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Traditional architecture is the result of collective experience in the optimum use of available materials in a given location and adapted to specific conditions and needs. Although forms and groups also depend on other cultural and social issues, the constructive techniques used depend mostly on geographical conditioning factors such as altitude, hydrography, lithology, climate, etc. This text aims to analyse the possible relationships among the multiple variants and specific geographical conditioning factors of each location; in turn, this should provide an understanding of the reasons motivating or reducing their use and the mechanisms adapting these techniques to these conditioning factors. The analysis cross-referenced GIS systems from a database compiling information on 1160 half-timbered walls with a series of themed maps containing information on geographical factors. The conclusions reached show that a single technique adapts to different geographical conditioning factors, giving rise to a wide range of solutions which can provide greater durability and improved habitability. This capacity to adapt to the location is a lesson in sustainability that can be applied at present and is above all part of the intrinsic wealth and value of traditional architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cereals are keystone crops for achieving food security and socioeconomic equilibrium, but rainfed cropland is highly sensitive to environmental anomalies that impact yields. The impact of soil moisture on cereal yield is particularly overlooked. This study evaluates the impact of root-zone soil moisture on yield compared to nine common climatic variables: maximum and minimum temperature, diurnal temperature range, growing degree days, accumulated rainfall, radiation, photothermal quotient, relative humidity of the air, and vapor pressure deficit. This study used the climatic database E-OBSv23 and the soil moisture databases ERA5-Land and LISFLOOD, focused on wheat and barley over the main cereal areas of Spain. Correlation analysis between annual yield and daily soil moisture and climatic data provided indicated the prevalence and concurrence of the impact factors on phenological stages of the Zadoks scale. Critical periods of impact on wheat and barley yields primarily concentrate during the growth and reproductive phases of spring. Soil moisture exceeds all other factors in magnitude and duration of influence, and our results suggest a complex interplay of factors during the critical spring period. This study highlights the preeminent role of soil moisture over climatic factors on the variability of rainfed cereal yields in water-limited areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Environmental factors play a central role in seasonal epidemics. SARS-CoV-2 infection in Spain has shown a heterogeneous geographical pattern This study aimed to assess the influence of several climatic factors on the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-19 among the Spanish Autonomous Communities (AA.CC.).Methods: Data on coronavirus infectivity and severity of COVID-19 disease, as well as the climatic variables were obtained from official sources (Ministry of Health and Spanish Meteorological Agency, respectively). To assess the possible influence of climate on the development of the disease, data on ultraviolet radiation (UVR) were collected during the months before the start of the pandemic. To analyze its influence on the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, data on UVR, temperature, and humidity were obtained from the months of highest contagiousness to the peak of the pandemic.Results: From October 2019 to January 2020, mean UVR was significantly related not only to SARS-CoV-2 infection (cumulative incidence -previous 14 days- × 105 habitants, rho = - 0.0,666; p = 0.009), but also with COVID-19 severity, assessed as hospital admissions (rho = - 0.626; p = 0.017) and ICU admissions (rho = - 0.565; p = 0.035). Besides, temperature (February: rho = - 0.832; p < 0.001 and March: rho = - 0.904; p < 0.001), was the main climatic factor responsible for the infectivity of the coronavirus and directly contributed to a different spread of SARS-CoV-2 across the Spanish regions.Conclusions: Climatic factors may partially explain the differences in COVID-19 incidence and severity across the different Spanish regions. The knowledge of these factors could help to develop preventive and public health actions against upcoming outbreaks of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographic distribution of the invasive plant Carpobrotus spp. and its potential biocontrol, the scale insect Pulvinariella mesembryanthemi (Vallot), was predicted in NW Spain using the maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt). Since both species are mainly present along the coast the potential distribution of the species overlapped. Plant distribution was influenced by soil thermal regime (51%) and continentality index (22%), while insect distribution was determined by the continental index (39%) and the soil thermic regimen (38%). The population dynamics of P. mesembryanthemi was examined through a 2-year field study in four localities invaded by Carpobrotus taking into account climatic factors and biotic interactions. In the studied localities, this scale was bivoltine, reaching its highest densities in the warmer and drier months of summer and sharply decreasing in winter. Only in a specially sheltered locality (Mera) did the insect densities stay high throughout the year. Pulvinariella mesembryanthemi infestation increased necromass proportion of its host plant. However, Chalcidoidea parasites and Coccinellidae predators limited P. mesembryanthemi density, and therefore may restrict its efficiency as a biocontrol agent. Chalcidoidea parasitism affected predominately the largest scales (particularly when P. mesembryanthemi reached high densities), slowing down the development of scales in summer. The excretion of honeydew by these scales attracted ants, and exceptionally, led to mould fouling. Carpobrotus plants were also attacked by fruit predators (facilitating seed dissemination and germination), other sap-sucking insects (i.e. aphids, mealybugs, spittlebugs), and viruses. There were no severe consequences. The utilization of the scale-insect as biological control due to complex interactions between both invaders and a set of generalist enemies and mutualists, as well as its implications, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Although some authors have suggested that there is some seasonal periodicity of hemoptysis, or relation to respiratory tract infections, the association of influenza or climatic parameters with hemoptysis has been poorly investigated. Our aim was to describe the relationship between influenza and climatic parameters with severe hemoptysis that required bronchial artery embolization (BAE). METHODS: All consecutive subjects with at least one episode of hemoptysis that required BAE during a 5-y period were included. We applied a general multivariable additive seemingly causal model corresponding to a lagged variable autoregressive model with the exogenous variables as monthly mean temperature, lagged monthly mean temperature (1), and monthly mean influenza activity, and the number of embolizations as the endogenous variable. RESULTS: We found a significant association between severe hemoptysis requiring BAE and low monthly mean temperature and influenza activity. Other climatic factors, such as atmospheric pressure, rainfall, relative humidity, or wind speed, failed to show significant association with the occurrence of life-threatening hemoptysis. CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong long running relationship between severe hemoptysis and low monthly mean temperature. A weaker association of hemoptysis with influenza activity was also found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A report published in this journal showed an inversely significant association between ultraviolet radiation (UVR) before the pandemic and cumulative COVID-19 cases in Spain. The analyses employed several meteorological factors, but socio-economic factors were not included. We examined the associations of COVID-19 cases with selected factors and found a significance on gross domestic product per capita (p = 0.037 by Spearman's correlation). Hence, simple regression analyses of UVR would be confounded with regional difference in economic activities. In addition, we raised several questions for limitations due to the study design and analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The XXI century home should be a digital habitat, a connected residence, but at the same time it should be involved in sustainability and the environment. The location of new technologies at home, and its acceptance by the user, requires, among other actions, a significant diffusion and activity to be undertaken. This work proposes the development of a Smart House network designed for its integration into a sustainable and bioclimatic solar house. The paper focuses on a specific aspect of the house design, the control system bus, developed for the management of the different parameters, variables, sensors and actuators which coexist at home. Finally, the system has been installed in a laboratory bioclimatic house. Environmental variable experiments based on the control of passive elements, such as phase shift gels, are presented. Experimental results show that the system is able to benefit from the bioclimatic elements in the house by taking into account the user preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pneumonia is responsible for important economical losses in the sheep industry in Spain and many other sheep-rearing countries, being the main cause of lamb death, and of losses due to condemnations in abattoirs and of drug costs. This respiratory syndrome is a complex disease involving the relationship between host and environment. The present study analyses the influence of environmental factors on the development of pneumonia in lambs. Statistically significant correlations were found between pneumonia as a cause of lamb death and climatic factors such as rainfall, humidity and intensity and direction of wind. The type of farm building was also an important factor to take into account in order to improve the prevention of pneumonia in lambs. Moreover, the age of the lambs was seen to be a significant item in the study of pneumonia. Respiratory pathology increased from 23 days of age. This fact permits the implementation of measures from birth to 23 days with a view to reducing pneumonia and its negative influence on lamb production. The paper discusses the practical implications of these findings for sheep production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Teucrium pumilum L., T. lepicephalum Pau, T. libanitis Schreber, T. turredanum Losa & Rivas Goday, and T. carolipaui Vicioso ex Pau (Labiatae) constitute an aggregate included in the Pumilum subsection ( Polium section). These species are endemic and geographically restricted to central and south-eastern Spain. They grow under different climatic conditions and have different edaphic requirements, particularly the gypsum and lime affinities. The effects of some ecological factors (i.e. edaphic and climatic factors) on the germination parameters of these Teucrium species were investigated. The species under study differed in their germination behaviour. The majority of the germination parameters appeared more correlated to edaphic than to climatic factors and particularly to the water availability in the soil. The calcicolous T. carolipaui, which grows in the driest habitat, had a more rapid germination than the gypsophilous species. This could be due to the existence of a narrower optimal germination period for T. carolipaui. The different germination requirements of these species of Teucrium are important results to be considered in conservation programs of these endemic and endangered taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the dispersal process of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758) with respect to climatic factors, landscape characteristics and human activity. We hypothesized that environmental characteristics constrain the relative abundance and dispersal process of roe deer. The study was conducted in the Iberian Mountains, north-eastern Spain, during 1986–2000. Roe deer colonization dates in the study area were obtained from a survey for large mammals and from direct interviews with the employees of the Fish and Game Agency. We used a 10 × 10 km UTM grid as the sampling unit (n = 91). The relative abundance of roe deer was estimated by counting the number of pellet groups in line transects, which were representative of the habitat availability in the 10 × 10 km UTM grid. Climatic factors were obtained from meteorological stations placed near to the plot. Landscape structure indices, topography and human activity factors were obtained from digital maps using fragstats 3.3 and idrisi 32. We discarded a number of variables with no statistical significance and avoided multicollinearity by using Spearman rank correlation. Then, we used GLMz (with a multinomial error distribution and a logit link function) to analyse the influence of each variable considered in the dispersal process. Finally, GLMz (with a binomial error distribution and a logit link function) were used a posteriori to differentiate between the effects of the explanatory factors on a particular phase of the dispersal process. Our results indicate that proximity to a previously colonized grid significantly affected the global process of roe deer colonization. Independently of the proximity of the nearest population in the previous phase of colonization, our results also indicated that the dispersal process was influenced by precipitation and landscape structure, leading the species to colonize even apparently hostile places. Original nuclei of these populations occurred in territories with high and constant precipitation, and a landscape formed by mosaics of agricultural land with a high proportion of forests. During the expansion process, roe deer colonized territories with summer droughts, dominated by large agricultural patches and with few forest patches. These data support the working hypothesis that environmental characteristics constrain roe deer relative abundance and dispersal process through the Iberian Mountains. The location of the original nuclei of these populations probably had environmental conditions that were more favourable for the roe deer. Areas settled in the final phases of the dispersal process had low relative abundances of roe deer, and are likely to act mainly as dispersal corridors rather than being able to sustain viable populations themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Water regime and climatic conditions affect aroma composition of "Muscat of Alexandria". • Negative relationships between total volatiles and vine yield were observed. • Pre-veraison water deficits increased glycosidycally-bound compounds. • No water stress during pre-veraison increased free compounds. • Seasonal effects predominated over those of water regimes on grape aromas. Irrigation effects in relation to the environmental conditions on grape aromas are still unknown. This study aims to clarify the effects of water regime on the aromatic composition of "Muscat of Alexandria" grapes under the semiarid climate conditions of eastern Spain and over three seasons. The relationships between total volatile composition in free and glycosidically-bound fractions, vine performance, and grape composition were also assessed. The watering treatments studied were: sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) at 50% of the estimated crop evapotranspiration (ET c); early deficit (EDI), where pre-veraison water deficit was imposed; late deficit (LDI), in which a water shortage was applied during post-veraison; and control (C), irrigated at 100% of ET c during the entire season. The effects of water regimes on volatile and glycosidically-bound composition were different between seasons due to the predominant effect of the environmental conditions on aromatic composition. The seasons with the greater yield were associated to a lower grape aromatic composition, however, this effect at the crop level was less pronounced in the most irrigated treatment. In drier seasons, irrigation delayed ripening and increased the terpene concentration of "Muscat of Alexandria" grapes, showing a high treatment and season interaction. Specific water regimes have the potential to buffer the effects of environmental conditions on the aromatic composition of "Muscat of Alexandria" grapes in a semi-arid climate, as the result of the complex relationships between climatic factors, vine performance and grape maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of soil water content on Aleppo pine growth variability is analyzed against climatic variables, using satellite and modeled soil moisture databases. The study was made with a dendrochronological series of 22 forest sites in Spain with different environmental conditions. From the results of the correlation analysis, at both daily and monthly scales, it was observed that soil moisture was the variable that correlated the most with tree growth and the one that better identified the critical periods for this growth. The maximum correlation coefficients obtained with the rest of the variables were less than half of that obtained for soil moisture. Multiple linear regression analysis with all combinations of variables indicated that soil moisture was the most important variable, showing the lowest p-values in all cases. While identifying the role of soil moisture, it was noted that there was appreciable variability between the sites, and that this variability is mainly modulated by water availability, rather than thermal conditions. These results can contribute to new insights into the ecohydrological dynamics of Aleppo pine and a methodological approach to the study of many other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]