Diseño de un curso de e-learning en cartografía temática

Los grandes avances en las nuevas tecnologías, evidentes en materias técnicas y científicas, repercuten también en campos menos visibles para los profesionales de la topografía y cartografía. La educación también se ve afectada y, como consecuencia de ello, surgen nuevas modalidades de enseñanza como el e-learning. Su potencial es incuestionable, pues rompe con barreras espaciales y temporales. Sin embargo, plantear cursos de este tipo no está exento de dificultades, pues exige una adaptación a las particularidades del medio y establecer un nuevo modelo de enseñanza-aprendizaje. En esta exposición se presentan las consideraciones realizadas por la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid en el diseño de un curso e-learning de Cartografía Temática ofrecido por el Instituto Geográfico Nacional, incidiendo en las ventajas de aplicar estándares en la gestión de contenidos y el uso de plataformas educativas virtuales que los acepten

Tensiones y resistencias al modelo agrícola industrial en Pergamino, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina

En el presente artículo se analizan las tensiones existentes en torno al modelo agrícola industrial de la Argentina. Para ello se aborda desde un enfoque interdisciplinario, la gestación y desarrollo de dicho modelo, sus características y sus consecuencias socioambientales. En particular, nos centramos en el conflicto por la reglamentación de agrotóxicos desarrollado en el partido de Pergamino (Buenos Aires, Argentina) a partir del año 2013, identificando los actores que se enfrentaron, sus argumentos y las acciones que llevaron a cabo.In this article, we analyze the social tensions in relation to the industrial agriculture model. To this end, the gestation and development of this model, its characteristics and socio-environmental consequences, are contemplated through an interdisciplinary approach. In particular, we focused on the conflict over the regulation of agrochemicals developed in Pergamino (Buenos Aires, Argentina) in 2013 and beyond; identifying the actors that faced each other, their arguments and the actions they carried out.Fil: Gonzalez, Diana Victoria. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Antropología Social; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Norma Elba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Tamagno, Liliana Ester. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Antropología Social; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

The TGF-β Pathway: A Pharmacological Target in Hepatocellular Carcinoma?

Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily members are essential for tissue homeostasis and consequently, dysregulation of their signaling pathways contributes to the development of human diseases. In the liver, TGF-β signaling participates in all the stages of disease progression from initial liver injury to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). During liver carcinogenesis, TGF-β plays a dual role on the malignant cell, behaving as a suppressor factor at early stages, but contributing to later tumor progression once cells escape from its cytostatic effects. Moreover, TGF-β can modulate the response of the cells forming the tumor microenvironment that may also contribute to HCC progression, and drive immune evasion of cancer cells. Thus, targeting the TGF-β pathway may constitute an effective therapeutic option for HCC treatment. However, it is crucial to identify biomarkers that allow to predict the response of the tumors and appropriately select the patients that could benefit from TGF-β inhibitory therapies. Here we review the functions of TGF-β on HCC malignant and tumor microenvironment cells, and the current strategies targeting TGF-β signaling for cancer therapy. We also summarize the clinical impact of TGF-β inhibitors in HCC patients and provide a perspective on its future use alone or in combinatorial strategies for HCC treatment

Protective potential of the gallbladder in primary sclerosing cholangitis

Background & Aims: Gallbladder enlargement is common in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The gallbladder may confer hepatoprotection against bile acid overload, through the sequestration and cholecystohepatic shunt of bile acids. The aim of this study was to assess the potential impact of the gallbladder on disease features and bile acid homeostasis in PSC.Methods: Patients with PSC from a single tertiary center who underwent liver MRI with three-dimensional cholangiography and concomitant analyses of serum bile acids were included. Gallbladder volume was measured by MRI and a cut-off of 50 ml was used to define gallbladder enlargement. Bile acid profiles and PSC severity, as assessed by blood tests and MRI features, were compared among patients according to gallbladder size (enlarged vs. normal-sized) or presence (removed vs. conserved). The impact of cholecystectomy was also assessed in the Abcb4 knockout mouse model of PSC.Results: Sixty-one patients with PSC, all treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), were included. The gallbladder was enlarged in 30 patients, whereas 11 patients had been previously cholecystectomized. Patients with enlarged gallbladders had significantly lower alkaline phosphatase, a lower tauro-vs. glycoconjugate ratio and a higher UDCA vs. total bile acid ratio compared to those with normal-sized gallbladders. In addition, gallbladder volume negatively correlated with the hydrophobicity index of bile acids. Cholecystectomized patients displayed significantly higher aspartate aminotransferase and more severe bile duct strictures and dilatations compared to those with conserved gallbladder. In the Abcb4 knockout mice, cholecystectomy caused an increase in hepatic bile acid content and in circulating secondary bile acids, and an aggravation in cholangitis, inflammation and liver fibrosis.Conclusion: Altogether, our findings indicate that the gallbladder fulfills protective functions in PSC.Impact and implications: In patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), gallbladder status impacts on bile acid homeostasis and disease features. We found evidence of lessened bile acid toxicity in patients with PSC and enlarged gall-bladders and of increased disease severity in those who were previously cholecystectomized. In the Abcb4 knockout mouse model of PSC, cholecystectomy causes an aggravation of cholangitis and liver fibrosis. Overall, our results suggest that the gallbladder plays a protective role in PSC.& COPY; 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Role of targeted therapies in rheumatic patients on COVID-19 outcomes: results from the COVIDSER study

Objectives: To analyse the effect of targeted therapies, either biological (b) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), targeted synthetic (ts) DMARDs and other factors (demographics, comorbidities or COVID-19 symptoms) on the risk of COVID-19 related hospitalisation in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Methods: The COVIDSER study is an observational cohort including 7782 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate ORs and 95% CIs of hospitalisation. Antirheumatic medication taken immediately prior to infection, demographic characteristics, rheumatic disease diagnosis, comorbidities and COVID-19 symptoms were analysed. Results: A total of 426 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 from 1 March 2020 to 13 April 2021 were included in the analyses: 106 (24.9%) were hospitalised and 19 (4.4%) died. In multivariate-adjusted models, bDMARDs and tsDMARDs in combination were not associated with hospitalisation compared with conventional synthetic DMARDs (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.25 of b/tsDMARDs, p=0.15). Tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNF-i) were associated with a reduced likelihood of hospitalisation (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.82, p=0.018), whereas rituximab showed a tendency to an increased risk of hospitalisation (OR 4.85, 95% CI 0.86 to 27.2). Glucocorticoid use was not associated with hospitalisation (OR 1.69, 95% CI 0.81 to 3.55). A mix of sociodemographic factors, comorbidities and COVID-19 symptoms contribute to patients' hospitalisation. Conclusions: The use of targeted therapies as a group is not associated with COVID-19 severity, except for rituximab, which shows a trend towards an increased risk of hospitalisation, while TNF-i was associated with decreased odds of hospitalisation in patients with rheumatic disease. Other factors like age, male gender, comorbidities and COVID-19 symptoms do play a role.This Project has been financed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Galapagos Biopharma Spain SLU, Gebro Pharma, Roche Farma and Sanofi Aventis

Evaluación de parámetros de rendimiento y sanidad de dos híbridos comerciales de tomate (Solanum lycopersicum L.) injertados sobre Solanum sisymbriifolium (Lam.), en un invernadero con suelo biosolarizado

El uso de plantas injertadas sobre portainjertos resistentes contribuye a disminuir el daño causado por factores adversos de origen biótico y abiótico. Se evaluó la utilidad de Solanum sisymbriifolium Lam. (conocido comúnmente como “tutiá”) como portainjerto en combinación con híbridos comerciales de tomate. Los genotipos evaluados fueron Elpida y Superman injertados sobre “tutiá” (ELPi, SUPi) y los mismos materiales sin injertar (ELP, SUP). El trasplante se realizó en un invernadero (agosto/2012), sobre parcelas donde se habían aplicado tratamientos de biosolarización (noviembre/2011) y parcelas testigo sin desinfección del suelo. Se utilizó un diseño en parcela dividida con cuatro repeticiones distribuidas en bloques. ELP y SUP presentaron mayores rendimientos en kg·planta-1 (30,6 % en promedio general), que ELPi y SUPi. En el testigo sin biosolarizar, las plantas injertadas aventajaron al resto, con medias de ELPi = 4,53 ± 1,27, SUPi = 4,19 ± 1,49, SUP = 2,49 ± 0,28 y ELP = 1,89 ± 0,68. Las plantas injertadas además presentaron menores porcentajes de podredumbre apical (P < 0,01) y plantas muertas (PM) al final del cico de cultivo (P < 0,01) que las plantas sin injertar, con medias para PM de SUPi = 18,80 ± 12,40, ELPi = 23,44 ± 7,55, SUP = 43,19 ± 9,64 y ELP = 46,00 ± 9,12. Al final del cultivo se encontró mayor peso seco de raíces (P < 0,05) y menos podredumbres radiculares (P < 0,01) a causa de Fusarium spp. en las plantas injertadas; aunque el número de agallas causadas por Nacobbus aberrans no varió. El uso de Solanum sisymbriifolium como pie de injerto podría ser considerado dentro del manejo integrado de plagas en tomate.EEA San PedroFil: Mitidieri, Mariel Silvina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Piris, Estela Beatriz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Brambilla, Maria Virginia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Barbieri, Martin Osvaldo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Cap, Guillermo Bartolome. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: González, Joaquin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Del Pardo, Cecilia Karina.Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Ciapone, Mirta Mabel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Celié, Ramon Enrique. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Arpía, Nélida Ester. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Paunero, Ignacio Eugenio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Peralta, Romina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Verón, Raul. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Florencia. Universidad del Salvador; Argentin

Criteria for preclinical models of cholangiocarcinoma:scientific and medical relevance

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare malignancy that develops at any point along the biliary tree. CCA has a poor prognosis, its clinical management remains challenging, and effective treatments are lacking. Therefore, preclinical research is of pivotal importance and necessary to acquire a deeper understanding of CCA and improve therapeutic outcomes. Preclinical research involves developing and managing complementary experimental models, from in vitro assays using primary cells or cell lines cultured in 2D or 3D to in vivo models with engrafted material, chemically induced CCA or genetically engineered models. All are valuable tools with well-defined advantages and limitations. The choice of a preclinical model is guided by the question(s) to be addressed; ideally, results should be recapitulated in independent approaches. In this Consensus Statement, a task force of 45 experts in CCA molecular and cellular biology and clinicians, including pathologists, from ten countries provides recommendations on the minimal criteria for preclinical models to provide a uniform approach. These recommendations are based on two rounds of questionnaires completed by 35 (first round) and 45 (second round) experts to reach a consensus with 13 statements. An agreement was defined when at least 90% of the participants voting anonymously agreed with a statement. The ultimate goal was to transfer basic laboratory research to the clinics through increased disease understanding and to develop clinical biomarkers and innovative therapies for patients with CCA

The polygenic basis of relapse after a first episode of schizophrenia

Little is known about genetic predisposition to relapse. Previous studies have linked cognitive and psychopathological (mainly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) polygenic risk scores (PRS) with clinical manifestations of the disease. This study aims to explore the potential role of PRS from major mental disorders and cognition on schizophrenia relapse. 114 patients recruited in the 2EPs Project were included (56 patients who had not experienced relapse after 3 years of enrollment and 58 patients who relapsed during the 3-year follow-up). PRS for schizophrenia (PRS-SZ), bipolar disorder (PRS-BD), education attainment (PRS-EA) and cognitive performance (PRS-CP) were used to assess the genetic risk of schizophrenia relapse.Patients with higher PRS-EA, showed both a lower risk (OR=0.29, 95% CI [0.11–0.73]) and a later onset of relapse (30.96± 1.74 vs. 23.12± 1.14 months, p=0.007. Our study provides evidence that the genetic burden of neurocognitive function is a potentially predictors of relapse that could be incorporated into future risk prediction models. Moreover, appropriate treatments for cognitive symptoms appear to be important for improving the long-term clinical outcome of relapse

Genetic landscape of 6089 inherited retinal dystrophies affected cases in Spain and their therapeutic and extended epidemiological implications

Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), defined by dysfunction or progressive loss of photoreceptors, are disorders characterized by elevated heterogeneity, both at the clinical and genetic levels. Our main goal was to address the genetic landscape of IRD in the largest cohort of Spanish patients reported to date. A retrospective hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 6089 IRD affected individuals (from 4403 unrelated families), referred for genetic testing from all the Spanish autonomous communities. Clinical, demographic and familiar data were collected from each patient, including family pedigree, age of appearance of visual symptoms, presence of any systemic findings and geographical origin. Genetic studies were performed to the 3951 families with available DNA using different molecular techniques. Overall, 53.2% (2100/3951) of the studied families were genetically characterized, and 1549 different likely causative variants in 142 genes were identified. The most common phenotype encountered is retinitis pigmentosa (RP) (55.6% of families, 2447/4403). The most recurrently mutated genes were PRPH2, ABCA4 and RS1 in autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR) and X-linked (XL) NON-RP cases, respectively; RHO, USH2A and RPGR in AD, AR and XL for non-syndromic RP; and USH2A and MYO7A in syndromic IRD. Pathogenic variants c.3386G > T (p.Arg1129Leu) in ABCA4 and c.2276G > T (p.Cys759Phe) in USH2A were the most frequent variants identified. Our study provides the general landscape for IRD in Spain, reporting the largest cohort ever presented. Our results have important implications for genetic diagnosis, counselling and new therapeutic strategies to both the Spanish population and other related populations.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS; PI16/00425 and PI19/00321), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER, 06/07/0036), IIS-FJD BioBank (PT13/0010/0012), Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, RAREGenomics Project, B2017/BMD-3721), European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fundación Conchita Rábago and the University Chair UAM-IIS-FJD of Genomic Medicine. Irene Perea-Romero is supported by a PhD fellowship from the predoctoral Program from ISCIII (FI17/00192). Ionut F. Iancu is supported by a grant from the Comunidad de Madrid (CAM, PEJ-2017-AI/BMD7256). Marta del Pozo-Valero is supported by a PhD grant from the Fundación Conchita Rábago. Berta Almoguera is supported by a Juan Rodes program from ISCIII (JR17/00020). Pablo Minguez is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CP16/00116). Marta Corton is supported by a Miguel Servet program from ISCIII (CPII17/00006). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation and/or publication decisions

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe