Biological Controls and Biogeochemical Outcomes of Marine Elemental Stoichiometry

Redfield proportions (106C:16N:1P:138-O2) have been used to describe ocean biogeochemical patterns since the 1950s. However, recent research demonstrates variation in this ratio over latitudinal gradients, time, and seasons. As a result, determining the controls on, and predictability of, variable stoichiometry will improve our understanding of global biogeochemical cycle dynamics. To address these missing components, I examined the environmental and physiological conditions associated with changes in stoichiometry and performed predictive modeling to demonstrate the impact of variable stoichiometry on marine biogeochemical cycles. I examined the direct environmental and physiological effects on fluctuations in stoichiometry in two ways. First, I synthesized scientific literature and revealed that specific physiological mechanisms have a strong impact on stoichiometry in nutrient-rich environments, whereas biogeochemical interactions are important in the oligotrophic gyres. Second, I utilized the 2015 El Niño as an example of extreme environmental conditions, where high temperatures and low nutrient availability were expected to affect stoichiometric ratios. These conditions resulted in a reduction in POM concentrations and an increase in C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios. El Niño conditions are representative of future scenarios, as such, this study provides evidence that stoichiometry is affected by extreme environmental shifts. To estimate the impact of variable stoichiometry on global biogeochemical cycles, I modelled and predicted future carbon and oxygen concentrations. First, I created a simple ocean box model to estimate the atmospheric CO2. I found that variation in allocation of cellular resources led to higher carbon export and declines in atmospheric CO2 compared to Redfield proportions. Second, I quantified the variability in the respiration quotient, or the oxygen required to oxidize one unit of carbon, r_(-O2:C) in marine organic matter. The r_(-O2:C) ratio was found to vary regionally due to temperature controls on plankton community composition and their physiological state. Deoxygenation, which had previously been estimated to occur during high temperature conditions, increased in regions where r_(-O2:C) was low. In summary, my work has demonstrated the importance of understanding, utilizing, and quantifying variable stoichiometry in order to better characterize global biogeochemical cycles

Aplicación de las herramientas de Lean Construction: Tren de actividades y porcentaje de plan cumplido para la construcción de edificios, caso de estudio: Edificio multifamiliar Santa María en la ciudad de Arequipa

En Arequipa aún se emplea el método tradicional para la construcción de edificaciones u otros proyectos. Sin embargo, en los últimos años han aparecido en el Perú nuevas metodologías que ayudan a gestionar la planificación de las mismas; una de estas metodologías es Lean Construction la cual tiene diferentes herramientas para mejorar la gestión de planificación, ejecución y control de proyectos. El Edificio Proyecto Multifamiliar Santa María (caso de estudio) ubicado en la ciudad de Arequipa se construyó inicialmente bajo el método tradicional: el movimiento de tierras, la construcción de la subestructura (calzadura, cimentación y cisterna) y la construcción de la súper estructura (placas, columnas, vigas y losas) desde el semi-sótano hasta la losa de techo del 2do piso. La presente investigación se basa en la aplicación de las herramientas de Lean Construction: Tren de actividades y porcentaje de plan cumplido en el proyecto caso de estudio, el cual mejorará la planificación del proyecto y nos permitirá controlar la construcción del edificio bajo esta metodología desde el 3er piso hasta el 8vo piso. La herramienta tren de actividades está enfocada principalmente en mejorar la planificación de proyectos de construcción, esta herramienta propone crear un nuevo cronograma teniendo un sistema de producción efectivo, es decir se asegura que los flujos de producción no paren y sean eficientes. Para lograr un sistema de producción eficiente se sectorizó el proyecto en metas o entregables más pequeños, pero similares entre sí, diferenciando la súper estructura en elementos verticales y horizontales; cada sector se irá trabajando uno detrás de otro según el proceso constructivo que le corresponde, así mismo se realizó un balanceo de cargas teniendo en cuenta los metrados por sector para todas las partidas y las cuadrillas que van a participar para cada proceso constructivo. Para asegurarnos que este nuevo cronograma se cumpliera durante la ejecución del proyecto se tuvo un control en campo diario del proyecto, del cual con ayuda de la herramienta PPC se pudo evaluar qué cantidad de actividades se cumplían a la semana respecto a las actividades programadas, así mismo se pudo identificar y controlar la variabilidad del mismo. Finalmente se hizo una comparación del tiempo y costo de la programación inicial de obra bajo el método tradicional vs la ejecución real la cual incluye un periodo realizado bajo el método tradicional y otro bajo la aplicación de herramientas. Así mismo se comparó la programación inicial o tradicional vs la programación idealizada del proyecto. Palabras claves: Proyecto, Lean Construction, Tren de actividades, PPC, Curva de aprendizaje, Superestructura, Subestructura, Partidas, Sectorización, Metrados, Balanceo de cargas, Cuadrillas, Cronograma, Presupuesto, Buffer, Variabilidad, Costo, Tiempo.Tesi

Inteligencia emocional y rendimiento académico en estudiantes universitarios de la carrera de administración y servicios turísticos, universidad privada, Lima 2022

El trabajo de investigación titulado “Inteligencia emocional y rendimiento académico en estudiantes universitarios de la carrera de administración y servicios turísticos, universidad privada, Lima 2022” tuvo como objetivo determinar cómo la inteligencia emocional se relaciona con el rendimiento académico en estudiantes de la mencionada carrera, la metodología se presentó bajo un enfoque cuantitativo, de tipo básica, en nivel correlacional con un diseño no experimental. La población de estudio estuvo conformada por 525 estudiantes, de los que se tomo 20 para la prueba piloto y 76 para muestra, por conveniencia. Los instrumentos fueron validados por el juicio de expertos que dictaminaron su aplicabilidad, además de determinarse mediante una prueba su confiabilidad, siendo de inteligencia emocional 0.884% y de rendimiento académico 0.758%, sin embargo, respecto a los resultados el nivel de significancia encontrado aceptó la hipótesis nula, negando la relación entre la inteligencia emocional y el rendimiento académico. Aunque son resultados controversiales se recomienda enfocar el rendimiento académico bajo una perspectiva académica, además de la psicológica

Análisis del turismo cultural en el distrito de Miraflores, 2018

El presente trabajo buscó analizar el turismo cultural dentro del distrito de Miraflores, partiendo de la pregunta de ¿Cuál es la situación actual del turismo cultural de Miraflores, así mismo en sus dimensiones de turismo cultural material e inmaterial me basé en lo que Martorell (2017) indica en su libro y el análisis de la cultura a través de la comparación con el enfoque de Harris (1995) afirma, para ello se realizó un análisis cualitativo, de tipo aplicada y de diseño etnográfico en la cual apliqué entrevistas a profundidad y la ficha de observación a los expertos en el tema y a los pobladores del distrito de Miraflores. Los resultados que se obtuvieron mostraron que el turismo cultural dentro de Miraflores se desarrolla de manera adecuada y es accesible para los turistas, que no existe amenaza de perder su cultura por la llegada de los turistas y/o visitantes, pero en ciertos temas aún se necesita dar mayor impulso y promoción, por lo que se sugiere implementar programas que intensifiquen la importancia del turismo cultural tanto material como inmaterial, además de descentralizar la importancia que se le da a los espacios donde se realiza la actividad turística cultural, tomando en cuenta la participación de los habitantes

Methodological considerations when translating "burnout"

No study has systematically examined how researchers address cross-cultural adaptation of burnout. We conducted an integrative review to examine how researchers had adapted the instruments to the different contexts. We reviewed the Content Validity Indexing scores for the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey from the 12-country comparative nursing workforce study, RN4CAST. In the integrative review, multiple issues related to translation were found in existing studies. In the cross-cultural instrument analysis, 7 out of 22 items on the instrument received an extremely low kappa score. Investigators may need to employ more rigorous cross-cultural adaptation methods when attempting to measure burnout

Caracterización del proceso de operacionalización del Centro MAC Ventanilla a partir del Modelo EFQM en el periodo 2018-2019

El presente estudio plantea la necesidad de caracterizar el proceso de operacionalización del Centro MAC Ventanilla , describiendo la gestión interna a un nivel operativo tomando en cuenta que es un espacio donde confluyen entidades públicas de distintos niveles de gobierno. Para ello, se ha tomado en cuenta como base un modelo europeo para la gestión de la calidad utilizado internacionalmente: el Modelo EFQM de Excelencia. La investigación se realiza mediante un estudio de caso a una plataforma presencial del sector público, el Centro MAC Ventanilla, la cual tiene por objetivo prestar una serie de servicios de distintas entidades públicas es un mismo espacio, en este caso ubicado en el distrito de Ventanilla, garantizando la mejor atención al ciudadano (Decreto Supremo 090-2019-PCM). Por consiguiente, el presente trabajo de investigación caracteriza el proceso de operacionalización del Centro MAC Ventanilla mediante la aplicación de distintos criterios que son parte del modelo EFQM de Excelencia: Liderazgo, Estrategia, Personas, Alianzas y Recursos, y Procesos. De esta manera se analiza la gestión interna del Centro MAC Ventanilla teniendo en cuenta los diversos actores que participan, así como las decisiones que toman y cómo estas finalmente influyen en la prestación de servicios de calidad. Como resultado de la investigación se obtiene una caracterización del proceso de operacionalización del Centro MAC Ventanilla, la cual comprende los hallazgos de la investigación, y que permite determinar oportunidades de mejora, de innovación y comprensión del espacio a fin de asegurar el óptimo desempeño de la plataforma presencial y la calidad de sus servicios. Finalmente, como resultado del análisis se presentan conclusiones y recomendaciones relacionadas a mejoras en cada uno de los criterios evaluados.Tesi

Examining Students’ Motivations to Pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition

Introduction: With high level of obesity in Mexico, there is a growing need to train more students in nutrition. Understanding what motivates students to choose pursuing degree in nutrition is very important for in post-secondary education. Better understanding of motivating factors may help educators to make sure that students complete their degress. The aim of this paper was to determine factors influencing student motivations for pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nutrition at the University of Guanajuato.Methods: This was a survey study targeting 50 students at the University of Guanajuato. Questions in the survey targeted the following issues: general student characteristics, main reason for the choice of study area, objectives of higher education, university study field, and future plans. The descriptive statistics were calculated for the data obtained. The Z test was applied to analyze the differences between the ages.Results: The mean age of these students was 19 years; 74% were female while 26% were male. The students reported that the main reason for choosing a career in nutrition was personal preference and pointed out that such degree will give them better career options in the future, including better financial renumeration in comparison to other careers. Most of the students stated that their main reason for choosing University of Guanajuato was its prestige at the national and international level.Conclusion:  Our study corroborates previously published study suggesting that students pursuing healthcare professions are motivaed by prestige and financial renumeration. With importance of nutrition in tackling obesity epidemic, it is very important to continue research on factors motivating students to choose careers in nutritio

Assessing the Australian termite diversity anomaly: how habitat and rainfall affect termite assemblages

Termites are important ecosystem engineers in tropical habitats, with different feeding groups able to decompose wood, grass, litter, and soil organic matter. In most tropical regions, termite abundance and species diversity are assumed to increase with rainfall, with highest levels found in rainforests. However, in the Australian tropics, this pattern is thought to be reversed, with lower species richness and termite abundance found in rainforest than drier habitats. The potential mechanisms underlying this pattern remain unclear. We compared termite assemblages (abundance, activity, diversity, and feeding group composition) across five sites along a precipitation gradient (ranging from ∼800 to 4,000 mm annual rainfall), spanning dry and wet savanna habitats, wet sclerophyll, and lowland and upland rainforests in tropical North Queensland. Moving from dry to wet habitats, we observed dramatic decreases in termite abundance in both mounds and dead wood occupancy, with greater abundance and activity at savanna sites (low precipitation) compared with rainforest or sclerophyll sites (high precipitation). We also observed a turnover in termite species and feeding group diversity across sites that were close together, but in different habitats. Termite species and feeding group richness were highest in savanna sites, with 13 termite species from wood-, litter-, grass-, dung-, and soil-feeding groups, while only five termite species were encountered in rainforest and wet sclerophyll sites—all wood feeders. These results suggest that the Australian termite diversity anomaly may be partly driven by how specific feeding groups colonized habitats across Australia. Consequently, termites in Australian rainforests may be less important in ecosystem processes, such as carbon and nutrient cycling during decomposition, compared with termites in other tropical rainforests

Impact of food retailer branding on expectation generation and liking

Abstract: Branding can influence sensory evaluation, however, the impact of food retailers from different tiers (premium, everyday and discount) remains undocumented. The aim of this project was to test whether food retailers generated different quality expectations and establish whether these impacted on sensory evaluation. Expected liking of 4 chocolate samples (private brand, premium, everyday and discount food retailer brands) was measured using a survey (n=199) and hedonic ratings (n=152) were obtained in blind and informed conditions. Seventy one of the 152 panelists were required to rate their expected liking prior to the informed hedonic test to assess whether stating expectations could influence subsequent liking. The premium food retailer and private brand generated similarly high quality expectations which resulted in significant disconfirmation although a significant response shift was only observed for the private brand when expectations were measured. In contrast, the everyday and discount food retailers generated lower expectations which aligned well with the sensory experience. Practical applications: Although established private brands are still perceived as the gold standard; premium food retailers can also generate high expectations and there is a clear hierarchy of expectations between food retailers' tiers. In spite of this, branding had a modest impact on sensory evaluation compared to actual product quality with partial assimilation observed only for the private brand. Food retailers should continue to develop their product quality to carry on improving their brand image. Asking panelists to state their expectations just prior to the informed hedonic testing could result in self-induced suggestion error. It is recommended that expectations and informed liking are captured sufficiently far apart when using the same panelists

Wood traits explain microbial but not termite‐driven decay in Australian tropical rainforest and savanna

1. Variation in decay rates across woody species is a key uncertainty in predicting the fate of carbon stored in deadwood, especially in the tropics. Quantifying the relative contributions of biotic decay agents, particularly microbes and termites, under different climates and across species with diverse wood traits could help explain this variation. 2. To fill this knowledge gap, we deployed woody stems from 16 plant species native to either rainforest (n = 10) or savanna (n = 6) in northeast Australia, with and without termite access. For comparison, we also deployed standardized, non-native pine blocks at both sites. We hypothesized that termites would increase rates of deadwood decay under conditions that limit microbial activity. Specifically, termite contributions to wood decay should be greater under dry conditions and in wood species with traits that constrain microbial decomposers. 3. Termite discovery of stems was surprisingly low with only 17.6% and 22.6% of accessible native stems discovered in the rainforest and savanna respectively. Contrary to our hypothesis, stems discovered by termites decomposed faster only in the rainforest. Termites discovered and decayed pine blocks at higher rates than native stems in both the rainforest and savanna. 4. We found significant variation in termite discovery and microbial decay rates across native wood species within the same site. Although wood traits explained 85% of the variation in microbial decay, they did not explain termite-driven decay. For stems undiscovered by termites, decay rates were greater in species with higher wood nutrient concentrations and syringyl:guiacyl lignin ratios but lower carbon concentrations and wood densities. 5. Synthesis. Ecosystem-scale predictions of deadwood turnover and carbon storage should account for the impact of wood traits on decomposer communities. In tropical Australia, termite-driven decay was lower than expected for native wood on the ground. Even if termites are present, they may not always increase decomposition rates of fallen native wood in tropical forests. Our study shows how the drivers of wood decay differ between Australian tropical rainforest and savanna; further research should test whether such differences apply world-wide