NORIT project: The incidence of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus L.) emergence activity rhythms on its population assessment

Sardà, Francisco ... et. al.-- Marine Technology Workshop (Martech05), 17-18 November 2005, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona.-- 1 pageThe Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L.) is a decapod crustacean inhabiting complex burrow systems in muddy continental shelves and slopes on the European waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. This species is object of an important multispecific fishery in the Mediterranean, showing signs of overexploitation. Animals of this species show marked behavioural rhythms of emergence in the field. Emergence is performed under an optimum light intensity whose timing varies at different depths depending upon light penetration into the water column and hence upon the sun position. Present data indicate that not all the individuals emerge from their burrows at a circadian basis. [...]Peer Reviewe

Effectiveness of a telerehabilitation intervention using ReCOVery APP of long COVID patients: a randomized, 3-month follow-up clinical trial

The main objective of this study is to analyze the clinical efficacy of telerehabilitation in the recovery of Long COVID patients through ReCOVery APP for 3 months, administered in the Primary Health Care context. The second objective is to identify significant models associated with an improvement in the study variables. An open-label randomized clinical trial was conducted using two parallel groups of a total of 100 Long COVID patients. The first group follows the treatment as usual methods established by their general practitioner (control group) and the second follows the same methods and also uses ReCOVery APP (intervention group). After the intervention, no significant differences were found in favour of the group intervention. Regarding adherence, 25% of the participants made significant use of the APP. Linear regression model establishes that the time of use of ReCOVery APP predicts an improvement in physical function (b = 0.001; p = 0.005) and community social support (b = 0.004; p = 0.021). In addition, an increase in self-efficacy and health literacy also contribute to improving cognitive function (b = 0.346; p = 0.001) and reducing the number of symptoms (b = 0.226; p = 0.002), respectively. In conclusion, the significant use of ReCOVery APP can contribute to the recovery of Long COVID patients. Trial Registration No.: ISRCTN91104012

Analysis of qPCR reference genes stability determination methods and a practical approach for efficiency calculation on a turbot (Scphthalmus maximus) gonad dataset

Gene expression analysis by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (qPCR) is the most widely used method for analyzing the expression of a moderate number of genes and also for the validation of microarray results. Several issues are crucial for a successful qPCR study, particularly the selection of internal reference genes for normalization and efficiency determination. There is no agreement on which method is the best to detect the most stable genes neither on how to perform efficiency determination. In this study we offer a comprehensive evaluation of the characteristics of reference gene selection methods and how to decide which one is more reliable when they show discordant outcomes. Also, we analyze the current efficiency calculation controversy. Our dataset is composed by gonad samples of turbot at different development times reared at different temperatures. Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a relevant marine aquaculture European species with increasing production in the incoming years. Since females largely outgrow males, identification of genes related to sex determination, gonad development and reproductive behavior, and analysis of their expression profiles are of primary importance for turbot industryVersión del edito

Pre- and post-natal melatonin administration partially regulates brain oxidative stress but does not improve cognitive or histological alterations in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome

Melatonin administered during adulthood induces beneficial effects on cognition and neuroprotection in the Ts65Dn (TS) mouse model of Down syndrome. Here, we investigated the effects of pre- and post-natal melatonin treatment on behavioral and cognitive abnormalities and on several neuromorphological alterations (hypocellularity, neurogenesis impairment and increased oxidative stress) that appear during the early developmental stages in TS mice. Pregnant TS females were orally treated with melatonin or vehicle from the time of conception until the weaning of the offspring, and the pups continued to receive the treatment from weaning until the age of 5 months. Melatonin administered during the pre- and post-natal periods did not improve the cognitive impairment of TS mice as measured by the Morris Water maze or fear conditioning tests. Histological alterations, such as decreased proliferation (Ki67+ cells) and hippocampal hypocellularity (DAPI+ cells), which are typical in TS mice, were not prevented by melatonin. However, melatonin partially regulated brain oxidative stress by modulating the activity of the primary antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase in the cortex and catalase in the cortex and hippocampus) and slightly decreasing the levels of lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus of TS mice. These results show the inability of melatonin to prevent cognitive impairment in TS mice when it is administered at pre- and post-natal stages. Additionally, our findings suggest that to induce pro-cognitive effects in TS mice during the early stages of development, in addition to attenuating oxidative stress, therapies should aim to improve other altered processes, such as hippocampal neurogenesis and/or hypocellularity.This work was supported by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI2016-76194-R) and by a grant from CNPq/Brazil (proc. 2606/14-13)

Mitochondrial ATP-Mg/pi carrier SCaMC-3/Slc25a23 counteracts PARP-1-dependent fall in mitochondrial ATP caused by excitotoxic insults in neurons

Glutamate excitotoxicity is caused by sustained activation of neuronal NMDA receptors causing a large Ca2+and Na+ influx, activation of poly(ADP ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), and delayed Ca2+ deregulation. Mitochondria undergo early changes in membrane potential during excitotoxicity, but their precise role in these events is still controversial. Using primary cortical neurons derived from mice, we show that NMDA exposure results in a rapid fall in mitochondrial ATP in neurons deficient in SCaMC-3/Slc25a23, a Ca2+-regulated mitochondrial ATP-Mg/Pi carrier. This fall is associated with blunted increases in respiration and a delayed decrease in cytosolic ATP levels, which are prevented by PARP-1 inhibitors or by SCaMC-3 activity promoting adenine nucleotide uptake into mitochondria. SCaMC-3 KO neurons show an earlier delayed Ca2+ deregulation, and SCaMC-3-deficient mitochondria incubated with ADP or ATP-Mg had reduced Ca2+retention capacity, suggesting a failure to maintain matrix adenine nucleotides as a cause for premature delayed Ca2+ deregulation. SCaMC-3 KO neurons have higher vulnerability to in vitro excitotoxicity, and SCaMC-3 KO mice are more susceptible to kainate-induced seizures, showing that early PARP-1-dependent fall in mitochondrial ATP levels, counteracted by SCaMC-3, is an early step in the excitotoxic cascade.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economía Grant BFU2011-30456, by Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras [an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)], by Comunidad de Madrid Grant S2010/BMD-2402 MITOLAB-CM (to J.S.), by ISCIII Grant PI080610 (to A.d.A.), and by an institutional grant from the Fundación Ramón Areces to the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa. C.B.R. is the recipient of an Formacion Personal Universitario fellowship from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. P.G.-S. is a recipient of a Formacion Personal Investigador-UAM fellowship from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.Peer Reviewe

High resolution observations of SiO masers: comparing the spatial distribution at 43 and 86 GHz

We present sub-milliarcsecond observations of SiO masers in the late-type stars IRC +10011 and Chi Cyg. We have used the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to map the 43 GHz (v=1, 2 J=1-0) and the 86 GHz (v=1, 2 J=2-1) SiO masers. All the transitions have been imaged except the v=2 J=2-1 in IRC +10011. We report the first VLBI map of the v=1 J=2-1 28SiO maser in IRC +10011 as well as the first VLBA images of SiO masers in an S-type Mira variable, Chi Cyg. In this paper we have focused on the study of the relative spatial distribution of the different observed lines. We have found that in some cases the observational results are not reproduced by the current theoretical pumping models, either radiative or collisional. In particular, for IRC +10011, the v=1 J=1-0 and J=2-1 28SiO lines have different spatial distributions and emitting region sizes, the J=2-1 emission being located in an outer region of the envelope. For Chi Cyg, the distributions also differ, but the sizes of the masing regions are comparable. We suggest that the line overlaps between ro-vibrational transitions of two abundant molecular species, H2O and 28SiO, is a possible explanation for the discrepancies found between the observations and the theoretical predictions. We have introduced this overlapping process in the calculations of the excitation of the SiO molecule. We conclude that the line overlaps can strongly affect the excitation of SiO and may reproduce the unexpected observational results for the two sources studied.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Lessons learnt from a norovirus outbreak caused by bottled mineral water

Podeu consultar el III Workshop anual INSA-UB complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/118993Sessió 1. Pòster 1

A high resolution line survey of IRC+10216 with Herschel. First results: Detection of warm silicon dicarbide SiC2

We present the first results of a high-spectral-resolution survey of the carbon-rich evolved star IRC+10216 that was carried out with the HIFI spectrometer onboard Herschel. This survey covers all HIFI bands, with a spectral range from 488 to 1901GHz. In this letter we focus on the band-1b spectrum, in a spectral range 554.5-636.5GHz, where we identified 130 spectral features with intensities above 0.03 K and a signal-to-noise ratio >5. Detected lines arise from HCN, SiO, SiS, CS, CO, metal-bearing species and, surprisingly, silicon dicarbide (SiC2). We identified 55 SiC2 transitions involving energy levels between 300 and 900 K. By analysing these rotational lines, we conclude that SiC2 is produced in the inner dust formation zone, with an abundance of ~2x10^-7 relative to molecular hydrogen. These SiC2 lines have been observed for the first time in space and have been used to derive an SiC2 rotational temperature of ~204 K and a source-averaged column density of ~6.4x10^15 cm^-2. Furthermore, the high quality of the HIFI data set was used to improve the spectroscopic rotational constants of SiC2.Comment: A&A HIFI Special Issue, 201

Generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species is controlled by ATPase inhibitory factor 1 and regulates cognition.

The mitochondrial ATP synthase emerges as key hub of cellular functions controlling the production of ATP, cellular signaling, and fate. It is regulated by the ATPase inhibitory factor 1 (IF1), which is highly abundant in neurons. Herein, we ablated or overexpressed IF1 in mouse neurons to show that IF1 dose defines the fraction of active/inactive enzyme in vivo, thereby controlling mitochondrial function and the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS). Transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses indicate that IF1 dose regulates mitochondrial metabolism, synaptic function, and cognition. Ablation of IF1 impairs memory, whereas synaptic transmission and learning are enhanced by IF1 overexpression. Mechanistically, quenching the IF1-mediated increase in mtROS production in mice overexpressing IF1 reduces the increased synaptic transmission and obliterates the learning advantage afforded by the higher IF1 content. Overall, IF1 plays a key role in neuronal function by regulating the fraction of ATP synthase responsible for mitohormetic mtROS signaling