Differential validity and slant on the predictability of the admisson tests to the chilean universities (PSU)

La preocupación por la equidad en la medición educacional ha llevado a desarrollar diversos procedimientos para evaluar el potencial sesgo asociado a características sociodemográficas de los examinados. Estos procedimientos incluyen la validez y la predicción diferencial de los tests. En el primer caso, se analiza el grado de asociación entre los tests y alguna variable criterio (como el rendimiento académico), comparando dicha asociación entre grupos. En el segundo caso, se trata de establecer si la capacidad predictiva de los instrumentos de medición es equivalente para diversos grupos de examinados, comparando los errores de predicción. Empleando esta metodología con datos de las Pruebas de Selección Universitaria chilenas de Matemática y de Lenguaje y Comunicación, además de las Notas de Educación Media (como predictores) y el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes en el primer año de sus estudios universitarios (como criterio), se calcularon y compararon indicadores de validez y predicción diferencial según género y dependencia de los establecimientos educacionales. Los resultados, que presentan un patrón semejante al observado con pruebas de admisión norteamericanas, revelan una leve presencia de validez diferencial, especialmente cuando se considera el género de los estudiantes, revelando una consistente pero leve subpredicción del rendimiento de las mujere

Unraveling the real magnitude of illegal wildlife poisoning to halt cryptic biodiversity loss

Illegal wildlife poisoning is a global threat for biodiversity, yet the magnitude of its impact on ecosystems is largely underestimated as most of poisoning episodes remain undetected. Here, we conducted a large-scale field experiment to better understand the real dimension of the illegal wildlife poisoning in terms of composition and number of species and abundance of impacted individuals, as well as the ecological factors driving it. We used camera traps to monitor simulated poison baits placed in 25 study areas in SW Europe and applied Good–Turing theory to estimate the richness of species of the entire assemblage (observed plus undetected). We recorded 3095 individuals from 39 vertebrate species that consumed 94 % of the baits (N = 590). Yet, using sample completeness to estimate the entire species assemblage yielded a total of 47 species exposed to illegal poisoning. The observed assemblage included different trophic and functional groups (from lizards and snakes to apex species among birds and mammals), as well as a 38 % of threatened and near threatened species (according to Spanish and Portuguese vertebrate red list and UICN list). The size (weight) of the bait outstands as a reliable predictor of the number of species (0–8 species/bait, mean = 2) and individuals (0–99 individuals/bait, mean = 5) susceptible to poisoning. The habitat where the bait was placed modulated the abundance of individuals affected (greater in open than in closed habitats). Type of bait and habitat drove the compositional variation of species. Our approach enables uncover entire species assemblages prone to illegal poisoning and their ecological drivers associated, advancing the understanding of the impact of wildlife poisoning in ecosystemsThis work was supported by the project TOXICO funding by “BBVA FOUNDATION GRANTS TO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TEAMS, CALL 2018”. WWF Spain and SEO/BirdLife provided access to the ANTíDOTO database of wildlife poisoning in Spain. The Ohio Wesleyan University supported with logistical material (5 camera-traps). JVLB was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (RYC-2015-18932; CGL2017-87528-R AEI/FEDER EU). JVLB and PMT were supported by a GRUPIN research grant from the Regional Government of Asturias (AYUD/2021/51314). In Portugal, this study was financed through the Sentinelas project funded by Fundo Ambiental – Minist´erio do Ambiente e da Aç˜ ao Clim´ atica. We are grateful to Instituto da Conservaçao ˜ da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF), Principado de Asturias, Junta de Castilla y Leon, ´ Xunta de Galicia, Gobierno de Cantabria, Comunidad de Madrid, Junta de Andalucía, Picos de Europa National Park, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, Cabaneros ˜ National Park and Monfragüe National Park for granted permission

Validez Diferencial y Sesgo en la Predictividad de las Pruebas de Admisión a las Universidades Chilenas (PSU)

Concerns about fairness in educational testing has prompted the development of methodological tools to assess the possibility of bias in test scores associated to sociodemographic characteristics of examinees. These tools include differential validity and prediction. The first estimates the association between tests scores and a criterion (sucha as first year academic performance in the university), comparing such association among sociodemographic groups. The second technique compares the predictive validity of tests among groups, testing whether prediction errors are similar among groups. Using Chilean university entrance tests (Mathematics and Language PSU) and high school grades as predictors, and first year university grades as the criterion, differential validity and prediction was assessed, considering gender and type of school as grouping variables. Results show a similar pattern to US previous studies, indicating a consistent but small trend to underprediction of women's performance.A preocupação pela equidade na medição educacional levou a desenvolver diversos procedimentos para avaliar o potencial envieso sócio a características sociodemográficas dos examinados. Estes procedimentos incluem a validez e a predição diferencial dos testes. No primeiro caso, analisa-se o grau de associação entre os testes e alguma variável critério (como o rendimento acadêmico), comparando dita associação entre grupos. No segundo caso, trata-se de estabelecer se a capacidade previsiva dos instrumentos de medição é equivalente para diversos grupos de examinados, comparando os erros de predição. Empregando esta metodologia com dados das Provas de Seleção Universitária chilenas de Matemática e de Linguagem e Comunicação, além das Notas de Educação Média (como predictores) e o rendimento acadêmico dos estudantes no primeiro ano de seus estudos universitários (como critério), calcularam-se e compararam indicadores de validez e predição diferencial segundo gênero e dependência dos estabelecimentos educacionais. Os resultados, que apresentam um padrão semelhante ao observado com provas de admissão norte-americanas, revelam uma leve presença de validez diferencial, especialmente quando se considera o gênero dos estudantes, revelando uma consistente mas leve subpredicción do rendimento das mulheresLa preocupación por la equidad en la medición educacional ha llevado a desarrollar diversos procedimientos para evaluar el potencial sesgo asociado a características sociodemográficas de los examinados. Estos procedimientos incluyen la validez y la predicción diferencial de los tests. En el primer caso, se analiza el grado de asociación entre los tests y alguna variable criterio (como el rendimiento académico), comparando dicha asociación entre grupos. En el segundo caso, se trata de establecer si la capacidad predictiva de los instrumentos de medición es equivalente para diversos grupos de examinados, comparando los errores de predicción. Empleando esta metodología con datos de las Pruebas de Selección Universitaria chilenas de Matemática y de Lenguaje y Comunicación, además de las Notas de Educación Media (como predictores) y el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes en el primer año de sus estudios universitarios (como criterio), se calcularon y compararon indicadores de validez y predicción diferencial según género y dependencia de los establecimientos educacionales. Los resultados, que presentan un patrón semejante al observado con pruebas de admisión norteamericanas, revelan una leve presencia de validez diferencial, especialmente cuando se considera el género de los estudiantes, revelando una consistente pero leve subpredicción del rendimiento de las mujeres

Retos y perspectivas de la política criminal

Este libro es el producto de las investigaciones de 2015 que se socializaron en el Congreso Nacional Retos y Perspectivas de la Política Criminal. La primera parte del libro la hemos denominado "Pluralismo y política criminal", en ella se contemplan los siguientes capítulos: "Procesamiento intercultural de disputas en una comunidad guaraya". Este analiza la tradicional relación de inequidad existente en Latinoamérica entre los órdenes legales indígenas y los estatales. "Política criminal y pluralismo en Colombia" indaga el porqué del desconocimiento de la jurisdicción indígena en la colisión de jurisdicciones; "Aproximación a la cárcel agrícola de Kassavetia" explica la importancia del estudio de las cárceles agrícolas; y "Pluralismo en los centros penitenciarios italianos: la población musulmana en la cárcel de Verona" presenta la situación de esta población carcelaria en Europa. La segunda parte del libro la hemos denominado "Política Criminal, mujer y derechos humanos", en ella se encuentran los siguientes capítulos: "La necesidad de una política criminal en materia de drogas que reconozca la situación de vulnerabilidad que enfrenta la mujer"; "Femininity and 'Memory' in Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration Programmes" destaca los procesos de desarme, desmovilización, y reintegración de las mujeres excombatientes en Colombia; y "Prisión dentro de la prisión. Unidades de tratamiento especial: privación de derechos" analiza cómo estas unidades ocasionan una pena privativa más severa que la impuesta al momento de la comisión del delito

Microglial cell loss after ischemic stroke favors brain neutrophil accumulation

Stroke attracts neutrophils to the injured brain tissue where they can damage the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and exacerbate the lesion. However, the mechanisms involved in neutrophil transmigration, location and accumulation in the ischemic brain are not fully elucidated. Neutrophils can reach the perivascular spaces of brain vessels after crossing the endothelial cell layer and endothelial basal lamina of post-capillary venules, or migrating from the leptomeninges following pial vessel extravasation and/or a suggested translocation from the skull bone marrow. Based on previous observations of microglia phagocytosing neutrophils recruited to the ischemic brain lesion, we hypothesized that microglial cells might control neutrophil accumulation in the injured brain. We studied a model of permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery in mice, including microglia- and neutrophil-reporter mice. Using various in vitro and in vivo strategies to impair microglial function or to eliminate microglia by targeting colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R), this study demonstrates that microglial phagocytosis of neutrophils has fundamental consequences for the ischemic tissue. We found that reactive microglia engulf neutrophils at the periphery of the ischemic lesion, whereas local microglial cell loss and dystrophy occurring in the ischemic core are associated with the accumulation of neutrophils first in perivascular spaces and later in the parenchyma. Accordingly, microglia depletion by long-term treatment with a CSF1R inhibitor increased the numbers of neutrophils and enlarged the ischemic lesion. Hence, microglial phagocytic function sets a critical line of defense against the vascular and tissue damaging capacity of neutrophils in brain ischemia

Proteomics: a tool to develop novel diagnostic methods and unravel molecular mechanisms of pediatric diseases

Proteomics is the study of the expression of changes and post-translational modifications (PTM) of proteins along a metabolic condition either normal or pathological. In the field of health, proteomics allows obtaining valuable data for treatment, diagnosis or pathophysiological mechanisms of different illnesses. To illustrate the aforementioned, we describe two projects currently being performed at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría: The immuno-proteomic study of cow milk allergy and the Proteomic study of childhood cataract. Cow's milk proteins (CMP) are the first antigens to which infants are exposed and generate allergy in some of them. In Mexico, the incidence of CMP allergy has been estimated at 5-7%. Clinical manifestations include both gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal symptoms, making its diagnosis extremely difficult. An inappropriate diagnosis affects the development and growth of children. The goals of the study are to identify the main immune-reactive CMP in Mexican pediatric population and to design more accurate diagnostic tools for this disease. Childhood cataract is a major ocular disease representing one of the main causes of blindness in infants; in developing countries, this disease promotes up to 27% of cases related to visual loss. From this group, it has been estimated that close to 60% of children do not survive beyond two years after vision lost. PTM have been pointed out as the main cause of protein precipitation at the crystalline and, consequently, clouding of this tissue. The study of childhood cataract represents an outstanding opportunity to identify the PTM associated to the cataract-genesis process

Development and validation of a rapid lateral flow E1/E2-antigen test and ELISA in patients infected with emerging Asian strain of Chikungunya virus in the Americas

Since its 2013 emergence in the Americas, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has posed a serious threat to public health. Early and accurate diagnosis of the disease, though currently lacking in clinics, is integral to enable timely care and epidemiological response. We developed a dual detection system: a CHIKV antigen E1/E2-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a lateral flow test using high-affinity anti-CHIKV antibodies. The ELISA was validated with 100 PCR-tested acute Chikungunya fever samples from Honduras. The assay had an overall sensitivity and specificity of 51% and 96.67%, respectively, with accuracy reaching 95.45% sensitivity and 92.03% specificity at a cycle threshold (Ct) cutoff of 22. As the Ct value decreased from 35 to 22, the ELISA sensitivity increased. We then developed and validated two lateral flow tests using independent antibody pairs. The sensitivity and specificity reached 100% for both lateral flow tests using 39 samples from Colombia and Honduras at Ct cutoffs of 20 and 27, respectively. For both lateral flow tests, sensitivity decreased as the Ct increased after 27. Because CHIKV E1/E2 are exposed in the virion surfaces in serum during the acute infection phase, these sensitive and specific assays demonstrate opportunities for early detection of this emerging human pathogen.U.S. Public Health Service (award AI100190