Isotopic evidence of limited exchange between Mediterranean and eastern North Atlantic fin whales

RATIONALE The relationship between stocks of fin whales inhabiting the temperate eastern North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea is subject to controversy. The use of chemical markers facilitates an alternative insight into population structure and potential borders between stocks because the two areas present dissimilar isotopic baselines. METHODS Baleen plates, composed of inert tissue that keeps a permanent chronological record of the isotopic value of body circulating fluids, were used to investigate connectivity and boundaries between the stocks. Values were determined by continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry. RESULTS Stable isotopes confirm that, while the two subpopulations generally forage in well-differentiated grounds, some individuals with characteristic Atlantic values do penetrate into the Mediterranean Sea up to the northernmost latitudes of the region. As a consequence, the border between the two putative subpopulations may be not as definite as previous acoustic investigations suggested. The discriminant function obtained in this study may assist researchers to use baleen plate isotopic data to assign the origin of fin whales of uncertain provenance. CONCLUSIONS This study strengthens the stock subdivision currently accepted for management and conservation while recognizes a low level of exchange between the Mediterranean and temperate eastern North Atlantic subdivisions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewe

Analysis of isotopes of plutonium in water samples with a PSresin based on aliquat⋅336

There is a necessity to have techniques capable to perform rapid determinations of specific radionuclides with the aim to provide fast response in emergency situations where a large number of samples need to be measured in a short time. Plastic Scintillation Resins (PSresins) raises as an adequate tool to achieve this purpose and in the present study a methodology to determine plutonium using a PSresin based on Aliquat·336 was developed. Different sample treatments have been studied under acidic conditions with an emphasis on valence adjustment treatment to achieve an effective retention within the PSresin. Under 3 M nitric acid conditions and an iron sulphamate (II) + nitrite valence adjustment, quantitative retention and 100% detection efficiency were achieved. The retention of the different interferences evaluated (238U, 230Th, 241Am, 210Pb and 99Tc) was low and therefore they do not interfere significantly in the determination of plutonium, except for 99Tc. Finally, a stable tracer to calculate the PSresin separation yield was studied, revealing that gold is suitable for this purpose. This procedure was applied to the analysis of spiked sea and river water samples, obtaining errors lower than 10% in their quantification

Sensitivity of C-band backscatter to surface roughness parameters measured at different scales

SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) sensors measure the backscatter (sigma(0)) of land covers and SAR images have a number of applications in agricultural soils (soil moisture, crop monitoring, etc.) but the surface roughness of these soils complicates their interpretation and determination of quantitative estimates of useful parameters. The aim of this study is to quantify the spatial variability of different roughness parameters and the sensitivity of. 0 to them measured at different scales. Ten Envisat/ASAR images acquired between September 2004 and January 2005 on an agricultural area with 10 control plots are analyzed. 132 roughness profiles of 5 m length were measured, and 21 different parameters were calculated. The results show considerable differences in the spatial variability of the parameters and differed depending on the type of parameter in the correlation analysis. This study can be useful to identify roughness parameters and scales that maximize their sensitivity to C-band backscatter

Influence of surface roughness sample size for C-band SAR backscatter applications on agricultural soils

Soil surface roughness determines the backscatter coefficient observed by radar sensors. The objective of this letter was to determine the surface roughness sample size required in synthetic aperture radar applications and to provide some guidelines on roughness characterization in agricultural soils for these applications. With this aim, a data set consisting of ten ENVISAT/ASAR observations acquired coinciding with soil moisture and surface roughness surveys has been processed. The analysis consisted of: 1) assessing the accuracies of roughness parameters s and l depending on the number of 1-m-long profiles measured per field; 2) computing the correlation of field average roughness parameters with backscatter observations; and 3) evaluating the goodness of fit of three widely used backscatter models, i.e., integral equation model (IEM), geometrical optics model (GOM), and Oh model. The results obtained illustrate a different behavior of the two roughness parameters. A minimum of 10-15 profiles can be considered sufficient for an accurate determination of s, while 20 profiles might still be not enough for accurately estimating l. The correlation analysis revealed a clear sensitivity of backscatter to surface roughness. For sample sizes > 15 profiles, R values were as high as 0.6 for s and similar to 0.35 for l, while for smaller sample sizes R values dropped significantly. Similar results were obtained when applying the backscatter models, with enhanced model precision for larger sample sizes. However, IEM and GOM results were poorer than those obtained with the Oh model and more affected by lower sample sizes, probably due to larger uncertainly of l

PSresin for the analysis of alpha-emitting radionuclides: Comparison of diphosphonic acid-based extractants

The analysis of radionuclides is complex, with high economic and time costs. For this reason, there is a need to develop new methods and strategies to reduce these costs. One important group in the analysis of radionuclides is the actinides, which are the main constituents assessed in the total gross alpha together with radium and radon test used to measure radioactivity in drinking water. Moreover, in nuclear dismantling processes, the possible spread of the released radionuclides has to be controlled, which is measured by many techniques, depending on the radionuclides, through scintillation. This work presents a new method to analyse actinides using plastic scintillation resins (PSresins) packed in a solid-phase extraction cartridge. The proposed method combines chemical separation and sample measurement into a single step, reducing the effort, time and reagents required for analysis as well as decreasing the amount of waste generated. The PSresins compared in this study contained three selective extractants based on Methylenediphosphonic acid with different radicals, which has a high affinity for tri-, tetra-, and hexavalent actinides in dilute acids. These extractants were immobilised on plastic scintillation microspheres at a ratio of 1/1:6, producing a retention and detection efficiency of 100% for 241Am, 230Th, Uranium and 238Pu. The retention and detection efficiency were 20% and 100%, respectively, for 210Po and low for 226Ra

Application of the Overview, Design concepts and Details (ODD) : protocol to describe the DEMOCARE Agent Based Model

This work forms part of the R & D project "Who will I live with and who will take care of me?" (CSO2014-60113-R) co-directed by Daniel Devolder and Jeroen Spijker and financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Jeroen Spijker also receives funding under the "Ramón y Cajal" program (RYC-2013-14851) and Pilar Zueras under the "Juan de la Cierva" program (FJCI-2015-27107), financed by the same Ministry. Financial support was also received from the Catalan Government under the CERCA Program.In this working paper we apply the standard ODD (Overview, Design concepts and Details) Protocol to describe a social simulation model that we have called DEMOCARE. The DEMOCARE model is an example of integrating microsimulation of kinship with agent-based modelling (ABM) that has been developed to study the dynamics of the demand and supply of elderly (65+) care in Spain at the family level. Our research question is to determine the extent to which the request for assistance can be covered by the time that family members (spouse, children, brothers and sisters, step-children) that we reconstruct in the model have available, or If it is necessary to resort (partially or totally) to professionals from outside the family. The model considers demographic change by means of comparing five different Spanish generations with very different levels of fertility and mortality and uses observed data on the probability of being dependent, educational differences and labour force participation.En aquest document de treball s'utilitza el protocol estàndard ODD (Overview, Design concepts and Details) per descriure un model de simulació social que hem anomenat DEMOCARE. El model DEMOCARE és un exemple d'integració de la microsimulació del parentiu amb un model basat en agents (ABM) que s'ha creat per estudiar la dinàmica de la demanda i l'oferta dels serveis d'atenció prestats a persones dependents majors (65+), a Espanya, per persones de l'entorn familiar. La nostra pregunta d'investigació busca determinar la mesura en què la demanda d'assistència pot quedar satisfeta amb el temps disponible dels membres de la família (esposa, fills, germans, fillastres) que reconstruïm en el model, o bé si és necessari recórrer (parcialment o total) a professionals externs a la família. El model té en compte els canvis demogràfics, mitjançant la comparació de cinc generacions espanyoles diferents, amb nivells molt diversos de fecunditat i mortalitat, i utilitza dades observades per la probabilitat de ser dependent, les diferències en els nivells d'educació així com la relació amb l'activitat laboral.En este documento de trabajo se utiliza el protocolo estándar ODD (Overview, Design conceptos and Details) para describir un modelo de simulación social que hemos llamado DEMOCARE. El modelo DEMOCARE es un ejemplo de integración entre la microsimulación del parentesco y un modelo basado en agentes (ABM) que se ha creado para estudiar la dinámica de la demanda y la oferta de los servicios de atención prestada a personas dependientes mayores (65+), en España, por personas del entorno familiar. Nuestra pregunta de investigación busca determinar la manera en que la demanda de asistencia se puede satisfacer con el tiempo disponible de los miembros de la familia (esposa, hijos, hermanos, hijastros) que reconstruimos en el modelo, o bien si es necesario recurrir (parcial o totalmente) a profesionales externos a la familia. El modelo tiene en cuenta las tendencias sociodemográficas, mediante la comparación de cinco generaciones españolas diferentes, con niveles muy distintos de fecundidad y mortalidad, y utiliza datos observados para la probabilidad de ser dependiente, las diferencias en los niveles de educación así como la relación con la actividad laboral

Bayesian Methods for Exoplanet Science

Exoplanet research is carried out at the limits of the capabilities of current telescopes and instruments. The studied signals are weak, and often embedded in complex systematics from instrumental, telluric, and astrophysical sources. Combining repeated observations of periodic events, simultaneous observations with multiple telescopes, different observation techniques, and existing information from theory and prior research can help to disentangle the systematics from the planetary signals, and offers synergistic advantages over analysing observations separately. Bayesian inference provides a self-consistent statistical framework that addresses both the necessity for complex systematics models, and the need to combine prior information and heterogeneous observations. This chapter offers a brief introduction to Bayesian inference in the context of exoplanet research, with focus on time series analysis, and finishes with an overview of a set of freely available programming libraries.Comment: Invited revie

Impact of Inflammatory Response Modifiers on the Incidence of Hospital-Acquired Infections in Patients with COVID-19.

The study aim was to assess the influence of inflammatory response modifiers, including anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) biologics and corticosteroids, on the incidence of hospital-acquired infections in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Case-control study performed at a university hospital from February 26 to May 26, 2020. Cases were defined as patients with COVID-19 who developed hospital-acquired infections. For each case, two controls were selected among patients without infections. Cases and controls were matched obeying three criteria in a hierarchical sequence: length of hospital stay up until the first infection; comorbidity; and need for Intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association of exposures with being a case. RESULTS: A total of 71 cases and 142 controls were included. Independent predictors for acquiring a hospital infection were chronic liver disease [odds ratio (OR) 16.56, 95% CI 1.87-146.5, p = 0.012], morbid obesity (OR 6.11, 95% CI 1.06-35.4, p = 0.043), current or past smoking (OR 4.15, 95% CI 1.45-11.88, p = 0.008), exposure to hydroxychloroquine (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.041-1, p = 0.053), and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 61.5, 95% CI 11.08-341, p ≤ 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Inflammatory response modifiers had no influence on acquisition of nosocomial infections in admitted patients with COVID-19. Hospital-acquired infections primarily occurred in the critically ill and invasive mechanical ventilation was the main exposure conferring risk

Millora de l’aprenentatge a les assignatures pràctiques de Química Analítica mitjançant una planificació integral basada en l’avaluació continuada i nous instruments d’avaluació

Projecte: 2016PID-UB/014En aquest projecte s’ha treballat en la millora de l’aprenentatge de les classes pràctiques de laboratori de l’assignatura Química Analítica del Grau de Farmàcia. Aquesta assignatura és de primer curs, on el nombre anual d’estudiants implicats és molt gran, de l’ordre de 500, i les pràctiques de laboratori s’han de programar en grups reduïts, simultàniament al desenvolupament de les classes de teoria i seminaris. D’acord a la nostra experiència, el gran nombre de grups de classes pràctiques de laboratori, de professorat implicat i la varietat de coneixements teòrics previs dels estudiants comporta sovint poca homogeneïtat en l’aprenentatge i en l’assoliment de les diferents competències, així com en la seva posterior avaluació. A més, les pràctiques de laboratori es porten a terme en parelles i el programa inclou més de 30 experiències que es simultaniegen i s’avaluen de forma continuada amb l’objectiu de fomentar el desenvolupament de les competències transversals i específiques dels estudiants. Aquest projecte ha permès desenvolupar i implementar durant els cursos 2016-2017 i 2017-2018 una planificació integral innovadora de les pràctiques de laboratori basada en la coordinació de l’equip docent, en l’establiment d’itineraris de pràctiques tancats, en l’avaluació continuada i en la introducció de nous materials d’aprenentatge i instruments d’avaluació. Totes les innovacions desenvolupades es continuen aplicant a l’actualitat

Bacterial co-infection at hospital admission in patients with COVID-19

Objectives: We described the current incidence and risk factors of bacterial co-infection in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Methods: Observational cohort study was performed at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (February 2020-February 2021). All patients with COVID-19 who were admitted for >48 hours with microbiological sample collection and procalcitonin (PCT) determination within the first 48 hours were included. Results: A total of 1125 consecutive adults met inclusion criteria. Co-infections were microbiologically documented in 102 (9.1%) patients. Most frequent microorganisms were Streptococcus pneumoniae (79%), Staphylococcus aureus (6.8%), and Haemophilus influenzae (6.8%). Test positivity was 1% (8/803) for blood cultures, 10.1% (79/780) for pneumococcal urinary antigen test, and 11.4% (15/132) for sputum culture. Patients with PCT higher than 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2 ng/mL had significantly more co-infections than those with lower levels (p=0.017, p=0.031, p94%