Cation exchange testsof natural zeoliteswith rare earth elements

he present work aims to analyze the effectiveness of natural zeolites for the concentration of certain elements in the rare earth group, as well as some associated cations. The work has been centered on four samples of natural zeolites from Cuba that are characterized by physical, chemical and mineralogical methods, which confirm their membership to the mordenite zeolite family, except one that was discarded in the exchange tests because it belonged to the heulandite family. The elements exchange tests were carried out over a period of 168 hours with the cations: Y3+, Eu3+, Yb3+, Ba2+, Pb2+, Cu2+ y Ni2+. Initial concentrations were set based on the average cation exchange capacity of the zeolite samples. It was concluded that this family of zeolites did not have the utility sought, because its composition contained some of the selected elements, resulting in a leaching of these cations

El análisis de incidentes críticos como método de aprendizaje

Los incidentes críticos son eventos inesperados, sorprendentes, que inducen en el alumno una respuesta innovadora.El análisis de los incidentes críticos aumenta la motivación por el aprendizaje, es capaz de transformar los errores en estrategias de mejora y facilita la comunicación en los grupos de trabajo.Permite evaluar competencias difíciles de analizar por otras vías: ética, comunicación o gestión de la consulta. Es una herramienta aplicable a lo largo de todo el continuum formativo (grado, postgrado y formación continuada). Se puede utilizar como técnica de selección de profesionales a partir de su competencia profesional.Critical Incidents (CI) are surprising and unexpected events that bring about creative responses in our students. The analysis of these CI increases the motivation for learning, enables to change the mistakes into strategies of improvement and facilitates the communication among the working groups. It also allows us to evaluate skills that are difficult to analyze through other methods: ethics, communication or clinical practice. It is a proper tool for the continnum formative ( graduate, postgraduate andcontinuous training). CI can be used as a professional selection technique from the professional competence

El aprendizaje por servicio: un modelo para la incorporación de competencias clínicas en medicina

El aprendizaje por servicio es una propuesta educativa en la que se combinan los procesos de aprendizaje y de servicio a la comunidad en un proyecto estructurado en el que los participantes se forman trabajando sobre las necesidades reales del entorno con el objetivo de mejorarlo. Por su naturaleza, aúna los procesos de aprendizaje significativo, autodirigido y colaborativo en el contexto de la acción social, y lo hace a través de proyectos en los que los alumnos son participantes activos de su propio aprendizaje, trabajando en necesidades reales del entorno. El presente artículo recoge los pasos a seguir para el diseño y ejecución de un proyecto de aprendizaje por servicio. Presenta las experiencias docentes del Departamento de Medicina de la Universidad de Alcalá que utilizan este método formativo para la formación en competencias.Service learning is an educational methodology that combines the learning process and the community services. This proposal develops meaningful learning, self-directed and collaborative learning in the context of social action. Also, it allows the participants to be anactive part in their own learning process while there are working on real environments. This article describes the steps to follow for the design and execution of a service learning project. Finally, the teaching experience of the Department of Medicine of the University of Alcalá using this technique is presented

Índice de provisión de hábitat potencial para la biodiversidad de controladores biológicos en un paisaje de interfase urbano rural en Mendoza, Argentina

La expansión urbana sobre paisajes agrícolas genera interfases urbano-rurales. La coexistencia de usos del suelo agrícolas y residenciales puede promover conflictos en torno al uso de plaguicidas. En Mendoza, Argentina, la escasez del recurso hídrico limita el traslado de la agricultura más allá de las áreas irrigadas, por lo que es importante mejorar esta convivencia. Para disminuir el uso de plaguicidas se necesitan estrategias asentadas en funciones ecosistémicas como el control biológico de plagas por conservación. Esta estrategia depende de la biodiversidad funcional presente en el paisaje; en especial, de las comunidades vegetales con capacidad de brindar hábitat a especies de artrópodos, parasitoides y depredadores generalistas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue construir un índice para evaluar la capacidad de proveer hábitat potencial para los controladores biológicos (IHPB) en diferentes ambientes de un paisaje, con el fin de aportar conocimientos para el ordenamiento ambiental territorial de áreas de interfase. El IHPB se construyó a partir de 5 indicadores y se puso a prueba en el distrito de Lunlunta (Maipú, Mendoza). Se clasificó el área de estudio en 6 unidades de paisaje (UP): Natural de secano, Natural de ribera, Seminatural, Agrícola convencional, Agrícola biodiverso y Urbana. En ellas se realizaron censos de vegetación para calcular los indicadores. El valor más alto de IHPB ocurrió en la UP Natural de secano por la alta diversidad y la cobertura total y de especies arbóreas y arbustivas nativas presentes en su comunidad vegetal; el IHPB más bajo ocurrió en la UP Agrícola convencional. Su aplicación confirmó la importancia de las áreas naturales en cuanto a su potencialidad para sostener a la entomofauna benéfica base para el control biológico de plagas, y la necesidad de mejorar las condiciones de hábitat en los ambientes agrícolas.Urban sprawl over agricultural landscapes generates urban-rural interfaces. The coexistence of agricultural and residential land uses can promote conflicts over the use of pesticides. In Mendoza (Argentina), the scarcity of water resources is a constraint for moving agriculture beyond irrigated areas, so it is important to improve this coexistence. In order to reduce the use of pesticides, strategies based on ecosystem functions such as biological pest control through conservation are necessary. This strategy depends on the functional biodiversity present in the landscape, especially on plant communities with the capacity to provide habitat for arthropod species, parasitoids and generalist predators. The objective of this work was to construct an index to evaluate the capacity to provide potential habitat for biological controllers (IHPB) in different areas of a landscape, in order to provide knowledge for the territorial environmental management of interface areas. The IHPB was constructed from five indicators and evaluated in the Lunlunta district (Maipú, Mendoza). The study area was classified into six landscape units (UP): Dryland natural, Riverside natural, Semi-natural, Conventional agricultural, Biodiverse agricultural and Urban, in which vegetation censuses were conducted for the calculation of the indicators. The IHPB showed the highest value in the Dryland natural UP due to the high diversity, total cover and native tree and shrub species present in its plant community; the lowest was registered in Conventional agriculture. Its application confirmed the importance of natural areas in terms of their potential to sustain the beneficial entomofauna base for the biological control of pests, and the need to improve habitat conditions in agricultural environments.Fil: del Barrio, Lucia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Fruitos, Andrea Beatríz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-san Juan. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Junin; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Sarandon, Santiago Javier. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Laboratorio de Investigación y Reflexión en Agroecología; ArgentinaFil: Portela, José Antonio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-San Juan. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Consulta; ArgentinaFil: D'Amario, Julieta. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Martín Velasco, María José. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Martín. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-San Juan. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Mendoza; Argentin

El tratamiento integral de los sulfuros masivos: un reto para la mineralogía y para la geometalurgia, analizado a partir de la Faja Pirítica Ibérica (FPI).

La Faja Pirítica Ibérica se ha mencionado muchas veces como la provincia metalogenética que contiene la mayor concentración conocida hasta la fecha de yacimientos VMS del mundo. Esta región que se extiende por el sur de la Península Ibérica entre dos países, Portugal y España, posee una significación histórica muy notable, está considerada entre los lugares con una actividad minera más antigua (incluso se menciona en la Biblia) y ha influenciado el desarrollo histórico de varias culturas en su aspecto económico y tecnológico

Changes in the requirement for early surgery in inflammatory bowel disease in the era of biological agents

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Changes in the requirement for early surgery in inflammatory bowel disease in the era of biological agents. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2020): 29 April, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jgh.15084. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsBiological therapies may be changing the natural history of inflammatory bowel diseases, reducing the need for surgical intervention. We aimed to assess whether the availability of anti‐TNF agents impacts the need for early surgery in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods Retrospective, cohort study of patients diagnosed within a 6‐year period before and after the licensing of anti‐TNFs (1990‐1995 and 2007‐2012 for CD; 1995‐2000 and 2007‐2012 for UC) were identified in the ENEIDA Registry. Surgery‐free survival curves were compared between cohorts. Results A total of 7,370 CD patients (2,022 in Cohort 1 and 5,348 in Cohort 2) and 8,069 UC patients (2,938 in Cohort 1 and 5,131 in Cohort 2) were included. Immunosuppressants were used significantly earlier and more frequently in both CD and UC post‐biological cohorts. The cumulative probability of surgery was lower in CD following anti‐TNF approval (16% and 11%, 22% and 16%, and 29% and 19%, at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively p<0.0001), though not in UC (3% and 2%, 4% and 4%, and 6% and 5% at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively; p=0.2). Ileal involvement, older age at diagnosis and active smoking in CD, and extensive disease in UC, were independent risk factors for surgery, whereas high‐volume IBD centres (in both CD and UC) and immunosuppressant use (in CD) were protective factors. Conclusions Anti‐TNF availability was associated with a reduction in early surgery for CD (driven mainly by earlier and more widespread immunosuppressant use) but not in U

Personalized monitoring of circulating tumor DNA with a specific signature of trackable mutations after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in follicular lymphoma patients

BackgroundCART therapy has produced a paradigm shift in the treatment of relapsing FL patients. Strategies to optimize disease surveillance after these therapies are increasingly necessary. This study explores the potential value of ctDNA monitoring with an innovative signature of personalized trackable mutations.MethodEleven FL patients treated with anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy were included. One did not respond and was excluded. Genomic profiling was performed before starting lymphodepleting chemotherapy to identify somatic mutations suitable for LiqBio-MRD monitoring. The dynamics of the baseline mutations (4.5 per patient) were further analyzed on 59 cfDNA follow-up samples. PET/CT examinations were performed on days +90, +180, +365, and every six months until disease progression or death.ResultsAfter a median follow-up of 36 months, all patients achieved a CR as the best response. Two patients progressed. The most frequently mutated genes were CREBBP, KMT2D and EP300. Simultaneous analysis of ctDNA and PET/CT was available for 18 time-points. When PET/CT was positive, two out of four ctDNA samples were LiqBio-MRD negative. These two negative samples corresponded to women with a unique mesenteric mass in two evaluations and never relapsed. Meanwhile, 14 PET/CT negative images were mutation-free based on our LiqBio-MRD analysis (100%). None of the patients had a negative LiqBio-MRD test by day +7. Interestingly, all durably responding patients had undetectable ctDNA at or around three months after infusion. Two patients presented discordant results by PET/CT and ctDNA levels. No progression was confirmed in these cases. All the progressing patients were LiqBio-MRD positive before progression.ConclusionThis is a proof-of-principle for using ctDNA to monitor response to CAR T-cell therapy in FL. Our results confirm that a non-invasive liquid biopsy MRD analysis may correlate with response and could be used to monitor response. Harmonized definitions of ctDNA molecular response and pinpointing the optimal timing for assessing ctDNA responses are necessary for this setting. If using ctDNA analysis, we suggest restricting follow-up PET/CT in CR patients to a clinical suspicion of relapse, to avoid false-positive results

The Importance of Spanish Data (BDMIN & PANORAMA MINERO) in the European Raw Materials Knowledge Base (EURMKB)

[EN] The IGME has an extensive experience in the field of mineral resources and the main source of information is the Mineral Resources Database (BDMIN) that integrates the geological‐mining information on occurrences, mines and exploitations (active and inactive) of metallic, nonmetallic and industrial minerals, and rocks in Spain. In addition, since 1981, the Panorama Minero has been carried out with the aim of providing reliable data on Spanish mining production, based on the Spanish Mining Statistics (MITERD). This information includes data on the national production of minerals, in tonnage and value, metallurgical production, foreign trade, etc. Other sources include the National Mining Cadastre and Foreign Trade statistics from the Tax Agency.Peer reviewe

Real-life disease monitoring in follicular lymphoma patients using liquid biopsy ultra-deep sequencing and PET/CT

In the present study, we screened 84 Follicular Lymphoma patients for somatic mutations suitable as liquid biopsy MRD biomarkers using a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel. We found trackable mutations in 95% of the lymph node samples and 80% of the liquid biopsy baseline samples. Then, we used an ultra-deep sequencing approach with 2 · 10−4 sensitivity (LiqBio-MRD) to track those mutations on 151 follow-up liquid biopsy samples from 54 treated patients. Positive LiqBio-MRD at first-line therapy correlated with a higher risk of progression both at the interim evaluation (HRINT 11.0, 95% CI 2.10–57.7, p = 0.005) and at the end of treatment (HREOT, HR 19.1, 95% CI 4.10–89.4, p < 0.001). Similar results were observed by PET/CT Deauville score, with a median PFS of 19 months vs. NR (p < 0.001) at the interim and 13 months vs. NR (p < 0.001) at EOT. LiqBio-MRD and PET/CT combined identified the patients that progressed in less than two years with 88% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Our results demonstrate that LiqBio-MRD is a robust and non-invasive approach, complementary to metabolic imaging, for identifying FL patients at high risk of failure during the treatment and should be considered in future response-adapted clinical trials.This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Union through the projects PI21/00314, PI19/01430, PI19/01518 and PI18/00295, PTQ2020-011372, CP19/00140, CP22/00082, Doctorado industrial CAM IND2020/TIC-17402 and CRIS cancer foundation