Dropout and Engineering undergraduate programs at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia between 2012-2019

[EN] Dropout is a topic of significant concern to Higher Education Institutions, especially in Colombia it is considered one of the most important indicators to define higher education quality. Nevertheless, in Colombia, and particularly at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, it has been generally assessed only academic dropout. This decision has prevented understanding other types of dropouts that also occur in the university. The research group performed Multiple Correspondence Analysis to assess the relationship between dropout types (academic, dropout on request, and expiry of time limits) and variables such as sex, socioeconomic stratum, type of admission, and semester of dropout. In the results, we found a disparity between types of dropout concerning the type of university admission, sex, socio-economic stratum, and the semester in which dropout occurs. Women are related to the dropout request while men are associated with the academic dropout. Additionally, the academic dropout occurs in the first 4 semesters, and the expiry of time limits occurs in the last ones.Sánchez-Nítola, M.; Grijalba, DM.; Embus, M.; Suarez, A.; Guevara Montoya, J. (2020). Dropout and Engineering undergraduate programs at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia between 2012-2019. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):1331-1337. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11270OCS1331133730-05-202

Thermal behavior and decomposition of cerium(III) butanoate, pentanoate and hexanoate salts upon heating in argon

The thermal behavior and decomposition of Ce-butanoate monohydrate (Ce(C3H7CO2)3·H2O), Ce-pentanoate (Ce(C4H9CO2)3) and Ce-hexanoate (Ce(C5H11CO2)3) were studied in a flow of argon while heating at 5 °C/min. By means of several techniques such as simultaneous TG-DTA, FTIR evolved gas analysis, in-situ x-ray diffraction using a synchrotron source and hot-stage microscopy, it was found that all three compounds undergo melting transitions prior to decomposition and that decomposition involves intermediate stages including at least a Ce2O(CnH2n+1CO2)4 intermediate (n = 3, 4 or 5 for Ce-butanoate, pentanoate or hexanoate respectively). The final decomposition product consists of CeO2, which is formed through a Ce-oxycarbonate. The Ce3+ → Ce4+ oxidation seems to proceed via Ce2O3 that first results from the decomposition of the oxycarbonate phase. During the whole decomposition process, the evolved gas species consist of CO2 and symmetrical ketones

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Desafíos políticos de los países de inmigración

13 págs.-- Publicado en "Confluencia XXI. Revista de Pensamiento Político" (México), nº 3 (Oct-Dic 2008) bajo el título monográfico "Migrantes: ¿Por qué se van? ¿Por qué se quedan?".Las migraciones, una práctica tan antigua como la propia condición humana, se han convertido en un factor estructural de primer orden, en uno de los macrofenómenos más definitorios de nuestra época y en un complejo reto para las sociedades contemporáneas. En prácticamente todos los países del mundo, todo lo que concierne a este complejo fenómeno ocupa un lugar destacado en la agenda política. La gestión, el control y la integración de los movimientos internacionales de personas se presentan como un policy field de creciente y prioritaria relevancia. No se trata, sin embargo, de una cuestión de mera moda: el número de países implicados de manera significativa en las migraciones internacionales ha aumentado considerablemente, hasta el punto de que resulta realmente difícil encontrar algún Estado que no sea bien un país de inmigración, bien un país de emigración o bien ambas cosas a la vez, cuando no al menos un país de tránsito. No ha de extrañar entonces que la mayoría de los gobiernos haya tomado conciencia de la necesidad de ofrecer una respuesta en términos legales e institucionales a un fenómeno de carácter permanente que puede llegar a alterar la estructura demográfica, social, cultural, económica y laboral de un país. Dada la complejidad de la cuestión, y por cuestiones de economía argumentativa, aquí se abordará de manera fundamental desde la perspectiva de los países receptores, que, por lo demás, es también la adoptada en forma habitual por los países europeos que registran mayor inmigración. Sin embargo, el fenómeno migratorio es fundamentalmente transnacional y tiene fehacientes repercusiones en los países de emigración.Peer reviewe

Arboviral Etiologies of Acute Febrile Illnesses in Western South America, 2000–2007

Over recent decades, the variety and quantity of diseases caused by viruses transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and other arthropods (also known as arboviruses) have increased around the world. One difficulty in studying these diseases is the fact that the symptoms are often non-descript, with patients reporting such symptoms as low-grade fever and headache. Our goal in this study was to use laboratory tests to determine the causes of such non-descript illnesses in sites in four countries in South America, focusing on arboviruses. We established a surveillance network in 13 locations in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay, where patient samples were collected and then sent to a central laboratory for testing. Between May 2000 and December 2007, blood serum samples were collected from more than 20,000 participants with fever, and recent arbovirus infection was detected for nearly one third of them. The most common viruses were dengue viruses (genera Flavivirus). We also detected infection by viruses from other genera, including Alphavirus and Orthobunyavirus. This data is important for understanding how such viruses might emerge as significant human pathogens

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Fusarium: more than a node or a foot-shaped basal cell

Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae. Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae. Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium. Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae. Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae (e.g., Cosmosporella, Macroconia, Microcera). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium. To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org. The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa (act1, CaM, his3, rpb1, rpb2, tef1, tub2, ITS, and LSU). In this paper, we also present a nomenclator of names that have been introduced in Fusarium up to January 2021 as well as their current status, types, and diagnostic DNA barcode data. In this study, researchers from 46 countries, representing taxonomists, plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, and students, strongly support the application and use of a more precisely delimited Fusarium (= Gibberella) concept to accommodate taxa from the robust monophyletic node F3 on the basis of a well-defined and unique combination of morphological and biochemical features. This F3 node includes, among others, species of the F. fujikuroi, F. incarnatum-equiseti, F. oxysporum, and F. sambucinum species complexes, but not species of Bisifusarium [F. dimerum species complex (SC)], Cyanonectria (F. buxicola SC), Geejayessia (F. staphyleae SC), Neocosmospora (F. solani SC) or Rectifusarium (F. ventricosum SC). The present study represents the first step to generating a new online monograph of Fusarium and allied fusarioid genera (www.fusarium.org)

Population-based multicase-control study in common tumors in Spain (MCC-Spain): rationale and study design

Introduction: We present the protocol of a large population-based case-control study of 5 common tumors in Spain (MCC-Spain) that evaluates environmental exposures and genetic factors. Methods: Between 2008-2013, 10,183 persons aged 20-85 years were enrolled in 23 hospitals and primary care centres in 12 Spanish provinces including 1,115 cases of a new diagnosis of prostate cancer, 1,750 of breast cancer, 2,171 of colorectal cancer, 492 of gastro-oesophageal cancer, 554 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and 4,101 population-based controls matched by frequency to cases by age, sex and region of residence. Participation rates ranged from 57% (stomach cancer) to 87% (CLL cases) and from 30% to 77% in controls. Participants completed a face-to-face computerized interview on sociodemographic factors, environmental exposures, occupation, medication, lifestyle, and personal and family medical history. In addition, participants completed a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire and telephone interviews. Blood samples were collected from 76% of participants while saliva samples were collected in CLL cases and participants refusing blood extractions. Clinical information was recorded for cases and paraffin blocks and/or fresh tumor samples are available in most collaborating hospitals. Genotyping was done through an exome array enriched with genetic markers in specific pathways. Multiple analyses are planned to assess the association of environmental, personal and genetic risk factors for each tumor and to identify pleiotropic effects. Discussion: This study, conducted within the Spanish Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology & Public Health (CIBERESP), is a unique initiative to evaluate etiological factors for common cancers and will promote cancer research and prevention in Spain.The study was partially funded by the “Accion Transversal del Cancer”, approved on the Spanish Ministry Council on the 11th October 2007, by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-FEDER (PI08/1770, PI08/0533, PI08/1359, PS09/00773, PS09/01286, PS09/01903, PS09/02078, PS09/01662, PI11/01403, PI11/01889, PI11/00226, PI11/01810, PI11/02213, PI12/00488, PI12/00265, PI12/01270, PI12/00715, PI12/00150), by the Fundación Marqués de Valdecilla (API 10/09), by the ICGC International Cancer Genome Consortium CLL, by the Junta de Castilla y León (LE22A10-2), by the Consejería de Salud of the Junta de Andalucía (PI-0571), by the Conselleria de Sanitat of the Generalitat Valenciana (AP 061/10), by the Recercaixa (2010ACUP 00310), by the Regional Government of the Basque Country by European Commission grants FOOD-CT- 2006-036224-HIWATE, by the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) Scientific Foundation, by the The Catalan Government DURSI grant 2009SGR1489

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

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