Central Region Of Spain Research Articles

Multivariate analysis of determinants of fetal growth retardation

Objective: To analyse the relative effect of the risk factors related to fetal growth retardation (FGR) in the central area of Spain. Study design: This is a case-control survey of 370 full-term gestations. Of the 370 women, 185 were diagnosed with intrauterine growth retardation, and 185 were in the normal group. All came from a central region of Spain. We took into account 25 possible risk factors. Results: In the FGR group we found 12 risk factors with statistical significance in the univariate analysis (tobacco, drugs, low pre-pregnancy weight, low maternal height, little gestational weight gain, excessive physical activity during pregnancy, low socioeconomic status, low educational level, unmarried, urinary infection, mother's haematological changes, and previous infertility). After the multiple logistic regression analysis, five factors were shown to exist as independent risks (tobacco: OR, 23.50; 95% CI, 3.01–183.18; P < 0.01; low pre-pregnancy weight: OR, 4.01; 95% CI, 2.14–7.51; P < 0.001; low socioeconomic status: OR, 2.91; 95% CI, 1.72–4.90; P < 0.001; little gestational weight gain: OR, 2.52; 95% CI, 1.21–5.22; P < 0.05; and urinary infection: OR, 3.83; 95% CI, 1.49–9.87; P < 0.01). Conclusions: (i) Tobacco, low pre-pregnancy weight and low socioeconomic status are the three main cause-effect factors of relative importance in our sanitary zone for FGR. (ii) Disproportionate FGR is related more to older mothers and maternal previous illness than to the proportionate FGR.

Crisis and permanence of the traditional Mediterranean landscape in the central region of Spain

The rural landscape of the Mediterranean regions has undergone very important transformations during the past 30 years. The traditional agricultural system, which dominated land use for centuries, underwent a crisis at the same time that modern technology was introduced to agriculture. The landscape recorded the impacts of that crisis and now shows the impacts of modern technological application. The Alcarria of Guadalajara (central Spanish region) is a sparsely populated eminently agricultural area, which is characterized by a series of vast and high platforms on which exists a hydrologic network that has formed valleys of various lengths. Cereals, olive groves, and vineyards occupy the agricultural soil; pastures cover most of the forested areas in which small ‘quercinea’ forest persist. Within the Alcarria, a pilot area (Trijueque) has been chosen to test cartographic analysis of landscape change. First, attention is focused on land use on two dates (1957 and 1983), land use being the most ostensible manifestation of landscape morphology. Stable and dynamic areas are differentiated; structural transformation (technological application) environmental impact, and landscape appraisal are addressed. Each of these landscape elements can be judged to have experienced progressive, regressive, or precariously balanced dynamics. This diagnosis, expressed on a summary map, will enable decision making in the domain of territorial politics to be properly grounded.

Identification, Distribution and Vector Population Dynamics of Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus in Three Cereal‐Producing Areas of Spain

AbstractELISA‐based surveys during 1985–87 in three major cereal‐growing areas of Spain confirmed the presence of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). Samples of small grain cereals and grasses with and without BYDV‐like symptoms were collected in the central, southwestern, and northeastern Spain. Infections were found in all cereal species sampled and in some grasses. About 37 % of the samples collected in 1985 were infacted with isolates of the PAV serotype. Isolates of the RPV serotype were less common, and were detected only in samples from the central region at El Encin, Madrid. Only a single sample, collected from El Encin in 1987, was unequivocally diagnosed as containing an isolate of the MAV serotype.Aphid vector population dynamics was monitored during fall and winter of 1984–87 in the central region. Rhopalosiphum padi L. appeared to be the most abundant species during fall and winter months, infesting grasses and volunteer wheat. Other species present were Sitobion avenae (F.), Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker) and Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch). Both R. padi and S. avenae seem to be anholocyclic in the central region of Spain, and are able to remain and reproduce on wheat volunteers and grasses until the beginning of spring. S, avenae populations increase quickly on wheat volunteers in April, while populations of R. padi remain low. Therefore, spread of S. avenae‐transmitted BYDV types to neighbouring cereal fields seem more likely to occur than spread of other types. Other possible virus reservoirs, such as maize, also need investigation for a better understanding of BYDV epidemiology in the central and other cercal‐growing areas of Spain.

Asymmetric Folds with Reference to German Salt Bodies

A brief discussion is presented of the conditions of asymmetry and overhang in the salt domes of Germany. Reference is made to the folded region of central Spain, and the orogeny here is likened to that in Germany. This paper is offered to facilitate the comparison between German and American salt-dome phenomena.