2,129 research outputs found
Histiocytoid Sweet Syndrome associated with anorectal lymphogranuloma venereum in a patient with HIV infection
Sweet Syndrome belongs to a group of diseases known as neutrophilic dermatoses. An uncommon variant named Histiocytoid Sweet Syndrome (HSS) can be associated with a variety of conditions, including cancer, infections, drug toxicity and others. Here we present an instance of HSS in an HIV-positive patient in an infectious disease settin
A Tourism Potential Index for Cultural Heritage Management through the Ecosystem Services Approach
Tourism as a tool for the enhancement and conservation of heritage represents an opportunity for many managers of cultural properties. However, despite the numerous works developed so far on tourism governance, the elaboration of preliminary studies for decision-making in heritage buildings is still a challenge. Considering the ecosystem services approach, an index is proposed which allows tourism and cultural heritage managers to analyze and quantify the level of tourist exploitation (use) of a monument for the services (benefits) that it offers to society. In this paper, a multi-criteria evaluation system was proposed, related to the main use of the building and its relationship with various tourism components, which have been classified as cultural, leisure, recreational, lodging, catering, intermediation, transportation, and event organization. The model has been applied to the Parroquia del Mar (Alicante, Spain) of great cultural relevance, but not exploited for tourism. The results obtained demonstrate the usefulness and validity of the model, considered as a tool capable of bridging the gap between heritage conservation and its touristic use, highlighting the importance of the services offered as necessary attributes for its (re)valuation, combining the social benefits of its exploitation, its touristic use and the awareness of its conservation and protection
Ferromanganese nodules and micro-hardgrounds associated with the Cadiz Contourite Channel (NE Atlantic): Palaeoenvironmental records of fluid venting and bottom currents
Ferromanganese nodule fields and hardgrounds have recently been discovered in the Cadiz Contourite Channel in the Gulf of Cadiz (850–1000 m). This channel is part of a large contourite depositional system generated by the Mediterranean Outflow Water. Ferromanganese deposits linked to contourites are interesting tools for palaeoenviromental studies and show an increasing economic interest as potential mineral resources for base and strategic metals. We present a complete characterisation of these deposits based on submarine photographs and geophysical, petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical data. The genesis and growth of ferromanganese deposits, strongly enriched in Fe vs. Mn (av. 39% vs. 6%) in this contourite depositional system result from the combination of hydrogenetic and diagenetic processes. The interaction of the Mediterranean Outflow Water with the continental margin has led to the formation of Late Pleistocene–Holocene ferromanganese mineral deposits, in parallel to the evolution of the contourite depositional system triggered by climatic and tectonic events. The diagenetic growth was fuelled by the anaerobic oxidation of thermogenic hydrocarbons (δ13CPDB=−20 to −37‰) and organic matter within the channel floor sediments, promoting the formation of Fe–Mn carbonate nodules. High 87Sr/86Sr isotopic values (up to 0.70993±0.00025) observed in the inner parts of nodules are related to the influence of radiogenic fluids fuelled by deep-seated fluid venting across the fault systems in the diapirs below the Cadiz Contourite Channel. Erosive action of the Mediterranean Outflow Water undercurrent could have exhumed the Fe–Mn carbonate nodules, especially in the glacial periods, when the lower core of the undercurrent was more active in the study area. The growth rate determined by 230Thexcess/232Th was 113±11 mm/Ma, supporting the hypothesis that the growth of the nodules records palaeoenvironmental changes during the last 70 ka. Ca-rich layers in the nodules could point to the interaction between the Mediterranean Outflow Water and the North Atlantic Deep Water during the Heinrich events. Siderite–rhodochrosite nodules exposed to the oxidising seabottom waters were replaced by Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides. Slow hydrogenetic growth of goethite from the seawaters is observed in the outermost parts of the exhumed nodules and hardgrounds, which show imprints of the Mediterranean Outflow Water with low 87Sr/86Sr isotopic values (down to 0.70693±0.00081). We propose a new genetic and evolutionary model for ferromanganese oxide nodules derived from ferromanganese carbonate nodules formed on continental margins above the carbonate compensation depth and dominated by hydrocarbon seepage structures and strong erosive action of bottom currents. We also compare and discuss the generation of ferromanganese deposits in the Cadiz Contourite Channel with that in other locations and suggest that our model can be applied to ferromanganiferous deposits in other contouritic systems affected by fluid venting
Analysis of multiple haloarchaeal genomes suggests that the quinone-dependent respiratory nitric oxide reductase is an important source of nitrous oxide in hypersaline environments
Microorganisms, including Bacteria and Archaea, play a key role in denitrification, which is the major mechanism by which fixed nitrogen returns to the atmosphere from soil and water. Whilst the enzymology of denitrification is well understood in Bacteria, the details of the last two reactions in this pathway, which catalyse the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) via nitrous oxide (N2O) to nitrogen (N2), are little studied in Archaea, and hardly at all in haloarchaea. This work describes an extensive interspecies analysis of both complete and draft haloarchaeal genomes aimed at identifying the genes that encode respiratory nitric oxide reductases (Nors). The study revealed that the only nor gene found in haloarchaea is one that encodes a single subunit quinone dependent Nor homologous to the qNor found in bacteria. This surprising discovery is considered in terms of our emerging understanding of haloarchaeal bioenergetics and NO management
Elaboración de material docente sobre la traducción plurilingüe de las unidades fraseológicas más usuales en español
En esta red, nos planteamos la necesidad de introducir en las competencias de las asignaturas de traducción la competencia fraseológica con el fin de establecer unos parámetros de corrección y evaluación efectivos. Teniendo en cuenta la sólida presencia que tiene la Traducción General en los primeros cuatrimestres del grado, y la importancia de las asignaturas que componen este bloque en el desarrollo de las competencias que capacitarán posteriormente al alumno para el ejercicio profesional de la traducción, hemos decidido, tras proceder a un balance del desarrollo de dichas asignaturas en la actualidad, centrar nuestro estudio en la incorporación de la competencia fraseológica en dichos programas. El objetivo final es la elaboración de una herramienta lexicográfica multilingüe que se amolde a las necesidades del alumno y que sea extensible a la totalidad de idiomas que se ofertan en el programa del Grado de Traducción e Interpretación de las Universidad de Alicante
The Visual Construction of the Umayyad Caliphate in Al-Andalus through the Great Mosque of Cordoba
My first exposure to the epigraphic program of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, published in 2001, came from reading an article on the ideological meaning of the decoration and the Quranic citations inscribed in al-H. akam II’s addition to the building. In that article, I concluded that the Quranic verses found in the mosque were chosen not only for being a universal proclamation of divine power and praise for the Umayyad dynasty, as proposed by Nuha Khoury in 1996, but also because they clearly fitted in with the particular Andalusi, or rather Cordoban, religious, cultural, and political context in the first half of the 10th century. Most of the inscriptions had been read in the 19th century by Amador de los Ríos, but some of them remained uninterpreted. Given that they were an essential part of the ideological message, it seemed appropriate to revisit the critical reading of the epigraphic program and determine its full meaning.
Later, I discussed other architectural aspects of the Great Mosque in which the links to the Andalusi and the eastern Umayyad traditions are a key aspect in understanding why these forms were chosen. Damascus, the eastern Umayyad capital, and to a lesser extent Medina and the Abbasid capitals, became the model for the caliphs of Cordoba. This article proposes to revisit the main architectural and decorative features of the caliphal enlargements of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in order to reflect on the meaning and forms of its epigraphic program
Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers
Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)
Nanofiltration as tertiary treatment method for removing trace pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater from wastewater treatment plants
[EN] The ever-increasing occurrence and persistence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in soils,
sediments, drinking water supplies and wastewater effluents are a matter of serious environmental
concern for governments and researchers worldwide. Nanofiltration as tertiary treatment method can be
a viable and practical tool to remove these pollutants from aquatic environments. However, organic
matter present in water sources can foul the membrane surface during operation, thus being potentially
able to affect the membrane performance. Therefore, fouling mechanisms could heavily influence on the
removal efficiencies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of three nano-
filtration membranes (TFC-SR2, NF-270 and MPS-34) and to study both the rejection of trace PhACs and
the fouling mechanisms for each membrane as a function of feed solution pH. Fouling mechanisms were
predicted by Hermia's model adapted to cross-flow configurations. Results demonstrated that higher
removals were obtained at slightly alkaline pH, especially for anionic trace PhACs. At the same conditions,
more severe fouling was observed, which resulted in strong flux declines and an increase in hydrophobicity.
This indicates that the attached organic matter on the membrane surface acts as a
secondary selective barrier for separation.The authors thank the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project CTM2013-42342-P. Likewise, the authors also express their acknowledge to the personnel of the Carraixet WWTP for the kind supply of secondary effluent samples.García-Ivars, J.; Martella, L.; Massella, M.; Carbonell Alcaina, C.; Alcaina-Miranda, MI.; Iborra Clar, MI. (2017). Nanofiltration as tertiary treatment method for removing trace pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater from wastewater treatment plants. Water Research. 125:360-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.08.070S36037312
Status and Recent Results of the Acoustic Neutrino Detection Test System AMADEUS
The AMADEUS system is an integral part of the ANTARES neutrino telescope in
the Mediterranean Sea. The project aims at the investigation of techniques for
acoustic neutrino detection in the deep sea. Installed at a depth of more than
2000m, the acoustic sensors of AMADEUS are based on piezo-ceramics elements for
the broad-band recording of signals with frequencies ranging up to 125kHz.
AMADEUS was completed in May 2008 and comprises six "acoustic clusters", each
one holding six acoustic sensors that are arranged at distances of roughly 1m
from each other. The clusters are installed with inter-spacings ranging from
15m to 340m. Acoustic data are continuously acquired and processed at a
computer cluster where online filter algorithms are applied to select a
high-purity sample of neutrino-like signals. 1.6 TB of data were recorded in
2008 and 3.2 TB in 2009. In order to assess the background of neutrino-like
signals in the deep sea, the characteristics of ambient noise and transient
signals have been investigated. In this article, the AMADEUS system will be
described and recent results will be presented.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures. Proceedings of ARENA 2010, the 4th International
Workshop on Acoustic and Radio EeV Neutrino Detection Activitie
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