Ecologically Designed Sanitary Sewer Based on Constructed WetlandsTechnology – Case Study in Managua (Nicaragua)

In developed countries the sanitation and treatment of urban wastewater is well sustained and technically solved by means of conventional pipe networksandsubsequentcentralizedtreatments.However,developingcountries lack these infrastructures and are in need of sustainable, decentralized and economically viable solutions for the disposal of their urban wastewaters. In addition to this, there are situations where the demands of conservation of naturalspacesdonotallowintensiveconstructiveproceduresandwhichforce the implementation of sanitary engineering with less environmental impact. We present the Ecological Wastewater Sewer (EWS), an ecological urban sewerage system that simultaneously transports wastewater and improves its quality.Thisinnovativetechnologyisanalternativetoconventionalsanitation piping that has minimal environmental impact. It is based on a successful previous work for the improvement of artificial wetlands in a pilot scheme andatfull-scaleonatestsite.TheEWSisachannel-shapeddevicethatrelies on the application of two key developments: a carefully designed cornered stones layout, and the creation of a natural aeration system. This way, it acts as a separating sewage system that guarantees the presence of a chamber of circulating air within the transportation unit, favouring permanent aerobic conditions in the upper levels of the mass of wastewater. Furthermore, its capacity to set tle suspended solids allows the EWS to be used as a sedimentor in water purification processes. A real-life application of this system proved successful in the sanitation of a district of Managua (Nicaragua). Working with a 100-metre-long street of 20 one-story houses, the system is reported to still be in full operating order after six years. The conclusions and results drawn from its monitoring are meticulously explained in our paper, as well astherecommendations&guidelinesforthedesignofmoreEWSunits,with aim to the popularization of this affordable, efficient and green approach to wastewater sanitation.Andalusian International School of Water Engineering, City hall of SevilleCooperation Office at the University of Sevill

La percepción de caras libres de expresión en la esquizofrenia: un estudio mediante magnetoencefalografía

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Psiquiatría, leída el 05-06-2014Depto. de Medicina Legal, Psiquiatría y PatologíaFac. de MedicinaTRUEunpu

OMW spillage control tool based on tracking p-Coumaric acid degradation by HPLC

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is a major watercourse pollutant agent with a high concentration of phenolic compounds. It is estimated that 30 million OMW m3 are released into rivers every year. Protecting the health of these courses against the uncontrolled discharges implies establishing an adequate legislation, where spillage control tools play a fundamental role. In this paper, a new tool for OMW spillage control is discussed. It is based on the use of a RP-HPLC-UV protocol to track p-Coumaric acid (pCA), a characteristic OMW phenolic compound, and its derivative compounds through their chemical oxidation and biological anaerobic degradation. Laboratory assays and real-life experiences allowed to determine degradation routes and apparition times for every pCA derivative, making it possible to detect an OMW spill and assess its age. Moreover, this RP-HPLC-UV introduces solid advantages over previous detection procedures, namely, quicker response times and smaller costs than HPLC methods and superior specificity than colorimetric methods. Finally, this tool was put to test in an actual OMW-polluted watercourse. In all scenarios, the tool demonstrated solid reliabilit

Bioparticles consisting of olive mill wastewater (OMW)-adapted bacteria and OMW-polluted soil as carrier– An application in an anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor

The world olive oil production represents a very significant sector of the alimentary industry. Nonetheless, the spillages associated to the sector –olive mill wastewater (OMW)– imply serious environmental risks due to their difficult treatments. This study showcases the use of bioparticles from a soil that has repeatedly been contaminated by OMW, to treat water also polluted by OMW. The bacterial biomass that develops overtime within a OMW-polluted course becomes adapted to its conditions and proves effective in its treatment. Water and soil samples were taken from a watercourse that has been suffering from periodic OMW discharges during the last 25 years. Two main factors were identified as the causes of the efficiency of these soils as a means of biological treatment: high concentrations and extended adaptation of active biomass to the pollutants present in the watercourse. The start-up times of the biological processes are reduced since no adaptation period is necessary. This makes it possible to eschew pre-treatment procedures in biological processes. A guide for the design of a continuous flow anaerobic fluidized bed bioreactor (AnFBR) is provided. A stream of 300 m3 d−1 and 5000 mg L−1 COD generates an electrical and thermal energy of 1654 kW h d−1 and 2341 kW h d−1 respectively

Aprovechamiento energético de residuos industriales de alta carga orgánica mediante codigestión anaerobia

El desarrollo de nueva y más estricta legislación en materia de tratamiento de residuos, hace necesaria la utilización y mejora de tecnologías no convencionales que eviten los problemas ambientales asociados a las técnicas de gestión tradicionales, tales como la deposición en vertedero. Los residuos agroindustriales presentan, en la mayoría de los casos, una elevada carga orgánica, provocando impactos ambientales. En el presente estudio se valora el aprovechamiento energético de los residuos de lactosuero, aguas glicerosas y lixiviado de vertedero, como cosustratos en el proceso de codigestión anaerobia, pudiendo ser esta, una alternativa de tratamiento, gestión y valorización de estos residuos y con el biogás producido, generar energía eléctrica, siendo otra fuente de energía renovable. El comportamiento de cada uno de los sustratos de trabajo han sido estudiados mediante ensayos de Biochemical Methane Potential, siendo una herramienta factible para el estudio de la biodegradabilidad o viabilidad del sustrato, adaptabilidad de los consorcios microbianos y la especialización de dichos consorcios a cada uno de los residuos de estudio en codigestión anaerobia. Se emplea el fango mixto como sustrato de referencia debido a su viabilidad en los procesos de digestión anaerobia.Plan Propio de la Universidad de Sevilla Proyecto: 2017/0000096

Adjuvant Effect of Titanium Brushes in Peri-Implant Surgical Treatment: A Systematic Review

Background: the prognosis of peri-implant surgery can be affected by poor decontamination of the implant surface, which could be improved with the use of titanium brushes. The objectives of this systematic review were to evaluate the effectiveness of titanium brushes in the decontamination of the implant surface in terms of plaque index, probing depth, bleeding on probing and bone loss/gain; as well as its effectiveness according to the type of peri-implant bone defect. Methods: an electronic search was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Embase databases, as well as a manual search. The search strategy included four keywords: “Peri-implantitis”, “Periimplantitis”, “Implant Surface Decontamination” and “Titanium Brush”. Randomized controlled studies published in the last 10 years were included and systematic reviews, in vitro studies and animal studies were excluded. Results: 142 references were found, from which only four articles met the inclusion criteria. All of the studies included in the present review reported beneficial results in terms of probing depth, gingival index and radiographic bone loss and gain after implant surface decontamination adjuvated by titanium brushes. Conclusions: titanium rotary brushes show improvements in the evolution and prognosis of peri-implant surgery, although more long-term studies are needed to draw more solid conclusionsOdontologí

Genetic Structure of the Spanish Population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genetic admixture is a common caveat for genetic association analysis. Therefore, it is important to characterize the genetic structure of the population under study to control for this kind of potential bias.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we have sampled over 800 unrelated individuals from the population of Spain, and have genotyped them with a genome-wide coverage. We have carried out linkage disequilibrium, haplotype, population structure and copy-number variation (CNV) analyses, and have compared these estimates of the Spanish population with existing data from similar efforts.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In general, the Spanish population is similar to the Western and Northern Europeans, but has a more diverse haplotypic structure. Moreover, the Spanish population is also largely homogeneous within itself, although patterns of micro-structure may be able to predict locations of origin from distant regions. Finally, we also present the first characterization of a CNV map of the Spanish population. These results and original data are made available to the scientific community.</p

Plan de formación docente de jóvenes investigadores pre- y postdoctorales del Departamento de Farmacología y Toxicología.

Los objetivos que se han alcanzado son los siguientes: 1. Teniendo en cuenta los resultados obtenidos durante el curso 2018-19 (además de los resultados obtenidos en el curso 2017-18) los participantes han alcanzado una formación por encima de lo esperado en Farmacología habiendo asistido a una media de 57% del curso en su primer año de participación (cuando lo estipulado en el Plan de Formacion Docente es del 30%). Además, han superado un 42,3% de la materia entre su primer y segundo año con una calificación media de 8,3. 2. Los jóvenes investigadores han realizado una media de 10 horas de prácticas docentes contabilizando aquellas dedicadas a la asistencia a prácticas como oyentes, el ensayo de las prácticas con tutores y la impartición misma de las sesiones de prácticas. El número de horas está muy limitado por el bajo número de horas prácticas en las asignaturas de Farmacología del Dpto. y el elevado número de jóvenes investigadores incorporados al Dpto. 3. Con todo lo anterior, los jóvenes investigadores han alcanzado la formación en competencias docentes y las horas realizadas han sido acreditadas a las respectivas autoridades de sus becas/contratos. Su participación en la docencia práctica les permitirá en el futuro solicitar un certificado de actividades docentes emitido por las autoridades académicas de la Facultad de Medicina que avalaran su experiencia docente en solicitudes de acreditación a las diferentes figuras de profesor ante la ANECA. Además, el Dpto. de Farmacología y Toxicología ha emitido informes detallados de Aptitud Docente en Farmacología reflejando su participación en el Plan de Formación Docente del Dpto. que podrán ser consideradas en solicitudes a puestos docentes en el futuro

Lempel-Ziv complexity in schizophrenia: A MEG study

Objective The neurodevelopmental–neurodegenerative debate is a basic issue in the field of the neuropathological basis of schizophrenia (SCH). Neurophysiological techniques have been scarcely involved in such debate, but nonlinear analysis methods may contribute to it. Methods Fifteen patients (age range 23–42 years) matching DSM IV-TR criteria for SCH, and 15 sex- and age-matched control subjects (age range 23–42 years) underwent a resting-state magnetoencephalographic evaluation and Lempel–Ziv complexity (LZC) scores were calculated. Results Regression analyses indicated that LZC values were strongly dependent on age. Complexity scores increased as a function of age in controls, while SCH patients exhibited a progressive reduction of LZC values. A logistic model including LZC scores, age and the interaction of both variables allowed the classification of patients and controls with high sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions Results demonstrated that SCH patients failed to follow the “normal” process of complexity increase as a function of age. In addition, SCH patients exhibited a significant reduction of complexity scores as a function of age, thus paralleling the pattern observed in neurodegenerative diseases. Significance Our results support the notion of a progressive defect in SCH, which does not contradict the existence of a basic neurodevelopmental alteration. Highlights ► Schizophrenic patients show higher complexity values as compared to controls. ► Schizophrenic patients showed a tendency to reduced complexity values as a function of age while controls showed the opposite tendency. ► The tendency observed in schizophrenic patients parallels the tendency observed in Alzheimer disease patients

Using Interpretable Machine Learning to Identify Baseline Predictive Factors of Remission and Drug Durability in Crohn’s Disease Patients on Ustekinumab

Ustekinumab has shown efficacy in Crohn's Disease (CD) patients. To identify patient profiles of those who benefit the most from this treatment would help to position this drug in the therapeutic paradigm of CD and generate hypotheses for future trials. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether baseline patient characteristics are predictive of remission and the drug durability of ustekinumab, and whether its positioning with respect to prior use of biologics has a significant effect after correcting for disease severity and phenotype at baseline using interpretable machine learning. Patients' data from SUSTAIN, a retrospective multicenter single-arm cohort study, were used. Disease phenotype, baseline laboratory data, and prior treatment characteristics were documented. Clinical remission was defined as the Harvey Bradshaw Index <= 4 and was tracked longitudinally. Drug durability was defined as the time until a patient discontinued treatment. A total of 439 participants from 60 centers were included and a total of 20 baseline covariates considered. Less exposure to previous biologics had a positive effect on remission, even after controlling for baseline disease severity using a non-linear, additive, multivariable model. Additionally, age, body mass index, and fecal calprotectin at baseline were found to be statistically significant as independent negative risk factors for both remission and drug survival, with further risk factors identified for remission