Estudio de la fracción de materia orgánica de mayor remoción en el proceso de coagulación-floculación usando agua superficial

pEn este trabajo, se realizó la separación de la materia orgánica natural (MON) presente en el agua cruda que abastece a dos plantas potabilizadoras, una de río (Boaco) y otra de lago (Juigalpa), en dos tipos: hidrofóbica, constituida por las fracciones muy hidrofóbica (MH) y ligeramente hidrofóbica (LH); y el tipo hidrofílica formada por las fracciones cargada (CHA) y neutral (NEU). Las aguas obtenidas de cada fracción fueron sometidas a un proceso de coagulación-floculación-sedimentación a escala de laboratorio usando sulfato de aluminio como coagulante; donde la fracción hidrofílica (CHA y NEU) fue poco removida (lt; 35 %) en comparación con la hidrofóbica (gt; 65 %). Se utilizaron parámetros sustitutos para caracterizar dicha MON como carbono orgánico disuelto (COD), color, absorbancia ultravioleta (UV254) y absorbancia especifica ultravioleta (SUVA). Se determinó que estas aguas cruda presentan una mezcla de materia orgánica hidrofóbica e hidrofílica ya que los valores de SUVA estaban entre 2-4 L/mg-m, sin embargo la fracción hidrofóbica (MH+LH) fue la predominante ya que representa 63.6 % y 65 % medidos como COD en época seca para Boaco y Juigalpa respectivamente, en época lluviosa los porcentajes fueron un poco más alto (71.2 % y 66.1 %). Finalmente se halló que el agua de río (Boaco) contiene mayor concentración de trihalometanos (89-166 μg/L) que el agua del lago (Juigalpa) (28-80 μg/L) después de ser clorada. Encontrándose que la fracción hidrofóbica fue la que más contribuyó a la formación de trihalometanos (THMs) en 68.5 % (Boaco) y 78.6 % (Juigalpa) en la época seca en ambas aguas tratadas. Para la época lluviosa, la formación de THMs fue un poco mayor./ppstrongPalabras claves:/strong Materia orgánica; Trihalometanos; Fraccionamiento; Agua superficial/p pDOI: a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v24i1.596"http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v24i1.596/a/p pNexo, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-80, 2011/

Estudio de la fracción de materia orgánica de mayor remoción en el proceso de coagulación-floculación usando agua superficial

In this work, we performed the separation of natural organic matter (MON) present in the raw water that supplies two water treatment plants, one from river (Boaco) and one from lake (Juigalpa), in two types: hydrophobic, formed by the fractions very hydrophobic (MH) and slightly hydrophobic (LH); and the hydrophilic type constituted by the charged (CHA) and neutral (NEU) fractions. These waters obtained from each fraction were subjected to a process of coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation on a laboratory scale using aluminum sulfate as a coagulant, wherein the hydrophilic fraction (CHA and NEU) was poorly removed (< 35 %) in comparison with the hydrophobic one (> 65 %). Surrogate parameters were used to characterise this MON such as dissolved organic carbon (COD), colour, ultraviolet absorbance (UV254) and specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA). Determination of SUVA values indicates a mixture of hydrophobic and hydrophilic organic matter in both raw waters as their values of specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) were between 2-4 L/mg-m; however the hydrophobic fraction (MH + LH) was the predominant one, 63.6 % and 65 % measured as COD in dry season for Boaco and Juigalpa respectively, in rainy season, the percentage were a little higher (71.2 % and 66.1 %). Finally, it was found that the river water (Boaco) contains higher concentrations of trihalomethanes (89-166 μg/L) than the water lake (Juigalpa) (28-80 μg/L) after being chlorinated. Found that the hydrophobic fraction was the major contributor in 68.5 % (Boaco) and 78.6 % (Juigalpa) to the formation of trihalomethanes for dry season in both treated water. In rainy season, the THMs formation were a little higher. Keywords: Organic matter; Trihalomethanes; Fractionation; Superficial water DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v24i1.596   Nexo, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-80, 2011En este trabajo, se realizó la separación de la materia orgánica natural (MON) presente en el agua cruda que abastece a dos plantas potabilizadoras, una de río (Boaco) y otra de lago (Juigalpa), en dos tipos: hidrofóbica, constituida por las fracciones muy hidrofóbica (MH) y ligeramente hidrofóbica (LH); y el tipo hidrofílica formada por las fracciones cargada (CHA) y neutral (NEU). Las aguas obtenidas de cada fracción fueron sometidas a un proceso de coagulación-floculación-sedimentación a escala de laboratorio usando sulfato de aluminio como coagulante; donde la fracción hidrofílica (CHA y NEU) fue poco removida (< 35 %) en comparación con la hidrofóbica (> 65 %). Se utilizaron parámetros sustitutos para caracterizar dicha MON como carbono orgánico disuelto (COD), color, absorbancia ultravioleta (UV254) y absorbancia especifica ultravioleta (SUVA). Se determinó que estas aguas cruda presentan una mezcla de materia orgánica hidrofóbica e hidrofílica ya que los valores de SUVA estaban entre 2-4 L/mg-m, sin embargo la fracción hidrofóbica (MH+LH) fue la predominante ya que representa 63.6 % y 65 % medidos como COD en época seca para Boaco y Juigalpa respectivamente, en época lluviosa los porcentajes fueron un poco más alto (71.2 % y 66.1 %). Finalmente se halló que el agua de río (Boaco) contiene mayor concentración de trihalometanos (89-166 μg/L) que el agua del lago (Juigalpa) (28-80 μg/L) después de ser clorada. Encontrándose que la fracción hidrofóbica fue la que más contribuyó a la formación de trihalometanos (THMs) en 68.5 % (Boaco) y 78.6 % (Juigalpa) en la época seca en ambas aguas tratadas. Para la época lluviosa, la formación de THMs fue un poco mayor. Palabras claves: Materia orgánica; Trihalometanos; Fraccionamiento; Agua superficial DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/nexo.v24i1.596   Nexo, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 72-80, 201

The impact of silent vascular brain burden in cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain are associated with dementia and cognitive impairment in the general population and in Alzheimer's disease. Their effect in cognitive decline and dementia associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) is still unclear. METHODS: We studied the relationship between WMHs and cognitive state in 111 patients with PD classified as cognitively normal (n = 39), with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n = 46) or dementia (n = 26), in a cross-sectional and follow-up study. Cognitive state was evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, and WMHs were identified in FLAIR and T2-weighted MRI. The burden of WMHs was rated using the Scheltens scale. RESULTS: No differences in WMHs were found between the three groups in the cross-sectional study. A negative correlation was observed between semantic fluency and the subscore for WMHs in the frontal lobe. Of the 36 non-demented patients re-evaluated after a mean follow-up of 30 months, three patients converted into MCI and 5 into dementia. Progression of periventricular WMHs was associated with an increased conversion to dementia. A marginal association between the increase in total WMHs burden and worsening in the Mini Mental State Examination was encountered. CONCLUSIONS: White matter hyperintensities do not influence the cognitive status of patients with PD. Frontal WMHs have a negative impact on semantic fluency. Brain vascular burden may have an effect on cognitive impairment in patients with PD as WMHs increase overtime might increase the risk of conversion to dementia. This finding needs further confirmation in larger prospective studies

Year-round individual specialization in the feeding ecology of a long-lived seabird

Many generalist species are composed of individuals varying in the size of their realized niches within a population. To understand the underlying causes and implications of this phenomenon, repeated samplings on the same individuals subjected to different environmental conditions are needed. Here, we studied individual specialization of feeding strategies in breeding and non-breeding grounds of Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) for 2-8 years, and its relationship with fitness. Individuals were relatively flexible in non-breeding destinations, but specialized in diet, habitat use and daily activity across years. Daily activity was also consistent throughout the year for the same individual, suggesting that it is driven by individual constraints, whereas individual diet and habitat use changed between breeding and non-breeding grounds, indicating that these specializations may be learned at each area. Moreover, individuals that were intermediate specialized in their diet tended to show higher breeding success than those with weakly and highly specialized diets, suggesting stabilizing selection. Overall, this study suggests that the development of individual specialization is more flexible than previously thought, i.e. it emerges under specific environmental conditions and can develop differently when environmental conditions vary. However, once established, individual specialization may compromise the ability of individuals to cope with environmental stochasticity

Evaluating indices of traditional ecological knowledge: a methodological contribution

BACKGROUND: New quantitative methods to collect and analyze data have produced novel findings in ethnobiology. A common application of quantitative methods in ethnobiology is to assess the traditional ecological knowledge of individuals. Few studies have addressed reliability of indices of traditional ecological knowledge constructed with different quantitative methods. METHODS: We assessed the associations among eight indices of traditional ecological knowledge from data collected from 650 native Amazonians. We computed Spearman correlations, Chronbach's alpha, and principal components factor analysis for the eight indices. RESULTS: We found that indices derived from different raw data were weakly correlated (rho<0.5), whereas indices derived from the same raw data were highly correlated (rho>0.5; p < 0.001). We also found a relatively high internal consistency across data from the eight indices (Chronbach's alpha = 0.78). Last, results from a principal components factor analysis of the eight indices suggest that the eight indices were positively related, although the association was low when considering only the first factor. CONCLUSION: A possible explanation for the relatively low correlation between indices derived from different raw data, but relatively high internal consistency of the eight indices is that the methods capture different aspects of an individual's traditional ecological knowledge. To develop a reliable measure of traditional ecological knowledge, researchers should collect raw data using a variety of methods and then generate an aggregated measure that contains data from the various components of traditional ecological knowledge. Failure to do this will hinder cross-cultural comparisons

miR-146a is a pivotal regulator of neutrophil extracellular trap formation promoting thrombosis.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) induce a procoagulant response linking inflammation and thrombosis. Low levels of miR-146a, a brake of inflammatory response, are involved in higher risk for cardiovascular events, but the mechanisms explaining how miR-146a exerts its function remain largely undefined. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of miR-146a deficiency in NETosis both, in sterile and non-sterile models in vivo, and to inquire into the underlying mechanism. Two models of inflammation were performed: 1) Ldlr-/- mice transplanted with bone marrow from miR-146a-/- or wild type (WT) were fed high-fat diet, generating an atherosclerosis model; and 2) an acute inflammation model was generated by injecting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 mg/Kg) into miR-146a-/- and WT mice. miR-146a deficiency increased NETosis in both models. Accordingly, miR-146a-/- mice showed significant reduced carotid occlusion time and elevated levels of NETs in thrombi following FeCl3-induced thrombosis. Infusion of DNAse I abolished arterial thrombosis in WT and miR-146a-/- mice. Interestingly, miR-146a deficient mice have aged, hyperreactive and pro-inflammatory neutrophils in circulation that are more prone to form NETs independently of the stimulus. Furthermore, we demonstrated that community acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients with reduced miR-146a levels associated with the T variant of the functional rs2431697, presented an increased risk for cardiovascular events due in part to an increased generation of NETs.This work was supported by research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional “Investing in your future” (PI17/00051 y PI17/01421) (PFIS18/0045: A.M. de los Reyes-García) (CD18/00044: S. Águila), and Fundación Séneca (19873/GERM/15). The CNIC is supported by the ISCIII, the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), and the Fundación Pro CNIC, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505). A.B. Arroyo has a research fellowship from Sociedad Española de Trombosis y Hemostasia (SETH). The MCIU supported A.dM. (predoctoral contract BES-2014-067791).S

Meta-population feeding grounds of Cory's shearwater in the subtropical Atlantic Ocean: implications for the definition of Marine Protected Areas based on tracking studies

Aim Apical pelagic species forage in predictable habitats, and their movements should signal biologically and ecologically significant areas of the marine ecosystem. Several countries are now engaged in identifying these areas based on animal tracking, but this is often limited to a few individuals from one breeding population, which may result in biased portrayals of the key marine habitats. To help identify such foraging areas, we compiled tracking data of a marine top predator from the main breeding colonies in the Central Macaronesia. Location North‐east Atlantic Ocean. Methods Over seven years, we tracked the foraging movements of Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) from several populations during the chick‐rearing period using global positioning system and platform terminal transmitter devices. Results We obtained foraging trips from 174 shearwaters breeding on six important colonies representative of the range occupied in the Macaronesian Archipelagos of Madeira, Salvages and Canaries. Our results show that birds orient and move rapidly towards the closest neritic waters over the African continental shelf. Birds from different colonies show substantial spatial segregation in their foraging grounds but consistently overlap in some specific foraging areas along the Canary Current characterized by high productivity. By weighting the use of foraging grounds according to the size of each study population, we inferred the overall exploitation of such areas. Main conclusions Our meta‐population approach provides a more comprehensive picture of space use from both perspectives: the studied species and the Canary Current system. Foraging grounds consistently used by several populations may not be adequately identified by tracking a single population, and therefore, multiple population tracking studies are needed to properly delineate key conservation areas and inform conservation planning in the marine ecosystem. Finally, we highlight the long‐term stability and sustainability of identified foraging areas and propose that countries with geographical jurisdictions over the Canary Current area should work towards multilateral agreements to set management plans for this key marine ecosystem

Chronic Postoperative Pain

Understanding the definition of pain has imposed numerous challenges toward pain practitioners. The pain experience phenomena are complicated to understand, and this construct goes beyond biomedical approaches. Persistent pain as a disease implicates changes that include modified sensory feedback within the somatosensory system. It has been documented that different anatomical restructuring in nociceptive integration and adaptations in nociceptive primary afferents and perception conduits are present in persistent pain situations. Chronic postoperative pain (CPOP) is known as a particular disorder, not only associated with a specific nerve damage or manifestation of a unique inflammatory response but also with a mixture of both. The occurrence of CPOP varies substantially among the literature and depends on the kind of procedure. There are reports informing that 10 to 50% of the patients undergoing common procedures had CPOP, and 2 to 10% of patients complained of severe pain. Systematic review has been performed trying to identify the Holy Grail, none showed sufficient evidence to guide CPOP treatment, and multimodal approaches must be tried in large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to provide robust evidence as evidence-based management for CPOP still lacking

Glucocerebrosidase expression patterns in the non-human primate brain

Glucocerebrosidase (GCase) is a lysosomal enzyme encoded by the GBA1 gene. Mutations in GBA1 gene lead to Gaucher’s disease, the most prevalent lysosomal storage disorder. GBA1 mutations reduce GCase activity, therefore promoting the aggregation of alphasynuclein, a common neuropathological finding underlying Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies. However, it is also worth noting that a direct link between GBA1 mutations and alpha-synuclein aggregation indicating cause and effect is still lacking, with limited experimental evidence to date. Bearing in mind that a number of strategies increasing GCase expression for the treatment of PD are currently under development, here we sought to analyze the baseline expression of GCase in the brain of Macaca fascicularis, which has often been considered as the gold-standard animal model of PD. Although as with other lysosomal enzymes, GCase is expected to be ubiquitously expressed, here a number of regional variations have been consistently found, together with several specific neurochemical phenotypes expressing very high levels of GCase. In this regard, the most enriched expression of GCase was constantly found in cholinergic neurons from the nucleus basalis of Meynert, dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta, serotoninergic neurons from the raphe nuclei, as well as in noradrenergic neurons located in the locus ceruleus. Moreover, it is also worth noting that moderate levels of expression were also found in a number of areas within the paleocortex and archicortex, such as the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampal formation, respectively