“Uso de biomasa seca (cáscara de plátano) como bioadsorbente de Arsénico en agua subterránea, Cruz del Médano, Mórrope, Lambayeque, a nivel laboratorio - 2018”

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo general la bioadsorción del Arsénico en agua mediante el uso de biomasa seca (cáscara de plátano) y parámetros que influyen en el proceso de bioadsorción, como es la dosis, tamaño de partícula, pH, conductividad potencial redox, tiempo y velocidad. En la población de Cruz del Médano, Mórrope, Lambayeque. La población para este estudio fue un reservorio de agua extraída de la napa freática, es decir agua subterránea, la muestra estudiada fue de 35 litros, para el muestreo de esta investigación se consideró el protocolo Nacional para el monitoreo de Calidad de los Recursos Hídricos Superficiales (Resolución Jefatural Nº 010-2016-ANA). Aplicando el tipo de muestreo no probabilístico debido a que se utilizó el muestreo por conveniencia. Para ello se utilizó tres diferentes dosis, 2,5, 5 y 7,5 g de biomasa seca (cáscara de plátano) y tres diferentes mallas +10,-10 y -18, en primer lugar, se midieron los parámetros fisicoquímicos del agua contaminada, después se procedió a estas aguas agregarlas en vasos utilizando el equipo de jart tets finalmente se agregó la biomasa seca (cáscara de plátano). para lo cual la bioadsorción optima fue de 5/0.5L de dosis y malla -18/0.5L, a una velocidad inicial de 150 RPM y velocidad final de 30 RPM respectivamente, un tiempo residencia de 18 horas, con un pH de 5.48, conductividad de 1506 µS/cm y un potencial redox positivo, estos tres últimos parámetros se tomaron después de la bioadsorción, concluyendo que la biomasa seca (cáscara de plátano) es eficiente en este proceso, ya que la concentración de Arsénico inicialmente fue de 0.1mg/L y finalmente fue de 0.0827mg/L

Resilience and Disability: Consideration and Integration of Resilience Training in Undergraduate Rehabilitation Service Programs

Resilience is a topic of growing interest with significant momentum generated by the Positive Psychology Movement. While resilience has been discussed at the graduate level and beyond, few articles seem to openly discuss how it is addressed as a part of undergraduate rehabilitation service programs. Discussion and careful consideration is needed as many undergraduates work in direct services. This article is designed to help rehabilitation educators and professionals understand the application and value of resilience and resilience-based skills as a part of the undergraduate rehabilitation curriculum. Article content addresses resilience, benefits of resilience, resilience-based factors, and the applicability of resilience to professionals and to the people they serve. Suggestions are provided to illustrate ways undergraduate programs can integrate resilience into their curriculum

Plasma Carotenoids and Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Patients with prior Head and Neck Cancer

Diets high in fruits and vegetables are generally believed protective against several chronic diseases. One suggested mechanism is a reduction in oxidative stress. The carotenoids, nutrients found in colored fruits and vegetables, possess antioxidant properties in vitro, but their role in humans is less well documented. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationships between the most abundant plasma carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin), as well as grouped carotenoids (total xanthophylls, carotenes and carotenoids), and urinary excretion of the F2-isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs), stable and specific biomarkers of oxidative damage to lipids. Two F2-IsoP measures were utilized: total F2-IsoPs and 8-iso-PGF2α. The study population (N = 52) was drawn from a study among patients curatively treated for early-stage head and neck cancer. Unadjusted linear regression analyses revealed significant inverse associations between plasma lutein, total xanthophylls and both F2-IsoP measures at baseline. After control for potential confounders, all individual and grouped xanthophylls remained inversely associated with the F2-IsoP measures, but none of these associations achieved significance. The carotenes were not inversely associated with total F2-IsoPs or 8-iso-PGF2a concentrations. The finding of consistent inverse associations between individual and grouped xanthophylls, but not individual and grouped carotenes, and F2-IsoPs is intriguing and warrants further investigation

Urban governance for health and well-being: a step-by-step approach to operational research in cities

It has been estimated that, by 2050, more than two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities (5). It is known, however, that intensive urban growth increases inequity and social exclusion, which are associated with increased social, environmental, economic and health risks (6). Public policies to address social determinants are therefore essential for urban health (7, 8). Urban governance determines how effectively urban inequities and risks are addressed. Bad urban governance may harm societies, as the public policies usually fail to address social and environmental determinants (9, 10), while good urban governance promotes policies to improve health and well-being in the population (11). Cities are complex systems, however, and the same public policies may have different effects in different populations, because, beyond public policies, urban health outcomes also depend on the interactions between governance, stakeholders and the population, requiring participatory governance and consensus in policy-making (12, 13). Each context, indicator of performance and implementation strategy is also different. As the rapid global trend to urbanization continues, participatory urban governance has been a topic of increasing research and interventions to improve health outcomes. Some studies have been conducted to identify and evaluate indicators of participatory urban governance (13–16), and others have analysed the results of policies for addressing health inequity (17–21). Few studies, however, have examined participatory urban governance, public policies and health outcomes together (22)

Multi-Country Evaluation of the Sensitivity and Specificity of Two Commercially-Available NS1 ELISA Assays for Dengue Diagnosis

Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease of humans and an enormous public health burden in affected countries. Early, sensitive and specific diagnosis of dengue is needed for appropriate patient management as well as for early epidemic detection. Commercially available assays that detect the dengue virus protein NS1 in the plasma/serum of patients offer the possibility of early and rapid diagnosis. Here we evaluated two commercially available ELISA kits for NS1 detection (Pan-E Dengue Early ELISA and the Platelia™ Dengue NS1 Ag). Results were compared against a reference diagnosis in 1385 patients in 6 countries in Asia and the Americas. Collectively, this multi-country study suggests that the best performing NS1 assay (Platelia) had moderate sensitivity (median 64%, range 34–76%) and high specificity (100%) for the diagnosis of dengue. The combination of NS1 and IgM detection in samples collected in the first few days of fever increased the overall dengue diagnostic sensitivity

The Effect of Wood Burial and Submersion on Decomposition: Implications for Reducing Carbon Emissions

Gemstone Team Carbon SinksCarbon cycles among soils, organisms, the atmosphere, water, and the Earth‘s crust. These fluxes make up a sizeable portion of the carbon cycle which holds potential for carbon sequestration. Team Carbon Sinks sought to sequester carbon in dead trees via burial and submersion. The team conducted a field experiment monitoring the decomposition of 125 wood samples. A lab experiment was completed to evaluate the variables that may affect decomposition in buried wood. Finally, a computer model was used to explore sequestration potential on a large scale. The field results showed that buried logs decomposed slower than exposed logs. The lab experiment suggested that wood should be buried as deep as possible, in a wet, cool area, and in oligotrophic soil in order to inhibit decomposition. The model showed that decomposition could be effectively inhibited via burial, and could serve as an economically feasible way to decrease atmospheric carbon dioxide