Nanomaterials for stimulating nerve growth

Despite recent advances in supportive care for spinal cord injury (SCI), there is a great need for treatments that can improve the neurological outcome (1). After SCI, there is essentially no regrowth of axons beyond the point of the lesion, leaving intact, although nonfunctional, circuits below the site of injury. We discuss the potential for functional recovery from SCI by using nanomaterials to restore these dysfunctional circuits through a combination of artificial connections and devices to help stimulate motor and sensory recovery

Calidad de plántulas de Cariniana pyriformis producidas con diferentes contenedores en ambiente protegido

Cariniana pyriformis is a native arboreal of Colombia with high forestry potential in pure plantations and agroforestry systems of Theobroma cacao. In an agricultural nursery with plastic cover, production and seedling quality were evaluated with a complete randomized block design and three replications using three plastic containers (treatments): bags (1700 cm3), tube trays (700 cm3) and multicellular trays (650 cm3). Between 120 (bags) and 135 (tube trays) days after sowing (das), the seedlings reached 25 cm in height and 3 mm in stem diameter. The shoot dry mass (p= 0.0179) and root dry mass (p= 0.0327) of seedlings at 160 das were higher in the bags as compared to seedlings grown in the tube trays. In parallel, the production of C. pyriformis seedlings in multicellular trays achieved quality indexes very similar to those obtained employing the bags, but with a 60% reduction in the cost per seedling.Cariniana pyriformis es una arbórea nativa de Colombia con elevado potencial en plantaciones puras y sistemas agroforestales de Theobroma cacao. En vivero agrícola con cobertura plástica, se evaluaron la producción y calidad de plántulas con un diseño de bloques completos al azar y tres repeticiones empleando tres contenedores plásticos (tratamientos): bolsa (1700 cm3), bandeja portatubete (700 cm3) y bandeja multicelda (650 cm3). Entre los 120 (bolsa) y 137 (bandeja portatubete) días después de siembra (dds), las plántulas alcanzaron los 25 cm de altura y 3 mm de diámetro de cuello. El peso seco de la parte área (p= 0,0179) y peso seco del sistema radicular (p=0,0327) de las plántulas a los 160 dds fueron superiores en la bolsa en comparación con las plántulas crecidas en la bandeja portatubete. En paralelo, la producción de plántulas de C. pyriformis en bandeja multicelda presentó índices de calidad muy similares a la bolsa, pero con una reducción en el costo por plántula entorno al 60%.Cariniana pyriformis es una arbórea nativa de Colombia con elevado potencial en plantaciones puras y sistemas agroforestales de Theobroma cacao. En vivero agrícola con cobertura plástica, se evaluaron la producción y calidad de plántulas con un diseño de bloques completos al azar y tres repeticiones empleando tres contenedores plásticos (tratamientos): bolsa (1700 cm3), bandeja portatubete (700 cm3) y bandeja multicelda (650 cm3). Entre los 120 (bolsa) y 137 (bandeja portatubete) días después de siembra (dds), las plántulas alcanzaron los 25 cm de altura y 3 mm de diámetro de cuello. El peso seco de la parte área (p= 0,0179) y peso seco del sistema radicular (p= 0,0327) de las plántulas a los 160 dds fueron superiores en la bolsa en comparación con las plántulas crecidas en la bandeja portatubete. En paralelo, la producción de plántulas de C. pyriformis en bandeja multicelda presentó índices de calidad muy similares a la bolsa, pero con una reducción en el costo por plántula entorno al 60%

Sculpting neurotransmission during synaptic development by 2D nanostructured interfaces

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Barriers to accessing and receiving mental health care for paid and unpaid carers of older adults.

AimThe aim of this qualitative study was to explore the barriers and facilitators to accessing and receiving mental health care for paid and unpaid carers of older adults.MethodsUnpaid and paid carers for older adults in England were interviewed remotely between May and December 2022. Participants were asked about their experiences of mental health needs and support. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.ResultsThirty-seven carers participated (npaid = 9; nunpaid = 28), with the majority caring for a parent with dementia. Thematic analysis generated four themes: lack of healthcare support, social care system failing to enable time off, personal barriers and unsupportive work culture. Healthcare professionals failed to provide any link to mental health services, including when a dementia diagnosis was received. Structural and organisational barriers were evidenced by carers being unable to take time off from their unpaid caring duties or paid caring role, due to an absence of social care support for their relative.ConclusionsThis is the first study to have explored the barriers to mental health care and support for paid and unpaid carers for older adults and suggests that structural, organisational and personal barriers cause severe difficulties in accessing required support to care for older relatives, services users and residents.Public involvementTwo unpaid carers aided with the development of topic guides, data analysis, interpretation and dissemination. Both were supported and trained to code anonymised transcripts

The application of scanning near field optical imaging to the study of human sperm morphology

BackgroundThe morphology of spermatozoa is a fundamental aspect to consider in fertilization, sperm pathology, assisted reproduction and contraception. Head, neck, midpiece, principal and terminal part of flagellum are the main sperm components to investigate for identifying morphological features and related anomalies. Recently, scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM), which belongs to the wide family of nanoscopic techniques, has opened up new routes for the investigation of biological systems. SNOM is the only technique able to provide simultaneously highly resolved topography and optical images with a resolution beyond the diffraction limit, typical of conventional optical microscopy. This offers the advantage to obtain complementary information about cell surface and cytoplasmatic structures.ResultsIn this work human spermatozoa both healthy and with morphological anomalies are analyzed by SNOM, to demonstrate the potentiality of such approach in the visualization of sperm morphological details. The combination of SNOM topography with optical (reflection and transmission) images enables to examine typical topographic features of spermatozoa together with underlying cytoplasmic structures. Indeed the head shape and inner components as acrosome and nucleus, and the organization of mitochondria in the midpiece region are observed. Analogously for principal tract of the tail, the ridges and the columns are detected in the SNOM topography, while their internal arrangement can be observed in the corresponding SNOM optical transmission images, without requiring specific staining procedures or invasive protocols.ConclusionsSuch findings demonstrate that SNOM represents a versatile and powerful tool to describe topographical and inner structural details of spermatozoa simultaneously. This analysis could be helpful for better characterizing several morphological anomalies, often related to sperm infertility, which cannot be examined by conventional techniques all together

Desde la investigación a la extensión, en la construcción colectiva de políticas públicas en educación rural

La intención de este artículo es recuperar los procesos extensionistas desarrollados desde el Programa de Investigaciones “Educación en espacios sociales rurales y educación básica de jóvenes y adultos”, radicado en el Centro de Investigaciones María Saleme de Burnichon de la Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades de la UNC. Nos referiremos en particular, al acompañamiento que estamos realizando al Movimiento Campesino de Córdoba (MCC) en la propuesta de construir escuelas de nivel medio para jóvenes y adultos del norte y noroeste de la provincia. El proyecto presentado al Ministerio de Educación, en forma conjunta con la Secretaría de Extensión Universitaria de la UNC, propone la creación de escuelas de nivel medio, de gestión pública, cogestionadas con las familias de las comunidades y con una modalidad de alternancia. La referencia a este proceso de acompañamiento al MCC nos permitirá abordar la manera en que fuimos construyendo la relación entre investigación-extensión y las perspectivas teóricas y metodológicas desde las que trabajamos. Recuperaremos el camino que hicimos, y que aún estamos recorriendo, en la propuesta de construir espacios educativos alternativos para las familias campesinas. En esta construcción intentamos ser coherentes con una manera de entender a la educación, a las responsabilidades del Estado, al lugar de la universidad pública y al modo en que consideramos a las políticas educativas y la posibilidad de construirlas colectivamente

Keratinocytes are capable of selectively sensing low amounts of graphene-based materials: Implications for cutaneous applications

Abstract Skin provides the first interface between body and environment, representing one of the most feasible exposure routes to graphene-based materials (GBMs). However, interactions of GBMs with the skin are poorly understood. In particular, low-concentration effects have not been investigated. Here we explored the ability of endotoxin-free, few-layer graphene (FLG) and dehydrated graphene oxide (d-GO) to initiate an inflammatory response at the cutaneous level by using human HaCaT keratinocytes. HaCaT cell exposure to low concentrations (0.01–1.0 μg/mL) of FLG or d-GO did not affect cell viability. FLG triggered the secretion of pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1α, and IL-6, while d-GO, and to a lesser extent FLG, prompted IL-8 (CXCL8) production. However, conditioned medium from HaCaT cells exposed to FLG or d-GO had no effect on THP-1 monocyte activation. Moreover, co-culture experiments did not show any effect of FLG- or d-GO-treated HaCaT cells on THP-1 cell migration. These results suggest that while GBMs are able to initiate an inflammatory response in keratinocytes, this does not necessarily lead to activation of monocytes. The present findings are relevant for potential dermal exposures to GBMs in occupational settings as well as the use of GBMs for cutaneous applications such as in wearable sensors