¿Una relación hegemónica necesaria? Los organismos acreditadores estadounidenses y su vínculo con la educación superior en América Latina

The influence of the United States in its diverse manifestations has a long history in Latin America. While research and academic studies over the course of recent decades have highlighted the strong influence of the United States in the international economic and political arenas, few have alluded to its hegemonic but subtle influence on higher education in the region. The practices of evaluating and accrediting institutions and educational programs around the world as a means for society to hold them to account and ensure compliance with certain quality parameters have predominated throughout the last three decades. The foregoing would give reason to conclude that the United States is the nation with the most experience in the evaluation and accreditation.La presencia estadounidense en sus diversas manifestaciones tiene una historia profunda en el caso de la región latinoamericana. Resultado de investigaciones y trabajos académicos a lo largo de las últimas décadas ha puesto en evidencia la fuerte presencia de los Estados Unidos en los ámbitos económico y político; sin embargo, poco se ha aludido a la influencia hegemónica pero sutil que mantiene en la región en la educación superior. Durante las tres últimas décadas han persistido los planteamientos de evaluación y acreditación de instituciones y programas educativos alrededor del mundo como una forma de rendir cuentas a la sociedad y cumplir con ciertos parámetros de calidad. Lo anterior daría pie a considerar que la nación con más experiencia en evaluación y acreditación de instituciones y programas educativos era y es Estados Unidos. Actualmente esta hegemonía ha tomado otra forma, la acreditación directa estadounidense a instituciones y programas educativos superiores latinoamericanos

Desafíos de la gestión comunitaria del turismo en las cascadas de micos, San Luis Potosí (México)

El aprovechamiento turístico de paisajes atractivos compuestos por cuerpos de agua, bosques, selvas, grutas, montañas y por la diversidad biológica, ha venido incrementándose en las últimas décadas, y esto no ha sido sólo impulsado por el incremento de turistas extranjeros y nacionales en México que buscan la apreciación de la naturaleza, sino también por la crisis de la economía rural que ha venido agudizándose desde que el modelo económico neoliberal adoptado en México desde los años ochenta, lo que se ha reflejado en una drástica baja en los apoyos gubernamentales y en los subsidios al campo. Es así como el turismo de naturaleza en sus diversas modalidades se ha convertido en una alternativa económica más para las poblaciones campesinas en la búsqueda de lograr mejores niveles de vida.Este estudio tiene como objetivo analizar la gestión rural colectiva en torno al aprovechamiento turístico de las Cascadas de Micos de la Huasteca Potosina (México). Para ello se analiza la incidencia de la actividad sobre los bienes naturales, la gobernanza interna, el capital social, la economía local, así como la interacción con las presiones y las oportunidades del entorno político-económico. Se identifican tanto los factores que han facilitado el proceso de aprovechamiento turístico, así como los desafíos determinantes para la continuidad y mejoramiento de la gestión colectiva de los bienes naturales.Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México- CONACY

Improvement of skeletal muscle performance in ageing by the metabolic modulator Trimetazidine

BACKGROUND: The loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and the associated reduced muscle strength are key limiting factors for elderly people's quality of life. Improving muscle performance does not necessarily correlate with increasing muscle mass. In fact, particularly in the elderly, the main explanation for muscle weakness is a reduction of muscle quality rather than a loss of muscle mass, and the main goal to be achieved is to increase muscle strength. The effectiveness of Trimetazidine (TMZ) in preventing muscle functional impairment during ageing was assessed in our laboratory. METHODS: Aged mice received TMZ or vehicle for 12 consecutive days. Muscle function was evaluated at the end of the treatment by a grip test as well as by an inverted screen test at 0, 5, 7 and 12 days of TMZ treatment. After sacrifice, muscles were stored for myofiber cross‐sectional area assessment and myosin heavy chain expression evaluation by western blotting. RESULTS: Chronic TMZ treatment does not affect the mass of both gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles, while it significantly increases muscle strength. Indeed, both latency to fall and grip force are markedly enhanced in TMZ‐treated versus untreated mice. In addition, TMZ administration results in higher expression of slow myosin heavy chain isoform and increased number of small‐sized myofibers. CONCLUSIONS: We report here some data showing that the modulation of skeletal muscle metabolism by TMZ increases muscle strength in aged mice. Reprogramming metabolism might therefore be a strategy worth to be further investigated in view of improving muscle performance in the elderly

Effect of external PEEP in patients under controlled mechanical ventilation with an auto-PEEP of 5 cmH2O or higher.

In some patients with auto-positive end-expiratory pressure (auto-PEEP), application of PEEP lower than auto-PEEP maintains a constant total PEEP, therefore reducing the inspiratory threshold load without detrimental cardiovascular or respiratory effects. We refer to these patients as complete PEEP-absorbers. Conversely, adverse effects of PEEP application could occur in patients with auto-PEEP when the total PEEP rises as a consequence. From a pathophysiological perspective, all subjects with flow limitation are expected to be complete PEEP-absorbers, whereas PEEP should increase total PEEP in all other patients. This study aimed to empirically assess the extent to which flow limitation alone explains a complete PEEP-absorber behavior (i.e., absence of further hyperinflation with PEEP), and to identify other factors associated with it.One hundred patients with auto-PEEP of at least 5 cmH2O at zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) during controlled mechanical ventilation were enrolled. Total PEEP (i.e., end-expiratory plateau pressure) was measured both at ZEEP and after applied PEEP equal to 80 % of auto-PEEP measured at ZEEP. All measurements were repeated three times, and the average value was used for analysis.Forty-seven percent of the patients suffered from chronic pulmonary disease and 52 % from acute pulmonary disease; 61 % showed flow limitation at ZEEP, assessed by manual compression of the abdomen. The mean total PEEP was 7 ± 2 cmH2O at ZEEP and 9 ± 2 cmH2O after the application of PEEP (p < 0.001). Thirty-three percent of the patients were complete PEEP-absorbers. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict the behavior of complete PEEP-absorber. The best model included a respiratory rate lower than 20 breaths/min and the presence of flow limitation. The predictive ability of the model was excellent, with an overoptimism-corrected area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.89 (95 % CI 0.80-0.97).Expiratory flow limitation was associated with both high and complete PEEP-absorber behavior, but setting a relatively high respiratory rate on the ventilator can prevent from observing complete PEEP-absorption. Therefore, the effect of PEEP application in patients with auto-PEEP can be accurately predicted at the bedside by measuring the respiratory rate and observing the flow-volume loop during manual compression of the abdomen

Assessment of the INLA approach on gerarchic bayesian models for the spatial disease distribution: a real data application

The use of approximate methods as the INLA (Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation) approach is being widely used in Bayesian inference, especially in spatial risk model estimation where the Besag-York-Mollie (BYM) model ` has found a proper use. INLA appears time saving compared to Monte Carlo simulations based on Markov Chains (MCMC), but it produces some differences in estimates [1, 2]. Data from the Veneto Cancer Registry has been considered with the scope to compare cancer incidence estimates with INLA method and with two other procedures based on MCMC simulation, WinBUGS and CARBayes, under R environment. It is noteworthy that INLA returns estimates comparable to both MCMC procedures, but it appears sensitive to the a-priori distribution. INLA is fast and efficient in particular with samples of moderate-high size. However, care must to be paid to the choice of the parameter relating to the a-priori distribution

La gestión comunitaria del turismo. Análisis desde el enfoque de los bienes comunes y los sistemas socio-ecológicos

El turismo cada vez tiene mayor presencia en el espacio rural y aunque muchos de los proyectos de turismo constituyen acciones improvisadas e insuficientemente organizadas, existen casos donde se ha logrado establecer con cierto éxito. Para ello, la autogestión que las comunidades rurales han desarrollado colectivamente en torno a los recursos naturales puede ser un factor clave. En el presente artículo se propone un marco metodológico a partir del enfoque de los bienes comunes y los sistemas socio-ecológicos que facilite estudiar los factores que determinan el por qué ciertas comunidades logran auto gestionar de manera colectiva sus recursos naturales en la actividad turística, mientras que otras fracasan o se estancan.CONACY

A novel calix[4]pyrrole derivative as a potential anticancer agent that forms genotoxic adducts with DNA

meso-(p-acetamidophenyl)-calix[4]pyrrole 3 was found to exhibit remarkable cytotoxicity towards A549 cancer cells. A comparative study including the isomer of 3meso-(m-acetamidophenyl)-calix[4]pyrrole 5, as well as molecules containing \u2018fragments\u2019 of these structures, demonstrated that both the calix[4]pyrrole and the acetamidophenyl units are essential for high cytotoxicity. Although calix[4]pyrroles and other anion-complexing ionophores have recently been reported to induce apoptosis by perturbing cellular chloride concentrations, in our study an alternative mechanism has emerged, as proven by the isolation of covalent DNA adducts revealed by the32P postlabelling technique. Preliminary pharmacokinetic studies indicate that 3 is able to cross the Blood-Brain-Barrier, therefore being a potential drug that could kill primary and brain metastatic cancer cells simultaneously

Two calix[4]pyrroles as potential therapeutics for castration-resistant prostate cancer

Macrocyclic compounds meso-(p-acetamidophenyl)-calix[4]pyrrole and meso-(m-acetamidophenyl)-calix[4]pyrrole have previously been reported to exhibit cytotoxic properties towards lung cancer cells. Here, we report pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies showing that these calixpyrrole derivatives can inhibit cell growth in both PC3 and DU145 prostatic cancer cell lines. We explored the impact of these compounds on programmed cell death, as well as their ability to inhibit cellular invasion. In this study we have demonstrated the safety of these macrocyclic compounds by cytotoxicity tests on ex-vivo human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and by in vivo subcutaneous administration. Preliminary in vivo tests demonstrated no hepato-, no nephro- and no genotoxicity in Balb/c mice compared to controls treated with cisplatin. These findings suggest these calixpyrroles might be novel therapeutic tools for the treatment of prostate cancer and of particular interest for the treatment of androgen-independent castration-resistant prostate cancer

Anxiety, depression and worries in advanced Parkinson Disease during COVID-19 pandemic

Background The psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown on frail populations with advanced Parkinson disease (APD) and their caregivers may present with peculiar features and require specific interventions. Methods We enrolled here 100 APD patients and 60 caregivers. Seventy-four patients were treated with device-aided therapies (DAT) and 26 with standard medical treatment (SMT). Through a telephonic interview, subjects underwent the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A; HADS-D), and an ad hoc questionnaire to explore thoughts and emotions related to the pandemic. Results Depression was observed in 35% of APD patients and anxiety in 39%, with a significant reduction of the latter after the lockdown (p= 0.023). We found a significant correlation between the type of therapy and the HADS-A score (p= 0.004). Patients’ main worries were as follows: a possible higher risk of COVID-19 infection (25%), interruption of non-pharmacological treatments (35%), interruption of outpatient clinics (38%), PD complications related to COVID-19 (47%). Patients treated with DAT manifested worries about device-related issues and risk for caregivers’ infection. The 40% of caregivers showed anxiety, while the 21.7% of them showed depression. Conclusion Our study reveals a higher prevalence of anxiety and the presence of peculiar worries and needs in APD patients during the pandemic alongside psychological sequelae of their caregivers. These findings are important for neurologists and healthcare services to foster strategies for the management of psychological distress in both patients and caregivers

How to avoid intraoperative and postoperative complications in maxillary sinus elevation

Maxillary sinus floor elevation, via the lateral approach, is one of the most predictable bone augmentation procedures performed in implant dentistry. but both intra- and postoperative complications can occur, and some of them are severe. Our aim is as follows: To review the pertinent literature on the topic, especially assessing the risk factors related to complications. To give clinical recommendations to minimize intra- and postoperative complications with the ultimate scope of improving the standard of clinical care and patient safety