Caracterización socioproductiva, percepción y alternativas de adaptación al cambio climático en las comunidades El Diamante, El Cielo y Las Vegas del Municipio El Tuma La Dalia, Matagalpa, II semestre 2014

El cambio climático es un fenómeno que ha venido afectando la producción agrícola del país y nuestro municipio El Tuma la Dalia por eso los productores de las comunidades El Diamante, El Cielo y Las Vegas están optando a nuevas alternativas de adaptación para contrarrestar este fenómeno que en los últimos años ha bajado el rendimiento productivo es necesario que los productores de dichas comunidades tengan conocimiento de esta problemática. Esta investigación se realizó con el propósito de recopilar información sobre el nivel de conocimiento que tienen los productores de dichas comunidades, también se evaluó las características sociales, el nivel de producción de los productores de las comunidades El Diamante, El Cielo y Las Vegas del Municipio Tuma la Dalia, Matagalpa, 2014. La población se conformó por 76 productores de 3 comunidades que mediante la aplicación del muestreo estratificado y aleatorio fue posible seleccionar la muestra de 64 productores. En el análisis se utilizaron el análisis documental y algunas técnicas estadísticas para describir la muestra y realizar las inferencias. Para la construcción de la base de datos y su procesamiento se empleó el programa de Excel y SPSS. Entre los principales resultados obtenidos tenemos que sí los productores saben en qué consiste el cambio climático, pero no todos implementan alternativas de adaptació

Should Biomedical Research with Great Apes be Restricted? A Systematic Review of Reasons

Background The use of great apes (GA) in invasive biomedical research is one of the most debated topics in animal ethics. GA are, thus far, the only animal group that has frequently been banned from invasive research; yet some believe that these bans could inaugurate a broader trend towards greater restrictions on the use of primates and other animals in research. Despite ongoing academic and policy debate on this issue, there is no comprehensive overview of the reasons advanced for or against restricting invasive research with GA. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review of the reasons reported in the academic literature on this topic. Methods Seven databases were searched for articles published in English. Two authors screened the titles, abstracts, and full texts of all articles. Two journals specialized in animal ethics, and the reference lists of included articles were subsequently also reviewed. Results We included 60 articles, most of which were published between 2006 and 2016. Twenty-five articles argued for a total ban of GA research, 21 articles defended partial restrictions, and 14 articles argued against restrictions. Overall, we identified 110 reason types, 74 for, and 36 against, restricting GA research. Reasons were grouped into nine domains: moral standing, science, welfare, public and expert attitudes, retirement and conservation, respect and rights, financial costs, law and legal status, and longer-term consequences. Conclusion Our review generated five main findings. First, there is a trend in the academic debate in favor of restricting GA research that parallels worldwide policy changes in the same direction. Second, in several domains (e.g., moral standing, and respect and rights), the reasons were rather one-sided in favor of restrictions. Third, some prominent domains (e.g., science and welfare) featured considerable engagement between opposing positions. Fourth, there is low diversity and independence among authors, including frequent potential conflicts of interests in articles defending a strong position (i.e., favoring a total ban or arguing against restrictions). Fifth, scholarly discussion was not the norm, as reflected in a high proportion of non-peer-reviewed articles and authors affiliated to non-academic institutions. Background Historically, the debate over the use of animals in biomedical research has been divided between those who argue that animal research is necessary for medical progress and therefore justified, and those who favor restricting or even banning animal research. But even among proponents of animal research, there is growing concern regarding animal welfare. Indeed, many countries have introduced regulations aimed at improving the conditions under which animals are used in research. Perhaps the most notable development in the field of animal research regulation concerns the use of great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans).Footnote1 In 2015, the (U.S.) National Institutes of Health joined the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the European Union (E.U.) in banning or severely limiting experiments on chimpanzees [1]

Capillary leak leading to shock in Kawasaki disease without myocardial dysfunction

Kawasaki disease is an acute vasculitis of childhood. Its clinical presentation is well known, and coronary artery aneurysms are classical complications. Shock and pleural or pericardiac effusion are rare presentations of the disease. In intensive care units, the disease may be mistaken for septic shock or toxic shock syndrome. Owing to the fact that immunoglobulin therapy improves the course of the disease, especially if given early, and thus the diagnosis should not be delaye

Structural evaluation and testing of damaged reinforced concrete bent caps

The structural assessment of aged and existing reinforced concrete infrastructure represents a major challenge faced by the structural engineering community. The growing inventory of degrading civil infrastructure throughout the world advocates addressing a number of real-world needs: evaluating the implications of now-deficient design details comprising existing structures, assessing causes of visual distress observed in reinforced concrete infrastructure and its impact on structural performance, and verifying the feasibility of structural retrofit strategies to maintain adequate levels of safety and extend service life. This thesis presents findings obtained from an experimental research program involving the field-extraction and subsequent laboratory testing of two reinforced concrete bent caps removed from a pair of 60-year old bridges. The bridges forming the subject of this investigation were scheduled for replacement as a result of several structural performance-related issues, including extensive shear cracking observed in the bent caps comprising both bridges. Bent cap cracking damage was documented prior to removal from the field and was used as a means of benchmarking in-service load levels. The bent caps were subsequently tested in the laboratory in a manner that simulated service dead loads and extreme lane loading scenarios. The first bent cap was tested as-built, while the second bent cap was retrofitted using a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer wrap to investigate the suitability of such retrofits for enhancing the shear resisting performance of damaged reinforced concrete bent caps. Results from the testing of the first shear-damaged bent cap showed that, while the cap had developed severe diagonal cracking under service and was constructed with very light shear reinforcement levels that would not satisfy modern design standards, it possessed significant post-cracking shear strength. The second, retrofitted bent cap achieved meaningful shear resistance enhancements when compared to the non-retrofitted bent cap, and was ultimately governed by the flexural failure modes. In summary, both reinforced concrete bent caps possessed significant residual post-cracking shear strengths despite having developed large-widths shear cracks while in service and having been constructed with only light shear reinforcement volumes and shear reinforcement placement details that do not conform with modern design provisions.Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineerin

Los altares de la posmodernidad y la metástasis del mundo. Una visión de la religión allende Peter L. Berger y Ulrich Beck

We take as a starting point the final point, both biographical and bibliographic, of two of the most important authors of the twentieth century in the reflection on religion, Peter L. Berger and Ulrich Beck. His posthumous works, in the case of Beck literally, have allowed us to carry out a reflection on this fin-de-siècle time par excellence. According to Beck we are facing the metamorphosis of the world in which we live, hence the reflexive devices that we have to think about the changes of the world, because it is a radical transformation, a metamorphosis. According to Berger, we would be facing a new paradigm to understand the world and religion within the constitutive pluralism of modernity. However, I think that what we are facing is the metastasis of a world that reaches the final phase of a long illness, capitalism, which has its senile moment in neoliberalism and in the Postmodern Global Empire its definitive project for an extension that seems impossible, given the physical limits of a world almost devastated by the model of capitalist production and consumption.Tomamos como punto de partida el punto final, tanto biográfico como bibliográfico, de dos de los autores más importantes del siglo XX en la reflexión sobre la religión, Peter L. Berger y Ulrich Beck. Sus obras póstumas, en el caso de Beck literalmente, nos han permitido llevar a cabo una reflexión sobre este tiempo finisecular por excelencia. Según Beck estamos ante la metamorfosis del mundo en que vivimos, de ahí que no sirvan los aparatos reflexivos que tenemos para pensar los cambios del mundo, pues es una transformación radical, cual metamorfosis. Según Berger, estaríamos ante un nuevo paradigma para comprender el mundo y la religión dentro del pluralismo constitutivo de la modernidad. Sin embargo, creo que ante lo que estamos es ante la metástasis de una mundo que llega a la fase final de una larga enfermedad, el capitalismo, que tiene en el neoliberalismo su momento senil y en el Imperio Global Postmoderno su proyecto definitivo para una prolongación que se antoja imposible, dados los límites físicos de un mundo casi devastado por el modelo de producción y consumo capitalista

Antifouling activity of seaweed extracts from Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil

A incrustação biológica constitui, historicamente, um dos maiores problemas encontrados pelo homem em suas atividades no mar. A busca por alternativas a tintas antiincrustantes contendo tributilestanho (TBT) tem levado diversos pesquisadores a concentrar esforços no desenvolvimento de substâncias naturais menos danosas à biota marinha. Este trabalho procurou contribuir com essa busca, testando o potencial antiincrustante de quatro diferentes espécies de macroalgas da Praia Branca, município de Guarujá, SP. Através de testes antiincrustantes em laboratório utilizando a fixação de um organismo incrustante comum, o mexilhão Perna perna, foi constatado que os extratos de Jania rubens (Rhodophyta, Cryptonemiales) e Bryothamnion seaforthii (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales), à concentração natural, apresentaram atividade antiincrustante significativa (p < 0,05), enquanto Dictyopteris delicatula (Phaeophyta, Dictyotales) e Heterosiphonia gibbesii (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales) não demonstraram eficiência na inibição da fixação de bissos do molusco. Das algas que indicaram potencial atividade contra a incrustação, J. rubens apresentou melhor desempenho em relação a B. seaforthii. Futuras investigações em campo serão necessárias para a obtenção de resultados que possam refletir melhor as condições naturais, bem como avaliar o espectro de ação da atividade antiincrustante observada. A purificação guiada por bioensaios dos extratos ativos poderá levar a novas alternativas para os antiincrustantes metálicos atualmente em uso.Marine biofouling historically constitutes one of the major constraints faced by mankind in its oceanic activities. The search for alternatives to TBT-based antifouling paints has led several researchers to focus efforts in the development of environmentally friendly natural compounds. This work has contributed with this search, testing the antifouling potential of crude organic extracts from four seaweed species collected at Praia Branca, Guarujá district, São Paulo, Brazil. Throughout laboratory antifouling assays in which the attachment of a common fouling organism, the brown mussel Perna perna, was employed, antifouling activity (p < 0.05) was detected in natural concentrations of the extracts of Jania rubens (Rhodophyta, Cryptonemiales) and Bryothamnion seaforthii (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales), while Dictyopteris delicatula (Phaeophyta, Dictyotales) and Heterosiphonia gibbesii (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales) did not exhibit fouling inhibition. From the algae that exhibited antifouling activity, J. rubens presented best performance when compared to that of B. seaforthii. Future field studies would be necessary to obtain results that can better reflect natural conditions, as well as to assess the activity spectrum of the antifouling activity presently recorded. Further bioassay-guided purification of the active extracts can lead to new alternatives to the metal-based antifouling paints currently in use