Intervenciones fotovoltaicas en barrios de viviendas en las ciudades de Resistencia y Corrientes

This paper addresses the posibilities of incorporating Grid Connected Photovoltaic Systems (SFCR) in the architectural envelope of neighborhoods in the metropolitan areas of Gran Resistencia and Gran Corrientes, from the Northeast region of the Argentine Republic.SFCRs allow for the generation of distributed renewable energy, reducing energy billing and greenhouse gas emissions, without taking up additional space and transforming the user into a prosumer.The approach methodology responds to the complexity of the research object and combines qualitative and quantitative instances, through the analysis of a case study, and the proposal to incorporate SFCR in a "hypothetical use case". In both cases the focus is on the housing-user relationship.El presente trabajo aborda las posibilidades de incorporación de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos Conectados a Red (SFCR) en la envolvente arquitectónica de barrios en el Área Metropolitana del Gran Resistencia (AMGR) y Gran Corrientes, de la región Nordeste de la República Argentina. Los SFCR permiten generar energía renovable de tipo distribuida, disminuyendo la facturación de energía y la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero, sin ocupar espacio adicional y transformando al usuario en un prosumidor. La metodología de abordaje responde a la complejidad del objeto de investigación y combina instancias cualitativas y cuantitativas, mediante el análisis de un “caso de estudio”, y la propuesta de incorporación de SFCR en un “caso de aplicación hipotética”. En ambos casos el foco se pone en la relación vivienda–usuario.

Factores asociados a sobrepeso y obesidad en trabajadores de Piura-Perú: Factors associated with overweight and obesity in workers of Piura-Peru

Introduction: Obesity is a public health problem, which also affects the worksector. Objective: Determine the factors associated with overweight and obesity inPiura workers. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using secondary database. Weused the occupational exam records of workers of companies in Sechura – Piura.The main variable was the BMI classification (normal/overweight/obese).Descriptive results and the association between the type of BMI and othervariables were presented. Results: Of the 1203 workers who met the selectioncriteria, 93.2% (1121) were male, and had a median age of 31 (range: 18-63).Significant difference between BMI with respect to waist circumference, hipdiameter, hemoglobin, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL and glucose was found.In addition to gender, age and type of test (entrance/periodic/retirement). The studyshowed no significant differences from the place of birth or residence. Conclusions: There were differences in all the physio-anthropometric parametersevaluated with respect to BMI, except birthplace/residence, which shows that therisk of the working population should not be assessed by these demographiccharacteristics. Work programs to improve global health should be generated.Introducción: La obesidad es un problema de salud pública, la cual afecta también al sector laboral. Objetivo: Determinar los factores asociados a sobrepeso y obesidad en trabajadores de Piura.Métodos: Estudio transversal analítico, usando una base de datos secundarios. Se emplearon losregistros de los exámenes ocupacionales tomados a trabajadores de empresas en Sechura – Piura.La variable principal fue la clasificación según IMC (normal/sobrepeso/obesidad). Se presentaron losresultados descriptivos y se encontró la asociación entre el tipo de IMC y las otras variables. Resultados:De los 1 203 trabajadores el 93,2%(1 121) fueron varones, con una mediana de 31 años (rango: 18 a 63años). Se encontró diferencia significativa entre el IMC con respecto a diámetro de cintura, diámetro decadera, hemoglobina, colesterol, triglicéridos, HDL, LDL y glucosa. Además del sexo, la edad y el tipode examen (de entrada/periódico/retiro). El estudio no mostró diferencias significativas con respectoal lugar de nacimiento o residencia. Conclusión: Se encontró diferencias en todos los parámetros fisio-antropométricos evaluados, pero no según el lugar de nacimiento/residencia, lo que nos indica que lavigilancia ocupacional en este grupo no debe basarse en sus características demográficas, debiendogenerarse programas laborales para tratar de mejorar la salud global

Fighting against plant saline stress: Development of a novel bioactive composite based on bentonite and L-proline

Soil salinity is one of the most critical environmental stresses that affects crop productivity. In a context in which world demand for food is growing continuously, this problem requires urgent attention. Actions that go beyond traditional agricultural practices are needed. The objective of the current study was to develop a bioactive, economic, and sustainable compound that can increase the tolerance of cultivated plants in saline-stress situations by combining the hosting capacity of natural bentonite nanoclay (Bent) with a phytoactive osmoprotective compound, L-Proline (Pro). The Bent-Pro nanocomposite synthesis method, its final chemical structure, and in vitro bioactivity were addressed here. The results indicated that Bent can retain a maximum of 14.4% (w/w) of Pro. The (001) X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak of Bent shifted to smaller angles in the pattern of Bent-Pro, indicating that Pro has a monolayer arrangement between the Bent layers. The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) also supported this result. Pro was also retained on the edges or external surfaces of Bent, as indicated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, Pro functional groups identified by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that it was present in its zwitterionic form. The role of Bent-Pro as a protector against plant saline stress was assayed using Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) as a model, demonstrating that it mitigates the detrimental effects of NaCl-mediated salt stress on seed germination and the leaf chlorophyll level, thus highlighting the relevance of this contribution and the versatility and broad applicability of clays.Fil: Merino, Danila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias, María J.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Mansilla, Andrea Yamila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Casalongué, Claudia A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Vera A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Pain, anxiety and patient satisfaction in office hysteroscopy, is there a link? Are patient satisfaction questionnaires reliable?

Background: Office hysteroscopy is becoming increasingly popular leading to examinations and operations without anesthesia.  Anxiety is always present before an aversive medical intervention and may play a role in pain perception. The objectives of the study were to determine if pain perception is linked to anxiety and how well patient satisfaction questionnaires correlate with pain.Methods: Prospective observational study enrolled one hundred and four women. One hundred cases were included and analyzed. Patients scheduled for office hysteroscopy, who accepted to participate and were able to answer questionnaires.Results: A ten centimeter visual analogue scale was used for pain evaluation and the State anxiety-trait inventory for adults questionnaires for anxiety assessment. Three other satisfaction questionnaires, each consisting of three answers, were also administered and investigated. Analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0 IBM for windows software tools.Conclusions: Correlation between anxiety and pain reporting showed no influence with anxiety trait (p value = 0.4170) and a mild correlation with anxiety state (p value = 0.146). Classification of pain into “no pain”, “mild pain”, “moderate pain” and “severe pain”, should be revised in office hysteroscopy: for visual analogue scale, scores of 2.5 to 3 cm correspond to the lower boundary of moderate pain and scores above limit 6.5 cm should define pain as severe. Satisfaction questionnaires significantly correlated to discomfort (p value <0.001) and may be a practical option to assess tolerance of medical procedures with excellent sensibility and specificity

Delayed Hypersensitivity to Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field in Electroporated Cells

We demonstrate that conditioning of mammalian cells by electroporation with nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) facilitates their response to the next nsPEF treatment. The experiments were designed to unambiguously separate the electroporation-induced sensitization and desensitization effects. Electroporation was achieved by bursts of 300-ns, 9 kV/cm pulses (50 Hz, n = 3–100) and quantified by propidium dye uptake within 11 min after the nsPEF exposure. We observed either sensitization to nsPEF or no change (when the conditioning was either too weak or too intense, or when the wait time after conditioning was too short). Within studied limits, conditioning never caused desensitization. With settings optimal for sensitization, the second nsPEF treatment became 2.5 times (25 °C) or even 6 times (37 °C) more effective than the same nsPEF treatment delivered without conditioning. The minimum wait time required for sensitization development was 30 s, with still longer delays increasing the effect. We show that the delayed hypersensitivity was not mediated by either cell swelling or oxidative effect of the conditioning treatment; biological mechanisms underlying the delayed electrosensitization remain to be elucidated. Optimizing nsPEF delivery protocols to induce sensitization can reduce the dose and adverse side effects of diverse medical treatments which require multiple pulse applications

Feeding ecology of fish larvae from Chilean Patagonia during austral winter

Feeding habits of the ichthyoplankton from Chilean Patagonia (44-46°30’S) were studied during June-July 2012 (austral winter). Ichthyoplankton assemblage was composed by 10 species, with low abundance (3.8 to 16.73 ind. 1000 m-3). Most abundant larvae were Maurolicus parvipinnis, Leptonotus blainvilleanus and Sprattus fuegensis. These three species fed mainly on calanoid copepodites, Paracalanus indicus and Calanus sp. copepodites, and cyphonautes. Trophic overlap among dominant fish larvae was high (Schoener’s D &gt; 0.69) and no significant differences were detected in prey composition and size. Therefore, no resource partitioning occurred in planktonic fish larvae during winter 2012 in Chilean Patagonia

Identification of far-red light acclimation in an endolithic Chroococcidiopsis strain and associated genomic features: Implications for oxygenic photosynthesis on exoplanets

Deserts represent extreme habitats where photosynthetic life is restricted to the lithic niche. The ability of rock-inhabiting cyanobacteria to modify their photosynthetic apparatus and harvest far-red light (near-infrared) was investigated in 10 strains of the genus Chroococcidiopsis, previously isolated from diverse endolithic and hypolithic desert communities. The analysis of their growth capacity, photosynthetic pigments, and apcE2-gene presence revealed that only Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 010 was capable of far-red light photoacclimation (FaRLiP). A total of 15 FaRLiP genes were identified, encoding paralogous subunits of photosystem I, photosystem II, and the phycobilisome, along with three regulatory elements. CCMEE 010 is unique among known FaRLiP strains by undergoing this acclimation process with a significantly reduced cluster, which lacks major photosystem I paralogs psaA and psaB. The identification of an endolithic, extremotolerant cyanobacterium capable of FaRLiP not only contributes to our appreciation of this phenotype’s distribution in nature but also has implications for the possibility of oxygenic photosynthesis on exoplanets

Acercando las energías renovables a la comunidad: instalación de cargadores solares para dispositivos móviles en la región NEA

El presente trabajo expone los resultados de la transferencia tecnológica y puesta en funcionamiento de un mobiliario urbano innovador denominado “cargador solar para dispositivos móviles” en distintos sitios urbanos y turísticos de la Región Nordeste Argentina (NEA). Se trata de un dispositivo multipropósito (cargador de celulares, artefacto de luz, hito urbano) que brinda un servicio público y a la vez actúa como medio de difusión de la conciencia ecológica y la necesidad de incorporar las energías renovables a la vida cotidiana. Su diseño fue realizado por un equipo interdisciplinario de docentes-investigadores de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste.

Patio solar en el campus de la reforma universitaria. Primer sistema fotovoltaico conectado a red de la Provincia del Chaco

En el Campus de la Reforma Universitaria de 1918 de la Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (UNNE), en agosto de 2014 se inauguró un “Patio Solar” que tiene por objetivo convertirse en un nodo de experimentación, investigación, capacitación, difusión y sensibilización a la comunidad sobre la importancia de las energías renovables. Es la primera y (hasta el momento) única implementación de un Sistema Fotovoltaico Conectado a Red (SFCR) de la ciudad de Resistencia y de la Provincia del Chaco. Se realizó en el marco del programa “Interconexión de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos a la Red Eléctrica en Ambientes Urbanos” otorgado en el marco de la convocatoria FITS 2010 – Energía Solar, del FONARSEC. Este programa tuvo por objetivo promover la implementación de SFCR sobre la hipótesis de la coexistencia de los sistemas tradicionales de generación de energía eléctrica con sistemas Fotovoltaicos distribuidos. Como integrante del programa la UNNE ha construido este SFCR como nodo experimental consistente en una Cubierta Solar ubicada en un Patio Urbano, con el objeto de dar visibilidad social a la propuesta y acercar al vecino las energías renovables. Desde su instalación se ha realizado el monitoreo de las principales variables que lo caracterizan, con la intensión de evaluar su comportamiento e interacción en condiciones de operación con la red de distribución de energía eléctrica.