El turismo y el alivio de la pobreza: un enfoque desde el prisma de los destinos emergentes en el marco de la Agenda 2030

Tourism constitutes a key sector for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals within the framework of Agenda 2030. The benefits brought about by this activity in traditional destinations are unquestionable. Nevertheless, there are no guarantees from the perspective of emerging destinations. The purpose of this research is to analyze the potential of tourism in emerging destinations and its effects on socioeconomic development within the framework of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and the Agenda 2030. To do this, several hypotheses have been formulated to be tested in 152 emerging destinations. These include 43 out of 48 Less Developed Countries (LDCs) that are characterized by having a tourism activity that represents one of their main sources of exports. Pearson´s correlation coefficient has been used to validate the hypotheses. The methodology used is based on a four-dimensional model considering: 1) poverty conditions and territorial inequalities; 2) the degree of tourism development; 3) the commitment of public institutions to tourism and 4) the direct access of the local population to the benefits brought about by tourism. The findings call into question whether tourism development is the cause of the development of a destination or, on the contrary, contributes to its underdevelopment.El turismo es señalado como un sector clave para la consecución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS). Los beneficios que reporta esta actividad en los destinos tradicionales son incuestionables. No obstante, desde el prisma de los destinos emergentes, las garantías no están aseguradas. El propósito principal de este trabajo es analizar la potencialidad del turismo en los destinos emergentes y sus efectos en el desarrollo socioeconómico, de cara a la Agenda 2030. Se han formulado diversas hipótesis para ser contrastadas en 152 destinos emergentes, buscando un acercamiento a la realidad de estos países desde el turismo y su contribución al desarrollo socioeconómico de la población. Se incluyen 43 de los 48 Países Menos Adelantados (PMA), caracterizados por tener el turismo como una de sus principales fuentes de exportación. La metodología utilizada se basa en un análisis cuatridimensional, a partir de variables macroeconómicas que consideran: 1) las condiciones de pobreza y desigualdad del territorio; 2) el nivel de desarrollo turístico; 3) el compromiso de las administraciones públicas con el turismo y 4) el acceso directo por parte de la población hacia los beneficios que reporta el turismo en el territorio. El método de contraste seguido para validar las hipótesis iniciales ha sido a través del coeficiente de correlación de Pearson. Los resultados de este trabajo ponen en entredicho si el desarrollo turístico es la causa del desarrollo en un destino, o, por el contrario, el desencadenante de su subdesarrollo

Validation of Vegard’s Law for Lattice Matching InxAl1-xN to GaN & The MOCVD Growth of AlxGa1-xN/AlN for Deep UV LEDs

The first section of this thesis presents an experimental investigation for validating Vegard’s Law for InxAl1-xN on GaN. Vegard’s law is useful for correlating materials composition and band gap to the a-lattice parameter, however it is primarily utilized for materials synthesized from powders and deviations for InAlN have been reported in the literature. Coherent InxAl1-xN (x = 0.15 to x = 0.28) films were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on GaN templates to investigate if the films obey Vegard’s Law by comparing the film stress-thickness product from wafer curvature before and after InxAl1-xN deposition. The In composition and film thickness were verified using atom probe tomography and high resolution x-ray diffraction, respectively. Ex-situ curvature measurements were performed to analyze the curvature before and after the InxAl1-xN deposition. At ~In0.18Al0.82N, no change in curvature was observed following InAlN deposition; confirming that the films obey Vegard’s law and that ~In0.18Al0.82N is lattice matched to GaN. The relaxed a0- and c0- lattice parameters of InxAl1-xN were experimentally determined and are in agreement with lattice parameters predicted by Vegard’s law.The second section of this thesis will present the growth and characterization of AlGaN/AlN for deep UV LEDs. Growth studies on AlN buffer and n-AlGaN will be discussed. First, we explore the dependence of the interlayer growth temperature on the AlN crystal quality, defect density, and surface morphology. The crystal quality was characterized using omega rocking curve scans and the threading dislocation density was determined by plan view transmission electron microscopy. The growth resulted in a threading dislocation density (TDD) of 7 x 108 cm-2, indicating a significant reduction in the dislocation density of AlN in comparison to direct growth of AlN on SiC (~1010-1011 cm-2). Atomic force microscopy images demonstrate a clear step-terrace morphology that is consistent with step flow growth at high temperature. Reducing the interlayer growth temperature increases the TD inclination and thus enhances TD-TD interactions. The TDD is decreased via fusion and annihilation reactions. Following that, we will discuss the growth studies conducted for growing AlGaN. First we will discuss finding the optimal conditions for growing smooth UID-AlGaN for a variety of alloy compositions as the UV LED will need AlGaN with Al% between 40-65%. Then the growth and electrical characterization of n-AlGaN will be discussed. After processing, the electron mobility, resistivity, and carrier concentration of n-Al0.43Ga0.57N was 96 cm2/Vs, 15 mΩ-cm, and 4 x 1018 cm-3, respectively

Study of impact of reduced Sox4 expression levels in homeostasis, cancer and ageing

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 12-05-2014Sox4 belongs to the SoxC class of transcription factors (encompassing Sox4, Sox11 and Sox12) within the Sry-related HMG box-containing superfamily of proteins. Sox4 expression peaks during embryonic development in neural crest and mesenchyme, where it regulates the differentiation and survival of mesenchymal and neural progenitors. Sox4 expression has also been found in thymus, spleen, developing pancreas and hair follicles. During embryogenesis, Sox4 has been implicated in a plethora of processes including the maturation of B and T lymphocytes, the modulation of myeloid differentiation, pancreatic islet development, osteoblast development and proper cardiac cushion formation. Sox4-/- mice display embryonic lethality at E14.5, mainly due to profound cardiac malformations, concomitant with defective haematopoiesis and pancreatic islet formation defects. In adults, the Sox4 is restricted to few tissues such as haematopoietic compartment, female reproductive system, intestinal crypts, pancreatic islets and activated hair follicles. These constrictions suggest a tight regulation to ensure proper tissue homeostasis; indeed, deregulated Sox4 expression is frequently associated to malignant cellular transformation. Sox4 can act as a potent oncogene that promotes the survival of transformed cells and favours anchorage-independent cell growth and motility. High expression of Sox4 is associated with leukemogenesis, inhibition of apoptosis and increased cell viability. Moreover, increased Sox4 expression is often linked to the acquisition of an invasive phenotype by promoting the initiation of the EMT transcriptional program, and therefore is often associated to metastatic colonization of distant tissues. To study the role of Sox4 in the adult organism, we first generated mice with reduced whole-body Sox4 expression. These mice display a plethora of age-related degenerative disorders and reduced spontaneous cancer incidence, indicating a role for this protein in maintaining adult tissue homeostasis and in tumour growth. To specifically address a role for Sox4 in adult stem cells, we conditionally deleted Sox4 (Sox4cKO) in stratified epithelia. Sox4cKO mice show increased skin stem cell quiescence and DNA damage accumulation, accompanied by resistance to chemical carcinogenesis. These phenotypes correlate with downregulation of cell cycle, DNA repair and skin stem cell differentiation genes. Altogether, our findings highlight the importance of Sox4 in adult tissue homeostasis and cancerLa expresión de Sox4 es máxima durante el desarrollo embrionario en la cresta neural y el mesénquima, donde regula la diferenciación y desarrollo de precursores neuronales y mesenquimales. Así mismo, también se ha detectado expresión de Sox4 en otros tejidos como timo, bazo, páncreas y folículos pilosos. Durante la embriogénesis, Sox4 está implicado en un vasto panel de procesos que incluyen maduración de linfocitos B y T, modulación de la diferenciación mieloide, desarrollo de islotes pancreáticos y osteoblastos, y adecuada formación del canal auriculoventricular. Ratones deficientes en la expresión de Sox4 presentan letalidad embrionaria debido a profundas malformaciones cardíacas, que cursan con defectos en hematopoyesis y en la formación de islotes pancreáticos. En adultos la expresión de Sox4 se restringe a unos pocos tejidos como la médula ósea, sistema reproductivo femenino, criptas intestinales, islotes pancreáticos y folículos pilosos activados. Dichas constricciones son sugestivas de una fuerte regulación que asegure una adecuada homeostasis tisular; de hecho, la desregulación de la expresión de Sox4 en adultos se encuentra asociada a transformación celular. Sox4 puede actuar como un potente oncogén que promueve la supervivencia de células transformadas y favorece el crecimiento independiente de anclaje a substrato. La expresión elevada de Sox4 está estrechamente asociada a leukemogenesis, inhibición de la apoptosis y aumento de la viabilidad celular. Además, el aumento de la expresión de Sox4 se asocia frecuentemente a la adquisición de un fenotipo invasivo dado a que es capaz de promover el programa transcripcional asociado a la EMT, y por lo tanto a menudo se asocial a la colonización metastática de tejidos distantes. Para estudiar Sox4 en adultos, hemos generado ratones con niveles reducidos de Sox4 en todo el organismo. Dichos ratones muestran un panel de enfermedades asociadas al envejecimiento y resistencia frente al cáncer espontáneo, indicando un papel para Sox4 en el mantenimiento de la homeostasis tisular y en tumorogénesis. Para estudiar en detalle el papel de Sox4 en células madre adultas, hemos delecionado Sox4 de forma condicional en epitelio estratificado (ratones Sox4cKO). Estos ratones muestran mayor quiescencia en las células madre de la piel junto a una mayor acumulación de daño en el DNA y resistencia a carcinogénesis química. Dichos fenotipos correlacionan con una regulación negativa de genes implicados en ciclo celular, reparación de daño en el DNA y diferenciación de células madre de la piel. Estos resultados resaltan la importancia de Sox4 en la homeostasis tisular adulta y cáncer

Tourism specialization in emerging Latin American destinations: exploring the algorithm for long-lived and inclusive socio-economic development

El notorio crecimiento del turismo en los destinos emergentes genera controversia con respecto a los beneficios socioeconómicos que reporta a la población. Los objetivos de este trabajo son contrastar la capacidad del fenómeno turístico para convertirse en un conductor del desarrollo socioeconómico en los destinos emergentes latinoamericanos y analizar el efecto de la especialización turística sobre las condiciones de vida de la población. Para ello, se ha estimado un modelo econométrico con datos de panel, a partir de una muestra de 20 destinos emergentes entre los años 2005 y 2015. Los resultados muestran que, tanto la especialización turística, como la no turística, tienen un resultado directo y significativo sobre las condiciones de desarrollo socioeconómico de los destinos latinoamericanos, lo que sugiere la conveniencia de diseñar fórmulas de desarrollo socioeconómico basadas en una integración productiva con otros sectores complementarios intensivos en conocimiento y capital. Las aportaciones de este trabajo ofrecen nuevas evidencias empíricas que prueban la pertinencia de las economías latinoamericanas de apostar por el turismo como una actividad dinamizadora de sus economías para generar empleo y riqueza, que además puede servir para dinamizar y apostar por otros sectores complementarios.The notable growth of tourism in emerging destinations generates controversy regarding the socioeconomic benefits it brings to the population. The objectives of this work are to contrast the capacity of the tourist phenomenon to become a driver of socioeconomic development in emerging Latin American destinations and to analyze the effect of tourism specialization on the living conditions of the population. For this, an econometric model with panel data has been estimated, based on a sample of 20 emerging destinations between 2005 and 2015. The results show that both tourism and non-tourism specialization have a direct and significant on the conditions of socioeconomic development of Latin American destinations, suggesting the convenience of designing formulas for socioeconomic development based on a productive integration with other complementary sectors intensive in knowledge and capital. The contributions of this work offer new empirical evidence that proves the relevance of Latin American economies to bet on tourism as a dynamic activity of their economies to generate employment and wealth, which can also serve to boost and bet on other complementary sectors

Caveolin-1 deficiency induces a MEK-ERK1/2-Snail-1-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrosis during peritoneal dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a form of renal replacement therapy whose repeated use can alter dialytic function through induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and fibrosis, eventually leading to PD discontinuation. The peritoneum from Cav1-/- mice showed increased EMT, thickness and fibrosis. Exposure of Cav1-/- mice to PD fluids further increased peritoneal membrane thickness, altered permeability and increased the number of FSP-1/cytokeratin-positive cells invading the sub-mesothelial stroma. High-throughput quantitative proteomics revealed increased abundance of collagens, FN and laminin, as well as proteins related to TGF- activity in matrices derived from Cav1-/- cells. Lack of Cav1 was associated with hyperactivation of a MEK-ERK1/2-Snail-1 pathway that regulated the Smad2-3/Smad1-5-8 balance. Pharmacological blockade of MEK rescued E-cadherin and ZO-1 inter-cellular junction localization, reduced fibrosis and restored peritoneal function in Cav1-/- mice. Moreover, treatment of human PD-patient-derived MCs with drugs increasing Cav1 levels, as well as ectopic Cav1 expression, induced reacquisition of epithelial features. This study demonstrates a pivotal role of Cav1 in the balance of epithelial versus mesenchymal state and suggests targets for the prevention of fibrosis during PD

Ca and Mg Concentrations in Spices and Growth of Commonly Sporulated and Non-Sporulated Food-Borne Microorganisms According to Marketing Systems

Ca and Mg levels were determined in five spices according to marketing system (in bulk or commercialized in glass or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers) and correlated with microbial growth of commonly sporulated (Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus) and nonsporulated (Listeria monocytogenes, psychrophilic and mesophilic bacteria, and yeasts and molds) food-borne pathogens present in them, when they were previously added to the microbial culture media. The basil had the highest mean Ca and Mg level and showed the highest microbial growth in the food-borne pathogenic microorganisms studied (p < 0.001). For Ca, the lowest levels were measured in cloves (p < 0.001), which had the lowest capacity for microbial contamination. Ca and Mg contents in spices correlated linear and positively (p < 0.05). Ca concentrations weakly and positively correlated (p < 0.05) with microbial counts for almost all studied microorganisms, and Mg levels for B. cereus, C. perfringens, and mesophilic bacteria (p < 0.05), possibly acting as a growing factor for some sporulated and non-sporulated foodborne pathogens. These relationships are especially significant when PET vs. glass was used as a packaging material for spices

Factores de no adherencia al tratamiento farmacológico en pacientes diabéticos e hipertensos. Chimbote, 2016

Con el objetivo de determinar los factores que alteran el nivel de adherencia al tratamiento farmacológico en pacientes diabéticos e hipertensos atendidos en el Policlínico "Víctor Panta Rodríguez" Es Salud ? Chimbote, 2016, se realizó un estudio descriptivo, transversal y analítico. Se entrevistó a 89 pacientes con diabetes II y pacientes con hipertensión y diabetes II. Se aplicó el test de Morisky ? Green, test de Batalla modificado, test de Hermes y un test de actitud ante el tratamiento y los controles médicos. Resultados: predominio de paciente entre 61 y 80 años. Grado de instrucción mayoritario: secundaria (38%) y superior (43%). 63% con comorbilidad. 66% ?no cumplidores? según test de Morinsky ? Green. ?Conocen su enfermedad? el 63% (test de Batalla). 99% desconocen algunos aspectos de la medicación (test de Hermes modificado). 24% creen que mejoraran completamente, 51% que habrá poca mejoría. 40% piensan que los controles son muy espaciados y 28% sienten maltrato en los controles por los médicos. Conclusiones: existen múltiples determinantes que influyen en la adherencia al tratamiento farmacológico: edad, comorbilidad, nivel de conocimiento de la enfermedad y de la medicación; trato adecuado al paciente en sus controles.Trabajo de investigació

Caveolin-1 deficiency induces a MEK-ERK1/2-Snail-1-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrosis during peritoneal dialysis

Peer reviewe

Relationship between sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics and severity of COVID-19 in pediatric patients

COVID-19 affects children less seriously than adults; however, severe cases and deaths are documented. This study objective is to determine socio-demographic, clinical and laboratory indicators associated with severe pediatric COVID-19 and mortality at hospital entrance. A multicenter, retrospective, cross-sectional study was performed in 13 tertiary hospitals in Bolivia. Clinical records were collected retrospectively from patients less than 18 years of age and positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. All variables were measured at hospital entrance; outcomes of interest were ICU admission and death. A score for disease severity was developed using a logistic regression model. 209 patients were included in the analysis. By the end of the study, 43 (20.6%) of children were admitted to the Intensive care unit (ICU), and 17 (8.1%) died. Five indicators were independently predictive of COVID-19 severity: age below 10 years OR: 3.3 (CI95%: 1.1–10.4), days with symptoms to medical care OR: 2.8 (CI95%: 1.2–6.5), breathing difficulty OR: 3.4 (CI95%: 1.4–8.2), vomiting OR: 3.3 (CI95%: 1.4–7.4), cutaneous lesions OR: 5.6 (CI95%: 1.9–16.6). Presence of three or more of these risk factors at hospital entrance predicted severe disease in COVID-19 positive children. Age, presence of underlying illness, male sex, breathing difficulty, and dehydration were predictive of death in COVID-19 children. Our study identifies several predictors of severe pediatric COVID-19 and death. Incorporating these predictors, we developed a tool that clinicians can use to identify children at high risk of severe COVID-19 in limited-resource settings