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The aim of this paper is to improve upon the description of MS 2 of the Escuela de Estudios Árabes de Granada, and to propose a new dating based on the material analysis of the document carried out by Sonsoles González in 2014 and my subsequent rereading and translation of its colophon. If one accepts my proposed revised dating, this manuscript would be the last known Qur'an from the Iberian peninsula, copied as late as the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, in the city of Cordova. Moreover, this copy is heir to an Andalusian tradition stretching back to the theoretical treatises of Abū ʿAmr ʿUthmān al-Dānī, transmitted faithfully from generation to generation through the Andalusi, Mudejar, and Morisco periods, down to the period of this manuscript. Lastly, it contains marginal notes with chapter numbers, and Latin translations of sura titles, which are clear evidence of its later use among Christian intellectual circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak affecting 52 people from a large school community in Santiago, Chile, was identified (12 March) 9 days after the first case in the country. We assessed the magnitude of the outbreak and the role students and staff played using self-administered antibody detection tests and a self-administered survey. Methods The school was closed on 13 March, and the entire community was placed under quarantine. We implemented a home-delivery, self-administered, immunoglobin (Ig) G/IgM antibody test and survey to a classroom-stratified sample of students and all staff from 4–19 May. We aimed to determine the overall seroprevalence rates by age group, reported symptoms, and contact exposure, and to explore the dynamics of transmission. Results The antibody positivity rates were 9.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.2–11.8) for 1009 students and 16.6% (95% CI, 12.1–21.9) for 235 staff. Among students, positivity was associated with a younger age (P  = .01), a lower grade level (P  = .05), prior real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positivity (P  = .03), and a history of contact with a confirmed case (P  < .001). Among staff, positivity was higher in teachers (P  = .01) and in those previously RT-PCR positive (P  < .001). Excluding RT-PCR–positive individuals, antibody positivity was associated with fever in adults and children (P  = .02 and P  = .002, respectively), abdominal pain in children (P  = .001), and chest pain in adults (P  = .02). Within antibody-positive individuals, 40% of students and 18% of staff reported no symptoms (P  = .01). Conclusions Teachers were more affected during the outbreak and younger children were at a higher risk for infection, likely because index case(s) were teachers and/or parents from the preschool. Self-administered antibody testing, supervised remotely, proved to be a suitable and rapid tool. Our study provides useful information for school reopenings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case examines the corporate restructuring process of SMU Group, a Chilean retail supermarket chain. The restructuring process was triggered by an internal situation involving operational inefficiencies between the years 2007 and 2012, following an aggressive acquisition process. These problems were the result of an aggressive "Buy-and- Build" strategy, thanks to which by the end of 2012 the Group had grown to become the third largest player in the supermarket industry in Chile. Although this strategy allowed the conglomerate to consolidate its competitive position, it was based on inorganic growth that hid the differences in the operational performance of the different chains and did not allow the Group to take advantage of its own synergies in the process of consolidating the holding company. Around mid-2013, this lack of definition in SMU's competitive strategy resulted in a serious deterioration of its financial position, due to the significant indebtedness taken on to finance acquisitions, as well as the insufficient generation of cash flow. Furthermore, when compared to the two main players in the industry, SMU showed lower levels of profitability and sales per square meter. To overcome this crisis, SMU implemented a three-year strategic plan (2014-2016), reinforcing three fundamental areas: finance, operations and commercial. The goal was to restore financial viability to the conglomerate by the end of 2016. After executing its plan, SMU achieved an improvement at the operational and commercial levels. However, in the first months of 2017, the risk rating agencies still had doubts about SMU's future performance and its crisis management capacity. For this reason, Álvaro Saieh, who was serving at the time as Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors, had several questions: could SMU's 3-year operational and strategic restructuring plan be considered successful? what are the critical variables that will ensure the sustainability of the company and its growth in the coming years? will I be questioned again like I was in 2013? and finally, what possibilities do I have to create corporate value in the future? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case introduces the reader to a problem of a family business in the milk industry, Fundo Los Ulmos (FLU), which had to choose the best option between the two main alternatives available. One of the options was to sell all the land of the family business that has an emotional root with the decision maker. Instead, the second option was to perform an operational analysis that will improve dairy management based on a milk production optimization model. This case shows a typical family business problem where the decision maker must deal with decisions that mix analytical and socioemotional aspects. This case is especially relevant for a competitive strategy course in Latin American family businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of the 1940s the School of Arabic Studies of Granada (Spain) became a center for the initial training of translators and interpreters of Arabic and Berber to be employed by the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco. Research conducted in the School's archives has shed new light on this unique collaborative project between the academic field of Arabism and the Spanish colonial body, an initiative actively promoted by its director at the time, Luis Seco de Lucena. The project was intended to provide candidates for admission to the Arabic and Berber Interpretation Corps of the Protectorate and at the same time help ensure the survival of the University's Arab Studies department, which was also in need of new personnel. The results, however, were both poor and ephemeral. Only two promotions graduated from the School in Granada and headed to Tetouan, capital of the Protectorate, to continue their studies and only four candidates ended up joining the aforementioned Corps. Moreover, only one of them, José Aguilera, engaged in noteworthy activity in both the world of professional translation/interpreting and the University. This fruitless experience can be viewed as yet another indication of the human and material deficiencies faced by that period's Arabism in its ability to train professionals of Arabic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test is the most widely used measurement technique for Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of composite structures. However, the traditional testing methodology is based on the optical tracking of hand-marked scales on the specimen edge, which reduces its accuracy and makes it particularly dependent on human skills. Here, we present a novel Top Surface Analysis (TSA) method which overcomes these difficulties by analysing the top surface of DCB test samples via Digital Image Correlation. The automated measuring and data analysis procedure minimise the influence of human errors. This approach is able to simultaneously measure crack length and crack tip opening displacement. In order to verify the accuracy of the method, a comparison between TSA and conventional side-view evaluation methods was carried out on carbon and glass fibre reinforced composite laminates. The proposed method proves to be a promising tool to automate crack length measurements in arbitrary laminated structures and to provide more accurate fracture toughness properties for the prediction of damage tolerance in composite structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental and numerical study on low-velocity impact responses on [Ti/0/90]s hybrid titanium composite laminates (HTCLs) is presented. Different energy levels from 10 to 40 J are investigated using a drop-weight instrument and post-impact inspection. An explicit finite element implementation provides a detailed analysis of impact response in composite and titanium layers, respectively. It accounts for interfacial debonding, progressive failure in composite plies and elastic–plastic deformation in titanium. The main failure modes are experimentally and numerically found to be debonding between titanium and composite, matrix cracking and interlaminar delamination. The principal energy-absorbing mechanism is plastic dissipation of the two titanium sheets. The low cost numerical model is able to effectively predict the overall impact response and major failure modes with good accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine how wine firms implement their marketing strategies based on the recognition of market opportunities by their Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Firstly, we describe the marketing activities in 69 traditional Chilean wine firms. Then, in-depth interviews with CEOs of two wineries are analysed using cognitive maps to uncover the cognitive processes responsible for recognizing and executing market activities. Our findings indicate that there is a similar set of strategic resources across the wineries, but the CEOs’ different perceptions of the usefulness of these resources in the implementation of marketing strategies have led them to select diverse strategies to increasing both the price per bottle and wine sales. This paper makes two contributions. Firstly, we compare the benefit of implementing traditional and relational marketing strategies in the Chilean wine industry. Secondly, we show that the CEOs’ perception of feedback processes among the available resources affects the recognition of market opportunities and the marketing strategy in wine firms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the most demanding needs of the primary sector is the development of methods, tools, models and techniques for the accurate and efficient management of perishables along the Supply Chain (SC), particularly focused on advanced logistics services (Third-Party Logistics 3PL) such as freight consolidation. This coordination strategy looks for the alignment of agents and processes around the efficient freight handling by minimizing costs and allowing the proper use of transportation capacity resources. The contribution of this paper relies on the analysis of benefits regarding freight consolidation strategies in the context of Agricultural Supply Chains (ASC) by using a simulation approach. The results of a discrete-event simulation with one commodity product evaluated in three different scenarios prove the benefits of this coordination strategy by reducing the number of annual shipments from 1732 to 725 in a city logistics context and increasing fleet utilization levels up to 71%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the general modelling process for the logistics of medicines distribution within the public health program in Colombia. The model is grounded in verifying the conditions on the current information for the logistics distribution system of the medicines in the six (6) public health programs in Colombia. Verification on the structure and robustness of the created model is developed through an emulation system based on the matrix of real information, and later verified by using a discrete simulation program developed in visual.Net with input and output to Excel. The proposal is tested and validated through GAMS® – General Algebraic Modelling System, with the formulation of three operational scenarios that achieve savings up to 57,44% of the total cost of the public health medicines logistics system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1958, Western Sahara became a Spanish province. Since Spanish was the only official language, translating into Arabic the legislation for the territory was quite unusual. There were, however, some exceptions, like the Statute of Autonomy (1974). This paper provides, first, a brief introduction to translation activities in the former Spanish colony and some information on the process of translating this important historical document; secondly, the Arabic version of the Statute of Autonomy is published for the first time and briefly commented upon. The Arabic text is accompanied by the Spanish sourcetext, which in turn is compared with the final official version of the Statute of Autonomy as sanctioned by General Franco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. In Chile, the novel influenza A (H1N1) epidemic began in the middle-high income area of Santiago. Clinical and laboratory surveillance was intensified with the aim to characterize the epidemic and determine its impact in a large hospital setting. Methods. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from all patients whose symptoms met the clinical definition of influenza A (H1N1) infection during the epidemic period. Laboratory confirmation was obtained by use of a nasopharyngeal antigen detection test for influenza A and/or influenza A (H1N1) polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A case was considered confirmed if the antigen detection test result for influenza A and/or the PCR test result were positive. Results. The total number of emergency department (ED) visits increased by 88.5% from a mean of 14,489 ED visits in 2006-2008 to a mean of 27,308 ED visits in 2009, during the epidemic period. There were 10,048 patients who were clinically diagnosed with influenza A (H1N1), and they represented 78% of all visits, of which 4591 (45.6%) were laboratory confirmed. The median time from symptom onset to diagnosis was 1 day, and 99.7% of individuals received antiviral treatment. School-aged children represented 67% of ED visits at the beginning of the epidemic and 24% of ED visits at the end of the epidemic. Only 2% of cases were hospitalized; of these, 70% of cases occurred in patients 6-50 years of age, and 32% of cases occurred in patients who had an underlying medical condition. Eleven patients (age range, 1-53 years) required admission to the intensive care unit (ICU); 6 of these patients had pneumonia with or without hemodynamic shock. No influenza-associated deaths occurred. Conclusions. Many cases of influenza A (H1N1) occurred in school-aged and adult individuals who required an ED visit; these visits resulted in a low impact on the use of hospital beds. Aggressive ICU management and/or experience in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation significantly improved outcomes. Early antiviral treatment may have played an important role in the low number of severe cases. Vaccines targeted for school-aged children and young adults may modify the first epidemic wave in the northern hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infection is usually restricted to the respiratory epithelium. Few studies have documented the presence of RSV in the systemic circulation, however there is no consistent information whether virus detection in the blood correlates with disease severity.Methods: Balb/c mice were inoculated with live RSV, heat-inactivated RSV or medium. A subset of RSV-infected mice was treated with anti-RSV antibody 72 h post-inoculation. RSV RNA loads were measured by PCR in peripheral blood from day 1-21 post-inoculation and were correlated with upper and lower respiratory tract viral loads, the systemic cytokine response, lung inflammation and pulmonary function. Immunohistochemical staining was used to define the localization of RSV antigens in the respiratory tract and peripheral blood.Results: RSV RNA loads were detected in peripheral blood from day 1 to 14 post-inoculation, peaked on day 5 and significantly correlated with nasal and lung RSV loads, airway obstruction, and blood CCL2 and CXCL1 expression. Treatment with anti-RSV antibody reduced blood RSV RNA loads and improved airway obstruction. Immunostaining identified RSV antigens in alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood monocytes.Conclusions: RSV RNA was detected in peripheral blood upon infection with live RSV, followed a time-course parallel to viral loads assessed in the respiratory tract and was significantly correlated with RSV-induced airway disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests whether financial leverage fluctuates in a way which is consistent with the existence of a target leverage or, on the contrary, it freely fluctuates with the observed changes on stock returns. Using a sample of non-financial publicly-traded firms of 5 Latin-American countries and the US in the period 2000-2007, we find that firms allow their leverages fluctuate almost one to one with stock returns variations. This evidence does not mean at all that firms are not involve in corporate debt issuing activity but they do not care too much about hit a particular target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Previous studies in mice showed that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was associated with RSV RNA persistence. This study was designed to characterize the significance of RSV RNA persistence and its relation to RSV-induced chronic airway disease. Methods. Mice were inoculated with live RSV, UV light-treated RSV, heat-inactivated RSV, or medium. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were obtained and lung specimens were harvested on days 1, 5, and 42 after inoculation to assess lung inflammation, lung mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, IL-15, and interferon (IFN)-γ; RSV loads were assessed by culture and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and correlated with pulmonary function. Results. During the acute phase of infection, RSV loads as indicated by culture and PCR were significantly higher in mice inoculated with live RSV. On day 42, RSV RNA remained detectable only in mice inoculated with live or UV light-treated RSV. Lung inflammation, IFN-γ:IL-4 mRNA expression ratios, airway obstruction (AO), and airway hyperreactivity (AHR) were significantly increased in mice inoculated with live RSV. AO on day 5 and AHR on day 42 were significantly correlated with RSV RNA copy number in lung samples. Conclusions. Infection with live RSV induced acute and chronic airway disease that was associated with a predominantly Th-1 immune response and RSV RNA persistence that significantly correlated with pulmonary function abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review of the Asin's catalogue (1910) of the Arabic Manuscripts in Sacromonte Library (Granada, Spain) with special attention to formal aspects (paper, binding, ink) including cataloguing and description of a new manuscript (number 22). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study objectives: Several validated instruments are used to measure outcomes, such as exercise performance, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life after pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with COPD. However, no study has simultaneously compared the responsiveness of the most frequently used outcome measurements after PR. We designed this study to investigate the capacity of several of the most frequently used outcome measurements to detect changes after PR in a population of patients with severe COPD who qualified for lung volume reduction surgery. Design, patients, and interventions: We evaluated 37 patients with severe COPD (FEV[sub 1] < 40%) before and after 6 to 8 weeks of outpatient PR. The following frequently used tools were evaluated: the 6-min walk distance (6MWD); functional dyspnea with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale; baseline and transitional dyspnea index (BDI/TDI); resting and 6MWD visual analog scale (VAS); quality of life with a generic tool (the Short Form-36 [SF-36]); and two disease-specific tools, the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ) and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Results: After PR, mean ± SD 6MWD increased in 33 of 37 patients (89%), from 285 ± 97 to 343 ± 92 m (p = 0.009). Improvements were seen also in the MRC scale in 23 of 37 patients (62%; from 2.27 ± 0.8 to 1.86 ± 0.6; p = 0.01); in CRQ dyspnea in 25 of 37 patients (67%; from 3.25 ± 0.9 to 3.90 ± 1.4; p = 0.02); in CRQ mastery in 22 of 37 patients (60%; from 4.37 ± 1.4 to 5.14 ± 1.3; p = 0.01); and in BDUTDI functional in 24 of 37 patients (64%; from 1.4 ± 0.8 to 0.7 ± 1.1; p = 0.002). There were smaller improvements in the SGRQ in 18 of 37 patients (48%) and in the SF-36 in 19 of 37 patients (51%), but they were not statistically significant. There were good correlations between the dyspnea components of all the tools. The 6MWD change did not... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several screening strategies for identifying congenital CMV (cCMV) have been proposed; however, the optimal solution has yet to be determined. We aimed to determine the prevalence of cCMV by universal screening with saliva pool testing and to identify the clinical variables associated with a higher risk of cCMV to optimize an expanded screening strategy. Methods: We carried out a prospective universal cCMV screening (September/2022 to August/2023) of 2186 newborns, analyzing saliva samples in pools of five (Alethia-LAMP-CMV®) and then performed confirmatory urine CMV RT-PCR. Infants with risk factors (small for gestational age, failed hearing screening, HIV-exposed, born to immunosuppressed mothers, or <1000 g birth weight) underwent expanded screening. Multivariate analyses were used to assess the association with maternal/neonatal variables. Results: We identified 10 infants with cCMV (prevalence: 0.46%, 95% CI 0.22–0.84), with significantly higher rates (2.1%, 95% CI 0.58–5.3) in the high-risk group (p = 0.04). False positives occurred in 0.09% of cases. No significant differences in maternal/neonatal characteristics were observed, except for a higher prevalence among infants born to non-Chilean mothers (p = 0.034), notably those born to Haitian mothers (1.5%, 95% CI 0.31–4.34), who had higher odds of cCMV (OR 6.82, 95% CI 1.23–37.9, p = 0.04). Incorporating maternal nationality improved predictive accuracy (AUC: 0.65 to 0.83). Conclusions: For low-prevalence diseases such as cCMV, universal screening with pool testing in saliva represents an optimal and cost-effective approach to enhance diagnosis in asymptomatic patients. An expanded screening strategy considering maternal nationality could be beneficial in resource-limited settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For polyolefins, a transition from ductile- to brittle fracture behavior can be observed at decreasing temperatures, which is typically characterized by the Ductile–Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT). For each material, the DBTT needs to be determined by performing multiple impact tests across wide temperature ranges. In this study, we utilize Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to predict the DBTT from single Instrumented Notched Charpy (INC) experiments instead. Our dataset consists of over 6732 INCs encompassing 132 Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP) compounds. For each of these compounds, we examine 51 impact tests at temperatures ranging from -40 °C to 60 °C. We train models on combinations of instrumentation signals and fracture surface images. We test the trained networks on 1683 INCs, where we achieve a R2-score of 0.96 and an average error below 5 °C of predictions compared to experimentally determined DBTTs. The presented methodology provides a flexible way of predicting DBTTs in case of non-instrumented testing or if thermal specimen conditioning is not possible. This allows for fast screening of new materials. [Display omitted] • 6732 instrumented notched Charpy experiments are utilized for machine learning. • 132 polyethylene- and polypropylene compounds are investigated. • Structure–property relations are extracted by networks from fracture surface images. • The Ductile–Brittle transition of polyolefins is predicted; average error below 10 °C. • The presented methodology allows for fast screening of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: By July 14, 2021, 81·3 % of adults (aged ≥18 years) in Chile had received a first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and 72·3% had received a second SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, with the majority of people given Sinovac's inactivated CoronaVac vaccine (75·3% of vaccines dispensed) or Pfizer-BioNTech's mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine (20·9% of vaccines dispensed). Due to the absence of simultaneous real-world data for these vaccines, we aimed to compare SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity between vaccines using a dynamic national monitoring strategy.Methods: From March 12, 2021, 28 testing stations for SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection were installed in hotspots based on cellular-phone mobility tracking within the most populated cities in Chile. Individuals voluntarily approaching the testing stations were invited to do a lateral flow test by finger prick and respond to a questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, vaccination status (including type of vaccine if one was received), variables associated with SARS-CoV-2 exposure, and comorbidities. We compared the proportion of individuals testing positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG across sites by week since vaccination between recipients of CoronaVac and BNT162b2. Unvaccinated participants served as a control population and were matched to vaccinated individuals on the basis of date of presentation to the testing station, gender, and age group. Individuals were excluded from the analysis if they were younger than 18 years, had no declared gender, had an invalid IgG test result, had previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection on PCR, could not recall their vaccination status, or had been immunised against COVID-19 with vaccines other than CoronaVac or BNT162b2. Here, we report data collected up to July 2, 2021.Findings: Of 64 813 individuals enrolled, 56 261 were included in the final analysis, of whom 33 533 (59·6%) had received at least one dose of the CoronaVac vaccine, 8947 (15·9%) had received at least one dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine, and 13 781 (24·5%) had not received a vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity during week 4 after the first dose of CoronaVac was 28·1% (95% CI 25·0-31·2; 220 of 783 individuals), reaching a peak of 77·4% (75·5-79·3; 1473 of 1902 individuals) during week 3 after the second dose. SARS-CoV-2 IgG positivity during week 4 after the first dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine was 79·4% (75·7-83·1; 367 of 462 individuals), increasing to 96·5% (94·9-98·1; 497 of 515 individuals) during week 3 after the second dose and remaining above 92% until the end of the study. For unvaccinated individuals, IgG seropositivity ranged from 6·0% (4·4-7·6; 49 of 810 individuals) to 18·7% (12·5-24·9; 28 of 150 individuals) during the 5 month period. Regression analyses showed that IgG seropositivity was significantly lower in men than women and in people with diabetes or chronic diseases for CoronaVac vaccine recipients (p<0·0001), and for individuals aged 60 years and older compared with people aged 18-39 years for both vaccines (p<0·0001), 3-16 weeks after the second dose.Interpretation: IgG seropositivity was lower after CoronaVac than after BNT162b2 and declined over time since vaccination for CoronaVac recipients but not BNT162b2 recipients. Prolonged IgG monitoring will allow further evaluation of seropositivity overtime, providing data, in conjunction with effectiveness studies, for possible future re-assessment of vaccination strategies.Funding: Instituto Sistemas Complejos de Ingeniería and Ministerio de Salud Chile.Translation: For the Spanish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Herbario de la Universidad El Bosque HUEB, a lo largo de la últimos 3 años ha empezado a sufrir una remodelación y reestructuración dentro de lo cual se han iniciado colecciones de grupos botánicos con los que no se contaba o que tenían un número escaso de muestras, dentro de las cuales se encuentran las de algas, hongos y briófitos, además se empezó reorganizar y enriquecer la colección de traqueófitos. Los ejemplares que se encontraban, inicialmente, se habían recolectado recolectado en Bahía Málaga, Isla Gorgona, Melgar y Tayrona, las nuevas muestras que se ingresaron incluyen sitos como, Tausa, Fómeque, Tenjo, Cocuy, Tauramena y Cerros orientales de Bogotá, provenientes de salidas de campo de docencia y por donaciones que se le han realizado al HUEB. La idea es contar con una colección representativa de las diferentes regiones del país con el fin de fortalecer la enseñanza de este grupo y su diversidad en Colombia. Hasta el momento se han revisado 112 muestras, dando como resultado un total de 11 familias, 23 géneros y 38 especies, en donde la familia más abundante fue e Dryopteridaceae con 11 especies y las menos abundantes fueron Gleicheniaceae, Plagiogyriaceae, Vittariaceae, Blechnaceae, Thelypteridaceae y Lindsaeaceae, todas con una especie. En cuanto a géneros el más abundantes fue Elaphoglossum con 4 especies, seguido por Trichomanes, Adiantum y Pecluma con 2 especies. Por otra parte, se elaboró una clave taxonómica con el programa DELTA Editor [1], a partir de caracteres morfológicos presentes en las muestras de pteridófitos que hacían parte de esta colección; la clave tiene descripciones del rizoma, pecíolo, frondas, pinnas y soros, algunas de las características de estas fueron la presencia de escamas, pelos o si eran glabrescentes, además de la venación, forma de cada una de ellas, tipo de lámina, coloración de las escamas, forma del pecíolo, forma de los soros, posición de los soros, entre otras; adicionalmente se le añadieron fotografías de cada características que se presentaban en la clave, dando como resultado una clave taxonómica que facilita su identificación y cuyo fin es seguirla enriqueciendo en la medida en que ingresen nuevas muestras a la colección. Finalmente, para hacerla más comprensible, se adicionó un glosario de los términos relacionados con la identificación de los pteridófitos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El Herbario de la Universidad El Bosque HUEB, a lo largo de la últimos 3 años ha empezado a sufrir una remodelación y reestructuración dentro de lo cual se han iniciado colecciones de grupos botánicos con los que no se contaba o que tenían un número escaso de muestras, dentro de las cuales se encuentran las de algas, hongos y briófitos, además se empezó reorganizar y enriquecer la colección de traqueófitos. Los ejemplares que se encontraban, inicialmente, se habían recolectado recolectado en Bahía Málaga, Isla Gorgona, Melgar y Tayrona, las nuevas muestras que se ingresaron incluyen sitos como, Tausa, Fómeque, Tenjo, Cocuy, Tauramena y Cerros orientales de Bogotá, provenientes de salidas de campo de docencia y por donaciones que se le han realizado al HUEB. La idea es contar con una colección representativa de las diferentes regiones del país con el fin de fortalecer la enseñanza de este grupo y su diversidad en Colombia. Hasta el momento se han revisado 112 muestras, dando como resultado un total de 11 familias, 23 géneros y 38 especies, en donde la familia más abundante fue e Dryopteridaceae con 11 especies y las menos abundantes fueron Gleicheniaceae, Plagiogyriaceae, Vittariaceae, Blechnaceae, Thelypteridaceae y Lindsaeaceae, todas con una especie. En cuanto a géneros el más abundantes fue Elaphoglossum con 4 especies, seguido por Trichomanes, Adiantum y Pecluma con 2 especies. Por otra parte, se elaboró una clave taxonómica con el programa DELTA Editor [1], a partir de caracteres morfológicos presentes en las muestras de pteridófitos que hacían parte de esta colección; la clave tiene descripciones del rizoma, pecíolo, frondas, pinnas y soros, algunas de las características de estas fueron la presencia de escamas, pelos o si eran glabrescentes, además de la venación, forma de cada una de ellas, tipo de lámina, coloración de las escamas, forma del pecíolo, forma de los soros, posición de los soros, entre otras; adicionalmente se le añadieron fotografías de cada características que se presentaban en la clave, dando como resultado una clave taxonómica que facilita su identificación y cuyo fin es seguirla enriqueciendo en la medida en que ingresen nuevas muestras a la colección. Finalmente, para hacerla más comprensible, se adicionó un glosario de los términos relacionados con la identificación de los pteridófitos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its initial detection in Brazil in February 2020, SARS-CoV-2 and the associated COVID-19 pandemic have continued to devastate Latin America. Specific comorbidities, as well as sociodemographic and lifestyle factors that may be more prevalent in underserved areas, have been identified as risk factors for COVID-19 infection or associated adverse outcomes. Dynamics of infections and deaths in Latin America have varied by country and temporally, as has SARS-CoV-2 variant prevalence; however, more recently, the Delta and subsequent Omicron variants have become ubiquitous. Successful pandemic responses have involved robust infection mitigation measures, testing, and smart deployment of healthcare resourcing. While in some Latin American countries up to 90% of the population is fully vaccinated (i.e., 2 doses) against COVID-19, other countries have failed to reach the World Health Organization's 70% target. Continued focus on comprehensive surveillance, strategies to maximize vaccine availability and uptake, and mitigation of collateral damage on other aspects of public health and social services are critical for managing the COVID-19 pandemic. This review summarizes the COVID-19 experience in Latin America, including epidemiology and vaccination. Key learnings and future considerations for the ongoing pandemic response are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the reasons that high-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) is used is due to the near immobility of thoracic structures. However, no study has quantified the movements of cardiac structures during HFJV compared with normal mechanical ventilation. Methods: After ethical approval and written informed consent, we included 21 patients scheduled for atrial fibrillation ablation in this prospective crossover study. Each patient was ventilated with both normal mechanical ventilation and HFJV. During each ventilation mode, displacements of the cardiac structure were measured by the EnSite Precision mapping system using a catheter placed in the coronary sinus. Results: The median [Q1–Q4] displacement was 2.0 [0.6–2.8] mm during HFJV and 10.5 [9.3–13.0] mm during conventional ventilation (p < 0.000001). Conclusion: This study quantifies the minimal movement of cardiac structures during HFJV compared to standard mechanical ventilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In people with COPD, pulmonary gas-exchange efficiency may be impaired because of abnormal alveolar ventilation (V˙A), capillary perfusion (Q˙c), or both. Both have been reported in early and mild stages of the disease. Such derangements often accompany significant clinical consequences such as activity-related dyspnea and exercise intolerance. Although much attention has been paid to pharmacologic treatment of mechanical abnormalities in COPD (eg, bronchodilators to deflate the lungs), increasing neurochemical afferent activity, secondary to gas-exchange inefficiency, has remained elusive as a therapeutic target. Hence, in this invited review, we first summarize how dyspnea, leading to poor exercise tolerance in COPD, may be explained by an increased venous admixture resulting from low V˙A/Q˙c, or wasted ventilation related to high V˙A/Q˙c, or both. We review the conflicting evidence supporting current treatments for gas-exchange inefficiency and exercise tolerance that act primarily on V˙A (bronchodilators, antiinflammatory medications) or Q˙c (oral and inhaled vasodilators, almitrine, and supplemental oxygen). Finally, to address the current knowledge and health care gaps, we propose two independent clinical research foci that may lead to a better understanding of the role of pulmonary gas-exchange inefficiency and activity-related dyspnea in COPD: (1) enhanced and deeper phenotyping of patients with COPD with V˙A/Q˙c abnormalities and (2) evaluation of existing and novel pharmacologic treatments to improve gas-exchange inefficiency, exertional dyspnea, and exercise tolerance across the spectrum of COPD severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and Objective: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), usually diagnosed after the 6th decade, frequently suffer from comorbidities. Whether COPD patients 50 years or younger (Young COPD) have similar comorbidities with the same frequency and mortality impact as aged-matched controls or older COPD patients is unknown.Methods: We compared comorbidity number, prevalence and type in 3 groups of individuals with ≥ 10 pack-years of smoking: A Young (≤ 50 years) COPD group (n = 160), an age-balanced control group without airflow obstruction (n = 125), and Old (> 50 years) COPD group (n = 1860). We also compared survival between the young COPD and control subjects. Using Cox proportional model, we determined the comorbidities associated with mortality risk and generated Comorbidomes for the "Young" and "Old" COPD groups.Results: The severity distribution by GOLD spirometric stages and BODE quartiles were similar between Young and Old COPD groups. After adjusting for age, sex, and pack-years, the prevalence of subjects with at least one comorbidity was 31% for controls, 77% for the Young, and 86% for older COPD patients. Compared to controls, "Young" COPDs' had a nine-fold increased mortality risk (p < 0.0001). "Comorbidomes" differed between Young and Old COPD groups, with tuberculosis, substance use, and bipolar disorders being distinct comorbidities associated with increased mortality risk in the Young COPD group.Conclusions: Young COPD patients carry a higher comorbidity prevalence and mortality risk compared to non-obstructed control subjects. Young COPD differed from older COPD patients by the behavioral-related comorbidities that increase their risk of premature death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Globally, Candida auris is an emerging pathogen that poses an essential threat in healthcare settings presenting as outbreaks requiring significant allocation of infection control interventions to curb transmission. This fungal pathogen was initially identified in 2009 in Japan, but it has spread to all continents. Candida auris poses significant diagnostic and treatment challenges. Conventional microbiology laboratories often misidentify this pathogen as Candida haemulonii or as other Candida spp. Rhodoturola glutinis, and even with some bacterial pathogens, including Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A. Furthermore, C. auris displays distinct mechanisms of antifungal resistance to azoles and amphotericin B formulations. Most of the case series and outbreak reports have included invasive infections in adult populations. Methods Herein, we present a cluster of neonatal infections caused by Candida auris at a large referral center in Colombia. Results We report a case series of 8 neonates and infant patients who were seen at a large referral center in Colombia and who develop invasive infections caused by C. haemulonii and C. auris. Discussion Our report highlights the diagnostic challenges in identifying this fungal pathogen correctly, its clinical spectrum of disease, recommendations for empiric antifungal therapy, and it is not always associated with a high case fatality rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the impact of a structured educational programme for caregivers of children with cancer on their level of knowledge about the disease and patient's clinical outcome. Methods: This prospective, non‐randomised, experimental study included caregivers of recently diagnosed children at two hospitals in Chile. Caregivers whose children were treated at the first centre were the structured education programme group (EPG), while the second hospital provided the standard care (SCG). We evaluated caregivers' level of knowledge on days 1, 10 and 90 as well as the children's clinical outcomes over 1 year of treatment. Results: A total of 102 caregivers were enrolled between 2014 and 2015. Only the EPG showed a significant increase in knowledge between days 1 and 90. The rate of central venous catheter infections was significantly lower in the EPG versus SCG (7% versus 26%; p =.01). The risk ratio was 0.35 (95% CI = 0.13–0.94), and a log‐rank test showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p =.018). There were also fewer Emergency Department visits in the EPG for fever episodes. Conclusion: Providing a structured education to caregivers increased their level of knowledge and improved the clinical outcome of their children during the first year of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The phased withdrawal of oral polio vaccine (OPV) and the introduction of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) is central to the polio 'end-game' strategy.Methods: We analyzed the cost implications in Chile of a switch from the vaccination scheme consisting of a pentavalent vaccine with whole-cell pertussis component (wP) plus IPV/OPV vaccines to a scheme with a hexavalent vaccine with acellular pertussis component (aP) and IPV (Hexaxim®) from a societal perspective. Cost data were collected from a variety of sources including national estimates and previous vaccine studies. All costs were expressed in 2017 prices (US$ 1.00 = $Ch 666.26).Results: The overall costs associated with the vaccination scheme (4 doses of pentavalent vaccine plus 1 dose IPV and 3 doses OPV) from a societal perspective was estimated to be US$ 12.70 million, of which US$ 8.84 million were associated with the management of adverse events related to wP. In comparison, the cost associated with the 4-dose scheme with a hexavalent vaccine (based upon the PAHO reference price) was US$ 19.76 million. The cost of switching to the hexavalent vaccine would be an additional US$ 6.45 million. Overall, depending on the scenario, the costs of switching to the hexavalent scheme would range from an additional US$ 2.62 million to US$ 6.45 million compared with the current vaccination scheme.Conclusions: The switch to the hexavalent vaccine schedule in Chile would lead to additional acquisition costs, which would be partially offset by improved logistics, and a reduction in adverse events associated with the current vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Most Latin American countries have seasonal influenza policies in place (73). • Influenza seasonality in tropical Latin America often challenges optimal vaccination (86). • Influenza surveillance has improved in Latin America since 2009, but more is needed (85). • Standardization of case definitions is recommended across Latin American countries (84). • Seasonal influenza vaccination during pregnancy is increasing in Latin America (76). The Global Influenza Initiative (GII) is a global expert group that aims to raise acceptance and uptake of influenza vaccines globally and provides recommendations and strategies to address challenges at local, national, regional, and global levels. This article provides a consolidated estimation of disease burden in Latin America, currently lacking in published literature, and delivers the GII recommendations specific to Latin America that provide guidance to combat existing vaccination challenges. While many countries worldwide, especially in the tropics and subtropics, do not have a seasonal influenza policy, 90% of Latin American countries have a seasonal influenza policy in place. Local governments in the Latin American countries and The Pan American Health Organization's Technical Advisory Group on Vaccine-preventable Diseases play a major role in improving the vaccination coverage and reducing the overall disease burden. Influenza seasonality poses the biggest challenge in deciding on optimal timing for vaccination in Latin America, as in temperate climates seasonal influenza activity peaks during the winter months (November–February and May–October) in the northern and southern hemispheres, respectively, while in the tropics and subtropical regions it usually occurs throughout the year, but especially during the rainy season. Besides this, vaccine mismatch with circulating strains, misconception concerning influenza vaccine effectiveness, and poor disease and vaccine awareness among the public are also key challenges that need to be overcome. Standardization of clinical case definitions is important across all Latin American countries. Surveillance (mostly passive) has improved substantially in the Latin American countries over the past decade, but more is still required to better understand the disease burden and help inform policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aging is an important risk factor for most chronic diseases. Patients with COPD develop more comorbidities than non-COPD subjects. We hypothesized that the development of comorbidities characteristically affecting the elderly occur at an earlier age in subjects with the diagnosis of COPD. Methods and findings: We included all subjects carrying the diagnosis of COPD (n = 27,617), and a similar number of age and sex matched individuals without the diagnosis, extracted from the 727,241 records of individuals 40 years and older included in the EpiChron Cohort (Aragon, Spain). We compared the cumulative number of comorbidities, their prevalence and the mortality risk between both groups. Using network analysis, we explored the connectivity between comorbidities and the most influential comorbidities in both groups. We divided the groups into 5 incremental age categories and compared their comorbidity networks. We then selected those comorbidities known to affect primarily the elderly and compared their prevalence across the 5 age groups. In addition, we replicated the analysis in the smokers’ subgroup to correct for the confounding effect of cigarette smoking. Subjects with COPD had more comorbidities and died at a younger age compared to controls. Comparison of both cohorts across 5 incremental age groups showed that the number of comorbidities, the prevalence of diseases characteristic of aging and network’s density for the COPD group aged 56–65 were similar to those of non-COPD 15 to 20 years older. The findings persisted after adjusting for smoking. Conclusion: Multimorbidity increases with age but in patients carrying the diagnosis of COPD, these comorbidities are seen at an earlier age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data on how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) genotypes influence disease severity and host immune responses is limited. Here, we characterized the genetic variability of RSV during 5 seasons, and evaluated the role of RSV subtypes, genotypes, and viral loads in disease severity and host transcriptional profiles.Methods: A prospective, observational study was carried out, including a convenience sample of healthy infants hospitalized with RSV bronchiolitis. Nasopharyngeal samples for viral load quantitation, typing, and genotyping, and blood samples for transcriptome analyses were obtained within 24 hours of hospitalization. Multivariate models were constructed to identify virologic and clinical variables predictive of clinical outcomes.Results: We enrolled 253 infants (median age 2.1 [25%-75% interquartile range] months). RSV A infections predominated over RSV B and showed greater genotype variability. RSV A/GA2, A/GA5, and RSV B/BA were the most common genotypes identified. Compared to GA2 or BA, infants with GA5 infections had higher viral loads. GA5 infections were associated with longer hospital stay, and with less activation of interferon and increased overexpression of neutrophil genes.Conclusions: RSV A infections were more frequent than RSV B, and displayed greater variability. GA5 infections were associated with enhanced disease severity and distinct host immune responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We previously detected Helicobacter pylori infection by stool antigen ELISA assay in 33-41% of asymptomatic Chilean children between 2-3 years of age, of which 11-20% had a transient infection and 21-22% a persistent infection. A total of 88% of ELISA-positive samples were also rt PCR positive, while 37/133 (33%) of ELISA-negative stool samples were rt PCR positive. The significance of a ELISA-negative/rt PCR-positive sample requires clarification. We aimed to determine whether rt PCR is able to detect persistent infections not detected by ELISA. Materials and Methods We selected 36 children with an ELISA-negative/rt PCR-positive stool sample, of which 25 were never H. pylori infected according to ELISA, and 11 had a transient infection with an ELISA-positive sample before or after the discordant sample. At least two additional consecutive ELISA-negative samples per child were tested in duplicate by rt PCR for the 16s rRNA gene. Results A total of 14 of 78 (17.9%) rt PCR reactions were positive, but only 4/78 (5.1%) were positive in both duplicates, representing a total of 3/36 (8.3%) children with an additional rt PCR-positive sample, only one of whom was persistently negative by ELISA. One child with a transient infection had two positive rt PCR reactions despite negative ELISA samples. Conclusions In H. pylori noninfected or transiently infected children, as determined by stool ELISA, additional ELISA-negative/rt PCR-positive stool samples were found in 8.3% of children, but a possible persistent infection was only identified in 2.7% of children. Thus, the characterization of infection dynamics in children is not being misrepresented by application of stool ELISA. Furthermore, rt PCR does not significantly improve dynamic characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: The Spanish guideline for COPD (GesEPOC) recommends COPD treatment according to four clinical phenotypes: non-exacerbator phenotype with either chronic bronchitis or emphysema (NE), asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS), frequent exacerbator phenotype with emphysema (FEE) or frequent exacerbator phenotype with chronic bronchitis (FECB). However, little is known on the distribution and outcomes of the four suggested phenotypes. Objective: We aimed to determine the distribution of these COPD phenotypes, and their relation with one-year clinical outcomes. Methods: We followed a cohort of well-characterized patients with COPD up to one-year. Baseline characteristics, health status (CAT), BODE index, rate of exacerbations and mortality up to one year of follow-up were compared between the four phenotypes. Results: Overall, 831 stable COPD patients were evaluated. They were distributed as NE, 550 (66.2%); ACOS, 125 (15.0%); FEE, 38 (4.6%); and FECB, 99 (11.9%); additionally 19 (2.3%) COPD patients with frequent exacerbations did not fulfill the criteria for neither FEE nor FECB. At baseline, there were significant differences in symptoms, FEV1 and BODE index (all p<0.05). The FECB phenotype had the highest CAT score (17.1±8.2, p<0.05 compared to the other phenotypes). Frequent exacerbator groups (FEE and FECB) were receiving more pharmacological treatment at baseline, and also experienced more exacerbations the year after (all p<0.05) with no differences in one-year mortality. Most of NE (93%) and half of exacerbators were stable after one year. Conclusions: There is an uneven distribution of COPD phenotypes in stable COPD patients, with significant differences in demographics, patient-centered outcomes and health care resources use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an agent-based model of the technological adoption of solar panels, including potential adopters' characteristics and their interactions. This study analyzes the theoretical impact of seven social influence strategies on the adoption of solar panels by householders within a solar neighborhood in the Providencia district, Chile. In this case study, established adopters account for 0.9% of the population, opinion leaders for 1.3%, and individuals in the network for 97.8%. Considering the population's high-level ambition and tolerance of uncertainty, we found that householders are mainly characterized as optimizers (89.7%), followed by inquirers (7.6%), repeaters (2.3%), and imitators (0.3%) agents. Our agent-based simulation model evaluated the social influence strategies based on economic, environmental, and social benefits. The results show that social influence strategies lead to a 19.27% increase, on average, in the total number of adopters concerning the base case. Then, we performed a multi-objective analysis to select the best adoption strategy. These results show that selecting the most connected agents in the network is a robust strategy the decision-makers have environmental or financial concerns. However, if the decision-makers' primary interest is maximizing the diffusion scope of solar panel neighborhoods, random agent selection is the most advisable strategy, given its ease of implementation. [Display omitted] • Consumat approach and Campbell's paradigm were integrated into a simulation model. • The results from seven social influence strategies are compared. • Selective seeding and random seeding are found to be the most effective strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection by RNA viruses is detected by the host through Toll-like receptors or RIG-I-like receptors. Toll-like receptors and RIG-I-like receptors signal through the adaptors MyD88 and MAVS, respectively, to induce type I IFNs (IFN-I) and other antiviral molecules, which are thought to be essential for activating the adaptive immune system. We investigated the role of these adaptors in innate and adaptive immune responses against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common human pathogen. Deletion of Mavs abolished the induction of IFN-l and other proinflammatory cytokines by RSV. Genome-wide expression profiling in the lung showed that the vast majority of RSV-induced genes depended on MAVS. Although Myd88 deficiency did not affect most RSV-induced genes, mice lacking both adaptors harbored a higher and more prolonged viral load and exhibited more severe pulmonary disease than those lacking either adaptor alone. Surprisingly, Myd88-/-/Mavs-/- mice were able to activate a subset of pulmonary dendritic cells that traffic to the draining lymph node in response to RSV. These mice subsequently mounted a normal cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response and demonstrated delayed but effective viral clearance. These results provide an example of a normal and effective adaptive immune response in the absence of innate immunity mediated by MAVS and MyD88. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objectives: Several validated instruments are used to measure outcomes, such as exercise performance, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life after pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in patients with COPD. However, no study has simultaneously compared the responsiveness of the most frequently used outcome measurements after PR. We designed this study to investigate the capacity of several of the most frequently used outcome measurements to detect changes after PR in a population of patients with severe COPD who qualified for lung volume reduction surgery.Design, Patients, and Interventions: We evaluated 37 patients with severe COPD (FEV(1) < 40%) before and after 6 to 8 weeks of outpatient PR. The following frequently used tools were evaluated: the 6-min walk distance (6MWD); functional dyspnea with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale; baseline and transitional dyspnea index (BDI/TDI); resting and 6MWD visual analog scale (VAS); quality of life with a generic tool (the Short Form-36 [SF-36]); and two disease-specific tools, the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ) and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ).Results: After PR, mean +/- SD 6MWD increased in 33 of 37 patients (89%), from 285 +/- 97 to 343 +/- 92 m (p = 0.009). Improvements were seen also in the MRC scale in 23 of 37 patients (62%; from 2.27 +/- 0.8 to 1.86 +/- 0.6; p = 0.01); in CRQ dyspnea in 25 of 37 patients (67%; from 3.25 +/- 0.9 to 3.90 +/- 1.4; p = 0.02); in CRQ mastery in 22 of 37 patients (60%; from 4.37 +/- 1.4 to 5.14 +/- 1.3; p = 0.01); and in BDI/TDI functional in 24 of 37 patients (64%; from 1.4 +/- 0.8 to 0.7 +/- 1.1; p = 0.002). There were smaller improvements in the SGRQ in 18 of 37 patients (48%) and in the SF-36 in 19 of 37 patients (51%), but they were not statistically significant. There were good correlations between the dyspnea components of all the tools. The 6MWD change did not correlate with the changes in the other outcomes. Clinically significant changes in the values for those outcome tools were detected in > 50% of patients for the BDI/TDI, 29% of patients for the MRC scale, in 37% of patients for the 6MWD, in 48% of patients for the VAS at peak exercise, in > 50% of patients for the CRQ, and in 40% of patients for the SGRQ.Conclusions: We conclude that the VAS peak exercise, BDI/TDI, and CRQ adequately reflect the beneficial effects of PR. The 6MWD evaluates a unique domain not related to quality of life. Due to their simplicity and sensitivity, VAS at peak exercise, 6MWD, and CRQ may be the best practical tools to evaluate responsiveness to PR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plasma metabolomics profile (PMP) in COPD has been associated with clinical characteristics, but PMP's relationship to survival has not been reported. We determined PMP differences between patients with COPD who died an average of 2 years after enrollment (Non-survivors, NS) compared to those who survived (S) and also with age matched controls (C).Methods: We studied prospectively 90 patients with severe COPD and 30 controls. NS were divided in discovery and validation cohorts (30 patients each) and the results compared to the PMP of 30 S and C. All participants completed lung function tests, dyspnea scores, quality of life, exercise capacity, BODE index, and plasma metabolomics by liquid and gas chromatography / mass spectometry (LC/MS, LC/MS2, GC/MS). Statistically, we used Random Forest Analysis (RFA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) to determine metabolites that differentiated the 3 groups and compared the ability of metabolites vs. clinical characteristics to classify patients into survivors and non-survivors.Results: There were 79 metabolites statistically different between S and NS [p < 0.05 and false discovery rate (q value) < 0.1]. RFA and SVM classification of COPD survivors and non-survivors had a predicted accuracy of 74 and 85% respectively. Elevation of tricyclic acid cycle intermediates branched amino acids depletion and increase in lactate, fructose and xylonate showed the most relevant differences between S vs. NS suggesting alteration in mitochondrial oxidative energy generation. PMP had similar predictive power for risk of death as information provided by clinical characteristics.Conclusions: A plasma metabolomic profile characterized by an oxidative energy production difference between survivors and non-survivors was observed in COPD patients 2 years before death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Un herbario es una colección de especímenes vegetales destinada al estudio y a la enseñanza de la Botánica. Consiste en un conjunto de plantas secas, debidamente organizadas, lo cual hace de este no solo una colección de ejemplares sino un centro de información sobre diferentes aspectos de las plantas y su clasificación. El herbario de la Universidad El Bosque HUEB, a lo largo de los últimos 3 años ha empezado a sufrir una remodelación y reestructuración dentro de lo cual se han empezado a crear colecciones de grupos botánicos con los que no se contaba o que tenían un número escaso de muestras, además se empezó reorganizar y enriquecer la colección de traqueófitos. La colección del HUEB actualmente incluye plantas vasculares (Licófitos, Monilófitos, Gimnospermas y Angiospermas), Briófitos (Hepáticas, Musgos y Antocerotes), Hongos (Basidiomicetos, Ascomicetos, Glomeromicetos, Zigomicetos y otros), Algas (Rodofitas, Clorofitas, Ocrofitas y otras) y Cianobacterias. El herbario HUEB tiene como objetivo mantener una colección de referencia de las prácticas académicas que impliquen la caracterización de vegetación o la identificación de material vegetal; de igual forma, en este deben reposar los ejemplares de referencia de material vegetal utilizado en los proyectos de aula y en los trabajos de grado. Además de la colección de referencia, el herbario incluye material que es utilizado con fines de docencia para los cursos de botánica básica y taxonomía vegetal del programa de Biología de la universidad El Bosque. La nueva estructura del herbario implicó la adquisición de un archivo móvil, dos estantes para exhibición de muestras, un horno de secado, un estereoscopio con brazo extensible y un escáner para el registro de los especímenes botánicos. Además de esto se desarrolló un manual de procedimientos que incluye todos los aspectos que se deben tener en cuenta durante la recolección de muestras, el prensado, el secado, el montaje y el etiquetado [1]. La colección cuenta actualmente con aproximadamente 5.000 especímenes, de los cuales, los grupos más representativos son plantas vasculares con 60% y hongos liquenizados con 22%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Un herbario es una colección de especímenes vegetales destinada al estudio y a la enseñanza de la Botánica. Consiste en un conjunto de plantas secas, debidamente organizadas, lo cual hace de este no solo una colección de ejemplares sino un centro de información sobre diferentes aspectos de las plantas y su clasificación. El herbario de la Universidad El Bosque HUEB, a lo largo de los últimos 3 años ha empezado a sufrir una remodelación y reestructuración dentro de lo cual se han empezado a crear colecciones de grupos botánicos con los que no se contaba o que tenían un número escaso de muestras, además se empezó reorganizar y enriquecer la colección de traqueófitos. La colección del HUEB actualmente incluye plantas vasculares (Licófitos, Monilófitos, Gimnospermas y Angiospermas), Briófitos (Hepáticas, Musgos y Antocerotes), Hongos (Basidiomicetos, Ascomicetos, Glomeromicetos, Zigomicetos y otros), Algas (Rodofitas, Clorofitas, Ocrofitas y otras) y Cianobacterias. El herbario HUEB tiene como objetivo mantener una colección de referencia de las prácticas académicas que impliquen la caracterización de vegetación o la identificación de material vegetal; de igual forma, en este deben reposar los ejemplares de referencia de material vegetal utilizado en los proyectos de aula y en los trabajos de grado. Además de la colección de referencia, el herbario incluye material que es utilizado con fines de docencia para los cursos de botánica básica y taxonomía vegetal del programa de Biología de la universidad El Bosque. La nueva estructura del herbario implicó la adquisición de un archivo móvil, dos estantes para exhibición de muestras, un horno de secado, un estereoscopio con brazo extensible y un escáner para el registro de los especímenes botánicos. Además de esto se desarrolló un manual de procedimientos que incluye todos los aspectos que se deben tener en cuenta durante la recolección de muestras, el prensado, el secado, el montaje y el etiquetado [1]. La colección cuenta actualmente con aproximadamente 5.000 especímenes, de los cuales, los grupos más representativos son plantas vasculares con 60% y hongos liquenizados con 22%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]