Normalización de los procesos administrativos realizados por la unidad de cartera y servicios administrativos en la empresa Coéxito S.A. para la administración central Mac S.A

El proyecto realizado en la empresa COÉXITO S.A. se encuentra basado en la estandarización de procesos administrativos, tomando como modelo el formato de los procedimientos realizados en la planta Mac S.A., pues esta compañía cuenta con varias certificaciones en áreas como calidad, salud ocupacional, entre otras; propósito que Coéxito quiere alcanzar en un plazo no muy largo. Este proyecto se encuentra divido en capítulos, inicia definiendo los conceptos relacionados con la normalización, estandarización e implementación de procedimientos, en seguida se muestra el desarrollo de cada uno de los objetivos específicos del proyecto, donde se estructura toda la documentación necesaria y requerida para alcanzar la normalización de los procesos. El objetivo de este proyecto es desarrollar la normalización de los procesos que se realizan en la Unidad de Cartera y Servicios Administrativos de Coéxito S.A. para la Administración Central Mac S.A., que es la parte de la organización Mac encargada de prestar los servicios de administración; logrando así mayor eficacia y mejores relaciones dentro y fuera de la compañía que se reflejaran en la calidad del servicio supliendo las necesidades y requisitos del cliente. Aunque en el contenido de este trabajo no se muestran los procedimientos normalizados porque es información confidencial de la compañía, al leerlo se da una clara idea de lo realizado, comprendiendo con facilidad la codificación, el formato y estándares para la presentación de los mismos; en este proyecto además de realizar la normalización de los procesos administrativos se estandarizó un formato para otros tipos de documentos como perfiles por competencia, manuales de procedimientos, organigramas e instructivosPasantía (Ingeniero Industrial)-- Universidad Autónoma de Occidente. Facultad de Ingeniería, 2006PregradoIngeniero(a) Industria

Burkholderia pseudomallei Antibodies in Children, Cambodia

Antibodies to Burkholderia pseudomallei were detected in 16% of children in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This organism was isolated from 30% of rice paddies in the surrounding vicinity. Despite the lack of reported indigenous cases, melioidosis is likely to occur in Cambodia

Plumbagin inhibits invasion and migration of breast and gastric cancer cells by downregulating the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing evidence indicates that the interaction between the CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) and its ligand CXCL12 is critical in the process of metastasis that accounts for more than 90% of cancer-related deaths. Thus, novel agents that can downregulate the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis have therapeutic potential in inhibiting cancer metastasis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this report, we investigated the potential of an agent, plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone), for its ability to modulate CXCR4 expression and function in various tumor cells using Western blot analysis, DNA binding assay, transient transfection, real time PCR analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and cellular migration and invasion assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that plumbagin downregulated the expression of CXCR4 in breast cancer cells irrespective of their HER2 status. The decrease in CXCR4 expression induced by plumbagin was not cell type-specific as the inhibition also occurred in gastric, lung, renal, oral, and hepatocellular tumor cell lines. Neither proteasome inhibition nor lysosomal stabilization had any effect on plumbagin-induced decrease in CXCR4 expression. Detailed study of the underlying molecular mechanism(s) revealed that the regulation of the downregulation of CXCR4 was at the transcriptional level, as indicated by downregulation of mRNA expression, inhibition of NF-κB activation, and suppression of chromatin immunoprecipitation activity. In addition, using a virtual, predictive, functional proteomics-based tumor pathway platform, we tested the hypothesis that NF-κB inhibition by plumbagin causes the decrease in CXCR4 and other metastatic genes. Suppression of CXCR4 expression by plumbagin was found to correlate with the inhibition of CXCL12-induced migration and invasion of both breast and gastric cancer cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, our results indicate, for the first time, that plumbagin is a novel blocker of CXCR4 expression and thus has the potential to suppress metastasis of cancer.</p

Emergence of Pediatric Melioidosis in Siem Reap, Cambodia

We describe the first cases of pediatric melioidosis in Cambodia. Thirty-nine cases were diagnosed at the Angkor Hospital for Children, Siem Reap, between October 2005 and December 2008 after the introduction of microbiology capabilities. Median age was 7.8 years (range = 1.6–16.2 years), 15 cases were male (38%), and 4 cases had pre-existing conditions that may have pre-disposed the patient to melioidosis. Infection was localized in 27 cases (69%) and disseminated in 12 cases (31%). Eleven cases (28%) were treated as outpatients, and 28 (72%) cases were admitted. Eight children (21%) died a median of 2 days after admission; seven deaths were attributable to melioidosis, all of which occurred in children receiving suboptimal antimicrobial therapy and before bacteriological culture results were available. Our findings indicate the need for heightened awareness of melioidosis in Cambodia, and they have led us to review microbiology procedures and antimicrobial prescribing of suspected and confirmed cases

Emergence of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Associated with Pediatric Infection in Cambodia

BACKGROUND: The incidence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection is rising in the developed world but appears to be rare in developing countries. One explanation for this difference is that resource poor countries lack the diagnostic microbiology facilities necessary to detect the presence of CA-MRSA carriage and infection. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed diagnostic microbiology capabilities at the Angkor Hospital for Children, Siem Reap, western Cambodia in January 2006 and in the same month identified a child with severe community-acquired impetigo caused by CA-MRSA. A study was undertaken to identify and describe additional cases presenting between January 2006 and December 2007. Bacterial isolates underwent molecular characterization using multilocus sequence typing, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, and PCR for the presence of the genes encoding Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL). Seventeen children were identified with CA-MRSA infection, of which 11 had skin and soft tissue infection and 6 had invasive disease. The majority of cases were unrelated in time or place. Molecular characterization identified two independent MRSA clones; fifteen isolates were sequence type (ST) 834, SCCmec type IV, PVL gene-negative, and two isolates were ST 121, SCCmec type V, PVL gene-positive. CONCLUSIONS: This represents the first ever report of MRSA in Cambodia, spread of which would pose a significant threat to public health. The finding that cases were mostly unrelated in time or place suggests that these were sporadic infections in persons who were CA-MRSA carriers or contacts of carriers, rather than arising in the context of an outbreak

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.

Association of Forced Vital Capacity with the Developmental Gene <i>NCOR2</i>

Background Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) is an important predictor of all-cause mortality in the absence of chronic respiratory conditions. Epidemiological evidence highlights the role of early life factors on adult FVC, pointing to environmental exposures and genes affecting lung development as risk factors for low FVC later in life. Although highly heritable, a small number of genes have been found associated with FVC, and we aimed at identifying further genetic variants by focusing on lung development genes. Methods Per-allele effects of 24,728 SNPs in 403 genes involved in lung development were tested in 7,749 adults from three studies (NFBC1966, ECRHS, EGEA). The most significant SNP for the top 25 genes was followed-up in 46,103 adults (CHARGE and SpiroMeta consortia) and 5,062 chi

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P &lt; 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Fluctuations in Neuroticism Due to COVID-19: A Case Study of Four Timelines: [Fluktuasi Neuroticism Akibat COVID-19: Studi Kasus Empat Lini Masa]

Neuroticism is a part of the human personality which consists of several negative emotions. The level of neuroticism has a tendency to become unstable, when individuals are faced with a traumatic event, including when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In order to obtain a more in-depth picture of the fluctuation level of neuroticism (negative emotions), this study measured neuroticism score utilizing the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) on 1,911 subjects in the age range of 18-25 years. This measurement was carried out longitudinally, with details of measurements on four timelines. All data collection process was carried out by accidental random sampling. This study proves that there is fluctuating trend in each aspect of neuroticism. The aspects of anxiety and neuroticism have a decreasing trend, the aspect of depression has an increasing trend, and the aspect of emotional volatility has a stable trend. The occurrence of these fluctuations proves that COVID-19 affects life aspects of most individuals. &nbsp; Neuroticism merupakan bagian dari kepribadian manusia yang terdiri atas sejumlah emosi negatif. Tingkat neuroticism memiliki kecenderungan untuk berubah menjadi tidak stabil, ketika individu dihadapkan pada sebuah peristiwa traumatis, tidak terkecuali ketika pandemi COVID-19. Guna memperoleh gambaran yang lebih mendalam mengenai tingkat fluktuasi neuroticism (emosi negatif) tersebut, studi ini mengukur skor neuroticism menggunakan Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) pada 1.911 subjek pada rentang usia 18-25 tahun. Pengukuran ini dilakukan secara longitudinal, dengan rincian pengukuran pada empat lini masa. Seluruh proses pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan accidental random sampling. Studi ini membuktikan bahwa terdapat tren fluktuasi pada tiap aspek neuroticism. Aspek anxiety dan neuroticism memiliki tren menurun, aspek depression memiliki tren meningkat, dan aspek emotional volatility memiliki tren stabil. Terjadinya fluktuasi ini membuktikan bahwa COVID-19 memengaruhi aspek kehidupan sebagian besar individu