Obtaining lipids and carbohydrates from microalgae via design of selective culture media

La producción sostenible de biorrefinerías a partir de microalgas presenta varias complicaciones técnicas a diferentes niveles, entre los que se encuentra la maximización de la productividad de bloques energéticos, como carbohidratos y lípidos, que sean materia prima para biodiesel y bioetanol. Una alternativa para aumentar la productividad de bloques energéticos es el uso de cultivos alternativos a los medios químicos tradicionales, los cuales se han basado en fuentes de carbono, fosforo, nitrógeno y microelementos. Este trabajo presenta el diseño de dos medios de cultivo mixotrófico con diferentes fuentes de carbono, nitrógeno y fósforo, a fin de evaluar la producción de carbohidratos y lípidos a partir de Chlorella vulgaris. Los medios de cultivo se diseñaron a diferentes concentraciones de nitrato de sodio, fosfato de potasio y acetato de sodio/carbonato de amonio como fuente de carbono. Además, se realizaron diagramas de Pareto y Superficies de Respuesta utilizando el software estadístico STATISTICA 7.0, a fin de conocer la influencia significativa de las variables de estudio sobre la producción de metabolitos. Los resultados mostraron que la concentración de los nutrientes en los cultivos mixotroficos afecta la producción de metabolitos, para el caso de la obtención de carbohidratos, el acetato, el carbonato y el fosfato ejercieron un efecto positivo en su producción. Para la producción de lípidos, cuando el medio de cultivo contenía acetato, no se presentó variable alguna que influyera significativamente, mientras que, para el cultivo con carbonato de amonio, el nitrato y las interacciones carbonato-fosfato, nitrato-fosfato ejercieron una influencia significativa en la producción de este metabolito.Sustainable production of microalgae biorefineries presents several technical bottlenecks in different levels, including maximization of productivity of energy blocks as carbohydrates and lipids, which can be used as feedstocks for biodiesel and bioethanol production. An alternative for increasing productivity of energy blocks is the use of alternative crops to traditional chemical media, which are based on carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen sources and microelements. This work presents the design of two mixotrophic crops were designed at different concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphate sources with the aim of evaluating the carbohydrates and lipids production from Chlorella vulgaris. The culture media were designed at different concentrations of sodium nitrate, potassium phosphate and sodium acetate / ammonium carbonate as carbon source. In addition, Pareto charts and Response Surface were performed using the statistical software STATISTICA 7.0, in order to know the significant influence of study variables on metabolites production. Results showed that the concentration of nutrients in the mixotrophic cultures affect the production of metabolites, for the case of carbohydrates production, acetate, carbonate and phosphate had a positive effect on it. Regarding lipids production, when the culture media contained acetate, there was not any variable that influenced significantly, whereas for the cultivation with ammonium carbonate, nitrate and interactions carbonate-phosphate, nitrate-phosphate had a significant influence on production of this metabolite

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Obtención de lípidos y carbohidratos a partir de microalgas mediante el diseño de medios de cultivo selectivos

La producción sostenible de biorrefinerías a partir de microalgas presenta varias complicaciones técnicas a diferentes niveles, entre los que se encuentra la maximización de la productividad de bloques energéticos, como carbohidratos y lípidos, que sean materia prima para biodiesel y bioetanol. Una alternativa para aumentar la productividad de bloques energéticos es el uso de cultivos alternativos a los medios químicos tradicionales, los cuales se han basado en fuentes de carbono, fosforo, nitrógeno y microelementos. Este trabajo presenta el diseño de dos medios de cultivo mixotrófico con diferentes fuentes de carbono, nitrógeno y fósforo, a fin de evaluar la producción de carbohidratos y lípidos a partir de Chlorella vulgaris. Los medios de cultivo se diseñaron a diferentes concentraciones de nitrato de sodio, fosfato de potasio y acetato de sodio/carbonato de amonio como fuente de carbono. Además, se realizaron diagramas de Pareto y Superficies de Respuesta utilizando el software estadístico STATISTICA 7.0, a fin de conocer la influencia significativa de las variables de estudio sobre la producción de metabolitos. Los resultados mostraron que la concentración de los nutrientes en los cultivos mixotroficos afecta la producción de metabolitos, para el caso de la obtención de carbohidratos, el acetato, el carbonato y el fosfato ejercieron un efecto positivo en su producción. Para la producción de lípidos, cuando el medio de cultivo contenía acetato, no se presentó variable alguna que influyera significativamente, mientras que, para el cultivo con carbonato de amonio, el nitrato y las interacciones carbonato-fosfato, nitrato-fosfato ejercieron una influencia significativa en la producción de este metabolito.Sustainable production of microalgae biorefineries presents several technical bottlenecks in different levels, including maximization of productivity of energy blocks as carbohydrates and lipids, which can be used as feedstocks for biodiesel and bioethanol production. An alternative for increasing productivity of energy blocks is the use of alternative crops to traditional chemical media, which are based on carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen sources and microelements. This work presents the design of two mixotrophic crops were designed at different concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphate sources with the aim of evaluating the carbohydrates and lipids production from Chlorella vulgaris. The culture media were designed at different concentrations of sodium nitrate, potassium phosphate and sodium acetate / ammonium carbonate as carbon source. In addition, Pareto charts and Response Surface were performed using the statistical software STATISTICA 7.0, in order to know the significant influence of study variables on metabolites production. Results showed that the concentration of nutrients in the mixotrophic cultures affect the production of metabolites, for the case of carbohydrates production, acetate, carbonate and phosphate had a positive effect on it. Regarding lipids production, when the culture media contained acetate, there was not any variable that influenced significantly, whereas for the cultivation with ammonium carbonate, nitrate and interactions carbonate-phosphate, nitrate-phosphate had a significant influence on production of this metabolite

Construcción de una prueba de inteligencia emocional

Under the theoretical framework of Salovey and Moyer a psychometric test has been created to measure Emotional Intelligence. Five domains have been considered for items elaboration: a) Emotional Self-knowledge; b) Emotional Control; c) Self motivation; d) Empathy and e) Interpersonal relations. A randomly sample of 489 first level students was selected from 19 different University Programs which belong to five Academic Areas. The psychometric item analysis permited to take not statistically significant items out. The Test reported internal consistency reliability through Alfa Cronbach Coeficient. It has been reported for each domain evaluated and for the general test. It has been also confirmed content and construct validity for the test.Se ha construido una prueba para medir la Inteligencia emocional tomando como base la propuesta de Salovey y Mayer. Se construyeron items pertenecientes a los siguientes cinco dominios: a) Autoconocimiento emocional, b) Control Emocional, c) Automotivación, d) Empatía y e) Habilidad paro las relaciones Interpersonales. La prueba se aplicó a una muestra de estudiantes del primer semestre de las diversas especialidades de la U.N.M.S.M. Los cuales corresponden a una muestra aleatoria de 489 alumnos, pertenecientes de manera representativa a las 19 Facultades de las 5 áreas de especialización. El análisis Psicométrico de los ítems permitió eliminar aquellos que no eran significativos, la prueba presentó Confiabilidad por consistencia interna, a través del coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach tanto en general como en los dominios evaluados. También se observó que el instrumento presentó Validez de Contenido y Validez de Constructo.

Comparación de la comprensión lectora en alumnos de primer y segundo año de secundaria de centros educativos estatales y no estatales de Lima Metropolitana

Objectives: a. To study the reading comprehension development on first to secong grade  high school students. b. To analize the comprehension developmental level of first and second grade high school students considering public and private schools...Objetivos:a. Estudiar el desarrollo de la comprensión lectora en alumnos de primer y segundo año de secundaria. b. Analizar el nivel de desarrollo de la comprensión de los alumnos de centros educativos estatales y no estatales en primer y segundo año de secundaria..

Cien días vistos por CINEP (No. 78 mar-mayo 2013)

La edición no 78 de la revista Cien días vistos por CINEP/PPP: "La trastienda de la paz", aborda temas de actualidad y coyuntura sobre los diálogos de paz que tienen lugar en La Habana entre el gobierno y las FARC. Escenarios como el de los diálogos entre el Gobierno del Presidente Santos Calderón y la Guerrilla de las FARC-EP en La Habana, abonan de manera importante a una salida más política que guerrera tanto para la desactivación y superación del conflicto armado como para la necesaria y profunda construcción de un proceso de pazÍndice: Desarrollo/regiones "El desarrollo enomico como plataforma para la Paz: Una contradicción que compromete los territorios rurales" por Zohanny Arboleda; "Alambre de púas en Playa Blanca" por Dairo Andrés Sánchez Mojica; "¿Quién decide sobre el ecoturismo en el Paque Tayrona" por Julián Eduardo Naranjo; "Consulta previa: ¿obstáculo u oportunidad para la profundización democrática?" por Ana María Restrepo y Sergio Coronado Delgado. Paz. "Entre las armas y la política: Aproximación a las visiones subjetivas de las FARC en el proceso de paz" por Teófilo Vásquez; "La reedición del sesgo anticampesino" por Andrés Aponte; "Dudas sonbre la sostenibilidad del proces" por Fernán E. González G.; "Cubrimiento mediático y polarización frente a las negociaciones de paz en La Habana" por Laura González Pérez; "Una negociación en dos carriles. Un acercamiento a la coyuntura de las negociaciones en La Habana" por Fernán E. González G. Movimientos Sociales. "La movilización popular guajira por el carbón" por Alvaro Delgado; "Conflicto en la Universidad Nacional: una crisis anunciada" por Mauricio Archila; "Comunidad de San José de Apartadó. Construir esperanza desde el dolor" por Javier Giraldo M., S.J. Derechos Humanos. "Memorias Débiles de los hechos de violencia político-social en el Valle del Cauca. Primer trimestre del año 2013" por Cristian Llanos. Elecciones. "El país político ante los retos de la paz. Entre la competencia y la polarización" por Víctor Barrera. Bogotá. "¿Es capaz la ciudadanía de deliberar y decidir en Bogotá?: el reto de la Bogotá Humana entre la legitimidad y la revocatoria" por Marcela Cadena Cruz y Juan Carlos Merchán Zuleta. Economía. "¡La enfermedad holandesa ya es evidente!" por Jorge Iván González; "¿La economía en Colombia va tan bien como la pintan?" por Mónica Osorio Aguiar. Internacional."Venezuela más allá de Hugo Chavez" por Mónica Osorio Aguiar

Cross-cultural invariance of the Spanish version of the COVID-19 Assessment Scorecard to measure the perception of government actions against COVID-19 in Latin America

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the measurement invariance of a general measure of the perception of governmental responses to COVID-|19 (COVID-SCORE-10) in the general population of 13 Latin American countries. Methods: A total of 5780 individuals from 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries selected by non-probabilistic snowball sampling participated. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed and the alignment method was used to evaluate invariance. Additionally, a graded response model was used for the assessment of item characteristics. Results: The results indicate that there is approximate measurement invariance of the COVID-SCORE-10 among the participating countries. Furthermore, IRT results suggest that the COVID-SCORE-10 measures with good psychometric ability a broad spectrum of the construct assessed, especially around average levels. Comparison of COVID-SCORE-10 scores indicated that participants from Cuba, Uruguay and El Salvador had the most positive perceptions of government actions to address the pandemic. Thus, the underlying construct of perception of government actions was equivalent in all countries. Conclusion: The results show the importance of initially establishing the fundamental measurement properties and MI before inferring the cross-cultural universality of the construct to be measured

Test of invariance of the anomie brief scale with the alignment method in 12 Latin American countries

The Social Anomie Brief Scale (SAS10) is a self-report measure of social anomie against new social standards implemented during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the invariance of the cross-cultural measurement of the SAS10 in a sample of 12 Latin American countries. Additionally, the difficulty and discrimination characteristics of the items were evaluated using the IRT and social anomie was compared between the participating countries. A total of 4,911 people from 12 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) selected by non-probabilistic snowball sampling participated. The results indicated that the original two-factor model of the SAS10 shows estimation problems and low fit indices in several countries. However, a model of two related dimensions (behavioral and affective) of nine items (SAS-9) presented adequate fit indices in all countries. This model presents adequate estimation of reliability and approximate cross-cultural measurement invariance. Peru was the country with the highest score in the behavioral dimension of social anomie; while Venezuela and Bolivia presented the highest scores in the affective dimension. Mexico was one of the countries with the lowest anomie scores. The results of the IRT would indicate that the characteristics of the SAS-9 items were appropriate. It is concluded that the SAS-9 has shown good psychometric propertiesUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIP

Relationship between fear of COVID-19, conspiracy beliefs about vaccines and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19: a cross-national indirect effect model in 13 latin american countries

The present study explored the predictive capacity of fear of COVID-19 on the intention to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and the influence in this relationship of conspiracy beliefs as a possible mediating psychological variable, in 13 Latin American countries. A total of 5779 people recruited through non-probabilistic convenience sampling participated. To collect information, we used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Vaccine conspiracy beliefs Scale-COVID-19 and a single item of intention to vaccinate. A full a priori Structural Equation Model was used; whereas, cross-country invariance was performed from increasingly restricted structural models. The results indicated that, fear of COVID-19 positively predicts intention to vaccinate and the presence of conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The latter negatively predicted intention to vaccinate against COVID-19. Besides, conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines had an indirect effect on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to vaccinate against COVID-19 in the 13 countries assessed. Finally, the cross-national similarities of the mediational model among the 13 participating countries are strongly supported. The study is the first to test a cross-national mediational model across variables in a large number of Latin American countries. However, further studies with other countries in other regions of the world are needed.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIP