Microtubule reorganization during mitotic cell division in the dinoflagellate Ostreospis cf. ovata.

Dinoflagellates are marine organisms that undergo seasonal proliferation events known as algal blooms. Vegetative cell proliferation is a main contributing factor in these events. However, mechanistical understanding of mitosis and cytokinesis in dinoflagellates remains rudimentary. Using an optimized immunofluorescence protocol, we analysed changes in microtubule organization occurring during the mitotic cycle of the toxic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata. We find that the flagella and the cortical microtubule array persist throughout the mitotic cycle. Two cytoplasmic microtubule bundles originate from the ventral area, where the basal bodies are located - a cortical bundle and a cytoplasmic bundle. The latter associates with the nucleus in the cell centre before mitosis and with the acentrosomal extranuclear spindle during mitosis. Analysis of tubulin post-translational modifications identifies two populations of spindle microtubules - polar acetylated microtubules, whose length is constant, and central tyrosinated microtubules, which elongate during chromosome segregation. During cell division a microtubule-rich structure forms along the dorsal-ventral axis, associated with the site of cytokinesis, consistent with a cytokinetic mechanism that is independent of the actomyosin ring typical of animal and yeast cells.

Recycled PLA for 3D Printing: A Comparison of Recycled PLA Filaments from Waste of Different Origins after Repeated Cycles of Extrusion.

The objective of this work is to evaluate the reprocessing of PLA 3D printing waste from different origins, into filaments and films, and without the addition of any additive. Two types of waste were considered: a blend of different printing wastes (masks, visors, other components) of personal protective equipment coming from an association of Spanish coronamakers, and PLA waste from a single known commercial source. Both types of materials were subjected to repeated extrusion cycles and processed into films by compression molding. Samples were characterized after each cycle and their mechanical and viscosity properties evaluated. Diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) experiments were also carried out to estimate molecular weights. The results show a better performance for the PLA waste from the known origin, capable of withstanding up to three re-extrusion cycles per two for the waste blending, without significant degradation. Additionally, a model to address collection and mechanical recycling cycles under two different scenarios (full traceability and not full traceability) was proposed.

Pilot study of a new methodology to study the development of the blue bottle fly (Calliphora vomitoria) under exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields at 5.4 GHz.

PURPOSE: Exposure of insects to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) can have developmental effects. However, there is currently no clear understanding of the exposure level that can lead to such effects. Therefore, the goal of this study was to, for the first time, study the development of the Blue Bottle Fly (Calliphora vomitoria, CV) under exposure to RF-EMFs at 5.4 GHz, using both numerical RF-EMF dosimetry with anatomically accurate 3 D models of insects and an RF-EMF exposure experiment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CV was chosen as a model organism in this study because CV's development can be influenced thermally and CV's pupal stage presents a window of several days in which immobile pupae can be exposed to RF-EMFs. The 5.4 GHz frequency was used because it allowed us the license-free operation of the exposure setup. Numerical, EM simulations with 3 D anatomically accurate models of CV, obtained using micro-CT scanning, were used in this study. These simulations enable the estimation of the absorbed power and the whole-body averaged specific absorption rate in CV during RF exposure experiments. An experiment with three exposure conditions was designed and executed in which 400 pupae were split into an exposed group that was placed inside the TEM cell for 48 h and concurrent control. Two exposure conditions used RF-EMF input power into the TEM cell at 5.4 GHz on two different levels. One exposure condition was sham exposure. Electric field strength measurements were used to validate the proper functioning of the exposure setups and to quantify the RF-EMF exposure of the control groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: All studied groups of pupae - exposed to RF-EMFs, sham, and control groups- showed similar (evolutions of) masses, lengths and diameters during their development. The total rate of pupal emergence was reduced in one of the studied RF-EMF exposures in comparison to its concurrent control, while the other RF-EMF exposure and the sham exposure did not alter the total rate of pupal emergence. The sham exposure and the lowest of the two studied RF-EMF exposure conditions (19.4 V/m) caused a median delay in pupal emergence of 4 and 8 hours, respectively, in comparison to concurrent control groups. The higher studied exposure of 55 V/m caused a median relative acceleration in the development of 8 h.

Evaluation of the Technical Viability of Distributed Mechanical Recycling of PLA 3D Printing Wastes.

3D printing PLA wastes were recovered from a well-known reference grade and from different sources. The recovered wastes were subjected to an energic washing step and then reprocessed into films by melt-extrusion, followed by compression molding to simulate the industrial processing conditions. The obtained materials were characterized and the optical, structural, thermal and crystallization behavior are reported. The mechanical recycling process leads to an increase of the crystallinity and a decrease of the intrinsic viscosity of the formulations, particularly in the sample based on blends of different 3D-PLA wastes. Moreover, the obtained films were disintegrated under composting conditions in less than one month and it was observed that recycled materials degrade somewhat faster than the starting 3D-PLA filament, as a consequence of the presence of shorter polymer chains. Finally, to increase the molecular weight of the recycled materials, the 3D-PLA wastes were submitted to a solid-state polymerization process at 110, 120, and 130 °C, observing that the recycled 3D-wastes materials based on a well-known reference grade experiences an improvement of the intrinsic viscosity, while that coming from different sources showed no significant changes. Thus, the results show that 3D printing PLA products provides an ideal environment for the implementation of distributed recycling program, in which wastes coming from well-known PLA grades can successfully be processed in films with good overall performance.

Síndrome DRESS asociado a fenitoína: informe de caso / DRESS syndrome associated with phenytoin: case report

El síndrome DRESS es una reacción adversa dermatológica que puede presentarse debido a diversos medicamentos, y constituye uno de los diagnósticos más importantes por encima del síndrome de Stevens-Johnson. Se trata de un caso relacionado con una reacción adversa de muy baja frecuencia, que está documentada en la literatura científica, a varios medicamentos, entre ellos la fenitoína. Por lo mencionado, la publicación de estos casos resulta escasa y limitada. Las principales preocupaciones del paciente relacionadas con su cuadro clínico radicaban en el gran compromiso cutáneo que lo llevó a hospitalización, dolor e incomodidad, por el cual recurrió al manejo tópico generalizado con vaselina. Los hallazgos clínicos relevantes fueron: eosinofilia severa, ulceraciones cutáneas, hepatitis química y fiebre. Con los hallazgos del cuadro clínico y la evaluación de la escala RegiSCAR se hace el diagnóstico de síndrome DRESS inducido por fenitoína. Se suspende la fenitoína, se inicia levetiracetam y se administran corticosteroides y acetaminofén con evolución favorable. (AU)

DRESS syndrome is a dermatological adverse reaction can occur due to various medications, being one of the most important diagnoses above Steven-Johnson syndrome. This is a case related to a very low frequency adverse reaction that is documented in the scientific literature to several medicines among those, the phenytoin. Therefore, the publication of these cases is scarce and limited. The main concerns of the patients related to their clinical picture were due to the great cutaneous compromise that lead to hospitalization, pain and discomfort for which they resorted to generalized topical management with vaseline (petrolatum). Relevant clinical findings were severe eosinophilia, skin ulcerations, chemical hepatitis and fever. With clinical picture findings and evaluation of the RegiSCAR scale, the diagnosis of Phenytoin-induced DRESS syndrome is made. Phenytoin is discontinued, levetiracetam is started and corticosteroids and acetaminophen are administrated with favorable evolution. (AU)

Microbiota intestinal en pediatría / Intestinal microbiota in the pediatric population

La microbiota intestinal es el conjunto de millones de microrganismos vivos ubicados en el tracto gastrointestinal. Es indispensable en múltiples funciones del organismo, regulación de la inmunidad, en aspectos nutricionales y procesos de inflamación sistémica entre otros. La disbiosis es la alteración del equilibrio de la microbiota normal, debido a cambios en la composición, funcionamiento, orden o su distribución; esto puede predisponer al individuo a la adquisición de enfermedades gastrointestinales, alérgicas y metabólicas, entre otras. El objetivo del presente artículo es realizar una revisión narrativa de la literatura sobre los conceptos claves de la microbiota intestinal, sus asociaciones fisiopatológicas con desórdenes gastrointestinales, alérgicos y metabólicos en pediatría.

ntestinal microbiota are the millions of living microbial communities that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. It is essential for multiple functions of the human organism, such as, immune-regulation, in nutritional aspects, and systemic inflammatory processes, among others. Dysbiosis refers to the alteration of the equilibrium of normal microbiota due to shifts in its composition, functioning, order or distribution; this can predispose the individual to develop gastrointestinal, allergic and metabolic diseases among others. The aim of this article was to conduct a narrative review of the literature on the key concepts of intestinal microbiota, and its pathophysiological associations with gastrointestinal, allergic and metabolic disorders in pediatrics.

Hacia una epistemología evolutiva extendida: la retroalimentación entre variación y selección / Toward an Extended Evolutionary Epistemology: Feedback Between Variation and Selection

Este artículo se sitúa en la perspectiva de la naturalización del conocimiento científico, toda vez que es un intento por caracterizar y describir la evolución del conocimiento a partir de nociones de la biología. El objetivo principal es responder si es posible sostener la analogía que propone la epistemología evolutiva (EE): que la evolución del conocimiento científico (ECC) es similar a la evolución orgánica (EO). La pregunta surge tras las críticas que han atacado el núcleo de la analogía. La respuesta es que la analogía sí se sostiene si se tienen en cuenta las relaciones de retroalimentación, y que es posible proponer a la luz de la síntesis extendida (SE), una teoría posterior que complementa la síntesis moderna (SM). Así, este trabajo comienza con una descripción del estado de la "epistemología evolutiva", prosigue señalando por qué la síntesis moderna, que sirvió de base para su formulación, no es suficiente para fundamentar la epistemología evolutiva y finaliza proponiendo que es pertinente una modificación que puede describirse como "epistemología evolutiva extendida".

This paper is situated from naturalized epistemology perspective. It is an attempt to describe the evolution of knowledge using the theoretical structure of the evolution of species. The main objective of this work is to address whether is it possible to maintain the analogy in evolutionary epistemology and which aspects of the evolution of knowledge are similar to organic evolution? This question arises after some critics against the nucleus of its formulation. The analysis presented in this work suggests that the evolution of the knowledge can be understand through an framework analogous to that of the theory of organic evolution. For this, is necessary to take into account novel feedbacks relations between variation and selection, which are part of the Extended Synthesis theory. In such way, this paper begins with an introduction to evolutionary epistemology. After that, it shows why modern synthesis theory is not enough to maintain this kind of epistemology. It ended with the idea of an extended evolutionary epistemology.

Atorvastatin requires geranylgeranyl transferase-I and Rac1 activation to exert neuronal protection and induce plasticity.

Statins are widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs that may reduce the incidence of stroke and the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, how statins exert these beneficial effects remains poorly understood. Thus, this study evaluated the roles of Rac1 geranylgeranylation and the relationship between Rac1 and αN-catenin in the protective activity of atorvastatin (ATV) in a cortical neuronal culture model of glutamate (GLU) excitotoxicity. We found that ATV-induced neuroprotection and plasticity were blocked by isoprenoids, such as farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP), inhibition of farnesylation (FTI-277) and geranylgeranylation (GGTI-286), down-regulation of GGTase-Iß and Rac activity and promotion of active RhoA. Additionally, ATV rescued the distribution of dendritic αN-catenin and increased the number and length of dendritic branches; these effects were reversed by GGTI-286, GGTase-Iß shRNA, Rac1 shRNA and a dominant-negative version of Rac1 (T17N). In summary, our findings suggest that ATV requires GGTase-Iß, prenylation and active Rac1 to induce protection and plasticity. In this regard, αN-catenin is a marker for stable interactions between adhesion proteins and the actin cytoskeleton and is necessary for the neuroprotective action of ATV.

Linfoma renal primario en paciente con gammapatía monoclonal IgM / Primary renal lymphoma in a patient with IgM monoclonal gammapathy

Son infrecuentes los casos de linfoma renal primario, ya que la afectación renal por un proceso linfoproliferativo es, por lo general, secundaria a una enfermedad sistémica. Presentamos el caso de una paciente mujer de 48 años que acude por dolor lumbar y masa abdominal. Después de realizar estudios (TC), se práctica nefrectomía cuyo resultado anatomopatológico fue de linfoma no-hodking B primario renal. Asimismo el paciente presentaba una gammapatía monoclonal IgM asociada, por lo que precisó tratamiento quimioterápico sistémico. Realizamos una revisión bibliográfica centrándonos en los criterios diagnósticos y terapéuticos actuales.

Reports on primary renal lymphoma are scarce in the urological literature, the most part f them are secondary on a lymphomatous infiltration of the kidneys. We report the case of a 48 year old women with lumbar pain and adominal mass. After radiological studies (CT), we practise nephrectomy with a pathological result of a non-hodking B primary lymphoma. The patient present a IgM monoclonal gammapathy who need complementary treatment with chemotherapy. A literature review on currently recommended diagnostic and treatment practices in presented.

Complicaciones de la nefrectomía laparascópica, experiencia del Hospital del Salvador / Complications in laparoscopic radical nephrectomy: the Hospital del Salvador experience

Introducción: La cirugía laparoscópica ha experimentado un auge progresivo durante los últimos años. En la medida que aumenta el número de procedimientos, también aumentan las complicaciones. Objetivo: Presentar la incidencia de complicaciones y la tasa de conversiones de la nefrectomía laparascópica durante su realización por diversas indicaciones, analizando los métodos que ayudarían a prevenirlas.Material y Métodos: Entre junio de 2002 y julio de 2006, se realizaron 95 nefrectomías laparoscópicas, 16simples, 33 radicales y 46 nefrectomías para donante vivo. Se revisaron las fichas clínicas de los pacientessometidos a estas intervenciones para evaluar las complicaciones y analizar los factores relacionados a conversión a cirugía abierta. Resultados: Complicaciones mayores ocurrieron en 6 pacientes (6,32 por ciento). De estas complicaciones 4 fueron de manejo quirúrgico y 1 de manejo médico. La complicación mayor predominante fue sangramiento que requirió conversión a cirugía abierta. La tasa global de conversión fue 3.16 por ciento (3 pacientes). Diez pacientes experimentaron problemas post quirúrgicos menores como retención de orina, infección urinaria e infección de herida operatoria. La mortalidad de la serie fue 0 por ciento. Conclusión: La cirugía renal laparoscópica es cada vez más común en la práctica urológica, pero a pesar de ser una técnica mínimamente invasiva, puede llevar a complicaciones serias. Estas complicaciones pueden prevenirse en el tiempo, con la repetición y experiencia. El conocimiento de estas es esencial paralos urólogos en entrenamiento en cirugía laparoscópica, ya que podría ayudar a disminuir la curva de aprendizaje.

Purpose: We present the incidence of complications and conversions during laparoscopic nephrectomy performed for various indications and discuss methods to prevent future complications. Material and methods. From June 2002 to July 2006 95 laparoscopic nephrectomy cases were performed at our institution,consisting of 27 simple nephrectomies, 33 radical nepherectomies, 33 radical nephrectomies and 46 donor nephrectomies. We reviewed the surgical data of patients who underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy to examine complications and analyze factors related to conversión to an open surgical procedure. Results: Major complications occurred in 6 patients (6.32 percent). Major complications were surgical in 4 patients and medical in 1. The predominant major surgical complication was bleeding requiring conversión to open surgery. Overall conversion rate was 3.16 percent (3 patients). The remaining 10 patients experienced minorsurgical or postoperative medical problems, such as urinary retention or wound infection. No mortality was observed. Conclusions: Laparoscopic renal surgery is becoming a routine procedure in the armamentarium of many urologists. Complications unique to laparoscopy still occurred but they willdecrease with time and experience. We have learned many different precautions and procedures that should help decrease the risk of future complications associated with laparoscopic renal surgery.

[Transperitoneal laparoscopic bladder diverticulectomy]. / Diverticulectomía vesical laparoscópica transperitoneal.

OBJECTIVES: To report the first case of bladder diverticulectomy in a female patient. METHODS: 74-year-old female patient with a two-year history of recurrent lower urinary tract infection and the diagnosis of big bladder diverticulum. A laparoscopic bladder diverticulectomy was performed. RESULTS: Operative time was 90 minutes. The patient had a satisfactory outcome with the drainage being retrieved on postoperative day three and discharged home the same day with bladder catheter. The catheter was retrieved on postoperative day 7. Cystography showed a normal bladder without diverticulum. CONCLUSIONS: We considered that laparoscopic surgery of the bladder diverticulum is an alternative, completely comparable to classic surgery, and it should be considered an option in the management of bladder diverticula requiring surgery.

Diverticulectomía vesical laparoscópica transperitoneal / No disponible

OBJETIVO: Reportar el primer caso de la diverticulectomía vesical laparoscópica en un paciente femenino. MÉTODOS: Paciente de sexo femenino, de 74 años de edad, con antecedentes de infección recurrente del tracto urinario bajo de aproximadamente 2 años de evolución y diagnóstico de gran divertículo vesical. Se efectuó una diverticulectomía vesical laparoscópica. RESULTADOS: El tiempo operatorio fue de 90 minutos. La paciente evolucionó en forma satisfactoria, retirándose el drenaje al tercer día postoperatorio y siendo dada de alta ese mismo día con sonda uretrovesical. Se retira la sonda al 7° día postoperatorio. El control cistográfico muestra ausencia del divertículo y vejiga normal. CONCLUSIONES: Consideramos que la cirugía laparoscópica del divertículo vesical es una alternativa absolutamente comparable a los procedimientos clásicos, y que debe ser considerada como una opción en el manejo de los divertículos vesicales que requieren resolución quirúrgica (AU)

OBJECTIVES: To report the first case of bladder diverticulectomy in a female patient. METHODS: 74-year-old female patient with a two-year history of recurrent lower urinary tract infection and the diagnosis of big bladder diverticulum. A laparoscopic bladder diverticulectomy was performed. RESULTS: Operative time was 90 minutes. The patient had a satisfactory outcome with the drainage being retrieved on postoperative day three and discharged home the same day with bladder catheter. The catheter was retrieved on postoperative day 7. Cystography showed a normal bladder without diverticulum. CONCLUSIONS: We considered that laparoscopic surgery of the bladder diverticulum is an alternative, completely comparable to classic surgery, and it should be considered an option in the management of bladder diverticula requiring surgery (AU)