Medición del ritmo mediante la sincronía. Propuesta de una batería de tests

En el presente estudio, proponemos una batería de pruebas que permite analizar de una manera específica y objetiva las diferentes capacidades implícitas en la sincronización motora de un sujeto ante diferentes estímulos auditivos rítmicos. La aplicación de la batería de pruebas nos permitirá medir: El compás o tempo espontáneo, la capacidad de percepción de las estructuras rítmicas, la capacidad de aprehensión o memoria inmediata de estructuras rítmicas, la capacidad de anticipación y sincronización con estructuras rítmicas y la capacidad psicomotora para controlar las respuestas. La validación del test es teórica y se basa en una revisión sobre tests ya probados de medida del ritmo a los que se le añaden otros, destinados a cubrir aspectos relevantes en la ejecución rítmica. La finalidad del estudio es conocer si las pruebas propuestas pueden ser útiles para evaluar la capacidad rítmica de los sujetos y predecir un mejor resultado en actividades donde el ritmo es un factor determinante: música, danza, gimnasia rítmica y artística, etc. La batería de pruebas se ha diseñado mediante un programa informático, siendo necesaria la utilización de un ordenador personal y un pulsador táctil también diseñado para el estudio

Institutions and Economics of Water Scarcity and Droughts

Integrated water resources management seeks an efficient blend of all water resources (e.g., fresh surface water, groundwater, reused water, desalinated water) to meet the demands of the full range of water users (e.g., agriculture, municipalities, industry, and e-flows). Water scarcity and droughts already affect many regions of the world and are expected to increase due to climate change and economic growth. In this Special Issue, 10 peer-reviewed articles have been published that address the questions regarding the economic effects of water scarcity and droughts, management instruments, such as water pricing, water markets, technologies and user-based reallocation, and the strategies to enhance resiliency, adaptation to scarcity and droughts. There is a need to improve the operation of institutions in charge of the allocation and re-allocation of resources when temporal (drought) or structural over-allocation arises. Water scarcity, droughts and pollution have increased notably in recent decades. A drought is a temporary climatic effect or natural disaster that can occur anywhere and can be short or prolonged. Water scarcity involves a lack of supply relative to potential or current demand that generates conflict between alternative uses of water, especially regarding the requirements of societies, economic sectors, territories and ecosystems. Traditionally, users in water-scarce regions have adapted to dealing with water shortages; however, droughts can greatly increase problems since they are uncertain events and also affect water-abundant regions, with climate change increasing their frequency and severity [1]. Supply-side mechanisms have traditionally been employed to cope with drought by building infrastructure (wells, dams, channels, inter-basin transfers), and recently by including desalinised, brackish, and reclaimed wastewater into the resource mix. Berbel and Esteban [2] study the influence of drought as a catalyst for water policy reform in three developed economies with a Mediterranean climate (Spain, California and Australia), and find that solutions and institutions are trajectory-dependant and grounded in social institutions. Nevertheless, there is a convergence of the type of instruments employed to manage water scarcity and droughts. In this Special Issue, the reported case studies recount experiences from USA, China, and the European Union (southern Member States). A variety of proposals aimed at tackling droughts and scarcity have been discussed, ranging from economic tools (pricing and insurance) and the increased use of reclaimed wastewater, to reforming the institutional setting (water markets and priority rights). Most of these papers analyses economic instruments and agriculture, but other economic sectors as well as non-market values are also addressed

Factores de variabilidad del lanzamiento en salto en balonmano por efecto de la oposición

Se han analizado las variables biomecánicas que determinan la eficacia de un gesto técnico como es el lanzamiento en salto a distancia en balonmano realizado sin y con oposición defensiva. El propósito del trabajo es estudiar los factores de variabilidad por efecto de la oposición. Para el desarrollo de este trabajo se han utilizado las técnicas fotogramétricas tridimensionales (3D). El aspecto más relevante que se desprende de los resultados expuestos es la falta de significación estadística entre todos los factores causales cuando se comparan las dos situaciones experimentales propuestas (sin y con oposición)

Benefits of vibration training in the neuromuscular system of the elderly

Introducción: El entrenamiento vibratorio puede ser una opción de intervención óptima para prevenir la pérdida de masa muscular en adultos mayores. Objetivo: Comprobar la efectividad del entrenamiento vibratorio en el sistema neuromuscular de los adultos mayores. Material y método: Revisión bibliográfica en las bases de datos Medline, CINAHL, WOS y PEDro, mediante la combinación de los descriptores del Medical Subjects Headings referentes a entrenamiento vibratorio, fuerza muscular, masa muscular y personas mayores. Resultados: Los estudios localizados sobre el entrenamiento vibratorio en personas mayores se realizaron, bien como única intervención, o en combinación con otro tipo de ejercicios de fuerza, aeróbicos, de equilibrio o de flexibilidad. La diversidad de protocolos empleados dificulta una comparación entre estudios. Conclusión: El entrenamiento con plataformas vibratorias demuestra ser un método de entrenamiento de la fuerza seguro, adecuado y eficaz para la población de mayor edad, pero con resultados similares al ejercicio de resistencia convencional

Quantification of prebiotics in commercial infant formulas

Since breastfeeding is not always possible, infant formulas (IFs) are supplemented with prebiotic oligosaccharides, such as galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and/or fructooligosaccharides (FOS) to exert similar effects to those of the breast milk. Nowadays, a great number of infant formulas enriched with prebiotics are disposal in the market, however there are scarce data about their composition. In this study, the combined use of two chromatographic methods (GC-FID and HPLC-RID) for the quantification of carbohydrates present in commercial infant formulas have been used. According to the results obtained by GC-FID for products containing prebiotics, the content of FOS, GOS and GOS/FOS was in the ranges of 1.6-5.0, 1.7-3.2, and 0.08-0.25/2.3-3.8 g/100 g of product, respectively. HPLC-RID analysis allowed quantification of maltodextrins with degree of polymerization (DP) up to 19. The methodology proposed here may be used for routine quality control of infant formula and other food ingredients containing prebiotics.This work has been supported by projects AGL2011-27884 and AGL2014-58205-REDC from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; ALIBIRD-CM S-2013/ABI-272 (Comunidad de Madrid).Peer Reviewe

Retos y oportunidades de la implantación de los bancos de agua en España

Con el fin de conseguir una buena gobernanza del agua, que trate de alcanzar un equilibrio entre los objetivos de eficiencia económica y sostenibilidad ambiental, durante las últimas décadas se ha potenciado el uso de instrumentos económicos para una mejor gestión de la demanda de los recursos hídricos, dada la dificultad de seguir aumentando la oferta de los mismos. En este contexto, este trabajo se centra en los bancos de agua como mecanismo de mercado que aporta la necesaria flexibilidad institucional en la asignación de los recursos hídricos entre los diferentes usuarios. La investigación realizada en este sentido ha permitido desarrollar una tipología de los bancos de agua que actualmente operan a nivel mundial en base a sus características operativas. Esta caracterización ha permitido igualmente realizar un análisis crítico de las experiencias de bancos de agua implementadas hasta la fecha, con el fin poder valorar el desempeño de este instrumento económico para la mejora de la gestión pública del agua. La investigación llevada a cabo revela que los bancos de agua son un instrumento útil para la gestión de los recursos hídricos, aportando sugerencias para la mejora de su implementación operativa en España mediante la correspondiente reforma de la Ley de Aguas.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) AGL2013-48080-C2-1-RFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) AGL2013-48080-C2-1-

Water Pricing and Quotas: A Quantitative Analysis from a Private and Social Perspective

The current situation of structural water scarcity due to the rise in demand, the reduction in supply as a consequence of climate change, increasingly frequent drought periods, and overall quantitative pressure on water resources creates a need for economic instruments to reduce the amount of water used, especially in the agricultural sector. Thus, water pricing and allocation quotas (proportional reduction of allocations) may be suitable tools to reduce demand or allocate scarce water resources. For a comparative analysis of the performance of these two measures, a Positive Mathematical Programming model has been developed, using the Guadalquivir River Basin as a case study. Additionally, the analysis takes into account the revenue generated from water pricing and the marginal cost of public funds. The results indicate that, from the farmer’s perspective, quotas result in smaller losses than water pricing. However, when considering water pricing along with the revenue generated from this measure, this mechanism would be more beneficial for society as a whole, since the taxes collected could be used for other purposes, albeit with efficiency losses measured by the marginal cost of public funds and the excess burden of taxation

Retrospective distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi I genotypes in Colombia

Trypanosoma cruzi is the aetiological agent of Chagas disease, which affects approximately eight million people in the Americas. This parasite exhibits genetic variability, with at least six discrete typing units broadly distributed in the American continent. T. cruzi I (TcI) shows remarkable genetic diversity; a genotype linked to human infections and a domestic cycle of transmission have recently been identified, hence, this strain was named TcIDom. The aim of this work was to describe the spatiotemporal distribution of TcI subpopulations across humans, insect vectors and mammalian reservoirs in Colombia by means of molecular typing targeting the spliced leader intergenic region of mini-exon gene. We analysed 101 TcI isolates and observed a distribution of sylvatic TcI in 70% and TcIDom in 30%. In humans, the ratio was sylvatic TcI in 60% and TcIDom in 40%. In mammal reservoirs, the distribution corresponded to sylvatic TcI in 96% and TcIDom in 4%. Among insect vectors, sylvatic TcI was observed in 48% and TcIDom in 52%. In conclusion, the circulation of TcIDom is emerging in Colombia and this genotype is still adapting to the domestic cycle of transmission. The epidemiological and clinical implications of these findings are discussed herein. © 2015, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz. All rights reserved

Agricultural Water Allocation Under Cyclical Scarcity: The Role of Priority Water Rights

Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource worldwide, suggesting that water rationing methods should be revised to improve water allocation efficiency, especially during cyclical scarcity events (droughts). The proportional rule is the most widely used rationing method to allocate water in cases of water scarcity. However, this method fails to achieve Pareto-efficient allocation arrangements. Economic theory and international experience demonstrate that implementing security-differentiated water rights could improve allocative efficiency during cyclical scarcity periods. Moreover, it has been proven that this kind of priority rights regime is an efficient instrument to share risks related to water supply reliability, and can thus be considered as an adaptation measure to climate change. This evidence has enabled the development of an operational proposal for the implementation of security-differentiated water rights in the irrigation sector in Spain, as an alternative to the current rights based on the proportional rule. This proposal draws on the Australian case study, which is the most successful experience worldwide. Nevertheless, the insights obtained from the analysis performed and the proposal for reforming the water rights regime are applicable to any country with a mature water economy