Pediatric televisits and telephone triage: impact on use of a hospital emergency department

Objetivos: analizar las características de las teleconsultas y triajes telefónicos pediátricos atendidos por CatSalut Respon y describir su impacto sobre la actitud y la decisión final de los padres-usuarios de acudir o no a urgencias. Método: estudio observacional transversal. Durante la teleconsulta los pacientes se clasificaron según los niveles del sistema español de triaje. Aquellos que fueron derivados a urgencias se volvieron a clasificar en el hospital, y se compararon los niveles de triaje. Posteriormente, se realizó una llamada de verificación. Se recogieron variables sociodemográficas y clínicas. Resultados: se analizaron 370 teleconsultas, fundamentalmente no urgentes (n = 300; 81%). Un 20,3% (n = 75) fueron derivadas a urgencias. La fiebre (p = 0,002) y las dudas de medicación (p < 0,001) fueron motivos significativos de teleconsulta no urgente. Casi un 46% de los casos con niveles de gravedad altos en el triaje de la llamada también fueron clasificados con niveles de gravedad altos en el triaje posterior realizado en el servicio de urgencias hospitalario, mostrando una concordancia moderada. Más del 50% de los padres tenían intención de acudir a urgencias antes de la teleconsulta y un 46% cambiaron de actitud tras realizar esta llamada. Conclusiones: fiebre y dudas de medicación fueron motivos estadísticamente significativos de teleconsulta no urgente. La consulta telefónica produjo un cambio de actitud en casi la mitad de los padres

Insights Into the Effect of Verticillium dahliae Defoliating-Pathotype Infection on the Content of Phenolic and Volatile Compounds Related to the Sensory Properties of Virgin Olive Oil

Verticillium wilt, caused by the defoliating pathotype of Verticillium dahliae, is the most devastating soil-borne fungal disease of olive trees, and leads to low yields and high rates of tree mortality in highly susceptible cultivars. The disease is widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean olive-growing region and is one of the major limiting factors of olive oil production. Other than effects on crop yield, little is known about the effect of the disease on the content of volatile compounds and phenolics that are produced during the oil extraction process and determine virgin olive oil (VOO) quality and commercial value. Here, we aim to study the effect of Verticillium wilt of the olive tree on the content of phenolic and volatile compounds related to the sensory properties of VOO. Results showed that synthesis of six and five straight-chain carbon volatile compounds were higher and lower, respectively, in oils extracted from infected trees. Pathogen infection affected volatile compounds known to be contributors to VOO aroma: average content of one of the main positive contributors to VOO aroma, (E)-hex-2-enal, was 38% higher in oils extracted from infected trees, whereas average content of the main unpleasant volatile compound, pent-1-en-3-one, was almost 50% lower. In contrast, there was a clear effect of pathogen infection on the content of compounds responsible for VOO taste, where average content of the main bitterness contributor, oleuropein aglycone, was 18% lower in oil extracted from infected plants, and content of oleocanthal, the main contributor to pungency, was 26% lower. We believe this is the first evidence of the effect of Verticillium wilt infection of olive trees on volatile compounds and phenolics that are responsible of the aroma, taste, and commercial value of VOO

The Kyoto Protocol's emissions trading system: An EU-US Environmental Flip-Flop. Working Paper #5, August 2003

[From the Introduction]. This study proceeds in the following manner. First, it describes the origins and modalities of the international emissions trading system. Second, the study discusses the opposing US and EU positions during the Kyoto negotiations based on their respective approaches to international environmental policy. Third, the study briefly addresses the EU-US flip-flop at the Kyoto Summit. Fourth, the study investigates the post-summit actions of these two actors, focusing on the domestic politics that explain their respective positions and actions. The study concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications for future developments in the Kyoto emissions trading system

"Spanish Environmental Policy in the '90s and the Impact of the EU; The Case of Water Policy"

How and why is EU environmental policy able to jeopardize a hundred years of policymaking? In a Mediterranean environment, characterized by the contradictory scarcity of water and the relevance of irrigation lands to the national economy, water policy in Spain has been the subject of historical demands, territorial struggles and unachieved promises of economic development linked to the resource. From the 19th century until the present, the assurance of a satisfactory water supply, i.e., that which meets water demands, has been the subject of water policy in Spain. Since the 1950s, extensive public works activity has spread out dams throughout the territory with the acquiescence and consensus of a small, closed group of actors. This included primarily the Central Government, farmers and constructors, who established frequent relations among them that will survive the democratic transition. Nevertheless, these activities and public investments did not solve the water unbalance in some areas, especially the East, which is mainly oriented to the production of irrigation agriculture

An Easy-to-Use Procedure for the Measurement of Total Phenolic Compounds in Olive Fruit

Virgin olive oil (VOO) is one of the most emblematic products of the Mediterranean diet. Its content in phenolic compounds is strongly associated with the antioxidant and health-promoting properties of this diet. VOO’s phenolic profile is determined mainly by the phenolic compounds present in the olive fruit, so knowing their content allows for a fairly precise estimate of the antioxidant and functional properties of the corresponding oil. In this sense, a convenient, green, and sensitive spectrophotometric method was developed for the quantitative determination of total phenolic compounds in olive fruits. The method is based on an easy-to-use extraction procedure of olive fruit phenolics using dimethyl sulfoxide and quantification with the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. Oleuropein proved to be a suitable reference compound for quantification, displaying a good linear response (r = 0.9996) over the concentration range of 0.58–6.48 mg/mL, with a variation coefficient of 0.42% and limits of detection and quantification of 0.0492 and 0.1490 mg/mL, respectively. The method was validated using a wide array of fruit samples representative of the Olea europaea L. genetic diversity. The results obtained with this spectrophotometric method, expressed as mg/mL of oleuropein, showed a good correlation with those obtained with the fruit samples analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography, with an r value of 0.9930 and a slope value of 1.022, confirming its reliability. Thus, this method can become a very useful simple tool to estimate the total phenolic content of olive fruits, especially when working with numerous samples such as in olive breeding programs or in commercial olive production, in which it is especially useful to know the phenolic state of the fruit and thus determine the optimal harvest date or the most appropriate agronomic treatment to increase the functional properties of the olive fruit and the olive oil

Genes claves en el metabolismo de compuestos secoiridoideos en olivo

4 PáginasLos componentes fenólicos más importantes del aceite de oliva virgen (AOV) son los derivados secoiridoideos, en cuya estructura se combinan un resto terpénico y uno fenólico. El contenido de estos compuestos en el AOV está condicionado por el contenido de glucósidos fenólicos secoiridoideos presentes en la aceituna, que son posteriormente modificados durante el proceso de extracción del aceite. Los principales glucósidos fenólicos de la aceituna, oleuropeína, ligustrósido y demetiloleuropeína, se conocen genéricamente como feniletanoides debido a la presencia de tirosol (Ty) o hidroxitirosol (Hty) en sus estructuras químicas. La biosíntesis de estos dos alcoholes fenólicos parece ser el factor limitante para la formación y acumulación de glucósidos secoiridoideos en la aceituna. En este trabajo se discute la relevancia de algunos genes/enzimas identificados y caracterizados en nuestro grupo en relación con el metabolismo del Ty e Hty como la aldehído aromático sintasa (AAS), fenilacetaldehido reductasa (PAR) o una tirosinasa (TYR) recientemente caracterizada, y se discute su posible utilidad como marcadores moleculares para la selección de variedades de olivo con contenidos fenólicos mejorados en sustitución de otros utilizados tradicionalmente como la fenilalanina amonio liasa (PAL).La investigación reflejada en este trabajo ha sido financiada por los proyectos AGL2015-67652 y PID2020-115853RR-C32 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)

An Easy-to-Use Procedure for the Measurement of Total Phenolic Compounds in Olive Fruit

11 Páginas.-- 3 Figuras.-- 2 TablasVirgin olive oil (VOO) is one of the most emblematic products of the Mediterranean diet. Its content in phenolic compounds is strongly associated with the antioxidant and health-promoting properties of this diet. VOO's phenolic profile is determined mainly by the phenolic compounds present in the olive fruit, so knowing their content allows for a fairly precise estimate of the antioxidant and functional properties of the corresponding oil. In this sense, a convenient, green, and sensitive spectrophotometric method was developed for the quantitative determination of total phenolic compounds in olive fruits. The method is based on an easy-to-use extraction procedure of olive fruit phenolics using dimethyl sulfoxide and quantification with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Oleuropein proved to be a suitable reference compound for quantification, displaying a good linear response (r = 0.9996) over the concentration range of 0.58-6.48 mg/mL, with a variation coefficient of 0.42% and limits of detection and quantification of 0.0492 and 0.1490 mg/mL, respectively. The method was validated using a wide array of fruit samples representative of the Olea europaea L. genetic diversity. The results obtained with this spectrophotometric method, expressed as mg/mL of oleuropein, showed a good correlation with those obtained with the fruit samples analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography, with an r value of 0.9930 and a slope value of 1.022, confirming its reliability. Thus, this method can become a very useful simple tool to estimate the total phenolic content of olive fruits, especially when working with numerous samples such as in olive breeding programs or in commercial olive production, in which it is especially useful to know the phenolic state of the fruit and thus determine the optimal harvest date or the most appropriate agronomic treatment to increase the functional properties of the olive fruit and the olive oil.This research was funded by ‘Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad’, Government of Spain, grant number PID2020-115853RR-C32/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033.Peer reviewe

Olive Polyphenol Oxidase Gene Family

19 Páginas.-- 9 Figuras.-- 1 TablaThe phenolic compounds containing hydroxytyrosol are the minor components of virgin olive oil (VOO) with the greatest impact on its functional properties and health benefits. Olive breeding for improving the phenolic composition of VOO is strongly dependent on the identification of the key genes determining the biosynthesis of these compounds in the olive fruit and also their transformation during the oil extraction process. In this work, olive polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes have been identified and fully characterized in order to evaluate their specific role in the metabolism of hydroxytyrosol-derived compounds by combining gene expression analysis and metabolomics data. Four PPO genes have been identified, synthesized, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the functional identity of the recombinant proteins has been verified using olive phenolic substrates. Among the characterized genes, two stand out: (i) OePPO2 with its diphenolase activity, which is very active in the oxidative degradation of phenols during oil extraction and also seems to be highly involved in the natural defense mechanism in response to biotic stress, and (ii) OePPO3, which codes for a tyrosinase protein, having diphenolase but also monophenolase activity, which catalyzes the hydroxylation of tyrosol to form hydroxytyrosol.This research was funded by ‘Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad’, Government of Spain, grant number PID2020-115853RR-C32/AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Peer reviewe