Visiting natural open spaces in urban areas during pregnancy and its association with daily physical activity: a study with GPS and accelerometery data / Microfluidic models of breast cancer lung metastasis

Visiting natural open spaces in urban areas during pregnancy and its association with daily physical activity: a study with GPS and accelerometery data

We examined the association between visiting natural open spaces (NOS) within and around cities and physical activity (PA) during pregnancy. While the importance of NOS for human well-being is well-recognized, previous research has found mixed evidence regarding the relationship between NOS and physical activity levels. Moreover, studies focusing on pregnancy are still limited, despite being a period during which maintaining PA is highly recommended. Using data from the Urban Green Activity and Reproductive Effects Study (UGARE) in Donostia-San Sebastian and Barcelona, Spain, we aimed to contribute to the understanding of this question by (1) exploring the association between visiting NOS and daily PA levels among pregnant women, and (2) examining this association at different trimesters of pregnancy. Results indicated that daily visits to NOS were associated with an increase of circa 8 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.

Microfluidic models of breast cancer lung metastasis

Breast cancer patients displaying lung metastasis face incredibly poor prognosis with no curative treatments currently available. Traditional preclinical models fail to faithfully predict drug responses and recapitulate metastatic events at the target site, impeding the identification of relevant drivers of metastasis as well as the development of better therapeutic strategies. Accumulating data indicates that the 3D tumor microenvironment, including the extracellular matrix (ECM), plays a pivotal role in guiding tumor evolution across various cancer entities. Thus, recapitulating the 3D microenvironment is essential to gain insight into the exact mechanisms driving metastatic progression. The emergence of novel technologies such as microfluidic platforms, enables the implementation of 3D models within a highly controlled environment that provides physiologically relevant perfusion dynamics. With this project we aim to develop a vascularized breast cancer metastatic lung niche by with tuneable composite lung ECM mimicking hydrogels to assess how ECM derived cues guide metastatic outgrowth and drug resistance