Producto Audiovisual para sensibilizar a personas e instituciones de la problemática de los/as niños/as con parálisis cerebral en FUNAPACE

La Fundación Nacional de Parálisis Cerebral (FUNAPACE) es una ONG con fines sociales que brinda atención a niños, niñas y jóvenes con parálisis cerebral en terapias para su rehabilitación y en educación especial. Este centro educativo y terapéutico está enfocado en mejorar la calidad de vida de los niños facilitando el acceso al currículo educativo, propiciando la independencia personal y mejorando su integración familiar y social. FUNAPACE tiene pocas fuentes de financiamiento que provienen principalmente de instituciones del Estado como el ORI, el MIES y las pensiones de los padres de familia que pagan de acuerdo a su situación socioeconómica. Cosa que obliga a FUNAPACE a buscar financiamiento de personas particulares y empresas que actúan como padrinos que aportan una cantidad de dinero para los/as niños/as. El problema se agudiza en tanto que la fundación no tiene ningún tipo de producto comunicativo que ayude a la directiva a mostrar el trabajo que hacen, los problemas por los que pasan los/as niños/as, los padres y madres de familia e incluso la misma fundación. Además, FUNAPACE (Fundación Nacional de Parálisis Cerebral), no tiene estrategias comunicativas, para gestionar nuevos recursos económicos y equipos de rehabilitación. El video que se hará en FUNAPACE servirá como una herramienta comunicacional, a través de la cual se puede gestionar nuevos recursos económicos para la rehabilitación de los niños y niñas

Using the soil and water assessment tool to simulate the pesticide dynamics in the data scarce Guayas River Basin, Ecuador

Agricultural intensification has stimulated the economy in the Guayas River basin in Ecuador, but also affected several ecosystems. The increased use of pesticides poses a serious threat to the freshwater ecosystem, which urgently calls for an improved knowledge about the impact of pesticide practices in this study area. Several studies have shown that models can be appropriate tools to simulate pesticide dynamics in order to obtain this knowledge. This study tested the suitability of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate the dynamics of two different pesticides in the data scarce Guayas River basin. First, we set up, calibrated and validated the model using the streamflow data. Subsequently, we set up the model for the simulation of the selected pesticides (i.e., pendimethalin and fenpropimorph). While the hydrology was represented soundly by the model considering the data scare conditions, the simulation of the pesticides should be taken with care due to uncertainties behind essential drivers, e.g., application rates. Among the insights obtained from the pesticide simulations are the identification of critical zones for prioritisation, the dominant areas of pesticide sources and the impact of the different land uses. SWAT has been evaluated to be a suitable tool to investigate the impact of pesticide use under data scarcity in the Guayas River basin. The strengths of SWAT are its semi-distributed structure, availability of extensive online documentation, internal pesticide databases and user support while the limitations are high data requirements, time-intensive model development and challenging streamflow calibration. The results can also be helpful to design future water quality monitoring strategies. However, for future studies, we highly recommend extended monitoring of pesticide concentrations and sediment loads. Moreover, to substantially improve the model performance, the availability of better input data is needed such as higher resolution soil maps, more accurate pesticide application rate and actual land management programs. Provided that key suggestions for further improvement are considered, the model is valuable for applications in river ecosystem management of the Guayas River basin

Improving water management education across the Latin America and Caribbean region

Education can help secure inclusive and resilient development around water resources. However, it is difficult to provide the latest science to those managing water resources (both now and in the future). Collectively, we hypothesize that dissemination and promotion of scientific knowledge using students as central agents to transfer theoretical knowledge into practice is an efficient way to address this difficulty. In this study, we test this hypothesis in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region as a representative case study region. First, we use a literature review to map a potential gap in research on education around water resources across the LAC region. We then review potential best practices to address this gap and to better translate water resources education techniques into the LAC region. Integral to these efforts is adopting students as agents for information transfer to help bridge the gap between the global state-of-the science and local water resources management. Our results highlight the need to establish a new standard of higher educational promoting exchange between countries as local populations are vulnerable to future shifts in climate at global scales and changes in land usage at regional scales. The new standard should include peer-to-peer mentoring achieved by jointly exchanging and training students and practitioners in water management techniques, increasing access to water data and pedagogic information across the region, and lowering administration roadblocks that prevent student exchange

Structural snapshots of Xer recombination reveal activation by synaptic complex remodeling and DNA bending

Bacterial Xer site-specific recombinases play an essential genome maintenance role by unlinking chromosome multimers, but their mechanism of action has remained structurally uncharacterized. Here, we present two high-resolution structures of Helicobacter pylori XerH with its recombination site DNA difH, representing pre-cleavage and post-cleavage synaptic intermediates in the recombination pathway. The structures reveal that activation of DNA strand cleavage and rejoining involves large conformational changes and DNA bending, suggesting how interaction with the cell division protein FtsK may license recombination at the septum. Together with biochemical and in vivo analysis, our structures also reveal how a small sequence asymmetry in difH defines protein conformation in the synaptic complex and orchestrates the order of DNA strand exchanges. Our results provide insights into the catalytic mechanism of Xer recombination and a model for regulation of recombination activity during cell division

Etude du mécanisme de résolution des dimères de chromosomes chez les streptocoques

La majorité des bactéries connues possèdent un unique chromosome circulaire. Lors de la réplication du chromosome, des évènements de recombinaison homologue peuvent lier les deux chromosomes frères en une molécule unique, appelée dimère de chromosome. Le système de recombinaison spécifique de site dédié à résoudre les formes dimériques en monomères est le système Xer. Il est composé chez la bactérie modèle Escherichia coli de deux recombinases à tyrosine, XerC et XerD, qui agissent sur un site chromosomique unique, dif, localisé dans la région du terminus de réplication. Le système de recombinaison Xer est sous le contrôle de la protéine septale FtsK. FtsK est une translocase à ADN qui est dirigée sur le chromosome par des motifs, les KOPS, dont l'orientation s'inverse à dif. De ce fait, elle est toujours dirigée vers le site de recombinaison où elle active la machinerie permettant la résolution des dimères de chromosomes. Des homologues des protéines XerC, XerD et FtsK, ainsi qu'un site dif, sont retrouvés chez un grand nombre de bactéries, suggérant que la machinerie ainsi que le contrôle de la recombinaison sont conservés. Cependant, chez les Streptocoques, la machinerie de recombinaison implique une seule recombinase, XerS, qui agit sur un site atypique, difSL. Ce manuscrit concerne l'étude du mécanisme et du contrôle de la recombinaison Xer chez la bactérie Lactococcus lactis appartenant à la famille des Streptocoques. Dans une première partie, nous mettons en évidence in vitro que l'implication d'une seule recombinase ne modifie pas le mode de fixation et de recombinaison au site, en comparaison au système Xer " classique " d'E. coli. D'autre part, nous montrons in vivo que le système est contrôlé par la protéine FtsK mais que le mode d'activation de la recombinaison est différent de celui décrit chez E. coli. Dans une deuxième partie nous nous intéressons au mode d'orientation de la protéine FtsK de L.lactis. Nous mettons en évidence par une combinaison d'approches in vivo, in vitro et in silico, que la reconnaissance de motifs biaisés sur le chromosome est conservée mais que la taille et la séquence du motif reconnu diffère des systèmes déjà décrits.Most known bacteria harbour a unique circular chromosome. Recombination between sister chromosome during replication may fuse them into a single DNA molecule called a chromosome dimer. Dimers are resolved to monomers by Xer site-specific recombination. In Escherichia coli it consists of two recombinases, XerC and XerD acting at a specific dif site located in the replication terminus. The Xer recombination system is controlled by the septum associated protein, FtsK. FtsK is a DNA translocase oriented by specific motif of the chromosome, named KOPS. The polarity of the KOPS is skewed and revers at dif site, hence FtsK is always directed toward the recombination site. Homolog of XerC, XerD an FtsK proteins, as well as a dif site, are find in most bacteria suggesting that the machinery of recombination and its control are well conserved. However, in the Streptococci family of bacteria, dimer resolution uses a single recombinase, XerS, which acts at an atypical dif site, difSL. This manuscript concerns the study of the mechanism and control of Xer recombination in Lactoccocus lactis, a member of the Streptococci family. In a first part we demonstrate, in vitro, that using a single recombinase does not change the mode of binding and recombination at the specific site, by comparison with the "classical" E. coli Xer recombination system. Furthermore, we show in vivo that the L. lactis Xer system is controlled by FtsK but that activation of recombination is achieved by a different mechanism. In a second part, we investigate the orientation of FtsK translocation. We demonstrate, by combining in silico, in vitro and in vivo approaches, that orientation by skew motifs is conserved in L. lactis but that the sequence and length of the motif used is different from known systems

Using Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) to study dynamics of the Structural Maintenance of Chromosome (SMC) complex in vivo

The SMC complex, MukBEF, is important for chromosome organization and segregation in Escherichia coli. Fluorescently tagged MukBEF forms distinct spots (or 'foci') in the cell, where it is thought to carry out most of its chromosome associated activities. This chapter outlines the technique of Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) as a method to study the properties of YFP-tagged MukB in fluorescent foci. This method can provide important insight into the dynamics of MukB on DNA and be used to study its biochemical properties in vivo

The K-loop, a general feature of the Pyrococcus C/D guide RNAs, is an RNA structural motif related to the K-turn

The C/D guide RNAs predicted from the genomic sequences of three species of Pyrococcus delineate a family of small non-coding archaeal RNAs involved in the methylation of rRNA and tRNA. The C/D guides assemble into ribonucleoprotein (RNP) that contains the methyltransferase. The protein L7Ae, a key structural component of the RNP, binds to a Kink-turn (K-turn) formed by the C/D motif. The K-turn is a structure that consists of two RNA stems separated by a short asymmetric loop with a characteristic sharp bend (kink) between the two stems. The majority of the pyrococcal C/D guides contain a short 3 nt-spacer between the C′/D′ motifs. We show here that conserved terminal stem–loops formed by the C′/D′ motif of the Pyrococcus C/D RNAs are also L7Ae-binding sites. These stem–loops are related to the K-turn by sequence and structure, but they consist of a single stem closed by a terminal loop. We have named this structure the K-loop. We show that conserved non-canonical base pairs in the stem of the K-loop are necessary for L7Ae binding. For the C/D guides with a 3 nt-spacer we show that the sequence and length is also important. The K-loop could improve the stability of the C/D guide RNAs in Pyrococcal species, which are extreme hyperthermophiles

Molecular basis for SMC rod formation and its dissolution upon DNA binding.

SMC condensin complexes are central modulators of chromosome superstructure in all branches of life. Their SMC subunits form a long intramolecular coiled coil, which connects a constitutive "hinge" dimerization domain with an ATP-regulated "head" dimerization module. Here, we address the structural arrangement of the long coiled coils in SMC complexes. We unequivocally show that prokaryotic Smc-ScpAB, eukaryotic condensin, and possibly also cohesin form rod-like structures, with their coiled coils being closely juxtaposed and accurately anchored to the hinge. Upon ATP-induced binding of DNA to the hinge, however, Smc switches to a more open configuration. Our data suggest that a long-distance structural transition is transmitted from the Smc head domains to regulate Smc-ScpAB's association with DNA. These findings uncover a conserved architectural theme in SMC complexes, provide a mechanistic basis for Smc's dynamic engagement with chromosomes, and offer a molecular explanation for defects in Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Efecto de Programas de Formación en la Rotación de Personal de las Empresas. PROPUESTA: Programa de Formación Interna y su relación con la rotación de jefes de locales en almacenes TIA formato Express, en la ciudad de Guayaquil, durante el período 2012-2014

PDFLa rotación del personal es uno de los factores que afectan directamente los costos de inversión en el recurso humano a nivel mundial. La investigación propuestarealizada en Almacenes TIA presenta dentro de su objetivo, metodología y conclusión, conforme a los resultados obtenidos entre los años 2012 a 2014, cómo los Programas de Formación Interna afectan de manera positiva en los índices de rotación de personal. La Metodología a aplicar es documental debido a que se detallará el proceso realizado en una conocida empresa ecuatoria para la disminución de la deserción de sus colaboradores. La recopilación de la información mediante las encuestas y entrevistas realizadas a directivos y colaboradores. En conclusión, se observa que la información revisada confirma que los Programas de Formación Interna favorecen la estabilidad de los colaboradores dentro de las empresasStaff turnover in Almacenes Tía is one of the factors that directly affect their investment costs in human resources. The present project presents aspects such as: Objective, Methodology to be applied and conclusion of the results obtained within a proposal made by the author between the years 2012 to 2014. The objective is to demonstrate the reduction of the turnover rates of personnel through Programs of Internal training. The Methodology to be applied is documentary because it will detail the process carried out in a well-known Ecuadorian company to reduce the desertion of its employees. The collection of information through surveys and interviews with managers and collaborators. In conclusion, it is observed that the information reviewed confirms that Internal Training Programs favor the stability of employees within companie