Coaxial Pcl/peg-Thiol-Ene Microfiber with Tunable Physico- Chemical Properties for Regenerative Scaffolds

Tissue regeneration requires scaffolds that exhibit mechanical properties similar to the tissues to be replaced while allowing cell infiltration and extracellular matrix production. Ideally, the scaffolds’ porous architecture and physico-chemical properties can be precisely defined to address regenerative needs. We thus developed techniques to produce hybrid fibers coaxially structured with a polycaprolactone core and a 4-arm, polyethylene glycol thiol-norbornene sheath. We assessed the respective effects of crosslink density and sheath polymer size on the scaffold architecture, physical and mechanical properties, as well as cell-scaffold interactions in vitro and in vivo. All scaffolds displayed high elasticity, swelling and strength, mimicking soft tissue properties. Importantly, the thiol-ene hydrogel sheath enabled tunable softness and peptide tethering for cellular activities. With increased photopolymerization, stiffening and reduced swelling of scaffolds were found due to intra- and inter- fiber crosslinking. More polymerized scaffolds also enhanced the cell-scaffold interaction in vitro and induced spontaneous, deep cell infiltration to produce collagen and elastin for tissue regeneration in vivo. The molecular weight of sheath polymer provides an additional mechanism to alter the physical properties and biological activities of scaffolds. Overall, these robust scaffolds with tunable elasticity and regenerative cues offered a versatile and effective platform for tissue regeneration

Cooperative Robot Localization Using Event-Triggered Estimation

It is known that multiple robot systems that need to cooperate to perform certain activities or tasks incur in high energy costs that hinder their autonomous functioning and limit the benefits provided to humans by these kinds of platforms. This work presents a communications-based method for cooperative robot localization. Implementing concepts from event-triggered estimation, used with success in the field of wireless sensor networks but rarely to do robot localization, agents are able to only send measurements to their neighbors when the expected novelty in this information is high. Since all agents know the condition that triggers a measurement to be sent or not, the lack of a measurement is therefore informative and fused into state estimates. In the case agents do not receive either direct nor indirect measurements of all others, the agents employ a covariance intersection fusion rule in order to keep the local covariance error metric bounded. A comprehensive analysis of the proposed algorithm and its estimation performance in a variety of scenarios is performed, and the algorithm is compared to similar cooperative localization approaches. Extensive simulations are performed that illustrate the effectiveness of this method

Cooperative Robot Localization Using Event-Triggered Estimation

It is known that multiple robot systems that need to cooperate to perform certain activities or tasks incur in high energy costs that hinder their autonomous functioning and limit the benefits provided to humans by these kinds of platforms. This work presents a communications-based method for cooperative robot localization. Implementing concepts from event-triggered estimation, used with success in the field of wireless sensor networks but rarely to do robot localization, agents are able to only send measurements to their neighbors when the expected novelty in this information is high. Since all agents know the condition that triggers a measurement to be sent or not, the lack of a measurement is therefore informative and fused into state estimates. In the case agents do not receive either direct nor indirect measurements of all others, the agents employ a covariance intersection fusion rule in order to keep the local covariance error metric bounded. A comprehensive analysis of the proposed algorithm and its estimation performance in a variety of scenarios is performed, and the algorithm is compared to similar cooperative localization approaches. Extensive simulations are performed that illustrate the effectiveness of this method

Global noise studies for CMS Tracker upgrade

7 páginas, 6 figuras.-- Trabajo presentado al "Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics 2010 (TWEPP-10)" celebrado en Alemania.-- Open Access.-- et al.The characterization of the noise emissions of DC-DC converters at system level is critical to optimize the design of the detector and define rules for the integration strategy. This paper presents the impedance effects on the noise emissions of DC-DC converters at system level. Conducted and radiated noise emissions at the input and at the output from DC-DC converters have been simulated for different types of power network and FEE impedances. System aspects as granularity, stray capacitances of the system and different working conditions of the DC-DC converters are presented too. This study has been carried out using simulation models of noise emissions of DC-DC converters in the real scenario. The results of these studies show important recommendations and criteria to be applied to integrate the DC-DC converters and decrease the system noise level.C.R. wants to thank to US DOE, under contract DE-AC02-76SF00515, for the support of this work.Peer reviewe

Programas de Vigilancia Microbiológica. Centro Nacional de Microbiología

Este libro recoge en pequeñas “cápsulas” de unas pocas páginas la información condensada de los Programas de Vigilancia Microbiológica del CNM en los últimos años. Una de las principales actividades del Centro Nacional de Microbiología (CNM) se fundamenta en dar soporte al Sistema Nacional de Salud en el control y prevención de las enfermedades infecciosas, incluyendo la detección precoz de infecciones emergentes o infrecuentes, de nuevas variantes problemáticas de agentes infecciosos más comunes, y la caracterización de brotes. Todo ello forma parte de la vigilancia microbiológica, que en el CNM se estructura en torno a los Programas de Vigilancia que abordan la mayoría de los principales microorganismos patógenos para el ser humano.Programa de Enfermedad Meningocócica Invasiva. Programa de Listeriosis. Programa de Infección Gonocócica. Sensibilidad Antimicrobiana, 1991-2020. Programa de Streptococcus pneumoniae. Programa de enfermedad invasiva por Streptococcus pyogenes. Programa de Haemophilus influenzae. Programa de Resistencia a Antibióticos. Programa de infecciones producidas por los estafilococos. Programa de infecciones entéricas bacterianas transmitidas por agua y alimentos. Programa de Legionelosis. Programa de infecciones causadas por especies toxigénicas del género Corynebacterium. Programa de resistencias en el complejo tuberculoso. Programa de micobacterias no tuberculosas. Programa de GRIPE. Programa de SARS-CoV-2. Programa de Enterovirus y Parálisis Flácida en menores de 15 años. Programa de Parotiditis. Programa de Sarampión y Rubeola. Enfermedades víricas transmitidas por vectores. Programa de Rabia. Programa de Variantes del Virus de la Hepatitis B de Impacto en Salud Pública y Estudio de Brotes de Hepatitis. Programa de Leishmaniasis Humana en el Area-9 de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. Programa de la Enfermedad de Chagas. Programa de la Resistencia a los antifúngicos en España.N

Mating strategy is determinant of adenovirus prevalence in European bats

Adenoviruses are double-strained DNA viruses found in a great number of vertebrates, including humans. In order to understand their transmission dynamics, it is crucial, even from a human health perspective, to investigate how host traits influence their prevalence. Bats are important reservoirs for adenoviruses, and here we use the results of recent screenings in Western Europe to evaluate the association between characteristic traits of bat species and their probability of hosting adenoviruses, taking into account their phylogenetic relationships. Across species, we found an important phylogenetic component in the presence of adenoviruses and mating strategy as the most determinant factor conditioning the prevalence of adenoviruses across bat species. Contrary to other more stable mating strategies (e.g. harems), swarming could hinder transmission of adenoviruses since this strategy implies that contacts between individuals are too short. Alternatively, bat species with more promiscuous behavior may develop a stronger immune system. Outstandingly high prevalence of adenoviruses was reported for the Iberian species Pipistrellus pygmaeus, P. kuhlii and Nyctalus lasiopterus and we found that in the latter, males were more likely to be infected by adenoviruses than females, due to the immunosuppressing consequence of testosterone during the mating season. As a general trend across species, we found that the number of adenoviruses positive individuals was different across localities and that the difference in prevalence between populations was correlated with their geographic distances for two of the three studied bat species (P. pygmaeus and P.kuhlii). These results increase our knowledge about the transmission mechanisms of adenoviruses.This work received support from: grant number: SAF2006-12784-C02/01-02 to JE, JJ, IC; URLs to sponsors’ websites: http://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/menuitem.7eeac5cd345b4f34f09dfd1001432ea0/?vgnextoid=beebec05f2a7d210VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD; grant numbers: SAF2009-09172 to JE, JJ; URLs to sponsors’ websites: http://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/menuitem.7eeac5cd345b4f34f09dfd1001432ea0/?vgnextoid=fe5aec1eb658c310VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD; grant numbers: SAF2013-47194-P to JE, JJ, GP, OP; URLs to sponsors’ websites: http://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/menuitem.7eeac5cd345b4f34f09dfd1001432ea0/?vgnextoid=0b7f11a1c35d0610VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD; grant numbers: SAF2017-89355-P to JE, JJ, GP, OP, JB; URLs to sponsors’ websites: http://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/menuitem.7eeac5cd345b4f34f09dfd1001432ea0/?vgnextoid=abf192b9036c2210VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD; grant numbers: PI15CIII/00028 to IC, MMIC; URLs to sponsors’ websites: http://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.S

Plan estratégico para la eliminación del sarampión y la rubeola en España 2021-2025

Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Plan estratégico para la eliminación del sarampión y la rubeola en España. Ministerio de Sanidad. Enero 2021[ES] El sarampión y la rubeola constituyen importantes problemas de salud pública y ambas enfermedades son potencialmente candidatas a erradicarse mediante vacunación. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) coordina a nivel mundial la eliminación del sarampión y la rubeola y realiza un seguimiento anual de los progresos que se van alcanzando en las diferentes Regiones. La Comisión Regional de Verificación de la eliminación del sarampión y la rubeola declaró que España está en situación de eliminación de la rubeola desde 2015 y del sarampión desde 2016, manteniéndose esta situación en las evaluaciones anuales sucesivas. El 2º Estudio de Seroprevalencia en España, realizado en 2017-2018, muestra un descenso de la población con títulos de anticuerpos frente a sarampión protectores en la población que los ha obtenido mediante vacunación, en un contexto sin circulación del virus salvaje. En relación a la rubeola, se observa una muy elevada inmunidad de la población frente al virus de la rubeola en todos los grupos de edad, demostrando el mantenimiento de la inmunidad conferida por la vacunación. Este Plan Estratégico para la Eliminación del Sarampión y la Rubeola en España 2021-2025, en adelante el Plan, actualiza el Plan Nacional de Eliminación del Sarampión, del año 2000 y el Protocolo de Vigilancia de la Rubeola y el Síndrome de Rubeola Congénita, de 2007, que juntos formaban el Plan de Eliminación del Sarampión y la Rubeola para España. El Plan para 2021-2025 está estructurado en tres estrategias y seis objetivos: Estrategia 1 – Fortalecer la inmunidad de la población: Objetivo 1 – Alcanzar y mantener coberturas de vacunación de al menos el 95% con dos dosis de vacuna triple vírica en España y en cada una de las CCAA y ciudades de Ceuta y Melilla mediante el programa sistemático de vacunación. Objetivo 2 – Identificar, captar y asegurar la vacunación de la población susceptible. Estrategia 2 – Fortalecer el sistema de vigilancia y la actuación en brotes: Objetivo 3 – Detectar, investigar y controlar los casos aislados y los brotes de sarampión y rubeola. Objetivo 4 – Garantizar una investigación de laboratorio de calidad. Objetivo 5 – Implementar de forma rápida las medidas de control de brotes que supongan un evento de salud pública e importancia nacional o internacional. Estrategia 3 – Crear y reforzar estrategias de comunicación, información y asesoría: Objetivo 6 – Informar, capacitar, relacionar e involucrar a todos los agentes de los que depende directa o indirectamente la eliminación del sarampión y la rubeola. Para cada uno de los objetivos se han establecido actividades para su consecución. Se realizará un seguimiento anual del Plan, en el que se recogerá una evaluación de las actividades realizadas mediante la recogida de los indicadores que se han definido para cada una de las estrategias y objetivos. El informe técnico anual se revisa y evalúa por el Comité Nacional de Verificación y se envía online para la evaluación que a su vez realiza la Comisión Regional Europea de Verificación de la Eliminación del Sarampión y la Rubeola. [EN] Measles and rubella are major public health problems, and both diseases are potentially candidates for eradication by vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates the elimination of measles and rubella at a global level and annually monitors the progress made in the different Regions. The Regional Commission for the Verification of the elimination of measles and rubella at European level declared that Spain has been in a situation of elimination of rubella since 2015 and measles since 2016, maintaining this situation in successive annual evaluations. The 2nd Seroprevalence Study in Spain carried out in 2017-2018, shows a decrease in the population with protective measles antibody titers is observed in those that obtained immunity by vaccination, and in a context without circulation of the wild virus. Regarding rubella, a very high immunity of the population against the virus is observed in all age groups, demonstrating the maintenance of the immunity conferred by vaccination. The Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Measles and Rubella in Spain 2021-2025, hereinafter the Plan, updates the National Plan for the Elimination of Measles, of the year 2000 and the Protocol for the Surveillance of Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome, of 2007, which together formed the Measles and Rubella Elimination Plan for Spain. The Plan for 2021-2025 is structured in three strategies and six objectives: Strategy 1 - Strengthen the immunity of the population: Objective 1 - Achieve and maintain vaccination coverage of at least 95% with two doses of MMR vaccine in Spain and in each of the Autonomous Communities and cities of Ceuta and Melilla through the systematic vaccination program. Objective 2 - Identify, capture and ensure vaccination of the susceptible population. Strategy 2 - Strengthen the surveillance system and action in outbreaks: Objective 3 - Detect, investigate and control isolated cases and outbreaks of measles and rubella. Objective 4 - Guarantee quality laboratory research. Objective 5 - Quickly implement outbreak control measures that involve a public health event of national or international importance. Strategy 3 - Create and reinforce communication, information and advice strategies: Objective 6 - Inform, train, relate and involve all the agents on whom the elimination of measles and rubella depends directly or indirectly. Activities have been established for each of the objectives. Annual monitoring of the Plan, including an evaluation of the activities, will be carried out by collecting the defined indicators for each of the strategies and objectives. The National Verification Committee will review and evaluate the annual technical report that will be sent for the assessment conducted by the European Regional Commission for the Verification of the Elimination of Measles and Rubella.N

Choice of the initial antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive individuals in the era of integrase inhibitors

BACKGROUND: We aimed to describe the most frequently prescribed initial antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens in recent years in HIV-positive persons in the Cohort of the Spanish HIV/AIDS Research Network (CoRIS) and to investigate factors associated with the choice of each regimen. METHODS: We analyzed initial ART regimens prescribed in adults participating in CoRIS from 2014 to 2017. Only regimens prescribed in >5% of patients were considered. We used multivariable multinomial regression to estimate Relative Risk Ratios (RRRs) for the association between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and the choice of the initial regimen. RESULTS: Among 2874 participants, abacavir(ABC)/lamivudine(3TC)/dolutegavir(DTG) was the most frequently prescribed regimen (32.1%), followed by tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)/emtricitabine (FTC)/elvitegravir(EVG)/cobicistat(COBI) (14.9%), TDF/FTC/rilpivirine (RPV) (14.0%), tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)/FTC/EVG/COBI (13.7%), TDF/FTC+DTG (10.0%), TDF/FTC+darunavir/ritonavir or darunavir/cobicistat (bDRV) (9.8%) and TDF/FTC+raltegravir (RAL) (5.6%). Compared with ABC/3TC/DTG, starting TDF/FTC/RPV was less likely in patients with CD4100.000 copies/mL. TDF/FTC+DTG was more frequent in those with CD4100.000 copies/mL. TDF/FTC+RAL and TDF/FTC+bDRV were also more frequent among patients with CD4<200 cells//muL and with transmission categories other than men who have sex with men. Compared with ABC/3TC/DTG, the prescription of other initial ART regimens decreased from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 with the exception of TDF/FTC+DTG. Differences in the choice of the initial ART regimen were observed by hospitals' location. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of initial ART regimens is consistent with Spanish guidelines' recommendations, but is also clearly influenced by physician's perception based on patient's clinical and sociodemographic variables and by the prescribing hospital location

Estafilococo Meticilino resistente, un problema actual en la emergencia de resistencia entre los Gram positivos.

Las enfermedades infecciosas constituyen la primera causa de morbimortalidad a nivel mundial, en especial en países subdesarrollados como el nuestro, por ello el tratamiento adecuado y oportuno de las mismas, tendrá un impacto importante en los índices de salud. Lamentablemente uno de los grandes problemas que se enfrenta en la actualidad es la creciente emergencia de resistencia de los gérmenes a los antibióticos convencionales