“The COVID 19 pandemic worsened my living and working conditions”. A qualitative research study of female Brazilian immigrants in Oporto

Immigrant women face a double vulnerability, being a woman and an immigrant, a situation that hinders their entry into the labor market and worsens their working conditions and occupational health with respect to the native population. The objective of these women is to seek employment or educational opportunities and improving their own lives and those of their families. All this is affected by the axes of gender, ethnicity, migration and socioeconomic level, as well as being confronted with the patriarchal structure of exercise of power and domination. These situations of inequality have aggravated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening working conditions and their occupational health. This study aims to explore the working conditions of the female Brazilian immigrant population living in Porto (Portugal) and how these conditions may affect their health. Qualitative research through semi-structured interviews conducted during the second wave of the COVID19 pandemic was used. The results show of them had work overload, manifesting anxiety and stress. Physical affectations related to poor work ergonomics and the lack of occupational health examinations in working immigrant women is highlighted. The importance of strengthening migration policies related to occupational health is highlighted. In pandemic situations, the vulnerability of these women increases, worsening their overall healthinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reflexiones desde la práctica docente: experiencias de aprendizaje para la educación en Ingeniería Industrial en la pospandemia

One of the main challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic brought was the continuity of education. In this context, this work focuses on ana­lyzing the practice of higher education in the discipline of Engineering and its related academic programs with a future perspective, motivated by the limitations and challenges imposed by the pandemic. To ensure high-quality education, it was relevant to give continuity to the education of students, maintaining active, experiential, student-centered learning experiences that are relevant to developing their skills, despite their remote interaction and frequent technological deficiencies. and educational resources. Thus, this work proposes a conceptual scheme to guide the design and reflection of learning experiences with a post-pandemic perspective. This scheme is composed of six dimensions of innovation and educational leadership for higher education: environment, impact and linkage, educational models and value chain, educational strategies, teaching formats, infrastructure and learning resources, accreditations and learning evaluation. Additionally, this document presents initiatives that exemplify this effort within the MIT Supply Chain And Logistics Excellence network for Latin America and the Caribbean (MIT SCALE LAC), led by the Center for Transportation and Logistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These initiatives refer to learning experiences in universities in Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru that have sought to maintain active learning in the context of the pandemic, with a link to the contemporary challenges of organizations, communities, and the society in general in which they live. students immersed.Uno de los principales retos que trajo  consigo  la  pandemia  de  COVID-19  fue  dar  continuidad  a  la  educación.  En  ese  contexto,  este  trabajo se enfoca en la práctica de la educación superior en la disciplina de Ingeniería y sus programas académicos afines con una perspectiva a futuro, motivado por las limitaciones y retos impuestos por la pandemia. Frente a ello, surgió la interrogante de cómo mantener experiencias de aprendizaje activo, vivencial, centradas en el estudiante, y que sean relevantes para desarrollar sus competencias, a pesar de su interacción remota y las frecuentes carencias tecnológicas y de recursos educativos. Así, este trabajo propone un esquema conceptual para guiar el diseño y reflexión de experiencias de aprendizaje con una  perspectiva  pospandémica. Este esquema está compuesto por seis dimensiones de la innovación y liderazgo educativo para la educación superior: entorno, impacto y vinculación; modelos educativos y cadena de valor; estrategias educativas; formatos de enseñanza, infraestructura y recursos de aprendizaje; acreditaciones; y evaluación del aprendizaje. Adicionalmente, este documento presenta iniciativas que ejemplifican este esfuerzo dentro de la MIT Supply Chain And Logistics Excellence network en Latinoamérica y el Caribe (MIT SCALE LAC) liderada por el Centro de Transporte y Logística del Massachussetts Institute of Technology. Estas iniciativas refieren experiencias de aprendizaje en universidades de Bolivia, México y Perú que han buscado mantener el aprendizaje activo en el contexto de la pandemia, con un vínculo hacia los desafíos contemporáneos de las organizaciones, las comunidades y la sociedad en general en la que viven inmersos los estudiantes

Cucurbitacin I Inhibits Cell Motility by Indirectly Interfering with Actin Dynamics

Cucurbitacins are plant natural products that inhibit activation of the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway by an unknown mechanism. They are also known to cause changes in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. actin depolymerization experiments, cucurbitacin I had no effect on the rate of actin filament disassembly at the nanomolar concentrations that inhibit cell migration. At elevated concentrations, the depolymerization rate was also unaffected, although there was a delay in the initiation of depolymerization. Therefore, cucurbitacin I targets some factor involved in cellular actin dynamics other than actin itself. Two candidate proteins that play roles in actin depolymerization are the actin-severing proteins cofilin and gelsolin. Cucurbitacin I possesses electrophilic reactivity that may lead to chemical modification of its target protein, as suggested by structure-activity relationship data. However, mass spectrometry revealed no evidence for modification of purified cofilin or gelsolin by cucurbitacin I.Cucurbitacin I results in accumulation of actin filaments in cells by a unique indirect mechanism. Furthermore, the proximal target of cucurbitacin I relevant to cell migration is unlikely to be the same one involved in activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

Reflexiones desde la práctica docente: experiencias de aprendizaje para la educación en Ingeniería Industrial en la pospandemia

Este trabajo explora los cambios necesarios en la práctica de la educación superior en la disciplina de Ingeniería Industrial y sus programas académicos afines con una perspectiva a futuro, motivado por las limitaciones y retos impuestos por la pandemia del COVID-19. Desde el inicio, se buscó dar continuidad a la educación de los estudiantes con experiencias de aprendizaje activo, vivencial, centrado en el estudiante, y que sean relevantes para desarrollar sus competencias, a pesar de su interacción remota y las frecuentes carencias tecnológicas y de recursos educativos. En este sentido, este documento presenta iniciativas que ejemplifican este esfuerzo dentro de la #NOMBRE_RED en Latinoamérica (#RED), liderada por el #Universidad_1. Estas iniciativas refieren experiencias de aprendizaje en universidades de Bolivia, México y Perú que han buscado mantener el aprendizaje activo en el contexto de la pandemia, con un vínculo hacia los desafíos contemporáneos de las organizaciones, las comunidades y la sociedad en general en la que viven inmersos los estudiantes. Las iniciativas permitieron, como principal contribución de este trabajo, proponer un esquema conceptual para guiar el diseño y reflexión de experiencias de aprendizaje con una perspectiva post pandemia, articulando seis dimensiones de la innovación y liderazgo educativo para la educación superior: entorno, impacto y vinculación, modelos educativos y cadena de valor, estrategias educativas, formatos de enseñanza, infraestructura y recursos de aprendizaje, acreditaciones y evaluación del aprendizaje.his work explores the necessary changes in the practice of higher education in the discipline of Industrial Engineering and its related academic programs with a perspective to the future, motivated by the limitations and challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, we sought to give continuity to the students’ education with active, experiential, student-centered learning experiences that are relevant to developing their skills, despite their remote interaction and the frequent technological and educational resource deficiencies. In this sense, this document presents initiatives that exemplify this effort within the #NOMBRE_RED in Latin America (#RED), led by #Universidad_1. These initiatives refer to learning experiences in universities in Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru that have pursued to maintain active learning in the context of the pandemic, with a link to the contemporary challenges of organizations, communities, and the society in general in which the students live immersed. The initiatives allowed, as the main contribution of this work, to propose a conceptual scheme to guide the design and reflection of learning experiences with a post-pandemic perspective, articulating six dimensions of innovation and educational leadership for higher education: environment, impact and linkage, educational models and value chain, educational strategies, teaching formats, infrastructure and learning resources, accreditations and learning assessment

Educational Innovation in Supply Chain Management and Logistics for Active Learning in Latin America

This study presents a conceptual framework aimed at promoting educational innovation in Supply Chain Management and Logistics (SCM&L). The framework can help to design active learning experiences regarding student learning outcomes that tackle current challenges in the discipline. Emphasizing the significance of linking students' learning to real-world scenarios, the framework enables reflective learning through hands-on engagement in a constructive alignment, overcoming existing pedagogical limitations in the field. This study presents a qualitative research methodology that relies on the case study method. Three instances are presented to illustrate educational efforts of active learning in countries of Latin America, Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru, linking real-world relevant situations to disciplinary teaching and learning. The innovative learning experiences introduced in this study transform real-world SCM&L operations into distinctive educational opportunities. These experiences facilitate learning not only within traditional classrooms but also in urban areas of the Latin American region, enabling students to interact with educational partners in authentic settings to achieve their intended learning outcomes. These experiences are characterized by their focus on establishing meaningful connections between learning and local communities, businesses, or specific contexts. The study recognizes various limitations of conceptual, methodological, execution-related, and research process aspects. First, not all academics in the SCM&L discipline may universally acknowledge the importance of educational innovation and active learning experiences because of limited pedagogical awareness. Moreover, execution-related limitations arise from the demanding nature of incorporating active pedagogical approaches into courses, as they can be resource-intensive and time-consuming. Regarding research process limitations, the case study limits generalizability and broader inferences because of its particular views and locations, which require further investigation with other instances across other disciplines and geographical regions for validation. The practical implementation of this framework within the MIT SCALE Network for Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrates its potential in meeting diverse academic and institutional expectations, providing educational benefits to students. The study makes a valuable contribution to prioritizing and coordinating pedagogical research by investigating the success of learning outcomes achieved through active and experiential implementations in various contexts. It provides inspiring examples of innovative learning experiences that can drive new developments not only within the Latin America and the Caribbean region but also in other areas, prompting a shift away from traditional educational approaches. This research presents a conceptual framework, which is developed from the insights obtained in the three learning experiences to guide future efforts in SCM&L education. The findings demonstrate how to structure active learning experiences based on authentic assessment and illustrate the potential for increased cooperation among institutions in Latin America. It also promotes the recognition of novel SCM&L active learning experiences and highlights some of the benefits of this approach

Dietary switch to Western diet induces hypothalamic adaptation associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis in rats

International audienceBackground: Early hyperphagia and hypothalamic inflammation encountered after Western diet (WD) are linked to rodent propensity to obesity. Inflammation in several brain structures has been associated with gut dysbiosis. Since gut microbiota is highly sensitive to dietary changes, we hypothesised that immediate gut microbiota adaptation to WD in rats is involved in inflammation-related hypothalamic modifications. Methods: We evaluated short-term impact of WD consumption (2 h, 1, 2 and 4 days) on hypothalamic metabolome and caecal microbiota composition and metabolome. Data integration analyses were performed to uncover potential relationships among these three datasets. Finally, changes in hypothalamic gene expression in absence of gut microbiota were evaluated in germ-free rats fed WD for 2 days. Results: WD quickly and profoundly affected the levels of several hypothalamic metabolites, especially oxidative stress markers. In parallel, WD consumption reduced caecal microbiota diversity, modified its composition towards pro-inflammatory profile and changed caecal metabolome. Data integration identified strong correlations between gut microbiota sub-networks, unidentified caecal metabolites and hypothalamic oxidative stress metabolites. Germ-free rats displayed reduced energy intake and no changes in redox homoeostasis machinery expression or pro-inflammatory cytokines after 2 days of WD, in contrast to conventional rats, which exhibited increased SOD2, GLRX and IL-6 mRNA levels. Conclusion: A potentially pro-inflammatory gut microbiota and an early hypothalamic oxidative stress appear shortly after WD introduction. Tripartite data integration highlighted putative links between gut microbiota sub-networks and hypothalamic oxidative stress. Together with the absence of hypothalamic modifications in germ-free rats, this strongly suggests the involvement of the microbiota-hypothalamus axis in rat adaptation to WD introduction and in energy homoeostasis regulation