Making Accessibility Visible: Visualizing Spatial Accessibility Through Multi-Dimensional Scaling Model

Accessibility has progressively claimed a central role in policy discourse and planning in the Global South. However, availability of approaches for its assessment is still limited in practice. Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) is a statistical tool aimed at explaining relations of distances, such as the analyzed in accessibility, through the construction of a new space of projections. That way, results are easily visualized and interpreted. Our research explores the use of MDS for the visualization of spatial accessibility. Taking the cities of Pereira and Dosquebradas, which belong to the Metropolitan Area of the Centre-West (MACW) of Colombia, we calculate the shortest path from each intersection to the rest assuming trips in motorized and non-motorized transport modes. This approach allows to visually re-configure the spatial distribution of intersections in the transport network, graphically representing accessibility levels for different zones in the metropolitan region of analysis. The use of MDS enables a more intuitive interpretation of accessibility and the exploration of underlying factors that can influence spatial inequalities, as well as to visualize changes generated by different transport and land-use interventions. Results allow to visualize the configuration of the two municipalities in the metropolitan area in an easily interpretable fashion, identifying areas with limited accessibility and establishing comparisons between mode choices. The tool seeks to contribute to better-informing transport policy and accessibility appraisals and identifying potential spatial inequalities in relation to transport in urban areas, which was tested in various forums with local decision-makers and non-specialists in Colombia

Access to security services and crime patterns. Case study: Manizales, Colombia

Accessibility planning allows a better understanding of the operational characteristics of transport networks in relation to economic, socio-demographic, and land-use variables. It has, however, experienced a much slower adoption in the Global South as opposed to industrialized societies, focusing mostly on work opportunities and other basic services. The city of Manizales in Colombia is considering incorporating accessibility models as part of policy design and decision-making processes for the implementation of new services. In this regard, we set out to assess the relationship between locations of police stations, operational characteristics of the transport network, and criminal offences by using territorial accessibility measures. Our research seeks to contribute to the debates on the applicability and usefulness of accessibility measure when applied to specific services in a developing context. The research builds on primary data obtained in a period of over a year with the aid of GPS equipment. These data are contrasted with information on criminal offences attended by local authorities. Our analyses confront accessibility levels on the road network and spatial coverage of police stations with density of reported criminaloffences. These analyses suggest correlations between areas of the city with higher density of criminal offences and constraints of local capacity and accessibility of police facilities. We provide evidence of the role of accessibility in seamlessly unrelated services and produce new information that can strengthen criteria for land management and locations of urban facilities in mid-sized cities

O pass-through das variações da taxa de câmbio para os preços dos principais produtos exportados pelo Brasil

The aim of the present paper is to analyze the relationship between exchange rates changes and prices of main Brazilian exports, the exchange rate pass-through. A varying-parameter model was used to estimate the coefficients of pass-through. The results suggest that incomplete pass-through of exchange rate changes is a pervasive phenomenon. These results are in line with other estimates presented in the literature.exchange rate pass-through, export prices, Brazil, Political Economy, C22, C50, F12,

Exploring and Curating Data Collections with CURARE: demonstration

International audienceThis paper demonstrates CURARE, an environment for curating raw data collections and assisting data scientists to explore them. CURARE implements a data curation model used to store structural and quantitative metadata such as the number of columns, de name of columns and the statistics of the values of every column. It provides associated functions for exploring these metadata. The demonstration proposed in this paper is devoted to evaluate and compare the effort invested by a data scientist when exploring data collections with and without CURARE assistance

Biogenic Synthesis and antibiofilm efficacy of iron nanoparticles via computer simulation

The search for new drugs can be accelerated by in silico methods, i.e., fully computational methods known for their speed and low cost, allowing the analysis of a large amount of data, e.g., thousands of possible antimicrobials, in a few weeks. Molecular docking and first-principles calculations are great allies in this quest. They enable the assessment of protein-ligand interactions and can predict interactions between NPs and macromolecules to provide more information about the interactions and dynamics of NPs in biological systems. In this context, this work aims to use in silico methods to detect the formation of biogenic metallic nanoparticles from functional microalgal biomolecules of the genus Chlorella, which have chelation of metal ions as a fundamental property, and to verify the possible antibacterial biofilm efficacy using computational tools such as molecular docking. In a first analysis, it was found that the iron salt FeSO4 was the most suitable to bind the microalgal enzyme and produce its phytochelatin protein. Following this result, an analysis of the electronic structure of the phytochelatin complex with the iron salt was carried out, proving its structural modification at the nanometric level, after which an analysis of its therapeutic effect on antibiofilm activity was performed. S. aureus, a bacterium known for its multiresistant to antibiotics, these results demonstrate, through alternative in silico methods, the physiological role of phytochelatin from microalgae in the detoxification and bioremediation of metallic contaminants

Bacterial nanocellulose and long-chain fatty acids interaction: an in silico study

Chronic wounds are a big challenge in contemporary society, as they lead to a decrease in life-quality, amputations and even death. Infections and biofilm formation might occur with chronic wounds, due to the higher susceptibility to antibiotic multi-resistant bacteria. In this situation, novel wound dressing biomaterials are needed for treatment. Thus, the aim of this research was to evaluate a possible BNC interaction with tucumã oil/butter-derived fatty acids, as this system could be a promising biomaterial for wound treating. The interaction between  cellobiose (BNC basic unit) and four fatty acids was evaluated by ab initio simulations and density functional theory (DFT), through SIESTA code. Molecular docking was also used to investigate the effect of a possible releasing of the studied fatty acids to the quorum-sensing proteins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram-negative bacterium) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram-positive bacterium). According to ab initio simulations, the interaction between cellobiose and fatty acids derived from tucumã oil/butter was suggested due to physical adsorption (energy around 0.17-1.33 eV) of the lipidic structures into cellobiose. A great binding affinity (∆G ranging from 4.2-8.2 kcal.mol-1) was observed for both protonated and deprotonated fatty acids against P. aeruginosa (LasI, LasA and Rhlr) and S. aureus (ArgA and ArgC) quorum-sensing proteins, indicating that these bioactive compounds might act as potential antimicrobial and/or antibiofilm agents in the proposed system. Hence, from a theoretical viewpoint, the proposed system could be a promising raw biomaterial in the production of chronic wound dressings

Implementation and use of green manures for weed suppression in sequential maize cropping

Correspondence should be addressed to Amílcar Servín Niz; [email protected] ground cover produced by green manures has a direct influence on weed suppression and, in addition, the biomass produced by these same plants influences crop growth. This study was carried out to compare the effect of green manure species on the incidence of weeds, in sequence, in order to evaluate the effects of the use of green manure cover on the productive characteristics of maize plants. A completely randomised experimental design was used, with 11 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments were cover crops Canavalia ensiformis (T1), Cajanus cajan (T2), Stizolobium pruriens (T3), Crotalaria juncea (T4), Phaseolus vulgaris (T5), Stizolobium trigre (T6), Stizolobium aterrimum (T7), Crotalaria retusa (T8), Crotalaria breviflora (T9), Dolichos lablab (T10), and conventional system (T11). Ninety days after sowing, the green manures were cut, and 30 days after the green manures were cut, the hybrid maize Crop Top 520 was sown. The variables evaluated in relation to the planting of green manures were the green and dry biomass of green manures, alongside the green biomass of weeds and suppression of weeds. Concerning maize plants, the variables evaluated were plant height at 60 DAS, stalk diameter at 60 DAS, number of grain rows per ear, number of grains per grain row, and yield. The averages were subsequently analyzed using Tukey’s test at 95% significance level. The use of green manure significantly reduces the green mass of weeds up to 90 days due to lack of access to light of the weeds, which reduces their appearance and growth. Stizolobium aterrimum showed the best results both as a dry mass producer and weed suppressor and also as a yield enhancer in maize crops.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaPrograma Paraguayo para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y Tecnología. Programa Nacional de Incentivo a los Investigadore

Uso de drogas ilícitas em sete países da América Latina: perspectivas críticas de familiares e pessoas próximas

This cross-sectional multi-centre study explored how family members and friends of illicit drug users perceived protective and risk factors, treatment facilities and policies and laws regarding illicit drug use. Family members and friends of illicit drug users were recruited in 10 urban health care outpatient units in 7 Latin American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico) to complete a questionnaire. The majority of the respondents chose psycho-social factors over genetic or biological explanations as causes of drug problems. Respondents felt that families and governments were responsible for preventing drug problems. Church/religious institutions were most often mentioned in the context of accessible treatment. When asked about access to treatment facilities, the majority said that there were not enough. Shame about drug use, cost, and limited treatment options were most often cited as barriers to treatment.Este estudio transversal multicéntrico exploró como los familiares y personas cercanas de usuarios de drogas ilícitas perciben los factores de protección y los de riesgo, las facilidades de tratamiento, las iniciativas de prevención y la legislación relativa a las drogas ilícitas. Los familiares y personas cercanas de los usuarios de drogas ilícitas fueron reclutados en 10 unidades urbanas de atención de salud en ambulatorios, en 7 países de América Latina (Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras y México) para responder a una encuesta. Con respecto a las causas de los problemas de las drogas, la mayoría de los encuestados destacó los factores psicosociales como siendo más importantes que los factores genéticos o biológicos. Los encuestados consideraron que las familias y los gobiernos son quienes tienen más responsabilidad en la prevención de los problemas de drogas. La iglesia y las instituciones religiosas fueron mencionadas con mayor frecuencia en el contexto del acceso al tratamiento. Cuando se les preguntó sobre el acceso a las facilidades de tratamiento, la mayoría manifestó que éstas no eran suficientes. Como barreras para el tratamiento, citaron entre las más frecuentes, la vergüenza por el uso de las drogas, la falta de opciones para su tratamiento y el costo del mismo.Este estudo multicêntrico corte temporal explorou a perspectiva de familiares e pessoas próximas a usuários de drogas ilícitas sobre fatores de risco e proteção, serviços de tratamento, políticas e leis relacionadas ao uso de drogas ilícitas. Os familiares e pessoas próximas a usuários de drogas ilícitas foram recrutados em dez unidades de saúde, localizadas em grandes centros urbanos de sete países da América Latina (Brasil, Colômbia, Costa Rica, Equador, Guatemala, Honduras e México), para responderem um questionário. A maioria dos participantes escolheu fatores psicossociais e não fatores genéticos ou biológicos para explicar a causa dos problemas do uso de drogas. Responderam que familiares e governantes são os principais responsáveis pela prevenção dos problemas das drogas. As igrejas e outras instituições religiosas foram mencionadas com frequência dentro do contexto de acesso ao tratamento. A maioria dos entrevistados apontou que o acesso aos serviços que oferecem tratamentos aos usuários de drogas não é suficiente. Vergonha sobre o uso de drogas, custo e opções insuficientes de tratamento foram citados com mais frequência como as principais barreiras para o tratamento.Organization of American StatesInter-American Drug Abuse Control CommissionCentre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH

Illicit drug use in seven Latin American countries: critical perspectives of families and familiars

This cross-sectional multi-centre study explored how family members and friends of illicit drug users perceived protective and risk factors, treatment facilities and policies and laws regarding illicit drug use. Family members and friends of illicit drug users were recruited in 10 urban health care outpatient units in 7 Latin American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico) to complete a questionnaire. The majority of the respondents chose psycho-social factors over genetic or biological explanations as causes of drug problems. Respondents felt that families and governments were responsible for preventing drug problems. Church/religious institutions were most often mentioned in the context of accessible treatment. When asked about access to treatment facilities, the majority said that there were not enough. Shame about drug use, cost, and limited treatment options were most often cited as barriers to treatment.Este estudio transversal multicéntrico exploró como los familiares y personas cercanas de usuarios de drogas ilícitas perciben los factores de protección y los de riesgo, las facilidades de tratamiento, las iniciativas de prevención y la legislación relativa a las drogas ilícitas. Los familiares y personas cercanas de los usuarios de drogas ilícitas fueron reclutados en 10 unidades urbanas de atención de salud en ambulatorios, en 7 países de América Latina (Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras y México) para responder a una encuesta. Con respecto a las causas de los problemas de las drogas, la mayoría de los encuestados destacó los factores psicosociales como siendo más importantes que los factores genéticos o biológicos. Los encuestados consideraron que las familias y los gobiernos son quienes tienen más responsabilidad en la prevención de los problemas de drogas. La iglesia y las instituciones religiosas fueron mencionadas con mayor frecuencia en el contexto del acceso al tratamiento. Cuando se les preguntó sobre el acceso a las facilidades de tratamiento, la mayoría manifestó que éstas no eran suficientes. Como barreras para el tratamiento, citaron entre las más frecuentes, la vergüenza por el uso de las drogas, la falta de opciones para su tratamiento y el costo del mismo.Este estudo multicêntrico corte temporal explorou a perspectiva de familiares e pessoas próximas a usuários de drogas ilícitas sobre fatores de risco e proteção, serviços de tratamento, políticas e leis relacionadas ao uso de drogas ilícitas. Os familiares e pessoas próximas a usuários de drogas ilícitas foram recrutados em dez unidades de saúde, localizadas em grandes centros urbanos de sete países da América Latina (Brasil, Colômbia, Costa Rica, Equador, Guatemala, Honduras e México), para responderem um questionário. A maioria dos participantes escolheu fatores psicossociais e não fatores genéticos ou biológicos para explicar a causa dos problemas do uso de drogas. Responderam que familiares e governantes são os principais responsáveis pela prevenção dos problemas das drogas. As igrejas e outras instituições religiosas foram mencionadas com frequência dentro do contexto de acesso ao tratamento. A maioria dos entrevistados apontou que o acesso aos serviços que oferecem tratamentos aos usuários de drogas não é suficiente. Vergonha sobre o uso de drogas, custo e opções insuficientes de tratamento foram citados com mais frequência como as principais barreiras para o tratamento