Is a low level of free thyroxine in the maternal circulation associated with altered endothelial function in gestational diabetes?

Synthesis of thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3), in the human fetus starts from 17 to 19th weeks of gestation. Despite the majority of normal pregnant women reaching adequate levels of circulating thyroid hormones, in some cases, women with normal pregnancies have low level of free T4 during first trimester of pregnancy, suggesting that T4 action may be compromised in those women and their fetuses. In addition, pathological low levels of thyroid hormones are detected in isolated maternal hypothyroxemia (IMH) and clinical hypothyroidism. Nevertheless, human placenta regulates T3/T4 concentration in the fetal circulation by modulating the expression and activity of both thyroid hormone transporters (THT) and deiodinases. Then, placenta can control the availability of T3/T4 in the feto-placental circulation, and therefore may generate an adaptive response in cases where the mother courses with low levels of T4. In addition, T3/T4 might control vascular response in the placenta, in particularly endothelial cells may induce the synthesis and release of vasodilators such as nitric oxide (NO) or vasoconstrictors such as endothelin-1 mediated by these hormones. On the other hand, low levels of T4 have been associated with increase in gestational diabetes (GD) markers. Since GD is associated with impaired placental vascular function characterized by increased NO synthesis in placental arteries and veins, as well as elevated placental angiogenesis, it is unknown whether reduced T4 level at the maternal circulation could result in an altered placental endothelial function during GD. In this review, we analyze available information regarding thyroid hormones and endothelial dysfunction in GD; and propose that low maternal levels of T4 observed in GD may be compensated by increased placental availability of T3/T4 via elevation in the activity of THT and/or reduction in deiodinases in the feto-placental circulation

A study on labeling network hostile behavior with Intelligent Interactive tools

Labeling a real network dataset is specially expensive in computersecurity, as an expert has to ponder several factors before assigningeach label. This paper describes an interactive intelligent systemto support the task of identifying hostile behaviors in network logs.The RiskID application uses visualizations to graphically encodefeatures of network connections and promote visual comparison. Inthe background, two algorithms are used to actively organize con-nections and predict potential labels: a recommendation algorithmand a semi-supervised learning strategy. These algorithms togetherwith interactive adaptions to the user interface constitute a behaviorrecommendation. A study is carried out to analyze how the algo-rithms for recommendation and prediction influence the workflowof labeling a dataset. The results of a study with 16 participantsindicate that the behaviour recommendation significantly improvesthe quality of labels. Analyzing interaction patterns, we identify amore intuitive workflow used when behaviour recommendation isavailable.Fil: Guerra Torres, Jorge Luis. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Veas, Eduardo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Catania, Carlos Adrian. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina2019 IEEE Symposium on Visualization for Cyber SecurityVancouverCanadáInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer

Diseño de un modelo metodológico para el desarrollo de un plan de implantación de un sistema de información administrativa

Tesis (Ingeniería en Gestión Informática.)RESUMEN El objetivo de este proyecto de título es definir un Modelo Metodológico para desarrollar planes de implantación de soluciones TI, con un enfoque totalmente práctico pero dejando un marco teórico que garantice la construcción de modelos siempre más robustos o soluciones alternativas, todos desan-ollados con base en este prototipo de modelo metodológico. Para poder concretar el objetivo descrito en el párrafo anterior se utilizó la guía de buenas prácticas PMBOK, toda vez que éste corresponde al desarrollo de un proyecto. Para efectos de la etapa de ejecución (y control) del mismo, se utilizo un modelo metodológico propio basado en una adaptación de la Metodología de la Investigación, (Hemández Sampieri, Femández Collado, Baptista Lucio, 1998), la que considera abordar tres de sus principales atributos (Investigación, Observación, Descripción), para aplicarlos y desarrollarlos en las etapas sucesivas del proyecto dentro de sus diferentes fases y actividades, según lo postula la gestión de proyectos en PMBOK

Las consecuencias civiles del estado de necesidad justificantes en Chile

This article aims to determine whether necessity has consequences under civil law in Chile in the absence of an explicit norm. We have summarizedthe opinions of Chilean criminal and civil doctrine on this matter, concluding that these views contradict one other. In our opinion, necessity is a cause of justifi-cation that excludes both criminal and civil liability. However,considering tho-se legal systems that have expressly regulated the matter inquestion, as well as the opinion of Chilean civil doctrine, we assert that the reparation of the damages by means of the so-called compensations for sacrifice is acceptable.El objetivo de esta investigación es determinar si existen consecuencias civiles en los casos de estado de necesidad justificante en Chile ante ausencia de norma expresa. Así, hemos sistematizado las opiniones de la doctrina chilena penal y civil sobre este problema, las cuales se contraponen. En nuestra opinión, el estado de necesidad justificante es una causal de justificación que exime tanto de responsabilidad penal como civil al autor del daño. Sin embargo, teniendo a la vista los ordenamientos que han regulado la materia expresamente, así como la opinión de la doctrina civil chilena, afirmamos que es posible aceptar la procedencia de la reparación de los daños producidos a través de las denominadas indemnizaciones o compensaciones por sacrificio

Lineage Analysis of Circulating Trypanosoma cruzi Parasites and Their Association with Clinical Forms of Chagas Disease in Bolivia

Around 30–50% of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in Latin America cause chronic Chagas disease 10–30 years after the primary infection due to lack of effective treatment. The major clinical complications associated with chronic Chagas disease are cardiac myositis (leading to cardiac failure), and autonomous neuroplexus degeneration of the digestive tract that can cause megacolon or megaesophagus. Therefore, there are three major clinical forms of Chagas disease; cardiac, digestive and indeterminate (asymptomatic). The parasites, which can infect humans as well as other mammals, are transmitted by species of triatomines commonly found in the Americas. The parasite is divided in at least six discrete typing units: TcI, TcIIa–e. In humans, the TcI is mainly observed in Central America and northern parts of South America while the TcIIb/d/e is confined mainly to the southern cone of Latin America. We determined which DTU were prevalent in chronic patients in Bolivia, where the three clinical forms and several DTUs of the parasites are present, in order to determine whether there was a link between a particular parasite DTU and a particular clinical outcome. We found a vast majority of TcIId but its kDNA polymorphism showed no association with any of the clinical manifestations of chronic Chagas

Active learning approach to label network traffic datasets

In the field of network security, the process of labeling a network traffic dataset is specially expensive since expert knowledge is required to perform the annotations. With the aid of visual analytic applications such as RiskID, the effort of labeling network traffic is considerable reduced. However, since the label assignment still requires an expert pondering several factors, the annotation process remains a difficult task. The present article introduces a novel active learning strategy for building a random forest model based on user previously-labeled connections. The resulting model provides to the user an estimation of the probability of the remaining unlabeled connections helping him in the traffic annotation task. The article describes the active learning strategy, the interfaces with the RiskID system, the algorithms used to predict botnet behavior, and a proposed evaluation framework. The evaluation framework includes studies to assess not only the prediction performance of the active learning strategy but also the learning rate and resilience against noise as well as the improvements on other well known labeling strategies. The framework represents a complete methodology for evaluating the performance of any active learning solution. The evaluation results showed proposed approach is a significant improvement over previous labeling strategies.Fil: Guerra Torres, Jorge Luis. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Catania, Carlos Adrian. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Veas, Eduardo. Graz University Of Technology.; Austri

ANASENOT: programa computacional para el análisis de un corpus de sentencias penales y noticias policiales

The purpose of this paper is to describe the principal characteristics and functions of the softwareANASENOTfor analyzing the corpus of penal judgments by the Temuco (Chile) Court and police news from the Austral de La Araucanía newspaper between 2001 and 2008. In theoreticalconceptual terms, the study distinguishes between text and speech categories. The software consists of a database of words and phrases previously defined according to criteria of frequency and thematic relevance. To conclude, use of this software is proposed for this type of corpus, and complementary research using other tools is suggested.El propósito de este artículo es describir las principales características y funcionalidades del software ANASENOT, para el análisis del corpus de sentencias penales correspondientes al Tribunal de Temuco (Chile), entre los años 2001 y 2008, y de noticias policiales del diario El Austral de La Araucanía. Desde el punto de vista teórico-conceptual, se considera una distinción entre las categorías de texto y discurso. El software consiste en una base de datos de palabras y frases, pre-definida bajo criterios de repetición y pertinencia temática. Para concluir, se propone el uso del software para este tipo de corpus y se sugiere un trabajo complementario con otras herramientas

Antibacterial Effect of Luma apiculata (DC.) Burret Extracts in Clinically Important Bacteria

Nosocomial infections caused by bacteria are one of the main public health problems. Moreover, the resistance to antibiotics by these bacteria makes it necessary to find new treatments to fight them. Objective. To evaluate the antibacterial activity of Luma apiculata (DC.) Burret extracts on bacteria of clinical importance. Materials and Methods. In this study, extracts were obtained at room temperature by successive extraction of L. apiculata leaves, flowers, and branches and treated separately with solvents of ascending polarity (i.e., hexane, methylene dichloride, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol, and water) to extract the compounds depending on their polarity. Then, the extract’s antibacterial activity was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Enterococcus sp, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. Results. The hexane extract of L. apiculata leaves resulted to be active against all bacteria tested. Among them, S. aureus showed to be the more susceptible, showing a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 120 μg/ml. In addition, a growth curve was performed, and colonies were counted. A decrease in bacterial growth was observed when the hexane extract of L. apiculata leaves was added. Besides, the hexane extracts of L. apiculata flowers resulted to be active against all Gram-positive tested bacteria. However, at higher concentrations, this extract resulted inactive for the Gram-negative bacteria tested. The hexane extract of L. apiculata branches resulted to be inactive in all cases. The extracts obtained treating separately leaves, flowers, or branches with solvents of major polarity than the hexane in a successive extraction of ascending polarity methodology resulted also to be inactive as an antimicrobial against all bacteria tested. Discussion/Conclusion. The hexane extract of L. apiculata leaves showed the lower MIC against S. aureus when compared with extracts obtained from other parts of the plant. The growth curve and the colonies count suggest a bacteriostatic activity of the L. apiculata leaves extract against Staphylococcus aureus

RESECCIÓN ENDOMETRIAL HISTEROSCÓPICA MÁS INSERCIÓN DE DIU-LNG EN EL SANGRADO UTERINO ANORMAL REFRACTARIO A TRATAMIENTO MÉDICO

Objetivo: Evaluar los resultados del tratamiento del sangrado uterino anormal (SUA) refractario a tratamiento médico, con resección endometrial histeroscópica asociado a la inserción de un sistema intrauterino de liberación de levonorgestrel. Método: Estudio prospectivo de 24 pacientes con SUA tratadas con resección endometrial histeroscópica seguida de inserción de un dispositivo intrauterino que libera 20 microgramos diarios de levonorgestrel. Resultados: En 23 de las 24 pacientes tratadas se obtuvo un resultado favorable en término de control del SUA, con un período de seguimiento promedio de 18,3 meses. Una paciente requirió histerectomía por persistencia de dolor pélvico. Conclusión: Asociar a la resección endometrial histeroscópica la inserción de un sistema intrauterino de liberación de levonorgestrel mejora los resultados de la cirugía conservadora pudiendo evitar la histerectomía en el 95,9% de las mujeres con SUA de causa benign