The Deadly Cost of Unregulated Labor: How the United States Fair Labor Standards Act Violates the International Labour Organization’s ILO Convention No. 182 in Failing to Provide Protections for Children Working in Agriculture

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) was the first successful comprehensive legislation addressing child labor laws in the United States. While important, the FLSA left a lot to be desired for agricultural child workers as it provides less protections for them than for non-agricultural child workers. This disparity has left child agricultural workers legally allowed to work in hazardous conditions at a young age, and work nearly unlimited hours. For the most part, child labor laws were at a stalemate until 1999 when the United States ratified the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182, also known as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention. However, the provisions in the United States’ FLSA violate the standards set forth in ILO Convention No. 182

Mapping the Quixotic Imagination: Madrid in Galdos\u27s Misericordia

The project examines Pérez Galdós’s views on social regeneration of 19th-century Spain in one of his most acclaimed novels, “Misericordia”, by documenting the wanderings through 19th-century Madrid of the main characters of the novel through geolocation tools. The novel’s main character is a quixotic and self-sacrificing beggar who does not only challenge the cartographic power and the conceptualization of space imposed by a middle class seeking to control urban growth but also reappropriates civic values that had been robbed of all meaning by Spanish society at the time. From that perspective, “Misericordia” constitutes the writer’s ultimate vindication of the narrative genre as a space of dialogue to contribute to the ideological foundations of social progress in 19th-century Spain. The project employs tools such as Google Maps and ArcGIS to trace the character’s whereabouts, interactions, and ranges of emotions throughout the novel on the maps of 19th-century and contemporary Madrid, respectively, and documents how the characters’ material enrichment and social ascension are geographically traced as directly proportional to their spiritual (and physical) demise. Conversely, the protagonist undergoes a spiritual purification and finds the true meaning of charity in the suburban slums of Madrid. The multimedia nature of the project makes it a suitable medium to visualize two contending representations of the urban space: that of the 19th-century Spanish middle-class, and that of the marginalized, constantly struggling to expand the material and symbolic urban borders

Estudo etnomatemático sobre danças folclóricas: simetria dos trajes

Esta proposta de comunicação oral tem subjacente um projeto de doutoramento na área de Educação Matemática. Parte deste projeto tem como objetivo analisar e compreender a estrutura matemática inerente a vários elementos que constituem danças folclóricas características do Norte de Portugal e da Galiza, comunidade autónoma de Espanha, especificamente a coreografia, os acessórios, e a música. Prevê-se o desenvolvimento de um estudo etnomatemático sobre elementos do folclore, que concretiza um processo de matematização construído em práticas culturais. Relativamente aos acessórios, foram fotografados os trajes de grupos folclóricos, a fim de ser estudada a simetria dos mesmosThis proposal for oral presentation is included in a doctoral project in Mathematics Education. Part of this project aims to analyze and understand the mathematical structure inherent in various elements of folk dances characteristic of Northern Portugal and Galicia, an autonomous community of Spain, specifically choreography, accessories, and music. We expect to develop an ethnomathematical study on elements of folklore, within a process of mathematization built on cultural practices. Regarding the accessories, folk groups’ garbs were photographed, in order to study the symmetry presented on them.CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), Portugal. Fundos Nacionais através da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) e cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Meeting report: Seventh Annaberg EMBO Workshop 'Membrane traffic in the secretory pathway', Goldegg, Austria, 9-14 January 2007

The seventh Annaberg Conference entitled ‘Membrane Traffic in the Secretory Pathway’ was, like previous meetings, very successful. The scenic Austrian village of Goldegg and its castle gave the meeting a great atmosphere, although this time we missed the wintry landscape. Nevertheless, many outstanding speakers presented the latest research in membrane dynamics along the secretory and endocytic pathways, and the poster sessions in the evenings were no less exciting. Within the topic of membrane trafficking, the talks and posters ranged from lipids to autophagy to signaling, and from mitosis to mitochondria, which made this conference very diverse and dynamic. The high quality of the talks ensured that all these different topics were effectively conveyed and provoked lively discussions. We would like to apologize that we can only report on a selection of the presented talks because of limited space, and therefore will not mention all the invited speakers in this report

An Update on Canine Adenovirus Type 2 and Its Vectors

Adenovirus vectors have significant potential for long- or short-term gene transfer. Preclinical and clinical studies using human derived adenoviruses (HAd) have demonstrated the feasibility of flexible hybrid vector designs, robust expression and induction of protective immunity. However, clinical use of HAd vectors can, under some conditions, be limited by pre-existing vector immunity. Pre-existing humoral and cellular anti-capsid immunity limits the efficacy and duration of transgene expression and is poorly circumvented by injections of larger doses and immuno-suppressing drugs. This review updates canine adenovirus serotype 2 (CAV-2, also known as CAdV-2) biology and gives an overview of the generation of early region 1 (E1)-deleted to helper-dependent (HD) CAV-2 vectors. We also summarize the essential characteristics concerning their interaction with the anti-HAd memory immune responses in humans, the preferential transduction of neurons, and its high level of retrograde axonal transport in the central and peripheral nervous system. CAV-2 vectors are particularly interesting tools to study the pathophysiology and potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, as anti-tumoral and anti-viral vaccines, tracer of synaptic junctions, oncolytic virus and as a platform to generate chimeric vectors

Reconstruction of aridity for the Sierra de la Laguna, Baja California Sur, Mexico

A well-documented history of past climatic conditions is needed to understand and resolve some ecological problems, but the existing climatological records are too short to detect long-term climatic variability and changes. Some trees, such as pines, produce annual tree rings with different widths depending on prevailing environmental conditions, such as climate. Tree-ring analysis of long-lived trees can be used to estimate past variations in climate. The principal aim of this study is to reconstruct aridity for the southern portion of the Baja California Peninsula, by means of dendroclimatologic techniques

A Brief Introduction to Big Data for Humanists

The term‘big data’is still somewhat confusing for researchers, as most as-sociate it with its most basic objectives such as data collection and processing ofoperations and do not have a clear overview of its scope and implications (Favar-etto et al. 2020). Moreover, there is a certain sense of uneasiness towards big dataas it is a cultural phenomenon in a state of constant change and evolution andthe use of this concept as a buzzword further aggravates its conceptual vague-ness. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to offer a synthetic vision of what isunderstood as big data to serve as a starting point for researchers in the field ofhumanitie

Palinomorfos miocenos del subsuelo de Santiago del Estero, Argentina.

La asociación palinológica recuperada del pozo YPF.SE. LH.x-2 Los Horcones, provincia de Santiago del Estero, está dominada por Amaranthaceae/ Chenopodioideae y algas verdes continentales, con Nothofagaceae y Malvaceae subordinadas. En la parte superior de la sección muestreada hay también dinoflagelados y microforaminíferos marinos. La asociación se habría desarrollado en un ambiente lacustre. El cuerpo de agua habría estado rodeado por una vegetación mayormente hebáceo-arbustiva. El clima habría sido templado–cálido y relativamente árido. La palinoflora estaría relacionada con la ingresión marina que habría afectado el noroeste argentino durante el Mioceno medio (15–13 Ma).SUBSURFACE MIOCENE PALYNOMORPHS FROM SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA. The palynological assemblage recovered from the YPF.SE. LH.x-2 Los Horcones well, Santiago del Estero Province, is dominated by Amaranthaceae/ Chenopo- dioideae and freshwater green algae, together with subordinate Nothofagaceae and Malvaceae. Marine dinoflagellates and foraminiferal linnings are also present in the upper half of the sampled section. This assemblage may have developed in a lacustrine environment. A mostly herbaceaous and shrubby vegetation may have surrounded the water-body. The climate may have been warm–temperate and relatively arid. The palynoflora could be related to the marine ingression that affected northwestern Argentina during the middle Miocene (15–13 My).Fil: Ottone, Eduardo Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos;Fil: Reinarte Mazurier, Sara M.E.. YPF- Tecnologia; ArgentinaFil: Salinas, Alicia. YPF- Tecnologia; Argentin

La importancia de fomentar la educación de calidad en Instituciones de Educación superior, en las áreas de Salud en el nuevo milenio

Fomentar la educación de calidad en Instituciones de Educación Superior, especialmente en el ámbito de la salud, es perentorio en el nuevo milenio ya que permite proporcionar a los futuros profesionales desenvolverse con grandes habilidades no solo por sus conocimientos teóricos, sino también, por sus destrezas prácticas. Una educación de calidad a su vez, permite que los profesionales tengan mejores oportunidades de acceder a programas de posgrados y/o maestrías que le permitan ampliar su formación académica y con ello brindar un mejor servicio no solo al individuo, sino también, a su familia y a la comunidad en general. Por ello la importancia de que las instituciones de educación superior se encuentren a la vanguardia con los avances tecnológicos y científicos, metodologías de aprendizaje, accesibilidad a la globalización, pero sobre priorizar la Innovación e Investigación. 

Smart dressings based on nanostructured fibers containing natural origin antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory compounds

La presente tesis doctoral denominada “Apósitos inteligentes basados en la encapsulación de compuestos antimicrobianos y anti-inflamatorios de origen natural en fibras nanoestructuradas” ha sido desarrollada en el Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Tecnologías del Medioambiente (Universidad de Zaragoza, España) en el Grupo de Películas y Partículas Nanoestructuradas (NFP), miembro del Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón (INA). Parte de la investigación ha sido desarrollada en el Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Aragón (CIBA). Durante este periodo, se ha realizado una estancia de 6 meses en el Methodist Hospital Research Institute en Houston (Texas, US), supervisada por el Profesor Ennio Tasciotti. La tesis ha sido financiada por el Programa de Formación de Personal Investigador (FPI) proporcionado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (CTQ2014-52384-R). La estancia fue co-financiada por el Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en el campo de la Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN). Debido al desarrollo de resistencias bacterianas, el interés en la búsqueda de nuevos compuestos para abordar infecciones ha crecido exponencialmente para los investigadores. Por este motivo, esta tesis doctoral está enfocada en el diseño de un apósito basado en nanofibras de policaprolactona (PCL) sintetizadas mediante electrospinning, que encapsulen compuestos naturales que actúen como anti-inflamatorios y antimicrobianos para el tratamiento de heridas. Con este objetivo, se ha llevado a cabo un profundo estudio de los aceites esenciales con propiedades bactericidas y anti-inflamatorias. El primer objetivo de la tesis doctoral fue abordar la infección de heridas con compuestos naturales derivados de plantas. Para esto, se estudiaron las propiedades y los mecanismos de acción de diferentes compuestos en bacterias planctónicas utilizando dos modelos bacterianos, uno Gram-positivo, como S. aureus (ATCC 25923) y otro Gram-negativo, como E. coli-S17. Teniendo en cuenta que la formación de biofilm es un problema en las infecciones de heridas, se estudió el efecto de los compuestos naturales en un modelo de biofilm de S. aureus. El carácter volátil de los EOs y la posibilidad de oxidarse cuando están en contacto con luz ultravioleta o el aire, hacen difícil su aplicación. La encapsulación de estos compuestos ayuda a proteger sus propiedades y facilitar así su aplicación final. Así, el timol (THY) demostró ser el compuesto con mejor actividad antimicrobiana en ambos modelos bacterianos, de modo que fue encapsulado en nanofibras de PCL. La síntesis de nanofibras y la encapsulación del THY se llevaron a cabo mediante la técnica de electrospinning. Este método permite la fabricación de nanofibras con encapsulación de compuestos volátiles, como el THY, gracias a la rápida formación de las fibras. Las propiedades bactericidas de los apósitos de PCL cargado con THY se estudiaron utilizando un modelo de S. aureus que expresaba GFP y así poder realizar ensayos cuantitativos y mediante microscopía confocal. El segundo objetivo de la tesis ha sido encontrar un compuesto natural anti-inflamatorio para el tratamiento de heridas. Para ello, se ha optimizado un modelo inflamatorio in vitro en macrófagos J774 activados con lipopolisacárido (LPS). Estos experimentos se llevaron a cabo en el Methodist Hospital Research Institute en Houston (Texas, US), donde se determinaron los niveles de citoquinas inflamatorias lo que nos permitió determinar entre los testados los mejores compuestos naturales anti-inflamatorios. Además, las membranas de PCL-THY demostraron ser los mejores apósitos reduciendo la inflamación, entre los distintos tratamientos de estudio. Tras concluir que el THY encapsulado en nanofibras de PCL mantiene las propiedades antimicrobianas y anti-inflamatorias, se desarrolló un modelo in vivo para determinar la efectividad de los apósitos en heridas de piel infectadas. Para ello, se utilizaron ratones sin pelo SKH1 para analizar las propiedades bactericidas e inflamatorias para su potencial aplicación clínica. El documento está estructurado en diferentes capítulos que abordan cada uno de los objetivos de la tesis doctoral: o El Capítulo I corresponde con la parte introductoria, donde se explican los conceptos generales. El capítulo incluye una descripción del proceso de curación de una herida, resaltando factores que afectan al mismo, como por ejemplo la infección e inflamación. Se explican también los diferentes tipos de tratamientos que existen, como los antibióticos, poniendo especial atención en el desarrollo de resistencias bacterianas a los mismos, como la razón principal de elección de compuestos naturales para el tratamiento de heridas. La técnica de electrospinning se detalla para entender la síntesis de fibras de PCL y la encapsulación de los principios activos. o El Capítulo II se centra en la actividad antimicrobiana de los compuestos libres para abordar la infección de heridas. Se calculó la Concentración Mínima Inhibitoria (MIC) y la Concentración Mínima Bactericida (MBC) de diferentes compuestos derivados de plantas en una cepa de S. aureus (ATCC 25923) y otra de E. coli-S17. Además, se desarrolló un modelo de biofilm en S. aureus para determinar el efecto de los compuestos libres en estas estructuras bacterianas. El mecanismo de acción de los aceites esenciales en las bacterias fue estudiado mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido (SEM) y citometría de flujo. Por último, se estudió la citotoxicidad de los compuestos en tres tipos celulares relacionados con la piel: fibroblastos, queratinocitos y macrófagos. Carvacrol (CAR), cinamaldehido (CIN) y THY demostraron tener la mayor actividad antimicrobiana en un modelo in vitro de S. aureus y E. coli. a través de la disrupción de la membrana bacteriana. Estos resultados están incluidos en el artículo publicado titulado “Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of different components of natural origin present in essential oils”. García-Salinas, S.; Elizondo-Castillo, H.; Arruebo, M.; Mendoza, G.; Irusta, S. Molecules 2018, 23 (6), 1–18.https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23061399.o Capítulo III: Teniendo en cuenta los resultados obtenidos en el Capítulo II, el THY fue elegido para ser encapsulado en nanofibras de PCL, dada su capacidad antimicrobiana y su baja citotoxicidad comparada con el resto de los compuestos. Se midió el efecto del PCL-THY en contacto con cGFP-expressing S. aureus en suspensión y en forma de biofilm. Por último, se diseñó un modelo de co-cultivo con cGFP-expressing S. aureus y macrófagos J774 para estudiar el efecto del PCL-THY en células infectadas. Los apósitos de PCL-THY eliminaron el crecimiento bacteriano en un modelo de infección de macrófagos J774. Además, los estudios corroboraron la inhibición de la formación de biofilm. Los resultados están incluidos en el artículo titulado “Antimicrobial Wound Dressings Against Fluorescent and Methicillin-Sensitive Intracellular Pathogenic Bacteria” Garcia-Salinas, S.; Gamez-Herrera, E.; Landa, G.; Arruebo, M.; Irusta, S.; Mendoza, G. enviado para su publicación a ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Manuscript ID: am-2020-05668q.o El Capítulo IV describe la actividad anti-inflamatoria de los aceites esenciales con el objetivo de reducir y controlar el proceso inflamatorio en la curación de heridas. La abundante inflamación puede causar la activación de células o citoquinas innecesarias que generan efectos deletéreos y retrasan el proceso de curación. Por esta razón, se optimizó un modelo inflamatorio con macrófagos J774 activados con LPS y se estudió el efecto de diferentes compuestos naturales reportados como anti-inflamatorios. Los macrófagos infectados se trataron y se analizaron a nivel genético, midiendo los niveles de expresión de Il (Interleucina) 1b, iNos (óxido nítrico sintasa inducible) e Il10 por RT-PCR (Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction). Los aceites esenciales con mejor resultado se encapsularon en nanofibras de PCL y se estudió el efecto de los mismos, confirmando los resultados previamente obtenidos. Además, se realizaron experimentos en los que se evaluó la morfología celular, comparando las células tratadas con controles positivos (células activadas con LPS sin tratamiento) y negativos (células no activadas con LPS). Este experimento demostró la similitud entre las células tratadas y las no activadas, confirmando los efectos anti-inflamatorios del tratamiento. Los resultados están incluidos en el artículo publicado titulado “Electrospun Anti-Inflammatory Patch Loaded with Essential Oils for Wound Healing”. García-Salinas, S.; Evangelopoulos, M.; Gámez-Herrera, E.; Arruebo, M.; Irusta, S.; Taraballi, F.; Mendoza, G.; Tasciotti, E. Int. J. Pharm.2020, 577 (January), 119067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119067o El Capítulo V unifica toda la investigación realizada durante la tesis en un modelo in vivo de infección de heridas con S. aureus (ATCC 25923) en ratones sin pelo SKH1. Se analizaron las propiedades bactericidas y antiinflamatorias de los apósitos diseñados. Además, se realizaron controles del compuesto libre y de clorhexidina (compuesto utilizado en la clínica) para conocer las ventajas de nuestros apósitos frente a otros tratamientos. En cuanto al control de la infección, se realizaron medidas cuantitativas y cualitativas de las bacterias presentes en la herida a diferentes tiempos post-infección. En cuanto al control de la inflamación, se realizaron análisis histológicos de las heridas evaluando la reacción de células inflamatorias y la formación de nuevos vasos sanguíneos. Los estudios demostraron que los apósitos de PCL-THY pueden prevenir la infección, además de promover la regeneración en heridas. Los resultados están incluidos en el artículo titulado “Efficiency of Antimicrobial Electrospun Thymol-Loaded Polycaprolactone Mats in vivo” Garcia-Salinas, S.; Gamez-Herrera, E.; Asin, J.; de Miguel, R.; Andreu, V.; Sancho-Albero, M.; Mendoza, G.; Irusta, S.; Arruebo, M.: aceptado para su publicación en ACS Applied Biomaterials. Manuscript ID: mt-2020-002706.o El Capítulo VI resume las principales conclusiones obtenidas en este trabajo. o El Apéndice I describe las técnicas de caracterización y métodos biológicos utilizados para evaluar la actividad antimicrobiana y anti-inflamatoria de los compuestos libres y encapsulados. o El Apéndice II indica las referencias utilizadas en este trabajo o El Apéndice III señala los artículos publicados y la participación en congresos que se han llevado a cabo durante la tesis The current Doctoral Thesis, named “Smart dressings based on nanostructured fibers containing natural origin antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory compounds” has been developed in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology (University of Zaragoza, Spain) in the group of Nanostructured Films and Particles (NFP), which is a member of the Aragon Institute of Nanoscience (INA). This research has been developed in this institute and also in the Biomedical Research Center of Aragon (CIBA). A predoctoral stay of 6 months was performed in the Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston (Texas, US) supervised by Professor Ennio Tasciotti. This research was supported by a FPI predoctoral fellowship, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CTQ2014-52384-R). The short stay was also funded by the Network of Biomedical Research Center in the field of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN). Due to the development of bacterial resistances, the search of new compounds to treat infections is in the spotlight of researchers. In this scenario, this thesis is focused on the design of a bioactive dressing based on electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers loading natural compounds obtained from essential oils (EOs) acting as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds for wound healing treatment. For this aim, a deep research on the bactericidal and anti-inflammatory EOs compounds properties was carried out. The first purpose of the thesis was to tackle wound infection with plant-derived natural compounds. For this goal, the bactericidal properties and mechanisms of different free EOs in planktonic bacteria cultures using a Gram-positive strain, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and a Gram-negative strain, Escherichia coli S17 were studied. In addition, since biofilm formation is a challenge in wound infections, the effect of natural compounds was studied on S. aureus biofilm. The high volatility character of EOs and the fact that they can be oxidized in contact with air or ultraviolet light, make difficult their application. Encapsulation of EOs is a good technique to protect their properties. Thus, thymol (THY), the compound that demonstrated the best antimicrobial activity against planktonic bacteria and biofilm, was encapsulated into PCL nanofibers. Nanofibers synthesis and THY encapsulation were carried out using the electrospinning technique. This method allows the fabrication of patches with high load of those volatile compounds such as THY. The bactericidal properties of these patches were studied using a cGFP-expressing S. aureus strain through quantitative assays and confocal microscopy. In order to use these natural compounds for wound healing applications, free-compound cytotoxicity assays were carried out in three different cell types: fibroblast, keratinocytes and macrophages. Moreover, a co-culture model using J774 macrophages and cGFP-expressing S. aureus was developed to study and monitoring the effect of THY loaded PCL patches in intracellular bacteria. The second goal in the thesis was to find an anti-inflammatory natural compound effective for wound treatment. For these assays, an in vitro inflammatory model was optimized in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -activated J774 macrophages. These experiments were developed in the Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston (Texas, US). The study of the increase or reduction levels of inflammatory cytokines allowed us to determine the best anti-inflammatory natural compounds evaluated in our studies. Among them, PCL-THY patches demonstrated to be the wound dressings that better reduced inflammation in an in vitro inflammatory model. After concluding that THY had superior antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties when loaded in PCL nanofibers, an in vivo experiment to determine the effectiveness of the designed patches in an infected skin wound model was developed. SKH1 hairless mice were used to analyze the in vivo bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties of PCL-THY patches for their potential clinical application. The document is structured in different chapters that address each of the goals of this doctoral thesis: Chapter I corresponds with the introductory part where general concepts are exposed. The chapter includes a description of the wound healing processes, pointing the factors affecting the procedure such as infection and inflammation. Different types of wound healing treatments such as antibiotics are described, highlighting antibiotic resistance as the reason to choose plant-derived compounds as a wound healing treatment. Electrospinning technique is explained to understand the synthesis of PCL nanofibers and the encapsulation of the active principle. Chapter II focuses on antimicrobial activity of free EOs to tackle wound infection. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were measured for different plant-derived natural compounds in S. aureus (ATCC 25923) and E. coli S17 strains. In addition, a S. aureus biofilm model was optimized to determine the effect of EOs in these bacterial formations. The mechanism of action of EOs against bacteria was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and flow cytometry. Cytotoxicity of EOs treatment was also evaluated in skin-related cell types such as fibroblasts, keratinocytes and macrophages. Carvacrol (CAR), cinnamaldehyde (CIN) and THY exhibited the highest in vitro antimicrobial activities against E. coli and S. aureus by disrupting the bacteria membrane. These results are included in the published article entitled “Evaluation of the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of different components of natural origin present in essential oils”. García-Salinas, S.; Elizondo-Castillo, H.; Arruebo, M.; Mendoza, G.; Irusta, S. Molecules 2018, 23 (6), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23061399. Chapter III considering the results obtained in Chapter II, THY was chosen as the compound to be loaded into electrospun PCL nanofibers due to its antimicrobial activity and low cytotoxicity compared with the other EOs tested. PCL-THY patches were synthetized, and their bactericidal properties were measured against both, planktonic culture and biofilm of cGFP-expressing S. aureus. A co-culture model using cGFP-expressing S. aureus and J774 macrophages was developed to study the effect of PCL-THY patches on infected cells. Compared to non-loaded dressings, PCL-THY dressings were able to eliminate the pathogenic bacteria in coculture models using infected murine macrophages. In addition, it was corroborated the successful ability of the developed patch in preventing biofilm formation. These results are included in the recently submitted article entitled “Antimicrobial Wound Dressings Against Fluorescent and Methicillin-Sensitive Intracellular Pathogenic Bacteria” Garcia-Salinas, S.; Gamez-Herrera, E.; Landa, G.; Arruebo, M.; Irusta, S.; Mendoza, G. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Manuscript ID: am-2020-05668q. Chapter IV describes the anti-inflammatory activity of EOs with the aim of reducing and controlling the inflammatory process during wound healing. Excessive inflammation can cause the activation of unnecessary cells or cytokines, generating deleterious effects, limiting healing. To develop this goal, an inflammatory model of J774 macrophages activated with LPS was carried out. Different free natural compounds reported as anti-inflammatory molecules were assessed. Thus, infected macrophages were treated and analyzed at the genetic level, measuring interleukin (Il) 1b, iNos (inducible Nitric oxide synthase) and Il10 cytokines by RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction). PCL patches loaded with EOs were tested using the same in vitro model, confirming previous results. In addition, it was assessed cell morphology and average cell area comparing treated cells with positive (LPS-activated cells without treatment) and negative (non LPS-activated cells) controls. This experiment demonstrated the similarity among treated cells and non-activated cells, confirming the anti-inflammatory effect of THY loaded PCL patches. These results are included in the published article entitled “Electrospun Anti-Inflammatory Patch Loaded with Essential Oils for Wound Healing”. García-Salinas, S.; Evangelopoulos, M.; Gámez-Herrera, E.; Arruebo, M.; Irusta, S.; Taraballi, F.; Mendoza, G.; Tasciotti, E. Int. J. Pharm. 2020, 577 (January), 119067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2020.119067. Chapter V joins all the research performed during the thesis related to an S. aureus (ATCC 25923) infected wound in vivo model using SHK1 hairless mice. Thus, it was analyzed the in vivo bactericidal and inflammatory properties of the designed dressings. In addition, controls of free EO and a clinical compound (chlorhexidine) were added to assess the advantages of our patch against other treatments. Starting by infection, quantitative and qualitative measurements of bacteria present in the wound were collected at different dpi (days post infection). Moreover, the histological analysis of skin wounds was carried out to evaluate the inflammatory reaction and new vessel formation. Studies demonstrated that PCL-THY can prevent infection, promote wound healing and prompt regeneration. These results are included in the recently accepted article entitled “Efficiency of Antimicrobial Electrospun Thymol-Loaded Polycaprolactone Mats in vivo” Garcia-Salinas, S.; Gamez-Herrera, E.; Asin, J.; de Miguel, R.; Andreu, V.; Sancho-Albero, M.; Mendoza, G.; Irusta, S.; Arruebo, M. ACS Applied Biomaterials. ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 2020, 3 (5), 3430–3439. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.0c00419 Chapter VI summarizes the main conclusions obtained during this doctoral thesis. Appendix I describes the main characterization techniques and biological methods in order to evaluate the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory ability of free and loaded compounds. Appendix II compiles the references used to write this work. Appendix III points out the published scientific papers and the participation in conferences during this thesis.<br /