Territorial Strategy of Medical Units for Addressing the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City: Analysis of Mobility, Accessibility and Marginalization

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an exponential increase in the demand for medical care worldwide. In Mexico, the COVID Medical Units (CMUs) conversion strategy was implemented. Objective. To evaluate the CMU coverage strategy in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) by territory. Materials. The CMU directory was used, as were COVID-19 infection and mobility statistics and Mexican 2020 census information at the urban geographic area scale. The degree of urban marginalization by geographic area was also considered. Method. Using descriptive statistics and the calculation of a CMU accessibility index, population aggregates were counted based on coverage radii. In addition, two regression models are proposed to explain (1) the territorial and temporal trend of COVID-19 infections in the MCMA and (2) the mobility of the COVID-infected population visiting medical units. Results. The findings of the evaluation of the CMU strategy were (1) in the MCMA, COVID-19 followed a pattern of contagion from the urban center to the periphery; (2) given the growth in the number of cases and the overload of medical units, the population traveled greater distances to seek medical care; (3) after the CMU strategy was evaluated at the territory level, it was found that 9 out of 10 inhabitants had a CMU located approximately 7 km away; and (4) at the metropolitan level, the lowest level of accessibility to the CMU was recorded for the population with the highest levels of marginalization, i.e., those residing in the urban periphery.

Towards ubiquitous requirements engineering through recommendations based on context histories

The growing technological advance is causing constant business changes. The continual uncertainties in project management make requirements engineering essential to ensure the success of projects. The usual exponential increase of stakeholders throughout the project suggests the application of intelligent tools to assist requirements engineers. Therefore, this article proposes Nhatos, a computational model for ubiquitous requirements management that analyses context histories of projects to recommend reusable requirements. The scientific contribution of this study is the use of the similarity analysis of projects through their context histories to generate the requirement recommendations. The implementation of a prototype allowed to evaluate the proposal through a case study based on real scenarios from the industry. One hundred fifty-three software projects from a large bank institution generated context histories used in the recommendations. The experiment demonstrated that the model achieved more than 70% stakeholder acceptance of the recommendations.

Microfluidic sensors based on two-dimensional materials for chemical and biological assessments

There has been an exponential increase in the number of studies of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials for sensing applications since the isolation of graphene in 2004. These materials serve as...

О вакансионной природе высокотемпературного фона внутреннего трения в твердых телах

High-temperature internal friction in an amorphous CuTi alloy is investigated. Exponential regions with different activation energies are observed on the dependence of internal friction on temperature on both sides of the glass transition temperature. An exponential increase in the background of internal friction with temperature in both sites is associated with the migration of vacancy-like defects in the amorphous structure under the influence of mechanical stresses, while frozen defects of constant concentration migrate to the glass transition temperature. After the transition to a state of thermodynamic equilibrium , the concentration the number of migrating defects increases exponentially. Based on the experimental results of measuring the high-temperature background, estimates of the activation energy of migration and the formation of vacancies of similar defects in the amorphous structure of the alloy under study are made.

IoT-based Application of Information Security Triad

Information Security is the foremost concern for IoT (Internet of things) devices and applications. Since the advent of IoT, its applications and devices have experienced an exponential increase in numerous applications which are utilized. Nowadays we people are becoming smart because we started using smart devices like a smartwatch, smart TV, smart home appliances. These devices are part of the IoT devices. The IoT device differs widely in capacity storage, size, computational power, and supply of energy. With the rapid increase of IoT devices in different IoT fields, information security, and privacy are not addressed well. Most IoT devices having constraints in computational and operational capabilities are a threat to security and privacy, also prone to cyber-attacks. This study presents a CIA triad-based information security implementation for the four-layer architecture of the IoT devices. An overview of layer-wise threats to the IoT devices and finally suggest CIA triad-based security techniques for securing the IoT devices.

Hidropolítica neoliberal en Chile y el secuestro hídrico en el Valle de Copiapó: Trayectorias, dinámicas y narrativas en tensión, una perspectiva de coyuntura histórica

Resumen En este artículo, y desde un abordaje regional situado en el valle de Copiapó en la Región de Atacama en el norte de Chile, efectuamos un análisis del periodo de desarrollo del neoliberalismo en clave ambiental como una coyuntura histórica, en la que nos concentramos en el metabolismo económico, material y po­lítico institucional entre sociedad y medioambiente. Específicamente, analizaremos como el agua, es so­metida a un proceso de privatización y mercantilización, constituyendo las silenciosas bases del metabo­lismo extractivo en el marco del desarrollo y transformación de la industria minera y agroindustrial, que implicó una intensificación radical del consumo industrial de agua, paralelo a un aumento exponencial de la acumulación capitalista y a una simultánea hiper-desertificación artificial de una zona ya naturalmente desértica. Hipotetizamos que la acumulación por desposesión hídrica solo fue posible teniendo como condiciones de posibilidad y origen re fundacional, a las transformaciones institucionales radicales reali­zadas sin posibilidad de discusión democrática y en un contexto de represión y violencia política, con lo que el análisis de la dimensión ambiental del presente no puede disociarse de los contextos políticos sub­yacentes y sus trayectorias en términos de un abordaje de análisis de procesos de duración media en términos braudelianos. Palabras clave: hidropolítica; secuestro hídrico; coyuntura; violencia; neoliberalismo. Resumo Neste trabalho, a partir de uma abordagem regional localizada no vale de Copiapó, Região do Atacama, norte do Chile, realizamos uma análise ambiental no período histórico de desenvolvimento do neolibera­lismo no Chile, na qual enfocamos o metabolismo econômico, material e político-institucional entre soci­edade e meio ambiente. Especificamente, analisamos como a água está submetida a um processo de pri­vatização e comercialização, constituindo as bases silenciosas do metabolismo extrativo no quadro do desenvolvimento e transformação da indústria mineira e agroindustrial, o que implicou uma intensifica­ção radical do consumo industrial de água, paralelo a um aumento exponencial da acumulação capitalista e a uma simultânea hiperdesertificação artificial de uma área já naturalmente deserta. Hipotetizamos que o acúmulo por expropriação da água só foi possível tendo como condições de possibilidade e origem refundacional, as radicais transformações institucionais realizadas iniciadas na ditadura e consolidadas nos governos pós-ditatoriais, com as quais a análise da dimensão ambiental do presente não pode ser dissociada dos contextos políticos subjacentes e de suas trajetórias em termos de uma abordagem de análise de processo de média duração em termos braudelianos. Para isso, analisamos o fenómeno desta­cando duas ordens distintas, mas ligadas: 1) uma, relativa às trajetórias político-institucionais sob uma perspectiva histórica, considerando dimensões escalares em dimensiones políticas, econômicas e ambi­entais; 2) outra, sociopolítica e narrativa, ao abordar discursos e narrativas promovidos pelo capital, como formas ideológicas de despolitização da crise, Por outro lado, a emergência de narrativas de contestação desde as comunidades e atores locais, que vão da narrativa do desaparecimento do rio à do sequestro da água. Finalmente, destacamos que, ainda que não haja relação causal entre o sentido semântico obser­vado, tanto o desaparecimento como o sequestro são narrativas que podem estar vinculadas à violência política originária da ditadura y a luta pelos Direitos Humanos, com o desaparecimento e sequestro de pessoas no âmbito da repressão política, paralela aos processos de transformação económica que leva­ram à reconfiguração silenciosa entre capital e meio ambiente no Chile. Em termos de periodização da conjuntura estudada, apesar de não estar estruturada de forma sequencial, se incluem eventos e proces­sos que envolvem o desenvolvimento da conjuntura neoliberal desde a execução do golpe de Estado contra Salvador Allende em 1973, do desenvolvimento de transformações jurídicas e econômicas da dita­dura militar e da consolidação neoliberal na transição pós-ditatorial, até o denominado estallido social de outubro de 2019 e o posterior processo constituinte em 2020/2021 Palavras-chave: hidropolítica; sequestro de água; conjuntura; violência; neoliberalismo. Neoliberal hydropolitics in Chile and the water kidnapping in Copiapó Valley: Trajectories, dynamics and narratives in tension, an historical conjuncture approach Abstract In this work and from a regional approach located in the Copiapó valley in the Atacama Region in northern Chile, we carry out an analysis of the period of development of neoliberalism in an environmental key as a historical conjuncture, in which we focus on metabolism economic, material and institutional political between society and environment. Specifically, we will analyze how water is subjected to a process of privatization and commercialization, constituting the silent bases of the extractive metabolism in the framework of the development and transformation of the mining and agro-industrial industry, which implied a radical intensification of the industrial consumption of water, parallel to an exponential increase in capitalist accumulation and to a simultaneous artificial hyper-desertification of an already naturally desert area. We hypothesize that the accumulation by water dispossession was only possible having as conditions of possibility and re-foundational origin, the radical institutional transformations carried out initiated in the dictatorship and consolidated in the post-dictatorial governments, with which the analysis of the environmental dimension of the present does not it can be dissociated from the underlying political contexts and their trajectories in terms of a medium-duration process analysis approach in Braudelian terms. Keywords: hydro-politics; water kidnapping; conjuncture; violence; neoliberalism.

From Impure to Purified Silver Nanoparticles: Advances and Timeline in Separation Methods

AgNPs have exceptional characteristics that depend on their size and shape. Over the past years, there has been an exponential increase in applications of nanoparticles (NPs), especially the silver ones (AgNPs), in several areas, such as, for example, electronics; environmental, pharmaceutical, and toxicological applications; theragnostics; and medical treatments, among others. This growing use has led to a greater exposure of humans to AgNPs and a higher risk to human health and the environment. This risk becomes more aggravated when the AgNPs are used without purification or separation from the synthesis medium, in which the hazardous synthesis precursors remain unseparated from the NPs and constitute a severe risk for unnecessary environmental contamination. This review examines the situation of the available separation methods of AgNPs from crude suspensions or real samples. Different separation techniques are reviewed, and relevant data are discussed, with a focus on the sustainability and efficiency of AgNPs separation methods.

International Theatre Festivals and Twenty-First-Century Interculturalism

Ric Knowles' study is a politically urgent, erudite intervention into the ecology of theatre and performance festivals in an international context. Since the 1990s there has been an exponential increase in the number and type of festivals taking place around the world. Events that used merely to be events are now 'festivalized': structured, marketed, and promoted in ways that stress urban centres as tourist destinations and “creative cities” as targets of corporate enterprise. Ric Knowles examines the structure, content, and impact of international festivals that draw upon and represent multiple cultures and the roles they play in one of the most urgent processes of our times: intercultural negotiation and exchange. Covering a vast geographical sweep and exploring festival models both new and ancient, the work sets compelling new standards of practice for post-pandemic festivals.

When are idiopathic and clonal cytopenias of unknown significance (ICUS or CCUS)?

Rapid advances in sequencing technology have led to the identification of somatic mutations that predispose a significant subset of the aging population to myeloid malignancies. Recently recognized myeloid precursor conditions include clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and clonal cytopenia of unknown significance (CCUS). These conditions can present diagnostic challenges and produce unwarranted anxiety in some instances. While the risk of progression to myeloid malignancies is very low in CHIP, true CCUS confers an exponential increase in risk. Idiopathic cytopenia of unknown significance (IDUS) lacks the predisposing genetic mutations and has a variable course. In this review we define the early myeloid precursor conditions and their risk of progression. We present our diagnostic approach to patients with unexplained cytopenias and discuss the clinical consequences of CHIP and CCUS.

Evaluation of Lignosulfonate Based Retarders for Thickening Time as a Function of Dosage and Temperature

The retardation of class H Portland cement using lignosulfonates was investigated in the temperature range between 54°C and 153°C. Lignosulfonates with varying extent of modification was used in the study, and the optimum retarder dosage and temperature range to achieve desired thickening time was identified for different lignosulfonate types (non-modified, modified and highly modified). In general, a linear thickening response was observed at low retarder dosage, while a near exponential increase in thickening time response was observed at higher dosages. Defining the retarder dosage temperature relationship is essential for proper cement slurry design for securing desired placement of cement slurry. A significant finding is that the thickening time responses trend from near linear at low dosages, transitioning to near exponential at higher dosages. The observed results varied depending on the extent of modification performed on the lignosulfonate retarder. Pure lignosulfonate retarders produce optimal dosage response from 54°C to 97°C. Modified retarders work best in the range of 97°C to 118°C. While highly modified retarders perform best in the range of 118°C to 153°C. Defining the retarder dosage temperature relationship is essential for proper cement slurry design for securing desired placement of cement slurry.