Uso de células iPS en terapia regenerativa renal: obtención de células iPS mediante vector no integrativo y diferenciación hacia podocitos.

[ES]En las sociedades modernas existe una creciente preocupación por el aumento de la incidencia de la enfermedad renal crónica. Debido a la deficiencia de donantes de órganos y al elevado coste del tratamiento de diálisis, existe la necesidad de desarrollar nuevos tratamientos para estos pacientes. La medicina regenerativa basada en la aplicación de células iPS es una opción prometedora para el tratamiento de esta enfermedad. Sin embargo, la falta de conocimientos sobre el estado pluripotencial de las células y sobre su proceso de diferenciación, así como las limitaciones derivadas del propio procedimiento de reprogramación, impiden su aplicación clínica en un futuro inmediato. Para que se convierta en realidad, numerosas investigaciones se están llevando a cabo con el objetivo de mejorar el procedimiento y hacerlo adecuado para su aplicación clínica. En este trabajo se propone un método que permitiría obtener células iPS a partir de células mesangiales mediante la transfección con un vector no integrativo, el virus Sendai, portador de los genes Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 y c-Myc. Al tratarse de un vector no integrativo, se minimizaría el efecto del proceso de reprogramación sobre la estabilidad del genoma celular. Además, en este proyecto se estudiará la capacidad de las células iPS obtenidas para diferenciarse en células progenitoras de podocitos que puedan ser aplicadas específicamente en terapias regenerativas para enfermos renales crónicos.

Community structure in real-world networks from a non-parametrical synchronization-based dynamical approach

[EN]This work analyzes the problem of community structure in real-world networks based on the synchronization of nonidentical coupled chaotic Rössler oscillators each one characterized by a defined natural frequency, and coupled according to a predefined network topology. The interaction scheme contemplates an uniformly increasing coupling force to simulate a society in which the association between the agents grows in time. To enhance the stability of the correlated states that could emerge from the synchronization process, we propose a parameterless mechanism that adapts the characteristic frequencies of coupled oscillators according to a dynamic connectivity matrix deduced from correlated data. We show that the characteristic frequency vector that results from the adaptation mechanism reveals the underlying community structure present in the network.

Quantum ricochets: surface capture, release and energy loss of fast ions hitting a polar surface at grazing incidence

A diffraction mechanism is proposed for the capture, multiple bouncing and final escape of a fast ion (keV) impinging on the surface of a polarizable material at grazing incidence. Capture and escape are effected by elastic quantum diffraction consisting of the exchange of a parallel surface wave vector G= 2p/ a between the ion parallel momentum and the surface periodic potential of period a. Diffraction- assisted capture becomes possible for glancing angles F smaller than a critical value given by Fc 2- 2./ a-| Vim|/ E, where E is the kinetic energy of the ion,. = h/ Mv its de Broglie wavelength and Vim its average electronic image potential at the distance from the surface where diffraction takes place. For F< Fc, the ion can fall into a selected capture state in the quasi- continuous spectrum of its image potential and execute one or several ricochets before being released by the time reversed diffraction process. The capture, ricochet and escape are accompanied by a large, periodic energy loss of several tens of eV in the forward motion caused by the coherent emission of a giant number of quanta h. of Fuchs- Kliewer surface phonons characteristic of the polar material. An analytical calculation of the energy loss spectrum, based on the proposed diffraction process and using a model ion-phonon coupling developed earlier (Lucas et al 2013 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 25 355009), is presented, which fully explains the experimental spectrum of Villette et al (2000 Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 3137) for Ne+ ions ricocheting on a LiF(001) surface.

Proposal and validation of methodologies for the categorisation of continuous variables in the development of prediction models

158 p.