Nutrition Portugal  COIMBRA 14/05/2015
INESPO II


Despite the ecological importance of this biome, we know very little as yet of its functioning. Researchers from Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and France will also research how it will be affected by climatic change

The Cerrado is the largest neotropical savanna in the world and is located almost completely in Brazil. it covers 24% of the country (approximately 2 million square kilometres or almost four times the surface area of the Iberian Peninsula) and has the greatest biodiversity of all the savannas. Owing to its considerable surface area and its biodiversity, the Cerrado is of vital importance in the maintaining of important ecosystem services related to energy, carbon sequestration, and the cycling of nutrients at both a regional and global level.

De izquierda a derecha, Glaucia Tolentino, Alexandra Rodríguez y yo, seleccionando zonas de muestreo para el proyecto. FOTO: Jorge Durán.
1.237 words
3 Images
Health Spain  LEÓN 14/05/2015
INESPO II


The Salbis (Salud, Bienestar y Sostenibilidad Socio-sanitaria or Health, Wellbeing, and Socio-sanitary Sustainability) Research Group of the University of León considers that this information is vital to the development of effective awareness campaigns

Alcohol is potentially one of the most dangerous drugs, in particular because of the social acceptance of its consumption. Adolescence is a decisive stage in the establishment and modification of healthy habits, which at this age are highly conditioned by young people's networks of contacts (friends, acquaintances, relatives, social idols, etc.) and need to be known before any intervention can be proposed.

 Un joven ingiere alcohol. FOTO: BocaDorada.
733 words
1 Images
Environment Panama  PANAMÁ 14/05/2015

What do we know about the possible effects of climate change on tropical forests and reefs?

There’s broad agreement in the scientific community that the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at levels the Earth has not seen for 650 thousand years is reaching a point at which we cannot confidently predict the outcome

There’s broad agreement in the scientific community that the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at levels the Earth has not seen for 650 thousand years is reaching a point at which we cannot confidently predict the outcome. The presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is correlated with temperature increases. 2014 was oficially the warmest year on record.

 Cúpulas geodésicas experimentales de cristal. FOTO: STRI
790 words
1 Images
Technology Spain  VALLADOLID 13/05/2015
INESPO II

Researchers from the UVA design a methodology to apply competitive intelligence

The model developed is based on three essential mainstays: knowledge management, technological surveillance, and results management. Its aim is to make SMEs and small research groups more competitive

On occasion a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) invests time, money, and effort in designing a new product, but when the time comes to patent it and launch it onto the market the SME finds that it has already been developed. Another possible scenario is that the product is patented and reaches the market, but after a time it fails.

 Pedro Sanz, profesor de la Escuela de Ingenierías Industriales de la UVA, y Jesús Galindo, quien está realizando su tesis doctoral en torno a la inteligencia competitiva.
768 words
1 Images
Nutrition Portugal  COIMBRA 12/05/2015
INESPO II

Researching how stress factors affect the synthesis of fatty acids in aquatic species

Scientists of the Marine and Environmental Science Centre (MARE) of the University of Coimbra and of the Marine and Environmental Studies Centre (CESAM) of the University of Aveiro are analysing environmental and anthropogenic stress factors

A group of scientists from the Marine and Environmental Science Centre (MARE), a joint centre of six Portuguese universities including that of Coimbra, and of the Marine and Environmental Studies Centre (Centro de Estudios Ambientales y Marinos, CESAM) of the University of Aveiro are researching the effect of stress factors (both environmental and anthropogenic) on the biochemical processes of aquatic species throughout the food chain. This allows the extrapolation of the impact on the food chains and on the food quality of some species. Some of these species have a high economic value as they are used for human food.

 El grupo de investigadores de los centros MARE y CESAM estudia diversas especies de diferentes niveles tróficos: microalgas, macrófitos, zooplancton, bentos y peces de agua dulce y salada. FOTO: V. Filimonova
919 words
2 Images
Health Spain  LEÓN 12/05/2015
INESPO II

It is determined that the p73 gene is involved in the formation of tumour vasculature

Researchers of the Cell Differentiation and Models Group of the Ibiomed of León have published studies in this field in the ‘Cell Death & Differentiation’ and ‘Nature Cell Biology’ journals

Researchers of the Cell Differentiation and Models Group of the Biomedicine Institute of the University of León (Instituto de Biomedicina de la Universidad de León, Ibiomed), in collaboration with the groups of Dr Lena Claesson-Wells of the University of Uppsala in Sweden and Dr Kanaga Sabapathy of the National Cancer Centre of Singapore, have shown that the p73 gene is necessary for the formation of blood vessels both when new (vasculogenesis) and from the vascular bed (angiogenesis).

 La falta del gen p73 afecta la generación de estructuras vasculares a partir de células troncales (células madre) y disminuye la capacidad de las células tumorales de inducir la formación de vasos sanguíneos que irriguen el tumor (angiogénesis)/C.
968 words
1 Images
Technology Portugal  CASTELO BRANCO 12/05/2015
INESPO II

The characteristics of Covilhã allow it to build its own brand as a mountain town

Researchers from the Universidad de Beira Interior compare the towns of the Alps with the most noteworthy settlement of the Sierra de la Estrella to make suggestions for future sustainable development

A study of the Universidad de Beira Interior has analysed the characteristics of Covilhã as a unique town in Portugal because it is a mountain settlement with an industrial tradition. In comparison with the good practices observed in Alpine towns, the authors of the study published in the scientific journal European Planning Studies consider that Covilhã has the necessary elements to build its own brand in harmony with the natural region of the Sierra de la Estrella and that this should be taken into account in its urban, economic, and social development.

 Covilhã. Foto: Maria João Matos.
883 words
2 Images
Nutrition Colombia  ANTIOQUIA 12/05/2015

Lightning strikes predicted with sensors

Lightning strikes may be predicted with up to 30 minutes in advance through sensors designed by UNal-Medellín engineers

“This equipment measures atmospheric variables such as environmental electric fields that when altered enable predicting presence of storms,” says UNal Department of Electric and Automatic Energy Professor Javier Gustavo Herrera. Environmental electric discharges or lightning are source of multiple deaths and damage to electric systems. Therefore different research projects seek to develop a system which can previously warn the occurrence of lightning strikes.
 

 Sensores diseñados por la UN. FOTO: M�NICA ESCOBAR
416 words
3 Images
Nutrition Mexico  NUEVO LEÓN 11/05/2015

Tec de Monterrey student probes polymer nanotube cranial implants

Tecnológico de Monterrey PhD student Marcelo Lozano is studying a new alternative to implant materials using modified polymers to develop biocompatible prosthesis for victims of skull, jaw, and cheekbone injuries

Every year, millions of people suffer cranial trauma due to car accidents, falls, physical assault or sports injury. Most of these injuries are not serious because the skull offers considerable protection to the brain. However, over half a million cranial traumas a year are serious enough to warrant a cranial implant.

 Thanks to nanotechnology, Tecnológico de Monterrey Engineering Sciences PhD candidate Marcelo Lozano is working on improving polymers to carry out biocompatible cranial implants. FOTO: SNC
217 words
1 Images
Social Sciences Chile  ATACAMA 11/05/2015

ALMA discovers proto super star cluster: a cosmic dinosaur egg about to hatch

‘This remarkable object looks like it was plucked straight out of the very early universe. To discover something that has all the characteristics of a globular cluster, yet has not begun making stars, is like finding a dinosaur egg that's about to hatch

Globular clusters – dazzling agglomerations of up to a million ancient stars – are among the oldest objects in the universe. Though plentiful in and around many galaxies, newborn examples are vanishingly rare and the conditions necessary to create new ones have never been detected, until now. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered what may be the first known example of a globular cluster about to be born: an incredibly massive, extremely dense, yet star-free cloud of molecular gas.

 Las galaxias Antena observadas en luz visible con el telescopio espacial Hubble (superior), extensas nubes de gas molecular (derecha). (Inferior) Primer cúmulo globular en formación que se haya identificado. FOTO: ALMA
752 words
2 Images
1 Audio clips
Nutrition Spain  LEÓN 08/05/2015
INESPO II

A doctoral thesis will study the cognitive processing of relative clauses in depth

The study will attempt to find the reasons why the system of relatives in Spanish is currently being simplified with the use of the pronoun “que” to the detriment of other relatives

The SinCom (Sintaxis Comunicativa) Research Group of the Universidad de León (ULE), which is attached to the Department of Hispanic and Classical Philology, is working on a line of research concentrating on Psycholinguistics, a bridge discipline between Linguistics and Psychology, the main aim of which is the study of how the brain acquires and processes a capacity as important as language.

 Escritura. FOTO: Framework2
942 words
2 Images
Health Spain  MADRID 08/05/2015

Device created for faster skin biopsies without anesthesia

This instrument will acelerate the diagnostic of patologies like skin cancer

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Institute for Health Research of the Hospital “Ramón y Cajal” (IRYCIS have patented a new device for performing skin biopsies. With this new tool a skin biopsy can be performed with fewer instruments and the length of the procedure is shortened from thirty minutes to less than five. Neither local anesthesia nor specialized personnel are required. As a result, faster diagnosis of pathologies such as skin cancer is possible.

 Funcionamiento del biopunch

 

520 words
3 Images
1 Audio clips
Social Sciences Brazil  SãO PAULO 08/05/2015

Specific odor resembles chemical bar code for bees, wasps and ants

Similar to wine, flowers and perfume, social insects have a distinctive aromatic bouquet. However, for bees, wasps and ants, this bouquet varies according to species, sex, age, and function performed in the colony

This specific odor can be compared to a “chemical ID”, facilitating identification by fellow insects, and can be used to label insects as members of a particular colony, as male or female, as young or old, or as a queen or worker. The discovery was made by researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Ribeirão Preto School of Philosophy, Science and Letters (Ffclrp-USP) during a series of studies performed as part of the project Behavioural mediation, chemical signalisation and physiological aspects regulating the social organisation in himenopterans, supported by Fapesp within the ambit of its Young Investigators Grants program.

 El sexo, la edad y la función que cumplen en la colonia son algunas de las informaciones que se transmiten a través del aroma. FOTO: FAPESP
896 words
1 Images
Technology Spain  VALLADOLID 07/05/2015
INESPO II

A new device improves the quality of ultrasound scans

Researchers of the Image Processing Laboratory (Laboratorio de Procesado de Imagen, LPI) of the University of Valladolid have developed the Selene project, which gives improved results in terms of contrast and the preservation of diagnostic information

An ultrasound scan is a test used for diagnosis and medical control that is based on ultrasounds (US). In other words it uses sound waves to create an image. It is widely used in clinics as it is a non invasive, quick, easy, and economic means of obtaining relevant medical information.

 A la derecha la imagen original y a la izquierda la imagen procesada con SELENE. La placa calcificada (zona blanca) preserva su información texturada mientras que en las regiones con escaso valor diagnóstico el ruido se elimina radicalmente/G. Vegas
959 words
3 Images
Health Spain  LEÓN 06/05/2015
INESPO II

A step forward in the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia

Researchers of the Biomedicine Institute of the University of León validate a tool capable of predicting the response to treatment with azacitidine

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is the commonest type of acute leukaemia in adults. Normally bone marrow produces cells known as myeloids which after maturing become granulocytes, the cells in charge of defending the organism against infection. In AML the myeloids proliferate abnormally to progressively invade the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells.

 Neutrófilo y mileocito en un caso de Leucemia Mieloide.
778 words
2 Images
Technology Spain  SALAMANCA 06/05/2015
INESPO II

Innovations with beacon technology

The Faculty of Computer Science of the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca has begun to experiment with a new cordless technology that has several potential uses, in particular interior location

Researchers of the Faculty of Computer Science of the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (UPSA) are beginning to work with beacon technology, which is based on Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth 4.0. Beacons can send signals to nearby mobile phones by means of this system, which has numerous applications, ranging from interior location to sending offers to clients and many other possibilities that have yet to be explored.

 Balizas para la tecnología beacon.
835 words
3 Images
Nutrition Colombia  COLOMBIA 06/05/2015

Colombian Caribbean corals are dying of asphyxiation

A UNal research project determined that a disease known as black band disease (BBD) caused by a consortium covers corals and kills live tissue

Cyanotoxins and a bacterial physical effect grow on corals producing an anoxia effect (lack of tissue oxygen) which leads to their death. One of the causes of the disappearance of these ecosystems is infectious diseases, which could be associated to climate change and water temperature increase. 

 En 30 años, el 50 por ciento del cubrimiento vivo de los arrecifes ha desaparecido en el Caribe. FOTO: BRIGITTE GAVIO
398 words
3 Images
Social Sciences Spain  VALLADOLID 05/05/2015
INESPO II

A study analyses the discursive strategies in the communication of sanitary crises

The doctoral thesis of the researcher of the University of Valladolid Javier Nespereira includes a case study of the influenza A pandemic of 2009

The researcher of the Department of Spanish Literature and Theory of Literature of the University of Valladolid (UVA) Javier Nespereira has carried out in recent years a study on the discursive strategies in the communication of sanitary crises, taking as an example the influenza A pandemic of 2009.

 Niños protegidos contra la gripe A.
714 words
2 Images
Nutrition Spain  LEÓN 04/05/2015
INESPO II

A project analyses business areas in Northern Spain

The INVESTER Research Group of the Universidad de León has studied the arrangement, planning, and management of business areas

Researchers of the INVESTER Group of the Universidad de León (ULE), led by Professor Paz Benito del Pozo, have carried out a research project on the arrangement, planning, and management of the business areas of Northern Spain. The initiative has been financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation for the three years of its duration (between 2011 and 2013) and its results are being revealed in numerous articles, books, and didactic resources such as the Atlas of Business Areas published by the Universidad de León or the book Territorial planning and the development of business land in Spain from the Thomson Reuters-Aranzadi publishing house.

 Paz Benito del Pozo, profesora titular de Geografía Humana de la ULE y directora del Grupo INVESTER. FOTO: Grupo INVESTER
1.055 words
3 Images
Health Spain  SALAMANCA 04/05/2015
INESPO II

An application facilitates the follow-up of occupational therapy

The Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca has designed a system that facilitates professionals' work and improves patients' experience

A research project of the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (UPSA) has developed an application that facilitates occupational therapy for both professionals and patients and makes it more efficient. The tool has been designed for both computers and mobile devices and helps to carry out the characteristic activities of occupational therapy: assessment, intervention, and analysis of the results.

 Amparo Jiménez, catedrática de Diagnóstico Educativo y Profesional de la Facultad de Educación de la UPSA.

 

593 words
1 Images
First Page 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Last Page