Papers by Jessica Tatiana Ortiz
In the past years a considerable amount of research has been carried out on the development of th... more In the past years a considerable amount of research has been carried out on the development of theory of mind (ToM) reporting that language and ToM performance are correlated. However it is less clear what aspect of language is related with ToM development. Some studies show a greater influence of semantics aspects, whereas others suggest that sentential complement sentences, a specific aspect of syntax, are crucial for false belief understanding (FB). Yet others argue that pragmatic abilities correlate with FB understanding. The aim of this study is investigate, on the one side, the development of ToM between the ages of 6 and 8 and on the other side, the relationship between some aspects of language and the ToM improvement. Several ToM tasks were administrated to evaluate children's performance at two different ages (60 participants aged 6 and 8 years) and four tasks to assess language abilities. The results show a significant increase in the understanding of the mind between the ages of 6 and 8. Furthermore, results reveal a significant relationship between syntax and tasks that require FB understanding, while pragmatics is more strongly associated with tasks that involve more complex socio-cognitive understandings.
Pediatria Catalana Butlleti De La Societat Catalana De Pediatria, 2012
Fonament. La meningitis pneumocòccica (MP) continua representant una fita terapèutica per a la pe... more Fonament. La meningitis pneumocòccica (MP) continua representant una fita terapèutica per a la pediatria, ja que sovint comporta seqüeles neurològiques (SN) greus, i pot arribar a generar una mortalitat elevada, d'entorn el 4-8%. El coneixement dels factors pronòstics de mala evolució pot ajudar a fer un tractament més precoç i orientat. Objectiu. Conèixer els factors pronòstics de SN més importants en un infant amb sospita de MP, per poder orientar el tractament inicial i pronòstic. Mètode. Revisió de la literatura científica dels darrers trenta anys mitjançant Pubmed. Resultats. La incidència de SN pot arribar al 25-30%. Les més freqüents són l'epilèpsia, les parèsies-paràlisis, la sordesa i les alteracions tardanes del desenvolupament. Els factors de mal pronòstic més importants són: la simptomatologia al debut (convulsions persistents, focalitat neurològica, disminució del sensori), la hipoglucoràquia i l'alteració de les proves d'imatge. El tractament amb dexametasona és un factor protector. Conclusions. La presència d'aquests factors de mal pronòstic ha d'implicar un tractament precoç i dirigit, i un monitoratge intensiu. Paraules clau: Meningitis. Pneumococ. Pronòstic. Fundamento. La meningitis neumocócica (MN) constituye un reto terapéutico para el pediatra, ya que a menudo comporta secuelas neurológicas (SN) graves, y además puede conllevar una mortalidad elevada en torno al 4-8%. El conocimiento de los factores pronósticos de mala evolución puede ayudar a realizar un tratamiento más precoz y orientado. Objetivo. Conocer los factores pronósticos de SN más importantes en un niño con sospecha de MN, para poder orientar el tratamiento inicial y el pronóstico. Método. Revisión de la literatura científica de los últimos treinta años mediante Pubmed. Resultados. La incidencia de SN puede llegar al 25-30%. Las más frecuentes son la epilepsia, las paresias-parálisis, la sordera y las alteraciones tardías del desarrollo. Los factores de mal pronóstico
Journal of immunological methods, Jan 19, 2015
Neutralizing anti-drug antibodies (NAbs) can adversely impact efficacy and safety of biologic the... more Neutralizing anti-drug antibodies (NAbs) can adversely impact efficacy and safety of biologic therapeutics. However, current assay formats to detect NAbs are limited in their use during the dosing phase due to interference by circulating drug, resulting in low drug tolerance. To improve the drug tolerance for NAb detection, an alternative approach for indirect NAb (iNAb) assessment was developed and qualified that uses a combination of pharmacokinetic (PK) assays to measure the serum concentrations of free and total drug. It is demonstrated that the ratio of free to total drug concentrations, referred to as F/T ratio, is a novel PK parameter that can indicate neutralizing activity in test samples. The iNAb assessment correctly identified NAb-positive samples with high drug concentrations that led to false negative results in a conventional NAb assay. Moreover, iNAb reliably distinguished between NAbs and non-neutralizing anti-drug antibodies over a wide range of concentrations. A pr...
Orasema minutissima (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) has been proposed as a biological control agent o... more Orasema minutissima (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) has been proposed as a biological control agent of the Little Red Fire Ant, Wasmannia auropunctata. Our results suggest that there is some confusion of species boundaries and biological differences with the closely related species O.costaricensis and O.smithi. We examine differences between species using morphology, molecular markers and the distribution of the different species with their hosts. We examine in detail the biology of O.minutissima and its impact on its host, W.auropunctata, in Dominica.
Several species of Orasema are known to attack both Solenopsis and Wasmannia (Myrmicinae), and ha... more Several species of Orasema are known to attack both Solenopsis and Wasmannia (Myrmicinae), and have been proposed as biological control agents of fire ants (Heraty 1993). Two species complexes are known to attack fire ants; the Orasema xanthopus group attack Solenopsis in southern South America, and species in the costaricensis group are parasitoids of Wasmannia. Few studies have focused on the biology or taxonomy of the group. Species of the group can be separated with some difficulty based on morphology and their geographic distribution in South America. However the similarity between these species is so great that an accurate molecular characterization is necessary for the correct allocation of species, especially in areas of broad sympatry. Genetic ITS2 and 28S-D2 sequences demonstrate fixed differences between species that can be correlated with geography and morphology. Because of the deep level of signal provided by 28S, we are also able to provide a hypothesis of relationshi...
Bioanalysis, 2015
Chris Macaraeg has been a lead scientist for method development, validation, and study support in... more Chris Macaraeg has been a lead scientist for method development, validation, and study support intended for regulated pre-clinical/clinical studies within the Pharmacokinetics and Drug Metabolism department at Amgen Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA. He joined Amgen in 2006. His expertise also includes automation and method transfer to CROs. Chris received his BS degree in Physiological Science and Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, CA and MS in Forensic Science from Pace University, New York, NY. Stability of therapeutic proteins in biological matrix is an important parameter to evaluate in bioanalytical support of regulated nonclinical or clinical studies. Despite industry guidance publications, many questions still arise as to how these practices are implemented to establish therapeutic protein stability in bioanalytical method validations. This article presents findings from long-term, bench-top and freeze–thaw stability assessments for three therapeutic monoclona...
IECON 2014 - 40th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 2014
This paper presents a multi-layer scheme for the adaptive coordinated cooperative control of n mo... more This paper presents a multi-layer scheme for the adaptive coordinated cooperative control of n mobile manipulator. Each layer works as an independent module, dealing with a specific part of the problem of cooperation, coordination and adaptation, thus giving more flexibility to the scheme. Also, the redundancy of the n mobile manipulators is used for the avoidance of obstacles by the mobile platforms-without deforming the virtual structure and maintaining its desired trajectory- and the singular configuration prevention through the system's manipulability control. Stability and robustness are proved by using Lyapunov's theory. Simulation results show a good performance of the proposed control scheme as proved by the theoretical design.
Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología, 2012
Resumen La capacidad de atribuir estados mentales a uno mismo y a los demás, es decir, la teoría ... more Resumen La capacidad de atribuir estados mentales a uno mismo y a los demás, es decir, la teoría de la mente, ha sido intensamente estudiada en los últimos años. La mayoría de trabajos se han centrado en el estudio de la comprensión de la falsa creencia, uno de los hitos más importantes en el desarrollo de la teoría de la mente que se adquiere alrededor de los 4-5 años. Sin embargo, diversos autores han señalado que los niños con dificultades en el lenguaje comprenden la falsa creencia a edades más avanzadas. Por otra parte, la adquisición de la comprensión de la falsa creencia se ha relacionado con las habilidades lingüísticas. En concreto, algunos estudios de entrenamiento subrayan que la denominación de objetos con doble perspectiva facilita el desarrollo de esta capacidad. En esta línea, el objetivo del presente estudio es aplicar este tipo de entrenamiento a sujetos con dificultades en el desarrollo del lenguaje. La muestra estaba formada por 14 niños con alteraciones en el desarrollo del lenguaje, de edades comprendidas entre los 58 y los 107 meses. Se administraron un pretest y un postest
Intelligent Robotics and Applications, 2014
This work presents the kinematic and dynamic modeling of a humanwheelchair system, and dynamic co... more This work presents the kinematic and dynamic modeling of a humanwheelchair system, and dynamic control to solve the path following problem. First it is proposed a dynamic modeling of the human-wheelchair system where it is considered that its mass center is not located at the center the wheels' axle of the wheelchair. Then, the design of the control algorithm is presented. This controller design is based on two cascaded subsystems: a kinematic controller with command saturation, and a dynamic controller that compensates the dynamics of the robot. Stability and robustness are proved by using Lyapunov's method. Experimental results show a good performance of the proposed controller as proved by the theoretical design.
sh.diva-portal.org
To build a nation in the true sense (...) is to build the character of its people-of ourselves, t... more To build a nation in the true sense (...) is to build the character of its people-of ourselves, to build an attitude of mind which will enables us to live together with our fellow citizen (...), in mutual friendliness and cooperation" 1 Tanzania is a country consisting of more than 130 ethnicities and three major religions. It is surrounded by continuous conflict which could be seen as a suitable environment for identity-related violence to flourish, but instead it is a country that should be seen as a role model in dealing with ethnic religious identities through a self-created system, which includes a political vision and an ideology. The purpose of this thesis has been to explore and describe a country that has worked through politics for a society that has a place for religion, but not religion mixed with politics. The study is based on secondary empirical material and on field work done in the Babati district in Tanzania. The result is important for several reasons, in today's identity-focused world, since it illustrates the need to recognize people's multiple identities, to be able to integrate to create a foundation of tolerance and respect between religions.
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Papers by Jessica Tatiana Ortiz