PSYCHOLOGY IN TIMES OF CRISIS. PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

This article addresses three major issues: firstly, the current framework of interpretation regarding the use of fear and the economic crisis with instruments for proposing cuts; secondly, the general situation of our country with a number of figures on inequality and exclusion; and thirdly, proposals for social intervention in crisis situations reflecting interventions, for example in evictions

CHAPTER 7: GRAVITY

Peer reviewe

Enzymatic method of producing 4-O- β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-xylose, 4-O- β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-xylose obtained using said method, compositions containing said and the use thereof in evaluating intestinal lactase

Filing Date: 2002-06-14.-- Priority Data: ES 200101419 (2001-06-18).-- International Publication Number: WO_2002103038 (20021227).An enzymatic process to obtain 4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-xylose useful in compositions or solutions in the in vivo evaluation of intestinal lactose activity in humans, that comprises the steps of preparing a reaction mixture of D-xylose, a β-D-galactopyranoside and a reaction medium that comprises water buffered to a pH between 5.0 and 9.0; adding 10 to 1,000 units of β-D-galactosidase per gram of β-D-galactopyranoside; subjecting the reaction mixture to a reaction or a temperature between a temperature higher than the freezing point of the reaction mixture and 45ºC, for 2 to 48 hours; for the reaction by deactivation of the β-D-galactosidase; and to isolate and crystallize the fractions that contain 4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-xylose from a crystallization mixture selected between mixtures of acetone/methanol in a ratio between 5/1 to 20/1 and mixtures of acetone/water in a ratio between 5/1 to 20/1

No evidence of firstly acquired acute hepatitis C virus infection outbreak among HIV-infected patients from Southern Spain: a multicentric retrospective study from 2000-2014

Background: Acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (AHCVI) outbreaks have been described recently within defined areas worldwide among HIV-infected homosexual men. This study aims to describe the cumulative frequency and incidence of firstly acquired AHCVI in an HIV-infected population in Southern Spain. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted at the Infectious Diseases Units of eight hospitals in Andalusia, Southern Spain. Primary AHC was considered as HCV immunoglobulin G antibody seroconversion. The time of infection was considered the moment between the last negative and the first positive HCV antibody determination. Results: A total of 23 cases of primary AHCVI have been detected from 2000 to 2014. Incidence rates [IR; 95 % confidence interval (CI)] were 0.036 (2.272–0.054) per 100 person-years (py) in the overall population over a follow-up period of 64170 py. Of the 22 (95.7 %) male subjects, 21 (95.5 %) had acquired AHCVI by homosexual contact, the IR (95 % CI) was 0.039 (0.024–0.06) per 100 py in this subpopulation. There was no evidence of an increase of AHCVI IR. The incidence of AHCVI was slightly lower between 2000 and 2004 as compared to 2005–2009 [IR ratio (IRR) of 8.8 (95 % CI: 1.279–378.794; p = 0.01)] but reached a plateau afterwards [IRR between 2010 and 2014 versus 2005–2009: 0.727 (0.286–1.848; p = 0.5)]. The median (Q1-Q3) time between the last negative anti-HCV and the first positive anti-HCV determination was 4.7 (1.9–11.2) months. Peak (Q1-Q3) ALT and total bilirubin values during AHCVI were 496 (291–656) IU/mL and 1.15 (0.9–1.98) mg/dL, respectively. Conclusions: In contrast to what has been reported from other areas, the incidence of primary AHCVI in the HIVinfected population is stable in Southern Spain and there is no evidence of an epidemic, in spite of the high prevalence of HIV/HCV-coinfection in this area.Plan Nacional R + D + I RD12/0017/0012ISCIII-Subdirección General de EvaluaciónFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) European Union (EU)Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI15/01124, CP13/00187, Programa-I3SN

Strategies for Odour Control

Producción CientíficaOdour pollution is often linked to industrial activities such as waste treatment (wastewater treatment plants, compost facilities, landfills), intensive animal farming, food processing, pulp and paper production, and so on. Today, the stricter environmental regulations imposed worldwide, together with the encroachment of residential areas on industrial facilities in the last decades, have resulted in an increase in the number of public odour complaints. In fact, more than half the complaints received by the environmental regulatory agencies worldwide concern malodours. For instance, odour annoyance affects approximately 20% of the population in Europe, with malodours fromwastewater treatment plants (WWTP) being ranked amongst the most unpleasant ones. Despite not being a direct cause of disease, long-term exposure to high-strength malodorous emissions actually does negatively affect human health, causing nausea, headaches, insomnia, loss of appetite, respiratory problems, irrational behaviour, and so on. In addition, malodorous emissions can pose a severe occupational risk within confined spaces in WWTPs or pulp and paper industries, due to the accumulation of lethal H2S concentrations

When the optimal is not the best: parameter estimation in complex biological models

Background: The vast computational resources that became available during the past decade enabled the development and simulation of increasingly complex mathematical models of cancer growth. These models typically involve many free parameters whose determination is a substantial obstacle to model development. Direct measurement of biochemical parameters in vivo is often difficult and sometimes impracticable, while fitting them under data-poor conditions may result in biologically implausible values. Results: We discuss different methodological approaches to estimate parameters in complex biological models. We make use of the high computational power of the Blue Gene technology to perform an extensive study of the parameter space in a model of avascular tumor growth. We explicitly show that the landscape of the cost function used to optimize the model to the data has a very rugged surface in parameter space. This cost function has many local minima with unrealistic solutions, including the global minimum corresponding to the best fit. Conclusions: The case studied in this paper shows one example in which model parameters that optimally fit the data are not necessarily the best ones from a biological point of view. To avoid force-fitting a model to a dataset, we propose that the best model parameters should be found by choosing, among suboptimal parameters, those that match criteria other than the ones used to fit the model. We also conclude that the model, data and optimization approach form a new complex system, and point to the need of a theory that addresses this problem more generally

Propuesta para la implementación de un programa de extensión aplicado al monitoreo hidrológico

La creciente demanda de datos hidrológicos para el desarrollo de los trabajos aplicados contenidos fundamentalmente, en las PPS y el Trabajo Final, constituyó el punto de partida de un profundo análisis sobre la disponibilidad de la información hidrológica y las posibilidades para acceder a ella. Las inquietudes e ideas de un grupo de alumnos de las carreras de Ingeniería Civil e Hidráulica derivaron, en reflexiones sobre aspectos problemáticos de las redes de medición, su manejo y operatividad: escasa información en algunos casos, y/o mucha información dispersa y no integrada en una base única, en el otro extremo. A ello se suma la dificultad para acceder a los datos que, en muchos casos, resultaron sospechados por falta de homogeneidad (en calidad y con inapropiada distribución espacial, a los fines requeridos). Con la finalidad de fortalecer esa área, con vistas a un mejor conocimiento y seguimiento de fenómenos climáticos e hidrometeorológicos, alumnos y docentes de la Facultad de Ingeniería de la UNLP (Universidad Nacional de La Plata) proponen la creación de un centro de información hidrometeorológica que, bajo la supervisión de los autores, desarrolle capacidades para adquirir, manejar y autenticar datos útiles en la previsión y evaluación de eventos. El alcance de la propuesta está acotada, a los efectos de su aplicación, a la región de La Plata y sus alrededores. La escala del trabajo hace referencia a las cuencas de los principales arroyos de la región, sobre una superficie aproximada de más de 500 km².Sección: Hidráulica.Facultad de Ingenierí