Heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces trained immunity in vitro and in vivo administered systemically or intranasally

Trained immunity (TI) represents a memory-like process of innate immune cells. TI can be initiated with various compounds such as fungal β-glucan or the tuberculosis vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin. Nevertheless, considering the clinical applications of harnessing TI against infections and cancer, there is a growing need for new, simple, and easy-to-use TI inducers. Here, we demonstrate that heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis (HKMtb) induces TI both in vitro and in vivo. In human monocytes, this effect represents a truly trained process, as HKMtb confers boosted inflammatory responses against various heterologous challenges, such as lipopolysaccharide (Toll-like receptor [TLR] 4 ligand) and R848 (TLR7/8 ligand). Mechanistically, HKMtb-induced TI relies on epigenetic mechanisms in a Syk/HIF-1α-dependent manner. In vivo, HKMtb induced TI when administered both systemically and intranasally, with the latter generating a more robust TI response. Summarizing, our research has demonstrated that HKMtb has the potential to act as a mucosal immunotherapy that can successfully induce trained responses

Simulation of electron transport and secondary emission in a photomultiplier tube and experimental validation

[EN] The electron amplification and transport within a photomultiplier tube (PMT) has been investigated by developing an in-house Monte Carlo simulation code. The secondary electron emission in the dynodes is implemented via an effective electron model and the Modified Vaughan¿s model, whereas the transport is computed with the Boris leapfrog algorithm. The PMT gain, rise time and transit time have been studied as a function of supply voltage and external magnetostatic field. A good agreement with experimental measurements using a Hamamatsu R13408-100 PMT was obtained. The simulations have been conducted following different treatments of the underlying geometry: three-dimensional, two-dimensional and intermediate (2.5D). The validity of these approaches is compared. The developed framework will help in understanding the behavior of PMTs under highly intense and irregular illumination or varying external magnetic fields, as in the case of prompt gamma-ray measurements during pencil-beam proton therapy; and aid in optimizing the design of voltage dividers with behavioral circuit models.This work was supported by Conselleria de Educación, Investigación, Cultura y Deporte (Generalitat Valenciana) under grant numbers CDEIGENT/2019/011 and CDEIGENT/2021/012. P. Martín-Luna is supported by the Ministerio de Universidades (Gobierno de España), Spain under Grant Number FPU20/04958. We thank Hamamatsu (V. Sánchez, D. Castrillo) for technical support and guidance; R. Carrasco (IFIC) and P. Wohlfahrt (Siemens Healthineers) for the CT scanning; D. Calvo and D. Real (KM3net-IFIC) for their LED test platform, the electronics and maintenance services at IFIC for excellent support; and K. Albiol, J. V. Casaña-Copado, A. Gallas Torreira, E. Lemos Cid, G. Pausch, A. Pazos Álvarez, E. Pérez Trigo, S. Rit, A. Ros, J. Roser, J. Stein, J. L. Taín and R. Viegas for useful discussions.Martín-Luna, P.; Esperante, D.; Fernández Prieto, A.; Fuster-Martínez, N.; García Rivas, I.; Gimeno, B.; Ginestar Peiro, D.... (2024). Simulation of electron transport and secondary emission in a photomultiplier tube and experimental validation. Sensors and Actuators A Physical. 365:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2023.11485911036

Circulating microRNA expression profile in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

BACKGROUND: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a highly diverse disease characterized by cytogenetic and molecularabnormalities, including altered microRNA (miRNA) expression signatures. AIM: We perform and validate a plasma miRNA expression profiling to identify potential miRNA involved in leukemogenesis METHODS: MiRNA expression profiling assay was realized in 39 B-ALL and 7 normal control plasma samples using TaqMan Low Density Array (TLDA) plates on Applied Biosystems 7900 HT Fast Real-Time PCR System. MiRNA validation was done for six miRNA differentially expressed by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: Seventy-seven circulating miRNA differentially expressed: hsa-miR-511, -222, and -34a were overexpressed, whereas hsa-miR-199a-3p, -223, -221, and -26a were underexpressed (p values < 0.005 for both sets). According to operating characteristic curve analysis, hsa-miR-511 was the most valuable biomarker for distinguishing B-ALL from normal controls,with an area under curve value of 1 and 100% for sensitivity, and specificity respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Measuring circulating levels of specific miRNA implicated in regulation of cell differentiation and/or cell proliferation such as hsa-miRNA-511, offers high sensitivity and specificity in B-ALL detection and may be potentially useful for detection of disease progression, as indicator of therapeutic response, and in the assessment of biological and/or therapeutic targets for patients with B-ALL

La resistencia femenina en el campo mexicano. Un análisis agrario en el estado de Hidalgo / A resistência das mulheres no campo mexicano. Uma análise agrária no estado de Hidalgo

El presente trabajo centró su análisis en los diferentes papeles y relaciones de las mujeres en los sistemas de producción ovino (SPO) desde un enfoque ambiental productivo. El cual tuvo como objetivo principal identificar las principales prácticas agro-productivas; cuya finalidad fue obtener información que permitiera diferenciar sus necesidades y prioridades particulares a fin de la comprensión de diversas oportunidades, formas de participación y beneficios ambientales que determinan la continuidad de los SPO. Así como los apoyos necesarios que se requieren en la zona para que los SPO continúen vigentes en once de las comunidades indígenas del municipio de San Salvador, Estado de Hidalgo.Entre los principales resultados se destaca que la mayoría (77%) de las SPO que realizó el pastoreo extensivo se encuentra a cargo de mujeres que no han contado con apoyo de gobiernos, municipales, estatales o federales. Los factores asociados con la desigualdad de las mujeres están relacionados con la educación, la propiedad de activos agropecuarios y la nula remuneración en las actividades agropecuarias. La alta migración de los hombres en el municipio de San Salvador es uno de los principales factores que han permitido que la mujer quede incluida en el ámbito agropecuario. Sin embargo, la falta de políticas públicas no ha favorecido el trabajo de las mujeres, quienes consideran el campo como la principal fuente de trabajo y en algunos casos la única que les permite cumplir con sus necesidades básicas de sustento familiar

Photoinduced Charge Transfer and Trapping on Single Gold Metal Nanoparticles on TiO2

We present a study of the effect of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on TiO2 on charge generation and trapping during illumination with photons of energy larger than the substrate band gap. We used a novel characterization technique, photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy, to study the process at the single Au NP level. We found that the photoinduced electron transfer from TiO2 to the Au NP increases logarithmically with light intensity due to the combined contribution of electron-hole pair generation in the space charge region in the TiO2-air interface and in the metal-semiconductor junction. Our measurements on single particles provide direct evidence for electron trapping that hinders electron-hole recombination, a key factor in the enhancement of photo(electro)catalytic activity.This work was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 through the Structure and Dynamics of Materials Interfaces Program (FWP KC31SM) and the Molecular Foundry. M.L. acknowledges funds from Comunidad de Madrid (P2018/EMT-4308), a Fulbright grant PRX16/00564, and the MCIU-AEI-FEDERUE (RTI2018-096937-B-C22 and MAT2014-59772-C2-1-P). J.C. acknowledges financial support from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) and the European Union through the project PID2019-104272RB-C52. Also, Y.H. acknowledges financial support from MCIU through MAT2014-59772-C2-2- P and L.M. from EC through ERC-2013-SYG-610256. V.A.P.O. and M.B. acknowledge the financial support from EC through ERC CoG HyMAP 648319, MINECO PID2019- 106315RB-I00 and ENE2017-89170-R, ″Comunidad de Madrid″ and European Structural Funds (FotoArt-CM project S2018/NMT-4367) and Fundación Ramón Areces (Art-Leaf project). M.B. also thanks the Juan de la Cierva Incorporación contract (IJC2019042430-I). X.Z. was supported by the NSF-BSF 359 grant number 1906014. The authors thank Prof. Eran Edri, María Ujué González Sagardoy, and Judit Meseguer- Oliver for fruitful discussions and Asylum customer support for help with modifications of the AFM

Identificación y caracterización de grupos biológicos (comunidades hidrobiológicas, macroinvertebrados, plantas acuáticas, peces, anfibios, plantas terrestres, reptiles, aves y mamíferos), en el complejo ventana piloto de humedales de Paz de Ariporo-Hato Corozal

Este documento es resultado de la ejecución del Contrato 14-13-014-237PS entre el Instituto Humboldt y la Fundación Omacha, firmado en el marco del Convenio 005 (13-014) entre el Instituto Humboldt y el Fondo Adaptación. Contiene la propuesta para la identificación del límite funcional de la ventana piloto de humedales Paz de Ariporo-Hato Corozal, donde se estudiaron en los principales tipos de humedales naturales asociados a las cuencas de los ríos Ariporo y Chire (caños, cañadas, bosques de rebalse, matorrales inundables y cuerpos lénticos como esteros, lagunas de rebalse, bajos y madreviejas) la composición, estructura y uso del hábitat de los grupos biológicos asociados, tanto a los cuerpos de aguas como en las zonas transicionales acuático terrestres.BogotáSubdirección de Servicios Científicos y Proyectos Especiale

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum