Mesoporous titania coating: determination of its physicochemical properties and yeast behavior

We have synthesized titania mesoporous films using titanium (IV) chloride as sol-gel precursor and surfactants from Pluronics® (Pluronic F-127, POE-POP-POE) and Brij ? series (B96 y B58, alquil-POE) that act like molds for pore size and distribution. Nanotopography is known to be key for adhesion and cellular growth. In this experiment, we demonstrate that nanotopography is also determinant for proliferation of eukaryotic microorganisms such as Candida albicans (ATCC 10231). We cultivated the microorganism in the presence of the films, the films derivatized with APTES ((3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane) and the films derivatized with APTES and then doped with CuCl2 (a known fungicide). Results show that mesoporous films prepared with Brij-96 presented the best outcome in regards of controlling cellular proliferation (up to a 75% inhibition of development in the Brij-96 derivatized with APTES-CuCl2). We also characterized the mesoporous films by performing a scratch essay, which determines damage resistance of the material, and a contact angle assay. Results showed that every film tested can resist up to 40N without tearing and the contact angle, that determines superficial hydrophilicity, allowed us to establish that the coating made with Brij-96 is the least hydrophilic coating of all. This is in accordance with minor cellular proliferation results using this surface. We observed our films through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and demonstrate that films derivatized with APTES or with APTES-CuCl2 did not change the original nanotopography of the coating. Lastly, we did an EDS (Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) essay to ratify the presence of Ti in all of the films, C and N in the ones derivatized with APTES, and C, N and Cu in the ones derivatized with APTES-CuCl2.Fil: Morcillo, Marina Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; ArgentinaFil: Tuttolomondo, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; ArgentinaFil: Catalano, Paolo Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes | Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes.; ArgentinaFil: Bellino, Martin Gonzalo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes | Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia. Unidad Ejecutora Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnologia - Nodo Constituyentes.; ArgentinaFil: Soler Illia, Galo Juan de Avila Arturo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Instituto de Química y Metabolismo del Fármaco; ArgentinaXX Jornadas Anuales de la Sociedad Argentina de Biología y XVII Jornadas de la Sociedad Uruguaya de Biociencias. “NANOBIOTECNOLOGÍA: Pequeñas soluciones para grandes problemasBuenos AiresArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Biologí

Identification of distinctive physiological and molecular responses to salt stress among tolerant and sensitive cultivars of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italica)

[EN] Background Salt stress is one of the main constraints determining crop productivity, and therefore one of the main limitations for food production. The aim of this study was to characterize the salt stress response at the physiological and molecular level of different Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. Italica Plenck) cultivars that were previously characterized in field and greenhouse trials as salt sensitive or salt tolerant. This study aimed to identify functional and molecular traits capable of predicting the ability of uncharacterized lines to cope with salt stress. For this purpose, this study measured different physiological parameters, hormones and metabolites under control and salt stress conditions. Results This study found significant differences among cultivars for stomatal conductance, transpiration, methionine, proline, threonine, abscisic acid, jasmonic acid and indolacetic acid. Salt tolerant cultivars were shown to accumulate less sodium and potassium in leaves and have a lower sodium to potassium ratio under salt stress. Analysis of primary metabolites indicated that salt tolerant cultivars have higher concentrations of several intermediates of the Krebs cycle and the substrates of some anaplerotic reactions. Conclusions This study has found that the energetic status of the plant, the sodium extrusion and the proline content are the limiting factors for broccoli tolerance to salt stress. Our results establish physiological and molecular traits useful as distinctive markers to predict salt tolerance in Broccoli or to design novel biotechnological or breeding strategies for improving broccoli tolerance to salt stress.This work was funded by Grant RTC-2017-6468-2-AR (APROXIMACIONES MOLECULARES PARA INCREMENTAR LA TOLERANCIA A SALINIDAD Y SEQUiA DEL BROCOLI) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by "ERDF A way of making Europe" by the European Union. S.C. is a recipient of grant FPU19/01977 from the Spanish Ministerio de Universidades. L.M. was supported by the Spanish MICINN (PTA2019-018094). L.M and A.V. activities were founded by Prometeu program (IMAGINA project, PROMETEU/2019/110). CEAM foundation is funded by Generalitat Valenciana. None of the funding bodies has participated in the design of the study or the collection, analysis, interpretation of data, nor in writing the manuscript.Chevilly-Tena, S.; Dolz-Edo, L.; Morcillo, L.; Vilagrosa, A.; López-Nicolás, JM.; Yenush, L.; Mulet, JM. (2021). Identification of distinctive physiological and molecular responses to salt stress among tolerant and sensitive cultivars of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italica). BMC Plant Biology. 21(1):1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-021-03263-4S11621

Distinctive Traits for Drought and Salt Stress Tolerance in Melon (Cucumis melo L.)

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a crop with important agronomic interest worldwide. Because of the increase of drought and salinity in many cultivation areas as a result of anthropogenic global warming, the obtention of varieties tolerant to these conditions is a major objective for agronomical improvement. The identification of the limiting factors for stress tolerance could help to define the objectives and the traits which could be improved by classical breeding or other techniques. With this objective, we have characterized, at the physiological and biochemical levels, two different cultivars (sensitive or tolerant) of two different melon varieties (Galia and Piel de Sapo) under controlled drought or salt stress. We have performed physiological measurements, a complete amino acid profile and we have determined the sodium, potassium and hormone concentrations. This has allowed us to determine that the distinctive general trait for salt tolerance in melon are the levels of phenylalanine, histidine, proline and the Na+/K+ ratio, while the distinctive traits for drought tolerance are the hydric potential, isoleucine, glycine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, serine, and asparagine. These could be useful markers for breeding strategies or to predict which varieties are likely perform better under drought or salt stress. Our study has also allowed us to identify which metabolites and physiological traits are differentially regulated upon salt and drought stress between different varieties.SC was a recipient of grant FPU19/01977 from the Spanish Ministerio de Universidades. LM and AV activities were funded by the Prometeu program (IMAGINA project, PROMETEU/2019/110). LM was also supported by the Spanish MICINN (PTA2019-018094). The CEAM foundation was funded by the Generalitat Valenciana

¿Es factible cambiar la enseñanza de las ciencias en primaria?

Algunos autores consideran que el cambio didáctico en la enseñanza de las ciencias en primaria es una tarea imposible. Efectivamente, se trata de un proceso sobre el que se ha investigado poco y poco sistemáticamente. Por ello, se presenta un plan -justificado en la investigación sobre formación en activo y en la teoría de la masa crítica para el cambio en las convenciones sociales- para conseguir el cambio didáctico a partir de la colaboración entre un equipo universitario y el equipo docente y directivo de una escuela. Se justifican sus distintas fases, se definen indicadores para valorarlas y se muestran los resultados de su desarrollo.Some authors consider that the didactic change in primary science education is an impossible task. Indeed, systematic research on this process is still scarce. For this reason, we present a plan, based on research on in-service professional development and in the theory of critical mass for change in social conventions, to achieve didactic change, based on collaboration between a university research team and teaching and principal of a school. We justify the different phases of the plan, define the indicators to evaluate them and show the results of its developmen

Problemas aritméticos compuestos de dos relaciones

En las investigaciones que estamos realizando en el campo aditivo utilizamos un conjunto de factores diferenciadores de los problemas de estructura aditiva, que presentamos a continuación

Could radiotherapy effectiveness be enhanced by electromagnetic field treatment?

One of the main goals in radiobiology research is to enhance radiotherapy effectiveness without provoking any increase in toxicity. In this context, it has been proposed that electromagnetic fields (EMFs), known to be modulators of proliferation rate, enhancers of apoptosis and inductors of genotoxicity, might control tumor recruitment and, thus, provide therapeutic benefits. Scientific evidence shows that the effects of ionizing radiation on cellular compartments and functions are strengthened by EMF. Although little is known about the potential role of EMFs in radiotherapy (RT), the radiosensitizing effect of EMFs described in the literature could support their use to improve radiation effectiveness. Thus, we hypothesized that EMF exposure might enhance the ionizing radiation effect on tumor cells, improving the effects of RT. The aim of this paper is to review reports of the effects of EMFs in biological systems and their potential therapeutic benefits in radiotherapy.This study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI08/0728, Fondos FEDER) to M.I. Núñez. F. Artacho-Cordón is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (AP2012-2524). A grant from the Fundación Benéfica San Francisco Javier y Santa Cándida, University of Granada, to S. Ríos-Arrabal greatly aided this work. This research was also funded by the San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Teatro dentro y fuera del aula

Recurso educativo para fomentar la actividad teatral en todos los niveles educativos. Incluye una selección de 60 textos teatrales para ser leídos o representados en los centros, recomendaciones para el profesorado y sugerencias de actividades a realizar en el aula.CataluñaBiblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín 5 -3 Planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; [email protected]