Influence of cavitation, pelleting, extrusion and torrefaction petreatments on anaerobic biodegradability of barley straw and vine shoots.

When dealing with lignocellulosic biomass in anaerobic digestion, a pretreatment stage is always required to open the structure of the material, facilitating its degradation. Numerous methods have been developed to pretreat lignocellulosic biomass. Four of them: cavitation, pelleting, extrusion and torrefaction have been comparatively studied in this paper as ways to improve the production of methane by anaerobic digestion of two different feedstocks: barley straw and vine shoots. Additionally, how the selected pretreatments and the nature of the feedstock influence the formation of individual volatile fatty acids was examined. Cavitation was revealed as the most efficient pretreatment, increasing 240% and 360% the methane production for barley straw and vine shoots, respectively, although in absolute terms, barley straw has higher production rate and yield than vine shoots. Torrefaction carried out at 180 °C increased methane production, 81% for straw and 25% for vine shoots, while the process at higher temperatures (220 °C) negatively affected biogas production from both feedstocks. Finally, volatile fatty acids accumulation seems to neutralize any potential positive effects of densification pretreatments.

Application of the system of environmental economic accounting for water SEEAW to the Spanish part of the Duero basin: Lessons learned.

The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water (SEEA-W) consists of an agreed international framework for organizing hydrological and economic information in a coherent and consistent manner. The methodology yields to the SEEA-W physical tables focusing on the quantitative assessment of the stocks and their changes in a river basin during the accounting period. For that purpose, the information on the abstraction and water discharge is linked with the environment water stocks, which assesses how current levels of abstraction and discharge affect such water stocks. This study presents the methodology and results to fill out the SEEAW tables for asset accounts on the Spanish Duero basin. Duero is a transboundary river between Spain and Portugal where 80% of its basin area (78,860km(2)) runs into the Spanish territory. The Spanish part is divided in five zones and 13 management systems. The methodology applied the three models used by the Spanish Water Authorities for the planning and allocation of water resources in Spain: 'SIMPA' model (rainfall-runoff model), 'ASTER' model (hydro-meteorological model related to snow processes) and 'SIMGES' model (water management simulation model). The required information was collected with the support from the Duero River basin Authority and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture. Special care was paid to issues such as: inter-annual variability, the selection of spatial and temporal scale, seasonality, disaggregation of human abstractions into use's type, and transboundary agreements. The results highlighted some drawbacks in the SEEAW methodology for the Duero basin. However, the developed balances are a valuable tool to support the decisions of the Spanish Duero basin Authority on the management and allocation of water in the basin and in the transboundary area with Portugal. Finally, the paper outlines some recommendations for future work.

Cancer survival in Cuba, 1994-1995.

The population-based cancer registry in Cuba is a national cancer registry established in 1964; cancer registration is entirely done by passive methods. Data on survival from 13 cancer sites or types registered during 1994-1995 are reported. Follow-up has been carried out predominantly by passive methods, with median follow-up ranging from 13-54 months. The proportion with histologically verified diagnosis for various cancers ranged between 34-100%; death certificates only (DCOs) comprised 8-50%; 50-89% of total registered cases were included for the survival analysis. The 5-year age-standardized relative survival for selected cancers were breast (69%), colon (41%), cervix (56%), urinary bladder (64%), rectum (48%) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (49%). The 5-year relative survival by age group showed no distinct pattern or trend, and was fluctuating. A decreasing survival with increasing clinical extent of disease was noted for all cancers studied. The data on survival trend revealed that the 5-year relative survival of most cancers diagnosed in 1994-1995 was greater than that in 1988-1989.

Incidence, mortality and survival from prostate cancer in Cuba, 1977-1999.

Prostate cancer is currently one of the most common malignancies in Cuba, as worldwide. The present article analyses the burden of prostate cancer in Cuba. Cancer incidence, survival and mortality rates by province and age group were obtained from the National Cancer Registry and Mortality System from 1977 to 1999. The incidence of prostate cancer has been rapidly increasing in the last 10 years. In 1999 an incidence rate of 34.9 per 100,000 men was observed. Prostate cancer mortality is surpassed only by mortality due to lung cancer. An increase with successive diagnostic periods can be seen in all age groups. Geographical variations in the distribution of incidence and mortality rates in the country were also detected, with no major change in the diagnostic procedures. Our data suggest that the increased prostate cancer incidence represents a real increase in the number of patients with clinical disease.

Factores relacionados con el uso del mamograma de cernimiento en mujeres de edad mediana en Puerto Rico / Factors related with the use of screening mammogram in middle age women in Puerto Rico

Mammography for low-income women is an important intervention issue as it is still under utilized in these sectors. Despite evidence in favor of breast cancer screening with mammograms, research indicates that mammogram compliance among low-income females and women over 50 years of age has been slow. This article revolves around the factors that affect compliance with screening mammograms among low-income women ages 40 to 64 in Puerto Rico once they receive a referral from a physician. Although the multivariate analysis demonstrated that only age, work outside of the home and performing breast self-exams significantly increased the probability for middle-aged, low-income women in Puerto Rico to comply with referrals and have mammograms, this research illustrated that certain factors such as knowledge about the disease and screening practices, a satisfactory perception of the patient-physician relationship, and the performance of a clinical breast exam by a physician influence mammogram compliance.

Visual inspection in oral cancer screening in Cuba: a case-control study.

A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an on-going oral cancer screening programme in Cuba in preventing advanced oral cancer in Cuba. The cases for the study consisted of 200 oral cancer patients with stage III and IV disease. Three apparently healthy subjects per case, matched for sex, age (plus or minus 5 years) and residing within a perimeter of 200 m of the house with the case, and willing to be interviewed, were recruited as the controls. Information on socio-economic indicators, smoking, drinking, diet and screening history in the form of visits to the dentist were collected by personal interview with the subjects. Odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence intervals (CI), of being diagnosed with an advanced oral cancer, in relation to the screening experience at the date of diagnosis of case, 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months prior to the date of diagnosis of case were estimated by conditional logistic regression for matched data. The odds ratio of advanced oral cancer associated with screening in relation to screening experience 3 months prior to the diagnosis of the case was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.46-0.95). The odds ratio was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.60-1.37) for a single screening test and 0.41 (95% CI: 0.24-0.68) for two or more tests. The protection offered by screening persisted up to 3 years since the last test. The results of a descriptive evaluation of the programme also revealed limited evidence towards a shift from advanced to early stages after the introduction of the programme. Nonetheless, the results should be interpreted with caution in view of the several limitations in the study, particularly the fact that screening history was established indirectly by interviews and advanced oral cancers constituted the cases, rather than those who died from the disease.

Risk factors for cancer of the oral cavity and oro-pharynx in Cuba.

In terms of worldwide levels, Cuba has an intermediate incidence of cancer of the oral cavity and oro-pharynx. We studied 200 cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, of whom 57 women (median age = 64) and 200 hospital controls, frequency matched with cases by age and sex, in relation to smoking and drinking history, intake of 25 foods or food groups, indicators of oral hygiene and sexual activity, and history of sexually transmitted diseases. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were obtained from unconditional multiple logistic regressions and adjusted for age, sex, area of residence, education, and smoking and drinking habits. In the multivariate model, high educational level and white-collar occupation, but not white race, were associated with halving of oral cancer risk. Smoking > or =30 cigarettes per day showed an OR of 20.8 (95% CI: 8.9-48.3), similar to smoking > or =4 cigars daily (OR = 20.5). Drinking > or = 70 alcoholic drinks per week showed an OR of 5.7 (95% CI: 1.8-18.5). Hard liquors were by far the largest source of alcohol. Increased risk was associated with the highest tertile of intake for maize (OR = 1.9), meat (OR = 2.2) and ham and salami (OR = 2.0), whereas high fruit intake was associated with significantly decreased risk (OR = 0.4). Among indicators of dental care, number of missing teeth and poor general oral condition at oral inspection showed ORs of 2.7 and 2.6, respectively. Number of sexual partners, marriages or contacts with prostitutes, practice of oral sex and history of various sexually transmitted diseases, including genital warts, were not associated with oral cancer risk. 82% of oral cancer cases in Cuba were attributable to tobacco smoking, 19% to smoking cigars or pipe only. The fractions attributable to alcohol drinking (7%) and low fruit intake (11%) were more modest. Thus, decreases in cigarette and cigar smoking are at present the key to oral cancer prevention in Cuba.

Childhood cancer survival in Cuba.

Reports dealing with childhood cancer population-based survival have not yet been published in Cuba. A survival study including cases reported to the National Cancer Registry in the period 1988-1989 have been accomplished in the National Cancer Registry of Cuba. A comprehensive view of its results in childhood cancer is intended to be shown in this paper. All sites childhood cancer cases aged below 15 years (400) and reported in this period were included derived from a total of 578 incident cases. Vital status of cases was checked-up to December of 1994 by a mixed follow-up. Survival analysis was achieved by the life-table method using the SPSS for Windows software. Relative survival rates were not included because no differences were appreciated with the observed ones. Cases between 0-4 years and females account for the highest frequencies. Leukaemia accounts for 27% of the cases, followed by lymphomas and tumours of the central nervous system. Lymphoid and non-lymphoid acute leukaemia had 41 and 9% 5-year survival rate respectively being the latter comparable with Bangalore, India (10%). For lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease present better prognosis compared with non-Hodgkin lymphoma with 73 and 35% 5-year survival rates, respectively. Figures are comparable to the corresponding to Bangalore, India (72 and 33%, respectively). For time trends survival distribution were compared by period of diagnosis (1982/1988-1989). In all cases differences resulted statistically non-significant with lower rates for 1988-1989 except for lymphomas. International reports show increasing time trends for childhood cancer. Nevertheless, these results may serve as a milestone for future comparisons, corresponding with the creation of the National Program for Childhood Cancer Control and future studies will confirm the success of its measures.

Trends in survival rates of cancer in Cuba.

Reports of population-based survival rates of cancer from developing countries are infrequent. In Latin America, only the Cancer Registry of Puerto Rico has published population-based survival data. The National Cancer Registry of Cuba has achieved three survival studies with cases incident in 1976, 1982 and 1988-1989. This article deals with the global observed and relative survival rates estimated in the latter study. Survival time trends are analysed. In the period 1988-1989, 12,985 primary cancer cases were included from the most common cancer sites, with the exclusion of cancer in situ cases and 8900 cases reported by 'death certificate only' (DCO) (35.8%). The vital status of cases was checked up to 31 December 1994 using a mixed follow-up system with the exclusion of 2900 cases lost to follow-up (11.2%). DCO proportions are shown for the major sites and compared to those of 1982. Observed survival rates were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method using the SPSS Statistical Software. The relative rates were estimated by the Hakulinen's Computer Program Package for Cancer Survival Studies (1988) using life tables from Cuban population. Statistical comparisons of survival curves by year of diagnosis were achieved by using the Log-Rank and Pearson statistic tests. Global results are shown by year of follow-up and a comparative analysis is done in time and with internationals values. Survival rates decreased in the period 1982/1988-1989 for colon, prostate and lung cancer. Prostate cancer shows a low five years relative survival rate when compared with the USA, but its observed rate is comparable with Puerto Rico's. Figures for mouth and lung cancer were comparable with the corresponding figures of the USA and Europe. Breast and cervix cancers rates are comparable with the European mean and the blacks in USA.

An evaluation of the oral cancer control program in Cuba.

The Cuban oral cancer screening program, functioning since 1984, requires all subjects of > or = 15 years to have an annual oral visual inspection by dentists. It covered 12-26% of the target population annually. Less than 30% of the subjects with suspect lesions complied with referral. The program identified 16% of the 4,412 incident oral cancers in Cuba during 1984-1990. The proportion of stage I cases increased from 24% in 1983 to 49% in 1990, although staging information was available only for half of the cases. There was no change in oral cancer incidence and mortality in Cuba over the last decade that could be ascribed to the screening program.