Hearing regeneration and regenerative medicine: present and future approaches

More than 5% of the world population lives with a hearing impairment. The main factors responsible for hearing degeneration are ototoxic drugs, aging, continued exposure to excessive noise and infections. The pool of adult stem cells in the inner ear drops dramatically after birth, and therefore an endogenous cellular source for regeneration is absent. Hearing loss can emerge after the degeneration of different cochlear components, so there are multiple targets to be reached, such as hair cells (HCs), spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), supporting cells (SCs) and ribbon synapses. Important discoveries in the hearing regeneration field have been reported regarding stem cell transplantation, migration and survival; genetic systems for cell fate monitoring; and stem cell differentiation to HCs, SGNs and SCs using adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Moreover, some molecular mediators that affect the establishment of functional synapses have been identified. In this review, we will focus on reporting the state of the art in the regenerative medicine field for hearing recovery. Stem cell research has enabled remarkable advances in regeneration, particularly in neuronal cells and synapses. Despite the progress achieved, there are certain issues that need a deeper development to improve the results already obtained, or to develop new approaches aiming for the clinical application.Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Project CTQ2014-56611-R)Regional Government of Andalusia (Project P11-CTS-7651)Ramón Areces Foundation (Madrid, Spain

New Water Culture versus the Traditional Design and Validation of a Questionnaire to Discriminate between Both

This article addresses the process of designing and validating a questionnaire on the New Water Culture, which aims to collect information on various issues related to water, such as its management, savings, and consumption. The questionnaire was subjected to a double validation process: an evaluation by a panel of experts, including members of the New Water Culture Foundation, and a pilot study, which allowed us to estimate the validation of the content as well as the corresponding internal consistency of the questionnaire. The construction and validation process resulted in a questionnaire consisting of 27 items with a total of 71 variables distributed in four sections: the first is related to scarcity, quantity, and distribution of water; the second collects questions about the different dimensions of water; the third analyses the different ways of carrying out water management; and the fourth and last section is related to personal actions associated with water. The reliability study showed a Cronbach alpha of 0.913, which demonstrates the development of a robust and reliable instrument allowing the identification of the most problematic issues associated with the New Water Culture.Junta de Andalucía Research Group (HUM613) and the Spanish National Plan R+D+i ProjectPID2019-105765GA-I00, of the 2019 call, entitled “Citizens with critical thinking: A challenge for teachers in science education”

El paciente amputado: complicaciones en su proceso de rehabilitación

This article is centered in the presentation of the complications that can be given in the stump of an amputated patient, considering the context of the phases and the stages of the rehabilitation process through which it must pass this type of patient. Also, the boarding of this subject is framed specially in one of the main causes of amputation in the world and in a country like Colombia that for years has been submerged in a special situation of violence. It also defines different strategies from intervention for the mentioned complications and makes it relevant the necessity of a team of rehabilitation for the treatment of these patients, concluding with the importance that has the inclusion of the patient to its occupational, social and familiar roll, to really complete the rehabilitation process. It also defines different strategies from intervention for the mentioned complications and makes it relevant the necessity of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation team for the treatment of these patients. To finish with the part of the process in witch the patient returns back to its working, social and familiar roll.Este artículo se centra en la presentación de las complicaciones que se pueden dar en el muñón de un paciente amputado, teniendo en cuenta las fases y las etapas del proceso de rehabilitación por las cuales debe pasar. Así mismo, el abordaje de este tema se enmarca en una de las principales causas de amputación en el mundo, especialmente en un país como Colombia que desde hace años se encuentra sumergido en una situación especial de violencia. Define, además, diferentes estrategias de intervención para las complicaciones mencionadas y pone en relieve la necesidad de un equipo interdisciplinario de rehabilitación para el tratamiento de las personas con amputación. Concluye con la importancia que tiene la inclusión del paciente en su rol laboral, social y familiar para completar el proceso de rehabilitación

Spanish avocado (Persea americana Mill.) honey: Authentication based on its composition criteria, mineral content and sensory attributes

Samples of Spanish unifloral avocado (Persea americana Mill.) honey (n = 30) have been characterized by composition criteria, sensory attributes and mineral content in order to fully describe this type of honey. Due to the significant gaps concerning the characterization of unifloral avocado honeys, this work aimed to contribute to its characterization based on different routine laboratory analysis which included: pollen content (qualitative), water content, sugar content, water activity; electrical conductivity, diastase activity; glucose oxidase activity; specific optical rotation; hydroxymethylfurfural; pH; colour of honey and acidity (free, lactonic and total). To define its sensory profile thirty-one sensorial attributes were evaluated: three descriptors for appearance, eight for olfactory characteristics, three of texture in the mouth, four basic tastes, eight of aroma, three trigeminal sensations (piquancy, freshness and astringency), persistence and after taste. A mineral content analysis was also carried out and the elements studied were Fe, Zn, Cu, Ca, Mg and Na. The obtaining results revealed that, it was possible to define and authenticate Spanish unifloral avocado honey based on a combination of common routine laboratory analysis

Extracellular vesicles of Trypanosoma cruzi tissue-culture cell-derived trypomastigotes: Induction of physiological changes in non-parasitized culture cells

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a diverse group of nanoparticles involved in intercellular communication under physiological and pathological conditions. Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, releases EVs that facilitate parasite invasion of the host cell, immunomodulate the host response, and help the parasite to evade this response. However, little is known about how the host cell is altered. In this work, we confirm that EVs of tissue-culture cell-derived trypomastigotes of the Pan4 strain increase cell parasitism. We also demonstrate that EVs affect cell permeability in Vero cells and cardiomyocytes and raise intracellular Ca2+ levels, altering the actin filaments and arresting the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phases. This work seeks to elucidate the way in which EVs influence certain aspects of the cell physiology that favour the establishment of this parasite inside the host cell. The incubation of cells with EVs of trypomastigotes of the Pan4 strain of T. cruzi induce a number of changes in the host cells that include a change in cell permeability and higher intracellular levels of Ca2+ that can alter the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton and arrest the cell cycle at G0/G1 prior to the DNA synthesis necessary to complete mitosis. These changes aid the invasion of host cells and augment the percentage of cell parasitization.Lissette Retana Moreira was supported by the “Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales y Cooperación Externa (OAICE)” of the University of Costa Rica and the “Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones (MICITT)” and “Consejo Nacional para Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas” (CONICIT)” of the Government of Costa Rica

Reflections on the diffusion of management and organization research in the context of open science in Europe

Management and organization research (MOR) faces a crisis related to its social impact and limited response to grand societal challenges. It is also affected by the ongoing transformations in all scientific fields related to the creation, dissemination, and use of knowledge shaping known as “open science” (OS). According to the European Commission, OS must increase the links between the scientific fields and society to make science a socioeconomic engine to overcome these challenges. Therefore, contacting the public through social networks extends the social impact of MOR and facilitates new scientific evaluation metrics. Through an exploratory topic model applied to the Twitter activity of six European highly cited researchers (HCRs) in “economics and business”, we show that a large part of the Twitter activity of these HCRs refers to not only the content of their scientific work but also the social echo that has increased symbolic capital for HCRsThis work was supported by the project Diagnosis of OS in Spanishe universities and instruments for its transformation and improvement (DOSSUET, PID 2019-104052RB-C21), financed by the Spanish State Program for Oriented R + D + i to the Challenges of the Societ

Photosynthetic cytochrome c550

Cytochrome c550 (cyt c550) is a membrane component of the PSII complex in cyanobacteria and some eukaryotic algae, such as red and brown algae. Cyt c550 presents a bis-histidine heme coordination which is very unusual for monoheme c-type cytochromes. In PSII, the cyt c550 with the other extrinsic proteins stabilizes the binding of Cl− and Ca2 + ions to the oxygen evolving complex and protects the Mn4Ca cluster from attack by bulk reductants. The role (if there is one) of the heme of the cyt c550 is unknown. The low midpoint redox potential (Em) of the purified soluble form (from − 250 to − 314 mV) is incompatible with a redox function in PSII. However, more positive values for the Em have been obtained for the cyt c550 bound to the PSII. A very recent work has shown an Em value of + 200 mV. These data open the possibility of a redox function for this protein in electron transfer in PSII. Despite the long distance (22 Å) between cyt c550 and the nearest redox cofactor (Mn4Ca cluster), an electron transfer reaction between these components is possible. Some kind of protective cycle involving a soluble redox component in the lumen has also been proposed. The aim of this article is to review previous studies done on cyt c550 and to consider its function in the light of the new results obtained in recent years. The emphasis is on the physical properties of the heme and its redox properties. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability: from Natural to Artificial.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación BFU2007-68107-C02-01Junta de Andalucía PADI CVI-26

Neuropsychology of perception and facial expression of emotions: studies with children and non human primates

Este estudio revisa diferentes investigaciones sobre la neuropsicología de la percepción y la expresión facial de emociones en niños y en primates no humanos. Se parte de las teorías neodarwinianas sobre el origen de la emoción, que presuponen la existencia de circuitos cerebrales específicos para la expresión y comprensión del afecto y consideran que estos comportamientos son innatos y filogenéticamente determinados . A partir de la literatura examinada, las conclusiones principales que pueden extraerse son las siguientes: (1) A lo largo del primer año de vida los niños manifiestan capacidades básicas para reconocer emociones. Entre otros correlatos neurobiológicos, se ha observado que este proceso se corresponde con una mayor actividad del hemisferio cerebral derecho, frente al izquierdo. (2) En primates no humanos, y desde distintas aproximaciones experimentales, se ha encontrado un patrón similar al de nuestra especie en tareas de reconocimiento y discriminación de expresiones faciales de emociones.(3) Los lactantes expresan emociones con acciones musculares similares a las descritas en adultos. La mayoría de los autores señalan que el hemisferio cerebral derecho muestra una mayor implicación que el izquierdo, también en el caso de la expresión emocional y para todas las emociones estudiadas. No obstante desde algunas investigaciones se concluye que el hemisferio izquierdo es el dominante en el caso de la expresión de emociones positivas y el hemisferio derecho sólo en las negativas. (4) Los estudios sobre expresión facial en primates no humanos indican que existe una asimetría facial que se manifiesta en una mayor intensidad de la expresión en la mitad izquierda de la cara y, de manera correspondiente, en una mayor implicación del hemisferio cerebral derecho. Se concluye esta revisión considerando que la existencia de semejanzas anatómicas y funcionales entre adultos, niños y primates no humanos justifica el interés por los estudios de ontogenia y filogenia para conocer mejor las bases neurobiológicas que subyacen a la conducta emocionalThis study reviews different researches on the neuropsychology of facial perception and expression of emotions in children and non-human primates. It parts from neodarwinian theories on the origin of the emotion that take into account the existence of specific cerebral circuits for the expression and understanding of affect, and consider such behaviours as innate and phylogenetically determined. From literature reviewed, the main conclusions that can be extracted are the following ones: (1) During the first year of life infants show basic abilities to recognize emotions. Among other neurobiological correlates, it has been observed that this process corresponds with a greater activity of the right hemisphere, as opposed to the left one. (2) From different experimental approaches, human and non-human primates show a similar pattern in the recognition and discrimination of facial expressions of emotions. (3) Infants express emotions with similar muscular actions to those described in adults. Most of the authors also point out a greater involvement of the right hemisphere than the left one, for all of the emotional expressions. However, some studies report that right hemisphere is dominant only for the negative expressions, while the left hemisphere is for the positive ones. (4) Studies on facial expression in human and non-human primates show an asymmetry in the production of emotional responses with a greater involvement of the left side of the face (right cerebral hemisphere). This review concludes that the existence of anatomical and functional similarities in non-human primates, children and adults justifies the interest by the ontogenetic and phylogenetic studies in order to understand the neurobiological bases underlying emotional behaviou

“Más, levaron para Gironyco, esclavo del señor adelantado, media onça de ungento del fígado”: aportaciones farmacológicas sobre el Recetario de Alba

This work analyzes a number of documents known as the “Recetario de Alba” which comprises the medicines prescribed for the House of Alba between 1469 and 1470. This study has contributed not only to learn about the medicines used by Castilian social elites in this period, but also to introduce us to the real medical practice, the role of apothecaries and the influence of Galenism during the second half of 15th century. To this aim, the study has firstly checked the identity of the patients who received the treatments and then has carried out the classification and analysis of the simple and compound medicines mentioned in the recipe book have been carried out, according to different aspects like their nature, route of administration and consistency.En este trabajo se analizan los documentos conocidos como Recetario de Alba, que comprende la relación de medicamentos expedidos a la Casa de Alba entre los años 1469 y 1470. Dicho análisis ha servido no solo para conocer qué medicinas se usaban en el ámbito de las élites castellanas durante ese periodo, sino también para introducirnos en la práctica médica real y en el papel del boticario y la influencia del galenismo durante la segunda mitad del siglo XV. Para ello, se ha realizado, por un lado, la comprobación de quienes fueron los beneficiarios de los medicamentos, y por otro lado, la clasificación y el análisis de los medicamentos simples y compuestos anotados en dicho recetario, atendiendo a distintos aspectos como su naturaleza, vía de administración y consistencia.