Experiencias del desasosiego: salud mental y malestar en Chile

Un sentimiento generalizado de desasosiego recorre Chile.Nuestro país muestra positivos indicadores económicos y sociales en los últimos treinta años: el ingreso per cápita ha pasado de 5 a 16 mil dólares, se ha masificado la educación, existe mayor acceso a la vivienda, el consumo no detiene su expansión y se ha consolidado un elevado índice de desarrollo humano. Y sin embargo, cada vez es más común escuchar hablar de un sentimiento difuso de "malestar".La experiencia chilena de desasosiego ha venido acompañada por la instalación de un lenguaje del malestar que parece encontrar en la gramática de la "salud mental" una forma privilegiada de expresión: ya sea bajo la forma de indicadores epidemiológicos (ansiedad, depresión, suicidio, etc.), en la demanda creciente de atención en salud mental (psiquiátrica y/o psicoterapéutica) o en el aumento acelerado de licencias médicas por causas psiquiátricas.  

Photodegradation of cytostatic drugs by g-C3N4: Synthesis, properties and performance fitted by selecting the appropriate precursor

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was synthetized by a one-step thermal method from different N-rich precursors, namely melamine, dicyandiamide, urea, thiourea and cyanamide. The structure, optical and physicochemical properties of g-C3N4 materials were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy, among others. Both melamine and dicyandiamide provided a less porous structure composed by large flake sheets, whereas urea and thiourea favoured g-C3N4 composed by small flat sheets and wrinkles with a larger porosity. The establishment of more condensed g-C3N4 networks with a reduced band gap was also evidenced for melamine and dicyandiamide precursors, while urea favoured less condensed melem or melon structures. The photoactivity of the different g-C3N4 was assessed for the removal of an aqueous solution containing 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cyclophosphamide (CP) or a mixture of both cytostatic drugs, under near UV-Vis and solar-LED irradiations. The best performing photocatalysts under near UV-Vis irradiation, were those prepared from melamine (kapp = 14.6 × 10–2 min–1 for 5-FU) and thiourea (kapp = 2.5 × 10–2 min–1 for CP), while urea was the most active under solar-LED irradiation (kapp = 0.183 × 10–2 min–1 for 5-FU). In addition, CP was more resistant to be degraded than 5-FU, and a competitive effect for the generated hydroxyl radicals was evidenced when both pollutant molecules were in the same solution. The photoactivity of g-C3N4 materials was justified by the combination of various effects: (i) surface area, (ii) well-connected and condensed g-C3N4 structures and (iii) high surface C/N ratios with nitrogen vacanciesSpanish Projects from MCIN/AEI/FEDER "Una manera de hacer Europa" RTI2018-099224-B-I00FEDER/Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades B-RNM-486-UGR20Junta de Andalucia-Consejeria de Universidad, Investigacion e Innovacion -Proyecto P21_00208MICIN/AEIEuropean Social Found (FSE) PRE2019-087946MICIN/AEI RYC-2019-026634-IFSE "El FSE invierte en tu futuro"Universidad de Granada/CBU

Functionalized Graphene Derivatives and TiO2 for High Visible Light Photodegradation of Azo Dyes

Functionalized graphene derivatives including graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and heteroatom (nitrogen/sulphur (N/S) or boron (B))-doped graphene were used to synthesize composites with TiO2 (T). The photocatalytic performance of composites was assessed for the degradation of Orange G dye (OG) under simulated solar light. All the prepared graphene derivatives—TiO2 composites showed better photocatalytic performance than bare TiO2. A higher photocatalytic activity was found for the composites containing GO and N/S co-doped rGO (kapp = 109.2 × 10−3 and 48.4 × 10−3 min−1 , for GO-T and rGONS-T, respectively). The influence of both initial solution pH and the reactive species involved in the OG degradation pathway were studied. The photocatalytic activity of the samples decreased with the increase of the initial pH (from 3.0 to 10.0) due to the occurrence of electrostatic repulsive forces between the photocatalysts surface and the molecules of OG, both negatively charged. The use of selective scavengers showed that although the photogenerated holes dominate the degradation mechanism, radicals and singlet oxygen also participate in the OG degradation pathway. In addition, reutilization experiments indicated that the samples were stable under the reaction conditions used.ERDF/Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities-State Research Agency RTI2018-099224-B-I0

Clonal dynamics in osteosarcoma defined by RGB marking

Osteosarcoma is a type of bone tumour characterized by considerable levels of phenotypic heterogeneity, aneuploidy, and a high mutational rate. The life expectancy of osteosarcoma patients has not changed during the last three decades and thus much remains to be learned about the disease biology. Here, we employ a RGB-based single-cell tracking system to study the clonal dynamics occurring in a de novo-induced murine osteosarcoma model. We show that osteosarcoma cells present initial polyclonal dynamics, followed by clonal dominance associated with adaptation to the microenvironment. Interestingly, the dominant clones are composed of subclones with a similar tumour generation potential when they are re-implanted in mice. Moreover, individual spontaneous metastases are clonal or oligoclonal, but they have a different cellular origin than the dominant clones present in primary tumours. In summary, we present evidence that osteosarcomagenesis can follow a neutral evolution model, in which different cancer clones coexist and propagate simultaneously.We thank ISCIII and CNIO flow cytometry and cell sorting units for their participation in our studies. We are thankful to the CCEH-Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for LAM-PCR service. We acknowledge Raquel Pérez Tavarez, María Blázquez Mesa, Alicia Giménez Sánchez, Elena Calvo Cazalilla, and Monserrat Arroyo Correas for useful help on the pathology studies; and Teresa Cejalvo, Isabel Cubillo Moreno, and Miguel Angel Rodríguez-Milla for their contributions in experimental setup. We thank the visual artist Isabella Lacquaniti for her help with drawings and schematics. We are also thankful to the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS: PI11/00377 and PI14CIII/00005 to J.G.-C., FIS: CP11/00206 to A.A., and RTICC: RD12/0036/0027 to J.G.-C.), the Madrid Regional Government (CellCAM; P2010/BMD-2420 to J.G.-C.), the Asociación Pablo Ugarte, and the Asociación Afanion for grants support.S

Photocatalytic Perfomance of ZnO-Graphene Oxide Composites towards the Degradation of Vanillic Acid under Solar Radiation and Visible-LED

Graphene oxide (GO) is used to enhance the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles for the degradation of vanillic acid (VA) under simulated solar light and visible-LED (λ > 430 nm). ZnO-GO composites are prepared by a mixing and sonication process with different GO loadings (i.e., from 1.8 to 6.5 wt.%). The materials are extensively characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), physisorption of N2 , X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), point of zero charge (pHPZC), and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRUV). The presence of GO increases the photocatalytic activity of all the prepared composites in comparison with the pristine ZnO. The highest photocatalytic activity is found for the composite containing 5.5 wt.% of GO (i.e., ZnO-GO5.5), reaching a VA degradation of 99% and 35% under solar light and visible-LED, respectively. Higher TOC removal/VA degradation ratios are obtained from the experiments carried out under visible-LED, indicating a more effective process for the mineralization of VA than those observed under simulated solar light. The influence of hole, radical, and non-radical scavengers is studied in order to assess the occurrence of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) involved in the photocatalytic mechanism. The study of the photo-stability during three reuse experiments indicates that the presence of GO in the composites reduces the photocorrosion in comparison with pristine ZnO.Spanish Project ref. RTI 2018-099224-B100 funded by ERDF/Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesState Research Agency and the Nano4Fresh project (ref. PCI2020-112045), as part of the PRIMA Programme supported by the European Unio

Mapa de potencial geotérmico de El Salvador

El trabajo de graduación consta de un estudio sobre las zonas hidrotermales de EL Salvador obteniendo su potencial geotérmico utilizando el método volumétrico con la herramienta computacional COLAB junto a la librería de Python llamado gppeval, finalmente estos resultados son representados en un mapa interactivo para una buena visualización del conjunto de resultados obtenido

Pyroglutamic acidosis by glutathione regeneration blockage in critical patients with septic shock

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate oxidative stress from glutathione depletion in critically ill patients with a septic shock through the abnormal presence of pyroglutamic acid (PyroGlu) in the urine (indirectly) and through its serum level (directly). Methods: This was a prospective analytical study of 28 critically ill patients with a septic shock who were monitored from admission (initial) to 3 days of stay (final) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Data collected included PyroGlu and glutamic acid (Glu) using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity with a colorimetric assay. The differences in Glu, PyroGlu, and GPX activity between the septic shock group and healthy control group serving as reference values were evaluated using the Mann–Whitney test. The correlations between Glu, PyroGlu, and GPX activity and clinical outcomes were determined using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results: In patients with septic shock, serum and urine PyroGlu levels were higher, erythrocyte GPX activity/gr Hb was lower, and urine Glu levels were lower compared to healthy control reference values, for both initial and final values. Initial serum Glu levels were also lower. Serum PyroGlu levels had a correlation with both initial and final serum Glu levels; levels also correlated in the urine. Initial serum Glu correlated with the days of mechanical ventilation (P = 0.016) and the days of ICU stay (P = 0.05). Urine Glu/mg creatinine correlated with APACHE II (P = 0. 030). This positive correlation observed for serum Glu was not observed for PyroGlu. Conclusions: The current study found that septic patients have higher levels of PyroGlu, lower levels of Glu, and lower erythrocyte GPX activity, suggesting that these biomarkers could be used as an indicator of glutathione depletion. In addition, Glu is related to severity parameters. This study can guide future studies on the importance of monitoring the levels of pyroglutamic acidosis in critical patients with septic shock in order to preserve the oxidative status and its evolution during the stay in the ICU.Financial support for the study was provided by Project FIS PI10/1993 from the Spanish Carlos III Health Institute and FEDER European Funds

Cellular Heterogeneity and Cooperativity in Glioma Persister Cells Under Temozolomide Treatment

Factor de impacto: 6,684 Q1.We have observed a drug-tolerant/persister state in a human glioblastoma (GBM) cell line after exposure to temozolomide, the standard-of-care chemotherapeutic agent for GBM. We used a multicolor lentiviral genetic barcode labeling to follow cell population evolution during temozolomide treatment. We observed no change in the distribution of the different colored populations of cells in persister or resistant cells suggesting that pre-existing minor subpopulations, which would be expected to be restricted to a single color, were not amplified/selected during the response to the drug. We have previously identified four genes (CHI3L1, FAT2, KLK5, and HB-EGF) that were over-expressed during the persister stage. Single-cell analysis of these four genes indicated that they were expressed in different individual cells ruling out the existence of a single persister-specific clone but suggesting rather a global answer. Even so, the transitory silencing of CHI3L1, FAT2, or KLK5 influenced the expression of the other three genes and the survival of U251 cells in absence of temozolomide. Since proteins encoded by the four genes are all localized in the extracellular matrix or interact within the extracellular compartment, we propose that cellular interactions and communications are important during the persister stage before the acquisition of chemo-resistance. Thus, persisters might be a new therapeutically relevant target in GBM.This research was founded by a grant from the “Ligue contre le Cancer-Grand Ouest” and a Région Pays de la Loire special fund (ERRATA program).S

Identification of reference genes for real-time PCR cytokine gene expression studies in sheep experimentally infected with Fasciola hepatica

The aim of this study was to validate reference genes for gene normalisation using qRT-PCR in hepatic lymph nodes (HLN) and livers from sheep infected with Fasciola hepatica during early and late stages of infection. To this end, a comprehensive statistical approach (RefFinder) encompassing four different methods of analysis (geNorm, BestKeeper, ΔCt method and NormFinder) was used to validate ten candidate reference genes. Stability analysis of gene expression followed by pairwise variation (Vn/Vn + 1) analysis revealed that PGK1, HSP90AA1 and GYPC were the most stable reference genes and suitable for qRT-PCR normalisation in both HLN and liver tissues. These three genes were validated against FoxP3, IL-10, TGF-β, TNF-α and IL-1β genes in the HLN tissue of sheep vaccinated with Cathepsin L1 from F. hepatica and unvaccinated infected and uninfected controls during early stages of infection. In the liver, the three reference genes were validated against TNF-α and IL-1β during chronic stages of infection with F. hepatica and in uninfected controls. Our study is the first to evaluate and validate sheep reference genes in order to provide tools for monitoring cytokines in Fasciola hepatica infected sheep target organs. Our results present an approach to elucidate the role of different cytokines in F. hepatica vaccinated and infected shee

Enhanced antitumor efficacy of oncolytic adenovirus-loaded menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells in combination with peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Several studies have evaluated the efficacy of using human oncolytic adenovirus-loaded mesenchymal stem cells for cancer treatment. For example, we have described the antitumor efficacy of CELYVIR, autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells infected with the oncolytic adenovirus ICOVIR-5, for treatment of neuroblastoma patients. Results from this clinical trial point out the role of the immune system in the clinical outcome. In this context, a better understanding of the immunophenotypic changes of human mesenchymal stem cells upon adenoviral infection and how these changes affect human autologous or allogeneic peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) could guide strategies to improve the antitumor efficacy of infected Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs). In this work, we show how infection by an oncolytic adenovirus (OAdv) induces Toll-like receptor 9 overexpression and activation of the NF-κB pathway in menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MenSCs), leading to a specific cytokine secretion profile. Moreover, a pro-inflammatory environment, mainly mediated by monocyte activation that leads to the activation of both T-cells and natural killer cells (NK cells), is generated when OAdv-loaded MenSCs are co-cultured with allogeneic PBMCs. This combination of allogeneic PBMCs and OAdv-loaded MenSCs enhances antitumor efficacy both in vitro and in vivo, an effect partially mediated monocytes and NK cells. Altogether our results demonstrate not only the importance of the immune system for the oncolytic adenovirus-loaded MSCs antitumor efficacy, but in particular the benefits of using allogeneic MSCs for this therapy