Potencial de la espectroscopia vibracional y análisis quimiométrico para la detección de residuos agroquímicos en alimentos

Organic agriculture is highly valued internationally as it results in significant economic gains for the value chains of various food products. Within the organic certification process, the identification of agrochemical residues in food is vital for screening production lots that come from organic and/or conventional crops. Currently, the analysis of agrochemical residues is performed with highly sophisticated techniques such as liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass detectors (MS), these techniques are highly expensive and complex. The present review provides insights into how the combination of vibrational spectroscopy with appropriate chemometric techniques (multivariate statistics) can be used to develop methods for classification and quantification of agrochemical residues in various food matrices in a simple way, avoiding the use of toxic reagents, reducing operating costs and long analysis times in laboratories. The development of portable technology in vibrational spectroscopy would allow in-situ analysis in crop fields and agri-food industries.La agricultura orgánica es muy valorada a nivel internacional ya que tiene como resultado apreciadas ganancias económicas para las cadenas de valor de diversos productos alimentarios. Dentro del proceso de certificación orgánica, es vital la identificación de residuos agroquímicos de los alimentos para tamizar lotes de producción que provienen de cultivos orgánicos y/o convencionales. Actualmente, al análisis de residuos agroquímicos se realiza con técnicas sofisticadas como la cromatografía líquida (LC) y cromatografía gaseosa (GC) acopladas a detectores de masas (MS), estas técnicas resultan costosas y complejas. La presente revisión brinda perspectivas respecto a que combinación de la espectroscopia vibracional con apropiadas técnicas quimiométricas (estadística multivariada) puede servir para desarrollar métodos de clasificación y cuantificación los residuos agroquímicos en diversas matrices alimentarias de forma sencilla, evitando el uso de reactivos tóxicos, reduciendo costos de operación y tiempos largos de análisis en laboratorios. El desarrollo de tecnología portátil en la espectroscopia vibracional permitiría realizar análisis in-situ en campos de cultivo e industrias agroalimentarias

Infraestructura tecnológica de servicios semánticos para la Web Semántica

This project aims at creating a network of distributed interoperable semantic services for building more complex ones. These services will be available in semantic Web service libraries, so that they can be invoked by other systems (e.g., semantic portals, software agents, etc.). Thus, to accomplish this objective, the project proposes: a) To create specific technology for developing and composing Semantic Web Services. b) To migrate the WebODE ontology development workbench to this new distributed interoperable semantic service architecture. c) To develop new semantic services (ontology learning, ontology mappings, incremental ontology evaluation, and ontology evolution). d) To develop technological support that eases semantic portal interoperability, using Web services and Semantic Web Services. The project results will be open source, so as to improve their technological transfer. The quality of these results is ensured by a benchmarking process. Keywords: Ontologies and Semantic We

Lineamientos metodológicos para procesos de diálogo orientados a la formulación de políticas de CTI en América Latina, El Caribe y España

Los procesos de diálogo para la formulación de políticas de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (CTI) pueden entenderse y analizarse a partir de la interacción entre las comunidades de un sistema de innovación. Las comunidades relevantes para dichos sistemas suelen ser las siguientes: académica, sector productivo, sector público y otros sectores de la sociedad civil organizada. El proceso de diálogo se desarrolla entre actores que son parte de estas comunidades

Apoyo psicosocial a afectada(o)s por terremoto del 5 de setiembre de 2012

Ponencia--Universidad de Costa Rica, Vicerrectoría de Acción Social, Extensión Docente. 2013. Para mayor información puede escribir a [email protected] Brigada de Intervención Psicosocial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, acompañada por la Red Sismológica Nacional (RSN: ICE-UCR), el Preventec y estudiantes de la Maestría en Gestión de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias, visitó varias comunidades del cantón de Santa Cruz de Guanacaste y del distrito de Cóbano de la provincia de Puntarenas. Las intervenciones incluyeron charlas técnicas sobre terremotos y tsunamis, planes de emergencia y atención a personas afectadas por el terremoto del 5 de setiembre. Se encontraron grandes temores en la población entre los que destacan el miedo a: un sismo futuro, a un tsunami, a las réplicas, a un desprendimiento de la península de Nicoya, a intoxicación masiva por gases y al surgimiento de un volcán submarino.Universidad de Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Sociales::Facultad de Ciencias Sociales::Escuela de Psicologí

Effects of intubation timing in patients with COVID-19 throughout the four waves of the pandemic : a matched analysis

The primary aim of our study was to investigate the association between intubation timing and hospital mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated respiratory failure. We also analysed both the impact of such timing throughout the first four pandemic waves and the influence of prior non-invasive respiratory support on outcomes. This is a secondary analysis of a multicentre, observational and prospective cohort study that included all consecutive patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation due to COVID-19 from across 58 Spanish intensive care units (ICU) participating in the CIBERESUCICOVID project. The study period was between 29 February 2020 and 31 August 2021. Early intubation was defined as that occurring within the first 24 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to achieve balance across baseline variables between the early intubation cohort and those patients who were intubated after the first 24 h of ICU admission. Differences in outcomes between early and delayed intubation were also assessed. We performed sensitivity analyses to consider a different timepoint (48 h from ICU admission) for early and delayed intubation. Of the 2725 patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation, a total of 614 matched patients were included in the analysis (307 for each group). In the unmatched population, there were no differences in mortality between the early and delayed groups. After PS matching, patients with delayed intubation presented higher hospital mortality (27.3% versus 37.1%, p =0.01), ICU mortality (25.7% versus 36.1%, p=0.007) and 90-day mortality (30.9% versus 40.2%, p=0.02) when compared to the early intubation group. Very similar findings were observed when we used a 48-hour timepoint for early or delayed intubation. The use of early intubation decreased after the first wave of the pandemic (72%, 49%, 46% and 45% in the first, second, third and fourth wave, respectively; first versus second, third and fourth waves p<0.001). In both the main and sensitivity analyses, hospital mortality was lower in patients receiving high-flow nasal cannula (n=294) who were intubated earlier. The subgroup of patients undergoing NIV (n=214) before intubation showed higher mortality when delayed intubation was set as that occurring after 48 h from ICU admission, but not when after 24 h. In patients with COVID-19 requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, delayed intubation was associated with a higher risk of hospital mortality. The use of early intubation significantly decreased throughout the course of the pandemic. Benefits of such an approach occurred more notably in patients who had received high-flow nasal cannul

COVID-19 outbreaks in a transmission control scenario: challenges posed by social and leisure activities, and for workers in vulnerable conditions, Spain, early summer 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 community-wide transmission declined in Spain by early May 2020, being replaced by outbreaks and sporadic cases. From mid-June to 2 August, excluding single household outbreaks, 673 outbreaks were notified nationally, 551 active (>6,200 cases) at the time. More than half of these outbreaks and cases coincided with: (i) social (family/friends’ gatherings or leisure venues) and (ii) occupational (mainly involving workers in vulnerable conditions) settings. Control measures were accordingly applied

una mirada desde las Ciencias de la Conducta

Este libro es el resultado de los trabajos presentados en el 1er Congreso Internacional "Convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz"

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Search for new phenomena in final states with two opposite-charge, same-flavor leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV

Search results are presented for physics beyond the standard model in final states with two opposite-charge, same-flavor leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at s√=13 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016. The analysis uses the invariant mass of the lepton pair, searching for a kinematic edge or a resonant-like excess compatible with the Z boson mass. The search for a kinematic edge targets production of particles sensitive to the strong force, while the resonance search targets both strongly and electroweakly produced new physics. The observed yields are consistent with the expectations from the standard model, and the results are interpreted in the context of simplified models of supersymmetry. In a gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) model of gluino pair production with decay chains including Z bosons, gluino masses up to 1500–1770 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level depending on the lightest neutralino mass. In a model of electroweak chargino-neutralino production, chargino masses as high as 610 GeV are excluded when the lightest neutralino is massless. In GMSB models of electroweak neutralino-neutralino production, neutralino masses up to 500-650 GeV are excluded depending on the decay mode assumed. Finally, in a model with bottom squark pair production and decay chains resulting in a kinematic edge in the dilepton invariant mass distribution, bottom squark masses up to 980–1200 GeV are excluded depending on the mass of the next-to-lightest neutralino