Hollow Fiber Membranes of PCL and PCL/Graphene as Scaffolds with Potential to Develop In Vitro Blood—Brain Barrier Models

There is a huge interest in developing novel hollow fiber (HF) membranes able to modulate neural differentiation to produce in vitro blood–brain barrier (BBB) models for biomedical and pharmaceutical research, due to the low cell-inductive properties of the polymer HFs used in current BBB models. In this work, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and composite PCL/graphene (PCL/G) HF membranes were prepared by phase inversion and were characterized in terms of mechanical, electrical, morphological, chemical, and mass transport properties. The presence of graphene in PCL/G membranes enlarged the pore size and the water flux and presented significantly higher electrical conductivity than PCL HFs. A biocompatibility assay showed that PCL/G HFs significantly increased C6 cells adhesion and differentiation towards astrocytes, which may be attributed to their higher electrical conductivity in comparison to PCL HFs. On the other hand, PCL/G membranes produced a cytotoxic effect on the endothelial cell line HUVEC presumably related with a higher production of intracellular reactive oxygen species induced by the nanomaterial in this particular cell line. These results prove the potential of PCL HF membranes to grow endothelial cells and PCL/G HF membranes to differentiate astrocytes, the two characteristic cell types that could develop in vitro BBB models in future 3D co-culture systems.This research was funded by IDIVAL (INNVAL 17/20), MINECO/EIG-Concert Japan (X-MEM PCI2018-092929 project, International Joint Program 2018) and MINECO/Spain Feder (CTM-2016-75509-R project)

Mycorrhizal symbiosis primes the accumulation of antiherbivore compounds and enhances herbivore mortality in tomato

Plant association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase their ability to overcome multiple stresses, but their impact on plant interactions with herbivorous insects is controversial. Here we show higher mortality of the leaf-chewer Spodoptera exigua when fed on tomato plants colonized by the AMF Funneliformis mosseae, evidencing mycorrhiza-induced resistance. In search of the underlying mechanisms, an untargeted metabolomic analysis through ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was performed. The results showed that mycorrhizal symbiosis had a very limited impact on the leaf metabolome in the absence of stress, but significantly modulated the response to herbivory in the damaged area. A cluster of over accumulated metabolites was identified in those leaflets damaged by S. exigua feeding in mycorrhizal plants, while unwounded distal leaflets responded similar to those from non-mycorrhizal plants. These primed-compounds were mostly related to alkaloids, fatty acid derivatives and phenylpropanoid-polyamine conjugates. The deleterious effect on larval survival of some of these compounds, including the alkaloid physostigmine, the fatty acid derivatives 4-oxododecanedioic acid and azelaic acid, was confirmed. Thus, our results evidence the impact of AMF on metabolic reprograming upon herbivory that leads to a primed accumulation of defensive compounds

Phosphorus availability drives mycorrhiza induced resistance in tomato

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis can provide multiple benefits to the host plant, including improved nutrition and protection against biotic stress. Mycorrhiza induced resistance (MIR) against pathogens and insect herbivores has been reported in different plant systems, but nutrient availability may influence the outcome of the interaction. Phosphorus (P) is a key nutrient for plants and insects, but also a regulatory factor for AM establishment and functioning. However, little is known about how AM symbiosis and P interact to regulate plant resistance to pests. Here, using the tomato-Funneliformis mosseae mycorrhizal system, we analyzed the effect of moderate differences in P fertilization on plant and pest performance, and on MIR against biotic stressors including the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea and the insect herbivore Spodoperta exigua. P fertilization impacted plant nutritional value, plant defenses, disease development and caterpillar survival, but these effects were modulated by the mycorrhizal status of the plant. Enhanced resistance of F. mosseae-inoculated plants against B. cinerea and S. exigua depended on P availability, as no protection was observed under the most P-limiting conditions. MIR was not directly explained by changes in the plant nutritional status nor to basal differences in defense-related phytohormones. Analysis of early plant defense responses to the damage associated molecules oligogalacturonides showed primed transcriptional activation of plant defenses occurring at intermediate P levels, but not under severe P limitation. The results show that P influences mycorrhizal priming of plant defenses and the resulting induced-resistance is dependent on P availability, and suggest that mycorrhiza fine-tunes the plant growth vs defense prioritization depending on P availability. Our results highlight how MIR is context dependent, thus unravel molecular mechanism based on plant defence in will contribute to improve the efficacy of mycorrhizal inoculants in crop protection

Trypanosomatid-caused conditions: State of the art of therapeutics and potential applications of lipid-based nanocarriers

Trypanosomatid-caused conditions (African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis) are neglected tropical infectious diseases that mainly affect socioeconomically vulnerable populations. The available therapeutics display substantial limitations, among them limited efficacy, safety issues, drug resistance, and, in some cases, inconvenient routes of administration, which made the scenarios with insufficient health infrastructure settings inconvenient. Pharmaceutical nanocarriers may provide solutions to some of these obstacles, improving the efficacy–safety balance and tolerability to therapeutic interventions. Here, we overview the state of the art of therapeutics for trypanosomatid-caused diseases (including approved drugs and drugs undergoing clinical trials) and the literature on nanolipid pharmaceutical carriers encapsulating approved and non-approved drugs for these diseases. Numerous studies have focused on the obtention and preclinical assessment of lipid nanocarriers, particularly those addressing the two currently most challenging trypanosomatid-caused diseases, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis. In general, in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that delivering the drugs using such type of nanocarriers could improve the efficacy–safety balance, diminishing cytotoxicity and organ toxicity, especially in leishmaniasis. This constitutes a very relevant outcome, as it opens the possibility to extended treatment regimens and improved compliance. Despite these advances, last-generation nanosystems, such as targeted nanocarriers and hybrid systems, have still not been extensively explored in the field of trypanosomatid-caused conditions and represent promising opportunities for future developments. The potential use of nanotechnology in extended, well-tolerated drug regimens is particularly interesting in the light of recent descriptions of quiescent/dormant stages of Leishmania and Trypanosoma cruzi, which have been linked to therapeutic failure.Fil: Muraca, Giuliana Sabrina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencas Exactas. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Bioactivos; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud. Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica; ArgentinaFil: Rivero Berti, Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Sbaraglini, Maria Laura. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencas Exactas. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Bioactivos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fávaro, Wagner J.. Universidade Estadual Do Campinas. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Biologia Estructural y Funcional.; BrasilFil: Durán, Nelson. Universidade Estadual Do Campinas. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Biologia Estructural y Funcional.; Brasil. Universidad Federal do Abc; BrasilFil: Castro, Guillermo Raul. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales; ArgentinaFil: Talevi, Alan. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencas Exactas. Laboratorio de Investigación y Desarrollo de Bioactivos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

Education of chemical engineering in Spain: A global picture

The general framework of the Chemical Engineering studies in Spain includes the Bachelor's Degree (4 years), Master's Degree (the most common duration is 1.5 years) and Doctorate (3-4 years). In 2008, the Conference of Directors and Deans of Chemical Engineering (CODDIQ) was constituted with the main objective of promoting and improving the quality of Chemical Engineering studies in Spain. Currently, Faculties and Schools of 29 Spanish universities are members of CODDIQ. An analysis of the most characteristic indicators provides a representative radiography of the Chemical Engineering Studies in Spain, whose most outstanding data are: (i) 7,396 undergraduate students, 1,014 Master students and 556 PhD students, (ii) according to the gender profile of undergraduates and graduates, the percentage of women is similar to that of men, while for faculty staff, the percentage of women is 43% and 46% for Associate and Assistant Professor (respectively) and 23% for the category of Full Professor category; (iii) after completing the Bachelor studies, most of them continue their training in the MSc in Chemical Engineering, (iv) the employability after obtaining the Master's degree is very high (>75%), which in the case of PhDs is close to 100%. The studies of Chemical Engineering in Spain have a very direct relationship with society, especially in the chemical, environmental, biotechnological and energy fields. The companies that collaborate in the training of future professionals are distributed throughout the national territory, which allows a strong connection with the socioeconomic environmen

Resiliencia en sistemas dunares litorales altamente antropizados: la restauración del sistema dunar de la playa del Remolar (Viladecans, Barcelona)

Con el fin de recuperar y restaurar el sistema playa-duna del Remolar (700 m de longitud y más de 100 m de ancho, de dirección 070N), se propusieron en 2004 una serie de medidas de restauración blanda. Para valorar dichas medidas, transcurridos 10 años, se efectuó un estudio de la morfología, sedimentología y de la vegetación del ecosistema. Se realizó el levantamiento de perfiles topográficos y de GPR, un análisis granulométrico y un análisis de las comunidades vegetales encontradas a lo largo de los perfiles topográficos. Los datos obtenidos han sido comparados con datos de un estudio previo, realizado en el 2004. Los resultados muestran que la morfología dunar se ha recuperado, originándose una nueva duna primaria. El sistema presenta actualmente un proceso mayor de agradación que de progradación. La vegetación ha recuperado una composición global de sistema dunar, con una comunidad típica de duna embrionaria y otras de duna primaria, en bandas paralelas a la costa. A pesar de esta mejora, la componente de tipo oportunista y ruderal de la vegetación de duna primaria denota una fuerte herencia antrópica en el sistema

An evaluation of the SENTiFIT 270 analyser for quantitation of faecal haemoglobin in the investigation of patients with suspected colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: An evaluation of SENTiFIT® 270 (Sentinel Diagnostics, Italy; Sysmex, Spain) analyser for the quantitation of faecal haemoglobin (f-Hb) was performed. METHODS: The analytical imprecision, linearity, carry over and f-Hb stability were determined. Evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy was performed on 487 patients. RESULTS: Within-run and between-run imprecision ranged 1.7%-5.1% and 3.8%-6.2%, respectively. Linearity studies revealed a mean recovery of 101.1% (standard deviation, 6.7%) for all dilutions. No carry over was detected below 7650 μg Hb/g faeces. Decay of f-Hb in refrigerated samples ranged 0.2%-0.5% per day. f-Hb in patients with advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACRN) (colorectal cancer [CRC] plus advanced adenoma [AA]) were significantly higher than from those with a normal colonoscopy. Sensitivity for ACRN at f-Hb cutoffs from 10 to 60 μg Hb/g faeces ranged from 28.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 21.7%-37.2%) to 46.5% (95% CI, 38.1%-55%), the specificity ranged from 85% (95% CI, 82.3%-87.3%) to 93.2% (95% CI, 91.2%-94.8%), positive predictive values for detecting CRC and AA ranged from 11.6% (95% CI, 7.6%-17.2%) to 20.6% (95% CI, 13.3%-30.3%) and from 34.7% (95% CI, 28.1%-42%) to 42.3% (95% CI, 32.4%-52.7%), respectively, and the negative predictive value for ACRN ranged from 90.2% (95% CI, 87.9%-92.2%) to 88.4% (95% CI, 86%-90.4%). Using two samples per patient sensitivity increased with a slight decrease in specificity. CONCLUSIONS: The analytical and clinical performances of SENTiFIT assay demonstrate a specific and accurate test for detecting ACRN in symptomatic patients and those undergoing surveillance. KEYWORDS: adenoma; analyser evaluation; colorectal cancer; faecal haemoglobin; faecal immunochemical tes

Regulatory T cells control strain specific resistance to Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis

This deposit is composed by a publication in which the IGC' authors have had the role of collaboration (it's a collaboration publication). This type of deposit in ARCA is in restrictedAccess (it can't be in open access to the public), and could only be accessed by two ways: either by requesting a legal copy to the author (the email contact present in this deposit) or by visiting the following link: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep33097Susceptibility to autoimmune diseases results from the encounter of a complex and long evolved genetic context with a no less complex and changing environment. Major actors in maintaining health are regulatory T cells (Treg) that primarily dampen a large subset of autoreactive lymphocytes escaping thymic negative selection. Here, we directly asked whether Treg participate in defining susceptibility and resistance to Experimental Autoimmune Prostatitis (EAP). We analyzed three common laboratory strains of mice presenting with different susceptibility to autoimmune prostatitis upon immunization with prostate proteins. The NOD, the C57BL/6 and the BALB/c mice that can be classified along a disease score ranging from severe, mild and to undetectable, respectively. Upon mild and transient depletion of Treg at the induction phase of EAP, each model showed an increment along this score, most remarkably with the BALB/c mice switching from a resistant to a susceptible phenotype. We further show that disease associates with the upregulation of CXCR3 expression on effector T cells, a process requiring IFNγ. Together with recent advances on environmental factors affecting Treg, these findings provide a likely cellular and molecular explanation to the recent rise in autoimmune diseases incidence.Argentinean Agency for Promotion of Science and Technology; CONICET; National University of Córdoba grants; Cooperation Program in Science & Technology between Argentina and Portugal FCT–MINCYT

Pilot study to introduce a notification card for partner notification of sexually transmitted infections in Catalonia, Spain, June 2010 to June 2011

We conducted a cross-sectional study in 10 primary care centres in Catalonia, to determine applicability, acceptability and effectiveness of partner notification cards used by patients diagnosed of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and to characterise these and their sexual partners. Statutorily notifiable STIs included Chlamydia infection, gonorrhoea, syphilis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or other STIs as deemed necessary by the treating physician. Between June 2010 and June 2011, 219 index cases were enrolled, of whom 130 were men (59.4%), 71 of them men who have sex with men (54.6%). Chlamydia infection (41.1%), gonorrhoea (17.8%) and syphilis (16.0%) were the STIs most frequently diagnosed. HIV infection accounted for 4% of cases. A total of 687 sexual partners were reported, and 300 of these were traceable through the notification card (45.7%). Those who did not report traceable contacts were older (mean age: 34 years versus 31 years, p=0.03). The main reason for not distributing the card was anonymous sexual intercourse (38%). Patient referral notification cards can reach a high percentage of sexual partners at risk. However, only few notified sexual partners attended participating health centres. Internet-based partner notification may be considered in order to reach those partners not otherwise traceable