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Este trabajo presenta una revisi&oacute;n general de la base t&eacute;cnica de la termograf&iacute;a de infrarrojos, su potencial, aplicabilidad, ventajas e inconvenientes a la hora de ser usada para la gesti&oacute;n de los recursos h&iacute;dricos y la monitorizaci&oacute;n del estado h&iacute;drico de los cultivos en situaciones de estr&eacute;s. &nbsp;</p

Wheelchair basketball : influence of shoulder pain in sport skills

Shoulder injuries are a common problem among wheelchair basketball players (WB). The purpose of this study was to detect the influence of shoulder pain (SP) in WB sport skills. Fifty-one WB players aged from 15 to 42 (21 females, 23, 86±1, 38 years and 30 males, 23, 90±1, 46 years) were evaluated. Shoulder Pain Index for Wheelchair Basketball (SPI-WB) was used to determine SP in relation to specific WB skills. Gender and age were compared using T-test and One Factor ANOVA, respectively. The level of significance was set at p≤0, 05. 27, 5% of the sample reported actual SP. Statistical analysis revealed a main effect for gender regarding SP during shooting skills, especially for females. There were no significant differences according to rebounding/one-handed long passes and other sport situations. In conclusion, SP could affect the specific activities of WB according to gender, especially during shooting in females, so ways to promote shoulder health must be develop.Las lesiones del hombro son un problema común entre los jugadores de baloncesto en silla de ruedas (BSR). El objetivo de este estudio fue detectar la influencia del dolor de hombro (DH) en las habilidades deportivas propias del BSR. 51 jugadores de BSR entre 15 y 42 (21 mujeres, 23, 86 ± 1, 38 años y 30 hombres, 23, 90 ± 1, 46 años) fueron evaluados. El Cuestionario del Dolor de Hombro en BSR se utilizó para determinar el DH en relación a las habilidades específicas del BSR. El género y la edad se compararon mediante la prueba t y ANOVA de un factor, respectivamente. El nivel de significación se estableció en p≤0, 05. 27, 5% de la muestra informó SP en el momento del estudio. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas de acuerdo al género en relación con DH en habilidades como el tiro, especialmente para las mujeres. No hubo diferencias significativas en función de realizar acciones de rebote y pases largos/una sola mano y otras situaciones propias del BSR. En conclusión, SP podría afectar a las actividades específicas del BSR en función del género, especialmente en las mujeres, por lo que se debe promover la salud del hombro

Microhabitat heterogeneity promotes soil fertility and ground-dwelling arthropod diversity in Mediterranean wood-pastures

P. 192-201Mediterranean wood-pastures are extensive agroforestry systems that hold great ecological, social and cultural values, which consist of mixtures of grassland, scattered trees and shrubs, primarily used for livestock grazing. For centuries, low-intensity management in these landscapes has resulted in multiple microhabitats that favour biodiversity and are considered key elements for the long-term persistence of wood-pastures. However, the relative contribution of each microhabitat type to wood-pasture biodiversity and functioning remains poorly studied. We investigated the impact that different wood-pasture microhabitats have on soil chemical fertility and the decomposition food web. We analysed the two main microhabitats that make wood-pastures up – open grasslands and isolated trees – and three additional “litter-trapping” microhabitats – shrubs scattered in the grassland matrix, canopied shrubs and piles of pruning debris—in terms of soil chemical properties (organic matter content, total N, C:N ratio, available P, and exchangeable base cations), collembolan and dipteran (mostly detritivores) abundance, and carabid (seed-eaters and predators) and staphylinid (mostly predators) beetle abundance, body size, biomass, species richness and composition. Grasslands were the most different microhabitats, with the lowest soil nutrient content and particular carabid and staphylinid species composition. Trees had the highest soil fertility levels and abundance of Diptera and staphylinids, and held unique staphylinid assemblages. “Litter-trapping” microhabitats had medium to high soil nutrient values and shared a distinct staphylinid assemblage compared to grasslands and trees. Besides, scattered shrubs provided shelter for large-sized carabid and staphylinid predators, while canopied shrubs held the highest carabid abundance and biomass. “Litter-trapping” microhabitats retained tree leaves that would otherwise be lost to the wood-pasture, recovering nutrients to the system, and provided new habitat, shelter and food for detritivores and unique predator assemblages. “Litter-trapping” microhabitats thus enhanced soil fertility and the decomposition process, at the same time as increased the abundance and diversity of the communities of ground-dwelling detritivores and predators inhabiting wood-pastures. These findings confirmed that microhabitat heterogeneity resulting from low-intensity management is essential to maintain both the primary production and the biodiversity conservation value of wood-pastures.S

Marine Sediments as Fundamental Repository of Radioactive Contaminants in Aquatic Ecosystems

In the last three decades, the studies of artificial radionuclides concentration have attracted attention, bringing in the most significant long-term threat to the biosphere. In aquatic ecosystems, the main indicators of pollution are contaminated sediments, which are the primary repository of radionuclides and chemical elements in the marine environment. Radioactive contamination factor (RCF) has been proposed as a suitable unit to measure the magnitude of radioactive contamination at global scale, caused mainly by more than 2000 nuclear explosion tests performed during the 1945–1965 period. It is obtained as percentage of contaminant radioactivity (137Cs) compared to natural radioactivity (40K), both expressed in Bq/g of marine sediments conditioned in Marinelli containers and detected in both NaI(Tl) and HPGe detectors. So, in this paper, samples of marine sediments were taken up along the occidental Cuban coasts and analyzed by gamma spectrometry for the determination of gamma-emitting radioisotopes with energies between 60 and 2000 keV. The results proved that the proposed method is simple and suitable to evaluate radioactive contamination. Also, the RCF values provide an appropriate indicator to predict which will be the future pollution levels and if the rate will go down when only have passed 2,4 half-lives of 137Cs

Nanostructuration by self-assembly in N-alkyl thiazolium and triazolium side-chain polymethacrylates

Amphiphilic polymers are tunable systems to construct supramolecular hierarchically self-assembled structures. Six families of heterocyclic polymethacrylates (PMTAs) bearing 1,3-thiazole and 1,2,3-triazole pendant groups with alkyl and succinate spacers were chemically modified by quaternization reaction of the azole heterocycles with five alkylating agents (methyl, butyl, octyl, dodecyl, and hexadecyl iodide) leading to a library of 30 different amphiphilic poly(ionic liquid)s (PMTAs-RI). These polymers have been characterized in bulk by small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS, WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Quaternization induces a dramatic effect (increase) on the glass-transition temperature Tg, being strongest for methyl iodide members. Increasing the length of the quaternizing agent, plasticization is first observed, followed by a further increase of Tg. This effect, together with evidence of a second Tg and crystallization for the members with the longest quaternizing agents, could be attributed to the presence of well-developed alkyl nanodomains evidenced by the structural investigation. WAXS and SAXS results have been consistently interpreted by assuming nanostructuration driven by the amphiphilicity balance of poly(ionic liquid)s. The different morphologies revealed by SAXS have been characterized, assigning a plausible chemical nature to the phases involved in each case. The nonpolar fraction has been considered as the control parameter defining the main features of the achieved morphology. By increasing this parameter, structures ranging from hexagonally packed nonpolar cylinders in a polar matrix to the inverse situation have been found, passing through lamellar phases. Under some conditions, within the polar lamellae a third phase formed by cylinders of heterocycles has even been determined. We have checked the validity of the scenario proposed by comparing the sizes deduced from the SAXS analysis with the expected characteristic lengths of the associated moieties, inferring thereby how alkyl side groups arrange within the nanodomains. On the basis of the complete picture achieved, the type of nanostructures formed by this class of polymers can be predicted, if the chemical composition including the quaternization degree is known.This work has been supported by MAT2013-47902 and MAT2011-24797 (Spanish-MINECO and EU). R.T. acknowledges CSIC for his JAE-Pre grant. A.A. acknowledges financial support from the Projects MAT2012-31088 (Spanish-MINECO and EU) and IT-654-13 (Basque Government).Peer Reviewe

Modelo de probabilidad para predecir una neumonía nosocomial por Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina

La neumonía mosocomial, es una de las principales infecciones hospitalarias y la de mayor morbimortalidad. Causada por una gran variedad de microorganismos, aumentando cada vez más los microorganismos multirresistentes como principales causantes, entre ellos, Staphylococcus aureus meticilín resistente. Se pretende con este estudio identificar una serie de factores de riesgo, con los que crear un modelo de probabilidad y unos criterios pronósticos para predecir la neumonía mosocomial por Staphylococcus aureus meticilín resistente. Para ello se diseño un estudio retrospectivo de casos y controles con 363 pacientes (121 casos y 242 controles).Comprendido en el periodo de años 1999-2005. La población de estuido cumplía una serie de criterios de inclusión y exclusión. Las variables que se incluyeron en el estuido, están relacionados con características del pacientes, la hospitalización, la inmunodepresión, neutropenia, medicación y gravedad de la neumonía. Se realiza una regresión logística univariante y multivariante como análisis estadístico. Las variables del estuido que permanecieron en el modelo final de la regresión logística multivariante como factores de riesgo fueron, la edad mayores de 14 años, la aparición de la neumonía mosocomial mas de 6 días de hospitalización, el desarrollo de la neumonía mosocomial fuera del a estación del verano, las enfermedades respiratorias y la afectación multilobular. Con estas variables se calculo la probabilidad de desarrollar neumonía mosocomial por Staphylococcus aureus meticilín resistente para cada una de las posibles combinaciones, clasificándose en criterios mayores, la afectación multilobular y la enfermedad respiratoria de base y menores el ingreso de octubre a mayor y mayor de 6 días de hospitalizació

Estudio de la función de Apolipoproteína D en la peroxidación lipídica por péptido amiloide

La enfermedad de Alzheimer es la primera causa de demencia en el mundo afectando a entre un 60-70% de los 55 millones de personas que la padecen [1]. En el tejido cerebral de estos pacientes se encuentran acúmulos de placas β-amiloide y ovillos neurofibrilares de proteína tau fosforilada que condicionan un aumento del estrés oxidativo que sufren las células. La Apolipoproteína D (ApoD), un estudiado agente neuroprotector por su efecto reductor sobre los lípidos peroxidados de membrana, podría tener un efecto potenciador de la respuesta celular ante el estrés oxidativo que se da la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Para comprobar esta hipótesis se ha caracterizado un modelo neuronal de Alzheimer hereditario sobreproductor del péptido Aβ, pudiendo discriminar la variante mutante generadora de enfermedad y comprobando la expresión de ApoD. Se ha probado mediante TBARS el estado oxidativo de las membranas en el modelo tras la adición de ApoD procedente de la línea celular HeLa para ver su efecto. No se ha conseguido dilucidar el efecto de ApoD por problemas en la técnica, lo que abre el abanico experimental para intentar observar su efecto de otra manera.Grado en Medicin

Esterification of levulinic acid with butanol over ion exchange resins

Alkyl levulinates are biobased chemicals with a great number of applications and great biofuel potential for blending to conventional diesel or gasoline. The present work focuses on the liquid-phase synthesis of butyl levulinate (BL) by esterification of levulinic acid (LA) with 1-butanol (BuOH) using a set of acidic ion-exchange resins. Experiments were performed at 80 °C and 2.5 MPa in a batch reactor by using an initial molar ratio AL/BuOH of 1/3 and a catalyst loading of 0.8%. It has been found that BL could be successfully obtained over ion-exchange resins with a selectivity higher than 99.5%. LA conversions ranged from 64% (Amberlyst 46, macroreticular, surface sulfonated) to 94% (Dowex 50Wx2, gel-type resin, conventionally sulfonated) at 8 h reaction time. By comparing their catalytic behavior, it was seen that resins morphology plays a very important role in the synthesis of BL making easier the access of reactants to acid sites. Accessibility of LA and BuOH to acid centers was high over highly swollen and low polymer density resins. Thus, gel-type resins with low divinylbenzene (DVB) content have been found as the most suitable to produce BL, e.g. Dowex 50Wx2, Dowex 50Wx4 and Purolite® CT224. Among them, Dowex 50Wx2 (2% DVB) is the most efficient catalyst tested

Consideration of tip speed limitations in preliminary analysis of minimum COE wind turbines

A relation between Cost Of Energy, COE, maximum allowed tip speed, and rated wind speed, is obtained for wind turbines with a given goal rated power. The wind regime is characterised by the corresponding parameters of the probability density function of wind speed. The non-dimensional characteristics of the rotor: number of blades, the blade radial distributions of local solidity, twist angle, and airfoil type, play the role of parameters in the mentioned relation. The COE is estimated using a cost model commonly used by the designers. This cost model requires basic design data such as the rotor radius and the ratio between the hub height and the rotor radius. Certain design options, DO, related to the technology of the power plant, tower and blades are also required as inputs. The function obtained for the COE can be explored to �nd those values of rotor radius that give rise to minimum cost of energy for a given wind regime as the tip speed limitation changes. The analysis reveals that iso-COE lines evolve parallel to iso-radius lines for large values of limit tip speed but that this is not the case for small values of the tip speed limits. It is concluded that, as the tip speed limit decreases, the optimum decision for keeping minimum COE values can be: a) reducing the rotor radius for places with high weibull scale parameter or b) increasing the rotor radius for places with low weibull scale paramete