¿Se encuentra el Reino Unido en ruta hacia un Brexit sin acuerdo?

En el último mes, la política en el Reino Unido ha tenido sacudidas fuertes. El 31 de octubre se vence el plazo que la Unión Europea (UE) dio al gobierno británico para resolver sobre su salida de este organismo supranacional, un evento casi inminente que popularmente se conoce como Brexit. En tres ocasiones la ex Primera Ministra Theresa May intentó sin éxito que los parlamentarios de la Cámara de los Comunes ratificaran el Acuerdo de Retirada que negoció con líderes europeos. Ante ese fracaso y bajo presión de distintos bandos, May renunció a su cargo, el cual fue asumido en julio por uno de los promotores del Brexit, el también conservador Boris Johnson. Johnson ha prometido que, con o sin acuerdo, el Reino Unido abandonará la UE al finalizar octubre. Su manera de negociar con sus contrapartes europeas, sus declaraciones públicas y sus compromisos con los defensores del Brexit hacen pensar que la última opción es un desenlace muy probable. Sin embargo, la institucionalidad política se interpone.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro de Investigación y Estudios Políticos (CIEP

¿Fallaron las encuestas y los pronósticos en los resultados electorales de 2020 en Estados Unidos?

Algunos resultados de las elecciones presidenciales del 3 de noviembre de 2020 en Estados Unidos indican diferencias significativas respecto a la información que arrojaban encuestas y pronósticos electorales, principalmente sobre el comportamiento de votantes republicanos. Como en ocasiones anteriores, estas discrepancias llevan a cuestionar el supuesto papel predictivo de las encuestas. En este artículo defendemos que el juzgamiento que se hace sobre las encuestas en este caso podría estar sobredimensionado. Además, brindamos explicaciones sobre qué factores metodológicos y teóricos pueden explicar las diferencias entre predicciones y resultados, según lo investigado en la literatura relevante sobre encuestas y política de los Estados Unidos.Some results of the presidential elections from November 3 rd, 2020 in the United States point to significant differences with the information that the polls and electoral projections showed, mainly in regard to the behavior of Republican voters. As it had happened on several occasions before, these discrepancies lead to question the alleged predictive role of polls. In this article, we stand by the fact that the judgement on polls in this case may be over dimensioned. In addition, we provide explanation as to which methodological and theoretical factors can serve to explain the differences between forecasts and results according to research in relevant literature concerning polls and politics in The United States.Universidad de Costa Rica/[ED-3315]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro de Investigación y Estudios Políticos (CIEP)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Sociales::Facultad de Ciencias Sociales::Escuela de Ciencias Política

Students frequently ask: ‘Yes but...What is the utility of physics?’

Two Teaching Innovation Projects were carried out in the framework of the subjects ‘Physics I’ and ‘Physics II’ for different Degrees on Engineering at the Engineering High School of the University of Cadiz, Spain, during the 2013-2014 course. The aim of these Projects was to catch the interest of first course students on physical phenomena and principles, a matter frequently considered as ‘difficult’ or even ‘boring’ for them when it is approached from an excessively formal scope. The methodology of the two Projects was based on experiments of Recreational Physics, different toys and devices, and other resources as posters, books and online contents. The Projects were conducted during Theory, Laboratory, and Online classes of Physics I and II, and their results were evaluated from questionnaires to the students. Main conclusions derived from them were: i) a significant increment on the interest of students on Physics and Science; ii) the aim of students for learning more about this kind of recreational physical experiments; and iii) a general sensation of enjoying the study and analysis of physical phenomena by students –and teachers as well–. In addition, students manifested their interest in this methodology to be applied to other Engineering subjects of their Degrees

Factors structuring microbial communities in highly impacted coastal marine sediments (Mar Menor lagoon, SE Spain)

Coastal marine lagoons are environments highly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures such as agriculture nutrient loading or runoff from metalliferous mining. Sediment microorganisms, which are key components in the biogeochemical cycles, can help attenuate these impacts by accumulating nutrients and pollutants. The Mar Menor, located in the southeast of Spain, is an example of a coastal lagoon strongly altered by anthropic pressures, but the microbial community inhabiting its sediments remains unknown. Here, we describe the sediment prokaryotic communities along a wide range of environmental conditions in the lagoon, revealing that microbial communities were highly heterogeneous among stations, although a core microbiome was detected. The microbiota was dominated by Delta- and Gammaproteobacteria and members of the Bacteroidia class. Additionally, several uncultured groups such as Asgardarchaeota were detected in relatively high proportions. Sediment texture, the presence of Caulerpa or Cymodocea, depth, and geographic location were among the most important factors structuring microbial assemblages. Furthermore, microbial communities in the stations with the highest concentrations of potentially toxic elements (Fe, Pb, As, Zn, and Cd) were less stable than those in the non-contaminated stations. This finding suggests that bacteria colonizing heavily contaminated stations are specialists sensitive to change

The CARBA-MAP study: national mapping of carbapenemases in Spain (2014–2018)

Introduction:Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including isolates producing acquired carbapenemases, constitute a prevalent health problem worldwide. The primary objective of this study was to determine the distribution of the different carbapenemases among carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE, specifically Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter cloacae complex, and Klebsiella aerogenes) and carbapenemase-producing P. aeruginosa (CPPA) in Spain from January 2014 to December 2018.Methods: A national, retrospective, cross-sectional multicenter study was performed. The study included the first isolate per patient and year obtained from clinical samples and obtained for diagnosis of infection in hospitalized patients. A structured questionnaire was completed by the participating centers using the REDCap platform, and results were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.0.Results: A total of 2,704 carbapenemase-producing microorganisms were included, for which the type of carbapenemase was determined in 2692 cases: 2280 CPE (84.7%) and 412 CPPA (15.3%), most often using molecular methods and immunochromatographic assays. Globally, the most frequent types of carbapenemase in Enterobacterales and P. aeruginosa were OXA-48-like, alone or in combination with other enzymes (1,523 cases, 66.8%) and VIM (365 cases, 88.6%), respectively. Among Enterobacterales, carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae was reported in 1821 cases (79.9%), followed by E. cloacae complex in 334 cases (14.6%). In Enterobacterales, KPC is mainly present in the South and South-East regions of Spain and OXA-48-like in the rest of the country. Regarding P. aeruginosa, VIM is widely distributed all over the country. Globally, an increasing percentage of OXA-48-like enzymes was observed from 2014 to 2017. KPC enzymes were more frequent in 2017–2018 compared to 2014–2016.Discussion: Data from this study help to understand the situation and evolution of the main species of CPE and CPPA in Spain, with practical implications for control and optimal treatment of infections caused by these multi-drug resistant organisms

Association Between Preexisting Versus Newly Identified Atrial Fibrillation and Outcomes of Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) may exist before or occur early in the course of pulmonary embolism (PE). We determined the PE outcomes based on the presence and timing of AF. Methods and Results Using the data from a multicenter PE registry, we identified 3 groups: (1) those with preexisting AF, (2) patients with new AF within 2 days from acute PE (incident AF), and (3) patients without AF. We assessed the 90-day and 1-year risk of mortality and stroke in patients with AF, compared with those without AF (reference group). Among 16 497 patients with PE, 792 had preexisting AF. These patients had increased odds of 90-day all-cause (odds ratio [OR], 2.81; 95% CI, 2.33-3.38) and PE-related mortality (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.37-4.14) and increased 1-year hazard for ischemic stroke (hazard ratio, 5.48; 95% CI, 3.10-9.69) compared with those without AF. After multivariable adjustment, preexisting AF was associated with significantly increased odds of all-cause mortality (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.57-2.32) but not PE-related mortality (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.85-2.66). Among 16 497 patients with PE, 445 developed new incident AF within 2 days of acute PE. Incident AF was associated with increased odds of 90-day all-cause (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.75-2.97) and PE-related (OR, 3.64; 95% CI, 2.01-6.59) mortality but not stroke. Findings were similar in multivariable analyses. Conclusions In patients with acute symptomatic PE, both preexisting AF and incident AF predict adverse clinical outcomes. The type of adverse outcomes may differ depending on the timing of AF onset.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

re-habitar El Carmen : Un proyecto sobre patrimonio contemporáneo

El proyecto _re-HABITAR suponía para el propio proceder de la institución un avance más allá del reconocimiento, registro, inventario o protección patrimonial de la arquitectura del siglo XX y del Movimiento Moderno para posicionarse en la acción preventiva y conservativa de ese legado contemporáneo. Para ello, la praxis patrimonial se aferraba a un modelo: el de la vivienda social en España en la segunda mitad del siglo XX; a un caso concreto: el de la barriada de Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Recasens Méndez-Queipo de Llano, 1958); y a un requisito fundamental: analizar un objeto vivo y en uso, aún con la presencia de quienes lo vivieron y usaron desde su origen

Elecciones primarias de 2020 en el Partido Demócrata de Estados Unidos: ¿Qué son? y ¿quiénes están compitiendo?

El de 2020 es el proceso de selección de la candidatura presidencial en el Partido Demócrata más competitivo, en la historia moderna de ese partido. Más de 20 personas están compitiendo por llevar la batuta del partido, que intentará arrebatar la presidencia a Donald Trump en las elecciones del 3 de noviembre de 2020. En este informe se explican los aspectos formales e informales más importantes a tomar en cuenta en el proceso de selección del futuro candidato o candidata del Partido Demócrata. Además, se describe quiénes son los principales candidatos y algunas tendencias a partir de encuestas de opinión y de la primera ronda de debates, celebrada recientemente el 26 y 27 de junio del presente año.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro de Investigación y Estudios Políticos (CIEP

Constantino Urcuyo – Centroamérica y Biden – ¿Hay una nueva política?

La primera visita de Blinken a un país latinoamericano fue Costa Rica, los días 1 y 2 de junio pasados. La Vicepresidenta Kamala Harris visitó Guatemala la semana siguiente. Son días agitados para la política exterior estadounidense, con posibles implicaciones globales. En el marco de estas visitas y la gira del Presidente Joe Biden a Europa, también en junio, el Observatorio de los Estados Unidos del CIEP invitó a los analistas Constantino Urcuyo Fournier y Nuria Marín Raventós a brindar su perspectiva sobre estos acontecimientos.Universidad de Costa Rica/[EC-507]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro de Investigación y Estudios Políticos (CIEP