Proyecto de parque ecológico en la isla Chaco-í, en Concepción, Paraguay

The need for an urban and landscape intervention project on the Chaco-í island in the department of Concepción, Paraguay, stems from the fact that it is currently populated by 150 families who live in vulnerable settlements in low-lying areas, which endure cyclical floods. In this project, it is proposed to relocate these inhabitants to the city of Concepción and turn the island into an ecological park, so that it also serves for the preservation of the fauna and flora of the place, as well as to form a playful itinerary of the ecosystem of the region that promotes tourism. The methodology used is an analysis of the current situation of the island, both geographic and topographic, as well as statistical data, and the subsequent realization of a preliminary landscape project as a solution to the problem. The proposed park has several itineraries detailed in this work, which have in common that they preserve and carry out the wetland ecosystem in which the island is inserted. The conclusion that emerges from the work is that the investment made in the implementation of the project would be quickly recovered through tourism in the area, and sports and cultural events.La necesidad de un proyecto de intervención urbana y paisajística en la isla Chaco-í en el departamento de Concepción, Paraguay, se desprende del hecho de que actualmente está poblada por 150 familias que habitan en asentamientos vulnerables en zonas bajas, los cuales soportan inundaciones cíclicas. En este proyecto se propone reubicar a estos habitantes en la ciudad de Concepción y convertir la isla en un parque ecológico, para que sirva además para la preservación de la fauna y flora del lugar, así como para conformar un itinerario lúdico del ecosistema de la región que promueva el turismo. La metodología utilizada es la de un análisis de la situación actual de la isla, tanto geográfico y topográfico, como de datos estadísticos, y la posterior realización de un anteproyecto paisajístico como solución al problema. El parque propuesto posee varios itinerarios detallados en este trabajo, los cuales tienen en común que preservan y realzan el ecosistema de humedales en el cual está inserta la isla. La conclusión que se desprende del trabajo es que la inversión realizada en la implementación del proyecto sería rápidamente recuperada por medio del turismo en la zona, y los eventos deportivos y culturales

Biohydrogen and biomethane production sustained by untreated matrices and alternative application of compost waste

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd Biohydrogen and biomethane production offers many advantages for environmental protection over the fossil fuels or the existing physical-chemical methods for hydrogen and methane synthesis. The aim of this study is focused on the exploitation of several samples from the composting process: (1) a mixture of waste vegetable materials (“Mix”); (2) an unmatured compost sample (ACV15); and (3) three types of green compost with different properties and soil improver quality (ACV1, ACV2 and ACV3). These samples were tested for biohydrogen and biomethane production, thus obtaining second generation biofuels and resulting in a novel possibility to manage renewable waste biomasses. The ability of these substrates as original feed during dark fermentation was assayed anaerobically in batch, in glass bottles, in order to determine the optimal operating conditions for hydrogen and/or methane production using “Mix” or ACV1, ACV2 or ACV3 green compost and a limited amount of water. Hydrogen could be produced with a fast kinetic in the range 0.02–2.45mLH2g−1VS, while methane was produced with a slower kinetic in the range 0.5–8mLCH4g−1VS. It was observed that the composition of each sample influenced significantly the gas production. It was also observed that the addition of different water amounts play a crucial role in the development of hydrogen or methane. This parameter can be used to push towards the alternative production of one or another gas. Hydrogen and methane production was detected spontaneously from these matrices, without additional sources of nutrients or any pre-treatment, suggesting that they can be used as an additional inoculum or feed into single or two-stage plants. This might allow the use of compost with low quality as soil improver for alternative and further applications

Correlation analysis between foveal avascular zone and near peripheral retinal hypoperfusion in multiple sclerosis: a wide field optical coherence tomography angiography study

The identification of non-invasive biomarkers to investigate and monitor retinal structural and vascular changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) represents an interesting source of debate. Until now optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) evaluated the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) and areas of retinal non-perfusion only in the macular region in MS patients. It could be interesting to identify possible biomarkers, useful in assessing the ischemic areas also in the near peripheral retina, since FAZ enlargement and the areas of peripheral retinal non-perfusions share common pathogenic processes. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the correlation between the FAZ area and retinal vessel density (VD) in the near peripheral retina by new wide-field optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients affected by relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS). Moreover, we compared the FAZ area and the VD of superficial and deep capillary plexuses in the fovea region and in the near peripheral retina (6.4 x 6.4 mm) between RR-MS patients and healthy controls by means of a Solix full-range OCTA. Last, we also detected the changes in structural OCT parameters (ganglion cell complex and retinal nerve fiber layer). Thirty-three eyes of 33 RR-MS patients and 35 eyes of 35 healthy controls were enrolled. RR-MS patients showed a lower VD in the superficial capillary plexus and a significant increase in the FAZ area compared with controls. The deep capillary plexus revealed a reduced VD although not statistically significant in patients with respect to controls. In the patients' group, the FAZ area showed significantly negative correlations with VD of superficial capillary plexuses in the foveal and whole region, while the FAZ area did not negatively correlate with the VD of the deep capillary plexus. The significant correlations among OCTA parameters could demonstrate the FAZ area as a possible biomarker for assessing the perfusion status in the near peripheral retina, useful in RR-MS management. These findings could confirm the role of vascular dysfunction in the pathogenetic mechanisms of MS

Multiple Sclerosis And Maternity: A Psychological Explorative Qualitative Research

Considering women living with multiple sclerosis (MS), motherhood may represent a complicated event. Our aim in this study is to explore the personal meanings related to maternity and illness in women living with this disease. We have involved twenty women suffering from MS and we have administered an open interview introduced by a trigger question as a prompt aimed to elicit a narrative of their experience of illness, wishes, doubts, fears and life-projects with regard to motherhood. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim in order to carry out an analysis of the textual corpus. We have performed the textual analysis of the transcribed interviews through the T-LAB software. Performing a cluster analysis, four thematic clusters emerged: Daily Pain, Relationship with Health Care Services, Closing of a Circle and Family Role. We have interpreted the relationship between these themes using factorial mapping through 3 meaning vectors, representative of the following dynamics: From Concrete to Abstract; From Life-Project to Relapse; From Health Agencies to Family Support. All these meaning-vectors seem to describe the relationship between maternity and illness. Some aspects, as the presence of a stable partner or knowing diagnosis for more than ten years, might represent supporting factors for a project of motherhood. Starting from the results obtained, we provide some proposals for the definition of goals and strategies of psychological counselling within the Health Care Services

Surface Functionalisation of biomaterials with alkaline phosphatase

Two different glasses, one biocompatible but with a low bioactivity index (G1) and the other with an higher bioactivity index (G2), the ceramic version of the second glass and a titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) have been functionalizated by anchoring alkaline phosphatase (ALP) on their surfaces. The enzyme has been chosen because it is involved in mineralization processes of hard tissues and is a model for more complex ones. ALP has been grafted on glasses and glass-ceramics surfaces both with and without samples silanization and on metallic surfaces with and without tresyl chloride activation. Samples have been analyzed at each step of the functionalization process in order to verify i