In search of a relationship between basic sciences and desertion in Colombia higher education

14 p.El presente escrito busca contextualizar el problema de la deserción estudiantil en el ámbito de la educación superior en Colombia y generar un espacio de reflexión en torno a la posible incidencia que pueda tener la enseñanza de las ciencias básicas sobre este fenómeno. Igualmente pretende generar inquietudes en los docentes de esta área del conocimiento respecto al papel que desempeñan y su responsabilidad académica y social en el aumento o disminución de los índices de deserción en los programas de ingeniería, invitando a plantear una relación más dialógica con la matemática, de forma tal que esta resulte más reflexiva y menos instrumentalista.The following text search to contextualize the trouble of students desertion in the field of the Colombian high education, creating a space of reflection about the possible incidence of teaching basic sciences in relation whit this phenomenon. Also pretend to generate concerns to educators of this knowledge area about their roll and their academic and social responsibility in the increase or decrease of desertion rates in engineering programs, inviting to raise a dialogic relation to mathematics, in such a way that this will result more reflexive and less instrumentalist.Definición de términos Introducción Modelos sociológicos Modelos económicos Modelos organizacionales Sistema de Prevención y Análisis de la Deserción en las Instituciones de Educación Superior Las ciencias básicas y su relación con la deserción en instituciones de educación superior (1998-2009) Las ciencias básicas y su relación con la deserción en instituciones de educación superior (2009-1 2016-1) A modo de síntesis Referencia

How does age at onset influence the outcome of autoimmune diseases?

The age at onset refers to the time period at which an individual experiences the first symptoms of a disease. In autoimmune diseases (ADs), these symptoms can be subtle but are very relevant for diagnosis. They can appear during childhood, adulthood or late in life and may vary depending on the age at onset. Variables like mortality and morbidity and the role of genes will be reviewed with a focus on the major autoimmune disorders, namely, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), Sjögren's syndrome, and autoimmune thyroiditis (AITD). Early age at onset is a worst prognostic factor for some ADs (i.e., SLE and T1D), while for others it does not have a significant influence on the course of disease (i.e., SS) or no unanimous consensus exists (i.e., RA and MS)

Bright fireballs associated with the potentially hazardous asteroid 2007LQ19

We analyse here two very bright fireballs produced by the ablation in the atmosphere of two large meteoroids in 2009 and 2010. These slow-moving and deep-penetrating events were observed over Spain in the framework of our Spanish Fireball Network continuous meteor monitoring campaign. The analysis of the emission spectrum imaged for one of these fireballs has provided the first clues about the chemical nature of the progenitor meteoroids. The orbital parameters of these particles suggest a likely association with the recently identified July ρ-Herculid (JRH) meteoroid stream. In addition, considerations about the likely parent body of this stream are also made on the basis of orbital dissimilarity criteria. This orbital analysis reveals that both meteoroids and PHA 2007LQ19 exhibit a similar evolution during a time period of almost 8000 years, which suggests that either this near Earth object (NEO) is the potential parent of these particles or that this NEO and both meteoroids had a common progenitor in the past.España, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación YA2011-26522Junta de Andalucía P09-FQM-455

Etiopathology of chronic tubular, glomerular and renovascular nephropathies: Clinical implications

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) comprises a group of pathologies in which the renal excretory function is chronically compromised. Most, but not all, forms of CKD are progressive and irreversible, pathological syndromes that start silently (i.e. no functional alterations are evident), continue through renal dysfunction and ends up in renal failure. At this point, kidney transplant or dialysis (renal replacement therapy, RRT) becomes necessary to prevent death derived from the inability of the kidneys to cleanse the blood and achieve hydroelectrolytic balance. Worldwide, nearly 1.5 million people need RRT, and the incidence of CKD has increased significantly over the last decades. Diabetes and hypertension are among the leading causes of end stage renal disease, although autoimmunity, renal atherosclerosis, certain infections, drugs and toxins, obstruction of the urinary tract, genetic alterations, and other insults may initiate the disease by damaging the glomerular, tubular, vascular or interstitial compartments of the kidneys. In all cases, CKD eventually compromises all these structures and gives rise to a similar phenotype regardless of etiology. This review describes with an integrative approach the pathophysiological process of tubulointerstitial, glomerular and renovascular diseases, and makes emphasis on the key cellular and molecular events involved. It further analyses the key mechanisms leading to a merging phenotype and pathophysiological scenario as etiologically distinct diseases progress. Finally clinical implications and future experimental and therapeutic perspectives are discussed

Error source in AOD retrieval from filter radiometer data in the UV due to filter band function

The filter band function of filter radiometers is frequently used in AOD retrieval to improve the accuracy of the Rayleigh and gaseous absorption contributions to the total optical depth. These contributions to the total optical thickness are overestimated when the band-pass filter curve used in the computation exceeds the lower limit of the detector response range (around 320 nm). It can be the case for some typical band-pass filters used in the ultraviolet region (e.g. 340 or 380 nm). This error can involve a strong impact on the aerosol optical depth accuracy, underestimating its value. Errors as large as 0.047 in the evaluation of ozone optical depth at 340 nm, and 0.009 in the Rayleigh optical depth were found, leading to final errors of 50–100% in the AOD for remote locations, like Polar regions or high mountains. To avoid this significant error, the detector spectral response must be taken into account in the computations. Further, it is recommended to discard the filter band-pass function when the transmittance falls below 1% of its maximum value at the central wavelength

Surveying a Sample of the Spanish Ophthalmologic Community about Vaccination against Herpes Zoster

There are currently two authorized vaccines against herpes zoster (HZ) that have been shown to be safe and effective in its prevention: Zostavax, a zoster vaccine live (ZVL), and Shingrix, a recombinant zoster Vaccine (RZV). Because ophthalmologists work with vision-threatening complications of zoster, such as herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO), they are in a good position to advocate for vaccination. Our aim was to determine the current knowledge among Spanish ophthalmologists about the effectiveness of the available vaccines against HZ. A Google Forms questionnaire was created and used as the survey platform for this study. It was an anonymous online survey of 16 questions, which was shared among Spanish ophthalmologists in-training and consultants from 27 April 2022 to 25 May 2022. The survey was completed by a total of 206 ophthalmologists of all subspecialties. We obtained responses from 17 of the 19 regions of Spain. Fifty-five percent of the respondents agreed that HZ is a frequent cause of vision loss. However, 27% of the professionals were unaware of the existence of vaccines against HZ and 71% of them did not know in which cases it could be indicated. Only nine ophthalmologists (4%) had ever suggested vaccination against HZ to their patients. Despite this, 93% considered it important to recommend vaccination against HZ if it proved to be safe and effective. Considering the sequelae, complications, and the existence of safe and effective vaccines against HZ, vaccination of the target population could be considered an important public health measure. We are convinced that it is time for ophthalmologists to take an active role in HZO prevention

The 2011 October Draconids outburst. I. Orbital elements, meteoroid fluxes and 21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered mass to Earth

On October 8th, 2011 the Earth crossed the dust trails left by comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner during its XIX and XX century perihelion approaches with the comet being close to perihelion. The geometric circumstances of that encounter were thus favorable to produce a meteor storm, but the trails were much older than in the 1933 and 1946 historical encounters. As a consequence the 2011 October Draconid display exhibited several activity peaks with Zenithal Hourly Rates of about 400 meteors per hour. In fact, if the display had been not forecasted, it could have passed almost unnoticed as was strongly attenuated for visual observers due to the Moon. This suggests that most meteor storms of a similar nature could have passed historically unnoticed under unfavorable weather and Moon observing conditions. The possibility of obtaining information on the physical properties of cometary meteoroids penetrating the atmosphere under low-geocentric velocity encounter circumstances motivated us to set up a special observing campaign. Added to the Spanish Fireball Network wide-field all-sky and CCD video monitoring, other high-sensitivity 1/2" black and white CCD video cameras were attached to modified medium-field lenses for obtaining high resolution orbital information. The trajectory, radiant, and orbital data of 16 October Draconid meteors observed at multiple stations are presented. The results show that the meteors appeared from a geocentric radiant located at R.A.=263.0+-0.4 deg. and Dec.=+55.3+-0.3 deg. that is in close agreement with the radiant predicted for the 1873-1894 and the 1900 dust trails. The estimated mass of material from 21P/Giacobini-Zinner delivered to Earth during the six-hours outburst was around 950+-150 kg.Comment: Manuscript in press in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, submitted to MNRAS on November 16th, 2012 Accepted for publication in MNRAS on April 28th, 2013 Manuscript Pages: 21 Tables: 8 Figures: 4 Manuscript associated: "The 2011 October Draconids outburst. II. Meteoroid chemical abundances from fireball spectroscopy" by J.M. Madiedo is also in press in the same journa

Biomaterials: Scafolds Development for Tissue Engineering

La Ingeniería Tisular se define como la ciencia del diseño y fabricación de nuevos tejidos. Es un campo multidisciplinar que precisa de la combinación de la biología (encargada de la tecnología de células cultivadas junto con factores de crecimiento), con la ingeniería de materiales (cuyo fin es el desarrollo de estructuras 3D denominadas andamios) para su implementación en medicina regenerativa. En este sentido, en el presente trabajo se desarrolla un dispositivo formado por un soporte de policaprolactona (PCL) sobre la que se deposita una matriz de gelatina (GE) y, finalmente, en la parte superior, se bioimprime un andamio de base colágeno (C) junto con una colonia de células. Una vez elaborado el dispositivo a 22 ºC, se desecha la matriz de gelatina en una etapa de incubación a 37 ºC, quedando por lo tanto el andamio (C) depositado sobre el soporte de PCL, finalmente el conjunto PCL-andamio es llevado a una etapa en un biorreactor para favorecer el crecimiento celular. A este dispositivo se le evalúan las propiedades mecánicas y microestructurales, además de realizar estudios de viabilidad celular, permitiendo dar un paso más en su aplicación en Ingeniería Tisular para la reconstrucción de tejido muscular.Tissue Engineering is defined as the science of design and manufacture of new tissues. It is a multidisciplinary field that requires the combination of biology (responsible for the technology of cultured cells together with growth factors), with materials engineering (whose purpose is the development of 3D structures called scaffolds) for their implementation in regenerative medicine. In this sense, in the present work a device formed by a polycaprolactone (PCL) support was developed on which a gelatin matrix (GE) is deposited and, finally, on the top, a collagen-based scaffold (C) is bioprinted together with a colony of cells. Once the device has been prepared at 22 °C, the gelatin matrix is discarded in an incubation stage at 37 °C, leaving the scaffold (C) deposited on the PCL support. Finally, the PCL-scaffold assembly is taken to a stage in a bioreactor to promote cell growth. This device is mechanically and microstructurally evaluated, together with cell viability studies, considered as one step further in its application in Tissue Engineering for the reconstruction of muscle tissue.MICINN (España) RTI2018-097100-B-C21Ministerio de Universidades (España) FPU2017/01718-MEF

The impact of neos and their fragments recorded from the ground : ongoing research lines of the spanish fireball network

A continuous monitoring of the night sky all over Spain will be completed in 2009. This involves the recording over a very large surface area of 500,000 km2, but new CCD and video cameras operated by the Spanish Meteor and Fireball Network (SPMN) allows this target to be achieved. Through the use of these new techniques the SPMN can obtain new information regarding the dynamical processes that deliver meteorites to the Earth. It transpires that the main asteroid belt is not the only source of these fireballs, Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) may also play a role. To obtain more information in this regard, new efforts are needed to compare the orbits of large meteoroids reaching the Earth with those of the members of NEO and JFC populations. By numerically integrating their orbits back in time it may be possible to identify meteoroids delivered by other mechanisms like such as catastrophic disruptions or collisions

On the development of robotic CCD video meteor observing station in Spain

Since 2006 the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN) has set up several automated video stations in Spain for increasing the atmospheric cover-age of the already existing low-scan-rate all-sky CCD systems [1, 2]. However, in spite of their initially thought complementary nature, high-sensitivity CCD video cameras have provided very valuable informa-tion related to meteor activity [2, 3, 4] and, so, these systems have been continuously improved and new video observing stations have been setup along the country [5]. A significant improvement has been re-cently made with the development of new software dedicated to robotize the whole observing process. This has been very useful, for instance, in order to operate fully autonomous video meteor observing sta-tions from remote locations or to handle the huge vol-ume of data provided by these systems