Comprehensive analysis on sorptive uptake of enrofloxacin by activated carbon derived from industrial paper sludge.

The current investigation deals with how chemically activated carbon derived from industrial paper sludge (ACPS) performs on sorptive removal of enrofloxacin (ENF), an antibacterial drug from its water solution. Thermogravimetric (TGA) and proximate analysis of raw paper sludge (RPS) were conducted. ACPS was characterized with proximate analysis, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and BET. The influence of five operational parameters viz. adsorbate concentration (initial), dose of adsorbent, pH, temperature, and contact time on the adsorption of ENF onto ACPS has been conducted using batch experiments. The process of adsorption was optimized through ANN (artificial neural network) in addition to RSM (response surface methodology). The maximum percentage removal (95.85%) was achieved at initial ENF concentration 12 mg/g, adsorbent dose 1.2 g/L, contact duration of 18 h and temperature 20 °C. Kinetic data were best fitted into pseudo-second order kinetic model and adsorption equilibrium study indicates that the adsorption process follows Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption capacity was noted to have a highest value of 44.44 mg/g. A study on thermodynamics of the adsorption process suggests that it exhibits spontaneity, being essentially exothermic. Cost analysis and reusability study confirm that adsorbent produced from industrial paper sludge is cost-effective and reusable. Therefore, ACPS as adsorbent has potency for removing ENF from aqueous solution.

Cultura y sociedad: Próspero Calderón y su legado para las artes, letras y publicaciones costarricenses / Culture and society: Prospero Calderón and his legacy for Costa Rican arts, letters and publications

Resumen Próspero Calderón (1862-1934) será el primer costarricense que se dedique a la profesión de editor; asimismo, será fotógrafo, docente, diseñador y precursor de las Artes gráficas en el país. Bajo sus ideales de promoción de la cultura se fundan las primeras publicaciones costarricenses en formato de revista: Costa Rica Ilustrada y Páginas Ilustradas, presentando en sus páginas fotografías de H.N. Rudd, Manuel Gómez Miralles y Amando Céspedes, entre otros, así como textos de Joaquín García Monge, Justo A. Facio, Carmen Lyra y Lisímaco Chavarría. Su aporte es imprescindible en el estudio de la sociedad y del arte costarricense en la transición del s. XIX al s. XX. Por lo anterior, para la realización de esta investigación, se recurrió a la Metodología Histórica, desarrollada a partir de las etapas heurística y hermenéutica, para finalizar con una propuesta teórica bajo la figura de Biografía histórica.

Abstract Prospero Calderón (1862-1934) will be the first Costa Rican to devote himself to the profession of editor; Likewise he will be photographer, teacher, designer and precursor of the graphic arts in the country. Under its ideals for the promotion of culture, the first Costa Rican publications are published in a magazine format: Costa Rica Ilustrada and Páginas Ilustradas, featuring on its pages photographs of H.N. Rudd, Manuel Gómez Miralles and Amando Céspedes, among others, as well as texts by Joaquín García Monje, Justo A. Facio, Carmen Lyra and Lisímaco Chavarría. His contribution is essential in the study of Costa Rican society and art in the transition of the s. XIX to s. XX. In order to carry out this research, was used the Historical Methodology, developed from the heuristic and hermeneutic stages, to conclude with a theoretical proposal under the figure of Historical Biography.

Las revistas de alto impacto de pediatría entre bambalinas / High impact pediatric journals in the back stage

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Comparing gender discrimination and inequality in indie and traditional publishing.

In traditional publishing, female authors' titles command nearly half (45%) the price of male authors' and are underrepresented in more prestigious genres, and books are published by publishing houses, which determined whose books get published, subject classification, and retail price. In the last decade, the growth of digital technologies and sales platforms have enabled unprecedented numbers of authors to bypass publishers to publish and sell books. The rise of indie publishing (aka self-publishing) reflects the growth of the "gig" economy, where the influence of firms has diminished and workers are exposed more directly to external markets. Encompassing the traditional and the gig economy, the book industry illuminates how the gig economy may disrupt, replicate, or transform the gender discrimination mechanisms and inequality found in the traditional economy. In a natural experiment spanning from 2002 to 2012 and including over two million book titles, we compare discrimination mechanisms and inequality in indie and traditional publishing. We find that indie publishing, though more egalitarian, largely replicates traditional publishing's gender discrimination patterns, showing an unequal distribution of male and female authors by genre (allocative discrimination), devaluation of genres written predominantly by female authors (valuative discrimination), and lower prices within genres for books by female authors (within-job discrimination). However, these discrimination mechanisms are associated with far less price inequality in indie, only 7%, in large part due to the smaller and lower range of prices in indie publishing compared to traditional publishing. We conclude that, with greater freedom, workers in the gig economy may be inclined to greater equality but will largely replicate existing labor market segmentation and the lower valuation of female-typical work and of female workers. Nonetheless, price setting for work may be more similar for workers in the gig economy due to market competition that will compress prices ranges.

Sobre cuestionamientos, crisis y crítica en Psicología / On questioning, crisis and criticism in Psychology

Desde sus inicios la Psicología se ha visto altamente cuestionada y/o en abierta crisis. Para explicar ese hecho el presente ensayo invoca algunos factores estructurales subyacentes a ese cuestionamiento, tales como su posición medianera entre las ciencias biológicas y las antroposociales o su multiplicidad interna. Aduce asimismo factores históricos: haber sido poco autocrítica, hallarse encorsetada en exigencias editoriales y académicas abusivas, y verse distorsionada en su divulgación en libros de amplia venta al gran público

From its very beginning Psychology has been highly questioned and/or in open crisis. To explain this fact the present essay invokes some underlying structural factors, such as its position between biological and anthroposocial sciences and its internal multiplicity. Some historical factors are also argued: its low level of self-criticism, its submission to excessive academic and editorial constraints, and its distortion due to divulgation aims through books, even bestsellers, addressed to the general public

Reflexiones en voz alta sobre los conflictos de intereses: más allá de los autores / Thoughts aloud on conflicts of interest: beyond the authors

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Occupational Contact Dermatitis in North American Print Machine Operators Referred for Patch Testing: Retrospective Analysis of Cross-Sectional Data From the North American Contact Dermatitis Group 1998 to 2014.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the epidemiology of contact dermatitis (CD) in print machine operators (PMOs). OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of CD and characterize clinically relevant and occupationally related allergens among PMOs undergoing patch testing. METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of the North American Contact Dermatitis Group data from 1998 to 2014. RESULTS: Of 39,332 patch-tested patients, 132 (0.3%) were PMOs. Among PMOs, most were male (75.0%) and white (92.4%). The majority were printing press operators (85.6%). The most frequent sites of dermatitis were hands (63.6%), arms (29.5%), and face/scalp (24.2%). More than half had an occupationally related skin condition (56.1%). Final diagnoses were most commonly allergic CD (58.3%) and irritant CD (33.3%). Cobalt (20.8%), carba mix (12.5%), thiuram mix (8.3%), and formaldehyde (8.3%) were the most frequent occupationally related allergens. The top allergen sources included inks (22.9%), gloves (20.8%), and coatings/dye/copy/photographic chemicals (14.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Allergic CD, irritant CD, and involvement of exposed body areas were common among PMOs. Common allergens included rubber accelerators, metals, and preservatives.

La cohabitación de la academia y la industria: ¿qué postura toman las revistas médicas en relación con los artículos de opinión? / The cohabitation of academia and industry: what position do the medical journals take regarding opinion articles?

¿Deben las revistas médicas publicar editoriales y artículos de carácter educativo escritos por autores que presentan conflictos de intereses financieros con las industrias farmacéutica y biotecnológica de cuyos productos (o sus competidores) opinan? En los últimos 18 meses se ha desatado una polémica entre The New England Journal of Medicine y BMJ, que plantean 2 posturas opuestas: la primera entiende que el prejuicio negativo contra autores con conflicto de intereses con la industria es excesivo y, por tanto, acepta artículos de cualquier experto procurando que presenten el mínimo sesgo posible. BMJ, por el contrario, prohíbe publicar ese tipo de artículos por autores que tienen conflicto de intereses financieros con la industria. En este artículo se desarrollan las actitudes de ambas (y otras) revistas y se reflexiona sobre este tipo de conflicto en la profesión médica (AU)

Should medical journals publish editorials and educational articles written by authors who have financial conflicts of interest with pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries on whose products (or their competitors) they discuss? In the last 18 months, a controversy was sparked between The New England Journal of Medicine and BMJ, who took 2 opposite positions: the former stated that the negative bias against authors with conflicts of interest with industry is excessive and therefore accept articles from any expert, ensuring that they have the minimum possible bias. BMJ, in contrast, prohibits the publication of these types of article by authors who have financial conflicts of interest with industry. This article discusses the approaches of the 2 journals (and those of others) and reflects on this type of conflict in the medical profession (AU)

Evaluación científico-metodológica de presentaciones de casos clínicos publicados en la Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médica. 2010-2015 / Methodology-scientific evaluation of the clinical case presentation articles published in the Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas. 2010-2015

Introducción: El Comité Editorial de la Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas busca perfeccionar su trabajo en la selección de las mejores presentaciones de casos que le llegan. Objetivo: Evaluar los aspectos metodológicos y científicos de los artículos de presentación de casos clínicos publicados en la Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas, de 2010 a 2015.Material y Métodos. Se realizó análisis documental de 50 publicaciones de casos clínicos de la Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas. La evaluación de los aspectos formales y de contenido en las publicaciones se complementó con criterios de los autores y otros vertidos en las referencias bibliográficas. Resultados: La estructura en acápites de las presentaciones de casos clínicos satisfizo las exigencias del Comité Editorial en 88 por ciento. En 60 por ciento el problema subyacente fue la rareza del caso clínico. En la discusión se valoró el proceso diagnóstico en 56 por ciento y el ajuste a la particularidad del caso solo en 60 por ciento. La estrategia diagnóstica más evidente fue la determinista en 72 por ciento y las conclusiones fueron correctas en el 48 por ciento. Conclusiones: Los aspectos metodológicos y científicos de los artículos de presentación de casos clínicos publicados en la Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas muestran una calidad predominantemente buena. Debe mejorarse el cumplimiento de los acápites establecidos por el Comité Editorial de la revista, el reflejo de la temporalidad de los eventos, el enfoque de la discusión sobre la singularidad del caso presentado y su valor, así como la correspondencia de las conclusiones con el objetivo de la presentación(AU)

Introduction: The editorial board of the Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas (Havana Journal of Medical Sciences) attempts to enhance its work regarding the selection of the best cases presentations send to Publishing Committee. Objective: To evaluate the methodological a scientific issues of clinical cases presentation issued in the Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas since 2010 to 2015. Material and Methods: The authors make a documentary analysis of 50 clinical cases published in the Journal. Formal and contents aspects of the articles published were complemented with authors' criteria and others from the bibliographic references. Results: in 88 percent of the published articles, their structure fulfills the Editorial board´s requirement. In the 60 percent the subjacent problem was the uncommonness of the clinical case. In the discussion the diagnostic process was valued only in the 56 percent and 60 percent fits adjust to case´s particularity. The diagnostic strategy was deterministic in 72 percent of the cases reviewed and the conclusions were wrong in 48 percent of clinical cases presentations. Conclusions: The methodological and scientists issues of clinical case presentations published in the Revista Habanera de Ciencias Médicas show a prevalence good quality. Shall be fulfilled the accomplishment of the regulations established by the publishing committee, the evidence of the impermanence of the events, the focus of the discussion about the singularity of the presented case and their value, as well as the correspondence of the conclusions with the goal of the presentation(AU)

Concretes and mortars with waste paper industry: Biomass ash and dregs.

This article describes a study on the viability of using waste from the paper industry: biomass boiler ash and green liquor dregs to fabricate mortars and concretes. Both types of ash were characterized by obtaining their chemical and mineralogical composition, their organic matter content, granulometry, adsorption and other common tests for construction materials. Seven different mortars were fabricated, one for reference made up of cement, sand, and water, three in which 10, 20, or 30% of the cement was replaced by biomass ash, and three others in which 10, 20, or 30% of the cement was replaced with dregs. Test specimens were fabricated with these mortars to conduct flexural and compression tests. Flexural strength is reduced for all the mortars studied. Compressive strength increases for the mortars fabricated with biomass ash and decreases for the mortar with dregs. Finally, 5 concretes were made, one of them as a reference (neither biomass ash nor dregs added), two of them with replacements of 10 and 20% of biomass ash instead of cement and another two with replacements of 10 and 20% of dregs instead of cement. The compressive and tensile splitting strength increase when a 10% of ash is replaced and decrease in all the other cases. The modulus of elasticity always decreases.

Ghostbusting-Taking the sheet off the ghost

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Automatización de la Gestión Editorial en la Revista Cubana de Medicina General Integral, una necesidad impostergable / Editorial Management Automation in the Revista Cubana de Medicina General Integral, an urgent need

Las exigencias del mundo actual han generado cambios en las concepciones de las diferentes esferas de la sociedad. La actividad científico-médica no escapa de este fenómeno, pues el conocimiento generado por los investigadores de esta rama se ha convertido también en un recurso indispensable para propiciar el desarrollo de cualquier nación. Dentro de este contexto se incluye, por supuesto, la evolución cualitativamente superior de las publicaciones científicas, que son, en definitiva, las que posibilitan el intercambio de los resultados y de las experiencias entre especialistas, instituciones y países...