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Under semiarid conditions, soil quality and productivity can be improved by enhancing soil organic matter content by means of alternative management practices. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of no-till (NT) and cropping intensification as alternative soil practices to increase soil organic C (SOC). At the same time, we studied the influence of these management practices on two SOC fractions (particulate organic matter C, POM-C, and the mineral-associated C, Min-C), in semiarid agroecosystems of the Ebro River valley. Soil samples were collected from five soil layers (0-5-, 5-10-, 10-20-, 20-30-, 30-40-cm depth) during July 2005 at three long-term tillage experiments located at different sites in the Ebro River valley (northeast Spain). Soil bulk density, SOC concentration and content, SOC stratification ratio, POM-C, and Min-C were measured. Higher soil bulk density was observed under NT than under reduced tillage (RT), subsoil tillage (ST), or conventional tillage (CT). At the soil surface (0-5-cm depth), the highest total SOC concentration, POM-C, and Min-C were measured under NT, followed by RT, ST, and CT, respectively. In the whole soil profile (0-40 cm), similarly, slightly greater SOC content was measured under NT than under CT with the exception of the Selvanera site, where deep subsoil tillage combined with moldboard plowing accumulated more SOC than NT. In semiarid Mediterranean agro-ecosystems where CT consists in moldboard plowing, NT is a viable management practice to increase SOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long fallowing (16 to 17 months), in the cereal/fallow rotation, may favor soil losses by wind erosion in agricultural soils of semiarid Aragon (NE Spain). With the objective of evaluating the risk of wind erosion in this area, soil losses for the most critical period of fallow (February-April) were estimated from a total of 67 fallow fields by using the Wind Erosion Equation (WEQ). All soils were medium textured, with this loam the most frequent textural class (45%). The CaCO3 content in the soil was higher than 200 g kg-1 in 90% of the fields. Mouldboard plough, chisel plough, and disk harrow were the main primary tillage tools used by farmers during fallow. Soil cover by crop residues was negligible (< 1%) in 76% of the fields, and only 20% tilling was done perpendicularly to dominant wind direction. The highest erodibility values corresponded to soils with a sandy loam texture and traditionally tilled with mouldboard plough. Predicted wind erosion was high to very high in 30% of the fields (> 20 Mg ha-1). The WEQ estimated erosion reductions to tolerable levels if reduced tillage, with chiseling as the primary tillage, is adequately adopted in the dryland cereal production areas of semiarid Aragon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Objective: To evaluate the current trends in the clinical characteristics and the prognosis of Streptococcus agalactiae infective endocarditis (IE), uncommon disease associated with high mortality., Methods: Descriptive analysis of 27 cases of a large cohort (961 episodes) of infective endocarditis collected in seven hospitals of Andalusia (Spain) between 1984 and 2008., Results: Native valves were affected in most cases (85. 2%), multiple valves were frequently involved (22.2%). The median age of the patients was 65 (51-76) years (59.3% men), with a comorbidity, according to the Charlson index, of 2.6+/-2.3. The most frequent underlying diseases were diabetes mellitus (25.9%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (14.8%), neoplasms (14.8%), urological disorders (11%) and chronic liver disease (11%). Clinical presentation was characterized by rapid worsening (median of 9 (5.7-15) days from onset of symptoms until diagnosis), a high rate of embolisms (37%) and cardiac complications (abscesses, fistulas or valve rupture) - 37% of cases. Surgery was performed in 12 patients (44.4%) and a high mortality (40.7%) was observed., Conclusion: S. agalactiae IE is a serious disease with aggressive course and high mortality rate and affects patients with debilitating diseases. We must be alert of the development of complications and consider early valve surgery when it is necessary., (Copyright (c) 2010 The British Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a questionnaire to measure the functional capacity in older people., Design: Observational cross-sectional study., Setting: Community level. Three basic health areas., Participants: 519 individuals over 64 selected by systematic random sampling taking as sampling units a list of household living at least an individual over 64 years., Measurements and Main Results: A new questionnaire was developed starting from the OARS-MFAQ, the CVA. This new questionnaire is shorter but it maintains the same structure. Ten interviews were recorded in a videotape and subsequently analyzed and marked by four different observers to evaluate the inter-observer agreement. To assess the criterion validity the rates of 40 individuals in the CVA were compared with the rates assigned to the same individuals by experts in each area of the questionnaire (physical health, mental health, daily activities, economic resources, and social support). The criterion validity of the version to proxies of CVA (CVA-I) was studied comparing the answers in the CVA of 31 individuals and the answers given in the CVA-I by proxies of the same 31 individuals. The internal consistency in both versions of the questionnaire was studied in 519 individuals, agreement showed values of kappa coefficient between 0.43 and 0.69. Correlation coefficients Interobserver between expert's rates showed values between 0.54 and 0.74. Correlation coefficients between CVA and CVA-I showed values between 0.60 and 0.74 except in the social support dimension (0.16). The Cronbach alpha coefficient were 0.73 for CVA and 0.62 for CVA-I., Conclusions: The CVA questionnaire showed an acceptable validity and reliability except in the social support dimension of the CVA-I.