Relationship between the sea surface temperature of different oceans and the maize yields in the Argentine Pampa region

La temperatura superficial del mar (TSM) guarda estrecha relación con algunas variables climáticas como la precipitación en el sudeste de Sudamérica y en particular con algunos cultivos en la Pampa Húmeda. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la relación entre la TSM de los océanos Pacífico, Atlántico e Indico y los rendimientos del cultivo de maíz en dicha región. Se comprobó que los rendimientos de maíz responden en mayor o menor medida a las fluctuaciones de las TSM en los diferentes océanos, exceptuando parte del sur y el sudoeste de la región de estudio, coincidente con el sur de la provincia de Buenos Aires y este de La Pampa, donde la relación es muy débil o inexistente. Para el resto de la región de estudio se observó una significativa influencia del océano Pacífico subtropical y ecuatorial en la región del ENOS, el océano Indico en presencia del dipolo (DOI) y del océano Atlántico tropical y subtropical occidental principalmente durante la primavera y en algunos casos en el otoño.The sea surface temperature anomalies (SST) are closely related to the precipitation anomalies in central and eastern Argentina and therefore they are related to some crops in the Argentine Pampa region as well. The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between SST in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and maize yields in the Pampa region. It is found that maize yields respond in different ways to the SST variability, except for the south, southeast and west of Buenos Aires province and the east of the La Pampa province, where the signal is either weak or nonexistent. It is also found that some oceanic regions have a significant influence over the rest of the Pampa region, in particular the subtropical Pacific Ocean, the equatorial Pacific Ocean ENSO region, the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) and the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean mainly in the spring and in some cases in the fall.Fil: Muller, Gabriela Viviana. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Long, María Elena. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Bosch, Ezequiel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentin

Should phenotype of previous preterm birth influence management of women with short cervix in subsequent pregnancy? Comparison of vaginal progesterone and Arabin pessary

Objective: To investigate whether the classification of a previous spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) as preterm labor (PTL) with intact membranes (IM) or as preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) impacts the efficacy of cervical pessary or vaginal progesterone for prevention of sPTB in pregnant women with short cervix on transvaginal ultrasound. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of asymptomatic high-risk singleton pregnancies with a short cervix and history of sPTB, treated using Arabin pessary or vaginal progesterone for primary PTB prevention, conducted at four European hospitals. A log-rank test on Kaplan-Meier curves was used to assess the difference in performance of pessary and progesterone, according to history of PTL-IM or PPROM. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate significant predictors of gestational age at delivery. Results: Between 2008 and 2015, 170 women were treated with a pessary and 88 with vaginal progesterone. In women treated with a pessary, rate of sPTB < 34 weeks was 16% in those with a history of PTL-IM and 55% in those with a history of PPROM. In women treated with progesterone, rate of sPTB < 34 weeks was 13% in those with a history of PTL-IM and 21% in those with a history of PPROM. Treatment with a pessary resulted in earlier delivery in women with previous PPROM than in any other subgroup (P < 0.0001). Linear regression analysis showed a clear effect of PPROM history (P < 0.0001), combination of PPROM history and treatment (P = 0.0003) and cervical length (P = 0.0004) on gestational age at birth. Conclusions: Cervical pessary may be a less efficacious treatment option for women with previous PPROM; however, these results require prospective validation before change in practice is recommended. Phenotype of previous preterm birth may be an important risk predictor and treatment effect modifier; this information should be reported in future clinical trials. © 2018 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Pt-Richcore/Sn-Richsubsurface/Ptskin Nanocubes As Highly Active and Stable Electrocatalysts for the Ethanol Oxidation Reaction

Direct ethanol fuel cells are one of the most promising electrochemical energy conversion devices for portable, mobile and stationary power applications. However, more efficient and stable and less expensive electrocatalysts are still required. Interestingly, the electrochemical performance of the electrocatalysts toward the ethanol oxidation reaction can be remarkably enhanced by exploiting the benefits of structural and compositional sensitivity and control. Here, we describe the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical behavior of cubic Pt–Sn nanoparticles. The electrochemical activity of the cubic Pt–Sn nanoparticles was found to be about three times higher than that obtained with unshaped Pt–Sn nanoparticles and six times higher than that of Pt nanocubes. In addition, stability tests indicated the electrocatalyst preserves its morphology and remains well-dispersed on the carbon support after 5000 potential cycles, while a cubic (pure) Pt catalyst exhibited severe agglomeration of the nanoparticles after a similar stability testing protocol. A detailed analysis of the elemental distribution in the nanoparticles by STEM-EELS indicated that Sn dissolves from the outer part of the shell after potential cycling, forming a ∼0.5 nm Pt skin. This particular atomic composition profile having a Pt-rich core, a Sn-rich subsurface layer, and a Pt-skin surface structure is responsible for the high activity and stability.This work has been supported by Fundación Cajacanarias (project BIOGRAF) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the projects CTQ2011-28913-C02-02 and ENE2014-52158-C2-2-R (cofunded by FEDER). We acknowledge the SEGAI services of Universidad de La Laguna for important technical assistance, and R.R. acknowledges the funding received from MINECO (EEBB-I-16-11762) to carry out a predoctoral stay in a foreign R&D center. E.P. acknowledges support from an electron microscopy facility supported by the NSF MRSEC program (DMR 1120296) and an NSF MRI grant (DMR 1429155). J.S.G. acknowledges financial support from VITC (Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia de Conocimiento) of the University of Alicante

Nutrient-wide association study of 92 foods and nutrients and breast cancer risk

Background: Several dietary factors have been reported to be associated with risk of breast cancer, but to date, unequivocal evidence only exists for alcohol consumption. We sought to systematically assess the association between intake of 92 foods and nutrients and breast cancer risk using a nutrient-wide association study. Methods: Using data from 272,098 women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, we assessed dietary intake of 92 foods and nutrients estimated by dietary questionnaires. Cox regression was used to quantify the association between each food/nutrient and risk of breast cancer. A false discovery rate (FDR) of 0.05 was used to select the set of foods and nutrients to be replicated in the independent Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS). Results: Six foods and nutrients were identified as associated with risk of breast cancer in the EPIC study (10,979 cases). Higher intake of alcohol overall was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer (hazard ratio (HR) for a 1 SD increment in intake = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03–1.07), as was beer/cider intake and wine intake (HRs per 1 SD increment = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03–1.06 and 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.06, respectively), whereas higher intakes of fibre, apple/ pear, and carbohydrates were associated with a lower risk of breast cancer (HRs per 1 SD increment = 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.98; 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.99; and 0.96, 95% CI 0.95–0.98, respectively). When evaluated in the NLCS (2368 cases), estimates for each of these foods and nutrients were similar in magnitude and direction, with the exception of beer/cider intake, which was not associated with risk in the NLCS. Conclusions: Our findings confirm a positive association of alcohol consumption and suggest an inverse association of dietary fibre and possibly fruit intake with breast cancer risk

Erratum: Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Interpretation: By quantifying levels and trends in exposures to risk factors and the resulting disease burden, this assessment offers insight into where past policy and programme efforts might have been successful and highlights current priorities for public health action. Decreases in behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks have largely offset the effects of population growth and ageing, in relation to trends in absolute burden. Conversely, the combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in non-communicable diseases at the global level, which presents both a public health challenge and opportunity. We see considerable spatiotemporal heterogeneity in levels of risk exposure and risk-attributable burden. Although levels of development underlie some of this heterogeneity, O/E ratios show risks for which countries are overperforming or underperforming relative to their level of development. As such, these ratios provide a benchmarking tool to help to focus local decision making. Our findings reinforce the importance of both risk exposure monitoring and epidemiological research to assess causal connections between risks and health outcomes, and they highlight the usefulness of the GBD study in synthesising data to draw comprehensive and robust conclusions that help to inform good policy and strategic health planning

Crecer en familia hoy: El desafío de la pluralidad.

¿Qué es lo que entendemos por familia hoy en día y qué contribuye a formarla? En otras palabras, ¿qué es lo que hace familia en la actualidad? En diciembre del 2018, una veintena de profesionales de la educación provenientes de cuatro países (España, Francia, Italia y Rumanía) se reunieron en Barcelona durante una semana para compartir con los investigadores una serie de actividades y aprendizajes en torno a esta cuestión. Fue el comienzo de una prolongada y compleja investigación llevada a cabo por un grupo multilingüe, multiprofesional e interdisciplinario cuyo resultado es esta primera producción intelectual. ¿Qué transformaciones están experimentando las familias? ¿Cómo han cambiado los modelos familiares en los últimos cincuenta años? ¿Cuáles son los principales retos a los que se enfrentan las familias y los profesionales que las acompañan? Las preguntas aquí planteadas no tratan de moldear una nueva definición de familia; más bien, se centran en el proceso de “crecer en familia” para saber qué lugar ocupan los niños y las niñas en la vida familiar y comunitaria. A pesar de que es posible identificar tendencias transversales a nivel europeo, es en la pluralidad donde hemos identificado el principal desafío. La diversificación de los modelos familiares, la multiplicidad legislativa en la que se basa el derecho de familia y los procesos de acompañamiento, que implican una constelación de actores y vulnerabilidades, constituyen la base sobre la que se cimienta esta pluralidad. Tal y como dice el proverbio africano, para educar a un niño hace falta la tribu entera. Por ello, desde una visión ecológica del desarrollo humano y desde la parentalidad entendida como una fenómeno complejo, dinámico y multifactorial, nos hemos basado en nuestras experiencias personales y profesionales para reflexionar sobre aquellos lugares, prácticas, personas, instituciones y redes que forman parte del desarrollo la infancia. La pregunta “¿Qué hace hoy a una familia?” se aborda, por tanto, desde el punto de vista específico de los profesionales e investigadores que trabajan en los servicios sociales o en las universidades con el objetivo de brindar el mayor apoyo posible a los progenitores y a las comunidades locales en la educación y en el desarrollo de niños y niñas. A partir de las diferencias contextuales que caracterizan a los cuatro países participantes, la puesta en conjunto nos ha permitido adquirir, en un intercambio fructífero de prácticas y herramientas, una visión panorámica que va de lo específico a lo general

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)