Aproximación al valor social de un colegio rural agrupado: el caso del CRA “Sierra de Alcaraz”

La medición del valor social, más allá del valor económico generado por las organizaciones, despierta un interés creciente en todo tipo de entidades y, en especial, en aquellas organizaciones en las que el valor social que generan es su principal razón de ser. Sin embargo, su supervivencia se vincula a cumplir una serie de ratios numéricos relacionados con el coste que suponen mantener en activo estas organizaciones, que nada tiene que ver con el valor social que generan, difícilmente medible en términos cuantitativos. Este es el caso de los Colegios Rurales Agrupados (CRA), cuya existencia, además de otros beneficios, fomenta el arraigo al territorio, previniendo lo que se ha dado en denominar la España despoblada. En este contexto, se sitúa el presente trabajo, cuya primera contribución es aproximarnos al valor social generado por el CRA Sierra de Alcaraz (Albacete). La metodología que se sigue es el estudio del caso y el proceso de análisis se sustenta en el método SPOLY, especialmente indicado para organizaciones de no mercado, como es el caso de las instituciones educativas públicas. Así, en el trabajo se identifican los grupos de interés del CRA Sierra de Alcaraz y, por medio de una serie de entrevistas a los mismos, se definen las variables de valor orientadas a indicadores, cuya cuantificación permite aproximarnos al valor social generado por el CRA Sierra de Alcaraz y realizar un análisis de su eficiencia económica en términos sociales. Como resultado del trabajo, se obtiene que el valor social integrado casi duplica el valor socio-económico directo generado por esta entidad

Evaluating Common Raven Take for Greater Sage-Grouse in Oregon’s Baker County Priority Conservation Area and Great Basin Region

The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is a nest predator of species of conservation concern, such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Reducing raven abundance by take requires authorization under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. To support U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s take decisions (e.g., those that authorize killing a specified proportion or number of individuals annually in a defined area), including the most recent one for Oregon’s Baker County Priority Area for Conservation (PAC), we modeled raven population dynamics under hypothetical scenarios with take rates ranging from below to above the maximum sustained yield (MSY; i.e., trmsy= 0.01-0.60). We fit a Bayesian state-space logistic model to estimate abundance based on the Breeding Bird Survey route-level count data for the PAC during 1997-2019 and Great Basin Region (GBR) during 1968-2019. We predicted abundance for 2019-2030 and evaluated potential take levels (PTL) for the PAC and GBR. Abundance averaged 682 (SE = 93) for the PAC during 1997-2019 and 333,027 (SE = 20,504) for the GBR during 1968-2019. With take rates between 0.41 and 0.60, predicted abundance averaged 308 (SD = 405) for the PAC and 142,258 (SD = 53,474) for the GBR during 2019-2030. With management factor F = 0.75-2 for takes ranging from below to above the MSY, the PTL 50th percentiles were 150-401 yr-1 for the PAC and 60,457-161,219 yr-1 for the GBR. Our modeling framework is flexible and can be part of a comprehensive management strategy for ravens in the western United States

Programmed death-ligand (PD-L1), epidermal growth factor (EGF), relaxin and metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3), potential biomarkers of malignancy in canine mammary neoplasia

Gene expression has been suggested as a putative tool for prognosis and diagnosis in canine mammary neoplasia (CMNs). In the present study, 58 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) paraffined canine mammary neoplasias from 27 different bitches were included. Thirty-seven tumours were classified as benign, whereas thirty-one were classified as different types of canine carcinoma. In addition, mammary samples from three healthy bitches were also included. The gene expression for vascular endothelial growth factor-α (VEGFα), CD20, progesterone receptor (PGR), hyaluronidase-1 (HYAL-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), epidermal growth factor (EGF), relaxin (RLN2), and matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) was assessed through RT-qPCR. All the assessed genes yielded a higher expression in neoplastic mammary tissue than in healthy tissue. All the evaluated genes were overexpressed in neoplastic mammary tissue, suggesting a role in the process of tumorigenesis. Moreover, PD-L1, EGF, relaxin, and MMP3 were significantly overexpressed in malignant CMNs compared to benign CMNs, suggesting they may be useful as malignancy biomarkers

Canine Mammary Neoplasia Induces Variations in the Peripheral Blood Levels of CD20, CD45RA, and CD99

The idea of using tumour biomarkers as diagnostic tools is progressively increasing. Of these, serum biomarkers are of particular interest, as they can provide rapid results. In the present study, serum samples from 26 bitches diagnosed with mammary tumours, plus 4 healthy bitches, were obtained. The samples were analysed using CD antibody microarrays targeting 90 CD surface markers and 56 cytokines/chemokines. A total of five CD proteins, namely CD20, CD45RA, CD53, CD59, and CD99, were selected and further analysed, utilizing immunoblotting techniques to validate the microarray results. CD45RA showed a significantly lower abundance in the serum samples from the bitches carrying mammary neoplasia in comparison to the healthy animals. Regarding CD99, the serum samples from the neoplastic bitches showed it in a significantly higher abundance than those from the healthy patients. Finally, CD20 showed a significantly higher abundance in bitches carrying a malignant mammary tumour in comparison to healthy patients, but no differential expression between malignant and benign tumours was observed. According to these results, both CD99 and CD45RA are indicators of mammary tumour presence, but without distinguishing between malignant and benign

Endometrial Status in Queens Evaluated by Histopathology Findings and Two Cytological Techniques : low-volume uterine lavage and uterine swabbing

Endometritis is associated with fertility problems in many species, with endometrial biopsy being the main diagnostic tool. In feline queens, the reduced size of the uterus may make it difficult to obtain representative diagnostic samples. Endometrial cytology may represent a valuable diagnostic tool for evaluating the health status of the endometrium in queens. Fifty domestic shorthair queens were included and divided into two cytological diagnostic technique groups, the uterine lavage (UL; n = 28) and uterine swabbing (US; n = 22) groups. Cytological results were compared with histopathological and bacteriological information. Changes in the histopathological patterns were also evaluated and compared with progesterone levels to confirm previous published data. Furthermore, the results from both cytological sampling methods were compared to evaluate the utility of each method. Endometritis was ruled out in all queens by means of histology and microbiology. Leukocyte counts and red blood cell/endometrial cell ratios were significantly higher in US than UL samples. Additionally, UL sampling is less affected by blood contamination and cells are better preserved. The combination of endometrial cytology and uterine culture might be useful for evaluating the endometrial characteristics in queens. The UL evaluation method is more representative of the actual endometrial status than the US technique

Paving the way to point of care (POC) devices for SARS-CoV-2 detection

In this work we present a powerful, affordable, and portable biosensor to develop Point of care (POC) SARS-CoV-2 virus detection. It is constructed from a fast, low cost, portable and electronically automatized potentiostat that controls the potential applied to a disposable screen-printed electrochemical platform and the current response. The potentiostat was designed to get the best signal-to-noise ratio, a very simple user interface offering the possibility to be used by any device (computer, mobile phone or tablet), to have a small and portable size, and a cheap manufacturing cost. Furthermore, the device includes as main components, a data acquisition board, a controller board and a hybridization chamber with a final size of 10 × 8 × 4 cm. The device has been tested by detecting specific SARS-CoV-2 virus sequences, reaching a detection limit of 22.1 fM. Results agree well with those obtained using a conventional potentiostat, which validate the device and pave the way to the development of POC biosensors. In this sense, the device has finally applied to directly detect the presence of the virus in nasopharyngeal samples of COVID-19 patients and results confirm its utility for the rapid detection infected samples avoiding any amplification process.This work has been financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PID2020-116728RB-I00, CTQ2015-71955-REDT (ELECTROBIONET)) and Community of Madrid (TRANSNANOAVANSENS, S2018/NMT-4349). Authors also acknowledge REACT EU NANOCOV-CM project. We acknowledge the service from the MiNa Laboratory at IMN, and funding from Community of Madrid (project S2018/NMT-4291 TEC2SPACE), MINECO (project CSIC13-4E-1794) and EU (FEDER, FSE)”. RdC gratefully thanks support from Fundación IMDEA, UAM and Banco Santander (fondo supera 2020, convocatoria CRUE–CSIC–SANTANDER, project with reference 10.01.03.02.41).Peer reviewe