John Dewey, individualismo y democracia

In recent times North American pragmatist philosophy has acquired great relevance, and the figure of John Dewey stands out especially. Two of his major works on social and political philosophy —Individualism, Old and New and The Public and Its Problems— were recently published in Spanish. This paper reviews his ideas about individualism, liberalism, community, public opinion, and democracy, with an eye to their relevance for the problems and challenges of our time.La filosofía pragmatista norteamericana ha adquirido en estos últimos tiempos una gran relevancia. En ese contexto destaca particularmente la figura de John Dewey. A partir de la reciente publicación en lengua española de dos de sus obras de filosofía social y política más significativas —Viejo y nuevo individualismo y La opinión pública y sus problemas—, este trabajo repasa sus ideas sobre el individualismo, el liberalismo, la comunidad, la opinión pública y la democracia, sin perder nunca de vista su pertinencia para los problemas y desafíos de nuestros días

A theoretical quantum study of the electronic properties of mentoxy dichloro phosphorous (C10H19OPCl2)

Indexación: Scopus.A theoretical quantum study of the organophosphorus compound with formula C10H19OPCl2 (MEPCL2) was carried out. The results of the calculations show excellent agreement between experimental and computed frequencies evaluated at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. A study of the electronic properties, such as excitation energies and wavelengths were performed employing the time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) method. Global a chemical reactivity of MEPCL2 was analyzed through global reactivity descriptors, while its local reactivity was analyzed by mean maps of the electrostatic potential. Also, the orbital energies values suggest that a charge transfer is occurring within the molecule. © 2018 American Physical Society.https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-97072018000103887&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=e

Características citológicas del lavado bronqueoalveolar y respuesta inmune humoral frente a Aspergillus fumigatus en caballos Chilotes con obstrucción recurrente de las vías aéreas

In this study, the presence and characteristics of the recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), in Chilote horses were investigated. The Chilote horse is a breed of small and very rustic horses, descendent from, the horses that were brought by the Spaniards during the colony and remained isolated in. the Chiloe island, south of Chile, for a long time. Twenty two animals, all from the same farm and living under similar conditions, were physically examined. In all cases broncheoalveolar lavage (BALF) was performed and the recovered resident cells from the respiratory tract were studied in smears stained with May Grewald - Giemsa; the level of antibodies against Aspergillus fumigatus was determined by ELISA. The results indicate that out of the total population of animals under investigation, 13 showed clinical signs compatible with RAO and 9 were normal. In all cases, the animals that were considered RAO positive showed a higher percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in the BALF: furthermore, a clear positive correlation between the relative amount of neutrophilic cells present in the airways and the severity of the signs observed during the physical examination exists. All of the animals, healthy and RAO positive horses, showed high titres of antibodies against A. fumigatus, a well known allergen, commonly distributed in. the region and present in the hay/straw. Our results show that Chilote horses, even though they are a rustic bread, are very susceptible to become RAO positive with similar characteristics to those described in other breeds, moreover, all animals were sensitized to A. fumigatus antigens showing the immunogenicity and the important distribution of this fungal allergen.El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las características citológicas del lavado bronquealveolar (LBA) y la respuesta inmune humoral en caballos Chilote con obstrucción recurrente de las vías aéreas (ORVA) contra Aspergillus fumigatus y su rol en la inducción de este cuadro alérgico. Para esto, se utilizaron 22 caballos Chilote, de los cuales 13 presentaban ORVA y 9 estaban clínicamente sanos, los cuales fueron utilizados como controles. A todos los animales se les realizó un examen físico, se les evaluó la citología pulmonar mediante un lavado bronqueoalveolar (LBA) y se les extrajo suero sanguíneo, con el propósito de determinar anticuerpos específicos contra Aspergillus fumigatus a través de un ELISA indirecto. Los resultados obtenidos de los extendidos celulares hechos a partir del LBA muestran que el porcentaje relativo de neutrófilos encontrados en los caballos con ORVA era concordante con los hallazgos obtenidos en el examen clínico. Con respecto a la prueba de ELISA se determinó que todos los animales, incluidos los controles, tenían niveles similares de anticuerpos específicos contra Aspergillus fumigatus no existiendo diferencias entre los individuos con ORVA y el grupo de animales sanos (P > 0,05). Se puede concluir que los caballos Chilote, al igual que las otras razas de caballo, tienen la predisposición de hacer ORVA al estar sensibilizados con los alérgenos inductores de este cuadro alérgico pulmonar y que existe concordancia entre el porcentaje de neutrófilos encontrados en el LBA y la gravedad de los síntomas clínicos de estos animales. Además, los antígenos de Aspergillus fumigatus tienen un rol importante en la inducción de ORVA en esta específica raza de caballo

Tuning the electronic, photophysical and charge transfer properties of small D-A molecules based on Thienopyrazine-terthienyls by changing the donor fragment: A DFT study

Indexación: Scopus.Four acceptor-donor organic conjugated molecules based on thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-terthienyls were analyzed in order to explore the effect of the donor substituent on their molecular structures, electronic and optical properties. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD/DFT) calculations were carried out employing the B3LYP hybrid functional in combination with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The results suggests that the addition of electron-donating substituents to the conjugated molecules can diminish their energy gap value, which is beneficial to the photon harvesting. The lowest-lying absorption spectra of compounds substituted with electron donor groups exhibited a red-shift and a high oscillation factor compared with the unsubstituted molecule. Additionally, the ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA), reorganization energy (λ) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) of the molecules were evaluated. According to these values, the molecules show good photovoltaic properties, and efficient charge transfer for hole and electron and balanced charges.https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-97072017000303637&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=e

Statistical Complexity and Nontrivial Collective Behavior in Electroencephalografic Signals

We calculate a measure of statistical complexity from the global dynamics of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from healthy subjects and epileptic patients, and are able to stablish a criterion to characterize the collective behavior in both groups of individuals. It is found that the collective dynamics of EEG signals possess relative higher values of complexity for healthy subjects in comparison to that for epileptic patients. To interpret these results, we propose a model of a network of coupled chaotic maps where we calculate the complexity as a function of a parameter and relate this measure with the emergence of nontrivial collective behavior in the system. Our results show that the presence of nontrivial collective behavior is associated to high values of complexity; thus suggesting that similar dynamical collective process may take place in the human brain. Our findings also suggest that epilepsy is a degenerative illness related to the loss of complexity in the brain.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Optoelectronic properties of triphenylamine based dyes for solar cell applications. A DFT study

Indexación: Scopus.GSM thanks to the Department of Chemistry at the Universidad Andres Bello, Concepcion, Chile. LHMH gratefully acknowledges financial support from CONACYT (Projects CB2015-257823) and to the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on triphenylamine (TPA) as a donor group linked with the acceptor cyanoacrylic acid electron acceptor by 2,2'-bithiophene as π-bridged (D-π-A) has been investigated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory, to establish the conformational orientation of cyanoacrylic acid group as well as evaluate the effect of planarizing the 2,2'-bithiophene unit in position 3 and 3' by electron withdrawing or donor groups on the electronic structure properties of ground and doping(n,p) states. Also, the Time Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) at the CPCM-TD-CAM-B3LYP//CAM-B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory were selected to modulate the electronic absorption spectra and charge-transfer capabilities of the molecules analyzed in the present work. The results indicate that adding an auxiliary donor or withdrawing group to the 2,2'-bithiophene in the (D-π-A) arrangement allow to modify the LUMO's energy of the dyes, while the HOMO's energy is slightly affected. © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Quimica. All rights reserved.http://quimicanova.sbq.org.br/imagebank/pdf/AR20170232.pd

Inhalación de esporas de Aspergillus fumigatus induce en ratones una inflamación de las vías aéreas similar a la observada en equinos con Obstrucción Recurrente de las Vías Aéreas

The aim of this study was to determine if mice exposed to Aspergillus (A.) fumigatus spores develop airway inflammation in a similar manner to Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO) in horses. Different groups of 2-, 5-, 6- and 8-month-old Rockefeller (RK) mice were used throughout the experiment. The mice were maintained in the animal house for 16 days and kept in cages containing hay contaminated with A. fumigatus. After 16 days of mold exposure, the mice were bled and sacrificed to obtain bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) or lung tissues for histological analysis. In addition, we measured the levels of A. fumigatus-specific antibodies by ELISA. The results demonstrated that inhalation of A. fumigatus spores in mice induced an inflammatory response in the lungs that was characterized by peribronchiolar and perivascular mononuclear infiltration and bronchiolar luminal exudates. Moreover, there was extensive folding of the airway epithelia, which is a sign of airway smooth muscle contraction and smooth muscle hypertrophy. In addition, we observed a high number of neutrophils and an increase in IgE, IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies in the BALF from mice that were older than 5 months and were exposed to A. fumigatus. These animals recovered from their respiratory distress when they were placed in a remission environment. We conclude that simple exposure of mice to moldy hay induces a condition that is similar to RAO in horses. Therefore, using this mouse model for the study of equine RAO offers the opportunity to approximate the immunologic response to airborne irritants and allergens as well as to evaluate pharmacological therapies.El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si ratones expuestos a esporas de Aspergillus fumigatus desarrollan una inflamación alérgica de las vías respiratorias similar a la observada en equinos con Obstrucción Recurrente de las Vías Aéreas (ORVA). Para esto se utilizaron ratones Rockefeller (RK) de 2, 5, 6 y 8 meses respectivamente, los cuales se mantuvieron por 16 días en jaulas que contenían heno contaminado con A. fumigatus. Posterior a la exposición, los animales fueron sangrados y sacrificados para la obtención de suero sanguíneo, lavado broncoalveolar (LBA) y muestras de tejido pulmonar. Además, se midieron los niveles de anticuerpos específicos para A. fumigatus a través de un ELISA indirecto. Los resultados mostraron que la inhalación de esporas de A. fumigatus en ratones induce una respuesta alérgica inflamatoria en pulmones similar a lo observado en ORVA equino, con un aumento del porcentaje de neutrófilos en el LBA y cambios histológicos pulmonares característicos de una hipersensibilidad bronquial. Asimismo, se observó un aumento de los niveles de inmunoglubulinas IgE, IgG1 e IgG2a específicas para este hongo en fluidos bronquiales. Además, los animales remitieron el estrés respiratorio cuando fueron expuestos en un ambiente de remisión. Se puede concluir que la simple exposición de esporas de A. fumugatus produce una condición alérgica similar al ORVA en equinos. Por lo tanto, este modelo experimental puede ser de utilidad para el estudio de los mecanismos inmunológicos, y probar nuevas opciones terapéuticas para esta enfermedad respiratoria de los caballos

Cytotoxic Assessment of 3,3-Dichloro-β-Lactams Prepared through Microwave-Assisted Benzylic C-H Activation from Benzyl-Tethered Trichloroacetamides Catalyzed by RuCl2(PPh3)3

Natural and synthetic ß -lactam derivatives constitute an interesting class of compounds due to their diverse biological activity. Mostly used as antibiotics, they were also found to have antitubercular, anticancer and antidiabetic activities, among others. In this investigation, six new 3,3-dichloro-ß -lactams prepared in a previous work were evaluated for their hemolytic and cytotoxic properties. The results showed that the proposed compounds have non-hemolytic properties and exhibited an interesting cytotoxic activity toward squamous cell carcinoma (A431 cell line), which was highly dependent on the structure and concentration of these -lactams. Among the molecules tested, 2b was the most cytotoxic, with the lowest IC50 values (30-47 µg/mL) and a promising selectivity against the tumor cells compared with non-tumoral cells