The Case Against Template Informed Consent Procedures in Biomedical Research: Heterogeneity in health Literacy in Chile

Indexación: Web of Science; ScieloSe examinó el alfabetismo en salud en Chile con el fin de determinar si se pueden usar procedimientos de consentimiento informado estándares en esta población. Se evaluó el alfabetismo en salud con la versión abreviada de la prueba SAHLSA. Los resultados se expresaron como el porcentaje de respuestas correctas en cada prueba. El promedio global de respuestas correctas fue 85.4 ± 13.5 % (media aritmética ± desviación estándar, n=762). Hubo diferencias importantes entre los subgrupos examinados. El nivel más bajo de alfabetismo en salud se detectó en pescadores artesanales y sus familias y en estudiantes de liceos públicos, y el más alto en estudiantes universitarios y madres pobladoras atendidas en el sistema público de salud. Los resultados muestran la necesidad que los procedimientos de consentimiento informado tomen en cuenta la heterogeneidad del alfabetismo en salud de la población chilena.Health literacy was examined in Chile to assess whether it is homogenous enough to allow the use of "templates" for informed consent, and to identity subgroups that may need special consideration when recruited for research because of their low health literacy abbreviated SAHLSA test of health literacy was used. Results were expressed as percent of correct answers out of the 50 items of the SAHLSA test. There was high health literacy with 85.4 ± 13.5 % (arithmetic mean ± standard deviation, «=762) of correct answers. There were important differences between groups, with lower scores in artisanal fishermen families and high-school students attending public schools, and higher scores in university students and mothers attending the public health system. Results show that a case by case approach is probably more appropriate when seeking informed consent in this population because of the variability of health literacy.http://ref.scielo.org/nb426

A partitioned model order reduction approach to rationalise computational expenses in multiscale fracture mechanics

We propose in this paper an adaptive reduced order modelling technique based on domain partitioning for parametric problems of fracture. We show that coupling domain decomposition and projection-based model order reduction permits to focus the numerical effort where it is most needed: around the zones where damage propagates. No \textit{a priori} knowledge of the damage pattern is required, the extraction of the corresponding spatial regions being based solely on algebra. The efficiency of the proposed approach is demonstrated numerically with an example relevant to engineering fracture.Comment: Submitted for publication in CMAM

Astrophysics with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be a transformative experiment for gravitational wave astronomy as it will offer unique opportunities to address many key astrophysical questions in a completely novel way. The synergy with ground-based and other space-based instruments in the electromagnetic domain, by enabling multi-messenger observations, will add further to the discovery potential of LISA. The next decade is crucial to prepare the astrophysical community for LISA's first observations. This review outlines the extensive landscape of astrophysical theory, numerical simulations, and astronomical observations that are instrumental for modeling and interpreting the upcoming LISA datastream. To this aim, the current knowledge in three main source classes for LISA is reviewed: ultra-compact stellar-mass binaries, massive black hole binaries, and extreme or intermediate mass ratio inspirals. The relevant astrophysical processes and the established modeling techniques are summarized. Likewise, open issues and gaps in our understanding of these sources are highlighted, along with an indication of how LISA could help make progress in the different areas. New research avenues that LISA itself, or its joint exploitation with studies in the electromagnetic domain, will enable, are also illustrated. Improvements in modeling and analysis approaches, such as the combination of numerical simulations and modern data science techniques, are discussed. This review is intended to be a starting point for using LISA as a new discovery tool for understanding our Universe

Las dirigentas Lafkenche: su incidencia en la demanda territorial y política de la Organización Identidad Territorial Lafkenche y la influencia de la organización en su ser mujeres Mapuche

Magister en Estudios de Género y Cultura mención Ciencias SocialesEl presente estudio realizado por Astrid Mandel y guiado Loreto Rebolledo, para el grado de Magister en Estudios de Género y Cultura Mención en Ciencias Sociales, se titula “Las dirigentas Lafkenche: su incidencia en la demanda territorial y política de la Organización Identidad Territorial Lafkenche y la influencia de la organización en su ser mujeres Mapuche” y se enfoca en las dirigentas de la Organización. La tesis se encuadra en el momento histórico del neoliberalismo de Estado, su relación con los pueblos indígenas y se inscribe en la corriente del feminismo descolonial de América del sur. Se discute el mandato a mantener la costumbre, se abordan los efectos que tiene la sanción social sobre el accionar político y se da una mirada a las prácticas económicas y territorialidad de las mujeres indígenas dirigentas. La tesis utiliza metodología cualitativa con enfoque feminista, y énfasis en lo etnográfico. Encontramos que en la lucha colectiva se otorga importancia a las prácticas realizadas por mujeres. Los roles culturales inciden en que a las dirigentas se les reconozcan características y en que encuentren obstáculos en su labor política. Si bien la organización no se manifiesta en torno a las adversidades de las dirigentas en sus vidas cotidianas, a través de su participación han ido adquiriendo herramientas que las empodera

El uso de un Consentimiento informado único puede ser inadecuado en investigaciones biomédicas: heterogeneidad del alfabetismo en salud en Chile

En el curso de la evaluación ética de proyectos de investigación en el área de la salud humana en la Universidad de Santiago de Chile, la exigencia del consentimiento informado para estudios efectuados en sectores de bajo nivel socio-económico y educacional, planteó la interrogante sobre el nivel de comprensión en materias de salud y su relación con la efectividad de los procesos convencionales de consentimiento informado en estos sectores sociales. En particular la experiencia planteó la posibilidad de que en la oblación chilena podría era necesario adecuar el procedimiento y documento de consentimiento informado en os proyectos de investigación biomédica a la aparente heterogeneidad del alfabetismo en saluden diversos sectores

Properties of polyglutamine expansion in vitro and in a cellular model for Huntington's disease

International audienceEight neurodegenerative diseases have been shown to be caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine stretch in specific target proteins that lead to a gain in toxic property. Most of these diseases have some features in common. A pathological threshold of 35 to 40 glutamine residues is observed in five of the diseases. The mutated proteins (or a polyglutamine-containing subfragment) form ubiquitinated aggregates in neurons of patients or mouse models, in most cases within the nucleus. We summarize the properties of a monoclonal antibody that recognizes specifically, in a Western blot, polyglutamine stretches longer than 35 glutamine residues with an affinity that increases with polyglutamine length. This indicates that the pathological threshold observed in five diseases corresponds to a conformational change creating a pathological epitope, most probably involved in the aggregation property of the carrier protein. We also show that a fragment of a normal protein carrying 38 glutamine residues is able to aggregate into regular fibrils in vitro . Finally, we present a cellular model in which the induced expression of a mutated full-length huntingtin protein leads to the formation of nuclear inclusions that share many characteristics with those observed in patients: those inclusions are ubiquitinated and contain only an N-terminal fragment of huntingtin. This model should thus be useful in studying a processing step that is likely to be important in the pathogenicity of mutated huntingtin

Proteases Acting on Mutant Huntingtin Generate Cleaved Products that Differentially Build Up Cytoplasmic and Nuclear Inclusions

International audienceProteolytic processing of mutant huntingtin (mhtt) is regarded as a key event in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD). Mhtt fragments containing a polyglutamine expansion form intracellular inclusions and are more cytotoxic than full-length mhtt. Here, we report that two distinct mhtt fragments, termed cp-A and cp-B, differentially build up nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions in HD brain and in a cellular model for HD. Cp-A is released by cleavage of htt in a 10 amino acid domain and is the major fragment that aggregates in the nucleus. Furthermore, we provide evidence that cp-A and cp-B are most likely generated by aspartic endopeptidases acting in concert with the proteasome to ensure the normal turnover of htt. These proteolytic processes are thus potential targets for therapeutic intervention in HD