An Aptamer against MNK1 for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Its late diagnosis and consequently poor survival make necessary the search for new therapeutic targets. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-interacting kinase 1 (MNK1) is overexpressed in lung cancer and correlates with poor overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The previously identified and optimized aptamer from our laboratory against MNK1, apMNKQ2, showed promising results as an antitumor drug in breast cancer in vitro and in vivo. Thus, the present study shows the antitumor potential of apMNKQ2 in another type of cancer where MNK1 plays a significant role, such as NSCLC. The effect of apMNKQ2 in lung cancer was studied with viability, toxicity, clonogenic, migration, invasion, and in vivo efficacy assays. Our results show that apMNKQ2 arrests the cell cycle and reduces viability, colony formation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes in NSCLC cells. In addition, apMNKQ2 reduces tumor growth in an A549-cell line NSCLC xenograft model. In summary, targeting MNK1 with a specific aptamer may provide an innovative strategy for lung cancer treatment.R.C.-M. was supported for predoctoral contracts (PEJD 2016-BMD-2145 and 2018-BMD-9201) from the Community of Madrid and grant RTC2019-07227-1. M.E.M. and V.M.G. are researchers from FIBio-HRC supported by Consejeria de Sanidad (CAM). This work was supported by grants RTC2019-07227-1 and PID2019-105417RB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain)

Risk factors and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with hematological malignancies

Background: Prognostic factors of poor outcome in patients with hematological malignancies and COVID-19 are poorly defned. Patients and methods: This was a Spanish transplant group and cell therapy (GETH) multicenter retrospective observational study, which included a large cohort of blood cancer patients with laboratory-confrmed SARS-CoV-2 infection through PCR assays from March 1st 2020 to May 15th 2020. Results: We included 367 pediatric and adult patients with hematological malignancies, including recipients of autologous (ASCT) (n=58) or allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) (n=65) from 41 hospitals in Spain. Median age of patients was 64 years (range 1-93.8). Recipients of ASCT and allo-SCT showed lower mortality rates (17% and 18%, respectively) compared to non-SCT patients (31%) (p=0.02). Prognostic factors identifed for day 45 overall mortality (OM) by logistic regression multivariate analysis included age>70 years [odds ratio (OR) 2.1, 95% con‑ fdence interval (CI) 1.2-3.8, p=0.011]; uncontrolled hematological malignancy (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.6-5.2, p20 mg/dL (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.7-6.4, p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis of 216 patients with very severe COVID-19, treatment with azithromycin or low dose corticosteroids was associated with lower OM (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.2-0.89 and OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.11-0.87, respectively, p=0.02) whereas the use of hidroxycloroquine did not show signifcant improvement in OM (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.37-1.1, P=0.1). Conclusions: In most patients with hematological malignancies COVID-19 mortality was directly driven by older age, disease status, performance status, as well as by immune (neutropenia) parameters and level of infammation (high CRP). Use of azithromycin and low dose corticosteroids may be of value in very severe COVID-19

Impact of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients: A nationwide study in Spain

Objective To assess the effect of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients in Spain. Settings The initial flood of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed an unprepared healthcare system. Different measures were taken to deal with this overburden. The effect of these measures on neurosurgical patients, as well as the effect of COVID-19 itself, has not been thoroughly studied. Participants This was a multicentre, nationwide, observational retrospective study of patients who underwent any neurosurgical operation from March to July 2020. Interventions An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to select the most relevant variables of the sample. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of mortality and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixteen hospitals registered 1677 operated patients. The overall mortality was 6.4%, and 2.9% (44 patients) suffered a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infections, 24 were diagnosed postoperatively. Age (OR 1.05), perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 4.7), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.006), postoperative neurological worsening (OR 5.9), postoperative need for airway support (OR 5.38), ASA grade =3 (OR 2.5) and preoperative GCS 3-8 (OR 2.82) were independently associated with mortality. For SARS-CoV-2 postoperative infection, screening swab test <72 hours preoperatively (OR 0.76), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.011), preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.784), postoperative sepsis (OR 3.807) and an absence of postoperative complications (OR 0.188) were independently associated. Conclusions Perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurosurgical patients was associated with an increase in mortality by almost fivefold. Community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) was a statistically independent predictor of mortality. Trial registration number CEIM 20/217

Trimethylamine abatement in algal-bacterial photobioreactors

Producción CientíficaTrimethylamine (TMA) is an odorous volatile organic compound emitted by industries. Algal-based biotechnologies have been proven as a feasible alternative for wastewater treatment, although their application to abate polluted air emissions is still scarce. This work comparatively assessed the removal of TMA in a conventional bacterial bubble column bioreactor (BC) and a novel algal-bacterial bubble column photobioreactor (PBC). The PBC exhibited a superior TMA abatement performance compared to the conventional BC. In this sense, the BC reached a removal efficiency (RE) and an elimination capacity (EC) of 78% and 12.1 g TMA m−3 h−1, respectively, while the PBC achieved a RE of 97% and a EC of 16.0 g TMA m−3·h−1 at an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 2 min and a TMA concentration ~500 mg m−3. The outstanding performance of the PBC allowed to reduce the operating EBRT to 1.5 and 1 min while maintaining high REs of 98 and 94% and ECs of 21.2 and 28.1 g m−3·h−1, respectively. Moreover, the PBC improved the quality of the gas and liquid effluents discharged, showing a net CO2 consumption and decreasing by ~ 30% the total nitrogen concentration in the liquid effluent via biomass assimilation. A high specialization of the bacterial community was observed in the PBC, Mumia and Aquamicrobium sp. being the most abundant genus within the main phyla identified

Doce años de Investigación-Acción en Educación Física. La importancia de las dinámicas colaborativas en la formación permanente del profesorado. El caso del grupo de trabajo internivelar de Segovia

Este artículo está formado por tres apartados diferentes, pero con una fuerte relación entre ellos. En una primera parte explicamos la importancia que tienen las dinámicas colaborativas entre el profesorado como forma de trabajo compartido y de perfeccionamiento profesional. Posteriormente revisaremos la trayectoria de nuestro grupo de trabajo a lo largo de estos últimos doce años, presentando las líneas de trabajo e investigación educativa que hemos desarrollado, así como los resultados de las mismas, los materiales curriculares elaborados, y su difusión entre la comunidad profesional. Por último, elaboramos una serie de conclusiones donde integramos todos los aspectos tratados, de modo que pueda ser de utilidad a otros grupos de compañeros interesados en generar este tipo de dinámicas colaborativas de perfeccionamiento docente