Pla de gestió de l’illa de Portlligat i diagnosi de flora a la badia

L’illa de Portlligat és un exemple de les conseqüències que la flora invasora pot comportar a primera línia de la costa. El gran recobriment que ocupa Carpobrotus sp. ha provocat una disminució de la riquesa i composició florística, posant en perill algunes espècies de gran interès. La redacció i aplicació d’una pla de gestió, ha de ser l’eina adequada per retornar l’espai al seu estat ecològic òptim. Paral.lelament, es realitza també una cartografia detallada sobre la distribució de la flora al.lòctona de la badia de Portlligat per avaluar l’impacte que la flora exòtica provoca a l’espai

A transient increase in total head phosphotyrosine levels is observed upon the emergence of Aedes aegypti from the pupal stage

Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of protein tyrosine residues constitutes a major biochemical regulatory mechanism for the cell. We report a transient increase in the total tyrosine phosphorylation of the Aedes aegypti head during the first days after emergence from the pupal stage. This correlates with an initial reduction in total head protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) activity. Similarly, phosphotyrosine (pTyr)-containing bands are seen in extracts prepared from both male and female heads and are spread among a variety of structures including the antennae, proboscis and the maxillary palps combined with the proboscis. Also, mosquitoes treated with sodium orthovanadate, a classical PTP inhibitor, show reduced blood-feeding activity and higher head tyrosine phosphorylation levels. These results suggest that pTyr-mediated signalling pathways may play a role in the initial days following the emergence of the adult mosquito from the pupal stage.

How to increase the population of a Phlebotomus perniciosus (Diptera: Psychodidae) colony: a new method

The sandfly Phlebotomus perniciosus is the most widespread vector of Leishmania infantum in Spain. Laboratory colonisation represents the most feasible source of information on the biology of these insects, but in conducting any study, the density of individuals in the colony may drop to such an extent that it is sometimes difficult to recover the initial population levels. A new technique was tested for the recovery of sandfly eggs in three different colonies; the recovery rate was studied by comparing the standard method of mass rearing with this new method of colony management. The results demonstrate a mean increase of 18.4% in adult production, a growth in colony productivity that justifies the inclusion of this process in the routine maintenance of any colony of sandflies.

Consumption of fried foods and risk of coronary heart disease: Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study.

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between consumption of fried foods and risk of coronary heart disease. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. PARTICIPANTS 40 757 adults aged 29-69 and free of coronary heart disease at baseline (1992-6), followed up until 2004. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Coronary heart disease events and vital status identified by record linkage with hospital discharge registers, population based registers of myocardial infarction, and mortality registers. RESULTS During a median follow-up of 11 years, 606 coronary heart disease events and 1135 deaths from all causes occurred. Compared with being in the first (lowest) quarter of fried food consumption, the multivariate hazard ratio of coronary heart disease in the second quarter was 1.15 (95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.45), in the third quarter was 1.07 (0.83 to 1.38), and in the fourth quarter was 1.08 (0.82 to 1.43; P for trend 0.74). The results did not vary between those who used olive oil for frying and those who used sunflower oil. Likewise, no association was observed between fried food consumption and all cause mortality: multivariate hazard ratio for the highest versus the lowest quarter of fried food consumption was 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.77 to 1.14; P for trend 0.98). CONCLUSION In Spain, a Mediterranean country where olive or sunflower oil is used for frying, the consumption of fried foods was not associated with coronary heart disease or with all cause mortality.

Les Competències bàsiques: com afecten a la metodologia d'ensenyament i aprenentatge? Cas pràctic: l'avaluació de l'expressió oral catalana

Un dels grans canvis que es planteja ara, és passar d’un ensenyament centrat en els coneixements acadèmics a un ensenyament centrat en les competències bàsiques, on l’alumne és el centre de l’educació i el professor el guia en el seu procés d’aprenentatge, és a dir, per ajudar-lo en l’adquisició de competències. Aquestes, posen l’accent en els aprenentatges, en el què l’alumne és capaç de fer i en els procediments que li permetran continuar aprenent al llarg de la vida. Per tant, les competències bàsiques es presenten com la resposta a un canvi en la metodologia de l’ensenyament tradicional. Això implica una modificació a nivell curricular i a nivell pràctic, ja que, per un costat, suposa que els coneixements teòrics recuperen el seu sentit, al ser ensenyats no per la mera reproducció sinó com instruments per l’acció, és a dir, per a la comprensió i intervenció en situacions reals, i per un altra banda, per l’ampliació amb altres coneixements, habilitats i actituds relacionades amb l’àmbit personal, interpersonal i social

Instal·lació d'energia fotovoltaica d'una casa de colònies

Els objectius d'aquest projecte són el disseny d'una instal·lació fotovoltaica connectada a xarxa que sigui capaç de produir la mateixa quantitat d’energia que consumeix la casa de colònies a on es troba ubicada. La particularitat d’aquesta instal·lació serà que els generadors fotovoltaics aniran sobra una plataforma giratòria que seguirà el sol buscant sempre la millor i major producció energètica. El control d'aquesta estructura anirà a càrrec d'un autòmat programable. Aprofitant l'existència de panells fotovoltaics, s'ha dissenyat un sistema d’acumulació d’energia de 2 kW de potència que dotarà de corrent una línia que, en cas de falla en el sistema d’alimentació general, es mantindrà ininterrompuda. Aquesta línia serà de 230 V i està dissenyada per tenir una autonomia de 2 hores

Compliance with dietary and nutrient recommendations in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Granada cohort at recruitment

BACKGROUND: The overall intake of energy and nutrients in the Granada EPIC-cohort (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) is examined in order to assess compliance with the Spanish Nutritional Objectives (NO) and the Recommended Intakes (RI). METHODS: During recruitment (1992-1996), 7,789 participants, aged 35-69, were asked about diet through a validated diet history questionnaire. Nutrient intake is compared to the NO and RI that were valid at that time. Risk of inadequate intake is estimated as the percentage of the sample with intakes: ≤ 1/3 RI (high risk), ≤ 2/3 RI- > 1/3 RI (moderate risk), ≤ RI- > 2/3 RI, > RI. Differences in intakes have been analyzed by sex and age, and by smoking status and BMI. RESULTS: The daily intake of nutrients did not meet the NO as the total contribution of energy from proteins and fats exceeded these guidelines. Whilst intake of most nutrients was above the RI, the amount of iron, magnesium and vitamins D and E provided by the diet was not enough to meet the RI: in women aged 20-49 years, about 55% were at moderate risk for iron inadequacy, and a 20% of women for magnesium. Both sexes were at high risk of inadequacy for vitamin D, although sunlight exposure may supply adequate amounts. Never smokers showed a higher compliance to the NO. CONCLUSION: At recruitment, the nutrient profile of the diet was unbalanced. The observed nutrient inadequacy for iron, magnesium and vitamin E might be attributed to inappropriate dietary habits, and may have implications for future disease risk.

Nephron-sparing surgery for adenocarcinoma in a renal allograft.

The incidence of malignant tumors in recipients of renal allografts is higher than in the general population. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 4.6% of the tumors in transplanted patients; of them, only 10% are found in transplanted kidneys. Transplantectomy has always been the usual treatment. However, during the last years, nephron-sparing surgery of the allograft is more frequently done in well-selected cases, and therefore dialysis can be avoided. We report the case of a 37-year-old female patient with renal transplant, diagnosed with a 4.5 cm tumor in the lower pole of the renal allograft. The patient underwent partial nephrectomy successfully. Six years after surgery, there is no evidence of recurrence of the disease and the patient maintains an adequate renal function.

Conservative management of unusual keratinising squamous metaplasia of the bladder in a 28-year-old female and overview of the literature.

Keratinizing squamous metaplasia of the bladder is rare and is usually associated with urinary tract infections and chronic irritation. It is considered a precancerous condition of squamous cell carcinoma, especially when more than 50% of the bladder surface is affected. Medical treatment cannot eradicate this lesion. When it is limited to a small area of the bladder, transurethral resection is possible. Annual cystoscopy with multiple biopsies as well as annual upper tract imaging is proposed in the follow up of these patients. We present a preliminary 2-year followup report of a keratinizing squamous metaplasia of the bladder in a 28-year-old female patient with no previous risk factors.

Growth and characterization of CoO ultra thin films

In this report we present the growth process of the cobalt oxide system using reactive electron beam deposition. In that technique, a target of metallic cobalt is evaporated and its atoms are in-flight oxidized in an oxygen rich reactive atmosphere before reaching the surface of the substrate. With a trial and error procedure the deposition parameters have been optimized to obtain the correct stoichiometry and crystalline phase. The evaporation conditions to achieve the correct cobalt oxide salt rock structure, when evaporating over amorphous silicon nitride, are: 525 K of substrate temperature, 2.5·10-4 mbar of oxygen partial pressure and 1 Å/s of evaporation rate. Once the parameters were optimized a set of ultra thin film ranging from samples of 1 nm of nominal thickness to 20nm thick and bulk samples were grown. With the aim to characterize the samples and study their microstructure and morphology, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and quasi-adiabatic nanocalorimetry techniques are utilised. The final results show a size dependent effect of the antiferromagnetic transition. Its Néel temperature becomes depressed as the size of the grains forming the layer decreases.

Mètodes de visualització i dinàmica de gasos relacionats amb l'escalat de cintes superconductores en planta prepilot

Ara ja fa un segle del descobriment de la superconductivitat. Aquest fenomen quàntic macroscòpic té aplicacions en el camp de la diagnosi mèdica per MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), que permet obtenir imatges internes detallades del cos humà o en aplicacions científiques com el SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device), amb el que es poden mesurar camps magnètics molt dèbils, amb límits de detecció fins a 10-15 T. Però les aplicacions dels superconductors no es limiten ni molt menys a aquests camps ja que s‟estan fent grans esforços per poder processar cintes superconductores a gran escala per tal de poder aplicar aquest fenomen a cables de conducció elèctrica, motors, generadors, transformadors, etc. Amb això s‟aconseguiria un increment notable de l‟eficiència energètica amb la consegüent disminució de l‟emissió de gasos d‟efecte hivernacle. En aquest projecte, realitzat al grup de Superconductivitat i Nanoestructuració a Gran Escala de l„ICMAB, s‟han fet diversos muntatges experimentals per tal de poder observar i entendre millor el procés de piròlisi d‟una solució precursora de YBCO en forma de capes primes a sobre de diferents substrats. Aquesta etapa és determinant per obtenir en el procés de creixement una capa texturada i d‟ alta densitat de corrent crítica (Jc). Per això s‟ha fet ús d‟un sistema que permet realitzar la piròlisi de forma relativament ràpida mentre s‟enregistra en vídeo l‟evolució de la capa. En totes les mostres pirolitzades s‟ha estudiat la qualitat, textura i morfologia superficial. També s‟ha intentat veure de forma qualitativa el comportament dinàmic dels gasos a dins d‟una cavitat cilíndrica, que és la geometria utilitzada fins ara per créixer cintes superconductores. Finalment s‟han dissenyat diferents tipus de bufadors per tal d‟introduir els gasos de forma transversal i no longitudinal dins del forn tubular durant el tractament tèrmic, fet que dóna lloc a un increment de la superfície superconductora homogènia. El projecte es distribueix en diferents parts. Inicialment es fa una introducció als superconductors d‟alta temperatura així com els mètodes de fabricació actuals de les cintes superconductores. Seguidament s‟expliquen els objectius que pretenem assolir. En un apartat posterior descrivim les tècniques experimentals utilitzades. Seguidament detallem tots els resultats obtinguts junt amb les seves caracteritzacions. Finalment estudiem el impacte ambiental que ha tingut la realització d‟aquest projecte. Detallem el cost del mateix en un pressupost. En tres annexes ampliem alguns subapartats que per manca d‟espai en el text principal no hem pogut desenvolupar.

Plan Andaluz de Atención Integrada a Pacientes con Enfermedades Crónicas

Vigencia del plan 2012-2016. Publicado en la página web de la Consejería de Salud y Bienestar Social: www.juntadeandalucia.es/salud (Consejería de Salud y Bienestar Social / Ciudadanía / Quiénes somos / Planes y Estrategias)

Continuidad de cuidados de enfermería a través de un protocolo asistencial de transferencia

The creation and establishment within the healthcare team of the Primary Healthcare Centre of Baena of a Protocol and Procedures for healthcare that provides a communication tool for nurses enabled the healthcare team to develop a dynamic circuit and at the same time communication with nurses of the Critical Care and Emergency Team (DCCU) assigned to that centre. The created work environment for healthcare included Case Management Nurse, Primary Healthcare Nurse and Critical Care and Emergency Nurse. Thus, nursing assessment and actions for programmed and urgent healthcare, provided the first contact with DCCU nurses and reoriented them for the proposed healthcare plan for the patients, in addition to communicate with the rest of the healthcare team. This article presents the results of continuous nurse healthcare over nine months, applying this protocol.

Comparison of two PCR methods for detection of Leptospira interrogans in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues

In this study we compared two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods using either 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) or 23S rRNA gene primers for the detection of different Leptospira interrogans serovars. The performance of these two methods was assessed using DNA extracted from bovine tissues previously inoculated with several bacterial suspensions. PCR was performed on the same tissues before and after the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedding procedure (FFPE tissues). The 23S rDNA PCR detected all fresh and FFPE positive tissues while the 16S rDNA-based protocol detected primarily the positive fresh tissues. Both methods are specific for pathogenic L. interrogans. The 23S-based PCR method successfully detected Leptospira in four dubious cases of human leptospirosis from archival tissue specimens and one leptospirosis-positive canine specimen. A sensitive method for leptospirosis identification in FFPE tissues would be a useful tool to screen histological specimen archives and gain a better assessment of human leptospirosis prevalence, especially in tropical countries, where large outbreaks can occur following the rainy season.

Event-free survival at 24 months is a robust end point for disease-related outcome in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with immunochemotherapy.

PURPOSE: Studies of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are typically evaluated by using a time-to-event approach with relapse, re-treatment, and death commonly used as the events. We evaluated the timing and type of events in newly diagnosed DLBCL and compared patient outcome with reference population data. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy were prospectively enrolled onto the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Specialized Program of Research Excellence Molecular Epidemiology Resource (MER) and the North Central Cancer Treatment Group NCCTG-N0489 clinical trial from 2002 to 2009. Patient outcomes were evaluated at diagnosis and in the subsets of patients achieving event-free status at 12 months (EFS12) and 24 months (EFS24) from diagnosis. Overall survival was compared with age- and sex-matched population data. Results were replicated in an external validation cohort from the Groupe d'Etude des Lymphomes de l'Adulte (GELA) Lymphome Non Hodgkinien 2003 (LNH2003) program and a registry based in Lyon, France. RESULTS: In all, 767 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL who had a median age of 63 years were enrolled onto the MER and NCCTG studies. At a median follow-up of 60 months (range, 8 to 116 months), 299 patients had an event and 210 patients had died. Patients achieving EFS24 had an overall survival equivalent to that of the age- and sex-matched general population (standardized mortality ratio [SMR], 1.18; P = .25). This result was confirmed in 820 patients from the GELA study and registry in Lyon (SMR, 1.09; P = .71). Simulation studies showed that EFS24 has comparable power to continuous EFS when evaluating clinical trials in DLBCL. CONCLUSION: Patients with DLBCL who achieve EFS24 have a subsequent overall survival equivalent to that of the age- and sex-matched general population. EFS24 will be useful in patient counseling and should be considered as an end point for future studies of newly diagnosed DLBCL.