Scrap Tires in Ciudad Juárez and El Paso: Ranking the Risks

According to conventional wisdom, rapidly growing stocks of scrap tires on the U.S.–Mexico border pose a variety of health and environmental risks. This article assesses these risks in Paso del Norte, the border’s second-largest metropolis comprised principally of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas. We find that air pollution from tire pile fires poses the greatest threat. Scrap tires in Paso del Norte do not contribute significantly to the propagation of mosquito-borne diseases or to shortages of space in solid waste disposal sites. The burning of scrap tires at industrial facilities is minimal and might not have significant adverse environmental impacts even if it were more common.Scrap tires, U.S.–Mexico border, environment, health, risk assessment

Memorias del paisaje cordillerano: la travesía de los Andes en la Gobernación de Chile durante el siglo XVIII

En el presente artículo se analizan diferentes escritos del siglo XVIII para relevar la herencia multisecular de un imaginario asociado a los peligros del cruce cordillerano, que atraviesa transformaciones políticas y culturales de envergadu-ra. La noción de peligro, y el temor asociado al mismo, se despliega en los textos que informan o describen la travesía de la cordillera en el Reino de Chile, apelando a las amenazas de caer en el abismo o de congelarse de frío. Los ecos de estas marcas, establecidas tempranamente en la cultura colonial de Chile, se pueden rastrear también en los llamados escritos ilustrados, en que estos tópicos se funden con los de la montaña sublime

Do physical activity and trip characteristics differ when commuting to and from school?: The PACO study

Purpose: To determine whether trip characteristics (i.e., length, duration, and speed) and physical activity (PA) (i. e., light PA [LPA], moderate-to-vigorous PA [MVPA], and PA energy expenditure [PAEE]) differ by trip direction (i.e., home-school and school-home trips), and to examine differences in trips characteristics and PA levels between modes of commuting (walking, multimodal, and motorized-vehicle). Methods: 181 adolescents wore a belt on their hip with an accelerometer and a GPS. The HABITUS and PALMSplusR softwares were used to combine accelerometer and GPS data and identify trip characteristics and PA levels during home-school and school-home trips. Mixed model analysis was used to examine the differences in trip characteristics and PA levels between the trip directions and across modes of commuting. Results: The percentage of school-home walking trips was higher (54.4% vs 46.9%) and had longer duration than the home-school walking trips (p < 0.01). In contrast, multimodal and vehicle trips had a longer duration during the home-school direction than the school-home direction (p < 0.01). Regarding PA levels, the school-home direction presented higher LPA during walking trips (p < 0.01), but lower MVPA (p < 0.01), compared to the home-school direction. Walking trips presented higher MVPA and PAEE than multimodal and motorized-vehicle in both directions, but smaller LPA minutes in home-school direction than multimodal and motorized-vehicle (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The percentage of walking trips, the characteristics of the trips, and PA levels during school-home direction differed from home-school direction. In addition, walking trips were associated with higher MVPA levels and PAEE in both directions compare to multimodal or motorized-vehicle.Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and CompetitivenessThe European Regional Development Fund (DEP2016-75598-R)The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) / Regional Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities of Andalusia (B-CTS-160-UGR20),MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union "ERDF A way of making Europe" (PID2021-126126OA-I00)Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesBiomedicine Doctoral Studies program of the University of Granada, Spai

¿Gobernar para quiénes? La disputa por la legitimidad política en la polémica discursiva por las retenciones móviles en Argentina (2008)

This paper is part of a larger research project, which aims to study the discursive polemic (Amossy 2014) regarding a new scheme of agro-export taxes ”“ retenciones ”“ that took place in Argentina in 2008. For this, we analyzed the nodal points (Maingueneau 2010) that organize two opposing discourses, aiming to contrast the circulation of ideological signs (Voloshinov 1976), focus of discursive struggles. Focusing upon public speeches of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, on the one hand, and of agrarian organizations leaders opposed to the new tax, on the other, in this paper we discuss the accentuations of the sign GOBIERNO. The results reveal a complex dichotomization, underlying diverse conceptions of political legitimation and representation.El conficto suscitado por las retenciones a la exportación de granos en Argentina en el año 2008 constituye uno de los episodios políticos más signifcativos desde la crisis de los años 2001-2002. En este marco, hemos abordado el funcionamiento discursivo de la polémica (Amossy 2014) en torno a dicho conficto, a partir del análisis de los puntos nodales (Maingueneau 2010) que organizan los dos discursos enfrentados. A tal fn, estudiamos y contrastamos la circulación de determinados signos ideológicos (Voloshinov 1976), que son el foco de luchas por imposición de distintas acentuaciones, en alocuciones de la Presidenta Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, por un lado, y de los dirigentes agrarios opuestos a la medida, por otro. En esta oportunidad, nos centramos en las acentuaciones que adquiere el signo GOBIERNO en estos discursos. Los resultados revelan una dicotomización compleja, en la que subyacen diversas concepciones de la legitimidad y representatividad políticas.O confito provocado pelas retenções à exportação de grãos na Argentina, em 2008, constitui um dos episódios mais signifcativos desde a crise dos anos 2001-2002. Nesse contexto, estudamos o funcionamento da polêmica discursiva (Amossy 2014) que gerou o confito, com base na análise dos pontos nodais (Maingueneau 2010) que organizam argumentativamente os dois discursos antagonistas: a fala da presidente Cristina Fernández de Kirchner e a dos dirigentes agrários nucleados na Mesa de Enlace. Nessa tarefa, estudamos a função que adquirem determinados signos ideológicos (Voloshinov 1976) na construção de tópicos discursivos contrastantes. Neste trabalho, nos concentramos nas acentuações que adquire o signo GOVERNO em cada um dos discursos mencionados. Os resultados revelam uma dicotomização complexa, que põe em jogo diversas concepções de legitimidade e representatividade políticas nesses discursos

Re-writting democracy: Ideological accents and discursive memory in the export-tax polemic in Argentina (march-July 2008)

Este artículo forma parte de una investigación más amplia que aborda la polémica discursiva (Amossy 2014) por las retenciones a la exportación de granos en Argentina en el año 2008, a partir del análisis de los puntos nodales que organizan los dos discursos enfrentados: el de la Presidente Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, por un lado, y de los dirigentes agrarios opuestos a la medida, por otro. Con tal fin, estudiamos, en las alocuciones de estos polemistas, las distintas acentuaciones en pugna de determinados signos ideológicos (Voloshinov 1976), que consideramos un aspecto de la lucha por la iniciativa discursiva (Raiter 2016) en la polémica. En este caso, presentamos un análisis de dos acentuaciones del signo DEMOCRACIA en estos discursos: como forma de gobierno popular legalmente establecido y como modo de gestión de desacuerdos públicos. El análisis revela que las dos acentuaciones conviven en ambos discursos, no sin tensiones, produciendo una lucha por la apropiación del signo, que se vuelve un punto nodal en esta polémica discursiva.This article was developed as part of a larger research project that aims to study the discursive polemic (Amossy 2014) regarding the proposed new scheme of agro-export taxes -retenciones- that took place in Argentina during the first half of the year 2008, by analyzing the nodal points that organize the two opposing discourses: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s, on the one hand, and the discourse of the leaders of the agrarian organizations that oppose the new tax, on the other. To that end, we analyze, in their public speeches, the accentuations of specific ideological signs (Voloshinov 1976), which are the focus of discursive struggles (Raiter 2016) for the imposition of different accentuations. In this paper, we will focus on two accentuations of DEMOCRACIA: as a legally established popular government and as a form of managing public disagreements. The results show that the two accentuations are present in both discourses, not without tensions, which points to a struggle for the appropriation of the sign as a crucial aspect of this discursive polemic.Fil: Palma, Alejandra Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Humanidades. Centro de Estudios Lingüísticos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; Argentin

Reescrituras de democracia: acentos ideológicos y memoria discursiva en la polémica por las retenciones móviles en la Argentina (marzo-julio 2008)

This article was developed as part of a larger research project that aims to study the discursive polemic (Amossy 2014) regarding the proposed new scheme of agro-export taxes -retenciones- that took place in Argentina during the first half of the year 2008, by analyzing the nodal points that organize the two opposing discourses: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s, on the one hand, and the discourse of the leaders of the agrarian organizations that oppose the new tax, on the other. To that end, we analyze, in their public speeches, the accentuations of specific ideological signs (Voloshinov 1976), which are the focus of discursive struggles (Raiter 2016) for the imposition of different accentuations. In this paper, we will focus on two accentuations of DEMOCRACIA: as a legally established popular government and as a form of managing public disagreements. The results show that the two accentuations are present in both discourses, not without tensions, which points to a struggle for the appropriation of the sign as a crucial aspect of this discursive polemic.Este artículo forma parte de una investigación más amplia que aborda la polémica discursiva (Amossy 2014) por las retenciones a la exportación de granos en Argentina en el año 2008, a partir del análisis de los puntos nodales que organizan los dos discursos enfrentados: el de la Presidente Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, por un lado, y de los dirigentes agrarios opuestos a la medida, por otro. Con tal fin, estudiamos, en las alocuciones de estos polemistas, las distintas acentuaciones en pugna de determinados signos ideológicos (Voloshinov 1976), que consideramos un aspecto de la lucha por la iniciativa discursiva (Raiter 2016) en la polémica. En este caso, presentamos un análisis de dos acentuaciones del signo DEMOCRACIA en estos discursos: como forma de gobierno popular legalmente establecido y como modo de gestión de desacuerdos públicos. El análisis revela que las dos acentuaciones conviven en ambos discursos, no sin tensiones, produciendo una lucha por la apropiación del signo, que se vuelve un punto nodal en esta polémica discursiva

Lineage reprogramming of cord blood stem cells

Despite a number of studies having concluded that bone marrow progenitors can undergo transdifferentiation when exposed to growth factors or an altered extracellular matrix or transduced with exogenous genetic material, the literature in this area contains numerous reports that contradict this view. This thesis aims to examine the ability of umbilical cord blood stem cells to transdifferentiate into cells from an endodermal lineage, such as pancreatic insulin-producing β cells. Human umbilical cord blood provides a widely-available, easily harvested source of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) that have been demonstrated to have higher differentiation and proliferative abilities than bone marrow cells. In this study, genetic manipulation of HSCs and USSCs was performed by inserting the pancreatic transcription factors PDX1 and/or NGN3 utilising adenoviral vectors into each cell type. In HSCs, PDX1 expression was found to be incompatible with cell survival, while NGN3 induced the expression of neuronal transcripts such as MBP, an oligodendrocytic marker. Transduced USSCs showed marked upregulation of endodermal and pancreatic markers with ectopic expression of PDX1, and ectodermal markers with NGN3. Low levels of INSULIN mRNA expression were detected by qPCR; however, protein expression remained below the level of detection by immunohistochemistry. The effect of mRNA and protein expression changes in the transduced cells was evaluated in vivo by transplantation of transduced USSCs into diabetic NOD/SCID mice, which were shown not to affect murine blood glucose level two weeks post-transplantation. Quantitative PCR analysis of the graft post-transplantation demonstrated that it was still viable, but there was no detectable human PDX1 or INSULIN expression. Histology of the graft revealed a fibrous morphology, indicating that the transplanted USSCs had differentiated further down the mesodermal lineage. The extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins to which cells are exposed have been shown to influence transdifferentiation. USSCs were grown on specific protein surfaces: Fibronectin, Laminin, Collagen I, Collagen IV or combinations thereof. USSCs were found to have the highest proliferation rates on collagen-based surfaces, while growth on a combination of Collagen I and Fibronectin (Col/Fn) increased pluripotent and early endodermal gene expression. Gene arrays demonstrated that exposure to different ECM proteins induced varying transcript expression for integrins and collagens as well as an increase in matrixmetalloproteases and other adhesion molecules, consistent with active remodelling of ECM components, and commitment down different lineages. USSCs were successfully grown on Col/Fn coated 3 dimensional scaffolds for up to 30 days; however, growth on scaffolds did not enhance USSC differentiation potential towards the endodermal lineage. These findings indicate that USSCs may be induced to express at least limited pancreatic and neuronal markers by ectopic expression of transcription factors, although true transdifferentiation was not achieved. Whether transdifferentiation across embryonic lineage boundaries can in fact occur remains in question. Recent reports of dedifferentiation to “induced pluripotent stem cells” suggest that dedifferentiation followed by reprogramming may be a viable approach to tissue engineering

Campo y distribución: Signos ideológicos e iniciativa discursiva en la polémica por los impuestos a la exportación agropecuaria en la Argentina (año 2008)

El presente artículo estudia la polémica discursiva suscitada en torno a las retenciones impositivas a las exportaciones agropecuarias que se desarrolló en Argentina en el año 2008. En este contexto, la presencia de determinados signos ideológicos (Voloshinov, 1976 [1926]), que se vuelven foco de lucha por la imposición de distintas acentuaciones, es un indicador importante de la construcción de la polémica discursiva. Nuestro propósito es analizar la circulación de los signos campo y distribución con el objetivo de detectar su rol en la lucha por establecer una iniciativa discursiva (Raiter et alli, 1999). Para tales fines investigamos, de manera contrastiva, en discursos públicos emitidos por la Presidenta Argentina, por un lado, y por dirigentes agrarios opuestos a la medida, por otro, las acentuaciones que adquieren estos dos signos. En primer lugar, se analizan las relaciones léxico-semánticas puestas en juego (Dubois, 1962), así como el rol de estos signos en la configuración de distintos tópicos (Van Dijk, 1978) que organizan los significados locales de estos discursos. Así mismo, a fin de especificar las diversas maneras en que se construyen estos tópicos, consideramos los componentes del discurso político (Verón, 1984), así como la presencia de formas de heterogeneidad mostrada (Authier-Revuz, 1984) en el encadenamiento discursivo e interdiscursivo de tópicos. El análisis revela la complejidad de uno de los posibles nodos de esta polémica: el rol del Estado en la generación de crecimiento económico y de la distribución equitativa de sus efectos.This article aims to study the discursive polemic regarding the proposed new schema of agro-export taxes that took place in Argentina during the first half of the year 2008. In this context, the presence of ideological signs (Voloshinov, 1976 [1926]), that are the focus of discursive struggles for the imposition of different accentuations, becomes an important indicator of the construction of the discursive polemic. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the circulation of the signs campo and distribución, in particular, with the objective of determining their role in the struggle to establish discursive iniciative (Raiter et al., 1999) within said polemic. To that end, we analyze and contrast, in public speeches of the argentinean President, on the one hand, and of leaders of the agrarian organizations oposed to the new tax, on the other, the acentuations that these two signs acquire. In the first place, we consider the lexical-semantic relations at play (Dubois, 1962), as well as the role of these signs in the configuration of different topics (Van Dijk, 1978) that organize these discourses’ local meanings. Furthermore, in order to specify the various ways in which these topics are constructed, we also take into account the components of political discourse defined by Verón (1984), as well as the presence of forms of manifest heterogeneity (Authier-Revuz, 1984) in the discursive and interdiscursive linkage of topics. The analysis reveals the complexity of one of the possible nodes of this polemic: the role of the State in the generation of economic growth and the equitable distribution of its effects.Fil: Palma, Alejandra Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Humanidades. Centro de Estudios Lingüísticos; Argentin

Olhar o Cerro Rico. Formas de ver na Villa Imperial de Potosí, séculos XVI-XVIII

Este artículo discute las condiciones de producción de la iconografía potosina colonial y, en particular, aquella elaborada por artífices que conocieron de primera mano la Villa Rica, ya fuera como pasantes o como vecinos de la ciudad. En el cruce entre el campo de la cultura visual y de la reflexión sobre géneros y tipologías textuales, se propone una revisión de imágenes surgidas del siglo xvi al xviii, las cuales muestran la fijación de una determinada forma de ver. Contra la insistencia habitual en hablar de formas convencionales de representación de Potosí y su Cerro Rico, se muestra que hay en la base de la repetición de estas imágenes un encuentro reiterado con una experiencia compartida del espacio circundante. El resultado, expresado en un doble perfil cónico del Cerro Rico y el Huayna Potosí (o pequeño Potosí) y la presencia de un pequeño cerro cónico que queda situado a la derecha del campo visual del observador, da cuenta de ejercicios de comunicación de una experiencia compartida y familiar.This article discusses the production conditions of colonial Potosí iconography, particularly that elaborated by architects who knew the Villa Rica first-hand, either as travelers or as residents of the city. At the crossing between the field of visual culture and the reflection on genres and textual typologies, a review of images that emerged from the xvi to the xvii centuries is proposed. Such images depict the fixation of a certain way of seeing. Against the common determination of addressing conventional forms of representation of Potosí and its Cerro Rico, a reiterated encounter with a shared experience of the surrounding space is shown as the reason for the repetition of these images. The result, represented in a double conical profile of Cerro Rico and Huayna Potosí (or little Potosí), and the presence of a small conical hill located to the right of the observer’s vision range, accounts for communication exercises of a shared and familiar experience.Este artigo discute as condições de produção da iconografia potosina colonial e, em particular, a elaborada por artífices que conheceram de primeira mão a Villa Rica, fosse como passantes, fosse como moradores da cidade. O cruzamento entre o campo da cultura visual e da reflexão sobre gêneros e tipologias textuais, é proposta uma revisão de imagens que surgiram do século xvi ao xviii, as quais mostram a fixação de uma determinada forma de ver. Contra a insistência habitual de falar de formas convencionais de representação de Potosí e seu Cerro Rico, mostra-se que há, na base da repetição dessas imagens, um encontro reiterado com uma experiência partilhada do espaço circundante. O resultado, expresso no perfil duplo cônico da montanha Cerro Rico e do Huayna Potosí (ou pequeno Potosí) e na presença de uma pequena montanha cônica localizada à direita do campo visual do observador, demonstra exercícios de comunicação de uma experiência partilhada e familiar