Heparinization of beta tricalcium phosphate: osteo-immunomodulatory effects

"This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: A. Diez-Escudero, M. Espanol, M. Bonany, X. Lu, C. Persson, M.-P. Ginebra, Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2018, 7, 1700867, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201700867. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."Immune cells play a vital role in regulating bone dynamics. This has boosted the interest in developing biomaterials that can modulate both the immune and skeletal systems. In this study, calcium phosphates discs (i.e., beta-tricalcium phosphate, ß-TCP) are functionalized with heparin to investigate the effects on immune and stem cell responses. The results show that the functionalized surfaces downregulate the release of hydrogen peroxide and proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta) from human monocytes and neutrophils, compared to nonfunctionalized discs. The macrophages show both elongated and round shapes on the two ceramic substrates, but the morphology of cells on heparinized ß-TCP tends toward a higher elongation after 72 h. The heparinized substrates support rat mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) adhesion and proliferation, and anticipate the differentiation toward the osteoblastic lineage as compared to ß-TCP and control. The coupling between the inflammatory response and osteogenesis is assessed by culturing MSCs with the macrophage supernatants. The downregulation of inflammation in contact with the heparinized substrates induces higher expression of bone-related markers by MSCsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Estudio del grosor del cristalino en pacientes miopes, emétropes e hipermétropes a través de los parámetros obtenidos con el biómetro óptico Lenstar LS900 ( HAAG-STREIT )

este estudio pretende determinar la relación entre la longitud axial ocular (LAX) y el grosor del cristalino (GC) en pacientes miopes en comparación con no miopes. Secundariamente, examinar la relación de la misma con los valores de profundidad de acuoso (PA) y grosor corneal central (GCC). MÉTODOS: se realizaron medidas a 141 pacientes mayores de 18 años y sin patología oftalmológica para conocer su perfil biométrico. Todas las medidas fueron realizadas con el biómetro óptico Lenstar LS900 (Haag-Streit, Köniz, Suiza) y no se usó cicloplejía. Los resultados se clasificaron en función de los valores de LAX. Se definió un grupo de pacientes no miopes con LAX ≤ 24,5mm y un grupo de pacientes miopes con una LAX > 24,5mm. RESULTADOS: la media de edad de la población estudiada fue 53 años (18-87 años). La LAX media fue de 24,19 +/- 1,56 mm (21,18-31,83 mm), la PA media de 2,86 +/- 0,45 mm (1,60-3,91mm), el GC medio de 4,12 +/- 0,52mm (2,67-5,29 mm) y el GCC medio de 535,5 +/- 35,23 μm (449-619 μm). Se encontró una correlación directa entre PA-LAX (R=0,411)(p<0,001) e inversa entre GC-LAX (R=0,212)(p=0,01). Esta misma correlación entre GC-LAX se mantuvo en los pacientes sin cataratas (R=-0,291) (p=0,04) y desapareció la significación además de perder fuerza en los pacientes con cataratas según el LOCS III (R=-0,133) (p=0,2). No se hallaron relaciones entre el género y las variables biométricas (p>0,05).Máster en Investigación en Ciencias de la Visió

Lobbying y análisis económico del Derecho : metodología para el análisis de la influencia de intereses privados en las decisiones públicas y prevenir la corrupción

El lobbying es una actividad de participación política con un impacto en la efectividad de la democracia. Este impacto genera consecuencias positivas y negativas. Cuando los agentes intervinientes en las decisiones públicas maximizan su interés privado puede deteriorarse la imparcialidad de la Administración, emerger la corrupción e incumplirse ciertos derechos. Este trabajo propone un método para analizar las causas del problema y cómo desincentivarlas.Máster Oficial en Estudios Avanzados en Derechos HumanosPresidente: Francisco Javier Ansuátegui Roig; Vocal: Carlos Lema Añón; Secretario: Ignacio Campoy Cerver

The effect of PCL addition on 3D-printable PLA/HA composite filaments for the treatment of bone defects.

The still-growing field of additive manufacturing (AM), which includes 3D printing, has enabled manufacturing of patient-specific medical devices with high geometrical accuracy in a relatively quick manner. However, the development of materials with specific properties is still ongoing, including those for enhanced bone-repair applications. Such applications seek materials with tailored mechanical properties close to bone tissue and, importantly, that can serve as temporary supports, allowing for new bone ingrowth while the material is resorbed. Thus, controlling the resorption rate of materials for bone applications can support bone healing by balancing new tissue formation and implant resorption. In this regard, this work aimed to study the combination of polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HA) to develop customized biocompatible and bioresorbable polymer-based composite filaments, through extrusion, for fused filament fabrication (FFF) printing. PLA and PCL were used as supporting polymer matrices while HA was added to enhance the biological activity. The materials were characterized in terms of mechanical properties, thermal stability, chemical composition and morphology. An accelerated degradation study was executed to investigate the impact of degradation on the above-mentioned properties. The results showed that the materials’ chemical compositions were not affected by the extrusion nor the printing process. All materials exhibited higher mechanical properties than human trabecular bone, even after degradation with a mass loss of around 30% for the polymer blends and 60% for the composites. It was also apparent that the mineral accelerated the polymer degradation significantly, which can be advantageous for a faster healing time, where support is required only for a shorter time period.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Emotional Intelligence of Undergraduate Athletes: The Role of Sports Experience.

Sport is an emotional experience. Studies have shown that high emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with better sports performance, though different aspects of sports experience and their relationship with EI are still unclear. This study examined the possible relationships between sports experience and EI dimensions of undergraduate athletes. Likewise, according to the differences described in the literature between men and women, the secondary aim was to identify the possible relationship between EI and sports experience in both subgroups. A total of 1784 [712 men (39.9%), 1072 women (60.1%); mean age = 21.3 years, SD = 4.2)] undergraduate athletes completed the Trait Meta Mood Scale and a sports experience questionnaire. Comparisons between groups were performed using Mann–Whitney-U and H-Kruskal–Wallis tests and correlations between variables were analyzed using Spearman correlation. We found that the number of different sports practiced and the number of years practicing sports were positively associated with emotional repair (ER). However, the number of years practicing sports was negatively associated with emotional attention (EA). Male athletes who trained more and had a higher competitive level were more likely to show higher ER. In any case, it is necessary to take into account that all the associations were weak. Our study suggested that athletes tend to attend to and value their feelings and use positive thinking to repair their negative moods.post-print196 K

La fragilidad del paisaje urbano. La reacción de Milán frente a las enfermedades contagiosas a lo largo de su historia y la experiencia de la COVID-19

Este trabajo presenta una breve historia de la ciudad de Milán desde la perspectiva del alcance que las enfermedades contagiosas tienen a la hora de guiar su devenir y el de sus habitantes en ella. En primer lugar, se ofrece una aproximación al tema del nexo entre la ciudad y la enfermedad, de lo general a lo particular, fruto de la consulta de algunos proyectos de investigación y opiniones de intelectuales que permiten incidir en la actualidad del tema. A partir de ahí, se focaliza en el caso de estudio de Milán, repasando los episodios de epidemias que históricamente la han afectado, poniendo el acento en las respuestas que se han dado y en cómo estas han repercutido en el uso y la calidad de los espacios públicos. En tercer lugar, se expone una síntesis de las medidas y planes que se han puesto en marcha en Milán durante el último año, prestando mayor espacio a la estrategia municipal contra la COVID-19: Milano 2020. El trabajo concluye con unas reflexiones personales y con una serie de mapas históricos asociados a las epidemias más determinantes.<br /

Relationship between the main components of the crystalline lens and the anterior chamber depth after cataract formation

Producción CientíficaPurpose To assess the relationship between anterior chamber depth (ACD) and lens thickness (LT), as well as its three main components (anterior and posterior cortex and nucleus thickness), in cataractous and non-cataractous eyes, depending on the axial length (AxL). Methods Anterior and posterior cortex and nucleus thickness of the crystalline lens, ACD, and AxL were measured using optical low-coherence reflectometry in cataractous and non-cataractous eyes. They were also classified into hyperopia, emme- tropia, myopia, and high myopia, depending on AxL; thus, eight subgroups were created. A minimum sample size of 44 eyes (of 44 patients) for each group was recruited. Linear models were fitted for the whole sample and each AxL subgroup to assess if there were differences in the relationships between the crystalline lens variables and ACD, including age as a covariate. Results Three hundred seventy cataract patients (237 females, 133 males) and 250 non-cataract controls (180 females, 70 males), aged 70.5 ± 9.4 and 41.9 ± 15.5 years, respectively, were recruited. The mean AxL, ACD, and LT for the cataractous and non-cataractous eyes were 23.90 ± 2.05, 24.11 ± 2.11, 2.64 ± 0.45, and 2.91 ± 0.49, 4.51 ± 0.38, 3.93 ± 0.44 mm, respec- tively. The inverse relationship of LT, anterior and posterior cortex, and nucleus thickness with ACD was not significantly (p ≥ 0.26) different between cataractous and non-cataractous eyes. Further subclassification of the sample depending on AxL showed that the inverse relationship between the posterior cortex and ACD was no longer significant (p > 0.05) for any non-cataractous AxL group. LT, anterior and posterior cortex, and nucleus thickness was not significantly (p ≥ 0.43) different between cataractous and non-cataractous eyes for the whole sample, and all AxL groups after adjusting for age. Conclusions The presence of cataracts does not modify the inverse relationship of the LT, anterior and posterior cortex, and nucleus with ACD. And this relationship does not seem to depend importantly on AxL. Besides, the possible differences in LT, anterior and posterior cortex, and nucleus between cataractous and non-cataractous eyes may not be caused by lens opacification, but possibly by the progressive lens growth due to aging.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) through Research Projects (RETICS RD16/008/0001)Publicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL

Functionalized silk promotes cell migration into calcium phosphate cements by providing macropores and cell adhesion motifs

Calcium phosphate cements (CPCs) are attractive synthetic bone grafts as they possess osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. Their biomimetic synthesis grants them an intrinsic nano- and microporosity that resembles natural bone and is paramount for biological processes such as protein adhesion, which can later enhance cell adhesion. However, a main limitation of CPCs is the lack of macroporosity, which is crucial to allow cell colonization throughout the scaffold. Moreover, CPCs lack specific motifs to guide cell interactions through their membrane proteins. In this study, we explore a strategy targeting simultaneously both macroporosity and cell binding motifs within CPCs by the use of recombinant silk. A silk protein functionalized with the cell binding motif RGD serves as foaming template of CPCs to achieve biomimetic hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds with multiscale porosity. The synergies of RGD-motifs in the silk macroporous template and the biomimetic features of HA are explored for their potential to enhance mesenchymal stem cell adhesion, proliferation, migration and differentiation. Macroporous Silk-HA scaffolds improve initial cell adhesion compared to a macroporous HA in the absence of silk, and importantly, the presence of silk greatly enhances cell migration into the scaffold. Additionally, cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation are achieved in the scaffolds.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Un modelo de ajuste de las calificaciones crediticias soberanas

En este trabajo pretendemos dar una visión de los procedimientos utilizados, por las agencias de rating, en la calificación de riesgos soberanos. Basándonos en datos de las principales agencias mundiales, Fitch, Standard and Poor’s y Moody’s, se trata de establecer una serie de regresiones lineales entre el rating concedido a los emisores soberanos y algunas variables macroeconómicas relevantes citadas por las propias agencias y en la literatura científica al respecto. Modelos de pocas variables parecen aportar ajustes satisfactorios de las regresiones lineales con coeficientes de determinación de alto valor explicativo.In this paper, we try to present a general overview of the procedures used by the rating agencies in the assessment of sovereign risks. Making use of data provided by the principal world agencies, Fitch, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, we have established series of linear regressions between the ratings of sovereign issuers and some relevant macroeconomic variables quoted by those agencies and found in the appropriate scientific literature. Models of few variables seem to produce satisfactory fittings of the lineal regressions with determination coefficients of a high level of significance

Las acciones de tutela contra las sentencias ejecutoriadas conforme a la jurisprudencia de Corte Constitucional en los años 2013 -2015

CD-T 342.861 G441;55 páginas.Es importante establecer el grado de procedencia de las acciones de tutela contra las decisiones judiciales ejecutoriadas, para poder establecer que tanto han incidido en la protección de los derechos fundamentales y específicamente en las denominadas vías de hecho, las decisiones adoptadas en esos casos, siendo de relevancia manifiesta, para efectos de determinar con claridad, cuales son los supuestos fácticos y jurídicos que permiten atacar una sentencia judicial ejecutoriada, mediante la acción de tutela.Universidad Libre Seccional Pereir