Terror armado, terror sin armas: «Programa de Paz y Reconciliación» de la Alcaldía de Medellín y desmovilización de combatientes (2004-2006)

This paper means a reflexion about the rebuilding process in a peculiar state as Colombia, with some intrinsec problems. The dual and stormy relationship between the guerrilla and the narcotraffic carteles, with the backstage of a Security Forces depending on a de-structured State, are all the main base in the city of Medellin for a pioneer attempt, the Peace and Reconciliation Program, supported by the City Council, which tries to take back the ex combatants to the civil life. The explanation of the model, with its difficulties and achievements, as well as a slight colophon about the importance of the Mass Media, are some of the point that the paper talks about.Este artigo pressupõe uma reflexão sobre o processo de reconstrução de um Estado com características e problemas tão peculiares e intrínsecos como os da Colômbia. A relação dual e tormentosa entre a guerrilha e os cartéis do narcotráfico, com um pano de fundo em que as forças de segurança estão dependentes de um Estado desestruturado, configura o ponto de partida para uma iniciativa pioneira na cidade de Medellín: o Programa de Paz e Reconciliação, levado a cabo pelo município e que procura reintegrar os combatentes na vida civil. A explicação do modelo, com as suas dificuldades e êxitos, assim como uma breve anotação final sobre a importância dos meios de comunicação são alguns dos pontos a que o artigo faz referência.Este artigo pressupõe uma reflexão sobre o processo de reconstrução de um Estado com características e problemas tão peculiares e intrínsecos como os da Colômbia. A relação dual e tormentosa entre a guerrilha e os cartéis do narcotráfico, com um pano de fundo em que as forças de segurança estão dependentes de um Estado desestruturado, configura o ponto de partida para uma iniciativa pioneira na cidade de Medellín: o Programa de Paz e Reconciliação, levado a cabo pelo município e que procura reintegrar os combatentes na vida civil. A explicação do modelo, com as suas dificuldades e êxitos, assim como uma breve anotação final sobre a importância dos meios de comunicação são alguns dos pontos a que o artigo faz referência

Time course of brain oxidative damage caused by intrastriatal administration of 6-hydroxydopamine in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease

This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11064-006-9232-6The unilateral and intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine is commonly used to provide a partial lesion model of Parkinson’s disease in the investigation of the molecular mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis and to assess new neuroprotective treatments. Its capacity to induce neurodegeneration has been related to its ability to undergo autoxidation in the presence of oxygen and consequently to generate oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the time course of brain oxidative damage induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6 μg in 5 μl of sterile saline containing 0.2% ascorbic acid) injection in the right striatum of the rat. The results of this study show that the indices of both lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and protein oxidation (carbonyl and free thiol contents) increase simultaneously in the ipsilateral striatum and ventral midbrain, reaching a peak value at 48-h post-injection for both TBARS and protein carbonyl content, and at 24 h for protein free thiol content. A lower but significant increase was also observed in the contralateral side (striatum and ventral midbrain). The indices of oxidative stress returned to values close to those found in controls at 7-day post-injection. These data show that the oxidative stress is a possible triggering factor for the neurodegenerative process and the retrograde neurodegeneration observed after 1-week post-injection is a consequence of the cell damage caused during the first days post-injection. The optimal time to assess brain indices of oxidative stress in this model is 48-h post-injection.This study was supported by Grant BFI2003-00493 from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología with the contribution of the European Regional Development Found (Madrid, Spain) and Grant PGDIT03PXIB20804PR from the Xunta de Galicia (Santiago de Compostela, Spain).S

First steps towards developing an open access software designed for the recognition of daily microstructures used in ageing fish

Ageing methods for most of the exploited fish species are not validated, and consequently age data series often have important gaps and uncertainty manifesting its consequences on age-based fisheries assessment. Amongst the most recognizable otolith microstructures are those corresponding to daily growth increments producing reliable estimates of larval and juvenile growth in an ample number of fish species. From the temporal perspective, otoliths are the only calcified structures that show growth marks at two different scales, the seasonal and daily markings. Seasonal rings or otolith macrostructure is mostly used to age juvenile and adult individuals while microstructure is typically used in larvae, because the DGI in adult otoliths are too numerous and cumbersome to count. Nonetheless, in several hake species DGI have been counted and measured in juveniles by interpretating daily increments through thin transversal sections of the otolith (50-100 μ). Since these sections can only be obtained after a process of otolith resin embedding, section precision cutting and final polishing, the main handicap lacking today is the appropriate digital tool for counting and measuring otolith DGI widths. In this communication, the research multidisciplinary team of researchers from the research fields of fisheries and engineering plans to develop a new tool designed to add efficiency in the weighty task of estimating the age of fishes based on DGI analysis. The technique is based on new computer algorithms that interpret DGI patterns, whether it be in a semi-automatic way or in such a manner that otolith readers are allowed to interact with the system or run automatically when the technique finds determined types of otolith structural patterns considered consistent and reliable. The technique, when registered, will be made available freely to the international scientific community in the open access mode. Although some image analysis software is available in the market nowadays, including some centered in otolith image processing, they all show at least two main restrictions: they do not manage ‘live’ images which allow to specifically focus determined microstructures at great magnification, and moreover, the high costs of the software. We present here the first results on the development of this forthcoming software which is expected to resolve the before mentioned limitations. Larval and adult otoliths measure from some hundred μm to several mm, respectively, while DGI widths fluctuates from slightly less than 1 μm increments close to the nucleus in larval otoliths to more than 15 μm in juveniles and adults. In order to discriminate DGI, light microscope magnification varies from x1000 in larvae to x200 in juveniles and adults. As a consequence, most of the times the whole otolith or section cannot be represented on a single image and thus, several images are needed to construct a sole image to get the vision of the total otolith size that can be measured where most DGI counts can be included. In these cases, the image series should be tiled as a panoramic view or mosaic, where each section superposes with adjacent ones. The first step in the software development has been a superposing routine, identifying automatically common areas between adjacent images. Once a single high quality image is set by otolith at an acceptable magnification some arrangements on contrast, brightness, etc. can be implemented when desired. The next stage is the controlled or semi-automatic counting of DGI along a growth trajectory. Expert readers particular interpretations could be matched to those made au- tomatically and eventually adjust the software reading standards. Finally, DGI counts and measurement data are recorded and also exported to work files, where further analysis could be performed.As soon as having ready an appropriate and affordable tool to count and measure daily growth incre- ments in an automatic or semi-automatic way, otolith microstructure analysis can have a reliable age estimation method that can be extended and applicable to age adult fish. Although, in its present form the technique is focused in otolith microstructure analysis, further developments of the initiated software development intends to extend its application to other calcified structures, namely bivalve shells and cephalopod peaks.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Angiotensin type-1-receptor antagonists reduce 6-hydroxydopamine toxicity for dopaminergic neurons

Angiotensin II activates (via type 1 receptors) NAD(P)H-dependent oxidases, which are a major source of superoxide, and is relevant in the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular diseases and certain degenerative changes associated with ageing. Given that there is a brain renin–angiotensin system and that oxidative stress is a key contributor to Parkinson's disease, we investigated the effects of angiotensin II and angiotensin type 1 (AT1) receptor antagonists in the 6-hydroxydopamine model of Parkinson's disease. Rats subjected to intraventricular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine showed bilateral reduction in the number of dopaminergic neurons and terminals. Injection of angiotensin alone did not induce any significant effect. However, angiotensin increased the toxic effect of 6-hydroxydopamine. Rats treated with the AT1 receptor antagonist ZD 7155 and then 6-hydroxydopamine (with or without exogenous administration of angiotensin) showed a significant reduction in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation) and dopaminergic degeneration. Dopaminergic degeneration was also reduced by the NAD(P)H inhibitor apocynin. Angiotensin may play a pivotal role, via AT1 receptors, in increasing the oxidative damage of dopaminergic cells, and treatment with AT1 antagonists may reduce the progression of Parkinson's disease.S

Experimental confirmation of FK concentrator insensitivity to chromatic aberrations

The FK concentrator has demonstrated during the last years that compares very well with other Fresnel-based concentrator optics for CPV. There are several features that provide the FK high performance: (1) high optical efficiency; (2) large tolerance to tracking misalignment and manufacturing errors, thanks to a high CAP (Concentration-Acceptance Product); (3) good irradiance uniformity and low chromatic dispersion on the cell surface. Non-uniformities in terms of absolute irradiance and spectral content produced by conventional CPV systems can originate electrical losses in multi-junction (MJ) solar cells. The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of these non-uniformities in the FK concentrator performance and how FK concentrator provides high electrical efficiencies thanks to its insensitivity to chromatic aberrations, especially when components move away from the module nominal position due to manufacturing misalignments. This analysis has been done here by means of both, experimental on-sun measurements and simulations based on 3D fully distributed circuit model for MJ cells

New open access software designed for the recognition of daily microstructures used in ageing fish

Ageing methods for most of the exploited fish species are not validated, and consequently age data series often have important gaps and uncertainty manifesting its consequences on age-based fisheries assessment. In this communication, the research multidisciplinary team of researchers from the research fields of fisheries and engineering plans to develop a new tool designed to add efficiency in the weighty task of estimating the age of fishes based on DGI analysis. The technique is based on new computer algorithms that interpret DGI patterns, whether it be in a semi-automatic way or in such a manner that otolith readers are allowed to interact with the system or run automatically when the technique finds determined types of otolith structural patterns considered consistent and reliable. The technique, when registered, will be made available freely to the international scientific community in the open access mode. Although some image analysis software is available in the market nowadays, including some centered in otolith image processing, they all show at least two main restrictions: they do not manage ‘live’ images which allow to specifically focus determined microstructures at great magnification, and moreover, the high costs of the software. We present here the first results on the development of this forthcoming software which is expected to resolve the before mentioned limitations. As soon as having ready an appropriate and affordable tool to count and measure daily growth increments in an automatic or semi-automatic way, otolith microstructure analysis can have a reliable age estimation method that can be extended and applicable to age adult fish. Although, in its present form the technique is focused in otolith microstructure analysis, further developments of the initiated software development intends to extend its application to other calcified structures, namely bivalve shells and cephalopod beaks.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

El discurso público del yihad y las modificaciones de la violencia política en Latinoamérica

Se diría que en América Latina han cambiado las formas de la violencia. No es que hayan desaparecido por completo las fórmulas convencionales –secuestro (express o clásico), robos, narcotráfico, conflictos internos…- sino que, o bien alguna de ellas se han modificado -tal y como se ha demostrado en tesis doctorales recientes (Patiño, 2015)- o bien han aparecido otras impredecibles para el ciudadano de a pie. Una de esas mutaciones es el peso que los extremismos parecen haber adquirido en la región, así como el influjo creciente del Islam y del islamismo en la derecha y en la izquierda, con un discurso del yihad que encuentra, contra todo pronóstico, acomodo. De una de estas transformaciones -de las obsesiones islámicas y yihadistas en grupos naturalmente alejados de estas doctrinas– trataremos en este trabajo

Vitamin D deficiency at pediatric intensive care admission

AbstractObjectiveto assess whether 25hydroxivitaminD or 25(OH)vitD deficiency has a high prevalence at pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission, and whether it is associated with increased prediction of mortality risk scores.Methodprospective observational study comparing 25(OH)vitD levels measured in 156 patients during the 12hours after critical care admission with the 25(OH)vitD levels of 289 healthy children. 25(OH)vitD levels were also compared between PICU patients with pediatric risk of mortality III (PRISM III) or pediatric index of mortality 2 (PIM 2) > p75 [(group A; n=33) vs. the others (group B; n=123)]. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as < 20ng/mL levels.Resultsmedian (p25‐p75) 25(OH)vitD level was 26.0ng/mL (19.2‐35.8) in PICU patients vs. 30.5ng/mL (23.2‐38.6) in healthy children (p=0.007). The prevalence of 25(OH)vitD < 20ng/mL was 29.5% (95% CI: 22.0‐37.0) vs. 15.6% (95% CI: 12.2‐20.0) (p=0.01). Pediatric intensive care patients presented an odds ratio (OR) for hypovitaminosis D of 2.26 (CI 95%: 1.41‐3.61). 25(OH)vitD levels were 25.4ng/mL (CI 95%: 15.5‐36.0) in group A vs. 26.6ng/mL (CI 95%: 19.3‐35.5) in group B (p=0.800).Conclusionshypovitaminosis D incidence was high in PICU patients. Hypovitaminosis D was not associated with higher prediction of risk mortality scores

A heteronuclear ZnGd complex as a potential contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging

The 20th International Electronic Conference on Synthetic Organic Chemistry session Bioorganic, Medicinal and Natural ProductsA new ligand H3L, with internal compartments for allocating 3d metal ions and external donors to bind 4f ions, was synthesized and completely characterized. Reaction of H3L with zinc(II) and gadolin ium(III) salts allows isolating the heteronuclear complex {[ZnGd(HL)(NO3)(OAc)(CH3OH)](NO3)}∙6H2O (1·6H2O). The ability of 1·6H2O to act as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent was evaluated and this study shows that both the transversal and longitudinal relaxivities are quite high but the T1/T2 ratio of 7.9 indicates that it could have even greater potential as a T2 contrast agen