La cultura en Colombia: gestión y proyección social

The objective of this article is to build a general report and some further reflections on the management and social projection developed and implemented by the Faculty of Arts and Design of the Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano and by different state entities, such as the Ministry of Culture of Colombia and the Corporación Colombia Crea, during the year 2020, in the midst of a health emergency. During this period, the University had the responsibility of developing exercises of citizen participation within different strategies and moments, with social actors from the public and private sectors, that led to the materialization of at least four high scale and wide social scope projects, which will be informed in this document, namely: Cultura Crea, the Comparte lo que Somos convocation, the G-FACCT think tanks and the CoCrea 2020 convocation. The reflections included at the end of the document, which were proposed by the authors when the activities were concluded, highlight symbolic, methodological and factual proposals that place Design as an area of creation, not only for material and aesthetic construction, but also for the production of social meaning.  El presente artículo se propone construir un reporte general y algunas reflexiones ulteriores sobre la gestión y la proyección social desarrollada e implementada por la Facultad de Artes y Diseño de la Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, así como por diferentes entidades estatales, como el Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia y la Corporación Colombia Crea, durante el año 2020, en pleno periodo de emergencia sanitaria. Durante este periodo, la Universidad tuvo la responsabilidad de desarrollar, con actores sociales del sector público y privado, ejercicios de participación ciudadana en distintas estrategias y momentos que condujeron a la realización de al menos cuatro proyectos de altas dimensiones y alcances sociales, que se informarán en este documento, a saber: Cultura Crea, Convocatoria Comparte lo que Somos, Tanques de Pensamiento de G-FACCT y Convocatoria CoCrea 2020. Al final se proponen algunas reflexiones de los autores una vez ha concluido este desarrollo de las actividades, resaltando la visibilización de propuestas simbólicas, metodológicas y factuales que ponen al Diseño como un área de creación, no solo para la producción material y estética, sino para la producción de significado social

Development of a Dynamic Goniometer with an Incremental Encoder

Angle dynamic measurements of body joints have become an important parameter to know for sportsmen, physicians and analysts of rehabilitation processes. The development of devices that allows those measurements turns out to be a hard work for biomedical engineers because during the acquisition process the mechanical system usually affects the natural joints movements. Digital goniometers have been constructed using different electronic principles, especially using resistance variations in potentiometers. In this paper we propose the construction of a dynamic goniometer with an incremental encoder using a mechanical transmission between a hinge and a pulley connected to an optical disk. The rotation is detected with an infrared led and a phototransistor. Calculations are done through a microcontroller and finally shown in real time using a liquid crystal display (LCD).La medición dinámica de los ángulos articulares se ha convertido en un parámetro fundamental para deportistas, médicos y analistas de los procesos de rehabilitación. El desarrollo de dispositivos para estas aplicaciones ha presentado retos importantes debido a la imposibilidad de implementar los sistemas mecánicos requeridos para la medición, sin afectar el movimiento natural de las articulaciones. Los goniómetros digitales se han construido a partir de diferentes principios electrónicos, particularmente basados en las variaciones resistivas de potenciómetros. Este trabajo muestra el desarrollo e implementación de un goniómetro dinámico basado en un encoder incremental con un sistema de transmisión mecánico entre una articulación de tipo bisagra y una polea conectada a un disco óptico. La rotación se detecta con un LED infrarrojo y un fototransistor. El cálculo del movimiento angular en la articulación se realiza con un microcontrolador. Finalmente los datos se muestran en tiempo real en una pantalla de cristal líquido (LCD)

WHF IASC Roadmap on Chagas Disease

Background: Chagas Disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, with some of the most serious manifestations affecting the cardiovascular system. It is a chronic, stigmatizing condition, closely associated with poverty and affecting close to 6 million people globally. Although historically the disease was limited to endemic areas of Latin America recent years have seen an increasing global spread. In addition to the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease, the social and economic burdens on individuals and society are substantial. Often called the ‘silent killer’, Chagas disease is characterized by a long, asymptomatic phase in affected individuals. Approximately 30% then go on develop chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy and other serious cardiac complications such as stroke, rhythm disturbances and severe heart failure. Methods: In a collaboration of the World Hearth Federation (WHF) and the Inter-American Society of Cardiology (IASC) a writing group consisting of 20 diverse experts on Chagas disease (CD) was convened. The group provided up to date expert knowledge based on their area of expertise. An extensive review of the literature describing obstacles to diagnosis and treatment of CD along with proposed solutions was conducted. A survey was sent to all WHF Members and, using snowball sampling to widen the consultation, to a variety of health care professionals working in the CD global health community. The results were analyzed, open comments were reviewed and consolidated, and the findings were incorporated into this document, thus ensuring a consensus representation. Results: The WHF IASC Roadmap on Chagas Disease offers a comprehensive summary of current knowledge on prevention, diagnosis and management of the disease. In providing an analysis of ‘roadblocks’ in access to comprehensive care for Chagas disease patients, the document serves as a framework from which strategies for implementation such as national plans can be formulated. Several dimensions are considered in the analysis: healthcare system capabilities, governance, financing, community awareness and advocacy. Conclusion: The WHF IASC Roadmap proposes strategies and evidence-based solutions for healthcare professionals, health authorities and governments to help overcome the barriers to comprehensive care for Chagas disease patients. This roadmap describes an ideal patient care pathway, and explores the roadblocks along the way, offering potential solutions based on available research and examples in practice. It represents a call to action to decision-makers and health care professionals to step up efforts to eradicate Chagas disease

P. brasiliensis virulence is affected by SconC, the negative regulator of inorganic sulfur assimilation

Conidia/mycelium-to-yeast transition of Paracoccidioidesbrasiliensis is a critical step for the establishment of paracoccidioidomycosis, a systemic mycosis endemic in Latin America. Thus, knowledge of the factors that mediate this transition is of major importance for the design of intervention strategies. So far, the only known pre-requisites for the accomplishment of the morphological transition are the temperature shift to 37°C and the availability of organic sulfur compounds. In this study, we investigated the auxotrophic nature to organic sulfur of the yeast phase of Paracoccidioides, with special attention to P. brasiliensis species. For this, we addressed the role of SconCp, the negative regulator of the inorganic sulfur assimilation pathway, in the dimorphism and virulence of this pathogen. We show that down-regulation of SCONC allows initial steps of mycelium-to-yeast transition in the absence of organic sulfur compounds, contrarily to the wild-type fungus that cannot undergo mycelium-to-yeast transition under such conditions. However, SCONC down-regulated transformants were unable to sustain yeast growth using inorganic sulfur compounds only. Moreover, pulses with inorganic sulfur in SCONC down-regulated transformants triggered an increase of the inorganic sulfur metabolism, which culminated in a drastic reduction of the ATP and NADPH cellular levels and in higher oxidative stress. Importantly, the down-regulation of SCONC resulted in a decreased virulence of P. brasiliensis, as validated in an in vivo model of infection. Overall, our findings shed light on the inability of P. brasiliensis yeast to rely on inorganic sulfur compounds, correlating its metabolism with cellular energy and redox imbalances. Furthermore, the data herein presented reveal SconCp as a novel virulence determinant of P. brasiliensis.J.F.M. and J.G.R. were supported by a PhD grant from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT). This work was supported by a grant from FCT (PTDC/BIA-MIC/108309/2008). M. Sturme. and M. Saraiva are Ciencia 2008 fellows. The authors would also like to thank FAPESP (Fundacao para Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo) and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico) for financial support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Polymorphism analysis of the CTLA-4 gene in paracoccidioidomycosis patients

The CTLA-4 protein is expressed in activated T cells and plays an essential role in the immune response through its regulatory effect on T cell activation. Polymorphisms of the CTLA-4 gene have been correlated with autoimmune, neoplastic and infectious illnesses. This work aimed to verify possible associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CTLA-4, -318C/T in the promoter and +49A/G in exon 1 and paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. For this purpose, 66 chronic form PCM patients and 76 healthy controls had their allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies determined. The genetic admixture structure of the patients and controls was evaluated to eliminate ancestral bias. The comparison of frequencies indicated no significant differences between patients and controls that could link the SNPs to PCM. Groups were admixture matched with no difference observed in population ancestry inference, indicating that the absence of association between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and PCM could not be attributed to ancestral bias. This study showed that there was no association between the CTLA-4 SNPs -318 and +49 and the resistance or susceptibility to PCM

Class-modeling analysis reveals T-cell homeostasis disturbances involved in loss of immune control in elite controllers

Despite long-lasting HIV replication control, a significant proportion of elite controller (EC) patients may experience CD4 T-cell loss. Discovering perturbations in immunological parameters could help our understanding of the mechanisms that may be operating in those patients experiencing loss of immunological control. Methods A case–control study was performed to evaluate if alterations in different T-cell homeostatic parameters can predict CD4 T-cell loss in ECs by comparing data from EC patients showing significant CD4 decline (cases) and EC patients showing stable CD4 counts (controls). The partial least-squares–class modeling (PLS-CM) statistical methodology was employed to discriminate between the two groups of patients, and as a predictive model. Results Herein, we show that among T-cell homeostatic alterations, lower levels of naïve and recent thymic emigrant subsets of CD8 cells and higher levels of effector and senescent subsets of CD8 cells as well as higher levels of exhaustion of CD4 cells, measured prior to CD4 T-cell loss, predict the loss of immunological control. Conclusions These data indicate that the parameters of T-cell homeostasis may identify those EC patients with a higher proclivity to CD4 T-cell loss. Our results may open new avenues for understanding the mechanisms underlying immunological progression despite HIV replication control, and eventually, for finding a functional cure through immune-based clinical trials.projects RD12/0017/0031, RD16/0025/ 0013, and SAF2015-66193-R as part of the Health Research and Development Strategy, State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (2008– 2011 and 2013–2016) and cofinanced by the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII), Sub-Directorate General for Research Assessment and Promotion and European Regional Development Fund. NR is a Miguel Servet investigator from the ISCIII (CP14/00198), Madrid, Spain. C Restrepo was funded by project RD12/0017/ 0031 and is currently funded by project RD16/0025/0013. M García is a predoctoral student co-funded by grant CP14/00198 and an Intramural Research Scholarship from Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz (IIS-FJD)

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Human Fungal Pathogens Causing Paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioides is a fungal pathogen and the cause of paracoccidioidomycosis, a health-threatening human systemic mycosis endemic to Latin America. Infection by Paracoccidioides, a dimorphic fungus in the order Onygenales, is coupled with a thermally regulated transition from a soil-dwelling filamentous form to a yeast-like pathogenic form. To better understand the genetic basis of growth and pathogenicity in Paracoccidioides, we sequenced the genomes of two strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb03 and Pb18) and one strain of Paracoccidioides lutzii (Pb01). These genomes range in size from 29.1 Mb to 32.9 Mb and encode 7,610 to 8,130 genes. To enable genetic studies, we mapped 94% of the P. brasiliensis Pb18 assembly onto five chromosomes. We characterized gene family content across Onygenales and related fungi, and within Paracoccidioides we found expansions of the fungal-specific kinase family FunK1. Additionally, the Onygenales have lost many genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and fewer genes involved in protein metabolism, resulting in a higher ratio of proteases to carbohydrate active enzymes in the Onygenales than their relatives. To determine if gene content correlated with growth on different substrates, we screened the non-pathogenic onygenale Uncinocarpus reesii, which has orthologs for 91% of Paracoccidioides metabolic genes, for growth on 190 carbon sources. U. reesii showed growth on a limited range of carbohydrates, primarily basic plant sugars and cell wall components; this suggests that Onygenales, including dimorphic fungi, can degrade cellulosic plant material in the soil. In addition, U. reesii grew on gelatin and a wide range of dipeptides and amino acids, indicating a preference for proteinaceous growth substrates over carbohydrates, which may enable these fungi to also degrade animal biomass. These capabilities for degrading plant and animal substrates suggest a duality in lifestyle that could enable pathogenic species of Onygenales to transfer from soil to animal hosts.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.)National Institutes of Health. Department of Health and Human Services (contract HHSN266200400001C)National Institutes of Health. Department of Health and Human Services(contract HHSN2722009000018C)Brazil. National Council for Scientific and Technological Developmen

Evidence for Positive Selection in Putative Virulence Factors within the Paracoccidioides brasiliensis Species Complex

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a dimorphic fungus that is the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis, the most important prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America. Recently, the existence of three genetically isolated groups in P. brasiliensis was demonstrated, enabling comparative studies of molecular evolution among P. brasiliensis lineages. Thirty-two gene sequences coding for putative virulence factors were analyzed to determine whether they were under positive selection. Our maximum likelihood–based approach yielded evidence for selection in 12 genes that are involved in different cellular processes. An in-depth analysis of four of these genes showed them to be either antigenic or involved in pathogenesis. Here, we present evidence indicating that several replacement mutations in gp43 are under positive balancing selection. The other three genes (fks, cdc42 and p27) show very little variation among the P. brasiliensis lineages and appear to be under positive directional selection. Our results are consistent with the more general observations that selective constraints are variable across the genome, and that even in the genes under positive selection, only a few sites are altered. We present our results within an evolutionary framework that may be applicable for studying adaptation and pathogenesis in P. brasiliensis and other pathogenic fungi

II Simposio Internacional Cátedra Minuto de Dios. Experiencias e impacto de los cursos misionales en la educación superior.

El impacto de la formación integral y la misionalidad desde la Educación Superior, son asuntos que requieren análisis y reflexión desde su intencionalidad de formación, proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje, sistema de evaluación y los logros que generan y que, a futuro, podrán permitir mejoras en las condiciones de entornos cercanos como efecto clave de la formación. En este sentido, el II Simposio Internacional de Cátedra Minuto de Dios: Experiencias e impacto de los Cursos Misionales en la Educación Superior. Caso de estudio: “Cátedra Minuto de Dios”, permitió a los participantes acercarse y reconocer experiencias significativas a través de los conocimientos y saberes visibilizados y socializados por directivas educativas, docentes y estudiantes que desde perspectivas nacionales e internacionales dieron a conocer la evolución de dichos espacios académicos considerados como cursos misionales, en las Instituciones de Educación Superior, desde el reflejo de la fundamentación y la filosofía Institucional. De esta manera, UNIMINUTO considera que el contraste académico con otras universidades, en el contexto de su filosofía particular, solidifica el camino de un servicio educativo de calidad, pertinente e inclusivo y, además, inspira a quienes quieran profundizar y proponer nuevos desarrollos en esta temática