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Author summary Chagas disease (CD) is caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and is on the list of the most neglected tropical diseases on Earth. It has become an international health issue affecting 6-7 million people worldwide, mainly in Latin America. We performed a qualitative and quantitative study in Monteagudo, Bolivia, in order to paint an overall picture of CD in one of the most afflicted regions in the world: the Bolivian Chaco. Community members and key informants, such as patients and healthcare staff helped us to understand their current situation. Even after a large health campaign, persistent knowledge gaps, misconceptions and structural barriers were identified, leading to normalization and acceptance of CD and its social consequences. Relevant findings included the broad use of ivermectin for CD treatment without scientific evidence. We also found that misinterpretations of serologic test results contribute to a critical attitude towards biomedical treatment that is stopping patients from seeking treatment. With this research we aim to update the data on current knowledge and to analyse remaining barriers for transmission control and treatment, in order to focus future interventions and advocate for patient's rights. Background Chagas disease (CD) is highly endemic in the Bolivian Chaco. The municipality of Monteagudo has been targeted by national interventions as well as by Medecins Sans Frontieres to reduce infection rates, and to decentralize early diagnosis and treatment. This study seeks to determine the knowledge and attitudes of a population with increased awareness and to identify remaining factors and barriers for sustained vector control, health care seeking behaviour, and access, in order to improve future interventions. Methodology/Principal findings A cross-sectional survey was conducted among approximately 10% (n = 669) of the municipality of Monteagudo's households that were randomly selected. Additionally, a total of 14 in-depth interviews and 2 focus group discussions were conducted with patients and key informants. Several attitudes and practices were identified that could undermine effective control against (re-)infection. Knowledge of clinical symptoms and secondary prevention was limited, and revealed specific misconceptions. Although 76% of the participants had been tested for CD, only 18% of those who tested positive concluded treatment with benznidazole (BNZ). Sustained positive serologies after treatment led to perceived ineffectiveness of BNZ. Moreover, access barriers such as direct as well as indirect costs, BNZ stock-outs and a fear of adverse reactions triggered by other community members made patients opt for alternative treatments against CD such as veterinary ivermectin, used by 28% of infected participants in our study. The lack of accessible care for chronic complications as well as socioeconomic consequences, such as the exclusion from both job opportunities and bank loans contributed to the ongoing burden of CD. Conclusions/Significance Large scale interventions should be accompanied by operational research in order to identify misconceptions and unintended consequences early on, to generate accessible data for future interventions, and for rigorous evaluation. An integrated, community-based approach tackling social determinants and including both traditional and animal health sectors might help to overcome current barriers and advocate for patients' rights.

The present paper summarizes the analysis of the request for consultation of information and data on industrial emissions made publicly available on the web site of the Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea on integrated pollution prevention and control from large industrial installations, the so called “AIA Portal”. As a matter of fact, a huge amount of information on national industrial plants is already available on internet, although it is usually proposed as textual documentation or images. Thus, it is not possible to access all the relevant information through interoperability systems and also to retrieval relevant information for decision making purposes as well as rising of awareness on environmental issue. Moreover, since in Italy the number of institutional and private subjects involved in the management of the public information on industrial emissions is substantial, the access to the information is provided on internet web sites according to different criteria; thus, at present it is not structurally homogeneous and comparable. To overcome the mentioned difficulties in the case of the Coordinating Committee for the implementation of the Agreement for the industrial area in Taranto and Statte, operating before the IPPC permit granting procedures of the relevant installation located in the area, a big effort was devoted to elaborate and to validate data and information on characterization of soil, ground water aquifer and coastal sea at disposal of different subjects to derive a global perspective for decision making purposes. Thus, the present paper also focuses on main outcomes matured during such experience., {"references":["Directive 2010/75/UE of the European Parliament and of the Council of\n24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution\nprevention and control).","UN/ECE Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public\nParticipation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in\nEnvironmental Matters, adopted on 25th June 1998.","Decreto Legislativo 3rd April 2006, n. 152 \"Norme in materia\nambientale\" G.U. n. 88 (14th April2006), as amended by successive acts.","Directive 2007/2/EC of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for\nSpatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE).","Directive 2008/50/EC of 21st May 2008 on ambient air quality and\ncleaner air for Europe.","Directive 2000/60/EC of 23rd October 2000 establishing a framework for\nthe Community action in the field of water policy, the EU Water\nFramework Directive (WFD).","Directive 2014/52/EU of 16th April 2014 amending Directive\n2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and\nprivate projects on the environment (EIA).","Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea web site on IPPC permit\nreleasing \"AIA Portal\"(http://aia.minambiente.it).","Special Eurobarometer416 \"Attitudes of European citizens towards the\nenvironment\" European Union, 2014.\n[10] C. Mazziotti Gomez de Teran, D. Fiore, L. De Giorgi, A. Fardelli: Quali\nprospettive nell'utilizzo di sistemi informativi territoriali sulla qualità\ndel'aria e sulle emissioni industriali in Italia? Acts of the Conference on\nEvoluzione e controllo della qualità dell'aria sul territorio nazionale –\nXXXII Day dedicated to the Environment, 17th October 2014 (in print).\n[11] Google analytics (http://www.google.it/intl/en/analytics/)."]}

Tesis (Contador Auditor) Este seminario tiene por objeto presentar al lector una metodología que permita determinar el valor económico de una empresa, y en el general de cualquier tipo de inversión. El trabajo se enmarca dentro de la realidad económica chilena (Mercado de Capitales), por lo que todos los supuestos relevantes tienen sus raíces precisamente en esta economía. Como resultado del análisis de la bibliografia relacionada a este tema, surgen dos conceptos básicos a estudiar: La Tasa de Descuento relevante y la Proyección del Flujo de Caja de la Compañía. El desarrollo teórico y posterior aplicación práctica en la cuantificación de los parámetros mencionados, como base para obtener el objetivo propuesto, en donde se han destinado los mayores esfuerzos por parte de los integrantes de este Seminario.