Diseño de una propuesta pedagógica y didáctica mediante el uso de herramientas tecnológicas gratuitas: La mansión del inglés y Busuu; como estrategia de mejoramiento en el proceso del aprendizaje del inglés en estudiantes del Nivel A1 de la Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), Centro Comunitario de Atención Virtual (CCAV) Zipaquirá.

El proyecto nace de la importancia que tiene el inglés como idioma universal y su relevancia en las competencias básicas de los profesionales actuales en mundo cambiante, exigente y cómo influyen las herramientas tecno pedagógicas en el alcance del aprendizaje a través de las diferentes App’s (application)en el mercado de las aplicaciones móviles enfocando la población en estudiantes del nivel A1 en inglés de la Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), CCAV ZipaquiráThe project is born from the importance of English as a universal language and its relevance in the basic competences of current professionals in the changing, demanding world and how the pedagogical tools influence the scope of learning through the different App's (application) in the market of mobile applications focusing the population on students of A1 level in English of the National Open and Distance University (UNAD), CCAV Zipaquir

Mejores trabajos de grado de la carrera de Farmacia de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia durante el segundo semestre de 2017

La Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Químico-Farmacéuticas para incentivar a los jóvenes investigadores publica los mejores trabajos de la carrera de Farmacia durante el segundo periodo del 2017

Susceptibilidad antibiótica de bacterias presentes en piodermas de caninos (Canis lupus familiaris)

Introduction. Bacterial resistance has increased to a considerable extent when treating infections, and this plays a particularly significant role since it limits the veterinarian when conducting an effective treatment, which is why in these cases the use of antibiograms is essential. Objective. The objective of this study was to identify the bacteria found in samples of pyodermas and their antibiotic sensitivity in dogs that attend a veterinary consultation in the city of Cuenca. Methodology. 60 samples were taken from canine patients who came to a veterinary consultation in the city through a swab of the purulent lesion in patients who have not received antibiotics in the last 3 days, and a culture and antibiogram were performed. Results. from the general population corresponding to 60 canines, two microorganisms were isolated: 6 samples of Staphylococcus aureus representing 10% of the total study, of which Cefovecin sodium and Azithromycin presented 100% sensitivity, 66.67% sensitivity belonging to Levofloxacin, Amoxicillin, Amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, Ciprofloxacin, Cefuroxime and Doxycycline; while, with a 33.33% sensitivity we have to Cephalexin and Clindamycin; In the remaining 54 samples, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was isolated, representing 90% of the study, obtaining a sensitivity of 81.48% for Amoxicillin and amoxicillin + + clavulanic acid, Levofloxacin 79.63%, in third place is Ciprofloxacin and Cefuroxime with a percentage of 77.78 %, followed with 74.07% are Cephalexin and Azithromycin, in the range of 50 and 60% are Cefovecin sodium, Clindamycin and Doxycycline with 64.81, and 59.26% respectively, while antibiotics with the lowest sensitivity were Penicillin and Oxacillin presenting a 7.41 and 0.00% sensitivity respectively. Conclusion. The study did not find bacterial resistance to Cefovecin sodium against Staphylococcus aureus and S. coagulase negative. The antibiotics with the highest percentage of bacterial resistance against Staphylococcus aureus and S. coagulase negative were Penicillin and Oxacillin. Study area. Veterinary.Introducción: la resistencia bacteriana se ha incrementado en gran proporción al momento de tratar infecciones, y esto juega un papel de gran importancia ya que limita al veterinario al momento de realizar un tratamiento efectivo, por eso en estos casos es imprescindible el uso del antibiograma. Objetivo: el objetivo del presente estudio fue Identificar las bacterias encontradas en muestras de piodermas y su sensibilidad antibiótica en perros que asisten a consulta veterinaria en la ciudad de Cuenca, Metodología: se tomaron 60 muestras de pacientes de especie canina que lleguen a consulta en veterinarias en la ciudad mediante un hisopado de la lesión purulenta en pacientes que no han recibido antibióticos los últimos 3 días, y se realizó un cultivo y antibiograma. Resultados: de la población general correspondiente a 60 caninos se aislaron dos microorganismos: 6 muestras de Staphylococcus aureus representando el 10% del total de estudio  de los cuales el Cefovecín sódico  y la Azitromicina presentó el 100% de sensibilidad, el 66.67% de sensibilidad pertenecientes a la Levofloxacina, Amoxicilina, Amoxicilina + ácido clavulánico, Ciprofloxacina, Cefuroxima y Doxiciclina; mientras que, con un 33.33% de sensibilidad tenemos a la Cefalexina y Clindamicina; en las 54 muestras restantes  se aisló Staphylococcus coagulasa negativa representando el 90% del estudio, obteniendo sensibilidad del 81.48% para Amoxicilina y amoxicilina + +ácido clavulánico, la Levofloxacina un 79.63%, en tercer lugar está la Ciprofloxacina y Cefuroxima con un porcentaje del 77.78%, seguidos con el 74.07% están la Cefalexina y Azitromicina, en el rango de 50 y 60% se encuentran  el Cefovecin sódico, Clindamicina y Doxiciclina con el 64.81,  y 59,26% respectivamente, mientras que, los antibióticos con la menor sensibilidad fueron la Penicilina y Oxacilina presentando un 7.41 y 0.00% de sensibilidad respectivamente. Conclusión: En el estudio no se encontró resistencia bacteriana al Cefovecin sódico frente a Staphylococcus aureus y S. coagulasa negativa. Los antibióticos con mayor porcentaje de resistencia bacteriana frente a Staphylococcus aureus y S. coagulasa negativa fueron la Penicilina y Oxacilina. Área de estudio: veterinaria, salud y bienestar animal

Diseño de un mapa ionosférico como soporte al desarrollo y la implementación de GBAS, precisión de aproximación categoría I en Colombia

The study and regional modeling of ionosphere is fundamental for designing of a Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) because that atmosphere’s layer affects the precision of the geographic positions obtained with GNSS systems, so that the ionosphere is a critic element in the aircraft approaching to land segment. The investigation defines general guidelines to keep in mind for implementing a GBAS system on colombian territory, located in a very interesting geographic zone to ionosphere study because it is affected by the equatorial anomaly. The behavior of the local solar activity was analyzed with Rz12 data for one of the highest activity episodes registered in Colombia on April 12th 2010, as well as the Total Electron Content variations (TEC) with the processing of the continuous operation stations information of the Magnaeco and Sirgas-CON networks, obtaining as a result the higher and lower ionospheric impact zones, to GBAS implementation in the high traffic national airports.El estudio y modelamiento regional de la ionosfera es fundamental en el diseño de Sistemas de Aumentación Basados en Tierra (GBAS), considerando que esta capa de la atmósfera afecta la precisión de las posiciones geográficas obtenidas mediante los sistemas Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), por lo que la ionosfera es un elemento crítico en el segmento de aproximación de aeronaves a tierra.La investigación define los lineamientos generales que se deben tener en cuenta para la implementación de un sistema GBAS en el territorio colombiano, localizado en zona geográfica de gran interés para el estudio de la ionosfera, en particular al encontrarse afectada por la anomalía ecuatorial. Se analizó el comportamiento de la actividad solar local mediante el uso de datos Rz12 para uno de los episodios de mayor actividad magnética registrada en Colombia el 12 de abril de 2010, así como las variaciones del contenido total de electrones (TEC, Total Electron Content) mediante el procesamiento de la información de las estaciones de funcionamiento continuo de la red Magnaeco y Sirgas-CON, obteniéndose como resultados las regiones de mayor y menor impacto ionosférico para la implementación de GBAS en los aeropuertos de alto tráfico aéreo nacional

Cryopreserved vitamin D3-tolerogenic dendritic cells pulsed with autoantigens as a potential therapy for multiple sclerosis patients

Altres ajuts: Cost Action BM1305BACKGROUND: Tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDC) have been postulated as a potent immunoregulatory therapy for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In a previous study, we demonstrated that the administration of antigen-specific vitamin D3 (vitD3) tolDC in mice showing clinical signs of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE; the animal model of MS) resulted in abrogation of disease progression. With the purpose to translate this beneficial therapy to the clinics, we have investigated the effectivity of vitD3-frozen antigen-specific tolDC pulsed with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 40-55 peptide (f-tolDC-MOG) since it would reduce the cost, functional variability and number of leukapheresis to perform to the patients. METHODS: Mice showing EAE clinical signs were treated with repetitive doses of f-tolDC-MOG. Tolerogenic mechanisms induced by the therapy were analysed by flow cytometry and T cell proliferation assays. RESULTS: Treatment with f-tolDC-MOG was effective in ameliorating clinical signs of mice with EAE, inhibiting antigen-specific reactivity and inducing Treg. In addition, the long-term treatment was well tolerated and leading to a prolonged maintenance of tolerogenicity mediated by induction of Breg, reduction of NK cells and activation of immunoregulatory NKT cells. CONCLUSIONS: The outcomes of this study show that the use of antigen-specific f-tolDC promotes multiple and potent tolerogenic mechanisms. Moreover, these cells can be kept frozen maintaining their tolerogenic properties, which is a relevant step for their translation to the clinic. Altogether, vitD3 f-tolDC-MOG is a potential strategy to arrest the autoimmune destruction in MS patients

Opciones pertinentes de financiamiento para las micro, pequeñas y medianas empresas en el Sistema Bancario Estatal costarricense por medio del Sistema de Banca para el Desarrollo

Proyecto de graduación (Licenciatura en Administración de Empresas. Enfasis en Finanzas) Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Escuela de Administración de Empresas, 2016.This research was done due to the growth of MSMEs in the country and the role of System Development Banking and financial market participants. The overall objective is to determine the relevant financing options for micro, small and medium enterprises that exist in the Costa Rican state banking though the System by the Bank for Development. To perform this work, sampling was developed for convenience and opportunity, due to the limited resources available for the implementation of interviews. Interviewers provided important information to determine whether the law established by the SBD is applied to the development of these companies. Financial options in state banks were analyzed, while interviewed experts from other financial operators (cooperatives, financial and private banks), obtained a broad overview of comparison between both. Also, the differences that apply to each entity to access these financing resources of the Bank for Development and analysis focused on knowing the characteristics and variables that are taken into account for each organization to assess and grant funding. In addition, compared the national reality with the experience of some countries in which it has similar banking systems or institutions for development aid MSMEs, to compare the development and planning that takes place in Costa Rica. Finally, it was concluded that the financing of MSMEs, through the Banking System Development, it is applied differently in each State Bank and other financial operators, requested requirements, the importance and relevance of each entity attributes to them. In addition, the Bank for Development has opportunities for improvement that should be treated.Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Escuela de Administración de Empresas

Comparative genomics of the emerging human pathogen Photorhabdus asymbiotica with the insect pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Gram-negative bacterium <it>Photorhabdus asymbiotica </it>(Pa) has been recovered from human infections in both North America and Australia. Recently, Pa has been shown to have a nematode vector that can also infect insects, like its sister species the insect pathogen <it>P. luminescens </it>(Pl). To understand the relationship between pathogenicity to insects and humans in <it>Photorhabdus </it>we have sequenced the complete genome of Pa strain ATCC43949 from North America. This strain (formerly referred to as <it>Xenorhabdus luminescens </it>strain 2) was isolated in 1977 from the blood of an 80 year old female patient with endocarditis, in Maryland, USA. Here we compare the complete genome of Pa ATCC43949 with that of the previously sequenced insect pathogen <it>P. luminescens </it>strain TT01 which was isolated from its entomopathogenic nematode vector collected from soil in Trinidad and Tobago.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the human pathogen Pa had a smaller genome (5,064,808 bp) than that of the insect pathogen Pl (5,688,987 bp) but that each pathogen carries approximately one megabase of DNA that is unique to each strain. The reduced size of the Pa genome is associated with a smaller diversity in insecticidal genes such as those encoding the Toxin complexes (Tc's), Makes caterpillars floppy (Mcf) toxins and the <it>Photorhabdus </it>Virulence Cassettes (PVCs). The Pa genome, however, also shows the addition of a plasmid related to pMT1 from <it>Yersinia pestis </it>and several novel pathogenicity islands including a novel Type Three Secretion System (TTSS) encoding island. Together these data suggest that Pa may show virulence against man via the acquisition of the <it>pMT1</it>-like plasmid and specific effectors, such as SopB, that promote its persistence inside human macrophages. Interestingly the loss of insecticidal genes in Pa is not reflected by a loss of pathogenicity towards insects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that North American isolates of Pa have acquired virulence against man via the acquisition of a plasmid and specific virulence factors with similarity to those shown to play roles in pathogenicity against humans in other bacteria.</p

DC Subsets Regulate Humoral Immune Responses by Supporting the Differentiation of Distinct Tfh Cells

To determine the contribution of skin DC subsets in the regulation of humoral immunity, we used a well-characterized antigen targeting system to limit antigen availability and presentation to certain skin-derived DC subsets. Here we show that delivery of foreign antigen to steady state Langerhans cells (LCs) and cDC1s through the same receptor (Langerin) led to, respectively, robust vs. minimal-to-null humoral immune response. LCs, unlike cDC1s, supported the formation of germinal center T follicular helper cells (GC-Tfh) antigen dose-dependently and then, likely licensed by these T cells, some of the LCs migrated to the B cell area to initiate B cell responses. Furthermore, we found that the cDC1s, probably through their superior T cell activation capacity, prevented the LCs from inducing GC-Tfh cells and humoral immune responses. We further show that targeted delivery of cytokines to DCs can be used to modulate DC-induced humoral immune responses, which has important therapeutic potential. Finally, we show that human LCs, unlike monocyte-derived DCs, can support GC Tfh generation in an in vitro autologous system; and in agreement with mouse data, we provide evidence in NHP studies that targeting LCs without adjuvants is an effective way to induce antibody responses, but does not trigger CD8+ T cell responses. Our findings suggest that the major limitations of some relatively ineffective vaccines currently in use or in development might be that (1) they are not formulated to specifically target a certain subset of DCs and/or (2) the antigen dose is not tailored to maximize the intrinsic/pre-programmed capabilities of the specific DC subset. This new and substantial departure from the status quo is expected to overcome problems that have hindered our ability to generate effective vaccines against some key pathogens

Targeting HIV Gag p24 to DICR on dendritic cells induces T cell and potent and long-lasting antibody responses in non-human primates

International audienc

Surface Morphologies in a Mars-Analog Ca-Sulfate Salar, High Andes, Northern Chile

Salar de Pajonales, a Ca-sulfate salt flat in the Chilean High Andes, showcases the type of polyextreme environment recognized as one of the best terrestrial analogs for early Mars because of its aridity, high solar irradiance, salinity, and oxidation. The surface of the salar represents a natural climate-transition experiment where contemporary lagoons transition into infrequently inundated areas, salt crusts, and lastly dry exposed paleoterraces. These surface features represent different evolutionary stages in the transition from previously wetter climatic conditions to much drier conditions today. These same stages closely mirror the climate transition on Mars from a wetter early Noachian to the Noachian/Hesperian. Salar de Pajonales thus provides a unique window into what the last near-surface oases for microbial life on Mars could have been like in hypersaline environments as the climate changed and water disappeared from the surface. Here we open that climatological window by evaluating the narrative recorded in the salar surface morphology and microenvironments and extrapolating to similar paleosettings on Mars. Our observations suggest a strong inter-dependence between small and large scale features that we interpret to be controlled by extrabasinal changes in environmental conditions, such as precipitation-evaporation-balance changes and thermal cycles, and most importantly, by internal processes, such as hydration/dehydration, efflorescence/deliquescence, and recrystallization brought about by physical and chemical processes related to changes in groundwater recharge and volcanic processes. Surface structures and textures record a history of hydrological changes that impact the mineralogy and volume of Ca-sulfate layers comprising most of the salar surface. Similar surface features on Mars, interpreted as products of freeze-thaw cycles, could, instead, be products of water-driven, volume changes in salt deposits. On Mars, surface manifestations of such salt-related processes would point to potential water sources. Because hygroscopic salts have been invoked as sources of localized, transient water sufficient to support terrestrial life, such structures might be good targets for biosignature exploration on Mars