Addressing air quality challenges: Comparative analysis of Barcelona, Venezuela, and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

This study presents a willingness-to-pay (WtP) questionnaire that was designed, validated, and applied to assess perceptions of air quality and self-reported health in two middle-income South American cities: Barcelona and its neighboring cities (Venezuela) and Guayaquil (Ecuador). These cities lack air quality monitoring and control measures. The questionnaire is a reliable tool to assess air quality based on citizens' perceptions, and the results reveal that both populations perceive low air quality and accurately identify emission sources and air pollutants (industrial emissions and particulate matter in Barcelona and vehicular emissions and carbon monoxide in Guayaquil). The study also evaluated the efforts made by both cities to improve air quality using the United Nations Environment Programme to strengthen air quality in South America. Based on this evaluation, strengths were identified for enhancing air quality in both cities. The study finds that in Barcelona and its surroundings, investment is needed to improve urban transport, waste management, and update the environmental legislation regarding air quality at the national level. In contrast, Guayaquil has already taken some measures to improve air quality, but more investment in public transport and measures to lower vehicle emissions are needed.

Stakeholder's Perceptions of Mexico's Federal Corn Flour Fortification Program: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: In Mexico, the fortification of corn and wheat flours with iron, zinc, and folic acid and the restoration of B-vitamins is a mandatory program. However, the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of this fortification process is not well understood. Thus, the purpose of the study was to understand the M&E of the food fortification program in Mexico, with an emphasis on technology research and development. METHODS: Open-ended exploratory interviews were conducted with food technology representatives (n = 9), food science academic faculty (n = 1), president of a private tortilla-making federation (n = 1), and representatives of the federal monitoring agency (n = 2). Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified using the content analysis methodology. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by calculating an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the raters (n = 3). RESULTS: A total of 49 codes were identified that resulted in three overarching themes, manufacturing/processing, monitoring logistics, and nutrition. Overall, there is a need for more robust internal and external M&E with Mexico's fortification program to improve the manufacturing/processing of fortifying the tortillas, the monitoring of this fortification program, and the impact the fortified tortillas have on the nutritional status of the Mexican population. The overall ICC was 0.87. CONCLUSIONS: The present study can be used to gain insight into Mexico's fortification program and to inform food fortification policymakers of best practices.

Un modèle d'emboîtement des jeux typiques / Um modelo de entrelaçamento de jogos típicos / A model for interlocking of typical games / Un modelo de entrelazamiento de juegos típicos

Procuro iniciar uma reflexão sobre um modelo de avaliação qualitativa, baseada no jogo e no "jogo potencial" que pode estar subjacente a algumas formas de sintomas psicopatológicos. Para esse efeito, proponho um exemplo de associações de uma série de "jogos típicos" sobre a simbolização da dialética presença/ausência: o "jogo do esconde-achou", o "jogo da espátula", o "jogo da bobina", o "jogo do vá para a guerra". Estes tipos de jogos são analisados a partir dos processos envolvidos na construção do jogo, da sua associação e do aumento da complexidade da sua construção.

The purpose of this article is to launch a debate about a qualitative assessment model based on the game and the "potential play" underlying certain forms of psychopathological symptoms. For this purpose, I offer the example of a series of "typical game's" interlocking concerning the symbolization of presence and absence dialectic, which includes the "peek-a-boo" game, the "spatula game", the "wooden spool" game and the "go to war" game. This series of games is studied through the processes involved in the game's construction, its interlocking and the growing complexity of its construction.

El objetivo que persigo es impulsar la reflexión sobre un modelo de evaluación cualitativa basada en el juego y el "juego potencial" subyacentes a ciertas formas de síntomas psicopatológicos. Para ello, propongo un ejemplo en el que se encadenan una serie de "juegos típicos" sobre la simbolización de la dialéctica presencia-ausencia: el juego del "cucú tras", el juego de "la espátula", el juego de "la bobina", y el juego de "vete a la guerra". Esta cadena de juegos es analizada a partir de los procesos que intervienen en la construcción del juego, en su encadenamiento y en la creciente complejidad de su construcción.

Les logiques du jeu dans les médiations thérapeutiques / Lógicas do jogo em mediações terapêuticas / Game logic in therapeutic mediations / Logicas del juego en mediaciones terapeuticas

As mediações terapêuticas com crianças com psicose e autistas permitem retomar o processo inacabado dos jogos partilhados com o ambiente primário: a amorçage (criação) - técnica terapêutica utilizada com crianças autistas de criar um cenário/contexto para elas se familiarizarem com competências e comportamentos que devem adquirir para se comunicar - ou réamorçage (recriação) de jogos sensoriomotores partilhados com os terapeutas introduzem de novo a potencialidade de uma simbolização sensoriomotora. Este artigo propõe uma identificação rigorosa das principais lógicas do jogo no âmbito das mediações terapêuticas, a fim de construir uma ferramenta de avaliação específica dos processos de transformação ao longo do trabalho terapêutico. A autora propõe a identificação de quatro tipos de organizadores de jogo: (1) Jogos de exploração sensoriomotora e de "mantelamento" sensorial (mecanismo intersensorial de utilização de ritmos compatíveis de fluxos sensoriais provenientes do objeto, conjugação tornada possível por processos de segmentação intrassensorial de tais fluxos que podem jogar-se ao nível central, ao nível periférico ou ao nível interativo): para um jogo intersensorial; (2) Jogos com as formas sensoriomotoras: para um "entre-jogo" formal ou para formas primárias de simbolização; (3) Dos jogos de espelho sensorial aos jogos sensoriomotores em duplicado: para um jogo intersubjetivo; (4) Jogos com as representações e com as palavras: para um jogo intrassubjetivo com reflexividade.

Therapeutic mediations with psychotic and autistic children allow unfinished processes in the games shared with the primary environment to resume: priming or reactivating sensorimotor games shared with the therapists reintroduces the possibility of a sensorimotor symbolization. This article proposes an accurate identification of the main game logics in the context of therapeutic mediations, in order to build an assessment tool specifically for the transformation processes during the therapy. The author suggests the identification of four types of game: (1) Games of sensorimotor explorations and sensory "mantling": towards an intersensorial game; (2) Games with sensorimotor forms: towards a formal "inter-game" or primary forms of symbolization; (3) From sensory mirror games to duplicate sensorimotor games: towards an intersubjective game; (4) Games about representations and words: towards an intrasubjective game with reflexivity.

Las mediaciones terapéuticas con niños psicóticos y autistas permiten retomar el proceso inacabado presente en los juegos compartidos con el entorno primario: el priming o la reactivación de los juegos sensoriomotores compartidos con los terapeutas reintroducen la posibilidad de una simbolización sensoriomotriz. Este artículo propone la identificación precisa de las principales lógicas del juego en el marco de las mediaciones terapéuticas para, así, poder construir una herramienta de evaluación específica para los procesos de transformación a lo largo del trabajo terapéutico. La autora propone realizar cuatro tipos de juego: (1) Juegos de exploraciones sensoriomotores y de mantelamiento sensorial: hacia un juego intersensorial; (2) Juegos con las formas sensoriomotrices: hacia un "inter-juego" formal o hacia las formas primarias de simbolización; (3) De los juegos de espejo sensoriales hasta los juegos sensoriomotores duplicados: hacia un juego intersubjetivo; (4) Juegos con las representaciones y las palabras: hacia un juego intrasubjetivo con reflexión.

Peacebuilding Through Yoga? Qualitative Assessment of a Yoga Program in a Social Housing Complex in Santa Marta, Colombia.

The goal of the study was to assess perceived mental and physical health benefits of a yoga intervention for people living in Ciudad Equidad, a social housing complex in Colombia. The study participants voluntarily enrolled to complete two yoga sessions per week, each lasting 1.5 hours, during a 3-month period. Additionally, they participated in baseline and postintervention focus groups. This qualitative assessment was intended to identify perceived changes in aggressiveness, interpersonal relationships, and stress after participating in the yoga sessions. Data analysis revealed that participants perceived changes over time in relation to when they began the intervention.

Risk perception in small-scale fishers and hyperbaric personnel: A risk assessment of hookah diving.

Hookah diving is a fishing method used in many small-scale fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, as well as in many coastal fisheries around the world. Many high-value species like sea cucumber and spiny lobster, among others, are harvested via hookah diving. However, the fishing method presents a risk for both decompression illness and carbon monoxide poisoning, both causes of disabilities and death among small-scale fishers, and with significant negative impacts on the social and economic status of households and coastal communities. Currently, there is a misunderstanding among fishers concerning diving risks. Using a mixed-method analysis, this study reports the risk perceptions of small-scale fishers and hyperbaric personnel about hookah diving, and the actual diving accidents which occur in the spiny lobster and sea cucumber fisheries in the Yucatán northeastern ports. The study highlights the need for appropriate fishing technologies and increased awareness among fishers about the consequences of hookah diving. Fishery managers and health services can make priority decisions based on the information generated.

The Associations Between Oxytocin and Trauma in Humans: A Systematic Review.

Studies have shown that traumatic experiences may affect hormonal systems mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the oxytocinergic system. This effect is the result of long-term impairments in hypothalamic structures and negative feedback mechanisms within the HPA axis, structures that mediate the response to stress. This deregulation reduces the production and release of cortisol and oxytocin (OXT), which may alter stress responses and lead to increased vulnerability to impairments from stressful experiences. The presence of gene polymorphisms might also have an impact on the vulnerability to psychopathology. We made a systematic review of articles dealing with the relationship between OXT and traumatic emotional experiences in humans. Thirty-five studies were reviewed and significant associations between experiences of emotional trauma (ET) and OXT were found. The main results showed that the presence of ET and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is strongly associated with reductions in endogenous OXT, and also that the acute effects of OXT administrations in individuals with ET tend to be anxiolytic only in less severe forms. In victims of recent traumatic experiences (RTE), OXT increased the re-experience of traumas and restored the function of different neural networks associated with fear control/extinction in PTSD patients. The results available also suggest that gene receptor polymorphisms may have a protective function in different outcomes after the experience of traumatic events. We conclude that the relationship between ET and OXT is multifaceted, complex, and mediated by contextual and individual factors. Directions for future studies are suggested considering the gaps in the available literature.

Impacto na leitura de artigos científicos: uma tentativa de diálogo com "meu leitor" / Impact on reading scientific articles: an attempt to dialogue with "my reader"

Resumo O artigo problematiza o termo “impacto” e se referencia na produção cientifica do seu autor que é utilizada para análise de impactos, sob a perspectiva qualitativa. Esta análise é realizada não como um fim em si mesmo, mas sob a égide da relação autor/texto/leitor. Buscando estabelecer esta relação, explora-se como o autor é citado em um artigo selecionado, adentrando cada uma das citações e identificando que aspectos foram relevados pelos leitores que fizeram as citações. Esta observação qualitativa de cada uma das citações propiciou captar como cada autor/leitor utilizou o texto original. Esta experiência pessoal e finita deste diálogo mais fino com o “meu leitor” é lançado aqui como uma recomendação, a quem possa interessar, de um dispositivo viável e repetível para que autores possam re-visitar o que escrevem a partir do reconhecimento do impacto que provocam no outro.

Abstract This article discusses the concept of “impact” and is based on the scientific output of the author that is examined for the analysis of impacts from the qualitative standpoint. It is done not as an end in itself, but under the aegis of the author/text/reader relationship. Seeking to establish this relationship, the way in which the author is quoted in a selected article, entering each of the quotes and identifying what aspects were emphasized by the readers who referenced the quote is explored in detail. This qualitative observation of each of the quotes provided an indication of how each author/reader perceived the original text. This personal experience of this finite and delicate dialogue with “my reader” is presented here as a recommendation, to anyone who may be interested, of a viable device that can be repeated by authors in order to re-visit their writings based on the acknowledgement of the impact that it has on others.

Cambios y trayectorias de participación desde la experiencia de usuarios de programas de apoyo psicosocial / Changes and trajectories of participation from the experience of users of psychosocial support programs

Se presentan los resultados de un estudio cualitativo cuyo objetivo fue describir y analizar relacionalmente los cambios experimentados por personas participantes de dos emblemáticos programas sociales chilenos, el Programa Puente y el Programa Calle, ambos pertenecientes al Sistema de Protección Social. Para ello, se sostuvieron entrevistas en profundidad con 12 personas, las cuales fueron analizadas siguiendo los procedimientos de la Teoría Fundamentada. Se identificaron cambios a nivel personal (bienestar físico, valoración personal, enfrentamiento vital), económico (mayor capacidad económica, mejor administración del dinero, adquisición de bienes) y relacional (mejoramiento de relaciones familiares y sociales). Estos cambios interactuaron entre sí y variaron según el nivel de vulnerabilidad de las personas, definiendo distintas trayectorias de participación en los programas.

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study whose objective was to describe and make a relational analysis the changes experimented by participants of two emblematic Chilean social programs: Programa Puente and Programa Calle, both belonging to the Social Protection System. Twelve in-deep interviews were made, which were analyzed following the procedures of Grounded Theory. Changes on a personal level (physical well-being, personal value, vital showdown), economic (greater economic capacity, better money management, purchase goods) and relational (improving family and social relations) were identified. These changes interacted with each other and varied according to the level of vulnerability of people, defining different program participation paths.

Como abordar os efeitos de um tratamento ofertado em um serviço de psicanálise no âmbito público / How to take the effects of a treatment offered in a Department of Psychoanalysis in the public institution

A inserção da psicanálise no âmbito público convida ao estabelecimento de novos dispositivos, próprios à condução de um tratamento psíquico, isto é, à criação de procedimentos que respondam a uma clientela específica no cenário público. Nessa via, propomos uma técnica de avaliação, orientada pelos princípios do método psicanalítico, visando abordar os efeitos terapêuticos e analíticos desses procedimentos clínicos sobre a subjetividade. A técnica de avaliação foi utilizada em uma proposta de tratamento ofertada a adultos atendidos pelo Serviço de Psicanálise do Ambulatório de Psiquiatria do Hospital das Clínicas da Unicamp. Com o estudo, objetivamos destacar a pertinência desta técnica de avaliação em uma prática clínica exercida sob novos dispositivos em instituições públicas.

The insertion of psychoanalysis in the public establishment invites for the new mechanisms, in order to drive to appropriate psychological treatment, i.e., the definition of procedures to respond to a specific public scenario customer. Following this path, we propose an evaluation technique, guided by the principles of the psychoanalytic method, looking for the therapeutic and analytical effects in the clinical procedures above/on subjectivity. The evaluation technique was used in a proposal for a treatment offered to adults by the Psychoanalysis Service of the Psychiatry Ambulatory of the Clinical Hospital of Unicamp. This study aims to highlight the relevance of this technique in a clinical evaluation conducted under new arrangements in public institutions.

Como abordar os efeitos de um tratamento ofertado em um serviço de psicanálise no âmbito público / How to take the effects of a treatment offered in a Department of Psychoanalysis in the public institution

A inserção da psicanálise no âmbito público convida ao estabelecimento de novos dispositivos, próprios à condução de um tratamento psíquico, isto é, à criação de procedimentos que respondam a uma clientela específica no cenário público. Nessa via, propomos uma técnica de avaliação, orientada pelos princípios do método psicanalítico, visando abordar os efeitos terapêuticos e analíticos desses procedimentos clínicos sobre a subjetividade. A técnica de avaliação foi utilizada em uma proposta de tratamento ofertada a adultos atendidos pelo Serviço de Psicanálise do Ambulatório de Psiquiatria do Hospital das Clínicas da Unicamp. Com o estudo, objetivamos destacar a pertinência desta técnica de avaliação em uma prática clínica exercida sob novos dispositivos em instituições públicas.(AU)

The insertion of psychoanalysis in the public establishment invites for the new mechanisms, in order to drive to appropriate psychological treatment, i.e., the definition of procedures to respond to a specific public scenario customer. Following this path, we propose an evaluation technique, guided by the principles of the psychoanalytic method, looking for the therapeutic and analytical effects in the clinical procedures above/on subjectivity. The evaluation technique was used in a proposal for a treatment offered to adults by the Psychoanalysis Service of the Psychiatry Ambulatory of the Clinical Hospital of Unicamp. This study aims to highlight the relevance of this technique in a clinical evaluation conducted under new arrangements in public institutions.(AU)

Avaliando a política de saúde mental num CAPS: a trajetória no movimento antimanicomial / Evaluating the politics of mental health in a CAPS: the path in the anti-asylum movement

Este artigo aborda um estudo de caso do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS) de Alegrete - Rio Grande do Sul/Brasil e consiste num recorte do estudo de avaliação dos CAPS do sul do Brasil 1, em cuja etapa qualitativa foram estudados cinco CAPS desta região. Tem como objetivo avaliar qualitativamente um CAPS tendo como marcador a política de saúde mental, enfatizando a relação do CAPS com a gestão local e com o movimento antimanicomial. Realizou-se uma avaliação de quarta geração, utilizando-se entrevistas com usuários, familiares e trabalhadores do CAPS e observação de campo. Foi evidenciado no processo avaliativo o potencial de organização e comprometimento dos sujeitos sociais na construção cotidiana do processo de transformação das práticas em saúde mental, apesar dos limites enfrentados no interior da política local

This article describes a study of case of a Center for Psychosocial Attendance (CAPS) located in Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and it consists of a cutting of the study of evaluation of CAPS from the southern of Brazil, where, in the qualitative stage were studied five CAPS of this area. The aim of this study was to evaluate qualitatively a CAPS, using as marker the politics of mental health emphasizing the relationship of the CAPS with the local administration and with the anti-asylum movement. It was made a fourth generation evaluation, consisting of interviews with users, family members and workers of the CAPS and field observation. It was evidenced in the evaluating process the organization and compromising potentials of the social subjects in the daily construction of the process of transformation of the practices in mental health, in spite of the limits faced inside the local politics

Avaliando a política de saúde mental num CAPS: a trajetória no movimento antimanicomial / Evaluating the politics of mental health in a CAPS: the path in the anti-asylum movement

Este artigo aborda um estudo de caso do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS) de Alegrete - Rio Grande do Sul/Brasil e consiste num recorte do estudo de avaliação dos CAPS do sul do Brasil 1, em cuja etapa qualitativa foram estudados cinco CAPS desta região. Tem como objetivo avaliar qualitativamente um CAPS tendo como marcador a política de saúde mental, enfatizando a relação do CAPS com a gestão local e com o movimento antimanicomial. Realizou-se uma avaliação de quarta geração, utilizando-se entrevistas com usuários, familiares e trabalhadores do CAPS e observação de campo. Foi evidenciado no processo avaliativo o potencial de organização e comprometimento dos sujeitos sociais na construção cotidiana do processo de transformação das práticas em saúde mental, apesar dos limites enfrentados no interior da política local.(AU)

This article describes a study of case of a Center for Psychosocial Attendance (CAPS) located in Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and it consists of a cutting of the study of evaluation of CAPS from the southern of Brazil, where, in the qualitative stage were studied five CAPS of this area. The aim of this study was to evaluate qualitatively a CAPS, using as marker the politics of mental health emphasizing the relationship of the CAPS with the local administration and with the anti-asylum movement. It was made a fourth generation evaluation, consisting of interviews with users, family members and workers of the CAPS and field observation. It was evidenced in the evaluating process the organization and compromising potentials of the social subjects in the daily construction of the process of transformation of the practices in mental health, in spite of the limits faced inside the local politics.(AU)