Refugee-Led Organizations and the Obstacles They Face: A Comparative Study of Syria Bright Future and the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh

In the nexus of our collective history, it has been recorded that human-induced political and social conflicts play a powerful role in displacing millions of people. The social insecurity produced by conflict persists long after they have ended, as refugees adjust to new circumstances, cope with loss, and attempt to regain a sense of normalcy. This study focuses on two distinct refugee-led organizations, namely a Syrian and a Bhutanese organization. These organizations operate in distinct stages of resettlement, in different parts of the world—one in a state of emergency, the other in resettlement in the United States. However, both organizations share a grassroots community organizing paradigm to address lingering stigma with regards to mental illness. The methods utilized in this study were based on qualitative data sources that stem from interviews with refugee-led organization directors, volunteers, and community partners. Qualitative data, in conjunction with empirical evidence from the field, serve to provide a panoramic view of how refugee-led organizations operate. The findings of this study reveal that the success of refugee-led organizations in their attempts to eliminate the stigma of mental illness, by using community programming and programming evaluations as their main tools, are intricately tied to the amount of human and social capital refugee-led organizations hold within their community and through its members. This paper concludes by emphasizing the complementary nature of community-based programs and international humanitarian aid agencies, suggesting that the combination of both offer a more comprehensive approach to addressing mental health needs of refugee communities

Gender Differences in Plasma Biomarker Levels in a Cohort of COPD Patients: A Pilot Study

Little is known about gender differences in plasma biomarker levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). HYPOTHESIS: There are differences in serum biomarker levels between women and men with COPD. OBJECTIVE: Explore gender differences in plasma biomarker levels in patients with COPD and smokers without COPD. METHODS: We measured plasma levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-16, MCP-1, MMP-9, PARC and VEGF in 80 smokers without COPD (40 males, 40 females) and 152 stable COPD patients (76 males, 76 females) with similar airflow obstruction. We determined anthropometrics, smoking history, lung function, exercise tolerance, body composition, BODE index, co-morbidities and quality of life. We then explored associations between plasma biomarkers levels and the clinical characteristics of the patients and also with the clinical and physiological variables known to predict outcome in COPD. RESULTS: The plasma biomarkers level explored were similar in men and women without COPD. In contrast, in patients with COPD the median value in pg/mL of IL-6 (6.26 vs 8.0, p = 0.03), IL-16 (390 vs 321, p = 0.009) and VEGF (50 vs 87, p = 0.02) differed between women and men. Adjusted for smoking history, gender was independently associated with IL-16, PARC and VEGF levels. There were also gender differences in the associations between IL-6, IL-16 and VEGF and physiologic variables that predict outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In stable COPD patients with similar airflow obstruction, there are gender differences in plasma biomarker levels and in the association between biomarker levels and important clinical or physiological variables. Further studies should confirm our findings

AJUSTE DE HIPERPARÁMETROS DE UNA RED NEURONAL CONVOLUCIONAL PARA EL RECONOCIMIENTO DE LENGUA DE SEÑAS

El reconocimiento de imágenes es un área de creciente interés en gran medida impulsado por los recientes avances en Inteligencia Artificial. En este trabajo se realiza un ajuste de hiper-parámetros de una Red Neuronal Convolucional (CNN) para el reconocimiento de manos. Se propone una arquitectura preliminar y se diseña un experimento para evaluar el porcentaje de clasificación en el reconocimiento de mano derecha e izquierda usando diferentes tamaños de filtros en cada una de las capas de Convolución. Los resultados obtenidos han permitido ajustar la red para lograr una clasificación del 100% en pocas épocas de entrenamiento.  El presente trabajo hace parte de una investigación en desarrollo para el reconocimiento del lenguaje de señas colombiano en donde se usará la arquitectura de Red Neuronal propuesta en esta fase para el reconocimiento de los símbolos usados para formar las letras del abecedario

Elaboración de base de datos terminológica español y francés, en el estudio de términos especializados en artesanía, vestuario y flores de Nicaragua en el segundo semestre del año 2016

La traducción y la interpretación son procesos de información entre distintas lenguas, donde la terminología juega un papel importante, es así, como los especialistas naturales de los discursos utilizan habitualmente unidades terminológicas en el proceso de expresión y transferencia del discurso o documento. Es por eso, que el presente trabajo aborda la investigación y elaboración de una base de datos terminológica en los temas: artesanía, vestuario y flores de Nicaragua, cada término extraído se definirá en los idiomas español y francés. Para ello se realizó una recopilación de términos en los temas antes mencionados de los cuales la mayoría son propios del léxico nicaragüense. Sin embargo, debido a la amplitud del vocabulario cultural de nuestro país, existen términos que no fueron incluidos en esta investigación. Asimismo, la experiencia vivida en este trabajo ha permitido enriquecer nuestro acervo cultural como traductores e intérpretes en formación y concluir que la elaboración de una base de datos terminológica, facilitará el trabajo de los estudiantes y profesionales que se desempeñan en el campo como guías turísticos en el paí

AJUSTE DE HIPERPARÁMETROS DE UNA RED NEURONAL CONVOLUCIONAL PARA EL RECONOCIMIENTO DE LENGUA DE SEÑAS

El reconocimiento de imágenes es un área de creciente interés en gran medida impulsado por los recientes avances en Inteligencia Artificial. En este trabajo se realiza un ajuste de hiper-parámetros de una Red Neuronal Convolucional (CNN) para el reconocimiento de manos. Se propone una arquitectura preliminar y se diseña un experimento para evaluar el porcentaje de clasificación en el reconocimiento de mano derecha e izquierda usando diferentes tamaños de filtros en cada una de las capas de Convolución. Los resultados obtenidos han permitido ajustar la red para lograr una clasificación del 100% en pocas épocas de entrenamiento.  El presente trabajo hace parte de una investigación en desarrollo para el reconocimiento del lenguaje de señas colombiano en donde se usará la arquitectura de Red Neuronal propuesta en esta fase para el reconocimiento de los símbolos usados para formar las letras del abecedario

Programa de farmacovigilancia

Documento que contiene un programa de farmacovilancia con todos los pasos a seguir y que por ende se deben de tener encuenta tanto para reportes como para hacer el seguimiento de vigilancia y control.Document that contains a pharmacovilance program with all the steps to follow and that therefore must be taken into account for both reports and to monitor monitoring and control

Inflammatory and Repair Serum Biomarker Pattern. Association to Clinical Outcomes in COPD

Background: The relationship between serum biomarkers and clinical expressions of COPD is limited. We planned to further describe this association using markers of inflammation and injury and repair. Methods: We studied lung function, comorbidities, exercise tolerance, BODE index, and quality of life in 253 COPD patients and recorded mortality over three years. Serum levels of Interleukins 6,8 and16, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF α) [inflammatory panel], vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) [injury and repair panel] and pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine (PARC/CCL-18) and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1/CCL2) [chemoattractant panel] were measured. We related the pattern of the biomarker levels to minimal clinically important differences (MCID) using a novel visualization method [ObServed Clinical Association Results (OSCAR) plot]. Results: Levels of the inflammatory markers IL-6, TNF α were higher and those of injury and repair lower (p < 0.01) with more advanced disease (GOLD 1 vs. 4). Using the OSCAR plot, we found that patients in the highest quartile of inflammatory and lowest quartile of injury and repair biomarkers level were more clinically compromised and had higher mortality (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In COPD, serum biomarkers of inflammation and repair are distinctly associated with important clinical parameters and survival

An eco-epidemiological study of contamination of soil with infective forms of intestinal parasites

The objectives of the present work were to screen topsoil samples collected from public squares in two cities within the Argentine Patagonia for the presence of infective forms of intestinal parasites and to examine the possible relationship between positive findings and the environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions of that region. For this purpose we studied 13 public squares, their 13 custodians, and 44 family groups within their respective surrounding areas. Of the 226 topsoil samples analyzed, 44.3% proved positive for infective forms of intestinal parasites, with 17.3% of these containing more than one species. The frequency of appearance of positive samples was dependent on the season of the year (p 0.05). Some of the organisms detected are associated with zoonoses. We observed the presence of Capillariaspp. and Spirocercaspp. under cool desert climatic conditions. Within the group of custodians we detected hematologic alterations one positive serology for toxoplasmosis and documented behavior conducive to risk of infection with the parasites found in those squares. Within the family group an acquaintance with parasitic zoonoses and their prevention was an inconsistent finding, with toxocarosis and toxoplasmosis being the diseases associated with the greatest degree of ignorance. Furthermore, we consider the failure to deparasitize pets and the practice of feeding them with raw meat, as typically found in our family survey, to be factors contributing to a greater likelihood of public square contamination. From the results obtained here, we propose a spatial organization approach for the purpose of detecting zones at risk of contracting zoonotic parasitoses within urban environments.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

FOSL1 promotes cholangiocarcinoma via transcriptional effectors that could be therapeutically targeted

Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) development and progression stands as a critical step for the development of novel therapies. Through an inter-species approach, this study provides evidence of the clinical and functional role of the transcription factor FOSL1 in cholangiocarcinoma. Moreover, we report that downstream effectors of FOSL1 are susceptible to pharmacological inhibition, thus providing new opportunities for therapeutic intervention

TNFA-863 polymorphism is associated with a reduced risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a replication study

We replicated the previously reported association between the TNFA -863 SNP and COPD. TNFA -863A allele may confer a protective effect to the susceptibility to the disease in the Spanish populatio