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CONTEXT: Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have promising applications as synthetic antibodies for protein and peptide recognition. A critical aspect of MIP design is the selection of functional monomers and their adequate proportions to achieve materials with high recognition capacity toward their targets. To contribute to this goal, we calibrated a molecular dynamics protocol to reproduce the experimental trends in peptide recognition of 13 pre-polymerization mixtures reported in the literature for the peptide toxin melittin. METHODS: Three simulation conditions were tested for each mixture by changing the box size and the number of monomers and cross-linkers surrounding the template in a solvent-explicit environment. Fully atomistic MD simulations of 350 ns were conducted with the AMBER20 software, with ff19SB parameters for the peptide, gaff2 parameters for the monomers and cross-linkers, and the OPC water model. Template-monomer interaction energies under the LIE approach showed significant differences between high-affinity and low-affinity mixtures. Simulation systems containing 100 monomers plus cross-linkers in a cubic box of 90 Å3 successfully ranked the mixtures according to their experimental performance. Systems with higher monomer densities resulted in non-specific intermolecular contacts that could not account for the experimental trends in melittin recognition. The mixture with the best recognition capacity showed preferential binding to the 13-26-α-helix, suggesting a relevant role for this segment in melittin imprinting and recognition. Our findings provide insightful information to assist the computational design of molecularly imprinted materials with a validated protocol that can be easily extended to other templates.

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Curcumin is a compound of great importance in the food industry due to its biological and pharmacological properties, which include being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticarcinogenic. This paper proposes the synthesis of an electrochemical sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and MWCNT by drop casting deposited on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the selective quantification of curcumin in food samples. The synthesized compounds are characterized by Fourier transform infrared (IR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The optimal conditions for further experiments were determined by selecting these parameters. We examined three food products, commercial capsules, turmeric rhizomes, and commercial turmeric powder, employing both electrochemical and HPLC methods for the analysis. The electrochemical method revealed a limit of detection (LOD) value of 0.1365 µmol L-1, compared with the HPLC analysis, which gave a value of 3.55 µmol L-1. Furthermore, the MIP material demonstrated superior selectivity for the analyte compared to potential interferents. The recovery percentage, determined using the HPLC method, fell within the range of 87.5% to 102.6.

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Resumen Introducción/objetivo: El perfeccionismo es una variable con un impacto transversal en diferentes áreas de la actividad física y deportiva, tales como la adherencia al ejercicio físico, el aprendizaje de habilidades, el desarrollo del talento y el rendimiento deportivo. No obstante, existen muy pocos instrumentos de evaluación específicos del deporte validados con población española. Por ello, el objetivo de este trabajo se centra en evaluar las características psicométricas del Inventario Multidimensional de Perfeccionismo en el Deporte (MIPS). Método: 216 deportistas hombres y mujeres de diferentes disciplinas y niveles de competición de España completaron el MIPS, y el cuestionario de estrategias de afrontamiento en competición deportiva (ISCCS). Resultados: Los resultados obtenidos del análisis factorial confirmatorio sugieren que los índices de ajuste del modelo multidimensional del MIPS fueron adecuados y los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach evidenciaron un buen nivel de confiabilidad interna. Los análisis de invarianza de género mostraron que el instrumento medía bien tanto en hombres como en mujeres. Por último, se confirmó también la validez convergente del MIPS. Conclusión: La versión española del MIPS es un instrumento válido para utilizarse con la población deportiva española en general, resultando un instrumento bien adaptado, fiable y válido desde un punto de vista psicométrico.

Abstract Introduction/Objective: Perfectionism is a variable with a transversal impact in different areas of physical activity and sports, such as adherence to physical exercise, learning skills, talent development and sports performance. However, very few sport-specific assessments instruments are validated with the Spanish population. Therefore, this work's objective is to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Multidimensional Inventory of Perfectionism in Sport (MIPS). Method: a sample of 216 male and female athletes from different disciplines and competition levels in Spain completed the MIPS and the Coping Strategies in Sports Competition (ISCCS) questionnaire. Results: The results obtained from the confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the fit indices of the MIPS multidimensional model were adequate and that Cronbach's alpha coefficients showed good internal reliability. Gender invariance analyzes showed that the instrument measured well in both men and women. The convergent validity of the MIPS was also confirmed. Conclusion: The Spanish version of the MIPS is a valid instrument for the Spanish sports population in general, resulting in a well-adapted, reliable and valid instrument from a psychometric point of view.

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Redesigning 3D-printed flow cells is reported used for heat transfer based detection of biomolecules from a flow-through system to an addition-type measurement cell. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of this new measurement design and critically analyse the influence of material properties and 3D printing approach on thermal analysis. Particular attention is paid to reduce the time to stabilisation, the sample volume in order to make the technique suitable for clinical applications, and improving the sensitivity of the platform by decreasing the noise and interference of air bubbles. The three different approaches that were studied included a filament polylactic acid cell using only fused filament fabrication (FFF), a resin cell printed using stereolitography (SLA), and finally a design made of copper, which was manufactured by combining metal injection moulding (MIM) with fused filament fabrication (FFF). Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modelling was undertaken using ANSYS Fluent V18.1 to provide insight into the flow of heat within the measurement cell, facilitating optimisation of the system and theoretical response speed.It was shown that the measurement cells using SLA had the lowest noise (~ 0.6%) and shortest measurement time (15 min), whereas measurement cells produced using other approaches had lower specificity or suffered from voiding issues. Finally, we assessed the potential of these new designs for detection of biomolecules and amoxicillin, a commonly used beta lactam antibiotic, to demonstrate the proof of concept. It can be concluded that the resin addition-type measurement cells produced with SLA are an interesting affordable alternative, which were able to detect amoxicillin with high sensitivity and have great promise for clinical applications due to the disposable nature of the measurement cells in addition to small sample volumes.

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Domoic acid (DA) is a natural amino acid and water-soluble neurotoxic biotoxin primarily produced by the microalgae Pseudo-nitzschia. DA can cause poisoning in humans and a wide variety of marine species. In this work, a molecularly imprinted nanoparticle-based assay (MINA) was developed as an alternative to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for selective detection of DA. In contrast with ELISA, MINA uses molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) as plastic antibodies due to its higher stability and lower production costs. In this work, dihydrokainic acid (DKA) was used as a dummy template because this molecule is structurally similar to DA but less toxic. The developed MINA had a high linear response for DKA and DA, showing detection limits of 2.12 nmol L-1 and 4.32 nmol L-1, respectively. Additionally, q-RMN studies demonstrated that DKA - nanoMIPs were selective for DKA, since they presented the best association parameters with a high loading load capacity of 175% and an association efficiency of 18%. No cross-reactivity towards 1, 3, 5 - pentanetricarboxylic acid was observed. These results suggest that MINA could be a more robust, more sensitive, and less expensive alternative to ELISA. The assay developed with DKA - nanoMIPs has strong potential for the detection of domoic acid in real samples of red tide.

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MAIN CONCLUSION: Depending on the N source and plant ontogenetic state, the epiphytic tank-forming bromeliad Vriesea gigantea can modulate aquaporin expression to maximize the absorption of the most available nitrogen source. Epiphytic bromeliads frequently present a structure formed by the overlapping of leaf bases where water and nutrients can be accumulated and absorbed, called tank. However, this structure is not present during the juvenile ontogenetic phase, leading to differences in nutrient acquisition strategies. Recent studies have shown a high capacity of the bromeliad Vriesea gigantea, an epiphytic tank-forming bromeliad, to absorb urea by their leaves. Since plant aquaporins can facilitate the diffusion of urea through the membranes, we cloned three foliar aquaporin genes, VgPIP1;1, VgPIP1;2 and VgTIP2;1 from V. gigantea plants. Through functional studies, we observed that besides water, VgTIP2;1 was capable of transporting urea while VgPIP1;2 may facilitate ammonium/ammonia diffusion. Moreover, aiming at identifying urea and ammonium-induced changes in aquaporin expression in leaves of juvenile and adult-tank plants, we showed that VgPIP1;1 and VgPIP1;2 transcripts were up-regulated in response to either urea or ammonium only in juvenile plants, while VgTIP2;1 was up-regulated in response to urea only in adult-tank plants. Thereby, an ontogenetic shift from juvenile to adult-tank-forming-plant appears to occur with metabolic changes regarding nitrogen metabolism regulation. Investigating urea metabolism in wild species that naturally cope with organic N sources, such as V. gigantea, may provide the knowledge to modify nitrogen use efficiency of crop plants.

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Current strategies for cancer patient management include the use of genomic and proteomic test results to help guide therapeutic selection. The need for multi-target variant analysis is highlighted by the growing number of novel therapies to treat tumors with specific profiles and the increasing recognition that cancer is an extremely heterogeneous syndrome. Microarray analysis is a powerful genomic tool that provides genome-wide genetic information that is critical for guiding cancer treatments. Unlike constitutional applications of microarray analysis which are performed on whole blood samples, microarray analysis of solid tumors is challenging because tumor tissues are typically formalin fixed and paraffin embedded (FFPE). Genomic DNA extracted from FFPE tissues can also be fragmented into small pieces and yield much lower concentrations of DNA. We validated and implemented the Affymetrix OncoScan® FFPE assay to enable genome-wide analysis from these types of samples. The Affymetrix OncoScan® assay utilizes molecular inversion probes that generate multiplexed array hybridization targets from as short as 40 base-pairs of sequence and as low as approximately 80 ng of genomic DNA. OncoScan microarray analysis provides genomic information that includes structural variations, copy number variations and SNPs in a timely and a cost-effective manner from FFPE tumor tissues (AU)

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A simple method using HPLC-DAD was developed for the determination of fluoroquinolones in human urine including ciprofloxacin (CIPRO), enrofloxacino (ENRO), marbofloxacino (MARBO) and norfloxacin (NOR). In addition, it was studied the extraction of fluoroquinolones in human urine samples using pipette tip-based molecularly imprinted polymers solid phase extraction (PT-MIPs-SPE). With the goal of finding the best procedure for extraction of four fluoroquinolones in human urine, several parameters that are likely to affect the efficiency of extraction during sample preparation, including the washing solvent, type and volume of eluent, amount of material, the volume of the sample, pH and the ionic strength were systematically optimized. Chromatographic separations of fluoroquinolones were hit within 10min using a Synergi(®) C18 (250×4.6mm, 4µm) column and mobile phase consisting of water (10mM of phosphoric acid, the pH adjusted at 3.29 with triethylamine) : acetonitrile (85.7: 14.3, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.5mLmin(-1). Detection was performed at 290nm. The average extraction recoveries/standard deviation relative to ENRO, CIPRO, NOR and MARBO were 96.40±5.51%, 42.47±4.81%, 41.82±7.99% and 87.49±4.70, respectively. The method was liner from 39 to 1260ngmL(-1) for each fluoroquinolone with correlation coefficient of 0.9904, 0.9910, 0.9914 and 0.9919, to ENRO, CIPRO, NOR and MARBO, respectively. The assays of within-day and between-day precision and accuracy for all analytes were studied at three concentration levels and were lower than 15%. The method was successfully employed in a preliminary cumulative urinary excretion study after administration of CIPRO to a healthy volunteer.

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Abstract In the last years the focus in dentistry has shifted to an "esthetic dentistry" approach, where patients are concerned about reaching a better look of their teeth. Vital tooth bleaching is a technique with immediate results, which improves the appearance and patient's self-esteem. The aim of this study was to recognize personality characteristics determined by the Millon Index of Personality Styles of participants looking for tooth bleaching and to correlate them to satisfaction with the treatment. Forty participants were included and filled out the Millon Index of Personality Styles form before treatment. Expectation about tooth bleaching was quantified from 1 to 5. Patients were treated with bleaching agent according to manufacturer's directions. One week after treatment, the patient's satisfaction was quantified from 1 to 5. Prevailing personality characteristics were determined. Expectations and satisfaction values of all patients were correlated with each of the presented personality scales by Spearman Rho test. Ten scales prevailed over their counterpart. Median of patient's expectation was 2 and satisfaction 4. Only the score of a single characteristic (extraversing) showed statistically significant correlation with patient satisfaction. Patients looking for tooth bleaching treatment seem to have common personality characteristics. Almost all of them wanted to achieve a moderate change in teeth color and the result of the treatment was usually satisfactory.

Resumo Ultimamente, o foco da Odontologia deslocou-se para uma "odontologia estética", em que os pacientes se preocupam em conseguir uma aparência melhor para seus dentes. O branqueamento vital é uma técnica com resultados imediatos que melhora aparência e auto-estima do paciente. O objetivo deste estudo foi detectar características de personalidade definidas pelo Índice Millon de Estilos de Personalidade de pessoas que buscaram branqueamento dental e correlacioná-las com a satisfação com o tratamento. Foram incluídos 40 participantes que preencheram o formulário do Índice Millon de Estilos de Personalidade antes do tratamento. A expectative sobre o branqueamento dental foi quantificada com valores de 1 a 5. Os pacientes foram tratados com agente branqueador de acordo com as instruções do fabricante. Uma semana depois o tratamento, a satisfação do paciente foi quantificada com valores de 1 a 5. Foram determinados as características predominantes. Os valores da expectativa e da satisfação foram correlacionados com cada escala de personalidade apresentada através do teste de Spearman Rho. Dez escalas prevaleceram sobre a sua contrapartida. A mediana das expectativas foi 2 e das satisfações foi 4. O valor de uma característica apenas (extraversão) apresentou correlação estatisticamente significante com a satisfação do paciente. Os pacientes que buscam o branqueamento dental parecem ter características comuns de personalidade. Quase todos queriam conseguir uma mudança moderada na cor dos dentes e o resultado do tratamento foi geralmente satisfatório.

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Objetivo. Esta investigación buscó identificar, en la población adulta del municipio de El Retiro (Antioquia), los tipos de consumo de alcohol, así como su relación con estilos de personalidad. Método. Se realizó un estudio transversal, descriptivo y correlacional. Se aplicaron dos instrumentos, Millón Inventory of Personality (MIPS) y Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (Audit) en una muestra de 61 participantes, de los cuales 33 fueron hombres y 28 mujeres. Resultados. El tipo de consumo de bebidas alcohólicas más frecuente en el municipio de El Retiro fue el consumo sin riesgo (68.9%,). Además, se presentaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el tipo de consumo de alcohol según el género. Particularmente, los hombres registraron dependencia al alcohol. Asimismo, se halló que en los hombres el consumo de alcohol se encuentra relacionado con los estilos de personalidad como la innovación (r = 0.35), la discrepancia (r = 0.40) y el dominio (r = 0.46); mientras que en las mujeres se relacionan con la discrepancia (r = 0.38), la expansión (r = 0.39), la modificación (r = 0.40) y la adecuación (r = 0.42). Para ambos géneros, el consumo de riesgo se correlaciona con el estilo de sistematización (r = 0.67), el consumo perjudicial con la protección (r = 0.89) y la dependencia al alcohol con la indecisión (r = 0.99). Conclusión. Las tres categorías en las que se agrupan los estilos de personalidad (metas motivacionales, modos cognitivos y comportamientos interpersonales), se asociaron diferencialmente con el consumo sin riesgo, con riesgo, perjudicial y dependencia, encontrando que estas relaciones entre estilo de personalidad y consumo también muestran diferencia por género.

Objective. To detect the rate of alcohol consumption and its relation to personality styles in the adult population of the town of "El Retiro" (Antioquia, Colombia). Method. The study was cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational. Two instruments were applied, the Millón Inventory of Personality (MIPS) and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (Audit) in a sample of 61 participants, of which 33 were men and 28 were women. Results. The most common rate of drinking in El Retiro was Safe Consumption (68.9%). There were statistically significant differences in the rate of alcohol consumption by gender, with men in particular showing alcohol dependence. In the case of men, alcohol consumption is related to personality styles such as Innovation (r = 0.35) Discrepancy (r = 0.40), and Domain (r = 0.46) and in women Discrepancy (r = 0.38), Expansion (r = 0.39), Modification (r = 0.40) and Adequacy (r = 0.42). Consumption of risk for both genders correlated to the style of systematization (r = 0.67), harmful use with protection (r = 0.89) and alcohol dependence with indecision (r =0.99). Conclusion. The three main categories which group the personality styles of motivational goals, cognitive modes and interpersonal behaviors are differentially associated with consumption without risk, with risk, harmful and dependent, with significant gender-related differences when taking into account personality style and consumption.

Escopo. Esta pesquisa procurou identificar, na população adulta do município El Retiro (Antioqia- Colômbia), os tipos de consumo de álcool, assim como sua relação com estilos de pessoalidade. Metodologia. Para isto, foi feito um estudo transversal, descritivo e correlacional. Foram aplicados dois instrumentos, Millón Inventory of Personality (MIPS) e Alcohol Disorder Identification Test (Audit) em uma amostra de 61 participantes, dos que 33 foram homens e 28 mulheres. Resultados. O tipo de consumo de bebidas alcoólicas mais frequentes no município de El Retiro foi o consumo sem risco (68.9%). Além, apresentaram-se diferenças estatisticamente significativas no tipo de consumo segundo o gênero. Particularmente, os homens registraram dependência ao álcool. Também foi achado que nos homens o consumo de álcool esta relacionado com os estilos de pessoalidade como a inovação (r = 0.35), a discrepância (r = 0.40) e o domínio (r = 0.46), enquanto que nas mulheres estão relacionadas com a discrepância (r = 0.38), a expansão (r = 0.39), a modificação (r = 0.40) e a adequação (r = 0.42). Para ambos gêneros, o consumo de risco esta correlacionado com o estilo de sistematização (r = 0.67), o consumo prejudicial com a proteção (r = 0.89) e a dependência ao álcool com a indecisão (r = 0.99). Conclusão. As três categorías nas que estão agrupados os estilos de pessoalidade (metas motivacionais, modos cognitivos e comportamentos interpessoais), foram associados diferencialmente com o consumo sem risco, prejudicial e dependência, encontrando que estas relaciones entre estilo de pessoalidade e consumo também mostram diferencias por gênero.

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La presente investigación tuvo como propósito elaborar un perfil de los estudiantes de primer año de la carrera de Enfermería de la Universidad Santo Tomás, con la finalidad de obtener información sobre los diversos ámbitos del funcionamiento del alumno. Se realizó un estudio de tipo exploratorio-descriptivo, con una muestra compuesta por 71 sujetos de ambos sexos. A éstos se les aplicaron los inventarios de personalidad MIPS (Inventario Millón de Estilos de Personalidad) y el POI (Inventario de Auto-Actualización Personal). Los resultados indican que los sujetos en el MIPS manifiestan una presencia marcada de los rasgos: apertura, sensación, sistematización, firmeza, conformismo y control. Los hallazgos del POI indican que los estudiantes presentan un alto nivel de autoaprecio, y un adecuado nivel de autonomía, espontaneidad, autoaceptación y aceptación de la agresión.

The present research protocol was designed to develop a psychological profile of first year nursing students at Santo Tomás University, and therefore obtain information related to different behavioral areas. An exploratory-descriptive research protocol for 71 students of both genders was designed. Million Indexes of Personality Styles (MIPS) and Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) were used. The results of MIPS showed a marked presence of these traits: Openness, Feeling, Systematization, Strength, Conformity and Control. The POI results showed the students possessed a high level of self regard, and an adequate level of support ratio, spontaneity, self acceptance and acceptance of aggression.

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Desde su obra seminal de 1976, Psicopatología moderna: un enfoque biosocial de los aprendizajes erróneos y de los disfuncionalismos, y por más de 30 años Theodore Millon ha desarrollado una ciencia compleja de la personalidad y su patología. En su modelo, el autor postula la existencia de tres polaridades básicas, placer-dolor, activo-pasivo y yo-otros, para explicar las diferencias entre los diferentes tipos de personalidad. El modelo original de aprendizaje biosocial fue reformulado en 1990 a la luz de los conceptos evolutivos. A lo largo de todo este tiempo, Millon junto a sus seguidores han establecido un paradigma para comprender la personalidad. Al mismo tiempo, há argumentado reiteradamente que una ciencia clínica comprensiva de la personalidad necesita integrar cuatro componentes básicos: teoría o esquemas conceptuales explicativos, una nosología formal, herramientas de evaluación, e intervenciones terapéuticas adecuadas. En este trabajo, se resumen los aspectos primordiales del Modelo de Millon en lo que hace a esos diferentes componentes.

From its seminal work of 1976, Psicopatología moderna: un enfoque biosocial de los aprendizajes erróneos y de los disfuncionalismos, and by more than 30 years Theodore Millon has developed a complex science of the personality and its pathology. In his model, the author postulates the existence of three basic polarities, pleasure-pain, active-passive and I-other, to explain the differences between the different types from personality. The original model of biosocial learning was reformulated in 1990 to the light of the evolutionary concepts. Throughout all this time, Millon next to their followers has established a paradigm to understand the personality. At the same time, it has argued repeatedly that a comprehensive clinical science of the personality needs to integrate four basic components: explanatory theory or conceptual schemes, a formal nosology, suitable tools of evaluation, and therapeutic interventions. In this work, the fundamental aspects of the Model of Millon are transformed in which it does to those different components.

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Se presentan los resultados preliminares de un estudio sobre evaluación cambios en la contención emocional de padres o adultos responsables de niños entre 6 y 8 años de edad que son asistidos en grupos de orientación a padres, en el Subprograma de Psicología Clínica de Niños de la Segunda Cátedra de Psicoanálisis: Escuela Inglesa, Facultad de Psicología, U.B.A.; con sede en la Regional Sur (Partido de Avellaneda, Provincia de Buenos Aires). Objetivos del estudio: evaluar los estilos de personalidad de los adultos responsables; analizar su capacidad de contención emocional; indagar posibles modificaciones a partir de la inserción en grupos de orientación.Metodología: la muestra está compuesta por 2 grupos de orientación (19 adultos responsables). Administración del MIPS (Millon) al inicio y retest a los 6 meses. Conclusiones: se registran modificaciones en la capacidad de contención emocional en varios de los casos.

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