Distinct Micro Research Articles

Partitioning into ER membrane microdomains impacts autophagic protein turnover during cellular aging

Eukaryotic membranes are compartmentalized into distinct micro- and nanodomains that rearrange dynamically in response to external and internal cues. This lateral heterogeneity of the lipid bilayer and associated clustering of distinct membrane proteins contribute to the spatial organization of numerous cellular processes. Here, we show that membrane microdomains within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of yeast cells are reorganized during metabolic reprogramming and aging. Using biosensors with varying transmembrane domain length to map lipid bilayer thickness, we demonstrate that in young cells, microdomains of increased thickness mainly exist within the nuclear ER, while progressing cellular age drives the formation of numerous microdomains specifically in the cortical ER. Partitioning of biosensors with long transmembrane domains into these microdomains increased protein stability and prevented autophagic removal. In contrast, reporters with short transmembrane domains progressively accumulated at the membrane contact site between the nuclear ER and the vacuole, the so-called nucleus-vacuole junction (NVJ), and were subjected to turnover via selective microautophagy occurring specifically at these sites. Reporters with long transmembrane domains were excluded from the NVJ. Our data reveal age-dependent rearrangement of the lateral organization of the ER and establish transmembrane domain length as a determinant of membrane contact site localization and autophagic degradation.

High-Resolution Characterization of Enamel Remineralization Using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and Electron Microscopy

Introduction: The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the suitability of high-resolution time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) for visualizing cross-sectional changes in human enamel microstructure and chemical composition during treatment and remineralization cycling of artificially generated caries lesions underneath an artificial plaque. Methods: Treatments consisted of exposure to twice daily toothpaste/water slurries prepared from 0, 1,100, and 5,000 μg/g fluoride (F) NaF/silica toothpastes. In addition, treatments with slurries prepared from 1,100 μg/g F SnF2/silica toothpastes were done using 44Ca in the remineralization solution to allow for differentiation of newly formed mineral and exploration of incorporated metal dopants using ToF-SIMS. Complementary microhardness, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) investigations were performed on enamel cross sections. Results: HR-TEM was used for the first time to determine the change in crystallinity during remineralization revealing distinct microstructural zones within one lesion. Chemical mapping using ToF-SIMS demonstrated that the distribution of F, while observed primarily in the new mineral phase, was widespread throughout the lesion with 44Ca substantially limited to the remineralizing mineral. Both penetrated the inter-rod spaces of the sound enamel illustrating how acid damage propagates into the native mineral as the caries lesion deepens. HR-TEM examination revealed different regions within the lesion characterized by distinct micro- and ultrastructures. Importantly, HR-TEM revealed a return of crystallinity following remineralization. F dose-response observations verified the ability of these high-resolution techniques to differentiate remineralization efficacy. Conclusion: The collective results provided new insights such as the visualization of F or calcium penetration pathways, as well as new tools to study the caries process.

Nature-inspired adhesive systems.

Many organisms in nature thrive in intricate habitats through their unique bio-adhesive surfaces, facilitating tasks such as capturing prey and reproduction. It's important to note that the remarkable adhesion properties found in these natural biological surfaces primarily arise from their distinct micro- and nanostructures and/or chemical compositions. To create artificial surfaces with superior adhesion capabilities, researchers delve deeper into the underlying mechanisms of these captivating adhesion phenomena to draw inspiration. This article provides a systematic overview of various biological surfaces with different adhesion mechanisms, focusing on surface micro- and nanostructures and/or chemistry, offering design principles for their artificial counterparts. Here, the basic interactions and adhesion models of natural biological surfaces are introduced first. This will be followed by an exploration of research advancements in natural and artificial adhesive surfaces including both dry adhesive surfaces and wet/underwater adhesive surfaces, along with relevant adhesion characterization techniques. Special attention is paid to stimulus-responsive smart artificial adhesive surfaces with tunable adhesive properties. The goal is to spotlight recent advancements, identify common themes, and explore fundamental distinctions to pinpoint the present challenges and prospects in this field.

Three-Dimensional Printing of Cellulose/Covalent Organic Frameworks (CelloCOFs) for CO2 Adsorption and Water Treatment.

The development of porous organic polymers, specifically covalent organic frameworks (COFs), has facilitated the advancement of numerous applications. Nevertheless, the limited availability of COFs solely in powder form imposes constraints on their potential applications. Furthermore, it is worth noting that COFs tend to undergo aggregation, leading to a decrease in the number of active sites available within the material. This work presents a comprehensive methodology for the transformation of a COF into three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds using the technique of 3D printing. As part of the 3D printing process, a composite material called CelloCOF was created by combining cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), sodium alginate, and COF materials (i.e., COF-1 and COF-2). The intervention successfully mitigated the agglomeration of the COF nanoparticles, resulting in the creation of abundant active sites that can be effectively utilized for adsorption purposes. The method of 3D printing can be described as a simple and basic procedure that can be adapted to accommodate hierarchical porous materials with distinct micro- and macropore regimes. This technology demonstrates versatility in its use across a range of COF materials. The adsorption capacities of 3D CelloCOF materials were evaluated for three different adsorbates: carbon dioxide (CO2), heavy metal ions, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The results showed that the materials exhibited adsorption capabilities of 19.9, 7.4-34, and 118.5-410.8 mg/g for CO2, PFOS, and heavy metals, respectively. The adsorption properties of the material were found to be outstanding, exhibiting a high degree of recyclability and exceptional selectivity. Based on our research findings, it is conceivable that the utilization of custom-designed composites based on COFs could present new opportunities in the realm of water and air purification.

EFFECT OF TEXTURED CUTTING INSERTS IN MICRO-TURNING OF TI-6AL-4V ALLOYS

There is an increasing demand for higher machining quality and service life of the cutting tools used for the machining of high-strength alloys. Various studies revealed that textured cutting tools could improve the cutting performance by enhancing the tribological characteristics of the cutting regime. Advances in precision machining enabled the creation of micro/nano-textures on tool surfaces with excellent dimensional control. In this work, distinct micro designs, viz. horizontal line, vertical line and cross-hatch, are made, varying the pitch on the rake faces of coated carbide cutting inserts (CCMT060202LF KC5010). An in-house micro-turning machine was utilized to perform all the experiments in dry-cutting conditions. Micro-turning operations were performed using plain and textured inserts and varying the cutting parameters under dry conditions. The effectiveness of micro-scale textures at a contact interface was evaluated based on the cutting forces, tool flank wear and surface roughness. Compared to non-textured inserts, the machining using cross-hatch textured inserts with 100 µm pitch resulted in 50 % lower cutting forces, a 45 % improved surface finish and 37 % reduced tool flank wear. When machining with horizontal-line textured inserts with a 100 µm pitch, cutting forces are reduced by 46 %, the surface finish is enhanced by 34 % and the tool flank wear is lowered by 30 %. Similarly, when machining with vertical-line textured inserts with a 100 µm pitch, cutting forces are minimized by 38 %, the surface finish is improved by 20 % and the tool flank wear is lowered by 26 %. Additionally, a durability test was conducted for the inserts, and the results showed that the cross-hatch textured tool life improved by 80 %, the life of the horizontal-line textured tool increased by 50 % and the life of the vertical-line textured tool increased by 40 % compared to plain inserts. The heat dissipation and tool-chip friction during machining are thus significantly influenced by the texturing, namely by its design, dimensions and orientation.

Role and Mechanism of a Micro-/Nano-Structured Porous Zirconia Surface in Regulating the Biological Behavior of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Zirconia as a promising dental implant material has attracted much attention in recent years. Improving the bone binding ability of zirconia is critical for clinical applications. Here, we established a distinct micro-/nano-structured porous zirconia through dry-pressing with addition of pore-forming agents followed by hydrofluoric acid etching (POROHF). Porous zirconia without hydrofluoric acid treatment (PORO), sandblasting plus acid-etching zirconia, and sintering zirconia surface were applied as controls. After human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) were seeded on these four groups of zirconia specimens, we observed the highest cell affinity and extension on POROHF. In addition, the POROHF surface displayed an improved osteogenic phenotype in contrast to the other groups. Moreover, the POROHF surface facilitated angiogenesis of hBMSCs, as confirmed by optimal stimulation of vascular endothelial growth factor B and angiopoietin 1 (ANGPT1) expression. Most importantly, the POROHF group demonstrated the most obvious bone matrix development in vivo. To investigate further the underlying mechanism, RNA sequencing was employed and critical target genes modulated by POROHF were identified. Taken together, this study established an innovative micro-/nano-structured porous zirconia surface that significantly promoted osteogenesis and investigated the potential underlying mechanism. Our present work will improve the osseointegration of zirconia implants and help further clinical applications.

Reaction-Diffusion Patterning of DNA-Based Artificial Cells.

Biological cells display complex internal architectures with distinct micro environments that establish the chemical heterogeneity needed to sustain cellular functions. The continued efforts to create advanced cell mimics, namely, artificial cells, demands strategies for constructing similarly heterogeneous structures with localized functionalities. Here, we introduce a platform for constructing membraneless artificial cells from the self-assembly of synthetic DNA nanostructures in which internal domains can be established thanks to prescribed reaction–diffusion waves. The method, rationalized through numerical modeling, enables the formation of up to five distinct concentric environments in which functional moieties can be localized. As a proof-of-concept, we apply this platform to build DNA-based artificial cells in which a prototypical nucleus synthesizes fluorescent RNA aptamers that then accumulate in a surrounding storage shell, thus demonstrating the spatial segregation of functionalities reminiscent of that observed in biological cells.

Directed energy deposition of metals: processing, microstructures, and mechanical properties

ABSTRACT Amongst the many additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, directed energy deposition (DED) is a prominent one, which can also be used for the repair of damaged components. In this paper, we provide an overview on it, with emphasis on the typical microstructures of DED alloys and discuss the processing-microstructure-mechanical property correlations. Comparison is made with those manufactured using the conventional techniques and those obtained with laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-PBF). The characteristic solidification rates and thermal histories in DED result in distinct micro- and meso-structural features and mechanical performance, which are succinctly summarized. The potential of DED for manufacturing graded materials and for component repair is elaborated while highlighting the key-associated challenges and possible solutions. Modelling and simulation studies that facilitate an in-depth understanding of the DED technique are summarized. Finally, some critical issues and research directions that would help develop DED further and extend its application potential are identified.

Frequency shifts and thermoelastic damping in distinct Micro-/Nano-scale piezothermoelastic fiber-reinforced composite beams under three heat conduction models

The present work aims to fulfill two primary objectives. Firstly, to present the micro-mechanics model of piezothermoelastic fiber-reinforced composite (PTFRC) medium using analytical techniques, viz., Strength of Materials (SM) & Rule of Mixtures (RM) and graphically establish some of its electro-mechanical-thermal advantages over monolithic PT materials. Secondly, to analytically study the thermoelastic damping (TED) and frequency shift (FS) in micro-/nano-scale PTFRC beams. TED and FS are analyzed considering the linear Euler-Bernoulli theory when the beam is under four distinct boundary conditions, viz., clamped-clamped (CC), simply supported-simply supported (SS), clamped-free (CF), and clamped-simply supported (CS). The eigenvalues of each beam are calculated numerically with 20 iterations each using the Newton-Raphson technique, followed by the analysis of TED and FS considering the assumed boundaries. The Classical dynamical coupled (CL), Lord-Shulman (LS), and Green-Lindsay (GL) thermoelasticity theories are exclusively analyzed. The effects of thermal relaxation parameters, fiber volume fraction, micro and nano beam dimensions, and the first two modes (M1 & M2) on the TED and FS are graphically illustrated. The critical thickness (CrTh) and critical length (CrLt) of all four beams influenced by the existing parameters are scrupulously investigated. The robustness of the obtained results is validated by matching them with previous literature. For high Ωf, the PTFRC beam has superior electro-mechanical-thermal properties and greater Q-factors compared to monolithic beam. However, the Q-factor increases as Ωf decreases. This facilitates the choice of a suitable value of Ωf for designing and optimizing frequency-sensitive microelectromechanical (MEM) and nanoelectromechanical (NEM) PTFRC beams.

Searching part-specific neural fabrics for human pose estimation

Neural architecture search (NAS) has emerged in many domains to jointly learn the architectures and weights of neural networks. The core spirit behind NAS is to automatically search neural architectures for target tasks with better performance-efficiency trade-offs. However, existing approaches emphasize on only searching a single architecture with less human intervention to replace a human-designed neural network, yet making the search process almost independent of the domain knowledge. In this paper, we aim to apply NAS for human pose estimation and we ask: when NAS meets this localization task, can the articulated human body structure help to search better task-specific architectures?To this end, we first design a new neural architecture search space, Cell-based Neural Fabric (CNF), to learn micro as well as macro neural architecture using a differentiable search strategy. Then, by viewing locating human parts as multiple disentangled prediction sub-tasks, we exploit the compositionality of human body structure as guidance to search multiple part-specific CNFs specialized for different human parts. After the search, all these part-specific neural fabrics have been tailored with distinct micro and macro architecture parameters. The results show that such knowledge-guided NAS-based model outperforms a hand-crafted part-based baseline model, and the resulting multiple part-specific architectures gain significant performance improvement against a single NAS-based architecture for the whole body. The experiments on MPII and COCO datasets show that our models11Code is available at https://github.com/yangsenius/PoseNFS. achieve comparable performance against the state-of-the-art methods while being relatively lightweight.

Effect of electrospinning parameters on the mechanical and morphological characteristics of small diameter PCL tissue engineered blood vessel scaffolds having distinct micro and nano fibre populations – A DOE approach

Electrospinning is a widely used technique in tissue engineered blood vessel (TEBV) scaffold research. Successful TEBV scaffolds must be produced in a way that balances tissue-like mechanical characteristics with morphologies that promote cellularity by supporting cell attachment whilst also permitting cell infiltration. Electrospun tubular poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds combining interspersed nano and micro fibre morphologies have shown promise in this regard. A comprehensive design of experiments (DOE) approach examines the effect of production parameters on the mechanical and morphological properties of small diameter PCL vascular scaffolds created using a single-step electrospinning process and comprised of multi-modal fibre populations. Mechanical properties of the vessels are assessed using a modified uniaxial ringlet tensile test method while morphological properties, including mean fibre diameter, degree of fibre alignment and porosity, are also captured.Regression analysis showed that a diverse range of mechanical properties could be achieved through the careful adjustment of processing conditions. Constructs with a broad range of ultimate tensile strengths (~4–10 MPa) and Young's moduli (~1.5–3 MPa) were prepared. The speed of the rotating collector system was found to be a dominant factor influencing both the mechanical and morphological attributes of the fabricated scaffolds. Several other main effects and interactions terms were found to influence the scaffold attributes, including degree of fibre orientation and mean fibre diameter.The potential applicability of particular tubular scaffolds for vascular applications were then evaluated by comparison with literature obtained mechanical property values for human coronary arteries and the great saphenous vein. This study demonstrates an important step towards a readily available and tailorable set of multi-modal PCL scaffold designs for further biological and clinical investigation.

3D Genomics of Acute Meyloid Leukemia Reveals the Imbalance between DNA Methylation Canyon Interactions and Leukemic Specific Enhancer Network Interactions

Changes in 3D chromatin organization like enhancer hijacking are believed to the driver for disease development like leukemia. Here we performed high-resolution HiC assays on primary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples and cell lines to dissect the abnormal 3D chromatin organization in AML. Our data set covers 5 AML samples and 3 AML cell lines. This dataset includes the common genetic abnormalities in AML: MLL-rearrangement, NPM1 mutation, RUNX1 mutation, and IDH1/TET2 mutations. We have recently generated high-resolution map for normal human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) (Zhang et al. Mole Cell. 2020). In comparison with the HSC 3D chromatin organization, we found TADs and loops are very stable in both primary leukemia samples and cell lines. Less than 5% of all TADs in HSC fuse in AML, mimicking the enhancer hijacking scenario. These fusion events do not cause the gene expression changes of genes in the fused TAD. Interestingly, in TET2 or IDH1 mutated AML blast, two-fold more TAD fusion events occurred in primary AML blast in comparison with RUNX1 and MLL-r leukemia, with a loss in the CTCF sites on the TAD fusion break point. We previously found in HSC, the Polycomb marked DNA methylation Canyons (DMC) form multi-Mb size long-range interactions. DMC interactions in general decrease in primary AMLs. AMLs with IDH1 or TET2 mutations shows the biggest reduction in DMC interactions. Hypermethylation in the DMCs is observed in the AML samples with IDH1/2 or TET2 mutations, suggesting DNA methylation level in DMCs controls DMC 3D interactions directly. In leukemia cell lines, the DMC interactions almost disappear, with further hypermethylation in DMCs. Compared with normal HSC, we found in AML, the AML-specific H3K27ac marked regions form leukemia specific loops and transcription stripes in both cell lines and primary samples. Particularly in MLL-r primary leukemias, we found broad H3K27ac covered, hyperacetylated domains (10kb to 200kb). 22 such hyperacetylated domains were identified and associated with leukemogenic genes such as SATB1, ZEB2 and HOXA. All these domains formed distinct 3D micro TAD in the MLL-r primary leukemia in comparison with the HSPC, and CTCFs are not located at the border of these domains. Taken together, suggest active leukemia specific transcription created new 3D genomic interactions which is independent of cohesion-CTCF mediated loop extrusion. Interestingly, in HOXA cluster, we found a geneless DMC 1.3MB upstream of HOXA switched from Polycomb binding site to active enhancer site in the leukemia cells. By applying CRISPR/Cas9 editing, we found this canyon is essential for survival of HOXA high expressing leukemia cell lines like OCI-AML3 and MV4:11. In summary, we found the 3D chromatin organization in human leukemia significantly alters in two opposite way 1. The significant loss of Polycomb marked DMC interactions caused by the DNA hypermethylation and 2. The leukemic specific hyperacetylated domains form its own distinct micro TAD and stripes in the 3D chromatin organization. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

A thermogravimetric study of HDPE conversion under a reductive atmosphere

The plastic waste has suffered a dramatic increase and has become one of the biggest environmental problems nowadays. The chemical transformation of plastics by catalytic cracking under hydrogen atmosphere (hydrocracking) is one of the viable solutions to this problem since it can convert plastic residues into petrochemicals and fuels. In this work a thermogravimetric study of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) conversion under hydrogen atmosphere and in the presence of catalysts with different textural and chemical features is presented. The effect of distinct micro (H-ZSM-5, H-FER and H-MOR) and mesoporous (SBA-15 and MCM-41) catalysts is studied, both in terms of energy requirements and products distribution. Moreover, the effects of sample preparation method, catalyst amount, Si/Al ratio and incorporation of a metallic function (Ni and Pt) are also analyzed. The results show that when MCM-41 and SBA-15 mesoporous silicas are added to HDPE no significant changes are observed in terms of the degradation profile. On the contrary, the use of microporous materials decreases significantly the onset of HDPE degradation temperature. The accessibility and acidic content of the materials proved to be the most important factors influencing the HDPE degradation profiles. Moreover, the introduction of a metal function results in a further shift to lower degradation temperatures and favors the liquid products distribution, promoting the formation of gasoline and diesel.

Bone Regeneration: A Novel Osteoinductive Function of Spongostan by the Interplay between Its Nano- and Microtopography

Scaffold materials for bone regeneration are crucial for supporting endogenous healing after accidents, infections, or tumor resection. Although beneficial impacts of microtopological or nanotopological cues in scaffold topography are commonly acknowledged, less consideration is given to the interplay between the microscale and nanoscale. Here, micropores with a 60.66 ± 24.48 µm diameter ordered by closely packed collagen fibers are identified in pre-wetted Spongostan, a clinically-approved collagen sponge. On a nanoscale level, a corrugated surface of the collagen sponge is observable, leading to the presence of 32.97 ± 1.41 nm pores. This distinct micro- and nanotopography is shown to be solely sufficient for guiding osteogenic differentiation of human stem cells in vitro. Transplantation of Spongostan into a critical-size calvarial rat bone defect further leads to fast regeneration of the lesion. However, masking the micro- and nanotopographical cues using SiO2 nanoparticles prevents bone regeneration in vivo. Therefore, we demonstrate that the identified micropores allow migration of stem cells, which are further driven towards osteogenic differentiation by scaffold nanotopography. The present findings emphasize the necessity of considering both micro- and nanotopographical cues to guide intramembranous ossification, and might provide an optimal cell- and growth-factor-free scaffold for bone regeneration in clinical settings.

Tracing elevational changes in microbial life and organic carbon sources in soils of the Atacama Desert

Abstract The Atacama Desert frequently serves as model system for tracing life under extremely dry conditions. We hypothesized that traces of life in the Atacama Desert follow distinct micro- and macro-scale gradients such as soil depth and elevation, respectively. Different depth intervals of surface soils (0–1, 1–5, and 5–10 cm) were sampled at five sites along an elevational transect near the Quebrada Aroma, spanning from the hyperarid core of the desert towards the arid Western Andean Precordillera (1300 to 2700 m a.s.l.), and from one additional site in the hyperarid core near Yungay. We determined the contents of major elements, pedogenic minerals and oxides, organic carbon (OC), and its δ13C and δ15N isotopic composition. The presence of living microorganisms was assessed by cultivation, and bacterial community composition was analyzed based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additional information about past and present plant and microbial life was obtained from lipid biomarker analysis. We did not detect consistent micro-scale distributions for most of these proxies within the soils. However, concentrations of OC and of long-chain, plant wax-derived n-alkanes increased in soils along the aridity gradient towards the wetter sites, indicating the presence of past life at places presently not covered by vegetation. Likewise, bacterial abundance and diversity decreased as hyperaridity increased and the microbial community composition changed along the transect, becoming enriched in Actinobacteria. The distributional patterns of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) confirmed the larger bacterial diversity at the higher, more humid sites compared to the drier ones. Archaeal isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (isoGDGTs) and bacterial branched (br)GDGTs, which can also indicate past life, did not follow a clear elevational trend and were absent at the driest site. Taken together, plant-derived and microbiological markers follow primarily the macro-scaled elevation and aridity gradient. Viable bacteria are present even at the driest sites, while detected biomolecules also indicate past life. The detection of past plant life in nowadays apparently lifeless regions suggests that conditions for life were less hostile in former times.

Physical and chemical characteristics of mangrove soil under marine influence. A case study on the Mangrove Forests at Egyptian-African Red Sea Coast.

The present study provides an analysis the growth performance of mangrove forests (Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata) and the concentrates on the environmental factors (soil) that affect on the mangroves along Egyptian-African Red Sea coast. The growth performance of R. mucronata was higher in association with A. marina than in pure stands. Moreover, A. marina trees growing in association with R. mucronata were taller than plants growing in pure community. Plants growing (size index) at high tide attained the highest values of growth attributes. In comparison, A. marina growth attributes differed between the three locations of the three tide levels. The highest values of the growth parameters were recorded for A. marina growing at the medium tide in pure stands. However, the growth values of A. marina growing in mixture with R. mucronata were higher at low tide than those at either high or medium tides. The total mean of Soil Bulk Density (SBD) of the A. marina (1.24 g cm³) was higher than that of the R. mucronata (1.16 g cm³) and mixed stands (1.12 g cm³). The results shows that both ordination techniques clearly indicated that electric conductivity, CaCO3, K+, Ca++, Cl-, Na+ and Mg++ were the most important parameters determining the current distribution of mangrove pattern in the Egyptian Red Sea coast. The results showed that there is a similarity between the soil samples in different of the study locations as whole area is a coastal. In the current study the variability of ecosystem structure and function is generally a product of interactions between its different components. In the extreme arid environmental conditions of arid lands these interactions are of high significance, so that slight irregularities in one component of the ecosystem are likely to lead to substantial variations in others, so creating distinct micro habitats.

Basque health service- Osakidetza integrates care:

Introduction: Basque Health Service´s integrated intervention for multimorbid population program participates to ACT@Scale. The aging of the population and the increase in chronic patients represent a huge challenge for the sustainability of healthcare systems. Short description of practice change implemented: The public healthcare provider is Osakidetza which includes all hospitals and primary care centers organized in 13 Integrated Care Organizations ICOs. Osakidetza has a target population of more than 2 million inhabitants.Aging and chronic conditions account for 80% of the medical consultations, 75% of the total health budget. Aim and theory of change: the program follows the multi-organizational structured collaborative quality improvement methods based on Plan-Do-Study-ActPDSA cycle. Applying the PDSA methodology, the program has been working on: Define a common integrated care pathway Clarify the necessary actors and roles Standardize and systematize the process of empowering patients and caregivers and assess the empowerment impact Evaluate the care pathway effectiveness Training sessions on several aspects related to the care pathway Targeted population and stakeholders: Population based stratification identifyes Multimorbid patients. Moreover, at least two of these conditions must be diagnosed: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease COPD, diabetes mellitus both insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent or Congestive Heart Failure CHF. Stakeholders 34: team dynamics experts-3; internists -6; implementation experts-2; managerial team-12; Healthcare Directorate representative-1; project manager-1; local organizations representatives-9. Timeline: Three years: Baseline phase-March’16-Sept’16; Learning cycle-Sept’16-Sept’17; Coaching cycle-Sept’17-Sept’18; Dissemination phase-Sept’18-March’19 Comments on sustainability: Osakidetza runs on public founding. Multimorbid patient’s care pathway is one of the priority areas of the strategic plan that the Health Department and Osakidetza have for 2017-2020. Comments on transferability: Scale it up to a total of 12 ICOs, which in terms of number of patients means from 4944 to 14516 patients. Conclusions: The team has defined and described the roles and actions needed within the integrated care, and it has created a homogeneous pathway for multimorbid patient’s integrated care. The team has tackle down the problematic of patient empowerment. The team has been able to generate an empowerment protocol for patients/caregivers and an empowerment evaluation method has been established. Discussions: The expected result of Basque Country is to scale the program and reaching a total of almost 15000 patients by 2019. This would mean: 1- Impacting: reach critical-mass in numbers of users within the region; reduce in resources utilization 2- Engaging: get the endorsement of end-users and professionals; increase empowerment of patients and caregivers; equality of the service offered 3 Ensuring sustainability: increase the number of professionals using the service as their usual practice; the generated pathway takes into account the local resources available and the local differences in terms of organizational structure. Lessons learned: In order to achieve our aim we consider that one of the most important factors has been to build a multidisciplinary team, composed by stakeholders of distinct levels macro, meso and micro with varied roles and representatives of all organizations where the intervention was expected to be implemented. In addition, the Collaborative Methodology gave the opportunity to define the intervention needed in a structured way.

Micro- and Nanostructures of Calcareous Foraminiferal Tests: Insight from Representatives of Miliolida, Rotaliida and Lagenida

AbstractThe test structures of Lagenida, Rotaliida, and Miliolida (Foraminifera) are described at an unprecedented scale of resolution. Observations using conventional and field-emission scanning electron microscopy revealed distinct micro- and nanoscale differences in the textural compositions of these three main groups of calcifying foraminifers, consistent with recent molecular phylogenetic reconstructions and a higher-level taxonomic system. The rotaliid test is entirely composed of roughly spherical primary carbonate nanograins, up to 100 nm in diameter, which merge into micrometer-sized irregular aggregates. The miliolid test is made up of two morphologically different primary crystallites. Arbitrarily arranged needle-shaped elements (up to 1 µm in length and 200 nm in width) make up the bulk of the test, including the inside of the wall (porcelain) and mineralized inner surface (intrados) (ca. 100 nm in thickness). Roughly spherical nanograins (up to 50 nm in diameter) form more or less regularly arranged polygons of an outer lamina (extrados), which is ca. 200 nm in thickness. By contrast, the lagenid test texture is characterized by much larger crystals than in other calcifying foraminifers. At moderate magnification, lagenid tests display a fibrous texture composed of fiber bundles (tens of μm in length and several μm in width) that are oriented perpendicular to test surfaces and taper towards the ends when in contact with another lamina. At higher magnification, each bundle constitutes a single calcite crystal with an inner pore extending along the entire length of the crystal/fiber.We measured test hardness using the nanoindentation method. This is the first application of this technique in microfossils. We found that Cretaceous Lagenida tests were more resistant to mechanical stress than Rotaliida tests. These comparative strengths may be linked to internal test microstructure and play a role in determining habitats in which these taxa can live.

On mechanisms of mesocrystal formation: magnesium ions and water environments regulate the crystallization of amorphous minerals

Elucidating the emergence of crystalline superstructures from amorphous precursors, hydration environments and ionic constituents can guide transformation and structuration reactions towards distinct micro- and nano-structures.

Molecular Study of the Genetic Variability of Pumpkins Landraces from Brazilian Amazon

The Cucurbita maxima Duchesne is a vegetable crop plant cultivated and maintained by traditional Amazon communities, Brazil. The situation is worsened by the possibility of disappearance of local populations and genetic variability of this specie, taking into account the today changes promoted in family farming. The aim of this study was to estimate the current levels of genetic variability of local cultivars through the use of molecular markers (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism—AFLP). We chose to collect in two distinct micro regions in order to identify possible influences of geographic isolation and different levels of market requirements in the conservation of the genetic variability of the C. maxima. For the molecular analysis, bulk samples of fresh leaves of 15 plants/half-sibling family were collected in paper bags. There were 34 samples from the half-sib families. The analysis of the results half-sib obtained by methods of estimation of genetic variation by molecular markers shows that the forms of cultivation and management adopted by family farmers maintain the identities of the local/landraces (native cultivars) and, at the same time, the levels of diversity for the assurance of adaptability macro-environmental.