Breve historia de la participación política de las mujeres en México

Con frecuencia encontramos que se identifica la participación política con la ocupación de un cargo público, en el caso de las mujeres esto parece más cierto aún, porque su derecho de votar y ser votada tiene apenas 53 años, sin embargo, su participación política tiene una larga historia, aunque no podamos documentarla con la amplitud que quisiéramos. En este capítulo intentaremos señalar la participación política de las mujeres antes y después de la obtención del voto, para ello nos basamos en la información sobre su actuación en los grandes momentos de la historia y de sus contribuciones a la formación y creación de la nación mexicana. Contribuciones que han tenido poco reconocimiento por la sociedad. A lo largo del tiempo sus hazañas y acciones han sido olvidadas, y sólo conocemos a un puñado de mujeres políticas que han trascendido el tiempo. El rescate de tantas mujeres comprometidas con las transformaciones sociales y políticas del país fue emprendido desde hace varios años por diversos estudiosos, pero en general, poco se conoce de la gran participación de las mujeres en el movimiento de Independencia, la lucha contra la Invasión norteamericana, las guerras de Reforma, la Intervención francesa, la Revolución mexicana y la etapa posrevolucionaria. Esta es una pequeña contribución para mostrar el gran aporte de esas mujeres políticas, comprometidas, a pesar de sus terribles condiciones de dependencia y sumisión, al esfuerzo de transformar las condiciones sociales y políticas en las distintas etapas de nuestra historia. El capítulo lo dividimos en dos partes. La primera abarca de la Independencia a 1953, año en que se otorga el voto a las mujeres. El segundo apartado, inicia con las mujeres que alcanzaron los puestos de elección popular y con aquellas otras, que si bien no llegaron a ellos, estuvieron participando en organizaciones que luchaban por mejorar las condiciones de las mujeres

Aphicidal Activity of Surfactants Produced by Bacillus atrophaeus L193

The biosurfactants produced by Bacillus atrophaeus L193 was examined by their use in the control of the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi in order to suggest a friendly alternative to chemical pesticides. A screening of different culture media demonstrated the highest biosurfactant production by L193 in TSB supplemented with colloidal chitin. Surfactants, which are produced in large quantities (2.04 g/L), reduce surface tension to 33 mN/m. Electrospray Q-TOFS MS analysis demonstrated that lipopeptides, such as surfactins, fengycins, bacillomycins and iturins, are the predominant metabolites present in biosurfactants produced by strain L193. Treatment with L193 surfactants led to an aphid mortality rate of 59.8% within 24 h. Microscopy analysis showed that these compounds caused insect death by affecting cuticle membranes. An evaluation of aphid feeding activity also demonstrated that aphid feeding capacity is affected by treatment with surfactants. Moreover, microbial cultures of strain L193 and their supernatants also showed high levels of activity against R. padi, which is probably due to the presence of surfactants and hydrolytic enzymes such as proteases and glucanases. This study demonstrates that B. atrophaeus L193 is an effective treatment for plants affected by aphids

El Sistema del Complemento, interactivo y magnético. Memoria final

El modelo didáctico más empleado en la enseñanza universitaria es de tipo transmisivo, centrado en la exposición del profesor/a con el apoyo de las presentaciones y los libros de texto, siendo el alumno/a esencialmente receptor de la enseñanza. Sin embargo, cada vez más se emplean estrategias alternativas para abordar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje desde modelos más centrados en el alumno/a, que favorezcan su implicación, actividad y protagonismo. Con el proyecto de innovación docente: El Sistema del Complemento, interactivo y magnético, queremos desarrollar una herramienta didáctica que nos permita implementar una estrategia de aprendizaje interactiva para el estudio de la cascada de activación del sistema del complemento. La propuesta se ha programado para la asignatura de Fisiopatología del Complemento impartida en el Máster de Investigación en Inmunología (UCM). Para ello, elaboramos material didáctico que consiste en fichas impresas en papel imantado que representan cada uno de los componentes que forman el sistema del complemento de manera que se puedan colocar y mover sobre una pizarra magnética. Este material se pone a disposición de los estudiantes para realizar actividades concretas propuestas por los profesores/as, en las que se trabaja en grupo y de forma interactiva, sirviendo también como herramienta para el repaso de conceptos y resolución de dudas durante las clases teóricas

Functional polymorphisms in the CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and CYP21A2 genes in the risk for hypertension in pregnancy

An intronic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CYP3A5 gene (CYP3A5*3; SNP rs776746) affects RNA splicing and enzymatic activity. The CYP3A5*3 frequency increased with distance from the equator and natural selection has been proposed to explain the worldwide distribution of this allele. CYP3A activity has been related with the risk for hypertension in pregnancy, a major cause of morbidity and mortality among women, and CYP3A5*3 could reduce the risk for this disease in populations from regions with high sodium and water availability. The CYP3A5 genotype was related with blood pressure in the general population, but the effect on the risk for hypertension in pregnancy has not been evaluated. We compared the allele and genotype frequencies of three functional SNPs in the CYP3A5 (rs776746), CYP3A4 (rs2740574), and CYP21A2 (rs6471) genes between pregnant women who developed hypertension (n=250) or who remained normotensive (control group, n=250). In addition, we sequenced the full CYP3A5 coding sequence in 40 women from the two groups to determine whether some gene variants could explain the risk for hypertensive pregnancies in our population. Allele and genotype frequencies did not differ between hypertensive and normotensive women for the three CYP variants. We did not find CYP3A5 nucleotide changes that could explain a higher risk for hypertension in pregnancy. Our data suggests that the variation in CYP3A5, CYP3A4, and CYP21A2 did not contribute to the risk for hypertension in pregnancy in our populationThe author´s work is supported by a grant from the Spanish Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias/Fondos FEDER European Union (ETS PI08/90008)

Synergistic DNA-damaging effect in multiple myeloma with the combination of zalypsis, bor tezomib and dexamethasone

Despite new advances in multiple myeloma treatment and the consequent improvement in overall survival, most patients relapse or become refractory to treatment. This suggests that new molecules and combinations that may further inhibit important survival pathways for these tumor cells are needed. In this context, zalypsis is a novel compound, derived from marine organisms, with a powerful preclinical anti-myeloma effect based on the sensitivity of malignant plasma cells to DNA-damage induction; and it has already been tested in a phase I/II clinical trial in multiple myeloma. We hypothesized that the addition of this compound to the combination of bortezomib plus dexamethasone may improve efficacy with acceptable toxicity. The triple combination demonstrated strong synergy and higher efficacy compared with double combinations; not only in vitro, but also ex vivo and, especially, in in vivo experiments. The triple combination triggers cell death, mainly through a synergistic induction of DNA damage and a decrease in the nuclear localization of nuclear factor kappa B. Our findings support the clinical evaluation of this combination for relapsed and refractory myeloma patients.This work was in part funded by the Spanish ISCIII-FIS (PI 15/0067 and PI15/02156) and FEDER, the Spanish RTICC (RD12/0036/0058), "Asociación Española Contra el Cancer" (AECC, GCB120981SAN), the regional Council from “Castilla y León” (GRS 1175/A/15 and FIC335U14) and a research grant from Pharmamar SAU. MMS were also supported by the Network of Centers for Regenerative Medicine and Cellular Therapy from Castilla y León, Spain. A-A López-Iglesias was supported by a grant from the Spanish Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy.Peer Reviewe

Genetic Heterogeneity Underlying Phenotypes with Early-Onset Cerebellar Atrophy

Cerebellar atrophy (CA) is a frequent neuroimaging finding in paediatric neurology, usually associated with cerebellar ataxia. The list of genes involved in hereditary forms of CA is continuously growing and reveals its genetic complexity. We investigated ten cases with early-onset cerebellar involvement with and without ataxia by exome sequencing or by a targeted panel with 363 genes involved in ataxia or spastic paraplegia. Novel variants were investigated by in silico or experimental approaches. Seven probands carry causative variants in well-known genes associated with CA or cerebellar hypoplasia: SETX, CACNA1G, CACNA1A, CLN6, CPLANE1, and TBCD. The remaining three cases deserve special attention; they harbour variants in MAST1, PI4KA and CLK2 genes. MAST1 is responsible for an ultrarare condition characterised by global developmental delay and cognitive decline; our index case added ataxia to the list of concomitant associated symptoms. PIK4A is mainly related to hypomyelinating leukodystrophy; our proband presented with pure spastic paraplegia and normal intellectual capacity. Finally, in a patient who suffers from mild ataxia with oculomotor apraxia, the de novo novel CLK2 c.1120T>C variant was found. The protein expression of the mutated protein was reduced, which may indicate instability that would affect its kinase activity

Multivariable clinical-genetic risk model for predicting venous thromboembolic events in patients with cancer

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of death among patients with cancer. Outpatients with cancer should be periodically assessed for VTE risk, for which the Khorana score is commonly recommended. However, it has been questioned whether this tool is sufficiently accurate at identifying patients who should receive thromboprophylaxis. The present work proposes a new index, TiC-Onco risk score to be calculated at the time of diagnosis of cancer, that examines patients' clinical and genetic risk factors for thrombosis. We included 391 outpatients with a recent diagnosis of cancer and candidates for systemic outpatient chemotherapy. All were treated according to standard guidelines. The study population was monitored for 6 months, and VTEs were recorded. The Khorana and the TiC-Onco scores were calculated for each patient and their VTE predictive accuracy VTEs was compared. We recorded 71 VTEs. The TiC-Onco risk score was significantly better at predicting VTE than the Khorana score (AUC 0.73 vs. 0.58, sensitivity 49 vs. 22%, specificity 81 vs. 82%, PPV 37 vs. 22%, and NPV 88 vs. 82%). TiC-Onco risk score performed significantly better than Khorana score at identifying cancer patients at high risk of VTE who would benefit from personalised thromboprophylaxis

From Biomarkers to Models in the Changing Landscape of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Evolve or Become Extinct

hronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an extremely heterogeneous disease. With the advent of oral targeted agents (Tas) the treatment of CLL has undergone a revolution, which has been accompanied by an improvement in patient’s survival and quality of life. This paradigm shift also affects the value of prognostic and predictive biomarkers and prognostic models, most of them inherited from the chemoimmunotherapy era but with a different behavior with Tas. This review discusses: (i) the role of the most relevant prognostic and predictive biomarkers in the setting of Tas; and (ii) the validity of classic and new scoring systems in the context of Tas. In addition, a critical point of view about predictive biomarkers with special emphasis on 11q deletion, novel resistance mutations, TP53 abnormalities, IGHV mutational status, complex karyotype and NOTCH1 mutations is stated. We also go over prognostic models in early stage CLL such as IPS-E. Finally, we provide an overview of the applicability of the CLL-IPI for patients treated with Tas, as well as the emergence of new models, generated with data from patients treated with Tas