593 research outputs found
Cardiovascular disease in the Peruvian Andes: local perceptions, barriers, and paths to preventing chronic diseases in the Cajamarca region
Objectives: Public health interventions can be improved by understanding peoples' explanatory models of disease. We explore awareness and perceptions of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and options for preventative actions in young adults living in rural Andean communities. Methods: We used convenience sampling to select 46 men and women from communities in Cajamarca (Peru). Subjects participated in eight focus groups where they discussed their understanding and perceived causes of CVD as well as barriers and pathways to healthy lifestyles. Results: Fresh foods, physical activity, unpleasant emotions, and healthcare access were cited as important determinants of healthy lifestyles. Barriers to healthy diets included lacking nutritional knowledge, fluctuating food prices, and limited access to foodstuffs. Women felt particularly vulnerable to CVD and identified gendered barriers to manage stress and engage in sports. Low health literacy, poor doctor-patient relationships, and long distances prevented participants from fully accessing healthcare. Conclusion: CVD prevention interventions should consider local knowledge of these diseases and of healthy lifestyles, and harness ongoing programmes that have successfully promoted good nutrition in children and pregnant women. In concert with public-private parterships, governments should include disease prevention interventions for the entire family
Large time wellposdness to the 3-D Capillary-Gravity Waves in the long wave regime
In the regime of weakly transverse long waves, given long-wave initial data,
we prove that the nondimensionalized water wave system in an infinite strip
under influence of gravity and surface tension on the upper free interface has
a unique solution on [0,{T}/\eps] for some \eps independent of constant
We shall prove in the subsequent paper \cite{MZZ2} that on the same time
interval, these solutions can be accurately approximated by sums of solutions
of two decoupled Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) equations.Comment: Split the original paper(The long wave approximation to the 3-D
capillary-gravity waves) into two parts, this is the first on
Metabolic syndrome in rural Peruvian adults living at high altitudes using different cookstoves
This study determined the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in open fire stoves and improved cookstoves users (ICS) in the rural Peruvian Andes. Participants answered a socioeconomic questionnaire, one 24-hour food recall and underwent a physical examination. We analysed data from 385 participants, 190 (112 women and 78 men) were ICS users and 195 (123 women and 72 men) were open fire stove users. The prevalence of MetS was 21.3, 26.4% in women and 13.3% in men. We found no statistically significant association between the type of cookstove and MetS. Body mass index and altitude were important determinants of MetS. Research on cardiometabolic diseases and open fire stove use contributes to understanding the effect of household air pollution on health in high altitude populations
Linear Estimation of Location and Scale Parameters Using Partial Maxima
Consider an i.i.d. sample X^*_1,X^*_2,...,X^*_n from a location-scale family,
and assume that the only available observations consist of the partial maxima
(or minima)sequence, X^*_{1:1},X^*_{2:2},...,X^*_{n:n}, where
X^*_{j:j}=max{X^*_1,...,X^*_j}. This kind of truncation appears in several
circumstances, including best performances in athletics events. In the case of
partial maxima, the form of the BLUEs (best linear unbiased estimators) is
quite similar to the form of the well-known Lloyd's (1952, Least-squares
estimation of location and scale parameters using order statistics, Biometrika,
vol. 39, pp. 88-95) BLUEs, based on (the sufficient sample of) order
statistics, but, in contrast to the classical case, their consistency is no
longer obvious. The present paper is mainly concerned with the scale parameter,
showing that the variance of the partial maxima BLUE is at most of order
O(1/log n), for a wide class of distributions.Comment: This article is devoted to the memory of my six-years-old, little
daughter, Dionyssia, who leaved us on August 25, 2010, at Cephalonia isl. (26
pages, to appear in Metrika
Efficiency of the traditional practice of traps to stimulate black truffle production, and its ecological mechanisms
The black truffle Tuber melanosporum was disseminated all over the world, propelled by the development of a wide variety of empirical practices. A widespread practice, called âtruffle trapâ, consists of placing pieces of truffles into excavations dug under host trees, and of collecting truffle in these traps in the next years. This research aims at (1) evaluating the effect of this practice on fruitbody production based on the analysis of 9924 truffle traps installed in 11 orchards across T. melanosporum native area in France and (2) exploring the mechanisms involved in fruitbody emergence using traps where the genotypes of introduced truffles were compared with those of fruitbodies collected in the same traps. We confirmed that truffle traps provide a major and highly variable part of truffle ground production, representing up to 89% of the collected fruitbodies. We evidenced a genetic link between introduced spores and collected fruitbodies, and then demonstrated that truffle growers provide paternal partners for mating with local maternal mycelia. We also highlighted that soil disturbance stimulate the vegetative development of established maternal mycelia. This research supports that a widely used traditional practice enhances fruitbody production by shaping favorable conditions and providing sexual partners required for fruiting.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Effects of uncertainty in soil properties on simulated hydrological states and fluxes at different spatio-temporal scales
Soil properties show high heterogeneity at different spatial scales
and their correct characterization remains a crucial
challenge over large areas. The aim of the study is to quantify the impact of
different types of uncertainties that arise from the unresolved soil spatial
variability on simulated hydrological states and fluxes. Three perturbation
methods are presented for the characterization of uncertainties in soil
properties. The methods are applied on the soil map of the upper Neckar
catchment (Germany), as an example. The uncertainties are propagated through the
distributed mesoscale hydrological model (mHM) to assess the impact on the simulated
states and fluxes. The model outputs are analysed by aggregating the results
at different spatial and temporal scales. These results show that the impact
of the different uncertainties introduced in the original soil map is
equivalent when the simulated model outputs are analysed at the model grid
resolution (i.e. 500âŻm). However, several differences are identified by
aggregating states and fluxes at different spatial scales (by subcatchments of
different sizes or coarsening the grid resolution). Streamflow is only
sensitive to the perturbation of long spatial structures while distributed
states and fluxes (e.g. soil moisture and groundwater recharge) are only
sensitive to the local noise introduced to the original soil properties. A
clear identification of the temporal and spatial scale for which finer-resolution
soil information is (or is not) relevant is unlikely to be
universal. However, the comparison of the impacts on the different
hydrological components can be used to prioritize the model improvements in
specific applications, either by collecting new measurements or by
calibration and data assimilation approaches. In conclusion, the study
underlines the importance of a correct characterization of uncertainty in
soil properties. With that, soil maps with additional information regarding
the unresolved soil spatial variability would provide strong support to
hydrological modelling applications
Comparative Analysis of the Physicochemical Properties and Antioxidant Capacity of a Morphotype Of Oregano (O. Vulgare L.) Cultivated in Two Locations of the Ecuadorian Sierra
Oregano (O.vulgare L.) is a species introduced in the Ecuadorian flora. Because of its properties it is highly appreciated and consumed, and it is important to determine the nature of its benefits. The chemical composition and the content of functional compounds responsible for the antioxidant activity of the plant identified by the INIAP Germplasm Bank as ECU-20229 were evaluated. It was cultivated in two areas of the provinces of Imbabura (ItalquĂ) and Pichincha (Tumbaco). The whole plant and its parts (root, stem and leaves) were analyzed in order to determine where the highest content was found. Proximal analysis, minerals, polyphenols and total flavonoids were analyzed, as well as the antioxidant capacity. The analyses carried out on the plant parts showed significant differences, determining the influence of the environment where it was grown. It was possible to determine the presence of nutrients such as protein, fat and carbohydrates, which is higher in the leaves; macro elements are abundant in the stem and leaves and micro elements are found in greater quantity when it was cultivated in ItalquĂ, as well as the content of polyphenols and total flavonoids; the antioxidant capacity is higher in the environmental conditions of Tumbaco. The properties described for this plant have been proven to benefit human and animal health, as well as adding value to its wasted parts. 
Sodium Intake from Foods Exceeds Recommended Limits in the Spanish Population: The ANIBES Study
Excessive sodium consumption is associated with adverse health effects. An elevated dietary intake of salt (sodium chloride) has been related to high blood pressure or hypertension, a major but modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, as well as to other ill health conditions. In the present work, our aim was to describe the contribution of foods to sodium consumption within the Spanish population in a representative sample from the "anthropometric data, macronutrients and micronutrients intake, practice of physical activity, socioeconomic data and lifestyles in Spain" (ANIBES) study (9-75 years), to identify high consumer groups, as well as the major food groups that contribute to sodium intake in the Spanish diet. Intakes were assessed by 3-day food records collected on a tablet device. Sodium intakes across the ANIBES study population exceeded recommendations, as total intakes reached 2025 ± 805 mg of sodium per day, that is approximately 5.06 g/day of salt (excluding discretionary salt, added at the table or during cooking). Sodium intakes were higher in males than in females and within the youngest groups. Main dietary sources of sodium were meat and meat products (27%), cereals and grains (26%), milk and dairy products (14%) and ready-to-eat meals (13%). Given the established health benefits of dietary salt reduction, it would be advisable to continue and even improve the current national initiatives of awareness and educational campaigns and particularly food reformulation to decrease overall salt intakes across the Spanish population
Experimental and numerical study of chemiluminescence characteristics in premixed counterflow flames of methane based fuel blends
Non-intrusive chemiluminescence measurements have been used as heat release rate and equivalence ratio indicators for gas turbine combustor active control. In the present study, measurements and modelling of OH*, CH(A)*, C 2 *, and CO 2 * chemiluminescence are used to examine chemiluminescence sensing of heat release rate and equivalence ratio in premixed counterflow methane â air flames with equivalence ratio from 0.6 to 1.3 and strain rate from 80 to 400 s -1 . Two spectrally resolved detecting optical systems were used to detect spatially-averaged (global) and spatially resolved (local) chemiluminescence characteristics in the reaction zone. A recently published reaction mechanism 1 for the chemiluminescence of the OH*, CH*, and C 2 * species is incorporated to GRI-Mech 3.0. The augmented mechanism is further validated against the experimental results of the present study and is used to predict the chemiluminescence characteristics of premixed counterflow methane â air flames. The mechanism includes OH* chemiluminescence formation paths from hydrogen reaction, which have not been evaluated before in premixed counterflow flames. The CHEMKIN based counterflow flame code, OPPDIF is employed to simulate the experiments. The calculated OH* and CH(A)* chemiluminescence agrees well with the experimental results measured by both optical methods. Both the experimental and numerical results demonstrate the ability of OH* and CH(A)* intensities to mark heat release rate in methane â air flames. Overall, CH* may be preferable for heat release rate sensing applications at elevated equivalence ratio and strain rate. For equivalence ratio sensing in methane combustion, the measured and simulated OH*/CH(A)* chemiluminescent intensity ratio is highly dependent on equivalence ratio and nearly independent of strain rate. Thus, this ratio can be used to monitor equivalence ratio. However, a non-monotonic behavior of the OH*/CH* ratio for very lean combustion (ER < 0.7) is observed, in agreement with previous studies. This behavior can be reproduced by the reaction mechanisms. The behavior of OH*/CH(A)* chemiluminescent intensity ratio for flames of methanepropane blends are also calculated with the detailed chemistry model. The addition of propane in methane modifies the behaviour of OH*/CH(A)* chemiluminescent intensity ratio dramatically. However, the numerical results suggest that the OH*/CH(A)* chemiluminescent intensity ratio is an indicator of equivalence ratio in lean methanepropane fuel blended flames
Large time existence for 3D water-waves and asymptotics
We rigorously justify in 3D the main asymptotic models used in coastal
oceanography, including: shallow-water equations, Boussinesq systems,
Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) approximation, Green-Naghdi equations, Serre
approximation and full-dispersion model. We first introduce a ``variable''
nondimensionalized version of the water-waves equations which vary from shallow
to deep water, and which involves four dimensionless parameters. Using a
nonlocal energy adapted to the equations, we can prove a well-posedness
theorem, uniformly with respect to all the parameters. Its validity ranges
therefore from shallow to deep-water, from small to large surface and bottom
variations, and from fully to weakly transverse waves. The physical regimes
corresponding to the aforementioned models can therefore be studied as
particular cases; it turns out that the existence time and the energy bounds
given by the theorem are always those needed to justify the asymptotic models.
We can therefore derive and justify them in a systematic way.Comment: Revised version of arXiv:math.AP/0702015 (notations simplified and
remarks added) To appear in Inventione
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