Variation of growth performance of the striped venus clam Chamelea gallina (Mollusca: Bivalvia) (Linnaeus, 1758) in relation to environmental variables along the southern part of its geographic range

This study reports relative growth, shell length-age keys and growth performance indices (overall growth performance (OGP) and phi prime) for the striped venus Chamelea gallina from the Huelva coast in southwest (SW) Spain. The morphometric relationship shell height (SH)/shell length (SL) presented isometric growth whereas SL/shell width (SW) and SL/weight (W) displayed negative allometric growth. Shell length at age was estimated through length-frequency distribution (LF) and internal shell growth bands by acetate peel method (AP). C. gallina population consists mainly of three age classes with shell lengths around 13-15 mm for the first year, 25 mm for the second year and 30 mm for the third year. The OGP and phi prime values obtained in the present study are within the range of values for other C. gallina populations from the Gulf of Cádiz. Nevertheless, marked differences in growth performance were observed between populations from the Black Sea (lower growth performance) and from other locations along the southern distribution area of this species, which may be related to the low levels of temperature (SST), salinity (SSS) and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration that exhibit large intra-annual fluctuations.En prensa0,371

Accesibilidad a los contenidos educativos audiovisuales: nuevas tecnologías con formatos contenedores

One of the main objectives of distance learning methodology is providing access to studying for those who are not able to access face-to-face course delivery, such as individuals with disabilities. The use of educational media through the Internet offers many clear advantages over traditional text-based materials. For example, people with visual impairments can increase the font size on the screen, easily improve the contrast of the image, change colors, etc. Therefore, computers allow people with disabilities to perform activities that would have been more difficult with traditional technology and enables them to access services previously closed to them. Therefore innovation in the management of accessible educational content and new formats or specifications achieving the highest level of accessibility is nowadays one of the most important aspects for the development of distance learning. This article demonstrates the progress that can be achieved using container formats for multimedia resources, resulting in the improvement of existing production, distribution, and maintenance of processes, ensuring their reusability and interoperability.Uno de los principales objetivos de la metodología de enseñanza a distancia es precisamente posibilitar el acceso a estudios a personas que por sus circunstancias personales no habrían podido conseguirlos, como son las personas que tienen dificultades especiales para acceder a la enseñanza presencial. En el caso concreto del uso de medios educativos a través de Internet es evidente que la presentación de la información on-line ofrece muchas ventajas frente al papel. Es evidente que la innovación en el uso de la gestión de contenidos educativos y los formatos de especificación, logrando el mayor nivel de accesibilidad de los mismos, es uno de los aspectos más importantes para el desarrollo de la enseñanza a distancia en el momento actual. Este artículo muestra los avances que se pueden lograr con el uso de formatos contenedores para los recursos multimedia accesibles, lo cual redunda en una mejora de los actuales procesos de producción, distribución y mantenimiento de los contenidos y escenarios educativos, así como amortizar el esfuerzo realizado asegurando la mayor reutilización e interoperabilidad de los mismos

Proposal of the energy potentials in "La Majagua", a rural community to electrify

Para definir la forma en que se electrificará una comunidad rural, la valoración del uso de las fuentes renovables de energía y su impacto, se ha convertido en un aspecto fundamental en las últimas décadas. Esta investigación está basada en el análisis de las potencialidades energéticas que existen en "La Majagua", comunidad rural que no ha sido electrificada, para proponer alternativas energéticas para su electrificación, mediante la aplicación del modelo SURE para la toma de decisiones en proyectos de energización rural. Para esto fue necesario caracterizar la comunidad a partir de una encuesta predeterminada, identificando los criterios de la población sobre el uso de las potencialidades de fuentes energéticas locales, realizar el cálculo de la potencia necesaria estableciendo un módulo de equipos por casa, resultando 4,460 kWh/día de demanda para el módulo 1 con refrigerador, y de 1,26 kWh/día para el módulo 2 sin refrigerador. Del análisis se obtuvieron cuatro propuestas de electrificación: solar fotovoltaica con dos variantes de equipos individuales por vivienda, uno con 8 paneles (módulo 1) y otro con 2 paneles (módulo 2), ambos de 180 W; hidroenergía, con dos turbinas Michell Banki y una energía garantizada de 2,822 GWh/año; y conexión al Sistema Electroenergético Nacional; posibilitando brindar un beneficio a la comunidad, contribuyendo al desarrollo humano y social de sus pobladores

Propuesta de alternativas energéticas para la electrificación de la comunidad rural La Majagua, Los Palacios, Pinar del Río

In the last decades, the appreciation of the use renewable sources of energy and their effect, have become in a fundamental aspect to define the way in which a rural community can be electrified. This research is based on the analysis of the energy potentials in "La Majagua", a rural community, which has not been electrified; to propose energy alternatives for its electrification by means of the model SURE, which allows taking decisions in rural energy projects. It was required to characterize the community using a survey, identifying the criteria of the population about the potential use of local energy sources, to carry out an estimation of the necessary power, establishing a module of equipments for each house, getting as result1, 4,460 kWh/day of demand for a module 1 with fridge, and 1,26 kWh/day for a module 2 without fridge. There were four proposals as result from the previous study: photovoltaic solar, with two individuals variants for each house, with 8 solar panels (module 1), and other with 2 solar panels (module 2), both of them with 180 W; hydro-energy, with two turbines Michell Banki, and a guarantee energy of 2,822 GWh/year, and a connection to the National Electronenergetic System (NES), providing a benefit to the mentioned community, contributing to the human and social development of the population.Para definir la forma en que se electrificará una comunidad rural, la valoración del uso de las fuentes renovables de energía y su impacto, se ha convertido en un aspecto fundamental en las últimas décadas. Esta investigación está basada en el análisis de las potencialidades energéticas que existen en "La Majagua", comunidad rural que no ha sido electrificada, para proponer alternativas energéticas para su electrificación, mediante la aplicación del modelo SURE para la toma de decisiones en proyectos de energización rural. Para esto fue necesario caracterizar la comunidad a partir de una encuesta predeterminada, identificando los criterios de la población sobre el uso de las potencialidades de fuentes energéticas locales, realizar el cálculo de la potencia necesaria estableciendo un módulo de equipos por casa, resultando 4,460 kWh/día de demanda para el módulo 1 con refrigerador, y de 1,26 kWh/día para el módulo 2 sin refrigerador. Del análisis se obtuvieron cuatro propuestas de electrificación: solar fotovoltaica con dos variantes de equipos individuales por vivienda, uno con 8 paneles (módulo 1) y otro con 2 paneles (módulo 2), ambos de 180 W; hidroenergía, con dos turbinas Michell Banki y una energía garantizada de 2,822 GWh/año; y conexión al Sistema Electroenergético Nacional; posibilitando brindar un beneficio a la comunidad, contribuyendo al desarrollo humano y social de sus pobladores

Sampling and processing blood samples within the South American Youth/Child cARdiovascular and Environmental (SAYCARE) Study

Obesity and overweight in children and adolescents is increasing rapidly worldwide; however, scarce data have been reported from South America countries. With the purpose of assessing hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, the evaluation of blood biomarkers such as glucose, lipoproteins and chronic inflammation proteins is required. In the context of the SAYCARE study, in children and adolescents (3 to 18 years) from seven South American cities, our aim was to assess the impact of pre analytical conditions on different biomarkers evaluated in 474 fresh serum samples, in different country centers. We also evaluated the stability according to time and frozen storage within this study across the concordance of the results obtained from the 49 blood samples measured in three different centers. Significant correlations as well as concordance were observed in TG, Total-C, HDL-C and glucose between Buenos Aires and São Paulo. The samples evaluated in Teresina and São Paulo presented similar results, with exception of total cholesterol. We observed acceptable concordance between Buenos Aires vs São Paulo and Teresina vs São Paulo, suggesting that samples could be processed in each of these centers. This concordance is a consequence of the strict pre analytical conditions previously established in the SAYCARE study

Herramienta de evaluación de la calidad de los Materiales Educativos Digitales: perfiles de aplicación del profesor y del alumno

Este documento contiene dos adaptaciones de la herramienta de evaluación de la calidad de materiales educativos digitales (MED) del estándar UNE 71362 al profesor y al alumno que no son especialistas en Tecnologías ni en Accesibilidad con el fin de facilitar o mejorar la creación y selección de MED. Estos perfiles de aplicación no garantizan el cumplimiento del 100% de los criterios de calidad, por lo que no pueden ser usados como herramienta para certificar la calidad de los MED. Sin embargo, sí pueden ser usados para asegurar/comprobar con más facilidad determinados aspectos de la calidad

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on liver cancer management (CERO-19)

Background & Aims: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems and it may have heavily impacted patients with liver cancer (LC). Herein, we evaluated whether the schedule of LC screening or procedures has been interrupted or delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An international survey evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical practice and clinical trials from March 2020 to June 2020, as the first phase of a multicentre, international, and observational project. The focus was on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, cared for around the world during the first COVID-19 pandemic wave. Results: Ninety-one centres expressed interest to participate and 76 were included in the analysis, from Europe, South America, North America, Asia, and Africa (73.7%,17.1%, 5.3%, 2.6%, and 1.3% per continent, respectively). Eighty-seven percent of the centres modified their clinical practice: 40.8% the diagnostic procedures, 80.9% the screening programme, 50% cancelled curative and/or palliative treatments for LC, and 41.7% modified the liver transplantation programme. Forty-five out of 69 (65.2%) centres in which clinical trials were running modified their treatments in that setting, but 58.1% were able to recruit new patients. The phone call service was modified in 51.4% of centres which had this service before the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 19/37). Conclusions: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on the routine care of patients with liver cancer. Modifications in screening, diagnostic, and treatment algorithms may have significantly impaired the outcome of patients. Ongoing data collection and future analyses will report the benefits and disadvantages of the strategies implemented, aiding future decision-making. Lay summary: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems globally. Herein, we assessed the impact of the first wave pandemic on patients with liver cancer and found that routine care for these patients has been majorly disrupted, which could have a significant impact on outcomes. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)

Impact of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients: A nationwide study in Spain

Objective To assess the effect of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients in Spain. Settings The initial flood of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed an unprepared healthcare system. Different measures were taken to deal with this overburden. The effect of these measures on neurosurgical patients, as well as the effect of COVID-19 itself, has not been thoroughly studied. Participants This was a multicentre, nationwide, observational retrospective study of patients who underwent any neurosurgical operation from March to July 2020. Interventions An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to select the most relevant variables of the sample. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of mortality and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixteen hospitals registered 1677 operated patients. The overall mortality was 6.4%, and 2.9% (44 patients) suffered a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infections, 24 were diagnosed postoperatively. Age (OR 1.05), perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 4.7), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.006), postoperative neurological worsening (OR 5.9), postoperative need for airway support (OR 5.38), ASA grade =3 (OR 2.5) and preoperative GCS 3-8 (OR 2.82) were independently associated with mortality. For SARS-CoV-2 postoperative infection, screening swab test <72 hours preoperatively (OR 0.76), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.011), preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.784), postoperative sepsis (OR 3.807) and an absence of postoperative complications (OR 0.188) were independently associated. Conclusions Perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurosurgical patients was associated with an increase in mortality by almost fivefold. Community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) was a statistically independent predictor of mortality. Trial registration number CEIM 20/217