Search

The introduction of resistant and lightweight materials in the construction industry has led to civil structures being vulnerable to excessive vibrations, particularly in footbridges exposed to human-induced gait loads. This interaction, known as Human–Structure Interaction (HSI), involves a complex interplay between structural vibrations and gait loads. Despite extensive research on HSI, the simultaneous effects of lateral structural vibrations with fundamental frequencies close to human gait frequency (around 1.0 Hz) and wide amplitudes (over 30.0 mm) remain inadequately understood, posing a contemporary structural challenge highlighted by incidents in iconic bridges like the Millennium Bridge in London, Solferino Bridge in Paris, and Premier Bridge in Cali, Colombia. This paper focuses on the experimental exploration of Structure-to-Human Interaction (S2HI) effects using the Human–Structure Interaction Multi-Axial Test Framework (HSI-MTF). The framework enables the simultaneous measurement of vertical and lateral loads induced by human gait on surfaces with diverse frequency ranges and wide-amplitude lateral harmonic motions. The study involved seven test subjects, evaluating gait loads on rigid and harmonic lateral surfaces with displacements ranging from 5.0 to 50.0 mm and frequency content from 0.70 to 1.30 Hz. A low-cost vision-based motion capture system with smartphones analyzed the support (Tsu) and swing (Tsw) periods of human gait. Results indicated substantial differences in Tsu and Tsw on lateral harmonic protocols, reaching up to 96.53% and 58.15%, respectively, compared to rigid surfaces. Normalized lateral loads (LL) relative to the subject's weight (W0) exhibited a linear growth proportional to lateral excitation frequency, with increased proportionality constants linked to higher vibration amplitudes. Linear regressions yielded an average R2 of 0.815. Regarding normalized vertical load (LV) with respect to W0, a consistent behavior was observed for amplitudes up to 30.0 mm, beyond which a linear increase, directly proportional to frequency, resulted in a 28.3% increment compared to rigid surfaces. Correlation analyses using Pearson linear coefficients determined relationships between structural surface vibration and pedestrian lateral motion, providing valuable insights into Structure-to-Human Interaction dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero Waste household practices adopted in informal settlements have facilitated the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and contributed to income generation, food security and the strengthening of the social fabric. In four informal settlements in Santiago de Cali (Colombia), these practices were identified through participatory methodologies, and statistical tests of association between variables were used to determine possible causes of their implementation. These practices were found to be associated with characteristics of the residents including their connection to the cultural traditions of their places of origin, their resilience and solidarity, the satisfaction of their basic needs and their search for a healthy environment. This paper discusses these practices, the elements that drive them and their main benefits, highlighting the need for public policies to recognize their contributions in addressing global challenges and for future research to quantify their contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Controversia (01204165) is the property of Centro de Investigacion y Educacion Popular and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the role of safety and sexual harassment risk as the pivotal element for the understandings in gender and city debates both in literature and in public policy in Colombia, which derives from understanding women's sexuality as either "kind mothers" or "chaste women" who must protect their sexuality in public spaces. Using ethnographic techniques in Barranquilla and Cali (Colombia), we suggest that the protection of sexuality is tangential to women's concerns when thinking about mobility, public space, and urban dimensions. We argue that putting women's sexuality at the center of public concerns by using space governance techniques helps reproduce a power scheme in which women lose because they are seen as childlike, vulnerable, and requiring protection. We defend the idea that we need to think spatially, but differently: using a legal geographies approach allows a novel tool to imagine refining policy approaches about vulnerable subjectivities in urban spaces. This paper reveals how space operates as a mechanism to produce identities associated with the mobility experiences of its inhabitants and related with class and gender axes. We argue that the emphasis on sexual harassment as the organizing vector of the interventions related to gender and the city reproduces gendered stereotypes of women and men and reinforces and legitimizes the role of the nation-state as patriarchal protector. Further, the emphasis on safety fails to recognize different ways in which women use their sexuality in cities, their agency, and their strategies for negotiating with governance techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this study was to develop and test the effects of a field math intervention program on both number and geometry knowledge. The intervention was developed based on three basic skills previously associated with mathematical performance: symbolic number knowledge, mapping processes and spatial reasoning. The participants were 117 preschoolers from six schools in Cali and Bogotá. The children were assigned to an intervention group (N = 55) or a control group (N = 62). The intervention lasted 11 weeks with 3 sessions per week where the children participated in different game-based activities. Tests of numerical and geometric knowledge were administered before and after the intervention. The effects of the intervention were tested twice, immediately after the program ended and six months later. The results show that the children in the intervention group improved more than the control group in both number and geometry. The second posttest revealed a significant intervention effect for geometry, but not for numerical knowledge. The implications of these mixed patterns of results are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second manuscript about a series of papers dedicated to study the flora of Los Farallones de Cali, an Andean natural region in Colombia. The general purpose is to make an inventory of plants, algae and fungi by studying different locations in Los Farallones. This paper deals with aroids (Araceae family), from a low montane forest at Pico de Águila (Valle Department, Colombia). Data about altitudinal and geographical distribution in Colombia of aroids found are presented here, along with some drawings for facilitating field identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how Black women entrepreneurs in Cali, Colombia confront racism and sexism, as they engage in the expanding neoliberal beauty market. We argue that anti-racist entrepreneurial experiences in Cali are shaped by four interconnected processes: First, changes in gender and development policies, aligned with inclusive neoliberal development projects. Second, the limitations of state neoliberal multicultural policies, which has made activists aware of the need to address racism and sexism. Third, activist's appropriation of the intersectional turn, allowing them to recognize articulations between racism, classism and sexism. Fourth, the adoption of anti-neoliberal discourses supporting distributive and solidarity practices. Our analysis suggests that while entrepreneurial anti-racist actions do not generate radical or permanent changes in the beauty industry, they do have material and symbolic effects in Black women's experiences of racial justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Ciencias is the property of Universidad del Valle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Most COVID-19 studies commonly report figures of the overall infection at a state- or county-level. This aggregation tends to miss out on fine details of virus propagation. In this paper, we analyze a high-resolution COVID-19 dataset in Cali, Colombia, that records the precise time and location of every confirmed case. We develop a non-stationary spatio-temporal point process equipped with a neural network-based kernel to capture the heterogeneous correlations among COVID-19 cases. The kernel is carefully crafted to enhance expressiveness while maintaining model interpretability. We also incorporate some exogenous influences imposed by city landmarks. Our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art in forecasting new COVID-19 cases with the capability to offer vital insights into the spatio-temporal interaction between individuals concerning the disease spread in a metropolis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious disease modeling plays an important role in understanding disease spreading dynamics and can be used for prevention and control. The well-known SIR (Susceptible, Infected, and Recovered) compartment model and spatial and spatio-temporal statistical models are common choices for studying problems of this kind. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal modeling framework to characterize infectious disease dynamics by integrating the SIR compartment and log-Gaussian Cox process (LGCP) models. The method's performance is assessed via simulation using a combination of real and synthetic data for a region in São Paulo, Brazil. We also apply our modeling approach to analyze COVID-19 dynamics in Cali, Colombia. The results show that our modified LGCP model, which takes advantage of information obtained from the previous SIR modeling step, leads to a better forecasting performance than equivalent models that do not do that. Finally, the proposed method also allows the incorporation of age-stratified contact information, which provides valuable decision-making insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pensamiento, Palabra y Obra is the property of Universidad Pedaggica Nacional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Territorios: Revista de Estudios Regionales y Urbanos is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista EIA is the property of Escuela de Ingenieria de Antioquia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on livelihoods everywhere, but especially in the informal economy where crucial forms of protection and security are often absent. A detailed understanding of the impacts for informal workers, the public policy approaches that could most effectively respond to their needs, and the barriers to such policy, is urgently needed. This paper discusses the results of a 2021 street vendor survey in Cali, Colombia, focusing on (1) vendors' socioeconomic circumstances and (2) their political engagement and attitudes on key policy and governance issues. It argues that while the pandemic and the government responses to it negatively impacted street vendors, there are steps that government could have taken, and can still take, to address vendors' needs and priorities. To ensure a just, equitable, sustainable recovery, and to protect economically marginalized groups from future crises, informal workers must be more meaningfully included in decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Científica Hermes is the property of Fase Educacao e Cultura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudios Politicos (01215167) is the property of Universidad de Antioquia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

One of the goals of decentralized policies is to consider the differences between regions and municipalities, which can lead to greater economic growth as well as greater economic development in all areas. However, endogenous limitations should also be overcome. For these purposes, policies have been designed and must therefore be evaluated in terms of the consequences. One of the most ambitious policies in Latin America in recent years has been the implementation of the 'General Regalías system' in Colombia. This paper will assess whether this policy has led to significant changes in the fiscal performance of the municipalities in the Valle del Cauca region, in which the most important city is Cali. We found that this policy was not able to change the 'neighborhood contagion' observed before implementation. This is an important conclusion of the study, which includes the spatial dependence to explain the fiscal performance of the municipalities. Through an exploratory analysis of spatial data (AEDE), we verified that the referenced system failed to reach its most ambitious objectives, raising the need for another type of public policy instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Interamericana de Investigación, Educación y Pedagogía - RIIEP is the property of Universidad Santo Tomas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We are able to collect vast quantities of spatiotemporal data due to recent technological advances. Exploratory space–time data analysis approaches can facilitate the detection of patterns and formation of hypotheses about their driving processes. However, geographic patterns of social phenomena like crime or disease are driven by the underlying population. This research aims for incorporating temporal population dynamics into spatial analysis, a key omission of previous methods. As population data are becoming available at finer spatial and temporal granularity, we are increasingly able to capture the dynamic patterns of human activity. In this paper, we modify the space–time kernel density estimation method by accounting for spatially and temporally dynamic background populations (ST-DB), assess the benefits of considering the temporal dimension and finally, compare ST-DB to its purely spatial counterpart. We delineate clusters and compare them, as well as their significance, across multiple parameter configurations. We apply ST-DB to an outbreak of dengue fever in Cali, Colombia during 2010–2011. Our results show that incorporating the temporal dimension improves our ability to delineate significant clusters. This study addresses an urgent need in the spatiotemporal analysis literature by using population data at high spatial and temporal resolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Lingüística Hispánica is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Flood hazard maps display areas inundated by water bodies after extreme rainfall events occur, helping governments focus on performing protection works there. However, rainfall also causes small disasters at other moments, which are not included in these maps, such as traffic impedance and water-borne diseases, both inside and outside the mapped floodplain. Their mitigation would help build resilience and reduce inequality. Unfortunately, small disasters are overlooked in traditional risk management for being tolerable, mild, and scattered. Though they do occur with high frequency, it is challenging to get data sources to describe them accurately. Therefore, efforts must be made to base analyses on available on-site reports. The objectives of this paper are to relate small disasters to rainfall parameters and neighborhood attributes, and to prioritize neighborhoods for intervention in Cali, Colombia. Contributions provided here are useful to prioritize areas in other cities, and to follow better data gathering practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economía Institucional is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Academia y Virtualidad is the property of Academia y Virtualidad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ingeniería y Competitividad is the property of Universidad del Valle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The number of private car trips a person makes is usually linked to external factors such as economic incentives or disincentives, legislation, infrastructure, and the quality of transport systems, among others. The impact of these options are typically analyzed to evaluate urban transport policies and projects. However, internal factors related to an individuals' attitudes and perceptions also play an essential role in the amount of private car driving they do and on urban mobility as well. Therefore, insight into private car driving's affective and symbolic aspects is important in order to formulate appropriate transport policies and strategies to reduce car-use dependency and encourage private car drivers to use public transport. Congestion charging schemes make drivers pay the full social cost of driving, they achieve congestion reduction, pollution reduction, they make cities more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists, and help improve quality of life. Congestion charging schemes are often difficult to implement and expensive to administer. As a result of these reasons, several cities worldwide have adopted a variety of car restriction schemes that try to reduce air pollution and congestion as well, instead of establishing congestion charges. The effects of driving restrictions in the short term are positive, but in the medium and long term, there are unwanted consequences. However, by giving private car drivers the option to pay a toll so that their cars are exempted from the restriction, these perverse incentives could be eliminated. This paper analyzes the impacts of internal factors related to individuals' attitudes and perceptions about the travel behavior of car users affected by car restriction policies in urban areas. We designed a stated preference survey conducted among car owners in Cali, Colombia, where a License Plate Restriction Charging (LPRC) policy has been in place since January 2017. Through hybrid discrete choice modeling, we demonstrated that latent variables, such as the feelings of being in control, independence, and higher social status, positively influence the decision to use cars for daily trips, thus impacting the urban modal split. The heterogeneity captured through these latent variables allowed us to understand more deeply how individuals deal with the LPRC policy in order to travel to their destination. • A hybrid discrete choice model analyzes the influence of affective and symbolic factors on car users' travel behavior. • The feelings of being in control, independence, and higher social status were identified as latent variables. • A feeling of higher social status positively influences the decision to pay the LPRC charge to continue using the car. • Individuals are willing to pay less to reduce their travel time when they feel in control of their travel plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Trans-Pasando Fronteras is the property of Rafael Silva Vega and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Venereal syphilis, caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TPA), is surging worldwide, underscoring the need for a vaccine with global efficacy. Vaccine development requires an understanding of syphilis epidemiology and clinical presentation as well as genomic characterization of TPA strains circulating within at-risk populations. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, demographic, and molecular features of early syphilis cases in Cali, Colombia. Methods and findings: We conducted a cross-sectional study to identify individuals with early syphilis (ES) in Cali, Colombia through a city-wide network of public health centers, private sector HIV clinics and laboratory databases from public health institutions. Whole blood (WB), skin biopsies (SB), and genital and oral lesion swabs were obtained for measurement of treponemal burdens by polA quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and for whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Among 1,966 individuals screened, 128 participants met enrollment criteria: 112 (87%) with secondary (SS), 15 (12%) with primary (PS) and one with early latent syphilis; 66/128 (52%) self-reported as heterosexual, while 48 (38%) were men who have sex with men (MSM). Genital ulcer swabs had the highest polA copy numbers (67 copies/μl) by qPCR with a positivity rate (PR) of 73%, while SS lesions had 42 polA copies/μl with PR of 62%. WB polA positivity was more frequent in SS than PS (42% vs 7%, respectively; p = 0.009). Isolation of TPA from WB by rabbit infectivity testing (RIT) was achieved in 5 (56%) of 9 ES WB samples tested. WGS from 33 Cali patient samples, along with 10 other genomic sequences from South America (9 from Peru, 1 from Argentina) used as comparators, confirmed that SS14 was the predominant clade, and that half of all samples had mutations associated with macrolide (i.e., azithromycin) resistance. Variability in the outer membrane protein (OMP) and vaccine candidate BamA (TP0326) was mapped onto the protein's predicted structure from AlphaFold. Despite the presence of mutations in several extracellular loops (ECLs), ECL4, an immunodominant loop and proven opsonic target, was highly conserved in this group of Colombian and South American TPA isolates. Conclusions: This study offers new insights into the sociodemographic and clinical features of venereal syphilis in a highly endemic area of Colombia and illustrates how genomic sequencing of regionally prevalent TPA strains can inform vaccine development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Colombia Internacional is the property of Universidad de los Andes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The First Congress of Black Culture of the Americas, held in Cali, Colombia, in August 1977 and organized by Afro-Colombian intellectual Manuel Zapata Olivella, was the first Pan-Africanist conference held in Latin America. This paper examines the obstacles Afro-Latin American activists faced in organizing a racially defined event and analyzes how they articulated their own interpretations of black radical politics. It shows that a Pan-Africanist event in Latin America had to account for ideologies of racial harmony and mixture. Observers throughout the region mobilized these ideas to discredit the First Congress as a racist and illegitimate threat to mestizo nationhood. Afro-Latin American activists used it as a platform to debate and denounce ideologies of racial harmony and mixture which many argued cloaked racism and impeded black mobilization. However, for many of the delegates engaging with black radical politics did not imply an absolute rejection of these ideas, but instead highlighted the varying ways in which Afro-Latin American activists understood and contested these concepts in the 1970s. Many Afro-Latin American delegates, even those who were openly critical of ideologies of racial harmony, called for multiracial forms of solidarity and expressed support for culturally mixed visions of the nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality education is influenced by various factors, including infrastructure, curricula, and educators. Among these factors, school infrastructure significantly impacts the learning process. However, managing and improving existing school infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries presents complex challenges due to limited resources, inadequate regulations, and poor maintenance practices. To effectively prioritize limited funds and balance short-term needs with long-term sustainability, decision-making processes must consider simultaneously functionality and safety aspects. This paper introduces an extended decision-making framework for enhancing school buildings, by determining optimal investment levels and prioritizing interventions in the building portfolio. The framework comprises multiple analytic models that are interconnected. The methodology starts with the identification of building typologies using a clustering algorithm; then, through a multi-criteria utility function with parametrized decision-maker profiles, it considers the trade-offs between safety and functionality; last, an optimization model prioritizes the buildings' interventions. The framework is adapted to a regional context in the city of Cali (Colombia). The outcome of this implementation provides analytics to decision-makers at an early stage in the formulation of school building improvement programs. This helps unveiling the extent of the project by defining the needs of improvement and the budget required to implement a large-scale intervention program. • Impacts of education infrastructure in education quality. • Decision-making framework for enhancing school buildings. • Decision-making at an early stage in the formulation of school building improvement programs. • Case study with data from the city of Cali, Colombia, public school infrastructure. • Definition of needs of improvement and budget to implement a large-scale intervention program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image generation has received increasing attention because of its wide application in security and entertainment. Sketch-based face generation brings more fun and better quality of image generation due to supervised interaction. However, when a sketch poorly aligned with the true face is given as input, existing supervised image-to-image translation methods often cannot generate acceptable photo-realistic face images. To address this problem, in this paper we propose Cali-Sketch, a human-like-sketch to photo-realistic-image generation method. Cali-Sketch explicitly models stroke calibration and image generation using two constituent networks: a Stroke Calibration Network (SCN), which calibrates strokes of facial features and enriches facial details while preserving the original intent features; and an Image Synthesis Network (ISN), which translates the calibrated and enriched sketches to photo-realistic face images. In this way, we manage to decouple a difficult cross-domain translation problem into two easier steps. Extensive experiments verify that the face photos generated by Cali-Sketch are both photo-realistic and faithful to the input sketches, compared with state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ingeniería y Competitividad is the property of Universidad del Valle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Duazary. Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud is the property of Universidad del Magdalena and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The compounds AELi2Ge (AE = Ca, Sr and Ba) were synthesized, and their structures were determined as a part of the exploratory work in the Li-rich regions of the respective ternary systems. The three compounds are isostructural, and their crystal structure is analogous with the orthorhombic structure of BaLi2Si and KLi2As (space group Pmmn). The atomic arrangement can be viewed as an intergrowth of corrugated AEGe layers, alternated with slabs of Li atoms, suggestive of the possible application of these phases as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Both experimental electronic density and calculated electronic structure suggest the existence of Li–Li and Li–Ge interactions with largely covalent character. Despite that, the valence electrons can be partitioned as (AE2+)(Li+)2(Ge4–), i.e., the title compounds can be viewed as valence-precise Zintl phases. The band structure calculations for BaLi2Ge show that a bona fide energy gap in the band structure does not exist and that the expected poor metallic behavior is originated from the AEGe sub-lattice and related to hybridization of Ba5d and Ge3p states in the valence band in proximity of the Fermi level. In addition, electrochemical measurements indicate that Li atoms can be intercalated into CaGe with a maximum capacity of 446 mAh/g, close to the theoretical value of 480 mAh/g of CaLi2Ge, which reveals the possibility of this Li-rich compound to be used as an electrode in Li-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the structural, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of CaLi2 in the pressure range of 0–72 GPa have been studied. It was found that CaLi2 undergoes a phase transition from P 6 3 /mmc to C2/c phase at 25.37 GPa and from C2/c to P 2 1 /c phase at 55.99 GPa, which is consistent with previous experimental and partially theoretical results. Besides, at 0 GPa, the lowest enthalpy appears in both P 6 3 /mmc and Fd-3m structures, showing the coexistence of these two phases. However, P 6 3 /mmc phase is not stable when the pressure is larger than 6 GPa. Finally, the elastic of CaLi2 at different pressures was investigated using the elastic stability criterion, and the thermodynamic properties under different pressures are investigated in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the primary vector for all four serotypes of dengue viruses (DENV1-4), which infect millions across the globe each year. Traditional insecticide programs have been transiently effective at minimizing cases; however, insecticide resistance and habitat expansion have caused cases of DENV to surge over the last decade. There is an urgent need to develop novel vector control measures, but these are contingent on a detailed understanding of host-parasite interactions. Here, we have utilized lipidomics to survey the profiles of naturally DENV-resistant (Cali-MIB) or susceptible (Cali-S) populations of Ae. aegypti, isolated from Cali, Colombia, when fed on blood meals containing DENV. Control insects were fed on a DENV-free blood meal. Midguts were dissected from Cali-MIB and Cali-S females at three time points post-infectious blood meal, 18, 24 and 36h, to identify changes in the lipidome at key times associated with the entry, replication and exit of DENV from midgut cells. We used principal component analysis to visualize broad patterns in lipidomic profiles between the treatment groups, and significance analysis of microarray to determine lipids that were altered in response to viral challenge. These data can be used to identify molecules or metabolic pathways particular to the susceptible or refractory phenotypes, and possibly lead to the generation of stable, DENV-resistant strains of Ae. aegypti. Author summary: Dengue virus (DENV) is a mosquito-transmitted pathogen that can lead to severe complications for infected humans, including hemorrhagic fever or death. Approximately 390 million people are infected with DENV yearly, and reported cases are rising. Currently, we do not have any effective treatments for DENV infection in humans and primarily rely on mosquito control programs to limit transmission. Insecticide-resistant populations, however, are emerging, and there is an urgent need to develop novel methods to control case numbers. We have reported previously on two populations of Ae. aegypti, the primary vector for DENV, in Cali, Colombia, which are either permissive (Cali-S) or refractory (Cali-MIB) to viral replication. Here we report the use of highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to observe changes in the lipidome of the midguts of these strains after challenge with DENV. Using comparative statistics, we identified lipid features significantly altered in the refractory (Cali-MIB) strain after DENV bloodmeal. The compounds identified in this screen could represent molecular targets for future research into developing stable DENV-resistant Ae. aegypti populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Colombian Journal of Anesthesiology / Revista Colombiana de Anestesiología is the property of Sociedad Colombiana de Anestesiologia y Reanimacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• There is a strong correlation between greenness and self-reported happiness. • The probability of reporting high levels of happiness also increases with age. • Gender and socioeconomic status don't relate significantly to happiness. • The quality of the green areas also matters and relates significantly to happiness. • Increasing greenness would raise the quality of life and well-being of the elderly. Cities' environmental factors are pivotal for the quality of life of the population, and green space is increasingly recognized as a significant environmental factor in this regard. In this analysis, we study the contribution of green space to happiness in a mid-sized city in the Global South. We use a population survey and open satellite imagery to assess the relationship between self-reported happiness and the surrounding greenness of the respondent's place of residence while controlling for age, gender, and socioeconomic status. We measure surrounding greenness using the average NDVI value within different distances from the home address, calculated with open satellite imagery. The results show that age and surrounding greenness are significantly correlated with happiness, while the relationships with gender and socioeconomic status appear to be not significant. Our results indicate that increases of 10% in surrounding greenness at different distances from 100 up to 500 m increase the likelihood of self-reported happiness between 13% and 18%. When quality aspects of green areas are considered, they are also significantly correlated with happiness. This paper contributes to the knowledge of surrounding greenness and subjective well-being in one of the most urbanized regions in the world and promotes the discussion of well-being policies in urban planning. The results indicate that increasing surrounding greenness and its quality in dense urban environments could help to improve the quality of life and well-being of the urban populations in Global South cities like Cali. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of certain microbiota and their potential correlation with clinical parameters, expression of proinflammatory cytokines, Notch signalling pathway molecules and bone remodelling mediators among different peri‐implant conditions. Materials and Methods: Included participants had at least one dental implant minimally 1 year in function. They were divided into peri‐implantitis (PI), peri‐implant mucositis (PM) and healthy implants (HIs) groups. Prevalence of P. ginigvalis, Fusobacterium spp., EBV and C. albicans was detected in participants' crevicular fluid (CF) using quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, different markers' expression, as well as clinical data, were correlated with the microbial presence. Results: CF samples taken from one chosen implant from each of the 102 participants were analyzed. Significantly higher levels of P. gingivalis were found in PI compared with HI (p =.012) and PM (p =.026). Fusobacterium spp. was also more prevalent in PI (p =.041) and PM (0.008) than in HI. P. gingivalis was a predictor of PPDi (p =.011, R2 = 0.063) and CALi (p =.049, R2 = 0.038). A positive correlation was found in PI for the level of Fusobacterium spp. and TNFα expression (ρ = 0.419, p =.017) while in PM, P. gingivalis and Notch 2 expression were correlated (ρ = 0.316, p =.047). Conclusions: P. gingivalis appears to be involved in the osteolysis in patients with PI, while the positive correlation of its level with Notch 2 expression in patients with PM suggests a potential involvement of P. gingivalis in the progression of PM into PI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Prospectiva is the property of Universidad del Valle and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Entramado is the property of Universidad Libre Seccional Cali and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The mobility plan and the road infrastructure works implemented, together with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) connected bus system in its first two phases, generated optimistic expectations about the reduction of lethal crashes in the city. This research studies the relationship between investments in transportation infrastructure in the city and the distribution of traffic fatalities. Although it is not strictly speaking an impact assessment, the approach we propose performs geostatistical contrasts between intervened and non-intervened areas, using a geographically weighted model that attempts to model the spatial variability of the factors associated with the intra-urban road traffic crash rate, controlling for infrastructure interventions and some proxy indicators of urban structure. The findings reveal that fatalities decreased in areas both with and without intervention. Despite the expectation of reducing fatal injuries, the differential effects of the interventions were relatively small. The risk of road traffic crashes was even increased in critical points of the city with recurrent lethal crashes. The effects of road interventions on fatal road traffic crashes in Cali did not correspond to the high social and economic costs involved in the BRT system and the work plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: As a result of the new coronavirus pandemic, a highly complex academic hospital in Latin America implemented a telemedicine service for the care of obstetric, pediatric, and adult patients. In 2020, regional emergency services collapsed due to the increase in demand for care, generating the need to open expansion services and seek strategies to provide timely care to consulting patients. Objective: We retrospectively describe the clinical experience of patients who consulted the emergency department via telemedicine across a videoconference tool using digital platforms. Methods: A descriptive study with retrospective data collection was conducted to describe the implementation of the teleconsultation care model for patients. We constructed the clinical process indicators to evaluate the model. Results: A total of 4652 teleconsultations were registered. Telemedicine consultation was above 50% in the country and department and above 90% in Cali city. The average waiting time for care was estimated to be 1:59:52 h. A total of 275 patients were transferred to the emergency room after consultation. The principal reasons for consultation in the institutional telemedicine program were respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. Teleconsultations related to SARS-COV 2 infections reported 3775 patients (3127 with unidentified virus and 648 with the identified virus). Conclusions: Telemedicine is a tool that provides support and guidance to patients who consult emergency departments, reducing barriers to access health care and decreasing emergency department collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Niñez y Juventud is the property of Centro de Estudiso Avanzados en Ninez y Juventud alaianza Cinde, Universidad de Manizales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Estudios Gerenciales is the property of Universidad ICESI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Facultad de Ingeniería - UPTC is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia, Facultad de Ingenieria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Pensamiento, Palabra y Obra is the property of Universidad Pedaggica Nacional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Salud UIS is the property of Universidad Industrial de Santander and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent technological advances have changed how people interact, run businesses, learn, and use their free time. The advantages and facilities provided by electronic devices have played a major role. On the other hand, extensive use of such technology also has adverse effects on several aspects of human life (e.g., the development of societal sedentary lifestyles and new addictions). Smartphone dependency is new addiction that primarily affects the young population. The consequences may negatively impact mental and physical health (e.g., lack of attention or local pain). Health professionals rely on self-reported subjective information to assess the dependency level, requiring specialists' opinions to diagnose such a dependency. This study proposes a data-driven prediction model for smartphone dependency based on machine learning techniques using an analytical retrospective case–control approach. Different classification methods were applied, including classical and modern machine learning models. Students from a private university in Cali—Colombia (n = 1228) were tested for (i) smartphone dependency, (ii) musculoskeletal symptoms, and (iii) the Risk Factors Questionnaire. Random forest, logistic regression, and support vector machine-based classifiers exhibited the highest prediction accuracy, 76–77%, for smartphone dependency, estimated through the stratified-k-fold cross-validation technique. Results showed that self-reported information provides insight into predicting smartphone dependency correctly. Such an approach opens doors for future research aiming to include objective measures to increase accuracy and help to reduce the negative consequences of this new addiction form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The integration of health services with other sectors is hypothesised to support adaptation of health systems in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study identified barriers and enablers associated with intersectoral coordination at an early stage of the pandemic. The study focused on the roles played by the academic and private sector in different areas of public health planning and delivery concerning COVID-19 in Colombia. Methods: A qualitative approach was used to understand stakeholders' experiences and perceptions of intersectoral working in response to COVID-19 in three Colombian cities (Bogotá, Cali and Cartagena). Between March and November 2020, data was collected via semi-structured interviews conducted online with 42 key actors, including representatives of governmental bodies, universities, and professional associations. The dataset was analysed thematically using a combination of inductive and deductive methods. Results: Organizations adjacent to the health system, including universities and the private sector, supported responses to COVID-19 by providing evidence to inform decision-making, additional service capacity, and supporting coordination (eg, convening intersectoral "roundtables"). The academic and private sector involvement in intersectoral coordination was stimulated by solidarity (being the "right thing to do") and motivation for supporting local companies (reopening the economy). Intersectoral working was influenced by pre-existing (substantive) and emerging (situational) enablers and barriers. Conclusion: This study showed that intersectoral coordination has played an important role in responding to COVID-19 in Colombia. Coordination was influenced by substantive and situational enablers and barriers. Based on our findings, policy-makers should focus on addressing substantive barriers to coordination, including the pre-existing tensions and mistrust among national and local healthcare actors, strict regulations and limited financial and human resources, while providing support for situational enablers, including alignment of public and private actors' interests, intersectoral government support and establishing frequent communication channels and formal spaces of interaction among sector, in processes of decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]