Use of electrodialysis as a vfa recovery process From acidogenic of msw synthetic leachates

An electrodialysis (ED) process was tested for volatile fatty acids (VFA) recovery from a simulated leachate of acidogenesis of municipal solid wastes (MSW). The effect of initial VFA concentration in leachate, applied voltage and flow rate on VFA removal efficiency were evaluated. Four different leachate compositions were examined at three different applied voltages and at three different flow rates. Higher removal levels were obtained at low VFA initial concentration, high voltages levels and high flow rates. ED process was showed higher removal efficiency with shorts chain acids, but VFA final concentration was directly related with initial concentration of each acid. After VFA recovery tests of chemical reaction with ethanol were carried out for ethyl esters production as gas oil additives. Results of these tests showed a transformation efficiency of 26%

Hydrological regime of remote catchments with extreme gradients under accelerated change: the Baker basin in Patagonia

The Baker basin (27 000 km2) is located in one of the most pristine and remote areas of the planet. Its hydrological regime is poised to undergo dramatic changes in the near future due to hydropower development and climate change. The basin contains the second-largest lake in South America, and part of a major icefield. This study documents the natural baseline of the Baker River basin, discusses the main hydrological modes and analyses the potential for sustainable management. Annual precipitation varies several-fold from the eastern Patagonian steppes to the North Patagonian Icefield. The westernmost sub-basins are strongly governed by glacier melt with a peak discharge in the austral summer (January–March). The easternmost sub-basins have a much more seasonal response governed by quicker snowmelt in spring (November–December), while they exhibit low flows typical for semi-arid regions during summer and autumn. Topography, vegetation and wetlands may also influence streamflow. The strong spatio-temporal gradients and variability highlight the need for further monitoring, particularly in the headwaters, especially given the severe changes these basins are expected to undergo. The great diversity of hydrological controls and climate change pose significant challenges for hydrological prediction and management

Women with primary ovarian insufficiency have lower bone mineral density

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of osteoporosis in a sample of 32 patients with spontaneous primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) in comparison to reference groups of 25 pre- and 55 postmenopausal women. Hip (lumbar) and spinal bone mineral density (BMD) measurements were performed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in the three groups. The median age of POI patients at the time of diagnosis was 35 years (interquartile range: 27-37 years). The mean ± SD age of postmenopausal reference women (52.16 ± 3.65 years) was higher than that of POI (46.28 ± 10.38 years) and premenopausal women (43.96 ± 7.08; P = 0.001) at the time of BMD measurement. Twenty-seven (84.4%) POI women were receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at the time of the study. In the postmenopausal reference group, 30.4% were current users of HRT. Lumbar BMD was significantly lower in the POI group (1.050 ± 0.17 g/cm²) compared to the age-matched premenopausal reference group (1.136 ± 0.12 g/cm²; P = 0.040). Moreover, 22 (68.7%) POI women had low bone density (osteopenia/osteoporosis by World Health Organization criteria) versus 47.3% of the postmenopausal reference group (P = 0.042). In conclusion, the present data indicate that BMD is significantly lower in patients with POI than in age-matched premenopausal women. Also, the prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis is higher in POI women than in women after natural menopause. Early medical interventions are necessary to ensure that women with POI will maintain their bonemass

Development of the independence in daily living in children from 3 to 6 year-old

La intervención y la promoción del desarrollo en la infancia necesitan estar fundamentadas en un proceso de evaluación ajustado al contexto en el que el niño se desarrolla. Es frecuente que se indique que los niños son cada vez menos autónomos o que no son capaces de asumir tareas simples relacionadas con el autocuidado sin embargo estas afirmaciones no siempre están contrastadas con evaluaciones sistemáticas. Objetivo: estudiar el nivel de capacidad de los niños de tres a seis años para ser autónomos en las tareas de la vida cotidiana. Metodología: Se administra la escala de cuidado personal de la versión española del Inventario de Evaluación Pediátrica de la Discapacidad (PEDI). La escala está formada por 73 ítems que evalúan aspectos relacionados con la textura de alimentos, el uso de cubiertos, el manejo de recipientes para beber, el cepillado de dientes o del pelo, el lavado de manos, cuerpo y cara, el manejo de ropa y sus cierres y las tareas de ir al baño o el control de esfínteres. Los datos se han recogido de una muestra de conveniencia de 199 niños escolarizados en 4 centros de Educación Infantil de Burgos, ciudad y provincia. Se ha entrevistado a los padres que informaban sobre cómo realizaban sus hijos las tareas. Resultados: Los niveles encontrados demuestran que el nivel de autonomía de los niños no sigue una línea de crecimiento ascendente sino que por el contrario los niveles se estabilizan e incluso disminuyen en opinión de los padres. Conclusión: se plantea que es necesario seguir desarrollando estudios que utilicen herramientas validadas y adaptadas a la población española que ratifiquen los datos. Entre tanto parece necesario sensibilizar a padres y profesores de la necesidad de potenciar la autonomía de los niños para contribuir a un buen desarrollo.Intervention and promotion of the infant development need to be grounded on an assessment process adjusted to the child context. It is said that children are decreasingly autonomous and that they are not able to assume simple tasks related with their self-care, nevertheless these assumptions are not always supported on systematic evaluations. Purpose: To study the functional Independence level performance of the activities of daily living in children from 3 to 6 year-old. Methods: It is used the self-care scale of the pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory (PEDI). The scale has 73 items which assess different aspects related to food textures, use of utensils, use of drinking containers, tooth brushing, hair brushing, hand, body and face washing, toileting task, and management of bladder and bowel. Data has been collected in a not-randomized sample. The final sample was comprised of 199 children recruited from 4 nursery schools in Burgos. Parents were interviewed about their children´s performance. Results: The independence level achieved by the children assessed, shows that this level does not follow an ascendant growth, but instead it is stabilized as the children grow, or indeed, this level decreases according to parent´s report. Conclusion: It is necessary to continue developing studies which uses standardized and validated tools in Spain and which can confirm these results. Meanwhile it is necessary to sensitize parents and teachers to promote the children independency in order to contribute to a good development

Collaborative Transportation Planning in Complex Adaptive Logistics Systems: A Complexity Science-Based Analysis of Decision-Making Problems of “Groupage Systems”

Abstract. This paper aims to analyze decision-making problems in Groupage Systems from a complexity-science perspective. Therefore, the idea of Complex Adaptive Logistics Systems (CALS) and its inherent organization principle of autonomous co-operation and control will be presented. Furthermore, Groupage systems as a way to implement collaborative transportation planning will be introduced and, in combination with the idea of CALS, resulting decisionmaking problems for so-called ‘smart parts ‘ in logistics systems will be deduced