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Critical thinking is a competence that is recommended to be learned with increasing emphasis from different national and international organizations in the fields of education and employability. The aim of this study was to analyze and describe the beliefs that Argentine and Spanish teachers who have received training in socioeducational intervention have about critical competence. A mixed-methods research study was developed by administering questionnaires and conducting focus group sessions in a sample of 153 trainee secondary school teachers holding different degrees. The results indicated that the sample subjects unanimously considered critical thinking to be essential for their professional development, but few teachers considered these skills to have been sufficiently developed. There were no significant differences between nationalities or between genders except for some variables linked to the role of universities. As a practical implication of these results, the importance of developing specific teaching–learning programs about critical competence in universities must be emphasized, especially in the degree programs whose ultimate aim is to educate individuals and groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Major floods of riparian and grassland habitats may lead to a shift in the availability of resources (e.g., food, space) that produces cascading effects on the organisms that rely on it. After flooding occurs, particularly in natural grasslands or agricultural fields, massive aggregative spider webs are occasionally observed. However, given it is an infrequent and unpredictable event, it is seldom reported in detail. 2. We characterise two instances of massive web aggregations that followed major floods in grasslands and agricultural fields in Argentina and Uruguay in 2015. In the Argentinean event, we compare the composition of spider assemblages on the webs, in grasses below the webs, and in grasses from nearby habitats, with samples taken in the same location but when the fields were not flooded. 3. The assemblage of spiders in the massive web aggregations largely consisted of immature Diapontia uruguayensis (Lycosidae). In the grass below the webs, we recorded an impressive density of 1007 specimens m−1 belonging to several spider species, 6–15 times the density of similar samples without aggregated webs, co‐occurring and showing low levels of aggression among them. 4. Our observations and review of the literature support the idea massive webs produced by lycosids are a byproduct of an unusually high density of spiders simultaneously attempting to disperse through the air via ballooning and escaping from floods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to focus deeply on the short term to explain the relative long-term evolution of the Argentinian economy in the long and the short term. Design/methodology/approach - The study of the long-term evolution of the Argentine economy and identifying the moment in which it began to lose ground compared to other developed economies, such as Australia and Canada, constitutes the central axis of the historiography of this country. However, an additional problem presented by the Argentine economy is its high volatility. For this reason, the long term should be influenced by the short term, an issue that requires a more detailed study of the cyclical behavior and a deep analysis of the relationship between the long and the short term. Findings - The results obtained point to a cyclical development that influences the long-term evolution and, therefore, explains Argentina's convergence process with Australia and Canada. Frequent deep busts and short booms characterize the Argentine cycle, offsetting its long-term growth potential. Originality/value - Although the long term has been profusely studied in Argentina, the short term has not been analyzed to the same extent, which is surprising given the extreme volatility of this economy (Prebisch, 1950). The studies performed on economic cycles have always been partial, disconnected from the long termand carried out without much technical rigor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An augmentative biological control strategy against Ceratitis capitata (= medfly) in fruit-producing irrigated-valleys of San Juan, central-western Argentina, has been recently implemented by the San Juan Fruit Fly Control and Eradication Program. The Asian-native parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata is currently reared at the San Juan Medfly and Parasitoids Mass Rearing Facility for this purpose. In this regard, the objective of this study was to evaluate adult emergence and offspring sex ratio to improve parasitoid production. Three medfly strains at different host larvae densities and exposure times to female parasitoids were assessed. Prevalence of superparasitism was also considered. Three parasitoid population lines were used in the trials: one reared on medfly larvae of the Vienna-8 temperature-sensitive lethal (tsl) genetic sexing strain without inversion, and the other two on larvae of biparental medfly strains native to San Juan (central-western Argentina) and Tucumán (northwestern Argentina). Gamma-irradiated 6 d-old larvae (early third-instars) of each medfly strain were exposed to parasitoids for 30, 60, 90, and 120 min at 3:1, 6:1, and 9:1 host/parasitoid ratios. The Vienna-8 C. capitata strain was as efficient in producing parasitoids as both biparental native strains. Medfly larvae exposed to 10 female parasitoids for a relatively long time (1.30 hrs) at a high ratio (6–9:1) of host to parasitoid were enough to achieve the highest mean adult emergence (50–60%) and a female-biased offspring sex ratio. Superparasitism positively influenced female parasitoid production. These findings may be used to develop a more cost-effective mass rearing method for D. longicaudata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ECHO model was developed to expand access to medical care for populations with HCV infection in underserved areas. We aimed to compare HCV treatment outcomes in community‐based clinics with the Austral University Hospital (AUH) and to assess improvement in physician knowledge and skills. In October 2015, we established an HCV ECHO clinic at the AUH in Buenos Aires. To evaluate the impact of this programme, we conducted a prospective cohort study comparing treatment for HCV infection at the AUH with healthcare providers from different Argentinean provinces. A survey evaluating skills and competence in HCV care was administered, and results were compared. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response (SVR) and under direct‐acting antivirals. Since the implementation of ECHO clinics, a total of 25 physicians participated in at least one session (median 10.0; IQR 3.0‐18.0). SVR rates (n = 437 patients) were 94.2% (95% CI 90.4‐96.8) in patients treated at AUH clinic (n = 227/242) and 96.4% (95% CI 92.7‐98.5) in those treated at ECHO sites (n = 188/195), with a nonsignificant difference between sites, 2.2% SVR difference (95% CI −0.24‐0.06; P = 0.4). We also found a significant improvement in all the evaluated skills and abilities. Replicating the ECHO model helped to improve participants' skills in the management of HCV achieving similar SVR rates. ECHO model was demonstrated to be an effective intervention able to multiply and expand HCV treatment, a critical barrier to access to care that needs to be solved if we are committed with WHO goals to eliminate HCV by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most of the twentieth century, Argentina solved the macroeconomic policy trilemma through domestic monetary sovereignty. This article illustrates how the need to finance deficits was behind Argentine sovereignty. We test the hypothesis of fiscal dominance between 1875 and the approval of the Austral Plan in 1991 and find that deficits drove money creation in the long run. The article also reveals how fiscal dominance, in a scenario of increasing currency substitution, helps to explain the dynamics of Argentine inflation in the second half of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]