Morfología Fluvial.-Una paradoja en la restauración de canteras de caliza en el área mediterránea: características físicas del sustrato como condicionante de la dinámica del sistema creado

ABSTRACT The restoration of opencast mining land looks for the quick integration in the landscape and the erosion control of derelict areas. The characteristics of substrate can determinate the behaviour of novel system. The stony substrates used have a great Ks and a very low water storage capacity. This paper presents the results of an experiment performed on stony mineral substrates amended with sewage sludge under Mediterranean climatic conditions in a limestone quarry in the SW of Barcelona (NE of Spain). The experiment was carried out at container scale and the aim was to evaluate the vegetation response in two substrates with different stoniness and with irrigation during dry period. Water content in the mineral substrate was monitored using vertical TDR probes during the experiment. The growth of introduced plants was monitored monthly. Throughout the experiment, populations of sown plants fluctuated according to the available water in the substrate. The irrigation applied was not sufficient to maintain the vegetation in summer (period of higher evaporative demand at that time of year). The volume of leachate was high and nitrates, sulfates and chlorides were washedRESUMEN La restauración de zonas afectadas por minería a cielo abierto busca una rápida integración en el paisaje y el control de la erosión de las zonas degradadas. Las características del sustrato pueden determinar el funcionamiento del nuevo sistema. Los substratos pedregosos que se usan tienen una elevada conductividad hidráulica y una baja reserva hídrica. En este documento se presentan los resultados de un experimento con substratos pedregosos corregidos con lodos de EDAR bajo condiciones mediterráneas en una cantera de caliza del SW de Barcelona (NE España). La experiencia se realizó en contenedores y el objetivo era evaluar la respuesta de la vegetación en 2 substratos de distinta pedregosidad y con riegos de soporte durante los periodos secos. El contenido de agua del substrato se controló en primavera-verano mediante sondas TDR verticales. El crecimiento de las ESPEcies introducidas se medía mensualmente. Se observa que las poblaciones de las especies sembradas fluctúan en función del agua disponible en el substrato. Los riegos aplicados fueron insuficientes para mantener la vegetación en verano (periodo con mayor demanda evaporativa). El volumen de lixiviados fue elevado y se lavaron nitratos, sulfatos y cloruros

External validation of IOTA simple descriptors and simple rules for classifying adnexal masses

Objective: To assess the diagnostic performance of a three-step strategy proposed by the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) Group for discriminating between benign and malignant adnexal masses. Methods: This was a prospective observational study, performed at two tertiary-care university hospitals, of women diagnosed with an adnexal mass on transvaginal or transabdominal ultrasound between December 2012 and December 2014. Women were scheduled for an ultrasound evaluation, which was initially performed by non-expert examiners. The examiner had to classify the mass using ‘simple descriptors’ (first step) and, if not possible, using ‘simple rules’ (second step). For inconclusive masses, an expert examiner classified the mass according to their subjective impression (third step). Masses were managed expectantly, with serial follow-up examinations, or surgically, according to ultrasound findings and clinical symptoms. Histology was used as the reference standard. Masses that were managed expectantly with at least 1 year of follow-up were considered as benign for analytical purposes. Women with less than 1 year of follow-up were not included in the study. Results: Six hundred and sixty-six women were included (median age, 41 (range, 18–81) years) of whom 514 were premenopausal and 152 were postmenopausal. Based on the three-step strategy, 362 women had surgical removal of the mass (53 malignant and 309 benign), 71 masses resolved spontaneously and 233 persisted. Four hundred and forty-eight (67.3%) of 666 masses could be classified using simple descriptors and, of the 218 that could not, 147 (67.4%) were classified using simple rules. Of the remaining 71 masses, the expert examiner classified 45 as benign, 12 as malignant and 14 as uncertain. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio of the three-step strategy were 94.3%, 94.9%, 18.6 and 0.06, respectively. Conclusion: The IOTA three-step strategy, based on the sequential use of simple descriptors, simple rules and expert evaluation, performs well for classifying adnexal masses as benign or malignant

La restauración ecológica aplicada a la minería a cielo abierto en Cataluña

En la minería a cielo abierto, la revegetación es el objetivo principal de las tareas de restauración ecológica y puede evaluarse desde diferentes enfoques. El aspecto paisajístico ha sido hasta la fecha el más ampliamente valorado y frecuentemente suele asimilarse a la presencia de vegetación que disminuye el impacto visual de estas zonas.La frase 'está verde' simboliza y resume todo un conjunto de prioridades y una primera etapa de implementación de la ley 12/1981 de la legislación catalana.De hecho, naturalizar los taludes resultantes del cese de la extracción de recursos minerales no es una tarea fácil. El tipo de vegetación obtenido difiere en muchos casos de la vegetación de los sistemas natural es del entorno y genera una disfunción en el contexto paisajístico y ecológico [...]

Clinical and ultrasound features of benign, borderline, and malignant invasive mucinous ovarian tumors

Objective: To compare clinical and sonographic features of benign, borderline, and malignant invasive mucinous ovarian tumors (MOTs). Materials and Methods: Retrospective observational multicenter study comprising 365 women (mean age: 46.1 years) with a histologically confirmed benign, borderline or malignant invasive MOT. Clinical data (patient's age, patient's complaints), tumor markers (CA-125 and CA-19.9), and sonographic data (tumor size, bilaterality, morphology -unilocular, multilocular, unilocular-solid, multilocular- solid and solid-, and IOTA color score) were reviewed and compared among these three groups. Women with ultrasound evidence on intra-abdominal disease spread were excluded. Results: Three hundred seventy-eight MOTs (14 women had bilateral lesions) were analyzed. Histologically, 287 tumors were benign, 51 were borderline, and 40 were malignant. No difference in patient's mean age was observed. Women with borderline or invasive tumors were less frequently asymptomatic. Tumors were larger in case of invasive lesions. Borderline and invasive tumors showed solid components and exhibited IOTA color score 3 or 4, more frequently than benign lesions (p < 0.001). However, the authors discovered that 16 out of 51 (31.4%) of borderline tumors and six out of 40 (15.0%) of invasive cancers had no solid components and a color score 1 or 2, and were considered as a benign lesion by the sonologist. On the other hand, 96 out of 287 (33.4%) benign mucinous cystadenoma exhibited solid components and/or a color score of 3 or 4. Conclusions: In spite of statistical differences, the authors observed significant overlapping in ultrasound features among benign, borderline, and invasive ovarian mucinous tumors that renders a difficult accurate preoperative discrimination among these lesions

IOTA simple rules for discriminating between benign and malignant adnexal masses: prospective external validation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic performance of International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) 'simple' rules for discriminating between benign and malignant adnexal masses. METHODS: A prospective study was performed between January 2011 and June 2012. Eligible patients were women diagnosed with a persistent adnexal mass who presented to the participating centers. Four trainees evaluated the adnexal mass by transvaginal ultrasound under the supervision of an expert examiner. The trainee analyzed the mass according to IOTA simple rules and provided a diagnosis of benign, malignant or inconclusive. All women included in the study underwent surgery and tumor removal in the center of recruitment. Diagnostic performance was assessed by calculating sensitivity, specificity and positive (LR+) and negative (LR-) likelihood ratios. RESULTS: A total of 340 women were included (mean patient age, 42.1 (range, 13-79) years). Of the tumors, 55 (16.2%) were malignant and 285 (83.8%) were benign. The IOTA simple rules could be applied in 270 (79.4%) cases. In these cases, sensitivity was 87.9% (95% CI, 72.4-95.2), specificity 97.5% (95% CI, 94.6-98.8), LR+ 34.7 (95% CI, 15.6-77.3) and LR- 0.12 (95% CI, 0.05-0.31). CONCLUSIONS: Application of the IOTA simple rules yielded acceptable results in terms of specificity in the hands of non-expert examiners. However, with non-expert examiners there was a 12% false-negative rate, which is relatively hig