Teaching Conflict Transformation Through Stories

This work consists of a didactic compilation of 10 stories, which include fables, folktales, and one true story. These stories have been adapted into lessons and they focus mainly on the themes of conflict transformation and conflict resolution. Through a series of steps, structured by activities, learners will be able to experience working with several diverse scenarios of conflict. Part of these activities will require learners to relate and apply the issues in the stories both to themselves and to pertinent contexts of reality. Thus, this material constitutes a practical and experiential guide to the development and application of skills on promoting and implementing alternative ways to address conflict resolution. Its main objective is to prepare and equip learners and instructors alike to take an active part and be instruments in the task of furthering the so desperate and needed efforts towards peace

CNVs in the 22q11.2 chromosomal region should be an early suspect in infants with congenital cardiac disease

Q2Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common congenital malformation, it is frequently found as an isolated defect, and the etiology is not completely understood. Although most of the cases have multifactorial causes, they can also be secondary to chromosomal abnormalities, monogenic diseases, microduplications or microdeletions, among others. Copy number variations (CNVs) at 22q11.2 are associated with a variety of symptoms including CHD, thymic aplasia, and developmental and behavioral manifestations. We tested CNVs in the 22q11.2 chromosomal region by MLPA in a cohort of Colombian patients with isolated CHD to establish the frequency of these CNVs in the cohort. Methods: CNVs analysis of 22q11.2 by MLPA were performed in 32 patients with apparently isolate CHD during the neonatal period. Participants were enrolled from different hospitals in Bogotá, and they underwent a clinical assessment by a cardiologist and a clinical geneticist. Results: CNVs in the 22q11.2 chromosomal region were found in 7 patients (21.9%). The typical deletion was found in 6 patients (18.75%) and atypical 1.5 Mb duplication was found in 1 patient (3.1%). Conclusions: CNVs in 22q11.2 is a common finding in patients presenting with isolated congenital cardiac disease, therefore these patients should be tested early despite the absence of other clinical manifestations. MLPA is a very useful molecular method and provides an accurate diagnosis.Revista Internacional - Indexad

Exopolysaccharides produced by Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains abrogate in vitro the cytotoxic effect of bacterial toxins on eukaryotic cells

Aims: To evaluate the capability of the exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactobacilli and bifidobacteria from human and dairy origin to antagonize the cytotoxic effect of bacterial toxins. Methods and Results: The cytotoxicity of Bacillus cereus extracellular factors on Caco-2 colonocytes in the presence/absence of the EPS was determined by measuring the integrity of the tissue monolayer and the damage to the cell membrane (extracellular lactate dehydrogenase activity). Additionally, the protective effect of EPS against the haemolytic activity of the streptolysin-O was evaluated on rabbit erythrocytes. The EPS produced by Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis A1 and IPLA-R1, Bifidobacterium longum NB667 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG were able to counteract the toxic effect of bacterial toxins on the eukaryotic cells at 1 mg ml-1 EPS concentration. The EPS A1 was the most effective in counteracting the effect of B. cereus toxins on colonocytes, even at lower doses (0.5 mg ml-1), whereas EPS NB667 elicited the highest haemolysis reduction on erythrocytes. Conclusions: The production of EPS by lactobacilli and bifidobacteria could antagonize the toxicity of bacterial pathogens, this effect being EPS and biological marker dependent. Significance and Impact of the Study: This work allows gaining insight about the mechanisms that probiotics could exert to improve the host health.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasCentro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento

On the asymptotic behaviour of solutions to the fractional porous medium equation with variable density

We are concerned with the long time behaviour of solutions to the fractional porous medium equation with a variable spatial density. We prove that if the density decays slowly at infinity, then the solution approaches the Barenblatt-type solution of a proper singular fractional problem. If, on the contrary, the density decays rapidly at infinity, we show that the minimal solution multiplied by a suitable power of the time variable converges to the minimal solution of a certain fractional sublinear elliptic equation.Comment: To appear in DCDS-

Holographic surface measurement system for the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope

We describe a system being developed for measuring the shapes of the mirrors of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST), now under construction for the CCAT Observatory. "Holographic" antenna-measuring techniques are an efficient and accurate way of measuring the surfaces of large millimeter-wave telescopes and they have the advantage of measuring the wave-front errors of the whole system under operational conditions, e.g. at night on an exposed site. Applying this to FYST, however, presents significant challenges because of the high accuracy needed, the fact that the telescope consists of two large off-axis mirrors, and a requirement that measurements can be made without personnel present. We use a high-frequency (~300GHz) source which is relatively close to the telescope aperture (<1/100th of the Fresnel distance) to minimize atmospheric effects. The main receiver is in the receiver cabin and can be moved under remote control to different positions, so that the wave-front errors in different parts of the focal plane can be measured. A second receiver placed on the yoke provides a phase reference. The signals are combined in a digital cross-correlation spectrometer. Scanning the telescope provides a map of the complex beam pattern. The surface errors are found by inference, i.e. we make models of the reflectors with errors and calculate the patterns expected, and then iterate to find the best match to the data. To do this we have developed a fast and accurate method for calculating the patterns using the Kirchhoff-Fresnel formulation. This paper presents details of the design and outlines the results from simulations of the measurement and inference process. These indicate that a measurement accuracy of ~3 microns rms is achievable.Comment: Proceedings Volume 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only Conferenc

A comparison of cut points for measuring risk factors for adolescent substance use and antisocial behaviors in the U.S. and Colombia

As the identification and targeting of salient risk factors for adolescent substance use become more widely used globally, an essential question arises as to whether U.S.-based cut points in the distributions of these risk factors that identify high risk can be used validly in other countries as well. This study examined proportions of youth at high risk using different empirically derived cut points in the distributions of 18 measured risk factors. Data were obtained from large-scale samples of adolescents in Colombia and the United States. Results indicated that significant (p \u3c 0.05) differences in the proportions of high risk youth were found in 38.9% of risk factors for 6th graders, 61.1% for 8th graders, and 66.6% for 10th graders. Colombian-based cut points for determining the proportion of Colombian youth at high risk were preferable to U.S.-based cut points in almost all comparisons that exhibited a significant difference. Our findings suggest that observed differences were related to the type of risk factor (e.g., drug specific vs. non-drug specific). Findings from this study demonstrate the need for collecting large-scale national data on risk factors for adolescent substance use and developing country-specific cut points based on the distributions of these measures to avoid misidentification of youth at high risk

Validation of the Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) with the OGTT in Health Care Practices in Europe

Aims: /hypothesis. To determine the best cut-off threshold value of the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FIN-DRISC) for the detection of diabetes and non-diabetic hyperglycaemia in people 35 years or older at primary health care settings in Europe. Methods: Cross-sectional study in 11,444 adults from primary health care centres using community and opportunistic screening approaches. All participants completed the FIN-DRISC questionnaire and underwent a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The FIN-DRISC performance was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, Youden acute accent s index, posi-tive and negative prediction values for different FINDRISC cut-offs were calculated. Results: The optimal FINDRISC value for detecting both diabetes or glucose impairment in the community -screened sample was 14 point with the associated AUC 0.75,5 (95 %CI 0.73,7-0.77,3). The optimal score in the opportunistic screening sample was 16 with the associated AUC only 0.60,4 (95% CI 0.56, 4-0.64, 4). Conclusions/interpretation: The FINDRISC is a non-invasive tool useful for detecting people with unknown diabetes and glucose impairment in people visiting primary health centres in Europe. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Exopolysaccharides produced by Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains abrogate in vitro the cytotoxic effect of bacterial toxins on eukaryotic cells

Aims: To evaluate the capability of the exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by lactobacilli and bifidobacteria from human and dairy origin to antagonize the cytotoxic effect of bacterial toxins. Methods and Results: The cytotoxicity of Bacillus cereus extracellular factors on Caco-2 colonocytes in the presence/absence of the EPS was determined by measuring the integrity of the tissue monolayer and the damage to the cell membrane (extracellular lactate dehydrogenase activity). Additionally, the protective effect of EPS against the haemolytic activity of the streptolysin-O was evaluated on rabbit erythrocytes. The EPS produced by Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis A1 and IPLA-R1, Bifidobacterium longum NB667 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG were able to counteract the toxic effect of bacterial toxins on the eukaryotic cells at 1 mg ml-1 EPS concentration. The EPS A1 was the most effective in counteracting the effect of B. cereus toxins on colonocytes, even at lower doses (0.5 mg ml-1), whereas EPS NB667 elicited the highest haemolysis reduction on erythrocytes. Conclusions: The production of EPS by lactobacilli and bifidobacteria could antagonize the toxicity of bacterial pathogens, this effect being EPS and biological marker dependent. Significance and Impact of the Study: This work allows gaining insight about the mechanisms that probiotics could exert to improve the host health.Facultad de Ciencias ExactasCentro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento

Acquired toxoplasmosis during pregnancy at the instituto materno-infantil, bogotá

The frequency of acquired toxoplasmosis during pregnancy in Bogotá is not known exactly. The Instituto Materno Infantil-IMI is a referral care center for pregnant women of low incomes and obstetrical risk in Bogotá. This study was undertaken to determine the frequency of mothers with serological markers of recent infection (anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgA) indicating a risk for congenital transmission and thus estimating its magnitude at IMI. We studied 637 pregnant women attended at the prenatal consultation clinic at the IMI. Serum samples from the mothers were obtained during July to December 1998 and were studied using Immunofluorescence Antibody Technique (IFAT) for specific anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies. In addition, specific anti-T. gondii IgM and IgA antibodies were investigated in patients with high titers in IFAT-IgG (≥1:1024). 301 samples were found to be positive in IFAT-IgG (47%). ISAgA IgM and IgA tests were performed in 92 patients with IFAT-IgG titers ≥1:1024. In 14 patients both the IgM and the IgA test were positive, thus 2,2% of patients have recently acquired toxoplasmosis in this group of people. These results are in contrast with previous results in pregnant women from Bogotá and highlight the need for specific control programs to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis.La frecuencia de la toxoplasmosis adquirida durante el embarazo, en Bogotá no se conoce con precisión. El Instituto Materno Infantil (IMI) de la ciudad atiende una población de alto riesgo obstétrico y estrato socioeconómico bajo. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar la frecuencia de madres con marcadores serológicos de infección reciente (IgM e IgA ant-Toxoplasma), que indican riesgo de transmisión congénita, con el fin de estimar la magnitud del problema en las gestantes del IMI. Durante el periodo de Julio a Diciembre de 1998 se recolectaron 637 muestras de suero de todas las pacientes que consultaban el programa de control prenatal del IMI. Todos los sueros de las gestantes se estudiaron por la técnica IFI-IgG anti-Toxoplasma y aquellas con resultados iguales o superiores a 1:1024 fueron estudiadas por la técnica ISAgA para IgM e IgA anti-Toxoplasma. En total 301 sueros fueron reactivos por IFI-IgG (47%), 92 tuvieron títulos iguales o superiores a 1:1024. De estos últimos, 14 presentaron pruebas IgM e IgA anti-Toxoplasma positivas, lo que significa que 2,2% cumplen criterios de toxoplasmosis reciente. Estos resultados contrastan con reportes previos realizados en otras poblaciones de gestantes de Bogotá y justifican la realización de programas específicos de control

Collective Effervescence, Self-Transcendence, and Gender Differences in Social Well-Being During 8 March Demonstrations

8 March (8M), now known as International Women’s Day, is a day for feminist claims where demonstrations are organized in over 150 countries, with the participation of millions of women all around the world. These demonstrations can be viewed as collective rituals and thus focus attention on the processes that facilitate different psychosocial effects. This work aims to explore the mechanisms (i.e., behavioral and attentional synchrony, perceived emotional synchrony, and positive and transcendent emotions) involved in participation in the demonstrations of 8 March 2020, collective and ritualized feminist actions, and their correlates associated with personal well-being (i.e., affective well-being and beliefs of personal growth) and collective well-being (i.e., social integration variables: situated identity, solidarity and fusion), collective efficacy and collective growth, and behavioral intention to support the fight for women’s rights. To this end, a cross-cultural study was conducted with the participation of 2,854 people (age 18–79; M = 30.55; SD = 11.66) from countries in Latin America (Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador) and Europe (Spain and Portugal), with a retrospective correlational cross-sectional design and a convenience sample. Participants were divided between demonstration participants (n = 1,271; 94.0% female) and non-demonstrators or followers who monitored participants through the media and social networks (n = 1,583; 75.87% female). Compared with non-demonstrators and with males, female and non-binary gender respondents had greater scores in mechanisms and criterion variables. Further random-effects model meta-analyses revealed that the perceived emotional synchrony was consistently associated with more proximal mechanisms, as well as with criterion variables. Finally, sequential moderation analyses showed that proposed mechanisms successfully mediated the effects of participation on every criterion variable. These results indicate that participation in 8M marches and demonstrations can be analyzed through the literature on collective rituals. As such, collective participation implies positive outcomes both individually and collectively, which are further reinforced through key psychological mechanisms, in line with a Durkheimian approach to collective rituals.Fil: Zumeta, Larraitz N.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Castro Abril, Pablo. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Méndez, Lander. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Pizarro, José J.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Włodarczyk, Anna. Universidad Católica del Norte; ChileFil: Basabe, Nekane. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Navarro Carrillo, Ginés. Universidad de Jaén; EspañaFil: Padoan De Luca, Sonia. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: da Costa, Silvia. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Alonso Arbiol, Itziar. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Torres Gómez, Bárbara. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Cakal, Huseyin. Keele University; Reino UnidoFil: Delfino, Gisela Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Techio, Elza M.. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Alzugaray, Carolina. Universidad de Santo Tomas; ChileFil: Bilbao, Marian. Universidad Alberto Hurtado; ChileFil: Villagrán, Loreto. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: López López, Wilson. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; ColombiaFil: Ruiz Pérez, José Ignacio. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Cedeño, Cynthia C.. Universidad Politécnica Salesiana; EcuadorFil: Reyes Valenzuela, Carlos. Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar - Sede Ecuador.; EcuadorFil: Alfaro Beracoechea, Laura. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Contreras Ibáñez, Carlos César. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; MéxicoFil: Ibarra, Manuel Leonardo. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; MéxicoFil: Reyes Sosa, Hiram. Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila; MéxicoFil: Cueto, Rosa María. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú; PerúFil: Carvalho, Catarina L.. Universidad de Porto; PortugalFil: Pinto, Isabel R.. Universidad de Porto; Portuga