Incidencia de los extremos térmicos sobre la mortalidad diaria a diferentes escalas en España: análisis comparado entre las áreas rurales y urbanas

Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública y Microbiología. Fecha de Lectura: 27-03-202

Actividad física y absentismo laboral debido a enfermedad

El absentismo laboral debido a enfermedad es un fenómeno multicausal influido por las características del entorno laboral, el puesto de trabajo y el estilo de vida. Su elevado coste es soportado por empresas e instituciones públicas en base a la legislación vigente, y representa una parte importante del presupuesto para muchos países. Sin embargo, no se trata únicamente de una cuestión económica, sino también de una cuestión de salud pública; el absentismo laboral por enfermedad de larga duración ha sido asociado tanto a un mayor riesgo de experimentar pensión por incapacidad permanente, como a un mayor riesgo de mortalidad. Entre sus causas más relevantes se ha señalado a diferentes condiciones y enfermedades crónicas, en ocasiones, específicas de determinadas profesiones y sectores laborales. Así, el dolor de espalda (i.e. zona lumbar y zona cervical), los trastornos mentales (i.e. ansiedad y depresión), y diferentes enfermedades cardiovasculares han sido observadas entre las condiciones más prevalentes en trabajadores de diferentes poblaciones que experimentan absentismo laboral por enfermedad de larga duración. Por otro lado, niveles moderados y altos de actividad física, en especial cuando se realizan en el tiempo libre o con motivo de desplazamiento al centro de trabajo, han sido asociados a menores niveles de, por un lado, absentismo laboral por enfermedad y, por otro, a algunas de las enfermedades crónicas más extendidas en poblaciones generales y específicas de trabajadores. Además, esta asociación inversa se ha observado más pronunciada con niveles mayores de actividad física en el tiempo libre. El objetivo de estos estudios fue el de ampliar el conocimiento acerca de estas relaciones entre actividad física y absentismo laboral por enfermedad, haciendo especial énfasis en su observación con diferentes muestras de trabajadores españoles, trabajadores daneses, poblaciones de trabajadores específicas y condiciones o enfermedades crónicas asociadas a estas situaciones.Los estudios llevados a cabo son de carácter observacional, y utilizaron datos de muestras de poblaciones de trabajadores españoles y daneses. El artículo I es una revisión sistemática de la literatura. Los artículos II y III analizaron dos muestras de trabajadores universitarios (n=1025 y n=757). Los artículos IV y VI realizaron el seguimiento de una muestra tanto general (n=10427) como específica de trabajadores daneses (n=4699). Los artículos V, VII y VIII investigaron muestras generales de trabajadores españoles (n=9512 y n=9885). Herramientas como el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física (IPAQ) fueron usadas para estimar los niveles de actividad física, mientras que el absentismo laboral por enfermedad fue evaluado mediante pregunta incluida en cuestionarios o a través del registro danés para la evaluación de la marginalidad (DREAM). Los análisis fueron ajustados por diferentes variables de control señaladas por la literatura y recogidas en los cuestionarios.Los resultados de la presente Tesis Doctoral mostraron una asociación inversa entre actividad física y absentismo laboral por enfermedad en trabajadores españoles. Dicha asociación se observó más pronunciada con mayores niveles de actividad física y en determinados subgrupos de trabajadores. En la misma línea, también se observó una asociación inversa entre actividad física y determinadas condiciones (dolor de espalda crónico, depresión, ansiedad, hipertensión, diabetes, estrés laboral y limitación de la actividad cotidiana). Por otro lado, la actividad física en el tiempo libre redujo el riesgo de absentismo laboral de larga duración en trabajadores daneses. En conclusión, los resultados sugieren que niveles altos de actividad física se asocian con menor prevalencia y riesgo de absentismo laboral por enfermedad. Estrategias basadas en la promoción de la actividad física en el tiempo libre podrían resultar beneficiosas para la reducción del absentismo laboral por enfermedad.<br /

Sistema GPS de guiado manual para vehículos agrícolas

In this paper, the performance of a manual GPS guidance system to assist farming operations is evaluated. The distribution of granular fertilizer was simulated in order to discretize areas with excessive application of fertilizers and areas with fertilizer application rates below the intended rate. The path of travel followed by a tractor with the manual GPS guidance system was analysed and compared with a commercial parallel tracking system and without guidance assistance. In addition, the analysis evaluated how the use of manual GPS guidance systems improves the performance of field operations that require large distances between passes. Under the experimental conditions used, the best results were obtained using a commercial parallel tracking system but, for our purposes, small differences were observed between the results obtained with the commercial system and the results obtained with the developed manual GPS guidance system, getting pass-to-pass average error values of 0.26 and 0.73 m, respectively. The results obtained with both systems were significantly better than the results obtained when no guidance assistance was used. In our trials, area with appropriate fertilizer rate was clearly increased when guidance assistance was used. Values of area with correct fertilizer rate applied ranged between 87% with commercial parallel tracking and 59% without guidance assistance. The use of the manual GPS guidance system presented in this paper has proved sufficient to obtain good results for mechanical fertilizer spreadingEn este trabajo se ha evaluado un sistema de asistencia al guiado manual para la realización de labores agrícolas. Se simuló la distribución de fertilizante granulado con el objetivo de discretizar áreas con excesiva cantidad de fertilizante y áreas con cantidades inferiores a las previstas. Se comparó la trayectoria seguida por un tractor utilizando el sistema GPS de asistencia al guiado manual con un sistema comercial de guiado paralelo, y sin asistencia al guiado. Nuestro análisis ha permitido evaluar las mejoras que estos sistemas suponen para la realización de labores que requieran elevadas distancias entre pasadas. En nuestras condiciones, los mejores resultados se obtuvieron con un sistema comercial de guiado paralelo, si bien, considerando nuestro propósito, las diferencias fueron reducidas respecto a las obtenidas con el sistema de asistencia al guiado manual desarrollado, con valores medios de error pasada a pasada de 0,26 y 0,73 m, respectivamente. Los resultados obtenidos con ambos sistemas fueron significativamente mejores que los obtenidos cuando no se utiliza ningún sistema de asistencia. En nuestros ensayos, el área con dosis adecuadas de fertilizante se incrementó de forma clara con la utilización del sistema de asistencia al guiado manual. Los valores de superficie con dosis correctas de fertilizante aplicado oscilaron entre el 87% con el sistema comercial de guiado paralelo y el 59% sin asistencia al guiado. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian que el sistema de asistencia al guiado manual desarrollado es válido para la aplicación mecánica de fertilizantesFinancial support for the research was provided by the co-operative “Os Irmandiños S.C.G.” and the “Dirección Xeral de Investigación e Desenvolvemento da Xunta de Galicia” under project no. PGIDIT03RAG14ES

Synthetic seed production from encapsulated somatic embryos of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) and automated growth monitoring.

Cork oak (Quercus suber) somatic embryos were coatedwith alginate for the production of synthetic seeds and their storability for commercialization was investigated. Also, the automatic monitoring of somatic embryo growth with a digital system of image capture was tested.Apower regressionmodelwasfitted between size and fresh weight (Adjusted R-squared = 0.96). This method permitted growth assessment without contamination risk and opens the possibility of an automated control of culture growth for the future up scaling of plant production. Conversion rate of synthetic seedswas higher onmediumsupplementedwithmineral nutrients than onmediumwithout nutrients. Also, when the somatic embryos were coated without mineral nutrients added to the capsule, conversion rate was significantly lower. The addition of sucrose to the capsule had no significant effect on the conversion rate. No differences were recorded between 50 and 100 mM CaCl2 for capsule complexation. Synthetic seeds were cold stored at 4_C for two months without significant loss of conversion capacity. The present study reports the first attempts to determine optimal storage time and conditions for conversion of encapsulated somatic embryos of cork oak

The evolution of minimum mortality temperatures as an indicator of heat adaptation: The cases of Madrid and Seville (Spain)

The increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves is one of the most unquestionable effects of climate change. Therefore, the progressive increase in maximum temperatures will have a clear incidence on the increase in mortality, especially in countries that are vulnerable due to geographical location or their socioeconomic characteristics. Different research studies show that the mortality attributable to heat is decreasing globally, and research is centred on future scenarios. One way of detecting the existence of a lesser impact of heat is through the increase in the so-called temperature of minimum mortality (TMM). The objective of this study is to determine the temporal evolution of TMM in two Spanish provinces (Seville and Madrid) during the 1983–2018 period and to evaluate whether the rate of adaptation to heat is appropriate

Microbiota-liver-bile salts axis, a novel mechanism involved in the contrasting effects of sodium selenite and selenium-nanoparticle supplementation on adipose tissue development in adolescent rats

Adolescence is a period during which body composition changes deeply. Selenium (Se) is an excellent antioxidant trace element related to cell growth and endocrine function. In adolescent rats, low Se supplementation affects adipocyte development differently depending on its form of administration (selenite or Se nanoparticles (SeNPs). Despite this effect being related to oxidative, insulin-signaling and autophagy processes, the whole mechanism is not elucidated. The microbiota–liver–bile salts secretion axis is related to lipid homeostasis and adipose tissue development. Therefore, the colonic microbiota and total bile salts homeostasis were explored in four experimental groups of male adolescent rats: control, low-sodium selenite supplementation, low SeNP supplementation and moderate SeNPs supplementation. SeNPs were obtained by reducing Se tetrachloride in the presence of ascorbic acid. Supplementation was received orally through water intake; low-Se rats received twice more Se than control animals and moderate-Se rats tenfold more. Supplementation with low doses of Se clearly affected anaerobic colonic microbiota profile and bile salts homeostasis. However, these effects were different depending on the Se administration form. Selenite supplementation primarily affected liver by decreasing farnesoid X receptor hepatic function, leading to the accumulation of hepatic bile salts together to increase in the ratio Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion. In contrast, low SeNP levels mainly affected microbiota, moving them towards a more prominent Gram-negative profile in which the relative abundance of Akkermansia and Muribaculaceae was clearly enhanced and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio decreased. This bacterial profile is directly related to lower adipose tissue mass. Moreover, low SeNP administration did not modify bile salts pool in serum circulation. In addition, specific gut microbiota was regulated upon administration of low levels of Se in the forms of selenite or SeNPs, which are properly discussed. On its side, moderate-SeNPs administration led to great dysbiosis and enhanced the abundance of pathogenic bacteria, being considered toxic. These results strongly correlate with the deep change in adipose mass previously found in these animals, indicating that the microbiota–liver–bile salts axis is also mechanistically involved in these changes.Junta de Andalucía y proyectos FEDER Andalucía de la Unión Europea - US-1380878Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de Epaña - PID2019-109371GB-I00VII Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia de la Universidad de Sevilla US 2022 - 2022/00000332 y 2022/0000027

Short-term associations of air pollution and meteorological variables on the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in Madrid (Spain): a time series study

There are studies that analyze the role of meteorological variables on the incidence and severity of COVID-19, and others that explore the role played by air pollutants, but currently there are very few studies that analyze the impact of both efects together. This is the aim of the current study. We analyzed data corresponding to the period from February 1 to May 31, 2020 for the City of Madrid. As meteorological variables, maximum daily temperature (Tmax) in ºC and mean daily absolute humidity (AH) in g/m3 were used corresponding to the mean values recorded by all Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) observatories in the Madrid region. Atmospheric pollutant data for PM10 and NO2 in µg/m3 for the Madrid region were provided by the Spanish Environmental Ministry (MITECO). Daily incidence, daily hospital admissions per 100.000 inhabitants, daily ICU admissions and daily death rates per million inhabitants were used as dependent variables. These data were provided by the ISCIII Spanish National Epidemiology Center. Generalized linear models with Poisson link were performed between the dependent and independent variables, controlling for seasonality, trend and the autoregressive nature of the series.The authors gratefully acknowledge Project ENPY 221/20 grant from the Carlos III Institute of Health

Evolution of the threshold temperature definition of a heat wave vs. evolution of the minimum mortality temperature: a case study in Spain during the 1983–2018 period

An area of current study concerns analysis of the possible adaptation of the population to heat, based on the temporal evolution of the minimum mortality temperature (MMT). It is important to know how is the evolution of the threshold temperatures (Tthreshold) due to these temperatures provide the basis for the activation of public health prevention plans against high temperatures. The objective of this study was to analyze the temporal evolution of threshold temperatures (Tthreshold) produced in different Spanish regions during the 1983–2018 period and to compare this evolution with the evolution of MMT. The dependent variable used was the raw rate of daily mortality due to natural causes ICD X: (A00-R99) for the considered period. The independent variable was maximum daily temperature (Tmax) during the summer months registered in the reference observatory of each region. Threshold values were determined using dispersion diagrams (annual) of the prewhitened series of mortality temperatures and Tmax. Later, linear fit models were carried out between the different values of Tthreshold throughout the study period, which permitted detecting the annual rate of change in Tthreshold.This research project was funded by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) under file number ENPY 470/19 and is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, in addition to the research projects ISCIII: ENPY107/18 and ENPY 376/1

Impact of urban heat islands on morbidity and mortality in heat waves: observational time series analysis of Spain's five cities

Urban heat islands (UHIs) have become an especially relevant phenomenon as a consequence of global warming and the growing proportion of people living in cities. The health impacts that are sometimes attributed to the rise in temperature generated in an UHI are not always adequately justified. The objective is to analyse what effect UHIs have on maximum (Tmax) and minimum daily temperatures (Tmin) recorded in urban and non-urban observatories, and quantify the impact on morbidity and mortality during heat waves in Spain's five cities

Article Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum BPF2 and Pediococcus acidilactici ST6, Two Bacteriocinogenic Isolated Strains from Andalusian Spontaneous Fermented Sausages

Traditional spontaneously fermented foods are well known for their sensory and safety properties, which is mainly due to their indigenous microflora. Within this group of food, Mediterranean dry-cured sausages stand out as a significant source of lactic-acid bacterial strains (LAB) with biotechnological properties, such as their antimicrobial activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the biodiversity of antagonistic LAB strains from different Andalusian traditional sausages, such as salchichón and chorizo. First, a screening was carried out focusing on the antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and Staphylococcus aureus, selecting two strains due to their higher antibiosis properties, both in agar and liquid media. These bacteria were identified as Lactiplantibacillus paraplantarum BPF2 and Pediococcus acidilactici ST6. In addition, genomic studies confirmed the presence of certain structural genes related to the production of bacteriocins. Finally, the culture supernatants of both strains were purified and analyzed by LC-MS/MS, obtaining the relative molecular mass and the amino acid sequence and identifying the peptides as the bacteriocins Pediocin-PA and Leucocin K. In conclusion, genomes and antimicrobial substances of P. acidilactici ST6, a Pediocin-PA producer, and Lpb. paraplantarum BPF2, a Leucocin K producer, isolated from Andalusian salchichón and chorizo, respectively, are presented in this work. Although further studies are required, these strains could be used alone or in combination as starters or protective cultures for the food industryPRIMA program, under BioProMedFood project (Reference Number: 2019-SECTION2-4; CUP: J34I19004820005)PRIMA program is supported by the European Union H2020 program and innovation progra