Variability in the performance of preventive services and in the degree of control of identified health problems: A primary care study protocol

Background: Preventive activities carried out in primary care have important variability that makes necessary to know which factors have an impact in order to establish future strategies for improvement. The present study has three objectives: 1) To describe the variability in the implementation of 7 preventive services (screening for smoking status, alcohol abuse, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, influenza and tetanus immunization) and to determine their related factors; 2) To describe the degree of control of 5 identified health problems (smoking, alcohol abuse, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and obesity); 3) To calculate intraclass correlation coefficients. Design: Multi-centered cross-sectional study of a randomised sample of primary health care teams from 3 regions of Spain designed to analyse variability and related factors of 7 selected preventive services in years 2006 and 2007. At the end of 2008, we will perform a cross-sectional study of a cohort of patients attended in 2006 or 2007 to asses the degree of control of 5 identified health problems. All subjects older than16 years assigned to a randomised sample of 22 computerized primary health care teams and attended during the study period are included in each region providing a sample with more than 850.000 subjects. The main outcome measures will be implementation of 7 preventive services and control of 5 identified health problems. Furthermore, there will be 3 levels of data collection: 1) Patient level (age, gender, morbidity, preventive services, attendance); 2) Health-care professional level (professional characteristics, years working at the team, workload); 3) Team level (characteristics, electronic clinical record system). Data will be transferred from electronic clinical records to a central database with prior encryption and dissociation of subject, professional and team identity. Global and regional analysis will be performed including standard analysis for primary health care teams and health-care professional level. Linear and logistic regression multilevel analysis adjusted for individual and cluster variables will also be performed. Variability in the number of preventive services implemented will be calculated with Poisson multilevel models. Team and health-care professional will be considered random effects. Intraclass correlation coefficients, standard error and variance components for the different outcome measures will be calculated

Antlion allometry suggests a greater importance of prey capture among first larval instars

First larval stages require adequate feeding to reach subsequent instars. However, the accumulation of reserves is also important in the last larval instar because it is vital to pupate and successfully perform metamorphosis into adulthood. We indirectly determined the presence of changes in the relative importance of prey capture through larval ontogeny in the antlion larvae (Neuroptera Myrmeleontidae), a sit-and-wait predator with three instar stages that capture preys that fall into their pit-traps. We used scaling relationships between the size of body parts directly related to prey capture (prothorax) versus those that are not (thorax + abdomen). The prothorax (neck, head, and mandibles) is used in the pit building, prey capture, and re-capture, and pit cleaning. We measured the body parts of 70 larvae of Myrmeleon crudelis in a tropical rain forest of Costa Rica. The prothorax showed negative allometry: it was proportionally larger in the first than in the last instars. These results support the growth hypothesis, which states that food acquisition is key in the earlier stages of larval development. First instars can be more food-limited than later instars because they build small pit-traps where only very small arthropods can fall; have smaller mandibles and relatively lower grab force, increasing the probability of the prey escaping; and have smaller fat reserves and thus, are unable to resist long periods of starvation. This illustrates the relevance of using scaling relationships to better understand how ecological pressures change along ontogeny, emphasizing the role of food acquisition at earlier ontogenetic stages.Fil: Farji Brener, Alejandro Gustavo. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Juncosa Polzella, Agostina Silvia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Madrigal Tejada, Daniela. Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica; ArgentinaFil: Centeno Alvarado, Diego. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Hernández Soto, Mariana. Instituto de Ecología; MéxicoFil: Soto Huaira, Mayori. Universidad Nacional de San Agustin de Arequipa. Museo de Historia Natural; PerúFil: Gutiérrez Cruz, Sebastián. Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado; Bolivi

Disadvantages of living in a populous neighborhood for sit-andwait predators: Competition for space reduces pit-trap size in antlion larvae

The study of how trap design responds to biotic and abiotic conditions can help to understand the selective forces affecting the foraging of trap-building organisms. We experimentally tested whether pit design can be modified by intraspecific competition for space in larvae of Myrmeleon crudelis, a common sit-and-wait predator that digs conical pit traps in the soil to capture walking arthropods. In a tropical forest in Costa Rica, we measured pit dimensions, larval body size, and the level of competition (i.e., density of neighboring traps) in 40 antlion larvae. These larvae were then taken to the laboratory and allowed to build new traps in individual containers. We measured within-individual changes in the size of traps in the field and in the laboratory, and related these to the level of competition experienced in the field. Larvae with relatively high levels of competition in the field showed a greater increase in the size of their pits in the laboratory. This change was independent of larval size. Larvae with none or few neighbors in the field showed little change in their pit sizes, whereas those with higher competition levels increased their diameter and depth up to 1,400% and 1,000%, respectively. Our results demonstrate that, at least in high-density aggregations, pit design is restricted by competition in addition to the constraints imposed by body size. This work suggests that biotic interactions can play a role in the design of extended phenotypes in sit-and-wait predators that live in dense aggregationsEl estudio de cómo el diseño de las trampas responde a las condiciones bióticas y abióticas puede ayudar a comprender las fuerzas selectivas que afectan la búsqueda de alimento de los organismos constructores de trampas. Probamos experimentalmente si el diseño del pozo puede modificarse mediante la competencia intraespecífica por el espacio en las larvas de Myrmeleon crudelis, un depredador común que se sienta y espera que excava trampas cónicas en el suelo para capturar artrópodos que caminan. En un bosque tropical de Costa Rica, medimos las dimensiones del pozo, el tamaño del cuerpo de las larvas y el nivel de competencia (es decir, la densidad de las trampas vecinas) en 40 larvas de hormiga león. Luego, estas larvas se llevaron al laboratorio y se les permitió construir nuevas trampas en contenedores individuales. Medimos los cambios intraindividuales en el tamaño de las trampas en el campo y en el laboratorio, y los relacionamos con el nivel de competencia experimentado en el campo. Las larvas con niveles relativamente altos de competencia en el campo mostraron un mayor aumento en el tamaño de sus hoyos en el laboratorio. Este cambio fue independiente del tamaño de las larvas. Las larvas con pocos o nulos vecinos en el campo mostraron pocos cambios en el tamaño de sus fosas, mientras que aquellas con niveles de competencia más altos aumentaron su diámetro y profundidad hasta 1.400% y 1.000%, respectivamente. Nuestros resultados demuestran que, al menos en agregaciones de alta densidad, el diseño del pozo está restringido por la competencia además de las restricciones impuestas por el tamaño del cuerpo. Este trabajo sugiere que las interacciones bióticas pueden desempeñar un papel en el diseño de fenotipos extendidos en depredadores que se sientan y esperan que viven en densas agregaciones.Universidad Nacional del Comahue, ArgentinaUniversidad Nacional de Córdoba, ArgentinaUniversidad Nacional, Costa RicaUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco, BrasilInstituto de Ecología, MéxicoUniversidad Nacional de San Agustín, PerúMuseo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, BoliviaEscuela de Ciencias Biológica

Incidencia de los proyectos de Vinculación con la Sociedad de la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana

La Universidad Politécnica Salesiana tiene 27 años de servicio a la sociedad ecuatoriana. Una corta pero intensa vida institucional que ha gestado un posicionamiento en la región. Un estilo de trabajo reconocido tanto por la comunidad académica como por la sociedad, cuyas características son las relaciones interpersonales de cercanía con base en el respeto y la confianza, la centralidad de su acción en el educando y su fuerte compromiso social. El grupo de Investigación en Desarrollo Local-GIDLO considera pertinente y oportuno reflexionar sobre los modelos y prácticas universitarias universitarias de esta institución. Por ello, y con la colaboración de docentes-investigadores, estudiantes y personal administrativo, ha sistematizado algunos proyectos de Vinculación con la Sociedad que han logrado impactos en términos cualitativos y de innovación educativa