10 research outputs found
Why regionalism has failed in Latin America: lack of stateness as an important factor for failure of sovereignty transfer in integration projects
'Optical shaking' of red blood cells: A strategy to measure cell-fluid coupling with optical tweezers.
Identificación y análsisi de los factores explicativos de la percepción de inseguridad en Colombia en 2016
Los altos niveles de percepción de inseguridad o miedo al crimen pueden tener efectos negativos sobre el bienestar de las personas, como inducirlas a sensaciones de aislamiento o vulnerabilidad, a evadir moverse por ciertos lugares, alterar el relacionamiento entre ellas y aumentar la inversión privada en seguridad. En el caso de Colombia, la percepción de inseguridad es casi cuatro veces superior a la tasa de ciudadanos afectados por un delito. De allí que la presente investigación tenga como objetivo identificar los principales factores explicativos de la percepción de inseguridad en las ciudades de Colombia a través de un modelo de regresión múltiple basado en cinco teorías de percepción de inseguridad y la información disponible en la Encuesta de Convivencia y Seguridad Ciudadana del 2016. Los principales resultados de la investigación muestran que las teorías de victimización, incivilidad y redes sociales son las que mejor explican la percepción de inseguridad en Colombia en el 2016
Development of a Quick-Install Rapid Phenotyping System
In recent years, there has been a growing need for accessible High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping (HTPP) platforms that can take measurements of plant traits in open fields. This paper presents a phenotyping system designed to address this issue by combining ultrasonic and multispectral sensing of the crop canopy with other diverse measurements under varying environmental conditions. The system demonstrates a throughput increase by a factor of 50 when compared to a manual setup, allowing for efficient mapping of crop status across a field with crops grown in rows of any spacing. Tests presented in this paper illustrate the type of experimentation that can be performed with the platform, emphasizing the output from each sensor. The system integration, versatility, and ergonomics are the most significant contributions. The presented system can be used for studying plant responses to different treatments and/or stresses under diverse farming practices in virtually any field environment. It was shown that crop height and several vegetation indices, most of them common indicators of plant physiological status, can be easily paired with corresponding environmental conditions to facilitate data analysis at the fine spatial scale
Identificación y análsisi de los factores explicativos de la percepción de inseguridad en Colombia en 2016
Los altos niveles de percepción de inseguridad o miedo al crimen pueden tener efectos negativos sobre el bienestar de las personas, como inducirlas a sensaciones de aislamiento o vulnerabilidad, a evadir moverse por ciertos lugares, alterar el relacionamiento entre ellas y aumentar la inversión privada en seguridad. En el caso de Colombia, la percepción de inseguridad es casi cuatro veces superior a la tasa de ciudadanos afectados por un delito. De allí que la presente investigación tenga como objetivo identificar los principales factores explicativos de la percepción de inseguridad en las ciudades de Colombia a través de un modelo de regresión múltiple basado en cinco teorías de percepción de inseguridad y la información disponible en la Encuesta de Convivencia y Seguridad Ciudadana del 2016. Los principales resultados de la investigación muestran que las teorías de victimización, incivilidad y redes sociales son las que mejor explican la percepción de inseguridad en Colombia en el 2016
Synthesis and antileishmanial activity of styrylquinoline-type compounds: <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em> studies
In this research, four styrylquinolines were synthesized and evaluated in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activity. The following compounds were obtained: 2-[(E)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)ethenyl]quinoline-8-ol (3a), 4-bromo-2-[(E)-2-(8-hydroxyquinoline-2-yl)ethenyl]phenyl-acetate (3b), 4-[(E)-2-(8-hydroxyquinoline -2-yl)ethenyl]-2,6- dimethoxyphenyl acetate (3c), 2-{(E)-2-[2-(acetyloxy)-5-nitrophenyl]ethenyl} quinoline-8-yl-acetate (3d). Of the four compounds, evaluated in vitro, 3b and 3c were active against intracellular amastigotes at median effective concentrations (EC50) of 2.8 and 3.14 μg mL-1 and exhibited toxicity over human U-937 macrophages at median lethal concentrations (LC50) of 5.5 and 3.4 μg mL-1, which showed selectivity indices (SI) of 1.96 and 1.08. The results of in vivo studies of therapeutic response in hamsters with experimental CL caused by L. (V) panamensis indicated that with topical creams at 2% of compounds 3b and 3c produced a clinical improvement of 4/5 (80%) of hamsters with 3b, and with 3c a complete cure of 1/5 (20%) and a clinical improvement of 2/5 (40%) of the hamsters, while the in vivo control drug (MA-il) produced clinical improvement in 3/5 (60%) of hamsters
Tissue distribution of Kir7.1 inwardly rectifying K<sup>+</sup> channel probed in a knock-in mouse expressing a haemagglutinin-tagged protein
Kir7.1 encoded by the Kcnj13 gene in the mouse is an inwardly rectifying K+ channel present in epithelia where it shares membrane localization with the Na+/K+-pump. Further investigations of the localisation and function of Kir7.1 would benefit from the availability of a knockout mouse, but perinatal mortality attributed to cleft palate in the neonate has thwarted this research. To facilitate localisation studies we now use CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate a knock-in mouse, the Kir7.1-HA that expresses the channel tagged with a haemagglutinin (HA) epitope. The availability of antibodies for the HA epitope allows for application of western blot and immunolocalisation methods using widely available anti-HA antibodies with WT tissues providing unambiguous negative control. We demonstrate that Kir7.1-HA cloned from the choroid plexus of the knock-in mouse has the electrophysiological properties of the native channel, including characteristically large Rb+ currents. These large Kir7.1-mediated currents are accompanied by abundant apical membrane Kir7.1-HA immunoreactivity. WT-controlled western blots demonstrate the presence of Kir7.1-HA in the eye and the choroid plexus, trachea and lung, and intestinal epithelium but exclusively in the ileum. In the kidney, and at variance with previous reports in the rat and guinea-pig, Kir7.1-HA is expressed in the inner medulla but not in the cortex or outer medulla. In isolated tubules immunoreactivity was associated with inner medulla collecting ducts but not thin limbs of the loop of Henle. Kir7.1-HA shows basolateral expression in the respiratory tract epithelium from trachea to bronchioli. The channel also appears basolateral in the epithelium of the nasal cavity and nasopharynx in newborn animals. We show that HA-tagged Kir7.1 channel introduced in the mouse by a knock-in procedure has functional properties similar to the native protein and the animal thus generated has clear advantages in localisation studies. It might therefore become a useful tool to unravel Kir7.1 function in the different organs where it is expressed
Influence of temperature and time during malaxation on fatty acid profile and oxidation of centrifuged avocado oil
Global variations in heart failure etiology, management, and outcomes
Importance: Most epidemiological studies of heart failure (HF) have been conducted in high-income countries with limited comparable data from middle- or low-income countries.
Objective: To examine differences in HF etiology, treatment, and outcomes between groups of countries at different levels of economic development.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Multinational HF registry of 23 341 participants in 40 high-income, upper–middle-income, lower–middle-income, and low-income countries, followed up for a median period of 2.0 years.
Main Outcomes and Measures: HF cause, HF medication use, hospitalization, and death.
Results: Mean (SD) age of participants was 63.1 (14.9) years, and 9119 (39.1%) were female. The most common cause of HF was ischemic heart disease (38.1%) followed by hypertension (20.2%). The proportion of participants with HF with reduced ejection fraction taking the combination of a β-blocker, renin-angiotensin system inhibitor, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist was highest in upper–middle-income (61.9%) and high-income countries (51.1%), and it was lowest in low-income (45.7%) and lower–middle-income countries (39.5%) (P < .001). The age- and sex- standardized mortality rate per 100 person-years was lowest in high-income countries (7.8 [95% CI, 7.5-8.2]), 9.3 (95% CI, 8.8-9.9) in upper–middle-income countries, 15.7 (95% CI, 15.0-16.4) in lower–middle-income countries, and it was highest in low-income countries (19.1 [95% CI, 17.6-20.7]). Hospitalization rates were more frequent than death rates in high-income countries (ratio = 3.8) and in upper–middle-income countries (ratio = 2.4), similar in lower–middle-income countries (ratio = 1.1), and less frequent in low-income countries (ratio = 0.6). The 30-day case-fatality rate after first hospital admission was lowest in high-income countries (6.7%), followed by upper–middle-income countries (9.7%), then lower–middle-income countries (21.1%), and highest in low-income countries (31.6%). The proportional risk of death within 30 days of a first hospital admission was 3- to 5-fold higher in lower–middle-income countries and low-income countries compared with high-income countries after adjusting for patient characteristics and use of long-term HF therapies.
Conclusions and Relevance: This study of HF patients from 40 different countries and derived from 4 different economic levels demonstrated differences in HF etiologies, management, and outcomes. These data may be useful in planning approaches to improve HF prevention and treatment globally