River Restoration in Spain: Theoretical and Practical Approach in the Context of the European Water Framework Directive.

River restoration is becoming a priority in many countries because of increasing the awareness of environmental degradation. In Europe, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) has significantly reinforced river restoration, encouraging the improvement of ecological status for water bodies. To fulfill the WFD requirements, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment developed in 2006 a National Strategy for River Restoration whose design and implementation are described in this paper. At the same time many restoration projects have been conducted, and sixty of them have been evaluated in terms of stated objectives and pressures and implemented restoration measures. Riparian vegetation enhancement, weir removal and fish passes were the most frequently implemented restoration measures, although the greatest pressures came from hydrologic alteration caused by flow regulation for irrigation purposes. Water deficits in quantity and quality associated with uncontrolled water demands seriously affect Mediterranean rivers and represent the main constraint to achieving good ecological status of Spanish rivers, most of them intensively regulated. Proper environmental allocation of in-stream flows would need deep restrictions in agricultural water use which seem to be of very difficult social acceptance. This situation highlights the need to integrate land-use and rural development policies with water resources and river management, and identifies additional difficulties in achieving the WFD objectives and good ecological status of rivers in Mediterranean countries

Systematic identification and stratification of help-seeking school-aged youth with mental health problems: a novel approach to stage-based stepped-care.

We investigated whether a novel visitation model for school-aged youth with mental health problems based on a stage-based stepped-care approach facilitated a systematic identification and stratification process without problems with equity in access. The visitation model was developed within the context of evaluating a new transdiagnostic early treatment for youth with anxiety, depressive symptoms, and/or behavioural problems. The model aimed to identify youth with mental health problems requiring an intervention, and to stratify the youth into three groups with increasing severity of problems. This was accomplished using a two-phase stratification process involving a web-based assessment and a semi-structured psychopathological interview of the youth and parents. To assess problems with inequity in access, individual-level socioeconomic data were obtained from national registers with data on both the youth participating in the visitation and the background population. Altogether, 573 youth and their parents took part in the visitation process. Seventy-five (13%) youth had mental health problems below the intervention threshold, 396 (69%) were deemed eligible for the early treatment, and 52 (9%) had symptoms of severe mental health problems. Fifty (9%) youth were excluded for other reasons. Eighty percent of the 396 youth eligible for early treatment fulfilled criteria of a mental disorder. The severity of mental health problems highlights the urgent need for a systematic approach. Potential problems in reaching youth of less resourceful parents, and older youth were identified. These findings can help ensure that actions are taken to avoid equity problems in future mental health care implementations

Effect modification of an effective transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral psychotherapy in youths with common mental health problems: Secondary analyses of the randomized mind-my-mind trial.

Mind My Mind (MMM) cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) manualized treatment is effective in the management of common emotional and behavioral mental health problems in youth, yet not all individuals respond satisfactorily to treatment. This study explored potential effect modifiers, i.e., baseline factors associated with a differential treatment effect. We conducted secondary effect modifier analyses with MMM trial data, which involved randomization of 396 youths aged 6-16 years to either MMM CBT treatment (9-13 sessions) or management as usual in local community settings. We examined sociodemographic- (sex, age, family composition, ethnicity, parental education, and income) and clinical variables (mental disorders and duration of mental health problems) as potential effect modifiers of the a) change in parent-rated impact of mental health problems measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) or b) response (reduction of ≥1 on SDQ-impact). In intention-to-treat analyses, superior treatment (net) benefits from the MMM intervention were found among youths who met criteria for any mental disorder at baseline (-1.25 [95%CI: -1.67;-0.82]) compared to youths that did not meet diagnostic criteria (-0.22 [95%CI:-1.09;0.65]). Comorbidity vs no comorbidity (-1.84 [95%CI:-2.58;-1.10] vs -0.72 [95%CI:-1.15;-0.29]) and longer duration of untreated mental health problems, i.e., more vs less than 6 months (-1.16 [95%CI:-1.55;-0.78] vs 0.43 [95%CI:-1.01;1.86]) were also associated with superior treatment benefits. The sociodemographic factors were not associated with differential treatment effects in the intention-to-treat analyses. These findings suggest that community-based programs like the MMM are well-suited for youths with substantial mental health problems. Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT03535805

Pollen selection

In recent years a large number of reports have been published hinting about the possible role of selection at the male gametophyte level in natural conditions and its possible use as a tool in plant breeding programs. In this work, the evidence that has so far emerged on gametophytic selection is reviewed, and its relationship to pollen competition under natural conditions is analyzed. Information supporting an overlap in the genetic expression between the gametophytic and sporophytic phases is also reported, mainly in terms of isozymes and RNA hybridization. The correspondence between both phases is reviewed through their common response to different external agents such as temperature, salinity, metals, herbicides, fungal toxins, and other factors. Finally, the implications that pollen selection may have in plant breeding are evaluatedWe also acknowledge the U.S.-Spain Joint Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation and INIA for financial support.Peer reviewe