Ángela Sierra González (ed.) Discursos políticos, identidades y nuevos paradigmas de gobernanza en América Latina. Barcelona, Laertes, 2015. 264 pp.

Fil: Bolla, Luisina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (UNLP-CONICET); Argentina.

Ángela Sierra González (ed.) Discursos políticos, identidades y nuevos paradigmas de gobernanza en América Latina. Barcelona, Laertes, 2015. 264 pp.

Fil: Bolla, Luisina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (UNLP-CONICET); Argentina.

Mobility and satisfaction with lower-limb prostheses and orthoses among users in Sierra Leone: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: To investigate patients' mobility and satisfaction with their lower-limb prosthetic or orthotic device and related service delivery in Sierra Leone; to compare groups of patients regarding type and level of assistive device, gender, area of residence, income; and to identify factors associated with satisfaction with the assistive device and service. Methods: A total of 139 patients answered questionnaires, including the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology questionnaire (QUEST 2.0). Results: Eighty-six percent of assistive devices were in use, but half needed repair. Thirty-three percent of patients reported pain when using their assistive device. Patients had difficulties or could not walk at all on: uneven ground (65%); hills (75%); and stairs (66%). Patients were quite satisfied with their assistive device and the service (mean 3.7 out of 5 in QUEST), but reported 886 problems. Approximately half of the patients could not access services. In relation to mobility and service delivery, women, orthotic patients and patients using above-knee assistive devices had the poorest results. The general condition of the assistive device and patients' ability to walk on uneven ground were associated with satisfaction with the assistive devices and service. Conclusion: Patients reported high levels of mobility while using their device although they experienced pain and difficulties walking on challenging surfaces. Limitations in the effectiveness of assistive devices and limited access to follow-up services and repairs were issues desired to be addressed.

Crop-Specific EU Aid and Smallholder Food Security in Sierra Leone

The article analyses the viability of promoting crop-specific programs as a mean to improve smallholder net farm income and food security. The case study explores the relevance of European Union Stabilisation of Export Earnings (STABEX) funds in supporting Sierra Leone’s agricultural development agenda. By analysing the drivers of food security for a number of targeted smallholders in the two most important agricultural zones of Sierra Leone, it is possible to compare the suitability of crop-specific support (in rice, cocoa and coffee) versus general aid programs (public infrastructure, on and off farm diversification opportunities, sustainable practices, access to productive assets, etc.). The results indicate that crop diversification strategies are widespread and closely related to risk minimisation and enhanced food security among smallholders. Similarly, crop-specific programs mainly focusing on commercialisation tend to overlook important constraints associated to self-consumption and productivity.

La importancia del proceso de desarme desmovilización y reinserción (DDR) para las mujeres soldado de sierra leona durante el post-conflicto

El presente estudio de caso tiene como objetivo analizar los procesos de Desarme, Desmovilización y Reintegración para las mujeres excombatientes en Sierra leona, desarrollados por los mecanismos internacionales, tales como la ONU y su misión en este país UNAMSIL, teniendo en cuenta que la Reintegración es el momento más importante para lograr el mantenimiento de la paz que se firmo en el Acuerdo de Lomé. Este trabajo muestra la importancia de una intervención apropiada de acuerdo a las necesidades de cada Estado y teniendo en cuenta las características del conflicto y sus minorías participativas.

PLAN DE GESTIÓN COMUNITARIA DEL TURISMO PARA LA SIERRA DE TEPEQUEM, MUNICIPIO AMAJARI - RORAIMA - BRASIL

Esto trabajo objetiva diseñar un plan de gestión comunitaria del turismo para la Sierra de Tepequem, localizada en el Municipio Amajari, Estado de Roraima, Brasil. Se utilizó el método cualitativo y cuantitativo. Se hizo uso de instrumentos como: entrevistas grabadas con informantes clave de la referida comunidad; cuestionarios aplicado a los turista para determinar el perfil de los mismo; cuestionario a la comunidad para determinar su opinión sobre el desarrollo del turismo y su participación en la gestión comunitaria; cuestionario a los actores privados y públicos para obtener su opinión sobre el desarrollo del turismo en el sitio y el rol de responsabilidad de cado actor involucrado en la actividad turística; observación de campo para diagnosticar la situación actual de los recursos naturales, culturales, la gestión comunitaria y el desarrollo turístico en el sitio; además de recolectar informaciones en documentos publicados anteriormente. Los instrumentos aplicados facilitaron la realización del diagnóstico, pronóstico, el análisis DOFA y la formulación de las políticas prioritarias para que el éxito del plan. Con base en los estudios anteriormente expuestos se desarrollo el Plan de Gestión Comunitaria del Turismo para la Sierra de Teqpequem.

ENTRE AGRICULTURA COMERCIAL Y SOBERANÍA ALIMENTARIA: LOS RETOS DEL CAMPESINADO EN LA SIERRA ECUATORIANA

En Ecuador, la migración campesina es el motor principal de las recomposiciones actuales del medio rural andino. En la provincia del Azuay, el corazón histórico de la dinámica migratoria nacional, la disminución de la mano de obra en los últimos años provocó una desestructuración de los hogares campesinos y una reorganización lógica de las tareas agrícolas. La desaparición progresiva de los cultivos de ciclo largo, como el maíz, se hizo al inverso del aumento de las superficies de pasto, cuyo resultado fue la « pecuarización » de la economía campesina. No obstante, desde hace diez años, la utilización más racional de la mano de obra y la intensificación del trabajo sobre micro-huertos participan al renacimiento de la agricultura familiar local. Gracias a la cercanía de la ciudad de Cuenca, los grupos campesinos han desarrollado redes comerciales dinámicas al cultivar hortalizas y frutales. Actualmente, son más de 350 familias que viven principalmente de la agricultura, con ingresos regulares, y todas pertenecen a diferentes asociaciones de productores agroecológicos cuya visibilidad es cada vez más importante en los mercados urbanos. A través de esta ponencia, nos proponemos mostrar como los grupos campesinos se han vuelto los actores claves del aprovisionamiento urbano regional, desarrollando un agricultura sustentable capaz de responder al reto de la seguridad alimentaria en la región andina.

ACTORES SOCIALES EN LA GESTIÓN DEL TERRITORIO Y RIESGOS AMBIENTALES EN LA SIERRA NORTE DE PUEBLA

Esta ponencia tiene como objetivo analizar, en el contexto de la descentralización del Estado y recorte del gasto público que enfrenta México desde1982, la participación de actores sociales en la gestión del territorio y riesgos ambientales en la Sierra Norte de Puebla; área agrícola, sujeta al impacto de amenazas naturales que impactan negativamente en la calidad de vida de la población de la región, predominantemente indígena en condiciones de marginalidad. En particular se analiza el caso de la Cooperativa Agropecuaria Regional Tosepan-Titataniske, organización con presencia en la sierra, que en las últimas décadas ha realizado actividades exitosas para elevar la calidad de vida de los habitantes de la región; entre ellas la organización comunitaria en torno a los cultivos de café y pimienta, la gestión de recursos para dotar de infraestructura a las localidades, y la gestión de riesgos y prevención de desastres.

AVALANCHAS EN LA SIERRA VOLCANICA CENTRAL. EL CASO DE RIO CIRUELAS

El dia 20 de julio de 1988, en la tarde, se produjo una avalancha considerable en el rio Ciruelas, localizado en la ladera suroeste del volcán Barva, Heredia, Costa Rica, causando daños enormes en la población de San Bosco de Santa Bárbara.  El área afectada se dividió en tres grandes sectores, descritos a continuación: I.        SECTOR SUPERIOR (DESLIZAMIENTOS)Comprendido entre las cotas de 2.600m y 2.800 m, o sea cerca de la cima del Barva, caracterizado por desprendimientos de materiales poco consolidados (cenizas gruesas) con un ancho de aproximadamente 30m-40m y una profundidad de aproximadamente 4m-5m en casi todos los afluentes del rio Ciruelas. II.      SECTOR INTERMEDIO (TRANSITO)Comprendido entre las cotas de 2.600m y 1.600m, caracterizado por profundización erosiva del cauce en areas de materiales poco resistentes y por la ocurrencia de pequeños deslizamientos secundarios causados por la profundización del cauce. III.    SECTOR BAJO ( SEDIMENTACION)De 1.600m hasta 950m, caracterizado por la sedimentación en los primeros kilómetros de material grueso(bloques mayores de 2m). El pueblo de San Bosco esta situado sobre un abanico aluvial de materiales de eventos similares. En lo9s siguientes kilómetros se presenta la sedimentación de materiales mas finos.  La causa de esta desastre es únicamente la presencia de lluvias de alta intensidad provocadas por un frente de brisa, que en este dia ocurrieron en el sector I, provocando los deslizamientos y por ende las avalanchas de rocas y lodo que llegaron a los lugares mas bajos. Por estar el sector superior totalmente y el sector intermedio parcialmente en la selva virgen del Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo se puede excluir definitivamente algún impacto humano que haya causado la desestabilización de las laderas. Por los vestigios de eventos antiguos de este tipo( acumulaciones cerca de San Bosco) se puede derivar que estos fenómenos también ocurrieron en tiempos pasados , sin embargo, se estima la probabilidad de una repetición pronta como muy baja. SUMMARYA big avalanche  that occurred the 20 th of july in the afternoon in the (rio ciruelas) watershed situated on the sowthwestern slope of the Volcano Barva, Costa Rica, caused big losses in the village of San Bosco de Santa Barbarbara. Based on field observations we distinguished three sectors analysed below: I.                    SUPERIOR SECTOR (LAND SLIDES)Localed in altitude between 2.600m and 2.800m near the peak of the volcano, characterized by landslides of poorly consolidated ashes, with a  width of between 30m-40m and a depth of about 4m to 5m, found in nearly and all of the affluents of the (Rio Ciruelas). II.                  MEDIUM SECTOR (TRANSIT)Between 2.600m and 1.600m, characterized by deep erosion in area of materials of low resistivity and by secondary(small) landslides provoked by the destruction of the support. III.                LOWER SECTOR ( SEDIMENTATION)Between 1.600m and 950m, characterized by sedimentation, in the first kilometers of coarse material (sometimes<2m).The village of San Bosco was constructed exactly above the detrictic cone of anterior events. In the subsequent kilometers we found the sedimentation of fine materials. As the cause of this desastre we analysed high intensity rainfalls provoked by a local front in the zone of the firt sector, causing landslides and then avalanches in the lower part of the primary forest of the national park <<Braulio Carrillo>>.The sediments of older events(the San Bosco cone) prove that avalanches ocurr in this area with a certain frecuency, but with relatively long recurrence intervals.   

Changes In Motor Behavior During Pregnancy In Rats: The Basis For A Possible Animal Model Of Restless Legs Syndrome.

Pregnant women have a 2-3 fold higher probability of developing restless legs syndrome (RLS - sleep-related movement disorders) than general population. This study aims to evaluate the behavior and locomotion of rats during pregnancy in order to verify if part of these animals exhibit some RLS-like features. We used 14 female 80-day-old Wistar rats that weighed between 200 and 250 g. The rats were distributed into control (CTRL) and pregnant (PN) groups. After a baseline evaluation of their behavior and locomotor activity in an open-field environment, the PN group was inducted into pregnancy, and their behavior and locomotor activity were evaluated on days 3, 10 and 19 of pregnancy and in the post-lactation period in parallel with the CTRL group. The serum iron and transferrin levels in the CTRL and PN groups were analyzed in blood collected after euthanasia by decapitation. There were no significant differences in the total ambulation, grooming events, fecal boli or urine pools between the CTRL and PN groups. However, the PN group exhibited fewer rearing events, increased grooming time and reduced immobilization time than the CTRL group (ANOVA, p<0.05). These results suggest that pregnant rats show behavioral and locomotor alterations similar to those observed in animal models of RLS, demonstrating to be a possible animal model of this sleep disorder.

[should Pediatric Parenteral Nutrition Be Individualized?].

Parenteral nutrition (PN) formulations are commonly individualized, since their standardization seem inadequate for the pediatric population. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional state and the reasons for PN individualization in pediatric patients using PN hospitalized in a tertiary hospital in Campinas, São Paulo. This longitudinal study comprised patients using PN followed by up to 67 days. Nutritional status was classified according to the criteria established by the World Health Organization (WHO) (2006) and WHO (2007). The levels of the following elements on blood were analyzed: sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, chloride, magnesium, inorganic phosphorus and triglycerides (TGL). Among the criteria for individualization, were considered undeniable: significant reduction in blood levels of potassium (<3 mEq/L), sodium (<125 mEq/)L, magnesium (<1 mEq/L), phosphorus (<1.5 mEq/L), ionic calcium (<1 mmol) and chloride (<90 mEq/L) or any value above the references. Twelve pediatric patients aged 1 month to 15 years were studied (49 individualizations). Most patients were classified as malnourished. It was observed that 74/254 (29.2%) of examinations demanded individualized PN by indubitable reasons. The nutritional state of patients was considered critical in most cases. Thus, the individualization performed in the beginning of PN for energy protein adequacy was indispensable. In addition, the individualized PN was indispensable in at least 29.2% of PN for correction of alterations found in biochemical parameters.

Calagem e adubação boratada na produção de feijoeiro

Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos da aplicação de calcário e boro nos atributos químicos de um Latossolo, estado nutricional e produtividade da cultura do feijoeiro. As doses de calcário empregadas foram crescentes, considerando-se a saturação por bases igual a 70%, correspondendo às doses: zero; 0,6; 1,2 (v = 70%); 1,8 e 2,4 t ha-1. O calcário utilizado apresentava poder relativo de neutralização total (PRNT), poder de neutralização (PN) e reatividade (RE) de 131; 137 e 95%, respectivamente. As doses de boro estudadas foram iguais a 0 (zero); 0,6; 1,2; 1,8; e 2,4 mg dm-3 de B, sendo a referência para definição das mesmas a de 1,2 mg dm-3 de B (ou 1,2 kg ha-1 de B). Utilizou-se como fonte o ácido bórico (H3BO3) p.a. (17% B). Na época do florescimento foi avaliado o estado nutricional das plantas e, aos 90 dias foram avaliadas a fertilidade do solo e a produção de grãos. No solo houve melhoria dos atributos pH, SB, V e na concentração de Ca e Mg, e do B com o emprego da adubação boratada. A interação da calagem com a adubação boratada promoveu maior acúmulo de Ca, Mg e B nas plantas. Os dados apresentados demonstram que o feijoeiro foi responsivo à calagem e à adubação boratada, tendo atingido bons índices de produção com a utilização de 1,8 kg ha-1 de B com doses crescentes de calcário.

Operant measurement of auditory threshold in prelingually deaf users of cochlear implants: II

Two experiments evaluated an operant procedure for establishing stimulus control using auditory and electrical stimuli as a baseline for measuring the electrical current threshold of electrodes implanted in the cochlea. Twenty-one prelingually deaf children, users of cochlear implants, learned a Go/No Go auditory discrimination task (i.e., pressing a button in the presence of the stimulus but not in its absence). When the simple discrimination baseline became stable, the electrical current was manipulated in descending and ascending series according to an adapted staircase method. Thresholds were determined for three electrodes, one in each location in the cochlea (basal, medial, and apical). Stimulus control was maintained within a certain range of decreasing electrical current but was eventually disrupted. Increasing the current recovered stimulus control, thus allowing the determination of a range of electrical currents that could be defined as the threshold. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of the operant procedure combined with a psychophysical method for threshold assessment, thus contributing to the routine fitting and maintenance of cochlear implants within the limitations of a hospital setting.

Influence of separate and mixed experimental designs on reaction times to two simple visual stimuli

Testing contexts have been shown to critically influence experimental results in psychophysical studies. One of these contexts that show important modulation of the behavioral effects of different stimulatory conditions is the separate (blocked) or mixed presentation of these stimulatory conditions. The study presents evidence that the apparent discriminabilities of two target stimuli can change according to which of these two testing contexts is used. A cross inside a ring and a vertical line inside a ring were presented as go stimuli in a go/no-go reaction time task. In one experiment, each of these stimuli was presented to a different group of volunteers and in another experiment they were presented to the same group of volunteers, randomly mixed in the blocks of trials. Similar reaction times were obtained for the two stimuli in the first experiment, and different reaction times (faster for the cross) in the second experiment. The latter result indicates that the two stimuli have different discriminabilities from the no-go stimulus; the cross having greater discriminability. This difference is however masked, presumably by the adoption of specific compensatory attentional sets, in a separate testing context.