Study of maritime traffic flows in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Desde las últimas décadas existe una comprensible preocupación a nivel mundial por los efectos que la exhaustación de los motores de los buques causa sobre el medio ambiente. El convenio MARPOL regula la emisión de gases por parte de los buques y permite designar ciertas áreas como zonas de control de emisiones. El intenso tráfico marítimo en el Mar Mediterráneo y su incremento en el futuro inmediato convierte la zona del Mediterráneo en candidata a área especial de control de emisiones. En este trabajo se realiza un estudio para la designación o no de la zona oriental del Mar Mediterráneo como área especial de control de emisiones a partir del análisis del flujo del tráfico marítimo del Mediterráneo Oriental. The environmental impact and air pollution from ships have received increased attention the last several decades. Due to combustion characteristics typical of marine engines, as well as widespread use of unrefined fuel, the global fleet emits significant amounts of SOx, NOx and particulate matter to air. Consequently, most shipping nations around the world have adopted common rules for shipping through the International Maritime Organization. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships. MARPOL defines certain sea areas as special areas in which, for technical reasons relating to their oceanographic and ecological condition and their maritime traffic patterns, the adoption of special mandatory methods for the prevention of the sea pollution is required. The aim is to help the establishment of the Mediterranean Sea as ECA, through the study of maritime traffic flows in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors, Sport and Doping

Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) (e.g., sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, and avanafil) are drugs commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and benign prostatic hyperplasia. PDE5i are not prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) but are alleged to be frequently misused by healthy athletes to improve sporting performance. In vitro and in vivo studies have reported various effects of PDE5i on cardiovascular, muscular, metabolic, and neuroendocrine systems and the potential, therefore, to enhance performance of healthy athletes during training and competition. This suggests well-controlled research studies to examine the ergogenic effects of PDE5i on performance during activities that simulate real sporting situations are warranted to determine if PDE5i should be included on the prohibited WADA list. In the meantime, there is concern that some otherwise healthy athletes will continue to misuse PDE5i to gain an unfair competitive advantage over their competitors

La logística inversa en la recuperación internacional de coleccionables

El estancamiento de las ventas, la saturación de títulos y la piratería han colocado a la industria editorial en una delicada situación económica. El acuerdo de las editoriales con los comerciantes de recoger los productos no comercializados ha generado, de manera espontánea, un flujo inverso de productos. El nivel que han alcanzado estas devoluciones, por un lado, y la estrategia de crecimiento a través de la expansión internacional, por otro, obligan a reflexionar sobre las actividades de logística inversa en la industria editorial. Esta reflexión ha partido de la aproximación al propio concepto de logística inversa y los métodos que evalúan las actividades inmersas en su desarrollo. La mayor parte de los métodos plantean la reducción de los costes que generan las actividades de una red de suministro. Y, en trabajos más recientes, el aspecto económico se combina con la responsabilidad con el medio ambiente. Sin embargo, las publicaciones fruto de entrevistas y encuestas con responsables de empresas cuestionan si se conocen los verdaderos costes que generan las actividades en el flujo inverso. Un caso muy particular de flujo inverso es la recuperación internacional de coleccionables. El diseño de una red que haga posible la recuperación de este material desde el punto de vista económico es el principal objetivo de este trabajo. Y encontrar la solución de mínimo impacto ambiental entre las soluciones de mínimo coste es el segundo objetivo. La red diseñada tiene la particularidad de convertir los centros de recuperación en centros de distribución. Ahora bien, el diseño propuesto tiene más de una solución. Y la solución óptima es la que minimice el coste total que generan las actividades que se desarrollan. En este sentido, se propone un análisis de costes basado en actividades que consiste en listar todas las actividades necesarias para el desarrollo de la recuperación internacional y asignarle a cada actividad un coste por unidad (euros/tn, euros/km, euros/m3). Por otro lado, el coste total depende de las cantidades manipuladas. El número de unidades del fascículo más vendido se determina como función del número de hogares en cada mercado y se proponen diferentes aproximaciones para determinar las unidades vendidas del resto de los fascículos. Las cantidades recuperadas por fascículo se determinan en función de la estimación de la demanda según fascículo. A continuación, se evalúa el coste total de cada una de las combinaciones posibles que permiten la recuperación internacional de coleccionables entre Reino Unido, Australia y Sudáfrica y se obtiene la combinación que permite actuar con mínimo coste teniendo en cuenta el diseño de la red, el coste por unidad de producto (euros por tonelada, euros por m3, …) y las cantidades de producto nuevo y recuperado manipuladas. Sin embargo, el potencial de la herramienta es su capacidad para realizar simulaciones bajo distintos escenarios para ensayar diferentes volúmenes en los flujos directo e inverso o costes por unidad de alguna de las actividades desarrolladas. Una vez resuelto el objetivo económico, se evalúa el impacto ambiental de cada una de las combinaciones. Y entre las combinaciones que actúan con mínimo coste, se elige la que menor impacto ocasione sobre el medio ambiente

Bicruciate-retaining total knee arthroplasty: What's new?

Primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a widespread procedure to address end stage osteoarthritis with good results, clinical outcomes, and long-term survivorship. Although it is frequently performed in elderly, an increased demand in young and active people is expected in the next years. However, a considerable dissatisfaction rate has been reported by highly demanding patients due to the intrinsic limitations provided by the TKA. Bicruciate-retaining (BCR) TKA was developed to mimic knee biomechanics, through anterior cruciate ligament preservation. First-generation BCR TKA has not gained popularity due to its being a challenging technique and having poor survival outcomes. Thanks to implant design improvement and surgeon-friendly instrumentation, second-generation BCR TKA has seen renewed interest. This review will focus on surgical indications, kinematical basis, clinical results and latest developments of second-generation BCR TKA

Sildenafil Reduces Expression and Release of IL-6 and IL-8 Induced by Reactive Oxygen Species in Systemic Sclerosis Fibroblasts

Oxidative stress linked to vascular damage plays an important role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Indeed, vascular damage at nailfold capillaroscopy in patients with Raynaud’s Phenomenon (RP) is a major risk factor for the development of SSc together with the presence of specific autoantiobodies. Here, we investigated the effects of the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) sildenafil, currently used in the management of RP, in modulating the proinflammatory response of dermal fibroblasts to oxidative stress in vitro. Human fibroblasts isolated from SSc patients and healthy controls were exposed to exogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) (100 µM H2O2), in the presence or absence of sildenafil (1 µM). Treatment with sildenafil significantly reduced dermal fibroblast gene expression and cellular release of IL-6, known to play a central role in the pathogenesis of tissue damage in SSc and IL-8, directly induced by ROS. This reduction was associated with suppression of STAT3-, ERK-, NF-κB-, and PKB/AKT-dependent pathways. Our findings support the notion that the employment of PDE5i in the management of RP may be explored for its efficacy in modulating the oxidative stress-induced proinflammatory activation of dermal fibroblasts in vivo and may ultimately aid in the prevention of tissue damage caused by SSc

chemical composition antioxidant antimicrobial and anti inflammatory activity of prunus spinosa l fruit ethanol extract

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Calorie restriction in humans inhibits the PI3K/AKT pathway and induces a younger transcription profile

Caloric restriction (CR) and down-regulation of the insulin/IGF pathway are the most robust interventions known to increase longevity in lower organisms. However, little is known about the molecular adaptations induced by CR in humans. Here, we report that long-term CR in humans inhibits the IGF-1/insulin pathway in skeletal muscle, a key metabolic tissue. We also demonstrate that CR induces dramatic changes of the skeletal muscle transcriptional profile that resemble those of younger individuals. Finally, in both rats and humans, CR evoked similar responses in the transcriptional profiles of skeletal muscle. This common signature consisted of three key pathways typically associated with longevity: IGF-1/insulin signaling, mitochondrial biogenesis, and inflammation. Furthermore, our data identify promising pathways for therapeutic targets to combat age-related diseases and promote health in humans.American Federation for Aging ResearchNational Center for Research Resources (U.S.) (Grant UL1 RR024992)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (U.S.) (Grant P30DK056341

AGILE TGFS AND GLOBAL LIGHTNING ACTIVITY

[1] The AGILE satellite detects Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) in the 0.35–100 MeV energy range using its Mini-Calorimeter (MCAL) instrument with an average detection rate of 10 TGFs/month. Thanks to its Low Earth Orbit with only 2.5 degree of inclination, AGILE guarantees an unprecedented exposure above the equator, where both lightning activity and TGF detection peak. Here we report the comparison between the AGILE TGFs detected between March 2009 and February 2010 and full climatology lightning worldwide distribution based on satellite optical observations from LIS (Lightning Imaging Sensor) and OTD (Optical Transient Detector) instruments. This approach is complementary to the one-to-one TGF/lightning correlations by ground-based sferics measurements. Based on mono and bi-dimensional Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, we show that the AGILE TGFs and time-averaged global lightning in the equatorial area are not drawn from the same distribution. However, we find significant regional differences in the degree of correlation as well as in the TGF/lightning ratio. In the case of south east Asia we find a 87% probability for the TGF and lightning being samples of the same distribution. This result supports the idea that the physical conditions at play in TGF generation can have strong geographical and climatological modulation. Based on the assumption that the observed range of TGF/flash ratio holds at all latitudes we can estimate a global rate of ≃ 220 ÷ 570 TGFs per day. The observed TGF/flash geographical modulation as well as the TGF global rate estimate are in agreement with previous observations