Projecte de canvi d'ús de dos habitatges al casc antic de Sitges per a l'ampliació del centre d'art contemporani

This project consists of a viability study of the reconversion of use of two buildings located on the old part of Sitges town in order to enlarge the recently inaugurated museum of contemporary art. The first step to execute the project is to make a study of every building whose use is to be reconverted. This study will provide all the necessary data to subsequently make the executive project of enlargement. At this point, we will analyse different aspects, such as constructive characteristics, conservation status, urban development situation and protection patterns of these buildings. Starting from a basic project as point of reference for the enlargement, the project will analyse, in execution order, the interventions that are to be applied. As every intervention is studied in depth, a solution to different situations that rise during the project is provided. This way, we’ll deal with issues such as inner demolition of buildings protected by special protection plans of cultural heritage, which oblige to maintain facades and eaves, both during the demolition process and the execution of the new structure. These masonry facades will play an important role in the structure of the new building. Throughout the project, we will focus on rehabilitation issues, such as the reinforcement of a ceiling made of wood beams to make it suitable for the public use, protection treatments in ceiling’s wood beams or treatments against moisture in masonry walls to be conserved. Once the structure of building #1 is done, we will proceed with the execution of openings in party walls, which will connect the three buildings. This will enable the communication between the current museum and buildings to be rehabilitated. The last stage of the project will be focused on the installations analysis and the finishing of the museum complex. Special attention will be given to those installations that have more importance in buildings of this kind, as for example illumination and acclimatisation of the exhibition halls. The execution project will be accompanied by the Study of Security and Health, which will be applicable to the partial work of demolition and new works, as well as to the work of rehabilitation and finishing of the complex

Projecte de canvi d'ús de dos habitatges al casc antic de Sitges per a l'ampliació del centre d'art contemporani

This project consists of a viability study of the reconversion of use of two buildings located on the old part of Sitges town in order to enlarge the recently inaugurated museum of contemporary art. The first step to execute the project is to make a study of every building whose use is to be reconverted. This study will provide all the necessary data to subsequently make the executive project of enlargement. At this point, we will analyse different aspects, such as constructive characteristics, conservation status, urban development situation and protection patterns of these buildings. Starting from a basic project as point of reference for the enlargement, the project will analyse, in execution order, the interventions that are to be applied. As every intervention is studied in depth, a solution to different situations that rise during the project is provided. This way, we’ll deal with issues such as inner demolition of buildings protected by special protection plans of cultural heritage, which oblige to maintain facades and eaves, both during the demolition process and the execution of the new structure. These masonry facades will play an important role in the structure of the new building. Throughout the project, we will focus on rehabilitation issues, such as the reinforcement of a ceiling made of wood beams to make it suitable for the public use, protection treatments in ceiling’s wood beams or treatments against moisture in masonry walls to be conserved. Once the structure of building #1 is done, we will proceed with the execution of openings in party walls, which will connect the three buildings. This will enable the communication between the current museum and buildings to be rehabilitated. The last stage of the project will be focused on the installations analysis and the finishing of the museum complex. Special attention will be given to those installations that have more importance in buildings of this kind, as for example illumination and acclimatisation of the exhibition halls. The execution project will be accompanied by the Study of Security and Health, which will be applicable to the partial work of demolition and new works, as well as to the work of rehabilitation and finishing of the complex

Effectiveness of suction to deaerate granular materials: an application in material handling industry

Removing air from bagged bulk material is a major concern for the material handling industry. A common technique is the application of suction by means of a probe, right before sealing the bag. Recent industrial experience shows that, for some granular materials, the effectiveness of this de-aeration technique is limited, probably due to the reduction in permeability associated to the decrease in porosity. The goal of this project is to understand and to remedy this limited effectiveness. The hypothesis that has been handled in this work, is the creation of an over compressed bulb of granular material that prevents the complete suction of the excess air and limits the compaction of the material. The creation of the bulb is defined by the permeability of the material, since it has been decompressed, is very susceptible to the pressure. Therefore, the dependency of the permeability with the pressure is the main reason why the bulb is created. In order to solve the issues behind the de-aeration process, the bulb creation process is modelled using mathematical models, which describe the suction in a porous media under certain conditions. The first one is a steady model, which describes the final state of the suction. The other one is a transient model, consequently, it describes the entire suction process. Those models are solved using numerical methods, obtaining information about the suction behaviour in granular materials and the bulb generation. Finally, with the knowledge acquired, the same models are used to optimize the suction processes and propose a new method. The method, consist in a mobile probe that moves during the suction, reducing the over-compressed bulb behaviour

Hotel rooftops as a space for consumption in historic centres: the case study of Palma (Spain)

This research analysed the transformation of hotel rooftops in the historic centre of Palma into new spaces for tourist consumption. Nowadays, tourists are looking for unique and special experiences, which has led tourist destinations to seek new attractions to offer. Rooftops are becoming privileged places and provide a differential experience, leading to an increase in the offer of tourist services on hotel rooftops. This study explored the change of use in hotel rooftops in historic city centres for the commercialization of tourism. In this sense, this research sheds light on the factors that influence the commodification of rooftops and the attributes that are most valued by users in Google Maps and TripAdvisor reviews of their experiences. Furthermore, the transformation of rooftops has not followed a single model of commodification, but different typologies were identified according to uses and access modalities. Finally, implications for the city’s tourism planning and management are presented.Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Maximum height of mountain forests abruptly decreases above an elevation breakpoint

Canopy height is an excellent indicator of forest productivity, biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Yet, we know little about how elevation drives canopy height in mountain areas. Here we take advantage of an ambitious airborne LiDAR flight plan to assess the relationship between elevation and maximum forest canopy height, and discuss its implications for the monitoring of mountain forests' responses to climate change. We characterized vegetation structure using Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data provided by the Spanish Geographic Institute. For each ALS return within forested areas, we calculated the maximum canopy height in a 20 × 20 m grid, and then added information on potential drivers of maximum canopy height, including ground elevation, terrain slope and aspect, soil characteristics, and continentality. We observed a strong, negative, piece-wise response of maximum canopy height to increasing elevation, with a well-defined breakpoint (at 1623 ± 5 m) that sets the beginning of the relationship between both variables. Above this point, the maximum canopy height decreased at a rate of 1.7 m per each 100 m gain in elevation. Elevation alone explained 63% of the variance in maximum canopy height, much more than any other tested variable. We observed species- and aspect-specific effects of elevation on maximum canopy height that match previous local studies, suggesting common patterns across mountain ranges. Our study is the first regional analysis of the relationship between elevation and maximum canopy height at such spatial resolution. The tree-height decline breakpoint holds an intrinsic potential to monitor mountain forests, and can thus serve as a robust indicator to appraise the effects of climate change, and address fundamental questions about how tree development varies along elevation gradients at regional or global scales.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Finance under “Juan de la Cierva” contracts to AA (IJCI-2016-30049) and MR (FJCI-2016-31090), and by the research grant program Ajuts UdL, Jade Plus i Fundació Bancària La Caixa to PJG and BL (Agreements 79/2018 and 87/2020 of the Governing Council of the University of Lleida)

The spectrum of acute bacterial meningitis in elderly patients

We conducted a prospective, observational study in Barcelona to determine the epidemiology, clinical features, and outcome of elderly patients with acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) compared with younger adults. During 1982-2010, all patients with ABM were prospectively evaluated. There were two groups: I (15-64 years) and II (≥ 65 years). All patients underwent clinical examination on admission and at discharge following a predefined protocol. We evaluated 635 episodes of ABM. The incidence was 4.03/100,000 (Group I) and 7.40 /100,000 inhabitants/year (Group II) (RR = 1.84; 95%CI: 1.56-2.17, P < 0.0001). Elderly patients had co-morbid conditions more frequently (P < 0.0001) and more frequently lacked fever (P = 0.0625), neck stiffness (P < 0.0001) and skin rash (P < 0.0001), but had an altered level of consciousness more often (P < 0.0001). The interval admission-start of antibiotic therapy was longer for elderly patients (P < 0.0001). Meningococcal meningitis was less frequent in elderly patients (P < 0.0001), whereas listerial (P = 0.0196), gram-negative bacillary (P = 0.0065), and meningitis of unknown origin (P = 0.0076) were more frequent. Elderly patients had a higher number of neurologic (P = 0.0009) and extra-neurologic complications (P < 0.0001). The overall mortality ratio was higher in elderly patients (P < 0.0001). Elderly people are at higher risk of having ABM than younger adults. ABM in the elderly presents with co-morbid conditions, is clinically subtler, has a longer interval admission-antibiotic therapy, and has non-meningococcal etiology. It is associated with an earlier and higher mortality rate than in younger patients

Seguridad de la cardioversión de la fibrilación auricular de reciente comienzo en urgencias

Objective. To analyze the safety of electric cardioversion performed for recent-onset atrial fibrillation in a hospital emergency department. Methods. Observational retrospective analysis of consecutive emergency department cases of atrial fibrillation of less than 48 hours' duration in hemodynamically stable patients. All included cases were either treated with emergency electric cardioversion or referred for evaluation and scheduling of outpatient cardioversion. The outcome variable was the occurrence of a thromboembolic or hemorrhagic event within 90 days. Results. A total of 718 cardioversions in 570 patients were analyzed. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 64 (13.5) years. Four hundred seventy-nine emergency cardioversions (66.7%) and 239 (33.3%) scheduled cardioversions were performed. Eleven adverse events (1.5% of the cohort) occurred: 2 were thromboembolic events (0.3%) and 9 were hemorrhagic (1.3%). All bleeds were minor. There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of adverse events between the emergency and scheduled cardioversion groups

Moisturizing body milk as a reservoir of Burkholderia cepacia: outbreak of nosocomial infection in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit

Background: An outbreak of severe nosocomial Burkholderia cepacia infections in patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU), including investigation of the reservoir, is described. Methods: Over a period of 18 days, isolates of Burkholderia cepacia were recovered from different biological samples from five patients who were admitted to a multidisciplinary 18-bed intensive care unit. Isolation of B. cepacia was associated with bacteraemia in three cases, lower respiratory tract infection in one and urinary tract infection in one. Contact isolation measures were instituted; new samples from the index patients and adjacent patients were collected; and samples of antiseptics, eau de Cologne and moisturizing body milk available in treatment carts at that time were collected and cultured. Results: B. cepacia was isolated from three samples of the moisturizing body milk that had been applied to the patients. Three new hermetically closed units, from three different batches, were sent for culture; two of these were positive as well. All strains recovered from environmental and biological samples were identified as belonging to the same clone by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The cream was withdrawn from all hospitalization units and no new cases of B. cepacia infection developed. Conclusion: Moisturizing body milk is a potential source of infection. In severely ill patients, the presence of bacteria in cosmetic products, even within accepted limits, may lead to severe life-threatening infections

Characteristics and outcome of spontaneous bacterial meningitis in patients with diabetes mellitus

Studies on bacterial meningitis in diabetics patients versus non-diabetics are scarce. In patients with diabetes, bacterial meningitis may have a different presentation, etiology and course. We analyzed and compared the characteristics and outcome of spontaneous BM in adult patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). We performed a single-center, prospective observational cohort study, conducted between 1982 and 2017, in a tertiary university hospital in Barcelona (Spain). The primary outcome measure was in-hospital mortality. We evaluated 715 episodes of bacterial meningitis; 106 patients (15%) had diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetes were older (median 67 [IQR 17] vs 49 [IQR 40] years, p < 0.001) and more often had a Charlson comorbidity score of ≥3 (40% vs 15%, p < 0.001). Neck stiffness (56% vs 75%, p < 0.001), headache (41% vs 78%) p < 0.001), nausea and/or vomiting (32% vs 56% p < 0.001), and rash (12% vs 26%, p = 0.007) were less frequent in diabetics, whereas altered mental status was more common. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Listeria meningitis were the most common etiologic agents (24 and 18%, respectively). Listeria was more frequent (18% vs. 10%, p = 0.033), whereas meningococcal meningitis was less frequent (10% vs 32%, p < 0.001). Overall mortality was higher in patients with diabetes (26% vs 16%, p = 0.025) concerning non-diabetics. Patients with bacterial meningitis and diabetes mellitus are older, have more comorbidities, and higher mortality. S. pneumoniae and L. monocytogenes are the predominant pathogens, Listeria being more common, whereas Neisseria meningitidis is significantly less frequent than in non-diabetics