Ecotoxicological study of agrochemicals' effects on plankton community structure and function

[ES] Actualmente, los límites legales de agroquímicos se basan principalmente en test de toxicidad de laboratorio que evalúan los efectos tóxicos en test de única especie y de un único compuesto. Sin embargo, hay dos limitaciones principales asociadas a este enfoque: a) la extrapolación de los efectos basados en indicadores a nivel de individuo a un contexto más complejo a nivel de ecosistema con poblaciones y comunidades, y b) los químicos no aparecen aislados en el medio ambiente, en consecuencia la mezclas se deberían ser estudiadas para entender mejor tanto los efectos directos como indirectos de los agroquímicos. Por tanto, dentro de este nicho científico inexplorado, esta tesis explora escenarios de mezclas de agroquímicos, de condiciones ecológicas y de sus interacciones. Con el objetivo de contribuir a una mejor comprensión de los efectos de los agroquímicos en los sistemas acuáticos centrándose en las comunidades planctónicas y bentónicas de humedales, este trabajo se centra en dos escenarios: escenario agroquímico (mezcla, frecuencia de pulsos y límites) y escenario ecológico (interacciones ecológicas: competición y niveles jerárquicos).[EN]Currently, agrochemicals legal thresholds are mainly based on laboratory toxicity test to assess toxicant exposure effect based on single species test and single compound, However, two main shortcomings are associated with this approach: a) the extrapolation of the effect based on endpoint at individual levels into a complex ecosystem context with populations and communities, and b) chemicals do not occur alone in the environment, consequently mixtures should also be studied to better understand direct and indirect effect of agrochemicals inputs. Therefore, from this unexplored new scientific niche, this thesis explores scenarios of chemical mixtures, of ecological conditions and of theirs interactions. In order to contribute to a better understanding of agrochemical effects on the aquatic communities focusing on plankton and benthic communities of wetlands, this work encompasses two main scenarios: agrochemical scenarios (mixture, pulses frequency and limits) and ecological scenarios (ecological interactions: competition and hierarchical levels).Tesis Univ. Jaén. Departamento de Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, leída el 20 de febrero de 201

The performance of biological indicators in assessing the ecological state of streams with varying catchment urbanisation levels in Coimbra, Portugal

The growth of human populations has resulted in the expansion of metropolitan areas and changes in land use, both of which affect watersheds and streams. The ecological integrity of streams is likely to be negatively affected by urbanisation, compromising freshwater ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to assess how efficient structural and functional indicators are in evaluating the ecological conditions of water in urban stream ecosystems. Two urban streams crossing the city and one stream crossing a suburban area of Coimbra, Portugal were selected. Total impervious area (TIA) was used as an indicator of urbanisation. Physical and chemical parameters of water were measured and analysed within the Water Framework Directive (WFD/2000/60/EC). Benthic macroinvertebrates were used as structural indicators, and the IBMWP biotic index (modified) and the Portuguese IPtIS index were calculated. The decomposition rates of oak (Quercus robur) and alder (Alnus glutinosa) leaves were used as indicators of functional quality. Biotic indices and litter decomposition rates indicated poor ecological conditions in the urban streams compared to the suburban stream, consistent with the degree of urbanisation. The decrease in ecological quality in urban streams most likely reflected decreases in dissolved oxygen and increases in water temperature and conductivity. We emphasise (a) the need to combine physical and chemical data with biological data and (b) the high performance of a novel functional indicator based on litter breakdown rate as an accurate, efficient and integrative measure of ecological integrity in urban streams.El crecimiento de la población humana en las últimas décadas ha provocado el aumento de las áreas urbanas y cambios en los usos del suelo que afectan a las cuencas hidrográficas y a sus ríos. Es probable que la integridad ecológica de los ríos urbanos se vea afectada negativamente, comprometiendo los servicios ecosistémicos proporcionados por las aguas dulces. El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar el rendimiento entre diferentes metodologías en la evaluación química y ecológica del agua en ríos urbanos. Se han seleccionado dos ríos urbanos que cruzan la ciudad de Coimbra, Portugal, y un río que cruza un área suburbana. Como indicador de urbanización se us'o el área total impermeable (TIA). Se han utilizado parámetros físico-químicos que se han analizado siguiendo la Directiva Marco del Agua (2000/60/EC). Como indicadores estructurales se han utilizado los macroinvertebrados bentónicos, calculándose el índice biológico IBMWP (modificado) y el índice IPtIS portugués. Como indicadores funcionales de la calidad ecológica se han usado las tasas de descomposición de hojarasca de roble (Quercus robur L.) y aliso (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner). Los parámetros físicos y químicos de todos los ríos indicaron "buena calidad" según los parámetros de calidad nacionales y la Directiva Marco del Agua. Sin embargo, los indicadores biológicos y las tasas de descomposición de hojarasca indicaron malas condiciones ecol'ogicas en los ríos urbanos comparados con el río en el área suburbana coincidiendo también con el grado de urbanización. Esto sugiere que los indicadores biológicos (estructurales y funcionales) proporcionan información más temprana, precisa e integrada del sistema que las medidas de la química del agua que no reflejan el valor ecológico de las aguas, su calidad o los impactos ecológicos potenciales. En el estudio se hace especial énfasis en (a) la necesidad de combinar datos físico-químicos con medidas biológicas y (b) la elevada eficiencia de la descomposición como indicador preciso de la integridad ecológica y calidad ambiental en un número creciente de ríos urbanos

Competencias para el ejercicio de la dirección de instituciones educativas : reflexiones y experiencias en Iberoamérica

El presente texto es el resultado de las aportaciones al encuentro realizado por los miembros de la Red de Apoyo a la Gestion Educativa (http://www.redage.org) en junio de 2011 en la ciudad de Lima. Constituye el tercer documento de la Serie Informes que ha producido la RedAGE y es expresión del compromiso constitutivo por analizar y difundir temáticas relacionadas con la organizaciÓn y dirección de los sistemas y centros educativos. El ejercicio directivo analizado desde la perspectiva de las competencias es la temática que se aborda en esta ocasión. Por una parte, se continúa la reflexión iniciada con el segundo informe, dedicado a la Dirección de centros educativos en Iberoamérica (http://www.redage.org/files/adjuntos/ Libro%20Red_AGE%20vd.pdf); por otra, se profundiza desde la perspectiva de las competencias con la idea de difundir e impulsar el nuevo enfoque. Tratamos así de un tema incipiente en algunos de los países, pero presente y parte de la agenda de los responsables de la política educativa, con la idea de aportar elementos para las posibles acciones a desarrollar o a mejorar al respecto. Hablamos de competencias y sobre competencias1 y con ello nos referimos a las características de la persona relacionadas con una actuación de éxito en su lugar de trabajo. Se identifican así con la activación y aplicación de manera coordinada de elementos de diferente naturaleza (cognoscitivos, afectivos y procedimentales) para resolver situaciones profesionales concretas. El concepto de competencia es utilizado desde hace tiempo en el campo de la formación profesional, abriéndose camino, poco a poco, en todo el sistema educativo y en los procesos de formación continua, donde la gestión por competencias se ha convertido en un modelo integrador y orientador de las diferentes políticas de recursos humanos

IL-6 serum levels predict severity and response to tocilizumab in COVID-19: An observational study

Background: Patients with coronavirus disaese 2019 (COVID-19) can develop a cytokine release syndrome that eventually leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Because IL-6 is a relevant cytokine in acute respiratory distress syndrome, the blockade of its receptor with tocilizumab (TCZ) could reduce mortality and/or morbidity in severe COVID-19. Objective: We sought to determine whether baseline IL-6 serum levels can predict the need for IMV and the response to TCZ. Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed in hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Clinical information and laboratory findings, including IL-6 levels, were collected approximately 3 and 9 days after admission to be matched with preadministration and postadministration of TCZ. Multivariable logistic and linear regressions and survival analysis were performed depending on outcomes: need for IMV, evolution of arterial oxygen tension/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio, or mortality. Results: One hundred forty-six patients were studied, predominantly males (66%); median age was 63 years. Forty-four patients (30%) required IMV, and 58 patients (40%) received treatment with TCZ. IL-6 levels greater than 30 pg/mL was the best predictor for IMV (odds ratio, 7.1; P < .001). Early administration of TCZ was associated with improvement in oxygenation (arterial oxygen tension/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio) in patients with high IL-6 (P = .048). Patients with high IL-6 not treated with TCZ showed high mortality (hazard ratio, 4.6; P = .003), as well as those with low IL-6 treated with TCZ (hazard ratio, 3.6; P = .016). No relevant serious adverse events were observed in TCZ-treated patients. Conclusions: Baseline IL-6 greater than 30 pg/mL predicts IMV requirement in patients with COVID-19 and contributes to establish an adequate indication for TCZ administrationThis study was funded by Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant nos. RD16/0011/0012 and PI18/ 0371 to I.G.A., grant no. PI19/00549 to A.A., and grant no. SAF2017-82886-R to F.S.-M.) and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The study was also funded by ‘‘La Caixa Banking Foundation’’ (grant no. HR17-00016 to F.S.-M.) and ‘‘Fondos Supera COVID19’’ by Banco de Santander and CRUE. None of these sponsors have had any role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publicatio

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of the Largest HIV-1 CRF02_AG Outbreak in Spain: Evidence for Onward Transmissions

Background and Aim: The circulating recombinant form 02_AG (CRF02_AG) is the predominant clade among the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) non-Bs with a prevalence of 5.97% (95% Confidence Interval-CI: 5.41–6.57%) across Spain. Our aim was to estimate the levels of regional clustering for CRF02_AG and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the largest CRF02_AG subepidemic in Spain.Methods: We studied 396 CRF02_AG sequences obtained from HIV-1 diagnosed patients during 2000–2014 from 10 autonomous communities of Spain. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the 391 CRF02_AG sequences along with all globally sampled CRF02_AG sequences (N = 3,302) as references. Phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis was performed to the largest CRF02_AG monophyletic cluster by a Bayesian method in BEAST v1.8.0 and by reconstructing ancestral states using the criterion of parsimony in Mesquite v3.4, respectively.Results: The HIV-1 CRF02_AG prevalence differed across Spanish autonomous communities we sampled from (p &lt; 0.001). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 52.7% of the CRF02_AG sequences formed 56 monophyletic clusters, with a range of 2–79 sequences. The CRF02_AG regional dispersal differed across Spain (p = 0.003), as suggested by monophyletic clustering. For the largest monophyletic cluster (subepidemic) (N = 79), 49.4% of the clustered sequences originated from Madrid, while most sequences (51.9%) had been obtained from men having sex with men (MSM). Molecular clock analysis suggested that the origin (tMRCA) of the CRF02_AG subepidemic was in 2002 (median estimate; 95% Highest Posterior Density-HPD interval: 1999–2004). Additionally, we found significant clustering within the CRF02_AG subepidemic according to the ethnic origin.Conclusion: CRF02_AG has been introduced as a result of multiple introductions in Spain, following regional dispersal in several cases. We showed that CRF02_AG transmissions were mostly due to regional dispersal in Spain. The hot-spot for the largest CRF02_AG regional subepidemic in Spain was in Madrid associated with MSM transmission risk group. The existence of subepidemics suggest that several spillovers occurred from Madrid to other areas. CRF02_AG sequences from Hispanics were clustered in a separate subclade suggesting no linkage between the local and Hispanic subepidemics

Effects of intra- and interspecific competition on the sensitivity of Daphnia magna populations to the fungicide carbendazim

The ecological risk assessment of pesticides is generally based on toxicity data obtained from single-species laboratory experiments and does not take into account ecological interactions such as competition or predation. Intraspecific and interspecific competition are expected to result in additional stress and might increase the sensitivity of aquatic populations to pesticide contamination. To test this hypothesis, the effects of the fungicide carbendazim were assessed on the population dynamics of the micro-crustacean Daphnia magna under different levels of intraspecific and interspecific competition for an algal food resource, using the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus as competing species. The experiments were performed in glass jars with three different carbendazim concentrations (i.e., 50, 100 and 150 µg/L), and had a duration of 25 days, with a 4-day pre-treatment period in which competition was allowed to take place and a 21-day exposure period. The endpoints evaluated were D. magna total population abundance and population structure. Results of these experiments show that competition stress on its own had a significant influence on shaping D. magna population’s structure, however, a different response was observed in the intraspecific and interspecific competition experiments. The use of a 4-day pre-treatment period in the intraspecific experiment already led to an absence of interactive effects due to the quick abundance confluence between the different intraspecific treatments, thus not allowing the observation of interactive effects between competition and carbendazim stress. Results of the interspecific competition experiment showed that rotifers were quickly outcompeted by D. magna and that D. magna even profited from the rotifer presence through exploitative competition, which alleviated the original stress caused by the algal resource limitation. These experiments suggest that competition interactions play an important role in defining population-level effects of pesticides in a more complex way than was hypothesized (“increasing competition leading to a sensitivity increase”), as the interspecific experiment showed. Therefore, these should be taken into account in the extrapolation of single-species toxicity data to protect higher levels of biological organization

Effects of intra-and interspecific competition on the sensitivity of Daphnia magna populations to the fungicide carbendazim

Abstract The ecological risk assessment of pesticides is generally based on toxicity data obtained from singlespecies laboratory experiments and does not take into account ecological interactions such as competition or predation. Intraspecific and interspecific competition are expected to result in additional stress and might increase the sensitivity of aquatic populations to pesticide contamination. To test this hypothesis, the effects of the fungicide carbendazim were assessed on the population dynamics of the micro-crustacean Daphnia magna under different levels of intraspecific and interspecific competition for an algal food resource, using the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus as competing species. The experiments were performed in glass jars with three different carbendazim concentrations (i.e., 50, 100 and 150 lg/L), and had a duration of 25 days, with a 4-day pre-treatment period in which competition was allowed to take place and a 21-day exposure period. The endpoints evaluated were D. magna total population abundance and population structure. Results of these experiments show that competition stress on its own had a significant influence on shaping D. magna population&apos;s structure, however, a different response was observed in the intraspecific and interspecific competition experiments. The use of a 4-day pre-treatment period in the intraspecific experiment already led to an absence of interactive effects due to the quick abundance confluence between the different intraspecific treatments, thus not allowing the observation of interactive effects between competition and carbendazim stress. Results of the interspecific competition experiment showed that rotifers were quickly outcompeted by D. magna and that D. magna even profited from the rotifer presence through exploitative competition, which alleviated the original stress caused by the algal resource limitation. These experiments suggest that competition interactions play an important role in defining populationlevel effects of pesticides in a more complex way than was hypothesized (&apos;&apos;increasing competition leading to a sensitivity increase&apos;&apos;), as the interspecific experiment showed. Therefore, these should be taken into account in the extrapolation of single-species toxicity data to protect higher levels of biological organization

HIV testing and counselling for migrant populations living in high-income countries:a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The barriers to HIV testing and counselling that migrants encounter can jeopardize proactive HIV testing that relies on the fact that HIV testing must be linked to care. We analyse available evidence on HIV testing and counselling strategies targeting migrants and ethnic minorities in high-income countries.METHODS: Systematic literature review of the five main databases of articles in English from Europe, North America and Australia between 2005 and 2009.RESULTS: Of 1034 abstracts, 37 articles were selected. Migrants, mainly from HIV-endemic countries, are at risk of HIV infection and its consequences. The HIV prevalence among migrants is higher than the general population's, and migrants have higher frequency of delayed HIV diagnosis. For migrants from countries with low HIV prevalence and for ethnic minorities, socio-economic vulnerability puts them at risk of acquiring HIV. Migrants have specific legal and administrative impediments to accessing HIV testing-in some countries, undocumented migrants are not entitled to health care-as well as cultural and linguistic barriers, racism and xenophobia. Migrants and ethnic minorities fear stigma from their communities, yet community acceptance is key for well-being.CONCLUSIONS: Migrants and ethnic minorities should be offered HIV testing, but the barriers highlighted in this review may deter programs from achieving the final goal, which is linking migrants and ethnic minorities to HIV clinical care under the public health perspective.</p

HIV testing and counselling for migrant populations living in high-income countries:a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The barriers to HIV testing and counselling that migrants encounter can jeopardize proactive HIV testing that relies on the fact that HIV testing must be linked to care. We analyse available evidence on HIV testing and counselling strategies targeting migrants and ethnic minorities in high-income countries. METHODS: Systematic literature review of the five main databases of articles in English from Europe, North America and Australia between 2005 and 2009. RESULTS: Of 1034 abstracts, 37 articles were selected. Migrants, mainly from HIV-endemic countries, are at risk of HIV infection and its consequences. The HIV prevalence among migrants is higher than the general population's, and migrants have higher frequency of delayed HIV diagnosis. For migrants from countries with low HIV prevalence and for ethnic minorities, socio-economic vulnerability puts them at risk of acquiring HIV. Migrants have specific legal and administrative impediments to accessing HIV testing-in some countries, undocumented migrants are not entitled to health care-as well as cultural and linguistic barriers, racism and xenophobia. Migrants and ethnic minorities fear stigma from their communities, yet community acceptance is key for well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Migrants and ethnic minorities should be offered HIV testing, but the barriers highlighted in this review may deter programs from achieving the final goal, which is linking migrants and ethnic minorities to HIV clinical care under the public health perspective.This work has been financed by the ECDC, the Spanish Network of HIV/AIDS Research [RIS—RD06/0006] and the CIBERESP.S