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Carrion resources sustain a complex and diverse community of both vertebrate and invertebrate scavengers, either obligate or facultative. However, although carrion ecology has received increasing scientific attention in recent years, our understanding of carrion partitioning in natural conditions is severely limited as most studies are restricted either to the vertebrate or the insect scavenger communities. Moreover, carnivore carcasses have been traditionally neglected as study model. Here, we provide the first data on the partitioning between vertebrate and invertebrate scavengers of medium-sized carnivore carcasses, red fox (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus)), in two mountainous Mediterranean areas of south-eastern Spain. Carcasses were visited by several mammalian and avian scavengers, but only one carcass was partially consumed by golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus). These results provide additional support to the carnivore carrion-avoidance hypothesis, which suggests that mammalian carnivores avoid the consumption of carnivore carcasses to prevent disease transmission risk. In turn, the absence of vertebrate scavengers at carnivore carcasses enabled a diverse and well-structured successional community of insects to colonise the carcasses. The observed richness and abundance of the most frequent families was more influenced by the decomposition time than by the study area. Overall, our study encourages further research on carrion resource partitioning in natural conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Imported strongyloidiasis is increasingly being diagnosed in non-endemic areas. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and microbiological characteristics of patients with imported strongyloidiasis in Spain. Methodology: This is an observational retrospective study that included all patients diagnosed of strongyloidiasis registered in the +REDIVI Collaborative Network from 2009 to 2017. Demographic, epidemiological and clinical information was collected from the +REDIVI database, and extra information regarding microbiological techniques, treatment and follow-up was requested to participant centers. Findings: Overall, 1245 cases were included. Most of them were immigrants (66.9%), and South America was the most frequent area of origin. Detection of larvae in stool samples was observed in 21.9% of the patients, and serological tests allowed making the diagnosis in the rest of the cases. Eosinophilia was present in 82.2% of cases. Treatment with ivermectin (compared with albendazole) was the most strongly associated factor to achieve the cure (OR 2.34). Conclusions: Given the long latency of the infection and the risk of developing a severe presentation, screening of S. stercoralis infection should be mandatory in patients coming from or had traveling to endemic areas, especially in those with immunosuppressant conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of alien fish is a major problem for the conservation of amphibians inhabiting originally fishless mountain streams. While fish eradication programs in lakes and ponds have proven successful for the recovery of amphibian populations, there is no such information for stream-dwelling amphibians, possibly because fish removal from streams is difficult and costly. Here, we show the first case of successful recovery of a stream-dwelling amphibian (Rana iberica) in a mountain area of central Spain, following eradication of introduced brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and native brown trout (Salmo trutta) translocated from downstream reaches by local anglers. Electrofishing for 12 consecutive years eradicated both fish species in the introduced area, and allowed the recovery of the R. iberica population as a result of natural recolonization from nearby streams and reintroduction of captive-reared individuals. Our results demonstrate how electrofishing can be a costly but effective method for the eradication of introduced fish and the conservation of stream-dwelling amphibians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the bacterial microbiome of hard ticks with affinity to bite humans in La Rioja (North of Spain). Methods: A total of 88 adult ticks (22 Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, 27 Haemaphysalis punctata, 30 Dermacentor marginatus and 9 Ixodes ricinus) and 120 I. ricinus nymphs (CRETAV collection, La Rioja, Spain), representing the main anthropophilic species in our environment, were subjected to a metagenomic analysis of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene using an Illumina MiSeq platform. Data obtained with Greengenes database were refined with BLAST. Four groups of samples were defined, according to the four tick species. Results: Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum observed in all groups. Gammaproteobacteria was the most abundant class, followed by Alphaproteobacteria for R. sanguineus, H. punctata and D. marginatus but the relative abundance of reads for these classes was reversed for I. ricinus. This tick species showed more than 46% reads corresponding to ‘not assigned’ OTUs (Greengenes), and >97% of them corresponded to ‘Candidatus Midichloriaceae’ using BLAST. Within Rickettsiales, ‘Candidatus Midichloria’, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia’ and Wolbachia were detected. I. ricinus was the most alpha-diverse species. Regarding beta-diversity, I. ricinus and H. punctata samples grouped according to their tick species but microbial communities of some R. sanguineus and D. marginatus specimens clustered together. Conclusions: The metagenomics approach seems useful to discover the spectrum of tick-related bacteria. More studies are needed to identify and differentiate bacterial species, and to improve the knowledge of tick-borne diseases in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Strongyloides stercoralis is a globally distributed nematode that causes diverse clinical symptoms in humans. Spain, once considered an endemic country, has experienced a recent increase in imported cases. The introduction of serology helps diagnosis and is currently replacing microbiological techniques in some settings, but its sensitivity is variable and can be low in immunocompromised patients. Diagnosis can only be confirmed by identification of larvae. Often, this “gold standard” can only be achieved in severe cases, such as disseminated S.stercoralis infection, or S.stercoralis hyperinfection syndrome, where parasite load is high. In addition, these clinical presentations are not well-defined. Our aim is to describe severe cases of S.stercoralis, their epidemiological profile, and their clinical details. Methods: An observational retrospective study of disseminated S.stercoralis infection, or hyperinfection syndrome. Inclusion criteria: aged over 18, with a diagnosis of disseminated S.stercoralis infection, or hyperinfection syndrome, confirmed by visualization of larvae. Patients were identified through revision of clinical records for the period 2000–2015, in collaboration with eight reference centers throughout Spain. Results: From the period 2000–2015, eighteen cases were identified, 66.7% of which were male, with a median age of 40 (range 21–70). Most of them were foreigners (94.4%), mainly from Latin America (82.3%) or Western Africa (17.6%). Only one autochthonous case was identified, from 2006. Immunosuppressive conditions were present in fourteen (77%) patients, mainly due steroids use and to retroviral coinfections (four HIV, two HTLV). Transplant preceded the clinical presentation in four of them. Other comorbidities were coinfection with HBV, Trypanosoma cruzi, Mycobacterium leprae or Aspergillus spp. All presented with digestive disorders, with 55.6% also presenting malaise. 44.4% of cases had fever, 27.8% skin complaints, and 16.7% respiratory or neurological disorders. One patient presented anemia, and one other nephrotic syndrome. Diagnosis was confirmed by identification of larvae in fresh stool samples (n = 16; 88.9%), concentration techniques (n = 6; 33.3%), larval culture (n = 5; 29.4%), or digestive biopsies (n = 8; 44%). S.stercoralis forms were identified during necropsy in one case. In addition, ten (55%) had a positive serology. All the cases were treated with ivermectin, six (33%) also received albendazole and one case received thiabendazole followed by ivermectin. All needed inpatient management, involving a mean hospitalization stay of 25 days (range 1–164). Two cases received intensive care and eventually died. Conclusions: Only eighteen cases of disseminated S.stercoralis infection/hyperinfection syndrome were identified from the 15-year period, most of which were considered to have been imported cases. Among those, immunosuppression was frequent, and mortality due to S.stercoralis was lower than previously described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the study of the role of public policies in the origins and evolution of clusters. Building on the existing literature, we set up a taxonomy of nine public policies that may have an impact on the emergence and evolution of clusters. Based on in-depth case studies of six clusters of the Basque Country, particularly representative of the industrial history of the region, we analyse the relevance of the different types of policies both in the emergence and evolution of clusters over time. In agreement with cluster literature, the paper concludes that public policies seem to have played only an indirect role across clusters and over their life cycles. Moreover, it points to the necessity of taking history and context into account, as most of the important policy measures highlighted by cluster literature today do not fit well with the previous policy and economic context. Finally, it also concludes that for cluster policies to be effective, the stages of the life cycle should be taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use a panel of manufacturing firms in Spain to examine the extent to which they use internal and external sources of information (customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and universities) to generate product and process innovation. Our results show that, although internal sources are influential, external sources of information are key to achieve innovation performance. These results are in line with the open innovation literature because they show that firms that are opening up their innovation process and that use different information sources have a greater capacity to generate innovations. We also find that the importance of external sources of information varies depending on the type of innovation (product or process) considered. To generate process innovation, firms mainly rely on suppliers while, to generate product innovation, the main contribution is from customers. The potential simultaneity between product and process innovation is also taken into consideration. We find that the generation of both types of innovation is not independent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the effect of basketball coaches on performance and the question of life cycles on their tenures. From theoretical perspectives like coach-performance relationship, succession theories, life cycle theory and based on a longitudinal analysis from 1997 to 2012 of a professional Spanish basketball league, we show that the objective established at the season's start and coach quality positively influences team performance, that a mid-season coaching change negatively influences performance, and the existence of longer tenures coaches that improve team performance. The work is especially interested for sport managers, sport coaches in their decisions-taking, but it is useful to general management to understand the consequences of the tenures or dismissals of their key managers on results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Little is known about tritrophic interactions involving seed-feeding insects, parasitoid wasps, and wild fleshy fruits. Here, we examine relationships between Pseudargyrotoza conwagana (F.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Bracon otiosus Marshall (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), and the wild privet, Ligustrum vulgare L. (Lamiales: Oleaceae), after collecting fruits in a hedgerow habitat in northwest Spain and rearing insects indoors. No other insect species was detected in this trophic system. Each fruit contained one to four seeds, each infested fruit contained only one seed-feeding tortricid caterpillar, and each parasitized caterpillar was affected by a single braconid individual, i.e., B. otiosus was a solitary parasitoid. Almost half of the wild privet shrubs were infested by P. conwagana, and infestation ranged from 2 to 32% of fruits per infested shrub. The general effect of P.conwagana on wild privet dispersal can be considered low, as the overall rate of seed infestation was low (6% of seeds). The infestation rate was higher in wild privet shrubs with a larger number of seeds per fruit, and tortricid caterpillars that left the fruits successfully ate >80% of seeds. In total, the parasitism rate was moderate (25% of caterpillars), but varied considerably (0‒75%) among shrubs where P. conwagana infestation was detected. Parasitism only occurred in shrubs showing high infestation rates (19‒32% infested fruits), i.e., with high host densities; however, the parasitism rate was density-independent in these shrubs. The wild privets benefited from the action of B. otiosus in two ways: the tortricid caterpillar population was partly eliminated, and the caterpillars were prevented from eating more than one seed per fruit. The B. otiosus sex ratio was very balanced (1 male to 1.18 females). Winter diapause and protandry were prevalent in B. otiosus., (This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.)