Workplans: workshop on planetary nebula observations

This workshop is the second of the WORKPLANS series, which we started in 2016. The main goal of WORKPLANS is to build up a network of planetary nebulae (PNe) experts to address the main open questions in the field of PNe research. The specific aims of the WORKPLANS workshop series are (i) to discuss and prioritize the most important topics to be investigated by the PN community in the following years; (ii) to establish a network of excellent researchers with complementary expertise; (iii) to formulate ambitious observing proposals for the most advanced telescopes and instrumentation presently available (ALMA, SOFIA, VLT, GTC, HST, etc.), addressing those topics; and (iv) to develop strategies for major proposals to future observatories (JWST, ELT, SPICA, Athena, etc.). To achieve these goals, WORKPLANS II brought together experts in all key sub-areas of the PNe research field, namely: analysis and interpretation of PNe observational data; theoretical modeling of gas and dust emission; evolution from Asymptotic Giant Branch stars (PNe progenitors) to PNe; and the instrumentation and technical characteristics of the relevant observatoriesI.A. acknowledges the support of Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. This research is supported by Space Telescope Science Institute grant HST-GO-15953.001-A to RIT (J.K.). T.U. was supported by NASA under grant NNX15AF24G issued through the Science Mission Directorate. E.V. acknowledges support from the “On the rocks II project” funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades under grant PGC2018-101950-B-I00. The Workshop was organized with the financial support of the Lorentz Center, which was provided by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Leiden Universit

Uso actual y potencial de aguas residuales domésticas (ARD) para irrigación en la provincia de Salta, Argentina

En este trabajo se presenta un relevamiento de las principales experiencias actuales de reutilización de aguas residuales domésticas (ARD) para irrigación en la provincia de Salta, Argentina. Se identificaron tres experiencias de reúso directo y cuatro experiencias de reúso indirecto de ARD para irrigación. Las mismas se localizan en inmediaciones a los sistemas de tratamiento de líquidos cloacales. La calidad microbiológica de los efluentes indica que ningún caso cumple con las directrices propuestas por la OMS para riego irrestricto y de áreas verdes. Se estima que el potencial de reúso con ARD en la provincia asciende a unas 3500 hectáreas, considerando cultivos de referencia según la localidad. Esta estimación debe ser complementada con estudios de factibilidad para cada caso en particular. Los resultados obtenidos representan un aporte para el reconocimiento y la validación de las aguas residuales como un recurso hídrico alternativo para la región.Fil: Salas Barboza, Ariela Griselda Judith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Gatto D'andrea, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Garces, V.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Alvarez, María Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; ArgentinaFil: Liberal, Viviana Isabel. Universidad Nacional de Salta; ArgentinaFil: Paoli, H.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Seghezzo, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Física. Instituto de Investigaciones en Energía no Convencional; Argentin

Uso actual y potencial de aguas residuales domésticas (ARD) para irrigación en la provincia de Salta, Argentina

En este trabajo se presenta un relevamiento de las principales experiencias actuales de reutilización de aguas residuales domésticas (ARD) para irrigación en la provincia de Salta, Argentina. Se identificaron tres experiencias de reúso directo y cuatro experiencias de reúso indirecto de ARD para irrigación. Las mismas se localizan en inmediaciones a los sistemas de tratamiento de líquidos cloacales. La calidad microbiológica de los efluentes indica que ningún caso cumple con las directrices propuestas por la OMS para riego irrestricto y de áreas verdes. Se estima que el potencial de reúso con ARD en la provincia asciende a unas 3500 hectáreas, considerando cultivos de referencia según la localidad. Esta estimación debe ser complementada con estudios de factibilidad para cada caso en particular. Los resultados obtenidos representan un aporte para el reconocimiento y la validación de las aguas residuales como un recurso hídrico alternativo para la región.This article describes a survey of the main cases of domestic wastewater reuse for irrigation in the province of Salta (Argentina). We identified 3 cases of direct reuse and 4 cases of indirect reuse to irrigate crops and green areas. Reuse practices are generally located close to sewage treatment plants, mainly waste stabilization ponds managed by the state-owned water utility. We made some laboratory analysis to assess the microbiological characteristics of the wastewater. None of the cases studied comply with WHO’s guidelines for unrestricted irrigation. We estimated that the area that could be irrigated with treated domestic wastewater in the province can be up to 3500 hectares. This estimation need to be validated with feasibility studies on a case-by-case basis. Results obtained in this work are a contribution to the recognition and validation of the use of domestic wastewater as an alternative water resource in the region.Asociación Argentina de Energías Renovables y Medio Ambiente (ASADES

Evolutionary Analyses of Entire Genomes Do Not Support the Association of mtDNA Mutations with Ras/MAPK Pathway Syndromes

BACKGROUND: There are several known autosomal genes responsible for Ras/MAPK pathway syndromes, including Noonan syndrome (NS) and related disorders (such as LEOPARD, neurofibromatosis type 1), although mutations of these genes do not explain all cases. Due to the important role played by the mitochondrion in the energetic metabolism of cardiac muscle, it was recently proposed that variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome could be a risk factor in the Noonan phenotype and in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which is a common clinical feature in Ras/MAPK pathway syndromes. In order to test these hypotheses, we sequenced entire mtDNA genomes in the largest series of patients suffering from Ras/MAPK pathway syndromes analyzed to date (n = 45), most of them classified as NS patients (n = 42). METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The results indicate that the observed mtDNA lineages were mostly of European ancestry, reproducing in a nutshell the expected haplogroup (hg) patterns of a typical Iberian dataset (including hgs H, T, J, and U). Three new branches of the mtDNA phylogeny (H1j1, U5b1e, and L2a5) are described for the first time, but none of these are likely to be related to NS or Ras/MAPK pathway syndromes when observed under an evolutionary perspective. Patterns of variation in tRNA and protein genes, as well as redundant, private and heteroplasmic variants, in the mtDNA genomes of patients were as expected when compared with the patterns inferred from a worldwide mtDNA phylogeny based on more than 8700 entire genomes. Moreover, most of the mtDNA variants found in patients had already been reported in healthy individuals and constitute common polymorphisms in human population groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: As a whole, the observed mtDNA genome variation in the NS patients was difficult to reconcile with previous findings that indicated a pathogenic role of mtDNA variants in NS

Mediterranean diet and invasive breast cancer risk in the predimed trial

Trabajo presentado en el X Congreso Internacional de la Dieta Mediterránea, celebrado en Barcelona (España) del 02 al 03 de abril de 2014.[Introduction]: Rates of breast cancer incidence have been rising over the past 3 decades. Dietary factors may play a role in the risk of breast cancer. Some observational cohort studies have suggested that the Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of breast cancer but no randomized controlled trial had investigated this issue. We aimed to evaluate the effect of two interventions with Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of breast cancer in a randomized controlled trial. [Methods]: The PREDIMED study (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) is a randomized, singleblind, and controlled trial conducted in Spanish primary healthcare centres. Out of 4,282 women recruited (aged 60 to 80 years), 1,478 were assigned to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, 1,288 to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts and 1,393 to a control diet (advice to reduce dietary fat). Primary analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Poisson regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between the nutritional intervention and the incidence of confirmed invasive breast cancer. [Results]: After a median of 4.3 years after randomization, participants in both Mediterranean diet groups (extra-virgin olive oil or nuts) had a 55% relative reduction (95%CI: 9% to 78%) in the risk of invasive breast cancer compared with participants assigned to a control group (with the recommendation to follow a low-fat diet). Observed rates (per 1000 person-years) were 1.14, 1.82 and 2.90 for the Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil group, the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts group and the control group, respectively. The multivariable-adjusted rate ratios versus the control group were 0.34 (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.83) for the Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil group, and 0.60 (95% CI: 0.26 to 1.35) for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts group. [Conclusions]: This is the first large randomized trial assessing the role of a dietary pattern on breast cancer incidence. Our results suggest that an intervention promoting adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern, specially when it is supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, may contribute to a substantial reduction in the incidence of invasive breast cancer risk in women 60 years and older. However, a longer follow-up of our participants is needed to obtain more precise estimates

Factors affecting the transfer of learning to the workplace

Training aims to respond to the needs of development of individuals and organizations (Grohmann & Kauffeld, 2013). Based on Holton model, we carried out a study seeking to identify and understand the factors involved in the process of learning transfer to the workplace from two different training actions on the design and skills. The study took place at a Portuguese organization and involved 98 participants. Former students were interviewed with the purpose to explore the factors that facilitated or hindered the learning transfer, and the Inventory of the Portuguese version of the Learning Transfer System (Holton, Bates, Seyler & Carvalho, 1997; Velada & Caetano, 2009) was applied. The results suggest that the Holton model (2005) shows that the trainees have identified important issues for learning transfer and that there are differences in relation to the transfer factor pursuant to the type of training.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Effect of the Mediterranean diet on blood pressure in the PREDIMED trial: results from a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundHypertension can be prevented by adopting healthy dietary patterns. Our aim was to assess the 4-year effect on blood pressure (BP) control of a randomized feeding trial promoting the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern.MethodsThe PREDIMED primary prevention trial is a randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial conducted in Spanish primary healthcare centers. We recruited 7,447 men (aged 55 to 80 years) and women (aged 60 to 80 years) who had high risk for cardiovascular disease. Participants were assigned to a control group or to one of two Mediterranean diets. The control group received education on following a low-fat diet, while the groups on Mediterranean diets received nutritional education and also free foods; either extra virgin olive oil, or nuts. Trained personnel measured participants’ BP at baseline and once yearly during a 4-year follow-up. We used generalized estimating equations to assess the differences between groups during the follow-up.ResultsThe percentage of participants with controlled BP increased in all three intervention groups (P-value for within-group changes: P<0.001). Participants allocated to either of the two Mediterranean diet groups had significantly lower diastolic BP than the participants in the control group (−1.53 mmHg (95% confidence interval (CI) −2.01 to −1.04) for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, and −0.65 mmHg (95% CI -1.15 to −0.15) mmHg for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts). No between-group differences in changes of systolic BP were seen.ConclusionsBoth the traditional Mediterranean diet and a low-fat diet exerted beneficial effects on BP and could be part of advice to patients for controlling BP. However, we found lower values of diastolic BP in the two groups promoting the Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil or with nuts than in the control group.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN3573963