Physico-chemical, biological and geological study of an underwater volcano in a degassing stage: Island of El Hierro

El objetivo principal del proyecto “Physico-chemical, biological and geological study of an underwater volcano in a degassing stage: Island of El Hierro”, (VULCANO-II) es estudiar, desde un punto de vista totalmente interdisciplinar, la fase de desgasificación activa del único volcán submarino monitoreado desde su nacimiento en aguas españolas. De esta forma, se pretende además, dar continuidad a los estudios multidisciplinares realizados sobre el volcán submarino de la isla de El Hierro en el contexto del proyecto del Plan Nacional VULCANO-I, (CTM2012-36317) y VULCANA (Vulcanología Canaria Submarina, IEO). Para ello, se realizará la monitorización de las propiedades físico-químicas, biológicas y geológicas del proceso eruptivo submarino de la isla de El Hierro y otros puntos sensibles, como el volcán de Enmedio entre Gran Canaria y Tenerif

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Cultura organizacional: develando significaciones intersubjetivas en una universidad autónoma venezolana

The purpose of the research is to reveal, understand and interpret the meanings that university managers attribute to the organizational culture of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Carabobo, from the interpretive paradigm under the qualitative approach; the epistemic approach adopted the experiential vivencialism while the methodology followed the hermeneutical phenomenological method. As sample, five university managers were intentionally selected, whose interpretations were diagnosed through in-depth interviews. Recording, categorization and coding protocols were applied to the information collected and three natural categories emerged: cultural production, philosophical ethos and cultural ontology. These concepts were interpreted and contrasted with state-of-the-art cultural analysis as proposed by Schein (1988). Cultural production represents the peripheral level of culture, values are an instrumental means that is articulated with previous learning to configure identity, and cultural genesis is rooted in the philosophical ethos, hence actions are mediated by the synergy of the two former levels. University management and the Venezuelan socioeconomic situation have weakened the hitherto shared understanding of the organizational culture.Son propósitos de la investigación develar, comprender e interpretar las significaciones que los gerentes universitarios atribuyen a la cultura organizacional de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales de la Universidad de Carabobo, desde el paradigma interpretativo, bajo el enfoque cualitativo; el abordaje epistémico adoptó el vivencialismo experiencial, mientras que la metodología siguió el método fenomenológico hermenéutico. Como muestra se seleccionaron intencionalmente cinco gerentes universitarios, cuyas significaciones se aprehendieron a través de entrevistas en profundidad. La información fue sometida a protocolos de registro, categorización y codificación, emergiendo tres categorías naturales: producciones culturales, ethos filosófico y ontología cultural. Posteriormente, se efectuó la interpretación y contrastación de las significaciones con el estado del arte, sustentado en el análisis cultural propuesto por Schein (1988). Las producciones culturales representan el nivel periférico de la cultura; los valores son un medio instrumental que se articula con los aprendizajes previos para configurar la identidad, por su parte, la génesis cultural está arraigada al ethos filosófico, por lo que las acciones son mediadas por la sinergia de los primeros dos niveles. Se concluye que la gerencia universitaria y la situación socioeconómica venezolana han debilitado las significaciones compartidas de la cultura organizacional

COVID-19 in hospitalized HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients : A matched study

CatedresObjectives: We compared the characteristics and clinical outcomes of hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 with [people with HIV (PWH)] and without (non-PWH) HIV co-infection in Spain during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective matched cohort study. People with HIV were identified by reviewing clinical records and laboratory registries of 10 922 patients in active-follow-up within the Spanish HIV Research Network (CoRIS) up to 30 June 2020. Each hospitalized PWH was matched with five non-PWH of the same age and sex randomly selected from COVID-19@Spain, a multicentre cohort of 4035 patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19. The main outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Results: Forty-five PWH with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 were identified in CoRIS, 21 of whom were hospitalized. A total of 105 age/sex-matched controls were selected from the COVID-19@Spain cohort. The median age in both groups was 53 (Q1-Q3, 46-56) years, and 90.5% were men. In PWH, 19.1% were injecting drug users, 95.2% were on antiretroviral therapy, 94.4% had HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL, and the median (Q1-Q3) CD4 count was 595 (349-798) cells/μL. No statistically significant differences were found between PWH and non-PWH in number of comorbidities, presenting signs and symptoms, laboratory parameters, radiology findings and severity scores on admission. Corticosteroids were administered to 33.3% and 27.4% of PWH and non-PWH, respectively (P = 0.580). Deaths during admission were documented in two (9.5%) PWH and 12 (11.4%) non-PWH (P = 0.800). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that well-controlled HIV infection does not modify the clinical presentation or worsen clinical outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalization

How do women living with HIV experience menopause? Menopausal symptoms, anxiety and depression according to reproductive age in a multicenter cohort

CatedresBackground: To estimate the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms and anxiety/depression and to assess the differences according to menopausal status among women living with HIV aged 45-60 years from the cohort of Spanish HIV/AIDS Research Network (CoRIS). Methods: Women were interviewed by phone between September 2017 and December 2018 to determine whether they had experienced menopausal symptoms and anxiety/depression. The Menopause Rating Scale was used to evaluate the prevalence and severity of symptoms related to menopause in three subscales: somatic, psychologic and urogenital; and the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire was used for anxiety/depression. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of association between menopausal status, and other potential risk factors, the presence and severity of somatic, psychological and urogenital symptoms and of anxiety/depression. Results: Of 251 women included, 137 (54.6%) were post-, 70 (27.9%) peri- and 44 (17.5%) pre-menopausal, respectively. Median age of onset menopause was 48 years (IQR 45-50). The proportions of pre-, peri- and post-menopausal women who had experienced any menopausal symptoms were 45.5%, 60.0% and 66.4%, respectively. Both peri- and post-menopause were associated with a higher likelihood of having somatic symptoms (aOR 3.01; 95% CI 1.38-6.55 and 2.63; 1.44-4.81, respectively), while post-menopause increased the likelihood of having psychological (2.16; 1.13-4.14) and urogenital symptoms (2.54; 1.42-4.85). By other hand, post-menopausal women had a statistically significant five-fold increase in the likelihood of presenting severe urogenital symptoms than pre-menopausal women (4.90; 1.74-13.84). No significant differences by menopausal status were found for anxiety/depression. Joint/muscle problems, exhaustion and sleeping disorders were the most commonly reported symptoms among all women. Differences in the prevalences of vaginal dryness (p = 0.002), joint/muscle complaints (p = 0.032), and sweating/flush (p = 0.032) were found among the three groups. Conclusions: Women living with HIV experienced a wide variety of menopausal symptoms, some of them initiated before women had any menstrual irregularity. We found a higher likelihood of somatic symptoms in peri- and post-menopausal women, while a higher likelihood of psychological and urogenital symptoms was found in post-menopausal women. Most somatic symptoms were of low or moderate severity, probably due to the good clinical and immunological situation of these women

The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs: First visual-channel radial-velocity measurements and orbital parameter updates of seven M-dwarf planetary systems

The appendix tables are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/609/A117Context. The main goal of the CARMENES survey is to find Earth-mass planets around nearby M-dwarf stars. Seven M dwarfs included in the CARMENES sample had been observed before with HIRES and HARPS and either were reported to have one short period planetary companion (GJ 15 A, GJ 176, GJ 436, GJ 536 and GJ 1148) or are multiple planetary systems (GJ 581 and GJ 876). Aims. We aim to report new precise optical radial velocity measurements for these planet hosts and test the overall capabilities of CARMENES. Methods. We combined our CARMENES precise Doppler measurements with those available from HIRES and HARPS and derived new orbital parameters for the systems. Bona-fide single planet systems were fitted with a Keplerian model. The multiple planet systems were analyzed using a self-consistent dynamical model and their best fit orbits were tested for long-term stability. Results. We confirm or provide supportive arguments for planets around all the investigated stars except for GJ 15 A, for which we find that the post-discovery HIRES data and our CARMENES data do not show a signal at 11.4 days. Although we cannot confirm the super-Earth planet GJ 15 Ab, we show evidence for a possible long-period (P = 7030 d) Saturn-mass (msini = 51.8M) planet around GJ 15 A. In addition, based on our CARMENES and HIRES data we discover a second planet around GJ 1148, for which we estimate a period P = 532.6 days, eccentricity e = 0.342 and minimum mass msini = 68.1M. Conclusions. The CARMENES optical radial velocities have similar precision and overall scatter when compared to the Doppler measurements conducted with HARPS and HIRES. We conclude that CARMENES is an instrument that is up to the challenge of discovering rocky planets around low-mass stars.© ESO, 2018.CARMENES is an instrument for the Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman de Calar Alto (CAHA, Almeria, Spain). CARMENES is funded by the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the Spanish Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), the European Union through FEDER/ERF FICTS-2011-02 funds, and the members of the CARMENES Consortium (Max-Planck-Institut fur Astronomie, Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Landessternwarte Konigstuhl, Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai, Insitut fur Astrophysik Gottingen, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Thuringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Hamburger Sternwarte, Centro de Astrobiologia and Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman), with additional contributions by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, the German Science Foundation (DFG), the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, the states of Baden-Wurttemberg and Niedersachsen, the DFG Research Unit FOR2544 >Blue Planets around Red Stars>, and by the Junta de Andalucia. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www.cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/consortium). Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement. This work used the Systemic Console package (Meschiari et al. 2009) for cross-checking our Keplerian and Dynamical fits and the python package astroML (VanderPlas et al. 2012) for the calculation of the GLS periodogram. The IEEC-CSIC team acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through grant ESP2016-80435-C2-1-R, as well as the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA programme. The IAA-CSIC team acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through grants AYA2014-54348-C03-01 and AYA2016-79425-C3-3-P as well as FEDER funds. The UCM team acknowledges support by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) from projects AYA2015-68012-C2-2-P and AYA2016-79425- C3-1,2,3-P and the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte, programa de Formacion de Profesorado Universitario, under grant FPU15/01476. T. T. and M.K. thank to Jan Rybizki for the very helpful discussion in the early phases of this work. V.J.S.B. is supported by grant AYA2015-69350-C3-2-P from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness (MINECO). J.C.S. acknowledges funding support from Spanish public funds for research under project ESP2015-65712-C5-5-R (MINECO/FEDER), and under Research Fellowship program >Ramon y Cajal> with reference RYC2012-09913 (MINECO/FEDER). The contributions of M.A. were supported by DLR (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt) through the grants 50OW0204 and 50OO1501. J.L.-S. acknowledges the Office of Naval Research Global (award No. N62909-15- 1-2011) for support. C.d.B. acknowledges that this work has been supported by Mexican CONACyT research grant CB-2012-183007 and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity through projects AYA2014-54348-C3-2-R. J.I.G.H., and R.R. acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry project MINECO AYA2014-56359-P. J.I.G.H. also acknowledges financial support from the Spanish MINECO under the 2013 Ramon y Cajal program MINECO RYC-2013-14875. V. Wolthoff acknowledges funding from the DFG Research Unit FOR2544 >Blue Planets around Red Stars>, project No. RE 2694/4-1.We thank the anonymous referee for the excellent comments that helped to improve the quality of this paper

The CARMENES search for exoplanets around M dwarfs: High-resolution optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of 324 survey stars

The CARMENES radial velocity (RV) survey is observing 324 M dwarfs to search for any orbiting planets. In this paper, we present the survey sample by publishing one CARMENES spectrum for each M dwarf. These spectra cover the wavelength range 520¿1710 nm at a resolution of at least R >80 000, and we measure its RV, H¿ emission, and projected rotation velocity. We present an atlas of high-resolution M-dwarf spectra and compare the spectra to atmospheric models. To quantify the RV precision that can be achieved in low-mass stars over the CARMENES wavelength range, we analyze our empirical information on the RV precision from more than 6500 observations. We compare our high-resolution M-dwarf spectra to atmospheric models where we determine the spectroscopic RV information content, Q, and signal-to-noise ratio. We find that for all M-type dwarfs, the highest RV precision can be reached in the wavelength range 700¿900 nm. Observations at longer wavelengths are equally precise only at the very latest spectral types (M8 and M9). We demonstrate that in this spectroscopic range, the large amount of absorption features compensates for the intrinsic faintness of an M7 star. To reach an RV precision of 1 m s¿1 in very low mass M dwarfs at longer wavelengths likely requires the use of a 10 m class telescope. For spectral types M6 and earlier, the combination of a red visual and a near-infrared spectrograph is ideal to search for low-mass planets and to distinguish between planets and stellar variability. At a 4 m class telescope, an instrument like CARMENES has the potential to push the RV precision well below the typical jitter level of 3-4 m s-1. © ESO 2018.We thank an anonymous referee for prompt attention and helpful comments that helped to improve the quality of this paper. CARMENES is an instrument for the Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman de Calar Alto (CAHA, Almeria, Spain). CARMENES is funded by the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the Spanish Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), the European Union through FEDER/ERF FICTS-2011-02 funds, and the members of the CARMENES Consortium (Max-Planck-Institut fur Astronomie, Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Landessternwarte Konigstuhl, Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai, Insitut fur Astrophysik Gottingen, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Thuringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Hamburger Sternwarte, Centro de Astrobiologia and Centro Astronomico Hispano-Aleman), with additional contributions by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, the German Science Foundation through the Major Research Instrumentation Programme and DFG Research Unit FOR2544 >Blue Planets around Red Stars>, the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, the states of Baden-Wurttemberg and Niedersachsen, and by the Junta de Andalucia. This work has made use of the VALD database, operated at Uppsala University, the Institute of Astronomy RAS in Moscow, and the University of Vienna. We acknowledge the following funding programs: European Research Council (ERC-279347), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (RE 1664/12-1, RE 2694/4-1), Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (BMBF-05A14MG3, BMBF-05A17MG3), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, grants AYA2015-68012-C2-2-P, AYA2016-79425-C3-1,2,3-P, AYA2015-69350-C3-2-P, AYA2014-54348-C03-01, AYA2014-56359-P, AYA2014-54348-C3-2R, AYA2016-79425-C3-3-P and 2013 Ramon y Cajal program RYC-2013-14875), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, grant ESP2016-80435-C2-1-R, ESP2015-65712-C5-5-R), Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA programme, Spanish Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte, programa de Formacion de Profesorado Universitario (grant FPU15/01476), Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (grants 50OW0204 and 50OO1501), Office of Naval Research Global (award no. N62909-15-1-2011), Mexican CONACyT grant CB-2012-183007

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study (vol 46, pg 2021, 2022)

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Global attitudes in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 pandemic: ACIE Appy Study

Background: Surgical strategies are being adapted to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations on the management of acute appendicitis have been based on expert opinion, but very little evidence is available. This study addressed that dearth with a snapshot of worldwide approaches to appendicitis. Methods: The Association of Italian Surgeons in Europe designed an online survey to assess the current attitude of surgeons globally regarding the management of patients with acute appendicitis during the pandemic. Questions were divided into baseline information, hospital organization and screening, personal protective equipment, management and surgical approach, and patient presentation before versus during the pandemic. Results: Of 744 answers, 709 (from 66 countries) were complete and were included in the analysis. Most hospitals were treating both patients with and those without COVID. There was variation in screening indications and modality used, with chest X-ray plus molecular testing (PCR) being the commonest (19\ub78 per cent). Conservative management of complicated and uncomplicated appendicitis was used by 6\ub76 and 2\ub74 per cent respectively before, but 23\ub77 and 5\ub73 per cent, during the pandemic (both P < 0\ub7001). One-third changed their approach from laparoscopic to open surgery owing to the popular (but evidence-lacking) advice from expert groups during the initial phase of the pandemic. No agreement on how to filter surgical smoke plume during laparoscopy was identified. There was an overall reduction in the number of patients admitted with appendicitis and one-third felt that patients who did present had more severe appendicitis than they usually observe. Conclusion: Conservative management of mild appendicitis has been possible during the pandemic. The fact that some surgeons switched to open appendicectomy may reflect the poor guidelines that emanated in the early phase of SARS-CoV-2