Recycling of modified asphalt sheets for automotive use

Aldás-Carrasco, MF.; Pavón-Vargas, CP.; Rosa-Ramírez, HDL.; Valle, V.; Ribadeneira, AF. (2021). Recycling of modified asphalt sheets for automotive use. DYNA Ingeniería e Industria (Online). 96(4):351-354. https://doi.org/10.6036/1009735135496

Factors Influencing Level and Persistence of Anti SARS-CoV-2 IgG after BNT162b2 Vaccine: Evidence from a Large Cohort of Healthcare Workers

We aimed at evaluating quantitative IgG response to BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine among health care workers (HCW), and exploring the role of demographic, clinical, and occupational factors as predictors of IgG levels. On May 2021, among 6687 HCW at the largest tertiary care University-Hospital of Northwestern Italy, at a median of 15 weeks (Interquartile range-IQR 13.6–16.0) after second-dose, serological response was present in 99.8%. Seropositivity was >97% in all the subgroups, except those self-reporting immunodeficiency (94.9%). Overall, the median serological IgG value was 990 BAU/mL (IQR 551–1870), with most of subjects with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or with shorter time lapse (2–8 weeks) between vaccination and serology with values in the highest quintile (>2080). At multivariable analysis, significant predictors of lower values were increasing age, male, current smoking, immunodeficiency, recent occupational contacts, and increasing time lapse from vaccination; conversely, previous infection and recent household contacts were significantly associated with higher IgG levels. Subjects with previous infection kept a very high level (around 2000 BAU/mL) up to 120 days. These results, besides supporting a high serological response up to 4–5 months, suggest predictive factors of faster decay of IgG levels that could be useful in tailoring vaccination strategies

Community Mortality due to Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Argentina: Population-based surveillance study

Background. Many deaths in infants from low-middle income countries (LMICs) occur at home or upon arrival to health facilities. Although acute lower respiratory tract illness plays an important role in community mortality, the accuracy of mortality rates due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains unknown. Methods. An active surveillance study among children aged under 5 years old (U5) was performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between January and December 2019, to define the burden and role of RSV in childhood community mortality. Results. A total of 63 families of children U5 participated in the study. Based on a combined approach of tissue sampling, verbal autopsies, and expert’s analysis, RSV infection was found in the causal chain of 11 from 12 cases with positive molecular biology results in respiratory samples. The estimated mortality rate due to RSV among infants was 0.27 deaths/1000 live births. The mean age of RSV-related household deaths was 2.8 months of age (standard deviation [SD] 1.7), and 8/12 were male infants (66.7%). Dying at home from RSV was associated with Streptococcus pneumoniae and/or Moraxella catarrhalis lung coinfection (75%), living in slums and settlement (odds ratio [OR], 17.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3–219.2), and other underlying comorbidities (OR, 14.87; 95% CI, 1.3–164.6). Conclusions. Infant community mortality rates due to RSV are higher than those reported in industrialized countries and similar to those reported in hospital-based studies in the same catchment population.Fil: Caballero, Mauricio Tomás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Bianchi, Alejandra Silvina. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Diaz Grigaites, Sebastian. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio Publico. Ministerio Publico Fiscal. Instituto de Ciencias Forenses de Lomas de Zamora.; ArgentinaFil: de la Iglesia Niveyro, Paola Ximena. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Nuño, Alejandra. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Valle, Sandra. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Afarian, Gabriela. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio Publico. Ministerio Publico Fiscal. Instituto de Ciencias Forenses de Lomas de Zamora.; ArgentinaFil: Esperante, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Ferreti, Adrián. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Jares Baglivo, Sofía. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: De Luca, Julián. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Álvarez Paggi, Damián Jorge. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica; Chile. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; ArgentinaFil: Diamanti, Adriana. Gobierno de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Ministerio Publico. Ministerio Publico Fiscal. Instituto de Ciencias Forenses de Lomas de Zamora.; ArgentinaFil: Bassat, Quique. Universidad de Barcelona; España. Centro de investigação de Saúde de Manhiça; Mozambique. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats; España. Hospital Sant Joan de Deu Barcelona; España. Consorcio de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública; EspañaFil: Polack, Fernando Pedro. Fundación para la Investigación en Infectología Infantil; Argentin

Riqueza y abundancia relativa de los batoideos de la pesquería artesanal en el archipiélago Espíritu Santo, BCS, México

Background: The Gulf of California possesses a high diversity of marine ichthyofauna while representing one of the main fishing areas in Mexico. The shark and ray fishery constitute an important economic and social importance. Goals: In the present study, the richness and relative abundance was estimated (expressed as CPUE), for 15 batoids species taken by the artisanal fisheries in the southern zone of the Espiritu Santo Island, State of B.C.S. from October 2013 to December 2015. Methods: Batoids were taxonomically identified to species level, measured, sexed and weighed and species richness calculated. Catch as CPUE was standardized to 100 m of gillnet per hour (x100 as a scaling factor) and evaluated among species and at different spatial scales (season, year, season per year and month). Results: A total of 2198 individuals were captured and comprised of four orders, 10 families, 10 genera, and 15 species. The nominal capture effort used was 27560 m of bottom-set gillnet and 1763 h submerged time. Four species, Rostroraja velezi, Pseudobatos glaucostigma, Urobatis maculatus and Mobula mobular, were added to the existing ichthyofauna listing for the Espiritu Santo Island. Additionally, Mobula munkiana and Hypanus dipterurus represented the highest contribution in abundance and weight during the time of this study. The first species is currently protected by national and international laws, whereas the latter is a commercially exploited species. Conclusions: The partial overlap of the highest CPUE values recorded in the warm season, with the fishing ban and the reproductive activity of some species in summer, could contribute as a population recovery effect if the fishing effort after the ban is regulated.Antecedentes: El Golfo de California presenta una alta diversidad de organismos marinos y es una de las principales áreas de pesca en México. La pesquería de tiburones y rayas constituye una importante actividad económica con relevancia social. Objetivo: En el presente estudio se estima la riqueza y abundancia relativa (expresada como CPUE), de 15 especies de batoideos capturados por la pesca artesanal en la zona sur de la Isla Espíritu Santo, B.C.S. desde octubre del 2013 a diciembre de 2015. Métodos: Los ejemplares capturados fueron determinados taxonómicamente al nivel de especie, medidos, sexados y pesados. La riqueza específica correspondió al número total de especies capturadas durante el periodo de estudio. Los datos de CPUE fueron estandarizados a 100 metros de red por hora (x100 como factor de escalamiento) y evaluados entre especies y a diferentes escalas temporales (época, año, época por año y meses). Resultados: Se capturó un total de 2198 individuos, agrupados en cuatro órdenes, 10 familias, 10 géneros y 15 especies. El esfuerzo nominal empleado fue de 27560 metros de red y 1763 horas de remojo. Las especies Rostroraja velezi, Pseudobatos glaucostigma, Urobatis maculatus y Mobula mobular fueron adicionadas a los listados ictiofaunísticos existentes para la Isla Espíritu Santo. Mobula munkiana e Hypanus dipterurus, fueron las especies de batoideos con la mayor contribución en abundancia y peso durante el tiempo de la investigación. La primera está protegida por leyes nacionales e internacionales y la segunda es una especie aprovechada comercialmente. Conclusiones: La superposición parcial de los valores de CPUE más altos registrados en la época cálida, con la veda y la actividad reproductiva de algunas especies en verano, podría contribuir como un efecto de recuperación poblacional si se regula el esfuerzo pesquero posterior a la veda

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

K0S and Λ production in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−−√=2.76 TeV

The ALICE measurement of K0S and Λ production at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN−−−√=2.76  TeV is presented. The transverse momentum (pT) spectra are shown for several collision centrality intervals and in the pT range from 0.4  GeV/c (0.6  GeV/c for Λ) to 12  GeV/c. The pT dependence of the Λ/K0S ratios exhibits maxima in the vicinity of 3  GeV/c, and the positions of the maxima shift towards higher pT with increasing collision centrality. The magnitude of these maxima increases by almost a factor of three between most peripheral and most central Pb-Pb collisions. This baryon excess at intermediate pT is not observed in pp interactions at s√=0.9  TeV and at s√=7  TeV. Qualitatively, the baryon enhancement in heavy-ion collisions is expected from radial flow. However, the measured pT spectra above 2  GeV/c progressively decouple from hydrodynamical-model calculations. For higher values of pT, models that incorporate the influence of the medium on the fragmentation and hadronization processes describe qualitatively the pT dependence of the Λ/K0S ratio

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Supplement: "Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914" (2016, ApJL, 826, L13)

This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands