Voltammetric immunosensor for the simultaneous analysis of the breast cancer biomarkers CA 15-3 and HER2-ECD

Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) and the extracellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2-ECD) are independent breast cancer biomarkers. The combination of their profiles (presence and concentration) could provide an important contribution to diagnostics and patient follow-up. Therefore, a disposable electrochemical immunosensor for the simultaneous detection of CA 15-3 and HER2-ECD was developed in this work. The immunosensor was constructed on a customized dual screen-printed carbon electrode. The carbon working electrodes' surfaces were first modified with in situ electrodeposited gold nanoparticles and then individually coated with either a monoclonal anti-human CA 15-3 or a monoclonal anti-human HER2-ECD antibody. After incubation with the biomarkers and monoclonal biotin-labelled detection antibodies, the antigen-antibody interactions were detected by linear sweep voltammetric analysis of enzymatically (alkaline phosphatase) generated metallic silver. The immunosensor’s limits of detection for the selected biomarkers were 5.0 U mL−1 for CA 15-3 and 2.9 ng mL−1 for HER2-ECD. These values could allow the use of the sensor in the non-invasive control of these biomarkers in breast cancer patients.This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) through projects PTDC/SAU-ENB/114786/2009 and UID/QUI/50006/2013. Estefanía Costa Rama thanks the Government of Principado de Asturias for the award of a Severo Ochoa predoctoral grant (BP11-097).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vasculitis leucocitoclástica secundaria a nuevos anticoagulantes orales

Sr. Director: Los nuevos anticoagulantes orales (NACO) son cada vez más empleados en la prevención de ictus en pacientes con fibrilación auricular, y en la prevención y tratamiento de las trombosis venosas profundas y embolismos pulmonares1. Su menor tasa de efectos secundarios y de interacciones farmacológicas, así como su mayor margen terapéutico que permite no realizar controles de laboratorio rutinarios, simplifica su uso en la práctica clínica2. Sin embargo, no están exentos de efectos adversos. Desde el año 2014 han sido descritos 9 casos de vasculitis leucocitoclástica (VL) asociada al consumo de NACO. Aportamos 2 nuevos casos clínicos, así como la primera revisión de la literatura existente hasta la fecha. Presentamos a 2 mujeres de 87 y 84 años, respectivamente, que iniciaron terapia anticoagulante tras detectarse una fibrilación auricular no valvular. La primera consultó 5 meses después del inicio de apixabán por la aparición de lesiones purpúrico-necróticas dolorosas en las 4 extremidades (fig. 1) sin otra clínica sistémica asociada. ..

Learning and assessment about competences in Social Sciences university students

[EN] On the new European Higher Education Area the students exercise their academic and professional competences. From the formative approach, the learning develops the acquisition of basic competences such as team work, the creative and entrepreneur capacity or communicate and relationship capacity. This paper studies in the learning and assessment of competences in Social Sciences university students through instruments mediational that allow theirs to reflect on the skills needed to profession. The sample includes 273 university students belonging to the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Pablo Olavide University of Seville. Through a group task based on problem-based learning (PBL), they used the team notebook to mediate for regulation of team and the rubric in the end presentation task. The group interaction self-report (GIS) was use for evaluate basic competences acquired in the task by students. The results show a great disposition of the students to participate in research teams exercising professional competences through the mediational instruments. In open tasks the mediational instruments allow students to manage their relationships and acquire competencies that are fundamental to profession.[ES] En el nuevo Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior el alumnado ejercita sus competencias académicas y profesionales. Desde este en-foque formativo, el aprendizaje desarrolla la adquisición de competencias genéricas como el trabajo en equipo, la capacidad creativa y emprendedora o la capacidad comunicativa y relacional. Este trabajo profundiza en el aprendizaje y evaluación de competencias en el alumnado universitario de Ciencias Sociales a través de instrumentos mediadores que permiten al mismo, reflexionar sobre las habilidades necesarias para fomentar las competencias orientadas hacia la profesión. La muestra incluye 273 estudiantes universitarios pertenecientes a la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Pablo Olavide de Sevilla. A través de una tarea grupal de Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP), utilizaron el cuaderno de equipo como instrumento de mediación en la gestión de grupo y una rúbrica en la exposición final de la tarea. El Autoinforme de Interacciones de Grupo (AIG) fue utilizado como instrumento para valorar las competencias genéricas adquiridas por el alumnado. Los resultados muestran una gran disposición del alum-nado en participar en equipos de investigación ejercitando competencias profesionales a través de los instrumentos mediadores. En tareas abiertas los instrumentos mediadores permiten al alumnado gestionar sus relaciones y adquirir competencias que son fundamentales para la profesión.Prieto García, J.; Alarcón Rubio, D.; Fernández Portero, C. (2018). Aprendizaje y evaluación de competencias en el alumnado universitario de Ciencias Sociales. 193-210. doi:10.4995/redu.2018.894119321

Impact of neurodegenerative diseases on human adult hippocampal neurogenesis

Disrupted hippocampal performance underlies psychiatric comorbidities and cognitive impairments in patients with neurodegenerative disorders. To understand the contribution of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia, we studied postmortem human samples. We found that adult-born dentate granule cells showed abnormal morphological development and changes in the expression of differentiation markers. The ratio of quiescent to proliferating hippocampal neural stem cells shifted, and the homeostasis of the neurogenic niche was altered. Aging and neurodegenerative diseases reduced the phagocytic capacity of microglia, triggered astrogliosis, and altered the microvasculature of the dentate gyrus. Thus, enhanced vulnerability of AHN to neurodegeneration might underlie hippocampal dysfunction during physiological and pathological aging in humans.Fil: Terreros Roncal, J.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Moreno Jiménez, E.P.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Flor García, M.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Rodríguez Moreno, C.B.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Trinchero, Mariela Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Cafini, F.. Universidad Europea de Madrid; EspañaFil: Rábano, A.. No especifíca;Fil: Llorens Martín, M.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Local lung immune response to mycobacterium bovis challenge after BCG and M. Bovis heat-inactivated vaccination in European Badger (meles meles)

Tuberculosis (TB) vaccination could be used as a key part of integrated strategies for the disease’s control if an effective and safe vaccine under field conditions is obtained. Recent studies in Spain have evaluated the protective efficacy of two oral vaccines against experimental challenge with live intra-bronchial Mycobacterium bovis in captive badgers: the live-attenuated M. bovis BCG vaccine (Danish strain) and a heat-inactivated M. bovis (HIMB) vaccine. With the objective of increasing the knowledge of the cellular development progress of infection and generating further tools to discriminate between mild and severe TB lesions between and within animals, the immunopathology of tuberculous lesions was studied to characterize the local immune response (cell type profile) within lung granulomas from control (non-vaccinated), BCG vaccinated and HIMB-vaccinated experimentally infected badgers with M. bovis. Four immunohistochemical protocols, for the specific detection of macrophages, T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and plasma cells within TB granulomas in formalin fixed sections of the right middle lung lobe (lobe targeted for the M. bovis delivery), were performed. Immunolabelled sections were scanned and five randomly selected areas were analyzed with digital image analysis software. The results were expressed as the proportion of the positively immunolabelled area within the total area of the selected site. Data was analyzed using the statistical analysis software (SAS). In the three treatment groups, macrophages were the most abundant inflammatory cells within the granulomas, followed by B lymphocytes and plasma cells. T lymphocyes were absent in those granulomas. This would suggest a predominance of a non-specific innate response mediated by phagocytic cells over an adaptative humoral immune response. The proportion of macrophages and plasma cells was higher in BCG and HIMB-vaccinated badgers, respectively, suggesting the establishment of an adaptative humoral response in HIMB-vaccinated badgers. The lower bacterial load at the lung level, as well as the volume of lesions in lungs using magnetic resonance imaging in badgers with the HIMB vaccine in relation with local immune response presented, must be highlighted, since it would be an advantage in favor of its use under field conditions in terms of reducing TB transmission and environmental contamination.This work has been funded by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) reference project RTI2018-096010-B-C21 (FEDER co-funded) and, by PCTI 2018–2020 (GRUPIN: IDI2018-000237) and FEDER. Ms. Cristina Blanco Vázquez was granted with a predoctoral fellowship funded by INIA-CCAA (FPI-INIA) (2018 call). Ms. Ileana Z. Martínez was supported by a Fundación Carolina PhD scholarship (2017 call). We have received funds by RTI2018-096010-B-C21 (FEDER co-funded) to cover publication costs

Chemical, physicochemical and sensorial characterization of nitrite-free dry-cured bísaro shoulders

The aim of the current experiment was to characterize and evaluate the effect of the dry-curing process on chemical composition, physicochemical properties, and sensory characteristics of the dry-cured Bísaro shoulders. For this purpose, thirty-eight raw forelegs were used, and no nitrites were added during the dry-curing process. This process increased protein, fat, ash content, and pH, with a decrease in moisture and water activity (p < 0.001). The dry-cured shoulders were darker (L*), less red (a*), and less yellow (b*) than the raw shoulders (p < 0.001), and this may be mainly due to the moisture reduction. The proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased during processing, whereas the saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) increased (p < 0.001), which could be related with the oxidative degradation. The sensory analysis showed that dry-cured Bísaro shoulders presented similar organoleptic characteristics to other dry-cured meat products. Also, the chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the dry-cured Bísaro shoulder showed results comparable to those of other cured products. This study revealed that it is possible to obtain safer and healthier dry-cured Bísaro shoulder products judging by these characteristics, since nitrites were not added in its preparation. These findings, along with the product’s high sensory attributes similar to more popular products such as ham, would give more advantage for its acceptability and market demandThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). GAIN (Axencia Galega de Innovación) for supporting this article (grant number IN607A2019/01) and to Laboratory of Carcass and Meat Quality of Agriculture School of Polytechnic Institute of Bragança ‘Cantinho do Alfredo’. Grants of A.L., I.F. and L.V. are due to NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-072234. The authors (R.D., E.M.S., P.C.B.C., S.R., J.M.L. and A.T.) are members of the Healthy Meat network, funded by CYTED (ref: 119RT0568). This study is a part of a project between a research center (Carcass and Meat Quality and Technology Laboratory of Agrarian School of Bragança), two breeder associations (ANCRAS—Serrana Goat National Association of Breed Producers and ACOB—Bragançana Sheep National Association of Breed Producers) and a meat manufacturing industry (Bísaro Salsicharia Tradicional®) to developed and add value of animals reared in the extensive system and creating new processed meat products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio