Kinematic analysis of a lower limb to determine the center of rotation of the knee at the sagittal plane.

En esta investigación se establece una metodología que permite describir el movimiento de miembros inferiores usando cadenas cinemáticas cerradas. Este análisis es realizado con el objetivo de determinar la posición del centro de rotación (CR) de la rodilla localizado en el plano sagital. Un paciente sano y sin antecedentes patológicos realizó pruebas de flexión-extensión con uno de sus miembros inferiores. Cuando el paciente realizo el movimiento articular (la flexo-extensión) un dispositivo de video y un programa (World In motion v4.0) determinan la posición de cuatro marcadores pasivos ubicados en el miembro inferior. Los datos obtenidos de los marcadores son utilizados en un modelo propuesto que permite localizar la posición del CR de la rodilla. En este estudio se concluye que el CR de la rodilla presenta movimiento relativo respecto a un punto fijo marcado en un miembro inferior. Los resultados comprueban que el CR de la rodilla delimitado en el plano sagital no presenta comportamiento de una junta completa (junta con un grado de libertad) como ha sido presentado en otros estudios. Abstract A methodology is established in this research which permits to describe the movement of a lower limb using closed kinematic chains. This analysis is developed with the aim to determine the location of the center of rotation (CR) of the knee joint in the sagittal plane. Flexion-extension tests were carried out on one of the lower limbs of a healthy patient without pathological antecedents. When the patient does articular movement (flexion-extension), a video equipment and a software determine the position of four passive markers installed on the lower limb. The information obtained from the markers is applied to the proposed model which allows to locate the center of rotation of the knee joint. Hence it was concluded that the CR of the knee joint undergoes a relative movement with respect to the fixed point marked on the lower limb. The results prove that the knee joint established in the sagittal plane does not show the behavior of a complete joint (a joint with one degree of freedom) as it has been described in other studies

Epigenetic loss of RNA‑methyltransferase NSUN5 in glioma targets ribosomes to drive stress adaptive translational program

Tumors have aberrant proteomes that often do not match their corresponding transcriptome profiles. One possible cause of this discrepancy is the existence of aberrant RNA modification landscapes in the so-called epitranscriptome. Here, we report that human glioma cells undergo DNA methylation-associated epigenetic silencing of NSUN5, a candidate RNA methyltransferase for 5-methylcytosine. In this setting, NSUN5 exhibits tumor-suppressor characteristics in vivo glioma models. We also found that NSUN5 loss generates an unmethylated status at the C3782 position of 28S rRNA that drives an overall depletion of protein synthesis, and leads to the emergence of an adaptive translational program for survival under conditions of cellular stress. Interestingly, NSUN5 epigenetic inactivation also renders these gliomas sensitive to bioactivatable substrates of the stress-related enzyme NQO1. Most importantly, NSUN5 epigenetic inactivation is a hallmark of glioma patients with long-term survival for this otherwise devastating disease

Disentangling Signatures of Selection Before and After European Colonization in Latin Americans

Throughout human evolutionary history, large-scale migrations have led to intermixing (i.e., admixture) between previously separated human groups. Although classical and recent work have shown that studying admixture can yield novel historical insights, the extent to which this process contributed to adaptation remains underexplored. Here, we introduce a novel statistical model, specific to admixed populations, that identifies loci under selection while determining whether the selection likely occurred post-admixture or prior to admixture in one of the ancestral source populations. Through extensive simulations, we show that this method is able to detect selection, even in recently formed admixed populations, and to accurately differentiate between selection occurring in the ancestral or admixed population. We apply this method to genome-wide SNP data of ∼4,000 individuals in five admixed Latin American cohorts from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Our approach replicates previous reports of selection in the human leukocyte antigen region that are consistent with selection post-admixture. We also report novel signals of selection in genomic regions spanning 47 genes, reinforcing many of these signals with an alternative, commonly used local-ancestry-inference approach. These signals include several genes involved in immunity, which may reflect responses to endemic pathogens of the Americas and to the challenge of infectious disease brought by European contact. In addition, some of the strongest signals inferred to be under selection in the Native American ancestral groups of modern Latin Americans overlap with genes implicated in energy metabolism phenotypes, plausibly reflecting adaptations to novel dietary sources available in the Americas

Identification of potential invasive alien species in Spain through horizon scanning

Invasive alien species have widespread impacts on native biodiversity and ecosystem services. Since the number of introductions worldwide is continuously rising, it is essential to prevent the entry, establishment and spread of new alien species through a systematic examination of future potential threats. Applying a three-step horizon scanning consensus method, we evaluated non-established alien species that could potentially arrive, establish and cause major ecological impact in Spain within the next 10 years. Overall, we identified 47 species with a very high risk (e.g. Oreochromis niloticus, Popillia japonica, Hemidactylus frenatus, Crassula helmsii or Halophila stipulacea), 61 with high risk, 93 with moderate risk, and 732 species with low risk. Many of the species categorized as very high or high risk to Spanish biodiversity are either already present in Europe and neighbouring countries or have a long invasive history elsewhere. This study provides an updated list of potential invasive alien species useful for prioritizing efforts and resources against their introduction. Compared to previous horizon scanning exercises in Spain, the current study screens potential invaders from a wider range of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine organisms, and can serve as a basis for more comprehensive risk analyses to improve management and increase the efficiency of the early warning and rapid response framework for invasive alien species. We also stress the usefulness of measuring agreement and consistency as two different properties of the reliability of expert scores, in order to more easily elaborate consensus ranked lists of potential invasive alien species.This work is one of the main results of the InvaNET network (RED2018-102571-T, RED2022-134338-T, https://invasiber.org/InvaNET/), financially supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. We thank Guido Jones, funded by the Cabildo de Tenerife under the TFinnova Programme supported by MEDI and FDCAN, for revising the English.Peer reviewe

Abundance and Distribution Patterns of Thunnus albacares in Isla del Coco National Park through Predictive Habitat Suitability Models

Information on the distribution and habitat preferences of ecologically and commercially important species is essential for their management and protection. This is especially important as climate change, pollution, and overfishing change the structure and functioning of pelagic ecosystems. In this study, we used Bayesian hierarchical spatial-temporal models to map the Essential Fish Habitats of the Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the waters around Isla del Coco National Park, Pacific Costa Rica, based on independent underwater observations from 1993 to 2013. We assessed if observed changes in the distribution and abundance of this species are related with habitat characteristics, fishing intensity or more extreme climatic events, including the El Niño Southern Oscillation, and changes on the average sea surface temperature. Yellowfin tuna showed a decreasing abundance trend in the sampled period, whereas higher abundances were found in shallow and warmer waters, with high concentration of chlorophyll-a, and in surrounding seamounts. In addition, El Niño Southern Oscillation events did not seem to affect Yellowfin tuna distribution and abundance. Understanding the habitat preferences of this species, using approaches as the one developed here, may help design integrated programs for more efficient management of vulnerable species.Marine Stewardship Council/[]/MSC/LondresUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR

XVI International Congress of Control Electronics and Telecommunications: "Techno-scientific considerations for a post-pandemic world intensive in knowledge, innovation and sustainable local development"

Este título, sugestivo por los impactos durante la situación de la Covid 19 en el mundo, y que en Colombia lastimosamente han sido muy críticos, permiten asumir la obligada superación de tensiones sociales, políticas, y económicas; pero sobre todo científicas y tecnológicas. Inicialmente, esto supone la existencia de una capacidad de la sociedad colombiana por recuperar su estado inicial después de que haya cesado la perturbación a la que fue sometida por la catastrófica pandemia, y superar ese anterior estado de cosas ya que se encontraban -y aún se encuentran- muchos problemas locales mal resueltos, medianamente resueltos, y muchos sin resolver: es decir, habrá que rediseñar y fortalecer una probada resiliencia social existente - producto del prolongado conflicto social colombiano superado parcialmente por un proceso de paz exitoso - desde la tecnociencia local; como lo indicaba Markus Brunnermeier - economista alemán y catedrático de economía de la Universidad de Princeton- en su libro The Resilient Society…La cuestión no es preveerlo todo sino poder reaccionar…aprender a recuperarse rápido.This title, suggestive of the impacts during the Covid 19 situation in the world, and which have unfortunately been very critical in Colombia, allows us to assume the obligatory overcoming of social, political, and economic tensions; but above all scientific and technological. Initially, this supposes the existence of a capacity of Colombian society to recover its initial state after the disturbance to which it was subjected by the catastrophic pandemic has ceased, and to overcome that previous state of affairs since it was found -and still is find - many local problems poorly resolved, moderately resolved, and many unresolved: that is, an existing social resilience test will have to be redesigned and strengthened - product of the prolonged Colombian social conflict partially overcome by a successful peace process - from local technoscience; As Markus Brunnermeier - German economist and professor of economics at Princeton University - indicates in his book The Resilient Society...The question is not to foresee everything but to be able to react...learn to recover quickly.Bogot

CARB-ES-19 Multicenter Study of Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli From All Spanish Provinces Reveals Interregional Spread of High-Risk Clones Such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3

ObjectivesCARB-ES-19 is a comprehensive, multicenter, nationwide study integrating whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (CP-Kpn) and E. coli (CP-Eco) to determine their incidence, geographical distribution, phylogeny, and resistance mechanisms in Spain.MethodsIn total, 71 hospitals, representing all 50 Spanish provinces, collected the first 10 isolates per hospital (February to May 2019); CPE isolates were first identified according to EUCAST (meropenem MIC > 0.12 mg/L with immunochromatography, colorimetric tests, carbapenem inactivation, or carbapenem hydrolysis with MALDI-TOF). Prevalence and incidence were calculated according to population denominators. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the microdilution method (EUCAST). All 403 isolates collected were sequenced for high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing, core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST), and resistome analysis.ResultsIn total, 377 (93.5%) CP-Kpn and 26 (6.5%) CP-Eco isolates were collected from 62 (87.3%) hospitals in 46 (92%) provinces. CP-Kpn was more prevalent in the blood (5.8%, 50/853) than in the urine (1.4%, 201/14,464). The cumulative incidence for both CP-Kpn and CP-Eco was 0.05 per 100 admitted patients. The main carbapenemase genes identified in CP-Kpn were blaOXA–48 (263/377), blaKPC–3 (62/377), blaVIM–1 (28/377), and blaNDM–1 (12/377). All isolates were susceptible to at least two antibiotics. Interregional dissemination of eight high-risk CP-Kpn clones was detected, mainly ST307/OXA-48 (16.4%), ST11/OXA-48 (16.4%), and ST512-ST258/KPC (13.8%). ST512/KPC and ST15/OXA-48 were the most frequent bacteremia-causative clones. The average number of acquired resistance genes was higher in CP-Kpn (7.9) than in CP-Eco (5.5).ConclusionThis study serves as a first step toward WGS integration in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in Spain. We detected important epidemiological changes, including increased CP-Kpn and CP-Eco prevalence and incidence compared to previous studies, wide interregional dissemination, and increased dissemination of high-risk clones, such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3

Variability of Microwave Scattering in a Stochastic Ensemble of Measured Rain Drops

While it has been proved that multiple scattering in the microwave frequencies has to be accounted for in precipitation retrieval algorithms, the effects of the random arrangements of drops in space has seldom been investigated. The fact is, a single rain drop size distribution (RDSD) corresponds with many actual 3D distributions of those rain drops and each of those may a priori absorb and scatter radiation in a different way. Each spatial configuration is equivalent to any other in terms of the RDSD function, but not in terms of radiometric characteristics, both near and far from field, because of changes in the relative phases among the particles. Here, using the T-matrix formalism, we investigate the radiometric variability of two ensembles of 50 different 3D, stochastically-derived configurations from two consecutive measured RDSDs with 30 and 31 drops, respectively. The results show that the random distribution of drops in space has a measurable but apparently small effect in the scattering calculations with the exception of the asymmetry factor

Effects of magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation on bone mechanical properties and modeling

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MR-HIFU) is a promising technique for palliative treatment of bone pain. In this study, the effects of MR-HIFU ablation on bone mechanics and modeling were investigated. METHODS: A total of 12 healthy rat femurs were ablated using 10 W for 46 ± 4 s per sonication with 4 sonications for each femur. At 7 days after treatments, all animals underwent MR and single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging. Then, six animals were euthanized. At 1 month following ablations, the remaining six animals were scanned again with MR and SPECT/CT prior to euthanization. Thereafter, both the HIFU-treated and contralateral control bones of three animals from each time interval were processed for histology, whereas the remaining bones were subjected to micro-CT (μCT), three-point bending tests, and micro-finite element (micro-FE) analyses. RESULTS: At 7 days after HIFU ablations, edema formation around the treated bones coupled with bone marrow and cortical bone necrosis was observed on MRI and histological images. SPECT/CT and μCT images revealed presence of bone modeling through an increased uptake of (99m)Tc-MDP and formation of woven bone, respectively. At 31 days after ablations, as illustrated by imaging and histology, healing of the treated bone and the surrounding soft tissue was noted, marked by decreased in amount of tissue damage, formation of scar tissue, and sub-periosteal reaction. The results of three-point bending tests showed no significant differences in elastic stiffness, ultimate load, and yield load between the HIFU-treated and contralateral control bones at 7 days and 1 month after treatments. Similarly, the elastic stiffness and Young's moduli determined by micro-FE analyses at both time intervals were not statistically different. CONCLUSIONS: Multimodality imaging and histological data illustrated the presence of HIFU-induced bone damage at the cellular level, which activated the bone repair mechanisms. Despite that, these changes did not have a mechanical impact on the bone

Patients with Crohn's disease have longer post-operative in-hospital stay than patients with colon cancer but no difference in complications' rate

BACKGROUNDRight hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection are used to treat benign conditions like Crohn's disease (CD) and malignant ones like colon cancer (CC).AIMTo investigate differences in pre- and peri-operative factors and their impact on post-operative outcome in patients with CC and CD.METHODSThis is a sub-group analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology's prospective, multi-centre snapshot audit. Adult patients with CC and CD undergoing right hemicolectomy or ileocecal resection were included. Primary outcome measure was 30-d post-operative complications. Secondary outcome measures were post-operative length of stay (LOS) at and readmission.RESULTSThree hundred and seventy-five patients with CD and 2,515 patients with CC were included. Patients with CD were younger (median = 37 years for CD and 71 years for CC (P < 0.01), had lower American Society of Anesthesiology score (ASA) grade (P < 0.01) and less comorbidity (P < 0.01), but were more likely to be current smokers (P < 0.01). Patients with CD were more frequently operated on by colorectal surgeons (P < 0.01) and frequently underwent ileocecal resection (P < 0.01) with higher rate of de-functioning/primary stoma construction (P < 0.01). Thirty-day post-operative mortality occurred exclusively in the CC group (66/2515, 2.3%). In multivariate analyses, the risk of post-operative complications was similar in the two groups (OR 0.80, 95%CI: 0.54-1.17; P = 0.25). Patients with CD had a significantly longer LOS (Geometric mean 0.87, 95%CI: 0.79-0.95; P < 0.01). There was no difference in re-admission rates. The audit did not collect data on post-operative enhanced recovery protocols that are implemented in the different participating centers.CONCLUSIONPatients with CD were younger, with lower ASA grade, less comorbidity, operated on by experienced surgeons and underwent less radical resection but had a longer LOS than patients with CC although complication's rate was not different between the two groups