La evaluación de la escritura en el marco de un concurso: del texto narrativo al cuento literario

This article summarizes some of the conclusions of the research project entitled “Analysis of a representative sample of short stories submitted to the Gabriel García Márquez National Short Story Contest”. The article analyzes both the theoretical and methodological implications of the production of narrative texts within the framework of a short story contest for Colombian students. The article also aims to explain why the majority of texts written by students would not reach the required literary status. This subpar performance is due to many lacking or missing elements: dialogs, the sense of alterity, a world vision, a narrative conscience, exceptionality, as well as the absence of mechanismsto draw in readers and play with their expecttions. The article thus concludes that the students are capable of easily writing texts that are narrative in structure, but that they find it difficult to develop a veritable literary intention.En este artículo se presenta uno de los resultados de la investigación “Análisis de una muestra representativa de los relatos presentados al Concurso Nacional de Cuento Gabriel García Márquez”. Se analizan las implicaciones teóricas y metodológicas de la escritura de un texto narrativo en el marco de un concurso de cuento dirigido a los estudiantes colombianos. En ese contexto se formulan las razones por las cuales la gran mayoría de las obras presentadas no alcanzarían el estatus literario, en virtud de los bajos desempeños en cuanto al dialogismo, la alteridad, la visión de mundo, la conciencia narrativa, la excepcionalidad y el juego con el lector. Se concluye, entonces, que los estudiantes producen con facilidad textos con estructura narrativa pero tienen dificultades para configurar una intención literaria

La evaluación de la escritura en el marco de un concurso: del texto narrativo al cuento literario

This article summarizes some of the conclusions of the research project entitled “Analysis of a representative sample of short stories submitted to the Gabriel García Márquez National Short Story Contest”. The article analyzes both the theoretical and methodological implications of the production of narrative texts within the framework of a short story contest for Colombian students. The article also aims to explain why the majority of texts written by students would not reach the required literary status. This subpar performance is due to many lacking or missing elements: dialogs, the sense of alterity, a world vision, a narrative conscience, exceptionality, as well as the absence of mechanismsto draw in readers and play with their expecttions. The article thus concludes that the students are capable of easily writing texts that are narrative in structure, but that they find it difficult to develop a veritable literary intention.En este artículo se presenta uno de los resultados de la investigación “Análisis de una muestra representativa de los relatos presentados al Concurso Nacional de Cuento Gabriel García Márquez”. Se analizan las implicaciones teóricas y metodológicas de la escritura de un texto narrativo en el marco de un concurso de cuento dirigido a los estudiantes colombianos. En ese contexto se formulan las razones por las cuales la gran mayoría de las obras presentadas no alcanzarían el estatus literario, en virtud de los bajos desempeños en cuanto al dialogismo, la alteridad, la visión de mundo, la conciencia narrativa, la excepcionalidad y el juego con el lector. Se concluye, entonces, que los estudiantes producen con facilidad textos con estructura narrativa pero tienen dificultades para configurar una intención literaria

De lo oculto que se les permite y de la visibilidad que se les niega: las mujeres en las letras y artes de Cartagena de Indias (1940-1949)

En el siguiente artículo nos proponemos abordar cómo, a través del cultivo de las letras y las artes, algunas mujeres de la élite cartagenera en la década del cuarenta, intentaron generar una crítica sobre su precaria condición educativa – motivada por restricciones de gé- nero–, al tiempo que buscaban ser visibles ante una sociedad que las excluía de lo público y les atribuía roles nítidamente diferenciados del masculino. Para ello haremos un recorrido sobre los antecedentes históricos y algunos debates presentados en la prensa sobre el papel de la mujer en relación con las letras y las artes

Nrf2-Mediated Antioxidant Activity of the inner bark extracts obtained from Tabebuia rosea (Bertol) DC and Tabebuia chrysantha (JACQ) G. Nicholson. [version 2; referees: 2 approved]

Background: Several ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological studies have shown the therapeutic potential of plants from the genus Tabebuia, which have long been used in traditional medicine in rural areas of South America, for the treatment of several human diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant activity of the inner bark extracts obtained from Tabebuia rosea and Tabebuia chrysantha. Methods: The antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from the inner bark of T. rosea and T. chrysantha was evaluated using the Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) technique. The effect of extracts on the viability of HepG2 cells was determined using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. The translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus after exposure of HepG2 cells to the extracts and controls (α-lipoic acid, curcumin and hydrogen peroxide) was evaluated using the Nrf2 transcription factor kit. Induction of the Nrf2-mediated antioxidant response gene (NQO1) was evaluated by real-time PCR. Results: The ethyl acetate extract obtained from both species displayed the highest ORAC activity (12,523 and 6,325 µmoles Eq Trolox/g extract). In addition, the extracts had the ability to activate and to translocate Nrf2 to the nucleus, as well as to induce the expression of NQO1. Conclusion: These results indicate that the ethyl acetate extracts obtained from the inner bark of T. chrysantha and T. rosea have an important antioxidant effect mediated by Nrf2 activation, and could be used as a new source of natural antioxidants

Contribution of common and rare variants to bipolar disorder susceptibility in extended pedigrees from population isolates.

Current evidence from case/control studies indicates that genetic risk for psychiatric disorders derives primarily from numerous common variants, each with a small phenotypic impact. The literature describing apparent segregation of bipolar disorder (BP) in numerous multigenerational pedigrees suggests that, in such families, large-effect inherited variants might play a greater role. To identify roles of rare and common variants on BP, we conducted genetic analyses in 26 Colombia and Costa Rica pedigrees ascertained for bipolar disorder 1 (BP1), the most severe and heritable form of BP. In these pedigrees, we performed microarray SNP genotyping of 838 individuals and high-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 449 individuals. We compared polygenic risk scores (PRS), estimated using the latest BP1 genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics, between BP1 individuals and related controls. We also evaluated whether BP1 individuals had a higher burden of rare deleterious single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) and rare copy number variants (CNVs) in a set of genes related to BP1. We found that compared with unaffected relatives, BP1 individuals had higher PRS estimated from BP1 GWAS statistics (P = 0.001 ~ 0.007) and displayed modest increase in burdens of rare deleterious SNVs (P = 0.047) and rare CNVs (P = 0.002 ~ 0.033) in genes related to BP1. We did not observe rare variants segregating in the pedigrees. These results suggest that small-to-moderate effect rare and common variants are more likely to contribute to BP1 risk in these extended pedigrees than a few large-effect rare variants

Factores de riesgo para trastornos de la alimentación en los alumnos de la Universidad de Manizales

ResumenObjetivo: Determinar la frecuencia de los factores de riesgo para trastornos de la alimentación en estudiantes de la Universidad de Manizales. Materiales y métodos: De 3,610 estudiantes regulares de la Universidad  de Manizales se tomó una muestra de 165 estudiantes, quienes respondieron un cuestionario integrado compuesto por variables demográficas, las escalas de Zung para ansiedad o depresión,el Eating Disorderrs Inventory (EDI2) y el Apgar familiar; además se tomaron las medidas de peso, talla, índice de masa corporal y pliegue en el antebrazo. Resultado: Un12.7% de la población presentó factor de riesgo positivo para trastornos de la conducta alimentaría, 17.3% de la población femenina y el 3.8% de la población masculina; las personas con mayor factor de riesgo fueron las mujeres en la facultad de Comunicación Social y Periodismo (24.1%). Se determinó una  relación significativa entre la variable impulso por la delgadez con la ansiedad o depresión. El mayor índice de masa corporal y de porcentaje de grasa está asociado con un aumentoen la variable impulso por la delgadez. Conclusiones:Se encontraron factores de riesgo asociados con trastornos de la alimentación. La frecuencia del factor de riesgo según EDI2 en este estudio fue más baja que la encontrada en estudios realizados en Medellín y Bogotá.[Cano AA, Castaño JJ, Corredor DA, García AM, González M, Lloreda OL, et al. Factores de riesgo para trastornos de la alimentación en los alumnos de la Universidad de Manizales. MedUNAB 2007; 10:187-194].Palabras claves: Trastornos de la conducta alimentaria, factores de riesgo; Anorexia nerviosa, Bulimia

Development of a Mesoamerican intra-genepool genetic map for quantitative trait loci detection in a drought tolerant × susceptible common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cross

Drought is a major constraint to common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production, especially in developing countries where irrigation for the crop is infrequent. The Mesoamerican genepool is the most widely grown subdivision of common beans that include small red, small cream and black seeded varieties. The objective of this study was to develop a reliable genetic map for a Mesoamerican × Mesoamerican drought tolerant × susceptible cross and to use this map to analyze the inheritance of yield traits under drought and fully irrigated conditions over 3 years of experiments. The source of drought tolerance used in the cross was the cream-seeded advanced line BAT477 crossed with the small red variety DOR364 and the population was made up of recombinant inbred lines in the F5 generation. Quantitative trait loci were detected by composite interval mapping for the traits of overall seed yield, yield per day, 100 seed weight, days to flowering and days to maturity for each field environment consisting of two treatments (irrigated and rainfed) and lattice design experiments with three repetitions for a total of six environments. The genetic map based on amplified fragment length polymorphism and random amplified polymorphic DNA markers was anchored with 60 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and had a total map length of 1,087.5 cM across 11 linkage groups covering the whole common bean genome with saturation of one marker every 5.9 cM. Gaps for the genetic map existed on linkage groups b03, b09 and b11 but overall there were only nine gaps larger than 15 cM. All traits were inherited quantitatively, with the greatest number for seed weight followed by yield per day, yield per se, days to flowering and days to maturity. The relevance of these results for breeding common beans is discussed in particular in the light of crop improvement for drought tolerance in the Mesoamerican genepool

Genetic contributions to circadian activity rhythm and sleep pattern phenotypes in pedigrees segregating for severe bipolar disorder

Abnormalities in sleep and circadian rhythms are central features of bipolar disorder (BP), often persisting between episodes. We report here, to our knowledge, the first systematic analysis of circadian rhythm activity in pedigrees segregating severe BP (BP-I). By analyzing actigraphy data obtained from members of 26 Costa Rican and Colombian pedigrees [136 euthymic (i.e., interepisode) BP-I individuals and 422 non-BP-I relatives], we delineated 73 phenotypes, of which 49 demonstrated significant heritability and 13 showed significant trait-like association with BP-I. All BP-I-associated traits related to activity level, with BP-I individuals consistently demonstrating lower activity levels than their non-BP-I relatives. We analyzed all 49 heritable phenotypes using genetic linkage analysis, with special emphasis on phenotypes judged to have the strongest impact on the biology underlying BP. We identified a locus for interdaily stability of activity, at a threshold exceeding genome-wide significance, on chromosome 12pter, a region that also showed pleiotropic linkage to two additional activity phenotypes.National Institute of Health/[R01MH075007]/NIH/Estados UnidosNational Institute of Health/[R01MH095454]/NIH/Estados UnidosNational Institute of Health/[P30NS062691]/NIH/Estados UnidosNational Institute of Health/[T32MH073526]/NIH/Estados UnidosNational Institute of Health/[K23MH074644-01]/NIH/Estados UnidosNational Institute of Health/[K08MH086786]/NIH/Estados UnidosUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Biología Celular y Molecular (CIBCM

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men