Materia Trasplantes de Órganos y Tejidos : Calificación de las actividades docentes a través de encuestas a los alumnos

En el año 2008 inicia sus actividades la Materia Optativa “Trasplantes de Órganos y Tejidos” dentro del Plan de Estudios 2004. La materia se integra por actividades teóricas y prácticas. Las primeras se dividen en diferentes Módulos, a saber: Generalidades, Identificación, Selección y Mantenimiento, Diagnóstico de muerte, Autorización familiar y judicial, Inmunología, Extracción de órganos y tejidos, el Proceso de donación cadavérica, Criterios ampliados en el donante cadavérico, Infectología, Anatomía Patológica, lesión por Isquemia y reperfusión, Inmunosupresión, Legislación, Bioética, Trasplantes Intratoráccicos, Trasplante Hepático, Trasplante Intestinal, Trasplante Pancreático, Trasplante Renal, Investigación básica y clínica en trasplantes, Trasplante de Células Progenitoras Hemoyéticas y Trasplante de Tejidos. Las actividades prácticas incluyen: Resolución de Casos Clínicos, Trabajos Prácticos, Taller de integración, Ateneos clínico-quirúrgicos, Guardia en CUCAIBA y Guardia en Unidades de Cuidados Críticos.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Materia Trasplantes de Órganos y Tejidos : Calificación de las actividades docentes a través de encuestas a los alumnos

En el año 2008 inicia sus actividades la Materia Optativa “Trasplantes de Órganos y Tejidos” dentro del Plan de Estudios 2004. La materia se integra por actividades teóricas y prácticas. Las primeras se dividen en diferentes Módulos, a saber: Generalidades, Identificación, Selección y Mantenimiento, Diagnóstico de muerte, Autorización familiar y judicial, Inmunología, Extracción de órganos y tejidos, el Proceso de donación cadavérica, Criterios ampliados en el donante cadavérico, Infectología, Anatomía Patológica, lesión por Isquemia y reperfusión, Inmunosupresión, Legislación, Bioética, Trasplantes Intratoráccicos, Trasplante Hepático, Trasplante Intestinal, Trasplante Pancreático, Trasplante Renal, Investigación básica y clínica en trasplantes, Trasplante de Células Progenitoras Hemoyéticas y Trasplante de Tejidos. Las actividades prácticas incluyen: Resolución de Casos Clínicos, Trabajos Prácticos, Taller de integración, Ateneos clínico-quirúrgicos, Guardia en CUCAIBA y Guardia en Unidades de Cuidados Críticos.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Practical and clinical utility of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the acute treatment of migraine. A post hoc analysis of the randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind PRESTO trial

Background: The PRESTO study of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS; gammaCore®) featured key primary and secondary end points recommended by the International Headache Society to provide Class I evidence that for patients with an episodic migraine, nVNS significantly increases the probability of having mild pain or being pain-free 2 h post stimulation. Here, we examined additional data from PRESTO to provide further insights into the practical utility of nVNS by evaluating its ability to consistently deliver clinically meaningful improvements in pain intensity while reducing the need for rescue medication. Methods: Patients recorded pain intensity for treated migraine attacks on a 4-point scale. Data were examined to compare nVNS and sham with regard to the percentage of patients who benefited by at least 1 point in pain intensity. We also assessed the percentage of attacks that required rescue medication and pain-free rates stratified by pain intensity at treatment initiation. Results: A significantly higher percentage of patients who used acute nVNS treatment (n = 120) vs sham (n = 123) reported a ≥ 1-point decrease in pain intensity at 30 min (nVNS, 32.2%; sham, 18.5%; P = 0.020), 60 min (nVNS, 38.8%; sham, 24.0%; P = 0.017), and 120 min (nVNS, 46.8%; sham, 26.2%; P = 0.002) after the first attack. Similar significant results were seen when assessing the benefit in all attacks. The proportion of patients who did not require rescue medication was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham for the first attack (nVNS, 59.3%; sham, 41.9%; P = 0.013) and all attacks (nVNS, 52.3%; sham, 37.3%; P = 0.008). When initial pain intensity was mild, the percentage of patients with no pain after treatment was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham at 60 min (all attacks: nVNS, 37.0%; sham, 21.2%; P = 0.025) and 120 min (first attack: nVNS, 50.0%; sham, 25.0%; P = 0.018; all attacks: nVNS, 46.7%; sham, 30.1%; P = 0.037). Conclusions: This post hoc analysis demonstrated that acute nVNS treatment quickly and consistently reduced pain intensity while decreasing rescue medication use. These clinical benefits provide guidance in the optimal use of nVNS in everyday practice, which can potentially reduce use of acute pharmacologic medications and their associated adverse events. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02686034

Isolation and characterization of 2 new human rotator cuff and long head of biceps tendon cells possessing stem cell-like self-renewal and multipotential differentiation capacity

BACKGROUND: Stem cell therapy is expected to offer new alternatives to the traditional therapies of rotator cuff tendon tears. In particular, resident, tissue-specific, adult stem cells seem to have a higher regenerative potential for the tissue where they reside. HYPOTHESIS: Rotator cuff tendon and long head of the biceps tendon possess a resident stem cell population that, when properly stimulated, may be induced to proliferate, thus being potentially usable for tendon regeneration. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: Human tendon samples from the supraspinatus and the long head of the biceps were collected during rotator cuff tendon surgeries from 26 patients, washed with phosphate-buffered saline, cut into small pieces, and digested with collagenase type I and dispase. After centrifugation, cell pellets were resuspended in appropriate culture medium and plated. Adherent cells were cultured, phenotypically characterized, and then compared with human bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), as an example of adult stem cells, and human dermal fibroblasts, as normal proliferating cells with no stem cell properties. RESULTS: Two new adult stem cell populations from the supraspinatus and long head of the biceps tendons were isolated, characterized, and cultured in vitro. Cells showed adult stem cell characteristics (ie, they were self-renewing in vitro, clonogenic, and multipotent), as they could be induced to differentiate into different cell types--namely, osteoblasts, adipocytes, and skeletal muscle cells. CONCLUSION: This work demonstrated that human rotator cuff tendon stem cells and human long head of the biceps tendon stem cells can be isolated and possess a high regenerative potential, which is comparable with that of BMSCs. Moreover, comparative analysis of the sphingolipid pattern of isolated cells with that of BMSCs and fibroblasts revealed the possibility of using this class of lipids as new possible markers of the cell differentiation status. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Rotator cuff and long head of the biceps tendons contain a stem cell population that can proliferate in vitro and could constitute an easily accessible stem cell source to develop novel therapies for tendon regeneration

A multi-disciplinary perspective on emergent and future innovations in peer review [version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]

Peer review of research articles is a core part of our scholarly communication system. In spite of its importance, the status and purpose of peer review is often contested. What is its role in our modern digital research and communications infrastructure? Does it perform to the high standards with which it is generally regarded? Studies of peer review have shown that it is prone to bias and abuse in numerous dimensions, frequently unreliable, and can fail to detect even fraudulent research. With the advent of Web technologies, we are now witnessing a phase of innovation and experimentation in our approaches to peer review. These developments prompted us to examine emerging models of peer review from a range of disciplines and venues, and to ask how they might address some of the issues with our current systems of peer review. We examine the functionality of a range of social Web platforms, and compare these with the traits underlying a viable peer review system: quality control, quantified performance metrics as engagement incentives, and certification and reputation. Ideally, any new systems will demonstrate that they out-perform current models while avoiding as many of the biases of existing systems as possible. We conclude that there is considerable scope for new peer review initiatives to be developed, each with their own potential issues and advantages. We also propose a novel hybrid platform model that, at least partially, resolves many of the technical and social issues associated with peer review, and can potentially disrupt the entire scholarly communication system. Success for any such development relies on reaching a critical threshold of research community engagement with both the process and the platform, and therefore cannot be achieved without a significant change of incentives in research environments

Foundations for Open Scholarship Strategy Development, Version 2.1 [Pre-print]

This document aims to agree on a broad, international strategy for the implementation of open scholarship that meets the needs of different national and regional communities but works globally. Scholarly research can be idealised as an inspirational process for advancing our collective knowledge to the benefit of all humankind. However, current research practices often struggle with a range of tensions, in part due to the fact that this collective (or “commons”) ideal conflicts with the competitive system in which most scholars work, and in part because much of the infrastructure of the scholarly world is becoming largely digital. What is broadly termed as Open Scholarship is an attempt to realign modern research practices with this ideal. We do not propose a definition of Open Scholarship, but recognise that it is a holistic term that encompasses many disciplines, practices, and principles, sometimes also referred to as Open Science or Open Research. We choose the term Open Scholarship to be more inclusive of these other terms. When we refer to science in this document, we do so historically and use it as shorthand for more general scholarship. The purpose of this document is to provide a concise analysis of where the global Open Scholarship movement currently stands: what the common threads and strengths are, where the greatest opportunities and challenges lie, and how we can more effectively work together as a global community to recognise and address the top strategic priorities. This document was inspired by the Foundations for OER Strategy Development and work in the FORCE11 Scholarly Commons Working Group, and developed by an open contribution working group. Our hope is that this document will serve as a foundational resource for continuing discussions and initiatives about implementing effective strategies to help streamline the integration of Open Scholarship practices into a modern, digital research culture. Through this, we hope to extend the reach and impact of Open Scholarship into a global context, making sure that it is truly open for all. We also hope that this document will evolve as the conversations around Open Scholarship progress, and help to provide useful insight for both global co-ordination and local action. We believe this is a step forward in making Open Scholarship the norm. Ultimately, we expect the impact of widespread adoption of Open Scholarship to be diverse. We expect novel research practices to accelerate the pace of innovation, and therefore stimulate critical industries around the world. We could also expect to see an increase in public trust of science and scholarship, as transparency becomes more normative. As such, we expect interest in Open Scholarship to increase at multiple levels, due to its inherent influence on society and global economics

Merging memantine and ferulic acid to probe connections between NMDA receptors, oxidative stress and amyloid-\u3b2 peptide in Alzheimer's disease

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are critically involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Acting as an open-channel blocker, the anti-AD drug memantine preferentially targets NMDAR overactivation, which has been proposed to trigger neurotoxic events mediated by amyloid \u3b2 peptide (A\u3b2) and oxidative stress. In this study, we applied a multifunctional approach by conjugating memantine to ferulic acid, which is known to protect the brain from A\u3b2 neurotoxicity and neuronal death caused by ROS. The most interesting compound (7) behaved, like memantine, as a voltage-dependent antagonist of NMDAR (IC50 = 6.9 \u3bcM). In addition, at 10 \u3bcM concentration, 7 exerted antioxidant properties both directly and indirectly through the activation of the Nrf-2 pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. At the same concentration, differently from the parent compounds memantine and ferulic acid alone, it was able to modulate A\u3b2 production, as revealed by the observed increase of the non-amyloidogenic sAPP\u3b1 in H4-SW cells. These findings suggest that compound 7 may represent a promising tool for investigating NMDAR-mediated neurotoxic events involving A\u3b2 burden and oxidative damage

Merging memantine and ferulic acid to probe connections between NMDA receptors, oxidative stress and amyloid-β peptide in Alzheimer's disease

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are critically involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Acting as an open-channel blocker, the anti-AD drug memantine preferentially targets NMDAR overactivation, which has been proposed to trigger neurotoxic events mediated by amyloid β peptide (Aβ) and oxidative stress. In this study, we applied a multifunctional approach by conjugating memantine to ferulic acid, which is known to protect the brain from Aβ neurotoxicity and neuronal death caused by ROS. The most interesting compound (7) behaved, like memantine, as a voltage-dependent antagonist of NMDAR (IC50 = 6.9 μM). In addition, at 10 μM concentration, 7 exerted antioxidant properties both directly and indirectly through the activation of the Nrf-2 pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. At the same concentration, differently from the parent compounds memantine and ferulic acid alone, it was able to modulate Aβ production, as revealed by the observed increase of the non-amyloidogenic sAPPα in H4-SW cells. These findings suggest that compound 7 may represent a promising tool for investigating NMDAR-mediated neurotoxic events involving Aβ burden and oxidative damage