Caracterización por espectroscopía IR de cambios estructurales del poli(ácido láctico) en presencia de agua. Efecto de la incorporación de arcillas

En los últimos años ha aumentado de forma significativa el interés en el poli(ácido láctico) (PLA) debido, entre otros factores, a que es un polímero obtenido de fuentes renovables que se degrada en productos no tóxicos, como el ácido láctico, y a que es biocompatible. Estas características hacen que este polímero tenga aplicaciones importantes en biomedicina y en otros campos como, por ejemplo, en el de la fabricación de envases para contener alimentos. En las aplicaciones citadas, el PLA está en contacto con el agua presente en los fluidos corporales o en los alimentos. Por ello, es de gran importancia conocer cómo la interacción entre PLA y agua puede afectar a la estructura del polímero, ya que variaciones en dicha estructura pueden suponer cambios importantes en las propiedades mecánicas y ópticas del material. Por otra parte, se han desarrollado materiales nanoestructurados, de PLA con diferentes nanoarcillas en los últimos años que han conducido a una mejora de algunas propiedades, como la resistencia mecánica, la protección frente a la luz UV y las propiedades de barrera. Estas mejoras incrementan las prestaciones de estos nanocomposites en el envasado de alimentos. La cuestión es, ahora, cómo estas nanoparticulas pueden afectar al comportamiento del material en presencia de agua. El objetivo de la presente investigación es, por tanto, estudiar los cambios estructurales experimentados por PLA en presencia de agua y el efecto de las arcillas en dichos cambios

Effects of Aging and Different Mechanical Recycling Processes on the Structure and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-clay Nanocomposites

The growing use of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA-based nanocomposites in packaging has raised the interest of studying the mechanical recycling of the wastes and the properties of the recycled materials. The main objective of this work was to study the effect of two different mechanical recycling processes on the structure and properties of a PLA-montmorillonite nanocomposite. The two recycling processes included accelerated thermal and photochemical aging steps to simulate the degradation experienced by post-consumer plastics during their service life. One of them also included a demanding washing process prior to the reprocessing. A decrease in the molecular weight of PLA was observed in the recycled materials, especially in those subjected to the washing step, which explained the small decrease in microhardness and the increased water uptake at long immersion times. Water absorption at short immersion times was similar in virgin and recycled materials and was accurately described using a Fickian model. The recycled materials showed increased thermal, optical and gas barrier properties due to the improved clay dispersion that was observed by XRD and TEM analysis. The results suggest that recycled PLA-clay nanocomposites can be used in demanding applications

The Younger Dryas black mat from Ojo de Agua, a geoarchaeologicalsite in Northeastern Zacatecas, Mexico

New explorations in the desert of northeastern Zacatecas, in central-northern Mexico, revealed dozens ofarchaeological and geoarchaeological sites. One of them, Ojo de Agua, contains the remains of a Pleis-tocene spring-fed hydrographic system located at the southeastern end of a large elongated endorheicbasin. The locality yielded a particularly dark, highly organic stratigraphic layer commonly known in theAmericas as Black Mat (BM), exposed on the natural profiles of a creek, but not associated with culturalmaterials. Several radiocarbon assessments confirmed the formation of the Ojo de Agua Black Mat duringthe Younger Dryas chronozone, with ten calibrated results clustering between 12,700e12,100 cal BP. Thismulti-proxy study confirmed the peculiarity of the deposit and found similarities and differences withother contexts of Younger Dryas age. The Ojo de Agua Black Mat (stratum C2) is far richer in charcoalspecks than the related strata, but lacks phytoliths, diatoms or ostracods. No further biological remainswere found in it, except for intrusive capillary roots. Clearly water-lain in a shallow pond, the stratumqualifies as a clayey silt with an acidic-to-neutral pH. Rich in heavy metals and with high contents oftitanium, the Ojo de Agua Black Mat yielded significant indicators of intense wildfires during the YoungerDryas, but produced no carbon spherules or nanodiamonds supposedly linked to the impact theory

Homozygous R136S mutation in PRNP gene causes inherited early onset prion disease

Altres ajuts: Fundació la Marató de TV3/201821-31Background: More than 40 pathogenic heterozygous PRNP mutations causing inherited prion diseases have been identified to date. Recessive inherited prion disease has not been described to date. Methods: We describe the clinical and neuropathological data of inherited early-onset prion disease caused by the rare PRNP homozygous mutation R136S. In vitro PrP propagation studies were performed using recombinant-adapted protein misfolding cyclic amplification technique. Brain material from two R136S homozygous patients was intracranially inoculated in TgMet129 and TgVal129 transgenic mice to assess the transmissibility of this rare inherited form of prion disease. Results: The index case presented symptoms of early-onset dementia beginning at the age of 49 and died at the age of 53. Neuropathological evaluation of the proband revealed abundant multicentric PrP plaques and Western blotting revealed a ~ 8 kDa protease-resistant, unglycosylated PrP fragment, consistent with a Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker phenotype. Her youngest sibling suffered from progressive cognitive decline, motor impairment, and myoclonus with onset in her late 30s and died at the age of 48. Genetic analysis revealed the presence of the R136S mutation in homozygosis in the two affected subjects linked to homozygous methionine at codon 129. One sibling carrying the heterozygous R136S mutation, linked to homozygous methionine at codon 129, is still asymptomatic at the age of 74. The inoculation of human brain homogenates from our index case and an independent case from a Portuguese family with the same mutation in transgenic mice expressing human PrP and in vitro propagation of PrP studies failed to show disease transmissibility. Conclusion: In conclusion, biallelic R136S substitution is a rare variant that produces inherited early-onset human prion disease with a Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker neuropathological and molecular signature. Even if the R136S variant is predicted to be "probably damaging", heterozygous carriers are protected, at least from an early onset providing evidence for a potentially recessive pattern of inheritance in human prion diseases

Deciphering CHFR role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Checkpoint with forkhead-associated and ring finger domains (CHFR) has been proposed as a predictive and prognosis biomarker for different tumor types, but its role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unknown. The aim of this study was two-pronged: to review the role of CHFR in PDAC and evaluating CHFR as a potential predictive biomarker in this disease. For this purpose, we first explored the CHFR messenger (m)RNA expression and promoter methylation through the TCGA database. Secondly, the CHFR expression and promoter methylation were prospectively evaluated in a cohort of patients diagnosed with borderline (n = 19) or resectable (n = 16) PDAC by immunohistochemistry (IHC), methylation specific-PCR (MSP), and pyrosequencing. The results from the TCGA database showed significant differences in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) based on the CHFR mRNA expression, which was likely independent from the promoter methylation. Importantly, our results showed that in primarily resected patients and also the entire cohort, a higher CHFR expression as indicated by the higher IHC staining intensity might identify patients with longer disease-free survival (DFS) and OS, respectively. Similarly, in the same cohorts, patients with lower methylation levels by pyrosequencing showed significantly longer OS than patients without this pattern. Both, the CHFR expression intensity and its promoter methylation were established as independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS in the entire cohort. In contrast, no significant differences were found between different methylation patterns for CHFR and the response to taxane-based neoadjuvant treatment. These results suggest the potential role of the higher expression of CHFR and the methylation pattern of its promoter as potential prognostic biomarkers in PDAC, thus warranting further comprehensive studies to extend and confirm our preliminary findings.This work was funded by grants from the Department of Health from the Government of Navarra (Ref. 008-2018), REFBIO II Pyrenees Biomedical Network from Programa INTERREG V-A España-Francia-Andorra (Ref. BMK_PANC) and Sociedad Española de Oncología Médica (SEOM) to AV. IG-B was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the Department of Economic Development Government of Navarre Ayudas para la contratación de doctorandos y doctorandas por empresas y organismos de investigación y difusión de conocimientos: doctorados industriales 2018–2020. Intensification Programme Navarrabiomed 2017-2021 Obra Social La Caixa Fundación Caja Navarra. This work has also been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy [MINECO; BFU2016-80360-R (to JC)] and the Ministry of Science and Innovation [MICINN; PID2019-105201RB-I00 (to JC)]. Instituto de Salud Carlos III, co-funded by European Union (ERDF/ESF, Investing in your future) [Predoctoral contract FI17/00282 (to EA-P)]. Junta de Andalucía (BIO-0139); GETNE2016 and GETNE2019 Research grants (to JC); and CIBERobn

La memoria de los libros. Estudios sobre la historia del escrito y de la lectura en Europa y América. Vol. I

Numerosos artículos sobre aspectos variados de historia del libro y de la lectura, bibliotecas, manuscritos, iluminación e ilustración, etc

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Universidad y sociedad: comunicación e integración en empresas e instituciones públicas y organizaciones no lucrativas: innovación y progreso

Depto. de Teorías y Análisis de la ComunicaciónFac. de Ciencias de la InformaciónFALSEsubmitte

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research