Interpreting in Palliative Care: A Continuing Education Workshop

Offers a curriculum for a daylong course for interpreters about palliative care, including lesson plans, handouts, presentation slides, and videos

Manejo de la producción equina e impacto ambiental: el caso de establecimientos en Buenos Aires (Argentina)

La producción equina en Buenos Aires (Argentina) es de 512847 cabezas. El manejo de la producción equina es un factor importante para la minimización de los efectos ambientales. Este manejo incluye la implementación de buenas prácticas. El objetivo de este trabajo es caracterizar los establecimientos de producción equina en Buenos Aires en cuanto a su manejo y evaluar el posible impacto ambiental que pueden generar. Se han caracterizado 16 establecimientos según las fuentes de abastecimiento de agua, cantidad y profundidad de los pozos, raza, sistema productivo, tipo y gestión de camas, tipo de alimentación, prácticas veterinarias, suplementos dietarios utilizados, y manejo de la alimentación. Este trabajo es el primer estudio sobre los efectos ambientales de la producción equina en Argentina.Equine production in Buenos Aires (Argentina) is 512847 heads. The equine production management is an important factor for the minimization of environmental effects. This management includes the implementation of good practices. The aim of this paper is to characterize the equine production paddocks in Buenos Aires in terms of their management, and to evaluate the possible environmental impact they may generate. Sixteen paddocks have been characterized according to the sources of water supply, quantity and depth of the wells, breed, productive system, type and management of beds, type of feed, feeding practices, supplementation, other ration components and management. These are the first studies on environmental effects of equine production in Argentine.Fil: Vaccaro, Mariana Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: García Liñeiro, José Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Cirelli, Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios del Agua; Argentin

La UE en el mundo: actuaciones y limitaciones de la Presidencia española 2010

Este ARI repasa el desarrollo de algunas de las prioridades en el ámbito exterior de la Presidencia española del Consejo de la Unión Europea, superado el ecuador de la misma. España asumió el 1 de enero de 2010 la Presidencia del Consejo de la UE, por cuarta vez desde su incorporación a la entonces Comunidad Europea. España ejerce su Presidencia en un momento crucial del proyecto de integración europeo, con la gran responsabilidad de poner en marcha las novedades y la nueva arquitectura institucional incorporada en el Tratado de Lisboa, que entró finalmente en vigor, el 1 de diciembre de 2009. Por todo ello, y por una serie de cuestiones que se detallarán a continuación, la Presidencia española se enfrenta a un reto organizativo y a una serie de temas prioritarios de gran relevancia en un contexto sumamente complejo tanto a nivel nacional como europeo e internacional. En este ARI se analizaran algunos de los puntos que España pretende impulsar para que la Unión Europea se constituya en un actor global, responsable y solidario. No obstante, por su especificidad, no se analizará el desarrollo de las prioridades de la Presidencia en política de seguridad y defensa o conexas, tales como la participación de la UE en la Conferencia de Revisión del Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear o aquellas cumbres de la UE (Canadá, Japón, la de Pakistán ha sido aplazada) en las que la Presidencia española no ha participado

Aquatic Coleoptera and Heteroptera inhabiting waterbodies from Berisso (Buenos Aires province, Argentina)

Coleoptera and Heteroptera associated with aquatic environments were studied at Berisso, near Río de La Plata estuary (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). Four waterbodies were characterized and compared: artificial pond, shallow pool, stream and artificial channel. Sampling was done twice a month, with a round sieve, for 12 months (April 1999 to April 2000). Sampling was quantified using a discrete unit of time (one hour/worker). Where floating vegetation was present, four 25 cm diameter samples were extracted and placed in a Berlese-Tullgren funnel for 48 hours. Temperature, pH and conductivity were measured. Specimens were preserved in 70° ethanol. Similarities in taxonomic composition among sampling stations were quantified using Jaccard’s index based on a presence/absence matrix for the insect fauna of each sampling station. A total of 68 species belonging to 8 families of Coleoptera and 11 families of Heteroptera were collected. The highest number of species (41) was recorded in the shallow pool (stream 34 species; artificial pond 29; artificial channel 25). The highest specific diversity values were observed during spring in all sampling stations. The highest frequency of Coleoptera was shown by Helochares talarum Fernández and Suphisellus nigrinus (Aubé) (?). In the Heteroptera it was shown by Lipostemmata humeralis Berg, Lipogomphus lacuniferus Berg and Rheumatobates bonariensis (Berg). The most abundant species were not necessarily the most frequent ones. Coleoptera is the most important group in species richness. Each environment had a taxocoenosis of Coleoptera and Heteroptera with inherent characteristics.Fil: Fernandez, Liliana Alicia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raul A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; ArgentinaFil: López Ruf, Mónica. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; Argentin

Influence of the notch-sharpening technique on styrene-acrylonitrile fracture behavior

The Centre Catala del Plastic and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos laboratories joined forces to investigate the effect of the notch-sharpening technique on the fracture parameters of styrene-acrylonitrile. Contact notch-sharpening techniques, such as razor tapping, razor sliding, and razor broaching, and a noncontact procedure, femtolaser, were analyzed. The fracture values of the samples with notches sharpened via contact techniques were divided into two groups: one with pop-in and the other with no pop-in in the load-displacement records; this resulted in the lowest and highest fracture toughnesses, respectively. The fracture parameters of the specimens with notches sharpened via a femtolaser were between those of the samples with notches sharpened via contact procedures in which pop-in occurred and those in which it did not. To explain these results, the crack front of the nontested specimens after sharpening was investigated in depth, we identified the type of damage and measured its size and the crack tip radii. The morphology of the crack front was related to the fractographic study.Postprint (author's final draft

Trace elements in confined livestock production systems in the pampean plains of Argentina

The presence of trace elements in manure, soils and sediments from the drainage canalizations in confined beef cattle production systems has been analyzed in a humid and in a semiarid area of Argentina. The obtained results clearly show accumulation of Cu and Zn in the pen soils of the system under study. Metals in the soil come from animal manure. Metals in manure are derived directly from the animal diet. Concentration decreases with soil depth. In the sediments from the drainage canalizations, concentration is higher due to run-off. Differences were observed between humid and semiarid regions. Nevertheless, in both cases, metal accumulation in soil is related to the age of emplacement of the establishmentFil: Moscuzza, Carlos Hernán. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Cirelli, Alicia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; Argentin

Utilizing Standardized Patient Feedback to Facilitate Professional Behavior in Physical Therapist Students: A Pilot Study

Purpose: Physical therapist (PT) students receive feedback on professional behavior performance from academic and clinical faculty members. Literature is lacking on the impact that verbal feedback from standardized patients (SPs) may have on physical therapist student learning of professional behaviors. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the use of standardized patients’ feedback as a strategy for professional behavior development. Methods: A sample of convenience identified 13 doctoral physical therapist students prior to initiation of their first full-time clinical experience. Subjects were excluded if they had prior experiences with standardized patients or had completed a full-time clinical experience. Using a randomized control design, the experimental group (n=7) received standardized patient verbal feedback and written rubric assessment, whereas the comparison group (n=6) received written rubric assessment alone after completing standardized patient case scenarios. Outcome measures included the Modified Standardized Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSPSQ), Professional Behaviors Assessment (PBA), and Professionalism Physical Therapy Core Values Assessment (PPTCVA). Results: Data analysis included pre and post intervention comparisons of Modified Standardized Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire rubric assessment scores, Professional Behaviors Assessment scores, and Professionalism Physical Therapy Core Values Assessment scores. No statistically significant differences were found on these outcome measures, although trends for changes in performance were noted. Conclusions: Limited research exists on the impact of standardized patients’ verbal feedback with the use of a standardized rubric on physical therapist student professional behavior. This pilot study did not provide significant evidence on the value of this educational strategy in development of professional behaviors in doctoral physical therapist students. Future research may be beneficial to examine differences in perceptions of professional behavior between standardized patients, students, and faculty

Arsenic and vanadium levels in waters in the Union Department, southeast of Córdoba province, Argentina

En Argentina, existen grandes regiones que por sus características edafoclimáticas, poseen excelentes aptitudes agropecuarias, sin embargo, sufren limitaciones de desarrollo debido a la disponibilidad de agua y la calidad del recurso hídrico disponible. Uno de los elementos químicos presentes en el agua, con mayor impacto sobre la salud humana y animal, es el arsénico. La región afectada, abarca las provincias de Córdoba, La Pampa, Santiago del Estero, San Luis, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, Chaco, Salta, Tucumán, San Juan y Mendoza. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la presencia y distribución del arsénico en agua superficial y subterránea en el sudeste de la provincia de Córdoba, una de las zonas más afectadas de Argentina por la presencia de arsénico en el agua.Argentina has large regions with excellent aptitude for agricultural activities. Nevertheless, some areas show development limitations as to water availability and quality. One of the chemical elements in water with great impact on human and animal health is arsenic. The As-affected region includes the provinces of Córdoba, La Pampa, Santiago del Estero, San Luis, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, Chaco, Salta, Tucumán, San Juan and Mendoza. The aim of this work was to analyze the presence and distribution of arsenic in superficial and ground waters in south-eastern Córdoba province, one of the areas in Argentina most affected by the presence of arsenic in water. Arsenic levels in groundwater were highly variable. The highest values were reported in the phreatic aquifer where arsenic concentration was between 20 and 4600 μg.L-1. Another element found at significant levels in the phreatic aquifer was vanadium whose concentrations were between 30 and 2710 μg.L-1. The presence of vanadium associated with high levels of arsenic could pose a risk to animal health and production.Fil: Pérez Carrera, Alejo Leopoldo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios del Agua; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Cirelli, Alicia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios del Agua; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Melanoma expression analysis with Big Data technologies

Melanoma is a highly immunogenic tumor. Therefore, in recent years physicians have incorporated drugs that alter the immune system into their therapeutic arsenal against this disease, revolutionizing in the treatment of patients in an advanced stage of the disease. This has led us to explore and deepen our knowledge of the immunology surrounding melanoma, in order to optimize its approach. At present, immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma is based on stimulating an individual’s own immune system through the use of specific monoclonal antibodies. The use of immunotherapy has meant that many of patients with melanoma have survived and therefore it constitutes a present and future treatment in this field. At the same time, drugs have been developed targeting specific mutations, specifically BRAF, resulting in large responses in tumor regression (set up in this clinical study to 18 months), as well as a higher percentage of long-term survivors. The analysis of the gene expression changes and their correlation with clinical changes can be developed using the tools provided by those companies which currently provide gene expression platforms. The gene expression platform used in this clinical study is NanoString, which provides nCounter. However, nCounter has some limitations as the type of analysis is restricted to a predefined set, and the introduction of clinical features is a complex task. This paper presents an approach to collect the clinical information using a structured database and a Web user interface to introduce this information, including the results of the gene expression measurements, to go a step further than the nCounter tool. As part of this work, we present an initial analysis of changes in the gene expression of a set of patients before and after targeted therapy. This analysis has been carried out using Big Data technologies (Apache Spark) with the final goal being to scale up to large numbers of patients, even though this initial study has a limited number of enrolled patients (12 in the first analysis). This is not a Big Data problem, but the underlaying study aims at targeting 20 patients per year just in Málaga, and this could be extended to be used to analyze the 3.600 patients diagnosed with melanoma per year.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This work was funded in part by Grants TIN2014-58304-R (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación) and P11-TIC-7529 and P12-TIC-1519 (Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript