Publications by authors named "Maria Pia Martin"
Objective: Analyze health preparedness policies in Chile and identify their strengths and weaknesses. No other studies to date provide an analysis of the country's preparedness policies.
Methods: A desk review and semi-structured interviews with experts in emergency preparedness and response were conducted to identify the regulatory framework, key actors, and the strengths and weaknesses of health preparedness policies.
Article Synopsis
- - Dietary changes in mammals, particularly those rich in sugar from fruits and nectar, may have led to genetic mutations that enhance the ability to metabolize ethanol through the ADH class 4 enzyme.
- - A comprehensive analysis of gene sequence variations across 171 mammal species, including 59 newly sequenced, reveals significant genetic diversity, especially in fruit-eating and nectar-feeding bats, which could potentially affect enzyme function.
- - Despite this diversity, the study finds no strong evidence linking dietary habits to the specific gene function or presence of key mutations, indicating that the evolution of this enzyme is influenced by multiple complex factors.
Ecological flexibility, extended lifespans, and large brains have long intrigued evolutionary biologists, and comparative genomics offers an efficient and effective tool for generating new insights into the evolution of such traits. Studies of capuchin monkeys are particularly well situated to shed light on the selective pressures and genetic underpinnings of local adaptation to diverse habitats, longevity, and brain development. Distributed widely across Central and South America, they are inventive and extractive foragers, known for their sensorimotor intelligence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe academic and professional relationship between Community Psychology and public policy is increasing, especially as pertaining to social issues. An important discussion is to be had regarding the complexity, degrees of complementarity, and contributions of this link, as well as its risks for the discipline of Community Psychology. In this context, this study asks the following question: What are the dynamics of public policy formulation for extreme poverty in Chile and its effect on the technical definition of the psychologists' work, and what alternatives this opens up for a discussion on the relationship between Community Psychology and public policies? A qualitative and idiographic methodological approach is used, based on Grounded Theory by Strauss & Corbin (2002) and the Case Study by Coller (2000), to analyze semistructured interviews with 10 policymakers of the Chile Seguridades y Oportunidades policy and nine legislative and technical documents that support this policy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSEROSURVEY OF SELECTED ARBOVIRAL PATHOGENS IN FREE-RANGING, TWO-TOED SLOTHS (CHOLOEPUS HOFFMANNI) AND THREE-TOED SLOTHS (BRADYPUS VARIEGATUS) IN COSTA RICA, 2005-07.
J Wildl Dis
October 2016
Article Synopsis
- Researchers examined blood samples from Hoffman's two-toed and brown-throated sloths in Costa Rica to check for antibodies to 16 different arboviruses over a three-year period.
- They found that a significant percentage of sloths had antibodies, especially for St. Louis encephalitis and Ilheus viruses, but no antibodies were detected for eight other viruses tested.
- The study suggests that the presence of antibodies could affect land management and domestic animal health, but it's unclear if sloths act as hosts for these viruses or just indicators of exposure, indicating the need for further research.