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Una de las consecuencias más directas de la crisis económica es su repercusión sobre el mercado laboral, especialmente entre el colectivo joven. El desempleo juvenil es una cuestión de suma complejidad que obliga a los poderes públicos y distintas administraciones a adoptar medidas de forma urgente diseñadas y planteadas específicamente para el colectivo en cuestión. La Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía ha sido pionera en la aplicación de iniciativas europeas de empleo joven para dar respuesta inmediata y urgente al grave problema de desempleo juvenil que sufre. Este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el Programa Emple@Joven para determinar si el nivel formativo de los jóvenes desempleados tiene influencia en el acceso al programa y si es perceptible mejorar su empleabilidad, a través del análisis de datos estadísticos del programa y los obtenidos mediante encuesta. Entre los resultados destaca la baja cualificación de los entrevistados, lo cual penaliza claramente el acceso a distintas iniciativas de actuación, donde tan solo un 6,1% con perfil básico han logrado insertarse. Las principales conclusiones apuntan a la importancia de la formación como elemento clave para afrontar el arduo camino de la inserción laboral por parte de los jóvenes y la limitada mejora de la empleabilidad.

The study's objectives were to (a) determine the level of familiarity of faculty and students at an academic health center with the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS), (b) identify faculty's and students' interest and preferred method of learning Medical Spanish, and (c) determine their aptitude for working with medical interpreters. A survey was developed, piloted, and sent via e-mail to all faculty members (n = 1,025) and students (n = 1,956) currently affiliated with or enrolled at the Medical College of Georgia. Reminder e-mails were sent after 2 weeks, and responses were accepted for 1 month. The total response rate for faculty members was 29% (300/1,025), and that for students was 44% (871/1,956). Nearly 22% of the responding faculty and 23% of the responding students reported that they were less than familiar with the National Standards for CLAS. Both faculty (46%) and students (70%) were willing to spend time learning Medical Spanish. Web-based instruction was the preferred educational delivery mode for those who completed the survey; however, 18% of faculty and 5% of students strongly disagreed with this point. When questioned about how often interpreters services are used, the rates for faculty and students ranged from 34% to 39%. These results suggest that a void exists in understanding the National Standards for CLAS and that there are varying levels of willingness to learn medical Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little information is available regarding pesticide exposures among children living in agricultural settings. This study assessed the relationship between household distance from an agricultural field and pesticide levels in house dust and on children's hands. A methodology for estimating childhood exposure by sampling house dust and children's hand-rinse samples was also evaluated. Four rounds of sampling were conducted, with samples collected in each round from approximately 30 houses and 45 children between the ages of 5 months and 36 months. Samples were prepared for chemical analysis and analyzed for organochlorine (OC) and/or organophosphate (OP) pesticides using gas chromatography coupled with either an electron capture or a nitrogen/phosphorus detector. OCs were detected at much lower concentrations than OPs. Additionally, no relationship existed between household proximity to the field and the concentration of pesticides in the house dust or hand-rinse samples (all corresponding p-values were greater than .05). The data suggest that pesticides in house dust and on children's hands originate from a variety of sources, which may include indoor use of pesticides; pesticides used on lawns, gardens and domestic animals; and pesticide drift from agricultural fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activity of soil ureases was evaluated in the laboratory in soils from three locations in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, differing in the grazing intensities that the grasslands there support. Urease activity was assayed by the instantaneous release of NH4 as soon as soils drained to field capacity after application of an aqueous urea solution approximating N concentrations in ungulate urine. The appearance of NO3 and SO4 in extractswas used as an index of biological activity and pH changes; neither responded to urea addition. Ammonium appearance in extracts of soils to which water but not urea was applied were low and identical; appearance in extracts where urea had been added were high and differed between sites, increasing with the level of grazer activity at a site. The data document ecologically meaningful levels of soil urease in Serengeti soils and a positive association of those levels with grazingintensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Ecotypes of Colobanthus quitensis Kunt Bartl (Cariophyllaceae) from Andes Mountains and Maritime Antarctic grow under contrasting photoinhibitory conditions, reaching differential cold tolerance upon cold acclimation. Photoinhibition depends on the extent of photodamage and recovery capability. We propose that cold acclimation increases resistance to low-temperature-induced photoinhibition, limiting photodamage and promoting recovery under cold. Therefore, the Antarctic ecotype (cold hardiest) should be less photoinhibited and have better recovery from low-temperature-induced photoinhibition than the Andean ecotype. Both ecotypes were exposed to cold induced photoinhibitory treatment (PhT). Photoinhibition and recovery of photosystem II (PSII) was followed by fluorescence, CO2 exchange, and immunoblotting analyses. Results The same reduction (25%) in maximum PSII efficiency (Fv/Fm) was observed in both cold-acclimated (CA) and non-acclimated (NA) plants under PhT. A full recovery was observed in CA plants of both ecotypes under dark conditions, but CA Antarctic plants recover faster than the Andean ecotype. Under PhT, CA plants maintain their quantum yield of PSII, while NA plants reduced it strongly (50% and 73% for Andean and Antarctic plants respectively). Cold acclimation induced the maintenance of PsaA and Cyt b6/f and reduced a 41% the excitation pressure in Antarctic plants, exhibiting the lowest level under PhT. xCold acclimation decreased significantly NPQs in both ecotypes, and reduced chlorophylls and D1 degradation in Andean plants under PhT. NA and CA plants were able to fully restore their normal photosynthesis, while CA Antarctic plants reached 50% higher photosynthetic rates after recovery, which was associated to electron fluxes maintenance under photoinhibitory conditions. Conclusions Cold acclimation has a greater importance on the recovery process than on limiting photodamage. Cold acclimation determined the kinetic and extent of recovery process under darkness in both C. quitensis ecotypes. The greater recovery of PSII at low temperature in the Antarctic ecotype was related with its ability to maintain PsaA, Cyt b6/f and D1 protein after photoinhibitory conditions. This is probably due to either a higher stability of these polypeptides or to the maintenance of their turnover upon cold acclimation. In both cases, it is associated to the maintenance of electron drainage from the intersystem pool, which maintains QA more oxidized and may allow the synthesis of ATP and NADPH necessaries for the regeneration of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate in the Calvin Cycle. This could be a key factor for C. quitensis success under the harsh conditions and the short growing period in the Maritime Antarctic.

Abstract Background Epidemiological studies worldwide have shown that A. fumigatus exhibits important phenotypic and genotypic diversity, and these findings have been of great importance in improving the diagnosis and treatment of diseases caused by this fungus. However, few studies have been carried out related to the epidemiology of this fungus in Latin America. This study´s aim is to report on the epidemiology of the fungus by analyzing the phenotypic variability of Aspergillus section Fumigati isolates from different Latin American countries and the relationship between this variability, the geographical origin and genotypic characteristics. Methods We analyzed the phenotypic characteristics (macro- and micromorphology, conidial size, vesicles size, antifungal susceptibility and thermotolerance at 28, 37 and 48°C) of A. section Fumigati isolates from Mexico (MX), Argentina (AR), Peru (PE) and France (FR). The results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's multiple comparison test to detect significant differences. Two dendrograms among isolates were obtained with UPGMA using the Euclidean distance index. One was drawn for phenotypic data, and the other for phenotypic and genotypic data. A PCoA was done for shown isolates in a space of reduced dimensionality. In order to determine the degree of association between the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics AFLP, we calculated the correlation between parwise Euclidean distance matrices of both data sets with the nonparametric Mantel test. Results No variability was found in the macromorphology of the studied isolates; however, the micromorphology and growth rate showed that the PE isolates grew at a faster rate and exhibited the widest vesicles in comparison to the isolates from MX, AR and FR. The dendrogram constructed with phenotypic data showed three distinct groups. The group I and II were formed with isolates from PE and FR, respectively, while group III was formed with isolates from MX and AR. The dendrogram with phenotypic and genotypic data showed the same cluster, except for an isolate from FR that formed a separate cluster. This cluster was confirmed using PCoA. The correlation between the phenotypic and genotypic data of the isolates revealed a statistically significant association between these characteristics. Conclusions The PE isolates showed specific phenotypic characteristics that clearly differentiate them from the rest of the isolates, which matches the genotypic data. The correlation between the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics showed a statistically significant association. In conclusion, phenotypic and genotypic methods together increase the power of correlation between isolates.