Mapping drivers of change for biodiversity risk assessment to target conservation actions: Human frequentation in protected areas.

Mapping the drivers of change that pose negative pressures or threats to biodiversity can help to identify where biodiversity is most threatened and can be used to determine priority sites to target conservation actions. Overlapping drivers of change maps with distribution maps of sensitive species provides valuable information to identify where and when it would be better to target actions to minimize the risk. The overall aim of this study was to develop a methodology for the integration of risk mapping associated with high human frequentation to guide conservation actions in two case study: the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and Posidonia meadows (Posidonia oceanica), both sensitive to human frequentation. To achieve this, we used two types of geolocated mobile phone information from the STRAVA platform: mapped paths and roads number of visitors at hourly precisions and a sporting activities heatmap representative of a wider period, together with species ecological information and complementary human frequentation data. The final, monthly risk maps identified the areas for Kentish plover with null, low, moderate, high, very high risk attributed to different aspects of the breeding biology of the species, nests, nestlings, and adults. The risk thresholds for nests are lower than for nestlings and adults, thought nestlings were generally less sensitive to human frequentation than adults. Visitors number ranges between 250 and 700 approximately suppose a moderate risk for the three assessed periods, and more than 1200 visitors appeared to prevent the nesting of the species completely. The final risk maps for Posidonia meadows determine the areas with low, moderate, hight and very high risk for human marine activities. Human frequentation values in this case study are scaled between 0 and 1, the results shows that values above 0.1 imply a high risk for the species. Both types of information can be used to target concrete, spatially explicit actions to minimize the risk caused by human frequentation. Furthermore, the first case study would allow to adapt the target actions to the species breeding phenology. The proposed risk assessment workflow is flexible and may be adjusted to match the available information and eventually could be adapted to other conservation objectives arising from different threats. In addition, data gathered from mobile mobility applications show great potential to accurately identify human frequentation, both spatially and temporally.

The world-wide waste web.

Countries globally trade with tons of waste materials every year, some of which are highly hazardous. This trade admits a network representation of the world-wide waste web, with countries as vertices and flows as directed weighted edges. Here we investigate the main properties of this network by tracking 108 categories of wastes interchanged in the period 2001-2019. Although, most of the hazardous waste was traded between developed nations, a disproportionate asymmetry existed in the flow from developed to developing countries. Using a dynamical model, we simulate how waste stress propagates through the network and affects the countries. We identify 28 countries with low Environmental Performance Index that are at high risk of waste congestion. Therefore, they are at threat of improper handling and disposal of hazardous waste. We find evidence of pollution by heavy metals, by volatile organic compounds and/or by persistent organic pollutants, which are used as chemical fingerprints, due to the improper handling of waste in several of these countries.

Puentes miocárdicos. Papel de la microcirculación, reserva coronaria y daño endotelial sistólico / Myocardial bridging. The role of microcirculation, coronary reserve and sutolic endothelial injury

Situación General: La relación entre puentes miocárdicos (PM) y enfermedad isquémica del corazón continua siendo tema de controversia. Evidencia reciente sugiere que dicha relación no ocurre al azar. Propósito: realizar un análisis crítico de la evidencia actual de asociación entre PM e isquemia miocárdica así como sus posibles consecuencias. Métodos. Presentamos 2 casos de nuestra serie y revisamos la literatura médica resgistrada en los sistemas Medline y Current Contents en periodo de enero de 1966 a enero de 1998. Resultados y conclusiones. Las principales aportaciones realizadas hasta el momento son: 1) Los PM no son una variante normal; 2) El impacto clínico de los PM depende de sus características anatómicas y del grado de su efecto "exprimidor" sobre la arteria coronaria; 3) El músculo procedente del PM no parece tener la misma histología que el resto de miocitos de otras áreas del corazón, lo que parece tener implicaciones fisiopatológicas especiales. 4) En el segmento con PM, el medio ambiente alrededor de la coronaria parece ser un factor crucial para que se induzcan o no anormalidades cardiacas; 5) El sobrepico sistólico ocasionado por el efecto "exprimidor" del PM sobre la arteria coronaria parece determinar la lesión endotelial que ocurre en la microcirculación de la región post-PM; 6) En algunos casos, por causa aún no muy clara, el daño endotelial sistólico se vuelve progresivo contribuyendo a la liberación de factores que son capaces de reducir la reserva coronaria local llevando a la aparición de fenómenos de isquemia; 7) El papel de la PTCA en esta alteración, requiere ser comprobada. Sugerimos que un tratamiento quirúrgico debe siempre ser contemplado en los casos con evidencia de áreas de isquemia importante, cuya posible causa sea un PM, incluso en aquellos casos que cursen asintomáticos