Percepción de los profesionales interventores de organismos colaboradores del Servicio Mejor Niñez sobre la vulneración de los derechos de niños, niñas y adolescentes en comuna centro-sur de Chile: una mirada desde el contexto de pandemia / Perception of professional officers involved with the Childhood Improvement Service Regarding the infringement of the rights of children and adolescents in a commune in the central-south of Chile. A view from the pandemic context

Resumen El Servicio Mejor Niñez es un organismo público que tiene como objetivo garantizar la protección de derechos de niños, niñas y adolescentes al amparo de la Ley N.º 21302. En los últimos años, se ha visto cuestionado tanto por la opinión pública como por organismos internacionales, por incumplimiento de las funciones para la cual se creó. En esta línea, el objetivo de esta investigación se centró en la percepción de los profesionales interventores sobre la vulneración de derechos sobre niños, niñas y adolescentes en la zona centro-sur de Chile. Estas personas son profesionales en Psicología y Trabajo Social que durante años han trabajado en programas de protección de vulneración de derechos, y han desempeñado un rol protector en cuanto a la protección de estos derechos. Para ello, se utilizó un método cualitativo basado en un enfoque fenomenológico, a partir de entrevistas que permitieron conocer los significados y percepciones sobre su ejercicio profesional. Los resultados destacan la visión opuesta y extrema de los profesionales sobre el proceso de intervención (satisfactoria y frustrante), así como la diversidad de modelos o enfoques utilizados en el proceso, lo que parece indicar que no existe una sistematización teórica en cuanto a la intervención que cada programa utiliza. Se estableció una reflexión importante sobre la ejecución de políticas en infancia y adolescencia que buscan promover el desarrollo integral en el marco postpandemia por COVID-19, considerando que muchas personas menores de edad se vieron nuevamente expuestas a vulneraciones de derechos durante el proceso de pandemia.

Abstract The Childhood Improvement Service is a public agency whose objective is to guarantee protection of the rights of children and adolescents with respect to the enactment of Law No. 21302. This has been questioned in recent years by both public opinion and international organizations, in relation to a failure to fulfill the functions for which it was created. In this sense, the objective of this research focused on the perception of professionals involved in children's and adolescents' rights in the central-south zone of Chile. The professionals are psychologists and social workers who have worked to protect the rights circumscribing the different types of interventions and multidisciplinary approaches carried out. For this purpose, a qualitative method was used in phase with a phenomenological approach, based on interviews that allowed ascertaining the meanings and perceptions regarding their professional practice. The results highlight the opposed and extreme views of the professionals in the intervention process (satisfactory versus frustrating), as well as the diversity of models or approaches used in the process, which seems to indicate that there is no theoretical systematization regarding the intervention applied by each program. Establishing an important reflection on the implementation of policies in childhood and adolescence that seek to promote integral development in the post-Covid-19 Pandemic framework.

Mercury and methylmercury levels in soils associated with coal-fired power plants in central-northern Chile.

Mercury pollution is a worldwide problem, and is associated with a number of natural and anthropogenic processes. The present work, conducted in Chile, a country that has traditionally depended heavily on fossil fuels for power generation, examines total mercury (THg) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations in soils across different sites exposed to coal fired power plant emissions. Samples from four selected (Renca, Laguna Verde, Las Ventanas, Huasco) and 1 control (Quintay) sites were analyzed using cold vapour and fluorescence spectroscopy (CV-AFS) for THg determination and chromatographic separation with atomic fluorescence detection (DI-GC-AFS) was followed for speciation analysis. From the sites analyzed, Renca and Las Ventanas showed high concentrations of total mercury, exhibiting ranges between 135 - 568 and 94-464 ng g-1 respectively, while Laguna Verde and Huasco exhibited lower values ranged 5-27 and 9-44 ng g-1 respectively. Conversely, analysis of MMHg concentrations showed that only Renca site possessed high values, ranging between 0.1 and 3.0 ng g-1, resulting in this site being considered contaminated. Conversely, other sites showed minimal values comparable to the control site (0.024 ±â€¯0.003 ng g-1) in terms of MMHg concentrations. An analysis of the differences between MMHg and THg concentrations in contaminated sites, suggests an overall absence of methylation in soils of Las Ventanas, probably related to the very high levels of soil heavy metals, especially copper. Moreover, the influence of the composition and physicochemical properties of the different soils on the mobility of the species was assessed. Results obtained (as Log Kd) were 3.5 and 4.1 for Renca and Las Ventanas respectively, suggesting low mobility of mercury species in the environment for both sites. Finally, the data obtained allowed us to establish a first approximation of the differences in concentration and mobility of total and MMHg associated with coal fired power plants emission in central-northern Chile, an area previously understudied in a country heavily dependent on fossil-fuels.

Copper excess detoxification is mediated by a coordinated and complementary induction of glutathione, phytochelatins and metallothioneins in the green seaweed Ulva compressa.

In order to analyze the involvement of intracellular thiol-chelators in the accumulation and detoxification of copper, the marine alga Ulva compressa was cultivated with increasing concentrations of copper such as 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 µM for up to 12 d, and the amount of intracellular copper, glutathione (GSH), phytochelatins (PCs) and transcripts encoding three metallothioneins (MTs) were determined. Over this exposure period and concentration range there was a linear correlation between intracellular copper and the copper concentration in the culture medium. Increases in GSH concentrations occurred mainly between days 1 and 3 and at lower concentrations of copper (2.5 and 5 µM). The level of PCs, and particularly PC2, increased from day 1 of exposure mainly at higher concentrations of copper (7.5 and 10 µM). The levels of transcripts encoding MT7 increased at day 3, whereas those of MT3 and MT6 increased between days 9-12, mainly at higher concentrations of copper. Thus in U. compressa, the initial responses to increasing intracellular copper concentrations are increases in GSH and PCs that are followed by higher levels of MTs expression, suggesting that thiol-containing peptides and proteins may participate in copper accumulation and detoxification responding in a coordinated and complementary manner. In addition, the alga was cultivated with 10 µM copper for 5 d and transferred to synthetic seawater with no copper and cultivated for 3 d. The release of copper from cells to culture medium was observed and accompanied by a similar nanomolar amount of GSH; no PCs or small proteins were detected. These results could suggest that a component of the detoxification mechanism also involves the release of copper and GSH to the extracellular medium.

Assessment of oxidative stress and bioaccumulation of the metals Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd in the polychaete Perinereis gualpensis from estuaries of central Chile.

The estuaries of the Aconcagua and Maipo Rivers of central Chile are receptors of residues that contain metals from anthropic activities including agriculture, mining and smelters, which have different levels in the two basins. This study postulates that the exposition to metals is different in the two estuaries and that their sediments contain bioavailable chemical agents that produce oxidative stress. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of estuarine sediments on the polychaete Perinereis gualpensis using oxidative stress biomarkers and to determine the metal concentrations in sediments and their accumulation in P. gualpensis. Sediments and organisms were collected in December 2015 and January 2016 in the estuaries. The Catapilco estuary was used as control, since its basin has little anthropic activity. The metal concentrations of Fe Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd were determined in tissues of the organisms and in sediments. The granulometry, conductivity, redox potential, pH and organic matter in sediments were determined, as well as catalase activity and lipid peroxidation. The results show that the concentrations of metals in sediments were higher in the estuary of the Aconcagua River: Cu: 48 ± 2µgg-1; Fe: 154 ± 19mgg-1, Pb: 20 ± 3µgg-1 and Zn: 143 ± 20µgg-1. In tissues, Pb and Fe were higher in the estuary of the Maipo River, while Cd was detected only in the Catapilco River mouth. Catalase activity was greater in the estuary of the Aconcagua River and lipid peroxidation in the estuary of the Catapilco River. Significant regressions were found between biomarkers of oxidative stress and metal concentrations in tissues of P. gualpensis. In conclusion, the sediments of the studied estuaries contain bioavailable chemical agents that provoke oxidative stress in P. gualpensis, which may be a risk for the benthic communities of these ecosystems. This species is proposed to monitor metals bioavailability and oxidative stress in estuarine sediments.