Captadores de niebla y recolección de agua en un ecosistema de páramo colombiano

Los captadores de niebla son usados para interceptar agua contenida en la niebla y abastecer de agua a comunidades que habitan en lugares donde este recurso escasea. Se evaluó el uso de captadores de niebla para la captación de agua en un área ubicada en el páramo Pan de Azúcar, Duitama-Boyacá. Se instalaron 60 captadores de niebla, 24 de ellos, con dispositivos para medir los volúmenes de agua interceptados. Los volúmenes de agua captados, se midieron en periodos de 24 horas, por 26 días, durante un año y se usó el modelo geométrico para diferenciar el agua proveniente de la niebla. La precipitación registrada fue mayor a la reportada en la literatura. La precipitación mensual osciló entre 51 y 1198 mm y la temperatura media mensual entre los 6 y 8 °C. Los volúmenes de agua promedio colectados por los 24 captadores de niebla estuvieron entre los 0,02 Lm-2dia-1 hasta los 4,4Lm-2dia-1. Los aportes de agua provenientes de la niebla oscilaron entre los 0,02 y 1,77 mmdía-1. La dirección del viento no afectó la captación de agua y aún se presenta incertidumbre al separar el aporte real de agua proveniente de la niebla a partir de la lluvia orográfica, lo cual, sigue siendo un desafío en los ecosistemas de páramo, por lo que se debe ampliar la investigación, para mejorar los diseños y las eficiencias de los captadores de niebla.

Fog collectors are used to intercept water contained in fog and supply water to communities that live in places where this resource is scarce. We evaluated the use of mist collectors to collect water in an area located in the Pan de Azúcar paramo, Duitama-Boyacá. We installed 60 mist collectors, 24 of them with devices to measure the volumes of water intercepted. The volumes of water captured were measured in periods of 24 hours for 26 days during one year and we used the geometric model to differentiate the water from the fog. The recorded precipitation was higher than that reported in the literature. Monthly rainfall ranged between 51 and 1198mm and mean monthly temperature ranged between 6 and 8°C. The average volumes of water collected by the fog collectors were below 0.5Lm-2day-1 with a maximum of 4.4Lm-2day-1. The contributions of water from the mist ranged between 0.02 and 1.77 mmday-1. The direction of the wind did not affect the capture of water and there is still uncertainty when separating the real contribution of water from the fog from the orographic rain, which continues to be a challenge in the paramo ecosystems, for which it is necessary to expand research, to improve the designs and efficiencies of fog collectors.

Real-world evidence of dengue burden on hospitals in mexico: insights from the automated subsystem of hospital discharges (saeh) database

Abstract Background The incidence of dengue in Mexico has increased in recent decades. It has been suggested that dengue outbreaks may compromise treatment quality in hospitals. Objective The objective of the study was to quantify the burden imposed by dengue on hospital services in Mexico. Methods We analyzed 19.2 million records contained in the database of hospital services of the Mexican Ministry of Health between 2008 and 2014. The number of admissions due to dengue was compared to other potentially preventable hospitalizations. Hospital departments were categorized to reflect dengue-related activity as high dengue activity (HDA), low dengue activity (LDA), or zero dengue activity departments, and the impact of dengue activity on general in-hospital mortality in HDA departments was assessed. Results Dengue was the cause of more hospital admissions than most of the potentially preventable prevalent acute and chronic conditions and other infectious diseases. In HDA departments, dengue patient load was found to be a significant risk factor for overall in-hospital mortality. There was an approximately two-fold higher dengue case-fatality rate in LDA versus HDA departments, irrespective of dengue severity. Conclusions This study confirms that dengue is an important cause of hospitalization in Mexico and highlights the impact of dengue activity not only on dengue case-fatality rate but also on the overall in-hospital mortality.

Determinación y comparación aerobiológica en tres archivos de la Empresa de Energía de Boyacá, Tunja (Colombia) / Aerobiological cetermination and comparison in three archives of the Empresa de Energia de Boyacá, Tunja (Colombia)

Objetivos: El propósito de este estudio fue determinar las variaciones en la composición y concentración de los agentes aerobiológicos presentes en tres archivos de la Empresa de Energía de Boyacá (EBSA) que pudieran estar causando alergias respiratorias en el personal que trabaja en estas áreas. Materiales y métodos: En el análisis microbiológico del aire se empleó un método de sedimentación usando agar PDA (agar patata-dextrosa) y agar nutritivo, y se registraron datos de temperatura y humedad durante cada toma de muestras, y se recolectaron muestras de polvo para el cultivo de hongos y ácaros. Asimismo, se aplicó una encuesta a los trabajadores con el fin de conocer sintomatología respiratoria sugestiva y se tomaron muestras de fosas nasales. Resultados: Se aisló un promedio de 470,2 UFC/m³, de microorganismos para los tres archivos muestreados. Se identificó 29 géneros, entre bacterias, hongos y levaduras, y una forma fúngica sin identificar, y se apreció una mayor diversidad en las formas fúngicas. Los géneros fúngicos predominantes fueron Cladosporium, Mucor, Penicillium y Alternaria y en menor proporción formas levaduriformes, y se destacó principalmente el género Rhodotorula. Entre las bacterias, los géneros más abundante correspondieron a Pseudomonas, Neisseria y Staphylococcus. De las muestras de fosas nasales se aislaron géneros como Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Mucor y Alternaria. En el análisis realizado en las muestras de polvo recolectadas no se observaron ácaros. No se encontró correlación estadísticamente significativa entre el promedio de unidades formadoras de colonia con temperatura y humedad relativa del ambiente. Conclusiones: La presencia significativa de hongos y bacterias en el ambiente y en fosas nasales que es capaz de afectar la salud del personal que labora en los archivos, y en especial de géneros de hongos que pueden tener implicaciones importantes debido al potencial aumento en la liberación de alérgenos de sus esporas y patogenicidad en individuos inmunocomprometidos.

In indoor and outdoor environments there great quantities of particles suspended in the air, they are the atmospheric aerosol. Between particles of biological origin are bacteria, fungal spores, algae, viruses, protozoa, pollen grains. Many researchers believe that fungi are indicators of the level of bio-pollution and are associated with nonspecific clinical symptoms in stays indoors or sick building syndrome Objective: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the variations in the composition and concentration of the agents aerobiological present in three archives the Boyacá Power Company (EBSA), which could be causing respiratory allergies personnel working in these areas Materials and methods: A gravimetric method was used to perform the microbiological sampling of the air using potato dextrose agar, and agar nutrient, recording temperature and humidity data during each sampling, and collected dust samples for the cultivation of fungi and mites. Also surveyed workers in order to record respiratory symptoms suggestive and sampled the nostrils Results: We isolated an average 470.2 UFC/m³ of microorganisms in the three archives sampled. 29 genera were identified among bacteria, fungi and yeasts, and one non identified structure of fungi, prevalence the more diversity in fungal forms. The predominant fungal genera were Cladosporium, Mucor, Penicillium and Alternaria and to a lesser proportion yeast forms, mainly Rhodotorula genera . Among the bacteria, the most abundant genera corresponded to Pseudomonas, Neisseria, and Staphylococcus. In the samples nostrils were isolated the genera Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Mucor and Alternaria. Not observed mites in the analysis the dust samples. No statistically significant correlation was found between mean colony forming units with temperature and relative humidity. Conclusions: The significant presence of fungi and bacteria in the environment and in nostrils are able to affect the health of working in the archives and special genera of fungi that may have important implications because of the potential increase in the release of allergens of their spores and pathogenicity in immunocompromised individuals.