Cadena de valor en la generación del conocimiento para la gestión de la biodiversidad

We began our study with an overview of the relationship between knowledge and decisions, especially the so-called science – policy gap. We develop the argument that the lack of explicit distinction among decision makers, among data, information, and verified knowledge, very often contributes to deepen the mentioned gap. Therefore, we propose a conceptual framework for the functional integration of data, information, and knowledge, to be applied in biodiversity research, differentiating the scientific instances of consignation, integration, and interpretation of events. When applied to the research endeavors of the Humboldt Institute, the differentiation of these components may help create a valuechain of pertinent knowledge in real world situations regarding biodiversity and ecosystem services management in the territory.Se parte de la revisión de reflexiones anteriores sobre la relación entre el conocimiento y la toma dedecisiones, en especial la brecha existente entre ciencia y política. Se argumenta que la falta de diferenciaciónen los decisores de los componentes de un proceso de conocimiento, tales como los datos, la informacióny el conocimiento validado, frecuentemente se presenta como un factor que contribuye a ahondar estabrecha. El ensayo propone un modelo conceptual de integración entre datos, información y conocimiento,para los procesos de investigación sobre la biodiversidad. Parte de diferenciar aproximaciones científicasque van desde la consignación de un evento, su integración y su interpretación. El conjunto, aplicadoen el quehacer del Instituto Humboldt, podría contribuir a generar una cadena de relaciones entre estoscomponentes, que genera un valor agregado en la medida en que se constituye en la base para construirprocesos de aplicación del conocimiento en situaciones reales de gestión de la biodiversidad en el territorio

X-ray diffraction, cements and environment, three worlds in one

This keynote lecture will be focused on the strategies for reducing CO2 emissions in the cement production. Concretely, the production of ecocements with optimised formulations that yield reductions in CO2 emissions of up to 25%, when compared to OPC production. Phase assemblage has to be carefully optimised to be competitive and these new ecocements should develop compressive strengths of at least 50 MPa at 28 days of hydration. Optimised compositions of several ecocements will be discussed, but all of them are ye'elimite or calcium sulphoaluminate containing ones: belite-ye'elimite-ferrite (BYF), belite-alite-ye'elimite (BAY) and ye'elimite rich ones (CSA). The clinkering temperature of BYF and BAY has to be established to obtain the targeted phase assemblages. Moreover, the stabilisation of alpha-forms of belite is needed to develop high mechanical strengths at early ages. The benefits of the use of waste materials (such as fly ash or slag) as additions to ecocements are three-fold: lower CO2 emissions due to clinker replacement; valorisation of “useless” products that need a lot of landscape and the consequent efficient consumption of raw materials; and to enhance mechanical properties of the corresponding mortars. The design of appropriate CSA, BYF and BAY mortars, with the final aim of knowing and controlling the hydration mechanisms, will be presented. Particularly, the role of i) type and amount of set regulator (gypsum, anhydrite, etc.), ii) water/cement ratio (w/c); iii) superplasticiser; and iv) pozzolanic additions will be discussed. The role of these parameters in the microstructure and hydraulic behaviour has been investigated through traditional techniques as well as advanced synchrotron characterisation. The formers include laboratory/synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction combined with Rietveld methodology (to obtain phase assemblage), electron microscopy techniques for paste microstructure determination, rheological studies (to control the effect of the different additives, w/c ratio and setting time retarders) and mechanical tests (setting times, compressive strengths and dimensional stability). The latters comprise a group of techniques available at synchrotrons such as: i) high temperature x-ray diffraction for clinkering studies and ii) total scattering data to be analysed by pair distribution function, PDF.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PhD D. Londono-Zuluaga thanks Colciencias and Enlaza Mundos program PhD grant. Spanish MINECO (BIA2014-57658-C2-2-R, which is co-funded by FEDER, BIA2014-57658-C2-1-R and I3 (IEDI-2016-0079) grants) are acknowledged

Estrogen-dependent dynamic profile of eNOS-DNA associations in prostate cancer

In previous work we have documented the nuclear translocation of endothelial NOS (eNOS) and its participation in combinatorial complexes with Estrogen Receptor Beta (ERβ) and Hypoxia Inducible Factors (HIFs) that determine localized chromatin remodeling in response to estrogen (E2) and hypoxia stimuli, resulting in transcriptional regulation of genes associated with adverse prognosis in prostate cancer (PCa). To explore the role of nuclear eNOS in the acquisition of aggressive phenotype in PCa, we performed ChIP-Sequencing on chromatin-associated eNOS from cells from a primary tumor with poor outcome and from metastatic LNCaP cells. We found that: 1. the eNOS-bound regions (peaks) are widely distributed across the genome encompassing multiple transcription factors binding sites, including Estrogen Response Elements. 2. E2 increased the number of peaks, indicating hormone-dependent eNOS re-localization. 3. Peak distribution was similar with/without E2 with ≈ 55% of them in extragenic DNA regions and an intriguing involvement of the 5′ domain of several miRs deregulated in PCa. Numerous potentially novel eNOS-targeted genes have been identified suggesting that eNOS participates in the regulation of large gene sets. The parallel finding of downregulation of a cluster of miRs, including miR-34a, in PCa cells associated with poor outcome led us to unveil a molecular link between eNOS and SIRT1, an epigenetic regulator of aging and tumorigenicity, negatively regulated by miR-34a and in turn activating eNOS. E2 potentiates miR-34a downregulation thus enhancing SIRT1 expression, depicting a novel eNOS/SIRT1 interplay fine-tuned by E2-activated ER signaling, and suggesting that eNOS may play an important role in aggressive PCa

Cleidocranial dysplasia presenting with retained deciduous teeth in a 15-year-old girl: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cleidocranial dysplasia is a rare congenital defect of autosomal dominant inheritance caused by mutations in the <it>Cbfa1 </it>gene, also called <it>Runx2</it>, located on the short arm of chromosome 6. It primarily affects bones which undergo intramembranous ossification. This condition is of clinical significance to dentistry due to the involvement of the facial bones, altered eruption patterns and multiple supernumerary teeth.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Our patient, a 15-year-old Indian girl, presented with the typical features of prolonged retention of deciduous dentition and delayed eruption of permanent teeth, that is, mandibular prognathism along with other skeletal abnormalities like shrugged shoulder and the absence of clavicles. A multidisciplinary approach was followed, comprising orthodontic, surgical and pedodontic teams for management.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Successful treatment of such a case lies in a holistic approach that takes care of all aspects, including the primary pathology, the deformity itself and even the psychological angle.</p

NSD1 mutations generate a genome-wide DNA methylation signature

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Alite calcium sulfoaluminate cement: chemistry and thermodynamics

Calcium sulfoaluminate (C$A) cement is a binder of increasing interest to the cement industry and is undergoing rapid development. Current formulations do not contain alite; however, alite calcium sulfoaluminate (a-C$A) cements can combine the favourable characteristics of Portland cement (PC) with those of C$A cement while also having a lower carbon dioxide footprint than the current generation of PC clinkers. This paper presents two results on the formation of a-C$A clinkers. The first is a thermodynamic study demonstrating that the production of a-C$A clinker is possible without the use of mineralisers, doping with foreign elements, or using multiple stages of heating. It is established that a-C$A clinker can be readily produced in a standard process by controlling the oxygen and sulfur dioxide fugacity in the atmosphere. This allows for the stabilisation of ye’elimite to the higher temperatures required for alite stability. The second result establishes that when using fluorine to mineralise a-C$A clinker production, the iron content in the clinker is also an important variable. Although the exact mechanism of alite stabilisation is not known, it is shown that alite formation increases with the combination of calcium fluoride and iron (III) oxide in the mix

Peristomal Skin Complications Are Common, Expensive, and Difficult to Manage: A Population Based Cost Modeling Study

BACKGROUND: Peristomal skin complications (PSCs) are the most common post-operative complications following creation of a stoma. Living with a stoma is a challenge, not only for the patient and their carers, but also for society as a whole. Due to methodological problems of PSC assessment, the associated health-economic burden of medium to longterm complications has been poorly described. AIM: The aim of the present study was to create a model to estimate treatment costs of PSCs using the standardized assessment Ostomy Skin Tool as a reference. The resultant model was applied to a real-life global data set of stoma patients (n = 3017) to determine the prevalence and financial burden of PSCs. METHODS: Eleven experienced stoma care nurses were interviewed to get a global understanding of a treatment algorithm that formed the basis of the cost analysis. The estimated costs were based on a seven week treatment period. PSC costs were estimated for five underlying diagnostic categories and three levels of severity. The estimated treatment costs of severe cases of PSCs were increased 2-5 fold for the different diagnostic categories of PSCs compared with mild cases. French unit costs were applied to the global data set. RESULTS: The estimated total average cost for a seven week treatment period (including appliances and accessories) was 263€ for those with PSCs (n = 1742) compared to 215€ for those without PSCs (n = 1172). A co-variance analysis showed that leakage level had a significant impact on PSC cost from 'rarely/never' to 'always/often' p<0.00001 and from 'rarely/never' to 'sometimes' p = 0.0115. CONCLUSION: PSCs are common and troublesome and the consequences are substantial, both for the patient and from a health economic viewpoint. PSCs should be diagnosed and treated at an early stage to prevent long term, debilitating and expensive complications

Influence of fly ash blending on hydration and physical behavior of Belite-Alite-Ye'elimite cements

A cement powder, composed of belite, alite and ye’elimite, was blended with 0, 15 and 30 wt% of fly ash and the resulting lended cements were further characterized. During hydration, the presence of fly ash caused the partial inhibition of both AFt degradation and belite reactivity, even after 180 days. The compressive strength of the corresponding mortars increased by increasing the fly ash content (68, 73 and 82 MPa for mortars with 0, 15 and 30 wt% of fly ash, respectively, at 180 curing days), mainly due to the diminishing porosity and pore size values. Although pozzolanic reaction has not been directly proved there are indirect evidences.This work is part of the Ph.D. of D. Londono-Zuluaga funded by Beca Colciencias 646—Doctorado en el exterior and Enlaza Mundos 2013 program grant. Cement and Building materials group (CEMATCO) from National University of Colombia is acknowledged for providing the calorimetric measurements. Funding from Spanish MINECO BIA2017-82391-R and I3 (IEDI-2016-0079) grants, co-funded by FEDER, are acknowledged

Protocol for the detection and nutritional management of high-output stomas

Introduction: An issue of recent research interest is excessive stoma output and its relation to electrolyte abnormalities. Some studies have identified this as a precursor of dehydration and renal dysfunction. A prospective study was performed of the complications associated with high-output stomas, to identify their causes, consequences and management.Materials and methods: This study was carried out by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, gastroenterologists, nutritionists and hospital pharmacists. High-output stoma (HOS) was defined as output ≥1500 ml for two consecutive days. The subjects included in the study population, 43 patients with a new permanent or temporary stoma, were classified according to the time of HOS onset as early HOS (<3 weeks after initial surgery) or late HOS (≥3 weeks after surgery). Circumstances permitting, a specific protocol for response to HOS was applied. Each patient was followed up until the fourth month after surgery.Results: Early HOS was observed in 7 (16 %) of the sample population of 43 hospital patients, and late HOS, in 6 of the 37 (16 %) non-early HOS population. By type of stoma, nearly all HOS cases affected ileostomy, rather than colostomy, patients. The patients with early HOS remained in hospital for 18 days post surgery, significantly longer than those with no HOS (12 days). The protocol was applied to the majority of EHOS patients and achieved 100 % effectiveness. 50 % of readmissions were due to altered electrolyte balance. Hypomagnesaemia was observed in 33 % of the late HOS patients.Conclusion: The protocol developed at our hospital for the detection and management of HOS effectively addresses possible long-term complications arising from poor nutritional status and chronic electrolyte alteration