Autonomous University of Madrid

The development of effective catalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is essential for transforming atmospheric CO2 into valuable chemical scaffolds.. The development of appropriate CO2RR catalysts is challenging but,...

Allergic reactions to foods are primarily driven by allergen‐binding immunoglobulin (Ig)E antibodies. IgE‐expressing cells can be generated through direct switching from IgM to IgE or a sequential class switching pathway where activated B cells first switch to an intermediary isotype, most frequently IgG1, and then to IgE. It has been proposed that sequential class switch recombination is involved in augmenting the severity of allergic reactions, generating high affinity IgE, differentiation of IgE plasma cells, and in holding the memory of IgE responses. We directly tested these possibilities by comparing the allergic immunity of wild‐type and IgG1‐deficient (hMT) mice. We found that sequential switching through IgG1 was not required to maintain the binding capacity of IgE nor for its ability to promote degranulation and elicit anaphylaxis against bona fide food allergens. Furthermore, the absence of sequential switching modestly impacted IgE affinity and clinical reactivity against hapten antigens, suggesting that the nature of the antigen impacts the requirement for sequential switching. At a cellular level, the capacity to undergo sequential switching through IgG1 provided no competitive advantage for subsequent IgE expression among germinal center B cells or plasma cells. Furthermore, the recall of allergic immunity at memory timepoints was preserved in the absence of sequential switching through IgG1, a finding that corresponded with intact type 2 memory B cell polarization. Together, these data demonstrate that sequential switching through IgG1 is redundant in sensitization, anaphylaxis, and the persistence of allergy, ultimately revealing that IgE derived from any switching source should be targeted by novel therapeutics seeking to ameliorate allergic diseases.

Drawing on the perspective of critical sociolinguistics, this article presents preliminary reflections on the debate on agency in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. It draws upon three studies inspired by the Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology, conducted in various contexts in the Spanish state: (i) a university setting of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, characterized by a high linguistic diversity that remains largely invisible; (ii) a cultural organization in Catalonia, whose objective is to overcome social and linguistic forms of segregation by fostering contact between recent migrants and the local population; (iii) sport clubs in the Basque Country, where young people are encouraged to use Euskara (the Basque language) and resist the tendency to resort to the more dominant Spanish language. We discuss diverse approaches to the notion of agency, while also offering an innovative perspective grounded in field experience: agency emerges as a “doing-together”, as a dialogic-collaborative process resulting from the interaction of researchers and participants. The outcomes of our interactions in the field extend beyond the confines of research studies, revealing the inherent political dimension of the project. This realization compels us, as researchers, to engage in ongoing reflection both within and beyond the context of fieldwork.

This research provides for the legal treatment of digital assets regarding proprietary rights, possession, transfer of ownership, succession, extinction, enforcement, and applicable law, as provided for in the ELI Principles on the Use of Digital Assets as Security, the UK Law Commission Digital Assets: Final report, and the UNIDROIT Principles on Digital Assets and Private Law.

Background Midfoot pain is common but poorly understood, with radiographs often indicating no anomalies. This study aimed to describe bone, joint and soft tissue changes and to explore associations between MRI‐detected abnormalities and clinical symptoms (pain and disability) in a group of adults with midfoot pain, but who were radiographically negative for osteoarthritis. Methods Community‐based participants with midfoot pain underwent an MRI scan of one foot and scored semi‐quantitatively using the Foot OsteoArthritis MRI Score (FOAMRIS). Foot pain and disability were recorded using visual analog scales (VAS) and the Modified‐Manchester Foot Pain Disability Index (MMFPDI). Associations were assessed for continuous data using Spearman’s Rho, and for categorical data, a Wilcoxon signed rank test. Linear regression was used to explore the association between participant‐reported measures and MRI abnormalities, adjusted for age, sex and BMI. Results Sixty‐one participants (70% female, mean age 48.5 years, median BMI 28.6 kg/m²) were included. Median VAS pain was 31/100 mm (IQR 21–47) and median disability was 30/48 (IQR 26–36). There was a moderate association between midfoot pain severity and the number of joints exhibiting joint space narrowing; adjusted results suggested 31% (95% confidence interval 3%–68%) worse VAS pain with each additional affected joint. Greater numbers of joints with cysts were associated with worse VAS pain [14% (0%–31%)] and disability [1.1 units (0–2.2)]. Effusion/synovitis was associated with MMFPDI pain. No other MRI abnormalities were associated with sex, body mass and foot pain/disability measures. Bone marrow lesions, joint space narrowing, cysts and osteophytes occurred more frequently with age. MRI abnormalities were common, particularly in the talo‐navicular joint, first and second cuneo‐metatarsal joints. Those with dorsal foot pain had more multi‐joint involvement, bone marrow lesions, joint space narrowing and cysts and for those with pain on midfoot movement, bone marrow lesions and cysts were reported. Conclusions In people with midfoot pain, MRI‐detected features of osteoarthritis and soft‐tissue abnormalities were found, clustered in the medial and intermediate cuneiform joints. These features were more common with age but not associated with pain or disability measures. Younger people with dorsal midfoot pain exhibited early signs of bone and joint features of osteoarthritis and we recommend further imaging studies to determine the clinical and diagnostic significance.

Kanai proved the stability under quasi‐isometries of several global properties for Riemannian manifolds with the restriction of having positive injectivity radius. This work shows the stability of the Liouville property for Riemannian surfaces with non‐positive curvature, where the restriction on the injectivity radius has been removed.

Background One of the most relevant risk factors for suicide is the presence of previous attempts. The symptomatic profile of people who reattempt suicide deserves attention. Network analysis is a promising tool to study this field. Objective To analyze the symptomatic network of patients who have attempted suicide recently and compare networks of people with several attempts and people with just one at baseline. Methods 1043 adult participants from the Spanish cohort “SURVIVE” were part of this study. Participants were classified into two groups: single attempt group (n = 390) and reattempt group (n = 653). Different network analyses were carried out to study the relationships between suicidal ideation, behavior, psychiatric symptoms, diagnoses, childhood trauma, and impulsivity. A general network and one for each subgroup were estimated. Results People with several suicide attempts at baseline scored significantly higher across all clinical scales. The symptomatic networks were equivalent in both groups of patients (p > .05). Although there were no overall differences between the networks, some nodes were more relevant according to group belonging. Conclusions People with a history of previous attempts have greater psychiatric symptom severity but the relationships between risk factors show the same structure when compared with the single attempt group. All risk factors deserve attention regardless of the number of attempts, but assessments can be adjusted to better monitor the occurrence of reattempts.

Energy transfer processes in nanohybrids are at the focal point of conceptualizing, designing, and realizing novel energy‐harvesting systems featuring nanocrystals that absorb photons and transfer their energy unidirectionally to surface‐immobilized functional dyes. Importantly, the functionality of these dyes defines the ultimate application. Herein, CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are interfaced with zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) dyes featuring carboxylic acid. The functionality is the photosensitization of singlet oxygen. The CsPbBr3@ZnPc nanohybrid is to the best of our knowledge the first example, in which an unusual Dexter‐type singlet energy transfer between metal halide perovskite nanocrystals and phthalocyanine dyes enables singlet oxygen generation as a proof‐of‐concept application. A detailed temporal picture of the singlet energy transfer mechanism is made possible by combining key time‐resolved spectroscopic techniques, that are, femtosecond, nanosecond, and microsecond transient absorption spectroscopy as well as time‐correlated single photon counting, and target analyses. In fact, three excitonic components in the NCs govern a concerted Dexter‐type energy transfer. The work illustrates the potential of CsPbBr3@ZnPc as a singlet photosensitizer of ZnPc to produce singlet oxygen (¹O2) almost quantitatively while photoexciting CsPbBr3.

Background Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is the sleep disorder most frequently found in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The intermittent hypoxia (IH) caused by OSA may participate in AD pathogenesis through increase in oxidative damage and inflammation. We aimed to identify inflammatory and redox genes differentially expressed in the blood from AD patients with severe OSA compared with those with nonsevere OSA. Method We included 40 AD patients diagnosed based on clinical manifestations and AD biomarker levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Severe or nonsevere OSA (apnoea–hypoapnoea index ³ 30/h and < 30/h, respectively) was diagnosed through overnight polysomnography (PSG). The expression levels of 136 inflammation‐related and 84 redox‐related genes were evaluated by whole blood targeted transcriptomics. Result We identified three inflammatory genes and six redox genes that were upregulated in AD patients with severe OSA. Of all upregulated genes, TNFSF14 and ALOX12 (inflammatory and redox genes, respectively) were positively correlated with the arousal index. GSR, a redox gene, was positively correlated with the AHI (p<0.05). Finally, we found good correlations between the three inflammatory genes and six redox genes (p<0.05). A pathway enrichment analysis showed a strong enrichment of the serotonergic synapse pathway in severe OSA AD patients. Conclusion Our results show an upregulation of nine genes involved in NF‐κB‐mediated inflammation and redox metabolism in the blood of patients with mild AD with severe OSA. Therefore, OSA may worsen the inflammation and oxidative damage that are already altered in patients with AD.

Determining whether an ipsilateral breast carcinoma recurrence is a true recurrence or a new primary remains challenging based solely on clinicopathologic features. Algorithms based on these features have estimated that up to 68% of recurrences might be new primaries. However, few studies have analyzed the clonal relationship between primary and secondary carcinomas to establish the true nature of recurrences. This study analyzed 70 breast carcinomas from 33 patients using immunohistochemistry, FISH, and massive parallel sequencing. We compared 35 primary carcinomas with the associated recurrences, identifying 24 (68.6%) as true recurrences, 7 (20%) as new primaries, and 4 (11%) as undetermined. Twenty-eight primary carcinomas were invasive carcinomas (22 of no special type, 5 invasive lobular, and 1 invasive micropapillary carcinoma), and 7 were in situ (6 ductal and 1 lobular). Time to recurrence was longer for new primaries (median 12.8 y) than for true recurrences (median 6.8 y). Among the new primary cases, 6 of 7 (85%) patients had undergone mastectomy as their initial treatment. Clinicopathologic classifications of invasive carcinomas overestimated the number of new primaries (41.6% to 68.6%), partially due to phenotype conversion in 14% of true recurrences. Although 41.7% of recurrences showed private mutations or amplifications relevant to tumor progression, such as PIK3CA, PIK3R1, MAP3K1, AKT1, GATA3, CCND1, MDM4 , or T P 5 3 ; a common mutational progression pattern was not identified. Further studies, including larger series, are necessary to evaluate the prognostic significance of the molecular classification of recurrences.

Besides being unjustly incarcerated, Sabrina Butler, Kristine Bunch, Ru-el Sailor and Larry DeLisle endured various forms of police mistreatment, as detailed in a collection of transcripts from the Wrongful Conviction Podcast (WCP). Understandably enough, their criminalization had a profound impact on their perception of external and internal realities. Given their unique socio-demographic backgrounds, variations in the discursive patterns of their communicative interactions are anticipated. As extensively analyzed in sociolinguistics, both gender and ethnicity influence how individuals construct discourse; particularly, these traits appear to account for how the subjects under study express their emotions and opinions. This is because they are silenced and unable to directly confront their trauma; often, they are incapable of discussing their feelings or identifying those responsible for these traumatic events. Drawing on Appraisal Theory, this paper investigates the language of evaluation used in these texts taken from the WCP. To this end, our analysis of the data is performed using UAM CorpusTool.

This cross-sectional study compared plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels among chronic primary musculoskeletal pain patients, chronic widespread pain patients, and asymptomatic controls. The study included 126 participants aged 18–65, divided into three groups of 42 each. Pain intensity was assessed using a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and plasma BDNF levels were measured via ELISA. Differences between groups were evaluated using ANOVA with 2000 bootstrap resamples and a bias-corrected and accelerated method. Results showed significantly higher plasma BDNF levels in chronic widespread pain patients (mean difference [MD] = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.28, 0.62; p < .001) compared to controls, and higher than in chronic primary musculoskeletal pain patients (MD = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.64, 1.02; p < .001). Chronic primary musculoskeletal pain patients had lower plasma BDNF levels compared to controls (MD = −0.39; 95% CI = −0.54, −0.24; p < .001). No significant correlations were observed between plasma BDNF levels and clinical variables. These findings suggest the potential of BDNF as a biomarker to differentiate chronic primary pain conditions.

Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG) has emerged as a versatile platform to explore correlated electron phases driven primarily by low-energy flat bands in moiré superlattices. While techniques for controlling the...

Populism is usually understood as a complex multi-dimensional phenomenon that encompasses different manifestations. However, most studies on the demand-side adopt a parsimonious minimal definition approach that hinders the ability to capture different forms of populism and the variable weight of its components. This article tests a new multi-dimensional strategy to measure and compare populist and pluralist attitudes in the context of Brexit Britain. We explore the relationship between populism and Britons' socio-political views-on borders, democracy, governance, identity, and the European Union-and psychological traits-such as conspiracy belief, social alienation, justification of political violence, and meaning in life-. Our new Multi-dimensional Populist Attitudes Scale (MPAS) reveals two varieties of populism, 'aspirational/ subversive' and 'identitarian/protective', and a non-populist 'moderate/pluralist' archetype. The new items introduced in the MPAS can complement (or become an alternative to) extant scales especially in contexts where populist movements do not fully fit narrow conceptualisations of populism.

Purpose To compare iridian Swept-Source Anterior Segment OCT (SS-AS-OCT) and microbiological features in Aqueous Humor (AH) in patients with Fuchs Uveitis Syndrome (FUS) and Posner-Schlossman Syndrome (PSS). Methods Comparative, retrospective-prospective single center study examining 131 eyes from 66 patients, including 33 eyes with PSS, 37 eyes with FUS, and 61 healthy eyes. AH samples were collected from affected eyes in all patients. Cross-sectional 6 mm SS-AS-OCT B-scans were taken from iris quadrants and analyzed for Stromal Thickness (ST), Smooth Index (SI), and Optical Density (OD) with ImageJ®. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS®. Results Among 32 PSS patients, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) was detected in 21 (65.5%). Of 34 FUS patients, 22 (64.7%) tested positive for Rubella Virus (RV) and one for CMV (2,9%). FUS eyes showed decreased ST compared to PSS ones in the superior (328.2 ± 49.4 vs 352.2 ± 47.4; p = 0.010) and temporal (322.6 ± 54.4 vs 294.3 ± 47.9; p = 0.024) quadrants. FUS eyes had a higher mean SI (p = 0.021), notably in the temporal quadrant (p = 0.002). Both FUS and PSS eyes showed significant differences in all parameters compared to healthy eyes, except for ST and OD in the temporal quadrant in PSS, and OD in the nasal quadrant in FUS. Quantitative analysis of iris OCT images showed that RV-related and non-RV-related FUS eyes were similar, as were CMV-associated and non-CMV-associated PSS eyes. Conclusions CMV and RV were found to be the main etiologies of PSS and FUS respectively. Quantitative analysis of iris OCT images has proved to be an objective method to differentiate between these two syndromes. Key messages What is known The etiopathogenesis of Fuchs Uveitis Syndrome (FUS) and Posner-Schlossman Syndrome (PSS) remains under discussion. Viral etiology is the most widely accepted theory: Rubella virus (RV) has been associated mostly with FUS and cytomegalovirus (CMV) with PSS. Although FUS and PSS are distinct conditions, their differential diagnosis can be challenging at times due to clinical similarities, particularly iris damage. What is new The quantitative analysis of iris images from Swept Source Anterior Segment OCT is an objective, reliable, and non-invasive method that allows differentiation between FUS and PSS. In this study, RV in FUS and CMV in PSS have been detected in almost 2/3 of patients. This is the first study to perform a comparative analysis of aqueous humor results between PSS and FUS along with the examination of iris images using SS-AS-OCT.