Catálogo y caracterización de pasos de agua y taludes en el corredor vial, antigua banca del Ferrocarril, sector Boquerón, del municipio de Dosquebradas, Risaralda

CD-T 551.307 G165c; 92 pEl presente trabajo entrega los resultados diagnósticos del estado de infraestructura hidráulica y de taludes en el corredor vial, antigua banca del ferrocarril sector Boquerón del municipio de Dosquebradas, Risaralda. En un tramo de intervención de 6,11 Km, en él se tiene el inventario de los diferentes pasos de agua y taludes existentes, sus características y condiciones actuales. A partir de la identificación de cada uno de estos, se tiene una serie de procedimientos realizados y resultados obtenidos a lo largo del proceso, que van desde ensayos de laboratorio como análisis estadístico de los parámetros más importantes y relevantes para la caracterización. Finalmente se cuenta con diferentes medidas de mitigación tanto para pasos de agua como para estabilidad de taludes y una serie de conclusiones y recomendaciones a considerar a lo largo del tramo vial objeto de estudio que involucra la dinámica hidráulica y el nivel de riesgo sobre la vía de los taludes adyacentes a esta.Universidad Libre Seccional Pereir

Las especies exóticas predominan en la flora leñosa urbana de Chile central

The expansion of cities promotes the replacement of local biotas with exotic species causing a decrease in global diversity.As urbanization continues to expand, efforts directed towards the conservation within urban landscapes could supportregional biodiversity conservation. The biogeographic region of central Chile displays a native flora of global importancebecause of its high endemism. Up to date, studies analysing the composition of the floras within the cities are scarce. Thepresent study aims at characterizing the compositional and distributional patterns of the ornamental flora of five cities ofcentral Chile (La Serena, Valparaíso, Santiago, Rancagua, and Talca). For this purpose, we sampled several streets andsquares recording all woody species. The species were then characterized by their biogeographical origin and incidence.It was recorded 302 species of which approx. 86% were exotic and 14% were native, a consistent pattern found in the fivecities studied; these results contrast with the European urban flora, where native species can usually overcome 50% of theplant species. Almost half of the exotic species had their origin in Asia (including Australasia, Temperate, and TropicalAsia), Europe, and North America. Consequently, the representation of the regional flora within the urban context is lowfor central Chile, with the native species registered, accounting for only 0.81% of the total species described for thecountry. Urban habitats could support regional biodiversity conservation, so a shift towards sustainable urban planningcould promote local biological conservation.La expansión de las ciudades promueve el reemplazo de biotas locales (nativas) por especies exóticas, lo que causa unadisminución en la diversidad. A medida que la urbanización continúa, los esfuerzos dirigidos a la conservación dentrode los paisajes urbanos podrían apoyar la conservación de la biodiversidad regional. La región biogeográfica de ChileCentral muestra una flora nativa de importancia mundial debido a su alto endemismo. No obstante, hasta la fecha haypocos estudios que analicen la composición de las floras dentro de las ciudades de esta región. El presente estudio analizala composición de la flora ornamental para cinco ciudades de Chile central: La Serena, Valparaíso, Santiago, Rancaguay Talca. Para ello realizamos un muestreo de calles y plazas de estas ciudades, registrando especies de plantas leñosas,distinguiendo su origen biogeográfico y su incidencia. Se registraron 302 especies de las cuales aprox. el 86% fueronespecies exóticas y el 14% nativas, patrón numéricamente consistente en las cinco ciudades estudiadas. Casi la mitad delas especies exóticas provienen de Asia (incluyendo Australasia y Asia tropical y templada), Norteamérica y Europa. Enconsecuencia, la representación de la flora regional dentro del contexto urbano es baja para el centro de Chile. Los habitatsurbanos podrían apoyar la conservación de la biodiversidad regional, por lo que un cambio hacia una planificación urbanasostenible podría promover la conservación biológica local

Flora vascular en el espacio público de Santiago, Chile

After an extensive two-year long research effort, the results document the diversity of vascular plants that grow in the public spaces of Santiago, Chile. We analyze the taxonomic composition, life-forms and phytogeographic origin of the vascular flora of Santiago and, finally, we compare the results with those of urban areas in the Northern Hemisphere. We identified 508 species, 100 families, and 338 genera. The families that showed the greatest richness were Asteraceae and Poaceae. We found that at least 85.1% of the species are exotic. The life-forms are similarly represented, although chamaephytes and geophytes are poorly represented. We conclude that the composition of the urban flora of Santiago differs from that of most Northern Hemisphere cities, due to the increased presence of exotic species, which is likely a consequence of the historical and cultural patterns of ornamentation. Therefore it is likely that this urban area would be an adverse environment for the establishment and development of native species.Los resultados documentan la diversidad de plantas vasculares que se desarrollan en el espacio público de Santiago en una investigación que se prolongó por dos años. Nosotros analizamos la composición taxonómica, la forma de vida y el origen fitogeográfico de la flora vascular y, finalmente, comparamos los resultados con aquellos de áreas urbanas del Hemisferio Norte. Se reconocen 508 especies, 100 familias y 338 géneros. Las familias que tienen mayor riqueza fueron Asteraceae y Poaceae. El 85,1% de las especies son exóticas. Las formas de vida están similarmente representadas, aunque las caméfitas y las geófitas están muy poco representadas. Concluimos que la composición de la flora urbana de Santiago se distingue de la mayoría de las ciudades del Hemisferio Norte por el mayor número de especies exóticas, que es probablemente una consecuencia de los patrones históricos y culturales de ornamentación, al tiempo que los espacios urbanos parecen representar un ambiente adverso para el establecimiento y desarrollo de especies nativas

A 12-month prospective real-life study of opicapone efficacy and tolerability in Emirati and non-White subjects with Parkinson's disease based in United Arab Emirates

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, and the condition is complicated by the emergence of wearing off/motor fluctuations with levodopa treatment after a variable period. COMT inhibitors when used as adjunct therapy to levodopa tend to smoothen out these wearing off fluctuations by enhancing delivery of levodopa and increasing its bioavailability to the brain. The study was conducted to investigate the motor and nonmotor effect, safety and tolerability of the third generation once-daily COMT inhibitor (opicapone), as add-on, adjuvant therapy to levodopa and at 6 and 12 months follow-up in a real-life cohort of consecutive Emirati and non-White PD patients. A real-life observational analysis using tolerability parameters as used previously by Rizos et al. and Shulman et al. based on clinical database of cases rat Kings College Hospital Dubai Parkinson care database. This was a prospective, single-arm follow-up clinical evaluation study that evaluated the effectiveness of opicapone 50 mg once-daily regime in 50 patients diagnosed with idiopathic neurodegenerative disorder. All patients were assessed with scales used in clinical pathway and include motor Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), nonmotor symptom scale (NMSS), quality of life (PDQ8) Parkinson's fatigue scale (PFS16) and King's Parkinson's Pain Scale (KIPS). Out of 50 patients treated with opicapone (72% male, mean age 66.9 years (SD 9.9, range 41-82 years) and mean duration of disease 5.7 years (SD 2.5 range (2-11), there was significant statistical improvements shown in motor function-UPDRS part 3: baseline 40.64 ± 2.7, at 6 months 32.12 ± 3.14 and after 12 months 33.72 ± 3.76. Nonmotor burden NMSS: 107.00 ± 21.86, at 6 months 100.78 ± 17.28 and 12 months 96.88 ± 16.11. Reduction in dyskinesias (UPDRS part 4): baseline 8.78 ± 1.07, at 6 months 7.4 ± 0.81 and 12 months 6.82 ± 0.75. Opicapone provides beneficial motor and nonmotor effects in Emirati and other non-White Parkinson's patients, resident in UAE, proving its efficacy across different racial groups as COMT activity may vary between races.S

Chaudhuri’s Dashboard of Vitals in Parkinson’s syndrome: an unmet need underpinned by real life clinical tests

We have recently published the notion of the “vitals” of Parkinson’s, a conglomeration of signs and symptoms, largely nonmotor, that must not be missed and yet often not considered in neurological consultations, with considerable societal and personal detrimental consequences. This “dashboard,” termed the Chaudhuri’s vitals of Parkinson’s, are summarized as 5 key vital symptoms or signs and comprise of (a) motor, (b) nonmotor, (c) visual, gut, and oral health, (d) bone health and falls, and finally (e) comorbidities, comedication, and dopamine agonist side effects, such as impulse control disorders. Additionally, not addressing the vitals also may reflect inadequate management strategies, leading to worsening quality of life and diminished wellness, a new concept for people with Parkinson’s. In this paper, we discuss possible, simple to use, and clinically relevant tests that can be used to monitor the status of these vitals, so that these can be incorporated into clinical practice. We also use the term Parkinson’s syndrome to describe Parkinson’s disease, as the term “disease” is now abandoned in many countries, such as the U.K., reflecting the heterogeneity of Parkinson’s, which is now considered by many as a syndrome

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Mannose-binding lectin-deficient genotypes as a risk factor of pneumococcal meningitis in infants

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate to evaluate the role of mannose-binding-lectin deficient genotypes in pneumococcal meningitis (PM) in children. METHODS: We performed a 16-year retrospective study (January 2001 to March 2016) including patients ≤ 18 years with PM. Variables including attack rate of pneumococcal serotype (high or low invasive capacity) and MBL2 genotypes associated with low serum MBL levels were recorded. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were included in the study. Median age was 18.5 months and 17/48 episodes (35.4%) occurred in children ≤ 12 months old. Serotypes with high-invasive disease potential were identified in 15/48 episodes (31.2%). MBL2 deficient genotypes accounted for 18.8% (9/48). Children ≤ 12 months old had a 7-fold risk (95% CI: 1.6-29.9; p 12 months old. A sub-analysis of patients by age group revealed significant proportions of carriers of MBL2 deficient genotypes among those ≤ 12 months old with PM caused by opportunistic serotypes (54.5%), admitted to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) (46.7%) and of White ethnicity (35.7%). These proportions were significantly higher than in older children (all p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that differences in MBL2 genotype in children ≤12 months old affects susceptibility to PM, and it may have an important role in the episodes caused by non-high invasive disease potential serotypes

Characterization of Direct Push Vadose Zone Sediments from the T and TY Waste Management Areas

This report contains all the geochemical and selected physical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from 5 direct push characterization holes emplaced to investigate vadose zone contamination associated with leaks from tanks 241-TY-105 (UPR-200-W-152) and 241-TY-106 (UPR-200-W-153). Tank 241-TY-105 is estimated to have leaked 35,000 gal of tributyl phosphate (TBP) waste from the uranium recovery process to the vadose zone in 1960. Tank 241-TY-106 is estimated to have leaked 20,000 gal of TBP-uranium recovery waste to the vadose zone in 1959. Although several drywells in the vicinity of tank 241-TY-106 contain measurable quantities of cesium-137 and/or cobalt-60, their relatively low concentrations indicate that the contaminant inventory in the vadose zone around tank 241-TY-106 is quite small. Additionally, this report contains all the geochemical and selected physical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from 7 direct push characterization holes emplaced to investigate vadose zone contamination associated with an overfill event and leak from tank 241-T-101

Characterization of Direct Push Vadose Zone Sediments from the 241-U Single-Shell Tank Farm

The overall goals of the Tank Farm Vadose Zone Project, led by CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., are 1) to define risks from past and future single-shell tank farm activities, 2) to identify and evaluate the efficacy of interim measures, and 3) to aid, via collection of geochemical information and data, the future decisions that must be made by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding the near-term operations, future waste retrieval, and final closure activities for the single-shell tank Waste Management Areas (WMAs). For a more complete discussion of the goals of the Tank Farm Vadose Zone Project, see the overall work plan, Phase 1 RCRA Facility Investigation/Corrective Measures Study Work Plan for the Single-Shell Tank Waste Management Areas (DOE 1999). Specific details on the rationale for activities performed at WMA U are found in Crumpler (2003). To meet these goals, CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc., asked scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to perform detailed analyses of vadose zone sediment collected within the U Single-Shell Tank Farm. Specifically, this report contains all the geochemical and selected physical characterization data collected on vadose zone sediment recovered from ten direct push characterization holes emplaced to investigate vadose zone contamination associated with potential leaks within the 241-U Single-Shell Tank Farm. Specific tanks targeted during this characterization campaign included tanks 241-U-104/241-U-105, 241-U-110, and 241-U-112. Additionally, this report compiles data from direct push samples collected north of tank 241-U-201, as well as sediment collected from the background borehole (C3393). After evaluating all the characterization and analytical data, there is no question that the vadose zone in the vicinity of tanks 241-U-104 and 241-U-105 has been contaminated by tank-related waste. This observation is not new, as gamma logging of drywells in the area has identified uranium contamination at the same depths interrogated by push hole C5602. Given that the deepest sample string analyzed from push hole C5602 contained trace activities of technetium-99, it is obvious that tank waste contamination has impacted the vadose zone to at least a depth of 92 ft bgs at this location. However, the scope of the sampling campaign was to acquire additional samples to better understand the aerial extent of contamination in the U Tank Farm; therefore, future characterization activities (i.e., a borehole) will be required to understand the total vertical depth of contamination at this location