Chain‑End Functional di‑Sorbitan Oleate Monomer Obtained from Renewable Resources as Precursors for Bio‑Based Polyurethanes

Artículo derivado de una tesis de MCMA three-step synthetic route was proposed and tested to obtain a chain-end functional di-sorbitan oleate monomer: First, 1,18-octadec-9-enedioic acid compound was produced by self-metathesis reaction of an oleic acid; then, the 1,18-octadec 9-enoyl dichloride compound was yielded by chlorination of the di-acid with thionyl chloride, and fnally, the 1,18-di-sorbitan oleate monomer was yielded by esterifcation of the dichloride with 1,4-sorbitan. The di-sorbitan oleate monomer was purifed and then characterized by FTIR, 1 H-NMR, DSC and TGA to establish its structure and properties. A bio-based polyurethane (PU) was synthesized by reacting the obtained 1,18-di-sorbitan oleate monomer and MDI. Rheological analysis showed that a curing reaction occurs as a signifcant increase of the storage modulus (G’) and the complex viscosity (η*) at 100 °C. The obtained bio-based PU was characterized by FTIR, TGA and DMA, confrming that 1,18-di-sorbitan oleate is a feasible monomer for synthesizing polyurethanes.Conacyt CB-2015–01-257591

Low Power Phase-Encoded MAC Accelerator for Smart Sensors with VCO-based ADCs

Proceeding of: 2020 IEEE 63rd International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS): August 9-12, 2020, Springfield, MA, USA: on-line proceedings.A new phase-encoded MAC cell is proposed for low power smart sensing applications. If digitization of the raw data is made through voltage-controlled-oscillators based analog-to-digital converters (VCO-based ADCs), we may take the unsampled frequency-encoded output signal and connect it to the first layer of a neural network. Then that layer could be implemented with phase-encoded MAC accelerators, leading to an energy-efficient solution. The MAC cell does not only make the accumulation/subtraction and multiplication operation, but also the non-linear function which supposes a great advantage with respect to other equivalent cells. A circuit example is proposed in a 65-nm CMOS process and transient simulations prove the feasibility of the approach.Publicad

Ring-oscillator with multiple transconductors for linear analog-to-digital conversion

This paper proposes a new circuit-based approach to mitigate nonlinearity in open-loop ring-oscillator-based analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The approach consists of driving a current-controlled oscillator (CCO) with several transconductors connected in parallel with different bias conditions. The current injected into the oscillator can then be properly sized to linearize the oscillator, performing the inverse current-to-frequency function. To evaluate the approach, a circuit example has been designed in a 65-nm CMOS process, leading to a more than 3-ENOB enhancement in simulation for a high-swing differential input voltage signal of 800-mVpp, with considerable less complex design and lower power and expected area in comparison to state-of-the-art circuit based solutions. The architecture has also been checked against PVT and mismatch variations, proving to be highly robust, requiring only very simple calibration techniques. The solution is especially suitable for high-bandwidth (tens of MHz) medium-resolution applications (10–12 ENOBs), such as 5G or Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.This research was funded by Project TEC2017-82653-R, Spain

R-RAS2 overexpression in tumors of the human central nervous system

Malignant tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) are the 10th most frequent cause of cancer mortality. Despite the strong malignancy of some such tumors, oncogenic mutations are rarely found in classic members of the RAS family of small GTPases. This raises the question as to whether other RAS family members may be affected in CNS tumors, excessively activating RAS pathways. The RAS-related subfamily of GTPases is that which is most closely related to classical Ras and it currently contains 3 members: RRAS, RRAS2 and RRAS3. While R-RAS and R-RAS2 are expressed ubiquitously, R-RAS3 expression is restricted to the CNS. Significantly, both wild type and mutated RRAS2 (also known as TC21) are overexpressed in human carcinomas of the oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, skin and breast, as well as in lymphomas. Hence, we analyzed the expression of R-RAS2 mRNA and protein in a wide variety of human CNS tumors and we found the R-RAS2 protein to be overexpressed in all of the 90 CNS cancer samples studied, including glioblastomas, astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas. However, R-Ras2 was more strongly expressed in low grade (World Health Organization grades I-II) rather than high grade (grades III-IV) tumors, suggesting that R-RAS2 is overexpressed in the early stages of malignancy. Indeed, R-RAS2 overexpression was evident in pre-malignant hyperplasias, both at the mRNA and protein levels. Nevertheless, such dramatic changes in expression were not evident for the other two subfamily members, which implies that RRAS2 is the main factor triggering neural transformation.This work was supported by grants SAF2012-31279 from the ‘Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología’ and the ‘Ramón y Cajal’ program (RYC-2010-06251, to B.C.). We also thank the Fundación Ramón Areces for its institutional support of the ‘Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa’

Reconstruction of extensive cranial defects with free flaps

Objetivos: En grandes defectos craneales los tejidos locales no son suficientes. Se requiere tejido que aporte cobertura, volumen suficiente para cerrar espacios intracraneales y adecuada vascularización que permita el control de procesos infeccioso asociados, por ello se presentan 3 casos de pacientes manejados en nuestra institución a quienes se les realizó reconstrucción de defectos craneales extensos de la región frontal, con el uso de colgajos libres o la combinación de colgajo libre y material aloplástico, obteniendo buenos resultados estéticos y funcionales. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de tipo Serie de Casos, en el cual se reportan 3 pacientes de sexo masculino, con defectos craneales extensos de la región frontal secundarios a osteomielitis de calota posterior a craniectomía descompresiva por trauma craneoencefálico severo, quienes fueron manejados en el Hospital de San José, en un período de marzo de 2013 a marzo de 2014, y a quienes se les realizó reconstrucción con el uso de colgajos libres o la combinación de colgajo libre y material aloplástico. Resultados: Se obtuvo una adecuada y segura obliteración del espacio intracraneal, así como un adecuado contorno y proyección de la región frontal con el uso de un colgajo anterolateral de muslo, un colgajo recto abdominal con isla de piel vertical y un colgajo dorsal ancho. Se realizó seguimiento en el primer año posoperatorio. No se presentó ninguna complicación. Conclusión: Los colgajos libres son la mejor opción para la reconstrucción de grandes defectos craneales y la obliteración de espacios intracraneales, en comparación con el uso exclusivo de materiales aloplásticos, debido a su alto riesgo de extrusión. Su uso requiere un adecuado planeamiento.Objective: In large cranial defects, local tissues are not sufficient and necessary tissue to cover and add volume to close intracranial spaces and adequate blood supply that allows control of associated infectious processes, for which the objective is to present 3 cases of patients managed in our institution who underwent extensive reconstruction of skull defects of the frontal region, with the use of free flaps or a combination of free flap and alloplast, obtaining good aesthetic and functional results. Materials and methods: We performed a descriptive study of serial cases in which three male patients reported with extensive skull defects of the frontal region caused by osteomyelitis of the skull and decompressive craniectomy for severe head trauma who were treated in Hospital San Jose in a period March 2013 to March 2014, and who underwent reconstruction with the use of free flaps or a combination of free flap and alloplast. Results: We obtained an adequate and safe obliteration of intracranial space and a suitable contour and projection of the frontal region using an anterolateral thigh flap, a rectus abdominis flap and Latissimus Dorsi flap. It was followed in the first postoperative year. No complications were presented. Conclusion: Free flaps are the best choice for large skull defect reconstruction and obliteration of intracranial spaces compared to the exclusive use of alloplastic, materials, due to its high risk of .extrusion. Its use requires proper planning

Efficient bleaching of non-woody high-quality paper pulp using lacasse-mediator systems

aDepartment of Molecular Microbiology, CIB, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Velázquez 144, E-28006 Madrid, Spain; bDepartment of Textile and Paper Engineering, ETSII, Polytechnic University of Catalunya (UPC), Colón 11, E-08222 Terrassa, Spain; cDepartment of Biogeochemistry, IRNAS, CSIC, PO Box 1052, E-41080, Seville, Spain; dCelulosas de Levante SA (CELESA), Ctra. C-237, km 4.5, E-43500 Tortosa, SpainHigh-quality flax pulp was bleached in a totally-chlorine-free (TCF) sequence using a laccase-mediator system. Three fungal laccases (from Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, Trametes versicolor and Pleurotus eryngii) and two mediators, 2,2´-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT), were compared. P. cinnabarinus and T. versicolor laccases in the presence of HBT gave the best results in terms of high brightness and low lignin content (kappa number). The former laccase also resulted in the best preservation of cellulose and the largest removal of residual lignin as revealed by analytical pyrolysis, and was selected for subsequent TCF bleaching. Up to 90% delignification and strong brightness increase were attained after a laccase-mediator treatment followed by H2O2 bleaching. This TCF sequence was further improved by applying H2O2 under pressurized O2. In this way, we obtained up to 82% ISO brightness (compared with 37% in the initial pulp, and 60% in the peroxide-bleached control) and very low kappa number (near 1). Good results were also found when the laccase-mediator treatment was performed in a bioreactor under pressurized oxygen. The pulp properties obtained, which could not be attained by conventional TCF bleaching of flax pulp, demonstrate the feasibility of enzymatic bleaching to substitute chlorine-containing reagents in manufacturing of these high-price paper pulps.This study was supported by the European Commission (contract QLK3-99-590), the Spanish CICYT (FEDER project 2FD97-0896-C02, and projects AGL2002-00393, BIO2002-1166 and PPQ2000-1068-C02-02), the Comunidad de Madrid, and the CSIC network on “Bioremediation and Phytoremediation”.Peer reviewe

Valores Éticos-Profesionales en la Formación del Licenciado en Nutrición de una Universidad del Estado de Zacatecas

A current challenge in higher education in Mexico is to build educational projects that respond to the needs of society, in addition to training professional profiles that are competent, ethical, and act based on values and are socially committed. Objective: Evaluate the professional ethical values in the training of the graduate in Nutrition. Materials and methods: A quantitative-qualitative, observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out, an accidental non-probabilistic sampling was applied, obtaining the total results of 56 students enrolled in the 8th semester to whom a questionnaire was applied on professional ethical values in the formation of the Graduate in Nutrition. For data processing, the software SPSS 25 and QDA Miner lite 2.0.9 were used. Results. The values that students associate with their future professional work are respect, honesty, responsibility and empathy, however less than a third of the participants know the values proposed by the academic program of the degree in nutrition, a significant number of students can formulate the concept of value, however they do not correctly relate them to the values proposed by the Code of Professional Ethics of the Nutrition Graduate with some of its articles.Un reto presente en la educación superior en México es el de construir proyectos educativos que respondan a necesidades de la sociedad además de formar perfiles profesionales que sean competentes, éticos y con un actuar en valores y socialmente comprometidos. Objetivo: Evaluar los valores éticos profesionales en la formación del licenciado en Nutrición. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio cuanti-cualitativo, observacional, descriptivo y transversal, se aplicó un muestreo no probabilístico accidental, obteniendo los resultados totales de 56 alumnos inscritos al 8vo semestre a los cuales se les aplico un cuestionario sobre valores ético profesionales en la formación del Licenciado en Nutrición. Para el procesamiento de los datos se utilizó los software SPSS 25 y QDA Miner lite 2.0.9. Resultados. Los valores que los alumnos relacionan con su futuro quehacer profesional son el respeto, la honestidad, la responsabilidad y la empatía, sin embargo menos de un tercio de los participantes conocen los valores que propone el programa académico de la licenciatura en nutrición, un número importante de alumnos puede formular el concepto de valor, no obstante no los relacionan correctamente  con los valores que propone el Código de ética profesional del licenciado en nutrición con algunos de sus artículos

Histopatología y bioquímica clínica de ratas expuestas de forma subcrónica al extracto de migración de un material nanocompuesto

Junta de Andalucía AGR5969Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación AGL2010-2121

Hypothyroidism confers tolerance to cerebral malaria

The modulation of the host’s metabolism to protect tissue from damage induces tolerance to infections increasing survival. Here, we examined the role of the thyroid hormones, key metabolic regulators, in the outcome of malaria. Hypothyroidism confers protection to experimental cerebral malaria by a disease tolerance mechanism. Hypothyroid mice display increased survival after infection with Plasmodium berghei ANKA, diminishing intracranial pressure and brain damage, without altering pathogen burden, blood-brain barrier disruption, or immune cell infiltration. This protection is reversed by treatment with a Sirtuin 1 inhibitor, while treatment of euthyroid mice with a Sirtuin 1 activator induces tolerance and reduces intracranial pressure and lethality. This indicates that thyroid hormones and Sirtuin 1 are previously unknown targets for cerebral malaria treatment, a major killer of children in endemic malaria areas.This work was funded by grants SAF2017-83289-R to S.A. and A.A., SAF2017-90604REDT to A.A. supported by the The European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and BIO2016-77430-R to J.M.B. from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; B2017/BMD-3724 to S.A. and A.A. from the Comunidad de Madrid; and CIBERONC CB/16/00228 to A.A. from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III