Valoración económica ambiental del recurso hídrico, y el beneficio para los usuarios del sistema de riego Guargualla de la parroquia Licto, cantón Riobamba provincia de Chimborazo (2012-2016)

The present investigation focuses on the tributaries of the Guargualla river that supplies the irrigation system that bears the same name, it is located in the Licto parish, canton Riobamba, province of Chimborazo, being the only source of water supply for irrigation, It made necessary an economic and environmental assessment, with the purpose of implementing a system of protection and care of the tributaries. This will contribute to maintaining the quantity and quality of the water resource to promote the agricultural production of its 1926 users made up of four parishes and 22 communal irrigation committees. The work is based on a diagnosis and evaluation of the water environmental service of the place, including two important aspects, the supply and demand of water, to then determine the value of catchment and restoration, tools that will allow to identify the benefits that the valuation of water causes. We used the contingent valuation method that is used to estimate the value of goods and services that do not exist in the market, it is a simple and intuitive understanding, which is to assume a market by conducting surveys to potential consumers. The study established that 82% of users are aware of the decrease in water resources, so 91% are willing to contribute with an additional payment for the conservation of the páramos. The value of 0.31 cents was established to finance the conservation of the sources of the irrigation system of the Guargualla Board.La presente investigación se centra en los afluentes del rio Guargualla que abastece el sistema de riego que lleva el mismo nombre, este se ubica en la parroquia Licto, cantón Riobamba, provincia de Chimborazo, siendo la única fuente de abastecimiento de agua para riego, se hizo necesario una valoración económica y ambiental, con el propósito de implementar un sistema de protección y cuidado de los afluentes. Esto contribuirá en mantener la cantidad y calidad del recurso hídrico para promover la producción agropecuaria de sus 1926 usuarios conformados por cuatro parroquias y 22 comités comunales de riego.  El trabajo parte de un diagnóstico y evaluación del servicio ambiental hídrico del lugar, incluyendo dos aspectos importantes, la oferta y demanda del agua, para luego determinar el valor de captación y restauración, herramientas que permitirán identificar los beneficios que ocasiona la valoración del agua. Se utilizó el método de valoración contingente que sirve para estimar el valor de bienes y servicios que no existen en el mercado, es una valoración simple y de comprensión intuitiva, trata de suponer un mercado mediante la realización de encuestas a los consumidores potenciales

Conocimientos y actitudes de los médicos en dos áreas sanitarias sobre las voluntades vitales anticipadas

ObjetivosExplorar los conocimientos y actitudes de los médicos acerca de las voluntades anticipadas en dos áreas de Andalucía. Comparar los resultados de ambas áreas sanitarias. Comparar los resultados de los médicos de atención primaria y atención especializada.DiseñoEstudio descriptivo, transversal, mediante cuestionario autocumplimentado.EmplazamientoÁrea Sanitaria Norte de Málaga y Área Sanitaria Norte de Almería.ParticipantesMédicos de atención primara y especializada.Mediciones y resultados principalesConocimientos y actitudes acerca de las voluntades vitales anticipadas (testamentos vitales); 194 médicos respondieron al cuestionario (tasa de respuesta del 63,19%). Media de edad ± desviación típica, 42,54±80,85 años; el 65,5%, varones, y el 33,5%, mujeres. El 51,55%, médicos de atención primaria, y el 48,45%, de especializada.ConclusionesHay una actitud favorable hacia la utilidad de las voluntades anticipadas tanto para los familiares del paciente como para los profesionales sanitarios; también hacia su utilización y respeto. Desean manifestar su propia voluntad anticipada aunque no en un futuro cercano. El personal de atención primaria muestra una actitud más favorable hacia las voluntades anticipadas en algunos ítems que el personal de especializada.ObjectivesTo explore the knowledge and attitudes of physicians towards advance directives in two healthcare areas.To compare the outcomes of both areas.To compare the outcomes of primary healthcare and specialised healthcare.DesignA cross sectional, descriptive study by means of a self-administered questionnaire.SettingNorth-Málaga and North-Almería healthcare areas, Spain.ParticipantsPhysicians of primary and specialised healthcare.Measurements and main resultsKnowledge and attitudes towards advance directives. 194 (63.19%) questionnaires were filled out by the physicians from both healthcare districts. Mean age (standard deviation) 42.54 (80.85); 65.5% of participants were men and 33.5% were women; 51.55% from primary care and 48.45% from specialised healthcare.ConclusionsPolled physicians revealed a positive attitude towards the usefulness of advance directives for the patient's relatives and for healthcare professionals. They also show a positive attitude towards the use and respect of advance directives. They show a high predisposition to registry their advance directive, but a low predisposition to do so in a short term

Egg Production in Poultry Farming Is Improved by Probiotic Bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most serious threats for human health in the near future. Livestock has played an important role in the appearance of antibioticresistant bacteria, intestinal dysbiosis in farming animals, or the spread of AMR among pathogenic bacteria of human concern. The development of alternatives like probiotics is focused on maintaining or improving production levels while diminishing these negative effects of antibiotics. To this end, we supplied the potential probiotic Enterococcus faecalis UGRA10 in the diet of laying hens at a final concentration of 108 Colony Forming Units per gram (CFU/g) of fodder. Its effects have been analyzed by: (i) investigating the response of the ileum and caecum microbiome; and (ii) analyzing the outcome on eggs production. During the second half of the experimental period (40 to 76 days), hens fed E. faecalis UGRA10 maintained egg production, while control animals dropped egg production. Supplementation diet with E. faecalis UGRA10 significantly increased ileum and caecum bacterial diversity (higher bacterial operational taxonomic unit richness and Faith’s diversity index) of laying hens, with animals fed the same diet showing a higher similarity in microbial composition. These results point out to the beneficial effects of E. faecalis UGRA10 in egg production. Future experiments are necessary to unveil the underlying mechanisms that mediate the positive response of animals to this treatment.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo (Junta de Andalucía), the University of Granada- CEI BioTic (Project No. P-BS-37), and the INTERCONECTA program (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness). JP-S was funded by Junta de Andalucia (Proyectos de Excelencia 2011- RNM-8147)

Allium-Based Phytobiotic Enhances Egg Production in Laying Hens through Microbial Composition Changes in Ileum and Cecum

The misuse of antibiotics has led several countries to ban their use as prophylactics against bacterial diseases or as growth promoters in livestock and poultry. Phytobiotics (bioactive compounds extracted from plants) are one of the alternatives, due to their antimicrobial activity and its modulation of the gut microbiota and the improvement of productive properties. Garlic and onion extracts, rich in antimicrobial compounds, are of the most promising alternative to antibiotics. We supplemented a garlic- and onion-based product in the diet to laying hens at the beginning of their productive life. The group supplied with this product produced in one month more eggs and with bigger size. This increase in production was accompanied by changes in the bacterial community of the gut. These changes in the microbiota suggest an improvement in food digestibility, as the most important changes produced by these compounds occur in the most distal parts of the gut. The relative abundance of beneficial Lactococcus in the ileum and Lactobacillus in the cecum increased in the experimental group. Both genera are known to have beneficial effects on host. These results are very promising for the use of these compounds in poultry for short periods.Phytobiotics (bioactive compounds extracted from plants) are one of the explored alternatives to antibiotics in poultry and livestock due to their antimicrobial activity and its positive effects on gut microbiota and productive properties. In this study, we supplemented a product based on garlic and onion compounds in the diet to laying hens at the beginning of their productive life (from 16 to 20 weeks post-hatching). The experimental group showed a significant increase in the number of eggs laid and in their size, produced in one month compared to the control. This increase in production was accompanied by microbiota changes in the ileum and cecum by means of high throughput sequencing analyses. These bacterial shifts in the ileum were mainly the result of compositional changes in the rare biosphere (unweighted UniFrac), while in the cecum, treatment affected both majority and minority bacterial groups (weighted and unweighted UniFrac). These changes in the microbiota suggest an improvement in food digestibility. The relative abundance of Lactococcus in the ileum and Lactobacillus in the cecum increased significantly in the experimental group. The relative abundance of these bacterial genera are known to have positive effects on thSpanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo (Junta de Andalucía)University of Granada-CEI BioTic (Project No. P-BS-37)INTERCONECTA program (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

Healthcare workers hospitalized due to COVID-19 have no higher risk of death than general population. Data from the Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

Aim To determine whether healthcare workers (HCW) hospitalized in Spain due to COVID-19 have a worse prognosis than non-healthcare workers (NHCW). Methods Observational cohort study based on the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, a nationwide registry that collects sociodemographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data on patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Spain. Patients aged 20-65 years were selected. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with mortality. Results As of 22 May 2020, 4393 patients were included, of whom 419 (9.5%) were HCW. Median (interquartile range) age of HCW was 52 (15) years and 62.4% were women. Prevalence of comorbidities and severe radiological findings upon admission were less frequent in HCW. There were no difference in need of respiratory support and admission to intensive care unit, but occurrence of sepsis and in-hospital mortality was lower in HCW (1.7% vs. 3.9%; p = 0.024 and 0.7% vs. 4.8%; p<0.001 respectively). Age, male sex and comorbidity, were independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare working with lower mortality (OR 0.211, 95%CI 0.067-0.667, p = 0.008). 30-days survival was higher in HCW (0.968 vs. 0.851 p<0.001). Conclusions Hospitalized COVID-19 HCW had fewer comorbidities and a better prognosis than NHCW. Our results suggest that professional exposure to COVID-19 in HCW does not carry more clinical severity nor mortality

Database of spatial distribution of non indigenous species in Spanish marine waters

Research in marine Spanish waters are focused on several actions to achieve an effectively management on protected areas, with the active participation of the stakeholders and research as basic tools for decision-making. Among these actions, there is one about the knowledge and control on NIS. One of its objectives is the creation of NIS factsheets, which are going to be added to the National Marine Biodiversity Geographical System (GIS) providing complementary information about taxonomic classification, common names, taxonomic synonyms, species illustrations, identification morphological characters, habitat in the native and introduced regions, biological and ecological traits, GenBank DNA sequences, world distribution, first record and evolution in the introduced areas, likely pathways of introduction, effects in the habitats and interaction with native species, and potential management measures to apply. The database will also provide data for (1) the European online platforms, (2) the environmental assessment for the Descriptor 2 (D2-NIS) of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as well as (3) supporting decisions made by stakeholders. It is the result of extensive collaboration among scientist, manager’s and citizen science in the Spanish North-Atlantic, South-Atlantic, Gibraltar Strait-Alboran, Levantine-Balearic and Canary Islands marine divisions, providing an updated overview of the spatial distribution of relevant extended and invasive NIS of recent and established NIS introduced by maritime transport and aquaculture pathways, as well as on cryptogenic or native species in expansion due to the climatic water warming trend

Occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 viremia is associated with genetic variants of genes related to COVID-19 pathogenesis

IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 viral load has been related to COVID-19 severity. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 viremia and SNPs in genes previously studied by our group as predictors of COVID-19 severity.Materials and methodsRetrospective observational study including 340 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the University Hospital La Princesa between March 2020 and December 2021, with at least one viremia determination. Positive viremia was considered when viral load was above the quantifiable threshold (20 copies/ml). A total of 38 SNPs were genotyped. To study their association with viremia a multivariate logistic regression was performed.ResultsThe mean age of the studied population was 64.5 years (SD 16.6), 60.9% patients were male and 79.4% white non-Hispanic. Only 126 patients (37.1%) had at least one positive viremia. After adjustment by confounders, the presence of the minor alleles of rs2071746 (HMOX1; T/T genotype OR 9.9 p &lt; 0.0001), rs78958998 (probably associated with SERPING1 expression; A/T genotype OR 2.3, p = 0.04 and T/T genotype OR 12.9, p &lt; 0.0001), and rs713400 (eQTL for TMPRSS2; C/T + T/T genotype OR 1.86, p = 0.10) were associated with higher risk of viremia, whereas the minor alleles of rs11052877 (CD69; A/G genotype OR 0.5, p = 0.04 and G/G genotype OR 0.3, p = 0.01), rs2660 (OAS1; A/G genotype OR 0.6, p = 0.08), rs896 (VIPR1; T/T genotype OR 0.4, p = 0.02) and rs33980500 (TRAF3IP2; C/T + T/T genotype OR 0.3, p = 0.01) were associated with lower risk of viremia.ConclusionGenetic variants in HMOX1 (rs2071746), SERPING1 (rs78958998), TMPRSS2 (rs713400), CD69 (rs11052877), TRAF3IP2 (rs33980500), OAS1 (rs2660) and VIPR1 (rs896) could explain heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 viremia in our population

Abrupt and persistent atmospheric circulation changes in the North Atlantic under La Niña conditions

Several recent studies have linked the exceptional North Atlantic and Eurasian atmospheric evolution during late February and March 2018 to the Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) that took place a few weeks earlier. February 2018 was characterized by an abrupt transition from the positive to the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and a subsequent persistence of the negative NAO for several weeks. This paper investigates the contribution of atmospheric and oceanic phenomena to both the 2018 event and a set of 19 identified analogues (including the former) for the period 1959-2022. Evidence is given that La Nin similar to a conditions in the tropical Pacific and upstream North Atlantic cyclones play an important role as a trigger for these events. Ensuing two-way tropospheric-strato-spheric coupling and eddy feedbacks provide extended-range persistence for negative NAO conditions. These results may help improve the prediction of such exceptional events.Unión Europea Horizonte 2020Universidad Complutense de MadridMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)JeDiSInstituto de Salud Carlos IIIDepto. de Física de la Tierra y AstrofísicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEpu

Abrupt and persistent atmospheric circulation changes in the North Atlantic under La Niña conditions

Several recent studies have linked the exceptional North Atlantic and Eurasian atmospheric evolution during late February and March 2018 to the Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) that took place a few weeks earlier. February 2018 was characterized by an abrupt transition from the positive to the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and a subsequent persistence of the negative NAO for several weeks. This paper investigates the contribution of atmospheric and oceanic phenomena to both the 2018 event and a set of 19 identified analogues (including the former) for the period 1959–2022. Evidence is given that La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific and upstream North Atlantic cyclones play an important role as a trigger for these events. Ensuing two-way tropospheric-stratospheric coupling and eddy feedbacks provide extended-range persistence for negative NAO conditions. These results may help improve the prediction of such exceptional events.Union Europea H 2020Universidad Complutense de MadridMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)JeDiSMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad (España)Depto. de Física de la Tierra y AstrofísicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEpu