Incentive scheme based on investment plan compliance for public water utilities in Peru

Using the budget-based scheme approach developed by Kirby et.al. (1991) and Reichelstein (1992), this paper establishes the optimal policy function in order to control hidden actions from managers of Public Water Utilities (PWU) regarding investments that deviate from the Optimized Business Plan (OBP), with the purpose of inducing managers to reduce deviation from the execution of not programmed investments in the OBP and from programmed investments that were not executed. We find a high percentage of investment (47%) that deviates from its OBP. However between 16% and 35% of executed investment that it deviates from its programmation, can be controlled by the PWU manager with a compensation payment schemes. --

Dermatoglyphics in childhood leukaemia: a guide to prognosis and aetiology?

The results of analysis of the dermatoglyphics of 152 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (and the first-degree relatives of 54 of them) contrast with those of 31 children with acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) (and the first-degree relatives of 25 of them). In ALL our findings suggest that neither genetic susceptibility nor an environmental factor, effective during the early antenatal period, is of aetiological importance; but the response to treatment, assessed as length of first remission, was found to be related to the amount of fingertip pattern. This may have clinical application. In AML there is evidence of a genetically determined factor carrying a high risk of the development of the disease, in that a member of each of 5 different families of the 25 studied bore a rare hypothenar pattern, compared with none in 75 control families. No dermatoglyphic features were of prognostic significance in AML

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of phenolic extracts from peanut skins obtained by different industrial process

Peanut skins present phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties which are excellent as a source of natural antioxidants. In food products, the antioxidants have the function ofneutralizedthe action of free radicals produced by oxidation reactions. The objective of this study was to determine the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of extracts rich in phenolic compounds form peanut skins obtained by two industrial process.Fil: Larrauri, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Larrauri, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Claudia M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Claudia M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Martín, María Paula. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Martín, María Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Zunino, M. Paula. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Zunino, M. Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Zygadlo, Julio A. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Zygadlo, Julio A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Grosso, Nelson R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Grosso, Nelson R. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Nepote, Valeria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Nepote, Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Otras Ciencias Agrícola

Antioxidant activity of monoterpenes and synergist antioxidant effect with BHT

Fil: Quiroga, Patricia R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Quiroga, Patricia R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Claudia M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Claudia M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Larrauri, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Larrauri, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Martin, María P. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Martin, María P. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Rivero, Cecilia G. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Rivero, Cecilia G. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Grosso, Nelson R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Grosso, Nelson R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Nepote, V. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Nepote, V. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Synthetic antioxidants are used in many foods. Their health safety is questioned. Monoterpenesobtained from essential oils have shown antioxidant activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preserving effect of monoterpenes: thymol, carvacrol, and sabineno hydrate acting as antioxidant additives.Fil: Quiroga, Patricia R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Quiroga, Patricia R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Claudia M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Asensio, Claudia M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Larrauri, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Larrauri, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Martin, María P. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Martin, María P. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Rivero, Cecilia G. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Rivero, Cecilia G. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Grosso, Nelson R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Grosso, Nelson R. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Nepote, V. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Nepote, V. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Alimentos y Bebida

Using surveillance data to estimate pandemic vaccine effectiveness against laboratory confirmed influenza A(H1N1)2009 infection : two case-control studies, Spain, season 2009-2010

Background: Physicians of the Spanish Influenza Sentinel Surveillance System report and systematically swab patients attended to their practices for influenza-like illness (ILI). Within the surveillance system, some Spanish regions also participated in an observational study aiming at estimating influenza vaccine effectiveness (cycEVA study). During the season 2009-2010, we estimated pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness using both the influenza surveillance data and the cycEVA study. Methods: We conducted two case-control studies using the test-negative design, between weeks 48/2009 and 8/2010 of the pandemic season. The surveillance-based study included all swabbed patients in the sentinel surveillance system. The cycEVA study included swabbed patients from seven Spanish regions. Cases were laboratory-confirmed pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009. Controls were ILI patients testing negative for any type of influenza. Variables collected in both studies included demographic data, vaccination status, laboratory results, chronic conditions, and pregnancy. Additionally, cycEVA questionnaire collected data on previous influenza vaccination, smoking, functional status, hospitalisations, visits to the general practitioners, and obesity. We used logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR), computing pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness as (1-OR *100. Results: We included 331 cases and 995 controls in the surveillance-based study and 85 cases and 351 controls in the cycEVA study. We detected nine (2.7%) and two (2.4%) vaccine failures in the surveillance-based and cycEVA studies, respectively. Adjusting for variables collected in surveillance database and swabbing month, pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness was 62% (95% confidence interval (CI): -5; 87). The cycEVA vaccine effectiveness was 64% (95%CI: -225; 96) when adjusting for common variables with the surveillance system and 75% (95%CI: -293; 98) adjusting for all variables collected. Conclusion: Point estimates of the pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness suggested a protective effect of the pandemic vaccine against laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H1N1)2009 in the season 2009-2010. Both studies were limited by the low vaccine coverage and the late start of the vaccination campaign. Routine influenza surveillance provides reliable estimates and could be used for influenza vaccine effectiveness studies in future seasons taken into account the surveillance system limitations

Lockdown measures and relative changes in the age-specific incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain

During the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in 2020, Spain implemented an initial lockdown period on March 15 followed by a strengthened lockdown period on March 30 when only essential workers continued to commute to work. However, little is known about the epidemic dynamics in different age groups during these periods. We used the daily number of COVID-19 cases (by date of symptom onset) reported to the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE) among individuals aged 15-19y through 65-69y. For each age group g, we computed the proportion PrE(g) of individuals in age group g among all reported cases aged 15-69y during the pre-lockdown period (March 1-10, 2020) and the corresponding proportion PrL(g) during two lockdown periods (initial: 25 March-3 April; strengthened: 8-17 April, 2020). For each lockdown period, we computed the proportion ratios PR(g)= PrL(g)/PrE(g). For each pair of age groups g1,g, PR(g)>PR(g) implies a relative increase in the incidence of detected SARS-CoV-2 infection in the age group g compared with g for the lockdown period vs. the pre-lockdown period. For the initial lockdown period, the highest PR values were in age groups 50-54y (PR=1.21; 95% CI: 1.12,1.30) and 55-59y (PR=1.19; 1.11,1.27). For the second lockdown period, the highest PR values were in age groups 15-19y (PR=1.26; 0.95,1.68) and 50-54y (PR=1.20; 1.09,1.31). Our results suggest that different outbreak control measures led to different changes in the relative incidence by age group. During the initial lockdown period, when non-essential work was allowed, individuals aged 40-64y, particularly those aged 50-59y, had a higher relative incidence compared with the pre-lockdown period. Younger adults/older adolescents had an increased relative incidence during the later, strengthened lockdown. The role of different age groups during the epidemic should be considered when implementing future mitigation efforts

I-Move towards monitoring seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness: lessons learnt from a pilot multi-centric case-control study in europe, 2008-9

Within I-MOVE (European programme to monitor seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE)) five countries conducted IVE pilot case-control studies in 2008-9. One hundred and sixty sentinel general practitioners (GP) swabbed all elderly consulting for influenza-like illness (ILI). Influenza confirmed cases were compared to influenza negative controls. We conducted a pooled analysis to obtain a summary IVE in the age group of >or=65 years. We measured IVE in each study and assessed heterogeneity between studies qualitatively and using the I2 index. We used a one-stage pooled model with study as a fixed effect. We adjusted estimates for age-group, sex, chronic diseases, smoking, functional status, previous influenza vaccinations and previous hospitalisations. The pooled analysis included 138 cases and 189 test-negative controls. There was no statistical heterogeneity (I2=0) between studies but ILI case definition, previous hospitalisations and functional status were slightly different. The adjusted IVE was 59.1% (95% CI: 15.3-80.3%). IVE was 65.4% (95% CI: 15.6-85.8%) in the 65-74, 59.6% (95% CI: -72.6 -90.6%) in the age group of >or=75 and 56.4% (95% CI: -0.2-81.3%) for A(H3). Pooled analysis is feasible among European studies. The variables definitions need further standardisation. Larger sample sizes are needed to achieve greater precision for subgroup analysis. For 2009-10, I-MOVE will extend the study to obtain early IVE estimates in groups targeted for pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccination.European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC

Early estimates of seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness in Europe among target groups for vaccination: results from the I-MOVE multicentre case-control study, 2011/12

To provide an early estimate of 2011/12 influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE), we conducted a multicentre case-control study based on seven sentinel surveillance networks. We included influenza-like illness cases up to week 7/2012 from the vaccination target groups, swabbed less than eight days after symptom onset. Laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H3) cases were compared to negative controls. Adjusted VE was 43% (95% confidence interval: -0.4 to 67.7), suggesting low to moderate VE against influenza A(H3) in the early 2011/12 season.The I-MOVE network has been funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) since 2007.S

Early estimates of seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness in Europe, 2010/11: I-MOVE, a multicentre case-control study

We present early estimates (up to week 4 of 2011) of the 2010/11 seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness in preventing medically attended influenza-like illness(ILI) laboratory confirmed as influenza. Practitioners from seven European sentinel networks systematically swabbed ILI patients. We included patients meeting the European Union ILI case definition and swabbed less than eight days after symptom onset. Laboratory-confirmed influenza cases were compared with negative controls. The adjusted vaccine effectiveness was 42.3% (95% CI: -7.3 to 69.0%), suggesting moderate protection of the seasonal vaccine.The I-MOVE network has been funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) since 2007.S

All-cause versus cause-specific excess deaths for estimating influenza-associated mortality in Denmark, Spain, and the United States

Background: Seasonal influenza-associated excess mortality estimates can be timely and provide useful information on the severity of an epidemic. This methodology can be leveraged during an emergency response or pandemic. Method: For Denmark, Spain, and the United States, we estimated age-stratified excess mortality for (i) all-cause, (ii) respiratory and circulatory, (iii) circulatory, (iv) respiratory, and (v) pneumonia, and influenza causes of death for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 influenza seasons. We quantified differences between the countries and seasonal excess mortality estimates and the death categories. We used a time-series linear regression model accounting for time and seasonal trends using mortality data from 2010 through 2017. Results: The respective periods of weekly excess mortality for all-cause and cause-specific deaths were similar in their chronological patterns. Seasonal all-cause excess mortality rates for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 influenza seasons were 4.7 (3.3-6.1) and 14.3 (13.0-15.6) per 100,000 population, for the United States; 20.3 (15.8-25.0) and 24.0 (19.3-28.7) per 100,000 population for Denmark; and 22.9 (18.9-26.9) and 52.9 (49.1-56.8) per 100,000 population for Spain. Seasonal respiratory and circulatory excess mortality estimates were two to three times lower than the all-cause estimates. Discussion: We observed fewer influenza-associated deaths when we examined cause-specific death categories compared with all-cause deaths and observed the same trends in peaks in deaths with all death causes. Because all-cause deaths are more available, these models can be used to monitor virus activity in near real time. This approach may contribute to the development of timely mortality monitoring systems during public health emergencies.This study was conducted as part of Sebastian Schmidt's research fellowship, which was financially supported by the Novo Nordic Foundation and A.P. Møller Fonden. The EuroMOMO network has received financial support from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and from the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe.S