Community Health Managers: A Pilot Pedagogic Experience in the University of Rosario

The “Grupo de Estudios en Sistemas Tradicionales de Salud” from the School of Medicine of Universidad del Rosario, in agreement with the “Instituto de Etnobiología”, has designed a training course for a new health agent (the community health manager) meant to consider in its curriculum the difficulties, deficiencies and successes of the Primary Health Care Program. In particular, we have attended OMS suggestions in terms of adequate training of local leaders who should look for self-responsibility and selfdetermination in health care coverage. This training proposal is meant to take into account diverse cultures and traditions in order to offer health care models able to consider cultural particularities, epidemiological profiles, and contextual possibilities, with an intercultural point of view. Hence, the training course’s objective is to offer working tools so that community leaders be able to value and promote traditional health knowledge and practices; seek for food security by means of recovery of traditional productive systems or adaptation of appropriate technologies; environment conservation; use of medicinal plants especially in self-care, and stimulation of community and institutional health promotion activities. Preliminary evaluation suggests that this new health agent will be able to set bridges between communities and health care offers available, always looking for healthy ways of life, culturally and environmentally friendly.

Aprendre colcant. Projecte de mobilitat de l’IES Felanitx

Este proyecto fue galardonado con el 1er Premio de Innovación Educativa 2009.

Aspectes físics i químics del destintatge de paper revista mitjançant tensioactius catiònics

En una tesi anterior (Puig, 2004) es varen estudiar els aspectes mecànics vinculats al desfibratge i als consums energètics associats al procés de desintegració per acabar quantificant les forces implicades en el procés d'individualització dels components de diferents paperots. Aquest estudi, ha permès conèixer les condicions de desintegració que condueixen a un mínim consum energètic, aspecte complementari al reciclatge i destintatge del paperot però molt important per aconseguir un procés realment sostenible. Degut als requeriments del mercat, hi ha un altre aspecte o vessant realment important com és l'eliminació de tinta. Aquest procés, malgrat la complexitat industrial, es pot reduir o simplificar en dues etapes: la desintegració i la flotació. Ambdues, per raons d'eficàcia i condicionades pels agents químics que s'utilitzen, es realitzen en medi fortament alcalí (entorn d'un pH a 12). Aquest fet, genera una forta contaminació (DQO elevada) i per tant, és un procés poc respectuós amb el medi ambient. Els factors que condicionen treballar en medi alcalí són principalment, el despreniment de la tinta del suport, clarament accelerat en medi bàsic i fonamental per un bon destintatge i la utilització de tensioactius aniònics. Aquests tensioactius són sensibles al pH i la seva eficàcia disminueix en medi neutre o quasi neutre. Atès el que s'ha exposat, s'ha plantejat aquesta tesi que porta per títol "Aspectes Físics i Químics del Destintatge de Paper Revista mitjançant Tensioactius Catiònics", com un estudi del procés de destintatge de paper revista recuperat parant especial atenció a les variables físico-químiques i mecàniques del procés i a la seva influència en el despreniment i fragmentació de la tinta, així com en el procés d'eliminació de la tinta per flotació per tal d'avaluar la viabilitat d'un procés de destintatge en medi neutre enfront del destintatge alcalí convencional. S'ha utilitzat, com a paperot a destintar, el paper revista ja que aquest tipus de paper representa un percentatge elevat del paper recuperat a la Unió Europea. A més, aquest tipus de paper és utilitzat habitualment en les plantes de destintatge industrials per millorar les propietats de les suspensions destintades de paper de diari. La utilització de tensioactius catiònics és deguda a que la seva activitat no es veu afectada pel pH de la suspensió. Així, durant la comparació dels processos de destintatge en medi neutre i en medi alcalí, les eficàcies dels processos no es veuran influenciades pel grau d'ionització del tensioactiu. Donada l'absència d'estudis sobre la influència de les variables del procés en les mesures de concentració efectiva de tinta residual (ERIC) i ja que s'ha emprat aquest paràmetre per avaluar el despreniment i fragmentació de la tinta durant l'etapa de desintegració. En primer lloc, s'ha plantejat un estudi fonamental de la influència que poden tenir les variables del procés (granulometria, concentració de tinta i tipus de suport) en aquest paràmetre. Pel que fa a l'etapa de flotació, s'estudiarà l'efectivitat d'aquesta etapa, posant especial atenció a la capacitat del tensioactiu per eliminar tota la tinta despresa en l'etapa de desintegració. A més, donada la poca informació bibliogràfica referida als mecanismes de flotació amb tensioactius catiònics i la influència que té l'adsorció d'aquests agents per part de la suspensió paperera en l'etapa de flotació, s'ha dut a terme un estudi de l'adsorció dels tensioactius catiònics per part dels components d'una suspensió paperera. Per tant, la tesi realitzada té com a objectius:  Estudi fonamental de les mesures de ERIC (concentració efectiva de tinta residual) amb suports específics.  Estudi de la desintegració en medi neutre i comparació amb la desintegració clàssica.  Modelització del desfibratge de paperot a l'etapa de desintegració.  Estudi de l'eliminació de tinta per flotació en medi neutre i comparació amb la flotació clàssica.  Estudi del mecanisme d'adsorció de tensioactius en suspensions de cel·lulosa sintètica i de paperot.

Nitrogen management is essential to prevent tropical oil palm plantations from causing ozone pollution

More than half the world's rainforest has been lost to agriculture since the Industrial Revolution. Among the most widespread tropical crops is oil palm (Elaeis guineensis): global production now exceeds 35 million tonnes per year. In Malaysia, for example, 13% of land area is now oil palm plantation, compared with 1% in 1974. There are enormous pressures to increase palm oil production for food, domestic products, and, especially, biofuels. Greater use of palm oil for biofuel production is predicated on the assumption that palm oil is an “environmentally friendly” fuel feedstock. Here we show, using measurements and models, that oil palm plantations in Malaysia directly emit more oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds than rainforest. These compounds lead to the production of ground-level ozone (O3), an air pollutant that damages human health, plants, and materials, reduces crop productivity, and has effects on the Earth's climate. Our measurements show that, at present, O3 concentrations do not differ significantly over rainforest and adjacent oil palm plantation landscapes. However, our model calculations predict that if concentrations of oxides of nitrogen in Borneo are allowed to reach those currently seen over rural North America and Europe, ground-level O3 concentrations will reach 100 parts per billion (109) volume (ppbv) and exceed levels known to be harmful to human health. Our study provides an early warning of the urgent need to develop policies that manage nitrogen emissions if the detrimental effects of palm oil production on air quality and climate are to be avoided.

Farm level tree planting in Pakistan: The role of farmers' perceptions and attitudes

The low proportion of forested land and continuing degradation of existing forest cover are serious threats to the sustainability of forestry in Pakistan. Farm forestry has been identified as a feasible solution, particularly in the plain areas. Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour in a survey of 124 farmers in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province showed that farmers' willingness to grow trees on their farms is a function of their attitudes towards the advantages and disadvantages of growing trees, their perception of the opinions of salient referents and factors that encourage and discourage farm level tree planting. Farmers viewed farm forestry as economically beneficial and environmentally friendly. Tree planting was perceived as increasing income, providing wood for fuel and furniture, controlling erosion and pollution and providing shade for humans and animals. Farmers saw hindrance in agricultural operations and the harbouring of insects, pests and diseases as negative impacts of tree planting; however, these were outweighed by their perceptions of positive impacts. Tree growing decisions of farmers were influenced by the opinions of family members, owners/tenants, fellow farmers and village elders. The factors that significantly predicted farm level tree planting were availability of barren land, lack of markets, lack of nurseries and damage caused by animals and humans. Farm forestry programmes are more likely to be successful if they acknowledge and address the factors which underlie farmers' reasons for planting or not planting trees.

Fragrance release from the surface of branched poly(amide)s

Enzymes are powerful tools in organic synthesis that are able to catalyse a wide variety of selective chemical transformations under mild and environmentally friendly conditions. Enzymes such as the lipases have also found applications in the synthesis and degradation of polymeric materials. However, the use of these natural catalysts in the synthesis and the post-synthetic modification of dendrimers and hyperbranched molecules is an application of chemistry yet to be explored extensively. In this study the use of two hydrolytic enzymes, a lipase from Candida cylindracea and a cutinase from Fusarium solani pisii, were investigated in the selective cleavage of ester groups situated on the peripheral layer of two families of branched polyamides. These branched polyamides were conjugated to simple fragrances citronellol and L-menthol via ester linkages. Hydrolysis of the ester linkage between the fragrances and the branched polyamide support was carried out in aqueous buffered systems at slightly basic pH values under the optimum operative conditions for the enzymes used. These preliminary qualitative investigations revealed that partial cleavage of the ester functionalities from the branched polyamide support had occurred. However, the ability of the enzymes to interact with the substrates decreased considerably as the branching density, the rigidity of the structure and the bulkiness of the polyamide-fragrance conjugates increased.

Nitrogen management is essential to prevent tropical oil palm plantations from causing ground-level ozone pollution

More than half the world's rainforest has been lost to agriculture since the Industrial Revolution. Among the most widespread tropical crops is oil palm (Elaeis guineensis): global production now exceeds 35 million tonnes per year. In Malaysia, for example, 13% of land area is now oil palm plantation, compared with 1% in 1974. There are enormous pressures to increase palm oil production for food, domestic products, and, especially, biofuels. Greater use of palm oil for biofuel production is predicated on the assumption that palm oil is an "environmentally friendly'' fuel feedstock. Here we show, using measurements and models, that oil palm plantations in Malaysia directly emit more oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds than rainforest. These compounds lead to the production of ground-level ozone (O-3), an air pollutant that damages human health, plants, and materials, reduces crop productivity, and has effects on the Earth's climate. Our measurements show that, at present, O-3 concentrations do not differ significantly over rainforest and adjacent oil palm plantation landscapes. However, our model calculations predict that if concentrations of oxides of nitrogen in Borneo are allowed to reach those currently seen over rural North America and Europe, ground-level O-3 concentrations will reach 100 parts per billion (10(9)) volume (ppbv) and exceed levels known to be harmful to human health. Our study provides an early warning of the urgent need to develop policies that manage nitrogen emissions if the detrimental effects of palm oil production on air quality and climate are to be avoided.

Resolving the spatial variability of soil N using fractions of soil organic matter

The spatial variability of soil nitrogen (N) mineralisation has not been extensively studied, which limits our capacity to make N fertiliser recommendations. Even less attention has been paid to the scale-dependence of the variation. The objective of this research was to investigate the scale-dependence of variation of mineral N (MinN, N–NO3− plus N–NH4+) at within-field scales. The study was based on the spatial dependence of the labile fractions of SOM, the key fractions for N mineralisation. Soils were sampled in an unbalanced nested design in a 4-ha arable field to examine the distribution of the variation of SOM at 30, 10, 1, and 0.12 m. Organic matter in free and intra-aggregate light fractions (FLF and IALF) was extracted by physical fractionation. The variation occurred entirely within 0.12 m for FLF and at 10 m for IALF. A subsequent sampling on a 5-m grid was undertaken to link the status of the SOM fractions to MinN, which showed uncorrelated spatial dependence. A uniform application of N fertiliser would be suitable in this case. The failure of SOM fractions to identify any spatial dependence of MinN suggests that other soil variables, or crop indicators, should be tested to see if they can identify different N supply areas within the field for a more efficient and environmentally friendly N management.

Ecological intensification: harnessing ecosystem services for food security

Rising demands for agricultural products will increase pressure to further intensify crop production, while negative environmental impacts have to be minimized. Ecological intensification entails the environmentally friendly replacement of anthropogenic inputs and/or enhancement of crop productivity, by including regulating and supporting ecosystem services management in agricultural practices. Effective ecological intensification requires an understanding of the relations between land use at different scales and the community composition of ecosystem service-providing organisms above and below ground, and the flow, stability, contribution to yield, and management costs of the multiple services delivered by these organisms. Research efforts and investments are particularly needed to reduce existing yield gaps by integrating context-appropriate bundles of ecosystem services into crop production systems.

Investigating the level of awareness of building assessment tools in the construction industry of Botswana

Environmental building assessment tools have been developed to measure how well or poorly a building is performing, or likely to perform, against a declared set of criteria, or environmental considerations, in order to achieve sustainability principles. Knowledge of environmental building assessment tools is therefore important for successful design and construction of environmentally friendly buildings for countries. The purpose of the research is to investigate the knowledge and level of awareness of environmental building assessment tools among industry practitioners in Botswana. One hundred and seven paper-based questionnaires were delivered to industry practitioners, including architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, real estate developers and academics. Users were asked what they know about building assessment, whether they have used any building assessment tool in the past, and what they perceive as possible barriers to the implementation of environmental building assessment tools in Botswana. Sixty five were returned and statistical analysis, using IBM SPSS V19 software, was used for analysis. Almost 85 per cent of respondents indicate that they are extremely or moderately aware of environmental design. Furthermore, the results indicate that 32 per cent of respondents have gone through formal training, which suggests ‘reasonable knowledge’. This however does not correspond with the use of the tools on the ground as 69 per cent of practitioners report never to have used any environmental building assessment tool in any project. The study highlights the need to develop an assessment tool for Botswana to enhance knowledge and further improve the level of awareness of environmental issues relating to building design and construction.

Efficient and low cost devices for solar energy conversion: Efficiency and stability of some natural-dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells, named by us Dye-Cells, are one of the most promising devices for solar energy conversion due to their reduced production cost and low environmental impact, especially those sensitized by natural dyes. The efficiency and stability of devices based on natural sensitizers such as mulberry (Morus alba Lam), blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus Lam), and jaboticaba`s skin (Mirtus cauliflora Mart) were investigated. Dye-Cells prepared with aqueous mulberry extract presented the highest P(max) value (1.6 mW cm(-2)) with J(sc) = 6.14 mA cm(-2) and V(oc) = 0.49 V, Photoelectrochemical parameters of 16 cm(2) active area devices sensitized by mulberry dye were constant for 14 weeks of continuous evaluation. Moreover, the cell remained stable even after 36 weeks with a fairly good efficiency. Therefore, mulberry dye opens up a perspective of commercial feasibility for inexpensive and environmentally friendly Dye-Cells. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen peroxide and supercritical carbon dioxide: a new bleaching stage for Eucalyptus kraft-O(2) pulps

Kraft pulp is currently bleached largely by the elemental chlorine free (ECF) technology with oxygen, chlorine dioxide, and hydrogen as active agents. This technology brought about significant environmental improvements in relation to standard processes based on chlorine gas and hypochlorite, but there is still need for further improvements. This study presents a novel environmentally friendly bleaching stage - the so-called `hydrogen peroxide in supercritical carbon dioxide`, P((SC-CO2)) - that can be adapted to current ECF bleaching processes, with preference in cases where hydrogen peroxide is already used. In this study, the P((SC-CO2)) stage was evaluated as a replacement to the last peroxide stage of the D(EP)DP bleaching sequence and to the first peroxide stage of the D(EP)DP sequence, for an oxygen delignified eucalypt kraft-O(2) pulp. The P((SC-CO2)) stage was run with 0.5% hydrogen peroxide, at 15% consistency, 70 degrees C, and 73 bar. The reaction time was 30 min. The performances of regular P stages and the new P((SC-CO2)) stage were compared. Promising results were observed with the DEP((SC-CO2))DP sequence; the P((SC-CO2)) decreased kappa number from 2.7 to 2.1, and the hexenuronic acid groups from 17.0 to 12.4 mmol kg(-1). The P((SC-CO2)) stage showed poor performance when applied in the D(EP)DP((SC-CO2)) sequence. It is concluded that the process presents potential but requires further optimization to improve selectivity and efficiency.

Chitosan, sisal cellulose, and biocomposite chitosan/sisal cellulose films prepared from thiourea/NaOH aqueous solution

Environmentally friendly biocomposites were successfully prepared by dissolving chitosan and cellulose in a NaOH/thiourea solvent with subsequent heating and film casting. Under the considered conditions, NaOH/thiourea led to chain depolymerization of both biopolymers without a dramatic loss of film forming capacities. Compatibility of both biopolymers in the biocomposite was firstly assessed through scanning electron microscopy, revealing an intermediate organization between cellulose fiber network and smoothness of pure chitosan. DSC analyses led to exothermic peaks close to 285 and 315 degrees C for the biocomposite, compared to the exothermic peaks of chitosan (275 degrees C) and cellulose (265 and 305 degrees C), suggesting interactions between chitosan and cellulose. Contact angle analyses pointed out the deformation that can occur at the surface due to the high affinity of the;e materials with water. T(2) NMR relaxometry behavior of biocomposites appeared to be dominated by chitosan. Other properties of films, as crystallinity, water sorption isotherms, among others, are also discussed. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Anticorrosive cerium-based coatings prepared by the sol-gel method

The development of efficient anti-corrosion and environmentally friendly coating systems are needed for the replacement of the highly toxic Cr-based conversion coatings for corrosion protection of aluminum alloys. In this study, we demonstrate that the direct application of ceramic cerium-based sol-gel coatings to AA7075-T6 substrates produces high-performance anti-corrosion layers. Electrochemical experiments and analyses of the microstructure demonstrate that the protective layers are very efficient for the passivation of the alloy surfaces operating as both passive and active barrier for corrosion protection.

Simulation of Photovoltaic Panel Production as Complement to Ground Source Heat Pump System

This master thesis presents a new technological combination of two environmentally friendly sources of energy in order to provide DHW, and space heating. Solar energy is used for space heating, and DHW production using PV modules which supply direct current directly to electrical heating elements inside a water storage tank. On the other hand a GSHP system as another source of renewable energy provides heat in the water storage tank of the system in order to provide DHW and space heating. These two sources of renewable energy have been combined in this case-study in order to obtain a more efficient system, which will reduce the amount of electricity consumed by the GSHP system.The key aim of this study is to make simulations, and calculations of the amount ofelectrical energy that can be expected to be produced by a certain amount of PV modules that are already assembled on a house in Vantaa, southern Finland. This energy is then intended to be used as a complement to produce hot water in the heating system of the house beside the original GSHP system. Thus the amount of electrical energy purchased from the grid should be reduced and the compressor in the GSHP would need fewer starts which would reduce the heating cost of the GSHP system for space heating and providing hot water.The produced energy by the PV arrays in three different circuits will be charged directly to three electrical heating elements in the water storage tank of the existing system to satisfy the demand of the heating elements. The excess energy can be used to heat the water in the water storage tank to some extent which leads to a reduction of electricity consumption by the different components of the GSHP system.To increase the efficiency of the existing hybrid system, optimization of different PV configurations have been accomplished, and the results are compared. Optimization of the arrays in southern and western walls shows a DC power increase of 298 kWh/year compared with the existing PV configurations. Comparing the results from the optimization of the arrays on the western roof if the intention is to feed AC power to the components of the GSHP system shows a yearly AC power production of 1,646 kWh.This is with the consideration of no overproduction by the PV modules during the summer months. This means the optimized PV systems will be able to cover a larger part of summer demand compared with the existing system.