505 research outputs found

    Diseño de un plan piloto de inducción y entrenamiento en el área de servicio al cliente de la empresa comdata group en el municipio de ibagué tolima para incrementar en la productividad laboral

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    Este proyecto está enfocado al diseño de un plan piloto de inducción y entrenamiento en el área de servicio al cliente de la empresa comdata group el municipio de Ibagué Tolima para incrementar la productividad laboral, siendo este un factor que permite el funcionamiento eficaz, eficiente y efectivo de las empresas u organizaciones, incidiendo con sus resultados en los clientes internos y externos de la empresa y en la mejora de la calidad de la prestación del servicio y en la atención al cliente. Esta investigación, de tipo cualitativa - Descriptiva se realizó en la ciudad de Ibagué Tolima tomando como fuente primaria de información a la empresa COMDATA GROUP y más concretamente el área de servicio al cliente, con la participación de todos los empleados de esta área, quienes colaboraron dando respuesta a las encuestas, también se realizaron entrevistas en profundidad. Con los resultados obtenidos en las encuestas y cuestionarios se hace un contraste de las percepciones que tienen los trabajadores del área de servicio al cliente sobre los procesos de inducción y entrenamiento aplicados en la empresa para la cual laboran. Se exponen las motivaciones y objetivos de la investigación, adicional a esto la evolución sobre la pertinencia de diseñar un plan piloto y como éste puede llegar a generar valor agregado a la empresa, de modo que sus empleados y colaboradores fomentan de manera continua su conocimiento y generen para ésta un capital intelectual medible, codificado, organizado y transformado dando como resultado, incremento en la productividad laboral.This research project entailed a customer service induction and training pilot plan in COMDATA GROUP enterprise in Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. This plan intended to increment labor productivity as it allows efficient and effective functioning in enterprises and organizations. Moreover, labor productivity influences the result for internal and external clients and improves customers’ service. This qualitative and descriptive research was carried out in Ibague, Tolima, Colombia, and the area of customer service in COMDATA GROUP enterprise was the main source of data. All the customer service employees participated by answering surveys and in deep interviews. Bearing in mind the result obtained, there was made a contrast regarding the perceptions customers service workers had on the induction and training processes implemented in this company. Motivations and research objectives were mentioned as well as the evolution and importance of designing a pilot plan that could increment the company's value. Hereof, employees and collaborators could continuously foster their knowledge generating an organized, measurable, codified and transformed intellectual capital that might impact the labor productivity

    Dedifferentiation of Foetal CNS Stem Cells to Mesendoderm-Like Cells through an EMT Process

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    Tissue-specific stem cells are considered to have a limited differentiation potential. Recently, this notion was challenged by reports that showed a broader differentiation potential of neural stem cells, in vitro and in vivo, although the molecular mechanisms that regulate plasticity of neural stem cells are unknown. Here, we report that neural stem cells derived from mouse embryonic cortex respond to Lif and serum in vitro and undergo epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-mediated dedifferentiation process within 48 h, together with transient upregulation of pluripotency markers and, more notably, upregulation of mesendoderm genes, Brachyury (T) and Sox17. These induced putative mesendoderm cells were injected into early gastrulating chick embryos, which revealed that they integrated more efficiently into mesoderm and endoderm lineages compared to non-induced cells. We also found that TGFβ and Jak/Stat pathways are necessary but not sufficient for the induction of mesendodermal phenotype in neural stem cells. These results provide insights into the regulation of plasticity of neural stem cells through EMT. Dissecting the regulatory pathways involved in these processes may help to gain control over cell fate decisions

    In vitro epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation in human adult epicardial cells is regulated by TGFβ-signaling and WT1

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    Adult epicardial cells are required for endogenous cardiac repair. After myocardial injury, they are reactivated, undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and migrate into the injured myocardium where they generate various cell types, including coronary smooth muscle cells and cardiac interstitial fibroblasts, which contribute to cardiac repair. To understand what drives epicardial EMT, we used an in vitro model for human adult epicardial cells. These cells have an epithelium-like morphology and markedly express the cell surface marker vascular cell adhesion marker (VCAM-1). In culture, epicardial cells spontaneously undergo EMT after which the spindle-shaped cells now express endoglin. Both epicardial cells before and after EMT express the epicardial marker, Wilms tumor 1 (WT1). Adding transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) induces loss of epithelial character and initiates the onset of mesenchymal differentiation in human adult epicardial cells. In this study, we show that TGFβ-induced EMT is dependent on type-1 TGFβ receptor activity and can be inhibited by soluble VCAM-1. We also show that epicardial-specific knockdown of Wilms tumor-1 (WT1) induces the process of EMT in human adult epicardial cells, through transcriptional regulation of platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (Pdgfrα), Snai1 and VCAM-1. These data provide new insights into the process of EMT in human adult epicardial cells, which might provide opportunities to develop new strategies for endogenous cell-based cardiac repair

    Proteomic analysis discovers the differential expression of novel proteins and phosphoproteins in meningioma including NEK9, HK2 and SET and deregulation of RNA metabolism.

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    BACKGROUND: Meningioma is the most frequent primary intracranial tumour. Surgical resection remains the main therapeutic option as pharmacological intervention is hampered by poor knowledge of their proteomic signature. There is an urgent need to identify new therapeutic targets and biomarkers of meningioma. METHODS: We performed proteomic profiling of grade I, II and III frozen meningioma specimens and three normal healthy human meninges using LC-MS/MS to analyse global proteins, enriched phosphoproteins and phosphopeptides. Differential expression and functional annotation of proteins was completed using Perseus, IPA® and DAVID. We validated differential expression of proteins and phosphoproteins by Western blot on a meningioma validation set and by immunohistochemistry. FINDINGS: We quantified 3888 proteins and 3074 phosphoproteins across all meningioma grades and normal meninges. Bioinformatics analysis revealed commonly upregulated proteins and phosphoproteins to be enriched in Gene Ontology terms associated with RNA metabolism. Validation studies confirmed significant overexpression of proteins such as EGFR and CKAP4 across all grades, as well as the aberrant activation of the downstream PI3K/AKT pathway, which seems differential between grades. Further, we validated upregulation of the total and activated phosphorylated form of the NIMA-related kinase, NEK9, involved in mitotic progression. Novel proteins identified and validated in meningioma included the nuclear proto-oncogene SET, the splicing factor SF2/ASF and the higher-grade specific protein, HK2, involved in cellular metabolism. INTERPRETATION: Overall, we generated a proteomic thesaurus of meningiomas for the identification of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. FUND: This study was supported by Brain Tumour Research

    Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer: Parallels Between Normal Development and Tumor Progression

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    From the earliest stages of embryonic development, cells of epithelial and mesenchymal origin contribute to the structure and function of developing organs. However, these phenotypes are not always permanent, and instead, under the appropriate conditions, epithelial and mesenchymal cells convert between these two phenotypes. These processes, termed Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), or the reverse Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition (MET), are required for complex body patterning and morphogenesis. In addition, epithelial plasticity and the acquisition of invasive properties without the full commitment to a mesenchymal phenotype are critical in development, particularly during branching morphogenesis in the mammary gland. Recent work in cancer has identified an analogous plasticity of cellular phenotypes whereby epithelial cancer cells acquire mesenchymal features that permit escape from the primary tumor. Because local invasion is thought to be a necessary first step in metastatic dissemination, EMT and epithelial plasticity are hypothesized to contribute to tumor progression. Similarities between developmental and oncogenic EMT have led to the identification of common contributing pathways, suggesting that the reactivation of developmental pathways in breast and other cancers contributes to tumor progression. For example, developmental EMT regulators including Snail/Slug, Twist, Six1, and Cripto, along with developmental signaling pathways including TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin, are misexpressed in breast cancer and correlate with poor clinical outcomes. This review focuses on the parallels between epithelial plasticity/EMT in the mammary gland and other organs during development, and on a selection of developmental EMT regulators that are misexpressed specifically during breast cancer
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