Impact of vacuum cleaning on indoor air quality

Vacuum cleaning can be a household source of particulate matter (PM) both from the vacuum motor and from settled dust resuspension. Despite the evidence of this contribution to PM levels indoors, the effect of this source on PM composition is still unknown. In this study, four vacuum cleaners (washable filter bag less, wet, bagged and HEPA filter equipped robot) were tested for the emission rate of particulate mass and number. The detailed PM chemical characterisation included organic and elemental carbon, metals and organic speciation. PM10 emission rates from bagged vacuum operation were much higher (207 ± 99.0 μg min−1) compared with the ones obtained from wet (86.1 ± 16.9 μg min−1) and washable filter bag less vacuums (75.4 ± 7.89 μg min−1). Particle (8–322 nm) number emission rates ranged from 5.29 × 1011 (washable filter bag less vacuum) to 21.2 × 1011 (wet vacuum) particles min−1. Ratios of peak to background levels indicate that vacuuming can elevate the ultrafine particle number concentrations by a factor ranging from 4 to 61. No increase in PM mass or number concentrations was observed during the HEPA filter equipped vacuum operation. The increase in copper and elemental carbon PM10 contents during vacuuming suggested motor emissions. Organic compounds in PM10 included alkanes, PAHs, saccharides, phenolics, alcohols, acids, among others. However, it was not possible to establish a relationship between these compounds and vacuuming due to the vast array of possible household sources. The cancer risks associated with metals and PAH inhalation were negligible.publishe

Physical Activity Adherence Related to Body Composition and Physical Fitness in Spanish Older Adults: 8 Years-Longitudinal EXERNET-Study

Introduction: The multiple benefits of physical activity (PA) compared to the current lack of adherence to this behavior in older people makes it necessary to identify the factors related to its long-term dropout, therefore, the aim of this study was: (i) to study the evolution of behavior change for PA through stages of change (SoC) after 8 years and, to identify the associated factors related to the worsening of SoC for PA. Methods: A total of 714 Spanish older adults (>65 years) participated in the Longitudinal elderly EXERNET study 8 years follow-up. SoC for PA from Transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM), body composition BMI, fat mass, lean mass, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC)] and physical fitness (EXERNET battery fitness tests) were recorded. A multivariate binary logistic regression model was used to identify the potential predictive factors of worsening SoC for PA. Results: Three hundred and sixty participants (50.4%) worsening their SoC for PA after 8 years. Predictors factors associated with worsening of SoC were: HC (OR = 1.022; 95% CI: 1.001, 1.044), Lower body strength (OR = 0.940; 95% CI: 0.887, 0.997) and aerobic endurance at the 6 min-walk test (OR = 0.997; 95% CI: 0.995, 0.999). Conclusion: This study highlights that we need to identify adults with high HC, lower body strength and lower aerobic endurance to design a tailored PA program. Identifying the determinants of losing adherence to PA will help in the creation, design, and evaluation of exercise programs with the goal of reducing older adults’ drop-outs rates. Copyright © 2022 Jiménez-Zazo, Hernández-Martínez, Romero-Blanco, Cabanillas, Pérez-Gómez, Ara, Casajús, Vicente-Rodríguez, Gesteiro, González-Gross and Aznar

TDR-LAB 2.0: Improved TDR software for soil water content and electrical conductivity measurements

Trabajo presentado en las XI Jornadas de Investigación en la Zona No Saturada del Suelo celebradas en Lugo del 6 al 8 de noviembre de 2013.[ES]: La técnica de Reflectometría de Dominio Temporal (TDR) permite estimar la humedad (θ) y la conductividad eléctrica aparente del suelo (σa). Esta comunicación presenta una nueva versión del programa TDR-Lab para la medida de θ y σa. El TDR-Lab 2.0 es compatible con tres ecómetros TDR diferentes y puede conectarse a multiplexores SDMX50 (Campbell Sci). Puede estimar θ y σa por métodos gráficos y numéricos y incluye nuevas aplicaciones para la medida de niveles de agua, potencial mátrico o conductividad eléctrica de la solución del suelo. Está disponible en una versión ligera que trabaja con ficheros XML y una versión completa que centraliza los datos en una base SQL. Una robusta interface de importación-exportación de datos permite comunicar ambas versiones.[EN]: Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a widely used technique that allows real time estimation of soil volumetric water content (θ), and bulk electrical conductivity (σa). This work presents an enhanced release of TDR-Lab, software which controls instrumentation for measurements of θ and σa. TDR-Lab 2.0 supports three different TDR equipments and can be connected to a multiplexing system (SDMX50, Campbell Sci). Graphical or numerical methods can be used for the estimation of θ and σa. Additional features to carry out water-surface-level measurements such as matric potential and soil solution electrical conductivity are also available. A little and a full release, for field and laboratory applications have been developed. The light version works with XML-files instead of the SQL database engine of the extended TDRLab. A robust import/export graphical user interface facilitates transferring projects between the centralized SQL database and XML files.This research was supported by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of Spain (grant AGL2010-22050-C03-02) and DGA- Obra social La Caixa (Grants: 2012/ GA LC 074).Peer reviewe

Psychosocial factors related to physical activity in frail and prefrail elderly people

Background: Increased physical activity (PA) is a very important factor in a healthy aging lifestyle. Psychosocial factors have also a main role in the initiation and maintenance of this behavior, but nowadays its implications for frailty elderly people are unknown, therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the psychosociological variables of behavior change that influence the practice of (PA) in frail and prefrail elderly. Methods: A total of 103 frail and pre-frail elderly people (72 females) participated in this cross-sectional study, on the framework of the EXERNET-Elder3.0 project. Age ranged from 68–94 years (mean = 80.4 ± 5.9 years). Individualized face-to-face interviews according to the constructs of the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) (decisional balance (DB) and self-efficacy (SE)], social support (SS) (family and friends) and outcome expectations (OE) were administered to all participants. Results: Significant differences were found in DB, perceived benefits (PBn), SE, family-related SS and OE as a function of stages of change (SoC) (p < 0.005), but no significant were found in perceived barriers (PBrr) (p = 0.259) and friends-related SS (p = 0.068). According to the Scheffé post-hoc test, those in advanced SoC (Action-Maintenance), scored higher than those in lower SoC (Precontemplation-Contemplation and Preparation). Conclusion: The scores obtained from the study variables differed according to the SoC, supporting the external validity for the use of the TTM in frailty elderly. Further research is needed to determine the impact of PBrr and friends-related SS on this people, as well as to identify the validity of this model in the long-term in this population

The Expression of Fibroblast Activation Protein in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinomas Is Associated with Synchronous Lymph Node Metastases

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) is a heterogeneous and complex disease that frequently develops distant metastases. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a serine peptidase the expression of which in cancer-associated fibroblasts has been associated with higher risk of metastases and poor survival. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of FAP in metastatic CCRCC (mCCRCC). A series of 59 mCCRCC retrospectively collected was included in the study. Metastases developed either synchronous (n = 14) or metachronous to renal disease (n = 45). Tumor specimens were obtained from both primary lesion (n = 59) and metastases (n = 54) and FAP expression was immunohistochemically analyzed. FAP expression in fibroblasts from primary tumors correlated with FAP expression in the corresponding metastatic lesions. Also, primary and metastatic FAP expression was correlated with large tumor diameter (>7cm), high grade (G3/4), high stage (pT3/4), tumor necrosis and sarcomatoid transformation. The expression of FAP in primary tumors and in their metastases was associated both with synchronous metastases and also with metastases to the lymph nodes. FAP expression in the primary tumor was correlated with worse 10-year overall survival. Immunohistochemical detection of FAP in the stromal tumor fibroblasts could be a biomarker of early lymph node metastatic status and therefore could account for the poor prognosis of FAP positive CCRCC.This work was partially funded by Grant SAF2013-48812-R from Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Spain), IT 8-11/13 from de Basque Government and EHUA14/25 from de University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). The current work has been developed as PhD project of PE and MB, who are recipients of a Predoctoral Fellowship from the Basque Government (Exp no PRE_2013_1_762 and PRE_2015_2_0148). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Evaluation of endothelial function and subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with HIV infection

The aim of this study was to analyse the association between human immunodefciency virus (HIV) related clinical and analytical parameters and the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis as well as endothelial dysfunction. This was a prospective cohort study of HIV-positive patients who underwent intima media thickness (IMT) determination and coronary artery calcium scoring to determine subclinical atherosclerosis. To detect endothelial dysfunction, the breath holding index, fow-mediated dilation and the concentration of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were measured. Patients with an IMT? 0.9 mm had an average of 559.3 ± 283.34 CD4/?l, and those with an IMT< 0.9 mm had an average of 715.4 ± 389.92 CD4/?l (p= 0.04). Patients with a low calcium score had a signifcantly higher average CD4 cell value and lower zenith viral load (VL) than those with a higher score (707.7 ± 377.5 CD4/?l vs 477.23 ± 235.7 CD4/?l (p= 0.01) and 7 ×?¬104 ± 5 ×?¬104 copies/ml vs 23.4 × 104 ± 19 × 104 copies/ml (p= 0.02)). The number of early EPCs in patients with a CD4 nadir< 350/ µl was lower than that in those with a CD4 nadir? 350 (p= 0.03). In HIV-positive patients, low CD4 cell levels and high VL were associated with risk of developing subclinical atherosclerosis. HIV patients with CD4 cell nadir < 350/µl may have fewer early EPCs

Cryptic population structure reveals low dispersal in Iberian wolves

Abstract Highly mobile mammalian carnivores are expected to have the capability to maintain high levels of gene flow across large geographic scales. Nonetheless, surprising levels of genetic structure have been found in many such populations. We combined genetic and spatial behavioural information from wolves (Canis lupus) in the Iberian Peninsula (Western Europe) during the last two decades to present a particular case of low dispersal levels in a large carnivore population persisting in human-dominated landscapes. We found an exceptionally reticulated pattern of cryptic population structure emerging at two hierarchical levels, in which four or eleven meaningful genetic clusters can be recognized, respectively. These clusters were characterized by moderate-high levels of differentiation (average pairwise FST = 0.09–0.19), low levels of admixture and varying degrees of genetic diversity. The number of dispersers identified among the 11 clusters was very low (<4% out of 218 wolves). Spatial information of tracked wolves further confirmed the geographical genetic patterns (only 2 out of 85 collared wolves overlapped with more than one genetic cluster). The high levels of genetic structure in this population may be determined by the recent demographic history of this population, among other factors. The identification of meaningful genetic clusters has implications for the delineation of conservation units and, consequently, on the conservation and management actions for Iberian wolves

Developmental and metabolic plasticity of white-skinned grape berries in response to <i>Botrytis cinerea</i> during noble rot

Noble rot results from exceptional infections of ripe grape (Vitis vinifera) berries by Botrytis cinerea. Unlike bunch rot, noble rot promotes favorable changes in grape berries and the accumulation of secondary metabolites that enhance wine grape composition. Noble rot-infected berries of cv Sémillon, a white-skinned variety, were collected over 3 years from a commercial vineyard at the same time that fruit were harvested for botrytized wine production. Using an integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics approach, we demonstrate that noble rot alters the metabolism of cv Sémillon berries by inducing biotic and abiotic stress responses as well as ripening processes. During noble rot, B. cinerea induced the expression of key regulators of ripening-associated pathways, some of which are distinctive to the normal ripening of red-skinned cultivars. Enhancement of phenylpropanoid metabolism, characterized by a restricted flux in white-skinned berries, was a common outcome of noble rot and red-skinned berry ripening. Transcript and metabolite analyses together with enzymatic assays determined that the biosynthesis of anthocyanins is a consistent hallmark of noble rot in cv Sémillon berries. The biosynthesis of terpenes and fatty acid aroma precursors also increased during noble rot. We finally characterized the impact of noble rot in botrytized wines. Altogether, the results of this work demonstrated that noble rot causes a major reprogramming of berry development and metabolism. This desirable interaction between a fruit and a fungus stimulates pathways otherwise inactive in white-skinned berries, leading to a greater accumulation of compounds involved in the unique flavor and aroma of botrytized wines.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Can animal manure be used to increase soil organic carbon stocks in the Mediterranean as a mitigation climate change strategy?

Soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role on improving soil conditions and soil functions. Increasing land use changes have induced an important decline of SOC content at global scale. Increasing SOC in agricultural soils has been proposed as a strategy to mitigate climate change. Animal manure has the characteristic of enriching SOC, when applied to crop fields, while, in parallel, it could constitute a natural fertilizer for the crops. In this paper, a simulation is performed using the area of Catalonia, Spain as a case study for the characteristic low SOC in the Mediterranean, to examine whether animal manure can improve substantially the SOC of agricultural fields, when applied as organic fertilizers. Our results show that the policy goals of the 4x1000 strategy can be achieved only partially by using manure transported to the fields. This implies that the proposed approach needs to be combined with other strategies.Comment: Proc. of EnviroInfo 2020, Nicosia, Cyprus, September 2020. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2006.0912