Some medical applications of magnetic nanoparticles require direct contact with healthy tissues and blood. If nanoparticles are not designed properly, they can cause several problems, such as cytotoxicity or hemolysis. A strategy for improvement the biological proprieties of magnetic nanoparticles is their functionalization with biocompatible polymers and nonionic surfactants. In this study we compared bare magnetite nanoparticles against magnetite nanoparticles coated with a combination of polyethylene glycol 3350 (PEG 3350) and polysorbate 80 (Tween 80). Physical characteristics of nanoparticles were evaluated. A primary culture of sheep adipose mesenchymal stem cells was developed to measure nanoparticle cytotoxicity. A sample of erythrocytes from a healthy donor was used for the hemolysis assay. Results showed the successful obtention of magnetite nanoparticles coated with PEG 3350-Tween 80, with a spherical shape, average size of 119.2 nm and a zeta potential of +5.61 mV. Interaction with mesenchymal stem cells showed a non-cytotoxic propriety at doses lower than 1000 µg/mL. Interaction with erythrocytes showed a non-hemolytic propriety at doses lower than 100 µg/mL. In vitro information obtained from this work concludes that the use of magnetite nanoparticles coated with PEG 3350-Tween 80 is safe for a biological system at low doses.

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Aim: This study aims to determine the relationship between achievement motivation and biopsychosocial factors of undergraduate medical students in a Mexican university. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 219 4 th year medical students. A questionnaire made by the authors was applied to collect sociodemographic data. A modified version of the Achievement Motivation Scale was used to determine the level of achievement motivation, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire was used to assess biopsychosocial variables. All variables were subjected to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test with Lilliefors correction, and a Chi-square test was performed. Significant variables were subjected to Spearman's correlation analysis. Results: About 51% of the students had a good or higher achievement motivation level. The variables that correlate positively with motivation are physical health (r = 0.535, p < 0.001), psychological health (r = 0.612, p < 0.001), environment (r = 0.419, p < 0.001), and social relationships (r = 0.424, p < 0.001). Conclusions: A student with a good environment, good social relationships, and good psychological and physical health will show greater persistence and better achievement motivation in the task for which they are directly responsible.

Introduction:Acquiring the ability to perform and interpret statistics in research is a fundamental skill for undergraduate students. However, in 2020, only 45.2% of the curricula of Mexican medical schools accredited by the Mexican Council for the Accreditation of Medical Education (COMAEM) included at least one medical statistics course. Therefore, this study aims to determine biostatistics courses' content and teaching approaches in Mexican medical school programs. Methods: This study involved a comprehensive review of biostatistics courses offered in all Mexican medical schools accredited by the Mexican Council for the Accreditation of Medical Education. A rigorous five-phase process was conducted to obtain the course curricula, which included searching for e-mail addresses on official websites, making phone calls, and scouting social media. The collected curricula were categorized according to their respective teaching approaches. Results: The data were collected from 42 out of 67 possible medical school programs (62.68% response rate). The analysis revealed that while 66.7% of the syllabi included descriptive statistics, only 50% of them covered hypothesis testing for inferential statistics. The most common teaching approach was research methodology, accounting for 45.2% of the programs, followed by epidemiology at 38.2% and clinical application at 16.7%. Conclusions: In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that teaching medical statistics in Mexican medical schools remains inadequate. Standardizing the curriculum in this area may enhance students' ability to critically evaluate scientific information and promote the application of evidence-based medicine.