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El objetivo de esta investigación se basa en analizar la realidad de la educación superior como política de Estado, a través de una metodología de tipo documental. Se menciona que, la Educación desde sus primeras etapas, representa un pilar fundamental para el desarrollo económico y social de cualquier nación, ya que a través de esta se lograr formar los seres humanos para enfrentar la vida e insertarlos al mundo laboral. La Educación Superior es la etapa de estudio, la cual es responsable de la preparación de los individuos para el ámbito profesional y por ende puedan contribuir con el desarrollo económico y social de un país. Por tanto este sector es primordial para cualquier nación, ya que contribuye directamente con su crecimiento económico, social, cultural y financiero. Es por ello que es necesario que las naciones cuenten con políticas de estado diseñadas y orientadas a crear, mantener, mejorar y actualizar sus sistemas educativos, a fin de asegurar una educación optima que les permita formar individuos capaces de enfrentar problemas y retos, dentro del ámbito donde se desenvolverán.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in women. Worldwide, it is a public health problem with around 604,127 women diagnosed per year and 341,831 deaths. Cervical cancer and persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are highly associated. However, other factors are also involved, such as viral load, HPV variants, sexual behavior, and genetic factors. The host immune response against HPV has been widely studied and it has shown associations with development of cervical cancer. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes are related to the persistence of HPV infection and progression to cervical cancer because of their role in controlling T-cell mediated immune response to clear the infection. In Ecuador, there is scarce information about HLA and HPV infection with high-risk genotypes in the population. This study aimed to identify host-specific HLA alleles in women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) II and III, and cancer infected with HPV-16, 58, and 52. In this study, we included 51 samples previously identified as positive for HPV-16, 58, and 52 from 12 Ecuadorian provinces. As a result, we found that HLA-A*02, HLA-B*35, HLA-C*04, HLA-DRB1*04, and HLA-DQB1*03 alleles were the most frequent, these alleles have been associated with cervical cancer in previous studies; nevertheless, we did not find a statistically significant association between HLA alleles, HPV genotype, and histopathological lesion. This is a baseline study to uncover possible relationships between HLA and HPV to elucidate why this virus can develop a persistent infection in some women leading to the development of cervical cancer.

Salmonella enterica is among the most important foodborne pathogens. In Ecuador, there is limited information about non-typhoidal S. enterica occurrence in raw meats, its serotype distribution, and antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we addressed this issue in 1095 retail fresh meats (chicken, pork, veal, lamb, beef, and turkey) in Quito by performing a traditional culture methodology and molecular detection. We found that S. enterica was present in 38.1% of the samples, and Salmonella Infantis was the most common serotype showing a high antibiotic resistance and a wide host range. Some host-adapted serotypes were found in uncommon sources of meat, suggesting cross-contamination and the need to implement good manufacturing practices in meat processing. High levels of multidrug resistance were found in all serotypes. There is an urgent need to identify Salmonella serotypes in food to compare with clinical data and to carry out epidemiological studies to control and prevent outbreaks and infections.

Leptospirosis is the most common zoonosis worldwide, and is increasingly common in poor urban communities, where there is inadequate sewage disposal and abundance of domestic and peridomestic animals. There are many risk factors associated with the disease, such as contaminated water exposure, close contact with animals, floods, recreational activities related to water, wet agriculture. The symptoms of leptospirosis are common to other infectious diseases and, if not treated, it can lead to meningitis, liver failure, kidney damage and death. Leptospirosis is caused by 38 pathogenic species of Leptospira, which are divided in almost 30 serogroups and more than 300 serovars. The serological classification (serogroups and serovars) is based on the expression of distinct lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens. These antigens are also associated to protective immunity; antibodies against a serovar protect from any member of the same serovar. Serologic and phylogenetic analyses are not congruent probably due to genetic recombination of LPS genes among different leptospiral species. To analyze the importance of recombination in leptospiral evolution, we performed a gene-by-gene tree topology comparison on closed genomes available in public databases at two levels: among core genomes of pathogenic species (34 recombinant among 1213 core genes), and among core genomes of L. interrogans isolates (178/798). We found that most recombinant genes code for proteins involved in translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis, but also for cell wall, membrane and envelope biogenesis. Besides, our final results showed that half of LPS genes are recombinant (18/36). This is relevant because serovar classification and vaccine development are based on these epitopes. The frequent recombination of LPS-associated genes suggests that natural selection is promoting the survival of recombinant lineages. These results may help understanding the factors that make Leptospira a successful pathogen.

El hemograma completo oConteo Sanguíneo Completo(CSC)es una de las herramientas de monitoreo más utilizadas en la emergencia pediátrica por su versatilidad, disponibilidad y bajo coste. Este permite realizar una aproximación más objetiva del paciente, en especial de aquellos signos y síntomas que este no refiere, por su edad, o desconoce. Objetivo: Caracterizar las anormalidades halladas en el (CSC)en una Urgencia Pediátrica de un Hospital. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo prospectivo. Se tuvo en cuenta la edad (grupo etario) motivo de consulta (CIE10). Del CSC, el recuento de glóbulos rojo (GR), Hematocrito (%Hto), recuento de glóbulos blancos o leucocitos (Le) y recuento de plaquetas (PLT). Debido a la variabilidad de los datos, estos fueron ajustados a tres niveles (Elevado, Normal, Disminuido) y fueron mostrados en representación porcentual. Los análisis estadísticos fueron realizados en R-CRAN. Resultados: De los 718 pacientes que llegaron a la PER, 351 cumplieron con criterios de inclusión. Con una edad de 5±5 años, el 52.9 % fueron niñas. El grupo etario de mayor frecuencia fue la primera infancia (0 – 5 años) con 63.3 %. Los diagnósticos de mayor frecuencia fueron aquellos asociados a Síntomas, signos y hallazgos anormales clínicos y de laboratorio, no clasificados en otra parte (R00-R99) con el 43.3 %. Los parámetros que estuvieron más frecuentemente disminuido en el CSC fueron la Hb (64.39 %) y %Hto (57.83 %), el que más frecuentemente aumentado fue Monocitos 77.78 %. Los MON, LEU y NEU, para el grupo de Ciertas enfermedades infecciosas y parasitarias (A00-B99). Conclusión: El CSC es un buen indicador para las sepsis y estado nutricional de los pacientes, por lo que se debe revisar acuciosamente para poder establecer las causas de sus variaciones en la PER.

Mapping of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) reads to a single arbitrary reference genome is a frequently used approach in microbial genomics. However, the choice of a reference may represent a source of errors that may affect subsequent analyses such as the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and phylogenetic inference. In this work, we evaluated the effect of reference choice on short-read sequence data from five clinically and epidemiologically relevant bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens). Publicly available whole-genome assemblies encompassing the genomic diversity of these species were selected as reference sequences, and read alignment statistics, SNP calling, recombination rates, dN/dS ratios, and phylogenetic trees were evaluated depending on the mapping reference. The choice of different reference genomes proved to have an impact on almost all the parameters considered in the five species. In addition, these biases had potential epidemiological implications such as including/excluding isolates of particular clades and the estimation of genetic distances. These findings suggest that the single reference approach might introduce systematic errors during mapping that affect subsequent analyses, particularly for data sets with isolates from genetically diverse backgrounds. In any case, exploring the effects of different references on the final conclusions is highly recommended., Author summary Mapping consists in the alignment of reads (i.e., DNA fragments) obtained through high-throughput genome sequencing to a previously assembled reference sequence. It is a common practice in genomic studies to use a single reference for mapping, usually the ‘reference genome’ of a species—a high-quality assembly. However, the selection of an optimal reference is hindered by intrinsic intra-species genetic variability, particularly in bacteria. It is known that genetic differences between the reference genome and the read sequences may produce incorrect alignments during mapping. Eventually, these errors could lead to misidentification of variants and biased reconstruction of phylogenetic trees (which reflect ancestry between different bacterial lineages). To our knowledge, this is the first work to systematically examine the effect of different references for mapping on the inference of tree topology as well as the impact on recombination and natural selection inferences. Furthermore, the novelty of this work relies on a procedure that guarantees that we are evaluating only the effect of the reference. This effect has proved to be pervasive in the five bacterial species that we have studied and, in some cases, alterations in phylogenetic trees could lead to incorrect epidemiological inferences. Hence, the use of different reference genomes may be prescriptive to assess the potential biases of mapping.

One major health issue is the microbial and chemical contamination of natural freshwater, particularly in Latin American countries, such as Ecuador, where it is still lacking wastewater treatment plants. This study analyzed the water quality in twelve rivers of Ecuador (Coastal, Andean, and Amazonian regions). All rivers showed levels of E. coli and total coliforms above the maximum limit according to International and Ecuadorian legislations. The most polluted rivers were Zamora, Esmeraldas and Machángara. Also, E. coli pathotypes were found in six rivers. Several physicochemical and metal parameters were detected in high levels, such as CODTOTAL (in eight rivers), TSS (in six rivers), TS (in two rivers), Al (in nine rivers), Zn (in eight rivers), Pb (in three rivers), Cu (in three rivers), Fe (in two rivers), and Mn (in Machángara River). Our results agree with other studies in Latin America (such as Colombia, Brazil, and Peru) reporting similar contamination in water resources used for agriculture, livestock, and human consumption. Overall, Guayas, Guayllabamba, and Machángara Rivers showed the highest levels of physicochemical parameters (such as CODTOTAL and TSS) and metal concentrations (such as copper, zinc, aluminum, iron, and manganese). Further studies should evaluate contamination sources and public health impact.

Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important bacteria associated with foodborne diseases, soft cheese being an important L. monocytogenes vehicle. In Ecuador, soft cheese is consumed in 84.3% of urban households. We determined the prevalence of L. monocytogenes and serogroups in 260 fresh artisanal soft cheese samples collected in 18 of 24 Ecuadorian provinces. Listeria spp. detection was carried out by culture-dependent and independent methods; 14.23% of samples were positive for L. monocytogenes. Serogroup IVb was found in 83.78% of the food isolates. Serogroups IIb and IIa were present in 8.11% of our isolates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. monocytogenes serogroups associated with food in Ecuador; we also found serogroup similarities between cheese isolates and clinical isolates.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide and it is responsible for most cases of uterine cancer. In Ecuador there is limited information about HPV types (and variants) in cancerous lesions; however, identifying the type-specific HPV prevalence in cervical lesions of women living in Ecuador is important to better predict the impact of HPV prophylactic vaccination in this country. We studied the prevalence of HPV types in cervical cancerous or precancerous lesions from 164 Ecuadorian women and found that 86.0% were HPV positive. The most common types were HPV16 (41.8%) and HPV58 (30.5%). Interestingly, HPV18 was detected only in 2.8% of the HPV-positive samples. Fifteen DNA sequences (genes E6 and L1) from 16 samples positive for HPV16 belonged to the European lineage, considered one of the least carcinogenic lineages, and 1 (6.25%) to the Asian-American lineage. Similar analysis in 12 HPV58 positive samples showed that 10 (83.3%) sequences grouped in sublineage A2, which belongs to the oldest HPV58 lineage, 1 belonged to A3 and 1 to lineage C. This study suggests that the currently used HPV vaccines (bivalent and tetravalent) may have lower effectiveness in Ecuador than in other geographic locations where HPV18 is more prevalent.

Summary Objectives Burkholderia cepacia has been linked to healthcare-associated infections and colonization caused by contamination of alcohol-free mouthwash used in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. The purpose of our study was to establish the source of a clustering of healthcare-associated B. cepacia isolates in patients on mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods During April 2012 the Infection Control Committee became concerned when B. cepacia was isolated from tracheal aspirate cultures of three ICU patients. The medical records for the years 2011 and 2012 were reviewed to identify further cases. Cultures of potential reservoirs were done. Isolates from patients and an alcohol-free mouthwash were submitted to multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis and antimicrobial resistance testing. Results Four patients with positive cultures for B. cepacia were identified before the review of the medical records for the years 2011 and 2012. Nine further cases were identified in the review, defined as a patient with pneumonia who had a culture of respiratory secretions that was positive for B. cepacia . Three were cases of infection and 10 were colonizations. All of the isolates from patients (J, K, L, and M) and mouthwash samples (B19, B20, and B21) were genetically identical by MLST analysis. Conclusions Our findings strongly suggest that alcohol-free mouthwash solution intrinsically contaminated with B. cepacia was the source of these colonizations and infections involving adults in the ICU.

La soya es un cultivo cuya producción nacional en el Ecuador no es suficiente para suplir la demanda interna. Por esta razón, se recurre a la importación de semilla de soya para siembra y soya en grano para consumo, desde países donde el uso de soya transgénica ha sido aprobado. Como consecuencia, existe la probabilidad del ingreso de este cultivo a territorio ecuatoriano. En esta investigación, se estandarizó una metodología para la detección y cuantificación de soya genéticamente modificada con tecnología SYBR Green. Los primers utilizados para la amplificación corresponden a secuencias específicas de los dos elementos recombinantes más representativos en soya genéticamente modificada, el promotor 35S del Virus del Mosaico de la Coliflor (P35S) y el terminador NOS del plásmido Ti de Agrobacterium tumefaciens (TNOS), generando amplicones de 200pb y de 69pb respectivamente. El análisis cuantitativo se realizó a partir de la generación de una curva estándar en base a la amplificación usando los primers mencionados en material de referencia certificado con concentraciones de 0.01%, 0.1%, 1% y 10% de soya transgénica del evento GTS 40-3-2. El límite de detección se estableció en 0.01%, mientras que el límite de cuantificación fue establecido en 0.1%. En 2 de las 26 muestras de soya analizadas se encontró más del 0.1% de OGM (organismo genéticamente modificado) (muestra 22 con 0.2% y la muestra 23 con 14%). Además se detectó presencia adventicia de soya transgénica en 8 de las muestras estudiadas. Debido a las regulaciones de OGMs que existen en el Ecuador, este tipo de análisis es importante para confirmar la presencia de OGMs en el territorio ecuatoriano y evidencia la necesidad de contar con personal capacitado e instituciones especializadas en la detección y análisis de organismos genéticamente modificados.

Background Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic to the Pacific coast of Ecuador, and Nyssomyia trapidoi is considered to be its main vector. Dujardin et al. [1] recorded some differences in body pigmentation and isoenzymatic profiles in sympatric populations of Ny. trapidoi from the Pacific coast of Ecuador and suggested the existence of two cryptic species. Methods Entomological collections were performed in November 2008 and March 2011 in the locality of Paraíso Escondido using CDC miniature light traps and human bait. Morphological, isoenzymatical and molecular (sequencing of cytochome b and cytochrome c oxidase 1 of the mitochondrial DNA) analyses, such as detection of Leishmania DNA and phlebovirus RNA in some females, were performed. Results Neighbor-joining trees from mitochondrial sequences grouped all of Ecuadorian Ny. trapidoi (including the two color variants) in one cluster, except for two specimens which clustered separately in both genes. Isoenzymatic characterization confirmed that the color variants belong to the same population. Additionally, 11.5% of females were found by PCR to contain Endotrypanum monterogeii kinetoplastid DNA. All pools of Ny. trapidoi were negative for phlebovirus RNA. Conclusion Analysis of mitochondrial gene sequences and isoenzymes was unable to support the existence of two sibling species within Ny. trapidoi, which is a probable vector of Endotrypanum monterogeii.