Identifying past social-ecological thresholds to understand long-term temporal dynamics in Spain

A thorough understanding of long-term temporal social-ecological dynamics at the national scale helps to explain the current condition of a country’s ecosystems and to support environmental policies to tackle future sustainability challenges. We aimed to develop a methodological approach to understand past long-term (1960-2010) social-ecological dynamics in Spain. First, we developed a methodical framework that allowed us to explore complex social-ecological dynamics among biodiversity, ecosystem services, human well-being, drivers of change, and institutional responses. Second, we compiled 21 long-term, national-scale indicators and analyzed their temporal relationships through a redundancy analysis. Third, we used a Bayesian change point analysis to detect evidence of past social-ecological thresholds and historical time periods. Our results revealed that Spain has passed through four socialecological thresholds that define five different time periods of nature and society relationships. Finally, we discussed how the proposed methodological approach helps to reinterpret national-level ecosystem indicators through a new conceptual lens to develop a more systems-based way of understanding long-term social-ecological patterns and dynamicsThis work was supported by the Biodiversity Foundation (http://www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es/) of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Partial financial support was also provided by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (project CGL2014-53782-P: ECOGRADIENTES). The Spanish National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA) funded Marina García-Llorente as part of the European Social Fund. Blanca González García-Mon participated in this article as a “la Caixa” Banking Foundation scholar. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, preparation of the report, or the decision to submit the study for publicatio

Intense precipitation events in the Central Range of the Iberian Peninsula

Intense orographic precipitation associated with the Central Range was analysed using data of maximum accumulated precipitation in 24 h, occurring between 1958 and 2010. The 18 selected episodes were associated with a southwesterly tropospheric flow, a low-level jet, and high moisture flux at low levels. The observed moisture flux was higher than 100 (m g(s kg)−1) and the dry and wet Froude numbers were greater than 1. The selected area to study this synoptic situation was Gredos, broad and high range, which is located in the eastern part of the Central Range and generates a leeward “orographic shadow”. The effect of the Central Range on the spatial distribution of precipitation on the Iberian Peninsula plateau results in a sharp increase in precipitation in the south of the Central Range, followed by a decrease to the north of this range

Método para la obtención de sombras con herramientas CAD. Aplicación con Rhinoceros

Con la herramienta de CAD Rhinoceros® hemos diseñado un método para obtener las curvas separatrices en 3D mediante la obtención de superficies circunscritas a los cuerpos y posterior uso de intersecciones entre superficies, consiguiendo las curvas separatrices en 3D para posterior representación en vistas 2D ortogonales, axonométricas o cónicas. En consecuencia, establecemos una traducción entre los comandos del software y la ciencia de la Geometría Descriptiva para la resolución de problemas de sombras en cuerpos geométricos

Gamificación en la universidad: diseño, desarrollo y evaluación del empleo de Kahoot en el aula. Satisfacción y rendimiento académico de los estudiantes en las asignaturas de metodología de investigación

Memoria ID-0123. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2017-2018

Association between long term exposure to particulate matter and incident hypertension in Spain

Exposure to air particulate matter has been linked with hypertension and blood pressure levels. The metabolic risks of air pollution could vary according to the specific characteristics of each area, and has not been sufficiently evaluated in Spain. We analyzed 1103 individuals, participants in a Spanish nationwide population based cohort study ([email protected]), who were free of hypertension at baseline (2008-2010) and completed a follow-up exam of the cohort (2016-2017). Cohort participants were assigned air pollution concentrations for particulate matter < 10 mu m (PM10) and < 2.5 mu m (PM2.5) during follow-up (2008-2016) obtained through modeling combined with measurements taken at air quality stations (CHIMERE chemistry-transport model). Mean and SD concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were 20.17 +/- 3.91 mu g/m(3) and 10.83 +/- 2.08 mu g/m(3) respectively. During follow-up 282 cases of incident hypertension were recorded. In the fully adjusted model, compared with the lowest quartile of PM10, the multivariate weighted ORs (95% CIs) for developing hypertension with increasing PM10 exposures were 0.82 (0.59-1.14), 1.28 (0.93-1.78) and 1.45 (1.05-2.01) in quartile 2, 3 and 4 respectively (p for a trend of 0.003). The corresponding weighted ORs according to PM2.5 exposures were 0.80 (0.57-1.13), 1.11 (0.80-1.53) and 1.48 (1.09-2.00) (p for trend 0.004). For each 5-mu g/m(3) increment in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, the odds for incident hypertension increased 1.22 (1.06-1.41) p = 0.007 and 1.39 (1.07-1.81) p = 0.02 respectively. In conclusion, our study contributes to assessing the impact of particulate pollution on the incidence of hypertension in Spain, reinforcing the need for improving air quality as much as possible in order to decrease the risk of cardiometabolic disease in the population

Association between exposure to air pollution and blood lipids in the general population of Spain.

Background and Aims: We aimed to assess the associations of exposure to air pollutants and standard and advanced lipoprotein measures, in a nationwide sample representative of the adult population of Spain.Methods: We included 4647 adults (>18 years), participants in the national, cross- sectional, population- based [email protected] study, conducted in 2008– 2010. Standard lipid measurements were analysed on an Architect C8000 Analyzer (Abbott Laboratories SA). Lipoprotein analysis was made by an advanced 1H- NMR lipoprotein test (Liposcale®). Participants were assigned air pollution con-centrations for particulate matter <10 μm (PM10), <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), corresponding to the health examination year, obtained by mod-elling combined with measurements taken at air quality stations (CHIMERE chemistry- transport model).Results: In multivariate linear regression models, each IQR increase in PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 was associated with 3.3%, 3.3% and 3% lower levels of HDL- c and 1.3%, 1.4% and 1.1% lower HDL particle (HDL- p) concentrations (p< .001 for all associations). In multivariate logistic regression, there was a significant associa-tion between PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations and the odds of presenting low HDL- c (<40 mg/dL), low HDL- p (<p25) and higher LDL particle (LDL- p) concentrations (≥p75). In subgroup analyses there were stronger associations be-tween PM10 and NO2 and low HDL- p in men (p for interaction .008 and .034), and between NO2 and low HDL- p in individuals with obesity (p for interaction .015).Conclusions: Our study shows an association between the exposure to air pol-lutants and blood lipids in the general population of Spain, suggesting a link to atherosclerosisFunding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Uncovering Ecosystem Service Bundles through Social Preferences

Ecosystem service assessments have increasingly been used to support environmental management policies, mainly based on biophysical and economic indicators. However, few studies have coped with the social-cultural dimension of ecosystem services, despite being considered a research priority. We examined how ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs emerge from diverging social preferences toward ecosystem services delivered by various types of ecosystems in Spain. We conducted 3,379 direct face-to-face questionnaires in eight different case study sites from 2007 to 2011. Overall, 90.5% of the sampled population recognized the ecosystem’s capacity to deliver services. Formal studies, environmental behavior, and gender variables influenced the probability of people recognizing the ecosystem’s capacity to provide services. The ecosystem services most frequently perceived by people were regulating services; of those, air purification held the greatest importance. However, statistical analysis showed that socio-cultural factors and the conservation management strategy of ecosystems (i.e., National Park, Natural Park, or a non-protected area) have an effect on social preferences toward ecosystem services. Ecosystem service trade-offs and bundles were identified by analyzing social preferences through multivariate analysis (redundancy analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis). We found a clear trade-off among provisioning services (and recreational hunting) versus regulating services and almost all cultural services. We identified three ecosystem service bundles associated with the conservation management strategy and the rural-urban gradient. We conclude that socio-cultural preferences toward ecosystem services can serve as a tool to identify relevant services for people, the factors underlying these social preferences, and emerging ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs

Ambient air pollution and thyroid function in Spanish adults. A nationwide population-based study ([email protected] study)

Background Recent reports have suggested that air pollution may impact thyroid function, although the evidence is still scarce and inconclusive. In this study we evaluated the association of exposure to air pollutants to thyroid function parameters in a nationwide sample representative of the adult population of Spain. Methods The [email protected] study is a national, cross-sectional, population-based survey which was conducted in 2008-2010 using a random cluster sampling of the Spanish population. The present analyses included 3859 individuals, without a previous thyroid disease diagnosis, and with negative thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO Abs) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels of 0.1-20 mIU/L. Participants were assigned air pollution concentrations for particulate matter <2.5 mu m (PM2.5) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), corresponding to the health examination year, obtained by means of modeling combined with measurements taken at air quality stations (CHIMERE chemistry-transport model). TSH, free thyroxine (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and TPO Abs concentrations were analyzed using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (Modular Analytics E170 Roche). Results In multivariate linear regression models, there was a highly significant negative correlation between PM2.5 concentrations and both FT4 (p<0.001), and FT3 levels (p<0.001). In multivariate logistic regression, there was a significant association between PM2.5 concentrations and the odds of presenting high TSH [OR 1.24 (1.01-1.52) p=0.043], lower FT4 [OR 1.25 (1.02-1.54) p=0.032] and low FT3 levels [1.48 (1.19-1.84) p=<0.001] per each IQR increase in PM2.5 (4.86 mu g/m(3)). There was no association between NO2 concentrations and thyroid hormone levels. No significant heterogeneity was seen in the results between groups of men, pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. Conclusions Exposures to PM2.5 in the general population were associated with mild alterations in thyroid function.CIBERDEM (Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad-ISCIII), Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad-ISCIII, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI17/02136, PI20/01322), Consejeria de Salud y familias (PI-0144-2018), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) "A way to build Europe". GRM belongs to the regional Nicolas Monardes research program of the Consejeria de Salud (RC-0006-2016; Junta de Andalucia, Spain). CMA is recipient of a "Rio Hortega" research contract (CM19/00186, Instituto de Salud Carlos III). VKDG is recipient of a "Rio Hortega" research contract (CM21/00214, Instituto de Salud Carlos III)

Relationship between IGF-1 and body weight in inflammatory bowel diseases: Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), represented by ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn''s disease (CD), are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, what leads to diarrhea, malnutrition, and weight loss. Depression of the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor-1 axis (GH-IGF-1 axis) could be responsible of these symptoms. We demonstrate that long-term treatment (54 weeks) of adult CD patients with adalimumab (ADA) results in a decrease in serum IGF-1 without changes in serum IGF-1 binding protein (IGF1BP4). These results prompted us to conduct a preclinical study to test the efficiency of IGF-1 in the medication for experimental colitis. IGF-1 treatment of rats with DSS-induced colitis has a beneficial effect on the following circulating biochemical parameters: glucose, albumin, and total protein levels. In this experimental group we also observed healthy maintenance of colon size, body weight, and lean mass in comparison with the DSS-only group. Histological analysis revealed restoration of the mucosal barrier with the IGF-1 treatment, which was characterized by healthy quantities of mucin production, structural maintenance of adherers junctions (AJs), recuperation of E-cadherin and ß-catenin levels and decrease in infiltrating immune cells and in metalloproteinase-2 levels. The experimentally induced colitis caused activation of apoptosis markers, including cleaved caspase 3, caspase 8, and PARP and decreases cell-cycle checkpoint activators including phosphorylated Rb, cyclin E, and E2F1. The IGF-1 treatment inhibited cyclin E depletion and partially protects PARP levels. The beneficial effects of IGF-1 in experimental colitis could be explained by a re-sensitization of the IGF-1/IRS-1/AKT cascade to exogenous IGF-1. Given these results, we postulate that IGF-1 treatment of IBD patients could prove to be successful in reducing disease pathology. © 2021 The Author

Epidemiologic Features and Control Measures during Monkeypox Outbreak, Spain, June 2022

During June 2022, Spain was one of the countries most affected worldwide by a multicountry monkeypox outbreak with chains of transmission without identified links to disease-endemic countries. We provide epidemiologic features of cases reported in Spain and the coordinated measures taken to respond to this outbreak.S