CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, IS THERE A THRESHOLD FOR EMPOWERMENT? THE CASES OF TWO AREAS IN MEXICO

A rural town (Morelos) and another urban (Cancun) in the state of Quintana Roo, México, have been analyzed, and paradoxically we discovered that women suffer higher degrees of violence by their partners in the environment with a higher level of female empowerment, measured through different indicators. We came to the conclusion that, in underdeveloped societies, there must be a “threshold” from which female empowerment implies a decrease in domestic violence. However, as long as this threshold is not reached, women will pay a price in terms of male violence against them, in the process of gaining more participation in society

Application of Artificial Intelligence to the Prediction of the Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils

Essential oils (EOs) are vastly used as natural antibiotics in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Their intrinsic chemical variability and synergisms/antagonisms between its components make difficult to ensure consistent effects through different batches. Our aim is to evaluate the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the prediction of their antimicrobial activity. Methods. The chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of 49 EOs, extracts, and/or fractions was extracted from NCCLS compliant works. The fast artificial neural networks (FANN) software was used and the output data reflected the antimicrobial activity of these EOs against four common pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Clostridium perfringens as measured by standardised disk diffusion assays. Results. ANNs were able to predict >70% of the antimicrobial activities within a 10 mm maximum error range. Similarly, ANNs were able to predict 2 or 3 different bioactivities at the same time. The accuracy of the prediction was only limited by the inherent errors of the popular antimicrobial disk susceptibility test and the nature of the pathogens. Conclusions. ANNs can be reliable, fast, and cheap tools for the prediction of the antimicrobial activity of EOs thus improving their use in CAM

Generating, probing and utilising photo-induced surface oxygen vacancies for trace molecular detection

Metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) are extensively used for a wide range of industrial applications [1] – [3] , where defects states in MOS can strongly affect their overall performance, even at very low concentrations [4] , [5] . The functionality of MOS has been reported to be significantly altered through the addition of defects, whereby the materials can become more/less chemically active or the electronic properties are altered. Surface defects, in particular, are often one of the most reactive sites on the surface, greatly influencing MOS photocatalytic activity. Under UV irradiation conditions, interactions with photo- induced charge carriers can generate temporary oxygen vacancies, VO, defect states on the surface of MOS [6] , affecting the material properties during the defects’ lifetime

Information flow between resting state networks

The resting brain dynamics self-organizes into a finite number of correlated patterns known as resting state networks (RSNs). It is well known that techniques like independent component analysis can separate the brain activity at rest to provide such RSNs, but the specific pattern of interaction between RSNs is not yet fully understood. To this aim, we propose here a novel method to compute the information flow (IF) between different RSNs from resting state magnetic resonance imaging. After haemodynamic response function blind deconvolution of all voxel signals, and under the hypothesis that RSNs define regions of interest, our method first uses principal component analysis to reduce dimensionality in each RSN to next compute IF (estimated here in terms of Transfer Entropy) between the different RSNs by systematically increasing k (the number of principal components used in the calculation). When k = 1, this method is equivalent to computing IF using the average of all voxel activities in each RSN. For k greater than one our method calculates the k-multivariate IF between the different RSNs. We find that the average IF among RSNs is dimension-dependent, increasing from k =1 (i.e., the average voxels activity) up to a maximum occurring at k =5 to finally decay to zero for k greater than 10. This suggests that a small number of components (close to 5) is sufficient to describe the IF pattern between RSNs. Our method - addressing differences in IF between RSNs for any generic data - can be used for group comparison in health or disease. To illustrate this, we have calculated the interRSNs IF in a dataset of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) to find that the most significant differences between AD and controls occurred for k =2, in addition to AD showing increased IF w.r.t. controls.Comment: 47 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, 3 supplementary figures. Accepted for publication in Brain Connectivity in its current for

La defensa y empoderamiento de los derechos étnicos como estrategia pedagógica de enseñanza aprendizaje en el área de ciencias sociales de la Institución Educativa Pumbi las Lajas, Roberto Payan, Nariño.

Resumen Con la defensa de los derechos étnicos propios y el empoderamiento de estos, se generó un proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje desde el área de ciencias sociales con los estudiantes del grado cuarto de la Institución Educativa de Pumbi las Lajas del Municipio de Roberto Payan, para ello se realizó una investigación de tipo cualitativa, con un enfoque de acción participativa, se utilizaron instrumentos de recolección de información como la encuesta. Este documento presenta los resultados del trabajo de grado realizado en la modalidad del proyecto aplicado denominado “Defensa y empoderamiento de los derechos étnicos en la Institución Educativa Pumbi las Lajas, Roberto Payán, Nariño” basado en la metodología cualitativa, realizado con 15 estudiantes que se identifican como negros en su grupo étnico. Palabras clave: derechos étnicos propios, proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje, empoderamiento territorial, pedagogía, liderazgo, currículo educativo.With the defense of their own ethnic rights and the empowerment of these, a teaching-learning process was generated from the area of social sciences with the fourth grade students of the Educational Institution of Pumbi Las Lajas of the Municipality of Roberto Payan. conducted a qualitative research, with a participatory action approach, information gathering instruments such as the survey were used. This document presents the results of the work done in the modality of the applied project called "Defense and empowerment of ethnic rights in the Educational Institution Pumbi Las Lajas, Roberto Payan, Nariño" based on the qualitative methodology, carried out with 15 students they identify as blacks in their ethnic group

Application of Artificial Intelligence to the Prediction of the Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils

Essential oils (EOs) are vastly used as natural antibiotics in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Their intrinsic chemical variability and synergisms/antagonisms between its components make difficult to ensure consistent effects through different batches. Our aim is to evaluate the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the prediction of their antimicrobial activity. Methods. The chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of 49 EOs, extracts, and/or fractions was extracted from NCCLS compliant works. The fast artificial neural networks (FANN) software was used and the output data reflected the antimicrobial activity of these EOs against four common pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Clostridium perfringens as measured by standardised disk diffusion assays. Results. ANNs were able to predict >70% of the antimicrobial activities within a 10 mm maximum error range. Similarly, ANNs were able to predict 2 or 3 different bioactivities at the same time. The accuracy of the prediction was only limited by the inherent errors of the popular antimicrobial disk susceptibility test and the nature of the pathogens. Conclusions. ANNs can be reliable, fast, and cheap tools for the prediction of the antimicrobial activity of EOs thus improving their use in CAM

Caracterización de accidentalidad en una aseguradora de riesgos laborales de Colombia entre el año 2013 al 2014

Objetivo: Caracterizar la accidentalidad presentada en una aseguradora de riesgos laborales de Colombia, entre el año 2013 al 2014, utilizando las variables que se identifican en la base de datos con el fin de establecer la incidencia de eventos calificados como accidentes laborales. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio tipo observacional descriptivo de incidencia retrospectiva. Los datos utilizados son los accidentes laborales ocurridos entre julio de 2013 y junio de 2014 en una aseguradora de riesgos laborales de Colombia. Resultados: Los mayores índices de accidentalidad se encontraron en los sectores de construcción (16.03%) y servicios generales (13.89%). Los principales departamentos con mayor reporte y calificación de accidente de trabajo fueron Antioquia (25.59%), Bogotá (19.40%), Valle del cauca (12.77%) y Cundinamarca (8.08%). La mayoría de estos eventos generaron atenciones de tipo ambulatorio (95.79%) y se relacionaron con todo tipo de riesgo según la clasificación de las variables. Se identificaron los principales departamentos con reportes de eventos mortales dentro de los cuales esta Antioquia y Bogotá, asociados al riesgo tránsito (19.05%) y SOAT (19.73%). Conclusión: El sector construcción continúa siendo el de mayor accidentalidad a nivel país, lo cual debe llevar a replantear o profundizar en las estrategias de prevención con las empresas y trabajadores. Al controlar la frecuencia de accidentalidad por medio de educación, sensibilización y prevención, se generaran más conocimientos sobre los factores de riesgo a los que se exponen diariamente en su actividad laboral. Es importante hacer partícipe a las empresas y empleados en el reporte de los eventos con oportunidad y calidad en la información.Objective: To typify the occurrence of labor related injuries in a labor related risk insurance company in Colombia, between the years 2013 and 2014 across the variables existing in the database and find the incidence of the events qualified as labor related injuries. Methods: An observational descriptive study was performed with a retrospective incidence. The data base that was used belongs to a labor risk insurance company in Colombia in which the events qualified as work related accidents was reported between July 2013 and June 2014. Results: The majority of accidental occurences were found in the sectors of construction (16.03%) and general services (13.89%). The main departments with the highest record and qualification of work accidents were Antioquia (25.59%), Bogotá (19.40%), Valle del cauca (12.77%) and Cundinamarca (8.08%). The majority of these events generated attentions that required medical checkup (95.79%) and had to do with all types of risks according to the clasification of variables. The main departments were identified with reports and mortal events inside Antioquia and Bogotá asociated to transportation risks (19.05%) and SOAT (19.73%). Conclusion: It is necessary to to control the frequency of labor related accidents in the workers by means of measures of education and prevention, generating more knowledge showing them the risk factors to which they are exposed to every day in their working lives. It is important to ask a participant spirit among the companies in this process of accompaniment in the activities of promotion and prevention and in the report of the events with opportunity and with quality in the information

La efectividad del control político en los Entes Territoriales. Un estudio comparado desde la introducción de la moción de censura para los funcionarios públicos del nivel descentralizado

Colombia, en virtud de lo establecido en el artículo 1 de la constitución política de 1991, está concebida como “un Estado social de derecho organizado en forma de República unitaria, descentralizada, con autonomía de sus entidades territoriales”(const., 1991, art. 1); este esquema político administrativo sugiere una serie de desafíos desde el punto de vista fiscal, administrativo, político y/o legislativo, más si se tiene en cuenta la concreción de los principios de colaboración armónica y del sistema de pesos y contrapesos, en aras de efectivizar la acción estatal y la satisfacción del interés general. Dicha actuación, deriva en la implementación de mecanismos y estrategias de contención y límite frente a la acción de las ramas del poder, que, en otras palabras, es lo mismo que el desarrollo de un sistema de controles, que, a la luz de los valores y principios constitucionales, permita hacer un seguimiento y veeduría sobre la acción pública de las instituciones estatales. Dentro del sistema de controles, es posible identificar diversos tipos respecto del objeto sobre el cual recae el control, entre los cuales sobre sale el control judicial, el control fiscal, el control interno, el control disciplinario, así como el control político. Este último, junto con las implicaciones que conlleva su ejercicio, es el centro de esta investigación. El control político, tiene una trascendencia amplia a nivel de Estado, toda vez que su impacto repercute en las acciones derivadas de los órganos representativos con potestad de decisión, indistintamente de su origen, ya sea desde el nivel local o nacional. Este tipo de control es subjetivo, basado en una relación recíproca de limitación entre órganos de naturaleza política, donde se activa una relación entre controlador y controlado. Su objeto son los actos y actuaciones de carácter eminentemente político, y se basa en criterios de libertad y oportunidad, lo cual sustenta que este tipo de control se haga según el juicio de valor, sobre la conveniencia que tenga el En un segundo capítulo, se pretende analizar la implementación del sistema de control político, y en particular de la figura de moción de censura en el nivel descentralizado en Colombia, para finalmente, en un tercer capítulo establecer mediante un estudio comparativo, los desafíos de la implementación del control político en esquemas de descentralización.Universidad Libre - Facultad de Derecho - Maestría en Derecho Administrativ

Communicational interaction processes of children whose mother is imprisoned in the Women's jail of Quito

La problemática vinculada a infancia y prisión es una temática escasamente analizada desde el campo de la comunicación, por ello el objetivo del presente artículo es exponer los procesos de interacción comunicacional que se dan entre madres e hijos que permanecen al interior del Centro de Rehabilitación Social (CRS) Femenino de Quito, Ecuador. La estrategia metodológica se basó en un diseño no experimental, de carácter transversal, a través de un enfoque cualitativo mediante la técnica de entrevistas en profundidad y la observación no participante; los instrumentos utilizados fueron el temario de preguntas, diario de campo y fichas de observación. El equipo de investigación hizo el acercamiento con las madres y sus hijos e hijas, quienes de manera voluntaria decidieron participar en el estudio. Entre los principales hallazgos se evidencia que la interacción comunicacional entre madres e hijos está marcada por una relación cercana y con un tiempo adecuado para que las madres estén pendientes de sus hijos; sin embargo, la propia dinámica y entorno carcelario generan situaciones complejas de manejar para ambos. Se concluye que es fundamental la generación de espacios de acompañamiento para madres e hijos, de tal manera que la interacción entre los diversos actores del CRS, y principalmente, entre madres e hijos pueda ser un elemento favorecedor para relaciones armónicas basadas en el diálogo y la empatía.The problem related to childhood and prison is a subject hardly analyzed from the  communication field, so the objective of this article is to expose the processes of communicational interaction that occur between mothers and children that remain inside the Female Rehabilitation Social Center (RSC) of Quito, Ecuador. The methodological strategy was based on a non-experimental design, of a transversal nature, through a qualitative approach through the technique of in-depth interviews and non-participant observation; the instruments used were the questionnaire, field diary and observation sheets. The research team approached mothers and their sons and daughters, who voluntarily decided to participate in the study. The main findings it is evident that the communicational interaction between mothers and their children is marked by a close relationship and with an adequate time for mothers to be aware of their children; however, the dynamics and prison environment generate complex situations of handling for both. It is concluded that the creation of accompaniment spaces for mothers and their children is fundamental, so that the interaction between the actors of the RSC, and mainly, between mothers and children, can be a favorable element for harmonic relationships based on dialogue and empathy