Análisis semicuantitativo del calcio y fósforo en los tejidos calcificados de la mandíbula

El objetivo de nuestra investigación es realizar un estudio microanalítico semicuantitativo del calcio y el fósforo en los tejidos calcificados de la mandíbula. Dentro de este estudio se pretende calcular el valor de la ratio Ca/P por métodos semicuantitativos y compararlo con los valores estequiométricos de la ratio Ca/P de la hidroxiapatita referidos en la literatura; conocer los valores de la ratio Ca/P obtenidos para el tejido condroide, el hueso lamelar, el hueso fibrorreticular y el cartílago calcificado en las muestras fetales, por una parte, y adultas, por otra; y si existen o no diferencias significativas en la proporción Ca/P obtenidos para feto y adulto. El análisis morfológico de los tejidos calcificados fue realizado por medio de Microrradiografía Electrónica de Barrido (MEB) por electrones retrodispersados (Backscattering), y los resultados permiten afirmar que la ratio obtenida por análisis semicuantitativo mediante dispersión de rayos X de los tejidos calcificados (condroide, hueso lamelar y fibrorreticular) se encuentra más próxima a 1, y que no existen diferencias significativas entre las muestras fetales y de adulto en los tejidos analizados

Análisis semicuantitativo del calcio y fósforo en el esmalte y la dentina

Existe una serie de características comunes asociadas al proceso biológico de formación de los tejidos calcificados a pesar de que los productos finales sean estructuralmente distintos. La presente investigación tiene como propósito determinar si la ratio Ca/P ratio es la misma para los tejidos calcificados dentales tanto del feto como del adulto y si dicha ratio es diferente al valor de la ratio Ca/P de la hidroxiapatita pura calculada por estequiometría. Se escogió como material de observación el esmalte y la dentina, en muestras de fetos humanos y en un total de 30 ratas adultas de raza Wistar y 20 dientes humanos sanos. Las observaciones se llevaron a cabo por medio de Microscopia Electrónica de Barrido y Microanálisis por separación de energía de rayos X. Los valores totales de la ratio Ca/P para el esmalte oscilaron en un intervalo de 0,9 y 1,2, con una media que se encuentra entre 1,07 y 1,08. Los valores totales de la ratio Ca/P para la dentina oscilan entre 1,03 y 1,12 y la media entre 1,07 y 1,075. No se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre esmalte fetal y adulto ni entre la dentina fetal y adulta. Aún no pudiendo definir la existencia de precursores específicos en los tejidos calcificados del diente (esmalte y dentina), nuestros resultados sugieren que no toda la cristalización de estos tejidos corre a cargo de la hidroxiapatita sino que deben haber otros compuestos que expliquen la disminución del valor de la ratio Ca/P en las muestras estudiadas

On-line tools to improve the presentation skills of scientific results

[EN] In experimental sciences and engineering it is essential to communicate and present the results effectively. The authors have participated in several educational innovation projects since 2016, aimed at developing of materials to improve the communication skills of scientific results. An exhaustive and updated compilation of the international rules that constitute the basis for the writted and oral scientific presentations was carried out. The good teaching practices in these fields were also identified. The results of those previous projects have shown the need to incorporate web questionnaires and other interactive content into the educational program. These are adapted to the demands of the students and provide a training feeback. In this contribution, the new materials that are being developed within the innovation project UV-SFPIE_PID19-1096780, funded by the University of Valencia, are presented. They are devoted to facilitate the acquisition of communication skills of scientific results. In particular, these tools combine ICT self-learning environments with traditional classroom teaching (blended learning). The project methodology includes educational data mining aimed at identifying the most effective materials and activities to achieve its objectives. The aim of these mixed learning tools is to facilitate the acquisition by the students of the necessary skills of oral and written communication, improve their presentation skills and, consequently, also their employability as university graduates.This work has been supported by the University of Valencia through project SFPIE_PID19-1096780.Campos-Taberner, M.; Gilabert, M.; Manzanares, J.; Mafé, S.; Cervera, J.; García-Haro, F.; Martínez, B.... (2020). On-line tools to improve the presentation skills of scientific results. IATED. 4907-4910. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2020.1342S4907491

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues