Ciencia y tecnología para mejorar la calidad de vida en poblaciones rurales pobres del Perú

El presente artículo pone de relieve la relación existente entre calidad de vida y energía, que se acentúa en el ámbito rural, y cómo la primera puede mejorar con la influencia de la ciencia y la tecnología que se han desarrollado en nuestro país, si estas son utilizadas tomando en cuenta el concepto de ‘energización’. La articulación adecuada entre la oferta y la demanda de energía que las nuevas tecnologías exigen se explica en el concepto de energización, que, entre otros, enfatiza el uso productivo de las energías renovables, para añadir valor a los productos naturales a través de mecanismos de producción y comercialización gestionados por las propias comunidades. Finalmente, el artículo muestra también las transferencias de tecnologías apropiadas y limpias a las micro y pequeñas empresas exitosas

Strategic plan for Creamás

The purpose of this research is to develop a 2015-2020 Strategic plan for Creamás, a Peruvian NGO that fosters the dreams and ambition of children through education and diverse workshops. The company began operating in the country in 2009 and throughout the years has managed to become a referent in the NGO national industry. In order to do that the model proposed by Fernando D’Alessio was followed throughout the nine chapters of the document. After thorough research, meetings with the directorates and volunteers, and on-site visitation, data was analyzed in an attempt to decipher the current holistic situation of the organization; its strengths, weaknesses and which opportunities and threats the external situation posed the organization. By complementing such information with a newly proposed vision and mission, and the identified organization’s interests; six long term objectives were defined with their correspondent short-term objectives. Besides that, five strategies were chosen in order for the Creamás to achieve its objectives and as a consequence, its desired vision. Furthermore, in order for Creamás to assess the implementation of this Plan, the document includes the proposed Balanced Scorecard; with the short-term objectives and their correspondent indicators. The fallouts of this work indicate that currently Creamás lacks operational efficiency due to the poor training of its volunteers, is still unable to measure its actual impact on the students, and does not possess a solid funding structure; all of them a must if the firm is to remain relevant in the industryEl objetivo de este trabajo es desarrollar un Plan Estratégico de Creamás para el periodo 2015-2020. Creamás es una ONG peruana que promueve que más niños tengan sueños y ambiciones por medio de clases de matemática y talleres complementarios. La empresa empezó a operar en el país en 2009 y a través de los años ha logrado convertirse en una reconocida organización. Para el desarrollo del trabajo se siguieron los nueve pasos del planeamiento estratégico definidos por Fernando D’Alessio (D’Alessio, 2013). Luego de una detallada investigación, reuniones con Directores y voluntarios, y visitas en campo, se analizó la data recogida a fin de descifrar la situación actual de la organización; sus fortalezas, debilidades y las oportunidades y amenazas que el entorno le presenta. Al complementar esta información con una nueva propuesta de visión y misión, además de los intereses de la empresa; se definieron seis objetivos a largo plazo. Asimismo, se eligieron cinco estrategias para alcanzarlos y que Creamás consiga lograr su situación futura deseada. Para la implementación del presente Plan, el documento incluye un Tablero de Control Balanceado con objetivos a corto plazo y sus indicadores de medición correspondientes. Los resultados de la investigación indican que Creamás presenta problemas en cuanto a eficiencia operacional debido al pobre entrenamiento que reciben sus voluntarios, no es capáz de medir el impacto que causa en los estudiantes y no cuenta aún con una sólida estructura de donaciones; situaciones que deben ser resueltas para mantenerse relevante en la industria.Tesi

Dysfunctional Mitochondrial Bioenergetics and Synaptic Degeneration in Alzheimer Disease

Synapses are sites of high energy demand which are dependent on high levels of mitochondrial derived adenosine triphosphate. Mitochondria within synaptic structures are key for maintenance of functional neurotransmission and this critical biological process is modulated by energy metabolism, mitochondrial distribution, mitochondrial trafficking, and cellular synaptic calcium flux. Synapse loss is presumed to be an early yet progressive pathological event in Alzheimer disease (AD), resulting in impaired cognitive function and memory loss which is particularly prevalent at later stages of disease. Supporting evidence from AD patients and animal models suggests that pathological mitochondrial dynamics indeed occurs early and is highly associated with synaptic lesions and degeneration in AD neurons. This review comprehensively highlights recent findings that describe how synaptic mitochondria pathology involves dysfunctional trafficking of this organelle, to maladaptive epigenetic contributions affecting mitochondrial function in AD. We further discuss how these negative, dynamic alterations impact synaptic function associated with AD. Finally, this review explores how antioxidant therapeutic approaches targeting mitochondria in AD can further clinical research and basic science investigations to advance our in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of AD

On polygons enclosing point sets II

Let R and B be disjoint point sets such that $R\cup B$ is in general position. We say that B encloses by R if there is a simple polygon P with vertex set B such that all the elements in R belong to the interior of P. In this paper we prove that if the vertices of the convex hull of $R\cup B$ belong to B, and |R| ≤ |Conv(B)| − 1 then B encloses R. The bound is tight. This improves on results of a previous paper in which it was proved that if |R| ≤ 56|Conv (B)| then B encloses R. To obtain our result we prove the next result which is interesting on its own right: Let P be a convex polygon with n vertices \emph{p_1},...,\emph{p_n} and S a set of m points contained in the interior of P, m ≤ n−1. Then there is a convex decomposition {$P_1$,...,$P_n$} of P such that all points from S lie on the boundaries of $P_1$,...,$P_n$, and each $P_i$ contains a whole edge of P on its boundary.Postprint (published version

A Recommender System for Digital Newspaper Readers Based on Random Forest

In this research, the potential of machine learning methods based on decision trees (DT) and Random Forest (RF) models developed in the context of classifying readers of a digital newspaper. For this purpose, the number of visits of users to each section of the newspaper in a 3-month interval has been taken into account. The models of DT and RF developed in this paper classify the profiles of readers who access the journal with an accuracy of 98.07% and AUC value of 99.27%, thus demonstrating that it serves as a valid tool for making strategic and operational decisions when creating, manage and present content in the user – website interaction. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Selective Pressure by Rifampicin Modulates Mutation Rates and Evolutionary Trajectories of Mycobacterial Genomes

Resistance to the frontline antibiotic rifampicin constitutes a challenge to the treatment and control of tuberculosis. Here, we analyzed the mutational landscape of Mycobacterium smegmatis during long-term evolution with increasing concentrations of rifampicin, using a mutation accumulation assay combined with whole-genome sequencing. Antibiotic treatment enhanced the acquisition of mutations, doubling the genome-wide mutation rate of the wild-type cells. While antibiotic exposure led to extinction of almost all wild-type lines, the hypermutable phenotype of the ΔnucS mutant strain (noncanonical mismatch repair deficient) provided an efficient response to the antibiotic, leading to high rates of survival. This adaptative advantage resulted in the emergence of higher levels of rifampicin resistance, an accelerated acquisition of drug resistance mutations in rpoB (β RNA polymerase), and a wider diversity of evolutionary pathways that led to drug resistance. Finally, this approach revealed a subset of adaptive genes under positive selection with rifampicin that could be associated with the development of antibiotic resistance. IMPORTANCE Rifampicin is the most important first-line antibiotic against mycobacterial infections, including tuberculosis, one of the top causes of death worldwide. Acquisition of rifampicin resistance constitutes a major global public health problem that makes the control of the disease challenging. Here, we performed an experimental evolution assay under antibiotic selection to analyze the response and adaptation of mycobacteria, leading to the acquisition of rifampicin resistance. This approach explored the total number of mutations that arose in the mycobacterial genomes under long-term rifampicin exposure, using whole-genome sequencing. Our results revealed the effect of rifampicin at a genomic level, identifying different mechanisms and multiple pathways leading to rifampicin resistance in mycobacteria. Moreover, this study detected that an increase in the rate of mutations led to enhanced levels of drug resistance and survival. In summary, all of these results could be useful to understand and prevent the emergence of drug-resistant isolates in mycobacterial infections.This research was funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, grant PID2020-112865RB-I00, and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, grant FIS PI17/00159 (ISCIII/FEDER, UE). E.C.-S. is the recipient of a PFIS predoctoral research fellowship (FI18/00036) cofinanced by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the European Social Fund. A.C.-G. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish State Research Agency, AEI/10.13039/501100011033, through the “Severo Ochoa” Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2013-0347, SEV-2017-0712). Editorial assistance was provided by Stuart L. Rulten. Statistical consultancy was provided by Applied Statistical Department-SGAI-CSIC.S

BubR1 Insufficiency Impairs Affective Behavior and Memory Function in Mice

Purpose Although aging causes functional declines in cognition, the molecular mechanism underlying these declines remains largely unknown. Recently, the spindle checkpoint kinase budding uninhibited by benzimidazole-related 1 (BubR1) has emerged as a key determinant for age-related pathology in various tissues including brain. However, the neurobehavioral impact of BubR1 has not been explored. In this study, we investigated the role of BubR1 in behavioral function. Methods To investigate the neurobiological functions of BubR1 in vivo, we utilized transgenic mice harboring BubR1 hypomorphic alleles (BubR1H/H mice), which produce low amounts of BubR1 protein, as well as mice that have specific knockdown of BubR1 in the adult dentate gyrus. To assess anxiety-like behavior, the above groups were subjected to the elevated plus maze and the light-dark test, in addition to utilizing the tail-suspension and forced-swim test to determine depression-like behavior. We used novel object recognition to test for memory-related function. Results We found that BubR1H/H mice display several behavioral deficits when compared to wild-type littermates, including increased anxiety in the elevated-plus maze test, depression-like behavior in the tail suspension test, as well as impaired memory function in the novel object recognition test. Similar to BubR1H/H mice, knockdown of BubR1 within the adult dentate gyrus led to increased anxiety-like behavior as well as depression-like behavior, and impaired memory function. Conclusions Our study demonstrates a requirement of BubR1 in maintaining proper affective and memory-related behavioral function. These results suggest that a decline in BubR1 levels with advanced age may be a crucial contributor to age-related hippocampal dysfunction

The selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor NS398 ameliorates cisplatin-induced impairments in mitochondrial and cognitive function

Chemobrain is a condition that negatively affects cognition in cancer patients undergoing active chemotherapy, as well as following chemotherapy cessation. Chemobrain is also known as chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI) and has emerged as a significant medical contingency. There is no therapy to ameliorate this condition, hence identification of novel therapeutic strategies to prevent CICI is of great interest to cancer survivors. Utilizing the platinum-based chemotherapy cisplatin in an investigative approach for CICI, we identified increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the adult mouse hippocampus, and in human cortical neuron cultures derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Notably, administration of NS398, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, prevented CICI in vivo without negatively affecting the antitumor efficacy of cisplatin or potentiating tumor growth. Given that dysfunctional mitochondrial bioenergetics plays a prominent role in CICI, we explored the effects of NS398 in cisplatin-induced defects in human cortical mitochondria. We found that cisplatin significantly reduces mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), increases matrix swelling, causes loss of cristae membrane integrity, impairs ATP production, as well as decreases cell viability and dendrite outgrowth. Pretreatment with NS398 in human cortical neurons attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction caused by cisplatin, while improving cell survival and neurite morphogenesis. These results suggest that aberrant COX-2 inflammatory pathways may contribute in cisplatin-induced mitochondrial damage and cognitive impairments. Therefore, COX-2 signaling may represent a viable therapeutic approach to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors experiencing CICI

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio