New orbit-averaged equations for low collisionality neoclassical fluxes in large aspect ratio stellarators with mirror ratios close to unity are derived. The equations retain finite orbit width effects by employing the second adiabatic invariant $J$ as a velocity-space coordinate and they have been implemented in the orbit-averaged neoclassical code KNOSOS (Velasco et al., J. Comput. Phys., vol. 418, 2020, 109512; Velasco et al., Nucl. Fusion, vol. 61, 2021, 116013). The equations are used to study the $1/\nu$ regime and the lower collisionality regimes. For generic large aspect ratio stellarators with mirror ratios close to unity, as the collision frequency decreases, the $1/\nu$ regime transitions directly into the $\nu$ regime, without passing through a $\sqrt {\nu }$ regime. An explicit formula for the neoclassical fluxes in the $\nu$ regime is obtained. The formula includes the effect of particles that transition between different types of wells. While these transitions produce stochastic scattering independent of the value of the collision frequency in velocity space, the diffusion in real space remains proportional to the collision frequency. The $\sqrt {\nu }$ regime is only recovered in large aspect ratio stellarators close to omnigeneity: large aspect ratio stellarators with large mirror ratios and optimized large aspect ratio stellarators with mirror ratios close to unity. Neoclassical transport in large aspect ratio stellarators with large mirror ratios can be calculated with the orbit-averaged equations derived by Calvo et al. (Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, vol. 59, 2017, 055014). In these stellarators, the $\sqrt {\nu }$ regime exists in the collisionality interval $(a/R) \ln (R/a) \ll \nu _{ii} R a/\rho _i v_{ti} \ll R/a$. In optimized large aspect ratio stellarators with mirror ratios close to unity, the $\sqrt {\nu }$ regime occurs in an interval of collisionality that depends on the deviation from omnigeneity $\delta$: $\delta ^{2} |\ln \delta | \ll \nu _{ii} R a/\rho _i v_{ti} \ll 1$. Here, $\nu _{ii}$ is the ion–ion collision frequency, $\rho _i$ and $v_{ti}$ are the ion gyroradius and thermal speed, and $a$ and $R$ are the minor and major radii.

Brucellosis remains one of the main zoonoses worldwide. Epidemiological data on human brucellosis in Spain are scarce. The objective of this study was to assess the epidemiological characteristics of inpatient brucellosis in Spain between 1997 and 2015. A retrospective longitudinal descriptive study was performed. Data were requested from the Health Information Institute of the Ministry of Health and Equality, which provided us with the Minimum Basic Data Set of patients admitted to the National Health System. We also obtained data published in the System of Obligatory Notifiable Diseases. A total of 5598 cases were registered. The period incidence rate was 0.67 (95% CI 0.65–0.68) cases per 100 000 person-years. We observed a progressive decrease in the number of cases and annual incidence rates. A total of 3187 cases (56.9%) came from urban areas. The group most at risk comprised men around the fifth decade of life. The average (±s.d.) hospital stay was 12.6 days (±13.1). The overall lethality rate of the cohort was 1.5%. The number of inpatients diagnosed with brucellosis decreased exponentially. The group of patients with the highest risk of brucellosis in our study was males under 45 years of age and of urban origin. The lethality rate has reduced to minimum values. It is probable that hospital discharge records could be a good database for the epidemiological analysis of the hospital management of brucellosis and offer a better information collection system than the notifiable diseases system (EDO in Spanish).

The component of the neoclassical electrostatic potential that is non-constant on the magnetic surface, that we denote by $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}}$, can affect radial transport of highly charged impurities, and this has motivated its inclusion in some modern neoclassical codes. The number of neoclassical simulations in which $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}}$ is calculated is still scarce, partly because they are usually demanding in terms of computational resources, especially at low collisionality. In this paper the size, the scaling with collisionality and with aspect ratio and the structure of $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}}$ on the magnetic surface are analytically derived in the $1/\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$, $\sqrt{\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}}$ and superbanana-plateau regimes of stellarators close to omnigeneity; i.e. stellarators that have been optimized for neoclassical transport. It is found that the largest $\tilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D711}}$ that the neoclassical equations admit scales linearly with the inverse aspect ratio and with the size of the deviation from omnigeneity. Using a model for a perturbed omnigenous configuration, the analytical results are verified and illustrated with calculations by the code KNOSOS. The techniques, results and numerical tools employed in this paper can be applied to neoclassical transport problems in tokamaks with broken axisymmetry.

Here we present a new site in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain): Galería de las Estatuas (GE), which provides new information about Mousterian occupations in the Iberian Plateau. The GE was an ancient entrance to the cave system, which is currently closed and sealed by a stalagmitic crust, below which a detritic sedimentary sequence of more than 2 m is found. This has been divided into five litostratigraphic units with a rich assemblage of faunal and lithic remains of clear Mousterian affinity. Radiocarbon dates provide minimum ages and suggest occupations older than 45 14C ka BP. The palynological analysis detected a landscape change to increased tree coverage, which suggests that the sequence recorded a warming episode. The macromammal assemblage is composed of both ungulates (mainly red deer and equids) and carnivores. Taphonomic analysis reveals both anthropic, and to a lesser extent, carnivore activities. The GE was occupied by Neanderthals and also sporadically by carnivores. This new site broadens the information available regarding different human occupations at the Sierra de Atapuerca, which emphasizes the importance of this site-complex for understanding human evolution in Western Europe.

The deficiency of Se, an essential micronutrient, has been implicated in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Our study was designed to determine total serum Se, selenoproteins (extracellular glutathione peroxidase (GPx-3), selenoprotein P (SeP)), selenoalbumin (SeAlb) and selenometabolites in healthy women and their newborns at delivery. This cross-sectional study included eighty-three healthy mother–baby couples. Total Se and Se species concentrations were measured in maternal and umbilical cord sera by an in-series coupling of two-dimensional size-exclusion and affinity HPLC. Additional measurements of serum SeP concentration and of serum GPx-3 enzyme activity were carried out using ELISA. Total Se concentration was significantly higher in maternal serum than in cord serum (68·9 (sd 15·2) and 56·1 (sd 14·6) µg/l, respectively; P<0·01). There were significant correlations between selenoprotein and SeAlb concentrations in mothers and newborns, although they also showed significant differences in GPx-3 (11·2 (sd 3·7) v. 10·5 (sd 3·5) µg/l; P<0·01), SeP (42·5 (sd 9·5) v. 28·1 (sd 7·7) µg/l; P<0·01) and SeAlb (11·6 (sd 3·6) v. 14·1 (sd 4·3) µg/l; P<0·01) concentrations in maternal and cord sera, respectively. Serum GPx-3 activity and concentration were positively correlated in mothers (r 0·33; P=0·038) but not in newborns. GPx-3 activity in cord serum was significantly correlated with gestational age (r 0·44; P=0·009). SeAlb concentration was significantly higher in babies, whereas SeP and GPx-3 concentrations were significantly higher in mothers. The differences cannot be explained by simple diffusion; specific transfer mechanisms are probably involved. GPx-3 concentrations in mothers, at delivery, are related to maternal Se status, whereas the GPx-3 activity in cord serum depends on gestational age.

This paper presents the Nursing Motives for Helping Scale (N-MHS), an instrument designed for the evaluation of three of the four motives for helping derived from Batson's helping pathway theory. Dimensionality was analyzed by means of principal component analysis (n = 113), followed by confirmatory factor analysis. A 3-factor structure (corresponding to Batson's differentiation among altruistic motivation, reward-seeking motivation, and punishment-avoidance motivation, respectively), with 9 items distributed in three latent variables, revealed an acceptable fit to the data. Alpha values (.60 - .74) showed that internal consistency was acceptable for a newly developed subscale with a small number of items. Convergence validity was evaluated with correlations between N-MHS subscales scores and scores on the Professional Expectations Scale (Garrosa, Moreno-Jiménez, Rodríguez-Carvajal, & Morante, 2005). The three resulting subscales are a promising instrument for the evaluation of three nursing motives for helping that can contribute to reduce the potential risks and to improve the potential benefits both for the nurse and the patient.