Abstract: At the beginning of the 20th Century, during the boom of sugar production in Latin America, the Dominican Republic built the “bateyes”, small towns with some coarse barracks used for the temporary housing of foreign workforce, coming mainly from Haiti. These settings gradually became permanent dwelling places, and nowadays are found across the Dominican Republic. However, in spite of their complex history and contemporary particularities, mainly related with the transnational dynamics the population maintains with Haiti, the bateyes have been relatively little studied and remain underrepresented in academic research. This study seeks to contribute to fill the abovementioned void, focusing on the context of formal education. The goal of this study is analyzing the representations of Haiti and Haitians that circulate in some schools of the “bateyes”, with data gathered in public educational institutions that are mainly attended by students of Haitian origin. The focus of the study is particularly relevant since formal schooling is usually a tool of the State and its institutions to reproduce dominant and hegemonic ideologies (Gramsci, 1967; Gramsci, 1971), and such ideologies in the Dominican Republic are strongly based on anti-Haitians sentiments and a mainstream rejection of blackness (Eller, 2016; Gavigan, 1995; Hintzen, 2014; Simmons, 2010; Valdéz, 2015). The thesis presents a critical analysis of the standards and textbooks used in the Social Studies program, focusing on how topics related to Haiti are approached, and which representations and values they embrace. Then, based on ethnographical data, it examines the discourses of ten teachers regarding Haiti and their own students of Haitian descent. With the intention of presenting a general panorama at the representations of Haiti circulating in the school setting of the bateyes, this work first describes how the standards and textbooks of Social Studies largely cast Haiti as a historic enemy and as a burden to the Dominican Republic. Then, the second section explains how the teachers reproduce the dominant ideology of national identity of the Dominican Republic in their schooling practices, and how they express racist and anti-Haitian discourses, with active statements as well as with several silences and omissions in their discursive practices. The tensions, ruptures and incongruences of the teachers are central in this analysis, since according to them the students of Haitian origin do not conform categorically to the mainstream representations of Haitian identity. All the reflections are drawn from a multidisciplinary six-week fieldwork season conducted in 2017 in the municipality of Consuelo, in southern Dominican Republic, (1) to gather the educational standards and textbooks used in Social Studies in the schools, and (2) to conduct interviews with teachers of some educational institutions that have a high attendance of children of Haitian descent. The interviews initially inquired about the teachers’ handling of the schooling materials; their gendered notions on the immigration of people of Haitian origin in the country; and finally, about their views on their own students of Haitian descent. The data was analyzed having as theoretical and methodological framework the premises of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that aims to bring together elements of discourse analysis and social theory to understand, uncover and ultimately transform situations of social injustice (c.f. Van Dijk, 1993).

Resumen: El presente trabajo valora que la vida humana que se prolonga en la calle bogotana produce lógicas socioespaciales relacionadas al hábitat y al habitar. Lógicas que se traducen en formas de uso, ocupación, organización, y percepción de los entornos espaciales en los que nos desarrollamos en nuestro diario vivir. En este sentido, la investigación demuestra que estas lógicas componen una racionalidad y organización específicas del suelo urbano de la ciudad y de sus habitantes. Para identificar las lógicas socioespaciales detrás del hábitat callejero conduje un estudio de caso de la práctica entre algunos barrios de la localidad Santa Fe, en los cuales, desarrollé una observación participante durante 3 años, recopilé 3 historias de vida de callejeros y apliqué entrevistas semiestructuradas en 13 fechas. La articulación de estos datos cualitativos con un análisis de fuentes sobre la estructura habitacional de Bogotá y sobre la atención a los habitantes de calle, me permitió argumentar que existen dos visiones del hábitat en el espacio bogotano que se encuentran enfrentadas. El documento evidencia tal confrontación, la hace explícita para problematizar los lugares de habitación callejeros, su sentido de lugar y su representación como no-lugares a partir de la percepción del hábitat derivada de la institucionalidad. Abstract: The following document assesses that a prolonged human life on Bogota’s street produce socio-spatial logics related to an habitat and a dwelling experience. These logics expresses different ways in which homeless people use, organize, occupy, and perceive the spatial environments where we conduct and develop our lives everyday. In this way, the research demonstrate that the socio-spatial logics of Bogota’s street habitat compose a specific rationality and organization of urban land and its habitants. For the purpose of identify the socio-spatial logics behind street’s habitat I conducted a case study of the practice among some neighbourhoods at Santa Fe locality. There, during 3 years I developed a participant observation, collect 3 life-histories of homeless citizens and conducted semi-structured interviews in 13 dates. The articulation between qualitative data and source analysis related to Bogota’s habitat structure and homeless services, allowed me to state that there are two confronted habitat positions at local urban space. This document gives evidence of that confrontation, makes it explicit, aiming to provide a critical analysis about homeless dwelling places and their sense of place, as well as their representation like non-places from the habitat perception derived of establishment.

Abstract: Biocompatible and biodegradable polymers represent the future in the manufacturing of medical implantable solutions. As of today, these are generally manufactured with metallic components which cannot be naturally absorbed within the human body. This requires performing an additional surgical procedure to remove the remnants after complete rehabilitation or to leave the devices in situ indefinitely. Nevertheless, the biomaterials used for this purpose must satisfy well-defined mechanical requirements. These are difficult to ascertain at the design phase since they depend not only on their physicochemical properties but also on the specific manufacturing methods used for the target application. Therefore, this research was focused on establishing the effects of the manufacturing methods on both the mechanical properties and the thermal behavior of a medical-grade copolymer blend. Specifically, Injection and Compression Molding were considered. A Poly(L-lactide-co-D,L-lactide)/Poly(L-lactide-co-#-caprolactone) blend was considered for this investigation, with a ratio of 50/50 (w/w), aimed at the manufacturing of implantable devices for tendon repair. Interesting results were obtained.

Abstract: Three-dimensional printing (3D) is an additive manufacturing technology based on material deposition layer by layer for 3D object construction. Every year, 3D Printing offers more alternatives and solutions in the healthcare field. Nowadays, applications such as 3D Printing labs in hospitals, low-cost patient-specific prosthetics, customized medical implants and manufacture of anatomical models with high dimensional accuracy are the most immediate emerging trends. Indeed, 3D Printing application is the convergence of multiple factors, including improvements in medical software, 3D printers evolution and new printing materials. In particular, anatomical models manufacturing is becoming increasingly popular and accessible due to its application in medical training and pre-operative planning. Anatomical models manufacturing is based on several data acquisition techniques such as computed tomography (CT), optical coherence tomography (OCT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or 3D solid modeling through computer-aided-design (CAD) and anatomical structures 3D scanning. The Shirley Ryan Abilitylab research hospital has a full-color multi-material 3D printer Stratasys J750™. It uses Photopolymer jetting (Polyjet™ technology) for manufacture of highly realistic and functional 3D models in a wide range of colors and materials with variable durometers. Materials and methods: Polygonal mesh files (*.hm) corresponding to a finite elements (FE) model of the right knee joint reported by Dhaher et al. 2014 were the basis of this study. The 3D model included femur, tibia, patella, fibula, ligaments, articular cartilage, menisci, retinacula, patella and quadriceps tendons (PT-QT). Three anatomical models were projected and printed achieving the following objectives. (1) 3D model improvement of the right knee joint emulating the hierarchical structure of the collagen fibers matrix of the tendons and ligaments. (2) Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) model manufacturing using a bone-patellar-tendon-bone (BPTB) auto-graft and pre-operative planning to improve surgery outcomes, incorporating key surgical elements, such as orientation-architecture of the femoral and tibial tunnels and auto-graft dimensions reported by Dhaher et al. 2014. The surgical planning considers single bundle (SB) reconstruction and includes a customized surgical guide (SG) based on PT anatomy (it used in the graft harvest). The SG requirements followed the indications reported by Wang et al. 2017 with the aim to avoid graft tunnel length mismatch. (3) Total knee replacement (TKR) model manufacturing considering a cruciate sacrificing (CS) implant with customized design of symmetric tibial bearing, adjustment and assembly of standard prosthetic components in the improved 3D model emulating a TKR procedure. The selection process and printing materials matching with anatomical structures was based on stiffness and elastic modulus analysis of different Agilus30 printing material combinations. Mechanical uni-axial tensile tests were conducted in Northwestern University Kaiser Lab using an Instron S3300, Canton, MA Uniaxial Testing Instrument following ASTM test designation D412-C. The combinations No 1-4 were the most similar to real materials with elastic modulus of 1.8-0.7 and Pearson coefficients of the linear region of 0.980-0.991 respectively.

Abstract: Different mechanical properties characterise the materials of 3D printed components, depending on the specific additive manufacturing (AM) process, its parameters, and the posttreatment adopted. Specifically, stereolithography (SLA) uses a photopolymerisation technique that creates solid components through selective solidification. In this study, 72 specimens were 3D printed using 12 commercial-grade methacrylate resins and tested under uniaxial tensile loads. The resin specimens were evaluated before and after curing. The recommended cure temperature and time were followed for all materials. The stress-strain curves measured during the testing campaign were evaluated in terms of maximum tensile strength, Young’s modulus, ductility, resilience, and toughness. The results reveal that the curing process increases the material stiffness and resistance to tensile loads. However, it was found that the curing process generally reduces the plasticity of the resins, causing a more or less marked brittle behaviour. This represents a potential limitation to the use of SLA 3D printing for structural elements which require some plasticity to avoid dangerous sudden failures.

Abstract: Introgression has been proposed as an essential source of adaptive genetic variation. However, a key barrier to adaptive introgression is that recombination can break down combinations of alleles that underpin many traits. This barrier might be overcome in supergene regions, where suppressed recombination leads to joint inheritance across many loci. Here, we study the evolution of a large supergene region that determines a major social and ecological trait in Solenopsis fire ants: whether colonies have one queen or multiple queens. Using coalescent-based phylogenies built from the genomes of 365 haploid fire ant males, we show that the supergene variant responsible for multiple-queen colonies evolved in one species and repeatedly spread to other species through introgressive hybridization. This finding highlights how supergene architecture can enable a complex adaptive phenotype to recurrently permeate species boundaries.

Abstract: Seasonal influenza is an infectious disease of multi-causal etiology and a major cause of mortality worldwide that has been associated with environmental factors. In the attempt to model and predict future outbreaks of seasonal influenza with multiple environmental factors, we face the challenge of increased dimensionality that makes the models more complex and unstable. In this paper, we propose a nowcasting and forecasting framework that compares the theoretical approaches of Single Environmental Factor and Multiple Environmental Factors. We introduce seven solutions to minimize the weaknesses associated with the increased dimensionality when predicting seasonal influenza activity levels using multiple environmental factors as external proxies. Our work provides evidence that using dimensionality reduction techniques as a strategy to combine multiple datasets improves seasonal influenza forecasting without the penalization of increased dimensionality.

Abstract: Objective: Determine the population prevalence and trends of cleft lip and / or palate (CL/P) by department for Colombia in the period 2009 - 2015. Methods: Prevalence study based on Individual Registry of Health Services in general population from 2009 to 2015. All people diagnosed with CL/P were included for all ages, type of diagnosis and any type of health services in the mentioned period. The prevalence rate was calculated by period and point for each year, for each department and according to the type of cleft. Stationarity on time series was evaluated using (Dickey-Fuller) and (Phillips-Perron), the trends and prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson regression. Results: 15,225 people with CL/P were identified, where 53.3% were men. The national period prevalence of CL/P is 3.37 per 10 000 (IC95%: 3.3-3.4) with upward trend (PR = 1.34 95% CI: 1.0 - 1.8 p = 0.05) and non-stationary behavior. The national period prevalence of CL is 0.93 per 10 000, CP 1.17 per 10 000 and CLP 1.26 per 10 000, where CLP is sub classify into CLPu (0.83 per 10 000), and CLPb (0.43 per 10 000). At the departmental level, the highest CL/P prevalence is Guaviare (11.2 95% CI: 8.6 – 14.2), followed by Guainía (8.4 95% CI:5.4 – 12.2) and the lowest Quindío (0.49 95% CI: 0.3 – 0.7) Conclusions: In Colombia, the national period prevalence of CL/P is 3.37 per 10 000 with upward trend at national level indicates an increase on prevalence from 2009 to 2015.

Abstract: Objective: To analyze the population prevalence and birth prevalence of oral clefts in Colombia from 2009 to 2017. Methods: A cross-sectional study using information from the National Administrative Records of Colombia. The data came from 2 types of administrative records (Surveillance System and the Individual Registry of Service Provision) and the oral health national survey. Population prevalence and birth prevalence by type of cleft lip and/or cleft (CL/P) ratios were calculated using Poisson distribution for count data and to assess stationary tests on time series (Dickey-Fuller) and (Phillips-Perron) was used. Results: Population prevalence in Colombia was 3.27 per 10 000 inhabitants (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.21-3.32) and birth prevalence was 6.0 per 10 000 live births (95% CI, 5.67-6.35). Bogot´a have the highest population prevalence with CL/P. In the analysis of trends for the prevalence proportion by type of clefts in newborn babies with cleft, it was observed that the highest proportion was for babies with CLP. Cleft lip (CL) has increased from 17.4% in 2014 to 34.2% in 2017, cleft palate (CP) has decreased from 32.9% to 20.2%; and CLP changed from 49.6% to 45.5% in the same period. Conclusions: The population prevalence was 3.27 per 10 000 inhabitants. Births prevalence was 6.0 per 10 000 live births, and Orinoquia and Amazonia have higher rates than the national average. The administrative registers are adequate systems to know the behavior of oral clefts. The CL/P had a nonstationary trend during the period 2014 to 2017.

Abstract: Background: Seasonal Influenza is considered to be a cyclic and ordered sequence of values, influenced by external factors that can be predicted and used to detect disease outbreaks and monitoring. In machine learning, the key challenges that limit these analyses are in model explainability and limitations associated with ecological bias. Aim: Determine the best environmental variable selection method to predict Seasonal Influenza in Norway, using an environmental medicine approach combined with machine learning techniques. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study that compares three approaches (non-variable selection, isolate component, and multipollutant mixture), represented in five methods (univariable, bivariable, multivariable AME, multivariable PCA, multivariable LDA). Per method, the best co-variable combination will be performed, following the internal rules of each method. The best covariable combination is the result of three components: variable selection, validation data set and lag. The first one involves 13 environmental variables (temperature, relative humidity, specific humidity, air pressure, wind speed, precipitation, CO, NO, NO2, O3, PM10, PM2,5 and SO2); second one compares a test dataset compiled from the data from 2019, last year (2018) and a synthetic environmental (avg. 2013-2018) data set in the validation process; and the third one compares a combination of lag from 0 to 12. All the predictions are made using ARIMA algorithm. The evaluation is given in terms of MAE, MSE, RMSE, OR. The training set is from 2 Jun 2013 (week 22/2013) to 28 May 2018 (week 21/2018), and test set is from (week 22/2018) to (week 21/2019) with a window of predictions of 52 weeks. Results: The increment of dimensionality in the environmental variable selection introduce different noise levels and optimize the prediction. Considerations that impact the explainability, usability, ecological bias and performance will be described. Conclusion: The increment of dimensionality in the variable selection has a better impact on performance than using complex algorithms.