Técnicas creativas para mejorar el aprendizaje del vocabulario alemán de niñas de 5 años en un colegio en Lima, 2022

El objetivo principal de la presente investigación que se realizó del 07/11/2022 al 18/11/2022 en un colegio en Lima fue demostrar la influencia de técnicas creativas de enseñanza en el aprendizaje del vocabulario. La población del estudio aplicado, cuantitativo de diseño preexperimental comprendió 181 estudiantes de 3, 4 y 5 años de 8 salones de inicial y mediante un muestreo no probabilístico se obtuvo una muestra de 44 estudiantes de 5 años de 6 salones. Como técnica de recolección de datos se aplicó la observación sistemática, apoyada en una lista de cotejo como instrumento. Entre los métodos de análisis de datos descriptivo se encontraron las medidas de tendencia central y dispersión y la distribución de frecuencias, a nivel inferencial se aplicó la prueba de Wilcoxon. Los resultados principales fueron un puntaje promedio de 6.84 en el pretest y 26.2 en el post test, un porcentaje de respuestas correctas respectivo de 23 y 87 y un grado de intensidad de influencia de la metodología innovadora de 0.79. Se concluyó una mejora significativa en el dominio del vocabulario, tanto en su totalidad como en sus dimensiones significado, forma y uso gracias a la influencia positiva de las técnicas creativas de enseñanza

Does Combined Therapy of Curcumin and Epigallocatechin Gallate have a synergistic Neuroprotective Effect Aainst Spinal Cord Injury?

Systematic inflammatory response after spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the factors leading to lesion development and a profound degree of functional loss. Anti-inflammatory compounds, such as curcumin and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) are known for their neuroprotective effects. In this study, we investigated the effect of combined therapy of curcumin and EGCG in a rat model of acute SCI induced by balloon compression. Immediately after SCI, rats received curcumin, EGCG, curcumin + EGCG or saline [daily intraperitoneal doses (curcumin, 6 mg/kg; EGCG 17 mg/kg)] and weekly intramuscular doses (curcumin, 60 mg/kg; EGCG 17 mg/kg)] for 28 days. Rats were evaluated using behavioral tests (the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) open-field locomotor test, flat beam test). Spinal cord tissue was analyzed using histological methods (Luxol Blue-cresyl violet staining) and immunohistochemistry (anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein, anti-growth associated protein 43). Cytokine levels (interleukin-1beta, interleukin-4, interleukin-2, interleukin-6, macrophage inflammatory protein 1-alpha, and RANTES) were measured using Luminex assay. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the relative expression of genes (Sort1, Fgf2, Irf5, Mrc1, Olig2, Casp3, Gap43, Gfap, Vegf, NfkappaB, Cntf) related to regenerative processes in injured spinal cord. We found that all treatments displayed significant behavioral recovery, with no obvious synergistic effect after combined therapy of curcumin and ECGC. Curcumin and EGCG alone or in combination increased axonal sprouting, decreased glial scar formation, and altered the levels of macrophage inflammatory protein 1-alpha, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-4 and interleukin-6 cytokines. These results imply that although the expected synergistic response of this combined therapy was less obvious, aspects of tissue regeneration and immune responses in severe SCI were evident

Challenges for citizens in energy management system of smart cities

Much has been written about the rapidly emerging, the disruptive impact being detected on every aspect of how machines and their operational technology communicate with one another, with the underlying information technology platforms. Within the smart city exists an infrastructure of interconnected objects, people, systems, and information resources together with intelligent services to allow them to process information on the physical and the virtual world. In this paper, the authors talk about the advantages and the uses of these technologies in the smart city and the new challenges of citizens to reduce energy consumption and global warming. This paper attempts to address these new approaches and the requirements involved and to articulate it in a concise and concrete way. The aim is to assist decision makers, architects, developers, and implementers in changing the character of the smart city initiatives from ones based on simple transformation to ones involving play shifts in the way that devices are identified, management and controlled.Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain TEC2013-40767-

A Comparative Study of Three Different Types of Stem Cells for Treatment of Rat Spinal Cord Injury

Three different sources of human stem cells-bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs), neural progenitors (NPs) derived from immortalized spinal fetal cell line (SPC-01), and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-were compared in the treatment of a balloon-induced spinal cord compression lesion in rats. One week after lesioning, the rats received either BM-MSCs (intrathecally) or NPs (SPC-01 cells or iPSC-NPs, both intraspinally), or saline. The rats were assessed for their locomotor skills (BBB, flat beam test, and rotarod). Morphometric analyses of spared white and gray matter, axonal sprouting, and glial scar formation, as well as qPCR and Luminex assay, were conducted to detect endogenous gene expression, while inflammatory cytokine levels were performed to evaluate the host tissue response to stem cell therapy. The highest locomotor recovery was observed in iPSC-NP-grafted animals, which also displayed the highest amount of preserved white and gray matter. Grafted iPSC-NPs and SPC-01 cells significantly increased the number of growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43+) axons, reduced astrogliosis, downregulated Casp3 expression, and increased IL-6 and IL-12 levels. hMSCs transiently decreased levels of inflammatory IL-2 and TNF-alpha. These findings correlate with the short survival of hMSCs, while NPs survived for 2 months and matured slowly into glia- and tissue-specific neuronal precursors. SPC-01 cells differentiated more in astroglial phenotypes with a dense structure of the implant, whereas iPSC-NPs displayed a more neuronal phenotype with a loose structure of the graft. We concluded that the BBB scores of iPSC-NP- and hMSC-injected rats were superior to the SPC-01-treated group. The iPSC-NP treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) provided the highest recovery of locomotor function due to robust graft survival and its effect on tissue sparing, reduction of glial scarring, and increased axonal sprouting

Prevalence of Propionibacterium acnes in Intervertebral Discs of Patients Undergoing Lumbar Microdiscectomy: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study

Background The relationship between intervertebral disc degeneration and chronic infection by Propionibacterium acnes is controversial with contradictory evidence available in the literature. Previous studies investigating these relationships were under-powered and fraught with methodical differences;moreover, they have not taken into consideration P. acnes' ability to form biofilms or attempted to quantitate the bioburden with regard to determining bacterial counts/genome equivalents as criteria to differentiate true infection from contamination. The aim of this prospective cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of P. acnes in patients undergoing lumbar disc microdiscectomy. Methods and Findings The sample consisted of 290 adult patients undergoing lumbar microdiscectomy for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation. An intraoperative biopsy and pre-operative clinical data were taken in all cases. One biopsy fragment was homogenized and used for quantitative anaerobic culture and a second was frozen and used for real-time PCR-based quantification of P. acnes genomes. P. acnes was identified in 115 cases (40%), coagulase-negative staphylococci in 31 cases (11%) and alpha-hemolytic streptococci in 8 cases (3%). P. acnes counts ranged from 100 to 9000 CFU/ml with a median of 400 CFU/ml. The prevalence of intervertebral discs with abundant P. acnes (>= 1x10(3) CFU/ml) was 11% (39 cases). There was significant correlation between the bacterial counts obtained by culture and the number of P. acnes genomes detected by real-time PCR (r = 0.4363, p<0.0001). Conclusions In a large series of patients, the prevalence of discs with abundant P. acnes was 11%. We believe, disc tissue homogenization releases P. acnes from the biofilm so that they can then potentially be cultured, reducing the rate of false-negative cultures. Further, quantification study revealing significant bioburden based on both culture and real-time PCR minimize the likelihood that observed findings are due to contamination and supports the hypothesis P. acnes acts as a pathogen in these cases of degenerative disc disease

Propionibacterium acnes biofilm is present in intervertebral discs of patients undergoing microdiscectomy

Background In previous studies, Propionibacterium acnes was cultured from intervertebral disc tissue of similar to 25% of patients undergoing microdiscectomy, suggesting a possible link between chronic bacterial infection and disc degeneration. However, given the prominence of P. acnes as a skin commensal, such analyses often struggled to exclude the alternate possibility that these organisms represent perioperative microbiologic contamination. This investigation seeks to validate P. acnes prevalence in resected disc cultures, while providing microscopic evidence of P. acnes biofilm in the intervertebral discs. Methods Specimens from 368 patients undergoing microdiscectomy for disc herniation were divided into several fragments, one being homogenized, subjected to quantitative anaerobic culture, and assessed for bacterial growth, and a second fragment frozen for additional analyses. Colonies were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and P. acnes phylotyping was conducted by multiplex PCR. For a sub-set of specimens, bacteria localization within the disc was assessed by microscopy using confocal laser scanning and FISH. Results Bacteria were cultured from 162 discs (44%), including 119 cases (32.3%) with P. acnes. In 89 cases, P. acnes was cultured exclusively;in 30 cases, it was isolated in combination with other bacteria (primarily coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp.) Among positive specimens, the median P. acnes bacterial burden was 350 CFU/g (12 - similar to 20,000 CFU/g). Thirtyeight P. acnes isolates were subjected to molecular sub-typing, identifying 4 of 6 defined phylogroups: IA1, IB, IC, and II. Eight culture-positive specimens were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and revealed P. acnes in situ. Notably, these bacteria demonstrated a biofilm distribution within the disc matrix. P. acnes bacteria were more prevalent in males than females (39% vs. 23%, p = 0.0013). Conclusions This study confirms that P. acnes is prevalent in herniated disc tissue. Moreover, it provides the first visual evidence of P. acnes biofilms within such specimens, consistent with infection rather than microbiologic contamination

Mesenchymal Stem Cells Preserve Working Memory in the 3xTg-AD Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

The transplantation of stem cells may have a therapeutic effect on the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative disorders. In the present study, we transplanted human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the lateral ventricle of a triple transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer´s disease (3xTg-AD) at the age of eight months. We evaluated spatial reference and working memory after MSC treatment and the possible underlying mechanisms, such as the influence of transplanted MSCs on neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the expression levels of a 56 kDa oligomer of amyloid β (Aβ*56), glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate transporters (Glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST) and Glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1)) in the entorhinal and prefrontal cortices and the hippocampus. At 14 months of age we observed the preservation of working memory in MSC-treated 3xTg-AD mice, suggesting that such preservation might be due to the protective effect of MSCs on GS levels and the considerable downregulation of Aβ*56 levels in the entorhinal cortex. These changes were observed six months after transplantation, accompanied by clusters of proliferating cells in the SVZ. Since the grafted cells did not survive for the whole experimental period, it is likely that the observed effects could have been transiently more pronounced at earlier time points than at six months after cell application

Depicting the smarter cities of the future: A systematic literature review & field study

Smart Cities have become one of the most interesting research topics for governments, businesses and researchers in the last few years. Being a Smart City implies a competitive edge compared to other cities in terms of economic growth, sustainability, human resources and governance. Therefore, more and more governments pursue this future vision and hop onto the Smart City `Bandwagon'. However, the development of Smart City solutions is faced with challenges since there is no clear definition for Smart Cities yet. This paper provides a review on what challenges arise when designing Smart City solutions to provide a complete overview of identified challenges. This paper carries out a systematic literature review of publications between 2008 and 2016 which will be compared with a field study on Smart City initiatives conducted by the municipality of Enschede to develop a requirements framework for these projects. This research is relevant to governments and businesses aiming to create Smart Cities and for researchers, who aim to enhance the concept of Smart Cities. This paper found eight sub-domains within the topic of Smart Cities and these are: Technical Infrastructure, Application Domains, System Integration, Data Processing, Governance & Management, Society & Citizens, Business Domain and Environmental Sustainability. The eight sub-domains are respectively divided in two types: technological and non-technological domains. By firstly identifying the challenges and their solutions within these sub-domains, this paper proposes a requirements framework in combination with a checklist of questions to provide guidance for promoters to conduct future initiatives

Distributive congruence lattices of congruence-permutable algebras

We prove that every distributive algebraic lattice with at most $\aleph_1$ compact elements is isomorphic to the normal subgroup lattice of some group and to the submodule lattice of some right module. The $\aleph_1$ bound is optimal, as we find a distributive algebraic lattice $D$ with $\aleph_2$ compact elements that is not isomorphic to the congruence lattice of any algebra with almost permutable congruences (hence neither of any group nor of any module), thus solving negatively a problem of E. T. Schmidt from 1969. Furthermore, $D$ may be taken as the congruence lattice of the free bounded lattice on $\aleph_2$ generators in any non-distributive lattice variety. Some of our results are obtained via a functorial approach of the semilattice-valued "distances" used by B. Jonsson in his proof of Whitman's embedding Theorem. In particular, the semilattice of compact elements of $D$ is not the range of any distance satisfying the V-condition of type $3/2$. On the other hand, every distributive join-semilattice with zero is the range of a distance satisfying the V-condition of type 2. This can be done via a functorial construction