The chalcolithic “pit field” of Fuente Celada (Burgos): preliminary data and perspectives

Se presentan los resultados de la excavación de un yacimiento del tipo “campo de hoyos”, en su mayoría calcolíticos precampaniformes con una pequeña zona de ocupación anterior durante el Neolítico. Destaca la presencia de varias inhumaciones humanas en alguno de los hoyos y de restos asociados al hábitat (manteados de barro y elementos de molienda) en una zona, donde debió de estar situado un pequeño poblado de cabañas cuyos restos han desaparecido al estar estratigráficamente colocados en superficie. Todo ello apunta a una estructura de aprovechamiento económico de tipo estable, con inversión a largo plazo en los medios de producción, al contrario de las hipótesis que postulan una economía itinerante durante este período de la prehistoria de la submeseta norte españolaThe results are presented of the archaeological excavation of a ‘Pit Field’ site in the Northern Spanish Plateau. While a small part of the site was occupied during the Neolithic, most of the pits belong chronologically and culturally to the “Pre-Bell Beaker” Chalcolitith period. A few human graves were recovered inside the pits, together with indications of a settlement area (mud fragments used in the huts and stone mortars) whose remains have disappeared due to postdepositional disturbance. The evidence seems to support recent hypothesis claiming a sedentary exploitation of the milieu, with long-term economic investment on the nearby landscape, in opposition to traditional interpretations describing the prehistoric economy of the area as fundamentally mobile

Tailorable synthesis of highly oxidized graphene oxides via an environmentally friendly electrochemical process

Graphene oxide (GO) is an attractive alternative to graphene for many applications due to its captivating optical, chemical, and electrical characteristics. In this work, GO powders with a different amount of surface groups were synthesized from graphite via an electrochemical two-stage process. Many synthesis conditions were tried to maximize the oxidation level, and comprehensive characterization of the resulting samples was carried out via elemental analysis, microscopies (TEM, SEM, AFM), X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies as well as electrical resistance measurements. SEM and TEM images corroborate that the electrochemical process used herein preserves the integrity of the graphene flakes, enabling to obtain large, uniform and well exfoliated GO sheets. The GOs display a wide range of C/O ratios, determined by the voltage and time of each stage as well as the electrolyte concentration, and an unprecedented minimum C/O value was obtained for the optimal conditions. FT-IR evidences strong intermolecular interactions between neighbouring oxygenated groups. The intensity ratio of D/G bands in the Raman spectra is high for samples prepared using concentrated H2SO4 as an electrolyte, indicative of many defects. Furthermore, these GOs exhibit smaller interlayer spacing than that expected according to their oxygen content, which suggests predominant oxidation on the flake edges. Results point out that the electrical resistance is conditioned mostly by the interlayer distance and not simply by the C/O ratio. The tuning of the oxidation level is useful for the design of GOs with tailorable structural, electrical, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidade

Impact of recovery correction or subjecting calibrators to sample preparation on measurement uncertainty: PAH determinations in waters

The decision on the fitness of a measurement for its intended use and the interpretation of an analytical result requires the assessment of the measurement uncertainty. Frequently, the determination of analytes in complex matrices involves demanding sample preparations in which analyte losses are observed. These losses should be considered when reporting the results, which can be corrected for low recovery by taking the mean recovery observed in the analysis of reference items (e.g. spiked samples) or, alternatively, by subjecting calibrators to the same pre-treatment performed on the samples. In these cases, neat (NC) or adjusted (AC) calibrators are used, respectively. The way analyte losses are handled impacts on the measurement uncertainty. The top-down evaluation of the measurement uncertainty involves combining precision, trueness and additional uncertainty components. The trueness component is quantified by pooling various analyte recovery determinations. This work assesses and compares the uncertainty of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) measurements in water based on HPLC-FD calibrations with NC or AC. The trueness component is estimated by pooling mean recoveries observed from the analysis of different spiked samples to which mean recovery uncertainty and degrees of freedom are used to estimate a weighted mean recovery and respective uncertainty. The performance of measurements based on NC and AC are associated with equivalent uncertainty except when large analyte losses are observed, namely in the determination of Naphtalene. In this case, the processing of AC reduces the expanded relative uncertainty from 9.9% to 3.5%. The evaluated expanded uncertainty ranged from 3.5% to 12% of the measured value.Ministerio de Economía y CompetitividadBanco SantanderFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologí

Herramientas Software para Enseñanzas Relacionadas con la Energía Solar Fotovoltaica

[EN] This paper describes different simulation tools developed in the Universidad de Alcalá in order to teach photovoltaic energy engineering. A web application is compared to other tools, such as spreadsheets and applications in Matlab environment, developed by the authors. In all the cases, the tools are focused on learning project engineering.[ES] En este trabajo, se describen diferentes herramientas de simulación empleadas en asignaturas de la Universidad de Alcalá para la enseñanza de la energía solar fotovoltaica. Se compara el uso de una aplicación web con otras herramientas como hojas de cálculo y aplicaciones en entorno Matlab. Todas las herramientas descritas han sido desarrolladas por los autores, haciendo especial énfasis en su enfoque didáctico, sin por ello perder todo el rigor y la funcionalidad necesarios en este tipo de simuladores.Peña Capilla, R.; García Díaz, M.; Alén Cordero, C.; Díaz Villar, P.; Mallol Poyato, R.; Díez-Pascual, A. (2017). Herramientas Software para Enseñanzas Relacionadas con la Energía Solar Fotovoltaica. En In-Red 2017. III Congreso Nacional de innovación educativa y de docencia en red. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1311-1321. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2017.2017.6862OCS1311132

Spanish National Hip Fracture Registry (RNFC) : First-year results and comparison with other registries and prospective multi-centric studies from Spain

Fundamentos: El Registro Nacional de Fracturas de Cadera (RNFC) es un registro español multicéntrico, prospectivo y continuo, que comenzó en 2017. El objetivo de este artículo fue presentar los datos del primer informe anual y compararlos con los registros autonómicos y los estudios multicéntricos realizados recientemente en España. Métodos: Se incluyeron las personas de 75 años o más atendidas con el diagnóstico de fractura de cadera por fragilidad en alguno de los hospitales participantes en el RNFC, entre enero y octubre de 2017. En el análisis estadístico se utilizó la media y desviación estándar o mediana y rangos intercuartílicos para las variables numéricas y los porcentajes para las variables categóricas. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo global de la casuística y se comparó con los datos disponibles de los estudios previos mencionados. Resultados: Se registraron 7.208 personas de 54 hospitales, con una edad media de 86,7 años (DE 5,6). El 75,4% fueron mujeres y el 36,4% presentaron deterioro cognitivo previo. La demora quirúrgica media fue de 75,7 horas (DE 63,6) y la estancia media fue de 10,9 días (DE 6,7). De las personas que vivían en un domicilio antes de la fractura (75,4%), menos de la mitad (37,0%) volvieron a él tras el alta hospitalaria. Al mes, había fallecido el 7,1%. La comparación con los otros estudios mostró algunas diferencias importantes, sobre todo en la ubicación previa, en el porcentaje de pacientes institucionalizados de novo (7,7-29,4%) y en el porcentaje con tratamiento antiosteoporótico al alta (14,5-36,7%). Conclusiones: El RNFC es la mayor base de datos prospectiva que aporta datos sobre el perfil de los pacientes hospitalizados por fractura de cadera en España. La comparación con otros estudios recientes muestra algunas diferencias importantes.OBJECTIVE: The Spanish National Hip Fracture Registry (Registro Nacional de Fracturas de Cadera or RNFC) is a Spanish, prospective, multi- centric registry, commenced in 2017. The goal of this paper is to present the data from the first annual report and to compare them with autonomic registries and recent prospective multi-centric studies performed in Spain. METHODS: We included persons 75 years or older treated for fragility hip fractures in any of the centers participating in the RNFC between January and October 2017. The descriptive statistics of each variable used the mean (and standard deviation) or the median (and interquartile ranges) for the ordinal variables and the percentage for the categoric variables. A descriptive analysis of the casemix was performed and compared with available data from the aforementioned studies. RESULTS: The RNFC included 7.208 patients from 54 hospitals, with a mean age of 86.7 (SD 5.6) years; 75.4% were women, and 36.4% showed cognitive decline. Mean surgical delay was 75.7 (SD 63.6) hours, and length of stay averaged 10.9 (SD 6.7) days. Of the patients who lived at home (75.4%), less than half (37.0%) returned home at discharge. One-month mortality was 7.1%. Comparison with other studies showed important differences, especially regarding patients newly sent to nursing homes (7.7-29.4%) and with antiosteoporotic treatment at discharge (14.5-36.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The RNFC is the largest prospective database to date that offers data regarding the characteristics of patients hospitalized for hip fractures in Spain. Comparison with recent studies showed some important differences

Registro Nacional de Fracturas de Cadera (RNFC): Resultados del primer año y comparación con otros registros y estudios multicéntricos españoles

Background: The Spanish National Hip Fracture Registry (Registro Nacional de Fracturas de Cadera or RNFC) is a Spanish, prospective, multi- centric registry, commenced in 2017. The goal of this paper is to present the data from the first annual report and to compare them with autonomic registries and recent prospective multi-centric studies performed in Spain. Methods: We included persons 75 years of age or older treated for fragility hip fractures in any of the centers participating in the RNFC between January and October 2017. The descriptive statistics of each variable used the mean (and standard deviation) or the median (and interquartile ranges) for the ordinal variables and the percentage for the categoric variables. A descriptive analysis of the casemix was performed and compared with available data from the aforementioned studies. Results: The RNFC included 7.208 patients from 54 hospitals, with a mean age of 86.7 (SD 5.6) years; 75.4% were women, and 36.4% showed cognitive decline. Mean surgical delay was 75.7 (SD 63.6) hours, and length of stay averaged 10.9 (SD 6.7) days. Of the patients who lived at home (75.4%), less than half (37.0%) returned home at discharge. One-month mortality was 7.1%. Comparison with other studies showed important differences, especially regarding patients newly sent to nursing homes (7.7-29.4%) and with antiosteoporotic treatment at discharge (14.5-36.7%). Conclusions: The RNFC is the largest prospective database to date that offers data regarding the characteristics of patients hospitalized for hip fractures in Spain. Comparison with recent studies showed some important differencesFundamentos: El Registro Nacional de Fracturas de Cadera (RNFC) es un registro español multicéntrico, prospectivo y continuo, que comenzó en 2017. El objetivo de este artículo fue presentar los datos del primer informe anual y compararlos con los registros autonómicos y los estudios multicéntricos realizados recientemente en España. Métodos: Se incluyeron las personas de 75 años o más atendidas con el diagnóstico de fractura de cadera por fragilidad en alguno de los hospitales participantes en el RNFC, entre enero y octubre de 2017. En el análisis estadístico se utilizó la media y desviación estándar o mediana y rangos intercuartílicos para las variables numéricas y los porcentajes para las variables categóricas. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo global de la casuística y se comparó con los datos disponibles de los estudios previos mencionados. Resultados: Se registraron 7.208 personas de 54 hospitales, con una edad media de 86,7 años (DE 5,6). El 75,4% fueron mujeres y el 36,4% presentaron deterioro cognitivo previo. La demora quirúrgica media fue de 75,7 horas (DE 63,6) y la estancia media fue de 10,9 días (DE 6,7). De las personas que vivían en un domicilio antes de la fractura (75,4%), menos de la mitad (37,0%) volvieron a él tras el alta hospitalaria. Al mes, había fallecido el 7,1%. La comparación con los otros estudios mostró algunas diferencias importantes, sobre todo en la ubicación previa, en el porcentaje de pacientes institucionalizados de novo (7,7-29,4%) y en el porcentaje con tratamiento antiosteoporótico al alta (14,5-36,7%). Conclusiones: El RNFC es la mayor base de datos prospectiva que aporta datos sobre el perfil de los pacientes hospitalizados por fractura de cadera en España. La comparación con otros estudios recientes muestra algunas diferencias importantesThe RNFC has been financed through donations by AMGEN SA, UCB Pharma, Abbott Laboratories and FAES Farma, as well as a Research Grant from the Fundación Mutua Madrileña (AP169672018)

COVID-19 Severity and Survival over Time in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies: A Population-Based Registry Study

Mortality rates for COVID-19 have declined over time in the general population, but data in patients with hematologic malignancies are contradictory. We identified independent prognostic factors for COVID-19 severity and survival in unvaccinated patients with hematologic malignancies, compared mortality rates over time and versus non-cancer inpatients, and investigated post COVID-19 condition. Data were analyzed from 1166 consecutive, eligible patients with hematologic malignancies from the population-based HEMATO-MADRID registry, Spain, with COVID-19 prior to vaccination roll-out, stratified into early (February–June 2020; n = 769 (66%)) and later (July 2020–February 2021; n = 397 (34%)) cohorts. Propensity-score matched non-cancer patients were identified from the SEMI-COVID registry. A lower proportion of patients were hospitalized in the later waves (54.2%) compared to the earlier (88.6%), OR 0.15, 95%CI 0.11–0.20. The proportion of hospitalized patients admitted to the ICU was higher in the later cohort (103/215, 47.9%) compared with the early cohort (170/681, 25.0%, 2.77; 2.01–3.82). The reduced 30-day mortality between early and later cohorts of non-cancer inpatients (29.6% vs. 12.6%, OR 0.34; 0.22–0.53) was not paralleled in inpatients with hematologic malignancies (32.3% vs. 34.8%, OR 1.12; 0.81–1.5). Among evaluable patients, 27.3% had post COVID-19 condition. These findings will help inform evidence-based preventive and therapeutic strategies for patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19 diagnosis.Depto. de MedicinaFac. de MedicinaTRUEFundación Madrileña de Hematología y HemoterapiaFundación Leucemia y LinfomaAsociación Madrileña de Hematología y Hemoterapiapu

Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy:Study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)

This study was funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias ISCIII (Grant Numbers PI15/00276, PI15/00572, PI15/00996), REDISSEC (Project Numbers RD12/0001/0012, RD16/0001/0005), and the European Regional Development Fund ("A way to build Europe").Background: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of partly preventable adverse effects, including mortality. The Ariadne principles describe a model of care based on a thorough assessment of diseases, treatments (and potential interactions), clinical status, context and preferences of patients with multimorbidity, with the aim of prioritizing and sharing realistic treatment goals that guide an individualized management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention that implements the Ariadne principles in a population of young-old patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy. The intervention seeks to improve the appropriateness of prescribing in primary care (PC), as measured by the medication appropriateness index (MAI) score at 6 and 12months, as compared with usual care. Methods/Design: Design:pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial. Unit of randomization: family physician (FP). Unit of analysis: patient. Scope: PC health centres in three autonomous communities: Aragon, Madrid, and Andalusia (Spain). Population: patients aged 65-74years with multimorbidity (≥3 chronic diseases) and polypharmacy (≥5 drugs prescribed in ≥3months). Sample size: n=400 (200 per study arm). Intervention: complex intervention based on the implementation of the Ariadne principles with two components: (1) FP training and (2) FP-patient interview. Outcomes: MAI score, health services use, quality of life (Euroqol 5D-5L), pharmacotherapy and adherence to treatment (Morisky-Green, Haynes-Sackett), and clinical and socio-demographic variables. Statistical analysis: primary outcome is the difference in MAI score between T0 and T1 and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Adjustment for confounding factors will be performed by multilevel analysis. All analyses will be carried out in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: It is essential to provide evidence concerning interventions on PC patients with polypharmacy and multimorbidity, conducted in the context of routine clinical practice, and involving young-old patients with significant potential for preventing negative health outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02866799Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Universidad, género, docencia e igualdad

La Red de investigación en docencia universitaria “Universidad, docencia, genero e igualdad” persigue avanzar en la calidad e innovación de las enseñanzas universitarias a partir de la inclusión de la perspectiva de género. Se busca dar cumplimiento a las directrices generales de los nuevos planes de estudio respecto del principio de igualdad de oportunidades entre hombres y mujeres en la formación universitaria (Real Decreto 1393/2007. BOE nº 260, 30 de octubre de 2007). En la cuarta edición de la Red, y dada su composición multidisciplinar, se desarrollaron tres líneas de investigación: 1) mantenimiento del “Portal web con recursos docentes con perspectiva de género”, proyecto financiado por el Instituto de la Mujer (PACUI, 2012) e iniciado en el curso 2012-2013; 2) desarrollo (primera versión) de “iLengUA”, una herramienta informática para un discurso inclusivo e igualitario; y 3) diseño de la Guía para una orientación universitaria inclusiva

Erythropoietin levels are not independently associated with malaria-attributable severe disease in Mozambican children.

BACKGROUND: Severe malaria is difficult to differentiate from other forms of malaria or other infections with similar symptoms. Any parameter associated to malaria-attributable severe disease could help to improve severe malaria diagnosis. METHODOLOGY: This study assessed the relation between erythropoietin (EPO) and malaria-attributable severe disease in an area of Mozambique with moderate malaria transmission. 211 children <5 years, recruited at Manhiça District Hospital or in the surrounding villages, were included in one of the following groups: severe malaria (SM, n = 44), hospital malaria without severity (HM, n = 49), uncomplicated malaria (UM, n = 47), invasive bacterial infection without malaria parasites (IBI, n = 39) and healthy community controls (C, n = 32). Malaria was diagnosed by microscopy and IBI by blood/cerebrospinal fluid culture. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Mean EPO concentration in the control group was 20.95 U/l (SD = 2.96 U/l). Values in this group were lower when compared to each of the clinical groups (p = 0.026 C versus UM, p<0.001 C vs HM, p<0.001 C vs SM and p<0.001 C vs IBI). In the 3 malaria groups, values increased with severity [mean = 40.82 U/l (SD = 4.07 U/l), 125.91 U/l (SD = 4.99U/l) and 320.87 U/l (SD = 5.91U/l) for UM, HM and SM, respectively, p<0.001]. The IBI group [mean = 101.75 U/l (SD = 4.12 U/l)] presented lower values than the SM one (p = 0.002). In spite of the differences, values overlapped between study groups and EPO levels were only associated to hemoglobin. Hemoglobin means of the clinical groups were 93.98 g/dl (SD = 14.77 g/dl) for UM, 75.96 g/dl (SD = 16.48 g/dl) for HM, 64.34 g/dl (SD = 22.99 g/dl) for SM and 75.67 g/dl (SD = 16.58 g/dl) for IBI. CONCLUSIONS: Although EPO levels increase according to malaria severity and are higher in severe malaria than in bacteremia, the utility of EPO to distinguish malaria-attributable severe disease is limited due to the overlap of values between the study groups and the main role of hemoglobin in the expression of EPO