Maternal intake of alpha-lipoic acid prevents development of symptoms associated with a fructose-rich diet in the male offspring in Wistar rats.

The hypothesis was that maternal intake of the antioxidant alpha-lipoid acid (ALA), during the developmental period of the hypothalamic orexigenic neurons, causes a permanent beneficial effect in offspring metabolism. Pregnant Wistar rats were fed with standard diet (food) + ALA (0.4% wt/wt) from day 14 of gestation to day 20 of lactation (n = 4) or food (n = 4). At 3 months of age, male offspring born from ALA-fed rats or controls (CT) were randomly assigned to be fed with food + 10% fructose solution in drinking water (F) or food + tap water (C), resulting in four groups: ALAF, ALAC, CTF, and CTC (n = 5/group). Food intake and body weight (BW) were measured twice a week for 31 days. Metabolites' levels in blood, mRNA expressions of Npy, Agrp (hypothalamus), Fasn, Srebf1, Ppard, and Pparg (liver), and the antioxidant capacity of the liver were determined. Results significance was set at p < 0.05. Average BW gain, daily BW gain, and intraabdominal fat tissue at necropsy were higher in CTF group followed by CTC, ALAF, and ALAC groups. There were no differences between groups in Kcal intake per day. mRNA expressions of hypothalamic and hepatic genes and plasmatic levels of glucose and triglycerides were higher in CTF group followed by ALAF, CTC, and ALAC groups. Fructose intake affected the oxidative capacity of the liver, but this effect was not observed in the ALAF group. In conclusion, maternal ALA intake protected the adult offspring to develop metabolic symptoms associated with high fructose in the drinking water.

Caracterización de estudiantes desde sus potencialidades y talentos académicos en la región de Antofagasta, Chile / Students Characterization from their Potential and Academic Talent in Antofagasta, Chile

La coyuntura actual de políticas educativas de cobertura, calidad, equidad y diversidad imponen desafíos a los establecimientos educacionales, especialmente a los municipales, los cuales deben desarrollar estrategias orientadas a satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes que se encuentran en sus aulas, capitalizando sus fortalezas. Esta investigación es de naturaleza exploratoria con una metodología mixta explicativa. Se presentan los resultados de la primera fase del estudio que corresponde al análisis de proyectos educativos y a la caracterización de estudiantes sobresalientes. Se analizaron los resultados obtenidos de 1.536 estudiantes provenientes de 18 establecimientos educacionales de las comunas de Antofagasta y Calama (Chile). A partir del análisis y de acuerdo a indicadores de talento académico, la muestra fue caracterizada en cuatro grupos de estudiantes: estudiantes sobresalientes, sub-nominados, sobre-exigidos y promedio. La categoría de estudiantes sub-nominados plantea cuestionamientos referentes a la metodología de identificación de estudiantes con talento en los programas chilenos, fuertemente cimentada en la nominación docente. Se advierte la necesidad de generar rutas alternativas, como la autonominación. Para concluir, se hacen algunas sugerencias alrededor de las políticas públicas en relación con la educación para estudiantes sobresalientes en particular para Chile, pero pueden ser en buena medida transferidas a otros casos a través de Iberoamérica.

The current situation of coverage, quality, equity and diversity in educational policies pose new challenges to educational institutions, especially the public ones, which must develop strategies to meet the needs of students who are in their classrooms capitalizing their strengths. With an exploratory research and a mixed explicative research methodology, we present the results the first phase of this study, corresponding to institutional educational projects analysis and characterization of outstanding students. We analyzed the results of 1,536 students from 18 educational institutions from Antofagasta and Calama (Chile). From the analysis and according to indicators of academic talent, the sample was characterized in four groups of students: outstanding, sub-nominated, over-constrained, and average. The sub-nominated student category raises questions concerning to the methodology for identifying talented and gifted students in Chilean programs, strongly grounded in teacher nomination. These findings note the need to generate alternative routes, such as self-nomination. To conclude, we give some suggestions on public policy regarding education for outstanding students in Chile. However these can be largely transferred to other cases throughout Ibero-America.