Genotipos determinados de gandules (Cajanus cajan) en las costas norte y sur de Puerto Rico

Seven experiments were established at the Juana Díaz and Isabela agricultural experiment substations to evaluate the performance of determinate pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp] genotypes. Significant differences were found for yield, height, flowering date, seed weight and number of seeds per pod in almost all the experiments. Many genotypes performed better than the commercial cultivar 2B-Bushy used as check.En las Subestaciones de Juana Díaz e Isabela se establicieron siete experimentos, en los cuales se evaluaron varios genotipos de gandules de porte determinado. Se encontraron diferencias significativas para rendimiento, altura, fecha de floración, peso de la semilla y número de semillas por vaina. Se encontraron varios genotipos superiores a la variedad comercial 2B-Bushy. Algunos de estos genotipos se podrían recomendar para siembras comerciales en Puerto Rico

Challenges Faced by the Biopharmaceutical Industry in the Development and Marketing Authorization of Biosimilar Medicines in BRICS-TM Countries: An Exploratory Study

Abstract: Background: Biosimilars are expected to emerge as a rapidly growing segment of the biopharmaceutical industry. However, the biosimilar industry faces multiple challenges and obstacles in developing and marketing these complex products. Divergent regulatory framework in emerging countries adds to repetitive trials and increased cost of biosimilar development, delaying the approval process. Due to such roadblocks, healthcare systems and patients are yet to realize the full benefits of biosimilars. Objectives: The aim of this exploratory study was to specifically identify the challenges faced by the industry in emerging countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Turkey and Mexico (BRICS-TM), pertaining to biosimilar development and the regulatory approval process. In particular, this study aims to understand the perceptions of industry on the barriers faced by them in terms of complexity, costs for biosimilar development and time-to-market for biosimilar product. Methods: A semi-quantitative questionnaire was designed based on secondary research. A total of 93 industry personnel and representatives from 14 trade associations from the BRICS-TM countries with 15-year minimum experience were identified and invited to take part in the study and participate in interviews, which were recorded verbatim. Data processing and analysis was carried out; descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data and content analysis was employed to generate themes for qualitative data. Results: Of the 107 biopharmaceutical industry and trade association representatives invited to participate in the study, respondents from 33 biopharmaceutical companies agreed to take part and underwent the interviews. The industry personnel perceived biosimilar guidelines and approval processes as being protracted and in a state of evolution. The absence of an abridged approval pathway limited effectiveness of the regulatory process. The biggest hurdles in the development of biosimilar dossiers were the sourcing of the reference biological product and expectations around confirmatory clinical trials by the agencies. The non-comprehensive implementation of a stepwise approach resulting in unnecessary toxicity studies was also reported as a major challenge. The authors recommend further primary research with BRICS-TM regulatory agencies in order to propose a simplified pathway for development and approval. Conclusions: Lack of standardized biosimilar development criteria and regulatory convergence across BRICS-TM agencies has led to challenges in multi-country development programmes for these medicines, in turn impacting the ability of industry to launch newer and more affordable biosimilars.Peer reviewe

Class, type and position of 9148 surgically removed third molars in 3206 patients : a retrospective study

Objective: To investigate the class, type, position, diagnosis and most common procedures used in the surgical removal of third molars, and evaluate the sex and age distribution in a representative sample of Mexican patients. Study Design: A retrospective descriptive study was made covering the period 1993-2008 in relation to 9148 extracted third molars in 3206 patients treated in the Dental School of Salle Bajío University, A.C. (Mexico). Patients of either sex and aged 11-59 years, with at least one third molar programmed for surgical removal, were included in the study. A descriptive statistical study was made. Results: The mean patient age was 27.6 ± 10.6 years. There were 2093 females (65.3%) and 1111 males (34.6%). In relation to the 4025 upper molars, extraction was decided for prophylactic reasons in 3827 cases (95.08%). Type A presentations were recorded in 1929 cases (47.9%), with a vertical position in 1931 teeth (48%). In relation to the 5123 lower third molars, extraction was likewise most often indicated for prophylactic reasons (4424 cases, 86.36%). A total of 2353 teeth corresponded to type A (45.9%), 2545 were class I cases (49.7%), and a mesioangular position was observed in 1850 cases (36.1%). Conclusions: The present study shows that in Mexican patients, upper third molars most often correspond to type A and class I, with a vertical position, while lower third molars predominantly correspond to type A and class I, with a mesioangular position. This information can help dental surgeons take better decisions before and after surgery, to the benefit of their patients

Academic literacy and student diversity: evaluating a curriculum-integrated inclusive practice intervention in the United Kingdom

The sustainability of universities is based, among other aspects, on their ability to adapt to changes and the needs of students, an increasingly diverse population. In this sense, Academic literacy provision at universities tends to be centralized and to offer language support for general academic literacy purposes rather than language development that responds in a more nuanced way to the particular literacy needs of students’ disciplines. Yet, in recent years, several studies have supported the integration of academic literacy into subject teaching outlining the principles of an inclusive model of academic literacy instruction. This paper draws on a theoretical framework developed by Wingate to evaluate a curriculum-integrated inclusive practice intervention in the United Kingdom with students from a first-year credit-bearing module at Middlesex University Business School. The study used a mixed methods approach that includes a literature review, secondary data, feedback questionnaire and a focus group to evaluate our teaching method and reflect on the collaboration of the team members to develop this inclusive pedagogical approach. The findings suggest that, on the whole, this intervention was perceived by both the module teaching team and students as positive, welcoming and often crucial for supporting undergraduate students into the disciplinary discourse of their subject of study. Yet, recommendations were made with respect to developing better guidelines for subject lecturers on how to deliver the integrated academic literacy as well as the importance of the participation of students, student learning assistants and graduate teaching assistants in the design of the intervention. This study contributes to the literature on inclusive practice intervention and pedagogical approaches to integrating academic literacy into subject teaching for a diverse student population, contributing to the social sustainability of the universities

Tailings desiccation process studied in environmental chamber experiment

Case studies and numerical simulations show that the long-term stability of tailings dams largely depends on the evolution of their water content. Therefore, desiccation is one of the critical processes influencing the tailing dam's safety. In this work, the air-drying of tailings, starting from a sludge condition, is studied using a fully instrumented column experiment, performed in an environmental chamber with temperature and relative humidity control. Based on the experimental observations, a conceptual model for the desiccation process is proposed. The model consists of the combination of two mechanisms driven by evaporation: shrinkage and capillary rise. The latter is only activated after a granular structure develops (shielding skeleton), capable of sustaining the suction-induced intergranular forces. This evidence explains the tendency of real deposits to develop an unsaturated, dry tailings crust enclosing a body of mud-consistency tailings. In addition, the role of dissolved salts in the desiccation process was observed. Solutes in pore water limit the evaporation rate throughout the test by increasing osmotic suction. Moreover, salt precipitation was observed to cause an interruption of the desiccation process on two occasions during the experiment: first, by the formation of a superficial precipitation crust and later by pore clogging within a shallow layer.The authors would like to thank Cristóbal García for the knowledge provided on the Cartagena - La Unión mining region, and the research team of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain for their collaboration in the collection of tailings samples at the San Cristóbal mine. We would also like to thank the staff of the Soil Mechanics Laboratory of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain. Finally, we would like to thank the European Commission (CORDIS) through the project FP7-PEOPLE-IRSES-2008, Marie Curie Action "GEO-engineering EXChanges between Europe and Latin-America" for the financial collaboration in this work.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Are concentrated companies more profitable? The case of the tanning sector of skins in Ecuador

The present research identifies the market structure of the Tanning and Leather Sector in Ecuador ISIC: C151101and aims to establish the relation between profitability, costs and market concentration. The Herfindhal-Hirshman index used for cases of imperfect market structure has been calculated; and on the other hand, the solvency, liquidity and profitability to evaluate the financial performance of the concentrated companies. Additionally, four econometric models have been designed to which statistical tests of adecquacy have been applied. Simple and multiple linear regression analysis has been applied in several experiments through Ordinary Least Squares. Of the nine oligopoly companies, four companies have been identified that control 73,12% of the market, with a margin of return of 0,1391 average of the oligopoly for the period of study 2011-2015. One of the developed econometric models has made possible to show through Fisher’s statistical test that market concentration and production costs have an effect on profitability with a p-value of 0.00035, meaning that there is a significant linear relation of the oligopoly with cost production and market concentration, demonstrating that this group of companies makes profits because of their ability to concentrate the market.El presente trabajo de investigación identifica la estructura de mercado del sector Curtido y Adobo de Pieles en el Ecuador CIIU: C151101 y tiene como objetivo establecer la relación entre rentabilidad, costos y concentración de mercado. Se calculó el índice de Herfindhal-Hirshman utilizado para casos de estructura de mercado imperfecta; y por otro lado, los índices de solvencia, liquidez, rentabilidad, para evaluar el desempeño financiero de las empresas concentradas. Además, se diseñaron cuatro modelos econométricos a los cuales se aplicaron pruebas estadísticas de idoneidad de los estimadores. Se aplicó análisis de regresión lineal simple y múltiple en varias experimentaciones a través de Mínimos cuadrados Ordinarios. De las nueve empresas del oligopolio, se identificaron cuatro empresas concentradas que controlan el 73,12% del mercado, con un margen de rentabilidad del 0,1391 promedio del oligopolio para el período de estudio 2011-2015. De los modelos econométricos desarrollados uno permitió evidenciar a través de la prueba estadística de Fisher que la concentración de mercado y los costos de producción inciden en la rentabilidad con un p-value de 0,00035, es decir, existe una relación lineal significativa de la rentabilidad del oligopolio con los costos de producción y la concentración del mercado, demostrándose así que este grupo de empresas obtienen beneficios por efecto de su capacidad para concentrar el mercado

TRI-CRO: Aplicación para la comprobación, resolución de triángulos rectángulos, oblicuángulos y almacenamiento temporal de datos.

Due to the lack of interest in the mathematics of students in our country, it became necessary to study the causes of this problem and develop ways to motivate students to improve their academic performance. This paper presents the design, development and implementation of TRI-CRO, an application developed in Java capable of checking, solving and storing mathematical problems such as: right triangles and oblique triangles through an array of objects. In the first place, the resources used in the development of the application are presented, such as the development software, algorithms, formulas, which are mentioned: sine law, cosine law, trigonometric functions and Pythagoras theorem. Following the methodology, analyze in the first instance, capture data by the student, how the application responds, if it is effective in the results it produces, developed with an interactive graphic interface with the user. Finally, a research was developed to evaluate the application. To this end, a sample of 20 first-year students from the Technological University of Panama, Coclé Regional Center, was tested with the aim of measuring the effectiveness of the application within the contents of the subject Mathematics I, in addition to promoting learning of mathematics at this educational level, raising the possibility of the implementation of techno-logical tools as a strategy for the study of teachers.Debido a la falta de interés por las matemáticas de los estudiantes en nuestro país se hizo necesario un estudio acerca de las causas de esta problemática, y desarrollar formas de motivar a los estudiantes a mejorar su rendimiento académico. En este artículo se presenta el diseño, desarrollo e implementación de TRI-CRO, una aplicación desarrollada en Java capaz de comprobar, resolver y almacenar problemas matemáticos como: triángulos rectángulos y triángulos oblicuángulos mediante un arreglo de objetos. En primer lugar, se presentan los recursos utilizados en el desarrollo de la aplicación, como lo son el software de desarrollo, algoritmos, fórmulas, las cuales se mencionan: ley del seno, ley del coseno, funciones trigonométricas y teorema de Pitágoras. Seguido la metodología, analiza en primera instancia, captar datos por parte del estudiante, como responde la aplicación, si es efectiva en los resultados que arroja, desarrollada con una interfaz gráfica interactiva con el usuario. Finalmente, se desarrolló una investigación para evaluar la aplicación. Para ello se sometió a prueba con una muestra de 20 estudiantes de primer año de la Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Centro Regional de Coclé con la finalidad de medir la efectividad de la aplicación dentro del contenido de la asignatura Matemáticas I, además de promover el aprendizaje de las matemáticas a este nivel educativo, planteando la posibilidad de la implementación de herramientas tecnológicas como estrategia de estudio de los docentes

Concentration without market power? A case study applied to the mattresses manufacturing sector in Ecuador

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo establecer la estructura de mercado de la industria de fabricación de colchones en el Ecuador y las relaciones que presentan las variables concentración, precios del mercado local, tipo de cambio y rentabilidad. Se utiliza un modelo de regresión de ecuaciones simultáneas de mínimos cuadrados en tres etapas (MC3E) con información de las empresas con mayor cuota de mercado del sector. La concentración de mercado se calcula utilizando el índice Herfindahl – Hirschman. Los principales resultados exhiben que existe una estructura de mercado imperfecta y que la cuota de mercado incide en la rentabilidad del oligopolio. El oligopolio a su vez no ejerce poder de mercado, por la competitividad en precios de los colchones importados.  The purpose of this research is to establish the market structure of the mattress manufacturing industry of Ecuador and the relationships between the concentration, local market prices, exchange rate, and profitability variables. A simultaneous equations regression model of partial three-stage least squares (3SLS) with information of the companies with the largest market share in the sector has been used. Market concentration has been calculated using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The main results show that there is an imperfect market structure and that market share affects the profitability of the oligopoly. In turn, the oligopoly fails to exercise market power due to the competitiveness in the prices of imported mattresses

Human Illnesses Caused by Opisthorchis felineus Flukes, Italy

We report 2 outbreaks of Opisthorchis felineus infection caused by the consumption of tench filets (Tinca tinca) from a lake in Italy. Of the 22 infected persons, 10 (45.4%) were asymptomatic. When present, symptoms (fever, nausea, abdominal pain, and myalgias) were mild. Eosinophilia occurred in all infected persons