Non-bifurcation of critical periods from semi-hyperbolic polycycles of quadratic centres

In this paper we consider the unfolding of saddle-node X=1xUa(x,y)(x(xμ−ε)∂x−Va(x)y∂y), parametrized by (ε,a) with ε≈0 and a in an open subset A of Rα, and we study the Dulac time T(s;ε,a) of one of its hyperbolic sectors. We prove (theorem 1.1) that the derivative ∂sT(s;ε,a) tends to −∞ as (s,ε)→(0+,0) uniformly on compact subsets of A. This result is addressed to study the bifurcation of critical periods in the Loud's family of quadratic centres. In this regard we show (theorem 1.2) that no bifurcation occurs from certain semi-hyperbolic polycycles

Análisis retrospectivo de la adopción de semillas de maíz híbrido en el estado de Tlaxcala

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, SADER) continues the search for increased yields and profitability of corn. To achieve this, among other actions, it bets on the adoption and sowing of hybrid corn. In the market, there are transnational and national companies, and producer groups that produce these seeds. Transnational companies have taken theirs to different states. To Tlaxcala among others, where seeds were marketed since 1984 from these companies and others obtained by INIFAP. In 2011 with the MasAgro Program, work was done to obtain new seeds in the entity. However, the level of adoption is low. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of the farmers who show a willingness to sow them. The focus of this sociological study was fieldwork to obtain direct information from farmers in 17 municipalities in the state of Tlaxcala. The information was analyzed with the Chi-square statistic and a logistic regression. The results and conclusions show that farmers who know hybrid seeds and whose objective is to sell are willing to plant them. All of them (100%) prefer native seeds for family and animal consumption. Native corn today continues to be in demand in the Tlaxcala market.La Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (SADER) da continuidad a la búsqueda del aumento de los rendimientos y la rentabilidad del maíz. Para lograrlo, entre otras acciones, apuesta a la adopción de maíz híbrido. El mercado de semilla se conforma de empresas trasnacionales, nacionales y grupos de productores. Las empresas transnacionales han llevado las suyas a diferentes estados. A Tlaxcala entre otros, en donde desde 1984 comercializaban semillas de estas empresas y otras obtenidas por Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP). En 2011 con el Programa MasAgro, se trabajó para obtener nuevas semillas en la entidad. No obstante, el nivel de adopción es bajo. El objetivo de este trabajo fue identificar las características de los agricultores que muestran disposición a sembrarlas. Este estudio tuvo como eje, trabajo de campo para obtener información de agricultores de 17 municipios del estado. La información se analizó con el estadístico Chi-cuadrada y una regresión logística. Los resultados y conclusiones apuntan que, los agricul­tores que conocen las semillas híbridas y cuya intención es vender, tienen disposición a sembrarlas. El 100% prefieren semillas nativas para consumo familiar y de sus animales

Fostering Communicative Skills: Students' Positions Towards Social Phenomena

El presente estudio de investigación busca dar cuenta de los procesos que un grupo de estudiantes de grado once de un colegio público de Bogotá llevaron a cabo mientras establecían posiciones personales con sentido moral a través de experiencias comunicativas en la lengua inglesa. Este estudio de investigación fue desarrollado con seis estudiantes. Este estudio de investigación es definido como un estudio de caso explicativo. Transcripciones de grabaciones de audio, formatos de observación de pares, y actividades de los estudiantes fueron los instrumentos seleccionados para recolectar datos. Este proceso investigativo es una descripción de factores internos y externos tales como procesos de negociación mental, pensamiento reflexivo, y el desarrollo de las habilidades del pensamiento crítico, los cuales son presentados aquí como agentes que desarrollan el posicionamiento moral personal de los estudiantes. Luego de estudiar los datos recolectados, se hizo una diferenciación entre posicionamiento de primer orden y posicionamiento de segundo orden al identificar distintas características del posicionamiento demostrado por los estudiantes: Posicionamiento personal, al basar esta posición en conocimiento previo relacionado con un tema específico (posicionamiento de primer orden), y Posicionamiento personal, al negociar el conocimiento previo relacionado con un tema específico con el aporte externo establecido por sus pares (Posicionamiento de segundo orden). La proyección de la posición de los estudiantes obligo a los estudiantes a desarrollar procesos mentales y comunicativos de negociación. Finalmente, el lenguaje es considerado como el medio para el mejoramiento de los procesos de posicionamiento personal de los estudiantes y el refuerzo de las habilidades del pensamiento crítico y del aprendizaje del contexto del salón de clase de inglés como lengua extranjera.The present research study aims to give an account of the processes that a group of eleventh grade students from a state school of Bogotá carried out when establishing personal positions, through communicative experiences in the English language. The research process was conducted with six students. This research study is defined as an explanatory case study. Tape-recording transcriptions, peer observation formats, and physical artifacts were the instruments selected for collecting data. This research is a description of factors such as: mental negotiation processes, reflective thinking and critical thinking skills development, which are presented here as forming means of learners’ moral personal positioning and, as common tendencies that emerge when communication by using E.F.L. takes place within the classroom. After studying and understanding the data collected, a difference between first order positioning and second order positioning was made by identifying different characteristics on the positioning displayed by students: Personal positioning by basing it on previous knowledge related to an specific topic (first order positioning) and Personal positioning by negotiating previous knowledge related to an specific topic, with new input established by their peers (second order positioning). The projection of students’ positioning forced them to develop mental and communicative negotiation processes. Finally, language is considered as the means for students’ personal positioning improvement and learning and critical skills’ reinforcement within the EFL classroom context

Comparison of [18F] fluorocholine PET/CT with [99mTc] sestamibi and ultrasonography to detect parathyroid lesions in primary hyperparathyroidism: a prospective study.

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism is a common endocrine disorder produced by the increase of parathyroid hormone (PTH) due to a benign adenoma of a single parathyroid gland, or as multiple gland hyperplasia, or as a rare malignant tumor. Preoperative imaging scans are frequently necessary for the minimally invasive parathyroidectomies to identify the location of enlarged parathyroid glands and to design the procedure. Methods: The diagnostic reliability of [18F]fluorocholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FCH PET/CT), [99mTc]sestamibi [multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI)] and cervical ultrasonography was analyzed in 37 patients diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism undergoing minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. The three preoperative imaging techniques were correlated with intraoperative and histopathological findings as well as changes in biochemical parameters (serum PTH and calcium levels). Statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS version 24.0. Results: In 30 of 37 patients (81.1%), FCH PET/CT correctly localized the pathological gland. In 3 cases of ectopic adenomas, the accuracy of the techniques was 100% (3/3) for FCH PET/CT, 66.7% (2/3) for MIBI, and 33.3% (1/3) for neck ultrasonography. Neither neck ultrasonography nor MIBI were able to locate pathological parathyroid glands in those patients with multiglandular disease, while FCH PET/CT correctly located one patient (1/3, 33.3%) with two adenomas and 3 patients (3/6, 50.0%) with hyperplasia. The three imaging techniques, FCH PET/CT, MIBI and neck ultrasound yielded a sensitivity of 92.1%, 57.9% and 32.4%, a positive predictive value of 94.6%, 84.6% and 78.6%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 96.4%, 85.7% and 79.0%, respectively. Conclusions: In this group of patients diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism, FCH PET/CT was superior to MIBI and neck ultrasound in detecting adenomas, particularly in the presence of ectopic glands or multiglandular disease

Muestreo de suelos, técnicas de laboratorio e interpretación de análisis de suelos

El presente manual busca orientar las diferentes fases para la obtención del resultado de análisis de suelos, como lo son la práctica de muestreo de suelos, las diferentes metodologías que se desarrollan empleando las técnicas de laboratorio, y la interpretación de algunos parámetros del análisis de suelos, con base en investigaciones y en la experiencia de los autores, que contribuirán a las instituciones de investigación, universidades, asistentes técnicos y productores, como herramienta agronómica fundamental en la toma de decisiones, que permita mejorar la eficacia de los diversos sistemas productivos agrícolas del país y especialmente del departamento del Huila.Muestreo de suelos -- Importancia del muestreo para análisis de suelos -- Instrumentos para la obtención de muestras -- Precaución para una buena toma de la muestra -- Parámetros para el envío de la muestra de suelo al laboratorio -- Metodologías del laboratorio -- Conductividad eléctrica -- Densidad del suelo -- Densidad aparente -- Densidad real -- Porosidad en el suelo -- Capacidad de intercambio catiónico -- Capacidad de intercambio catiónico estimada -- Aluminio intercambiable -- Nitrógeno total -- Textura -- Materia orgánica -- Análisis de suelos y su interpretación -- PH -- Densidad aparente -- CIC (Capacidad de Intercambio Catiónico) -- Fósforo (P) -- Materia orgánica (M.O) -- Bases intercambiables -- Elementos menores -- Relaciones iónicas -- Unidades empleadas en el análisis de suelosna87 página

Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial to assess safety of teleconsultation compared with face-to-face consultation: the ECASeT study

BackgroundThe use of remote consultation modalities has exponentially grown in the past few years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although a huge body of the literature has described the use of phone (tele) and video consultations, very few of the studies correspond to randomized controlled trials, and none of them has assessed the safety of these consultation modalities as the primary objective. The primary objective of this trial was to assess the safety of remote consultations (both video and teleconsultation) in the follow-up of patients in the hospital setting.MethodsMulticenter, randomized controlled trial being conducted in four centers of an administrative healthcare area in Catalonia (North-East Spain). Participants will be screened from all individuals, irrespective of age and sex, who require follow-up in outpatient consultations of any of the departments involved in the study. Eligibility criteria have been established based on the local guidelines for screening patients for remote consultation. Participants will be randomly allocated into one of the two study arms: conventional face-to-face consultation (control) and remote consultation, either teleconsultation or video consultation (intervention). Routine follow-up visits will be scheduled at a frequency determined by the physician based on the diagnostic and therapy of the baseline disease (the one triggering enrollment). The primary outcome will be the number of adverse reactions and complications related to the baseline disease. Secondary outcomes will include non-scheduled visits and hospitalizations, as well as usability features of remote consultations. All data will either be recorded in an electronic clinical report form or retrieved from local electronic health records. Based on the complications and adverse reaction rates reported in the literature, we established a target sample size of 1068 participants per arm. Recruitment started in May 2022 and is expected to end in May 2024.DiscussionThe scarcity of precedents on the assessment of remote consultation modalities using randomized controlled designs challenges making design decisions, including recruitment, selection criteria, and outcome definition, which are discussed in the manuscript.Trial registrationNCT05094180. The items of the WHO checklist for trial registration are available in Additional file 1. Registered on 24 November 2021

Wastewater early warning system for SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks and variants in a Coruña, Spain

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract]: Wastewater-based epidemiology has been widely used as a cost-effective method for tracking the COVID-19 pandemic at the community level. Here we describe COVIDBENS, a wastewater surveillance program running from June 2020 to March 2022 in the wastewater treatment plant of Bens in A Coruña (Spain). The main goal of this work was to provide an effective early warning tool based in wastewater epidemiology to help in decision-making at both the social and public health levels. RT-qPCR procedures and Illumina sequencing were used to weekly monitor the viral load and to detect SARS-CoV-2 mutations in wastewater, respectively. In addition, own statistical models were applied to estimate the real number of infected people and the frequency of each emerging variant circulating in the community, which considerable improved the surveillance strategy. Our analysis detected 6 viral load waves in A Coruña with concentrations between 103 and 106 SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies/L. Our system was able to anticipate community outbreaks during the pandemic with 8-36 days in advance with respect to clinical reports and, to detect the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in A Coruña such as Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529 and BA.2) in wastewater with 42, 30, and 27 days, respectively, before the health system did. Data generated here helped local authorities and health managers to give a faster and more efficient response to the pandemic situation, and also allowed important industrial companies to adapt their production to each situation. The wastewater-based epidemiology program developed in our metropolitan area of A Coruña (Spain) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic served as a powerful early warning system combining statistical models with mutations and viral load monitoring in wastewater over time.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. Funding for open access charge: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG. This work was supported by EDAR Bens S.A., A Coruña, Spain [grant references INV04020, INV12120, INV05921, and INV148721 to MP], by the National Plan for Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation funded by the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Spain—General Subdirection of Assessment and Promotion of the Research-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) “A way of making Europe” [grant references PI15/00860 to GB, PI17/01482, and PI20/00413 to MP], by the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) (Xunta de Galicia, Spain) [grant references IN607A 2016/22 to GB, ED431C-2016/015 and ED431C-2020/14 to RC, ED431C 2021/53 to SL and ED431G 2019/01 and COV20/00604 to RC and SL, by Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MINECO), Spain [grant references MTM2017-82724-R to RC], by the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases [REIPI RD16/0016/0006 to GB], by the “Innova Saúde” Program, (INNOVAMICROLAB project) co-founded by the Galician Healthcare Service (SERGAS) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and by the Spanish Network of Research in Infectious Diseases (CIBERINFEC, ISCIII), and by the European Virus Archive Global (EVA-GLOBAL) project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 871029. SR-F was financially supported by REIPI RD16/0016/006, KC-P by IN607A 2016/22 and the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC) and JAV by IN607A 2016/22. DP was funded by grant EPICOVIGAL FONDO SUPERA-COVID19 from Banco Santander-CSIC-CRUE, Spain, and grant CT850A-2 from (Health Knowledge Agency) ACIS SERGAS from the Consellería de Sanidade of Xunta de Galicia, Spain.EDAR Bens S.A.; INV04020EDAR Bens S.A.; INV12120EDAR Bens S.A.; INV05921EDAR Bens S.A.; INV148721Xunta de Galicia; IN607A 2016/22Xunta de Galicia; ED431C-2016/015Xunta de Galicia; ED431C-2020/14Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2021/53Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/01Xunta de Galicia; COV20/0060

EMIR, the GTC NIR multi-object imager-spectrograph

EMIR, currently entering into its fabrication and AIV phase, will be one of the first common user instruments for the GTC, the 10 meter telescope under construction by GRANTECAN at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Canary Islands, Spain). EMIR is being built by a Consortium of Spanish and French institutes led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). EMIR is designed to realize one of the central goals of 10m class telescopes, allowing observers to obtain spectra for large numbers of faint sources in a time-efficient manner. EMIR is primarily designed to be operated as a MOS in the K band, but others a wide range of observing modes, including imaging and spectroscopy, both long slit and multi-object, in the wavelength range 0.9 to 2.5 um. It is equipped with two innovative subsystems: a robotic reconfigurable multi-slit mask and dispersive elements formed by the combination of high quality distraction grating and conventional prisms, both at the heart of the instrument. The present status of development, expected performances, schedule and plans for scientific exploitation are described and discussed. The development and fabrication of EMIR is funded by GRANTECAN and the Plan Nacional de Astronomía y Astrofísica (National Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spain).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Mortalidad perioperatoria en Tolima, perspectivas del cuarto indicador de The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery: un análisis preliminar de la cohorte prospectiva del estudio Colombian Surgical Outcomes Study (ColSOS)

Introducción. La mortalidad perioperatoria en el mundo representa 4,2 millones de muertes anuales. El cuarto indicador de The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery permite estandarizar la mortalidad perioperatoria. En Colombia, existen aproximaciones por datos secundarios, limitando el análisis y las intervenciones aplicables a nuestra población. El objetivo de este estudio fue describir la mortalidad perioperatoria a través de datos primarios que permitan sustentar políticas públicas. Métodos. Se hizo el análisis preliminar de un estudio observacional, de cohorte prospectiva, multicéntrico en 6 instituciones del departamento de Tolima. Se incluyeron los pacientes llevados a procedimientos quirúrgicos por una semana, con posterior seguimiento hasta el egreso, fallecimiento o 30 días de hospitalización. La mortalidad perioperatoria fue el desenlace primario. Resultados. Fueron incluidos 378 pacientes, con mediana de 49 años (RIC 32-66), buen estado funcional (ASA I-II 80 %) y baja complejidad quirúrgica (42 %). Las cirugías más comunes fueron por Ortopedia (25,4 %) y Cirugía plástica (23,3 %). El 29,7 % presentaron complicaciones postoperatorias, las más comunes fueron síndrome de dificultad respiratoria agudo e íleo postoperatorio. La mortalidad perioperatoria fue de 1,3 %. Discusión. La mortalidad perioperatoria discrepó de la reportada en otros estudios nacionales, aun cuando los pacientes tenían un bajo perfil de riesgo y baja complejidad de los procedimientos. Sin embargo, coincide con la reportada internacionalmente y nos acerca a la realidad del país. Conclusión. La determinación del cuarto indicador es de vital importancia para mejorar la atención quirúrgica en Colombia. Este es el primer acercamiento con datos primarios que nos permite tener información aplicable a nuestra población