SARS- CoV-2 infection and oxidative stress in early-onset preeclampsia

SARS-CoV-2 causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also in pregnant women. Infection in pregnancy leads to maternal and placental functional alterations. Pregnant women with vascular defects such as preeclampsia show high susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection by undefined mechanisms. Pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 show higher rates of preterm birth and caesarean delivery, and their placentas show signs of vasculopathy and inflammation. It is still unclear whether the foetus is affected by the maternal infection with this virus and whether maternal infection associates with postnatal affections. The SARS-CoV-2 infection causes oxidative stress and activation of the immune system leading to cytokine storm and next tissue damage as seen in the lung. The angiotensin-converting-enzyme 2 expression is determinant for these alterations in the lung. Since this enzyme is expressed in the human placenta, SARS-CoV-2 could infect the placenta tissue, although reported to be of low frequency compared with maternal lung tissue. Early-onset preeclampsia (eoPE) shows higher expression of ADAM17 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17) causing an imbalanced renin-angiotensin system and endothelial dysfunction. A similar mechanism seems to potentially account for SARS-CoV-2 infection. This review highlights the potentially common characteristics of pregnant women with eoPE with those with COVID-19. A better understanding of the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its impact on the placenta function is determinant since eoPE/COVID-19 association may result in maternal metabolic alterations that might lead to a potential worsening of the foetal programming of diseases in the neonate, young, and adult

Ouabain-insensitive, Na-ATPase activity in pure suspensions of rat kidney proximal tubules

AbstractThe present work was undertaken to evaluate the distribution of the Na-ATPase activity in the different components of the rat kidney cortex. Suspensions of glomeruli, proximal and distal tubules were prepared following a collagenase digestion of outermost kidney cortex slices and a separation on a Percoll gradient. It was found that the Na-ATPase activity is higher in the fraction enriched in proximal tubules. The fraction enriched in glomeruli and in distal tubules show also a Na-ATPase activity, but it is lower

EL DESARROLLO DE LA COMPETENCIA MATEMÁTICA MEDIANTE PROBLEMAS CON APLICACIONES DE LAS FUNCIONES

El proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la Matemática es objeto de múltiples investigaciones motivadas fundamentalmente por las dificultades de los estudiantes en el aprendizaje de los contenidos matemáticos. En Cuba se reordenan los contenidos de la asignatura y se perfeccionan sus métodos, pero el cambio fundamental radica en que la formulación y solución de problemas se convierte en el eje central de trabajo con sus contenidos y debe hacer evidente las implicaciones de la matemática en la vida. Este artículo tiene como objetivo proponer problemas con aplicaciones de las funciones exponenciales y logarítmicas que potencien el desarrollo de la competencia matemática en estudiantes de preuniversitario. La investigación se realiza con un enfoque predominantemente cuantitativo. Se utilizan el análisis de documentos, la observación, la encuesta, la entrevista, el criterio de especialistas y el experimento, con un diseño pre experimental de tipo O1 X O2 y una muestra de 30 estudiantes de undécimo grado. Como resultado se obtuvo problemas acordes a las exigencias del perfeccionamiento del proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la Matemática, que permiten desarrollar el tema de funciones exponenciales y logarítmicas con otro enfoque, contribuyendo a la competencia matemática. Los problemas fueron valorados satisfactoriamente por especialistas y las transformaciones corroboradas.The teaching and learning process of Mathematics is the object of multiple investigations mainly motivated by the students' difficulties in learning mathematical content. In Cuba, its contents are reordered, and its methods are improved. However, the fundamental change is that formulation, and problem-solving becomes the central axis of the work with mathematical contents and should make evident the implications of Mathematics in life. This article aims at proposing problems with applications of numerical and logarithmic functions that enhance the development of pre-university students' mathematical competence. This research is carried out with a predominantly quantitative approach. The methods used are the analysis of documents, the observation, the survey, the interview, the specialists' criteria, and the experiment, a pre-experimental design of the O1 X O2 type, and 30 students of eleventh grade.  As a result, problems were obtained by the demands of the improvement of the teaching-learning process of Mathematics, which allow developing the subject of exponential and logarithmic functions with another approach, contributing to mathematical competence. Specialists satisfactorily assessed the problems, and the transformations confirmed. &nbsp

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCE THROUGH PROBLEMS WITH APPLICATION OF THE FUNCTIONS

The teaching and learning process of Mathematics is the object of multiple investigations mainly motivated by the students' difficulties in learning mathematical content. In Cuba, its contents are reordered, and its methods are improved. However, the fundamental change is that formulation, and problem-solving becomes the central axis of the work with mathematical contents and should make evident the implications of Mathematics in life. This article aims at proposing problems with applications of numerical and logarithmic functions that enhance the development of pre-university students' mathematical competence. This research is carried out with a predominantly quantitative approach. The methods used are the analysis of documents, the observation, the survey, the interview, the specialists' criteria, and the experiment, a pre-experimental design of the O1 X O2 type, and 30 students of eleventh grade.  As a result, problems were obtained by the demands of the improvement of the teaching-learning process of Mathematics, which allow developing the subject of exponential and logarithmic functions with another approach, contributing to mathematical competence. Specialists satisfactorily assessed the problems, and the transformations confirmed.  El proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la Matemática es objeto de múltiples investigaciones motivadas fundamentalmente por las dificultades de los estudiantes en el aprendizaje de los contenidos matemáticos. En Cuba se reordenan los contenidos de la asignatura y se perfeccionan sus métodos, pero el cambio fundamental radica en que la formulación y solución de problemas se convierte en el eje central de trabajo con sus contenidos y debe hacer evidente las implicaciones de la matemática en la vida. Este artículo tiene como objetivo proponer problemas con aplicaciones de las funciones exponenciales y logarítmicas que potencien el desarrollo de la competencia matemática en estudiantes de preuniversitario. La investigación se realiza con un enfoque predominantemente cuantitativo. Se utilizan el análisis de documentos, la observación, la encuesta, la entrevista, el criterio de especialistas y el experimento, con un diseño pre experimental de tipo O1 X O2 y una muestra de 30 estudiantes de undécimo grado. Como resultado se obtuvo problemas acordes a las exigencias del perfeccionamiento del proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la Matemática, que permiten desarrollar el tema de funciones exponenciales y logarítmicas con otro enfoque, contribuyendo a la competencia matemática. Los problemas fueron valorados satisfactoriamente por especialistas y las transformaciones corroboradas

Towards the family approach of the pedagogic professional orientation

The paper try to solve the problem about the need of improving pedagogic professional process by a new approach. It is a research task from the «Vocational guidance to access into pedagogical careers project». This project belongs to the Study Center of Education Science (CECE) as spelling in Spanish, from Pinar del Río «Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca» University, Cuba. The documentary analysis method was made.The essential aspects related to the family and professional guidance, using the methodology of conceptual mapping with the purpose to identify the main characteristics of the family approach of the orientation toward pedagogical job. The main results were obtained in eight thematic axes of analysis whichallow to typify the family approach of pedagogical professional orientation

Can magnesium gluconate be used as an alternative therapy for preeclampsia?

Magnesium (Mg+2) in the body plays a structural and regulatory role and it is involved in fundamental cellular reactions. It is known that Mg+2 blood levels decrease during pregnancy, which has been related to preeclampsia and premature delivery, as well as other pathologies such as cardiovascular alterations and renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, and muscular dysfunctions among others. Mg+2 salts are used to treat its deficiency, and parenteral magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) is relatively effective in preeclampsia and eclampsia. The use of MgSO4 has the main disadvantage that it is mainly administered intravenously which leads to significant toxicity risks. Currently, other magnesium salts are being studied as alternative treatments. Magnesium gluconate (Mg-gluconate) has been used to prevent pregnancy-induced hypertension, showing a greater antioxidant capacity than MgSO4. Mg-gluconate can scavenge hydroxyl and alkoxyl radicals and it has been shown that it can inhibit lipid peroxidation in microsomal membranes treated in vitro with the Fenton reaction. Mg-gluconate seems to be an excellent candidate to replace MgSO4 as a therapy for preeclampsia with severe features.El magnesio (Mg+2) en el organismo, juega un papel estructural y regulador, y participa en reacciones celulares fundamentales. Se sabe que los niveles séricos de Mg+2 disminuyen durante el embarazo, lo cual se ha relacionado con la preeclampsia y el parto prematuro, así como con otras patologías como alteraciones cardiovasculares y disfunciones renales, gastrointestinales, neurológicas, musculares, entre otras. Las sales de Mg+2 se utilizan para tratar su deficiencia, y el sulfato de magnesio parenteral (MgSO4) ha demostrado ser relativamente eficaz en la preeclampsia y la eclampsia. El uso de MgSO4 tiene el principal inconveniente de que se administra principalmente por vía intravenosa, lo cual conlleva a riesgos importantes de toxicidad. Actualmente, se están estudiando otras sales de magnesio como tratamientos alternativos. El gluconato de magnesio (Mg-gluconato) se ha utilizado para prevenir la hipertensión inducida por el embarazo, mostrando una mayor capacidad antioxidante que el MgSO4. El Mg-gluconato es capaz de eliminar radicales hidroxilo y alcoxilo e inhibir la peroxidación lipídica en membranas microsomales tratadas in vitro con la reacción de Fenton. El Mg-gluconato parece ser un excelente candidato para sustituir al MgSO4 como terapia para la preeclampsia con características graves.Sociedad Argentina de Fisiologí