The COVID 19 Pandemic Lessons in the Area of Security, Social Policy and Culture: The Case with Bulgaria

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to discuss from an interdisciplinary perspective some lessons learnt from the global COVID 19 pandemic in the area of security, social policy and culture. Prior Work: Theoretical and experimental research of the authors in these three fields. Approach: Overview and analysis of the data collected by the authors with the application of two methods - focus group and method of critical incidents. Results: The empirical results identify the respondents’ perceptions and attitudes towards a number of issues like: human safety, societal and social security, culturally specific reactions and behaviour, etc. Implications: The paper can stimulate a larger discussion in the scientific circles about the necessity of joint research on different aspects of COVID 19 pandemic and its reflections. Value: The study will contribute to positioning the global pandemic and its various dimensions as one of the most topical issues in the contemporary interdisciplinary research

The Potential Risks for the Ecological and Social Security in the Danube Region and their Overcoming in the Context of the New European Agenda

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to interpret some risks for the ecological and social security in the Danube region, such us: risks of fire in the forest areas, risks of floods, risks for the natural and cultural heritage, risk of economic and social disproportions in the cross-border areas, etc. Another aim of the study is to discuss the possible solution of risk coping within the frames of the new European agenda for the green transition and carbon-free economies. Prior Work: Theoretical and experimental research of the authors in the field. Approach: Secondary data analysis and overview of cross-border projects and their results focused on the risk overcoming in the Bulgarian-Romanian crossborder region along the Danube river. Results: There is sufficient European funding (Interreg VA Romania-Bulgaria program, Interreg Danube program, Horizon Europe), providing favourable conditions for risk overcoming in the Danube region. It is necessary to increase the capacity of the human resources in the region (public administrations, businesses, NGOs), to elaborate common strategic documents for the cross-border regions and to use the research and innovation potential of the universities within the region in benefit of the economic and social prosperity. Implications: The paper can stimulate a larger discussion in the scientific circles about the necessity of joint research on the new risks and their overcoming. Value: The study will contribute to the interdisciplinary interpretation of the risks in the contemporary societies and will outline the value of the cross-border projects with European funding for risk prevention and management

Protection of the Rights of Children Affected by the Intra-EU Migration in the Danube Region

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to interpret the issues of internal migration in the EU with a focus on the children affected by the processes of labor migration. The internal migration within the EU, caused by leaving the home country for a certain period of time in search of better income or work, is a phenomenon that is typical for all Eastern European countries, including some of the Danube countries, in the period of democratic changes and social macro-transformation. Regardless of whether the children in the family accompany their parents abroad during the labor migration or they are left in the home country in the care of relatives and friends, these children have their basic rights violated under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example the right of education and healthcare. Prior Work: Theoretical and experimental research of the authors in the field. Approach: Secondary data analysis of existing statistics and authors’ own experimental studies. Results: The labour migration affects almost 20 % of the children from so called transnational families living in the countries from the Danube region. It causes risks for their physical, emotional and cognitive development. The labor migration of the parents of such children is not also in compliance of the basic rights of the children from migrant families: right of healthcare, right of education, etc. Implications: The paper can stimulate a larger discussion in the scientific circles about the necessity of joint research on the protection of the rights of the children from migrant families. Value: The study identifies some risks for the children from migrant families whose mitigation can prevent the violation of children’s rights

La organización de los contenidos escolares en orientaciones curriculares para el conocimiento escolar en ciencias naturales (Bogotá, Colombia)

This paper presents part of the research “The proposals for school knowledge in natural sciences in the curricular guidelines of the Bogotá Department of Education (2007-2015)”, three curricular guidelines for the Natural Sciences. This research aims to inquire about the school contents, the sources and selection criteria, epistemological references, and validation criteria for school knowledge.  In this paper, particularly, we present the results related to the school content category and the organization of school content subcategory. The selection of the documents had the support of teachers and school principals of public schools. The content analysis of the documents was carried out in Atlas.ti. The results highlight the interest of the curricular guidelines to link the science education to technology, to address the curricular integration from centers of interest and make Ethnoscience visible as a propitious context for the science education. Thus, the guidelines attempt to overcome the fragmentation of the disciplinary organization. Although the curriculum is open to other references, scientific knowledge stands out as the main reference for school knowledge. Even so, curricular guidelines express a hybridization of curricular discourses.Este artículo busca dar cuenta de la categoría contenidos escolares (organización de los contenidos escolares) en tres documentos de orientación curricular para el área de Ciencias Naturales de la Secretaría de Educación de Bogotá5, por ser ésta una de las categorías para la caracterización del conocimiento escolar de dichas orientaciones. La selección de los documentos contó con el apoyo de profesores y directores de escuelas públicas.  El análisis de contenido de los documentos fue realizado en Atlas.ti. Los resultados ponen en evidencia el interés de las orientaciones curriculares de articular la educación científica con la tecnología, abordar la integración curricular a partir de centros de interés y visibilizar la Etnociencia como un contexto propicio para la enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales. Así, las orientaciones intentan superar la fragmentación de la organización disciplinaria. Si bien es notoria la preocupación por una apertura a otros referentes, el conocimiento científico se destaca como el central del conocimiento escolar. De allí que, los documentos expresan una hibridación de los discursos curriculares

Impact of biohybrid magnetite nanoparticles and moroccan propolis on adherence of methicillin resistant strains of staphylococcus aureus

Biofilm bacteria are more resistant to antibiotics than planktonic cells. Propolis possesses antimicrobial activity. Generally, nanoparticles containing heavy metals possess antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties. In this study, the ability of adherence of Methicillin Resistant Strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to catheters treated with magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs), produced by three methods and functionalized with oleic acid and a hydro-alcoholic extract of propolis from Morocco, was evaluated. The chemical composition of propolis was established by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the fabricated nanostructures characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Mossbauer spectroscopy and Fourrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The capacity for impairing biofilm formation was dependent on the strain, as well as on the mode of production of MNPs. The co-precipitation method of MNPs fabrication using Fe(3+) and Na₂SO₃ solution and functionalized with oleic acid and propolis was the most effective in the impairment of adherence of all MRSA strains to catheters (p < 0.001). The adherence of the strain MRSA16 was also significantly lower (p < 0.001) when the catheters were treated with the hybrid MNPs with oleic acid produced by a hydrothermal method. The anti-MRSA observed can be attributed to the presence of benzyl caffeate, pinocembrin, galangin, and isocupressic acid in propolis extract, along with MNPs. However, for MRSA16, the impairment of its adherence on catheters may only be attributed to the hybrid MNPs with oleic acid, since very small amount, if any at all of propolis compounds were added to the MNPs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

NLRC4 -mediated activation of CD1c+ dendritic cells contributes to perpetuation of synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis.

The individual contribution of specific myeloid subsets such as CD1c+ conventional dendritic cells (cDC) to perpetuation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) pathology remains unclear. In addition, the specific innate sensors driving pathogenic activation of CD1c+ cDCs in RA patients and their functional implications have not been characterized. Here, we assessed phenotypical, transcriptional and functional characteristics of CD1c+ and CD141+ cDCs and monocytes from the blood and synovial fluid of RA patients. Increased levels of CCR2 and the IgG receptor CD64 on circulating CD1c+ cDC associated with the presence of this DC subset in the synovial membrane in RA patients. Moreover, synovial CD1c+ cDCs are characterized by increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines and high abilities to induce pathogenic IFNγ+IL-17+ CD4+ T cells in vitro. Finally, we identified the crosstalk between Fcγ Receptors and NLRC4 as a new potential molecular mechanism mediating pathogenic activation, CD64 upregulation and functional specialization of CD1c+ cDCs in response to dsDNA-IgG in RA patients.E.M.G. was supported by Comunidad de Madrid Talento Program (2017-T1/BMD5396), Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC2018-024374-I), the MINECO RETOS program (RTI2018-097485-A-I00), La Caixa Foundation (HR20-00218), CIBERINF (CB21/13/00107) and the TV3 Marató (REDINCOV). C.D.A. was supported by Comunidad de Madrid Talento Program (2017-T1/BMD-5396). M.C.M was supported by the NIH (R21AI140930). HR17-00016 grant from “La Caixa Banking Foundation to F.S.M also supported the study. D.C-F. is supported by the Fellowship “la Caixa” Foundation LCF/BQ/DR19/11740010. A.T.M. was supported by a PhD fellowship from the Autonomous Region of Madrid (PEJD-2019-PRE/BMD-16851) and the RD21/0002/0027 grant. R.L. and G.H.B. were supported by PI18/00261 AND PI20/00349 grants from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, respectively. O.P. was supported by the TV3 Marató (REDINCOV) and I.T. was funded by grant for the promotion of research studies master-UAM 2021. S.C. was supported by PI21/01474 grant from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). I.G.A was supported by RD21/0002/0027 and PI21/00526 grants from the Spanish MINECO and Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) “A way to make Europe.S

MICa/b-dependent activation of natural killer cells by CD64+ inflammatory type 2 dendritic cells contributes to autoimmunity.

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder largely mediated by type I and II interferon (IFN). The potential contribution of innate immune cells, such as natural killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells (DC), to the pSS pathology remains understudied. Here, we identified an enriched CD16+ CD56hi NK cell subset associated with higher cytotoxic function, as well as elevated proportions of inflammatory CD64+ conventional dendritic cell (cDC2) subtype that expresses increased levels of MICa/b, the ligand for the activating receptor NKG2D, in pSS individuals. Circulating cDC2 from pSS patients efficiently induced activation of cytotoxic NK cells ex vivo and were found in proximity to CD56+ NK cells in salivary glands (SG) from pSS patients. Interestingly, transcriptional activation of IFN signatures associated with the RIG-I/DDX60 pathway, IFN I receptor, and its target genes regulate the expression of NKG2D ligands on cDC2 from pSS patients. Finally, increased proportions of CD64hi RAE-1+ cDC2 and NKG2D+ CD11b+ CD27+ NK cells were present in vivo in the SG after poly I:C injection. Our study provides novel insight into the contribution and interplay of NK and cDC2 in pSS pathology and identifies new potential therapy targets.S

Effect of Colchicine on the Risk of Perioperative Acute Kidney Injury : Clinical Protocol of a Substudy of the Colchicine for the Prevention of Perioperative Atrial Fibrillation Randomized Clinical Trial

Inflammation during and after surgery can lead to organ damage including acute kidney injury. Colchicine, an established inexpensive anti-inflammatory medication, may help to protect the organs from pro-inflammatory damage. This protocol describes a kidney substudy of the colchicine for the prevention of perioperative atrial fibrillation (COP-AF) study, which is testing the effect of colchicine versus placebo on the risk of atrial fibrillation and myocardial injury among patients undergoing thoracic surgery. Objective: Our kidney substudy of COP-AF will determine whether colchicine reduces the risk of perioperative acute kidney injury compared with a placebo. We will also examine whether colchicine has a larger absolute benefit in patients with pre-existing chronic kidney disease, the most prominent risk factor for acute kidney injury. Design and Setting: Randomized, superiority clinical trial conducted in 40 centers in 11 countries from 2018 to 2023. Patients (~3200) aged 55 years and older having major thoracic surgery. Intervention: Patients are randomized 1:1 to receive oral colchicine (0.5 mg tablet) or a matching placebo, given twice daily starting 2 to 4 hours before surgery for a total of 10 days. Patients, health care providers, data collectors, and outcome adjudicators will be blinded to the randomized treatment allocation. Serum creatinine concentrations will be measured before surgery and on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3 (or until hospital discharge). The primary outcome of the substudy is perioperative acute kidney injury, defined as an increase (from the prerandomization value) in serum creatinine concentration of either ≥26.5 μmol/L (≥0.3 mg/dL) within 48 hours of surgery or ≥50% within 7 days of surgery. The primary analysis (intention-to-treat) will examine the relative risk of acute kidney injury in patients allocated to receive colchicine versus placebo. We will repeat the primary analysis using alternative definitions of acute kidney injury and examine effect modification by pre-existing chronic kidney disease, defined as a prerandomization estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min per 1.73 m. The substudy will be underpowered to detect small effects on more severe forms of acute kidney injury treated with dialysis. Substudy results will be reported in 2024. This substudy will estimate the effect of colchicine on the risk of perioperative acute kidney injury in older adults undergoing major thoracic surgery. Clinical trial registration number: NCT0331012

Antitumoral and antiangiogenic activity of Portuguese propolis in in vitro and in vivo models

Propolis, a natural product, has important biological properties, however, studies with Portuguese propolis are scarce. Thus, we aimed to characterize the chemical composition and the antitumoural and antiangiogenic activities of a sample from Pereiro (Portugal). The chemical profile of our propolis sample (P10.EE) is similar to the poplar propolis type. P10.EE decreased cell viability of different tumour cells, being less cytotoxic against non-tumoural cells. P10.EE decreased MDA-MB-231 and DU145 cell proliferation and migration, with cell cycle changes and increased cell death. The increased glucose consumption and lactate production in MDA-MB-231 cells is explained by an increased expression of different metabolism-related proteins. P10.EE induced a decrease in HBMEC cells total biomass and proliferation and decreased vessel sprouting in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane. Additionally, P10.EE potentiates paclitaxel effect in MDA-MB-231 and DU145 cells. Concluding, P10.EE can be a good candidate for cancer drug development since it affects different characteristics that dictate tumorigenesis.This work was supported by the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of Minho, Portugal, and Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) (SFRH/BD/5199712012 to V.M.G.), through Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional-QREN-COMPETE, projects PTDC/AAC-CLI1098308/2008 and PTDC/AAC-CLI/11809212010 and also CERNAS (project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0681/2011)