El problema de la forma como propuesta metodológica: El caso de los Talleres de Diseño Arquitectónico y Urbano de la PUCE FADA de 2019 a 2022

In a context where a subjective and non-disciplinary formation of architecture is promoted, the present methodological proposal is born as a constructive criticism of previous academic periods. Thus, the necessity to reformulate the pedagogy of architecture retaking its concepts, rules and universal foundations, both archetypal and rational. With the desire that students adopt a tool and theoretical baggage of understanding of syntax and architectural composition through of exercises that go from a recognition beyond the figurative towards an abstract understanding of the form and its possibility of application in a specific architectural project. The objective of the results of this methodology is that the aspiring architect is objectively aware of his design decisions, materialized in rational, logical and coherent projects. These are the results of an active methodology applied in practical design exercises, proposed at the School of Architecture (FADA) of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) during the school periods between 2019 and 2022.En un contexto donde se promueve una formación subjetiva y no disciplinar de la arquitectura, la presente propuesta metodológica nace como una crítica constructiva a períodos lectivos anteriores. Así, se ha visto la necesidad de reformular la enseñanza de la arquitectura retomando sus conceptos, reglas y fundamentos universales, tanto arquetípicos como racionales. Con el afán de que los estudiantes adopten un bagaje de herramientas y teórico para la comprensión de la sintaxis y composición arquitectónica, por medio de ejercicios que van desde un reconocimiento más allá de lo figurativo hacia un entendimiento abstracto de la forma y su posibilidad de aplicación en un proyecto arquitectónico concreto. El objetivo de los resultados de la presente metodología es que el aspirante a arquitecto tenga conciencia objetiva de sus decisiones de diseño, materializadas en proyectos racionales, lógicos y coherentes. Estos son los resultados de una metodología activa aplicada en ejercicios prácticos de diseño, propuesta en la Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Artes (FADA) de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) durante los períodos lectivos comprendidos entre 2019 a 2022

To Share or Not to Share: Investigating the Social Aspects of Dynamic Ridesharing

Transportation network companies (TNCs) have introduced shared-ride versions of their ordinary services, such as UberPool or Lyft Line. The concept is simple: passengers pay less in fares for an incremental increase in time spent picking up and dropping off other riders. This paper focuses on the social and behavioral considerations of shared rides, which have not been explored as thoroughly as time and cost trade-offs in transportation. A survey of TNC users conducted through Mechanical Turk in June and July of 2016, which had 997 respondents across the United States, found that (a) users of dynamic ridesharing services reported that social interactions were relevant to mode choice, although not as much as traditional factors such as time and cost; (b) overall, the possibility of having a negative social interaction was more of a deterrent to use of dynamic ridesharing than the potential of having a positive social interaction was an incentive; (c) there was evidence that a substantial number of riders harbored feelings of prejudice toward passengers of different social class and race, and these passengers were much more likely to prefer having more information about potential future passengers; (d) most dynamic ridesharing users were motivated by ease and speed, compared with walking and public transportation; and (e) safety in dynamic ridesharing was an important issue, especially for women, many of whom reported feeling unsafe and preferred to be matched with passengers of the same sex

Efficient and stable holographic gratings stored in an environmentally friendly photopolymer

Holographic gratings stored in low-toxicity photopolymer, Biophotopol, have been analyzed to achieve stable and efficient holograms. A curing process allows the hologram stabilization, but at the same time, it could produce a diffraction efficiency (DE) reduction. Here, a detailed low-cost LED curing protocol is shown to stabilize over time 1205 l/mm transmission holograms, and at the same time, a 33% DE increment (with respect non-curing holograms) have been demonstrated. Finally, to obtain a better understanding of DE change, a theoretical fit of our experimental result, based on Kogelnik’s coupled wave theory was carried out and discussed.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spain, under projects FIS2017-82919-R (MINECO/AE/FEDER, UE) and FIS2015-66570-P (MINECO/FEDER); Generalitat Valenciana, Spain, under project CDEIGENT/2018/024 and GRE17-06

Efficient and stable holographic gratings stored in an environmentally friendly photopolymer

Holographic gratings stored in one of the greenest photopolymers, called Biophotopol and patented by Holography and Optical Processing group at the University of Alicante, have been analyzed to achieve stable over time and efficient holograms. A curing process usually produces a diffraction efficiency (DE) decrement. However, when a curing process is not performed, the holographic gratings are not stable and DE will decrease over time due to the diffusion of molecular components inside the photopolymer. In this work, a DE increment has been demonstrated after a curing stage (performed with an incoherent and lowcost LED lamp). A detailed curing protocol to stabilize the holograms while maintaining high DE, has been carried out in unslanted transmission gratings of 1205 l/mm. The holographic transmission reflection setup allows the possibility to evaluate the transmitted and diffracted intensity beam relation, in real time, by using a He-Ne laser (633 nm), while the gratings were recording with an Argon laser (488 nm). It has been demonstrated more than a 30% DE increment after a curing process when a maximum DE in the recording stage had not been still achieved. However, in the singular case that a maximum DE in the recording stage has been already obtained, a curing stage process could produce overmodulation effects, and therefore, a DE decrement. In conclusion, a maximum DE is obtained in curing and stable hologram gratings (recording them with proper radiant exposures) over an environmentally compatible photopolymer.This work was supported by the “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades” (Spain) under projects FIS2017-82919-R (MINECO/AE/FEDER, UE) and FIS2015-66570-P (MINECO/FEDER) ang by the University of Alicante under project GRE17-06. M.M-V. acknowledge the financial support by the "Generalitat Valenciana” (Spain) under grant CDEIGENT/2018/024

Ovarian and Adrenal Androgens and Their Link to High Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Levels: A Prospective Controlled Study

Background. Although the association between human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and hyperandrogenism was identified more than 40 years ago, relevant questions remain unanswered. Design and Methods. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal, and controlled study in 23 women with a diagnosis of a complete hydatidiform mole (HM). Results. All participants completed the study. Before HM evacuation mean hCG was markedly higher in the cases than in the control group (P≤0.001). Free testosterone (T) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) were found to be higher in the cases (2.78 ± 1.24 pg/mL and 231.50 ± 127.20 μ/dL) when compared to the control group (1.50 ± 0.75 pg/mL and 133.59 ± 60.69 μ/dL) (P=0.0001 and 0.001), respectively. There was a strong correlation between hCG and free T/total T/DHEA-S concentrations (r=0.78; P≤0.001, r=0.74;  P≤0.001, and r=0.71;  P≤0.001), respectively. In the cases group 48 hours after HM evacuation, hCG levels were found to be significantly lower when compared to initial levels (P=0.001) and free T and DHEA-S declined significantly (P=0.0002 and 0.009). Conclusion. Before uterus evacuation, hCG, free T, and DHEA-S levels were significantly higher when compared with controls finding a strong correlation between hCG and free T/DHEA-S levels. Forty-eight hours after HM treatment hCG levels declined and the difference was lost. A novel finding of our study is that in cases, besides free T, DHEA-S was also found to be significantly higher and both the ovaries and adrenal glands appear to be the sites of this androgen overproduction

Proyecto Sost-Wine: hacia una nueva forma de estimar el agua en la vid

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SOX2 Expression and Transcriptional Activity Identifies a Subpopulation of Cancer Stem Cells in Sarcoma with Prognostic Implications

Stemness in sarcomas is coordinated by the expression of pluripotency factors, like SOX2, in cancer stem cells (CSC). The role of SOX2 in tumor initiation and progression has been well characterized in osteosarcoma. However, the pro-tumorigenic features of SOX2 have been scarcely investigated in other sarcoma subtypes. Here, we show that SOX2 depletion dramatically reduced the ability of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) cells to form tumorspheres and to initiate tumor growth. Conversely, SOX2 overexpression resulted in increased in vivo tumorigenicity. Moreover, using a reporter system (SORE6) which allows to monitor viable cells expressing SOX2 and/or OCT4, we found that SORE6+ cells were significantly more tumorigenic than the SORE6- subpopulation. In agreement with this findings, SOX2 expression in sarcoma patients was associated to tumor grade, differentiation, invasive potential and lower patient survival. Finally, we studied the effect of a panel of anti-tumor drugs on the SORE6+ cells of the UPS model and patient-derived chondrosarcoma lines. We found that the mithramycin analogue EC-8042 was the most efficient in reducing SORE6+ cells in vitro and in vivo. Overall, this study demonstrates that SOX2 is a pro-tumorigenic factor with prognostic potential in sarcoma. Moreover, SORE6 transcriptional activity is a bona fide CSC marker in sarcoma and constitutes an excellent biomarker for evaluating the efficacy of anti-tumor treatments on CSC subpopulations.This work was supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) [MINECO/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) (SAF-2016-75286-R to R.R.), ISC III/FEDER (Miguel Servet Program CPII16/00049 to R.R., Sara Borrell Program CD16/00103 to S.T.M. and PI16/00280 and PI19/00560 to J.M.G-P) and Consorcio CIBERONC CB16/12/00390)] and the Plan de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación del Principado de Asturias/FEDER (IDI/2018/155) to J.P.R and Predoctoral Fellowship Severo Ochoa (BP-17-108) to O.E.S

The U.S.-Mexico Border Infectious Disease Surveillance Project: Establishing Binational Border Surveillance

In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mexican Secretariat of Health, and border health officials began the development of the Border Infectious Disease Surveillance (BIDS) project, a surveillance system for infectious diseases along the U.S.-Mexico border. During a 3-year period, a binational team implemented an active, sentinel surveillance system for hepatitis and febrile exanthems at 13 clinical sites. The network developed surveillance protocols, trained nine surveillance coordinators, established serologic testing at four Mexican border laboratories, and created agreements for data sharing and notification of selected diseases and outbreaks. BIDS facilitated investigations of dengue fever in Texas-Tamaulipas and measles in California–Baja California. BIDS demonstrates that a binational effort with local, state, and federal participation can create a regional surveillance system that crosses an international border. Reducing administrative, infrastructure, and political barriers to cross-border public health collaboration will enhance the effectiveness of disease prevention projects such as BIDS