Analysis of the water-food nexus for food security in a high Andean Community

Water and food are facing increasing demand worldwide. This increase is significant in mountainous regions where glaciers are melting, and water availability is in danger. Food demand has also increased with the population growth. This study sought to evaluate relationships between water supply and food demand in a community located in the Peruvian Andes mountainous region. The developed methodology reveals a practical way to identify future problems with food availability. Water supply was evaluated using historical precipitation data. On the other hand, water demand was estimated using meteorological data. Irrigated areas were determined using 2019 agricultural data from the local government. Food consumption was evaluated using a 2019 per capita regional consumption. Results show a water deficit for the current agricultural demand for ten out of the twelve months. The potato was the main crop being produced in the community, among sixteen studied crops. A high percentage of the time, many products were found do not satisfy local demand. For example, the potato was found to secure only fifty-five percent of the total local-demand fifty percent of the time. Current results can help the management of food security

Anaerobic Treatment of Swine Wastewater in Semicontinuous Clayey Support Reactors

Three micronized clayey supports in laboratory-scale tank reactors under mesophilic conditions were studied. From the results obtained in a previous work, the temperature of θ = 25 °C was chosen. The start up and performance of these bioreactors, operating on swine wastewater feed, were also studied. The anaerobic treatment in a semicontinuous regime was carried out. Four stirred tank reactors were used, one of them containing suspended biomass for reference, while the rest contained various suspended micronized clay supports. The supports chosen were zeolite, esmectite, and saponite. The higher removal efficiency (about η COD 70% to 3.6 d HRT) was obtained when HRT increased in saponite and esmectite support reactors. Esmectite support showed the best anaerobic activity of microorganisms (μmax equal to 0.576 d–1). The reactor with zeolite support and the reference (non-support reactor) showed the worst yield in methane. The methane production model proposed by Chen and Hashimoto to achieve an optimum purifying performance was carried out. It accurately predicted the performance of the process and may be used in the design of treatment units

Intermediate and extreme mass-ratio inspirals — astrophysics, science applications and detection using LISA

Black hole binaries with extreme (gtrsim104:1) or intermediate (~102–104:1) mass ratios are among the most interesting gravitational wave sources that are expected to be detected by the proposed laser interferometer space antenna (LISA). These sources have the potential to tell us much about astrophysics, but are also of unique importance for testing aspects of the general theory of relativity in the strong field regime. Here we discuss these sources from the perspectives of astrophysics, data analysis and applications to testing general relativity, providing both a description of the current state of knowledge and an outline of some of the outstanding questions that still need to be addressed. This review grew out of discussions at a workshop in September 2006 hosted by the Albert Einstein Institute in Golm, Germany

Creative and Stylistic Devices Employed by Children During a Storybook Narrative Task: A Cross-Cultural Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of culture on the creative and stylistic features children employ when producing narratives based on wordless picture books. Method: Participants included 60 first- and second-grade African American, Latino American, and Caucasian children. A subset of narratives based on wordless picture books collected as part of a larger study was coded and analyzed for the following creative and stylistic conventions: organizational style (topic centered, linear, cyclical), dialogue (direct, indirect), reference to character relationships (nature, naming, conduct), embellishment (fantasy, suspense, conflict), and paralinguistic devices (expressive sounds, exclamatory utterances). Results: Many similarities and differences between ethnic groups were found. No significant differences were found between ethnic groups in organizational style or use of paralinguistic devices. African American children included more fantasy in their stories, Latino children named their characters more often, and Caucasian children made more references to the nature of character relationships. Conclusion: Even within the context of a highly structured narrative task based on wordless picture books, culture influences children’s production of narratives. Enhanced understanding of narrative structure, creativity, and style is necessary to provide ecologically valid narrative assessment and intervention for children from diverse cultural backgrounds

Responsible Governance for Mental Health Research in Low Resource Countries

Blurb: Taghi Yasamy and colleagues identify challenges facing good research governance in low- and middle-income countries and provide suggestions for a way forward

Responsible Governance for Mental Health Research in Low Resource Countries

Blurb: Taghi Yasamy and colleagues identify challenges facing good research governance in low- and middle-income countries and provide suggestions for a way forward

Maternal characteristic and perinatal outcomes among peruvian women infected with COVID-19. An observational and cross-sectional study

Objetive: Determinar las características maternas de mujeres infectadas con COVID-19 y de sus neonatos nacidos en el Hospital de atención referencia Covid-19 (HRDT) entre abril y setiembre del 2020. Material y Métodos: Estudio observacional y transversal realizado en el HRDT que incluyó 703 pacientes obstétricas con COVID-19. Resultados: La edad promedio fue de 27 años. El 35.7 % fueron nulíparas y el 95% fueron asintomáticas para COVID-19. Tuvieron COVID-19 leve, moderado y severo el 3%,1% y 1%; respectivamente. Los síntomas más frecuentes fueron tos (84,85%) y anosmia (39,39%). Los signos más comunes fueron Taquipnea (60.61%) y dificultad respiratoria (51,52 %). La gasometría, dímero-D y ferritina sérica estuvieron alterados en el 71%, 54% y 30%; respectivamente. Las complicaciones médicas más frecuentes fueron: sepsis (2,28%), neumonía (2,13%), insuficiencia respiratoria (2,13%) y shock séptico (1,14%). Las complicaciones obstétricas más frecuentes fueron Rotura prematura de membranas (6,69%), preeclampsia severa (5,41%), síndrome abortivo (3.27%) y trabajo de parto pretérmino (2,56%). El 73,9% de partos fue por Cesárea. El 0,99 % de pacientes requirió unidad de cuidados intensivos y la letalidad materna fue del 0,2%. El 85,7% de neonatos fueron a término y el 97,2 % tuvo APGAR a los 5 minutos ≥7. Hubo 4 muertes neonatales (0,64%) y 16 óbitos (2,58%). Hubo 8 RT-PCR positivas en neonatos (1,3%). Conclusión: La mayoría de pacientes fueron nulíparas, menores de 35 años y asintomáticas para COVID-19. La mayoría de neonatos nacieron por cesárea y evolucionaron favorablemente. Hubo dos muertes maternas, 16 óbitos fetales y 4 muertes neonatales

One step forward, one step sideways? Expanding research capacity for neglected diseases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is general agreement, including from the pharmaceutical industry, that current market based methods of generating research into the development of pharmaceutical products that are relevant for developing countries do not work. This conclusion is relevant not just for the most neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis but even for global diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Stimulating research will mean overcoming barriers such as patent thickets, poor coordination of research activities, exclusive licensing of new technologies by universities and the structural problems that inhibit conducting appropriate clinical trials in developing countries. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the priorities for research reflect the needs of developing countries and not just donors. This article will explore each of these issues and then look at three emerging approaches to stimulating research -paying for innovation, priority review sales or vouchers and public-private partnerships, - and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>All of the stakeholders agree that there is a pressing need for a major expansion in the level of R&D. Whatever that new model turns out to be, it will have to deal with the 5 barriers outlined in this paper. Finally, none of the three proposals considered here for expanding research is free from major limitations.</p

Recommendations for implementing lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography in Europe

Lung cancer screening (LCS) with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) was demonstrated in the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) to reduce mortality from the disease. European mortality data has recently become available from the Nelson randomised controlled trial, which confirmed lung cancer mortality reductions by 26% in men and 39–61% in women. Recent studies in Europe and the USA also showed positive results in screening workers exposed to asbestos. All European experts attending the “Initiative for European Lung Screening (IELS)”—a large international group of physicians and other experts concerned with lung cancer—agreed that LDCT-LCS should be implemented in Europe. However, the economic impact of LDCT-LCS and guidelines for its effective and safe implementation still need to be formulated. To this purpose, the IELS was asked to prepare recommendations to implement LCS and examine outstanding issues. A subgroup carried out a comprehensive literature review on LDCT-LCS and presented findings at a meeting held in Milan in November 2018. The present recommendations reflect that consensus was reached