Versatile Graphene-Based Platform for Robust Nanobiohybrid Interfaces

Technologically useful and robust graphene-based interfaces for devices require the introduction of highly selective, stable, and covalently bonded functionalities on the graphene surface, whilst essentially retaining the electronic properties of the pristine layer. This work demonstrates that highly controlled, ultrahigh vacuum covalent chemical functionalization of graphene sheets with a thiol-terminated molecule provides a robust and tunable platform for the development of hybrid nanostructures in different environments. We employ this facile strategy to covalently couple two representative systems of broad interest: metal nanoparticles, via S-metal bonds, and thiol-modified DNA aptamers, via disulfide bridges. Both systems, which have been characterized by a multi-technique approach, remain firmly anchored to the graphene surface even after several washing cycles. Atomic force microscopy images demonstrate that the conjugated aptamer retains the functionality required to recognize a target protein. This methodology opens a new route to the integration of high-quality graphene layers into diverse technological platforms, including plasmonics, optoelectronics, or biosensing. With respect to the latter, the viability of a thiol-functionalized chemical vapor deposition graphene-based solution-gated field-effect transistor array was assessed

GlobTherm, a global database on thermal tolerances for aquatic and terrestrial organisms

CITATION: Bennett, J. M., et al. 2018. GlobTherm, a global database on thermal tolerances for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Scientific Data, 5:180022, doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.22.The original publication is available at https://www.nature.comHow climate affects species distributions is a longstanding question receiving renewed interest owing to the need to predict the impacts of global warming on biodiversity. Is climate change forcing species to live near their critical thermal limits? Are these limits likely to change through natural selection? These and other important questions can be addressed with models relating geographical distributions of species with climate data, but inferences made with these models are highly contingent on non-climatic factors such as biotic interactions. Improved understanding of climate change effects on species will require extensive analysis of thermal physiological traits, but such data are both scarce and scattered. To overcome current limitations, we created the GlobTherm database. The database contains experimentally derived species’ thermal tolerance data currently comprising over 2,000 species of terrestrial, freshwater, intertidal and marine multicellular algae, plants, fungi, and animals. The GlobTherm database will be maintained and curated by iDiv with the aim to keep expanding it, and enable further investigations on the effects of climate on the distribution of life on Earth.https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201822Publisher's versio

Conservation of the endemic dwarf carnivores of Cozumel Island, Mexico.

Cozumel Island, Mexico, harbours two endemic species of dwarf procyonids: the Pygmy Raccoon Procyon pygmaeus and the Dwarf Coati Nasua nelsoni. Both species are Critically Endangered, and are among the world&rsquo;s most threatened Carnivora. Here we summarise the research we have been conducting on their ecology, evolution, genetics, and conservation. We also summarise the conservation initiatives we have been undertaking and promoting in order to advance the conservation of these unique species and their habitats. This effort illustrates the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in conservation science and action in maximising effectiveness. Nevertheless, the precarious status of the species make it imperative to continue and expand the work we have carried out in Cozumel to prevent two imminent global extinctions.<br /

Inhibition of Glioblastoma Growth by the Thiadiazolidinone Compound TDZD-8

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.[Background]: Thiadiazolidinones (TDZD) are small heterocyclic compounds first described as non-ATP competitive inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3 beta). In this study, we analyzed the effects of 4-benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5- dione (TDZD-8), on murine GL261 cells growth in vitro and on the growth of established intracerebral murine gliomas in vivo. [Methodology/Principal Findings]: Our data show that TDZD-8 decreased proliferation and induced apoptosis of GL261 glioblastoma cells in vitro, delayed tumor growth in vivo, and augmented animal survival. These effects were associated with an early activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and increased expression of EGR-1 and p21 genes. Also, we observed a sustained activation of the ERK pathway, a concomitant phosphorylation and activation of ribosomal S6 kinase (p90RSK) and an inactivation of GSK-3 beta by phosphorylation at Ser 9. Finally, treatment of glioblastoma stem cells with TDZD-8 resulted in an inhibition of proliferation and self-renewal of these cells. [Conclusions/Significance]: Our results suggest that TDZD-8 uses a novel mechanism to target glioblastoma cells, and that malignant progenitor population could be a target of this compound.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia grant SAF2007-62811 (to A.P.-C.). CIBERNED is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. JA.M.-G. and M.S.-S. are fellows of CIBERNED. D.A.-M. is a fellow of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas.Peer reviewe

Deletion of chromosomal region 8p21 confers resistance to Bortezomib and is associated with upregulated Decoy trail receptor expression in patients with multiple myeloma

Loss of the chromosomal region 8p21 negatively effects survival in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) that undergo autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). In this study, we aimed to identify the immunological and molecular consequences of del(8)(p21) with regards to treatment response and bortezomib resistance. In patients receiving bortezomib as a single first line agent without any high-dose therapy, we have observed that patients with del(8)(p21) responded poorly to bortezomib with 50% showing no response while patients without the deletion had a response rate of 90%. In vitro analysis revealed a higher resistance to bortezomib possibly due to an altered gene expression profile caused by del(8)(p21) including genes such as TRAIL-R4, CCDC25, RHOBTB2, PTK2B, SCARA3, MYC, BCL2 and TP53. Furthermore, while bortezomib sensitized MM cells without del(8)(p21) to TRAIL/APO2L mediated apoptosis, in cells with del(8)(p21) bortezomib failed to upregulate the pro-apoptotic death receptors TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2 which are located on the 8p21 region. Also expressing higher levels of the decoy death receptor TRAIL-R4, these cells were largely resistant to TRAIL/APO2L mediated apoptosis. Corroborating the clinical outcome of the patients, our data provides a potential explanation regarding the poor response of MM patients with del(8)(p21) to bortezomib treatment. Furthermore, our clinical analysis suggests that including immunomodulatory agents such as Lenalidomide in the treatment regimen may help to overcome this negative effect, providing an alternative consideration in treatment planning of MM patients with del(8)(p21)

Dendritic Cells Take up and Present Antigens from Viable and Apoptotic Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes

Dendritic cells (DC) are endowed with the ability to cross-present antigens from other cell types to cognate T cells. DC are poised to meet polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) as a result of being co-attracted by interleukin-8 (IL-8), for instance as produced by tumor cells or infected tissue. Human monocyte-derived and mouse bone marrow-derived DC can readily internalize viable or UV-irradiated PMNs. Such internalization was abrogated at 4°C and partly inhibited by anti-CD18 mAb. In mice, DC which had internalized PMNs containing electroporated ovalbumin (OVA) protein, were able to cross-present the antigen to CD8 (OT-1) and CD4 (OT-2) TCR-transgenic T cells. Moreover, in humans, tumor cell debris is internalized by PMNs and the tumor-cell material can be subsequently taken up from the immunomagnetically re-isolated PMNs by DC. Importantly, if human neutrophils had endocytosed bacteria, they were able to trigger the maturation program of the DC. Moreover, when mouse PMNs with E. coli in their interior are co-injected in the foot pad with DC, many DC loaded with fluorescent material from the PMNs reach draining lymph nodes. Using CT26 (H-2d) mouse tumor cells, it was observed that if tumor cells are intracellularly loaded with OVA protein and UV-irradiated, they become phagocytic prey of H-2d PMNs. If such PMNs, that cannot present antigens to OT-1 T cells, are immunomagnetically re-isolated and phagocytosed by H-2b DC, such DC productively cross-present OVA antigen determinants to OT-1 T cells. Cross-presentation to adoptively transferred OT-1 lymphocytes at draining lymph nodes also take place when OVA-loaded PMNs (H-2d) are coinjected in the footpad of mice with autologous DC (H-2b). In summary, our results indicate that antigens phagocytosed by short-lived PMNs can be in turn internalized and productively cross-presented by DC

SELNET clinical practice guidelines for bone sarcoma

Bone sarcoma are infrequent diseases, representing < 0.2% of all adult neoplasms. A multidisciplinary management within reference centers for sarcoma, with discussion of the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies within an expert multidisciplinary tumour board, is essential for these patients, given its heterogeneity and low frequency. This approach leads to an improvement in patient's outcome, as demonstrated in several studies. The Sarcoma European Latin-American Network (SELNET), aims to improve clinical outcome in sarcoma care, with a special focus in Latin-American countries. These Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) have been developed and agreed by a multidisciplinary expert group (including medical and radiation oncologist, surgical oncologist, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologist, pathologist, molecular biologist and representatives of patients advocacy groups) of the SELNET consortium, and are conceived to provide the standard approach to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of bone sarcoma patients in the Latin-American context

Bean Golden Mosaic: Research Advances

El frijol (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) es una de las fuentes de proteina (15-35%) y calorías (ca. 340 caI./100 gr) más importantes en la América Latina. En esta región, centro de origen de esta especie, se producen más de cuatro millones de toneladas de frijol al año, lo cual equivale al 88% de la semilla de frijol producida en las regiones tropicales del mundo. Brasil, el mayor productor de frijol del mundo, posee un consumo per capita de cerca de 20 kg/año. En America Central, el frijol es igualmente importante, siendo consumido en la mayoría de los países centroamericanos hasta tres veces por día. Proporcionalmente, en la America Central se cultiva el doble del área que en Brasil, relativo a sus extensiones territoriales. El frijol es también producido en islas del Caribe, tales como Cuba (ca. 26.000 TM), Haití (56.000 TM) y República Dominicana (55.000 TM) según datos de 1990 (CIAT). México, el segundo productor de frijol en la America Latina, consume aproximadamente 1.2 millones de toneladas métricas de frijol al año. A pesar de que México cultiva cerca de 1.800.000 hectáreas de frijol, la demanda interna no es satisfecha en algunos años dado la baja productividad del cultivo. Esta baja productividad relativa del frijol, no solo en México sino también en el resto de la América Latina (700 kg/ha vs. 1.600 kg/ha en los Estados Unidos), es una consecuencia de los múltiples problemas bióticos y abióticos que inciden en el cultivo, en el trópico Americano. Es precisamente en las regiones productoras de frijol situadas en climas cálidos, de altitud baja a intermedia (0-1200 m.s.n.m), donde el mosaico dorado del frijol alcanza su mayor incidencia.The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important source of protein and calories in Latin America. In this region, the center of origin of this legume species, over 4 million tons of dry beans are produced per year. Nevertheless, many Latin American countries, including two of the largest producers of beans in the world, Brazil and Mexico, have to import beans to meet internal demand. This shortage of beans is related to the low productivity of this crop in Latin America (700 kg /ha vs. 1,600 kg/ ha average in the USA). The low productivity in the main bean production regions of tropical America is associated to the incidence of several biotic and abiotic constraints. Among the biotic constraints, bean golden mosaic virus is undoubtedly the main bean production problem in the lowland tropics, particularly, during the dry seasons of the year.Programa Cooperativo Regional de Frijol para Centroamérica, México y el Caribe (PROFRIJOL)Cooperación Suiza para el Desarrollo (COSUDE)Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM

Rate and duration of hospitalisation for acute pulmonary embolism in the real-world clinical practice of different countries : Analysis from the RIETE registry

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