Synthesis, characterization, and assessment of novel sulfonated polynorbornene dicarboximides as adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from water.

The occurrence of heavy metals in the natural aquatic systems arising from anthropogenic sources is an issue of global and environmental concern because of their extremely harmful effects to living beings even in rather low concentrations. The synthesis and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of novel norbornene dicarboximides bearing highly aromatic pendant groups, specifically, N-4-tritylphenyl-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (2a) and N-2,4,6-(triphenyl)phenyl-norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (2b), their hydrogenation and further polymer sulfonation to render them adsorbents for the uptake of heavy metal ions from water is reported in this study. The macromolecules were characterized by means of FT-IR, 1H NMR, and thermal analysis, among others. A thoroughly kinetic and isothermal study of adsorption in single and ternary aqueous solutions of Pb2+, Cd2+, and Ni2+ was performed considering several experimental variables for instance initial metal concentration, contact time and solution pH. In general, the experimental data were adjusted more efficiently to the pseudo-second order kinetic model and to the Freundlich isotherm model, respectively. The maximum removal amounts were found to be 55.7 mg/g for Pb2+, 33.9 mg/g for Cd2+, and 10.2 mg/g for Ni2+ in the sulfonated trityl-bearing polymer 5a while those found for the sulfonated triphenyl-bearing polymer 5b were 31.5 mg/g for Pb2+, 26.6 mg/g for Cd2+, and 7.0 mg/g for Ni2+, respectively. The higher heavy metal removal capacity of polymer 5a was attributed to its also higher degree of sulfonation. The outcomes indicate that these novel sulfonic acid containing polymer-based adsorbents are effective for the uptake of heavy metallic elements from water.

Environmental sustainability of conventional and organic farming: Accounting for ecosystem services in life cycle assessment.

Today, there is an ongoing debate about the environmental sustainability of the products of organic farming. To compare the performance of conventional and organic farming systems regarding environmental impact and productivity, the comprehensive environmental assessment tool 'life cycle assessment' can be used. The lower crop yields attained by organic systems compared to conventional farming systems might, however, outweigh the benefits of the use of more environmental-friendly practices when evaluating the environmental impact per product unit. Although these practices are beneficial for the environment, which is reflected in the delivery of a range of ecosystem services (ES), the focus is traditionally put only on the (harvested) product. Because the agricultural product involves actually a bundle of ES, the impact should be allocated among the whole output of an agricultural system. In this study, we propose an allocation procedure based on the capacity of agricultural systems to deliver ES to divide the environmental impact over all agricultural outputs (i.e. provisioning and other ES). Allocation factors are developed for conventional and organic arable farming systems. Applying these allocation factors, we demonstrate that for about half of the studied food products (including maize, potato), organic farming has clear environmental benefits in terms of resource consumption in comparison to conventional cultivation methods. This allocation approach allows a more complete comparison of the environmental sustainability of organically and conventionally produced food.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of combination antifungal therapy with voriconazole and anidulafungin versus voriconazole monotherapy for primary treatment of invasive aspergillosis in Spain.

OBJECTIVE: According to a recent randomized, double-blind clinical trial comparing the combination of voriconazole and anidulafungin (VOR+ANI) with VOR monotherapy for invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with hematologic disease or with hematopoietic stem cell transplant, mortality was lower after 6 weeks with VOR+ANI than with VOR monotherapy in a post hoc analysis of patients with galactomannan-based IA. The objective of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of VOR+ANI with VOR, from the perspective of hospitals in the Spanish National Health System. METHODS: An economic model with deterministic and probabilistic analyses was used to determine costs per life-year gained (LYG) for VOR+ANI versus VOR in patients with galactomannan-based IA. Mortality, adverse event rates, and life expectancy were obtained from clinical trial data. The costs (in 2015 euros [€]) of the drugs and the adverse event-related costs were obtained from Spanish sources. A Tornado plot and a Monte Carlo simulation (1,000 iterations) were used to assess uncertainty of all model variables. RESULTS: According to the deterministic analysis, for each patient treated with VOR+ANI compared with VOR monotherapy, there would be a total of 0.348 LYG (2.529 vs 2.181 years, respectively) at an incremental cost of €5,493 (€17,902 vs €12,409, respectively). Consequently, the additional cost per LYG with VOR+ANI compared with VOR would be €15,785. Deterministic sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. In the probabilistic analysis, the cost per LYG with VOR+ANI was €15,774 (95% confidence interval: €15,763-16,692). The probability of VOR+ANI being cost-effective compared with VOR was estimated at 82.5% and 91.9%, based on local cost-effectiveness thresholds of €30,000 and €45,000, respectively. CONCLUSION: According to the present economic study, combination therapy with VOR+ANI is cost-effective as primary therapy of IA in galactomannan-positive patients in Spain who have hematologic disease or hematopoietic stem cell transplant, compared with VOR monotherapy.

Environmental life cycle assessment of grain maize production: An analysis of factors causing variability.

To meet the growing demand, high yielding, but environmentally sustainable agricultural plant production systems are desired. Today, life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used to assess the environmental impact of these agricultural systems. However, the impact results are very diverse due to management decisions or local natural conditions. The impact of grain maize is often generalized and an average is taken. Therefore, we studied variation in production systems. Four types of drivers for variability are distinguished: policy, farm management, year-to-year weather variation and innovation. For each driver, scenarios are elaborated using ReCiPe and CEENE (Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment) to assess the environmental footprint. Policy limits fertilisation levels in a soil-specific way. The resource consumption is lower for non-sandy soils than for sandy soils, but entails however more eutrophication. Farm management seems to have less influence on the environmental impact when considering the CEENE only. But farm management choices such as fertiliser type have a large effect on emission-related problems (e.g. eutrophication and acidification). In contrast, year-to-year weather variation results in large differences in the environmental footprint. The difference in impact results between favourable and poor environmental conditions amounts to 19% and 17% in terms of resources and emissions respectively, and irrigation clearly is an unfavourable environmental process. The best environmental performance is obtained by innovation as plant breeding results in a steadily increasing yield over 25 years. Finally, a comparison is made between grain maize production in Flanders and a generically applied dataset, based on Swiss practices. These very different results endorse the importance of using local data to conduct LCA of plant production systems. The results of this study show decision makers and farmers how they can improve the environmental performance of agricultural systems, and LCA practitioners are alerted to challenges due to variation.

[Gender inequalities in the Spanish Public Health and Health Administration Society (2000-2009)]. / Desigualdades de género en la Sociedad Española de Salud Pública y Administración Sanitaria (2000-2009).

OBJECTIVE: To describe gender inequalities in positions of leadership and scientific recognition in activities carried out by the Spanish Public Health and Health Administration Society (SESPAS), the Spanish Epidemiology Society (SEE) and the Health Economics Association (AES) for 2000-2009. METHODS: We performed a descriptive study of the gender distribution of the boards of directors, scientific and conference organization committees and chairpersons of the SESPAS, SEE and AES. The gender distribution of the editorial board of Gaceta Sanitaria, and of the authors of editorials published in the journal, as well as that of the editors of SESPAS Reports, was also analyzed. RESULTS: Between 2000 and 2009, there was a slight increase in women's participation in the SESPAS and there was greater gender parity in the SEE. However, representation of women in the AES was low. CONCLUSIONS: The causes of gender inequalities in public health professional societies should continue to be analyzed and actions should be taken to change the present situation.

[Health services utilization according to gender in a cohort of intravenous drug users infected with HIV]. / Utilización de servicios sanitarios según el sexo en una cohorte de usuarios de drogas por vía parenteral infectados por el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Gender differences among HIV infected persons have been described in the utilization of health-care services and in their access to anti-retroviral and prophylactic treatments. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of the health service utilization according to gender in a cohort of intravenous drug users (IVDU) with HIV infection. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Prospective cohort study of 926 IVDU who tested positive for HIV infection in their first visit between January 1987 and December 1996. These participants generated 3,429 visits in different health-care centers. Odds ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated by multiple logistic regression analysis using robust methods. RESULTS: Out of 926 subjects, 25.4% were women. Although there were not clear differences by sex in the use of health-care centers, we observed that since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral treatments (HAART) men have had fewer hospital admission than women (OR = 0.50; 95%CI: 0.25-0.99). Moreover, once HAART was started, men received higher prescriptions of antiretroviral treatment than women (OR = 1.30; 95%CI: 0.97-1.24), as well as a higher number of prescriptions for prevention of tuberculosis (OR = 2.22; 95%CI: 1.24-4.16) and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) (OR = 1.50; 95%CI: 1.17-1.91). These associations were attenuated when sociodemographic and clinical status variables were taken into account, except for PCP treatment. CONCLUSION: No relevant differences according to gender were observed in the care of HIV disease. The benefits of HAART may have a minor impact among women in the short term, depending on prescriptions and the other variables considered. These findings must be confirmed by studies with longer follow-up periods.

Influencia de la situación socio-económica de los padres en la supervivencia de los prematuros en el hogar / Influence of the socioeconomic situation of the parents in the survival of the premature ones in home

"En un mundo de grandes conglomerados en que la distancia que separa a los países industrializados de los sub-desarrollados, es cada vez mayor, las posibilidades de un camino autónomo de desarrollo de tornan cada vez más complejas". (1). "Si a esto añadimos que el trágico impacto de la crisis económica de la presente década, está incidiendo sobre 1.800 millones de niños de edad inferios a los 15 años, que representan al 40 por ciento de los 4.500 millones de habitantes de la tierra, dos quintas partes de la población mundial aún carecen de una vivienda adecuada y una tercera parte de los trabajadores están sin empleo o bién no se utilizan debidamente su capacidad". (2). "Las condiciones de vida son tan hostíles en los países en vías de desarrollo que la mortalidad infantil es diez veces mayor que en los países industrializados". (3). Siendo el Ecuador un país de vías de desarrollo está inmerso dentro de esta pronlemática mundial, en donde las condiciones socio-económicas generan una población expuesta a riesgo de enfermar o morir, lo que impacta especialmente en los niños. Debido a los bajos ingresos económicos la mayoría de familiar no pueden satisfacer sus necesidades básicas, situación que se agrava con el nacimiento de un niño prematuro, ya que él implica muchos gastos y requiere de los cuidados oportunos de la madre y de las personas que le rodean para poder subsistir. Si ella no le acerca al seno, si no le dá abrigo, le asea y le evita traumatismos el ni o morirá inevitablemente de frío, hambre o accidentes múltiples debido a los malos cuidados. Considerando prematuro al niño que nace antes de las 37 semanas de gestación; independientemente de su peso al nacimiento. (1) Hurtado Oswaldo, el poder político en el Ecuador, Ed. Planeta, Quinta Ed. pág. 304. (2) American Academy of Pediatrics, Publicación sumultánea. Ed. Española, vol 18 N-2 Cap. 23, Pág. 81 (3) IBID

Influencia de la situación socio-económica de los padres en la supervivencia de los prematuros en el hogar / Influence of the socioeconomic situation of the parents in the survival of the premature ones in home

"En un mundo de grandes conglomerados en que la distancia que separa a los países industrializados de los sub-desarrollados, es cada vez mayor, las posibilidades de un camino autónomo de desarrollo se tornan cada vez complejas". "Si a esto añadimos que el trágico impacto de la crisis económica de la presente década, está incidiendo sobre 1.800 millones de niños de edad inferior a los 15 años, que representan al 40 por ciento de los 4.500 millones de habitantes de la tierra, dos quintas partes de la población mundial aún carecen de una vivienda adecuada y una tercera parte de los trabajadores están sin empleo o bién no se utilizan debidamente su capacidad". "Las condiciones de vida son tan hostíles en los países en vías de desarrollo que la mortalidad infantíl en diez veces mayor que en los países industrializados". Siendo el Ecuador un país de vías de desarrollo está inmerso dentro de esta problemática mundial, en donde las condiciones socio-.economicas generan una población expuesta a riesgo de enfermar o morir, lo que impacta especialmente en los niños. Debido a los bajos ingresos económicos la mayoría de familias no pueden satisfacer ni siquiera sus necesidades básicas, situación que se agrava con el nacimiento de un niños prematuro, ya que él implica muchos gastos y requiere de los cuidados oportunos de la madre u de las personas que lo rodean para poder subsistir. Si ella no le acerca al seno, sino le dá abrigo, le asea y le evita traumatismos el niño morirá inevitablemente de frío, hambre o accidentes múltiples debido a los malos cuidados. Considerando prematuro al niño que nace antes de las 37 semanas de gestación; independientemente de su peso al nacimiento...