Cultural factors and primary health care in Cuba. A view from community praxis

The changes and transformations in Primary Health Care (PHC) developed in recent years from the implementation of the model of Physician and Nurse of the Family in Cuba, must be supported by a shift in perspective and move from an eminently biologicist paradigm to a biosociocultural paradigm. This makes it possible to explicitly situate the relationship between culture and health and explain the social and cultural factors related to healthy behaviors, and also to support interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary studies. The results presented in this paper corroborate the theoretical postulates of cultural anthropology, cultural sociology and medicine that argue that the gap between multidisciplinary health teams and social actors occurs, among other reasons, because of existing traditional cultural etiological models of health and disease. Cultural differences could be addressed through knowledge of the patient's culture, his cultural practices and his links with family members and other stakeholders in the community. It allows the productions of a process that includes cultural communication, listening carefully the patient’s point of view rather than just ordering treatments that reflect scientific practices. The strategies and backgrounds presented in this study demand the presence of multiple perspectives and are very important to designing policies and models of intercultural health care to achieve satisfaction of patients, families and communities

Cultural factors and primary health care in Cuba. A view from community praxis

The changes and transformations in Primary Health Care (PHC) developed in recent years from the implementation of the model of Physician and Nurse of the Family in Cuba, must be supported by a shift in perspective and move from an eminently biologicist paradigm to a biosociocultural paradigm. This makes it possible to explicitly situate the relationship between culture and health and explain the social and cultural factors related to healthy behaviors, and also to support interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary studies. The results presented in this paper corroborate the theoretical postulates of cultural anthropology, cultural sociology and medicine that argue that the gap between multidisciplinary health teams and social actors occurs, among other reasons, because of existing traditional cultural etiological models of health and disease. Cultural differences could be addressed through knowledge of the patient's culture, his cultural practices and his links with family members and other stakeholders in the community. It allows the productions of a process that includes cultural communication, listening carefully the patient’s point of view rather than just ordering treatments that reflect scientific practices. The strategies and backgrounds presented in this study demand the presence of multiple perspectives and are very important to designing policies and models of intercultural health care to achieve satisfaction of patients, families and communities

Teacher's perception regarding the impact of technologies on the teaching-learning process

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo identificar cómo los tutores de la Universidad Virtual CNCI perciben el impacto de las tecnologías como herramienta didáctica para fortalecer el proceso de enseñanza y enriquecer el aprendizaje de sus estudiantes. Para ello se utilizó una metodología con enfoque cuantitativo del tipo exploratorio, empleando un cuestionario en línea para la recolecta de la información y el software estadístico SPSS 24 para su procesamiento. Como resultado se obtuvo que los principales aportes de la tecnología en sus dimensiones de comunicación, herramientas digitales y TIC, impactan de manera favorable en el proceso de enseñanza–aprendizaje. En este sentido, es importante el fortalecimiento de las metodologías didácticas apoyadas con recursos tecnológicos que promuevan el aprendizaje de manera innovadora y creativa, así como mejorar las prácticas educativas acordes a nuevas necesidades de formación académicaThe purpose of this article is to determine how tutors at CNCI Virtual University view technology as a teaching tool to enhance learning and improve the teaching process. To achieve this, an exploratory quantitative methodology was employed through an online survey for data collection and SPSS 24 statistical software for analysis. The study showed that technology's primary contributions in communication, digital tools, and ICT have a positive impact on the teaching and learning process. Therefore, it is crucial to enhance educational methodologies with technological resources that encourage innovative and creative learning. Furthermore, educators should adapt their practices to meet new academic training requirement

LA PEDAGOGÍA DE LA AUTONOMÍA COMO PARADIGMA DE LA EDUCACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA: RETOS EN EL CONTEXTO CUBANO ACTUAL

This reflection, it consists fundamentally of following axes, than for reasons the methodological have taken a job from a certain derivation: 1) university education and the need of cultural dialogues; 2 ) education and the process to educate; 3 ) the dialogue of knowledge; 4 ) the pedagogy of autonomy.Esta reflexión, consta fundamentalmente de los siguientes ejes, que por razones metodológicas se han colocado desde una cierta derivación: 1) educación universitaria y la necesidad de diálogos culturales; 2) la educación y el proceso de educar; 3) el diálogo de saberes; 4) la pedagogía de la autonomía

Toxicological Responses of α-Pinene-Derived Secondary Organic Aerosol and Its Molecular Tracers in Human Lung Cell Lines

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a major component of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that contributes to adverse human health effects upon inhalation. Atmospheric ozonolysis of α-pinene, an abundantly emitted monoterpene from terrestrial vegetation, leads to significant global SOA formation; however, its impact on pulmonary pathophysiology remains uncertain. In this study, we quantified an increasing concentration response of three well-established α-pinene SOA tracers (pinic, pinonic, and 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acids) and a full mixture of α-pinene SOA in A549 (alveolar epithelial carcinoma) and BEAS-2B (bronchial epithelial normal) lung cell lines. The three aforementioned tracers contributed ∼57% of the α-pinene SOA mass under our experimental conditions. Cellular proliferation, cell viability, and oxidative stress were assessed as toxicological end points. The three α-pinene SOA molecular tracers had insignificant responses in both cell types when compared with the α-pinene SOA (up to 200 μg mL-1). BEAS-2B cells exposed to 200 μg mL-1 of α-pinene SOA decreased cellular proliferation to ∼70% and 44% at 24- and 48-h post exposure, respectively; no changes in A549 cells were observed. The inhibitory concentration-50 (IC50) in BEAS-2B cells was found to be 912 and 230 μg mL-1 at 24 and 48 h, respectively. An approximate 4-fold increase in cellular oxidative stress was observed in BEAS-2B cells when compared with untreated cells, suggesting that reactive oxygen species (ROS) buildup resulted in the downstream cytotoxicity following 24 h of exposure to α-pinene SOA. Organic hydroperoxides that were identified in the α-pinene SOA samples likely contributed to the ROS and cytotoxicity. This study identifies the potential components of α-pinene SOA that likely modulate the oxidative stress response within lung cells and highlights the need to carry out chronic exposure studies on α-pinene SOA to elucidate its long-term inhalation exposure effects. © 2021 American Chemical Society

Effects of suspension versus traditional resistance training on explosive strength in elementary school-aged boys

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an 8-week program of resistance training (RT) or suspension training (ST) on explosive strength in prepubescent boys. Methods: Fifty-seven boys aged 10–11 years were assigned to 2 training groups, RT or ST or a control group (no training program). Boys trained twice weekly for 8 weeks. Results: A significant interaction was reported with a large (P < .001, η2p = .463), medium (P < .001, η2p = .395), and small effect sized (P ≤ .001, η2p = .218) in the 1-kg ball throw, 3-kg ball throw, and time-at-20-m test, respectively. There was no significant interaction in the countermovement vertical jump or the standing long jump. Changes from preintervention to postintervention for the 1-kg ball throw were 5.94% and 5.82% for the ST and RT, respectively, and 8.82% and 8.14% in the 3-kg ball throw for the ST and RT, respectively. The improvement in the 20-m sprint was 1.19% for the ST and 2.33% for the RT. Conclusion: Traditional RT and ST seem to be effective methods for improving explosive strength in prepubescent boys. ST could be considered as an alternative modality to optimize explosive strength training in school-based programs

Schoolbag weight carriage in Portuguese children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study comparing possible influencing factors

Background Schoolbags and the consequences of carrying them, particularly those associated with overload, are often studied as a health concern. Modifications in gait and posture were reported when children carried loads that corresponded to more than 10% of their body weight (BW). The aims of this study were to verify the load that is carried by Portuguese students and how it is influenced by factors such as school grade, school schedule, lunch site, physical education, sex and body mass index (BMI). Acquiring a more specific knowledge of the Portuguese context and understanding the influence of these factors may allow us to generate proposals to control them in ways that benefit students.MethodsThe load carried by students in the 5th grade (10.60.4years) and 9th grade (14.70.6years) were weighed with a luggage scale on all days of the week, resulting in 680 evaluations. Data related to the school day were also collected, such as the student's lunch site, how he or she got to school and his or her school schedule for that day. Individual height and weight were also assessed. Results The 5th grade students carried greater loads than the 9th grade students, resulting in a substantial difference relative to their BW. The school loads of the 5th grade students were mostly greater than 10% of their BWs. Girls tended to carry heavier loads than boys, and overweight students also tended to carry heavier loads. Students who could eat lunch at home carried less weight, and on physical education days, the total load carried increased, but the backpacks of the 5th grade students were lighter.Conclusions The results of the current study describe excessive schoolbag weight among Portuguese students and expound on some of the factors that influence it, which can help researchers and professionals design a solution to decrease children's schoolbag loads.Funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/DTP/04045/2019) - and the European Fund for regional development (FEDER) allocated by European Union through the COMPETE 2020 Programme (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006969), and through the Project NanoSTIMA: Macro-to-Nano Human Sensing, Towards Integrated Multimodal Health Monitoring and Analytics (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000016), co-financed by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) -NORTE 2020