Improving stem quality assessment based on national forest inventory data: an approach applied to Spanish forests

20 Pág.Key message: This paper proposes a methodology that could be considered as a base for a harmonized protocol for stem-quality reporting in Europe while conducting National Forest Inventories, in order to cost-efficiently obtain a visual wood quality proxy. The importance of the variables selected, the limitations identified, and some improvements to the methodology are suggested. Forest areas with better wood quality, which in turn it would be useful for breeding programs, can be easily detected. Context: The establishment of harmonized standards or indicators that allow us to determine the quality of the wood present in a forest prior to its exploitation has long been demanded by the European forestry sector, although agreed methodologies for the evaluation of wood quality in standing trees, which is one of the sector’s most urgent requirements, have not, as yet, been implemented. Aims: To develop a protocol that visually characterizes wood quality on standing trees in a cost-effective way for the National Forest Inventory (NFI). After some improvements, it can be considered as a base for a European harmonized protocol. Methods: In this article, we analyze the implementation, in the NFI, of a visual wood-quality assessment methodology in forests of Central Spain based on the different European standards as well as on research papers addressing this issue. Results: The silvicultural practices employed are of the utmost importance to obtain the best wood quality, regardless of the species. Several areas with higher wood quality were identified as well as areas most affected by specific pests in the studied region. The impact of the variables measured (e.g., branchiness, crookedness, maximum branch diameter) is discussed. Conclusion: It is feasible to estimate a proxy for wood quality on standing trees in the NFI. Furthermore, after studying the inventory data provided, several enhancements are proposed, not only to improve wood-quality estimates but also to optimize fieldwork costs. Harmonizing NFIs to assess and map European standing wood quality can be achieved.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food (Encomienda de Gestión. EG17-042 “Soporte científico a la generación de información Forestal”).Peer reviewe

Plan de atención personalizada

El proyecto consiste en mejorar la inserción y adaptación de aquellos alumnos que se encuentran en una situación académica y personal con dificultades para mantenerse en el nivel educativo de su grupo. Los objetivos son implicar al alumno y su familia en el proceso educativo; detectar y paliar las deficiencias de aprendizaje de cada uno de los alumnos; fomentar el sentido de disciplina y los hábitos de estudio; facilitar la integración del alumnoo, especialmente de los alumnos inmigrantes para mejorar el conocimiento de la Lengua Española; mejorar la autoestima de alumnos cuya situación de partida presenta mayores desigualdades respecto a los compañeros de su medio. La metodología consiste en agrupar a los alumnos según el nivel educativo y el problema que presentan, para formar grupos homogéneos y orientar mejor el tipo de atención que precisan. Las actividades son de comprensión lectora, de expresión personal y de análisis de dificultades, en Lengua Española; lenguaje matemático, tratamiento de discalculia y de lectura de problemas, en matemáticas y, por último, se trabaja la expresión verbal, escritura de textos, gramática elemental, habilidades sociales e inmersión sociocultural en el caso del español para extranjeros. Otras actividades son visitas de interés y actividades culturales. La evaluación valora la aceptación de los propios alumnos, rentabilidad académica, inmersión social, eficacia de los materiales y grado de satisfacción de profesores.Madrid (Comunidad Autónoma). Consejería de EducaciónMadridMadrid (Comunidad Autónoma). Subdirección General de Formación del Profesorado. CRIF Las Acacias; General Ricardos 179 - 28025 Madrid; Tel. + 34915250893ES

In vitro evaluation of leishmanicidal properties of a new family of monodimensional coordination polymers based on diclofenac ligand

Some series of isostructural chains with general formula [M(diclof)(HO)]·(EtOH) have been obtained from reaction between diclofenac ligand (diclof) and first row transition salts (M = Mn (1),Ni (2) and Co (3)). These monodimensional coordination polymers have been characterized and their crystal structures have been solved by X-ray diffraction methods, elucidating isostructural compounds that are chains with water molecules acting as bridge between different metallic centers, while diclofenac ligands are coordinated to the octahedral coordination environment of the same. Magnetic studies of these complexes have revealed the existence of moderate ferromagnetic interactions among manganese, nickel and cobalt ions, with J values of 0.1, 0.60 and 3.3 cm, respectively. It must be highlighted that in vitro leishmanicidal activity of these new complexes has been studied against three different strains of Leishmania spp. showing a higher efficacy than the reference drug Glucantime® and demonstrating the potential of these novel materials based on coordination chemistry.Financial support was provided by Junta de Andalucía , Spain (project number FQM-394 and FQM-1484 ), University of the Basque Country , Spain ( GIU 17/13 ) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness , Spain ( MCIU/AEI/FEDER , UE) (PGC2018-102052-A-C22 and PGC2018-102052-B-C21). The authors thank for technical and human support provided by SGIker of UPV/EHU , Spain and European funding ( ERDF and ESF, Europe). R.M-E. is grateful for a FPU Grant ( FPU14/01537 ) from the Ministry of Education of Spain

Mutations of the gene encoding otogelin are a cause of autosomal-recessive nonsyndromic moderate hearing impairment

Item does not contain fulltextAlready 40 genes have been identified for autosomal-recessive nonsyndromic hearing impairment (arNSHI); however, many more genes are still to be identified. In a Dutch family segregating arNSHI, homozygosity mapping revealed a 2.4 Mb homozygous region on chromosome 11 in p15.1-15.2, which partially overlapped with the previously described DFNB18 locus. However, no putative pathogenic variants were found in USH1C, the gene mutated in DFNB18 hearing impairment. The homozygous region contained 12 additional annotated genes including OTOG, the gene encoding otogelin, a component of the tectorial membrane. It is thought that otogelin contributes to the stability and strength of this membrane through interaction or stabilization of its constituent fibers. The murine orthologous gene was already known to cause hearing loss when defective. Analysis of OTOG in the Dutch family revealed a homozygous 1 bp deletion, c.5508delC, which leads to a shift in the reading frame and a premature stop codon, p.Ala1838ProfsX31. Further screening of 60 unrelated probands from Spanish arNSHI families detected compound heterozygous OTOG mutations in one family, c.6347C>T (p.Pro2116Leu) and c. 6559C>T (p.Arg2187X). The missense mutation p.Pro2116Leu affects a highly conserved residue in the fourth von Willebrand factor type D domain of otogelin. The subjects with OTOG mutations have a moderate hearing impairment, which can be associated with vestibular dysfunction. The flat to shallow "U" or slightly downsloping shaped audiograms closely resembled audiograms of individuals with recessive mutations in the gene encoding alpha-tectorin, another component of the tectorial membrane. This distinctive phenotype may represent a clue to orientate the molecular diagnosis

How do women living with HIV experience menopause? Menopausal symptoms, anxiety and depression according to reproductive age in a multicenter cohort

CatedresBackground: To estimate the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms and anxiety/depression and to assess the differences according to menopausal status among women living with HIV aged 45-60 years from the cohort of Spanish HIV/AIDS Research Network (CoRIS). Methods: Women were interviewed by phone between September 2017 and December 2018 to determine whether they had experienced menopausal symptoms and anxiety/depression. The Menopause Rating Scale was used to evaluate the prevalence and severity of symptoms related to menopause in three subscales: somatic, psychologic and urogenital; and the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire was used for anxiety/depression. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of association between menopausal status, and other potential risk factors, the presence and severity of somatic, psychological and urogenital symptoms and of anxiety/depression. Results: Of 251 women included, 137 (54.6%) were post-, 70 (27.9%) peri- and 44 (17.5%) pre-menopausal, respectively. Median age of onset menopause was 48 years (IQR 45-50). The proportions of pre-, peri- and post-menopausal women who had experienced any menopausal symptoms were 45.5%, 60.0% and 66.4%, respectively. Both peri- and post-menopause were associated with a higher likelihood of having somatic symptoms (aOR 3.01; 95% CI 1.38-6.55 and 2.63; 1.44-4.81, respectively), while post-menopause increased the likelihood of having psychological (2.16; 1.13-4.14) and urogenital symptoms (2.54; 1.42-4.85). By other hand, post-menopausal women had a statistically significant five-fold increase in the likelihood of presenting severe urogenital symptoms than pre-menopausal women (4.90; 1.74-13.84). No significant differences by menopausal status were found for anxiety/depression. Joint/muscle problems, exhaustion and sleeping disorders were the most commonly reported symptoms among all women. Differences in the prevalences of vaginal dryness (p = 0.002), joint/muscle complaints (p = 0.032), and sweating/flush (p = 0.032) were found among the three groups. Conclusions: Women living with HIV experienced a wide variety of menopausal symptoms, some of them initiated before women had any menstrual irregularity. We found a higher likelihood of somatic symptoms in peri- and post-menopausal women, while a higher likelihood of psychological and urogenital symptoms was found in post-menopausal women. Most somatic symptoms were of low or moderate severity, probably due to the good clinical and immunological situation of these women

La retórica y el debate como herramientas de aprendizaje

Convocatoria proyectos de innovación de Extremadura 2019/2020Se describe un proyecto llevado a cabo en el IES San Fernando (Badajoz) surgido del Departamento de Filosofía que tiene como objetivo principal mejorar las habilidades comunicativas del alumnado. Se pretendía que supieran hablar, transmitir ideas y opiniones, saber escuchar, compartir posturas, rebatir y estar preparados para cambiar de opinión. Otros objetivos del trabajo fueron: transmitir una visión de sociedad que se basa en el diálogo constructivo a través de una interacción respetuosa, rigurosamente fundamentada, reflexiva e inclusiva; lograr en los alumnos el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico y conseguir que comprendan la información que reciben, las inferencias y que sean capaces de evaluarla y generar nuevas propuestasExtremaduraES

COVID-19 in hospitalized HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients : A matched study

CatedresObjectives: We compared the characteristics and clinical outcomes of hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 with [people with HIV (PWH)] and without (non-PWH) HIV co-infection in Spain during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective matched cohort study. People with HIV were identified by reviewing clinical records and laboratory registries of 10 922 patients in active-follow-up within the Spanish HIV Research Network (CoRIS) up to 30 June 2020. Each hospitalized PWH was matched with five non-PWH of the same age and sex randomly selected from COVID-19@Spain, a multicentre cohort of 4035 patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19. The main outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Results: Forty-five PWH with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 were identified in CoRIS, 21 of whom were hospitalized. A total of 105 age/sex-matched controls were selected from the COVID-19@Spain cohort. The median age in both groups was 53 (Q1-Q3, 46-56) years, and 90.5% were men. In PWH, 19.1% were injecting drug users, 95.2% were on antiretroviral therapy, 94.4% had HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL, and the median (Q1-Q3) CD4 count was 595 (349-798) cells/μL. No statistically significant differences were found between PWH and non-PWH in number of comorbidities, presenting signs and symptoms, laboratory parameters, radiology findings and severity scores on admission. Corticosteroids were administered to 33.3% and 27.4% of PWH and non-PWH, respectively (P = 0.580). Deaths during admission were documented in two (9.5%) PWH and 12 (11.4%) non-PWH (P = 0.800). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that well-controlled HIV infection does not modify the clinical presentation or worsen clinical outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalization

Contemporary use of cefazolin for MSSA infective endocarditis: analysis of a national prospective cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the real use of cefazolin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infective endocarditis (IE) in the Spanish National Endocarditis Database (GAMES) and to compare it with antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP). Methods: Prospective cohort study with retrospective analysis of a cohort of MSSA IE treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Outcomes assessed were relapse; intra-hospital, overall, and endocarditis-related mortality; and adverse events. Risk of renal toxicity with each treatment was evaluated separately. Results: We included 631 IE episodes caused by MSSA treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Antibiotic treatment was cloxacillin, cefazolin, or both in 537 (85%), 57 (9%), and 37 (6%) episodes, respectively. Patients treated with cefazolin had significantly higher rates of comorbidities (median Charlson Index 7, P <0.01) and previous renal failure (57.9%, P <0.01). Patients treated with cloxacillin presented higher rates of septic shock (25%, P = 0.033) and new-onset or worsening renal failure (47.3%, P = 0.024) with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (38.5%, P = 0.017). One-year IE-related mortality and rate of relapses were similar between treatment groups. None of the treatments were identified as risk or protective factors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefazolin is a valuable option for the treatment of MSSA IE, without differences in 1-year mortality or relapses compared with cloxacillin, and might be considered equally effective