Criopreservació i tècniques de reproducció assistida

La criopreservació és la preservació de la funcionalitat de les cèl·lules o teixits mitjançant la reducció de la temperatura per sota del punt on les reaccions químiques poden tenir lloc. D'aquesta manera es poden mantenir durant llargs períodes de temps mantenint la seva viabilitat, encara que aquesta pot estar compromesa per l'efecte negatiu que causa el descens de temperatura i també durant el retorn a la normotèrmia. És una part essencial de les tècniques de reproducció assistida. La criopreservació de semen facilita en gran mesura la planificació dels cicles de fecundació in vitro i la utilització de semen de donant i ha donat lloc a milers de nens nascuts sans, ja que augmenta les taxes d'embaràs acumulat per punció fol·licular. Actualment els embrions sobrants són criopreservats rutinàriament en els laboratoris de fecundació in vitro. Els naixements a partir d'embrions criopreservats representen al voltant del 8 % del total de nens nascuts amb les tècniques reproducció assistida. La criopreservació d'oòcits i teixit ovàric està adquirint un paper protagonista en els últims anys i està centrant tots els esforços per a l'optimització dels procediments, ja que ofereix grans possibilitats per als pacients que volen preservar la fertilitat.Cryopreservation is the preservation of the viability of cells and tissues by means of temperature reduction of the under the point where chemical reactions take place. Their viability can be preserved during long time although this state can be involved by the negative effect caused by temperature decrease and also by the return to normotermia. Semen and embryo cryopreservation has been an essential techniques of reproduction attended. Sedefenmen cryopreservation facilitates in great measure the planning of the cycles of fertilization in vitro mainly when donor semen is used. Embryo cryopreservation of embryos has given rise to thousands of healthy born children, enlarging accumulated rates of pregnancies by follicular puncture. Today, the surplus embryos are routinely cryopreserved in IVF laboratories. Births from cryopreserved embryos represents 8% of born children by using assisted reproduction techniques. Actually oocyte and ovarian tissue cryopreservation are acquiring high relevance and are centering all the efforts for protocol optimization since offer large possibilities for patients who want to preserve their fertility

Human reproduction in space. Late results

Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::3 - Salut i BenestarPostprint (published version

¿QUÉ HABILIDADES Y COMPETENCIAS SE VALORAN DE LOS PROFESIONALES QUE TRABAJAN CON ADOLESCENCIA EN RIESGO DE EXCLUSIÓN SOCIAL? ANÁLISIS DESDE LA ACCIÓN SOCIOEDUCATIVA

The exercise of defining the most relevant skills and competencies in certain contexts of social education responds to a need arising from professional practice to improve the social inclusion of more vulnerable groups. Here, we present research conducted with three social institutions attending to the needs of adolescents at risk of social exclusion in Madrid, Galicia and Catalonia, with the aim of analysing adolescents and professionals’ perceptions and assessments of the skills and competencies demonstrated by social educators working with adolescents. We adopted a mixed methodology, combining a non-experimental and ex post facto quantitative approach with a qualitative approach in order to facilitate the comparison of results across successive categorizations and triangulation of information, following Grounded Theory.The target population were adolescents at risk of social exclusion aged 12 to 16 (n=149) and the professionals who work with them (n=92). The results show agreement between the perspectives of the adolescents and the professionals, highlighting aspects such as empathy, accompaniment, support, active listening, involvement, trust, patience, clarity of explanation and sense of humour. The adolescents emphasize the good treatment and respect above all other qualities. Implications for practice include suggestions for improving the design and implementation of social educational action programmes with adolescents, and effectiveness in the actions implemented by professionals, as well as a basic reference for the training plans of social educators.El ejercicio de definir las habilidades y competencias más relevantes en determinados contextos socioeducativos responde a una necesidad planteada desde la práctica profesional para la mejora de la inclusión social de los colectivos más vulnerables. Se presenta una investigación desarrollada con tres entidades sociales que atienden a adolescentes en riesgo de exclusión social en Madrid, Galicia y Cataluña con el objetivo de analizar las percepciones y valoraciones sobre las habilidades y competencias de los educadores sociales que trabajan con adolescentes desde la perspectiva de los adolescentes y de los profesionales. Se utilizó una metodología mixta, combinando un enfoque cuantitativo —no experimental y de tipo ex post facto—, con un enfoque cualitativo, para facilitar el contraste de resultados a través de categorizaciones sucesivas y la triangulación de la información, siguiendo las propuestas de la Teoría Fundamentada. La población destinataria fueron adolescentes en riesgo de exclusión social entre 12 y 16 años (n = 149) y los profesionales que trabajan con ellos (n = 92). Los resultados muestran coincidencia entre las perspectivas de los adolescentes y profesionales, destacando aspectos como la empatía, el acompañamiento, el apoyo, la escucha activa, la implicación, la confianza, la paciencia, la claridad en las explicaciones y el sentido del humor. Los adolescentes enfatizan el buen trato y el respeto por encima de las demás cualidades. Entre las implicaciones para la práctica profesional están las aportaciones para la mejora del diseño e implementación de los programas de acción socioeducativa con adolescentes, y para la eficacia en las actuaciones de los profesionales, así como una referencia básica para los planes de formación de  educadores sociales

Breaking the silence on special needs children in foster care: The diversity of children in foster care, carers and processes

This study aims to advance the understanding of children with special needs in foster care by identifying the characteristics, processes, and outcomes of their placement. The study uses a quantitative approach to identify 190 children with special needs (registered) from among 2,157 foster children in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Spain and examines key data covering 2008 to 2018. The results show that children with special needs are overrepresented in placements with single-parent foster carers (mainly women), raising questions about the extent to which the care system takes the complexity of special needs into account

Aspectes ètics i jurídics relacionats amb la donació de gàmetes

Donació de gàmetes; Aspectes ètics; JurisprudènciaDonación de gametos; Aspectos éticos; JurisprudenciaGamete donation; Ethical aspects; JurisprudenceLes tècniques de reproducció assistida (TRA) i especialment els programes de donació de gàmetes han possibilitat que dones en edat fèrtil amb problemes per produir oòcits regularment puguin tenir fills mitjançant oòcits de donant. D’altra banda, dones sense parella masculina o amb parella afectada per un factor d’infertilitat masculina greu també han pogut tenir accés a aquestes tècniques de reproducció gràcies a la disponibilitat de bancs d’esperma de donants

Percepciones de distintos agentes sociales acerca de la educación formal de los chicos y chicas tutelados

This article examines the education of children and young people in public care and the available data about their situation from several conceptual perspectives. We present a qualitative empirical study on how a sample of care leavers perceives this situation as well as the stakeholders involved in the public care process: managers of services and nominated adults by young people. We present results from a total of 96 interviews conducted in Catalonia. The young people interviewed (N = 35) were between 19 and 22 years old and were selected among those who at the age of 16 were still in care and had good academic results and the capacity and motivation to continue studying. These young people were interviewed twice, the second a year after to follow the achievement of their training plans. The results show their perception concerning the circumstances that make it easier or difficult to continue studying. Moreover, the results show the matches, mismatches and diversity among their answers and those of other stakeholders interviewed about what factors facilitate and difficult the education. These results suggest the need for an in-depth review on the representations about the formal education of children in care from professionals and care policies, and how they address the support they need to participate in education.Se analizan los itinerarios formativos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes tutelados por la administración pública y los datos disponibles acerca de su situación, desde varias perspectivas conceptuales. A continuación se presenta un estudio empírico cualitativo sobre cómo perciben esta situación una muestra de jóvenes ex-tutelados, así como diferentes agentes sociales implicados en su proceso de atención por el sistema público de protección social: profesionales responsables de distintos servicios y personas de referencia designadas por los propios jóvenes. Se presentan los resultados de un total de 96 entrevistas realizadas en Cataluña. Los jóvenes entrevistados (N=35) tenían entre 19 y 22 años y fueron seleccionados entre aquellos que a los 16 estaban en el sistema de protección, presentaban buenos resultados académicos, y capacidad y motivación para seguir estudiando. A dichos jóvenes se les entrevistó dos veces, la segunda un año después de la primera, para hacer un seguimiento del logro de sus planes formativos.Los resultados muestran su percepción de cuáles son circunstancias que facilitan continuar con los estudios y cuáles lo dificultan. Además nos muestran las coincidencias, discrepancias y diversidad entre sus respuestas y las de los otros agentes sociales entrevistados sobre cuáles son los factores facilitadores y dificultadores de la continuación de unos estudios reglados.Estos resultados nos sugieren la necesidad de una profunda revisión de cómo los profesionales y las políticas de protección a la infancia se representan la educación formal de los jóvenes tutelados, y de cómo se abordan los apoyos que precisan para continuar sus estudios

Trace cisplatin and carboplatin removal by 3-mercaptopropionic acid and L-cysteine functionalized sponges : Adsorption behaviour and mechanism

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThis study presents functionalized open-celled cellulose Metalzorb® sponge (Sponge) with 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and L-Cysteine (Cys), and the resulting MPA@Sponge and Cys@Sponge showed significantly improved removal efficiency towards trace cisplatin and carboplatin against Sponge. MPA@Sponge achieved maximum removal of 88.9 ± 0.5% for cisplatin and 85.2 ± 0.4% for carboplatin, while Cys@Sponge achieved maximum removal of 75 ± 2% and 59 ± 1%. In contrast, Sponge only achieved removal of 29 ± 4% and 4 ± 1%, respectively. It suggests that thiol groups serve as favourable binding sites for Pt complexation. Carboplatin exhibits lower adsorption compared to cisplatin due to its limited hydration. However, the presence of Cl in stock and high temperature facilitate the hydration and the formation of active derivatives of carboplatin, thereby enhancing its adsorption. The rapid adsorption processes of cisplatin and carboplatin are well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model involving diffusion and chemisorption. The results from adsorption isotherms revealed a monolayer adsorption that aligns with the principles proposed by the Langmuir model. High temperature significantly enhances the adsorption, and the positive enthalpies indicate that the binding of Pt with thiol groups is endothermic process. X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements at the Pt L-edge revealed a similar coordination environment of the adsorbed Pt on both functionalized adsorbents, which can be attributed to the formation of four Pt-S bonds during the adsorption. To assess the validity of the adsorption results under realistic medium conditions, an adsorption study was carried out by using diluted urine spiked with trace platinum cytostatic drugs to simulate hospital wastewater. 90.2 ± 0.3% of cisplatin and 77.0 ± 0.2% of carboplatin was effectively removed by MPA@Sponge from diluted urine

Design of a comprehensive Alzheimer’s disease clinic and research center in Spain to meet critical patient and family needs

AbstractObjectivesAlzheimer's disease (AD) affects people worldwide, and the prevalence is increasing as the population ages. There is an international effort to understand the biology of AD to develop primary and secondary prevention strategies, and to develop effective therapeutic interventions for individuals who are already symptomatic. One of the critically important pieces of all national plans to address AD is the call for the development of service models to deliver quality, effective care based on the best evidence available.MethodsWe describe one type of care model developed by the Fundacio ACE, Institut Catala de Neurociencies Aplicades (Fundacio ACE, Barcelona, Spain) that integrates diagnosis, therapy, follow-up care, daycare, and a day hospital, and does so in the context of an active clinical research and educational program.ResultsThere were 13,048 individuals newly evaluated and diagnosed in Fundacio ACE between 1996 and 2011. Of these, 6132 had AD (47.0%), 3871 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (29.7%), and 1958 had no cognitive impairment (15.0%). Follow-up information is available on 4735 (47.3%) AD and MCI patients, and these data indicate that MCI develops into dementia at a rate of 222.6/1000 person-years. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping was available in 22.4% of the patients. The ε4 allele occurred in 45.7% of the AD patients, in 37.8% of the MCI subjects, and in 31.6% of those without cognitive impairment.ConclusionsFundació ACE can serve as a model system that can be adapted to other settings within their specific cultural, governmental, and legal constraints

Microgravity effects on frozen human sperm samples

Purpose: Microgravity has severe effects on cellular and molecular structures as well as on metabolic interactions. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of microgravity (µg) exposure on human frozen sperm samples. Methods: Sibling samples from 15 normozoospermic healthy donors were frozen using glycerol as cryoprotectant and analyzed under microgravity and ground conditions. Microgravity was obtained by parabolic flights using a CAP10B plane. The plane executed 20 parabolic maneuvers with a mean of 8.5 seconds of microgravity for each parabola. Results: Frozen sperm samples preserved in cryostraws and stored in a secure and specific nitrogen vapor cryoshipper do not suffer significant alterations after µg exposure. Comparing the study group (µg) and the control group (1g), similar results were obtained in the main parameters studied: Sperm motility (M/ml) 13.72 ± 12.57 vs 13.03±12.13 (-0.69 95% CI [-2.9;1.52]); Progressive a+b sperm motility (%) 13 21.83±11.69 vs 22.54±12.83 (0.03 95% CI [-0.08;0.15]); Sperm vitality (%) 46.42±10.81 vs 44.62±9.34 14 (-0.04 95% CI [-0.13;0.05]); Morphologically normal spermatozoa (%) 7.03±2.61 vs 8.09±3.61 (0.12 15 95% CI [0.01;0.24]); DNA sperm fragmentation by SCD (%) 13.33±5.12 vs 13.88±6.14 (0.03 95% CI [- 16 0.09;0.16]); Apoptotic spermatozoa by MACS (%) 15.47±15.04 vs 23.80±23.63 (-0.21 95% CI [- 17 0.66;1.05]). Conclusion: The lack of differences obtained between frozen samples exposed to µg and those maintained in ground conditions provides the possibility of considering the safe transport of human male gametes to space. Nevertheless, further research is needed to validate the results and to consider the possibility of creating a human sperm bank outside the Earth.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft