Modelling of a Stilling Basins with Sloping Apron in IBER to Improve Efficiency in High-slope Rivers

This research shows the influence of stilling basin slopes on energy loss in rivers with a high gradient. This study takes as a case San Pedro water intake (Ayacucho, Peru). The main objective is to improve efficiency of stilling basins in rivers with high slope. Five dissipation pools of different slopes were modelled: 0%, 1.52%, 3.04%, 4.56% and 6.08% to propose the optimum pool among these, for the San Pedro intake. Results were validated by means of a Sensitivity Analysis, trough comparison with the results of previous investigation and results of modelling San Pedro river with HEC-RAS and IBER. It was obtained that the steeper the slope of the stilling basin, the higher the specific energy loss, the higher the output rate, the longer the stilling basin. It can be concluded that the 3.04% slope stilling basin is the most appropriate for the 6.08% slope river since the slope variation is not abrupt as in the case of the horizontal one, that is, 30% more energy loss with respect to the horizontal pool and velocity and Froude results similar to the modelling of the San Pedro river

Avaliação sensorial de cebolinha (Allium cepa, L.) orgânica para conserva.

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Mapeo de la vulnerabilidad a la degradación de pastizales mediante AHP-GIS & RPAS en la microcuenca Pomacochas - Perú

In Peru,rangeland monitoring is increasingly essential to support farmers and strengthen new public policies for sustainable management at the watershed level. In this research, we sought to map the vulnerability to grassland degradation in the Pomacochas micro-watershed, Amazonas -Peru. For this, criteria were used (NDVI, precipitation, SOM, soil texture, soil pH and slope). Also, based on expert consultation and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the importance of the criteria was weighed. Then, the land suitability map was generated to assess rangeland vulnerability by weighted superimposition of the criteria maps. NDVI was the most important criterion, while land slope was the least important. AHP and GIS based modeling shows that about 4012.08 km2(62.98%) of the total study area is in the category "slightly vulnerable" (C3) to grassland degradation. The results were also validated by means of four validation plots using images from a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The study will provide support for decision making in the management of grasslands in micro-watershedsEn Perú, realizar un monitoreo de pastizales es cada vez más esencial para apoyar a los productores agropecuarios y fortalecer nuevas políticas públicas enmarcadas a un manejo sostenible a nivel de cuencas hidrográficas. En esta investigación se buscó mapear la vulnerabilidad a la degradación de pastizales en la microcuenca de Pomacochas, Amazonas − Perú. Para ello, se utilizaron criterios (NDVI, precipitación, MOS, textura del suelo, pH y pendiente). También, basado en consulta a expertos y el Proceso de Jerarquía Analítica (AHP), se sopeso la importancia de los criterios. Luego, se generó el mapa de aptitud del territorio para evaluar la vulnerabilidad de pastizales mediante superposición ponderada de los mapas de criterios. NDVI fue el criterio más importante, mientras que, la pendiente del terreno fue el menos importante. El modelado basado en AHP y SIG muestra que alrededor de 4012.08 km2 (62.98%) del área total de estudio se encuentran en la categoría “ligeramente vulnerable” (C3) a la degradación de pastizales. Asimismo, se validó los resultados mediante cuatro parcelas de validación empleando imágenes de un Aeronave Piloteada Remotamente (RPA). El estudio brindará apoyo para la toma de decisiones en torno al manejo de los pastizales en microcuencas

Nanoscale magnetic structure and properties of solution-derived self-assembled La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 islands

The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 111.2 (2012): 024307 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/111/2/10.1063/1.3677985Strain-induced self-assembled La0.7Sr0.3MnO 3 nanoislands of lateral size 50-150 nm and height 10-40 nm have been grown on yttria-stabilized zirconia (001)-substrates from ultradiluted chemical solutions based on metal propionates. The nanoislands grow highly relaxed withstanding the epitaxial relation (001)LSMO[110]//(001) Ysz[010] and show bulk-like average magnetic properties in terms of Curie temperature and saturation magnetization. The interplay of the magnetocrystalline and shape anisotropy within the nanoisland ensemble results in an in-plane magnetic anisotropy with a magnetocrystalline constant K 1(150K) = -(5±1) kJ/m3 and in-plane easy axis along the [110] -La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 direction as measured, for the first time, through ferromagnetic resonance experiments. Magnetic force microscopy studies reveal the correlation between nanoisland size and its magnetic domain structure in agreement with micromagnetic simulations. In particular, we have established the required geometric conditions for single domain, multidomain, and vortex configurations.We acknowledge the financial support from MEC (MAT2008-01022, Consolider NANOSELECT and FPU), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM S2009/MAT-1467), Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Pla de Recerca 2009-SGR- 770 and XaRMAE), and EU (NESPA). R. D. Zysler and C. A. Ramos acknowledge support from PIP-1333(2007) CONICET and PICT 829 (2006) and PICT 832(2006) ANPCyT of Argentina. Serveis Científic-Tècnics from Universitat de Barcelona and Servei de Micròscopia from Universitat Auto`noma de Barcelona are acknowledged for TEM facilities

Cost-effectiveness analysis of a multiple health behaviour change intervention in people aged between 45 and 75 years: a cluster randomized controlled trial in primary care (EIRA study)

Background: Multiple health behaviour change (MHBC) interventions that promote healthy lifestyles may be an efficient approach in the prevention or treatment of chronic diseases in primary care. This study aims to evaluate the cost-utility and cost-effectiveness of the health promotion EIRA intervention in terms of MHBC and cardiovascular reduction. Methods: An economic evaluation alongside a 12-month cluster-randomised (1:1) controlled trial conducted between 2017 and 2018 in 25 primary healthcare centres from seven Spanish regions. The study took societal and healthcare provider perspectives. Patients included were between 45 and 75 years old and had any two of these three behaviours: smoking, insufficient physical activity or low adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern. Intervention duration was 12 months and combined three action levels (individual, group and community). MHBC, defined as a change in at least two health risk behaviours, and cardiovascular risk (expressed in % points) were the outcomes used to calculate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER). Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated and used to calculate incremental cost-utility ratios (ICUR). Missing data was imputed and bootstrapping with 1000 replications was used to handle uncertainty in the modelling results. Results: The study included 3062 participants. Intervention costs were €295 higher than usual care costs. Five per-cent additional patients in the intervention group did a MHBC compared to usual care patients. Differences in QALYS or cardiovascular risk between-group were close to 0 (- 0.01 and 0.04 respectively). The ICER was €5598 per extra health behaviour change in one patient and €6926 per one-point reduction in cardiovascular risk from a societal perspective. The cost-utility analysis showed that the intervention increased costs and has no effect, in terms of QALYs, compared to usual care from a societal perspective. Cost-utility planes showed high uncertainty surrounding the ICUR. Sensitivity analysis showed results in line with the main analysis. Conclusion: The efficiency of EIRA intervention cannot be fully established and its recommendation should be conditioned by results on medium-long term effects. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03136211. Registered 02 May 2017 – Retrospectively registered © 2021, The Author(s)

IL1B-CGTC haplotype is associated with colorectal cancer in admixed individuals with increased African ancestry

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cytokine genes can affect gene expression and thereby modulate inflammation and carcinogenesis. However, the data on the association between SNPs in the interleukin 1 beta gene (IL1B) and colorectal cancer (CRC) are conflicting. We found an association between a 4-SNP haplotype block of the IL1B (-3737C/-1464G/-511T/-31C) and CRC risk, and this association was exclusively observed in individuals with a higher proportion of African ancestry, such as individuals from the Coastal Colombian region (odds ratio, OR 2.06; 95% CI 1.31–3.25; p < 0.01). Moreover, a significant interaction between this CRC risk haplotype and local African ancestry dosage was identified in locus 2q14 (p = 0.03). We conclude that Colombian individuals with high African ancestry proportions at locus 2q14 harbour more IL1B-CGTC copies and are consequently at an increased risk of CRC. This haplotype has been previously found to increase the IL1B promoter activity and is the most frequent haplotype in African Americans. Despite of limitations in the number of samples and the lack of functional analysis to examine the effect of these haplotypes on CRC cell lines, our results suggest that inflammation and ethnicity play a major role in the modulation of CRC risk

Modulation of the Arginase Pathway in the Context of Microbial Pathogenesis: A Metabolic Enzyme Moonlighting as an Immune Modulator

Arginine is a crucial amino acid that serves to modulate the cellular immune response during infection. Arginine is also a common substrate for both inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and arginase. The generation of nitric oxide from arginine is responsible for efficient immune response and cytotoxicity of host cells to kill the invading pathogens. On the other hand, the conversion of arginine to ornithine and urea via the arginase pathway can support the growth of bacterial and parasitic pathogens. The competition between iNOS and arginase for arginine can thus contribute to the outcome of several parasitic and bacterial infections. There are two isoforms of vertebrate arginase, both of which catalyze the conversion of arginine to ornithine and urea, but they differ with regard to tissue distribution and subcellular localization. In the case of infection with Mycobacterium, Leishmania, Trypanosoma, Helicobacter, Schistosoma, and Salmonella spp., arginase isoforms have been shown to modulate the pathology of infection by various means. Despite the existence of a considerable body of evidence about mammalian arginine metabolism and its role in immunology, the critical choice to divert the host arginine pool by pathogenic organisms as a survival strategy is still a mystery in infection biology