Data-Analytics Modeling of Electrical Impedance Measurements for Cell Culture Monitoring

High-throughput data analysis challenges in laboratory automation and lab-on-a-chip devices’ applications are continuously increasing. In cell culture monitoring, specifically, the electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing technique (ECIS), has been extensively used for a wide variety of applications. One of the main drawbacks of ECIS is the need for implementing complex electrical models to decode the electrical performance of the full system composed by the electrodes, medium, and cells. In this work we present a new approach for the analysis of data and the prediction of a specific biological parameter, the fill-factor of a cell culture, based on a polynomial regression, data-analytic model. The method was successfully applied to a specific ECIS circuit and two different cell cultures, N2A (a mouse neuroblastoma cell line) and myoblasts. The data-analytic modeling approach can be used in the decoding of electrical impedance measurements of different cell lines, provided a representative volume of data from the cell culture growth is available, sorting out the difficulties traditionally found in the implementation of electrical models. This can be of particular importance for the design of control algorithms for cell cultures in tissue engineering protocols, and labs-on-a-chip and wearable devices applicationsEspaña, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades project RTI2018-093512-B-C2

Financial Inclusion as Enabler for Innovation in Banking

Using evidence from Spain, this study assesses the readiness of the banking sector of the EU to introduce technological and social innovations to implement the European policy of financial inclusivity. Despite the evident benefits for banks in terms of enhancing legitimacy and improving consumer knowledge and loyalty, mostly banks at present merely comply with the formal aspects of financial inclusion regulation, but are not going further in terms of technical or social innovation, using compliance to avoid the ?stick? of regulation. In contrast, a review of the banks? own corporate social responsibility strategies shows a higher level of commitment and innovation in terms of financial inclusion. Based on the analysis of institutional factors that determine the involvement of banks in the inclusivity policy, recommendations are proposed for adjusting development strategies in order to combine the efforts of the public and private sectors in the provision of public services

RNA-protein interaction methods to study viral IRES elements

Translation control often takes place through the mRNA untranslated regions, involving direct interactions with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Internal ribosome entry site elements (IRESs) are cis-acting RNA regions that promote translation initiation using a cap-independent mechanism. A subset of positive-strand RNA viruses harbor IRESs as a strategy to ensure efficient viral protein synthesis. IRESs are organized in modular structural domains with a division of functions. However, viral IRESs vary in nucleotide sequence, secondary RNA structure, and transacting factor requirements. Therefore, in-depth studies are needed to understand how distinct types of viral IRESs perform their function. In this review we describe methods to isolate and identify RNA-binding proteins important for IRES activity, and to study the impact of RNA structure and RNA-protein interactions on IRES activity.BFU2011-25437 and CSD2009-00080 from MINECO (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad), and by an Institutional grant from Fundación Ramón Areces.Peer Reviewe

Promoting a participatory convergence in a Spanish context: an inter-university action research project using visual narrative

This article focuses on the deconstruction of an inter-university action research project that has allowed us to rethink our teaching and research, questioning the social, political and ethical dimensions of the university. Following the pre-assembly proposal to promote participatory convergence, organized within the framework of the 1st Global Assembly for Knowledge Democracy (2017), an action research process was implemented in order to generate systematic inquiry around the current situation of the university and the need to act and rethink our commitment to promoting changes in this context. We have reflected on the meaning of democratization, rethinking the pedagogical relationship with our students and how we critically commit them to promote activism. We generated an environment where we look for the meaning of our practices by means of a visual narrative which has enabled us to weave and identify our own biography and become aware of where we are and why we act in one way or another. We have also focused on the search for the meaning of our actions in relation to the community we belong to and how to deal with the challenges of social justice, encouraging collaboration with other networks in a wider inter-university framework

Protective Effects of Human and Mouse Soluble Scavenger-Like CD6 Lymphocyte Receptor in a Lethal Model of Polymicrobial Sepsis

Sepsis still constitutes an unmet clinical need, which could benefit from novel adjunctive strategies to conventional antibiotic therapy. The soluble form of the scavenger-like human CD6 lymphocyte receptor (shCD6) binds to key pathogenic components from Gram-positive and -negative bacteria and shows time- and dose-dependent efficacy in mouse models of monobacterial sepsis. The objective of the present work was to demonstrate the effectiveness of infusing mouse and human sCD6 by different systemic routes, either alone or as adjunctive therapy to gold standard antibiotics, in a lethal model of polymicrobial sepsis. To this end, C57BL/6 mice undergoing high-grade septic shock induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP; ≥90% lethality) were infused via the intraperitoneal (i.p.) or intravenous (i.v.) route with shCD6 at different doses and time points, either alone or in combination with imipenem/cilastatin (I/C) at a dose of 33 mg/kg of body weight every 8 h. Significantly reduced mortality and proinflammatory cytokine levels were observed by i.p. infusion of a single shCD6 dose (1.25 mg/kg) 1 h pre- or post-CLP. When using the i.v. route, mice survival was significantly extended by starting shCD6 infusion at later time points post-CLP (up to 6 h after CLP). Significant adjunctive effects on mouse survival were observed by i.p. or i.v. infusion of shCD6 in combination with i.p. I/C post-CLP. Similar results were obtained in mice expressing high sustained levels (5 to 10 μg/ml) of mouse sCD6 in serum by means of transduction with hepatotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV). Taken together, the data support the conserved antibacterial effects of human and mouse sCD6 and their use as adjunctive therapy in experimental models of complex and severe polymicrobial sepsis.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) SAF2013-46151-R PCIN-2015-070Instituto de Salud Carlos III RD12/0015/0018European Development Regional Fund RD12/0015/0018Fundació La Marató TV3 201319-30-3

Guia per a docents de l'assignatura supervisió del pràcticum d'educació social de la Universitat de Barcelona

Guia per a docents que imparteixen l'assignatura de "Supervisió" del Pràcticum d'Educació Social de la Facultat d'Educació de la Universitat de Barcelona. En aquesta guia trobareu activitats i materials per al desenvolupament dels seminaris de supervisió

The RNA-binding protein RBP33 dampens non-productive transcription in trypanosomes

In-depth analysis of the transcriptomes of several model organisms has revealed that genomes are pervasively transcribed, giving rise to an abundance of non-canonical and mainly antisense RNA polymerase II-derived transcripts that are produced from almost any genomic context. Pervasive RNAs are degraded by surveillance mechanisms, but the repertoire of proteins that control the fate of these non-productive transcripts is still incomplete. Trypanosomes are single-celled eukaryotes that show constitutive RNA polymerase II transcription and in which initiation and termination of transcription occur at a limited number of sites per chromosome. It is not known whether pervasive transcription exists in organisms with unregulated RNA polymerase II activity, and which factors could be involved in the process. We show here that depletion of RBP33 results in overexpression of similar to 40% of all annotated genes in the genome, with a marked accumulation of sense and antisense transcripts derived from silenced regions. RBP33 loss does not result in a significant increase in chromatin accessibility. Finally, we have found that transcripts that increase in abundance upon RBP33 knockdown are significantly more stable in RBP33-depleted trypanosomes, and that the exosome complex is responsible for their degradation. Our results provide strong evidence that RBP33 dampens non-productive transcription in trypanosomes

Consumo de alcohol en personas con discapacidad intelectual

La cada vez mayor inclusión social de las personas con discapacidad intelectual en la sociedad ha supuesto una mayor visibilidad y una mayor exposición a conductas de riesgo como el consumo de sustancias. Se presenta una revisión sistemática del consumo de alcohol en la población con discapacidad intelectual a partir de una búsqueda bibliográfica en las principales bases de datos y un análisis siguiendo el método PRISMA donde se incluyeron 24 artículos. Se encuentran altas tasas de consumo de alcohol en personas con discapacidad intelectual y, especialmente, en jóvenes, varones y personas que han cometido un delito. La edad de inicio, los factores de riesgo y los motivos de consumo de alcohol son similares a los de la población sin discapacidad intelectual. Es necesario que los programas de prevención e intervención eficaces basados en la evidencia para el consumo de sustancias resulten accesibles para población con discapacidad intelectual

Pasemos REVISTA. Publicaciones Periódicas

De un modo gráfico, se explica la gestión de Publicaciones Periódicas en Koha, el procedimiento de trabajo desde la adquisición hasta el registro de ejemplares, la visualización en OPAC desde el punto de vista del usuario y la conservación de los fondos en las distintas ubicaciones