Trophic role of small cetaceans and seals in Irish waters

Understanding the role of marine mammals in specific ecosystems and their interactions with fisheries involves, inter alia, an understanding of their diet and dietary requirements. In this thesis, the foraging ecology of seven marine mammal species that regularly occur in Irish waters was investigated by reconstructing diet using hard parts from digestive tracts and scats. Of the species examined, two (striped and Atlantic white-sided dolphin) can be considered offshore species or species inhabiting neritic waters, while five others usually inhabit more coastal areas (white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise, harbour seal and grey seal); the last species studied was the bottlenose dolphin whose population structure is more complex, with coastal and offshore populations. A total of 13,028 prey items from at least 81 different species (62 fish species, 14 cephalopods, four crustaceans, and a tunicate) were identified. 28% of the fish species were identified using bones other than otoliths, highlighting the importance of using all identifiable structures to reconstruct diet. Individually, each species of marine mammal presented a high diversity of prey taxa, but the locally abundant Trisopterus spp. were found to be the most important prey item for all species, indicating that Trisopterus spp. is probably a key species in understanding the role of these predators in Irish waters. In the coastal marine mammals, other Gadiformes species (haddock, pollack, saithe, whiting) also contributed substantially to the diet; in contrast, in pelagic or less coastal marine mammals, prey was largely comprised of planktivorous fish, such as Atlantic mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting, and mesopelagic prey. Striped dolphins and Atlantic white-sided dolphins are offshore small cetaceans foraging in neritic waters. Differences between the diet of striped dolphins collected in drift nets targeting tuna and stranded on Irish coasts showed a complex foraging behaviour; the diet information shows that although this dolphin forages mainly in oceanic waters it may occasionally forage on the continental shelf, feeding on available prey. The Atlantic white-sided dolphin diet showed that this species prefers to feed over the continental edge, where planktivorous fish are abundant. Some resource partitioning was found in bottlenose dolphins in Irish waters consistent with previous genetic and stable isotope analysis studies. Bottlenose dolphins in Irish waters appears to be generalist feeders consuming more than 30 prey species, however most of the diet comprised a few locally abundant species, especially gadoid fish including haddock/pollack/saithe group and Trisopterus spp., but the contribution of Atlantic hake, conger eels and the pelagic planktivorous horse mackerel were also important. Stomach content information suggests that three different feeding behaviours might occur in bottlenose dolphin populations in Irish waters; firstly a coastal behaviour, with animals feeding on prey that mainly inhabit areas close to the coast; secondly an offshore behaviour where dolphins feed on offshore species such as squid or mesopelagic fish; and a third more complex behaviour that involves movements over the continental shelf and close to the shelf edge. The other three coastal marine mammal species (harbour porpoise, harbour seal and grey seal) were found to be feeding on similar prey and competition for food resources among these sympatric species might occur. Both species of seals were found to have a high overlap (more than 80%) in their diet composition, but while grey seals feed on large fish (>110mm), harbour seals feed mostly on smaller fish (<110mm), suggesting some spatial segregation in foraging. Harbour porpoises and grey seals are potentially competing for the same food resource but some differences in prey species were found and some habitat partitioning might occur. Direct interaction (by catch) between dolphins and fisheries was detected in all species. Most of the prey found in the stomach contents from both stranded and by catch dolphins were smaller sizes than those targeted by commercial fisheries. In fact, the total annual food consumption of the species studied was found to be very small (225,160 tonnes) in comparison to fishery landings for the same area (~2 million tonnes). However, marine mammal species might be indirectly interacting with fisheries, removing forage fish. Incorporating the dietary information obtained from the four coastal species, an ECOPATH food web model was established for the Irish Sea, based on data from 2004. Five trophic levels were found, with bottlenose dolphins and grey and harbour seals occurring at the highest trophic level. A comparison with a previous model based on 1973 data suggests that while the overall Irish Sea ecosystem appears to be “maturing”, some indices indicate that the 2004 fishery was less efficient and was targeting fish at higher trophic levels than in 1973, which is reflected in the mean trophic level of the catch. Depletion or substantial decrease of some of the Irish Sea fish stocks has resulted in a significant decline in landings in this area. The integration of diet information in mass-balance models to construct ecosystem food-webs will help to understand the trophic role of these apex predators within the ecosystem

Evaluación de riesgos tecnológicos inducidos en el sector medio de la cuenca hidrográfica del río Guamá

The present work constitutes a modest contribution to the knowledge of the evaluation of the technological risks induced in the half sector of the basin hidrográfica of the river Guamá, what will help in great measure to determine the main technological watering before Spills of hydrocarbons, Explosions, Fires of big proportions, and Rupture of works hydraulics caused by the different natural dangers. A group of facilities was selected that they store for the quantity and type of dangerous chemical substances that use, or they process, they constitute a source of danger for the basin, with the objective of evaluating the environmental impact of the dangers, vulnerability and induced technological risks. For such a purpose methods like the individual interview were used that allowed the forms application to directive of the facilities, with a structured guide and that of observation for the whole rising of the information of the facilities located in the half sector of the basin. The main results were based on the identification from the prone sectors to be affected by phenomenon's that generate technological risks, as well as you includes a detailed study of the vulnerability, being created the bases to carry out a good environmental handling in the study area, this will allow to make a dear one from the material losses and affectation to the population and to carry out a correct planning of the resources of the territory in the event of natural or technological disasters.El presente trabajo constituye un modesto aporte al conocimiento de la evaluación de los riesgos tecnológicos inducidos en el sector medio de la cuenca hidrográfica del río Guamá, lo que ayudará en gran medida a determinar los principales riegos tecnológicos ante derrames de hidrocarburos, explosiones, incendios de grandes proporciones, y ruptura de obras hidráulicas ocasionadas por los diferentes peligros naturales. Se seleccionaron seis instalaciones que por la cantidad y tipo de sustancias químicas peligrosas que usan, almacenan o procesan, constituyen una fuente de peligro para la cuenca, con el objetivo de evaluar el impacto ambiental de los peligros, vulnerabilidad y riesgos tecnológicos inducidos. Para tal propósito se utilizaron métodos como la entrevista individual que permitió la aplicación de encuestas a directivos de las instalaciones, con una guía estructurada y el de observación para todo el levantamiento de la información de las instalaciones enclavadas en el sector medio de la cuenca. Los principales resultados estuvieron basados en la identificación de los sectores más propensos a ser afectados por fenómenos que generan riesgos tecnológicos, así como se incluyo un estudio detallado de la vulnerabilidad, creándose las bases para realizar un buen manejo ambiental en el área de estudio, esto permitirá hacer un estimado de las pérdidas materiales y afectación a la población y realizar una correcta planificación de los recursos del territorio en caso de desastres naturales o tecnológicos

Pneumonias in the elderly patient. Risk factors and poor prognosis

Introducción: la neumonía, denominada por Sir William Osler “el capitán de las huestes de la muerte de los hombres”, representa uno de los principales problemas sanitarios en el planeta. Tanto la incidencia como la tasa de mortalidad se incrementan con la edad porque en el paciente geriátrico existen enfermedades que aumentan el riesgo de padecer neumonía. Además, por las propias condiciones de salud y senescencia inmune, las probabilidades de fallecer por esta causa son muy altas.Objetivo: estudiar las principales características de la neumonía en el anciano y principalmente los factores de riesgo aumentado de padecerla.Métodos: se realizó una investigación cuantitativa-cualitativa de carácter prospectivo en 950 pacientes con 60 años o más con diagnóstico de neumonía adquirida en la comunidad ingresados en el Hospital “Arnaldo Milián Castro”, de la Provincia de Villa Clara, desde enero de 2016 hasta diciembre de 2018 con el objetivo de determinar los factores de riesgo de neumonía adquirida en la comunidad en el anciano.Resultados: las manifestaciones clínicas más frecuentes fueron: fiebre, tos, decaimiento, taquipnea y taquicardia, en diversas combinaciones. El tabaquismo, la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica, el asma bronquial, la insuficiencia cardíaca, la diabetes mellitus y el alcoholismo constituyeron factores de riesgo. La edad fue un factor pronóstico independiente asociado a una mayor mortalidad, a una mayor estancia hospitalaria y a un mayor tiempo de recuperación.Conclusiones: los factores de riesgo más frecuentemente encontrados fueron: tabaquismo, alcoholismo, enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica, cáncer, diabetes mellitus e insuficiencia cardíaca.Introduction: pneumonia, named by Sir William Osler “the captain of the hosts of men's death”, represents one of the main health problems in the world. Both the incidence and the mortality rate increase with age because in the geriatric patient there are diseases that increase the risk of pneumonia. In addition, due to their own health conditions and immune senescence, the probability of dying from this cause is very high.Objective: to study the main characteristics of pneumonia in the elderly and mainly the increased risk factors for developing it.Methods: a prospective quantitative-qualitative research was carried out in 950 patients aged 60 years or older with a diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia admitted to the “Arnaldo Milián Castro” Hospital, in Villa Clara Province, from January 2016 to December 2018 with the aim of determining the risk factors of community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly.Results: the most frequent clinical manifestations were: fever, cough, decay, tachypnea and tachycardia, in various combinations. Smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, heart failure, diabetes mellitus and alcoholism were risk factors. Age was an independent prognostic factor associated with higher mortality, longer hospital stay and longer recovery time.Conclusions: the most frequently found risk factors were smoking, alcoholism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus and heart failure

Chylous ascites: Report of two cases

La presencia de linfa de origen torácico o intestinal en la cavidad abdominal se define como ascitis quilosa, una enfermedad infrecuente, generalmente asociada a otra enfermedad de diagnóstico difícil en la que el tratamiento, comúnmente, no consigue buenos resultados. El aporte de este trabajo es presentar dos pacientes del sexo femenino en las que se diagnosticó ascitis quilosa en la Sala de Medicina D del Hospital “Arnaldo Milián Castro” y realizar una revisión de la fisiopatología, la presentación clínica, las etiologías y el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de esta enfermedad. Se resumieron los datos clínicos y evolutivos de las dos pacientes, que no presentaban antecedente traumático, infeccioso, neoplásico o quirúrgico que pudiera ser responsable de la ascitis quilosa. El diagnóstico fue hecho por el aspecto del líquido obtenido por paracentesis y por su estudio citoquímico, con un contenido de triglicéridos por encima de 200mg/dl en ambos casos. La causa de la ascitis quilosa fue la cirrosis hepática en una de las pacientes y el cáncer de útero con invasión linfática en la segunda. Ambas pacientes fallecieron; la primera a causa de peritonitis bacteriana y disfunción y fallo de múltiples órganos y la segunda por desnutrición, peritonitis e infiltración del epiplón por carcinoma adenoescamoso de endometrio, infiltrante en el miometrio.The presence of lymph of thoracic or intestinal origin in the abdominal cavity is defined as chylous ascites, an infrequent disease, usually associated with another disease of difficult diagnosis in which the treatment, commonly, does not achieve good results. The contribution of this work is to report the cases of two female patients in whom chylous ascites was diagnosed at the D Medicine Ward of the Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital, and to carry out a review of the physiopathology, clinical presentation, etiologies, diagnosis and treatment of this disease. The clinical and evolutionary data of the two patients were summarized. They did not present a traumatic, infectious, neoplastic or surgical history that could account for chylous ascites. The diagnosis was made by the appearance of the liquid, which was obtained by paracentesis and by its cytochemical study, with triglyceride content above 200mg/dl in both cases. The cause of chylous ascites was liver cirrhosis in one of the patients and cancer of the uterus with lymphatic invasion in the second. Both patients died; the former due to bacterial peritonitis and dysfunction and failure of multiple organs, and the latter due to malnutrition, peritonitis and infiltration of the omentum due to adenosquamous carcinoma of the endometrium infiltrating the myometrium

Sepsis urinaria nosocomial relacionada con la sonda uretral en cuidados intensivos

The result of a cross-sectional descriptive study, which included in a prospective form 409 patients admitted in the intensive care unit of the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial University Hospital during the period from June 1st 2004 to May 31st 2005, are presented. The urinary tract infections related to the use of urethral catheters were studied with the aim of determining their incidence and the most prevalent microorganisms, and establishing a sequential comparison for similar studies in the future. A total of 409 patients were studied; 304 (74%) had a urethral catheter and seven (2.3%) suffered from a urinary tract infection. The accumulated incidence was 2.3 per every 100 risk patients hospitalized for more than 24 hours, and the density of incidence was 4.6 per every 1.000 days. The isolated germs were: Pseudomonas (42.8%), and Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Proteus y Escherichia coli each one in a case respectively.Se presentan los resultados de un estudio descriptivo de diseño transversal en el que se incluyeron, de forma prospectiva, 409 pacientes ingresados en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital Provincial Universitario “Arnaldo Milián Castro” desde el 1ro de junio de 2004 hasta el 31 de mayo de 2005. Se estudiaron las infecciones urinarias relacionadas con la sonda uretral con el objetivo de conocer su incidencia, los microorganismos más prevalentes y establecer una comparación secuencial en estudios similares en años futuros. Estudiamos 409 pacientes, de ellos 304 (74.3%) tuvieron sonda uretral y siete (2.3%) tuvieron infección urinaria; la incidencia acumulada fue de 2.3 por cada 100 pacientes en riesgo ingresados por más de 24 horas y la densidad de incidencia de 4.6 por cada 1.000 días; los gérmenes aislados fueron: Pseudomona (42.8%) y Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Proteus y Escherichia coli en un caso respectivamente

Patrones de sensibilidad-resistencia de patógenos endémicos en la unidad de cuidados intensivos

Infections in critically ill patients admitted to Intensive Care Services have special characteristics that justify the use of antibiotics in a different way from other hospitalized patients. Therefore, a set of rules and strategies and the continuous updating of microbial resistance patterns are necessary to optimize the use of antimicrobials in order to achieve maximum effectiveness and minimal morbidity. A prospective study, of one year, was conducted in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Arnaldo Milian Castro Provincial University Hospital for over 24 hours with nosocomial infections related to invasive procedures such as endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The objective was to determine the prevalence, identify the sensitivity-resistance patterns of the endemic pathogens isolated, and introduce recommendations for the choice of empiric antimicrobial therapy. The most important ones were the Staphylococcus aureus, the Acinetobacter and the Enterobacteriaceae in catheter-related bacteremias, as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa in urinary tract infections related to the urethral catheter. This study provides information that will favorably influence the selection of antimicrobial therapy in nosocomial infections related to these interventions.Las infecciones en pacientes críticos ingresados en los Servicios de Medicina Intensiva presentan características especiales que justifican el empleo de antibióticos de forma diferente al de otros pacientes hospitalizados, por lo que un conjunto de normas y estrategias y la continua actualización de los patrones de resistencia microbiana resultan necesarias para optimizar el empleo de los antimicrobianos con el objetivo de conseguir la máxima efectividad y la mínima morbilidad. Se realizó un estudio prospectivo, de un año, en pacientes ingresados en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos del Hospital Provincial Universitario “Arnaldo Milián Castro” por más de 24 horas  con infecciones nosocomiales relacionadas con procedimientos invasivos como intubación endotraqueal y ventilación mecánica vesical con el propósito de determinar la prevalencia e identificar los patrones  de sensibilidad-resistencia de los agentes patógenos endémicos aislados e introducir recomendaciones para la elección de la terapia antimicrobiana empírica. Tuvieron un papel protagónico los Staphylococcus aureus,  el Acinetobacter y las enterobacterias en la bacterimia relacionada con el catéter y la Pseudomona aeruginosa en las infecciones urinarias relacionadas con  la sonda uretral. Este estudio brinda información que permitirá incidir favorablemente en la selección de la terapia antimicrobiana en infecciones nosocomiales relacionadas con dichas intervenciones

Tumor estromal gastrointestinal. A propósito de un caso

Gastroinstestinal stromal tumors are common mesenchymatic neoplasies of the stomach and of the small intestine. They appear less frecuent in other parts of he digestive track and are considered to be frankly malignants due to their methastasis' frecuency and the invasion to adjacent structures. A white race patient of 65 years old is presented in the Doctor's Consultation with an epigastric pain of two months of evolution, digestive dissorders, decay, and lose of weight. It was performed an abdominal ultrasound, an axial computed tomography and x-rays of estomach and of duodenun as well. It is worth pointing out the importance of having done an integral, clinical, imageneological and histological study in these patients with gastric tumors, to whom was diagnosed a stromal tumor.Los tumores estromales gastrointestinales son neoplasias mesenquimatosas comunes del estómago y el intestino delgado; son menos frecuentes en otras partes del tracto digestivo y francamente malignos dada su frecuencia de metástasis e invasión a las estructuras adyacentes. Se presenta una paciente de 65 años de edad y raza blanca que acude a consulta por dolor en epigastrio, de dos meses de evolución, trastornos digestivos, decaimiento y pérdida de peso. Se realiza ultrasonido abdominal, tomografía axial computadorizada y rayos X de estómago y duodeno. Se destaca la importancia de realizar un abordaje integral, tanto clínico e imagenológico como histológico de estos pacientes con tumor gástrico, a los cuales se le diagnostica un tumor estromal

Hemophagocytic syndrome. Case report and review of the disease

El síndrome hemofagocítico fue descrito por primera vez, en 1939, como una condición febril acompañada de adenomegalias, citopenias y proliferación histiocítica en la médula ósea; su incidencia es baja, se estima en uno o dos casos/millón de individuos/año, pero muy probablemente, ha sido subestimada, pues en muchas ocasiones es un diagnóstico que no se sospecha. En este artículo se presenta una paciente con un síndrome hemofagocítico reactivo idiopático diagnosticado en la Sala de Medicina D, del Servicio de Medicina Interna del Hospital “Arnaldo Milián Castro”, en la que no se demostró asociación con inmunodepresión, drogas u otro proceso infeccioso, autoinmune o neoplásico. El objetivo de este trabajo, además de comunicar este caso, es resaltar la importancia del diagnóstico precoz de este padecimiento y de las graves alteraciones que le acompañan, responsables de una alta mortalidad, además de realizar una revisión de las manifestaciones clínicas, la patología y el diagnóstico y el tratamiento de estos pacientes.The hemophagocytic syndrome was described for the first time, in 1939, as a febrile condition accompanied by adenomegaly, cytopenias and histiocytic proliferation in the bone marrow; Its incidence is low, it is estimated in one or two cases/million of individuals/year, but most probably, it has been underestimated, on many occasions it is a diagnosis that is not suspected. In this article, it is presented a female patient with an idiopathic reactive hemophagocytic syndrome diagnosed in the Medicine Room D of the Internal Medicine Service of “Arnaldo Milián Castro” Hospital, in which there was no association with immunosuppression, drugs or other infectious process, autoimmune or neoplastic. The aim of this study, besides communicate this case, is to emphasize the importance of the early diagnosis of this disease and the serious alterations that accompany it, responsible for a high mortality rate, as well as a review of the clinical manifestations, pathology and diagnosis and treatment of these patients

JUEGOS PARA EL APRENDIZAJE ELEMENTAL DEL AJEDREZ DESDE LA EDUCACIÓN FÍSICA EN PRIMER GRADO / GAMES FOR THE ELEMENTAL LEARNING OF CHESS THROUGH PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN FIRST GRADE STUDENTS

En el presente trabajo se ofrece juegos que abordan los aportes del proceso de enseñanza - aprendizaje de la Educación Física con relación a la adquisición de las nociones elementales del Ajedrez, como herramienta para el desarrollo de la multipotencia del conocimiento,  incidiendo  en el perfeccionamiento de la sensopercepción, visión, tacto, fijación, concentración, atención, coordinación, anticipación, reacción, activación del pensamiento lógico – verbal y la evolución de memorias inmediatas y mediatas donde la adquisición de contenidos teóricos, condiciona y propicia la asimilación de los prácticos y viceversa, también se muestra como a través de la práctica de la actividad física se enriquece y afianza el estereotipo dinámico y psicológico de los educandos de primer grado.The current Project work offers games which deals with the contributions of the teaching-learning process of Physical Education related to the acquisition of elemental notions of Chess play as a tool to the development of knowledge influencing on improving sensoperception, vision, tact, fixation, concentration, attention, coordination, anticipation, reaction, activation of logical-verbal thinking and the evolution of mediate and immediate memories where the acquisition of theoretical contents determines the assimilation of practical contents and the other way around. This project also shows that the practice of physical activities enriches and consolidates the dynamic and psychological stereotype of first grade students

Weed seed bank diversity in dryland cereal fields: does it differ along the field and between fields with different landscape structure?

n this work, we aimed to test whether taxonomic diversity and functional diversity andthe values of functional traits of the weed seed bank varied across the field, from margins to thecore, and between fields embedded in distinct landscape structures. We sampled the seed bank of 47 conventionally managed cereal fields from two Mediterranean regions in SpainThis work was funded by FEDER (European Regional Development Funds) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness grants (projects AGL2012-33736 and AGL2015-64130-R). Y.P. was supported by an FPI scholarship (Spanish Ministry of Economy and CompetitivenessPostprint (published version