Temporal and spatial variability of nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture in Argentina

Agricultural activities constitute the main N2O emission source in Argentina. Although GHG inventories have been developed at the national and provincial level, emissions have not been thus far estimated at a higher spatial resolution. We estimated the time series 2000–2012 of N2O emissions at national, provincial and district levels. National N2O emissions in 2012 amounted to 105.1 Gg (95% CI: 73.0–200.7), with manure deposited on pasture accounting for 59.8%, crop residues 24.0%, N-fertilizers use 14.3%, manure management 1.7% and agricultural waste burning 0.2%. Beef cattle excreta followed by soybean crop residues were the major sources of N2O. The time series of N2O emission estimated at district level allowed identifying the effect of the frequent displacement of crops and livestock indicative of the variability of the intensity and location of the emission sources. The observed annual variability of emissions and the identification of the main drivers indicate the convenience of using surrogate methods to estimate emissions when activity data cannot be acquired on annual basis. This type of inventory would be of interest for decision makers and stakeholders when discussing environmental policies and measures in light of the responsibility of agricultural activities occurring in the territory of their concern.Fil: Castesana, Paula Soledad. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Amabile, Gabriel Gustavo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Dawidowski, Laura Elena. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Gomez, Dario Ruben. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; Argentin

ANÁLISIS DE DESEMPEÑO DE CALIDAD DE SERVICIO SOBRE REDES INALÁMBRICAS BASADAS EN TECNOLOGÍA WIMAX

Actualmente el uso de redes inalámbricas se encuentra en un punto de alta demanda, debido a su flexibilidad y bajos costos en la implementación de las mismas. A  partir de la construcción de la norma IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX)  y de las necesidades actuales en campos médicos, educativos, entre otros por acceder a la información y en general por poder establecer comunicaciones confiables se permite que la industria y los centros de investigación fortalezcan la implementación de estas tecnologías.Para satisfacer estas necesidades se hace importante garantizar un servicio que cumpla con los requerimientos solicitados, en este orden de ideas es importante, analizar el funcionamiento de este tipo de tecnologías a través de la evaluación del desempeño incluyendo parámetros de calidad de servicio (QoS) basados en la norma IEEE 802.16

Acinetobacter baumannii: patógeno multirresistente emergente

Introduccion: Acinetobacter baumannii es un bacilo Gram negativo oportunista, clasiicado por la Sociedad Americana de Enfermedades Infecciosas como uno de los seis más importantes microorganismos multirresistentes alrededor del mundo. En Colombia, según informes del Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, dentro de los microorganismos multirresistente aislados en unidades de cuidados intensivos del país en el año 2014, A. baumannii representó el 3,1%. Objetivo: revisar los aspectos relevantes en la epidemiología, hábitat natural, factores de riesgo y virulencia para la infección por A. baumannii, sus manifestaciones clínicas y diferentes mecanismos de resistencia frente a múltiples fármacos, las estrategias de manejo actual y en desarrollo para enfrentar este microorganismo y mecanismos encaminados a prevenir y controlar la aparicion del mismo. Metodologia de búsqueda: se realizó una búsqueda en las bases de datos LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, Imbiomed, Cochrane, Clinicalkey, Biblioteca Virtual en Salud, de 890 articulos se seleccionaron 254. Resultados: las especies de Acinetobacter pueden ser aisladas de objetos animados e inanimados. Crecen en casi todas las muestras de suelos y agua fresca. En el medio hospitalario, estos microorganismos han sido aislados de humidiicadores, equipos de ventilación, hojas de laringoscopio, cortinas, piel del personal de salud, colchones, cojines y otros equipos. Sus factores de virulencia no han sido dilucidados en totalidad, entre ellos se encuentran proteína de membrana externa OmpaA, lipopolisacáridos y polisacáridos capsulares, vesículas de membrana externa, fosfolipasa C y D y alteración de las proteínas de unión de penicilina. Las manifestaciones clínicas son variadas, principalmente en entorno asociado a cuidado de la salud. Sus mecanismo de resistencia son múltiples, los cuales se agrupan en tres categorías: enzimas inactivadoras de antimicrobianos, limitación del acceso a las dianas bacterianas y mutaciones que alteran las dianas o funciones celulares. Los carbapenémicos aún son considerados como agentes de elección para las infecciones graves por A. Baumannii, con opciones terapeuticas adicionales como sulbactam, tobramicina, amikacina, tigeciclina, minociclina, doxiciclina y colistina. Investigadores han reportado interrupción de la transmisión de A. baumannii posterior al reforzamiento de medidas para prevención y control de infecciones, tales como higiene de manos, uso de métodos de barrera (tapabocas, guantes, entre otros) y exhaustiva limpieza y desinfección del ambiente hospitalario. En otros casos la transmisión es más difícil de interrumpir, requiriendo aislamiento de pacientes, asignación de personal asistencial para vigilancia, cultivos de vigilancia activa y cierre de las unidades. Conclusiones: consideramos primordial el manejo de los pacientes de acuerdo a la localización de la infección y el patrón de resistencia presente en las cepas de la unidad en particular. Es importante la creación de protocolos institucionales con escalones terapéuticos, considerando el sitio de la infección, gravedad del paciente, sensibilidad de la cepa propia de cada institución y el uso previo de antibióticos. MÉD.UIS. 2016;29(2):113-35.Palabras clave: Acinetobacter Baumannii. Bacterias Gramnegativas. Epidemiologia. Factores de riesgo. Farmacorresistencia bacteriana.Virulencia

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to &lt;90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], &gt;300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of &lt;15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P&lt;0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P&lt;0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity