Evolution of surname distribution under gender-equality measurements

We consider a model for the evolution of the surnames distribution under a gender-equality measurement presently discussed in the Spanish parliament (the children take the surname of the father or the mother according to alphabetical order). We quantify how this would bias the alphabetical distribution of surnames, and analyze its effect on the present distribution of the surnames in Spain

The integration of the contents of the subject Physics-Chemistry (I) in Biology-Chemistry specialty

This work is the result of a research task developed in the Natural Sciences Education Department during 2013-2014 academic year, and it emerged from the necessity of solving some insufficiencies in the use of the real potentialities offered by the content of the subject Physics-Chemistry (I), that is part of the curriculum of the Biology-Chemistry career. Its main objective is to offer a set of exercises to contribute to achieve the integration of contents from the subject Physics-chemistry (I) in the mentioned career at «Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz» University of Camaguey. The exercises proposed are characterized for being related to the real practice and to other subjects of the career. Their implementation through review lessons, partial tests and final evaluations during the formative experiment made possible a better academic result in the learners overall performance.El trabajo es el resultado de una de las tareas de investigación del Departamento de Educación de las Ciencias Naturales durante el curso escolar 2013-2014, que surge por la necesidad de dar respuesta a las insuficiencias que aún existen en el aprovechamiento de las potencialidades del contenido de la asignatura Fisicaquímica (I) que forma parte del plan de estudio de la carrera Biología-Química para la integración de estos. El mismo tiene como objetivo ofrecer un conjunto de ejercicios que contribuya al logro de la integración de los contenidos desde la asignatura Fisicaquímica (I) en la carrera de Biología-Química de la Universidad de Camagüey «Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz», sede «José Martí». Los ejercicios se caracterizan por su vinculación con la vida práctica y con otras disciplinas de la carrera. La implementación de estos en las clases de ejercitación, pruebas parciales y evaluaciones finales durante el experimento formativo posibilitó un mejor rendimiento académico de los estudiantes de manera integral

Identification of a cytokine network sustaining neutrophil and Th17 activation in untreated early rheumatoid arthritis

© 2010 Cascão et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by sustained synovitis. Recently, several studies have proposed neutrophils and Th17 cells as key players in the onset and perpetuation of this disease. The main goal of this work was to determine whether cytokines driving neutrophil and Th17 activation are dysregulated in very early rheumatoid arthritis patients with less than 6 weeks of disease duration and before treatment (VERA). Methods: Cytokines related to neutrophil and Th17 activation were quantified in the serum of VERA and established RA patients and compared with other very early arthritis (VEA) and healthy controls. Synovial fluid (SF) from RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients was also analyzed. Results: VERA patients had increased serum levels of cytokines promoting Th17 polarization (IL-1b and IL-6), as well as IL-8 and Th17-derived cytokines (IL-17A and IL-22) known to induce neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In established RA this pattern is more evident within the SF. Early treatment with methotrexate or corticosteroids led to clinical improvement but without an impact on the cytokine pattern. Conclusions: VERA patients already display increased levels of cytokines related with Th17 polarization and neutrophil recruitment and activation, a dysregulation also found in SF of established RA. 0 Thus, our data suggest that a cytokine-milieu favoring Th17 and neutrophil activity is an early event in RA pathogenesis.This work was supported by a grant from Sociedade Portuguesa de Reumatologia/Schering-Plough 2005. RAM and RC were funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) SFRH/BD/30247/2006 and SFRH/BD/40513/2007, respectively. MMS-C was funded by Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship PERG-2008-239422 and a EULAR Young Investigator Award

A PCR-mutagenesis strategy for rapid detection of mutations in codon 634 of the ret proto-oncogene related to MEN 2A.

BACKGROUND: Multiple endocrine neoplasias type 2A (MEN 2A) is a dominantly inherited cancer syndrome. Missence mutations in the codon encoding cysteine 634 of the ret proto-oncogene have been found in 85% of the MEN 2A families. The main tumour type always present in MEN 2A is medullar thyroid carcinoma (MTC). Only 25% of all MTC are hereditary, and generally they are identified by a careful family history. However, some familial MTCs are not easily detected by this means and underdiagnosis of MEN 2A is suspected. METHODS: DNA samples from MEN 2A patients were amplified by PCR. The products were incubated with the restriction enzyme Bst ApI or Bgl I. The samples were loaded in non-denaturing 10% Polyacrilamyde Gel and run at 120 volts for 40 min. The gels were stained with 10 μg/ml ethidium bromide, and the bands were visualized under a UV lamp. RESULTS: We developed a PCR-mutagenic method to check the integrity of the three bases of the cysteine 634 codon. CONCLUSION: The method can be used to detect inherited mutations in MTC patients without a clear family history. The method is relatively simple to use as a routine test in these patients to decrease the underdiagnosis of MEN 2A. In addition, the assay can be used to screen affected families with any mutation in cysteine 634

Balance de los factores económicos y sociales de China en 2022

Tras los tradicionales altos crecimientos de la economía china en los años anteriores a la pandemia de la COVID-19, aun cuando estos no eran ya de dos dígitos, el ritmo cayó significativamente en 2020. Parecía que, en 2021, se iba a recuperar, cuando se extendió al 8 por ciento; sin embargo, la incidencia de la pandemia, junto a dificultades internas y del contexto internacional, hicieron que el incremento fuera nuevamente bajo en 2022. Todo ello ha venido a reforzar juicios negativos que abundan en la literatura acerca de la capacidad y las perspectivas de la economía china, los cuales, sin dejar de abordar hechos ciertos, en ocasiones exageran u ofrecen un enfoque sesgado. A pesar de la situación menos favorable que enfrentó la economía china en 2022, en comparación con periodos anteriores, esta debe mantener su liderazgo en el escenario mundial, reafirmándose como la segunda mayor economía después de Estados Unidos, principal exportadora, segunda importadora de bienes, con un papel ascendente en las finanzas internacionales y una mejoría en los indicadores sociales, todo lo cual confirma su intención de elevar continuamente el nivel de vida de su población

Genetic Characterization of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru: Identification of a New Subtype ID Lineage

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of human and equine cases of severe disease in the Americas. A passive surveillance study was conducted in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador to determine the arboviral etiology of febrile illness. Patients with suspected viral-associated, acute, undifferentiated febrile illness of <7 days duration were enrolled in the study and blood samples were obtained from each patient and assayed by virus isolation. Demographic and clinical information from each patient was also obtained at the time of voluntary enrollment. In 2005–2007, cases of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) were diagnosed for the first time in residents of Bolivia; the patients did not report traveling, suggesting endemic circulation of VEEV in Bolivia. In 2001 and 2003, VEE cases were also identified in Ecuador. Since 1993, VEEV has been continuously isolated from patients in Loreto, Peru, and more recently (2005), in Madre de Dios, Peru. We performed phylogenetic analyses with VEEV from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru and compared their relationships to strains from other parts of South America. We found that VEEV subtype ID Panama/Peru genotype is the predominant one circulating in Peru. We also demonstrated that VEEV subtype ID strains circulating in Ecuador belong to the Colombia/Venezuela genotype and VEEV from Madre de Dios, Peru and Cochabamba, Bolivia belong to a new ID genotype. In summary, we identified a new major lineage of enzootic VEEV subtype ID, information that could aid in the understanding of the emergence and evolution of VEEV in South America

Balance de los factores económicos y sociales de China en 2022

After the traditionally high growth of the Chinese economy in the years prior to the COVID pandemic, even if it was no longer in double digits, the pace dropped significantly in 2020. It seemed that in 2021 growth was going to recover, when it grew at 8 percent; however, the incidence of the pandemic, together with domestic difficulties and the international context, caused growth to be low again in 2022. All this has reinforced negative judgments that abound in the literature about the capacity and prospects of the Chinese economy, which, while addressing true facts, sometimes exaggerate or offer a biased approach. Despite the less favorable situation faced by the Chinese economy in 2022, compared to previous periods, it should maintain its leadership on the world stage, reaffirming itself as the second largest economy after the United States, the main exporter, second importer of goods, with an&nbsp; ascending role in international finance and an improvement in social indicators, all of which confirms its intention to continuously raise the standard of living of its population.Tras los tradicionales altos crecimientos de la economía china en los años anteriores a la pandemia de la COVID-19, aun cuando estos no eran ya de dos dígitos, el ritmo cayó significativamente en 2020. Parecía que, en 2021, se iba a recuperar, cuando se extendió al 8 por ciento; sin embargo, la incidencia de la pandemia, junto a dificultades internas y del contexto internacional, hicieron que el incremento fuera nuevamente bajo en 2022. Todo ello ha venido a reforzar juicios negativos que abundan en la literatura acerca de la capacidad y las perspectivas de la economía china, los cuales, sin dejar de abordar hechos ciertos, en ocasiones exageran u ofrecen un enfoque sesgado. A pesar de la situación menos favorable que enfrentó la economía china en 2022, en comparación con periodos anteriores, esta debe mantener su liderazgo en el escenario mundial, reafirmándose como la segunda mayor economía después de Estados Unidos, principal exportadora, segunda importadora de bienes, con un papel ascendente en las finanzas internacionales y una mejoría en los indicadores sociales, todo lo cual confirma su intención de elevar continuamente el nivel de vida de su población

Overcoming challenges of translating deep- learning models for glioblastoma: the ZGBM consortium

Objective: To report imaging protocol and scheduling variance in routine care of glioblastoma patients in order to demonstrate challenges of integrating deep-learning models in glioblastoma care pathways. Additionally, to understand the most common imaging studies and image contrasts to inform the development of potentially robust deep-learning models. Methods: MR imaging data were analysed from a random sample of five patients from the prospective cohort across five participating sites of the ZGBM consortium. Reported clinical and treatment data alongside DICOM header information were analysed to understand treatment pathway imaging schedules. Results: All sites perform all structural imaging at every stage in the pathway except for the presurgical study, where in some sites only contrast-enhanced T 1-weighted imaging is performed. Diffusion MRI is the most common non-structural imaging type, performed at every site. Conclusion: The imaging protocol and scheduling varies across the UK, making it challenging to develop machine-learning models that could perform robustly at other centres. Structural imaging is performed most consistently across all centres. Advances in knowledge: Successful translation of deep-learning models will likely be based on structural post-treatment imaging unless there is significant effort made to standardise non-structural or peri-operative imaging protocols and schedules

El arrepentimiento de los alzados en armas y su influencia en el desarrollo de la cultura política de la región San Martin 1993-2016

This research was concluded in 2018 and the objective was to investigate the contrition of the rebels and the effect of this phenomenon on the political culture of the region of San Martin. The study covers the 1993-2016 period, in which a sector of the armed rebels take on the benefits of the repentance law -part of the government's anti-subversive strategy- and a new political culture emerges that includes new forms of political party organization. It is also the period in which Alberto Fujimori’s dictatorship falls, and the process of democratic transition takes place, in which the repentant participate in the political arena by joining new organizations that emerge in this period and they recycle themselves and recycle the political system built by the Fujimori dictatorship and which is based on the 1993 constitution. The research topic is relevant because in the San Martín Region a significant number of those who were members of subversive organizations and participated in the subversive conflict of the 1980s actively participate in politics. Therefore, it is important to know if this participation strengthens the democratic system or rather enhances conservative positions. The data processed are the result of the application of surveys that provide information on the context in which the repentant form their ideology, which leads them to take up armed action, the reasons for their repentance and the way they currently see and participate in politics.La investigación se concluyó en el año 2018 y tuvo como propósito investigar sobre el arrepentimiento de los alzados en armas y el efecto de este fenómeno en la cultura política de la Región San Martín. El estudio comprende el periodo 1993-2016, en el cual se un sector de los alzados en armas se acoge a los beneficios de la ley del arrepentimiento -como parte de la estrategia gubernamental antisubversiva- y surge una nueva cultura política que incluyen nuevas formas de organización político partidaria. También es el periodo en el cual se produce la caída de la dictadura de Alberto Fujimori y el proceso de la transición democrática en el cual los arrepentido van a participar en la vida política vinculados a las nuevas organizaciones que emergen, reciclándose el sistema político construido por la dictadura fujimorista y que se sustenta en la constitución del 93. El tema de investigación es relevante porque, en la Región San Martín, un número significativa de que militaron en organizaciones subversivas y participaron en el conflicto subversivo de la década del 80, participan activamente en política, por lo cual es importante saber si esta participación fortalece el sistema democrático o más bien posiciones conservadoras. Los datos son el resultado de la aplicación de encuestas que arrojan información del contexto en que los arrepentidos forman sus ideologías, que los lleva a asumir la acción armada, las razones de su arrepentimiento y la forma en que ven y participan en política en la actualidad