Water Funds: Conserving Green Infrastructure

This manual is an effort by TNC to compile, analyze and synthesize its own experience, together with that of the water funds already in existence and under creation, in order to provide operational guidelines to people and organizations interested in establishing a water fund or similar mechanism. Each location has different ecological, social, economic, legal and institutional features and, therefore, each water fund will have its own characteristics, phases and projections. This manual presents general guidelines and logical steps that must be followed to boost the opportunities and benefits of a water fund and to minimize possible obstacles for its creation. It is not intended to be an in-depth look at every aspect of water funds. Although TNC participates in several other initiatives and similar approaches to watershed management, such as the water producers program in Brazil, this document will not address those initiatives and will only focus on the water funds scheme, placing greater emphasis on experiences in the Andean region

How many people need palliative care for cancer and non-cancer diseases in a middle-income country? Analysis of mortality data

Introduccion: El envejecimiento de la poblacion y el consecuente aumento en la prevalencia de enfermedades cronicas implica que habrá más personas que necesitarán cuidados paliativos. Esta necesidad no se ha cuantificado mayormente en los países de medianos ingresos con miras a la planificacion de políticas y a la ampliacion de la atenci on en salud. Objetivo: Ofrecer un estimado de la necesidad de servicios de cuidados paliativos en Colombia y comparar dichas necesidades con la oferta disponible en la actualidad. Métodos: Estudio transversal basado en estadísticas de mortalidad en Colombia para el periodo comprendido entre 2012–2016. Calculamos las cifras de muertes y tasas de mortalidad específicas por edad y sexo a partir de los certificados de defuncion correspondientes a enfermedades cronicas de finidas, a fin de estimar la prevalencia de la necesidad de cuidados paliativos en Colombia, y se comparo dicha informaci on con la oferta actual, de acuerdo con el Observatorio Colombiano de Cuidados Paliativos. Resultados: Las cifras correspondientes a muertes que requirieron cuidados paliativos aumentaron de 107 065 en el 2012 a 128 670 en el 2016 (61.2% del total de muertes). Las causas de estas muertes varían segun el grupo etario, con un porcentaje evidentemente mayor de enfermedades cardiacas, cerebrovasculares y demencia en edades avanzadas, y VIH/SIDA en los grupos más jovenes. En todos los grupos etarios, las neoplasias malignas son una parte importante de las causas de muerte de quienes requieren cuidados paliativos (31.3% de todas las muertes en el 2016). Estas necesidades contrastan con el hecho de que en la mayoría de las áreas no existen servicios de cuidados paliativos, o su oferta es muy limitada. Conclusiones: En Colombia se necesita una verdadera política de cuidados paliativos, incluyendo un aumento significativo de las oportunidades de capacitacion en el área, así como un marco regulatorio que permita que una amplia gama de profesionales de la salud participen en cuidados paliativos, a fin de mejorar la oferta de estos servicios.Introduction: Aging of the population and the accompanying increase in prevalence of chronic illnesses mean that more people will need palliative care. This need has not been extensively quantified in middle-income countries to policy planning and expanding health care. Objective: Provide an estimate of the need of palliative care services in Colombia and compare these needs with the current available offer. Methods: Cross-sectional study based on mortality statistics for Colombia for the period 2012 to 2016. We calculated agespecific and sex-specific numbers of deaths and mortality rates from death certificates for defined chronic illnesses to estimate the prevalence of palliative care need in Colombia, and contrasted this information with the current offer according to the Colombian Observatory of Palliative Care. Results: The numbers of deaths requiring palliative care increased from 107,065 in 2012 to 128,670 in 2016 (61.2% of total deaths). The causes of these deaths vary by age group, with a clearly more important proportion of heart and cerebrovascular diseases and dementia in advances ages, and HIV/AIDS in young ages. In all age groups, malignant neoplasms are an important part of the causes of deaths of those requiring palliative care (31.3% of all deaths in 2016). Contrasting this needs, in most areas there is no or very limited offer of palliative care services. Conclusion: A real palliative care policy,including a vast increase in training opportunities in the field and regulation allowing a wide range of health practitioners to be involved in palliative care, is necessary in Colombia to improve the palliative care offer

Effect of Soil Nitrogen and Water Content on the Establishment of a \u3cem\u3eLolium perenne\u3c/em\u3e L. and \u3cem\u3eTrifolium repens\u3c/em\u3e L. Pasture

Climate change has decreased rainfall in Southern Chile affecting the productivity of the grasslands that sustain the dairy and beef cattle industries. These grasslands are mainly mixtures of Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. Thus, we study the response on the establishment of a mixture of these two species to three levels of soil water content and two levels of nitrogen (N) fertilization. The trial was carried out in containers sowed in a complete randomized block´s design. Soil moisture measurements were taken daily. N fertilizations was applied at the establishment and every 60 days. Leaf appearance rate was measured every 3 days. Intercepted radiation, plant water potential, botanical composition, dry matter content and nutritional forage quality were measured at each harvest. Soil samples were taken at the beginning, peak and end of the establishment period to study the microbial communities. Results showed that the rate of leaf appearance of L. perenne and T. repens were not influenced by soil water content, nor by nitrogen fertilization level. L. perenne yield was influenced by soil water content and N fertilization level. T. repens yield was affected only by the soil water content. All the variables measured were affected by the harvest date. Soil water content and abundance of T. repens had a significant effect on the nutritional quality of the pasture. Soil water content and nitrogen fertilization level modified the microbial communities in the soil

Herramientas para la recuperación de la información: los términos MeSH (Headings)

ResumenSeñor editor: Con gran agrado hemos leído el artículo publicado por Camps y cols, acerca del uso del diccionario MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).Sin duda alguna los términos MeSH se constituyen en una herramienta indispensable para la recuperación de información en las bases de datos como lo recalcan los autores, y más a la velocidad con que estas crecenProporcionan el anhelado “balance” entre sensibilidad y especificidad de una búsqueda. Quisiéramos hacer referencia a algunos puntos que creemos son importantes

Disruptores endocrinos y su camino hacia el desequilibrio metabólico

El presente artículo de revisión tiene como objetivo presentar, de forma resumida, la evidencia que existe sobre las repercusiones metabólicas a nivel de obesidad y diabetes, que se genera como consecuencia de la exposición a sustancias químicas exógenas, denominadas disruptores endocrinos (DE), a las cuales nos exponemos de forma cotidiana y que afectan nuestra salud y la de nuestra descendencia. Adicionalmente, con la presente revisión hacemos un llamado no solo a la comunidad médica, sino a los sectores involucrados en la producción, distribución y reglamentación del uso de estas sustancias, pues cada vez hay más evidencia de los efectos nocivos que pueden generar y debemos evitar su uso. Los datos se obtuvieron de estudios clínicos aleatorizados y de una revisión en idioma español e inglés de los últimos 15 años, que incluyó los términos DeCS: disruptores endocrinos, con alternativa DeCS: sustancias disruptoras endocrinas y efecto disruptor endocrino, así como términos MeSH: endocrine disruptors y alternativas MeSH: disruptors, endocrine; endocrine disrupting chemicals; chemicals, endocrine disrupting; endocrine disruptor effect; disruptor effect, endocrine; effect, endocrine disruptor; endocrine disruptor effects; disruptor effects, endocrine; effects, endocrine disruptor

ANALYSIS OF WALLS AND PILLARS OF THE HYPOSTYLE HALL AT THE QH31 TOMB (ASWAN, EGYPT) BASED ON 3D MODELS

This study describes the methodology developed and the results obtained about the geometric behaviour of walls and pillars of one of the most prominent rock-cut funerary structures of the Middle Kingdom period located in the Necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa. More specifically, we selected the hypostyle hall of the QH31 hypogeum, one of the greatest in the Necropolis, to apply this methodology. The main objective is related to obtaining geometrical aspects of walls and pillars in order to understand the constructive procedure carried out almost four millennia ago. The methodology was based on photogrammetric and TLS surveys that allowed us to obtain a complete combined 3D model of the structure, geometrically contrasted and with real texture. From this product we obtained a high density point cloud, where some planes were fitted considering the walls and pillars that defined the structure. These planes were characterized by their normal vectors, which were used to analyse several geometric aspects such as inclinations, parallelism and perpendicularity. As results, we have obtained important information about the level of accuracy of the constructive procedure carried out by the ancient Egyptians. In this sense, the values obtained allow us to suggest and confirm several hypotheses about the construction of this hypogeum. The proposed methodology has demonstrated its feasibility for determining these geometric aspects of funerary structures through the analysis of the fitted planes obtained from the 3D model

Medical geography in the study of hepatitis A, in the Coffee-triangle region, Colombia, 2007-2011

Objectives: There are few studies of geographical characterization of viral hepatitis. For this reason, we after estimating the incidence rates for Hepatitis A (HAV), we developed epidemiological GIS-based maps for this viral disease, within a well-defined geographic region (the coffee triangle) in Colombia. Study design: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of surveillance data and GIS-based developing of epidemiological maps. Methods: Surveillance cases data (2007-2011) were used to estimate annual incidence rates using reference population data, on hepatitis, to develop the first maps of HAV in the 53 municipalities of the coffee-triangle region of Colombia (departments Caldas, Quindio, Risaralda). GIS used was Kosmo® 3.1. To summarize and compare the data among municipalities and departments (as units of analysis) we generate indicators such as accumulated incidence rates (AIR) and incidence rates ratios. Results: 1518 HAV cases were reported, 47% from Quindío, 30% Caldas and 22% Risaralda. Quindio presented with the highest AIR (131.54) among all the administrative units under study (Caldas, AIR: 46.39; Risaralda, AIR: 37.62). Interestingly, the highest rates in Quindio, during the period, could be related to the increased number of cases reported in two municipalities from 2008 (Quimbaya, AIR ratio: 4.0 and Montenegro: 3.61). The causes that underlie this augmentation will be subject to further research. Conclusions: Incidence rates for HAV is still high in the region. Showing epidemiological data, particularly in maps would allow planning actions oriented to interventions at the different forms of transmission that this disease has, which is highly important for decisions in public health policies

Detección molecular del virus de la fiebre amarilla en muestras de suero de casos fatales humanos y en cerebros de ratón.

A molecular method for the diagnosis of yellow fever virus infection was developed based on reverse transcription (RT) followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Examinations were conducted on lyophilized sera from 3 fatal yellow fever cases and 4 fresh sera from 3 fatal cases and one from a symptomatic patient (positive IgM against yellow fever virus). Sera were extracted with TRIZOL-LS to isolate viral RNA for RT treatment and the PCR reaction included 2 primers sets designed specifically for yellow fever virus: sense, JM2104 (5'-CGTTGGGAGAGGAGATTC-3') y JM2249 (5'-TTCTTCACTTCGGTTGGG-3'), and antisense, JM2673 (5'-TCATCTGCCCTGCTTCTC-3') y JM2751 (5'-CCTCTCTGGTAAACATTCT-3'). The technique for demonstrating the yellow fever virus in tissue samples was used in infected mice brains treated with lysis buffer before RNA extraction. PCR reactions were evaluated in agarose gels where single bands of the expected size for each primers pair (569 bp and 502 bp) were observed for all serum samples. In addition, the results for 2 fresh positive sera were supported by histopathologic finding of yellow fever virus. The RT-PCR method permits a rapid and specific demonstration of the presence of yellow fever virus.Hemos adaptado un método molecular basado en la técnica de transcripción reversa seguida de la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (RT-PCR) para diagnóstico alternativo de la infección por el virus de la fiebre amarilla. Se tomaron tres sueros liofilizados de casos fatales de fiebre amarilla y cuatro sueros frescos, de los cuales tres pertenecían a casos fatales de la enfermedad y el cuarto a un paciente sintomático con serología IgM positiva para fiebre amarilla; los sueros fueron tratados con Trizol-LS® para extraer el ARN viral que fue sometido a reacción de RT y posteriormente a PCR, para la cual se diseñaron dos parejas de iniciadores específicos de fiebre amarilla: iniciadores directos (sentido) JM2104 (5´-CGTTGGGAGAGGAGATTC-3´) y JM2249 (5´-TTCTTCACTTCGGTTGGG-3´), e iniciadores inversos (antisentido) JM2673 (5´- TCATCTGCCCTGCTTCTC-3´) y JM2751 (5´-CCTCTCTGGTAAACATTCT-3´). La aplicación de la técnica en tejidos se hizo en cerebros de ratón infectados con el virus amarílico, tratados con una solución de lisis antes de purificar el ARN. En geles de agarosa se observaron bandas únicas de amplificación del tamaño esperado (569 pb y 502 pb); todas las muestras fueron corroboradas con las dos parejas de iniciadores y en dos de las muestras de suero fresco los resultados positivos para fiebre amarilla fueron comprobados con estudio histopatológico. Este método de detección molecular permitió demostrar de manera rápida y eficiente la presencia del virus de la fiebre amarilla, hecho que tiene importantes implicaciones diagnósticas para este problema de salud pública

The financial impact of a terminal cancer on patient′s families in Colombia – a survey study

Q2Aim of the study: The socio-economic impact of caring for a cancer patient in the family is unknown in Colombia. This survey aimed to evaluate the existence of financial burden caused by cancer on the caregiving families of terminally ill patients. Methods: We used the Covinsky Family Impact Scale in a telephone survey with families of patients who died from cancer between May 2019 and June 2020 in three Colombian hospitals. Results: We obtained answers of 176 caregivers, of whom 74.4 % indicated to have experienced at least one hardship of the Covinsky items. The most commonly reported financial hardship involved the use of all or most of the family savings for the care provided to the patient (45.6 %); 27.6 % indicated that a major source of family income was lost. A quarter (25 %) postponed educational or other important plans of family members and 10–11 % indicated to have moved to another home or postponed medical treatments. Conclusion: In Colombia, a country with universal health coverage, substantial financial impacts of terminal cancer care exist not only for patients, but also for family members and other caregivers. The system is failing to avoid financial toxicity of cancer among this group. Policy summary statement: Informal caregivers are of vital importance for cancer patients but also to the healthcare system, particularly in LMICs. It is very important for policy makers to consider the hardships, not only emotionally but also financially, that the care for a (terminally ill) cancer patient implies on caregivers.Revista Internacional - Indexad