Ulva compressa from Copper-Polluted Sites Exhibits Intracellular Copper Accumulation, Increased Expression of Metallothioneins and Copper-Containing Nanoparticles in Chloroplasts

In order to analyze the mechanisms involved in copper accumulation in Ulva compressa, algae were collected at control sites of central and northern Chile, and at two copper-polluted sites of northern Chile. The level of intracellular copper, reduced glutathione (GSH), phytochelatins (PCs), PC2 and PC4, and transcripts encoding metallothioneins (MTs) of U. compressa, UcMT1, UcMT2 and UcMT3, were determined. Algae of control sites contained around 20 μg of copper g−1 of dry tissue (DT) whereas algae of copper-polluted sites contained 260 and 272 μg of copper g−1 of DT. Algae of control sites and copper-polluted sites did not show detectable amounts of GSH, the level of PC2 did not change among sites whereas PC4 was increased in one of the copper-polluted sites. The level of transcripts of UcMT1 and UcMT2 were increased in algae of copper-polluted sites, but the level of UcMT3 did not change. Algae of a control site and a copper-polluted site were visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the existence of copper in electrodense particles was analyzed using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). Algae of copper-polluted sites showed electrodense nanoparticles containing copper in the chloroplasts, whereas algae of control sites did not. Algae of a control site, Cachagua, were cultivated without copper (control) and with 10 μM copper for 5 days and they were analyzed by TEM-EDXS. Algae cultivated with copper showed copper-containing nanoparticles in the chloroplast whereas control algae did not. Thus, U. compressa from copper-polluted sites exhibits intracellular copper accumulation, an increase in the level of PC4 and expression of UcMTs, and the accumulation of copper-containing particles in chloroplasts.This work was financed by Fondecyt Regular 1160013 to A.M and by Dicyt-USACH

Factors behind job preferences of Peruvian medical, nursing and midwifery students: a qualitative study focused on rural deployment

Background: Deployment of health workforce in rural areas is critical to reach universal health coverage. Students? perceptions towards practice in rural areas likely influence their later choice of a rural post. We aimed at exploring perceptions of students from health professions about career choice, job expectations, motivations and potential incentives to work in a rural area. Methods: In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted among medical, nursing and midwifery students from universities of two Peruvian cities (Ica and Ayacucho). Themes for assessment and analysis included career choice, job expectations, motivations and incentives, according to a background theory a priori built for the study purpose. Results: Preference for urban jobs was already established at this undergraduate level. Solidarity, better income expectations, professional and personal recognition, early life experience and family models influenced career choice. Students also expressed altruism, willingness to choose a rural job after graduation and potential responsiveness to incentives for practising in rural areas, which emerged more frequent from the discourse of nursing and midwifery students and from all students of rural origin. Medical students expressed expectations to work in large urban hospitals offering higher salaries. They showed higher personal, professional and family welfare expectations. Participants consistently favoured both financial and non-financial incentives. Conclusions: Nursing and midwifery students showed a higher disposition to work in rural areas than medical doctors, which was more evident in students of rural origin. Our results may be useful to improve targeting and selection of undergraduate students, to stimulate the inclination of students to choose a rural job upon graduation and to reorient school programmes towards the production of socially committed health professionals. Policymakers may also consider using our results when planning and implementing interventions to improve rural deployment of health professionals

Evolutionary history of the Galápagos Rail Revealed by ancient mitogenomes and modern samples

The biotas of the Galápagos Islands are one of the best studied island systems and have provided a broad model for insular species’ origins and evolution. Nevertheless, some locally endemic taxa, such as the Galápagos Rail Laterallus spilonota, remain poorly characterized. Owing to its elusive behavior, cryptic plumage, and restricted distribution, the Galápagos Rail is one of the least studied endemic vertebrates of the Galapagos Islands. To date, there is no genetic data for this species, leaving its origins, relationships to other taxa, and levels of genetic diversity uncharacterized. This lack of information is critical given the adverse fate of island rail species around the world in the recent past. Here, we examine the genetics of Galápagos Rails using a combination of mitogenome de novo assembly with multilocus nuclear and mitochondrial sequencing from both modern and historical samples. We show that the Galápagos Rail is part of the “American black rail clade”, sister to the Black Rail L. jamaicensis, with a colonization of Galápagos dated to 1.2 million years ago. A separate analysis of one nuclear and two mitochondrial markers in the larger population samples demonstrates a shallow population structure across the islands, possibly due to elevated island connectivity. Additionally, birds from the island Pinta possessed the lowest levels of genetic diversity, possibly reflecting past population bottlenecks associated with overgrazing of their habitat by invasive goats. The modern and historical data presented here highlight the low genetic diversity in this endemic rail species and provide useful information to guide conservation efforts.Fil: Chaves, Jaime A.. San Francisco State University; Estados Unidos. Universidad San Francisco de Quito; EcuadorFil: Martinez Torres, Pedro J.. Universidad San Francisco de Quito; EcuadorFil: Depino, Emiliano Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; ArgentinaFil: Espinoza Ulloa, Sebastian. University of Saskatchewan; Canadá. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador; EcuadorFil: García Loor, Jefferson. Universidad San Francisco de Quito; EcuadorFil: Beichman, Annabel C.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Stervander, Martin. Natural History Museum; Reino Unid

[Association between exclusive breastfeeding and obesity in children: a cross-sectional study of three Latin American countries].

OBJECTIVE: To determine if breastfeeding for at least the first six months of life is associated with overweight and obesity in children 2 to 5 years old. METHOD: Cross sectional analysis of data from national demographic and health surveys conducted in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. Overweight and obesity were defined using World Health Organization standard definitions. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity in children 2 to 5 years old was 10.4% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 8.2-12.6) in Bolivia, 4.9% in Colombia (95%CI: 4.0-5.8), and 6.4% (95%CI: 5.2-8.0) in Peru. Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first 6 months in the study population was 89.9% (95%CI: 87.8-91.9) in Bolivia, 73.9% (95%CI: 72.2-75.6) in Colombia, and 92.8% (95%CI: 91.2-92.4) in Peru. Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a decreased risk of obesity in children as compared to no breastfeeding or breastfeeding for less than 6 months in Bolivia (OR = .30; 95%CI: .16-.57) and a marginal association in Colombia (OR = .71; 95%CI: .47-1.06) and Peru (OR = .49; 95%CI: 0.23-1.04). No association between breastfeeding and overweight was found. CONCLUSION: Exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first six months of life decreases the risk of obesity in children 2 to 5 years old in Bolivia. A similar but weaker pattern was observed for children in Colombia and Peru

Mercado de formación y disponibilidad de profesionales de ciencias de la salud en el Perú

Objectives. To describe the availability and demand of professional training programs for eight health science professions in Peru. Study the profiles of the physicians, nurses and midwives that these programs train and their competencies to work at the primary health care level. Materials and methods. Cross-sectional study using data on the volume of applicants, students and graduates of these eight professional training programs during the period 2007 - 2011. In addition, the curricula of professional training programs for physicians, nurses and midwives from public and private universities were analyzed, along with competency profiles developed by Professional Colleges and the Ministry of Health. Results. Admission rates in public and private universities vary by program: 4% and 28% respectively for medical schools, and 18% and 90% for nursing. Graduation rates were estimated at approximately 43% and 53% of students entering medicine and nursing training programs respectively. Contrasting the profiles of recently graduated professionals in medicine, nursing and midwifery, with the skills required by the Ministry of Health for professionals working in primary care the first level of care, indicate that these recently graduated professionals are not necessarily or specifically trained to work in primary care. Conclusions. Demand for professional training in health sciences exists and its supply is met predominantly by private universities. Competency profiles developed by the MOH for the basic professional health team in primary care shows a clear disconnect regarding the current supply of trained professionals.Objetivos. Describir el mercado de formación y la disponibilidad de profesionales de ocho carreras de ciencias de la salud en Perú. Además, examinar los perfiles de los médicos, enfermeros y obstetras que se forman y sus competencias para trabajar en el primer nivel de atención. Materiales y métodos. Estudio transversal utilizando datos de volumen de postulantes, ingresantes y graduados de ocho profesiones durante el periodo de 2007–2011. También se analizaron los planes de estudio de programas de formación de médicos, enfermeros y obstetras de universidades públicas y privadas, y los perfiles de competencias elaborados por los colegios profesionales y el Ministerio de Salud (MINSA). Resultados. Las tasas de ingreso en universidades públicas y privadas varían según la carrera: 4 y 28% respectivamente para Medicina Humana, y 18 y 90% para Enfermería. Además, se estima que se gradúan aproximadamente 43 y 53% de los estudiantes que ingresan a Medicina y Enfermería, respectivamente. El análisis del perfil de los profesionales recientemente graduados en Medicina, Enfermería y Obstetricia, al ser contrastados con el perfil de competencias priorizadas para los profesionales que laboran en el primer nivel de atención elaborado por el MINSA, indican que no están necesariamente ni específicamente formados para trabajar en este nivel de atención. Conclusiones. Existe demanda de formación para profesionales de ciencias de la salud y predomina la oferta por parte de universidades privadas. Los perfiles de competencias desarrollados por el MINSA muestran un claro divorcio con respecto a la oferta actual de profesionales formados

Mercado de formaci?n y disponibilidad de profesionales de ciencias de la salud en el Per?

Objectives. To describe the availability and demand of professional training programs for eight health science professions in Peru. Study the profiles of the physicians, nurses and midwives that these programs train and their competencies to work at the primary health care level. Materials and methods. Cross-sectional study using data on the volume of applicants, students and graduates of these eight professional training programs during the period 2007 - 2011. In addition, the curricula of professional training programs for physicians, nurses and midwives from public and private universities were analyzed, along with competency profiles developed by Professional Colleges and the Ministry of Health. Results. Admission rates in public and private universities vary by program: 4% and 28% respectively for medical schools, and 18% and 90% for nursing. Graduation rates were estimated at approximately 43% and 53% of students entering medicine and nursing training programs respectively. Contrasting the profiles of recently graduated professionals in medicine, nursing and midwifery, with the skills required by the Ministry of Health for professionals working in primary care the first level of care, indicate that these recently graduated professionals are not necessarily or specifically trained to work in primary care. Conclusions. Demand for professional training in health sciences exists and its supply is met predominantly by private universities. Competency profiles developed by the MOH for the basic professional health team in primary care shows a clear disconnect regarding the current supply of trained professionals.Objetivos. Describir el mercado de formaci?n y la disponibilidad de profesionales de ocho carreras de ciencias de la salud en Per?. Adem?s, examinar los perfiles de los m?dicos, enfermeros y obstetras que se forman y sus competencias para trabajar en el primer nivel de atenci?n. Materiales y m?todos. Estudio transversal utilizando datos de volumen de postulantes, ingresantes y graduados de ocho profesiones durante el periodo de 2007?2011. Tambi?n se analizaron los planes de estudio de programas de formaci?n de m?dicos, enfermeros y obstetras de universidades p?blicas y privadas, y los perfiles de competencias elaborados por los colegios profesionales y el Ministerio de Salud (MINSA). Resultados. Las tasas de ingreso en universidades p?blicas y privadas var?an seg?n la carrera: 4 y 28% respectivamente para Medicina Humana, y 18 y 90% para Enfermer?a. Adem?s, se estima que se grad?an aproximadamente 43 y 53% de los estudiantes que ingresan a Medicina y Enfermer?a, respectivamente. El an?lisis del perfil de los profesionales recientemente graduados en Medicina, Enfermer?a y Obstetricia, al ser contrastados con el perfil de competencias priorizadas para los profesionales que laboran en el primer nivel de atenci?n elaborado por el MINSA, indican que no est?n necesariamente ni espec?ficamente formados para trabajar en este nivel de atenci?n. Conclusiones. Existe demanda de formaci?n para profesionales de ciencias de la salud y predomina la oferta por parte de universidades privadas. Los perfiles de competencias desarrollados por el MINSA muestran un claro divorcio con respecto a la oferta actual de profesionales formados

Parity and Overweight/Obesity in Peruvian Women.

INTRODUCTION: The rise in noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors in developing countries may have changed or intensified the effect of parity on obesity. We aimed to assess this association in Peruvian women using data from a nationally representative survey. METHODS: We used data from Peru's Demographic and Health Survey, 2012. Parity was defined as the number of children ever born to a woman. We defined overweight as having a body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) of 25.0 to 29.9 and obesity as a BMI ≥30.0. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the association between parity and BMI and BMI categories, by area of residence and age, adjusting for confounders. RESULTS: Data from 16,082 women were analyzed. Mean parity was 2.25 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.17-2.33) among rural women and 1.40 (95% CI, 1.36-1.43) among urban women. Mean BMI was 26.0 (standard deviation, 4.6). We found evidence of an association between parity and BMI, particularly in younger women; BMI was up to 4 units higher in rural areas and 2 units higher in urban areas. An association between parity and BMI categories was observed in rural areas as a gradient, being highest in younger women. CONCLUSION: We found a positive association between parity and overweight/obesity. This relationship was stronger in rural areas and among younger mothers

Plan de negocio de servicio de mudanza integral en los distritos de la zona 7 de Lima Metropolitana

La presente tesis tiene como objetivo desarrollar un plan de negocio para la creaci?n de un servicio de mudanza integral orientado a los niveles socioecon?micos A y B en los distritos de San Borja, La Molina, Surco, Miraflores y San Isidro, teniendo como punto de partida la necesidad de especializaci?n, cuidado y seguridad que requiere este tipo de usuarios para hacer el traslado de sus bienes a un nuevo lugar de destino

Actionable cancer vulnerability due to translational arrest, p53 aggregation and ribosome biogenesis stress evoked by the disulfiram metabolite CuET.

We would like to thank M.Oren (Weizmann Institute of Science) for kindly providing the MDM2 antibodies, the core facility for Bioinformatics and Expression Analysis (BEA, Karolinska, Huddinge) for assisting in massive parallel sequencing and computational infrastructure, as well as E Dratkiewicz, AS Nilsson, and JF Martinez for excellent technical assistance.Drug repurposing is a versatile strategy to improve current therapies. Disulfiram has long been used in the treatment of alcohol dependency and multiple clinical trials to evaluate its clinical value in oncology are ongoing. We have recently reported that the disulfiram metabolite diethyldithiocarbamate, when combined with copper (CuET), targets the NPL4 adapter of the p97VCP segregase to suppress the growth of a spectrum of cancer cell lines and xenograft models in vivo. CuET induces proteotoxic stress and genotoxic effects, however important issues concerning the full range of the CuET-evoked tumor cell phenotypes, their temporal order, and mechanistic basis have remained largely unexplored. Here, we have addressed these outstanding questions and show that in diverse human cancer cell models, CuET causes a very early translational arrest through the integrated stress response (ISR), later followed by features of nucleolar stress. Furthermore, we report that CuET entraps p53 in NPL4-rich aggregates leading to elevated p53 protein and its functional inhibition, consistent with the possibility of CuET-triggered cell death being p53-independent. Our transcriptomics profiling revealed activation of pro-survival adaptive pathways of ribosomal biogenesis (RiBi) and autophagy upon prolonged exposure to CuET, indicating potential feedback responses to CuET treatment. The latter concept was validated here by simultaneous pharmacological inhibition of RiBi and/or autophagy that further enhanced CuET's tumor cytotoxicity, using both cell culture and zebrafish in vivo preclinical models. Overall, these findings expand the mechanistic repertoire of CuET's anti-cancer activity, inform about the temporal order of responses and identify an unorthodox new mechanism of targeting p53. Our results are discussed in light of cancer-associated endogenous stresses as exploitable tumor vulnerabilities and may inspire future clinical applications of CuET in oncology, including combinatorial treatments and focus on potential advantages of using certain validated drug metabolites, rather than old, approved drugs with their, often complex, metabolic profiles.This work was funded by the following grants: the Swedish Cancer Society (grant number: 170176), the Swedish Research Council (VR-MH 2014-46602-117891-30), Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF20OC0060590), Danish National Research Foundation (project CARD, DNRF 125), the Danish Cancer Society (R204-A12617-B153), DFF 1026-00241B (all granted to JB), and the Grant agency of the Czech Republic: GACR 20-28685S (granted to ZS and MM). Open access funding provided by Karolinska Institute.S

Reversal of gastrointestinal carcinoma-induced immunosuppression and induction of antitumoural immunity by a combination of cyclophosphamide and gene transfer of IL-12

Immunotherapy-based strategies for gastrointestinal carcinomas (GIC) have been exploited so far, but these approaches have to face strong mechanisms of immune escape induced by tumours. We previously demonstrated that sub-therapeutic doses of an adenovirus expressing IL-12 genes (AdIL-12) mediated a potent antitumour effect against subcutaneous (s.c.) colorectal carcinomas (CRC) in mice pre-treated with low doses of cyclophosphamide (Cy). In our study we used this combination to assess its impact on the immunosuppressive microenvironment. In s.c. CRC model we demonstrated that non-responder mice failed to decrease Tregs in tumour, spleen and peripheral blood. Reconstitution of Tregs into tumour-bearing mice treated with combined therapy abolished the antitumoural effect. In addition, Cy + AdIL-12 modified Tregs functionality by inhibiting the in vitro secretion of IL-10 and TGF-β and their ability to inhibit dendritic cells activation. Combined treatment decreased the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in comparison to non-treated mice and, interestingly, administration of Tregs restored splenic MDSCs population. Furthermore, combined therapy potently generated specific cytotoxic IFN-γ-secreting CD4+ T cells able to eradicate established CRC tumours after adoptive transfer. Finally, we evaluated the combination on disseminated CRC and pancreatic carcinoma (PC). Cy + AdIL-12 were able to eradicate liver metastatic CRC (47%) and PC tumour nodules (40%) and to prolong animal survival. The results of this study support the hypothesis that Cy + AdIL-12 might be a valid immunotherapeutic strategy for advanced GIC.Fil: Malvicini, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Ingolotti, Mariana. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Piccioni, Flavia Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: García, Mariana Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Bayo Fina, Juan Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Atorrasagasti, María Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Alaniz, Laura Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Aquino, Jorge Benjamin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Espinoza, Jaime A.. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile. Universidad de La Frontera; ChileFil: Gidekel, Manuel. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; ChileFil: Scharovsky, Olga Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Medicas. Instituto de Genetica Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Matar, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Medicas. Instituto de Genetica Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Mazzolini Rizzo, Guillermo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Austral; Argentin