El análisis de la eficacia de la ayuda al desarrollo en la lucha contra la pobreza en Nicaragua

La ayuda al desarrollo continúa siendo una de las principales herramientas en la lucha contra la pobreza en numerosos países en desarrollo. El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la relación entre los flujos de ayuda al desarrollo y la evolución de la pobreza tanto desde una perspectiva teórica como empírica. El estudio de caso elegido ha sido Nicaragua debido a que, pese haber recibido un importante volumen de ayuda al desarrollo en las cuatro últimas décadas, se mantiene como el segundo país más pobre de América Latina. Asimismo, se trata de un país piloto en la evaluación de la Eficacia de la Ayuda dentro del marco de la Declaración de París y ha formado parte de diferentes Iniciativas de Alivio de la Deuda, lo que le convierten en un interesante caso de estudio. Los resultados de la investigación revelan la complejidad de los factores internos y externos que influyen en el impacto de la ayuda sobre la pobreza, destacando especialmente en el caso de Nicaragua, los factores institucionales y políticos, los conflictos bélicos y desastres naturales, el entorno económico internacional y el comportamiento de los donantes.Departamento de Economía AplicadaMáster en Cooperación Internacional para el Desarroll

Augmenting Water Deficit Index as a Tool to Estimate Forest Plantation Water Availability

Water availability is the largest limitation for trees to grow in several parts of the world. With climatic patterns varying over the last two decades, characterizing water available to the crop trees, becomes an important task as it relates to stand growth. Several authors have tried to integrate rainfall into growth and yield equations with varying levels of success. From the very simple yearly rainfall to more complex full water balance models, determining an index of water availability remains a task that needs to be taken into account when projecting forest growth. With this objective in mind, a water deficit index was derived for the forest plantation region in Chile. This area is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with a rains exceeding four folds the potential evapotranspirations in the winter, and the opposite in the summer. In this area, the index serves as a simple indicator of site drought allowing comparison between different sites around the world independently of yearly rainfall distribution. In order to calculate the index, we used a 90m digital elevation model to estimate potential radiation, this was combined with interpolated maximum and minimum mean monthly temperature to estimate potential evapotranspiration using Hargreaves equation. Water deficit was calculated as the summation of all negative values for a given year. Finally, soil water storage capacity, derived out of soil maps and pedotransferfunctions, was discounted from the water deficit to account for differences in storage under sites with equal water deficit. The index was compared against other widely used water indices, highlighting the importance of seasonality in the final outcome. When used as a comparison tool, the index was able to accommodate differences between areas with same total rainfall but different yearly distribution, making it a rapid method to assess the magnitude of water limitations under any given environment

Augmenting Water Deficit Index as a Tool to Estimate Forest Plantation Water Availability

Water availability is the largest limitation for trees to grow in several parts of the world. With climatic patterns varying over the last two decades, characterizing water available to the crop trees, becomes an important task as it relates to stand growth. Several authors have tried to integrate rainfall into growth and yield equations with varying levels of success. From the very simple yearly rainfall to more complex full water balance models, determining an index of water availability remains a task that needs to be taken into account when projecting forest growth. With this objective in mind, a water deficit index was derived for the forest plantation region in Chile. This area is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with a rains exceeding four folds the potential evapotranspirations in the winter, and the opposite in the summer. In this area, the index serves as a simple indicator of site drought allowing comparison between different sites around the world independently of yearly rainfall distribution. In order to calculate the index, we used a 90m digital elevation model to estimate potential radiation, this was combined with interpolated maximum and minimum mean monthly temperature to estimate potential evapotranspiration using Hargreaves equation. Water deficit was calculated as the summation of all negative values for a given year. Finally, soil water storage capacity, derived out of soil maps and pedotransferfunctions, was discounted from the water deficit to account for differences in storage under sites with equal water deficit. The index was compared against other widely used water indices, highlighting the importance of seasonality in the final outcome. When used as a comparison tool, the index was able to accommodate differences between areas with same total rainfall but different yearly distribution, making it a rapid method to assess the magnitude of water limitations under any given environment

Computational approaches for the characterization of the Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV inhibition: Applications to drug discovery, drug design and binding site similarity

La inhibició de l'enzim dipeptidil peptidasa IV (DPP-IV) ha emergit durant les últimes dècades com un dels tractaments més efectius per a la diabetis mellitus tipus II gràcies al seu baix risc hipoglucèmic i al manteniment del pes corporal. Els estudis d'anàlisi de relació estructura-activitat i els protocols de cribratge virtual s'han fet servir per explicar com els lligands interactuen amb el lloc d'unió de la DPP-IV i cercar en extenses bases de dades de compostos de baix pes molecular per tal de trobar nous inhibidors de DPP-IV. Per tant, la tesi doctoral s'ha centrat en: (a) la caracterització de la inhibició de DPP-IV amb l'objectiu de suggerir com els cribratges virtuals podrien ser millorats per a afavorir la identificació d'inhibidors de DPP-IV potents i selectius o bé per cercar noves molècules de partida; (b) el disseny d'una estratègia computacional adequada per identificar nous compostos de partida en bases de dades de molècules comercials que presentin baixa (o nul·la) similitud amb els actius existents; (c) la demostració que almenys de forma parcial, l'efecte antidiabètic descrit per a extractes de diferents espècies d'Ephedra és el resultat de l'activitat inhibitòria de DPP-IV per part dels compostos d'efedrina i derivats d'efedrina trobats en aquests mateixos extractes; i (d) l'anàlisi de les característiques fisico-químiques compartides pels llocs d'unió de DPP-IV i del receptor adrenèrgic β2 i comparar-los amb l'objectiu d'avaluar si és possible que un lligand pugui presentar activitat dual com a inhibidor de DPP-IV i β-bloquejant. És important destacar que el nostre treball aporta una nova hipòtesi sobre l'efecte cardiosaludable associat a la inhibició de DPP-IV i obre la porta al disseny d'un únic tractament dirigit simultàniament per a la diabetis mellitus tipus II i les malalties cardiovasculars, ambdues involucrades en la síndrome metabòlica.La inhibición de la enzima dipeptidil peptidasa IV (DPP-IV) ha surgido durante las últimas décadas como uno de los tratamientos más efectivos para la diabetes mellitus tipo II gracias a su bajo riesgo hipoglucémico y al mantenimiento del peso corporal. Los estudios de análisis de relación estructura-actividad y los protocolos de cribado virtual se han usado para explicar cómo los ligandos interactúan con el lugar de unión de la DPP-IV y buscar en extensas bases de datos de compuestos de bajo peso molecular para identificar nuevos inhibidores de DPP-IV. Por lo tanto, la presente tesis doctoral se ha centrado en: (a) la caracterización de la inhibición de DPP-IV con el objetivo de sugerir cómo los cribados virtuales podrían mejorarse para favorecer la identificación de inhibidores de DPP-IV potentes y selectivos o bien como buscar nuevas moléculas de partida; (b) el diseño de una estrategia computacional adecuada para identificar nuevos compuestos de partida en bases de datos de moléculas comerciales que presenten baja (o nula) similitud con los activos existentes; (c) la demostración de que al menos de forma parcial, el efecto antidiabético descrito para los extractos de diferentes especies de Ephedra es el resultado de la actividad inhibitoria de DPP-IV por parte de las moléculas de efedrina y derivados de ésta encontrados en estos mismos extractos; y (d) el análisis de las características fisico-químicas compartidas por los lugares de unión de DPP-IV y del receptor adrenérgico β2 y compararlos con el objetivo de evaluar si es posible que un ligando pueda presentar actividad dual como inhibidor de DPP-IV y β-bloqueante. Es importante destacar que nuestro trabajo aporta una nueva hipótesis sobre el efecto cardiosaludable asociado a la inhibición de DPP-IV y abre la puerta al diseño de un único tratamiento dirigido simultáneamente para la diabetes mellitus tipo II y las enfermedades cardiovasculares, ambas involucradas en el síndrome metabólico.The inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) enzyme has emerged over the last decade as one of the most effective treatments for type II diabetes mellitus with low risk for hypoglycemia and weight gain. Structure-activity relationship analyses and virtual screening protocols have been used to explain how ligands interact with the DPP- IV binding site and to mine large databases of small molecules searching for new DPP-IV inhibitors. The present doctoral thesis has been therefore focused on: (a) the characterization of DPP-IV inhibition in order to suggest how virtual screening protocols may be improved either to favor the identification of potent and selective DPP-IV inhibitors or to look for new lead molecules; (b) the design of a computational strategy suitable for identifying new lead compounds with very low (or no) similarity to known actives in purchasable databases; (c) the demonstration that, at least partly, the described antidiabetic effect of different Ephedra species extracts is the result of the DPP-IV inhibitory bioactivity by ephedrine and the ephedrine-derivatives found in these extracts and (d) the analysis of the physico-chemical features shared by the DPP-IV and β2-adrenergic receptors binding sites and their comparison in order to evaluate if small molecules with dual bioactivity as DPP-IV inhibitors and β-blockers are possible. It is noteworthy that our work provides a new hypothesis about the cardioprotective effect associated with DPP-IV inhibition and opens the door to a single treatment focused toward type II diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases involved in the metabolic syndrome

Deuda Externa, Inversión y Crecimiento en Colombia, 1970-2002.

Este trabajo examina la relación entre la deuda externa, la inversión privada y el crecimiento para Colombia en el período 1970-2002. Se utilizaron dos especificaciones, una en donde las ecuaciones de crecimiento e inversión son lineales, y otra en la cual la relación entre deuda externa y crecimiento es de tipo curva de Laffer. Estas ecuaciones fueron estimadas simultáneamente mediante mínimos cuadrados en dos estapas con variables instrumentales. Los resultados indican que en la especificación lineal, la deuda externa como proporción del PIB tiene una relación negativa con el crecimiento en la cual un incremento de 5.6 puntos en el indicador de deuda se asocia con una caída de un punto en la tasa de crecimiento del producto. Adicionalmente, se encontró una relación cuadrática en la cual la deuda externa tiene un efecto negativo a partir de un nivel de endeudamiento de 27.1 puntos del PIB. Finalmente, se halló que la inversión privada está asociada directamente con el flujo de endeudamiento privado e inversamente con el endeudamiento externo público.Deuda externa, inversión privada, crecimiento económico, hipótesis de sobreendeudamiento, curva de laffer.

The PI-3-Kinase P110α Catalytic Subunit of T Lymphocytes Modulates Collagen-Induced Arthritis

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) family of enzymes plays a determinant role in inflammation and autoimmune responses. However, the implication of the different isoforms of catalytic subunits in these processes is not clear. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease that entails innate and adaptive immune response elements in which PI3K is a potential hub for immune modulation. In a mouse transgenic model with T-cell-specific deletion of p110α catalytic chain (p110α-/-ΔT), we show the modulation of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) by this isoform of PI3K. In established arthritis, p110α-/-ΔT mice show decreased prevalence of illness than their control siblings, higher IgG1 titers and lower levels of IL-6 in serum, together with decreased ex vivo Collagen II (CII)-induced proliferation, IL-17A secretion and proportion of naive T cells in the lymph nodes. In a pre-arthritis phase, at 13 days post-Ag, T-cell-specific deletion of p110α chain induced an increased, less pathogenic IgG1/IgG2a antibodies ratio; changes in the fraction of naive and effector CD4+ subpopulations; and an increased number of CXCR5+ T cells in the draining lymph nodes of the p110α-/-ΔT mice. Strikingly, T-cell blasts in vitro obtained from non-immunized p110α-/-ΔT mice showed an increased expression of CXCR5, CD44 and ICOS surface markers and defective ICOS-induced signaling towards Akt phosphorylation. These results, plus the accumulation of cells in the lymph nodes in the early phase of the process, could explain the diminished illness incidence and prevalence in the p110α-/-ΔT mice and suggests a modulation of CIA by the p110α catalytic chain of PI3K, opening new avenues of intervention in T-cell-directed therapies to autoimmune diseases.This research was funded by Acción Estratégica en Salud Intramural (AESI) del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, grant number AESI PI16CIII/00012 to PP, and by Acción Estratégica en Salud AESI del Instituto de Salud Carlos III, grant number AES PI16/00032 to G.C.S

Thin-layer detection using spectral inversion and a genetic algorithm

Spectral inversion using a genetic algorithm (GA) as an optimisation approach was used for increasing the seismic resolution of a particular dataset; by contrast with the conjugate gradient method, a GA does not require a good starting model but rather a search space.The method discriminated layers thinner than λ/8 when tested on synthetic and log data. When applied to a seismic dataset concerning the Barco formation in the Catatumbo basin, Colombia, spectral inversion led to recovering information from seismic data contributing towards the vertical identification of geological features such as thin distributary channels deposited in a deltaic environment having a tidal influence. The results revealed that a GA outperformed traditional minimisation schemes

Comunicación organizacional interna y engagement en el hospital Solidaridad-Wanchaq Cusco, 2021

La presente investigación titulada Comunicación organizacional interna y engagement en el Hospital Solidaridad-Wanchaq Cusco 2021 tuvo como objetivo determinar la relación entre la comunicación organizacional interna y el engagement. La metodología utilizada para esta investigación fue aplicada, descriptiva con enfoque cuantitativo correlacional, el diseño utilizado fue no experimental de corte transversal. La población estuvo compuesta por 28 trabajadores, por lo que se trabajó la muestra con la misma cantidad. La técnica utilizada fue la encuesta, se utilizó un instrumento que fue el cuestionario de 33 preguntas (17 son de comunicación organizacional interna y 16 de engagement) los que fueron estructurados con la escala de Likert. Para el procesamiento de datos se utilizó el programa SPSS vers – 25, como _ < 0,05 con un valor de 0.000, se rechaza la hipótesis nula y se acepta la hipótesis alterna, se concluye que hay relación entre la comunicación organizacional interna y el engagement en el Hospital Solidaridad-Wanchaq Cusco 2021, con un nivel de correlación directa y considerable, de acuerdo con el cuadro de interpretación de valor Rho de Sperman, porque el coeficiente de asociación fue 0.644. Si se aplica una buena comunicación organizacional interna se logrará generar engagement en los trabajadores de la organización

Thin-layer detection using spectral inversion and a genetic algorithm

Spectral inversion using a genetic algorithm (gA) as an optimisation approach was used for increasing the seismic resolution of a particular dataset; by contrast with the conjugate gradient method, a gA does not require a good starting model but rather a search space. The method discriminated layers thinner than λ/8 when tested on synthetic and log data. When applied to a seismic dataset concerning the Barco formation in the Catatumbo basin, Colombia, spectral inversion led to recovering information from seismic data contributing towards the vertical identification of geological features such as thin distributary channels deposited in a deltaic environment having a tidal influence. The results revealed that a gA outperformed traditional minimisation schemes

PI3-Kinase p110α Deficiency Modulates T Cell Homeostasis and Function and Attenuates Experimental Allergic Encephalitis in Mature Mice

Class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) are involved in the development of normal and autoimmune responses, including Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model for human multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, the role of the ubiquitously expressed class IA PI3K p110α catalytic subunits in EAE has been analyzed using a model of Cre/flox mediated T cell specific deletion of p110α catalytic chain (p110αΔT). Comparison of two month-old (young) and six month-old (mature) p110αΔT mice and their wild type (WT) counterparts indicated loss of spleen CD4+ T cells that increased with age, indicating a role of p110α in their homeostasis. In contrast, CD4+ T regulatory (Treg) cells were enhanced in mature p110αΔT mice when compared to WT mice. Since Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) peptide-induced EAE is dependent on, or mediated by CD4+ T cells and CD4+ T cell-derived cytokines and controlled by Treg cells, development of EAE in young and mature WT or p110αΔT mice was analyzed. EAE clinical symptoms and disease scores in six month p110αΔT mice were significantly lower than those of mature WT, or young WT and p110αΔT mice. Furthermore, ex vivo antigen activation of lymph node cells from MOG immunized mature p110αΔT mice induced significantly lower levels of IFN-γ and IL-17A than young p110αΔT or young and mature WT mice. Other cytokines including IL-2, IL-10 or TNF-α showed no significant differences between p110αΔT and WT mature mice. Our data show a lower incidence of MOG-induced EAE in mature p110αΔT mice linked to altered T cell homeostasis and lower secretion of inflammatory cytokines.This research was supported by Grants PI13/01809 (to JMR), PI13/02153 and PI16CIII/00012 (to PP) from “Acción Estratégica en Salud, Plan Estatal I+D+i”, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain), and by the Associazione Italiana Ricerca sul Cancro (Grant IG20714, AIRC, Milan) and Fondazione Cariplo (2017-0535) (to U.D.).S