Technical and economic feasibility of gradual concentric chambers reactor for sewage treatment in developing countries

A major challenge in developing countries concerning domestic wastewaters is to decrease their treatment costs. In the present study, a new cost-effective reactor called gradual concentric chambers (GCC) was designed and evaluated at lab-scale. The effluent quality of the GCC reactor was compared with that of an upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor. Both reactors showed organic matter removal efficiencies of 90%; however, the elimination of nitrogen was higher in the GCC reactor. The amount of biogas recovered in the GCC and the UASB systems was 50% and 75% of the theoretical amount expected, respectively, and both reactors showed a slightly higher methane production when the feed was supplemented with an additive based on vitamins and minerals. Overall, the economical analysis, the simplicity of design and the performance results revealed that the GCC technology can be of particular interest for sewage treatment in developing countries

Migrant Teenagers, Walks around Bilbao and Mapping Dreams

L'objectiu principal d’aquest article és descriure les pràctiques de vida i socialitat d'adolescents migrants a la ciutat de Bilbao (País Basc, Espanya) a partir de les seues vivències i perspectives. Per a això utilitzem metodologia etnogràfica general i, en particular, un taller construït a partir de diferents tècniques artístiques, que va convidar a cinc menors migrants, residents en un centre de menors de la província de Biscaia (País Basc), a realitzar una cartografia per Bilbao per a la generació del material d’anàlisi sobre les seues rutines i activitats expressives a la ciutat. Aquesta estratègia metodològica i el mapa, com a producte final de la cartografia, permeten entendre i aportar un enfocament holístic del fenomen migratori d’aquests adolescents i joves a la ciutat. Aquests adolescents i joves migrants, més enllà d’ocupar físicament un seguit d’espais, es reivindiquen com a ciutadans plens i en constant interacció i negociació entre amics, paisans, família, l'escola, la comunitat al país d'origen.The main objective of this article is to study the life and social practices of migrant adolescents in the city of Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain) through their experiences and perspectives. To this end, we used ethnographic methodology, specifically a workshop structured around several artistic techniques, in which five migrant minors living in a Centre for Minors in the Basque province of Bizkaia were invited to create their own maps of Bilbao. The authors then used this material to analyse their routines and the activities that expressed their realities in the city. The holistic approach of this methodological strategy and the maps produced allowed us to understand the migratory experiences of these adolescents and young people. As well as physically occupying a series of spaces, these young migrant lay claim to their status as full citizens, in constant interaction and negotiation with friends, family, school and the community in their country of origin.El objetivo principal de este artículo es describir las prácticas de vida y socialidad de adolescentes migrantes en la ciudad de Bilbao (País Vasco, España) a partir de sus vivencias y perspectivas. Para ello utilizamos metodología etnográfica general y, en particular, un taller construido a partir de distintas técnicas artísticas, que invitó a cinco menores migrantes, residentes en un centro de menores de la provincia de Bizkaia (País Vasco), a realizar una cartografía por Bilbao para la generación del material de análisis sobre sus rutinas y actividades expresivas en la ciudad. Esta estrategia metodológica y el mapa, como producto final de la cartografía, permiten entender y aportar un enfoque holístico del fenómeno migratorio de estos adolescentes y jóvenes en la ciudad. Estos adolescentes y jóvenes migrantes, más allá de ocupar físicamente una serie de espacios, se revindican como ciudadanos plenos y en constante interacción y negociación entre amigos, paisanos, familia, la escuela, la comunidad en el país de origen

Sonochemical synthesis and stabilization of concentrated antimicrobial silver-chitosan nanoparticle dispersions

This work reports on a green synthetic route to produce concentrated aqueous dispersions of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) employing high-intensity ultrasound (US) and chitosan (CS) as a non-toxic reducing agent for Ag1 salts and AgNP stabilizer. The sonication simultaneously boosted the synthesis and improved the stability of the AgNP, capping them with CS. Hybrid AgNP-CS antimicrobial dispersions, stable for at least 6 months, were synthesized in a simple single step process. The use of US allowed for applying relatively mild processing temperatures (608C) and reaction time between 30 min and 3 h to obtain concentrated disper- sions of AgNP that otherwise could not be obtained even after 72 h under mechanical stirring at the same reaction conditions. Upon sonication spherical AgNP-CS with a size between 60 and 100 nm were generated, in contrast to the average diameter of 200 nm of the particles obtained by stirring. The antibacterial efficiency of the AgNP-CS hybrids was evaluated against the medically relevant pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The US-synthesized AgNP-CS showed more than 3-fold higher antibacterial activity compared to the particles obtained under stirring, due to their higher concentration and smaller size.Postprint (author's final draft

Recopilación corológica de la tribu Cytiseae Bercht. & J. Presl. (Papilionoideae, Leguminosae) en la Comunidad de Madrid

Se recopila la corología de las especies consideradas autóctonas que integran la tribu Cytiseae Bercht. & J. Presl., en la Comunidad de Madrid. Se indican las localidades y los mapas de distribución en coordenadas UTM de 10 x 10 km para 20 especies, pertenecientes a los géneros Adenocarpus, Cytisus, Echinospartum, Erinacea, Genista, Lupinus, Pterospartum y Retama. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que la información corológica recopilada presenta un cierto sesgo, en favor de las especies con una distribución más restringida

What do we know about the Spanish Red Cross Nurses-Ladies?

Objetivo: identificar qué se conoce sobre las Damas Enfermeras de la Cruz Roja Española. Método: se llevó a cabo una investigación histórica basada en la revisión bibliográfica. Fuentes documentales: catálogos virtuales de bibliotecas y archivos documentales, bases de datos electrónicas, catálogos de revistas especializadas en historia y otras fuentes de red. Descriptores utilizados: historia Enfermería, historia Cruz Roja Española, enfermeras Cruz Roja, reina Victoria Eugenia de Battenberg, Carmen Angoloti Mesa, Duquesa de la Victoria y damas/ enfermeras/ auxiliares/ voluntarias Cruz Roja. Resultados: en el análisis se incluyeron 42 documentos procedentes de estudios basados en fuentes primarias y los resultados se presentan en cinco apartados: trayectoria histórica general, funcionamiento y organización, labor cuidadora y social y figuras promotoras. Conclusiones: aunque en la actualidad hay un volumen considerable de estudios sobre la historia de las Damas Enfermeras, se hace necesaria la profundización mediante nuevas investigaciones en algunos aspectos, como la labor que realizaron a lo largo de su trayectoria.Objective: to identify what is known about the Spanish Red Cross Nurses-Ladies. Method: a historical research was conducted, based on a bibliographic review. Documentary sources: virtual catalogues of libraries and document archives, electronic databases, catalogues of journals specialized in history, and other internet sources. Descriptors used: the History of Nursing, the History of the Spanish Red Cross, Red Cross nurses, Queen Victoria Eugenia of Battemberg, Carmen Angoloti Mesa, Duchess de la Victoria, and Red Cross ladies/nurses/assistants/volunteers. Results: the analysis included 42 documents from studies based on primary sources, and results were presented in five sections: overall historical development, functioning and organization, care and social work, and promoting leading figures. Conclusions: though there is currently a large volume of studies on the history of Nurses-Ladies, it is necessary to go deeper through new research on some aspects, such as the work they conducted during their career

Perceived parenting styles and adjustment during emerging adulthood: a cross-national perspective

The aim of the present study is to determine whether the influence of parenting style on children’s wellbeing is sustained during emerging adulthood. This is a stage in which young people, despite feeling themselves to be adults, often remain in the family home and continue to be financially dependent on their parents. Moreover, since parents’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are constructed and interpreted within their cultural milieu, the study also aims to explore the situation in Spain (SP) and Portugal (PT). Those two Southern Europe countries are representative of what is known as the “family welfare regime”, in which the family acts as the main provider of care and security not only during childhood, but also during emerging adulthood. Thus, the present study examines, from a cross-cultural perspective, the relationship between perceived parenting styles and psychological adjustment among a sample of 1047 emerging adults from Spain and Portugal. The results reveal that the most beneficial styles during this stage are the authoritative and permissive ones, with the authoritarian style being more closely related to psychological distress. The study highlights intercultural similarities and the positive role played by more symmetrical relationships in the adjustment of emerging adults in both countries.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad EDU2013-45687-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad RTI2018-097405-B-I0

Bone- and dentoalveolar-anchored dentofacial orthopedics for Class III malocclusion: New approaches, similar objectives? A systematic review

Objectives: To analyze the scientific literature and compare in the results of conventional orthopedic appliances with those obtained from recent bone-anchored orthopedics for Class III malocclusion. Materials and Methods: The literature was systematically reviewed using PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Scirus databases up to January 2012. Articles were selected by two different researchers (kappa index  =  0.83), based on established inclusion/exclusion criteria. Methodologic quality was classified as high, medium, or low quality. Results: The search strategy identified 1020 titles. Thirty studies were selected after applying the criteria (high quality  =  9, medium quality  =  21). Protraction rates differed within a range of one- to twofold between bone-anchored and dentoalveolar therapies (P < .001). All studies noted the effect of clockwise rotation on the mandible and an increase in inferior-anterior and total facial height; this was more obvious in dentoalveolar therapy than in bone-anchored orthopedics (P < .001). Conclusions: Dental parameters like overjet increased significantly with both sets of groups, ranging from 1.7 to 7.9 mm with dentoalveolar therapy and from 2.7 to 7.6 mm with bone-anchored orthopedics

Diet of Melanophryniscus paraguayensis (Anura: Bufonidae): an Endemic Species to Paraguay.

Melanophryniscus paraguayensis (no common name) is an endemic toad of the central grasslands in the eastern region of Paraguay. Details about its natural history are poorly understood and it is categorized nationally as Vulnerable. This work describes the diet composition of this species and the relationship between toad body size and the number and volume of prey consumed. We analyzed the stomach content of 162 individuals, using the stomach flushing technique, after measuring and weighing them. For each prey category, we calculated the volume, number, and frequency of occurrence, and we estimated the relative importance index (IRI) with these data. We also estimated the standardized Shannon Diversity Index and Levins Niche Breadth Index for prey categories, and we analyzed the correlation between size of the anurans and prey size. Seventy-six individuals had identifiable content, which consisted of 1,357 prey classified into 16 categories, mostly at the order level. Ants and mites were the prey taxa with the greatest contribution in number and frequency and represent the most important prey based on IRI. Volumetrically, ants and beetles predominated. Ticks, spiders, springtails, flies, true bugs, wasps, termites, thrips, larvae and nymphs of insects, centipedes, crabs, and snails were occasional prey. The mean prey volume consumed by toads was positively correlated with toad snout-vent length. The Shannon and Levins indices showed that the composition of the diet was dominated by a few groups of arthropods. This work demonstrates the importance of ants, mites, and beetles as food for M. paraguayensis, which is consistent with findings for other species of the genus Melanophryniscus and of many species of the Bufonidae family.CONACYT - Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPROCIENCI

Diet of Melanophryniscus paraguayensis (Anura: Bufonidae): An Endemic Species to Paraguay

Melanophryniscus paraguayensis (no common name) is an endemic toad of the central grasslands in the eastern region of Paraguay. Details about its natural history are poorly understood and it is categorized nationally as Vulnerable. This work describes the diet composition of this species and the relationship between toad body size and the number and volume of prey consumed. We analyzed the stomach content of 162 individuals, using the stomach flushing technique, after measuring and weighing them. For each prey category, we calculated the volume, number, and frequency of occurrence, and we estimated the relative importance index (IRI) with these data. We also estimated the standardized Shannon Diversity Index and Levins Niche Breadth Index for prey categories, and we analyzed the correlation between size of the anurans and prey size. Seventy-six individuals had identifiable content, which consisted of 1,357 prey classified into 16 categories, mostly at the order level. Ants and mites were the prey taxa with the greatest contribution in number and frequency and represent the most important prey based on IRI. Volumetrically, ants and beetles predominated. Ticks, spiders, springtails, flies, true bugs, wasps, termites, thrips, larvae and nymphs of insects, centipedes, crabs, and snails were occasional prey. The mean prey volume consumed by toads was positively correlated with toad snout-vent length. The Shannon and Levins indices showed that the composition of the diet was dominated by a few groups of arthropods. This work demonstrates the importance of ants, mites, and beetles as food for M. paraguayensis, which is consistent with findings for other species of the genus Melanophryniscus and of many species of the Bufonidae family.Fil: Núñez, Karina. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Duré Pitteri, Marta Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Zárate, Griselda. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Ortiz, Fátima. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; ParaguayFil: Mendoza, Medes. Universidad Nacional de Asunción; Paragua