Microarchitectural changes during development of the cerebellar cortex

The cerebellum is a highly conserved structure in the Central Nervous System (CNS) of vertebrates, and is involved in the coordination of voluntary motor behaviour. Supporting this function, the cerebellar cortex presents a layered structure which requires a precise spatial and temporal coordination of proliferation, migration and differentiation events. One of the characteristics of the developing cortex is the formation of the external granule cell layer (EGL) in the outermost part. The EGL is a highly proliferative transient layer which disappears when cells migrate inwards to form the inner granule cell layer. The balance between proliferation and migration leads to changes in EGL thickness, and might be related to >indentations> observed in the surface of the developing chick cerebellum. We have extended the observation of this feature to quail and mouse, supporting the idea that this phenomenon forms part of the mechanisms of cerebellar morphogenesis. Different factors involved in both mitotic activity and migration were analyzed in this study. Our results indicate that proliferation, more than formation of raphes for cell migration, is involved in the formation of indentations in the EGL. In addition, we show that vessels penetrating from the pial surface divide the EGL into regular regions at the time of the appearance of bulges and furrows. We conclude that indentations are the result of a coincidence in time of both the increase in thickness of the EGL and the establishment of the embryonic vascular pattern, which confers a characteristic transitory morphology to the surface of folia. © 2009.Peer Reviewe

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Snail3 orthologues in vertebrates: divergent members of the Snail zinc-finger gene family

7 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla.Snail genes comprise a family of zinc-finger transcription factor coding genes with multiple roles in early embryonic development of metazoans. The evolutionary history of this family has been studied in detail, revealing an initial duplication in Snail and Scratch genes preceding the protostome/deuterostome split, and posterior independent duplication events in the lineages leading to insects and vertebrates. The distribution of mammalian and teleost Snail genes fits with current models for whole genome duplication events at the base of the vertebrate lineage, plus an extra duplication in teleosts. However, two very divergent Snail genes, one from mammals and the other from teleost fishes, fit poorly into the phylogenetic analysis of the family. By means of database mining and synteny analysis, we provide evidence for these genes being orthologues, and evidence that they originated in an early duplication at the base of the vertebrates resulting in three and not two Snail genes. We further show that all three Snail genes lie in regions of extensive paralogy, revealing their common origin through segmental or chromosomal duplication.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology to M.M. (BMC0203558) and to M.A.N. (BMC0200383). M.J.B. is a researcher of the Ramón y Cajal Program of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.Peer reviewe

Cuestionarios en Moodle: versatilidad de las tic como herramienta de apoyo docente

SIN FINANCIACIÓNNo data 201

Análisis de calidad de páginas web en español relacionadas con la nutrición y los TCA

SIN FINANCIACIÓNNo data (2015)UE

BMLearn: investiga y descubre las biomoléculas y biomembranas

En el área de Bioquímica y Biología Celular se requiere una visión espacial para comprender estructuras en 3D y conceptos científicos complejos y abstractos. El uso de la realidad virtual permite el aprendizaje inmersivo y facilita el aprendizaje a través de la experiencia aumentando la motivación de los estudiantes. El equipo docente ha colaborado con programadores de la empresa stratesys para el desarrollo de la aplicación BMLearn. Se ha realizado una experiencia piloto para aplicar y analizar su utilidad en el aprendizaje integrado de las propiedades moleculares y la función de diferentes biomoléculas y biomembranas en un entorno de Realidad Virtual. Para la experiencia piloto, realizada con alumnos de los grados de Biotecnología, Odontología y CAFYD, se han diseñado dos actividades con el fin de evaluar si la comprensión de conceptos complejos en estas áreas de formación incrementa tras la utilización de BMLearn frente a métodos tradicionales. Los resultados mostraron que los alumnos que utilizaron BMLearn obtuvieron una en una mayor calificación en la evaluación de las actividades realizadas. El 90% de los estudiantes encontraron la aplicación BMLearn motivadora (muy buena/excelente) y de fácil uso. Además, el grado de satisfacción global de la actividad realizada fue excelente para el 45% de los estudiantes y alto para el 55%. Esta experiencia muestra que BMLearn es un potente recurso docente por su accesibilidad, aspecto visual cercano al alumno, contenidos con posibilidad de actualización y diseño modular, que confiere un enorme valor añadido sobre la enseñanza tradicional.SIN FINANCIACIÓNNo data 2018UE

Microarchitectural changes during development of the cerebellar cortex

The cerebellum is a highly conserved structure in the Central Nervous System (CNS) of vertebrates, and is involved in the coordination of voluntary motor behaviour. Supporting this function, the cerebellar cortex presents a layered structure which requires a precise spatial and temporal coordination of proliferation, migration and differentiation events. One of the characteristics of the developing cortex is the formation of the external granule cell layer (EGL) in the outermost part. The EGL is a highly proliferative transient layer which disappears when cells migrate inwards to form the inner granule cell layer. The balance between proliferation and migration leads to changes in EGL thickness, and might be related to "indentations" observed in the surface of the developing chick cerebellum. We have extended the observation of this feature to quail and mouse, supporting the idea that this phenomenon forms part of the mechanisms of cerebellar morphogenesis. Different factors involved in both mitotic activity and migration were analyzed in this study. Our results indicate that proliferation, more than formation of raphes for cell migration, is involved in the formation of indentations in the EGL. In addition, we show that vessels penetrating from the pial surface divide the EGL into regular regions at the time of the appearance of bulges and furrows. We conclude that indentations are the result of a coincidence in time of both the increase in thickness of the EGL and the establishment of the embryonic vascular pattern, which confers a characteristic transitory morphology to the surface of folia.2.856 JCR (2010) Q2, 18/38 Developmental biolog

Analysis of cerebellar changes in shape and size along development by using geometric morphometrics coordinates

The cerebellar anlage is subject to a multifactorial process, with intrinsic and extrinsic factors, to acquire a complex adult morphological structure. The spectacular cortical development provokes dramatic changes in shape and size of the initial structure, that course with the formation of folia and fissures. The study of these transformations from a global point of view is the goal of the present study. For this approach, midsagittal sections of chick embryonic cerebella from stages HH36 to HH44 were used to obtain sets of landmarks analyzed by geometric morphometrics. This tool exploits not only the morphology per se, but the spatial relationships of anatomical structures in a quantitative and visual way. Preliminary results indicate that changes in the cerebellum are mainly observed at the transition between stages HH37-HH38, HH39-HH40 and HH40-HH41. The observed changes are summarized: 1)- the cavum ventricularis is progressively reduced to be converted into a cleft; 2)- centrifugal expansion of the folia, specially from HH40 onwards; 3)- fixation of the base of the fissures to the cerebellum core during the centrifugal expansion of the folia.No data (2008)UE

Anorexia y bulimia nerviosas: Difusión virtual de la enfermedad como estilo de vida

Introduction: Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the onset of eating disorders (ED) such as anorexia and bulimia nervosas. Body dissatisfaction, a precipitating factor for ED, leads adolescents to seek information on the Internet about diets. In this context, pro-Ana (proanorexia) and pro-Mia (probulimia) are on-line pages that promulgate highly harmful contents for health related to weight loss and ED. Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze quantity, quality and social diffusion strategies used by pro-Ana and pro-Mia webpages. Methods: A web search was done in the Google Chrome browser, using the keywords “anorexia”, “bulimia”, “eating disorders”, “Ana and Mia”, “pro-Ana and pro-Mia”, “anorexic nation”, “obesity”, “healthy lifestyles” and “healthy nutrition”. The top 20 results for each search were selected and analyzed according to positioning rates (PageRank, PR). The quality of these resources was analyzed by a previously published questionnaire. Finally, a study of the diffusion in social networks like Facebook and Twitter was performed for pro-Ana and pro-Mia pages using SharedCount. Results: Searches for pro-Ana and pro-Mia reported more than a million entries. The pages were poorly positioned. Blog contents were the most shared between all the analyzed pages. Conclusions: pro-Ana and pro-Mia are resources with a clear intention to establish a contact with people with an eating disorder or who are at risk for developing one, in order to strengthen the communication through the blogosphere. © 2017, Grupo Aula Medica S.A. All rights reserved.2015 UEM 34Cátedra ASISA-UEM CAT001206E0.845 JCR (2017) Q4, 70/83 Nutrition & DieteticsUE