Aplicación de la metodología diagnostica riesgo-vivienda-salud para el cálculo del riesgo de la vivienda urbana en Paraguay, Cuba y Argentina

En este artículo se explica el desarrollo de una metodología Diagnostica de Estimación del Riesgo de la Vivienda Urbana para la Salud (DRVS), desde una perspectiva holística del Riesgo. También se describe el modelo computacional asociado (RVS) que implementa esta metodología y se describen los resultados de su aplicación en 3 países de Latinoamérica Paraguay, Cuba y Argentina, que fueron elegidos por ser partes de la red de vivienda saludable de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud. El dominio del problema del riesgo de la vivienda urbana se supone complejo y no lineal, y ha sido modelado empleando redes neuronales artificiales que emula una red conceptual de relación de factores sociales, económicos y demográficos que no se ajusta a los modelos clásicos. El cálculo de un índice de riesgo permitiría a las autoridades de salud dirigir más acertadamente los fondos disponibles, en base a una comparación objetiva entre diferentes asentamientos poblacionales. Se exponen los resultados del trabajo de campo, analizando los factores constituyentes y el índice de riesgo final obtenido en los distintos países donde se aplicó la DRVS.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

An investigation into the association of the physical fitness of equestrians and their riding performance: a cross-sectional study

Poor riding performance may be due to medical issues with the horse or a variety of other factors, such as inadequate equipment or deficiencies in training. The physical fitness of the equestrian is one of the most unexplained factors of current research. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the physical fitness of the equestrian and riding performance. 115 equestrians were assessed for physical fitness and riding performance. Seven components of physical fitness (balance, endurance, flexibility, reaction, speed, strength, symmetry) were measured by a physiotherapist using equestrian-specific tests. Based on a video-recorded riding test, individual riding performance was rated by two equestrian judges. The riding test included the horse and rider performing a walk, sitting trot, rising trot and canter in both directions. A linear model for riding performance, including the domains of physical fitness and potential confounders (body-mass-index, riding experience, hours of riding per week, and test-motivation), was fitted to the data. Inter-rater reliability of the judges was investigated by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Endurance, reaction and strength were positively associated with riding performance, whereas flexibility had a negative association. The final model could explain 16.7% of the variance in riding performance. The effects of endurance and strength were significant (P<0.05), but not that of reaction. No association with riding performance was found for the components of balance, speed and symmetry. The inter-rater reliability of judges was confirmed to be ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ (ICC=0.9, 95% confidence interval: 0.86-0.93). Findings suggest that physical fitness is positively associated with riding performance. Fitness-training for equestrians should be included in current training concepts. Future research should investigate whether similar associations exist for junior and elite athletes

EU integration as uneven and combined development

International audienceThis paper documents the EU integration process using the uneven and combined development framework. Because capitalist social relations are territorially defined and politically built, unevenness between countries is not unconnected with that within countries and both involve antagonism between capital and labor. This is manifest in the 'state form' of the EU and its anti-democratic tendencies: public institutions at the community level play a major role in reinforcing unevenness in favour of leading countries, in both the productive and financial spheres