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(1) Background: This work analyzes socioeconomic equity in bike-sharing systems. Specifically, we study the effect of income on bike use in an innovative way by analyzing the frequency of bike routes connecting areas with different mean incomes. (2) Methods: We use Social Network Analysis tools to estimate the probability of connection between two stations depending on income and controlling for other predictors. The method was applied to a bike-sharing system located in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. (3) Results: Stations located in lower-income neighborhoods have a lower probability of generating routes, and stations located in higher-income areas are more likely to be connected to each other. (4) Conclusions: The frequency of bike routes is more influenced by income than other socioeconomic characteristics of the area, such as commercial and leisure use. Since socioeconomic inequities are corroborated by the work, policies for lower-income users should be promoted.

Optical-responsive nanodroplets have recently been studied as a new mode of remotely controlled drug delivery. As a class of new emerging smart drug carriers, NIR-absorber-loaded perfluorocarbon nanodroplets can be converted into gas bubbles through laser stimulation, called optical droplet vaporization (ODV), which provides a potential strategy to deliver therapeutic agents to solid tumors on demand. However, there is a lack of suitable technologies to monitor these drug-loaded nanodroplet behaviors in vivo, and control the site and amount of drug released. In this study, ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging technology were applied to directly monitor optical-responsive, drug-loaded nanodroplets within the tissue. We explored the effects of laser energy, repetition rate, and number of pulses on the release profiles of the delivered drug as well as ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging signal-intensity curves. The conducted studies demonstrated that this noninvasive technology helped determine the optimum time point for laser activation on accumulated drug-loaded nanodroplets within tissues, allowing for the potential to effectively treat pathologies while minimizing drug-related toxicities.

Dietary protein intake is vital to life. Here we sought to characterize dietary sources of protein in eight Latin American countries. Survey data were collected for Estudio Latinoamericano de Nutrición y Salud (ELANS); participants were from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela (n = 9218, 15–65 years old). The primary aim of this analysis was to quantify per-person daily protein consumption by country and sociodemographic factors. Secondary aims: to quantify proportional intake of proteins by source, amount and processing, and to determine the adequacy of protein/essential amino acid intake. Younger groups (adolescents 15–19 years, adults 20–33 years) had the highest intake of proteins; middle-aged adults (34–49 years) had a lower intake, and older adults (50–65 years) had a strikingly lower intake. Protein consumption was higher in men than women. Animal proteins comprised nearly 70% of total daily protein intake in Argentina and Venezuela, contrasting with <60% in Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica. Brazil and Venezuela showed the highest protein intake within the highest education level. The higher the socioeconomic level, the higher the protein intake, except for Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Proportional intake of animal- and plant-based protein generally reflected the food availability by country. This study presents a pre-pandemic regional baseline and offers a perspective for future studies of changes related to government policies, climate, and dietary practices.

A noticeable decrease in seismic noise was registered worldwide during the lockdown measures implemented in 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In Central America, strong lockdown measures started during March of 2020. In this study, we used seismic stations from Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to study the effects of these measures on seismic records by characterizing temporal variations in the high-frequency band (4–14 Hz) via spectral and amplitude analyses. In addition, we studied the link between the reduction in seismic noise and the number of earthquake detections and felt reports in Costa Rica and Guatemala. We found that seismic stations near the capitals of Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador presented a decrease in their typical seismic noise levels, from 200 to 140, from 100 to 80, and from 120 to 80 nm, respectively. Our results showed that the largest reduction of ∼ 50 % in seismic noise was observed at seismic stations near main airports, busy roads, and densely populated cities. In Nicaragua, the seismic noise levels remained constant (∼ 40 nm), as no lockdown measures were applied. We suggest that the decrease in seismic noise levels may have increased earthquake detections and the number of felt reports of low-magnitude earthquakes. However, the variations observed in several seismic parameters before and after the lockdown are not significant enough to easily link our observations or separate them from other contributing factors. Our results imply that the study of seismic noise levels can be useful to verify compliance with lockdown measures and to explore their effects on earthquake detection and felt reports. Solid Earth, 12 (10) ISSN:1869-9510 ISSN:1869-9529

[ES] En el artículo se analiza la participación de hombres afrocaribeños como funcionarios en la estructura burocrática del Estado en la provincia de Limón, Costa Rica, en diferentes cargos locales, con el fin de discutir la relevancia de este fenómeno como un antecedente de la construcción de la ciudadanía de los afrodescendientes en dicha provincia en el período 1880-1924. Esto es relevante dado que la normativa impedía a los extranjeros desempeñarse como funcionarios públicos y, sin embargo, en una sociedad racista como la costarricense, hombres afrodescendientes de origen jamaiquino ocuparon dichos cargos. La investigación procura comprender este fenómeno analizando la legislación de la época que regulaba los puestos públicos estudiados, la participación de esta población en dichos puestos, así como el papel que jugaron sus comunidades en el acceso a dicha institucionalidad. A partir de las fuentes disponibles se concluye, preliminarmente, que la incorporación de hombres afrocaribeños a la función pública en Limón corrió de la mano de un doble mecanismo: los esfuerzos comunales por su contratación, por una parte, y el interés del Estado por contratarles, por otra. También concluye que, si bien la incorporación como funcionarios del Estado no devino automáticamente en la ciudadanía formal, sí abrió espacios para el ejercicio de ciertos derechos destinados, en principio, solamente a los costarricenses. [EN] This article analyzes the participation of Afro-Caribbean men as officials in different local officees within the bureaucratic structure of the State in the Province of Limón, Costa Rica, in order to discuss the relevance of this phenomenon as a background for the construction of citizenship of the afrodescendants in said province, between 1880 and 1924. In a racist society such as that of Costa Rica, this is relevant because afrodescendant men of Jamaican origin held public offices, notwithstanding the regulations that impeded foreigners from occupying these positions. The research seeks to comprehend this phenomenon by analyzing the contemporary legislation that regulated the public positions studied and the participation of the afrodescendant population in these offices, as well as the role their communities played in acquiring access to the institutions. Based on the available sources, a preliminary conclusion is that the incorporation of Afro-Caribbean men into the public service in Limón was due to two mechanisms: on the one hand, their communities’ efforts in favor of their contracts and, on the other, the State’s interest in contracting them. It is also concluded that although their incorporation as officials of the State did not automatically result in formal citizenship, it opened new spaces for their exercise of certain rights that were reserved, in principle, only to Costa Ricans. Este artículo es resultado del proyecto No. 024-B8-207, inscrito en la Escuela de Estudios Generales de la Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), con vigencia del 01 de febrero de 2018 al 01 de febrero de 2020. También tuvo lugar en el proyecto “Mundos conectados: el Caribe, origen del mundo moderno”, bajo la dirección de la profesora Consuelo Naranjo Orovio (Instituto de Historia-CSIC), proyecto que ha recibido fondos del programa de investigación e innovación Horizon 2020 de la Unión Europea en virtud del acuerdo de subvención Marie Sklodowska Curie N.º 823846. Peer reviewed

Conforme continúa la evolución de la pandemia por Covid-19, muchos países inician el proceso de reapertura de escuelas, iglesias y negocios. En un esfuerzo de tamizaje para detectar personas potencialmente infectadas, cada día se les está midiendo la temperatura de la arteria temporal (en la frente) a miles de personas. En este editorial se plantean algunas de las limitaciones principales de este procedimiento como método de tamizaje para Covid-19 y se advierte acerca del peligro de caer en una falsa sensación de seguridad, causada por esa práctica. estrategias de salud pública, conforme las autoridades intentan controlar la propagación de la enfermedad. Mientras tanto, el virus SARS-CoV-2, responsable de la pandemia, ha demostrado ser extremadamente contagioso. Conforme muchos países intentan regresar a su funcionamiento normal, en lo que se ha llamado “una nueva normalidad”, un elemento clave en la prevención del contagio es el tamizaje de personas infectadas.Un método común bastante generalizado de tamizaje consiste en medir la temperatura corporal para detectar la presencia de fiebre. Si bien es cierto que la fiebre no es un síntoma específico o exclusivo de la Covid-19, se considera como un método con buena sensibilidad para esta enfermedad (de Oliveira Neto, de Oliveira Tavares, Schuch, y Lima, 2020). Actualmente se recomienda la medición de la temperatura corporal antes de la admisión en una amplia variedad de contextos de instalaciones sanitarias (Krengli, Ferrara, Mastroleo, Brambilla, y Ricardi, 2020; Rombolà et al., 2020; Sainati y Biffi, 2020); también se observa comúnmente este tipo de tamizaje en los reportajes de televisión, antes de permitir el ingreso de las personas a clínicas, restaurantes, fábricas, oficinas o transporte público. Finalmente, el tamizaje por fiebre es parte de las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud para el manejo de los viajeros enfermos en fronteras internacionales (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). El método preferido para este tamizaje por fiebre pareciera ser la medición de la temperatura de la arteria temporal (temperatura de la frente) con distintos dispositivos infrarrojos, los cuales funcionan sin contacto con la persona y dan una lectura rápida, práctica y razonablemente segura. Sin embargo, aunque cualquier esfuerzo por detectar personas potencialmente enfermas es loable, la precisión, confiabilidad y validez de estas lecturas no se ha evaluado en el campo. En este editorial, mi intención es presentar una revisión breve de algunos principios de fisiología y epidemiología, además de revisar estudios de campo que se han realizado con seres humanos en condiciones de ejercicio, con el propósito de explorar algunas de las limitaciones asociadas con el uso de lecturas de la temperatura temporal (Ttemp) en el campo como método de tamizaje por Covid-19.

La importancia de la cartografía antigua para la planificación ambiental, económica y estratégica de un espacio geográfico es fundamental para entender los patrones espaciales del pasado y para proyectar las decisiones futuras relativas a la planificación del territorio. A partir tanto de la revisión de guías, protocolos y de la literatura técnica y científica, como de la experiencia previa de los autores en proyectos afines, el presente artículo realiza la revisión y sistematización del proceso de digitalización y publicación de cartografía antigua en medios digitales que pueda ser útil para futuros desarrollos de bibliotecas, archivos públicos, acervos privados, universidades u otras instituciones interesadas en desplegar y hacer accesibles sus colecciones cartográficas en formato digital. El presente trabajo ofrece como resultado una guía metodológica para la solución de esta problemática común en las ciencias de la información, la historia y la geografía. The importance of ancient cartography for the environmental economic and strategic planning of a geographical space is fundamental for understanding the spatial patterns of the past in order to project the future decisions relative to the planning of the territory. Based on the research of guides, protocols and the technical and scientific literature as in the previous experience of authors in related projects, this paper realize a revision an systematization of the digitation and publication of old cartography in digital media that can be useful for the development of future library, public archives, universities and other institutions interested in deploying and making accesible their cartographic collections in digital format. The present paper offers as a result a methodological guide to solve this problematic common to information, geography and history sciences.