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Citizenship as an object of study goes beyond the mere recognition of formal rights and responsibilities and includes cultural and social practices in different spheres. In this sense, the exercise of citizenship is linked to different forms of political participation. Recent studies show that young people are distanced from traditional political participation and prefer alternative civic practices. Within this framework, the present study aims to investigate the social representations of citizenship of Argentinean adolescents (N = 32) aged between 16 and 18. To this end, participants were asked to elaborate a narrative about their experiences with citizenship in the framework of semi-structured interviews guided according to the Piagetian clinical method. The results obtained allow the construction of four analytical categories intended to describe how these adolescents represent citizenship: civic engagement, rights, nationality and voting. It is concluded that there is a plurality of social representations of this object, and it is necessary to elucidate their development, maintenance and transformation processes in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline in vaccination coverage associated with the population's mistrust of vaccines has been defined as a global health threat. Adopting a qualitative approach centered on the social significance of vaccines, we conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers and fathers in the City of Buenos Aires between July and December 2020. We describe and analyze their knowledge and the arguments used to justify their acceptance or reluctance to vaccinate their children in the context of COVID-19. The results show that the studied population possesses knowledge about vaccines and accepts them as a preventive practice. Nonetheless, it was possible to identify a broad spectrum of attitudes towards vaccination, including more reticent positions based on concerns regarding their safety, adverse effects, and the need to apply them for eradicated diseases, proposing vaccination as an optional and complementary practice to other care practices. Arguments are organized under the assumption of individual and moral responsibility for health care, an expression of the current sociocultural and health backdrop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies conducted in the last few decades show that young people have a negative evaluation of politics since they relate it to conventional forms of participation. In addition, they engage in unconventional forms of political participation, though they do not think of them as political practices. In this context, a qualitative study was carried out in order to describe the social representations of politics through the narratives provided by adolescents during an interview based on Piaget's clinical method. The results obtained reveal the coexistence of two representations of politics: a conventional and an unconventional one. The representation in which politics is mainly understood as conventional forms of participation appears to be hegemonic, although a polemic unconventional representation was identified. Moreover, in many of the subjects both representations coexist in state of cognitive polyphasia that express a relation of selective prevalence between them, depending on the discursive context they are elicited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work is to share an academic writing experience at the postgraduate level to bring to light the importance that peer groups and emotions play in the dissertation writing process. We consider that the bonds that are constructed in these groups improve academic writing since they offer emotional and academic support. Taking into account the problem of low graduation rates at the postgraduate level, we believe that a possible explanation is that academic work is mostly associated with an individual activity. We conclude that encouraging initiatives such as the writing groups equals to start thinking and embodying other academic trajectories, where experiences that celebrate and embrace peer work become a key component of new ways of becoming a researcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El articulo discute sobre la integración del enfoque de rasgos y la perspectiva situacional con el enfoque de la importancia de la estabilidad de los rasgos de la personalidad. El articulo tamben discute sobre pensamiento de debate persona-situación

Simple Summary: Automatic milking box systems are becoming more common in USA dairy farms despite being costlier than traditional methods. This study investigated farmers' perceptions on why farms with at least seven milking boxes opted for them, focusing on technological changes, farm structure, management, labor, cow health, and milk production. The primary reasons for choosing these systems were labor cost reduction, improved cow welfare, and enhanced milk production. Most farms constructed new barns with open stalls and easy cow movement to facilitate use of these systems. Farmers perceived that the adoption led to higher water and energy usage, while the operational costs remained manageable. Farmers reported labor savings, better working conditions, and more effective management of cow health issues like mastitis and foot problems. The impact on milk production and quality was mixed, with some farms experiencing improvements. Similarly, farmers perceived an improvement in reproductive performance, supported by activity data. Overall, the shift to Automatic Milking Systems was viewed positively by more than half of farmers, who recommended it to others, although they advised careful consideration of specific farm needs and conditions. These are initial experiences rather than conclusive evidence. Automatic Milking System (AMS) installations are increasing in the USA despite the higher investment cost than conventional systems. Surveys on AMSs conducted outside the USA focused on small–medium herds, specific regions, or aspects of AMS milking. This study described farmers' perceptions about the decision-making process of adopting an AMS in the USA's large dairies (≥7 AMS boxes) regarding changes in technology, housing, management practices, labor, herd performance, and health. After being contacted, 27 of 55 farmers from large AMS herds completed the survey. The main reasons for adopting an AMS were labor costs, cows' welfare, and herd performance. Most farms constructed new barns, used a free-flow traffic system, and changed their feed management. Increases in water and energy use were perceived by 42% and 62% of farmers, respectively. Farmers estimated decreases in labor costs of over 21%, and AMS employees worked 40–60 h/week. Milk production increases were reported by 58%, with 32% observing higher milk fat and protein content. Easier sick cow detection, better mastitis management, and improvements in pregnancy rates were reported. Thus, farmers transitioning to AMSs perceived altered resource utilization, labor cost savings, and improvements in employee quality of life, animal welfare, and farm management. While 54% of respondents would recommend an AMS to other farms, 38% suggested considering additional aspects prior to adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we reflect on two works pertaining to the modern and contemporary world in which the illuminated manuscript is used to support the registry of the visionary experience: the Illuminated Prophetic Books of William Blake (1757-1827) and The Red Book of Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). These authors considered the illuminated manuscript as a more authentic format for the transmission of their visions, since it surpassed the purely aesthetic dimension of art and brought together a synthesis between the matter and spirit of the symbolic thought of the Neoplatonism of the European twelfth century. From this perspective, we investigate the highly spiritual character that Blake and Jung conferred to the artistic creation and the materiality of the book as a reading and writing support, establishing some correspondences with the new conceptions on art elaborated in the context of the European vanguards of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late twentieth century, several studies have shown the distancing and dissatisfaction of citizens of different ages in relation to political parties, which has led to the phenomenon known as a crisis of political representation. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the social representations of democracy of Argentinean adolescents. A study was conducted using intentional sampling that included 376 participants between the ages of 16 and 18 years (M=16.87, SD=0.734). The participants were administered the word association technique with the word "democracy" as the inductor term. The results show that the central core of the participants' social representation of democracy consisted of the following terms: "vote, freedom, equality, rights, people, freedom of expression, participation, and opinion". In conclusion, the participants thought of democracy in terms of values and operating mechanisms inherent to the representative democracy political system, although they did not associate it with politics or a government institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the main components of the project that the Office of Public Information and Communication of the Argentine Ministry of Health has been developing since 2009 to promote communication as one of the strategic aspects of health policies. The network of subsystems, jurisdictions, health care levels and participants of health care policies, programs and services, as well as the diverse issues affecting people's health, constitute some of the features that express the complexity which is characteristic of the public health field and which pose significant challenges when carrying out the aforementioned project. The lack of institutionalization of the Office of Public Information and Communication of the Argentine Ministry of Health; the absence of a clear definition of the content and implications regarding the role played by communicational guidance; fragmentation; the dominant instrumental vision, which equates communication work with designing prevention campaigns for the media; and the deficiencies in planning and assessing capabilities were some of the critical issues identified during the diagnosis made at the beginning of the process. Promoting an organizational culture focused on managing information and knowledge, prioritizing the cultural and communicational aspects of health care issues, as well as working towards professionalizing and empowering public health communicators and implementing strategies among disciplines, institutions and sectors aimed at fostering integration and coordination, are some of our main daily and future goals. This article discusses the main components of the project that the Office of Public Information and Communication of the Argentine Ministry of Health has been developing since 2009 to promote communication as one of the strategic aspects of health policies. The network of subsystems, jurisdictions, health care levels and participants of health care policies, programs and services, as well as the diverse issues affecting peoples health, constitute some of the features that express the complexity which is characteristic of the public health field and which pose significant challenges when carrying out the aforementioned project. The lack of institutionalization of the Office of Public Information and Communication of the Argentine Ministry of Health; the absence of a clear definition of the content and implications regarding the role played by communicational guidance; fragmentation; the dominant instrumental vision, which equates communication work with designing prevention campaigns for the media; and the deficiencies in planning and assessing capabilities were some of the critical issues identified during the diagnosis made at the beginning of the process. Promoting an organizational culture focused on managing information and knowledge, prioritizing the cultural and communicational aspects of health care issues, as well as working towards professionalizing and empowering public health communicators and implementing strategies among disciplines, institutions and sectors aimed at fostering integration and coordination, are some of our main daily and future goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the conceptual bases for a reflection whereby one can debate and produce knowledge concerning the increasing economic and political exploitation of culture vis-à-vis development. The authors analyze, on the one hand, the agendas, discourses, and guidelines of supranational organizations and institutions that have decisive clout; and on the other, the systematization and spreading of the experiences undertaken by social movements that see culture as a strategic dimension or resource to achieve sociopolitical transformations. Among these conceptual bases, the following can be mentioned: development as a disputed historical social construction; post-development as a fruitful approach to create discourses that go beyond the hegemonic construction of development; culture as a political battle field, and communication research as an alternative to multiply the centers and agents that generate know-how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Dry-off, and the period around parturition, are associated with increased susceptibility to intramammary infections in dairy cows. The immunological profiles of mammary gland secretions during these periods are not well described. The objective of the present study was to better characterize association(s) between chronic subclinical Environmental Streptococci infections at dry-off and relative levels of mRNA transcripts encoding multiple immunologic mediators present in cells derived from mammary gland secretions at dry-off and continuing through parturition. The chronic subclinical bacterial infections in the present study were characterized by multiple isolations of Streptococcus species and elevated SSC for a minimum of three weeks prior to dry-off. The majority of differences between principal and control quarters were identified at dry-off. Transcript levels of IL-17, IL2Rα and iNOS were increased while pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, and the regulatory cytokine IL-10, were reduced. Following antibiotic treatment of mammary glands, IL-17 transcripts remained elevated over the course of the study, indicative of a persistent insult. IL-4 transcript levels were modestly elevated at 7 days following dry-off and significantly elevated at 14 days, consistent with activated TH1 and TH2 lymphocytes in the principal quarters, respectively. From a temporal perspective, transcript levels of IL-8 decreased in all animals through the dry-off period animals and returned to pre-dry-off levels at parturition; levels of iNOS peaked at parturition. Five of the six principal cows experienced recurrent bacterial mastitis during the subsequent lactation; four were in the same quarter as was initially infected with Streptococcus and three of these four were due to coliforms. Taken together, this apparent chronic susceptibility of select mammary glands to bacterial infection would suggest a physiologic and/or immunologic dysfunction. Identification of factor(s) that contribute to the predisposition of mammary glands to developing mastitis should facilitate development of new control strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To study drug use in the context of poverty, it is necessary to undertake a complex analysis of various perspectives to understand the dense interweaving of socioeconomic, political, and cultural factors involved in the problem. The analysis of this social scenario was our starting point in planning holistic actions for the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and other illnesses related to drug use. Merely copying successful models from developed countries, which are designed for other contexts and populations, would result in insufficient and ineffective actions. The Asociación Civil Cristiana Recuper-ación Atención de Drogadependientes (ACCRAD), also known as "El Retoño" ("sprout"), is a nongovernmental organization that has been working since 1985 to consolidate a model of analysis and intervention that considers this complex framework and seeks to meet the needs of drug users from the poorest sectors of society. Our research on the use of drugs and its relationship to poverty, together with the documentation of harm-reduction interventions, has been carried out since 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Caregiving, an important component of cancer patient treatment, may set forth a cascade of stress responses such as sympatho-adrenal activation, immuno-humoral changes and an unhealthy lifestyle, which could be hazardous to caregivers’ health. In this observational study, we addressed whether autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation and perception of stress would be altered in a group of 58 health cancer caregivers as compared to 60 controls. We employed non invasive autoregressive spectral analysis of cardiovascular variabilities and ad hoc questionnaires. Caregivers show, in addition to signs of psychological involvement, a clear autonomic imbalance, suggestive of sympathetic predominance at rest and of a reduction of vagal cardiac regulation (overall gain of baroreflex -index α- was respectively of 17.5±1.5 versus 25.1±1.8msec/mmHg, p<<0.02). These data suggest possible preventive strategies, based on tailored treatments aiming at a betterment of individual autonomic profile. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]