Gender-based differences in the high-risk sexual behaviours of young people aged 15-29 in Melilla (Spain): a cross-sectional study

Background: Research confirms the existence of gender-based differences regarding the high-risk sexual behaviour (non-use of condoms and casual partners) of young men and women. The objectives were to provide evidence for this association; to analyse the reasons why both sexes have sexual relations with casual partners and to ascertain the motives for condom use or non-use during casual sex. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 900 participants, 524 males and 376 females. All participants were 15-29 (20.93 ± 4.071) years of age and came from four different centres (a university, two secondary schools, and a military base) in Melilla (Spain). The participants were given a socio-demographic survey as well as a psychometric text on high-risk sexual behaviour. Results: The results found gender-based significant differences for sexual relations with penetration (p = 0.001), number of sexual partners (p = 0.001), and sexual relations with casual partners (p = 0.001). In all of these variables, male participants had higher percentages than female participants. Reasons for having casual sexual relations were also different for men and women, differences were found for the items, opportunity (p = 0.001), interest in knowing the other person (p = 0.015), physical excitement (p = 0.056) and drug consumption (p = 0.059). Regarding the reasons for consistent condom use with casual partners, there were differences for the item, my demand of a condom (p = 0.002). For the non-use of condoms with casual partners, differences were found for the items, I do not like to use condoms (p = 0.001) and condoms lessen sensitivity and reduce pleasure (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Men and women were found to have different high-risk sexual behaviours and practices. Of the motives for having sexual relations with casual partners, male participants considered opportunity and interest in knowing the other person to be more important than the female participants. Regarding condom use, the female participants’ demand to use a condom was a significant gender-based difference. In contrast to the young women, the male participants mostly justified not using a condom because it lessened sensitivity and reduced pleasure

Evaluating Attention, Socioemotional Factors and Anxiety in Secondary School Students in Murcia (Spain) Using the BAPNE® Method. Research Protocol

This article aims to set out the research protocol being used at IES Diego Tortosa, a secondary school in Cieza in the region of Murcia (Spain), in a project looking at attention and socioemotional factors. The project will be completed in early 2017. For this research project, a range of tests approved in Spain are being used. These include: self-concept tests (AF-5), social skills tests (EHS), psychometric testing (SOCIOMET), the STAI anxiety test, and the D2 test to assess sustained attention. The aim is to demonstrate the benefits of the BAPNE® Method as a teaching and therapeutic resource in the secondary classroom. Body percussion is an excellent resource for secondary education if the BAPNE® Method is used, because this method stimulates the different types of attention (Sohlberg & Mateer, 1987,1989). The methodology used makes students work in groups in a cooperative manner, without hierarchies, which leads to an improvement in their behaviour and motivation. This form of working can also have positive effects on their achievement in other subjects, leading them to meet objectives and to achieve more. We aim to demonstrate a different form of education in which the student is the protagonist of their own development. BAPNE® helps to build a form of egalitarian education that improves the classroom atmosphere. We think a change in education is required in order to meet the needs of the young people of 21st century. As such, we will use the activities of the BAPNE® Method in the music classroom for specific reasons, sequencing them precisely

Toward Reliable Compact Modeling of Multilevel 1T-1R RRAM Devices for Neuromorphic Systems

The authors would like to thank the financial support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) with Project-ID SFB1461 and by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany under grant numbers 16ES1002, 16FMD01K, 16FMD02 and 16FMD03. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the FEDER program through project TEC2017-84321-C4-3-R and project A.TIC.117.UGR18 funded by the government of Andalusia (Spain) and the FEDER program. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz Association.The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.In this work, three different RRAM compact models implemented in Verilog-A are analyzed and evaluated in order to reproduce the multilevel approach based on the switching capability of experimental devices. These models are integrated in 1T-1R cells to control their analog behavior by means of the compliance current imposed by the NMOS select transistor. Four different resistance levels are simulated and assessed with experimental verification to account for their multilevel capability. Further, an Artificial Neural Network study is carried out to evaluate in a real scenario the viability of the multilevel approach under study.German Research Foundation (DFG) SFB1461Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF) 16ES1002 16FMD01K 16FMD02 16FMD03Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesEuropean Commission TEC2017-84321-C4-3-Rgovernment of Andalusia (Spain) A.TIC.117.UGR18Leibniz Associatio

Understanding the Drought Phenomenon in the Iberian Peninsula

The analysis and understanding of drought phenomenon are essential for the management of hydrological resources. Drought indices are commonly used to predict these extreme events, being their suitability partly due to the use of climate fields at an adequate spatiotemporal resolution. This work aims to examine spatiotemporal patterns of drought over the Iberian Peninsula (IP), which is a region especially vulnerable to drought phenomenon. For this, climate data from a simulation completed with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model have been used. The spatiotemporal patterns of drought over the period 1980–2014 were examined using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) at the 3- and the 12-month time scales, and they were compared with other drought-related variables such as the surface evapotranspiration (SFCEVP), soil moisture (SM), and runoff. The results evidence that WRF is a valuable tool for characterizing droughts over the IP, providing large amounts of climate data at an adequate spatial resolution. Drought events seem to be more severe in regard to their duration over southern IP. Moreover, a good agreement between the SPEI at 3-month time scale with the SM and the SFCEVP is found. Additionally, the annual runoff evolves similarly to the SPEI at 12-month time scale

Care complexity individual factors associated with adverse events and in-hospital mortality

Introduction: Measuring the impact of care complexity on health outcomes, based on psychosocial, biological and environmental circumstances, is important in order to detect predictors of early deterioration of inpatients. We aimed to identify care complexity individual factors associated with selected adverse events and in-hospital mortality. Methods: A multicenter, case-control study was carried out at eight public hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017. All adult patients admitted to a ward or a step-down unit were evaluated. Patients were divided into the following groups based on the presence or absence of three adverse events (pressure ulcers, falls or aspiration pneumonia) and in-hospital mortality. The 28 care complexity individual factors were classified in five domains (developmental, mental-cognitive, psycho-emotional, sociocultural and comorbidity/complications). Adverse events and complexity factors were retrospectively reviewed by consulting patients' electronic health records. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to identify factors associated with an adverse event and in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 183,677 adult admissions were studied. Of these, 3,973 (2.2%) patients experienced an adverse event during hospitalization (1,673 [0.9%] pressure ulcers; 1,217 [0.7%] falls and 1,236 [0.7%] aspiration pneumonia). In-hospital mortality was recorded in 3,996 patients (2.2%). After adjustment for potential confounders, the risk factors independently associated with both adverse events and in-hospital mortality were: mental status impairments, impaired adaptation, lack of caregiver support, old age, major chronic disease, hemodynamic instability, communication disorders, urinary or fecal incontinence, vascular fragility, extreme weight, uncontrolled pain, male sex, length of stay and admission to a medical ward. High-tech hospital admission was associated with an increased risk of adverse events and a reduced risk of in-hospital mortality. The area under the ROC curve for both outcomes was > 0.75 (95% IC: 0.78-0.83). Conclusions: Several care complexity individual factors were associated with adverse events and in-hospital mortality. Prior identification of complexity factors may have an important effect on the early detection of acute deterioration and on the prevention of poor outcomes

Documento de consenso SEA/SEMERGEN 2019. Recomendaciones dietéticas en la prevención cardiovascular

El actual paradigma en las ciencias de la nutrición establece que la unidad nutricional básica no son los nutrientes, sino los alimentos que los contienen (aceites, frutos secos, productos lácteos, huevos, carnes rojas o procesadas, etc.), que actúan como matriz alimentaria en la que los diferentes nutrientes modulan sinérgica o antagónicamente sus efectos sobre diversas vías metabólicas determinantes para la salud y la enfermedad. La alimentación no se basa en nutrientes ni en alimentos aislados sino en complejas mezclas de unos y otros que forman parte de un patrón alimentario concreto, concepto que se ha señalado como el más pertinente para evaluar las asociaciones entre nutrición y salud o enfermedad. Este documento resume las evidencias disponibles sobre la relación existente entre los diferentes alimentos y la salud cardiovascular, y ofrece recomendaciones sencillas para ser implementadas en el consejo dietético que se ofrezca por parte del profesional sanitario

Optimization of Multi-Level Operation in RRAM Arrays for In-Memory Computing

Accomplishing multi-level programming in resistive random access memory (RRAM) arrays with truly discrete and linearly spaced conductive levels is crucial in order to implement synaptic weights in hardware-based neuromorphic systems. In this paper, we implemented this feature on 4-kbit 1T1R RRAM arrays by tuning the programming parameters of the multi-level incremental step pulse with verify algorithm (M-ISPVA). The optimized set of parameters was assessed by comparing its results with a non-optimized one. The optimized set of parameters proved to be an effective way to define non-overlapped conductive levels due to the strong reduction of the device-to-device variability as well as of the cycle-to-cycle variability, assessed by inter-levels switching tests and during 1 k reset-set cycles. In order to evaluate this improvement in real scenarios, the experimental characteristics of the RRAM devices were captured by means of a behavioral model, which was used to simulate two different neuromorphic systems: an 8 × 8 vector-matrix-multiplication (VMM) accelerator and a 4-layer feedforward neural network for MNIST database recognition. The results clearly showed that the optimization of the programming parameters improved both the precision of VMM results as well as the recognition accuracy of the neural network in about 6% compared with the use of non-optimized parameters

Projected hydrologic changes over the north of the Iberian Peninsula using a Euro-CORDEX multi-model ensemble

This study explores the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of the headwater areas of the Duero River Basin, the largest basin of the Iberian Peninsula. To this end, an ensemble of 18 Euro-CORDEX model experiments was gathered for 1975-2005 and 2021-2100, under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and were used as the meteorological forcings of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) during the hydrological modelling exercise. The projected hydrologic changes for the future period were analyzed at annual and seasonal scales using several evaluation metrics, such as the delta changes of the atmospheric and land variables, the runoff and evapotranspiration ratios of the overall water balance, the snowmelt contribution to the total streamflow and the centroid position for the daily hydrograph of the average hydrologic year. Annual streamflow reductions of up to 40% were attained in various parts of the basin for 2071-2100 under RCP8.5 scenario, and resulted from the precipitation decreases in the southern subwatersheds and the combined effect of the precipitation decreases and evapotranspiration increases in the north. The runoff and the evapotranspiration ratios evinced a tendency towards an evaporative regime in the north part of the basin and a strengthening of the evaporative response in the south. Seasonal streamflow changes were mostly negative and dependent on the season considered, with greater detriments in spring and summer, and less intense ones in autumn and winter. The snowmelt contribution to the total streamflow was strongly diminished with decreases reaching -80% in autumn and spring, thus pointing to a change in the snow regime for the Duero mountains. Finally, the annual and seasonal changes of the centroid position accounted for the shape changes of the hydrograph, constituting a measure of seasonality and reflecting high correlations degrees with the streamflow delta changes

Global Emergence of Resistance to Fluconazole and Voriconazole in Candida parapsilosis in Tertiary Hospitals in Spain During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Candida parapsilosis; Antifungal resistance; OutbreaksCandida parapsilosis; Resistencia antifúngica; BrotesCandida parapsilosis; Resistència antifúngica; BrotsBackground Candida parapsilosis is a frequent cause of candidemia worldwide. Its incidence is associated with the use of medical implants, such as central venous catheters or parenteral nutrition. This species has reduced susceptibility to echinocandins, and it is susceptible to polyenes and azoles. Multiple outbreaks caused by fluconazole-nonsusceptible strains have been reported recently. A similar trend has been observed among the C. parapsilosis isolates received in the last 2 years at the Spanish Mycology Reference Laboratory. Methods Yeast were identified by molecular biology, and antifungal susceptibility testing was performed using the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing protocol. The ERG11 gene was sequenced to identify resistance mechanisms, and strain typing was carried out by microsatellite analysis. Results We examined the susceptibility profile of 1315 C. parapsilosis isolates available at our reference laboratory between 2000 and 2021, noticing an increase in the number of isolates with acquired resistance to fluconazole, and voriconazole has increased in at least 8 different Spanish hospitals in 2020–2021. From 121 recorded clones, 3 were identified as the most prevalent in Spain (clone 10 in Catalonia and clone 96 in Castilla-Leon and Madrid, whereas clone 67 was found in 2 geographically unrelated regions, Cantabria and the Balearic Islands). Conclusions Our data suggest that concurrently with the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, a selection of fluconazole-resistant C. parapsilosis isolates has occurred in Spain, and the expansion of specific clones has been noted across centers. Further research is needed to determine the factors that underlie the successful expansion of these clones and their potential genetic relatedness.O.Z. was funded by grants SAF2017–86912-R and PID2020–114546RB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation. This work was also funded by the National Centre for Microbiology (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) through the Surveillance Program of Antifungal Resistance and the Center for Biomedical Research in Network of Infectious Diseases CIBERINFECTCB21/13/00105 (O.Z. and L.A.F.), CIBERINFEC-CB21/13/00009 (M.P.-A.), CIBERES-CB06/06/0037 (C.A.-T.), and CIBERES-CB06/06/0058 (J.G). L.A.-F. was supported by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (MPY 117/18 and MPY 305/20). We thank Dr. David Campany Herrero (Vall d’Hebron Hospital), Noelia Garrido Peño (Móstoles Hospital), David Gómez Gómez y Aitziber Illaro Uranga (Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital), María Ángeles Machín Morón (Burgos Hospital), Jose Manuel Caro Teller (Doce de Octubre Hospital), Marina Calvo (Puerta de Hierro Hospital), and Ariadna Padulles (Bellvitge Hospital) for providing the data on antifungal consumption from their hospitals. We also thank Ángel Zaballos and Pilar Jiménez from the Genomics Core Facility from Instituto de Salud Carlos III for their technical help with the microsatellite analysis technique

The role of the surface evapotranspiration in regional climate modelling: Evaluation and near-term future changes

Surface evapotranspiration (SFCEVP) plays an essential role in the climate, being the link between hydrological and energy cycles. Therefore, how it is approximated and its implication in the regional climate are important aspects to understand the effects of climate change, especially in transitional zones such as the Iberian Peninsula (IP). This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of the SFCEVP using a regional climate model (RCM), the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. To this purpose, a set of WRF simulations were completed using different driving data. On the first hand, a recent present (1980–2017) simulation driven by the ERA-Interim reanalysis was carried out to evaluate the suitability of the RCM performance. On the other hand, two global climate models (GCMs) from the CMIP5 initiative, the CESM1 and the MPI-ESM-LR, were used as driving data to evaluate the GCM-RCM coupling, which is essential to climate change applications. Finally, projected changes were also investigated for a near-term future (2021–2050) paradigm. In general, the results pointed out the WRF model as a valuable tool to study the spatiotemporal patterns of the SFCEVP in the IP, showing an overall and acceptable ability at different spatial and temporal scales. Concerning projections, the results indicate that the IP is likely to undergo significant changes in the SFCEVP in the near future. These changes will be more apparent over the southernmost, and particularly during spring and summer, being in the latter season the SFCEVP fundamentally reduced. These results agree with projected changes in soil moisture, which is probably associated with changes in precipitation patterns. Additionally, the results reveal the major role of SFCEVP in modulating the climate over this region, which is involved in the complex land-atmosphere processes.Departamento de Física Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granad