Paragonimosis in the Cajabamba and Condebamba districts, Cajamarca, Peru

Stool samples from 409 pre-school and school students, living in six villages of the Cajabamba and Condebamba districts, Cajamarca, Perú, were examined using wet preparations and Lumbreras' method, looking for Paragonimus eggs. Fecal and sputum samples from two children (0.5%) of 6 and 8 year-old showed eggs of Paragonimus. One hundred and twenty freshwater crabs, Hypolobocera chilensis eigenmanni, were collected from the Condebamba valley and 21 (17.5%) of them were infected with P. mexicanus (syn. P. peruvianus) metacercariae. Our results show the persistence of Paragonimus in human beings and in the main source of infection, the crabs.

Zero-Time Kidney Histology Predicts Early Graft Function

Our purposes are to determine the impact of histological factors observed in zero-time biopsies on early post transplant kidney allograft function. We specifically want to compare the semi-quantitative Banff Classification of zero time biopsies with quantification of % cortical area fibrosis. Sixty three zero-time deceased donor allograft biopsies were retrospectively semiquantitatively scored using Banff classification. By adding the individual chronic parameters a Banff Chronic Sum (BCS) Score was generated. Percentage of cortical area Picro Sirius Red (%PSR) staining was assessed and calculated with a computer program. A negative linear regression between %PSR/ GFR at 3 year post-transplantation was established (Y=62.08 +-4.6412X; p=0.022). A significant negative correlation between arteriolar hyalinosis (rho=-0.375; p=0.005), chronic interstitial (rho=0.296; p=0.02) , chronic tubular ( rho=0.276; p=0.04) , chronic vascular (rho= -0.360;P=0.007), BCS (rho=-0.413; p=0.002) and GFR at 3 years were found. However, no correlation was found between % PSR, Ci, Ct or BCS. In multivariate linear regression the negative predictive factors of 3 years GFR were: BCS in histological model; donor kidney age, recipient age and black race in clinical model. The BCS seems a good and easy to perform tool, available to every pathologist, with significant predictive short-term value. The %PSR predicts short term kidney function in univariate study and involves extra-routine and expensive-time work. We think that %PSR must be regarded as a research instrument.

Earth mortars from pre-historic habitat settlements in south Portugal. Case studies

J. Iberian Archaeology 13 (2010), 51-67

Earth building materials in pre-historic domestic architectures on the south of Portugal

HERITAGE 2008 - World Heritage and Sustainable Development. Barcelos: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development, Vol. 2, p. 571-579

Historic timber roof structures

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil – Estruturas e Geotecnia

Enteroparasites and commensals among children in four peripheral districts of Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais

The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of intestinal parasites and commensals among children in four peripheral districts located in the northern, southern, eastern and western sectors of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, using the Baermann methods as modified by Moraes and Lutz. Out of 160 individuals studied, 93 (58.1% CI: 50.4-65.7) were infected, distributed among the sectors as follows: northern (72.5%), southern (47.5%), eastern (57.5%) and western (55%). The positive findings according to age groups were: 0-5 years (26.9%), 5-10 years (21.2%) and 10-15 years (10%). Male children presented 2.7 times higher risk of infection than females did (OR: 2.7; CI: 1052-7001). The parasites and commensals identified were: Giardia lamblia (27.5%), Entamoeba coli (20.6%), Ascaris lumbricoides (14.4%), Enterobius vermicularis (8.8%), Hymenolepis nana (7.5%), Hymenolepis diminuta (5%), hookworms (3.1%), Trichuris trichiura (2.5%), Endolimax nana (2.5%), Entamoeba hartmanni (2.5%), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.3%), Iodamoeba butschlii (1.3%) and Capillaria hepatica (0.6%). The infection rate in these children was high and showed the need to implement prophylactic education programs in the community.

Archaeometallurgical study of the Proto-historic collection of Moinhos de Golas (North Portugal): a forecast for technological changes?

This work presents the archaeometallurgical study of a group of metallic artefacts found in Moinhos de Golas site, Vila Real (North of Portugal), that can generically be attributed to Proto-history (1st millennium BC, Late Bronze Age and Iron Age). The collection is composed by 35 objects: weapons, ornaments and tools, and others of difficult classification, as rings, bars and one small thin bent sheet. Some of the objects can typologically be attributed to Late Bronze Age, others are of more difficult specific attribution. The archaeometallurgical study involved x-ray digital radiography, elemental analysis by micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, microstructural observations by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The radiographic images revealed structural heterogeneities frequently related with the degradation of some artefacts and the elemental analysis showed that the majority of the artefacts was produced in a binary bronze alloy (Cu-Sn) (73%), being others produced in copper (15%) and three artefacts in brass (Cu-Zn(-Sn-Pb)). Among each type of alloy there’s certain variability in the composition and in the type of inclusions. The microstructural observations revealed that the majority of the artefacts suffered cycles of thermo-mechanical processing after casting. The diversity of metals/alloys identified was a discovery of great interest, specifically due to the presence of brasses. Their presence can be interpreted as importations related to the circulation of exogenous products during the Proto-history and/or to the deposition of materials during different moments at the site, from the transition of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age (Orientalizing period) onwards, as during the Roman period.

Historic and recent occurrences of pinnipeds in the Archipelago of the Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores (Portugal) is located between 378 and 418N and 258 and 318W and crosses the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is the most isolated archipelago in the Atlantic, situated 1600 km west of mainland Portugal and 3500 km from the eastern coast of the United States of America. At present, the only population of seals occurring in the Portuguese territory is found on Desertas Islands, Archipelago of Madeira, where a colony of 24 Mediterranean monk seals, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779), still persists (Pires and Neves 2001). Nonetheless, historical accounts reported by Frutuoso (1983) dating from the early to late 1500s mention sightings of ‘‘sea wolves’’ (the old Portuguese folk term for the Mediterranean monk seal) at several sites along the Azorean Island of Santa Maria. Little is known about the occurrence of monk seals in this area over the past five centuries, but the species certainly did not escape deliberate killing by the first settlers. While the early monk seal reports by Frutuoso (1983) are the only reports referring to the presence of colonies of seals in the Azores, more recently several sightings and strandings of vagrant seals of other species have been noted.

"Managing the impact of tourism in historic urban destinations. A sustainability approach: Case study of Sintra"

In this Work Project, it will be assessed how Sintra’s sustainability is affected by the consequences of the visitor flow on its urban historical center. Two research questions will support this case study: What is the main problem affecting Sintra as a tourism destination? How sustainable will Sintra be in the next 10-15 years? The main findings suggest Sintra faces an intense seasonal pressure on its historical city center and its sustainability might be seriously affected in the near future, whereby three domains of the destination deserve a serious strategy reassessment: promotion, management, and supply.

Historic and potential technology transition paths of grid battery storage: Co-evolution of energy grid, electric mobility and batteries

Scarcity of fuels, changes in environmental policy and in society increased the interest in generating electric energy from renewable energy sources (RES) for a sustainable energy supply in the future. The main problem of RES as solar and wind energy, which represent a main pillar of this transition, is that they cannot supply constant power output. This results inter alia in an increased demand of backup technologies as batteries to assure electricity system safety. The diffusion of energy storage technologies is highly dependent on the energy system and transport transition pathways which might lead to a replacement or reconfiguration of embedded socio-technical practices and regimes (by creating new standards or dominant designs, changing regulations, infrastructure and user patterns). The success of this technology is dependent on hardly predictable future technical advances, actor preferences, development of competing technologies and designs, diverging interests of actors, future cost efficiencies, environmental performance, the evolution of market demand and design and evolution of our society.

Estoque de nutrientes sob diferentes sistemas de uso do solo de Colorado do Oeste-RO

A substituição da floresta por outro tipo de uso do solo pode levar a perdas significativas na matéria orgânica do solo, alterando sua dinâmica e como consequência alterando as entradas e saídas de nutrientes do sistema. Neste trabalho o objetivo foi avaliar o estoque de nutrientes em diferentes sistemas de uso de solo em Colorado do Oeste-RO. Os sistemas avaliados foram o agroflorestal (teca e cacau), florestal (teca com cinco anos), teca com oito anos, agrossilvopastoril (teca, cacau e pasto) e pastagem tendo a mata nativa como referência. Em cada sistema foram abertas três minitrincheiras, nas quais foram coletadas amostras deformadas e indeformadas nas profundidades de 0 a 5, 5 a 10, 10 a 20 e 20 a 30 cm. Nessas amostras foram determinados os nutrientes: N, P, K, Ca e Mg, a matéria orgânica, a densidade do solo e os teores de argila. Observaram-se diferenças nos estoques de nutrientes no solo entre os sistemas de uso e em profundidade. A concentração de nutrientes foi influenciada pelo sistema de uso do solo. O nutriente mais estocado em todos os sistemas de uso é o Ca, os valores variaram entre 5188,48 e 2912,86 kg ha-1 e o menos estocado o K, com estoques entre 46,22 e 17,33 kg ha-1. O sistema teca com cinco anos foi o sistema que mais se aproximou da mata, quanto ao armazenamento de nutrientes.

The mineralogy and chemistry of the German and Portuguese tiles used to face a historic building in the Amazon region and their natural susceptibility to tropical weathering

During the 19th century, the most prominent buildings of the city of Belém were faced entirely with tiles manufactured in Portugal and Germany, which now exhibit distinct degrees of degradation. The Pinho mansion is one of the most important of these buildings and was selected for the investigation of the action of the tropical Amazonian climate on the degradation of the tiles. To achieve this objective, the tiles were mapped for organic and inorganic degradation, and samples were collected for analysis. The minerals were determined by XRD, the chemical composition by classical wet methods and SEM/EDS, and the microorganisms under the microscope. The results show that the German and Portuguese tiles are quite different in their composition. While both ceramic bodies are composed of SiO2 and Al2O3, CaO was found only in the Portuguese tile. The low Na2O and K2O contents indicate the addition of materials to reduce the fusion temperature. SiO2 and PbO are the main constituents of the glaze, with CoO and FeO being added as pigment. The ceramic body of the German tiles is constituted of quartz, mullite, and cristobalite, in contrast with the Portuguese tiles, which are made of quartz, gehlenite, diopside, calcite, and feldspars. The glazes are XRD-amorphous. The chemical and mineralogical differences between the German and Portuguese tiles indicate that they were produced from different raw materials under distinct thermal processes. The most prominent weathering-related modifications are the thin layers (German tiles), oxidation stains, dark stains, the detachment of the tile (Portuguese tiles), loss of the glaze and powdering of the ceramic body (Portuguese tiles) through the establishment of Cyanophyta and Bacillariophyta.. The distinct degradation patterns of the tiles exposed to the tropical Amazon climate are a consequence of their distinct mineralogy and chemistry.

Reducing seismic vulnerablity: Retrofitting historic buildings

The value of preserving historic buildings is increasingly accepted by society, which not only recognizes built cultural heritage as a part of its identity but is also more cognizant of its economic value. In Europe, for example, tourism accounts for 10 percent of the GDP in the EU and 12 percent of employment.1 Built cultural heritage is a fundamental element of what draws tourists to European destinations. To a great extent, the value of historic buildings rests in the integrity of their components as unique products of the technology of their time and place. Unfortunately, cultural heritage buildings are particularly vulnerable to disasters, for a variety of reasons. They are often damaged or in a state of deterioration; they were built with materials with low resistance; they are heavy; and the connections among their various structural components are frequently insufficient. The main causes of damage are lack of maintenance, water-induced deterioration (from rain or rising damp), soil settlement, and extreme events such as earthquakes. Earthquakes have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in the last decade, in addition to the tremendous losses in built cultural heritage.

Early holocenic and historic mtDNA african signatures in the iberian peninsula: The andalusian region as a paradigm

Determining the timing, identity and direction of migrations in the Mediterranean Basin, the role of "migratory routes" in and among regions of Africa, Europe and Asia, and the effects of sex-specific behaviors of population movements have important implications for our understanding of the present human genetic diversity. A crucial component of the Mediterranean world is its westernmost region. Clear features of transcontinental ancient contacts between North African and Iberian populations surrounding the maritime region of Gibraltar Strait have been identified from archeological data. The attempt to discern origin and dates of migration between close geographically related regions has been a challenge in the field of uniparental-based population genetics. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies have been focused on surveying the H1, H3 and V lineages when trying to ascertain north-south migrations, and U6 and L in the opposite direction, assuming that those lineages are good proxies for the ancestry of each side of the Mediterranean. To this end, in the present work we have screened entire mtDNA sequences belonging to U6, M1 and L haplogroups in Andalusians--from Huelva and Granada provinces--and Moroccan Berbers. We present here pioneer data and interpretations on the role of NW Africa and the Iberian Peninsula regarding the time of origin, number of founders and expansion directions of these specific markers. The estimated entrance of the North African U6 lineages into Iberia at 10 ky correlates well with other L African clades, indicating that U6 and some L lineages moved together from Africa to Iberia in the Early Holocene. Still, founder analysis highlights that the high sharing of lineages between North Africa and Iberia results from a complex process continued through time, impairing simplistic interpretations. In particular, our work supports the existence of an ancient, frequently denied, bridge connecting the Maghreb and Andalusia.