Texas A&M International University: Research Information Online (RIO)
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The Determination of the Biological and Biochemical Properties of Four Purified Commercial Lectins from the Leguminosae
Get PDFThis study focused on the determination of the biological and biochemical properties of four purified commercial lectins from the Leguminosae. The anti-HIV reverse transcriptase activity of the lectins from Arachis hypogaea, Dolichos biflorus, Erythrina crista-galli, and Glycine max have not yet been reported. In addition, their antifungal, and antibacterial activities against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Chaetomium globosum, Rhizopus stolonifer (+), Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis are not yet known. All of these microorganisms have developed resistance to treatments in the last few years. Consequently, this study characterizes and compares the lectin activities of A. hypogaea, D. biflorus, E. crista-galli, and G. max based on their antimicrobial, blood group specificity, thermal stability, and agglutination activities. Lectin activity was detected and compared via agglutination assays using bovine, horse, rabbit, and sheep erythrocytes. Arachis hypogaea lectin agglutinated bovine, horse, and rabbit erythrocytes. Dolichos biflorus lectin agglutinated sheep erythrocytes only. Erythrina cristagalli and Glycine max lectins agglutinated bovine, rabbit, and sheep erythrocytes. The stability of A. hypogaea, E. cristagalli, and G. max lectins was determined to be affected by temperature and pH. Temperature was determined to impact the ln specific activity at pH 5.2, pH 7.2, and pH 9.2. Time was determined to drastically impact the ln specific activity at 100°C, but not at 0°C and 50°C. The lectins were found to be devoid of antibacterial and antifungal activity against the microorganisms tested. The lectins in this study showed HIV reverse transcriptase inhibition activity. Glycine max lectin had the highest mean inhibition among the lectins tested in this study. The effects of G. max at different concentrations on percent inhibition was compared to Azidothymidine (AZT)
Testing Social Bond Theory on Hispanic Youth
Get PDFHirschi\u27s social bond theory plays a substantial role in the explanation of juvenile delinquency. While social bond theory appears to play an important role in explaining delinquency among Non- Hispanic Whites, research on Hispanic populations is limited. The purpose of this study is to test the validity of social bond theory within the context of delinquency among a sample of Hispanic youth. In this research, self-administered surveys were given to 169 middle school students at United Independent School District (UISD) in Laredo, Texas. Assault, school delinquency, and public disturbance were used as measures of delinquency. Multiple regression analyses were employed to determine the significance of social bond theory in regards to Hispanic youth. Results indicated that for total delinquency, only attachment to parents demonstrated significance. For school delinquency, only school commitment was significant. However, delinquent friends, a control variable, demonstrated consistent statistical significance among all delinquency measures. Findings extend prior research on social bond theory and Hispanic delinquency but suggest that it is premature to conclude that social bond theory can account entirely for Hispanic delinquency. Further research should consider differential association and social learning theories, in addition to assimilation and generational status when testing delinquency among Hispanics
Siempre a la vanguardia, siempre influyente. María Elena Meneses, gran periodista y mejor persona.
No full textRevisión de algunos de los trabajos más representativos de la investigadora María Elena Meneses Rocha
La cobertura noticiosa sobre cambio climático en la agenda informativa de Clarín y La Nación
No full textEl artículo analiza la trayectoria de la cobertura noticiosa del tema cambio climático, tomando como caso de estudio a dos diarios de referencia en Argentina: Clarín y La Nación, durante un periodo de cinco años (2009-2013). Particularmente, interesa observar las olas noticiosas, o periodos en los que se concentra la cobertura periodística del tema, y el contexto en el que ello ocurre. Para concretar el análisis, la investigación recurre tanto a la observación de textos noticiosos como a entrevistas con periodistas de los diarios analizados. Ello, permitió observar que la construcción de la agenda informativa sobre cambio climático se encuentra impulsada por la agenda internacional, que abre “ventanas de oportunidad” para mantener el tema activo en los medios de comunicación
The Effects of Exercise Training Intensities on Changes in Body Composition, Visceral Adipose Tissue, Adiponectin and C-Reactive Protein
Get PDFObesity is currently characterized as a worldwide health pandemic. Despite many efforts to provide the optimal exercise prescription to obese and overweight individuals for maximization of fat loss and decreasing metabolic risks, findings in the literature continue to remain ambiguous. This investigation aimed to examine the effects of low- vs. high-intensity short-term training on body composition and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) under equivalent caloric expenditure in overweight and obese Hispanic adults of Laredo, Texas. Additionally, it aimed to analyze how changes in body composition and VAT affect serum levels of adiponectin and C-reactive protein (CRP),bioactive chemicals utilized in the detection of risk factors associated with obesity. Subjects were assigned to one of three 12-week exercise training programs: 1) No-exercise training (Control), 2) LIET (50% VO2max), and 3) HIET (70% VO2max). Central obesity and body composition were assessed using dual x-ray absorptiometry. Blood serum was analyzed for changes in adiponectin and CRP. A total of 45 Hispanic subjects, mean age: 28.1 ± 6.0 y and an average height of 161.0 ± 4.5 cm, participated in the study. Body mass index (BMI) changes were significant between the control vs. HIET (P \u3c 0.001) and control vs. LIET (P = 0.019) after 12 weeks. Significant changes in %BF were observed in HIET vs. control (P = 0.022); no change was observed in LIET. No significant changes occurred in VAT, fat mass, lean mass, and total mass in all groups. Significant difference was found in adiponectin levels, in LIET vs. control (P = 0.019) and in HIET vs. control (P = 0.026) after 12 weeks. Changes in CRP were absent among all groups. This investigation reveals that physical exercise training, regardless of intensity, achieves reductions in BMI and % BF in the absence of weight loss and VAT reduction and improves cardiorespiratory fitness in obese women. The results do not clarify the influence of intensity on VAT and adiponectin
Emotionality Processing: Bilinguals and Personality
Get PDFThis thesis discusses two studies addressing how bilinguals process different types of emotional/emotional-laden English-Spanish words (positive [kiss-beso] vs. neutral [tool-herramienta] vs. negative [rotten-podrido]) from a Dimensional approach by looking at the two major emotional dimensions of valence (unpleasant to pleasant) and arousal (calm to excited). Study 1 extends Spanish norms to a bilingual population. A rating task for valence and arousal was used in which participants rated how the different word types made them feel on a 1-9 scale (Unhappy: Calm = 1 to Happy: Excited = 9). The results obtained were correlated with the original study suggesting valence is a better predictor of emotion than arousal. In study 2, bilinguals participated in a lexical decision task involving reaction time (RT) as an index of word processing, while completing Personality (NEO-FFI 3), Depression (BDI-II), and Anxiety (STAI) inventories. A two-way mixed linear effects model analysis showed a main effect for valence (positive, neutral, and negative words) and an interaction between Group1/Group2 (clinical vs. nonclinical) x Valence. This analysis showed slower processing of negative stimuli by both groups, while for positive stimuli, the nonclinical group demonstrated a faster processing as opposed to the clinical group (i.e., slower processing). Correlations of interest between the predictor variables such as neuroticism and the clinical groups revealed positive correlations (Group1 r = .62, p ≤ .01; Group2 r = .63, p ≤ .01), while the opposite pattern was seen with extraversion (Group1 r = -.28, p ≤ .01; Group2 r = -.31, p ≤ .01). Lastly, a multivariate multiple regression analysis revealed a marginally significant model in which the different word types were significantly affected by Group1: F(3,62) = 3.05 p ≤ .05, Agreeableness: F(3,62) = 2.71 p ≤ .05, and an interaction of Group1 and Conscientiousness: F(3,62) = 3.46 p ≤ .05. Results are discussed in relation to bilingual cognitive processing models and applications for bilingual counseling
Distorsión de la Realidad en el Proceso de Escritura del Realismo Mágico de Gabriel García Márquez
Get PDFMagical realism, as a movement and narrative style, is widely related to Latin American writers, among whom Gabriel García Márquez is its greatest exponent. The works of the author share several similarities that when analyzed more thoroughly let the reader seeing two worlds, magical realism and the underlying reality that it covers. Making use of situations characteristic of his work, García Márquez manages to give his reader a portrait of human nature. Taking as a starting point some stories present in the anthology La increíble y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y de su abuela desalmada and Del amor y otros demonios, this thesis focuses on the development of the physical environment (specifically the presence of water), The society and the protagonist as elements \u27distorted\u27 in the Colombian narrative that give way to a reading of symbolism and human interaction. While water serves as an omen of magical realism, society presents itself in a \u27collective self\u27 which is influenced by exuberance, the main feature of this narrative style. Through an analysis of the elements mentioned above, there is also a discussion on the solitude of Latin Americans, and the human being in general, a characteristic that becomes evident in front of the collective and the physical environment
El uso estratégico de interacción en la comunicación de los políticos argentinos en Facebook.
No full textLos flujos comunicacionales que discurren en las redes sociales y la derivación en cámaras de eco han comenzado a ser objeto de investigación en los últimos años, en parte por sus consecuencias en la construcción de una esfera pública anclada en valores democráticos. Recientes estudios afirman que la interacción digital origina encuentros con voces que lejos de alentar el debate confirman opiniones preexistentes.Esta investigación estudia el papel que los dirigentes políticos argentinos cumplen en la construcción de cámaras de eco en Facebook a partir del uso estratégico que realizan de las herramientas de interacción que esta red ofrece. Para ello se analizaron los mensajes que Cristina Fernández, Mauricio Macri, Sergio Massa y Daniel Scioli publicaron durante el período noviembre de 2014-noviembre de 2015 en Facebook, la red social en la que más de la mitad de los argentinos tiene una cuenta de perfil activa.Los resultados de este estudio empírico demuestran que los dirigentes incorporan, pero escasamente, las herramientas de interacción propias de Facebook y que, además, el uso que realizan responde a una lógica difusionista antes que conversacional, enmarcada en una comunicación personalista que colabora en la construcción de espacios de interacción cerrados a puntos de vista divergentes
Unrelated Parallel Machine Selection and Job Scheduling with the Objective of Minimizing Total Workload and Machine Fixed Costs
No full textThis paper is concerned with scheduling of a set of n single-operation tasks/orders on a set of m unrelated parallel machines where subcontracting is allowed. When a machine/subcontractor is chosen to do a set of orders/tasks, it incurs a one-time fixed cost. When a job/order is performed by a machine/subcontractor, there is a cost that depends on the machine/subcontractor. The objective is to choose a subset of k machines and/or subcontractors from the set of all m available machines and/or subcontractors to perform all jobs to minimize the sum of total workload costs and total fixed costs. We discuss the complexity of the problem, and prove NP-hardness of the problem. Simplified mathematical development is provided that allows efficient implementation of two-exchange algorithms. An efficient tabu search heuristic with a diversification generation component is developed. An extensive computational experiment of the heuristic for large-scale problems with comparison to the results from CPLEX software is presented. We also solved 40 benchmark k-median problems available on the Internet that have been used by many researchers. Note to Practitioners - To be competitive in the global market, companies must be prudent in the use of their resources. This paper considers a parallel scheduling environment where choosing in-house machines and/or subcontractors as resources to perform the orders/jobs is the main objective. Processing time (or cost) of a job to be performed by different machines or subcontractors can be different. Furthermore, if a machine or a subcontractor is chosen to perform a set of orders, there is a one-time fixed cost (in the case of subcontractor it can be considered transportation cost) that depends on the machine or subcontractor. The scheduling criteria are to choose a subset of k machines and/or subcontractors to do all orders/jobs while minimizing the sum of the total workload and total fixed costs. The complexity of the problem is discussed and shown to be NP-hard. An efficient tabu search that solves large-scale problems in fraction of a second of CPU time is presented and an extensive computational experiment is provided
Keep them on-board! How organizations can develop employee embeddedness to increase employee retention
No full textPurpose: This paper aims to examine how companies can increase employee retention through job embeddedness. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a job embeddedness perspective to explain how different components of job embeddedness-fit, links, and sacrifice can contribute to employee retention. Findings: The authors developed a practical model of employee retention by building job embeddedness into employee recruitment, selection, training, and development processes and provided a variety of easy-to-implement organizational practices. Originality/value: This paper introduced job embeddedness as a new way to increase employee retention and developed a practical model for managers to develop HR practices for retaining their top talent