Efectos del uso de lonas térmicas de polipropileno en naves de destete durante el invierno

publishedTomo I . Sección: Sistemas Ganaderos-Economía y Gestión. Sesión: Conejos, abejas, peces y cerdos. Ponencia nº 2

Libro de Actas del I Congreso español de gestión integral de deyecciones ganaderas

Postprint (published version

Geant4 simulation of the response of phosphor screens for X-ray imaging

poster Pistrui-Maximean, submitted to NIM AIn order to predict and optimize the response of phosphor screens, it is important to understand the role played by the different physical processes inside the scintillator layer. Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to determine the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of phosphor screens for energies used in X-ray medical imaging and nondestructive testing applications. The visualization of the dose distribution inside the phosphor layer gives an insight into how the MTF is progressively degraded by X-ray and electron transport. The simulation model allows to study the influence of physical and technological parameters on the detector performances, as well as to design and optimize new detector configurations. Preliminary MTF measurements have been carried out and agreement with experimental data has been found in the case of a commercial screen (Kodak Lanex Fine), at an X-ray tube potential voltage of 100 kV. Further validation with other screens (transparent or granular) at different energies is under way

Recent discovery of an argyrolagid (Mammalia, Metatheria) for the Marplatan stage (middle Pliocene-early Pleistocene) of northwestern Argentina

We present the first remains of an argyrolagid from the Uquía Formation (middle Pliocene-early Pleistocene; Marplatan) recovered at San Roque, Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, Argentina. The material is part of a microvertebrate fossil assemblage generated by trophic activity of predator birds that also includes amphibians, lizards, birds, rodents and didelphids. The remains represent three individuals and include fragments of maxilla and dentaries, and postcranial fragmentary bones (humeri, astragali, calcanei, and ungueal phalanges). The upper teeth show a simplified occlusal morphology, typical of this family. The most conspicuous features of lower teeth are: the presence of procumbent incisors, a mesiolabial expansion defining a shallow groove on m1, deep lingual groove absent on m1 and m2 but present on m3 and m4, m4 reduced with a deep labial groove and a shallow distal concavity. The morphology of lower molars (particularly, on m4 the deep labial groove and the distal shallow concavity) allows us to refer the material to Microtragulus bolivianus Hoffstetter and Villarroel. This species differs from other species of Microtragulus by: the absence of lingual groove on m1, labial groove of mesial lobe on m2, and lingual groove on m2, and the presence of larger m4 with a labial groove (M. reigi Simpson); its larger size, the deepest labial groove, and the presence of lingual groove on m3 and labial groove on m4 (M. catamarcensis [Kraglievich]); and by the absence of lingual groove on m1 and the presence of deeper labial grooves (M. rusconii Goin, Montalvo and Visconti). Rodents recorded in this assemblage (Microcavia, octodontids) are nowadays typical dwellers of dry and open areas, suggesting similar paleoenvironmental conditions for these levels of the Uquía Formation. The presence of Microtragulus bolivianus in western Bolivia and northwestern Argentina suggests that a continuous area of xeric conditions was already established in this region by the end of the Pliocene.Sesiones libresFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Generation of kisspeptin-responsive GnRH neurons from human pluripotent stem cells

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. GnRH neurons are fundamental for reproduction in all vertebrates, integrating all reproductive inputs. The inaccessibility of human GnRH-neurons has been a major impediment to studying the central control of reproduction and its disorders. Here, we report the efficient generation of kisspeptin responsive GnRH-secreting neurons by directed differentiation of human Embryonic Stem Cells and induced-Pluripotent Stem Cells derived from a Kallman Syndrome patient and a healthy family member. The protocol involves the generation of intermediate Neural Progenitor Cells (NPCs) through long-term Bone morphogenetic protein 4 inhibition, followed by terminal specification of these NPCs in media containing Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 and a NOTCH inhibitor. The resulting GnRH-expressing and -secreting neurons display a neuroendocrine gene expression pattern and present spontaneous calcium transients that can be stimulated by kisspeptin. These in vitro generated GnRH expressing cells provide a new resource for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and function of GnRH neurons

Molecular determinants for selective C 25-hydroxylation of vitamins D 2 and D 3 by fungal peroxygenases

Hydroxylation of vitamin D by Agrocybe aegerita and Coprinopsis cinerea peroxygenases was investigated in a combined experimental and computational study. 25-Monohydroxylated vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and D2 (ergocalciferol), compounds of high interest in human health and animal feeding, can be obtained through reaction with both fungal enzymes. Differences in conversion rates and regioselectivity were nevertheless observed, and, to rationalize the results, diffusion of D2 and D3 on the molecular structure of the two enzymes was performed with PELE software. In good agreement with experimental conversion yields, simulations indicate more favorable energy profiles for the substrates’ entrance in C. cinerea than for A. aegerita enzyme. Furthermore, GC-MS analyses show that while a full regioselective conversion into the active C25 form is catalyzed by C. cinerea peroxygenase for D2 and D3, A. aegerita yielded a mixture of the hydroxylated D3 products. From the molecular simulations, relative distance distributions between the haem compound I oxygen and H24/H25 atoms (hydrogens on C24 and C25 respectively) were plotted. Results show large populations for O-H25 distances below 3 Å for D2 and D3 in C. cinerea in accord with the high reactivity observed for this enzyme. In A. aegerita, however, cholecalciferol has similar populations (below 3 Å) for O-H25 and O-H24 which can justify the small degree of hydroxylation observed in C24. In the case of ergocalciferol, due to the bulky methyl group in position C24, very few structures are found with O-H24 distances below 3 Å and thus, as expected, reaction was not observed in this position.This work was supported by the INDOX (KBBE-2013-7-613549) and PELE (ERC-2009-Adg 25027) EU projects, and by the BIO2011-26694 and CTQ2013-48287 projects of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Structure of mammalian respiratory complex I.

Complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase), one of the largest membrane-bound enzymes in the cell, powers ATP synthesis in mammalian mitochondria by using the reducing potential of NADH to drive protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane. Mammalian complex I (ref. 1) contains 45 subunits, comprising 14 core subunits that house the catalytic machinery (and are conserved from bacteria to humans) and a mammalian-specific cohort of 31 supernumerary subunits. Knowledge of the structures and functions of the supernumerary subunits is fragmentary. Here we describe a 4.2-Å resolution single-particle electron cryomicroscopy structure of complex I from Bos taurus. We have located and modelled all 45 subunits, including the 31 supernumerary subunits, to provide the entire structure of the mammalian complex. Computational sorting of the particles identified different structural classes, related by subtle domain movements, which reveal conformationally dynamic regions and match biochemical descriptions of the 'active-to-de-active' enzyme transition that occurs during hypoxia. Our structures therefore provide a foundation for understanding complex I assembly and the effects of mutations that cause clinically relevant complex I dysfunctions, give insights into the structural and functional roles of the supernumerary subunits and reveal new information on the mechanism and regulation of catalysis

The skull of Epidolops ameghinoi from the early Eocene Itaboraí fauna, southeastern Brazil, and the affinities of the extinct marsupialiform order Polydolopimorphia

The skull of the polydolopimorphian marsupialiform Epidolops ameghinoi is described in detail for the first time, based on a single well-preserved cranium and associated left and right dentaries plus additional craniodental fragments, all from the early Eocene (53-50 million year old) Itaboraí fauna in southeastern Brazil. Notable craniodental features of E. ameghinoi include absence of a masseteric process, very small maxillopalatine fenestrae, a prominent pterygoid fossa enclosed laterally by a prominent ectopterygoid crest, an absent or tiny transverse canal foramen, a simple, planar glenoid fossa, and a postglenoid foramen that is immediately posterior to the postglenoid process. Most strikingly, the floor of the hypotympanic sinus was apparently unossified, a feature found in several stem marsupials but absent in all known crown marsupials. "Type II" marsupialiform petrosals previously described from Itaboraí plausibly belong to E. ameghinoi; in published phylogenetic analyses, these petrosals fell outside (crown-clade) Marsupialia. "IMG VII" tarsals previously referred to E. ameghinoi do not share obvious synapomorphies with any crown marsupial clade, nor do they resemble those of the only other putative polydolopimorphians represented by tarsal remains, namely the argyrolagids. Most studies have placed Polydolopimorphia within Marsupialia, related to either Paucituberculata, or to Microbiotheria and Diprotodontia. However, diprotodonty almost certainly evolved independently in polydolopimorphians, paucituberculatans and diprotodontians, and Epidolops does not share obvious synapomorphies with any marsupial order. Epidolops is dentally specialized, but several morphological features appear to be more plesiomorphic than any crown marsupial. It seems likely Epidolops that falls outside Marsupialia, as do morphologically similar forms such as Bonapartherium and polydolopids. Argyrolagids differ markedly in their known morphology from Epidolops but share some potential apomorphies with paucituberculatans. It is proposed that Polydolopimorphia as currently recognised is polyphyletic, and that argyrolagids (and possibly other taxa currently included in Argyrolagoidea, such as groeberiids and patagoniids) are members of Paucituberculata. This hypothesis is supported by Bayesian non-clock phylogenetic analyses of a total evidence matrix comprising DNA sequence data from five nuclear protein-coding genes, indels, retroposon insertions and morphological characters: Epidolops falls outside Marsupialia, whereas argyrolagids form a clade with the paucituberculatans Caenolestes and Palaeothentes, regardless of whether the Type II petrosals and IMG VII tarsals are used to score characters for Epidolops or not. There is no clear evidence for the presence of crown marsupials at Itaboraí, and it is possible that the origin and early evolution of Marsupialia was restricted to the "Austral Kingdom" (southern South America, Antarctica, and Australia)

Cryo-EM structures of complex I from mouse heart mitochondria in two biochemically defined states.

Complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) uses the reducing potential of NADH to drive protons across the energy-transducing inner membrane and power oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian mitochondria. Recent cryo-EM analyses have produced near-complete models of all 45 subunits in the bovine, ovine and porcine complexes and have identified two states relevant to complex I in ischemia-reperfusion injury. Here, we describe the 3.3-Å structure of complex I from mouse heart mitochondria, a biomedically relevant model system, in the 'active' state. We reveal a nucleotide bound in subunit NDUFA10, a nucleoside kinase homolog, and define mechanistically critical elements in the mammalian enzyme. By comparisons with a 3.9-Å structure of the 'deactive' state and with known bacterial structures, we identify differences in helical geometry in the membrane domain that occur upon activation or that alter the positions of catalytically important charged residues. Our results demonstrate the capability of cryo-EM analyses to challenge and develop mechanistic models for mammalian complex I