Regionalization and connectivity in the Gulf of Cádiz and Alborán Sea implication for marine spatial planning and coastal management

This work proposes a regionalization of marine waters south of the Iberian Peninsula based on empirical orthogonal functions and GIS analysis. The regions identified are consistent and correspond to hydrological mesoscale and macroscale structures well characterized from physical and biological viewpoints. Although it is difficult to determine the boundaries of a fluid continuously moving, the procedure used recognizes the most frequent patterns and can be used to reference geographically the most likely position of the limit among the regions. Once established the regions, the connectivity among them is addressed by means of geostrophic currents derived from altimetry data. The main geostrophic circulation pattern depict an elevate connectivity in the area that might facilitate the conservation and recovering of species, but also imply a higher vulnerability to negative externalities and highlight the need of models, marine spatial planning, and coastal management approaches that includes the pelagic ecosystem and connectivity of the seas. Furthermore, the results confirm that the cooperation between public authorities at different levels (local, regional, state) as well as among riparian countries is essential for marine spatial planning and prevention of potential risk derived from upcoming marine activities in the framework of the 2020 agenda and Blue Growth strategy.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

The biogeographic basis of Ebola-virus disease outbreaks: A model for other zoonotic diseases?

We first determined the differential role of favorability of environmental conditions and mammalian chorotypes in explaining the presence of the Ebola virus in Africa. We then combined environmental factors and chorotypes using fuzzy logic, which better explained the distribution of Ebola virus. The core area for the virus was associated with human infections of known animal origin, with infections of unknown source detected in areas that are biogeographically more peripheral. Variation in the environmental favorability for disease outbreaks may be monitored using indices of macroclimatic oscillations. This may provide the basis for an early warning system based on the variation in macroclimatic indices and the locations where human contact with multiple animal species tend to occur. We propose to study the biogeography of zoonoses by: 1) determining the potential spatial distribution of these diseases, according to environmental factors and the biogeographic structure of animals linked to the zoonosis cycle; 2) search for relationships between disease outbreaks and global atmospheric oscillations to forecast periods of higher risk of emergence of the infectious diseases.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Hypoglycaemic and Antioxidant Effects of Propolis of Chihuahua in a Model of Experimental Diabetes

Propolis is a bee-collected natural product that has been proven to have various bioactivities. This study tested the effects of a Mexican propolis on streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in a murine model. The results showed that an ethanolic extract of propolis of Chihuahua (EEPCh) significantly inhibited increases in blood glucose and the loss of body weight in diabetic mice. EEPCh increased plasma insulin levels in STZ-diabetic mice, whereas, in untreated diabetic mice, there was no detection of insulin. EEPCh had a high antioxidant capacity (SA50 = 15.75 μg/mL), which was directly related to the concentrations of total phenols (314 mg GAE/g of extract) and flavonoids (6.25 mg QE/g of extract). In addition, increased activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were observed in diabetic mice treated with EEPCh. Compounds such as pinocembrin, quercetin, naringin, naringenin, kaempferol, acacetin, luteolin, and chrysin were identified by HPLC-MS analysis. This investigation demonstrated that propolis of Chihuahua possesses hypoglycaemic and antioxidant activities and can alleviate symptoms of diabetes mellitus in mice. These effects may be directly related to the chemical composition of propolis, as most of the compounds identified in propolis are reportedly active in terms of the different parameters evaluated in this work

Modelling the distribution of Bonelli’s eagle in Spain: implications for conservation planning.

OAPolítica de acceso abierto tomada de: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/6798?template=romeoBonelli’s eagle, Hieraaetus fasciatus , has recently suffered a severe population decline and is currently endangered. Spain supports about 70% of the European population. We used stepwise logistic regression on a set of environmental, spatial and human variables to model Bonelli’s eagle distribution in the 5167 UTM 10 × 10 km quadrats of peninsular Spain. We obtained a model based on 16 variables, which allowed us to identify favourable and unfavourable areas for this species in Spain, as well as intermediate favourability areas. We assessed the stepwise progression of the model by comparing the model’s predictions in each step with those of the final model, and selected a parsimonious explanatory model based on three variables — slope, July temperature and precipitation — comprising 76% of the predictive capacity of the final model. The reported presences in favourable and unfavourable areas suggest a source–sink dynamics in Bonelli’s eagle populations. The fragmented spatial structure of the favourable areas suggests the existence of a superimposed metapopulation dynamics. Previous LIFE (The Financial Instrument of the European Union for the Environment and Nature) projects for the conservation of this species have focused mainly on the northern limit of its range, where the sharpest population decline has been recorded. In these areas, favourability is low and Bonelli’s eagle populations are probably maintained by the immigration of juveniles produced in more favourable zones. However, southern populations, although stable, show signs of reduction in productivity, which could menace the population sizes in the whole study area. We suggest that conservation efforts should focus also on known favourable areas, which might favour population persistence in unfavourable areas through dispersal

Algunas cartas de control bivariadas para atributos/ Some bivariate control charts for atributes.

Muchos procesos industriales son de naturaleza multivariada dado que la calidad de un producto depende de más de una variable. El control multivariado de procesos captura la relación en las variables asociadas al proceso, si se ignora esta correlación y se utilizan gráficos de control univariados para cada variable por separado se puede concluir erróneamente acerca del estado del proceso. En variables continuas correlacionadas se han realizado muchas investigaciones, sin embargo se encuentran pocos trabajos que traten sobre atributos correlacionados. En este trabajo se comparan tres cartas de control para variables aleatorias binomiales bivariadas, correlacionadas entre sí, las cuales miden atributos. Las cartas son: La carta T2de Hotelling basada en la aproximación de la distribución binomial multivariada a la distribución normal multivariada. La carta MNP la cual es una extensión de las cartas np univariadas, y la carta r que es una metodología no paramétrica basada en el índice de profundidad de Mahalanobis. La comparación se hace vía simulación utilizando como medida de comparación, la longitud promedio de racha (ARL). Dentro del trabajo se presenta un ejemplo aplicado de las metodologías para construir cartas de control para variables binomiales bivariadas en una empresa de telecomunicaciones. De los resultados se aprecia, en términos generales, que la carta MNP es la mejor tanto en control como fuera de control. / Abstract: Many industrial processes are multivariate in nature since the quality of a product depends on more than one variable. The multivariate control of processes captures the relation between the variables associated with the process, if this correlation is ignored and univariate control charts are used for every variable separately is possible to conclude erroneously over the process status. In the continuous case, many researches have been done, however there are few works that aim to correlated attributes. In this work we compare three charts of control for correlated bivariate binomial random variables, which are associated with attributes. The charts are: Hotelling’s T2 chart based on the approximation of the distribution binomial multivariate to the normal multivariate distribution. MNP chart which is an extension of univariate np chart, and r chart that is a nonparametric methodology based on the Mahalanobis’s depth. The comparison is made through of simulation study using as a comparison measure the average run length (ARL). In this work we present an example of the used methodologies to construct control charts for bivariate binomial variables in a telecommunications company. The results shown in general terms that the MNP chart is the best in both control and out of control

Merchandising y la decisión de compra en las tiendas del Centro Comercial el Molino del Distrito de Santiago, Cusco – Perú

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar el grado de relación entre el merchandising y la decisión de compra en las tiendas del centro comercial el Molino del distrito de Santiago, Cusco, Perú. Para esto, se empleó el enfoque cuantitativo, con un nivel de investigación correlacional y diseño no experimental de corte transversal; donde la muestra de estudio probabilístico calculado fue de 384 clientes del centro comercial antes mencionado; la técnica de recolección de datos que se utilizó fue una encuesta, el instrumento que se aplicó fue el cuestionario con 32 preguntas en escala Likert. Los resultados nos muestran que existe una relación entre la variable merchandising y decisión de compra la cual puede ser afirmada por la correlación de Rho de Spearman que resulto ser 0.533 y, por otro lado, la obtuvo con el chi-cuadrado, la significancia bilateral o p-valor de 0.000, la cual es menor que el 0.05 por lo que se acepta la hipótesis alterna y rechaza la hipótesis nula. En conclusión, existe una relación entre la variable merchandising y la variable decisión de compra; por lo que si se realiza un adecuado uso de las estrategias del merchandising se garantiza la decisión de compra por parte de los clientes del centro comercial el Molino del distrito de Santiago, Cusco

Modelling chorotypes of invasive vertebrates in mainland Spain.

We investigated the existence of chorotypes – assemblages of species with similar geographical ranges – of invasive species in a host territory, and their potential use to advocate similar control or management strategies for species in the same chorotype. We analysed the distribution of 13 exotic terrestrial vertebrate species (six birds, six mammals, and one reptile) with well-known distributions in mainland Spain. We used the presence/absence data on a grid of 10 km × 10 km UTM cells from the Atlases of terrestrial vertebrates of Spain. These data were aggregated to a grid of 50 km × 50 km UTM cells, because it entailed no loss of meaningful information and allowed dealing with a much lower number of cells. Using cluster analysis and a probabilistic assessment of the classification, we identified seven significant chorotypes: four multispecific and three monospecific. The compound chorotypes grouped together species that tended to share certain characteristics about their introduction, release cause, establishment, and spread. We modelled the chorotypes using a favourability function based on a generalized linear model and 31 variables related to spatial situation, topography, lithology, climatic stability, energy availability, water availability, disturbances, productivity, and human activity. Climatic factors affected the favourability for every chorotype, whereas human variables had a high influence in the distribution of three chorotypes involving eight species. On the basis of these variables, we identified favourable areas for all the chorotypes in mainland Spain. The favourability for a chorotype in an area may be a useful criterion for evaluating the local conservation concern due to the whole set of species. Favourable but unoccupied areas can be used to infer possible colonization areas for each chorotype. We recommend using chorotypes to optimize broad-scale surveillance of invasive species.Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía, España (project P05-RNM-00935) y Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia de España (project CGL2006-09567). A. Estrada tenia una beca dela Junta de Andalucía

VOLATILE PROFILE AND CONSUMER ACCEPTABILITY OF NATURAL YOGHURTS ELABORATED WITH CHILEAN NATIVE CULTURES OF ENTEROCOCCUS SP. STRAIN BB3 AND LACTOBACILLUS SP. STRAIN BB6

According to WHO, in 2016 around 13% of the world's adult population (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese. The global prevalence of obesity almost tripled between 1975 and 2016. In this context, it is important to note that the continuous increase in life expectancy, the desire for a better quality of life, and the high cost of medical care have led to a growing demand for functional foods in the market. People have started to realize that their food choices and their unhealthy lifestyles have consequences for their health. An important role in this scenario is associated with functional foods containing probiotic strains, reported to benefit human health. Here we report the development of natural yogurts based on native probiotic starter cultures of Enterococcus sp. strain BB3 (MK681869) and Lactobacillus sp. strain BB6 (MK681868), isolated from raw cow milk of La Araucanía region of Chile. The odor and taste were the main parameters criticized by the consumer, the analysis of CG-MS elucidated that the yogurt produced by the strain Enterococcus sp. strain BB3 (MK681869) produced a higher amount of heptan2-one, associated with a cheesy type odor, with less acceptance by the consumers. The acceptability of 6 types of yogurt was evaluated with a randomized analysis of 60 participants. The development of a functional dairy product based on probiotics is of interest because of its relation with positive changes in gut microbiota, and at the same time with a possible decrease in body weigh

Specific Recognition of Influenza A/H1N1/2009 Antibodies in Human Serum: A Simple Virus-Free ELISA Method

Although it has been estimated that pandemic Influenza A H1N1/2009 has infected millions of people from April to October 2009, a more precise figure requires a worldwide large-scale diagnosis of the presence of Influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies within the population. Assays typically used to estimate antibody titers (hemagglutination inhibition and microneutralization) would require the use of the virus, which would seriously limit broad implementation.An ELISA method to evaluate the presence and relative concentration of specific Influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies in human serum samples is presented. The method is based on the use of a histidine-tagged recombinant fragment of the globular region of the hemagglutinin (HA) of the Influenza A H1N1/2009 virus expressed in E. coli.The ELISA method consistently discerns between Inf A H1N1 infected and non-infected subjects, particularly after the third week of infection/exposure. Since it does not require the use of viral particles, it can be easily and quickly implemented in any basic laboratory. In addition, in a scenario of insufficient vaccine availability, the use of this ELISA could be useful to determine if a person has some level of specific antibodies against the virus and presumably at least partial protection

Current situation of allergy education in Mexico and other parts of Latin America

Allergic diseases are one of the most frequent chronic diseases in the world. It has been established that there is a worldwide epidemic of allergic diseases; therefore, the treatment of allergies should be acknowledged as a worldwide priority and the specialty of allergy should be considered an important field in medicine. Due to the fact that allergic diseases involve many organs, and Allergy and Clinical Immunology is one of the specialties in which physicians may be trained to treat patients of all ages, the subject in medical schools is not always taught as an individual specialty but often as part of another subject such as internal medicine or pediatrics. Certified allergists are an important contribution to health systems, providing the necessary care for patients who have allergic diseases. Undergraduate programs in many universities do not include allergy as a subject, contributing to a lack of knowledge regarding the correct management of allergic diseases. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 1 allergist per 50,000 people; however, there is an uneven distribution of allergy and clinical immunology specialists. Most practitioners are localized mainly in larger cities and state capitals, while in other regions, specialists are still greatly needed. Support and training systems are required for allergy and clinical immunology specialists to promote continuing education and keep their clinical competence up to date, which will lead to better care for their patients. Increased exposure to the concepts of allergy and clinical immunology diagnosis and treatment in undergraduate education may also potentially lead to an increase in interest in the field of allergy and clinical immunology among physicians in training. This review will approach allergy education in Mexico and other parts of Latin America