A general approach to the in situ energy butget of Eudendrium racemosum (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) in the Western Mediterranean

An in situ energy budget of the hydropolyp Eudendrium racemosum (Cavolini, 1785) is presented. Ingestion and respiration rates and ammonium excretion were studied over two 24 h cycles, with two-hour sample intervals. The species ingested as much as 25.9% of its own biomass per day (minimum rate). Respiration was 1.62 ml O2 g-1 d w h-1 while excretion was 13.6 mM NH4 g-1dw h-1. We estimated that the species increased its biomass at a rate of 9.6% per day (Growth + Reproduction). This value is higher than those previously reported for other cnidarians. We can assume that the capacity of E. racemosum to survive - albeit for a limited period of the year - in the highly-competitive shallow-water communities is based on its high growth rate.

Deriva nictemeral de macroinvertebrados en el rio Llobregat (Barcelona)

A study on the qualitative and quantitative coniposition of macroinvertebrate drift in the Llobregat river ( N E Spain) is put fonvard. Samples were taken hourly during a 24 hour period in august 1982. The samples were taken with a net of 625 cm. of filtering surface and an opening mesh size of 500 microns, which íiltered 72,1 m3 /h. and collected 75.719 individuals during the sampling period. That means a drift rate of 1.224 indiv./h. and a drift density of 17 indi/m3 . 8 I0/o of the organismes collected were exuviae, mainly pupal chironomid skins (54%) and nimphal ephemeroptera moults (27(Ynj. The remainder percentage of living organisms represents a drift rate of 227 indiv./h. and a drift density of 3.14 indiv./m3. These are intermediate values ifwe compare them with the data published. Sixty per cent of the living drift were chiroiiomids. 17.5 '1 ephemeroptera and 10 (%1 trichoptera; these being the niost iniportant groups. Ofthe 87 species identified in those groups 23 were common in al1 the (7 1 ) samples (Table 1)

Gènere i sexoafectivitat segons els adolescents dels usuaris dels centres oberts de la ciutat de Girona

L’objectiu d’aquest treball és conèixer la percepció que tenen els adolescents usuaris dels centres oberts de la ciutat de Girona sobre la sexualitat, l’afectivitat, quins rols de gènere se’n deriven i quines creences els sustenten. El disseny del treball ha estat qualitatiu, observacional, grups de discussió. Pel que fa als subjectes i al mètode, la població seleccionada ha estat de 33 adolescents i joves d’edats compreses entre els 12 i els 22 anys, usuaris de quatre centres oberts de Girona: el centre obert de Taialà, el Centre Obert de Font de la Pólvora (Onyar), el Centre Obert de Santa Eugènia i el Centre Obert del Barri Vell. Es van dur a terme grups de discussió d’una hora de duració sense descans amb d’entre 6 i 8 persones a partir d’un guió format per diversos mites i frases en relació a diversos temes (El festeig, la virginitat, la curiositat pel cos i per la sexualitat, els anticonceptius i les principals fonts d’informació) sobre les que havien de dir si estaven d’acord o no i qui creien que les deia (si un noi o una noia). Sobre els resultats del treball cal dir que s’ha observat la persistència d’algunes creences del model del amor romàntic en relació al rols de gènere com la definició de la dona vinculada a papers de cura i prevenció, una dona que té accés a la sexualitat però segueix estan catalogada per la vivència d’aquesta essent una persona “respectable” o una “puta”, que pren un rol més actiu en la iniciativa però no el l’assertivitat en les relacions; i un home, més impulsiu i sexual. En relació als comportaments sexuals destacar l’embaràs no desitjat com la principal preocupació de les relacions i el desconeixement/confusió entre els mètodes anticonceptius i de barrera disponibles a la xarxa de salut. Apareix la pornografia com a model emergent de relacions sexuals i models de relació entre homes i dones, en contraposició a altres fonts de informació i consulta tradicionals com els amics que segueixen essent la més significativa, la família, els serveis socials i educatius, i Internet. Com a conclusió cal dir que queda palesa la necessitat de incorporar una perspectiva de gènere en la formació curricular dels joves i el fet de seguir replantejant les millors estratègies d’intervenció per una concepció integradora de la sexualitat

Increasing stair climbing in a train station: effects of contextual variables and visibility

Accumulation of physical activity during daily living is a current public health target that is influenced by the layout of the built environment. This study reports how the layout of the environment may influence responsiveness to an intervention. Pedestrian choices (n = 41 717) between stairs and the adjacent escalators were monitored for seven weeks in a train station (Birmingham, UK). After a 3.5 week baseline period, a stair riser banner intervention to increase stair climbing was installed on two staircases adjacent to escalators and monitoring continued for a further 3.5 weeks. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the visibility of the intervention, defined as the area of visibility in the horizontal plane opposite to the direction of travel (termed the isovist) had a major effect on success of the intervention. Only the largest isovist produced an increase in stair climbing (isovist=77.6 m2, OR = 1.10, CIs 1.02-1.19; isovist=40.7 m2, OR = 0.98, CIs 0.91-1.06; isovist=53.2 m2, OR = 1.00, CIs 0.95-1.06). Additionally, stair climbing was more common during the morning rush hour (OR = 1.56, CIs 1.80-2.59) and at higher levels of pedestrian traffic volume (OR = 1.92, CIs 1.68-2.21). The layout of the intervention site can influence responsiveness to point-of-choice interventions. Changes to the design of train stations may maximize the choice of the stairs at the expense of the escalator by pedestrians leaving the station.

Efficacy of a dilemma-focused intervention for unipolar depression: study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial

Background Depression is one of the more severe and serious health problems because of its morbidity, disabling effects and for its societal and economic burden. Despite the variety of existing pharmacological and psychological treatments, most of the cases evolve with only partial remission, relapse and recurrence. Cognitive models have contributed significantly to the understanding of unipolar depression and its psychological treatment. However, success is only partial and many authors affirm the need to improve those models and also the treatment programs derived from them. One of the issues that requires further elaboration is the difficulty these patients experience in responding to treatment and in maintaining therapeutic gains across time without relapse or recurrence. Our research group has been working on the notion of cognitive conflict viewed as personal dilemmas according to personal construct theory. We use a novel method for identifying those conflicts using the repertory grid technique (RGT). Preliminary results with depressive patients show that about 90% of them have one or more of those conflicts. This fact might explain the blockage and the difficult progress of these patients, especially the more severe and/or chronic. These results justify the need for specific interventions focused on the resolution of these internal conflicts. This study aims to empirically test the hypothesis that an intervention focused on the dilemma(s) specifically detected for each patient will enhance the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression. Design A therapy manual for a dilemma-focused intervention will be tested using a randomized clinical trial by comparing the outcome of two treatment conditions: combined group CBT (eight, 2-hour weekly sessions) plus individual dilemma-focused therapy (eight, 1-hour weekly sessions) and CBT alone (eight, 2-hour group weekly sessions plus eight, 1-hour individual weekly sessions). Method Participants are patients aged over 18 years meeting diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder, with a score of 19 or above on the Beck depression inventory, second edition (BDI-II) and presenting at least one cognitive conflict (implicative dilemma or dilemmatic construct) as assessed using the RGT. The BDI-II is the primary outcome measure, collected at baseline, at the end of therapy, and at 3- and 12-month follow-up; other secondary measures are also used. Discussion We expect that adding a dilemma-focused intervention to CBT will increase the efficacy of one of the more prestigious therapies for depression, thus resulting in a significant contribution to the psychological treatment of depression. Trial registration ISRCTN92443999; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01542957.

Efficacy of a dilemma-focused intervention for unipolar depression: study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial

Background Depression is one of the more severe and serious health problems because of its morbidity, disabling effects and for its societal and economic burden. Despite the variety of existing pharmacological and psychological treatments, most of the cases evolve with only partial remission, relapse and recurrence. Cognitive models have contributed significantly to the understanding of unipolar depression and its psychological treatment. However, success is only partial and many authors affirm the need to improve those models and also the treatment programs derived from them. One of the issues that requires further elaboration is the difficulty these patients experience in responding to treatment and in maintaining therapeutic gains across time without relapse or recurrence. Our research group has been working on the notion of cognitive conflict viewed as personal dilemmas according to personal construct theory. We use a novel method for identifying those conflicts using the repertory grid technique (RGT). Preliminary results with depressive patients show that about 90% of them have one or more of those conflicts. This fact might explain the blockage and the difficult progress of these patients, especially the more severe and/or chronic. These results justify the need for specific interventions focused on the resolution of these internal conflicts. This study aims to empirically test the hypothesis that an intervention focused on the dilemma(s) specifically detected for each patient will enhance the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression. Design A therapy manual for a dilemma-focused intervention will be tested using a randomized clinical trial by comparing the outcome of two treatment conditions: combined group CBT (eight, 2-hour weekly sessions) plus individual dilemma-focused therapy (eight, 1-hour weekly sessions) and CBT alone (eight, 2-hour group weekly sessions plus eight, 1-hour individual weekly sessions). Method Participants are patients aged over 18 years meeting diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymic disorder, with a score of 19 or above on the Beck depression inventory, second edition (BDI-II) and presenting at least one cognitive conflict (implicative dilemma or dilemmatic construct) as assessed using the RGT. The BDI-II is the primary outcome measure, collected at baseline, at the end of therapy, and at 3- and 12-month follow-up; other secondary measures are also used. Discussion We expect that adding a dilemma-focused intervention to CBT will increase the efficacy of one of the more prestigious therapies for depression, thus resulting in a significant contribution to the psychological treatment of depression. Trial registration ISRCTN92443999; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01542957.

Bulk silica-based luminescent materials by sol-gel processing of non-conventional precursors

The sol-gel synthesis of bulk silica-based luminescent materials using innocuous hexaethoxydisilane and hexamethoxydisilane monomers, followed by one hour thermal annealing in an inert atmosphere at 950oC-1150oC, is reported. As-synthesized hexamethoxydisilane-derived samples exhibit an intense blue photoluminescence band, whereas thermally treated ones emit stronger photoluminescence radiation peaking below 600 nm. For hexaethoxydisilane-based material, annealed at or above 1000oC, a less intense photoluminescence band, peaking between 780 nm and 850 nm that is attributed to nanocrystalline silicon is observed. Mixtures of both precursors lead to composed spectra, thus envisaging the possibility of obtaining pre-designed spectral behaviors by varying the mixture composition.

Obstructive apneas induce early activation of mesenchymal stem cells and enhancement of endothelial wound healing

Background: The aim was to test the hypothesis that the blood serum of rats subjected to recurrent airway obstructions mimicking obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) induces early activation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and enhancement of endothelial wound healing. Methods: We studied 30 control rats and 30 rats subjected to recurrent obstructive apneas (60 per hour, lasting 15 s each, for 5 h). The migration induced in MSC by apneic serum was measured by transwell assays. MSC-endothelial adhesion induced by apneic serum was assessed by incubating fluorescent-labelled MSC on monolayers of cultured endothelial cells from rat aorta. A wound healing assay was used to investigate the effect of apneic serum on endothelial repair. Results: Apneic serum showed significant increase in chemotaxis in MSC when compared with control serum: the normalized chemotaxis indices were 2.20 +- 0.58 (m +- SE) and 1.00 +- 0.26, respectively (p < 0.05). MSC adhesion to endothelial cells was greater (1.75 +- 0.14 -fold; p < 0.01) in apneic serum than in control serum. When compared with control serum, apneic serum significantly increased endothelial wound healing (2.01 +- 0.24 -fold; p < 0.05). Conclusions: The early increases induced by recurrent obstructive apneas in MSC migration, adhesion and endothelial repair suggest that these mechanisms play a role in the physiological response to the challenges associated to OSA.

Method development for the simultaneous determination of methylmercury and inorganic mercury in seafood

This paper reports the method development for the simultaneous determination of methylmercury MeHgþ) and inorganic mercury (iHg) species in seafood samples. The study focused on the extraction and quantification of MeHgþ (the most toxic species) by liquid chromatography coupled to on-line UV irradiation and cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (LC-UV-CV-AFS), using HCl 4 mol/L as the extractant agent. Accuracy of the method has been verified by analysing three certified reference materials and different spiked samples. The values found for total Hg and MeHgþ for the CRMs did not differ significantly from certified values at a 95% confidence level, and recoveries between 85% and 97% for MeHgþ, based on spikes, were achieved. The detection limits (LODs) obtained were 0.001 mg Hg/kg for total mercury, 0.0003 mg Hg/kg for MeHgþ and 0.0004 mg Hg/kg for iHg. The quantification limits (LOQs) established were 0.003 mg Hg/kg for total mercury, 0.0010 mg Hg/kg for MeHgþ and 0.0012 mg Hg/kg for iHg. Precision for each mercury species was established, being 12% in terms of RSD in all cases. Finally, the developed method was applied to 24 seafood samples from different origins and total mercury contents. The concentrations for Total Hg, MeHg and iHg ranged from 0.07 to 2.33, 0.003-2.23 and 0.006-0.085 mg Hg/kg, respectively. The established analytical method allows to obtain results for mercury speciation in less than 1 one hour including both, sample pretreatment and measuring step.

Effects of heparin on the uptake of lipoprotein lipase in rat liver

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is anchored at the vascular endothelium through interaction with heparan sulfate. It is not known how this enzyme is turned over but it has been suggested that it is slowly released into blood and then taken up and degraded in the liver. Heparin releases the enzyme into the circulating blood. Several lines of evidence indicate that this leads to accelerated flux of LPL to the liver and a temporary depletion of the enzyme in peripheral tissues. RESULTS: Rat livers were found to contain substantial amounts of LPL, most of which was catalytically inactive. After injection of heparin, LPL mass in liver increased for at least an hour. LPL activity also increased, but not in proportion to mass, indicating that the lipase soon lost its activity after being bound/taken up in the liver. To further study the uptake, bovine LPL was labeled with 125I and injected. Already two min after injection about 33 % of the injected lipase was in the liver where it initially located along sinusoids. With time the immunostaining shifted to the hepatocytes, became granular and then faded, indicating internalization and degradation. When heparin was injected before the lipase, the initial immunostaining along sinusoids was weaker, whereas staining over Kupffer cells was enhanced. When the lipase was converted to inactive before injection, the fraction taken up in the liver increased and the lipase located mainly to the Kupffer cells. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that there are heparin-insensitive binding sites for LPL on both hepatocytes and Kupffer cells. The latter may be the same sites as those that mediate uptake of inactive LPL. The results support the hypothesis that turnover of endothelial LPL occurs in part by transport to and degradation in the liver, and that this transport is accelerated after injection of heparin.

The impact of adopting a CLIL approach on EFL learners reading skills in Catalonia school

En els últims anys, un gran nombre de docents i escoles han estat introduint programes AICLE a les escoles catalanes. A la majoria d’escoles, però, només s'ensenya anglès com a llengua estrangera, la qual cosa, limita les oportunitats d'estar en contacte amb la llengua estrangera en un context diferent. L’objectiu d'aquest estudi és analitzar si els infants milloren en les seves habilitats lectores i comprovar si existeix un avantatge significatiu respecte els alumnes que només estudien anglès com a llengua estrangera. L’estudi empíric que us presento a continuació, compara els resultats obtinguts en dues proves de comprensió lectora. A les proves hi van participar dos grups d’alumnes de cinquè de d’Educació Primària. Un dels grups seguia un programa AICLE (1 hora a la setmana i , a més aprenia anglès coma llengua estrangera); l’altre grup només estudiava anglès com a llengua estrangera. L'objectiu principal d'aquest projecte d'investigació és esbrinar si els programes AICLE tenen un impacte en les habilitats lectores en llengua anglesa dels alumnes. Així doncs, humilment intentaré contribuir a la literatura existent sobre els beneficis de l’AICLE.

One-sided jet at milliarcsecond scales in LS I +61˚ 303

We present Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations of the high mass X-ray binary LS I +61˚303, carried out with the European VLBI Network (EVN). Over the 11 hour observing run, performed ~10 days after a radio outburst, the radio source showed a constant flux density, which allowed sensitive imaging of the emission distribution. The structure in the map shows a clear extension to the southeast. Comparing our data with previous VLBI observations we interpret the extension as a collimated radio jet as found in several other X-ray binaries. Assuming that the structure is the result of an expansion that started at the onset of the outburst, we derive an apparent expansion velocity of 0:003 c, which, in the context of Doppler boosting, corresponds to an intrinsic velocity of at least 0:4 c for an ejection close to the line of sight. From the apparent velocity in all available epochs we are able to establish variations in the ejection angle which imply a precessing accretion disk. Finally we point out that LS I +61˚303, like SS 433 and Cygnus X-1, shows evidence for an emission region almostorthogonal to the relativistic jet

Blood pressure levels and haematoma growth in patients with Intracerebral Haemorrhage (ICH) A retrospective observational study

Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is a spontaneous extravasation of blood into brain parenchyma. Although ICH represents approximately only 15% of all strokes, it is one of the major causes of stroke-related death and disability. One of the causes of poor outcome is the haematoma growth. The association between elevated blood pressure (BP) and haematoma enlargement in acute ICH has not been clarified. Our objective is to try to identify this relationship that may suggest an immediate target for intervention to possibly improve outcomes in patients with spontaneous ICH and might settle the controversy surrounding the optimal management of blood pressure.We propose a retrospective revision using a sample present in our database of approximately 250 patients with primary ICH and less than 12h from symptoms onset. Systolic blood pressure levels (SBP) are assessed at baseline, at 6h, at 12h, at 24h and at 72h, being these last four the average levels of the different recordings during those time intervals. Haematoma growth will be defined as an increase in the volume of intraparenchymal haemorrhage of >33% as measured by image analysis on the 24-hour CT or 72-hour CT compared with the baseline CT scan. A qualified neuroradiologist not informed of the aim of the study, will review the CT images. The secondary objective will be to correlate the BP levels in the acute phase of ICH with clinical outcome. We will evaluate early neurologic deterioration at 72h by using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS); outcome at 90 days by using the modified Rankin scale and mortality at 72h and 90 days. The statistical analysis will be adjusted by possibly confounding variables