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Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have a crucial role in regulating immune response against infectious diseases, showing changes early in disease onset and before the detection of the pathogen. Thus, we aimed to analyze the plasma miRNA profile at COVID-19 onset to identify miRNAs as early prognostic biomarkers of severity and survival. Methods and results Plasma miRNome of 96 COVID-19 patients that developed asymptomatic/mild, moderate and severe disease was sequenced together with a group of healthy controls. Plasma immune-related biomarkers were also assessed. COVID-19 patients showed 200 significant differentially expressed (SDE) miRNAs concerning healthy controls, with upregulated putative targets of SARS-CoV-2, and inflammatory miRNAs. Among COVID-19 patients, 75 SDE miRNAs were observed in asymptomatic/mild compared to symptomatic patients, which were involved in platelet aggregation and cytokine pathways, among others. Moreover, 137 SDE miRNAs were identified between severe and moderate patients, where miRNAs targeting the SARS CoV-2 genome were the most strongly disrupted. Finally, we constructed a mortality predictive risk score (miRNA-MRS) with ten miRNAs. Patients with higher values had a higher risk of 90-days mortality (hazard ratio=4.60; p-value

Backgroundmetabolic changes through SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported but not fully comprehended. This metabolic dysregulation affects multiple organs during COVID-19 and its early detection can be used as a prognosis marker of severity. Therefore, we aimed to characterize metabolic and cytokine profile at COVID-19 onset and its relationship with disease severity to identify metabolic profiles predicting disease progression.Material and Methodswe performed a retrospective cross-sectional study in 123 COVID-19 patients which were stratified as asymptomatic/mild, moderate and severe according to the highest COVID-19 severity status, and a group of healthy controls. We performed an untargeted plasma metabolic profiling (gas chromatography and capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (GC and CE-MS)) and cytokine evaluation.ResultsAfter data filtering and identification we observed 105 metabolites dysregulated (66 GC-MS and 40 CE-MS) which shown different expression patterns for each COVID-19 severity status. These metabolites belonged to different metabolic pathways including amino acid, energy, and nitrogen metabolism among others. Severity-specific metabolic dysregulation was observed, as an increased transformation of L-tryptophan into L-kynurenine. Thus, metabolic profiling at hospital admission differentiate between severe and moderate patients in the later phase of worse evolution. Several plasma pro-inflammatory biomarkers showed significant correlation with deregulated metabolites, specially with L-kynurenine and L-tryptophan. Finally, we describe a strong sex-related dysregulation of metabolites, cytokines and chemokines between severe and moderate patients. In conclusion, metabolic profiling of COVID-19 patients at disease onset is a powerful tool to unravel the SARS-CoV-2 molecular pathogenesis.ConclusionsThis technique makes it possible to identify metabolic phenoconversion that predicts disease progression and explains the pronounced pathogenesis differences between sexes.

Background: The link between coagulation system disorders and COVID-19 has not yet been fully elucidated.Aim: Evaluating the association of non-previously reported coagulation proteins with COVID-19 severity and mortality.Design: Cross-sectional study of 134 COVID-19 patients recruited at admission and classified according to the highest COVID-19 severity reached (asymptomatic/mild, moderate, or severe) and 16 healthy control individuals.Methods: Coagulation proteins levels (antithrombin, prothrombin, factor_XI, factor_XII, and factor_XIII) and CRP were measured in plasma by the ProcartaPlex Panel (Invitrogen) multiplex immunoassay upon diagnosis.Results: We found higher levels of antithrombin, prothrombin, factor XI, factor XII, and factor XIII in asymptomatic/mild and moderate COVID-19 patients compared to healthy individuals. Interestingly, decreased levels of antithrombin and factors XI, XII, and XIII were observed in those patients who eventually developed severe illness. Additionally, survival models showed us that patients with lower levels of these coagulation proteins had an increased risk of death.Conclusion: COVID-19 provokes early increments of some specific coagulation proteins in most patients. However, lower levels of these proteins at diagnosis might “paradoxically” imply a higher risk of progression to severe disease and COVID-19-related mortality.

Este artículo es una versión actualizada de la ponencia Desarrollo de competencias socio–discursivas en el salón de clases universitario presentada en el “XII Congreso Internacional de Análisis Organizacional” en 2014, y tiene por propósito atender observaciones recibidas para la adecuación teórica y algunas evidencias relativas a la forma en que se reconoce el desarrollo de competencias socio-discursivas en el aula universitaria por la interacción mediada con dispositivos de comunicación informatizada durante el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje, pero sin enfocarse por ello a tal proceso sino identificando a éste como el momento en que la interacción ocurre. Para ello, el abordaje metodológico incluyó el diseño de un experimento que indaga en las secuencias temporales de interacción mediadas por los dispositivos de comunicación informatizada utilizados en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje en distintos programas educativos, registrando mediante la secuencia iniciación–respuesta–evaluación (IRE) las competencias socio-discursivas que se producen en la Unidad Académica Cozumel de la Universidad de Quintana Roo, reconociendo la forma en que la secuencia IRE se produce durante los discursos que se dan en el salón y descartando aquellas competencias que no estuvieran mediadas por los dispositivos mencionados. La recolección de información observada mediante el uso de la secuencia IRE se realizó bajo los preceptos de la observación áulica, propuesta metodológica que a la fecha ha permitido confirmar la hipótesis de que las competencias socio-discursivas se desarrollan en la interacción y no por aprendizaje, permitiendo de esta forma teorizar esta praxis lingüística desde la organización pública.

El desarrollo local es un tema recurrente en la literatura académica de los últimos años, concluyendo que este tipo de desarrollo busca incrementar la calidad de vida de los residentes a través de la cohesión social y dinamismos que provoquen crecimiento económico en la región. Además, se ha establecido que, para alcanzarlo, es necesaria la colaboración entre el sector público y privado. Cabe destacar que existen comunidades en las cuales su principal actividad productiva es el turismo, siendo esta, la única manera de conseguir beneficios económicos y elevar su calidad de vida. El objetivo de este documento es proponer un modelo, basado en la literatura académica relacionada con el tema, que permita determinar en qué medida la actividad turística genera costos y beneficios en el desarrollo local de comunidades dedicadas a dicha actividad productiva. Razón por la cual se hace un análisis de la dimensiones, constructos y variables que inciden en el desarrollo local y la actividad turística. Como resultado, se genera un modelo conceptual compuesto por 7 variables.