El caballo de bronce de Cancho Roano

Este trabajo da a conocer una pieza excepcional hallada en Cancho Roano durante la campaña de excavación de 1990. Se trata de un caballo de bronce de pequeño tamaño y muy buena factura, que quizá formó parte de un carrito votivo. Formaba parte de un deposito votivo de la estancia w-2, una de las habitaciones contiguas al edificio principal

Evaluación de la remoción de fármacos presentes en agua residual mediante dos procesos combinados: oxidación electroquímica-lodos activados y oxidación enzimática-lodos activados

Drug degradation in conventional wastewater treatment plants is a huge challenge; given the fact that municipal and hospital wastewater effluents contain pharmaceuticals in low concentrations and biodegradable organic matter in higher concentrations, biodegradable organic matter turns out to be the main pollutant. Several drugs have proved to be recalcitrant and persistent in wastewater treatment plants and these substances are toxic to different bioindicators. To diminish the problem caused by the presence of drugs in wastewater, three different processes of drug removal were evaluated in this work. Two combined processes (pre-treatment- activated sludge) were enzymatic-activated sludge and electrochemical oxidation-activated sludge. The third process evaluated was a single enzymatic process. The drugs considered in this study are: bezafibrate, gemfibrozil, indomethacin and sulfamethoxazole. In the combined processes, the main aim was to simultaneously eliminate pharmaceutical compounds and biodegradable organic matter in synthetic wastewater using a two stage treatment train. The first stage was a pre-treatment to partially degrade the drugs (forming more biodegradable intermediates) controlling the operation conditions to avoid degrading biodegradable organic matter. The second stage was aimed to simultaneously degrade the previously oxidized drugs and BOM by activated sludge. In the third process, degradation of bezafibrate, gemfibrozil, indomethacin, diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole was evaluated by ligninolytic enzymes produced by three basidiomycetes: Trametes maxima, Pleurotus sp. and Pycnoporus sanguineus. In enzymatic-activated sludge processes, a commercial product used (Biolite®) contained laccase enzyme in low concentrations. The pre-treatment consisted in removing BGIS with 0.3 g L-1 of Biolite® (this concentration was previously selected based on specific activity of this commercial product) in synthetic wastewater in one hour of reaction time. Low drug removal efficiencies were obtained: bezafibrate, 1.5% for gemfibrozil, 0.24% for indomethacin and 4.92% for sulfamethoxazole. However, these compounds were completely eliminated in the activated sludge reactor without affecting the performance in biodegradable v organic matter removal (83.77%), whereas the activated sludge system without enzymatic pre-treatment only removed 68% of organic matter and 40% of sulfamethoxazole.Also, the degradation of bezafibrate, gemfibrozil, indomethacin, sulfamethoxazole and diclofenac drugs was evaluated by laccase and manganese peroxidase enzymes produced by three basidiomycete fungi (Trametes maxima, Pleurotus sp. and Pycnosporus sanguineus) grown in Sivakumar culture. In this experiment, the highest efficiency of drug degradation was obtained with Trametes maxima, which produced the enzymatic extract with the highest specific activity: laccase (1985.7 ± 67.4 U mg-1 ) and manganese peroxidase (387.6 ± 67.4 U mg-1 ). In one hour of reaction, the enzymatic extract produced by Trametes maxima degraded 32.59, 90.2, 43.39, 60.76 and 72.62% of bezafibrate, diclofenac, gemfibrozil, indomethacin and sulfamethoxazole, respectively. In this work, the degradation of drugs is attributed to manganese peroxidase enzyme due to the correlation between the enzymatic activity and removal % in the three species evaluated. In addition, it was found that laccase enzyme can only degrade diclofenac. In electro-oxidation-activated sludge process for the simultaneous removal of recalcitrant bezafibrate, gemfibrozil, indomethacin and sulfamethoxazole drugs and biodegradable organic matter from wastewater, high removal efficiencies were attained without affecting the performance of activated sludge too. Drugs degradation was performed by advanced electrochemical oxidation and the activated sludge process for biodegradable organic matter degradation in a continuous reactor. The selected electrochemical parameters from microelectrolysis tests (1.2 L s−1 and 1.56 mA cm−2 ) were maintained to operate a filter press laboratory reactor FM01-LC using boron-doped diamond as anode. The low current density was chosen in order to remove drugs without decreasing organic matter and chlorine concentration control, so as to avoid bulking in the biological process. The wastewater previously treated by FM01-LC was fed directly (without chemical modification) to the activated sludge reactor to remove 100% of drugs and 83% of biodegradable organic matter; conversely, drugs contained in wastewater without electrochemical pre-treatment were persistent in the biological process and promoted bulkingThe analysis of the metagenomics footprint of the microbial communities present in activated sludge fed with synthetic wastewater and drugs showed that the enzymatic and electrochemical pre-treatments as well as the presence of drugs modified the microbial community structure of the activated sludge with respect to the activated sludge reactor fed with only synthetic wastewater. In spite of this, the performance of activated sludge in the removal of biodegradable organic matter by the two processes was efficient.La degradación de fármacos en plantas convencionales de tratamiento de aguas residuales representa un reto, ya que los efluentes de aguas residuales municipales y hospitalarios contienen productos farmacéuticos en bajas concentraciones, y materia orgánica biodegradable, en mayor concentración. Varios fármacos han mostrado ser recalcitrantes y persistentes en es las plantas de tratamiento, además de ser tóxicos sobre diversas especies bioindicadoras. Para contribuir a disminuir la problemática provocada por la presencia de fármacos en aguas residuales; en este trabajo se evaluaron tres diferentes procesos para remover los fármacos; dos de ellos, fueron procesos combinados y uno enzimático. Los fármacos considerados en este trabajo son: bezafibrato, gemfibrozil, indometacina y sulfametoxazol. En los procesos combinados, el objetivo fue proponer un tren de tratamiento para la eliminación simultánea de los fármacos y materia orgánica biodegradable presentes en agua residual sintética, a través de dos etapas: la primera o pre-tratamiento, tiene como propósito degradar parcialmente los fármacos (formar intermediarios más biodegradables), controlando las condiciones de operación para evitar la oxidación de la materia orgánica biodegradable; la segunda etapa, tiene como objetivo degradar simultáneamente los fármacos previamente oxidados junto con la materia orgánica por los lodos activados. En el tercer proceso se evaluó la degradación de los fármacos bezafibrato, gemfibrozil, indometacina, diclofenaco y sulfametoxazol por enzima lignolíticas producidas por tres hongos basidomicetos, Trametes maxima, Pleurotus sp y Pycnoporus sanguineus en un medio de cultivo idóneo. Con respecto a la evaluación del sistema combinado enzimático-lodos activados, en el pre tratamiento se utilizó el producto comercial Biolite® , el cual contiene la enzima lacasa en bajas concentraciones. Utilizando 300 mg L-1 del producto comercial en agua residual sintética, en una hora de reacción, se removieron: 25 % de bezafibrato, 1.5 % de gemfibrozil, 0.24% de indometacina y 4.92 % de sulfametoxazol; no obstante, estos compuestos fueron ii eliminados completamente en el reactor de lodos activados sin verse afectado el desempeño en la remoción de la materia orgánica (83.77 %) del agua residual por los lodos activados. Mientras que el sistema de lodos activados sin pre tratamiento enzimático, sólo removió 68 % de la materia orgánica biodegradable y 40% del fármaco sulfametoxazol. Adicionalmente, se evaluó la degradación de los fármacos bezafibrato, gemfibrozil, indometacina, sulfametoxazol y diclofenaco, por las enzimas lacasa y manganeso peroxidasa producidas por tres hongos basidomicetos (Trametes maxima, Pleurotus sp. y Pycnoporus sanguineus) en medio de cultivo Sivakumar. En este experimento, la mayor eficiencia de degradación de fármacos se obtuvo con el hongo Trametes maxima, el cual produjo el extracto enzimático con mayores actividades específicas: lacasa (1985.7 ± 67.4 U mg-1 de proteína) y manganeso peroxidasa (387.6 ± 67.4 U mg-1 de proteína). En una hora de reacción, el extracto enzimático producido por este hongo degradó 32.59; 90.2; 43.39; 60.76 y 72.62 % de los fármacos bezafibrato, diclofenaco, gemfibrozil, indometacina y sulfametoxazol, respectivamente. En este trabajo se atribuye la degradación de los fármacos a la enzima manganeso peroxidasa debido a la correlación entre la actividad enzimática y el porcentaje de degradación de todos los fármacos en los tres hongos evaluados; además se encontró que la enzima lacasa por si sola no fue capaz de degradar los fármacos seleccionados a excepción del diclofenaco. En lo que respecta al sistema combinado electroquímico-lodos activados, para el retratamiento electroquímico, se determinaron los parámetros de operación del reactor de laboratorio tipo filtro prensa FM01-LC con recirculación (flujo de 1.2 L s-1 y densidad de corriente de 1.56 mA cm-2 ), utilizando como ánodo el diamante dopado con boro. Los parámetros de operación del reactor fueron seleccionados a partir de las pruebas de microelectrólisis, con el fin de transformar la biodegradabilidad de los fármacos, sin modificar la concentración de la materia orgánica y asimismo, controlar la producción de cloro para que, por un lado, evitar la formación de microorganismos filamentosos causantes de “bulking” en el proceso biológico, y por otro lado, para no afectar la operación de los lodos activados. Las aguas residuales tratadas previamente en el reactor FM01-LC, se alimentaron directamente al reactor de lodos activados para eliminar el 100% de los fármacos iii y 83% de la materia orgánica biodegradable; por el contrario, los fármacos contenidos en las aguas residuales, sin pre tratamiento electroquímico previo, fueron persistentes en el proceso biológico y provocaron la formación de bulking. El análisis de huella metagenómica de las comunidades microbianas presentes en los reactores de lodos activados, alimentados con agua residual y fármacos, mostraron que los pre-tratamientos enzimático y electroquímico, así como la presencia de fármacos modificaron la estructura de la comunidad microbiana de los lodos activados, con respecto al reactor de lodos activados alimentado con agua residual; a pesar de esto, el desempeño de los lodos activados en la remoción de la materia orgánica biodegradable fue eficiente

Symptoms and severity of visual stress in nursing students: implications for education and healthcare settings

Visual Stress reportedly affects 5-12% of the general population and 20-30% of people with dyslexia. Symptoms are characterized by visual discomfort and perceptual distortions when viewing lines of text, and can be exacerbated by fluorescent lighting and bright paper. In this study, nursing students reported their levels of visual discomfort while reading text on contemporary (ultra-white) paper and on beige-coloured paper, under either standard classroom-lighting (600 lux; n = 31) or reduced illumination(400 lux; n = 25). Under the standard lighting, 10(28%) of subjects reported notable levels of Visual Stress (scoring ≥15 on a visual discomfort scale of 1-30). When reading from the beige-coloured paper the group reported less discomfort across all six symptoms. These differences were statistically significant for five of the six symptoms and the total discomfort score. The results were similar but less pronounced for the group in the reduced illumination condition. This study found that Visual Stress-related reading discomfort can also affect capable readers and, moreover, that simple adjustments to lighting and/or visual media can alleviate such symptoms. The implications of these findings for organisational practice in education and healthcare settings are discussed. El estrés visual puede afectar del 5 al 12% de la población general y del 20 al 30% de las personas con dislexia. Los síntomas se caracterizan por incomodidad visual y distorsiones de la percepción visual en la lectura, y pueden agravarse con la iluminación fluorescente y el papel brillante. En este estudio, estudiantes de enfermería expresan niveles de incomodidad visual al leer texto en papel ultrablanco y en papel de color beige, ya sea con iluminación estándar del aula (600 lux; n = 31) o con iluminación reducida (400 lux ; n = 25). Bajo la iluminación estándar, 10 (28%) de los sujetos informaron niveles notables de estrés visual (puntuación ? 15 en una escala de1 a 30). Al leer en color beige, el grupo presentó menos malestar en los síntomas. Estas diferencias fueron estadísticamente significativas para cinco síntomas y el total de malestar. Los resultados fueron menos pronunciados para el grupo en la condición de iluminación reducida. Encontrándose que la incomodidad de lectura relacionada con estrés visual también puede afectar a lectores expertos y, además, que simples ajustes a la iluminación y/o medios visuales pueden reducirla. Se discuten las implicaciones para la práctica en entornos educativos y sanitarios

Detecting and Modeling the Changes of Land Use/Cover for Land Use Planning in Da Nang City, Viet Nam

The geometrical accuracy of georeferenced digital surfacemodels (DTM) obtained fromimages captured bymicro-UAVs and processed by using structure frommotion (SfM) photogrammetry depends on several factors, including flight design, camera quality, camera calibration, SfM algorithms and georeferencing strategy. This paper focusses on the critical role of the number and location of ground control points (GCP) used during the georeferencing stage. A challenging case study involving an area of 1200+ ha, 100+ GCP and 2500+ photos was used. Three thousand, four hundred and sixty-five different combinations of control points were introduced in the bundle adjustment, whilst the accuracy of the model was evaluated using both control points and independent check points. The analysis demonstrates how much the accuracy improves as the number of GCP points increases, as well as the importance of an even distribution, how much the accuracy is overestimated when it is quantified only using control points rather than independent check points, and how the ground sample distance (GSD) of a project relates to the maximum accuracy that can be achieved

The impact of three types of writing intervention on students' writing quality

Students' writing constitutes a topic of major concern due to its importance in school and in daily life. To mitigate students' writing problems, school-based interventions have been implemented in the past, but there is still a need to examine the effectiveness of different types of writing interventions that use robust design methodologies. Hence, the present study followed a longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled design using a multilevel modeling analysis with 370 fourth-grade students (nested in 20 classes). The classes were randomly assigned to four conditions: one comparison group and three writing types of writing interventions (i.e., week-journals, Self-Regulation Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction and SRSD plus Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) program using a story-tool), with five classes participating in each condition. Data supports our hypothesis by showing differences between the treatment groups in students' writing quality over time. Globally, the improvement of students' writing quality throughout time is related to the level of specialization of the writing interventions implemented. This is an important finding with strong implications for educational practice. Week-journals and writing activities can be easily implemented in classrooms and provides an opportunity to promote students' writing quality. Still, students who participated in the instructional programs (i.e., SRSD and SRSD plus story-tool) exhibited higher writing quality than the students who wrote week-journals. Current data did not find statistical significant differences between results from the two instructional writing tools.This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre, University of Minho. PR, JH and JC were supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, UID/PSI/01662/2013. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Supplementation with high-content docosahexaenoic acid triglyceride in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex disorder in terms of etiology, clinical presentation, and treatment outcome. Pharmacological and psychological interventions are recommended as primary treatments in ADHD; however, other nonpharmacological intervention such as a dietary supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) has emerged as an attractive option. Purpose: The objective of the present study was to assess whether dietary supplementation with highly concentrated ω-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) triglyceride may improve symptoms in ADHD. Method: A 6-month prospective double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial was designed in 66 patients with ADHD, aged between 6 and 18 years. Participants in the experimental group received a combination of ω-3 fatty acids (DHA 1,000 mg, eicosapentaenoic acid 90 mg, and docosapentaenoic acid 150 mg). Instruments included d2-test, AULA Nesplora, EDAH scales, and abbreviated Conner's Rating Scale. Results: In the cognitive test, between-group differences were not found, but within-group differences were of a greater magnitude in the DHA group. Between-group differences in favor of the DHA arm were observed in behavioral measures, which were already detected after 3 months of treatment. Results were not changed when adjusted by ADHD medication. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence of the beneficial effect of supplementation with ω-3 DHA in the management of ADHD

Erratum to: Writing week-journals to improve the writing quality of fourth-graders’ compositions

The online version of the original article can be found under doi:10.1007/s11145-016-9710-4. Also available at: http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/handle/1822/54295In the original publication of the article, last author family name was spelt incorrectly as ”Rodrigues“.The correct name is provided in this erratum

Raytracing optical analysis of a solar funnel cooker

Funnel type solar cookers rely on a multifaceted reflector to concentrate solar radiation on a cooking pot that is placed inside a transparent enclosure to create a greenhouse effect. This work aims to analyze the optical performance of this type of solar cooker using raytracing techniques. The open source Soltrace software tool is used to create an optical model of a solar funnel cooker. Numerous raytracing simulations are conducted in order to complete a parametric analysis of the optical performance against a set of influence variables, such as the elevation angle, sun tracking errors, optical quality of the different elements involved ( reflectors, greenhouse, cooking pot), etc.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

La velocidad de denominación y su efecto en variables atencionales y errores de lectoescritura en función del diagnóstico

While naming speed, which is usually assessed with tests such as RAN / RAS, has proven to be useful in predicting certain reading errors and attentional difficulties, the variables that predict performance in the test have not been examined before now. The objective of this study is to test the explanatory power of certain reading and attentional variables over naming speed performance depending on diagnosis. A sample of 132 students, divided into four groups (Control, n=34; Reading difficulties, n= 22; ADHD, n=41; and ADHD+Reading Difficulties, n=35) was used. The results show: 1) without any difficulties, naming speed is explained by IQ, age and gender; 2) in the presence of reading difficulties, reading errors are the variables with more explanatory power; 3) in the presence of attentional difficulties, certain attentional variables such as those provided by the TOVA test were shown to be more significant.Si bien la velocidad de denominación, generalmente evaluada con pruebas como el RAN/RAS ha demostrado su utilidad en la predicción de ciertos errores lectores y dificultades atencionales, hasta el momento no se ha analizado que variables predicen el rendimiento en la prueba. El objetivo del presente estudio es comprobar el poder explicativo de determinadas variables lectoras y atencionales sobre la velocidad de denominación en función del diagnóstico. Se utilizó una muestra de 132 estudiantes divididos en cuatro grupos (Control, n=34; Dificultades Lectoras, n=22; TDAH, n=41; y TDAH y Dificultades Lectoras, n=35). Los resultados mostraron: 1) en ausencia de dificultades, la velocidad de denominación es explicada por el CI, la edad y el género; 2) ante dificultades lectoras, las variables con mayor poder predictivo son los errores de lectura; 3) ante dificultades atencionales, son ciertas variables atencionales como los índices proporcionados por el TOVA, las que muestran una mayor significatividad

Glucuronidated Quercetin Lowers Blood Pressure in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats via Deconjugation

[Background] Chronic oral quercetin reduces blood pressure and restores endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive animals. However, quercetin (aglycone) is usually not present in plasma, because it is rapidly metabolized into conjugated, mostly inactive, metabolites. The aim of the study is to analyze whether deconjugation of these metabolites is involved in the blood pressure lowering effect of quercetin. [Methodology/Principal Findings] We have analyzed the effects on blood pressure and vascular function in vitro of the conjugated metabolites of quercetin (quercetin-3-glucuronide, Q3GA; isorhamnetin-3-glucuronide, I3GA; and quercetin-3′-sulfate, Q3'S) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Q3GA and I3GA (1 mg/kg i.v.), but not Q3'S, progressively reduced mean blood pressure (MBP), measured in conscious SHR. The hypotensive effect of Q3GA was abolished in SHR treated with the specific inhibitor of β-glucuronidase, saccharic acid 1,4-lactone (SAL, 10 mg/ml). In mesenteric arteries, unlike quercetin, Q3GA had no inhibitory effect in the contractile response to phenylephrine after 30 min of incubation. However, after 1 hour of incubation Q3GA strongly reduced this contractile response and this effect was prevented by SAL. Oral administration of quercetin (10 mg/Kg) induced a progressive decrease in MBP, which was also suppressed by SAL. [Conclusions] Conjugated metabolites are involved in the in vivo antihypertensive effect of quercetin, acting as molecules for the plasmatic transport of quercetin to the target tissues. Quercetin released from its glucuronidated metabolites could be responsible for its vasorelaxant and hypotensive effect.This work was supported by Grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (AGL2007-66108, SAF2008-03948, AGL2009-12001 and SAF2010-22066) and Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Programme (CSD2007-00063), Junta de Andalucia (Proyecto de Excelencia P06-CTS-01555), and Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red HERACLES RD06/0009 and Red de Investigación Renal, REDinREN RD06/0016/0017)