ANÁLISIS GEOPOLÍTICO DE NEGOCIACIÓN DE SANTANDER CON TAILANDIA, MALASIA Y SINGAPUR (Geopolitical Negotiation Analysis of Santander with Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore)

En el siguiente trabajo se realizó un análisis de los factores de poder geopolítico, para identificar las oportunidades de negociación de Santander con los países de Tailandia, Malasia y Singapur. Se identificó que el Departamento de Santander es una región con un gran potencial para entrar al mercado del sudeste asiático, por lo tanto, es fundamental potencializar las oportunidades de negociación de Santander con estos tres países. Para la recolección de la información del trabajo se hizo a partir de análisis comparativos, considerando los factores sociales, económicos, políticos y culturales, determinando que Santander es una región con una oferta exportable diversificada y amplia, la cual puede ser recibida por los mercados de Tailandia, Malasia y Singapur

International fisheries threaten globally endangered sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean: the case of the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 reefer vessel seized within the Galápagos Marine Reserve

Shark fishing, driven by the fin trade, is the primary cause of global shark population declines. Here, we present a case study that exemplifies how industrial fisheries are likely depleting shark populations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. In August 2017, the vessel Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, of Chinese flag, was detained while crossing through the Galápagos Marine Reserve without authorization. This vessel contained 7639 sharks, representing one of the largest seizures recorded to date. Based on a sample of 929 individuals (12%), we found 12 shark species: 9 considered as Vulnerable or higher risk by the IUCN and 8 listed in CITES. Four species showed a higher proportion of immature than mature individuals, whereas size-distribution hints that at least some of the fishing ships associated with the operation may have been using purse-seine gear fishing equipment, which, for some species, goes against international conventions. Our data expose the magnitude of the threat that fishing industries and illegal trade represent to sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

The satisfactory growth and development at 2 years of age of the INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Standards cohort support its appropriateness for constructing international standards.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization recommends that human growth should be monitored with the use of international standards. However, in obstetric practice, we continue to monitor fetal growth using numerous local charts or equations that are based on different populations for each body structure. Consistent with World Health Organization recommendations, the INTERGROWTH-21st Project has produced the first set of international standards to date pregnancies; to monitor fetal growth, estimated fetal weight, Doppler measures, and brain structures; to measure uterine growth, maternal nutrition, newborn infant size, and body composition; and to assess the postnatal growth of preterm babies. All these standards are based on the same healthy pregnancy cohort. Recognizing the importance of demonstrating that, postnatally, this cohort still adhered to the World Health Organization prescriptive approach, we followed their growth and development to the key milestone of 2 years of age. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the babies in the INTERGROWTH-21st Project maintained optimal growth and development in childhood. STUDY DESIGN: In the Infant Follow-up Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st Project, we evaluated postnatal growth, nutrition, morbidity, and motor development up to 2 years of age in the children who contributed data to the construction of the international fetal growth, newborn infant size and body composition at birth, and preterm postnatal growth standards. Clinical care, feeding practices, anthropometric measures, and assessment of morbidity were standardized across study sites and documented at 1 and 2 years of age. Weight, length, and head circumference age- and sex-specific z-scores and percentiles and motor development milestones were estimated with the use of the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards and World Health Organization milestone distributions, respectively. For the preterm infants, corrected age was used. Variance components analysis was used to estimate the percentage variability among individuals within a study site compared with that among study sites. RESULTS: There were 3711 eligible singleton live births; 3042 children (82%) were evaluated at 2 years of age. There were no substantive differences between the included group and the lost-to-follow up group. Infant mortality rate was 3 per 1000; neonatal mortality rate was 1.6 per 1000. At the 2-year visit, the children included in the INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Standards were at the 49th percentile for length, 50th percentile for head circumference, and 58th percentile for weight of the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards. Similar results were seen for the preterm subgroup that was included in the INTERGROWTH-21st Preterm Postnatal Growth Standards. The cohort overlapped between the 3rd and 97th percentiles of the World Health Organization motor development milestones. We estimated that the variance among study sites explains only 5.5% of the total variability in the length of the children between birth and 2 years of age, although the variance among individuals within a study site explains 42.9% (ie, 8 times the amount explained by the variation among sites). An increase of 8.9 cm in adult height over mean parental height is estimated to occur in the cohort from low-middle income countries, provided that children continue to have adequate health, environmental, and nutritional conditions. CONCLUSION: The cohort enrolled in the INTERGROWTH-21st standards remained healthy with adequate growth and motor development up to 2 years of age, which supports its appropriateness for the construction of international fetal and preterm postnatal growth standards

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

A Preliminary Content Validity Analysis of the Receptive and Expressive Language Pre-Referral Protocol for Bilingual Learners (RELPP-BL)

The number of bilingual-bicultural students in the US continues to grow exponentially. With this growth, educators have an increased need for ensuring that all bilingual-bicultural students have equal language learning opportunities. It is, therefore, crucial that bilingual educators have access to valid tools that can serve as guides for determining if a speech and language referral is needed. The Receptive and Expressive Language Pre-Referral Protocol for Bilingual Learners [RELPP-BL] was developed as a data gathering tool to assist educators in the decision-making process. The purpose of this study was to explore the content validity of the RELPP-BL. The preliminary results demonstrate that the RELPP-BL is a viable, valid tool for use in the pre-referral process; it is not intended as an evaluation measure

Comportamiento a la corrosión atmosférica marina de aceros autopatinables con estructura ferrítico perlítica y ferrítico martensítica

RESUMENLa industria del acero se encuentra constantemente enfrentada al desafío del desarrollo de nuevos y mejores aceros para diversas necesidades, tales como la necesidad de aceros estructurales con mayor resistencia a la corrosión marina que los que existen en la actualidad, y que además posean una mayor resistencia mecánica. Por ello y en pos de lo anteriormente expuesto es evidente que, investigar en forma sistemática tanto la influencia de los elementos aleantes, como las variables del proceso de fabricación de aceros estructurales resistentes a la corrosión marina es relevante para el desarrollo del mercado acerero nacional.El presente trabajo tendrá por objetivo, la comparación de comportamiento a la corrosión atmosférica marina (espesor corroído en el tiempo) entre aceros de composición autopatinable (ASTM A242 y ASTM A588) con estructuras ferrítico-perlítica y ferrítico-martensítica. Para lo anterior se realizaron ciclos de humectación salina y secado. La humectación salina se realizó en cámara de niebla salina, de acuerdo a los requerimientos presentados en la norma ASTM B177, y el secado, en una mufla a 40 °C. Tras el retiro de muestras, se realizaron decapados químicos, según lo requerido en ASTM G1, para la determinación de espesor corroído

Influencia de Ni y Ti en la respuesta a la corrosión marina simulada de un acero autopatinable A242

RESUMENExiste un gran interés en la industria siderúrgica por incorporar nuevos productos que superen las propiedades de los ya existentes. Dentro de estas propiedades, la resistencia a la corrosión es de gran importancia para los países que, al igual que Chile, tienen abundante litoral marino. En las zonas costeras los iones cloruro presentes en el aire producen deterioro por corrosión lo que disminuye la vida útil de las estructuras. Por esta razón es que es de vital importancia investigar la influencia de los distintos elementos aleantes y tratamientos que lleven a mejorar la resistencia de los aceros frente a la corrosión marina. Este trabajo apunta al estudio de aceros autopatinables ASTM A242 de baja aleación, específicamente con adición de Níquel a la aleación, y a la adición de Titanio como afinador de la microestructura, y su influencia sobre la resistencia a la corrosión atmosférica utilizando ensayos de corrosión acelerada producida en cámara de niebla salina con ciclos de humectación y secado. En las aleaciones estudiadas se determinó el espesor corroído de las muestras y la velocidad de corrosión. Los diferentes productos de corrosión, óxidos y oxihidróxidos de hierro se identificaron por rayos X. Los resultados muestran claramente que luego de 40 ciclos (960 horas) de tratamiento, en comparación con un acero ASTM A242, la velocidad de corrosión disminuye en forma significativa en el mismo acero con aleación de Níquel, y más aún con adición de Titanio como afinador de grano. Este resultado se ve también reflejado en una disminución del espesor corroído de los cupones, observándose el menor espesor corroído en el acero ASTM A242 con Ni y Ti

Siloxane removal for biogas purification by low cost mineral adsorbent

International audienceThe potential use of raw and expanded perlite as low-cost adsorbents for biogas purification has been investigated. The thermal expansion of perlite causes a reduction in the density of silanol groups from 2515.43 to 653.75 OH/nm2; in contrast, the specific surface area of perlite increased two-fold due to the thermal expansion. To determine the equilibrium adsorption capacity and the adsorption kinetics batch experiments were conducted. The adsorption capacities are in the following order: activated carbon (6.8 mg/g) andgt; silica gel (6.6 mg/g) andgt; expanded perlite (5.8 mg/g) andgt; raw perlite (5.6 mg/g) when compared at the same experimental conditions. The equilibrium adsorption data showed that perlite can be used to reduce the octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane concentration below 28 mg/m3, as recommended by leading manufacturers. The adsorption kinetics of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane onto raw and expanded perlite followed the Linear-Driving Force model suggesting that the mass transfer is the rate-controlling step. In addition to its low cost, expanded perlite has the advantage of requiring lower desorption temperature (200 °C) for regeneration in comparison to the reported values for activated carbon (andgt;400 °C) and fast desorption kinetics (20 min), which could contribute to a cleaner production of biogas