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• Agave marmorata is important for the production of a traditional alcoholic beverage called mezcal and pulque. • The immersion frequency and culture medium volume had an effect during in vitro multiplication of A. marmorata. • The immersion frequency and culture medium volume had an effect on chlorophyll content of A. marmorata. • The Temporary Immersion Bioreactor is an alternative for micropropagation of A. marmorata. Agave marmorata is an important wild species in Mexico for mezcal and pulque production. Propagation by suckers and seeds is not sufficient to restore wild populations. The aim of this study was to develop a protocol for large-scale micropropagation of A. marmorata using a temporary immersion bioreactor (TIB). The effect of liquid medium using a TIB and semi-solid medium as the control treatment was compared. Different immersion frequencies and culture medium volumes per explant were evaluated in the TIB. In all treatments, the percentage of hyperhydricity, number of shoots per explant, shoot length, and total chlorophyll and carotenoid content were evaluated. In addition, the survival rate during acclimatization was evaluated. The results obtained show that the TIB with an immersion of 2 min every 8 h and with a culture medium volume of 50 mL had the best developmental parameters, with 19.60 shoots per explant, a shoot length of 1.74 cm and a percentage of hyperhydricity of 3.33 %. The highest chlorophyll content was observed in temporary immersion every 8 h, with 100, 75 and 50 mL of culture medium per explant. Regarding carotenoid content, the highest content was found at the 8 and 12 h immersion frequencies, with the culture medium volumes of 100, 75 and 50 mL per explant. For acclimatization, no differences were found in the survival rate between the culture systems evaluated. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the use of a TIB is an alternative for large-scale micropropagation of A. marmorata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with a single ventricle circulation continue to be a challenge for a heart transplant. The patients in this cohort, often in poor clinical condition with frequent hepatic and renal impairment having undergone previous multiple surgical procedures, are often allosensitive and consequently have an increased risk of post-transplant complications. Although the most recently published series results are improved, this group of patients, with preserved ventricular function, continues to have a higher mortality rate. Moreover, the operation can be complicated by anatomical differences among the pulmonary arteries. This case report presents a child with tricuspid atresia and pulmonary vascular resistance contraindicating Fontan surgery, unfavourable anatomy of the central pulmonary arteries and in poor clinical condition. An EXCOR ventricular assist device (Berlin Heart) was used for sub- pulmonary mechanical circulatory support and pulmonary bifurcation reconstruction, as a bridge to a transplant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the covid-19 pandemic, distance education witnessed a surge in credibility, popularity, and advantages; however, this change disproportionately impacted vulnerable groups: the low-income population, the disabled, indigenous groups and children of migrants. While research in basic education has been conducted, information regarding online learning experiences of female university students is limited, especially in relation to gender. Therefore, the present study surveyed 1 206 female undergraduate students from rural and urban contexts to analyze their experiences in distance classes during confinement. Significant differences were found according to context, with women from urban settings valuing the design of assignments and strategies, and instructional design, while those from rural contexts demanded greater attention from their tutors. In both cases, participants lacked prior experience with online courses and suitable learning environments. In conclusion, these disparities warrant further investigation and targeted measures to bridge the gender gap in distance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the photomixotrophic and physiological responses using different temporary immersion systems (TIS) during in vitro multiplication of agave Tobalá. The culture systems were SETIS™ bioreactor, Temporary Immersion Bioreactor (TIB), Monobloc Advance Temporary Immersion System, and semisolid culture medium as the control. At six weeks of culture, different physiological variables were evaluated: chlorophyll content, stomatal index, percentage of closed stomata, Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and Rubisco during the multiplication stage, and survival percentage in the acclimatization stage. TIS increased multiplication rate (41%), stomatal index (44%), percentage of closed stomata (11%) and chlorophyll content (45%) with respect to the semisolid culture medium system. The highest PEP content (> 35%) was observed in temporary immersion (TI), whereas, Rubisco content, showed no differences among the culture systems evaluated. Regarding survival percentage during acclimatization, the highest shoot survival was obtained in TI, and all regenerate shoots were rooted ex vitro. This study shows that in vitro photomixotrophism was induced in TIS during the multiplication stage. In conclusion, SETIS™ bioreactor and TIB systems are an alternative for mass multiplication of A. potatorum; however, all TIS evaluated guarantee a high survival rate during acclimatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acylcarnitine and amino acid analyses of dried blood spot (DBS) samples using tandem mass spectrometry in newborn screening (NBS) programmes can generate false positive (FP) results. Therefore, implementation of second-tier tests (2TTs) using DBS samples has become increasingly important to avoid FPs. The most widely used 2TT metabolites include methylmalonic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, methylcitric acid, and homocysteine. We simultaneously measured 46 underivatised metabolites, including organic acids, acylglycine and acylcarnitine isomers, homocysteine, and orotic acid, in DBS samples using tandem mass spectrometry. To validate this method, we analysed samples from 147 healthy newborns, 160 patients with genetic disorders diagnosed via NBS, 20 patients with acquired vitamin B12 deficiency, 10 newborns receiving antibiotic treatment, and nine external quality control samples. The validation study revealed that 31 metabolites showed good analytical performance. Furthermore, this method detected key metabolites for all diseases associated with increased levels of the following acylcarnitines: C3, C4, C5, C4DC/C5OH, and C5DC. The sensitivity of this method to detect all diseases was 100 %, and the specificity was 74–99 %, except for glutaric aciduria type 1. This method can also be used to diagnose mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation disorders (FAODs) and urea cycle defects (UCDs). We have described a 2TT panel of 31 metabolites in DBS samples based on an easy and rapid method without derivatisation. Its implementation allowed us to distinguish between different organic acidurias, some FAODs, and UCDs. This new strategy has increased the efficiency of our NBS programme by reducing FP and false negative results, second sample requests, and the time required for diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the mechanical properties of 3D printed food is crucial for food personalisation. Texture impacts the sensory experience along the oral food consumption. This work aimed to investigate the mechanical properties of post-processed printed food samples with different porosity topologies (triangled-shape/squared-shape). Image analysis showed changes in the structure before and after post-processing. The mechanical properties characterised via 3-point bending tests revealed that triangle-shaped topologies presented lower strength (20% less) and higher flexural stiffness (-20%) when compared to the square-shaped topologies. A qualitative comparison of the porosity topologies and their role in the stiffness of structures under tensile and bending loads was performed via finite element models. The flexural stiffness varied between the triangle-shaped designs (13-35%) but remained almost constant for squareshaped designs (40-43%). The results presented in this work showed that the mechanical properties of 3D-printed food could be modified by the selection of porosity topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) to study the mass transfer of raw meal constituents towards forming clinker phases and the occurrence of free lime (calcium oxide), also known as burnability, was assessed. A measuring strategy with temperature ranging from 1000°C to 1450°C was developed and compared with a conventional burnability method. The free lime determined by the methods showed that HT-XRD produced good results for the evaluation of burnability. In addition, HT-XRD revealed the formation of intermediate phases, providing insight into early reactions in a cement kiln. The particle size of quartz was found to affect crystal expansion of the phase at a high temperature, subsequently affecting the formation of silica polymorphs. The different raw meals used in this study also indicate that the formation of different silica polymorphs affects the formation of C2S. The lack of knowledge regarding the influence of β-quartz on the reduction of free lime is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study's aim is to adapt the theory of technostress creators and inhibitors (Ragu-Nathan et al. 2008; Inf Sys Res 19(4):417–433. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.1070.0165) culturally and linguistically to the French context and evaluate it from the perspective of occupational psychology and ergonomics. This research was divided into two parts. The first included the development of a French version of the scale using the backtranslation method, an assessment of content validity on the advice of expert judges in ergonomics and occupational psychology, and a study of the clarity of the items after the application of this preliminary version to a population similar to the target population. The second part of this research included the psychometric analysis of the French version of the scale after its application to a sample of French workers (n = 307). This process included an evaluation of its internal consistency, an evaluation of its internal structure using a confirmatory factor analysis and of its construct validity using one of the dimensions of the mental workload scale, i.e., available resources (Galy 2020; uant Methods Psychol 16(3):240–252. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.16.3.p240). The results indicate an optimal level of internal consistency of the dimensions, except for dimensions of Techno-Invasion and Techno-Insecurity. Likewise, the results of the confirmatory factor analysis led to the suppression of two measurement items within these same dimensions. Finally, the study confirmed that technostress creators negatively influence the operator's resources while technostress inhibitors positively influence them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital rock physics (DRP) has undergone significant advancements in the use of various imaging techniques to acquire three-dimensional volumes and images of rock samples for the computation of petrophysical properties. This study focuses on developing a DRP workflow using high-resolution thin section scans for computing porosity and permeability in cuttings samples. The workflow was tested on quarry sandstone plug samples and artificially generated pseudo-cuttings before applying it to real cuttings from oil and gas wells. The results show that the porosity and permeability values obtained through the DRP workflow are statistically equivalent to those obtained through conventional routine core analysis (RCAL). The workflow was also able to handle the presence of various lithologies in real cuttings samples. The study demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining porosity and permeability values in cutting samples using the DRP approach, offering a fast and cost-effective methodology that provides additional data and allows linking petrophysical properties to image data from the cuttings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive pedagogies belong to the diversity agenda in higher education and so their teaching methodologies should be tested to ensure the effective training of students in democratic and inclusive citizenship competencies, such as moral competence. Moral-dilemma based methods have proven to be effective in learning about morals in specific programmes, but there is still no evidence for their cross-cutting application in regular courses. These methods could also be enriched by strategies aimed at learning competences that have been identified as predictive factors in theories of moral judgement and development, such as empathy. The current study examines the effects of a 10-hour teaching intervention on learning moral competence using a version of the Konstanz Method of Dilemma Discussion (KMDD), either applied in isolation or using a mixed strategy of dilemma discussion and narrative persuasion activities, this last method with the aim of verifying the contribution of empathy to moral learning. The hypotheses regarding the two methodological approaches were tested using a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a control group in the ecological context of the first semester of teacher training. Data were collected using the Moral Competence Test and were analysed with linear mixed models. The results did not support the expected empathy-induced moral learning. However, significant progression in moral competence when using KMDD is shown. The discussion considers the disassociation between empathy/altruism and moral competence in order to interpret the ineffectiveness of the mixed strategy. The need to apply pedagogies with a more experiential focus is suggested in order to foster moral learning by means of activities in community diversity environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: This study focusses on establishing the relationship between quality of movement (based on the functional movement screen, or FMS) and foot posture (based on the foot posture index, or FPI-6). We hypothesised that a poor FMS test score may be derived from the foot position in the space measured by FPI-6. (2) Methods: a quasi-experimental and cross-sectional study was designed to analyse foot posture in 30 healthy football players, using the foot posture index and the functional movement screen. (3) Results: No significant relationships were found between movement quality and foot posture. Poor movement quality is present in more than half of all foot positions, supination, pronation, and neutral. Good quality seems to be more associated with a neutral foot position (23.3%) and supinated (16.6%) than a pronated foot position (6.6%). (4) Conclusions: this study found no relationship between the two tests; therefore, we cannot demonstrate that foot posture is relevant in the quality of the movement of the football players studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of curved layers in fused filament fabrication could lead to various advantages in surface finishing and mechanical properties. Here, the influence of three different structural and manufacturing parameters (volume fraction, raster arrangement, and the use of curved or planar layers) on the mechanical properties of lattice structures under three-point bending is studied. Two different raster arrangements were considered, i.e., those with rasters at planes parallel to the principal axes of the samples and those diagonally arranged, all at four different volume fractions. All different samples were additively manufactured using planar and curved layers. Samples were further dimensionally inspected to refine the computational models before their analysis via finite element simulations. The linear elastic region of the load-displacement curves was further analyzed numerically via finite element models. Predictions with finite element models resulted in good agreement with errors below 10%. Samples with diagonal rasters were 70% softer than those parallel to the principal axes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Right ventricular (RV) echocardiographic changes such as dilation or systolic dysfunction, and pulmonary arterial hypertension were observed in patients with COVID‐19. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of RV echocardiographic changes in patients who have recovered from COVID‐19 and to verify the association between severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and echocardiographic findings. Methods: Patients who had recovered from COVID‐19 undergoing outpatient follow‐up underwent transthoracic echocardiography, and based on the findings, were divided into two groups: normal and abnormal. It was then verified whether there is an association between SARS and RV echocardiographic abnormalities in recovered patients. Results: The study included 61 patients, with a mean age of 54.2 ± 12.0 years, 57.4% had presented with SARS. The mean period of time between COVID‐19 and the echocardiographic examination was 11.9 ± 7.0 months. Patients presented normal left ventricular systolic function. The frequency of RV echocardiographic changes in patients who had recovered from COVID‐19 was 44.3%. RV systolic dysfunction was identified in 31.1%, followed by ventricular dilation in 14.7% and pulmonary hypertension in 9.8%. An association was observed between SARS and RV echocardiographic changes in recovered patients during outpatient follow‐up (OR: 4.96; 95% CI: 1.37–17.9; p = 0.015). An association was also demonstrated between SARS and RV dilation (p = 0.007) and between SARS and systolic dysfunction (p = 0.028). Conclusion: SARS is a risk factor for abnormal RV echocardiographic findings in patients recovered from COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanilla planifolia is an orchid of cultural and economic value. However, its cultivation in many tropical countries is threatened by water stress. In contrast, V. pompona is a species that is tolerant of prolonged periods of drought. Due to the need for plants' resistant to water stress, the use of hybrids of these two species is considered. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the morphological and physio-chemical responses of in vitro vanilla seedlings of the parental genotype V. planifolia, and the hybrids V. planifolia × V. pompona and V. pompona × V. planifolia, which were then exposed over five weeks to polyethylene glycol-induced water stress (−0.49 mPa). Stem and root length, relative growth rate, number of leaves and roots, stomatal conductance, specific leaf area, and leaf water content were determined. Metabolites potentially associated with the response to water stress were identified in leaves, through untargeted and targeted metabolomics. Both hybrids exhibited a smaller decrease in the morphophysiological responses compared to V. planifolia and exhibited an enrichment of metabolites such as carbohydrates, amino acids, purines, phenols, and organic acids. Hybrids of these two species are considered as a potential alternative to the traditional cultivation of vanilla to face drought in a global warming scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aortic stenosis (AS) is a frequent cardiac disease in old individuals, characterized by valvular calcification, fibrosis, and inflammation. Recent studies suggest that AS is an active inflammatory atherosclerotic-like process. Particularly, it has been suggested that several immune cell types, present in the valve infiltrate, contribute to its degeneration and to the progression toward stenosis. Furthermore, the infiltrating T cell subpopulations mainly consist of oligoclonal expansions, probably specific for persistent antigens. Thus, the characterization of the cells implicated in the aortic valve calcification and the analysis of the antigens to which those cells respond to is of utmost importance to develop new therapies alternative to the replacement of the valve itself. However, calcified aortic valves have been only studied so far by histological and immunohistochemical methods, unable to render an in-depth phenotypical and functional cell profiling. Here we present, for the first time, a simple and efficient cytometry-based protocol that allows the identification and quantification of infiltrating inflammatory leukocytes in aortic valve explants. Our cytometry protocol saves time and facilitates the simultaneous analysis of numerous surface and intracellular cell markers and may well be also applied to the study of other cardiac diseases with an inflammatory component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The future of knowledge organizations will depend on their ability to innovate and develop human talent and organizational architecture that facilitates processes; however, their design, based on high performance teams as an innovative alternative to increase their effectiveness, has not yet been sufficiently approached at the methodological level. Objective: To develop a methodology for the design of organizational architectures based on highperformance teams. Materials and Methods: The research was based on a mixed approach, with the use of qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques, including the experts' assessment. It is structured in four moments: the study of the theoretical and methodological foundations to implement high performance teams, the determination of factors facilitators, the construction of a methodological proposal and finally its validation through experts' assessment, user satisfaction and analysis compared with other methodological proposals consulted in the reviewed bibliography. Results and Discussion: A methodology is provided for the design of organizational architecture based on highperformance teams, viable for its application in knowledge organizations, scientifically argued, and validated through experts' assessment, comparative analysis and user criteria. Conclusions: The developed methodology contributes to the enrichment of the theoretical and methodological foundations of organizational architecture design and, in particular, to the implementation of high-performance teams within their framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medium-term in vitro plant conservation is an alternative for maintaining germplasm banks in breeding programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the gibberellin inhibitors paclobutrazol (PBZ) and trinexapac-ethyl (TNE) for in vitro conservation by minimal growth in anthurium, sugarcane, and agave. For the establishment of the conservation system, shoots of the aforementioned species were taken at different concentrations (0, 1, 2, and 3 mg L−1) of PBZ and TNE. At 180 d of culture, the survival percentage, number of shoots, plant length, number of leaves, number of roots, root length, total chlorophyll content, stomatal density, and survival percentage during acclimatization were evaluated. According to the variables evaluated, the results showed that in anthurium 1 mg L−1 PBZ was the best treatment for in vitro conservation without affecting survival, while in sugarcane it was 1 mg L−1 PBZ and agave 3 mg L−1 PBZ or TNE. Survival during acclimatization was 97, 96, and 98% in anthurium, sugarcane, and agave, respectively. In this study, the gibberellin-inhibiting compounds PBZ and TNE are a low-cost alternative for in vitro conservation of anthurium, sugarcane, and agave and can be evaluated in other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The synthesis of pseudo-glycoside hybrid dimers in which 4-oxa-5α-cholestane and cholest-5-ene units are bridged through an α- or β-glycosidic bond is described. The structures of both steroid pseudo-glycosides were elucidated by combined 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Single crystal X-ray Diffraction studies corroborated the proposed structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education in Chile has undergone great changes since 2019 due to the social outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, giving emergency distance education opportunities to establish itself as the new format by which students participate in the different educational activities. that contemplates the educational project. Faced with this situation, an exploratory-descriptive study was carried out that sought to know the perceptions of occupational therapy students who start their professional practices, through unstructured interviews that respected the bioethical aspects of confidentiality, the data collected in axial matrices were analyzed, categorizing them into emerging subcategories. Obtaining six categories related to the abilities of the students to face the practices, their expectations, difficulties, development, and implications when participating in the new student challenge. Concluding a little significant learning and several gaps in distance training, especially in the practical application of intervention strategies in the physical area. Likewise, face-to-face professional practice is described as essential for the achievement of the student’s social skills and the establishment of theoretical knowledge. In addition, it is a unique instance for learning multidisciplinary work and differentiating roles with professionals from other disciplinary areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La tasa social de descuento estándar aplicada por instituciones de planificación y organismos multilaterales (12%) en la evaluación de proyectos públicos es un parámetro administrativo, constante, sin respaldo en su determinación y que no reconoce los cambios de las preferencias sociales en el tiempo. En este trabajo presentamos una alternativa de determinación de la tasa social de descuento basada en el modelo de estimación gamma (Weitzman, 2001), en el contexto de países en desarrollo, que posee tres ventajas: i) incorpora el descuento decreciente; ii) es eficiente en relación con el costo, por cuanto resume las diversas opiniones de expertos, y iii) se ajusta a los cambios en las preferencias de corto y largo plazo. En nuestras estimaciones se obtienen niveles inferiores a la tasa nominal estándar, para distintos períodos de tiempo, que fluctúan entre un 2%, para horizontes de evaluación superiores a 51 años, y un 11%, para el corto plazo (de 0 a 5 años). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Table grapes (Vitis vinifera) are one of the crops of highest economic and social relevance in Sonora, Mexico. Due to the scant precipitation and high evaporative demand of the zone, it is a crop with a high water requirement. Therefore, its production depends on the application of irrigation, and it is important to have precise and extensive estimation of the crop evapotranspiration (ETC) to improve efficiency of irrigation in the short term. This research was carried out during 2018 and 2019 with the objective of developing and evaluating a model between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) calculated with Sentinel-2 images, and the crop coefficient (KC) determined with a covariance turbulence flux system (Eddy Covariance, EC) as an option for estimating the ETC of a vineyard of table grapes in Costa de Hermosillo, Sonora. Using NDVI and KC data from 2018 records, a simple regression model was constructed with the start forced to the origin at the null coordinates (KCNDVI = 0.9467 NDVI; R2 = 0.74) as a base for ETC estimation. When the regression model was validated with daily 2019 data, an R2 of 0.76 was obtained along with a CME of 0.11 by relating KC vs. KCNDVI. Whereas by relating ETC vs. estimated ETC, an R2 of 0.92 was found, and a CME of 0.67 mm d-1. The results indicated that the ETC can be estimated with adequate precision and in an opportune manner with the proposed model. However, it was found that the model may underestimate ETC during the period of maximum crop development due to NDVI saturation. However, in the winter when the values of NDVI depend on the soil structural characteristics and on the remains of winter pruning, ETC tends to be overestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a considerable proportion of patients developed a severe condition that included respiratory failure, shock, or multiple organ dysfunction. Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) has been recognized as a possible cause of severe COVID-19 development. Given this, this study investigates the occurrence and consequences of AKI in Mexican patients to contribute to better knowledge and management of this problem. Methods: Using a retrospective observational cohort methodology, we investigated 313 cases from a cohort of 1019 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at the IMSS Zacatecas General Hospital of Zone No. 1 in 2020. The prevalence of AKI was determined using the AKIN criteria based on serum creatinine levels and a detailed review of demographic characteristics, medical history, comorbidities, and clinical development. Results: The data showed a 25.30% prevalence of AKI among patients infected with severe COVID-19. Remarkably, these patients with AKI exhibited an advanced age (>65 years), arterial hypertension, a higher number of white blood cells during admission and the hospital stay, and elevated levels of C-reactive protein, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Clinically, patients with AKI had signs of prostration, pneumonia, and the requirement for ventilatory assistance when compared to those without AKI. Finally, those diagnosed with AKI and COVID-19 had a 74% death rate. Relative risk analyses indicated that age (>65 years), arterial hypertension, high creatinine levels, endotracheal intubation, and pneumonia are associated with the development of AKI. On the other hand, among the protective factors against AKI, high hemoglobin levels and the consumption of statins during COVID-19 were found. Conclusions: The findings of this study underscore the significance of promptly identifying and effectively managing AKI to potentially alleviate the negative consequences of this complication within the Mexican population during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a major cause of signs and symptoms related to dry eyes (DE) and eyelid inflammation. We investigated the composition of human tears by metabolomic approaches in patients with aqueous tear deficiency and MGD. Methods: Participants in this prospective, case-control pilot study were split into patients with aqueous tear deficiency and MGD (DE-MGD [n = 15]) and healthy controls (CG; n = 20). Personal interviews, ocular surface disease index (OSDI), and ophthalmic examinations were performed. Reflex tears collected by capillarity were processed to 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and quantitative data analysis to identify molecules by spectra comparison to library entries of purified standards and/or unknown entities. Statistical analyses were made by the SPSS 22.0 program. Results: Chemometric analysis and 1H NMR spectra comparison revealed the presence of 60 metabolites in tears. Differentiating features were evident in the NMR spectra of the 2 clinical groups, characterized by significant upregulation of phenylalanine, glycerol, and isoleucine, and downregulation of glycoproteins, leucine, and –CH3 lipids, as compared to the CG. The 1H NMR metabolomic analyses of human tears confirmed the applicability of this platform with high predictive accuracy/reliability. Conclusions: Our key distinctive findings support that DE-MGD induces tear metabolomics profile changes. Metabolites contributing to a higher separation from the CG can presumably be used, in the foreseeable future, as DE-MGD biomarkers for better managing the diagnosis and therapy of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most observed institutional arrangements, in governments, firms, and other organizations, acknowledge the effectiveness of imposing sanctioning institutions and monitoring policies to achieve particular goals. However, less attention has been paid to the influences of the delegation mechanism of sanctioning power. In particular, it remains unclear whether the mechanism influences the legitimacy of the authority/institution, in centralized institutional arrangements. We report laboratory-experimental results of a public goods game that compare the performance of exogenous (i.e., the Leviathan) versus endogenous (i.e., the Democracy) delegation of sanctioning power. Observed differences are not statistically significant, regardless of the effectiveness of sanctions imposed, tested in two experiments with different punishment/cost functions. Democratic schemes in centralized power environments should not be taken for granted. Experimental evidence contradicts the common belief of a robust causal relationship between indirect democratic institutions, collective action, and economic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The only novel written by Juan Eduardo Cirlot (1916-1973), Nebiros, was banned by Franco's censorship in 1951 and remained unpublished until 2016. In this article, I examine the original reworking of elements from Surrealism and Existentialism carried out by Cirlot to configure his defense of poetic imagination and its ontological possibilities. Through the analysis of the aesthetic of evil and visionary symbolism, I establish connections between Cirlot's philosophical sketches and poetry to clarify the ethic of creation that underlies the ensemble of his literary production. Tweetable abstract: Juan Eduardo Cirlot's Nebiros remained unpublished until 2016. In this article, I examine its aesthetic of evil, use of visionary imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The applications of social robots have continued to rise in number over the years: there are now mainly used in nursing homes and hospitals, performing different tasks like assistance, physical and cognitive rehabilitation, and supervision. However, robots' ability to learn from humans remains a problem to be solved. This paper presents the development of an Active Object Learning architecture in which the robot can identify unknown objects and autonomously initiate the learning process, supported by user interactions. We study the feasibility of generating a real-time dataset, including techniques for reducing image repetition and online classification model training. The work considers the analysis of machine learning metrics such as F1-Score, accuracy, confidence, and hit rate as the robot learns new objects. The accuracy of the classifier remains constant as the number of classes increases, indicating that the regularisation methods reduce overfitting and decrease the generalisation gap. The results prove that the robot can perform the classifications correctly and differentiate between known and unknown objects. The paper also includes a case study to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system integrated into a real social robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCM) is a non‐invasive ophthalmic imaging technique that provides images of the cornea at the cellular level. Despite the uses in ocular surface pathologies, in the last decades IVCM has been used to provide more knowledge in refractive surgery wound healing (LASIK and PRK), dry eye disease, and in some corneal infections (amoebas and filamentous fungi). The observation of the corneal cells, both normal and inflammatory, and the possibility of quantification of the corneal nerve density and quality with manual or automated tools, makes IVCM have a significant potential to improve the diagnosis and prognosis in several systemic and corneal conditions. Neuropathic pain has multiple aetiologies, but a major feature is small fibre dysfunction or damage. IVCM has been utilized to show small nerve fibre loss in patients with diabetic and other neuropathies. IVCM has comparable diagnostic utility to intraepidermal nerve fibre density for diabetic neuropathy, fibromyalgia and amyloid neuropathy and predicts the development of diabetic neuropathy. Moreover, in clinical intervention trials of patients with diabetic and sarcoid neuropathy, corneal nerve regeneration occurs early and precedes an improvement in symptoms and neurophysiology. Corneal nerve fibre loss also occurs and is associated with disease progression in multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. Patients with small fibre neuropathy have IVCM nerve changes. In conclusion, IVCM has good diagnostic and prognostic capability and fulfils the criteria as an end point for clinical trials in corneal, and peripheral and central neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diego Aramburo (Bolivia) y Rodrigo García (Argentina/España) reconstruyen con palabras casi inconexas la memoria violenta de un pasado marcado por el militarismo en sus países y de esta forma se exponen el cuerpo olvidado de las víctimas de estos periodos históricos. El objetivo fundamental se basa en revisar la relación de escritura entre las palabras que emplean los dos dramaturgos para marcar la memoria y el olvido del cuerpo dentro de un proceso violento. La metodología consiste en realizar una comparación de sus producciones teatrales donde resalta la idea de la palabra que expone el cuerpo olvidado, desde la memoria que emerge en imágenes violentas, lo que nos lleva develar la repetitiva estructura poética caracterizada por la exacerbación del discurso. Podemos decir que Diego Aramburo y Rodrigo García buscan desde sus propuestas dramatúrgicas, la exposición de una memoria silenciada en sus contextos culturales, por medio de una estética caracterizada por palabras agresivas, polifónicas y vacías como representación de un pasado reciente. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecuador's research output relative to other Latin American countries has been low historically; however, over the last 10 years, the government has put various policies in place to help remedy this situation. This is an analysis of Ecuadorian research productivity from 2006 to 2015. The scientific productivity of Ecuador has increased 5.16 times over the past years, exceeding Latin American growth. Over 80% of Ecuadorian publications include international collaboration mainly with the United States and some European and Latin American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) has generated a number of research questions, related to their use and potential risk, but also potentials for prevention or health promotion. Online social networks have become an important source of information for users as well as a tool for social relations. As traditional social networks, they can act as vehicles to improve the health of adolescents and youth, as well as play a key role in an educational context. The aim of this work is then to explore the theoretical relevance of ICT, particularly on online social networks, on disease prevention and health promotion of communicable diseases. Literature review points out the role of online social networks, particularly in the field of sexual health, body image, especially eating habits and overweight, as well as smoking and alcohol dependence. Data allow us to understand how online social network behavior and interaction is related to their burden and interventions developed in sexual health and addiction show positive results. More efforts in body image are needed in order to use these tools for prevention and promotion of health from early age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific performance in Ecuador has been traditionally low; however, in recent years, government has put various policies in place aimed at improving outcomes. This is an analysis of scientific impact of Ecuadorian publications using bibliometric tools for the 2006-2015 period. Impact of publications produced by Ecuadorian researchers is low; however, it highly increased with international collaboration mostly from North America and Europe, what allowed the publication of articles in journals of high level and prestige. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: the current complex and dynamic environment in which universities operate, demands for them, the development of strategic management capacities, especially those related to knowledge, given their high impact on the achievement of institutional goals and on the satisfaction of the demands of relevance by society. Objective: the present research aimed to conceive a methodology to strategically manage knowledge at the University of Managua. Materials and methods: the research is carried out under the conceptions of a qualitative approach, using techniques such as observation, document analysis, interviews, group dynamics and consensus-seeking techniques in its deployment, as well as the triangulation of results. Results and discussion: among the main results obtained with the research, there is a methodology that facilitates managing knowledge as a systemic and systematic process, structured in stages aligned with a logical and interrelated sequence, which starts from the study of demands, defines the strategy, the organizational supports, its implementation and facilitates its learning, through the evaluation and improvement stage. Conclusions: the application to the object of practical study evidenced its viability, and its usefulness in terms of progress towards quality levels in the universities, which Nicaraguan society demands, expressed this, in the behavior of a set of management indicators; as well as having contributed to the simplification of the administrative systems at the University and promoted the integration of a planning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the relationship between the meibomian gland loss (MGL) and relevant ocular surface clinical parameters as well as the influence of age in this relationship.Methods: A total of 161 participants (mean age; 42±17 years) were enrolled in this study. Infrared meibography was performed using Keratograph 5M (K5M; Oculus GmbH, Wetzlar). Participants were divided into five groups according to total meiboscore and the ocular surface parameters of each MGL group were studied. In addition, the relationship between MGL and the ocular surface parameters was established including age as covariant.Results: Both eyelids were taken into account since no association between the MGL from upper and lower eyelid was found (k value=0.2; p=0.3) despite they were significantly correlated (r= 0.3; p<0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in symptomatology among different MGL groups. Statistically significant differences were found among MGL groups in tear osmolarity (p=0.02), bulbar redness (p=0.04), corneal and conjunctival staining (p=0.01 and p=0.004, respectively). Despite this, only corneal staining showed a significant correlation with MGL when age was covariant (r=0.2; p=0.04).Conclusions: MGL higher than 50% seems to be accompanied by signs on the ocular surface. Furthermore, age demonstrated to be a relevant factor when assessing MGL. For this reason, future studies should compare age-matched groups in order to know the contribution of the MGL on the ocular surface and establish valid cut-off values for dry eye diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's competitive business world, success increasingly depends on effective human management at the level of individual work positions, especially directives, as these are responsible for leading organizations aimed at achieving the proposed goals. Particularly important in this context is the competency management development from the perspective of strategic alignment, prospective and situational approach. A considerations set with theoretical and methodological foundations for the identification of managerial competencies are presented, starting from recognizing this phase as basic in managing them process of. The proposed methodological framework for the identification of managerial competences includes a contextual analysis as a starting point in this type of study, including external and internal elements, which contributes to guaranteeing their relevance, the introduction of prospective tools to organizational competencies study and presuppose strategic alignment of them. It also establishes a set of criteria and premises whose observation in this type of works will raise results quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contamination of the marine environment by plastics is an emerging environmental threat that began to be notified in the seventies of the last century, and that currently affects the majority of marine organisms. In the educational field, the study of marine currents and their capacity to transport plastic debris to areas far from where they were produced is rarely addressed in a practical way, so that the perception that students have of this problem is very low. In this article we describe a teaching-learning experience by research that, with 12-year-old students, allowed us to discover some of the possible trajectories of plastic debris in the Gulf of Cadiz. For this purpose, a total of 21 bottles with messages were launched from Santa María del Mar beach (Cadiz) and on three different dates. Thanks to the citizen collaboration, the possible trajectories of 5 of these bottles could be reconstructed. Two of them were transported by currents to the northwest and reached the beaches of Portugal. Two others were taken to the Southeast and beached on the beaches of Conil and Tarifa respectively. Finally, the fifth was found on the same launch beach. The final evaluation of the experience suggests that the students expanded and modified their knowledge about marine currents and the environmental problem of plastic debris in the marine environment and were able to generate scientific-school data on the subject researched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock fragment size is a key variable in several mining stages such as underground mine design, equipment selection, and mineral processing. In Block Caving, rock fragment sizes are affected by fragmentation during gravity flow in the ore column while ore is being extracted from drawpoints. Additionally, smaller fragments can percolate between large fragments during gravity flow. These two phenomena — rock fragmentation and particle percolation — are not easy to simulate at a large scale in Block Caving. In this paper, a fragmentation model in a cellular automata gravity flow simulator is proposed to model rock fragmentation during flow at large scales. The fragmentation model uses the rock strength, vertical stresses, and travel distance as inputs to estimate the rock breakage and was calibrated with experimental and mine data. The mine scale results show an error of 9% and 7% of the fragmentation in the zones evaluated. This error rate is considered low due to the variability of the phenomena involved. Then, integrating a fragmentation model into a gravity flow simulator can more realistically represent ore fragmentation in caving-mine to generate flow simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and reliable groundwater level (GWL) forecasting is crucial for developing strategies and managing water resources. In recent years, Machine Learning (ML) has demonstrated its high efficiency and practicability for GWL forecast compared to other conventional models due to its capability to handle different sources simultaneously and its lower data, cost, and time requirements. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview and analysis of the ML models used in GWL modeling. A total of 168 original research articles published between 2000 and 2023 were examined, summarizing details such as country, keywords co-occurrence, type of algorithm, input variables, data split, performance metrics, time scale and study unit. Furthermore, we discuss potential future research directions, opportunities and recommendations for enhancing the application of ML models to GWL forecasting. • A systematic literature review for groundwater level prediction by machine learning models is presented. • Semi-arid and arid regions have conducted most of the studies. • Hybrid machine learning algorithms have been the most employed. • The main input parameters were groundwater level, precipitation, and temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The participation of diverse demographics in higher education has risen over the last half-century; meanwhile, different political and social tiers have been assigning a more active role to institutions in terms of equality and social justice. This change in circumstances has led to the roll out of processes to institutionalise diversity outreach. This study was conducted for the clear purpose of assessing the current institutionalisation status of diversity outreach in 127 key universities from the Academic Ranking of World Universities based on the opinions of diversity outreach managers and the information published on institutional websites, in turn measuring compliance with various indicators. A qualitative analysis of the institutional statements, the goals sought through strategic plans and the definitions of diversity itself was also conducted. The evidence reveals the early stage of the institutionalisation process in universities on account of the low percentage obtained for the proposed indicators. Furthermore, the study failed to exhibit significant differences in this process in terms of the institutional ownership or position held in the ranking; however, more prominent progress was noted in the North-American region when geographical differences were taken into account, likely as a result of the historical background in the advocacy for equal opportunities. Lastly, a change of approach to the conceptualisation of diversity is suggested in favour of equality and social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely diagnosis of malaria is a strategy proposed by the World Health Organization to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. A study was conducted to assess performance in microscopic diagnosis of malaria in the network of laboratories under the National Malaria Reference Laboratory of the National Institute of Health between 2012 and 2017. In the years of study, the laboratories obtained a rating of "acceptable" in the diagnosis of Plasmodium by 38.4%, 43.7%, 60.0%, 83.3%, 90.9%, and 95.8%, respectively, in the evaluation of species by 0%, 6.2%, 15.0%, 50.0%, 40.9%, and 54.1%, respectively; in stage assessment by 23.0%, 25.0%, 35.0%, 83.3%, 54.5%, and 79.1%, respectively; and in parasitic density assessment by 0%, 6.2%, 10.0%, 33.3%, 0%, and 12.5%, respectively. We conclude that in the period under evaluation, the percentage of laboratories that diagnosed and recognized the species and stage increases, which is not the case for recognition of parasitic density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Accurate estimation of the absolute number of a particular cell‐type in whole organs is increasingly important in studies on organogenesis, and the remodelling and repair of diseased tissues. The unbiased estimation of the absolute number of cells in an organ is complicated, and design‐based stereology remains the method of choice. This has led investigators to explore alternative approaches – such as flow cytometry – as a faster and less labour‐intensive replacement for stereology. To address whether flow cytometry might substitute stereology, design‐based stereology was compared with microfluorosphere‐controlled flow cytometry, for estimation of the absolute number of alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AEC2) in the lungs of two mouse strains: wild‐type C57BL/6J mice and Sftpc‐YFP mice. Using design‐based stereology, ≈10.7 million and ≈9.0 million AEC2 were estimated in the lungs of wild‐type C57BL/6J mice and Sftpc‐YFP mice, respectively. Substantially fewer AEC2 were estimated using flow cytometry. In wild‐type C57/BL6J mouse lungs, 59% of the AEC2 estimated by design‐based stereology were estimated by flow cytometry (≈6.3 million), using intracellular staining for pro‐surfactant protein C. Similarly, in Sftpc‐YFP mouse lungs, 23% of the AEC2 estimated by design‐based stereology were estimated by flow cytometry (≈2.1 million), using yellow fluorescent protein fluorescence. Our data suggest that flow cytometry underestimates AEC2 number, possibly due to impaired recoverability of AEC2 from dissociated lung tissue. These data suggest design‐based stereology as the method of choice for the unbiased estimation of the absolute number of cells in an organ. Lay Description: There is much interest in studies on the pathological changes that accompany disease, to be able to count or estimate the number of a particular cell‐type in solid tissue, such as an organ. The easiest way to do this is to make liquid suspensions of single cells from solid tissue, and then to count the number of cells of interest, using either a microscope, or automated cell counting (for example, a flow cytometer). Alternatively, solid tissue may be examined microscopically, where the cell‐type of interest might also be counted 'by eye' or in an automated manner using software (called planimetry). All of these approaches to counting cells in solid organs come with serious drawbacks, and estimation of the cell number may thus be inaccurate. To overcome this, we have employed a combination of mathematical tools and statistical principles together with microscopy (called 'design‐based stereology') that permits the unbiased counting of cells in microscopic fields, which can then be extrapolated to the entire solid tissue volume, to accurately estimate the number of a cell‐type of interest in the solid tissue. We have compared this method with the estimation of cell number using a flow cytometer. Our data reveal that flow cytometry appreciably underestimates the total number of cells in solid tissue, where we used the lung as an example of solid tissue, and estimated the number of a unique cell‐type in the lung: the alveolar epithelial type 2 cell, to compare stereology with flow cytometry. We believe that flow cytometry underestimates the cell number due to the difficulty of breaking up solid tissue into single cells, and being able to recover all of those single cells for analysis. Our data supports the recommendation to use stereology, not flow cytometry, to accurately estimate the number of a particular cell‐type in solid tissue. Accurate estimation of the absolute number of a particular cell‐type in whole organs is increasingly important in studies on organogenesis, and the remodelling and repair of diseased tissues. Although estimation of the relative number of cells might be straightforward, unbiased estimation of the absolute number of cells in an organ is complicated, and design‐based stereology remains the method of choice. This has led investigators to explore alternative approaches – such as flow cytometry – as a faster and less labour‐intensive replacement for stereology. To address whether flow cytometry might substitute stereology, design‐based stereology was compared with microfluorosphere‐controlled flow cytometry, for estimation of the absolute number of alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AEC2) in the lungs of two mouse strains: wild‐type C57BL/6J mice and Sftpc‐YFP mice. Using design‐based stereology, ≈10.7 million and ≈9.0 million AEC2 were estimated in the lungs of wild‐type C57BL/6J mice and Sftpc‐YFP mice, respectively. Substantially fewer AEC2 were estimated using flow cytometry. In wild‐type C57/BL6J mouse lungs, 59% of the AEC2 estimated by design‐based stereology were estimated by flow cytometry (≈6.3 million), using intracellular staining for pro‐surfactant protein C. Similarly, in Sftpc‐YFP mouse lungs, 23% of the AEC2 estimated by design‐based stereology were estimated by flow cytometry (≈2.1 million), using yellow fluorescent protein fluorescence. Our data suggest that flow cytometry underestimates AEC2 number, possibly due to impaired recoverability of AEC2 from dissociated lung tissue. These data suggest design‐based stereology as the method of choice for the unbiased estimation of the absolute number of cells in an organ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Introduction: One of the branches of knowledge that interests the economic world is the Administration. Branch studied with intensity in the 20th century and continuing its development in the 21st century. The Administration has continued its development, due to its social action in practice. This development has varied in the theoretical and methodological, because responsibilities change, the ways in which the functions of management and the world surrounding organizations are materialized. Objective: To investigate what is the current theoretical framework of the Administration constituted by its concepts, categories, laws, and own research methods to solve problems of practice, to be able to consider the Administration as a science or not. Methods: A formal and dialectical logic is followed by a qualitative study, in which methods such as: systemic and documentary analysis, research workshop, survey and systematization are used. The understanding of the information is complemented by methods of content and frequency analysis. Results: A theoretical structure or framework of the Administration is obtained specifying its features as a science in terms of; object of study, field of action, principles, methods of scientific knowledge, system of principles, problem of the science that solves to structure the Administration in a scientific way. Conclusions: A connection between theoretical and practical elements around the Administration is identified as science such as; object of study, laws governing its operation, field of studies, principles, categories and problems of the practice it solves. The Administration is recognized as a science in development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tangerine (Citrus reticulata. CRP) and grapefruit (Citrus paradisi. CPP) pectins obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and conventional extraction (CE) using citric acid were characterized to establish their potential uses as an alternative source of commercial pectin. The pectins obtained by UAE and CE presented a pseudoplastic fluid characteristic with shear thinning behavior, a high esterification degree (CRP 82.30–71.81% and CPP 84.25–72.15%) and were of commercial quality based on galacturonic acid content (CRP 76.03% and CPP 76.03–71.01%). CPP presented greater viscosimetric molecular weight than CRP. Meanwhile, CRP presented greater polyphenol and protein content with respect CPP. The functional properties were influenced by citrus source and extraction method. UAE favored greater yields in a shorter time (CPP: 26.05%, 30 min; CRP: 13.46%, 15 min) compared to CE. UAE combined with the use of citric acid offers an effective alternative for obtaining high-quality pectins with lower polluting effluent, time and energy requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a brief analysis of the 35 National Libraries' websites of the Americas is presented, considering both the main website features and the online services provided. These services have been categorised to ease the statistical data processing. The results highlight the relevance of the Web as a platform from which National Libraries can make public their collections and get closer to their users through online services, but they show as well a great gap between them regarding the technological solutions adopted and the range of services provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El presente trabajo pretende mostrar la experiencia que se ha tenido como docente en nivel superior con la imbricación de los siguientes saberes: planeación didáctica por competencias, evaluación del aprendizaje por competencias y gestión de entornos de aprendizaje áulico-virtual en la División de Ciencias Económico Administrativas, Ciudad Universitaria del Conocimiento de la Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (DACEA [CUC5]-UJAT). Se narra, desde una mirada gestalt, el caminar de la actuación docente y los procesos de construcción y obtención de resultados académicos durante un ciclo. La gestión áulico-virtual de la actuación docente es retroalimentada por los propios estudiantes al utilizar una herramienta estratégica de la mercadotecnia llamada crowd de la enseñanza, arrojando un resultado favorable sobre el desarrollo de las competencias docentes. Se concluye que los conocimientos en las TIC, la construcción de una planeación didáctica innovadora y el manejo y actuación en las etapas evaluativas, deben ser priorizadas en la enseñanza superior, pues el insight académico requiere de un darse cuenta reflexivo y crítico sobre la propia actuación educadora de forma permanente para estar en constante renovación. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article uses interviews with and direct observations of Chicana/o youth in San Diego, California to reveal the effects of hyper criminalization and panoptic surveillance on their lives.

Stevia leaves, which are commonly used as a natural sweetener in food products, have increased in importance for antioxidant delivery due to their high content of phenolic compounds. In this study, the influence of the drying process on stevia leaves, with regards to phenolic content and antioxidant activity during drying kinetics 40 °C for 7 h, was studied. The effect of solvent concentration and extraction time using a 32 factorial design on total phenol content (TPC), and on antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from dried stevia leaves, by ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) as alternative method was evaluated. Steviol glycosides contents were also evaluated by a conventional and UAE method. Phenols identification, quantification and purification were performed by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS), Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array (UPLC-PDA) and advanced automated flash purification, respectively. Drying time affected the moisture content of stevia leaves. A constant weight was reached after six hours of drying, and higher antioxidant activity was observed, while the highest TPC was obtained after seven hours of drying. The highest TPC (91.57 - 8.8 mg GAE/g dw) and antioxidant activity (603.24 - 3.5 µmol TE/g dw) in UAE method was obtained when ethanol 50% at 5 min was used. Steviol glycosides extracted by UAE were recorded with a content of 93.18 - 1.36 mg/g dw and 98.97 - 1.75 mg/g dw for stevioside and rebaudioside A respectively. Six phenolic compounds including four phenolic acids and two flavonoids were identified and quantified by UPLC-PDA, and confirmed by ESI-MS reporting its fragmentation pattern. Diosmin and chlorogenic acid were the most abundant compounds with values of 2032.36 µg/mL and 434.95 µg/mL respectively. As a novelty we found that the antioxidant activity evaluated in partially purified fractions suggested that biological activity might be attributed to the synergistic effect of the six phenols present in the stevia leaves extract. In addition to its sweeting properties, stevia leaves constitute a potential source of polyphenolic compounds, with antioxidant activity that could be used as a food additive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]