Innovación pedagógica para el aprendizaje de la Administración en la Facultad de Cs. Económicas y Sociales de la UNMDP. Prácticas pre profesionales en organizaciones de la sociedad civil y de la economía solidaria

Desde el año 2005 se implementaron en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales de la UNMDP, Prácticas Profesionales Comunitarias como requisito curricular obligatorio de sus Planes de Estudios; con 30 hs. de intervención por cada estudiante acompañadas por un Seminario de conceptualización y su correspondiente evaluación. Su implementación es regida por la OCA Nº 1211/09. Desde el año 2008, han recorrido el Seminario y realizado la Práctica más de 300 estudiantes que se han involucrado con cerca de 373 instituciones (ONG, Cooperativas, Sociedades de Fomento, entre otros) concretando al menos 27.570 horas de Prácticas con destacados resultados, no solo en la dimensión del aprendizaje sino también en la intervención comunitaria. En esta oportunidad analizaremos las conclusiones de los estudiantes, en particular de la Lic. en Administración, a la luz de las modificaciones metodológicas que se realizaron en el programa del Seminario durante el período 2013-2014.Fil: Huergo, María Consuelo. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Morasso, M. C. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales; Argentina

Molecular Approach to Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: From Pathways to Therapy

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) represents the second most frequent skin cancer,recently showing a rapid increase in incidence worldwide, with around >1 million cases/year in theUnited States and 2500 deaths [1] [...]

HMM-based anomaly interpretation for intelligent robots in Industry 4.0

We apply an anomaly detection method based on Hidden Markov Models and Hellinger distance to a Kairos mobile robot operating in the ICE lab, a research laboratory for Industry 4.0. Two main contributions are proposed: i) a decomposition of the Hellinger distance which allows to identify the causes of anomalous behaviours detected, ii) a graphical user interface that synchronously shows the robot movements in a map and the evolution of the Hellinger distance components, allowing a quick investigation of the causes of the detected anomalies. The tools are applied to a real-world dataset allowing to discover that an anomalous movement of the Kairos robot is caused by a wrong reading of the lidar from a window in the environment

A novel DLX3-PKC integrated signaling network drives keratinocyte differentiation

Epidermal homeostasis relies on a well-defined transcriptional control of keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, which is critical to prevent skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or cancer. We have recently shown that the homeobox transcription factor DLX3 and the tumor suppressor p53 co-regulate cell cycle-related signaling and that this mechanism is functionally involved in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma development. Here we show that DLX3 expression and its downstream signaling depend on protein kinase C alpha (PKC alpha) activity in skin. We found that following 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) topical treatment, DLX3 expression is significantly upregulated in the epidermis and keratinocytes from mice overexpressing PKC alpha by transgenic targeting (K5-PKC alpha), resulting in cell cycle block and terminal differentiation. Epidermis lacking DLX3 (DLX3cKO), which is linked to the development of a DLX3-dependent epidermal hyperplasia with hyperkeratosis and dermal leukocyte recruitment, displays enhanced PKC alpha activation, suggesting a feedback regulation of DLX3 and PKC alpha. Of particular significance, transcriptional activation of epidermal barrier, antimicrobial peptide and cytokine genes is significantly increased in DLX3cKO skin and further increased by TPA-dependent PKC activation. Furthermore, when inhibiting PKC activity, we show that epidermal thickness, keratinocyte proliferation and inflammatory cell infiltration are reduced and the PKC-DLX3-dependent gene expression signature is normalized. Independently of PKC, DLX3 expression specifically modulates regulatory networks such as Wnt signaling, phosphatase activity and cell adhesion. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analysis of primary suprabasal keratinocytes showed binding of DLX3 to the proximal promoter regions of genes associated with cell cycle regulation, and of structural proteins and transcription factors involved in epidermal differentiation. These results indicate that Dlx3 potentially regulates a set of crucial genes necessary during the epidermal differentiation process. Altogether, we demonstrate the existence of a robust DLX3-PKC alpha signaling pathway in keratinocytes that is crucial to epidermal differentiation control and cutaneous homeostasis

Immobilization of γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase from Equine Kidney for the Synthesis of kokumi Compounds

\u3b3-Glutamyl transpeptidase from equine kidney (ekGGT, E.C. 2.3.2.2) is an intrinsic membrane enzyme which transfers the \u3b3-glutamyl moiety of glutathione to amino acids and peptides, thus producing \u3b3-glutamyl derivatives. An immobilization study of ekGGT was carried out with the aim to develop a robust biocatalyst for the synthesis of \u3b3-glutamyl amino acids which are known as kokumi compounds. Heterofunctional octyl-glyoxyl-agarose resulted in a high immobilization yield and activity recovery (93 % and 88 %, respectively). Immobilized ekGGT retained more than 95 % activity under reaction conditions (Tris-HCl, pH 9, 0.05 M) after 6 days, whereas the residual activity after 6 reaction cycles (18 days) was 85 %. The synthesis of \u3b3-glutamylmethionine catalyzed by octyl-glyoxyl-agarose-ekGGT afforded the product in 42 % yield (101 mg). The immobilized ekGGT was characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The immobilization protocol developed for ekGGT could be of general applicability to membrane proteins

Immobilization of γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase from Equine Kidney for the Synthesis of Kokumi Compounds

γ-Glutamyl transpeptidase from equine kidney (ekGGT, E.C. 2.3.2.2) is an intrinsic membrane enzyme which transfers the γ-glutamyl moiety of glutathione to amino acids and peptides, thus producing γ-glutamyl derivatives. An immobilization study of ekGGT was carried out with the aim to develop a robust biocatalyst for the synthesis of γ-glutamyl amino acids which are known as kokumi compounds. Heterofunctional octyl-glyoxyl-agarose resulted in a high immobilization yield and activity recovery (93 % and 88 %, respectively). Immobilized ekGGT retained more than 95 % activity under reaction conditions (Tris-HCl, pH 9, 0.05 M) after 6 days, whereas the residual activity after 6 reaction cycles (18 days) was 85 %. The synthesis of γ-glutamylmethionine catalyzed by octyl-glyoxyl-agarose-ekGGT afforded the product in 42 % yield (101 mg). The immobilized ekGGT was characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The immobilization protocol developed for ekGGT could be of general applicability to membrane proteins

Raman spectroscopy reveals that biochemical composition of breast microcalcifications correlates with histopathologic features

Breast microcalcifications are a common mammographic finding. Microcalcifications are considered suspicious signs of breast cancer and a breast biopsy is required, however, cancer is diagnosed in only a few patients. Reducing unnecessary biopsies and rapid characterization of breast microcalcifications are unmet clinical needs. In this study, 473 microcalcifications detected on breast biopsy specimens from 56 patients were characterized entirely by Raman mapping and confirmed by X-ray scattering. Microcalcifications from malignant samples were generally more homogeneous, more crystalline, and characterized by a less substituted crystal lattice compared with benign samples. There were significant differences in Raman features corresponding to the phosphate and carbonate bands between the benign and malignant groups. In addition to the heterogeneous composition, the presence of whitlockite specifically emerged as marker of benignity in benign microcalcifications. The whole Raman signature of each microcalcification was then used to build a classification model that distinguishes microcalcifications according to their overall biochemical composition. After validation, microcalcifications found in benign and malignant samples were correctly recognized with 93.5% sensitivity and 80.6% specificity. Finally, microcalcifications identified in malignant biopsies, but located outside the lesion, reported malignant features in 65% of in situ and 98% of invasive cancer cases, respectively, suggesting that the local microenvironment influences microcalcification features. This study confirms that the composition and structural features of microcalcifications correlate with breast pathology and indicates new diagnostic potentialities based on microcalcifications assessment. Significance: Raman spectroscopy could be a quick and accurate diagnostic tool to precisely characterize and distinguish benign from malignant breast microcalcifications detected on mammography

P132 Uncovering blood biomarkers of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases by Raman spectroscopy and FAP dosage: toward a noninvasive triage of patients in first care diagnostic

Abstract Background Currently, a major point of concern in the management of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) is the absence of accurate and specific circulating biomarkers able to drive diagnosis in a timely and noninvasive manner. Aim of the present study was to explore blood biomarkers of IBD by coupling the targeted detection of circulating fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a recognized valuable marker of bowel lesion in IBD, and Raman spectroscopy (RS), a quick and label-free metabolomic technique that provides a real-time biochemical characterization of plasma samples without any previously known target. Methods Blood samples were collected from over 140 patients with IBD and 170 control subjects matched for gender and age. Isolated plasma was analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for quantitative detection of circulating form of FAP. RS was performed on dry droplets of plasma, with the aim to decipher specific fingerprint of IBD in peripheral blood. A predictive model was built on FAP and Raman data separately, to determine specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of the two approaches in patients classification. Supervised multivariate model was applied on a subset of 203 patients to discriminate IBD and control subjects based on combined datasets. Results FAP levels were reduced in patients with IBD as compared to controls (p<0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of FAP were 70% and 84% based on the optimal cutoff (57.6 ng mL-1, AUC=0.78). Raman spectra of IBD plasma revealed significant differences in peaks corresponding to carotenoids, proteins with β-sheet secondary structure, lipids and aromatic amino-acids. A machine learning model was applied on a subset of patients reaching an accuracy of 85% in classifying IBD and control subjects. No statistically significant differences were observed so far between the discriminative performance of the sole RS or the combination of RS and FAP. Conclusion RS and FAP dosage enable new discoveries in the biological fingerprint of IBD plasma and provide novel candidate biomarkers of IBD. Our preliminary results strongly suggest that novel blood-based approaches could represent a fast noninvasive way to triage patents with suspected IBD in first care diagnostic, to be applied prior to further specific evaluation

Attentive Learning of Sequential Handwriting Movements: A Neural Network Model

Defense Advanced research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research (N00014-95-1-0409, N00014-92-J-1309); National Science Foundation (IRI-97-20333); National Institutes of Health (I-R29-DC02952-01)