ESTUDIO DE LAS TRANSFORMACIONES URBANAS DEL ÁREA CENTRAL DE BUCARAMANGA

El presente artículo de investigación es el producto del Proyecto presentado a la convocatoria interna de la universidad y financiado en su totalidad por la misma. A lo largo de las siguientes páginas se hará una exposición del trabajo desarrollado y de sus alcances. Es así mismo, una síntesis de un amplio documento que recoge un vasto trabajo de campo, así como de una ardua tarea de sistematización y digitalización de información tanto cuantitativa como gráfica.ABSTRACTThe present research article is the product of the project presented for the internal call of the university and financed totality by the same. Throughout the following pages an exhibition will be made about the developed work and its scope. It is also, a synthesis of a wide document that gathers a vast field work, as well as of an arduous task of systematization and digitalization of quantitative and graphical information

Electricidad y magnetismo: una guía introductoria

Esta cartilla fue diseñada para introducir a estudiantes de Ingeniera en temas de electricidad y magnetismo durante un semestre académico, de acuerdo con los contenidos de la parcelación vigente de la asignatura de Electricidad y Magnetismo que se imparte actualmente en la Universidad Católica de Colombia. Se realizó tratando de organizar los temas con la mayor claridad posible, teniendo en cuenta las falencias matemáticas que algunos estudiantes presentan por haber olvidado conceptos vistos en otras asignaturas del área de Física. El objetivo principal es proporcionar al estudiante un material de apoyo para reforzar los conceptos vistos en clase con una presentación clara de los principios y conceptos. Se ha hecho énfasis en el uso de razonamientos físicos y estrategias para la solución de problemas. Para la fácil comprensión de los temas se ha utilizado un estilo claro y lógico que sea interesante para los estudiantes, aunque de una manera informal. Se han incluido métodos para la solución de ejercicios que faciliten los procesos que deben seguir los estudiantes, eliminando dudas que puedan tener en algunos casos. En cuanto al nivel matemático, no es otro que el necesario, el cual fue estudiado previamente en las asignaturas del cálculo. En los ejercicios resueltos se ha hecho un paso a paso que puede servir también para abordar con seguridad los problemas que están al final de los capítulos.1. Electrostática 2. Ley de Gauss 3. Potencial eléctrico y energía 4. Capacitores 5. La Corriente eléctrica y las leyes de Kirchhoff 6. Fenómenos magnéticos1ª ed

Prioritization of Operational Risks in a Reverse Logistics Network for the Recovery of Waste Cooking Oil (WCO)

226-235Reverse logistics networks for Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) have recently taken on great importance, due to legal requirements, cost-benefit considerations as well as social and environmental responsibility. Companies that manage WCO collection, transport and storage processes in these networks are prone to face various operational risks (such as oil spills, thefts, accidents, fires, among others). Recent studies have also shown that an inadequate management of these risks may generate not only a network disruption, but also lead to a loss of materials, time and money. Taking this issue into consideration, this work carries out the characterization of the focused network and subsequently an identification of operational risks in each process. Finally, the risks are prioritized by applying the Fuzzy-QFD tool, considering their impact on the strategic objectives of the processes, obtaining a priority ranking that provides WCO recovery companies with an essential basis for directing their risk mitigation actions

Propuesta metodológica de caracterización climática detallada para estudios de impacto del cambio climático

Ponencia presentada en: VI Congreso Internacional de la Asociación Española de Climatología celebrado en Tarragona del 8 al 11 de octubre de 2008.[ES]En las regiones de relieve complejo con escasa información meteorológica se dificulta la aplicación de las diferentes técnicas y modelos de interpolación numéricos para elaborar mapas de variables climáticas confiables. En este trabajo se presenta una propuesta para la estimación de la temperatura y la precipitación media anual y mensuales, tomando elementos de los métodos de interpolación simples complementándolos con análisis estadísticos. El estudio se desarrolló en la Reserva de la Biosfera “Sierra de Huautla”, Morelos, México en donde solo se cuenta con dos estaciones meteorológicas y es una región montañosa y con ambiente variados.[EN]In regions of complex relief and scarce meteorological information it becomes difficult to implement techniques and models of numerical interpolation to elaborate reliable maps of climatic variables. This paper presents a method for estimating annual and monthly mean values of temperature and precipitation, taking elements from simple interpolation methods and complementing them with some characteristics of more sophisticated methods. The study was conducted in the “Sierra de Huautla” Biosphere Reserve, Morelos, México, this region is characterized by its complex terrain, in which there are only two weather stations

De curandis hominum morbis : an 18th century prescription for stroke management by volatile alkali in the new Kingdom of Granada

boticarios, barberos, médicos y protomédicos, es consecuencia de la experiencia de individuos anónimos de las poblaciones locales, que fueron capaces de percibir directamente en la naturaleza elementos útiles a la terapia, así como de la existencia de principios activos no validados, o bien de efectos placebo. Objetivo: Presentar y analizar desde la perspectiva de la medicina moderna, una receta médica del siglo XVIII en el Nuevo Reino de Granada, en la cual se prescribe el álkali volátil para disminuir síntomas generados por afecciones del sistema musculoesquelético. Desarrollo: En el periodo Colonial, pese a la carencia de estudios o evidencia que respaldara, se utilizaban términos como fármacos, con una dosificación establecida e indicaciones. Se presenta y analiza a la luz de la medicina moderna una receta mÈdica del siglo XVIII para el tratamiento de la apoplexia con efectos benéficos al aumentar el flujo sanguÌneo al cerebro y la disponibilidad de oxÌgeno asÌ mismo aumentando el metabolismo neuronal. El amoníaco puede inducir hiperexcitabilidad neuronal, bloqueo de la actividad de la glutaminasa, reducir la descomposición de glutamina en glutamato y amonÌaco en las terminaciones nerviosas, sin embargo, dosis elevadas podrÌan llegar a producir muerte celular o fallo respiratorio. Conclusiones: El advenimiento de nuevas tecnologías ha permitido avances en el diagnóstico, prevención y tratamiento de múltiples enfermedades. En este contexto, los tratamientos del pasado se han visto relegados a curiosidades históricas. El legado terapéutico colonial conservado en los archivos locales permite viajar al pasado para intentar comprender racionalmente los medicamentos de nuestros predecesores. Existe evidencia cientÌfica que respalda la efectividad del alkali volátil para diversas enfermedades, entre estas la apoplejía. No obstante, una descripción vaga o ausente de la posología, signos, síntomas y comorbilidades, dificulta analizar la eficacia de este tratamiento histórico.The use of medicinal plants and mineral resources in the New Kingdom of Granada in colonial times by apothecaries, barbers, doctors and protomedics, is a consequence of the experience of anonymous individuals from the local populations, who were able to perceive directly in nature elements useful to the therapy, as well as the existence of non-validated active principles, or even placebo effects. Objective: To present and analyze from the perspective of modern medicine, a medical prescription from the 18th century in the New Kingdom of Granada. In which volatile alkali is prescribed to reduce symptoms generated by conditions of the musculoskeletal system. AIM: In the Colonial period, despite the lack of studies or evidence to support, terms were used as drugs, with an established dosage and indications. An 18th century medical prescription for the treatment of stroke is presented and analyzed in the light of modern medicine beneficial effects by increasing blood flow to the brain and the availability of oxygen also increasing neuronal metabolism. Ammonia can induce neuronal hyperexcitability, block glutaminase activity, reduce glutamine breakdown in glutamate and ammonia in nerve endings, however, high doses could lead to cell death or respiratory failure. Conclusions: The advent of new technologies has enabled advances in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of multiple diseases. In this context, past treatments have been relegated to historical curiosities. The colonial therapeutic legacy preserved in the local archives allows us to travel to the past and try to rationally understand the medicines of our predecessors. There is scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of volatile alkali for various diseases, including stroke. However, a vague or even absent description of dosage, signs, symptoms and comorbidities, makes it difficult to analyze the effectiveness of this historical treatment.N/

Bottom-up instructive quality control in the biofabrication of smart protein materials

The impact of cell factory quality control on material properties is a neglected but critical issue in the fabrication of protein biomaterials, which are unique in merging structure and function. The molecular chaperoning of protein conformational status is revealed here as a potent molecular instructor of the macroscopic properties of self-assembling, cell-targeted protein nanoparticles, including biodistribution upon in vivo administration

Functional inclusion bodies produced in the yeast Pichia pastoris

Background: Bacterial inclusion bodies (IBs) are non-toxic protein aggregates commonly produced in recombinant bacteria. They are formed by a mixture of highly stable amyloid-like fibrils and releasable protein species with a significant extent of secondary structure, and are often functional. As nano structured materials, they are gaining biomedical interest because of the combination of submicron size, mechanical stability and biological activity, together with their ability to interact with mammalian cell membranes for subsequent cell penetration in absence of toxicity. Since essentially any protein species can be obtained as IBs, these entities, as well as related protein clusters (e.g., aggresomes), are being explored in biocatalysis and in biomedicine as mechanically stable sources of functional protein. One of the major bottlenecks for uses of IBs in biological interfaces is their potential contamination with endotoxins from producing bacteria. - Results: to overcome this hurdle, we have explored here the controlled production of functional IBs in the yeast Pichia pastoris (Komagataella spp.), an endotoxin-free host system for recombinant protein production, and determined the main physicochemical and biological traits of these materials. Quantitative and qualitative approaches clearly indicate the formation of IBs inside yeast, similar in morphology, size and biological activity to those produced in E. coli, that once purified, interact with mammalian cell membranes and penetrate cultured mammalian cells in absence of toxicity. - Conclusions: structurally and functionally similar from those produced in E. coli, the controlled production of IBs in P. pastoris demonstrates that yeasts can be used as convenient platforms for the biological fabrication of self-organizing protein materials in absence of potential endotoxin contamination and with additional advantages regarding, among others, post-translational modifications often required for protein functionality

Intrinsic functional and architectonic heterogeneity of tumor-targeted protein nanoparticles

Altres ajuts: CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (project NANOPROTHER) (to AV), Marató de TV3 foundation (TV32013-132031) (TV32013-133930). Protein production has been partially performed by the ICTS "NANBIOSIS", more specifically by the Protein Production Platform of CIBER in Bioengineering, Biomaterials & Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN)/IBB, at the UAB SepBioES scientific-technical service (http://www.nanbiosis.es/unit/u1-protein-production-platform-ppp/) and DLS measurements have been done at the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit of NANBIOSIS. We are also indebted to Fran Cortés from the Cell Culture and Cytometry Units of the Servei de CultiusCel·lulars, Producciód'AnticossosiCitometria (SCAC), and to the Servei de Microscòpia, both at the UAB. Strain KPM335 was kindly provided by Research Corporation Technologies, Tucson, AZ. AV received an ICREA ACADEMIA award.Self-assembling proteins are gaining attention as building blocks for application-tailored nanoscale materials. This is mostly due to the biocompatibility, biodegradability, and functional versatility of peptide chains. Such a potential for adaptability is particularly high in the case of recombinant proteins, which are produced in living cells and are suitable for genetic engineering. However, how the cell factory itself and the particular protein folding machinery influence the architecture and function of the final material is still poorly explored. In this study we have used diverse analytical approaches, including small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to determine the fine architecture and geometry of recombinant, tumor-targeted protein nanoparticles of interest as drug carriers, constructed on a GFP-based modular scheme. A set of related oligomers were produced in alternative Escherichia coli strains with variant protein folding networks. This resulted in highly regular populations of morphometric types, ranging from 2.4 to 28 nm and from spherical- to rod-shaped materials. These differential geometric species, whose relative proportions were determined by the features of the producing strain, were found associated with particular fluorescence emission, cell penetrability and receptor specificity profiles. Then, nanoparticles with optimal properties could be analytically identified and further isolated from producing cells for use. The cell's protein folding machinery greatly modulates the final geometry reached by the constructs, which in turn defines the key parameters and biological performance of the material

Structural and functional features of self-assembling protein nanoparticles produced in endotoxin-free Escherichia coli

Background: production of recombinant drugs in process-friendly endotoxin-free bacterial factories targets to a lessened complexity of the purification process combined with minimized biological hazards during product application. The development of nanostructured recombinant materials in innovative nanomedical activities expands such a need beyond plain functional polypeptides to complex protein assemblies. While Escherichia coli has been recently modified for the production of endotoxin-free proteins, no data has been so far recorded regarding how the system performs in the fabrication of smart nanostructured materials. - Results: we have here explored the nanoarchitecture and in vitro and in vivo functionalities of CXCR4-targeted, self-assembling protein nanoparticles intended for intracellular delivery of drugs and imaging agents in colorectal cancer. Interestingly, endotoxin-free materials exhibit a distinguishable architecture and altered size and target cell penetrability than counterparts produced in conventional E. coli strains. These variant nanoparticles show an eventual proper biodistribution and highly specific and exclusive accumulation in tumor upon administration in colorectal cancer mice models, indicating a convenient display and function of the tumor homing peptides and high particle stability under physiological conditions. - Discussion: the observations made here support the emerging endotoxin-free E. coli system as a robust protein material producer but are also indicative of a particular conformational status and organization of either building blocks or oligomers. This appears to be promoted by multifactorial stress-inducing conditions upon engineering of the E. coli cell envelope, which impacts on the protein quality control of the cell factory

Estimating regional social accounting matrices to analyse rural development

This paper has two complementary objectives: on the one hand, it introduces the EURO method for the estimation of (regional) Social Accounting Matrices. This method is widely used by Eurostat for the estimation of missing national Supply, Use and Input-output tables but it has not been used before within the context of social accounting matrices or of regional statistics and/or regional impact analyses. On the other hand, this work discusses the possibility of producing non-survey based regional Social Accounting Matrices that may eventually allow the user to carry out impact analyses such as those of rural development policies, among others. The analysis is carried out for 12 selected European regions based on clusters