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Abstract Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a prominent class of eukaryotic regulatory genes. Despite the numerous available transcriptomic datasets, the annotation of plant lncRNAs remains based on dated annotations that have been historically carried over. We present a substantially improved annotation of Arabidopsis thaliana lncRNAs, generated by integrating 224 transcriptomes in multiple tissues, conditions, and developmental stages. We annotate 6764 lncRNA genes, including 3772 that are novel. We characterize their tissue expression patterns and find 1425 lncRNAs are co-expressed with coding genes, with enriched functional categories such as chloroplast organization, photosynthesis, RNA regulation, transcription, and root development. This improved transcription-guided annotation constitutes a valuable resource for studying lncRNAs and the biological processes they may regulate.

Anterior tibiofemoral dislocation after total knee arthroplasty is an extremely rare and serious event. Amongst English-published papers, we found only 15 relevant cases, 3 of which presented vascular complications. This manuscript aims to present a 77-year-old woman with a TC-Plus (Smith & Nephew) cruciate-retaining type in first time of knee prosthesis, who suffered an anterior tibiofemoral dislocation and were admitted to our hospital. The clinical management and outcome were evaluated. Furthermore, a review of literature was performed. We concluded that early detection and surgical intervention of vascular injury is the key in the survival of the limbs. If there is still knee instability after acute recovery, it seems that revision surgery with constrained total knee arthroplasty can bring about good clinical and functional results.

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to analyze the shoulder functional profile (rotation range of motion [ROM] and strength), upper and lower body performance, and throwing speed of U13 versus U15 male handball players, and to establish the relationship between these measures of physical fitness and throwing speed. Methods One-hundred and nineteen young male handball players (under (U)-13 (U13) [n = 85]) and U15 [n = 34]) volunteered to participate in this study. The participating athletes had a mean background of sytematic handball training of 5.5 ± 2.8 years and they exercised on average 540 ± 10.1 min per week including sport-specific team handball training and strength and conditioning programs. Players were tested for passive shoulder range-of-motion (ROM) for both internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) and isometric strength (i.e., IR and ER) of the dominant/non-dominant shoulders, overhead medicine ball throw (OMB), hip isometric abductor (ABD) and adductor (ADD) strength, hip ROM, jumps (countermovement jump [CMJ] and triple leg-hop [3H] for distance), linear sprint test, modified 505 change-of-direction (COD) test and handball throwing speed (7 m [HT7] and 9 m [HT9]). Results U15 players outperformed U13 in upper (i.e., HT7 and HT9 speed, OMB, absolute IR and ER strength of the dominant and non-dominant sides; Cohen’s d: 0.76–2.13) and lower body (i.e., CMJ, 3H, 20-m sprint and COD, hip ABD and ADD; d: 0.70–2.33) performance measures. Regarding shoulder ROM outcomes, a lower IR ROM was found of the dominant side in the U15 group compared to the U13 and a higher ER ROM on both sides in U15 (d: 0.76–1.04). It seems that primarily anthropometric characteristics (i.e., body height, body mass) and upper body strength/power (OMB distance) are the most important factors that explain the throw speed variance in male handball players, particularly in U13. Conclusions Findings from this study imply that regular performance monitoring is important for performance development and for minimizing injury risk of the shoulder in both age categories of young male handball players. Besides measures of physical fitness, anthropometric data should be recorded because handball throwing performance is related to these measures.

A series of Nb2O5 solid catalysts have been prepared to be used for the catalytic dehydration of glucose and sugars from algae Chlorella sp. into added value furans. The glucose transformation gave rise to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). Chlorella sp. was used in the same catalytic conditions to be valorised to furans. By preliminary studies we concluded that the algae aqueous suspension needed a previous treatment in the presence of SiO2 pellets to liberate the carbohydrates that in the catalytic reaction in the presence of Nb2O5 materials gave rise 5-HMF and furfural. The best operative conditions and Nb2O5 catalysts were individuated. The most performant Nb2O5 catalyst also showed an excellent reusability without deactivation. The selectivity to furans was related to the acidity of the solid used as catalyst.

Higher education opens doors to job enhancement and economic benefits to adult learners. Despite facing multiple barriers such as life–work–school time conflicts and financial constraints, adult learners continue to seek higher education and certifications. Rural employers also benefit from supporting degree completion or job-specific certifications because it allows them to attract and retain highly skilled employees. The goal of the current study was to qualitatively analyze data gathered from focus group interviews of senior managers. The results provide insights into how rural employers in the United States use employee education programs to reduce barriers to adult learner success. The importance of a bilateral relationship between institutions of higher education and employers to support adult learners is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer is a public health problem requiring ongoing research to improve current treatments and discover novel therapies. More accurate imaging would facilitate such research. Near-infrared fluorescence has been developed as a non-invasive imaging technique capable of visualizing and measuring biological processes at the molecular level in living subjects. In this work, we evaluate the tumor activity in two preclinical glioblastoma models by using fluorochrome (IRDye 800CW) coupled to different molecules: tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), and polyethylene glycol (PEG). These molecules interact with pathological conditions of tumors, including their overexpression of αvβ3 integrins (RGD), elevated glucose uptake (2-DG), and enhanced permeability and retention effect (PEG). IRDye 800CW RGD gave the best in vivo fluorescence signal from the tumor area, which contrasted well with the low fluorescence intensity of healthy tissue. In the ex vivo imaging (dissected tumor), the accumulation of IRDye 800CW RGD could be appreciated at the tumor site. Glioblastoma tumors were presently detected with specificity and sensitivity by utilizing IRDye 800CW RGD, a near-infrared fluorophore combined with a marker of αvβ3 integrin expression. Further research is needed on its capacity to monitor tumor growth in glioblastoma after chemotherapy.

Although cisplatin is an effective chemotherapy drug used against many types of cancer, it has poor bioavailability, produces severe adverse effects, and frequently leads to tumor resistance. Consequently, more effective formulations are needed. The co-administration of cisplatin with mifepristone, which counters an efflux pump drug-resistance mechanism in tumor cells, has shown important synergism, but without resolving the problem of poor bioavailability. Specificity to tumor tissue and bioavailability have been improved by co-encapsulating cisplatin and mifepristone in a liposomal formulation (L-Cis/MF), which needs further research to complete pre-clinical requirements. The aim of this current contribution was to conduct a pharmacokinetic study of cisplatin and mifepristone in male Wistar rats after administration of L-Cis/MF and the conventional (unencapsulated) formulation. Additionally, the capacity of L-Cis/MF to reduce tumor growth in male nude mice was evaluated following the implantation of xenografts of non-small-cell lung cancer. The better pharmacokinetics (higher plasma concentration) of cisplatin and mifepristone when injected in the liposomal versus the conventional formulation correlated with greater efficacy in controlling tumor growth. Future research on L-Cis/MF will characterize its molecular mechanisms and apply it to other types of cancer affected by the synergism of cisplatin and mifepristone.

Endolithic microorganisms, ranging from microeukaryotes to bacteria and archaea, live within the cracks and crevices of rocks. Deception Island in Antarctica constitutes an extreme environment in which endoliths face environmental threats such as intense cold, lack of light in winter, high solar radiation in summer, and heat emitted as the result of volcanic eruptions. In addition, the endolithic biome is considered the harshest one on Earth, since it suffers added threats such as dryness or lack of nutrients. Even so, samples from this hostile environment, collected at various points throughout the island, hosted diverse and numerous microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, diatoms, ciliates, flagellates and unicellular algae. These endoliths were first identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). To understand the molecular mechanisms of adaptation of these endoliths to their environment, genomics techniques were used, and prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were identified by metabarcoding, sequencing the V3–V4 and V4–V5 regions of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes, respectively. Subsequently, the sequences were analyzed by bioinformatic methods that allow their metabolism to be deduced from the taxonomy. The results obtained concluded that some of these microorganisms have activated the biosynthesis routes of pigments such as prodigiosin or flavonoids. These adaptation studies also revealed that microorganisms defend themselves against environmental toxins by activating metabolic pathways for the degradation of compounds such as ethylbenzene, xylene and dioxins and for the biosynthesis of antioxidant molecules such as glutathione. Finally, these Antarctic endolithic microorganisms are of great interest in astrobiology since endolithic settings are environmentally analogous to the primitive Earth or the surfaces of extraterrestrial bodies.

Introduction: Vascular access (VA) remains a major source of morbidity for hemodialysis patients (HD). Few data sources adequately capture longitudinal patency of the VA. This study aimed to evaluate VA failure and its related factors in HD patients. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 985 incident hemodialysis patients treated in clinics of BRCS in Colombia, from January 1rst ,2016, until December 3 of the same year, was done. The cohort's enrollment was on day 1 of HD, and with follow-up for up to 15 months. Association among a group of independent variables and time to failure of the VA was performed, and adjusted by baseline variables using a Cox regression model. Results: A total of 985 patients were included in the study, requiring 1774 procedures of vascular access during follow-up. The mean age was 61 ± 15.6 years. At day 1, 15% were dialyzing with an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or AVG; and at day 90, this proportion had increased to 70%. The rate of vascular access procedure was 1.95 per patients-year, 95% CI 1.86-2.04. The rate of vascular access failure was 0.66 per patients-year, 95% CI 0.61–0.72. Risk factors for failure in AVF/AVG were age > 65 (p= 0.008), diabetes (p= 0.019), female sex (p= 0.002) rural housing (p

Background. The accuracy of the measurement of renal function in potential living kidney donors (PLKD) is essential. The direct measurement of glomerular filtration rate (mGFR) has been considered the “gold standard.” The estimated GFR (eGFR) with 24-hour urinary creatinine clearance (CrCl) is frequently used because of its availability. We aim to evaluate the correlation and agreement of eGFR using serum-based creatinine formulas (Cockcroft–Gault, MDRD, and CKD-EPI) and the eGFR based on 24-hour urinary CrCl to evaluate kidney function in PLKD. Methods. We evaluated the kidney function in 799 PLKD using 24-hour urinary CrCl method and compared the correlation and agreement with the eGFR based on creatinine formulas (Cockcroft–Gault, MDRD, and CKD-EPI). We calculated the mean bias (difference), precision (SD of this difference), accuracy, and performed Bland–Altman plots. Results. A total of 799 PLKD were analyzed. The age of the PLKD ranged from 18 to 73 years. Weak to mild correlation was observed between 24-hour urinary CrCl and all formulas (ranged from 0.31 to 0.49). The three equations underestimated the GFR. Using the Bland–Altman graphic, we observed that the CKD-EPI was the least scattered and most precise; however, mean bias and the interval range (limits of agreement) of all formulas were too big to assume equivalence between 24-hour urinary CrCl method and eGFR based on creatinine. Results of mean bias were similar when comparing the three equations in patients with CrCl GFR

Over the last years, perennial ice deposits located within caves have awakened interest as places to study microbial communities since they represent unique cryospheric archives of climate change. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the temperature has gradually increased, and it is estimated that by the end of this century the increase in average temperature could be around 4.0°C. In this context of global warming the ice deposits of the Pyrenean caves are undergoing a significant regression. Among this type of caves, that on the Cotiella Massif in the Southern Pyrenees is one of the southernmost studied in Europe. These types of caves house microbial communities which have so far been barely explored, and therefore their study is necessary. In this work, the microbial communities of the Pyrenean ice cave A294 were identified using metabarcoding techniques. In addition, research work was carried out to analyze how the age and composition of the ice affect the composition of the bacterial and microeukaryotic populations. Finally, the in vivo effect of climate change on the cellular machinery that allow microorganisms to live with increasing temperatures has been studied using proteomic techniques.

Contexto: el rechazo crónico mediado por anticuerpos (cABMR, chronic antibody-mediated rejection) se considera una de las principales causas de disfunción crónica del injerto. Objetivo: profundizar en la comprensión de los mecanismos que la ocasionan para diseñar tratamientos efectivos, dado que es muy poco lo que se ha avanzado en el tratamiento de esta patología. Metodología: en esta revisión narrativa de la literatura, presentamos los factores de riesgo relacionados con la disfunción crónica del injerto, haciendo énfasis en la fisiopatología, el diagnóstico y el tratamiento del cABMR. Resultados: el factor de riesgo más relevante para el desarrollo de disfunción crónica del injerto es el desarrollo de anticuerpos donante específicos (DSA) y ABMR. Para el diagnóstico de cABMR activo, se requieren los criterios de Banff 2017 (los tres deben estar presentes: Evidencia histológica de lesión tisular crónica, evidencia de inflamación actual en el endotelio vascular ocasionada por anticuerpos y evidencia serológica de DSA. El cABMR no tiene un tratamiento efectivo. Conclusiones: dado que cABMR no tiene un tratamiento efectivo, es importante disminuir la exposición a los factores de riesgo y hacer un diagnóstico y un tratamiento oportuno de los eventos agudos de lesión renal que contribuyen a la progresión de disfunción crónica del injerto.

IntroductionKidney transplantation is the best therapeutical option for CKD patients. Graft loss risk factors are usually estimated with the cox method. Competing risk analysis could be useful to determine the impact of different events affecting graft survival, the occurrence of an outcome of interest can be precluded by another. We aimed to determine the risk factors for graft loss in the presence of mortality as a competing event.MethodsA retrospective cohort of 1454 kidney transplant recipients who were transplanted between July 1, 2008, to May 31, 2019, in Colombiana de Trasplantes, were analyzed to determine risk factors of graft loss and mortality at 5 years post-transplantation. Kidney and patient survival probabilities were estimated by the competing risk analysis. The Fine and Gray method was used to fit a multivariable model for each outcome. Three variable selection methods were compared, and the bootstrapping technique was used for internal validation as split method for resample. The performance of the final model was assessed calculating the prediction error, brier score, c-index and calibration plot.ResultsGraft loss occurred in 169 patients (11.6%) and death in 137 (9.4%). Cumulative incidence for graft loss and death was 15.8% and 13.8% respectively. In a multivariable analysis, we found that BKV nephropathy, serum creatinine and increased number of renal biopsies were significant risk factors for graft loss. On the other hand, recipient age, acute cellular rejection, CMV disease were risk factors for death, and recipients with living donor had better survival compared to deceased-donor transplant and coronary stent. The c-index were 0.6 and 0.72 for graft loss and death model respectively.ConclusionWe developed two prediction models for graft loss and death 5 years post-transplantation by a unique transplant program in Colombia. Using a competing risk multivariable analysis, we were able to identify 3 significant risk factors for graft loss and 5 significant risk factors for death. This contributes to have a better understanding of risk factors for graft loss in a Latin-American population. The predictive performance of the models was mild.

Abstract Background Adolescence and young adulthood is a risk period for the emergence of mental disorders. There is strong evidence that psychotherapeutic interventions are effective for most mental disorders. However, very little is known about which of the different psychotherapeutic treatment modalities are effective for whom. This large systematic review aims to address this critical gap within the literature on non-specific predictors and moderators of the outcomes of psychotherapeutic interventions among adolescents and young adults with mental disorders. Methods The protocol is being reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) Statement. PubMed and PsycINFO databases will be searched for randomized controlled and quasi-experimental/naturalistic clinical trials. Risk of bias of all included studies will be assessed by the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The quality of predictor and moderator variables will be also assessed. A narrative synthesis will be conducted for all included studies. Discussion This systematic review will strengthen the evidence base on effective mental health interventions for young people, being the first to explore predictors and moderators of outcome of psychotherapeutic interventions for a wide range of mental disorders in young people. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020166756 .

Introducción: el síndrome de intolerancia es un proceso inflamatorio que ocurre hasta en un tercio de los pacientes con pérdida del injerto. Cuando no se obtiene una mejoría de los síntomas con el manejo médico, se indica la realización de nefrectomía del riñón trasplantado, sin embargo, este es un procedimiento invasivo que puede estar asociado a mayor morbilidad y mortalidad. Dada la fragilidad de estos pacientes, se plantea la embolización transcatéter del injerto como una alternativa válida y menos invasiva para el tratamiento de este síndrome. Objetivo: describir el uso de la embolización transcatéter como tratamiento al síndrome de intolerancia del injerto. Presentación del caso: se reportan tres casos clínicos de pacientes con sintomatología de entre 15 y 20 días de evolución, consistentes en dolor y tumefacción sobre riñón trasplantado y otros signos y síntomas reportados fueron fiebre, hiporexia, pérdida de peso y hematuria macroscópica. Se describe la evolución de los síntomas que en ninguno de los casos expuestos tuvieron mejoría con el ajuste inmunosupresor, descartando en todos los casos etiología infecciosa y estableciéndose así la sospecha síndrome de intolerancia del injerto. Los pacientes fueron manejados con embolización transcatéter de la arteria del riñón trasplantado y el éxito del tratamiento se definió por la resolución de los síntomas. Discusión y conclusión: entre las primeras 24-48 horas posprocedimiento, los pacientes presentaron una evolución satisfactoria y, finalmente, egreso. La embolización transcatéter del injerto es una alternativa segura a la nefrectomía del trasplante y que es menos invasiva para el tratamiento del síndrome de intolerancia del injerto.

Multiple biological processes rely on direct intercellular interactions to regulate cell proliferation and migration in embryonic development and cancer processes. Tumor development and growth depends on close interactions between cancer cells and cells in the tumor microenvironment. During embryonic development, morphogenetic signals and direct cell contacts control cell proliferation, polarity, and morphogenesis. Cancer cells communicate with cells in the tumor niche through molecular signals and intercellular contacts, thereby modifying the vascular architecture and antitumor surveillance processes and consequently enabling tumor growth and survival. While looking for cell-to-cell signaling mechanisms that are common to both brain development and cancer progression, we have studied the infiltration process in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which is the most malignant primary brain tumor and with the worst prognosis. Cell-to-cell contacts, by means of filopodia-like structures, between GBM cells and brain pericytes (PCs) are necessary for adequate cell signaling during cancer infiltration; similarly, contacts between embryonic regions, via cytonemes, are required for embryo regionalization and development. This GBM–PC interaction provokes two important changes in the physiological function of these perivascular cells, namely, (i) vascular co-option with changes in cell contractility and vascular malformation, and (ii) changes in the PC transcriptome, modifying the microvesicles and protein secretome, which leads to the development of an immunosuppressive phenotype that promotes tumor immune tolerance. Moreover, the GTPase Cdc42 regulates cell polarity across organisms, from yeast to humans, playing a central role in GBM cell–PC interaction and maintaining vascular co-option. As such, a review of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of the physical interactions between cancer cells and PCs is of particular interest.

No Abstracct

Glaciers constitute a polyextremophilic environment characterized by low temperatures, high solar radiation, a lack of nutrients, and low water availability. However, glaciers located in volcanic regions have special characteristics, since the volcanic foci provide them with heat and nutrients that allow the growth of microbial communities highly adapted to this environment. Most of the studies on these glacial ecosystems have been carried out in volcanic environments in the northern hemisphere, including Iceland and the Pacific Northwest. To better know, the microbial diversity of the underexplored glacial ecosystems and to check what their specific characteristics were, we studied the structure of bacterial communities living in volcanic glaciers in Deception Island, Antarctica, and in the Kamchatka peninsula. In addition to geographic coordinates, many other glacier environmental factors (like volcanic activity, altitude, temperature, pH, or ice chemical composition) that can influence the diversity and distribution of microbial communities were considered in this study. Finally, using their taxonomic assignments, an attempt was made to compare how different or similar are the biogeochemical cycles in which these microbiomes are involved.

Introduction: The percentage of foreign-born residents in Spain has multiplied almost fourfold over the last decade. Immigration has changed our society, both from a demographic and economic perspective, and from a cultural and political prospective. The Spanish public library network, a democratic institution that provides services, initially, of equal access for all users, may become in this context a bonding tool and contribute to the social integration of individuals and groups with plural cultural identities. Method: Assuming international recommendations as a reference point, we have made a comparison of the evolution in the development of multicultural library services in Spanish public libraries during 2007-2010. Results: The study is based on data provided by the respective organisms responsible of coordinating of library services in the Spanish regional administrations. The data analysis followed the guideline framework provided by IFLA's Section for Library Services to Multicultural Populations. Conclusions: The planning of library services with a multicultural approach is still ignored by the majority of the librarian coordinators in the respective regional administrations in Spain. Despite our transformation into a multicultural society and the ever-growing percentage of foreign population during the analysed period, the development of such services shows similar levels of diversity as in 2007. (Contains 8 figures.)

Giant exoplanets have been directly imaged over orders of magnitude of orbital separations, prompting theoretical and observational investigations of their formation pathways. In this paper, we present new VLTI/GRAVITY astrometric data of HIP 65426 b, a cold, giant exoplanet which is a particular challenge for most formation theories at a projected separation of 92 au from its primary. Leveraging GRAVITY’s astrometric precision, we present an updated eccentricity posterior that disfavors large eccentricities. The eccentricity posterior is still prior dependent, and we extensively interpret and discuss the limits of the posterior constraints presented here. We also perform updated spectral comparisons with self-consistent forward-modeled spectra, finding a best-fit ExoREM model with solar metallicity and C/O = 0.6. An important caveat is that it is difficult to estimate robust errors on these values, which are subject to interpolation errors as well as potentially missing model physics. Taken together, the orbital and atmospheric constraints paint a preliminary picture of formation inconsistent with scattering after disk dispersal. Further work is needed to validate this interpretation. Analysis code used to perform this work is available on GitHub: https://github.com/sblunt/hip65426 .

Tension remains between the observed and modeled properties of substellar objects, but objects in binary orbits, with known dynamical masses, can provide a way forward. HD 72946 B is a recently imaged brown dwarf companion to a nearby, solar-type star. We achieve ∼100 μ as relative astrometry of HD 72946 B in the K band using VLTI/GRAVITY, unprecedented for a benchmark brown dwarf. We fit an ensemble of measurements of the orbit using orbitize! and derive a strong dynamical mass constraint M _B = 69.5 ± 0.5 M _Jup assuming a strong prior on the host star mass M _A = 0.97 ± 0.01 M _⊙ from an updated stellar analysis. We fit the spectrum of the companion to a grid of self-consistent BT-Settl-CIFIST model atmospheres, and perform atmospheric retrievals using petitRADTRANS . A dynamical mass prior only marginally influences the sampled distribution of effective temperature, but has a large influence on the surface gravity and radius, as expected. The dynamical mass alone does not strongly influence retrieved pressure–temperature or cloud parameters within our current retrieval setup. Independently of the cloud prescription and prior assumptions, we find agreement within ±2 σ between the C/O of the host (0.52 ± 0.05) and brown dwarf (0.43–0.63), as expected from a molecular cloud collapse formation scenario, but our retrieved metallicities are implausibly high (0.6–0.8) in light of the excellent agreement of the data with the solar-abundance model grid. Future work on our retrieval framework will seek to resolve this tension. Additional study of low surface gravity objects is necessary to assess the influence of a dynamical mass prior on atmospheric analysis.

Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre la defensa, conservación y recuperación de semillas con el escalamiento de la agroecología. Mediante un diseño de estudio de caso cualitativo se recabó información en dos organizaciones locales en Colombia: Custodios de Semillas de Riosucio (departamento de Caldas) y la Red Agroecológica del Caribe o RECAR (departamentos de Córdoba y Sucre), ambas pertenecientes a la Red de Semillas Libres de Colombia (RSLC). El trabajo de campo se llevó a cabo entre 2016 y 2017, se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas y grupos focales con custodios y custodias de semillas, líderes comunitarios y especialistas de la temática. Algunos hallazgos indican que en los procesos de conservación, recuperación y defensa de semillas criollas y nativas, se establecen dos tipos de escalamiento de la agroecología: uno horizontal, por las actividades que vinculan los conocimientos, principios y prácticas entre los custodios de semillas, sus comunidades, las organizaciones y las redes en las que participan. Y un escalamiento profundo dado por 1) la custodia de semillas que genera y/o reafirma las identidades indígenas y campesinas en sus espacios vitales; 2) porque estos procesos de conservación, recuperación y defensa de semillas conforman un proceso multidimensional en lo técnico, político y simbólico que provee una revalorización cultural, regeneración ecológica y un reposicionamiento político-económico, y 3) el fortalecimiento del tejido social-organizativo a través de las acciones y estrategias colectivas que realizan en sus territorios para la defensa de las semillas nativas y criollas. Estos procesos propician las condiciones para el escalamiento de la agroecología y contribuyen a la construcción de la soberanía de semillas, lo que es un aspecto esencial en la lucha por preservar y reproducir las semillas criollas y nativas.

Heart failure constitutes a clinical complex syndrome with different symptomatic characteristics depending on age, sex, race and ethnicity, among others, which has become a major public health issue with an increasing prevalence. One of the most interesting tools seeking to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this pathology has focused on finding new molecular biomarkers since heart failure relies on deficient cardiac homeostasis, which is regulated by a strict gene expression. Therefore, currently, analyses of non-coding RNA transcriptomics have been oriented towards human samples. The present review develops a comparative study emphasizing the relevance of microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs as potential biomarkers in heart failure. Significantly, further studies in this field of research are fundamental to supporting their widespread clinical use. In this sense, the various methodologies used by the authors should be standardized, including larger cohorts, homogeneity of the samples and uniformity of the bioinformatic pipelines used to reach stratification and statistical significance of the results. These basic adjustments could provide promising steps to designing novel strategies for clinical management of patients with heart failure.

Cancer represents a very grave and quickly growing public health problem worldwide. Despite the breakthroughs in treatment and early detection of the disease, an increase is projected in the incidence rate and mortality during the next 30 years. Thus, it is important to develop new treatment strategies and diagnostic tools. One alternative is magnetic hyperthermia, a therapeutic approach that has shown promising results, both as monotherapy and in combination with chemo- and radiotherapy. However, there are still certain limitations and questions with respect to the safety of the systemic administration of magnetic nanoparticles. To deal with these issues, magnetoliposomes were conceived as a new generation of liposomes that incorporate superparamagnetic nanoparticles and oncological pharmaceuticals within their structure. They have the advantage of targeted and selective drug delivery to the diseased organs and tissues. Some of them can avoid the immune response of the host. When exposed to a magnetic field of alternating current, magnetoliposomes produce hyperthermia, which acts synergistically with the released drug. The aim of the present review is to describe the most recent advances in the use of magnetoliposomes and point out what research remains to be done for their application to chemo-thermal therapy in cancer patients.

Expressed emotion (EE) is an index of significant others’ attitudes, feelings, and behavior toward an identified patient. EE was originally conceptualized as a dichotomous summary index. Thus, a family member is rated low or high on how much criticism, hostility, and emotional overinvolvement (EOI) s/he expresses toward an identified patient. However, the lack of brief, valid measures is a drawback to assess EE. To cover this gap, the E5 was designed. The objective of this study is to provide psychometric properties of a recent measured in adolescents to be used to tap perceived high levels of EE. The sample was composed by 2,905 adolescents aged from 11–19years; 57% girls. Results demonstrate good factor structure, reliability, construct validity and invariance across gender and age revealed a good fit. As a result, E5 is a brief, valid and reliable measure for assessing expressed emotion in parents of adolescent children.

LIS1 is one of the principal genes related to Type I lissencephaly, a severe human brain malformation characterized by an abnormal neuronal migration in the cortex during embryonic development. This is clinically associated with epilepsy and cerebral palsy in severe cases, as well as a predisposition to developing mental disorders, in cases with a mild phenotype. Although genetic variations in the LIS1 gene have been associated with the development of schizophrenia, little is known about the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. We have studied how the Lis1 gene might cause deficits associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia using the Lis1/sLis1 murine model, which involves the deletion of the first coding exon of the Lis1 gene. Homozygous mice are not viable, but heterozygous animals present abnormal neuronal morphology, cortical dysplasia, and enhanced cortical excitability. We have observed reduced number of cells expressing GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) in the hippocampus and the anterior cingulate area, as well as fewer parvalbumin-expressing cells in the anterior cingulate cortex in Lis1/sLis1 mutants compared to control mice. The cFOS protein expression (indicative of neuronal activity) in Lis1/sLis1 mice was higher in the medial prefrontal (mPFC), perirhinal (PERI), entorhinal (ENT), ectorhinal (ECT) cortices, and hippocampus compared to control mice. Our results suggest that deleting the first coding exon of the Lis1 gene might cause cortical anomalies associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

To provide a temporal framework for the genoarchitecture of brain development, we generated in situ hybridization data for embryonic and postnatal mouse brain at seven developmental stages for ∼2,100 genes, which were processed with an automated informatics pipeline and manually annotated. This resource comprises 434,946 images, seven reference atlases, an ontogenetic ontology, and tools to explore coexpression of genes across neurodevelopment. Gene sets coinciding with developmental phenomena were identified. A temporal shift in the principles governing the molecular organization of the brain was detected, with transient neuromeric, plate-based organization of the brain present at E11.5 and E13.5. Finally, these data provided a transcription factor code that discriminates brain structures and identifies the developmental age of a tissue, providing a foundation for eventual genetic manipulation or tracking of specific brain structures over development. The resource is available as the Allen Developing Mouse Brain Atlas (http://developingmouse.brain-map.org).

In this research we have developed devices for hearing impaired people that can transmit the emotions evoked by music. In this way, we will all achieve the full inclusion of impairment people in all social activities. As this is an issue that goes beyond pure engineering research, it has been necessary to create a multidisciplinary group within the Spanish Centre for Captioning and Audio Description (CESyA), in direct collaboration with the Display and Photonic Applications Research Group (GDAF) and the Human Language and Accessibility Technologies Group (HULAT) of the Carlos III University (UC3M) and the Psychiatry and Applied Communication Departments of the Complutense University of Madrid. For this research, a pair of haptic gloves were developed, which transmit different characteristics extracted from music by means of vibrational sequences, intended to drive an emotional reinforcement. Another device, a "music box", a vibration box, was also developed from the idea of using vibration as an instrument. Overall, the acceptance of the glove was positive, with an 80% of users accepting the negative video, repeatedly stating in the surveys that they "felt more when the glove vibrated". The music box was also well received. Volunteers felt that the system gave them a pleasant sensation and that they could feel the music. However, some participants associated the vibration with the sensation of an alarm clock, which was expectedly negative. Considering the obtained EEG results, we can conclude that the integration of simple multimodal stimuli, visual and vibrotactile, helps to enhance the activation of emotional processes linked with musical stimulation. It can also be concluded that multimodal visual and vibrotactile stimulation enhances both attentional and emotional processes. These results pave the way for future developments that will allow a hearing-impaired person to fully enjoy an audiovisual event, which will have a great impact on this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In electric drives, the lifetime of the power electronics stage is strongly reduced by the command signals from the speed controller because the features of the power electronics stage are not included in the controller design. A reduction in the power electronics lifetime generates premature fault conditions during the operation of electric drives, which directly affects the industrial processes where the power electronic stage is used. Thus, power electronics stages for controllers are frequently overdesigned, which reduces their efficiency and increments their weight, size, and cost. Power electronics stages are generally designed using essential electronic devices, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) or metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) that have limited lifetimes. In electric drives, these power electronics components work under high switching frequencies to drive high electric power to achieve the desired mechanical references, such as speed and position in electric brushless dc motors. In this paper, we propose power electronics lifetime optimization and a faster speed response in a brushless dc motor drive by a fuzzy particle swarm optimization (Fuzzy-PSO) controller, which is a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) modified by PSO. Moreover, an objective function which includes the desired speed and the reference temperature is proposed. The proposed controller is compared with a conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller and FLC via co-simulation in Multisim and LabVIEW software. The results confirm that the Fuzzy-PSO has a superior speed performance and improves the lifetime in the power electronics stages. This proposal is an important contribution to industrial electric drives that require incrementing the power electronics lifetime.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a hematologic disorder characterized by the oncogene BCR-ABL1, which encodes an oncoprotein with tyrosine kinase activity. Imatinib, a BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, performs exceptionally well with minimal toxicity in CML chemotherapy. According to clinical trials, however, 20–30% of CML patients develop resistance to imatinib. Although the best studied resistance mechanisms are BCR-ABL1-dependent, P-glycoprotein (P-gp, a drug efflux transporter) may also contribute significantly. This study aimed to establish an imatinib-resistant human CML cell line, evaluate the role of P-gp in drug resistance, and assess the capacity of ketoconazole to reverse resistance by inhibiting P-gp. The following parameters were determined in both cell lines: cell viability (as the IC50) after exposure to imatinib and imatinib + ketoconazole, P-gp expression (by Western blot and immunofluorescence), the intracellular accumulation of a P-gp substrate (doxorubicin) by flow cytometry, and the percentage of apoptosis (by the Annexin method). In the highly resistant CML cell line obtained, P-gp was overexpressed, and the level of intracellular doxorubicin was low, representing high P-gp activity. Imatinib plus a non-toxic concentration of ketoconazole (10 μM) overcame drug resistance, inhibited P-gp overexpression and its efflux function, increased the intracellular accumulation of doxorubicin, and favored greater apoptosis of CML cells. P-gp contributes substantially to imatinib resistance in CML cells. Ketoconazole reversed CML cell resistance to imatinib by targeting P-gp-related pathways. The repurposing of ketoconazole for CML treatment will likely help patients resistant to imatinib.