Experiencia de aplicación de modelos de seguimiento de cumplimiento del perfil de egreso en el plan de estudios en las carreras de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Finis Terrae / Experience of applying models for monitoring compliance with the graduation profile in the study plan in the careers of the Faculty of Medicine of the Finis Terrae University

El Perfil de egreso constituye un modelo teórico y la imagen del profesional que la institución de educación superior aspira formar. Es un conjunto de atributos que son certificados y le permiten a una persona ser reconocida y aceptada por la sociedad como profesional. La emergencia de estándares de calidad, utilizados por las agencias de acreditación de carreras universitarias, hoy exigen la necesidad de evaluar y rendir cuentas acerca del logro de las competencias establecidas y declaradas en el perfil de egreso, sin embargo, hay escasa evidencia concreta que demuestre modelos operativos de cómo abordar ese proceso de evaluación en distintos programas. Dada la relevancia del Perfil de Egreso de una carrera de pregrado y considerando que constituye el eje fundamental para el desarrollo curricular de los programas educativos, para realizar el proceso de autoevaluación y la posterior acreditación de las carreras, diseñamos e implementamos un modelo de seguimiento del cumplimiento del perfil de egreso en el plan de estudios de las carreras de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Finis Terrae.

The Graduate Profile constitutes the theoretical model and the professional image that higher education aspires to form. It is a set of certified attributes and allows a person to be recognized and accepted by society as a professional. The emergence of quality standards, used by university careers' accreditation agencies, demands the need to evaluate and be accountable for achieving the competencies established and declared in the Graduate Profile. However, the is limited concrete evidence to demonstrate operational models of how to approach this evaluation process in different programs. Given the relevance of the Graduate Profile of an undergraduate career and considering that it constitutes the fundamental axis for the curricular development of educational programs, to carry out the self-evaluation process and the subsequent accreditation of the degrees, we design and implement a model for monitoring the compliance with the graduation profile in the study plan of the Faculty of Medicine of Universidad Finis Terrae.

Perlecan and syndecan-4 in uterine tissues during the early pregnancy in mice.

PROBLEM: During early pregnancy in mice, there is recruitment of specific immune cells, remodeling of the endometrium, cell differentiation and synthesis of new molecules. METHOD OF STUDY: Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the distribution of perlecan and syndecan-4 in the uteri before and after embryo implantation. RESULTS: During pre-implantation, perlecan was identified in basement membranes and extracellular spaces of the endometrial stroma. In contrast, expression of syndecan-4 was quite weak. In the peri-implantation period, perlecan remained in the basement membranes, and it was no longer observed in the stroma and it was identified in the embryonic cells. On day 4 of pregnancy, syndecan-4 increased in the fibroblasts of the subepithelial stroma. After implantation, syndecan-4 was pronounced in pre-decidual and mature decidual cells. CONCLUSIONS: The coordinate balance between the pre- and post-implantation periods suggests a role of these two molecules in the adaptive modification of the uterine microenvironment to receive and implant the embryo.

Distribution of versican and hyaluronan in the mouse uterus during decidualization

Preparation for embryo implantation requires extensive adaptation of the uterine microenvironment. This process consists of cell proliferation and cell differentiation resulting in the transformation of endometrial fibroblasts into a new type of cell called decidual cell. In the present study, we followed the space-time distribution of versican and hyaluronan (HA) in different tissues of the uterus before and after embryo implantation. Fragments of mouse uteri obtained on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh days of pregnancy were fixed in Methacarn, embedded in Paraplast and cut into 5-æm thick sections. HA was detected using a biotinylated fragment of the proteoglycan aggrecan, which binds to this glycosaminoglycan with high affinity and specificity. Versican was detected by a polyclonal antibody. Both reactions were developed by peroxidase methods. Before embryo implantation, both HA and versican were present in the endometrial stroma. However, after embryo implantation, HA disappeared from the decidual region immediately surrounding the implantation chamber, whereas versican accumulated in the same region. The differences observed in the expression of HA and versican suggest that both molecules may participate in the process of endometrial decidualization and/or embryo implantation

Distribution of versican and hyaluronan in the mouse uterus during decidualization.

Preparation for embryo implantation requires extensive adaptation of the uterine microenvironment. This process consists of cell proliferation and cell differentiation resulting in the transformation of endometrial fibroblasts into a new type of cell called decidual cell. In the present study, we followed the space-time distribution of versican and hyaluronan (HA) in different tissues of the uterus before and after embryo implantation. Fragments of mouse uteri obtained on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh days of pregnancy were fixed in Methacarn, embedded in Paraplast and cut into 5-microm thick sections. HA was detected using a biotinylated fragment of the proteoglycan aggrecan, which binds to this glycosaminoglycan with high affinity and specificity. Versican was detected by a polyclonal antibody. Both reactions were developed by peroxidase methods. Before embryo implantation, both HA and versican were present in the endometrial stroma. However, after embryo implantation, HA disappeared from the decidual region immediately surrounding the implantation chamber, whereas versican accumulated in the same region. The differences observed in the expression of HA and versican suggest that both molecules may participate in the process of endometrial decidualization and/or embryo implantation.

Minalrestat and leukocyte migration in diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: We recently demonstrated that aldose reductase inhibition was effective in restoring the reduced migratory capacity of leukocytes in diabetic rats. To investigate the mechanism(s) involved in the restoring effect, we used minalrestat, an aldose reductase inhibitor. METHODS: In sodium pentobarbital-anesthetized (40 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) alloxan-diabetic or galactosemic male Wistar rats, the internal spermatic fascia was exteriorized, and the number of leukocytes rolling along the venular endothelium and the number of leukocytes sticking to the vascular wall after topical application of zymosan-activated plasma or leukotriene B(4) (1 ng/ml), as well as after the application of a local irritant stimulus (carrageenan, 100 microg), were determined using intravital microscopy. Data from animals that were treated with and those that were not treated with minalrestat (10 mg/kg/d by gavage) were compared. RESULTS: The reduced number of leukocytes rolling along the venular endothelium (by about 70%) and the number of adhered and migrated leukocytes in postcapillary venules (by 60%) were significantly restored to control values after minalrestat treatment. Total or differential leukocyte counts, venular blood flow velocity or wall shear rate were not altered by minalrestat treatment. The expression of ICAM-1 and P-selectin, cell adhesion molecules involved in the interaction of leukocyte-endothelium, reduced in diabetic rats was restored by minalrestat treatment. CONCLUSION: We conclude that an enhanced flux through the polyol pathway might be involved in the reduced expression of ICAM-1 and P-selectin contributing to the impaired leukocyte-endothelial interactions in diabetes mellitus and that aldose reductase inhibition restores the defect, restoring the reduced expression.

Small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) in uterine tissues during pregnancy in mice.

Remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) occurs during decidualization of the endometrium in mice. Previously we have documented the appearance of large-diameter collagen fibrils around mature decidual cells between day 5 and day 7 of pregnancy. Proteoglycans are important in the regulation of collagen fibrillogenesis, and the present study analysed four members (decorin, biglycan, lumican and fibromodulin) of the family of small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) in the uterus from day 1 to day 7 of pregnancy. Decorin was present together with lesser amounts of lumican in the stroma before the onset of decidualization, whereas biglycan and fibromodulin were almost absent. Biglycan and, less significantly, lumican were expressed in decidualized regions of the endometrium, but decorin was absent. Fibromodulin was weakly expressed in the non-decidualized stroma, but only after implantation. Decorin and lumican were strongly expressed in the undifferentiated interimplantation site stroma, whereas biglycan and fibromodulin were expressed only weakly. These results indicate that the SLRP profile of the uterine ECM alters with differentiation of endometrial stromal cells. The large decidual collagen fibrils are thought to arise by lateral association of smaller diameter fibrils. As decorin has been shown to inhibit lateral association of collagen fibrils, its disappearance between day 2 and day 5 of pregnancy may be a prerequisite for the formation of large fibrils in decidua in mice.

Granulated decidual cells in the mouse deciduoma: a putative source of decidual prolactin in mice.

Decidual cells are endometrial fibroblasts that redifferentiate during pregnancy in several species of mammals. In this work, we describe a subpopulation of resident decidual cells in the mouse endometrium that are joined by intercellular junctions and have cytoplasmic granules. Decidualization was induced in pseudopregnant mice on the 4th day of pseudopregnancy by injection of 30 microl of arachis oil into the uterine lumen. The uteri were collected on day 8 of pseudopregnancy (at 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.) and on day 9 (at 8 a.m.). The tissues were fixed for light and electron microscopy. During day 8 of pseudopregnancy, granulated cells were present at the antimesometrial pole of the endometrium; they were concentrated at the periphery of the antimesometrial decidua and disappeared on day 9 of pseudopregnancy. The cytoplasm of the granulated decidual cells had acidophilic granules that stained also with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS). These granules stained with anti-rat prolactin antibody in both light and electron microscope immunocytochemical preparations. Vacuoles of various sizes were always present in the granulated cells. A PAS-positive and prolactin-stained material was often deposited at the periphery of the vacuoles. Our results indicate that the granulated decidual cells are the source of decidual prolactin which accumulates in cytoplasmic granules. These granulated cells therefore form a transient gland in the mouse antimesometrial endometrium (granulated decidual gland).

Distribution and space-time relationship of proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix of the migratory pathway of primordial germ cells in mouse embryos.

In this paper we present an in situ ultrastructural cytochemical study on the distribution and spatial-temporal expression of proteoglycans (PGs) in the extracellular matrix of the migratory pathway of mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs) during the different phases of migration, by the use of the cationic dye ruthenium hexammine trichloride (RHT). Embryos of 9, 10, 11 and 12 days of development were used. The treatment with RHT revealed PGs as electron dense layers, granules, and filaments. Whereas granules prevailed in the extracellular spaces of the migratory route during the whole migratory process, the amount of filamentous structures increased during the migration phase of PGCs. At the end of the migratory process the surface of the PGCs lost its reaction by RHT. There were differences in the size of the granules of PGs at the initial migratory period (9-day-old embryos) as compared with the other days of gestation. There was a strong reaction for PGs in the extracellular spaces, expressed as a meshwork of granules interconnected by filaments, as well as reaction on the basement membranes during the peak of the PGCs migration in 10-day-old embryos. These results support the hypothesis that these molecules may have an important role in the migration of PGCs, although the precise mechanism involved in this process is not yet clear.