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Peruvian mountain-range glaciers are characterized by the presence of numerous lakes of glacial origin, whose dynamics show a great temporal-spatial variability due to factors such as glacial melting and precipitation of different types, seasons, and intensities, engaging also river flow, usually for the benefit of population settlements. Therefore, it is important to determine its continuity to consider them permanent resources of water. Previously, the evaluation of this parameter was made traditionally, by looking at optical satellite imagery. However, this process ends up being too long and complicated as there are up to 3000 lakes in some mountain ranges. We propose a methodology with the objective of estimating the temporal persistence of glacial lakes mainly performed in Google Earth Engine, convenient for the flexibility, data-size issues, and quick computations of statistical approach. This process is based on LANDSAT 7 and 8 normalized difference water index (NDWI) time series data products, comprised of 252 images of the Ampato glacier mountain-range across the calendar years 2000-2020. Initially, we extract the NDWI values for each polygon -from the INAIGEM 2020 glacial lake Inventory- and image and apply different NDWI thresholds and ways to mean them. Finally, we get a representative conversion of the value to mark their existence and do the percentage calculations over the evaluation period. NDWI threshold of 0.05 and median values were chosen to obey previous evaluations and have tight results. We observe that between 86 and 99% of images were available for the 518 polygons of this area, indicating suitability to support subsequent conclusions. The final persistence values vary between 50% and 99% for lakes greater than 5000 m², while lesser lakes present values between 25 and 75% of persistence during the evaluation period, corresponding to weather modulating factors in a shorter scale such as seasonality, ENSO events, extreme precipitation, etc. The presented investigation could have relevant applications from water management, ecology, tourism, to climate investigation, as a way to sophisticate the processes of a more exact and specific glacial lake Inventory in Peru or other parts of the sphere.

En un pequeño territorio de las comarcas del Campo de Montiel y de la Sierra de Alcaraz (sur de Castilla-La Mancha, España) se inician las redes de drenaje de 4 de las principales cuencas hidrográficas de la Península Ibérica: Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Júcar y Segura. Este trabajo pretende examinar la variabilidad físico-química de los ríos de cabecera de estas cuencas. Visores geográficos, medidas de campo y análisis de aguas en laboratorio han proporcionado los datos que indican que orografía, litología y clima condicionan el régimen hidrológico de estos ríos, muchos de ellos, intermitentes o efímeros. Escasez de agua y contaminación por nitratos derivados de la agricultura son problemas que podrían agravarse con el cambio climático, especialmente en la cabecera del Guadiana.

Context Successful rates of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) face paralleled escalation of late endocrine and metabolic effects. Objective This work aimed to characterize these sequelae distinguishing between the underlying pathologies and treatments received. Methods A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in 157 children post-HSCT (hematopoietic pathology [N = 106], solid tumors [N = 40], and rare entities [N = 11]) followed at a single endocrine department between 2009 and 2019. Regression analysis was used to ascertain association. Results Of all patients, 58.7% presented with at least one endocrine abnormality. Endocrinopathies post HSCT were most frequently developed in lymphoblastic leukemia (60.5% of them), whereas myeloid leukemias had the fewest. A total of 64% of patients presented with primary hypogonadism, 52% short stature, and 20% obesity. Endocrinopathy was associated with older age at HSCT (9.78 years [6.25-12.25] vs 6.78 years [4.06-9.75]) (P < .005), pubertal Tanner stage V (P < .001), chronic graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) (P = .022), and direct gonadal therapy (P = .026). The incidence of endocrinopathies was higher in girls (15% more common; P < .02) and in patients who received radiotherapy (18% higher), steroids (17.4% increase), allogenic HSCT (7% higher), thymoglobulin, or cyclophosphamide. Those on busulfan presented with a 27.5% higher rate of primary hypogonadism (P = .003). Conclusion More than half of children surviving HSCT will develop endocrinopathies. Strikingly, obesity has risen to the third most frequent endocrine disruption, mainly due to steroids, and partly adhering to the general population tendency. Lymphoblastic leukemia was the condition with a higher rate of endocrine abnormalities. Female sex, older age at HSCT, pubertal stage, allogenic transplant, radiotherapy, alkylating drugs, and GVHD pose risk factors for endocrine disturbances.

The economic transformations that have taken place in Cuba as part of the process of updating the Cuban economic model have led to a constant improvement in the regulations in force. As a result, Cuban tax regulations have been evolving with an acceptable degree of harmonization, together with the improvement of curricula aimed, among other issues, at training human capital with the necessary knowledge, skills and values. This constitutes a challenge for Higher Education, which contributes to the strengthening of the cooperative sector from the very development of the tax culture. This development is achieved to a great extent, from the inclusion of contents related to the tax system in the cooperative sector, from the subject Financial Administration of the State, in the Bachelor's Degree in Education. Economics, at the University of Pinar del Río. Hence, the objective of this article is: to elaborate a study material to contribute to the development of tax culture from the topics of tax calculation in the cooperative sector in third year students of the referred career. The research was developed on a dialectical-materialist basis and theoretical and empirical qualitative and quantitative methods were used, which allowed for a theoretical-practical assessment of the educational reality. The proposal was applied in educational practice with satisfactory results, and was also submitted to the criteria of specialists, who considered it to be viable under current conditions.

Detritivores are pivotal in forest streams as they process detritus and promote secondary production. Many studies have addressed the preference of freshwater detritivores towards materials of differing quality. Nevertheless, few studies compare the resource preferences in the laboratory with the availability in the field. In the present study, feeding preferences of two stream detritivores (the caddisfly Sericostoma pyrenaicum and the amphipod Echinogammarus tarragonensis), over three native leaf species (alder, chestnut and oak) and an exotic species (eucalypt) were quantified in the laboratory. Preference for eucalypt leaves conditioned for 1, 2 and 3 weeks was also described. We then contrasted the preference patterns in the laboratory feeding experiments with a 15-month-long benthic standing stock time series of a stream below a native deciduous forest and another below a eucalypt plantation. Both detritivores preferred consuming alder leaves and more conditioned eucalypt leaves, although the amphipod was more selective than the caddisfly. The consumption preference in the laboratory was unmatched by the availability in the field, especially under eucalypt plantations and for the amphipod. Our results show that the strength of the preference for high-quality resources can differ among different taxa, which can modulate their response to land use changes. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This study was funded by the Spanish Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior e Investigación Científica (Project DGESIC PB98-0151) and finanacial support in terms of a predoctoral Grant to A. Otermin from Basque Government.

Plant biodiversity loss in riparian forests is known to alter key stream ecosystem processes such as leaf litter decomposition. One potential mechanism mediating this biodiversity–decomposition relationship is the increased variability of plant functional traits at higher levels of biodiversity, providing more varied resources for decomposers and thus improving their function. We explored this in a field experiment exposing litter from different assemblages with low or high trait variability (measured through phylogenetic distance, PD) to microbial decomposers and invertebrate detritivores within litterbags in a low-order stream. Litter assemblages generally lost less mass but more phosphorus (P) than expected from monocultures, and nitrogen (N) tended to increase in the absence of detritivores and decrease in their presence, with little effect of PD. In contrast, there were strong influences of mean values and variability of specific traits (mostly N, P and condensed tannins) on decomposition and on net diversity effects. The negative diversity effect on litter mass loss was mainly driven by negative complementarity (that is, physical or chemical interference among species or traits), although there was positive selection (that is, particular species or traits with large effects on decomposition) in high-PD assemblages with detritivores. High-PD assemblages tended to have more invertebrates and attracted more typical litter-consuming detritivores. Our study suggests that decomposition of litter assemblages is mainly driven by concentration and variability of several key litter traits, rather than overall trait heterogeneity (measured through PD). However, differences in invertebrates colonizing high-PD and low-PD assemblages pointed to potential long-term effects of PD on decomposition.

Introduction: Primary autosomal recessive microcephalies (MCPHs) are characterized by primary dwarfism with MCPH and may present delayed psychomotor development and visual impairment. Biallelic loss of function variants in the PLK4 gene , which encodes the polo-like kinase 4 protein involved in centriole biogenesis, has been recently identified in several patients with MCPH and various ethnic backgrounds. Case Presentation: Here, we describe 2 siblings of different sex from Equatorial Guinea harboring a homozygous frameshift mutation in PLK4 (c.1299_1303del, p.Phe433Leufs*6). A Seckel syndrome spectrum phenotype was present in both siblings, with short stature, severe MCPH, reduced brain volume, and distinctive facial features. They also presented severe intellectual disability, lissencephaly/pachygyria, subependymal heterotopia, and ophthalmological impairment. One of them suffered from deafness, and scoliosis was observed in the other. Discussion/Conclusion: Biallelic variants in PLK4 lead to a syndrome where severe short stature, MCPH, and cognitive impairment are constant features. However, ocular, skeletal, and other neurological manifestations can vary upon the same genetic basis.

La rehabilitación del paciente hemipléjico se ha convertido en un importanteproblema médico – social; esta enfermedad es la tercera causa de muerte en el mundo desarrollado, así como la primera de invalidez en los adultos, por las secuelas motoras, sensitivas y cognitivas existentes en la mayoría de los pacientes que sobreviven al ictus. A partir del estudio teórico previo y diagnóstico que se realizó en la presenteinvestigación, con la aplicación de entrevistas, encuestas, la revisión de documentos oficiales y observaciones de tratamiento de rehabilitación física de pacientes hemipléjicos se realizó un estudio tendencial de la rehabilitación del paciente hemipléjico que abarque varios puntos de vista en estos procesos tan importantes, Ciencia y Deporte, Выпуск 3 2022, Pages 151 - 162

Ongoing global warming is expected to alter temperature-dependent processes. Nevertheless, how co-occurring local drivers will influence temperature sensitivity of plant litter decomposition in lotic ecosystems remains uncertain. Here, we examined the temperature sensitivity of microbial-mediated decomposition, microbial respiration, fungal biomass and leaf nutrients of two plant species varying in litter quality. We also assessed whether the type of microbial community and stream water characteristics influence such responses to temperature. We incubated alder (Alnus glutinosa) and eucalypt (Eucalyptus globulus) litter discs in three streams differing in autumn–winter water temperature (range 4.6–8.9 °C). Simultaneously, in laboratory microcosms, litter discs microbially conditioned in these streams were incubated at 5, 10 and 15 °C with water from the conditioning stream and with a water control from an additional stream. Both in the field and in the laboratory, higher temperatures enhanced litter decomposition rates, except for eucalypt in the field. Leaf quality modified the response of decomposition to temperature in the field, with eucalypt leaf litter showing a lower increase, whereas it did not in the laboratory. The origin of microbial community only affected the decomposition rates in the laboratory, but it did not modify the response to temperature. Water quality only defined the phosphorus content of the leaf litter or the fungal biomass, but it did not modify the response to temperature. Our results suggest that the acceleration in decomposition by global warming will be shaped by local factors, mainly by leaf litter quality, in headwater streams. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This research was financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government (CGL2010-22129-C04-01). S. Monroy was supported by a predoctoral grant by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BES-2012–060743) and a postdoctoral grant from the University of the Basque Country (DOKBERRI 2018 I).

Background: Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) is a rare disorder in children. The aetiology of CDI in childhood is heterogeneous. The aim of this study is to illustrate the importance of a careful clinical and neuro-radiological follow-up of the pituitary and hypothalamus region in order to identify the aetiology and the development of associated hormonal deficiencies. Methods: Clinical and auxological variables of 15 children diagnosed with CDI were retrospectively analysed in a paediatric hospital. Evaluations of adenohypophyseal function and cranial MRI were performed periodically. Results: The mean age at diagnosis of CDI was 9.6 years (range: 1.32-15.9). The aetiological diagnosis could be established initially in 9 of the 15 patients, as 7 with a germinoma and 2 with a histiocytosis. After a mean follow-up of 5.5 years (range: 1.6-11.8), the number of idiopathic cases was reduced by half. At the end of the follow-up, the aetiological diagnoses were: 9 germinoma (60%), 3 histiocytosis (20%), and 3 idiopathic CDI (20%). There is a statistically significant association between stalk thickening and tumour aetiology. At least one adenohypophyseal hormonal deficiency was found in 67% of cases, with the majority developing in the first two years of follow-up. Growth hormone deficiency (60%) was the most prevalent. Conclusion: The follow-up of CDI should include hormone evaluation with special attention, due to its frequency, to GH deficiency. In addition, a biannual MRI in an idiopathic CDI should be performed, at least during the first 2-3 years after diagnosis, as 50% of them were diagnosed with a germinoma or histiocytosis during this period. Introducción: La diabetes insípida central (DIC) es una entidad poco frecuente en la edad pediátrica, siendo su etiología heterogénea. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es demostrar que el seguimiento clínico y neurorradiológico de la región hipotálamo-hipofisaria, puede ayudar a establecer el diagnóstico etiológico de DIC y la presencia de otros déficits hormonales. Métodos: Se revisaron de forma retrospectiva 15 pacientes diagnosticados de DIC en un hospital pediátrico. Se analizaron las características clínicas y auxológicas; así como la valoración de la función adenohipofisaria junto con RM craneal de manera periódica. Resultados: La mediana de edad al diagnóstico fue de 9,6 a˜nos (rango: 1,3-15,9). El diagnóstico etiológico pudo establecerse en 9 de los 15 pacientes (germinomas: 7 e histiocitosis: 2). Tras una mediana de seguimiento de 5,5 a˜nos (rango: 1,6-11,8), los casos idiopáticos se redujeron a la mitad. Finalmente, los diagnósticos etiológicos fueron: germinoma 9 (60%), histiocitosis 3 (20%) y DIC idiopática 3 (20%). Existe una asociación estadísticamente significativa entre el engrosamiento del tallo y la etiología tumoral. El 67% desarrolló, al menos, una deficiencia hormonal adenohipofisaria, la mayoría en los dos primeros a˜nos de seguimiento. El déficit más prevalente fue el de hormona de crecimiento (60%). Conclusiones: En todos los pacientes con DIC se deberá realizar un control auxológico y hormonal, con especial atención, por su frecuencia, a la deficiencia de GH, y en aquellos con DIC idiopática se debería incluir una RM semestral, al menos durante los 2-3 primeros a˜nos después del diagnóstico, pues en nuestro estudio el 50% fueron diagnosticados de germinomas o histiocitosis en este periodo

Background: LZTR1 participates in RAS protein degradation, hence limiting the RAS/MAPK cascade. Pathogenic mutations in LZTR1 (MIM:600574) have been described in a few patients with Noonan syndrome (NS). Three patients with LZTR1 mutations of different genetic transmission and NS phenotype are herein characterized. Clinical Cases: Case 1 is a 5-year-old boy with NS phenotype. Sanger sequencing of PTPN11 and SOS1 identified no mutations. Whole exome sequencing (WES) detected a heterozygous missense mutation in LZTR1:c.742G>A (p.Gly248Arg) (exon 8, Kelch 4 functional domain). Bioinformatic algorithms predict a deleterious effect of this variant, previously described to cause NS. Case 2 is a 4-year-old boy with NS phenotype. Direct sequencing of 8 genes associated with NS identified no mutations. WES localized a homozygous missense mutation in LZTR1:c.2074T>C (p.Phe692Leu, exon 18). This mutation has not been reported before and is predicted to have a deleterious effect on the protein. Case 3 is an 8-year-old boy who shares NS phenotype with his mother. A multigene panel for RASopathies showed a heterozygous missense variant in LZTR1:c.730T>C (p.Ser244Pro) (exon 8; Kelch 4 functional domain) that was maternally inherited. This variant has not been previously described; however, in silico predictors classify it as deleterious. Familial segregation suggests its pathogenicity. Conclusions: The molecular approach for syndromic phenotypes associated with various genes should involve complete/updated panels or WES rather than gene-by-gene sequencing. RASopathy genetic panels should incorporate LZTR1. Patients with pathogenic mutations in LZTR1 exhibit a characteristic NS gestalt but variable cardiac, height, and neurodevelopment expressions, with recessive inheritance possibly associating with a more severe phenotype.

Plant litter functional diversity effects on instream decomposition change across latitudes., Running waters contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes through decomposition of terrestrial plant litter by aquatic microorganisms and detritivores. Diversity of this litter may influence instream decomposition globally in ways that are not yet understood. We investigated latitudinal differences in decomposition of litter mixtures of low and high functional diversity in 40 streams on 6 continents and spanning 113° of latitude. Despite important variability in our dataset, we found latitudinal differences in the effect of litter functional diversity on decomposition, which we explained as evolutionary adaptations of litter-consuming detritivores to resource availability. Specifically, a balanced diet effect appears to operate at lower latitudes versus a resource concentration effect at higher latitudes. The latitudinal pattern indicates that loss of plant functional diversity will have different consequences on carbon fluxes across the globe, with greater repercussions likely at low latitudes.

EMBO Mol Med (2018) e9143 The etiology of GHD remains unknown in most cases (Alatzoglou et al , 2009). RNPC3 mutations emerged as a novel cause of familial isolated GHD and pituitary hypoplasia (Argente et al , 2014). RNPC3 encodes a 65‐kDa protein that is a structural component of the U11/U12 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein of the minor spliceosome (Verma et al , 2018). Mutations in RNPC3 lead to structural destabilization of the 65‐kDa protein, impaired binding of U12 snRNA, and global defects in splicing of U12‐type introns (Argente et al , 2014; Norppa et al , 2018). We describe the effects of rhGH therapy on growth, body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone microarchitecture in the first three patients identified with this condition. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects and their parents for all studies and their publication. Studies conformed to the principles set out in the WMA Declaration of Helsinki and the Department of Health and Human Services Belmont Report. Three sisters were born to non‐consanguineous average‐height [target: 155.6 (−0.99 SDS)] Romanian parents. The father is a heterozygous carrier of a nonsense mutation (c.1504C>T, p.R502X), and the mother and only unaffected daughter are heterozygous for a missense mutation in RNPC3 (c.1320C>A, p.P474T). The three affected girls, compound heterozygous for both mutations, were born at term with normal length and weight, developing severe postnatal growth failure, typical phenotypic features of GHD, and delayed bone age (BA; Table 1 and Fig 1). They were referred to our clinic at 15.5, 8.1, and 6.0 years of age with extremely short stature (Table 1), undetectable serum IGF‐1, IGFBP‐3 and GH after stimuli (insulin and clonidine), and no clinical or hormonal signs of associated pituitary hormone deficiencies. Anterior pituitary hypoplasia was found in MRI. View this table: Table 1. Anthropometric data at baseline and after rhGH therapy onset Figure 1. Growth charts of the three sisters after GH therapy Facial appearance at baseline and growth charts of patients 1 (A), …

Plant litter decomposition is a key ecosystem process that can be altered by global changes such as biodiversity loss. These effects can be particularly important in detritus-based ecosystems, such as headwater streams, which are mainly fuelled by allochthonous plant litter inputs. However, experiments examining effects of plant diversity on litter decomposition in streams have not reached consensus about which measures of biodiversity are more relevant. We explored the influence of two of these measures, plant species richness (SR; monocultures vs. 3-species mixtures) and phylogenetic distance (PD; species belonging to the same family vs. different families), on leaf litter decomposition and associated processes and variables (nutrient dynamics, fungal biomass and detritivore growth), in a stream microcosm experiment using litter from 9 tree species belonging to 3 families. We found a negative effect of SR on decomposition (which contradicted the results of previous experiments) but a positive effect on fungal biomass. While PD did not affect decomposition, both SR and PD altered nutrient dynamics: there was greater litter and detritivore N loss in low-PD mixtures, and greater litter P loss and detritivore P gain in monocultures. This suggested that the number of species in mixtures and the similarity of their traits both modulated nutrient availability and utilization by detritivores. Moreover, the greater fungal biomass with higher SR could imply positive effects on detritivores in the longer term. Our results provide new insights of the functional repercussions of biodiversity loss by going beyond the often-explored relationship between SR and decomposition, and reveal an influence of plant species phylogenetic relatedness on nutrient cycling that merits further investigation.

Coarse particulate organic matter is the main energy source for consumers in forest streams. Although diverse, this source is dominated by leaves, whose quantity in the streambed is highly variable at both spatial and temporal scales. Disturbances in the riparian vegetation and stream channels further contribute to this variability. This chapter describes a method to estimate the amounts of coarse benthic organic matter (CBOM) stored in small streams. In a stream reach that is as representative as possible, all CBOM in five randomly selected transects is collected with a Surber-type sampler. The collected material is sorted into different categories such as leaves, twigs, bark, fruits, flowers and debris. All fractions are dried, weighed, ashed and reweighed to determine ash-free dry mass (AFDM) and results are expressed in terms of grams per square metre. Potential applications of this method include assessments of differences in CBOM among similar-sized streams experiencing different degrees of riparian disturbance, assessment of stream restoration measures or studies of stream food webs.

Forest change is a major environmental problem worldwide. Forest streams, with their large aquatic–terrestrial interface and strong dependence on terrestrially derived organic matter, are highly sensitive to forest changes. Fast-wood plantations can be particularly threatening if they markedly differ from native forests. Eucalyptus plantations, in particular, cover large areas worldwide (> 20 million ha, mostly from 35°S to 35°N), but their effects on stream functioning have been addressed mostly in the Iberian Peninsula, which limits generalization to other regions. We assessed the effect of eucalyptus plantations on total (microbial decomposers and macroinvertebrates; in coarse mesh bags) and microbial-driven (in fine mesh bags) leaf litter decomposition by comparing streams flowing through native forests and eucalyptus plantations in seven regions in the Iberian Peninsula, Central Africa and South America. We found an overall significant inhibition of total litter decomposition by 23%. The effect did not significantly differ across regions, although a significant inhibition was found for Spain (− 41%), South Brazil (− 31%) and Uruguay (− 36%) (Portugal had a marginally nonsignificant inhibition by 50%) but not for other regions, suggesting that the effects of plantations in temperate climates are mediated through effects on macroinvertebrate communities. Contrarily, the overall effect for microbial-driven litter decomposition was non-significant, but it significantly differed across regions with a significant stimulation in Central Brazil (110%) and Uruguay (32%), and nonsignificant effects for other regions (Kenya had a marginally nonsignificant inhibition by 48%), suggesting that functional redundancy among microbial communities is not general and effects can occur if plantations induce changes in nutrient availability, solar irradiation or litter characteristics.

Background The approach to the clinical management of Graves’ disease (GD) is debatable. This study aimed to identify predictors of remission in pediatric GD. Methods A longitudinal study of 36 children and adolescents with GD followed from 1997 to 2017 at a single tertiary hospital was performed. Clinical and biochemical parameters, including comorbidities, treatment with anti-thyroid drugs (ATD) or definitive therapy (radioiodine [RIT] and thyroidectomy), and remission as the main outcome were collected. We performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify likely predictors of remission. Results Among patients, most were female, in late puberty, with exuberant symptoms at onset. Eleven also suffered from Down syndrome (DS). Thirty-four patients (94%) started on methimazole from disease onset, and 25 (69%) received it as the only therapy, with a mean duration of 2.7±1.8 years. Six changed to RIT and three underwent thyroidectomy; no DS patient received definitive therapy. Remission was higher in DS patients (45% vs. 25%, p=0.24), but afterwards (3.9±2.5 vs. 2.3±1.4 years, p Conclusions Males were more likely to achieve remission. TSI values may normalize in GD, notably from the second year of treatment. DS children may benefit with conservative management in GD.

PAPP-A2 deficiency is a novel syndrome characterized by short stature due to low IGF bioactivity, skeletal abnormalities and decreased bone mineral density (BMD). Treatment with recombinant human IGF-1 (rhIGF-1) for 1 year demonstrated to increase growth velocity and BMD, without reported adverse effects, but data regarding the long-term efficacy and safety of rhIGF-1 administration in this entity has not yet been reported. Two Spanish siblings with short stature due to a homozygous loss-of-function mutation in the PAPP-A2 gene (p.D643fs25*) were treated with rhIGF-1 twice daily for six years. Growth velocity continued to increase and both patients achieved their target height. Free IGF-1 concentrations increased notably after rhIGF-1 administration, with serum IGFBP-3, IGFBP-5 and ALS levels also being higher during treatment. BMD was progressively normalized and an increase in lean mass was also noted during treatment. No episodes of hypoglycemia or any other adverse effects were documented. An increase in the growth of kidney and spleen length was observed in one of the patients, This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Health with the help of European FEDER funding (FIS-PI19/00166)

Climate change and anthropogenic disturbances are expected to lead to more intense and frequent droughts, with potentially severe effects on structure and function of perennial temperate streams. However, more information is required on whether streams flowing through basins already affected by exotic plantations will respond to droughts in the same way as streams under native forests. The recolonisation dynamics of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and leaf litter decomposition rates were examined in nine streams of oceanic-temperate climate that differed in catchment vegetation (three streams draining native deciduous forest, three in pine plantations and three in eucalypt plantations) after a marked drought. In each stream, five benthic samples were collected three times (ca. 1.5 months between sampling dates) after flow recovery, and the taxonomic and functional trait compositions of the macroinvertebrate communities were analysed. The decomposition rate of Alnus glutinosa was measured in fine- and coarse-mesh litter bags. Benthic macroinvertebrate density, richness and diversity increased with time after flow recovery but only richness and diversity differed among stream types, with eucalypt streams showing the lowest values. Both the taxonomic and functional compositions of the macroinvertebrate community were dependent on vegetation type and time, with the differences among stream types diminishing over time. While leaf-litter decomposition rate did not depend on catchment vegetation after drought, detritivore activity was the lowest under eucalypt streams and it was positively correlated to benthic shredder density. Our results indicated that in these perennial temperate streams the catchment vegetation influenced the recovery of benthic macroinvertebrate communities after a period of drought, although the decomposition rate of leaf litter was not strongly affected. Greater understanding of the structural and functional responses of stream ecosystems to different stressors is required before the effects of expected more intense and frequent hydrological changes caused by climate change can be adequately forecast.

This article offers some recommendations to improve the efficiency of the cooperatives pointing out the deficiencies and irregularities in the management and administration as well as in the effective control of the supporting personal to the assigned tasks. It treats about the hidden arty-crafty and tricks which wait for us when we control or do not control, when we delegate or have been delegated, as well as team work. We point out how to analyze the pros and contras of these situations and how to proceed in each case. We also tell, as an effective procedure to improve the efficiency or the cooperatives, the control of the production and the material and human resources, due to the fact that the working climax is in danger in not few organizations. Accountability is one of the most vulnerable branches. In this activity there are inadequate primary data that make possible the manipulation of counts as to hide illegal events. Amen of the money in safe and the goods of value to which sudden archly are not made, these are some of the fissures that incite wrongdoing. To resolve such challenges are some of the premises in the bring up to date of the Cuban Economic Model.

1. We are facing major biodiversity loss and there is evidence that such loss can alter ecosystem functioning. However, the effects of plant diversity on decomposition - a key component of the global carbon cycle - are still unclear. A recent study suggested that a plant trait - their nitrogen (N)-fixing capacity - could mediate effects of litter diversity on decomposition by means of a microbial transfer of N from N-fixers to non-fixers. 2. We explored this possibility in a microcosm experiment in which we manipulated litter species richness (one, two or four species), N-fixing capacity (N-fixer or non-fixer species), the presence of detritivores (Sericostoma pyrenaicum larvae present or absent) and water N concentration [natural stream water (0.366 mgL(-1) of NO3-N) or elevated N concentration (five times the natural concentration: 1.835mgL(-1))]. 3. We show that litter diversity accelerated decomposition by micro-organisms and detritivores (by 7% and 15% respectively), mostly through complementarity effects. However, enhanced decomposition did not result in higher detritivore growth, possibly because all litter combinations provided sufficient resources for their maximum growth. 4. The plant N-fixing capacity had no effect on decomposition, which varied among species most likely because of differences in a combination of litter traits. Detritivores maximized the consumption of their preferred resource in litter mixtures, but also exploited less preferred resources, and their C:N ratios increased during the experiment regardless of litter type or water N concentration. 5. Microbial decomposition of litter with low N content was enhanced at elevated water N concentration, suggesting that micro-organisms used nutrients from the water when those nutrients were limiting in leaf litter. In contrast, detritivore growth was impaired at elevated water N concentration, possibly because a stoichiometric imbalance entails metabolic costs. 6. SOur findings suggest that loss of plant diversity in riparian forests would mostly affect decomposition in streams of high nutrient status, where effects on microbial decomposition would be more evident and detritivore populations may be reduced.

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in leaf-litter breakdown rates due to flow regulation, through weirs and water diversions, in headwater mountain streams. In order to find common patterns and reveal singularities that might occur in different regions, we studied 17 streams located in 4 different climatic regions of the peninsular Spain (Cornisa Cantabrica, Cordillera Litoral Catalana, Sierra de Guadarrama, and Sierra Nevada). Regions showed a continentality gradient (assessed using the Gorczynski continentality index) from 7.7% (Cornisa Cantabrica) to 32% (Sierra Nevada). We hypothesized that stream regulation would impair habitat conditions and guilds associated with leaf litter breakdown, leading to a slowdown of litter breakdown rates. We further hypothesized that the extent to which breakdown rates changed downstream of fluvial regulation would depend on the combination of the nature and scale of the fluvial regulation and the environmental setting of each region. In all cases we found that leaf litter breakdown rates were lower downstream of the regulation. This change was most pronounced in the Sierra Nevada region, where the breakdown rate decreased by 50.7%, and least pronounced in the streams of Cornisa Cantabrica, where breakdown rates decreased by 20.8% downstream of regulation. In terms of the Gorczynski index, the extent to which fluvial regulation led to slow down litter breakdown decreased from continental to oceanic regions. Richness and sporulation rates of aquatic hyphomycetes did not show significant differences either between upstream and downstream sites, or between regions. In all regions we detected a consistent trend of lower abundance and biomass of shredders colonizing litter bags in sites downstream of flow regulation. Also, there were significant differences in the composition of macroinvertebrate communities between regions, which could be the cause of the differences in the leaf litter breakdown rates observed from one region to another. We conclude that changes of streamflow rates in headwaters slow down leaf litter breakdown rates downstream of the disturbance, but the magnitude of this slowdown is substantially influenced by the continentality of the region in which the stream is located. The differences in breakdown rates between upstream and downstream sites can be mainly ascribed to a reduction in shredder abundance in the latter, which is likely to be caused by altered in-stream habitat and riparian vegetation downstream of the point of flow regulation.

Biodiversity loss is occurring globally at unprecedented rates, altering the functioning of the Earth's ecosystems. Multiple processes are often key components of ecosystem functioning, but it is unclear how biodiversity loss affects ecosystem multifunctionality (i.e., the ability of ecosystems to maintain multiple processes simultaneously). This is particularly true for some ecosystem types such as streams, which have been understudied, despite their key role in global biogeochemical cycles and their serious impairment by the widespread loss of riparian vegetation as a result of global change. Using a microcosm experiment, we tested whether losing riparian plant diversity affected stream multifunctionality, taking into account nine key processes related to litter decomposition, animal biomass production, and nutrient cycling, and simulating plant species loss from four to one in the presence or absence of litter-feeding detritivores. Multifunctionality increased with plant diversity in the presence of detritivores and decreased in their absence, evidencing a key role of detritivores in biodiversity-ecosystem-functioning (BEF) relationships. Moreover, by exploring effects of plant diversity on each process individually we were able to reveal potential mechanisms underlying BEF relationships; for example, effects of plant diversity on nutrient cycling occurred at least partly via indirect nutrient transfer, and were possibly accompanied by changes in microbial stoichiometry. Such mechanisms were unnoticeable when examining multifunctionality metrics, suggesting that individual processes provide crucial information to understand how stream ecosystem functioning is impaired by biodiversity loss.

Human activities enhance the atmospheric CO2 concentration and modify climatic patterns, which could change the growth and quality of plant materials, as well as their subsequent decomposition, thus altering stream ecosystem functioning. These effects could be modulated by interactions between plant species differing in biological traits and competitive capacity. We cultivated the forb Trifolium pratense and the grass Agrostis capillaris under different CO2 concentration (ambient or elevated), water availability (control or drought), and competition (monoculture or mixture). The material thus grown was conditioned in a stream for microbial colonization, and its subsequent decomposition was measured in laboratory microcosms. Elevated CO2 reduced the quality of T. pratense but not that of A. capillaris. Water shortage limited plant quality but did not interact with CO2 concentration. Interspecific competition only affected nitrogen concentration in A. capillaris. Elevated CO2 did not affect decomposition rate, and A. capillaris, the species richer in nutrients, decomposed more slowly. Our results showed that the decomposition rates of plant materials grown under elevated CO2 are difficult to predict due to species-specific responses and interactions with other factors.

Drought, an important environmental factor affecting the functioning of stream ecosystems, is likely to become more prevalent in the Mediterranean region as a consequence of climate change and enhanced water demand. Drought can have profound impacts on leaf litter decomposition, a key ecosystem process in headwater streams, but there is still limited information on its effects at the regional scale. We measured leaf litter decomposition across a gradient of aridity in the Ebro River basin. We deployed coarse- and fine-mesh bags with alder and oak leaves in 11 Mediterranean calcareous streams spanning a range of over 400km, and determined changes in discharge, water quality, leaf-associated macroinvertebrates, leaf quality and decomposition rates. The study streams were subject to different degrees of drought, specific discharge (Ls−1km−2) ranging from 0.62 to 9.99. One of the streams dried out during the experiment, another one reached residual flow, whereas the rest registered uninterrupted flow but with different degrees of flow variability. Decomposition rates differed among sites, being lowest in the 2 most water-stressed sites, but showed no general correlation with specific discharge. Microbial decomposition rates were not correlated with final nutrient content of litter nor to fungal biomass. Total decomposition rate of alder was positively correlated to the density and biomass of shredders; that of oak was not. Shredder density in alder bags showed a positive relationship with specific discharge during the decomposition experiment. Overall, the results point to a complex pattern of litter decomposition at the regional scale, as drought affects decomposition directly by emersion of bags and indirectly by affecting the functional composition and density of detritivores.

The need of water for human use has led the impact on running waters of flow regulation to be of a global-scale. Although the effects of this impact have been widely investigated, efforts have been focused on large dams, so information about small reservoirs and their effects on ecosystem functioning is lacking. A recent collaborative project (IMPARIOS) addressed the effects of flow regulation by small impoundments on leaf-litter decomposition, a key function in low order streams which contributes greatly to the global carbon cycle. Flow regulation was found to affect ecosystem functioning reducing decomposition rate by altering shredders, but the magnitude of change varied among the different sub-climatic regions. The current project examined whether climatic variables modulate the effect of flow regulation on decomposition. For this, 19 bioclimatic variables were studied in relation to the leaf-litter decomposition rate and associated variables (sporulation rate and richness of aquatic hyphomycetes, and richness, density and biomass of total macroinvertebrates and shredders) in 17 streams impacted by regulation structures distributed in four sub-climatic regions within Spain. Overall, decomposition was slower below structures and climate influenced the magnitude of reduction. Effect sizes were negatively related to the seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation and to the general water deficit of the locations. In the future, the forecasted increase of seasonality in precipitation and temperature and the expected increase of number of dams to meet the needs of growing population may exacerbate the effects of flow regulation, altering nutrient recycling and the carbon cycle globally.

Native forest replacement by plantations and invasions by exotic plant species are occurring worldwide. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies reporting the effects of these forest changes on litter decomposition in streams. Overall, forest change significantly inhibited litter decomposition rate by ca 18%. However, only the replacement of native forests by deciduous broadleaf or eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus globulus ) plantations resulted in significant inhibition of litter decomposition (26% and 22%, respectively) whereas conifer plantations or the invasion by exotic species did not significantly affect litter decomposition. The replacement of native forests by eucalyptus plantations was the most common type of forest change in our database. The effect of eucalyptus plantations on litter decomposition was significant when they were present simultaneously at the catchment and riparian scales and when native litter input was replaced by eucalyptus litter input in a manipulative experiment at the stream reach level. This suggests that a strong effect of eucalyptus plantations on ecosystem functioning is mediated by changes on litter inputs to streams. Eucalyptus plantations significantly inhibited the decomposition of high quality litter and total leaf litter decomposition but not the decomposition of wood and low quality leaves, or microbial-driven leaf litter decomposition. This indicates that eucalyptus plantations inhibit (likely through changes in litter inputs) litter decomposition by affecting detritivores. Eucalyptus plantations may thus have stronger negative effects on decomposition rates in streams receiving high quality litter and where detritivores are abundant. The presence of native tree species in the riparian area may mitigate the negative effects of eucalyptus plantations on stream processes. The inhibitory effect of deciduous broadleaf plantations on litter decomposition was likely due to beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) being used in the majority of the plantations, and beech litter is of low quality for detritivores and decomposers. The lack of significant effects of conifer plantations and invasions might be due to contrasting effects of the different conifer or invasive species on decomposers. This meta-analysis also identified several research gaps that may guide future studies on the effect of forest change on stream functioning.