ABSTRACT Introduction: Telemedicine has positioned itself as a strategy to improve the quality and coverage of services, but its implementation represents a challenge for health workers. Objective: To determine the perception of the use of the Telemedicine program during the COVID-19 pandemic among midwifery health professionals. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study carried out on 40 obstetrics professionals working in a telemedicine program in health centers of the Ministry of Health and who were selected non-randomly. A content-validated and reliable questionnaire was used. Frequencies and percentages were estimated. Results: 45% agreed that the trainings were timely and efficient, as well as the determination of roles and profiles for a commitment to the program (50%). However, 47.5% pointed out the lack of articulation of activities in the different areas. 85% found the platform user-friendly and 70% that it had an efficient information registration system. Also, that the program provides timely access to users (60%), optimizes consultation time and number of users (52.5%), as well as more flexible timetables (55%). Conclusions: Obstetrics professionals highly value the telemedicine program, recognizing it as a useful and technologically appropriate tool for improving healthcare access and quality. Nonetheless, there is a need for better organization and articulation of this technology in professional activities.

RESUMEN Introducción: La telemedicina se ha posicionado como estrategia para mejorar la calidad y cobertura de los servicios, no obstante, su implementación representa un desafío para el personal de salud. Objetivo: Determinar la percepción del uso del programa de telemedicina durante la pandemia por la COVID-19 en profesionales de salud de obstetricia. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo de corte transversal desarrollado en 40 profesionales de obstetricia que trabajaban en un programa de telemedicina de centros sanitarios del Ministerio de Salud y que fueron seleccionados de manera no aleatoria. Se utilizó un cuestionario validado en contenido y confiable. Se estimaron frecuencias y porcentajes. Resultados: El 45 % estuvo de acuerdo con que las capacitaciones fueron oportunas y eficientes, así como la determinación de roles y perfiles para un compromiso con el programa (50 %). No obstante, el 47,5 % señalaron la falta de articulación de las actividades en las distintas áreas. Al 85 % le pareció amigable la plataforma y al 70 % que tenía un sistema de registro de información eficiente. También que el programa brinda un acceso oportuno a los usuarios (60 %), optimiza el tiempo de consulta y cantidad de usuarios (52,5 %), y horarios más flexibles (55 %). Conclusiones: El programa de telemedicina es bien valorado por los profesionales de obstetricia, la reconocen como una herramienta útil y tecnológicamente adecuada para mejorar el acceso y la calidad de la atención en salud. Sin embargo, es necesario perfeccionar la organización y la articulación de esta tecnología en las actividades profesionales.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp. medellin (Btmed) produces parasporal crystalline inclusions which are toxic to mosquito larvae. It has been shown that the inclusions of this bacterium contain mainly proteins of 94, 68 and 28-30 kDa. EcoRI partially digested total DNA of Btmed was cloned by using the Lambda Zap II cloning kit. Recombinant plaques were screened with a mouse policlonal antibody raised against the 94 kDa crystal protein of Btmed. One of the positive plaques was selected, and by in vivo excision, a recombinant pBluescript SK(-) was obtained. The gene encoding the 94 kDa toxin of Btmed DNA was cloned in a 4.4 kb DNA fragment. Btmed DNA was then subcloned as a EcoRI/EcoRI fragment into the shuttle vector pBU4 producing the recombinant plasmid pBTM3 and used to transform by electroporation Bt subsp. israelensis (Bti) crystal negative strain 4Q2-81. Toxicity to mosquito larvae was estimated by using first instar laboratory reared Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus larvae challenged with whole crystals. Toxicity results indicate that the purified inclusions from the recombinant Bti strain were toxic to all mosquito species tested, although the toxicity was not as high as the one produced by the crystal of the Btmed wild type strain. Poliacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicate that the inclusions produced by the recombinant strain Bti (pBTM3) were mainly composed of the 94 kDa protein of Btmed, as it was determined by Western blot