Group motivational intervention in overweight/obese patients in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in the primary healthcare area

Background The global mortality caused by cardiovascular disease increases with weight. The Framingham study showed that obesity is a cardiovascular risk factor independent of other risks such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and smoking. Moreover, the main problem in the management of weight-loss is its maintenance, if it is achieved. We have designed a study to determine whether a group motivational intervention, together with current clinical practice, is more efficient than the latter alone in the treatment of overweight and obesity, for initial weight loss and essentially to achieve maintenance of the weight achieved; and, secondly, to know if this intervention is more effective for reducing cardiovascular risk factors associated with overweight and obesity. Methods This 26-month follow up multi-centre trial, will include 1200 overweight/obese patients. Random assignment of the intervention by Basic Health Areas (BHA): two geographically separate groups have been created, one of which receives group motivational intervention (group intervention), delivered by a nurse trained by an expert phsychologist, in 32 group sessions, 1 to 12 fortnightly, and 13 to 32, monthly, on top of their standard program of diet, exercise, and the other (control group), receiving the usual follow up, with regular visits every 3 months. Discussion By addressing currently unanswered questions regarding the maintenance in weight loss in obesity/overweight, upon the expected completion of participant follow-up in 2012, the IMOAP trial should document, for the first time, the benefits of a motivational intervention as a treatment tool of weight loss in a primary care setting.

Atomic Ordering and Martensitic Transitions in Cu-Zn-Al Shape Memory Alloys

We present results from both, calorimetric and dilatometric studies of the isothermal ordering process taking place in a Cu-Zn-Al shape memory alloy after quenches from Tq temperatures ranging from 350 K to 1200 K. The dissipated energy and the length variations of the system are obtained during the process. The change of these quantities in the whole process have been compared with the difference [MATH] between Ms, measured after the relaxation and Ms measured just after the quench. We obtain that these three quantities present, as a function of Tq, the same qualitative behaviour. These changes are then associated with changes of the L21 ordering after the quench in the system. The relaxational process does not follow a single exponential decay. Instead, a continuous slowing down is observed. A relaxation time [MATH] has been defined to characterize the relaxation rate. We show that [MATH] depends on both the annealing and the quenching (Tq [MATH] 800 K) temperatures through an Arrhenius law.

Bioavailability of sinking organic matter in the Blanes canyon and the adjacent open slope (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Submarine canyons are sites of intense energy and material exchange between the shelf and the deep adjacent basins. To test the hypothesis that active submarine canyons represent preferential conduits of available food for the deep-sea benthos, two mooring lines were deployed at 1200 m depth from November 2008 to November 2009 inside the Blanes canyon and on the adjacent open slope (Catalan Margin, NW Mediterranean Sea). We investigated the fluxes, biochemical composition and food quality of sinking organic carbon (OC). OC fluxes in the canyon and the open slope varied among sampling periods, though not onsistently in the two sites. In particular, while in the open slope the highest OC fluxes were observed in August 2009, in the canyon the highest OC fluxes occurred in AprilMay 2009. For almost the entire study period, the OC fluxes in the canyon were significantly higher than those in the open slope, whereas OC contents of sinking particles collected in the open slope were consistently higher than those in the canyon. This result confirms that submarine canyons are effective conveyors of OC to the deep sea. Particles transferred to the deep sea floor through the canyons are predominantly of inorganic origin, significantly higher than that reaching the open slope at a similar water depth. Using multivariate statistical tests, two major clusters of sampling periods were identified: one in the canyon that grouped trap samples collected in December 2008, oncurrently with the occurrence of a major storm at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of nutritionally available particles from the upper shelf. Another cluster grouped samples from both the canyon and the open slope collected in March 2009, concurrently with the occurrence of the seasonal phytoplankton bloom at the sea surface, and associated with increased fluxes of total phytopigments. Our results confirm the key ecological role of submarine canyons for the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems, and highlight the importance of canyons in linking episodic storms and primary production occurring at the sea surface to the deep sea floor.

Cuevas ceremoniales en Teotihuacán en el período Postclásico

En un artículo anterior, presentamos algunos de los datos obtenidos durante los trabajos de investigación realizados en las cuevas situadas al sudeste de la Pirámide del Sol (lámina 1, cuadrante N3E2, Millon 1973). Durante los meses de marzo a agosto de 1993 se realizaron excavaciones en esta área, que permitieron definir un complejo subterráneo ceremonial compuesto por tres cuevas integradas dentro de un patio hundido. En este artículo se exponen los datos arqueológicos de la tercera cueva que ha proporcionado materiales pertenecientes a fases de ocupación posteotihuacanas (900/1000-1200 dC) y su relación con otras investigaciones realizadas en la zona arqueológica en los últimos años.

L'evolució del domini del monestir de Sant Llorenç prop Bagà durant els segles IX-XII

Estudi de l'evolució del dornini territorial d'un monestir pirinenc, durant els segles IX-XII. Sant Llorenç prop Baga, situat al Berguedà (Catalunya), tenia les seves terres esteses per la Cerdanya i, sobretot, per la mateixa comarca de Berga. Hom ha estudiat l'evolució del ritme de donacions, els llocs on eren situades les propietats donades i també l'evolució de les relacions entre el monestir i els qui tenien el domini útil de les seves terres (pactes i contractes d'emfiteusi). D'acord amb aquests tres aspectes de valoració hom ha establert les següents cinc etapes en l'evolució del domini: 1.ª fase (898-945): el monestir existeix; 2.ª fase (945-985): moment d'expansió del domini, amb importants donacions comtals i també de particulars; 3.ª fase (985-1040): força donacions; els donadors a canvi del domini útil es comprometen a lliurar la tasca (un onzé de la collita); 4.ª fase (1040-1100): primers símptomes de transformació: el monestir tendeix a cedir la fiscalització a tercers i els pagesos han de pagar més pel gaudi del domini útil; 5.ª fase (segle XII): s'accentuen els canvis esmentats en la fase anterior, gairebé no hi ha cap donació, els documents fan referència sobretot a la zona més propera al monestir, augment dels judicis i dels enfrontaments i aparició d'esments de terres i cases abandonades.