Infrared spectroscopy studies on stability of dimethyl sulfoxide for application in a LI-air battery Mozhzhukhina, Nataliia; Méndez de Leo, Lucila Paula; Calvo, Ernesto Julio In situ infrared subtractive normalized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (SNIFTIRS) experiments performed simultaneously with the electroreduction of oxygen on gold and platinum cathodes in LiPF6 dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) electrolyte have shown that the solvent is stable with respect to nucleophilic attack by the electrogenerated superoxide radical anion. However, long-term experiments with KO2 solutions in DMSO have shown a slow formation of dimethyl sulfone. Evidence of dimethyl sulfone formation by anodic oxidation of DMSO above 4.2 V (Li/Li+) in the presence of trace water has been obtained on gold. On platinum, this unwanted reaction in the charging cycle of a lithium−air battery takes place at lower potentials, i.e., 3.5 V.

Relative entropy and holography Blanco, David Daniel; Casini, Horacio German; Lin Yang, Hung; Myers, Robert C. Relative entropy between two states in the same Hilbert space is a fundamental statistical measure of the distance between these states. Relative entropy is always positive and increasing with the system size. Interestingly, for two states which are infinitesimally different to each other, vanishing of relative entropy gives a powerful equation ΔS=ΔH for the first order variation of the entanglement entropy ΔS and the expectation value of the modu Hamiltonian ΔH. We evaluate relative entropy between the vacuum and other states for spherical regions in the AdS/CFT framework. We check that the relevant equations and inequalities hold for a large class of states, giving a strong support to the holographic entropy formula. We elaborate on potential uses of the equation ΔS=ΔH for vacuum state tomography and obtain modified versions of the Bekenstein bound.

Aportes antropológicos a la historia ambiental en contextos y estudios latinoamericanos Saldi, Leticia; Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad En este artículo consideramos los potenciales aportes que la antropología social puede hacer al campo de la Historia Ambiental. En primer lugar, analizamos cómo se institucionalizó la historia ambiental como campo interdisciplinario y cómo se vinculó con otra holística perspectiva de investigación, la Ecología Política, también próspera en Latinoamérica. En segundo lugar, exponemos cómo la Antropología Social concibió a la relación naturaleza-cultura y cómo sus últimas corrientes analizan dicha vinculación superando la dualidad históricamente concebida entre ambas. Con este objetivo, proponemos que la etnografía resulta una buena herramienta metodológica para los estudios de historia ambiental. Por último consideramos algunas investigaciones y ejes centrales que se desarrollan en Argentina desde la Historia Ambiental y la Antropología, y cómo esta última puede contribuir a los estudios sobre conflictos y relaciones socio-ambientales teniendo en cuenta procesos de larga duración.; In this article we consider the potential contributions that social anthropology can make to the environmental history field. Firstly, we analyze how Environmental History was institutionalized as an interdisciplinary field and how it was linked with other holistic perspective, also prosperous in Latin America, the Political Ecology. Secondly, we expose how the Social Anthropology conceived the relationship between nature and culture and how their latest trends try to analyze this relationship and overcome the duality historically conceived between them. With this objective, we propose that the Ethnography becomes a good tool for studies of environmental history. Finally we consider some researches, and central topics that develop in Argentina from Environmental History and Anthropology, and how the latter can contribute to studies of conflicts and socio-environmental relationships, taking into account processes of long duration.

Dos casos de intersexualidad en el cine argentino; Dois casos de intersexualidade no cinema argentino; Two Inter-Sexual cases in argentinian Cinematography Peidro, Santiago Este artículo analiza los filmes argentinos XXY (Lucía Puenzo, 2007) y El último verano de la boyita (Julia Solomonoff, 2009) para indagar sobre el modo en el que la intersexualidad puede ser leída a partir de las conceptualizaciones de anatomopolítica individual y regulaciones poblacionales que Michel Foucault describe, principalmente en sus cursos Los anormales, Defender la sociedad y en su texto, Historia de la sexualidad.; Este artigo analisa os filmes argentinos XXY (Luzia Puenzo, 2007) e O último verão da boyita (Julia Solomonoff, 2009) para indagar sobre o modo com que a intersexualidade pode ser lida a partir das conceitualizações de anatomopolítica individual e regulações populacionais que Michel Foucault descreve, principalmente em seus cursos Os anormais e Defender a sociedade, e em seu texto, História da sexualidade.; The aim of this work is to analyze the Argentinian films XXY (Lucía Puenzo, 2007) and El último verano de la boyita (Julia Solomonoff, 2009) in order to investigate the way inter-sexuality can be read as a junction point between the individual anatomo-policy and the population regulations that Michel Foucault describe particularly in his courses The abnormals, Society must be defended and in his text History of sexuality.

Transformaciones en la vitivinicultura mendocina en las últimas décadas: el doble filo de la estrategia cooperativa Altschuler, Bárbara; Collado Mazzeo, Patricia Alejandra Argentina se convirtió en los últimos años en el quinto productor mundial de vinos. Ese papel predominante a nivel internacional no ha seguido un camino beneficioso para todos los actores involucrados debido centralmente a la disputa entre los modelos productivos de calidad y cantidad. El triunfo de la formas productivas orientadas a la calidad incrementaron las asimetrías en la cadena agroidustrial con un desmejoramiento notable de la condición de vida de los trabajadores y pequeños productores vitícolas. En este marco, las cooperativas de trabajo han servido para tercearizar servicios, enmascarar la relación de dependencia y vulnerar aún más la precariedad laboral que se profundiza entre los trabajadores rurales de la vitivinicultura.

Consistency over time of spatial patterns of fibre diameter and staple length variation over sheep fleeces Rodríguez Iglesias, Ricardo Manuel; Pevsner, Damián Andrés; Rosas, C. A. Macro-patterns of wool variation over sheep fleeces are markedly diverse among individuals. Assessing the consistency over time (i.e. repeatability) of those patterns would be relevant for sampling, individual selection, and raw wool classing, but there are no canonical procedures available to estimate the repeatability of 2D traits. We devised an approach to evaluate consistency over time as a proxy for repeatability in a 2D domain and applied it to a dataset of fibre diameter (FD) and staple length (SL) measurements. Data were collected over a regular grid of 128 sampling points from 10 Corriedale ewes sampled before shearing in two consecutive years. We scaled down the dimensionality of the data set from 128D to 2D, projected the new synthetic data (n=20, one per animal per year) on principal coordinate axes, extracted all relevant Euclidean distances between pairs of data points, and applied an ad hoc coefficient (Csp) designed to assess consistency of spatial patterns over time in a scale from zero (random dispersion independent of individual animal origin) to one (perfect overlapping of data points from the same animals in different years). Point estimates of Csp (±bootstrap-estimated SE) were 0.78±0.06 and 0.64±0.08 for FD and SL, respectively. Estimated 95% confidence intervals excluded zero for both traits, FD: [0.60, 0.84]; SL: [0.43, 0.75]. Contributions of individual animals to overall Csp coefficients were independent between traits (r=-0.11, P=0.76). Main conclusions were that considering the spatial variability of wool traits over fleeces may help avoiding biases of phenotyping, estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters, and selection decisions, that spatial patterns of variation of FD and SL over sheep fleeces are similarly repeatable across years, and that FD and SL pattern expressions may be independently regulated.

Micropaleontological record of Holocene estuarine stages in the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina Calvo Marcilese, María Lydia Valentina; Perez Panera, Juan Pablo; Cusminsky, Gabriela Catalina; Gomez, Eduardo Alberto Holocene paleoenvironmental changes have been interpreted on the basis of benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils recovered in samples from Napostá Grande Stream, Bahía Blanca estuary, southern Buenos Aires Province. Samples are fine sands and clay sediments from a Holocene outcrop and were studied with quantitative techniques. The benthic foraminiferal assemblage is dominated by Ammonia parkinsoniana, Ammonia tepida, Bolivina pseudoplicata, Bolivina striatula, Bolivina sp., Buccella peruviana, and Elphidium spp. The calcareous nannofossil assemblage recovered is a typical cold-water association, dominated by Calcidiscus leptoporus, Coccolithus pelagicus, Emiliana huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. A dendrogram classification by cluster analysis was made for each microfossil group. The results of these analyses were coincident, showing a liaison between changes in the assemblages of benthic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils. Those results, jointly with the sedimentological information, lead to the identification of three different paleoenvironments along the Napostá N1 site. The lower part of the succession represents an estuarine environment with larger marine connection. The middle part represents a gradual passage to a more restricted estuarine environment, and the upper part represents the establishment of the modern continental fresh-water environment.

La cronología Belén en el norte del Valle de Hualfín: viejos problemas, nuevas perspectivas; Belen chronology up north of Hualfin Valley: old problems, new perspectives Wynveldt, Federico; Iucci, María Emilia Como una contribución a la revisión del problema de la cronología de las poblaciones prehispánicas tardías del Valle de Hualfín, en este trabajo se presentan tres fechados realizados en sitios del norte del valle: El Molino, Loma de la Escuela Vieja y Eje de Hualfín, y se comparan con las cuatro dataciones obtenidas por A. R. González para dos de ellos. A partir del análisis de todo el conjunto de fechados, se establecieron dos grupos divergentes de edades.Tres de los fechados realizados por González, correspondientes a un mismo laboratorio, resultan mucho más antiguos que los restantes. Esta discrepancia nos llevó a considerar la posible existencia de problemas en la aplicación del método radiocarbónico que, antes de la intercomparación entre laboratorios, no podían ser detectados. Teniendo en cuenta los problemas mencionados, los resultados nos llevan a considerar la idea de que los tres sitios habrían sido ocupados simultáneamente hasta comienzos del siglo XV.; As a contribution to the issue of chronology for the last prehispanic populations which inhabited the Hualfín Valley, we present three recent dates for the late sites El Molino, Loma de la Escuela Vieja and Pueblo Viejo de El Eje, which are compared with four dates obtained by A. R. González for two of these sites. From the analysis of the entire set of dates, we established two divergent groups of ages. Three of the dating made by González for a single laboratory are much older than the others. The differences found are interpreted as the expression of possible problems with the application of the radiocarbon method, that couldn’t be detected before the comparison between laboratories. Given these problems, the results lead us to consider the idea that the three sites have been occupied simultaneously until the first decades in XV century.

Frequency of the Congenital Transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Howard, Elizabeth J.; Xiong, Xu; Carlier, Yves; Sosa-estani, Sergio Alejandro; Buekens, Pierre BACKGROUND: Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and is endemic in much of Latin America. With increased globalisation and immigration, it is a risk in any country, partly through congenital transmission. The frequency of congenital transmission is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency of congenital transmission of T. cruzi. SEARCH STRATEGY: PubMed, Journals@Ovid Full Text, EMBASE, CINAHL, Fuente Academica and BIREME databases were searched using seven search terms related to Chagas disease or T. cruzi and congenital transmission. SELECTION CRITERIA: The inclusion criteria were the following: Dutch, English, French, Portuguese or Spanish language; case report, case series or observational study; original data on congenital T. cruzi infection in humans; congenital infection rate reported or it could be derived. This systematic review included 13 case reports/series and 51 observational studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two investigators independently collected data on study characteristics, diagnosis and congenital infection rate. The principal summary measure - the congenital transmission rate - is defined as the number of congenitally infected infants divided by the number of infants born to infected mothers. A random effects model was used. MAIN RESULTS: The pooled congenital transmission rate was 4.7% (95% confidence interval: 3.9-5.6%). Countries where T. cruzi is endemic had a higher rate of congenital transmission compared with countries where it is not endemic (5.0% versus 2.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Congenital transmission of Chagas disease is a global problem. Overall risk of congenital infection in infants born to infected mothers is about 5%. The congenital mode of transmission requires targeted screening to prevent future cases of Chagas disease.

Migrants’ social and labor market outcomes: Paraguayans in Argentina Cortes, Rosalia Alba This paper addresses some factors influencing migrants’ social and labor market outcomes in host countries, focusing particularly on the case of Paraguayan migration to Argentina. In the first decades of the 20th century, Latin America and the Caribbean received 15% of total migrant flows . In Argentina, in 1919, migrants represented 30% of the population, although this proportion diminished in the following decades. The share of migrants has remained around 4.5% to 5% of total Argentine population since 1995—until the 2010 Population Census—while the decline in European migration since the mid-1940s was replaced by neighboring countries’ migrants.

Hacia un abordaje de las relaciones entre políticas y juventudes en América Latina a partir de la noción de generación Vommaro, Pablo Ariel En este artículo nos proponemos presentar algunas cuestiones teórico-conceptuales que desplegamos en las interpretaciones formuladas sobre las formas de participación política de las y los jóvenes en espacios que no están directamente vinculados a las instituciones estatales o político-partidarias. En particular, presentaremos la noción de generación y sus utilidades en el estudio de los procesos de politización juveniles en la América Latina actual.

La noción de horizonte como reflejo de las disputas astronómicas en torno a la posición de la Tierra (1440-1624); The notion of "horizon" as a reflection of the astronomical disputes on the position of the Earth (1440-1624) Levinas, Marcelo Leonardo; Szapiro, Aníbal Analizamos las transformaciones de la noción de "horizonte" en la modernidad a través de sus usos en obras científicas del período 1440-1624; en particular, en el marco de la discusión que tuvo lugar a propósito de la disputa entre geocentristas y heliocentristas con relación al argumento ptolemaico que establecía que el comportamiento del horizonte probaba la posición central de la Tierra. Señalamos cómo el concepto de "horizonte" es representativo de otros conceptos fundamentales que caracterizan a los sistemas cosmológicos en pugna, de los respectivos sentidos de realidad y del correspondiente carácter de la observación. Mostramos cómo el estudio de los cambios conceptuales históricamente operados en la noción de "horizonte" implica una nueva aproximación a la denominada revolución científica.; We analyze the transformations of the notion of horizon in modernity through the different uses that it had in scientific works, written between 1440 and 1624, in which there was discussion of the Ptolemaic argument for the view that the behavior of the horizon proves the centrality of the Earth. We show how the concept of horizon represents other fundamental concepts, which characterize the cosmological systems in dispute and their respective senses of reality and observation. We maintain that the study of the conceptual changes that took place historically in the notion of horizon imply taking a new approach to the so-called Scientific Revolution.

El problema de la automanifestación en los primeros análisis de Husserl sobre la conciencia interna del tiempo según la interpretación de Dan Zahavi Cabrera, Celia Olga Las primeras reflexiones de Husserl sobre la conciencia temporal publicadas en las Lecciones de fenomenología de la conciencia interna del tiempo han instalado varias discusiones entre los intérpretes. Una de ellas concierne a la posibilidad de dar cuenta, a partir del marco teórico allí presentado, de la automanifestación de la conciencia. Si bien esta temática fue esclarecida por Husserl en manuscritos posteriores, ha sido sugerido que fue la llamada “interpretación tradicional” de la conciencia interna del tiempo defendida por John Brough lo que dio lugar a la creencia errónea según la cual fue imposible para Husserl articular una teoría de la automanifestacion que escape a los problemas del paradigma intencional, especialmente al modelo reflexivo. A la luz de las críticas realizadas por Dan Zahavi, el artículo se propone, en primer lugar, analizar los problemas de la interpretación tradicional en este punto y, en segundo lugar, determinar en qué medida, a pesar de ellos, es posible dar cuenta adecuadamente de la temática de la automanifestación en los primeros análisis husserlianos sobre la conciencia temporal.; Husserl´s firsts reflections on time published in the lectures On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time brought up several discussions among the scholars. One of them concerns the possibility to find in Husserl an account of the topic of self-awareness of consciousness. Although Husserl has enlightened this subject in later manuscripts, it has been suggested that it was the “traditional interpretation” of consciousness of internal time defended by John Brough what gave rise to the wrong believe that claimed that it was impossible for Husserl to offer an account of self-awareness that does not remain stuck in the problematic intentional paradigm, especially in the reflexive model. In the light of Dan Zahavi´s critiques, the paper aims, in the first place, to analyze the problems of the traditional interpretation in this point and, in the second place, to establish to what extent in spite of this problems are the first husserlian analyses on time consciousness able to offer a proper theory of self-awareness.

Deep cytogenetics analysis reveals meiotic recombination depletion in species of Senecio (Asteraceae) Lopez, Mariana Gabriela; Xifreda, Cecilia Carmen; Poggio, Lidia; Wulff, Arturo Federico Background: Senecio is the largest genus in the Asteraceae family growing in all environments around the world. It displays taxonomic and systematical difficulties. Cytogenetic knowledge of this genus is ancient, scarce and mainly restricted to chromosome number records. Result: In this study we analyzed chromosome number, meiotic configuration, bivalent morphology, meiotic behavior and pollen grain stainability on 100 accessions of 27 different polyploid Senecio L. sect Senecio entities. Median, standard deviation and mode were calculated for number and position of chiasmata and meiotic recombination was statistically evaluated. Although high frequency of multivalents and associated meiotic irregularities are expected in high polyploids, bivalents predominance and, consequently, regular meiosis were observed, with normal sporogenesis and high pollen grain stainability. Conclusion: Depletion in the total chiasmata was significant only in some species but the terminal position was preferential in all the entities analyzed, indicating significant reduction in recombination. The regular meiosis observed suggest that intra and intergenomic reorganization process occur quickly and efficiently in this genus. Mechanisms of diploidization, common to all polyploids, are reinforced by the strong reduction in crossing-over rushing polyploids stabilization.

Especies reactivas de oxígeno y su efecto sobre la actividad de las células óseas; Reactive oxygen species on bone cells activity; Espécies reativas de oxigênio e seu efeito na atividade das células ósseas Marotte, Clarisa; Zeni, Susana Noemi Las mitocondrias generan especies reactivas de oxígeno (ERO) que cumplen con una multiplicidad de procesos celulares; cuando se producen en exceso son responsables del estrés oxidativo y de múltiples procesos patológicos, incluyendo osteoporosis. Los factores de transcripción FoxO 1, 3 y 4 actúan como moléculas sensoras de ERO convirtiendo la señal de estrés oxidativo en la inducción de mecanismos de protección o señales apoptóticas. La insulina y los factores de crecimiento insulínicos (IGFs) regulan negativamente a FoxOs en mamíferos. Las ERO están involucradas en el remodelamiento óseo a través del efecto que ejercen sobre osteoblastos y osteoclastos. Los FoxOs controlan la acción de ERO sobre la osteoblastogénesis y la osteoclastogénesis. Con la edad, el aumento del estrés oxidativo acelera la adipogénesis a expensas de la osteoblastogénesis, al mismo tiempo que aumenta la oxidación de ácidos grasos generando compuestos pro-oxidantes que incrementan el estrés oxidativo. Asimismo, la caída estrogénica acelera la osteoclastogénesis por vía genómica o no genómica. Dada la importancia de FoxOs y ERO en la fisiología ósea y durante el envejecimiento, clarificar los eventos celulares y pasos moleculares involucrados en el control del estrés oxidativo sería vital para entender la regulación de la osteoporosis relacionada a la edad.; Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are key players in oxidative stress, and they are generated as by-products of cellular metabolism, primarily in the mitochondria. ROS are well recognised for playing a dual role as both deleterious and beneficial species. FoxOs transcription factors are activated in oxidative stress responses and participate in the regulation of cellular functions, including cell cycle arrest, cell death, and protection from stress stimuli. FoxO activity is inhibited by growth factors and the insulin signaling pathways. They play a fundamental role in skeletal homeostasis by exerting both ROS céludependent and independent effects on bone cells. FoxOs modulate osteoblastogenesis and attenuate osteoclastogenesis through both cell autonomous and indirect mechanisms. With aging there is an inevitable increment in oxidative stress that accelerates adipogenesis at the expense of osteoblastogenesis. There is also an increment in lipid oxidation to form pro-oxidant products that enhance oxidative stress generation. In addition, the estrogen withdrawal accelerates osteoclastogenesis. Given the importance of both FoxOs and ROS in aging and bone biology, understanding the cellular events and molecular pathways that are controlled by FoxOs during aging may be vital to our understanding of the regulation of age-related osteoporosis.; Mitocôndrias geram espécies reativas de oxigênio (ERO) que cumprem uma grande variedade de processos celulares; se produzidas em excesso são responsáveis pelo estresse oxidativo e por múltiplos processos patológicos, incluindo a osteoporose. Os fatores de transcrição FoxO 1.3 e 4 funcionam como moléculas sensoras de ERO transformando o sinal de estresse oxidativo na indução de mecanismos de proteção ou sinais apoptóticos. A insulina e os fatores de crescimento insulínicos (IGFs) regulam em forma negativa Foxos em mamíferos. As ERO estão envolvidos na remodelação óssea através do seu efeito nos osteoblastos e osteoclastos. Os Foxos controlam a ação de ERO na osteoblastogênese e na osteoclastogênese. Com a idade, o aumento do estresse oxidativo acelera a adipogênese à custa de osteoblastogênese; ao mesmo tempo que aumentam a oxidação de ácidos graxos gerando compostos pró-oxidantes que incrementam o estresse oxidativo. Além disso, a queda estrogênica acelera a osteoclastogênese por via genômica ou não genômica. Devido à importância de FoxOs e ERO na fisiologia óssea e durante o envelhecimento, esclarecer os eventos celulares e passos moleculares envolvidos no controle do estresse oxidativo seria vital para a compreensão da regulação da osteoporose relacionada com a idade.

Three-dimensional evaluation of thoracic aorta enlargement and unfolding in hypertensive men using non-contrast computed tomography. Craiem, Damian; Chironi, G.; Casciaro, Mariano Ezequiel; Redheuil, A.; Mousseaux, E.; Simon, A. Aging produces a simultaneous thoracic aorta (TA) enlargement and unfolding. We sought to analyze the impact of hypertension on these geometric changes. Non-contrast computed tomography images were obtained from coronary artery calcium scans, including the entire aortic arch, in 200 normotensive and 200 hypertensive asymptomatic men. An automated algorithm reconstructed the vessel in three-dimensions, estimating orthogonal aortic sections along the whole TA pathway, and calculated several geometric descriptors to assess TA morphology. Hypertensive patients were older with respect to normotensive (P<0.001). Diameter and volume of TA ascending, arch and descending segments were higher in hypertensive patients with respect to normotensive (P<0.001) and differences persisted after adjustment for age. Hypertension produced an accelerated unfolding effect on TA shape. We found increments in aortic arch width (P<0.001), radius of curvature (P<0.001) and area under the arch curve (P<0.01) with a concomitant tortuosity decrease (P<0.05) and no significant change in aortic arch height. Overall, hypertension produced an equivalent effect of 2−7-years of aging. In multivariate analysis adjusted for age and hypertension treatment, diastolic pressure was more associated to TA size and shape changes than systolic pressure. These data suggest that hypertension accelerates TA enlargement and unfolding deformation with respect to the aging effect.

Empathy and contextual social cognition Melloni, Margherita; Lopez, Vladimir; Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano Empathy is a highly flexible and adaptive process that allows for the interplay of prosocial behavior in many different social contexts. Empathy appears to be a very situated cognitive process, embedded with specific contextual cues that trigger different automatic and controlled responses. In this review, we summarize relevant evidence regarding social context modulation of empathy for pain. Several contextual factors, such as stimulus reality and personal experience, affectively link with other factors, emotional cues, threat information, group membership, and attitudes toward others to influence the affective, sensorimotor, and cognitive processing of empathy. Thus, we propose that the frontoinsular-temporal network, the so-called social context network model (SCNM), is recruited during the contextual processing of empathy. This network would (1) update the contextual cues and use them to construct fast predictions (frontal regions), (2) coordinate the internal (body) and external milieus (insula), and (3) consolidate the context-target associative learning of empathic processes (temporal sites). Furthermore, we propose these context-dependent effects of empathy in the framework of the frontoinsular-temporal network and examine the behavioral and neural evidence of three neuropsychiatric conditions (Asperger syndrome, schizophrenia, and the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia), which simultaneously present with empathy and contextual integration impairments. We suggest potential advantages of a situated approach to empathy in the assessment of these neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as their relationship with the SCNM.

Continuous high-altitude measurements of cosmic ray neutrons and SEU/MCU at various locations: correlation and analyses based-on MUSCA SEP³ Hubert, G.; Velazco, R.; Federico, C.; Cheminet, A.; Silva Cardenas, C.; Caldas, L. V. E.; Pancher, F.; Lacoste, V.; Palumbo, Félix Roberto Mario; Mansour, W.; Artola, L.; Pineda, F.; Duzellier, S. In this paper are described measurements at high-altitude of both radiation environment and effects. These measurements comprise cosmic ray neutrons and SBU/MCU on nanoscales devices. Results obtained at Pic-du-Midi, France, and in the city of Puno, Peru, are presented and analyzed. Analyses and cross comparisons based-on MUSCA SEP³ calculations show a good agreement between experimental data and modeling, thus illustrating the importance of the knowledge of the radiation field for a reliable prediction.

Pressure and microwave sensors/actuators based on smart hydrogel/conductive polymer nanocomposite Rivero, Rebeca Edith; Molina, María Alejandra; Rivarola, Claudia Rosana; Barbero, César Alfredo A nanocomposite is fabricated by formation of a conductive polymer, using in situ oxidative polymerization, inside a thermosensitive crosslinked hydrogel. FE-SEM micrographs show the nanometric domains of the conductive material (polyaniline, PANI) dispersed in the hydrogel matrix based on cross linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm). The thermosensitive properties of PNIPAm and copolymers with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) are not affected by the presence of conductive polymer nanoparticles. The incorporation of PANI improves the mechanical properties of the hydrogel allowing it to swell up to 30,000% without breaking. Since the conductive polymer absorbs strongly microwave radiation at pH < 4 and heats up, the nanocomposite containing PANI suffer phase transition upon microwave irradiation. At pH > 4, PANI is not conductive and the nanocomposite becomes insensitive to microwaves. However, using a pH insensitive conductive polymer (polypyrrole, PPy) in the nanocomposite makes it sensitive to microwaves at all pH values. The nanocomposite is used in a chemomechanical actuator where drug release is driven remotely by microwave irradiation. Since the PNIPAm-co-2%AMPS/PANI nanocomposite is soft and electronically conductive, could be used as pressure/force sensor. It is shown that a compressive force applied on a cylinder of that nanocomposite increases the conductivity of material. Additionally a switch is built which turns off upon microwave irradiation. Therefore, the nanocomposites are potential candidates for different technological applications, such as: a force/pressure electrical sensor, a drug delivery device driven remotely by microwaves, pH or temperature electrical switches and an electric switch driven by microwaves.

Tobacco cessation intervention for pregnant women in Argentina and Uruguay: study protocol Althabe, Fernando; Alemán, Alicia; Mazzoni, Agustina; Berrueta, Mabel; Morello, Paola; Colomar, Paola; Ciganda, Álvaro; Becú, Ana; Gibbons, Luz; Llambi, Laura; Bittar Gonzalez, María G.; Tong, Van T.; Farr, Sherry L.; Smith, Ruben A.; Dietz, Patricia M.; Johnson, Carolyn; Buekens, Pierre; Belizan, Jose BACKGROUND: Argentina and Uruguay are among the countries with the highest proportion of pregnant women who smoke. The implementation of an effective smoking cessation intervention would have a significant impact on the health of mothers and infants. The "5 A´s" (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) is a strategy consisting of a brief cessation counseling session of 5-15 minutes delivered by a trained provider. The "5 A´s" is considered the standard of care worldwide; however, it is under used in Argentina and Uruguay. METHODS: We will conduct a two-arm, parallel cluster randomized controlled trial of an implementation intervention in 20 prenatal care settings in Argentina and Uruguay. Prenatal care settings will be randomly allocated to either an intervention or a control group after a baseline data collection period. Midwives´ facilitators in the 10 intervention prenatal clinics (clusters) will be identified and trained to deliver the "5 A´s" to pregnant women and will then disseminate and implement the program. The 10 clusters in the control group will continue with their standard in-service activities. The intervention will be tailored by formative research to be readily applicable to local prenatal care services at maternity hospitals and acceptable to local pregnant women and health providers. Our primary hypothesis is that the intervention is feasible in prenatal clinics in Argentina and Uruguay and will increase the frequency of women receiving tobacco use cessation counseling during pregnancy in the intervention clinics compared to the control clinics. Our secondary hypotheses are that the intervention will decrease the frequency of women who smoke by the end of pregnancy, and that the intervention will increase the attitudes and readiness of midwives towards providing counseling to women in the intervention clinics compared to the control clinics.