An educational proposal to face the challenges of the european higher education area: international service learning experience in medicine and education of the University of Malaga, Spain

Higher Education need to be paced to world and society evolution and to technology and scientific advances. Specifically in Europe, in the last years, we had to adapt the curricula to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). We have reached a high level of scientific and technycal competences but we detect, some lacks of time and tools to developed all the transversal competences and skills of the professionals profile that are demand by the present society in which exists glaring gaps and inequities, in particular in health, that need a responsable answer/action. Actually a “redesign of professional health education is necessary and timely, in view of the opportunities for mutual learning and joint solutions offered by global interdependence due to acceleration of flows of knowledge, techologies, and financing across borders and the migration of both professionals and patients” (Frenk et al 2010, Lancet). In the educational panorama, it has been possible to expand the training of future teachers in one year, the reduction of the number of students for groups to provide a more individualized teaching and the slight increase of the time of practicum. It is required to implemented an sostainable innovation in medical education to evolve a high quality medicine in all the areas and competences needed. Likewise, it seems necessary that student-teachers known spaces that are not properly school-based and have experiences in contexts of either informal education or with marginal groups outside of the standardized schooling. International Service Learning (ISL) has provided health professional students and tearches-students the opportunity to provide healthcare and education under the direction of trained faculty, to underserved populations in developing countries (Seifer SD et al1998. Acad Med). Objective: To verify the usefulness of SL experience as an educational methodology in higher education in order to support or not the modification of the current contents of the medical and education curricula and design new subjects based on SL in Malaga University. Methods We designed a cooperation project with The NGO’s ACOES-Honduras and Fe y Alegría-Perú to develop a training experience for students of Medicine and Education. This study is based on the qualitative analysis of the final reports of 16 participants, in which they described their personal and professional experiences. To verify the academic results, the competences of the curriculum have been checked in the sections of the practicum in Education, or the specific ones for Pharmacology in Medicine. In this summary appeared some of them as an example. There are no specifications of names or places of any of the countries or names or references of adults or children. Results In Education six competences (between sixteen) have been pointed out that are enhanced by the context variables in both the organizational and the cultural aspects. In one hand, school functioning may be very similar throughout the world, but the connections between family and the education centre, relationships with students, the influence of the family and the family home, etc., are very different between the experience of the Students with an European lifestyle linked to the "welfare state", consumption, street safety, etc., and rural life and the economic and cultural situation of destinations. Related to the analysis of the medical curricula, it was focused on 27 transversal and 19 specific competences that covered areas of practice and others related to Pharmacology. In the case of transversal competences, around 70% were covered in the activities carried out. Specific competences were covered up to 75%. Volunteer narratives provided an image of the experience that shows the effectiveness of this type of program, both in increasing sensitivity and attention to diversity and in the implementation of "theoretical" training, and the original response to unforeseen situations. Conclusions SL was found to be an effective method to acquire personal and professional competences and skills in the area of pharmacology demand by our present society. Hence we will suggest this methodology in the design of a new subject: “Pharmacotherapeutics in disadvantaged environments”. Most, if not all, of the general views on experience valued those working months with people and marginal contexts very positively. Personal and professional learning is valued as meaningful and profound, affecting the way of understanding the world and its profession: As I tell all my relatives, friends and colleagues "This experience can not be tell you can only live it." (Student)Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The impact of the American Civil War on city growth

This paper analyzes the persistence of the shock caused by the American Civil War on the relative city size distribution of the United States. Our fi�ndings suggest that the effects of this shock were permanent, which sharply contrasts with previous results regarding World War II for Japanese and German cities. It should be taken into account that the conflict considered in this paper took place at an earlier stage of the industrialization and urbanization processes. Moreover, our results are determined by the fact that the battles were fought in the open �field, not in urban areas. Some related evidence regarding the presence of a safe harbour effect is reported.

Effect of Septoria leaf blotch and its control with commercial fungicides, on arbuscular-mycorrhizal-fungal colonization, spore numbers, and morphotype diversity

Arbuscular-mycorrhizal internal structures (i.e. total root colonization, arbuscules, vesicles) and external structures (i.e. spore density), and Glomeromycota spore morphotypes, were evaluated in wheat severely infected with Mycosphaerella graminicola – the causal agent of Septoria leaf blotch. Plots in which the infection was controlled with a commercial fungicide at recommended field doses, were also examined. The commercial fungicide used was an admixture of trifloxistrobin and tebuconazole. No negative effects of the fungicide application on arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were found. The M. graminicola fungicidal treatment actually favoured the formation of arbuscules and AMF spores, as there was a selective increase in the density of spores belonging to the glomoid morphotype. Arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi have an absolute dependence on the carbon provided by the plant. A severe foliar disease leading to a diminished carbon supply to the roots would generate decreases in carbon availability. Such decreases would strongly affect mycorrhizal associations and development. Furthermore, the change in the green-leaf area produced by a severe foliar disease and/or a reversal of that condition through fungicide treatment could result in shifts in the composition of the AMF community so as to favour glomoid morphotypes. Glomoid species have been previously considered as r-strategists.Fil: Schalamuk, Santiago. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino"; ArgentinaFil: Velázquez, María Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Química Inorgánica "Dr. Pedro J. Aymonino"; ArgentinaFil: Simon, Maria Rosa. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Cabello, Marta Noemí. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Botánica Spegazzini; Argentin

Salud, desigualdad y compromiso social

Conferencia sobre derecho a la salud, desigualdad y compromiso social. Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible y determinantes sociales de salud. Los organismos internacionales de la salud. Introducción a la cooperación internacional y al voluntariado sanitario.En el año 1946, la OMS definió salud como aquel estado de completo bienestar físico, psíquico y social. Definición que no ha sido actualizada en los últimos 70 años, a pesar de las numerosas críticas que solicitan la inclusión de otras dimensiones de salud (medioambiental, laboral, etc.) y definiciones más adaptadas a la capacidad de sentirse saludable teniendo alguna de las predominantes enfermedades crónicas en la actualidad. La inclusión del concepto social en salud fue un aspecto revolucionario que dio impulso a las primeras investigaciones sobre los determinantes sociales de la salud (DSS). Las condiciones donde una persona nace, crece, vive, trabaja y envejecen, determinan su salud, afectando no solo a su esperanza de vida, sino a la incidencia de un amplio espectro de enfermedades. La Comisión sobre los Determinantes Sociales de la Salud de la OMS, creada por la OMS, con Michel Marmot a la cabeza de las investigaciones, ha generado una gran evidencia científica sobre la importancia de los DSS en la salud de las personas y las desigualdades que generan cuando no todas las personas se ven afectadas de la misma manera. Los profesionales sanitarios debemos sentirnos responsables del conocimiento e identificación de los aquéllos factores sociales que determinan la salud, como decía Hipócrates, “médico es aquél que a veces cura, a menudo alivia y siempre debe cuidar de sus pacientes”. Una de las ramas de nuestro compromiso social puede ser implementada, en nuestro medio, a través del voluntariado socio-sanitario, y a nivel exterior, por medio de la ayuda humanitaria o de emergencias, o de la cooperación internacional. Sería interesante en nuestra formación como futuros profesionales sanitarios desarrollar nuestro compromiso social luchando contra los efectos de las desigualdades en salud y sensibilizando con nuestra investigación social, sobre la necesidad de la lucha contra la desigualdad

The Mycology as Forensics Tool

In a murder case is very common to find a corpse in a grave followed by the human decomposition. In a criminal act, the facts in a legal investigation are not clear enough to help clarify unnatural causes of death by suicide or homicide. Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI), and mainly in cases where there are no witnesses, is crucial to the investigation process. However, the today study of certain species of fungi found and collected from soil in contact with a rotting human body, contribute to obtain important data useful to estimate the PMI of the victim in crime scene investigation. Dichotomomyces cejpii, Talaromyces trachyspermus, Talaromyces flavus, and Talaromyces udagawae, teleomorphic Ascomycota fungal are the mycobiota currently found and clearly differs to associated mycobiota in control sample and from previously described species Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Furthermore, additional tests are needed to finally rely on the mycology as a forensic tool.Fil: Tranchida, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Botánica Spegazzini; ArgentinaFil: Cabello, Marta Noemí. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Botánica Spegazzini; Argentin

Methodology to assess economic and environmental impacts of nitrogen in fertirrigation systems.

To determine the risk of nitrate pollution in agricultural systems have identified several indexes and efficiencies that may lead an effective N fertilizer management for obtain the maximum yield with minimum environmental impact and healt

Risk of nitrate pollution in agricultural systems

Se propone una metodología que nos permita evaluar un óptimo manejo de la fertirrigación integrando aspectos agronómicos y medioambientales

Impact of nitrogen uptake on field water balance in fertirrigated melon.

Agronomic management in Ciudad Real, a province in central Spain, is characteristic of semi-arid cropped areas whose water supplies have high nitrate (NO3?) content due to environmental degradation. This situation is aggravated by the existence of a restrictive subsurface layer of ?caliche? or hardpan at a depth of 0.60 m. Under these circumstances, fertirrigation rates, including nitrogen (N) fertilizer schedules, must be carefully calibrated to optimize melon yields while minimizing the N pollution and water supply. Such optimization was sought by fertilizing with different doses of N and irrigating at 100% of the ETc (crop evapotranspiration), adjusted for this crop and area. The N content in the four fertilizer doses used was: 0, 55, 82 and 109 kg N ha?1. Due to the NO3? content in the irrigation water, however, the actual N content was 30 kg ha?1 higher in all four treatments repeated in two different years. The results showed correlation between melon plant N uptake and drainage (Dr), which in turn affects the amount of N leached, as well as correlation between Dr and LAI (leaf area index) for each treatment. A fertilizer factor (?) was estimated through two methods, from difference in Dr and in LAI ratio with respect to the maximum N dose, to correct ETc based on N doses. The difference was found in the adjusted evapotranspiration in both years using the corresponding ? achieved 42?49 mm at vegetative period, depending on the method, and it was not significant at senescent period. Finally, a growth curve between N uptake and plant dry weight (DW) for each treatment was defined to confirm that the observed higher plant vigour, showing higher LAI and reduced Dr, was due mainly to higher N doses