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Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the main cause of death in Venezuela, and hypertension is the principal risk factor. The May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign is a global initiative aimed to raising awareness of hypertension, which has been conducted in Venezuela since 2017. May Measurement Month 2021 included 46 732 participants with a mean age of 56.4 years (SD 14.4), 57.9% of whom were female. The percentage with hypertension was 60.3% (57.9% of females and 63.7% of males), 82.3% (84.8% of females and 79.2% of males) were aware, and 80.2% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on antihypertensive medication, 44.2% (41.2% of females and 48.2% of males) were not controlled [blood pressure (BP) ≥ 140/≥90 mmHg], with 61.3% receiving one drug, 30.0% two drugs, and 8.7% three or more drugs. 87.5% of those on treatment reported taking it regularly. Conditions associated with higher BP levels include fewer years of education, having a previous diagnosis of hypertension, and women who were hypertensive during a previous pregnancy. Physical activity and pregnancy were conditions associated with lower BP levels. A previous positive COVID-19 test was reported in 11.1%, and one or more COVID-19 vaccinations reported in 22.7% of participants. Of those on antihypertensive medication, 78.8% reported their treatment was not affected by COVID-19. Results are consistent with previous MMM campaigns and indicate that the screening campaign is feasible and useful to identify hypertension even in exceptional conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Racialized, deficit-oriented educational practices and inadequate safe spaces for youth undermine Communities of Color. We discuss our after-school program's framework, strategies, activities, and partnerships with community stakeholders, demonstrating that a collaborative, culturally responsive, strengths-based approach to mitigate trauma and enhance health and educational opportunities is essential for empowering Chicana/o/Latina/o youth and families.

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Fungal infections have become a significant public health concern due to their increasing recurrence and harmful effects on plants, animals, and humans. Opportunistic pathogens (among others from the genera Candida and Aspergillus) can be present in indoor air, becoming a risk for people with suppressed immune systems. Engineered nanomaterials are novel alternatives to traditional antifungal therapy. In this work, copper(I) iodide (CuI) and a copper-doped titanium dioxide-copper(I) iodide (TiO2-Cu2+/CuI) composite nanomaterials (NMs)-were synthesized and tested as antifungal agents. The materials were synthesized using sol-gel (TiO2-Cu2+) and co-precipitation (CuI) techniques. The resulting colloids were evaluated as antifungal agents against Candida parapsilosis and Aspergillus niger strains. The NMs were characterized by XRD, HRTEM, AFM, and DLS to evaluate their physicochemical properties. The NMs present a high size dispersion and different geometrical shapes of agglomerates. The antifungal capacity of the NMs by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) was below 15 µg/mL against Candida parapsilosis and below 600 µg/mL against Aspergillus niger for both NMs. Holotomography microscopy showed that the NMs could penetrate cell membranes causing cell death through its rupture and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Cytotoxicity tests showed that NMs could be safe to use at low concentrations. The synthesized nanomaterials could be potential antifungal agents for biomedical or environmental applications.

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We report on the synthesis and characterization of V2O5 nanoparticles grown using a sol-gel method at different calcination temperatures. We observed a surprising reduction in the optical band gap from 2.20 to 1.18 eV with increasing calcination temperature from 400 to 500 °C. Raman and X-Ray diffraction measurements indicated slight changes in the lattice parameters induced by the growth process. However, density functional theory calculations of the Rietveld-refined and pristine structures revealed that the observed optical gap reduction could not be explained by structural changes alone. By introducing oxygen vacancies to the refined structures, we could reproduce the reduction of the band gap. Our calculations also showed that the inclusion of oxygen vacancies at the vanadyl position creates a spin-polarized interband state that reduces the electronic band gap and promotes a magnetic response due to unpaired electrons. This prediction was confirmed by our magnetometry measurements, which exhibited a ferromagnetic-like behavior. Our findings suggest that oxygen vacancies play a crucial role in band gap reduction and the promotion of a ferromagnetic-like response in an otherwise paramagnetic material. This provides a promising route to engineer novel devices.

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Entre las figuras cimeras de la microbiología en Cuba, se encuentra el Dr. Juan Nicolás Dávalos y Betancourt, conocido en su época como "el sabio que sueña con las bacterias", quien fue el primer médico cubano, dedicado a tiempo completo a la práctica de esta ciencia, en específico a la bacteriología. A pesar de esto, su vida y su obra no están suficientemente difundidas, por lo que este trabajo tiene como objetivo dar a conocer su legado, en un contexto histórico, social y científico, para que se conocido y valorado por las actuales y futuras generaciones de microbiólogos cubanos. Se realizó una investigación biográfica y se adicionan testimonios gráficos. La figura del Dr. Juan Nicolás Dávalos es destacada, no solo para la microbiología, como también para la ciencia en Cuba.

Among the leading figures of microbiology in Cuba, is Dr. Juan Nicolás Dávalos y Betancourt, known in his time as "the wise man who dreams of bacteria", who was the first Cuban doctor dedicated full-time to the practice of this science, specifically bacteriology. Despite this, his life and his work are not sufficiently disseminated, so this work aims to make his legacy known, in a historical, social and scientific context, so that it is known and valued by current and future generations. of Cuban microbiologists. A biographical investigation was carried out and graphic testimonies are added. Dr. Juan Nicolás Dávalos is outstanding, not only for microbiology, but also for science in Cuba.

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The treatment of corneal lesions continues to be a topic of great interest. However, despite the development of new technologies and due to the slow evolution and uncertain healing of corneal lesions, they still represent a public health problem since patients can be affected for life, affecting the family and the health system due to the costly and uncertain response to treatment. For this reason, the need arises to seek therapeutic alternatives to treat these patients.

El tratamiento de lesiones corneales sigue siendo un tema de gran interés. Pese al desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías y debido a la evolución lenta, e incierta cicatrización que tienen las lesiones corneales, estas todavía representan un problema de salud pública, ya que los pacientes pueden verse afectados de por vida afectando a la familia y al sistema de salud por lo costoso e incierta respuesta al tratamiento. Por esta razón, surge la necesidad de buscar alternativas terapéuticas para tratar a estos pacientes.

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This paper introduces a new method of compressing digital images by using the Difference Transform applied in medical imaging. The Difference Transform algorithm performs the decorrelation process of image data, and in this way improves the encoding process, achieving a file with a smaller size than the original. The proposed method proves to be competitive and in many cases better than the standards used for medical images such as TIFF or PNG. In addition, the Difference Transform can replace other transforms like Cosine or Wavelet.

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Since their discovery, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been extensively studied to understand their function, as well as the consequence of alterations leading to disease states. Importantly, these receptors represent pharmacological targets to treat a number of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Nevertheless, their therapeutic value has been limited by the absence of high-resolution structures that allow for the design of more specific and effective drugs. This article offers a comprehensive review of five decades of research pursuing high-resolution structures of nAChRs. We provide a historical perspective, from initial structural studies to the most recent X-ray and cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) nAChR structures. We also discuss the most relevant structural features that emerged from these studies, as well as perspectives in the field.

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Spin-current generation by electrical means is among the core phenomena driving the field of spintronics. Using ab initio calculations we show that a room-temperature metallic collinear antiferromagnet RuO_{2} allows for highly efficient spin-current generation, arising from anisotropically spin-split bands with conserved up and down spins along the Néel vector axis. The zero net moment antiferromagnet acts as an electrical spin splitter with a 34° propagation angle between spin-up and spin-down currents. The corresponding spin conductivity is a factor of 3 larger than the record value from a survey of 20 000 nonmagnetic spin-Hall materials. We propose a versatile spin-splitter-torque concept circumventing limitations of spin-transfer and spin-orbit torques in present magnetic memory devices.

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Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in Venezuela. Raised blood pressure (BP) accompanied by diabetes mellitus, obesity, lipid abnormalities, and tobacco usage are the biggest contributors to mortality. The May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign is a global initiative aimed to raising awareness of hypertension, which has been conducted in Venezuela since 2017. MMM2019 included 24 672 subjects (mean age: 54.7 years, SD 25.2, 63.1% female). The proportion with hypertension was 48.9%; 14.3% were unknown hypertensives, 35.5% of those who receiving treatment had uncontrolled hypertension (systolic BP ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg); when considering all hypertensives, 53.3% were controlled. Sixty per cent of those on anti-hypertensive medication were on monotherapy, 27.7% were on two, and 7.7% were on three or more drugs. Body mass index, calculated for the total population, was on average 25.6 (SD: 4.8) kg/m2. 16.2% of participants were classified as obese, 34.0% as overweight, and 4.0% were classified as underweight. Diabetes mellitus was reported by 9.4%, smoking by 7.3%, and 10.5% reported drinking alcohol regularly. Conditions associated with higher BP levels were obesity, diabetes mellitus, and women with a history of hypertension during a previous pregnancy. These results are consistent with the two previous MMM campaigns and indicate that repeated screening can routinely identify hypertension. There is an urgent need for Venezuela to implement programmes of detection, treatment, and control not only for hypertension but also for other common cardiovascular risk factors.

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En estos meses de pandemia por la COVID-19, provocada por la diseminación del nuevo coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, he tenido la oportunidad y el placer de revisar artículos enviados para su posible publicación en la Revista Cubana de Medicina Militar. Esta revista, gana cada vez más espacio entre los autores nacionales y también de otras latitudes, sobre todo de países latinoamericanos. El espectro de temas tratados, también se ha ampliado significativamente, de manera que en cada número, el lector puede actualizarse en diferentes materias. Renglón aparte merecen los cada vez más frecuentes trabajos realizados sobre la COVID-19 y las inestimables experiencias acumuladas por el personal médico, incluido el de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, que deben servir de guía práctica para el enfrentamiento a esta enfermedad. Después de haber revisado más de un centenar de artículos, me he percatado, que a pesar de que la revista orienta una serie de instrucciones que los autores deben cumplir, una buena parte de los trabajos, presentan importantes deficiencias formales, aunque desde el punto de vista científico pudieran resultar valiosos. A mi modo de ver, parece haber dos factores causantes: premura por realizar el envío por parte del autor, que hace obviar detalles importantes, y falta de enmienda oportuna, que evite errores. Un trabajo científico, debe tener dos atributos: valor científico y un texto, escrito de forma tal que sea capaz de llevar al lector a reconocerlo como tal. La redacción del texto es un elemento vital. Esta no incluye solo elementos tan primarios como la ortografía y los signos de puntuación. Tiene que exponer las ideas de forma que se entiendan, con un lenguaje científico, no coloquial como a veces ocurre. El autor no escribe "para él", sino para la comunidad científica, destinataria de su artículo. La revista, en su página web, instruye a los autores en la confección del trabajo, pero hay detalles que a veces pasan por alto y que el revisor señala. Patología no es lo mismo que enfermedad, severo no es igual que grave, ni injuria es herida o daño a un tejido. Se exponen unas pautas que pudieran ser de ayuda a los autores, a la hora de escribir el fruto de su investigación. Título: conciso, no sobrepasar aproximadamente 15 palabras. No poner punto final a ningún título o subtítulo. Resumen: estructurar de acuerdo con el tipo de artículo. Los objetivos tienen que quedar bien definidos, evitar el uso de siglas o acrónimos y no puede exceder de 250 palabras. Palabras clave: como mínimo tres términos o frases, separados mediante punto y coma. Es importante considerar que esta será una de las formas para indexar y localizar al artículo, lo cual contribuye a su visibilidad. La introducción tiene que situar al lector en los elementos que sirven de génesis a la investigación. Los métodos, entre otras cosas, deben definir qué tipo de investigación es. Los resultados, si se expresan mediante tablas (no cuadros) y figuras (no gráficos) deben estar numerados y titulados. El título de la tabla debe estar sobre esta, mientras que el de la figura debe ir al pie, o sea, debajo. En las tablas no usar las abreviaturas No, no. como número, que crean confusión, poner n. La discusión no puede ser una repetición de los resultados. Las conclusiones tienen que responder el objetivo planteado. También es importante la extensión del artículo, la cual está limitada por las normas editoriales según el tipo de artículo (incluye todo el contenido). Ejemplos: presentaciones de casos, 2000 palabras; artículos de investigación, 4500; revisiones bibliográficas, 6000. Se recomienda que los nombres de autores que se mencionan en el texto, se escriban en letra cursiva, al igual que los textos en otro idioma. De igual modo, los microorganismos, cuya nomenclatura es binomial: género (mayúscula) y especie (minúscula); ejemplo: Escherichia coli. Las acotaciones (citas) se colocarán en números arábigos, en superíndice, entre paréntesis y después del signo de puntuación, sin espacio desde el carácter precedente: Ejemplo:(1) Cuando son varias citas consecutivas, se escriben todas (ejemplo:(1,2,3,4)), separadas por comas. No deben ser más de 5 - 6 referencias por acotación, por lo cual deben seleccionarse las fundamentales. Se recomienda usar coma para los números decimales en el texto en español (23,6), dejar siempre un espacio entre el número y el signo que le sucede. (17 por ciento). Debe usarse correctamente el gerundio. Otra de las grandes dificultades de los autores es con la forma de presentar las referencias bibliográficas. Se deben seguir las instrucciones que da la revista para este acápite, que están en consonancia con lo establecido por el Comité Internacional de Editores de Revistas Médicas, las llamadas normas de Vancouver. Las citas se enumeran en orden consecutivo según el orden de citación en el desarrollo de todo el trabajo. En el listado no se usan viñetas, serán enumeradas manualmente. No se puede utilizar la opción de "lista numérica" automática del editor de texto. En la era digital, se deben proporcionar las direcciones URL para las referencias, siempre que sea posible, lo cual aparece como requisito en la lista de chequeo que debe marcar el autor que realiza el envío. Ejemplo: 16. Hanley B, Lucas SB, Youd E, Swift B, Osborn M. Autopsy in suspected COVID-19 cases. J Clin Pathol. 2020 (acceso: 15/06/2020(; 73(5):239-42. Disponible en: https://jcp.bmj.com/content/73/5/239.full Por último, se considera útil recordar a los autores que escriben artículos sobre la pandemia, que el nombre correcto del agente etiológico, el nuevo coronavirus, es el SARS-CoV-2 y la enfermedad que provoca es la COVID-19 (en femenino). La prueba diagnóstica, conocida como RT-PCR, en inglés significa reverse transcriptase-polimerase chain reaction (reacción en cadena de la polimerasa- transcriptasa inversa). Sin entrar en disquisiciones técnicas, lo común es que RT se traduzca por "real time" (en tiempo real), aunque hay criterios de que ambos términos no son lo mismo. Lo importante es que cuando se hable de la prueba, se escoja uno de los dos, porque ambos no deben ponerse a la vez. Espero que estas consideraciones sean de alguna utilidad y ayuden a que los artículos publicados gocen de la calidad que demanda y tiene la revista(AU)

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For a long time, traditional purification and extraction methods for the native Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in lipid-like detergent complex (nAChR-DC) have compromised its purity, functionality and X-ray structural studies possibility. The dataset presented in this article provide a characterization of the Torpedo californica nAChR-DC purified using a sequential purification processes developed in our laboratory [1]. This purification takes in consideration all of the physicochemical and functional requirements stablished by several researchers for the past three decades for the nAChR. These requirements were addressed in order to preserve the stability and functionality of nAChR-DC while ensuring the highest degree of protein purity. We focused on the effect of cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHS) supplementation on nAChR conformational changes during the purification process. Data from the size exclusion chromatography of the nAChR-DC supplemented with CHS in concentrations ranging from 0.01 mM, 0.1 mM, 0.2 mM and 0.5 mM consistently demonstrated that 0.5 mM CHS affects receptor stability via disassemble of the pentameric oligomer. However, 0.2 mM CHS produced negligible nAChR-DC subunit disruption. The purified nAChR-DC has been characterized by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), in order to assess its stability. The CD data was recorded in the wavelength range of 190-250 nm, showed that CHS induce a ⍺-helix to ß-sheet transition of the nAChR-DC. The nAChR-LFC-16 delipidation with Methyl-ß-Cyclodextrin decreased the percentage of α-helix and increased the ß-sheet antiparallel secondary structure and levels the percentage of turns to that of the nAChR-DC without CHS treatment. Additionally, the stability of the nAChR-DC supplemented with CHS and incorporated into lipid cubic phase (LCP) was monitored for a period of 30 days by means of FRAP. The LCP-FRAP data allowed to establish possible optimal crystallization conditions for the development of crystals from purified nAChR-conjugated to α-Bungarotoxin, Alexa Fluor ™ 488 (α-BTX) in order to obtain a high-resolution atomic structure by X-ray diffraction.

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Cardiovascular diseases, mainly coronary heart disease and stroke, are the main cause of death in Venezuela; hypertension is the primary risk factor. The May Measurement Month (MMM) study is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of elevated blood pressure (BP). The previous MMM 2017 campaign showed 48.9% of participants had hypertension, higher than previous Venezuelan epidemiological studies. The MMM 2018 campaign included 28 649 participants screened [mean age: 54.2 (SD 15.13) years; female 62.8%] carried out mainly in pharmacies in 61 sites. Physical measurements included height, weight, and BP, taken in sitting position three times. After multiple imputations, 48.4% had hypertension, of which 87.7% were aware of their diagnosis. Of the individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 14.0% had hypertension and 33.7% of those receiving treatment had uncontrolled hypertension. Overall, the percentage of hypertensives with controlled hypertension was 54.8%. Body mass index was calculated for the total population, and it was on average 25.2 (SD: 4.65) kg/m2. Of all, 14.2% was classified as obese and 32.6% as overweight; meanwhile 4.8% as underweight. Diabetes was reported by 9.5%. These results suggest that repeated screening like the MMM campaign can routinely identify hypertension and consequently implement programmes of treatment in Venezuela, also other common risk factors, like obesity or diabetes.

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Over the past 10 years we have been developing a multi-attribute analytical platform that allows for the preparation of milligram amounts of functional, high-pure, and stable Torpedo (muscle-type) nAChR detergent complexes for crystallization purpose. In the present work, we have been able to significantly improve and optimize the purity and yield of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in detergent complexes (nAChR-DC) without compromising stability and functionality. We implemented new methods in the process, such as analysis and rapid production of samples for future crystallization preparations. Native nAChR was extracted from the electric organ of Torpedo californica using the lipid-like detergent LysoFos Choline 16 (LFC-16), followed by three consecutive steps of chromatography purification. We evaluated the effect of cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHS) supplementation during the affinity purification steps of nAChR-LFC-16 in terms of receptor secondary structure, stability and functionality. CHS produced significant changes in the degree of ß-secondary structure, these changes compromise the diffusion of the nAChR-LFC-16 in lipid cubic phase. The behavior was reversed by Methyl-ß-Cyclodextrin treatment. Also, CHS decreased acetylcholine evoked currents of Xenopus leavis oocyte injected with nAChR-LFC-16 in a concentration-dependent manner. Methyl-ß-Cyclodextrin treatment do not reverse functionality, however column delipidation produced a functional protein similar to nAChR-LFC-16 without CHS treatment.

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OBJECTIVES: To raise awareness of blood pressure, measured by number of countries involved, number of people screened, and number of people who have untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. METHODS: An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged at least 18 years was carried out in May 2017. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard May measurement month protocol. Eighteen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean participated in the campaign, providing us with a wide sample for characterization. RESULTS: During May measurement month 2017 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 105 246 individuals were screened. Participants who had cardiovascular disease, 2245 (2.3%) had a prior myocardial infarction, and 1711 (1.6%) a previous stroke, additionally 6760 (6.4%) individuals were diabetic, 7014 (6.7%) current smokers and 9262 (8.8%) reported alcohol intake once or more per week. Mean SBP was 122.7 mmHg and DBP was 75.6 mmHg. After imputation, 42 328 participants (40,4%) were found to be hypertensive. CONCLUSION: The high numbers of participants detected with hypertension and the relatively large proportion of participants on antihypertensive treatment but with uncontrolled hypertension reinforces the importance of this annual event in our continent, to raise awareness of the prevention of cardiovascular events.

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Six essential oils were analyzed by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry coupled to negative-ion electrospray ionization (ESI(-)/FT-ICR MS). ESI offers selective ionization of a compound's polar functional groups containing nitrogen and oxygen heteroatoms. ESI in negative-ion mode allows the identification of the acidic compounds. The results showed that the samples contain between 1100-3600 individual molecular compositions, which corresponds to the greatest number of species detected to date in essential oils obtained from aromatic plant material. The compositions cover a mass range between m/z 150-500 with up to 41 carbon atoms. The dominant organic constituents of the essential oils correspond to species incorporating 2-5 oxygen atoms, detected as deprotonated/sodiated/chlorinated species. A set of 580 molecular assignments were found in common across all the samples and for the first time, a set of unique molecular systems were identified, and up to 1373 species as a unique composition for each essential oil. The molecular distributions plotted in van Krevelen diagrams (classified by their H/C vs. O/C values) suggest the presence of species with long alkyl chains and low numbers of rings plus double bonds.

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Out-of-office blood pressure (BP) monitoring appears to be a very useful approach to hypertension management insofar it allows to obtain multiple measurements in the usual environment of each individual, allows the detection of hypertension phenotypes, such as white-coat and masked hypertension, and appears to have superior prognostic value than the conventional office BP measurements. Out-of-office BP can be obtained through either home or ambulatory monitoring, which provide complementary and not identical information. Home BP monitoring yields BP values self-measured in subjects' usual living environment; it is an essential method for the evaluation of almost all untreated and treated subjects with suspected or diagnosed hypertension, best if combined with telemonitoring facilities, also allowing long-term monitoring. There is also increasing evidence that home BP monitoring improves long-term hypertension control rates by improving patients' adherence to prescribed treatment. In Latin American Countries, it is widely available, being relatively inexpensive, and well accepted by patients. Current US, Canadian, Japanese, and European guidelines recommend out-of-office BP monitoring to confirm and refine the diagnosis of hypertension.

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Accurate office blood pressure measurement remains crucial in the diagnosis and management of hypertension worldwide, including Latin America (LA). Office blood pressure (OBP) measurement is still the leading technique in LA for screening and diagnosis of hypertension, monitoring of treatment, and long-term follow-up. Despite this, due to the increasing awareness of the limitations affecting OBP and to the accumulating evidence on the importance of ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), as a complement of OBP in the clinical approach to the hypertensive patient, a progressively greater attention has been paid worldwide to the information on daytime and nighttime BP patterns offered by 24-h ABPM in the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic management of hypertension. In LA countries, most of the Scientific Societies of Hypertension and/or Cardiology have issued guidelines for hypertension care, and most of them include a special section on ABPM. Also, full guidelines on ABPM are available. However, despite the available evidence on the advantages of ABPM for the diagnosis and management of hypertension in LA, availability of ABPM is often restricted to cities with large population, and access to this technology by lower-income patients is sometimes limited by its excessive cost. The authors hope that this document might stimulate health authorities in each LA Country, as well as in other countries in the world, to regulate ABPM access and to widen the range of patients able to access the benefits of this technique.

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Resumen Introducción. La utilidad primordial de los datos sobre el clima para planificar el desarrollo sostenible en áreas agrícolas y hacer frente a todas las consecuencias del cambio climático ya ha quedado firmemente establecida en diferentes programas y políticas a nivel mundial. Objetivo. Analizar la variabilidad espacio temporal de la precipitación e identificar las zonas homogéneas a partir de datos mensuales y anuales (1969-1999) provenientes de las estaciones climatológicas en Carabobo, Venezuela. Materiales y métodos. Para definir subgrupos de estaciones pluviométricas que caractericen zonas homogéneas se aplicaron técnicas multivariadas (análisis de componentes principales y análisis de conglomerados) basadas en la similitud del comportamiento de las series de datos de lluvia anual precipitada. Finalmente se elaboró el mapa de distribución espacial de la precipitación mediante la interpolación kriging. Resultados. Se lograron identificar cuatro grupos de estaciones con comportamiento similar en lo que se refiere a los procesos pluviométricos. Esta investigación permitió conocer el comportamiento espacial y temporal de la precipitación, caracterizada por la marcada estacionalidad producto de la influencia directa de la Zona de Convergencia Intertropical. La tendencia mostró un patrón de distribución espacial con una gradación que va de menor a mayor en sentido noreste a sureste. Conclusiones. Este estudio permitió estimar la regularidad espacial del comportamiento de la lluvia y del grado de heterogeneidad de este elemento climático año tras año, que a su vez representa el inicio de la planificación estratégica a nivel regional.

Abstract Introduction: The primary utility of climate data for planning sustainable development in agricultural areas and addressing all the consequences of climate change has already been firmly established in different programs and policies worldwide. Objective: Analyze the temporal space variability of precipitation and identify homogeneous areas based on monthly and annual data from weather stations in Carabobo, Venezuela, during the period 1969-1999. Materials and methods: To define subgroups of rainfall stations that characterize homogeneous zones, multivariate techniques (principal component analysis and cluster analysis) were applied based on the similarity of the behavior of the data series of precipitated annual rainfall. Finally, the spatial distribution map of the precipitation was prepared by means of kriging interpolation. Results: It was possible to identify four groups of stations with similar behavior in terms of rainfall processes. This investigation allowed to know the spatial and temporal behavior of precipitation, characterized by the marked seasonality resulting from the direct influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The trend showed a pattern of spatial distribution with a gradation that goes from minor to major in the northeast to southeast direction. Conclusion: In addition, this study allowed estimating the spatial regularity of rainfall behavior and the degree of heterogeneity of this climatic element year after year, which in turn represents the beginning of strategic planning at the regional level.

Resumo Introdução. A utilidade primordial dos dados climáticos para planejar o desenvolvimento sustentável em áreas agrícolas e abordar todas as consequências da alteração climática já ficou firmemente estabelecida nos diferentes programas e políticas ao nível mundial. Objetivo. Analisar a variabilidade do espaço temporal da precipitação e identificar as zonas homogêneas a partir de dados mensais e anais (1969-1999) provenientes das estações climatológicas em Carabobo, Venezuela. Materiais e métodos. Para definir subgrupos de estações pluviométricas que posam caracterizar as zonas homogêneas aplicaram-se técnicas multivariadas (análise de componentes principais e análise de conglomerados) baseadas na similitude do comportamento das series de dados de chuva anual precipitada. Finalmente elaborou-se o mapa de distribuição espacial da precipitação mediante a interpolação kriging. Resultados. Conseguiu-se identificar quatro grupos de estações com comportamento similar no que se refere aos processos pluviométricos. Esta pesquisa permitiu conhecer o comportamento espacial e temporal da precipitação, caracterizada pela marcada sazonalidade, produto da influência direta da Zona de Convergência Intertropical. A tendência mostrou um padrão de distribuição espacial com uma gradação que vai de menor à maior no sentido nordeste à sudeste. Conclusões. Este estudo permitiu estimar a regularidade espacial do comportamento da chuva e do grau da heterogeneidade deste elemento climático ano após ano, que ao mesmo tempo representa o início do planejamento estratégico ao nível regional.