Landscape restoration in a mixed agricultural-forest catchment: planning a buffer strip and hedgerow network in a Chilean biodiversity hotspot

Guidance for large-scale restoration of natural or semi-natural linear vegetation elements that takes into account the need to maintain human livelihoods such as farming is often lacking. Focusing on a Chilean biodiversity hotspot, we assessed the landscape in terms of existing woody vegetation elements and proposed a buffer strip and hedgerow network. We used spatial analysis based on Google Earth imagery and QGIS, field surveys, seven guidelines linked to prioritization criteria and seedling availability in the region’s nurseries, and estimated the budget for implementing the proposed network. The target landscapes require restoring 0.89 ha km−2 of woody buffer strips to meet Chilean law; 1.4 ha km−2 of new hedgerows is also proposed. The cost of restoration in this landscape is estimated in ca. USD 6900 per planted ha of buffer strips and hedgerows. Financial incentives, education, and professional training of farmers are identified as key issues to implement the suggested restoration actions

Gestión de entregables con grupos grandes

En el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES), el docente debe asumir la responsabilidad de planificar el trabajo que tiene que realizar el estudiante, tanto dentro como fuera del aula, y además, evaluar el trabajo realizado, preferentemente de forma continua. Para ello, el profesor puede optar por preparar un conjunto de documentos donde se expliciten las actividades que el estudiante debe realizar a lo largo del curso y que irá entregando para su corrección (en adelante, llamaremos entregables a dichos documentos). El problema que plantea la utilización de entregables es que su gestión es un proceso bastante costoso, especialmente cuando el número de estudiantes por grupo es elevado. En este artículo se presenta una aplicación de gestión de entregables que reduce notablemente el tiempo que el profesor debe dedicar a su gestión, permitiendo que sea posible utilizar entregables incluso con grupos grandes. Se propone también un método de evaluación en el que el porcentaje de entregables realizados por el estudiante forma parte de su evaluación. Tanto la aplicación de gestión como el método de evaluación propuestos han sido probados en varias asignaturas con resultados satisfactorios.Este proyecto docente ha sido financiado por la Unitat de Suport Educatiu de la Universidad Jaume I (código del proyecto: 05G073-400)

Aplicación para la gestión y calificación de actividades ECTS

En este artículo se describe una aplicación web que facilita la gestión y calificación de las actividades ECTS realizadas por los estudiantes. La principal ventaja de esta aplicación es que permite el seguimiento continuado del trabajo realizado por los estudiantes, aún con grupos grandes. La aplicación está siendo utilizada actualmente en 9 asignaturas del Grado en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad Jaume I, gestionando más de 200 actividades diferentes por curso.This paper describes a web application that facilitates the management and assesment of the ECTS activities performed by students. The main advantage of this application is that it allows the continuous monitoring of the work performed by students, even with big groups. The application is currently being used in 9 courses of the degree in Computer Engineering at the Jaume I University, managing more than 200 different activities per course.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por la Unitat de Suport Educatiu de la Universidad Jaume I, en el marco del Proyecto de Innovación Educativa 10G136-329

Natural forests loss and tree plantations: large-scale tree cover loss differentiation in a threatened biodiversity hotspot

Distinguishing between natural forests from exotic tree plantations is essential to get an accurate picture of the world's state of forests. Most exotic tree plantations support lower levels of biodiversity and have less potential for ecosystem services supply than natural forests, and differencing them is still a challenge using standard tools. We use a novel approach in south-central of Chile to differentiate tree cover dynamics among natural forests and exotic tree plantations. Chile has one of the world's most competitive forestry industry and the region is a global biodiversity hotspot. Our collaborative visual interpretation method combined a global database of tree cover change, remote sensing from high-resolution satellite images and expert knowledge. By distinguishing exotic tree plantation and natural forest loss, we fit spatially explicit models to estimate tree-cover loss across 40 millions of ha between 2000 and 2016. We were able to distinguish natural forests from exotic tree plantations with an overall accuracy of 99% and predicted forest loss. Total tree cover loss was continuous over time, and the disaggregation revealed that 1 549 909 ha of tree plantations were lost (mean = 96 869 ha year(-1)), while 206 142 ha corresponded to natural forest loss (mean = 12 884 ha year(-1)). Mostly of tree plantations lost returned to be plantation (51%). Natural forests were converted mainly (75%) to transitional land covers (e.g. shrubland, bare land, grassland), and an important proportion of these may finish as tree plantation. This replacement may undermine objectives of increasedcarbon storage and biodiversity. Tree planting as a solution has gained increased attention in recen years with ambitious commitments to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, negative outcomes for the environment could result if strategies incentivize the replacement of natural forests into other land covers. Initiatives to reduce carbon emissions should encourage differentiating natural forests from exotic tree plantations and pay more attention on protecting and managing sustainably the former

Introducción a la arquitectura de computadores con QtARMSim y Arduino

Codi d’assignatura EI1004 / MT100

Late-onset thymidine kinase 2 deficiency: a review of 18 cases

Background: TK2 gene encodes for mitochondrial thymidine kinase, which phosphorylates the pyrimidine nucleosides thymidine and deoxycytidine. Recessive mutations in the TK2 gene are responsible for the ‘myopathic form’ of the mitochondrial depletion/multiple deletions syndrome, with a wide spectrum of severity. Methods: We describe 18 patients with mitochondrial myopathy due to mutations in the TK2 gene with absence of clinical symptoms until the age of 12. Results: The mean age of onset was 31 years. The first symptom was muscle limb weakness in 10/18, eyelid ptosis in 6/18, and respiratory insufficiency in 2/18. All patients developed variable muscle weakness during the evolution of the disease. Half of patients presented difficulty in swallowing. All patients showed evidence of respiratory muscle weakness, with need for non-invasive Mechanical Ventilation in 12/18. Four patients had deceased, all of them due to respiratory insufficiency. We identified common radiological features in muscle magnetic resonance, where the most severely affected muscles were the gluteus maximus, semitendinosus and sartorius. On muscle biopsies typical signs of mitochondrial dysfunction were associated with dystrophic changes. All mutations identified were previously reported, being the most frequent the in-frame deletion p.Lys202del. All cases showed multiple mtDNA deletions but mtDNA depletion was present only in two patients. Conclusions: The late-onset is the less frequent form of presentation of the TK2 deficiency and its natural history is not well known. Patients with late onset TK2 deficiency have a consistent and recognizable clinical phenotype and a poor prognosis, due to the high risk of early and progressive respiratory insufficiency

Electricidad e industria en la España rural: el Irati, 1904-1961

El estudio del Irati pretende mostrar algunos de los comportamientos empresariales que se esconden detrás de las primeras fases del desarrollo eléctrico español y, a su vez, establecer nuevas preguntas sobre los factores y condicionamientos de los procesos regionales de industrialización. De hecho, esta firma representa una de las múltiples posibilidades abiertas por la electricidad en una región española no industrializada a principios del siglo XX. La producción eléctrica generada en sus saltos explica la creación del mayor complejo industrial integrado en España alrededor de la primera transformación de la madera (serrerías y destilación química) y su comercialización (ferrocarril), al tiempo que la venta de sus excedentes energéticos en el mercado más importante de Navarra. El análisis de esta última actividad, además, permite ofrecer un modelo explicativo alternativo y complementario al clásico —realizado desde las mayores firmas—, sobre la progresiva articulación de los mercados eléctricos tradicionales en los mercados integrados de las grandes compañías españolas.The study of the Irati hydroelectric company aims to show some of the business strategies behind the first stages of the development of electricity in Spain and, in turn, pose new questions regarding the factors and conditioning elements of the country’s regional industrialization processes. In fact, this firm represents one of the many possibilities electricity brought to non-industrialized Spanish regions at the start of the 20th century. The electricity generated by its falls explains the creation of Spain’s largest integrated industrial complex built up around the initial processing of timber (saw-mills and chemical distilling) and its commercialization (railways), along with the sale of its energy surpluses on the most important market in the region of Navarre. Furthermore, the analysis of this latter activity allows us to offer an explanatory model that is both an alternative and a complement to the classical model —that provided by the largest firms— concerning the progressive incorporation of the traditional electrical markets into the integrated markets of the major Spanish companies

One-year quality of life among post-hospitalization COVID-19 patients

IntroductionThe long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 are unclear, as are the factors influencing the evolution. Objective: to assess health-related quality of life 1 year after a hospital admission due to COVID-19 and to identify factors that may influence it.Materials and methodsRetrospective observational study in a tertiary hospital from March 2021 to February 2022. Inclusion criteria: ≥18 years old and admitted for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Exclusion criteria: death, not located, refusal to participate, cognitive impairment, and language barrier. Variables: demographic data, medical history, clinical and analytical outcomes during hospital admission, treatment received, and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 following admission. Participants were interviewed by phone 1 year after admission, using the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire.ResultsThere were 486 included patients. The domains yielding the lowest scores were general health (median 65%, interquartile range [IQR] 45–80), vitality (median 65%, IQR 45–80), and mental health (median 73.5%, IQR 60–100). Multivariable analysis showed that female sex and fibromyalgia/fatigue had a negative influence on all domains. Obesity was associated with worse outcomes in physical functioning, physical role, bodily pain, and vitality. Other factors associated with worse scores were an older age in physical functioning and high age-adjusted Charslon comorbidity in physical functioning and general health. Age was associated with better results in emotional role and High C-reactive protein at admission on vitality.ConclusionOne year after admission for COVID-19, quality of life remains affected, especially the domains of general health, vitality, and mental health. Factors associated with worse outcomes are female sex, fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue, and obesity