Adaptación de exámenes de comprensión auditiva en lengua inglesa para personas invidentes

Las instituciones educativas en México necesitan elaborar más material que ayude a los estudiantes invidentes a tener un mejor aprendizaje, este material es prácticamente inexistente en la clase de inglés; sin embargo, el problema se agudiza al momento de la evaluación porque a falta del mismo el profesor debe leer el examen al alumno y éste tiene que estar concentrado en varias cosas a la vez; por ejemplo, en la lectura del examen, las preguntas y en las respuestas. La pronunciación, ritmo, fluidez y la descripción de imágenes por parte del profesor pueden variar cada vez que se aplique el examen lo que reduce su confiabilidad. En este trabajo se diseñó un examen de comprensión auditiva en lengua inglesa de nivel B2 de acuerdo con el Marco Común de Referencia sobre las Lenguas con respuestas de opción múltiple y posteriormente se adaptó en tres versiones Braille, tiflotecnología y audio. Los tres formatos se aplicaron a seis informantes invidentes que tenían conocimientos del inglés. Los resultados fueron muy positivos debido a que las tres versiones contienen características apropiadas las cuales permiten que los ciegos puedan realizar su examen de manera independiente al igual que sus compañeros normovisuales. Se pudo probar que el examen contiene las seis cualidades que de acuerdo con Bachman y Palmer (1996) debe tener la prueba: confiabilidad, validez, autenticidad, interactividad, impacto, practicidad. Con esto se pudo concluir que las adaptaciones al examen de comprensión auditiva son adecuadas para que los invidentes realicen su examen de manera independiente en igualdad de condiciones con sus compañeros normovisuales y que estas adaptaciones sirven como modelo para la adaptación de ejercicios y exámenes con los cuales se quiera medir otra habilidad como producción escrita, comprensión de lectura o producción oral

Six Weeks of Resveratrol Improves Cardiovascular Health in Patients with COPD

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide. One-third of people diagnosed with COPD die of cardiovascular (CV) complications as opposed to pulmonary. Despite these odds, there are no therapies that mitigate this important health issue. Resveratrol, a naturally occurring antioxidant, improves CV health in other populations. However, there is currently no literature on resveratrol in patients with COPD. The purpose of this pilot study was to test if six weeks of resveratrol supplementation could improve CV health in patients with COPD. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, pilot trial was completed in 8 patients with COPD. Participants were given either resveratrol (n=5; 500 mg) or placebo (n=3) for six weeks. CV health was measured before and after treatment through arterial stiffness and 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). RESULTS: Six weeks of resveratrol improved arterial stiffness in patients with COPD through reductions in augmentation index and pulse pressure amplification. Improvements in total 6MWT distance were also observed after six weeks of resveratrol. No changes after placebo were observed in any of the measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that six weeks of resveratrol improves markers of CV health in patients with COPD. Future studies are warranted to expand this pilot study and understand the potential role of resveratrol in COPD CV health.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1110/thumbnail.jp

Cellular basis of pineal gland development: Emerging role of microglia as phenotype regulator

The adult pineal gland is composed of pinealocytes, astrocytes, microglia, and other interstitial cells that have been described in detail. However, factors that contribute to pineal development have not been fully elucidated, nor have pineal cell lineages been well characterized. We applied systematic double, triple and quadruple labeling of cell-specific markers on prenatal, postnatal and mature rat pineal gland tissue combined with confocal microscopy to provide a comprehensive view of the cellular dynamics and cell lineages that contribute to pineal gland development. The pineal gland begins as an evagination of neuroepithelium in the roof of the third ventricle. The pineal primordium initially consists of radially aligned Pax6+ precursor cells that express vimentin and divide at the ventricular lumen. After the tubular neuroepithelium fuses, the distribution of Pax6+ cells transitions to include rosette-like structures and later, dispersed cells. In the developing gland all dividing cells express Pax6, indicating that Pax6+ precursor cells generate pinealocytes and some interstitial cells. The density of Pax6+ cells decreases across pineal development as a result of cellular differentiation and microglial phagocytosis, but Pax6+ cells remain in the adult gland as a distinct population. Microglial colonization begins after pineal recess formation. Microglial phagocytosis of Pax6+ cells is not common at early stages but increases as microglia colonize the gland. In the postnatal gland microglia affiliate with Tuj1+ nerve fibers, IB4+ blood vessels, and Pax6+ cells. We demonstrate that microglia engulf Pax6+ cells, nerve fibers, and blood vessel-related elements, but not pinealocytes. We conclude that microglia play a role in pineal gland formation and homeostasis by regulating the precursor cell population, remodeling blood vessels and pruning sympathetic nerve fibers.Fil: Ibañez Rodriguez, María Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Cienicas Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Noctor, Stephen C.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Muñoz, Estela Maris. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Cienicas Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; Argentin

Effectiveness of YouTube Advertising: A Study of Audience Analysis

Social media have become an important platform for companies to connect with their target audience and make an impression. With the rise of digital platforms, effectiveness of advertisements has become an important area of study for marketers to determine the most efficient and appropriate medium of communication to place their advertisements. Drawing on the media richness theory framework, this study investigates YouTube advertising effectiveness based on the multiplicity of cues in the videos and the possible feedback channels offered by the platform. Using a cross-sectional survey method, participants from the Dominican Republic (n = 109) and the United States (n = 112) were recruited to fill-out a questionnaire asking for their opinions about how they connect with YouTube advertisements and what cues were crucial for them to understand, relate, or react to the message in the video. A significant relationship was found between race/ethnicity and education of participants and their preferences for cues needed to make a successful advertisement. The results also showed that feedback option on YouTube is not considered important for engagement with the brand

On the Uniformity of (3/2)n(3/2)^n Modulo 1

It has been conjectured that the sequence $(3/2)^n$ modulo $1$ is uniformly distributed. The distribution of this sequence is signifcant in relation to unsolved problems in number theory including the Collatz conjecture. In this paper, we describe an algorithm to compute $(3/2)^n$ modulo $1$ to $n = 10^8$. We then statistically analyze its distribution. Our results strongly agree with the hypothesis that $(3/2)^n$ modulo 1 is uniformly distributed.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Telomere-driven diseases and telomere-targeting therapies

Telomeres, the protective ends of linear chromosomes, shorten throughout an individual's lifetime. Telomere shortening is proposed to be a primary molecular cause of aging. Short telomeres block the proliferative capacity of stem cells, affecting their potential to regenerate tissues, and trigger the development of age-associated diseases. Mutations in telomere maintenance genes are associated with pathologies referred to as telomere syndromes, including Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome, dyskeratosis congenita, pulmonary fibrosis, aplastic anemia, and liver fibrosis. Telomere shortening induces chromosomal instability that, in the absence of functional tumor suppressor genes, can contribute to tumorigenesis. In addition, mutations in telomere length maintenance genes and in shelterin components, the protein complex that protects telomeres, have been found to be associated with different types of cancer. These observations have encouraged the development of therapeutic strategies to treat and prevent telomere-associated diseases, namely aging-related diseases, including cancer. Here we review the molecular mechanisms underlying telomere-driven diseases and highlight recent advances in the preclinical development of telomere-targeted therapies using mouse models.Research in the Blasco laboratory is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional project RET OS (grant SAF2013-45111-R), the European Research Council project TEL STEM CELL (grant ERC-2008-AdG/232854), and Fondacion Botin.S

Bridging the language barrier.

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