Comunicación organizacional y felicidad en el trabajo

La felicidad en el trabajo es un concepto determinante en la organización de hoy; entre otras cosas, por estar dirigido a los colaboradores, considerados su activo más importante. Al evidenciar la necesidad que hay de gestionar la felicidad en el trabajo desde la comunicación organizacional, se deciden abordar estas dos categorías a través de una investigación con enfoque cualitativo. El objetivo principal fue analizar el aporte de la comunicación organizacional al logro de la felicidad en el trabajo en Colombia a través del Método Delphi, que permitió la realización de dos rondas de preguntas a siete expertos de diferentes ciudades del país. En el análisis se muestra que hay un gran número de factores que pueden influir en la felicidad de los empleados, pero se logran describir los esenciales y, además, las prácticas de comunicación que aportan al logro de los mismos.

Happiness at work is a determining concept in today's organization, because, among other things, it is aimed at employees, who are considered the most important asset. By showing the need to manage happiness at work through organizational communication, it was decided to address these two categories through a qualitative research approach. The main objective was to analyze the contribution of organizational communication to the achievement of happiness at work in Colombia, through the Delphi Method, which allowed for the realization of two rounds of questions to seven experts from different cities in the country. The analysis shows that there are a large number of factors that can influence the happiness of employees, but it is possible to describe the essential ones, as well as the communication practices that contribute to their achievement.

Synaptic determinants of cholinergic interneurons hyperactivity during parkinsonism.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative ailment generated by the loss of dopamine in the basal ganglia, mainly in the striatum. The disease courses with increased striatal levels of acetylcholine, disrupting the balance among these modulatory transmitters. These modifications disturb the excitatory and inhibitory balance in the striatal circuitry, as reflected in the activity of projection striatal neurons. In addition, changes in the firing pattern of striatal tonically active interneurons during the disease, including cholinergic interneurons (CINs), are being searched. Dopamine-depleted striatal circuits exhibit pathological hyperactivity as compared to controls. One aim of this study was to show how striatal CINs contribute to this hyperactivity. A second aim was to show the contribution of extrinsic synaptic inputs to striatal CINs hyperactivity. Electrophysiological and calcium imaging recordings in Cre-mice allowed us to evaluate the activity of dozens of identified CINs with single-cell resolution in ex vivo brain slices. CINs show hyperactivity with bursts and silences in the dopamine-depleted striatum. We confirmed that the intrinsic differences between the activity of control and dopamine-depleted CINs are one source of their hyperactivity. We also show that a great part of this hyperactivity and firing pattern change is a product of extrinsic synaptic inputs, targeting CINs. Both glutamatergic and GABAergic inputs are essential to sustain hyperactivity. In addition, cholinergic transmission through nicotinic receptors also participates, suggesting that the joint activity of CINs drives the phenomenon; since striatal CINs express nicotinic receptors, not expressed in striatal projection neurons. Therefore, CINs hyperactivity is the result of changes in intrinsic properties and excitatory and inhibitory inputs, in addition to the modification of local circuitry due to cholinergic nicotinic transmission. We conclude that CINs are the main drivers of the pathological hyperactivity present in the striatum that is depleted of dopamine, and this is, in part, a result of extrinsic synaptic inputs. These results show that CINs may be a main therapeutic target to treat Parkinson's disease by intervening in their synaptic inputs.

Translational neuronal ensembles: Neuronal microcircuits in psychology, physiology, pharmacology and pathology.

Multi-recording techniques show evidence that neurons coordinate their firing forming ensembles and that brain networks are made by connections between ensembles. While "canonical" microcircuits are composed of interconnected principal neurons and interneurons, it is not clear how they participate in recorded neuronal ensembles: "groups of neurons that show spatiotemporal co-activation". Understanding synapses and their plasticity has become complex, making hard to consider all details to fill the gap between cellular-synaptic and circuit levels. Therefore, two assumptions became necessary: First, whatever the nature of the synapses these may be simplified by "functional connections". Second, whatever the mechanisms to achieve synaptic potentiation or depression, the resultant synaptic weights are relatively stable. Both assumptions have experimental basis cited in this review, and tools to analyze neuronal populations are being developed based on them. Microcircuitry processing followed with multi-recording techniques show temporal sequences of neuronal ensembles resembling computational routines. These sequences can be aligned with the steps of behavioral tasks and behavior can be modified upon their manipulation, supporting the hypothesis that they are memory traces. In vitro, recordings show that these temporal sequences can be contained in isolated tissue of histological scale. Sequences found in control conditions differ from those recorded in pathological tissue obtained from animal disease models and those recorded after the actions of clinically useful drugs to treat disease states, setting the basis for new bioassays to test drugs with potential clinical use. These findings make the neuronal ensembles theoretical framework a dynamic neuroscience paradigm.

Activation of parvalbumin-expressing neurons reconfigures neuronal ensembles in murine striatal microcircuits.

The striatum is the largest entrance to the basal ganglia. Diverse neuron classes make up striatal microcircuit activity, consisting in the sequential activation of neuronal ensembles. How different neuron classes participate in generating ensemble sequences is unknown. In control mus musculus brain slices in vitro, providing excitatory drive generates ensemble sequences. In Parkinsonian microcircuits captured by a highly recurrent ensemble, a cortical stimulus causes a transitory reconfiguration of neuronal groups alleviating Parkinsonism. Alternation between neuronal ensembles needs interconnectivity, in part due to interneurons, preferentially innervated by incoming afferents. One main class of interneuron expresses parvalbumin (PV+ neurons) and mediates feed-forward inhibition. However, its more global actions within the microcircuit are unknown. Using calcium imaging in ex vivo brain slices simultaneously recording dozens of neurons, we aimed to observe the actions of PV+ neurons within the striatal microcircuit. PV+ neurons in active microcircuits are 5%-11% of the active neurons even if, anatomically, they are <1% of the total neuronal population. In resting microcircuits, optogenetic activation of PV+ neurons turns on circuit activity by activating or disinhibiting, more neurons than those actually inhibited, showing that feed-forward inhibition is not their only function. Optostimulation of PV+ neurons in active microcircuits inhibits and activates different neuron sets, resulting in the reconfiguration of neuronal ensembles by changing their functional connections and ensemble membership, showing that neurons may belong to different ensembles at different situations. Our results show that PV+ neurons participate in the mechanisms that generate alternation of neuronal ensembles, therefore provoking ensemble sequences.

Aspectos de la cultura organizacional y su relación con la disposición al cambio organizacional / Aspects of organizational culture and its relation to the organizational change disposition

Resumen El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar la relación entre la cultura organizacional y la disposición al cambio organizacional. Se trata de una investigación empírica que, de acuerdo con el objetivo de investigación, responde a una estrategia asociativa, en un estudio predictivo desarrollado bajo un diseño correlacional simple. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 558 participantes de cuatro entidades de educación superior. Para la evaluación de las variables se emplearon la adaptación para Colombia del OCAI (Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument) y la prueba Disposición al Cambio Organizacional. Los resultados mostraron relaciones significativas entre los factores y los tipos de cultura organizacional con las macro y microdimensiones de la disposición al cambio organizacional. También se encontraron diferencias significativas entre las instituciones en las dimensiones grupal y organizacional de la disposición al cambio, en el factor organizacional y en el tipo de cultura jerárquica. Se evidencia cómo la cultura organizacional se relaciona particularmente con aspectos organizacionales y la comunicación empresarial.

Abstract The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between aspects of organizational culture and the disposition to organizational change. A quantitative, nonexperimental study was carried out under a comparative design; with a sample of 558 participants from four higher education institutions. The instruments used allowed the evaluation of the organizational culture -OCAI- and the willingness to change. The results showed significant relationships between the factors and the types of organizational culture with the macro and micro dimensions of the disposition to organizational change. Significant differences were also found between the institutions in the group and organizational dimensions of the disposition to change; in the organizational factor and the type of hierarchical culture. It is evident how the organizational culture is particularly related to organizational aspects and business communication.

Kidney transplantation in the extremely elderly from extremely aged deceased donors: a kidney for each age.

BACKGROUND: Advances in life expectancy have led to an increase in the number of elderly people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Scarce information is available on the outcomes of kidney transplantation (KT) in extremely elderly patients based on an allocation policy prioritizing donor-recipient age matching. METHODS: We included recipients ≥75 years that underwent KT from similarly aged deceased donors at our institution between 2002 and 2015. Determinants of death-censored graft and patient survival were assessed by Cox regression. RESULTS: We included 138 recipients with a median follow-up of 38.8 months. Median (interquartile range) age of recipients and donors was 77.5 (76.3-79.7) and 77.0 years (74.7-79.0), with 22.5% of donors ≥80 years. Primary graft non-function occurred in 8.0% (11/138) of patients. Cumulative incidence rates for post-transplant infection and biopsy-proven acute rejection (BPAR) were 70.3% (97/138) and 15.2% (21/138), respectively. One- and 5-year patient survival were 82.1 and 60.1%, respectively, whereas the corresponding rates for death-censored graft survival were 95.6 and 93.1%. Infection was the leading cause of death (46.0% of fatal cases). The occurrence of BPAR was associated with lower 1-year patient survival [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64-10.82; P = 0.003]. Diabetic nephropathy was the only factor predicting 5-year death-censored graft survival (HR = 4.82, 95% CI 1.08-21.56; P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: ESRD patients ≥75 years can access KT and remain dialysis free for their remaining lifespan by using grafts from extremely aged deceased donors, yielding encouraging results in terms of recipient and graft survival.

Unravelling the gender productivity gap in science: a meta-analytical review.

Women underrepresentation in science has frequently been associated with women being less productive than men (i.e. the gender productivity gap), which may be explained by women having lower success rates, producing science of lower impact and/or suffering gender bias. By performing global meta-analyses, we show that there is a gender productivity gap mostly supported by a larger scientific production ascribed to men. However, women and men show similar success rates when the researchers' work is directly evaluated (i.e. publishing articles). Men's success rate is higher only in productivity proxies involving peer recognition (e.g. evaluation committees, academic positions). Men's articles showed a tendency to have higher global impact but only if studies include self-citations. We detected gender bias against women in research fields where women are underrepresented (i.e. those different from Psychology). Historical numerical unbalance, socio-psychological aspects and cultural factors may influence differences in success rate, science impact and gender bias. Thus, the maintenance of a women-unfriendly academic and non-academic environment may perpetuate the gender productivity gap. New policies to build a more egalitarian and heterogeneous scientific community and society are needed to close the gender gap in science.

Comparison of Actions between L-DOPA and Different Dopamine Agonists in Striatal DA-Depleted Microcircuits In Vitro: Pre-Clinical Insights.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative illness presenting motor and non-motor symptoms due to the loss of dopaminergic terminals in basal ganglia, most importantly, the striatum. L-DOPA relieves many motor signs. Unfortunately, in the long term, L-DOPA use causes motor disabilities by itself and does not act in comorbid conditions such as depression. These deficiencies have led to search for drugs such as dopamine (DA) receptor agonists (DA-agonists) that allow the reduction of L-DOPA dose. Previously, we have identified the attributes of non-stimulated (resting) and cortical stimulated (active) striatal microcircuits following the activity of dozens of neurons simultaneously using calcium imaging in brain slices. We also have characterized the changes that take place in DA-depleted microcircuits in vitro. In control conditions, there is low spontaneous activity. After cortical stimulation (CtxS) sequences and alternation of neuronal ensembles activity occur, including reverberations. In contrast, DA-deprived circuits exhibit high spontaneous activity at rest, and a highly recurrent ensemble curtails alternation. Interestingly, CtxS briefly relieves these Parkinsonian signs in DA-depleted tissue. Here we compare the actions of some DA-agonists used in PD therapeutics on the pathological dynamics of DA-depleted microcircuits at rest and with CtxS; taking L-DOPA as reference. D2-class agonists better reduce the excessive spontaneous activity of DA-depleted microcircuits. All DA-agonists tend to maintain ensemble alternation seen in control circuits after CtxS. However, quantitative analyses suggest differences in their actions: in general, DA-agonists only approximate L-DOPA actions. Nonetheless no treatment, including L-DOPA, completely restores microcircuit dynamics to control conditions.

Comparing species richness, functional diversity and functional composition of waterbird communities along environmental gradients in the neotropics.

Waterbirds have a major functional role in wetlands, and understanding how functional traits of waterbirds depend on environmental characteristics can facilitate management of ecosystems and their services. We investigate how the waterbird community in a Neotropical river-floodplain system responds to environmental gradients, identifying how they affect waterbird species richness, functional diversity (measured as functional dispersion) and functional composition (specific functional traits). We sampled 22 lakes in the Upper Paraná floodplain system in southern Brazil, and modelled avian functional diversity and species richness as a function of environmental variables. Then we used a unified RLQ and fourth-corner analysis to evaluate environment-trait relationships. Waterbird species richness and functional diversity varied according to different environmental variables. Lake area and diversity of aquatic vegetation were associated with avian species richness, while relative abundance of grass and emergent macrophytes and mean and variation of depth were related to functional diversity. Furthermore, changes in functional diversity seemed to be mainly driven by presence of species that depend on perches for foraging (e.g. kingfishers, cormorants, and kites), whose presence was mainly associated with deep water and emergent macrophytes. Nevertheless, changes in functional diversity and functional composition did not depend on exactly the same set of environmental variables, suggesting that trait combinations (e.g. below surface feeders who feed on fish), not only specific traits, are important drivers of the variation in functional diversity between lakes. Given the observed differences in responses of species richness and functional diversity, both these diversity metrics should be used as complementary tools in ecosystem management. Furthermore, our results show that functional diversity and composition are partially coupled, suggesting that although functional diversity is influenced by the environmental filtering of particular traits, it also reflects other ecological mechanisms (e.g. competitive interactions among species).

Levels of Empathy Orientation after the Implementation of a New Curriculum

Objective: To compare the level of empathy orientation of the students in the Dentistry Program from the Universidad Metropolitana according to gender and levels of education after the implementation of a new curriculum. Material and Methods: An exploratory and transversal research was made. The studied population are the students from the first and the fifth academic year in the Dentistry Undergraduate Program from the Universidad Metropolitana (Barranquilla, Colombia) (n = 371, N = 482; 76.97% of the population) First: 92; Second: 83; Third: 60; Fourth: 71 and Fifth: 65, being females = 235 and males = 136. Data collection was done in March 2016 for the present study and in 2012. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy was applied to participants. Results: For the "Academic Years" factor, the means in the first undergraduate years are similar with an increase in the last two undergraduate years; females have superior values than males. However, the behavior of these means is different when analyzing the combined levels of both factors. The female gender increases steadily in the first four years and decreases in the fifth year; The male gender goes down from first to second place and increases steadily until the fifth year surpassing the female in this last year. Conclusion: The general results obtained on empathy have improved compared to those results from 2012. The questions that obtained significant scores were those related to the cognitive component. This could be explained by the incorporation of a greater number of community activities into vulnerable population.

Lupus Nephritis in Males: Clinical Features, Course, and Prognostic Factors for End-Stage Renal Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Because of their rarity in men, systemic lupus erythematous and lupus nephritis (LN) are poorly understood in men. Our aim was to analyze the clinical presentation and course of histology-proven systemic lupus erythematous and LN in males and to determine the risk factors for progression to end-stage renal disease. METHODS: Fifty patients from 2 historical cohorts in Spain (Hospital 12 de Octubre) and Uruguay were retrospectively analyzed and compared with a female cohort matched for age and disease characteristics. RESULTS: The median age at the time of renal biopsy was 27 years (range, 8-79 years). The main forms of presentation were nephrotic syndrome in 26 of 50 patients (52%), and class IV LN in 34 of 50 (68%). After treatment, 21 patients (45.6%) achieved complete renal remission. During follow-up, 12 patients required renal replacement therapy, and 3 patients died of infectious causes. When patients who required renal replacement therapy were compared with those who did not require it, several parameters showed significant differences (P < 0.05) at the time of renal biopsy: estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min, hypertension, hypoalbuminemia, and concomitant visceral involvement (neurologic, cardiovascular, and/or pulmonary). In the multivariate analysis, only estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min persisted as a risk factor for progression to end-stage renal disease. When compared with a cohort of female patients with LN, there were no significant differences in remission or renal survival. DISCUSSION: LN in males usually presents as nephrotic syndrome, and type IV LN is the most frequent form. An estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min at the time of renal biopsy is associated with poor renal outcomes. There were no differences in remission or progression of LN in males when compared with a cohort of female patients with LN.

Drivers of species' role in avian seed-dispersal mutualistic networks.

The mutualistic interaction between frugivore birds and the fruiting plants they disperse presents an asymmetric interaction pattern, with some species having a more important role (i.e. being essential) for maintaining the structure and functioning of the interaction network. The identification of the biological characteristics of these species is of major importance for the understanding and conservation of seed-dispersal interactions. In this study, I use a network approach and avian seed-dispersal networks from 23 different geographical areas to test five hypotheses about species characteristics determining the structure of the assemblage. I expected (i) large birds to forage on a large number of fruits and (ii) large fruits to be dispersed by few bird species (because of morphological constraints), and (iii) highly energetic fruits to be dispersed by more bird species (in accordance with optimal foraging theory). Besides the number of interacting partners, I also expected (iv) large birds and (v) small energetic fruits to be important for the maintenance of the structure of the interactions in seed-dispersal networks. As species that are closely related are more likely to be similar to each other, I performed phylogenetically corrected analyses to account for this data dependence. Although bird size was not associated to species important in the maintenance of the structure of the seed-dispersal community, I identified that bird species whose diet was strongly dependent on fruits were important for the structure of the network. Regarding the plants, I found that large fruits were dispersed by fewer species, but the most important attribute to predict the role of a fruit was its energy content (higher energy, more bird species dispersing the plant, but low-energy fruits being of conservation concern because they are dispersed by specific species). The results of this study suggest that the role of the species in seed-dispersal assemblages seems to be determined by the role of the species as consumers (frugivory degree for animals) or by their nutritional inputs (energy content for fruits) rather than by morphological constrains.

Enfermedad hepática grasa no alcohólica. Algunas consideraciones diagnósticas / Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Some diagnostic considerations

Introducción: el hígado graso no alcohólico es la tercera causa de hepatopatías crónicas en el mundo y se asocia a la obesidad, la diabetes mellitus tipo 2 y la hiperlipidemia, entre otras. Objetivo: describir algunos aspectos clínicos, bioquímicos, ecográficos e histológicos en un grupo de pacientes con enfermedad hepática por depósito graso no alcohólica. Método: se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo transversal desde septiembre de 2014 a febrero de 2016, la muestra fue de 41 pacientes a los que se les realizó una evaluación analítica y se precisaron y se compararon los hallazgos histológicos y de ultrasonido hepático. Resultados: el sexo más afectado fue el femenino (33, 80,5 por ciento); los parámetros bioquímicos que más se alteraron fueron la alaninoaminotransferasa (34, 82,9 por ciento) y la glicemia (33, 80,5 por ciento); 20 de 26 enfermos de más de 45 años presentaron esteatohepatitis con fibrosis y 22 del total esteatosis severa según ultrasonografía (53,6 por ciento). Conclusiones: predominó el sexo femenino y la edad mayor de 45 años, la alaninoaminotransferasa y la glicemia fueron los parámetros bioquímicos que mostraron mayor elevación, el hallazgo ecográfico más relevante fue la esteatosis hepática severa y la existencia de esteatohepatitis con fibrosis prevaleció desde el punto de vista anatomopatológico(AU)

Pathophysiological signatures of functional connectomics in parkinsonian and dyskinetic striatal microcircuits.

A challenge in neuroscience is to integrate the cellular and system levels. For instance, we still do not know how a few dozen neurons organize their activity and relations in a microcircuit or module of histological scale. By using network theory and Ca(2+) imaging with single-neuron resolution we studied the way in which striatal microcircuits of dozens of cells orchestrate their activity. In addition, control and diseased striatal tissues were compared in rats. In the control tissue, functional connectomics revealed small-world, scale-free and hierarchical network properties. These properties were lost during pathological conditions in ways that could be quantitatively analyzed. Decorticated striatal circuits disclosed that corticostriatal interactions depend on privileged connections with a set of highly connected neurons or "hubs". In the 6-OHDA model of Parkinson's disease there was a decrease in hubs number; but the ones that remained were linked to dominant network states. l-DOPA induced dyskinesia provoked a loss in the hierarchical structure of the circuit. All these conditions conferred distinct temporal sequences to circuit activity. Temporal sequences appeared as particular signatures of disease process thus bringing the possibility of a future quantitative pathophysiology at a histological scale.

KV7 Channels Regulate Firing during Synaptic Integration in GABAergic Striatal Neurons.

Striatal projection neurons (SPNs) process motor and cognitive information. Their activity is affected by Parkinson's disease, in which dopamine concentration is decreased and acetylcholine concentration is increased. Acetylcholine activates muscarinic receptors in SPNs. Its main source is the cholinergic interneuron that responds with a briefer latency than SPNs during a cortical command. Therefore, an important question is whether muscarinic G-protein coupled receptors and their signaling cascades are fast enough to intervene during synaptic responses to regulate synaptic integration and firing. One of the most known voltage dependent channels regulated by muscarinic receptors is the KV7/KCNQ channel. It is not known whether these channels regulate the integration of suprathreshold corticostriatal responses. Here, we study the impact of cholinergic muscarinic modulation on the synaptic response of SPNs by regulating KV7 channels. We found that KV7 channels regulate corticostriatal synaptic integration and that this modulation occurs in the dendritic/spines compartment. In contrast, it is negligible in the somatic compartment. This modulation occurs on sub- and suprathreshold responses and lasts during the whole duration of the responses, hundreds of milliseconds, greatly altering SPNs firing properties. This modulation affected the behavior of the striatal microcircuit.