Quality of Institutions, Technological Progress, and Pollution Havens in Latin America. An Analysis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis

A set of 17-year panel data (1996–2013) across a representative sample from eighteen Latin American countries is used to respond four research questions: Did Latin American Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions prove the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis? Did the quality of institutions play a compensating role for income on environmental stress? Did technological progress help decouple income from environmental stress? Has the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH) been proven? In order to answer the research questions, the paper expands the traditional EKC approach by including an exclusive quality analysis of institutions, technological progress, and PHH as part of the model. This innovation is developed considering the most recent literature about EKC as a starting point. Major findings show that the relationship between income and GHG emissions is adjusted to the traditional EKC hypothesis for the analyzed period. They also show that the quality of institutions and technological progress improve environmental sustainability. However, the variables, Foreign Direct Investment and International Trade, provide a negative answer to the fourth question. The main methodological contribution of this paper is to use a threefold extended classic EKC model to conduct the feasible generalized least squares method. The paper also contributes to the growing body of PHH literature.Junta de Andalucía proyecto SEJ-132Cátedra de Economía de la Energía y del MedioUniversidad Autónoma de Chil

Automatización y control del tramo de un canal de distribución de agua

RESUMEN DEL TRABAJO DESARROLLADO. Con el presente proyecto se pretende automatizar y controlar una infraestructura hidráulica, en este caso el tramo de un canal de distribución de agua. El tramo estará delimitado por dos almenaras, una aguas arriba y otra aguas abajo. El tramo dispondrá también de una toma de derivación. Se trata de un proyecto multidisciplinar, en el que es necesario manejar e integrar conocimientos de diferentes ramas de la ingeniería, como pueden ser la mecánica de fluidos, la regulación automática, la instrumentación y sensorización, las comunicaciones inalámbricas, el telecontrol, la programación de PLCs, la simulación de sistemas, etc. El proyecto se compone de 2 documentos: • Una memoria compuesta por 6 capítulos que pasamos a detallar a continuación. - Un primer capítulo de introducción para indicar los objetivos del proyecto. (Realizado de forma conjunta). - Un segundo capítulo en el que se describe la infraestructura hidráulica que se pretende automatizar y controlar, así como una descripción de los diferentes puntos de control desde el punto de vista hidráulico. (Realizado de forma conjunta). - Un tercer capítulo donde se realiza una descripción de los diferentes dispositivos, atendiendo a su naturaleza electro-mecánica, que permiten gestionar, controlar y automatizar la infraestructura hidráulica, además de justificar la elección de cada uno de estos dispositivos frente a otras alternativas. (Realizado de forma conjunta). - Un cuarto capítulo en el que se desarrolla el sistema de regulación, basado en PLCs, que hace posible el control automático del proceso. (Realizado por Ricardo Luis) - Un quinto capítulo donde se desarrolla un completo sistema de comunicaciones que hace posible la interacción entre los diferentes puntos de control de la infraestructura. (Realizado por Raúl Muñoz). - Un sexto capítulo donde se expone la programación que hace posible una correcta gestión de la infraestructura hidráulica por parte de los PLCs. (Realizado de forma conjunta). - Y por ultimo, un séptimo capítulo dedicado a exponer las conclusiones extraídas de la realización de este proyecto. • Un documento de Anexos, compuesto por: - Anexo A. Documentación. En este anexo se integran todos los documentos, manuales y hojas de características que se han utilizado para realizar los diferentes capítulos de la memoria. - Anexo B. Planos. Que contiene los planos eléctricos de los armarios de control que se encuentran situados en los diferentes puntos de control. (Realizado de forma conjunta). - Anexo C. Compuesto por todas las simulaciones que se han realizado en el proyecto. Simulaciones de la infraestructura hidráulica mediante HEC-RAS (Realizado por Ricardo Luis). Simulaciones del sistema de comunicaciones mediante Radio Mobile (Realizado por Raúl Muñoz) y simulaciones del sistema de regulación, mediante Matlab (Realizado por Ricardo Luis). Señalar que para llevar a buen término estos documentos es necesario un alto conocimiento en las diferentes materias que hemos nombrado con anterioridad, lo que justificaría la realización del proyecto de forma conjunta

The rotavirus vaccine landscape, an update

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe acute childhood gastroenteritis, responsible for more than 128,500 deaths per year, mainly in low-income countries. Although the mortality rate has dropped significantly since the introduction of the first vaccines around 2006, an estimated 83,158 deaths are still preventable. The two main vaccines currently deployed, Rotarix and RotaTeq, both live oral vaccines, have been shown to be less effective in developing countries. In addition, they have been associated with a slight risk of intussusception, and the need for cold chain maintenance limits the accessibility of these vaccines to certain areas, leaving 65% of children worldwide unvaccinated and therefore unprotected. Against this backdrop, here we review the main vaccines under development and the state of the art on potential alternatives

Epidemiological Surveillance of Norovirus and Rotavirus in Sewage (2016-2017) in Valencia (Spain)

The aim of the present study was to perform the molecular epidemiology of rotaviruses and noroviruses detected in sewage samples from a large wastewater facility from the city of Valencia, Spain. A total of 46 sewage samples were collected over a one-year period (September 2016 to September 2017). Norovirus and rotavirus were detected and quantified by RT-qPCR, genotyped by semi-nested RT-PCR and further characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. Noroviruses and rotaviruses were widely distributed in sewage samples (69.6% for norovirus GI, 76.0% norovirus GII, and 71.7% rotaviruses) and viral loads varied from 4.33 to 5.75 log PCRU/L for norovirus GI, 4.69 to 6.95 log PCRU/L for norovirus GII, and 4.08 to 6.92 log PCRU/L for rotavirus. Overall, 87.5% (28/32) of GI noroviruses could not be genotyped, 6.25% (2/32) of the samples contained GI.2 genotype, and another 6.25% (2/32) were positive for GI.4 genotype. The most common genotype of GII noroviruses was GII.2 (40%, 14/35), followed by GII.6 (8.6%, 3/35) and GII.17 (5.7%, 2/35) while the remaining GII strains could not be typed (45.7%, 16/35). Rotavirus VP4 genotype P[8] was the only one found in 19 out of 33 rotavirus-positive samples (57.7%). G2 was the most prevalent rotavirus VP7 genotype (15.2%, 5/33) followed by G3, G9, and G12, with two positive samples for each genotype (6.1%, 2/33). In one sample both G1 and G2 genotypes were detected simultaneously (3%). The results presented here show that the surveillance of noroviruses and rotaviruses in sewage is useful for the study of their transmission in the population and their molecular epidemiology

Microbiota depletion promotes human rotavirus replication in an adult mouse model

Intestinal microbiota-virus-host interaction has emerged as a key factor in mediating enteric virus pathogenicity. With the aim of analyzing whether human gut bacteria improve the inefficient replication of human rotavirus in mice, we performed fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) with healthy infants as donors in antibiotic-treated mice. We showed that a simple antibiotic treatment, irrespective of FMT, resulted in viral shedding for 6 days after challenge with the human rotavirus G1P[8] genotype Wa strain (RVwa). Rotavirus titers in feces were also significantly higher in antibiotic-treated animals with or without FMT but they were decreased in animals subject to self-FMT, where a partial re-establishment of specific bacterial taxons was evidenced. Microbial composition analysis revealed profound changes in the intestinal microbiota of antibiotic-treated animals, whereas some bacterial groups, including members of Lactobacillus, Bilophila, Mucispirillum, and Oscillospira, recovered after self-FMT. In antibiotic-treated and FMT animals where the virus replicated more efficiently, differences were observed in gene expression of immune mediators, such as IL1β and CXCL15, as well as in the fucosyltransferase FUT2, responsible for H-type antigen synthesis in the small intestine. Collectively, our results suggest that antibiotic-induced microbiota depletion eradicates the microbial taxa that restrict human rotavirus infectivity in mice

Regulation of Ebola virus VP40 matrix protein by SUMO

The matrix protein of Ebola virus (EBOV) VP40 regulates viral budding, nucleocapsid recruitment, virus structure and stability, viral genome replication and transcription, and has an intrinsic ability to form virus-like particles. The elucidation of the regulation of VP40 functions is essential to identify mechanisms to inhibit viral replication and spread. Post-translational modifications of proteins with ubiquitin-like family members are common mechanisms for the regulation of host and virus multifunctional proteins. Thus far, no SUMOylation of VP40 has been described. Here we demonstrate that VP40 is modified by SUMO and that SUMO is included into the viral like particles (VLPs). We demonstrate that lysine residue 326 in VP40 is involved in SUMOylation, and by analyzing a mutant in this residue we show that SUMO conjugation regulates the stability of VP40 and the incorporation of SUMO into the VLPs. Our study indicates for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that EBOV hijacks the cellular SUMOylation system in order to modify its own proteins. Modulation of the VP40-SUMO interaction may represent a novel target for the therapy of Ebola virus infectionWe thank Sergio Gomez-Medina for excellent technical assistance. Funding at the laboratory of CR is provided by BFU-2014-58530. Work at the laboratory of CSM is supported by BFU2013-41249-P. This work was partially funded by the Lebniz Association (Prämie ERC Starting Grant 2013 to CM-F). The Heinrich-Pette-Institute is financed by the German Federal Ministry of Health and the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg. AEM is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (FPI Fellowship). CFC-H is supported by CONACYT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscriptS

The new multi-frequency instrument (MFI2) for the QUIJOTE facility in Tenerife

The QUIJOTE (Q-U-I joint Tenerife) experiment combines the operation of two radio-telescopes and three instruments working in the microwave bands 10?20 GHz, 26-36 GHz and 35-47 GHz at the Teide Observatory, Tenerife, and has already been presented in previous SPIE meetings (Hoyland, R. J. et al, 2012; Rubiño-Martín et al., 2012). The Cosmology group at the IAC have designed a new upgrade to the MFI instrument in the band 10-20 GHz. The aim of the QUIJOTE telescopes is to characterise the polarised emission of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), as well as galactic and extra-galactic sources, at medium and large angular scales. This MFI2 will continue the survey at even higher sensitivity levels. The MFI2 project led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) consists of five polarimeters, three of them operating in the sub-band 10?15 GHz, and two in the sub-band 15-20 GHz. The MFI2 instrument is expected to be a full two-three times more sensitive than the former MFI. The microwave complex correlator design has been replaced by a simple correlator design with a digital back-end based on the latest Xilinx FPGAs (ZCU111). During the first half of 2019 the manufacture of the new cryostat was completed and since then the opto-mechanical components have been designed and manufactured. It is expected that the cryogenic front-end will be completed by the end of 2022 along with the FPGA acquisition and observing system. This digital system has been employed to be more robust against stray ground-based and satellite interference, having a frequency resolution of 1 MHz.The MFI2 instrument is being developed by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), with an instrumental participation from the Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena (UPCT). Partial financial support is provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN), under the projects AYA2017-84185-P, IACA15-BE-3707, EQC2018-004918-P and the FEDER Agreement INSIDE-OOCC (ICTS-2019-03-IAC-12). We also acknowledge financial support of the Severo Ochoa Programs SEV-2015-0548 and CEX2019-000920-S

Clinical, biological, and prognostic implications of SF3B1 co-occurrence mutations in very low/low- and intermediate-risk MDS patients

SF3B1 is a highly mutated gene in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients, related to a specific subtype and parameters of good prognosis in MDS without excess blasts. More than 40% of MDS patients carry at least two myeloid-related gene mutations but little is known about the impact of concurrent mutations on the outcome of MDS patients. In applying next-generation sequencing (NGS) with a 117 myeloid gene custom panel, we analyzed the co-occurrence of SF3B1 with other mutations to reveal their clinical, biological, and prognostic implications in very low/low- and intermediate-risk MDS patients. Mutations in addition to those of SF3B1 were present in 80.4% of patients (median of 2 additional mutations/patient, range 0–5). The most frequently mutated genes were as follows: TET2 (39.2%), DNMT3A (25.5%), SRSF2 (10.8%), CDH23 (5.9%), and ASXL1, CUX1, and KMT2D (4.9% each). The presence of at least two mutations concomitant with that of SF3B1 had an adverse impact on survival compared with those with the SF3B1 mutation and fewer than two additional mutations (median of 54 vs. 87 months, respectively: p = 0.007). The co-occurrence of SF3B1 mutations with specific genes is also linked to a dismal prognosis: SRSF2 mutations were associated with shorter overall survival (OS) than SRSF2wt (median, 27 vs. 75 months, respectively; p = 0.001), concomitant IDH2 mutations (median OS, 11 [mut] vs. 75 [wt] months; p = 0.001), BCOR mutations (median OS, 11 [mut] vs. 71 [wt] months; p = 0.036), and NUP98 and STAG2 mutations (median OS, 27 and 11 vs. 71 months, respectively; p = 0.008 and p = 0.002). Mutations in CHIP genes (TET2, DNMT3A) did not significantly affect the clinical features or outcome. Our results suggest that a more comprehensive NGS study in low-risk MDS SF3B1mut patients is essential for a better prognostic evaluation.This work was supported by grants from the following: Contrato Rio Hortega, CM17/00171; Gerencia Regional de Salud (Castilla y León) para proyectos de investigación año 2018, 1850/A/18; Spanish Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, PI15/01471, PI18/01500; Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) “Una manera de hacer Europa”; Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León (SA271P18); Proyectos de Investigación del SACYL, Spain, GRS1847/A/18, GRS1653/A17; SYNtherapy, Synthetic Lethality for Personalized Therapy-based Stratification In Acute Leukemia (ERAPERMED2018–275); ISCIII (AC18/00093), co-funded by ERDF/ESF, “Investing in your future”, by grants from Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer (RTICC) (RD12/0036/0069) and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC CB16/12/00233). JMHS is supported by a research grant from Fundación Española de Hematología y Hemoterapia. MM is currently supported by an Ayuda predoctoral de la Junta de Castilla y León from the Fondo Social Europeo (JCYL- EDU/556/2019 PhD scholarship)

A new group of Palaeolithic painted hands from the southern Iberian Peninsula. Las Estrellas cave (Castellar de la Frontera, Cádiz)

This work presents a review of the rock art conserved at a site located in the autonomous community of Andalusia, known in the preceding literature as the Las Estrellas cave (Castellar de la Frontera, Cádiz). This is a large open-air rocky shelter, in which various schematic style pictographs were found, in the early years of this century. During a recent visit to the site, the existence of an important Palaeolithic figurative set was also noted, which includes representations of fauna and a small series of outlines of hands. This article deals with the generic analysis of the art catalogued in the cave up to the present moment, paying special attention to the set of the aforementioned Palaeolithic handprints, which have been documented using digital 3d technology. Similarly, its contextualization in Andalusian Palaeolithic art will be taken into account and a first chronological approximation of this interesting and varied figurative system will be made.Presentamos en este trabajo la revisión de las manifestaciones de arte rupestre conservadas en una estación localizada en la comunidad autónoma de Andalucía, conocida en la literatura precedente como cueva de Las Estrellas (Castellar de la Frontera, Cádiz). Se trata de un abrigo rocoso de grandes dimensiones, abierto al aire libre, en el que ya se había constatado, en los primeros años del presente siglo, la presencia de diversas pictografías de estilo esquemático. Durante una visita reciente al enclave se ha advertido, además, la existencia de un importante conjunto figurativo de cronología paleolítica que incluye representaciones de fauna y una pequeña serie de improntas de manos en negativo. Este artículo aborda el análisis genérico de las grafías catalogadas hasta el momento en la cavidad, atendiendo con especial detalle al conjunto de las citadas huellas de manos paleolíticas, que han sido documentadas usando tecnología digital 3d. De igual modo, se tendrán en cuenta su contextualización en el arte paleolítico andaluz y una primera aproximación cronológica a este interesante y variado complejo figurativo

Effect of an Intensive Weight-Loss Lifestyle Intervention on Kidney Function: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Large randomized trials testing the effect of a multifactorial weight-loss lifestyle intervention including Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) on renal function are lacking. Here, we evaluated the 1-year efficacy of an intensive weight-loss intervention with an energy-reduced MedDiet (erMedDiet) plus increased physical activity (PA) on renal function. Methods: Randomized controlled "PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea-Plus"(PREDIMED-Plus) trial is conducted in 23 Spanish centers comprising 208 primary care clinics. Overweight/obese (n = 6,719) adults aged 55-75 years with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned (1:1) to an intensive weight-loss lifestyle intervention with an erMedDiet, PA promotion, and behavioral support (intervention) or usual-care advice to adhere to an energy-unrestricted MedDiet (control) between September 2013 and December 2016. The primary outcome was 1-year change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (EGFR). Secondary outcomes were changes in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), incidence of moderately/severely impaired EGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) and micro-to macroalbuminuria (UACR ≥30 mg/g), and reversion of moderately (45 to <60 mL/min/1.73 m2) to mildly impaired GFR (60 to <90 mL/min/1.73 m2) or micro-to macroalbuminuria. Results: After 1 year, EGFR declined by 0.66 and 1.25 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the intervention and control groups, respectively (mean difference, 0.58 mL/min/1.73 m2; 95% CI: 0.15-1.02). There were no between-group differences in mean UACR or micro-to macroalbuminuria changes. Moderately/severely impaired EGFR incidence and reversion of moderately to mildly impaired GFR were 40% lower (HR 0.60; 0.44-0.82) and 92% higher (HR 1.92; 1.35-2.73), respectively, in the intervention group. Conclusions: The PREDIMED-Plus lifestyle intervention approach may preserve renal function and delay CKD progression in overweight/obese adults.This work was supported by the official Spanish Institutions for funding scientific biomedical research, CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (5 coordinated FIS projects leaded by J.S.-S and J.V., including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI14/00972, PI14/00728, PI14/01471, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, PI17/00926; PI19/00957, PI19/00386, PI19/00309, PI19/01032, PI19/00576, PI19/00017, PI19/01226, PI19/00781, PI19/01560, and PI19/01332); the Especial Action Project entitled Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensiva sobre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant to J.S.-S.; the European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2014–2019; agreement #340918) granted to M.Á.M.-G.; the Recercaixa (No. 2013ACUP00194) grant to J.S.-S.; grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013, PS0358/2016, and PI0137/2018); the PROMETEO/2017/017 grant from the Generalitat Valenciana; the SEMERGEN grant; funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CB06/03); International Nut & Dried Fruit Council – FESNAD (Long-term effects of an energyrestricted Mediterranean diet on mortality and cardiovascular disease 2014–2015, No. 201302) (PI: M.Á.M.-G.); the AstraZeneca Young Investigators Award in Category of Obesity and T2D 2017 (PI: D.R.); grant of support to research groups No. 35/2011 (Balearic Islands Gov.; FEDER funds) (J.A.T. and C.B.); the JR17/00022 (ISCIII) grant to O.C.; the Boosting young talent call grant program for the development of IISPV research projects 2019–2021 (Ref.: 2019/IISPV/03 grant to A.D.-L.); the Societat Catalana d’Endocrinologia i Nutrició (SCEN) Clinical-Research Grant 2019 (IPs: J.S.-S. and A.D.-L.). Collaborative Nutrition and/or Obesity Project for Young Researchers 2019 supported by CIBEROBN entitled Lifestyle Interventions and Chronic Kidney Disease: Inflammation, Oxidative Stress and Metabolomic Profile (LIKIDI study) grant to A.D.-L