Search

Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among the scientific community over the last decades. The collection of biological and ecological characteristics of species (i.e., traits) provides insight into species and ecosystem vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic changes, as well as ecosystem functioning. Here, we present the FUN Azores trait database, describe our approach, evaluate its scope, compare it to other marine trait databases, and explore the spatial distribution of its traits with “functional maps.” While most of the available trait databases to date contain essential information to understand the functional diversity of a taxonomic or functional group, our ecosystem-based approach provides a comprehensive assessment of diverse fauna (i.e., meio-, macro-, and megafauna) from benthic and pelagic environments in the Azores Marine Park; including ridges, seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and the overlying water column. We used a collaborative approach involving 30 researchers with different expertise to develop the FUN Azores database, which contains compiled data on 14 traits representing morphological, behavioral, and life history characteristics for 1,210 species across 10 phyla. The “functional maps” show a distinct distribution of the two most common size classes, suggesting different communities with different functionalities. The following traits had the best scoring coverage (i.e., >95% of the species scored): maximum body size, body form, skeleton material, feeding structure, motility, environmental position, substratum affinity, distribution, and depth range; while traits related to species behavior (e.g., sociability or aggregation tendencies) and life history (e.g., developmental mechanism) had lower scoring coverage, highlighting the need for further research to fill these knowledge gaps. We found a larger number of species in the benthic compared to the pelagic environment and differing species composition between areas within the Azores Marine Park resulting from varying biodiversity, ecosystem types, sampling effort, and methodologies used. The FUN Azores database will foster and facilitate trait-based approaches in the area, develop a framework for expansion of cross-ecosystem and cross-taxa trait databases elsewhere, and improve our ecological understanding of the Azores Marine Park and its conservation requirements.

The ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator was proposed by Yager back in 1988 and constitutes a parameterized family of aggregation functions between the minimum and the maximum. The purpose of this paper is to perform a bibliometric review of this aggregation operator during the last 35 years through the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database and the Visualization of Similarities (VOS) viewer software. The results show that the OWA operator is an increasingly popular aggregation operator, especially in Computer Science. The results also allow the assertion that Yager, as expected, is still the most influential and productive author. Moreover, the study reveals that institutions from over 80 countries have contributed to OWA research, highlighting the high presence of Chinese universities and the emergence of Pakistani ones. Other interesting findings are presented to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the OWA operator literature.

El melanoma anorectal es una neoplasia infrecuente y muy agresiva mundialmente reconocida, representa el 1% de los cánceres colorrectales. Su clínica es muy inespecífica, por lo que se requiere un alto índice de sospecha para evitar un retraso diagnóstico. Presenta un manejo característico debido a su mal pronóstico, en la mayoría de los casos, por su dificultoso diagnóstico. Es una patología infrecuente y poco descrita. La cirugía es el tratamiento de elección. Caso clínico: masculino de 52 años de edad referido del centro de atención primaria al programa de Cribado, por SOH positivo. Se realiza endoscopia donde se evidencia una lesión pigmentada de 5mm la cual se biopsia. El diagnóstico final de la lesión, tras la resección quirúrgica local, es de melanoma maligno anorectal polipoide, con buena evolución postoperatoria.

Introduction/objective: West Nile virus (WNV) is one of the most widely distributed flaviviruses worldwide. It is considered an endemic and emerging pathogen in different areas of the Europe and Mediterranean countries (MR). Mosquitoes of the genus Culex spp. are the main vectors, and birds its main vertebrate hosts. It can occasionally infect mammals, including humans. Different environmental factors can influence its distribution and transmission through its effects on vector or host populations. Our objective was to determine environmental factors associated with changes in vector distribution and WNV transmission in Europe and MR. Material & methods: Systematic peer review of articles published between 2000 and 2020. We selected studies on WNV, and its vectors carried out in Europe and MR. The search included terms referring to climatic and environmental factors. Results: We included 65 studies, of which 21 (32%) were conducted in Italy. Culex spp. was studied in 26 papers (40%), humans in 19 papers (29%) and host animals (mainly horses) in 16 papers (25%), whereas bird reservoirs were addressed in 5 studies (8%). A significant positive relationship was observed between changes in temperature and precipitation patterns and the epidemiology of WNV, although contrasting results were found among studies. Other factors positively related to WNV dynamics were the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI] and expansion of anthropized habitats. Conclusion: The epidemiology of WNV seems to be related to climatic factors that are changing globally due to ongoing climate change. Unfortunately, the complete zoonotic cycle was not analyzed in most papers, making it difficult to determine the independent impact of environment on the different components of the transmission cycle. Given the current expansion and endemicity of WNV in the area, it is important to adopt holistic approaches to understand WNV epidemiology and to improve WNV surveillance and control.

El objetivo principal de este estudio fue analizar la dimensionalidad del bdi-ii, así como demostrar la invarianza según el sexo y construir datos normativos en población general peruana. Para ello, se contó con la participación de 1665 personas (51.83 % mujeres) procedentes de diferentes regiones del Perú (75.92 % de Cajamarca, 11.05 % de Lima, 6.42 % de La Libertad y 2.62 % de Lambayeque), con un rango de edad de 18 a 54 años (M = 24.99; DE = 8.73), a quienes se les admi-nistró el bdi-ii. Mediante un análisis factorial confirmatorio se probaron catorce modelos basados en estudios previos. Los resultados indicaron que los modelos bifactor y de segundo orden tenían problemas de convergencia, mientras que los bidi-mensionales y el unifactorial presentaban adecuados índices de ajuste. Se seleccionó el modelo unidimensional debido a su coherencia teórica, pues los creadores del bdi-ii señalan que la prueba se debe interpretar de manera global, sumando los 21 ítems, y desaconsejan la interpretación mediante el cálculo de puntajes separados por dimensiones. Incluso, los antecedentes indican que la varianza explicada del segundo factor es muy baja, por lo cual dicha práctica estaría injustificada. Además, los estudios previos han señalado correlaciones interfactoriales muy altas. Finalmente, se demostró invarianza según el sexo, y los datos normativos, calculados mediante percentiles, mostraron que las puntuaciones superiores a 11 serían clínicamente relevantes. En conclusión, el bdi-ii muestra buenas propiedades psicométricas en una estructura unidimensional con 21 ítems, la cual es invariante según el sexo y tiene datos normativos adecuados para población general peruana.

Abstract Haemosporidian parasites are common in birds but are seldom reported in seabirds. The absence of vectors or genetic resistance to infection have been proposed to explain this pattern. However, screening of blood parasites in many seabirds has been done only by visual inspection of blood smears, which can miss low-intensity infections, and molecular detection of blood parasites must be supported by detection in blood smears to confirm the presence of haemosporidians and avoid false positive cases. Here, we tested for the presence of blood parasites of the genera Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon, combining inspection of blood smears and PCR-based detection methods in a highly philopatric colony of blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) in the Tropical North Pacific. Our results indicate that adults in this colony are likely free of these blood parasites, probably due to unsuitable conditions for insect vectors in booby breeding sites, although potential genetic resistance of blue-footed boobies to infection deserves examination. Apparent absence of blood parasites in Isla Isabel boobies indirectly adds to the growing evidence of variation in parasite infections among avian host species that coexist locally.

The common house mosquito Culex pipiens s.l., widely distributed in Europe, Africa, and North America has two recognized biotypes, Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens and Cx. pipiens biotype molestus, which hybridize. Despite their morphological similarities, these biotypes may exhibit ecological differences. This complex ecological mosaic may affect the interaction of Cx. pipiens with pathogens like avian Plasmodium, which is transmitted to wildlife. Although the vector competence for Cx. pipiens biotype molestus has been well studied, there is a lack of studies comparing the vector competence of Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens and their hybrids for the transmission of avian Plasmodium. Here, we evaluated the vector competence of the Cx. pipiens biotypes pipiens, molestus and their hybrids for the transmission of two avian Plasmodium species. Mosquitoes were allowed to feed on blood of wild infected birds and the presence of DNA of Plasmodium in head-thorax and saliva of mosquitoes was molecularly evaluated at 13 day-post exposure. The transmission rates (i.e., the detection of parasite DNA in mosquito saliva) for Plasmodium cathemerium were similar for the two biotypes of Cx. pipiens and their hybrids while Plasmodium relictum DNA was only found in the saliva of Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens. In addition, P. cathemerium was significantly more prevalent than P. relictum in the saliva of Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens. Our results suggest that avian Plasmodium is transmitted by both Cx. pipiens biotypes and their hybrids although differences could be found depending of the parasite species studied. Differences in the abundance of each biotype and their hybrids within areas characterized by distinct environmental conditions, along with variations in their blood-feeding patterns and the parasites infecting birds, could ultimately determine differences in the relevance of each Cx. pipiens biotype in the transmission of avian Plasmodium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Location Methods Results Main Conclusions Determining the species distribution and factors shaping it is a major challenge for conservation planning. Ecological niche models (ENMs) facilitate the comprehension of how environmental factors may influence species occurrence, providing spatially explicit information relevant to conservation. Therefore, our aim was to estimate the potential distribution of key habitat‐forming Mediterranean gorgonians, whose conservation would protect many co‐occurring species.Mediterranean Sea.We modelled the potential distribution of the Mediterranean gorgonians Eunicella singularis, Eunicella cavolini, Paramuricea clavata and Corallium rubrum, using an ensemble ENM that combines nine algorithms. An extensive dataset of presence records (> 4378) collected through scientific surveys and citizen‐science was intersected with oceanographic and topographic information within the coralligenous habitat depth range (< 150 m). This approach was used to map the habitat suitability of the study area for each species, assess related uncertainty, identify the most important factors shaping their distribution, and evaluate the overlap with the current network of Marine Protected Areas.The model identified higher habitat suitability for the occurrence of each gorgonian species in the NW Mediterranean, with roughness and temperature as the main drivers of their distribution. Conversely, the poorly sampled SE Mediterranean showed low habitat suitability, although there is a greater uncertainty associated with this estimate. The combined potential distribution of the four species is estimated to cover a quarter of Mediterranean shallow and mesophotic waters, but only 19% was included within protected areas.The habitat suitability and uncertainty maps provide a valuable tool for the conservation and management of Mediterranean gorgonian species by offering spatially explicit information critical for marine spatial planning. The model estimates of habitat suitability showed low uncertainty for most of the study area, with few exceptions in the SE Mediterranean. Further studies, particularly in the SE Mediterranean will contribute to validate these results and will provide new information to improve future modelling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus naturally circulating between mosquito vectors and birds, occasionally infecting horses and humans and causing epidemiologically relevant outbreaks. In Spain, the first big WNV outbreak was recorded in 2020, resulting in 77 people infected and 8 fatalities, most of them in southern Spain. Culex perexiguus was identified as the primary vector of WNV maintaining its enzootic circulation of the virus. Growing evidence highlights the role of mosquito microbiota as a key component determining the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes, largely contributing to disease epidemiology. Here, we develop, to our knowledge, the first identification of the microbiota composition of this mosquito vector under natural conditions and test for the potential relationship between mosquito microbiota composition and WNV infection. To do so, we collected mosquitoes in a natural area of southern Spain during the 2020 WNV outbreak and identified the microbiota composition of mosquitoes using a 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach. The microbiota of Cx. perexiguus was dominated by the phylum Proteobacteria. The most abundant families were Burkholderiaceae and Erwiniaceae, including the genera Burkholderia, Erwinia, and Pantoea. The genus Wolbachia, which use to dominate the microbiota of Cx. pipiens and negatively interact with WNV according to the literature, had a low prevalence and relative abundance in Cx. perexiguus and its abundance did not differ between WNV-positive and WNV-negative mosquito pools. The microbiota diversity and composition of Cx. perexiguus were not significantly related to the WNV infection status. These results provide the first identification of the mosquito microbiota in an endemic area of WNV circulation in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme climatic events (ECEs), such as marine heatwaves (MHWs), are a major threat to biodiversity. Understanding the variability in ecological responses to recurrent ECEs within species and underlying drivers arise as a key issue owing to their implications for conservation and population recovery. Yet, our knowledge on such ecological responses is limited since it has been frequently gathered following "single‐event approaches" focused on one particular event. These approaches provide snapshots of ecological responses but fall short of capturing heterogeneity patterns that may occur among recurrent ECEs, questioning current predictions regarding biodiversity trends. Here, we adopt a "multiple events" perspective to characterize the effects of recurrent ECEs on the ecological responses in Paramuricea clavata, a Mediterranean temperate coral threatened by MHWs. Through a common‐garden experiment repeated three consecutive years with the same individuals from three populations, we assessed the respective roles of environmental (year effect), genetic (population effect), and phenotypic (population‐by‐environment interactions effect) components in the ecological response to recurrent heat stress. The environmental component (year) was the main driver underlying the responses of P. clavata colonies across experiments. To build on this result, we showed that: (i) the ecological responses were not related to population (genetic isolation) and individual (multilocus heterozygosity) genetic make‐up, (ii) while all the individuals were characterized by a high environmental sensitivity (genotype‐by‐environment interactions) likely driven by in situ summer thermal regime. We confront our experimental results to in situ monitoring of the same individuals conducted in 2022 following two MHWs (2018, 2022). This confirms that the targeted populations harbor limited adaptive and plastic capacities to on‐going recurrent ECEs and that P. clavata might face unavoidable population collapses in shallow Mediterranean waters. Overall, we underscore the need to consider the recurrence of ECEs to assess threats to biodiversity and to forecast its evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Health-related quality of life is crucial to assess the impact of cardiovascular diseases and to guide therapeutic strategies. The Short Form 36 Health Survey and the RAND 36-Item Health Survey questionnaires are common tools for measuring health-related quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease, but their reliability may vary according to the population studied. The aim of this study is to compare the reliability of the SF-36 and the RAND-36 in a population with cardiac pathology, addressing the question of which of these instruments offers a more consistent and useful measurement in this specific group. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out at the University Hospital of Burgos (Spain). A total of 413 patients with cardiovascular pathology referred to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit were included. Patients with incomplete data or who did not participate in the program were excluded. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), item–total correlation and reliability, and a half-and-half analysis were performed. Results: Both questionnaires showed similar and adequate reliability for patients with cardiovascular pathology. Internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach's alpha, was above 0.80 for most dimensions, supporting its robustness. Significant inter-item and inter-dimension correlations were found in both scales, except in some specific cases in the dimension 'Physical Functioning'. The half-and-half analysis confirmed the good reliability of both scales. Conclusions: Both the SF-36 and the RAND-36 are highly reliable tools for assessing health-related quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease. The results may have significant implications for clinical practice, helping in the selection of health-related quality of life monitoring instruments and in the evaluation of the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prematurity is associated with an increased risk of persistent wheezing but the underlying mechanisms are not well defined. The aim of this study was to identify blood transcriptional profiles associated with the development of wheezing in a cohort of moderate to late preterm infants and to define immune gene expression changes associated with wheezing. Materials and Methods: A convenience sample of a multicenter birth cohort (SAREPREM) of moderate‐late preterm children followed during the first 3 years of life was analyzed. Children were enrolled in the first 2 weeks of life (Y0) and longitudinally evaluated at 1 (Y1), 2 (Y2), and 3 years (Y3) of age, for the presence of wheezing and to obtain samples for transcriptional profile analysis. Samples were processed on Illumina HT12 chips and genomic expression analyses performed with R programming, modular analysis for biological function, and QuSAGE for quantitative gene expression. Results: Seventy‐six children were included in the study; 33 were classified as non‐wheezing and 43 (56.6%) in the wheezing group. At Y0, children who developed wheezing had decreased expression of interferon genes and increased expression of B cell genes compared with the non‐wheezing group. These changes in IFN and B cell gene expression were especially significant in children with late/persistent wheezing compared with transient wheezers. Conclusions: Changes in IFN and B lymphocyte gene expression identified in early life suggest the existence of specific immunological mechanisms that play an important role in the development of wheezing in late‐preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trait-based approaches that complement taxonomy-based studies have increased in popularity among the scientific community over the last decades. The collection of biological and ecological characteristics of species (i.e., traits) provides insight into species and ecosystem vulnerability to environmental and anthropogenic changes, as well as ecosystem functioning. Here, we present the FUN Azores trait database, describe our approach, evaluate its scope, compare it to other marine trait databases, and explore the spatial distribution of its traits with "functional maps." While most of the available trait databases to date contain essential information to understand the functional diversity of a taxonomic or functional group, our ecosystem-based approach provides a comprehensive assessment of diverse fauna (i.e., meio-, macro-, and megafauna) from benthic and pelagic environments in the Azores Marine Park; including ridges, seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and the overlying water column. We used a collaborative approach involving 30 researchers with different expertise to develop the FUN Azores database, which contains compiled data on 14 traits representing morphological, behavioral, and life history characteristics for 1,210 species across 10 phyla. The "functional maps" show a distinct distribution of the two most common size classes, suggesting different communities with different functionalities. The following traits had the best scoring coverage (i.e., >95% of the species scored): maximum body size, body form, skeleton material, feeding structure, motility, environmental position, substratum affinity, distribution, and depth range; while traits related to species behavior (e.g., sociability or aggregation tendencies) and life history (e.g., developmental mechanism) had lower scoring coverage, highlighting the need for further research to fill these knowledge gaps. We found a larger number of species in the benthic compared to the pelagic environment and differing species composition between areas within the Azores Marine Park resulting from varying biodiversity, ecosystem types, sampling effort, and methodologies used. The FUN Azores database will foster and facilitate trait-based approaches in the area, develop a framework for expansion of crossecosystem and cross-taxa trait databases elsewhere, and improve our ecological understanding of the Azores Marine Park and its conservation requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito vector-borne zoonosis with an increasing incidence in Europe that has become a public health concern. In Spain, although local circulation has been known for decades, until 2020, when a large outbreak occurred, West Nile Virus cases were scarce and mostly occurred in southern Spain. Since then, there have been new cases every year and the pathogen has spread to new regions. Thus, monitoring of circulating variants and lineages plays a fundamental role in understanding WNV evolution, spread and dynamics. In this study, we sequenced WNV consensus genomes from mosquito pools captured in 2022 as part of a newly implemented surveillance program in southern Spain and compared it to other European, African and Spanish sequences. Characterization of WNV genomes in mosquitoes captured in 2022 reveals the co-circulation of two WNV lineage 1 variants, the one that caused the outbreak in 2020 and another variant that is closely related to variants reported in Spain in 2012, France in 2015, Italy in 2021–2022 and Senegal in 2012–2018. The geographic distribution of these variants indicates that WNV L1 dynamics in southern Europe include an alternating dominance of variants in some territories.

A holistic distribution of leadership, where the entire community is committed both to learning and the organisation's development, is considered an important factor in educational success. Initial teacher education should contribute towards building teachers' identities as leaders (teacher-leaders). Our research examines how teaching competences are built with regard to coordination, leadership, and collaboration with the community during teacher training. In this paper, we present the results of a questionnaire comparing the vision and perception of these competences in the context of student teachers, university lecturers, and teachers in state school. The results show visions aligned with a holistic form of leadership distributed amongst the three groups. Moreover, they reveal a close link between the construction of the identity of teacher-leaders and the practical and specific challenges of students' teachers, university lecturers, and teachers. This implies that the initial training must expressly include the distributed leadership competences in the teacher education course, while also providing situations in which students, together with their tutors, gain these competences.

Antecedentes: La expresión de empatía mejora la calidad de la atención a la salud, y por ello se sugiere su instrucción durante los años de formación académica de estudiantes de medicina. No obstante, la expresión de empatía también puede ocasionar ansiedad y perjudicar el bienestar psicológico. Objetivo: Identificar perfiles que describan la relación entre empatía, ansiedad y bienestar psicológico en estudiantes mexicanos de medicina. Método: Estudio transversal en estudiantes mexicanos de medicina que completaron la Escala Multidimensional de Empatía, el Inventario de Ansiedad de Beck y la Escala de Bienestar Psicológico para Adultos. Resultados: Las mujeres presentaron mayor empatía y ansiedad, y menor bienestar psicológico (p < 0.01). La ansiedad en estudiantes del último año de formación fue menor que en los estudiantes de primer y segundo año (p < 0.01). Se detectaron cuatro perfiles: 1) hombres, ansiedad mínima, empatía baja; 2) estudiantes de primer año de formación, ansiedad moderada a grave, bienestar psicológico bajo, empatía alta; 3) último año de formación, ansiedad leve, bienestar psicológico adecuado, empatía media; 4) mujeres, segundo y tercer años de formación, muy alta empatía. Conclusiones: Los estudiantes de medicina del primer año de formación constituyen una población de riesgo. Son necesarias estrategias de atención para este grupo estudiantil.

La desfavorable evolución de las variables demográficas y económicas supone una agravación de la sostenibilidad del sistema público de pensiones español, lo cual también dificulta poder mantener la suficiencia de las pensiones públicas para la jubilación. En consecuencia, los trabajadores se plantean invertir en instrumentos de ahorro privado para complementar la pensión pública y así garantizar la suficiencia de ingresos en el momento de la jubilación. El trabajo plantea herramientas alternativas para seleccionar el producto de ahorro para la jubilación más conveniente. Estas herramientas se basan en el uso del operador linguistic ordered weighted averaging (LOWA), el operador induced linguistic ordered weighted averaging (ILOWA), el operador linguistic ordered weighted averaging distance (LOWAD) y el operador linguistic induced ordered weighted averaging distance (LIOWAD). Al final del trabajo, se presenta un ejemplo ilustrativo de la aplicación de los operadores de agregación LOWA, ILOWA, LOWAD y LIOWAD en procesos de planificación financiera para la jubilación. Los resultados demuestran la utilidad de esta clase de operadores de agregación lingüísticos en la toma de decisiones para la jubilación.

Resumen: Introducción: La neumonía necrotizante (NN) es una complicación grave de la neumonía adquirida en la comunidad caracterizada por la destrucción del parénquima pulmonar normal. Ningún estudio ha evaluado las consecuencias de este daño pulmonar en los años posteriores al episodio. El objetivo es investigar el impacto a largo plazo sobre la función pulmonar y los síntomas respiratorios en niños ingresados por NN. Métodos: Seguimiento de niños diagnosticados de NN desde enero-2003 hasta abril-2016. Se seleccionó a los mayores de 4 años, capaces de realizar una función pulmonar, y un seguimiento durante más de 2 años. Los pacientes recibieron un cuestionario respiratorio y completaron una prueba de función pulmonar. Resultados: Se incluyeron 24 pacientes (12 hombres). La edad mediana en el momento del diagnóstico fue de 26 meses, 15 días de hospitalización y 18 pacientes necesitaron drenaje pleural. Los pacientes fueron seguidos durante un promedio de 8,75 años después de la NN. Durante la evaluación, ningún paciente tuvo asma, tos o sintomatología inducida por el ejercicio. Tres niños sufrieron una segunda neumonía, que no requirió hospitalización. Los resultados de la espirometría fueron (media ± desviación estándar): Z-score FEV1 −0,47 ± 0,65, Z-score FVC −0,56 ± 0,73, Z-score FEV1/FVC 0,19 ± 0,98. No hubo evidencia de enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva o patrones restrictivos. Conclusiones: Los resultados a largo plazo de la NN pediátrica son buenos. Sin embargo, los pacientes tienen una función pulmonar ligeramente disminuida varios años después del episodio. Es aconsejable hacer un seguimiento de estos pacientes debido a la posible disminución de la función pulmonar en edad adulta. Abstract: Introduction: Necrotizing pneumonia (NP) is a serious complication of community-acquired pneumonia characterised by the destruction of normal lung parenchyma. No study has evaluated the repercussions of the lung damage in the years following the episode. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term impact on lung function and respiratory symptoms in children hospitalised due to NP. Methods: We analysed outcomes in children given a diagnosis of NP between January 2003 and April 2016. We selected patients aged more than 4 years capable of undergoing a lung function test, that had been followed up for at least 2 years. The patients completed a respiratory questionnaire and underwent a lung function test. Results: We included a total of 24 patients (12 male). The median age at the time of diagnosis was 28 months, the median length of stay was 15 days, and 18 patients required pleural drainage. The mean duration of follow-up after NP was 8.75 years. During the evaluation, none of the patients exhibited asthma, cough, or exercise-induced symptoms. Three children had a second episode of pneumonia that did not require hospital admission. The spirometry results were the following (given as mean ± standard deviation): FEV1 z-score, −0.47 ± 0.65; FVC z-score, −0.56 ± 0.73; and FEV1/FVC z-score, 0.19 ± 0.98. We found no evidence of obstructive pulmonary disease or restrictive patterns. Conclusions: The long-term outcomes of paediatric NP are good. However, patients exhibited mildly impaired lung function several years after the episode. We recommend follow-up of these patients due to potential impairments in lung function in adulthood.

Introduction: Necrotizing pneumonia (NP) is a serious complication of community-acquired pneumonia characterised by the destruction of normal lung parenchyma. No study has evaluated the repercussions of the lung damage in the years following the episode. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term impact on lung function and respiratory symptoms in children hospitalised due to NP. Methods: We analysed outcomes in children given a diagnosis of NP between January 2003 and April 2016. We selected patients aged more than 4 years capable of undergoing a lung function test, that had been followed up for at least 2 years. The patients completed a respiratory questionnaire and underwent a lung function test. Results: We included a total of 24 patients (12 male). The median age at the time of diagnosis was 28 months, the median length of stay was 15 days, and 18 patients required pleural drainage. The mean duration of follow-up after NP was 8.75 years. During the evaluation, none of the patients exhibited asthma, cough, or exercise-induced symptoms. Three children had a second episode of pneumonia that did not require hospital admission. The spirometry results were the following (given as mean ± standard deviation): FEV1 Z-score, −0.47 ± 0.65; FVC Z-score, −0.56 ± 0.73; and FEV1/FVC Z-score, 0.19 ± 0.98. We found no evidence of obstructive pulmonary disease or restrictive patterns. Conclusions: The long-term outcomes of paediatric NP are good. However, patients exhibited mildly impaired lung function several years after the episode. We recommend follow-up of these patients due to potential impairments in lung function in adulthood. Resumen: Introducción: La neumonía necrotizante (NN) es una complicación grave de la neumonía adquirida en la comunidad caracterizada por la destrucción del parénquima pulmonar normal. Ningún estudio ha evaluado las consecuencias de este daño pulmonar en los años posteriores al episodio. El objetivo es investigar el impacto a largo plazo sobre la función pulmonar y los síntomas respiratorios en niños ingresados por NN. Métodos: Seguimiento de niños diagnosticados de NN desde enero-2003 hasta abril-2016. Se seleccionaron a los mayores de 4 años, capaces de realizar una función pulmonar, y un seguimiento durante más de 2 años. Los pacientes recibieron un cuestionario respiratorio y completaron una prueba de función pulmonar. Resultados: Se incluyeron 24 pacientes (12 hombres). La edad mediana en el momento del diagnóstico fue de 26 meses, 15 días de hospitalización y 18 pacientes necesitaron drenaje pleural. Los pacientes fueron seguidos durante un promedio de 8.75 años después de la NN. Durante la evaluación, ningún paciente tuvo asma, tos o sintomatología inducida por el ejercicio. Tres niños sufrieron una segunda neumonía, que no requirió hospitalización. Los resultados de la espirometría fueron (media ± desviación estándar): Z-score FEV1 −0.47 ± 0.65, Z-score FVC −0.56 ± 0.73, Z-score FEV1/FVC 0.19 ± 0.98. No hubo evidencia de enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva o patrones restrictivos. Conclusiones: Los resultados a largo plazo de la NN pediátrica son buenos. Sin embargo, los pacientes tienen una función pulmonar ligeramente disminuida varios años después del episodio. Es aconsejable hacer un seguimiento de estos pacientes debido a la posible disminución de la función pulmonar en edad adulta.

Many studies highlight the importance of parental involvement in the academic performance of children and adolescents across subject areas. In view of the lack of instruments in Spain to assess family involvement of parents of adolescents, we undertook this study to develop the Spanish adaptation of the Family Involvement Questionnaire - High School version (FIQ-HS). The sample consisted of 928 parents (85.7 % females) with adolescent sons and daughters. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses substantiated the expected three-factor structure (home-school communication, school-based activities, and home-based activities), though seven poorly functioning items were removed. The results show that this instrument has adequate psychometric properties, good reliability, and convergence with another measure of family adaptability and cohesion. Therefore, the FIQ-HS is adequate for the assessment of family involvement in Spanish parents.