Smart systems related to polypeptide sequences

Increasing interest for the application of polypeptide-based smart systems in the biomedical field has developed due to the advantages given by the peptidic sequence. This is due to characteristics of these systems, which include: biocompatibility, potential control of degradation, capability to provide a rich repertoire of biologically specific interactions, feasibility to self-assemble, possibility to combine different functionalities, and capability to give an environmentally responsive behavior. Recently, applications concerning the development of these systems are receiving greater attention since a targeted and programmable release of drugs (e.g. anti-cancer agents) can be achieved. Block copolymers are discussed due to their capability to render differently assembled architectures. Hybrid systems based on silica nanoparticles are also discussed. In both cases, the selected systems must be able to undergo fast changes in properties like solubility, shape, and dissociation or swelling capabilities. This review is structured in different chapters which explain the most recent advances on smart systems depending on the stimuli to which they are sensitive. Amphiphilic block copolymers based on polyanionic or polycationic peptides are, for example, typically employed for obtaining pH-responsive systems. Elastin-like polypeptides are usually used as thermoresponsive polymers, but performance can be increased by using techniques which utilize layer-by-layer electrostatic self-assembly. This approach offers a great potential to create multilayered systems, including nanocapsules, with different functionality. Recent strategies developed to get redox-, magnetic-, ultrasound-, enzyme-, light-and electric-responsive systems are extensively discussed. Finally, some indications concerning the possibilities of multi-responsive systems are discussed.Postprint (published version

Participación comunitaria en la zona Norte del municipio de Cuscatancingo, San Salvador, noviembre 2016 – marzo 2017.

TÍTULO: Participación comunitaria en la zona Norte del municipio de Cuscatancingo, San Salvador, noviembre 2016 – marzo 2017. Propósito: realizar una aproximación a los procesos participativos que se desarrollan en la comunidad, que permita identificar limitantes y fortalezas que contribuyan a los procesos de participación de las comunidades en la construcción social de la salud. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: El estudio realizado fue de tipo descriptivo, en el cual participaron 10 líderes y lideresas de 3 comunidades; Sinaí, Arca de Noé, y La paz, del municipio de Cuscatancingo, y 5 promotores de salud pertenecientes a Ministerio de Salud, se realizaron entrevistas a profundidad, posteriormente se realizó limpieza de la información y clasificación de la misma de acuerdo a criterios de síntesis, para realizar la posterior discusión. RESULTADOS: Según los hallazgos, las asambleas comunitarias, las reuniones de las expresiones organizativas y la rendición de cuentas son los mecanismos de participación que se generan en la comunidad, empero es importante mencionar que la generación de cualquier otro espacio y acciones de convergencia comunitaria son reconocidos como mecanismos de participación. Por otro lado las organizaciones de la sociedad civil son los principales actores sociales que promueven la participación en la comunidad, y el Ministerio de Salud, la Alcaldía y el Ministerio de Justicia a través de PREPAZ son las únicas instituciones públicas reconocidas en la promoción de la participación comunitaria. En cuanto a los proyectos desarrollados en la comunidad, estos están dirigidos principalmente a fomentar el desarrollo de la organización comunitaria, a través del fortalecimiento de competencias en temas relacionados a la prevención de enfermedades, derechos humanos, equidad de género, entre otros. Otros hallazgos relevantes es el reconocimiento por parte de las personas participantes de la importancia de la organización y desarrollo de capacidades organizativas para la promoción de la participación comunitaria, así como la percepción del trabajo desarticulado entre instituciones. CONCLUSIONES: Aunque en la comunidad se implementen mecanismo de participación, estos muchas veces no son espacios para la toma de decisiones protagónicas por parte de la comunidad, así mismo es importante que las instituciones públicas generen mecanismo de promoción de la participación comunitaria, y se visualice el trabajo intersectorial e nivel local con la implementación de proyectos integrales de desarrollo humano y construcción social de la salud. RECOMENDACIONES: Fortalecer el desarrollo de capacidades en el personal de salud sobre la promoción de la participación comunitaria con un enfoque de determinación social de la salud, por otro lado promover el acercamiento de otras instituciones públicas hacia la comunidad, a fin de fomentar el trabajo coordinado y articulado entre las instituciones

Acta del curso de verano: “Alternativas ante la crisis de las hipotecas: Impacto de la Ley 1/2013, de 14 de mayo de medidas para reforzar la protección a los deudores hipotecarios, reestructuración de deuda y alquiler social”

Acta del curso de verano “Alternativas ante la crisis de las hipotecas: Impacto de la Ley 1/2013, de 14 de mayo de medidas para reforzar la protección a los deudores hipotecarios, reestructuración de deuda y alquiler social”, celebrado el 1 y el 2 de julio de 2013, en Cuenc

Acta del curso de verano 2015. Mecanismos alternativos de solución de conflictos: Vías eficientes y sostenibles para tutelar los derechos del consumidor. Cuenca, 2 y 3 de julio 2015

Curso incluido en el programa de Cursos de Verano 2015 del Vicerrectorado de Cultura y Extensión Universitaria de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha sobre los mecanismos alternativos de solución de conflictos de consumo y las vías más eficientes y sostenibles para tutelar los derechos del consumidor

Las relaciones interpersonales de los docentes y su relación con los resultados de la calidad educativa en la I.E. N° 2055 “Primero de Abril”, Comas – Lima, 2013

La presente investigación estudia el problema: Las relaciones interpersonales de los docentes y su relación con la calidad educativa en la I.E. Nº 2055 “Primero de Abril”, Comas - Lima, 2013, y como objetivo: determinar Las relaciones interpersonales de los docentes y su relación con la calidad educativa en la I.E. Nº 2055 “Primero de Abril”, Comas - Lima, 2013 La Hipótesis que se formula es: Las relaciones interpersonales de los docentes se relacionan significativamente con la calidad educativa en la I.E. Nº 2055 “Primero de Abril”, Comas - Lima, 2013 Se trabajó con una muestra de 40 docentes metodología empleada la hipotética deductiva y con un diseño no experimental, transversal correlacional, la encuesta como técnica y el cuestionario como instrumento Los resultados obtenidos de la correlación entre la variables, relaciones interpersonales nos indica un índice de significancia bilateral de 0,000 que es menor al nivel de 0,05 previsto para este análisis, se determina que si existe relación significativa entre el Las Relaciones Interpersonales de los docentes y la calidad educativa en la I.E. Nº 2055 “Primero de Abril”, Comas - Lima, 2013 Se encontró una relación lineal estadísticamente significativa y directamente proporcional, entre relaciones interpersonales de los docentes y la calidad educativa (rs = …., p< 0.05)

Incorporation of biguanide compounds into poly(GL)-b-poly(GL-co-TMC-co-CL)-b-poly(GL) monofilament surgical sutures

A new biodegradable coating was developed for bioabsorbable monofilament sutures. Specifically, a random copolymer having 35 wt-% and 65 wt-% of lactide and trimethylene carbonate units showed appropriate flexibility, stickiness and degradation rate, as well as capability to produce a complete and uniform coating. Monofilament sutures of polyglycolide-b-poly(glycolide-co-trimethylene carbonate-co-e-caprolactone)-b-polyglycolide were loaded with chlorhexidine (CHX) and poly(hexamethylene biguanide) (PHMB) to explore the possibility to achieve antimicrobial activity without adverse cytotoxic effects. To this end, two processes based on single drug adsorption onto the suture surface and incorporation into the coating copolymer were used and subsequently evaluated. Although the second process could be considered more complex, clear benefits were observed in terms of drug loading efficiency, antimicrobial effect and even lack of cytotoxicity. In general, drugs could be loaded in an amount leading to a clear bacteriostatic effect for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria without causing significant cytotoxicity. Release profiles of PHMB and CHX were clearly different. Specifically, adsorption of the drug onto the fiber surface which prevented complete release was detected for PHMB. This polymer had advantages derived from its high molecular size, which hindered penetration into cells, thus resulting in lower cytotoxicity. Furthermore, bacterial growth kinetics measurements and bacterial adhesion assays showed greater effectiveness of this polymer.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Effect of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles on the degradability of random poly(butylene terephthalate-co-aliphatic dicarboxylate)s having a high content of terephthalic units

Copolyesters derived from 1,4-butanediol and constituted also of aliphatic and aromatic dicarboxylate units in a molar ratio of 3:7 were synthesized by a two-step polycondensation procedure. Succinic, adipic, and sebacic acids were specifically selected as the aliphatic component whereas terephthalic acid was chosen as the aromatic moiety. The second synthesis step was a thermal transesterification between the corresponding homopolymers, always attaining a random distribution as verified by NMR spectroscopy. Hybrid polymer composites containing 2.5 wt % of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were also prepared by in situ polymerization. Hydroxyl groups on the nanoparticle surface allowed the grafting of polymer chains in such a way that composites were mostly insoluble in the typical solvents of the parent copolyesters. HAp had some influence on crystallization from the melt, thermal stability, and mechanical properties. HAp also improved the biocompatibility of samples due to the presence of Ca2+ cations and the damping effect of phosphate groups. Interestingly, HAp resulted in a significant increase in the hydrophilicity of samples, which considerably affected both enzymatic and hydrolytic degradability. Slight differences were also found in the function of the dicarboxylic component, as the lowest degradation rates was found for the sample constituted of the most hydrophobic sebacic acid units. View Full-TextPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Biodegradability and biocompatibility of copoly(butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate)s

In the present study poly (butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate)s having different compositions were synthesized with a high yield and a random distribution by thermal transesterification of poly (butylene sebacate) and poly (butylene terephthalate) homopolymers. The copolymer with the highest comonomer ratio was the least crystalline sample, although the melting peaks corresponding to both, sebacate and terephthalate-rich phases were still observable in calorimetric heating runs. This copolymer was associated with interesting thermal and mechanical properties, as the maximum melting point was higher than 100 °C and the storage modulus was also high (i.e. 1.1 × 109 N/m2 and 1.7 108 N/m2 were determined just before and after the main glass transition temperature of -12 °C). As all studied samples were thermally stable up to temperatures clearly higher than the fusion temperature, they could be easily processed. Increasing the terephthalate content of the copolymers resulted in higher hydrophobicity, which had a minor influence on cell adhesion and proliferation of both fibroblast-like and epithelial-like cells. Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradability were assessed and the effect of composition and crystallinity on the degradation rate was investigated. Molecular weight measurements during exposure to a hydrolytic media indicated a first order kinetic mechanism during the initial stages of degradation before reaching a limiting molecular size, which was indicative of solubilization. The most amorphous sample appears as a highly promising biodegradable material since it showed a significant weight loss during exposure to all selected degradation media, but also exhibited good performance and properties that were comparable to those characteristic of polyethylenePeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Electrospun biodegradable polymers loaded with bactericide agents

Development of materials with an antimicrobial activity is fundamental for different sectors, including medicine and health care, water and air treatment, and food packaging. Electrospinning is a versatile and economic technique that allows the incorporation of different natural, industrial, and clinical agents into a wide variety of polymers and blends in the form of micro/nanofibers. Furthermore, the technique is versatile since different constructs (e.g. those derived from single electrospinning, co-electrospinning, coaxial electrospinning, and miniemulsion electrospinning) can be obtained to influence the ability to load agents with different characteristics and stability and to modify the release behaviour. Furthermore, antimicrobial agents can be loaded during the electrospinning process or by a subsequent coating process. In order to the mitigate burst release effect, it is possible to encapsulate the selected drug into inorganic nanotubes and nanoparticles, as well as in organic cyclodextrine polysaccharides. In the same way, processes that involve covalent linkage of bactericide agents during surface treatment of electrospun samples may also be considered.; The present review is focused on more recent works concerning the electrospinning of antimicrobial polymers. These include chitosan and common biodegradable polymers with activity caused by the specific load of agents such as metal and metal oxide particles, quaternary ammonium compounds, hydantoin compounds, antibiotics, common organic bactericides, and bacteriophages.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Improvement of biodegradability and biocompatibility of electrospun scaffolds of poly(butylene terephthalate) by incorporation of sebacate units

Incorporation of aliphatic units to poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) gives rise to biodegradable copolymers with tunable properties (e.g., degradability), depending on the selected comonomer and the specific composition. Specifically, a low molecular weight poly(butylene sebacate-co-terephthalate) (PBSeT) with a high ratio of aliphatic sebacate units (i.e., 70 mol-% with respect to the total dicarboxylate content) has been employed in this work to get new electrospun biodegradable scaffolds. Appropriate electrospinning conditions have been found despite the limited copolymer molecular weight. In addition, PBSeT has been employed to improve biocompatibility and biodegradability of scaffolds based on the PBT homopolymer. Scaffolds with different properties have been prepared following two strategies: Electrospinning of single solutions of PBT and PBSeT mixtures and co-electrospinning of independent PBT and PBSeT solutions. Characterization involved spectroscopic (FTIR, NMR), calorimetric (DSC, TGA) and surface hydrophobicity analyses. Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation studies demonstrated the success of the approach due to the susceptibility of the PBSeT component towards the enzymatic attack with lipases from Pseudomonas cepacia and even towards high temperature hydrolysis.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft