Ecological characterization of soil macrofauna in two evergreen forest sites at El Salón, Sierra del Rosario, Cuba

Se estudiaron la riqueza, abundancia, diversidad y composición funcional de la macrofauna del suelo en dos sitios de bosque siempreverde medio (Helechal y Vallecito), ubicados en la Reserva Ecológica El Salón de la Sierra del Rosario; y se analizaron con respecto a otros sistemas de uso de la tierra evaluados en Cuba. La macrofauna fue recolectada in situ, de monolitos de 25 × 25 × 20 cm extraídos del suelo. Se encontraron en este tipo de ecosistema, 34 familias de la macrofauna edáfica pertenecientes a 18 órdenes. El sitio Vallecito mostró una mayor riqueza de familias, densidad y diversidad de la macrofauna (34 familias, 1.298,5 individuos m-2 y H' = 2,72) en comparación con Helechal (19 familias, 749,2 individuos m-2 y H'= 2,57), aunque solo la riqueza arrojó diferencias significativas entre las dos localidades. La estacionalidad en el muestreo marcó las variaciones entre los sitios, el cual se realizó en un mes de lluvia en Helechal (octubre de 2009) y en un mes de seca en Vallecito (marzo de 2011). La composición funcional de la comunidad edáfica fue similar en ambos sitios, donde los gremios más sobresalientes fueron los detritívoros de la hojarasca, los ingenieros del suelo y los depredadores. No obstante, las familias dominantes dentro de cada grupo funcional cambiaron entre sitios. La estructura encontrada de la macrofauna fue muy parecida a la de otros bosques tropicales, y apenas cambió con relación a bosques secundarios estudiados en Cuba, pero sí respecto a sistemas más perturbados como pastizales y cultivos.The richness, abundance, diversity and functional composition of soil macrofauna were studied in two sites of the evergreen medium forest (Helechal and Vallecito), located at the Ecological Reserve El Salón from Sierra del Rosario; they were analyzed with respect to other land use systems evaluated in Cuba. The macrofauna was collected in situ from 25 × 25 × 20 cm monoliths extracted from the soil. In this type of ecosystem, 34 families of the edaphic macrofauna belonging to 18 orders were found. The Vallecito site showed higher families richness, density and diversity of the macrofauna (34 families, 1,298.5 individuals m-2 and H' = 2.72) compared to Helechal (19 families, 749.2 individuals m-2 and H' = 2.57). Although, only richness showed significant differences between the two locations. The seasonality in the sampling marked the variations between the sites, which was carried out during a rainy month in Helechal (October 2009) and during a dry month in Vallecito (March 2011). The functional composition of the edaphic community was similar in both sites, where the most outstanding guilds were litter detritivores, soil engineers and predators. However, the dominant families within each functional group changed between sites. The structure found of the macrofauna was very similar to those of other tropical forests, and hardly changed in relation to secondary forests studied in Cuba, although it did change in relation to more disturbed systems such as pastures and crops

Gestión de costos e ingresos medioambientales como herramienta para la toma de decisiones empresariales

Se elaboró un procedimiento donde el cálculo de los costos medioambientales cons-tituye herramienta para la toma de decisiones de la administración, a través del estudio de caso del sector electroenergético en la provincia de Cienfuegos, Cuba. Para el cálcu-lo de los costos, ingresos y gastos medioambientales se usó el procedimiento definido por Becerra. Se demostró cómo el cálculo de los costos medioambientales posibilita búsquedas de alternativas para optimizar la relación con el medio ambiente, y además obtener ahorros potenciales. Del análisis en el sector electroenergético de la referida provincia, la Refinería de Petróleo Camilo Cienfuegos presentó los mayores costos am-bientales para un 97,3 %. El elemento más representativo es el valor de compra de las salidas de los no-productos

La medicina natural y tradicional vinculación en la rehabilitación logofoniátrica Linking of natural and tradicional Medicine in logophoniatric rehabilitation

La MNT es una disciplina de las Ciencias Médicas que es necesario estudiar y profundizar, forma parte importante del acervo cultural de la humanidad. Ella se ha desarrollado en cada país y región del mundo con características propias en dependencia de los recursos disponibles, tomando como base la idiosincrasia de sus habitantes. En las últimas décadas ha existido una tendencia mundial al uso de las terapias bioenergéticas que proviene de culturas milenarias, fundamentalmente de la medicina tradicional china. La Logopedia y Foniatría, encargada del diagnóstico y rehabilitación de los trastornos de la comunicación oral, es una ciencia joven, pero no por ello ajena al uso de la MNT en su práctica clínica. En el presente trabajo se vincula la MNT a los contenidos del programa de 2do año del curso regular del Perfil Logofonoaudiología en la carrera de Tecnología, específicamente en la asignatura Logopedia y Foniatría, que dentro de sus objetivos se plantea, desarrollar habilidades en la aplicación de métodos y procedimientos para el tratamiento logofoniátrico en casos de alteraciones en la comunicación, en correspondencia con las particularidades del trastorno y las características específicas de cada caso. Esta vinculación le posibilitará al estudiante ampliar otros métodos de tratamiento de estos pacientes, enriqueciendo el programa actual. Palabras Clave: MEDICINA CHINA TRADICIONAL, LOGOTERAPIA, COMUNICACIÓN, TRASTORNOS DEL LENGUAJE, TRASTORNOS DE LA VOZ/rehabilitación, MODELOS EDUCACIONALES. ABSTRACT Natural and tradicional Medicine is a discipline of the Medical Sciences that it is necessary to study and deepen. It is an important part of the cultural resources of humanity. This medical discipline is being developed in every country and region all over the world, having proper characteristics, depending on the available resources and taking as a basis the idiosyncrasy of the population. In the last decades a worldwide trend towards the use of bioenergetic therapies coming from millennial cultures, especifically Chinese Traditional Medicine, is followed. Logopedics and Phoniatrics are the sciences that study the diagnosis and rehabilitations of the speech disorders. These are modern sciences, but Natural and Traditional Medicina (NTM) is also used in clinical practice of Logopedics and Phoniatrics. In the present work a link between NTM and the contents belonging to the second academic year of Logophonoaudiology is establishced in Health Technology major, mainly in the subjects of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, where the objectives are: to develop skills applying the methods and procedures for the logophoniatric treatment in cases that present speech disorders, taking into consideration the characteristics of the disorder and the psychological features in every case. This link will make it possible for the students to extend other methods of treatment of these patients, improving the current program. Key words: CHINESE TRADITIONAL MEDICINE, LOGOPEDICS, COMMUNICATION, SPEECH DISORDERS, VOICE DISORDERS/rehabilitation, EDUCATIONAL METHODS

Long-term social isolation stress exacerbates sex-specific neurodegeneration markers in a natural model of Alzheimer’s disease

Social interactions have a significant impact on health in humans and animal models. Social isolation initiates a cascade of stress-related physiological disorders and stands as a significant risk factor for a wide spectrum of morbidity and mortality. Indeed, social isolation stress (SIS) is indicative of cognitive decline and risk to neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of chronic, long-term SIS on the propensity to develop hallmarks of AD in young degus (Octodon degus), a long-lived animal model that mimics sporadic AD naturally. We examined inflammatory factors, bioenergetic status, reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress, antioxidants, abnormal proteins, tau protein, and amyloid-β (Aβ) levels in the hippocampus of female and male degus that were socially isolated from post-natal and post-weaning until adulthood. Additionally, we explored the effect of re-socialization following chronic isolation on these protein profiles. Our results showed that SIS promotes a pro-inflammatory scenario more severe in males, a response that was partially mitigated by a period of re-socialization. In addition, ATP levels, ROS, and markers of oxidative stress are severely affected in female degus, where a period of re-socialization fails to restore them as it does in males. In females, these effects might be linked to antioxidant enzymes like catalase, which experience a decline across all SIS treatments without recovery during re-socialization. Although in males, a previous enzyme in antioxidant pathway diminishes in all treatments, catalase rebounds during re-socialization. Notably, males have less mature neurons after chronic isolation, whereas phosphorylated tau and all detectable forms of Aβ increased in both sexes, persisting even post re-socialization. Collectively, these findings suggest that long-term SIS may render males more susceptible to inflammatory states, while females are predisposed to oxidative states. In both scenarios, the accumulation of tau and Aβ proteins increase the individual susceptibility to early-onset neurodegenerative conditions such as AD

FACTORES ANTROPOGÉNICOS YAMBIENTALES SOBRE LA FAUNA DE CULÍCIDOS (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) DE LA PROVINCIA SANCTI SPÍRITUS, CUBA

El objetivo fue identificar las especies de mosquitos que habitan en los ecosistemas fluviales de la provincia Sancti Spíritus Cuba, así como los factores ambientales y antropogénicos que más influyen en la presencia y distribución de la fauna de culícidos en dicha provincia. Se realizaron seis muestreos en 90 ecosistemas fluviales de los ocho municipios que conforman la provincia entre el 2000 al 2011. Se identificaron 33 especies de mosquitos, donde los municipios de Trinidad, Sancti Spíritus, La Sierpe, Fomento y Yaguajay resultaron ser los de mayor riqueza de especies. Las mayores frecuencias o abundancias relativas resultaron ser para los géneros Culex (55,4%), Anopheles (22,2%), Mansonia (18,0%) y Ochlerotatus (10,2%). La presencia de las larvas de culícidos dependió en gran medida del tipo de hábitat, estrato contextual y abundancia de la vegetación, la cual fue más intensa en los ríos, en especial, la de tipo flotante; mientras que en las cañadas, zanjas y esteros, la vegetación fue escasa. La contaminación constituyó un factor limitante para el crecimiento y desarrollo, no solo de la vegetación, sino también de organismos del reino animal, incluidos los mosquitos. Si tenemos en cuenta la elevada riqueza de especies de culícidos de interés sanitario existente en la provincia y la alta incidencia que tienen los factores antropogénicos y ambientales analizados, es evidente el riesgo potencial que representa para la salud humana y animal de esta provincia la aparición de estas entidades infecciosas

Grisel’s syndrome, a rare cause of anomalous head posture in children: a case report

BACKGROUND: Anomalous head posture (AHP) or torticollis is a relatively common condition in children. Torticollis is not a diagnosis, but it is a sign of underlying disease. Grisel’s syndrome (GS) is a rare condition of uncertain etiology characterized by a nontraumatic atlanto-axial subluxation (AAS), secondary to an infection in the head and neck region. It has not been considered, in ophthalmological papers, as a possible cause of AHP. CASE PRESENTATION: A case of AAS secondary to an otitis media is studied. The children showed neck pain, head tilt, and reduction in neck mobility. The patient had complete remission with antibiotic and anti-inflammatory therapy and muscle relaxants. Signs of GS should always be taken into account during ophthalmological examination (recent history of upper airway infections and/or head and neck surgeries associated to a new onset of sudden, painful AHP with normal ocular exam). In such cases it is necessary to require quick execution of radiological examinations (computer tomography and/or nuclear magnetic resonance), which are essential to confirm the diagnosis. CONCLUSION: GS is a multidisciplinary disease. We underline the importance of an accurate orthoptic and ophthalmological examination. Indeed, early detection and diagnosis are fundamental to achieve proper management, avoid neurological complications and lead to a good prognosis

Risk Estimation in COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps

In the context of COVID-19, contact tracing has shown its value as a tool for contention of the pandemic. In addition to its paper based form, contact tracing can be carried out in a more scalable and faster way by using digital apps. Mobile phones can record digital signals emitted by communication and sensing technologies, enabling the identification of risky contacts between users. Factors such as proximity, encounter duration, environment, ventilation, and the use (or not) of protective measures contribute to the probability of contagion. Estimation of these factors from the data collected by phones remains a challenge. In this work in progress we describe some of the challenges of digital contact tracing, the type of data that can be collected with mobile phones and focus particularly on the problem of proximity estimation using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals. Specifically, we use machine learning models fed with different combinations of statistical features derived from the BLE signal and study how improvements in accuracy can be obtained with respect to reference models currently in use.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Atlanto-axial rotatory fixation in a girl with Spondylocarpotarsal synostosis syndrome

We report a 15-year-old girl who presented with spinal malsegmentation, associated with other skeletal anomalies. The spinal malsegmentation was subsequently discovered to be part of the spondylocarpotarsal synostosis syndrome. In addition, a distinctive craniocervical malformation was identified, which included atlanto-axial rotatory fixation. The clinical and the radiographic findings are described, and we emphasise the importance of computerised tomography to characterize the craniocervical malformation complex. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical report of a child with spondylocarpotarsal synostosis associated with atlanto-axial rotatory fixation

Speciation-controlled incipient wetness impregnation: A rational synthetic approach to prepare sub-nanosized and highly active ceria–zirconia supported gold catalysts

On the basis of calculated thermodynamic species distribution diagrams and by appropriately controlling the pH of aqueous HAuCl4 solutions, it has been possible to prepare, using a Speciation-controlled Incipient Wetness Impregnation (ScIWI) approach, Au catalysts supported on ceria–zirconia mixed oxides featuring both high gold loadings and excellent metal dispersions. This rational synthesis method is carried out at room temperature. It is both much simpler, in equipment terms, and less expensive than widely used Deposition–Precipitation (DP). Moreover, the use of ScIWI allows overcoming the severe limitations of previously assayed impregnation methods. With this procedure it is possible to prepare active catalysts in CO oxidation with high efficiency in terms of gold precursor usage, i.e. minimizing Au losses during synthesis. Therefore this, quite amenable, novel strategy for the facile preparation of highly dispersed supported gold catalysts gathers the necessary requirements for both its use at lab scale and an easy scaling-up to industrial levels