Evaluation of the metallic contamination degree in green turtle's feeding area Lanzanillo-Pajonal-Fragoso, Cuba.

The present work evaluates the contamination level by metallic elements in the marine sediments of Lanzanillo-Pajonal-Fragoso Wildlife Refuge, Villa Clara province, Cuba. Eight sampling stations were selected and the levels of Cr were quantified by X-Ray Fluorescence and Zn, Cu, Cd, Fe, Pb, Ni, Mn and Co by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The chemical pre-treatment of the samples was carried out following the modified ISO 11466 standard method and some validation parameters of the analytical technique were evaluated, showed the accuracy and feasibility of the method. To evaluate the study area contamination the International Sediment Quality Guide of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and four environmental contamination indexes were used: two enrichment indexes (the enrichment factor and the geoaccumulation index), an ecological risk index (the average ratio of moderate risk effects), and a contamination index (the modified degree of contamination). The results showed that the elements representing the greatest risk are Ni and Cr, since they exceed the concentration that causes Moderate Biological Effects. According to the evaluated indexes, it can be concluded that there is a presence of anthropogenic contamination in the protected area that may be affecting the turtle’s health due to the stress that they cause in them. The site of highest risk was Jácate and the element that more contribute to the metallic contamination is Cr, although significant values were obtained for Ni, Co and Fe.This research was supported by The Ocean Foundation and Turtle Hospital of Marathon, Florida. We especially want to acknowledge the efforts of the field technicians and volunteers that helped collect field data during the study

Evaluation of the metallic contamination degree in green turtle’s feeding area Lanzanillo-Pajonal-Fragoso, Cuba.

 The present work evaluates the contamination level by metallic elements in the marine sediments of Lanzanillo-Pajonal-Fragoso Wildlife Refuge, Villa Clara province, Cuba. Eight sampling stations were selected and the levels of Cr were quantified by X-Ray Fluorescence and Zn, Cu, Cd, Fe, Pb, Ni, Mn and Co by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The chemical pre-treatment of the samples was carried out following the modified ISO 11466 standard method and some validation parameters of the analytical technique were evaluated, showed the accuracy and feasibility of the method. To evaluate the study area contamination the International Sediment Quality Guide of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and four environmental contamination indexes were used: two enrichment indexes (the enrichment factor and the geoaccumulation index), an ecological risk index (the average ratio of moderate risk effects), and a contamination index (the modified degree of contamination). The results showed that the elements representing the greatest risk are Ni and Cr, since they exceed the concentration that causes Moderate Biological Effects. According to the evaluated indexes, it can be concluded that there is a presence of anthropogenic contamination in the protected area that may be affecting the turtle’s health due to the stress that they cause in them. The site of highest risk was Jácate and the element that more contribute to the metallic contamination is Cr, although significant values were obtained for Ni, Co and Fe.   Received: 07.02.2022 Accepted: 02.02.2023 Editor: Ana Sanz Ochotoren

EstuPlan: Methodology for the development of creativity in the resolution of scientific and social problems

[EN] Creative thinking is necessary to generate novel ideas and solve problems. "EstuPlan" is a methodology in which knowledge and creativity converge for the resolution of scientific problems with social projection. It is a training programme that integrates teachers, laboratory technicians and PhD students, master and undergraduate students which form working groups for the development of projects. Projects have a broad and essential scope and projection in terms of environmental problems, sustainable use of natural resources, food, health, biotechnology or biomedicine. The results show the success of this significant learning methodology using tools to develop creativity in responding to scientific and social demand for problem-solving to transfer academic knowledge to different professional environments. Bioplastics, Second Life of Coffee, LimBio, Algae oils, Ecomers, Caring for the life of your crop and Hate to Deforestate are currently being developed.Astudillo Calderón, S.; De Díez De La Torre, L.; García Companys, M.; Ortega Pérez, N.; Rodríguez Martínez, V.; Alzahrani, S.; Alonso Valenzuela, R.... (2019). EstuPlan: Methodology for the development of creativity in the resolution of scientific and social problems. En HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 711-717. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9205OCS71171

Los verbos catenativos ingleses y su complementación : propuesta de análisis sintáctico semántico en el marco de una teoría de valencias

Reducción altaEl tema de este trabajo de investigación es un estudio sintáctico semántico de los verbos catenativos ingleses y sus estructuras de complementación. Esta descripción se lleva a cabo utilizando como modelo teórico la teoría de las valencias del verbo en estrecha conexión con la gramática de dependencia. La investigación propuesta intenta integrar la descripción sintáctica de las estructuras de complementación con un análisis de la valencia semántica del verbo para lograr así una visión mas completa del fenómeno de la complementación. Los contenidos básicos del estudio son los siguientes: cap. 1: análisis de los modelos teórico-descriptivos más relevantes y su particular tratamiento de la complementación verbal en inglés. Exposición minuciosa de los principales presupuestos teóricos de la teoría de valencias. Capítulo 2: definición de los conceptos estructura de catenación y verbo catenativo; análisis acerca del carácter y naturaleza de este tipo de verbos en la lengua inglesa. Capítulo 3: propuesta y desarrollo de un conjunto de estructuras de valencia o construcciones-tipo que sintetizan las distintas posibilidades de complementación de los verbos catenativos; propuesta de un numero definido de clases semánticas de verbos el objeto de estudiar de forma conjunta aquello lexemas verbales semánticamente afines. Capítulo 5: descripción sintáctico-semántica de cada uno de los trescientos lexemas verbales objeto de estudio. Esta descripción adquiere la forma (un léxico ) en los que se especifica tanto la valencia sintáctica como semántica de un verbo.Univ. de Granada, Departamento de Filología Inglesa. Leída el 06-11-8

Correction to: Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonists for atrial fibrillation in clinical practice: GLORIA-AF Registry

International audienceIn this article, the name of the GLORIA-AF investigator Anastasios Kollias was given incorrectly as Athanasios Kollias in the Acknowledgements. The original article has been corrected

Patterns of oral anticoagulant use and outcomes in Asian patients with atrial fibrillation: a post-hoc analysis from the GLORIA-AF Registry

Background: Previous studies suggested potential ethnic differences in the management and outcomes of atrial fibrillation (AF). We aim to analyse oral anticoagulant (OAC) prescription, discontinuation, and risk of adverse outcomes in Asian patients with AF, using data from a global prospective cohort study. Methods: From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase II-III (November 2011-December 2014 for Phase II, and January 2014-December 2016 for Phase III), we analysed patients according to their self-reported ethnicity (Asian vs. non-Asian), as well as according to Asian subgroups (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian). Logistic regression was used to analyse OAC prescription, while the risk of OAC discontinuation and adverse outcomes were analysed through Cox-regression model. Our primary outcome was the composite of all-cause death and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). The original studies were registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01468701, NCT01671007, and NCT01937377. Findings: 34,421 patients were included (70.0 ± 10.5 years, 45.1% females, 6900 (20.0%) Asian: 3829 (55.5%) Chinese, 814 (11.8%) Japanese, 1964 (28.5%) Korean and 293 (4.2%) other Asian). Most of the Asian patients were recruited in Asia (n = 6701, 97.1%), while non-Asian patients were mainly recruited in Europe (n = 15,449, 56.1%) and North America (n = 8378, 30.4%). Compared to non-Asian individuals, prescription of OAC and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) was lower in Asian patients (Odds Ratio [OR] and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 0.23 [0.22-0.25] and 0.66 [0.61-0.71], respectively), but higher in the Japanese subgroup. Asian ethnicity was also associated with higher risk of OAC discontinuation (Hazard Ratio [HR] and [95% CI]: 1.79 [1.67-1.92]), and lower risk of the primary composite outcome (HR [95% CI]: 0.86 [0.76-0.96]). Among the exploratory secondary outcomes, Asian ethnicity was associated with higher risks of thromboembolism and intracranial haemorrhage, and lower risk of major bleeding. Interpretation: Our results showed that Asian patients with AF showed suboptimal thromboembolic risk management and a specific risk profile of adverse outcomes; these differences may also reflect differences in country-specific factors. Ensuring integrated and appropriate treatment of these patients is crucial to improve their prognosis. Funding: The GLORIA-AF Registry was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)