Volver a la presencialidad sin ser el mismo: los docentes después de la pandemia / Returning to presentiality without being the same: teachers after the pandemic

Objetivo: Comprender los significados que los docentes le dan a su práctica profesional en el regreso al trabajo presencial después del confinamiento por Covid-19. Metodología: Investigación cualitativa con enfoque etnográfico exploratorio durante febrero y agosto de 2022. La información se recolectó por entrevistas semiestructuradas y se realizó diario de campo. Resultados: Volver a la normalidad luego de pandemia es un reto pedagógico para los docentes; el regreso a las aulas les ha generado sentimientos contradictorios: por un lado, felicidad al recuperar lo que se tenía y hacían anterior a la pandemia, pero angustia y disconfort por perder lo logrado en la virtualidad. Conclusión: La presencialidad genera ventajas y desventajas para los docentes y los reta a procesos de adaptación y resistencia. Es indispensable conservar los logros de la virtualidad y, para ello, las instituciones de educación deben ofrecer las mejores condiciones laborales que favorezcan el bienestar docente y la buena formación de los futuros profesionales.(AU)

Objective: Understand the meanings that teachers give to their professional practice in the return to face-to-face work after the confinement by Covid-19. Methods: Qualitative research with an exploratory ethnographic approach during February and August 2022. The information was collected through semi-structured interviews and a field diary was carried out. Results: Returning to normality after the pandemic is a pedagogical challenge for teachers; the return to the classroom has generated contradictory feelings: on the one hand, happiness at recovering what they had and did before the pandemic, but anguish and discomfort at losing what they had achieved online. Conclusion: To be in person generates advantages and disadvantages for teachers and challenges them to processes of adaptation and resistance. It is essential to preserve the achievements of virtuality and, for this, educational institutions must offer the best working conditions that favor teacher well-being and the good training of future professionals.(AU)

Down-regulation of TUFM impairs host cell interaction and virulence by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.

The genus Paracoccidioides consist of dimorphic fungi geographically limited to the subtropical regions of Latin America, which are responsible for causing deep systemic mycosis in humans. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Paracoccidioides spp. causes the disease remain poorly understood. Paracoccidioides spp. harbor genes that encode proteins involved in host cell interaction and mitochondrial function, which together are required for pathogenicity and mediate virulence. Previously, we identified TufM (previously known as EF-Tu) in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (PbTufM) and suggested that it may be involved in the pathogenicity of this fungus. In this study, we examined the effects of downregulating PbTUFM using a silenced strain with a 55% reduction in PbTUFM expression obtained by antisense-RNA (aRNA) technology. Silencing PbTUFM yielded phenotypic differences, such as altered translation elongation, respiratory defects, increased sensitivity of yeast cells to reactive oxygen stress, survival after macrophage phagocytosis, and reduced interaction with pneumocytes. These results were associated with reduced virulence in Galleria mellonella and murine infection models, emphasizing the importance of PbTufM in the full virulence of P. brasiliensis and its potential as a target for antifungal agents against paracoccidioidomycosis.

Decreased expression of 14-3-3 in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis confirms its involvement in fungal pathogenesis.

The interaction between the fungal pathogen Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and host cells is usually mediated by specific binding events between adhesins on the fungal surface and receptors on the host extracellular matrix or cell surface. One molecule implicated in the P. brasiliensis-host interaction is the 14-3-3 protein. The 14-3-3 protein belongs to a family of conserved regulatory molecules that are expressed in all eukaryotic cells and are involved in diverse cellular functions. Here, we investigated the relevance of the 14-3-3 protein to the virulence of P. brasiliensis. Using antisense RNA technology and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation, we generated a 14-3-3-silenced strain (expression reduced by ˜55%). This strain allowed us to investigate the interaction between 14-3-3 and the host and to correlate the functions of P. brasiliensis 14-3-3 with cellular features, such as morphological characteristics and virulence, that are important for pathogenesis.