Biofilter aquaponic system for nutrients removal from fresh market wastewater

Aquaponics is a significant wastewater treatment system which refers to the combination of conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic organism) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. This system has a high ability in removing nutrients compared to conventional methods because it is a natural and environmentally friendly system (aquaponics). The current chapter aimed to review the possible application of aquaponics system to treat fresh market wastewater with the intention to highlight the mechanism of phytoremediation occurs in aquaponic system. The literature revealed that aquaponic system was able to remove nutrients in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus

Development, standardization and testing of a bacterial wound infection model based on ex vivo human skin

Current research on wound infections is primarily conducted on animal models, which limits direct transferability of these studies to humans. Some of these limitations can be overcome by using–otherwise discarded—skin from cosmetic surgeries. Superficial wounds are induced in fresh ex vivo skin, followed by intradermal injection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa under the wound. Subsequently, the infected skin is incubated for 20 hours at 37°C and the CFU/wound are determined. Within 20 hours, the bacteria count increased from 107 to 109 bacteria per wound, while microscopy revealed a dense bacterial community in the collagen network of the upper wound layers as well as numerous bacteria scattered in the dermis. At the same time, IL-1alpha and IL-1beta amounts increased in all infected wounds, while—due to bacteria-induced cell lysis—the IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations rose only in the uninfected samples. High-dosage ciprofloxacin treatment resulted in a decisive decrease in bacteria, but consistently failed to eradicate all bacteria. The main benefits of the ex vivo wound model are the use of healthy human skin, a quantifiable bacterial infection, a measureable donor-dependent immune response and a good repeatability of the results. These properties turn the ex vivo wound model into a valuable tool to examine the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and to test antimicrobial agents

Towards commercial aquaponics: a review of systems, designs, scales and nomenclature

Aquaponics is rapidly developing as the need for sustainable food production increases and freshwater and phosphorous reserves shrink. Starting from small-scale operations, aquaponics is at the brink of commercialization, attracting investment. Arising from integrated freshwater aquaculture, a variety of methods and system designs has developed that focus either on fish or plant production. Public interest in aquaponics has increased dramatically in recent years, in line with the trend towards more integrated value chains, greater productivity and less harmful environmental impact compared to other production systems. New business models are opening up, with new customers and markets, and with this expansion comes the potential for confusion, misunderstanding and deception. New stakeholders require guidelines and detail concerning the different system designs and their potentials. We provide a definitive definition of aquaponics, where the majority (> 50%) of nutrients sustaining the optimal plant growth derives from waste originating from feeding aquatic organisms, classify the available integrated aquaculture and aquaponics (open, domestic, demonstration, commercial) systems and designs, distinguish four different scales of production (≤ 50, > 50–≤ 100 m2, > 100–≤ 500 m2, > 500 m2) and present a definite nomenclature for aquaponics and aquaponic farming allowing distinctions between the technologies that are in use. This enables authorities, customers, producers and all other stakeholders to distinguish between the various systems, to better understand their potentials and constraints and to set priorities for business and regulations in order to transition RAS or already integrated aquaculture into commercial aquaponic systems

Capital social y promoción de la salud en América Latina Social capital and health promotion in Latin America

América Latina enfrenta problemáticas de desarrollo y salud comunes. La equidad y la superación de la pobreza son cruciales en la búsqueda de soluciones integrales y de alto impacto. El artículo analiza el concepto de capital social, su relación con salud, sus limitaciones y potencialidades, desde una perspectiva de desarrollo comunitario y promoción de salud en América Latina. También, se identifican desafíos prioritarios, como la medición y fortalecimiento del capital social. Se discute cómo y por qué el capital social pudiera ser crítico en una estrategia global de promoción de la salud, donde el empoderamiento y la participación comunitaria, el trabajo interdisciplinario e intersectorial permitirían avanzar en los objetivos de salud pública y en la concreción de un cambio social sustentable. Igualmente, se identifican algunas de las potenciales limitaciones del concepto de capital social en el contexto de promoción de la salud en América Latina.<br>Latin America faces common development and health problems and equity and overcoming poverty are crucial in the search for comprehensive and high impact solutions. The article analyzes the definition of social capital, its relationship with health, its limitations and potentialities from a perspective of community development and health promotion in Latin America. High-priority challenges are also identified as well as possible ways to better measure and to strengthen social capital. Particularly, it is discussed how and why social capital may be critical in a global health promotion strategy, where empowerment and community participation, interdisciplinary and intersectorial work would help to achieve Public Health aims and a sustainable positive change for the global development. Also, some potential limitations of the social capital concept in the context of health promotion in Latin America are identified