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A case of intergeneric hybridization in the wild between a female bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and a short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), considered members of ‘vulnerable’ and ‘endangered’ subpopulations in the Mediterranean, respectively, by the International Union of Conservation of Nature is described in this paper. The birth of the hybrid was registered in the Bay of Algeciras (southern Spain) in August 2016, and the animal has been tracked on frequent trips aboard dolphin-watching platforms. This unique occurrence is the result of an apparent ongoing interaction (10 years) between a female bottlenose dolphin and common dolphins. The calf has a robust body with length similar to Tursiops, while its lateral striping and coloration are typical of Delphinus. It displays the common dolphin’s ‘criss-cross’ pattern. However, the thoracic patch is lighter than in D. delphis and its dorsal area is light grey, with a ‘V’ shape under the dorsal fin. This paper also provides a comprehensive mini-review of hybridizations of T. truncatus with other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use a panel of manufacturing firms in Spain to examine the extent to which they use internal and external sources of information (customers, suppliers, competitors, consultants and universities) to generate product and process innovation. Our results show that, although internal sources are influential, external sources of information are key to achieve innovation performance. These results are in line with the open innovation literature because they show that firms that are opening up their innovation process and that use different information sources have a greater capacity to generate innovations. We also find that the importance of external sources of information varies depending on the type of innovation (product or process) considered. To generate process innovation, firms mainly rely on suppliers while, to generate product innovation, the main contribution is from customers. The potential simultaneity between product and process innovation is also taken into consideration. We find that the generation of both types of innovation is not independent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of large renewable energy projects is characterized by the great uncertainties associated with their administrative complexity and their constructive characteristics. For proper management, it is necessary to undertake a thorough project risk assessment prior to construction. The work presented in this paper is based on a hierarchical risk structure identified by a group of experts, from which a Probabilistic Fuzzy Sets with Analysis Hierarchy Process (PFSAHP) was applied. This probabilistic analysis approach used expert opinion based on the Monte Carlo Method that allows for extracting more information from the original data. In addition, the coherence of the experts’ opinions is assessed using a novel parameter known as Confidence Level, which allows for adjusting the opinions of experts and weighting their judgments regarding impact and probability according to their coherence. This model has the advantage of offering a risk analysis in the early stages of the management of renewable energy projects in which there is no detailed information. This model is also more accurate than the classic fuzzy methodology when working with complete distribution functions, whilst it avoids the loss of information that results from the traditional mathematical operations with Fuzzy numbers. To test the model, it was applied to a 250 MW photovoltaic solar plant construction project located in southeast of Spain (Region of Murcia). As a result of the application of the proposed method, risk rankings are obtained with respect to the cost, the time, the scope and from a general point of view of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper focuses on the issue of intimate partner violence and, specifically, on the distribution of femicides over time and the existence of copycat effects. This is the subject of an ongoing debate often triggered by the social alarm following multiple intimate partner homicides (IPHs) occurring in a short span of time. The aim of this research is to study the evolution of IPHs and provide a far-reaching answer by rigorously analyzing and searching for patterns in data on femicides. Methods: The study analyzes an official dataset, provided by the system VioGén of the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (Spanish State Secretariat for Security), including all the femicides occurred in Spain in 2007-2017. A statistical methodology to identify temporal interdependencies in count time series is proposed and applied to the dataset. The same methodology can be applied to other contexts. Results: There has been a decreasing trend in the number of femicides per year. No interdependencies among the temporal distribution of femicides are observed. Therefore, according to data, the existence of copycat effect in femicides cannot be claimed. Conclusions: Around 2011 there was a clear change in the average number of femicides which has not picked up. Results allow for an informed answer to the debate on copycat effect in Spanish femicides. The planning of femicides prevention activities should not be a reaction to a perceived increase in their occurrence. As a copycat effect is not detected in the studied time period, there is no evidence supporting the need to censor media reports on femicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on bioanalytical chemistry in Spain. Information on papers presented at the 11th meeting of Jornadas de Análisis Instrumental in Barcelona in November 2005; Complexity of real biological samples.

Around 27,000 people were killed in the province of Asturias during the Spanish Civil War, with several thousands killed after the war ended. There are currently over 2,000 known mass burial locations throughout Spain, but many more are unknown. Geophysics is a useful tool employed to help in the active attempts to document and improve knowledge about victims from this conflict. This paper details a non-invasive study of the Cementerio de El Salvador, in the city of Oviedo, Northern Spain. Part of the cemetery contains a known mass burial with approximately 1,300 individuals from the Spanish Civil War and post-war repression eras. Multi-frequency near-surface geophysical techniques were undertaken, after permission, to enhance knowledge about which, if any, techniques should be used to detect, delineate and analyse such mass graves. Multi-frequency (250MHz and 500MHz) ground-penetrating radar surveys were acquired together with 2D and 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography datasets. The results have established the limits of the mass grave and improve the knowledge of the internal mass grave structure. The paper also shows the importance of considering the climatic conditions during data acquisition. This has important implications for the successful detection of recent historical mass burials using near-surface geophysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In any sport the selection of players for a team is fundamental for its subsequent performance. Many factors condition the selection process from the characteristics of the sport discipline to financial limitations, including a long list of restrictions associated with the environment of the competitions in which the team takes part. All of this makes the process of selecting a roster of players very complex, as it is affected by multiple variables and in many cases marked by a great deal of subjectivity. The purpose of this article was to objectively select the players for a basketball team using an evolutionary algorithm, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) that uses stochastic search methods based on the imitation of natural biological evolution. The sample was composed of the players from the teams competing in the top Spanish basketball league, the Association of Basketball Clubs (ACB). To assess the quality of the solutions obtained, the results were compared with the teams in the ACB playing in the same competition as the players used in the study. The results make it possible to obtain different solutions for composing teams rendering financial resources profitable and taking into account the restrictions of the competition and of each sport management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal iodine deficiency is related to high neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) values, with the threshold of 5 mIU/L recommended as an indicator of iodine nutrition status. The objective of this study was to analyse possible risk factors for increased TSH that could distort its validity as a marker of iodine status. The clinical relevance of this research question is that if the factors associated with iodine deficiency are known, iodine supplementation can be introduced in risk groups, both during pregnancy and in newborns. Methods: A case-control study was carried out in a sample of 46,622 newborns in 2002–2015 in Spain. Of these, 45,326 had a neonatal TSH value ≥5 mIU/L. The main variable was having TSH ≥5 mIU/L and the secondary variables were: sex, gestational age, day of sample extraction and maternal origin. Associated factors were analysed through a logistic regression model, calculating the odds ratio (OR). Results: The factors associated with this outcome were: male sex (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.20–1.50, p<0.001), originating from an Asian/Oceanic country (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.54–1.20, p = 0.536) or Europe (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.66–0.96, p = 0.285) (including Spain, OR = 1) [p<0.001 for America (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.44–0.68) and p = 0.025 for Africa (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.62–0.97)] and fewer days from birth to sampling (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.77–0.82, p<0.001). Conclusions: The risk of high neonatal TSH without congenital hypothyroidism is higher in males, decreases with a greater number of days from birth to extraction, and is dependent on maternal ethnicity but not on gestational age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of the genus Orchesella Templeton, 1836 have been identified following intensive sampling in the Colluvial Milieu Souterrain Superficiel (Mesovoid Shallow Substratum, or MSS) of the Sierra de Guadarrama using Subterranean Sampling Devices (SSD). The data were obtained from the first extraction of the traps between May and October of 2015. During a study of the Collembola taxon, 32 different genera (61 species) were identified. The highest representative genus presence in almost all traps was Orchesella, with two new species. One of the two species described had been misidentified until this study was carried out, indicating that their preferential habitat had not been sampled; the second species had never been identified. The community of the Orchesella species in the Colluvial MSS was investigated, leading to the conclusion that this environment has its own assemblage of characteristic species. The opportunity to study specimens that belong to five species of the genus Orchesella, including three previously recollected, has allowed for obtaining reliable information regarding their macrochaetotaxy. A part of this chaetotaxy is proposed as a useful diagnostic tool for the species of the genus. In conclusion, it can be affirmed that this study has demonstrated that the Colluvial Mesovoid Shallow Substratum (Colluvial MSS) has its own fauna, and it supports the hypothesis that it constitutes a new biotope, at least for Collembola. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic criteria assume that the 18 symptoms carry the same weight in an Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and bear the same discriminatory capacity. However, it is reasonable to think that symptoms may differ in terms of severity and even in the reliability with they represent the disorder. To test this hypothesis, the aim of this study was to calibrate in a sample of Spanish children (age 4–7; n = 784) a scale for assessing the symptoms of ADHD proposed by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV-TR within the framework of Item Response Theory. Samejima’s Graded Response Model was used as a method for estimating the item difficulty and discrimination parameters. The results showed that ADHD subscales (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity / Impulsivity) had good psychometric properties and had also a good fit to the model. However, relevant differences between symptoms were observed at the level of severity, informativeness and reliability for the assessment of ADHD. This finding suggests that it would be useful to identify the symptoms that are more important than the others with regard to diagnosing ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The socio-economic factors are of key importance during all phases of wildfire management that include prevention, suppression and restoration. However, modeling these factors, at the proper spatial and temporal scale to understand fire regimes is still challenging. This study analyses socio-economic drivers of wildfire occurrence in central Spain. This site represents a good example of how human activities play a key role over wildfires in the European Mediterranean basin. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) and machine learning Maximum Entropy models (Maxent) predicted wildfire occurrence in the 1980s and also in the 2000s to identify changes between each period in the socio-economic drivers affecting wildfire occurrence. GLM base their estimation on wildfire presence-absence observations whereas Maxent on wildfire presence-only. According to indicators like sensitivity or commission error Maxent outperformed GLM in both periods. It achieved a sensitivity of 38.9% and a commission error of 43.9% for the 1980s, and 67.3% and 17.9% for the 2000s. Instead, GLM obtained 23.33, 64.97, 9.41 and 18.34%, respectively. However GLM performed steadier than Maxent in terms of the overall fit. Both models explained wildfires from predictors such as population density and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), but differed in their relative contribution. As a result of the urban sprawl and an abandonment of rural areas, predictors like WUI and distance to roads increased their contribution to both models in the 2000s, whereas Forest-Grassland Interface (FGI) influence decreased. This study demonstrates that human component can be modelled with a spatio-temporal dimension to integrate it into wildfire risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interval cancers are primary breast cancers diagnosed in women after a negative screening test and before the next screening invitation. Our aim was to evaluate risk factors for interval cancer and their subtypes and to compare the risk factors identified with those associated with incident screen-detected cancers. Methods: We analyzed data from 645,764 women participating in the Spanish breast cancer screening program from 2000–2006 and followed-up until 2009. A total of 5,309 screen-detected and 1,653 interval cancers were diagnosed. Among the latter, 1,012 could be classified on the basis of findings in screening and diagnostic mammograms, consisting of 489 true interval cancers (48.2%), 235 false-negatives (23.2%), 172 minimal-signs (17.2%) and 114 occult tumors (11.3%). Information on the screening protocol and women's characteristics were obtained from the screening program registry. Cause-specific Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) of risks factors for interval cancer and incident screen-detected cancer. A multinomial regression model, using screen-detected tumors as a reference group, was used to assess the effect of breast density and other factors on the occurrence of interval cancer subtypes. Results: A previous false-positive was the main risk factor for interval cancer (HR = 2.71, 95%CI: 2.28–3.23); this risk was higher for false-negatives (HR = 8.79, 95%CI: 6.24–12.40) than for true interval cancer (HR = 2.26, 95%CI: 1.59–3.21). A family history of breast cancer was associated with true intervals (HR = 2.11, 95%CI: 1.60–2.78), previous benign biopsy with a false-negatives (HR = 1.83, 95%CI: 1.23–2.71). High breast density was mainly associated with occult tumors (RRR = 4.92, 95%CI: 2.58–9.38), followed by true intervals (RRR = 1.67, 95%CI: 1.18–2.36) and false-negatives (RRR = 1.58, 95%CI: 1.00–2.49). Conclusion: The role of women's characteristics differs among interval cancer subtypes. This information could be useful to improve effectiveness of breast cancer screening programmes and to better classify subgroups of women with different risks of developing cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental high-energy and nuclear physics was created in Spain thanks to Joaquín Catalá de Alemany, who founded the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) at the University of Valencia in 1950. The physics of photographic emulsions, cheap and easy to manipulate, were well adapted to the depressed situation in Spain following the Civil War. This essay describes how, using these techniques, Catalá de Alemany created a group, established links with international laboratories, and fostered a tradition that continues today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]