Análisis de los Stakeholders (actores) como instrumento potencial en los procesos de participación de las agendas 21 local. El caso de Sonà (Panamà)

En este artículo se describe y se expone la metodología aplicada en un estudio llevado a cabo durante el curso 2007-2008. Este estudio era parte fundamental del Proyecto Final de Master “Agenda 21 Local (AG21L) del Municipio de Soná” (Panamá). A través del cual se trata de identificar a los posibles actores a quienes un grupo de ciudadanos, conocedores de la existencia de un nuevo modelo de gestión local, debía establecer alianzas que generen argumentos que potencien cambios de gestión en el distrito (comarca) de Soná. De esa forma, se pretende presentar la estrategia a los gestores municipales locales, incluyendo a los actores locales mas destacados. En el artículo se recoge la metodología utilizada en el estudio, que tiene como objetivo hacer un inventario de los actores, como movimiento social, para potenciar la Agenda 21 Local como estrategia de desarrollo humano ambientalmente sostenible

Algorithmic Puzzles: History, Taxonomies, and Applications in Human Problem Solving

The paper concerns an important but underappreciated genre of algorithmic puzzles, explaining what these puzzles are, reviewing milestones in their long history, and giving two different ways to classify them. Also covered are major applications of algorithmic puzzles in cognitive science research, with an emphasis on insight problem solving, and the advantages of algorithmic puzzles over some other classes of problems used in insight research. The author proposes adding algorithmic puzzles as a separate category of insight problems, suggests 12 specific puzzles that could be useful for research in insight problem solving, and outlines several experiments dealing with other cognitive aspects of solving algorithmic puzzles

Law models for one world

The World Bank\u27s prevailing conception that unifies the economic tools and the social goals of development in one comprehensive agenda through using law models in the core is unrealistic process that allows the Bank to play a political role regarding the policies of the member countries. The alternative strategy, in my view, is either to determine a point of reference to lead the development process of the transition countries instead of providing unified law models or to determine a specific legal reform agenda for each country that is compatible with its priorities and necessities. This alternative strategy should be limited to the mandate of the World Bank as a financial institution avoiding any extra burdens that contradict with the sovereignty of the member states. In fact, in my contention, the neoliberal comprehensive agenda of the World Bank may be described as a paternalistic assistance to the transitional countries that ignores the different goals of development for each country

Investigating circulatory microRNA expression profiles in Egyptian patients with HCV induced hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious health challenge affecting over 185 million individuals globally. Egypt has the highest rate for chronic HCV infection worldwide. Recent studies have shown that from 10%-30% of HCV infected individuals would progress to more deteriorating conditions such as cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Current biomarkers for HCC diagnosis are lacking both sensitivity and specificity. As a result there is demand to develop reliable biomarkers that are sensitive, specific and non-invasive for early diagnosis and rapid intervention of HCC to increase the survival rate of patients. Recently, circulatory miRNAs have drawn great attention as promising non-invasive biomarkers for various diseases. They are highly stable in blood and their expression profiles reflect disease progression and/or drug response status. Besides, a number of miRNAs were found to be commonly dysregulated in HCC. In this study, we investigated mi-RNA expression profile from the plasma of Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C, cirrhosis and HCV associated HCC compared with healthy control. We aimed to assess the diagnostic potential of the selected miRNAs to differentiate between healthy, HCV and HCV associated disorders (cirrhosis and HCC). In addition to studying the expression pattern in the different studied stages. Using real time PCR, we compared the levels of circulating mir-122, miR-21 and miR-155 in plasma from healthy control (n=40), cirrhosis (n=39) and HCC (n=40) to CHC (n=37). Synthetic miR-39 was spiked in the samples to be used as a normalizing control for the samples. Plasma miR-122 was significantly up-regulated iii in HCC than in the three other categories (P\u3c0.001). The plasma level of miR-122 in HCC patients was significantly higher than healthy control and cirrhotic patients (P = 0.002 and P\u3c0.001, respectively). The plasma level of miR-21 was significantly upregulated in HCC compared to cirrhotic patients (P=0.03). Although Control and HCC in mir-21 increased by 3.52 and 6 log2 scale respectively, they were in marginal insignificance (p=0.093) that might be due to limited number of samples used in this study. There had been no significant dys-regulation in the expression levels of miR155 between the 4 categories. Receiver operating characteristic curves’ analysis revealed that miR-122 differentiated HCC patients from healthy control with a specificity and sensitivity 57.50% and 65.52% respectively (at a cutoff \u3e1.86). To discriminate cirrhotic patients from HCC subjects, a specificity and sensitivity of 61.54% and 1.43% (at a cutoff\u3e 0.43) were determined. Additionally, analyzing ROC curve indicated that miR-21 differentiated HCC patients from cirrhotic patients with best sensitivity and specificity 72.97% and 50% (at a cutoff \u3e-0.43). In conclusion, plasma miR-122 and miR-21 may be further investigated as potential markers for HCV associated HCC

Systematic review of the safety of medication use in inpatient, outpatient and primary care settings in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

Background Errors in medication use are a patient safety concern globally, with different regions reporting differing error rates, causes of errors and proposed solutions. The objectives of this review were to identify, summarise, review and evaluate published studies on medication errors, drug related problems and adverse drug events in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Methods A systematic review was carried out using six databases, searching for literature published between January 1990 and August 2016. Research articles focussing on medication errors, drug related problems or adverse drug events within different healthcare settings in the GCC were included. Results Of 2094 records screened, 54 studies met our inclusion criteria. Kuwait was the only GCC country with no studies included. Prescribing errors were reported to be as high as 91% of a sample of primary care prescriptions analysed in one study. Of drug-related admissions evaluated in the emergency department the most common reason was patient non-compliance. In the inpatient care setting, a study of review of patient charts and medication orders identified prescribing errors in 7% of medication orders, another reported prescribing errors present in 56% of medication orders. The majority of drug related problems identified in inpatient paediatric wards were judged to be preventable. Adverse drug events were reported to occur in 8.5–16.9 per 100 admissions with up to 30% judged preventable, with occurrence being highest in the intensive care unit. Dosing errors were common in inpatient, outpatient and primary care settings. Omission of the administered dose as well as omission of prescribed medication at medication reconciliation were common. Studies of pharmacists’ interventions in clinical practice reported a varying level of acceptance, ranging from 53% to 98% of pharmacists’ recommendations. Conclusions Studies of medication errors, drug related problems and adverse drug events are increasing in the GCC. However, variation in methods, definitions and denominators preclude calculation of an overall error rate. Research with more robust methodologies and longer follow up periods is now required.Peer reviewe

Inherent Safety and Chlorine in Water Treatment

Chlorine has been used for water treatment purposes for more than one hundred years. The simplicity and effectiveness of using chlorine and its derivatives for water treatment is one of the wonders of modern chemistry: it is cheap, it is safe, and it works. Chlorine has uses on water intake structures, for the removal of aquatic organisms, for pre-filtration, to kill bacteria and for water disinfection. The gas has a greenish-yellowish color and has a molecular weight that is two and a half times larger than that of air. In its gaseous form, chlorine is extremely toxic and dangerous. It also has a very high coefficient of expansion. For this reason, all chlorine containers’ volume must not be filled up past eighty five percent of their capacity. Chlorine gas is fed into the water treatment system under vacuum conditions. Chlorine tanks have an automated system of regulators, feed equipment and vacuum ejectors. Piping connections must be sealed with proper pipe thread compound and compression fittings must be sealed with a new lead washer. Also, chlorine gas scrubbers should be installed in any facility that uses chlorine gas. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires wastewater plants which store two-thousand five-hundred pounds or more of chlorine gas to conduct a risk management plan. Risk reduction begins with using the smallest cylinders possible of chlorine gas for the application. Water treatment plants can manifold as many ton containers as necessary while controlling for leaks at each individual container and throughout the entire system. In addition, the water plant should be located as far out of the city as possible, downwind of the prevailing winds. Booster systems at strategic locations can be placed. The Pasquill-Gifford model is a very good way to estimate the concentrations of a release at different distances from the source. However, a better Al-Obaidli, Anany, Hamad 3 3 model to use would be the Britter and McQuaid model for dense gases. Risk assessment software such as PHAST provides planners and retrofitters with a tool to determine various levels of risk. The example used about Ras-Laffan was simulated using PHAST for the three cases involved. The companies at Ras-Laffan assume that the wind direction from that region will always be North-West. If that were true, then the results from PHAST show that there would be no risk of the leak reaching any of the surrounding cities. The rupture of a one- ton cylinder could potentially produce a cloud one mile high by a half- mile wide by one mile long of toxic mustard gas that will kill everything in its wake. A train in Ontario derailed and a tank car of chlorine gas ruptured; if there had not been a large propane fire funneling the heavier-than-air mustard gas upwards into the atmosphere, many thousands of people in the city of Mississauga might have died. Although chlorine is by far the cheapest chemical to use for water treatment, the most widely accepted, and has the fewest risks to public health, other chemicals should also be investigate

Pemikiran Humanistik dalam Pendidikan: Perbandingan Pemikiran Paulo Freire dengan Ki Hadjar Dewantara

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pemikiran pendidikan humanistik Paulo Freire dan Ki Hadjar Dewantara dan kemungkinan relevansinya dalam pendidikan Islam melalui nilai-nilai yang dikembangkan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kepustakaan yang bersifat deskriptif-analitis, dengan menggunakan metode dokumentasi, serta dianalisis secara kritis-komparatif. Metode ini digunakan untuk mengetahui pemikiran pendidikan humanistik Paulo Freire dan Ki Hadjar Dewantara, perbedaan dan persamaan keduanya, serta seberapa jauh pendidikan humanistik memiliki relevansi dengan pendidikan Islam. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan, adanya beberapa persamaan dan perbedaan antara pemikiran pendidikan humanistik Paulo Freire dan Ki Hadjar Dewantara. Adapun persamaan dapat dilihat dari pandangan mereka tentang konsep manusia dan pendidikan, meliputi: 1. Pengakuan terhadap keberadaan fitrah manusia, yakni manusia memiliki kemampuan atau potensi dalam dirinya untuk berkembang. 2. Humanisasi pendidikan, yakni menjadikan pendidikan sebagai media pembentukan manusia seutuhnya, dan pembebasan sebagai tujuan pendidikan. 3. Sama-sama memandang pendidik sebagai seseorang yang mempunyai kemampuan untuk memberi arahan atau tuntunan, juga menjadi fasilitator dan motivator bagi peserta didik. 4. Memandang peserta didik sebagai makhluk yang memiliki potensi untuk memahami diri sendiri menurut kodratnya. Sedangkan perbedaan pemikiran pendidikan humanistik kedua tokoh tersebut tidaklah banyak, adapun hasil analisis mengenai perbedaannya meliputi: 1. Pendidikan Freire ingin mengkonstruk pendidikan sebagai media untuk keluar dari belenggu penindasan. Sedangkan Ki Hadjar Dewantara, lebih mengutamakan nilai luhur, kebudayaan atau budi pekerti, yang nantinya akan tercipta rasa kasih sayang atau saling menghormati sesama dalam diri individu. 2. Dalam Metode yang digunakan, Freire dengan Metode hadap masalahnya, yang mengembangkan peserta didik untuk berfikir lebih kritis dalam menghadapi masalah dan memecahkan masalah. Sedangkan Ki Hadjar menggunakan Metode Among yang bersifat menuntun atau membimbing peserta didik agar dapat mengembangkan potensinya secara utuh. Beberapa nilai yang menjadi titik tekan dari pemikiran Paulo Freire dan Ki Hadjar Dewantara yang bisa dihubungkan ke dalam pendidikan Islam yaitu: Pertama nilai-nilai kemanusiaan, yaitu bahwa manusia sebenarnya mempunyai potensi untuk berkembang dan berubah. Kedua, nilai persamaan atau kesetaraan, yakni proses pendidikan seharusnya memberikan kesempatan yang sama untuk berpartisipasi dalam pendidikan. Ketiga, ketiganya menginginkan peserta didik dapat aktif berpartisipasi atau ikut andil dalam berjalannya proses belajar- mengajar. Dari pemaparan di atas di harapkan dapat memperbaiki pendidikan, serta memberi semangat kepada pendidik agar menjalankan pendidikan sesuai dengan tanggung jawabnya, baik dalam penentuan sistem pendidikan maupun dalam usaha mengembangkan anak didik

Viunalikeviruses are environmentally common agents of horizontal gene transfer in pathogens and biocontrol bacteria.

Bacteriophages have been used as natural biocontrol and therapeutic agents, but also as biotechnological tools for bacterial engineering. We showed recently that the transducing bacteriophage ϕMAM1 is a ViI-like phage and a member of the new genus, 'Viunalikevirus'. Here, we show that four additional ViI-like phages and three new environmentally isolated viunalikeviruses, all infecting plant and human pathogens, are very efficient generalised transducers capable of transducing chromosomal markers at frequencies of up to 10(-4) transductants per plaque-forming unit. We also demonstrate the interstrain transduction of plasmids and chromosomal markers, including genes involved in anabolism, genes for virulence and genes encoding secondary metabolites involved in biocontrol. We propose that all viunalikeviruses are likely to perform efficient horizontal gene transfer. Viunalikeviruses therefore represent useful agents for functional genomics and bacterial engineering, and for chemical and synthetic biology studies, but could be viewed as inappropriate choices for phage therapy.This research was supported by the EU Marie-Curie Intra-European Fellowship for Career Development (FP7- PEOPLE-2011-IEF) grant number 298003.This is the version of record of the article "Viunalikeviruses are environmentally common agents of horizontal gene transfer in pathogens and biocontrol bacteria" published in ISME Journal on August 2104 under the NPG Open Access option. The published version of record is available on the journal website at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2014.15

Induced epidural haematoma

Background: A novel case of epidural haematoma caused by general surgery Case presentation: Fifty-four years male patient was admitted at Mansoura Emergency Hospital with Glasgow coma scale 4 on ventilator. rapid evacuation of EDH was done and the GCS became 9 Conclusion: rapid accumulation of epidural haematoma is fatal and may lead to death