Nanoparticle-cell-nanoparticle communication by stigmergy to enhance poly(I:C) induced apoptosis in cancer cells

[EN] Nanoparticle-cell-nanoparticle communication by stigmergy was demonstrated using two capped nanodevices. The first community of nanoparticles (i.e.S(RA)(IFN)) is loaded with 9-cis-retinoic acid and capped with interferon-gamma, whereas the second community of nanoparticles (i.e.S(sulf)(PIC)) is loaded with sulforhodamine B and capped with poly(I:C). The uptake ofS(RA)(IFN)by SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells enhanced the expression of TLR3 receptor facilitating the subsequent uptake ofS(sulf)(PIC)and cell killing.We thank the Spanish Government (projects RTI2018-100910-B-C41 and RTI2018-101599-B-C22 (MCUI/FEDER, EU)), Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEO2018/024) and CIBER-BBN (project NANOCOMMUNITY) for support. A. U. and C. G are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for her doctoral FPU grant.Ultimo, A.; De La Torre-Paredes, C.; Giménez, C.; Aznar, E.; Coll, C.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Murguía, JR.... (2020). Nanoparticle-cell-nanoparticle communication by stigmergy to enhance poly(I:C) induced apoptosis in cancer cells. Chemical Communications. 56(53):7273-7276. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cc02795bS727372765653Schaming, D., & Remita, H. (2015). Nanotechnology: from the ancient time to nowadays. Foundations of Chemistry, 17(3), 187-205. doi:10.1007/s10698-015-9235-yHauert, S., & Bhatia, S. N. (2014). Mechanisms of cooperation in cancer nanomedicine: towards systems nanotechnology. Trends in Biotechnology, 32(9), 448-455. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.06.010Theraulaz, G., & Bonabeau, E. (1999). A Brief History of Stigmergy. Artificial Life, 5(2), 97-116. doi:10.1162/106454699568700Llopis-Lorente, A., Díez, P., Sánchez, A., Marcos, M. D., Sancenón, F., Martínez-Ruiz, P., … Martínez-Máñez, R. (2017). Interactive models of communication at the nanoscale using nanoparticles that talk to one another. Nature Communications, 8(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms15511Luis, B., Llopis‐Lorente, A., Rincón, P., Gadea, J., Sancenón, F., Aznar, E., … Martínez‐Máñez, R. (2019). An Interactive Model of Communication between Abiotic Nanodevices and Microorganisms. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 58(42), 14986-14990. doi:10.1002/anie.201908867De la Torre, C., Domínguez-Berrocal, L., Murguía, J. R., Marcos, M. D., Martínez-Máñez, R., Bravo, J., & Sancenón, F. (2018). ϵ -Polylysine-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Carrier of the C 9h Peptide to Induce Apoptosis in Cancer Cells. Chemistry - A European Journal, 24(8), 1890-1897. doi:10.1002/chem.201704161García-Fernández, A., García-Laínez, G., Ferrándiz, M. L., Aznar, E., Sancenón, F., Alcaraz, M. J., … Orzáez, M. (2017). Targeting inflammasome by the inhibition of caspase-1 activity using capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Journal of Controlled Release, 248, 60-70. doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2017.01.002Murugan, C., Rayappan, K., Thangam, R., Bhanumathi, R., Shanthi, K., Vivek, R., … Kannan, S. (2016). Combinatorial nanocarrier based drug delivery approach for amalgamation of anti-tumor agents in breast cancer cells: an improved nanomedicine strategy. Scientific Reports, 6(1). doi:10.1038/srep34053Van Rijt, S. H., Bölükbas, D. A., Argyo, C., Datz, S., Lindner, M., Eickelberg, O., … Meiners, S. (2015). Protease-Mediated Release of Chemotherapeutics from Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles to ex Vivo Human and Mouse Lung Tumors. ACS Nano, 9(3), 2377-2389. doi:10.1021/nn5070343Llopis-Lorente, A., Lozano-Torres, B., Bernardos, A., Martínez-Máñez, R., & Sancenón, F. (2017). Mesoporous silica materials for controlled delivery based on enzymes. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 5(17), 3069-3083. doi:10.1039/c7tb00348jBianchi, F., Pretto, S., Tagliabue, E., Balsari, A., & Sfondrini, L. (2017). Exploiting poly(I:C) to induce cancer cell apoptosis. Cancer Biology & Therapy, 18(10), 747-756. doi:10.1080/15384047.2017.1373220Ultimo, A., Giménez, C., Bartovsky, P., Aznar, E., Sancenón, F., Marcos, M. D., … Murguía, J. R. (2016). Targeting Innate Immunity with dsRNA-Conjugated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Promotes Antitumor Effects on Breast Cancer Cells. Chemistry - A European Journal, 22(5), 1582-1586. doi:10.1002/chem.201504629Bernardo, A. R., Cosgaya, J. M., Aranda, A., & Jiménez-Lara, A. M. (2013). Synergy between RA and TLR3 promotes type I IFN-dependent apoptosis through upregulation of TRAIL pathway in breast cancer cells. Cell Death & Disease, 4(1), e479-e479. doi:10.1038/cddis.2013.5Clarke, N., Jimenez-Lara, A. M., Voltz, E., & Gronemeyer, H. (2004). Tumor suppressor IRF-1 mediates retinoid and interferon anticancer signaling to death ligand TRAIL. The EMBO Journal, 23(15), 3051-3060. doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600302Kajita, A. i., Morizane, S., Takiguchi, T., Yamamoto, T., Yamada, M., & Iwatsuki, K. (2015). Interferon-Gamma Enhances TLR3 Expression and Anti-Viral Activity in Keratinocytes. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 135(8), 2005-2011. doi:10.1038/jid.2015.125Weihua, X., Kolla, V., & Kalvakolanu, D. V. (1997). Modulation of Interferon Action by Retinoids. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 272(15), 9742-9748. doi:10.1074/jbc.272.15.974

Combined effect of salinity and LED lights on the yield and quality of purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) microgreens

The present work aims to explore the potential to improve quality of purslane microgreens by combining water salinity and LED lighting during their cultivation. Purslane plants were grown in a growth chamber with light insulated compartments, under different lighting sources on a 16 h d1 photoperiod—fluorescent lamps (FL) and two LED treatments, including a red and blue (RB)) spectrum and a red, blue and far red (RB+IR) LED lights spectrum—while providing all of them a light intensity of 150 _mol m2 s1. Plants were exposed to two salinity treatments, by adding 0 or 80 mM NaCl. Biomass, cation and anions, total phenolics (TPC) and flavonoids content (TFC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total chlorophylls (Chl) and carotenoids content (Car) and fatty acids were determined. The results showed that yield was increased by 21% both in RB and RB+FR lights compared to FL and in salinity compared to non-salinity conditions. The nitrate content was reduced by 81% and 91% when microgreens were grown under RB and RB+FR, respectively, as compared to FL light, and by 9.5% under saline conditions as compared with non-salinity conditions. The lowest oxalate contents were obtained with the combinations of RB or RB+FR lighting and salinity. The content of Cl and Na in the leaves were also reduced when microgreens were grown under RB and RB+FR lights under saline conditions. Microgreens grown under RB light reached the highest TPC, while salinity reduced TFC, Chl and Car. Finally, the fatty acid content was not affected by light or salinity, but these factors slightly influenced their composition. It is concluded that the use of RB and RB+FR lights in saline conditions is of potential use in purslane microgreens production, since it improves the yield and quality of the product, reducing the content of anti-nutritional compounds.This project was financed by the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia nº 20849/PI/18 through the grant call for projects for the development of scientific and technical research by competitive groups, included in the Regional Programme for the Promotion of Scientific and Technical Research (Action Plan 2018) of the Seneca Foundation-Science and Technology Agency of the Region of Murcia (Spain). The research also received funding from the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF), in the framework of the project “Light on Shelf Life” (CUP J56J20000410008). The elaboration of the manuscript was supported by a grant from the Fundación Séneca (reference 20555/IV/18, Call for Fellowships for Guest Researcher Stays at Universities and OPIS of the Region of Murcia) awarded to Francesco Orsini

Effect of salinity and resistance induction using methyl jasmonate on growth and phytochemical properties of sea fennel

[SPA] El hinojo marino (Crithmum maritimum L.) es una halófita herbácea, aromática y comestible, que se produce naturalmente en las zonas costeras de la cuenca mediterránea. En este estudio, se ha evaluado el efecto de la salinidad y la inducción de resistencia mediante metiljasmonato (MeJa) en el crecimiento y las propiedades fitoquímicas (fenoles y flavonoides totales, capacidad antioxidante) del hinojo marino. Las plantas tratadas con MeJa mostraron valores similares de compuestos fenólicos que las plantas control, mientras que el tratamiento salino disminuyó significativamente su contenido en hojas. Respecto a los flavonoides, la salinidad y el MeJa aumentaron significativamente los valores respecto a los controles. La capacidad antioxidante no se vio afectada por ningún tratamiento. Los resultados muestran que el tratamiento con MeJa alivió los efectos negativos de la salinidad sobre el crecimiento sin afectar a la composición fitoquímica de la planta bajo estrés salino. [ENG] Sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) is an herbaceous aromatic and edible halophyte, naturally occurring in coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin. In this study, the effect of salinity and resistance induction using methyl jasmonate (MeJa) on the growth and phytochemical properties (phenols, total flavonoids and antioxidant capacity) of sea fennel was evaluated. The plants treated by MeJa showed similar values of phenolic compounds than the control plants, while the saline treatment significantly decreased its leaf content. Regarding flavonoids, salinity and MeJa significantly increased the values compared to the controls. The antioxidant capacity was not affected by any treatment. The results show that the treatment with MeJa alleviated the negative effects of salinity on growth without affecting the phytochemical composition of the plant under conditions of saline stress

A critical view on the current use of daptomycin in Spain: The daptomise study

Background: The Study on the Clinical Use of DAPTOMycin in Spain (DAPTOMISE Study) is a national surveillance program of daptomycin use. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the current variability in daptomycin consumption across the different hospitals and the adequacy of therapy, specially focused on underdosing. Methods: All adult and pediatric patients who received, at least, one dose of daptomycin in a single week in 98 institutions in Spain were included. The adequacy of daptomycin use was evaluated with respect to the indication, dosage, adjustments after microbiology results, switching to an oral agent and length of treatment. Results: A total of 615 patients received daptomycin during the study week. The prevalence use was 2.3 patients / 100,000 inhabitants per week, 12.4 patients / 1000 admissions and 9.2 Days of Therapy (DOT) / 1000 hospital stays. These rates varied between hospitals: from 0 to 13.9 patients / 100,000 inhabitants, from 0 to 76.1 patients / 1000 admissions and from 0 to 49.4 DOT / 1000 hospital stays. The most frequent infections were bacteremia (31.6 %) and skin and soft tissue infections (17.9 %). Microbiological results were available in only 65.4 % of infections. The most frequent microorganisms were Staphylococcus aureus (192 isolates, of which 87 were resistant to methicillin) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (124 isolates). A total of 136 prescriptions (22.1 %) were underdosed. Dosages < 8 mg/kg were used for 35.6 % of endovascular infections and for 26.2 % of osteoarticular infections. Overall, 57.2 % of prescriptions were not optimal in, at least, one item. Clinical cure rate was 76.1% and mortality attributable to the infection 8.1%. Conclusion: This is the first registry that identifies the prevalence of use of daptomycin in Spain and shows a high variability in the consumption between the different hospitals. Daptomycin underdosing was present in more than 20 % of cases. (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Impact of introducing assisted electronic prescription on paediatric patient safety

[Resumen] Objetivo. El efecto de la implantación de la prescripción electrónica asistida en la seguridad de los pacientes pediátricos ha sido poco estudiado. El objetivo de este estudio es comparar los errores de medicación antes y después de su implantación en un hospital terciario. Material y métodos. Estudio cuasiexperimental comparativo de los errores de medicación detectados antes y después de la implantación de la prescripción electrónica. Se analizaron todas las líneas de tratamiento y se recogió el punto de la cadena donde ocurrió el error, el tipo de error y su causa. Se realizó un estudio Delphi sobre la importancia de cada error en el que participaron médicos, enfermeros y farmacéuticos. Resultados. Se incluyeron 166 pacientes (83 en cada etapa). Se detectó algún error en el 92% de los pacientes en la etapa preimplantacional (2,8 ± 2,1 errores/paciente) y en el 7,2% en la etapa postimplantacional (0,1 ± 0,4 errores/paciente). La prescripción electrónica asistida supuso una reducción absoluta del riesgo de error de un 40% (intervalo de confianza del 95% = 35,6-44,4%). Los lapsus/despistes fueron la principal causa de error en ambos grupos. En la etapa preimplantacional se consideraron graves el 9,5% de los errores, y en la etapa postimplantacional todos fueron leves o moderados. Conclusiones. La implantación de la prescripción electrónica con sistemas de ayuda a la prescripción, validación y administración de medicamentos reduce de forma significativa los errores de medicación y elimina los errores graves.[Abstract] Objective. There have been very few studies on the effect of assisted electronic prescription on paediatric patient safety. The objective of this study is to compare medication errors that occurred before and after its introduction in a tertiary hospital. Material and methods. A quasi-experimental comparative study of medication errors detected before and after assisted electronic prescription introduction. All treatment lines were analysed in order to detect the point in the chain where the medication error occurred, as well as its type and cause. A Delphi study was conducted on the importance of each medication error involving doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Results. The study included 166 patients (83 at each stage). At least one medication error was detected in 92% in the pre-introduction phase patients (2.8 ± 2.1 errors/patient) and 7.2% of post-introduction phase patients (0.1 ± 0.4 errors/patient). The assisted electronic prescription led to an absolute risk reduction of 40% (95% confidence interval = 35.6-44.4%). The main cause of error was lapses and carelessness in both stages. Medication errors were considered serious in 9.5% of cases in the pre-introduction phase, while all of them were mild or moderate in the post-introduction phase. Conclusions. The assisted electronic prescription implementation with prescription, validation and medication administration assistance systems significantly reduces medication errors and eliminates serious errors

Search for composite and exotic fermions at LEP2

A search for unstable heavy fermions with the DELPHI detector at LEP is reported. Sequential and non-canonical leptons, as well as excited leptons and quarks, are considered. The data analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 48 pb^{-1} at an e^+e^- centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV and about 20 pb^{-1} equally shared between the centre-of-mass energies of 172 GeV and 161 GeV. The search for pair-produced new leptons establishes 95% confidence level mass limits in the region between 70 GeV/c^2 and 90 GeV/c^2, depending on the channel. The search for singly produced excited leptons and quarks establishes upper limits on the ratio of the coupling of the excited fermion

Measurement of the gluon fragmentation function and a comparison of the scaling violation in gluon and quarks jets

The fragmentation functions of quarks and gluons are measured in various three-jet topologies in Z decays from the full data set collected with the Delphi detector at the Z resonance between 1992 and 1995. The results at different values of transverse momentum-like scales are compared. A parameterization of the quark and gluon fragmentation functions at a fixed reference scale is given. The quark and gluon fragmentation functions show the predicted pattern of scaling violations. The scaling violation for quark jets as a function of a transverse momentum-like scale is in a good agreement with that observed in lower energy e+e− annihilation experiments. For gluon jets it appears to be significantly stronger. The scale dependences of the gluon and quark fragmentation functions agree with the prediction of the DGLAP evolution equations from which the colour factor ratio CA/CF is measured to be: CACF=2.26±0.09stat.±0.06sys.±0.12clus.,scale