Running thermoregulation effects using bioceramics versus polyester fibres socks

The feet, covered by socks and shoes during running, undergo an increase of temperature. The aim of this study was to reduce heat generation in the feet of athletes during running by wearing novel thermoregulatory socks impregnated with bioceramic materials. Thirty male athletes ran a half-marathon (21.0975 km) wearing polyester based with bioceramic fibres (zirconium silicate and titanium oxide) and control socks (polyester). The average temperatures were measured with a thermographic camera (FLIR e60bx) before and after the run. Nine regions of interests were evaluated in the plantar surface and eight in the dorsum. Before running, the plantar region with the highest temperature was the inner midfoot (plantar arch) with 30.3 2.1◦C on the control sock and 30.2 2.1◦C on the bioceramic one. After running, smaller temperatures were found at the plantar surface of five regions of interests: heel, inner midfoot, first and fifth metatarsal heads and first toe and all the dorsal regions of the bioceramic socks. The amount of temperature reduction from the bioceramic sock was between –1.1 and –1.3◦C in heel, inner midfoot, first MTH and first toe (plantar) and 1.3◦C at the dorsum of first and fifth toes. Polyester-based socks with bioceramic fibre materials, due to far-infrared radiation, promote cooler temperatures on the sock surface after running. This effect is more effective in heel, the inner midfoot and the first MTH and could help improve the behaviour of the sock to make it denser in bioceramics and preventing running lesions, like blisters

Endogenous Antioxidant Cocktail Loaded Hydrogel for Topical Wound Healing of Burns

The main goal of this work is the study of the skin wound healing efficacy of an antioxidant cocktail consisting of vitamins A, D, E and the endogenous pineal hormone melatonin (MLT), with all of these loaded into a thermosensitive hydrogel delivery system. The resulting formulation was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The antioxidant efficacy and microbiological activity against Gram positive and Gram negative strains were also assayed. The skin healing efficacy was tested using an in vivo model which included histological evaluation. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy was employed to evaluate the wound healing efficacy of rat skin burns through the determination of its elasticity at the nanoscale using force spectroscopy analysis. The resulting hydrogel exhibited sol state at low temperature and turned into a gel at 30 0.2 C. The hydrogel containing the antioxidant cocktail showed higher scavenging activity than the hydrogel containing vitamins or MLT, separately. The formulation showed optimal antimicrobial activity. It was comparable to a commercial reference. It was also evidenced that the hydrogel containing the antioxidant cocktail exhibited the strongest healing process in the skin burns of rats, similar to the assayed commercial reference containing silver sulfadiazine. Histological studies confirmed the observed results. Finally, atomic force microscopy demonstrated a similar distribution of Young’s modulus values between burned skin treated with the commercial reference and burned skin treated with hydrogel containing the antioxidant cocktail, and all these with healthy skin. The use of an antioxidant cocktail of vitamins and MLT might be a promising treatment for skin wounds for future clinical studies

New Formulations Loading Caspofungin for Topical Therapy of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

This research was funded by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), project no. 202080E231, and the Agreement with the University of Barcelona and the University of Granada (Official State Gazette 311, on 27 November 2020).Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) poses a significant problem worldwide affecting women from all strata of society. It is manifested as changes in vaginal discharge, irritation, itching and stinging sensation. Although most patients respond to topical treatment, there is still a need for increase the therapeutic arsenal due to resistances to anti-infective agents. The present study was designed to develop and characterize three hydrogels of chitosan (CTS), Poloxamer 407 (P407) and a combination of both containing 2% caspofungin (CSP) for the vaginal treatment of VVC. CTS was used by its mucoadhesive properties and P407 was used to exploit potential advantages related to increasing drug concentration in order to provide a local effect. The formulations were physically, mechanically and morphologically characterized. Drug release profile and ex vivo vaginal permeation studies were performed. Antifungal efficacy against different strains of Candida spp. was also evaluated. In addition, tolerance of formulations was studied by histological analysis. Results confirmed that CSP hydrogels could be proposed as promising candidates for the treatment of VVC.Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), project no. 202080E231Agreement with the University of Barcelona and the University of Granad

Infrared-Emitting Multimodal Nanostructures for Controlled In Vivo Magnetic Hyperthermia

Deliberate and local increase of the temperature within solid tumors represents an effective therapeutic approach. Thermal therapies embrace this concept leveraging the capability of some species to convert the absorbed energy into heat. To that end, magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) uses magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) that can effectively dissipate the energy absorbed under alternating magnetic fields. However, MNPs fail to provide real-time thermal feedback with the risk of unwanted overheating and impeding on-the-fly adjustment of the therapeutic parameters. Localization of MNPs within a tissue in an accurate, rapid, and cost-effective way represents another challenge for increasing the efficacy of MHT. In this work, MNPs are combined with state-of-the-art infrared luminescent nanothermometers (LNTh; Ag2S nanoparticles) in a nanocapsule that simultaneously overcomes these limitations. The novel optomagnetic nanocapsule acts as multimodal contrast agents for different imaging techniques (magnetic resonance, photoacoustic and near-infrared fluorescence imaging, optical and X-ray computed tomography). Most crucially, these nanocapsules provide accurate (0.2 degrees C resolution) and real-time subcutaneous thermal feedback during in vivo MHT, also enabling the attainment of thermal maps of the area of interest. These findings are a milestone on the road toward controlled magnetothermal therapies with minimal side effects.E.X. and R.M. contributed equally to this work. Work partially supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (PID2019-106301RB-I00 and PID2019-105195RA-I00), by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MAT2017-85617-R, SEV-2016-0686), by the Comunidad de Madrid (RENIM-CM, B2017/BMD-3867, co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Fund; NANOMAGCOST-CM P2018/NMT-4321), by the European COST Actions CA17115 (MyWave) and CA17140 (Nano2Clinic), by the Spanish Scientific Network HiperNano (RED2018-102626-T) and by the European Commission Horizon 2020 project NanoTBTech (Grant Number: 801305). D.G.-C. acknowledges CAM for funding PEJ-2018-AI/IND-11245. A.B. acknowledges funding from Comunidad de Madrid through TALENTO grant ref. 2019-T1/IND-14014. E.X. is grateful for a Juan de la Cierva Formación scholarship (FJC2018-036734-I). R.M. acknowledges the support of the European Commission through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant agreement N 797945 (LANTERNS). A. E. acknowledges the support from Comunidad de Madrid (Talento project 2018-T1/IND-1005) and from AECC (Ideas Semilla 2019 project). P.R.S. is grateful for a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación scholarship (IJC2019-041915-I). Procedures involving animal experiments were approved by the regional authority for animal experimentation of the Comunidad de Madrid and were conducted in agreement with the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Ethics Committee, in compliance with the European Union directives 63/2010UE and Spanish regulation RD 53/2013

An Ultra‐Long‐Lived Triplet Excited State in Water at Room Temperature: Insights on the Molecular Design of Tridecafullerenes

Suitably engineered molecular systems exhibiting triplet excited states with very long lifetimes are important for high-end applications in nonlinear optics, photocatalysis, or biomedicine. We report the finding of an ultra-long-lived triplet state with a mean lifetime of 93 ms in an aqueous phase at room temperature, measured for a globular tridecafullerene with a highly compact glycodendrimeric structure. A series of three tridecafullerenes bearing different glycodendrons and spacers to the C60 units have been synthesized and characterized. UV/Vis spectra and DLS experiments confirm their aggregation in water. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence experiments suggest a different degree of inner solvation of the multifullerenes depending on their molecular design. Efficient quenching of the triplet states by O2 but not by waterborne azide anions has been observed. Molecular modelling reveals dissimilar access of the aqueous phase to the internal structure of the tridecafullerenes, differently shielded by the glycodendrimeric shell

Psychoeducational intervention in psychology students on suicide through a lecture and the implementation of an emotional kit

[EN] Suicide is a global health problem that has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its great psychosocial relevance, there are a large number of myths about suicide. The aim of the study was to raise awareness of basic aspects of suicide through attractive teaching methodologies that combine the virtual and face-to-face environments and that allow the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to assess, intervene and prevent the suicide to be integrated in a cooperative manner. Ninety-two students from the Psychology Degree at the University of Valencia participated (M=21.04; SD=1.81). First, they completed a battery of questions about myths and realities of suicide; then, they received the training; and, finally, they completed the battery again. The results showed that students obtained a higher mean number of most psychologically accepted responses answers in the identification of myths and realities after the training (t=-5.87, p<.001). The presence of myths related to suicide among university students is evident. It is also concluded that the theoretical-practical training presented in this study could be a useful tool to enhance the acquisition of knowledge and skills in students about suicide assessment, prevention and intervention.[ES] El suicidio consituye un problema de salud mundial que ha sido agravado por la pandemia de COVID-19. A pesar de su gran relevancia psicosocial, existe un elevado número de mitos acerca del suicidio. El objetivo del estudio fue dar a conocer aspectos básicos sobre el suicidio a través de metodologías docentes atractivas que combinan el entorno virtual con el presencial y que permiten integrar de forma cooperativa los conocimientos teórico-prácticos necesarios para evaluar, intervenir y prevenir el suicidio. Participaron 92 estudiantes del Grado de Psicología de la Universitat de València (M=21,04; DT=1,81). Primero, completaron una batería de preguntas acerca de mitos y realidades del suicidio; a continuación, recibieron la formación; y, finalmente, completaron la batería de nuevo. Los resultados mostraron que el alumnado obtuvo una media de respuestas psicológicamente más aceptadas más elevada en la identificación de mitos y realidades tras la formación (t=-5,87; p&lt;,001). Se evidencia la presencia de mitos relacionados con el suicidio entre el estudiantado universitario. Asimismo, se concluye que la formación teórico-práctica presentada en este estudio podría ser una herramienta útil para potenciar la adquisión de conocimientos y competencias en el alumnado acerca de la evaluación, la prevención y la intervención en el suicidio.Lacomba-Trejo, L.; Valero-Moreno, S.; De La Barrera, U.; Schoeps, K.; Mónaco, E.; Tamarit, A.; Rodríguez, E.... (2022). Intervención psicoeducativa en estudiantes de psicología sobre el suicidio mediante una conferencia y la realización de un botiquín emocional. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 707-717. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2022.2022.1592570771

Minimal residual disease assessment in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia by semi-automated identification of normal hematopoietic cells:A EuroFlow study

Presence of minimal residual disease (MRD), detected by flow cytometry, is an important prognostic biomarker in the management of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL). However, data-analysis remains mainly expert-dependent. In this study, we designed and validated an Automated Gating &amp; Identification (AGI) tool for MRD analysis in BCP-ALL patients using the two tubes of the EuroFlow 8-color MRD panel. The accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of the AGI tool was validated in a multicenter study using bone marrow follow-up samples from 174 BCP-ALL patients, stained with the EuroFlow BCP-ALL MRD panel. In these patients, MRD was assessed both by manual analysis and by AGI tool supported analysis. Comparison of MRD levels obtained between both approaches showed a concordance rate of 83%, with comparable concordances between MRD tubes (tube 1, 2 or both), treatment received (chemotherapy versus targeted therapy) and flow cytometers (FACSCanto versus FACSLyric). After review of discordant cases by additional experts, the concordance increased to 97%. Furthermore, the AGI tool showed excellent intra-expert concordance (100%) and good inter-expert concordance (90%). In addition to MRD levels, also percentages of normal cell populations showed excellent concordance between manual and AGI tool analysis. We conclude that the AGI tool may facilitate MRD analysis using the EuroFlow BCP-ALL MRD protocol and will contribute to a more standardized and objective MRD assessment. However, appropriate training is required for the correct analysis of MRD data.</p

Aprendizaje de las enfermedades infecciosas del cerdo mediante enseñanza virtual

El objetivo del proyecto es crear un curso online sobre enfermedades del cerdo dirigido a estudiantes de grado y posgrado de veterinaria, ingeniería agronómica y afines, así como a profesionales del sector porcino interesados en formación continua

Inclusión de los ODS en las asignaturas de la materia Experimentación en Ingeniería Química en el Grado en Ingeniería Química

[ES] En la presente comunicación se presenta la estrategia seguida para dar visibilidad a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) así como poder incluirlos en las asignaturas de la materia “Experimentación en Ingeniería Química” (EIQ) del Grado en Ingeniería Química (GIQ) de la UPV, tanto para el Grado impartido en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial (ETSII) como para el impartido en la Escuela Politécnica Superior de Alcoy (EPSA). Esta materia incluye tres asignaturas experimentales que son continuativas (Experimentación en Ingeniería Química I, II y III). Durante el primer año (curso 22-23), se hará un diagnóstico del estado actual de conocimiento e implicación que tiene el alumnado sobre los ODS a través de encuestas de opinión con la herramienta Google Drive (una encuesta a principio de curso y otra a final de curso). Además, se planteará en cada asignatura una breve sesión formativa de los ODS. Durante el segundo año (curso 23-24), se decidirán qué ODS se van a trabajar en cada asignatura y se plantearán diferentes actividades en cada una de las asignaturas incluidas en la materia Experimentación en Ingeniería Química. De la misma forma, en esta segunda anualidad, se realizarán dos encuestas (una a principio y otra a final de curso) donde se evaluará el grado de aprendizaje, adquisición e implicación del alumnado sobre los ODS.[EN] This article presents the strategy followed to give visibility to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as well as to be able to include them as a part of the content of the matter "Experimentación en Ingeniería Química" of the Degree in Chemical Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), both for the Degree taught at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales (ETSII) and for the one taught at the Escuela Politécnica Superior de Alcoy (EPSA). This matter includes three experimental subjects that are continuing (Experimentación en Ingeniería Química I, Experimentación en Ingeniería Química II and Experimentación en Ingeniería Química III). During the first year (academic year 22-23) a diagnosis will be made of the current state of knowledge and involvement that students have about the SDG through opinion surveys with Google Drive tool (a survey at the beginning and another one at the end of the course). In addition, a brief training session on the SDG will be proposed in each subject. During the second year (academic year 23-24) it will be decided which SDG are going to be worked on and different activities will be proposed in each of the subjects studied. In the same way, in this second year, two surveys will be carried out (one at the beginning and the other one at the end of the course) where the degree of learning, acquisition and involvement of the students on the SDG will be evaluated.Los autores de esta comunicación agradecen a la convocatoria de Proyectos de Innovación y Mejora Educativa de la UPV 2022 y al Proyecto Docente PIME/22-23/348 con título: ''Visibilización e inclusión de los ODS en las asignaturas de la materia Experimentación en Ingeniería Química en el Grado en Ingeniería Química'' a partir del cual se basa esta publicación.Luján Facundo, MJ.; Cuartas Uribe, BE.; García Fayos, B.; Arnal Arnal, JM.; Iborra Clar, A.; Sánchez Arévalo, CM.; Rodríguez López, AD.... (2023). Inclusión de los ODS en las asignaturas de la materia Experimentación en Ingeniería Química en el Grado en Ingeniería Química. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1061-1076. https://doi.org/10.4995/INRED2023.2023.166571061107

SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectra reveal differences between COVID-19 severity categories

Trabajo presentado en el XVI Congreso Nacional de Virología, celebrado en Málaga (España) del 06 al 09 de septiembre de 2022.RNA virus populations are composed of complex mixtures of genomes that are termed mutant spectra. SARS-CoV-2 replicates as a viral quasispecies, and mutations that are detected at low frequencies in a host can be dominant in subsequent variants. We have studied mutant spectrum complexities of SARS-CoV-2 populations derived from thirty nasopharyngeal swabs of patients infected during the first wave (April 2020) in the Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz. The patients were classified according to the COVID-19 severity in mild (non-hospitalized), moderate (hospitalized) and exitus (hospitalized with ICU admission and who passed away due to COVID-19). Using ultra-deep sequencing technologies (MiSeq, Illumina), we have examined four amplicons of the nsp12 (polymerase)-coding region and two amplicons of the spike-coding region. Ultra-deep sequencing data were analyzed with different cut-off frequency for mutation detection. Average number of different point mutations, mutations per haplotype and several diversity indices were significantly higher in SARS-CoV-2 isolated from patients who developed mild disease. A feature that we noted in the SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectra from diagnostic samples is the remarkable absence of mutations at intermediate frequencies, and an overwhelming abundance of mutations at frequencies lower than 10%. Thus, the decrease of the cut-off frequency for mutation detection from 0.5% to 0.1% revealed an increasement (50- to 100 fold) in the number of different mutations. The significantly higher frequency of mutations in virus from patients displaying mild than moderate or severe disease was maintained with the 0.1% cut- off frequency. To evaluate whether the frequency repertoire of amino acid substitutions differed between SARS-CoV-2 and the well characterized hepatitis C virus (HCV), we performed a comparative study of mutant spectra from infected patients using the same bioinformatics pipelines. HCV did not show the deficit of intermediate frequency substitutions that was observed with SARS-CoV-2. This difference was maintained when two functionally equivalent proteins, the corresponding viral polymerases, were compared. In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 mutant spectra are rich reservoirs of mutants, whose complexity is not uniform among clinical isolates. Virus from patients who developed mild disease may be a source of new variants that may acquire epidemiological relevance.This work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Science and In-novation (COVID-19 Research Call COV20/00181), and co-financed by European Development Regional Fund ‘A way to achieve Europe’. The work was also supported by grants CSIC-COV19-014 from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), project 525/C/2021 from Fundació La Marató de TV3, PID2020-113888RB-I00 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, BFU2017-91384-EXP from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), PI18/00210 and PI21/00139 from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and S2018/BAA-4370 (PLATESA2 from Comunidad de Madrid/FEDER). C.P., M.C., and P.M. are supported by the Miguel Servet programme of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CPII19/00001, CPII17/00006, and CP16/00116, respectively) co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). CIBERehd (Centro de Investi-gación en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas) is funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Institutional grants from the Fundación Ramón Areces and Banco Santander to the CBMSO are also acknowledged. The team at CBMSO belongs to the Global Virus Network (GVN). B.M.-G. is supported by predoctoral contract PFIS FI19/00119 from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo) cofinanced by Fondo Social Europeo (FSE). R.L.-V. is supported by predoctoral contract PEJD-2019-PRE/BMD-16414 from Comunidad de Madrid. C.G.-C. is sup-ported by predoctoral contract PRE2018-083422 from MCIU. BS was supported by a predoctoral research fellowship (Doctorados Industriales, DI-17-09134) from Spanish MINECO