Técnicas y métodos experimentales para la formación del pensamiento creativo en las artes plásticas

Desarrollar el pensamiento creativo en las Artes Plásticas. 32 alumnos de segundo de Pintura de la Facultad de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Primero se analizan veinte técnicas experimentales distintas con la finalidad de aplicarlas en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de las artes plásticas, concretamente de la pintura. Después se realiza una investigación teórica que se inicia relacionando la percepción visual con la actividad creativa del arte. En la segunda parte se revisa la noción de creatividad y sus distintas teorías y procesos. Y la última parte se centra en la formación del pensamiento creativo. Se elabora una batería de items donde aplicar puntuaciones a partir de los trabajos, objetos o constructos, realizados por los alumnos. Se crea un grupo de control y otro experimental donde se aplican las técnicas creativas para pintura, con una explicación inicial y su desarrollo durante una semana. También se estudian los cuadernos de apuntes, publicaciones, declaraciones y sobre todo la obra realizada por autores reconocidos universalmente. Se evalúan variables predictoras como fluidez, flexibilidad, originalidad, intuición, elaboración, imaginación, gusto, información y conocimiento técnico; y variables de creatividad, para lo cual se toman las notas de calificación obtenidas en el test. El estudio demuestra que existe correlación entre el desarrollo de la capacidad de creación y las técnicas propuestas. El proceso de la percepción es el resultado de la relación propiedades que impone el objeto-naturaleza del sujeto que observe. También son importantes otros procesos cognitivos como los que subyacen en la memoria y la utilización del saber. En la percepción artística se produce una proyección y apertura total hacia el objeto. La actitud del sujeto que percibe, determina lo que se percibirá y lo que no se percibirá y como se hará. Todo individuo tiene la capacidad y el deseo de crear, pero esta capacidad dependerá de las oportunidades que tenga para expresarlo. Aunque nace con un potencial definido hacia la actividad creadora, las diferencias se deben a frustraciones que impiden un normal desarrollo. Por ello, la creatividad es susceptible de desarrollo siempre que exista una actividad artística continuada, condiciones personales y una adecuada programación de actividades. Por tanto las aptitudes y habilidades intelectuales se pueden entrenar.ES

Identification and analysis of DNA-binding transcription factors in Bacillus subtilis and other Firmicutes- a genomic approach

BACKGROUND: Bacillus subtilis is one of the best-characterized organisms in Gram-positive bacteria. It represents a paradigm of gene regulation in bacteria due its complex life style (which could involve a transition between stages as diverse as vegetative cell and spore formation). In order to gain insight into the organization and evolution of the B. subtilis regulatory network and to provide an alternative framework for further studies in bacteria, we identified and analyzed its repertoire of DNA-binding transcription factors in terms of their abundance, family distribution and regulated genes. RESULTS: A collection of 237 DNA-binding Transcription Factors (TFs) was identified in B. subtilis, half of them with experimental evidence. 59% of them were predicted to be repressors, 17% activators, 17% were putatively identified as dual regulatory proteins and the remaining 6.3% could not be associated with a regulatory role. From this collection 56 TFs were found to be autoregulated, most of them negatively, though a significant proportion of positive feedback circuits were also identified. TFs were clustered into 51 regulatory protein families and then traced on 58 genomes from Firmicutes to detect their presence. From this analysis three families were found conserved in all the Firmicutes; fifteen families were distributed in all Firmicutes except in the phyla Mollicutes; two were constrained to Bacillales and finally two families were found to be specific to B. subtilis, due to their specie specific distribution. Repression seems to be the most common regulatory mechanism in Firmicutes due to the high proportion of repressors in the detected collection in these genomes. In addition, six global regulators were defined in B. subtilis based on the number and function of their regulated genes. CONCLUSION: In this work we identified and described the characteristics associated to the repertoire of DNA-binding TFs in B. subtilis. We also quantified their abundance, family distribution, and regulatory roles in the context of Firmicutes. This work should not only contribute to our understanding of the regulation of gene expression in bacteria from the perspective of B. subtilis but also provide us the basis for comprehensive modeling of transcriptional regulatory networks in Firmicutes

Pursuing precision in medicine and nutrition: the rise of electrochemical biosensing at the molecular level

In the era that we seek personalization in material things, it is becoming increasingly clear that the individualized management of medicine and nutrition plays a key role in life expectancy and quality of life, allowing participation to some extent in our welfare and the use of societal resources in a rationale and equitable way. The implementation of precision medicine and nutrition are highly complex challenges which depend on the development of new technologies able to meet important requirements in terms of cost, simplicity, and versatility, and to determine both individually and simultaneously, almost in real time and with the required sensitivity and reliability, molecular markers of different omics levels in biofluids extracted, secreted (either naturally or stimulated), or circulating in the body. Relying on representative and pioneering examples, this review article critically discusses recent advances driving the position of electrochemical bioplatforms as one of the winning horses for the implementation of suitable tools for advanced diagnostics, therapy, and precision nutrition. In addition to a critical overview of the state of the art, including groundbreaking applications and challenges ahead, the article concludes with a personal vision of the imminent roadmap.The financial support of PID2019-103899RBI00 (Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), and PMP22/00084, PI17CIII/00045, PI20CIII/00019 and PI22/00727 (AES-ISCIII) cofounded with FEDER funds Research Projects and the TRANSNANOAVANSENS-CM Program from the Comunidad de Madrid (Grant S2018/NMT-4349) are gratefully acknowledged. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.S

Modelo para la estimación del riesgo de crédito y la asignación de cupos en la cartera de una empresa del sector textil en Colombia

Los modelos de estimación de riesgo de crédito presentan una amplia trayectoria dentro del sector financiero, no siendo así para el sector real que informalmente busca un mayor retorno de la inversión con créditos comerciales, lo que en algunos casos ha implicado una adhesión a las operaciones avanzadas por el sector financiero en materia del cálculo de riesgo, a partir de las características propias de las empresas que emprenden este esfuerzo. Por tal motivo, se propone la construcción de un modelo de estimación de riesgo de crédito para que una empresa del sector textil amplíe los cupos de crédito de manera calculada. Para tal cumplimiento se propuso una investigación experimental que permitió la construcción del modelo bajo indicadores financieros. Se concluyó que al aumentar los cupos, a riesgo de la compañía, se gana participación en el marcado y se mejoran las utilidades con un riesgo aceptable dentro de los estándares financieros.Models of estimation of credit risk have a long history in the financial sector, not being so for the real sector that informally seeks a greater return on investment with commercial credits, which in some cases has implied adherence to advanced operations by the financial sector in the area of risk calculation, based on the characteristics of the companies that undertake this effort. For this reason, the construction of a model of estimation of credit risk proposed so that a company in the textile sector expands the credit quotas in a calculated way. For such compliance was proposed an experimental investigation which allowed the construction of the model under financial indicators. It concluded that by increasing the quotas, at the risk of the company, participation in the marking is gained and profits are improved with an acceptable risk within the financial standards

Supply Chain Risk of Obsolescence at Simultaneous Robust Perturbations

The earlier planning methods of supply chains (SC) in the skeleton of the extended material requirements planning (EMRP), where the time horizon of the reverse Laplace is infinite, were not convenient to estimate the impact of the technical obsolescence of the product or technology involved, which has economic, environmental, and social consequences. Therefore, the perturbations of timing are presented until the possible obsolescence, with parallel execution of the network simulation model (NSM) to evaluate the impact of the finite lifespan on the value of the chain. The EMRP, as well as the NSM, are based on the skeleton of the material requirements planning model, where delays and their perturbations are presented transparently. Contrary to the previous studies of the net present value (NPV) in the EMRP skeleton, where the infinite horizon is assumed, the impact of shortening the horizon of activities is shown here, in order to also evaluate the risk of financing investments in the SC with a shorter lifespan of products or technology. Owing to the simultaneous appearances of the stochastic variables, the parallel execution and exchanging of data, using NSM is advised. The procedures for estimation of correction factors of the NPV and their values are given.This research was partly funded by the Slovenian Research Agency, grant P5-0364 and J6-9396, and partly by the University of Padua

Reanalysis and reclassification of rare genetic variants associated with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes

Background: Accurate interpretation of rare genetic variants is a challenge for clinical translation. Updates in recommendations for rare variant classification require the reanalysis and reclassification. We aim to perform an exhaustive re-analysis of rare variants associated with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes, which were classified ten years ago, to determine whether their classification aligns with current standards and research findings. Methods: In 2010, the rare variants identified through genetic analysis were classified following recommendations available at that time. Nowadays, the same variants have been reclassified following current American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommendations. Findings: Our cohort included 104 cases diagnosed with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes and 17 post-mortem cases in which inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes was cause of death. 71.87% of variants change their classification. While 65.62% of variants were classified as likely pathogenic in 2010, after reanalysis, only 17.96% remain as likely pathogenic. In 2010, 18.75% of variants were classified as uncertain role but nowadays 60.15% of variants are classified of unknown significance. Interpretation: Reclassification occurred in more than 70% of rare variants associated with inherited arrhythmogenic syndromes. Our results support the periodical reclassification and personalized clinical translation of rare variants to improve diagnosis and adjust treatment

Increasing the equity of a flower supply chain by improving order management and supplier selection

This work focuses on helping the decision-making process of a microenterprise, the central organisation of a flower-exporting supply chain, to satisfy the objective of increasing its equity value by 300 %, and that of the whole supply chain at the same time. A systems dynamics-based simulation model is developed to evaluate the order management process in the supply chain under study, its financial evaluation and a supplier selection module from the central firm. The objective is to increase the equity value of the central firm and the supply chain under study. The main contribution of this work is to model and simulate a real world supply chain for decision-making. Hence, this paper can be used by other supply chains as a reference for modelling and simulating themselves in order to improve their performance.This paper has been funded by the Spanish Ministry Project entitled Design and Management of Global Supply Chains (GLOBOP) (Ref. DPI2012-38061-C02-01).Moreno, JR.; Mula Bru, J.; Campuzano Bolarín, F. (2015). Increasing the equity of a flower supply chain by improving order management and supplier selection. International Journal of Simulation Modelling. 14(2):201-214. https://doi.org/10.2507/IJSIMM14(2)2.284S20121414

Development of a PSO metaheuristic for the menu planning problem with DCE preferences analysis

La planeación del menú es un problema de optimización que busca minimizar el costo de los insumos alimentarios para su preparación a la vez que se satisfacen las necesidades nutricionales. Este proyecto se aplicará en el Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé, la cual es una escuela subsidiada con recursos limitados; por lo tanto, es pertinente mejorar su eficiencia en sus gastos, lo que se puede lograr minimizando sus costos. Para abordar este problema y comprender la compensación en las preferencias alimentarias que enfrentan los estudiantes de sexto a undécimo grado inscritos en la institución, así como el efecto que tiene sobre ellos el suministro de información nutricional, se diseña un DCE ( Discrete Choice Experiment ). Luego, se propone un modelo matemático de optimización lineal como una aproximación para resolver el problema de la planeación del menú, sin embargo, se muestra que este caso particular expone características de un problema NP-hard ; por tanto, una metaheurística como PSO ( Particle swarm optimization ) es muy conveniente. Esta metaheurística tiene como objetivo minimizar tanto la desviación nutricional en cuanto al requerimiento como el costo de los suministros alimentarios y generar una solución de menú variada, contemplando un horizonte temporal de 15 días. Por lo tanto, se desarrolla un algoritmo considerando el PSO, las preferencias estimadas y las restricciones especificadas por la escuela, generando soluciones para los rangos de edad previamente estipulados de acuerdo con el resultado de un clustering jerárquico. Finalmente, una aplicación diseñada bajo la norma ISO/IEC 25010 facilita la entrada de datos y la visualización de los resultados.Menu planning is an optimization problem that seeks to minimize the cost of food inputs for its preparation while satisfying nutritional needs. This project will be applied in Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé, which is a subsidized school with limited resources; therefore, it is pertinent to improve their efficiency in their expenditures, which can be achieved by optimally minimizing their costs. In order to address this problem and understand the tradeoff in food preferences faced by sixth to eleven grade students enrolled in the institution, as well as the effect that the provision of nutritional information has on them, a DCE (Discrete Choice Experiment) is designed. Then, a linear optimization mathematical model is proposed as an approximation to solve the menu planning problem however, it is shown that this particular case exposes characteristics of an NP-hard problem; thus, a metaheuristic such as PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) is highly convenient. This metaheuristic aims to minimize both the nutritional deviation concerning the requirement and the cost of food supplies and generate a varied menu solution, contemplating a time horizon of 15 days. Therefore, an algorithm considering the PSO, the estimated preferences, and the restrictions specified by the school, is developed, generating solutions for the previously stipulated age ranges according to the result of hierarchical clustering. Finally, an application designed under the ISO / IEC 25010 standard facilitates the entry of data and the visualization of the results.Ingeniero (a) IndustrialPregrad

Prognostic value of the preoperative lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio for survival after lung cancer surgery

Background: Tthe aim of this study was to assess the effect of the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio on overall survival and disease-free survival in patients with lung cancer treated with radical surgery. Methods: we performed a retrospective review of patients with lung cancer who prospectively underwent radical resection between 2004 and 2012. Blood samples were taken as part of the preoperative workup. The inflammatory markers studied were absolute values of lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and platelets, with subsequent calculation of ratios. Median follow-up was 52 months. Results: two hundred and sixty-eight patients underwent surgery, of whom 218 (81.3%) were men. Mean age was 62.9 ± 8.7 years. A lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio ≥ 2.5 was independently associated with longer disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.476 (0.307-0.738), p = 0.001) and longer overall survival (HR, 0.546; 95% CI: 0.352-0.846; p = 0.007), in models adjusted for age, sex, stage, and type of resection. No other systemic inflammatory marker showed a significant association. Conclusion: preoperative LMR is an independent prognostic factor of overall survival and recurrence-free survival in patients with surgically-resected early stage lung cancer

Efficient inhibition of iron superoxide dismutase and of Trypanosoma cruzi growth by benzo[g]phthalazine derivatives functionalized with one or two imidazole rings

The synthesis and trypanosomatic behavior of a new series of 1,4-bis(alkylamino)benzo[g]phthalazines 1−4 containing the biologically significant imidazole ring are reported. In vitro antiparasitic activity against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes is remarkable, especially for compound 2, whereas toxicity against Vero cells is very low. Conversion of epimastigotes to metacyclic forms in the presence of the tested compounds causes significant decreases in the amastigote and trypomastigote numbers. Fe-SOD inhibition is noteworthy, whereas effect on human Cu/Zn-SOD is negligible.The authors thank the Spanish CICYT for the financial support