Living Wills in functioning: A legal tool with therapeutic aims

A pesar de los importantes avances en la curación y/o tratamiento de enfermedades, la muerte sigue siendo un hecho irremediable para el ser humano. Por tanto, conviene recordar que ayudar a bien morir es también uno de los fi nes de la Medicina actual. Desde la Psicooncología, las Instrucciones Previas (IIPP) se conceptualizan como una herramienta legal con objetivos psicoterapéuticos. Se trata de una vía para abrir el diálogo sobre cuestiones relacionadas con la muerte y un instrumento para la deliberación moral y toma de decisiones. Realizadas dentro de un contexto terapéutico de confi anza mutua, las IIPP se convierten en un facilitador, a medio plazo, del bienestar del paciente y de su familia.In spite of important advances in diseases treatment, death is still unavoidable for humanbeing. Therefore, it should be taken into account that “well-dying” is one of the goals of Medicine. From Psychooncology, Living Wills (LV) are a legal tool with therapeutic aims. They are a way to open dialogue about topics related to death and a valious instrument for moral deliberation and decision making process. If LV are developed in a therapeutic context of mutual trust, they become a helper of well-being for patient and family

Cultivation-induced effects on the organic matter in degraded Southern African soils

15 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, 38 references.We studied quantitative and qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) due to different land uses (reference woodland versus cultivated) on six soils from Tanzania (Mkindo and Mafiga), Zimbabwe (Domboshawa and Chickwaka), and South Africa (Hertzog and Guquka). Structural characteristics of the humic acids (HAs) were measured by Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (P y-GC/MS) and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (CPMAS 13C NMR) spectroscopy. Significant changes in concentration and composition of SOM were observed between land uses. Losses of organic carbon after cultivation ranged from 35% to 50%. Virgin soils showed large proportions of colloidal humus fractions: humic acids (HAs) and fulvic acids (FAs) but negligible amounts of not-yet decomposed organic residues. The change in land use produced a contrasting effect on the composition of the HAs: a noteworthy >alkyl enhancement> in Mkindo soil and >alkyl depletion> in Chikwaka and to a lesser extent in Domwoshawa. The remaining soils displayed only minor alterations.This work was part of an EU INCO-DEV-funded research program in southern Africa (Cyanosoils), Project ICA-4-CT-2001-10058.Peer Reviewe

Cultivation-induced effects on the organic matter in degraded Southern African soils

15 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, 38 references.We studied quantitative and qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) due to different land uses (reference woodland versus cultivated) on six soils from Tanzania (Mkindo and Mafiga), Zimbabwe (Domboshawa and Chickwaka), and South Africa (Hertzog and Guquka). Structural characteristics of the humic acids (HAs) were measured by Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (P y-GC/MS) and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (CPMAS 13C NMR) spectroscopy. Significant changes in concentration and composition of SOM were observed between land uses. Losses of organic carbon after cultivation ranged from 35% to 50%. Virgin soils showed large proportions of colloidal humus fractions: humic acids (HAs) and fulvic acids (FAs) but negligible amounts of not-yet decomposed organic residues. The change in land use produced a contrasting effect on the composition of the HAs: a noteworthy >alkyl enhancement> in Mkindo soil and >alkyl depletion> in Chikwaka and to a lesser extent in Domwoshawa. The remaining soils displayed only minor alterations.This work was part of an EU INCO-DEV-funded research program in southern Africa (Cyanosoils), Project ICA-4-CT-2001-10058.Peer Reviewe

Evolución de las propiedades físicas y la materia orgánica del suelo con enmiendas orgánicas y fertilización mineral

7 páginas, 1 figura, 2 tablas, 10 referencias. Presentado al I Simposio Nacional sobre Control de la Erosión y Degradación del Suelo, Madrid, 2003.[EN]: After 16 years of continuous amendment either with farmyard manure or crop wastes and two levels of mineral N fertilisation in a Calcic Haploxeralf at Toledo (central Spain), significant changes in soil physical properties, soil fertility and in the amount and characteristics of soil organic matter have been found. Such changes depended on the type of organic matter applied, the N dose (O and 100 kg ha-1 NH4N03) and their interaction. When compared with control plots, visible spectroscopy suggested that the organic matter accumulated in the amended plots was less transformed, with a more marked aliphatic character, its humification degree decreasing when increasing N inputs. Curie-point pyrolysis of the humic acids showed a selective biodegradation of the alkyl domain favoured by external N inputs, whereas the degradation of the lignin-inherited structures seems to be more efficient in those plots with high C/N ratio.[ES]: Tras 16 años de aplicar enmiendas orgánicas (residuos vegetales o estiércol) y N mineral (O y 100 kg ha-1 de NH4N03) a un Haploxeralf Cálcico en la provincia de Toledo, se han observado cambios significativos en las propiedades físicas, fertilidad, contenido total y naturaleza de la materia orgánica del suelo, que se relacionan con el material aportado, con la dosis de N y su interacción. La aplicación continua de ambas enmiendas orgánicas ha conducido a una acumulación de materia orgánica poco transformada, con ácidos húmicos de carácter más alifático que en el suelo testigo. El análisis de los ácidos húmicos mediante espectroscopía visible indica que con el aporte de N mineral disminuye el grado de humificación de la materia orgánica. La pirólisis de punto de Curie de los ácidos húmicos muestra una biodegradación preferente de estructuras alquílicas favorecida por la fertilización nitrogenada, en tanto que la degradación de las estructuras derivadas de las ligninas parece ser más efectiva en suelos con una relación C/N más elevada.Peer reviewe

Disfunciones en el deseo sexual y su relación con los niveles de satisfacción en universitarios

Introducción: Las disfunciones en el deseo sexual, según la literatura, afectarían a cualquier edad y correlacionarían con menor satisfacción. Sin embargo, no siempre son atendidas en jóvenes. El objetivo del estudio es explorar su prevalencia en dicha población y su posible relación con la satisfacción de vida, de vida sexual y con su cuerpo y genitales. Se hipotetiza que las personas afectadas por el deseo tengan menor calidad de vida global y sexual, siendo más prevalente la interferencia del bajo deseo entre mujeres y del elevado deseo entre hombres. Método: Para ello, 1841 personas (61,2 % mujeres) con edad promedio de 21,42 años cumplimentaron una encuesta sobre hábitos y experiencias sexuales. Resultados: Se observa como un 30 % de las personas presentan alteraciones asociadas a bajo deseo sexual, mientras un 40,6 % las presenta respecto al deseo elevado. Según sexo, en mujeres es más prevalente el bajo deseo sexual (34 %) que en hombres (23 %) y más prevalente el excesivo deseo sexual en hombres (48 %) que en mujeres (36 %). La relación entre el deseo y la satisfacción a diferentes niveles arroja que, mientras el bajo deseo correlaciona negativa y significativamente (p!0,01) con todas las esferas, el excesivo deseo sexual lo hace con cuerpo (p!0,01) y vida global (p!0,05). Discusión: Tal y como apunta la literatura, las mujeres presentan mayores niveles de bajo deseo y los hombres de alto, correlacionado con malestar vital y otros aspectos. Así pues, en el desarrollo de estrategias preventivas e intervención clínica, cabría tener en cuenta este hallazgo.Introduction: According to literature, sexual desire disorders would be related to low satisfaction at any age. Nevertheless, most of interventions have usually excluded young people. The main purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence of sexual desire disorders in this population, as well as their association with life and sexual satisfaction, and genital and body appearance satisfaction. We hypothesize that people with maladjusted desire will report lower life and sexual satisfaction; women will exceed men in problems with low desire meanwhile men will exceed women in problems with high desire. Method: 1841 participants (61.2% women), with average age of 21.42 years, completed a survey about sexual habits and experiences. Results: 30% of participants have alterations related to low desire, while 40.6% of them reporte problems due to high sexual desire. According to sex, women showed lower sexual desire (34%) compared to men (23%), and men reported higher sexual desire (48%) that women did (36%). Regarding the relation between desire and satisfaction in different area, low sexual desire is associated with all areas negatively and significantly (p 0.01), and high sexual desire with body (p 0.01) and global life (p 0.05). Discussion: According to literature, women show lower sexual desire and men higher sexual desire; both are related to life dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction in other aspects. Thus, preventive strategies and clinic intervention should consider this information

The effect of tillage system and use of a paraplow on weed flora in a semiarid soil from central Spain

7 pages, figures, and tables stadistics.Field experiments were conducted to study weed population shifts in long-term conservation tillage systems. The objectives of this study were to determine weed community abundance, diversity and composition on conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), no-tillage with paraplow (ZT) and no-tillage (NT) systems, and to identify species that are associated with specific tillage systems. The paraplow is a subsoiling technique that results in a deep loosening of the soil, in order to alleviate compaction in certain soils where NT is practiced. The results showed significant differences in both the composition and the abundance of weeds, depending on the tillage systems. Weed diversity, species richness and Shannon’s diversity and evenness indices were higher under the conservation tillage systems than in the CT system. In addition, various weed species were associated with reduced tillage systems. For instance, Anthemis arvensis, Hirschfeldia incana and Lolium rigidum became more prevalent in the NT system, whereas Chenopodium album and Filago pyramidata dominated in the ZT system. Therefore, the application of a paraplow treatment changed the weed community in the NT system. Other weed species, such as Capsella bursa-pastoris and Torilis nodosa, dominated in all three conservation tillage systems, whereas soil disturbance by mouldboard ploughing favoured species such as Polygonum aviculare and Phalaris paradoxa.This research was funded by the Spanish CICyT (project AGL2002-04186-CO3-02) and by the Junta de Comunidades Castilla-La Mancha (project 2004X802–3). The authors thank Dr Ce´sar Ferna´ ndez-Quintanilla for his valuable comments on the manuscript.Peer reviewe

Variability in soil nematode populations due to tillage and crop rotation in semi-arid Mediterranean agrosystems

The soil nematode fauna was assessed as a potential ecological index for the progressive stages of degradation, as well as the possibilities of restoration of a Calcic Haploxeralf in a semi-arid environment in Spain. With this aim in mind, soil characteristics and nematode populations were compared in a virgin ecosystem (evergreen oak forest) and in a closely associated area subjected to intensive cereal cultivation. In addition, in the latter area, the effects of different tillage systems, local soil compaction and crop rotations were evaluated over a 3 year period. Nematode populations were compared in experimental plots subjected to three contrasted situations: (i) no-tillage versus conventional tillage, (ii) soil compacted by tractor traffic versus undisturbed by traffic, and (iii) barley monoculture versus barley-vetch or barley-sunflower rotations. The soil with a virgin ecosystem had the greatest number and diversity of fungivorous (Tylenchus) and omnivorous predator (mononchids and dorilaimids) nematodes, whereas the values for endoparasites (Heterodera avenae and Pratylenchus) nematodes increased in tilled soil. The population of bacterial-feeding nematodes (rhabditids) was the same in virgin and cultivated areas. The greatest density and diversity in the no-tillage system occurred in the bacterial-feeding, fungivorous and omnivorous predator groups. A favorable effect of crop rotation was that the population of plant parasites (pathogenic) remained below crop damage concentrations. The effect of traffic on soil compaction was reflected conspicuously by the vertical distribution of soil nematodes within the soil profile. The population of plant parasites increased with depth, whereas the opposite occurred with the bacterial-feeding and omnivorous predator groups

Sorption-Desorption of Alachlor and Linuron in a Semiarid Soil As Influenced by Organic Matter Properties after 16 Years of Periodic Inputs

6 pages, figures, and tables statistics.The effect of management practices on soil potential for regulating the residual concentration of pesticides was examined in samples from a Calcic Haploxeralf in Toledo (central Spain). Sorptiondesorption of alachlor and linuron was found to depend on inputs of lignocelullosic wastes or cattle manure for the past 16 years. For a given herbicide, the soil sorption capacity (K f) follows the order control < crop residues < manure, which is consistent with the organic C content in the soil samples. Some structural characteristics of the soil humic acid as revealed by visible and infrared spectroscopies and analytical pyrolysis were useful to forecast the sorption-desorption intensity. Simple and multiple linear correlation analyses illustrate enhanced sorption of alachlor and linuron in soil plots where slightly altered soil organic matter accumulated (positive correlations with the intensity of infrared lignin signature band and with the methoxyphenol yields after pyrolysis of the humic acids and negative correlation with the aromaticity as pointed out by the optical density at 465 nm). Linuron showed a preference for soils with humic acids of low molecular weight and low degree of internal cross-linking, as inferred from the positive correlation with the ratio between optical densities at 465 and 665 nm. Under the conditions of the present experiment, agricultural practices including organic amendments seem to have a beneficial effect in the control of leaching and sorption of pesticides.Peer reviewe

Laboreo de conservación: efectos a largo plazo sobre la fracción orgánica de un suelo de la zona semiárida

Trabajo presentado en la XXIX Reunión de la Sociedad Española de la Ciencia del Suelo (SECS), celebrada en Mallorca (España), del 3 al 6 de septiembre de 2013Se estudiaron los cambios a largo plazo (23 años) en el contenido de materia orgánica de un suelo (C total, N total) de la zona semiárida sometido a distintos sistemas de laboreo en una rotación cereal-leguminosa y comparados con los valores obtenidos para un suelo de referencia con barbecho (B). El estudio se realizó en la finca experimental >La Higueruela> perteneciente al CSIC, localizada en Santa Olalla (Toledo) con parcelas experimentales de 9 m de ancho y 40 m de largo en un diseño experimental de bloques al azar con tres repeticiones. Se analizaron anualmente e ininterrumpidamente desde el inicio del experimento en el año 1987 hasta el año 2010 muestras de suelo a 3 profundidades diferentes (0-10, 10-20 Y 20-30 cm) en los siguientes tratamientos: laboreo convencional (LC) con vertedera, nolaboreo (NL), no-laboreo con descompactador (NLD), mínimo laboreo con chisel, distinguiendo si la parcela provenía de NL (ML 1) o de LC (ML2). Se observó, por una parte, una clara reducción del contenido de materia orgánica (C total, N total) con el cultivo, efecto que era más acusado en los 0-10 cm superiores y, por otra, una estratificación de la materia orgánica con la profundidad en el suelo con barbecho y en todos los suelos cultivados excepto en LC. La adopción de sistemas de laboreo de conservación tendía a recuperar los niveles de materia orgánica en los 0-10 cm superiores y, por consiguiente, la estratificación del contenido de materia orgánica a lo largo del perfil, efecto que era más acusado en los sistemas NL y NLD. Los datos también demostraron que los cambios en el contenido de materia orgánica del suelo se producen muy rápidamente dado que los valores se estabilizaron al cabo de 6 años y no variaron hasta el final del experimento. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que la dinámica de la materia orgánica y, por consiguiente, los beneficios de la adopción de las prácticas de laboreo de conservación originados por el secuestro de carbono en este suelo de la zona semiárida, vienen condicionados, en gran medida, por las condiciones de equilibrio del agroecosistema (tipo de suelo, clima, sistema de manejo).Trabajo financiado por el Ministerio Español de Economía y Competitividad (CICYT AGL20l2-39929-C03-02 AGR) y por la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (POIIlO-0115-2863