Developing strategies for the control of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 (Ciliophora)

The intensification of freshwater aquaculture worldwide has facilitated the propagation of the parasitic ciliate protozoan Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 commonly known as “fish white spot” or “Ich”. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis infections lead to high mortalities, generating significant economic losses in most cultured freshwater fish species worldwide. Until recently, malachite green was the chemical treatment traditionally used to control I. multifiliis infections. Its reclassification as carcinogenic to humans and its subsequent ban for use in food fish has left the industry without any suitable treatments. Currently, in-bath formaldehyde and sodium chloride treatments are the most common option used in farm systems to control I. multifliis infections. Given their low efficacy, however, they are not considered as sustainable long–term options. There is, therefore, an urgent necessity to find efficacious alternatives for controlling I. multifliis infections. The general aim of this research project was to improve the management of I. multifiliis infections in order to develop more comprehensive, environmentally friendly and sustainable therapeutic strategies for use in freshwater food fish aquaculture. The present PhD-thesis present first a literature review chapter providing an overview and critical assessment of chemotherapeutants and physical interventions tested within the last 30 years against I. multifiliis infections. The experimental worked consisted of a number of in vitro and in vivo trials were conducted using experimental scale flow-through, static tank systems and commercial scale raceways within a rainbow trout hatchery, in addition to molecular work on different isolates of the parasite. The results of this research are organised into three experimental chapters which describe the testing of chemical and non-chemical treatments against I. multifiliis infections and work undertaken to determine the most suitable molecular markers to identify I. multifiliis isolates. In the first experimental chapters, the possibility of efficiently controlling I. multifliis infections through the administration of novel environmentally-friendly chemical treatments (e.g. bronopol and peracetic acid-based products) was investigated. The results clearly showed that bronopol and peractic acid-based products have a strong biocidal/cytotoxic effect against all free-living stages of I. multifiliis (e.g. tomonts, cysts and theronts). The administration of high concentrations of bronopol (e.g. 20, 50 and 100 mg L-1) over short periods of exposure (e.g. 30 min) significantly reduced the survival of tomonts, cysts and theronts and delayed the development of I. multifiliis tomonts and cysts. Prolonged low concentrations of bronopol (e.g. 1 mg L-1) greatly reduced the survival of infective theronts, although such treatment did not affect the ability of surviving theronts to subsequently infect a host. When tested in vivo, the continuous prolonged exposure (e.g. 27 days) of low concentrations of bronopol (e.g. 2 and 5 mg L-1) had an impact on the population dynamics of I. multifiliis, this being demonstrated by a significant reduction in the number of trophonts developing within the fish. Low concentrations of bronopol (e.g. 2 mg L-1) administrated as a preventive treatment prior to infection also proved to be very successful at reducing the colonisation success of I. multifiliis. Peracetic acid administrated at low concentrations (e.g. 8, 12 and 15 mg L-1) over a short window of exposure (e.g. 1 h) displayed a strong biocidal effect against all the free-living stages of I. multifiliis (e.g. tomonts, cysts and theronts). The bronopol and peracetic acid-based products tested here both appear to be capable of disrupting the development of the cyst stage of I. multifiliis which is seldom reported for chemotherapeutants currently used against this parasite. These results suggest that bronopol and peracetic acid-based products have a place in the arsenal of treatment options for controlling I. multifiliis infections in commercial aquaculture systems. The use of a mechanical device or a biological control agent to remove the cyst stage of I. multifiliis and the impact of such control on the population dynamics and the levels of infection of fish were also investigated. The results revealed that tomonts preferentially settle and encyst on the base of culture systems and on biofilm–covered substrates. The survival of the tomont stage is greatly affected by the composition of the substrate upon which it settles and is significantly lower on polypropylene-based plastic. The lining of raceways in a commercial rainbow trout hatchery with a low-adhesion polymer created a smooth surface facilitating the dislodgement and elimination of the cyst stage of I. multifilis by natural flushing or brushing. The physical removal of the cyst stage alone, through the use of a mechanical device or substrate detrivorous/algae feeder as a biological control agent, significantly reduced the propagation of I. multifiliis to a low level of infection without the need to deploy an additional chemical treatment. These studies demonstrate that the cyst is a key stage in the dynamics of I. multifiliis infection and its removal from the fish culture systems could constitute an effective and simple mean of managing I. multifiliis infections. The third experimental chapter explores the utilisation of molecular marker to characterise different isolates of I. multifiliis. The results highlight the unsuitability of the rDNA region (ITS-1 and ITS-2) and the strong potential of the mtDNA (COI) as molecular markers to discriminate isolates of I. multifiliis from distant geographical locations. It is suggested that genetic “barcoding” using mtDNA is the most effective method to identify I. multifiliis isolates. Importantly, genetic “barcoding” could allow associating I. multifiliis strains or geographical isolates with particular properties as regards their ecophysiology, pathogenicity and sensitivity to treatment, in order to improve the management of I. multifiliis infections according to the specific genetic isolate encountered. This research project demonstrates the efficacy of a range of new approaches against the propagation of I. multifiliis. Together, our findings contribute towards the development of a more effective and integrated system for managing I. multifliis infections in farm systems. The utilisation of physical methods and of environmentally friendly chemotherapeutants holds great potential for the control of I. multifiliis infections in organic fish production and in a broader context to any freshwater food fish farms affected by I. multifiliis

A influência da farmácia comunitária na promoção de estilos de vida saudáveis em crianças e adolescentes

Orientação: Luís Monteiro RodriguesA presente monografia aborda a influência da farmácia na prevenção de comportamentos de risco na adolescência, através da promoção da saúde. Esta monografia contempla ainda a importância dos pais na educação para uma vida saudável. O principal objetivo desta monografia é avaliar o impacto da farmácia, como principal cuidado de saúde primário, no combate a hábitos incorretos de alimentação, atividade física, consumo de álcool e tabaco praticados pela população adolescente. O papel do farmacêutico revela uma grande importância na evolução do conceito de farmácia, tal como se tem verificado ao longo dos últimos anos. Esta evolução teve em vista uma maior proximidade entre a farmácia e a comunidade, sendo este atualmente, um espaço de primeira linha dedicado à saúde do utente. O contributo do farmacêutico apresenta especial responsabilidade na indicação e aconselhamento, bem como na promoção da saúde, uma vez que tem a vantagem de ter uma grande proximidade com os seus utentes. O desafio ainda se torna mais elevado quando se refere a crianças e adolescentes, uma vez que há necessidade de atuar e intervir precocemente, de modo a minimizar riscos associados aos comportamentos inadequados nesta fase da vida. Existem ainda situações de morbilidade e mortalidade, sendo necessário sensibilizar crianças e adolescentes para situações de risco, as suas consequências e prevenção através da promoção da saúde. A farmácia da atualidade aponta para o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias que visam melhorar a saúde das crianças através da prevenção de doenças e promoção de estilos de vida saudáveis.The present monograph discusses the influence of pharmacy in the prevention of risk behaviors in adolescence, through the promotion of health. This monograph also considers the importance of parents in education for a healthy life. The main objective of this monograph is to evaluate the impact of pharmacy, as the main primary health care, in combating incorrect eating habits, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco consumption practiced by the adolescent population. The role of the pharmacist reveals great importance in the evolution of the concept of pharmacy, as it has been verified in recent years. This evolution had as its aim a greater proximity between the pharmacy and the community, which is currently the first point of help of patients. The contribution of the pharmacist presents special responsibility in the indication and advice, as well as in the promotion of health, since it has the advantage of being very close to its users. The challenge is evermore important when it comes to children and teenagers, since there is a need to act and intervene early, in order to minimize the risks associated with inappropriate behavior in this phase of life. There are also situations of morbidity and mortality, and it is necessary to sensitize children and adolescents to situations of risk, their consequences and prevention through health promotion. Today's pharmacy aims to develop new strategies targeted at improving the health of children by preventing diseases and promoting healthy lifestyles

Infección recurrente de vías urinarias durante la gestación como factor de riesgo para preeclampsia en el Hospital Belén de Trujillo

Objetivo: Demostrar que la infección recurrente de vías urinarias durante la gestación es factor de riesgo para preeclampsia en gestantes atendidas en el Hospital Belén de Trujillo. Material y Métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio de tipo analítico, observacional, retrospectivo, de casos y controles. La población de estudio estuvo constituida por 71 gestantes; quienes se dividieron en 2 grupos: con y sin preeclampsia. Resultados: La frecuencia de infección recurrente de vías urinarias en gestantes con preeclampsia fue 77,78%. La frecuencia de infección recurrente de vías urinarias en gestantes sin preeclampsia fue 40,91%. El odss ratio entre las variables de interés fue de 5,06 el cual fue significativo (p<0.05). El promedio de infección recurrente de vías urinarias durante la gestación fue significativamente superior en los pacientes con preeclampsia respecto de las pacientes sin preeclampsia (p<0.05). Conclusiones: La infección recurrente de vías urinarias durante la gestación es factor de riesgo para preeclampsia en gestantes atendidas en el Hospital Belén de Trujillo.Objective: Show that recurrent urinary tract infection during pregnancy is a risk factor for preeclampsia in pregnant women treated at the Belén Hospital in Trujillo. Material and Methods: A study of analytical, observational, retrospective, case- control type took place. The study population consisted of 71 pregnant women; who they were divided into 2 groups: with and without preeclampsia. Results: The frequency of recurrent urinary tract infection in pregnant women with preeclampsia was 77,78%. The frequency of recurrent urinary tract infection in pregnant women without preeclampsia was 40,91%. The odss ratio between the variables of interest was 5.06, which was significant (p <0.05). The average recurrent urinary tract infection during pregnancy was significantly higher in patients with preeclampsia than in patients without preeclampsia (p <0.05). Conclusions: Recurrent urinary tract infection during pregnancy is a risk factor for preeclampsia in pregnant women treated at the Belén Hospital of Trujillo.Tesi

Assessing Child Obesity and Physical Activity in a Hard-to-Reach Population in California's Central Valley, 2012-2013.

IntroductionIn California's agricultural Central Valley, the rate of childhood obesity is higher than the national average. Adequate physical activity contributes to obesity prevention and its assessment is useful to evaluate the impact of interventions.MethodsNiños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family [NSFS]) uses community-based participatory research to implement an intervention program to reduce childhood obesity among people of Mexican origin in the Central Valley. Anthropometric measurements were conducted on more than 650 children enrolled in NSFS. Physical activity data from a subgroup of children aged 4 to 7 years (n = 134) were collected via a wearable accelerometer.ResultsChildren were classified on the basis of age and sex-adjusted body mass index as healthy weight (57.7%); overweight (19.3%), or obese (23%). Logistic regression showed that moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated with a child's likelihood of having a healthy BMI (odds ratio: 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .017).ConclusionNSFS's community-based participatory approach resulted in successful use of a commercial electronic device to measure physical activity quantity and quality in this hard-to-reach population. Promotion of adequate daily MVPA is an appropriate and necessary component of NSFS's childhood obesity prevention strategy

Prevalencia de trastornos psicológicos en población española víctima de atentados terroristas

El terrorismo es uno de los problemas más graves a nivel mundial, tanto por el elevado número de afectados que deja cada año, como por su incidencia a nivel mundial. España, lejos de ser una excepción, ha sufrido atentados terroristas de forma continuada durante décadas. Al analizar la literatura científica sobre consecuencias psicopatológicas de los atentados terroristas, se puede observar que el trastorno mental más investigado ha sido el trastorno por estrés postraumático (TEPT), habiendo sido menos investigados el trastorno depresivo mayor, el trastorno de angustia, la agorafobia sin historia de angustia y el trastorno de ansiedad generalizada. Además, la mayoría de la investigación previa se ha centrado en las consecuencias psicopatológicas de los atentados terroristas a corto, medio o largo plazo, pero no a muy largo plazo, es decir, 10, 20 o 30 años después de que los atentados terroristas hubiesen ocurrido. Es más, la mayoría de los estudios han utilizado instrumentos de cribado (screening) para evaluar la posible presencia de trastornos psicológicos, pero estos instrumentos son menos fiables y válidos para realizar un diagnóstico que las evaluaciones basadas en entrevistas clínicas diagnósticas estructuradas; por otro lado, la mayoría de los estudios se han centrado en las víctimas directas, los intervinientes y la población general afectada, pero casi ninguna ha evaluado las consecuencias psicopatológicas en familiares cercanos de las víctimas directas..

La comunicación 2.0 en las universidades públicas andaluzas

La comunicación digital no consiste simplemente en poseer un perfil, sino en gestionarlo adecuadamente y relacionarse con el público al que se dirige. Por ello, esta investigación tratará de averiguar qué herramientas digitales están utilizando estas instituciones y analizar el uso que se les está dando. Para ello, se realizará un análisis de contenido de sus perfiles en redes sociales, además de sus páginas webs, para llegar a unas conclusiones sólidas acerca de qué es lo que la universidad comunica digitalmente

Influencia de la Inteligencia Emocional en el rendimiento laboral

Treball Final de Grau en Psicologia. Codi: PS1048. Curs: 2020/2021La Inteligencia Emocional es uno de los temas de más interés en la psicología y en la gestión, esto se debe a que según diferentes investigaciones la Inteligencia emocional es un predictor importante del rendimiento laboral, siendo esta decisiva para determinar porqué ciertas personas prosperan en la vida y en sus trabajos. La IE se define como la habilidad de procesar las emociones propias y de los demás (Mayer, Caruso y Salovey, 1999; Mayer y Salovey, 1997) y el Rendimiento laboral como aquellos comportamientos que son importantes para las metas de la organización y que se encuentran bajo el control del individuo (Gabini & Salessi, 2016; Koopmans, Bernaards, Hildebrandt, de Vet, & van der Beek, 2014). El presente estudio tiene como objetivo analizar el efecto de la IE en el rendimiento laboral de empleados de diferentes empresas, planteando como hipótesis que el rendimiento será mayor en personas con IE. La investigación se llevó a cabo durante diciembre de 2020 y febrero de 2021, con 1045 personas que participaron de forma voluntaria y anónima rellenando un cuestionario mediante la plataforma Google Forms. El cuestionario evaluaba IE mediante la escala WLEIS-S: Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, rendieminto mediante el IWPQ: The Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (Koopmans, 2014) y otras variables como sexo, sector laboral y antiguedad en la empresa. Los resultados se obtuvieron mediante la correlación de pearson y muestran que hay una correlación significativa entre IE y Rendimiento, así como en sus subescalas. Estos datos apoyan la hipótesis del estudio. Por lo que se concluye que la IE es un indicador de mayor rendimiento laboral en la empresa.Emotional Intelligence is one of the most interesting topics in psychology and management, this is due to the fact that according to different investigations, emotional intelligence is an important predictor of work performance, being decisive in determining why certain people prosper in life and in their jobs. EI is defined as the ability to process one's own and others' emotions (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999; Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and Job Performance as the behaviors that are important to organizational goals and are under the individual's control (Gabini & Salessi, 2016; Koopmans, Bernaards, Hildebrandt, de Vet, & van der Beek, 2014). The present study aims to analyze the effect of EI on the work performance of employees of different companies, hypothesizing that performance will be higher in people with EI. The research was conducted during December 2020 and February 2021, with 1045 people who participated voluntarily and anonymously by filling out a questionnaire using the Google Forms platform. The questionnaire assessed EI through the WLEIS-S: Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, performance through the IWPQ: The Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (Koopmans, 2014) and other variables such as gender, work sector and seniority in the company. The results were obtained through the Pearson correlation and show that there is a significant correlation between EI and Performance, as well as in its subscales.These data support the study hypothesis. Therefore, it is concluded that EI is an indicator of higher job performance in the company

An agent-based Internet of Things platform for distributed real time machine control

[EN] The way in which the Internet of Things and the Web of Things improve everyday objects may seem obvious; elements that make up our daily life are increasingly interconnected and it is becoming more common for us to be surrounded by them. However, the possibilities these technologies offer are not only limited to routinely used objects. By adapting these still emerging technologies, any kind of an object can achieve better performance. They can, for example be applied to research tools, to obtain faster search results and improve the user's experience. The presented work follows these lines; we present a Web-operated machine for the study of the behaviour of certain animals. In addition, the proposed architecture favours the addition of cognitive abilities, due to the inclusion of a Multi-Agent System

ErbB2 Receptor in Breast Cancer: Implications in Cancer Cell Migration, Invasion and Resistance to Targeted Therapy

Overexpression of ErbB2 is found in several types of human carcinomas. In breast tumors, ErbB2 overexpression is detected in up to 20% of patients. Breast cancers in with amplification of ErbB2 are characterized by rapid tumor growth, lower survival rate and increased disease progression. The molecular mechanisms underlying the oncogenic action of ErbB2 involve a complex signaling network that tightly regulates malignant cell migration and invasion and hence metastatic potential. Recent efforts have been made to identify gene expression signatures of ErbB2-positive invasive breast cancers that may represent important mediators of ErbB2-induced tumorigenesis and metastatic progression. In this chapter, we will discuss the canonical ErbB2 signaling pathways responsible for tumor growth and dissemination along with newly identified mediators such as adaptor protein p130Cas and miRNAs. From a therapeutic point of view, the treatment with anti-ErbB2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab has greatly improved the outcomes of patients with ErbB2 aggressive cancer. Nevertheless, de novo and acquired resistance to trastuzumab therapy still represent a major clinical problem. In the second part of the chapter, we will provide an overview of the mechanisms so far implicated in the onset of resistance to targeted therapy and of the new strategies to overcome resistance