To what extent is fishing effort affecting the trophic level of the demersal communities at small scale? Preliminary results of a new food web indicator

Due to the complexity of benthic and demersal ecosystems, to be really helpful, a food web indicator should summarize, in a single number, a variety of complex processes that are otherwise hard to apprehend. The present work assesses the direct impact of bottom fishing gears on the trophic level (TL) of benthic and demersal communities dwelling in the continental shelf of the southern Bay of Biscay. Using a spatio-temporal approach at small scale, we tackle two main objectives: 1) to evaluate temporal trends in mean TL at community scale per sampling rectangle (5 x 5 miles grid resolution), and 2) to assess to what extent these trends are related to fishing effort. Two types of data are involved in the analyses: 1) TL data (mean trophic level by sampling rectangle), and 2) VMS data (number of fishing days by sampling rectangle). TL data were calculated using stomach contents sampled for demersal fish species during the Demersales surveys (IBTS), carried out every autumn in the southern Bay of Biscay since 1983, and combined with data from Fishbase and local references for those species which lacked empirical data. We only considered species that appeared in a minimum of 5 years and were consistently well identified along the whole historical series, in order to keep consistency in the community spatiotemporal sampling. Preliminary results point to a significant increase in TL in most of the sampling rectangles, suggesting that the trend observed globally is spatially homogeneous. A clear relationship between fishing effort and TL was also identified, particularly in those areas where fishing effort (mainly otter trawl fisheries) has been decreasing in recent years

Housing and road transport modify the brain neurotransmitter systems of pigs : Do pigs raised in different conditions cope differently with unknown environments?

How housing and transport conditions may affect welfare in porcine production is a leading topic in livestock research. This study investigated whether pigs present a different neurological response to management conditions and to ascertain whether pigs living partially outdoors cope differently with road transport-associated stress. Twenty-four female pigs were divided in two groups: one living indoors (ID, n = 12) and the other housed combining indoor conditions with 4 hours per day of outdoor pasture (OD, n = 12). After one month, one set of animals from each housing condition were driven in a truck to the slaughterhouse in low-stress conditions (5 min drive, no mixing groups, soft management, LS group, n = 12) or high-stress conditions (2 hours drive, mixing groups, harsh management, HS group, n = 12). At the slaughterhouse, blood was collected, and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the hippocampus (HC) dissected. OD pigs had lower serum haptoglobin and increased dopaminergic pathway (DA-system) in the PFC, suggesting that living outdoors increases their wellbeing. HS conditions increased serum creatine kinase (CK) and affected several brain pathways: activation of the noradrenergic (NA-system) and DA -system in the PFC and the activation of the DA-system and an increase in c-Fos as well as a decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the HC. The serotonergic system (5-HT-system) was mildly altered in both areas. There was an interaction between housing and transport in serum NA and the DA-system in the HC, indicating that living conditions affected the response to stress. Multivariate analysis was able to discriminate the four animal groups. In conclusion, this work indicates that housing conditions and road transport markedly modifies the neurophysiology of pigs, and suggests that animals raised partially outdoors respond differently to transport-associated stress than animals raised indoors, indicating that they cope differently with unknown environments

Thematic Trends in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Applied in Cancer-Related Symptoms

Purpose: The main goal of this study is to discover the scientific evolution of Cancer-Related Symptoms in Complementary and Alternative Medicine research area, analyzing the articles indexed in the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2013. Design/Methodology/Approach: A co-word science mapping analysis is performed under a longitudinal framework (1980 to 2013). The documental corpus is divided into two subperiods, 1980–2008 and 2009–2013. Thus, the performance and impact rates, and conceptual evolution of the research field are shown. Findings: According to the results, the co-word analysis allows us to identify 12 main thematic areas in this emerging research field: anxiety, survivors and palliative care, meditation, treatment, symptoms and cancer types, postmenopause, cancer pain, low back pain, herbal medicine, children, depression and insomnia, inflammation mediators, and lymphedema. The different research lines are identified according to the main thematic areas, centered fundamentally on anxiety and suffering prevention. The scientific community can use this information to identify where the interest is focused and make decisions in different ways. Research limitation: Several limitations can be addressed: 1) some of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies may not have been included; 2) only the documents indexed in Web of Science are analyzed; and 3) the thematic areas detected could change if another dataset was considered. Practical implications: The results obtained in the present study could be considered as an evidence-based framework in which future studies could be built. Originality/value: Currently, there are no studies that show the thematic evolution of this research area

Polyphenols and IUGR Pregnancies : effects of the Antioxidant Hydroxytyrosol on Brain Neurochemistry and Development in a Porcine Model

Supplementation of a mother's diet with antioxidants, such as hydroxytyrosol (HTX), has been proposed to ameliorate the adverse phenotypes of fetuses at risk of intrauterine growth restriction. In the present study, sows were treated daily with or without 1.5 mg of HTX per kilogram of feed from day 35 of pregnancy (at 30% of total gestational period), and individuals were sampled at three different ages: 100-day-old fetuses and 1-month- and 6-month-old piglets. After euthanasia, the brain was removed and the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex were dissected. The profile of the catecholaminergic and serotoninergic neurotransmitters (NTs) was characterized and an immunohistochemical study of the hippocampus was performed. The results indicated that maternal supplementation with HTX during pregnancy affected the NT profile in a brain-area-dependant mode and it modified the process of neuron differentiation in the hippocampal CA1 and GD areas, indicating that cell differentiation occurred more rapidly in the HTX group. These effects were specific to the fetal period, concomitantly with HTX maternal supplementation, since no major differences remained between the control and treated groups in 1-month- and 6-month-old pigs

The Lysholm score: Cross cultural validation and evaluation of psychometric properties of the Spanish version

This study aims at assessing the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the Lysholm score, a widely used instrument for assessing knee function and activity level after ligament injuries. Ninety-five participants (67.4% male, 22±5 years) completed the questionnaire twice within 7 days and a subsample of 42 participants completed a test-retest reliability. Reliability, validity and feasibility psychometric properties were studied. The validity of the questionnaire was analysed using ceiling and floor effects. Factor structure and construct validity were analysed with the SF-36, the Hip and Knee Questionnaire (HKQ) and one leg jump test (OLJT). Criterion validity with the SF-36 Physical State was moderate (r = 0.50 and p<0.01), poor and inverse relationship (r = -0.31, p<0.01) with HKQ and positive moderate (r = 0.59, p<0.01) with OLJT. Measurement error from MDC90 was 3.9%. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a one-factor solution explaining 51.5% of total variance. The x2 test for the one-factor model was significant (x2 = 29.58, df = 20, p < 0.08). Test-retest reliability level was high (ICC2.1 = 0.92, p<0.01) and also the internal consistency (α = 0.77). The Spanish Lysholm score demonstrated that it is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to assess knee function after ligament injuries.This study takes place thanks to the additional funding from the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES)

I Jornada de expertos en ictiosis

On June 22, 2012 the First Symposium of Ichthyosis Experts in Spain was held at the Hospital Niño de Jesús in Madrid. It was a one-day symposium for dermatologists, pediatricians, and physicians-in-training interested in this disease, as well as for other health care professionals involved in the care of patients with ichthyosis. The aim of the meeting was to try to structure the care of ichthyosis patients in Spain. As happens in other rare diseases, because of the low prevalence of ichthyosis and the absence of designated referral centers, the number of patients treated in each center is very low and few dermatologists have any real clinical experience with this condition or know how to order diagnostic genetic tests. This article summarizes the presentations given at the symposium and is intended as a reference for anyone interested in the subject.El día 22 de junio de 2012 se celebró en el Hospital Niño Jesús la I Jornada de expertos en ictiosis, una jornada monográfica dirigida a dermatólogos, pediatras y médicos en formación interesados en esta enfermedad, así como al resto de profesionales sanitarios que participan en su atención. El objetivo de la l Jornada de expertos en ictiosis fue intentar estructurar la atención de los pacientes con ictiosis en España. Como ocurre con el resto de las enfermedades raras, su escasa prevalencia y la ausencia de centros de referencia formales diluyen el número de pacientes atendidos en cada centro, y pocos dermatólogos tienen verdadera experiencia clínica o conocen la manera de solicitar diagnóstico genético. En este artículo se resumen las ponencias expuestas en la Jornada para consulta de aquellas personas interesadas en el tema.Pathophysiology of Keratinization Disorders / Ángela Hernández . -- Extracutaneous Manifestations of Ichthyosis / Antonio Torrelo . -- New Clinical Classification of the Ichthyoses / Raúl de Lucas . -- Use of Histologic Diagnosis in Ichthyosis / Fernando Casco . -- Genetic Diagnosis of Ichthyosis / Rogelio González Sarmiento . -- The Multidisciplinary Approach in Ichthyosis: Psychological Care / José Luis Pedreira Massa . -- Collodion Baby and Congenital Erythroderma: Clinical Management and Course / Heiko Traupe . -- Treatment of Ichthyosis / Heiko Traupe . -- Lessons Learned from Experience / Pablo de Unamuno . -- Looking Towards the Future: Humanized Models of Ichthyosis and other Hyperkeratotic Disorders / Fernando Larcher, Marcela del Río . -- What Patients Need / The Leader ship Team of the Spanish Ichthyosis Association . -- Conclusions / Ángela HernándezPublicad

A CXCR4-targeted nanocarrier achieves highly selective tumor uptake in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma mouse models

Altres ajuts: U COST Action CA 17140 to RM; FIS PI17/01246, RD12/0036/0071 and FIS PI14/00450 to JS; CP15/00163 to MVC; FIS PI15/00272 to EV ; CIBER-BBN [CB06/01/1031 and 4NanoMets to RM ; and VENOM4CANCER to AV. Grant from La Generalitat de Catalunya (PERIS) [SLT002/16/00433 to JSOne-third of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients are refractory to initial treatment or relapse after rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone chemotherapy. In these patients, CXCR4 overexpression (CXCR4+) associates with lower overall and disease-free survival. Nanomedicine pursues active targeting to selectively deliver antitumor agents to cancer cells; a novel approach that promises to revolutionize therapy by dramatically increasing drug concentration in target tumor cells. In this study, we intravenously administered a liganded protein nanocarrier (T22-GFP-H6) targeting CXCR4+ lymphoma cells in mouse models to assess its selectivity as a nanocarrier by measuring its tissue biodistribution in cancer and normal cells. No previous protein-based nanocarrier has been described as specifically targeting lymphoma cells. T22-GFP-H6 achieved a highly selective tumor uptake in a CXCR4+ lymphoma subcutaneous model, as detected by fluorescent emission. We demonstrated that tumor uptake was CXCR4-dependent because pretreatment with AMD3100, a CXCR4 antagonist, significantly reduced tumor uptake. Moreover, in contrast to CXCR4+ subcutaneous models, CXCR4- tumors did not accumulate the nanocarrier. Most importantly, after intravenous injection in a disseminated model, the nanocarrier accumulated and internalized in all clinically relevant organs affected by lymphoma cells with negligible distribution to unaffected tissues. Finally, we obtained antitumor effect without toxicity in a CXCR4+ lymphoma model by administration of T22-DITOX-H6, a nanoparticle incorporating a toxin with the same structure as the nanocarrier. Hence, the use of the T22-GFP-H6 nanocarrier could be a good strategy to load and deliver drugs or toxins to treat specifically CXCR4-mediated refractory or relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphom

Effect of handling on neurotransmitter profile in pig brain according to fear related behaviour

Chemical neurotransmitters (NT) are principal actors in all neuronal networks of animals. The central nervous system plays an important role in stress susceptibility and organizes the response to a stressful situation through the interaction of the dopaminergic and the serotonergic pathways, leading to the activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). This study was designed to investigate: a) the effects of stressful handling of pigs at the slaughterhouse on the neurotransmitter profile in four brain areas: amygdala, prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and hypothalamus, and b) whether the alterations in the brain NT profile after stressful handling were associated with fear, determined by the tonic immobility (TI) test. In the first place, the characterization of the NT profile allowed to distinguish the four brain areas in a principal component analysis. The most crucial pathway involved in the reaction of pigs to a stressful handling was the serotonergic system, and changes were observed in the amygdala with a decrease in serotonin (5-HT) and total indoleamines, and in the hippocampus, where this pathway was activated. Fearful and non-fearful pigs did not show significant differences in their NT profile in control conditions, but when subjected to a stressful handling in the slaughterhouse, fearful animals showed a significant variation in the serotonin pathway and, in a lesser extent, the dopamine (DA) pathway. In conclusion, the existence of an underlying biological trait - possibly fearfulness - may be involved in the pig's response toward stressful challenges, and the serotonergic system seems to play a central role in this response

Centro para el Estudio de la Interdependencia Provincial en la Antigüedad Clásica (CEIPAC)

En 1988 se creó, por primera vez, una cátedra de Historia Antigua en la Cataluña postguerra civil. La cátedra de Historia Antigua había sido asociada a la de Prehistoria, regida por el profesor. D. Joan Maluquer de Montes i Nicolau, quien no aprovechó la oportunidad de dividir ambas cátedras en el momento, en el que tanto la asignatura de Prehistoria como la de Historia Antigua se convirtieron en dos materias troncales en los planes de estudio

Proposed approaches for indicator integration. ECAPRHA Deliverable Wp 4.1

<p>Cross-tabulation of cough and the modified Valsalva maneuver (m-VM) for determining the degree of right-to-left shunt.</p