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Mesenchymal stromal cells-derived extracellular vesicles in cartilage regeneration: potential and limitations
Full text linkReview[Abstract]
Background: Articular cartilage injuries can lead to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility, and may eventually progress to osteoarthritis (OA). Despite substantial research efforts, effective therapies capable of regenerating cartilage are still lacking. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are known for their differentiation and immunomodulatory capabilities, yet challenges such as limited survival post-injection and inconsistent therapeutic outcomes hinder their clinical application. Recent evidence suggests that the beneficial effects of MSCs are largely mediated by their secreted small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), which have been shown to promote tissue repair and reduce inflammation. MSC-derived sEVs have shown promise in mitigating cartilage degradation and chondrocyte apoptosis, positioning them as a promising alternative to MSC-based therapies for OA treatment. This review explores the potential and limitations of MSC-derived sEVs in cartilage regeneration.
Main text: This systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, with a comprehensive search of the Web of Science and Scopus databases for studies published between 2019 and 2024. A total of 223 records were identified, of which 132 articles were assessed for eligibility based on general selection criteria. After full-text screening, 60 articles were initially selected, comprising 58 in vitro studies and 40 in vivo studies. Following further exclusion based on specific criteria, 33 in vitro and 28 in vivo studies from a total of 47 scientific papers were included in the final qualitative synthesis. Most studies indicate that MSC-derived sEVs enhance chondrocyte proliferation, improve cartilage extracellular matrix composition, and reduce matrix-degrading enzymes and inflammation, thereby delaying OA progression.
Conclusion: A growing body of evidence supports the use of MSC-derived sEVs as a therapeutic tool for preventing OA progression, with most studies reporting beneficial effects on cartilage structure and function. However, challenges remain in optimizing and standardizing sEVs isolation, dosage, and delivery methods for clinical application. Further research is necessary to elucidate the mechanisms underlying sEVs-mediated cartilage regeneration and to facilitate their translation into effective OA therapies.This work was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III-General Subdirection of Assessment and Promotion of the Research-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) “A way of making Europe” (PI20/00933 and PI17/02197); Grupos con Potencial de Crecemento, Xunta de Galicia (ED431B 2023/58 and ED431B 2020/55); and Fundación Pública Gallega de Investigación Biomédica (INIBIC)-Proyectos de Desarrollo y Transferencia 2024 and 2022. We also thank Fundación Pública Galega de Investigación Biomédica INIBIC (A Coruña, Spain) for granting support for the publication of open-access articles (2024/2025).info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento del Sistema Español de I+D+I/PI20%2F00933/ES/VESICULAS EXTRACELULARES PEQUEÑAS (SEVS): UNA NUEVA HERRAMIENTA TERAPEUTICA PARA EL TRATAMIENTO DE LA ARTROSISinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ISCIII/Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigación Científica y Técnica de Excelencia/PI17%2F02197/ES/CELULAS MADRE PLURIPOTENTES INDUCIDAS (IPS) COMO MODELO DE ARTROSIS DE MANOSXunta de Galicia; ED431B 2023/58Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2020/5
Femtosecond Laser Removal of Antifouling Paints on Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic Used in Maritime Industry
Full text link[Abstract] In this work we investigated the use of ultrashort laser pulses to clean antifouling paint from samples of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP), a composite material widely used in shipbuilding. Samples were prepared with two types of paint, self-polishing and hard matrix, according to the scheme used in the shipyard. The paints and the GFRP substrate were characterised by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The effectiveness of the cleaning treatment and the effects on the substrate were evaluated by optical microscopy, interferometric microscopy, SEM-EDS and FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicate that satisfactory cleaning was achieved with controlled removal of unwanted layers without damaging or chemically altering the polymer bulk. The surfaces were also evaluated by SEM and interferometric microscopy to characterise morphological changes, and their wettability was characterised by contact angle measurements. In addition, the results were compared with those obtained by the conventional mechanical method (paint scraping and sanding). A roughening of the laser cleaned surfaces was observed compared to untreated surfaces as well as compared to mechanically cleaned surfaces. Laser treatment caused a decrease in wettability; sanded surfaces showed comparable behaviour. This study demonstrates the potential of femtosecond lasers for safe and effective cleaning of GFRP substrates in a more environmentally friendly manner.This research was partially supported by Grant PID2021-123948OB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”, by the “European Union”
Semantic-guided generative latent diffusion augmentation approaches for improving the neovascularization diagnosis in OCT-A imaging
No full textThis is the Accepted version of the article: Morís, D. I., de Moura, J., Carmona, E. J., Novo, J., & Ortega, M. (2025). ‘Semantic-guided generative latent diffusion augmentation approaches for improving the neovascularization diagnosis in OCT-A imaging’ published in: Pattern Recognition Letters, 189, p. 31-37. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patrec.2025.01.003.[Abstract]: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) presents an enormous challenge in Western Societies due to the increase in life expectancy. AMD is characterized for causing Macular Neovascularization. Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A) represents an advanced method to help find evidence of the disease. In this context, deep learning algorithms are suitable to make a screening of the disease. However, biomedical imaging domains are usually affected by the data scarcity issue. The mitigation of this problem can be achieved with the support of generative latent diffusion models. This represents a powerful strategy to artificially augment the cardinality of the original dataset. In this work, we present a novel fully automatic methodology to generate OCT-A images, guided by semantic information, to reduce the impact of data scarcity and to enable an accurate neovascularization diagnosis. The evaluation has been performed with a specific dataset composed of two different fields of view commonly used by clinicians. The results demonstrate a top accuracy of 96.50% 1.37%, using 3 × 3 scans, and 95.79% 1.44%, when using 6 × 6 scans. The proposed methodology has great potential to be extrapolated to other imaging modalities and domains.This work received funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCI) through the grants [PID2023-148913OB-I00], [TED2021-131201B-I00], and [PDC2022-133132-I00], and from the Consellería de Educación, Universidade, e Formación Profesional, Xunta de Galicia, Grupos de Referencia Competitiva, under grant [ED431C 2024/33]. Additional support was provided by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III under grant [FORT23/00010], as part of the Programa FORTALECE from the MCI. This work was also supported by the Horizon Europe Programme through the ACHILLES/101189689 project (HORIZON-CL4-2024-DATA-01-01).Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2024/3
Efficient semi-supervised hierarchical training for segmenting choroidal vessels and other structures on OCT images of multiple sclerosis patients
Full text link[Abstract]: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used to diagnose ocular and systemic diseases. Recently, several clinical studies have linked changes in different ocular layers to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), so accurate segmentation of these structures has become an essential task. Unfortunately, segmenting the entire set of structures involved is a very difficult task, due to their large number and variability. These two factors hinder the labeling of images and therefore severely restrict the ability to achieve a large dataset with all structures manually annotated, limiting the use of a standard supervised approach. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised learning methodology to robustly segment ocular structures in OCT images using a limited number of partially labeled images. Our methodology maximizes the information we can extract from labeled images through hierarchical learning, where multiple decoders are used to extract segmented structures progressively. We use a reconstruction loss function to provide structural coherence to the segmentation and a teacher–student strategy to effectively leverage the information present in the set of unlabeled images. In addition to the segmentation of labeled structures, this hierarchical approach allows segmenting structures that are not labeled in the dataset such as the choroidal vessels. To validate the proposed methodology, we have carried out extensive experimentation using two datasets with different characteristics. These experiments have demonstrated a great potential of this methodology to train networks efficiently with partially labeled images, which allows to accurately extract the main biomarkers linked to the development of MS.This research was funded by Government of Spain, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades, Government of Spain, RTI2018-095894-B-I00 research project; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Government of Spain through the research projects with reference PID2019-108435RB-I00, PDC2022-133132-I00 and TED2021-1312
01B-I00; Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade, Xunta de Galicia through the Grupos de Referencia Competitiva, grant ref. ED431C 2020/24; CITIC, as Research Center accredited by Galician University System, is funded by ‘‘Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade from Xunta de Galicia, Spain’’, supported in an 80% through ERDF Funds, ERDF Operational Programme Galicia 2014–2020, and the remaining 20% by ‘‘Secretaría Xeral de Universidades, Spain’’, grant ref. ED431G 2019/01. Emilio López Varela acknowledges its support under FPI, Spain Grant Program through PID2019-108435RB-I00 project.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2020/24Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0
Perception about sustainable development goals among Erasmus students in a Spanish university
Full text link[Abstract]: Purpose – This study aims to analyse the positioning of young people in the face of the challenges posed by
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It focuses on the case of Erasmusþ students at a Spanish
university and tries to evaluate the importance of each of the SDGs for them.
Design/methodology/approach – Based on primary data obtained through a survey of more than 300
young people, factor analysis was applied to evaluate the importance assigned to each SDG and quantify the
degree of concern assigned to each of them.
Findings – Results show a high degree of concern for all the SDGs among Erasmus students, although they
have done so with different levels of intensity. College students especially value education. Women are more
concerned about socioeconomic problems. Furthermore, surprising results have been found in terms of gender
equality, which indicates the need to deepen this analysis.
Originality/value – This work contributes to the academic literature, still limited but growing, on how
Erasmus students perceive the SDGs and to what level they feel committed to these objectives. Furthermore,
it can be helpful for public policy managers regarding a specific group of young university students and a hot
topic such as sustainability
La influencia del factor género sobre las variables que miden la satisfacción de compra en los clientes de las agencias de viajes españolas
No full text[Resumen] El subsector de las agencias de viajes se ha enfrentado en los últimos años a muchos desafíos para adaptar su oferta de productos y servicios a la gran diversidad de viajeros existentes; tratado de comprender desde una perspectiva de género las distintas preferencias de los consumidores. Este capítulo tiene el objetivo de examinar las diferencias generadas por la variable género de los consumidores de las agencias de viajes españolas a la hora de realizar una valoración las variables que miden la satisfacción en la compra de un viaje en una agencia de viajes presencial o en una agencia de viajes virtual. La metodología empleada fue cuantitativa, explicativa y de carácter hipotético- deductivo. Se aplicó un cuestionario en línea a personas que durante el año 2019 hubiesen formalizado alguna reserva empleando alguna agencia de viajes española de tipo presencial u online; obteniendo una muestra de 879 sujetos. Para la analítica de datos se empleó el Software IBM SPSS en su versión 26.0 y la principal herramienta estadística empleada fue la Prueba t de Student. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el género, variable que rara vez se incorpora en la literatura sobre la experiencia del cliente y prácticamente inexplorado en ámbito de las agencias de viajes, no influye en la valoración de las variables que miden la satisfacción en la compra de un viaje en una agencia presencial o en una agencia virtual. Se trata de un tema con matices y las diferentes investigaciones llevadas a cabo en distintos subsectores de la industria turística apuntan a que el factor género puede no tener un impacto significativo en los niveles de satisfacción en algunos contextos, mientras que en otros sí podría desempeñar un papel importante. Este estudio destaca la importancia de considerar el género para entender mejor el comportamiento del consumidor de las agencias de viajes con el fin de diseñar estrategias de marketing más efectivas al mismo tiempo que las múltiples necesidades de los clientes se ven satisfecha
El Movimiento Moderno en la enseñanza de la Arquitectura
No full textA Iniciativa “Principia”, presentada o día 26 de febrero de 2025 no Salón de actos da ETSAC, consta de 27 rexistros audiovisuais que inclúen clases maxistrais, entrevistas, conversacións, reflexións e sesións docentes, co obxetivo de construir e compartir a historia da ETSAC e deixar un rexistro audiovisual dunha significativa mostra do profesorado que contribuíu de xeito decisivo a poñela en marcha, conformando a súa identidade ao longo do tempo como resultado da confluencia das súas moi diversas traxectorias docentes e profesionais. Idea, dirección e montaxe do arquitecto Xosé Manuel Rosales Noves.Rexistro audiovisual que recolle unha conferencia do profesor da ETSAC, Celestino García Braña, e que forma parte da colección “Principia” que, con motivo do 50 aniversario da Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura da Coruña, fai un recoñecemento académico á súa labor e legado
Galicia, un mundo de pedra
No full textA Iniciativa “Principia”, presentada o día 26 de febrero de 2025 no Salón de actos da ETSAC, consta de 27 rexistros audiovisuais que inclúen clases maxistrais, entrevistas, conversacións, reflexións e sesións docentes, co obxetivo de construir e compartir a historia da ETSAC e deixar un rexistro audiovisual dunha significativa mostra do profesorado que contribuíu de xeito decisivo a poñela en marcha, conformando a súa identidade ao longo do tempo como resultado da confluencia das súas moi diversas traxectorias docentes e profesionais. Idea, dirección e montaxe do arquitecto Xosé Manuel Rosales Noves.Rexistro audiovisual que recolle unha conferencia do profesor da ETSAC, Pedro de Llano, e que forma parte da colección “Principia” que, con motivo do 50 aniversario da Escola Técnica Superior de Arquitectura da Coruña, fai un recoñecemento académico á súa labor e legado
The barriers to family reconciliation for women in Redondela
Full text link[Resumen] Este trabajo examina las dificultades que enfrentan las mujeres de Redondela (Pontevedra, Galicia) para equilibrar su vida laboral y familiar. A través de entrevistas cualitativas, se destacan problemáticas como la carga desigual de cuidados, la insuficiencia de políticas públicas y la falta de redes de apoyo efectivas. El análisis muestra cómo los estereotipos de género perpetúan la "doble jornada" y limitan las oportunidades de desarrollo personal y profesional de las mujeres. Aunque existen medidas implementadas a nivel estatal, autonómico y local, su alcance es limitado y no logra responder de manera integral a las necesidades específicas de las familias. Este estudio subraya la importancia de fortalecer las políticas públicas para promover la corresponsabilidad, valorar el trabajo de cuidado y fomentar una distribución más justa de las responsabilidades familiares, avanzando hacia una conciliación real y equitativa.[Resumo] Este traballo examina as dificultades ás que se enfrontan as mulleres de Redondela (Pontevedra, Galicia) para equilibrar a súa vida laboral e familiar. A través de entrevistas cualitativas, destácanse problemáticas como a carga desigual dos coidados, a insuficiencia de políticas públicas e a falta de redes de apoio efectivas. A análise amosa como os estereotipos de xénero perpetúan a "dobre xornada" e limitan as oportunidades de desenvolvemento persoal e profesional das mulleres. Aínda que existen medidas implementadas a nivel estatal, autonómico e local, o seu alcance é limitado e non responde de maneira integral ás necesidades específicas das familias. Este estudo subliña a importancia de reforzar as políticas públicas para promover a corresponsabilidade, valorar o traballo de coidado e fomentar unha distribución máis xusta das responsabilidades familiares, avanzando cara a unha conciliación real e equitativa.[Abstract] This study examines the challenges faced by women in Redondela (Pontevedra, Galicia) in balancing their work and family lives. Through qualitative interviews, it highlights issues such as the unequal burden of caregiving, the insufficiency of public policies, and the lack of effective support networks. The analysis reveals how gender stereotypes perpetuate the "double shift" and limit women's opportunities for personal and professional development. Although measures have been implemented at the national, regional, and local levels, their scope is limited and fails to comprehensively address the specific needs of families. This study underscores the importance of strengthening public policies to promote shared responsibility, value caregiving work, and encourage a fairer distribution of family responsibilities, moving towards real and equitable work-family balance.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.SOC). Socioloxía. Curso 2024/202
The democratic memory in Boiro: the effects of forgetting in public space
Full text link[Resumo] O golpe de Estado, a Guerra Civil é a posterior ditadura franquista son importantes feitos históricos acaecidos na sociedade española. Case 40 anos dun sistema autocrático crearon un impacto na sociedade, na formación da súa memoria, e actualmente na recuperación de espazos físicos que conmemoran estes sucesos para sortear o esquecemento. Este traballo busca analizar os efectos deste olvido1 a nivel local a través do estudo de caso do municipio galego de Boiro. Mediante unha análise exploratoria e con técnicas cualitativas pretende facerse un percorrido polos lugares da memoria localizados no concello e o seu significado. Para isto, realizouse observación participante na Comisión pola Recuperación da Memoria Histórica da Barbanza, a través da que se conseguiron contactos para executar entrevistas a persoas referentes na memoria histórica boirense dende o punto de vista da política, a historia e a educación. Como resultado, realizarase un roteiro que sitúa e contextualiza esas ubicacións adicadas á memoria democrática en Boiro, poñéndoas no mapa do imaxinario colectivo boirense ante o olvido.[Resumen] El golpe de Estado, la Guerra civil y la posterior dictadura franquista son importantes hechos históricos ocurridos en la sociedad española. Casi 40 años de un sistema autocrático crearon un impacto en la sociedad, en la formación de su memoria, y actualmente en la recuperación de espacios físicos que conmemoran estos sucesos para sortear el olvido. Este trabajo busca analizar los efectos de este olvido a nivel local a través del estudio de caso del municipio gallego de Boiro. Mediante un análisis exploratorio y con técnicas cualitativas pretende hacerse un recorrido por los lugares de la memoria localizados en el ayuntamiento y su significado. Para esto, se realizó observación participante en la Comisión pola Recuperación da Memoria Histórica da Barbanza,a través de la que se consiguieron contactos para ejecutar entrevistas a personas referentes en la memoria histórica boirense desde el punto de vista de la política, la historia y la educación. Como resultado, se realizará un roteiro que sitúa y contextualiza esas ubicaciones dedicadas a la memoria democrática en Boiro, situándolas en el mapa del imaginario colectivo boirense ante el olvido.[Abstract] The putsch, the Civil War and the subsequent Franco dictatorship are important historical events that occurred in Spanish society. Almost 40 years of an autocratic system created an impact on society, on the formation of its memory, and currently on the recovery of physical spaces that commemorate these events to avoid oblivion. This work seeks to analyze the effects of this neglect at the local level through the case study of the Galician municipality of Boiro. Through an exploratory analysis and qualitative techniques, the aim is to take a tour of the places of memory located in the town hall and their meaning. For this, participant observation was carried out in the Commission for the Recovery of Historical Memory of Barbanza, through which contacts were obtained to carry out interviews with people of reference in the historical memory of Boirense from the point of view of politics, history and education. As a result, a roteiro will be made that locates and contextualizes those locations dedicated to democratic memory in Boiro, placing them on the map of the collective Boiro imagination in the face of oblivion.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.SOC). Socioloxía. Curso 2024/202