraine. Land Use Policy, 28(3), 552-562. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2010.11.003Pazúr, R., Lieskovský, J., Feranec, J., & Oťaheľ, J. (2014). Spatial determinants of abandonment of large-scale arable lands and managed grasslands in Slovakia during the periods of post-socialist transition and European Union accession. Applied Geography, 54, 118-128. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.07.014Corbelle-Rico, E., & Crecente-Maseda, R. (2014). Evaluating IRENA indicator «Risk of Farmland Abandonment» on a low spatial scale level: The case of Galicia (Spain). Land Use Policy, 38, 9-15. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.10.013García-Ruiz, J. M. (2010). The effects of land uses on soil erosion in Spain: A review. CATENA, 81(1), 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2010.01.001Eurostat (2016)—EUROPOP2013, Convergence Scenario, National Level http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_SDDS/EN/proj_10c_esms.htmGeneral Equilibrium Model for the Economy-Energy–Environment (GEM-E3) https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/gem-e3/modelDynamic Spatial General Equilibrium Model for EU Regions and Sectors (RHOMOLO) https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/rhomoloJRC-EU-Times Model Assessing Long Term Role Energy Technologies https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/scientific-tool/jrc-eu-times-model-assessing-long-term-role-energy-technologiesBatista e Silva, F., Lavalle, C., & Koomen, E. (2013). A procedure to obtain a refined European land use/cover map. Journal of Land Use Science, 8(3), 255-283. doi:10.1080/1747423x.2012.667450Hilferink, M., & Rietveld, P. (1999). LAND USE SCANNER: An integrated GIS based model for long term projections of land use in urban and rural areas. Journal of Geographical Systems, 1(2), 155-177. doi:10.1007/s101090050010Koomen, E., Diogo, V., Dekkers, J., & Rietveld, P. (2015). A utility-based suitability framework for integrated local-scale land-use modelling. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 50, 1-14. doi:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2014.10.002Perpiña Castillo, C., Lavalle, C., Baranzelli, C., & Mubareka, S. (2015). Modelling the spatial allocation of second-generation feedstock (lignocellulosic crops) in Europe. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 29(10), 1807-1825. doi:10.1080/13658816.2015.1051486Kompil, M., Jacobs-Crisioni, C., Dijkstra, L., & Lavalle, C. (2019). Mapping accessibility to generic services in Europe: A market-potential based approach. Sustainable Cities and Society, 47, 101372. doi:10.1016/j.scs.2018.11.047Jacobs-Crisioni, C., Batista e Silva, F., Lavalle, C., Baranzelli, C., Barbosa, A., & Perpiña Castillo, C. (2016). Accessibility and territorial cohesion in a case of transport infrastructure improvements with changing population distributions. European Transport Research Review, 8(1). doi:10.1007/s12544-016-0197-5European Commission–Joint Research Centre https://urban.jrc.ec.europa.eu/#/enEuropean Commission–Joint Research Centre https://ec.europa.eu/knowledge4policy/online-resource/territorial-dashboard_enEuropean Commission, Eurostat http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-statistical-units/nutsLUISA Collection, Data Catalogue https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/collection/luisaLUISA Territorial Modelling Platform https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/luisaGlobal Agro-Ecological Zones—GAEZ Portal http://www.gaez.iiasa.ac.at/Data for the Soil Information System for the MARS Crop Yield Forecasting System (SINFO) https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sinfo-soil-data-mars-informationSpatial Data Version 1.1 https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/content/european-food-safety-authority-efsa-data-persam-software-toolFarm structure surveys (FSS)-Structure of agricultural holdings https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Main_PageSpecial request of microdata to DG Agriculture and rural Development, Farm Economics Unit http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rica/Eliasson, Å., Jones, R. J. A., Nachtergaele, F., Rossiter, D. G., Terres, J.-M., Van Orshoven, J., … Le Bas, C. (2010). Common criteria for the redefinition of Intermediate Less Favoured Areas in the European Union. Environmental Science & Policy, 13(8), 766-777. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2010.08.003High Nature Value (HNV) Farmland. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/high-nature-value-farmlandNatura 2000 Data—the European Network of Protected Sites. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/natura-8Walford, N. (2002). Agricultural adjustment: adoption of and adaptation to policy reform measures by large-scale commercial farmers. Land Use Policy, 19(3), 243-257. doi:10.1016/s0264-8377(02)00018-2Renwick, A., Jansson, T., Verburg, P. H., Revoredo-Giha, C., Britz, W., Gocht, A., & McCracken, D. (2013). Policy reform and agricultural land abandonment in the EU. Land Use Policy, 30(1), 446-457. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.04.005Bakker, M. M., Govers, G., van Doorn, A., Quetier, F., Chouvardas, D., & Rounsevell, M. (2008). The response of soil erosion and sediment export to land-use change in four areas of Europe: The importance of landscape pattern. Geomorphology, 98(3-4), 213-226. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.12.027Westhoek, H. J., van den Berg, M., & Bakkes, J. A. (2006). Scenario development to explore the future of Europe’s rural areas. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 114(1), 7-20. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2005.11.005Müller, D., Leitão, P. J., & Sikor, T. (2013). Comparing the determinants of cropland abandonment in Albania and Romania using boosted regression trees. Agricultural Systems, 117, 66-77. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2012.12.010Correia, T. P. (1993). Threatened landscape in Alentejo, Portugal: the ‘montado’ and other ‘agro-silvo-pastoral’ systems. Landscape and Urban Planning, 24(1-4), 43-48. doi:10.1016/0169-2046(93)90081-nNunes, A. N., de Almeida, A. C., & Coelho, C. O. A. (2011). Impacts of land use and cover type on runoff and soil erosion in a marginal area of Portugal. Applied Geography, 31(2), 687-699. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2010.12.006Calatrava, J., Barberá, G. G., & Castillo, V. M. (2011). Farming practices and policy measures for agricultural soil conservation in semi-arid Mediterranean areas: The case of the Guadalentín basin in southeast Spain. Land Degradation & Development, 22(1), 58-69. doi:10.1002/ldr.1013Nadal-Romero, E., Cammeraat, E., Pérez-Cardiel, E., & Lasanta, T. (2016). Effects of secondary succession and afforestation practices on soil properties after cropland abandonment in humid Mediterranean mountain areas. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 228, 91-100. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.05.003Sanjuán, Y., Arnáez, J., Beguería, S., Lana-Renault, N., Lasanta, T., Gómez-Villar, A., … García-Ruiz, J. M. (2017). Woody plant encroachment following grazing abandonment in the subalpine belt: a case study in northern Spain. Regional Environmental Change, 18(4), 1103-1115. doi:10.1007/s10113-017-1245-ySauer, T., & Ries, J. B. (2008). Vegetation cover and geomorphodynamics on abandoned fields in the Central Ebro Basin (Spain). Geomorphology, 102(2), 267-277. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.05.006Vila Subirós, J., Rodríguez‐Carreras, R., Varga, D., Ribas, A., Úbeda, X., Asperó, F., … Outeiro, L. (2015). Stakeholder Perceptions of Landscape Changes in the Mediterranean Mountains of the North‐Eastern Iberian Peninsula. Land Degradation & Development, 27(5), 1354-1365. doi:10.1002/ldr.2337Badia, A., Pèlachs, A. Vera, A., Tulla, A. F., & Soriano, J. M. (2014). Cambios en los usos y cubiertas del suelo y los efectos en la vulnerabilidad en las comarcas de montaña de Cataluña. Del rol del fuego como herramienta de gestión a los incendios como amenaza. Pirineos, 169(0), e001. doi:10.3989/pirineos.2014.169001Verburg, P. H., & Overmars, K. P. (2009). Combining top-down and bottom-up dynamics in land use modeling: exploring the future of abandoned farmlands in Europe with the Dyna-CLUE model. Landscape Ecology, 24(9), 1167-1181. doi:10.1007/s10980-009-9355-

Performance enhancement of a GIS-based facility location problem using desktop grid infrastructure

This paper presents the integration of desktop grid infrastructure with GIS technologies, by proposing a parallel resolution method in a generic distributed environment. A case study focused on a discrete facility location problem, in the biomass area, exemplifies the high amount of computing resources (CPU, memory, HDD) required to solve the spatial problem. A comprehensive analysis is undertaken in order to analyse the behaviour of the grid-enabled GIS system. This analysis, consisting of a set of the experiments on the case study, concludes that the desktop grid infrastructure is able to use a commercial GIS system to solve the spatial problem achieving high speedup and computational resource utilization. Particularly, the results of the experiments showed an increase in speedup of fourteen times using sixteen computers and a computational efficiency greater than 87 % compared with the sequential procedure.This work has been developed under the support of the program Formacion de Personal Investigador, grants number BFPI/2009/103 and BES-2007-17019, from the Conselleria d'Educacio of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.García García, A.; Perpiñá Castillo, C.; Alfonso Laguna, CD.; Hernández García, V. (2013). Performance enhancement of a GIS-based facility location problem using desktop grid infrastructure. Earth Science Informatics. 6(4):199-207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-013-0119-1S19920764Anderson D (2004) Boinc: a system for public-resource computing and storage. Proceedings of the 5th IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Grid Computing. IEEE Computer Society, Washington DC, pp 4–10Available scripts webpage: http://personales.upv.es/angarg12/Campos I et al (2012) Modelling of a watershed: a distributed parallel application in a grid framework. Comput Informat 27(2):285–296Church RL (2002) Geographical information systems and location science. Comput Oper Res 29:541–562Clarke KC (1986) Advances in geographic information systems, computers. Environ Urban Syst 10:175–184Dowers S, Gittings BM, Mineter MJ (2000) Towards a framework for high-performance geocomputation: handling vector-topology within a distributed service environment. Comput Environ Urban Syst 24:471–486Geograma SL (2009). Teleatlas. http://www.geograma.com . Accessed September 2009GRASS Development Team (2012) GRASS GIS. http://grass.osgeo.org/Hoekstra AG, Sloot PMA (2005) Introducing grid speedup: a scalability metric for parallel applications on the grid, EGC 2005, LNCS 3470, pp. 245–254Hu Y et al. (2004) Feasibility study of geo-spatial analysis using grid computing. Computational Science-ICCS. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 956–963Huang Z et al (2009) Geobarn: a practical grid geospatial database system. Adv Electr Comput Eng 9:7–11Huang F et al (2011) Explorations of the implementation of a parallel IDW interpolation algorithm in a Linux cluster-based parallel GIS. Comput Geosci 37:426–434Laure E et al (2006) Programming the grid with gLite. CMST 12(1):33–45Li WJ et al (2005) The Design and Implementation of GIS Grid Services. In: Zhuge H, Fox G (eds) Grid and Cooperative Computing. Vol. 3795 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science 10. Springer, Berlin, pp 220–225National Geographic Institute (2010) BCN25: numerical cartographic database. http://www.ign.es/ign/main/index.do . Accessed April 2010Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc (2012) Open GIS Specification Model, http://www.opengeospatial.org/Openshaw S, Turton I (1996) A parallel Kohonen algorithm for the classification of large spatial datasets. Comput Geosci 22:1019–1026Perpiñá C, Alfonso D, Pérez-Navarro A (2007) BIODER project: biomass distributed energy resources assessment and logistic strategies for sitting biomass plants in the Valencia province (Spain), 17th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition Proceedings, Hamburg, Germany, pp. 387–393Perpiñá C et al (2008) Methodology based on Geographic Information Systems for biomass logistics and transport optimization. Renew Energ 34:555–565Shen Z et al (2007) Distributed computing model for processing remotely sensed images based on grid computing. Inf Sci 177:504–518Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, fisheries and food (2009). http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/ . Accessed March 2009Spanish Ministry of Environment (2008). http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/ . Accessed May 2008University of California. List of BOINC projects. http://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.phpXiao N, Fu W (2003) SDPG: Spatial data processing grid. J Comput Sci Technol 18:523–53

Assessment of an air quality surveillance network through passive pollution measurement with mobile sensors

[EN] Today, about 55% of the world population lives in cities and this is foreseen to increase to 68% by 2050. The urban activities of such a large number of people in relatively small spaces can make the air quality levels in cities harmful to human health. For this reason, the European Union (EU) has established a regulatory framework to control and improve air quality levels in cities (Directive 2008/50/EC) by defining a number of fixed stations and other requirements. The aim of this work is to evaluate the air quality reported by the official fixed stations via the installation of a complementary mobile network of air quality based on passive dosimetry of NO2 measurement during the period 2017-2019. In this study, Valencia (Spain) is selected as a representative European city with seven fixed stations and a network of 424 passive dosimetry sensors distributed throughout the city. In addition, an index of impact of pollutant on population is developed to optimize the locations of air quality stations among neighbourhoods across the city based on the levels of pollution measured by mobile sensors and the population directly affected. The results obtained show that 43.7% of mobile sensors in Valencia exceeded the limit value established by the EU Directive as well as by the World Health Organization during the assessment period. This indicates that the air quality levels offered by the fixed stations are neither representative nor reliable for the air quality monitoring of the city. Thus, the fixed stations currently operating do not provide reliable information on the areas of the city where the majority of the population breathes air with the highest level of pollution. Specifically, the results show that 34.6% of citizens live in areas with an average annual value above the limit recommended for the protection of human health.Lorenzo Sáez, E.; Oliver Villanueva, JV.; Lemus Zúñiga, LG.; Coll-Aliaga, E.; Perpiñá Castillo, C.; Lavalle, C. (2021). Assessment of an air quality surveillance network through passive pollution measurement with mobile sensors. Environmental Research Letters. 16(5):1-12. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe43511216

What pulmonologists think about the asthma-COPD overlap syndrome

Some patients with COPD may share characteristics of asthma; this is the so-called asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). There are no universally accepted criteria for ACOS, and most treatments for asthma and COPD have not been adequately tested in this population. We performed a survey among pulmonology specialists in asthma and COPD aimed at collecting their opinions about ACOS and their attitudes in regard to some case scenarios of ACOS patients. The participants answered a structured questionnaire and attended a face-to-face meeting with the Metaplan methodology to discuss different aspects of ACOS. A total of 26 pulmonologists with a mean age of 49.7 years participated in the survey (13 specialists in asthma and 13 in COPD). Among these, 84.6% recognized the existence of ACOS and stated that a mean of 12.6% of their patients might have this syndrome. In addition, 80.8% agreed that the diagnostic criteria for ACOS are not yet well defined. The most frequently mentioned characteristics of ACOS were a history of asthma (88.5%), significant smoking exposure (73.1%), and postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity <0.7 (69.2%). The most accepted diagnostic criteria were eosinophilia in sputum (80.8%), a very positive bronchodilator test (69.2%), and a history of asthma before 40 years of age (65.4%). Up to 96.2% agreed that first-line treatment for ACOS was the combination of a long-acting β-agonist and inhaled steroid, with a long-acting antimuscarinic agent (triple therapy) for severe ACOS. Most Spanish specialists in asthma and COPD agree that ACOS exists, but the diagnostic criteria are not yet well defined. A previous history of asthma, smoking, and not fully reversible airflow limitation are considered the main characteristics of ACOS, with the most accepted first-line treatment being long-acting β-agonist/inhaled corticosteroids

Long-term cardiac assessment in a sample of adolescent-onset anorexia nervosa

Background: High mortality rates have been reported in patients with anorexia nervosa, mainly due to cardiovascular alterations. The purpose of the present study was to assess cardiac structural and functional abnormalities some 20 years after initial treatment in a sample of adolescent-onset anorexia nervosa (A-AN) and to compare them with matched healthy controls (HC). Methods: A sample of 29 women diagnosed and treated for AN during adolescence (A-AN) were assessed more than 20 years later. A complete cardiac evaluation was carried out including an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a standard 2D echocardiography. Thirty matched HC were also assessed. Results: In the A-AN group, four subjects had a body mass index lower than 18.5 and met full DSM 5 criteria for AN at follow-up (Low-Weight group). They were compared with the rest of the sample (n = 25) who had normalized their weight (Normal-Weight group), though some still showed some eating disorder symptoms. Both groups were compared with the HC group. Subjects in the Low-Weight group presented statistically significant decreases in the left ventricular end-diastolic and left atrium dimensions and left ventricular mass in comparison with the Normal-Weight group and the HC. No other differences in cardiac parameters were found between groups. Conclusions: Echocardiographic and ECG parameters of adults who had presented A-AN twenty years earlier and currently maintained normal weight were similar to those of HC who had never been treated or diagnosed with AN. Adult subjects with A-AN who still had low weight in the long term present certain cardiac abnormalities similar to those seen in short-lasting disease. More studies are needed to confirm these results in a larger sample

Consensus Document for Severe Asthma in Adults. 2020 Update. Documento de consenso de asma grave en adultos. Actualización 2020

El asma grave constituye un síndrome heterogéneo con múltiples variantes clínicas y representa el último peldaño en la patología asmática en relación con su gravedad. La prevalencia del asma grave entre los pacientes asmáticos varía de un país a otro, y se estima que el 50% de estos pacientes graves tienen un mal control de su enfermedad. Para el mejor manejo del paciente es necesario un correcto diagnóstico, el seguimiento y sin duda ofrecerle el mejor tratamiento disponible, incluyendo los nuevos avances farmacológicos, como son los anticuerpos monoclonales. Con este afán nació este proceso de consenso, cuya finalidad última es ofrecer al paciente el mejor manejo posible de su enfermedad para así minimizar su sintomatología. Las recomendaciones que se proponen son el resultado de un consenso de tipo nominal desarrollado a lo largo del año 2019 y fueron validadas en sucesivas revisiones posteriores

What pulmonologists think about the asthma-COPD overlap syndrome

Some patients with COPD may share characteristics of asthma; this is the so-called asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). There are no universally accepted criteria for ACOS, and most treatments for asthma and COPD have not been adequately tested in this population. We performed a survey among pulmonology specialists in asthma and COPD aimed at collecting their opinions about ACOS and their attitudes in regard to some case scenarios of ACOS patients. The participants answered a structured questionnaire and attended a face-to-face meeting with the Metaplan methodology to discuss different aspects of ACOS. A total of 26 pulmonologists with a mean age of 49.7 years participated in the survey (13 specialists in asthma and 13 in COPD). Among these, 84.6% recognized the existence of ACOS and stated that a mean of 12.6% of their patients might have this syndrome. In addition, 80.8% agreed that the diagnostic criteria for ACOS are not yet well defined. The most frequently mentioned characteristics of ACOS were a history of asthma (88.5%), significant smoking exposure (73.1%), and postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity <0.7 (69.2%). The most accepted diagnostic criteria were eosinophilia in sputum (80.8%), a very positive bronchodilator test (69.2%), and a history of asthma before 40 years of age (65.4%). Up to 96.2% agreed that first-line treatment for ACOS was the combination of a long-acting β-agonist and inhaled steroid, with a long-acting antimuscarinic agent (triple therapy) for severe ACOS. Most Spanish specialists in asthma and COPD agree that ACOS exists, but the diagnostic criteria are not yet well defined. A previous history of asthma, smoking, and not fully reversible airflow limitation are considered the main characteristics of ACOS, with the most accepted first-line treatment being long-acting β-agonist/inhaled corticosteroids