Detection of IO in subtropical Free Troposphere

Póster elaborado para la EGU General Assembly celebrada los del 3 al 8 de abril de 2011 en Viena

Prescripción de ejercicio físico en la depresión por parte de médicos de familia : factores involucrados

Introducción: El problema del sedentarismo es acuciante en sociedades desarrolladas y sus consecuencias para la salud de la población constituyen uno de los principales problemas de salud pública actuales. La depresión es un motivo de consulta muy habitual en las consultas de atención primaria de países occidentales. Se ha planteado la prescripción de ejercicio físico como una estrategia antidepresiva útil en depresiones leves-moderadas, con frecuencia de forma complementaria a los tratamientos de primera elección: psicoterapia y/o farmacoterapia. Sin embargo, los médicos de atención primaria no siempre lo prescriben y se desconoce de qué depende que lo hagan. Contribuir a aclarar esta cuestión es el objetivo del presente trabajo. Nuestra hipótesis era que el grado de prescripción depende de sus opiniones y experiencia sobre el tratamiento de la depresión.Método: Estudio descriptivo transversal en el que participaron 13 centros de salud. Utilizamos el cuestionario Depression Questionaire Attitude para valorar la actitud de los médicos hacia la depresión, y recogimos otras variables relacionadas con la importancia que otorgaban al ejercicio físico y a otros aspectos del estilo de vida en la salud física y mental.RESULTADOS: Se confirma que las opiniones y actitudes de los médicos frente a la depresión influyen en su disposición a recomendar ejercicio físico. Además, los médicos de atención primaria con menos años de práctica profesional valoran más el papel del ejercicio físico en la salud, tanto en la depresión como en otras patologías médicas. También se observa una correlación entre la importancia que se da al ejercicio físico en la salud y la que se da a otros factores ligados al estilo de vida, especialmente la dieta.Discusión: Aunque la utilidad de recomendar ejercicio físico en la depresión va acercándose al mismo nivel de importancia que en otros problemas de salud su empleo por parte de los médicos de atención primaria es muy mejorable. Por ello, es importante insistir en la necesidad de ofrecer apoyo y programas de formación continuada a los médicos de atención primaria para ayudarles en este propósito.A sedentary lifestyle is an urgent problem in developed societies and its consequences are one of the main current problems in public health. Depression is a common reason to attend primary care in Western countries. In many cases of low and mild depression, exercise is recommended as a complement to the main therapy: Psychotherapy and/or pharmacotherapy. Nevertheless, general practitioners do not always recommend exercise to depressive patients and it is unknown why they do not. The main aim of our study was to clarify how the degree of prescribing exercise relies on a general practitioner's opinion and experience in depression treatment. A cross-sectional design was undertaken in 13 public health centers. The Depression Attitude Questionnaire (DAQ) was used to evaluate general practitioners' attitude towards depression; other variables related to the importance accorded to physical exercise; and other lifestyle aspects of physical and mental health. Our results show that general practitioners' attitude towards depression influence their willingness to recommend exercise. Moreover, less experienced general practitioners (in years) tend to appreciate the importance of exercise in health, not only in depression. A positive relationship was found between importance of exercise and importance accorded to other factors linked to lifestyle, especially diet. Although recommendation of exercise in depression is similar to other medical conditions, its prescription may be improved. Hence, it is important to point out the need for education programs for general practitioners, in order to improve their capacity to deal with their task.O problema do sedentarismo é premente nas sociedades desenvolvidas e as suas consequências para a saúde da população constituem um dos principais problemas de saúde pública actuais. A depressão é um motivo muito habitual nas consultas de cuidados primários nos países ocidentais. Foi delineada a prescrição de exercício físico como uma estratégia antidepressiva útil em depressões leves-moderadas, de forma complementar aos tratamentos de primeira escolha. Contudo, os médicos de cuidados primários nem sempre o prescrevem e desconhece-se o porquê de o fazerem. Contribuir para clarificar esta questão é o objectivo d presente trabalho. A nossa hipótese era que o grau de prescrição depende das suas opiniões e experiências no tratamento da depressão. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo transversal no qual participaram 13 centros de saúde. Utilizámos o questionário Depression Questionaire Attitude para avaliar a atitude dos médicos face à depressão e medimos outras variáveis relacionadas com a importância que atribuíam ao exercício físico e a outros aspectos do estilo de vida na saúde física e mental. Os resultados confirmam que a atitude dos médicos face à depressão influí na sua disposição para recomendar exercício físico. Adicionalmente, os médicos de cuidados primários com menos anos de prática profissional valorizam mais o papel do exercício físico na saúde, tanto na depressão como noutras patologias médicas. Também se observa uma correlação entre a importância que se dá ao exercício físico na saúde e à que se dá a outros factores ligados ao estilo de vida, especialmente à dieta. Conclui-se que apesar da utilidade de recomendar exercício físico na depressão se ir aproximando do nível de importância atribuído a outros problemas de saúde, a sua utilização por parte dos médicos de cuidados primários pode ser substancialmente melhorada. Para tal, é importante insistir na necessidade de oferecer apoio e programas de formação continuada aos médicos de cuidados primários para ajudá-los neste propósito

Iodine monoxide in the north subtropical free troposphere

Iodine monoxide (IO) differential slant column densities (DSCD) have been retrieved from a new multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) instrument deployed at the Iza˜na subtropical observatory as part of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) programme.We acknowledge the support of the European Commission through the GEOmon (Global Earth Observation and Monitoring) Integrated Project under the 6th Framework Program (contract number FP6-2005-Global-4-036677) and NORS (Demonstration Network Of ground-based Remote Sensing Observations in support of the GMES Atmospheric Service) Integrated Project under the 7th Framework Program (contract number FP7-SPACE- 2011-284421)

New Compounds with Bioisosteric Replacement of Classic Choline Kinase Inhibitors Show Potent Antiplasmodial Activity

In the fight against Malaria, new strategies need to be developed to avoid resistance of the parasite to pharmaceutics and other prevention barriers. Recently, a Host Directed Therapy approach based on the suppression of the starting materials uptake from the host by the parasite has provided excellent results. In this article, we propose the synthesis of bioisosteric compounds that are capable of inhibiting Plasmodium falciparum Choline Kinase and therefore to reduce choline uptake, which is essential for the development of the parasite. Of the 41 bioisosteric compounds reported herein, none showed any influence of the linker on the antimalarial and enzyme inhibitory activity, whereas an effect of the type of cationic heads used could be observed. SARs determined that the thienopyrimidine substituted in 4 by a pyrrolidine is the best scaffold, independently of the chosen linker. The decrease in lipophilicity seems to improve the antimalarial activity but to cause an opposite effect on the inhibition of the enzyme. While potent compounds with similar good inhibitory values have been related to the proposed mechanism of action, some of them still show discrepancies and further studies are needed to determine their specific molecular target

Estimation of the real population and its impact on the utilisation of healthcare services in Mediterranean resort regions: an ecological study

BACKGROUND: The demographic structure has a significant influence on the use of healthcare services, as does the size of the population denominators. Very few studies have been published on methods for estimating the real population such as tourist resorts. The lack of information about these problems means there is a corresponding lack of information about the behaviour of populational denominators (the floating population or tourist load) and the effect of this on the use of healthcare services. The objectives of the study were: a) To determine the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) ratio, per person per day, among populations of known size; b) to estimate, by means of this ratio, the real population in an area where tourist numbers are very significant; and c) to determine the impact on the utilisation of hospital emergency healthcare services of the registered population, in comparison to the non-resident population, in two areas where tourist numbers are very significant. METHODS: An ecological study design was employed. We analysed the Healthcare Districts of the Costa del Sol and the island of Menorca. Both are Spanish territories in the Mediterranean region. RESULTS: In the two areas analysed, the correlation coefficient between the MSW ratio and admissions to hospital emergency departments exceeded 0.9, with p < 0.001. On the basis of MSW generation ratios, obtained for a control zone and also measured in neighbouring countries, we estimated the real population. For the summer months, when tourist activity is greatest and demand for emergency healthcare at hospitals is highest, this value was found to be double that of the registered population. CONCLUSION: The MSW indicator, which is both ecological and indirect, can be used to estimate the real population in areas where population levels vary significantly during the year. This parameter is of interest in planning and dimensioning the provision of healthcare services

Relación entre actividad física, gravedad clínica y perfil sociodemográfico en pacientes con Depresión Mayor

El ejercicio físico está demostrando en los últimos años ser una buena estrategia antidepresiva complementaria para muchos pacientes. La asociación entre el grado de actividad física y las características clínicas y sociodemográficas en la Depresión aún no se ha estudiado suficientemente en muestras amplias y representativas de pacientes. Hacerlo es importante para obtener información que posibilite mejorar el diseño de programas destinados a promover el ejercicio físico en estos pacientes. Se reclutaron 3374 pacientes con Depresión Mayor en tratamiento, que acudieron a consulta psiquiátrica por primera vez en Centros de Salud Mental distribuidos por toda España. Fueron clasificados en tres grupos de acuerdo con el nivel de actividad física semanal que declararon. En este estudio comparamos el grupo que comunicó mayor actividad física (n = 1033; 30.6%) con el que menos (n = 858; 25.4%). Los pacientes más activos tenían menor gravedad clínica de acuerdo con la puntuación en la escala Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Además eran más jóvenes, con mejor nivel educativo y de empleo, menor aislamiento social y menor consumo de tabaco. Sin embargo, cuando todas estas variables fueron controladas, la diferencia en la puntuación en la MADRS seguía siendo estadísticamente significativa. De lo anterior deducimos que los pacientes depresivos con más edad o dificultades socioeconómicas tienden a hacer menos ejercicio espontáneamente, por lo que probablemente necesiten un apoyo especial al recomendárselo.Physical activity is showing in recent years to be a good antidepressant complementary strategy for many patients. The association between the degree of physical activity and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics in depression has still not been studied sufficiently in large and representative patient samples. Doing so is important to improve the design of programs that promote physical activity in depressive patients. 3374 patients with Major Depression who first came to psychiatric consultation in mental health centres in Spain were recruited. They were classified into three groups according to the level of weekly physical activity declared. In this study we compared the most physical activity declared group (n = 1033; 30.6%) with less physical activity declared group (n = 858; 25.4%). Most physically active patients had lower clinical depression severity according to the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) scale. They were also younger, with higher education level and employment status; do not tend to live alone and less tobacco use. However, when all these variables were controlled, differences in MADRS Scores between groups remain statistically significant. Older and with socioeconomic difficulties depressive patients tend to do less physical activity, for this reason, it is probably that they need a particular support to recommend do exercise.A atividade física mostra nos últimos anos uma boa estratégia de antidepressivos complementares para muitos pacientes. A associação entre o grau de atividade física e as características clínicas e sociodemográcas na Depressão ainda não foi sucientemente estudada em amostras grandes e representativas de pacientes. Fazer isso é importante para obter informa- ções que permitam melhorar o design de programas destinados a promover a atividade física nesses pacientes. Registramos 3374 pacientes com maior depressão no tratamento, que participaram de consultas psiquiátricas pela primeira vez em centros de saúde mental distribuídos em toda a Espanha. Eles foram classicados em três grupos de acordo com o nível de atividade física semanal que relataram. Neste estudo, comparamos o grupo que relatou a maior atividade física (n = 1033, 30,6%) com o mínimo (n = 858, 25,4%). Os pacientes mais ativos tiveram menor gravidade clínica de acordo com a pontuação na Escala de Avaliação de Depressão de Montgomery-Asberg (MADRS). Eles também eram mais jovens, com melhores níveis educacionais e de emprego, menos isolamento social e menor consumo de tabaco. No entanto, quando todas essas variáveis foram controladas, a diferença no índice MADRS permaneceu estatisticamente signicante. A partir do acima, deduzimos que os pacientes deprimidos mais velhos ou as diculdades socioeconômicas tendem a uma atividade física espontaneamente menor, então eles provavelmente precisam de apoio especial ao recomendá-lo

New direct alcohol and hydrogen fuel cells for naval and aeronautical applications (PILCONAER)

In the current context of demand for reliable, low cost and low environmental impact energy sources, many countries and companies are mostly focused on fuel cells (FC) in fields as transportation and stationary power generation and portable devices. Lately, FCs have begun to be applied in naval and aeronautical systems due to its high efficiency, low noise and environmental advantages. These applications could range from propulsion systems to auxiliary power units(APU). The main problems associated with the use of FCs in these areas are the current high cost due to the materials used, i.e. Nafion and Pt, the lack of durability testing in these specific conditions, security issues to flammability and high H2 pressures and low availability as a fuel, or the toxicity of methanol used as a fuel, and specific parameters such as weight in aircraft applications and volume in marine applications. Currently it is working on each of these issues, and at this point the ethanol as direct fuel is considered crucial. The use of ethanol as fuel has the advantage of easy transportation, storage and refueling, and is nontoxic. Bioethanol is a promising energy source, produced from raw materials containing sugar or starch. These raw materials exists in all parts of the world and is renewable, which involves the use of local energy sources contributing to the diversification of energy supply, reducing import dependence, increasing security of supply and generating new opportunities for agriculture. The main objective of the project is the development of low power stacks (stacks) fed with methanol (DMFC)and ethanol (DEFC) based on the development of new catalysts and membranes. PILCONAER aims contributing to the development of a sustainable use technology, further commitment to the restoration of the natural environment and biodiversity conservation

Distribución de humedales en la República Argentina

Los humedales, que representan aproximadamente el 7% de la superficie de la tierra (Ramsar, 2018) se encuentran entre los ecosistemas más valiosos no sólo en términos socioeconómico-productivos, sino también ambientales, dada su importancia en la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos y biodiversidad. La extensión de humedales naturales viene disminuyendo en todo el mundo y cada vez con mayor celeridad. El crecimiento poblacional previsto para las próximas décadas generará un incremento en la demanda de servicios ecosistémicos provenientes de esto socio-agroecosistemas, con lo cual el maximizar oportunidades productivas y al mismo tiempo minimizar potenciales impactos ambientales y sociales negativos, constituye el gran desafío para los tomadores de decisión. Esto requiere del análisis, aplicación y evaluación de herramientas y tecnologías que contribuyan a la gestión sostenible de los humedales. En los últimos años, el incremento de flujos de datos satelitales de libre acceso, el surgimiento de la computación en la nube y el creciente uso de algoritmos de aprendizaje automatizado han facilitado la integración y procesamiento de grandes volúmenes de datos permitiendo acortar tiempos y mejorar productos cartográficos. En Argentina son escasos los trabajos de abordaje a nivel nacional en relación a la ubicación de los humedales en el territorio nacional. El objetivo de nuestro trabajo fue, por un lado, generar un mapa actualizado de la probabilidad de ocurrencia y distribución de humedales en todo el país a partir de un análisis multitemporal de 20 años de imágenes satelitales, así como desarrollar un marco metodológico que permita establecer dicha ocurrencia en todo el territorio nacional, a través de una plataforma de fácil acceso y de fuente abierta. Para esto, se procesó 26.000 sitios de entrenamiento, 54720 imágenes satelitales de los sensores Landsat 5 y 8 y el Modelo Digital de Elevaciones de Argentina (MDE_Ar), a partir de los cuales se derivaron 43 variables predictoras, se aplicó el algoritmo Random Forest (RF) dentro del Google Earth Engine (GEE). El mapa resultante presenta una muy buena precisión en términos de análisis de campo, visual y estadístico, teniendo en cuenta la gran superficie del país (2,78 millones km2). La exactitud global de la determinación fue del 89%, mientras que la exactitud del productor y usuario (especificidad y precisión, respectivamente) para la clase humedal fue, en ambos casos, del 94%. Basándonos en el mapa final de determinación, estimamos que el 9,5% (265.200 km2) de Argentina está cubierto por humedales.Fil: Navarro, Marí­a Fabiana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Navarro, Carlos S. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Reconquista. ArgentinaFil: Barrios, Raúl. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes, ArgentinaFil: Dieta, Victorio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Delta del Paraná. Agencia De Extensión Rural Delta Frontal; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Martinez, Guillermo Carlos. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Esquel; ArgentinaFil: Iturralde, Rosario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Olavarría; Argentina.Fil: Iturralde Ortegui, María del Rosario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Olavarría; Argentina.Fil: Kurtz, Ditmar Bernardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes; Argentina.Fil: Michard, Nicole Jacqueline. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Paredes, Paula Natalia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.Fil: Saucedo, Griselda Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Corrientes; ArgentinaFil: Alday, Silvina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina.Fil: Cianfagna, Francisco. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas, Departamento de Hidrología; ArgentinaFil: Curcio, Matías Hernán. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agroforestal Esquel; ArgentinaFil: Enriquez, Andrea Soledad. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área Recursos Naturales. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Lopez, Astor Emilio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Sáenz Peña; ArgentinaFil: Miranda, Federico Waldemar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria El Colorado. Agencia de Extensión Rural Formosa; ArgentinaFil: Pezzola, Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Umaña, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Laboratorio de Teledetección; ArgentinaFil: Vidal, Claudia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Reconquista; Argentina.Fil: Winschel, Cristina Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Hilario Ascasubi; ArgentinaFil: Gavier Pizarro, Gregorio Ignacio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Calamari, Noelia Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Paraná; Argentin

Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis

Background: Insects are associated with microorganisms that contribute to the digestion and processing of nutrients. The European Corn Borer (ECB) is a moth present world-wide, causing severe economical damage as a pest on corn and other crops. In the present work, we give a detailed view of the complexity of the microorganisms forming the ECB midgut microbiota with the objective of comparing the biodiversity of the midgut-associated microbiota and explore their potential as a source of genes and enzymes with biotechnological applications. Methodological/Principal Findings: A high-throughput sequencing approach has been used to identify bacterial species, genes and metabolic pathways, particularly those involved in plant-matter degradation, in two different ECB populations (field-collected vs. lab-reared population with artificial diet). Analysis of the resulting sequences revealed the massive presence of Staphylococcus warneri and Weissella paramesenteroides in the lab-reared sample. This enabled us to reconstruct both genomes almost completely. Despite the apparently low diversity, 208 different genera were detected in the sample, although most of them at very low frequency. By contrast, the natural population exhibited an even higher taxonomic diversity along with a wider array of cellulolytic enzyme families. However, in spite of the differences in relative abundance of major taxonomic groups, not only did both metagenomes share a similar functional profile but also a similar distribution of non-redundant genes in different functional categories. Conclusions/Significance: Our results reveal a highly diverse pool of bacterial species in both O. nubilalis populations, with major differences: The lab-reared sample is rich in gram-positive species (two of which have almost fully sequenced genomes) while the field sample harbors mainly gram-negative species and has a larger set of cellulolytic enzymes. We have found a clear relationship between the diet and the midgut microbiota, which reveals the selection pressure of food on the community of intestinal bacteria. © 2011 Belda et al.The research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, under grant agreement CIT-010000-2008-5 and by a MICINN (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion) TIN2009-12359 ArtBioCom project. Arnau Montagud acknowledges Generalitat Valenciana grant BFPI/2007/283. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Belda Cuesta, EA.; Pedrola, L.; Peretó Magraner, J.; Martinez Blanch, JF.; Montagud Aquino, A.; Navarro-Peris, E.; Urchueguía Schölzel, JF.... (2011). Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis. PLoS ONE. 6(6):21751-21751. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021751S21751217516