Work-related injuries among child street-laborers in Latin America: Prevalence and predictors

Objectives. To determine the prevalence and nature of occupational injuries among children working in the streets of four major cities in Latin America, as well as to identify factors that predict these work-related injuries. Methods. This cross-sectional study interviewed 584 children from 5-17 years of age working on the streets of Bogota, Colombia; Lima, Peru; Quito, Ecuador; and São Paulo, Brazil. Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted, with incidence and serious injuries regressed on occupational and sociodemographic variables. Results. Approximately 39.6% of the child street-laborers surveyed reported an injury sustained while working in the streets: scratches (19.5%), cuts/lacerations (16.4%), bums (8.6%), car accidents (8.9%), sprains (4.6%), and amputations (0.3%). Working a high number of daytime hours and performing on the street predicted the greatest risk of injury, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors; specifically, each additional hour of daytime work increased the risk of injury by 1.4%. Child performers had three times the injury rate of children primarily selling products. Boys, older children, and children in Quito were more likely to experience moderate-to-severe injuries, than girls, younger children, and street children in the other study cities. Conclusions. Interventions are needed to address the substantial risk of injury experienced by children working on the city streets of Latin America

Influencia de la inclusión de desecho de PVC sobre el CBR de un material granular tipo subbase

En Colombia, los materiales granulares de alta calidad para la conformación de estructuras de pavimentos flexibles son de difícil obtención. En algunas ocasiones el Ingeniero de carreteras debe trabajar con materiales granulares que no cumplen los requisitos mínimos de calidad de la especificación vial pertinente. En este caso el Ingeniero debe intentar mejorar las propiedades del material ya sea por medios mecánicos o químicos. En la presente investigación se utilizó desecho de PVC como material de adición, para modificar el comportamiento de una subbase granular. A partir de ensayos de Proctor y CBR se comparó el comportamiento del material natural, y mezclado con diferentes proporciones del desecho de PVC. Los resultados de la investigación muestran que el CBR de una mezcla de material granular, tipo subbase, y material de desecho, presenta un incremento notable. Además, la mezcla modificada logra cambiar el peso unitario del material, obteniéndose una mezcla con mayor resistencia y menor peso

Reduction of malnutrition prevalences through health promotion in groups of school-aged children in a locality of Bogota

La desnutrición es una condición prevalente en la etapa escolar, que conlleva consecuencias en la salud y en el rendimiento escolar de los niños, a corto y a largo plazo. El objetivo del trabajo fue identificar los cambios en las prevalencias de desnutrición en grupos de niños, quienes fueron intervenidos con una estrategia que combinó actividades educativas, evaluación y acciones de intervención directa a casos problemáticos, por parte de estudiantes de medicina, en el periodo 2001-2005. Este estudio corresponde a la evaluación del programa de salud pública “Salud Escolar Integral”, instituido por la Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad del Rosario. Para dicha evaluación, se realizó un estudio ecológico con mediciones antes y después a una intervención en grupos seleccionados de estudiantes, entre 5 y 8 años de edad. Cada año, se determinó la prevalencia de desnutrición aguda, crónica y global. En los cinco años de seguimiento, se evidenció una disminución estadísticamente significativa de las prevalencias de desnutrición aguda, de 4,5 a 0,6%; de desnutrición global, de 11,8 a 5,8% y de desnutrición crónica, de 16,4 a 8,3%. Este estudio presenta evidencia sobre la efectividad que puede tener un programa de intervención integral, desarrollado por estudiantes de medicina, sobre el estado nutricional de los niños.Malnutrition is prevalent in school aged children. It impairs the health and school performance of those affected in the short and in the long run. The objective of this study was to identify the changes in the prevalence of malnutrition in groups of school-aged children that were intervened by medical students with a strategy that combined educational activities, health evaluation, and actions directed to children with particular problems. This article presents the evaluation of the program “Salud Escolar Integral” [Comprehensive School Health]. This program was conducted by medical students from Universidad del Rosario School of Medicine and Health Sciences. An ecological study was done with measures before and after intervention. Population: Elementary school students from 5 to 8 years of age. Acute, chronic, and global undernourishment were calculated. During the five years of monitoring an statistically significant decrease was found in the prevalence of acute malnutrition from 4.5 to 0.6%, global malnutrition from 11.8 to 5.8%, and chronic malnutrition from 16.4 to 8.3%. This study presents evidence on the effectiveness of a comprehensive interventional program developed by medical students to decrease undernourishment on school age children.Incluye referencias bibliográfica

Low birth weight and prenatal care in Colombia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the most important factors affecting child morbidity and mortality worldwide; approximately one third of neonatal deaths are attributable to it. Most research and public health policy on LBW arise from developed nations, despite that most cases (96.5%) take place in developing countries. The specific features of prenatal care that prevent LBW in developing countries are unclear. This study aims to identify the characteristics of prenatal care associated with LBW in a developing country as Colombia. Methods: Observational cross-sectional study using data from the Colombian Demographic and Health Survey 2010. A total of 10,692 children were included. Descriptive statistics were calculated, followed by bivariate regressions of LBW with all other study variables. Finally, stepwise logistic binomial regression analyses were done. Results: A LBW prevalence of 8.7% was found. Quality of prenatal care (95%CI: 0.33, 0.92; OR=0.55), number of prenatal visits (95%CI: 0.92, 0.93; OR=0.92), and first prenatal visits during pregnancy (95%CI: 1.02, 1.07; OR=1.08) were associated with LBW even after controlling for all the studied variables. The health care provider conducting prenatal checkup, and insurance coverage, were not associated with LBW. Conclusion: This research provides information on the characteristics of prenatal care (quality, number of visits, and gestational age at first prenatal visit) which may strengthen LBW prevention in Colombia and possibly in countries with similar socioeconomic characteristics. © 2015 Pinzón-Rondón et al

Association of nutritional support programs with zinc deficiency in Colombian children: a cross-sectional study

Background: Zinc is an essential trace element that plays a key role in the immune, gastrointestinal, respiratory and nervous systems. In Colombia, a vast percentage of children live in low-income households with food insecurity and nutritional deficiencies, including zinc. In an effort to improve children's well-being, public health measures such as nutritional support programs that provide meals have targeted the poorest populations. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of nutritional support programs on zinc deficiency in Colombian children, while considering their wealth and food security.Methods: Cross-sectional study using data from the 2010 Colombian National Nutrition Survey, a population-based study representative of Colombia. A total of 4275 children between 12 and 59months of age were included in the study. Stepwise logistic regressions were modelled with SPSS, first for zinc deficiency on wealth and food security, then adding enrolment in a nutritional support program, and finally, adjusting for socio-demographic variables.Results: A zinc deficiency prevalence of 49% was found. The adjusted models showed an association of wealth quintiles: very poor (OR=1.48) and poor (OR=1.39), food security (OR=0.75) and enrolment in a nutritional support program (OR=0.76) with zinc deficiency. Enrolment in nutritional programs did not modify the relationship of wealth and food security to zinc deficiency.Conclusion: Zinc deficiency is associated with wealth, food security and enrolment in nutritional support programs. Nutritional programs may be a good alternative against zinc deficiency, if they focus appropriately on the needs of children according to their wealth and food security

Care coordination in two of Bogota’s public healthcare networks: A cross-sectional study among doctors

Introduction: Care coordination is a priority concern for healthcare systems. In Colombia, there is a lack of information on the topic. This study analysed how doctors of two Bogotá’s public healthcare networks perceived coordination between healthcare levels and what factors are associated with their perception. Methods: A cross-sectional study using the COORDENA-CO questionnaire to a sample of 363 doctors (network-1 = 181; network-2 = 182) in 2015. The questionnaire asks about types and dimensions of care coordination: information and clinical management, with items in a Likert scale, as well as conditions regarding health system, organisational and doctors’ conditions. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: The doctors’ perception of a high level of coordination did not exceed 25.4%. On coordination of information, limited transfer of clinical information was found. Concerning clinical management, there were limited care coherence, deficits in patient follow-up and lengthy waiting times for specialised care. A high perception of coordination were associated with being female, being over 50 years old, being a specialist, having less than one year’s working experience, working less than 20 h per week at the centre, forming part of network-1, having time available for performing coordination tasks, having job satisfaction and not identifying limitations imposed by healthcare insurers. Discussion: There was limited perception of coordination, in its different dimensions and types with some differences between networks. The results support the importance of guaranteeing job satisfaction, ensuring sufficient time to coordination-related activities and intervening in the restrictions imposed by healthcare insurers to improve care coordination. © The Author(s) 2019

Efecto de tres coberturas plásticas y dos sistemas de siembra en la fenología de la cebolla de bulbo

En el Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias Tibaitatá CORPOICA, se cultivo cebolla de bulbo (Allium cepa L.) híbrido Yellow Granex PRR, en siembra directa y trasplante, sobre tres coberturas plásticas (negra, gris y blanca), un testigo en suelo desnudo y un testigo absoluto, durante el segundo semestre de 1995 y los meses de Enero y Febrero de 1996. Para ambos sistemas de siembra, con las coberturas y sin elias, las plantas de cebolla presentaron las mismas fenofases, las cuales fueron: Emergencia, primera hoja verdadera, plántula, iniciación del llenado del bulbo, máximo desarrollo vegetativo y terminación del llenado del bulbo. La duración de cada fenofase fue diferente entre tratamientos, pues las plantas bajo coberturas emergieron primero que en el testigo (suelo desnudo) y en el semillero. Para siembra directa, el inicio del llenado del bulbo ocurrió antes que en el transplante; este atraso se relacionó con el estrés causado por el cambio del semillero al lugar definitivo y la adaptación al mismo. En la terminación del llenado del bulbo, los coberturas plásticas negra y gris en siembra directa registraron mayores pesos secos del bulbo, en comparación con el acolchado blanco y el testigo (suelo desnudo).Three polyethylene mulches (black, white and gray) and two planting systems (direct seeded and transplant) were tested in common onion (Allium cepa L.) hybrid Yellow Granex PRR, whit the objective of evaluating the duration of developmental stages. The phenophases established were: Emergence, first true leaf, young plantlet, bulb filling initiation, maximal vegetative development and bulb filling termination. There were differences among planting systems in the duration of phenophases; the least duration occurred with the black and gray polyethylene mulches. The combination of these colored plastics and direct seeding shortened the vegetative cycle in 70 days and the yield per plant was higher than in the white plastic mulch and bare soil

Toxic Determination of Cry11 Mutated Proteins Obtained Using Rational Design and Its Computational Analysis

Cry11 proteins are toxic to Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. Cry11Aa and Cry11Bb are protoxins, which when activated present their active-toxin form in two fragments between 30 and 35 kDa respectively. Previous studies conducted with Cry11Aa and Cry11Bb genes using DNA shuffling generated variant 8, which presented a deletion in the first 73 amino acids and one at position 572 and 9 substitutions including L553F and L556W. In this study, variant 8 mutants were constructed using site-directed mutagenesis, resulting in conversion of phenylalanine (F) and tryptophan (W) to leucine (L) at positions 553 and 556, respectively, producing the mutants 8F553L, 8W556L, and 8F553L/8W556L. Additionally, two mutants, A92D and C157R, derived from Cry11Bb were also generated. The proteins were expressed in the non-crystal strain BMB171 of Bacillus thuringiensis and subjected to median-lethal concentration (LC 50) tests on first-instar larvae of A. aegypti. LC 50 analysis showed that the 8F553L, 8W556L, 8F553L/8W556L, and C157R variants lost their toxic activity (&gt;500 ng·mL -1), whereas the A92D protein presented a loss of toxicity of 11.4 times that of Cry11Bb. Cytotoxicity assays performed using variant 8, 8W556L and the controls Cry11Aa, Cry11Bb, and Cry-negative BMB171 on the colorectal cancer cell line SW480 reported 30-50% of cellular viability except for BMB171. Molecular dynamic simulations performed to identify whether the mutations at positions 553 and 556 were related to the stability and rigidity of the functional tertiary structure (domain III) of the Cry11Aa protein and variant 8 showed the importance of these mutations in specific regions for the toxic activity of Cry11 against A. aegypti. This generates pertinent knowledge for the design of Cry11 proteins and their biotechnological applications in vector-borne disease control and cancer cell lines. </p

SUSTENTABILIDAD COMO OPCIÓN DE VIDA: REFLEXIÓN EN TORNO AL RECURSO HÍDRICO

Se vuelve necesario replantear la formación de los futuros actores políticos en el área de la investigación y en el área de las ciencias, generando espacios que permitan la integración de la formación disciplinar e investigativos, reconociendo la formación investigativa, como una de las posibilidades para el desarrollo de procesos de formación más consecuentes con el contexto social, político, económico y cultural, en el que se desenvuelve la educación en ciencia; por lo cual es de resaltar espacios de formación centrados en actividades de investigación, con el propósito de promover mayor experiencia, desde la articulación del interés mismo de los individuos con el trabajo investigativo partiendo del conocimiento adquirido en los espacios curriculares o extracurriculares, asumiendo la toma de decisiones y el control del propio aprendizaje, empezando a desempeñar el papel protagónico desde la acción investigativa (Dieleman &amp; Juarez, 2008). Con esto se puede redefinir el rol de “estudiantes pasivos” por el de “estudiantes investigadores” propendiendo por la formación de entes transformadores del cambio educativo-social, que estén en la capacidad de reconocer la importancia de la función de investigación.Partiendo de lo anterior se espera un cambio de paradigma de transmisión?recepción, convirtiendo ciudadanos en agentes activos, críticos y creadores del conocimiento, participando activamente en procesos de transformación social a través de la integración del conocimiento científico y la investigación, particularmente para este caso la importancia del recurso hídrico, como estrategia de abordaje y apropiación del conocimiento científico desde el contexto inmediato, reflexionando desde las dinámicas de consumo y hábitos en torno al manejo del agua

Influence of the environmental conditions of Bogotá on the Marshall Stability and flow of a hot mix asphalt

Influencia de las condiciones ambientales de la ciudad de Bogotá sobre la estabilidad y el flujo Marshall de una mezcla densa en caliente El artículo presenta el cambio que experimentan los parámetros de estabilidad y flujo del ensayo Marshall de mezclas asfálticas densas en caliente tipo MDC-2, cuando son expuestas al medio ambiente de la ciudad de Bogotá D.C. Las mezclas estudiadas fueron elaboradas y evaluadas empleando los dos cementos asfálticos (CA) típicos producidos en Colombia por ECOPETROL: CA 80-100 proveniente de la refinería de Barrancabermeja y CA 60-70 proveniente de la refinería de Apiay. Los parámetros de estabilidad y flujo de las mezclas fueron medidos cada tres meses durante un año con el fin de observar su evolución en el tiempo. De los resultados se concluye que el comportamiento que experimentan las mezclas depende del tipo de CA utilizado. Adicionalmente, la tendencia de las mezclas con ambos tipos de CA es experimentar aumento en los valores de estabilidad y flujo con el tiempo de exposición al medio ambienteThe paper presents the change that undergo the Marshall Stability and Flow of hot mix asphalts (type MDC-2) when they are exposed to weather of Bogotá D.C. The mixes were performed and evaluated employing the two typical asphalt cements (AC) produced in Colombia by ECOPETROL: AC 80-100 from Barrancabermeja and AC 60-70 from Apiay. Marshall Stability and Flow of the mixes were measurement each three months during one year in order to obtain its evolution with the time. The general conclusion was that the behavior of the mixes depends of the AC used. Additionally, the tendency of hot mix asphalts is increase the values of Marshall Stability and Flow when the asphalt mixtures are exposed to weather of Bogotá D.C