Can We Build Artificial Stem Cell Compartments?

Animals carry stem cells throughout their entire life, from embryogenesis to senescence. Their function during development and adulthood consists basically of forming and sustaining functional tissues while maintaining a small self-renewing population. They reside in a complex three-dimensional environment consisting of other nearby cells extracellular matrix components, endogenous or exogenous soluble factors, and physical, structural, or mechanical properties of the tissues they inhabit. Can we artificially recreate tissue development such that stem cells can both self-renew and be instructed to mature properly? The main factors required to regulate the maintenance and differentiation of some types of stem cells are known. In addition, new bioengineered synthetic materials that mimic extracellular matrix components can be used as initial scaffolding for building stem cell microenvironments

Cartilage Tissue Engineering Using Self-Assembling Peptides Composite Scaffolds

Adult articular cartilage presents poor intrinsic capacity for regeneration, and after injury, cellular or biomaterial-based therapeutic platforms are required to assist repair promotion. Cartilage tissue engineering (CTE) aims to produce cartilage-like tissues that recreate the complex mechanical, biophysical and biological properties found in vivo. In terms of biomaterials used for CTE, three-dimensional (3D) self-assembling peptide scaffolds (SAPS) are very attractive for their unique properties, such as biocompatibility, optional possibility of rationally design cell-signaling capacity, biodegradability and modulation of its biomechanical properties. The most attractive cell types currently used for CTE are autologous chondrocytes and adult stem cells. The use of chondrocytes in cell-based therapies for cartilage lesions is limited by quantity and requires an in vitro 2D expansion, which leads to cell dedifferentiation. In the present chapter, we report the development of heparin-, chondroitin sulfate-, decorin-, and poly(ε-caprolactone)-based self-assembling peptide composite scaffolds to promote re-differentiation of expanded human articular chondrocytes and induction of adipose-derived stem cells to chondrogenic commitment

El voluntariado de la Cátedra del Adulto Mayor de La Universidad de La Habana: sus motivos esenciales

El presente trabajo pretende caracterizar los motivos que orientan a un grupo de adultos mayores a participar como voluntarios en la CátedraUniversitaria del Adulto Mayor de La Habana (CUAM). Se identifican los motivos generales y los motivos asociados a la participación como voluntarios; se describe su jerarquía y se explora el grado de satisfacción con su desempeño a partir de sus motivaciones esenciales asociadas al proyecto. La ausencia de estudios sobre el voluntariado y la importancia de este proyecto educativo para los adultos mayores constituyen las motivaciones fundamentales para este artículo.Este es un estudio cualitativo que responde a un diseño transversal exploratorio y emplea el método clínico al recurrir a técnicas de expresión abierta e indirecta: técnica “Cinco deseos” y “Cinco deseos vinculados con la labor en el voluntariado de la CUAM”; “Técnica de satisfacción con la actividad como voluntario”; “Composición ‘Trabajo en la cátedra porque…’”; y la “Entrevista individual semiestructurada sobre el voluntariado”. El grupo de estudio estuvo compuesto por 21 adultos mayores, miembros del consejo técnico ampliado de la CUAM, que participan como voluntarios en el rol de coordinador. Los motivos generales giran en torno a la familia, salud, deber humanitarismo, condiciones materiales y voluntariado.Los motivos que se asocian a la actividad del voluntariado son: crecimiento del proyecto de la CUAM, preparación profesional y personal, permanencia y sostenibilidad del proyecto de la CUAM, reconocimiento social, relación con otras instituciones, condiciones materiales y calidad de las actividades como voluntarios

Model predictive control for precision irrigation of a quinoa crop

Traditional High Andean agriculture is rainfed, and irrigation is commonly carried out in an open loop, that is, without measuring variables such as soil moisture content or plant development to define water consumption. This article presents model predictive control applied to irrigation systems under real conditions, whose purpose is the efficient use of water in rainfed crops with improved yield and crop productivity at minimum water consumption. The article presents a control strategy applying a model of predictive control that calculates the optimal amount of water for daily irrigation under real conditions. The most important attraction of the model is the prediction and future behavior of the controlled variables as a function of the changes in the manipulated variables. The objective is to improve the yield of the crop at minimum water consumption, for this, it will be necessary to use models that link with the Aquacrop software and allow it to be a source of data, and for the prediction of future values. The predictive controller is evaluated in the Quinoa crop (Chenopodium Quinoa Willdenow), and the performance is compared against existing traditional irrigation data in the literature. The results indicate that the predictive controller can achieve higher crop efficiency and reduce irrigation water supplies considerably.Campus At

Development of a three-dimensional bioengineered platform for articular cartilage regeneration

Degenerative cartilage pathologies are nowadays a major problem for the world population. Factors such as age, genetics or obesity can predispose people to suffer from articular cartilage degeneration, which involves severe pain, loss of mobility and consequently, a loss of quality of life. Current strategies in medicine are focused on the partial or total replacement of affected joints, physiotherapy and analgesics that do not address the underlying pathology. In an attempt to find an alternative therapy to restore or repair articular cartilage functions, the use of bioengineered tissues is proposed. In this study we present a three-dimensional (3D) bioengineered platform combining a 3D printed polycaprolactone (PCL) macrostructure with RAD16-I, a soft nanofibrous self-assembling peptide, as a suitable microenvironment for human mesenchymal stem cells’ (hMSC) proliferation and differentiation into chondrocytes. This 3D bioengineered platform allows for long-term hMSC culture resulting in chondrogenic differentiation and has mechanical properties resembling native articular cartilage. These promising results suggest that this approach could be potentially used in articular cartilage repair and regenerationPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Elastomeric cardiopatch scaffold for myocardial repair and ventricular support

[EN] OBJECTIVES: Prevention of postischaemic ventricular dilatation progressing towards pathological remodelling is necessary to decrease ventricular wall deterioration. Myocardial tissue engineering may play a therapeutic role due to its capacity to replace the extracellular matrix, thereby creating niches for cell homing. In this experimental animal study, a biomimetic cardiopatch was created with elastomeric scaffolds and nanotechnologies. METHODS: In an experimental animal study in 18 sheep, a cardiopatch was created with adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells seeded into an engineered bioimplant consisting of 3-dimensional bioabsorbable polycaprolactone scaffolds filled with a peptide hydrogel (PuraMatrix (TM)). This patch was then transplanted to cover infarcted myocardium. Non-absorbable poly(ethyl) acrylate polymer scaffolds were used as controls. RESULTS: Fifteen sheep were followed with ultrasound scans at 6 months, including echocardiography scans, tissue Doppler and spectral flow analysis and speckle-tracking imaging, which showed a reduction in longitudinal left ventricular deformation in the cardiopatch-treated group. Magnetic resonance imaging (late gadolinium enhancement) showed reduction of infarct size relative to left ventricular mass in the cardiopatch group versus the controls. Histopathological analysis at 6 months showed that the cardiopatch was fully anchored and integrated to the infarct area with minimal fibrosis interface, thereby promoting angiogenesis and migration of adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells to surrounding tissues. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the feasibility and effectiveness of a cardiopatch grafted onto myocardial infarction scars in an experimental animal model. This treatment decreased fibrosis, limited infarct scar expansion and reduced postischaemic ventricular deformity. A capillary network developed between our scaffold and the heart. The elastomeric cardiopatch seems to have a positive impact on ventricular remodelling and performance in patients with heart failure.The RECATABI Project (Regeneration of Cardiac Tissue Assisted by Bioactive Implants) was financially supported by the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Commission. Project ID: 229239. Funded under FP7-NMP and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER Spain).Chachques, JC.; Lila, N.; Soler Botija, C.; Martínez-Ramos, C.; Vallés Lluch, A.; Autret, G.; Perier, M.... (2020). Elastomeric cardiopatch scaffold for myocardial repair and ventricular support. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. 57(3):545-555. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejcts/ezz252S545555573Madonna, R., Van Laake, L. W., Botker, H. E., Davidson, S. M., De Caterina, R., Engel, F. B., … Sluijter, J. P. G. (2019). ESC Working Group on Cellular Biology of the Heart: position paper for Cardiovascular Research: tissue engineering strategies combined with cell therapies for cardiac repair in ischaemic heart disease and heart failure. Cardiovascular Research, 115(3), 488-500. doi:10.1093/cvr/cvz010Nielsen, S. H., Mouton, A. J., DeLeon-Pennell, K. Y., Genovese, F., Karsdal, M., & Lindsey, M. L. (2019). Understanding cardiac extracellular matrix remodeling to develop biomarkers of myocardial infarction outcomes. Matrix Biology, 75-76, 43-57. doi:10.1016/j.matbio.2017.12.001Spinale, F. G., Frangogiannis, N. G., Hinz, B., Holmes, J. W., Kassiri, Z., & Lindsey, M. L. (2016). Crossing Into the Next Frontier of Cardiac Extracellular Matrix Research. Circulation Research, 119(10), 1040-1045. doi:10.1161/circresaha.116.309916Chachques, J. C., Pradas, M. M., Bayes-Genis, A., & Semino, C. (2013). Creating the bioartificial myocardium for cardiac repair: challenges and clinical targets. Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy, 11(12), 1701-1711. doi:10.1586/14779072.2013.854165Bayés-Genís, A., Gálvez-Montón, C., & Roura, S. (2016). Cardiac Tissue Engineering. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 68(7), 724-726. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2016.05.055Shafy, A., Fink, T., Zachar, V., Lila, N., Carpentier, A., & Chachques, J. C. (2012). Development of cardiac support bioprostheses for ventricular restoration and myocardial regeneration. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 43(6), 1211-1219. doi:10.1093/ejcts/ezs480Castells-Sala, C., Recha-Sancho, L., Llucià-Valldeperas, A., Soler-Botija, C., Bayes-Genis, A., & Semino, C. E. (2016). Three-Dimensional Cultures of Human Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue-Derived Progenitor Cells Based on RAD16-I Self-Assembling Peptide. Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods, 22(2), 113-124. doi:10.1089/ten.tec.2015.0270Martínez-Ramos, C., Rodríguez-Pérez, E., Garnes, M. P., Chachques, J. C., Moratal, D., Vallés-Lluch, A., & Monleón Pradas, M. (2014). Design and Assembly Procedures for Large-Sized Biohybrid Scaffolds as Patches for Myocardial Infarct. Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods, 20(10), 817-827. doi:10.1089/ten.tec.2013.0489Biswas, M., Sudhakar, S., Nanda, N. C., Buckberg, G., Pradhan, M., Roomi, A. U., … Houle, H. (2013). Two- and Three-Dimensional Speckle Tracking Echocardiography: Clinical Applications and Future Directions. Echocardiography, 30(1), 88-105. doi:10.1111/echo.12079Dorsey, S. M., McGarvey, J. R., Wang, H., Nikou, A., Arama, L., Koomalsingh, K. J., … Burdick, J. A. (2015). MRI evaluation of injectable hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel therapy to limit ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. Biomaterials, 69, 65-75. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.08.011Chachques, J. C. (2009). Cellular cardiac regenerative therapy in which patients? Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy, 7(8), 911-919. doi:10.1586/erc.09.84Chachques, J. (1997). Dynamic cardiomyoplasty: clinical follow-up at 12 years. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 12(4), 560-568. doi:10.1016/s1010-7940(97)00214-5Varela, C. E., Fan, Y., & Roche, E. T. (2019). Optimizing Epicardial Restraint and Reinforcement Following Myocardial Infarction: Moving Towards Localized, Biomimetic, and Multitherapeutic Options. Biomimetics, 4(1), 7. doi:10.3390/biomimetics4010007Van den Borne, S. W. M., Cleutjens, J. P. M., Hanemaaijer, R., Creemers, E. E., Smits, J. F. M., Daemen, M. J. A. P., & Blankesteijn, W. M. (2009). Increased matrix metalloproteinase-8 and -9 activity in patients with infarct rupture after myocardial infarction. Cardiovascular Pathology, 18(1), 37-43. doi:10.1016/j.carpath.2007.12.012Ducharme, A., Frantz, S., Aikawa, M., Rabkin, E., Lindsey, M., Rohde, L. E., … Lee, R. T. (2000). Targeted deletion of matrix metalloproteinase-9 attenuates left ventricular enlargement and collagen accumulation after experimental myocardial infarction. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 106(1), 55-62. doi:10.1172/jci8768Sieminski, A. L., Semino, C. E., Gong, H., & Kamm, R. D. (2008). Primary sequence of ionic self-assembling peptide gels affects endothelial cell adhesion and capillary morphogenesis. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 87A(2), 494-504. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.31785Bagó, J. R., Soler-Botija, C., Casaní, L., Aguilar, E., Alieva, M., Rubio, N., … Blanco, J. (2013). Bioluminescence imaging of cardiomyogenic and vascular differentiation of cardiac and subcutaneous adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells in fibrin patches in a myocardium infarct model. International Journal of Cardiology, 169(4), 288-295. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2013.09.013Chachques, J. C., Trainini, J. C., Lago, N., Cortes-Morichetti, M., Schussler, O., & Carpentier, A. (2008). Myocardial Assistance by Grafting a New Bioartificial Upgraded Myocardium (MAGNUM Trial): Clinical Feasibility Study. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 85(3), 901-908. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2007.10.052Lee, H., Ahn, S., Bonassar, L. J., & Kim, G. (2012). Cell(MC3T3-E1)-Printed Poly(ϵ-caprolactone)/Alginate Hybrid Scaffolds for Tissue Regeneration. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 34(2), 142-149. doi:10.1002/marc.201200524Strub, M., Van Bellinghen, X., Fioretti, F., Bornert, F., Benkirane-Jessel, N., Idoux-Gillet, Y., … Clauss, F. (2018). Maxillary Bone Regeneration Based on Nanoreservoirs Functionalizedε-Polycaprolactone Biomembranes in a Mouse Model of Jaw Bone Lesion. BioMed Research International, 2018, 1-12. doi:10.1155/2018/7380389Rohman, G., Huot, S., Vilas-Boas, M., Radu-Bostan, G., Castner, D. G., & Migonney, V. (2015). The grafting of a thin layer of poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) onto poly(ε-caprolactone) surface can enhance fibroblast behavior. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 26(7). doi:10.1007/s10856-015-5539-7Spadaccio, C., Nappi, F., De Marco, F., Sedati, P., Taffon, C., Nenna, A., … Rainer, A. (2017). Implantation of a Poly-l-Lactide GCSF-Functionalized Scaffold in a Model of Chronic Myocardial Infarction. Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research, 10(1), 47-65. doi:10.1007/s12265-016-9718-9Monnet, E., & Chachques, J. C. (2005). Animal Models of Heart Failure: What Is New? The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 79(4), 1445-1453. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2004.04.002Bellin, G., Gardin, C., Ferroni, L., Chachques, J., Rogante, M., Mitrečić, D., … Zavan, B. (2019). Exosome in Cardiovascular Diseases: A Complex World Full of Hope. Cells, 8(2), 166. doi:10.3390/cells802016

Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition In Human Endocrine Islet Cells

BACKGROUND: β-cells undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) when expanded in monolayer culture and give rise to highly proliferative mesenchymal cells that retain the potential to re-differentiate into insulin-producing cells. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether EMT takes place in the endocrine non-β cells of human islets. METHODOLOGY: Human islets isolated from 12 multiorgan donors were dissociated into single cells, purified by magnetic cell sorting, and cultured in monolayer. RESULTS: Co-expression of insulin and the mesenchymal marker vimentin was identified within the first passage (p1) and increased subsequently (insulin+vimentin+ 7.2±6% at p1; 43±15% at p4). The endocrine non-β-cells did also co-express vimentin (glucagon+vimentin+ 59±1.5% and 93±6%, somatostatin+vimentin+ 16±9.4% and 90±10% at p1 and p4 respectively; PP+vimentin+ 74±14% at p1; 88±12% at p2). The percentage of cells expressing only endocrine markers was progressively reduced (0.6±0.2% insulin+, 0.2±0.1% glucagon+, and 0.3±0.2% somatostatin+ cells at p4, and 0.7±0.3% PP+ cells at p2. Changes in gene expression were also indicated of EMT, with reduced expression of endocrine markers and the epithelial marker CDH-1 (p<0.01), and increased expression of mesenchymal markers (CDH-2, SNAI2, ZEB1, ZEB2, VIM, NT5E and ACTA2; p<0.05). Treatment with the EMT inhibitor A83-01 significantly reduced the percentage of co-expressing cells and preserved the expression of endocrine markers. CONCLUSIONS: In adult human islets, all four endocrine islet cell types undergo EMT when islet cells are expanded in monolayer conditions. The presence of EMT in all islet endocrine cells could be relevant to design of strategies aiming to re-differentiate the expanded islet cells towards a β-cell phenotype

Hidrometalurgia de minerales sulfurados con presencia de bacterias en medio salinos

Mining is a productive activity based on the rational utilization of non-renewable natural resources. Avizorándose that many mining countries may not base its development with the extraction of raw materials, which must design new strategies for development. Mining has always been regarded as a positive scenario for the market, the strong global demand for metals (copper, zinc, nickel, iron and others), mainly generated by the dynamics of Asian countries –led mainly by China– have allowed have high values of prices never seen in history. The current investigation shows evidence of leaching minerals saline sulfur quite successfully it allows us to infer that the halophilic bacteria play an important role in the dissolution of minerals and could also be taken to account as bio-indicators in the environmental remediation work.La minería es una actividad productiva basada en el aprovechamiento racional de los recursos naturales no renovables. Avizorándose que muchos países mineros no podrán basar su desarrollo con la extracción de materias primas, para lo cual se deben diseñar nuevas estrategias para el desarrollo. La minería siempre ha sido considerada como un escenario positivo para el mercado, la sólida demanda mundial por metales (cobre, zinc, níquel, hierro, entre otros), generada, principalmente, por la dinámica de los países asiáticos –liderados en su mayor parte por la China– han permitido tener altos valores de precios nunca observados en la historia. La presente investigación muestra pruebas de lixiviación salina de minerales sulfurados con bastante éxito, lo que nos permite inferir que las bacterias halófi las juegan un papel importante en la disolución de minerales y también podrían ser tomados a cuenta como bioindicadores ambientales en las labores de remediación

Engineered 3D bioimplants using elastomeric scaffold, self-assembling peptide hydrogel, and adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells for cardiac regeneration

[EN] Contractile restoration of myocardial scars remains a challenge with important clinical implications. Here, a combination of porous elastomeric membrane, peptide hydrogel, and subcutaneous adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells (subATDPCs) was designed and evaluated as a bioimplant for cardiac regeneration in a mouse model of myocardial infarction. SubATDPCs were doubly transduced with lentiviral vectors to express bioluminescent-fluorescent reporters driven by constitutively active, cardiac tissue-specific promoters. Cells were seeded into an engineered bioimplant consisting of a scaffold (polycaprolactone methacryloyloxyethyl ester) filled with a peptide hydrogel (PuraMatrix(TM)), and transplanted to cover injured myocardium. Bioluminescence and fluorescence quantifications showed de novo and progressive increases in promoter expression in bioactive implant-treated animals. The bioactive implant was well adapted to the heart, and fully functional vessels traversed the myocardium-bioactive implant interface. Treatment translated into a detectable positive effect on cardiac function, as revealed by echocardiography. Thus, this novel implant is a promising construct for supporting myocardial regeneration.The research leading to these results received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (Project RECATABI, 7FP/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 229239. This work was also supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SAF2011- 30067-C02-01), Fundació La Marató de TV3 (080330), Red de Terapia Celular-TerCel (RD12/0019/0029), Red Cardio-vascular (RD12/0042/0047), Sociedad Española de Cardiología, and Fundació Privada Daniel Bravo AndreuSoler-Botija, C.; Bago, JR.; Llucia-Valldeperas, A.; Vallés Lluch, A.; Castells-Sala, C.; Martinez-Ramos, C.; Fernandez-Muinos, T.... (2014). Engineered 3D bioimplants using elastomeric scaffold, self-assembling peptide hydrogel, and adipose tissue-derived progenitor cells for cardiac regeneration. American Journal of Translational Research. 6:291-301. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/63949S291301

Manual Ecomar de corrosión y protección

La mayor parte de los metales utilizables industrialmente sufren fenómenos de corrosión, es decir se deterioran o destruyen por la acción de medios agresivos de diferentes características. En la Armada existe una larga experieneia en la lucha contra la corrosión, por la agresividad del ambiente marino sobre los componentes estructurales de las unidades. Para cuantificar la importancia de es te problema sería necesaria una referencia económica concreta y ésta es difícil de establecer, por cuanto ademas de las pérdidas directas, que se refieren al valor de los materiales destruidos, hay una inmensa variedad de pérdidas indirectas, de difícil análisis. Entre estas últimas pueden citarse las siguientes: vidas humanas por accidentes catastróficos de los materiales estructurales, paralización del uso de sistemas por reparación, pérdida o contaminación de productos íntermedios o final es, aumento de consumo de energía, disminución de rendimiento como consecuencia de la modificación de las características hidrodinámicas de un buque por acumulación de productos de corrosión e incrustaciones. Es por estos motivos que la Armada Argentina, a través del Servicio Naval de Investigación y Desarrollo, decidió oportunamente apoyar las tareas de investigación que realizaban científicos de diferentes organismos (CNEA, CITEFA, INIFTA, CIDEPINT), brindando su aporte en forma de subsidios para que se efectivizara el PROGRAMA ECOMAR, interinstitucional y muítidisciplinario. Se orientaron así aquellos esfuerzos al estudio de la cor ros ion marina y su control. Hace más de un lustro que se está trabajando en el tema y son numerosas las publicaciones científicas y asesoramientos ya real izados. Muchos de los trabajos efectuados han sido presentados en reuniones científicas nacionales e internacionales. Además, en el año 1973, se publicó un tomo sobre CORROS ION MARINA, donde estos problemas fueron analizados exhaustivamente. Complementando esta tarea de transferencia de conocimientos, el SENID ha encarado la edición de este MANUAL ECOMAR DE CORROSIÓN Y PROTECCIÓN, donde se consideran casos de interés práctico y se procura, mediante un lenguaje sencillo, llegar al mayor número posible de interesados en el tema.Material digitalizado en SEDICI-CIC Digital gracias a la Biblioteca del Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnología de Pinturas (CIDEPINT)