Mercury pollution caused by artisanal gold mining the Ocoña river Valley, Peru

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The use of mercury for gold recovering in the artisanal gold mining from the Mapiri river basin, Apolobamba, Bolivia

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Environmental pollution produced by gold artisanal mining in the Mapiri river basin, Apolobamba, Bolivia

Mining activity is very important in Bolivia since colonial times. Today it has been reactivated, especially gold mining, due to rise in metal prices. Artisanal and small-scale mining activities are abundant in the protected area of Apolobamba, near the border with Peru. Here mercury is used to recovery gold by obtaining an Hg-Au amalgam. This manipulation with mercury causes an important environmental impact in the area. The present work is a preliminary study of the contamination of the Mapiri river basin in the Apolobamba area. In the head of this basin, located at more than 4000 m above sea level, gold is mined from hydrothermal gold deposits of Paleozoic age. We have sampled several mining sites from this area, in particular the ones known as Viscachani, Flor de Mayo and Chojlaya, located in the proximity of the head area of the Mapiri river basin. These mining sites were in activity during the present sampling campaign. Different metals were measured by means of XRF (Se, As, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg) in tailing samples from the different gold mining sites. In addition mercury concentrations were measured in water and in vegetation close to the processing areas by means of atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman effect (LUMEX RA-915 Equipment). Tailings are mainly constituted by quartz with minor contents of clay minerals and sulphides. The most abundant sulphides are galena and arsenopyrite. Chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite and sulphosalts also occur in minor amounts, as well as minor secondary minerals. Gold content, after recovery with mercury, is high, between 4.56 ppm and 10.35 ppm. The Hg content of the tailings ranges from 149 to 1027 ppm. Lixiviable mercury from these samples ranges between 30.10 and 859.94 ng l-1. Water released from the tailings contains between 0.1 and 5.7 ppb of Hg. Studied vegetation typical of the area has high Hg contents, between 162 and 219 ppm. In addition there is a high arsenic content in all the studied tailings, except in those from the Viscachani mining site, where concentrations of this element ranges from 456 ppm to 18540 ppm. The Pb content usually ranges from 337 to 939 ppm. The Chojlaya mining site tailing has exceptionally high values of heavy metals: Pb content is between 2.26 and 3.27 wt.%, Cd ranges from 160 to 228 ppm, Zn from 194 to 794 ppm, Cu from 847 to 1052 ppm and Se from 105 to 187 ppm. These contents also contribute to an environmental pollution. In conclusion the gold mining activities in the Mapiri river basin produce and intense environmental pollution, mainly related to mercury and arsenic contents in the proximity of these mining activities. After processing, tailings still contain important amounts of gold suggesting that the amalgamation method is not effective to gold recovering.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Residuos orgánicos : estudios de la valorización combinada en suelos de clima semiárido

Los objetivos de este Trabajo son: 1.1. Mejorar las aptitudes agronómicas del compost y de los lodos de depuradora. 1.2. Establecer la proporción óptima de mezcla de compost y de lodos de depuradora de cara a una mejora de la calidad agronómica del suelo 1.3. Realizar un seguimiento de la evolución de las propiedades del suelo y de su degradación. 1.4. Rehabilitar los suelos degradados mediante enmiendas orgánicas combinadas de compost y lodos de depuradora. 1.5. Difundir y transferir la experiencia y el conocimiento generado a nivel regional, nacional y europeo, adaptado a las diferentes partes implicadas.Escuela Técnica superior de Ingeniería AgronómicaUniversidad Politécnica de Cartagen

Screening Assays to Characterize Novel Endothelial Regulators Involved in the Inflammatory Response

The endothelial layer is essential for maintaining homeostasis in the body by controlling many different functions. Regulation of the inflammatory response by the endothelial layer is crucial to efficiently fight against harmful inputs and aid in the recovery of damaged areas. When the endothelial cells are exposed to an inflammatory environment, such as the outer component of gram-negative bacteria membrane, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), they express soluble pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as Ccl5, Cxcl1 and Cxcl10, and trigger the activation of circulating leukocytes. In addition, the expression of adhesion molecules E-selectin, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 on the endothelial surface enables the interaction and adhesion of the activated leukocytes to the endothelial layer, and eventually the extravasation towards the inflamed tissue. In this scenario, the endothelial function must be tightly regulated because excessive or defective activation in the leukocyte recruitment could lead to inflammatory-related disorders. Since many of these disorders do not have an effective treatment, novel strategies with a focus on the vascular layer must be investigated. We propose comprehensive assays that are useful to the search of novel endothelial regulators that modify leukocyte function. We analyze endothelial activation by using specific expression targets involved in leukocyte recruitment (such as, cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules) with several techniques, including: real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), western-blot, flow cytometry and adhesion assays. These approaches determine endothelial function in the inflammatory context and are very useful to perform screening assays to characterize novel endothelial inflammatory regulators that are potentially valuable for designing new therapeutic strategies.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (grant number IERPY 1149/16 to A.L.; MPY 1410/09 to S. Hortelano); by the MINECO through the Fondo de Investigación en Salud (FIS) (grants numbers PI11.0036 and PI14.0055 to S. Hortelano). S. Herranz was supported by IERPY 1149/16 from ISCIII.S

Tumor suppressor ARF regulates tissue microenvironment and tumor growth through modulation of macrophage polarization

Tumor microenvironment has been described to play a key role in tumor growth, progression, and metastasis. Macrophages are a major cellular constituent of the tumor stroma, and particularly tumor associated macrophages (TAMs or M2-like macrophages) exert important immunosuppressive activity and a pro-tumoral role within the tumor microenvironment. Alternative-reading frame (ARF) gene is widely inactivated in human cancer. We have previously demonstrated that ARF deficiency severely impairs inflammatory response establishing a new role for ARF in the regulation of innate immunity. On the basis of these observations, we hypothesized that ARF may also regulates tumor growth through recruitment and modulation of the macrophage phenotype in the tumor microenvironment. Xenograft assays of B16F10 melanoma cells into ARF-deficient mice resulted in increased tumor growth compared to those implanted in WT control mice. Tumors from ARF-deficient mice exhibited significantly increased number of TAMs as well as microvascular density. Transwell assays showed crosstalk between tumor cells and macrophages. On the one hand, ARF-deficient macrophages modulate migratory ability of the tumor cells. And on the other, tumor cells promote the skewing of ARF-/- macrophages toward a M2-type polarization. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that ARF deficiency facilitates the infiltration of macrophages into the tumor mass and favors their polarization towards a M2 phenotype, thus promoting tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth. This work provides novel information about the critical role of ARF in the modulation of tumor microenvironment.This study was supported by grant PI11.0036 and PI14.0055 from the FIS, MPY 1410/09 from ISCIII and Spanish Ministry of Health (Instituto de Salud Carlos III; RD12/0036/0059) to SH, and by grant TPY-M-1068/13 and IERPY 1149/16 to AL. L J-G was supported by FIS (FI12/00340). AL was supported by FIS (CP12/03087). S Herranz was supported by TPY-M-1068/13 from ISCIII. We thank Fernando González Camacho and Silvia Hernández Esteban for Confocal Microscopy assistance.S

Evaluación de la contaminación de mercurio en La Cuenca del rio Ocoña, Perú

En el departamento de Arequipa, sur del Perú, se localiza la cuenca del rio Ocoña, donde se encuentran diferentes asentamientos mineros artesanales. En esta zona se explota el oro. La recuperación del metal precioso se realiza mediante amalgamación con mercurio, en algunos casos utilizando retortas y en otros en las propias cases. La utilización de éste se realiza sin medidas de protección lo que produce una contaminación al medio ambiente de toda la zona. Mediante este trabajo se realizó una evaluación de la contaminación producida por el uso del mercurio en la cuenca del río Ocoña. Para ello, se han obtenido un total de 12 muestras de agua procedentes de diferentes lugares de la cuenca. Además se han analizado 3 muestras de plantes y sus suelos y 20 de cabellos humanos, correspondientes a habitantes de la población de Misky.Postprint (published version

“3D-Project: Diseño, anatomía e innovación”

En esta comunicación presentamos el proyecto de innovación docente 3D-Project, en el que los alumnos del Grado en Biomedicina y del Grado de Ingeniería en Diseño Industrial y Desarrollo de Productos de la Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, colaboran de manera interdisciplinar en el diseño y prototipado de modelos anatómicos en tres dimensiones para facilitar el entendimiento de la neuroanatomía. Las metodologías utilizadas han sido: aprender haciendo, aprendizaje basado en proyectos y la metodología de diseño e innovación denominada double diamond, todas ellas enfocadas a fomentar la motivación y el aprendizaje centrado en el estudiante. Para evaluar su desempeño, se han usado rúbricas que han servido para su heteroevaluación y coevaluación entre equipos. Se ha realizado un estudio cuasiexperimental para evaluar la experiencia de aprendizaje del estudiante mediante una metodología cuantitativa. Los resultados indican que la metodología empleada promueve la participación, el aprendizaje autónomo, la autorregulación del aprendizaje y la motivación de los estudiantes, animando al equipo docente a continuar desarrollando proyectos interdisciplinares e investigando su impacto en la mejora del aprendizaje

Microvideos on social networks as a complement to Human Anatomy learning

[EN] In the training of university students of health sciences (medicine, physiotherapy, nursing, podiatry...) the knowledge of human anatomy in its various variants is fundamental; from anatomical dissection and prosection, surface anatomy and neuroanatomy, to clinical anatomy and bioscopic anatomy and diagnostic imaging. Given the observed trends in learning and behavior of the new generations of students, presenting additional or complementary information through game and gamification strategies, quizzes and social networks can be an exciting experience, positive in various academic aspects. By recording micro-videos and diverse posts distributed through social networks, students can have almost-unlimited access to additional, complementary and/or review content for their human anatomy classes.[ES] En la formación de los y las estudiantes universitarios de ciencias de la salud (medicina, fisioterapia, enfermería, podología…) es fundamental el conocimiento de la anatomía humana en sus diversas variantes; desde la disección y prosección anatómica, la anatomía de superficie y neuroanatomía, hasta la anatomía clínica y la anatomía bioscópica e imagen diagnóstica. Dadas las tendencias observadas en el aprendizaje y conductas de las nuevas generaciones de alumnos y alumnas, presentar información adicional o complementaria mediante estrategias de juego y gamificación, quizzes y redes sociales puede resultar una experiencia positiva en diversos aspectos académicos. Mediante la grabación de microvídeos y realización de posts distribuidos a través de redes sociales, los alumnos y las alumnas pueden acceder de forma casi ilimitada a contenido adicional, complementario y/o de repaso de sus clases de anatomía humana.González-Soler, E.; Blasco-Serra, A.; Higueras-Villar, C.; Blasco-Ausina, MC.; Alfosea-Cuadrado, GM.; Valverde-Navarro, A. (2022). Microvídeos en redes sociales como complemento del aprendizaje de la Anatomía Humana. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1350-1358. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2022.2022.158991350135

I Congreso de relaciones internacionales: El océano una tarea de todos. Día 1

Javier A. Valladares (Argentina) Capitán de Navío (R) Presidente de la Academia del Mar: “El mar y el desarrollo del futuro” / Nicolás Roncagliolo Higueras (Perú) Embajador del Servicio Diplomático de la República del Perú (SDR): “El dominio marítimo del Perú. Apuntes desde la práctica peruana” / Eduardo Marone (Italia) Instituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale: “Gobernanza y ciencias del océano. Desde la mirada de la geoética” / María Teresa Infante (Chile) Jueza del Tribunal Internacional del Derecho del Mar: “Aportaciones desde la jurisprudencia. Una mirada desde el Tribunal del Mar” / Wagner Menezes (Brasil) Profesor de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de São Paulo: “Arresto del barco a los brazos abiertos: una contribución de los derechos humanos al derechoObjetivo: Contribuir a la reflexión y debate crítico en las demandas y desafíos del futuro del planeta a través de la protección del Océano y sus recursos, sobre la base de la Agenda 2030 y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS)