Beware of the air when diabetes is there

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Exportación de sedimentos desde cuencas hidrográficas de la vertiente oriental del golfo de Urabá: influencias climáticas y antrópicas

En este artículo se analizaron series de tiempo mensuales de precipitación (mm), caudal (m3/s) y exportación de sedimentos (kton/día) en cuencas de la vertienteoriental del golfo de Urabá. Se analizó la dinámica de la exportación de sedimentos, la relación caudal - exportación y caudal - precipitación. Se infirió el papel de fenómenos atmosféricos estacionales y multianuales (El Niño - Oscilación Sureña, ENOS),y factores antrópicos. Se encontraron variabilidades intra - anuales significativas (ANOVA: p<0.001) consistentes con las oscilaciones de la Zona de Convergencia Intertropical. Correlaciones de Pearson mostraron relaciones directas y significativas (p<0.001). El ENOS no presentó influencia sobre la precipitación. Con aerofotografías se analizó el efecto antrópico en los municipios de Apartadó (1961 - 2005) y Chigorodó (1961 - 2007), y se encontró pérdida de cobertura boscosa del 90%. Las figuras de doble masa reflejaron, al cambiar la pendiente positivamente, a mediados de los 90, que la tasa de exportación de sedimentos fue mayor por metro cúbico de caudal, sugiriendo que hay un efecto antrópico

Physical and chemical processing of printed circuit boards waste

A recycling process for PCB’s is being studied, based on physical processing and hydrometallurgical treatment. PCB’s waste was shredded in a lab cutting mill, resulting a grinded material with 90% (weight) with particle size less than 2.1 mm and an average particle diameter of 1.2 mm. Chemical analysis of granulometric fractions showed that the base metals like Cu, Zn, Pb and Sn concentrated mainly in intermediate size fractions (0.4-1.7 mm) being fines very rich in epoxy resin composite. About 80-90% of the principal metals were recovered in that size range. The first step of chemical treatment was the acid leaching of metals. The use of nitric acid solutions at appropriate conditions allowed the efficient solubilization of base metals like Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb and Ag. More than 90% recovery of Cu, Zn and Ni were achieved at 90ºC using 1 M HNO3. Dissolution of silver required higher concentrations (only 70% yield using 2 M HNO3). Tin leaching was inefficient in nitric media, being always lower than 20%. The leaching conditions here reported were adequate to the base metals solubilization, allowing further processing of leachates for separation and recovery using hydrometallurgical operations. Precious metals recovery would be attained in a subsequent leaching step using highly concentrated acidic solutions

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection in medical patients of a Portuguese hospital: incidence and risk factors

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Customizing mass housing: a dual computer implementation design strategy based on shape grammars

This research aims at developing a system for automatic generation of designs that allows housing customers to participate in the design of their house by using mass-customization design. The proposed system is based on shape grammars and will allow future owners to acquire houses that fit their needs while simultaneously complying to a language of design (Stiny 1980). Such a system will enable to deliver design solutions with quality (Eloy et al. n.d.) and at affordable prices improving satisfaction of clients and their quality of living. The system encodes knowledge on housing design principles (sizes of rooms, types of rooms and there preferable connections) as well as in the construction techniques that underlies the shape composition principles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Leaching studies for metals recovery from printed circuit boards scrap

In this paper, the leaching behavior of the major metals present in printed circuit boards waste is evaluated, aiming at its recycling by hydrometallurgy. Several leachants were compared (sulfuric, hydrochloric and nitric acids, at 2 M H+ concentration), at temperatures of 25ºC and 90ºC and 4 hours of reaction time. Sulfuric acid leaching was not very promising concerning metals dissolution being only effective for iron. Hydrochloric acid allowed the leaching up to 60% of tin and about 50% of lead, as well as the iron. Nitric acid was the most efficient leachant due to its oxidizing properties. Recoveries of 90% or more for copper, iron, nickel and zinc were achieved at the higher temperature. Lead was also dissolved (up to 80%), as well as silver (more than 70%). These results show that the hydrometallurgical recovery of most of the metals present in PCB’s scrap is a technically feasible alternative that shall be considered and evaluated

Construcción de paz desde abajo: acciones de paz de mujeres en Guatemala y Colombia

A partir del año 2000, el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas reconoce la labor de las mujeres en la construcción de paz e insta a los gobiernos al igual reconocimiento de dichas acciones y a darles un papel más activo en estos procesos políticos. Este es el reconocimiento internacional de una labor poco visibilizada que llevaba siglos de ser ejercida, las mujeres son los principales actores a nivel territorial en desarrollar acciones tendientes a minimizar los efectos de la guerra, a buscar canales de diálogo y a propender por una solución negociada de los conflictos y, en últimas, son actores clave en la construcción de paz en sociedades afectadas por el conflicto armado. La presente investigación busca visibilizar el papel de la mujer en la construcción de paz en sociedades que han sufrido largos periodos de confrontación bélica, comprender el sentido de la paz desde una óptica de género y vislumbrar las relaciones de poder que se generan en medio de procesos como estos. A partir del estudio de dos casos, Guatemala y Colombia, se busca explorar la relación de las mujeres con la paz en contextos de conflicto de larga duración como el colombiano y un contexto de construcción de paz de dos décadas como el guatemalteco; se podrán entender los esfuerzos de las mujeres y las organizaciones de mujeres que han posibilitado construir experiencias de paz y resistencia en medio del conflicto armado. Para esto se realizó una investigación de corte cualitativo a partir del estudio de dos casos y con el uso de entrevistas como herramienta de recolección de información

Shaper-GA: automatic shape generation for modular house design

This work presents a Genetic Algorithm (GA) approach to produce automatic designs for modular houses: Shaper-GA. A set of architectural design rules defining a language of design is incorporated into the GA fitness function. When possible genetic drift or local convergence might be occurring, the method starts an adaptive mutation rate to overcome fitness stagnation. The GA tool efficiently produces several layout solutions obeying the design rules and further placement constraints. Such a tool can be integrated into an appropriate user interface allowing future house owners to customize their own house or construction companies to answer client's' requirements while complying with a language of design.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Alternative shaper: a model for automatic design generation

This paper discusses the formalization of Alternative Shaper, a Spatial Grammar supplemented with procedural knowledge for supporting design generation. The nondeterministic process style perspective supports an exploratory and flexible specification of designs and the use of predicates relating shapes allow the confirmation of shape spatial restrictions on design processes. Although simple at this stage, Alternative Shaper actually offers interesting potentialities on design generation that may be improved soon with convenient abstractions.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio