Arquitectura vernácula e identidad cultural en asentamientos rurales en declive

La despoblació i l'abandó de les zones rurals és un fenomen que es repeteix a escala global i de manera transversal a la majoria dels territoris i cultures. Aquest procés de declivi afecta especialment a l'arquitectura vernacla, per la seva modesta materialitat i per tant els valors culturals que en ella resideixen, tant de caràcter material com immaterial. Aquest treball analitza la situació de l'arquitectura vernacla rural en zones en declivi en tres regions d'escala i plantejament cultural tan diferents com les àrees meridionals de la Xina, el Marroc i Espanya, prenent com a referència elements tipològics propis de cada regió. Aprofundeix en experiències en les quals el patrimoni cultural en perill es transforma en força dinamitzadora del territori sobre el qual s'assenta i obre la porta a solucions tant de conservació i valorització dels seus propis elements com de resolució dels problemes socioculturals de fons. La recerca identifica aspectes genèrics i universals del procés de retracció, així com condicions específiques de cadascun dels diversos territoris d'estudi. El treball va trobar com els casos presos en consideració comparteixen algunes condicions en l'enfrontament de les conseqüències de la contracció, com ara dificultats d'adaptació, distància administrativa, fragilitat patrimonial.The depopulation and abandonment of rural areas is a phenomenon that is repeated on a global scale and is transversal to most territories and cultures. This shrinking process particularly affects vernacular architecture, due to its modest materiality and therefore the cultural values that reside in it, both of a material and immaterial nature. This work analyses the situation of rural vernacular architecture in shrinking areas in three regions of different scales and cultural approaches as the southern areas of China, Morocco and Spain, taking as reference typological elements specific to each region. The research delves into experiences in which the endangered cultural heritage is transformed into a dynamizing force for the territory on which it is based and opens the door to different solutions both for the conservation and valorisation of its own elements and for the resolution of the underlying socio-cultural problems. The research identifies generic and universal aspects of the shrinking process, as well as specific conditions of each of the various study territories. The work found how the cases taken into consideration share some conditions in dealing with the consequences of the shrinkage, such as adaptation difficulties, administrative distance, heritage fragility.La despoblación y el abandono de las zonas rurales es un fenómeno que se repite a escala global y de forma transversal a la mayoría de los territorios y culturas. Este proceso de declive afecta especialmente a la arquitectura vernácula, por su modesta materialidad y por tanto los valores culturales que en ella residen, tanto de carácter material como inmaterial. Este trabajo analiza la situación de la arquitectura vernácula rural en zonas en declive en tres regiones de escala y planteamiento cultural tan distintos como las áreas meridionales de China, Marruecos y España, tomando como referencia elementos tipológicos propios de cada región. Profundiza en experiencias en las que el patrimonio cultural en peligro se transforma en fuerza dinamizadora del territorio sobre el que se asienta y abre la puerta a soluciones tanto de conservación y valorización de sus propios elementos como de resolución de los problemas socioculturales de fondo. La investigación identifica aspectos genéricos y universales del proceso de retracción, así como condiciones específicas de cada uno de los diversos territorios de estudio. El trabajo encontró cómo los casos tomados en consideración comparten algunas condiciones en el enfrentamiento de las consecuencias de la contracción, tales como dificultades de adaptación, distancia administrativa, fragilidad patrimonial.Peer Reviewe

Terahertz epsilon-near-zero graded-index lens

An epsilon-near-zero graded-index converging lens with planar faces is proposed and analyzed. Each perfectly-electric conducting (PEC) waveguide comprising the lens operates slightly above its cut-off frequency and has the same length but different cross-sectional dimensions. This allows controlling individually the propagation constant and the normalized characteristic impedance of each waveguide for the desired phase front at the lens output while Fresnel reflection losses are minimized. A complete theoretical analysis based on the waveguide theory and Fermat’s principle is provided. This is complemented with numerical simulation results of two-dimensional and three-dimensional lenses, made of PEC and aluminum, respectively, and working in the terahertz regime, which show good agreement with the analytical work.Effort sponsored by Spanish Government under contracts Consolider “Engineering Metamaterials” CSD2008-00066 and TEC2011-28664-C02-01. P.R.-U. is sponsored by the Government of Navarra under funding program “Formación de tecnólogos” 055/01/11. M.N.- C. is supported by the Imperial College Junior Research Fellowship. M. B. acknowledges funding by the Spanish Government under the research contract program Ramon y Cajal RYC-2011-08221. N.E. acknowledges the support from the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURI) grant number N00014-10-1- 0942

Treatment for severe COVID-19 with a biomimetic sorbent haemoperfusion device in patients on haemodialysis

Haemodialysis (HD) patients present more morbidity and mortality risk in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In patients who may develop severe symptoms, the process called 'viral sepsis' seems to be a crucial mechanism. In those cases, the HD procedure provides an excellent tool to explore the benefit of some extracorporeal therapies. We reported the outcome of four HD patients with severe COVID-19 treated with Seraph®100 haemoperfusion (HP) device. Three of the four cases presented a good clinical response after HP. In conclusion, the treatment with Seraph®100 device may be a simultaneous treatment to improve HD patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

Alkyl and alkylidene imido cyclopentadienyl tungsten complexes

This paper reports the alkylation of the cyclopentadienyl imido tungsten complexes [WCp′(NtBu)Cl3] (Cp′=η5-C5H5, η5-C5Me5) with β-hydrogen containing alkyl groups to render halo alkyl and trialkyl complexes [WCp′(NtBu)Cl3−nRn] (R=Et, n-Pr). Thermal decomposition of the trialkyl compounds gives the alkylidene derivatives [WCp′(NtBu)(CHR)(CH2R)] (R=Me, Et) by α-hydrogen elimination. All of the compounds were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and the molecular structure of [W(η5-C5Me5)(NtBu)Et3] was determined by X-ray diffraction methods.The authors acknowledge DGICYT (project PB97-0677) for financial support

EcoTILLING for the identification of allelic variants of melon eIF4E, a factor that controls virus susceptibility

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Translation initiation factors of the 4E and 4G protein families mediate resistance to several RNA plant viruses in the natural diversity of crops. Particularly, a single point mutation in melon eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) controls resistance to <it>Melon necrotic spot virus </it>(MNSV) in melon. Identification of allelic variants within natural populations by EcoTILLING has become a rapid genotype discovery method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A collection of <it>Cucumis </it>spp. was characterised for susceptibility to MNSV and <it>Cucumber vein yellowing virus </it>(CVYV) and used for the implementation of EcoTILLING to identify new allelic variants of <it>eIF4E</it>. A high conservation of <it>eIF4E </it>exonic regions was found, with six polymorphic sites identified out of EcoTILLING 113 accessions. Sequencing of regions surrounding polymorphisms revealed that all of them corresponded to silent nucleotide changes and just one to a non-silent change correlating with MNSV resistance. Except for the MNSV case, no correlation was found between variation of eIF4E and virus resistance, suggesting the implication of different and/or additional genes in previously identified resistance phenotypes. We have also characterized a new allele of <it>eIF4E </it>from <it>Cucumis zeyheri</it>, a wild relative of melon. Functional analyses suggested that this new <it>eIF4E </it>allele might be responsible for resistance to MNSV.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows the applicability of EcoTILLING in <it>Cucumis </it>spp., but given the conservation of eIF4E, new candidate genes should probably be considered to identify new sources of resistance to plant viruses. Part of the methodology described here could alternatively be used in TILLING experiments that serve to generate new <it>eIF4E </it>alleles.</p

Synthesis of chloro and methyl imido cyclopentadienyl molybdenum and tungsten complexes. X-ray molecular structures of [WCp*C13(NtBu)], [MoCp*C1Me2(NtBu) ] and [WCp*C1Me2(NtBu) ]

Alternative methods to prepare [MCp'C14], [MCp'CL(N'Bu)] and [MCp'CI~(N'Bu)] [M=Mo, Cp'="qs-C~Me~ (Cp*); M=W,\ud Cp' = r/5-CsH5 (Cp), r/5-CsMe5 (Cp*) ] in high yields are reported. Alkylation of [MCp'CI3(N'Bu) ] with stoichiometric amounts of LiMe\ud or MeMgC1 under appropriate conditions leads to the dimethyl [MCp'CIMe2(N'Bu)] and trimethyl [MCp'Me~(N'Bu)], (M=Mo,\ud Cp' = Cp*; M = W, Cp' = Cp, Cp* ) complexes. The 18-electron trimethyltungsten complex [WCp*Me~(N'Bu) ] reacts very slowly with\ud CN(2,6-Me2C~,H3) to give the insertion product [WCp*{C(Me)= N(2,6-Me2C6H3)}Me2(N'Bu)]. All of the new compounds reported\ud were characterized by elemental analyses, IR and NMR spectroscopy and the X-ray molecular structures of [WCp*CI~(N'Bu)],\ud [ MoCp*CIMe2( N'Bu ) ] and [ WCp*C1Me_,.(NtBu ) ] have been determined by diffraction methods. O 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights\ud reserved.The authors acknowledge DGICYT (Project PB92-0178-C) and CAM (I + D 0033/94) for financial support

The Effects of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse on Maternal Nutritional Profile during Pregnancy

Abstract The consumption of alcohol and drugs of abuse among pregnant women has experienced a significant increase in the last decades. Suitable maternal nutritional status is crucial to maintain the optimal environment for fetal development but if consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse disrupt the intake of nutrients, the potential teratogenic effects of these substances increase. Despite evidence of the importance of nutrition in addicted pregnant women, there is a lack of information on the effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse on maternal nutritional status; so, the focus of this review was to provide an overview on the nutritional status of addicted mothers and fetuses. Alcohol and drugs consumption can interfere with the absorption of nutrients, impairing the quality and quantity of proper nutrient and energy intake, resulting in malnutrition especially of micronutrients (vitamins, omega⁻3, folic acid, zinc, choline, iron, copper, selenium). When maternal nutritional status is compromised by alcohol and drugs of abuse the supply of essential nutrients are not available for the fetus; this can result in fetal abnormalities like Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). It is critical to find a strategy to reduce fetal physical and neurological impairment as a result of prenatal alcohol and drugs of abuse exposure combined with poor maternal nutrition. Prenatal nutrition interventions and target therapy are required that may reverse the development of such abnormalities. KEYWORDS: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD); Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR); alcohol; drugs of abuse; fetal nutrition; maternal nutrition; pregnanc

Urinary metabolomic fingerprinting after consumption of a probiotic strain in women with mastitis

Infectious mastitis is a common condition among lactating women, with staphylococci and streptococci being the main aetiological agents. In this context, some lactobacilli strains isolated from breast milk appear to be particularly effective for treating mastitis and, therefore, constitute an attractive alternative to antibiotherapy. A (1)H NMR-based metabolomic approach was applied to detect metabolomic differences after consuming a probiotic strain (Lactobacillus salivarius PS2) in women with mastitis. 24h urine of women with lactational mastitis was collected at baseline and after 21 days of probiotic (PB) administration. Multivariate analysis (OSC-PLS-DA and hierarchical clustering) showed metabolome differences after PB treatment. The discriminant metabolites detected at baseline were lactose, and ibuprofen and acetaminophen (two pharmacological drugs commonly used for mastitis pain), while, after PB intake, creatine and the gut microbial co-metabolites hippurate and TMAO were detected. In addition, a voluntary desertion of the pharmacological drugs ibuprofen and acetaminophen was observed after probiotic administration. The application of NMR-based metabolomics enabled the identification of the overall effects of probiotic consumption among women suffering from mastitis and highlighted the potential of this approach in evaluating the outcomes of probiotics consumption. To our knowledge, this is the first time that this approach has been applied in women with mastitis during lactation

The Effects of Vegetarian and Vegan Diet during Pregnancy on the Health of Mothers and Offspring

Vegetarian and vegan diets have increased worldwide in the last decades, according to the knowledge that they might prevent coronary heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Althought plant-based diets are at risk of nutritional deficiencies such as proteins, iron, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, omega-3, and vitamin B12, the available evidence shows that well planned vegetarian and vegan diets may be considered safe during pregnancy and lactation, but they require a strong awareness for a balanced intake of key nutrients. A review of the scientific literature in this field was performed, focusing specifically on observational studies in humans, in order to investigate protective effects elicited by maternal diets enriched in plant-derived foods and possible unfavorable outcomes related to micronutrients deficiencies and their impact on fetal development. A design of pregestational nutrition intervention is required in order to avoid maternal undernutrition and consequent impaired fetal growth

Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet

The traditional Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of olive oil, fruit, nuts, vegetables, and cereals; a moderate intake of fish and poultry; a low intake of dairy products, red meat, processed meats, and sweets; and wine in moderation, consumed with meals.1 In observational cohort studies2,3 and a secondary prevention trial (the Lyon Diet Heart Study),4 increasing adherence to the Mediterranean diet has been consistently beneficial with respect to cardiovascular risk.2-4 A systematic review ranked the Mediterranean diet as the most likely dietary model to provide protection against coronary heart disease.5 Small clinical trials have uncovered plausible biologic mechanisms to explain the salutary effects of this food pattern.6-9 We designed a randomized trial to test the efficacy of two Mediterranean diets (one supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil and another with nuts), as compared with a control diet (advice on a low-fat diet), on primary cardiovascular prevention