Dynamic energy budget approach to evaluate antibiotic effects on biofilms

Quantifying the action of antibiotics on biofilms is essential to devise therapies against chronic infections. Biofilms are bacterial communities attached to moist surfaces, sheltered from external aggressions by a polymeric matrix. Coupling a dynamic energy budget based description of cell metabolism to surrounding concentration fields, we are able to approximate survival curves measured for different antibiotics. We reproduce numerically stratified distributions of cell types within the biofilm and introduce ways to incorporate different resistance mechanisms. Qualitative predictions follow that are in agreement with experimental observations, such as higher survival rates of cells close to the substratum when employing antibiotics targeting active cells or enhanced polymer production when antibiotics are administered. The current computational model enables validation and hypothesis testing when developing therapies.Comment: to appear in Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulatio

Incorporating Cellular Stochasticity in Solid--Fluid Mixture Biofilm Models

The dynamics of cellular aggregates is driven by the interplay of mechanochemical processes and cellular activity. Although deterministic models may capture mechanical features, local chemical fluctuations trigger random cell responses, which determine the overall evolution. Incorporating stochastic cellular behavior in macroscopic models of biological media is a challenging task. Herein, we propose hybrid models for bacterial biofilm growth, which couple a two phase solid/fluid mixture description of mechanical and chemical fields with a dynamic energy budget-based cellular automata treatment of bacterial activity. Thin film and plate approximations for the relevant interfaces allow us to obtain numerical solutions exhibiting behaviors observed in experiments, such as accelerated spread due to water intake from the environment, wrinkle formation, undulated contour development, and the appearance of inhomogeneous distributions of differentiated bacteria performing varied tasks

Biofilms as poroelastic materials

Biofilms are bacterial aggregates encased in a self-produced polymeric matrix which attach to moist surfaces and are extremely resistant to chemicals and antibiotics. Recent experiments show that their structure is defined by the interplay of elastic deformations and liquid transport within the biofilm, in response to the cellular activity and the interaction with the surrounding environment. We propose a poroelastic model for elastic deformation and liquid transport in three dimensional biofilms spreading on agar surfaces. The motion of the boundaries can be described by the combined use of Von Karman type approximations for the agar/biofilm interface and thin film approximations for the biofilm/air interface. Bacterial activity informs the macroscopic continuous model through source terms and residual stresses, either phenomenological or derived from microscopic models. We present a procedure to estimate the structure of such residual stresses, based on a simple cellular automata description of bacterial activity. Inspired by image processing, we show that a filtering strategy effectively smooths out the rough tensors provided by the stochastic cellular automata rules, allowing us to insert them in the macroscopic model without numerical instability

The Efficacy of Therapeutic Respiratory Muscle Training Interventions in People with Bronchiectasis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Respiratory muscle dysfunction is an important health problem with high morbidity and mortality and associated costs in patients with bronchiectasis (BC). The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of therapeutic respiratory muscle training (RMT) interventions on improving sputum clearance, ventilator function, muscle strength and functional capacity in BC. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Two independent investigators searched using several electronic databases. The methodological quality of nine studies was assessed using the PEDro scale. Study selection/eligibility criteria: The following were included: randomised controlled trials, randomised crossover trials and pilot studies of patients with BC that used the intervention as RMT (inspiratory/expiratory) and evaluations of respiratory muscle strength (maximal expiratory pressure/maximal inspiratory pressure). This systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42017075101). Nine studies were included, five of which obtained an A recommendation grade, three with B, and one with C. Study quality was poor to good (mean PEDro Score of 6.375 out of 10). Studies had small sample sizes (8-98). Results show improvements on PImax in favour of therapeutic respiratory muscle training intervention (MD = 6.08; 95% CI = 1.38, 10.77; p < 0.01; I-2 = 92%). However, high heterogeneity was identified on meta-analysis

Evaluación y aplicación de un procedimiento estadístico para la generación de escenarios futuros de temperatura a escala diaria y local

El objetivo de este trabajo es aplicar un procedimiento de downscaling estadístico a las series de temperatura máxima y mínima diarias de 10 observatorios de la Península Ibérica en tres escenarios de cambio climático, así como analizar los cambios previstos respecto al clima presente. El primer paso del procedimiento de downscaling es seleccionar las trayectorias válidas de la temperatura diaria proporcionadas por los modelos de circulación general. Esta selección se realiza en base a la calidad con que dichas trayectorias reproducen la climatología observada de los observatorios en el periodo 1971-2000, tanto respecto a la distribución global como respecto a la parte central y las colas de la distribución. Con las trayectorias seleccionadas se obtienen las proyecciones de los valores medios mensuales de las series de temperatura para 2031-60 en los escenarios A1B, A2 y B1. Finalmente, para obtener una única proyección mensual que resuma de forma robusta el cambio previsto para cada observatorio y escenario, se calcula una media ponderada del haz de proyecciones correspondiente a las trayectorias obtenidas en cada caso. Los resultados muestran un aumento del valor medio de las temperaturas para el periodo 2031-2060, en todos las regiones

Utilización de herramientas de video digital para metodologías activas

El video tiene una tradición en educación como recurso y tecnología que promueven metodologías más activas en el aula, mostrando su buena práctica y funcionalidad en muchas áreas y contextos educativos. El tema que nos ocupa en este trabajo: el uso de vídeo digitales para promover metodologías más activas en la formación inicial de docentes, se sustenta desde una amplia literatura académica (Nielsen, 2015; Luna, & Sherin, 2017; Barth-Cohen, 2018), y se enmarca dentro del auge de soluciones tecnológicas existentes actualmente sobre la tecnología de vídeo digitales, donde estas herramientas están permitiendo el desarrollo de nuevas metodologías más activas, interactivas y dinámicas en clase (Cebrián-de-la-Serna et al., 2021), al tiempo que otro tipo de enfoque más reciente, como por ejemplo, la creación de comunidades de profesionales docentes para el intercambio de buenas prácticas (Domene-Martos et al., 2022), el reciente auge de las videoconferencias por la situación de la pandemia y la reutilización de sus grabaciones como recursos didácticos, los webinar especializados que reclaman una reorganización en los repositorios institucionales, etc., y la importante cantidad de contenidos en todas las plataformas y Recursos Educativos en Abiertos que utilizan el formato de video. Es un hecho que ha aumentado el número de usuarios, las soluciones tecnológicas para editar y analizar los contenidos de videos en un inicio aparente de similar funcionalidad; por lo que, el usuario necesita a la hora de diseñar sus actividades de aula y los diferentes proyectos educativos, disponer de criterios para seleccionar herramientas de video digitales.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Metodología MAM para la formación inicial y redes profesionales de docentes en Educación Infantil: análisis de video-experiencias innovadoras con TIC

Línea de investigación del Grupo de investigación SEJ-462 Junta de AndalucíaEl vídeo educativo ofrece muchas oportunidades para compartir experiencias en la formación permanente e inicial de docentes, encontrando un dilatado e importante número de estudios en la literatura, donde se exponen las interesantes ventajas para la formación de docentes en todas las áreas y niveles, en el caso que nos ocupa aquí la formación de docentes en educación infantil. Las video experiencias facilitan compartir buenas prácticas, y es un recurso fácil de utilizar y un tópico que se encuentra ampliamente en la literatura. Siendo un recurso muy difundido y sin muchas exigencias tecnológicas, encontramos actualmente muchos servicios en la nube para el análisis de estas experiencias. En esta comunicación expondremos la experiencia en la utilización de una metodología de anotaciones multimedia -MAM- para la formación permanente e inicial de docentes en Educación Infantil. Explicaremos la experiencia y metodología desarrollada, así como los prerrequisitos tecnológicos para la creación y subida a la plataforma virtual para realizar un análisis de video-experiencias con fines didácticos. La experiencia se realizó en dos universidades públicas españolas dentro de la docencia del grado de Educación Infantil y máster en educación.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Neoadjuvant eribulin in HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer (SOLTI-1007-NeoEribulin): a multicenter, two-cohort, non-randomized phase II trial

Breast cancer; Predictive markers; Translational researchCáncer de mama; Maradores predictivos; Investigación traslacionalCàncer de mama; Marcadors predictius; Recerca translacionalEribulin prolongs overall survival in patients with pre-treated advanced breast cancer. However, no biomarker exists to prospectively select patients who will benefit the most from this drug. SOLTI-1007-NeoEribulin is a phase II, open-label, two-cohort, exploratory pharmacogenomic study in patients with clinical stage I–II HER2-negative breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant eribulin monotherapy treatment. Primary objective was to explore the association of baseline tumor gene expression with pathological complete response in the breast (pCRB) at surgery. Key secondary objectives were pCRB rates in all patients and according to HR status, gene expression changes during treatment and safety. One-hundred one hormonal receptor-positive (HR + ) and seventy-three triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients were recruited. The pCRB rates were 6.4% in all patients, 4.9% in HR + disease and 8.2% in TNBC. The TNBC cohort was interrupted due to a progression disease rate of 30.1%. The pCRB rates differed according to intrinsic subtypes: 28.6% in HER2-enriched, 11.1% in Normal-like, 7.9% in Luminal B, 5.9% in Basal-like and 0% in Luminal A (HER2-enriched vs. others odds ratio = 7.05, 95% CI 1.80–42.14; p-value = 0.032). Intrinsic subtype changes at surgery occurred in 33.3% of cases, mostly (49.0%) Luminal B converting to Luminal A or Basal-like converting to Normal-like. Baseline tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were significantly associated with pCR. Eribulin showed a good safety profile with a low response and pCRB rates. Patients with HER2-negative disease with a HER2-enriched profile may benefit the most from eribulin. In addition, significant biological activity of eribulin is observed in Luminal B and Basal-like subtypes

Exploring the interplay of frailty, physical function, physical activity, nutritional status, and their association with quality of life and depressive symptoms in older adults with the frailty phenotype

Objective This study aimed to explore the interplay between frailty, physical function, physical activity, nutritional status, and their impact on the quality of life and depressive status in older adults with frailty. Methods A cross-sectional study involving 235 pre-frail/frail older adults residing in Spanish communities was conducted. Frailty was assessed using Fried's criteria, physical function was evaluated using the Short Physical Performance Battery, and physical activity levels were measured via wrist-worn accelerometers. Nutritional status was determined using the Mini-Nutritional Assessment alongside anthropometric measurements. Quality of life was gauged using the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level, while depressive status was assessed using the Yesavage 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Multivariate linear regression and logistic regression analyses were employed to elucidate the associations of these factors with quality of life and depression. Results Our findings revealed significant correlations between various factors and quality of life. Notably, reported fatigue (β = −0.276, p = 0.002), performance in the 4-m gait test (β = −0.242, p = 0.001), the score on the short version of the Mini-Nutritional Assessment (β = 0.312, p = 0.002), and engagement in light physical activity (β = 0.180, p = 0.023) were all found to be associated with quality of life. In terms of depressive symptoms, the Mini-Nutritional Assessment score emerged as a protective factor (Odds ratio, OR: 0.812, p < 0.001), as did participation in moderate physical activity (OR: 0.988, p = 0.028). Conversely, fatigue (OR: 3.277, p = 0.003) and a slow gait speed (OR: 1.136, p = 0.045) were identified as risk factors for depressive symptoms. Conclusions This study underscores the detrimental association of fatigue and slow gait speed on both quality of life and depressive status among older adults with frailty. In contrast, engaging in physical activity and addressing malnutrition risk emerge as critical protective factors for enhancing quality of life and ameliorating depressive symptoms in this population