Investigation of the light propagation in the human forearm

En col·laboració amb la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), la Universitat de Barcelona (UB) i l’Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)In the present study it is investigated the applicability of spectrally resolved reflectance at a certain distance from the incident beam to determine the optical coefficients of multi-layered tissues. The main motivation of this investigation is to achieve the simplest multi-layered model as possible which describes, within a given tolerance range, the light propagation in human forearm and its optical properties. For getting to this end it is investigated which assumptions within the model are acceptable. We found out that the thickness of the first layer in a two-layered model is a parameter suitable to be fixed, as it does not have a large negative influence on the fitting-results, and that it is expected to obtain better results with an absolute fit than with a relative one. Furthermore, this investigation was complemented with experimental spectrally resolved reflectance measurements performed on tissue-simulating phantoms of known optical properties and on human forearms by using optical fibers at different distances to deliver and detect reflected light by means of a CCD camera

Urban and social determinants of alcohol and tobacco consumption among adolescents in Madrid

Objective: This study aims to describe the accessibility to and promotion of alcohol and tobacco around secondary schools in Madrid and its distribution in relation with area-level socioeconomic deprivation; analyze the relationship between this exposure and individual consumption characteristics of students between 14 and 18 years old; and explore other facilitators of this consumption. Method: Mixed-methods study conducted in three phases: 1) we collected data on accessibility to and promotion of alcohol and tobacco in the environment using systematic social observation around 55 secondary schools; 2) we administered 2287 questionnaires among the students in these centers to gather information about characteristics and determinants of consumption; and 3) we conducted 20 semi-structured interviews and one discussion group to deepen in the results obtained in surveys and systematic social observation. We will use Geographic Information Systems to integrate and analyze the data from a spatial perspective. (c) 2023 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espan similar to a, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Validación de un nuevo modelo predictivo de SRIS en caballos con cólico en condiciones de campo

El Síndrome de Respuesta Sistémica Inflamatoria (SRIS) es una respuesta del propio sistema inmune ante cualquier agresión externa que se produce de manera exagerada y generalizada. El SIRS se puede producir a partir de endotoxemia en caballos adultos con síndrome abdominal agudo o cólico, una de las patologías más comunes en équidos. Además, se trata de una de las situaciones clínicas más graves de la especialidad debido a la necesidad de aplicar un tratamiento urgente y a su elevada mortalidad. En un trabajo de fin de grado anterior se desarrolló un nuevo modelo predictivo y una puntuación SRISn basada en la recogida de datos de caballos hospitalizados por cólico, en el que se utilizan parámetros fáciles y rápidos de medir en condiciones de clínica ambulante sin necesidad de equipos especializados. El objeto de este estudio analítico es validar este nuevo modelo en clínica de campo en condiciones reales de aplicación para predecir, en caballos con cólico, el posible desarrollo de SIRS y detectar de manera precoz los casos de SIRS que no se manifiesten clínicamente. Así los pacientes podrían recibir el tratamiento adecuado con la mayor brevedad posible. Este modelo presenta una fuerte correlación con los hallazgos clínicos y con el modelo de Roy et al. por lo que puede ser aplicable en cólicos se campo. Por último, se propone una mejora del modelo en el que se modifica el punto de corte de la frecuencia respiratoria que se considera alterada y se excluye el parámetro de la temperatura. Se comprueba que presenta un alto porcentaje de acierto para descartar SRIS y tiene gran correlación con el modelo desarrollado en el estudio de Gómez, 2021.<br /

Attomolar detection of hepatitis C virus core protein powered by molecular antenna-like effect in a graphene field-effect aptasensor

Biosensors based on graphene field-effect transistors have become a promising tool for detecting a broad range of analytes. However, their performance is substantially affected by the functionalization protocol. In this work, we use a controlled in-vacuum physical method for the covalent functionalization of graphene to construct ultrasensitive aptamer-based biosensors (aptasensors) able to detect hepatitis C virus core protein. These devices are highly specific and robust, achieving attomolar detection of the viral protein in human blood plasma. Such an improved sensitivity is rationalized by theoretical calculations showing that induced polarization at the graphene interface, caused by the proximity of covalently bound molecular probe, modulates the charge balance at the graphene/aptamer interface. This charge balance causes a net shift of the Dirac cone providing enhanced sensitivity for the attomolar detection of the target proteins. Such an unexpected effect paves the way for using this kind of graphene-based functionalized platforms for ultrasensitive and real-time diagnostics of different diseases.EU Graphene Flagship funding (Grant Graphene Core3 881603), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain: PID2020-113142RB-C21, the European Structural Funds via FotoArt-CM project (P2018/NMT-4367) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) via the Strategic Funding UIDB/04650/2020. Work at CAB was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) grant no. PID2019-104903RB-I00 and the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) Project no. MDM-2017-0737 - Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu,” and it also benefits from the interdisciplinary framework provided by CSIC through “LifeHUB.CSIC” initiative (PIE 202120E047-CONEXIONES-LIFE). CIBERehd is funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII). A.N. is supported by the predoctoral fellowship PRE-CAB-BIOMOLECULAS 2 from INTA. B.T-V. is supported by the predoctoral fellowship TS17/16 from INTA and by the CSIC “Garantía Juvenil” contract CAM19_PRE_CAB_001 funded by Comunidad de Madrid (CAM). FCT supports T.D. and P.C. under Ph.D. grants SFRH/BD/08181/2020 and SFRH/BD/128579/2017. M.M. would like to thank Comunidad de Madrid for the predoctoral grant IND2020/BIO-17523. P.A. and C.B. also acknowledge the support provided by La Caixa Foundation through Project LCF/PR/HR21/52410023. L. V. would like to thank Comunidad de Madrid (TRANSNANOAVANSENS program: S2018-NMT-4349) and E.V. García-Frutos for her assistance during the AFM experiments

Attomolar detection of hepatitis C virus core protein powered by molecular antenna-like effect in a graphene field-effect aptasensor

This study presents the development of a lab-on-a-chip (LoC) by integrating a graphene field-effect transistor (FET) chip with a programmable microfluidic device for DNA detection. The real-time biochemical events on the graphene FET chip were monitored through Dirac voltage shift data from the portable graphene curve reader with changes dependent on the fluidic flow into the sensing interface by a fully automated programmable microfluidic system. High sensitivity with high reliability can be obtained with a nine-graphene sensor layout on a single chip. The portable graphene curve reader also provides a tunable electrical parameter setup and straightforward data acquisition. Fluidic control was performed through a multi-position valve, allowing sequential commands for liquid injection into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) flow cell mounted on the sensing chip. The flow cell design with impinging jet geometry and the microfluidic system packaging offer high precision and portability as a less laborious and low-cost sensing setup. The merged system allows for various functionalities, including probe DNA (pDNA) immobilization, a blocking step, and DNA hybridization with stable signal output autonomously, even in a long-run experimental setup. As a DNA sensor, the proposed prototype has demonstrated a high sensitivity of ~44 mV/decade of target DNA concentration, with an outstanding limit of detection (LoD) of ~0.642 aM, making it one of the most sensitive sensors reported up to date. The programmable device has demonstrated essential versatilities for biomolecular detection in a fully portable and automated platform.This research is supported by PORTGRAPHE-Control of Port and Douro Wines authenticity using graphene DNA sensors project co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal (PTDC/BIA-MOL/31069/2017) and the ERDF through COMPETE2020 (POCI-01–0145-FEDER-031069). One of the authors (Telma Domingues) acknowledges a Ph.D. grant from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal (SFRH/BD/08181/2020). FCT partially supported University of Minho´s research in the Strategic Funding UIDB/04650/2020

Extracellular vesicles from Listeria monocytogenes-infected dendritic cells alert the innate immune response.

Communication through cell-cell contacts and extracellular vesicles (EVs) enables immune cells to coordinate their responses against diverse types of pathogens. The function exerted by EVs in this context depends on the proteins and nucleic acids loaded into EVs, which elicit specific responses involved in the resolution of infection. Several mechanisms control protein and nucleic acid loading into EVs; in this regard, acetylation has been described as a mechanism of cellular retention during protein sorting to exosomes. HDAC6 is a deacetylase involved in the control of cytoskeleton trafficking, organelle polarity and cell migration, defense against Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) infection and other immune related functions. Here, we show that the protein content of dendritic cells (DCs) and their secreted EVs (DEVs) vary during Lm infection, is enriched in proteins related to antiviral functions compared to non-infected cells and depends on HDAC6 expression. Analyses of the post-translational modifications revealed an alteration of the acetylation and ubiquitination profiles upon Lm infection both in DC lysates and DEVs. Functionally, EVs derived from infected DCs upregulate anti-pathogenic genes (e.g. inflammatory cytokines) in recipient immature DCs, which translated into protection from subsequent infection with vaccinia virus. Interestingly, absence of Listeriolysin O in Lm prevents DEVs from inducing this anti-viral state. In summary, these data underscore a new mechanism of communication between bacteria-infected DC during infection as they alert neighboring, uninfected DCs to promote antiviral responses.This study was supported by grant PDI-2020-120412RB-I00, PDC2021-121797-I00, BIO2015-67580-P and PGC2018-097019-BI00 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), grant S2017/BMD-3671-INFLAMUNE-CM from the Comunidad de Madrid, a grant from the Ramón Areces Foundation “Ciencias de la Vida y la Salud” (XIX Concurso-2018), “la Caixa” Banking Foundation (grants HR17-00016 and HR17-00247), BIOIMID (PIE13/041) and PRB3 (IPT17/0019 - ISCIII-SGEFI/ ERDF, ProteoRed) from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, CIBER Cardiovascular (CB16/11/00272), and Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funding by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FEDER). IF-D is supported by a Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (FPU15/02539). DC-F is supported by a Fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (LCF/BQ/DR19/11740010). The CNIC is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (CEX2020- 001041-S). Funding agencies did not intervene in the design of the studies, with no copyright over the study.S

Renovación del sistema de información docente de la Facultad de Informática

Memoria del proyecto Innova-Gestión 301 de la convocatoria 2019/2020 "Renovación del sistema de información docente de la Facultad de Informática" que consistía en la implementación de una primera versión de sistema de información interno para la gestión de horarios, fichas docentes, tutorías y otros datos relevantes para la docencia para ser utilizado en la facultad de informática

Diagnostic delay of associated interstitial lung disease increases mortality in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease whose main extra-articular organ affected is the lung, sometimes in the form of diffuse interstitial lung disease (ILD) and conditions the prognosis. A multicenter, observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study of consecutive patients diagnosed with RA-ILD. Demographic, analytical, respiratory functional and evolution characteristics were analyzed to evaluate the predictors of progression and mortality. 106 patients were included. The multivariate analysis showed that the diagnostic delay was an independent predictor of mortality (HR 1.11, CI 1.01-1.23, p = 0.035). Also, age (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.09-1.62, p = 0.0045), DLCO (%) (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73-0.98, p = 0.0246), and final SatO2 (%) in the 6MWT (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.39-0.99, p = 0.0465) were independent predictor variables of mortality, as well as GAP index (HR 4.65, 95% CI 1.59-13.54, p = 0.0051) and CPI index (HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03-1.22, p = 0.0092). The withdrawal of MTX or LFN after ILD diagnosis was associated with disease progression in the COX analysis (HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.14-4.18, p = 0.019). This is the first study that highlights the diagnostic delay in RA-ILD is associated with an increased mortality just like happens in IPF

DataSheet_1_Extracellular vesicles from Listeria monocytogenes-infected dendritic cells alert the innate immune response.pdf [Dataset]

Supplementary Figure 1. Isolated EVs present typical size and topology. Supplementary Figure 2. Protein profiling from total cell lysates and their derived EVs from WT and KO-HDAC6 BMDCs. Supplementary Figure 3. Enrichment in acetylated and ubiquitinated DC proteins upon Lm infection. Supplementary Figure 4. Ubiquitination in K-48 and K-63 state in T lymphoblast total cell lysates and their derived EVs. Supplementary Figure 5. Pore filtration methods restrain Lm and do not induce strong antipathogenic responses. Supplementary Figure 6. IFN-β is detected following Lm infection. Table S1. List of antibodies used for Western-blot and Flow Cytometry and the used dilution. Table S2. List of primers, with their corresponding sequence, used for qPCR. Table S3: Protein quantification in total cell lysates Table S4: IPA analysis of total cell lysates: canonical pathways and diseases and functions category Table S5: Protein quantification in EVs Table S6: IPA analysis of EVs: diseases and functions category Table S7: Ubiquitinated and acetylated peptides in total cell lysates and EVs Table S8: Enrichment analysis of ubiquitinated and acetylated proteinsPeer reviewe