Análisis de Empleabilidad e Industria 4.0 en el Ecuador, como Estrategia para Mejorar los Programas Educativos

En el Ecuador, existe el reto de rediseñar el sistema productivo y educativo, ya que en el primero, no se avizoran innovaciones tecnológicas significativas, mientras que la vigente oferta académica no sirve de soporte para la instauración de este tipo de diseños industriales. En este sentido, la presente investigación tiene como propósito analizar de manera global los niveles de empleabilidad y de automatización; posteriormente se detalla el panorama industrial del país y se culmina con la identificación de las propuestas educativas vigentes, donde se especifican aquellos programas que deben ser potenciados para garantizar la existencia de profesionales que respondan a las particularidades del mercado moderno. Para la determinación de los resultados, se analizaron reportes de instituciones que indagan en la relación de automatización y empleabilidad y se aplicó una encuesta para conocer la percepción de las personas sobre la posibilidad del reemplazo a corto plazo de los puestos de trabajo. Por ello, el enfoque aplicado en el estudio fue enfoque mixto, con un diseño documental y de campo, y se determinó un alcance explicativo. Finalmente se puntualizan estudios que establecen que la automatización no aumentará los niveles de desempleo, sino que el desarrollo de los procesos computarizados creará nuevas oportunidades laborales relacionadas a las actividades cognitivas no rutinarias, donde las posibles carreras del futuro estarán orientadas al desarrollo de las habilidades emocionales y exigirán un alto nivel de creatividad. In Ecuador, there is a challenge of redesigning the educational system to become productive. First, this is because no significant technological innovations were envisioned, while the current academic offer does not support the establishment of this type of industrial design. This paper focuses on analyzing globally the levels of employability and automation. After then, the industrial landscape of the country was detailed and the identification of current educational proposals was also completed. This, however, specifies those programs that should be enhanced, to ensure the existence of professionals that respond to the particularities of the modern market. To determine the results, reports from institutions that investigate the relationship of automation and employability were analyzed. A survey was also applied to determine people's perception of the possibility of short-term replacement of jobs. A mixed approach was applied, with a documentary and field design, and an explanatory scope was determined. Finally, studies were performed which shows that automation will not increase unemployment levels, but that the development of computerized processes will create new job opportunities related to non-routine cognitive activities. Here, possible future careers will be oriented towards the development of emotional skills and based on a high level of creativity

Del color de los ojos al interior del genoma. Nuevas tecnologías aplicadas a la educación: una experiencia en la enseñanza de la Genética

Depto. de Genética, Fisiología y MicrobiologíaFac. de Ciencias BiológicasFALSEsubmitte

Frontal and insular input to the dorsolateral temporal pole in primates: Implications for auditory memory

The temporal pole (TP) has been involved in multiple functions from emotional and social behavior, semantic processing,memory, language in humans and epilepsy surgery, to the fronto-temporal neurodegenerative disorder (semantic) dementia. However, the role of the TP subdivisions is still unclear, in part due to the lack of quantitative data about TP connectivity. This study focuses in the dorsolateral subdivision of the TP: area 38DL. Area 38DL main input originates in the auditory processing areas of the rostral superior temporal gyrus. Among other connections, area 38DL conveys this auditory highly processed information to the entorhinal, rostral perirhinal, and posterior parahippocampal cortices, presumably for storage in long-term memory (Muñoz-López et al., 2015). However, the connections of the TP with cortical areas beyond the temporal cortex suggest that this area is part of a wider network. With the aim to quantitatively determine the topographical, laminar pattern and weighting of the lateral TP afferents from the frontal and insular cortices, we placed a total of 11 tracer injections of the fluorescent retrograde neuronal tracers Fast Blue and Diamidino Yellow at different levels of the lateral TP in rhesus monkeys. The results showed that circa 50% of the total cortical input to area 38DL originates in medial frontal areas 14, 25, 32, and 24 (25%); orbitofrontal areas Pro and PAll (15%); and the agranular, parainsular and disgranular insula (10%). This study sets the anatomical bases to better understand the function of the dorsolateral division of the TP. More specifically, these results suggest that area 38DL forms part of the wider limbic circuit that might contribute, among other functions, with an auditory component to multimodal memory processing

Graves' disease is associated with a defective expression of the immune regulatory molecule galectin-9 in antigen-presenting dendritic cells

Introduction Patients with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) show defects in their immune-regulatory mechanisms. Herein we assessed the expression and function of galectin-1 and galectin-9 (Gal-1, Gal-9) in dendritic cells (DCs) from patients with AITD. Materials and Methods Peripheral blood samples from 25 patients with Graves’ disease (GD), 11 Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), and 24 healthy subjects were studied. Thyroid tissue samples from 44 patients with AITD and 22 patients with goiter were also analyzed. Expression and function of Gal-1 and Gal-9 was assessed by quantitative RT-PCR, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. Results A diminished expression of Gal-9, but not of Gal-1, by peripheral blood DCs was observed in GD patients, mainly in those with Graves´ ophthalmopathy, and a significant negative association between disease severity and Gal-9 expression was detected. In addition, the mRNA levels of Gal-9 and its ligand TIM-3 were increased in thyroid tissue from AITD patients and its expression was associated with the levels of Th1/Th12/Th17 cytokines. Immunofluorescence studies proved that intrathyroidal Gal-9 expression was confined to DCs and macrophages. Finally, in vitro functional assays showed that exogenous Gal-9 had a suppressive effect on the release of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines by DC/lymphocyte autologous co-cultures from both AITD patients and healthy controls. Conclusions The altered pattern of expression of Gal-9 in peripheral blood DCs from GD patients, its correlation with disease severity as well as its ability to suppress cytokine release suggest that Gal-9 could be involved in the pathogenesis of AITDThis work was supported by grants from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FISS) PI10/ 02521 and S2010/BMD-2328 TIRONET (Comunidad de Madrid), Spain (to MM) and the Fondo de Cooperación Internacional en Ciencia y Tecnología (FONCICYT) 95395, European Union-México (to RGA

Deciphering the introduction and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Colombian Amazon Basin

La pandemia del SARS-CoV-2 ha obligado a las autoridades sanitarias de todo el mundo a tomar importantes decisiones para reducir su propagación. La epidemiología genómica se ha convertido en una herramienta valiosa para comprender las introducciones y la propagación del virus en una ubicación geográfica específica.The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has forced health authorities across the world to take important decisions to curtail its spread. Genomic epidemiology has emerged as a valuable tool to understand introductions and spread of the virus in a specific geographic location

Prediction of poor outcome in clostridioides difficile infection: A multicentre external validation of the toxin B amplification cycle

Producción CientíficaClassification of patients according to their risk of poor outcomes in Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) would enable implementation of costly new treatment options in a subset of patients at higher risk of poor outcome. In a previous study, we found that low toxin B amplification cycle thresholds (Ct) were independently associated with poor outcome CDI. Our objective was to perform a multicentre external validation of a PCR-toxin B Ct as a marker of poor outcome CDI. We carried out a multicentre study (14 hospitals) in which the characteristics and outcome of patients with CDI were evaluated. A subanalysis of the results of the amplification curve of real-time PCR gene toxin B (XpertTM C. difficile) was performed. A total of 223 patients were included. The median age was 73.0 years, 50.2% were female, and the median Charlson index was 3.0. The comparison of poor outcome and non–poor outcome CDI episodes revealed, respectively, the following results: median age (years), 77.0 vs 72.0 (p = 0.009); patients from nursing homes, 24.4% vs 10.8% (p = 0.039); median leukocytes (cells/μl), 10,740.0 vs 8795.0 (p = 0.026); and median PCR-toxin B Ct, 23.3 vs 25.4 (p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis showed that a PCR-toxin B Ct cut-off <23.5 was significantly and independently associated with poor outcome CDI (p = 0.002; OR, 3.371; 95%CI, 1.565–7.264). This variable correctly classified 68.5% of patients. The use of this microbiological marker could facilitate early selection of patients who are at higher risk of poor outcome and are more likely to benefit from newer and more costly therapeutic options

Implementation of a mindfulness-based crisis intervention for frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in a public general hospital in Madrid, Spain

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak is having an impact on the well-being of healthcare workers. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown effectiveness in reducing stress and fostering resilience and recovery in healthcare workers. There are no studies examining the feasibility of brief mindfulness-based interventions during the COVID-19 outbreak. Materials and Methods: This is an exploratory study with a post intervention assessment. We describe an on-site brief mindfulness intervention and evaluate its helpfulness, safety, and feasibility. Results: One thousand out of 7,000 (14%) healthcare workers from La Paz University Hospital in Madrid (Spain) participated in at least one session. One hundred and fifty out of 1,000 (15%) participants filled out a self-report questionnaire evaluating the helpfulness of the intervention for on-site stress reduction. Ninety two subjects (61%) participated in more than one session. Most of the participants were women (80%) with a mean age of 38.6 years. Almost half of the sample were nurses (46%). Sessions were perceived as being helpful with a mean rating of 8.4 on a scale from 0 to 10. Only 3 people (2%) reported a minor adverse effect (increased anxiety or dizziness). Discussion: Our data supports the utility, safety and feasibility of an on-site, brief mindfulness-based intervention designed to reduce stress for frontline health workers during a crisis. There is a need to continue testing this type of interventions, and to integrate emotion regulation strategies as an essential part of health workers' general training. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT04555005

El hueso, la obesidad y su interacción endocrina

La asociación entre la obesidad y la densidad mineral ósea ha sido un punto controversial al momento de establecer si existe una asociación positiva o negativa entre las mismas. Diversos estudios han propuesto que la obesidad es un factor protector del hueso, debido a la tensión mecánica dada por el peso corporal en la remodelación ósea. Otros estudios plantean que la relación es mucho más compleja debido a que el tejido adiposo y los osteoblastos provienen de líneas germinales comunes. Además, el adipocito tiene la capacidad de secretar diversas moléculas, entre ellas las adipocinas. Adicionalmente, el tejido adiposo es una de las principales fuentes de aromatasa, esto lo involucra en la conversión de andrógenos a estrógenos, que juegan un papel importante en el mantenimiento de la homeostasis ósea. Por lo tanto, se ha planteado el hueso como órgano blanco de diversas vías endocrinas y, a su vez, se considera un órgano endocrino que puede afectar otros órganos cuando está alterado. Por otra parte, se ha visto que la resistencia a la insulina en el contexto de la obesidad está asociada con inflamación crónica de bajo grado, deterioro funcional de órganos y alteración del metabolismo energético, que impacta la remodelación ósea.   Abstract There is controversy over the effect of obesity in bone mineral density. Several studies have proposed that obesity is a protective factor of the bone by the mechanical tension that favors the bone remodeling. However, other studies suggest that this relationship is more complex because both tissues come from a common germ line; emphasizing that the adipocyte secretes diverse molecules, among them adipocinas. In addition, adipose tissue has aromatases that convert androgens into estrogens, having an importance in bone homeostasis. Therefore, the bone has been raised as a target organ of various endocrine pathways, which may affect other organs when it is altered. On the other hand, it has been shown that insulin resistance in the context of obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, functional impairment of organs and impaired energy metabolism, which impacts bone remodeling

Laboratorio en abierto: aprendendiendo a copiar ADN.2

El objetivo principal del proyecto es la puesta a punto de recursos educativos en abierto (REA) dirigidos a los alumnos de secundaria. La propuesta pretende desarrollar habilidades, para la resolución de problemas científicos, a través de retos que despierten el interés y la imaginación de los alumnos de secundaria. En esta propuesta la resolución de los problemas planteados estaría basada en la aplicación de una herramienta que ha revolucionado la genética y biología, la reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa, conocida como PCR