Efectos de las condiciones socioeconómicas sobre la pobreza en Cereté

The purpose of this research is to determine the explanatory factors of monetary poverty in the Municipality of Cereté in the year 2015 through the estimation of a probabilistic Probit model, using information collected through a survey, similar to that of quality of life used by the DANE, applied to 250 households in that territory at the end of the year 2015. For the corresponding regression analysis, the dependent variable poor household is taken, which in the case of this work is a dichotomous one, and the socioeconomic and head of household characteristics are taken as independent variables. The results prove that the greatest probabilities of a household being in a condition of poverty are those with a high number of members and where the head of the household has a low level of education. Likewise, the risk of poverty increases for rural households in relation to those located in the municipal capital, as well as for heads of household who work on their own account and motorcycle taxi drivers. It is therefore recommended that policies be implemented to expand the coverage of higher education, encourage formal work and moderate the size of the household.La presente investigación tiene por objeto determinar los factores explicativos de la pobreza monetaria en el Municipio de Cereté en el año 2015 a través de la estimación de un modelo probabilístico Probit, utilizando información recabada mediante una encuesta, similar a la de calidad de vida utilizada por el DANE, aplicada a 250 hogares en ese territorio a finales del año 2015. Para el análisis de regresión correspondiente se toma como variable dependiente hogar pobre, que para el caso de este trabajo es dicótoma, y como variables independientes las características socioeconómicas y del jefe del hogar. Los resultados comprueban que las mayores probabilidades de que un hogar se encuentre en condición de pobreza, la tienen aquellos con altos números de miembros integrantes y en donde el jefe del hogar cuenta con un bajo nivel educativo. Igualmente, el riesgo de pobreza aumenta para los hogares rurales con relación a los ubicados en la cabecera municipal; así como para los jefes de hogar que laboran por cuenta propia y los mototaxistas. Se recomienda por tanto aplicar políticas encaminadas a ampliar la cobertura de educación superior, fomentar el trabajo formal y moderar el tamaño del hogar. &nbsp

Multiphoton processes via conditional measurements in the two-field interaction

In this contribution, we show that the use of conditional measurements in the resonant interaction of two quantized electromagnetic fields gives rise to nonclassical multiphoton processes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this phenomenon may enable a robust integrated-optics protocol to engineer quantum states containing a high number of photons, thus making it a potentially appealing platform for exploring mesoscopic quantum phenomena.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Process for decision making in the phase definition of the Six Sigma methodology

Seis sigma es una metodología enfocada en la minimización de las variaciones de los procesos de las organizaciones, considerada como una métrica, una meta y una  la cual incluye un conjunto de herramientas a utilizar en cada una de las 5 fases que la constituyen, sin embargo, en nuestro conocimiento no existe una guía clara para el uso de tales herramientas ante situaciones específicas de la metodología, por lo anterior, el presente trabajo propone una metodología específica para la fase de definición de seis sigma, considerando las herramientas preestablecidas para esta fase, los resultados demuestran la utilidad de contar con una metodología para la fase de Definición, al contar con un instrumento de apoyo para seleccionar a las herramientas más apropiadas en la definición del proyecto que permita identificar las necesidades prioritarias del cliente y convertirá en especificaciones técnicas del producto. Adicionalmente, se incluye una aplicación de la metodología propuesta a una empresa del sector metal mecánico, la cual define el proyecto Seis Sigma siguiendo los pasos propuestos.Six Sigma is a methodology focused on the minimization of the variations of the processes of the organizations, considered as a metric, a goal and one which includes a set of tools to be used in each of the 5 phases that constitute it, however,  to our knowledge there is no clear guide for the use of such tools in specific situations of the methodology, therefore, the present work proposes a specific methodology for the definition phase of six sigma, considering the pre-established tools for this phase. The results show the usefulness of having a methodology for the definition phase, by having a support instrument to select the most appropriate tools in the definition of the project that allow identifying the priority needs of the client and destroying the technical specifications of the product. Additionally, an application of the proposed methodology to a company in the metal-mechanic sector is included, which defines the Six Sigma project following the proposed steps

Manganese Inhalation as a Parkinson Disease Model

The present study examines the effects of divalent and trivalent Manganese (Mn2+/Mn3+) mixture inhalation on mice to obtain a novel animal model of Parkinson disease (PD) inducing bilateral and progressive dopaminergic cell death, correlate those alterations with motor disturbances, and determine whether L-DOPA treatment improves the behavior, to ensure that the alterations are of dopaminergic origin. CD-1 male mice inhaled a mixture of Manganese chloride and Manganese acetate, one hour twice a week for five months. Before Mn exposure, animals were trained to perform motor function tests and were evaluated each week after the exposure. By the end of Mn exposure, 10 mice were orally treated with 7.5 mg/kg L-DOPA. After 5 months of Mn mixture inhalation, striatal dopamine content decreased 71%, the SNc showed important reduction in the number of TH-immunopositive neurons, mice developed akinesia, postural instability, and action tremor; these motor alterations were reverted with L-DOPA treatment. Our data provide evidence that Mn2+/Mn3+ mixture inhalation produces similar morphological, neurochemical, and behavioral alterations to those observed in PD providing a useful experimental model for the study of this neurodegenerative disease

Effect of Chronic L-Dopa or Melatonin Treatments after Dopamine Deafferentation in Rats: Dyskinesia, Motor Performance, and Cytological Analysis

The present study examines the ability of melatonin to protect striatal dopaminergic loss induced by 6-OHDA in a rat model of Parkinson's disease, comparing the results with L-DOPA-treated rats. The drugs were administered orally daily for a month, their therapeutic or dyskinetic effects were assessed by means of abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) and stepping ability. At the cellular level, the response was evaluated using tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity and striatal ultrastructural changes to compare between L-DOPA-induced AIMs and Melatonin-treated rats. Our findings demonstrated that chronic oral administration of Melatonin improved the alterations caused by the neurotoxin 6-OHDA. Melatonin-treated animals perform better in the motor tasks and had no dyskinetic alterations compared to L-DOPA-treated group. At the cellular level, we found that Melatonin-treated rats showed more TH-positive neurons and their striatal ultrastructure was well preserved. Thus, Melatonin is a useful treatment to delay the cellular and behavioral alterations observed in Parkinson's disease

Manganese Inhalation Induces Dopaminergic Cell Loss: Relevance to Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) experimental models are crucial in the assessment of possible therapies. Nevertheless, even though PD was one of the first neurodegenerative conditions to be modeled, there are limitations such as spontaneous recovery; lack of bilateral damage, which is a PD characteristic; animal intensive care after neurotoxin administration; and ultrastructural and biochemical nonspecific alterations but mostly the neurodegenerative time course observed in humans. In this chapter, we investigated the effects of divalent and trivalent manganese inhalation on rats and mice to obtain a novel PD animal model inducing bilateral and progressive dopaminergic cell death. We found that after 5 or 6 months of inhalation, there was more than 70% decrease in the number of TH-immunopositive neurons, and these alterations are correlated with an evident motor performance deficits manifested as akinesia, postural instability, and action tremor. More interesting is the fact that these alterations were reverted with l-DOPA treatment, implying that the motor alterations are associated with nigrostriatal dopaminergic innervation, postulating new light for the understanding of manganese neurotoxicity as an appropriate PD experimental model. Our results are contributing to the development of a suitable PD animal model, reproducible, sensitive, time-efficient, and readily applicable behavioral tests

Differences Between Intact and Ovariectomized Hemiparkinsonian Rats in Response to L-DOPA, Melatonin, and L-DOPA/Melatonin Coadministration on Motor Behavior and Cytological Alterations

Parkinson?s disease (PD) higher incidence has been observed in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women, suggesting estrogen neuroprotective effect. L-DOPA (LD) chronic treatment causes dyskinesia; evidences indicate that LD increases the preexisting oxidative stress condition. This study determines melatonin ability, alone or in combination with LD (LD/Mel) to protect dopaminergic loss induced by 6-OHDA in a rat PD model in ovariectomized (OVX) and intact (with ovaries (W/OV)) rats on motor behavior and cytological alterations, comparing with LD-only treated rats. LD/Mel-treated rats showed dyskinesia decrease (score 5–7.5) and had the best performance in the staircase test (five pellets) throughout all studies. The beam walking time was 20–35 s, showing good coordination (as control group (20–38 s)), dopaminergic cells increase of 22.8% (W/OV rats) and 27.2% (OVX rats) in the contralateral side as well as 100% conservation in the contralateral dendritic spines. Our results suggest that LD/Mel co-administration and estrogen presence result in an efficient treatment to reduce dyskinesia through the conservation of some dopaminergic cells, which imply a well-preserved neuropil of a less denervated striatum. We assume that these results are because of a synergistic effect between LD, melatonin and estrogens

Behavioral and Cytological Differences between Two Parkinson’s Disease Experimental Models

The knowledge about the biochemical and behavioral changes in humans with PD has allowed proposing animal models for its study; however, the results obtained so far have been heterogeneous. Recently, we established a novel PD model in rodents by manganese chloride (MnCl2) and manganese acetate (Mn (OAc)3) mixture inhalation. After inhaling, the rodents presented bilateral loss of SNc dopaminergic neurons. Later, we conclude that the alterations are of dopamine origin since L-DOPA reverted the alterations. After six months, SNc significantly reduced the number of cells, and striatal dopamine content decreased by 71%. The animals had postural instability, action tremor, and akinesia; these symptoms improved with L-DOPA, providing evidence that Mn mixture inhalation induces comparable alterations that those in PD patients. Thus, this study aimed to compare the alterations in two different PD experimental models: 6-OHDA unilateral lesion and Mn mixture inhalation through open field test, rotarod performance and the number of SNc dopaminergic neurons. The results show that the Mn-exposed animals have motor alterations and bilateral and progressive SNc neurons degeneration; in contrast, in the 6-OHDA model, the neuronal loss is unilateral and acute, demonstrating that the Mn exposure model better recreates the characteristics observed in PD patients

Structure of NaFeSiO4, NaFeSi2O6, and NaFeSi3O8 glasses and glass-ceramics

The crystallization of iron-containing sodium silicate phases holds particular importance, both in the management high-level nuclear wastes and in geosciences. Here, we study three asquenched glasses and their heat-treated chemical analogues, NaFeSiO4, NaFeSi2O6, and NaFeSi3O8 (with nominal stoichiometries from feldspathoid, pyroxene, and feldspar mineral groups – i.e., Si/Fe = 1, 2, and 3 respectively) – using a variety of techniques. Phase analyses revealed that as-quenched NaFeSiO4 cannot accommodate all Fe in the glass phase (some Fe crystallizes as Fe3O4), whereas as-quenched NaFeSi2O6 and NaFeSi3O8 form amorphous glasses upon quenching. NaFeSi2O6 glass is the only composition that crystallizes into its respective isochemical crystalline polymorph, i.e. aegirine, upon isothermal heat-treatment. As revealed by Mössbauer spectroscopy, iron is predominantly present as 4-coordinated Fe3+ in all glasses, though it is present as 6-coordinated Fe3+ in the aegirine crystals (NaFeSi2O6), as expected from crystallography. Thus, Fe can form the crystalline phases in which it is octahedrally coordinated, even though it is mostly tetrahedrally coordinated in the parent glasses. Thermal behavior, magnetic properties, iron redox state (including Fe K-edge X-ray absorption), and vibrational properties (Raman spectra) of the above compositions are discussed