Ecuador dentro del circuito de producción, tráfico y venta de drogas a los consumidores del primer mundo y su lucha antinarcóticos durante el período 2008-2012

La presente disertación se centra en la problemática de las drogas en Ecuador, un fenómeno cuyos tentáculos trascienden cualquier tipo de frontera. Ecuador, junto con los países vecinos y latinoamericanos, está en la necesidad de fortalecer su capacidad nacional de respuesta frente a los problemas y retos que el narcotráfico plantea en todos sus niveles ya que constituye un fenómeno de carácter transnacional con efectos multidimensionales. A fin de analizar el rol de Ecuador dentro del circuito de tráfico, producción y venta de drogas a los consumidores del primer mundo, así como la aplicación de las políticas nacionales antidrogas, se han planteado tres objetivos orientados primeramente a: determinar los alcances del narcotráfico, sus actividades inherentes y de qué manera debilitan la seguridad nacional. En segundo lugar, se pretende identificar el rol polifuncional del país como origen de varias rutas de tráfico de sustancias estupefacientes y psicotrópicas hacia mercados internacionales. Finalmente, se describirá el rol desempeñado por el Estado ecuatoriano y los organismos especializados en materia de narcotráfico en la aplicación de las políticas antidrogas. Para dar cumplimiento a los objetivos trazados, este trabajo de grado contempla el estudio de tres capítulos. El primero de ellos introduce de una manera general el concepto de seguridad nacional como una prioridad mundial para después darle un tratamiento desde el ámbito local, recalcando la obligación que tiene el Estado ecuatoriano de proteger a sus ciudadanos de cualquier tipo de invasión y/o amenaza externa o interna. El país reconoce al crimen organizado como una red delictiva que amenaza su seguridad nacional

A Stochastic Model for Chain Collisions of Vehicles Equipped With Vehicular Communications

Improvement of traffic safety by cooperative vehicular applications is one of the most promising benefits of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). However, to properly develop such applications, the influence of different driving parameters on the event of vehicle collision must be assessed at an early design stage. In this paper, we derive a stochastic model for the number of accidents in a platoon of vehicles equipped with a warning collision notification system, which is able to inform all the vehicles about an emergency event. In fact, the assumption of communications being used is key to simplify the derivation of a stochastic model. The model enables the computation of the average number of collisions that occur in the platoon, the probabilities of the different ways in which the collisions may take place, as well as other statistics of interest. Although an exponential distribution has been used for the traffic density, it is also valid for different probability distributions for traffic densities, as well as for other significant parameters of the model. Moreover, the actual communication system employed is independent of the model since it is abstracted by a message delay variable, which allows it to be used to evaluate different communication technologies. We validate the proposed model with Monte Carlo simulations. With this model, one can quickly evaluate numerically the influence of different model parameters (vehicle density, velocities, decelerations, and delays) on the collision process and draw conclusions that shed relevant guidelines for the design of vehicular communication systems, as well as chain collision avoidance applications. Illustrative examples of application are provided, although a systematic characterization and evaluation of different scenarios is left as future work.This work was supported in part by the MICINN/FEDER project under Grant TEC2010-21405-C02-02/TCM (CALM) and in part by Fundación Seneca RM under Grants 00002/CS/08 FORMA and 04549/GERM/06. The work of J. Garcia-Haro was supported by Grant PR2009-0337. The work of E. Egea was supported by the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena under Grant PMPDI-UPCT-2011. The work of J. Tomas- Gabarron was supported by Grant AP2008-02244. The work of C. Garcia-Costa was supported by Grant 12347/FPI/09

Comparing nitrate-N losses through leaching by field measurements and nitrogen balance estimations.

Nitrogen (N) balance method is a valuable tool for estimating N losses. However, this technique could lead to incorrect estimates of the amount of nitrate (NO3 −N) leaching if processes relevant to N losses are not considered properly. The aim of this study was to compare NO3 −-N leaching losses estimated using an N balance (nonrecovered N, Nne) with data of NO3 −-N leaching losses (Nl). The experiment was made on a Typic Argiudoll soil planted with corn (five growing seasons) under 0, 100, and 200 kg N ha−1. The ceramic soil-water suction samplers were installed (1 m deep). Drainage was estimated by the LEACH-W model. The greatest overestimation with the N balance method occurred for years with annual rainfall below the historical average and at times of high NO3 −-N availability. Future research should focus on investigating mechanisms of N losses relevant under limited water availability.Fil: Aparicio, Virginia Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Costa, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; ArgentinaFil: Sainz Rozas, Hernan Rene. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gimenez, Daniel. Universidad de Rutgers; Estados UnidosFil: García, Fernando. IPNI Latin America-Southern Cone Program; Argentin

A pharmacoproteomic study confirms the synergistic effect of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine

[Abstract] Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common age-related rheumatic disease. Chondrocytes play a primary role in mediating cartilage destruction and extracellular matrix (ECM) breakdown, which are main features of the OA joint. Quantitative proteomics technologies are demonstrating a very interesting power for studying the molecular effects of some drugs currently used to treat OA patients, such as chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN). In this work, we employed the iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation) technique to assess the effect of CS and GlcN, both alone and in combination, in modifying cartilage ECM metabolism by the analysis of OA chondrocytes secretome. 186 different proteins secreted by the treated OA chondrocytes were identified. 36 of them presented statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) between untreated and treated samples: 32 were increased and 4 decreased. The synergistic chondroprotective effect of CS and GlcN, firstly reported by our group at the intracellular level, is now demonstrated also at the extracellular level.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CIBER-CB06/01/0040Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI11/02397Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI12/00329Instituto de Salud Carlos III; RETIC-RIER-RD12/0009/0018Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; PLE2009-0144Xunta de Galicia; 10 PXIB 310153 P

Corpus Callosum Microstructural Changes Correlate with Cognitive Dysfunction in Early Stages of Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Axial and Radial Diffusivities Approach

The corpus callosum is the largest fiber bundle in the central nervous system and it takes part in several cognitive pathways. It can be affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) early in the disease. DTI is capable of infering the microstructural organization of the white matter. The vectorial analysis of the DTI offers the more specific indices of axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD), which have shown to be useful to discriminate myelin damage from axon loss, respectively. This study presents DTI results (mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), RD, and AD) of 23 relapsing-remitting MS patients and its correlation with cognitive performance. There were 47.8% of cognitive impaired patients (MS CI). We found signs of demyelination, reflected by increased RD, and incipient axon loss, reflected by AD increase, which was slightly higher in the MS CI. The cognitive changes correlated with the DTI parameters, suggesting that loss of complexity in CC connections can impair neural conduction. Thus, cognitive impairment can be related to callosal disconnection, and DTI can be a promising tool to evaluate those changes

Defining Optimal Conditions for Tumor Extracellular Vesicle DNA Extraction for Mutation Profiling

(1) Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as crucial players in the communication between cells in both physiological and pathological scenarios. The functions of EVs are strongly determined by their molecular content, which includes all bioactive molecules, such as proteins, lipids, RNA, and, as more recently described, double-stranded DNA. It has been shown that in oncological settings DNA associated with EVs (EV-DNA) is representative of the genome of parental cells and that it reflects the mutational status of the tumor, gaining much attention as a promising source of biomarker mutant DNA. However, one of the challenges in studies of EV-DNA is the lack of standardization of protocols for the DNA extraction from EVs, as well as ways to assess quality control, which hinders its future implementation in clinics. (2) Methods: We performed a comprehensive comparison of commonly used approaches for EV-DNA extraction by assessing DNA quantity, quality, and suitability for downstream analyses. (3) Results: We here established strategic points to consider for EV-DNA preparation for mutational analyses, including qPCR and NGS. (4) Conclusions: We put in place a workflow that can be applied for the detection of clinically relevant mutations in the EV-DNA of cancer patients

‘People lie’: overcoming obstacles to incorporate social science research to biodiversity conservation

Mesmo com o reconhecimento da importância da interdisciplinaridade na conservação da biodiversidade, ainda há resistência em incorporar a pesquisa em ciências sociais (PCS) ao pensamento e à prática conservacionista. As razões para tal resistência podem ser resumidas em três afirmações gerais ainda comumente atribuídas à PCS: 'tem pouca utilidade' e 'menos rigor metodológico' quando comparada à pesquisa em ciências naturais e, sobretudo, é pouco confiável porque 'as pessoas mentem'. Neste ensaio, desenvolvido a partir da experiência dos participantes de uma comunidade de prática, formada por profissionais de diversas áreas e setores relacionados à conservação, e das discussões geradas nesse espaço de aprendizado coletivo, abordamos as limitações e os equívocos por trás das afirmações acima. A PCS não é menos útil na conservação e nem tem menos rigor metodológico do que a pesquisa em ciências naturais, e quando as pessoas mentem para o pesquisador o problema não está na pesquisa em si, mas na relação entre sujeito e pesquisador. Argumentamos que à medida que os conservacionistas se familiarizam com a PCS e que os princípios de equidade e justiça são incorporados aos valores e objetivos da conservação, a importância e necessidade da PCS na conservação tornam-se óbvias, e a falta de confiança entre pesquisador e sujeitos deixa de ser uma preocupação significativa. Capacitar, integrar e apoiar são nossas recomendações básicas para pesquisadores, educadores, gestores e tomadores de decisão nas áreas de conservação, ensino, publicação e financiamento, para que a PCS cumpra plenamente seu papel na conservação.Despite the acknowledged importance of interdisciplinarity in biodiversity conservation, there is still resistance to incorporate social science research (SSR) to both conservationist thinking and practice. The reasons for such a resistance can be summarized in three general statements still commonly attributed to SSR, namely: it is of 'little use' and it has 'less methodological rigor' than research in the natural sciences and, above all, it is unreliable because 'people lie'. The current essay was developed based on the experience of participants of a community of practice (formed by professionals from different fields and sectors  associated with conservation), as well as on discussions held in this space of collective learning. It addresses the limitations and misconceptions behind the aforementioned statements. SSR is not less useful in conservation and not less methodologically rigorous than research conducted in the natural sciences. When researchers are lied to, the problem does not lie on the research itself, but on the subject-researcher relationship. We herein argue that as conservationists become more familiar with SSR, and as principles like equity and justice are incorporated to conservation values and goals, both the importance and need of SSR in conservation become obvious, making the lack of trust between researcher and subjects no longer a significant concern. Increasing capacity, integrating and supporting are our basic recommendations for researchers, educators, managers and decision-makers in the conservation, teaching, publishing and funding fields, so that SSR can fully fulfill its role in conservation

Perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices in adults: an 8-nation study from Latin America

© The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.This study examines the associations between perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices by country using data from an eight-nation study from Latin America. The data were collected from 8185 adults. The Neighbourhood Environment Walkability-abbreviated scale was used to assess perceived urban environment attributes. Obesity indices considered were body mass index, waist circumference, neck circumference, a body shape index and waist-to-height ratio. The perception of a more and better land use mix-diversity (β - 0.44; 95% CI - 0.59, - 0.28), traffic safety (- 0.39; - 0.66, - 0.12), and safety from crime (- 0.36; - 0.57, - 0.15) was associated with lower body mass index across the entire sample. Land use mix-diversity (- 1.21; - 1.60, - 0.82), street connectivity (- 0.26; - 0.37, - 0.15), and traffic safety (- 0.79; - 1.47, - 0.12) were negatively associated with waist circumference. Land use mix-diversity (- 0.11; - 0.20, - 0.03), land use mix-access (- 0.23; - 0.34, 0.12), walking/cycling facilities (- 0.22; - 0.37, - 0.08), and safety from crime (- 0.27; - 0.42, - 0.12) were negatively associated with neck circumference. No associations between perceived urban environment attributes and a body shape index were found. Land use mix-diversity (- 0.01; - 0.02, - 0.01), aesthetics (- 0.02; - 0.03, - 0.01), and safety from crime (- 0.02; - 0.04, - 0.01) were associated with waist-to-height ratio. Environmental interventions involving urban environment attributes are associated with obesity indices and, therefore, may help decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Body mass index and disease activity in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: results of the Cardiovascular in Rheumatology (Carma) Project

Objective: Since obesity has been associated with a higher inflammatory burden and worse response to therapy in patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (CIRD), we aimed to confirm the potential association between body mass index (BMI) and disease activity in a large series of patients with CIRDs included in the Spanish CARdiovascular in rheuMAtology (CARMA) registry. Methods: Baseline data analysis of patients included from the CARMA project, a 10-year prospective study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) attending outpatient rheumatology clinics from 67 Spanish hospitals. Obesity was defined when BMI (kg/m2) was >30 according to the WHO criteria. Scores used to evaluate disease activity were Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS28) in RA, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) in AS, and modified DAS for PsA. Results: Data from 2234 patients (775 RA, 738 AS, and 721 PsA) were assessed. The mean ± SD BMI at the baseline visit were: 26.9 ± 4.8 in RA, 27.4 ± 4.4 in AS, and 28.2 ± 4.7 in PsA. A positive association between BMI and disease activity in patients with RA (β = 0.029; 95%CI (0.01- 0.05); p = 0.007) and PsA (β = 0.036; 95%CI (0.015-0.058); p = 0.001) but not in those with AS (β = 0.001; 95%CI (-0.03-0.03); p = 0.926) was found. Disease activity was associated with female sex and rheumatoid factor in RA and with Psoriasis Area Severity Index and enthesitis in PsA. Conclusions: BMI is associated with disease activity in RA and PsA, but not in AS. Given that obesity is a potentially modifiable factor, adequate control of body weight can improve the outcome of patients with CIRD and, therefore, weight control should be included in the management strategy of these patients

Real‐world evidence of tisagenlecleucel for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B‐cell lymphoma

Tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) is a second-generation autologous CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). The approval was based on the results of phase II JULIET trial, with a best overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR) rate in infused patients of 52% and 40%, respectively. We report outcomes with tisa-cel in the standard-of-care (SOC) setting for R/R LBCL. Data from all patients with R/R LBCL who underwent leukapheresis from December 2018 until June 2020 with the intent to receive SOC tisa-cel were retrospectively collected at 10 Spanish institutions. Toxicities were graded according to ASTCT criteria and responses were assessed as per Lugano 2014 classification. Of 91 patients who underwent leukapheresis, 75 (82%) received tisa-cel therapy. Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity occurred in 5% and 1%, respectively; non-relapse mortality was 4%. Among the infused patients, best ORR and CR were 60% and 32%, respectively, with a median duration of response of 8.9 months. With a median follow-up of 14.1 months from CAR T-cell infusion, median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3 months and 10.7 months, respectively. At 12 months, patients in CR at first disease evaluation had a PFS of 87% and OS of 93%. Patients with an elevated lactate dehydrogenase showed a shorter PFS and OS on multivariate analysis. Treatment with tisa-cel for patients with relapsed/refractory LBCL in a European SOC setting showed a manageable safety profile and durable complete responses