Shaping the future portfolio of the "Extrapolated Imagery" (EXIM) product of the Nowcasting-SAF

Póster presentado en: 3rd European Nowcasting Conference, celebrada en la sede central de AEMET en Madrid del 24 al 26 de abril de 2019

Soldier 2.0: Military Human Enhancement and International Law

Advances in technologies that could endow humans with physical or mental abilities that go beyond the statistically normal level of functioning are occurring at an incredible pace. The use of these human enhancement technologies by the military, for instance in the spheres of biotechnology, cybernetics and prosthetics, raise a number of questions under the international legal frameworks governing military technology, namely the law of armed conflict and human rights law. The article examines these frameworks with a focus on weapons law, the law pertaining to the detention of and by “enhanced individuals,” the human rights of those individuals and their responsibility for the actions they take while under the influence of enhancements

Large-scale acquisitions of communal land in the Global South: Assessing the risks and formulating policy recommendations

This article conceptualises and empirically assesses the socioeconomic and environmental risks of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for communal lands in the Global South. These risks include the displacement of local communities due to the insufficient formal recognition of communal land and exclusive and corrupt negotiations with investors who frequently exploit the legal pluralism inherent in these tenure systems. Furthermore, LSLAs often imply the loss of important ecological and socioeconomic functions that communal land holds for local communities across the world. These risks are in particular severe for already marginalised groups such as women, pastoralists and forest-dependent communities. Our empirical analysis focusses on spatial data of LSLAs and communal lands in three countries with varying degrees of communal land recognition. In the case of Colombia, where communal lands are relatively well documented and protected, we identify overlaps and conflicts arising from deficient consultation processes, primarily linked to extractive industries. Similarly, Cambodia formalises communal lands, but the actual extent of collective titles remains limited, and prevalent social forestry schemes in the region provide only restricted land rights. This leaves local communities with far less and also less well protected land facing LSLAs. The Democratic Republic of the Congo with almost no effective safeguards to protect communal lands is surely the most problematic case, as our analysis suggests potential overlaps of LSLAs with close to one million hectares of communal land. Increasing the compliance of land policies with global frameworks but also exploiting upcoming due diligence regulations will be key mitigating the risks of LSLAs for communal land

Efficacy of amphotericin B and fluconazole in the murine mycotie (Candida albicans) mastitis model

The majority of animal models in antifungal tests use systemic infection and mortality and survival of infected animals as the experimental end—point. We developed a murine model of localised eandidiasis (murine myeotic mastitis) and assessedits effectiveness through infection with Candida albicans followed by intraperitoneal administration of the antifungal drugs flunazole (FLU) and amphotericin B (AmB). Lactating BALB/cJ mice at day 5 post partum were inoculated (two glands) with a high dose of a human pathogenic C. albicans wild-type strain SC5314. Animals were treated immediately after infection with either FLU or AmB intraperitoneally for 4 days and euthanized by intracardiae exsanguination and cervical dislocation following anaesthesia with a mixture of Ketamine arid Xylazine. One infected gland was fixed in formalin and examined histopathologically and the other was homogenised for quantitative fungal cultures. There were severe changes in the untreated control animals (some animals had systemic candidiasis) compared to the treatment groups which had milder lesions. Fungal burden, determined as log [colony forming units (CFU)/g of mammary gland tissue], was similar in the untreated control group (n = 10) and FLU treated group (n = 6). However, there was significantly lower CFU/g in the mammary glands in AmB treated animals (n : 6) compared to both control and FLU treated animals (p < 0.05). The results indicate that AmB is more effective in prevention of murine mycotic mastitis than FLU and that the murine mycotic mastitis model may be an attractive animal model for antifungal chemotherapy studies

Plasma lyso-phosphatidylcholine concentration is decreased in cancer patients with weight loss and activated inflammatory status

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been observed that ras-transformed cell lines in culture have a higher phosphatidylcholine (PC) biosynthesis rate as well as higher PC-degradation rate (increased PC-turnover) than normal cells. In correspondence to these findings, the concentrations of the PC-degradation product lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) in cancer patients were found to be decreased. Our objective was the systematic investigation of the relationship between LPC and inflammatory and nutritional parameters in cancer patients. Therefore, plasma LPC concentrations were assessed in 59 cancer patients and related to nutritional and inflammatory parameters. To determine LPC in blood plasma we developed and validated a HPTLC method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Average plasma LPC concentration was 207 ± 59 μM which corresponds to the lower limit of the reported range in healthy subjects. No correlation between LPC and age, performance status, body mass index (BMI) or fat mass could be seen. However, LPC correlated inversely with plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and whole blood hydrogen peroxides (HPO). Further, a negative correlation could be observed between LPC and whole body extra cellular fluid volume (ECF) as well as with relative change in body weight since cancer diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, LPC concentrations were decreased in cancer patients. LPC plasma concentrations correlated with weight loss and inflammatory parameters and, therefore, might be a general indicator of severity of malignant disease.</p

Community Orchards for Food Sovereignty, Human Health, and Climate Resilience: Indigenous Roots and Contemporary Applications

Community orchards could play a valuable role as nature-based solutions to complex challenges we face today. In these unique plantings, a variety of nut- and fruit-producing trees and berry shrubs are often established together on public spaces to provide the community with healthy, fresh food. Interest in these plantings has been increasing in the United States, even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in our food systems. However, the roots of community orchards can be traced back to Indigenous foodways which have persisted for millennia. Then and now, community orchards support an array of functions, positioning them to contribute to solutions to major challenges related to food security, human health, and climate resilience. In this paper, contemporary applications are considered for Indigenous communities in the US that seek to care for their communities and the environment. A case study of the Osage Orchard project in Pawhuska, OK, USA, highlights the value of reconnecting with cultural foods and practices of Osage ancestors, to meet the needs and preferences of a contemporary Indigenous community

l-Acetyl-carnitine in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Effects on Nerve Protection, Hand Function and Pain

Background and Aim: l-Acetyl-carnitine (LAC) exerts an energetic effect on nerves and muscles. Recently, preclinical experiments have demonstrated a central anti-nociceptive action. Objective: Our objective was to assess the effects of LAC on neuroprotection, pain, and function in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a very frequent chronic compressive neuropathy. Methods: In a multicentre, examiner-blinded, clinical and neurophysiological 4-month study, we enrolled 82 patients and examined 120 hands with CTS of mild to moderate severity. Patients were assessed at baseline and 10, 60 and 120\uc2&nbsp;days after treatment with LAC 500\uc2&nbsp;mg twice daily (BID). All patients underwent a conduction study of the median nerve, the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) and the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI). The primary endpoint was the sensory conduction velocity (SCV) of the median nerve. Results: The primary endpoint was met, with significant improvement of the SCV (P\uc2&nbsp

Topological mass generation and 2−2-forms

In this work we revisit the topological mass generation of 2-forms and establish a connection to the unique derivative coupling arising in the quartic Lagrangian of the systematic construction of massive $2-$form interactions, relating in this way BF theories to Galileon-like theories of 2-forms. In terms of a massless $1-$form $A$ and a massless $2-$form $B$, the topological term manifests itself as the interaction $B\wedge F$, where $F = {\rm d} A$ is the field strength of the $1-$form. Such an interaction leads to a mechanism of generation of mass, usually referred to as "topological generation of mass" in which the single degree of freedom propagated by the $2-$form is absorbed by the $1-$form, generating a massive mode for the $1-$form. Using the systematical construction in terms of the Levi-Civita tensor, it was shown that, apart from the quadratic and quartic Lagrangians, Galileon-like derivative self-interactions for the massive 2-form do not exist. A unique quartic Lagrangian $\epsilon^{\mu\nu\rho\sigma}\epsilon^{\alpha\beta\gamma}_{\;\;\;\;\;\;\sigma}\partial_{\mu}B_{\alpha\rho}\partial_{\nu}B_{\beta\gamma}$ arises in this construction in a way that it corresponds to a total derivative on its own but ceases to be so once an overall general function is introduced. We show that it exactly corresponds to the same interaction of topological mass generation. Based on the decoupling limit analysis of the interactions, we bring out supporting arguments for the uniqueness of such a topological mass term and absence of the Galileon-like interactions. Finally, we discuss some preliminary applications in cosmology.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, journal versio