An open-access platform for camera-trapping data

In southern Mexico, local communities have been playing important roles in the design and collection of wildlife data through camera-trapping in community-based monitoring of biodiversity projects. However, the methods used to store the data have limited their use in matters of decision-making and research. Thus, we present the Platform for Community-based Monitoring of Biodiversity (PCMB), a repository, which allows storage, visualization, and downloading of photographs captured by community-based monitoring of biodiversity projects in protected areas of southern Mexico. The platform was developed using agile software development with extensive interaction between computer scientists and biologists. System development included gathering data, design, built, database and attributes creation, and quality control. The PCMB currently contains 28,180 images of 6478 animals (69.4% mammals and 30.3% birds). Of the 32 species of mammals recorded in 18 PA since 2012, approximately a quarter of all photographs were of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Platforms permitting access to camera-trapping data are a valuable step in opening access to data of biodiversity; the PCMB is a practical new tool for wildlife management and research with data generated through local participation. Thus, this work encourages research on the data generated through the community-based monitoring of biodiversity projects in protected areas, to provide an important information infrastructure for effective management and conservation of wildlife

HSP: A Tool for Heat Stress Prevention for Farm Workers

We present the initial development of an integrated application for heat stress and heat related illness prevention in farm workers. In developing the application we have follow the OSHA guidelines and an extended project includes the social, cultural and economic factors of farm workers. Even though, our development focus is on workers in the California fields, we believe our project will be useful in multiple situations where individuals are exposed to extreme heat working conditions. This paper describes the motivation for our development, the overall approach we are following, and the first version of our application

Assessing latin@ public opinion on foreign affairs and its potential impact on the 2012 presidential election

As the Latin@ population of the United States grows and the “Sleeping Giant” is expected to play a more significant role in the nation’s elections and governance more attention must be paid to the factors influencing Latin@ public opinion and political behavior on a myriad of issues. While there is a growing literature addressing Latin@ partisanship and opinion on issues such as morality and social welfare programs, there is a dearth of information regarding their opinion on foreign affairs and policy outside of Latin America. We review the limited studies that exist examining Latin@ opinion on policy issues and then explain why this can and will matter in Latin@ voting behavior and finally, using data from the 2006 Pew Hispanic Center survey on Latin@s and Religion in the U.S., we explain how such factors as religion, country of origin and ideology influence Latin@ public opinion on foreign affairs demonstrating a need for much greater study in this area.A medida que la población latina de los Estados Unidos crece, se espera que el "gigante dormido" desempeñe un papel más importante en las elecciones presidenciales y el gobierno debe prestar más atención a los factores que influyen en la opinión pública latina y el comportamiento político de una gran variedad de temas. Si bien existe una bibliografía cada vez mayor para abordar el partidismo latina y opinión acerca de asuntos tales como la moralidad y programas de bienestar social, hay una escasez de información acerca de su opinión sobre los asuntos exteriores y la política exterior de América Latina. Examinamos los estudios limitados que existen en el examen de la opinión latina en temas de política y para luego explicar por qué esto puede y será importante en el comportamiento del voto latino y, por último, utilizando los datos de la encuesta de 2006 del Pew Hispanic Center sobre los latinos y la religión en los EE.UU., se explica cómo tales factores como la religión, país de origen y la ideología influyen en la opinión pública hispana en asuntos exteriores que demuestren una necesidad de un estudio mucho mayor en este área

Registro de tapir centroamericano (Tapirus bairdii) con cámaras-trampa en la sierra Madre de Oaxaca, México

ResumenEn este trabajo se presenta evidencia del tapir centroamericano (Tapirus bairdii) obtenida en la sierra Norte de Oaxaca por medio de cámaras-trampa durante marzo y abril de 2012, confirmando su presencia en esta región.AbstractThis paper presents evidence of the Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) obtained in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca by camera traps in March and April 2012, confirming its presence in this region

Monitoring and Assisting Maternity-Infant Care in Rural Areas (Mamicare)

We present our project called MAMICare that is motivated by the alarming number of maternity and infant deaths in rural areas due mainly to a poor monitoring of pregnancy progress and lack of appropriate alerting mechanism in case of abnormal gestation evolution. We are proposing an information technology solution based on mobile devices, and health sensors such as ECG (electrocardiogram), stethoscope, pulse-oximeter, and blood-glucose meter to automatically collect relevant health data for a better monitoring of pregnant women. In this paper we address the current status of the maternity infant death problem especially in rural areas of Mexico. We review some applications of IT in health systems (known also as Electronic Health or simply e-Health) and discuss how these are related to our proposal and how they differ. In the paper we present our proposed solution and discuss the current status of our work

Latinos now trust politicians even less than before, but have become more politically active

Over the past two decades, Latinos in America have gone from being told that they did not belong in 2006, that they held the electoral balance of power in 2012, and finally back to rejection again with the election of President Trump in 2016. In new research, Melissa R. Michelson and Jessica L. Lavariega Monforti examine the effects of these changing societal messages and sometimes outright racism on Latinos’ cynicism about, and participation in, politics. They find that, compared to 2012, Latinos are now more likely to be interested and participate in politics, at the same time as having far less trust in government

HDQM2: Healthcare Data Quality Maturity Model

Data Quality is a central issue within the development of Healthcare Systems, for both the delivery of the service as well as for the establishment of public policies. Public and private Healthcare Systems in Latin America do not have a framework of reference which allows them to have knowledge of the level of Data Quality (DQ). In other frameworks found within literature the evaluation of DQ has been centered within the dimensions. The intention of this research is to build an evaluation model for DQ based on maturity. This research contributes an innovating and comprehensive model, based on the data life cycle and maturity models, applied to the Health Sector, mainly because it contributes to the switch from the traditional physical mediums to Electronic Medical Records. This article presents the advancements of the research that is being conducted in some hospitals of the Healthcare Cluster of Monterrey, Mexico

Historic record of the Central American tapir Tapirus bairdii in the isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico

 This note reports a historic record of the Central American Tapir, Tapirus bairdii, for the Coastal Plain of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico. The record was dated to the decade of 1950, and was found 40 km from the closest historic locality. The presence of this species suggests two hypotheses: that the observed specimens belong to a previously existing population in this region, or that these specimens come from the Los Chimalapas region.   

Diversidad y conservación en la Colección Mastozoológica del CIIDIR-Oaxaca

Las colecciones científicas juegan un papel fundamental en la conservación del patrimonio natural. Los ejemplares depositados en ellas son una prueba de las especies que existen o existieron en una localidad geográfica y en qué tiempo; la acumulación de este conocimiento permite evaluar la biodiversidad de alguna región o país. Las colecciones científicas son lugares donde se desarrolla y divulga este conocimiento, están al servicio de la sociedad y abiertas al público. Con el fin de difundir la diversidad albergada en el acervo de la Colección Mastozoológica (OAX.MA.026.0497) del CIIDIR Unidad Oaxaca del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, se revisó y actualizó la base de datos, las localidades fueron georreferenciadas y se realizó un análisis de la representatividad taxonómica y geográfica. Actualmente, la OAX.MA cuenta con 5,122 ejemplares de mamíferos silvestres, pertenecientes a 169 especies, 97 géneros, 27 familias y 10 órdenes. Los murciélagos (67 especies) y roedores (54 especies) son los órdenes mejor representados en la colección. La OAX.MA es la colección mexicana con más especímenes de mamíferos colectados en Oaxaca y tiene representado el 78.2% de las especies conocidas en Oaxaca (216 especies) y el 34.0% de México (496 especies)