32 research outputs found
Evaluation of the humoral and mucosal immune response of a multiepitope vaccine against COVID-19 in pigs
IntroductionThis study evaluated the immune response to a multiepitope recombinant chimeric protein (CHIVAX) containing B- and T-cell epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 spikeâs receptor binding domain (RBD) in a translational porcine model for pre-clinical studies.MethodsWe generated a multiepitope recombinant protein engineered to include six coding conserved epitopes from the RBD domain of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein. Pigs were divided into groups and immunized with different doses of the protein, with serum samples collected over time to determine antibody responses by indirect ELISA and antibody titration. Peptide recognition was also analyzed by Western blotting. A surrogate neutralization assay with recombinant ACE2 and RBDs was performed. Intranasal doses of the immunogen were also prepared and tested on Vietnamese minipigs.ResultsWhen the immunogen was administered subcutaneously, it induced specific IgG antibodies in pigs, and higher doses correlated with higher antibody levels. Antibodies from immunized pigs recognized individual peptides in the multiepitope vaccine and inhibited RBD-ACE2 binding for five variants of concern (VOC). Comparative antigen delivery methods showed that both, subcutaneous and combined subcutaneous/intranasal approaches, induced specific IgG and IgA antibodies, with the subcutaneous approach having superior neutralizing activity. CHIVAX elicited systemic immunity, evidenced by specific IgG antibodies in the serum, and local mucosal immunity, indicated by IgA antibodies in saliva, nasal, and bronchoalveolar lavage secretions. Importantly, these antibodies demonstrated neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.DiscussionThe elicited antibodies recognized individual epitopes on the chimeric protein and demonstrated the capacity to block RBD-ACE2 binding of the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain and four VOCs. The findings provide proof of concept for using multiepitope recombinant antigens and a combined immunization protocol to induce a neutralizing immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in the pig translational model for preclinical studies
AnĂĄlisis y recomendaciones al sistema administrativo de la Universidad de El Salvador volumen II
La finalidad de este Informe es la de exponer, de un modo integral y objetivo, los diversos pormenores de la investigaciĂłn cientĂfica efectuada en doce diferentes sistemas componentes del quehacer administrativo de la Universidad de El Salvado
AnĂĄlisis y recomendaciones al sistema administrativo de la Universidad de El Salvador volumen I
La finalidad de este Informe es la de exponer, de un modo integral y objetivo, los diversos pormenores de la investigaciĂłn cientĂfica efectuada en doce diferentes sistemas componentes del quehacer administrativo de la Universidad de El Salvador
DesafĂos actuales de la educaciĂłn superior
El presente libro corresponde al trabajo investigativo realizado por sus autores frente a los desafĂos que enfrenta y enfrentarĂĄ la educaciĂłn en tiempos actuales (provisional)
XVI International Congress of Control Electronics and Telecommunications: "Techno-scientific considerations for a post-pandemic world intensive in knowledge, innovation and sustainable local development"
Este tĂtulo, sugestivo por los impactos durante la situaciĂłn de la Covid 19 en el mundo, y que en Colombia lastimosamente han sido muy crĂticos, permiten asumir la obligada superaciĂłn de tensiones sociales, polĂticas, y econĂłmicas; pero sobre todo cientĂficas y tecnolĂłgicas.
Inicialmente, esto supone la existencia de una capacidad de la sociedad colombiana por recuperar su estado inicial despuĂ©s de que haya cesado la perturbaciĂłn a la que fue sometida por la catastrĂłfica pandemia, y superar ese anterior estado de cosas ya que se encontraban -y aĂșn se encuentran- muchos problemas locales mal resueltos, medianamente resueltos, y muchos sin resolver: es decir, habrĂĄ que rediseñar y fortalecer una probada resiliencia social existente - producto del prolongado conflicto social colombiano superado parcialmente por un proceso de paz exitoso - desde la tecnociencia local; como lo indicaba Markus Brunnermeier - economista alemĂĄn y catedrĂĄtico de economĂa de la Universidad de Princeton- en su libro The Resilient SocietyâŠLa cuestiĂłn no es preveerlo todo sino poder reaccionarâŠaprender a recuperarse rĂĄpido.This title, suggestive of the impacts during the Covid 19 situation in the world, and which have unfortunately been very critical in Colombia, allows us to assume the obligatory overcoming of social, political, and economic tensions; but above all scientific and technological.
Initially, this supposes the existence of a capacity of Colombian society to recover its initial state after the disturbance to which it was subjected by the catastrophic pandemic has ceased, and to overcome that previous state of affairs since it was found -and still is find - many local problems poorly resolved, moderately resolved, and many unresolved: that is, an existing social resilience test will have to be redesigned and strengthened - product of the prolonged Colombian social conflict partially overcome by a successful peace process - from local technoscience; As Markus Brunnermeier - German economist and professor of economics at Princeton University - indicates in his book The Resilient Society...The question is not to foresee everything but to be able to react...learn to recover quickly.Bogot
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
Abstract
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and lowâmiddle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of âsingle-useâ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for lowâmiddle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both highâ and lowâmiddleâincome countries
On the impact of collaborative strategies for goods delivery in city logistics
15 pĂĄginasCity logistics refers to the process of total optimisation of the logistics and transport activities in urban areas while considering economic, environmental, social and safety aspects. This paper considers a collaborative scenario for the urban goods transport planning and management as a way to reduce transport costs, congestion and environmental impact of this activity. An approach from the Operations Management field, using mathematical modelling, for tactical and operational decision-making is proposed to discuss and compare both collaborative and non-collaborative scenarios. This approach is validated using real data taken from the city of BogotĂĄ, Colombia. Results put in evidence the quantitative benefits that can be achieved when collaborative logistics operations are implemented, represented in both transportation costs and environmental impacts. Although these results might not be surprising (like in the field of supply chain management), the contribution of this paper is centred in the fact that the impacts of collaboration in city logistics have not yet been quantified until now. This allows an âex anteâ evaluation of the benefits of collaborative goods transport in cities
An enhanced Genetic Algorithm with an innovative encoding strategy for flexible job-shop scheduling with operation and processing flexibility
17 pĂĄginasThis paper considers the Flexible Job-shop Scheduling Problem with Operation and Processing flexibility (FJSP-OP) with the objective of minimizing the makespan. A Genetic Algorithm based approach is presented to solve the FJSP-OP. For the performance improvement, a new and concise Four-Tuple Scheme (FTS) is proposed for modeling a job with operation and processing flexibility. Then, with the FTS, an enhanced Genetic Algorithm employing a more efficient encoding strategy is developed. The use of this encoding strategy ensures that the classic genetic operators can be adopted to the utmost extent without generating infeasible offspring. Experiments have validated the proposed approach, and the results have shown the effectiveness and high performance of the proposed approach
Uso de una heurĂstica hĂbrida para resolver el problema de enrutamiento equilibrado de vehĂculos con restricciones de carga
26 pĂĄginasThe Vehicle Routing Problem with Loading Constraints (VRPLC) is strongly related to real life applications in distribution logistics. It addresses the simultaneous loading and routing of vehicles, which are two crucial activities in transportation. Since treating these operations separately may result in impractical solutions, the development of applications for VRPLCs has gained the attention of researchers in recent years. Several heuristic methods have been proposed, but they consider only a limited group of practical characteristics that arise in real world situations. This study proposes a hybrid heuristic method based on the Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) metaheuristic and the Clarke and Wright Savings algorithm, to solve a VRPLC with several loading and routing constraints that have not been considered simultaneously before. Experimental results show that the proposed procedure produces competitive solutions in short processing times. Lastly, the impact of the added operational constraints is also analyzedEl problema de enrutamiento de vehĂculos con restricciones de carga (VRPLC) estĂĄ fuertemente relacionado con la vida real
Aplicaciones en logĂstica de distribuciĂłn. Aborda la carga y el enrutamiento simultĂĄneos de
vehĂculos, que son dos actividades cruciales en el transporte. Dado que el tratamiento de estas operaciones
por separado puede dar lugar a soluciones poco prĂĄcticas, el desarrollo de aplicaciones para VRPLC ha
llamĂł la atenciĂłn de los investigadores en los Ășltimos años. Se han propuesto varios mĂ©todos heurĂsticos,
pero consideran solo un grupo limitado de caracterĂsticas prĂĄcticas que surgen en el mundo real.
situaciones Este estudio propone un mĂ©todo heurĂstico hĂbrido basado en el Greedy Randomized
MetaheurĂstica del Procedimiento de bĂșsqueda adaptable (GRASP) y los ahorros de Clarke y Wright
algoritmo, para resolver un VRPLC con varias restricciones de carga y enrutamiento que no han sido
considerado simultĂĄneamente antes. Los resultados experimentales muestran que el procedimiento propuesto
produce soluciones competitivas en cortos tiempos de procesamiento. Por Ășltimo, el impacto del agregado
también se analizan las limitaciones operativa