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Currently, there is neither a cure for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) nor a way to stop the progressive death of neuronal cells associated with this devastating aliment. To date, there are only medications that temporarily slow its progression, and do not interfere with its pathogenesis. One of the hallmarks of AD is the presence of amyloid-beta plaques derived from the metabolism of the amyloid precursor protein, via the cleavage by beta followed by gamma secretase. Homotaurine, a naturally occurring small molecule found in some seaweeds, and curcumin, a phenolic antioxidant found in Curcuma longa, have been extensively studied as potential compounds to prevent/reverse plaque formation. In this study, libraries of chalcones and extended chalcones based on curcumin, as well as aminopropylsulfonamides inspired by homotaurine, were synthesized. Using fluorescence spectroscopic analysis with Thioflavin T, the anti-aggregation effect on Aβ42 was determined. A select number of newly synthesized chalcones and extended chalcone analogs were revealed to be potential anti-amyloidogenic agents. These were further evaluated with regard to their neurotoxicity/neuroprotection. The extended chalcone analogs that displayed the most anti-aggregation effect on Aβ42 were further analyzed in an MTT assay. Although none of the compounds alone displayed any neurotoxicity, none were able to provide neuroprotection against Aβ42.

Determining the optimal dose of coagulant required to perform flocculation is critical in most water treatment plants’ planning and operation. This study implemented a 2k–p fractional factorial design of experiments to identify the factors influencing the color decrease of wastewater from a slaughterhouse. The variables assessed were the velocity gradient, residence time, primary coagulant dosage, chlorine dosage, and coagulation adjuvant dosage. The results indicate that the primary coagulant dose and the velocity gradient significantly affect the samples’ color and that the other factors can be run at a low technical-economic level to start up the water treatment plant. The fractional factorial design allowed reducing the number of experimental points without affecting the minimum information required to identify which factors are significant in reducing the color of a wastewater sample.

Purpose Hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and azithromycin have been used for treatment of COVID-19, but may cause QT prolongation. Minority populations are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This study evaluates the risk of QT prolongation and subsequent outcomes after administration of these medications in largely underrepresented minority COVID-19 patients. Methods We conducted an observational study on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the Montefiore Health System (Bronx, NY). We examined electrocardiograms (ECG) pre/post-medication initiation to evaluate QTc, HR, QRS duration, and presence of other arrhythmias. Results One hundred five patients (mean age 67 years; 44.8% F) were analyzed. The median time from the first dose of any treatment to post-medication ECG was 2 days (IQR: 1–3). QTc in men increased from baseline (440 vs 455 ms, p 500 ms was significantly increased after treatment (16.2% vs. 4.8%, p 500 ms or an increase of 60 ms had a higher frequency of death (47.6% vs. 22.6%, p = 0.02) with an odds ratio of 3.1 (95% CI: 1.1–8.7). Adjusting for race/ethnicity yielded no significant associations. Conclusions Hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and/or azithromycin were associated with QTc prolongation but did not result in fatal arrhythmias. Our findings suggest that any harm is unlikely to outweigh potential benefits of treatment. Careful risk-benefit analyses for individual patients should guide the use of these medications. Randomized control trials are necessary to evaluate their efficacies.

Most known SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs), including those approved by the FDA for emergency use, inhibit viral infection by targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein. Variants of concern (VOC) carrying mutations in the RBD or other regions of S reduce the effectiveness of many nAbs and vaccines by evading neutralization. Therefore, therapies that are less susceptible to resistance are urgently needed. Here, we characterized the memory B-cell repertoire of COVID-19 convalescent donors and analyzed their RBD and non-RBD nAbs. We found that many of the non-RBD-targeting nAbs were specific to the N-terminal domain (NTD). Using neutralization assays with authentic SARS-CoV-2 and a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus carrying SARS-CoV-2 S protein (rVSV-SARS2), we defined a panel of potent RBD and NTD nAbs. Next, we used a combination of neutralization-escape rVSV-SARS2 mutants and a yeast display library of RBD mutants to map their epitopes. The most potent RBD nAb competed with hACE2 binding and targeted an epitope that includes residue F490. The most potent NTD nAb epitope included Y145, K150, and W152. As seen with some of the natural VOC, the neutralization potencies of COVID-19 convalescent-phase sera were reduced by 4- to 16-fold against rVSV-SARS2 bearing Y145D, K150E, or W152R spike mutations. Moreover, we found that combining RBD and NTD nAbs did not enhance their neutralization potential. Notably, the same combination of RBD and NTD nAbs limited the development of neutralization-escape mutants in vitro, suggesting such a strategy may have higher efficacy and utility for mitigating the emergence of VOC. IMPORTANCE The U.S. FDA has issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for multiple investigational monoclonal antibody (MAb) therapies for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. These MAb therapeutics are solely targeting the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. However, the N-terminal domain of the spike protein also carries crucial neutralizing epitopes. Here, we show that key mutations in the N-terminal domain can reduce the neutralizing capacity of convalescent-phase COVID-19 sera. We report that a combination of two neutralizing antibodies targeting the receptor-binding and N-terminal domains may be beneficial to combat the emergence of virus variants.

Most known SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs), including those approved by the FDA for emergency use, inhibit viral infection by targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein. Variants of concern (VOC) carrying mutations in the RBD or other regions of S reduce the effectiveness of many nAbs and vaccines by evading neutralization. Therefore, therapies that are less susceptible to resistance are urgently needed. Here, we characterized the memory B-cell repertoire of COVID-19 convalescent donors and analyzed their RBD and non-RBD nAbs. We found that many of the non-RBD-targeting nAbs were specific to the N-terminal domain (NTD). Using neutralization assays with authentic SARS-CoV-2 and a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus carrying SARS-CoV-2 S protein (rVSV-SARS2), we defined a panel of potent RBD and NTD nAbs. Next, we used a combination of neutralization-escape rVSV-SARS2 mutants and a yeast display library of RBD mutants to map their epitopes. The most potent RBD nAb competed with hACE2 binding and targeted an epitope that includes residue F490. The most potent NTD nAb epitope included Y145, K150 and W152. As seen with some of the natural VOC, the neutralization potencies of COVID-19 convalescent sera were reduced by 4-16-fold against rVSV-SARS2 bearing Y145D, K150E or W152R spike mutations. Moreover, we found that combining RBD and NTD nAbs modestly enhanced their neutralization potential. Notably, the same combination of RBD and NTD nAbs limited the development of neutralization-escape mutantsin vitro, suggesting such a strategy may have higher efficacy and utility for mitigating the emergence of VOC.ImportanceThe US FDA has issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for multiple investigational monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. These mAb therapeutics are solely targeting the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. However, the N-terminal domain of the spike protein also carries crucial neutralizing epitopes. Here, we show that key mutations in the N-terminal domain can reduce the neutralizing capacity of convalescent COVID-19 sera. We report that a combination of two neutralizing antibodies targeting the receptor binding and N-terminal domains may have higher efficacy and is beneficial to combat the emergence of virus variants.

Parallel programming continues to be a challenging task despite the many advances in parallel architectures and their wide availability in the cloud. The need both to partition the workload among various processing elements and to specify communication between them to share code and data, and to coordinate their tasks, requires from the developer a deep understanding of the problem, the parallel architecture and the programming language used in order to develop efficient parallel applications. This problem can be reduced significantly through the use of visual programming languages to hide most aspects related to the specification of communication and processes management. This paper presents VPPE, a novel Visual Parallel Programming Environment that allows developers to program parallel applications through organising workflows of interconnected icons. VPPE is a cloud environment that supports icons for specifying: I/O operations, workflow organisation, communication, and processing. Processing computing patterns supported so far include Single Program Multiple Data, Multiple Program Multiple Data, Pipeline, and Master–Slave. The paper highlights the design of VPPE based on a context-free graph grammar, its current implementation based on Java-MPI, its use in developing various parallel applications, and its evaluation compared to Java-MPI text-based programming.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to place an immense burden on societies and health care systems. A key component of COVID-19 control efforts is serological testing to determine the community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and quantify individual immune responses to prior SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. Here, we describe a laboratory-developed antibody test that uses readily available research-grade reagents to detect SARS-CoV-2 exposure in patient blood samples with high sensitivity and specificity. We further show that this sensitive test affords the estimation of viral spike-specific IgG titers from a single sample measurement, thereby providing a simple and scalable method to measure the strength of an individual's immune response. The accuracy, adaptability, and cost-effectiveness of this test make it an excellent option for clinical deployment in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.IMPORTANCE Serological surveillance has become an important public health tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Detection of protective antibodies and seroconversion after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination can help guide patient care plans and public health policies. Serology tests can detect antibodies against past infections; consequently, they can help overcome the shortcomings of molecular tests, which can detect only active infections. This is important, especially when considering that many COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic. In this study, we describe an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based qualitative and quantitative serology test developed to measure IgG and IgA antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. The test can be deployed using commonly available laboratory reagents and equipment and displays high specificity and sensitivity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that IgG titers in patient samples can be estimated from a single measurement, enabling the assay's use in high-throughput clinical environments.

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly conserved molecules that are constitutively expressed and upregulated in response to physiological stress conditions. These immunogenic chaperones can have essential functions in fungi, particularly in dimorphic pathogens. Histoplasma capsulatum and Paracoccidioides species are dimorphic fungi that are the causative agents of histoplasmosis and paracoccidioidomycosis, respectively, which are systemic mycoses with significant rates of morbidity and mortality. Current treatment consists of long-term antifungal agents, and there is an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches with higher efficacy, lower toxicity, better biodistribution and improved selectivity. We engineered an immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) isotype chimeric mouse-human monoclonal antibody, titled ch-MAb 4E12, from the parental IgG2a MAb 4E12, a monoclonal antibody to H. capsulatum Hsp60 that is protective in experimental histoplasmosis and paracoccidioidomycosis models elicited by H. capsulatum var. capsulatum and Paracoccidioides lutzii, respectively. The ch-MAb 4E12 increased phagolysosomal fusion and enhanced the yeasts uptake by PMA differentiated human THP1 macrophage cells in vitro. At low concentrations, the chimeric antibody significantly reduced the pulmonary and splenic fungal burden compared to an irrelevant antibody or no treatment. These results are the first to show that a chimeric mouse-human antibody can modify infection caused by dimorphic fungi.

Convalescent plasma with severe acute respiratory disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies (CCP) may hold promise as treatment for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). We compared the mortality and clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19 who received 200mL of CCP with a Spike protein IgG titer ≥1:2,430 (median 1:47,385) within 72 hours of admission to propensity score-matched controls cared for at a medical center in the Bronx, between April 13 to May 4, 2020. Matching criteria for controls were age, sex, body mass index, race, ethnicity, comorbidities, week of admission, oxygen requirement, D-dimer, lymphocyte counts, corticosteroids, and anticoagulation use. There was no difference in mortality or oxygenation between CCP recipients and controls at day 28. When stratified by age, compared to matched controls, CCP recipients

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to place an immense burden on societies and health care systems. A key component of COVID-19 control efforts is serological testing to determine the community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and quantify individual immune responses to prior SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. Here, we describe a laboratory-developed antibody test that uses readily available research-grade reagents to detect SARS-CoV-2 exposure in patient blood samples with high sensitivity and specificity. We further show that this sensitive test affords the estimation of viral spike-specific IgG titers from a single sample measurement, thereby providing a simple and scalable method to measure the strength of an individual’s immune response. The accuracy, adaptability, and cost-effectiveness of this test make it an excellent option for clinical deployment in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. IMPORTANCE Serological surveillance has become an important public health tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Detection of protective antibodies and seroconversion after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination can help guide patient care plans and public health policies. Serology tests can detect antibodies against past infections; consequently, they can help overcome the shortcomings of molecular tests, which can detect only active infections. This is important, especially when considering that many COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic. In this study, we describe an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based qualitative and quantitative serology test developed to measure IgG and IgA antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. The test can be deployed using commonly available laboratory reagents and equipment and displays high specificity and sensitivity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that IgG titers in patient samples can be estimated from a single measurement, enabling the assay’s use in high-throughput clinical environments.

Summary There is an urgent need for vaccines and therapeutics to prevent and treat COVID-19. Rapid SARS-CoV-2 countermeasure development is contingent on the availability of robust, scalable, and readily deployable surrogate viral assays to screen antiviral humoral responses, define correlates of immune protection, and down-select candidate antivirals. Here, we generate a highly infectious recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) bearing the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein S as its sole entry glycoprotein and show that this recombinant virus, rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 S, closely resembles SARS-CoV-2 in its entry-related properties. The neutralizing activities of a large panel of COVID-19 convalescent sera can be assessed in a high-throughput fluorescent reporter assay with rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 S, and neutralization of rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 S and authentic SARS-CoV-2 by spike-specific antibodies in these antisera is highly correlated. Our findings underscore the utility of rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 S for the development of spike-specific therapeutics and for mechanistic studies of viral entry and its inhibition., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Highly infectious recombinant VSV expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) was generated • rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 S resembles SARS-CoV-2 in entry and inhibitor/antibody sensitivity • rVSV-SARS-CoV-2 S affords rapid screens and forward-genetic analyses of antivirals, Surrogate systems are needed to evaluate COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics rapidly and at scale. Dieterle & Haslwanter et al. describe a highly infectious recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that is suitable for screening and mechanistic studies of small molecule inhibitors, recombinant biologics, and convalescent plasma.

Los algoritmos de distribución de datos (carga) de procesamiento independiente proveen un conjunto de beneficios a las aplicaciones paralelas tales como: la minimización de su tiempo de ejecución, la maximi-zación de uso de los recursos, etc. Pero por su naturaleza paralela, la implementación de un algoritmo de distribución de datos es compleja lo que puede originar que no cumpla con las especificaciones para las que fue diseñado presentando problemas como: violación a la exclusión mutua, no terminación de la ejecución paralela, abrazos mortales, etc. En esta tesis de maestría, como primer etapa, se propone, modela y verifica formalmente una estructura básica que integra un algoritmo de distribución cíclico en una aplicación SPMD (Simple Program Multiple Data) de procesamiento de datos independientes. Para este proceso de verificación, auxiliándonos de la lógica temporal, se propone un conjunto de propiedades que reflejan un buen funcionamiento del sistema independientemente del algoritmo de distribución usado. La herramienta de verificación utilizada fue Spin, la cual aplica la técnica de verificación de model checking (un método que permite verificar algoritmos paralelos con un espacio de estados finito) y nos permite obtener un diagnóstico del cumplimiento de las propiedades. El sistema se modeló mediante el lenguaje promela utilizado por Spin, realizando la verificación de todas las propiedades especificadas. En la segunda etapa de este proyecto se propone un modelo promela para la verificación de la herramienta DLML (Data List Management Library) basándonos en la estructura propuesta en la primera etapa. DLML es una librería creada en el Laboratorio de Sistemas Distribuidos y Paralelos de la UAM-1 para distribuir la carga (datos) generada por las aplicaciones, de manera transparente para el programador. Para verificar DLML se valida el cumplimiento de las propiedades propuestas y de dos nuevas propie-dades relacionadas a la implementación. Después de verificar el modelo de la versión original de DLML se proponen nuevas implementaciones de este distribuidor, donde se contemplan aspectos como la capacidad de los canales, la no dependencia en la granularidad de los datos y la disminución de la cantidad de mensajes (y con ello mejorar su rendimiento). La versión que muestra mejor rendimiento, nombrada DLML-híbrido, es verificada utilizando las mis-mas propiedades que se verificaron sobre la versión original de DLML. Además se realiza su implementación en lenguaje C-MPI en la que se incorpora el uso de memoria compartida e hilos de ejecución, aprovechan-do el surgimiento de las nuevas arquitectura multicore/multiprocesador ( donde se tiene más de un núcleo (procesador) por nodo). El trabajo de la presente tesis concluye mostrando una comparación de rendimiento de la versión DLML-híbrido con la versión original de DLML, para la cual se utilizaron aplicaciones que manejan datos de gra-nularidad diferente (fina y gruesa). En la comparación se efectúa al utilizar un cluster de 32 nodos de tipo multiprocesador (4 procesadores por nodo, teniendo un total de 128 procesadores). Para la aplicación de gra-nularidad fina DLML-híbrido presenta mejores tiempos de ejecución mientras más procesadores se utilizan. La versión DLML original para este caso obtiene mejores tiempos de ejecución con un número menor de procesadores y pierde eficiencia cuando el número de nodos aumenta. Para la aplicación de granularidad gruesa la versión DLML-híbrido siempre obtiene mejores tiempos de ejecución que la versión original.

Hoy por hoy, las arquitecturas paralelas se encuentran en todas partes, desde clusters, computadoras con múltiples unidades de procesa-miento, hasta celulares y tabletas. Sin embargo, el programar estosdispositivos de forma eficiente puede ser una tarea compleja. El programar en estas arquitecturas paralelas requiere: que el desarrollador tenga un conocimiento profundo del problema a resolver y los lenguajes, herramientas y bibliotecas de programación (lo anterior se complica cuando los conocimientos del programador son únicamente de programación secuencial). Este problema se puede reducir significativamente mediante el uso de lenguajes visuales, los cuales permiten esconder aspectos teóricos y de implementación relacionados con la especificación de la comunicación y administración de procesos (por ejemplo creación de procesos y grupos). Esta tesis presenta VPPL (Visual Parallel Programming Language), un lenguaje visual para el desarrollo de programas paralelos que permite especificar un programa a través del modelo de flujos de trabajo (Workflow), los cuales se construyen mediante la composición de iconos. Los iconos en VPPL son de diferentes tipos y permiten especificar: flujo de control (organización del flujo de trabajo), operaciones de entrada y salida, comunicación y procesamiento. Los iconos de procesamiento de VPPL incluyen un conjunto de patrones de cómputo paralelo, SPMD (Single Program Multiple Data), MPMD (Multiple Program Multiple Data), Pipeline y Maestro-Esclavo. Los programasen VPPL son descritos por medio de una gramática formal visual. En la tesis se propone también una ambiente de desarrollo integrado, el cual se denomina VPPE (Visual Parallel Programming Environment) para construir programas en VPPL. El ambiente tiene una arquitectura definida para un funcionamiento en la nube, la cual para su ejecución solo requiere un navegador web. Cuando un flujo de trabajose ejecuta, VPPE transparentemente genera código en un lenguaje de alto nivel textual (Java-MPI) el cual se ejecuta en un cluster. Para validar la propuesta, mostramos una comparación cualitativa y de rendimiento. La primera permite diferenciar los pasos de programación de un programa paralelo realizado de forma textual como tradicionalmente se implementa vs realizar el desarrollo del programa con VPPLy VPPE. La segunda comparación permite evaluar el desempeño de programas generados con VPPL.

Alzheimer’s Diseases (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive neuronal loss leading to cognitive decline. Although there is yet to be a cure nor a way to reverse the neuronal damage, there are current treatments to amend some of the cognitive symptoms associated with AD. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEi) are the primary agents of choice and have had profound implications throughout the past decades. AChEi such as donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine mediates and increases cholinergic activities in the central nervous system (CNS), and have been shown to improve and preserve cognition in AD patients. Beyond the current drugs on the market, investigational discoveries continue to explore the potential of safer and more efficacious AChEi agents for the treatment of AD. There have been quite a few challenges, given the high failure rates. Yet, these very trials and studies have been a fundamental step towards better understanding the treatments of AD and have provided some insight on the potential to surpass what is currently available.

Resumen: El proceso de producción científica permite resumir la investigación y plasmarla por escrito para su futura comunicación. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar la cantidad de tesis publicadas en revistas científicas por estudiantes del pregrado. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo que evaluó 269 tesis sustentadas y registradas en el sistema de bibliotecas de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos desde el año 2005 hasta el 2015. Según una búsqueda manual en las bases de datos Google Académico, Medline, SciELO y Lilacs se verificó la publicación de las tesis, así como la evaluación del diseño metodológico, área temática, tipo de revista e idioma de publicación. Resultados: Fueron publicadas 35 tesis (13%) en revistas científicas. El 51% de las tesis publicadas tuvieron un diseño observacional; el 23% fueron relacionadas con las ciencias básicas; el 80%, publicadas en revistas nacionales y el 94,3%, en idioma español. Conclusión: La producción científica de tesis sustentadas fue baja al cabo de 10 años de evaluación. La mayoría de las tesis publicadas lo fueron en revistas nacionales no indizadas y con un predominio del idioma español. El principal diseño de las tesis publicadas fue observacional y las principales áreas temáticas fueron las referidas a ciencias básicas y Ortodoncia. Abstract: The scientific production process allows research to be summarised and translating it into writing for future communication. The present study aimed to determine the number of theses published in scientific journals by undergraduate students. Materials and methods: A descriptive, retrospective study conducted to evaluate 269 theses supported and registered in the library system of the National University of San Marcos from 2005 to 2015. Using a manual search in the databases Google Scholar, Medline, SciELO and Lilacs the publication of the theses was verified, along with the evaluation of the methodological design, thematic area, type of journal and language of publication. Results: Of the 35 (13%) theses published in scientific journals, 51% had an observational design, 23% were related to basic sciences, with 80% being published in national journals and 94.3% in the Spanish language. Conclusion: The scientific production of supported theses was low in the10-year evaluation. The majority of these published were in non-indexed national journals, and mainly in the Spanish language. The main design of the theses published was observational and the main thematic areas were related to basic sciences and Orthodontics. Palabras clave: Tesis académica, Bibliometría, Odontología, Perú, Keywords: Academic dissertations, Bibliometrics, Dentistry, Peru

Los procesos de oxidación avanzada (POA) han demostrado ser procedimientos útiles y factibles para la remediación de agua, suelo y aire. A este grupo pertenece la fotocatálisis, proceso cada vez más viable debido a los nuevos materiales que se investigan y que son susceptibles de ser activados por energía proveniente del intervalo visible del espectro electromagnético. En el presente trabajo se obtuvieron películas delgadas de Bi2O3 por las técnicas sol-gel e inmersión-remoción. Estas películas, de acuerdo con la literatura, se reporta que tienen amplios valores de ancho de banda prohibida (Eg de 2 - 3.96 eV), dependiendo de la fase cristalina. Se trabajaron varias síntesis de Bi2O3, sin embargo, sólo se presentan los resultados obtenidos con las síntesis que emplearon dos surfactantes, siendo estos, tritón y glicerol. Para establecer la influencia de la temperatura de sinterizado en la cristalinidad del material se probaron temperaturas de 450°C, 500°C y 550°C. Las películas fueron caracterizadas por difracción de rayos X, espectroscopías Raman, UV-Vis y Microscopía Electrónica de Barrido. Los resultados mostraron que las películas delgadas con tratamiento térmico a 550°C y sintetizadas con el glicerol, presentan un material más cristalino con combinación de fases en su estructura: , ,  y , lo que dio como resultado superficies más eficientes para la fotodegradación, que aquellas que se realizaron con el tritón. Estas películas degradaron un mayor porcentaje de la concentración inicial del colorante azul de metileno, siendo de 66.5% en 5 h con irradiación UV y 85% en 5 h con irradiación solar.

Resumen: El crédito otorgado a los autores permite evitar los casos de plagio y fraude intelectual. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo describir la percepción y conducta de estudiantes universitarios sobre el plagio académico. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo que incluyó a 184 estudiantes del pregrado de la carrera de odontología, a quienes se les administró un cuestionario estructurado sobre la percepción del plagio como delito, el nivel de conocimiento sobre el plagio, la paráfrasis y la conducta a seguir en caso de encontrar artículos científicos duplicados. Resultados: Con un promedio de edad de 20,6 ± 2,8 años, el 68,5% de estudiantes percibe como un delito el plagio. El 53,3% de estudiantes conoce completamente lo que es el plagio, el 23,4% lo conoce parcialmente y un 23,4% lo desconoce; este conocimiento es mayor en estudiantes de los últimos años (p > 0,05). El 38% desconsideraría utilizar un artículo duplicado, pues lo perciben como un fraude académico. Un 8,2% de estudiantes sí lo utilizaría por considerarlo un duplicado de otro estudio. Conclusión: Se puede concluir que la percepción sobre el plagio como un delito es relativamente alta, con un nivel de conocimiento regular de lo que es el plagio académico y un pobre nivel de conocimiento sobre lo que es la paráfrasis. Abstract: Credit given to authors helps avoid cases of plagiarism and intellectual fraud. The aim of this study is to describe the perception and behaviour of university students on academic plagiarism. Materials and methods: A descriptive, retrospective study was designed involving 184 students from undergraduate Dentistry students. They completed a structured questionnaire with the items: perception of plagiarism as a crime, the level of knowledge about plagiarism, paraphrasing, and how to react in case of finding duplicate scientific articles. Results: The students had a mean age 20.6 ± 2.8 years of, and 68.5% of students perceived plagiarism as a crime. Just over half (53.3%) of students fully understand what plagiarism is, with 23.4% partially knowing, and the other 23.4% did not know about it. This knowledge is greater in final year students (P>.05). More than one-third (38%) would not use a duplicate paper because they perceive it as an academic fraud article, but 8.2% of students consider they would use it as a duplicate of another study. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the perception of plagiarism as a crime is relatively high, with an average level of knowledge of what academic plagiarism is, and poor level of knowledge about what paraphrasing is. Palabras clave: Plagio, Conocimiento, Odontología, Perú, Keywords: Plagiarism, Knowledge, Dentistry, Peru

Objective:The purpose of this work was to obtain chitosan from shrimpexoskeletons, characterize it and evaluate its coagulant activity in the turbidity removal of wastewater from slaughtering Units. Methods/Analysis: Wastewater samples had three different turbidity measures(250, 560 and 863 NTU) and with three different doses of coagulant each (50, 100 and 150 mgL-1), according to a 32experimental design. Control and ANOVA tables were used to verify if there were statistically significant differences among data with a 95% confidence level. Findings: Chitosan with a molecular weight of 3.2x106 g mol-1 and a degree of deacetylation of 74% was obtained. When used as a coagulant it is possible to obtain turbidity removals greater than 90% when initial turbidity of wastewater was equal to or greater than 560 NTU. However, and due to acid nature of coagulant extracts, pH and alkalinity of samples were influenced. Effectiveness of chitosan in wastewater treatment with high organic load and difficult treatment was verified. Application: In conclusion, it is possible to obtain excellent quality chitosan from shrimp exoskeletons and its use is convenientin alkaline wastewater. Keywords: Alkalinity, Chitosan, Coagulant Activity, pH, Wastewater from Slaughterhouses

espanolA traves de la experimentacion en esta investigacion se analiza el parametro de informacion de diagnostico PID’s del sensor de temperatura del refrigerante del motor (ECT) del sistema de control electronico de inyeccion multipunto FORD EFI. La recoleccion de informacion del funcionamiento del sensor de temperatura es obtenida mediante la utilizacion del escaner automotriz que a traves de su conexion a traves de la linea de datos obtiene la temperatura del motor de combustion interna en tiempo real, es necesario obtener los valores de la resistencia del termistor a diferentes temperaturas. Para el analisis de datos se aplica la regresion del tipo no lineal exponencial, la cual determina la relacion entre variables del tipo dependientes y no dependientes que no estan relacionadas de forma lineal, para de esta forma obtener la ecuacion base para generar la curva que representa el funcionamiento del sensor de temperatura del motor (ECT). La curva obtenida representa es de gran utilidad en el diagnostico de sistemas electronicos y analisis del comportamiento de este tipo de sensores usados en los automoviles. EnglishThrough the experimentation in this research the PID diagnostic parameter of the engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT) of the FORD EFI electronic multipoint injection control system is analyzed. The collection of information on the operation of the temperature sensor is obtained by using specialized automotive instrumentation that through its connection through the data line obtains the temperature of the internal combustion engine in real time, it is necessary to obtain the values of the resistance of the thermistor to different temperatures. For the data analysis, the regression of the exponential nonlinear type is applied, which determines the relationship between dependent and nondependent type variables that are not linearly related, in order to obtain the base equation to generate the curve that represents the operation of the engine temperature sensor (ECT). The obtained curve represents is very useful in the diagnosis of electronic systems and behavioral analysis of this type of sensors used in automoviles.

The retina is the posterior neuro-integrated layer of the eye that conducts impulses induced by light to the optic nerve for human vision. Diseases of the retina often leads to diminished vision and in some cases blindness. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a worldwide public health issue and globally, there is an estimated 463 million people that are affected by DM and its consequences. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a blinding complication of chronic uncontrolled DM and is the most common cause of blindness in the United States between the ages 24-75. It is estimated that the global prevalence of DR will increase to 191.0 million by 2030, of those 56.3 million possessing vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (VTDR). For the most part, current treatment modalities control the complications of DR without addressing the underlying pathophysiology of the disease. Therefore, there is an unmet need for new therapeutics that not only repair the damaged retinal tissue, but also reverse the course of DR. The key element in developing these treatments is expanding our basic knowledge by studying DR pathogenesis in animal models of proliferative and non-proliferative DR (PDR and NPDR). There are numerous models available for the research of both PDR and NPDR with substantial overlap. Animal models available include those with genetic backgrounds prone to hyperglycemic states, immunologic etiologies, or environmentally induced disease. In this review we aimed to comprehensively summarize the available animal models for DR while also providing insight to each model's ocular therapeutic potential for drug discovery.

Alphaviruses are emerging, mosquito-transmitted pathogens that cause musculoskeletal and neurological disease in humans. Although neutralizing antibodies that inhibit individual alphaviruses have been described, broadly reactive antibodies that protect against both arthritogenic and encephalitic alphaviruses have not been reported. Here, we identify DC2.112 and DC2.315, two pan-protective yet poorly neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that avidly bind to viral antigen on the surface of cells infected with arthritogenic and encephalitic alphaviruses. These mAbs engage a conserved epitope in domain II of the E1 protein proximal to and within the fusion peptide. Treatment with DC2.112 or DC2.315 protects mice against infection by both arthritogenic (chikungunya and Mayaro) and encephalitic (Venezuelan, Eastern, and Western equine encephalitis) alphaviruses through multiple mechanisms, including inhibition of viral egress and monocyte-dependent Fc effector functions. These findings define a conserved epitope recognized by weakly neutralizing yet protective antibodies that could be targeted for pan-alphavirus immunotherapy and vaccine design.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a well-known cause of myocardial infarction (MI) and is associated with spontaneous healing in most patients. Currently, the role of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is controversial, and conservative management is usually recommended ([1][1

Aims: To use an agroindustrial waste (orange peels) as a source of polyphenols as a reducing medium for obtaining silver nanoparticles by greener method. Background: Several techniques have been employed for AgNPs synthesis, nevertheless, most of them involve the use of toxic chemicals in the process. The use of fungi, bacteria, and plant extracts as subtracts for green synthesis is an ecofriendly alternative, although hypothetic, route for AgNPs large scale synthesis. In the case of plant extracts, it is believed that polyphenols are the biomolecules responsible for the reduction and stabilization of the Ag+ ions into AgNPs, being a sustainable and ecological option; polyphenols could be obtained from plant waste and agroindustrial subproducts. Objective: To develop an efficient, greener, and low-cost method of AgNPs production using natural products. Methods: The basic principle of silver nanoparticles synthesis is the interaction in a mixture of silver nitrate (source of Ag+ ions) and the orange peel extract (reducing and stabilizing agent) under certain conditions. Five treatments were carried out, evaluating several parameters during AgNPs synthesis such as pH, orange peel extract-silver nitrate ratio, time and conditions of incubation, irradiation of UV light, irradiation of microwave, and temperature. Result: The synthesis of silver nanoparticles from an agroindustrial waste as the orange peel was successfully carried out and checked by visual evaluation, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and EDS analysis. The particle size was estimated between 42.82 nm to 151.75 nm, having a spherical and ovoid morphology. Discussion: Through the analysis of several synthesis conditions, it has become possible to establish a suitable treatment to increase antibacterial yield and evaluate morphology and size traits in order to acquire the best conditions for a future industrial scale synthesis. Conclusion: The orange peel aqueous extract resulted as a great source of polyphenols, allowing the successful synthesis of silver nanoparticles in mild conditions. Thus, obtained AgNPs revealed an increased antibacterial effect and potential against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphyloccocus aureus.

espanolUna manera de abordar la ensenanza del diseno desde la creatividad y su consecuencia, la innovacion, es propiciando en los alumnos la vivencia de experiencias sensoriales y emotivas. La deteccion y caracterizacion de problematicas a resolver por medio del diseno, desde la perspectiva de este tipo de experiencias, conduce a los alumnos a construir"imagenes" mas precisas para dar respuestas afectivo-significativas durante el proceso de diseno. EnglishOne approach to design education from the creativity and therefore innovation is fostering in students the experience of sensory and emotional experiences. The detection and characterization of problems to be solved by designing from the perspective of such experience leads students to build more accurate"images" for significant affective answers during the design process. portuguesUm modo de abordar o ensino do design desde a criatividade e sua consequencia, a inovacao, e propiciando nos alunos a vivencia de experiencias sensoriais e emotivas. A deteccao e caracterizacao de problematicas a resolver por meio do design, desde a perspectiva deste tipo de experiencias, conduzem aos alunos a construir imagens mais precisas para dar resposta afetivo-significativas durante o processo de design.

Since the use of applications and communication tools has increased, one of the concerns of the responsible for network security has been to protect information and information systems, as well as to provide trust to end users for the use of information and communication technologies. Nowadays, attacks on the network have increased and undergone modifications, which make the task for traditional security devices difficult, being necessary to add the intelligence to face the new attacks generated in the network. Hence the need to incorporate Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) as a new component in the network. This work focuses on the use of information provided by a CTI to improve the security of Software Defined Networks (SDN), and at the same time, analyze how malicious traffic could be blocked in a physical testbed., Accepted to IEEE XXVI International Conference on Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computing (INTERCON 2019). Lima, Peru

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that causes persistent arthritis in a subset of human patients. We report the isolation and functional characterization of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from two patients infected with CHIKV in the Dominican Republic. Single B cell sorting yielded a panel of 46 human mAbs of diverse germline lineages that targeted epitopes within the E1 or E2 glycoproteins. MAbs that recognized either E1 or E2 proteins exhibited neutralizing activity. Viral escape mutations localized the binding epitopes for two E1 mAbs to sites within domain I or the linker between domains I and III; and for two E2 mAbs between the β-connector region and the B-domain. Two of the E2-specific mAbs conferred protection in vivo in a stringent lethal challenge mouse model of CHIKV infection, whereas the E1 mAbs did not. These results provide insight into human antibody response to CHIKV and identify candidate mAbs for therapeutic intervention., Author summary Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a globally emerging virus that can cause significant disease, including a prolonged and painful arthritis. The virus is spread by mosquitoes that circulate in many regions of the world including the United States. Currently, there are no available vaccines or therapies to treat CHIKV infection. In this report, we identified and characterized a large panel of antibodies against CHIKV from two donors that contracted the viral infection in the Dominican Republic. These antibodies target a number of different regions of the membrane proteins that coat the surface of the virus, and many can inhibit the ability of CHIKV to infect cells. Two of the antibodies were shown to protect mice from a lethal dose of CHIKV. These antibodies have therapeutic potential, and provide insight into the human immune response that may facilitate vaccine development.

Resumen: Paciente de sexo femenino de 13 años de edad que acudió al servicio de Odontopediatría del Instituto de Salud Oral del Hospital Central de la Fuerza Aérea de Perú en el mes de setiembre del año 2018 debido a una renovación en la prótesis parcial provisional que utilizaba desde hace cinco meses. Al examen clínico extraoral se evidenció lesiones cicatrizales en la piel de la región nasal; durante la evaluación intraoral se evidenció la pérdida de múltiples dientes, rebordes edéntulos amplios y delgados, alteraciones en la morfología dentaria, así como discordancia de la erupción dentaria con la edad de la paciente. Al examen radiográfico se evidenció alteración y retardo en la erupción dentaria, impactación de un diente en la mandíbula, falta de desarrollo radicular y persistencia de dientes temporales. El diagnóstico médico definitivo fue el Síndrome de Bloch - Sulzberger también denominado como “incontinencia pigmentaria”. Este síndrome se caracteriza por presentar una variedad de manifestaciones orales como: agenesia dentaria, alteración en la morfología dentaria, dientes retenidos y/o impactados así como alteración y retraso en la erupción dentaria. A nivel sistémico este síndrome presenta lesiones que afectan a la piel, pelo, visión, sistema nervioso central, entre otros.

Road traffic accidents are among the principal causes of traffic congestion, causing human losses, damages to health and the environment, economic losses and material damages. Studies about traditional road traffic accidents in urban zones represents very high inversion of time and money, additionally, the result are not current. However, nowadays in many countries, the crowdsourced GPS based traffic and navigation apps have emerged as an important source of information to low cost to studies of road traffic accidents and urban congestion caused by them. In this article we identified the zones, roads and specific time in the CDMX in which the largest number of road traffic accidents are concentrated during 2016. We built a database compiling information obtained from the social network known as Waze. The methodology employed was Discovery of knowledge in the database (KDD) for the discovery of patterns in the accidents reports. Furthermore, using data mining techniques with the help of Weka. The selected algorithms was the Maximization of Expectations (EM) to obtain the number ideal of clusters for the data and k-means as a grouping method. Finally, the results were visualized with the Geographic Information System QGIS.

Road traffic accidents are among the principal causes of traffic congestion, causing human losses, damages to health and the environment, economic losses and material damages. Studies about traditional road traffic accidents in urban zones represents very high inversion of time and money, additionally, the result are not current. However, nowadays in many countries, the crowdsourced GPS based traffic and navigation apps have emerged as an important source of information to low cost to studies of road traffic accidents and urban congestion caused by them. In this article we identified the zones, roads and specific time in the CDMX in which the largest number of road traffic accidents are concentrated during 2016. We built a database compiling information obtained from the social network known as Waze. The methodology employed was Discovery of knowledge in the database (KDD) for the discovery of patterns in the accidents reports. Furthermore, using data mining techniques with the help of Weka. The selected algorithms was the Maximization of Expectations (EM) to obtain the number ideal of clusters for the data and k-means as a grouping method. Finally, the results were visualized with the Geographic Information System QGIS.

Objetivo: Determinar una fórmula de estimación del peso a partir de la edad de niños atendidos en una Clínica de Odontopediatría y comparar su exactitud con las fórmulas estándares. Métodos: Estudio transversal, observacional que incluyó 165 niños entre 3-10 años de edad que se presentaron a la consulta odontopediátrica. El análisis de regresión lineal permitió predecir el peso según la variación de la edad de la muestra estudiada. La fórmula derivada fue analizada según su precisión y exactitud a través de errores promedio porcentuales, límites de acuerdo al 95% y mediante diagramas de Bland-Altman en comparación con las fórmulas de Luscombe, APLS, Tinning y Argall. Resultados: El peso promedio fue de 26,81± 8,46 kg. La fórmula de predicción fue: Peso en kilogramos = 3(edad en años) + 7. La fórmula de Luscombe obtuvo un porcentaje promedio de error de -2,69%, la fórmula APLS de 17,87%, mientras que la de Argall de 1,41. El 53,9% de las estimaciones estuvieron dentro del 10% de peso medido para la fórmula de Luscombe y del 47,3% para la fórmula de Argall. Conclusiones: La fórmula estimada asemejó a la de Luscombe siendo esta la más precisa en la muestra estudiada y la que obtuvo una mayor aproximación al peso real., Objective: To describe a weight estimation formula from the age of children attended in a Pediatric Dentistry Clinic and compare its accuracy with standard formulas. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study that included 165 children between three and ten years of age who presented to the pediatric dentistry consultation. Linear regression analysis allowed prediction of weight according to the variation of the age of the sample studied. The derived formula was analyzed according to its accuracy and accuracy through mean percentage errors, 95% limits and through Bland-Altman diagrams compared to the Luscombe, APLS, Tinning and Argall formulas. Results: The average weight was 26.81±8.46 kg. The prediction formula was: Weight in kilograms = 3 (age in years) + 7. The Luscombe formula obtained an average error rate of -2.69%, the APLS formula of 17.87%, while Argall formula 1.41. The 53.9% of the estimates were within the 10% weight measured for the Luscombe formula and 47.3% for the Argall formula. Conclusions: The estimated formula resembled that of Luscombe being the most accurate in the sample studied and the one that has a greater approximation to the real weight.

We previously reported that Rab1a is associated with asialoorosomucoid (ASOR)-containing early endocytic vesicles, where it is required for their microtubule-based motility. In Rab1a knockdown (KD) cell lines, ASOR failed to segregate from its receptor and, consequently, did not reach lysosomes for degradation, indicating a defect in early endosome sorting. Although Rab1 is required for Golgi/endoplasmic reticulum trafficking, this process was unaffected, likely due to retained expression of Rab1b in these cells. The present study shows that Rab1a has a more general role in endocytic vesicle processing that extends to EGF and transferrin (Tfn) trafficking. Compared with results in control Huh7 cells, EGF accumulated in aggregates within Rab1a KD cells, failing to reach lysosomal compartments. Tfn, a prototypical example of recycling cargo, accumulated in a Rab11-mediated slow-recycling compartment in Rab1a KD cells, in contrast to control cells, which sort Tfn into a fast-recycling Rab4 compartment. These data indicate that Rab1a is an important regulator of early endosome sorting for multiple cargo species. The effectors and accessory proteins recruited by Rab1a to early endocytic vesicles include the minus-end-directed kinesin motor KifC1, while others remain to be discovered.

The IL-2 growth hormone is the major growth factor of activated T lymphocytes during a developing immune response. IL-2 is required not only for cell cycle progression but also to protect Ag-activated T cells from programmed cell death. In several cell types, activation of NF-κB and/or activating protein-1 (AP-1) has been demonstrated to be extremely important in blocking apoptosis. To determine whether either or both of these transcription factors are involved in cell survival or cell cycle progression in response to IL-2, primary human T cells responsive to the growth factor were analyzed for NF-κB and AP-1 activation. The current study clearly demonstrates that IL-2 does not induce IκBα degradation or NF-κB activation in primary human T cells that respond to IL-2 by entering the cell cycle and avoiding apoptosis. Similarly, IL-2 neither activates JNK nor increases AP-1 binding activity to a consensus o-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) response element. On the other hand, the growth factor does induce the activation of STAT3 and STAT5 in these cells, as has been previously demonstrated. These data show that neither NF-κB nor AP-1 activation is required for IL-2-mediated survival or cell cycle progression in activated primary human T cells.

We have designed data list processing for multicore-GPU platforms and significantly improved the performance of both numerical and symbolic applications. For the latter, a novel aspect of our design was the management and processing of new data dynamically generated within GPUs. This paper presents various optimisations to our first design [1] aimed to use more the GPU, through reducing communication between the host (a multicore) and the GPU, in order to improve performance further. We present experimental results for three applications with different granularities and access patterns. Performance was improved again, significantly in some cases; using multicore-GPU platforms efficiently may involve complex changes to software.

The Data List Management Library (DLML) processes data lists in parallel, balancing the workload transparently to programmers. Its first design was targeted at clusters of uniprocessor nodes, and based on multiprocess parallelism and on message-passing communication. This paper presents a multithreaded design of DLML aimed at clusters of multicore nodes to better capitalise on intra-node parallelism. On applications tested, MultiCore DLML runs twice as fast as DLML when message-passing communication is not excessive. Good performance was achieved only after addressing issues relating to MPI communication overhead, cache locality and memory consumption.