Santiago Ramón y Cajal: un modelo de excelencia para desarrollar competencias en el Grado en Medicina

El presente proyecto ha acercado la figura de Santiago Ramón y Cajal a los estudiantes de Medicina como estrategia para el desarrollo de competencias generales, específicas y transversales necesarias para la formación de profesionales competentes. Se han realizado una serie de actividades en torno a nuestro Premio Nobel que han involucrado a docentes, investigadores y clínicos

Copper and Chrkomium toxicity is mediated by oxidative stress in Caenorhabditis elegans: The use of nanoparticles as an immobilization strategy

Environmental contamination by heavy metals (HMs) has impelled searching for stabilization strategies, where the use of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) is considered a promising option. We have evaluated the combined effect of Cu(II)-Cr(VI) on two Caenorhabditis elegans strains (N2 and RB1072 sod-2 mutant) in aqueous solutions and in a standard soil, prior and after treatment with nZVI (5% w/w). The results showed that HMs aqueous solutions had an intense toxic effect on both strains. Production of reactive oxygen species and enhanced expression of the heat shock protein Hsp-16.2 was observed, indicating increased HM-mediated oxidative stress. Toxic effects of HM-polluted soil on worms were higher for sod-2 mutant than for N2 strain. However, nZVI treatment significantly diminished all these effects. Our findings highlighted C. elegans as a sensitive indicator for HMs pollution and its usefulness to assess the efficiency of the nanoremediation strategy to decrease the toxicity of Cu(II)-Cr(VI) polluted environments

HuertAula Comunitaria de Agroecología “Cantarranas” UCM 2010-2017: Hacia una educación transformadora y emancipadora

Depto. de Química AnalíticaFac. de Ciencias QuímicasFALSEsubmitte

Laboratorio de la forma urbana: adaptación de un espacio para la interdisciplina

El contexto urbano mundial se caracteriza por dos condiciones en tensión. Por un lado, está el avance en la interconexión, es decir, el flujo de información y conocimiento, y el movimiento de las variables científicas y sus aplicaciones tecnológicas. Esta condición se refiere al proceso de globalización y afecta de manera diferenciada a regiones, ciudades y naciones. Por el otro, está la acumulación de crisis en diversas dimensiones (ambiental, económica, social, cultural) que se evidenciaron con la pandemia de COVID-19. Es este contexto el que nos motiva a revisar las formas y los procesos de los espacios de la producción y gestión del conocimiento sobre la ciudad, con el fin de establecer ajustes en su ruta y agenda de trabajo. Este texto tiene el objetivo de mostrar algunos elementos con los cuales se plantea la reconfiguración del Laboratorio de la Forma Urbana (UAM-Azcapotzalco), para posicionarse como una fuente complementaria del desarrollo del pensamiento crítico, el avance académico y la gestión del conocimiento sobre la comprensión de los procesos morfológicos de las ciudades en el siglo XXI. Dos ejes estructuran este proceso: el fortalecimiento de la docencia y el trabajo interdisciplinario. Todo lo planteado forma parte de una reflexión colectiva que se realizó en el Área de Estudios Urbanos y el Posgrado en Diseño y Estudios Urbanos.The global urban context can be characterized by the tension between two conditions. On one hand, there is the advance of interconnection or the information and knowledge flow, and the movement of scientific variables and their technological applications. This condition refers to the globalization process and affects in different ways to regions, nations, and cities. On the other hand, the accumulation of multidimensional crisis (environmental, economic, social, cultural) that has become more evident because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the context that impels to review the forms and the processes of the spaces for the production and management of urban knowledge, with the purpose of establish adjustments in its agenda. The goal of this paper is to expose the elements in the Urban Form Laboratory (UAM Azcapotzalco) reconfiguration to become a complementary source for the critical thinking, academic development, and knowledge management, to the understanding of the morphological processes of XXI century cities. This process has two axes: the strengthening of teaching and the interdisciplinary work. Everything is part of a collective reflection that takes place in the Area of Urban Studies and the Postgraduate Program in Design and Urban Studies

A new pharmacogenetic algorithm to predict the most appropriate dosage of acenocoumarol for stable anticoagulation in a mixed Spanish population

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.There is a strong association between genetic polymorphisms and the acenocoumarol dosage requirements. Genotyping the polymorphisms involved in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of acenocoumarol before starting anticoagulant therapy would result in a better quality of life and a more efficient use of healthcare resources. The objective of this study is to develop a new algorithm that includes clinical and genetic variables to predict the most appropriate acenocoumarol dosage for stable anticoagulation in a wide range of patients. We recruited 685 patients from 2 Spanish hospitals and 1 primary healthcare center. We randomly chose 80% of the patients (n = 556), considering an equitable distribution of genotypes to form the generation cohort. The remaining 20% (n = 129) formed the validation cohort. Multiple linear regression was used to generate the algorithm using the acenocoumarol stable dosage as the dependent variable and the clinical and genotypic variables as the independent variables. The variables included in the algorithm were age, weight, amiodarone use, enzyme inducer status, international normalized ratio target range and the presence of CYP2C9∗2 (rs1799853), CYP2C9∗3 (rs1057910), VKORC1 (rs9923231) and CYP4F2 (rs2108622). The coefficient of determination (R2) explained by the algorithm was 52.8% in the generation cohort and 64% in the validation cohort. The following R2 values were evaluated by pathology: atrial fibrillation, 57.4%; valve replacement, 56.3%; and venous thromboembolic disease, 51.5%. When the patients were classified into 3 dosage groups according to the stable dosage (<11 mg/week, 11-21 mg/week, >21 mg/week), the percentage of correctly classified patients was higher in the intermediate group, whereas differences between pharmacogenetic and clinical algorithms increased in the extreme dosage groups. Our algorithm could improve acenocoumarol dosage selection for patients who will begin treatment with this drug, especially in extreme-dosage patients. The predictability of the pharmacogenetic algorithm did not vary significantly between diseases.This study was funded by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, PI07/0710) and the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health (Progress and Health Foundation, PI-0717-2013

Frequency of cancer in children residing in Mexico City and treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (1996–2001)

BACKGROUND: The objective of this article is to present the frequency of cancer in Mexican children who were treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico City (IMSS-MC) in the period 1996–2001. METHODS: The Registry of Cancer in Children, started in 1996 in the IMSS-MC, is an on-going, prospective register. The data from 1996 through 2001 were analyzed and the different types of cancer were grouped according to the International Classification for Cancer in Children (ICCC). From this analysis, the general and specific frequencies by age and by sex were obtained for the different groups of neoplasms. Also, the frequency of the stage of the disease that had been diagnosed in cases of children with solid tumors was obtained. RESULTS: A total of 1,702 new cases of children with cancer were registered, with the male/female ratio at 1.1/1. Leukemias had the highest frequency with 784 cases (46.1%) and, of these, acute lymphoblastic leukemias were the most prevalent with 614 cases (78.3%). Thereafter, in descending order of frequency, were tumors of the central nervous system (CNST) with 197 cases (11.6%), lymphomas with 194 cases (11.4%), germinal cell tumors with 110 cases (6.5%), and bone tumors with 97 cases (5.7%). The highest frequency of cancer was found in the group of one to four year-olds that had 627 cases (36.8%). In all the age groups, leukemias were the most frequent. In the present work, the frequency of Hodgkin's disease (~4%) was found to be lower than that (~10%) in previous studies and the frequency of tumors of the sympathetic nervous system was low (2.3%). Of those cases of solid tumors for which the stage of the disease had been determined, 66.9% were diagnosed as being Stage III or IV. CONCLUSIONS: The principal cancers in the children treated in the IMSS-MC were leukemias, CNST, and lymphomas, consistent with those reported by developed countries. A 2.5-fold reduction in the frequency of Hodgkin's disease was found. Of the children, the stage of whose disease had been determined, two thirds were diagnosed as having advanced stages of the disease

Influence of contaminant-spiked polyethylene-type microplastics on the growth and primary production of the freshwater phytoplankton species Scenedesmus armatus and Microcystis aeruginosa

Microplastic pollution and its ecological impact on the aquatic environment are a current focus of research in the scientific community. These microplastics may adsorb contaminants discharged into the aquatic environment, thereby serving as a sink and source for the dissemination of these associated chemical contaminants. However, knowledge about the potential risks of microplastics and associated chemical contaminants on aquatic biota, especially on primary freshwater producers, remains to be explored. In this study, the impact of a polyethylene microplastic type (MP) associated with amoxicillin, ibuprofen, sertraline and simazine (OCs) on the cell growth and photosynthetic activity of the green algae Scenedesmus armatus and the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa was evaluated after 28 days of exposure. The results show that all the organic contaminants and their respective MP-OC complexes induced stress on cell growth after 28 days of exposure, except when the cyanobacterial strain was exposed to amoxicillin and ibuprofen. Similarly, photosynthetic activity was affected by exposure to MP-OC complexes, with the most evident effect on cellular respiration in the cyanobacterial strain and on net photosynthesis in the green algae strain. Additionally, the ability of the M. aeruginosa strain to synthesize microcystin was significantly reduced. These results show that the formation of MP-OC complexes could reduce their adverse effects, although there is wide variability depending on both the type of organic contaminant and the photosynthetic organisms involved, so further studies are needed to better understand the interactions between these aquatic contaminants

Propuesta de programa de promoción de la salud en ciudadores informales de enfermos de Alzheimer y prevención del síndrome del cuidador "evitando que el cuidador se convierta en paciente"

RESUMEN: Según el World Alzheimer Report de 2014 en España existen 1.000.000 personas que padecen esta enfermedad, sin embargo, ésta afecta de manera indirecta a 3,5 millones de personas. En el presente artículo se desarrolla, desde la perspectiva de la promoción de la salud y con un modelo participativo, una propuesta de programa dedicado a los cuidadores informales de enfermos de Alzheimer. El objetivo es mejorar tanto la calidad del cuidado como la calidad de su salud y prevenir el desarrollo del Síndrome del Cuidador, definido por Zarit como el “conjunto de problemas físicos, psíquicos, emocionales, sociales y económicos que pueden experimentar los cuidadores de adultos incapacitados” (citado en Montorio, I. et al., 1998).ABSTRACT: According to World Alzheimer’s Report from 2014, there are 1,000,000 people suffering from Alzheimer’s in Spain. However, this disease affects indirectly more than 3.5 million people. This study develops a programme devoted to informal Alzheimer’s carers from the perspective of health promotion and within a participative model. The main objective is to improve care’s quality as well as his/ her health quality preventing the so called “Care’s Syndrome” defined by Zarit as the combination of physical, mental, emotional, social and economical problems that adult untrained cares may suffer

Childhood acute leukemias are frequent in Mexico City: descriptive epidemiology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Worldwide, acute leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer. It is particularly common in the Hispanic populations residing in the United States, Costa Rica, and Mexico City. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of acute leukemia in children who were diagnosed and treated in public hospitals in Mexico City.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Included in this study were those children, under 15 years of age and residents of Mexico City, who were diagnosed in 2006 and 2007 with leukemia, as determined by using the International Classification of Childhood Cancer. The average annual incidence rates (AAIR), and the standardized average annual incidence rates (SAAIR) per million children were calculated. We calculated crude, age- and sex-specific incidence rates and adjusted for age by the direct method with the world population as standard. We determined if there were a correlation between the incidence of acute leukemias in the various boroughs of Mexico City and either the number of agricultural hectares, the average number of persons per household, or the municipal human development index for Mexico (used as a reference of socio-economic level).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although a total of 610 new cases of leukemia were registered during 2006-2007, only 228 fit the criteria for inclusion in this study. The overall SAAIR was 57.6 per million children (95% CI, 46.9-68.3); acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was the most frequent type of leukemia, constituting 85.1% of the cases (SAAIR: 49.5 per million), followed by acute myeloblastic leukemia at 12.3% (SAAIR: 6.9 per million), and chronic myeloid leukemia at 1.7% (SAAIR: 0.9 per million). The 1-4 years age group had the highest SAAIR for ALL (77.7 per million). For cases of ALL, 73.2% had precursor B-cell immunophenotype (SAAIR: 35.8 per million) and 12.4% had T-cell immunophenotype (SAAIR 6.3 per million). The peak ages for ALL were 2-6 years and 8-10 years. More than half the children (58.8%) were classified as high risk. There was a positive correlation between the average number of persons per household and the incidence of the pre-B immunophenotype (Pearson's r, 0.789; P = 0.02).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The frequency of ALL in Mexico City is among the highest in the world, similar to those found for Hispanics in the United States and in Costa Rica.</p