Implications of the agreements between China and Panama

Studying the implications of the bilateral agreements between the Republic of Panama and the People’s Republic of China of 2017 allows us to understand the economic and political effects of Chinese diplomacy on international cooperation, economic development, and soft power under the principles of trust and mutual benefit. The objective is to theorise the possible risks of the various aspects of these agreements; expand or modify their terms, ideally, if desirable; promote all sectors’ participation; and collect scientific evidence to make the agreements easier for decision-makers to evaluate. Maintaining complex, interdependent relationships with different spheres of power requires prioritising national interests and adapting them to the new global reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires adjusting agreements on grounds other than the Belt and Road’s specific objectives

The 'two Chinas' and Panama: an historical review of Panamanian relations with the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, 1903–2017

This paper offers a historical overview of Panama’s ties with the “two Chinas”, focusing initially on Asian migration to the Isthmus of Panama before the territory became part of New Granada (Colombia). This migration was the result of Chinese labourers being recruited to work for the Panama railway construction company from 1850-1855 and, a few decades later, for construction of the French Canal and the Panama Canal. This will be followed by an examination of the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) respective policies towards Panama. In addition, this paper analyses the new social, political, and economic scenarios resulting from Panama’s decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in June 2017. Panama’s engagement with China, particularly its links with China’s signature Belt and Road Initiative presents opportunities and challenges for the Central American country as it balances these with its national priorities

The diplomatic context between China and Panama and their agreements

n 2017, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela established official ties with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), deepening such diplomacy without disclosing why, exactly, his government had broken its long-standing relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) in favor of those with the PRC, what commitments his government had made to the PRC, and how he planned to handle the PRC’s strategic interests. China’s objectives, however, are clear. Beijing knows the strategic value of relations with Panama, particularly through its multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Panamanian side, meanwhile, negotiated hastily in a process without consultation, leaving their country in a lurch. Accordingly, Panamanian now need to do the work—to evaluate Panama-PRC agreements, involve all relevant sectors, and move forward according to the country’s best interests. This study analyzes Chinese diplomacy with a focus on Latin America, as well as the content of the PRC’s 47 agreements with Panama, ultimately offering a path forward for Panama

Los Derechos de las personas LGBTIQ+, agenda de género y las políticas de igualdad.

In Central America, human rights instruments, public policies and plans for gender equality have been approved, but discrimination and women’s demand for respect for their human rights persist, feminist social movements and LGBTIQ + people are added, who They are excluded from these policies. The study, through the analysis of the international regulatory frameworks, the commitments acquired by the States, and the equality policies of the region, seeks the objective of identifying their rights, the challenges in their recognition, the policies of equality and the inclusion of the human rights of the LGBTIQ + population, which shows that states are not responding to the demands of the gender agenda.En Centroamérica se han aprobado instrumentos de derechos humanos, políticas públicas y planes para la igualdad de género, pero persiste la discriminación y a la demanda de las mujeres por el respeto de sus derechos humanos, se suman los movimientos sociales feministas y las personas LGBTIQ+, que son excluidos de estas políticas. El estudio a través del análisis de los marcos normativos internacionales, los compromisos adquiridos por los Estados, y las políticas de igualdad de la región, busca el objetivo de identificar sus derechos, los retos en su reconocimiento, las políticas de igualdad y la inclusión de los derechos humanos de la población LGBTIQ+, que evidencia que los Estados no están dando respuestas a las demandas de la agenda de género

Autoestima, motivación y resiliencia en escuelas panameñas con puntajes diferenciados en la Prueba TERCE

Education in recent decades has moved from a traditional context to a context reflective of individual competence, in order to create healthy and inclusive schools that develop professional-social-personal skills. However, it has focused on quantitative aspects, leaving aside other factors that can influence performance, such as motivation, self-esteem, and resilience. The main objective of this study is to analyze the factors involved in academic performance, such as self-esteem, motivation and school resilience in the results obtained in the TERCE test. The sample consists of 568 students aged 10-12 years and 11 teachers from (8) schools of the Republic of Panama chosen from the arithmetic mean (best performance = 5; low performance = 3, in TERCE). The School Self-Esteem Test, the Questionnaire to Assess School Motivation, School Resilience Scale and Test Expectations and Motivational Attitudes of Teachers Test have been used. This study has found that the self-esteem variable correlates with gender, academic performance and school type (P <0.05); it is also affected by the geographical location of students, which also the case for the motivation variable (P <0.05). Children from hard-to-reach schools have an average level of resilience associated with positive levels in the identity-self-esteem dimension. In addition, teachers perceive that school performance is influenced by external factors, giving more importance to grades. In order to learn, cognitive skills, knowledge and strategies are important, which require intention and motivation to be gained.La educación en las últimas décadas se ha trasformado de un contexto tradicional a uno por competencia, para crear escuelas saludables e inclusivas con el fin de desarrollar las habilidades profesionales-sociales-personales. Sin embargo, se ha centrado en el contexto cuantitativo, dejando de un lado otros factores que pueden incidir en el rendimiento, como la motivación, autoestima, y resiliencia. El objetivo central fue analizar los factores que intervienen en el rendimiento académico como: la autoestima, motivación y resiliencia escolar en los resultados obtenidos en la prueba TERCE. La muestra fueron 568 alumnos de 10-12 años y 11 docentes de (8) escuelas de la República de Panamá escogidas a partir de la media aritmética (mejor rendimiento=5; bajo rendimiento=3, en el TERCE). Se utilizó el Test de Autoestima escolar, Cuestionario para Valorar la motivación escolar, Escala de Resiliencia Escolar y Test Expectativas y actitudes motivacionales del profesorado. En este estudio se encontró que la variable Autoestima se correlaciona con el factor género, rendimiento académico, tipo de escuela (P<0.05), sin embargo, es afectada por la ubicación geográfica de donde viven los estudiantes, fenómeno que se repite en la motivación (P<0.05). Los niños de las escuelas de difícil acceso presentan un nivel de Resiliencia (Media) asociado a niveles positivos en la dimensión identidad-autoestima. Además, los docentes tienen la percepción que el rendimiento escolar está influenciado por factores externos, dando mayor importancia a las calificaciones. Para aprender son importantes las capacidades, conocimientos y estrategias cognitivas, requiriendo de la intención y motivación suficiente para lograrlo

Nuevas relaciones diplomáticas entre Panamá y China: implicaciones geopolíticas y socioeconómicas

La dinámica cambiante de las relaciones de Panamá con la República Popular China ha cautivado la atención del mundo desde el 13 de junio de 2017, cuando el presidente Juan Carlos Varela anunció un cambio de reconocimiento diplomático a Beijing. El revuelo que causó en los titulares de todo el mundo provocó una respuesta apresurada por parte de Estados Unidos, tomada con la guardia baja, centrada en las fulminaciones admonitorias del Secretario de Estado estadounidense, Mike Pompeo, de que el enredo financiero con China corría el riesgo de hundir a Panamá en una trampa de deuda. La subsiguiente prisa de Panamá por negociar un Tratado de Libre Comercio con China, junto con el compromiso de Beijing de construir un ferrocarril de alta velocidad en todo el país y otros proyectos de infraestructura, demostró ser el punto culminante de la cooperación bajo Varela. Las nuevas elecciones de mayo de 2019 trajeron un nuevo liderazgo bajo el presidente Laurentino Cortizo Cohen y, con eso, una reconsideración del abrazo total de Panamá a China. Con el inicio de la guerra comercial entre Estados Unidos y China y las conversaciones sobre una “nueva Guerra Fría", lo que está en juego para Panamá ha aumentado de manera constante. Esta publicación ha sido realizada con el apoyo financiero de la Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT), Proyecto: SENACYT-FID-18-034- Nuevas relaciones diplomáticas entre Panamá y China: implicaciones geopolíticas y socioeconómicas. Ejecutado por la Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua (USMA) en colaboración con The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE-IDEAS) y (LSE-Global South-Unit). Las opiniones y contenidos de esta publicación son de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores, y no reflejan necesariamente la opinión de las entidades y organizaciones del Proyecto. Reservados todos los derechos. Prohibida la reproducción total o parcial de esta obra por cualquier medio, sin autorización escrita

Reactive transport models of the geochemical interactions at the iron/bentonite interface in laboratory corrosion tests

Carbon steel and compacted bentonite have been proposed as candidate materials for the overpack and buffer, respectively, of the multi-barrier system of a geological high-level radioactive waste repository. Carbon steel corrosion may impair bentonite properties. The interactions of corrosion products and bentonite are analyzed with laboratory corrosion tests. Here coupled thermo-hydro-chemical-mechanical (THCM) models of two types of heating and hydration tests performed on compacted bentonite in contact with Fe powder are presented to study the iron-bentonite interactions at representative repository conditions. Tests on small cells (SC) were performed under unsaturated non-isothermal conditions in 25 mm long columns containing 21 mm of bentonite and 4 mm of Fe powder. Tests on medium-size cells (FB) were performed under unsaturated non-isothermal conditions in 99.8 mm long columns containing 86.8 mm of bentonite and 13 mm of Fe powder. Model results for the SC tests showed that magnetite and Fe(OH)2(s) were the main corrosion products which compete for Fe2+ precipitation. Computed corrosion products precipitate mainly in the Fe powder, penetrate a few mm into the bentonite and reproduce the measured iron weight data. Model results of the FB tests showed that magnetite precipitates throughout the Fe powder interface and reproduce the main trends of the corrosion products. Model results of these corrosion tests will be of great relevance for the performance assessment of engineered barriers of radioactive waste repositoriesThe research leading to these results was funded by ENRESA within the Work Package ACED of EURAD (European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management of the European Union, grant agreement nº 847593), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-109544RB-I00) and the Galician Regional Government (Grant ED431C2021/54). The comments and corrections of the special editor and the two anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciate

Gist sincrónico con adenomioma gástrico: Reporte de caso y revisión de la literatura

Background: The collision of two tumors of different cell lines in the same organ is infrequent; even though, the associations described in the literature, the finding of synchronous GIST with adenomyoma draws even more attention due to its different cellular origins. Case report: We present the case of a 57-year-old female patient who underwent double wedge resection surgery and various examinations, including pathology. Conclusion: The presence of synchronous tumors, gastric GIST and gastric adenomyoma is demonstrated, despite the infrequency of this finding.Introducción: La colisión de dos tumores de diferente estirpe celular en un mismo órgano es infrecuente; a pesar de las asociaciones descritas en la literatura, el hallazgo de GIST con adenomioma en sincronismo, llama aún más la atención debido a sus distintos orígenes celulares. Reporte de caso: Presentamos el caso de una paciente mujer de 57 años de edad, quien es sometida a cirugía de resección doble en cuña, y distintos exámenes incluido el anátomo-patológico. Conclusión: Se demuestra la presencia de tumores sincrónicos, GIST gástrico y adenomioma gástrico, a pesar de la infrecuencia de este hallazgo

Preparación de un material híbrido adsorbente

El objetivo de esta investigación es desarrollar un material híbrido para ser usado, en un futuro, como adsorbente y/o catalizador de compuestos orgánicos volátiles (COV´s), dicho material está conformado por una zeolita natural, que es un sustrato de estructura cristalina cuyas propiedades son ampliamente utilizadas en el tratamiento de COV’s y, por otra parte, por una estructura metal orgánica (MOF) compuesta de cerio, que también es sabido tiene excelentes propiedades como adsorbente; se busca lograr un efecto sinérgico entre ambos materiales, y que el material híbrido así conformado funcione primeramente como adsorbente y además como un catalizador con propiedades redox, que permita la oxidación de los COV´s en sustancias no tóxicas. Por lo que en esta propuesta se propone preparar un material híbrido eficiente y de bajo costo a partir el uso de una MOF con Ce y una zeolita natural, para una completa y efectiva oxidación de COV´s.The objective of this research is to develop a hybrid material to be used, in the future, as an adsorbent and/or catalyst of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), said material is formed by a natural zeolite, which is a substrate of crystalline structure whose properties are widely used in the treatment of VOC’s and, on the other hand, by an organic metal structure (MOF) composed of cerium, which is also known to have excellent adsorbent properties. We want to achieve a synergistic effect between both materials, and that the hybrid material thus formed functions primarily as an adsorbent and also as a catalyst with redox properties, which allows the oxidation of VOC’s into non-toxic substances. So in this proposal it is proposed to prepare an efficient and low-cost hybrid material from the use of a MOF with Ce and a natural zeolite, for a complete and effective oxidation of VOC’s