Sistema bioinformático de análisis masivo para pacientes pediátricos con leucemia linfoblástica aguda

Crear un sistema que brinde apoyo al Laboratorio de Oncología Experimental del Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, el cual permita identificar las características globales de la leucemia linfoblástica aguda a nivel molecular en estudios de laboratorio de pacientes pediátricos (0 a 17 años) utilizando técnicas estadísticas. Este sistema hecho a la medida facilitará la labor de investigadores en el área reduciendo costos y se espera que de un mediano a largo plazo sea capaz de ofrecer un diagnóstico temprano de la enfermedad y pueda ser aprovechado por el sector salud

El Uso de las TIC´s como Apoyo en el Proceso Enseñanza Aprendizaje en el Aula.

Documento del Primer Foro Internacional de Derechos Humanos y Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación en la Educación

Ecomorphology, trophic niche, and distribution divergences of two common damselfishes in the Gulf of California

Damselfishes of the genus Stegastes are among the most conspicuous benthic reef-associated fish in the Gulf of California, and the two most commonly found species are the Beaubrummel Gregory Stegastes flavilatus and the Cortez damselfish Stegastes rectifraenum. Both species are described as ecologically and morphologically very similar. However, the niche theory predicts that coexisting species will tend to minimize competition through niche partitioning. We, therefore, investigated the degree of their ecological similarity through their morphology, trophic ecology, and spatial distribution, as well as, the effects of environmental variables on their abundance. We showed that S. rectifraenum is highly abundant in the entire Gulf of California while S. flavilatus is only found in the central and southern part. The abundance of S. rectifraenum was higher in shallow water and decreased when the cover of macroalgae and sand increased. No environmental variable was related to the abundance of S. flavilatus. Both species had distinct isotopic niches: S. flavilatus fed almost exclusively on plankton and zoobenthos, while S. rectifraenum had an omnivorous diet mixing turf, zoobenthos and plankton. The diet divergence was reflected in the morphology of the two species. Stegastes flavilatus had a more rounded body shape, with a higher supraoccipital crest and more gill rakers than S. rectifraenum, which may increase its ability to feed on vagile invertebrates and zooplankton. Our results support the hypothesis that a niche partition has occurred between the two species. Furthermore, the importance of planktonic food sources to both species, considered as benthic territorial feeders, challenges the traditional ecological description of the Stegastes species

Winter diet of Burrowing Owls in the Llano La Soledad, Galeana, Nuevo León, México

The dietary niche breadth of the Burrowing Owl was determined (Athene cunicularia Molina, 1782) in Llano La Soledad, Galeana, Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico, by considering prey type, numerical percentage, weight, weight percentage, frequency of occurrence percentage, and IRI percentage. The study compared data from three winters (2002–2003, 2003–2004, 2004–2005) by analyzing 358 pellets, identifying 850 prey items. Invertebrates constituted 90% of prey items, which mostly included insects (85%); beetles were the most common insects found in pellets (70%). Vertebrates made up 84% of consumed weight, of which 83% were mammals. Most of the mammals were cricetid rodents (41%). Niche breadth based on the numerical and weight percentage confirmed the Burrowing Owl as a generalist species with mean values per year ranging between 0.65 and 0.82. Additionally, there was a strong association between the weight of rodent species in winter. This association was mainly driven by changes in composition and frequency of these prey species during the second winter, probably caused by high annual rainfall. The second season also showed a statistically significant narrower niche (Ro = 0.96) and the smallest overlap (0.45 vs. 0.76) among the three winters

MindReader : Unsupervised Classification of Electroencephalographic Data

Electroencephalogram (EEG) interpretation plays a critical role in the clinical assessment of neurological conditions, most notably epilepsy. However, EEG recordings are typically analyzed manually by highly specialized and heavily trained personnel. Moreover, the low rate of capturing abnormal events during the procedure makes interpretation time-consuming, resource-hungry, and overall an expensive process. Automatic detection offers the potential to improve the quality of patient care by shortening the time to diagnosis, managing big data and optimizing the allocation of human resources towards precision medicine. Here, we present MindReader, a novel unsupervised machine-learning method comprised of the interplay between an autoencoder network, a hidden Markov model (HMM), and a generative component: after dividing the signal into overlapping frames and performing a fast Fourier transform, MindReader trains an autoencoder neural network for dimensionality reduction and compact representation of different frequency patterns for each frame. Next, we processed the temporal patterns using a HMM, while a third and generative component hypothesized and characterized the different phases that were then fed back to the HMM. MindReader then automatically generates labels that the physician can interpret as pathological and non-pathological phases, thus effectively reducing the search space for trained personnel. We evaluated MindReader’s predictive performance on 686 recordings, encompassing more than 980 h from the publicly available Physionet database. Compared to manual annotations, MindReader identified 197 of 198 epileptic events (99.45%), and is, as such, a highly sensitive method, which is a prerequisite for clinical use

Repelencia de los pastos Melinis minutiflora, Andropogon gayanus, Brachiaria brizantha y Cenchrus ciliaris sobre larvas de garrapataAmblyomma cajennense F. (Acari:Ixodidae)

One of the main animal health problems causes, main my affecting livestock productivity In the tropics and subtropics worldwide, is the cattle tick which also transmitters the Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis diseases. Establishing pasture tick repellents is a biological control alternative to solve this problem. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine in Melinis minutiflora Andropogon gayanus, Brachiaria brizantha and Cenchrus ciliaris repellency on Amblyomma cajennense larvae. This research was conducted in the town of Mora, municipality of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. Using 24 plots of 35 m2 each at a distance of 1 m between them, each enclosed in five sampling units of 5 x 1 m wide, 0.5 m aisle between sampled units. The units were infested with approximately 5,000 larvae of A. cajenennse; the anti-tick pasture was evaluated by the recovery of larvae attached by Flannel method in time (7, 14, 21 days post-infestation). The treatments were the four pastures described with six replicates each. Results were analyzed using PROC MIXED procedure of SAS and means comparison test of Tukey (p<0.05), where M. minutiflora repellent had the highest (p<0.05) for the least amount of recovered larvae (2.39 ± 0.13) than other grasses, in C. ciliaris (1,192.04 ± 10.3), A. gayanus (72.48 ± 10.30) and B. brizantha (56.48 ± 11.68), in the last two treatments there were not Melinis minutiflora, Andropogon gayanussignificant in larvae collected. The three days of collection also showed differences (p<0.05) in the mean recovered larvae on pasture. It was concluded that grasses and Brachiaria brizantha showed repellency against larvae of A. cajennense, however M. minutiflora showed a greater repellency rate.En el trópico y subtropico a nivel mundial, uno de los principales problemas zoosanitarios que afectan la productividad ganadera, principalmente en bovinos es la garrapata, además trasmiten las enfermedades Anaplasmosis y Babesiosis. El establecimiento de pastos repelentes a la garrapata es un control biológico alternativo para solucionar este problema. Por tanto, el objetivo fue determinar la repelencia en Melinis minutiflora, Andropogon gayanus, Brachiaria brizantha y Cenchrus ciliaris sobre larvas de Amblyomma cajennense. La investigación se realizó en la localidad de Mora, municipio de Tepic, Nayarit, México. Se formaron 24 parcelas de 35 m2 a distancia entre ellas de 1 m, con cinco unidades de muestreo cada una (5 x 1 m de ancho) y pasillos de 0.5 m entre unidades. Las unidades se infestaron con aproximadamente 5,000 larvas de A. cajenennse, el efecto anti-garrapata de los pastos se evaluó mediante la recuperación de larvas adheridas por método de Franela en los tiempos 7, 14, 21 días de post-infestación. Los tratamientos fueron los cuatro pastos descritos con seis repeticiones cada uno. Los resultados fueron analizados por el procedimiento PROC MIXED de SAS y prueba de comparación de medias de Tukey (p<0.05), donde M. minutiflora presentó el mayor efecto repelente (p<0.05) por la menor cantidad de larvas recuperadas (2.39 ± 0.13) que el resto de los pastos, en C. ciliaris (1,192.04 ± 10.3), A. gayanus (72.48 ± 10.30) y B. brizantha (56.48 ± 11.68), en los dos últimos tratamientos no hubo significación en larvas recolectadas. Para los tres tiempos de colecta también se mostraron diferencias (p<0.05) en la media de larvas recuperadas en los pastos. Se concluye que los zacates Melinis minutiflora, Andropogon gayanus y Brachiaria brizantha manifestaron repelencia contra larvas de A. cajennense, sin embargo el que muestra mayor es M. minutiflora

Leptin levels and Q223R leptin receptor gene polymorphism in obese Mexican young adults

Introduction: The Q223R polymorphism of the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene is one of the most common polymorphisms and it is believed to be associated with a damaged capacity of LEPR signaling and with high circulating leptin levels. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, analytical study was carried out in the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where a sample of young adult participants (ranging from 18 to 30 years of age) was obtained. They were classified based on the results of body mass index: non-obese, and overweight/ obese. The polymorphic variant was determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) from the DNA sample and serum leptin levels were measured by EnzymeLinked Immuno Sorbent Assay Results: A total of 159 participants were included (nonobese, n=103; overweight/obese, n=56). Leptin levels were 15.14±12.3 ng/mL in the non-obese group and 26.13±19.0 ng/mL in the overweight/ obese group (p≤0.001). The allelic frequencies of the Q and R alleles of the LEPR gene in the studied subjects were as follows: non-obese, Q=0.56, R=0.44; overweight/obese, Q=0.62, R=0.38. The relative risk for the Q/Q genotype was 1.18 (CI 0.53-2.34), for Q/R was 1.14 (CI 0.59-2.18) and for R/R was 0.59 (CI 0.23-1.50). Conclusions: This study shows that leptin levels are associated with overweight/obesity in Mexican young adults, but this is not related to the presence of the Q223R polymorphism in the LEPR gene, so the underlying mechanisms for a possible disturbance in leptin signaling in obese Mexican young adults await further studies

History of tuberculosis disease is associated with genetic regulatory variation in Peruvians.

A quarter of humanity is estimated to have been exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) with a 5-10% risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) disease. Variability in responses to Mtb infection could be due to host or pathogen heterogeneity. Here, we focused on host genetic variation in a Peruvian population and its associations with gene regulation in monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs). We recruited former household contacts of TB patients who previously progressed to TB (cases, n = 63) or did not progress to TB (controls, n = 63). Transcriptomic profiling of monocyte-derived DCs and macrophages measured the impact of genetic variants on gene expression by identifying expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). We identified 330 and 257 eQTL genes in DCs and macrophages (False Discovery Rate (FDR) &lt; 0.05), respectively. Four genes in DCs showed interaction between eQTL variants and TB progression status. The top eQTL interaction for a protein-coding gene was with FAH, the gene encoding fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase, which mediates the last step in mammalian tyrosine catabolism. FAH expression was associated with genetic regulatory variation in cases but not controls. Using public transcriptomic and epigenomic data of Mtb-infected monocyte-derived dendritic cells, we found that Mtb infection results in FAH downregulation and DNA methylation changes in the locus. Overall, this study demonstrates effects of genetic variation on gene expression levels that are dependent on history of infectious disease and highlights a candidate pathogenic mechanism through pathogen-response genes. Furthermore, our results point to tyrosine metabolism and related candidate TB progression pathways for further investigation

The complete mitochondrial and plastid genomes of the invasive marine red alga Caulacanthus okamurae (Caulacanthaceae, Rhodophyta) from Moss Landing, California, USA

Caulacanthus okamurae is an invasive red alga that forms extensive mats in sheltered marine habitats around the world. To determine its genomic structure and genetic relationship to native and other non-native populations of C. okamurae, high-throughput sequencing analysis was performed on an introduced specimen from Bennett Slough, Moss Landing, California, USA. Assembly of 23,146,595 filtered 150 bp paired-end Illumina sequencing reads yielded its complete mitogenome (GenBank accession MT193839) and plastid genome (GenBank accession MT193838). The mitogenome is 25,995 bp in length and contains 50 genes. The plastid genome is 173,516 bp and contains 234 genes. Comparison of the organellar chromosomes to other Gigartinales revealed a high-level of gene synteny. BLAST analysis of marker sequences (rbcL, cox1, cox2) of C. okamurae from Moss Landing identified four identical DNA sequences: one from a specimen from a native population of C. okamurae from South Korea and three from specimens representing invasive populations from France, Spain, and the USA. These genetic results confirm the presence of C. okamurae in central California, USA, and represent the first complete mitogenome and plastid genome from the Caulacanthaceae