Costes y beneficios de tres métodos de estudio de comunidades en el bentos rocoso mediterráneo

Here we compare the applicability, the information provided and the cost-benefit of three sampling methods usually used in the study of rocky benthic assemblages. For comparative purposes, sampling was performed seasonally and along a depth gradient (0-50 m) in the Cabrera Archipelago (western Mediterranean). The destructive scraping (collection) method was the least cost-effective but provided the best qualitative and quantitative information. The in situ visual method was the most time-effective but provided low levels of taxonomic resolution and its accuracy decreased with depth due to the increasing difficulty of recognizing species in situ due to nitrogen narcosis, reduced light and cold. The photoquadrat method showed intermediate values of cost-effectiveness and information but was not suitable for multilayered assemblages, as it only accounted for the overstory. A canonical correspondence analysis showed that depth was highlighted as the main environmental gradient (16.0% of variance) by the three methods. However, differences due to the sampling method (7.9% of variance) were greater than differences due to temporal variability (5.8% of variance), suggesting that the three methods are valid but their selection has to be carefully assessed in relation to the targeted assemblages and the specific goals of each study.Este trabajo compara la aplicabilidad, la calidad de la información, los costes y los beneficios de tres métodos de muestreo usados habitualmente en el estudio de comunidades en el bentos rocoso mediterráneo. Para fines comparativos, el muestreo se realizó estacionalmente y a lo largo de un gradiente de profundidad (0-50 m) en el Archipiélago de Cabrera (Mediterráneo Occidental). El método destructivo de raspado (recolección) tuvo altos costes, pero proporcionó la información de mejor calidad, tanto a nivel cualitativo como cuantitativo. El método visual in situ fue el más eficiente en cuanto a la obtención de información, pero proporcionó una baja resolución taxonómica y su exactitud decreció con la profundidad debido a la dificultad de reconocer especies in situ bajo condiciones de narcosis, falta de luz y frío. El método fotográfico obtuvo valores intermedios de coste-beneficio, pero no fue adecuado para caracterizar comunidades estratificadas ya que solo tuvo en cuenta el estrato superior. Un análisis CCA mostró que el principal gradiente ambiental resaltado en todos los métodos era la profundidad (16.0% de la varianza). Sin embargo, las diferencias debidas al método de muestreo (7.9% de la varianza) fueron más grandes que las debidas a la variabilidad estacional (5.8% de la varianza). En consecuencia, los tres métodos son válidos para el muestreo de comunidades rocosas mediterráneas, pero su selección debe basarse en un análisis minucioso de las comunidades a caracterizar y en los objetivos específicos de cada estudio

Alegación que presenta para el juicio de revista D. Manuel María Montserrat, marqués de Cruillas, barón de Planes y ... de Patraix ... con los electos del comun de vecinos de la Baronía de Planes ... sobre que se confirme con costas la sentencia de vista, pronunciada por esta Real Audiencia en 20 de enero del año 1807

Precede al tít.: "Jesus, María, Josef, y Nuestra Señora del Carmen"Sign.: []3, A-F

Major flower pigments originate different colour signals to pollinators

Flower colour is mainly due to the presence and type of pigments. Pollinator preferences impose selection on flower colour that ultimately acts on flower pigments. Knowing how pollinators perceive flowers with different pigments becomes crucial for a comprehensive understanding of plant-pollinator communication and flower colour evolution. Based on colour space models, we studied whether main groups of pollinators, specifically hymenopterans, dipterans, lepidopterans and birds, differentially perceive flower colours generated by major pigment groups. We obtain reflectance data and conspicuousness to pollinators of flowers containing one of the pigment groups more frequent in flowers: chlorophylls, carotenoids and flavonoids

Cortisol Response to Stress in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Differences in the cortisol response have been reported between children exhibiting the inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, there is no such information about adults. The aim of the present study was to determine the possible differences between the combined and inattentive subtypes in the cortisol response to stress. Ninety-six adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, 38 inattentive and 58 combined, without any medical or psychiatric comorbidities and 25 healthy controls were included. The Trier Social Stress Test was used to assess physiological stress responses. Clinical data and subjective stress levels, including the Perceived Stress Scale, were also recorded. No significant differences in the cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test were found between patients and controls. However, albeit there were no basal differences, lower cortisol levels at 15 (P =.015), 30 (P=. 015), and 45 minutes (P=. 045) were observed in the combined compared with the inattentive subtype after the stress induction; these differences disappeared 60 minutes after the stress. In contrast, the subjective stress responses showed significant differences between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder patients and controls (P <.001), but no differences were seen between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes. In turn, subjective stress measures, such as the Perceived Stress Scale, positively correlated with the whole cortisol stress response (P <.027). Both the combined and inattentive attention deficit hyperactivity disorder adults exhibited a normal cortisol response to stress when challenged. Nevertheless, the inattentive patients displayed a higher level of cortisol after stress compared with the combined patients. Despite the differences in the cortisol response, adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder reported high levels of subjective stress in their every-day lif

Certezas manifestadas por el alumnado con relación a la adquisición de competencias específicas en la modalidad de prácticas tuteladas de la asignatura Clínica Odontológica Integrada del Grado de Odontología

Las prácticas tuteladas constituyen una metodología clave en la formación de los futuros odontólogos. En este contexto, la investigación propuesta tiene como objetivo mostrar la percepción que tienen los alumnos del Grado de Odontología de nuestra universidad sobre las competencias específicas que se adquieren durante las prácticas clínicas. Se optará por una metodología cuantitativa fundamentada en la técnica del cuestionario que será aplicada al inicio, durante y tras la finalización del curso académico. La investigación asegurará en todo momento la protección a la identidad de las personas y el anonimato de los datos obtenidos. La valoración que los estudiantes hacen de la adquisición de estas competencias y su percepción sobre el incremento de esta adquisición permitiría reflexionar sobre la eficacia de esta metodología docente y replantear cambios con relación al desarrollo del enfoque competencial. En base al éxito obtenido se podría garantizar una formación de calidad incrementando las posibilidades de transferencia de los objetivos planteados con esta asignatura de cara a la adquisición de una adecuada profesionalidad tras finalizar el 5º curso del Grado de Odontología

High Incidence of Adverse Outcomes in Haemodialysis Patients with Diabetes with or without Diabetic Foot Syndrome: A 5-Year Observational Study in Lleida, Spain

Background: We evaluated whether, in subjects receiving haemodialysis (HD), the presence of diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) was associated with increased mortality compared with subjects with diabetes mellitus (DM) without DFS and with non-diabetic subjects. Methods: Retrospective, observational study in 220 subjects followed for six years. We calculated and compared the frequency and 5-year cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CV) mortality, CV events, major adverse CV events (MACE), and new foot ulcer (FU) or amputation. We also examined prognostic factors of all-cause and CV mortality based on baseline characteristics. Results: DM patients had a 1.98 times higher probability of all-cause mortality than those without DM (p = 0.001) and 2.42 times higher likelihood of CV mortality and new FU or amputation (p = 0.002 and p = 0.008, respectively). In the DM cohort, only the risk of a new FU or amputation was 2.69 times higher among those with previous DFS (p = 0.021). In patients with DM, older age was the only predictor of all-cause and CV mortality (p = 0.001 and p = 0.014, respectively). Conclusions: Although all-cause and CV mortality were increased on HD subjects with DM, the presence of DFS did not modify the excess risk. Additional studies are warranted to further explore the impact of DFS in subjects with DM undergoing HD

Tumor necrosis factor system activity is associated with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia in myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy (MyD) is a multisystem autosomal dominant disorder associated with progressive muscle wasting and weakness. The striking metabolic abnormality in MyD is insulin resistance. The mechanism by which target tissues are insensitive to insulin action remains uncertain. In a recent study, plasma soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNFR)2 levels were found to be associated with muscle tissue mass and insulin resistance. Given these associations, we speculated that disorders of the muscle cell membrane could lead simultaneously to insulin insensitivity and sTNFR2 leakage in MyD. To test this hypothesis, we measured the levels of circulating sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 and insulin resistance in MyD patients. We studied 22 MyD patients and 24 age-, BMI-, and fat mass-matched control subjects. Both MyD men and women showed higher plasma insulin levels in the presence of comparable glucose concentrations than did control subjects. sTNFR2, but not sTNFR1, levels were approximately 1.5-fold higher in MyD patients. In parallel with these findings, the fasting insulin resistance index (FIRI) was also higher in MyD patients. In fact, in the whole population, fasting insulin and FIRI strongly correlated with sTNFR2 in both men (r = 0.77 and r = 0.81, P<0.0001, respectively) and women (r = 0.67 and r = 0.64, P = 0.001, respectively). sTNFR2 levels were also associated with the insulin sensitivity index (S(I)), calculated from an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) according to the method by Cederholm and Wibell (r = -0.43, P = 0.006). We constructed a multiple linear regression to predict FIRI, with BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and sTNFR2 as independent variables. In this model, both BMI (P = 0.0014) and sTNFR2 (P = 0.0048) levels contributed independently to 46% of the variance of FIRI. In another model, in which FIRI was substituted for S(I) from the OGTT, both BMI (P = 0.0001) and sTNFR2 (P = 0.04) levels contributed independently to 48% of the variance of S(I) from the OGTT. Plasma cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were significantly increased in MyD patients. sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 levels were found to be strongly associated with plasma cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 also correlated with serum creatine kinase activity in MyD patients (r = 0.57, P = 0.006; r = 0.75, P<0.0001, respectively). In conclusion, here we describe, for the first time to our knowledge, a relationship between insulin action and plasma sTNFR2 concentration in MyD patients. We have also found increased concentrations of plasma triglycerides and cholesterol levels in parallel with sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 concentrations in MyD patients. We speculate that the latter associations are dependent on, and secondary to, increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha action. Whether TNF action is implicated in the pathogenesis of MyD or is a simple marker of disease activity awaits further studies

Epidemiological analysis of urinary tract infections and exposure to Fosfomycin during pregnancy in mothers of infants with and without congenital defects: Distribution by years and Autonomous Regions

Teratología ClínicaThe objective of this study was to epidemiologically analyze urinary tract infections (UTI) suffered by pregnant women, and the prenatal exposure to Fosfomycin. To accomplish this objective, data from the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC) were analyzed for the period 1978-2009. A total of 40,060 newborn infants with congenital defects, and a similar number of healthy controls were registered. The proportions of mothers of cases and controls who suffered UTI during the first trimester were 2.69% and 2.56%, respectively. These figures go up to 9.94% and 8.86% when considering UTI at any time during pregnancy. The proportions of mothers who were treated with fosfomycin during the first trimester of pregnancy were 0.67% and 0.69%, respectively for cases and controls, and those figures go up to 2.69% y 2.54% when considering exposures at any time during pregnancy. Use of fosfomycin at any time during pregnancy has progressively increased with time. When studying the geographical distribution of the frequency some differences regarding UTI and use of fosfomycin were detected. The increase in use of fosfomycin has caused a decrease of the use of other antibiotics, and these trends are also observed in several autonomous regions in Spain. The use of fosfomycin during pregnancy seems to be safe, and suffering an UTI is quite common during pregnancy and somehow dangerous for the progress of gestation. It is important to underline that the percentage of mothers without treatment was between 20 and 35%. Therefore, it is advisable to treat UTI as soon as possible, in order to avoid complications both for the mother and fetus.N

Screening Physical Activity in Family Practice : Validity of the Spanish Version of a Brief Physical Activity Questionnaire

The use of brief screening tools to identify inactive patients is essential to improve the efficiency of primary care-based physical activity (PA) programs. However, the current employment of short PA questionnaires within the Spanish primary care pathway is unclear. This study evaluated the validity of the Spanish version of a Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool (SBPAAT). A validation study was carried out within the EVIDENT project. A convenience sample of patients (n = 1,184; age 58.9±13.7 years; 60.5% female) completed the SBPAAT and the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (7DPAR) and, in addition, wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X) for seven consecutive days. Validity was evaluated by measuring agreement, Kappa correlation coefficients, sensitivity and specificity in achieving current PA recommendations with the 7DPAR. Pearson correlation coefficients with the number of daily minutes engaged in moderate and vigorous intensity PA according to the accelerometer were also assessed. Comparison with accelerometer counts, daily minutes engaged in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous intensity PA, total daily kilocalories, and total PA and leisure time expenditure (METs-hour-week) between the sufficiently and insufficiently active groups identified by SBPAAT were reported. The SBPAAT identified 41.3% sufficiently active (n = 489) and 58.7% insufficiently active (n = 695) patients; it showed moderate validity (k = 0.454, 95% CI: 0.402-0.505) and a specificity and sensitivity of 74.3% and 74.6%, respectively. Validity was fair for identifying daily minutes engaged in moderate (r = 0.215, 95% CI:0.156 to 0.272) and vigorous PA (r = 0.282, 95% CI:0.165 to 0.391). Insufficiently active patients according to the SBPAAT significantly reported fewer counts/minute (-22%), fewer minutes/day of moderate (-11.38) and vigorous PA (-2.69), spent fewer total kilocalories/day (-753), and reported a lower energy cost (METs-hour-week) of physical activities globally (-26.82) and during leisure time (-19.62). The SBPAAT is a valid tool to identify Spanish-speaking patients who are insufficiently active to achieve health benefits