Options. Journal of the UNAB Financial Engineering Program. Volume 6 No.12 December 2012

Nuevamente con ustedes en este editorial de la Revista Opciones me complace presentar los artículos resultantes de trabajos de investigación de nuestra docente Ing. Financiera Gloria Inés Macías y nuestros estudiantes. Los trabajos de los estudiantes son el resultado de sus proyectos en áreas específicas como: Análisis de estimadores de riesgo, Pronósticos de precios de la energía eléctrica en Colombia y el proceso de Due Diligence y en su trabajo la Ing. Gloria 1. Macías aplica la teoría de Markowitz al mercado colombiano para obtener portafolios en la línea de frontera eficiente. Desde el programa de Ingeniería Financiera se resaltan los esfuerzos de estos futuros ingenieros financieros quienes buscan ir más allá del análisis y diseño de productos financieros tradicionales y reflejan su capacidad para diseñar modelos financieros corporativos, de inversiones, cobertura y especulación.Editorial. -5 Análisis de estimadores de riesgo VaR (Value at Risk) y CVaR (Conditional Value at Risk) parariesgo de mercado en Colombia. - 7 Pronósticos de precios de la energía eléctrica en Colombia mediante método econométrico de la familia arch-garch para la aplicación de una estrategia de cobertura o inversión usando risk simulator. - 23 Aplicación de la teoría Markowitz en la estructuración de portafolios de inversión para el mercado accionario colombiano.39 Due diligence: Una forma diferente para diagnosticar una opción de compra. - 57Once again with you in this editorial of the Options Magazine, I am pleased to present the articles resulting from the research work of our professor, Financial Engineer Gloria Inés Macías and our students. The students' work is the result of their projects in specific areas such as: Analysis of risk estimators, Forecasts of electricity prices in Colombia and the Due Diligence process and in her work Ing. Gloria 1. Macías applies the Markowitz theory to the Colombian market to obtain portfolios in the efficient frontier line. The Financial Engineering program highlights the efforts of these future financial engineers who seek to go beyond the analysis and design of traditional financial products and reflect their ability to design corporate, investment, hedging and speculation financial models

Portable Rabies Virus Sequencing in Canine Rabies Endemic Countries Using the Oxford Nanopore MinION

As countries with endemic canine rabies progress towards elimination by 2030, it will become necessary to employ techniques to help plan, monitor, and confirm canine rabies elimination. Sequencing can provide critical information to inform control and vaccination strategies by identifying genetically distinct virus variants that may have different host reservoir species or geographic distributions. However, many rabies testing laboratories lack the resources or expertise for sequencing, especially in remote or rural areas where human rabies deaths are highest. We developed a low-cost, high throughput rabies virus sequencing method using the Oxford Nanopore MinION portable sequencer. A total of 259 sequences were generated from diverse rabies virus isolates in public health laboratories lacking rabies virus sequencing capacity in Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Vietnam. Phylogenetic analysis provided valuable insight into rabies virus diversity and distribution in these countries and identified a new rabies virus lineage in Kenya, the first published canine rabies virus sequence from Guatemala, evidence of rabies spread across an international border in Vietnam, and importation of a rabid dog into a state working to become rabies-free in India. Taken together, our evaluation highlights the MinION’s potential for low-cost, high volume sequencing of pathogens in locations with limited resources

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Acute Dengue Virus Infections Detected through Acute Febrile Illness Surveillance, Belize 2020

The Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) Surveillance Network in Belize is a country-wide active surveillance program aimed at diagnosing vector-borne, respiratory, and enteric pathogens among patients presenting to 11 participating hospitals and clinics with new onset fever. This study describes the epidemiology of dengue virus (DENV) infections in Belize diagnosed through AFI surveillance in 2020. Of the 894 patients enrolled and PCR-tested for DENV in this period, 44 DENV-positive cases (5%) were identified. All four DENV serotypes were detected, with two cases testing positive for DENV serotype 4, which is the first report of this serotype in Belize since 2004. The majority of DENV cases (66%) were diagnosed in the Belize District, which contains the largest urban center in the country (Belize City). Positive cases were detected between January 2020 and September 2020, with the majority (89%) diagnosed during the dry season between January and April, unlike years prior when cases were more often diagnosed during the wet season. Clinical signs and symptoms varied slightly between DENV serotypes. Active surveillance of DENV among AFI cases provides insight into the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of DENV in Belize. This information is important for informing public health interventions to mitigate DENV transmission

Seroprevalence of high incidence congenital infections among pregnant women in Coatepeque, Guatemala and surrounding areas, 2017-2018.

Maternal infections during pregnancy can potentially cause birth defects and severe adverse effects in infants. From 2017 to 2018, we investigated the seroprevalence of five antibodies among 436 mother-infant pairs enrolled in a pregnancy cohort study in Coatepeque, Guatemala. Upon enrollment (< 20 weeks gestational age) and shortly after delivery, we measured the prevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), rubella, and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in mothers and newborns and used rapid tests to detect HIV and syphilis (Treponema pallidum) in mothers. The mean cohort age was 24.5 years. Maternal T. gondii IgM and IgG seropositivity was 1.9% and 69.7%, respectively. No women were positive for HIV, syphilis, or rubella IgM. Maternal rubella IgG seropositivity was 80.8% and significantly increased with age. Maternal CMV IgM and IgG seropositivity were 2.3% and 99.5%, respectively. Of the 323 women tested at both timepoints, IgM reactivation occurred in one woman for T. gondii infection and in eight for CMV. No newborn was seropositive for CMV IgM or rubella IgM. One newborn was seropositive for T. gondii IgM. Congenital T. gondii and CMV infections are important public health issues for pregnant women, newborns, and healthcare providers in Coatepeque and Guatemala