Salt marsh fragmentation in a mesotidal estuary: Implications for medium to long-term management.

During the last decades many salt marshes worldwide have suffered important losses in their extent and associated ecosystem services. The salt marshes of San Vicente de la Barquera estuary (N Spain) are a clear example of this, with a drastic reduction in vegetation surface over the last 60 years. This paper provides insights into the main factors controlling salt marsh functioning in sheltered estuarine areas. Regional and local factors have been disaggregated to identify the main drivers controlling the functioning of the salt marsh to develop appropriate management measures according to the evolution of the system. These factors have been studied in their spatial context through detailed maps of change in vegetation cover combined with topographic data obtained from UAV and RTK-DGPS surveys. The results demonstrate that in this estuary the salt marsh area is declining following a fragmentation process. No clear pattern of vegetation loss/gain with elevation has been identified. However, the results point to increased hydrodynamic stress in the area, with stronger currents inside the estuary. This is probably the major factor responsible for the decline of the salt marshes in the San Vicente de la Barquera estuary. Furthermore, several human interventions during the 20th century (local drivers) have also probably contributed to a lower resilience against SLR (regional driver). This work demonstrates that both natural and human drivers of change need to be considered when characterizing the evolution of salt marshes, wherever efficient management strategies need to be designed.

Efectos diferidos y concurrentes del clima de grupo sobre los cambios en el aprendizaje de equipo: el rol modulador de la presión temporal y la sobrecarga de trabajo / Concurrent and Lagged Effects of Team Climate on Team Learning Changes: The Moderator Role of Time Pressure and Work Overload

Los grupos de trabajo son centrales en las organizaciones actuales, y uno de los procesos más relevantes es el aprendizaje de equipo, su desarrollo y sus antecedentes. El presente estudio tiene dos objetivos principales: 1) analizar el efecto del clima del grupo sobre el desarrollo del aprendizaje de equipo y 2) estudiar el rol modulador de diferentes estresores de equipo (sobrecarga y presión temporal) en dicha relación. Los resultados muestran que el clima del equipo influye de manera concurrente y diferida sobre el aprendizaje. La sobrecarga de trabajo modula la relación entre el apoyo a la innovación y el aprendizaje de equipo al inicio del trabajo en grupo. Sin embargo, la presión temporal no parece tener efectos en dicha relación.

Teams are central work units in organizations. One of the processes that are receiving attention is team learning. The focus is on those processes that can predict team learning and its evolution over time. This study has two objectives. First, analyze team climate effect on team learning development. Second, test the moderator role of team stressors (work overload and time pressure) in the relationship between tem climate and team learning. Results obtained shows that team climate have concurrent and differed effects on team learning. On the other hand, work overload moderates the relationship between support for innovation and team learning at the beginning of teamwork, but time pressure does not have effects in the relationship between team climate and team learning.

Morphological, compositional, structural, and optical properties of Si-nc embedded in SiOx films.

Structural, compositional, morphological, and optical properties of silicon nanocrystal (Si-nc) embedded in a matrix of non-stoichiometric silicon oxide (SiOx) films were studied. SiOx films were prepared by hot filament chemical vapor deposition technique in the 900 to 1,400°C range. Different microscopic and spectroscopic characterization techniques were used. The film composition changes with the growth temperature as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy supports the existence of Si-ncs with a diameter from 1 to 6.5 nm in the matrix of SiOx films. The films emit in a wide photoluminescent spectrum, and the maximum peak emission shows a blueshift as the growth temperature decreases. On the other hand, transmittance spectra showed a wavelength shift of the absorption border, indicating an increase in the energy optical bandgap, when the growth temperature decreases. A relationship between composition, Si-nc size, energy bandgap, PL, and surface morphology was obtained. According to these results, we have analyzed the dependence of PL on the composition, structure, and morphology of the Si-ncs embedded in a matrix of non-stoichiometric SiOx films.

GMR effect in CuCo annealed melt-spun ribbons.

A thorough microstructural and magnetic analysis has been performed on as-quenched and annealed (475 and 525 degrees C, 1 hour) melt-spun Cu100-xCox (x = 10 and 15) granular alloys, presenting a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect. The annealed samples are inhomogeneous with respect to the Co-particle sizes and interparticles distances and, therefore, these particles present superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic behaviours, which determine the GMR response. The samples x = 15, treated at 525 degrees C during 1 hour, presented the best GMR ratio (approximately 5% at room temperature to be the highest value approaching roughly to the saturation under an applied magnetic field of 15 KOe), with the coexistence of Co-particles with both kinds of magnetic behaviour.

[Tumor bladder antigen (TBA). A new method for the diagnosis and detection of recurrence of bladder cancer]. / Antígeno vesical tumoral (BTA). Nuevo método para el diagnóstico y detección de recidiva del cáncer vesical.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the usefulness and accuracy of the BTA test versus urinary cytology. METHODS: The BTA test was performed in 45 patients distributed into three groups: group I comprised patients with hematuria of unknown origin; group II had a diagnosis of bladder cancer; and group III comprised patients who had undergone TUR for a bladder tumor and were undergoing endoscopic control evaluation. The sensitivity and specificity of each diagnostic method were determined for each group of patients. RESULTS: The BTA test showed a higher sensitivity than urinary cytology in all groups, the difference being significant for groups II and III. Its specificity, however, was lower than that of cytology in groups I and III, and similar in group II. CONCLUSION: The BTA test is a simple and useful method for the diagnosis and follow-up of bladder cancer. It has a higher sensitivity than urinary cytology, although its specificity is lower due to the higher number of false positives observed in patients with inflammatory bladder conditions. Randomized studies are warranted to determine if the accuracy of urinary cytology can be enhanced with the combined use of the BTA test which has been demonstrated to have a higher specificity.