Cohort profile: congenital Zika virus infection and child neurodevelopmental outcomes in the ZEN cohort study in Colombia

Maritza Gonzalez,Van T,Tong,Helena Rodriguez,Diana Valencia,Jacqueline Acosta,Margaret A,Honein,Martha L,Ospina1 The ZEN Study Team 한국역학회 2020 Epidemiology and Health Vol.42 No.-

Zika en Embarazadas y Niños (ZEN) is a prospective cohort study designed to identify risk factors and modifiers for Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnant women, partners, and infants, as well as to assess the risk for adverse maternal, fetal, infant, and childhood outcomes of ZIKV and other congenital infections. ZIKV infection during pregnancy may be associated with long-term sequelae. In the ZEN cohort, 1,519 pregnant women and 287 partners were enrolled from 3 departments within Colombia between February 2017 and January 2018, as well as 1,108 infants born to the pregnant women who were followed to 6 months. The data include baseline questionnaires at enrollment; repeated symptoms and study follow-up questionnaires; the results of lab tests to detect ZIKV and other congenital infections; medical record abstractions; infant physical, eye, and hearing exams; and developmental screening tests. Follow-up of 850 mother-child dyads occurred at 9 months, 12 months, and 18 months with developmental screenings, physical exams, and parent questionnaires. The data will be pooled with those from other prospective cohort studies for an individual participant data meta-analysis of ZIKV infection during pregnancy to characterize pregnancy outcomes and sequelae in children.

Using the diastolic shock index to determine when to promptly administer vasopressors in patients with septic shock

Ospina-Tascón Gustavo A.,García-Gallardo Gustavo,Orozco Nicolás 대한응급의학회 2022 Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine Vol.9 No.4

Simultaneous Navigation and Mapping Combining Wide Angle and Telephoto Images

( Ricardo Ospina ),( Noboru Noguchi ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Machine vision systems onboard robots have become increasingly important in precision agriculture in order to fully automate some in-field agricultural tasks; like automatic navigation of an agricultural vehicle. In addition, machine vision systems in precision agriculture are also used to gather data from the field in an automated manner at minimal cost; like crop mapping. Several researches have achieved good results performing either crop navigation or crop mapping separately. However, current machine vision systems methods have limitations trying to perform both navigation and mapping processes at the same time. The objective of this research is to develop a machine vision method capable of mapping several crop rows while performing simultaneous navigation with high accuracy. The method is intended for use in automatic guidance systems of agricultural machinery. To achieve this goal, this research implemented a new camera developed by Fujifilm Corporation. This camera can shoot High Definition Wide Angle and Telephoto Images simultaneously. The camera was mounted in the top of a test vehicle, focused on the field surface from an inclined angle in order to obtain Wide Angle Images that cover up to eleven crop rows. At the same time, the camera provides accurate detection of the central crop row using Telephoto Images. The test vehicle used is a Kubota MD-77 conventional tractor, equipped with an RTK-GPS and a Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG). An on-board computer process the data from the camera, RTK-GPS and FOG. For accurate crop row detection this research used an image analysis method without segmentation instead of the Hough transformation method in order to reduce the computational burden of the image processing software. Results show that the machine vision method introduced in this research displays increased accuracy and noise reduction for crop row detection used in automatic navigation. In addition, the resulting map covers up to eleven crop rows, compared to other mapping methods that cover up to five crop rows. These results imply that the method is ideal for practical applications like spraying, avoiding to travel additional paths along the field in order to build a crop map; while providing crop row detection with increased accuracy.

Grafting Collagen on Poly (Lactic Acid) by a Simple Route to Produce Electrospun Scaffolds, and Their Cell Adhesion Evaluation

Alida Ospina-Orejarena,Ricardo Vera-Graziano,Maria Monica Castillo-Ortega,Juan Paulo Hinestroza,Mabel Rodriguez-Gonzalez,Laura Palomares-Aguilera,Marissa Morales-Moctezuma,Alfredo Maciel-Cerda 한국조직공학과 재생의학회 2016 조직공학과 재생의학 Vol.13 No.4

Increasing bioactivity and mechanical properties of polymers to produce more suitable scaffold for tissue engineering is a recurrent goal in the development of new biomedical materials. In this study, collagen-functionalized poly (lactic acid), PLA, was obtained by means of a simple grafting route, and electrospun scaffolds were produced to grow cells in vitro; their bioactivity was compared with scaffolds made of physical blends of PLA and collagen. Grafting was verified via nuclear magnetic resonance, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The cell adhesion performance of the scaffolds was studied using macrophages. Elastic modulus (74.7 megapascals) and tensile strength (3.0 megapascals) of the scaffold made from PLA grafted with collagen were substantially higher than the scaffolds made from physical blends of collagen and PLA: 32 and 2.16 megapascals, respectively, implying a more resistant material because of the chemical bond of the polypeptide to PLA. Besides, the fibers had more uniform diameter without defects. Scaffolds made from PLA grafted with collagen presented four-fold increase in cell adhesion than those of PLA blended with collagen. Furthermore, cell spreading within the scaffolds occurred only when collagen-functionalized poly (lactic acid) was used. These results open a new option for the easy tailoring of nanofiber-based scaffolds in three dimensions for tissue engineering.

Silencing the cleavage factor CFIm25 as a new strategy to control Entamoeba histolytica parasite

Juan David Ospina-Villa,Nancy Guillén,Ce´sar Lo´pez-Camarillo,Jacqueline Soto-Sanchez,Esther Ramirez-Moreno,Raul Garcia-Vazquez,Carlos A. Castañon-Sanchez,Abigail Betanzos,Laurence A.Marchat 한국미생물학회 2017 The journal of microbiology Vol.55 No.10

The 25 kDa subunit of the Clevage Factor Im (CFIm25) is an essential factor for messenger RNA polyadenylation in human cells. Therefore, here we investigated whether the homologous protein of Entamoeba histolytica, the protozoan responsible for human amoebiasis, might be considered as a biochemical target for parasite control. Trophozoites were cultured with bacterial double-stranded RNA molecules targeting the EhCFIm25 gene, and inhibition of mRNA and protein expression was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western blot assays, respectively. EhCFIm25 silencing was associated with a significant acceleration of cell proliferation and cell death. Moreover, trophozoites appeared as larger and multinucleated cells. These morphological changes were accompanied by a reduced mobility, and erythrophagocytosis was significantly diminished. Lastly, the knockdown of EhCFIm25 affected the poly(A) site selection in two reporter genes and revealed that EhCFIm25 stimulates the utilization of downstream poly(A) sites in E. histolytica mRNA. Overall, our data confirm that targeting the polyadenylation process represents an interesting strategy for controlling parasites, including E. histolytica. To our best knowledge, the present study is the first to have revealed the relevance of the cleavage factor CFIm25 as a biochemical target in parasites.

Genotype–environment interaction for milk production of Gyr cattle in Brazil and Colombia

Alejandra Maria Toro‑Ospina,Ricardo Antonio Faria,Dominguez-Castaño Pablo,Santana Mario Luiz,Gonzalez Luis Gabriel,Espasandin Ana Carolina,Silva Josineudson Augusto II Vasconcelos 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.2

Background Genotype by environment interactions (G × E) can play an important role in cattle populations and should be included in breeding programs in order to select the best animals for different environments. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the G × E for milk production of Gyr cattle in Brazil and Colombia by applying a reaction norm model used genomics information, and to identify genomic regions associated with milk production in the two countries. Methods The Brazilian and Colombian database included 464 animals (273 cows and 33 sires from Brazil and 158 cows from Colombia) and 27,505 SNPs. A two-trait animal model was used for milk yield adjusted to 305 days in Brazil and Colombia as a function of country of origin, which included genomic information obtained with a single-step genomic reaction norm model. The GIBBS3F90 and POSTGSf90 programs were used. Results The results obtained indicate G × E based on the reranking of bulls between Brazil and Colombia, demonstrating environmental differences between the two countries. The findings highlight the importance of considering the environment when choosing breeding animals in order to ensure the adequate performance of their progeny. Within this context, the reranking of bulls and the different SNPs associated with milk production in the two countries suggest that G × E is an important effect that should be included in the genetic evaluation of Dairy Gyr cattle in Brazil and Colombia. Conclusion The Gyr breeding program can be optimized by choosing a selection environment that will allow maximum genetic progress in milk production in different environments within and between countries.

Study and Analysis of Semiconductors for the Development of Two-layer Solar Cells

Jefry Mora,Jorge Ospina,Darío Amaya 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Smart Home Vol.9 No.11

In the field of renewable energies, researchers have always looked for the improvement of the conversion method in solar cells, due to the fact that only 14% of the electrical potential is being used. That is why in order to increase efficiency, different designs and materials have been studied. One of the most viable ways is the technology of multilayer solar cells, which the recent investigations focused due to the fact this technique allows the possibility of achieving efficiencies above 30%. Despite the above, the problem of this technique is the cost of manufacturing, which compared to the commercial cells, is inferior in benefit - cost relationship. For this reason, this paper shows a study of different semiconductors to design a two-layer solar cell, with the aim of selecting the best combination of semiconductors according to their own characteristics and results according to the described method.

HYPERSURFACES IN 𝕊⁴ THAT ARE OF L_k-2-TYPE

Lucas, Pascual,Ramirez-Ospina, Hector-Fabian Korean Mathematical Society 2016 대한수학회보 Vol.53 No.3

In this paper we begin the study of $L_k$-2-type hypersurfaces of a hypersphere ${\mathbb{S}}^{n+1}{\subset}{\mathbb{R}}^{n+2}$ for $k{\geq}1$ Let ${\psi}:M^3{\rightarrow}{\mathbb{S}}^4$ be an orientable $H_k$-hypersurface, which is not an open portion of a hypersphere. Then $M^3$ is of $L_k$-2-type if and only if $M^3$ is a Clifford tori ${\mathbb{S}}^1(r_1){\times}{\mathbb{S}}^2(r_2)$, $r^2_1+r^2_2=1$, for appropriate radii, or a tube $T^r(V^2)$ of appropriate constant radius r around the Veronese embedding of the real projective plane ${\mathbb{R}}P^2({\sqrt{3}})$.

Torque Ripple Analysis of Synchronous Reluctance Motor with Diff erent Rotor Topologies for Application with Dimensional Constraint

M. A. H. Rasid,Vincent Lanfranchi,Alejandro Ospina,Khadija El Kadri Benkara 대한전기학회 2020 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.15 No.5

Synchronous reluctance machine (SynRM) is reemerging as a thermally robust and inexpensive actuator solution mainly due to the lack of permanent magnet. Added to that, the possibilities of having diff erent rotor topologies make it very versatile where further optimization is possible depending on the objective, be it cost, ease of fabrication, power output, or torque quality. In an application where the outer dimension of the motor is strictly limited, this paper compares quantitatively and qualitatively the torque ripple of three SynRM machines of the same stator dimension equipped with diff erent rotor topologies: segmented, tooth and fl ux barrier. Using an experimentally validated FE model, the torque ripple and the ripple’s harmonic content are compared at maximum load (stator current, I S = 50 A) and load angle ( β = π/ 4). The machine adopting the fl ux-barrier rotor was shown to have the best torque quality (41% ripple), followed by tooth rotor (78% ripple) and fi nally segmented rotor (105% ripple). The harmonic contents are also presented and analyzed

Analysis of Cyp2b1 gene expression in the rat liver and brain by multiplex PCR

America Vanoye-Carlo,Gabriel Gutiérrez-Ospina,Jaime Marcial-Quino,Saúl Gómez-Manzo,Itzhel Garcia-Torres,Ignacio De la Mora-De la Mora,Sergio Enríquez-Flores,Sara T. Méndez,Bryan V. Phillips-Farfán,Ped 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2015 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.11 No.4

The CYP2B6 enzyme is involved in the metabolism of environmental toxins and endogenous compounds. The expression and activity of the cyp2b6 gene is important for the brain’s ability to detoxify harmful compounds. In rats, the Cyp2b1 gene is homologous to the human Cyp2b6 gene and has an isoform, Cyp2b2, with nearly the same sequence. Although the distinction between them is fundamental, most studies report global changes in CYP2B enzymes due to the complexity of the techniques to detect both genes separately. We instrumented a semi-quantitative technique combining multiplex end point RT-PCR with restriction enzyme assays, allowing us to establish a relatively simple, reproducible and affordable method to distinguish Cyp2b1 gene expression from Cyp2b2. Using this technique, we showed differential Cyp2b1 expression after phenobarbital and ethanol induction in the brain and liver and detected increased Cyp2b1 expression after ethanol treatment in the brain striatum that had not been detected before.