{"title":"Gene Therapy: An Outstanding Technique For Diseases","authors":"Nayade Sarmiento, S. Tinoco","doi":"10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.23","url":null,"abstract":"Nearly three decades ago, the first clinical trial based on gene therapy revolutionized the scientific field by demonstrating that it was possible to genetically modify harmful or defective cells and therapeutically improve patient conditions. Since then, this technique has been implemented for the study and treatment of different diseases, many of them fatal, with the hope of achieving a \"cure\". Several genetic editing tools have been developed and continue to be studied to improve the effectiveness of gene therapy, in addition to a more exhaustive analysis for choosing the type of vector, which is the main cause of adverse effects. In this review, we present characteristics of the gene therapy mechanism along with the types of vectors that are used in this procedure, followed by the most important applications in the medical field and briefly we describe some limitations and prospects to study in the future.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116583698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Genetically Engineered Probiotics and Therapies Applications","authors":"M. C. Stephanie, Jijón V. Santiago","doi":"10.21931/rb/cs/2019.02.01.22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/rb/cs/2019.02.01.22","url":null,"abstract":"The idea of using probiotics for health benefits in the human body is still biased since there is skepticism and since it is quite a new field of research. However, recent experiments are trying to debate that given the naturality of their consumption and the successful results from in vitro tests in combination with other therapies. Food scientists are eager to take advantage of the known beneficial properties of probiotics by using engineering technologies in order to enhance them. Using CRISPR systems present in lactobacilli aids in strain identification, while offering information on phylogeny and ecological interactions. Also, the use of genetic engineering tools could also allow the use of plasmid vaccines to prevent antibiotic resistance and the development of synthetic probiotics as microbial treatments.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133290930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marvin Ricaurte, Santiago Luna, Shary Mosquera, Jordy Sarmas, Jeremee Zenteno, A. Viloria
{"title":"Diseño de una planta para la producción de etanol a partir de la caña de azúcar: aplicación en la zona Norte de Ecuador","authors":"Marvin Ricaurte, Santiago Luna, Shary Mosquera, Jordy Sarmas, Jeremee Zenteno, A. Viloria","doi":"10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.10","url":null,"abstract":"El etanol es una opción tecnológica para la formulación de combustibles alternativos, que reduzcan las emisiones de gases contaminantes y contribuyan a disminuir el consumo de combustibles líquidos provenientes de hidrocarburos fósiles. En Ecuador se impulsa el uso de biocombustibles, que contienen etanol anhidro proveniente de fuentes agrícolas. En este trabajo se presenta el diseño de una planta para producir etanol a partir de la fermentación de la caña de azúcar, con una capacidad de procesamiento de 315.000 toneladas/año, que permite obtener 25,87 millones de litros anuales de etanol anhidro. Las estimaciones económicas preliminares indican la rentabilidad del proyecto.\u0000\u0000Ethanol is a technological option for formulation of alternative fuels, which reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases and contributes to lower the consumption of liquid fuels from fossil hydrocarbons. In Ecuador, the use of biofuels is encouraged, which contain anhydrous ethanol obtained from agricultural sources. This paper presents the design of a plant to produce ethanol from the fermentation of sugarcane, with a processing capacity of 315,000 tons/year, allowing obtain 25.87 million liters of anhydrous ethanol per year. Preliminary economic estimates indicate the profitability of the project.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127788423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alzheimer’s disease: An overview of the current treatments","authors":"Carolina Serrano-Larrea, David Clavijo-Calderón","doi":"10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.17","url":null,"abstract":"Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects millions of people around the world and although there are treatments that help control symptoms and slow down the progress of the disease, there is still no cure. Current treatments include three acetylcholine inhibitors, a glutamate inhibitor and a combination of the two. Due to the failure of hundreds of clinical trials with monotherapies, multitarget treatments are currently being investigated that consider both brain and peripheral factors. Gene therapy is one of the most promising therapies to treat and prevent the development of AD. Nowadays, there is no available medical treatment based on gene therapy to treat AD; however, there are treatments in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials with promising results. In this review, we will focus on the most important gene therapy treatments, CERE-110 (adeno-associated virus AAV2-Nerve Growth Factor), Intracerebral AAV gene delivery of APOE2 and gene therapy using PPARγ-coactivator-1α(PGC-1α)","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"197 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132300354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kamil Makowski, J. Ariza, Jordi García, Laura Herrero, Marta López, Nicolás Montesdeoca
{"title":"Synthesis of new C75 derivatives, Fatty Acid Synthase inhibitors with cytotoxic properties","authors":"Kamil Makowski, J. Ariza, Jordi García, Laura Herrero, Marta López, Nicolás Montesdeoca","doi":"10.21931/rb/cs/2019.02.01.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/rb/cs/2019.02.01.9","url":null,"abstract":"The fatty-acid synthase (FAS) is the key enzyme that executes de novo fatty acid synthesis and is overexpressed in some human cancer tissues. C75 is a synthetic FAS inhibitor, which produces the death of cancer cells. In this work, we synthesized three derivatives of C75, two homologs with 1 and 2 carbons more in the beta position of the lactone and the other one with a change in the elongation of the aliphatic chain in gamma position from 8 to 15 carbons. The results from FAS inhibition and cytotoxic properties suggest that the performed changes in the derivatives decrease their activity.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132701144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
B. Ungar, J. Vögerl, Nora Medrano Mercado, Noemi Stadler-Kaulich
{"title":"The importance of mycorrhiza in agroforestry systems for the stability of ecosystems in semi-arid zones and simple quantification of soil fungi - A study at the Mollesnejta research center for Andean Agroforestry in the valley of Cochabamba, Bolivia","authors":"B. Ungar, J. Vögerl, Nora Medrano Mercado, Noemi Stadler-Kaulich","doi":"10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.4","url":null,"abstract":"Soil erosion and poor production conditions in developing countries are a major problem for local primary care. It is therefore even more important to ensure a functioning and stable ecosystem from which agricultural plants profit, too. Trees have found a brilliant way to gather enough nutrients for their survival. They enter a symbiosis with special types of fungi, the so-called mycorrhiza. This leads to more resistance of the crops, especially against drought. There is a method that can be used with the simplest means to prove that mycorrhizae are found in tree roots and thus assure improvement of soil fertility.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"131 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122745091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enzyme Replacement therapy with Pegademase Bovine for Human Adenosine Deaminase Primary Immunodeficiency","authors":"Karina Benavides, N. Lovato","doi":"10.21931/rb/cs/2019.02.01.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/rb/cs/2019.02.01.21","url":null,"abstract":"Adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA) represents an immune system disorder producing abnormalities in humoral and cellular immune responses due to the lack of adenosine deaminase (ADA) enzyme. PEG-ADA therapy tries to counteract ADA deficiency by conjugates conformed of numerous mono-methoxy polyethyleneglycol chains linked non-covalently, and ADA enzymes, which are bound by lysine residues. PEG-ADA protects from any proteolytic attack, and presentation of antigens, increasing their lifespan within the organism. Enzyme replacement therapy with PEGylated ADA provides metabolic correction and improvement in immune function and clinical parameters. Its effectiveness is confirmed by the increase of B and T lymphocytes in questionable time ranges.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127875533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Geometry of Cauto-Guacanayabo basin, Cuba","authors":"Yaniel Misael Vazquez Taset","doi":"10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/RB/CS/2019.02.01.12","url":null,"abstract":"The Cauto-Guacanayabo basin is located in the southern part of the Guacanayabo-Nipe tectonic corridor, Eastern Cuba, and records the evidence of the evolution of the Cuban Orogen. The objective of this work is to determine the geometry of the sedimentary infill of the basin, as well as the relationship between the units that constitute it. This study is based on the interpretation of several 2D seismic lines, geological data of surface and boreholes. Four tectonosequences have been defined (TSA, TSB, TSC, TSD) delimited by four regional unconformities in the basin (U-0, U-1, U-2, U-3). The TSA is formed by Charco Redondo, Puerto Boniato, Farallón Grande and San Luís formations, with ages from the middle Eocene to the upper Eocene. The Sevilla Arriba, Paso Real, Camazán and Güines formations constitute the TSB; its age varies between the upper Oligocene and the middle Miocene. The TSC covers a period of age between the middle Miocene and the lower Pliocene and is composed of the Cabo Cruz and Manzanillo formations. The TSD is formed by the Río Maya, Dátil, Bayamo, Cauto, Jaimanitas, Villarroja, Río Macío, and Jutia formations, and the informal stratigraphic unit Marga Demajagua. The age of this tectonosequence varies between the upper Pliocene and the Holocene. This study brings new knowledge about Cuban synorogenic strike-slip basins. In addition, it allows us to understand how the complexity and compartmentalization of the sedimentary infill of the basin are the results of the evolution of the Cauto-Nipe sinistral strike-slip fault.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"184 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115176896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Population Estimates and Habitat Selection of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus ustus) in the Antisana Water Conservation Area, Ecuador","authors":"Markus P. Tellkamp, Henry Herrera, I. Bautista","doi":"10.21931/CS/2019.02.01.29","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21931/CS/2019.02.01.29","url":null,"abstract":"The Antisana Water Conservation Area (ACHA) greatly contributes to the water supply of the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ). Therefore, integrated management of the area needs to take into account the ecological interactions that sustain the interception and slow release of water by the vegetation and soil. An apparent increase in the population of white-tailed deer has led to the concern that this herbivore may alter the vegetation and thus the water cycle. In this study, we obtain the first population estimates for white-tailed deer in ACHA and the second estimate for the Ecuadorean Andes. Vantage point counts (VPC) set the minimum population for the reserve at 760 individuals, whereas the fecal standing crop (FSC) indirect method determined an estimate of 953 ± 368 (90% confidence interval) for a density of 11.27 individuals/km2. The density of deer is low compared to other sites in the Colombian and Venezuelan Andes. From a management perspective, the optimal number of deer for the reserve will depend on the impact the deer have on the ideal composition of plants for the long-term production of water.","PeriodicalId":214615,"journal":{"name":"Humboldt kolleg Ibarra 2019","volume":"122 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131957143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}