LOS COSTOS MUNICIPALES EN EL CANON DE ARRENDAMIENTO DE PLAZAS Y MERCADOS: UN CONTRASTE PRAGMÁTICO EN LOS COMERCIANTES DE LA PROVINCIA DEL TUNGURAHUA

The objective of the research focused on analyzing the origin of the cash in the merchants for the cancellation of the municipal costs related to the rental fees of squares and markets in the canton Cevallos province of Tungurahua and their long-term retribution. A pragmatic research paradigm with a mixed approach and a descriptive scope was used. The statistic for the design of a remuneration model for the cost of canceling the rental fee in the long and medium term was the linear regression where the constant coefficient was 2.583 and the coefficient of the equation as such was 0.542. 200 social actors participated (120 respondents and 80 interviewees). The significant findings show that within the subjectivity of informal traders, income management, cash management, resources, financing, purchases, payment of their obligations and document management are continuously present. Within the qualitative scope, the social actors (formal merchants of squares and markets) show that the collection of their cash comes mainly from third parties, the cancellation of purchases is done in cash, as well as the majority of merchants cancel on a monthly basis. their obligations of municipal costs for the conservation of their businesses within the squares and markets.El objetivo de la investigación se enfocó en analizar la procedencia del efectivo en los comerciantes para la cancelación de los costos municipales relacionados a los cánones de arrendamiento de plazas y mercados en el cantón Cevallos provincia del Tungurahua y su retribución a largo plazo. Se empleó un paradigma pragmático de investigación de enfoque mixto y de alcance descriptivo. El estadístico para el diseño de un modelo de retribución del costo de cancelación del canon de arrendamiento a largo y mediando tiempo fue la regresión lineal donde el coeficiente constante fue de 2.583 y el coeficiente de la ecuación como tal de 0.542. Participaron 200 actores sociales (120 encuestados y 80 entrevistados). Los hallazgos significativos muestran que dentro de la subjetividad de los comerciantes informales está presente de forma continua el manejo de ingresos, manejo de efectivo, recursos, financiamiento, compras, pagos de sus obligaciones y manejo de documentos. Dentro del ámbito cualitativo los actores sociales (comerciantes formales de plazas y mercados) muestran que el recaudo de su efectivo proviene mayoritariamente de terceras personas, la cancelación de las compras se lo hace en efectivo, así como la mayoría de los comerciantes cancela de forma mensual sus obligaciones de costos municipales para la conservación de sus negocios dentro de las plazas y mercados

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles decorated mesoporous silica nanosystem for combined antibiofilm therapy

A crucial challenge to face in the treatment of biofilm-associated infection is the ability of bacteria to develop resistance to traditional antimicrobial therapies based on the administration of antibiotics alone. This study aims to apply magnetic hyperthermia together with controlled antibiotic delivery from a unique magnetic-responsive nanocarrier for a combination therapy against biofilm. The design of the nanosystem is based on antibiotic-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) externally functionalized with a thermo-responsive polymer capping layer, and decorated in the outermost surface with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). The SPIONs are able to generate heat upon application of an alternating magnetic field (AMF), reaching the temperature needed to induce a change in the polymer conformation from linear to globular, therefore triggering pore uncapping and the antibiotic cargo release. The microbiological assays indicated that exposure of E. coli biofilms to 200 µg/mL of the nanosystem and the application of an AMF (202 kHz, 30 mT) decreased the number of viable bacteria by 4 log10 units compared with the control. The results of the present study show that combined hyperthermia and antibiotic treatment is a promising approach for the effective management of biofilm-associated infections.Depto. de Química en Ciencias FarmacéuticasFac. de FarmaciaTRUEpu

Antimycobacterial effect of selenium nanoparticles on Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death from a single infection agent worldwide. In recent years, the occurrence of tuberculosis cases caused by drug-resistant strains has spread, and is expected to continue to grow. Therefore, the development of new alternative treatments to the use of antibiotics is highly important. In that sense, nanotechnology can play a very relevant role, due to the unique characteristics of nanoparticles. In fact, different types of nanoparticles have already been evaluated both as potential bactericides and as efficient drug delivery vehicles. In this work, the use of selenium nanoparticles has been evaluated to inhibit the growth of two types of mycobacteria: Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The results showed that selenium nanoparticles are able to inhibit the growth of both types of mycobacteria by damaging their cell envelope integrity. These results open a new opportunity for the use of this type of nanoparticles as antimycobacterial agents by themselves, or for the development of novel nanosystems that combine the action of these nanoparticles with other drugs

Computer Speech-Based Remediation for Reading Disabilities: The Size of Spelling-to-Sound Unit in a Transparent Orthography

This study was designed to assess the effects of four reading-training procedures for children with reading disabilities (RD) in a transparent orthography, with the aim of examining the effects of different spelling-to-sound units in computer speech-based reading. We selected a sample of 83 Spanish children aged between 7 years 1 month and 10 years 6 months (M = 105.2, SD = 7.8) whose pseudoword reading performance was below the 25th percentile and IQ > 90. The participants were randomly assigned to five groups: (a) the whole-word training group (WW) (n = 17), (b) the syllable training group (S)(n = 16), (c) the onset-rime training group (OR) (n = 17), (d) the phoneme training group (P) (n = 15), and (e) the untrained control group (n = 18). Children were pre- and post-tested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and orthographic and phonological tasks. The results indicate that experimental groups who participated in the phoneme and syllable conditions improved their word recognition in comparison with thecontrol group. In addition, dyslexics who participated in the phoneme, syllable, and onset-rime conditions made a greater number of requests during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation (low frequency words and long words). Reading time, however, was greater for long words in the phoneme group during computer-based reading. These results suggest the importance of training phonological processes in improving word decoding in children with dyslexia who learn in a consistent orthography.Esta investigación fue diseñada para evaluar los efectos de la instrucción asistida a través de ordenador en los procesos fonológicos y de lectura en niños con dificultades de aprendizaje en la lectura (DAL) en una ortografía transparente. Para ello se manipularon diferentes tipos de unidades lingüísticas con objeto de analizar con cuál de ellas se consiguen mejores resultados. Se seleccionó una muestra de 83 niños españoles de edades comprendidas entre los 7 años y 1 mes y 10 años y 6 meses (edad M = 105.2; DT = 7.8) que presentaban una puntuación en lectura de pseudopalabras por debajo del percentil 25 y un cociente intelectual mayor que 90. Los sujetos fueron distribuidos al azar en cinco grupos diferentes: (a) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de palabras (WW) (n = 17), (b) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de sílabas (S) (n = 16), (c) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de principio-rima (OR) (n = 17), (d) instrucción basada en reconocimiento de fonemas (P) (n =15), y (e) ningún tipo de instrucción (n = 18). Se administraron distintas tareas, antes y después de finalizado el periodo de instrucción, para evaluar los efectos de la instrucción sobre la descodificación, comprensión lectora, conciencia fonológica, y procesamiento ortográfico. Los niños con DAL que participaron en la instrucción basada en el reconocimiento de fonemas y en la instrucción basada en reconocimiento de sílabas mejoraron la descodificación en comparación al grupo control. Además, los niños con DAL que participaron en las condiciones de fonema, sílaba y principio rima solicitaron un mayor número de ayudas durante el periodo de instrucción en aquellas condiciones donde la demanda de procesamiento fonológico era mayor (v. gr., palabras de baja frecuencia y palabras largas). Sin embargo, se registraron tiempos de lectura mayores, durante el periodo de instrucción, para las palabras largas en la condición de entrenamiento basada en fonemas. Estos hallazgos sugieren que el entrenamiento en procesos fonológicos mejora la descodificación de las palabras en niños con DAL en una ortografía transparente

Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Novel Mechanisms Associated with the Antitumor Effect of Chitosan‐Stabilized Selenium Nanoparticles.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have been receiving special attention in recent years due to their antioxidant capacity and antitumor properties. However, the mechanisms associated with these properties remain to be elucidated. For this reason, a global transcriptome analysis has been designed in this work and it was carried out using human hepatocarcinoma cells and chitosan‐ stabilized SeNPs (Ch‐SeNPs) to identify new targets and pathways related to the antitumor mechanisms associated with Ch‐SeNPs. The results obtained confirm the alteration of the cell cycle and the effect of Ch‐SeNPs on different tumor suppressors and other molecules involved in key mechanisms related to cancer progression. Furthermore, we demonstrated the antioxidant properties of these nanoparticles and their capacity to induce senescence, which was further confirmed through the measurement of β‐galactosidase activity

Anti-Inflammatory (M2) Response Is Induced by a sp(2)-Iminosugar Glycolipid Sulfoxide in Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common complications of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and is directly associated with inflammatory processes. Currently, neuro-inflammation is considered an early event in DR and proceeds via microglia polarization. A hallmark of DR is the presence of retinal reactive gliosis. Here we report the beneficial effect of (S (S),1R)-1-docecylsulfiny-5N,6O-oxomethylidenenojirimycin ((Ss)-DS-ONJ), a member of the sp(2)-iminosugar glycolipid (sp(2)-IGL) family, by decreasing iNOS and inflammasome activation in Bv.2 microglial cells exposed to pro-inflammatory stimuli. Moreover, pretreatment with (Ss)-DS-ONJ increased Heme-oxygenase (HO)-1 as well as interleukin 10 (IL10) expression in LPS-stimulated microglial cells, thereby promoting M2 (anti-inflammatory) response by the induction of Arginase-1. The results strongly suggest that this is the likely molecular mechanism involved in the anti-inflammatory effects of (S (S))-DS-ONJ in microglia. (S (S))-DS-ONJ further reduced gliosis in retinal explants from type 1 diabetic BB rats, which is consistent with the enhanced M2 response. In conclusion, targeting microglia polarization dynamics in M2 status by compounds with anti-inflammatory activities offers promising therapeutic interventions at early stages of DR

Highly sensitive dendrimer-based nanoplasmonic biosensor for drug allergy diagnosis

A label-free biosensing strategy for amoxicillin (AX) allergy diagnosis based on the combination of novel dendrimer-based conjugates and a recently developed nanoplasmonic sensor technology is reported. Gold nanodisks were functionalized with a custom-designed thiol-ending-polyamido-based dendron (d-BAPAD) peripherally decorated with amoxicilloyl (AXO) groups (d-BAPAD-AXO) in order to detect specific IgE generated in patient's serum against this antibiotic during an allergy outbreak. This innovative strategy, which follows a simple one-step immobilization procedure, shows exceptional results in terms of sensitivity and robustness, leading to a highly-reproducible and long-term stable surface which allows achieving extremely low limits of detection. Moreover, the viability of this biosensor approach to analyze human biological samples has been demonstrated by directly analyzing and quantifying specific anti-AX antibodies in patient's serum without any sample pretreatment. An excellent limit of detection (LoD) of 0.6. ng/mL (i.e. 0.25. kU/L) has been achieved in the evaluation of clinical samples evidencing the potential of our nanoplasmonic biosensor as an advanced diagnostic tool to quickly identify allergic patients. The results have been compared and validated with a conventional clinical immunofluorescence assay (ImmunoCAP test), confirming an excellent correlation between both techniques. The combination of a novel compact nanoplasmonic platform and a dendrimer-based strategy provides a highly sensitive label free biosensor approach with over two times better detectability than conventional SPR. Both the biosensor device and the carrier structure hold great potential in clinical diagnosis for biomarker analysis in whole serum samples and other human biological samples

Myc-Related Mitochondrial Activity as a Novel Target for Multiple Myeloma

Mitochondria are involved in the development and acquisition of a malignant phenotype in hematological cancers. Recently, their role in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM) has been suggested to be therapeutically explored. MYC is a master regulator of b-cell malignancies such as multiple myeloma, and its activation is known to deregulate mitochondrial function. We investigated the impact of mitochondrial activity on the distinct entities of the disease and tested the efficacy of the mitochondrial inhibitor, tigecycline, to overcome MM proliferation. COXII expression, COX activity, mitochondrial mass, and mitochondrial membrane potential demonstrated a progressive increase of mitochondrial features as the disease progresses. In vitro and in vivo therapeutic targeting using the mitochondrial inhibitor tigecycline showed promising efficacy and cytotoxicity in monotherapy and combination with the MM frontline treatment bortezomib. Overall, our findings demonstrate how mitochondrial activity emerges in MM transformation and disease progression and the efficacy of therapies targeting these novel vulnerabilities

Effectiveness of Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavaria Nordic Vaccination in a Population at High Risk of Mpox: A Spanish Cohort Study

Background: With over 7,500 cases notified since April 2022, Spain has experienced the highest incidence of mpox in Europe. From July 12th onwards, the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavaria Nordic (MVA-BN) smallpox vaccine was offered as pre-exposure prophylaxis for individuals at high-risk of mpox, including those receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (HIV-PrEP). Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of one dose of MVA-BN vaccine as pre-exposure against mpox virus (MPXV) infection in persons on HIV-PrEP. Methods: We conducted a national retrospective cohort study between July 12 and December 12, 2022. Individuals ≥18 years, receiving HIV-PrEP as of July 12 and with no previous MPXV infection or vaccination were eligible. Each day, we matched individuals receiving a first dose of MVA-BN vaccine and unvaccinated controls of the same age group and region. We used a Kaplan-Meier estimator and calculate risk ratios (RR) and vaccine effectiveness (VE = 1-RR). Results: We included 5,660 matched pairs, with a median follow-up of 62 days (interquartile range 24-97). Mpox cumulative incidence was 5.6 per 1,000 (25 cases) in unvaccinated and 3.5 per 1,000 (18 cases) in vaccinated. No effect was found during days 0-6 post-vaccination (VE -38.3; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): -332.7; 46.4), but VE was 65% in ≥7 days (95%CI 22.9; 88.0) and 79% in ≥14 days (95%CI 33.3; 100.0) post-vaccination. Conclusions: One dose of MVA-BN vaccine offered protection against mpox in a most-at-risk population shortly after the vaccination. Further studies need to assess the VE of a second dose and the duration of protection over time.S

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality