Proyectos

Frailty is increasingly becoming an important public health challenge worldwide because it is associated with older age, and with adverse outcomes such as reduced quality of life, increased mortality rates, hospitalizations, falls, depression, and dementia. Frailty is defined as dynamic state affecting an individual who experiences losses in one or more domains of human functioning (physical, psychological, social) that are caused by the influence of a range of variables, and which increases the risk of adverse outcomes. This more integral conceptual definition promotes the collaboration of scientists, social and behavioral professionals as well as clinicians from diverse specialties. In this proposal an interdisciplinary group (Biochemistry, Geriatric, Occupational Therapist, Kinesiologist, social worker, bioengineer, statistician among others) aims to evaluate frailty in Chile with a biopsychosocial approach with the final purpose to identify and manage frailty while taking into consideration all the dimensions. Additionally, we aim to design a multidomain personalized person-base intervention for a healthy aging that can uncover a circulating microRNA biomarker panel that can allow an early-detection of frailty, leading to a new multidimensional geriatric assessment. We propose the following hypothesis: A personalized multidimensional training program reduces the frailty prevalence, increasing adherence and participation in the program among community-living older adults. This intervention will be paralleled by a distinctive miRNA profile reflecting the multiple domains of frailty, as well as improvements in diverse psychosocial traits.

Objetivo general: Instalar una editorial cooperativa en la región de O’Higgins sustentada a partir de la comercialización de productos y servicios educativos desarrollados en base a evidencia científica, que permitan implementar el aprendizaje basado en juegos y que consideran la diversidad del aula. Esta propuesta incluye la instalación de un laboratorio de prototipado y producción, además del desarrollo de un paquete de productos y servicios educativos cuya comercialización permite sustentar la editorial cooperativa. 5.4.1. Objetivo Específico 1 (Editorial Cooperativa) Coordinar una red de emprendedores del área educativa para establecer una editorial cooperativa para la Región de O’Higgins para desarrollar y comercializar productos y servicios educativos lúdicos, de base científica y carácter inclusivo. Funciona bajo un modelo de cooperativa cuyos miembros son emprendedores localizados en la región de O’Higgins con interés en innovación educativa, trabajando bajo el principio de ayuda mutua. 5.4.2. Objetivo Específico 2 (Diagnóstico de Productos) Diagnosticar las necesidades de productos y servicios educativos para promover la calidad de los aprendizajes en los primeros cursos de educación básica en la región de O’Higgins. Identifica tópicos en matemáticas y lenguaje que presentan dificultades al momento de su enseñanza, describe la diversidad de estudiantes en escuelas municipales e indaga métodos de comercialización comunes. 5.4.3. Objetivo Específico 3 (Laboratorio de prototipado y Manufactura) Instalar en la Universidad de O’Higgins un laboratorio para elaborar prototipos de juegos de mesa educativos y producirlos en pequeña escala. Se adquiere maquinaria, equipamientos e insumos necesarios para que el Laboratorio de Aprendizaje Matemático (LAM) pueda prototipar juegos de mesa y, en conjunto con la Fábrica Digital O’Higgins (FabLab), producirlos con alta calidad y en pequeña escala de manera eficiente (30-100 ejemplares). 5.4.4. Objetivo Específico 4 (Desarrollo de Productos) Realizar el diseño, prototipado y manufactura de un paquete de productos educativos para fortalecer las áreas de matemática y lenguaje en los primeros años de educación básica. Diseñados en base a ciencias del aprendizaje, estos productos permiten desarrollar aprendizajes en base a juegos y actividades lúdicas considerando la diversidad de estudiantes en el aula. 5.4.5. Objetivo Específico 5 (Capacitación y Servicios) Generar un programa de capacitación para certificar a los emprendedores educativos para que provean servicios que acompañan a los productos educativos ofrecidos por la editorial. Este programa certifica que el emprendedor es experto en la aplicación de los productos educativos desarrollados. Este certificado habilita a los miembros de la editorial para ofrecer estos servicios en el mercado educativo.

The recently awarded Fondecyt Iniciación no. 11241126 (PI Jorge Romero) aims to determine the distribution and geometry of slope instability and its controlling factors (i.e., textural and compositional characteristics of rocks, their mass structure and discontinuities, and their mechanical rock properties) at the San José and Nevados de Chillán Volcanic Complexes. Specific objectives involve encompassing the production of thematic maps to represent the factors contributing to instability (e.g., magmatic intrusions, hydrothermal alteration areas, observed landslides, etc.) and defining and characterizing lithotechnical units based on field observations. In addition, it should determine the mechanical rock properties of natural samples based on laboratory tests that represent different scenarios. Lastly, these results should be incorporated into numerical models to represent unstable areas, failure planes, and conditions for failure.

Tenacibaculosis is an emerging pathogen recently classified as high-risk disease. Since 2020 it is the second pathogen after Piscirickettsia salmonis producing higher mortalities in Atlantic salmon. Diverses species of Tenacibaculosis has been described in Chile, but Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi present the higher prevalence in culture centers. Before 2018, underreporting of Tenacibaculosis was possible due to the external signology is similar with Piscirickettsiosis. P. salmonis is the main pathogen in Chilean salmon farming, causing the principals mortalities because of diseases. In recent years, concerns related to Tenacibaculosis and Piscirickettsiosis coinfection have increased due to detrimental effects on the health status of fish in comparison to the single infection. Our proposal aim to characterize the immune response elicit by T. dicentrarchi in Atlantic salmon and describe how it is related to a coinfection by P. salmonis. First, we propose the description of the single infection of T. dicentrarchi due to the lack of information about the immune response it induces in Atlantic salmon. Then, we propose the characterization of the coinfection between T. dicentrarchi and P. salmonis and the possible weaker of the health status of the fish due to T. dicentrarchi may favors the development of the secondary infection. Therefore, we hypothesize that “Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi chronic infection triggers a type 2 immunity (Th2/M2) IL-4/13/ IL-10+ phenotype in head kidney and spleen of Atlantic salmon, increasing the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which favor and increase the severity of Piscirickettsia salmonis coinfection”. The general objective of the proposal is to demonstrate that a chronic infection of Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi causes in Atlantic salmon a status of head kidney and spleen immunosuppression presented an IL 4/13/ IL-10+ phenotype and increasing the mortality provoked by Piscirickettsia salmonis coinfection. To demonstrate the hypothesis, three specific objectives are proposed. First specific objective is “Characterize the immunological response of the single infection of T. dicentrarchi and coinfection with T. dicentrarchi and P. salmonis in Atlantic salmon under field conditions during outbreak seasons”. For this specific objective, we designed the Trial 1: Field sampling in open-sea cages during a single infection of T. dicentrarchi in winter and a coinfection with T. dicentrarchi and P. salmonis in spring. The analysis of the immune response will be through gene expression by RT-PCR and proteins by ELISA and western blotting. Then, the second objective propose is “Verify the type 2 immunity (Th2/M2) IL-4/13/ IL-10+ phenotype elicit by a T. dicentrarchi infection in Atlantic salmon under controlled conditions of laboratory”. To accomplish this goal we designed the Trial 2: A single infection challenge with T. dicentrarchi in Atlantic salmon in laboratory conditions in order to better characterize the immune response at a cellular level by flow cytometry and a molecular level by RNA-seq, RT-PCR and protein level. The final specific objective is “Characterize at the immunological level the development and severity of P. salmonis infection in Atlantic salmon infected by T. dicentrarchi under controlled conditions of laboratory”. To achieve this objective we designed the Trial 3: A coinfection with T. dicentrarchi and P. salmonis in Atlantic salmon in laboratory conditions with the respective single infection controls of each pathogen and posterior analysis by molecular and protein level. The expected results are: 1) The characterization of the immune response at functional level of the single infection of T. dicentrarchi and the coinfection of T. dicentrarchi and P. salmonis in Atlantic salmon in open-sea cages; 2) Verification that T. dicentrarchi triggers a type 2 immunity (Th2/M2) with an increase in the secretion of cytokine IL-10 demonstrated through transcript, protein, and cellular analysis in laboratory conditions that will let us a better resolution of the immune response characterization in comparison with the field conditions; 3) Characterization of the development of a more harmful P. salmonis infection due to the weaker health status on Atlantic salmon produced by of T. dicentrarchi, which means a higher bacterial load of P. salmonis and mortality rate in coinfected fish with T. dicentrarchi and P. salmonis. The results obtained in this research will provide animal health information to improve the productive management of salmonids and contribute to the knowledge of the health status of Atlantic salmon in the context of the two main pathogens affecting Chilean aquaculture nowadays.

Ocean Island Volcanoes (OIVs) and seamounts are one of the most common, prominent and rapidly formed but least studied (from a geological/volcanological point of view) features on Earth. OIVs, which represent only the summit section of a much larger volcanic edifice rising up from the sea floor, are highly vulnerable to geological hazards such as volcanism, seismic activity, mass wasting (caldera formation), landslides and rockfalls, and tsunamis. Specifically, a volcanic eruption on an OIV can mainly have a substantial impact on the local population, infrastructure and economy. It is then essential understand the characteristic behaviour and the ages of the recent eruptions of the volcano to enhance the capacity to identify future geological hazard processes such as eruptions, tsunamis, etc. In other words, to forecast how a volcano will behave, it is essential to identify, map and analyse the deposits from past eruptions and determine the ages of those deposits. However, this becomes more challenging on Ocean Island Volcanoes that have not experienced recent eruptions, such as Easter Island (Chile), but which may still pose a significant risk of future eruption. This proposal focuses on Easter Island (Rapa Nui or Isla de Pascua), an isolated southeast Pacific island with 7.750 inhabitants, that receives more than 100.000 tourists per year. This island has been catalogued as one of the 92 active volcanos of Chile by the Chilean mining and geological service, occupying the 46th position in its Volcanic Risk ranking. It was included taking into account the recent activity focused on Terevaka volcano and its peripheral vents and other factors as the population and infrastructures exposure and its high amount of visitors per year. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of robust geochronology and volcano-stratigraphy and morphometry for Easter Island, especially for these most recent eruptions. Therefore, a comprehensive study of its Holocene eruptions regarding their styles, a more accurate age determination, and a well identification of submarine volcanic centres around the island is still pending to evaluate its potential volcanic hazard. The main aim of this project is to identify and study the most recent eruptions of Easter Island, both onshore and offshore. This will allow understanding how and when they took place in terms of volume, diverse morphometric parameters, styles and their ages which will verify if the island is still active. To identify and characterize the style of the most recent eruptions (Holocene- last 11.700 Kyr) on the island it is planned to conduct geomorphologic and morhometryc analyses of subaerial and submarine recent volcanic deposits with and integrated onshore/offshore approach. Also, volcano-stratigraphy for the most recent cones and associated deposits onshore, with special attention to those hydrovolcanic eruptions will be analysed. To determine the number of Holocene eruptions on the island, 14C (for charcoal), 40Ar/39Ar (for rocks) techniques will be used. Moreover, we will identify and date tephras of lacustrine sedimentary records of the Rano Raraku, Rano Kao lakes and the Rano Aroi peat bog related to recent eruptions. A likely future eruption on the island or near its coasts would have negative and serious consequences; therefore, it is essential to undertake this scientific research aimed at improving the knowledge of the processes and their potential impacts. Furthermore, this study will also contribute to understanding the overall evolution of an interoceanic volcanic island whose results can be compared with other more studied OIVs in the world. In addition, this project will support undergraduate and graduate students, for whom this study will comprise most of their dissertation research, being an extraordinary opportunity for them. Moreover, this study will foster ongoing international collaboration, providing a pipeline for future student and faculty exchange, and will promote outreach educational experiences for the community, as well as more specialized seminars.

El proyecto tiene como objetivo estudiar la producción de amoniaco mediante la electroreducción de NOx usando electrodos TiCu. Para lograrlo, se empleará el proceso de aleado mecánico y sinterización vía compactación en caliente de los electrodos TiCu y se evaluará su capacidad electrocatalítica y estabilidad en la RRNOx. Se espera que la adición de Cu en los electrodos TiCu aumente la eficiencia faradaica, lo que permitirá una mayor producción de amoníaco con una menor cantidad de energía consumida. Se llevarán a cabo análisis estructurales, morfológicos y composicionales de los electrodos TiCu utilizando técnicas como microscopía electrónica y difracción de rayos X. Además, se realizarán pruebas electroquímicas para evaluar la capacidad de los electrodos de la RRNOx para la producción de amoniaco. Se espera que los resultados obtenidos en este proyecto contribuyan al desarrollo científico y tecnologías más sostenibles y eficientes para la producción de amoníaco, lo que permitiría una menor dependencia de los combustibles fósiles y una mayor protección del medio ambiente.

This proposal ultimately seeks to provide information to guide conservation and management policies for Myostemma species, and a model to assess the vulnerability to GCC in other organisms of the highly endemic and threatened CWRVF biodiversity hotspot. This project will generate the first complete genome sequence for Amaryllidoideae, which will have a global impact by enabling genome-based evolutionary, breeding, biochemical, and pharmaceutical research.

La colaboración entre nuestros grupos busca formar una alianza para fortalecer la investigación científica y tecnológica y la formación de capital humano calificado en Genómica, Biología de Sistemas y Biotecnología, para mejorar la productividad de especies agrícolas y acuícolas en un escenario de cambio climático, vinculándonos con actores y necesidades del sector productivo. Con esta propuesta, buscamos crear un polo nacional de investigadores capacitados en las últimas herramientas y tecnologías que siente la bases para la postulación conjunta a proyectos asociativos y/o de investigación aplicada e interdisciplinaria en el corto plazo, la producción de artículos científicos y propiedad intelectual y la formación de excelencia de las futuras generaciones.

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a foodborne pathogen that causes listeriosis, a severe invasive disease, with mortality rates as high as 30 %. This pathogen has caused several foodborne outbreaks and product recalls worldwide, with significant economic consequences for the food industry. Lm can resist many stresses used in food-processing environments (FPE) to control bacterial growth. Biofilm formation is another strategy that allows Lm to persist in FPE and contaminate foods. In natural environments, biofilms often consist of mixedspecies communities with dynamic interactions between different species. The structure and persistence of these biofilms are determined by community compositions, cooperative development, genomic background, environment-responsive gene expression, and the material on which the biofilm forms, among others. The design of materials with anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm properties is an emerging strategy to control the presence of foodborne pathogens in the FPE. Smart surfaces with on-demand antimicrobial protection through “physical” activation are ideal for this application. For instance, conductive polymers and piezocatalytic materials generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) by photothermal or mechanical stimulus, respectively. To further advance in the design of effective ROS-releasing antibiofilm materials, it is essential to understand the microbial interactions occurring in biofilms and how molecular mechanisms are regulated by the pathogen under ROS-based stress conditions. In this study, we hypothesize that “The efficacy of ROSreleasing antibiofilm materials can be modulated based on knowledge of the interactions between Lm isolates and other species on biofilms formed under FPE simulated conditions and by identifying specific molecular mechanisms regulated by Lm isolates that persist under these environmental conditions.” This research will take an interdisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge from different fields (microbiology, molecular biology, chemistry, and materials science) to better understand the mechanisms involved in Lm biofilm formation under FPE conditions and use this information to design efficient materials to control bacterial contamination. Our main aim is “to investigate the interplay between Lm and other bacteria in ROS-releasing antibiofilm materials under FPE conditions and identify the molecular mechanisms that Lm activates.” Specific aim-1 To define the best condition for tailor-made ROS generation in conductive polymers and polymer/ZnO composites able to control Lm mixed biofilms. We will design and assess the ROS generation capabilities of conductive polypyrrole (PPy) and piezocatalytic polymer/ZnO materials. We currently have a collection of 300 Lm strains isolated from various sources. Approximately 50% of these strains have had their whole genomes sequenced. The effect of ROS-releasing materials on cell adhesion and biofilm formation will be tested for Lm strains in the presence of other bacterial species isolated from FPE (mixed biofilm) at 8ºC. We will identify the best technical conditions of the ROS-releasing material to control or reduce Lm biofilm formation. In addition, we will know if the Lm strains have different levels of tolerance to ROS under the conditions that we will test. Specific aim-2: To identify Lm genetic features associated with tolerance on ROS-releasing materials. Additional Lm strains from our collection will be sequenced. We will also have access to Lm strains isolated from listeriosis outbreaks with their genome sequences. We will analyze the genomes of Lm strains exhibiting varying levels of biofilm tolerance on ROS-releasing materials under FPE conditions. We will evaluate the association between genomic elements (virulence genes, resistance determinants, and other genomic variations) and the tolerance levels of the ROS-releasing materials to identify new genomic elements associated with biofilm formation. Specific aim-3: To identify molecular programs and ecological roles activated by Lm in response to ROS-releasing material under FPE conditions One material with adjusted photothermal and mechanical ROS generation will be selected to evaluate the global transcriptional response of Lm isolates able to tolerate ROS-releasing materials. We will evaluate this response considering FPE conditions: low temperature and mixed biofilms. In this way, we will identify if some Lm isolates activate specific molecular mechanisms that are associated with the persistence/or higher tolerance to ROS-releasing materials under FPE conditions. Expected outcomes: This research will contribute to advancing the antibiofilm material design, understanding Lm genetic characteristics, and identifying molecular mechanisms activated under conditions used in food processing areas, thus promoting improved food safety and industry practices.

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