Environmental cost of groundwater: a contingent valuation approach

The Water Framework Directive of the European Union has become a milestone in the water policy for this area. This Directive aims to achieve a "good ecological status" of bodies of water in the Member States of the European Union by 2015. The Water Framework Directive calls for the application of economic principles, economic approaches, tools and instruments. The functions of this economic analysis include identifying methods to estimate resource and environmental costs. The purpose of this paper is to define the applications of Environmental Economics techniques in a groundwater valuation, taking the Gavilan Aquifer, located in the southeast of Spain, as a case study. This aquifer discharges support a very important wetland, with high biological, recreational and landscaping values. As this groundwater is also used for agricultural purposes, it is an ideal case to test a methodology aimed at measuring both environmental and resource costs. Two valuation techniques% Contingent Valuation Method and Procution Function Approach% were applied so as to achieve this goal. The total economic value estimated for this groundwater is 0.454 [Euro sign]/m[3], out of which 16.1% is related to environmental and recreational aspects

Polimorfismo de los alelos de los antígenos de leucocitos humanos HLA-DRB1 y su asociación con la artritis reumatoidea juvenil en una muestra de niños mestizos colombianos / Polymorphism of human leukocyte antigen (HLA-DRB1) allelles and their association with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in a group of Colombian mestizo children

Se buscó tipificar molecularmente los alelos de los antígenos de leucocitos humanos HLADRB1 en un grupo de niños mestizos colombianos (población resultante de la mezcla genética de amerindios, europeos y africanos) con artritis reumatoidea juvenil (ARJ), así como analizar su frecuencia de expresión y compararla con sujetos clínicamente normales e investigar la asociación entre la frecuencia de los alelos con los diferentes subgrupos clínicos de ARJ. El estudio involucró 65 pacientes con ARJ y 65 controles sanos. La tipificación de los alelos HLADRB1 se realizó por medio de la metodología de la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa con sondas de oligonucleótidos de secuencias específicas (PCR-SSOP), utilizando el protocolo recomendado por el XII International Histocompatibilty Workshop, realizado en St. Malo, París, en 1996. Los alelos HLADRB1* 1104 (prueba exacta de Fisher, PEF)0,013, OR16,79, frecuencia etiológica (FE)0,93) y DRB1*1602 (PEF0,016, OR8,98, FE0,88) se evidenciaron como marcadores de susceptibilidad. HLA-DRB1*1501 (FP0,466; p0,005) y HLA DRB1*1402 (FP0,49; p0,009) se comportaron como alelos asociados con protección. Al comparar las asociaciones entre alelos y los diferentes subgrupos clínicos se encontró asociación entre ARJ oligoarticular con HLA-DRB1* 1104 ( p0,0034, OR41,53 , FE0,97), la ARJ poliarticular se asoció con el alelo HLADRB1* 0404 ( p0,012, OR8,75, FE0,88 ) y en el grupo sistémico, el alelo más expresado fue el HLA-DRB1*1602 ( p0,005, OR21,33, FE0,95). La presencia de factor reumatoide estuvo asociado con los alelos HLA-DRB1*0407 ( p0,05, OR11,2, FE0,45) y HLA-DRB1*1302 ( p0,02, OR22,8, FE0,63). En el grupo de pacientes con ANA+, sólo hubo significancia estadística para el alelo HLA-DRB1* 0701 ( p0,001, OR58, FE0,73). Nuestros resultados sugieren que los genes del MHC en este subgrupo étnico inciden no sólo en la susceptibilidad a desarrollar ARJ sino también en la expresión clínica de la enfermedad.

Análisis cualitativo sobre el cumplimiento con mamografía de cernimiento de mujeres de edad mediana en Puerto Rico / Qualitative analysis on screening mammography compliance among middle-aged women in Puerto Rico

Screening mammogram utilization is a critical issue in early detection of breast cancer. However, it is underutilized by different sectors, particularly low-income women. The objective of this study was to utilize the method known as focus group to probe into obstacles to screening mammogram among low-income women in the ages 40 to 64 in Puerto Rico once they had a physician's referral. The women in the study had knowledge of breast self-examination, clinical breast exam and mammogram as tests to detect breast cancer. Yet, they had no adequate knowledge about current screening guidelines. Attitudes toward pain or discomfort related to the mammogram and fear of a breast cancer diagnosis were the personal reasons most often cited for non-compliance in the focus group discussions. In the case of external or systemic barriers, the most prevalent reasons offered were: cost of the mammogram, transportation, and negative factors associated to the doctor-patient relationship.