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Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an education model that provides a framework for international academic exchanges. Though COIL projects outline some best practices for academic partnerships, there are still several areas of project development in which participating faculty must make important decisions that affect the success of the academic venture. Perhaps one of the most important, yet frequently overlooked, aspects of international academic exchanges are the considerations made for differences in academic cultural practices. The current article details a COIL project in which binational faculty and students shared a semester-long course. At the conclusion of the course, the two student groups reported vast differences in their experiences. In an effort to explain students' divergent perspectives, the author examines the academic climate reported by students and how academic practices implemented in the COIL project affected the overall success of the course.

Copyright of Hachetetepé: Revista Científica de Educación y Comunicación is the property of Universidad de Cadiz 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.)

International non-profit organizations (INGOs) were traditionally established to facilitate dialogue and bridge cultures. In order for INGOs to successfully carry out their objectives, global activists must work together in a culturally sensitive and responsible manner. The current article examines a volunteer training model that was designed to promote meaningful interactions between binational volunteers. The training, based on a Spanish-immersion and homestay experience, was piloted among volunteers at an INGO on the Mexico-US border. Results suggest that the immersion training model allowed volunteers to reassess and ultimately strengthen their relationships with their international counterparts while developing intercultural citizenship skills.

We present a web server that predicts the far‐UV circular dichroism (CD) spectra of proteins by utilizing their three‐dimensional (3D) structures from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The main algorithm is based on the classical theory of optical activity together with a set of atomic complex polarizabilities, which are obtained from the analysis of a series of synchrotron radiation CD spectra and their related 3D structures from the PDB. The results of our knowledge‐based CD method (KCD) are in good agreement with measured spectra that could include the effect of D‐amino acids. Our method also delivers some of the most accurate predictions, in comparison with the calculated spectra from well‐established models. Specifically, using a metric of closeness based on normalized absolute deviations between experimental and calculated spectra, the mean values for a series of 57 test proteins give the following figures for such models: 0.26 KCD, 0.27 PDBMD2CD, 0.30 SESCA, and 0.47 DichroCalc. From another point of view, it is worth mentioning the remarkable capabilities of the recent approaches based on artificial intelligence, which can precisely predict the native structure of proteins. The structure of proteins, however, is flexible and can be modified by a diversity of environmental factors such as interactions with other molecules, mechanical stresses, variations of temperature, pH, or ionic strength. Experimental CD spectra together with reliable predictions can be utilized to assess eventual secondary structural changes. A similar kind of evaluation can be done for the case of an incomplete protein structure that has been reconstructed by using different approaches. The KCD method can be freely accessed from: https://kcd.cinvestav.mx/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify whether appetitive traits predict exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) duration for the first 6 months of life and to assess other predictors of its duration. 186 six- month-old term infants were included. Appetitive traits were assessed at 3–4 months of age. EBF duration, feeding practices, sex, maternal age and education, socioeconomic level, mode of delivery and gestational age were also evaluated. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated through generalized linear regression models to identify predictors of EBF for the first 6 months of life. Only 32.9% of infants achieved 6-month EBF. Vaginal birth, not using formula the first 3 days, maternal education ≥ university and slowness in eating significantly increased the probability of EBF for 6 months. Slowness in eating was the only appetitive trait related to EBF for the first 6 months and was the most significant predictor in the multivariate model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations (UN) 2023 Water Conference was held from March 22–24 at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA. There was a clear message from Day 1 of the Conference: "we are not on track to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation for all." Moreover, business-as-usual approaches for water management do not seem effective facing the so-called triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss (What is the Triple Planetary Crisis? | UNFCCC). Hence, the Conference aimed to raise awareness of the global water crisis and to make agreements on concerted actions to mobilize all sectors, stakeholders, and countries toward the resolution of this global issue. Among them, the agreement to establish a UN Special Envoy for Water (different figure than the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Water), ground more than seven hundred voluntary commitments and pledges, and renew the political momentum in fora such as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, held this July 2023, and the SDG Summit in September 2023 to follow up on the SDGs and Agenda 2030, as well as the commitments of the Decade for Action on Water (2018–2028).The UN, in fact, has promoted numerous initiatives to mobilize citizens around the SDGs. Presently, the UN has declared a total of 206 International Environmental Days to honor specific human and environmental subjects. Among them, only 40 are specifically related to the environment or socio-environmental issues. The majority of all of these declarations are followed by "mega-conferences"1 related to the same subjects: that is, RAMSAR/wetlands sites, sustainable development, biodiversity, climate change, and the latest one is water. The UN states that these commemorative dates and fora are meant to "educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity" (United Nations, 2023)). We have nothing against the raising of awareness and the need to take political action, but we would rather like to offer a reflection on two critical and historical challenges related to these global events: (a) the implementation of global water fora accords from global-to-local governance, and (b) the need for broader and inclusive participation of different stakeholders, with particular focus on water issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Butter consumption has grown in recent years in Europe, and for some time now, a wide range of butters have been available on the market with a marked variability, due either to the species of origin or the manufacturing process. Applying the same analytical techniques to all, we assessed the quality of commercial butters available on the market in southern Spain. Differences were detected in nutritional value and technological parameters, many of which were linked to sensory quality. This information could be useful for the industry to learn more about the quality of each type of butter and to better promote the product. Butter is an important product for the dairy industry due to its particular sensory attributes and nutritional value, while the variability of the composition of the fatty acids in the milk can alter the nutritional and physical properties of butter and its acceptance by consumers. Butter is highly appreciated for its distinctive flavor and aroma; however, one of its main drawbacks lies in the difficulty in spreading it at low temperatures. Several types of butter that are present in the market were used in this study. We assessed the variability in the composition of the samples regarding their texture, color properties, and volatile organic compound profiles. We analyzed samples commercially produced from sheep's milk (SB), goat's milk (GB), and cow's milk (CB); samples from the latter species with (CSB) and without salt (CB); and the low-fat (CLB) version. All the physicochemical composition parameters were significantly affected by the effect of the type of butter, although only 29 out of the 45 fatty acids examined were identified in the butter samples analyzed. The textural properties of the butters were influenced by both their solid fat content and the fatty acid profile. In addition, the origin of the milk not only affected the texture parameters but also the color of the butters and the compounds associated with traits such as odor and flavor. Through the multivariate data analysis of butter fatty acids and volatile compound percentages, we observed a clear differentiation of the samples based on the species of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to identify the current status of backpack weight in primary schoolchildren in Colima, Mexico, in relation to gender, school grade level, and body mass index. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 randomly selected children from 20 primary schools. The participating children's parents signed statements of informed consent. Descriptive statistics, the ?[superscript 2] test, Student's t-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used. The mean age was 8.55 ± 2 years (range: 5-12 years). Seventy-eight percent of the schoolchildren presented with a backpack overload that was greater than 10% of their body weight. No significant differences were found in relation to gender. Four out of every five schoolchildren presented with backpack overload, exposing them to a potential health problem. Education and public policy prevention strategies for this situation should be implemented in Mexico and other regions of the world with the same problem.

In order to prepare students to successfully engage with native speakers and members of heritage language communities both at home and abroad, educators must develop course curricula that emphasize cultural practices, products, perspectives, and comparisons as well as provide students with opportunities to directly apply the skills that they have acquired in the classroom across a range of other settings. This article describes a Culture for the Professions course whose curriculum was based on the four steps of the cultural intelligence model (Earley & Ang, 2003): drive, knowledge, strategy, and action. The study focuses in particular on how students implemented the last two components of the model (strategy and action) by collaborating with local organizations to design and present culture workshops that were specifically tailored to each organization's needs and mission. In addition to benefiting the organizations themselves, data obtained from evaluation rubrics and postworkshop reflections suggest that community culture workshops allow students to become more aware of how culture influences the work of an organization and to develop strategies to bridge cultural differences in the workplace.

Grapevine trunk diseases cause severe damage in grapevines. Management strategies focus on protection of grapevine pruning wounds using chemical fungicides or biological control agents. Botryosphaeria dieback, caused mainly by Lasiodiplodia spp., is one of the main trunk diseases in northwest Mexico. This study obtained endophytic bacteria and fungi from the heritage grapevine Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Mission’ for potential biological control of Botryosphaeria dieback. A collection of 135 bacterial and 37 fungal isolates were obtained and initially tested for antagonistic activity against Lasiodiplodia brasiliensis. The most promising isolates belonging to Trichoderma and Bacillus spp. were selected and characterized to determine their modes of action. Bacillus isolates produced volatile organic compounds that inhibited growth of Neofusicoccum parvum, and diffusible organic compounds with antifungal effects against L. brasiliensis and N. parvum. Trichoderma isolates produced diffusible organic compounds and were mycoparasites. In greenhouse assays, plants inoculated with three Trichoderma asperellum isolates (T20BCMX, EF09BCMX, and EF11BCMX), B. amyloliquefaciens (BEVP26BCMX) or Bacillus sp. (rbES015), applied preventively in soil, gave up to 50% smaller necrotic lesions when compared with the plants inoculated only with L. brasiliensis. In the field, plants inoculated with three Bacillus isolates (BEVP02BCMX, BEVP26BCMX, BEVP31BCMX) or five Trichoderma (T11BCMX, T15BCMX, T17BCMX, T20BCMX, and EF11BCMX) had lesions up to four times smaller than control plants inoculated only with L. brasiliensis. This study has demonstrated the potential of heritage grapevines to provide biological control agents for Botryosphaeria dieback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a model of circular dichroism for proteins that is based on the classical electromagnetic theory for optical activity. The two additional constituents of the model are as follows: an appropriate characterization of the secondary structure of the protein residues and the assignment of an effective polarizability to each type of classified residue. The set of effective polarizabilities is obtained by means of a Monte Carlo statistical method, which is used to analyze a series of synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectra together with their corresponding crystallographic structures. As a result, the predicted spectra from our model are in good accord with experimental data, as well as with the results of some other theoretical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to evaluate the anthropometric indicators and dietary intake of toddlers attending private clinics in Guadalajara. In a cross-sectional study, 101 toddlers aged 12 to 24 months were included. They were born full term, had an adequate weight for gestational age, and attended private clinics in Guadalajara. Two 24 h dietary recalls were administered. Anthropometric measurements were taken, and anthropometric indices were estimated. Student's t test or the Mann–Whitney U test, chi-square test, and odds ratio were used for quantitative or qualitative variables. Males had lower Z scores for the weight/age index than females. During the week, energy intake was excessive in males [OR = 5.5 (95% CI 1.4, 20.8)], and cholesterol intake was insufficient in females [OR = 3.03 (95% CI 1.2, 7.1)]. On weekends, energy [OR = 2.5 (95% CI 1.1, 5.7)] and fiber intake [OR = 3.1 (95% CI 1.2, 7.8)] were insufficient in females. Most of the toddlers who attend the private clinics in the upper-middle socioeconomic stratum of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area had excessive protein intake, excessive consumption of added sugars was frequent, and there was insufficient intake of vitamin D and calcium. Sex was shown to be a factor influencing nutrient intake in these toddlers aged 12–24 months. Males had a Z-score of weight/age lower than females, suggesting nutritional risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Derecho de la Seguridad Social, Laborum is the property of Ediciones Laborum S.L. 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.)

Objetivo: analizar la incidencia de una estrategia de escritura colaborativa en línea de un texto multimodal en el aprendizaje de la escritura, el aprendizaje colaborativo y el aprendizaje de contenidos disciplinares de estudiantes universitarios en un curso virtual. -- Metodología: se realizó un estudio de caso en una asignatura de lengua de un programa universitario en modalidad virtual. Participaron 2 tutoras y 214 alumnos organizados en 43 grupos colaborativos, de los que se tomaron como muestra 12 grupos (60 estudiantes). Las técnicas de recolección de la información utilizadas fueron el registro audiovisual, el análisis documental de los foros y las wikis y los textos producidos por los estudiantes, así como las entrevistas a las docentes. -- Resultados: se encontró que la estrategia de escritura colaborativa en línea incidió positivamente en los procesos de aprendizaje de los participantes en lo relacionado con el trabajo colaborativo, la lengua, la temática planteada para el producto y las herramientas de las TIC utilizadas en su ejecución. Asimismo, se encontraron dificultades en las características multimodales de los productos elaborados. Se resalta el potencial encontrado en la escritura colaborativa en línea, condicionado a los procesos de diseño y a la mediación de las actividades. Objective: This paper examines the impact of online collaborative writing of multimodal texts, completed during a virtual course for university students, on the participants’ writing skills, their experience of collaborative learning and their disciplinary literacy. -- Methodology: The paper reports on a case study of university students who participated in an online language learning course. The course was led by two tutors and completed by 214 students organized in 43 collaborative groups, of which 12 (60 students) were sampled. The authors collected their data from audiovisual recordings, documental analyses of the forums, wikis and student-generated texts, and interviews with the tutors. -- Results: The study found that the collaborative writing activities had a positive effect on the students’ learning process, specifically on their ability to engage in collaborative work, their language learning (the subject of the course), the quality of attention given to the topics that emerged in the writing activities and the students’ use of ITC tools. On the other hand, the study also observed that there were certain shortcomings in the texts produced during the course and that these were directly related to the multimodal character of the texts. The authors conclude that online collaborative writing can positively contribute to student learning when and where this is favoured by the design of the writing tasks and the choice of activities.

Objectiu: analitzar la incidència d'una estratègia d'escriptura col·laborativa en línia d'un text multimodal en l'aprenentatge de l'escriptura, l'aprenentatge col·laboratiu i l'aprenentatge de continguts disciplinaris d'estudiants universitaris en un curs virtual. -- Metodologia: es va dur a terme un estudi de cas en una assignatura de llengua d'un programa universitari en modalitat virtual. Van participar-hi dues tutores i dos-cents catorze alumnes organitzats en quaranta-tres grups col·laboratius, dotze dels quals (seixanta estudiants) es van prendre com a mostra. Les tècniques de recol·lecció de la informació utilitzades van ser el registre audiovisual, l'anàlisi documental dels fòrums i els wikis, i els textos produïts pels estudiants, així com també les entrevistes a les docents. -- Resultats: es va trobar que l'estratègia d'escriptura col·laborativa en línia va incidir positivament en els processos d'aprenentatge dels participants pel que fa al treball col·laboratiu, la llengua, la temàtica plantejada per al producte i les eines de les TIC utilitzades en l'execució. Així mateix, es van trobar dificultats en les característiques multimodals dels productes elaborats. Es ressalta el potencial trobat en l'escriptura col·laborativa en línia, condicionat als processos de disseny i a la mediació de les activitats. Objective: This paper examines the impact of online collaborative writing of multimodal texts, completed during a virtual course for university students, on the participants’ writing skills, their experience of collaborative learning and their disciplinary literacy. -- Methodology: The paper reports on a case study of university students who participated in an online language learning course. The course was led by two tutors and completed by 214 students organized in 43 collaborative groups, of which 12 (60 students) were sampled. The authors collected their data from audiovisual recordings, documental analyses of the forums, wikis and student-generated texts, and interviews with the tutors. -- Results: The study found that the collaborative writing activities had a positive effect on the students’ learning process, specifically on their ability to engage in collaborative work, their language learning (the subject of the course), the quality of attention given to the topics that emerged in the writing activities and the students’ use of ITC tools. On the other hand, the study also observed that there were certain shortcomings in the texts produced during the course and that these were directly related to the multimodal character of the texts. The authors conclude that online collaborative writing can positively contribute to student learning when and where this is favoured by the design of the writing tasks and the choice of activities.

The relationship between emotional intelligence, executive functioning, and sensory processing has been independently studied. The present study investigated the relationship among executive functions, sensory processing and emotional intelligence in children aged between 8 and 11 years (n = 71). Executive functions and sensory processing were measured using EPYFEI and Clocks Subtest of NEPSY-II and emotional intelligence was measured with EQ:i-YV, Affect Recognition and Theory of Mind subtests of NEPSY-II. Children with lower emotional intelligence showed differences in sensory processing. The current research provides initial evidence of relations between emotional intelligence, stress management and sensory processing in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Anestesiología is the property of Colegio Mexicano de Anestesiologia 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 production of dry-fermented sausages currently presents several challenges to be addressed: nutrition, health, sensory traits and technology are among the main issues that concern consumers and the meat industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different reducing agents commonly used in the manufacture of dry-fermented sausages (salchichon type) with low fat content on the technological characteristics of the product. Four different reducing agents (ascorbic acid, a starter culture, sodium ascorbate and glucono-delta-lactone) were added to the meat batter to assess their impact on the physico-chemical traits, instrumental color, residual nitrates and nitrites and lipid oxidation of this meat product. High nitrate values were observed during both ripening and storage periods. All batches presented lipid oxidation values below the threshold that indicates meat rancidity. Adjustments of the original lean:fat proportion must be carried out on this low fat content sausage to obtain profitable results. Starter culture and sodium ascorbate have shown the best reducing and antioxidant activities among the additives studied. Once we have the technical design of the product, the next step will be oriented to identify the sensory characteristics in order to find a gap in the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]