During chronic liver disease, macrophages support angiogenesis, not only by secreting proangiogenic growth factors and matrix-remodeling proteases, but also by physically interacting with the ...sprouting vasculature to assist the formation of complex vascular networks. In the liver, macrophages acquire specific characteristics becoming Kupffer cells and working to ensure protection and immunotolerance. Angiogenesis is another double-edged sword in health and disease and it is the biggest ally of macrophages allowing its dissemination. Angiogenesis and fibrosis may occur in parallel in several tissues as macrophages co-localize with newly formed vessels and secrete cytokines, interleukins, and growth factors that will activate other cell types in the liver such as hepatic stellate cells and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, promoting extracellular matrix accumulation and fibrogenesis. Vascular endothelial growth factor, placental growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor are the leading secreted factors driving pathological angiogenesis and consequently increasing macrophage infiltration. Tumor development in the liver has been widely linked to macrophage-mediated chronic inflammation in which epidermal growth factors, STAT3 and NF-kβ are some of the most relevant signaling molecules involved. In this article, we review the link between macrophages and angiogenesis at molecular and cellular levels in chronic liver disease.
Labour exploitation has long been considered from two opposing perspectives, either as an omnipresent feature in the employment market or as an extreme occurrence in labour relationships. Recent ...studies, however, claim that exploitation can be better understood as a continuum of heterogeneous practices. Our paper contributes to this debate by focusing on the case of migrant workers in Spain. The main objective is to access and bring to the surface the 'hidden voices' of migrant workers employed in four sectors: agriculture, construction, domestic service and hospitality. Using in-depth interviews and focus groups has allowed us to go beyond the dominant narratives on the phenomenon by embracing the privileged perspective of migrant workers on labour exploitation. This paper shows that labour exploitation cannot be fully understood without considering the relation that exists between two factors: the first operates at the structural level and relates to the extent to which discrimination, harm and exploitation of specific groups are intrinsic in the legitimate legal-economic system; whilst, the second factor revolves around migrant workers' wilful agentive capacity for being recruited into exploitative situations and simultaneously their capacity for coping with exploitative practices and for working towards solutions aimed at improving their quality of life.
Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most commonly used experimental animal model for human multiple sclerosis (MS) that has been used so far to study the acute and ...remission-relapsing phases of the disease. Despite the vast literature on neuroinflammation onset and progression in EAE, important questions are still open regarding in particular the early asymptomatic phase between immunization and clinical onset.
In this study, we performed a time-course investigation of neuroinflammation and demyelination biomarkers in the spinal cord (SC), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and blood in EAE induced in dark agouti (DA) female rats compared to the controls and adjuvant-injected rats, using high-throughput technologies for gene expression and protein assays and focusing on the time-course between immunization, clinical onset (1, 5, 8 days post-immunization (DPI)), and progression (11 and 18 DPI). The expression profile of 84 genes related to T cell activation/signaling, adaptive immunity, cytokine/chemokine inflammation, demyelination, and cellular stress were analyzed in the tissue; 24 cytokines were measured in the CSF and plasma.
The macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF1) was the first up-regulated protein as far as 1 DPI, not only in blood but also in CSF and SC. A treatment with GW2580, a selective CSF1R inhibitor, slowed the disease progression, significantly reduced the severity, and prevented the relapse phase. Moreover, both pro-inflammatory (IL-1β, TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-5, IL-10, VEGF) were up-regulated starting from 8 DPI. Myelin genes were down-regulated starting from 8 DPI, especially MAL, MBP, and PMP22 while an opposite expression profile was observed for inflammation-related genes, such as CXCL11 and CXCL10.
This early cytokine and chemokine regulation indicates that novel biomarkers and therapeutic options could be explored in the asymptomatic phase of EAE. Overall, our findings provide clear evidence that CSF1R signaling regulates inflammation in EAE, supporting therapeutic targeting of CSF1R in MS.
The aim of using the game-based tool Kahoot! was to evaluate and reinforce the contents taught in the subject of Management and Administration of Nursing, Ethics and Health Legislation Services ...included in the Degree in Nursing, during the 2016-2017 academic year.
A prospective quasi-experimental study was carried out on a sample of 116 students. 10 multiple-choice questions were designed, with only one possible correct answer and a 20-second-limited response time for each of the questions. Four of these questions previously answered in the classroom using this game were chosen (20% of the exam). Each one of them corresponded to one unit of the topics taught in the subject. In order to participate in the educational game, students needed their smartphones or electronic devices. After completing the game, the students' satisfaction level derived from its use was assessed.
The correct answer rate in the educational game was greater than 50% for all questions except for one, in which the rate was 28.8% (P<0.05). Response time as related to score presented statistically significant differences, and higher scores for those questions with lower response time (P<0.001). The questions included in the final test which had been previously answered using Kahoot! showed a significantly higher difficulty index than the rest of the final exam questions (P<0.05). Question 3 was the easiest, while being the one in which the highest-scoring students obtained more wrong answers. For the students this tool was easy to use (89.6%) and they positively valued the content acquisition and comprehension, as well as the teacher-student interaction (P<0.05).
The implementation of educational games which consider response time and correct answers favors competitiveness and motivates students to actively participate in their learning process.
In various regions of the world, there is great concern about existing gender differences, which could affect opportunities for economic growth, and how to mitigate them. Entrepreneurship is of great ...importance to the economy and in a global society, and it is a hot topic for interested public decision makers due to its growing importance in economic activity—as it creates jobs, increases competitiveness and modernizes the economy. Sustainability is also a critical topic when designing the future economy, and combining female entrepreneurship with sustainability results in a very interesting topic to be evaluated when pursuing sustainable development. This paper tries to shed light on the relationship between female entrepreneurship and sustainability by analyzing 28 different papers from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Its main conclusion supports the idea that awareness of women is relevant to sustainability when starting a new company. However, further research is required due to the novelty of the topic and also the existing gaps in knowledge.
Monitoring of motor symptom fluctuations in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients is currently performed through the subjective self-assessment of patients. Clinicians require reliable information about ...a fluctuation's occurrence to enable a precise treatment rescheduling and dosing adjustment. In this review, we analyzed the utilization of sensors for identifying motor fluctuations in PD patients and the application of machine learning techniques to detect fluctuations. The review process followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Ten studies were included between January 2010 and March 2021, and their main characteristics and results were assessed and documented. Five studies utilized daily activities to collect the data, four used concrete scenarios executing specific activities to gather the data, and only one utilized a combination of both situations. The accuracy for classification was 83.56-96.77%. In the studies evaluated, it was not possible to find a standard cleaning protocol for the signal captured, and there is significant heterogeneity in the models utilized and in the different features introduced in the models (using spatiotemporal characteristics, frequential characteristics, or both). The two most influential factors in the good performance of the classification problem are the type of features utilized and the type of model.
This study aimed to analyze the influence of academic motivation on procrastination and, in turn, to examine the impact of procrastination on academic achievement, on the grounds of ...self-determination theory. Undergraduate students (N = 928) completed a sociodemographic and academic survey, the Tuckman Procrastination Scale, and the Academic Motivation Scale. Path-analysis findings revealed procrastination was negatively and significantly predicted by intrinsic motivation toward stimulating experiences, intrinsic motivation towards achievement, and extrinsic motivation external regulation. Further, procrastination was positively predicted by intrinsic motivation to know, extrinsic motivation identified regulation, extrinsic motivation introjected regulation, and amotivation. In turn, procrastination negatively predicted academic achievement. Overall, combining components of motivational interventions could aid in tailoring higher education interventions that seek to decrease procrastination and reduce the impact of this variable on academic achievement. Discussion of findings continues in light of previous literature concerning the relationship between motivation and procrastination.
Past and current climatic and environmental changes have contributed to configure actual species distributions and abundances. Knowing their evolution over time allows discrimination between natural ...and anthropogenic causes in current composition of faunal communities. We evaluate the changes in small mammal assemblages from the north-central Patagonian Andean forests since the Late-Holocene to recent times and their relationship with the environmental modifications driven by human activities. A bone sequence from Población Anticura archaeological site (lower Manso river valley, Río Negro province, Argentina) was studied, which encompasses a time span from the early Late-Holocene (3350 ± 100–2270 ±80 years BP) to final Late-Holocene (1420 ± 70–530 ±50 years BP) and Historical times (480 ± 70–280 ±40 years BP). The species composition indicates that forest environment established in the area from at least the Late-Holocene (dominance of Loxodontomys micropus, with subordinate frequencies of Abrothrix olivacea, A. hirta, Geoxus valdivianus, Irenomys tarsalis, and Paynomys macronyx), with patches of (or near to) open environments (presence of Reithrodon auritus and cavids). It is remarkable the presence of cavids, which increased their abundance in the sequence towards Historical times but disappeared nowadays. The low frequencies (<10%) of the rodent Oligoryzomys longicaudatus along the entire sequence is also relevant, since this rodent is the reservoir of the Andes strain of the Hantavirus (ANDV), which causes pulmonary syndrome. This mouse dominates the small mammal assemblages from forests and ecotonal shrublands of northwestern Patagonia (abundances exceed 50% in owl pellets recently collected from the study area). Current configuration of forest and ecotonal assemblages, particularly the high abundance of O. longicaudatus, should be mainly linked to anthropogenic causes, including the introduction of cattle, land clearing, and the advance of introduced plant species such as the sweet briar (Rosa eglanteria). Particularly, this exotic shrub offers shelter and additional food for O. longicaudatus, turning their shrublands into spaces of high epidemiological risk.
The objective of this article is to analyse the evolution of the hotel sector in Spain in the first half of the twentieth century. More specifically, it seeks to study the tourist hotel industry ...within the Spanish tourism system which began to take shape during these years, marked by different political and economic contexts. Therefore, this tourist hotel industry is studied within the development of the tourism sector during these years in Spain. By the beginning of the twentieth century, tourism was understood as a social practice and it was an industry that was gaining importance within the Spanish economy.
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