Media competences for the citizenship training of teachers from andean america: colombia and Ecuador convergente

In an increasingly saturated information and infoxicated world, Media Literacy emerges as a necessity for effective filtering of the vast amount of information we consume. The present research aims to quantitatively analyze the level of media competencies of Colombian (Medellin) and Ecuadorian (Loja and Zamora) teachers by means of the application of an adaptation of the taxonomy from the media competencies model, which consists of 6 dimensions and a total of 12 indicators. The total analyzed sample was comprised of 654 teachers from 81 public and private institutions. A data-gathering instrument was used with the aim of determining their level of media competencies from each of the dimensions. The results showed a low to medium level of media competency knowledge, which illustrated the need for priority interventions based on local, regional and international works, namely those that mobilize scientific, academic and political collaboration to improve the performance of a population that should lead the general training of citizens in media competencies

Coupling between annual and ENSO timescales in the malaria-climate association in Colombia.

We present evidence that the El Niño phenomenon intensifies the annual cycle of malaria cases for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum in endemic areas of Colombia as a consequence of concomitant anomalies in the normal annual cycle of temperature and precipitation. We used simultaneous analyses of both variables at both timescales, as well as correlation and power spectral analyses of detailed spatial (municipal) and temporal (monthly) records. During "normal years," endemic malaria in rural Colombia exhibits a clear-cut "normal" annual cycle, which is tightly associated with prevalent climatic conditions, mainly mean temperature, precipitation, dew point, and river discharges. During historical El Niño events (interannual time scale), the timing of malaria outbreaks does not change from the annual cycle, but the number of cases intensifies. Such anomalies are associated with a consistent pattern of hydrological and climatic anomalies: increase in mean temperature, decrease in precipitation, increase in dew point, and decrease in river discharges, all of which favor malaria transmission. Such coupling explains why the effect appears stronger and more persistent during the second half of El Niño's year (0), and during the first half of the year (+1). We illustrate this finding with data for diverse localities in Buenaventura (on the Pacific coast) and Caucasia (along the Cauca river floodplain), but conclusions have been found valid for multiple localities throughout endemic regions of Colombia. The identified coupling between annual and interannual timescales in the climate-malaria system shed new light toward understanding the exact linkages between environmental, entomological, and epidemiological factors conductive to malaria outbreaks, and also imposes the coupling of those timescales in public health intervention programs

II Workshop on Modeling and Simulation for Science and Engineering

II Workshop on Modeling and Simulation for Science and Engineering (II WMSSE) was a conference conducted at Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, in the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on September 24, 25 and 26, 2019. There, works in several topics of science, technology and engineering were presented. Specially, the participants of conference wanted to bring some solutions to the actual industrial requirements such as improvement and optimization of the heat transfer equipment, electronic devices, system control by mean of computational modeling. Also, dynamic system control was widely used for the prediction of power flow market, diffusion of bacteria in coffee production, stress concentration in industrial machines, analysis of population dynamics, model of hydrological and pluviometric networks, encryption for intercommunication of substation control centers, and others

Media competences for the citizenship training of teachers from andean america: colombia and Ecuador convergente

In an increasingly saturated information and infoxicated world, Media Literacy emerges as a necessity for effective filtering of the vast amount of information we consume. The present research aims to quantitatively analyze the level of media competencies of Colombian (Medellin) and Ecuadorian (Loja and Zamora) teachers by means of the application of an adaptation of the taxonomy from the media competencies model, which consists of 6 dimensions and a total of 12 indicators. The total analyzed sample was comprised of 654 teachers from 81 public and private institutions. A data-gathering instrument was used with the aim of determining their level of media competencies from each of the dimensions. The results showed a low to medium level of media competency knowledge, which illustrated the need for priority interventions based on local, regional and international works, namely those that mobilize scientific, academic and political collaboration to improve the performance of a population that should lead the general training of citizens in media competencies

First results from the MIT optical rapid imaging system (MORIS) on the IRTF: A stellar occultation by Pluto and a transit by exoplanet XO-2b

We present a high-speed, visible-wavelength imaging instrument: MORIS (the MIT Optical Rapid Imaging System). MORIS is mounted on the 3 m Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Its primary component is an Andor iXon camera, a nearly 60" square field of view with high quantum efficiency, low read noise, low dark current, and full-frame readout rates ranging from as slow as desired to a maximum of between 3.5 Hz and 35 Hz (depending on the mode; read noise of 6 pixel and 49 pixel with electron-multiplying gain = 1 , respectively). User-selectable binning and subframing can increase the cadence to a few hundred hertz. An electron-multiplying mode can be employed for photon counting, effectively reducing the read noise to subelectron levels at the expense of dynamic range. Data cubes, or individual frames, can be triggered to several-nanosecond accuracy using the Global Positioning System. MORIS is mounted on the side-facing exit window of SpeX, allowing simultaneous near-infrared and visible observations. Here, we describe the components, setup, and measured characteristics of MORIS. We also report results from the first science observations: the 2008 June 24 stellar occultation by Pluto and an extrasolar planetary transit by XO-2b. The Pluto occultation of a 15.8 magnitude star has a signal-to-noise ratio of 35 per atmospheric scale height and a midtime error of 0.32 s. The XO-2b transit reaches photometric precision of 0.5 mmag in 2 minutes and has a midtime timing precision of 23 s.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (grant NNX07AK95G

Laboratory estimation of the effects of increasing temperatures on the duration of gonotrophic cycle of Anopheles albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae)

The increase of malaria transmission in the Pacific Coast of Colombia during the occurrence of El Niño warm event has been found not to be linked to increases in the density of the vector Anopheles albimanus, but to other temperature-sensitive variables such as longevity, duration of the gonotrophic cycle or the sporogonic period of Plasmodium. The present study estimated the effects of temperature on duration of the gonotrophic cycle and on maturation of the ovaries of An. albimanus. Blood fed adult mosquitoes were exposed to temperatures of 24, 27, and 30 degrees C, held individually in oviposition cages and assessed at 12 h intervals. At 24, 27, and 30 degrees C the mean development time of the oocytes was 91.2 h (95% C.I.: 86.5-96), 66.2 h (61.5-70.8), and 73.1 h (64-82.3), respectively. The mean duration of the gonotrophic cycle for these three temperatures was 88.4 h (81.88-94.9), 75 h (71.4-78.7), and 69.1 h (64.6-73.6) respectively. These findings indicate that both parameters in An. albimanus are reduced when temperatures rose from 24 to 30 degrees C, in a nonlinear manner. According to these results the increase in malaria transmission during El Niño in Colombia could be associated with a shortening of the gonotrophic cycle in malaria vectors, which could enhance the frequency of man-vector contact, affecting the incidence of the disease

Measuring the speed of light and the moon distance with an occultation of Mars by the Moon: a Citizen Astronomy Campaign

In July 5th 2014 an occultation of Mars by the Moon was visible in South America. Citizen scientists and professional astronomers in Colombia, Venezuela and Chile performed a set of simple observations of the phenomenon aimed to measure the speed of light and lunar distance. This initiative is part of the so called "Aristarchus Campaign", a citizen astronomy project aimed to reproduce observations and measurements made by astronomers of the past. Participants in the campaign used simple astronomical instruments (binoculars or small telescopes) and other electronic gadgets (cell-phones and digital cameras) to measure occultation times and to take high resolution videos and pictures. In this paper we describe the results of the Aristarchus Campaign. We compiled 9 sets of observations from sites separated by distances as large as 2,500 km. We achieve at measuring the speed of light in vacuum and lunar distance with uncertainties of few percent. The goal of the Aristarchus Campaigns is not to provide improved values of well-known astronomical and physical quantities, but to demonstrate how the public could be engaged in scientific endeavors using simple instrumentation and readily available technological devices. These initiatives could benefit amateur communities in developing countries increasing their awareness towards their actual capabilities for collaboratively obtaining useful astronomical data. This kind of exercises would prepare them for facing future and more advanced observational campaigns where their role could be crucial.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. An abridged and more general version of this paper was accepted for publication in Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal (http://www.capjournal.org

Combinations of β-lactam or aminoglycoside antibiotics with plectasin are synergistic against methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Bacterial infections remain the leading killer worldwide which is worsened by the continuous emergence of antibiotic resistance. In particular, methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are prevalent and the latter can be difficult to treat. The traditional strategy of novel therapeutic drug development inevitably leads to emergence of resistant strains, rendering the new drugs ineffective. Therefore, rejuvenating the therapeutic potentials of existing antibiotics offers an attractive novel strategy. Plectasin, a defensin antimicrobial peptide, potentiates the activities of other antibiotics such as β-lactams, aminoglycosides and glycopeptides against MSSA and MRSA. We performed in vitro and in vivo investigations to test against genetically diverse clinical isolates of MSSA (n = 101) and MRSA (n = 115). Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by the broth microdilution method. The effects of combining plectasin with β-lactams, aminoglycosides and glycopeptides were examined using the chequerboard method and time kill curves. A murine neutropenic thigh model and a murine peritoneal infection model were used to test the effect of combination in vivo. Determined by factional inhibitory concentration index (FICI), plectasin in combination with aminoglycosides (gentamicin, neomycin or amikacin) displayed synergistic effects in 76-78% of MSSA and MRSA. A similar synergistic response was observed when plectasin was combined with β-lactams (penicillin, amoxicillin or flucloxacillin) in 87-89% of MSSA and MRSA. Interestingly, no such interaction was observed when plectasin was paired with vancomycin. Time kill analysis also demonstrated significant synergistic activities when plectasin was combined with amoxicillin, gentamicin or neomycin. In the murine models, plectasin at doses as low as 8 mg/kg augmented the activities of amoxicillin and gentamicin in successful treatment of MSSA and MRSA infections. We demonstrated that plectasin strongly rejuvenates the therapeutic potencies of existing antibiotics in vitro and in vivo. This is a novel strategy that can have major clinical implications in our fight against bacterial infections

Neutropenia induced in outbred mice by a simplified low-dose cyclophosphamide regimen: characterization and applicability to diverse experimental models of infectious diseases

BACKGROUND: For its low cost and ease of handling, the mouse remains the preferred experimental animal for preclinical tests. To avoid the interaction of the animal immune system, in vivo antibiotic pharmacodynamic studies often employ cyclophosphamide (CPM) to induce neutropenia. Although high doses (350–450 mg/kg) are still used and their effects on mouse leukocytes have been described, a lower dose (250 mg/kg) is widely preferred today, but the characteristics and applicability of this approach in outbred mice have not been determined. METHODS: Fifteen female ICR mice were injected intraperitoneally with 150 and 100 mg/kg of CPM on days 1 and 4, respectively. Blood samples (~160 μL) were drawn from the retro-orbital sinus of each mouse on days 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 11. Leukocytes were counted manually and the number of granulocytes was based on microscopic examination of Wright-stained smears. The impact of neutropenia induced by this method was then determined with a variety of pathogens in three different murine models of human infections: pneumonia (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus), meningoencephalitis (S. pneumoniae), and the thigh model (S. aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis). RESULTS: The basal count of leukocytes was within the normal range for outbred mice. On day 4, there was an 84% reduction in total white blood cells, and by day 5 the leukopenia reached its nadir (370 ± 84 cells/mm(3)). Profound neutropenia (≤10 neutrophils/mm(3)) was demonstrated at day 4 and persisted through days 5 and 6. Lymphocytes and monocytes had a 92% and 96% decline between days 1 and 5, respectively. Leukocytes recovered completely by day 11. Mice immunosupressed under this protocol displayed clinical and microbiological patterns of progressive and lethal infectious diseases after inoculation in different organs with diverse human pathogens. CONCLUSION: A CPM total dose of 250 mg/kg is sufficient to induce profound and sustained neutropenia (<10 neutrophils/mm(3)) at least during 3 days in outbred mice, is simpler than previously described methods, and allows successful induction of infection in a variety of experimental models