RedLabRA; a Spanish Network of Microbiology Laboratories for the Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistant Microorganisms

Factor de impacto: 1,553 Q4There is an urgent need to control the clinical and public health impact that antibiotic resistance (AR) causes worldwide. Any measure for its control must be based on an up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge of the situation. However, it is difficult to determine the current dimension of AR because a large part of the available information is based on heterogeneous, insufficiently unified and retrospective data. The integration of genomic information in the surveillance of AR is another important factor for improvement. The Spanish Network of Laboratories for the Surveillance of Resistant Microorganisms (RedLabRA) is a structured network of interconnected microbiology laboratories developed within the Spanish National Plan against Antibiotic Resistance. Its main objective is to support the diagnosis of resistance to antibiotics, integrating molecular characterization in the surveillance.S

Molecular epidemiology of Kaposi sarcoma virus in Spain

Background: Since human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection may be underestimated and HHV-8 subtype circulation in Spain remains unknown, a molecular epidemiologic study is highly desirable. Objectives: This study aimed to analyse HHV-8 subtype diversity and their distribution in Spain. Study design: The study included 142 HHV-8 infected patients. A nested PCR was developed in order to permit Sanger sequencing of HHV-8 K1 ORF directly from clinical samples received at the CNM from 2013 to 2021. Phylogenetic characterization was performed. Results: Genotypes A and C comprised 55.6% and 42.3% of strains. Regarding subtypes, 25.4% of strains were C3, 19.7% were A3, 14.1% were A5, and C2, A1, A4, C1, A2, C7 were 11.3%, 11.3%, 8.5%, 4.2%, 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively. Subtype E1, E2 and B1 were found in only one patient each (0.7%). The Madrid region accounted for 52.1% of patients and showed a significantly different subtype distribution compared to the others (P = 0.018). Subtypes B1, E1, and E2 were observed to appear sporadically, although overall genotypes A and subtype C3 remained the most frequent and unwavering. Subtype A3 presented the highest diversity as displayed by the highest number of clusters in phylogenetic analysis. Non-significant differences in viral loads between genotypes were found, but significantly higher viral loads in subtype C2 compared to subtype C3 was found, while no significant subtype differences were observed between subtypes within genotype A. Infections with HHV-8 were detected in 94 (66.2%) patients without KS and compared to patients with KS non-significant differences in subtype distribution were found. Conclusions: Subtype prevalence and regional distribution followed a similar pattern compared to other western European countries. Our study is the first to report HHV-8 subtypes E1 and E2 circulating in Europe that might be reflective of migration of population from Caribbean countries. Our study suggests that infection by HHV-8 is underestimated, and wider screening should be recommended for risk groups.This work was supported by funds and a grant from Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Project code MPY 1372/2012 and MPY 434/2021. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.S

Tenders for institutional communication campaigns in the Spanish autonomous communities: transparency or digital disinformation

With an investment of over 700 million euros, the public sector is the main advertiser in the Spanish market. Altogether, the central, regional, and local governments launch more than 5000 institutional advertising and communication contracts. In Spain, these tenders are governed by Law 9/2017 on Public Sector Contracts and Law 19/2013 on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, in compliance with which governments have developed openly accessible websites that provide practical information on the contracts for interested individuals and companies. This paper compares all regional procurement platforms through the study of a hundred institutional communication public contracts launched in 2021, assessing the usefulness of the published content, detecting good practices, and identifying gaps and areas of improvement. The results obtained support the idea that these platforms do not provide exhaustive information on public contracts, which limits their potential as tools aimed at ensuring competition and transparency in public contracts. Based on this last criterion, a ranking is created among the regions analysed.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID 2021-124293OBI0

Dynamics of long-term colonization of respiratory tract by Haemophilus influenzae in cystic fibrosis patients shows a marked increase in hypermutable strains

The persistence and variability of 188 Haemophilus influenzae isolates in respiratory tract of 30 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients over the course of 7 years was studied. Antibiotic susceptibility testing, DNA fingerprinting, and analysis of outer membrane protein profiles were performed on all isolates. A total of 115 distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles were identified. Ninety percent of patients were cocolonized with two or more clones over the studied period. A third of the patients were cross-colonized with one or two H. influenzae strains; 11% of the clones persisted for 3 or more months. Biotype, outer membrane protein profiles, and resistance profiles showed variation along the studied period, even in persisting clones. Four isolates (2.1%) recovered from 3 patients were type f capsulate, with three of them belonging to the same clone. beta-Lactamase production was detected in 23.9% of isolates while 7% of the beta-lactamase-negative isolates presented diminished susceptibility to ampicillin (beta-lactamase-negative ampicillin resistance phenotype). Remarkably, 21.3% of the H. influenzae isolates presented decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, which was mainly observed in persisting clones. Of the H. influenzae isolates from CF patients, 18 (14.5%) were found to be hypermutable in comparison with 1 (1.4%) from non-CF patients (P < 0.0001). Ten patients (33.3%) were colonized by hypermutable strains over the study period. A multiresistance phenotype and long-term clonal persistence were significantly associated in some cases for up to 7 years. These results suggest that H. influenzae bronchial colonization in CF patients is a dynamic process, but better-adapted clones can persist for long periods of time.This work was supported by a research grant from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Madrid, Spain (95-98/0364). We are grateful to E. Moguel for his technical assistance and to C. García (Hospital Lozano Blesa, Zaragoza) and J. C. Alados (Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Granada) for their cooperation

Cemetery tourism in southern Spain: an analysis of demand

Purpose – Cemetery tourism is a category of dark tourism that is increasingly gaining ground in Andalusia (southern Spain). This autonomous region is home to several cemeteries that, due to their singular characteristics and funerary monuments, form part of the European Cemeteries Route. Design/Methodology – In this study, a survey was performed on a sample of 532 tourists who engage in dark tourism (Andalusian Cemeteries Route) with the aim of determining a specific consumer profile. Univariate and bivariate analysis was used in order to describe the socioeconomic variables of cemetery tourism. Findings – The results show that this type of tourism primarily attracts young people with university studies who profess to be very satisfied with the route and who would be willing to visit other cemetery routes in various locations. Research originality – The originality of this paper is the identification of the socioeconomic characteristics of cemetery tourism in Southern Spain. The principal shortcomings detected were the lack of knowledge about Andalusian cemeteries among foreign tourists, and the lack of marketing dedicated to promoting the route in Andalusia

Tomographic and tension analysis of polypropylene reinforced with carbon fiber fabric by injection molding

The use of thermoplastic materials has had significant growth in recent years. However, with great mechanical requirements, thermoplastics have limitations to their use. To improve these restrictions, these materials are reinforced to obtain better properties. Polypropylene is one of the most versatile polymers and is used in almost all modern industries. Thus, the aim of this study is to create composite materials that offer performance for various industrial fields using carbon fiber fabric reinforcement, which is an inexpensive material widely used by the aerospace, automotive, and marine industries. The samples are produced by the over-injection molding of polypropylene. The investigation is focused on the impact of two critical control parameters in the injection molding process: temperature and pressure. Twelve experiments have therefore been considered, taking into account the combination of three factors: the presence or absence of carbon fiber fabric reinforcement, three levels of temperature (200 °C, 220 °C, and 240 °C), and two injection pressures (5000 kPa and 10,000 kPa). To evaluate the influence of these factors, three analyses were carried out: first, on the samples’ shrinkage using a portable metrology-grade 3D laser scanner; second, on the internal defects using computed tomography (CT); and third, on the mechanical properties with tensile tests. From the results obtained, it is observed that the mold shrinkage fell slightly when PP samples were reinforced with carbon fiber, with both materials (PP and carbon-fiber-reinforced PP) having linear behavior with temperature. It is also noticed that polypropylene behaves as a crystalline material when processed at higher temperatures and pressures. From tests on the mechanical properties, it is concluded that the mean yield strength of PP-CF for injection temperatures of 220 °C and 240 °C represents an increase of 43% compared to the non-reinforced material

Cambio de uso de suelo e implicaciones socioeconómicas en un área mazahua del altiplano mexicano

Se analizan los cambios de uso del suelo entre 2000 y 2010 de la región mazahua del Estado de México y sus implicaciones socioeconómicas. El estudio se sustenta en la geografía socioeconómica de Bonfil (1996) y los procesos de cambio de uso del suelo de Fernández y Prados (2010) para evaluar los cambios de uso del suelo. Se utilizó clasificación supervisada de máxima probabilidad y datos socioeconómicos y demográficos. Los resultados de análisis de imágenes fueron verificados mediante recorridos en campo. Los cambios pueden deberse al crecimiento poblacional, en los modos de vida y su consecuente demanda de alimentos y viviendas.Se analizan los cambios de uso del suelo entre 2000 y 2010 de la región mazahua del Estado de México y sus implicaciones socioeconómicas. El estudio se sustenta en la geografía socioeconómica de Bonfil (1996) y los procesos de cambio de uso del suelo de Fernández y Prados (2010) para evaluar los cambios de uso del suelo. Se utilizó clasificación supervisada de máxima probabilidad y datos socioeconómicos y demográficos. Los resultados de análisis de imágenes fueron verificados mediante recorridos en campo. Los cambios pueden deberse al crecimiento poblacional, en los modos de vida y su consecuente demanda de alimentos y viviendas

Eficacia de programas de intervención para el desarrollo de habilidades psicológicas en jóvenes con discapacidad mental

Se muestra el desempeño de personas adolescentes y adultas con daño cerebral, después de haber participado en programas de intervención para el desarrollo de habilidades psicológicas, que permitan promover su integración social e independencia personal. El estudio se llevó acabo aplicando la escala de Rogers y D?Eugenio, la evaluación psicológica breve en español (neuropsi) y el test guestáltico visomotor de Bender

Physics and Mathematics in the Engineering Curriculum: Correlation with Applied Subjects

This paper presents a study in which the relationship between basic subjects (Mathematics and Physics) and applied engineering subjects (related to Machinery, Electrical Engineering, Topography and Buildings) in higher engineering education curricula is evaluated. The analysis has been conducted using the academic records of 206 students for five years. Furthermore, 34 surveys and personal interviews were conducted to analyze the connections between the contents taught in each subject and to identify student perceptions of the correlation with other subjects or disciplines. At the same time, the content of the different subjects have been analyzed to verify the relationship among the disciplines.Aproper coordination among subjects will allow students to relate and interconnect topics of different subjects, even with the ones learnt in previous courses, while also helping to reduce dropout rates and student failures in successfully accomplishing the different courses