Comparative study of the intestinal parasitism profiles between communities across the 5 municipalities of the Barranquilla metropolitan area, Colombia

Luz A. Sarmiento-Rubiano,Margarita Filott,Lucila Gómez,Marianella Suarez-Marenco,María C. Sarmiento,Jimmy E. Becerra 질병관리본부 2021 Osong Public Health and Research Persptectives Vol.12 No.5

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the rate of parasitism and intestinal parasitism profiles of children who live in relatively proximal communities across the 5 municipalities of the Barranquilla metropolitan area, Colombia.Methods: In total, 986 fecal samples from children aged 1 to 10 were analyzed using a direct method (physiological saline and lugol) and the zinc sulfate flotation technique. A comparative analysis of the parasitism profiles between sampling locations (7 schools and 3 health centers providing growth and development services) was conducted using principal component analysis (PCA). The presence of Taenia solium antibodies was evaluated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method in 269 serum samples from the same group of children.Results: The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitism was 57.6% (range, 42.1%–77.6%) across the sampling areas. The prevalence of helminthiasis was between 4.1% and 23.7%, and that of intestinal protozoa was between 38.2% and 73.5%. PCA showed that the parasite profiles of each sampling location shared no common characteristics. A total of 3.0% of the serum samples were positive for T. solium antibodies.Conclusion: The intestinal parasitism profiles between relatively proximal sampling locations with similar geographic conditions were vastly different, indicating the need to study each small ecological niche on a localized scale to develop more cost-effective interventions for controlling intestinal parasitism.

Revisiting the Incorporation of Ti(IV) in UiO-type Metal–Organic Frameworks: Metal Exchange versus Grafting and Their Implications on Photocatalysis

Santaclara, Jara G.,Olivos-Suarez, Alma I.,Gonzalez-Nelson, Adrian,Osadchii, Dmitrii,Nasalevich, Maxim A.,van der Veen, Monique A.,Kapteijn, Freek,Sheveleva, Alena M.,Veber, Sergey L.,Fedin, Matvey V. American Chemical Society 2017 Chemistry of materials Vol.29 No.21

<P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/cmatex/2017/cmatex.2017.29.issue-21/acs.chemmater.7b03320/production/images/medium/cm-2017-03320d_0006.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/cm7b03320'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

In search of “Muda” through the TKJ Diagram. An analysis and Classification

( Manuel F. Suarez-barraza(phd) ),( Francisco G. Rodriguez-gonzalez(phd Candidate) ) 한국품질경영학회 2015 한국품질경영학회 학술대회 Vol.2015 No.2

Purpose. Muda is a Japanese term literally meaning futility, uselessness, idleness, superfluity, waste, wastage or wastefulness. The term was introduced by the Japanese engineer Taiichi Ohno of Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1960s. Therefore, reducing and minimizing Muda is an effective way to increase the operational efficiency and productivity of an organization’s processes. In turn, the technique known as the affinity or TKJ diagram represents a practical way of sorting data or ideas into groups classified by common patterns; it can be regarded as one of the new seven tools of quality. The purpose of this paper is to discover Muda by applying the affinity or TKJ diagram in Mexican organizations. Design/methodology/approach. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted. Using theoretical sampling, we identified and analyzed data from a kaizen training course. Each course workshop was organized by the consulting firm “Mi Empresa” and given to employees of various organizations in various sectors over three years from January 2012 to January 2015. In total, 36 KJ diagrams were obtained from 12 course workshops. Findings. The research provided the first evidence of Muda in Mexican organizations. The Muda of Ohno’s classification was confirmed, but new common patterns of Muda in 21st century organizations also arose. Furthermore, the TKJ diagram proved to be an effective tool of quality to detect it. Research limitations. This paper has the same limitations as all other qualitative research, including analysis subjectivity and questionable generalization of findings. It is also important to highlight that the 36 KJ diagrams yielded 1,026 Muda, a seemingly abundant figure. However, it is a small sample for the number of companies and processes to be found in Mexico. Practical implications (if possible). This paper may prove to be valuable for practitioners and managers involved in the operations and continuous improvement fields. Getting to know Muda in organizations is of great importance for continuously improving organizational processes. This classification will allow greater insight and easier detection. Originality/value. The study contributes to the limited existing literature on total quality management, lean thinking and kaizen and subsequently disseminates this information in order to provide impetus, guidance and support towards improving the quality of organizational processes.

Composites based on ZrO2-CaAl4O7 using conventional sintering and spark plasma sintering (SPS)

Y.L. Bruni,G. Suarez,Y. Sakka,L.B. Garrido,E.F. Aglietti 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2016 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.17 No.4

Composites based on ZrO2 stabilized with CaO and CaAl4O7 were sintered via two different techniques: ConventionalSintering route and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) between 1200 and 1400 oC. The effectiveness of sintering technique appliedon the stabilization degree of ZrO2 (conversion to c-ZrO2, Ca0.15Zr0.85O1.85), microstructure, densification and Vickers hardnessof the composites was evaluated. The SPS represented a remarkable advance in the c-ZrO2 formation and also resulted in ahigh densification of the composites (inclusive at 1200 oC) which attained relative densities higher than 0.95. The advantageof SPS technique was mainly evidenced by the high densification of composites with high CaAl4O7 content. Therefore, thecomposites sintered by SPS exhibited higher hardness (10 GPa) compared to that of composites produced via conventionalsintering (6 GPa).

antiSMASH 4.0—improvements in chemistry prediction and gene cluster boundary identification

Blin, Kai,Wolf, Thomas,Chevrette, Marc G.,Lu, Xiaowen,Schwalen, Christopher J.,Kautsar, Satria A.,Suarez ,Duran, Hernando G.,de ,los ,Santos, Emmanuel ,L. ,C.,Kim, Hyun Uk,Nave, Ma Oxford University Press 2017 Nucleic acids research Vol.45 No.w1

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Many antibiotics, chemotherapeutics, crop protection agents and food preservatives originate from molecules produced by bacteria, fungi or plants. In recent years, genome mining methodologies have been widely adopted to identify and characterize the biosynthetic gene clusters encoding the production of such compounds. Since 2011, the ‘antibiotics and secondary metabolite analysis shell—antiSMASH’ has assisted researchers in efficiently performing this, both as a web server and a standalone tool. Here, we present the thoroughly updated antiSMASH version 4, which adds several novel features, including prediction of gene cluster boundaries using the ClusterFinder method or the newly integrated CASSIS algorithm, improved substrate specificity prediction for non-ribosomal peptide synthetase adenylation domains based on the new SANDPUMA algorithm, improved predictions for terpene and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides cluster products, reporting of sequence similarity to proteins encoded in experimentally characterized gene clusters on a per-protein basis and a domain-level alignment tool for comparative analysis of <I>trans</I>-AT polyketide synthase assembly line architectures. Additionally, several usability features have been updated and improved. Together, these improvements make antiSMASH up-to-date with the latest developments in natural product research and will further facilitate computational genome mining for the discovery of novel bioactive molecules.</P>

Green Synthesis and Radial Breathing Modes in Ti Nanoparticles

R. Britto-Hurtado,M. CORTEZ-VALADEZ,Ramón A. B. Alvarez,P. Horta-Fraijo,J.-G. BOCARANDO-CHACON,R. Gamez-Corrales,A. Perez-Rodríguez,F. Martínez-Suarez,F. Rodríguez-Melgarejo,H. Arizpe-Chavez,M. FLORES 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2015 NANO Vol.10 No.5

This work presents the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles of titanium. The extract from the nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) plant was used as the redactor agent. The results of transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) show that nanoparticles have a sphere-like shape with an approximate diameter of 1 – 4 nm. The presence of Ti in these particles was corroborated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Optical properties were detected with the presence of absorption bands centered in 295 nm and 355 nm, similar to those reported in the literature. Two Raman bands centered at 359 cm-1 and 404 cm-1 were observed after the synthesis of titanium nanoparticles. Afterwards, structural and vibrational parameters of small clusters of Ti (Tin, n=3 – 13) were analyzed by the density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP level of approximation combined with the basis set LANL2DZ. Radial breathing modes (RBMs) were detected in the vibrational spectrum of each cluster, placed around 298 – 387 cm-1.