Socio-economic determinants of anthropometric measures of abdominal adiposity among older people in England

Objective: to look into the socio-economic determinants of levels of three anthropometric measures of abdominal adiposity among older people in England -body mass index, waist circumference (WC), and waist-hip ratio (WHR)- and of changes along two health risk classifications: the World Health Organisation classification based on BMI levels and the WHO combined classification based on BMI and waist circumference measurements.
Design: quantile regression and multinomial analysis using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), wave 2 (2004-05) and wave 4 (2008-09)
Results: The quantile analysis on levels led to disparate results depending on the wave, which would question results previously published based on only one wave. However, we found that age tends to present an inverse U-shaped relationship with BMI and WC, smoking is negatively associated with BMI and positively with WC and WHR, alcohol consumption is negatively associated with BMI and WC levels, net total wealth is negatively related with the three anthropometric measures, educational attainment is negatively associated with each measure, and depression is positively associated with each measure. The multinomial analysis found that living in a larger household size increases the likelihood of becoming or remaining unhealthy irrespective of which classification we used. Furthermore, using the BMI-based categorisation, the initial category is highly relevant as a predictor of the category four years later and alcohol consumption would be positively associated with being or becoming obese. From the combined BMI-WC categorisation, we found that net total wealth would be negatively associated with becoming or remaining unhealthy whereas depression is a significant predictor of becoming or remaining unhealthy.
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Imaginarios y ritmos de la producción agropecuaria: avances de un estudio antropológico sobre desarrollo territorial

Un estudio antropológico sobre el desarrollo territorial explora las relaciones entre los ritmos de producción y los distintos modos de imaginar a las principales acciones de la producción agropecuaria.Fil: Iparraguirre, Gonzalo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bordenave; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Triazole-Directed Pd-Catalyzed C(sp2)–H Oxygenation of Arenes and Alkenes

Selective Pd-catalyzed C(sp2)–H oxygenation of 4-substituted 1,2,3-triazoles is described. Unlike previous metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization events, which preferentially occur at the activated heterocyclic C–H bond, the regioselective oxygenation of the arene/alkene moiety is now achieved featuring the unconventional role of a simple triazole scaffold as a modular and selective directing group.MINECO for a Ramon y Cajal research contract (RYC-2012-09873)

Una propuesta de utilización de la historia de la ciencia en la enseñanza de un tema de física

Este artículo describe el proceso para elaborar una propuesta orientada a mejorar la enseñanza de temas de óptica en nivel medio, basada en la creencia de que es necesario desarrollar una metodología esencialmente activa en la cual se introduzcan problematizaciones y cuestionamientos, y de que la historia puede brindar muchos elementos útiles para ello. El proceso conduce al desarrollo de una propuesta de esas características metodológicas que adopta la historia como hilo conductor. A lo largo del trabajo se comentan e ilustran los problemas más graves de la enseñanza tradicional de la óptica, algunos caminos para superarlos, y la forma en que puede utilizarse la historia para ello.This article describes the analysis of the possibilities to improve the teaching of optics subjects at middle school, based upon the belief in the need to develop an essentially active methodology which includes problematizations and questionings, and in the fact that history may provide very useful elements for this. The process points to the development of a proposal with these characteristics and with history as a central thread. Throughout the work, the most serious problems of the traditional teaching of optics, some ways of overcoming them, and the way that history may be used are pointed out and illustrated

Growth, reproduction and recruitment of Eisenia andrei in natural substrates: A functional approach

217 p.En esta tesis se realiza un estudio de la respuesta fisiológica de individuos de la especie de lombriz epigea Eisenia andrei sometidos a distintas condiciones de cultivo en substratos naturales. Uno de los parámetros a evaluar es el efecto del aislamiento y densidad poblacional sobre el crecimiento y metabolismo aerobio. Para ello se estableció un sistema de mesocosmos, usando como substrato bosta de caballo, en donde los individuos fueron marcados con elastómeros fluorescentes para poder realizar un seguimiento individualizado, y se realizó un estudio comparativo con animales cultivados de forma aislada. Como resultado, los individuos aislados mostraban mayores tasas de crecimiento y metabólicas, que son explicadas por una menor inversión en reproducción y por la mayor cantidad de comida por individuo. Por otra parte, se evaluó el efecto de la dieta, en términos de cantidad y calidad de la materia orgánica, sobre los parámetros del ciclo vital de Eisenia andrei. En este caso, los substratos utilizados fueron hierba cortada y compostada por distintos periodos de tiempo y suelo perteneciente a tres tipos de unidades de vegetación (Plantación de Eucalipto, Robledal y Matorral-Espinar). Como resultado, la idoneidad de estos substratos para mantener poblaciones activas de E. andrei parece estar relacionado con la cantidad de materia orgánica fácilmente digerible (p. ej. Proporción de carbohidratos solubles). Por último mencionar que en esta tesis se ha desarrollado un sistema no invasivo de toma de datos morfométricos y de biomasa basado en técnicas fotográficas

Patrimonial Imaginaries and Ethnographic Practice: Cultural Management Experiences in the Southwest of Bueno Aires Province, Argentina

Se presenta un estudio etnográfico sobre imaginarios patrimoniales, gestión del patrimonio cultural y sus implicancias político-científicas en el sudoeste de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. A partir de la experiencia personal de haber trabajado en gestión e investigación del patrimonio cultural entre 2006 y 2012, se analizan dos estudios de caso que permiten reflexionar sobre la práctica profesional antropológica, la gestión y administración del patrimonio por los diferentes actores intervinientes, y la construcción de conocimiento científico en base al análisis de imaginarios sociales. Asimismo, se discute la importancia de la práctica etnográfica y el diagnóstico de los diferentes imaginarios sociales, al momento de realizar estudios patrimoniales que involucren a la comunidad local, las autoridades políticas y la comunidad científica. Finalmente, se presentan lineamientos generales para la elaboración de un modelo de intervención.In the following article I present an ethnographic study of patrimonial imaginaries, cultural heritage management and its scientific-political implications in the southwest of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. From my personal experience as a technician in management and research of cultural heritage between 2006 and 2012, I analyze two case studies that will allow us to think about the anthropological practice, the heritage management by different actors, and the construction of scientific knowledge based on social imaginaries analysis. I also discuss the importance of the ethnographic practice and the diagnosis of different social imaginaries when it comes to study heritage within the local community, the political authority, and the scientific community. Finally, I will provide a general guideline to elaborate a model of social intervention

Ab Initio Calculations of Hydrocarbon Thermochemistry and Reaction Kinetics

In the framework of the SFB 551 "Carbon from the Gas Phase: Elementary Reactions, Structures, Materials" several areas of carbon related chemistry have been studied with help of computational tools. They include the exploration of different ways of building PAHs, the attempt to check the limits of quantum chemistry methods in hydrocarbon chemistry using explicitly-correlated methods and the calculation of accurate reaction rates

Transcriptome regulation network in Multiple sclerosis: Role of circular RNAs.

274 p.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, that leads to neurological disability. The disease course and clinical phenotype are highly variable and therefore, biomarkers that can aid in the clinical practice are needed. Previous studies have shown a dysregulation in the coding and non-coding RNAs and proposed some as biomarkers. However, still none of them have reached the clinical practice. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as new players in the transcriptome that hold a great potential as biomarkers thanks to the features endowed by their circularity. In this thesis, we have performed different approaches to characterise the circRNA expression in leukocytes, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and extracellular vesicles from MS patients. Results have revealed hundreds of circRNAs whose expression is changed in the disease, and we have proposed eleven of them as potential minimally-invasive biomarkers. Finally, our functional experiments indicate that circRNAs may act as regulators of the immune response. This thesis opens a new research line in MS for future investigations to further evaluate the biomarker potential and the function of circRNAs in MS