Bioclimatic habitat limitations for argan trees (Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels) in Northern Africa and Spain

Argania spinosa L. Skeels is an Algerian-Moroccan endemic tree. This species is part of various plant communities consisting of Mediterranean, Macaronesian and Saharan floristic elements. It has been introduced and perhaps sometimes naturalized in various regions of the Mediterranean basin. Due to its role in combating desertification, high socio-economic value, and traditional use as fodder and food, the southwestern Moroccan argan grove (Arganeraie) was declared Biosphere Reserve. It had already been subject to conservation and reforestation programs a century earlier. Its cultivation for oil production could be, besides an economic objective, an effective method to conserve its genetic diversity. Therefore, this study aims to estimate its potential distribution and establish efficient breeding programs by determining its ecological requirements, identifying its different habitats, and predicting habitat suitability models for Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Spain. Using 53 occurrence points, wind speed and direction data, and 29 bioclimatic variables, multivariate methods were applied to describe the ecological profiles and characterize the heterogeneity of its habitat to subsequently, train a Maxent model that establishes, besides Morocco and Algeria, suitable cultivation areas in Tunisia and Spain. The North African potential area is limited to the western Mediterranean coast of Algeria and flat and coastal areas of eastern Tunisia. The increased likelihood of suitability remains in the southeast Iberian Peninsula. A high probability of argan cultivation is also evident in the Canary Islands. These results provide possibilities for future expansion of argan crop and a window of opportunity to improve its genetic diversity and conservation

In vitro efficacy of daptomycin and teicoplanin combined with ethanol, clarithromycin or gentamicin as catheter lock solutions

Journal Article;BACKGROUND Despite widespread use, optimum choice of antimicrobial agents, concentrations, combinations and exposure times have not been determined for antibiotic lock technique (ALT). Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of different antibiotic combinations using an in vitro model of catheter-related infection. Daptomycin (DAP) 5 mg/mL, teicoplanin (TEC) 5 mg/mL, both alone and combined with gentamicin (GM) 2.5 mg/mL, clarythromycin (CLA) 5 mg/mL or ethanol 35 % were evaluated against four clinical strains of methicillin resistant coagulase negative staphylococci. Lock solutions were renewed every 24 h. RESULTS After 72 h catheters were reincubated with culture media to investigate bacterial regrowth. All antibiotic combinations resulted in significant reductions (p < 0.05) of Log(10) cfu/mL at 72 h for both organisms compared with controls. DAP resulted in significant reductions of Log(10) for all organism versus TEC (p = 0.001). Only DAP reached the limit of detection at 72 h, however did not prevent regrowth after 24 h of ALT removal. DAP + Ethanol and TEC + ethanol eradicated biofilm at 72 h, but only DAP + ethanol (against all strains) and DAP + CLA (against two strains) prevented regrowth at 24 h after ALT removal. CONCLUSIONS Based on these data, ALT with DAP + ethanol and DAP + CLA should be explored in clinical trials.Ye

Gerencia de proyectos ambientales educativos

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the management of the development of environmental projects in the educational system. The study was based on the theoretical contributions of Burgwal (2005), Cerda (2007), Serna (2008), Tobasura and Sepúlveda (2001), among others. Method: The study was analytical, descriptive and non-experimental, in its design it was descriptive and field cross-sectional. Results: Among the results, it stands out that the respondents revealed differences in the detection of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In addition, the guidelines developed form three operational ideas that relate to the aspects of definition, distribution and allocation of resources. Conclusion: By diagnosing the current state of the management of environmental programs, it is possible to determine the institutional interest in said programs and the availability of human capital, as well as the commitment of the State. This has not been effectively implemented in the problem identification process. When characterizing the managerial orientation, the interests of the person in charge are moderately directed and directed. In the description of the organizational arrangement, the realities of educational institutions appear at a low level, because the resource mobilization process is identified. When identifying different types of commitments, it became clear that the project implementation and evaluation process did not receive the necessary support at a higher level.Objetivo: El propósito de este estudio fue analizar la gestión del desarrollo de proyectos ambientales en el sistema educativo. El estudio se basó en las aportaciones teóricas de Burgwal (2005), Cerda (2007), Serna (2008), Tobasura y Sepúlveda (2001), entre otros. Método: El estudio fue analítico, descriptivo y no experimental, en su diseño fue transversal descriptivo y de campo. Resultados: Entre los resultados, se destaca que los encuestados revelaron diferencias en la detección de fortalezas y debilidades, oportunidades y amenazas. Además, las pautas desarrolladas forman tres ideas operativas que se relacionan con los aspectos de definición, distribución y asignación de recursos. Conclusión: Al diagnosticar el estado actual de la gestión de programas ambientales, se puede determinar el interés institucional en dichos programas y la disponibilidad de capital humano, así como el compromiso del Estado. Esto no ha sido implementado efectivamente en el proceso de identificación de problemas. Al caracterizar la orientación gerencial, los intereses del responsable son moderadamente dirigidos y dirigidos. En la descripción del arreglo organizacional, las realidades de las instituciones educativas aparecen en un nivel bajo, porque se identifica el proceso de movilización de recursos. A la hora de identificar diferentes tipos de compromisos, quedó claro que el proceso de ejecución y evaluación de proyectos no recibió el apoyo necesario a un nivel superior

Global monitoring of soil multifunctionality in drylands using satellite imagery and field data

Models derived from satellite image data are needed to monitor the status of terrestrial ecosystems across large spatial scales. However, a remote sensing-based approach to quantify soil multifunctionality at the global scale is missing despite significant research efforts on this topic. A major constraint for doing so is the availability of suitable global-scale field data to calibrate remote sensing indicators (RSI) and, to a lesser extent, the sensitivity of spectral data of available satellite sensors to soil background and atmospheric conditions. Here, we aimed to develop a soil multifunctionality model to monitor global drylands coupling ground data on 14 soil functions of 222 dryland areas from six continents to 18 RSI derived from a time series (2006–2013) Landsat dataset. Among the RSI evaluated, the chlorophyll absorption ratio index was the best predictor of soil multifunctionality in single-variable-based models (r = 0.66, P < 0.01, NMRSE = 0.17). However, a multi-variable RSI model combining the chlorophyll absorption ratio index, the global environment monitoring index and the canopy-air temperature difference improved the accuracy of quantifying soil multifunctionality (r = 0.73, P < 0.01, NMRSE = 0.15). Furthermore, the correlation between RSI and soil variables shows a wide range of accuracy with upper and lower values obtained for AMI (r = 0.889, NMRSE = 0.05) and BGL (r = 0.685, NMRSE = 0.18) respectively. Our results provide new insights on assessing soil multifunctionality using RSI that may help to monitor temporal changes in the functioning of global drylands effectively.Field data were obtained with the support of the European Research Council (ERC) grant agreement 242658 (BIOCOM). Hernández-Clemente R was supported by the Ramón y Cajal program (RYC2020-029187-I) and the State Plan for Scientific and Subprogram for Knowledge Generation (PID2021-124058OA-I00) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020-029187-I). Maestre FT acknowledges support from Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2018/041) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (EUR2022-134048)

Differences in n-type doping efficiency between Al- and Ga-ZnO films

A careful and wide comparison between Al and Ga as substitutional dopants in the ZnO wurtzite structure is presented. Both cations behave as n-type dopants and their inclusion improves the optical and electrical properties of the ZnO matrix, making it more transparent in the visible range and rising up its electrical conductivity. However, the same dopant/Zn ratio leads to a very different doping efficiency when comparing Al and Ga, being the Ga cation a more effective dopant of the ZnO film. The measured differences between Al- and Ga-doped films are explained with the hypothesis that different quantities of these dopant cations are able to enter substitutionally in the ZnO matrix. Ga cations seem to behave as perfect substitutional dopants, while Al cation might occupy either substitutional or interstitial sites. Moreover, the subsequent charge balance after doping appear to be related with the formation of different intrinsic defects that depends on the dopant cation. The knowledge of the doped-ZnO films microstructure is a crucial step to optimize the deposition of transparent conducting electrodes for solar cells, displays, and other photoelectronic devices.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2007-60996, MAT2008-06858-C02-02, MAT2008- 06330, TEC2010-16700FUNCOAT CSD2008-00023- CONSOLIDER INGENIOSonderforschungsbereich SFB 76

El profesor y la evaluación en el grado de maestro desde una perspectiva online

El Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) ha traído consigo una serie de cambios estructurales y de identidad en la Universidad española. En concreto, el enfoque de aprendizaje por competencias amplía las funciones de la evaluación tal y como se concebían hasta el momento por parte del profesorado. Esta investigación presenta los resultados de una encuesta realizada a profesores de la Universidad Internacional de La Rioja sobre sus prácticas evaluativas para detectar las necesidades de formación en evaluación que este marco requiere

Vascular assessment of the right internal jugular vein in low birth weight newborns

Objective: To determine the dimensions and depth of the right internal jugular vein (RIJV) in low birth weight newborns by ultrasound and assess the differences in weight and determine the relationship of the vein with the carotid artery. Method: We performed a vascular assessment of the RIJV in 100 low birth weight newborns. The subjects were divided into three groups, low birth weight (LBW) newborns, 52500 g; very low birth weight (VLBW) newborns, 51500 g; and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) newborns 51000 g. Results: Of the newborns, 39% had LBW, 33% had VLBW, and 28% had ELBW. The medians were gestational age 31 weeks, weight 1300 g, anteroposterior diameter of the RIJV 2.2 mm, and the distance from the skin–RIJV 3.6 mm. In LBW newborns, the median anteroposterior diameter of RIJV was 2.7 mm; in LBW newborns 2.2; in ELBW newborns 1.9 (p50.001); the median distance from skin to RIJV for LBW newborns was 4.1mm; for VLBW newborns, 3.6 and for ELBW newborns 2.9 (p50.01); differences that were statistically significant. Conclusions: In low birth weight newborns, the diameter and depth of the RIJV is directly proportional to the weight of the subjects studied

Effect of Grazing Management on Herbage Accumulation of Lucerne-Orchard Grass Sward

Throughout most of México, lucerne (Medicago sativa) is the primary forage legume used in the dairy industry. Unfortunately, lucerne does not grow in late autumn and winter due to adverse weather. Recent studies with lucerne have suggested that the inclusion of a companion grass will invariably increase the seasonal distribution and total annual yield of swards (Laidlaw & Teuber, 2001). However the management of mixed swards containing lucerne is difficult as a grazing frequency or intensity which suits one species may be detrimental to the other. Changes in balance between grass and legume, especially in grazed swards, have been observed. In México mixtures of lucerne-orchard grass have a good persistence and productivity. However the explanation for this is unclear. This study examined the effects of different grazing management practices on lucerne-orchard grass production and seasonal distribution

Evaluación de la depresión, ansiedad e ira en pacientes con VIH/SIDA

La infección por el VIH constituye una enfermedad que, aunque actualmente se considera de carácter crónico, implica para el paciente que la padece unos niveles altos de incertidumbre y enfrentarse con una enfermedad rodeada de estigmatización y rechazo por parte de la sociedad. La depresión, la ansiedad y la ira son las reacciones emocionales que se manifiestan con más frecuencia entre los pacientes seropositivos. Igualmente, la infección por el VIH supone incertidumbre que se relaciona con elevados niveles de ansiedad y depresión debido a que los pacientes no conocen cómo va a evolucionar la enfermedad. Considerando la importancia de los aspectos emocionales en la infección por el VIH, se plantea esta investigación cuyos objetivos son evaluar si existen diferencias en la muestra de pacientes con VIH en cuanto a sintomatología depresiva, ansiedad estado, ira estado, ira rasgo y expresión de la ira en función del sexo, del estadio de la infección, del nivel de linfocitos CD4, del nivel de carga viral, de la vía a través de la cual se infectaron y de la presencia de lipodistrofia. Otro objetivo es evaluar si existen diferencias entre la muestra de personas con VIH/SIDA evaluada y el grupo normativo en cuanto a síntomas de depresión, ansiedad estado, ira estado, ira rasgo y expresión de la ira.HIV infection is a chronic-character illness which implies a high level of uncertainty for patients. Indeed, HIV infection involves confronting an illness surrounded by social stigma and refusal. There following are some of the situations that suppose big emotional repercussions: When an individual does not know whether he/she is infected, when he/she receives HIV diagnosis, or when he/she must say to other people that he/ she is HIV positive. The emotional effects are depression, anxiety; and anger, which are frecuent emotional reactions among HIV infected patients. These reactions disappear when the patient adapts to his/her condition of HIV infected. Likewise, the uncertainty that produces HIV infection is related both to high levels of anxiety and depression because patients do not know how their infection will evolve. Anger and depression constitute other emotional factors related to a faster evolution of HIV infection. In addition to that, depression has effects over the fullfillment of the HIV infection treatment guidelines. Considering the importance of emotional aspects in HIV infection, this research's aims were to verify the differences in the sample of patients with HIV that has been evaluated regarding characteristics of depression, state of anxiety, state of anger, trait of anger, and expression of anger according to gender, stage of HIV infection, CD4 cells, viral load, transmission way, and the presence of lipodystrophy. Another aim was to verify if there were any differences between the sample of persons with HIV/AIDS that has been evaluated and the normative group in symptoms of depression, state of anxiety, state of anger, trait of anger, and expression of anger

Efficacy and safety of switching to abacavir/lamivudine (ABC/3TC) plus rilpivirine (RPV) in virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients on HAART.

We analysed the efficacy and safety of switching from a regimen based on nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) or integrase inhibitors (INI) to ABC/3TC + RPV in virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients. This multicentre, retrospective study comprised asymptomatic HIV-infected patients who switched from 2 NRTI + NNRTI or 2 NRTI + INI to ABC/3TC + RPV between February 2013 and December 2013; all had undetectable HIV viral load prior to switching. Efficacy and safety, and changes in lipids and cardiovascular risk (CVR) were analysed at 48 weeks. Of 85 patients (74.1 % men, mean age 49.5 years), 83 (97.6 %) switched from a regimen based on NNRTI (EFV 74, RPV 5, ETV 2, NVP 2), and 45 (53 %) switched from TDF/FTC to ABC/3TC. The main reasons for switching were toxicity (58.8 %) and convenience (29.4 %). At 48 weeks, 78 (91.8 %) patients continued taking the same regimen; efficacy was 88 % by intention to treat, and 96 % by per protocol. Two patients were lost to follow-up and five ceased the new regimen (4 due to adverse effects and 1 virologic failure). Mean CD4 cell counts increased (744 vs. 885 cells/μL; p = 0.0001), and there were mean decreases in fasting total cholesterol (-15.9 mg/dL; p < 0.0001) and LDL-cholesterol (-11.0 mg/dL; p < 0.004), with no changes in HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol ratio, and CVR. ABC/3TC + RPV is effective and safe in virologically-suppressed patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Forty-eight weeks after switching the lipid profile improved with decreases in total and LDL cholesterol.This study has been supported in part by the RD12/0017/0017 project (Plan Nacional R+D+ I) and cofinanced by Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Subdirección General de Evaluación y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional and a grant from by Janssen Cilag