Updating the bathymetry of the Maltese Islands : a national-scale marine survey employing interferometric sonar

Chapter 8The ERDF project detailed a requirment for the scanning of an extensive area of 415 square kilometers employing an interferometric sonar. The process, though hampered by high wind and adverse sea conditions was completed as per contract requirements, yielding interesting new information of the bathymetric landscapes of the Maltese Islands. Survey design: The campaign for the bathymetric survey of the Maltese islands, carried out during the summers of 2012 and 2013, summed total area of about 415 square kilometres and covered depths between 15 and 200 m. Th e total survey area was divided into 28 survey blocks, laid out so each one was completed during a full day of work. This rule applied to all the blocks except for blocks 16 and 17 which were completed over the course of two days each. Each survey block was completed by running survey lines parallel to the blocks’ longitudinal axis. During rough weather, lines were run parallel to predominant wave direction to minimise vessel roll. Line spacing ranged from 50 to 300 metres and was decided by a combination of the sensor’s accuracy at increasing horizontal range, depth, seabed type and sea state. Crosslines were also run for each block, usually on the boundary, to allow for additional data checks between neighbouring blockspeer-reviewe

Perfil epidemiológico de la hepatitis B y D en Colombia

The epidemiology of hepatitis B infection in Colombia varies by geographic regions and population groups. Hepatitis B infection prevalence and incidence survey analysis carried out by research institutions and health services has determined the classification of high and intermediate endemicity regions in Colombia. High prevalences of infection and carrier rates have been reported from different geographic areas including the Amazon Basin, Orinoquia and the Atlantic and Pacific coastal regions. High prevalences of delta virus infections and fulminant hepatitis outbreaks have been reported from these areas of high HBV endemicity Populations at high risk, including indian communities, require intensive infant vaccination programmes and age-expanded programmes to control and reduce the endemicity levels. Vaccination of adolescents should be recommended to effectively reduce the number of carriers and the incidence and prevalence of HBV amongst the susceptible population. Routine vaccination of adolescents should be considered at ages 11 to 12 years, before adolescents initiate high-risk practices. More hepatitis B immunisation programmes for health workers should be implemented in hospitals and health-centers. Vaccination should be recommended as early as possible, as a requirement for school or higher education admission. Colombia has reported intermediate rates for primaty hepatocellular carcinoma. Surveys in Cali, Valle del Cauca, confirmed the epidemiological relationship between high risk urban and sub-urban areas for hepatitis B, hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis.Colombia presenta una gran diversidad epidemiológica en las prevalencias de infección y portadores del virus B (VHB), de acuerdo con las regiones geográficas y sus grupos de población. El virus delta (VHD) se encuentra ampliamente distribuido, asociado con epidemias de hepatitis fulminante en áreas de elevada prevalencia del VHB. Los resultados de los estudios realizados por instituciones y servicios de salud en grupos de población por regiones y departamentos, comunidades indígenas y trabajadores de salud, han permitido la configuración del mapa de riesgo para los virus B y D, de acuerdo con los patrones de alta y mediana endemicidad de ambas infecciones en la población. Las elevadas proporciones de infección informadas en comunidades, bancos de sangre y personal de salud, demuestran que Colombia es un país de alto riesgo para el VHB y VHD, con niveles intermedios en algunos departamentos. Las elevadas prevalencias en poblaciones indígenas requieren de un programa intensificado de control mediante la vacunación. Las coberturas de vacunación en la comunidad y en el personal de salud deben incrementarse con el fin de reducir la población susceptible y el riesgo de infección. Colombia presenta tasas de riesgo intermedio para el hepatocarcinoma primario. Estudios en la ciudad de Cali confirman la asociación epidemiológica entre hepatocarcinoma, cirrosis y la prevalencia por comunas del VHB. Estos factores ameritan la intensificación de la vacunación universal de la infancia y el inicio de programas de vacunación en los adolescentes. Adicionalmente, debe incrementarse la vacunación de los adultos a través de las diferentes entidades que desarrollan programas de prevención y promoción de la salud

Identificación de proteínas de cubierta y de membrana en merozoitos de Plasmodium falciparum

Proteins which are easily shed from the merozoite (probably coat proteins) and proteins intrinsic to the membrane, were identified in Plasmodium falciparum by fractionation of purified endogenously labelled merozoites. The method detects surface proteins also if they are not fully exposed to exgenous enzymatic actions. The continuous labelling during the whole cycle, ensures identification of proteins independently of their time of synthesis. The proteins probably related to the coat of the merozoite had 100, 75, 50 and 45 KD. In detergent extract of the membrane fraction were detected 6 main proteins of 225, 86, 82, 75, 72, and 40 KD and 4 minor proteins of 200, 69, 45 and 43 KD. The aproach of this work is complementary to other efforts in the characterization of the surface of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites .Se identificaron proteínas que se desprenden fácilmente del merozoíto (probablemente proteinas de cubierta) y proteínas intrínsecas de la membrana por el fraccionamiento de parásitos marcados endógenamente y purificados. La marcación continua durante todo el ciclo aseguró la identificación de las proteínas independientemente de su tiempo de síntesis. Este método permitió detectar proteínas de membrana, independientemente de su suceptibilidad a la digestión enzimática o a la marcación exógena. Se identificaron 4 proteínas de 100, 75, 50 y 45 KD que probablemente son constituyentes de la cubierta del merozoíto. En la fracción de membranas, solubles en detergente, se detectan 6 proteínas principales de 225, 86, 82, 75, 72 y 40 KD y 4 proteínas menores de 200, 69, 45 y 43 KD. Este trabajo es una contribución a la caracterización de la superficie del merozoíto de Plasmodium falciparum

Detección de anticuerpos antiplasmodium por ELISA en donantes de sangre

In order to determine the risk of transfusion-induced malaria in the Blood Bank of the Hospital Militar Central in Bogotá, 3114 sera from blood donnors were collected during a period of nine months. These sera were analysed by the indirect E.L.I.S.A. technique using P. falciparum antigen containing more than 60% of schizonts. Malaria antibodies were detected in 27 sera, representing 8.6 per thousand of total samples. Three cases of malaria following blood transfusion were recorded during the study.La malaria, una enfermedad transmitida por mosquitos del genero anopheles, puede ser inducida a través de transfusiones de sangre infectada con alguna de las especies de Plasmodium que afectan al hombre. Con el objeto de determinar el riesgo potencial de infección inducida por transfusiones, se analizaron durante 9 meses y mediante la técnica de E.L.I.S.A., las muestras de suero tomadas a los donantes de sangre del Hospital Militar Central de Bogotá. El 8.6 por mil de las 3114 muestras analizadas, resultaron positivas para anticuerpos antimaláricos y durante el tiempo del estudio fueron detectados 3 casos de malaria inducida por transfusiones

Navigating towards decoupled aquaponic systems : a system dynamics design approach

The classical working principle of aquaponics is to provide nutrient-rich aquacultural water to a hydroponic plant culture unit, which in turn depurates the water that is returned to the aquaculture tanks. A known drawback is that a compromise away from optimal growing conditions for plants and fish must be achieved to produce both crops and fish in the same environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to develop a theoretical concept of a decoupled aquaponic system (DAPS), and predict water, nutrient (N and P), fish, sludge, and plant levels. This has been approached by developing a dynamic aquaponic system model, using inputs from data found in literature covering the fields of aquaculture, hydroponics, and sludge treatment. The outputs from the model showed the dependency of aquacultural water quality on the hydroponic evapotranspiration rate. This result can be explained by the fact that DAPS is based on one-way flows. These one-way flows results in accumulations of remineralized nutrients in the hydroponic component ensuring optimal conditions for the plants. The study also suggests to size the cultivation area based on P availability in the hydroponic component as P is an exhaustible resource and has been identified one of the main limiting factors for plant growth

Scientific evidence for the control of antimicrobial resistance

[Extract]. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest global threats to human health. It is estimated that by 2050, AMR will lead to approximately 10 million annual deaths worldwide. Considering the impact of AMR on reproductive capacity and food production, in addition to its direct effect on infected people, the world's population could drop by between 11 and 444 million inhabitants by 2050 if AMR control is not achieved. As migrations and shared economies lead to the transmission of resistant bacteria across borders, the impacts of AMR become regionally significant. In the United States, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus caused 10 600 deaths in 2017. In Latin American and Caribbean countries, information is available from studies conducted in hospitals and other health facilities on the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. In many hospitals in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia, for example, resistance to third-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones in Escherichia coli isolates is reaching almost 60%. Moreover, the dynamics of colonization and infection of multidrug-resistant organisms (such as carbapenemaseproducing Klebsiella pneumoniae) are unique in endemic areas of Latin America, favoring spread and dissemination. [...

Estudios de infectividad de la especie anopheles albimanus wiedemann, 1820 (Diptera: culicidae)

In order to evaluate the infectivity of Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann, 1820 Cartagena strain, malarial infection attempts were performed from human and non-human primates. 67 attempts from naturally infected patients with P. falciparum and 36 with P. vivax were performed. Dissection of salivary glands were made on 654 P. falciparum infected females of which 11.9% were positive for sporozoites. Out of the 93 P. vivax infected mosquitoes examined, 31.2% presented sporozoites. A total of 4 An albimanus infection attempts were done from experimentally P. falciparum infected Aotus monkeys and none of them presented sporozoites. From 14 P. vivax infected Aotus monkeys 75 infection attempts were done; only 5.2% out of 810 dissected salivary glands presented sporozoites. The results obtained suggeated that the above mentioned strain of An. albimanushas low infectivity under laboratory conditions.Con el propósito de evaluar la infectividad del mosquito Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann, 1820, cepa Cartagena, se realizaron infecciones a partir de pacientes naturalmente infectados con Plasmodium falciparum y Plasmodium vivax y de primates del genero Aotus experimentalmente infectados con ambas especies de Plasmodium. 67 intentos de infección de Anopheles albimanus se realizaron e partir de pacientes con P. falciparum y 36 a partir de pacientes con P. vivax. Se examinaron 654 glándulas salivares en hembras An. albimanus infectadas con P. falciparum de las cuales el 11.9% presentaron esporozoitos, mientras que el 31.2% de 93 glándulas salivares examinadas desarrollaron esporozoitos de P. vivax. Un total de 4 intentos de infección de Anopheles albimanus se realizaron a partir de un Aotus infectado con P. falciparum en los cuales los mosquitos no desarrollaron esporozoitos. A partir de 14 Aotus infectados con P. vivax se realizaron 75 intentos de infección de Anopheles albimanus; solo el 5.2% de un total de 810 glándulas salivares examinadas produjeron esporozoitos. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que esta cepa Anopheles albimanus tiene una baja infectividad en condiciones experimentales

Malaria en niños: discusión de algunos aspectos clínicos, diagnósticos y terapéuticos

Malaria infections in children often present dificulties in diagnosis and chemotherapy. Here we describe three cases of malaria with several considerations about the diagnosis, course of infection and post-treatment evolution. The first case was a 2 month old girl with a severe malnutrition and a post-transfusional Plasmodium vivax infection. Three different regimens of chloroquine were required to clear the infection. The second case was a 25 day-old boy who developed a Plasmodium vivax infection and methahemoglobinemia after treatment with primaquine. The last patient was a 8 year-old boy in fected with a chloroquine-resistent Plasmodium folciparum. After radical treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and due to the presence of circualting gametocytes the patient received at the hospital 4 different therapeutic schemes including 10 days of I.V. quinine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and trimethorpim-sulfamethoxazol.Se describen 3 casos de malaria en niños incluyendo el diagnóstico y tratamiento, la evolución y las complicaciones. El primer caso corresponde a una lactante menor con un avanzado estado de desnutrición y una infección post-transfusional por Plasmodium vivax. La respuesta a la cloroquina no fue adecuada requiriendo 2 ciclos adicionales para eliminar los parásitos circulantes. El segundo caso describe un neonato de 25 días de edad con una infección por Plasmodium vivax cuyo mecanismo de transmisión pudo ser transplacentario aunque no se descartó la transmisión natural. La madre fue positiva pera Plasmodium vivax durante el embarazo y puerperio. El paciente presentó además un metahemaglobinemia como complicación del tratamiento con primaquina. Finalmente se presenta el caso de un escolar con una malaria por Plasmodium falciparum resistente a la cloroquina tratada en forma inadecuada con 4 esquemas terapéuticos diferentes, que incluyen quinina intravenosa, trimetoprim-sulfametoxazol y sulfadoxina-pirimetamina

Nitrogen transformations across compartments of an aquaponic system

The presence and transformations of nitrogen (N) in the environment depend on a variety of environmental factors but are also strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities such as modern agriculture. Understanding N transformations within the context of agricultural systems is crucial for efficient use thereof. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in concentration of N forms (ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and organic N) within an aquaponic system, a modern agricultural system, in order to obtain insights into environmental pressures influencing N transformation processes. By measuring the concentrations of the individual N compounds, complemented by the determination of abiotic parameters and other relevant nutrients within the system water at 13 sampling points, significant differences between compartments that build up an aquaponic system could be demonstrated. These differences were attributed to individual microenvironments specific to the aerobic loop, anaerobic loop and radial flow settler as a connection between the two, shaping the microbial processes within the aquaponic system