University of Costa Rica

About: University of Costa Rica is a education organization based out in San José, Costa Rica. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Venom. The organization has 9817 authors who have published 16781 publications receiving 238208 citations. The organization is also known as: UCR & Universidad de Costa Rica.

Behavioral/lifestyle and immunologic factors associated with HPV infection among women older than 45 years.

Abstract: Background: Cervical human papilloma virus (HPV) detection increases after menopause, but its determinants need clarification. Methods: In a case–control study nested within a 10,049 women cohort, we evaluated women 45 to 75 years old who acquired HPV infection and were HPV positive 5 to 6 years after enrollment ( N = 252), and HPV-negative women as matched controls ( N = 265). Detailed sexual behavior and cellular immune response were investigated. Odds ratios (OR) and attributable fractions were estimated. Results: Women with 2+ lifetime partners had 1.7-fold (95% CI = 1.1–2.7) higher risk than monogamous women, with similar findings if their partners had other partners. Women with 2+ partners after last HPV-negative result had the highest risk (OR = 3.9; 95% CI = 1.2–12.4 compared with 0–1 partners). Weaker immune response to HPV-16 virus-like particles increased risk (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.1–2.7 comparing lowest to highest tertile). Among women with no sexual activity in the period before HPV appearance, reduced immune response to phytohemagglutinin was the only determinant (OR = 2.9; 95% CI = 0.94–8.8). Twenty-one percent of infections were explained by recent sexual behavior, 21% by past sexual behavior, and 12% by reduced immune response. Conclusions: New infections among older women may result from sexual activity of women and/or their partners or reappearance of past (latent) infections possibly related to weakened immune response. Impact: HPV infections among older women are associated with current and past sexual exposures and possibly with immune senescence. The risk of cancer from these infections is likely to be low but could not be fully evaluated in the context of this study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 19(12); 3044–54. ©2010 AACR .

The Double Challenge of Market and Social Incorporation: Progress and Bottlenecks in Latin America

Abstract: Has the past decade of sustained economic growth and political transformations reversed Latin America's historical failure to secure market and social incorporation? To address this question this article draws on the experiences of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay by distinguishing between short-term outcomes – which may depend on benign international conditions – and policy changes, which are more important for long-term performance. It highlights the overall success of both Brazil and Uruguay and shows that the other countries have made more progress in terms of social than market incorporation.

Effective confining potentials for QCD

Abstract: We observe that the linear potential used as a leading approximation for describing color confinement in the instant form of dynamics corresponds to a quadratic confining potential in the front form of dynamics. In particular, the instant-form potentials obtained from lattice gauge theory and string models of hadrons agree with the potentials determined from models using front-form dynamics and light-front holography, not only in their shape, but also in their numerical strength.