Measuring the vulnerability of the Uruguayan population to vector-borne diseases via spatially hierarchical factor models

We propose a model-based vulnerability index of the population from Uruguay to vector-borne diseases. We have available measurements of a set of variables in the census tract level of the 19 Departmental capitals of Uruguay. In particular, we propose an index that combines different sources of information via a set of micro-environmental indicators and geographical location in the country. Our index is based on a new class of spatially hierarchical factor models that explicitly account for the different levels of hierarchy in the country, such as census tracts within the city level, and cities in the country level. We compare our approach with that obtained when data are aggregated in the city level. We show that our proposal outperforms current and standard approaches, which fail to properly account for discrepancies in the region sizes, for example, number of census tracts. We also show that data aggregation can seriously affect the estimation of the cities vulnerability rankings under benchmark models.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOAS497 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Environmental health compromised by a new epidemic. The case of Uruguay, COVID-19

Uruguay se ubica en Sudamérica con una población de 3.286.314 habitantes. El 1,6% no tiene seguro integral de salud. Los casos detectados de COVID 19 representan el 0,022 % de la población. Las muertes con relación a los casos detectados representan el 2,6%. La mortalidad por COVID-19 es de 0,6 por cien mil habitantes. El 14 % de los detectados corresponden a personal de salud. Paulatinamente el país está saliendo del aislamiento social. En el artículo se muestran los casos acumulados, recuperados y activos. Los autores enmarcan las causas de esta zoonosis en un problema de Salud Ambiental y por lo tanto Global, dentro del enfoque “una sola salud”. El hombre ha ocupado los suelos de forma extractiva, con urbanización creciente, creciente número de población, diferentes prácticas culturales y condiciones socio-económicas, que han modificado los hábitat naturales. Esto favorece la aparición de zoonosis emergentes y en particular virus con genoma RNA. Si no se atiende a la causalidad del fenómeno, seguiremos asistiendo a desafíos cada vez mayores

Environmental Health Compromised by a New Epidemic. The case of Uruguay, COVID-19

Uruguay is in South America. It has 3,286,314 inhabitants, 1.6% of which lacks comprehensive health insurance. Detected cases of COVID-19 represent 0.022% of the population, 2.6% of which has resulted in death. Mortality from this illness is 0.6% per 100,000 inhabitants, and health workers represent 14% of detected cases. The country is slowly coming out of intensified social distancing. This article reports on accumulated, recovered, and active cases.  The authors also frame the causes of this zoonosis in terms of an environmental health problem, and thus a global health problem, requiring a “one health” approach. Human activity has changed natural habitats as a result of extraction activities, increased urbanization, growing populations, different cultural practices, and socio-economic conditions. This contributes to the emergence of zoonoses, particularly RNA viruses.  If the cause of this phenomenon is not addressed, we will continue to face increasingly greater challenges.Uruguay se ubica en Sudamérica con una población de 3286314 habitantes. El 1,6% no tiene seguro integral de salud. Los casos detectados de COVID 19  representan el 0,022 por ciento de la población. Las muertes con relación a los casos detectados representan el 2,6%. La mortalidad por causa es de 0,6 por cien mil habitantes. El 14 % de los detectados corresponden a personal de salud Paulatinamente el país está saliendo del aislamiento social. En el artículo se muestran los casos acumulados, recuperados y activos. Los autores enmarcan las causas de esta zoonosis en un problema de Salud Ambiental y por lo tanto Global, dentro  del enfoque una sola salud. El hombre ha ocupado los suelos de forma extractiva, con urbanización creciente, creciente número de población, diferentes prácticas culturales y condiciones socio-económicas, que han modificado los hábitat  naturales. Esto favorece la aparición de zoonosis emergentes y en particular virus con genoma RNA. Si no se atiende a la causalidad del fenómeno, seguiremos asistiendo a desafíos cada vez mayores

Monitoring of rainfall and soil moisture at the Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees)

The instrumental monitoring of torrential catchments is a fundamental research task and provides necessary information to improve our understanding on the mechanisms of debris flows. While most monitoring sites include meteorological sensors and analyze the critical rainfall conditions, only very few contain soil moisture measurements. In our monitoring site, the Rebaixader catchment, 11 debris flows and 24 debris floods were detected during the last nine years. Herein, the initiation mechanisms of these torrential flows were analyzed focusing on the critical rainfall conditions and the soil water dynamics. Comparing the temporal distribution of both rainfall episodes and torrential flows, the Kernel density plots showed maximum values for rainfalls at the beginning of June, while the peak for torrential flows is at July 20th. This means that highest probability of debris flows and debris floods triggering is about 1.5 months later than the one of rainstorms in the catchment. Thus, the antecedent rainfall and especially the soil moisture conditions may influence the triggering of torrential flows. In a second step, a new updated rainfall threshold was proposed including total rainfall duration and mean intensity. The analysis of soil moisture data was more complicated and no clear trends were observed in the dataset. Therefore, additional data has to be recorded in order to quantitatively analyze the role of soil moisture on the triggering of flows and for the definition of thresholds. Some preliminary results show that the soil moisture at the beginning of a rainfall event affects the maximum increase of soil moisture, while a slight trend was visible comparing the initial soil moisture with the necessary rainfall amount to trigger a torrential flow.Postprint (published version

Mecànica de fluids i termodinàmica

Enginyeria Tècnica en Disseny Industrial. 502: Físic

High-Capacity Cells and Batteries for Electric Vehicles

The automotive sector is rapidly accelerating its transformation towards electric mobility, and electric vehicle (EV) sales have been increasing year after year since the beginning of the decade. Due to their overall performance, lithium-ion batteries currently dominate the electric vehicle market. Each year, car manufacturers launch new models, increasing the average capacity of electric vehicle batteries. This is achieved, in part, through making bigger batteries, which lead to an increase in the vehicle cost, weight and use of more critical raw materials. Although prices are lowering, Li-ion batteries still do not have enough energy density to substantially decrease the weight of vehicles, and EVs are around 50% heavier than common internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV); thus, using high-energy cells is an intriguing possibility that we are being called on to explore. This Special Issue aims to evaluate several issues concerning high-capacity batteriesPeer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No ContaminantPostprint (published version

Monitoring the Paraguayan epidemiological dengue surveillance system (2009-2011) using Benford's law

Introduction: Dengue is the most widespread arbovirus worldwide. In Paraguay, it reappeared in 1988-1989, with one of the largest epidemic outbreaks occurring in 2011. Objective: To evaluate the performance of the dengue epidemiological surveillance system in Paraguay between 2009 and 2011. Materials and methods: We conducted an ecological study with secondary epidemiological surveillance data. We analyzed notified cases of the disease based on the distribution expected by Benford's law. To this end, we used the first and second digits from the global records stratified by region, season, population density, indicators of housing conditions and heads of cattle. Results: The epidemiological surveillance system performed better during non-epidemic periods and in the states with better housing conditions and fewer heads of cattle. Conclusion: Given that a difference in the performance existed, we recommended that the system remains operating at the same high alert level even during periods when fewer cases are expected. The technology used by the method proposed to monitor the notification of cases is easy to transfer to operational staff

La nostalgia, una manera de conservar la felicidad en dos cuentos colombianos: “La pañoleta” y “Camino a casa”

Este artículo muestra cómo la nostalgia por la desaparición forzada de un ser querido es recreada en dos cuentos colombianos, “La pañoleta”, de Julio Paredes, y “Camino a casa”, un libro álbum de Jairo Buitrago y Rafael Yockteng, mediante estrategias narrativas diferentes -- En el primer caso, lo maravilloso serviría de velo para encubrir la realidad horrorosa que nos cuenta el personaje -- En el segundo, la interrelación entre el texto y la imagen que posibilita el libro álbum permitiría mostrar cómo la imaginación se constituye en un elemento para sortear las consecuencias de esa misma realidad -- En ambos casos, la literatura se constituye como una posibilidad para enfrentar situaciones penosas y construir un relato colectivo -- En ambos casos, también, la nostalgia les permite a los personajes conservar un momento de su pasado en el que fueron felice