The effect of the return of serve on the server pair’s movement parameters and rally outcome in padel using cluster analysis

Purpose: The pressure exerted on racket sports players by the service has been well documented. Whilst the return of serve has been suggested through qualitative interviews as being of similar importance there is a dearth of quantitative data to support this contention. This study analyzed time, speed, and distance parameters related to the outcome of the return of serve (ROS) in Padel, a sport similar to tennis but played on a court bounded by walls and played in doubles format only. Methods: Matches (n = 18) at two tournaments, sanctioned by the Valencian Federation, in 2012 were recorded and processed using Tracker software. ROS shot type (flat or lob), ball location, players’ positions on court and movement parameters between the ROS and the third shot of the server were captured 25 times per second. Results: Both lob and flat ROS produced six main clusters, as well as a small proportion of shots deemed outliers. The clusters differentiated shots played by two different level players (National and Regional), whether the ROS was played following a first or second serve, whether the serving pair adopted a conventional or Australian formation and whether the rally ended in a short number of shots (seven or less) or not. Conclusion: It was suggested that the aim of the ROS in Padel was to prevent the serving pair winning the rally quickly, since the advantage of the serve diminished after around 6 to 8 shots. This was best achieved by good depth on lobs, regardless of the direction, and pace on low shots, predominately aimed toward the server. This approach should be further modified to include the time between serve and ROS and consideration could be given to classifying attacking and defending positions

Exosomes populate the cerebrospinal fluid of preterm infants with post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus

Background Preterm infants are at risk of germinal matrix haemorrhage-intraventricular haemorrhage (GMH-IVH) which leads to post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) in 30% of infants; this is associated with moderate-severe neurodevelopmental impairment and confers significant risk of cerebral palsy. There are however no predictive indicators of the severity or long-term outcome after GMH-IVH. In recent years, endosome-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) or exosomes have been isolated from biofluids and shown to mediate intercellular communication via selective enrichment in proteins and micro-RNAs. Methods This study aimed to isolate and characterise EVs from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 3 preterm infants with PHH using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with immunogold protein labelling, and micro-RNA analysis. Results NTA of unaltered CSF revealed a heterogeneous and dynamic population of EVs. Exosomal-sized EVs were isolated by differential ultracentrifugation and TEM confirmed the presence of CD63+ and CD81+ exosomes. The micro-RNAs miR-9, miR-17, miR-26a, miR-124 and miR-1911 were detected within the exosome-enriched fraction and profiled over time. Conclusion This is the first reported characterisation of exosomes from the CSF of preterm infants with post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus

"Azulado" Servicio de geolocalización para niños y adultos mayores

Los niños en edades de 6 a 12 años quienes por su corta edad, distracción y bajo sentido de ubicación, así como los adultos mayores en especial aquellos que sufren enfermedades como el Alzheimer u otra demencia que están propensos a extraviarse; y podrían estar expuesto a diversos riesgos como: accidentes, delincuencia, desaparición e inclusive la muerte en los adultos y secuestros en el caso de niños. Por lo tanto estos riesgos ocasionan una preocupación contante en sus familiares. El presente plan de negocio tiene por objetivo brindar un servicio que dará Seguridad y Tranquilidad emocional a los familiares de los adultos mayores y niños mencionados. Gracias a la tecnología actual, les brindaremos un dispositivo de Geo localización para el usuario, que en conjunto con una aplicación móvil permitirá al familiar conocer en tiempo real la ubicación del usuario, así como realizar llamadas directas, verificar el historial de movimiento, registro de grupo de confianza para alertas, envió de una señal de alerta de salida de zona segura al grupo de confianza. Hemos encontrado que existe en Lima Metropolitana un mercado 1524000 de adultos mayores y un 1106000 de niños en edad de 6 a 12 años, de los cuales nuestro objetivo es llegar a vender 100 servicios de manera mensual en promedio, con un costo por servicio anual de 600 soles (equivalente a 50 soles mensuales). El estudio económico financiero realizando nos muestra que con una inversión de 206,280 soles en los primeros 5 años, tendremos un VAN de 59,129.00 y un TIR 35%. Consideramos que “La verdadera oportunidad es crear océanos azules de espacio de mercado no disputado” (Mauborgne, 2004). Y por esto, el servicio ofrecido creará un nuevo segmento que hace atractiva esta inversión.Trabajo de investigaciónCampus Lima Centr

The miRNA transcriptome of cerebrospinal fluid in preterm infants reveals the signaling pathways that promote reactive gliosis following cerebral hemorrhage

IntroductionGerminal Matrix-Intraventricular Haemorrhage (GM-IVH) is one of the most common neurological complications in preterm infants, which can lead to accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and is a major cause of severe neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms triggered by GM-IVH are poorly understood. Analyzing the CSF that accumulates following IVH may allow the molecular signaling and intracellular communication that contributes to pathogenesis to be elucidated. Growing evidence suggests that miRs, due to their key role in gene expression, have a significant utility as new therapeutics and biomarkers.MethodsThe levels of 2,083 microRNAs (miRs) in 15 CSF samples from 10 infants with IVH were measured using miRNA whole transcriptome sequencing. Gene ontology (GO) and miR family analysis were used to uncover dysregulated signalling which were then validated in vitro in human foetal neural progenitor cells treated with IVH-CSF.ResultsFive hundred eighty-seven miRs were differentially expressed in the CSF extracted at least 2 months after injury, compared to CSF extracted within the first month of injury. GO uncovered key pathways targeted by differentially expressed miRs including the MAPK cascade and the JAK/STAT pathway. Astrogliosis is known to occur in preterm infants, and we hypothesized that this could be due to abnormal CSF-miR signaling resulting in dysregulation of the JAK/STAT pathway – a key controller of astrocyte differentiation. We then confirmed that treatment with IVH-CSF promotes astrocyte differentiation from human fetal NPCs and that this effect could be prevented by JAK/STAT inhibition. Taken together, our results provide novel insights into the CSF/NPCs crosstalk following perinatal brain injury and reveal novel targets to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants

Abnormal scaffold attachment factor 1 expression and localisation in spinocerebellar ataxias and huntington’s chorea

SAFB1 is a DNA and RNA binding protein that is highly expressed in the cerebellum and hippocampus and is involved in the processing of coding and non‐coding RNAs, splicing and dendritic function. We analyzed SAFB1 expression in the post‐mortem brain tissue of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), Huntington’s disease (HD), Multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease patients and controls. In SCA cases, the expression of SAFB1 in the nucleus was increased and there was abnormal and extensive expression in the cytoplasm where it co‐localized with the markers of Purkinje cell injury. Significantly, no SAFB1 expression was found in the cerebellar neurons of the dentate nucleus in control or MS patients; however, in SCA patients, SAFB1 expression was increased significantly in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of dentate neurons. In HD, we found that SAFB1 expression was increased in the nucleus and cytoplasm of striatal neurons; however, there was no SAFB1 staining in the striatal neurons of controls. In PD substantia nigra, we did not see any changes in neuronal SAFB1 expression. iCLIP analysis found that SAFB1 crosslink sites within ATXN1 RNA were adjacent to the start and within the glutamine repeat sequence. Further investigation found increased binding of SAFB1 to pathogenic ATXN1‐85Q mRNA. These novel data strongly suggest SAFB1 contributes to the etiology of SCA and Huntington’s chorea and that it may be a pathological marker of polyglutamine repeat expansion diseases

Neutralization of Staphylococcus aureus Protein A Prevents Exacerbated Osteoclast Activity and Bone Loss during Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus is an important and current health care problem worldwide. Treatment of this infection frequently fails not only due to the increasing incidence of antimicrobial-resistant isolates but also because of the ability of S. aureus to evade the immune system, adapt to the bone microenvironment, and persist within this tissue for decades. We have previously demonstrated the role of staphylococcal protein A (SpA) in the induction of exacerbated osteoclastogenesis and increased bone matrix degradation during osteomyelitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of using anti-SpA antibodies as an adjunctive therapy to control inflammation and bone damage. By using an experimental in vivo model of osteomyelitis, we demonstrated that the administration of an anti-SpA antibody by the intraperitoneal route prevented excessive inflammatory responses in the bone upon challenge with S. aureus. Ex vivo assays indicated that blocking SpA reduced the priming of osteoclast precursors and their response to RANKL. Moreover, the neutralization of SpA was able to prevent the differentiation and activation of osteoclasts in vivo, leading to reduced expression levels of cathepsin K, reduced expression of markers associated with abnormal bone formation, and decreased trabecular bone loss during osteomyelitis. Taken together, these results demonstrate the feasibility of using anti-SpA antibodies as an antivirulence adjunctive therapy that may prevent the development of pathological conditions that not only damage the bone but also favor bacterial escape from antimicrobials and the immune system.Fil: Gehrke, Ana-katharina Elsa. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mendoza Bertelli, Andrea Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Ledo, Camila. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Cintia Daniela. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Noto Llana, Mariangeles. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Blanco, Cintia. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; ArgentinaFil: Sordelli, Daniel Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Putman, Nicole E.. Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Cassat, James E.. Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Delpino, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida; ArgentinaFil: Gómez, Marisa I.. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentin

Enhanced Efficacy of the CDNF/MANF Family by Combined Intranigral Overexpression in the 6-OHDA Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease

Cerebral Dopamine Neurotrophic Factor (CDNF) and Mesencephalic Astrocyte-derived Neurotrophic factor (MANF) are members of a recently discovered family of neurotrophic factors (NTFs). Here, we used intranigral or intrastriatal lentiviral vector-mediated expression to evaluate their efficacy at protecting dopaminergic function in the 6-OHDA model of Parkinson's disease (PD). In contrast to the well-studied Glial-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), no beneficial effects were demonstrated by striatal overexpression of either protein. Interestingly, nigral overexpression of CDNF decreased amphetamine-induced rotations and increased tyroxine hydroxylase (TH) striatal fiber density but had no effect on numbers of TH(+) cells in the SN. Nigral MANF overexpression had no effect on amphetamine-induced rotations or TH striatal fiber density but resulted in a significant preservation of TH(+) cells. Combined nigral overexpression of both factors led to a robust reduction in amphetamine-induced rotations, greater increase in striatal TH-fiber density and significant protection of TH(+) cells in the SN. We conclude that nigral CDNF and MANF delivery is more efficacious than striatal delivery. This is also the first study to demonstrate that combined NTF can have synergistic effects that result in enhanced neuroprotection, suggesting that multiple NTF delivery may be more efficacious for the treatment of PD than the single NTF approaches attempted so far.Molecular Therapy (2014); doi:10.1038/mt.2014.206

Diseño y despliegue de un clúster de placas Raspberry Pi3 para la ejecución de las prácticas de la asignatura PSD

Este proyecto tiene como objetivo principal facilitar el desarrollo de las prácticas de la asignatura Programación de Sistemas Distribuidos (PSD), impartida en el grado en Ingeniería de Computadores de la FDI. Esta propuesta surge como continuación del proyecto de innovación docente concedido en el curso 16/17, en el cual se utilizó la herramienta de simulación SIMCAN para estudiar y analizar distintos tipos de sistemas distribuidos en las prácticas de la asignatura PSD