RELATIONS AMONG REMEMBERED PARENTAL ACCEPTANCE AND BEHAVIORAL CONTROL IN CHILDHOOD, ADULTS\u27 CURRENT PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT, AND CAREER INDECISIVENESS

This study tested the hypothesis that career indecisiveness among men tends to be associated with different levels of self-reported psychological adjustment and with different remembrances of parental (maternal and paternal) acceptance and behavioral control in childhood from those of women. One hundred twenty-six respondents ages 17 through 54 (M = 23.7 years, SD = 8.21 years) participated in this study. Thirty-seven where males; 90 were females. Measures used in this study included the Career Decision Scale, the Adult version of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection/Control Questionnaire for mothers and for fathers, and the Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire. Both men and women remembered their mothers as well as their fathers as being loving in childhood. Additionally, men and women remembered both parents as being moderately behaviorally controlling in childhood. Finally, both men and women reported a fair level of psychological maladjustment. And on average, both men and women were fairly indecisive about their careers. Results of analyses supported the hypothesis in that career indecisiveness among women but not men was significantly correlated with remembered maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood, as well as with self-reported psychological adjustment and age. However, only women’s self-reported psychological adjustment made a significant and unique contribution to variations in their reports of career indecisiveness. None of the predictor variables were significantly associated with career indecisiveness among men

High Density Ex Vivo Expansion Of Stem Cell Aggregates In Stirred Perfusion Bioreactors

Stem cell based products are expected to emerge as a major paradigm in the development of novel therapies for the regeneration of functional tissues and organs [1]. Although somatic stem cells display both multipotency and self-renewal features, their natural ex vivo proliferative capability is rather limited. An alternative approach with great potential involves the use of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), which can self-renew in vitro for prolonged periods while maintaining their intrinsic differentiation potential for all three embryonic germ lineages. In order to overcome the limited scalability of standard monolayer cultivations and to establish more defined cell culture conditions, bioreactor expansions in suspension using microcarriers, aggregated cell clumps and microencapsulation have been proposed [2]. Typically applied fed-batch and repeated batch cultures are limited in terms of maximum cell densities given the inability of hPSCs to perform oxidative phosphorylation [3], leading to excessive lactic acid accumulation and reduced proliferation after approximately one week of cultivation. In this study we adapted the technology of continuous stirred tank suspension culture for the production of large numbers of high quality human PSCs. Stem cells were cultivated as multicellular spheroids to guarantee survival in suspension, maintain their native microenvironment and prevent harmful harvesting procedures, as required for microcarrier cultures. The scale up was achieved in a 1L scale bioreactor equipped with an alternating tangential flow (ATF) system for cell retention to allow the renewal of spent medium and maintenance of key operating parameters (pH, oxygen pressure and temperature). The continuous exchange of medium prevented lactic acid accumulation as well as glucose limitation. The adaption of the perfusion rate to account for the increasing cell number led to very high cell densities, above 1∙107 cells/mL. By controlling the agitation rate, we were able to maintain a constant size of the aggregates, eliminating the need for passaging procedures and the use of Rho kinase inhibitors, thus bringing the system closer to a fully automated operation. The maintenance of hPSCs’ differentiation potential was confirmed by expression for pluripotency markers and differentiation into endo-, meso- and ectodermal lineages. Our work reports the achievement of high density human PSCs ex vivo expansion as suspended cell aggregates by controlled culture in perfusion mode. The fabrication of 10 billion pluripotent stem cells in a 1L fully automated bioreactor would be sufficient for the complete reconstruction of major organs (e.g. heart and liver [4]), and for large scale toxicology screenings. [1] Y. Yoshida and S. Yamanaka, “Recent Stem Cell Advances: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Disease Modeling and Stem Cell-Based Regeneration,” Circulation, vol. 122, no. 1, pp. 80–87, Jul. 2010. [2] K. G. Chen, B. S. Mallon, R. D. G. Mckay, and P. G. Robey, “Protocol Review Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Culture : Considerations for Maintenance , Expansion , and Therapeutics,” Stem Cell, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 13–26, 2014. [3] T. Teslaa, and M. A. Teitell, “Pluripotent stem cell energy metabolism : an update,” vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 138–154, 2015. [4] S. F. Badylak, D. Taylor, and K. Uygun, “Whole-Organ Tissue Engineering: Decellularization and Recellularization of Three-Dimensional Matrix Scaffolds,” Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 27–53, Aug. 2011

Glycosylation network mapping and site-specific glycan maturation in vivo

Glycoprotein processing along a complex highly compartmentalized pathway is a hallmark of eukaryotic cells. We followed the kinetics of intracellular, site-specific glycan processing of a model protein with five distinct N-glycosylation sites and deduced a mathematical model of the secretory pathway that describes a complex set of processing reactions localized in defined intracellular compartments such as the endoplasmic reticulum the Golgi, or the lysosome. The model was able to accommodate site-specific N-glycan processing and we identified phosphorylated glycan structures of the mannose-6-phosphate pathway responsible for the lysosomal sorting of the glycoprotein. Importantly, our model protein can take different routes of the cellular secretory pathway, resulting in an increased glycan complexity of the secreted protein

Bioprocess optimization for the expansion of early memory T cells in serum-free conditions

The emerging field of adoptive transfer of T lymphocytes holds a tremendous promise for the treatment of advanced therapy-resistant tumors1. Preclinical and animal studies have suggested that the clinical success rate of immunotherapy can be linked to T cell-related attributes such as longevity, proliferative potential and metabolism. In particular, less differentiated T lymphocyte subsets such as T stem and central memory cells show increased antitumor activity compared to effector T cells due to higher in vivo expansion rates and longer persistence in the recipient organism2. The nature of the infused T cell population is largely determined by the protocols used during the expansion. The vast majority of the currently reported methods for T cell culture are based on the use of high doses of IL-2 to maximize the growth rate of the cells, at the expense of vast differentiation towards the short-lived effector phenotype. Recently, several reports have identified the molecular mechanisms behind the progressive differentiation stages driving the development of T memory and effector subsets3. However, the conditions used for the formation and expansion of T memory subsets in vitro involve the use of poorly defined human serum components. Additionally, no real investigation of the physicochemical environment and engineering parameters for lymphocyte culture under serum free conditions has been reported. In order to develop a process that could generate T cells with improved antitumor efficacy in more defined conditions, we first identified the critical medium components capable of substituting the addition of serum. Secondly, we screened for signaling agonists and inhibitors in order to influence the pathways that drive differentiation towards memory or effector phenotypes. Lastly, a DoE approach was performed to evaluate the effect of growth enhancers and physicochemical variables to maximize the lymphocyte expansion rate. Our results demonstrate a valuable alternative to serum-supplemented media to generate large number of T cells with an early memory phenotype (CCR7+ CD27+) starting from unfractionated human CD3+ T lymphocytes. Moreover, this approach leads to growth rates comparable to standard protocols, with the advantage of reduced costs and variability linked to the use of human serum or platelet lysates. 1. June, C. H., Riddell, S. R. & Schumacher, T. N. Adoptive cellular therapy: A race to the finish line. Sci. Transl. Med. 7, 280ps7-280ps7 (2015). 2. Kishton, R. J., Sukumar, M. & Restifo, N. P. Metabolic Regulation of T Cell Longevity and Function in Tumor Immunotherapy. Cell Metabolism 26, 94–109 (2017). 3. Gattinoni, L., Speiser, D. E., Lichterfeld, M. & Bonini, C. T memory stem cells in health and disease. Nat Med 23, 18–27 (2017)

Fortalecimiento de los agricultores familiares periurbanos del partido de Moreno: experiencia participativa para la implementación de un equipo de maquinaria comunitaria itinerante

El presente trabajo pretende contar la experiencia que se está realizando desde el Instituto municipal de Desarrollo Económico Local (IMDEL), del Municipio de Moreno, con familias productoras de hortalizas del partido. A partir de la labor territorial de los técnicos del IMDEL se detectaron necesidades comunes entre productores. El objetivo de la intervención fue la elaboración de un proyecto conjunto con todos los actores involucrados para aportar al fortalecimiento de los productores familiares del partido. Es así, que a través de un diagnóstico participativo impulsado por los técnicos, la fuerte vinculación interinstitucional existente entre distintos organismos del estado (nacional, provincial y municipal) que intervienen en este territorio y las organizaciones de productores, se formula un proyecto para la implementación de un equipo de maquinaria comunitaria itinerante tendiente a resolver una de las problemáticas mas sentidas.Territorios y estrategias de intervención.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Fortalecimiento de los agricultores familiares periurbanos del partido de Moreno: experiencia participativa para la implementación de un equipo de maquinaria comunitaria itinerante

El presente trabajo pretende contar la experiencia que se está realizando desde el Instituto municipal de Desarrollo Económico Local (IMDEL), del Municipio de Moreno, con familias productoras de hortalizas del partido. A partir de la labor territorial de los técnicos del IMDEL se detectaron necesidades comunes entre productores. El objetivo de la intervención fue la elaboración de un proyecto conjunto con todos los actores involucrados para aportar al fortalecimiento de los productores familiares del partido. Es así, que a través de un diagnóstico participativo impulsado por los técnicos, la fuerte vinculación interinstitucional existente entre distintos organismos del estado (nacional, provincial y municipal) que intervienen en este territorio y las organizaciones de productores, se formula un proyecto para la implementación de un equipo de maquinaria comunitaria itinerante tendiente a resolver una de las problemáticas mas sentidas.Territorios y estrategias de intervención.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Artificial Pancreas: First Clinical Trials in Argentina

The first clinical trials using an Artificial Pancreas (AP) in Latin America have been defined in 2 stages. The first stage was carried out in November 2016 with the UVA controller (developed by the Center for Diabetes Technology and already clinically tested), and the second will be performed during the first semester of 2017 with the ARG (Automatic Regulation of Glucose) algorithm (developed by ITBA, UNQ, and UNLP in Argentina). Both tests are based on the DiAs (Diabetes Assistant) from the UVA, and are performed in the HIBA on 5 patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM), for 36 hours. For the first stage, Open-Loop (OL) insulin boluses were applied before meals and patient’s physical activity was included. On the other hand, for the second stage, patients will not be involved in physical activity, but no OL insulin boluses will be injected before meals. In this work, experimental results from the first stage with the UVA controller, and preliminary results with the ARG control algorithm tested on the UVA/Padova simulator are presented. Due to the final paper deadline, the experimental results from the second stage are not included here, but will be presented at the IFAC World Congress.Facultad de IngenieríaInstituto de Investigaciones en Electrónica, Control y Procesamiento de Señale

A Randomized Trial of Convalescent Plasma in Covid-19 Severe Pneumonia

BACKGROUND:Convalescent plasma is frequently administered to patients with Covid-19 and hasbeen reported, largely on the basis of observational data, to improve clinical outcomes.Minimal data are available from adequately powered randomized, controlled trials. METHODS:We randomly assigned hospitalized adult patients with severe Covid-19 pneumoniain a 2:1 ratio to receive convalescent plasma or placebo. The primary outcome wasthe patient?s clinical status 30 days after the intervention, as measured on a six-pointordinal scale ranging from total recovery to death. RESULTS:A total of 228 patients were assigned to receive convalescent plasma and 105 toreceive placebo. The median time from the onset of symptoms to enrollment inthe trial was 8 days (interquartile range, 5 to 10), and hypoxemia was the mostfrequent severity criterion for enrollment. The infused convalescent plasma had amedian titer of 1:3200 of total SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (interquartile range, 1:800 to1:3200]. No patients were lost to follow-up. At day 30 day, no significant differencewas noted between the convalescent plasma group and the placebo group in thedistribution of clinical outcomes according to the ordinal scale (odds ratio, 0.83(95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52 to 1.35; P=0.46). Overall mortality was 10.96%in the convalescent plasma group and 11.43% in the placebo group, for a risk difference of −0.46 percentage points (95% CI, −7.8 to 6.8). Total SARS-CoV-2 antibodytiters tended to be higher in the convalescent plasma group at day 2 after the intervention. Adverse events and serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS:no significant differences were observed in clinical status or overall mortality between patients treated with convalescent plasma and those who received placebo.(PlasmAr ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04383535.)Fil: Simonovich, Ventura A.. Hospital Italiano. Departamento de Medicina. Servicio de Clinica Medica.; ArgentinaFil: Burgos Pratx, Leandro D.. Hospital Italiano. Departamento de Medicina. Servicio de Clinica Medica.; ArgentinaFil: Scibona, Paula. Hospital Italiano. Departamento de Medicina. Servicio de Clinica Medica.; ArgentinaFil: Beruto, Maria Valeria. No especifíca;Fil: Vallone, Miguel Gabriel. No especifíca;Fil: Vázquez, C.. No especifíca;Fil: Savoy, N.. No especifíca;Fil: Giunta, Diego Hernan. No especifíca;Fil: Pérez, L.G.. No especifíca;Fil: Sánchez, M.L.. No especifíca;Fil: Gamarnik, Andrea Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Ojeda, D.S.. No especifíca;Fil: Santoro, D.M.. No especifíca;Fil: Camino, P. J.. No especifíca;Fil: Antelo, S.. No especifíca;Fil: Rainero, K.. No especifíca;Fil: Vidiella, G. P.. No especifíca;Fil: Miyazaki, E. A.. No especifíca;Fil: Cornistein, W.. No especifíca;Fil: Trabadelo, O. A.. No especifíca;Fil: Ross, F. M.. No especifíca;Fil: Spotti, M.. No especifíca;Fil: Funtowicz, G.. No especifíca;Fil: Scordo, W. E.. No especifíca;Fil: Losso, M. H.. No especifíca;Fil: Ferniot, I.. No especifíca;Fil: Pardo, P. E.. No especifíca;Fil: Rodriguez, E.. No especifíca;Fil: Rucci, P.. No especifíca;Fil: Pasquali, J.. No especifíca;Fil: Fuentes, N. A.. No especifíca;Fil: Esperatti, M.. No especifíca;Fil: Speroni, G. A.. No especifíca;Fil: Nannini, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Inmunología Clinica y Experimental de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Inmunología Clinica y Experimental de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Matteaccio, A.. No especifíca;Fil: Michelangelo, H.G.. No especifíca;Fil: Follmann, D.. No especifíca;Fil: Lane, H. Clifford. No especifíca;Fil: Belloso, Waldo Horacio. Hospital Italiano. Departamento de Medicina. Servicio de Clinica Medica.; Argentin