Identity and Perception of the Sheperds' Profession

The paper discusses the challenges facing sheep farmers in Portugal, particularly in hiring and retaining shepherds. A qualitative study was conducted based on personal interviews with 65 shepherds in the Trás-os-Montes region to identify their vision of pastoralism, their profession, and their roles. The study found that most shepherds are male and aging, with low educational levels, and livestock production as their main occupation. The main motivations for the profession were to work with animals, lack of better job opportunities, and a source of income. Most shepherds have a positive image of the profession but believe it is not socially valorized, and half do not wish to be followed by their heirs. The paper highlights the importance of linking the public perception of pastoralism with environmental and social values to increase the attractiveness of shepherding as a profession.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Detección automática de momentos de risco alérxico da poboación ourensá

Na actualidade, o número de persoas que presentan reaccións alérxicas ao pole aumentou considerablemente, polo que é interesante contar con mecanismos que permitan determinar, coa maior precisión posible, a cantidade de pole que estará presente na atmosfera e reducir, deste xeito, o seu impacto na poboación. Para predicir a concentración de pole realizáronse estudos que utilizan modelos de regresión lineal e que, posteriormente, evolucionaron cara a modelos automáticos ou de aprendizaxe profunda. A pesar da aplicación idónea destes modelos para predicir a concentración de pole, os resultados obtidos dependen en gran medida da existencia de medicións previas de concentración e están influenciados pola calidade dos datos dispoñibles. A investigación conxunta das disciplinas de botánica e de informática trata de realizar unha estimación do risco de alerxias polo pole, de forma que permita a administración de antihistamínicos con anterioridade á súa exposición, posto que está demostrado que é moito máis efectiva ca unha vez aparecidos os primeiros síntomas. En concreto, esta estimación fíxose sobre Alnus, Betula, Platanus, Poaceae e Urticaceae, os cinco tipos de pole considerados máis agresivos na provincia de Ourense. O grupo de investigación da disciplina de botánica encargouse da captación de datos de concentración de pole, normalización e representación dos valores de recollida, calculou a estación polínica principal para cada tipo de pole e propuxo un calendario polínico para a cidade de Ourense. E o grupo de investigación de Informática centrouse na análise dos datos proporcionados e na comparación de diferentes técnicas de aprendizaxe automática para clasificar as concentracións de pole na atmosfera da provincia de Ourense e para facilitar a toma de decisións. Neste traballo móstrase a experimentación unicamente co tipo de pole Alnus; é de esperar que tamén será adecuada para cada un dos outros tipos de pole, adaptando en cada caso o modelo máis axeitado

Multicentre, randomised, single-blind, parallel group trial to compare the effectiveness of a Holter for Parkinson's symptoms against other clinical monitoring methods: study protocol

Introduction In recent years, multiple studies have aimed to develop and validate portable technological devices capable of monitoring the motor complications of Parkinson's disease patients (Parkinson's Holter). The effectiveness of these monitoring devices for improving clinical control is not known. Methods and analysis This is a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled clinical trial. Neurologists from Spanish health centres will be randomly assigned to one of three study arms (1:1:1): (a) therapeutic adjustment using information from a Parkinson?s Holter that will be worn by their patients for 7 days, (b) therapeutic adjustment using information from a diary of motor fluctuations that will be completed by their patients for 7 days and (c) therapeutic adjustment using clinical information collected during consultation. It is expected that 162 consecutive patients will be included over a period of 6 months. The primary outcome is the efficiency of the Parkinson?s Holter compared with traditional clinical practice in terms of Off time reduction with respect to the baseline (recorded through a diary of motor fluctuations, which will be completed by all patients). As secondary outcomes, changes in variables related to other motor complications (dyskinesia and freezing of gait), quality of life, autonomy in activities of daily living, adherence to the monitoring system and number of doctor?patient contacts will be analysed. The noninferiority of the Parkinson's Holter against the diary of motor fluctuations in terms of Off time reduction will be studied as the exploratory objective. Ethics and dissemination approval for this study has been obtained from the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge Ethics Committee. The results of this study will inform the practical utility of the objective information provided by a Parkinson's Holter and, therefore, the convenience of adopting this technology in clinical practice and in future clinical trials. We expect public dissemination of the results in 2022.Funding This work is supported by AbbVie S.L.U, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [DTS17/00195] and the European Fund for Regional Development, 'A way to make Europe'

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Perfil, Motivações e Expectativas relativamente à Profissão de Pastor

Neste estudo qualitativo, realizado na região de Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, procurou-se compreender a visão dos pastores sobre a importância da pastorícia, a identidade e a percepção relativa à profissão de pastor. Os resultados mostram que, para a maioria dos entrevistados, o gosto por trabalhar com animais é a principal motivação para a profissão e que a maioria possui uma imagem positiva da profissão. No entanto, eles não acreditam que a profissão é valorizada socialmente e, portanto, não desejam que seus filhos a sigam. É importante que a perceção pública da pastorícia esteja vinculada aos valores ambientais e sociais, a fim de garantir a sobrevivência da atividade pastoril e de suas comunidades.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Directed connectivity in Parkinson's disease patients during over-ground and treadmill walking

Treadmill walking is considered a useful therapeutic tool for improving gait in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The study investigated the role of top-down, frontal-parietal versus bottom-up parietal-frontal networks, during over-ground and treadmill walking in PD and control subjects, using functional connectivity. To this end, EEG was recorded simultaneously, during a ten-minute period of continuous walking either over-ground or on a treadmill, in thirteen PD patients and thirteen age-matched controls. We evaluated EEG directed connectivity, using phase transfer entropy in three frequency bands: theta, alpha and beta. PD patients showed increased top-down connectivity during over-ground compared with treadmill walking, in the beta frequency range. Control subjects showed no significant differences in connectivity between the two walking conditions. Our results suggest that in PD patients, OG walking was associated with increased allocation of attentional resources, compared with that on the TL. These functional connectivity modulations may shed further light on the mechanisms underlying treadmill versus overground walking in PD