Long-term evolution of shrub prescribed burning effects on topsoil organic matter and biological activity in the Central Pyrenees (NE-Spain)

Since the last half of the 20th Century, scrubs have been invading subclimatic grasslands in the montane and subalpine stages of Spain due to the decrease of the grazing activity. This shrub encroachment reduces biodiversity and the ecopastoral value of the region and leads to the accumulation of woody fuel, which represents a high fire risk. To control the encroachment, prescribed burnings are performed but their effects on soils over the years are still undetermined. This study aims to research about the long-term effects of a prescribed burn of Echinospartum horridum (Vahl) Roth. on topsoil organic matter and biological activity. Soil sampling was carried out in Tella-Sin (Central Pyrenees, Aragón, Spain) and four treatments were selected: unburned (UB), immediately burned (B0), burned 6 years before (B6, mid-term) and burned 10 years before (B10, long-term). Among the obtained results, an immediately after burning decrease on β-D-glucosidase activity (GLU) was found, which did not recover over time. Other properties did not have an immediate reduction but did so over time: total soil organic carbon (SOC), labile carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), basal soil respiration (bSR). And others were not affected at all: microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and the microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2). Moreover, the normalized soil respiration (nSR) increased with the time, which implies an acceleration of the potential mineralization of soil organic carbon. In short, although the elimination of the dense shrubs by fire has not entailed major immediate soil modifications, which would be typical of a low severity prescribed burn, several mid- and long-term effects in the C cycle have been observed. Future studies will have to discern what is the main cause of these modifications (soil microbial composition, edaphoclimatic changes, lack of soil cover and soil loss, soil fertility, etc.)

Oleic acid is an endogenous ligand of TLX/NR2E1 that triggers hippocampal neurogenesis

Altres ajuts: Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), Core Facility Support Award (CPRIT-RP180672, R1313, 1R01GM138781-01); NIH (CA125123, RR024574); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the NIH (P50HD103555); BCM start-up funds; Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation; McNair Medical Institute; Robert and Janice McNair Foundation; BCM Seed Funding (1P20CA221731-01A1); National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01 GM120033); Cynthia and Antony Petrello Endowment; Mark A. Wallace Endowment; McKnight Foundation; Dana Foundation; BCM Computational and Integrative Biomedical Research Center seed grant.Neural stem cells, the source of newborn neurons in the adult hippocampus, are intimately involved in learning and memory, mood, and stress response. Despite considerable progress in understanding the biology of neural stem cells and neurogenesis, regulating the neural stem cell population precisely has remained elusive because we have lacked the specific targets to stimulate their proliferation and neurogenesis. The orphan nuclear receptor TLX/NR2E1 governs neural stem and progenitor cell self-renewal and proliferation, but the precise mechanism by which it accomplishes this is not well understood because its endogenous ligand is not known. Here, we identify oleic acid (18:1ω9 monounsaturated fatty acid) as such a ligand. We first show that oleic acid is critical for neural stem cell survival. Next, we demonstrate that it binds to TLX to convert it from a transcriptional repressor to a transcriptional activator of cell-cycle and neurogenesis genes, which in turn increases neural stem cell mitotic activity and drives hippocampal neurogenesis in mice. Interestingly, oleic acid-activated TLX strongly up-regulates cell cycle genes while only modestly up-regulating neurogenic genes. We propose a model in which sufficient quantities of this endogenous ligand must bind to TLX to trigger the switch to proliferation and drive the progeny toward neuronal lineage. Oleic acid thus serves as a metabolic regulator of TLX activity that can be used to selectively target neural stem cells, paving the way for future therapeutic manipulations to counteract pathogenic impairments of neurogenesis

Stem Cells for Huntington's Disease (SC4HD): An International Consortium to Facilitate Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Huntington's Disease

Huntington's disease (HD) research is entering an exciting phase, with new approaches such as huntingtin lowering strategies and cell therapies on the horizon. Technological advances to direct the differentiation of stem cells to desired neural types have opened new strategies for restoring damaged neuronal circuits in HD. However, challenges remain in the implementation of cell therapy approaches for patients suffering from HD. Cell therapies, together with other invasive approaches including allele specific oligonucleotides (ASOs) and viral delivery of huntingtin-lowering agents, require direct delivery of the therapeutic agents locally into the brain or cerebrospinal fluid. Delivering substances directly into the brain is complex and presents multiple challenges, including those related to regulatory requirements, safety and efficacy, surgical instrumentation, trial design, patient profiles, and selection of suitable and sensitive primary and secondary outcomes. In addition, production of clinical grade cell-based medicinal products also requires adherence to regulatory standards with extensive quality control of the protocols and cell products across different laboratories and production centers. Currently, there is no consensus on how best to address these challenges. Here we describe the formation of Stem Cells For Huntington's Disease (SC4HD: https://www.sc4hd.org/), a network of researchers and clinicians working to develop guidance and greater standardization for the HD field for stem cell based transplantation therapy for HD with a mission to work to develop criteria and guidance for development of a neural intra-cerebral stem cell-based therapy for HD

Do Children and Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa Display an Inefficient Cognitive Processing Style?

Objective: This study aimed to examine neuropsychological processing in children and adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). The relationship of clinical and demographic variables to neuropsychological functioning within the AN group was also explored.  Method: The performance of 41 children and adolescents with a diagnosis of AN were compared to 43 healthy control (HC) participants on a number of neuropsychological measures.  Results: There were no differences in IQ between AN and HC groups. However, children and adolescents with AN displayed significantly more perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and lower Style and Central Coherence scores on the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test relative to HCs.  Conclusion: Inefficient cognitive processing in the AN group was independent of clinical and demographic variables, suggesting it might represent an underlying trait for AN. The implications of these findings are discussed

What pulmonologists think about the asthma–COPD overlap syndrome

Background: Some patients with COPD may share characteristics of asthma; this is the so-called asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). There are no universally accepted criteria for ACOS, and most treatments for asthma and COPD have not been adequately tested in this population. Materials and methods: We performed a survey among pulmonology specialists in asthma and COPD aimed at collecting their opinions about ACOS and their attitudes in regard to some case scenarios of ACOS patients. The participants answered a structured questionnaire and attended a face-to-face meeting with the Metaplan methodology to discuss different aspects of ACOS. Results: A total of 26 pulmonologists with a mean age of 49.7 years participated in the survey (13 specialists in asthma and 13 in COPD). Among these, 84.6% recognized the existence of ACOS and stated that a mean of 12.6% of their patients might have this syndrome. In addition, 80.8% agreed that the diagnostic criteria for ACOS are not yet well defined. The most frequently mentioned characteristics of ACOS were a history of asthma (88.5%), significant smoking exposure (73.1%), and postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ,0.7 (69.2%). The most accepted diagnostic criteria were eosinophilia in sputum (80.8%), a very positive bronchodilator test (69.2%), and a history of asthma before 40 years of age (65.4%). Up to 96.2% agreed that first-line treatment for ACOS was the combination of a long-acting β2-agonist and inhaled steroid, with a long-acting antimuscarinic agent (triple therapy) for severe ACOS. Conclusion: Most Spanish specialists in asthma and COPD agree that ACOS exists, but the diagnostic criteria are not yet well defined. A previous history of asthma, smoking, and not fully reversible airflow limitation are considered the main characteristics of ACOS, with the most accepted first-line treatment being long-acting β2-agonist/inhaled corticosteroids

Evolution of the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Spain between March and November 2020: SEMI-COVID national registry

Objectives: Since the results of the RECOVERY trial, WHO recommendations about the use of corticosteroids (CTs) in COVID-19 have changed. The aim of the study is to analyse the evolutive use of CTs in Spain during the pandemic to assess the potential influence of new recommendations. Material and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, and observational study was conducted on adults hospitalised due to COVID-19 in Spain who were included in the SEMI-COVID- 19 Registry from March to November 2020. Results: CTs were used in 6053 (36.21%) of the included patients. The patients were older (mean (SD)) (69.6 (14.6) vs. 66.0 (16.8) years; p < 0.001), with hypertension (57.0% vs. 47.7%; p < 0.001), obesity (26.4% vs. 19.3%; p < 0.0001), and multimorbidity prevalence (20.6% vs. 16.1%; p < 0.001). These patients had higher values (mean (95% CI)) of C-reactive protein (CRP) (86 (32.7-160) vs. 49.3 (16-109) mg/dL; p < 0.001), ferritin (791 (393-1534) vs. 470 (236- 996) µg/dL; p < 0.001), D dimer (750 (430-1400) vs. 617 (345-1180) µg/dL; p < 0.001), and lower Sp02/Fi02 (266 (91.1) vs. 301 (101); p < 0.001). Since June 2020, there was an increment in the use of CTs (March vs. September; p < 0.001). Overall, 20% did not receive steroids, and 40% received less than 200 mg accumulated prednisone equivalent dose (APED). Severe patients are treated with higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%. Conclusions: Patients with greater comorbidity, severity, and inflammatory markers were those treated with CTs. In severe patients, there is a trend towards the use of higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%

The VEPSY Updated Project: Virtual Reality in Clinical Psychology

Many of us grew up with the naive assumption that couches are the best used therapeutic tools in psychotherapy. But tools for psychotherapy are evolving in a much more complex environment than a designer's chaise lounge. In particular, virtual reality (VR) devices have the potential for appearing soon in many consulting rooms. The use of VR in medicine is not a novelty. Applications of virtual environments for health care have been developed in the following areas: surgical procedures (remote surgery or telepresence, augmented or enhanced surgery, and planning and simulation of procedures before surgery); preventive medicine and patient education; medical education and training; visualization of massive medical databases; and architectural design for health care facilities. However, there is a growing recognition that VR can play an important role in clinical psychology, too. To exploit and understand this potential is the main goal of the Telemedicine and Portable Virtual Environment in Clinical Psychology - VEPSY Updated - a European Community-funded research project (IST-2000-25323, http://www.vepsy.com). The project will provide innovative tools - telemedicine and portable - for the treatment of patients, clinical trials to verify their viability, and action plans for dissemination of its results to an extended audience - potential users and influential groups. The project will also develop different personal computer (PC)-based virtual reality modules to be used in clinical assessment and treatment. In particular, the developed modules will address the following pathologies: anxiety disorders; male impotence and premature ejaculation; and obesity, bulimia, and binge-eating disorders