Análisis de las charlas TED como herramienta educativa en internet

El modelo educativo actual se está queda obsoleto en parte porque no se adapta ni está en armonía con los avances que han surgido en la sociedad en los últimos años. La era digital y tecnológica que el mundo está experimentando, brinda la posibilidad de que esto cambie, usando la tecnología como herramienta para desarrollar nuevas metodologías pedagógicas, que dan lugar a nuevos modelos educativos más dinámicos y diversos, capaces de englobar las necesidades educativas de diferentes tipos de estudiantes. La aparición de los congresos y charlas TED (Tecnología, Entretenimiento, Diseño) en 1984, como organización dedicada a difundir ideas, se ve mejorada gracias a estas tecnologías y plataformas de Internet como Youtube. La entidad promueve una mejora en la sociedad actual y del futuro progresando en diferentes ramas como educación, ciencia, desarrollo, arte o negocios entre otros. En este proyecto se pretende analizar el impacto que tienen las charlas TED en la educación actual a través de Internet y cómo este tipo de vídeos está actualizando la manera de comunicar de muchos docentes y alumnos. Analizando y estudiando las ideas, los valores, y la metodología de algunas de estas conferencias, se pretende dar las claves por las cuales estas charlas podrían ser una herramienta docente indispensable para el modelo educativo dinámico y diverso que el mundo necesita.The current educational model is becoming obsolete in part because it does not adapt or is in harmony with the advances that have emerged in society in recent years. The digital and technological era that the world is experiencing offers the possibility of this change, using technology as a tool to develop new pedagogical methodologies, which give rise to new, more dynamic and diverse educational models. Those models are capable of encompassing the educational needs of the diverse types of students. The appearance of the congresses and talks TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) in 1984, as an organization dedicated to spreading ideas, is improved thanks to these technologies and Internet platforms such as YouTube. The entity promotes an improvement in the current and the future society, progressing in different branches such as education, science, development, art or business among others. This project aims to analyze the impact that TED talks have on current education through the Internet and how this type of videos are updating the way many teachers and students communicate. Analyzing and studying the ideas, values, and methodology of some of these conferences, it is intended to give the keys by which these talks could be an indispensable teaching tool for the dynamic and diverse educational model that the world needs.Lorente Requena, J. (2018). Análisis de las charlas TED como herramienta educativa en internet. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/116066TFG

Freigabe: 05.05.2018 Synthesis, characterization and application of smart materials based on low-molecular-weight compounds and polymers

Chapter A: Introduction on supramolecular gels and application of gels in drug release The first section (chapter B1) presents the transfer of a concept which is originally used for the design of new drug molecules, to the rational development of new gelator compounds, namely the isosteric replacement. Here the substitution of the amide function in N stearoyl-L-glutamic acid (C18-Glu) (see Fig. 48) – a compound which is known to be able to act as gelator for several solvents – was replaced by a 1,4-di¬subs¬tituted 1,2,3-triazole unit (click-Glu) and a sulfonamide (sulfo-Glu), respect¬ive¬ly. In both cases the total number of C atoms has formally been kept intact.In terms of gelation of a range of different organic solvents, as well as water, it was found that click-Glu revealed superior features with respect to the CGC, Tgel and mechanical stability in polar protic solvents, whereas sulfo-Glu exhibited improved properties in non-polar solvents and C18-Glu showed in average values between those of click-Glu and sulfo-Glu. But not only the characterization of the gel material itself was described but also the successful application of hydrogels derived from all three glutamic acid derivatives as carriers of several hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs and the subsequent release over a period up to two weeks could be demonstrated which revealed the influence of the functional group in the respective gelator molecules on the release rate of the drugs. Chapter B2 describes the application of hydrogels, derived from glycyrrhizic acid ammonium salt, as drug depot. Glycyrrhizic acid ammonium salt is a salt of glycyrrhizin, a natural compound which can be extracted from the licorice root. It exhibits an excellent biocompatibility, which is why it was chosen for the formulation and drug release study of three anti-cancer agents of different hydrophilicity. The influence of drug inherent hydrophilicity as well as the pH and nature of the release medium on the drug diffusion rate was investigated. In good agreement with previous publications, more hydrophobic compounds were found to tend to a slower diffusion into the release medium as they experience a greater retention from the gel environment. In terms of pH of surrounding medium, the release into more basic solutions was found to be faster as high pH values seemed to destabilize the integrity of the gel network. However the nature of the release buffer (e.g. organic or inorganic) also played an important role, which makes a forecast of the release kinetics, depending on the pH difficult and therefor demonstrates the limitations of in vitro drug delivery experiments. Nevertheless, preliminary release studies provide important information necessary for the design of in vivo experiments. A formamidine based low molecular weight compound and its gelation properties are presented in chapter B3. The amphiphilic molecule consists of a long chain containing 16 carbon atoms and an acetyl L-phenyl alanine connected via a formamidine group.This molecule is able to form gels in a variety of different organic solvents as well as two ionic liquids and water. It was found that ultrasonication of an isotropic solution of the gelator led to superior materials in comparison to gels prepared by the classical heating and spontaneous cooling of gelator solution. Furthermore temperature controlled 1H-NMR reveled the participation of H-bonding, π - π-stacking, as well as van-der-Waals interactions in the gelation process. Moreover the temperature controlled turning on/off of birefringence of a gel in MeCN could be demonstrated, which constitutes an important property for potential applications in optical devices. Unfortunately this gelator, as well as its hydrogel was found to be toxic, which is why this material could not be used for drug delivery studies. The second half, chapter C of this thesis describes the synthesis of different ionene polymers as well as various applications. In chapter C1 the antimicrobial and hemolytic activity of ionenes (Fig. 51) was investigated. The majority of the polymers showed antimicrobial activity against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, with minimum inhibition concentration values affected by both the topology of the polymer and the nature of the diamine linker. Most polymers revealed to be harmless towards red blood cells and therefor show a low hemolytic activity. In general, DABCO containing polymers exhibited the lowest antimicrobial and the highest hemolytic activities. In contrast, meta-ionenes showed the best antimicrobial and lowest hemolytic activity, which makes them promising candidates for potential antimicrobial applications. In chapter C2 cationic vesicles derived from ionene polymers with alternating α,ω-tertiary diamine linker (ortho-DABCO, -C2 and -C6, see Fig. 51) and the non-ionic surfactant polysorbate 80 are presented. These vesicles were used in different formulations for the transfection of oligonucleotide single strands which are comple-mentary to Renilla luciferase mRNA. Formulations based on ortho-DABCO and -C2 were found to be non-toxic but those with ortho-C6 showed critical cell viabilities at higher ionene concentrations. When testing the efficiencies of the cationic vesicles to silence the activity of Renilla luciferase, those formulations with DABCO-ionene showed no efficacy. On the contrast, C2- and C6-ionene derived formulations (at non-toxic ionene concentrations) could reduce the luciferase activity by 48 and 38%, respectively. The use of these formulations might be an interesting alternative to current transfection agents. Last but not least in chapter C3 ionenes with DABCO-linker were found to be able to gel water and acidic solutions. Here the topology, the substitution pattern (ortho-, meta- or para-) at the central benzene of the ionenes, was found to play an highly important role for the gelation properties. Ortho-DABCO showed superior gelation ability compared to the analogues meta-DABCO and para-DABCO in solutions of different pH and ionic strengths. Atomistic MD simulations have allowed to conclude that the distinctive properties of ortho-DABCO are due to the formation of specific polymer ··· polymer interactions (i.e. hydrogen bonds, N–H ··· π and intra-molecular π – π stacking), which are facilitated by the binder effect of Cl- counterions. Polymer ··· polymer interactions are more abundant in ortho-DABCO than in meta-DABCO and para-DABCO which is responsible for the superior gelation of ortho-DABCO

Characterising the KMP-11 and HSP-70 recombinant antigens' humoral immune response profile in chagasic patients

11 pages, 6 figures.-- The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/9/186/pre pubBackground: Antigen specificity and IgG subclass could be significant in the natural history of Chagas' disease. The relationship between the different stages of human Chagas' disease and the profiles of total IgG and its subclasses were thus analysed here; they were directed against a crude T. cruzi extract and three recombinant antigens: the T. cruzi kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (rKMP-11), an internal fragment of the T. cruzi HSP-70 protein192-433, and the entire Trypanosoma rangeli HSP-70 protein. Methods: Seventeen Brazilian acute chagasic patients, 50 Colombian chronic chagasic patients (21 indeterminate and 29 cardiopathic patients) and 30 healthy individuals were included. Total IgG and its subtypes directed against the above-mentioned recombinant antigens were determined by ELISA tests. Results: The T. cruzi KMP-11 and T. rangeli HSP-70 recombinant proteins were able to distinguish both acute from chronic chagasic patients and infected people from healthy individuals. Specific antibodies to T. cruzi crude antigen in acute patients came from IgG3 and IgG4 subclasses whereas IgG1 and IgG3 were the prevalent isotypes in indeterminate and chronic chagasic patients. By contrast, the specific prominent antibodies in all disease stages against T. cruzi KMP-11 and T. rangeli HSP-70 recombinant antigens were the IgG1 subclass.This work was supported by Colciencias Research project No. 1203-333- 18692. IDF was supported by Colciencias and the Universidad Javeriana's Young Researcher 2008 Programme (Bogotá, Colombia). MCT and MCL were supported by P06-CTS-02242 Grant from PAI (Junta de Andalucia) and RICET-RD06/0021-0014, Spain. MS received financial support from the Brazilian agency - CNPq.Peer reviewe

High prevalence of strongyloidiasis in spain : A hospital-based study

Strongyloidiasis is a prevailing helminth infection ubiquitous in tropical and subtropical areas, however, seroprevalence data are scarce in migrant populations, particularly for those coming for Asia. This study aims at evaluating the prevalence of S. stercoralis at the hospital level in migrant populations or long term travellers being attended in out-patient and in-patient units as part of a systematic screening implemented in six Spanish hospitals. A cross-sectional study was conducted and systematic screening for S. stercoralis infection using serological tests was offered to all eligible participants. The overall seroprevalence of S. stercoralis was 9.04% (95%CI 7.76-10.31). The seroprevalence of people with a risk of infection acquired in Africa and Latin America was 9.35% (95%CI 7.01-11.69), 9.22% (7.5-10.93), respectively. The number of individuals coming from Asian countries was significantly smaller and the overall prevalence in these countries was 2.9% (95%CI −0.3-6.2). The seroprevalence in units attending potentially immunosuppressed patients was significantly lower (5.64%) compared with other units of the hospital (10.20%) or Tropical diseases units (13.33%) (p < 0.001). We report a hospital-based strongyloidiasis seroprevalence of almost 10% in a mobile population coming from endemic areas suggesting the need of implementing strongyloidiasis screening in hospitalized patients coming from endemic areas, particularly if they are at risk of immunosuppression

Evaluating the extent and impact of the extreme Storm Gloria on Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows

Extreme storms can trigger abrupt and often lasting changes in ecosystems by affecting foundational (habitat-forming) species. While the frequency and intensity of extreme events are projected to increase under climate change, its impacts on seagrass ecosystems remain poorly documented. In January 2020, the Spanish Mediterranean coast was hit by Storm Gloria, one of the most devastating recent climate events in terms of intensity and duration. We conducted rapid surveys of 42 Posidonia oceanica meadows across the region to evaluate the extent and type of impact (burial, unburial and uprooting). We investigated the significance of oceanographic (wave impact model), geomorphological (latitude, depth, exposure), and structural (patchiness) factors in predicting impact extent and intensity. The predominant impact of Storm Gloria was shoot unburial. More than half of the surveyed sites revealed recent unburial, with up to 40 cm of sediment removed, affecting over 50 % of the meadow. Burial, although less extensive, was still significant, with 10–80 % of meadow cover being buried under 7 cm of sediment, which is considered a survival threshold for P. oceanica. In addition, we observed evident signs of recently dead matte in some meadows and large amounts of detached drifting shoots on the sea bottom or accumulated as debris on the beaches. Crucially, exposed and patchy meadows were much more vulnerable to the overall impact than sheltered or continuous meadows. Given how slow P. oceanica is able to recover after disturbances, we state that it could take from decades to centuries for it to recoup its losses. Seagrass ecosystems play a vital role as coastal ecological infrastructure. Protecting vulnerable meadows from anthropogenic fragmentation is crucial for ensuring the resilience of these ecosystems in the face of the climate crisis.This study was funded by the CSIC project “Effects of storm Gloria on the western Mediterranean meadows (202030E052) and “Storms of change: as phenomena extreme weather alters Mediterranean coastal ecosystems, their services and their perception by society" (PID2020-113745RB-I00), state program of I+D+I Oriented to the Challenges of the Society and within the framework of the activities of the Spanish Government through the "Maria de Maeztu Centre of Excellence” accreditation to IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) (CEX2021-001198). We want to thank the SPAS (Society of Fishing and Underwater Activities of Mataró) and the Mataró City Council, which has financed 25 years of the Alguer de Mataró project

Ubicación temporal relativa de sitios funerarios arqueológicos de la depresión del Unare, Estado Anzoátegui, Venezuela

In this research, a chronological sequence related to funeral archaeological sites in Unare´s depression region, was built by applying the alternative method of Collagen Residual Relative Dating to the bones of those individuals who were buried under to these pre-Hispanic indigenous funerary contexts. Temporally, six samples were taken, from three different archaeological sites located in Lower Unare. Once the filament indexes (which measures the remaining amount of collagen in the bone) were determined from each site, a sequence was established on a Cartesian axis, in which each result is placed in a high to low order, where the higher rates (> 500) reveal early signs, while low levels ( 500) révèlent des signes antérieures, tandis que de faibles niveaux (500) revelan muestras tempranas mientras los índices bajos (<500) revelan muestras recientes en el tiempo. Se determinaron 4 fases de ocupación temporal de estos sitios, ubicando el sitio “Guara” como el más antiguo en cuanto a la ocupación de los que habitaron esta zona. Así mismo se observa diversos rangos en los índices de incandescencia, lo cual señala que hubo una presencia constante en los sitios, observando una ocupación permanente en el tiempo de los antiguos pobladores de esta zona

Seqüência do genoma parcial do maxicirculo de Leishmania braziliensis: montagem e comparação com outros tripanossomatídeos.

Objetivo. Con el fin de aportar nueva información relevante para estudios de genotipificación y filogenética del género Leishmania, en este estudio se determinó y comparó la secuencia del maxicírculo de Leishmania braziliensis, cepa MHOM-BR-75-M2904, con las secuencias del maxicírculo reportadas para otras especies de tripanosomátidos. Materiales y métodos. La búsqueda de las secuencias del maxicírculo se realizó en las bases de datos de secuencias no ensambladas del GeneDB versión 2.1, así como en el GenBank, utilizando los genes ND8 y RPS12 de L. braziliensis como sonda inicial. Estas secuencias se ensamblaron y se compararon con sus homólogas en otros tripanosomátidos mediante el uso de herramientas bioinformáticas como LALIGN y ClustalW2. El tamaño total del maxicírculo se determinó mediante ensayos de Southern blot. Resultados. Se ensamblaron dos fragmentos del maxicírculo de L. braziliensis de 6535 y 4257 nucleótidos, cuyos genes presentaron elevada sintenia y similitud en sus secuencias con los previamente reportados en otras especies de Leishmania. Similitud que se extiende incluso a los patrones de edición de estas moléculas. Conclusiones. A pesar de ser L. braziliensis la especie más divergente del género Leishmania en cuanto a su genoma nuclear, el marxicírculo presenta una elevada conservación. Resultado que sugiere que el patrón de edición presente en las diferentes especies de Leishmania hasta ahora estudiadas se conserva también en el subgénero Viannia, lo que indica una elevada conservación en la edición de los transcritos mitocondriales a nivel de género. Palabras clave: ADN del cinetoplasto (ADNk), edición del ARN, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, maxicírculo.Objective. With the aim to provide new insights for genotyping and phylogenetic studies of the Leishmania genus, in this study the sequence of the maxicircle in Leishmania braziliensis, strain MHOM-BR-75-M2904, was determined and compared with those reported in other trypanosomatids species. Materials and methods. Searches for maxicircle sequences were performed in the unassembled sequences of GeneDB database version 2.1, as well as in the GenBank, using the ND8 and RPS12 genes of L. braziliensis as the initial probes. These sequences were assembled and compared with the homologous sequences of trypanosomatids using the bioinformatics tools LALIGN and ClustalW2. The size of maxicircle was determined by Southern blot assays. Results. Two maxicircle fragments of 6535 and 4257 nucleotides were assembled. The sequences of these genes showed high synteny and similarity with the sequences in other Leishmania species. This similarity even was extended to the editing patterns of these molecules. Conclusions. Although L. braziliensis is the most divergent species of the Leishmania genus in their nuclear genome, the maxicicircle has a high conservation. This result suggests that the pattern of editing present in the different Leishmania species studied has been conserved also in the subgenus Viannia. These results indicate a high conservation in the editing of mitochondrial transcripts at the genus level. Key words: kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), RNA editing, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, maxicircle.Objetivo. Com o fim de contribuir nova informação relevante para estudos de genotipagem e filogenética do género Leishmania, neste estudo determinou-se a sequência do maxicirculo de Leishmania braziliensis, cepa MHOM-BR-75-M2904, comparando-secom as seqüências do maxicirculo reportadas para outras espécies de tripanossomatídeos. Materiais e Métodos. A busca das seqüências do maxicirculo foi realizada nas bases de dados para seqüências não alinhadas no GeneDB versão 2.1, assim como no GeneBank, utilizando o genes ND8 e RPS12 de L. braziliensis como sonda inicial. Essas seqüências foram alinhadas e comparadas com as suas homologas em outros tripanossomatídeos, mediante o uso de ferramentas bioinformáticas como L-ALIGN e ClustalW2. O tamanho total do maxicirculo foi determinado mediante ensaios de Southern blot. Resultados. Foram alinhados dois fragmentos do maxicirculo de L. braziliensis de 6535 e 4257 nucleotídeos, cujos genes apresentaram elevada sintenia e similaridade nas suas seqüências com os genes previamente reportados nas outras espécies de Leishmania. A similaridade vista estende-se, inclusive, aos padrões de edição para estas moléculas. Conclusões. Apesar de L. braziliensis ser a espécie mais divergente do gênero Leishmania, no que se refere ao seu genoma nuclear, o maxicirculo apresenta uma alta conservação. Esse resultado sugere que o padrão de edição apresentado nas espécies de Leishmania até agora estudadas, é conservado também no subgênero Viannia, o que indica uma alta conservação na edição dos transcritos mitocôndriais ao nível de gênero. Palavras-chave: ADN de kinetoplasto (ADNk), edição de ARN, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, maxicirculo

Seqüência do genoma parcial do maxicirculo de Leishmania braziliensis: montagem e comparação com outros tripanossomatídeos.

Objetivo. Con el fin de aportar nueva información relevante para estudios de genotipificación y filogenética del género Leishmania, en este estudio se determinó y comparó la secuencia del maxicírculo de Leishmania braziliensis, cepa MHOM-BR-75-M2904, con las secuencias del maxicírculo reportadas para otras especies de tripanosomátidos. Materiales y métodos. La búsqueda de las secuencias del maxicírculo se realizó en las bases de datos de secuencias no ensambladas del GeneDB versión 2.1, así como en el GenBank, utilizando los genes ND8 y RPS12 de L. braziliensis como sonda inicial. Estas secuencias se ensamblaron y se compararon con sus homólogas en otros tripanosomátidos mediante el uso de herramientas bioinformáticas como LALIGN y ClustalW2. El tamaño total del maxicírculo se determinó mediante ensayos de Southern blot. Resultados. Se ensamblaron dos fragmentos del maxicírculo de L. braziliensis de 6535 y 4257 nucleótidos, cuyos genes presentaron elevada sintenia y similitud en sus secuencias con los previamente reportados en otras especies de Leishmania. Similitud que se extiende incluso a los patrones de edición de estas moléculas. Conclusiones. A pesar de ser L. braziliensis la especie más divergente del género Leishmania en cuanto a su genoma nuclear, el marxicírculo presenta una elevada conservación. Resultado que sugiere que el patrón de edición presente en las diferentes especies de Leishmania hasta ahora estudiadas se conserva también en el subgénero Viannia, lo que indica una elevada conservación en la edición de los transcritos mitocondriales a nivel de género. Palabras clave: ADN del cinetoplasto (ADNk), edición del ARN, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, maxicírculo.Objective. With the aim to provide new insights for genotyping and phylogenetic studies of the Leishmania genus, in this study the sequence of the maxicircle in Leishmania braziliensis, strain MHOM-BR-75-M2904, was determined and compared with those reported in other trypanosomatids species. Materials and methods. Searches for maxicircle sequences were performed in the unassembled sequences of GeneDB database version 2.1, as well as in the GenBank, using the ND8 and RPS12 genes of L. braziliensis as the initial probes. These sequences were assembled and compared with the homologous sequences of trypanosomatids using the bioinformatics tools LALIGN and ClustalW2. The size of maxicircle was determined by Southern blot assays. Results. Two maxicircle fragments of 6535 and 4257 nucleotides were assembled. The sequences of these genes showed high synteny and similarity with the sequences in other Leishmania species. This similarity even was extended to the editing patterns of these molecules. Conclusions. Although L. braziliensis is the most divergent species of the Leishmania genus in their nuclear genome, the maxicicircle has a high conservation. This result suggests that the pattern of editing present in the different Leishmania species studied has been conserved also in the subgenus Viannia. These results indicate a high conservation in the editing of mitochondrial transcripts at the genus level. Key words: kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), RNA editing, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, maxicircle.Objetivo. Com o fim de contribuir nova informação relevante para estudos de genotipagem e filogenética do género Leishmania, neste estudo determinou-se a sequência do maxicirculo de Leishmania braziliensis, cepa MHOM-BR-75-M2904, comparando-secom as seqüências do maxicirculo reportadas para outras espécies de tripanossomatídeos. Materiais e Métodos. A busca das seqüências do maxicirculo foi realizada nas bases de dados para seqüências não alinhadas no GeneDB versão 2.1, assim como no GeneBank, utilizando o genes ND8 e RPS12 de L. braziliensis como sonda inicial. Essas seqüências foram alinhadas e comparadas com as suas homologas em outros tripanossomatídeos, mediante o uso de ferramentas bioinformáticas como L-ALIGN e ClustalW2. O tamanho total do maxicirculo foi determinado mediante ensaios de Southern blot. Resultados. Foram alinhados dois fragmentos do maxicirculo de L. braziliensis de 6535 e 4257 nucleotídeos, cujos genes apresentaram elevada sintenia e similaridade nas suas seqüências com os genes previamente reportados nas outras espécies de Leishmania. A similaridade vista estende-se, inclusive, aos padrões de edição para estas moléculas. Conclusões. Apesar de L. braziliensis ser a espécie mais divergente do gênero Leishmania, no que se refere ao seu genoma nuclear, o maxicirculo apresenta uma alta conservação. Esse resultado sugere que o padrão de edição apresentado nas espécies de Leishmania até agora estudadas, é conservado também no subgênero Viannia, o que indica uma alta conservação na edição dos transcritos mitocôndriais ao nível de gênero. Palavras-chave: ADN de kinetoplasto (ADNk), edição de ARN, Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, maxicirculo