The simulation scenarios are increasingly being used to assess professional competences in health sciences at university level. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of differences in ...the stress psychophysiological response of Psychology degree students from Spain and Colombia undergoing to clinical practice. Multiple psychophysiological measures were obtained in a sample of 25 Colombian and Spanish Psychology students undergoing to simulation scenario. Differences in the initial level of stress and habituation process as reported by self-reported and psychophysiological measurements as discussed. Differences in stress-related psychological traits are also analyzed and further discussed.
•We use a novel triple bottom line / water-energy-food nexus methodology.•We evaluate sustainability of desalination for agriculture in San Quintín, Mexico.•Energy subsidies play a key role in making ...desalination economically viable.•Desalination and other technologies have intensified labor migration and water use.•Desalination is currently unsustainable, but with potential for policy intervention.
This paper introduces a novel triple bottom line sustainability assessment to evaluate the water-energy-food nexus of desalination for agriculture. Falling technology costs and rising water scarcity worldwide make desalination an increasingly attractive proposition, and agriculture is one of the main sectors grappling with its potential impacts. To explore this issue, we combine a wide range of primary and secondary environmental, economic, and social data with a triple bottom line / WEF nexus analysis, to demonstrate both the holistic sustainability impacts of desalination for agriculture, and the multi-sectoral policy environment within which desalination is adopted. We apply this approach to 54 privately-owned desalination plants that treat brackish groundwater for agricultural use in the San Quintín Valley of Baja California, Mexico. We find that subsidized energy for local agribusinesses plays an important role in making desalination economically viable in the region. This in turn fuels a large agricultural export industry that represents a significant virtual water transfer to the US market. Rapid population growth in the area driven by agricultural labor needs exacerbates the issues of social equity and sustainability that these subsidies and transfers raise. We conclude with a discussion of how to manage these identified trade-offs across the water-energy-food nexus.
Abstract
Background
Disrupted pre-mRNA splicing is a frequent deleterious mechanism in hereditary cancer. We aimed to functionally analyze candidate spliceogenic variants of the breast cancer ...susceptibility gene CHEK2 by splicing reporter minigenes.
Methods
A total of 128 CHEK2 splice-site variants identified in the Breast Cancer After Diagnostic Gene Sequencing (BRIDGES) project (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/634935) were analyzed with MaxEntScan and subsetted to 52 variants predicted to impact splicing. Three CHEK2 minigenes, which span all 15 exons, were constructed and validated. The 52 selected variants were then genetically engineered into the minigenes and assayed in MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cells.
Results
Of 52 variants, 46 (88.5%) impaired splicing. Some of them led to complex splicing patterns with up to 11 different transcripts. Thirty-four variants induced splicing anomalies without any trace or negligible amounts of the full-length transcript. A total of 89 different transcripts were annotated, which derived from different events: single- or multi-exon skipping, alternative site-usage, mutually exclusive exon inclusion, intron retention or combinations of the abovementioned events. Fifty-nine transcripts were predicted to introduce premature termination codons, 7 kept the original open-reading frame, 5 removed the translation start codon, 6 affected the 5′UTR (Untranslated Region), and 2 included missense variations. Analysis of variant c.684-2A > G revealed the activation of a non-canonical TG-acceptor site and exon 6 sequences critical for its recognition.
Conclusions
Incorporation of minigene read-outs into an ACMG/AMP (American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics/Association for Molecular Pathology)-based classification scheme allowed us to classify 32 CHEK2 variants (27 pathogenic/likely pathogenic and 5 likely benign). However, 20 variants (38%) remained of uncertain significance, reflecting in part the complex splicing patterns of this gene.
A way to obtain graphene-based materials on a large-scale level is by means of chemical methods for the oxidation of graphite to obtain graphene oxide (GO), in combination with thermal, laser, ...chemical and electrochemical reduction methods to produce reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Among these methods, thermal and laser-based reduction processes are attractive, due to their fast and low-cost characteristics. In this study, first a modified Hummer's method was applied to obtain graphite oxide (GrO)/graphene oxide. Subsequently, an electrical furnace, a fusion instrument, a tubular reactor, a heating plate, and a microwave oven were used for the thermal reduction, and UV and CO
lasers were used for the photothermal and/or photochemical reduction. The chemical and structural characterizations of the fabricated rGO samples were performed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy measurements. The analysis and comparison of the results revealed that the strongest feature of the thermal reduction methods is the production of high specific surface area, fundamental for volumetric energy applications such as hydrogen storage, whereas in the case of the laser reduction methods, a highly localized reduction is achieved, ideal for microsupercapacitors in flexible electronics.
•Mn based mineral OXMN010A show good mechanical properties and good reactivity.•Mn based mineral OXMN010A do not present CLOU properties.•The lifetime of OXMN010A is higher than other natural ...materials studied so far.•The Mn based waste mineral is considered a suitable to be used in iG-CLC.
In Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC), the Oxygen Carrier (OC) is key element of the process. Most OCs have been developed synthetically, using an active metal oxide combined with an inert material. When solid fuels are used, a loss of OC is expected as it mixes with the ashes generated during the CLC process making the costs elevated. As a result, there is a growing interest in using low-cost OCs based in Mn and Fe.
In this research, a by-product derived from manganese ore purification is studied. This material has a high silicon content and it is composed of rhodonite as the main specie and wustite as the minority specie. The material, a Mn mineral from the Nariño department in the Southwest of Colombia, was selected in a previous work based on its good properties such as appropriate crushing strength, an oxygen transport capacity of 3.4%, and a relatively high reactivity.
Here, tests in a batch fluidized bed reactor were carried out with the selected material with CH4, CO, and H2 at 950 °C during 50 cycles. A good behaviour was observed with CO and H2, with a moderate attrition, and lifetime of 2950 h. The material presented a trend towards agglomerating with CH4, and no agglomeration with CO and H2. The possible oxygen uncoupling effect due to the presence of combined oxides of manganese and silicon was also evaluated, but there was no evidence in the 950–1040 °C interval when the material was oxidized with a 10 vol% O2.
Due to its good performance with CO and H2, the material was evaluated for the in-situ Gasification Chemical Looping Combustion (iG-CLC) technology, using a Chilean reactive coal as fuel at temperatures from 900 °C to 1000 °C.
Its good behaviour with H2 and CO makes it a promising OC for iG-CLC technology.
Tooth extractions can result in alveolar bone dimensional changes, necessitating additional bone grafting for implant placement. Alveolar Ridge Preservation (ARP) aims to counteract post-extraction ...changes. This study evaluates the bone regenerative properties of a freeze-dried bone allograft (FDBA) and the clinical outcomes of implants in grafted extraction sites.
This case series enrolled 33 patients undergoing single/multiple tooth extractions followed by ARP. Biopsies were harvested during implant placement for histologic and histomorphometric analysis. Clinical outcomes included marginal bone loss and Pink Esthetic Score (PES).
25 patients completed the study. FDBA augmented sockets exhibited new bone formation adjacent to graft particles. Implants (n=25) showed 100% survival and success rates at 1 and 2 years. PES improved significantly over time (p<.001), while marginal bone loss did not significantly differ at 1 and 2 years (p=.096). Specimens showed trabecular bone, residual FDBA particles, and marrow spaces. High magnification revealed immature bone and woven bone bridges around graft particles. No inflammatory cells were observed.
The case series provides valuable insights into ARP performed with FDBA; implants were placed after 3 months of healing without any additional bone augmentation, the histologic outcomes were favorable, and implants were successful after a 2-year period of follow-up.
Controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) has emerged as one of the main strategies for increasing the organ donor pool. Because of the ischemic injury that follows the withdrawal of ...life-sustaining therapies, hearts from cDCD donors have not been considered for transplantation until recently. The ex-situ perfusion of hearts directly procured from cDCD donors has been used to allow the continuous perfusion of the organ and the assessment of myocardial viability prior to transplantation. Based on our experience with abdominal normothermic regional perfusion in cDCD, we designed a protocol to recover and validate hearts from cDCD donors using thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion without the utilization of an ex-situ device.
We describe the first case of a cDCD heart transplant performed with this approach in Spain. The donor was a 43-year-old asthmatic female diagnosed with severe hypoxic encephalopathy. She was considered a potential cDCD donor and a suitable candidate for multiorgan procurement including the heart via thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion. The heart recipient was a 60-year-old male diagnosed with amyloid cardiomyopathy. Cold ischemia time was 55 min. The surgery was uneventful.
This case report, the first of its kind in Spain, supports the feasibility of evaluating and successfully transplanting cDCD hearts without the need for ex-situ perfusion based on the use of thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion opening the way for multiorgan donation in cDCD.
Context: The presence of familial history in pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma patients, including syndromic antecedents, leads in the majority of cases to a positive genetic testing for mutations in ...one of the major susceptibility genes described so far. Furthermore, it has been reported that in the absence of familial antecedents, about 11–24% of patients also carry a mutation in one of these related genes. In these cases, other clinical aspects like bilaterality, multiplicity, location of the tumors, or age at onset can help to recognize the underlying genes involved.
Objective: The objective of the study was to discuss clinical criteria helpful in the genetic diagnosis, placing special emphasis on apparently sporadic cases.
Design: Two hundred thirty-seven nonrelated probands were analyzed for the major susceptibility genes: VHL, RET, SDHB, SDHC, and SDHD. Genetic characterization included both point mutation analysis and gross deletions in the SDH genes performed by multiplex PCR.
Results: As expected, all syndromic probands were genetically diagnosed with a mutation affecting either RET or VHL. A total of 79.1% (19 of 24) and 18.4% (31 of 168) of patients presenting with either nonsyndromic familial antecedents or apparently sporadic presentation were found to carry a mutation in one of the susceptibility genes. Finally, we found a Spanish founder effect for two mutations: SDHB c.166_170delCCTCA and SDHD c.129G>A.
Conclusions: Germline mutations are rare in apparently sporadic probands diagnosed after age 40 yr (3.9% in our series) and mainly involve SDHB. Therefore, we recommend prioritizing SDHB genetic testing in patients developing isolated tumors at any age, especially those with extraadrenal location or malignant behavior.
SDHB genetic testing should be a priority in patients developing isolated pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas at any age.
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Lanthanide-doped up-converting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have emerged as promising biomedical tools in recent years. Most research efforts were devoted to the synthesis of inorganic cores ...with the optimal physicochemical properties. However, the careful design of UCNPs with the adequate surface coating to optimize their biological performance still remains a significant challenge. Here, we propose the functionalization of UCNPs with four distinct types of surface coatings, which were compared in terms of the provided colloidal stability and resistance to degradation in different biological-relevant media, including commonly avoided analysis in acidic lysosomal-mimicking fluids. Moreover, the influence of the type of particle surface coating on cell cytotoxicity and endocytosis/exocytosis was also evaluated. The obtained results demonstrated that the functionalization of UCNPs with poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) grafted with dodecylamine (PMA-g-dodecyl) constitutes an outstanding strategy for their subsequent biomedical application, whereas poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) coating, although suitable for colloidal stability purposes, hinders extensive cell internalization. Conversely, surface coating with small ligand were found not to be suitable, leading to large degradation degrees of UCNPs. The analysis of particle’ behavior in different biological media and in vitro conditions here performed pretends to help researchers to improve the design and implementation of UCNPs as theranostic nanotools.
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