The Collapse of a Wedge Clam Fishery in the Spanish Mediterranean Coast and Recovery Problems

[EN] In the sandy shores of the Spanish Mediterranean, Donax trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) has a high commercial interest. In the Gulf of Valencia, poor management of fishing activity led to its closure in June 2015. The objective of this study was to analyze the evolution of the catches of D. trunculus before the closure of the fishery as well as the biomass and density of the population in the months following the closure, plus 2 y later. The area of study was located in the main fishing area of the Gulf of Valencia, which belongs to the fleet of the Gandia Fishermen's Guild. The fishing beds for this clam are found on sandy sediments in shallow waters (between 0 and 2 m). During the 10 y previous to the fishery closure, the annual catch per unit effort of D. trunculus suffered a sharp decrease, falling from values between 37 and 42 (kg small vessel(-1) d(-1)) during the period 2004-2008 to 5.5 in 2014. After the closure, the biomass and density of the wedge clam showed a seasonal pattern, with maximum values in summer, as well as notable differences in densities along the shore in each sampled month. Furthermore, a different size-frequency distribution across depth, with smaller individuals in the shallower areas, was observed. Nevertheless, a general and considerable decline for biomass and density from 2015 (monthly mean of commercial biomass ranged from 24 to 48 kg ha(-1)) to 2017 (from 4 to 13 kg ha-1) was noted. This indicates that the closure did not improve the state of the population. There are several hypotheses that could explain this decline such as overfishing, changes in environmental conditions, higher predation (in benthic and planktonic phases), and the reduction of food availability. Therefore, there would be a need to study them in greater depth, as well as to increase the understanding of the spatial dynamics and connectivity of the Donax beds.Escriva, J.; Rodilla, M.; Llario, F.; Falco, S. (2021). The Collapse of a Wedge Clam Fishery in the Spanish Mediterranean Coast and Recovery Problems. Journal of Shellfish Research. 40(1):37-47. https://doi.org/10.2983/035.040.0105S374740

Hypertrophic Scarring

Hypertrophic scars represent important problems because of the presence of pain, pruritus, contractures, as well as unsatisfactory aesthetic results. Currently, the evidence shows that a multidisciplinary management through prevention, adequate choice of suture, atraumatic surgical technique, and early noninvasive measures can favor the handling of these problems and continue with invasive measures that employ intralesional drugs. Clearly, the combination of surgical, technical, and pharmacological interventions will maximize therapeutic results

Experimental characterization of the entrained droplet velocities into a submerged gaseous jet

The study of submerged gaseous jets injected into stagnant water pools began in the 70s caused by the fact that they are commonly found in many industrial processes and engineering applications, such as underwater propulsion, metallurgical and chemical processes or nuclear reactors. Consequently it is important to be able to characterize these processes. The low air-water density ratio and the aggressiveness of the pool discharge process result in very complicated flow structures, which are inherently unsteady and turbulent. This poses a major challenge for the measurement of the various parameters involved in the discharge of gaseous submerged jets. Experimental studies of round turbulent air jets submerged in stagnant water are described in this paper. In particular, the entrained droplet velocity, which is crucial for the characterization of the jet, was determined. The experiments were performed using a water tank equipped with an air injector. A high speed camera in conjunction with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) techniques was used to measure the velocity of the entrained droplets during jet spreading. Results indicate that the droplet velocity distribution follows a decreasing exponential function. Moreover, the Reynolds number at the injector nozzle was used to develop a correlation linking the initial jet properties and the mean velocity of the entrained droplets. This work represents a new step towards a better understanding of the behavior of submerged gas jets injected into aqueous mediums. The velocity of the entrained droplets was determined, both its mean and distribution function. The extension of the present work to different nozzle diameters and aqueous mediums properties will be addressed in an upcoming paper.Papers presented to the 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Costa de Sol, Spain on 11-13 July 2016

Import of Aspartate and Malate by DcuABC Drives H2/Fumarate Respiration to Promote Initial Salmonella Gut-Lumen Colonization in Mice

ISSN:1931-3128ISSN:1934-606

Oral versus intramuscular administration of vitamin B12 for vitamin B12 deficiency in primary care: a pragmatic, randomised, non-inferiority clinical trial (OB12)

Objectives To compare the effectiveness of oral versus intramuscular (IM) vitamin B12 (VB12) in patients aged ≥65 years with VB12 deficiency.Design Pragmatic, randomised, non-inferiority, multicentre trial in 22 primary healthcare centres in Madrid (Spain).Participants 283 patients ≥65 years with VB12 deficiency were randomly assigned to oral (n=140) or IM (n=143) treatment arm.Interventions The IM arm received 1 mg VB12 on alternate days in weeks 1–2, 1 mg/week in weeks 3–8 and 1 mg/month in weeks 9–52. The oral arm received 1 mg/day in weeks 1–8 and 1 mg/week in weeks 9–52.Main outcomes Serum VB12 concentration normalisation (≥211 pg/mL) at 8, 26 and 52 weeks. Non-inferiority would be declared if the difference between arms is 10% or less. Secondary outcomes included symptoms, adverse events, adherence to treatment, quality of life, patient preferences and satisfaction.Results The follow-up period (52 weeks) was completed by 229 patients (80.9%). At week 8, the percentage of patients in each arm who achieved normal B12 levels was well above 90%; the differences in this percentage between the oral and IM arm were −0.7% (133 out of 135 vs 129 out of 130; 95% CI: −3.2 to 1.8; p>0.999) by per-protocol (PPT) analysis and 4.8% (133 out of 140 vs 129 out of 143; 95% CI: −1.3 to 10.9; p=0.124) by intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. At week 52, the percentage of patients who achieved normal B12 levels was 73.6% in the oral arm and 80.4% in the IM arm; these differences were −6.3% (103 out of 112 vs 115 out of 117; 95% CI: −11.9 to −0.1; p=0.025) and −6.8% (103 out of 140 vs 115 out of 143; 95% CI: −16.6 to 2.9; p=0.171), respectively. Factors affecting the success rate at week 52 were age, OR=0.95 (95% CI: 0.91 to 0.99) and having reached VB12 levels ≥281 pg/mL at week 8, OR=8.1 (95% CI: 2.4 to 27.3). Under a Bayesian framework, non-inferiority probabilities (Δ>−10%) at week 52 were 0.036 (PPT) and 0.060 (ITT). Quality of life and adverse effects were comparable across groups. 83.4% of patients preferred the oral route.Conclusions Oral administration was no less effective than IM administration at 8 weeks. Although differences were found between administration routes at week 52, the probability that the differences were below the non-inferiority threshold was very low.Trial registration numbers NCT 01476007; EUDRACT (2010-024129-20)