Comparing Experiences of Constitutional Reforms to Enshrine the Right to Water in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru: Opportunities and Limitations

In this paper we compare recent efforts towards the constitutionalization of the right to water in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru to understand the opportunities and limitations related to the attempts to enhance access to piped water to the highest normative level. Peru passed a constitutional amendment in 2017 while Brazil and Colombia have seen much right-to-water activism but have not succeeded in passing such reforms. We explore the role of the existing domestic legal frameworks on drinkable water provision and water management towards the approval of constitutional amendments. We find that all three countries have specialized laws, water governing institutions, and constitutional jurisprudence connecting access to water with rights, but the legal opportunity structures to enforce socio-economic rights vary; they are stronger in Colombia and Brazil, and weaker in Peru. We argue that legal opportunity structures build legal environments that influence constitutional reform success. Legal opportunity structures act as incentives both for social movements to push for reforms and for actors with legislative power to accept or reject them. Our findings also show that in some contexts political cost is a key element of constitutional reforms that enshrine the right to water; therefore, this is an element that should be considered when analyzing these processes.publishedVersio

Stimulation of 3D osteogenesis by mesenchymal stem cells using a nanovibrational bioreactor

Bone grafts are one of the most commonly transplanted tissues. However, autologous grafts are in short supply, and can be associated with pain and donor-site morbidity. The creation of tissue-engineered bone grafts could help to fulfil clinical demand and provide a crucial resource for drug screening. Here, we show that vibrations of nanoscale amplitude provided by a newly developed bioreactor can differentiate a potential autologous cell source, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), into mineralized tissue in 3D. We demonstrate that nanoscale mechanotransduction can stimulate osteogenesis independently of other environmental factors, such as matrix rigidity. We show this by generating mineralized matrix from MSCs seeded in collagen gels with stiffness an order of magnitude below the stiffness of gels needed to induce bone formation in vitro. Our approach is scalable and can be compatible with 3D scaffolds

Self-supporting carbon nanotube films as flexible neural interfaces

Advances in neural interface technologies have sought to identify electroactive materials that are able to translate neural depolarisation events into digital signals or modulate neural firing through ionic or electrical stimulation with greater efficiency. An ideal material for neural recording and/or stimulation should possess low electrical impedance coupled with a high cathodic charge storage capacity (CSCC), charge injection capacity (CIC) and electroactive surface area (ESA), as well as optimal mechanical biomimicry. In this study, we present the robustness of self-supporting CNT films as neural interfaces, combining advantageous electrical and mechanical properties with high cytocompatibility. Films were observed to possess a high CSCC (29.95 +/- 0.91 mC cm(-2)), CIC (352 +/- 5 mu CV-1 cm(-2)) and ESA (0.908 +/- 0.053 cm(2)), low impedance (110 Omega at 1 kHz), low resistance (75 +/- 13 Omega) and high capacitance (378 +/- 9 mu F cm(-2)), and outperformed Pt control electrodes. Self-supporting CNT films were also found to facilitate neuron growth and decrease the presence of reactive astrocytes in a mixed neural cell population. Self-standing CNT films were shown to be promising materials for the design of flexible and cytocompatible neural interfaces. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This publication has emanated from research conducted with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund under Grant Number 13/RC/2073 and SFI Technology Innovation Development Programme, grant no. 15/TIDA/2992. This project has received funding from National Science Center, Poland (under the Polonez program, grant agreement UMO-2015/19/P/ST5/03799) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreements No. 713690 and 665778. The authors acknowledge the facilities and scientific and technical assistance of the Center for Microscopy & Imaging at the National University of Ireland Galway, a facility that is funded by NUIG and the Irish Government's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions, Cycles 4 and 5, National Development Plan 2007–2013. D.J. and K.K. would also like to acknowledge the Ministry for Science and Higher Education for the scholarship for outstanding young scientists (0388/E-367/STYP/12/2017 and 649/STYP/12/2017, respectively).peer-reviewed2020-10-2

Comparing Experiences of Constitutional Reforms to Enshrine the Right to Water in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru: Opportunities and Limitations

In this paper we compare recent efforts towards the constitutionalization of the right to water in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru to understand the opportunities and limitations related to the attempts to enhance access to piped water to the highest normative level. Peru passed a constitutional amendment in 2017 while Brazil and Colombia have seen much right-to-water activism but have not succeeded in passing such reforms. We explore the role of the existing domestic legal frameworks on drinkable water provision and water management towards the approval of constitutional amendments. We find that all three countries have specialized laws, water governing institutions, and constitutional jurisprudence connecting access to water with rights, but the legal opportunity structures to enforce socio-economic rights vary; they are stronger in Colombia and Brazil, and weaker in Peru. We argue that legal opportunity structures build legal environments that influence constitutional reform success. Legal opportunity structures act as incentives both for social movements to push for reforms and for actors with legislative power to accept or reject them. Our findings also show that in some contexts political cost is a key element of constitutional reforms that enshrine the right to water; therefore, this is an element that should be considered when analyzing these processes

Synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic characterization of the three-dimensional compound [Co2(cbut)(H2O) 3]n (H4cbut = 1,2,3,4- cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid)

A novel cobalt(II) complex of formula [Co2(cbut)(H 2O)3]n (1) (H4cbut = 1,2,3,4-cyclobutanetetracarboxylic acid) has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and its crystal structure has been determined by means of synchrotron radiation and neutron powder diffraction. The crystal structure of 1 consists of layers of cobalt(II) ions extending in the bc-plane which are pillared along the crystallographic a-axis through the skeleton of the cbut 4- ligand. Three crystallographically independent cobalt(II) ions [Co(1), Co(2), and Co(3)] occur in 1. They are all six-coordinate with four carboxylate-oxygens [Co(1)-Co(3)] and two cis-[Co(1)] or trans-water molecules [Co(2) and Co(3)] building distorted octahedral surroundings. Regular alternating double oxo(carboxylate) [between Co(1) and Co(1a)] and oxo(carboxylate) plus one aqua and a syn-syn carboxylate bridges [between Co(1) and Co(2)] occur along the crystallographic b-axis, the values of the cobalt-cobalt separation being 3.1259(8) and 3.1555(6) Å, respectively. These chains are connected to the Co(3) atoms through the OCO carboxylate along the [01̄1] direction leading to the organic-inorganic bc-layers with Co(1)-OCO(anti-syn)-Co(3) and Co(2)-OCO(anti-anti)-Co(3) distances of 5.750(2) and 4.872(1) Å. The shortest interlayer cobalt-cobalt separation through the cbut4- skeleton along the crystallographic a-axis is 7.028(2) Å. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements show the occurrence of antiferromagnetic ordering with a Néel temperature of 5.0 K, followed by a field-induced ferromagnetic transition under applied dc fields larger than 1500 Oe. The magnetic structure of 1 has been elucidated at low temperatures in zero field by neutron powder diffraction measurements and was found to be formed by ferromagnetic chains running along the b-axis which are antiferromagnetically coupled with the Co(3) ions through the c-axis giving rise to noncompensated magnetic moments within each bc-layer (ferrimagnetic plane). The occurrence of an antitranslation operation between these layers produces a weak interlayer antiferromagnetic coupling along the a-axis which is overcome by dc fields greater than 1500 Oe resulting in a phase transition toward a ferromagnetic state (metamagnetic behavior). © 2014 American Chemical Society.Partial funding for this work is provided by the Ministerio Español de Ciencia e Innovación through projects MAT2010-16981, CTQ2010-15364, DPI2010-21103- C04-03, MAT2011-27233-C02-02, MAT2011-25991 and “Factoría de Cristalización” (Consolider-Ingenio2010, CSD2006-00015), the Generalitat Valenciana (ISIC/2012/ 002), and the CEI Canarias: Campus Atlántico Tricontinental. P.D.-G. also thanks to Ministerio Español de Economia y Competitividad through FPI program for predoctoral contracts.Peer Reviewe

Anales de Edafología y Agrobiología Tomo 41 Número 3-4

Suelos. Interacción del dimetilsulfóxido con montmorillonitas, por G. Dios Cancela y S. González García.-- Complejos de adsorción de la montmorillonita. I., por S. González García, G. Dios Cancela y A. García Fernández.-- Complejos de adsorción de la montmorillonita. Il., por G. Dios Cancela, S. González García y A. García Fernández.-- Complejos de adsorción de la montmorillonita. I., por S. González García, G. Dios Cancela y A. García Fernández.-- Complejos de adsorción de la montmorillonita. II por S. Dios Cancela, S. González y A. García Fernández.-- Estudio de las características del sistema edáfico de Sierra Nevada, por E. Barahona, R. Delgado Calvo-Flores y J. Linares.-- El relieve como factor formador de los suelos de Sierra Nevada, por R. Delgado CalvoFlores, E. Barahona y J. Linares.-- Los factores de edafogénesis en suelos de margas, por L J. Alias Pérez. G. Sánchez García y María T. Fernández Tapia.-- Utilización del evaporamiento en la programación del riego, por A. León, F. del Amor y A. Torrecillas.-Modelo experimental de alteración de feldespatos. Ill., por Hoyos de Castro, A., Hernando Massanet, M. I., Hernando Costa, J. y Pisonero Ruiz, L.-- Características petroquímicas y micromorfológicas de Xerochrepts, por P. Arévalo, J. Gallardo y J. Benayas.-- Los suelos de la Sierra del Barbanza: 5) Las formaciones "campa", por Torras Troncoso, M." L., .Gil Sotres, F., Diaz-Fierros Viqueira, F.-- Suelos empardecidos. l. Factores formadores, por Hoyos de Castro, A., Palomar G. Villamil, M. L., Hernando Costa, J. y Egido Rodríguez, J. A. Suelos empardecidos. II. Estudio de la materia orgánica, por Hoyos de Castro, A., Palomar G. Vil/ami/, M. L., Hernando Costa, J. y Egido Rodríguez, J. A.-- Suelos empardecidos. III. Estudio químico y físico-químico, por Hoyos de Castro, A., Palomar G. Villamil, M. L., Hernando Costa, J. y Egido Rodríguez, J. A. -- Los factores ecológicos en la génesis y evolución de suelos, por A. Hoyos, J. G. Parra, C. G. Huecos y A. L. Lafuente.-- Determinación de microtrazas de actividad ureásica en suelo, por González Carcedo, S. y Barriuso Benito, E.-- Efectos erosivos de los incendios forestales en suelos, por F. Diaz-Fierros, V., F. Gil Sotres, A. Cabaneiro, T. Carballas, M. C. Leiros de la Peña y M. C. Villar Celorio 627 Materia orgánica de tierras pardas ácidas, por J. Bech, A. Hereter y R. Vallejo.-- Fertilidad de los Suelos. Fertilización potásica en suelos pobres sobre ryegrass y trifolium, por J. A. Diez.-- Estudio electroforético del punto isoeléctrico de óxidos de hierros, por Rafael Martinez Gosca, Juan Cornejo y Pablo de Arambarri.--Necesidad en cal de los suelos ácidos de Tenerife, por I. Trujillo Jacinto del Castillo, A. Borges Pérez, F. Gutiérrez Jerez y C. Curbelo Mújica.—Nutrición y Fisiología Vegetal. Efectos de la fertilización con N, P y K sobre los azúcares en hojas de vid, por C. Mozuelos, R . Romero, V. Valpuesta, R. Sarmiento y L. Catalina.-- Actividad biológica de algunos inhibidores naturales, por Durán, J. M. y Langreo, M.-- Redistribución de nutrientes en limonero verna, por A. Cerdá, M. Caro y F. Santa Cruz.-- Evoluciones de fósforo de distintas fracciones en la hoja citrus Iimonum, por María Parra y T. Parra.-- Distribución de nutrientes en la planta de tomate, por M." P. Sánchez Conde.-- Efectos de la luz, oscuridad y fotoperiodo sobre la germinación, por J. F. Pérez Francés, M. Niebla y A. C. Blesa.—NotasPeer reviewe

Assessment of oxygen supply-demand imbalance and outcomes among patients with type 2 myocardial infarction: a secondary analysis of the High-STEACS cluster randomized clinical trial

Importance: Type 2 myocardial infarction occurs owing to multiple factors associated with myocardial oxygen supply-demand imbalance, which may confer different risks of adverse outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and outcomes of different factors associated with oxygen supply-demand imbalance among patients with type 2 myocardial infarction. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this secondary analysis of a stepped-wedge, cluster randomized clinical trial conducted at 10 secondary and tertiary care hospitals in Scotland, 6096 patients with an adjudicated diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 myocardial infarction from June 10, 2013, to March 3, 2016, were identified, and the findings were reported on August 28, 2018. The trial enrolled consecutive patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. The diagnosis of myocardial infarction was adjudicated according to the Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction and the primary factor associated with oxygen supply-demand imbalance in type 2 myocardial infarction was defined. This secondary analysis was not prespecified. Statistical analysis was performed from July 7 to 30, 2020. Intervention: Implementation of a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I assay. Main Outcomes and Measures: All-cause death at 1 year according to the factors associated with oxygen supply-demand imbalance among patients with type 2 myocardial infarction. Results: Of 6096 patients (2602 women [43%]; median age, 70 years [IQR, 58-80 years]), 4981 patients had type 1 myocardial infarction, and 1115 patients had type 2 myocardial infarction. The most common factor associated with oxygen supply-demand imbalance was tachyarrhythmia (616 of 1115 [55%]), followed by hypoxemia (219 of 1115 [20%]), anemia (95 of 1115 [9%]), hypotension (89 of 1115 [8%]), severe hypertension (61 of 1115 [5%]), and coronary mechanisms (35 of 1115 [3%]). At 1 year, all-cause mortality occurred for 15% of patients (720 of 4981) with type 1 myocardial infarction and 23% of patients (285 of 1115) with type 2 myocardial infarction. Compared with patients with type 1 myocardial infarction, those with type 2 myocardial infarction owing to hypoxemia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.35; 95% CI, 1.72-3.18) and anemia (aOR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.14-2.88) were at greatest risk of death, whereas those with type 2 myocardial infarction owing to tachyarrhythmia (aOR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.65-1.06) or coronary mechanisms (aOR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.17-3.86) were at similar risk of death as patients with type 1 myocardial infarction. Conclusions and Relevance: In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial, mortality after type 2 myocardial infarction was associated with the underlying etiologic factor associated with oxygen supply-demand imbalance. Most type 2 myocardial infarctions were associated with tachyarrhythmia, with better prognosis, whereas hypoxemia and anemia accounted for one-third of cases, with double the mortality of type 1 myocardial infarction. These differential outcomes should be considered by clinicians when determining which cases need to be managed if patient outcomes are to improve. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01852123