De Mexico Research Articles

Related Factors for Severe, Critical and Death in Children with Healthcare-Associated COVID-19

Abstract Background Since the beginning of the pandemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children′s Hospital Association have reported over 15.4 million cases of COVID-19 in children in the United States (18% of all cases).1 UNICEF on the other hand, has reported more than 288 million cases all over the world and 4.1 million deaths related to COVID-19 in children.2 Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) represent a big burden on the health care system, with a subsequent increase in morbidity, hospital stay, medication/procedures, intensive care unit admissions, mortality, etc. Globally there is not enough data of HAI for SARS-CoV-2 in children, specially from low and lower-middle income countries. Methods Prognosis study through the description and analysis of an ambispective cohort in children at a tertiary care pediatric hospital [Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez: (HIMFG)] in Mexico City from April 2020 to December 2022. We identified patients <18 years old with probable and definite healthcare-associated (HA) COVID-19 according to the CDC definition:3 symptom onset (or positive test) on day 8 or on, after admission. Independent variables included socio-demographic information, clinical symptoms, laboratory results, among others. Outcome variables measured included severity (severe and critical), and death.4 Chi square and Wilcoxon tests were performed to identify independent risk factors for severity and death. After the bivariate analysis, logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with patient severity and mortality. Results 102 patients were included; mean age was 6.4 years (min 0.02, max 17.9) and 57 were male. 32 were asymptomatic, 27 had mild disease, 6 were moderate, 31 severe and 6 critical; of this total, 6 patients died. 98 patients had at least one comorbidity, and 54 had at least 2: 35 with immunosuppression, 28 with cancer, 18 with heart disease, 14 with pulmonary disease and 14 with neurologic disease. 14 patients required admission to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Mean hospital stay at diagnosis was 35.5 days (min 8, max 143): 24 patients were identified with probable HA-COVID-19 (8-14 days after admission) and 78 with definite HA-COVID-19 (>14 days after admission). Conclusions Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple strategies in infection prevention and control have been implemented at our hospital: universal screening before admission, active surveillance for patients/caretakers/health-care workers with respiratory symptoms and for contacts, universal use of facemasks, isolation of patients with respiratory symptoms, among others. Despite all these measures, a free Hospital from HA-COVID-19 remains a challenge. Our study found that the sudden onset of symptoms, the presence of fever, irritability and polypnea increases significantly the risk for severity in patients that acquired the disease in the hospital. On the other hand, patients with an underlying heart disease have 30 times more risk of dying than those who doesn’t. The presence of O2 desaturation and admission to a PICU increases significantly the mortality in patients with HA-COVID-19. Overall, mortality in children with HA-COVID-19 was 5.9% (up to 8.6% if strictly considering only the symptomatic), much more that the one reported globally (1.4%).2

The foundation of the Hospital Infantil de México, today Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez

In the early years of the 20th century, no hospital in Mexico held the capacity to address the health problems of Mexican children, making it necessary to build a modern institution to take care of these issues. This situation mobilized a group of doctors led by Dr. Federico Gomez Santos to seek the acknowledgement of the President, Abelardo L. Rodriguez, of the urgent need of a children's hospital. Later, the President approved the project for its construction in 1933. After 10 years of struggle in the political, social and economic fields, and with the support of presidents Lazaro Cardenas and Manuel Avila Camacho, the Hospital Infantil de Mexico was inaugurated on April 30th, 1943. Today, 75 years after its creation, the hospital has withstood the test of time maintaining intact its principles of assistance, teaching and research, and emerging as the cradle of Mexican and Latin American pediatrics.

Trace Metals in PM10 and Associated Health Risk in Two Urban Sites Located in Campeche

This study reports the trace metal concentrations in PM10 collected in two urban sites of Campeche, Mexico (the INAH site, located in the downtown, and the TNL site, located in the Tecnologico Nacional de Mexico campus Lerma). Trace metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) were determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, with Fe and Mn being the most dominant species. Cd and Co showed high values of enrichment factors, indicating that they were highly enriched by anthropogenic sources. A health risk assessment was carried out according to the IRIS-EPA methodology considering both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects and different age and gender population groups. The TNL site showed cancer risk coefficients that exceed the maximum limits established by the EPA and the WHO (1 × 10−6 and 1 × 10−5, respectively), being higher for Cd and Co. The non-carcinogenic risk exceeded the limits recommended by the EPA, being higher in the INAH site for cobalt (HQ = 28.92). There is a latent risk that the exposed population may develop cardiovascular and respiratory diseases due to inhalation of the metals measured in PM10. It is necessary to carry out more continuous monitoring campaigns of trace metals linked to PM10 in this area to enable a better understanding of the effects of these contaminants on the health of the exposed population. The results of the present work constitute the first efforts to evaluate the trace metals concentrations in PM10 in urban areas of the city of Campeche, Campeche and can be used to develop programs focused on improving air quality.

Senna multiglandulosa, a new natural host for Tobacco etch virus in Mexico.

Plants of Senna multiglandulosa (family Fabaceae), an ornamental shrub, growing adjacent to tomato and chrysanthemum greenhouses located in San Diego, Texcoco, Estado de Mexico, had leaves with putative virus symptoms, consisting of annular or irregular chlorotic spots of different sizes (Supplementary Fig. 1a). To investigate the presence of a virus, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) was performed. Total RNA was extracted from symptomatic leaves of S. multiglandulosa plants using the SV Total RNA Isolation System Kit (Promega, USA). A portion of the RNA was sent to BGI Genomics (China) for cDNA library construction and sequencing on the DNBSEQ platform (BGI Genomics). HTS yielded 14,673,469 clean paired reads (150x2), which were assembled de novo into 91,879 contigs using SPAdes v3.15 software (Prjibelski et al. 2020). The contigs ranged from 78 to 14,534 nucleotides (nts), which were subjected to BLASTx and BLASTn analyses. A single viral contig of 9,501 nts was detected (average coverage: 56,716x per nt) representing the nearly complete genome of tobacco etch virus (TEV). The highest identity was 79.26% at the nt level (92% query coverage) with TEV isolate TEV7DA (GenBank: DQ986288; length: 9,539 nts) from the USA, and 86.67% at the amino acid (aa) level considering the polyprotein, which are higher than the species demarcation threshold (<76% nt and <82% aa) for the genus Potyvirus (Inoue-Nagata et al. 2022). Additionally, the sequence obtained from S. multiglandulosa revealed 79.21-79.37% nt identities with different TEV isolates from Solanaceae plants (Capsicum annuum, MW748496; Solanum lycopersicum, OM471966.1; Nicotiana tabacum, OL311684.1). The new TEV genome was deposited in GenBank under accession number ON110203. The results obtained by HTS were confirmed by RT-PCR with the original isolated RNA using a pair of specific primers designed from the TEV sequence (TEV-NIb-F, 5'- GCGCTTAAATGCAGACTCGG-3' and TEV-NIb-R, 5'-GTGAAAGTTCAGCAGCAAGCGCA-3') that amplify a 550-bp fragment of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The obtained amplicon was sequenced by the Sanger method, and was 100% identical to the sequence generated by HTS. Subsequently, N. tabacum and N. glutinosa plants were mechanically inoculated using TEV-positive S. multiglandulosa leaves as the inoculum source. Twenty days after inoculation, light chlorotic spots and necrotic lesions were observed on N. tabacum and mosaic on N. glutinosa (Supplementary Fig. 1b-c). RT-PCR analysis confirmed the presence of TEV infection in these indicator plants. To determine the incidence of S. multiglandulosa plants showing TEV-infection symptoms, a survey (n=16) was carried out on two farms in Texcoco; the survey showed a 100% incidence of symptoms. Five survey samples were randomly selected, and the presence of TEV was confirmed by RT-PCR. The discovery of Tobacco etch virus (family Potyviridae: genus Potyvirus) in tobacco was reported in Kentucky, USA in 1928 (Valleau and Johnson, 1928), one of the most common and damaging viruses for the chili crop in Mexico (Delgado, 1974). TEV causes heavy yield loss in several Solanaceae plants and infects more than 120 species in 19 families of dicotyledons (Holmes, 1946). S. obtusifolia (originally Cassia obtusifolia) was the first legume reported as a natural host of TEV in Florida, USA (Anderson, 1954). To our knowledge, this is the first report of the natural infection of S. multiglandulosa by TEV in Mexico and the first TEV genome isolated and sequenced from a legume. S. multiglandulosa is widely distributed in 16 states in Mexico, both cultivated and naturalized, however, it is not considered native to the country (Rzedowski and Calderón, 1997). The occurrence of TEV in S. multiglandulosa represents an alternative reservoir of the virus, with an important role in the epidemiology of the disease.

PC Puma: conectando a la comunidad

The goal of the PC Puma program is to integrate technology into the academic life of students and teachers, thus allowing Access to digital tools and content that strengthenthe teaching and learning process. Its initiative is in tune with the evolution of education and technology and is prepared to adapt to future changes and challenges that may arise. In addition, the program seeks to reduce the technology gap by providing wireless connectivity services and loaning computer equipment to those who do not have Access to them. By offering digital tools, the program helps the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico community to develop technological and digital skills that are fundamental for today’s society. In this article, the project is presented from a historical perspective, emphasizing the incorporation of the program in the different UNAM campuses, and highlighting its relevance in the Faculty of Medicine. Keywords: Connectivity; digital divide; PC Puma; ICTs; technological infrastructure.

Construcción de un ecosistema digital como apoyo en la implementación del nuevo plan de estudios de la Facultad de Medicina

This article describes the process of constructing a digital ecosystem to support the implementation of the EPPENS 2022 curriculum plan, which allows for monitoring the curriculum competencies of students and teaching competencies of professors during the medical training process at the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), with the purpose of generating and substantiating actions that are in favor of teaching, learning, evaluation, and school management processes. The platform was designed using the PHP programming language and the MySQL database management system. Keywords: TICs; digital tool; competences; students; teachers; teaching

An annotated checklist of terrestrial flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Geoplanidae) from Mexico, with new records of invasive species from a citizen science platform and a new nomen dubium.

A checklist of species of terrestrial flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida: Geoplanidae) recorded for Mexico is compiled, listing 11 species. Five are directly referenced in the literature: Bipalium kewense Moseley, 1878, Bipalium vagum Jones & Sterrer, 2005, Diporodemus yucatani Hyman, 1938, Geoplana multipunctata Fuhrmann, 1914, and Pseudogeoplana nigrofusca (Darwin, 1844); and one species had been indirectly mentioned for the country: Parakontikia ventrolineata (Dendy, 1892), which was described from material intercepted in the USA in a shipment of ornamental plants from Mexico. Mexican records from the citizen science platform iNaturalist were reviewed, revealing the presence of five widely distributed invasive species: Caenoplana coerulea Moseley, 1877, recorded in Ciudad de Mexico; Endeavouria septemlineata (Hyman, 1939), recorded in Ciudad de Mexico, Estado de Mexico, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Morelos, and Oaxaca; Dolichoplana carvalhoi Corrêa, 1947, recorded in Jalisco; Dolichoplana striata Moseley, 1877, recorded in Morelos, Nuevo Leon, Quintana Roo, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz; and Rhynchodemus sylvaticus (Leidy, 1851), recorded in Jalisco. The presence of Parakontikia ventrolineata is confirmed for the country, being recorded in Ciudad de Mexico, Estado de Mexico, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacan, Puebla, Queretaro, and Veracruz. The original description of Pseudogeoplana nigrofusca was revisited and compared to subsequent descriptions and keys, noting that the specimens are not conspecific and that the original description is too vague to accurately identify the species, therefore, this taxon is hereby relegated as a nomen dubium. A key for the higher taxa (subfamilies and tribes) of the North American terrestrial flatworms is proposed.

Rabies virus in white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) in Mexico: what do we know so far?

Rabies is a neglected disease that affects all mammals. To determine the appropriate sanitary measures, the schedule of preventive medicine campaigns requires the proper identification of the variants of the virus circulating in the outbreaks, the species involved, and the interspecific and intraspecific virus movements. Urban rabies has been eradicated in developed countries and is being eradicated in some developing countries. In Europe and North America, oral vaccination programs for wildlife have been successful, whereas in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, rabies remains a public health problem due to the habitation of a wide variety of wild animal species that can act as rabies virus reservoirs in their environment. After obtaining recognition from the WHO/PAHO as the first country to eliminate human rabies transmitted by dogs, Mexico faces a new challenge: the control of rabies transmitted by wildlife to humans and domestic animals. In recent years, rabies outbreaks in the white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) have been detected, and it is suspected that the species plays a significant role in maintaining the wild cycle of rabies in the southeast of Mexico. In this study, we discussed cases of rabies in white-nosed coatis that were diagnosed at InDRE (in English: Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference; in Spanish: Instituto de Diagnostico y Referencia Epidemiologicos) from 1993 to 2022. This study aimed to determine whether white-nosed coatis might be an emergent rabies reservoir in the country. A total of 13 samples were registered in the database from the Rabies laboratories of Estado de Mexico (n = 1), Jalisco (n = 1), Quintana Roo (n = 5), Sonora (n = 1), and Yucatan (n = 5). Samples from 1993 to 2002 from Estado de Mexico, Jalisco, and Sonora were not characterized because we no longer had any samples available. Nine samples were antigenically and genetically characterized. To date, coatis have not been considered important vectors of the rabies virus. The results from our research indicate that the surveillance of the rabies virus in coatis should be relevant to prevent human cases transmitted by this species.

Americanized Hispanic terms and their vitality in the work of a 17th century Creole: Agustin de Vetancurt

In the texts written in Latin America during the 17th century, there is evidence of Hispanic terms already Americanized by changes of meaning, according to Kany (1962). This study analyzes Chronica de la Provincia del Santo Evangelio de Mexico (1697) by the Mexican Creole Agustín de Vetancurt (1620-1700) in order to present data on this process of Americanization. The methodology employed in the analysis of the Americanized terms is both quantitative and qualitative. Once the Americanized Hispanicism is detected, the vitality of its use is analyzed in comparison with other texts dating from between 1650 and 1700 recorded in the Corpus Diacrónico del Español (CORDE). The results show that the 21 Hispanicisms found have different degrees of Americanization.

Feminist and dissident counter-monumental interventions: Urban memory struggles between Santiago de Chile and Mexico City

This article presents the results of a study of two recent Latin American cases of counter-monumental interventions initiated by feminist and dissident actors: the intervention Amor y Furia in Santiago de Chile and the creation of La Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan in Mexico City. The analysis of the two cases is empirically based on a combination of social media publications and interviews with central actors conducted during fieldwork in both cities. The analysis demonstrates how the interventions made visible and enriched the conflicts of memory that stem from the traditional monumentalization of national histories, whilst fortifying feminist and dissident movements through an exposure of the continuity of their demands. Based on this combined analysis of the interventions’ aesthetic representations of patriarchal violence on a variety of temporal levels and their role in the reappropriation of public space, we argue that both interventions are in their own way expressions of what we have chosen to call ch’ixi memory activism; an affective, cathartic and aesthetically cacophonous practice through which long-lasting injustices are exposed in the public space.

Occurrence and Distribution of Physiological Races of Exserohilum turcicum in Maize Growing Regions of Mexico.

Turcicum leaf blight (TLB), is a common foliar disease of maize in Mexico that is caused by the fungal pathogen Exserohilum turcicum. The most effective management strategy against TLB is monogenic race-specific resistance. Among the 140 E. turcicum isolates from symptomatic leaves collected from maize fields in Mexico, 100 were obtained from tropical (Veracruz) and temperate areas (Estado de México) between 2010 and 2019, and 40 isolates were obtained from tropical (Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Chiapas), subtropical (Nayarit, Jalisco and Guanajuato) and temperate areas (Estado de Mexico, Hidalgo, and Puebla) collected in 2019. All the isolates caused TLB symptoms on the positive control (ht4) showing that they were all pathogenic. Six physiological races of E. turcicum (2, 3, 23, 3N, 23N, and 123N) were identified based on resistant or susceptible responses displayed by five maize differential genotypes (A619Ht1, A619Ht2, A619Ht3, B68HtN, and A619ht4). The most common was race 23 accounting for 68% of the isolates, followed by races 23N, 123N, 3, 2, and 3N at 15%, 8%, 6%, 2%, and 1%, respectively. Race 123N was able to infect the greatest number of maize differential genotypes used in the study. Race 123N was detected in Sinaloa and Estado de México. Race 3 was detected in Nayarit and Jalisco. Race 2 was detected in Jalisco, Estado de México and Veracruz, and race 3N was detected in Tamaulipas. Race 23 was equally dominant in the tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions, while race 123N was more common in the tropical environment and race 23N was more common in the tropical and temperate environments. There was no evidence for shifts in the races between 2010 and 2019.

Mortality and Survival Factors in Patients with Moderate and Severe Pneumonia Due to COVID-19.

During the pandemic, some mortality-related factors were age, sex, comorbidities (obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension), recovery time, hospitalizations, and biochemical markers. The present work aimed to identify the mortality and survival factors in adults with moderate and severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 during the first and second waves of the pandemic in Mexico at a third-level hospital (High-Specialty Regional Hospital of Ixtapaluca (HRAEI), Ixtapaluca, Estado de Mexico, Mexico). A database was generated using information from the electronic clinical records of patients hospitalized from December 2021 to August 2022. Survival analysis was performed associating age, sex, longer recovery times, and some drugs. The risk factors found were age in the patients between 40 and 60 years (OR = 1.70), male sex (OR = 1.53), the presence of comorbidities (OR = 1.66) and hypertension (OR = 2.19), work occupation (construction workers OR = 5.22, factory workers OR = 3.13, unemployed OR = 2.93), the prehospital use of metamizole sodium (OR = 2.17), cough (OR = 1.73), and in-hospital oxygen therapy (reservoir mask OR = 6.6). The survival factors found in this study were working in the healthcare field (OR = 0.26), the prehospital use of certain medications (paracetamol OR = 0.65, dexamethasone OR = 0.55, and azithromycin OR = 0.47), presenting ageusia (OR = 0.5) and hyporexia (OR = 0.34), and the time using in-hospital oxygen therapy (device 1 OR = 0.72). Prehospital treatment needs to be reevaluated as dexamethasone and azithromycin proved to be protective factors. Likewise, providing aggressive oxygen therapy during hospital admission decreased mortality risk.

Unintended Lessons of Revolution: Student Teachers and Political Radicalism in Twentieth Century Mexico by Tanalís Padilla

Reviewed by: Unintended Lessons of Revolution: Student Teachers and Political Radicalism in Twentieth Century Mexico by Tanalís Padilla Yoly Zentella Padilla, Tanalís. Unintended Lessons of Revolution: Student Teachers and Political Radicalism in Twentieth Century Mexico. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2021. [End Page 235] Unintended Lessons of Revolution: Student Teachers and Political Radicalism in Twentieth Century Mexico is based on a study of the rural normales, Mexican teacher training schools with a long tradition of radicalism and struggle for social justice, with origins in the Revolución of 1910. In eight chapters and an epilogue, Padilla succinctly and chronologically unwraps for the reader the role of the maestro, the teacher, as a radical archetype in the history of Mexican education, describing the interrelationship between the local populations, students, and government policies. The study, conducted by Padilla from which the book evolved, is of national scope and based on sources including declassified Mexican government documents from 2002, US Department of State records, local school archives, published memoirs, and more than fifty interviews conducted by the author in rural normales throughout Mexico. The author's intention was to fill a void in the Secretaria de Educación Publica's (Office of Public Education [SEP]) national archives, beyond the 1940s, by telling the story of rural normales from the perspective of student and graduate activists. Unintended Lessons of Revolution is an absorbing read for academics, students, activist scholars, and others interested in Mexican history, the education component, and student radicalism and its relationship with the Mexican state. Padilla is a historian of Latin America and history professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her focus is political and agrarian movements of modern Mexico. Among her publications is Rural Resistance in the Land of Zapata: The Jaramillista Movement and the Myth of the Pax Priísta, 1940–1962 (2008) centering on the history of an agrarian movement turned armed struggle. In 2013, she coedited and contributed to a special issue of the Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research (JILAR), in which the implications for post-revolutionary historiography of Mexico's recently declassified intelligence documents are analyzed. Padilla frequently publishes in Mexican periodicals. Unintended Lessons of Revolution narrates the relationship between student political struggle and the Mexican state. It also describes the progressive possibilities inherent in education and the development of student political consciousness as their identities unfold from campesino, to student, to teacher. Written in a linear, dynamic style, the chapters are chronological in nature, with a clear overlap of content, taking the reader from the revolutionary roots of the rural normales, their early formation during the 1920s, the impact of the liberal policies of president Cardenas (1934–1940) on the rural schools, and the [End Page 236] government's later shift to the political right resulting in a reduction of normales and demonization of activist-teachers during an anti-communist, Cold War climate. Padilla's narrative continues as students engage in agrarian struggle and political protests associated with uprisings leading to the student massacre at Tlatelolco in 1968 during the Ordaz administration (1964–1970), an atrocity that changed the normalista political approach to one of heightened activism. Here, the state accelerated the suppression of student militancy by reducing the number of rural normales and disbanding of the Federación de Estudiantes Campesinos Socialistas de Mexico (Mexican Federation of Rural Student Socialists [FECSM]). The book ends with attempts by rural normales at recovery and the re-establishment of the FECSM during the presidency of Echeveria (1970–1976). However, the rise of guerilla groups tied to the massacre at Tlatelolco, normalista collaboration with the guerrillas, the radical sector's realization of the government's unwillingness to bring about social justice to rural areas, and neoliberal encroachment on education created an explosive conflict between the rural normales students and the state. The state's response was heightened surveillance, infiltration, and horrific retaliation as in the disappearance in 2014 of the Ayotzinapa 43, students of the Ayotzinapa normal. The book is thorough, giving the reader a variety of ways to appreciate the importance of the topic—an appendix, notes, maps, and photos. While Unintended Lessons of Revolution is based on an academic study and...

Variation and Use of Relativizers in the Spanish of Medellín, Colombia: A Corpus-Based Study

The study of relativizers in the Spanish language has not been quite explored from a sociolinguistic point of view. A few research papers have analyzed varieties found in Santiago de Chile, Mexico City, Sevilla, and Madrid. Nevertheless, none of them has addressed a Colombian variety in depth. This variationist study aims to fill the gap by reporting the results of a correlational study focused on the use and variation of relativizers in the preseea-Medellín corpus. An anova test, a Games-Howell test, multiple Tukey’s tests, and pairwise comparisons t-tests with Bonferroni correction were run to identify the variables with significant effects (e.g., geographical position, gender, level of education, and social class). Results suggest that, while there is significant diatopic variation in the selection of relativizers, diastratic variables have a minor role in their frequency of use. It was also noted that while the use of the pronoun que tends to spread in all varieties of Spanish, the relative adjectives cuyo and cuanto continue their trend towards disuse. Further studies are necessary to determine if this tendency to simplification is related to psycholinguistic constraints (i.e. mental load) or functional aspects of Spanish. Finally, this study opens the doors to the analysis of relativizers in other varieties of Colombian Spanish from a sociolinguistic perspective.

Talent retention: Onboarding proposal in a manufacturing company in Estado de Mexico

El presente artículo exhibe la problemática de una empresa manufacturera establecida en el Estado de México, la cual exhibe niveles de rotación más altos de lo que proyecta anualmente la gerencia de la empresa, específicamente en el departamento de Operaciones y Calidad. Se realizó un estudio de forma conjunta con la dirección de Recursos Humanos de la organización y con el área de Operaciones y Calidad, para determinar mediante un análisis de Ishikawa la causa y la solución más viable para lograr reducir la rotación del personal que se incorporaba a la empresa. Es importante indicar que algunos datos han sido sintetizados y otros han sido omitidos por razones de confidencialidad de la empresa. En el presente estudio se concluye que un programa de onboarding es lo más factible para lograr disminuir la rotación del nuevo personal que se contrata en el departamento de Operaciones y Calidad.

Long COVID in children and adolescents: COVID-19 follow-up results in third-level pediatric hospital.

In children, the manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the acute phase are considered mild compared with those in adults; however, some children experience a severe disease that requires hospitalization. This study was designed to present the operation and follow-up results of the Post-COVID-19 Detection and Monitoring Sequels Clinic of Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gómez in managing children with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This was a prospective study conducted from July 2020 to December 2021, which included 215 children aged 0-18 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on polymerase chain reaction and/or immunoglobulin G test. The follow-up was conducted in the pulmonology medical consultation; ambulatory and hospitalized patients were assessed at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months. The median age of the patients was 9.02 years, and neurological, endocrinological, pulmonary, oncological, and cardiological comorbidities were the most commonly observed among the patients. Moreover, 32.6% of the children had persistent symptoms at 2 months, 9.3% at 4 months, and 2.3% at 6 months, including dyspnea, dry cough, fatigue, and runny nose; the main acute complications were severe pneumonia, coagulopathy, nosocomial infections, acute renal injury, cardiac dysfunction, and pulmonary fibrosis. The more representative sequelae were alopecia, radiculopathy, perniosis, psoriasis, anxiety, and depression. This study showed that children experience persistent symptoms, such as dyspnea, dry cough, fatigue, and runny nose, although to a lesser extent than adults, with significant clinical improvement 6 months after the acute infection. These results indicate the importance of monitoring children with COVID-19 through face-to-face consultations or telemedicine, with the objective of offering multidisciplinary and individualized care to preserve the health and quality of life of these children.

Impact of mobility restrictions on NO2 concentrations in key Latin American cities during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Between March and June 2020, activity in the major cities of Latin America declined due to containment efforts implemented by local governments to avoid the rapid spread of COVID-19. Our study compared 2020 with the previous year and demonstrated a considerable drop in tropospheric NO2 levels obtained by the SENTINEL 5P satellite in major Latin American cities. Lima (47.5%), Santiago (36.1%), São Paulo (27%), Rio de Janeiro (23%), Quito (18.6%), Bogota (17.5%), Buenos Aires (16.6%), Guayaquil (15.3%), Medellin (14.2%), La Paz (9.5%), Belo Horizonte (7.8%), Mexico (7.6%) and Brasilia (5.9%) registered statistically significant decreases in NO2 concentrations during the study period. In addition, we analyzed mobility data from Google and Apple reports as well as meteorological information from atmospheric reanalysis data along with satellite fields between 2011 and 2020, and performed a refined multivariate analysis (non-negative matrix approximation) to show that this decrease was associated with a reduction in population mobility rather than meteorological factors. Our findings corroborate the argument that confinement scenarios may indicate how air pollutant concentrations can be effectively reduced and managed.

Vocational Education and Training with the Development of Soft Skills in STEM-Oriented Students from a Technological University in Partnership with a Mexican Manufacturing Company

A descriptive, quantitative, non-experimental, transactional study is shown with the purpose of describing soft skills development in STEM-oriented students during their professional practices in the industry, by the Vocational Education System in a Mexican Technological University. The student’s perception is analyzed on the multiple soft skills acquired during their professional practices, the advantages of the Vocational Education System compared to the Traditional Education Model, and the given knowledge to students through the university for the rich performance in company tasks. This research was done in a Mexican Manufacturing Company, where a structured survey was applied in the year 2021 to 81 students from a variety of academic programs of STEM disciplines in a Technological University located in Estado de Mexico. The technique used for data analysis was descriptive, where frequencies and percentages were processed on an Excel program; data was organized in graphs and represented as totals. Results showed that students managed to develop soft skills, on a larger scale teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and communication.

On Lessons from Water Recharge Projects in Mexico: Science-Policy Collaboration and Stakeholder Participation

Analyzing collaborative practices among water governance institutions is key to generating timely information for stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers -as these are rethinking their goals and network structures to find the most productive avenues for collective work. This study draws on existing collaboration theories to characterize and analyze science-policy interactions between researchers, water managers, non-governmental organizations, and consultants who have participated or currently participate in water management and recharge projects in Mexico. We sampled 70 people that had worked or are working on water recharge projects in eight Mexican states in three broad regions: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sonora (northern); Estado de Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Mexico City (central); and Oaxaca (southern). Participants represented research institutions, non-governmental organizations, universities, federal, state, and municipal governments, and consultants. The data were collected using a mixed-methods approach (i.e., semi-structured interviews; online surveys). We identified science-policy interactions between researchers, policymakers, and non-governmental organizations critical to effectively developing and implementing water recharge projects. Our results find that trust and stakeholder participation are the most critical elements for building collaborative relationships. Finding ways to supersede structural challenges and promote science-policy collaboration among sectors and interagency with water management responsibilities will help achieve environmental and policy goals and increase water recharge development across Mexico.

Biodegradación de poliestireno con enterobacterias productoras de lacasa aisladas de un basurero municipal

In this work, the ability to biodegrade two samples of polystyrene (PS) was evaluated: crystal and expanded with three bacterial strains isolated from PS waste collected in the municipal dump of Chimalhuacán, Estado de Mexico. The biodegradation potential of the isolated strains was determined by means of substrate weight loss assays. All three bacterial strains were found to be able to biodegrade both types of PS. The study also aimed to determine if the isolated bacteria produce laccase. This enzyme belongs to the oxidoreductase family and is known to degrade polyethylene. Copper sulfate (CuSO4) was used as the inducer of laccase activity, and an increase in enzyme activity was observed with simultaneous loss of PS weight compared to the control assay without CuSO4. It was concluded that laccase directly participated in the biodegradation of this synthetic polymer. Enterobacter sp. UAMI-C3 proved to be the most efficient strain in the degradation of expanded PS with a weight decrease of 0.85% in 30 days with laccase activity at 9.8 x 10-3 U/mL.