Management education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This paper examines some issues relating to the development in Latin America and the Caribbean of the managerial expertise that underpins the modernisation of library and information services. It reports on part of a joint IFLA/FID project, principally funded by the UNESCO Participation Programme, and reviews results from two surveys: Schools of Librarianship and Information Sciences in the region provided data on the priorities they attach to elements of their management curriculum, and teaching methods; and employers commented on their awareness of modern management techniques, their management development needs and approaches, and their perceptions of the management education available. The results of the two surveys are compared and considered, and some proposals are made for addressing issues. Whilst the Schools appear to be meeting the employers key requirements, there is still some degree of mismatch between employers expectations and Schools priorities, but the Schools are open to change and a constructive dialogue is advocated. It is also suggested that more attention should be given to staff development and the provision of supporting continuing education programmes to raise the level of management knowledge and expertise. Iinternational organisations should consider encouraging the production and exchange of teaching materials. A major challenge for the Schools will be to overcome the traditionally rigid disciplinary boundaries within Universities to collaborate on new course developments

Health promotion as a subject of the educational curriculum in the Catalan context

OBJETIVO. Comprender la manera en que se ha integrado la salud en el currículum educativo catalán y si ésta ha sido reconocida como una competencia más, contribuyendo con ello al logro de los objetivos de la nueva política europea para la promoción de la salud y el bienestar, denominada “Salud 2020”. Reflexionar acerca del papel pedagógico del profesional de enfermería y proponer alternativas de mejora a la situación actual. MATERIALES Y MÉTODO. Se llevó a cabo un ejercicio interpretativo intencional y contextual articulándose el proceso en varias etapas: delimitación de las áreas de conocimiento curriculares a analizar en las etapas de escolarización obligatoria, redactado de los resultados y análisis de los datos surgidos. Como método analítico se utilizó el denominado análisis de contenido. RESULTADOS. En la etapa de Primaria se observan competencias relacionadas con la salud en los ámbitos de conocimiento del medio; educación física; educación en valores y ámbito digital. En la etapa de Secundaria se observan competencias relacionadas con la salud en los ámbitos cientificotecnológico; social; educación física; cultura y valores; ámbito digital. CONCLUSIONES. la promoción de la salud no se proyecta como una materia más en la que se imparten contenidos de salud, sino como un conjunto de contenidos incluidos transversalmente en algunas de las áreas de conocimiento, lo que supondría una barrera para el conveniente desarrollo de los contenidos de salud. Se propone una nueva materia de promoción de salud, con contenidos adaptados a cada etapa educativa. El profesional de enfermería se erige como idóneo para adquirir la responsabilidad y liderazgo y poner en marcha dicha materiaOBJECTIVE. Understand how health has been integrated into the Catalan educational curriculum and whether it has been recognised as an additional competence, thereby contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the new European policy for the promotion of health and well-being, called "Health 2020". To reflect on the pedagogical role of the nursing professional and to propose alternatives for improvement to the current situation. MATERIALS AND METHODS. An intentional and contextual interpretative process was carried out, articulating the process in several stages: delimitation of the areas of curricular knowledge to be analyzed in the stages of compulsory schooling, writing up the results and data analysis. Content analysis was used as the analytical method. RESULTS. In the Primary Education stage, health-related competencies are observed in the fields of environmental knowledge, physical education, education in moral values and the digital field. At the Secondary level, competencies related to health are observed in the scientific-technological, social, physical education, culture and moral values and digital fields. CONCLUSIONS. Health promotion is not projected as just another subject in which health content is taught, but as a set of contents included transversally in some of the areas of knowledge, which would represent a barrier to the convenient development of health content. A new health promotion subject is proposed, with content adapted to each stage of education. The nursing professional becomes the most suitable choice to acquire responsibility and leadership and to implement this subjec

The Automated Root Exudate System (ARES): a method to apply solutes at regular intervals to soils in the field.

Root exudation is a key component of nutrient and carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Exudation rates vary widely by plant species and environmental conditions, but our understanding of how root exudates affect soil functioning is incomplete, in part because there are few viable methods to manipulate root exudates in situ. To address this, we devised the Automated Root Exudate System (ARES), which simulates increased root exudation by applying small amounts of labile solutes at regular intervals in the field. The ARES is a gravity-fed drip irrigation system comprising a reservoir bottle connected via a timer to a micro-hose irrigation grid covering c. 1 m2; 24 drip-tips are inserted into the soil to 4-cm depth to apply solutions into the rooting zone. We installed two ARES subplots within existing litter removal and control plots in a temperate deciduous woodland. We applied either an artificial root exudate solution (RE) or a procedural control solution (CP) to each subplot for 1 min day-1 during two growing seasons. To investigate the influence of root exudation on soil carbon dynamics, we measured soil respiration monthly and soil microbial biomass at the end of each growing season. The ARES applied the solutions at a rate of c. 2 L m-2 week-1 without significantly increasing soil water content. The application of RE solution had a clear effect on soil carbon dynamics, but the response varied by litter treatment. Across two growing seasons, soil respiration was 25% higher in RE compared to CP subplots in the litter removal treatment, but not in the control plots. By contrast, we observed a significant increase in microbial biomass carbon (33%) and nitrogen (26%) in RE subplots in the control litter treatment. The ARES is an effective, low-cost method to apply experimental solutions directly into the rooting zone in the field. The installation of the systems entails minimal disturbance to the soil and little maintenance is required. Although we used ARES to apply root exudate solution, the method can be used to apply many other treatments involving solute inputs at regular intervals in a wide range of ecosystems

Determination of biosorption mechanism in biomass of agave, using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques for the purification of contaminated water

[Abstract] Lead (Pb2+) and copper (Cu2+) are polluting metals due to their toxicity; however, the extraction of these metals is essential for economic development, so it is important to look for efficient and low-cost alternatives that can remove heavy metals from the various bodies of water. One of the alternatives used in this work is biosorption, for which an agroindustrial waste (epidermis from Agave atrovirens) was used to evaluate the affinity of removal of lead and copper in aqueous solutions; in addition, spectroscopy and microscopy techniques were used to elucidate and corroborate the removal and affinity capacity of the agave epidermis for both metals studied. The optimal pH value for the removal of both metals was 3. The adsorption isotherms yielded a qmax of 25.7 and 8.6 mg/g for lead and copper, respectively. Adjusting to the Langmuir-Freundlich model, the adsorption kinetics were pseudo-second order, and it was found that the equilibrium time was at 140 min. The spectroscopy and microscopy analyses corroborated the affinity between metals and functional groups of the agave, as well as with the elemental analysis, which reported 17.38% of lead and 4.25% of copper.[Resumen] El plomo (Pb2+) y el cobre (Cu2+) son metales contaminantes debido a su toxicidad; sin embargo, la extracción de estos metales es indispensable para el desarrollo económico, por lo que es importante buscar alternativas eficientes y de bajo costo que puedan remover metales pesados de los diversos cuerpos de agua. Una de las alternativas utilizadas en este trabajo es la biosorción, para la cual se utilizó un residuo agroindustrial (epidermis de Agave atrovirens), para evaluar la afinidad de remoción del plomo y cobre en soluciones acuosas; adicionalmente, se emplearon técnicas de espesctroscopía y microscopía que permitieron elucidar y corroborar la capacidad de remoción y afinidad que tuvo la epidermis de A. atrovirens para ambos metales estudiados. El valor óptimo de pH para la remoción de ambos metales fue 3. Las isotermas de adsorción arrojaron una qmax de 25.7 y 8.6 mg/g para el plomo y cobre, respectivamente. Ajustando al modelo de Langmuir-Freundlich, las cinéticas de adsorción resultaron de pseudo-segundo orden, se encontró que el tiempo de equilibrio es a los 140 min. El análisis espectroscópico y microscópico, corroboró la afinidad entre metales y grupos funcionales del agave, así como con el análisis elemental, el cual reportó 17.38% de plomo y 4.25% de cobre

Monitoring hygienic measures for decreasing salmonella occurrence in scalding tank water of a Turkey slaughterhouse

The objective of this work was to test different treatments based on the temperature and acidification of scalding tank water throughout the day in a turkey slaughterhouse under industrial conditions in order to decrease the occurrence of Salmonella. After controlling the scalding tank water under usual conditions, the following measures were taken: (a) the temperature was increased to 60 °C and 70 °C for 15 min at the halfway point of the day; (b) the scalding water was acidified and six different initial pH levels were tested. Both measures which were tested (heating and acidification of scalding water) showed efficiency in reducing the occurrence of Salmonella during the scalding step. In order to prevent the disadvantages associated with the hardest measures in each case, we propose that scalding water be heated to 70 °C for 15 min without carcasses, which can be repeated if the disadvantages of the exposed costs and resources of processing are acceptable. Regarding acidification, a suitable measure would be an initial pH of 4.0 or any treatment that keeps the pH of the scalding water below 4.5, using acid that does not affect the final quality of the products and/or the elements involved

pH-dependent, extended release and enhanced in vitro efficiency against colon cancer of Tegafur formulated using chitosan-coated poly (ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles

Tegafur is used to treat various malignant lesions, including advanced gastric and colorectal cancers. However, its efficacy is limited by its low oral bioavailability, short half-life and serious toxicity. To address these drawbacks, a nanoformulation of poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles coated with chitosan was developed for the delivery of Tegafur. Poly(ε-caprolactone) particles were prepared by an interfacial polymer disposition method, while surface functionalization with chitosan followed a coacervation procedure. Transmission electron microscopy and elemental analyses, and electrokinetics of the particles demonstrated that such core/shell nanostructure was obtained. Compared to unmodified particles, chitosan-coated nanoparticles demonstrated a substantially increased stability at both 4 and 25 ◦C over 30 days. Particles showed an encapsulation efficiency of ≈64% and a pH-dependent behavior in which complete Tegafur release was extended over 168, 48 or 24 h at pH 7.4 (blood), 6.5 (extracellular microenvironment of tumors) or 5.5 (endosomes/lysosomes of tumor cells), respectively. Based on hemocompatibility and cell viability tests, chitosan-coated nanoparticles exhibited satisfactory biocompatibility and safety for drug delivery. Furthermore, Tegafur-loaded chitosan-decorated particles demonstrated enhanced anticancer efficiency, with half maximal inhibitory concentration values in HT- 29 and T-84 cells of ≈ 4-fold and ≈3.5-fold less than that of the free drug and drug-loaded unmodified nanoparticles, respectively. In vivo studies are needed to fully assess their efficacy and safetyFEDER/Junta de Andalucía – Consejería de Transformaci´on Econ´omica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades, Spain (Grant P20_00346)

Autoimmune neurological conditions associated with Zika virus infection

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging flavivirus rapidly spreading throughout the tropical Americas. mosquitoes is the principal way of transmission of the virus to humans. ZIKV can be spread by transplacental, perinatal, and body fluids. ZIKV infection is often asymptomatic and those with symptoms present minor illness after 3 to 12 days of incubation, characterized by a mild and self-limiting disease with low-grade fever, conjunctivitis, widespread pruritic maculopapular rash, arthralgia and myalgia. ZIKV has been linked to a number of central and peripheral nervous system injuries such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), transverse myelitis (TM), meningoencephalitis, ophthalmological manifestations, and other neurological complications. Nevertheless, mechanisms of host-pathogen neuro-immune interactions remain incompletely elucidated. This review provides a critical discussion about the possible mechanisms underlying the development of autoimmune neurological conditions associated with Zika virus infection

On the Whitham hierarchy: dressing scheme, string equations and additional symmetrie

A new description of the universal Whitham hierarchy in terms of a factorization problem in the Lie group of canonical transformations is provided. This scheme allows us to give a natural description of dressing transformations, string equations and additional symmetries for the Whitham hierarchy. We show how to dress any given solution and prove that any solution of the hierarchy may be undressed, and therefore comes from a factorization of a canonical transformation. A particulary important function, related to the $\tau$-function, appears as a potential of the hierarchy. We introduce a class of string equations which extends and contains previous classes of string equations considered by Krichever and by Takasaki and Takebe. The scheme is also applied for an convenient derivation of additional symmetries. Moreover, new functional symmetries of the Zakharov extension of the Benney gas equations are given and the action of additional symmetries over the potential in terms of linear PDEs is characterized

On the Whitham hierarchy: dressing scheme, string equations and additional symmetrie

A new description of the universal Whitham hierarchy in terms of a factorization problem in the Lie group of canonical transformations is provided. This scheme allows us to give a natural description of dressing transformations, string equations and additional symmetries for the Whitham hierarchy. We show how to dress any given solution and prove that any solution of the hierarchy may be undressed, and therefore comes from a factorization of a canonical transformation. A particulary important function, related to the $\tau$-function, appears as a potential of the hierarchy. We introduce a class of string equations which extends and contains previous classes of string equations considered by Krichever and by Takasaki and Takebe. The scheme is also applied for an convenient derivation of additional symmetries. Moreover, new functional symmetries of the Zakharov extension of the Benney gas equations are given and the action of additional symmetries over the potential in terms of linear PDEs is characterized