El uso de las TIC: una apuesta a la diversidad

Este proyecto de investigación tiene como finalidad diseñar situaciones en las que se vinculen procesos de aprendizaje en las áreas de matemáticas y lenguaje, para la población con limitación visual y auditiva, en Instituciones Educativas Distritales Inclusivas; utilizando tecnologías que optimicen y enriquezcan procesos de aprendizaje que hagan referencia a los números enteros en el caso de las matemáticas; y de la narrativa y la argumentación en el área de lenguaje. Propiciando así el pleno desarrollo y participación de los estudiantes ciegos y sordos para lograr el perfeccionamiento de sus competencias matemáticas y lingüísticas

Dispersión de Ralstonia solanocearum en suelos cultivados con plátano en el Piedemonte Llanero.

La dispersión de la enfermedad del Moko en un cultivo comercial de plátano se determinó a partir de un análisis de la incidencia en cuadrantes conformados por ejes de ocho plantas a partir de una planta enferma erradicada (foco). Se identificaron colonias de Ralstonia solanacearum en muestras de agua y suelo procedentes de 12 puntos por cuadrante, en cuatro muestreos realizados los días 0, 45, 90 y 135. Los aislamientos que formaron colonias típicas fluidas (F), pequeñas redondas fluidas (SFR) y variantes afluidas (AFV), fueron sometidos a pruebas bioquímicas, análisis molecular (PCR), reacción de hipersensibilidad en hojas de tabaco y patogenicidad sobre plantas jóvenes de plátano. La enfermedad se incrementó de 8 a 10, 12 y 38 plantas en promedio por cuadrante y muestreo. En tres de los cuadrantes la incidencia se restringió al área más cercana al foco, mientras que en el otro hubo una dispersión mayor. El número promedio de colonias típicas (F) aisladas varió de 54 el día 0 a 114, 142 y 90 en los muestreos subsiguientes. El número de unidades formadoras de colonia por gramo de suelo (UFC/g) de los tipos F y SFR siempre fue menor que el de colonias AFV, las de tipo F tendieron a disminuir a partir del tercer muestreo (día 90) registrando un leve aumento en el cuarto (día 135). Por su parte, el número de UFC/g tipo SFR aumentó en los muestreos segundo y tercero y se redujo en el último. El número de UFC/g de tipo AFV, aunque 10 veces más abundante que los otros tipos, presentó un comportamiento similar al de las colonias SFR y su disminución fue más drástica al final. Las colonias tipo F fueron más frecuentes en cercanías del foco, lo que coincidió con el incremento de plantas enfermas, mientras que las colonias tipo AFV predominaron en las áreas intermedias. La amplificación de segmentos de ADN por PCR (Oli1 - Y2) confirmó los resultados de las caracterizaciones bioquímica, de hipersensibilidad y patogénica.;Las colonias tipo F presentaron mayor número de respuestas positivas que las SFR y AFV a cada una de las pruebas, incluyendo la de patogenicidad.Plátano-Musa sapientu

Two-dimensional electron gas formation in undoped In[0.75]Ga[0.25]As/In[0.75]Al[0.25]As quantum wells

We report on the achievement of a two-dimensional electron gas in completely undoped In[0.75]Al[0.25]As/In[0.75]Ga[0.25]As metamorphic quantum wells. Using these structures we were able to reduce the carrier density, with respect to reported values in similar modulation-doped structures. We found experimentally that the electronic charge in the quantum well is likely due to a deep-level donor state in the In[0.75]Al[0.25]As barrier band gap, whose energy lies within the In[0.75]Ga[0.25]As/In[0.75]Al[0.25]As conduction band discontinuity. This result is further confirmed through a Poisson-Schroedinger simulation of the two-dimensional electron gas structure.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, to be published in J. Vac. Sci. Technol.

STLV-1 co-infection is correlated with an increased SFV proviral load in the peripheral blood of SFV/STLV-1 naturally infected non-human primates

Simian T-Leukemia Virus type 1 and Simian Foamy Virus infect non-human primates. While STLV-1, as HTLV-1, causes Adult T-cell Leukemia/lymphoma, SFV infection is asymptomatic. Both retroviruses can be transmitted from NHPs to humans through bites that allow contact between infected saliva and recipient blood. Because both viruses infect CD4+ T-cells, they might interfere with each other replication, and this might impact viral transmission. Impact of STLV-1 co-infection on SFV replication was analyzed in 18 SFV-positive/STLV-1-negative and 18 naturally SFV/STLV-1 co-infected Papio anubis. Even if 9 animals were found STLV-1-positive in saliva, STLV-1 PVL was much higher in the blood. SFV proviruses were detected in the saliva of all animals. Interestingly, SFV proviral load was much higher in the blood of STLV-1/SFV co-infected animals, compared to STLV-1-negative animals. Given that soluble Tax protein can enter uninfected cells, we tested its effect on foamy virus promoter and we show that Tax protein can transactivate the foamy LTR. This demonstrates that true STLV-1 co-infection or Tax only has an impact on SFV replication and may influence the ability of the virus to be zoonotically transmitted as well as its ability to promote hematological abnormalities

Centrosomal Latency of Incoming Foamy Viruses in Resting Cells

Completion of early stages of retrovirus infection depends on the cell cycle. While gammaretroviruses require mitosis for proviral integration, lentiviruses are able to replicate in post-mitotic non-dividing cells. Resting cells such as naive resting T lymphocytes from peripheral blood cannot be productively infected by retroviruses, including lentiviruses, but the molecular basis of this restriction remains poorly understood. We demonstrate that in G0 resting cells (primary fibroblasts or peripheral T cells), incoming foamy retroviruses accumulate in close proximity to the centrosome, where they lie as structured and assembled capsids for several weeks. Under these settings, virus uncoating is impaired, but upon cell stimulation, Gag proteolysis and capsid disassembly occur, which allows viral infection to proceed. The data imply that foamy virus uncoating is the rate-limiting step for productive infection of primary G0 cells. Incoming foamy retroviruses can stably persist at the centrosome, awaiting cell stimulation to initiate capsid cleavage, nuclear import, and viral gene expression

Early Reverse Transcription Is Essential for Productive Foamy Virus Infection

BACKGROUND: Although viral RNA constitutes the majority of nucleic acids packaged in virions, a late occurring step of reverse transcription leads to the presence of infectious viral cDNA in foamy virus particles. This peculiarity distinguishes them from the rest of the retroviral family. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To evaluate the respective contribution of these viral nucleic acids in the replication of foamy viruses, their fate was studied by real-time PCR and RT-PCR early after infection, in the presence or in the absence of AZT. We found that an early reverse transcription step, which occurs during the first hours post-entry, is absolutely required for productive infection. Remarkably, sensitivity to AZT can be counteracted by increasing the multiplicity of infection (moi). We also show that 2-LTR circular viral DNA, which appears as soon as four hours post-infection, is transcriptionally competent. CONCLUSION: Taken together, our data demonstrate that an early reverse transcription process, which takes place soon after viral entry, is indispensable for infectivity of FVs at low moi, when the amount of DNA-containing particles is not sufficient to lead to a productive infection. This study demonstrates a key role of the packaged viral RNA in the foamy virus infection, suggesting that the replication of this virus can be achieved by involving either viral DNA or RNA genome, depending on the condition of infection

Pre-radiotherapy plasma carotenoids and markers of oxidative stress are associated with survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients: a prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to compare plasma levels of antioxidants and oxidative stress biomarkers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients with healthy controls. Furthermore, the effect of radiotherapy on these biomarkers and their association with survival in HNSCC patients were investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seventy-eight HNSCC patients and 100 healthy controls were included in this study. Follow-up samples at the end of radiotherapy were obtained in 60 patients. Fifteen antioxidant biomarkers (6 carotenoids, 4 tocopherols, ascorbic acid, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione redox potential, total glutathione and total cysteine) and four oxidative stress biomarkers (total hydroperoxides, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, 8-isoprostagladin F_2αand ratio of oxidized/total ascorbic acid) were measured in plasma samples. Analysis of Covariance was used to compare biomarkers between patients and healthy controls. Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox' proportional hazards models were used to study survival among patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Dietary antioxidants (carotenoids, tocopherols and ascorbic acid), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and modified FRAP were lower in HNSCC patients compared to controls and dietary antioxidants decreased during radiotherapy. Total hydroperoxides (d-ROMs), a marker for oxidative stress, were higher in HNSCC patients compared to controls and increased during radiotherapy. Among the biomarkers analyzed, high levels of plasma carotenoids before radiotherapy are associated with a prolonged progression-free survival (hazard rate ratio: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.20-0.91, p = 0.03). Additionally, high relative increase in plasma levels of d-ROMs (hazard rate ratio: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.13-0.76, p = 0.01) and high relative decrease in FRAP (hazard rate ratio: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.17-0.998, p = 0.05) during radiotherapy are also positively associated with survival.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Biomarkers of antioxidants and oxidative stress are unfavourable in HNSCC patients compared to healthy controls, and radiotherapy affects many of these biomarkers. Increasing levels of antioxidant biomarkers before radiotherapy and increasing oxidative stress during radiotherapy may improve survival indicating that different factors/mechanisms may be important for survival before and during radiotherapy in HNSCC patients. Thus, the therapeutic potential of optimizing antioxidant status and oxidative stress should be explored further in these patients.</p