Sinopsis del género Holocompsa Burmeister, 1838 (Blattodea: Corydiidae: Holocompsinae) en América, con énfasis en México

Se presenta la información hasta la fecha del género pantropical Holocompsa Burmeister, 1838, con énfasis en México. Adicionalmente, se describe una nueva especie con base en material colectado en Yucatán, México. Se propone una guía taxonómica para las especies americanas.The information of the pantropical genus Holocompsa Burmeister is presented to date, with emphasis on Mexico. Additionally, a new species is described based on material collected in Yucatan, Mexico. A taxonomic guide for the American species is proposed

Descripción de una nueva especie del género Rochaina (Blattodea: Nyctiboridae) para México

A new species of the Neotropical genus Rochaina Estrada-Álvarez, Lopes, Maes, Sánchez-Ocampo & Sormani, 2021 is described for the Mexican Pacific coast, being the eighth of the genus and second for Mexico.Es descrita una nueva especie del género Neotrópical Rochaina Estrada-Álvarez, Lopes, Maes, Sánchez-Ocampo & Sormani, 2021 para las costas del Pacifico Mexicano, siendo la octava del género y segunda para México

Innovating Language Education: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief

The NMC is a leading educational technology organization. A main outcome of the collaboration between the Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center and the NMC was this publication, which highlights recommendations that emerged from discussions of major trends, challenges, and technology developments by experts and practitioners in language technologies in higher education. Innovating Language Education identifies main trends and areas of interest and constitutes a rich resource that includes key definitions and proofs of concept

Achievements of a Bilingual Policy: The Colombian Journey

The Colombian journey to become a country with an educational system that develops bilingual skills in students began in 1979. More recently, Colombia National Ministry of Education presented Colombia’s National Bilingualism Program 2004–2019, a policy that recognized for the first time that mastering English was a matter of advantages in competitiveness for the country. Two important goals were established under this policy for 2014. First, 40% of secondary graduates should achieve at least an intermediate level—B1or threshold or independent user following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). Second, 20% of Bachelor degree (under) graduates should achieve at least a vantage or upper intermediate—B2 level. A descriptive approach was applied to the data and it was found that the neither goal was met. The impact of the different programs implemented should be evaluated, so goals proposed for 2025 can be achieved

Sinopsis del género Rhytidometopum Hebard, 1920 (Blattodea: Pseudophyllodromidae), con la descripción de una nueva especie de Venezuela y adiciones a la fauna de cucarachas venezolanas

Se presenta una sinopsis del género Rhytidometopum Hebard, 1920, con la descripción de una nueva especie para Venezuela, que constituye la segunda para el país y la cuarta para el género. Los caracteres de mayor importancia taxonómica son debidamente descritos e ilustrados. Se provee una clave bilingüe para la identificación de las especies. Adicionalmente se incorporan dos registros de especies de cucarachas venezolanas omitidos en una contribución previa del grupo

A compact structured light based otoscope for three dimensional imaging of the tympanic membrane

Three dimensional (3D) imaging of the tympanic membrane (TM) has been carried out using a traditional otoscope equipped with a high-definition webcam, a portable projector and a telecentric optical system. The device allows us to project fringe patterns on the TM and the magnified image is processed using phase shifting algorithms to arrive at a 3D description of the TM. Obtaining a 3D image of the TM can aid in the diagnosis of ear infections such as otitis media with effusion, which is essentially fluid build-up in the middle ear. The high resolution of this device makes it possible examine a computer generated 3D profile for abnormalities in the shape of the eardrum. This adds an additional dimension to the image that can be obtained from a traditional otoscope by allowing visualization of the TM from different perspectives. In this paper, we present the design and construction of this device and details of the imaging processing for recovering the 3D profile of the subject under test. The design of the otoscope is similar to that of the traditional device making it ergonomically compatible and easy to adopt in clinical practice

Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Ti-doped polar and nonpolar GaN surfaces

Based on density functional theory, first-principles calculations were performed in order to study the titanium incorporation on polar and nonpolar GaN surfaces. The formation energy calculations indicate that Ti impurity atoms prefer to incorporate in surface layers (first and second) of GaN. It is also concluded that the incorporation of Ti atoms in Ga-substitutional sites are more energetically favorable compared with N-substitutional or interstitial sites on the polar and nonpolar GaN surfaces. For Ti-rich growth conditions, formation energy calculations show the formation of TixN layers on the a and c GaN surfaces, which corroborates recent experimental observations. Results also display that the 3d-Ti states are the responsible for the metallization of the surface on the c and m planes, forming an intermetallic alloy (TixN), which could be used as low-resistance ohmic contacts for GaN. In addition, the magnetic properties with Ti doping show magnetization of about 1.0 μB/Ti atom for the nonpolar GaN surfaces

Expression of placental glycans and its role in regulating peripheral blood NK cells during preeclampsia: a perspective

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related multisystem disorder characterized by altered trophoblast invasion, oxidative stress, exacerbation of systemic inflammatory response, and endothelial damage. The pathogenesis includes hypertension and mild-to-severe microangiopathy in the kidney, liver, placenta, and brain. The main mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis have been proposed to limit trophoblast invasion and increase the release of extracellular vesicles from the syncytiotrophoblast into the maternal circulation, exacerbating the systemic inflammatory response. The placenta expresses glycans as part of its development and maternal immune tolerance during gestation. The expression profile of glycans at the maternal–fetal interface may play a fundamental role in physiological pregnancy changes and disorders such as preeclampsia. It is unclear whether glycans and their lectin-like receptors are involved in the mechanisms of maternal–fetal recognition by immune cells during pregnancy homeostasis. The expression profile of glycans appears to be altered in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, which could lead to alterations in the placental microenvironment and vascular endothelium in pregnancy conditions such as preeclampsia. Glycans with immunomodulatory properties at the maternal–fetal interface are altered in early-onset severe preeclampsia, implying that innate immune system components, such as NK cells, exacerbate the systemic inflammatory response observed in preeclampsia. In this article, we discuss the evidence for the role of glycans in gestational physiology and the perspective of glycobiology on the pathophysiology of hypertensive disorders in gestation

Characterization of Intact Proviruses in Blood and Lymph Node from HIV-Infected Individuals Undergoing Analytical Treatment Interruption.

The role of lymphoid tissue as a potential source of HIV-1 rebound following interruption of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is uncertain. To address this issue, we compared the latent viruses obtained from CD4+ T cells in peripheral blood and lymph nodes to viruses emerging during treatment interruption. Latent viruses were characterized by sequencing near-full-length (NFL) proviral DNA and env from viral outgrowth assays (VOAs). Five HIV-1-infected individuals on ART were studied, four of whom participated in a clinical trial of a TLR9 agonist that included an analytical treatment interruption. We found that 98% of intact or replication-competent clonal sequences overlapped between blood and lymph node. In contrast, there was no overlap between 205 latent reservoir and 125 rebound sequences in the four individuals who underwent treatment interruption. However, rebound viruses could be accounted for by recombination. The data suggest that CD4+ T cells carrying latent viruses circulate between blood and lymphoid tissues in individuals on ART and support the idea that recombination may play a role in the emergence of rebound viremia.IMPORTANCE HIV-1 persists as a latent infection in CD4+ T cells that can be found in lymphoid tissues in infected individuals during ART. However, the importance of this tissue reservoir and its contribution to viral rebound upon ART interruption are not clear. In this study, we sought to compare latent HIV-1 from blood and lymph node CD4+ T cells from five HIV-1-infected individuals. Further, we analyzed the contribution of lymph node viruses to viral rebound. We observed that the frequencies of intact proviruses were the same in blood and lymph node. Moreover, expanded clones of T cells bearing identical proviruses were found in blood and lymph node. These latent reservoir sequences did not appear to be the direct origin of rebound virus. Instead, latent proviruses were found to contribute to the rebound compartment by recombination