Development of a Model to Estimate the Risk of Emission of Greenhouse Gases from Forest Fires

While the Mediterranean basin is foreseen to be highly affected by climate change (CC) and severe forest fires are expected to be more frequent, international efforts to fight against CC do not consider forest fires' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions risk and the possibility of its mitigation. This is partly due to a lack of a methodology for GHG risk spatial assessment and consideration of the high value of carbon stocks in forest ecosystems and their intrinsic risk. To revert this, an innovative GHG emission risk model has been developed and implemented in a pilot forest area. This model considers geospatial variables to build up emission vulnerability based on potential fire severity and resistance of a landscape, value at risk and the hazard of a fire occurrence. The results classify low, moderate and high emission risks in the analysed areas. This identification of hotspots allows the prioritisation of fire prevention measures in a region to maximise the reduction of GHG emissions in the case of a fire event. This constitutes the first step in a holistic and consistent CC mitigation that not only considers anthropic GHG sources but also possible GHG emissions by forest fires that can be actively prevented, managed and reduced

Frecuencia de tendinitis de De Quervain en estudiantes de medicina y su relación con el uso de smartphones

Introduction: De Quervain‘s tenosynovitis is an inflammation of the abductor tendon sheath long and short extensor of the thumb secondary to acute trauma, extreme exercise and accumulated microtraumas due to excessive thumb use, as in the case of the people who send many text messages per day. Materials and methods: observational, transversal and analytical study. The sample size was 100 medical students from the National University of Asunción, non-probabilistic selection. Results: Sixty three percent of the students were female. A quarter of responders claimed to send more than 200 messages per day. When performing Finkelstein maneuver, it was found that 39% have De Quervain´s tenosynovitis, 25% corresponding to the female gender. 81% of students who perform text messages result in pain in the hand, followed by 92% and 40%, due to pain in the ipsilateral elbow and shoulder, respectively. In addition, 90% present paresthesias in the hands. No relationship was found between the number of sending text messages and the presence of De Quervain´s tenosynovitis. Conclusion: Almost 40% of young people who use smartphones have De Quervain´s tenosynovitis, but the greater use of it does not show a greater predisposition, while other associated factors must be studied.Introducción: La tendinitis de De Quervain es una inflamación de la vaina de los tendones abductor largo y extensor corto del pulgar debido a un trauma agudo, ejercicio extremo o por microtraumas acumulados causados por un uso excesivo del pulgar, como en el caso de las personas que envían muchos mensajes de texto por día. Materiales y método: estudio observacional, transversal y analítico. El tamaño de la muestra fue de 100 estudiantes de medicina de la Universidad Nacional de Asunción, seleccionados de manera no probabilística, a conveniencia. Resultados: El 63% de los encuestados fue de género femenino. El 25% de los estudiantes afirmaron enviar más de 200 mensajes por día. Al efectuar las maniobras de Finkelstein se constató que el 39% presenta tendinitis de De Quervain, de los cuales 25% correspondían al género femenino. El 81% de los estudiantes que realizan mensajes de texto refiere dolor en mano, seguido por 92% y 40%, por dolor en codo y hombro ipsilateral, respectivamente. Además, el 90% presenta parestesias en las manos. No se encontró relación entre el mayor envío de mensajes de texto y la presencia de Tendinitis de De Quervain. Conclusión: Casi el 40% de los jóvenes que usan smartphones presentan tendinitis de De Quervain, pero el mayor uso del mismo no presenta mayor predisposición, debiéndose estudiar otros factores asociados

Epidemiología de los trastornos mentales en niños y adolescentes: un estudio del Departamento de Psiquiatría de la Infancia y la Adolescencia del Hospital de Clínicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay: Epidemiology of mental disorders in children and adolescents: an study of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Hospital of Clínicas, National University of Asunción, Paraguay

Introducción: La infancia representa una época crítica en el desarrollo del ser humano, en el que se cosechan las bases de la salud mental y bienestar del futuro. Los trastornos mentales que se inician en etapas tempranas, como la infancia o adolescencia, conllevan consecuencias hasta la edad adulta, no sólo sanitarias sino también económicas y sociales. Objetivo: El presente trabajo se realizó para identificar los trastornos mentales más frecuentes en niños y adolescentes atendidos en el Departamento de Psiquiatría de la Infancia y la Adolescencia del Hospital de Clínicas de la Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay. Metodología: Estudio observacional descriptivo transverso, con muestreo no probabilístico de casos consecutivos, llevado a cabo en el Departamento de Psiquiatría de la Infancia y la Adolescencia del Hospital de Clínicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Se analizaron 265 historias clínicas de pacientes que consultaron al Departamento mencionado, entre los años 2014 a 2017. Las variables exploradas fueron: edad (en años cumplidos), sexo (masculino, femenino), nivel de escolaridad, domicilio, solicitud de atención psiquiátrica, dinámica familiar e impresión diagnóstica. Los datos fueron analizados utilizando estadística descriptiva.  Resultados: Los 265 pacientes tuvieron un total de 388 diagnósticos de trastornos mentales, siendo que algunos pacientes contaban con dos o más diagnósticos de cada grupo. El grupo de los trastornos del desarrollo es el que ocupó el primer lugar (83 diagnósticos), siguiéndole los trastornos depresivos (79 diagnósticos), los trastornos de la personalidad (47 diagnósticos), los trastornos disruptivos del control de los impulsos y de la conducta (43 diagnósticos) y los trastornos de ansiedad (35 diagnósticos). Discusión: Con base a los resultados, se hace necesaria una mayor incorporación de políticas públicas en materia de salud mental de niños y adolescentes, asegurando profesionales capacitados, más servicios de atención, y más sistemas de promoción y prevención de la salud mental. Palabras clave: Niños; Adolescentes; Trastornos mentale

Midlife Vascular Factors and Prevalence of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Late-Life in Mexico

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its subtypes and investigate the impact of midlife cardiovascular risk factors on late-life MCI among the aging Mexican population. Method: Analyses included a sample of non-demented adults over the age of 55 living in both urban and rural areas of Mexico (N = 1807). MCI diagnosis was assigned based on a comprehensive cognitive assessment assessing the domains of memory, executive functioning, language, and visuospatial ability. The normative sample was selected by means of the robust norms approach. Cognitive impairment was defined by a 1.5-SD cut-off per cognitive domain using normative corrections for age, years of education, and sex. Risk factors included age, education, sex, rurality, depression, insurance status, workforce status, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Results: The prevalence of amnestic MCI was 5.9%. Other MCI subtypes ranged from 4.2% to 7.7%. MCI with and without memory impairment was associated with older age (OR = 1.01 [1.01, 1.05]; OR = 1.03 [1.01, 1.04], respectively) and residing in rural areas (OR = 1.49 [1.08, 2.06]; OR = 1.35 [1.03, 1.77], respectively). Depression (OR = 1.07 [1.02, 1.12]), diabetes (OR = 1.37 [1.03, 1.82]), and years of education (OR = 0.94 [0.91, 0.97]) were associated with MCI without memory impairment. Midlife CVD increased the odds of MCI in late-life (OR = 1.76 [1.19, 2.59], which was driven by both midlife hypertension and diabetes (OR = 1.70 [1.18, 2.44]; OR = 1.88 [1.19, 2.97], respectively). Conclusions: Older age, depression, low education, rurality, and midlife hypertension and diabetes were associated with higher risk of late-life MCI among older adults in Mexico. Our findings suggest that the causes of cognitive impairment are multifactorial and vary by MCI subtype

Traffic Density Exposure, Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Plasma Metabolomics in a Population-Based Sample: The Hortega Study

Exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) generates oxidative stress, with downstream effects at the metabolic level. Human studies of traffic density and metabolomic markers, however, are rare. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the cross-sectional association between traffic density in the street of residence with oxidative stress and metabolomic profiles measured in a population-based sample from Spain. We also explored in silico the potential biological implications of the findings. Secondarily, we assessed the contribution of oxidative stress to the association between exposure to traffic density and variation in plasma metabolite levels. Traffic density was defined as the average daily traffic volume over an entire year within a buffer of 50 m around the participants' residence. Plasma metabolomic profiles and urine oxidative stress biomarkers were measured in samples from 1181 Hortega Study participants by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Traffic density was associated with 7 (out of 49) plasma metabolites, including amino acids, fatty acids, products of bacterial and energy metabolism and fluid balance metabolites. Regarding urine oxidative stress biomarkers, traffic associations were positive for GSSG/GSH% and negative for MDA. A total of 12 KEGG pathways were linked to traffic-related metabolites. In a protein network from genes included in over-represented pathways and 63 redox-related candidate genes, we observed relevant proteins from the glutathione cycle. GSSG/GSH% and MDA accounted for 14.6% and 12.2% of changes in isobutyrate and the CH2CH2CO fatty acid moiety, respectively, which is attributable to traffic exposure. At the population level, exposure to traffic density was associated with specific urine oxidative stress and plasma metabolites. Although our results support a role of oxidative stress as a biological intermediary of traffic-related metabolic alterations, with potential implications for the co-bacterial and lipid metabolism, additional mechanistic and prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.This research was funded by the State Agency for Research (PID2019-108973RB-C21 and C22), by Strategic Action for Research in Health Sciences (PI15/00071 and PI22CIII/00029) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-funded with European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER), and IDIFEDER/2021/072, CIAICO/2022/181 and INVEST/2023/180 from the Generalitat Valenciana of Spain.S

More than a century to witness digital literacy in Peru

La tecnología digital desde su aparición en el mundo, tomó su tiempo para llegar al Perú en el siglo XX, y lentamente va adquiriendo su consolidación hoy en el siglo XXI gracias a los procesos de alfabetización digital, por ello es necesario y urgente que los peruanos debemos contar con una alfabetización digital sostenible promovida por el sector educación; el Ministerio de Educación y las Universidades, para que profesionales o no se desenvuelvan de manera óptima respeto al manejo de la información en todos los sectores y ámbitos, aportando de esa manera al desarrollo de nuestro país.Digital technology since its appearance in the world, took its time to reach Peru in the twentieth century, and little by little it is acquiring its consolidation today in the 21st century thanks to the processes of digital literacy, therefore, it is necessary and urgent that Peruvians have a sustainable digital literacy promoted by the education sector; the Ministry of Education and Universities, for professionals or not to function optimally with respect to the management of information in all sectors and areas, thus contributing to the development of our country.A tecnologia digital desde seu aparecimento no mundo, levou seu tempo para chegar ao Peru no século XX, e está lentamente adquirindo sua consolidação hoje no século XXI graças aos processos de alfabetização digital, por isso é necessário e urgente que os peruanos tenham uma alfabetização digital sustentável promovida pelo setor educacional, pelo Ministério da Educação e pelas Universidades, para que os profissionais possam ou não se desenvolver de forma ótima no que diz respeito à gestão da informação em todos os setores e áreas, contribuindo assim para o desenvolvimento de nosso país

Connecting biology, optics and nanomechanical properties in micro-wasps

Coloration in insects provides a fruitful opportunity for interdisciplinary research involving both physics and biology, and for a better understanding of the design principles of biological structures. In this research we used nanometric and micrometric analyses to investigate the morphological and mechanical properties of the black-orange-black (BOB) color pattern in scelionid wasps, which has never been studied. The primary objective of the present investigation was to explore the structural and mechanical differences in the mesoscutum of four species: Baryconus with an orange mesosoma (i.e. BOB pattern), all black Baryconus, Scelio with an orange mesosoma (i.e. BOB pattern), and all black Scelio. The most outstanding findings include the absence of multilayer structures that generate structural color, a pigment concentrated in the upper surface of the epicuticle, and surprising differences between the four species. Three of the four species showed an accordion-like structure in the furrow (notaulus), whereas the adjacent mesoscutum was different in each species. Moreover, the normalized color component spectra for blue, green and red colors of the black mesoscutum of each genus showed the same spectral dependence while the orange color manifested small changes in the dominant wavelength, resulting in slightly different orange tones.Universidad de Costa Rica/[111-B2-A51]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[801-B5-A50]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Biología Celular y Molecular (CIBCM)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales (CICIMA)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Gene-environment interaction analysis of redox-related metals and genetic variants with plasma metabolic patterns in a general population from Spain: The Hortega Study

Background: Limited studies have evaluated the joint influence of redox-related metals and genetic variation on metabolic pathways. We analyzed the association of 11 metals with metabolic patterns, and the interacting role of candidate genetic variants, in 1145 participants from the Hortega Study, a population-based sample from Spain. Methods: Urine antimony (Sb), arsenic, barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V), and plasma copper (Cu), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) were measured by ICP-MS and AAS, respectively. We summarized 54 plasma metabolites, measured with targeted NMR, by estimating metabolic principal components (mPC). Redox-related SNPs (N = 291) were measured by oligo-ligation assay. Results: In our study, the association with metabolic principal component (mPC) 1 (reflecting non-essential and essential amino acids, including branched chain, and bacterial co-metabolism versus fatty acids and VLDL subclasses) was positive for Se and Zn, but inverse for Cu, arsenobetaine-corrected arsenic (As) and Sb. The association with mPC2 (reflecting essential amino acids, including aromatic, and bacterial co-metabolism) was inverse for Se, Zn and Cd. The association with mPC3 (reflecting LDL subclasses) was positive for Cu, Se and Zn, but inverse for Co. The association for mPC4 (reflecting HDL subclasses) was positive for Sb, but inverse for plasma Zn. These associations were mainly driven by Cu and Sb for mPC1; Se, Zn and Cd for mPC2; Co, Se and Zn for mPC3; and Zn for mPC4. The most SNP-metal interacting genes were NOX1, GSR, GCLC, AGT and REN. Co and Zn showed the highest number of interactions with genetic variants associated to enriched endocrine, cardiovascular and neurological pathways. Conclusions: Exposures to Co, Cu, Se, Zn, As, Cd and Sb were associated with several metabolic patterns involved in chronic disease. Carriers of redox-related variants may have differential susceptibility to metabolic alterations associated to excessive exposure to metals.This work was supported by the Strategic Action for Research in Health sciences [CP12/03080, PI15/00071, PI10/0082, PI13/01848, PI14/00874, PI16/01402, PI21/00506 and PI11/00726], CIBER Fisio patología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN) (CIBER-02-08-2009, CB06/03 and CB12/03/30,016), the State Agency for Research (PID2019-108973RB- C21 and C22), the Valencia Government (GRUPOS 03/101; PROMETEO/2009/029 and ACOMP/2013/039, IDI FEDER/2021/072 and GRISOLIAP/2021/119), the Castilla-Leon Government (GRS/279/A/08) and European Network of Excellence Ingenious Hypercare (EPSS-037093) from the European Commission. The Strategic Action for Research in Health sciences, CIBERDEM and CIBEROBN are initiatives from Carlos III Health Institute Madrid and cofunded with European Funds for Regional Development (FEDER). The State Agency for Research and Carlos III Health Institute belong to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. ADR received the support of a fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) (fellowship code “LCF/BQ/DR19/11740016”). MGP received the support of a fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434, fellowship code LCFLCF/BQ/DI18/11660001). The funding bodies had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.S

Projeto REMAS: Gestão do risco de emissões de gases com efeito de estufa em incêndios florestais

Trabajo presentado en el 9º Congresso Florestal Nacional Portugal, celebrado en Funchal (Portugal) del 10 al 14 de Octubre de 2022.O fogo é uma parte essencial na formação da paisagem mediterrânica e de alguns processos ecológicos que aí ocorrem. Dependendo das características do fogo, as características da vegetação e as propriedades do solo podem alterar-se significativamente. Os efeitos do fogo a longo prazo ainda não são bem compreendidos, principalmente na região mediterrânica. O SUDOE, espaço que compreende o Sudoeste da Europa, necessita de florestas saudáveis e funcionais que garantam o fornecimento de bens e serviços para as sociedades rurais. O projeto REMAS-SUDOE, cujos parceiros são a Universidade Politécnica de Valência (UPV, ES), Universidade de Valência (UV-CIDE, ES), Diputación de Valencia (DIVAL, ES), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA, ES), Município de Loulé (CML, PT), Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA/Ulisboa, PT), Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux Aquitaine (Bordeaux Sciences Agro, FR), e coordenação da AMUFOR - Asociación de Municipios Forestales de la Comunidad Valenciana (ES), visa melhorar a ligação e a eficácia dos planos de prevenção e recuperação de incêndio, incluindo a gestão de risco de emissões de gases com efeito estufa resultantes de incêndios florestais nas regiões do espaço SUDOE, que são as mais vulneráveis aos impactes das alterações climáticas. O projeto tem como objetivo (i) quantificar orisco de emissão de gases com efeito de estufa (GEE) em áreas sujeitas a incêndios florestais; (ii) quantificar e desenvolver cartografia de armazenamento de carbono; (iii) propor medidas de recuperação pós incêndio, com vista à minimização do dano e à aceleração da recuperação dos stocks de carbono; e (iv) contribuir para incluir a gestão do risco de emissões de GEE por incêndios florestais no planeamento nacional, e das regiões SUDOE. As áreas de estudo do projeto estão situadas em Chelva (Comunidade Valenciana, Espanha), Parque Natural do Alto TajoTejo (Guadalajara, Espanha), e em Landes de Gascogne (Aquitânia, França). Em Portugal, a área de estudo é a Serra do Caldeirão no Algarve, onde domina o sobreiral. No âmbito do projeto, a estimativa do risco de emissão de GEE tem sido feita com deteção remota, sistemas de informação geográfica (SIG) e com base em informação recolhida em campo dos stocks de carbono na vegetação e solos, tanto em áreas ardidas como não ardidas, com e sem gestão, para analisar os efeitos do fogo e da gestão na dinâmica do carbono. Os principais resultados apontam para uma perda instantânea de carbono de 0 a 89% após o fogo, sendo mais elevada na área de estudo francesa (dominada por pinheiro-bravo). A perda de carbono no tempo é entre 200 e 530 kg C ha-1 ano-1, sendo maior em Chelva. A recuperação total da capacidade de sequestro de carbono foi avaliada em 3 anos após o fogo na Serra do Caldeirão, sendo a recuperação mais rápida de todas as áreas de estudo, o que mostra uma elevada resiliência das florestas de sobreiro ao fogo. Os resultados preliminares para a Serra do Caldeirão indicam que o stock de carbono na vegetação é de cerca de 16 ton C ha-1 e mostram uma boa recuperação das propriedades físicas e químicas dos solos, 8 e 16 anos após os incêndios. Estes resultados irão permitir identificar as melhores práticas para diminuir o risco de emissão de GEE e para ações de restauro de áreas ardidas.Estudo desenvolvido no âmbito do projeto REMAS-SUDOE “Gestão do risco de emissões de gases com efeito de estufa por incêndios florestais”, financiado pelo Programa INTERREG SUDOE, FEDER (UE), referência REMAS – SOE3/P4/E0954