Role of Curing Temperature of Poly(Glycerol Sebacate) Substrates on Protein-Cell Interaction and Early Cell Adhesion

[EN] A novel procedure to obtain smooth, continuous polymeric surfaces from poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) has been developed with the spin-coating technique. This method proves useful for separating the effect of the chemistry and morphology of the networks (that can be obtained by varying the synthesis parameters) on cell-protein-substrate interactions from that of structural variables. Solutions of the PGS pre-polymer can be spin-coated, to then be cured. Curing under variable temperatures has been shown to lead to PGS networks with different chemical properties and topographies, conditioning their use as a biomaterial. Particularly, higher synthesis temperatures yield denser networks with fewer polar terminal groups available on the surface. Material-protein interactions were characterised by using extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin (Fn) and collagen type I (Col I), to unveil the biological interface profile of PGS substrates. To that end, atomic force microscopy (AFM) images and quantification of protein adsorbed in single, sequential and competitive protein incubations were used. Results reveal that Fn is adsorbed in the form of clusters, while Col I forms a characteristic fibrillar network. Fn has an inhibitory effect when incubated prior to Col I. Human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) were also cultured on PGS surfaces to reveal the effect of synthesis temperature on cell behaviour. To this effect, early focal adhesions (FAs) were analysed using immunofluorescence techniques. In light of the results, 130 degrees C seems to be the optimal curing temperature since a preliminary treatment with Col I or a Fn:Col I solution facilitates the formation of early focal adhesions and growth of HUVECs.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, grant number DPI2015-65401-C3-2-R. A. Valles acknowledges the support of the Generalitat Valenciana, Conselleria de Educacion, Investigacion, Cultura y Deporte through project AEST/2020/052.Martín-Cabezuelo, R.; Rodriguez-Hernandez, J.; Vilariño, G.; Vallés Lluch, A. (2021). Role of Curing Temperature of Poly(Glycerol Sebacate) Substrates on Protein-Cell Interaction and Early Cell Adhesion. Polymers. 13(3):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13030382S11413

Amphipathic Substrates Based on Crosslinker-Free Poly(epsilon-Caprolactone):Poly(2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Semi-Interpenetrated Networks Promote Serum Protein Adsorption

[EN] A simple procedure has been developed to synthesize uncrosslinked soluble poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) gels, ready for use in a subsequent fabrication stage. The presence of 75 wt % methanol (MetOH) or dimethylformamide (DMF) impedes lateral hydroxyl-hydroxyl hydrogen bonds between PHEMA macromers to form during their solution polymerization at 60 degrees C, up to 24 h. These gels remain soluble when properly stored in closed containers under cold conditions and, when needed, yield by solvent evaporation spontaneous physically-crosslinked PHEMA adapted to the mould used. Moreover, this two-step procedure allows obtaining multicomponent systems where a stable and water-affine PHEMA network would be of interest. In particular, amphiphilic polycaprolactone (PCL):PHEMA semi-interpenetrated (sIPN) substrates have been developed, from quaternary metastable solutions in chloroform (CHCl3):MetOH 3:1 wt. and PCL ranging from 50 to 90 wt % in the polymer fraction (thus determining the composition of the solution). The coexistence of these countered molecules, uniformly distributed at the nanoscale, has proven to enhance the number and interactions of serum protein adsorbed from the acellular medium as compared to the homopolymers, the sIPN containing 80 wt % PCL showing an outstanding development. In accordance to the quaternary diagram presented, this protocol can be adapted for the development of polymer substrates, coatings or scaffolds for biomedical applications, not relying upon phase separation, such as the electrospun mats here proposed herein (12 wt % polymer solutions were used for this purpose, with PCL ranging from 50% to 100% in the polymer fraction).This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, grant number DPI2015-65401-C3-2-R.Vilariño, G.; Salgado-Gallegos, A.; De-La-Concepción-Ausina, J.; Rodriguez-Hernandez, J.; Shahrousvand, M.; Vallés Lluch, A. (2020). Amphipathic Substrates Based on Crosslinker-Free Poly(epsilon-Caprolactone):Poly(2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate) Semi-Interpenetrated Networks Promote Serum Protein Adsorption. Polymers. 12(6):1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12061256S11412

T.10: Integrales dobles y triples

RESUMEN Guía docente para el aprendizaje de integrales desarrollado por la Universitat Jaume I. Departament de Matemàtiques

T.10: Integrales dobles y triples

IG08: Càlcu

Strategies to teach energy-related concepts to elementary-school students through visual activities and laboratory experiments

[EN] A summer course was held during the first week of July 2019 for 30 youngsters (aged 8 to 12) to promote their (perhaps natural) curiosity for science through STEM experiences. The 5-day summer course was held at different facilities, including those described along this paper hosted by Universitat Politècnica de València (València, Spain). Several activities were developed to allow young students to discover concepts related to energy types and energy transfer processes through an active manipulation of laboratory assemblies. In this way, students¿ motivation is enhanced in an intuitive way and their attention and interest may be maintained. Finally, it is also reported some issues faced during these energy-related experiments and how they may be solved in the future.The authors would like to thank the financial support of Fundación QUAES and ASCIRES-Biomedical Group through the Business Chair Cátedra Fundación QUAES at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Valencia, Spain). The School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII, Valencia, Spain) is acknowledged for hosting the summer school.Cañada-Soriano, M.; Rodriguez-Hernandez, J.; Vilariño, G.; Del-Canto, I.; Vallés Lluch, A.; Moratal, D. (2020). Strategies to teach energy-related concepts to elementary-school students through visual activities and laboratory experiments. IATED. 5197-5201. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2020.1406S5197520

From research to rapid response: mass COVID-19 testing by volunteers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed and is continuously posing enormous societal and health challenges worldwide. The research community has mobilized to develop novel projects to find a cure or a vaccine, as well as to contribute to mass testing, which has been a critical measure to contain the infection in several countries. Through this article, we share our experiences and learnings as a group of volunteers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain. As members of the ORFEU project, an initiative by the Government of Catalonia to achieve mass testing of people at risk and contain the epidemic in Spain, we share our motivations, challenges and the key lessons learnt, which we feel will help better prepare the global society to address similar situations in the future.The ORFEU program was created by the Catalan Enterprise and Knowledge Department with the Department of Health and funded by the Government of Catalonia, who trusted the expertise of research institutes to add value to the health system during the pandemic. We also extend our thanks to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the EMBL partnership, the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa, the CERCA Programme / Generalitat de Catalunya, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, the Generalitat de Catalunya through Departament de Salut and Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement, and the co-financing by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MEIC) with funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) corresponding to the 2014-2020 Smart Growth Operating Program. We acknowledge support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, to the EMBL partnership and to the Co-financing with funds from the European Regional Development Fund corresponding to the Programa Operativo FEDER Plurirregional de España (POPE) 2014-2020. We acknowledge also support of the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa and the Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Programme, through Departament de Salut and Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement and the Co-financing with funds from the European Regional Development Fund by the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca corresponding to the Programa Operatiu FEDER de Catalunya 2014-202

Incidence and clinical manifestations of giant cell arteritis in Spain: results of the ARTESER register

Objective This study aimed to estimate the incidence of giant cell arteritis (GCA) in Spain and to analyse its clinical manifestations, and distribution by age group, sex, geographical area and season.Methods We included all patients diagnosed with GCA between 1 June 2013 and 29 March 2019 at 26 hospitals of the National Health System. They had to be aged ≥50 years and have at least one positive results in an objective diagnostic test (biopsy or imaging techniques), meet 3/5 of the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria or have a clinical diagnosis based on the expert opinion of the physician in charge. We calculated incidence rate using Poisson regression and assessed the influence of age, sex, geographical area and season.Results We identified 1675 cases of GCA with a mean age at diagnosis of 76.9±8.3 years. The annual incidence was estimated at 7.42 (95% CI 6.57 to 8.27) cases of GCA per 100 000 people ≥50 years with a peak for patients aged 80–84 years (23.06 (95% CI 20.89 to 25.4)). The incidence was greater in women (10.06 (95% CI 8.7 to 11.5)) than in men (4.83 (95% CI 3.8 to 5.9)). No significant differences were found between geographical distribution and incidence throughout the year (p=0.125). The phenotypes at diagnosis were cranial in 1091 patients, extracranial in 337 patients and mixed in 170 patients.Conclusions This is the first study to estimate the incidence of GCA in Spain at a national level. We found a predominance among women and during the ninth decade of life with no clear variability according to geographical area or seasons of the year