Multi-hazard response analysis of a 5MW offshore wind turbine

Wind energy has already dominant role on the scene of the clean energy production. Well-promising markets, like China, India, Korea and Latin America are the fields of expansion for new wind turbines mainly installed in offshore environment, where wind, wave and earthquake loads threat the structural integrity and reliability of these energy infrastructures. Along these lines, a multi-hazard environment was considered herein and the structural performance of a 5 MW offshore wind turbine was assessed through time domain analysis. A fully integrated model of the offshore structure consisting of the blades, the nacelle, the tower and the monopile was developed with the use of an aeroelastic code considering the interaction between the elastic and inertial forces, developed in the structure, as well as the generated aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces. Based on the analysis results, the dynamic response of the turbine's tower was found to be severely affected by the earthquake excitations. Moreover, fragility analysis based on acceleration capacity thresholds for the nacelle's equipment corroborated that the earthquake excitations may adversely affect the reliability and availability of wind turbines

Short report: Genetic characterization of atypical Mansonella (Mansonella) ozzardi microfilariae in human blood samples from Northeastern Peru

DNA sequence comparisons are useful for characterizing proposed new parasite species or strains. Microfilariae with an atypical arrangement of nuclei behind the cephalic space have been recently described in human blood samples from the Amazon region of Peru. Three blood specimens containing atypical microfilariae were genetically characterized using three DNA markers (5S ribosomal DNA, 12S ribosomal DNA, and cytochrome oxidase I). All atypical microfilariae were clustered into the Mansonella group and indistinguishable from M. ozzardi based on these DNA markers

Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses of a colorectal cancer screening programme in a high adenoma prevalence scenario using MISCAN-Colon microsimulation model

This economic evaluation showed a screening intervention with a major health gain that also produced net savings when a long follow-up was used to capture the late economic benefit. The number of colonoscopies required was high but remain within the capacity of the Basque Health Service. So far in Europe, no other population Colorectal Cancer screening programme has been evaluated by budget impact analysis

An assessment of existing models for individualized breast cancer risk estimation in a screening program in Spain

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the calibration and discriminatory power of three predictive models of breast cancer risk. Methods: We included 13,760 women who were first-time participants in the Sabadell-Cerdanyola Breast Cancer Screening Program, in Catalonia, Spain. Projections of risk were obtained at three and five years for invasive cancer using the Gail, Chen and Barlow models. Incidence and mortality data were obtained from the Catalan registries. The calibration and discrimination of the models were assessed using the Hosmer-Lemeshow C statistic, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the Harrell’s C statistic. Results: The Gail and Chen models showed good calibration while the Barlow model overestimated the number of cases: the ratio between estimated and observed values at 5 years ranged from 0.86 to 1.55 for the first two models and from 1.82 to 3.44 for the Barlow model. The 5-year projection for the Chen and Barlow models had the highest discrimination, with an AUC around 0.58. The Harrell’s C statistic showed very similar values in the 5-year projection for each of the models. Although they passed the calibration test, the Gail and Chen models overestimated the number of cases in some breast density categories. Conclusions: These models cannot be used as a measure of individual risk in early detection programs to customize screening strategies. The inclusion of longitudinal measures of breast density or other risk factors in joint models of survival and longitudinal data may be a step towards personalized early detection of BC.This study was funded by grant PS09/01340 and The Spanish Network on Chronic Diseases REDISSEC (RD12/0001/0007) from the Health Research Fund (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria) of the Spanish Ministry of Health

Identidad, territorio y promocion de la salud

El presente trabajo se enmarca dentro de un proyecto de extensión que se desarrolla durante el 2012, acreditado y financiado por la UNLP, denominado “Identidad, territorio y salud. Construcción de identidades colectivas y transferencia institucional en torno al primer nivel de atención en el Barrio Federal de Ensenada”. Este barrio cuenta con una población aproximada de 480 habitantes y está ubicado en la zona de Gran La Plata, Pcia. de Buenos Aires. El objetivo del trabajo consiste en fortalecer la apropiación y promoción de la salud colectiva, entendida ésta como un proceso construido históricamente por cada sociedad, que se crea y recrea en todos los aspectos de la vida cotidiana de los sujetos. La propuesta metodológica se sustenta en un proceso dialógico entre los sujetos involucrados: vecinos de barrio Federal y los integrantes del equipo del trabajo extensionista. Desde este marco (pedagógico horizontal) desarrollamos actividades grupales de carácter lúdico-recreativo, que a primera vista no aparentan tener una relación con el proceso salud-enfermedad, propio del imaginario social, pero implícitamente, estarían abarcando y generando cambios en el significado asignado del mismo. Partimos de la idea de fortalecer el sentirse bien, no en el estricto sentido biológico, sino como aquella capacidad para crear momentos y actividades con pares en un mismo territorio y generando lazos entre vecinos y entre éstos y la institución de salud del barrio. De este modo, las actividades se desarrollan principalmente en la sala de espera de la unidad sanitaria y en la plaza circundante. Hemos definido tres líneas de trabajo: artístico, narrativo-plástico y de producción audiovisual y medioambiente. En los encuentros se trabaja con diferentes recursos, propios de disciplinas como música, plástica, teatro, danza, escultura, circo, artes audiovisuales, literatura, entre otros. El carácter interdisciplinario de este proyecto, conformado por estudiantes de las carreras de Trabajo Social y Antropología, un artista escultor y dirigido y coordinado por docentes y graduados de las Facultades de Ciencias Medicas, Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación y Trabajo Social, enriquece las perspectivas de abordaje y fortalece la visión social, integral y colectiva de la salud. Consolidar acciones identitarias del barrio, generadas a partir de la promoción de la salud, es el principal desafío a alcanzar

South American Plasmodium falciparum after the Malaria Eradication Era: Clonal Population Expansion and Survival of the Fittest Hybrids

Malaria has reemerged in many regions where once it was nearly eliminated. Yet the source of these parasites, the process of repopulation, their population structure, and dynamics are ill defined. Peru was one of malaria eradication's successes, where Plasmodium falciparum was nearly eliminated for two decades. It reemerged in the 1990s. In the new era of malaria elimination, Peruvian P. falciparum is a model of malaria reinvasion. We investigated its population structure and drug resistance profiles. We hypothesized that only populations adapted to local ecological niches could expand and repopulate and originated as vestigial populations or recent introductions. We investigated the genetic structure (using microsatellites) and drug resistant genotypes of 220 parasites collected from patients immediately after peak epidemic expansion (1999–2000) from seven sites across the country. The majority of parasites could be grouped into five clonal lineages by networks and AMOVA. The distribution of clonal lineages and their drug sensitivity profiles suggested geographic structure. In 2001, artesunate combination therapy was introduced in Peru. We tested 62 parasites collected in 2006–2007 for changes in genetic structure. Clonal lineages had recombined under selection for the fittest parasites. Our findings illustrate that local adaptations in the post-eradication era have contributed to clonal lineage expansion. Within the shifting confluence of drug policy and malaria incidence, populations continue to evolve through genetic outcrossing influenced by antimalarial selection pressure. Understanding the population substructure of P. falciparum has implications for vaccine, drug, and epidemiologic studies, including monitoring malaria during and after the elimination phase