Current understanding of genetic polymorphisms as biomarkers for risk of biological complications in implantology

In the last decade, multiple studies have been published that analyze the relationship between the risk of experiencing biological complications with implants and the presence of certain types of genetic polymorphisms. In the present report, we analyze the controversies that have arisen from this important area of investigation and synthesize the most prominent aspects of knowledge related to this possible etiopathogenic relationship. For this review, the biomedical databases PubMed-Medline, SciELO, and DOAJ were used. Different search strategies were employed, from which 298 articles initially emerged. After refinement of the search, 55 articles published between 2002 and 2018 were finally selected based on relevance. In certain population groups, there is evidence to support that about a dozen polymorphisms could in some way be related to biological complications in implantology. Indeed, the results may vary according to the ethnic origin of the population studied. Most of the published investigations are initial studies reporting small sample sizes and utilizing different study group homogenization methods. We are still at a preliminary stage of our understanding and development with regard to these types of biomarkers. The interesting results identified indicate that new investigations will be necessary to eliminate the biases observed in some studies and to homogenize the research groups. In order to clarify the controversies surrounding the current knowledge in this field, we believe that it will be necessary to employ larger study groups and search for possible synergistic effects between different polymorphisms

Aplicación de análisis de componente principal en sistemas eléctricos de potencia

El análisis de componente principal (ACP) es una técnica estadística de análisis multivariable ampliamente utilizada para encontrar patrones de datos de alta dimensión. La ventaja fundamental de ACP es la reducción del número de dimensiones de los datos, sin que exista mucha pérdida de información. En este artículo se hace una descripción de esta transformación matemática, y se presentan dos aplicaciones en el área de los sistemas eléctricos de potencia. ABSTRACT A common method from statistics for analyzing data is principal component analysis (PCA). The purpose of PCA is to identify the dependence structure behind a multivariable stochastic observation in order to obtain a compact description of it. The paper describes the mathematical fundamentals of PCA and two applications in power system area

Comprehensive molecular analysis of immortalization hallmarks in thyroid cancer reveals new prognostic markers

TERT promoter mutation; Subtelomeric gene expression; Telomere shorteningMutació del promotor TERT; Expressió gènica subtelomèrica; Escurçament dels telòmersMutación del promotor TERT; Expresión génica subtelomérica; Acortamiento de los telómerosBackground Comprehensive molecular studies on tumours are needed to delineate immortalization process steps and identify sensitive prognostic biomarkers in thyroid cancer. Methods and Results In this study, we extensively characterize telomere-related alterations in a series of 106 thyroid tumours with heterogeneous clinical outcomes. Using a custom-designed RNA-seq panel, we identified five telomerase holoenzyme-complex genes upregulated in clinically aggressive tumours compared to tumours from long-term disease-free patients, being TERT and TERC denoted as independent prognostic markers by multivariate regression model analysis. Characterization of alterations related to TERT re-expression revealed that promoter mutations, methylation and/or copy gains exclusively co-occurred in clinically aggressive tumours. Quantitative-FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) analysis of telomere lengths showed a significant shortening in these carcinomas, which matched with a high proliferative rate measured by Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. RNA-seq data analysis indicated that short-telomere tumours exhibit an increased transcriptional activity in the 5-Mb-subtelomeric regions, site of several telomerase-complex genes. Gene upregulation enrichment was significant for specific chromosome-ends such as the 5p, where TERT is located. Co-FISH analysis of 5p-end and TERT loci showed a more relaxed chromatin configuration in short telomere-length tumours compared to normal telomere-length tumours. Conclusions Overall, our findings support that telomere shortening leads to a 5p subtelomeric region reorganization, facilitating the transcription and accumulation of alterations at TERT-locus.This work was supported by Projects PI17/01796 and PI20/01169 [Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Acción Estratégica en Salud, cofinanciado a través del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)] and Comunidad de Madrid (S2017/BMD-3724; TIRONET2-CM) to MR. CM-C was partially supported by a grant from the Fundación Científica Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AIO15152858 MONT). LJL-G was supported both by the Banco Santander Foundation – CNIO Fellowship and by ‘la Caixa’ Foundation (ID 100010434), under agreement LCF/BQ/PI20/11760011. AMM-M was supported by CAM (S2017/BMD-3724; TIRONET2-CM). MM was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain; ‘Formación del Profesorado Universitario – FPU’ fellowship (FPU18/00064)). We thank CNIO Biobank for their support with the frozen specimens processing. We thank the Spanish National Tumor Bank Network (RD09/0076/00047) for the support in obtaining tumour samples, and all patients, physicians and tumour biobanks involved in the study

Photoluminescence Imaging and LBIC Characterization of Defects in mc-Si Solar Cells

Today's photovoltaic market is dominated by multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) based solar cells with around 70% of worldwide production. In order to improve the quality of the Si material, a proper characterization of the electrical activity in mc-Si solar cells is essential. A full-wafer characterization technique such as photoluminescence imaging (PLi) provides a fast inspection of the wafer defects, though at the expense of the spatial resolution. On the other hand, a study of the defects at a microscopic scale can be achieved through the light-beam induced current technique. The combination of these macroscopic and microscopic resolution techniques allows a detailed study of the electrical activity of defects in mc-Si solar cells. In this work, upgraded metallurgical-grade Si solar cells are studied using these two techniques

Relationship between target organ damage and blood pressure, retinal vessel calibre, oxidative stress and polymorphisms in VAV-2 and VAV-3 genes in patients with hypertension: a case-control study protocol (LOD- Hipertensión)

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license.[Introduction]: Target organ damage (TOD) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The study objectives were to analyse the relationship of TOD to blood pressure, size of retinal arteries and veins, oxidative stress and different polymorphisms in the VAV-2 and VAV-3 genes in participants with hypertension. [Methods and analysis]: A case-control study to analyse the relationship between clinical, biochemical and genetic parameters and presence of cardiac, vascular and renal TOD in 486 patients with hypertension. Participants with TOD will be considered as cases, and those without TOD will be enrolled as controls. This will be a collaborative study conducted by the groups of Primary Care, Cardiovascular and Metabolic and Degenerative Diseases of the Instituto de Investigación Biomédica of Salamanca (IBSAL). Assessment of cardiac, renal and vascular TOD. Measurement of peripheral and central blood pressure, size of eye fundus arteries and veins, and oxidative stress, and polymorphisms in the VAV-2 and VAV-3 genes. [Ethics and dissemination]: The study will be conducted after approval is obtained from the Ethics Committee of Hospital Clínico Universitario of Salamanca. All study participants will sign an informed consent to agree to participate in the study, and another consent to agree on the genetic study, in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the WHO standards for observational studies. The results of this study will allow for an understanding of the relationship of the different TODs with blood pressure, retinal artery and vein diameters, oxidative stress and polymorphisms in VAV-2 and VAV-3 genes. [Trial registration number]: Clinical Trials. gov Identifier: NCT02022618.This project has been supported by the Castilla y León Health Service (BIO/SA05/13), Carlos III Institute of Health of the Spanish Ministry of Health (RETICS RD12/0005, RedIAPP, and RD12/0021, RedinRen), and Infosalud Foundation.Peer Reviewe

The Neandertal nature of the Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos mandibles

The recovery of additional mandibular fossils from the Atapuerca Sima de los Huesos (SH) site provides new insights into the evolutionary significance of this sample. In particular, morphological descriptions of the new adult specimens are provided, along with standardized metric data and phylogenetically relevant morphological features for the expanded adult sample. The new and more complete specimens extend the known range of variation in the Atapuerca (SH) mandibles in some metric and morphological details. In other aspects, the addition of new specimens has made it possible to confirm previous observations based on more limited evidence. Pairwise comparisons of individual metric variables revealed the only significant difference between the Atapuerca (SH) hominins and Neandertals was a more vertical symphysis in the latter. Similarly, principal components analysis of size-adjusted variables showed a strong similarity between the Atapuerca (SH) hominins and Neandertals. Morphologically, the Atapuerca (SH) mandibles show nearly the full complement of Neandertal-derived features. Nevertheless, the Neandertals differ from the Atapuerca (SH) mandibles in showing a high frequency of the H/O mandibular foramen, a truncated, thinned and inverted gonial margin, a high placement of the mylohyoid line at the level of the M3, a more vertical symphysis and somewhat more pronounced expression of the chin structures. Size-related morphological variation in the SH hominins includes larger retromolar spaces, more posterior placement of the lateral corpus structures, and stronger markings associated with the muscles of mastication in larger specimens. However, phylogenetically relevant features in the SH sample are fairly stable and do not vary with the overall size of the mandible. Direct comparison of the enlarged mandibular sample from Atapuerca (SH) with the Mauer mandible, the type specimen of H. heidelbergensis, reveals important differences from the SH hominins, and there is no morphological counterpart of Mauer within the SH sample, suggesting the SH fossils should not be assigned to this taxon. The Atapuerca (SH) mandibles show a greater number of derived Neandertal features, particularly those related to midfacial prognathism and in the configuration of the superior ramus, than other European middle Pleistocene specimens. This suggests that more than one evolutionary lineage co-existed in the middle Pleistocene, and, broadly speaking, it appears possible to separate the European middle Pleistocene mandibular remains into two distinct groupings. One group shows a suite of derived Neandertal features and includes specimens from the sites of Atapuerca (SH), Payre, l'Aubesier and Ehringsdorf. The other group includes specimens that generally lack derived Neandertal features and includes the mandibles from the sites of Mauer, Mala Balanica, Montmaurin and (probably) Visogliano. The two published Arago mandibles differ strongly from one another, with Arago 2 probably belonging to this former group, and Neandertal affinities being more difficult to identify in Arago 13. Outside of the SH sample, derived Neandertal features in the mandible only become more common during the second half of the middle Pleistocene. Acceptance of a cladogenetic pattern of evolution during the European middle Pleistocene has the potential to reconcile the predictions of the accretion model and the two phases model for the appearance of Neandertal morphology. The precise taxonomic classification of the SH hominins must contemplate features from the dentition, cranium, mandible and postcranial skeleton, all of which are preserved at the SH site. Nevertheless, the origin of the Neandertal clade may be tied to a speciation event reflected in the appearance of a suite of derived Neandertal features in the face, dentition and mandible, all of which are present in the Atapuerca (SH) hominins. This same suite of features also provides a useful anatomical basis to include other European middle Pleistocene mandibles and crania within the Neandertal clade.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEBinghamton UniversityMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación y UniversidadesJunta de Castilla y Leónpu

Similar CD4/CD8 Ratio Recovery After Initiation of Dolutegravir Plus Lamivudine Versus Dolutegravir or Bictegravir-Based Three-Drug Regimens in Naive Adults With HIV

The initiation of antiretroviral treatment based on a 2-drug regimen (2DR) with dolutegravir plus lamivudine has demonstrated non-inferior efficacy than dolutegravir-based three-drug regimens (3DR). We aimed to assess whether the treatment initiation with this 2DR has a different impact on the CD4/CD8 ratio recovery than INSTI-based 3DR. Methods: We emulated a target trial using observational data from the Spanish HIV Research Network cohort (CoRIS). The outcomes of interest were the normalization of the CD4/CD8 ratio at 48 weeks using three different cutoffs: 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5. We matched each participant who started 2DR with up to four participants who received 3DR. Subsequently, we fitted generalized estimating equation (GEE) models and used the Kaplan–Meier method for survival curves. Results: We included 485, 805, and 924 participants for cutoffs of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5, respectively. At 48 weeks, 45% of participants achieved a CD4/CD8 ratio >0.5, 15% achieved a ratio >1.0, and 6% achieved a ratio >1.5. GEE models yielded a similar risk of reaching a CD4/CD8 ratio >0.5 (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.67 - 1.50), CD4/CD8 >1.0 (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.68 - 1.58), and CD4/CD8 >1.5 (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.48 - 1.54) between both treatment strategies. There were no differences between 2DR and 3DR in the incidence ratio of CD4/CD8 ratio normalization at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cut-offs. Conclusions: In this large cohort study in people with HIV, ART initiation with dolutegravir plus lamivudine vs. dolutegravir or bictegravir-based triple antiretroviral therapy showed no difference in the rates of CD4/CD8 normalization at 48 weeks

Electroluminescence Imaging and Light-Beam Induced Current as characterization techniques of Multi-Crystalline Si Solar Cells

There is an increasing demand for characterizing multicrystalline solar cells at different stages of its service life. Luminescence techniques, e.g. electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL), have acquired a paramount interest in the last years. These techniques are used in imaging mode, allowing to take a luminescence picture at a full wafer/cell scale. This imaging approach is fast and sensitive, but has a low spatial resolution, which avoids a detailed analysis of the defect distribution, which can led to misinterpretations about critical parameters as the minority carrier diffusion length, or the internal and external quantum efficiencies. If one complements these techniques with high spatial resolution techniques, such as light beam induced current (LBIC), one can study the electrical activity of the defects at a micrometric scale, providing additional understanding about the role played by the defects in full wafer/cell luminescence images. The combination of the macroscopic and microscopic resolution scales is necessary for the analysis of the full luminescence images in mc-Si solar cells.Proyecto de Investigación ENE2014-56069-C4- 4-R (MCIN)Proyecto de Investigación ENE2017-89561-C4-3-R (MCIN)Proyecto de Investigación VA081U16 (Junta de Castilla y León

Diseño de una estrategia para el desarrollo agrícola en el cultivo de amaranto en el valle de Atlixco, Puebla

El objetivo del presente es aumentar la información disponible para el manejo del cultivo de amaranto en la región del valle de Atlixco, para lo cual se obtuvo información bibliográfica para identificar características de la zona y algunos de sus problemas. Se realizó un taller aplicando un análisis FODA en los municipios que conforman el área de estudio, para identificar los ejes principales sobre los que se diseñó la estrategia, dirigidos a mejorar la dinámica de producción del cultivo de amaranto mediante una serie de acciones orientadas a la innovación tecnológica. Los resultados obtenidos indican, que el problema principal al cual se enfrentan los agricultores es la incidencia y severidad de plagas y enfermedades, que se manifiestan en la disminución de rendimiento