Financial Crisis, Health Outcomes and Aging: Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s

We study the impact of economic crisis on health in Mexico. There have been four wide-scale economic crises in Mexico in the past two decades, the most recent in 1995-96. We find that mortality rates for the very young and the elderly increase or decline less rapidly in crisis years as compared with non-crisis years. In late 1995-96 crisis, mortality rates were about 5 to 7 percent higher in the crisis years compared to the years just prior to the crisis. This translates into a 0.4 percent increase in mortality for the elderly and a 0.06 percent increase in mortality for the very young. We find tentative evidence that economic crises affect mortality by reducing incomes and possibly by placing a greater burden on the medical sector, but not by forcing less healthy members of the population to work or by forcing primary caregivers to go to work.

The dual inhibitory effect of thiostrepton on FoxM1 and EWS/FLI1 provides a novel therapeutic option for Ewing's sarcoma

The poor prognosis of Ewing's sarcoma (EWS), together with its high lethal recurrence rate and the side-effects of current treatments, call for novel targeted therapies with greater curative effectiveness and substantially reduced side-effects. The oncogenic chimeric protein EWS/FLI1 is the key malignancy driver in most EWSs, regulating numerous target genes, many of which influence cell cycle progression. It has often been argued that targeting proteins regulated directly or indirectly by EWS/FLI1 may provide improved therapeutic options for EWS. In this context, our study examined FoxM1, a key cell cycle regulating transcription factor, reported to be expressed in EWS and influenced by EWS/FLI1. Thiostrepton, a naturally occurring small molecule, has been shown to selectively inhibit FoxM1 expression in cancer cells. We demonstrate that in EWS, in addition to inhibiting FoxM1 expression, thiostrepton downregulates the expression of EWS/FLI1, both at the mRNA and protein levels, leading to cell cycle arrest and, ultimately, to apoptotic cell death. We also show that thiostrepton treatment reduces the tumorigenicity of EWS cells, significantly delaying the growth of nude mouse xenograft tumors. Results from this study demonstrate a novel action of thiostrepton as inhibitor of the expression of the EWS/FLI1 oncoprotein in vitro and in vivo, and that it shows greater efficacy against EWS than against other tumor types, as it is active on EWS cells and tumors at concentrations lower than those reported to have effective inhibitory activity on tumor cells derived from other cancers. Owing to the dual action of this small molecule, our findings suggest that thiostrepton may be particularly effective as a novel agent for the treatment of EWS patients

Controversy around statistical tests: Current situation in psychology and didactical implications

III Congreso Internacional Virtual de Educación Estadística (CIVEEST), 21-24 febrero de 2019. [www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/civeest.html]La controversia sobre el uso e interpretación de los contrastes de hipótesis en psicología ha sido muy amplia en los últimos 30 años y sociedades como la American Psychological Association ha publicado recomendaciones para mejorar la práctica estadística en este campo. En este trabajo analizamos las investigaciones recientes que estudian el uso de métodos estadísticos en psicología, mostrando que aunque ha habido un avance, queda mucho por hacer para solucionar el problema. Finalizamos con algunas recomendaciones para la mejora de la enseñanza de la estadística en psicologíaThe significance tests controversy in psychology was very wide in the past 30 years and associations such as the American Psychological Association published recommendations to improve the statistics practice in this field. In this paper we analyse recent research that study the statistical methods in psychology and show some advance that is still not enough to solve the problem. We finish with some recommendations to improve the teaching of inference in psychology

Targeted Therapies in Sarcomas: Challenging the Challenge

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of mesenchymal malignancies that very often lead to death. Nowadays, chemotherapy is the only available treatment for most sarcomas but there are few active drugs and clinical results still remain very poor. Thus, there is an imperious need to find new therapeutic alternatives in order to improve sarcoma patient's outcome. During the last years, there have been described a number of new molecular pathways that have allowed us to know more about cancer biology and tumorigenesis. Sarcomas are one of the tumors in which more advances have been made. Identification of specific chromosomal translocations, some important pathways characterization such as mTOR pathway or the insulin-like growth factor pathway, the stunning development in angiogenesis knowledge, and brand new agents like viruses have lead to the development of new therapeutic options with promising results. This paper makes an exhaustive review of preclinical and clinical evidence of the most recent targeted therapies in sarcomas and provides a future view of treatments that may lead to improve prognosis of patients affected with this disease

Caveolin-1 in sarcomas: friend or foe?

Sarcomas represent a heterogeneous group of tumors with a complex and difficult reproducible classification. Their pathogenesis is poorly understood and there are few effective treatment options for advanced disease. Caveolin-1 is a multifunctional scaffolding protein with multiple binding partners that regulates multiple cancer-associated processes including cellular transformation, tumor growth, cell death and survival, multidrug resistance, angiogenesis, cell migration and metastasis. However, ambiguous roles have been ascribed to caveolin-1 in signal transduction and cancer, including sarcomas. In particular, evidence indicating that caveolin-1 function is cell context dependent has been repeatedly reported. Caveolin-1 appears to act as a tumor suppressor protein at early stages of cancer progression. In contrast, a growing body of evidence indicates that caveolin-1 is up-regulated in several multidrug-resistant and metastatic cancer cell lines and human tumor specimens. This review is focused on the role of caveolin-1 in several soft tissue and bone sarcomas and discusses the use of this protein as a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker and as a therapeutic target

Formulación del plan de gestión integral de residuos sólidos para la Fundación Universitaria de San Gil - Unisangil

Este documento presenta un análisis referente a la situación actual de los residuos sólidos generados en las diferentes dependencias de la Fundación Universitaria de San Gil-Unisangil, a partir del desarrollo de una caracterización que permite establecer parámetros físicos y químicos que conllevan el manejo inadecuado de dichos residuos, y a su vez a formular planes, programas y proyectos de mejoramiento que permitan a la institución educativa cumplir con los requisitos legales vigentes en cuanto a la gestión integral de residuos sólidos

La mujer peruana : evolución y perspectivas para su desarrollo futuro (1990-2020) : Región Puno

El presente estudio tiene como propósito analizar la evolución de la situación de la mujer de la región de Puno, desde el año 1990 al 2010; así como estudiar las perspectivas para su desarrollo futuro, con el objetivo de proponer políticas específicas para mejorar su calidad de vida. La investigación tiene un alcance descriptivo y utiliza un enfoque cualitativo para comprender las expectativas y obstáculos que tienen las mujeres para su desarrollo; para lo cual se utilizó la estrategia de casos de estudio múltiples bajo un diseño holístico. La muestra de 30 mujeres fue construida a través de las técnicas de bola de nieve y máxima variación, considerando las dimensiones demográficas de edad, procedencia, maternidad, situación laboral y nivel educativo, de la mujer de Puno. Como parte de las conclusiones, se evidenció un rol cada vez más protagónico en la sociedad puneña, el que ha aumentado en paralelo con su participación en la actividad económica, principalmente en comercio y agricultura, con la tasa de actividad laboral más alta a nivel nacional. A pesar de las notables mejoras en educación y salud reproductiva, las mujeres de Puno demandan mejoras en la calidad e infraestructura de dichos servicios, así como igualdad de oportunidades y la defensa de sus derechos, para lograr de manera sostenible su propio desarrollo y el bienestar de sus familias. Finalmente, se recomienda un mayor empoderamiento hacia la mujer de Puno, tanto por parte del gobierno, con programas y políticas integradoras y promotoras de la equidad de género en todos los ámbitos de la dinámica socio-económica de la región; así como de las entidades privadas, a través de prácticas a favor de un mayor equilibrio entre la vida laboral y familiar, y actividades de voluntariado empresarial que brinden capacitación técnica y ayuda solidaria a las zonas más vulnerablesThe present study aims to analyze the evolution of the situation of women in the Puno region, from 1990 to 2010, and the prospects for their future development, with the purpose of proposing specific policies to improve their quality of life. The research has a descriptive scope and uses a qualitative approach to understand the expectations and obstacles that women face in their development, which is why we used the strategy of multiple case studies under a holistic design. The sample of 30 women was built through snowball techniques and maximum variation, considering the demographics of age, origin, maternity, occupation and educational level of women in Puno. Including the conclusions obtained by the study, the women showed an increasingly prominent role in Puno society, parallel with their participation in economic activity, especially in trade and agriculture, with the highest employment rate in the country. Despite significant improvements in education and reproductive health, women in Puno demand improvements in the quality and infrastructure of these services, and equal opportunities and the defense of their rights, in order to achieve, in a sustainable manner, their own development and welfare of their families. Finally, it is recommended a greater empowerment to women of Puno, on the part of government, with inclusive policies and programs that promote equality of gender in all the spheres of socio-economic dynamics of the region; and of the private entities, through practices in favor of a better balance between work and family life, and corporate volunteer activities that provide technical training and solidarity aid and assistance to the most vulnerable zonesTesi

Variables de interés clínico en el tratamiento cognitivo-conductual de la adicción a la cocaína: Especificidad de los trastornos de la personalidad

The aim of this study was to examine the association between social interaction variables and premature cessation of treatment, psychological adjustment and quality of life, as a function of co-existing diagnoses of personality disorders. The sample was composed of 95 individuals who commenced treatment for cocaine addiction. Of the sample, 53.7% had personality disorders diagnoses. The results highlight the relevance of addressing dysfunctional coping styles during early stages of treatment, especially coping styles linked to emotion processing as they associate with lower levels of self-efficacy, lower perceived quality of life, poorer psychosocial adjustment and higher risk of treatment dropout. These deficits are significantly more prominent in individuals with personality disorders, who present lower levels of self-efficacy, self-esteem, optimism, self-control and social skills.El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer la relevancia y relación de variables de interacción social con el riesgo de abandono prematuro del tratamiento, el nivel de ajuste psicológico y la calidad de vida, analizando las diferencias que puedan deberse a la presencia de trastornos de la personalidad. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 95 personas que iniciaron el tratamiento por su adicción a la cocaína. El 53.7 % de los pacientes presentaban trastornos de la personalidad. Los resultados evidencian la importancia de prestar suficiente atención en fases iniciales del tratamiento al estilo de afrontamiento de los problemas, particularmente al centrado en la emoción porque se relaciona con menores niveles de autoeficacia, calidad de vida autopercibida, menor nivel de ajuste psicológico y mayor riesgo de abandono del tratamiento. Estas deficiencias se observan significativamente más en pacientes con trastornos de la personalidad, entre los que se aprecian además menores niveles de autoeficacia, autoestima, optimismo, autocontrol y habilidades sociales

Questionnaire of core beliefs related to drug use and craving for assessment of relapse risk

El objetivo de la investigación fue diseñar un cuestionario para la evaluación de creencias nucleares en torno al consumo de drogas y el craving. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 215 pacientes, de los que el 85.8% eran hombres y el 14.2% mujeres en tratamiento por su adicción al alcohol (40%), cocaína (36.3%) y cánnabis (23.7%). Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de la muestra, análisis de varianza, de regresión y análisis factorial con la finalidad de indagar en la estructura del cuestionario y su relación con variables como la abstinencia o deseo de consumo. El apartado de creencias relacionadas con las drogas mostró una estructura de cuatro factores: lo que la persona cree que no podrá realizar en ausencia del consumo de drogas, la falta de renuncia al consumo, las condiciones que deben darse para volver a consumir y el consumo como única vía para sentirse bien. El apartado relacionado con el craving mostró tres factores: las emociones negativas como precipitantes del consumo, las emociones positivas y las dificultades atribuidas al afrontamiento del deseo. A su vez, se constata que las creencias tienen más peso en la predicción del deseo en comparación al tiempo de abstinencia. El cuestionario permite evaluar un conjunto de creencias que muestras factores significativos para el diseño de programas de prevención de recaídas.This study was aimed at designing a questionnaire for the assessment of addiction-related core beliefs and craving. The sample comprised 215 patients (85.8% males and 14.2% females) in treatment for dependence to alcohol (40%), cocaine (36.3%) and cannabis (23.7%). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. Variance, regression and factorial analyses were conducted to study the questionnaire structure and its relation with variables such as abstinence and craving. Items about drug-related beliefs yielded a four-factor structure: what patient think that they could not do without drug use, lack of withdrawal, conditions required to use drugs again, and use of drugs as the only way to feel good. Items related to craving yielded three factors: negative emotions as precipitants of drug use, positive emotions, and difficulties attributed to coping with craving. Furthermore, beliefs were more important to predict craving than abstinence time. The present questionnaire allows to assess a set of significant factors to design prevention relapse programs