Risk factors associated with Trypanosoma cruziexposure in domestic dogs from a rural community in Panama

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is a zoonosis of humans, wild and domestic mammals,including dogs. In Panama, the main T. cruzi vector is Rhodnius pallescens, a triatomine bug whose main naturalhabitat is the royal palm, Attalea butyracea. In this paper, we present results from three T. cruzi serological tests(immunochromatographic dipstick, indirect immunofluorescence and ELISA) performed in 51 dogs from 24 housesin Trinidad de Las Minas, western Panama. We found that nine dogs were seropositive (17.6% prevalence). Dogswere 1.6 times more likely to become T. cruzi seropositive with each year of age and 11.6 times if royal palms wherepresent in the peridomiciliary area of the dog’s household or its two nearest neighbours. Mouse-baited-adhesivetraps were employed to evaluate 12 peridomestic royal palms. All palms were found infested with R. pallescens withan average of 25.50 triatomines captured per palm. Of 35 adult bugs analysed, 88.6% showed protozoa flagellates intheir intestinal contents. In addition, dogs were five times more likely to be infected by the presence of an additionaldomestic animal species in the dog’s peridomiciliary environment. Our results suggest that interventions focused onroyal palms might reduce the exposure to T. cruzi infection

Procrastinación académica y estrés académico en estudiantes de educación superior pedagógica

Objective: To determine the relationship between academic procrastination and academic stress in Peruvian students from a public pedagogical higher education institute in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. Materials and methods: The research approach was quantitative, the design was non-experimental and the cross-sectional correlational descriptive type. The sample consisted of 189 initial teacher training students to whom two data collection instruments were applied: the Scale of Academic Procrastination and the SISCO Inventory of Academic Stress, instruments with the required validity and reliability. After applying the instruments, the responses were systematized and analyzed through the statistical program SPSS® version 22. Results: 42.9% of the students presented a moderate level of academic procrastination, 53.5% showed high levels of academic stress and it was statistically found that there is a direct and significant relationship between academic procrastination and student academic stress (rs= 0.630; p= 0.000<0.05). Conclusions: High levels of academic procrastination are related to high levels of academic stress. In this sense, it is imperative that the institute execute programs that allow the development of self-regulation, time management and self-control strategies in students so that they can carry out their academic activities in a timely manner and do not affect their quality of life by developing them at the last moment.Objetivo: Determinar la relación que existe entre la procrastinación académica y el estrés académico en estudiantes peruanos de un instituto de educación superior pedagógico público de Puerto Maldonado, Perú. Materiales y métodos: El enfoque de investigación fue cuantitativo, el diseño no experimental y el tipo descriptivo correlacional de corte transversal. La muestra estuvo conformada por 189 estudiantes de formación inicial docente a quienes se les aplicó dos instrumentos de recolección de datos: la Escala de Procrastinación Académica y el Inventario SISCO de Estrés Académico, instrumentos con la validez y confiabilidad requerida. Después de la aplicación de los instrumentos, las respuestas fueron sistematizadas y analizadas a través del programa estadístico SPSS® versión 22. Resultados: El 42,9% de los estudiantes presentaron un nivel moderado de procrastinación académica, el 53,5% evidenciaron altos niveles de estrés académico y se halló estadísticamente que existe una relación directa y significativa entre la procrastinación académica y el estrés académico de los estudiantes (rs= 0,630; p=0,000<0,05). Conclusiones: Los altos niveles de procrastinación académica están relacionados a altos niveles de estrés académico. En ese sentido, resulta imperativo que el instituto ejecute programas que permitan desarrollar la autorregulación, la gestión del tiempo y las estrategias de autocontrol en los estudiantes para que puedan realizar sus actividades académicas oportunamente y no afecten su calidad de vida por desarrollarlas a en el último momento

Análisis bibliométrico de la producción científica en la base de datos Scopus de una universidad privada peruana

The objective of this research was to analyze the scientific production in the Scopus database of a Peruvian private university. The research was bibliometric and retrospective, where the scientific production of the Universidad Andina del Cusco (UAC) was described through the analysis of the documents published and registered in Scopus. According to the results, 56 documents indexed in Scopus were located, being the authors with the most publications Núñez-Del Prado, M. (56 documents and an H-Index of 8) and Ojeda, Eliana (25 documents and an H-Index of 15). Regarding the characteristics of the documents, it was found that most of the journals where they were published were foreign, original articles predominated and in English, there was a greater participation of researchers with affiliation to the UAC as co-authors and in the majority of research works did not declare receiving funding. On the other hand, it was found that more documents were published in the area of ​​Medicine and Computer Science. Finally, it was concluded that in recent years the scientific production of the UAC in Scopus has increased significantly, however, compared to the most competitive Peruvian universities, it is still limited and insufficient, so it is necessary to foster institutional policies that promote the publication of research carried out by the university community (teachers, students and researchers) in high-impact scientific journals, preferably indexed in Scopus.El objetivo de la presente investigación fue analizar la producción científica en la base de datos Scopus de una universidad privada peruana. La investigación fue de tipo bibliométrica y retrospectiva, donde se describió la producción científica de la Universidad Andina del Cusco (UAC) a través del análisis de los documentos publicados y registrados en Scopus. De acuerdo a los resultados, se ubicaron 56 documentos indizados en Scopus, siendo los autores con más publicaciones Núñez-Del Prado, M. (56 documentos y un Índice H de 8) y Ojeda, Eliana (25 documentos y un Índice H de 15). En cuanto a las características de los documentos, se halló que la mayor parte de las revistas donde se publicaron fueron extranjeras, predominaron los artículos originales y en idioma inglés, hubo una mayor participación de los investigadores con filiación a la UAC como coautores y en la mayoría de trabajos de investigación no se declaró recibir financiamiento. Por otro lado, se encontró que se publicaron más documentos en el área de Medicina y Ciencias de la Computación. Finalmente, se concluyó que en los últimos años la producción científica de la UAC en Scopus se ha incrementado significativamente, sin embargo, en comparación con las universidades peruanas más competitivas, aún es limitada e insuficiente, por lo que es necesario fomentar políticas institucionales que promuevan la publicación de las investigaciones realizadas por la comunidad universitaria (docentes, estudiantes e investigadores) en revistas científicas de alto impacto e indexadas preferentemente en Scopus

Diet Quality Is Associated with a High Newborn Size and Reduction in the Risk of Low Birth Weight and Small for Gestational Age in a Group of Mexican Pregnant Women: An Observational Study

A high-quality diet during pregnancy may have positive effects on fetal growth and nutritional status at birth, and it may modify the risk of developing chronic diseases later in life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between diet quality and newborn nutritional status in a group of pregnant Mexican women. As part of the ongoing Mexican prospective cohort study, OBESO, we studied 226 healthy pregnant women. We adapted the Alternated Healthy Eating Index-2010 for pregnancy (AHEI-10P). The association between maternal diet and newborn nutritional status was investigated by multiple linear regression and logistic regression models. We applied three 24-h recalls during the second half of gestation. As the AHEI-10P score improved by 5 units, the birth weight and length increased (β = 74.8 ± 35.0 g and β = 0.3 ± 0.4 cm, respectively, p < 0.05). Similarly, the risk of low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) decreased (OR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.27–0.82 and OR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.36–0.85, respectively). In women without preeclampsia and/or GDM, the risk of stunting decreased as the diet quality score increased (+5 units) (OR: 0.62, 95%IC: 0.40–0.96). A high-quality diet during pregnancy was associated with a higher newborn size and a reduced risk of LBW and SGA in this group of pregnant Mexican women

Further insight into the geographic distribution of Leishmania species in Peru by cytochrome b and mannose phosphate isomerase gene analyses.

To obtain further insight into geographic distribution of Leishmania species in Peru, a countrywide survey, including central to southern rainforest areas where information on causative parasite species is limited, was performed based on cytochrome b (cyt b) and mannose phosphate isomerase (mpi) gene analyses. A total of 262 clinical samples were collected from patients suspected of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in 28 provinces of 13 departments, of which 99 samples were impregnated on FTA (Flinders Technology Associates) cards and 163 samples were Giemsa-stained smears. Leishmania species were successfully identified in 83 (83.8%) of FTA-spotted samples and 59 (36.2%) of Giemsa-stained smear samples. Among the 142 samples identified, the most dominant species was Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis (47.2%), followed by L. (V.) peruviana (26.1%), and others were L. (V.) guyanensis, L. (V.) lainsoni, L. (V.) shawi, a hybrid of L. (V.) braziliensis and L. (V.) peruviana, and Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. Besides the present epidemiological observations, the current study provided the following findings: 1) A hybrid of L. (V.) braziliensis and L. (V.) peruviana is present outside the Department of Huanuco, the only place reported, 2) Many cases of CL due to L. (V.) lainsoni, an uncommon causative species in Peru, were observed, and 3) L. (V.) shawi is widely circulating in southern Amazonian areas in Peru