Search

Objective: This study analyses strategies and attitudes on myopia management reported by eye care practitioners (ECP) from Spain in 2022., Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to ECPs worldwide via the internet through professional associations. The questionnaire was distributed by email to all registered Spanish optician-optometrists. Questions examined awareness of increasing myopia prevalence; perceived efficacy; uptake of available approaches; and reasons preventing further uptake of specific approaches., Results: Of 3,107 practitioners who participated in the study, 380 were Spanish ECPs. Using a 10-point scale, Spanish practitioners reported less concern about increasing pediatric myopia (8.3 ± 1.6) compared to ECP's worldwide (8.5 ± 1.9) (p < 0.001), but similar level of clinical activity in myopia control (7.8 ± 2.3 vs. 7.5 ± 2.5, respectively) (p > 0.05); however, around half of all prescribed treatments were single-vision distance spectacles/contact lenses both in Spain and in most regions, with Spanish practitioners prescribing less single-vision spectacles than African and Asian (p < 0.001), but more than Australasian practitioners (p = 0.04). No significant differences were found between Spain and the other regions in the perceived efficacy of combined therapy, orthokeratology, and outdoor time (p > 0.05), with the former being perceived as the most effective myopia control method followed by orthokeratology. No significant differences were found between Spain and the world's average in factors preventing the prescription of myopia control approaches (p > 0.05). Spanish practitioners reported that embracing myopia management has a positive, but lower impact on customer loyalty, practice revenue and job satisfaction compared with the other regions (all p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Myopia control is increasing, although around half of practitioners still prescribe single-vision distance spectacles/contact lenses to young/progressive myopes. Combined therapy followed by orthokeratology were perceived as the most effective treatments. Embracing myopia management improved patient loyalty and job satisfaction., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest Jacinto Santodomingo-Rubido is a full-time employee of Menicon Co., Ltd. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. Menicon Co., Ltd funded the publication costs of this study., (Copyright © 2023 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Solid organ transplantation (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients are susceptible to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The incidence of refractoriness to antivirals, with or without resistance, is unclear. The purpose of this review was to describe the epidemiology of refractory CMV infection in Spain to understand the current unmet needs., Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and MEDES were searched systematically for relevant articles. We included randomized controlled trials and observational studies published during the period from January 1990 to June 2021., Results: From 212 screened records, we selected 19 papers including 1973 transplant recipients. Refractory infection ranged from 3 to 10% in studies with SOT recipients. The incidence of CMV resistance ranged from 1% to 36% in these patients. The incidence of CMV refractory infection in HSCT recipients ranged from 11 to 50%, while values for resistant infection ranged from 0% to 21%., Conclusion: The wide range of definitions and values observed does not allow us to establish the true incidence of refractory CMV infection with or without resistances in SOT and HSCT patients in Spain. This review highlights the gap between clinical practice and clinical trials' definitions which needed to be updated to be easier followed in current clinical practice., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest This work has been supported by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Spain. D.N. received consultancy fees from Takeda. J.M.A. received funding for acting as speaker in symposia and serving on advisory boards for Takeda, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Roche, GSK, Biotest, Pfizer, Shionogi, Angelini and United Medical. I.D.C.O and C.M. are employees of Takeda. MY is employed by Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research Iberia (PORIB) a consulting company specialized in the economic evaluation of health interventions which received funding from Takeda to carry out this work., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess real-world safety and effectiveness of dapagliflozin in people living with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM)., Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study in Spain including data from 250 people living with T1DM receiving dapagliflozin as add-on therapy to insulin (80.8 % on-label use). The number of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) events was calculated over a 12-month follow-up (primary outcome). Changes in body weight, HbA1c, total daily insulin dose, and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) metrics from baseline (at dapagliflozin prescription) to 12 months were also evaluated., Results: A total of five DKA events (2.4 % [95 % CI 0.3;4.5] were reported in patients with a 12-month follow-up, n = 207): two events related to insulin pump malfunction, two events related to concomitant illnesses, and one event related to insulin dose omission. DKA events were more frequent among insulin pump users than among participants on multiple daily injections (7.7 % versus 1.2 %). Four of the reported DKA events occurred within the first six months after initiation of dapagliflozin. No deaths or persistent sequelae due to DKA were reported. No severe hypoglycemia episodes were reported. Significant reductions in mean body weight (-3.3 kg), HbA1c (-0.6 %), and total daily insulin dose (-8.6 %), P < 0.001, were observed 12 months after dapagliflozin prescription. Significant improvements in TIR (+9.3 %), TAR (-7.2 %), TBR (-2.5 %), and coefficient of variation (-5.1 %), P < 0.001, were also observed in the subgroup of patients with available CGM data. Finally, an improvement in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) was found among participants with UACR ≥ 30 mg/g at baseline (median decrease of 99 mg/g in UACR, P = 0.001)., Conclusion: The use of dapagliflozin in people living with T1DM has an appropriate safety profile after careful selection of participants and implementation of strategies to reduce the risk of DKA (i.e., prescribed according to the recommendations of the European Medicines Agency), and also leads to clinical improvements in this population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Hadron therapy is a radiotherapy modality which offers a precise energy deposition to the tumors and a dose reduction to healthy tissue as compared to conventional methods. However, methods for real-time monitoring are required to ensure that the radiation dose is deposited on the target. The IRIS group of IFIC-Valencia developed a Compton camera prototype for this purpose, intending to image the Prompt Gammas emitted by the tissue during irradiation. The system detectors are composed of Lanthanum (III) bromide scintillator crystals coupled to silicon photomultipliers. After an initial characterization in the laboratory, in order to assess the system capabilities for future experiments in proton therapy centers, different tests were carried out in two facilities: PARTREC (Groningen, The Netherlands) and the CNA cyclotron (Sevilla, Spain). Characterization studies performed at PARTREC indicated that the detectors linearity was improved with respect to the previous version and an energy resolution of 5.2 % FWHM at 511 keV was achieved. Moreover, the imaging capabilities of the system were evaluated with a line source of 68 Ge and a point-like source of 241 Am- 9 Be. Images at 4.439 MeV were obtained from irradiation of a graphite target with an 18 MeV proton beam at CNA, to perform a study of the system potential to detect shifts at different intensities. In this sense, the system was able to distinguish 1 mm variations in the target position at different beam current intensities for measurement times of 1800 and 600 s., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica e Sanitaria. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Airborne pollen can trigger allergic rhinitis and other respiratory diseases in the synthesised population, which makes it one of the most relevant biological contaminants. Therefore, implementing accurate forecast systems is a priority for public health. The current forecast models are generally useful, but they falter when long time series of data are managed. The emergence of new computational techniques such as the LSTM algorithms could constitute a significant improvement for the pollen risk assessment. In this study, several LSTM variants were applied to forecast monthly pollen integrals in Málaga (southern Spain) using meteorological variables as predictors. Olea and Urticaceae pollen types were modelled as proxies of different annual pollen curves, using data from the period 1992-2022. The aims of this study were to determine the LSTM variants with the highest accuracy when forecasting monthly pollen integrals as well as to compare their performance with the traditional pollen forecast methods. The results showed that the CNN-LSTM were the most accurate when forecasting the monthly pollen integrals for both pollen types. Moreover, the traditional forecast methods were outperformed by all the LSTM variants. These findings highlight the importance of implementing LSTM models in pollen forecasting for public health and research applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) levels were measured in representative vegetable oils and animal origin foodstuffs collected in a Total Diet Study carried out in the Valencian Region (Spain). A total amount of 3,300 food samples were collected and grouped into 5 main food groups: vegetable oils, meat and meat products, eggs, milk and dairy products and fish and sea products. The samples were analysed using gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). The food group which presented the highest concentration in wet weight (ww) for the sum of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs was fish and sea products (0.5 pg TEQ g -1 ww), whereas meat and meat products (0.6 pg TEQ g -1 lipid) showed the highest levels expressed in lipid terms. Occurrence data of PCDD/F and dl-PCBs were combined with consumption data to estimate the dietary exposure of adults (>15 years) and children (6-15 years). Finally, the estimated weekly intake (EWI) was calculated using a deterministic approach and considering the food consumption of the population, with fish and sea products being the main food group contributor. Likewise, considering the worst-case scenario (Upper Bound, UB), average EWI were 1.8 and 3.4 pg TEQ kg -1 body weight (bw) week -1 for adults and children, respectively. For children, the average EWI was almost twice above the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 2 pg TEQ kg -1 bw week -1 set by EFSA in 2018. In terms of risk characterisation, the overall obtained results showed that 19 % of adults and 43 % of children may exceed the TWI when using UB., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to analyse the risk to consumers given the presence of heavy metals and bromine in honey from different countries. A probabilistic approach was applied to assess carcinogenic risk. Concerning exposure, Al in Spain (3.3E-04 mg/kgBw/day), B in Dominican Republic and Mexico (2E-04 mg/kgBw/day in both cases) and Fe in Mexico and Mozambique had the highest values (5E-05 and 4.8E-05 mg/kgBw/day). In risk characterisation, the values were less than 1 for hazard index (HI), meaning that the consumption of honey represents a low level of concern for non-genotoxic effects. A combination of margin of exposure and probability of exceedance results that exposure to Pb pose no threat. The probability of suffering cancer for Br, Cd, Ni and Pb was lower than 1.0E-06 and, therefore, considered safe. However, the risk at the 95th percentile of Br in Dominican Republic was 1.18E-04 in adults and 2.45E-04 in children, exceeding 1.0E-04, and therefore, considered intolerable. Finally, the sensitivity analysis indicated that the most influential factor in the HI was the consumption in adults and the concentration of Ni in children, whereas for cancer risk, were the concentrations of Ni, Cd, Br and Pb, in both cases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To describe the self-reported practices on the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) by ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists in Spain to identify potential areas for management optimization., Methods: A cross-sectional online survey with 16 questions was carried out. Recruitment was performed by emailing registered ENT specialists in the Spanish Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (SEORL-CCC)., Results: In total, 127 ENT specialists completed the survey. Fifty-one percent of respondents combined clinical criteria and objective evidence of mucosal inflammation to diagnose CRSwNP. Patient interview and, to a lower degree, a visual analogue scale were the most employed diagnostic tools to quantify symptom severity. Less than half (45%) routinely used the 22-item sino-nasal outcomes test (SNOT-22) to assess the impact of CRSwNP disease in quality of life. The use of patient-reported outcomes and other clinical evaluation tools showed a larger uptake among ENT specialists that worked at an ENT department with an available rhinology unit. Almost all the specialists surveyed (95%) recommended biological treatment, particularly in patients with uncontrolled CRSwNP with respiratory comorbidities (76%), as well as in candidates for revision surgery (66%)., Conclusion: Spanish otorhinolaryngologists showed a trend toward incorporating CRSwNP guideline recommendations in their clinical practice. The observed low uptake of patient-reported outcomes and objective clinical evaluation tools in routine clinical practise have been identified as areas for optimizing the management of patients with CRSwNP., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Fasciolosis caused by Fasciola hepatica is a common parasitic infection among cattle in many countries. Although infected adult cows rarely show overt clinical signs, milk production may be impaired. Thus, significant production losses may occur in dairy herds with a high prevalence of fasciolosis. In this study, Bayesian hierarchical modelling was used to estimate the geospatial distribution of dairy cattle fasciolosis and its impact on milk production. The study was conducted in Galicia, the main milk producing region in Spain and a geographically heterogeneous area. The aims were: 1) to model the geospatial distribution of fasciolosis in dairy herds in the study area, 2) to identify clusters of herds with a high prevalence of fasciolosis, and 3) to assess the effect of fasciolosis on milk yield and quality. A large number of dairy cattle farms (n = 4907), of which 1660 provided production records, were surveyed. Fasciola infection status was determined by applying the MM3-SERO ELISA test to bulk tank milk samples. A high probability of infection was predicted in several zones, particularly in the centre, northeast and southeast of Galicia. Conversely, the predicted probability was very low in some parts of the northwest of the region. Infections with high within-herd prevalence (> 25% lactating cows infected) predominated. High within-herd prevalence was associated with loss of milk production (-1.387 kg/cow/ day, on average). No association between Fasciola infection and either milk fat or protein content was observed. This study has generated the first maps of the spatial distribution of the probability of Fasciola infection in dairy cattle herds in Galicia. The maps presented here can be used for reference purposes, enabling the design of better targeted fasciolosis control programmes in the region. Use of Bayesian hierarchical statistical analysis enabled us to ascertain the uncertainty of the predictions and to account for the spatial autocorrelation in the data. It also enabled us to generate maps showing the residual spatial variation in milk production, a topic that may deserve more detailed study., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Higher maternal resources have long been associated with superior birth outcomes. This study analyzes the potentially protective role of maternal educational selection into fertility in adverse macroeconomic contexts. We focus on the case of Spain, a country reaching record-high unemployment levels during the Great Recession starting in 2008. First, we examine whether selection into fertility of more educated mothers took place as province-level unemployment rates rose. Secondly, we assess whether maternal education mitigated the impact of higher unemployment levels on different birth outcomes. The analysis combines register data on the universe of live births with aggregate data on province-level unemployment. We cover the period 2007-2019 to ensure sufficient variability of unemployment rates and perform linear regression and linear probability models with fixed effects to hold constant unobserved heterogeneity across provinces. Findings indicate selection into fertility of mothers with university-level education in times of high unemployment. In addition, while unemployment rates did show an adverse impact on certain birth outcomes -birthweight, the occurrence of low and very low birthweight, and the risk of stillbirth - maternal education mitigated the observed relations. It was itself, moreover, consistently and independently associated with better perinatal health. We thus conclude that fertility selectivity by maternal education cushioned the impact of the adverse economic context derived from the Great Recession through two separate pathways., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This work constitutes the first survey that allows the establishment of baseline levels of environmental radioactivity in beach sands from the volcanic oceanic islands of La Graciosa, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. Activity concentration values of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K were measured by gamma spectroscopy in 108 samples, collected from 39 beaches across the whole study region. The radiological hazard risks associated with these sands were studied. The mean absorbed dose rate in the study region was 20 nGy h -1 , which is below the world average value. The mean outdoor annual effective dose for the beaches studied was 0.025 mSv y -1 , which is within the internationally accepted safe limit. Additionally, the assessment of the radium equivalent showed that all samples from the Eastern Canary Islands are below the safe limit of 370 Bq kg -1 . Despite not posing any radiological risk to the human population, the radiological hazard indices obtained in Gran Canaria were significantly higher than those of other islands. These significant differences seem to be related to the presence of sediments in the beaches of Gran Canaria that have their origin in lithologies with higher activity concentration values of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K that are not present in the rest of the islands., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluate the effects of four organic soil amendments on soil. Physical, chemical and biochemical properties were compared to untreated and natural (not cultivated) soils in a semiarid region (Andalusia, Spain). A large set of physical, chemical biochemical properties and, the composition of bacterial communities; and overall soil quality index (SQI) were evaluated on soils treated with organic soil amendments of animal origin (compost from sheep and cow manure [CS] or chicken manure, [CK], vegetal origin (greenhouse crop residues [CC]), and vermicompost (CV). Immediately after application, the animal origin compost significantly increased pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and total nitrogen (TN) as well as the enzymatic activities associated with the carbon (C) cycle but decreased the richness and evenness of bacterial communities. After 3 months of treatment, all measured properties recovered except for EC, TN and dehydrogenase activity (whose increase was stable over time), as did bacterial richness, which remained lower. The vegetal-originating compost increased EC and pH whereas the other effects were not significant throughout the monitoring period. CV application did not affect soil properties. The SQI was the highest for soils treated with CK compost, both immediately after application and over time. The soil treatments with the other organic amendments did not result in a significantly different SQI over time compared to both untreated and natural sites., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In addressing the agricultural challenges posed by climate change, the use of biofertilizers, derived from living organisms, promotes environmentally friendly crop cultivation, and represents an adaptive strategy for sustainable agriculture in the face of climate uncertainty. Careful selection of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) would represent a crucial step in mycorrhizal inoculation, considering the varying levels of compatibility between the AMF and the host plant. This study aimed to assess the impact of two AMF species that are prevalent in citrus soils of south-eastern Spain (Rhizophagus irregularis and Funneliformis mosseae) on the Citrus aurantium seedlings' behavior. Sour-orange plants showed a high mycorrhizal dependence regardless of the specific AMF species. Both R. irregularis and F. mosseae fungi exhibited high colonization percentages, with R. irregularis outperforming F. mosseae in root colonization. Inoculation with both AMF yielded notable growth improvements, but R. irregularis exhibited higher positive effects in the long term. The heightened P nutrition and increased chlorophyll concentration significantly enhanced the performance of AMF-inoculated plants. With F. mosseae, plants showed more pronounced improvements in P nutrition and a stronger correlation of their dry mass with P concentration; however, in general, inoculation with R. irregularis produced a higher sour-orange-plant performance. Both R. irregularis and F. mosseae fungi produced strong positive effects in sour-orange growth, which positioned them as viable biofertilizer options. These results can contribute to enhancing understanding for the development of an improved design of biofertilizers used in regions that are vulnerable to climate change, such as south-eastern Spain. This promotes a shift towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices by reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far in the literature, the two-parameter Weibull distribution and its other extensions are frequently implemented to analyze the wind speed energy data sets. However, based on our study of the literature, there is no published work about analyzing the wind speed energy data sets using new probability distributions that are developed via trigonometric functions. In this paper, I attempt to cover this amazing and interesting research gap. Therefore, I incorporate a trigonometric function, especially, the sine function to introduce a new statistical distributional method. The proposed method is called a new modified sine- G family of distributions. Some distributional properties of the new modified sine- G method are obtained. Using the new modified sine- G method, a new extension of the Weibull distribution called a new modified sine-Weibull distribution is studied. The new modified sine-Weibull distribution is applied to analyze four wind speed energy data sets. All three data sets are taken from the weather station at Sotavento Galicia in the Canary Islands, Spain, located at 43.3544 North and 7.8812 West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the extent to which two factors—social networks and the severity of the scarcity of a common property resource—affect norm‐complying behavior that favors cooperation. It assumes that those who comply with the social norm exercise social pressure on defectors. We develop an analytical framework that allows us to determine the minimum (maximum) share of norm‐complying agents at which social networks start (stop) having an influence on cooperation. Knowing these shares allows policymakers to identify the conditions under which legal and/or informal enforcement policies for cooperation are effective and how different types of social networks affect the design of these policies. We find that stable steady states exist in which compliers and defectors coexist (partial cooperation), but the stability of such states requires that the costs of coordination among compliers to exercise social pressure are high. Full cooperation is another possible steady state but is unlikely to prevail if the agents do not perceive the scarcity of the common property resource as severe. A numerical study, empirically calibrated for an aquifer in Spain, shows that subsidizing the compliers' costs of exerting social pressure may impede the attainment of a steady state based on partial cooperation. Although social networks can promote cooperation, their influence is limited. The minimum share of compliers for attaining cooperation can be reduced by informal enforcement policies by not more than 26%. We show that combinations of different types of informal enforcement policies should be applied cautiously because they may cancel each other out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Analecta Política is the property of Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Dairy goat farming in Andalusia is diverse and predominantly family-based and presents particularities in terms of its economic strategies that require a specific approach. For this reason, in the context of climatic and energy crises that have a decisive influence on the activity, it has been considered relevant to deepen the knowledge of the economic and energy profiles of the different goat production systems, filling an information gap that existed. For this purpose, twenty-one farms, representatives of the dairy goat system diversity in Andalusia, were monitored for one year, obtaining technical-economic information that allowed the calculation of different energy and economic indicators. The results of this work demonstrate that, from an energetic point of view, goat farms that base their feeding strategies on grazing and make optimal use of natural resources are more efficient than models based on permanent stabling. This greater environmental sustainability derived from extensification is penalized by the markets, which give priority to intensive models with greater milk production and less food autonomy. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that extensification strategies are capable of remunerating family labor and can, therefore, be economically viable, provided that support from the Common Agricultural Policy is included in the analyses. The family-owned dairy goat sector in Andalusia presents great diversity. Taking into account the particularities of their economic strategies, which are focused on generating net value added and a stable long-term remuneration for family labor, this work aims to expand the scarce existing knowledge on the energetic and economic profiles of the different caprine management systems in a context of climate and energy crisis. For this purpose, twenty-one farms, representatives of the four typologies of the Andalusian dairy goat system, were monitored for one year: pastoral systems, grazing systems with high feed supply, indoor systems with associated crops, and indoor systems without associated crops. Technical-economic information was obtained that allowed the calculation of energy and economic indicators. In terms of socialized output, the differences found were due to the energy derived from milk sales, which was clearly lower in pastoral systems. The higher proportion of energy output obtained from manure with respect to edible products (milk and meat) highlights the importance of the former in energetic terms. High values for external inputs are found in the intensive group (111.22 GJ LSU−1), while the lowest results correspond to the pastoral group (36.96 GJ LSU−1). The main external input is the energy proceeding from purchased feed, which accounts for over 79% of the total external energy input in all four groups. The highest energy efficiency corresponds to the pastoral group, which is also the most efficient one in the use of non-renewable energy to produce milk and meat. Additionally, the level of eco-efficiency is higher in pastoral systems. Common Agricultural Policy funds contribute to increasing the remuneration of family work in pastoral systems, assimilating it to the rest of the systems. Therefore, intensification does not imply an absolute monetary advantage in all cases, while extensification can be remunerative for family-owned dairy farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) is applied to obtain thresholds in certain variables to classify the regions into regimes (high or low). Data for the regions of Spain over the period 1986–2010 are used. In general, the results point to a positive (negative) relationship between fiscal (administrative) decentralization and economic growth in regions with low public infrastructure stock per efficient worker and high human capital per worker. In addition, in regions with low (high) total factor productivity, expenditure (revenue) decentralization is positively (negatively) correlated with economic growth. The results are fairly robust to different specifications and estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with impaired glycemic control and a higher risk of vascular complications, such as diabetic retinopathy. However, the effect of apnea-hypopnea suppression on retinal disease progression is unclear. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the reduction of retinal lesions in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and OSA. Methods: This open-label, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted between October 2016 and February 2020 at a university hospital in Spain. The date of final follow-up was March 2, 2021. Eighty-three patients with OSA and mild to moderate NPDR receiving stable treatment were randomized to receive CPAP and usual care (43 patients with 79 available eyes) or usual care alone (40 patients with 67 available eyes) for 52 weeks. The primary outcomes were the change in the percentage of eyes with retinal exudates and the number of retinal microhemorrhages from baseline to week 52. We also assessed the effects of both interventions on retinal thickness by means of optical coherence tomography, serum concentrations of glycated hemoglobin, blood pressure, lipid concentrations, sleepiness, and quality of life. Results: Fifty-two weeks of CPAP treatment was associated with reductions from baseline in the percentage of eyes with hard exudates (overall difference, 221.7%; P = 0.035) and in optical coherence tomography indices of retinal edema, including central subfield thickness and cube volume. However, in patients who met prespecified criteria for CPAP adherence, treatment was also associated with a higher number of retinal microhemorrhages at 52weeks (intergroup adjusted difference, 6.0 [95% confidence interval, 0.6-11.5]; P = 0.029), which was directly related to prescribed pressure levels. CPAP treatment also improved glycemic control, sleepiness, and general health-related quality of life. Conclusions: In patients with OSA and NPDR, long-term CPAP treatment in addition to usual care may result in slower progression of retinal disease, although it could also induce an increase in retinal microhemorrhages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adjustment of government redistributive policies in Scandinavian and Mediterranean countries following changes in income inequality over the period 1980–2021. Design/methodology/approach: The authors first modelled the time-varying dynamics between income inequality and redistribution and then used a non-linear framework to test for the existence of asymmetries and cointegration in their long-run relationship. The authors used two complementary measures of inequality – the share of total income accruing to top percentile income holders and the ratio of the share of total income accruing to top decile income holders divided by that accumulated by the bottom 50% – and computed redistribution as the difference between the two inequality indicators before and after taxes and transfers. Findings: The authors found that the sign of the relationship between income inequality and redistribution is mostly positive and time-varying. Overall, the authors also found evidence that the impact of increases in inequality on redistributive measures is higher than that of decreases. Finally, the authors obtained a significant long-run relationship between both variables in all countries except Denmark and Spain. These results hold for both Scandinavian and Mediterranean countries. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to account for the potential existence of non-linearities and to examine the asymmetries in the adjustment of redistributive policies to increases in income inequality using alternative income inequality metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a sequentially restored cross-section of the Organyà and Montsec minibasins based on geological mapping, new field observations and available borehole data. The main objective was to describe the geometry and evolution of both basins in terms of salt tectonics and minibasin mobility. To this end, a comprehensive palaeomagnetic database has been used to constrain vertical-axis rotations potentially related to minibasin translation and pivoting. The Organyà minibasin constitutes an asymmetric depocentre formed during the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous by translation above a southerly inclined salt layer. Salt evacuation and minibasin touchdown induced salt accumulation on the northern side of the basin that culminated in the development of the major Santa Fe unconformity during the late Albian--early Cenomanian. Indicative of salt quiescence is the following isopachous Cenomanian to lower Santonian sequence Salt tectonics resumed during the late Santonian--Palaeocene, with the Montsec minibasin downbuilding coinciding with the onset of Pyrenean convergence. Changes of the base-salt topography reflects regional-scale geodynamic processes. The acceleration of crustal thinning in the North Pyrenean zone during the late Albian-early Cenomanian favoured uplift in the Axial Zone, increasing slope and triggering salt mobilization in the Southern Pyrenees. Likewise, the onset of contraction renewed the downslope gliding of the Organyà and Montsec minbasins, and supports the idea that the early stages of basin inversion were governed by gravity tectonics. The kinematic reconstruction suggests that the more that 30° counterclockwise vertical axis rotation records pivoting during the suprasalt translation of the Organyà minibasin rather than solely the Iberian microplate rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor sleep quality is prevalent in older people and impairs their quality of life. Various studies show an association between sleep disorders and altered levels of inflammatory cytokines. The cytokine IL-1β has been shown to display both somnogenic and insomnia-promoting effects in experimental animals. Objectives: to evaluate the relationship between insomnia and salivary IL-1β concentration and the role of associated factors such as the symptoms of depression, use of hypnotics, intake of caffeinated beverages, smoking, and alcohol use in older individuals. An analytical, cross-sectional, observational research was carried out with a population of community-dwelling individuals over 60 years of age in Valencia (Spain). Sleep quality was measured with the Athens insomnia scale (AIS) and depressive symptoms with Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Results: 287 individuals participated in the study (mean age 74.08 years (76.7% women). 41.5% of the participants had insomnia, 36.9% took drugs for sleep problems, and 32.4% had relevant depressive symptoms. There was a significant inverse correlation between the IL-1β and total AIS score (rho = −0.302, p < 0.001), the sleep difficulty subdomain (rho = −0.259, p < 0.001), and the daytime sleepiness subdomain (rho = −0.322, p < 0.001). No significant correlation was observed between GDS and salivary IL-1β concentration. The IL-1β concentration was significantly lower in individuals taking drugs for sleeping compared with those not taking those drugs (1.11 ± 0.09 and 1.48 ± 0.08, respectively; p = 0.001). Regarding the AIS score, there was no significant difference in marital status, smoking, or the number of cups of tea or cola drinks, but there was a significant association with alcohol intake (p = 0.019) and in the number of daily intakes of coffee (p = 0.030). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of IL-1β for diagnosis of moderate-severe insomnia showed an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.78 (95% confidence interval 0.71–0.85). At the cut-off of 0.83 pg/µL of Il-1β, it had a sensitivity of 70.3% and a specificity of 69.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer is currently the most prevalent malignancy among women. Psychological resilience is an important factor that diminishes the stress-related emotional and psychosocial disturbances triggered when receiving the diagnosis. Furthermore, resilience appears to be associated with cortisol, the hormonal end-product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; however, further studies are needed due to the mixed results reported. Thus, we aim to examine the predictive role of social support and cortisol in resilience among breast cancer patients. Methods: A total of 132 women with primary breast cancer completed the Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) and the Resilience Scale (RS-14) and provided four salivary samples for the estimation of participants' total daily cortisol production, for which the formula of the area under the curve with respect to the ground (AUCg) was applied. Moderation analyses were performed to study the influence of social support and AUCg on psychological resilience levels. Results: The regression analyses showed a direct significant effect for the emotional support subscale of MOS-SSS on resilience and the interaction between emotional support and AUCg was also found to be statistically significant. Specifically, the conditional effect of emotional support on resilience was found to be significant at middle (M = 3.08; p <.05) and low levels (M =.59; p <.001) of AUCg. Conclusions: Our results suggest that newly diagnosed breast cancer women with middle and low diurnal cortisol profiles may benefit more from emotional support based-interventions while women with high diurnal cortisol may need more individualized therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International large-scale assessments have gained much attention since the beginning of the twenty-first century, influencing education legislation in many countries. This includes Spain, where they have been used by successive governments to justify education policy change. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the PISA 2018 reading scores for this country, meaning the OECD refused to initially release the results. Therefore, in this paper we attempt to estimate the likely PISA 2018 reading scores for Spain, and for each region within. The figure finally published by the OECD for Spain - in terms of reading scores - was 476.5 points, which is between the lower and upper bound of the interval we find (475 to 483 test points in 2018). Additionally, we report some robustness checks for the OCED countries participating in PISA 2018, which show that the difference between the actual scores and the ones we found with the imputation methods are quite close.

The increasing use of digital resources has changed the way of teaching, where platforms such as YouTube offer large repositories of educational videos. There are many theoretical studies that analyse the digital competences of teachers, but to a lesser extent on the behaviours and use that the teacher makes of this multimedia platform. Thus, the purpose of this study is the development of an instrument in which it is analysed how the behavioural intention of teachers on YouTube impacts their digital competence to search and select information, share information, and interact with other users of the platform, and create educational material. To achieve this, following the partial least squares (PLS) method of structural equation models, a higher‐order causal model was proposed based on an adaptation and extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The study was carried out with a sample of 2157 teachers from all over Spain. The main result was that behavioural intention explained 22.70% of the true variance of teachers' digital competence. In addition, it has been possible to verify the reliability, convergent and discriminant validity of the established causal relationships, determining a model with acceptable goodness‐of‐fit. These findings show that it is a valid and reliable instrument to measure teachers' digital competences on YouTube, behavioural intention, and the system of relationships between factors. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Teachers can use YouTube to search and create creative and innovative educational lessons.The teacher must have adequate digital competence to search, select, evaluate, and effectively use the content of this platform in the classroom.The four central predictors of the UTAUT model (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) allow to explain and predict the adoption and use of ICT in different contexts.What this paper adds The elaboration of an instrument on the digital competences of the teacher on the use of YouTube as a didactic resource, based on an extended model of UTAUT.Identification of the factors with the greatest incidence on the behavioral intention of the teacher to use YouTube as an educational resource.Identification of how the behavioral intention and the ease of the conditions determine the use of YouTube by teachers to search for educational content, share it or create it by themselves.Implications for practice and/or policy Extensive information on the factors that teachers should pay attention to improve their behavioral intention to use YouTube as a teaching resource.The need to promote improvement policies on technological and digital conditions which will affect the digital competence of the teacher for the usability of YouTube as a more visual, verbal, and interactive educational process.Educational institutions should better prepare teachers for their role as innovative teachers, providing them with adequate digital skills in relation to the use of YouTube as a teaching resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green areas and parks are places where people's quality of life improves, places of recreation and relaxation, in which to carry out various social activities. Among these, the historic gardens represent the union between green areas and historic architecture. Light is considered one of the main factors influencing the perception of such spaces at night; therefore, lighting solutions should be properly balanced. Immersive virtual reality is a tool that allows for lighting design management from different viewpoints. This study investigates how the lighting of a monumental garden affects people's perception of its architecture at night. With this aim, a detailed 3D model of the western part of Escorial's monumental complex in Spain was built in DIALux evo 11 and Unreal Engine 4.27 and used to propose six different lighting scenarios. Participants viewed the scenarios through a head-mounted display and provided subjective feedback on the perceived light strength of the environment and architecture. Results highlight that illuminating surrounding areas affects the environment and building perception, as well as the order in which elements capture observer attention. In particular, lit elements between the observer and the façade can reduce façade importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bullring of Ronda, one of the oldest in Spain, declared in 1993 as an Asset of Cultural Interest, occupies a paramount place among the buildings of its type thanks to its outstanding beauty. Its configuration as an open-air enclosure with a circular floor plan, as an evocation of the ancient Roman amphitheaters, and its interior with galleries on two levels that house the audience play a fundamental role in the acoustic energy decay and diffusion of the space. The link between architecture and acoustics of the Ronda bullring has been carried out by using on-site measurements and simulation techniques. To this end, an acoustic model is created, which is adjusted by taking the set of 3D impulse responses recorded on-site. The presence of the public and the various sound sources that exist during the bullfight itself are analyzed in the simulations, whereby the conditions of occupation and vacancy are compared, as are the variations due to the location of the sources. Finally, speech intelligibility conditions are simulated with a human directivity source. The precision of the virtual acoustic model enables the sound architecture of this singular space to be ascertained and preserved, thereby incorporating sound as an associated intangible heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the processes of change in the study of the integration of immigrants in Spain, specifically in Castilla y León, their religiosity and the meaning of religion in their integration. The majority of immigrants residing in Spain declare themselves to be believers and practitioners of their religion, hence knowing about coexistence and their religious practices. A quantitative/qualitative study is used as it helps us to understand the relationship between the importance of religion and social participation as a factor of integration. From the study it is extracted, the low tendency to the relations with other cultures and the little social and cultural participation, makes difficult the integration of some ethnic/religious groups. Religiosity increases as integration decreases, this is a consequence of people locking themselves into their ethnic/religious group. Muslims have more difficulties integrating, mainly due to cultural and religious differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the Leave No One Behind principle of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the context of the Agenda 2030 is currently prevalent; however, research on monitoring child poverty at the sub-national (local) level is still limited. This paper addresses this gap by examining indicators developed for monitoring the phenomenon at different territorial levels (global, European, and national) and assessing their territorial transposition locally, using the city of Cadiz, Spain, as a case study. Interviews with local stakeholders reveal that despite the availability and access to related indicators and data, relevant actors must enhance their efforts to utilize such indicators effectively. Based on desktop research and qualitative analysis, the paper delivers recommendations for improving local monitoring of child poverty in Europe and inducing policy changes. This knowledge can inform targeted interventions, policy formulation, and resource allocation to tackle child poverty and promote equitable and inclusive societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze at what extent the connectivity of small localities is a determinant of their demography. Specifically, we pay attention to three factors: the evolution of the population; the distance, measured both in kilometres and travel time, to the province capital, the usual city where the largest set of services is available; and finally, the coverage of different kinds of broadband services (from ADSL or 3.5 G to the fastest ones FTTH) in rural areas. An econometric model was estimated where the dependent variable captures the increase of inhabitants along 2017–2020 of the 5955 Spanish municipalities with a population between 101 and 10,000 inhabitants (73.3 % of all municipalities). The results point out to the following facts: digital connectivity of small localities is a determinant of their demography, whatever the technology used, but physical distance remains being a significant factor on the population growth (both if it is measured of physical distance or travelling time) to explain the population growth of each locality. • Digital connectivity of small localities is a determinant of their demography. • Internet connections are a new communication channel to promote/deter depopulation in rural areas. • Internet access is positively correlated with population growth in small/medium populations. • The distance to the provincial capital continues to be a factor that slows down population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last deglaciation is the most recent relatively well-documented period of pronounced and fast climate warming, and, as such, it holds important information for our understanding of the climate system. Notably, while research into terrestrial organic carbon reservoirs has been instrumental in exploring the possible sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide during periods of rapid change, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we investigate the mobilization of organic matter to the Bay of Biscay, located in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of France and Spain. Specifically, we focus on the area that was the mouth of the Channel River during the last deglaciation, where an enhanced terrigenous input has been reported for the last glacial–interglacial transition. We conducted a comprehensive suite of biomarker analyses (e.g. n-alkanes, hopanes and n-alkanoic acids) and isotopic investigations (radiocarbon dating and δ13 C measurements) on a high-resolution sedimentary archive. The present study provides the first direct evidence for the fluvial supply of immature and ancient terrestrial organic matter to the core location. Moreover, our results reveal the possibility of permafrost carbon export to the ocean, driven by processes such as deglacial warming and glacial erosion. These findings are consistent with observations from other regions characterized by present or past permafrost conditions on land, which have shown that permafrost thaw and glacial erosion can lead to carbon remobilization, potentially influencing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent and spread of social networking sites have been the object of study of most of the research performed on political communication over the past 25 years. However, more recent inquiries have indicated that the political establishment still has not fully exploited the interactive potential of these media. Against this backdrop, this paper presents the results of a systematic study of the communication between the main political parties in Andalusia (the most populous region in Spain) and the citizenry on Twitter, with the aim of confirming whether or not it is really interactive and participatory. To this end, the spotlight is placed here on those parties most active online and on the way in which they foster interactivity, the subjects that they broach and the functions of their messages. The data were obtained from a content analysis of the tweets (n = 10,729) posted on the official profiles of the main Andalusian parties in 2020. The results indicate that there was no interactive communication with the citizenry, despite the fact that they were in much need of reassurance owing to the unprecedented situation to which the COVID-19 pandemic had given rise. The Andalusian political parties still use social networking sites for the one-way dissemination of information, which shows that they are not, in practice, horizontal and participatory spaces of communication, as the cyber-optimists, defending the innovation hypothesis, predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although concepts such as research without borders have become more commonplace in recent decades, few studies have investigated the capabilities that global researchers require to cross both cultural and disciplinary borders. This paper explores global capabilities along with strategies and spaces that may facilitate academic researchers' acquisition and development of global research competence. The study's dataset comprises responses of 26 participants across 15 countries -- all of whom are members of a specific comparative education society -- who contributed their views via e-questionnaire. Findings indicate that research capacity building is a dynamic process and global competence calls for complex skills and conscious attitudes. Commitment to expand scientific curiosity beyond one's own culture and academic discipline appears to be a main criterion in achieving global competence. Results of this study are not meant to be prescriptive but rather exploratory and informative for a broad group of academic stakeholders.

Do violence during a civil war and its aftermath leave a mark on political behaviour? In this article I study how violence perpetrated by the left and repression by the right during and after the Spanish Civil War shaped vote choice and turnout in 1977, in the first legislative election after a 40 year dictatorship. I argue that the effect of repression travels over time when actions are perpetrated by clearly identifiable antagonistic actors. By using a dataset that captures the intensity and the type of violence, results indicate that repression perpetrated by the Francoist dictatorship during and after the conflict had a positive and significant effect on left-wing support in 1977. Results are consistent across different indicators, such as religious violence, distance to mass graves or sanctions to teachers, confirming that violence triggered greater support for the political left. In contrast, results show no relationship between repression and turnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves deeply into the creative pedagogies which support cutting edge digital STEAM practice across primary and secondary school settings. It contextualises the research within current STEAM agendas including transdisciplinarity, and STEAM and technology and goes on to offer insight from the novel context of ocean learning to develop and extend a theorisation of creative pedagogies as entwining both creative teaching and teaching for creativity as embodied, democratic, dialogic and material processes. Intra-action between theory, praxis, nature, culture, the digital and humans enables an emergent perspective about changing the dynamics of power to develop ocean or environmental learning and related activism. Derived from research into an ocean education project, which aimed to develop students' ocean literacy through the combined educative principles of creative pedagogies and digital technologies (Augmented and Virtual Realities), the research draws on data from six projects across primary and secondary school settings in Denmark, Spain and England. It used a "diffractive" analytic technique, inspired by new materialist theory, to explore the messy mixtures of natural, cultural and technological environments that were being learned through. This involved the development of four material-dialogic assemblages each including diffractive switches. Each is presented first through a "piece" which demonstrates each assemblage's connection to the core question, followed by "ripples," which briefly articulate the new learning and questions arising from that assemblage. The four assemblages cover the irresistibility of making kin, the relationships between lively bodies and virtual environments, the importance of spacetimematter in environmental edu-activism and trajectories between transience, stability and dialogic space. The paper leaves the reader/engager with a selection of prompts to highlight the research's contribution to current STEAM agendas related to changing power dynamics, and to provoke reader/engagers' own practices. These can include new pedagogies and activisms, as well as theoretical developments to the combined educative principles of creative pedagogies and digital technologies within STEAM education.

This paper compiles the data regarding the first occurrence of Oithona davisae and O. atlantica in NW Spain, which is supported by morphological and molecular analysis. Additionally, we investigated the seasonal dynamics of the invasive O. davisae, revealing that its abundance is conditioned by upwelling-downwelling patterns in the Rías Baixas of Galicia. Temperature was the most correlated factor, with higher abundances in upwelling relaxation-downwelling events. More studies in long-term zooplankton dynamics and molecular analysis are needed to determine if O. davisae is displacing other native species of the same genus, such as O. atlantica, in Galician waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Inclusion of temporal data can improve detection F 1 -Score by 8% • Infrared bands provide about 4% more F 1 -Score than visible bands despite lower resolution • Using over 80 features provides an increase of about 12% F 1 -Score over using less than 10. • The proposed method successfully detects all test plots with nearly 90% F 1 -Score • A dataset of recent manure application, verified through on-site validation, is made public. The use of manure in agricultural fields during the wet season can lead to environmental pollution by releasing nitrates into nearby water sources. To address this issue, authorities may impose closed periods during which manure application is prohibited. However, ensuring compliance with these regulations can be challenging, as it is difficult to monitor all fields in a country. To tackle this problem, a solution has been proposed that involves employing machine learning techniques in conjunction with satellite imagery to automatically identify freshly manured fields. This paper investigates the relationship and effectiveness of the Sentinel-2 satellite bands and 51 frequently utilized multispectral indices in the context of precision agriculture, by exploring different feature selection methods. The proposed method achieves nearly 90% F 1 -Score and detects all test plots of the northern Spanish region, showing its potential for large-scale use in precision agriculture and environmental monitoring. This method incorporates temporal data, resulting in an 8% improvement in the detection F 1 -Score. Despite their lower spatial resolution, infrared bands have proven to be more effective than visible bands, enhancing the F 1 -Score by 4%. Furthermore, the use of over 80 features contributes to a 12% increase in the F 1 -Score compared to using fewer than 10 features. For further research and future studies, a dataset of recently manured plots, verified on-site, has been developed and made publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometric analysis is an effective method to gain a detailed overview of trends in the labor force, with a focus on active aging. This approach examines relevant scientific publications to identify trends, key authors, frequently used terms and, last but not least, important contributions to the field. The specific area of workforce and active aging focuses on the relationship between the process of population aging and its impact on the workforce. The focus here is on how older people can remain active and productive in the labor market, including by adapting skills and implementing policies and practices that facilitate employment and retention. In order to carry out this study, articles on workforce and active aging were identified using data available on the Web of Science. Although the results of the study show that, unlike other topics, a relatively small number of studies were identified in the Web of Science for workforce and active aging, research in this area is increasing, particularly in the USA and Spain. This approach provides a basis for the analysis and interpretation of workforce developments in the context of active aging. It enables a deeper understanding of workforce work with a focus on active aging and can serve as a basis for sound research and policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analysed the presence and influence of educational mismatch in the service and industry sectors in Spain, due to the lack of studies of this phenomenon in the latter sector. We also analyse its effect on wages and its role in creating a gender wage gap in the returns to a set of professional and personal characteristics. The heterogeneity in the improvement of workers' qualifications between sectors in Spain and the lack of studies of this phenomenon in the industrial sector motivates interest in this comparative research between industry and services, which includes a gender perspective, given the interest of this topic in wage studies. To this end, an extension of the Mincer wage equation was applied to data from the 2018 Wages Structure Survey conducted by the Spanish National Statistics Institute. The results suggest that educational mismatch has a greater impact on women's wages in the service sector than on those in the industrial sector and on men's wages in both sectors. We also found wage differences in the returns to a set of professional and personal characteristics that suggest that the gender wage gap is greater in the service sector than in the industrial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Messaging platforms are applications, generally mediated by an app, desktop program or the web, mainly used for synchronous communication among users. As such, they have been widely adopted officially by higher education establishments, after little or no study of their impact and perception by the teachers. We think that the introduction of these new tools and the opportunities and challenges they have needs to be studied carefully in order to adopt the model, as well as the tool, that is the most adequate for all parties involved. We already studied the perception of these tools by students, in this paper we examine the teachers' experiences and perceptions through a survey that we validated with peers, and what they think these tools should make or serve so that it enhances students learning and helps them achieve their learning objectives. The survey has been distributed among tertiary education teachers, both in universitary and other kind of tertiary establishments, based in Spain (mainly) and Spanish-speaking countries. We have focused on collecting teachers' preferences and opinions on the introduction of messaging platforms in their day-to-day work, as well as other services attached to them, such as chatbots. What we intend with this survey is to understand their needs and to gather information about the various educational use cases where these tools could be valuable. In addition, an analysis of how and when teachers' opinions towards the use of these tools varies across gender, experience, and their discipline of specialization is presented. The key findings of this study highlight the factors that can contribute to the advancement of the adoption of messaging platforms and chatbots in higher education institutions to achieve the desired learning outcomes.

Educational systems have the common objective of coordinating efforts to improve students' communicative competence and facilitate the development of their oral and written language skills for personal, social, academic, and professional purposes. The work on communicative competence from a school perspective has various antecedents in the international educational context. In Spain, the improvement of students' linguistic communication competence in all the languages spoken in the schools (mother languages and second languages) has been addressed through different initiatives, among which the SLP (School Language Project) programme, better known in Spanish as Proyecto Lingüístico de Centro (PLC), which has been implemented in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia since the 2013–2014 academic year, stands out. The aim of this paper is to examine the opinions of the teacher coordinators involved in the implementation of SLP in their schools as well as their perceptions about the impact of external factors in the process and, lastly, to highlight the main implications emerging from this global vision for the implementation of interdisciplinary projects to improve LCC (Linguistic Communication Competence) schools. This study is based on the feedback provided by the coordinators of the SLP initiative in Andalusian institutions over five academic years. The findings have been studied utilising a qualitative methodology and assessed using the Atlas Ti 6.0 software, then grouped into five diverse categories. The results indicate that, despite the programme's strengths, specific improvement measures are necessary in both external and internal aspects related to SLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is a wide diversity of project-based learning instructional designs presented as "STEAM projects". However, it is essential to evaluate if all these STEAM projects align their learning objectives and activities with the intended STEAM competences. This paper aims to characterize the impact of the STEAM educational approach through the analysis of contemporary STEAM projects implemented in five Spanish secondary schools from a curricular perspective based on STEM practices. A dataset comprising 46 secondary school STEAM projects implemented in Spain was evaluated using STEM project-based learningrubric, considering 21 evaluation criteria. The findings reveal an imbalance in the sophistication of STEAM projects concerning Science and Technology disciplinary-linked criteria and meta-disciplinary-linked criteria within this framework. These results enable the mapping and highlighting of the fact that not all STEAM projects equally serve their intended educational purposes or integrate all their features with the same level of sophistication. Curriculum organizations from different secondary school levels are also pointing out notable differences regarding how they address STEM competence. Acknowledging these differences and challenges in further initiatives of STEAM PBL instructional designs could support their design. By identifying areas of improvement, educators can optimize the impact of these projects on fostering STEAM competences among students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness (EDI) in the engineering disciplines in Canada and Spain and presents the challenges faced by underrepresented individuals and ways to promote an inclusive and diverse environment. Two strategic lines are identified: (a) facilitating university education access to underrepresented and minority groups and (b) guiding such students during university training to set them up for successful future careers. Accordingly, this article shows how the strategies mentioned above are implemented in some selected Canadian and Spanish universities, clearly distinguishing the approach taken in the two countries. In Canada, there is a more decentralized approach to addressing EDI issues, wherein the universities devise their agendas independently. In Spain, on the other hand, there is a stronger and more direct involvement of the government to ensure a comprehensive, system-wide approach to tackling EDI issues in academia. This article helps education policymakers to devise and implement pragmatic strategies for achieving EDI and the relevant UN-defined sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Lesson Study on reconstructing students' practical knowledge during initial training as prospecting teachers. This case study sets out the voice and opinions of a student taking part in a lesson study process. The aim was to further understand how the student's opinions around teaching change both during and after her involvement in the different phases of Lesson Study. Information was obtained through semi-structured interviews, observations, photo and video records, document analysis and field diaries. We were also interested in understanding the student's perception of the influence of mentoring and tutoring on her professional development while accompanying her in her reflection about teaching. The results show that Lesson Study, as a cooperative curriculum creation process, provides prospecting teachers with opportunities to build their identity as professionals within a network of peers in which they interact in order to learn together. Focused on the context of initial teacher training, this article could lead to a new approach to Lesson Study as a strategy that can bring about more relevant transformations while teachers' beliefs, values and dispositions are still at an early stage of construction.

There is a digital divide between senior adults and the general population because of the disparity in access and usage of digital technologies, including the internet and modern devices, often stemming from factors like age, familiarity, and socioeconomic status. Yet, technology is increasingly penetrating the healthcare sector in areas such as screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. This study focuses on investigating how older adults perceive the introduction of new devices in the screening and diagnosis of cognitive impairment. For this, a perception study was carried out involving 25 senior adults, 16 women and 9 men, aged between 60 and 93 years, living in the Vigo area, Spain. First, the perception and acceptability of popular technological devices were evaluated by means of the technology acceptance model. Then, participants' perceptions about the use of smart speakers and tablets for cognitive evaluation were analyzed, both before and after interacting with such devices. Finally, the perception of their caregivers about these tools was also studied. These instruments were found to be useful and enjoyable by older adults. More specifically, smart speakers were preferred by participants over traditional tests for detecting cognitive decline. Additionally, there were no significant differences in the perception of utility, ease of use, or enjoyment between tablets and smart speakers. Participants' caregivers also reported an overall positive perception about the introduction of these new tools for cognitive assessment. In any case, the study provided evidence to support the introduction of both tablets and smart speakers to interact with older adults, and more specifically, as a means to facilitate the early detection and screening of cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While driving, stress is caused by situations in which the driver estimates their ability to manage the driving demands as insufficient or loses the capability to handle the situation. This leads to increased numbers of driver mistakes and traffic violations. Additional stressing factors are time pressure, road conditions, or dislike for driving. Therefore, stress affects driver and road safety. Stress is classified into two categories depending on its duration and the effects on the body and psyche: short-term eustress and constantly present distress, which causes degenerative effects. In this work, we focus on distress. Wearable sensors are handy tools for collecting biosignals like heart rate, activity, etc. Easy installation and non-intrusive nature make them convenient for calculating stress. This study focuses on the investigation of stress and its implications. Specifically, the research conducts an analysis of stress within a select group of individuals from both Spain and Germany. The primary objective is to examine the influence of recognized psychological factors, including personality traits such as neuroticism, extroversion, psychoticism, stress and road safety. The estimation of stress levels was accomplished through the collection of physiological parameters (R-R intervals) using a Polar H10 chest strap. We observed that personality traits, such as extroversion, exhibited similar trends during relaxation, with an average heart rate 6% higher in Spain and 3% higher in Germany. However, while driving, introverts, on average, experienced more stress, with rates 4% and 1% lower than extroverts in Spain and Germany, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large deployment of photovoltaic (PV) installation worldwide demands reliability assurance of the systems to maintain the confidence in the markets. With the diversity of PV applications, it is essential the detection of circumstances that can be the root of failure mechanisms, such as transportation and installation of the modules. They are one of the main sources of induced vibrations, which, in its turn, can provoke defects and damages in the PV modules. In this work, we have measured and analyzed tri-axial accelerations and mechanical vibration that photovoltaic crystalline modules withstand during transportation by road, including loading and unloading operations. We have also analyzed the natural oscillation frequencies, the resonance phenomena and the highest impacts. It is concluded that a proper fastening of the load inside the truck is necessary and that high impacts during loading and unloading should be avoided. Packing the modules to reduce vibrations is also recommendable. Several solutions to perform this are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing environmental impacts in transport motivates many studies to offer more sustainable freight services. However, most methodologies focus on impacts from fuel consumption, and approaches trying to integrate other transport components have not facilitated its application to actual and specific transport services. In this study, we present a harmonized approach to address the transport services with a holistic way to increase the knowledge about hotspots of the transport sector based on the life cycle assessment methodology. In this framework, vehicle manufacturing, fuel production, and infrastructure construction are the key transport components around the traffic process. Besides fuel usage, the operation and maintenance of vehicles and infrastructures are also included. We developed a tool to create the life cycle inventories for each transport component to be applied to specific transport services in any location with a comprehensive view and low uncertainty in the results. This approach was applied to road-freight services in Colombia, Malaysia, and Spain. The main results showed the nature and origin of the environmental impacts, which are highly influenced by the emissions control technologies, road characteristics, and traffic volume. The contribution of atmospheric pollutants per tonne-km can decrease by a quarter when Euro VI trucks on highways instead of conventional trucks on single-lane roads are used. However, these contributions are highly affected by fuel production due to the origin of biofuels. The proposed methodology provides relevant information to estimate transport impacts in the life cycle assessment of products with superior precision and identify strategies for systemically improving sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francoism's repression of its civilian population was based on a massified prison system and parallel system of punitive parole. At their core were religious personnel who fulfilled key disciplinary functions for the new state. By the latter stages of the civil war (1936–1939), church and lay Catholic personnel had already produced the legal justifications to underpin the repression. They blended older quasi-theocratic and anti-egalitarian philosophy to meet the disciplinary needs of the new moment where a politically mobilized society was challenging older forms of traditional order and hierarchy (before and during the war). This church–state symbiosis in Spain was already explicit by the early-twentieth century. After World War Two, as before it, Franco's 'National-Catholic' dictatorship deployed religious personnel speaking an antiquated language of 're-Christianization' and 'religious conversion' to impose a modern, state disciplinary project – i.e., the sculpting and close surveillance of its population. Given the Church's full participation in this 'divine totalitarianism', it was paradoxical that by the time of Cold War ascendancy in the mid-1950s, it would be the same Church providing an alibi for Franco's state – in which judicial and penal systems remained militarized, and the everyday lives of its population closely controlled – to reassure Western interlocutors, who were themselves mostly socially conservative and/or Christian-Democratic, of Francoism's 'non-totalitarian' nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]