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Chitosan/silica hybrid powders, obtained by the sol-gel method (pH 6, 7, 8) are studied for proposing surface chemical models and rationalizing their behaviour as adsorbents. The chitosan and silica exposed groups in dried powders and their protonation state are inferred. Solid-state 29Si-NMR, XPS, zeta potential experiments and DFT computational calculations reveal the synthesis pH history of each sample. These details, summarized in surface models, are validated by copper adsorption: The pH 8 sample exhibits the highest hydrophilic and negative character, due to the deprotonated free silanol and neutral amine groups. These favor higher copper adsorption efficiency (30.4%) and loading capacity (0.077 mg Cu(II)/m2), through SiO−-Cu(II) electrostatic interactions and [Cu-(NH2)x]2+ complexation. For lower synthesis-pH samples, the neutral silanol and protonated amine populations increase, and the net surface charge becomes positive. This reduces the copper adsorption through electrostatic repulsions. The protonated amine and deprotonated silanol groups are the main responsible of electrokinetic surface response of materials prepared at lower and higher pH, respectively. The complexation is also involved in copper interactions, especially in surfaces populated by neutral amines. In conclusion, this work helps to understand the pH-dependent surface activity of chitosan/hybrid materials, being helpful for their further functionalization and applications.

Chitosan-silica materials offer a specific environment for the adsorption of biofunctional molecules, such as the antimicrobial peptide KR-12. The objective here is to rationalize the changes in the physicochemical properties of these chitosan-silica materials in function of the synthesis pH, using 0.02 w/v % chitosan as catalyst and aggregation agent and, to correlate these characteristics with the loading/delivery and activity/stability of KR-12 antimicrobial peptide. The CS-6 material, prepared at pH 6, exhibits higher surface area (745 m2/g) and total pore volume (0.58 cm3/g) due to the lower incorporation of chitosan swollen chains (9.36 wt %). Higher pHs produced denser materials (CS-7 and CS-8) with higher entangled chitosan incorporated (> 17 wt%). Adsorption of KR-12 peptide was found to take two different mechanisms depending on the chitosan-silica support, Langmuir-type for CS-6 material and Freundlich-type for CS-7 and CS-8 materials. According to the KR-12 release profiles, more hydrophobic interactions were observed in the CS-6 material exposing Lys and Arg residues from the peptide towards the material surface. This was correlated with the higher antimicrobial activity of this material against S. aureus strain (MIC = 128 μg/mL). Additionally, the KR-12 peptide adsorbed in the CS-6 hybrid support is 34 % more protected from the proteolytic action of α-chymotrypsin than the free one. In conclusion, the proposed models of different porous environments in the studied chitosan-silica materials supports the KR-12 peptide loading/delivery mechanisms, leading to biofunctionalized solid antimicrobial materials exhibiting proteolytic stability. This knowledge is useful for designing new antibacterial materials for biomedical applications. Keywords: Chitosan-silica particle mechanism formation, KR-12 peptide adsorption/delivery mechanisms, KR-12 controlled release, KR-12/chitosan-silica antimicrobial solid materials, Proteolysis stability

Multifunctional and biocompatible hydrogels are on the focus of wound healing treatments. Protein and polysaccharides silica hybrids are interesting wound dressing alternatives. The objective of this review is to answer questions such as why silica for wound dressings reinforcement? What are the roles and contributions of silane precursors and silica on the functional properties of hydrogel wound dressings? The effects of tailoring the porous, morphological, and chemical characteristics of synthetic silicas on the bioactivity of hybrid wound dressings hydrogels are explored in the first part of the review. This is followed by a commented review of the mechanisms of silica/protein and silica/polysaccharide interactions and their impact on the barrier, scaffold, and delivery matrix functions of the derived hydrogels. Such information has important consequences for wound healing and paves the way to multidisciplinary researches on the production, processing, and biomedical application of this kind of hybrid materials.

Fibrin is a protein-based hydrogel formed during blood coagulation. It can also be produced in vitro from human blood plasma, and it is capable of resisting high deformations. However, after each deformation process, it loses high amounts of water, which subsequently makes it mechanically unstable and, finally, difficult to manipulate. The objective of this work was to overcome the in vitro fibrin mechanical instability. The strategy consists of adding silica or chitosan-silica materials and comparing how the different materials electrokinetic-surface properties affect the achieved improvement. The siliceous materials electrostatic and steric stabilization mechanisms, together with plasma protein adsorption on their surfaces, were corroborated by DLS and ζ-potential measurements before fibrin gelling. These properties avoid phase separation, favoring homogeneous incorporation of the solid into the forming fibrin network. Young’s modulus of modified fibrin hydrogels was evaluated by AFM to quantitatively measure stiffness. It increased 2.5 times with the addition of 4 mg/mL silica. A similar improvement was achieved with only 0.7 mg/mL chitosan-silica, which highlighted the contribution of hydrophilic chitosan chains to fibrinogen crosslinking. Moreover, these chains avoided the fibroblast growth inhibition onto modified fibrin hydrogels 3D culture observed with silica. In conclusion, 0.7 mg/mL chitosan-silica improved the mechanical stability of fibrin hydrogels with low risks of cytotoxicity. This easy-to-manipulate modified fibrin hydrogel makes it suitable as a wound dressing biomaterial.

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, is one of the plagues with the highest incidence and affectation in the coffee plantation. Colombia is a region that promotes the growth and infestation of this plague. The infestation is due to several factors such as Colombia’s climate, geographic location and continuous coffee production. Coffee production is one of the most important agricultural activities in the country. Therefore, it is important to carry out studies concerning the dynamics of the coffee borer. For this reason, this article adapts the behavior of the coffee borer with an epidemiological model type SIR proposed by Kermack y Mckendrick. This model and the final size relation (proposed by Castillo Chavez) will be used to estimate the coefficient that represents the infestation of the plague in terms of the other parameters involved in the dynamic. Besides, different numerical simulations were done in Matlab environment by changing the values of the parameters of the dynamic system.

The enzyme encapsulation is a very well‐known stabilization pathway. However, there are some challenges in order to avoid the enzyme denaturation under encapsulation conditions. The β‐galactosidase from Bacillus circulans was immobilized through sol‐gel encapsulation route assisted by Triton X‐100 surfactant and sugars. The effects of sugar presence in the immobilization process and the gelation time on the biocatalyst activity/stability were explained taking into account the characteristics of the formed silica matrix and the changes of the enzyme environment. The enzyme was effectively immobilized by this strategy, with high immobilization yield in terms of activity (29%) and expressed activity (47 IU/g). The immobilization through silica sol‐gel in the presence of 1×10−3 M Triton X‐100 and fructose conferred 28.4‐fold higher stability to the enzyme compared with the soluble form. This is an advantage for its use in the synthesis of the galacto‐oligosaccharides at 50ºC. The total lactose conversion to galacto‐oligosaccharides was 26%wt, which is comparable with that reported in the literature. The obtained biocatalyst is useful for the synthesis of galacto‐oligosaccharides and its catalytic behavior is rationalized in this work.

The use of sunscreen products is very important nowadays. The photostability of UV filters incorporated in these products must be preserved during its storing and application processes in order to achieve the claims about photoprotection of the commercial products. The photostability of avobenzone, one of the most common UVA filters in commercial sunscreens, is assessed in solvents intended for cosmetic formulations. The study is carried out by following the spectral behavior of avobenzone solutions under irradiation and after storing them in the dark. Different photobehaviors of the avobenzona are found in the selected solvents, some of which can be explained in the same way than in analytical solvents; but for others, the structural and physical properties of the solvents must be taken into account. The most appropriate solvents for ensuring the photostability of avobenzona are mineral oil and isopropyl myristate.El uso de antisolares es muy importante en la actualidad. La fotoestabilidad de los filtros UV usados en estos productos se debe conservar durante su almacenamiento y aplicación, con el fin de cumplir su papel fotoprotector. La fotoestabilidad de la avobenzona, uno de los filtros UVA más usados en la preparación de antisolares comerciales, es evaluada, por primera vez, en solventes cosméticos. Este estudio es llevado a cabo siguiendo el comportamiento espectral de soluciones de avobenzona cuando es sometida a irradiación, y luego de su almacenamiento en la oscuridad. La avobenzona presenta un comportamiento diferente en cada solvente, en algunos casos este comportamiento se puede explicar en la misma forma que en los solventes grado analítico, pero en otros se deben tener en cuenta las propiedades estructurales y fisicas del solvente. Los solventes donde la avobenzona es fotoestable son el aceite mineral y el miristato de isopropilo.

Polyaniline-silica composites made with mesoporous silica have been reported to improve the mechanical properties of the free polymer. However, there are not many studies about the effect of the chemical and physical properties of the inorganic material used as hosts over the final properties of polyaniline and the composites. Here, polyaniline-silica composites, exhibiting electrical conductivity, were synthesized using different types of SBA-16 mesoporous silica as hosts. The effects of the characteristics of the hosts in the polymerization kinetic, molecular weight and electrical conductivity of the final polymer were studied. The composites showed higher electrical conductivity in comparison with polyaniline synthesized under similar conditions of this work but in the absence of silica. The use of silica allowed to obtain composites with defined morphology, which did not occur in the absence of these hosts. From the results of this work, it can be concluded that SBA-16 mesoporous silica hosts have a bifunctional role in the formation of polyaniline-silica composites: the hosts behaved like nucleation sites, which favors polymerization of high molecular weight polyaniline and they catalyzed the polymerization reaction, especially when aluminum is present in the structure of the host.

Objective: One of the major issues in current radiotherapy (RT) is the normal tissue toxicity. A smart combination of agents within the tumor would allow lowering the RT dose required while minimizing the damage to healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. We chose gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and docetaxel (DTX) as our choice of two radiosensitizing agents. They have a different mechanism of action which could lead to a synergistic effect. Our first goal was to assess the variation in GNP uptake, distribution, and retention in the presence of DTX. Our second goal was to assess the therapeutic results of the triple combination, RT/GNPs/DTX. Methods: We used HeLa and MDA-MB- 231 cells for our study. Cells were incubated with GNPs (0.2 nM) in the absence and presence of DTX (50 nM) for 24 h to determine uptake, distribution, and retention of NPs. For RT experiments, treated cells were given a 2 Gy dose of 6 MV photons using a linear accelerator. Results: Concurrent treatment of DTX and GNPs resulted in over 85% retention of GNPs in tumor cells. DTX treatment also forced GNPs to be closer to the most important target, the nucleus, resulting in a decrease in cell survival and increase in DNA damage with the triple combination of RT/ GNPs/DTX vs RT/DTX. Our experimental therapeutic results were supported by Monte Carlo simulations. Conclusion: The ability to not only trap GNPs at clinically feasible doses but also to retain them within the cells could lead to meaningful fractionated treatments in future combined cancer therapy. Furthermore, the suggested triple combination of RT/GNPs/DTX may allow lowering the RT dose to spare surrounding healthy tissue. Advances in knowledge: This is the first study to show intracellular GNP transport disruption by DTX, and its advantage in radiosensitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling wave reflection and transmission is important for a diversity of applications in physics and engineering. Examples can be found in acoustics and electromagnetism. Computational wave propagation requires high order accuracy both in space and time to get accurate phase and dissipation properties. In this paper we derive and evaluate a high order accurate method based on Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element Method (DGSEM) to compute reflection and transmission of electromagnetic waves traveling in two homogeneous and isotropic media, separated by a thin plane interfaz, with different physical properties of permittivity " and permeability . To discretize in Space we used DGSEM over a two dimensional Transverse Electric Maxwell Equations. We derived a Riemann solver to compute the numerical flux between the interfaces of two elements of the computational mesh and to add boundary conditions. To discretize in time we use a third order low storage Runge-Kutta of Williamson. Results when compared with the analytical solution, showed spectral convergence in space and third order convergence in time.

One of the major issues in current radiotherapy (RT) is the associated normal tissue toxicity. Enhancement of the RT effect with novel radiosensitizers can address this need. In this study, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and bleomycin (BLM) were used as a unique combination of radiosensitizers. GNPs offer a two-fold promise as a delivery vehicle for BLM and as a radiosensitizing agent. In this study, GNPs were functionalized and complexed with BLM using a gold-thiol bond (denoted GNP-BLM). Our results show that there was a 40% and 10% decrease in cell growth with GNP-BLM vs. free BLM for the MIA PaCa-2 and PC-3 cell lines, respectively. Testing the GNP-BLM platform with RT showed an 84% and 13% reduction in cell growth in MIA PaCa-2 cells treated with GNP-BLM and GNPs, respectively. Similar results were seen with PC-3 cells. The efficacy of this approach was verified by mapping DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) as well. Therefore, this proposed incorporation of nanomedicine with RT is promising in achieving a significantly higher therapeutic ratio which is necessary to make a paradigm change to the current clinical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: La transición entre servicios asistenciales incrementa la vulnerabilidad de las personas mayores con comorbilidad y necesidades complejas. En nuestro hospital, estos pacientes reciben un servicio especial de atención a las transiciones para empoderarlos y mejorar la coordinación asistencial. Description: Equipo multidisciplinar, liderado por enfermeras entrenadas en entrevista motivacional que realizan 2 entrevistas con pacientes (y/o familiares) considerando, sus conocimientos, habilidades de auto-cuidado, valores y preferencias de rehabilitación, reforzando: a) medicación (conciliación/adherencia), b) actividad física (AF), c) nutrición, d) empoderamiento en salud biopsicosocial, e)coordinación asistencial entre equipo referente hospitalario y atención primaria (AP). Aim: Valorar la eficacia de un programa de empoderamiento de pacientes (TransicionA) para reducir reingresos por la misma causa a los 30 días post-alta. Targeted population: Pacientes con riesgo de reingreso (≥2criterios: ≥2 patologías crónicas, ≥8fármacos, ingreso hospitalario previo (15 días de ingreso hospitalario. Hasta la fecha, no hemos podido observar esta asociación de predicción ante ninguno de estos factores en nuestra muestra. Sustainability: TransicionA no propone crear un servicio adicional. Mediante una serie de acciones y valoración de la persona, fortalece y apoya circuitos/dispositivos asistenciales ya existentes, coordinando recursos. Transferability: El marco de trabajo de TransicionA es muy comprehensivo y aplicable a multitud de patologías médicas. Por ello, podría extrapolarse a otros servicios que atiendan a pacientes con alto riesgo de reingreso. Conclusions: Intervenciones multi-componente de empoderamiento previas al alta domiciliaria podrían prevenir descompensaciones y reingresos por la misma causa. Discussions: El programa no fue concebido como proyecto de investigación, así que se necesitan estudios rigurosos de valoración de la efectividad de las acciones llevadas a cabo. La realidad clínica ha evidenciado la utilidad del programa revelando una mayor satisfacción con el apoyo y atención recibida por parte de pacientes y profesionales; así como una reducción de reingresos por misma causa tras la implementación del programa. Lessons learned: Importancia de la atención centrada en la persona y de la coordinación hospitalaria con otros proveedores de salud para garantizar la continuidad asistencial. El incremento de esfuerzos a corto plazo con TransicionA, puede reducir esfuerzos asistenciales y los costes socioeconómicos a medio-largo plazo que suponen los reingresos.

Simple Summary: Currently, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the most commonly used options, in addition to surgery, to treat cancer. There has been tremendous progress in interfacing nanotechnology to current cancer therapeutic protocols. For example, nanoparticles are used as drug carriers in chemotherapy and as radiation dose enhancers in radiotherapy. However, most of the work to date has been focused on tumor cells. To make significant progress in this field, we need to consider the tumor microenvironment, especially cancer-associated fibroblast cells that promote tumor growth. Our study shows the potential of targeting both tumor cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts to reap the full benefits of cancer nanomedicine. Due to recent advances in nanotechnology, the application of nanoparticles (NPs) in cancer therapy has become a leading area in cancer research. Despite the importance of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in creating an optimal niche for tumor cells to grow extensively, most of the work has been focused on tumor cells. Therefore, to effectively use NPs for therapeutic purposes, it is important to elucidate the extent of NP uptake and retention in tumor cells and CAFs. Three tumor cell lines and three CAF cell lines were studied using gold NPs (GNPs) as a model NP system. We found a seven-fold increase in NP uptake in CAFs compared to tumor cells. The retention percentage of NPs was three-fold higher in tumor cells as compared to CAFs. Furthermore, NP uptake and retention were significantly enhanced using a 50 nM concentration of docetaxel (DTX). NP uptake was improved by a factor of three in tumor cells and a factor of two in CAFs, while the retention of NPs was two-fold higher in tumor cells compared to CAFs, 72 h post-treatment with DTX. However, the quantity of NPs in CAFs was still three-fold higher compared to tumor cells. Our quantitative data were supported by qualitative imaging data. We believe that targeting of NPs in the presence of DTX is a very promising approach to accumulate a higher percentage of NPs and maintain a longer retention in both tumor cells and CAFs for achieving the full therapeutic potential of cancer nanotechnology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Due to the normal tissue toxicity induced by standard therapeutic options such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, alternative solutions are being explored. Nanomaterials, such as gold nanoparticles, can help reduce side effects by increasing targeted dose to the tumor as well as act as a drug delivery system. Many nano-based systems are tested in a two-dimensional monolayer in the lab, which is not representative of the complex tumor microenvironment. Towards an accelerated translation to the clinic, use of nanomaterials, like the radio-sensitizing gold nanoparticles, were tested in three-dimensional spheroids, which exhibit many properties present in a real tumor such as the extracellular matrix, necrotic cores, and nutrient gradients. This work paves the way for more accurate experimentation in the lab that is more indicative of a real tumor response, leading to a higher chance of success in future clinical studies and clinical treatment. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the gold standard for treating patients with cancer in the clinic but, despite modern advances, are limited by normal tissue toxicity. The use of nanomaterials, such as gold nanoparticles (GNPs), to improve radiosensitivity and act as drug delivery systems can mitigate toxicity while increasing deposited tumor dose. To expedite a quicker clinical translation, three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroid models that can better approximate the tumor environment compared to a two-dimensional (2D) monolayer model have been used. We tested the uptake of 15 nm GNPs and 50 nm GNPs on a monolayer and on spheroids of two cancer cell lines, CAL-27 and HeLa, to evaluate the differences between a 2D and 3D model in similar conditions. The anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX) which can act as a radiosensitizer, was also utilized, informing future potential of GNP-mediated combined therapeutics. In the 2D monolayer model, the addition of DTX induced a small, non-significant increase of uptake of GNPs of between 13% and 24%, while in the 3D spheroid model, DTX increased uptake by between 47% and 186%, with CAL-27 having a much larger increase relative to HeLa. Further, the depth of penetration of 15 nm GNPs over 50 nm GNPs increased by 33% for CAL-27 spheroids and 17% for HeLa spheroids. These results highlight the necessity to optimize GNP treatment conditions in a more realistic tumor-life environment. A 3D spheroid model can capture important details, such as different packing densities from different cancer cell lines, which are absent from a simple 2D monolayer model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains incurable due to the lack of effective therapies. Activation of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (HER1) in prostate cancer contributes to metastatic progression as well as to disease relapse. Here, we determined the toxicity and immunogenicity of a HER1-based cancer vaccine in CRPC patients included in a phase I clinical trial. CRPC patients (n = 24) were intramuscularly vaccinated with HER1 vaccine consisting of the extracellular domain of HER1 molecule (ECD) and very small size proteoliposome from Neisseria meningitidis (VSSP) and Montanide ISA-51 VG as adjuvants. Patients were included in five groups according to the vaccine dose (100, 200, 400, 600, and 800 μg). The primary endpoints were safety and immunogenicity. The anti-HER1 antibodies were measured by an ELISA, the recognition of an HER1 positive tumor cell line and the inhibition of HER1 phosphorylation by sera were determined by flow cytometry and western blot analysis, respectively. The HER1-specific T cell response was assessed by determination of IFN-γ-producing T cells using ELISpot assay. The vaccine was well tolerated. No grade III or IV adverse events were reported. High titers of anti-HER1 antibodies were observed in most of the evaluated patients. There were no significant differences regarding the geometric means of the anti-HER1 titers among the dose groups except the group of 100 μg in which antibody titers were significantly lower. A Th1-type IgG subclasses pattern was predominant in most patients. Only patients receiving the higher doses of vaccine showed significant tumor cell recognition and HER1 phosphorylation inhibition by hyperimmune sera. Forty two percent of the patients showed a specific T cell response against HER1 peptides pool in post-treatment samples. There was a trend toward survival benefit in those patients showing high anti-HER1 specific antibody titers and a significant association between cellular immune response and clinical outcome.

En este trabajo se presenta una visión general y simulación de un modelo de tráfico vehicular, éste describe la dinámica de un solo vehículo que se desplaza a través de una secuencia de semáforos que se enciende y se apaga con una frecuencia específica. El modelo incluye tres modos dinámicos: acelerado, desacelerado y nulo. Además se muestra la descripción del modelo matemático utilizado para simular el sistema. La simulación se desarrolló bajo un esquema basado en eventos e implementado en Matlab. En cuanto al análisis numérico, se construyó un diagrama de bifurcación variando el ciclo del semáforo. Como principal resultado se evidencian los efectos del ciclo del semáforo en el comportamiento dinámico del sistema.

En este trabajo se determinan las características porosas y químicas de carbones mesoporosos sintetizados utilizando sílica mesoporosa tipo SBA- 16 como molde y se correlacionan estas características con la capacidad de adsorció de colorantes, lo cual a su vez se constituye en una técnica mas de caracterización fisicoquímica de estos materiales. Se utilizan dos moldes silíceos tipo SBA-16 con diferencias en su porosidad y sacarosa y etileno como fuente de carbón. Se encuentra que el tamaño, volumen de poro y área superficial de estos materiales se pueden modular mediante la selección del molde pero no sus características químicas. Los carbones mesoporosos se sintetizan por el método húmedo, en el cual se utiliza sacarosa como fuente de carbono o por deposición de vapores de etileno utilizando dos sílicas mesporosas con diferentes características de porosidad.

The use of sunscreen products is very important nowadays. The photostability of UV filters incorporated in these products must be preserved during its storing and application processes in order to achieve the claims about photoprotection of the commercial products. The photostability of avobenzone, one of the most common UVA filters in commercial sunscreens, is assessed in solvents intended for cosmetic formulations. The study is carried out by following the spectral behavior of avobenzone solutions under irradiation and after storing them in the dark. Different photobehaviors of the avobenzona are found in the selected solvents, some of which can be explained in the same way than in analytical solvents; but for others, the structural and physical properties of the solvents must be taken into account. The most appropriate solvents for ensuring the photostability of avobenzona are mineral oil and isopropyl myristate.

The objective of this work is to determine the porous and chemical characteristics of mesoporous carbons synthesized by using SBA-16 mesoporous silica as template. The evaluation of the ability of adsorbing dyes contributes to the physicochemical characterization of these materials. Two SBA-16 mesoporous silica with different porous characteristics are used as templates and sucrose and ethylene are the sucrose sources. The pore size and volume of the mesoporous carbons can be modulated by the selection of the template. It does not occur for the chemical properties.