Socio-Environmental Risks Linked with Mine Tailings Chemical Composition: Promoting Responsible and Safe Mine Tailings Management Considering Copper and Gold Mining Experiences from Chile and Peru

There is a need to define mine tailings in a clear, precise, multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and holistic manner, considering not only geotechnical and hydraulic concepts but also integrating environmental and geochemical aspects with implications for the sustainability of mining. This article corresponds to an independent study that answers questions concerning the definition of mine tailings and the socio-environmental risks linked with mine tailings chemical composition by examining the practical experience of industrial-scale copper and gold mining projects in Chile and Peru. Definitions of concepts and analysis of key aspects in the responsible management of mine tailings, such as characterization of metallic–metalloid components, non-metallic components, metallurgical reagents, and risk identification, among others, are presented. Implications of potential environmental impacts from the generation of acid rock drainage (ARD) in mine tailings are discussed. Finally, the article concludes that mine tailings are potentially toxic to both communities and the environment, and cannot be considered as inert and innocuous materials; thus, mine tailings require safe, controlled, and responsible management with the application of the most high management standards, use of the best available technologies (BATs), use of best applicable practices (BAPs), and implementation of the best environmental practices (BEPs) to avoid risk and potential socio-environmental impact due to accidents or failure of tailings storage facilities (TSFs)

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities as Indicators of the Environmental Health of the Cunas River in the High Andes, Peru

The Cunas River is a valuable natural freshwater heritage in the central region of Peru, where diverse economic activities depend on the quantity and quality of its waters. The environmental health of the Cunas River was assessed through indicators of the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and multivariate statistical methods. Water and sediment samples were collected in sectors of three populated centers during 2017. Indicators of water quality and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates were determined. The results reveal that most of the water quality indicators are in the range of the water quality standards of rivers in Peru. Twenty-six families of benthic macroinvertebrates were identified. The principal component analysis (PCA) of the water quality indicators through the first two components explained 79.59% of the total variance. Cluster analysis in relation to the relative abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates grouped the sampling sites into groups with similar characteristics. Principal coordinate analysis (PCO) analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate communities showed a clear separation of sites. The percentage similarity (SIMPER) analysis at the family level showed the percentage of contribution of species to the benthic fauna community. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) identified water quality variables that influence the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. Therefore, the information obtained will be useful for the management of similar rivers

Evaluation of the INECO Frontal Screening and the Frontal Assessment Battery in Peruvian patients with Alzheimer's disease and behavioral variant Frontotemporal dementia

Background: The physicians often confuse the early symptoms of Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with Alzheimer dementia (AD), leading to misdiagnosis. There are some cognitive tests to discriminate between AD and behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), and the INECO Frontal Screening (IFS) is a promising test for this purpose. Objective: To assess the performance of the IFS to differentiate patients with AD from patients with bvFTD, compared with the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). Methods: A prospective study with 117 patients of our cognitive unit (35 case-patients with AD, 34 case-patients with bvFTD, and 48 control subjects). They were submitted to the following successive phases of evaluation: 1) screening; 2) dementia diagnosis; and 3) dementia sub-type diagnosis. The IFS and FAB were blind and independently applied by one neurologist to all the participants to end of phase 1 (screening), before to the definitive diagnosis establishment. Results: bvFTD showed a lower performance than AD patients on the IFS total score (F(1, 66) = 70.10, p < 0.01) and FAB total score (F(1, 66) = 17.91, p < 0.01). The IFS and FAB showed a sensitivity of 94.12% (95%CI = 80.3–99.2) and 82.3% (95%CI = 65.4–93.2), and a specificity of 94.2% (95%CI = 80.8–99.3) and 48.5% (95%CI = 31.3, 66.1), respectively. The IFS showed significantly superior discriminatory accuracy than the FAB (AuCIFS = 0.98; AuCFAB = 0.73, p < 0.00001). Conclusion: The IFS is useful for discriminating between AD and bvFTD patients. The performance of the IFS to differentiate patients with AD from patients with bvFTD is greater than FAB.Fil: Custodio, Nilton. Instituto Peruano de Neurociencias; PerúFil: Herrera Perez, Eder. Instituto Peruano de Neurociencias; PerúFil: Lira, David. Instituto Peruano de Neurociencias; PerúFil: Roca, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt.; ArgentinaFil: Manes, Facundo Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt.; Argentina. Australian Research Council; AustraliaFil: Báez Buitrago, Sandra Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt.; ArgentinaFil: Torralva, Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt | Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional. Fundación Ineco Rosario Sede del Incyt.; Argentina. Australian Research Council; Australi

Análisis de la biodiversidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos del río Cunas mediante indicadores ambientales, Junín-Perú

The objective of the investigation was to analyze of benthic macroinvertebrates biodiversity of Cunas river by means of environmental indicators. Three sampling sectors were defined two contrasting periods. The anthropic pressures evaluation was carried out by means of DBO5 determination contributed by waste water. Water samples were collected for nitrate, phosphate and fecal coliform determination. The measured indicators in situ were: dissolved oxygen, dissolved total solids, conductivity, temperature, pH and turbidity. The benthic macroinvertebrate samples were collected using a Surber net with 250 µm wire netting opening. The anthropic pressure results on the benthic macroinvertebrates were: fish farming waste water DBO5 mean 7.70 mg/L, from livestock activity 869 mg/L and from urban activity 428.3 mg/L. The physicochemical and bacteriological indicator results showed significant differences for conductivity, temperature and dissolved total solids. Four phyla, seven classes, 12 orders and 26 benthic macroinvertebrate families were identified. It is concluded that waste water discharge from livestock and urban activities are significant anthropic pressures on benthic macroinvertebrate biodiversity. The water quality physicochemical and bacteriological indicators, determined according to sector and time sampling are in the ECA range for highland river water. The richness, abundance and benthic macroinvertebrate diversity, according to the sector and time sampling, presented significant differences.El objetivo de la investigación fue analizar el estado de la biodiversidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos del río Cunas mediante indicadores ambientales. Se definieron tres sectores de muestreo en dos épocas contrastantes. La valoración de las presiones antrópicas se realizó mediante la determinación de la carga de DBO5 aportada por aguas residuales. Se colectaron muestras de agua para la determinación de nitratos, fosfatos y coliformes termotolerantes. Los indicadores medidos in situ fueron: oxígeno disuelto, sólidos totales disueltos, conductividad, temperatura, pH y turbidez. Las muestras de macroinvertebrados bentónicos se colectaron utilizando una red Surber con malla de 250 µm de abertura. Los resultados de la presión antrópica sobre los macroinvertebrados bentónicos fueron: media de DBO5 de aguas residuales de la actividad piscícola 7,70 mg/L, de la actividad pecuaria 869 mg/L y de la actividad urbana 428,3 mg/L. Los resultados de los indicadores físico-químicos y bacteriológicos mostraron diferencias significativas para la conductividad, temperatura y sólidos totales disueltos. Se identificaron cuatro phyla, siete clases, 12 órdenes y 26 familias de macroinvertebrados bentónicos. Se concluye que las descargas de aguas residuales de las actividades pecuaria y urbana son presiones antrópicas significativas sobre la biodiversidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos. Los indicadores fisicoquímicos y bacteriológicos de la calidad del agua determinados, según sector y época de muestreo, están en el rango de los ECA para agua de ríos de la sierra. La riqueza, abundancia y diversidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos, según sector y época de muestreo, presentaron diferencias significativas

Competencias básicas para la iniciación matemática en niños de 5 años de la Red Educativa N° 03, San Juan de Lurigancho 2017

Esta investigación tuvo como propósito determinar los niveles de las competencias básicas matemáticas en niños de 5 años de la Red Educativa Nº 03, San Juan de Lurigancho 2017. La población estuvo constituida en su totalidad por 106 preescolares de 5 años de dos instituciones educativas estatales del distrito. Aplicó un enfoque cuantitativo con tipo de investigación básica, así pues, se empleó el método descriptivo simple, no experimental y de corte transversal. Del mismo modo, el instrumento empleado fue la batería EVAMAT-0 de García, Gonzales, Jiménez y Jiménez (2009), validado por juicio de expertos, y el cual se aplicó de forma colectiva. Los datos fueron procesados mediante el programa estadístico SPSS, obteniendo los siguientes resultados: que el 42,5 % de los preescolares de dichas instituciones se encuentran en un nivel de “proceso”, mientras que el 30,2 % se encuentra en un nivel de “inicio” y sólo el 27,4 % alcanzó un nivel de “logro”. Se concluye, que la mayoría de los preescolares presentan una adquisición media de tales competencias, lo que comprueba que, si bien se ha logrado disminuir los niveles de inicio, todavía es necesario revisar el enfoque pedagógico que se emplea en las instituciones, así como realizar una re-adaptación curricular y una mejora de las estrategias didácticas para esta área

Satisfacción laboral y desempeño laboral de los trabajadores públicos de un distrito fiscal de Lambayeque

El presente trabajo de investigación cuyo objetivo fue establecer la relación existente entre la satisfacción laboral y el desempeño laboral de los trabajadores públicos del distrito fiscal de Lambayeque; tuvo enfoque cuantitativo, de tipo transversal, nivel correlacional y diseño fue no experimental. La población del estudio estuvo integrada por 350 trabajadores públicos del distrito de Lambayeque, y se consideró como muestra a 76 trabajadores públicos. El instrumento utilizado fue el cuestionario, el cual fue validado por 4 expertos y obtuvo una confiabilidad de 0.835 con Alfa de Cronbach. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el 13.7% de los trabajadores se encuentran en un nivel malo de satisfacción laboral, mientras que el 67.1% en un nivel regular y el 19.1% en un nivel bueno; con respecto a la segunda variable, el 16.6% se ubica en un nivel regular de desempeño laboral, sin embargo, el 83.4% considera un nivel bueno de desempeño laboral. Se concluye que existe relación directa y significativa entre ambas variables, es decir entre satisfacción laboral y desempeño laboral (rho=0,350, p=0.000), por lo tanto, se acepta la hipótesis planteada

Potential risk of Pb to children's health from consumption of cow’s milk in areas irrigated with river water contaminated by mining activity

The contamination of food by heavy metals in areas irrigated with contaminated water is of great concern due to the potential risk to human health. To assess the potential risk of Pb to children's health from consumption of cow's milk in an area of the Mantaro Valley during 2018. Fifty-one children exposed to Pb and eight samples of raw cow's milk were selected. Pb concentrations were analyzed with the atomic absorption spectrometer. The mean Pb content in milk was 0.236 ± 0.057 mg.kg-1, which exceeded the limits allowed by the Codex Alimentarius. The estimated daily intake of lead was 5.9 x 10-3 mg.kg-1day-1; the estimated risk index (HQ) was below one, which represents a low risk for children. The cancer risk was below 1.0 x 10-4. It is therefore concluded that there is no significant risk to children's health from consumption of cow's milk

Barriers and Facilitators for Exclusive Breastfeeding within the Health System and Public Policies from In-Depth Interviews to Primary Care Midwives in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

The aim of this study is to describe the perspectives of Primary Care midwives regarding factors that benefit or are detrimental to exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) within the health system and public policies. The study was carried out in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) and is based on qualitative methodology. Twenty in-depth interviews were carried out with midwives who work in Primary Care centres in Tenerife, using a content analysis approach. The transcript data were then encoded following an inductive approach. The factors, according to midwives, that affect EBF, with regard to the healthcare system, are related to training of healthcare professionals in breastfeeding and their support to women during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care. Regarding public policies, midwives believe the maternity leave periods in Spain, together with a lack of laws and social policies to protect EBF are detrimental. The findings from our study show that there is a need to boost training and the role of professionals in EBF and, at the same time, promote protective policies that foster equality, favouring, among other issues, the work-life balance.This research was funded by the Spanish Health Research Fund (PIFIISC 19/15). Canary Islands Foundation Health Research Institute of the Canary Islands (FIISC). CIF: G76208396 Barranco de la Ballena, s/n Edificio Anexo al Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria “Negrín” 35019—Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Island, Spain.S