Coastal altimetry products in the Strait of Gibraltar

This paper analyzes the availability and accuracy of coastal altimetry sea level products in the Strait of Gibraltar. All possible repeats of two sections of the Envisat and AltiKa ground-tracks were used in the eastern and western portions of the strait. For Envisat, along-track sea level anomalies (SLAs) at 18-Hz posting rate were computed using ranges from two sources, namely, the official Sensor Geophysical Data Records (SGDRs) and the outputs of a coastal waveform retracker, the Adaptive Leading Edge Subwaveform (ALES) retracker; in addition, SLAs at 1 Hz were obtained from the Centre for Topographic studies of the Ocean and Hydrosphere (CTOH). For AltiKa, along-track SLA at 40 Hz was also computed both from SGDR and ALES ranges. The sea state bias correction was recomputed for the ALES-retracked Envisat SLA. The quality of these altimeter products was validated using two tide gauges located on the southern coast of Spain. For Envisat, the availability of data close to the coast depends crucially on the strategy followed for data screening. Most of the rejected data were due to the radar instrument operating in a low-precision nonocean mode. We observed an improvement of about 20% in the accuracy of the Envisat SLAs from ALES compared to the standard (SGDR) and the reprocessed CTOH data sets. AltiKa shows higher accuracy, with no significant differences between SGDR and ALES. The use of products from both missions allows longer times series, leading to a better understanding of the hydrodynamic processes in the study area

Executive summary of the joint position paper on renal denervation of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH)

No abstract available

Explosión demográfica de un hidrozoo exótico en una isla oceánica

The arrival of non-indigenous species into new areas is one of the main processes altering the oceans globally. Macrorhynchia philippina is a large-sized colonial hydrozoan of an invasive nature. To obtain a deeper understanding of the process of colonization of new areas, it is essential to describe the ecological pattern through scales of temporal and spatial variation. In this study, we describe the colonization by M. Philippina of an oceanic island (Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands, eastern Atlantic). We describe the abundance and size structure patterns of M. Philippina in three nearshore habitats, rocky reefs, seagrass meadows and rhodolith seabeds, at times before (2014), during (2016) and after (2017) the demographic explosion of this species. On rocky reefs and rhodolith seabeds, the abundance of colonies increased dramatically in 2017 rel­ative to 2014, e.g. from 0 to 138 colonies/100 m2. On seagrass meadows, however, the colonies were smaller. In summary, M. Philippina shows an ecological plasticity to rapidly colonize different types of nearshore habitats, but with varying success.La aparición de especies exóticas es uno de los principales factores que alteran los océanos de forma global. Mac­rorhynchia philippina es un hidrozoo colonial de tamaño grande y naturaleza invasora. Para tener un mejor conocimiento del proceso de colonización es fundamental describir los patrones ecológicos a escalas de variación temporal y espacial. En este estudio, describimos el proceso de colonización por M. Philippina en una isla oceánica (Gran Canaria, Islas Canarias, Atlántico oriental). Se describen los patrones de abundancia y estructura de tallas de M. Philippina en tres hábitats costeros: arrecifes rocosos, praderas de fanerógamas marinas y fondos de rodolitos, antes (2014), durante (2016) y después (2017) de la explosión demográfica de la especie. Sobre arrecifes rocosos y en fondos de rodolitos, la abundancia de las colonias se incrementó drásticamente en 2017 con relación a 2014, e.g. desde 0 hasta 138 colonias/100 m2; este incremento fue menor en las praderas de fanerógamas marinas. En las praderas marinas, la longitud de las colonias fue más pequeña que sobre ar­recifes rocosos y fondos de rodolitos. Consecuentemente, la colonización rápida por M. Philippina demuestra su plasticidad ecológica para colonizar diferentes tipos de hábitats costeros, aunque con diferente éxito

The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition occupations from Cova Foradada (Calafell, NE Iberia)

The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe covers the last millennia of Neanderthal life together with the appearance and expansion of Modern Human populations. Culturally, it is defined by the Late Middle Paleolithic succession, and by Early Upper Paleolithic complexes like the Châtelperronian (southwestern Europe), the Protoaurignacian, and the Early Aurignacian. Up to now, the southern boundary for the transition has been established as being situated between France and Iberia, in the Cantabrian façade and Pyrenees. According to this, the central and southern territories of Iberia are claimed to have been the refuge of the last Neanderthals for some additional millennia after they were replaced by anatomically Modern Humans on the rest of the continent. In this paper, we present the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition sequence from Cova Foradada (Tarragona), a cave on the Catalan Mediterranean coastline. Archaeological research has documented a stratigraphic sequence containing a succession of very short-term occupations pertaining to the Châtelperronian, Early Aurignacian, and Gravettian. Cova Foradada therefore represents the southernmost Châtelperronian-Early Aurignacian sequence ever documented in Europe, significantly enlarging the territorial distribution of both cultures and providing an important geographical and chronological reference for understanding Neanderthal disappearance and the complete expansion of anatomically Modern Humans

Thrombophlebitis associated to neoplasia. Evaluation of 23 cases

Se describen las características clínicas de una serie de 23 pacientes (13 varones, 10 mujeres) de edad media 61 ± 14 años, afectos de trombotlebitis paraneoplásica. Las trombotlebitis fueron recurrentes y migratorias en el 61 % de los casos, en el 70 % se localizaron en las extremidades interiores y en el 83 % precedieron al diagnóstico histológico de la neoplasia. Al detectarse la tromboflebitis existían signos y síntomas sugestivos de neoplasia en el 84 % de los casos. El cáncer de pulmón en el varón y el de ovario en la mujer fueron losasociados con mayor frecuencia; en el 91 % de los casos el tipo histológico fue carcinoma y en el 90 % se evidenciaron metástasis. En 2 pacientes se asoció una endocarditis trombótica no bacteriana (ETNB) en el. estudio necrópsico. El tratamiento con heparina fue ineficaz en la mitad de los pacientes y en el 39 % de los casos se produjo un tromboembolismo pulmonar (TEP) a pesar de la descoagulación. La comparación de la serie con los 4.817 pacientes neoplásicos del registro de tumores de nuestro hospital no mostró diferencias en cuanto al sexo y edad. Se constató asimismo que las neoplasias que con mayor frecuencia se asociaron a tromboflebitis fueron las de mayor prevalencia en la serie general

Protocol for regional implementation of collaborative self-management services to promote physical activity

Background: Chronic diseases are generating a major health and societal burden worldwide. Healthy lifestyles, including physical activity (PA), have proven efficacy in the prevention and treatment of many chronic conditions. But, so far, national PA surveillance systems, as well as strategies for promotion of PA, have shown low impact. We hypothesize that personalized modular PA services, aligned with healthcare, addressing the needs of a broad spectrum of individual profiles may show cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Methods: The current manuscript describes the protocol for regional implementation of collaborative self-management services to promote PA in Catalonia (7.5 M habitants) during the period 2017-2019. The protocols of three implementation studies encompassing a broad spectrum of individual needs are reported. They have a quasi-experimental design. That is, a non-randomized intervention group is compared to a control group (usual care) using propensity score methods wherein age, gender and population-based health risk assessment are main matching variables. The principal innovations of the PA program are: i) Implementation of well-structured modular interventions promoting PA; ii) Information and communication technologies (ICT) to facilitate patient accessibility, support collaborative management of individual care plans and reduce costs; and iii) Assessment strategies based on the Triple Aim approach during and beyond the program deployment. Discussion: The manuscript reports a precise roadmap for large scale deployment of community-based ICT-supported integrated care services to promote healthy lifestyles with high potential for comparability and transferability to other sites. Trial registration: This study protocol has been registered at ClinicalTrials.org ( NCT02976064 ). Registered November 24th, 2016

Metabolic Responses of Subtropical Microplankton After a Simulated Deep-Water Upwelling Event Suggest a Possible Dominance of Mixotrophy Under Increasing CO2 Levels

In the autumn of 2014, nine large mesocosms were deployed in the oligotrophic subtropical North-Atlantic coastal waters off Gran Canaria (Spain). Their deployment was designed to address the acidification effects of CO2 levels from 400 to 1,400 mu atm, on a plankton community experiencing upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water. Among other parameters, chlorophyll a (chl-a), potential respiration (Phi), and biomass in terms of particulate protein (B) were measured in the microplankton community (0.7-50.0 mu m) during an oligotrophic phase (Phase I), a phytoplankton-bloom phase (Phase II), and a post-bloom phase (Phase III). Here, we explore the use of the Phi/chl-a ratio in monitoring shifts in the microplankton community composition and its metabolism. Phi/chl-a values below 2.5 mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1) indicated a community dominated by photoautotrophs. When Phi/chl-a ranged higher, between 2.5 and 7.0 mu L O-2 h(-1) (pg chl-a)(-1) , it indicated a mixed community of phytoplankton, microzooplankton and heterotrophic prokaryotes. When Phi/chl-a rose above 7.0 mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1), it indicated a community where microzooplankton proliferated (>10.0 mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1)), because heterotrophic dinoflagellates bloomed. The first derivative of B, as a function of time (dB/dt), indicates the rate of protein build-up when positive and the rate of protein loss, when negative. It revealed that the maximum increase in particulate protein (biomass) occurred between 1 and 2 days before the chl-a peak. A day after this peak, the trough revealed the maximum net biomass loss. This analysis did not detect significant changes in particulate protein, neither in Phase I nor in Phase III. Integral analysis of Phi/chl-a and B, over the duration of each phase, for each mesocosm, reflected a positive relationship between 4) and pCO(2) during Phase II [alpha = 230.10-5 mu L O-2 h(-1) L-1 (patm CO2)(-1) (phase-day)(-1), R-2 = 0.30] and between chl-a and pCO(2) during Phase III [alpha = 100.10(-5) Ag chl-a L-1 (mu atmCO(2))(-1) (phase-day)(-1), R-2 = 0.84]. At the end of Phase II, a harmful algal species (HAS), Vicicitus globosus, bloomed in the high pCO(2) mesocosms. In these mesocosms, microzooplankton did not proliferate, and chl-a retention time in the water column increased. In these V globosus-disrupted communities, the (Phi/chl-a ratio [4.1 +/- 1.5 /mu L O-2 h(-1) (mu g chl-a)(-1)] was more similar to the Phi/chl-a ratio in a mixed plankton community than to a photoautotroph-dominated one

Age protects from harmful effects produced by chronic intermittent hypoxia

Producción CientíficaObstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) affects an estimated 3–7% of the adult population, the frequency doubling at ages >60–65 years. As it evolves, OSA becomes frequently associated with cardiovascular, metabolic and neuropsychiatric pathologies defining OSA syndrome (OSAS). Exposing experimental animals to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) can be used as a model of the recurrent hypoxic and O2 desaturation patterns observed in OSA patients. CIH is an important OSA event triggering associated pathologies; CIH induces carotid body (CB)-driven exaggerated sympathetic tone and overproduction of reactive oxygen species, related to the pathogenic mechanisms of associated pathologies observed in OSAS. Aiming to discover why OSAS is clinically less conspicuous in aged patients, the present study compares CIH effects in young (3–4 months) and aged (22–24 months) rats. To define potential distinctive patterns of these pathogenic mechanisms, mean arterial blood pressure as the final CIH outcome was measured. In young rats, CIH augmented CB sensory responses to hypoxia, decreased hypoxic ventilation and augmented sympathetic activity (plasma catecholamine levels and renal artery content and synthesis rate). An increased brainstem integration of CB sensory input as a trigger of sympathetic activity is suggested. CIH also caused an oxidative status decreasing aconitase/fumarase ratio and superoxide dismutase activity. In aged animals, CIH minimally affected CB responses, ventilation and sympathetic-related parameters leaving redox status unaltered. In young animals, CIH caused hypertension and in aged animals, whose baseline blood pressure was augmented, CIH did not augment it further. Plausible mechanisms of the differences and potential significance of these findings for the diagnosis and therapy of OSAS are discussed.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant BFU2012-37459)Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant CIBER CB06/06/0050)Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (grant EXP/NEU-SCC/2813/2013

Intake of an Obesogenic Cafeteria Diet Affects Body Weight, Feeding Behavior, and Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in a Photoperiod-Dependent Manner in F344 Rats

We previously demonstrated that chronic exposure to different photoperiods induced marked variations in several glucose and lipid metabolism-related parameters in normoweight Fischer 344 (F344) rats. Here, we examined the effects of the combination of an obesogenic cafeteria diet (CAF) and the chronic exposure to three different day lengths (L12, 12 h light/day; L18, 18 h light/day; and L6, 6 h light/day) in this rat strain. Although no changes were observed during the first 4 weeks of adaptation to the different photoperiods in which animals were fed a standard diet, the addition of the CAF for the subsequent 7 weeks triggered profound physiologic and metabolic alterations in a photoperiod-dependent manner. Compared with L12 rats, both L6 and L18 animals displayed lower body weight gain and cumulative food intake in addition to decreased energy expenditure and locomotor activity. These changes were accompanied by differences in food preferences and by a sharp upregulation of the orexigenic genes Npy and Ghsr in the hypothalamus, which could be understood as a homeostatic mechanism for increasing food consumption to restore body weight control. L18 rats also exhibited higher glycemia than the L6 group, which could be partly attributed to the decreased pAkt2 levels in the soleus muscle and the downregulation of Irs1 mRNA levels in the gastrocnemius muscle. Furthermore, L6 animals displayed lower whole-body lipid utilization than the L18 group, which could be related to the lower lipid intake and to the decreased mRNA levels of the fatty acid transporter gene Fatp1 observed in the soleus muscle. The profound differences observed between L6 and L18 rats could be related with hepatic and muscular changes in the expression of circadian rhythm-related genes Cry1, Bmal1, Per2, and Nr1d1. Although further research is needed to elucidate the pathophysiologic relevance of these findings, our study could contribute to emphasize the impact of the consumption of highly palatable and energy dense foods regularly consumed by humans on the physiological and metabolic adaptations that occur in response to seasonal variations of day length, especially in diseases associated with changes in food intake and preference such as obesity and seasonal affective disorder

The Mas del Pepet experimental programme for the study of prehistoric livestock practices: Preliminary data from dung burning

The research for referential data on current livestock contexts is essential for correctly interpreting archaeological records documented in prehistoric livestock spaces. Experimental programmes such as the one begun in 2014 in the Mas del Pepet pen (Rojals, Tarragona) has permitted an understanding, among other matters, of fold characteristics according to the type of livestock, the seasonality of occupations and herd management. This study also contributes to the identification of taphonomic processes that have taken place and to determine the representativeness of the botanical content in the deposit, in relation to the environment and pasture areas. Finally, the dung burning experiments conducted have provided data that will help to reveal the way manure was treated in prehistoric fold caves.MINECO project (CGL2012- 38434-C0303) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR900; 2014SGR899