DesignABILITY: Framework for the Design of Accessible Interactive Tools to Support Teaching to Children with Disabilities

Developing educational tools aimed at children with disabilities is a challenging process for designers and developers because existing methodologies or frameworks do not provide any pedagogical information and/or do not take into account the particular needs of users with some type of impairment. In this study, we propose a framework for the design of tools to support teaching to children with disabilities. The framework provides the necessary stages for the development of tools (hardware-based or software-based) and must be adapted for a specific disability and educational goal. For this study, the framework was adapted to support literacy teaching and contributes to the design of educational/interactive technology for deaf people while making them part of the design process and taking into account their particular needs. The experts' evaluation of the framework shows that it is well structured and may be adapted for other types of disabilities

Expresión del receptor de andrógenos relativa al receptor de estrógenos (AR/ER) y su correlación con una señal génica de proliferación en cáncer de seno ER-positivo

Objetivo: previamente se reportó que tumores de seno con proporción receptor de andrógenos/receptor de estrógenos ?2 (AR/ER ?2) se asocian con peores pronósticos. De acuerdo con lo anterior, el objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar la relación entre la proporción AR/ER y una señal génica de proliferación celular en cáncer de seno (CS; también conocido como cáncer de mama) ER positivo (ER+). Métodos: se obtuvieron 1093 muestras de CS primario con datos de expresión génica de la base de datos pública NCI Genomic Data Commons. Se ejecutaron análisis bioinformáticos para establecer niveles de expresión génica de AR y ER, así como de los marcadores de proliferación AURKb, BUB1B, BUB1, CDK1 y CHEK1. Adicionalmente, se definieron subtipos moleculares de CS utilizando el bioclasificador PAM50. Resultados: 835 casos se reportaron como ER+. Entre estos, 58 tumores (7%) presentaron mayores niveles de expresión de AR respecto a ER (AR/ER ?2). En dichos casos se observaron niveles significativamente más altos de proliferación con respecto a tumores, con proporción AR/ER <2 (p = 0,02), y preferencialmente se clasificaron dentro de los subtipos moleculares luminal B y HER2 enriquecido (76,5%). Conclusión: nuestros resultados confirman reportes previos y sugieren que los casos de CS con proporción AR/ER ?2 se asocian con tumores que tienen un comportamiento biológico más agresivo. Asimismo, se refuerza la idea de utilizar inhibidores de AR para el tratamiento de pacientes con CS ER+ que presentan altos niveles de expresión de este tipo de cánce

Bioprospecting and characterization of poly-bhydroxyalkanoate (PHAs) producing bacteria isolated from Colombian sugarcane producing areas

Bioprospecting for poly-b-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-accumulating micro-organisms was carried out in sugarcane growing areas of Colombia. They were isolated in unbalanced culture medium (highcarbon/nitrogen ratio) with sucrose, fructose and glucose used as carbon source. PHAs producing bacteria were identified by staining with Sudan black and solubilising cellular components in sodiumhypochlorite. A arbitrary scale was established (ranging from 1 to 4) for selecting the best strains, acording to growth, staining with Sudan black and solubilising cellular material. 108 isolates rated higher than 2 were obtained by using this scale; 44 of these were selected for evaluating them in a balloon flask for their ability to grow in sucrose. Scheffe’s test grouped the isolates evaluated in the balloon flask for polymer production and productivity. The 6 best isolates were evaluated in a fermenter to determine their kinetic growth profiles, substrate consumption and polymer accumulation. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) was used on the recovered polymer for determining fusion temperature and the conclusion was reached that 2 strains accumulated poly--hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and another 4 accumulated hydroxy-butyrate copolymers and other monomer units. These 6 strains were molecularly characterised by partially sequencing the 16s rRNA ribosomal gene, localizing them in 4 clusters on the taxonomic tree

Reconstructing Neutrino Properties from Collider Experiments in a Higgs Triplet Neutrino Mass Model

We extend the minimal supersymmetric standard model with bilinear R-parity violation to include a pair of Higgs triplet superfields. The neutral components of the Higgs triplets develop small vacuum expectation values (VEVs) quadratic in the bilinear R-parity breaking parameters. In this scheme the atmospheric neutrino mass scale arises from bilinear R-parity breaking while for reasonable values of parameters the solar neutrino mass scale is generated from the small Higgs triplet VEVs. We calculate neutrino masses and mixing angles in this model and show how the model can be tested at future colliders. The branching ratios of the doubly charged triplet decays are related to the solar neutrino angle via a simple formula.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures; one formula corrected, two author's names corrected; some explanatory comments adde

Relación del aporte de oxígeno y la supervivencia del paciente con shock en UCI

Introducción: establecer la repercusión en la supervivencia del paciente críticamente enfermo con diagnóstico de shock y el diagnóstico del equilibrio ácido-base presentes en los gases sanguíneos de ingreso a la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos. Métodos: estudio tipo cohorte concurrente. Ámbito: una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos general. Pacientes: pacientes con diagnóstico de shock a los que se les toma gases sanguíneos al ingreso de la Unidad y se monitorean los gases a través del tiempo hasta el egreso del paciente. Variables de interés: el desenlace se definió como la supervivencia de los pacientes en función del tiempo. También se monitorizaron en función del tiempo variables del equilibrio ácido-base, función respiratoria, función ventilatoria y electrolitos en sangre. Resultados: el modelo de regresión de Cox mostró que los pacientes hombres que ingresan a la unidad con diagnóstico de shock tienen un riesgo 2.78 veces mayor de fallecer que las mujeres. Las variables FiO2 y THbc funcionan como predictivas de mortalidad y las variables PAO2, PCO2 y PO2 son factores protectores de mortalidad. Conclusión: el oportuno diagnóstico del equilibrio ácido-base en un paciente con shock que ingresa a una UCI, y la intervención inmediata de las variables de aporte de oxígeno (PAO2, FiO2, THBc, PCO2 y PO2) cambiarán favorablemente el pronóstico y la supervivencia de los pacientes.

Monitoring Coffee Leaf Rust (Hemileia vastatrix) on Commercial Coffee Farms in Hawaii: Early Insights from the First Year of Disease Incursion

Coffee leaf rust (CLR, Hemileia vastatrix) is considered the most damaging coffee disease worldwide, causing reduced yields and even plant death. CLR was detected in Hawaii for the first time in 2020, and quickly spread across the state. We initiated a CLR monitoring program in Kona, West Hawaii Island, to track the spread of this new invasive disease across a broad elevational gradient. The goals of the program were to assist growers in the early detection of CLR, to characterize patterns of disease incidence across the region, and to collect information on farm agronomics, management practices, and costs to apply fungicides, all of which can be used to develop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies for this pathogen. We monitored 30 coffee lots in Kona, located between 204 and 875 m elevation. Average CLR incidence remained below 4% early in the season and increased to 36% during harvest. We observed no significant difference in CLR incidence between low-, mid- and high-elevation farms. A significant reduction in the number of leaves per branch was observed at the end of the harvest season, and a significant negative correlation was found between the number of leaves per branch and maximum CLR severity. Mean disease incidence and mean severity were observed to have a significant positive correlation. Incidence increased above threshold levels (5%), despite most growers applying preventative fungicides 3&ndash;10 times throughout the season, suggesting that improved coverage and timing of applications is needed along with the addition of systemic fungicides. Our study provides the first insights into CLR disease patterns under the unique and variable conditions under which Hawaiian coffee is grown, and will aid in the development of IPM programs that can be used to sustain Hawaii&rsquo;s coffee industry under this new threat

Monitoring Coffee Leaf Rust (<i>Hemileia vastatrix</i>) on Commercial Coffee Farms in Hawaii: Early Insights from the First Year of Disease Incursion

Coffee leaf rust (CLR, Hemileia vastatrix) is considered the most damaging coffee disease worldwide, causing reduced yields and even plant death. CLR was detected in Hawaii for the first time in 2020, and quickly spread across the state. We initiated a CLR monitoring program in Kona, West Hawaii Island, to track the spread of this new invasive disease across a broad elevational gradient. The goals of the program were to assist growers in the early detection of CLR, to characterize patterns of disease incidence across the region, and to collect information on farm agronomics, management practices, and costs to apply fungicides, all of which can be used to develop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies for this pathogen. We monitored 30 coffee lots in Kona, located between 204 and 875 m elevation. Average CLR incidence remained below 4% early in the season and increased to 36% during harvest. We observed no significant difference in CLR incidence between low-, mid- and high-elevation farms. A significant reduction in the number of leaves per branch was observed at the end of the harvest season, and a significant negative correlation was found between the number of leaves per branch and maximum CLR severity. Mean disease incidence and mean severity were observed to have a significant positive correlation. Incidence increased above threshold levels (5%), despite most growers applying preventative fungicides 3–10 times throughout the season, suggesting that improved coverage and timing of applications is needed along with the addition of systemic fungicides. Our study provides the first insights into CLR disease patterns under the unique and variable conditions under which Hawaiian coffee is grown, and will aid in the development of IPM programs that can be used to sustain Hawaii’s coffee industry under this new threat