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Background/Objectives: Research on pharmacogenetic variability in response to prescribed drugs and across ethnic groups is essential for personalized medicine, particularly in admixed and unstudied populations. For the first time, this study examines CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 alleles and genotypes in 197 healthy volunteers from the Dominican Republic, as part of the RIBEF-CEIBA collaborative network. Methods: The analysis focuses on the participants’ tri-hybrid genomic ancestry, with CYP alleles determined by real-time PCR and molecular ancestry inferred using 90 AIMs. Linear regression was used to associate ancestry components with CYP frequencies. Results: The average ancestry was 23.8% European, 42.6% Native American, and 33.6% African, the latter being higher than in most Latin American populations. Native American ancestry was also higher than expected. Predicted phenotype frequencies based on genotypes were 4.2% poor metabolizers (gPMs) and 3.6% ultrarapid metabolizers (gUMs) for CYP2D6, as well as 3% gPMs, 22.8% rapid metabolizers (gRMs), and 1.5% gUMs for CYP2C19. No gPM individuals were observed for CYP2C9. Certain alleles associated with decreased CYP2D6 activity (*17 and *29) and increased CYP2C19 activity (*17 and gUMs) were positively linked with African ancestry and negatively with Native American ancestry. Rare CYP2C9 alleles (*5 and *6) with clinical relevance were additionally found. Conclusions: These findings build on previous results from the RIBEF-CEIBA collaborative network, demonstrating differences in allele frequencies of CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 in relation to genomic ancestry. In summary, ethnicity must be considered in the development of pharmacogenetic guidelines for clinical application, research, and regulation to avoid widening the biotechnology gap and to allow Personalized Medicine to reach the entire world population.

Abstract Boar ejaculate is composed of sperm cells and seminal plasma (SP) and is emitted in different fractions (pre-sperm fraction; spermatic-rich fraction; intermediate fraction; post-spermatic fraction), with different composition of SP and volume, which could influence the sperm quality during seminal doses preparation, conservation, and interaction with the female reproductive tract. In artificial insemination (AI) centers, seminal doses are usually prepared with the spermatic-rich and intermediate fractions, but the inclusion of other ejaculate fractions, although controversial, is beginning to be applied. The objective was to evaluate the synergic effect of accumulative ejaculated fractions on sperm functionality during seminal doses preparation, throughout storage and after incubation with uterine fluid (UF). For this purpose, a total of 57 ejaculates were collected, and the following experimental groups were prepared (n = 19 per group): (F1) spermatic-rich fraction; (F2) F1 plus intermediate fraction; (F3) F2 plus post-spermatic fraction. Each group was stored for 5 days at ∼16 °C, and the following parameters were evaluated: sperm metabolism of pure and diluted semen (day 1), sperm quality parameters (days 1, 3, 5), thermal-resistance test (TRT) and incubation with uterine fluid (UF) (day 5). Sperm metabolic rates between accumulative ejaculate fractions from pure and diluted semen did not show differences. Also, sperm quality parameters were not affected by the ejaculate fraction during storage. However, sperm subjected to TRT showed similar results except for progressive motility, which was better in F2 and F3 than F1. When sperm were incubated with UF, the quality decreased in each group, but sperm from F2 and F3 were less affected than those from F1. In conclusion, the post-spermatic fraction can be included in seminal doses for their use in AI-centers, with functionality of sperm of different SP origins not being impaired throughout the storage, and responding better to thermal and UF stress. However, further research in AI-centers is necessary to test the sperm behaviour under presented conditions.

This study provides new evidence on factors driving firms´ eco innovation in the European Union, based on the data of the Community Innovation Survey for the years 2008 and 2014 for eleven European countries. First, our findings reveal that the propensity to eco-innovate changes over time. Second, the propensity to eco-innovate is unequally distributed across sectors, given that it is concentrated in a few sectors. Third, we find that sectoral behavior is strongly influenced by the taxonomy of green sectors introduced by the European Union, since the propensity to innovate is higher in the carbon leakage taxonomy than in the mitigation and adaptation taxonomy. These results provide further insights into the sectoral factors driving eco-innovation diffusion. Moreover, these findings are relevant to increase environmental stringency, as they contribute to the diffusion of eco-innovation across sectors, especially in those that do not innovate.

Abstract Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have become one of the state‐of‐the‐art techniques for downscaling climate projections. They are being applied under Perfect‐Prognosis (trained in a historical period with observations) and hybrid approaches (as Regional Climate Models (RCMs) emulators), with satisfactory results. Nevertheless, two important aspects have not been, to our knowledge, properly assessed yet: (1) their performance as emulators for other Earth System Models (ESMs) different to the one used for training, and (2) their performance under extrapolation, that is, when applied outside of their calibration range. In this study, we use UNET, a popular CNN, to assess these two aspects through two pseudo‐reality experiments, and we compare it with simpler emulators: an interpolation and a linear regression. The RCA4 regional model, with 0.11° resolution over a complex domain centered in the Pyrenees, and driven by the CNRM‐CM5 global model is used to train the emulators. Two frameworks are followed for the training: predictors are taken (1) from the upscaled RCM and (2) from the ESM. In both frameworks, the performance of the UNET when applied for other ESMs different to the one used for training is considerably worse, indicating poor generalization. For the linear method a similar deterioration is seen, so this limitation does not seem method specific but inherent to the task. For the second experiment, the emulators are trained in present and evaluated in future, under extrapolation. While averaged aspects such as the mean values are well simulated in future, significant biases (up to 5°C) appear when assessing warm extremes. These biases are larger by UNET than those produced by the linear method. This limitation suggests that, for variables such as temperature, with a marked signal of change and a strong linear relationship with predictors, simple linear methods might be more appropriate than the sophisticated deep learning techniques.

En el presente estudio, se presenta una alternativa a las prácticas docentes tradicionales mediante la utilización del vídeo como recurso docente en un entorno de aula invertida por parte del estudiantado. A partir de un análisis efectuado en tres asignaturas pertenecientes al ámbito de economía aplicada en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid y la Universidad de A Coruña durante el curso 2022/2023, se introduce un proyecto novedoso de evaluación continua, donde el estudiantado debe elaborar vídeos a partir de materiales facilitados por el docente. Los resultados muestran que la utilización del vídeo aumenta la motivación del estudiantado, aumentando el interés en las asignaturas y en sus expectativas de obtener una buena calificación. No se detecta, sin embargo, la existencia de un patrón de género en los resultados, ya que no existen diferencias entre hombres y mujeres. Estos resultados sugieren una importante reflexión en cuanto al futuro de la docencia de asignaturas de economía en un entorno globalizado.

The synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles for diverse applications is an active research area that involves physical and chemical methods, which typically are expensive, involve hazardous chemical reagents, use complex equipment and synthesis conditions, and consume large amounts of time and energy. Thus, green synthesis methods have emerged as eco-friendly and easy alternatives for inorganic nanoparticle synthesis, particularly the use of plant-based extracts from fruit juice, leaves, seeds, peel, stem, barks, and roots, which act as reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals and circular economy principles. Therefore, diverse inorganic nanoparticles have been synthesized using plant-based extracts, including gold, silver, titanium dioxide, zinc, copper, platinum, zirconium, iron, selenium, magnesium, nickel, sulfur, cobalt, palladium, and indium nanoparticles, which exhibit different biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, dye degradation, cytotoxic, analgesic, sedative, wound-healing, skin protection, sensor development, and plant-growth-promoting effects. Therefore, this review summarizes the advantages and limitations of plant-based extracts as reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents for inorganic nanoparticle green synthesis.

The climate change impact and adaptation communities need future scenarios with sufficient high resolution, which are frequently achieved by applying Statistical Downscaling Models (SDMs) over global climate models. A large variety of SDMs exists, and some can be more suitable than others for each specific purpose. For this reason, it is important to develop tools to facilitate the evaluation and generation of downscaled scenarios following different approaches. In this paper we present a service, ‘pyClim-SDM’, which allows users to generate and evaluate their own downscaled scenarios with a very simple and user-friendly graphical interface. This tool includes a large collection of state-of-the-art methods belonging to different families to downscale daily data of the following surface variables: temperature, precipitation, wind, relative humidity and cloud coverage. Additionally, the software is prepared to be applied over any other user-defined target variable. Thus, multivariable indexes can be tackled as target variables themselves, instead of being calculated from the downscaled primary variables. With this possibility, potential intervariable inconsistencies are avoided. An application example for a Fire Weather Index, dependent on temperature, wind, humidity and precipitation, is shown. The service here presented -mainly based on a new downscaling software and a user-friendly graphical interface- is an essential piece for evaluating and generating high-resolution projection data within the Spanish national climate change adaptation strategy which includes, among other elements, a common database for all sectors, viewer and data distribution portal, etc.

La empresa objeto de estudio se dedica a brindar servicios de mantenimiento in situ, su objetivo es proveer bienes y servicios técnicos de seguridad integral a entidades nacionales y extranjeras, acorde a los estándares vigentes; con profesionalidad y tecnologías de avanzada, garantizando la primacía en el mercado nacional y promoviendo la exportación. Estos servicios implican el desplazamiento de los empleados y los equipos hasta las ubicaciones físicas de los clientes. Las empresas que se dedican a garantizar Sistemas de Seguridad, necesitan mantener siempre disponibles los equipos instalados a los clientes, por lo que es imprescindible para ellas restituir periódicamente las capacidades de estos sistemas. El objetivo del presente trabajo es proponer el uso de un conjunto de herramientas cuantitativas que permitan aumentar la eficiencia y eficacia en la planificación de los servicios de mantenimiento in situ. La empresa seguridad y protección objeto de estudio para la aplicación de la propuesta, mejoró considerablemente en cuando a disponibilidad de los sistemas instalados a los clientes y en la utilización de los recursos de que disponen. En el trabajo se incluyen herramientas para las fases de la planificación: Largo Plazo, que se realizará anualmente, a Corto Plazo, para decidir mensualmente a cuáles clientes se les atenderán y la Operativa en la que se determina diariamente a que clientes se les brindará el servicio de mantenimiento.

The company under study is dedicated to providing in-situ maintenance services, its objective is to provide comprehensive security technical goods and services to national and foreign entities, according to current standards; with professionalism and advanced technologies, guaranteeing the primacy in the national market and promoting exports. These services involve moving employees and equipment to the physical locations of customers. The companies that are dedicated to guaranteeing Security Systems, need to always keep the equipment installed available to the clients, so it is essential for them to periodically restore the capacities of these systems. The objective of this work is to propose the use of a set of quantitative tools that allow to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in the planning of on-site maintenance services. The security and protection company under study for the application of the proposal, improved considerably in terms of availability of the systems installed to customers and in the use of the resources. The work includes tools for the planning phases: long-term, which will be carried out annually, short-term, to decide on a monthly basis which clients will be served and the daily one in which it is determined on a daily basis which clients will be served.

Plant-based materials are an important source of bioactive compounds (BC) with interesting industrial applications. Therefore, adequate experimental strategies for maximizing their recovery yield are required. Among all procedures for extracting BC (maceration, Soxhlet, hydro-distillation, pulsed-electric field, enzyme, microwave, high hydrostatic pressure, and supercritical fluids), the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) highlighted as an advanced, cost-efficient, eco-friendly, and sustainable alternative for recovering BC (polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and carotenoids) from plant sources with higher yields. However, the UAE efficiency is influenced by several factors, including operational variables and extraction process (frequency, amplitude, ultrasonic power, pulse cycle, type of solvent, extraction time, solvent-to-solid ratio, pH, particle size, and temperature) that exert an impact on the molecular structures of targeted molecules, leading to variations in their biological properties. In this context, a diverse design of experiments (DOEs), including full or fractional factorial, Plackett–Burman, Box-Behnken, Central composite, Taguchi, Mixture, D-optimal, and Doehlert have been investigated alone and in combination to optimize the UAE of BC from plant-based materials, using the response surface methodology and mathematical models in a simple or multi-factorial/multi-response approach. The present review summarizes the advantages and limitations of the most common DOEs investigated to optimize the UAE of bioactive compounds from plant-based materials.

We present in this contribution the varied experiences gathered in the co-design of a sectoral climate services collection, developed in the framework of the MEDSCOPE project, which have in common the application of seasonal predictions for the Mediterranean geographical and climatic region. Although the region is affected by low seasonal predictability limiting the skill of seasonal forecasting systems, which historically has hindered the development of downstream services, the project was originally conceived to exploit windows of opportunity with enhanced skill for developing and evaluating climate services in various sectors with high societal impact in the region: renewable energy, hydrology, and agriculture and forestry. The project also served as the scientific branch of the WMO-led Mediterranean Climate Outlook Forum (MedCOF) that had as objective -among others- partnership strengthening on climate services between providers and users within the Mediterranean region. The diversity of the MEDSCOPE experiences in co-designing shows the wide range of involvement and engagement of users in this process across the Mediterranean region, which benefits from the existing solid and organized MedCOF community of climate services providers and users. A common issue among the services described here -and also among other prototypes developed in the project- was related with the communication of forecasts uncertainty and skill for efficiently informing decision-making in practice. All MEDSCOPE project prototypes make use of an internally developed software package containing process-based methods for synthesising seasonal forecast data, as well as basic and advanced tools for obtaining tailored products. Another challenge assumed by the project refers to the demonstration of the economic, social, and environmental value of predictions provided by these MEDSCOPE prototypes.

ABSTRACT The fungi of the order Onygenales can cause important human infections; however, their taxonomy and worldwide occurrence is still little known. We have studied and identified a representative number of clinical fungi belonging to that order from a reference laboratory in the USA. A total of 22 strains isolated from respiratory tract (40%) and human skin and nails (27.2%) showed a malbranchea-like morphology. Six genera were phenotypically and molecularly identified, i.e. Auxarthron/Malbranchea (68.2%), Arachnomyces (9.1%), Spiromastigoides (9.1%), and Currahmyces (4.5%), and two newly proposed genera (4.5% each). Based on the results of the phylogenetic study, we synonymized Auxarthron with Malbranchea, and erected two new genera: Pseudoarthropsis and Pseudomalbranchea. New species proposed are: Arachnomyces bostrychodes, A. graciliformis, Currahmyces sparsispora, Malbranchea gymnoascoides, M. multiseptata, M. stricta, Pseudoarthropsis crassispora, Pseudomalbranchea gemmata, and Spiromastigoides geomycoides, along with a new combination for Malbranchea gypsea. The echinocandins showed the highest in vitro antifungal activity against the studied isolates, followed by terbinafine and posaconazole; in contrast, amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole and 5-fluorocytosine were less active or lacked in vitro activity against these fungi.

Abstract Recent evidence supports involvement of the acute phase protein haptoglobin in numerous events during mammalian reproduction. The present study represents an in-depth investigation of haptoglobin expression and secretion in the porcine oviduct and uterus, and assesses its effect on porcine in vitro embryo production. A systematic study was made of sows in different oestrous stages: late follicular, early luteal and late luteal stages. Relative haptoglobin mRNA abundance was quantified by RT-qPCR. In addition, expression of the protein was analysed by immunohistochemistry and the results were complemented by Western-blot and proteomic analyses of the oviductal and uterine fluids. In vitro porcine fertilization and embryo culture were carried out in the presence of haptoglobin. The results indicate that haptoglobin mRNA expression in the porcine oviduct and uterus is most abundant during the late luteal stage of the oestrous cycle. By means of Western blot and proteomic analyses haptoglobin presence was demonstrated in the oviduct epithelium and in the oviductal and uterine fluids in different stages of the oestrous cycle. The addition of haptoglobin during gamete co-incubation had no effect on sperm penetration, monospermy or efficiency rates; however, compared with the control group, blastocyst development was significantly improved when haptoglobin was present (haptoglobin: 64.50% vs. control: 37.83%; p

Abstract Machine learning is a growing field of research with many applications. It provides a series of techniques able to solve complex nonlinear problems, and that has promoted their application for statistical downscaling. Intercomparison exercises with other classical methods have so far shown promising results. Nevertheless, many evaluation studies of statistical downscaling methods neglect the analysis of their extrapolation capability. In this study, we aim to make a wakeup call to the community about the potential risks of using machine learning for statistical downscaling of climate change projections. We present a set of three toy experiments, applying three commonly used machine learning algorithms, two different implementations of artificial neural networks and a support vector machine, to downscale daily maximum temperature, and comparing them with the classical multiple linear regression. We have tested the four methods in and out of their calibration range, and have found how the three machine learning techniques can perform poorly under extrapolation. Additionally, we have analysed the impact of this extrapolation issue depending on the degree of overlapping between the training and testing datasets, and we have found very different sensitivities for each method and specific implementation.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating disease characterised by immune cell infiltration resulting in lesions that preferentially affect periventricular areas of the brain. Despite research efforts to define the role of various immune cells in MS pathogenesis, the focus has been on a few immune cell populations while full-spectrum analysis, encompassing others such as natural killer (NK) cells, has not been performed. Here, we used single-cell mass cytometry (CyTOF) to profile the immune landscape of brain periventricular areas – septum and choroid plexus – and of the circulation from donors with MS, dementia and controls without neurological disease. Using a 37-marker panel, we revealed the infiltration of T cells and antibody-secreting cells in periventricular brain regions and identified a novel NK cell signature specific to MS. CD56bright NK cells were accumulated in the septum of MS donors and displayed an activated and migratory phenotype, similar to that of CD56bright NK cells in the circulation. We validated this signature by multiplex immunohistochemistry and found that the number of NK cells with high expression of granzyme K, typical of the CD56bright subset, was increased in both periventricular lesions and the choroid plexus of donors with MS. Together, our multi-tissue single-cell data shows that CD56bright NK cells accumulate in the periventricular brain regions of MS patients, bringing NK cells back to the spotlight of MS pathology.

Antecedentes: La nodularidad en el tejido tiroideo es extremadamente común. En México, el único tratamiento disponible abiertamente para los nódulos tiroideos fríos benignos que causan síntomas compresivos o estéticos es la cirugía. Esta limitante en la disponibilidad de tratamientos no invasivos pone una enorme demanda sobre los recursos de salud del Estado. Objetivo: Demostrar el costo-minimización del tratamiento por inyección percutánea con etanol (PEIT, percutaneous etanol injection treatment) contra la ablación por radiofrecuencia (RFA, radiofrequency ablation) y el rayo láser para el tratamiento de nódulos tiroideos sólidos benignos. Método: Estudio prospectivo, comparativo, cuasiexperimental, longitudinal, con controles externos, no aleatorizado, histórico, prolectivo y abierto. La diferencia significativa en la reducción de volumen se calculó mediante prueba t pareada a dos colas. Se validó que el porcentaje de reducción en el volumen final fue tan eficiente como el método de referencia. El estudio de análisis de costos se realizó utilizando el método de Montecarlo. Resultados: Ingresaron al estudio 15 pacientes. El volumen medio de los nódulos fue de 14.46 ± 19 cc, con un volumen medio final de 5.24 ± 8.44 cc. El porcentaje de reducción medio fue del 63 ± 17%. El costo por procedimiento fue de $18,807 mx para la RFA, $16,300 mx para la cirugía, $9248 mx para la ablación láser y $1615 mx para el PEIT. Conclusiones: Los resultados del estudio demuestran la no inferioridad de la ablación de nódulos tiroideos sólidos benignos con PEIT en comparación con el rayo láser y la RFA, a un costo inferior.

Monocytes are antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that play diverse roles in promoting or regulating inflammatory responses, but their role in T cell stimulation is not well defined. In inflammatory conditions, monocytes frequently show increased expression of CD169/Siglec-1, a type-I interferon (IFN-I)-regulated protein. However, little is known about the phenotype and function of these CD169+ monocytes. Here, we have investigated the phenotype of human CD169+ monocytes in different diseases, their capacity to activate CD8+ T cells, and the potential for a targeted-vaccination approach. Using spectral flow cytometry, we detected CD169 expression by CD14+ CD16- classical and CD14+ CD16+ intermediate monocytes and unbiased analysis showed that they were distinct from dendritic cells, including the recently described CD14-expressing DC3. CD169+ monocytes expressed higher levels of co-stimulatory and HLA molecules, suggesting an increased activation state. IFNα treatment highly upregulated CD169 expression on CD14+ monocytes and boosted their capacity to cross-present antigen to CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, we observed CD169+ monocytes in virally-infected patients, including in the blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of COVID-19 patients, as well as in the blood of patients with different types of cancers. Finally, we evaluated two CD169-targeting nanovaccine platforms, antibody-based and liposome-based, and we showed that CD169+ monocytes efficiently presented tumor-associated peptides gp100 and WT1 to antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. In conclusion, our data indicate that CD169+ monocytes are activated monocytes with enhanced CD8+ T cell stimulatory capacity and that they emerge as an interesting target in nanovaccine strategies, because of their presence in health and different diseases.

Introduction: The correct disposition of teeth depends in great measure on the growth of maxillary, especially the third molars that are the last ones in eruption. Objective: To estimate the changes in the posterior bony space according to age and its relationship with epidemic variables. Methods: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in children belonging to José Martí Pérez Teaching Polyclinic in Santiago de Cuba, from May, 2016 to February, 2017, for which panoramic X-rays were used in the measures, analyzed according to age, sex and color of the skin. Results: It was remarkable that the difference of the posterior bony space from childhood to adolescence was 9 mm for 18 molar, of 8.1 for 28 molar, of 12.5 for 38 molar and of 11.5 for 48 molar; significant differences were not observed between sex and color of the skin. Conclusions: With the evaluation of the dimensional magnitude of this space it is possible to predict the growth of the maxillary to give location to the third molars during the course from the childhood to the adolescence.

Introducción: no siempre las familias se muestran preparadas para potenciar las acciones de promoción de salud. Objetivo: identificar la opinión de médicos generales respecto a la situación actual de la relación familia–promoción de salud en el área del Policlínico Universitario “Mártires del 4 de Agosto” durante el 2019. Método: durante los meses enero–marzo de 2019, en esta institución se realizó un estudio exploratorio donde se identificaron las opiniones sobre el tema en 50 de estos médicos. Se sistematizaron referentes teóricos que sustentan la relación familia–promoción de salud. Resultados: el 80 % de los encuestados reconoció que es insuficiente la participación de la familia en actividades de promoción de salud y el 70 % apreció que su preparación para esta finalidad no es satisfactoria. También reconocieron debilidades en el desempeño profesional del médico general para asegurar la óptima relación familia-actividades de promoción de salud. Conclusiones: se fundamenta la relación la familia y promoción de salud y se destaca la necesidad de la preparación de esta como aspecto trascendental para el trabajo educativo de la población en materia de salud.

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves a misdirected immune attack against myelin in the brain and spinal cord, leading to profound neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. While the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis have been widely studied, the suppression mechanisms that lead to the resolution of the autoimmune response are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the role of the C-type lectin receptor macrophage galactose-type lectin (MGL), usually expressed on tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells (APCs), as a negative regulator of autoimmune-driven neuroinflammation. Methods We used in silico, immunohistochemical, immunofluorescence, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and flow cytometry analysis to explore the expression and functionality of MGL in human macrophages and microglia, as well as in MS post-mortem tissue. In vitro, we studied the capacity of MGL to mediate apoptosis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)-derived T cells and mouse CD4+ T cells. Finally, we evaluated in vivo and ex vivo the immunomodulatory potential of MGL in EAE. Results MGL plays a critical role in the resolution phase of EAE as MGL1-deficient (Clec10a −/−) mice showed a similar day of onset but experienced a higher clinical score to that of WT littermates. We demonstrate that the mouse ortholog MGL1 induces apoptosis of autoreactive T cells and diminishes the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory autoantibodies. Moreover, we show that MGL1 but not MGL2 induces apoptosis of activated mouse CD4+ T cells in vitro. In human settings, we show that MGL expression is increased in active MS lesions and on alternatively activated microglia and macrophages which, in turn, induces the secretion of the immunoregulatory cytokine IL-10, underscoring the clinical relevance of this lectin. Conclusions Our results show a new role of MGL-expressing APCs as an anti-inflammatory mechanism in autoimmune neuroinflammation by dampening pathogenic T and B cell responses, uncovering a novel clue for neuroprotective therapeutic strategies with relevance for in MS clinical applications.

Introducción: la muerte encefálica es una realidad histórica, la cual ha permitido avances en el campo del trasplante, se exponen experiencias en Pinar del Río. Objetivo: caracterizar a pacientes con muerte encefálica y sus complicaciones durante el mantenimiento del donante en la unidad de cuidados intensivos del Hospital General Docente de Pinar del Río de 2014 a 2016. Métodos: se realizó un estudio prospectivo, analítico en la unidad de cuidados intensivos del hospital seleccionado, el universo integrado por 150 pacientes con lesión neurológica y Glasgow ≤ ocho puntos, y la muestra, por 59 pacientes con muerte encefálica. Resultados: el aviso al coordinador se efectuó en las primeras tres horas (69,50 %), realizándose el diagnóstico el primer día (57,63 %), principalmente en las unidades de cuidados intensivos (69,49 %), la escala Glasgow (6 ± 2,2), full outline of unresponsiveness (4 ± 3,2) y apache II (26 ± 4,3) determinaron mortalidad, el ictus hemorrágico fue la causa fundamental (64,41 %), por tomografía la desviación de estructuras de línea media ≥ 5 mm, (84,75 %), la compresión del sistema ventricular (83,05 %), el borramiento de cisternas de la base (74,58 %), y las hernias cerebrales (59,32 %) presentaron (p< 0.001), por doppler predominó la espiga sistólica aislada (72,88 %), con pocas negativas familiares (16,9 %), y aumentando la donación a 23,73 pmh. Conclusiones: el conocimiento y manejo adecuado de la muerte encefálica y sus complicaciones aumentan la expectativa de vida del receptor a partir de menor deterioro orgánico.

Each year, tens of thousands of people worldwide die of end-stage organ failure due to the limited availability of organs for use in transplantation. To meet this clinical demand, one of the last frontiers of regenerative medicine is the generation of humanized organs in pigs from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) via blastocyst complementation. For this, organ-disabled pig models are needed. As endothelial cells (ECs) play a critical role in xenotransplantation rejection in every organ, we aimed to produce hematoendothelial-disabled pig embryos targeting the master transcription factor ETV2 via CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome modification. In this study, we designed five different guide RNAs (gRNAs) against the DNA-binding domain of the porcine ETV2 gene, which were tested on porcine fibroblasts in vitro. Four out of five guides showed cleavage capacity and, subsequently, these four guides were microinjected individually as ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) into one-cell-stage porcine embryos. Next, we combined the two gRNAs that showed the highest targeting efficiency and microinjected them at higher concentrations. Under these conditions, we significantly improved the rate of biallelic mutation. Hence, here, we describe an efficient one-step method for the generation of hematoendothelial-disabled pig embryos via CRISPR-Cas9 microinjection in zygotes. This model could be used in experimentation related to the in vivo generation of humanized organs.

La anestesia libre de opioides es una técnica reconocida en la cirugía no cardiaca, sin embargo hay pocos reportes de su empleo en cardiocirugía. Presentamos un paciente de 76 años con alergia demostrada a opioides, programado para revascularización miocárdica quirúrgica en el cual empleamos esta técnica por primera vez en nuestro centro. Su evolución fue favorable con dolor posoperatorio según EVA que osciló entre 0 y 3 y fue tratado con AINES según protocolo.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are key initiators of the adaptive immunity, and upon recognition of pathogens are able to skew T cell differentiation to elicit appropriate responses. DCs possess this extraordinary capacity to discern external signals using receptors that recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns. These can be glycan-binding receptors that recognize carbohydrate structures on pathogens or pathogen-associated patterns that additionally bind receptors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs). This study explores the early signaling events in DCs upon binding of α2-3 sialic acid (α2-3sia) that are recognized by Immune inhibitory Sialic acid binding immunoglobulin type lectins. α2-3sias are commonly found on bacteria, e.g. Group B Streptococcus, but can also be expressed by tumor cells. We investigated whether α2-3sia conjugated to a dendrimeric core alters DC signaling properties. Through phosphoproteomic analysis, we found differential signaling profiles in DCs after α2-3sia binding alone or in combination with LPS/TLR4 co-stimulation. α2-3sia was able to modulate the TLR4 signaling cascade, resulting in 109 altered phosphoproteins. These phosphoproteins were annotated to seven biological processes, including the regulation of the IL-12 cytokine pathway. Secretion of IL-10, the inhibitory regulator of IL-12 production, by DCs was found upregulated after overnight stimulation with the α2-3sia dendrimer. Analysis of kinase activity revealed altered signatures in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. PhosphoSTAT3 (Ser727) and phosphoSTAT5A (Ser780), involved in the regulation of the IL-12 pathway, were both downregulated. Flow cytometric quantification indeed revealed de- phosphorylation over time upon stimulation with α2-3sia, but no α2-6sia. Inhibition of both STAT3 and -5A in moDCs resulted in a similar cytokine secretion profile as α-3sia triggered DCs. Conclusively, this study revealed a specific alteration of the JAK-STAT pathway in DCs upon simultaneous α2-3sia and LPS stimulation, altering the IL10:IL-12 cytokine secretion profile associated with reduction of inflammation. Targeted control of the STAT phosphorylation status is therefore an interesting lead for the abrogation of immune escape that bacteria or tumors impose on the host.

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on bilateral trade flows using a state-of-the-art gravity model of trade. Using the monthly trade data of 68 countries exporting across 222 destinations between January 2019 and October 2020, our results are threefold. First, we find a greater negative impact of COVID-19 on bilateral trade for those countries that were members of regional trade agreements before the pandemic. Second, we find that the impact of COVID-19 is negative and significant when we consider indicators related to governmental actions. Finally, this negative effect is more intense when exporter and importer country share identical income levels. In the latter case, the highest negative impact is found for exports between high-income countries.

Physical understanding and modeling of Ka-band ocean surface backscatter is challenging due to a lack of measurements. In the framework of the NASA Earth Ventures Suborbital-3 Submesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) mission, a Ka-Band Ocean continuous wave Doppler Scatterometer (KaBODS) built by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass) was installed on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Air-Sea Interaction Tower. Together with ASIT anemometers, a new data set of Ka-band ocean surface backscatter measurements along with surface wind/wave and weather parameters was collected. In this work, we present the KaBODS instrument and an empirical Ka-band wind Geophysical Model Function (GMF), the so-called ASIT GMF, based on the KaBODS data collected over a period of three months, from October 2019 to January 2020, for incidence angles ranging between 40° and 68°. The ASIT GMF results are compared with an existing Ka-band wind GMF developed from data collected during a tower experiment conducted over the Black Sea. The two GMFs show differences in terms of wind speed and wind direction sensitivity. However, they are consistent in the values of the standard deviation of the model residuals. This suggests an intrinsic geophysical variability characterizing the Ka-band surface backscatter. The observed variability does not significantly change when filtering out swell-dominated data, indicating that the long-wave induced backscatter modulation is not the primary source of the KaBODS backscatter variability. We observe evidence of wave breaking events, which increase the skewness of the backscatter distribution in linear space, consistent with previous studies. Interestingly, a better agreement is seen between the GMFs and the actual data at an incidence angle of 60° for both GMFs, and the statistical analysis of the model residuals shows a reduced backscatter variability at this incidence angle. This study shows that the ASIT data set is a valuable reference for studies of Ka-band backscatter. Further investigations are on-going to fully characterize the observed variability and its implication in the wind GMF development.

Objetivo: El presente estudio tiene como finalidad evaluar la percepción que tienen los pacientes con artritis reumatoide (AR) con relación a su enfermedad. Métodos: La muestra estuvo representada por 99 pacientes que cumplían con el diagnóstico de AR de acuerdo con los criterios ACR – EULAR 2010 de artritis reumatoide, con un predominio del género femenino de 93% y el promedio de edad fue de 51 años (± 23). Los promedios de DAS 28, HAQ y SF36, fueron de 3,88 (± 2,66), 1,05 (± 0,68) y 57, respectivamente. Resultados: En cuanto a la información aportada por el médico acerca de su enfermedad hubo una diferencia significativa en la percepción entre el grupo que respondió que No la información suministrada por su médico fue clara y suficiente que representó el 77% (N=77) y Si el 22% (N=22), ya que al comparar la media de los participantes se observó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa (p

Purpose: To evaluate the combination of fundus autofluorescence results with several clinical and structural variables into mathematical indexes to enhance their ability to predict visual and anatomical changes after the antivascular endothelial growth factor loading dose. Methods: Patients with diabetic macular edema were enrolled. Each patient had a comprehensive ophthalmological examination, contrast sensitivity, optical coherence tomography, and fundus autofluorescence assessment. All patients received three monthly doses of ziv-aflibercept and were followed each month for response assessment. Autofluorescence was classified according to its level into five grades. The grades were combined with other variables (best-corrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, central macular thickness, macular cube volume, and macular cube average thickness) into normalized indexes. Statistical assessment was done using a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, linear regression, and interobserver-agreement analysis. Results: There was a strong correlation between the fundus autofluorescence/baseline best-corrected visual acuity index and the fundus autofluorescence/contrast-sensitivity index at baseline with the best-corrected visual acuity after the third dose of ziv-aflibercept ( r s = −0.78, p = .000 and r s = −0.68, p = .0009 respectively). The fundus autofluorescence/baseline best-corrected visual acuity index and the fundus autofluorescence/contrast-sensitivity index, both at baseline had a mild correlation with the macular volume at 1 month of follow-up ( r s = 0.56, p = .008 and ( r s = 0.64, p = .002, respectively). Conclusion: This study suggests that it is possible to combine fundus autofluorescence results with functional and structural variables into normalized indexes that could potentially predict outcomes after antivascular endothelial growth factor loading dose in patients with diabetic macular edema.

Este texto pretende, como principal objetivo, dar a conocer el fondo antiguo de teatro infantil de la Biblioteca Pedro Cerrillo de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, además de reivindicar los estudios e investigaciones en un género tan minoritario como es el teatro infantil. Como este repaso analítico, el fondo acaba en 1939. En ese año acabaron también muchos proyectos e impulsos educativos, culturales y sociales que finalizaron con el estallido de nuestra Guerra Civil. Estas obras nos dan una imagen bastante fiel de la evolución de un teatro para niños que, como la propia Literatura Infantil, ha experimentado un cambio considerable.

In recent years, Paraguay has experienced economic growth rates that were among the highest in the region. However, this growth has not managed to reverse poverty levels above 25 percent and persistent inequality in the distribution of income. This forces us to rethink economic growth based on new indicators that incorporate qualitative elements.

Infografía

La gigantomastia es un tipo de hipertrofia mamaria cuando sobrepasa los 1500 g de volumen mamario en cada mama y su corrección se realiza con la técnica de mastoplastia reductiva. Se presentó el caso de una paciente de 42 años de edad con el diagnóstico de gigantomastia; a la cual se le practicó mastoplastia reductiva por técnica de injerto del complejo areola pezón, siendo una adaptación a la descrita por Thorek en 1922, utilizando el molde de Wise. El tejido glandular resecado fue 4 000 g en cada mama, total 8000 g, el cual fue la motivación principal de este trabajo, además, despertar el interés de los médicos al estudio de este padecimiento para el diagnóstico, y conocimiento de este tratamiento. Se obtuvo buen resultado estético y satisfacción de la paciente.

Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sobre el divertículo de Meckel (DM); enfermedad no frecuente que se presenta generalmente en niños, aparece de forma asintomática y obedece a una malformación congénita. Se abordaron aspectos de su anatomía, fisiología, frecuencia, clínica, complicaciones, diagnóstico diferencial e incidencia. Se realizan consideraciones finales al respecto.

The Winds and Currents Mission (WaCM) is a proposed approach to meet the need identified by the NRC Decadal Survey for the simultaneous measurements of ocean vector winds and currents. WaCM features a Ka-band pencil-beam Doppler scatterometer able to map ocean winds and currents globally. We review the principles behind the WaCM measurement and the requirements driving the mission. We then present an overview of the WaCM observatory and tie its capabilities to other OceanObs reviews and measurement approaches.

Soil is one of the main reservoirs of fungi. The aim of this study was to study the richness of ascomycetes in a set of soil samples from Mexico and Spain. Fungi were isolated after 2% w/v phenol treatment of samples. In that way, several strains of the genus Penicillium were recovered. A phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS), beta-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM), and RNA polymerase II subunit 2 gene (rpb2) sequences showed that four of these strains had not been described before. Penicillium melanosporum produces monoverticillate conidiophores and brownish conidia covered by an ornate brown sheath. Penicillium michoacanense and Penicillium siccitolerans produce sclerotia, and their asexual morph is similar to species in the section Aspergilloides (despite all of them pertaining to section Lanata-Divaricata). P. michoacanense differs from P. siccitolerans in having thick-walled peridial cells (thin-walled in P. siccitolerans). Penicillium sexuale differs from Penicillium cryptum in the section Crypta because it does not produce an asexual morph. Its ascostromata have a peridium composed of thick-walled polygonal cells, and its ascospores are broadly lenticular with two equatorial ridges widely separated by a furrow. All four new species are xerophilic. Despite the genus Penicillium containing more than 480 known species, they are rarely reported as xerophilic.

We present an overview of the changes expected during the 21st century in key marine parameters (sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, sea level and waves) in the sector of the NE Atlantic Ocean close to the Spanish shores. Under the A1B scenario, open-sea surface temperatures would increase by 1°C to 1.5°C by 2050 as a consequence of global ocean warming. Near the continental margin, however, the global temperature rise would be counteracted by an enhancement of the seasonal upwelling. Sea surface salinity is likely to decrease in the future, mainly due to the advection of high-latitude fresher waters from ice melting. Mean sea level rise has been quantified as 15-20 cm by 2050, but two contributions not accounted for by our models must be added: the mass redistribution derived from changes in the large-scale circulation (which in the NE Atlantic may be as large as 15 cm in 2050 or 35 cm by 2100) and the increase in the ocean mass content due to the melting of continental ice (for which estimates are still uncertain). The meteorological tide shows very small changes, and therefore extreme sea levels would be higher in the 21st century, but mostly due to the increase in mean sea level, not to an increase in the storminess. The wave projections point towards slightly smaller significant wave heights, but the changes projected are of the same order as the natural variability.

Introducción: Las enfermedades de las válvulas cardíacas que atendemos hoy día no son las mismas que se trataban hace 40 años cuando se comenzaron a implantar las primeras prótesis valvulares.Todos los cambios tecnológicos y el desarrollo de nuevas técnicas quirúrgicas, generan cambios obligados en los resultados de la misma, por lo nos propusimos analizar el comportamiento de la etiología de las valvulopatías de los pacientes intervenidos quirúrgicamente en el Instituto de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular. Métodos: Se realizó una Investigación observacional, descriptiva, retrospectiva donde se incluyeron todos los pacientes de cualquier edad, de ambos sexos, programados para cirugía cardiaca electiva de procederes valvulares en el período de tiempo transcurrido entre enero de 1978 y mayo de 2016. Resultados: Predominaron los grupos de edades entre 45 a 59 años y de 60 a 74 años y el sexo masculino, la FEVI normal y la Clase NYHA III. Entre los años 1978 a 2006 predominó la etiología reumática, mientras que del 2010 a la actualidad predomina la etiología degenerativa aterosclerótica. Discusión: La primera causa de estas enfermedades ha cambiado de la etiología reumática a las de etiología degenerativa. Esto ha sucedido luego del advenimiento y generalización de los antibióticos para tratar las infecciones estreptocócicas, la erradicación de la pobreza, el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías de la salud y el aumento de la esperanza de vida, lo que también conlleva a que los pacientes que llegan hoy a nuestros quirófanos son de edades mucho más avanzadas.

This work provides a first assessment of temperature variability at interannual and decadal timescales in Sierra de Guadarrama, a high mountain protected area of the Central System in the Iberian Peninsula. Observational data from stations located in the area and simulated data from a high-resolution simulation (1 km) with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, fed from ERA Interim reanalysis, are used in order to analyse the temperature variability in the period 2000–2018. Comparison among all datasets allows evaluation of the realism of the model simulations. The results show that the model tends to underestimate the observational mean temperatures and anomalies at high-altitude stations. A linear mean temperature vertical gradient of −5.81 °C/km is observed, but it is overestimated by the model (−6.56 °C/km). The variability of the daily temperature anomalies for both observations and, to a lesser extent, simulations increases with height. The added value that the WRF offers against the use of the ERA Interim is evaluated. The results show that the WRF provides a better performance than the reanalysis, as it shows smaller biases with respect to observational temperature anomalies. Finally, the study of temperature trends over the Sierra de Guadarrama and its surroundings for the period 2000–2018 shows a warming in the area, significantly pronounced in autumn. When extended to the last decades, observations show that this warming has been happening since the first half of the 20th century, especially during the period 1970–2018, but not as much as during 2000–2018.

Doppler scatterometry is a promising new technique for the simultaneous measurement of ocean surface currents and winds. These measurements have been recommended by the recent US NRC Decadal Review for NASA as being priority variables for the coming decade of Earth observations. In addition, currents and winds are useful for many applications, including assessing the operating conditions for oil platforms or tracking the dispersal of plastic or oil by surface currents and winds. While promising, Doppler scatterometry is relatively new and understanding the measurement characteristics is an important area of research. To this end, Chevron sponsored the deployment of DopplerScatt, a NASA/JPL Ka-band Doppler scatterometer, over instrumented sites located at the edge of a Gulf of Mexico Loop Current Eddy (LCE). In addition to in situ measurements, coincident synoptic maps of surface currents were collected by the Areté ROCIS instrument, an optical current measurement system. Here we report on the results of this experiment for both surface currents and winds. Surface current comparisons show that the Ka-band Current Geophysical Model Function (CGMF) needs to include wind drift currents, which could not be estimated with prior data sets. Once the CGMF is updated, ROCIS and DopplerScatt show good agreement for surface current speeds, but, at times, direction differences on the order of 10° can occur. Remote sensing optical and radar data agree better among themselves than with ADCP currents measured at 5 m depth, showing that remote sensing is sensitive to the the currents in top 1 m of the ocean. The LCE data provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of surface currents and stability conditions on scatterometer winds. We show that, like Ku-band, Ka-band estimates of winds are related to neutral winds (and wind stress) and are referenced relative to the moving frame provided by the current. This is useful for the study of air-sea interactions, but must be accounted for when using scatterometer winds for weather prediction.

Ocean surface winds and currents are tightly coupled, essential climate variables, synoptic measurements of which require a remote sensing approach. Global measurements of ocean vector winds have been provided by scatterometers for decades, but a synoptic approach to measuring total vector surface currents has remained elusive. Doppler scatterometry is a coherent burst-scatterometry technique that builds on the long heritage of spinning pencil beam scatterometers to enable the wide-swath, simultaneous measurement of ocean surface vector winds and currents. To prove the measurement concept, NASA funded the DopplerScatt airborne Doppler scatterometer through the Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) and Airborne Instrument Technology Transition (AITT) program. DopplerScatt has successfully shown that pencil beam Doppler scatterometry can be used to form wide swath measurements of ocean winds and currents, and has increased the technology readiness level of key instrument components, including: Ka-band pulsed radar hardware, optimized scatterometer burst-mode operation, calibration techniques, geophysical model functions, and processing algorithms. With the promise and progress shown by DopplerScatt, and the importance of air-sea interactions in mind, the National Academy’s Decadal Survey has targeted simultaneous measurements of winds and currents from a Doppler scatterometer for an Earth Explorer class spaceborne mission. Besides DopplerScatt’s place as a technology stepping stone towards a satellite mission, DopplerScatt provides scientifically important measurements of ocean currents and winds (400 m resolution) and their derivatives (1 km resolution) over a 25 km swath. These measurements are enabling studies of the submesoscales and air-sea interactions that were previously impossible, and are central to the upcoming NASA Earth Ventures Suborbital-3 Submesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE). This paper summarizes the development of DopplerScatt hardware, systems, calibration, and operations, and how advances in each relate to progress towards a spaceborne Doppler scatterometer mission.

Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantify and close the global inventory of marine plastics, which in turn represents critical information for mitigation or policy strategies. At the same time, plastic is a unique tracer that provides an opportunity to learn more about the physics and dynamics of our ocean across multiple scales, from the Ekman convergence in basin-scale gyres to individual waves in the surfzone. In this review, we comprehensively discuss what is known about the different processes that govern the transport of floating marine plastic debris in both the open ocean and the coastal zones, based on the published literature and referring to insights from neighbouring fields such as oil spill dispersion, marine safety recovery, plankton connectivity, and others. We discuss how measurements of marine plastics (both in situ and in the laboratory), remote sensing, and numerical simulations can elucidate these processes and their interactions across spatio-temporal scales.

One of the key features of the immune system is its extraordinary capacity to discriminate between self and non-self and to respond accordingly. Several molecular interactions allow the induction of acquired immune responses when a foreign antigen is recognized, while others regulate the resolution of inflammation, or the induction of tolerance to self-antigens. Post-translational signatures, such as glycans that are part of proteins (glycoproteins) and lipids (glycolipids) of host cells or pathogens, are increasingly appreciated as key molecules in regulating immunity vs. tolerance. Glycans are sensed by glycan binding receptors expressed on immune cells, such as C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) and Sialic acid binding immunoglobulin type lectins (Siglecs), that respond to specific glycan signatures by triggering tolerogenic or immunogenic signaling pathways. Glycan signatures present on healthy tissue, inflamed and malignant tissue or pathogens provide signals for “self” or “non-self” recognition. In this review we will focus on sialic acids that serve as “self” molecular pattern ligands for Siglecs. We will emphasize on the function of Siglec-expressing mononuclear phagocytes as sensors for sialic acids in tissue homeostasis and describe how the sialic acid-Siglec axis is exploited by tumors and pathogens for the induction of immune tolerance. Furthermore, we highlight how the sialic acid-Siglec axis can be utilized for clinical applications to induce or inhibit immune tolerance.

El análisis del paisaje caracteriza la estructura y funcionamiento ecológico, para proponer estrategias de mitigación a los problemas ambientales. El objetivo fue analizar la configuración espacial de elementos del paisaje de la Reserva de la Biosfera Los Tuxtlas (RBLT), a partir de imágenes LANDSAT de 1995, 2006 y 2016. Las cuales fueron rectificadas y clasificadas de acuerdo a los tipos de cobertura y uso de suelo, cada una se analizó con métricas de paisaje mediante el software FRAGSTATS 3.3. Para el 2016, el 60% del paisaje corresponde a perfil agropecuario, con 95% de agregación y densidad de matriz del 0.9; el acahual constituye el 11.39% del paisaje y está compuesto por 6 242 fragmentos, con cobertura dispersa y desagregada, con densidad de 4.05; selva/bosque mesofilo de montaña (BMM) representa el 27% del paisaje con 2 141 fragmentos, 94.9% de agregación y densidad de matriz de 1.38. La selva/BMM es la cobertura con mayor índice de conectividad por lo que se deben realizar acciones para conservar estas áreas e incluso incrementar su superficie, mientras que los acahuales están en proceso de sucesión ecológica y se deben identificar los acahuales que están transitando a selva, para canalizar estos predios como áreas privadas de conservación. La RBLT, está incrementando la cobertura de selva/BMM, acahual y manglar y disminuyendo la matriz agropecuaria, lo que conlleva a la conservación de la biodiversidad.

Aberrant glycosylation of tumor cells is recognized as a universal hallmark of cancer pathogenesis. Overexpression of fucosylated epitopes, such as type I (H1, Lewisa, Lewisb, and sialyl Lewisa) and type II (H2, Lewisx, Lewisy, and sialyl Lewisx) Lewis antigens, frequently occurs on the cancer cell surface and is mainly attributed to upregulated expression of pertinent fucosyltransferases (FUTs). Nevertheless, the impact of fucose-containing moieties on tumor cell biology is not fully elucidated yet. Here, we review the relevance of tumor-overexpressed FUTs and their respective synthesized Lewis determinants in critical aspects associated with cancer progression, such as increased cell survival and proliferation, tissue invasion and metastasis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, epithelial and immune cell interaction, angiogenesis, multidrug resistance, and cancer stemness. Furthermore, we discuss the potential use of enhanced levels of fucosylation as glycan biomarkers for early prognosis, diagnosis, and disease monitoring in cancer patients.

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission being considered by NASA has, as one of its main objectives, to measure ocean topography with centimeter scale accuracy over kilometer scale spatial resolution. This paper investigates the impact of ocean waves on SWOT’s projected performance. Several effects will be examined: volumetric decorrelation, aliasing of ocean waves, backscattering modulation, and the so-called surfboard sampling.

Fasciola hepatica, also known as the liver fluke, is a trematode that infects livestock and humans causing fasciolosis, a zoonotic disease of increasing importance due to its worldwide distribution and high economic losses. This parasite immunoregulates the host immune system by inducing a strong Th2 and regulatory T immune response by immunomodulating dendritic cell (DC) maturation and alternative activation of macrophages. In this paper, we show that F. hepatica infection in mice induces the upregulation of heme-oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of free heme that regulates the host inflammatory response. We show and characterize two different populations of antigen presenting cells that express HO-1 during infection in the peritoneum of infected animals. Cells that expressed high levels of HO-1 expressed intermediate levels of F4/80 but high expression of CD11c, CD38, TGFβ, and IL-10 suggesting that they correspond to regulatory DCs. On the other hand, cells expressing intermediate levels of HO-1 expressed high levels of F4/80, CD68, Ly6C, and FIZZ-1, indicating that they might correspond to alternatively activated macrophages. Furthermore, the pharmacological induction of HO-1 with the synthetic metalloporphyrin CoPP promoted F. hepatica infection increasing the clinical signs associated with the disease. In contrast, treatment with the HO-1 inhibitor SnPP protected mice from parasite infection, indicating that HO-1 plays an essential role during F. hepatica infection. Finally, HO-1 expression during F. hepatica infection was associated with TGFβ and IL-10 levels in liver and peritoneum, suggesting that HO-1 controls the expression of these immunoregulatory cytokines during infection favoring parasite survival in the host. These results contribute to the elucidation of the immunoregulatory mechanisms induced by F. hepatica in the host and provide alternative checkpoints to control fasciolosis.

En la región de las Américas, la fiebre causada por el virus chikungunya, ha sido notificada recientemente. Al ser una enfermedad emergente y ante la presencia del mosquito transmisor, el Aedes aegypti, en Cuba y casi toda el área geográfica, resulta necesario su prevención y control, para evitar que se registren brotes de la misma. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de los principales artículos publicados sobre el tema, resumiendo los aspectos fundamentales de este problema de salud.