33 research outputs found
Separating common from distinctive variation
BACKGROUND: Joint and individual variation explained (JIVE), distinct and common simultaneous component analysis (DISCO) and O2-PLS, a two-block (X-Y) latent variable regression method with an integral OSC filter can all be used for the integrated analysis of multiple data sets and decompose them in three terms: a low(er)-rank approximation capturing common variation across data sets, low(er)-rank approximations for structured variation distinctive for each data set, and residual noise. In this paper these three methods are compared with respect to their mathematical properties and their respective ways of defining common and distinctive variation. RESULTS: The methods are all applied on simulated data and mRNA and miRNA data-sets from GlioBlastoma Multiform (GBM) brain tumors to examine their overlap and differences. When the common variation is abundant, all methods are able to find the correct solution. With real data however, complexities in the data are treated differently by the three methods. CONCLUSIONS: All three methods have their own approach to estimate common and distinctive variation with their specific strength and weaknesses. Due to their orthogonality properties and their used algorithms their view on the data is slightly different. By assuming orthogonality between common and distinctive, true natural or biological phenomena that may not be orthogonal at all might be misinterpreted
The Spanish society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (SENPE) and its relation with healthcare authorities
Está muy bien documentado en la literatura médica
que la desnutrición es un problema común en todos los
niveles de atención sanitaria, desde atención primaria a
especializada y en centros de atención geriátrica. Este
problema no se limita a países con pocos recursos económicos
o con limitado desarrollo social y económico. También
es un problema universal en Europa. La desnutrición
aumenta las cifras de morbilidad, mortalidad,
ingresos hospitalarios y duración de la estancia. Estas
cifras más elevadas suponen lógicamente un aumento del
uso de recursos sanitarios. A pesar de esto, el problema de
la desnutrición a menudo puede pasar desapercibido y el
paciente no recibir el tratamiento necesario. Este problema
requiere la cooperación de múltiples agentes tales
como los Gobiernos de los Estados, los profesionales de la
salud y los mismos ciudadanos. El VIII Foro de Debate
concluye con la necesidad de establecer un claro plan de
actuación (a semejanza de la European Alliance for
Health Nutrition) y la creación de una plataforma (coalición)
que reúna las voces de asociaciones de profesionales
sanitarios, instituciones, colegios profesionales, asociaciones
de pacientes, industria y entidades aseguradoras. Los
fines de esta plataforma consistirán en informar de la
extensión del problema, identificar y potenciar líderes
que transmitan los fines de esta iniciativa ante las autoridades
autonómicas y nacionales, propuesta de soluciones
y colaboración en su puesta en marcha y finalmente, evaluación/
control de las acciones desarrolladasIt has been well documented in medical literature that
hyponutrition is a common issue at all healthcare levels,
from primary to specialized health care, as well as geria -
tric healthcare facilities. This problem is not limited to
countries with scarce economic resources or limited social
development; it is also a universal issue in Europe.
Hyponutrition increases the rates of morbidity, mortality,
hospital admissions, and hospital stay. These higher
figures also represent a higher use of healthcare
resources. In spite of this, hyponutrition may often go
undetected and the patient may not receive the necessary
treatment. This problem requires the cooperation of multiple
agents such as the Governments, the healthcare professionals,
and the citizens themselves. The VIII Discussion
Forum concludes on the need to establish a clear-cut
plant for action (similar to the European Alliance for
Health Nutrition) and the creation of a platform (coalition)
encompassing the voices of healthcare professionals
associations, institutions, professional colleges, patients
associations, the pharmaceutical companies, and insurance
companies. The goals of this platform will be to
inform about the extent of this issue, to identity and promote
leaders that will convey the aims of this initiative to
regional and national healthcare authorities, to present
solutions and to collaborate in their implementation, and
finally to assess/control the actions take
Global methylome scores correlate with histological subtypes of colorectal carcinoma and show different associations with common clinical and molecular features
Background. The typical methylation patterns associated with cancer are hypermethylation at gene promoters and global genome hypomethylation. Aberrant CpG island hypermethylation at promoter regions and global genome hypomethylation have not been associated with histological colorectal carcinomas (CRC) subsets. Using Illumina’s 450 k Infinium Human Methylation beadchip, the methylome of 82 CRCs were analyzed, comprising different histological subtypes: 40 serrated adenocarcinomas (SAC), 32 conventional carcinomas (CC) and 10 CRCs showing histological and molecular features of microsatellite instability (hmMSI‐H), and, additionally, 35 normal adjacent mucosae. Scores reflecting the overall methylation at 250 bp, 1 kb and 2 kb from the transcription starting site (TSS) were studied. Results. SAC has an intermediate methylation pattern between CC and hmMSI‐H for the three genome locations. In addition, the shift from promoter hypermethylation to genomic hypomethylation occurs at a small sequence between 250 bp and 1 Kb from the gene TSS, and an asymmetric distribution of methylation was observed between both sides of the CpG islands (N vs. S shores). Conclusion. These findings show that different histological subtypes of CRC have a particular global methylation pattern depending on sequence distance to TSS and highlight the so far underestimated importance of CpGs aberrantly hypomethylated in the clinical phenotype of CRCs.This work was supported by two grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio
de Sanidad, Spain and FEDER funds (refs: PI12-1232, PI18-0144) and another from the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ref. 848098
Potential ecological and socio-economic effects of a novel megaherbivore introduction: The hippopotamus in Colombia
Introduced species can have strong ecological, social and economic effects on their non-native environment. Introductions of megafaunal species are rare and may contribute to rewilding efforts, but they may also have pronounced socio-ecological effects because of their scale of influence. A recent introduction of the hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius into Colombia is a novel introduction of a megaherbivore onto a new continent, and raises questions about the future dynamics of the socio-ecological system into which it has been introduced. Here we synthesize current knowledge about the Colombian hippopotamus population, review the literature on the species to predict potential ecological and socio-economic effects of this introduction, and make recommendations for future study. Hippopotamuses can have high population growth rates (7-11%) and, on the current trajectory, we predict there could be 400-800 individuals in Colombia by 2050. The hippopotamus is an ecosystem engineer that can have profound effects on terrestrial and aquatic environments and could therefore affect the native biodiversity of the Magdalena River basin. Hippopotamuses are also aggressive and may pose a threat to the many inhabitants of the region who rely upon the Magdalena River for their livelihoods, although the species could provide economic benefits through tourism. Further research is needed to quantify the current and future size and distribution of this hippopotamus population and to predict the likely ecological, social and economic effects. This knowledge must be balanced with consideration of social and cultural concerns to develop appropriate management strategies for this novel introduction
Dielectric relaxation dynamics of high-temperature piezoelectric polyimide copolymers
Polyimide co-polymers have been prepared based on different diamines as co-monomers:
a diamine without CN groups and a novel synthesized diamine with two CN groups
prepared by polycondensation reaction followed by thermal cyclodehydration. Dielectric
spectroscopy measurements were performed and the dielectric complex function, ac
conductivity and electric modulus of the co-polymers were investigated as a function of
CN group content in the frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 107
Hz at temperatures from 25
to 260 °C.
For all samples and temperatures above 150ºC, the dielectric constant increases with
increasing temperature due to increaseing conductivity. The α-relaxation is just detected
for the sample without CN groups, being this relaxation overlapped by the electrical
conductivity contributions in the remaining samples. For the copolymer samples and the
polymer with CN groups an important Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars contribution is detected.
The mechanisms responsible for the dielectric relaxation, conduction process and electric
modulus response have been discussed as a function of the CN groups content present in
the samples.This work was supported by FEDER through the COMPETE Program and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Project PESTC/FIS/UI607/2011 and grants SFRH/BD/ 62507/2009 (A.C.L.) SFRH/BD/68499/2010 (C.M.C.). The authors also thank funding from “Matepro – Optimizing Materials and Processes”, ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000037”, co-funded by the “Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the “Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional” (QREN), through the “Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional” (FEDER). RSS acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project MAT2012-38359-C03-01 (including the FEDER financial support). Authors also thank the Basque Country Government for financial support (ACTIMAT project, ETORTEK Program, IE13-380, and Ayudas para Grupos de Investigación del Sistema Universitario Vasco Program, IT718-13)
Envejecimiento de la población
•Actividades básicas de la vida diaria en personas mayores y factores asociados •Asociación entre depresión y posesión de mascotas en personas mayores •Calidad de vida en adultos mayores de Santiago aplicando el instrumento WHOQOL-BREF •Calidad de vida en usuarios con enfermedad de Parkinson, demencia y sus cuidadores, comuna de Vitacura •Caracterización de egresos hospitalarios de adultos mayores en Puerto Natales (2007-2009) •Comportamiento de las patologías incluidas como GES para el adulto mayor atendido en un Cesfam •Contribución de vitaminas y minerales a las ingestas recomendadas diarias en ancianos institucionalizados de Madrid •Estado de salud oral del paciente inscrito en el Programa de Visita Domiciliaria •Evaluación del programa de discapacidad severa en Casablanca con la matriz de marco lógico •Factores asociados a satisfacción vital en una cohorte de adultos mayores de Santiago, Chile •Pauta instrumental para la identificación de riesgos para el adulto mayor autovalente, en su vivienda •Perfil farmacológico del paciente geriátrico institucionalizado y posibles consecuencias en el deterioro cognitivo •Programa de cuidados paliativos y alivio del dolor en Puerto Natales •Rehabilitación mandibular implantoprotésica: efecto en calidad de vida relacionada con salud bucal en adultos mayores •Salud bucodental en adultos mayores autovalentes de la Región de Valparaíso •Transición epidemiológica y el estudio de carga de enfermedad en Brasi
Synthesis and characterization of novel piezoelectric nitrile copolyimide films for high temperature sensor applications
A series of amorphous polyimides and copolyimides containing nitrile were obtained by a two-step procedure. The first step consists on a polycondensation reaction of the 4,4’-oxydiphtalic anhydride (ODPA) with one or two aromatic diamines, namely 1,3-Bis-2-cyano-3-(3-aminophenoxy)phenoxybenzene (diamine 2CN) and 1,3-Bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene (diamine 0CN). In the second step a thermal cyclodehydration converts each poly(amic acid) or copoly(amic acid) into their corresponding polyimide films. The piezoelectric response was improved after corona poling of the films. A maximum d33 modulus value of 16 pC·N-1 was obtained for the polymide with two cyano groups (poly 2CN) Polarization also showed time and thermal stability up to 160°C. Additionally, the thermal stability of the amorphous polyimides, (β-CN)APB/ODPA, was studied by determining the glass transition temperature (Tg) and thermal decomposition, through Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG), respectively. The high piezoelectric response (1-16 pC·N-1), Tg (160-180ºC) and degradation temperature (315-450ºC) make such polyamides excellent candidates for their use as high temperature sensors.FCT -Fuel Cycle Technologies(FCT - DFRH - SFRH/BPD/96227/2013
Global methylome scores correlate with histological subtypes of colorectal carcinoma and show different associations with common clinical and molecular features
Abstract
Background: The typical methylation patterns associated with cancer are hypermethylation at gene promoters and global genome hypomethylation. Aberrant CpG island hypermethylation at promoter regions and global genome hypomethylation have not been associated with histological colorectal carcinomas (CRC) subsets. Using Illumina’s 450 k Infinium Human Methylation beadchip, the methylome of 82 CRCs were analyzed, comprising different histological subtypes: 40 serrated adenocarcinomas (SAC), 32 conventional carcinomas (CC) and 10 CRCs showing histological and molecular features of microsatellite instability (hmMSI-H), and, additionally, 35 normal adjacent mucosae. Scores reflecting the overall methylation at 250 bp, 1 kb and 2 kb from the transcription starting site (TSS) were studied.
Results: SAC has an intermediate methylation pattern between CC and hmMSI-H for the three genome locations. In addition, the shift from promoter hypermethylation to genomic hypomethylation occurs at a small sequence between 250 bp and 1 Kb from the gene TSS, and an asymmetric distribution of methylation was observed between both sides of the CpG islands (N vs. S shores).
Conclusion: These findings show that different histological subtypes of CRC have a particular global methylation pattern depending on sequence distance to TSS and highlight the so far underestimated importance of CpGs aberrantly hypomethylated in the clinical phenotype of CRCs
¿Los de afuera?: Patrones cambiantes de exclusión en América Latina y el Caribe
En ¿Los de afuera? se plantean varios interrogantes fundamentales acerca de la naturaleza multidimensional e interrelacionada de la exclusión social, y se trasciende el énfasis tradicional en los resultados y los grupos para tratar el fenómeno como un proceso que se origina en características sociales que limitan los funcionamientos de los excluidos. En el informe se emplean las herramientas de la Economía experimental a fin de demostrar los enormes costos de la exclusión en términos de economía y bienestar, lo que indica que las políticas orientadas a la inclusión deberán verse como una inversión y no como una dádiva supuestamente generosa a quienes están en la peor situación social. Por ende, las políticas de este tipo no abarcan simplemente nuevos programas o nuevas instituciones para remediar las injusticias del pasado por medio de transferencias de ingresos, sino que implican cambios fundamentales en la manera en que se toman las decisiones, se asignan los recursos y se ponen en práctica las medidas de política en las sociedades democráticas.
Dysregulation of the splicing machinery is directly associated to aggressiveness of prostate cancer
Background: Dysregulation of splicing variants (SVs) expression has recently emerged as a novel cancer hallmark. Although the generation of aberrant SVs (e.g. AR-v7/sst5TMD4/etc.) is associated to prostate-cancer (PCa) aggressiveness and/or castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) development, whether the molecular reason behind such phenomena might be linked to a dysregulation of the cellular machinery responsible for the splicing process [spliceosome-components (SCs) and splicing-factors (SFs)] has not been yet explored. Methods: Expression levels of 43 key SCs and SFs were measured in two cohorts of PCa-samples: 1) Clinicallylocalized formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded PCa-samples (n = 84), and 2) highly-aggressive freshly-obtained PCa-samples (n = 42). Findings: A profound dysregulation in the expression of multiple components of the splicing machinery (i.e. 7 SCs/19 SFs) were found in PCa compared to their non-tumor adjacent-regions. Notably, overexpression of SNRNP200, SRSF3 and SRRM1 (mRNA and/or protein) were associated with relevant clinical (e.g. Gleason score, TStage, metastasis, biochemical recurrence, etc.) and molecular (e.g. AR-v7 expression) parameters of aggressiveness in PCa-samples. Functional (cell-proliferation/migration) and mechanistic [gene-expression (qPCR) and protein-levels (western-blot)] assays were performed in normal prostate cells (PNT2) and PCa-cells (LNCaP/22Rv1/PC-3/ DU145 cell-lines) in response to SNRNP200, SRSF3 and/or SRRM1 silencing (using specific siRNAs) revealed an overall decrease in proliferation/migration-rate in PCa-cells through the modulation of key oncogenic SVs expression levels (e.g. AR-v7/PKM2/XBP1s) and alteration of oncogenic signaling pathways (e.g. p-AKT/p-JNK). Interpretation: These results demonstrate that the spliceosome is drastically altered in PCa wherein SNRNP200, SRSF3 and SRRM1 could represent attractive novel diagnostic/prognostic and therapeutic targets for PCa and CRPC.This work was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, co-funded by European Union (ERDF/ESF, “Investing in your future”) [PI16/00264, PI17-02287, CM16/00180, FI17/00282, CD16/00092], FEDER (CCB.030PM), MINECO/MECD (BFU2016-80360-R; FPU16/06190,FPU18/02485, FPU16/05059, FPU17/00263, FPU14/04290), Junta de Andalucía (BIO-0139), Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC; INVES18057YUBE) and CIBERobn. CIBER is an initiative of Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad, Spain.Ye