Globalization: economic development and competitiveness

From a theoretical point of view, competitiveness is raised more in terms of increase and mechanisms for obtaining it are not specified, as well as, it is continuously limited to productivity, foreign investment, training, among others. Moreover, in the last 20 years in Tamaulipas, a system of successful municipalities such as those of the border strip, the capital of the state and the southern metropolitan area has been consolidated. The relationship between the agglomeration and the NGE is good for productivity, that is, economic activity works better in this way, than when they are scattered and fragmented. Mexico’s manufacturing sector generates about 20% of GDP. Mexico as one of the countries with major investment and especially more by the United States thanks to NAFTA, that is not enough to grow and develop as there are bureaucratic problems, crime, corruption control and level of education

CARACTERÍSTICAS DEL QUESO TEPEQUE DE LA TIERRA CALIENTE DE MICHOACÁN: UN QUESO PRODUCIDO EN UN SISTEMA SILVOPASTORIL INTENSIVO

El objetivo del presente estudio fue describir las características del Queso Tepeque de la Tierra Caliente del Estado de Michoacán en términos de su región de origen, proceso de manufactura, características fisicoquímicas y microbiológicas, y documentar los cambios atribuibles a la implementación de un sistema silvopastoril intensivo (SSPi) para la alimentación del ganado. La metodología consintió en visitar la zona de estudio para recolectar información sobre el territorio donde se produce el queso, se realizaron entrevistas semi- estructuradas a productores para conocer el sistema de producción de leche y el proceso de elaboración del queso. Se determinaron las características físicas (pH y densidad) y químicas (contenidos de proteína, grasa, lactosa, sólidos no grasos y agua adicionada) de la leche que se emplea en la elaboración del queso. En el queso se determinó su contenido de proteína, grasa, sal, humedad, cenizas y pH. Se determinaron las características sanitarias de ambos productos incluyendo conteo de microorganismos mesófilos aerobios, coliformes, hongos, levaduras y la presencia de Listeria spp y Staphylococcus aureus. El estudio se llevó a cabo en el año 2010, se dividió en dos períodos, época de lluvias y época de estiaje. Se estudiaron 15 productores, siete del SSPi y ocho del sistema tradicional de producción de leche. Se observó que el Queso Tepeque es un producto de excelente calidad desde el punto de vista de sus principales nutrientes, está elaborado con leche de buena calidad fisicoquímica, tiene una historia y tradición que supera los 300 años. El queso elaborado con leche de SSPi presenta características similares (P>0.05) e incluso superiores en el contenido de grasa (P0.05) atribuibles al SSPi en ninguno de los parámetros evaluados. Finalmente, la calidad sanitaria de la leche y el queso fue deficiente en ambos sistemas, aunque el proceso de maduración atenúa este problema, por lo que el consumo de queso madurado y añejado se recomienda en lugar del queso oreado

Gelatin microparticles aggregates as three-dimensional scaffolding system in cartilage engineering

A three-dimensional (3D) scaffolding system for chondrocytes culture has been produced by agglomeration of cells and gelatin microparticles with a mild centrifuging process. The diameter of the microparticles, around 10 μ, was selected to be in the order of magnitude of the chondrocytes. No gel was used to stabilize the construct that maintained consistency just because of cell and extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion to the substrate. In one series of samples the microparticles were charged with transforming growth factor, TGF-β1. The kinetics of growth factor delivery was assessed. The initial delivery was approximately 48 % of the total amount delivered up to day 14. Chondrocytes that had been previously expanded in monolayer culture, and thus dedifferentiated, adopted in this 3D environment a round morphology, both with presence or absence of growth factor delivery, with production of ECM that intermingles with gelatin particles. The pellet was stable from the first day of culture. Cell viability was assessed by MTS assay, showing higher absorption values in the cell/unloaded gelatin microparticle pellets than in cell pellets up to day 7. Nevertheless the absorption drops in the following culture times. On the contrary the cell viability of cell/TGF-β1 loaded gelatin microparticle pellets was constant during the 21 days of culture. The formation of actin stress fibres in the cytoskeleton and type I collagen expression was significantly reduced in both cell/gelatin microparticle pellets (with and without TGF-β1) with respect to cell pellet controls. Total type II collagen and sulphated glycosaminoglycans quantification show an enhancement of the production of ECM when TGF-β1 is delivered, as expected because this growth factor stimulate the chondrocyte proliferation and improve the functionality of the tissue.JLGR acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Education through project No. MAT2010-21611-C03-01 (including the FEDER financial support). The support of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the CIBER initiative of the Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN) is also acknowledged

HIV Risks and Seroprevalence Among Mexican American Injection Drug Users in California

Latinos in the United States are an ethnically diverse group disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. We describe HIV seroprevalence, HIV risk behaviors and utilization of health services among Mexican American injection drug users (IDUs) in California (n = 286) and compare them to White (n = 830) and African American (n = 314) IDUs. Study participants were recruited from syringe exchange programs (n = 24) in California. HIV seroprevalence among Mexican Americans (0.5%) was dramatically lower than Whites (5%) and African Americans (8%). Mexican Americans reported fewer sex-related risks than Whites and African Americans though injection-related risks remained high. Compared to Whites, Mexican Americans were more likely to participate in drug treatment during a 6 month period (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 2.0) but less likely to receive any health care (AOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8). Exploring cultural and structural factors among Mexican American IDUs may offer new insights into how to maintain low rates of HIV seroprevalence and reduce barriers to health care utilization

Carbon-sensitive pedotransfer functions for plant available water

Currently accepted pedotransfer functions show negligible effect of management-induced changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) on plant available water holding capacity (θAWHC), while some studies show the ability to substantially increase θAWHC through management. The Soil Health Institute\u27s North America Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements measured water content at field capacity using intact soil cores across 124 long-term research sites that contained increases in SOC as a result of management treatments such as reduced tillage and cover cropping. Pedotransfer functions were created for volumetric water content at field capacity (θFC) and permanent wilting point (θPWP). New pedotransfer functions had predictions of θAWHC that were similarly accurate compared with Saxton and Rawls when tested on samples from the National Soil Characterization database. Further, the new pedotransfer functions showed substantial effects of soil calcareousness and SOC on θAWHC. For an increase in SOC of 10 g kg–1 (1%) in noncalcareous soils, an average increase in θAWHC of 3.0 mm 100 mm–1 soil (0.03 m3 m–3) on average across all soil texture classes was found. This SOC related increase in θAWHC is about double previous estimates. Calcareous soils had an increase in θAWHC of 1.2 mm 100 mm–1 soil associated with a 10 g kg–1 increase in SOC, across all soil texture classes. New equations can aid in quantifying benefits of soil management practices that increase SOC and can be used to model the effect of changes in management on drought resilience

Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineralization: A continental scale assessment of reduced tillage

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical disturbance, and soil pH influenced microbial sensitivity to physical disturbance. Furthermore, 28% of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), which were important in modeling Cmin, were enriched under soils managed with minimal physical disturbance. Sequences identified as enriched under minimal disturbance and important for modeling Cmin, were linked to organisms which could produce extracellular polymeric substances and contained metabolic strategies suited for tolerating environmental stressors. Understanding how physical disturbance shapes microbial communities across climates and inherent soil properties and drives changes in Cmin provides the context necessary to evaluate management impacts on standardized measures of soil microbial activity