449 research outputs found
Potencial de conservación de la biodiversidad de bosques y árboles en fincas del paisaje ganadero Catacamas, Honduras
El estudio evaluó el potencial de conservación de biodiversidad arbórea de diferentes usos de la tierra en el paisaje ganadero Catacamas, Honduras. Se planteó la hipótesis de que los diferentes usos contribuyen en la misma medida a la conservación de la diversidad de árboles a escala de parcela y paisaje. Se muestrearon árboles con un dap mínimo de medición de 10 cm en 448 parcelas (área total de 84,2 ha) ubicadas en diferentes usos forestales y agrícolas característicos del paisaje Catacamas: bosques secundarios continuos (BS), fragmentos de bosque secundario (BSF), plantaciones de café rústico (PLANT), agricultura (AGRI), pasturas (PAST), cercas vivas (CV) y bosques ribereños (BR). Con los datos se caracterizó la estructura, composición y diversidad arbórea en el paisaje y se comparó entre los usos de la tierra
Partial substitution of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) flour for fishmeal in extruded diets for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): Effects on yield parameters
The objective of this research was to evaluate yield parameters (gained weight, weight percentage, survival, feed conversion factor (FCR), feed conversion efficiency (FCE), condition factor (K), specific growth rate (SGR) and hepatosomatic index (HSI)) of trouts fed with experimental diets elaborated with bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) flour instead of fishmeal with 15, 30 and 45% (BF15, BF30 and BF45, respectively) for 32 days, as well as a control diet (CD). The greatest weight gain was presented by fish fed with BF15 and BF30 (14.48 and 14.14 g, respectively) with no significant differences (p>0.05) and an approximate increase of 50% of their initial weight. FCR did not show significant differences (p>0.05) among CD, BF15 and BF30 diets with an average value of 2.05. FCE did not show significant differences (p>0.05) between diets BF15 and BF30 with an average value of 46.70%. SGR did not show significant differences (p>0.05) between BF15 and BF30 diets with an average value of 1.25. It is concluded that 30% is the maximum substitution without causing a decrease in yield and nutritional parameters in rainbow trout under the experiment conditions, although further research is suggested
Clinical outcomes of temporary mechanical circulatory support as a direct bridge to heart transplantation: a nationwide Spanish registry
Background: In Spain, listing for high-urgent heart transplantation is allowed for critically ill candidates not weanable from temporary mechanical circulatory support (T-MCS). We sought to analyse the clinical outcomes of this strategy.
Methods and results: We conducted a case-by-case, retrospective review of clinical records of 291 adult patients listed for high-urgent heart transplantation under temporary devices from 2010 to 2015 in 16 Spanish institutions. Survival after listing and adverse clinical events were studied. At the time of listing, 169 (58%) patients were supported on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO), 70 (24%) on temporary left ventricular assist devices (T-LVAD) and 52 (18%) on temporary biventricular assist devices (T-BiVAD). Seven patients transitioned from VA-ECMO to temporary ventricular assist devices while on the waiting list. Mean time on T-MCS was 13.1 ± 12.6 days. Mean time from listing to transplantation was 7.6 ± 8.5 days. Overall, 230 (79%) patients were transplanted and 54 (18.6%) died during MCS. In-hospital postoperative mortality after transplantation was 33.3%, 11.9% and 26.2% for patients bridged on VA-ECMO, T-LVAD and T-BiVAD, respectively (P = 0.008). Overall survival from listing to hospital discharge was 54.4%, 78.6% and 55.8%, respectively (P = 0.002). T-LVAD support was independently associated with a lower risk of death over the first year after listing (hazard ratio 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.30–0.92). Patients treated with VA-ECMO showed the highest incidence rate of adverse clinical events associated with T-MCS.
Conclusion: Temporary devices may be used to bridge critically ill candidates directly to heart transplantation in a setting of short waiting list times, as is the case of Spain. In our series, bridging with T-LVAD was associated with more favourable outcomes than bridging with T-BiVAD or VA-ECMO
Variation in antiosteoporotic drug prescribing and spending across Spain. A population-based ecological cross-sectional study
Introduction: Evidence has shown that utilization of antiosteoporotic medications does not correspond with risk, and studies on other therapies have shown that adequacy of pharmaceutical prescribing might vary between regions. Nevertheless, very few studies have addressed the variability in osteoporotic drug consumption. We aimed to describe variations in pharmaceutical utilization and spending on osteoporotic drugs between Health Areas (HA) in Spain.
Methods: Population-based cross-sectional ecological study of expenditure and utilization of the five therapeutic groups marketed for osteoporosis treatment in Spain in 2009. Small area variation analysis (SAVA) methods were used. The units of analysis were the 168 HA of 13 Spanish regions, including 7.2 million women aged 50 years and older. The main outcomes were the defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants and day (DDD/1000/Day) dispensed according to the pharmaceutical claims reimbursed, and the expenditure on antiosteoporotics at retail price per woman =50 years old and per year.
Results: The average osteoporosis drug consumption was 116.8 DDD/1000W/Day, ranging from 78.5 to 158.7 DDD/1000W/Day between the HAs in the 5th and 95th percentiles. Seventy-five percent of the antiosteoporotics consumed was bisphosphonates, followed by raloxifene, strontium ranelate, calcitonins, and parathyroid hormones including teriparatide. Regarding variability by therapeutic groups, biphosphonates showed the lowest variation, while calcitonins and parathyroid hormones showed the highest variation. The annual expenditure on antiosteoporotics was €426.5 million, translating into an expenditure of €59.2 for each woman =50 years old and varying between €38.1 and €83.3 between HAs in the 5th and 95th percentiles. Biphosphonates, despite accounting for 79% of utilization, only represented 63% of total expenditure, while parathyroid hormones with only 1.6% of utilization accounted for 15% of the pharmaceutical spending.
Conclusion: This study highlights a marked geographical variation in the prescription of antiosteoporotics, being more pronounced in the case of costly drugs such as parathyroid hormones. The differences in rates of prescribing explained almost all of the variance in drug spending, suggesting that the difference in prescription volume between territories, and not the price of the drugs, is the main source of variation in this setting. Data on geographical variation of prescription can help guide policy proposals for targeting areas with inadequate antiosteoporotic drug use
Probing quantum gravity using photons from a flare of the active galactic nucleus Markarian 501 observed by the MAGIC telescope
We analyze the timing of photons observed by the MAGIC telescope during a
flare of the active galactic nucleus Mkn 501 for a possible correlation with
energy, as suggested by some models of quantum gravity (QG), which predict a
vacuum refractive index \simeq 1 + (E/M_{QGn})^n, n = 1,2. Parametrizing the
delay between gamma-rays of different energies as \Delta t =\pm\tau_l E or
\Delta t =\pm\tau_q E^2, we find \tau_l=(0.030\pm0.012) s/GeV at the 2.5-sigma
level, and \tau_q=(3.71\pm2.57)x10^{-6} s/GeV^2, respectively. We use these
results to establish lower limits M_{QG1} > 0.21x10^{18} GeV and M_{QG2} >
0.26x10^{11} GeV at the 95% C.L. Monte Carlo studies confirm the MAGIC
sensitivity to propagation effects at these levels. Thermal plasma effects in
the source are negligible, but we cannot exclude the importance of some other
source effect.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Lett. B, reflects published versio
Carbapenem-resistant Citrobacter spp. isolated in Spain from 2013 to 2015 produced a variety of carbapenemases including VIM-1, OXA-48, KPC-2, NDM-1 and VIM-2
Objectives: There is little information about carbapenemase-producing (CP) Citrobacter spp.We studied the molecular epidemiology and microbiological features of CP Citrobacter spp. isolates collected in Spain (2013-15).
Methods: In total, 119 isolates suspected of being CP by the EUCAST screening cut-off values were analysed. Carbapenemases and ESBLs were characterized using PCR and sequencing. The genetic relationship among Citrobacter freundii isolates was studied by PFGE.
Results: Of the 119 isolates, 63 (52.9%) produced carbapenemases, of which 37 (58.7%) produced VIM-1, 20 (31.7%) produced OXA-48, 12 (19%) produced KPC-2, 2 (3.2%) produced NDM-1 and 1 (1.6%) produced VIM- 2; 9 C. freundii isolates co-produced VIM-1 plus OXA-48. Fourteen isolates (22.2%) also carried ESBLs: 8 CTX-M-9 plus SHV-12, 2 CTX-M-9, 2 SHV-12 and 2 CTX-M-15. Fifty-seven isolates (90.5%) were C. freundii, 4 (6.3%) were Citrobacter koseri, 1 (1.6%) was Citrobacter amalonaticus and 1 (1.6%) was Citrobacter braakii. By EUCAST breakpoints, eight (12.7%) of the CP isolates were susceptible to the four carbapenems tested. In the 53 CP C. freundii analysed by PFGE, a total of 44 different band patterns were observed. Four PFGE clusters were identified: cluster 1 included eight isolates co-producing VIM-1 and OXA-48; blaVIM-1 was carried in a class 1 integron (intI-blaVIM-1 - aacA4-dfrB1-aadA1-catB2-qacE¿1/sul1) and blaOXA-48 was carried in a Tn1999.2 transposon.
Conclusions: We observed the clonal and polyclonal spread of CP Citrobacter spp. across several Spanish geographical areas. Four species of Citrobacter spp. produced up to five carbapenemase types, including coproduction of VIM-1 plus OXA-48. Some CP Citrobacter spp. isolates were susceptible to the four carbapenems tested, a finding with potential clinical implications
Evidence for a mixed mass composition at the `ankle' in the cosmic-ray spectrum
We report a first measurement for ultra-high energy cosmic rays of the
correlation between the depth of shower maximum and the signal in the water
Cherenkov stations of air-showers registered simultaneously by the fluorescence
and the surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Such a correlation
measurement is a unique feature of a hybrid air-shower observatory with
sensitivity to both the electromagnetic and muonic components. It allows an
accurate determination of the spread of primary masses in the cosmic-ray flux.
Up till now, constraints on the spread of primary masses have been dominated by
systematic uncertainties. The present correlation measurement is not affected
by systematics in the measurement of the depth of shower maximum or the signal
in the water Cherenkov stations. The analysis relies on general characteristics
of air showers and is thus robust also with respect to uncertainties in
hadronic event generators. The observed correlation in the energy range around
the `ankle' at differs significantly from
expectations for pure primary cosmic-ray compositions. A light composition made
up of proton and helium only is equally inconsistent with observations. The
data are explained well by a mixed composition including nuclei with mass . Scenarios such as the proton dip model, with almost pure compositions, are
thus disfavoured as the sole explanation of the ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray
flux at Earth.Comment: Published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Added Report
Numbe
Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
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