Current status of las tablas de daimiel national park wetland and actions required for conservation

Wetlands are complex ecosystems that play multiple roles. ‘Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park’ (TDNP) undoubtedly plays a role in several ecosystem services and provides a connection between nature, farmers, scientists, residents, and other stakeholders. The state of degradation and/or vulnerability of this ecosystem (with a series of socio-economic implications) have led the publication of numerous articles. The work reported here provides a description of the growing importance of this wetland within the rural landscapes of La Mancha and emphasizes its state of degradation, mainly since pedological point of view. In this way, particular attention is required to assure the conservation of the Tablas of Daimiel Wetland; thus, several measures are proposed to improve the conservation of this area as to control and prohibit any dumping of any type of waste in the park or in its vicinityThis Research was funded by Organismo Autonomo Parques Nacionales (Autonomous Organism National Parks) of Spain (OAPN

Wall slip and flow of concentrated hard-sphere colloidal suspensions

We present a comprehensive study of the slip and flow of concentrated colloidal suspensions using cone-plate rheometry and simultaneous confocal imaging. In the colloidal glass regime, for smooth, non-stick walls, the solid nature of the suspension causes a transition in the rheology from Herschel-Bulkley (HB) bulk flow behavior at large stress to a Bingham-like slip behavior at low stress, which is suppressed for sufficient colloid-wall attraction or colloid-scale wall roughness. Visualization shows how the slip-shear transition depends on gap size and the boundary conditions at both walls and that partial slip persist well above the yield stress. A phenomenological model, incorporating the Bingham slip law and HB bulk flow, fully accounts for the behavior. Microscopically, the Bingham law is related to a thin (sub-colloidal) lubrication layer at the wall, giving rise to a characteristic dependence of slip parameters on particle size and concentration. We relate this to the suspension's osmotic pressure and yield stress and also analyze the influence of van der Waals interaction. For the largest concentrations, we observe non-uniform flow around the yield stress, in line with recent work on bulk shear-banding of concentrated pastes. We also describe residual slip in concentrated liquid suspensions, where the vanishing yield stress causes coexistence of (weak) slip and bulk shear flow for all measured rates

Current methods of soccer match analysis

Ha sido realizada una revisión de 86 artículos, con el objetivo de analizar a través de los estudios más recientes los beneficios y limitaciones de los nuevos sistemas para el análisis del futbolista durante el partido, debido a que las mayores exigencias en el rendimiento del fútbol moderno está obligando a replantearse cuáles son sus demandas físicas, así como los modelos de planificación y los métodos de entrenamiento tradicionales. Los resultados muestran que el vídeo análisis asistido por ordenador para la codificación de los patrones de movimiento y la tecnología GPS se presentan como herramientas de gran utilidad para conocer mejor la carga física del jugador, mientras que el diseño observacional facilita la evaluación del comportamiento técnico-táctico del futbolista y el equipo. Como conclusión podemos decir que hemos observado sin embargo una metodología diferente entre las opciones comerciales disponibles y una tecnología ubicada todavía en una etapa inicial de desarrolloA review of 86 references has been made, in order to analyze through the most recent studies the benefits and limitations of the new systems for the analysis of soccer player during the match, due to the fact that the greater performance requirements of modern soccer is forcing to review his physical demands, as well as planning models and traditional training methods. The results show that the computer-aided video analysis for coding movement patterns and the GPS technology are presented as very useful tools for a better understanding of the players physical load, whereas the observational design facilitates assessment of the technical-tactical behavior of the soccer player and the team. In conclusion we can say that we have however observed a different methodology among the available commercial options and a technology still placed at an initial stage of development

Fusión hueso grande-trapezoide: caso clínico

La sinostosis de los huesos del carpo puede ser una anomalía congénita o adquirida que puede presentarse tanto como un cuadro aislado, como parte de un síndrome de malformaciones congénitas, ó, en el seno de enfermedades metabólicas. La mayor parte de las veces es un hallazgo radiológico casual. Presentamos el caso de una fusión entre hueso grande y trapezoide. La fusión entre hueso grande y trapezoide se ha descrito en muy pocos casos.Synostosis of carpal bones is a congenital or acquired anomaly seen as an isolated entity or as part of a syndrome of congenital malformations or metabolic disorders. Almost always it is an incidental radiological finding. A case of fused capitate and trapezoid is reported

Una imagen distorsionada de Europa: Miguel Hernández y su viaje a la Unión Soviética

El autor interpreta, en el seno de las circunstancias vitales y temporales que vivía el poeta, los escritos que realizó durante su viaje a la Unión Soviética en el verano de 1937 para participar en el V Festival de Teatro Soviético. El viaje está marcado por la trágica situación que atravesaba España, y su visión de Rusia se ve mediatizada por la amistad, la solidaridad y los gestos de apoyo al país.The author interprets, in the heart of the life and temporal circumstances that the poet lived then, the texts that he realized during his trip to the Soviet Union in the summer of 1937 to participate in the 5th Festival of Soviet Theatre. The journey is marked by the tragic situation that Spain was living, and his vision of Russia is mediated by the friendship, the solidarity and gestures of support towards this country

Acquisition of financial management skills in the new framework for adaptation to the EHEA. Póster

One of the main consequences of adapting to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is the replacement of traditional teaching methods, based almost entirely on the lecture, with new methodologies where active participation on the part of the students is a key part of the teaching-learning process. It is, therefore, of interest to offer empirical evidence showing that the new teaching methods employed really do serve to improve the results of the students in the acquisition of skills. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to assess the results obtained from bringing in the new EHEA, compared to those obtained under the traditional teaching system. With the above aim in mind, we analysed the results from the two existing groups of students studying Financial Management I of the Degree in Business Administration and Management (academic year 2009-10) at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Murcia. The first group comprised students who had followed the course under the traditional lecture-based teaching system. The second group was made up of students taking part in the innovation project being run by the Faculty of Economics and Business. EHEA teaching methodologies and materials have been employed in the second group. Besides the lecture and the practical class, the following teaching methodologies have been employed: problem-based learning, workshops on problems, group tutorials, group work and participative models. The first group was assessed purely on the basis of an end of semester examination, while in the case of the second group, the final examination counted for 60% of the mark, 30% corresponded to individual work and group practical work and 10% to participation in class and responses to questions posed by the teacher. It should be highlighted that the final examination was the same for both groups, so the comparison o results is free of bias in that aspect. The results show that higher percentage of passes in the group with innovative teaching – 93.75% versus 48.19% in the lecture-based class group. The average grade was also higher – 7.08 over 10 versus 4.52 over 10. These differences are significant (t statistic 6.382 for the means difference test). In order to rule out the possibility of these better results being due to the assessment awarded for the non similar parts of the examination, a comparison was also made of the marks obtained exclusively in the examination common to both groups. While the number of passes (75%) and the average mark of the group in the innovative method (6 over 10) fall, the results remain significantly better than those of the lecture-based classes group (t statistic for the difference in mean marks was 2.485).Campus Mare Nostrum, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Universidad de Murcia, Región de Murci

Osteoporosis transitoria de la cadera: revisión de aspectos clínicos y terapéuticos a propósito de un caso

Presentamos el caso de una mujer de 17 años con osteoporosis transitoria de cadera (OTC). La OTC es una enfermedad infrecuente, difícil de etiquetar, que afecta a hombres sanos de mediana edad, y a mujeres en el tercer trimestre del embarzo. Su etiología todavía no está clara. Los principales signos clínicos son dolor en la cadera y cojera. La RM muestra en la cabeza y cuello femoral hipointensidad en las imágenes ponderadas en T1, e hiperintensidad en las imágenes ponderadas en T2. Se acepta que los cambios en la RM se producen por incremento de líquido en la cavidad medular de la cabeza femoral. Es importante el diagnóstico diferencial con otras enfermedades de la cadera. El propósito de esta publicación es aclarar los aspectos diagnósticos y terapéuticos de la OTC.A case of transient osteoporosis of the hips in a 17-year-old-woman is reported. Transient osteoporosis of the hip (TOH) is an uncommon but possibly underdiagnosed condition. The TOH affects previous healthy middle-age men, and women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Its etiology is still unclear. Pain in the hip area and limp are the main clinical signs. The MRI study shows low signal intensity on the Tl weighted images and limp signal intensity on the T2 weighted images in the femoral head and neck. It is generally accepted that the change in MRI is caused by an increase in fluid within the marrow cavities of the femoral head. Differential diagnosis of hip problems is required. The purpose of this report is to review the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of TOH

Agroecological analysis of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) crops in orchards in a Mediterranean environment

If adaptability is defined as the ability of a crop (or variety) to respond positively to changes in agricultural conditions, the purpose of this study was to explore the adaptability and relative influence of environmental factors on Cucumber Sativus L. to a specific Mediterranean environmental and agroecological site: Huete (Cuenca, Central Spain). Cucumber requires high temperatures and soil moisture for a satisfactory yield and maintaining an optimum level of humidity is very favorable, which is easy to achieve for farmers in Huete. Abundant sunshine is needed and this is another reason to cultivate during the summer period; it is estimated that there were between 2700 and 2800 hours of sunshine in the Huete area. The study described here revealed that the soils are poorly developed and evolved, with a simple Ap-C or Ap-Bw-C morphology. The soils are friable, slightly adherent and somewhat dry and hard. A significant feature is the presence of good drainage and appreciable effective depth. Like other crops, cucumber plants are preferably grown on loose, well-drained soils, such as the soils studied here. Huete cucumber seems able to tolerate certain levels of soil salinity when compared to other species. The cucumbers are irrigated with water with moderate electrical conductivity without an appreciable decrease in yield. Small doses of salinity may be one of the factors that leads to the characteristics associated with Huete cucumber, an aspect that would need to be investigated more deeply. Substrate nutrients and moisture management are two major concerns regarding Cucumber Sativus L. crops in Huete. Elemental chemical analysis revealed that strontium abounds and this is attributed to the presence of this element in the gypsums. The results of this study open a new horizon in the study of the aptitude of the land and represent a useful step towards the specific site and, consequently, the sustainable management of land under cucumber cultivation. Further research into a wider range of soils, fertilizer compositions and release rates is require

Colloidal gels under shear: Strain rate effects

Attractive colloidal particles are trapped in metastable states such as colloidal gels at high attraction strengths and attractive glasses and high volume fractions. Under shear such states flow via a two step yielding process that relates to bond and cluster or cage breaking. We discuss the way the structural properties and related stress response are affected by the shear rate. At low rates colloidal gels yield during start-up shear essentially in a single step, exhibiting a single stress overshoot due to creation of compact flowing clusters. With increasing shear rate a second stress overshoot, linked with further cluster breaking up to individual particles, is becoming more pronounced. We further present the age dependence of the two step yielding and wall slip effects often taking place during rheological experiments of colloidal gels. The latter is related both with the shear rate dependent gel structure as well as the time evolution of the near wall structure

Primary producers and anthropic signs related to the flood plain soils of the Tablas de Daimiel Wetland

In the Tablas de Daimiel National Park (TDNP) wetlands, a semi-arid wetland system in Spain that is of international importance, it is believed that pollutants from a variety of sources accumulate. In the study reported here, we evaluated soils from the flooded part of this wetland in an effort to establish relationships between the abundance/structure of microbial communities (mainly cyanobacteria) and certain soil properties (redox potential, dissolved oxygen, organic matter, soil reaction, electrical conductivity, calcium carbonate, total nitrogen, soluble phosphorus and total phosphorus). This objective was achieved by establishing one transect from the entrance to exit of the flood plain, including sampling from potentially polluted sites. Substantial variations between sampling sites were found in soil in terms of salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), organic matter (OM), total phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN). The presence of primary producers was more evident in contaminated samples. In addition to calcium, high levels of oxidizable organic matter, traces of dissolved oxygen, and considerable amounts of nitrate and phosphates probably stimulated the growth of cyanobacteria, these latter characteristics can be explained as being due to the influence of wastewaters from urban, industrial and agricultural activities that run off directly into this unique wetland. In the future it will be necessary to understand the synergic effects of other soil properties.The authors are grateful to the Autonomous Organism Parques Naturales of Spain (OAPN) for providing financial assistanc