Weed harrowing in winter cereal under semi-arid conditions

Five field experiments on barley and wheat have been carried out in North-Eastern Spain on the same field during the cropping seasons 1999-00 to 2003-04 to compare the effect of different harrowing adjustments on weed control, weed biomass and cereal yield. The variables considered were harrowing timing (pre- or early post-emergence), one or two passes, travelling direction, harrowing depth and speed compared with an untreated control and herbicide. Excepting year 2001, with very little weed emergence, mechanical control as a whole caused a significant weed plant reduction compared to the untreated plots in all years. No influence of harrowing depth and travelling speed and of pre-emergence harrowing were found in the trials. A single harrowing treatment conducted across the sowing direction gave the same or less control compared to harrowing along the sowing direction. Two harrowing passes achieved a higher efficacy than one single pass and little differences were detected if the second pass was conducted the same day, across the sowing direction or 15 days later. Despite herbicide had generally a higher efficacy than the harrowing treatments, in three out of five years it was found a mechanical control with the same control than herbicide. The effect of the different treatments on weed biomass was lower than on weed number and no significant differences were found for grain yield. Considering that an herbicide treatment in the present conditions is three times more expensive than harrowing, a single post-emergence harrowing can be considered a valid option for low and medium-infested cereal fields.En este trabajo se muestran los resultados de cinco experimentos de campo localizados en el noreste de España desde 1999-00 hasta 2003-04. En ellos se comparó el efecto de distintas formas de control mecánico de la flora arvense con grada de varillas flexibles sobre la densidad y biomasa de la misma y sobre la producción de cereal comparado con un control sin tratar y el uso de herbicidas. Las variables consideradas fueron: momento y número de pases de grada, profundidad, dirección y velocidad de los pases. Excepto en 2001, con una baja infestación, el control mecánico redujo la densidad de arvenses en comparación con las parcelas sin tratar. La profundidad y la velocidad de la labor no tuvieron influencia clara y realizar el pase en preemergencia del cereal resultó ineficaz probablemente debido a la falta de humedad. Dos pases resultaron más eficaces que uno y se encontraron pocas diferencias si el segundo se hacía en el mismo día, perpendicular o 15 días después. Aunque el herbicida tuvo generalmente mayor eficacia que los tratamientos mecánicos, en tres años se encontró un tratamiento mecánico con eficacia similar. El efecto de los distintos tratamientos sobre la biomasa de arvenses fue menor que sobre el número de las mismas y no hubo diferencias significativas sobre la producción. Dado que el tratamiento herbicida en las condiciones del ensayo fue tres veces más caro que el tratamiento mecánico, un único pase en post-emergencia puede ser una opción válida con infestaciones medias o bajas de malas hierbas

Effects on cycle control and bodyweight of the combined contraceptive ring, NuvaRing, versus an oral contraceptive containing 30 µg ethinyl estradiol and 3 mg drospirenone

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to compare cycle control, cycle-related characteristics and bodyweight effects of NuvaRing with those of a combined oral contraceptive (COC) containing 30 µg of ethinyl estradiol and 3 mg of drospirenone. METHODS: A randomized, multicentre, open-label trial in which 983 women were treated (intent-to-treat population) with NuvaRing or the COC for 13 cycles. RESULTS: Breakthrough bleeding or spotting during cycles 2-13 was in general less frequent with NuvaRing than that with the COC (4.7-10.4%) and showed a statistically significant odds ratio of 0.61 (95% confidence interval: 0.46, 0.80) with longitudinal analysis. Intended bleeding was significantly better for all cycles with NuvaRing (55.2-68.5%) than that with the COC (35.6-56.6%) (P < 0.01). Changes from baseline in mean bodyweight and body composition parameters were relatively small for both groups with no notable between-group differences. CONCLUSION: NuvaRing was associated with better cycle control than the COC, and there was no clinically relevant difference between the two groups in bodyweigh

The global pandemic and changes in women's reproductive health : an observational study

Altres ajuts: Valley Electronics AG, Zurich, Switzerland.Objective: The COVID-19 global pandemic has led to the death of millions around the world and impacted the overall health of many people. In this article we aim to compare reproductive health indicators in the first 6 months of 2020 to the prior year, as well as explore stress and quality of life during this time. Methods: This retrospective observational study examined the menstrual cycles of 1159 women who were using a fertility tracking device to record their menstrual cycle and BBT data. We utilised a supplemental mobile application to administer a supplemental survey to collect data on stress and quality of life. Descriptive analyses were conducted with t-tests for two-group comparisons. Results: Study participants from 15 countries contributed to a total of 13,194 cycles. 23.1% (268/1159) responded to the survey focussed on assessing psychosocial distress. 44.4% (119/268) of the study participants reported that they had noticed a change in their menstrual cycle, temperature curve, or menstruation in the past 12 months. Cycle analysis found the average cycle length and pre-ovulation phase length was longer in the first 6 months of 2019, while the average days of menstruation was slightly longer in 2020. Discussion: Our findings indicate that menstrual cycle indicators changed only slightly in the first 6 months of 2020 but were still statistically significant. We were also able to understand that these study participants had some level of awareness of changes to their menstrual health

Consumer Law and Policy Relating to Change of Circumstances Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

An unprecedented number of consumer problems has been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, not least with regard to refunds of prepayments and the ability of consumers to keep up their monthly payments under loan and rental agreements. Based on a notion of societal force majeure sketched in this paper, we propose guiding principles in respect of the introduction of moratoria on recurring payments, the use of refunds or vouchers in respect of prepayments, and associated enforcement challenges. This analysis draws on experiences around the globe.Non peer reviewe

Prevalence of emergency contraceptive pill use among Spanish adolescent girls and their family and psychological profiles

The Author(s). 2018 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background:Adolescent girls’ family context and psychological characteristics play important roles in their sexual behavior, including the use of the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP). This study aims to (1) determine the prevalence of ECP use among girls who have had sexual intercourse and (2) comparatively analyze their family and psychological profiles according to whether they have used ECPs. Methods:The sample of 1735 Spanish girls aged 15 to 18 came from a representative sample of the 2014 edition of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Of this sample, 398 girls had sexual intercourse and reported their ECP use. Data collection for the HBSC study was performed through an online questionnaire to which adolescents responded anonymously in school. Data analyses were descriptive and bivariate and were performed with the statistical program IBM SPSS Statistics 23.Results:The results demonstrated that 30.65% of girls who had sexual intercourse used ECPs. Noticeable differences in paternal knowledge and communication with the father were observed between girls who used the ECP at least once and those who did not use it. In contrast, differences between girls who used the ECP once and those who used it twice or more were pronounced with regard to parental knowledge, communication with parents, maternal affection,life satisfaction, sense of coherence and depression. Conclusions:This work demonstrates a high prevalence of ECP use and a more positive family and psychological profile for girls who used ECP once compared with those who used it twice or more.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

One-step nucleic acid amplification (Osna) of sentinel lymph node in early-stage endometrial cancer: Spanish multicenter study (endo-osna)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) for the detection of sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis compared to standard pathological ultrastaging in patients with early-stage endometrial cancer (EC). A total of 526 SLNs from 191 patients with EC were included in the study, and 379 SLNs (147 patients) were evaluated by both methods, OSNA and standard pathological ultrastaging. The central 1 mm portion of each lymph node was subjected to semi-serial sectioning at 200 µm intervals and examined by hematoxylin–eosin and immunohistochemistry with CK19; the remaining tissue was analyzed by OSNA for CK19 mRNA. The OSNA assay detected metastases in 19.7% of patients (14.9% micrometastasis and 4.8% macrometastasis), whereas pathological ultrastaging detected metastasis in 8.8% of patients (3.4% micrometastasis and 5.4% macrometastasis). Using the established cut-off value for detecting SLN metastasis by OSNA in EC (250 copies/µL), the sensitivity of the OSNA assay was 92%, specificity was 82%, diagnostic accuracy was 83%, and the negative predictive value was 99%. Discordant results between both methods were recorded in 20 patients (13.6%). OSNA resulted in an upstaging in 12 patients (8.2%). OSNA could aid in the identification of patients requiring adjuvant treatment at the time of diagnosis. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Eligibility criteria for Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT): a position statement from a consortium of scientific societies for the use of MHT in women with medical conditions. MHT Eligibility Criteria Group

This project aims to develop eligibility criteria for menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). The tool should be similar to those already established for contraception A consortium of scientific societies coordinated by the Spanish Menopause Society met to formulate recommendations for the use of MHT by women with medical conditions based on the best available evidence. The project was developed in two phases. As a first step, we conducted 14 systematic reviews and 32 metanalyses on the safety of MHT (in nine areas: age, time of menopause onset, treatment duration, women with thrombotic risk, women with a personal history of cardiovascular disease, women with metabolic syndrome, women with gastrointestinal diseases, survivors of breast cancer or of other cancers, and women who smoke) and on the most relevant pharmacological interactions with MHT. These systematic reviews and metanalyses helped inform a structured process in which a panel of experts defined the eligibility criteria according to a specific framework, which facilitated the discussion and development process. To unify the proposal, the following eligibility criteria have been defined in accordance with the WHO international nomenclature for the different alternatives for MHT (category 1, no restriction on the use of MHT; category 2, the benefits outweigh the risks; category 3, the risks generally outweigh the benefits; category 4, MHT should not be used). Quality was classified as high, moderate, low or very low, based on several factors (including risk of bias, inaccuracy, inconsistency, lack of directionality and publication bias). When no direct evidence was identified, but plausibility, clinical experience or indirect evidence were available, "Expert opinion" was categorized. For the first time, a set of eligibility criteria, based on clinical evidence and developed according to the most rigorous methodological tools, has been defined. This will provide health professionals with a powerful decision-making tool that can be used to manage menopausal symptoms