Bioerosion on late Quaternary Planktonic Foraminifera related to paleoproductivity in the western South Atlantic

Planktonic Foraminifera are widely used in paleoceanographic reconstructions, although studies of their trophic interactions are still rare, especially those focusing on predation. Drilling holes are the most frequent traces of bioerosion in foraminifer tests, but environmental factors that control bioerosion are not yet understood. To determine if paleoceanographic variables are associated with bioerosion rates in late Quaternary planktonic foraminifers of the western South Atlantic, geochemical and assemblage analyses were made on a 46 kyr record from a piston core. An age model was constructed based on 10 AMS 14C dates. To reconstruct the paleoproductivity, δ13C, benthic/planktonic foraminifer and the relative abundances of Globigerina bulloides and Globigerinoides ruber (high and low productivity, respectively) were used. Bioeroded tests were counted and found in 21 of the 25 identified species, with frequencies ranging from 8.84% to 16.7%. Bioerosion was different in two groups identified by cluster analysis, with a higher intensity during glacial times, showing a strong correlation with paleoceanographic fluctuations. Paleoproductivity estimates and bioerosion rates show a significant correlation, suggesting that bioerosion is more frequent in eutrophic environments and more inhibited in oligotrophic conditions. However, even with a strong correlation between bioerosion and productivity, there is also a negative correlation with sea surface temperature in the study area. Since conditions that promote higher productivity are accompanied by a decrease in surface temperature, the precise distinction between the influence of both variables is hampered. Further research will allow us to explore the potential of planktonic foraminiferal bioerosion as a tool in paleoceanographic studies

Folk medicine in the northern coast of Colombia: an overview

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Traditional remedies are an integral part of Colombian culture. Here we present the results of a three-year study of ethnopharmacology and folk-medicine use among the population of the Atlantic Coast of Colombia, specifically in department of Bolívar. We collected information related to different herbal medicinal uses of the local flora in the treatment of the most common human diseases and health disorders in the area, and determined the relative importance of the species surveyed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on the use of medicinal plants were collected using structured interviews and through observations and conversations with local communities. A total of 1225 participants were interviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately 30 uses were reported for plants in traditional medicine. The plant species with the highest fidelity level (Fl) were <it>Crescentia cujete </it>L. (flu), <it>Eucalyptus globulus </it>Labill. (flu and cough), <it>Euphorbia tithymaloides </it>L. (inflammation), <it>Gliricidia_sepium</it>_(Jacq.) Kunth (pruritic ailments), <it>Heliotropium indicum </it>L. (intestinal parasites) <it>Malachra alceifolia </it>Jacq. (inflammation), <it>Matricaria chamomilla </it>L. (colic) <it>Mentha sativa </it>L. (nervousness), <it>Momordica charantia </it>L. (intestinal parasites), <it>Origanum vulgare </it>L. (earache), <it>Plantago major </it>L. (inflammation) and <it>Terminalia catappa </it>L. (inflammation). The most frequent ailments reported were skin affections, inflammation of the respiratory tract, and gastro-intestinal disorders. The majority of the remedies were prepared from freshly collected plant material from the wild and from a single species only. The preparation of remedies included boiling infusions, extraction of fresh or dry whole plants, leaves, flowers, roots, fruits, and seeds. The parts of the plants most frequently used were the leaves. In this study were identified 39 plant species, which belong to 26 families. There was a high degree of consensus from informants on the medical indications of the different species.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study presents new research efforts and perspectives on the search for new drugs based on local uses of medicinal plants. It also sheds light on the dependence of rural communities in Colombia on medicinal plants.</p

Construcción de un modelo animal de fibrosis pulmonar inducido por Bleomicina

Objetivo. Implementar un modelo de fibrosis pulmonar inducida por Bleomicina en ratas de laboratorio. Materiales y métodos. Se  trabajó con dos grupos de ratas Wistar para la administración del medicamento por vía intratraqueal. El grupo experimental recibió una dosis única (2.0 U/Kg) de Bleomicina, mientras que el grupo control recibió un volumen equivalente de solución salina. A los 14 o 28 días se realizó un lavado broncoalveolar  con recuento total y diferencial  celular y análisis histopatológico pulmonar. Resultados. En el grupo experimental de tratado  con Bleomicina por 14 días, la histología reveló daño pulmonar caracterizado por inflamación aguda, hemorragia intraalveolar y proliferación fibroblástica incipiente  intersticial; en los animales tratados por 28 días, se observó alteración de la arquitectura pulmonar debida a fibrosis  y aumento en el número de macrófagos intraalveolares e inflamación linfocitaria. Conclusiones. Se implementó satisfactoriamente un modelo de fibrosis pulmonar inducido farmacológicamente por Bleomicina en ratas Wistar.

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Gestión de la producción: una aproximación conceptual

Es bien conocida la problemática que oscila alrededor de la competitividad en las empresas, como vía no solo para crecer y desarrollarse en el marco económico, sino también para poder sobrevivir en su sector de actividad. De hecho, hace ya algún tiempo, desde la Escuela de Negocios de Harvard se advertía a los directores de fábricas norteamericanas que para ser más competitivas y crear ciertas ventajas duraderas debían enfatizar en tres aspectos esenciales: 1. concederle una orientación al sistema y al proceso productivo; 2. reorganizar el sistema de producción en función de unas tareas o misiones estratégicas; y 3. reflejar tales misiones en la orientación competitiva de la empresa, y no solo derivarse de ella, sino también contribuir a su formulación e implementación. Contenido: 1. Dirección de la producción: Su papel estratégico en la competitividad empresarial. 2. Planeación agregada y programación maestra. 3. Programación y control de la producción. 4. Estudio del trabajo: Herramientas para la mejora de la productividad empresarial. 5. Logística y gestión de la cadena de abastecimiento. 6. Algunos enfoques en el mejoramiento de sistemas de producción/Operaciones. 7. Gestión en prevención y control de pérdidas en producción/Operaciones. 8. Nuevas Tecnologías de la fabricación y la información

Memorias Seminario: Formación profesional: fundamento para la productividad y competitividad en el nuevo milenio

El SENA, en cumplimiento de su Misión Institucional, convocó a los más actualizados, autorizados y proactivos protagonistas e impulsores de los cambios metodológicos y orientadores de las modernas Instituciones de formación profesional en Latinoamérica y España, con el claro propósito de sensibilizar sobre la necesidad del cambio, de dinamizar Instituciones, procesos y procedimientos que procuren las acciones propias y coherentes con el momento actual y futuro que debemos afrontar.SENA, in fulfillment of its Institutional Mission, convened the most up-to-date, authorized and proactive protagonists and drivers of the methodological and guiding changes of modern Vocational Training Institutions in Latin America and Spain, with the clear purpose of raising awareness of the need for change, to energize institutions, processes and procedures that seek our own actions and consistent with the current and future moment we must face.Saludo institucional de bienvenida / Tulio Arbeláez Gómez -- La formación profesional como instrumento de cambio socio-económico / Gina Magnolia Riaño Barón -- Aproximaciones al tema de la fomación profesional en Colombia -- Visión de la ANDI sobre el sistema de formación profesional / Luis Carlos Villegas -- Visión de los trabajadores sobre el sistema de formación profesional / Luis Eduardo Garzón -- Visión prospectiva y desarrollos de la formación profesional en Colombia / Jaime Ramírez Guerrero -- Nuevas s endas de la fonnación profesional: una mirada internacional -- Nuevos enfoques para la formación profesional desde la perspectiva del BID / Claudio de Moura Castro -- Tendencias de la formación profesional en América Latina / Pedro D. Weimberg -- Formación profesional en los escenarios laboral y educativo: la experiencia española -- Dialogo social y formación profesional en el país Vasco / Javier Retegui Ayastuy -- Modelos o experiencias de la formación continua en España / Blanca Gómez Manzaneque -- Modelo para la implementación de la formación profesional ocupacional / Juan Bonet Tomás -- De las competencias laborales y su incidencia en el diseño y desarrollo de la formación profesional -- Normalización y certificación por competencias / Agustín Ibarra Almada -- Modelo de formación por competencias / Leonard Mertens -- Formación profesional en los escenarios laboral y educativo: la experiencia latinoamericana -- Formación y relaciones laborales / Oscar Hermida Uriarte -- Formación profesional y desarrollo tecnológico -- Experiencia de reestructuración en instituciones de formación profesional / Fernando Casanova -- Proyecto de modernización: la formación profesional fundamento central de una política social / Tulio Arbeláez Gómez -- Evaluación y conclusiones Seminario formación profesional Gonzalo Veléz Villegas.na303 página

Anxiety, low self-esteem and a low happiness index are associated with poor school performance in chilean adolescents: a cross-sectional analysis

Objective: To analyze the relationship between anxiety, self-esteem, happiness index and primary school students’ academic performance in Chilean adolescents from the Biobío province. Methodology: 733 (46.1% girls; 12 (1.3 years)) public primary school students that completed the 2018 Health and School Performance Survey carried out in the Biobío province were included in this cross-sectional analysis. The BECK Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to measure anxiety while happiness index and self-esteem were measured using the subjective happiness scale and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, respectively. School performance was measured by grade point average (GPA) of language, math, physical education and cumulative GPA, and behavior associated with cognition in the school context was also considered. The relationship between mental health indicators and school performance was investigated using a one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation. Results: In comparison to students with low anxiety levels and high self-esteem and happiness levels, students with higher anxiety levels, lower self-esteem and happiness levels perceived themselves as having memory problems. They were also slower to solve math problems, had a shorter attention span in class and presented more difficulties in solving complex tasks, as well as being more nervous during testing. These students also got the lowest grade point average in math, language and physical education. Conclusions: High anxiety levels, low self-esteem and low happiness levels were associated with lower school performance and weaker behavior associated with cognition in Chilean adolescents. Implementing plans of emotional education and mental health could improve academic achievement