Education Trajectories : From Early Childhood to Early Adulthood in Peru

Over the past few decades, every President in Peru has proclaimed education as a priority; yet, in spite of recent progress across several indicators, educational outcomes are still on average low, and gaps between students large and closely linked with their individual and family background. This paper looks at the education trajectories of children in different stages of life, using data from Young Lives, an international study that follows two groups of children: an Older Cohort (born in 1994) and a Younger Cohort (born in 2001). According to the Peruvian Constitution and General Education Law, education is considered a human right, and all students should have access to a quality service. However, results from our study and others suggest that while there have been important advances over the past two decades, there is still a long way to go for this to become a reality for everyone. Peruvian early childhood education consists of two types of preschool: Jardines, which are located in urban areas, and PRONOEI, which are usually in rural or impoverished areas. While attendance in preschool education has increased recently, our results show that by the age of 5 there are already differences in abilities that are related to family background. Furthermore, even after adjusting for these, children from Jardines have higher results in primary school than children from PRONOEI. Peruvian children are expected to attend primary school during middle childhood (ages 6 to 12), and most do. When we compare overage instances between the Older and Younger Cohort, it has been reduced, which is positive as more children are in their normative grade. Achievement in national and international assessments, as well as our own data, also show increases on average scores along with large gaps by wealth, area of residence, maternal education, and ethnicity. Regarding the latter, while Peruvian law states that children have the right to learn in their mother language, our results show that almost 39 per cent of indigenous children learn in Spanish only. In general, we find that educational opportunities are not fairly distributed. For example, urban schools (public and private) congregate richer, Spanish-speaking students and have better resources and more pedagogically able teachers; these students in turn have higher test results. During adolescence, children are expected to attend secondary schools. Overage at age 15 is higher than in primary, and continues to be related to the family background of students. During this period, we also find large gaps in achievement by student background. In regards to early adulthood, by about age 17 children should have finished secondary school: we found that nearly 68 per cent of our cohort had finished school at age 19 (42 per cent finished on age and 26 per cent overage); 20 per cent of adolescents had dropped out of school. Beyond secondary, young adults from Spanish-speaking homes, wealthier, and with more educated mothers (who had completed secondary education or above), are more likely to attend universities. Additionally, more than 38 per cent of the sample only worked and did not study at age 19; and in the case of women, 25 per cent already had children. Progress in enrolment and average achievement is clear in the educational trajectories of the two cohorts of children from early childhood to adulthood. This reflects the importance the population and successive governments have attributed to education. However, large disparities remain, related to students´ and family’s characteristics. In basic education, inequality is not related so much to access to school as it is to the educational opportunities children have at school, and their results in standardised tests. Children who come from relatively poor families, are indigenous, have a mother with less than complete secondary education, or who live in a rural family tend to have fewer opportunities and lower outcomes than their peers; the situation is worse for those who combine several of these family characteristics. Fortunately, disparities in opportunities and achievement by sex are relatively small. In tertiary education, there are still large gaps in access between groups, with privileged students having more access to university studies. Our conclusion is that the educational system may be reinforcing inequalities since it does not provide equal opportunities for all children; ideally, it should prioritise the opportunities of children and young adults who we know are more likely to have poor educational outcomes (i.e. vulnerable children). This should start at a young age, as we have found that gaps in achievement are evident by the age of 5. There are reasons to be optimistic, however, as public funding in education is increasing rapidly. In this scenario, we suggest that inequality in educational opportunities and outcomes becomes a priority

Frecuencia de prediabetes y factores de riesgo en pobladores de un distrito de La Libertad, Perú 2021

Objective: To determine the prevalence of prediabetes and its risk factors in the residents of the Los Laureles sector of the El Porvenir-La Libertad district during the year 2021. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of the census that included 50 people over 25 years of age during the months of July-December 2021, to whom a structured questionnaire was applied, their pressure was taken and a blood sample was requested for fasting glycemic measurement and lipid profile. Results: The prevalence of prediabetes was 20% and the frequency of risk factors were: First degree family history with Diabetes Mellitus 26%, Overweight 18%, Obesity 10%, Hypercholesterolemia 30%, LDL levels increased 28%, low levels HDL 16% and hypertriglyceridemia 28% and 22% High blood pressure. Conclusion: The prevalence of prediabetes in this human settlement was similar to that found in other investigations. The frequency of family history of DM2, elevated LDL cholesterol, obesity, overweight and arterial hypertension was lower compared to other studies; the frequency of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia was higher than that reviewed in other investigations. Finally, only similarity was found in the amount of decreased HDL cholesterol with other studies.Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia de prediabetes y sus factores de riesgo en los pobladores del sector Los Laureles del distrito El Porvenir- La Libertad durante el año 2021. Material y Métodos:  Estudio descriptivo transversal censal que incluyó a 50 personas mayores de 25 años durante los meses de julio-diciembre del 2021, a quienes se les aplicó un cuestionario estructurado, se les tomó la presión y se les solicitó una muestra de sangre para dosaje de glicemia en ayunas y perfil lipídico. Resultados: La prevalencia de prediabetes fue 20%, la de Diabetes 16,9% y la frecuencia de factores de riesgo asociados a Prediabetes fueron: familiar de primer grado con Diabetes: 26%, Sobrepeso 18%, Obesidad 10%, Hipercolesterolemia 30%, niveles de LDL aumentado 28%, niveles bajos de HDL 16% y hipertrigliceridemia 28% y 22% Hipertensión arterial.  Conclusión: La prevalencia de prediabetes en este asentamiento humano fue similar a lo hallado en otras investigaciones. La frecuencia de antecedentes familiares de DM2, colesterol LDL elevado, obesidad, sobrepeso e hipertensión arterial, fue menor en comparación con otros estudios; la frecuencia de hipercolesterolemia y hipertrigliceridemia fue mayor a lo revisado en otras investigaciones. Finalmente, sólo se encontró similitud en la cifra de colesterol HDL disminuido con otros estudios

Identification of gastric cancer from speckle patterns

Speckle technique is based on the light intensity distribution randomly formed when a laser light is reflected on a rough surface, creating a pattern of illuminated grains (constructively) and dark (destructive) on scales of 1 μm. When the samples are displaced or deformed, the speckle pattern is altered. In this paper we present speckle patterns obtained from samples of gastric mucosa that is physically altered for the carcinogenesis process. Biopsies were studied with different diagnoses and were grouped according to the characteristics of speckle patterns. Speckle patterns were obtained by illuminating the samples with green laser. Morphological parameters of the speckle patterns reveal existence of 3 descriptors: the average grain size, hydraulic radius and the radio of the Weddel disc, which showed a high, intermediate and low value. The comparison shows agreement between the histopathological diagnosis and the values obtained by the speckle technique, making this technique emerge as a new classification system for quantitative diagnosis of precancerous lesions.Facultad de Ingenierí

Identification of gastric cancer from speckle patterns

Speckle technique is based on the light intensity distribution randomly formed when a laser light is reflected on a rough surface, creating a pattern of illuminated grains (constructively) and dark (destructive) on scales of 1 μm. When the samples are displaced or deformed, the speckle pattern is altered. In this paper we present speckle patterns obtained from samples of gastric mucosa that is physically altered for the carcinogenesis process. Biopsies were studied with different diagnoses and were grouped according to the characteristics of speckle patterns. Speckle patterns were obtained by illuminating the samples with green laser. Morphological parameters of the speckle patterns reveal existence of 3 descriptors: the average grain size, hydraulic radius and the radio of the Weddel disc, which showed a high, intermediate and low value. The comparison shows agreement between the histopathological diagnosis and the values obtained by the speckle technique, making this technique emerge as a new classification system for quantitative diagnosis of precancerous lesions.Facultad de Ingenierí

Identification of gastric cancer from speckle patterns

Speckle technique is based on the light intensity distribution randomly formed when a laser light is reflected on a rough surface, creating a pattern of illuminated grains (constructively) and dark (destructive) on scales of 1 μm. When the samples are displaced or deformed, the speckle pattern is altered. In this paper we present speckle patterns obtained from samples of gastric mucosa that is physically altered for the carcinogenesis process. Biopsies were studied with different diagnoses and were grouped according to the characteristics of speckle patterns. Speckle patterns were obtained by illuminating the samples with green laser. Morphological parameters of the speckle patterns reveal existence of 3 descriptors: the average grain size, hydraulic radius and the radio of the Weddel disc, which showed a high, intermediate and low value. The comparison shows agreement between the histopathological diagnosis and the values obtained by the speckle technique, making this technique emerge as a new classification system for quantitative diagnosis of precancerous lesions.Facultad de Ingenierí

Charge separation relative to the reaction plane in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}= 2.76 TeV

Measurements of charge dependent azimuthal correlations with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV. Two- and three-particle charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta| < 0.8$ are presented as a function of the collision centrality, particle separation in pseudo-rapidity, and transverse momentum. A clear signal compatible with a charge-dependent separation relative to the reaction plane is observed, which shows little or no collision energy dependence when compared to measurements at RHIC energies. This provides a new insight for understanding the nature of the charge dependent azimuthal correlations observed at RHIC and LHC energies.Comment: 12 pages, 3 captioned figures, authors from page 2 to 6, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/286

A note on comonotonicity and positivity of the control components of decoupled quadratic FBSDE

In this small note we are concerned with the solution of Forward-Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (FBSDE) with drivers that grow quadratically in the control component (quadratic growth FBSDE or qgFBSDE). The main theorem is a comparison result that allows comparing componentwise the signs of the control processes of two different qgFBSDE. As a byproduct one obtains conditions that allow establishing the positivity of the control process.Comment: accepted for publicatio

Transverse sphericity of primary charged particles in minimum bias proton-proton collisions at s=0.9\sqrt{s}=0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV

Measurements of the sphericity of primary charged particles in minimum bias proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$, 2.76 and 7 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC are presented. The observable is linearized to be collinear safe and is measured in the plane perpendicular to the beam direction using primary charged tracks with $p_{\rm T}\geq0.5$ GeV/c in $|\eta|\leq0.8$. The mean sphericity as a function of the charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity ($N_{\rm ch}$) is reported for events with different $p_{\rm T}$ scales ("soft" and "hard") defined by the transverse momentum of the leading particle. In addition, the mean charged particle transverse momentum versus multiplicity is presented for the different event classes, and the sphericity distributions in bins of multiplicity are presented. The data are compared with calculations of standard Monte Carlo event generators. The transverse sphericity is found to grow with multiplicity at all collision energies, with a steeper rise at low $N_{\rm ch}$, whereas the event generators show the opposite tendency. The combined study of the sphericity and the mean $p_{\rm T}$ with multiplicity indicates that most of the tested event generators produce events with higher multiplicity by generating more back-to-back jets resulting in decreased sphericity (and isotropy). The PYTHIA6 generator with tune PERUGIA-2011 exhibits a noticeable improvement in describing the data, compared to the other tested generators.Comment: 21 pages, 9 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 16, published version, figures from http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/308

Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 2.76 TeV

The inclusive transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) distributions of primary charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ as a function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=2.76$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the $p_{\rm T}$ range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<50$ GeV/$c$ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%. The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{AA}}$ using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision energy. We observe that the suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles strongly depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most suppressed with $R_{\rm{AA}}\approx0.13$ at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7 GeV/$c$. Above $p_{\rm T}=7$ GeV/$c$, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification factor, which reaches $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx0.4$ for $p_{\rm T}>30$ GeV/$c$. In peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx 0.7$ almost independently of $p_{\rm T}$. The measured nuclear modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284