Physico-Chemically Distinct Nanomaterials Synthesized from Derivates of a Poly(Anhydride) Diversify the Spectrum of Loadable Antibiotics

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology such as nanoencapsulation offer new biomedical applications, potentially increasing the scope and efficacy of therapeutic drug delivery. In addition, the discovery and development of novel biocompatible polymers increases the versatility of these encapsulating nanostructures, enabling chemical properties of the cargo and vehicle to be adapted to specific physiological requirements. Here, we evaluate the capacity of various polymeric nanostructures to encapsulate various antibiotics of different classes, with differing chemical structure. Polymers were sourced from two separate derivatives of poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride) (PMVE/MA): an acid (PMVE/MA-Ac) and a monoethyl ester (PMVE/MA-Es). Nanoencapsulation of antibiotics was attempted through electrospinning, and nanoparticle synthesis through solvent displacement, for both polymers. Solvent incompatibilities prevented the nanoencapsulation of amikacin, neomycin and ciprofloxacin in PMVE/MA-Es nanofibers. However, all compounds were successfully loaded into PMVE/MA-Es nanoparticles. Encapsulation efficiencies in nanofibers reached approximately 100% in all compatible systems; however, efficiencies varied substantially in nanoparticles systems, depending on the tested compound (14%–69%). Finally, it was confirmed that both these encapsulation processes did not alter the antimicrobial activity of any tested antibiotic against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, supporting the viability of these approaches for nanoscale delivery of antibioticsThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, grant numbers MAT-2017-86805-R and MAT-2014-53282-R,and Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCI)—Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), grant number RTI2018-101969-J-I0

Spectrophotometric investigations of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies: Markarian 35

We present results from a detailed spectrophotometric analysis of the blue compact dwarf galaxy Mrk 35 (Haro 3), based on deep optical (B,V,R,I) and near-IR (J,H,K) imaging, Halpha narrow-band observations and long-slit spectroscopy. The optical emission of the galaxy is dominated by a central young starburst, with a bar-like shape, while an underlying component of stars, with elliptical isophotes and red colors, extends more than 4 kpc from the galaxy center. High resolution Halpha and color maps allow us to identify the star-forming regions, to spatially discriminate them from the older stars, and to recognize several dust patches. We derive colors and Halpha parameters for all the identified star-forming knots. Observables derived for each knot are corrected for the contribution of the underlying older stellar population, the contribution by emission lines, and from interstellar extinction, and compared with evolutionary synthesis models. We find that the contributions of these three factors are by no means negligible and that they significantly vary across the galaxy. Therefore, careful quantification and subtraction of emission lines, galaxy host contribution, and interstellar reddening at every galaxy position, are essential to derive the properties of the young stars in BCDs. We find that we can reproduce the colors of all the knots with an instantaneous burst of star formation and the Salpeter initial mass function with an upper mass limit of 100 M_solar. In all cases the knots are just a few Myr old. The underlying population of stars has colors consistent with being several Gyr old.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ, tentatively scheduled for the ApJ November 1, 2007 v669n1 issu

Medición del Impacto de la Ley de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública en el Paraguay

La presente investigación se refiere al impacto ocurrido en el ambiente social de los sujetos afectados por la Ley de Transparencia en Paraguay. La investigación se compone por el análisis de resultados de la aplicación de dos instrumentos, por una parte, una encuesta aplicada a 387 sujetos y; por la otra, un cuestionario semiestructurado aplicado a 12 informantes claves, referentes a la academia y la función pública. Entre los resultados de la investigación se destaca el interesante nivel de conocimiento que tiene la población sobre la existencia de esta ley y su contenido, la visión de los expertos sobre importantes aportes que ha hecho la Ley por la mejora de la transparencia, la rendición de cuentas y la democratización en general. También se evidencia la necesidad de capacitar a la gente para que pueda hacer uso efectivo de las herramientas dispuestas por la Ley y la necesidad de contar con articulaciones de la sociedad civil para el análisis de la información puesta a disposición por los organismos y entidades del Estado

Relaxation of Adaptive Evolution during the HIV-1 Infection Owing to Reduction of CD4+ T Cell Counts

Background: the first stages of HIV-1 infection are essential to establish the diversity of virus population within host. It has been suggested that adaptation to host cells and antibody evasion are the leading forces driving HIV evolution at the initial stages of AIDS infection. in order to gain more insights on adaptive HIV-1 evolution, the genetic diversity was evaluated during the infection time in individuals contaminated by the same viral source in an epidemic cluster. Multiple sequences of V3 loop region of the HIV-1 were serially sampled from four individuals: comprising a single blood donor, two blood recipients, and another sexually infected by one of the blood recipients. the diversity of the viral population within each host was analyzed independently in distinct time points during HIV-1 infection.Results: Phylogenetic analysis identified multiple HIV-1 variants transmitted through blood transfusion but the establishing of new infections was initiated by a limited number of viruses. Positive selection (d(N)/d(S)>1) was detected in the viruses within each host in all time points. in the intra-host viruses of the blood donor and of one blood recipient, X4 variants appeared respectively in 1993 and 1989. in both patients X4 variants never reached high frequencies during infection time. the recipient, who X4 variants appeared, developed AIDS but kept narrow and constant immune response against HIV-1 during the infection time.Conclusion: Slowing rates of adaptive evolution and increasing diversity in HIV-1 are consequences of the CD4+ T cells depletion. the dynamic of R5 to X4 shift is not associated with the initial amplitude of humoral immune response or intensity of positive selection.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fed Univ Para, Inst Biotechnol, BR-66059 Belem, Para, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Trop Med, São Paulo, SP, BrazilCDC, Ctr Dis Control & Prevent, Branch Lab, Atlanta, GA 30333 USAUniv Calif San Francisco, Dept Lab Med, San Francisco, CA 94143 USABlood Syst Res Inst, San Francisco, CA USABlood Syst Inc, San Francisco, CA USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 07/52841-8Web of Scienc

HBM4EU-MOM: Prenatal methylmercury-exposure control in five countries through suitable dietary advice for pregnancy - Study design and characteristics of participants

Background: Seafood is a major source of vital nutrients for optimal fetal growth, but at the same time is the main source of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), an established neurodevelopmental toxicant. Pregnant women must be provided with dietary advice so as to include safely fish in their diet for nutrition and mercury control. The aim of this work is to present the design of a multicentre randomized control trial (RCT), which combines human biomonitoring (HBM) with dietary interventions using seafood consumption advice to pregnant women for MeHg control, and to collect information about other possible sources of exposure to mercury. It also presents the materials developed for the implementation of the study and the characteristics of the study participants, which were self-reported in the first trimester of pregnancy. Methods: The "HBM4EU-MOM" RCT was performed in the frame of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) in five coastal, high fish-consuming European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Iceland). According to the study design, pregnant women (≥120/country, ≤20 weeks gestational age) provided a hair sample for total mercury assessment (THg) and personal information relevant to the study (e.g., lifestyle, pregnancy status, diet before and during the pregnancy, information on seafood and factors related to possible non-dietary exposures to mercury) during the first trimester of pregnancy. After sampling, participants were randomly assigned to "control" (habitual practices) or "intervention" (received the harmonized HBM4EU-MOM dietary advice for fish consumption during the pregnancy and were encouraged to follow it). Around child delivery, participants provided a second hair sample and completed another tailored questionnaire. Results: A total of 654 women aged 18-45 years were recruited in 2021 in the five countries, primarily through their health-care providers. The pre-pregnancy BMI of the participants ranged from underweight to obese, but was on average within the healthy range. For 73% of the women, the pregnancy was planned. 26% of the women were active smokers before the pregnancy and 8% continued to smoke during the pregnancy, while 33% were passive smokers before pregnancy and 23% remained passively exposed during the pregnancy. 53% of the women self-reported making dietary changes for their pregnancy, with 74% of these women reporting making the changes upon learning of their pregnancy. Of the 43% who did not change their diet for the pregnancy, 74% reported that their diet was already balanced, 6% found it difficult to make changes and 2% were unsure of what changes to make. Seafood consumption did not change significantly before and during the first trimester of pregnancy (overall average ∼8 times per month), with the highest frequency reported in Portugal (≥15 times per month), followed by Spain (≥7 times per month). During the first-trimester of pregnancy, 89% of the Portuguese women, 85% of the Spanish women and 90%) were unaware of safe procedures for handling spillage from broken thermometers and energy-saving lamps, though >22% experienced such an incident (>1 year ago). 26% of the women had dental amalgams. ∼1% had amalgams placed and ∼2% had amalgams removed during peri-pregnancy. 28% had their hair dyed in the past 3 months and 40% had body tattoos. 8% engaged with gardening involving fertilizers/pesticides and 19% with hobbies involving paints/pigments/dyes. Conclusions: The study design materials were fit for the purposes of harmonization and quality-assurance. The harmonized information collected from pregnant women suggests that it is important to raise the awareness of women of reproductive age and pregnant women about how to safely include fish in their diet and to empower them to make proper decisions for nutrition and control of MeHg, as well as other chemical exposures.We acknowledge funding for HBM4EU from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement #733032 and the national governments of the participating countries. This publication reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.S

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected