LAS MICROS, PEQUEÑAS Y MEDIANAS EMPRESAS EN EL DESARROLLO ECONÓMICO, CULTURAL Y TECNOLÓGICO DE MÉXICO

Uno de los factores que incide en la competitividad de los países en vías de desarrollo dentro del mercado global, es su capacidad para adquirir y utilizar nuevas tecnologías; además de desarrollar innovaciones basadas en el conocimiento y la creación de elementos de competitividad y habilidades relacionadas que les permitan llevar de forma adecuada la administración de alta tecnología (Hipkin, 2004). El desarrollo de tecnología ayuda a potenciar el éxito de países en vías de desarrollo, aún cuando esté condicionada a las limitaciones y necesidades de éstos. Se debe tomar en cuenta que el proceso de innovación que se lleva a cabo dentro de este tipo de entornos, corresponde a una lógica diferente a la que existe dentro de los países desarrollados (Wicklein, 1998; Srinivas y Sutz, 2008). En este contexto es posible que estos países también se puedan beneficiar de la globalización de la tecnología, en la medida en que lleven a cabo acciones para la generación de políticas orientadas a la promoción de la innovación y, donde el desarrollo se dé mediante el aprendizaje endógeno que les permita incorporar estas innovaciones a su realidad (Archibugia y Pietrobelli, 2003)

Comparing algorithms for diffeomorphic registration: Stationary LDDMM and Diffeomorphic Demons

International audienceThe stationary parameterization of diffeomorphisms is be- ing increasingly used in computational anatomy. In certain applications it provides similar results to the non-stationary parameterization alle- viating the computational charge. With this characterization for diffeo- morphisms, two different registration algorithms have been recently pro- posed: stationary LDDMM and diffeomorphic Demons. To our knowl- edge, their theoretical and practical differences have not been analyzed yet. In this article we provide a comparison between both algorithms in a common framework. To this end, we have studied the differences in the elements of both registration scenarios. We have analyzed the sen- sitivity of the regularization parameters in the smoothness of the final transformations and compared the performance of the registration re- sults. Moreover, we have studied the potential of both algorithms for the computation of essential operations for further statistical analysis. We have found that both methods have comparable performance in terms of image matching although the transformations are qualitatively different in some cases. Diffeomorphic Demons shows a slight advantage in terms of computational time. However, it does not provide as stationary LD- DMM the vector field in the tangent space needed to compute statistics or exact inverse transformations

Calcifediol mensal versus calcifediol quinzenal no tratamento de pacientes com osteoporose.

GOALS: To evaluate the serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D, in osteoporotic patients treated for one year with calcifediol. METHODS: We studied 156 patients with osteoporosis (23 men and 133 women) aged 71.9 ± 9.6 years who had been treated with calcifediol for at least one year. Ninety-two of them received 0.266 mg calcifediol every 15 days and he remaining 64 received the same dose once a month. Serum levels of 25(OH)D, intact PTH (iPTH), amino-terminal procollagen type I propeptide (PINP) and carboxy-terminal collagen type I telopeptide (CTX) were determined before and one year after the start of treatment . RESULTS: With both treatment regimens, a significant increase in 25(OH)D concentration was observed (p<0.001). The percentage of patients achieving 25(OH)D levels greater than 20 and 30 ng/ml was similar with both regimens, whereas that of patients exceeding 60 ng/ml was higher with the biweekly dose (p < 0.01 ) . The iPTH concentration significantly decreased after administration of calcifediol, although on this occasion there were no differences between the two forms of treatment. Both markers, PINP and CTX, similarly decreased in patients treated with antiresorptives (p < 0.0001), without these changes being related to the calcifediol regimen. CONCLUSIONS: A monthly administration of 0.266 mg calcifediol is adequate to achieve effective levels of vitamin D, and is also safe enough to avoid potentially harmful levels of vitamin D, so it would be preferable to the biweekly regimen in standard clinical practice.METAS: Avaliar as concentrações séricas de 25-hidroxivitamina D, 25 (OH) D, em pacientes osteoporóticos tratados por um ano com calcifediol. MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 156 pacientes com osteoporose (23 homens e 133 mulheres) com idade de 71,9 ± 9,6 anos que haviam recebido tratamento com calcifediol por pelo menos um ano. Noventa e dois deles receberam 0,266 mg de calcifediol a cada 15 dias e os 64 restantes receberam a mesma dose uma vez por mês. Os níveis séricos de 25 (OH) D, PTH intacto (iPTH), propeptídeo amino-terminal do procolágeno tipo I (PINP) e telopeptídeo carboxi-terminal do colágeno tipo I (CTX) foram determinados antes e um ano após o início do tratamento. RESULTADOS: Com ambos os regimes de tratamento, um aumento significativo na concentração de 25 (OH) D foi observado (p <0,001). A porcentagem de pacientes que atingiram níveis de 25 (OH) D maiores que 20 e 30 ng / ml foi semelhante com ambos os regimes, enquanto a de pacientes que ultrapassaram 60 ng / ml foi maior com a dose quinzenal (p <0,01) . A concentração de iPTH diminuiu significativamente após a administração de calcifediol, embora nesta ocasião não houvesse diferenças entre as duas formas de tratamento. Ambos os marcadores, PINP e CTX, diminuíram de forma semelhante em pacientes tratados com antirreabsortivos (p <0,0001), sem que essas alterações estivessem relacionadas ao regime de calcifediol. CONCLUSÕES: A administração mensal de 0,266 mg de calcifediol é adequada para atingir níveis eficazes de vitamina D, e também é segura o suficiente para evitar atingir níveis potencialmente prejudiciais desta, por isso seria preferível ao regime quinzenal na prática clínica habitual

Clinical Experiences and Mechanism of Action with the Use of Oxytocin Injection at Parturition in Domestic Animals: Effect on the Myometrium and Fetuses

Oxytocin is a key hormone for parturition and maternal traits in animals. During the peripartum period, the levels of endogenous oxytocin dictate physiological events such as myometrial contractions, prostaglandin production with the subsequent increase in oxytocin receptors, and the promotion of lactation when administered immediately after birth. While this hormone has some benefits regarding these aspects, the exogenous administration of oxytocin has been shown to have detrimental effects on the fetus, such as asphyxia, meconium staining, ruptured umbilical cords, and more dystocia cases in females. This review aims to analyze the main effects of oxytocin on myometrial activity during parturition, and its potential favorable and negative administration effects reflected in the fetus health of domestic animals. In conclusion, it is convenient to know oxytocin’s different effects as well as the adequate doses and the proper moment to administrate it, as it can reduce labor duration, but it can also increase dystocia

Functional Feed Assessment on Litopenaeus vannamei Using 100% Fish Meal Replacement by Soybean Meal, High Levels of Complex Carbohydrates and Bacillus Probiotic Strains

Functional feed supplemented with alternative-economic nutrient sources (protein, carbohydrates, lipids) and probiotics are being considered in shrimp/fish aquaculture production systems as an option to increase yield and profits and to reduce water pollution. In this study the probiotic potential to formulate functional feeds have been evaluated using four dietary treatments: Treatment 1 (B + Bs); Bacillus subtilis potential probiotic strain was supplemented to a soybeanmeal (SBM)—carbohydrates (CHO) basal feed. Treatment 2 (B + Bm); Bacillus megaterium potential probiotic strain was supplemented to the same SBM-CHO basal feed. In Treatment 3 (B); SBM-CHO basal feed was not supplemented with probiotic strains. Treatment 4 (C); fishmeal commercial feed (FM) was utilized as positive control. Feeding trials evaluated the survival, growth, and food conversion ratio and stress tolerance of juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone) Pacific white shrimp. Best overall shrimp performance was observed for animals fed with Treatment 1 (B+Bs); additionally, stress tolerance and hemolymph metabolites also showed the best performance in this treatment. SBM-CHO basal feed not supplemented with probiotic strains (B) presented smaller growth and lower feed conversion ratio (FCR). Shrimps fed with the fishmeal commercial feed (C) presented the lowest stress tolerance to high ammonia and low oxygen levels. Specifically selected B. subtilis strains are recommended to formulate functional and economical feeds containing high levels of vegetable; protein and carbohydrates as main dietary sources in L. vannamei cultures

A different role for hydrogen peroxide and the antioxidative system under short and long salt stress in Brassica oleracea roots

Salinity affects normal growth and development of plants depending on their capacity to overcome the induced stress. The present study was focused on the response and regulation of the antioxidant defence system in Brassica oleracea roots under short and long salt treatments. The function and the implications of hydrogen peroxide as a stressor or as a signalling molecule were also studied. Two different zones were analysed—the elongation and differentiation zone and the fully differentiated root zone—in order to broaden the knowledge of the different effects of salt stress in root. In general, an accumulation of hydrogen peroxide was observed in both zones at the highest (80 mM NaCl) concentration. A higher accumulation of hydrogen peroxide was observed in the stele of salt-treated roots. At the subcellular level, mitochondria accumulated hydrogen peroxide in salt-treated roots. The results confirm a drastic decrease in the antioxidant enzymes catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidases under short salt treatments. However, catalase and peroxidase activities were recovered under long salt stress treatments. The two antioxidant molecules analysed, ascorbate and glutathione, showed a different trend during salt treatments. Ascorbate was progressively accumulated and its redox state maintained, but glutathione was highly accumulated at 24 h of salt treatment, but then its concentration and redox state progressively decreased. Concomitantly, the antioxidant enzymes involved in ascorbate and glutathione regeneration were modified under salt stress treatments. In conclusion, the increase in ascorbate levels and the maintenance of the redox state seem to be critical for root growth and development under salt stress

Symmetry breaking and non-ergodicity in a driven-dissipative ensemble of multilevel atoms in a cavity

Dissipative light-matter systems can display emergent collective behavior. Here, we report a ℤ2-symmetry-breaking phase transition in a system of multilevel 87Rb atoms strongly coupled to a weakly driven two-mode optical cavity. In the symmetry-broken phase, nonergodic dynamics manifests in the emergence of multiple stationary states with disjoint basins of attraction. This feature enables the amplification of a small atomic population imbalance into a characteristic macroscopic cavity transmission signal. Our experiment does not only showcase strongly dissipative atom-cavity systems as platforms for probing nontrivial collective many-body phenomena, but also highlights their potential for hosting technological applications in the context of sensing, density classification, and pattern retrieval dynamics within associative memories

Comorbidity patterns in patients with chronic diseases in general practice

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare management is oriented toward single diseases, yet multimorbidity is nevertheless the rule and there is a tendency for certain diseases to occur in clusters. This study sought to identify comorbidity patterns in patients with chronic diseases, by reference to number of comorbidities, age and sex, in a population receiving medical care from 129 general practitioners in Spain, in 2007. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a health-area setting of the Madrid Autonomous Region (Comunidad Autónoma), covering a population of 198,670 individuals aged over 14 years. Multiple correspondences were analyzed to identify the clustering patterns of the conditions targeted. RESULTS: Forty-two percent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41.8-42.2) of the registered population had at least one chronic condition. In all, 24.5% (95% CI: 24.3-24.6) of the population presented with multimorbidity. In the correspondence analysis, 98.3% of the total information was accounted for by three dimensions. The following four, age- and sex-related comorbidity patterns were identified: pattern B, showing a high comorbidity rate; pattern C, showing a low comorbidity rate; and two patterns, A and D, showing intermediate comorbidity rates. CONCLUSIONS: Four comorbidity patterns could be identified which grouped diseases as follows: one showing diseases with a high comorbidity burden; one showing diseases with a low comorbidity burden; and two showing diseases with an intermediate comorbidity burden.This study was partially supported by the CENIT Program (MICINN-CDTI) [CEN-2007-1010 ‘‘Digital personal environment for health and wellbeing – AmiVital’’ project], a grant from the Ministry of Health & Consumer Affairs [FIS PI08-0435], and the MOBIS Program of the Spanish Vodafone Foundation . The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.S

Neonatal infrared thermography images in the hypothermic ruminant model: Anatomical-morphological-physiological aspects and mechanisms for thermoregulation

Hypothermia is one factor associated with mortality in newborn ruminants due to the drastic temperature change upon exposure to the extrauterine environment in the first hours after birth. Ruminants are precocial whose mechanisms for generating heat or preventing heat loss involve genetic characteristics, the degree of neurodevelopment at birth and environmental aspects. These elements combine to form a more efficient mechanism than those found in altricial species. Although the degree of neurodevelopment is an important advantage for these species, their greater mobility helps them to search for the udder and consume colostrum after birth. However, anatomical differences such as the distribution of adipose tissue or the presence of type II muscle fibers could lead to the understanding that these species use their energy resources more efficiently for heat production. The introduction of unconventional ruminant species, such as the water buffalo, has led to rethinking other characteristics like the skin thickness or the coat type that could intervene in the thermoregulation capacity of the newborn. Implementing tools to analyze species-specific characteristics that help prevent a critical decline in temperature is deemed a fundamental strategy for avoiding the adverse effects of a compromised thermoregulatory function. Although thermography is a non-invasive method to assess superficial temperature in several non-human animal species, in newborn ruminants there is limited information about its application, making it necessary to discuss the usefulness of this tool. This review aims to analyze the effects of hypothermia in newborn ruminants, their thermoregulation mechanisms that compensate for this condition, and the application of infrared thermography (IRT) to identify cases with hypothermia