Developing the knowledge base needed to sustainably manage mesopelagic resources

Recent estimates suggest that the mesopelagic zone could contain a total fish biomass of 2-19.5 gigatonnes, roughly equivalent to 100 times the annual catch of all existing fisheries. In addition to the possibility of direct consumption of mesopelagic species, there is interest in their use for fishmeal, as a source of dietary supplements for humans, and to bio-prospect pharmaceuticals. All of this, and the demands for a global food supply that can feed an ever-growing population, has driven interest in the mesopelagic. Thus, accurate quantification of the biomass of mesopelagic resources, their nutritional and genetic composition, their links to other components of the food web, to other oceanic realms and to biological and chemical oceanographic processes and cycles, are the focus of growing research activity. This information is needed to ensure the sustainable management of these resources. In this introduction, we summarize the contributions included in this theme set and provide some “food for thought” on the state-of-the-art in research on the mesopelagic, including identifying the knowledge that must be generated to support its sustainable management (e.g. the effect that extracting significant biomass might have on the pelagic ecosystem and the flow of material and energy through it

Patterns of spatial changes on demersal species in the Gulf of Cadiz and northern Alboran Sea

The Gulf of Cadiz (GoC) in the Atlantic Ocean and the northern Alboran Sea (AS) in the Mediterranean Sea are part of an extremely important oceanographic complex in terms of water exchange between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. Besides its significant role as an ecological transition system, it is unknown whether regional and local envi ronmental drivers affect similarly species inhabiting these two adjacent and connected ecosystems. This study analyses the spatial shifts of representative demersal species and their response to the environmental and demographic drivers in these two regions, using information from two trawl surveys carried out in the GoC and in the AS from 1994 to 2015. Species distribution trends were observed in both basins. However, they were more evident in the GoC, where six out of eleven species presented temporal trends, than in the AS, where only two species displayed significant distribution changes. In both basins, these species showed geographic displacements towards the Strait of Gibraltar. Also, a high percentage of species presented significant differences in mean depth distribution on the two sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. Our study shows a general heterogeneity and independence in the drivers influencing species distributions in the two areas. GoC was highly influenced by both large- and regional-scale climate factors, which affected several species, while in AS the diversity of drivers was greater, with species density being the most common. This study provides a scientific basis for improving ecosystem-based management measures in these important transitional ecosystems.Postprint0,56

Síndrome compartimental crónico de esfuerzo Afectación bilateral del compartimento anteroexterno de la pierna en deportistas

Se presenta nuestra experiencia en el manejo de (i casos de síndrome compartimental crónico del esfuerzo por afectación colateral del compartimento anteroexterno del EEII. El diagnóstico se confirmó mediante medición de presiones intracompartimentales con catéter de hendidura, considerando patológico cuando ante clínica compatible la presión basal no se recupera en al menos 15 minutos. Se realizó doble fasciotomía subcutánea en los 6 casos consiguiendo la desaparición de la sintomatología y reincorporación a los entrenamientos en 6 semanas en todos los casos. No se han observado complicaciones ni recidivas tras un seguimiento medio de 2 años (1-3).Our experience on the management of 6 cases with bilateral chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the legs is presented. The diagnosis was confirmed by the measurement of the compartment pressure with slit catheter. Intramuscular pressure was considered abnormal when the basal pressure was not regained 15 minutes after the exercise with consistent symtomatology. Double complete subcutaneous fasciotomy was performed in the 6 patients obtaining complete recovery of the symtoms and improvement of the performance in all of them. Patients started training six weeks after surgery. Neither complication or relapse was found during a mean follow-up of 2 years (1-3)

Fractura-avulsión de la tuberosidad tibial anterior en adolescentes: a propósito de dos casos. Revisión de la literatura

La avulsión de la tuberosidad tibial anterior es una lesión rara que se caracteriza por ocurrir en adolescentes deportistas. Esta lesión ocurre en un período vulnerable de la adolescencia, cuando la fisis sufre cambios fisiológicos que debilitan su resistencia a las fuerzas de tensión. Aportamos dos nuevos casos que fueron tratados con dos métodos distintos de osteosíntesis (tornillos y agujas de Kirschner) y realizamos una completa revisión bibliográfica. La osteosíntesis proporciona una mayor seguridad y menor tiempo de inmovilización, siendo el resultado final la epifisiodesis de dicha tuberosidad. Reseñamos la aparición de calcificaciones asintomáticas en el tendón rotuliano, complicación hasta ahora no descrita.Avulsion of the tibial tubercle is a rare lesion ocurring in sportif adolescents. This injury occurs in a vulnerable period that happen in adolescence when the physis is undergoing phisiologic change s that weaken its resistenc e to tensil loading. We present two ne w case s treated by two different procedures (Kirschner wire s and screws) and we made a complete literature review. We emphasize the finding of asintomatic calcification into patellar tendon that have not been previously described

Network Analysis for Learners’ Concept Maps While Using Mobile Augmented Reality Gaming

Using mobile augmented reality games in education combines situated and active learning with pleasure. The aim of this research is to analyze the responses expressed by young, middle-aged, and elderly adults about the location-based mobile augmented reality (MAR) games using methods of content analysis, concept maps, and social network analysis (SNA). The responses to questions related to MAR game Ingress were collected from 36 adult players, aged 20–60, from Greece, and subsequently analyzed by means of content analysis, concept maps, and social network analysis. Our findings show that for question 1 (How do you feel when you endow the geographical space with personal preferences?), there was a differentiation of the answers between age groups with age groups agreeing in pairs, the first two and the last two, while for question 2 (Do you think that the game offers opportunities for learning and teaching geography, building on your previous geographical knowledge?), there was an overlap in responses of participants among age groups. It was also revealed that the MAR games foster a constructivism approach of learning, as their use learning becomes an active, socially supported process of knowledge construction

Effectiveness of PMI Combined with Common Interest Activity for Elementary School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Peer-mediated intervention (PMI) includes a range of strategies that are considered a successful aid in social-communication behavior for kids and their peers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study was carried out to improve the social behavior of children with ASD, using peer training through an activity that they have in common. Three ASD students in Greek elementary schools, aged seven to ten years old, two boys and one girl, participated in this study. The peers of ASD students were trained to interact with them during recess in a comprehensive school setting. An ABA reversal design was used on each participant in order to define the effects of the intervention. Through observation probes, the responses and the initiations of all ASD students were noted by trained school staff. The results of the intervention phase showed an increase in both of these two variables. Furthermore, the follow-up phase depicted important results for the academic community, also showing an increase in all ASD students’ responses and initiations. The current study supplements the existing PMI research, which leads to the possible use of this valid tool that could be used in school settings in order to increase the socialization of ASD students

Assessment of a Location-Based Mobile Augmented-Reality Game by Adult Users with the ARCS Model

In mobile augmented reality (MAR) games, learning by doing is important to supplement the theoretical knowledge with practical exercise in order to maximize the learning outcome. However, in many fields, the users are not able to apply their knowledge in practical ways, despite having achieved a good understanding of the theoretical fundamentals and this is even more important to adult learners. The aim of this research is to examine young, middle-aged and elderly adults’ opinions about the location-based MAR game Ingress, by applying John Keller’s “ARCS learning motivation model” (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction). The users’ responses to closed questions related to Ingress were collected from 45 adult players aged 20–60 from Greece and were subsequently analyzed by means of pre- and post-quantitative measures of the four ARCS factors. The results show that: (a) game training improves all the factors of ARCS, primarily attention and satisfaction; (b) the responses of young people (20–35) agree more with those of elderly adults (>52) than with those of the intermediate age group of 36–51. Our findings, therefore, highlight the potential and the applicability of the ARCS model in MAR games

Carbon and water footprint for the recycling process of expanded polystyrene (EPS) post-consumer waste

[Abstract] Plastic pollution of the natural environment is ubiquitous, and around 40% of all plastic waste produced globally is used in single-use products and only 9% is recycled. From this plastic waste, expandable polystyrene single-use products pose a major problem because of its great volume and low density. To abord this issue, the authors proposed a circular economy model for EPS post-consumer waste in 2019 through a case study with the help of one local plastic manufacturer. Although the idea of promoting circularity of this waste seems a priori to have a good impact on the environment, the process to reincorporate reused and/or recycled materials under the concept of CE have economic and environmental impacts on the environment that should be measured. To understand if a recycling process is truly beneficial to the environment, first we need to do a sustainability analysis, using sustainability indicators, such as Carbon Footprint (CF) and Water Footprint (WF). The objective of the present paper is to perform a sustainability analysis of the expandable polystyrene post-consumer recycling into resin pellets using CF and WF as sustainability indicators. We proposed three case scenarios considering an artisanal recycling with 2019 (A), and 2027 proposed electricity power mix (B), industrial recycling with current 2019 electricity power mix (C) and the use of virgin PS and its destination in landfill to compare. We measured the CO2 emissions and m3 of freshwater with the help of SimaPro 9.1 software. Overall, the total CO2 emissions for the case scenarios A and B are approximately 42% and 16% higher than scenario D, but scenario C exhibits a reduction of almost 50%. For the water depletion, scenarios A and B show very higher values than those of scenario D with 536% and 534%, respectively. Important to mention that scenario B presents much better values for CF than scenario A, meaning that the increase in the share of electricity production by renewable energies can improve the sustainable production of recycled PS resin

JFML: A Java Library to Design Fuzzy Logic Systems According to the IEEE Std 1855-2016

Fuzzy logic systems are useful for solving problems in many application fields. However, these systems are usually stored in specific formats and researchers need to rewrite them to use in new problems. Recently, the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society has sponsored the publication of the IEEE Standard 1855-2016 to provide a unified and well-defined representation of fuzzy systems for problems of classification, regression, and control. The main aim of this standard is to facilitate the exchange of fuzzy systems across different programming systems in order to avoid the need to rewrite available pieces of code or to develop new software tools to replicate functionalities that are already provided by other software. In order to make the standard operative and useful for the research community, this paper presents JFML, an open source Java library that offers a complete implementation of the new IEEE standard and capability to import/export fuzzy systems in accordance with other standards and software. Moreover, the new library has associated a Website with complementary material, documentation, and examples in order to facilitate its use. In this paper, we present three case studies that illustrate the potential of JFML and the advantages of exchanging fuzzy systems among available softwareThis work was supported in part by the XXII Own Research Program (2017) of the University of Córdoba, in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Grants RYC-2016-19802 (Ramón y Cajal contract), TIN2017-84796-C2-1-R, TIN2014-56633-C3-3-R, TIN2014-57251-P, and TIN2015-68454-R, in part by the Andalusian Government under Grant P11-TIC-7765, in part by the Xunta de Galicia (accreditation 2016-2019), and in part by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund)

Innovative Methodologies in a Pandemic: The VESS Model

The VESS (Meaningful Life with Balance and Wisdom) model is considered to be a learning method based on the construction of knowledge through critical and visible thinking, with a neuroeducational base. The aim of the present work is to conduct a psychometric study of a measurement scale about the learning of the VESS model created for teachers-in-training. This article presents two survey-based descriptive studies conducted at the University of Cordoba (Spain). The data were subjected to descriptive, correlational, reliability and validity analysis through exploratory and confirmatory analyses, respectively. It is an instrument with high goodness-of-fit indices and suitable validity and reliability values. This instrument is applicable to similar study contexts