112 research outputs found
Multichannel fluorescence microscopy: advantages of going beyond a single emission
Fluorescent microscopy has enabled the study of intracellular processes andrevealed the most intricate details of the subcellular structure. This has benefittednot only the basic biological science, but also has had an impact in numerousbiomedical applications. Basic fluorescent sensing techniques use the change inthe absolute emission of a fluorescent sensor. This entails some disadvantagesas the signal might be influenced by factors not directly related to the processunder study (e.g., fluctuations in the excitation source). To overcome thesedrawbacks, one can use multiple emissions of a single or various fluorophores.There are numerous examples of multichannel fluorescence microscopy tech-niques that have given rise to numerous ratiometric methods and multiplexingassays. Herein, how the use of multiple emission channels has impacted fluo-rescence microscopy in terms of speed, sensitivity, and resolution is reviewed.Using recent examples, how the easy implementation of multichannel detectioncan overcome current limitations of the main used fluorescence techniques andpromote the development of novel microscopy methods is shownThis research was funded by the Science and Innovation Spanish Ministery (grant nos. RTI2018-101050-J-I00, PID2019-106211RB-I00, and EIN2020-112419. P.R.S. is grateful for a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación scholarship (IJC2019-041915-I
La enseñanza Bilingüe de la Paleontología en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Aplicación android de ayuda para el estudiante
Memoria del Proyecto de Innovación Educativa PIMCD2015-78Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasFALSEsubmitte
Luminescence thermometry for brain activity monitoring: A perspective
Minimally invasive monitoring of brain activity is essential not only to gain understanding on the working principles of the brain, but also for the development of new diagnostic tools. In this perspective we describe how brain thermometry could be an alternative to conventional methods (e.g., magnetic resonance or nuclear medicine) for the acquisition of thermal images of the brain with enough spatial and temperature resolution to track brain activity in minimally perturbed animals. We focus on the latest advances in transcranial luminescence thermometry introducing a critical discussion on its advantages and shortcomings. We also anticipate the main challenges that the application of luminescent nanoparticles for brain thermometry will face in next years. With this work we aim to promote the development of near infrared luminescence for brain activity monitoring, which could also benefit other research areas dealing with the brain and its illnessesThis work was financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Innovación y Ciencias under project NANONERV PID 2019-106211RB-I00. BD acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (DE200100985), RMIT University (Vice-Chancellor’s Fellowship Programme) and the Australian Academy of Sciences (JG Russell Award). PR-S is grateful for a Juan de la Cierva—Incorporación scholarship (IJC2019-041915-I). AB acknowledges funding from Comunidad de Madrid through TALENTO grant ref. 2019-T1/IND-14014. EX is grateful for a Juan de la Cierva - Incorporación scholarship (IJC2020-045229-I
Neural networks push the limits of luminescence lifetime nanosensing
Luminescence lifetime-based sensing is ideally suited to monitor biological
systems due to its minimal invasiveness and remote working principle. Yet, its
applicability is limited in conditions of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) induced
by, e.g., short exposure times and presence of opaque tissues. Herein this
limitation is overcome by applying a U-shaped convolutional neural network
(U-NET) to improve luminescence lifetime estimation under conditions of
extremely low SNR. Specifically, the prowess of the U-NET is showcased in
the context of luminescence lifetime thermometry, achieving more precise
thermal readouts using Ag2S nanothermometers. Compared to traditional
analysis methods of decay curve fitting and integration, the U-NET can extract
average lifetimes more precisely and consistently regardless of the SNR value.
The improvement achieved in the sensing performance using the U-NET is
demonstrated with two experiments characterized by extreme measurement
conditions: thermal monitoring of free-falling droplets, and monitoring of
thermal transients in suspended droplets through an opaque medium. These
results broaden the applicability of luminescence lifetime-based sensing in
fields including in vivo experimentation and microfluidics, while, hopefully,
spurring further research on the implementation of machine learning (ML) in
luminescence sensingThis work was financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Innovación y Ciencias under Project Nos. RTI2018-101050-J-I00, NANONERV PID2019-106211RB-I00, NANOGRANZ PID2021-123318OB-I00, TED2021-132317-
I00B, and EIN2020-112419. Additional funding was provided by the European Union Horizon 2020 FETOpen project NanoTBTech (Grant No.
801305) and by the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (S2022/BMD7403
REMIN-CM). R.M. is grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación for support to research through a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship
(RYC2021-032913-I). L.M. acknowledges a scholarship from the China
Scholarship Council (No. 202108350018). I.Z.-G. thanks UCM-Santander
for a predoctoral contract (CT63/19-CT64/19). P.R.-S. is grateful for a Juan
de la Cierva-Incorporación scholarship (Grant No. IJC2019-041915-I
Bias in Intracellular Luminescence Thermometry: The Case of the Green Fluorescent Protein
Measurement of intracellular temperature in a fast, accurate, reliable, and remote manner is crucial for the understanding of cellular processes. Nanothermometers based on the green fluorescence protein (GFP) are of special interest because intracellular temperature readouts can be obtained from the analysis of the polarization state of its luminescence. Despite the good results provided by GFP thermometers, the reliability of their intracellular thermal readouts is still a question of debate. Here, light is shed on this issue by introducing cell activity as a relevant bias mechanism that prevents the use of GFP for reliable intranuclear thermal measurements. Experimental evidence that this lack of reliability can affect not only GFP but also other widely used thermometers such as semiconductor nanocrystals is provided. It is discussed how differences observed between calibration curves obtained in presence and absence of cell activity can inform about the presence of bias. The presented results and discussion are aimed to warn the community working in intracellular thermometry and encourage authors to approach the issue in a conscious manner. The performance and reliability of the chosen intracellular thermometers must be judiciously assessed. This is the only way intracellular thermometry can progress and deliver indisputable resultsThis work was financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Innovación y
Ciencias under Project Nos. RTI2018-101050-J-I00, NANONERV PID2019-
106211RB-I00, and EIN2020-112419. Additional funding was provided by
the European Union Horizon 2020 FETOpen project NanoTBTech (Grant
No. 801305). P.R.-S. is grateful for a Juan de la Cierva – Incorporación
scholarship (Grant No. IJC2019-041915-I). A.E. is grateful to Retos
Projects Program of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation,
and Universities, the Spanish State Research Agency, co-funded by
the European Regional Development Fund (A.E. is an EMBO Young
Investigator). S.T. is grateful to AECC (Spanish Association Against
Cancer) IDEAS21989THOM
Avoiding induced heating in optical trap
Paloma Rodríguez-Sevilla, Yuhai Zhang, Patricia Haro-González, Francisco Sanz-Rodríguez, Francisco Jaque, José García Sole, Xiaogang Liu, Daniel Jaque, "Avoiding induced heating in optical trap", Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation XIV, Proc. SPIE 10347 - 1034716 (25 August 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2276355. ne print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.Proceedings of XIV Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation Conference (San Diego, California, United States)Luminescence of a single upconverting particle (NaYF 4 :Er 3+ ,Yb 3+ ) can be used to determine the optical trap temperature due to the partial absorption of the trapping beam either by the medium (water) or the optically trapped particle itself. This fact is an important drawback can be reduced by shifting the trapping wavelength out of the water absorption band, or by using time-modulated laser trapping beams. Both approaches have been studied and the results have shown that the thermal loading due to the trapping radiation can be minimized.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MAT2016-75362-C3-1-R) and by COST Action 1403. P.H.G. thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) for the Juan de la Cierva- Incorporación program. P.R.S. thanks MINECO and the Fondo Social Europeo (FSE) for the “Promoción del talento y su Empleabilidad en I+D+i” statal program (BES-2014-069410
First continuous pre-Jaramillo to Jaramillo terrestrial vertebrate succession from Europe
In this paper, the early Pleistocene small vertebrate sequence of Quibas-Sima (Quibas karstic complex, Murcia, SE Spain) is presented. The available magnetostratigraphic information together with the small vertebrate association, allow to reliably constrain the age of the different units. The basal unit of the section has recorded a reversed polarity assigned to the pre-Jaramillo Matuyama (C1r.2r, i.e., between 1.2 and 1.07 Ma). The intermediate units have recorded a normal polarity correlated directly with the Jaramillo subchron (C1r.1n, between 1.07 and 0.99 Ma), while the upper units record the post-Jaramillo reverse polarity (C1r.1r, i.e., between 0.99 and 0.78). Jaramillo subchron is especially significant regarding the earliest hominin dispersal in Western Europe. However, vertebrate faunas unambiguously correlatable with Jaramillo subchron are extremely rare in Europe. Thereby, the study of the Quibas-Sima sequence allows to characterize the vertebrate association synchronous to this paleomagnetic episode in southern Iberian Peninsula, and contributes to increase knowledge of the biotic and climatic events that took place in southern Europe at the beginning of the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition, prior to the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary. A continuous small vertebrate succession has been reported, including representatives of the families Bufonidae, Pelodytidae, Testudinidae, Gekkonidae, Blanidae, Lacertidae, Colubridae, Viperidae, Soricidae, Erinaceidae, Rhinolophidae, Vespertilionidae, Muridae, Gliridae, Sciuridae, Leporidae and Ochotonidae The ecological affinities of the faunal association suggest a progressive reduction in forest cover in the onset of the Jaramillo subchron.Fil: Piñero García, Pedro. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social; España. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Agustí, Jordi. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social; España. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats; EspañaFil: Oms, Oriol. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Blain, Hugues Alexandre. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social; EspañaFil: Furió, Marc. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Laplana, César. Museo Arqueológico Regional de la Comunidad de Madrid; EspañaFil: Sevilla, Paloma. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Rosas, Antonio. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales; EspañaFil: Vallverdú, Josep. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social; Españ
El yacimiento kárstico del Pleistoceno Superior de la Cueva del Camino en el Calvero de la Higuera (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid)
Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu
Mentor-ING (mentorías en inglés para la internacionalización)
Este proyecto tiene como objetivo la creación de un programa piloto de mentorías entre profesores que tengan experiencia en la enseñanza en grados y/o itinerarios bilingües (español-inglés) y profesores noveles que todavía no tengan dicha experiencia.
Actualmente la internacionalización de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) se ha convertido en un objetivo institucional prioritario. Con el fin de convertirnos en una universidad más competitiva a nivel nacional e internacional y preparar al alumnado para ser funcionales en un mundo altamente globalizado, la UCM ha puesto en marcha el Plan para la Internacionalización de la Docencia aprobado en Consejo de Gobierno el 26 de abril de 2016 (UCM, 2016; UCM, 2019a). Se trata de un Plan transversal e integral que persigue establecer un marco internacional, intercultural y multilingüe que ponga las bases para una eficaz internacionalización de la oferta académica. Con este objetivo se intentan preservar y promover los programas que utilizan el español como lengua de trabajo a la vez que se incentiva de manera progresiva la oferta de programas impartidos a través de la lengua inglesa (EME). A día de hoy la oferta de programas bilingües, tanto de grado como de máster, es muy amplia y continúa creciendo notablemente, siendo ya numerosas las titulaciones que cuentan con una trayectoria consolidada en la oferta de asignaturas en inglés.
Desde la perspectiva de los docentes universitarios, que son expertos en el contenido disciplinar y no en la lengua, los profesores ahora interactúan, negocian, construyen significados y explican contenidos a través de una segunda lengua (L2). Es por ello que el inglés adquiere el papel de lengua franca (ELF) en la universidad (Jenkins, 2006; Suviniity, 2014; Mauranen, 2015). Todos estos motivos han contribuido al interés científico por investigar tanto la implantación de la instrucción a través del inglés en la educación superior (Airey, 2009; Dalton-Puffer, 2011; Fortanet-Gómez, 2013; Francomacaro, 2011) como, más concretamente, las implicaciones lingüísticas y pedagógicas que este nuevo enfoque educativo supone para el discurso en el aula (Dafouz, 2006, 2008, 2011, 215, 2017, 2018; Núñez Perucha & Dafouz, 2007; Bellés-Fortuño, 2008; Nikula, 2010; Nikula, Dalton-Puffer & Llinares, 2015; Sánchez-García, 2016, 2018a, 2018b). De estos y otros muchos estudios empíricos se desprende que concienciar al profesorado de que el cambio de la lengua de instrucción va más allá de
tener un nivel alto de competencia lingüística en dicho idioma es fundamental en la preparación de estos docentes. El profesorado debe ser consciente de que será imprescindible adaptar su competencia comunicativa, pragmática, pedagógica e intercultural a este nuevo contexto en el que el papel de la lengua y el discurso adquieren una nueva dimensión e importancia a la hora de garantizar el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Es por tanto de imperiosa necesidad ofrecer una formación específica al profesorado para el desarrollo de estas competencias.
Este proyecto de innovación docente pretende, por tanto, contribuir a la mejora de la calidad docente y a los cursos de formación del profesorado que están actualmente en vigor en la UCM (UCM, 2019b). Es más, ofrece dos puntos innovadores: (1) propone la creación de un programa de mentorías para crear una comunidad de aprendizaje entre docentes, y (2) desarrollará un repositorio sostenible de recursos didácticos online
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