L'ambigüitat del pas del temps

Treballs de l'alumnat del Grau de Comunicació Audiovisual, Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació, Universitat de Barcelona, [Metanarratives - Grup 11]. Curs: 2015-2016, Tutor: Josep Rovira.Directora: Mireia Córdoba; Productora: Laia Morera; Guionista: Andrea Rodríguez; Directora de fotografia: Marta Soldevila; Direcció artística: Laia Morera; Direcció de so: Andrea Rodríguez; Muntatge: Mireia Córdoba; Música: Marta Soldevila."L’ambigüitat del pas del temps" és un videoart que pretén relacionar el concepte del pas del temps amb l’estat d’ànim d’una persona; pretén transmetre la durada del primer en funció de les emocions que algú estigui sentint en aquell precís moment, tot contrastant amb la realitat

Béns i serveis que proveeixen els boscos de Catalunya

Investigadors/es del CREAF i la UAB han demostrat que la combinació de múltiples fonts de dades pot ajudar a tenir un coneixement més ampli i detallat dels ecosistemes dels boscos de Catalunya i els serveis i béns que aquests proporcionen, essencials pel benestar de la nostra societat. Els resultats obtinguts permeten desenvolupar millors estratègies de planificació territorial i de gestió de recursos naturals.Investigadores/as del CREAF y de la UAB han demostrado que la combinación de múltiples fuentes de datos puede ayudar a tener un conocimiento más amplio y detallado de los ecosistemas de los bosques de Cataluña y de los servicios y bienes que estos proporcionan, esenciales para el bienestar de nuestra sociedad. Los resultados obtenidos permiten desarrollar mejor estrategias de planificación territorial y de gestión de recursos naturales.A recent study published by CREAF and the UAB shows that the combination of multiple sources of information helps to have a broader and better understanding of the forest ecosystems of Catalonia and the services and goods they provide, which are key for human well-being. The results obtained allow better strategies for land planning and management of natural resources

Blau

Treballs de l'alumnat del Grau de Comunicació Audiovisual, Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Projectes I - Grup4. Curs: 2014-2015, Tutor: Jaume VilasecaLa Blanca és una advocada que treballa amb la seva exparella, David. Té una particularitat, és sinestèsica

The sigma-1 receptor as key common factor in cocaine and food seeking behaviors

Addiction and eating disorders involve brain reward circuits. A previous history of binge eating predisposes to addictive behavior, while the cessation of exposure to drugs of abuse leads to reward activities, including intake of tasty foods. Cocaine use is associated with a decrease in food intake, with reversal after the drug use is stopped. Exciting new findings show that receptors for the 'hunger' hormone, ghrelin, directly interact with the sigma-1 receptors (1R), which is a target of cocaine. 1R are key players in regulating dopaminergic neurotransmission and ghrelin-mediated actions. This review focuses on the 1 receptor as general neuroendocrine regulator by directly interacting with neuronal G-protein-coupled receptors. This review also covers the early mechanisms by which cocaine binding to 1 blocks the food-seeking behavior triggered by ghrelin. Such new findings appear as fundamental to understand common mechanisms in drug addiction and eating disorders

Antiangiogenic effect of gemcitabine following metronomic administration in a pancreas cancer model

Gemcitabine shows a marked antitumor effect as a result of its cytotoxic action toward proliferative cells. In this article, we aim to investigate the potential antitumor and antiangiogenic effect of gemcitabine following a metronomic schedule that involves the regular administration of cytotoxic drugs at doses lower than standard treatment. In vitro results showed that human endothelial cells are more sensitive to gemcitabine (IC50 3 nmol/L) than pancreatic tumor cells (IC50 20 nmol/L). For in vivo studies, we used an orthotopic implantation model of human pancreatic carcinoma in nude mice. Gemcitabine was administered i.p. following a low-dose schedule (1 mg/kg/d for a month) and compared with the conventional schedule (100 mg/kg days 0, 3, 6, and 9 postimplantation). Metronomic treatment effect on established tumor was equivalent to standard administration. The measure of CD31 endothelial marked area allowed us to show an in vivo antiangiogenic effect of this drug that was further enhanced by using metronomic administration. This effect correlated with an induction of thrombospondin-1, a natural inhibitor of angiogenesis. Our results allow us to hypothesize that, in addition to a direct antiproliferative or cytotoxic antiendothelial cell effect, a secondary effect involving thrombospondin-1 induction might provide an explanation for the specificity of the effects of metronomic gemcitabine treatment

Adenosine A2A receptor antagonists affects NMDA glutamate receptor function. Potential to address neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease

(1) Background. N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) ionotropic glutamate receptor (NMDAR), which is one of the main targets to combat Alzheimer's disease (AD), is expressed in both neurons and glial cells. The aim of this paper was to assess whether the adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR), which is a target in neurodegeneration, may affect NMDAR functionality. (2) Methods. Immuno-histo/cytochemical, biophysical, biochemical and signaling assays were performed in a heterologous cell expression system and in primary cultures of neurons and microglia (resting and activated) from control and the APPSw,Ind transgenic mice. (3) Results. On the one hand, NMDA and A2A receptors were able to physically interact forming complexes, mainly in microglia. Furthermore, the amount of complexes was markedly enhanced in activated microglia. On the other hand, the interaction resulted in a novel functional entity that displayed a cross-antagonism, that could be useful to prevent the exacerbation of NMDAR function by using A2AR antagonists. Interestingly, the amount of complexes was markedly higher in the hippocampal cells from the APPSw,Ind than from the control mice. In neurons, the number of complexes was lesser, probably due to NMDAR not interacting with the A2AR. However, the activation of the A2AR receptors resulted in higher NMDAR functionality in neurons, probably by indirect mechanisms. (4) Conclusions. A2AR antagonists such as istradefylline, which is already approved for Parkinson's disease (Nouriast® in Japan and Nourianz® in the US), have potential to afford neuroprotection in AD in a synergistic-like fashion. i.e., via both neurons and microglia

Differential effect of amphetamine over the corticotropin-releasing factor CRF2 receptor, the orexin OX1 receptor and the CRF2-OX1 heteroreceptor complex

Stress is one of the factors underlying drug seeking behavior that often goes in parallel with loss of appetite. We here demonstrate that orexin 1 receptors (OX1R) may form complexes with the corticotropin releasing factor CRF2 receptor. Two specific features of the heteromer were a cross-antagonism and a blockade by CRF2 of OX1R signaling. In cells expressing one of the receptors, agonist-mediated signal transduction mechanisms were potentiated by amphetamine. Sigma 1 (σ1) and 2 (σ2) receptors are targets of drugs of abuse and, despite sharing a similar name, the two receptors are structurally unrelated and their physiological role is not known. We here show that σ1 receptors interact with CRF2 receptors and that σ2 receptors interact with OX1R. Moreover, we show that amphetamine effect on CRF2 receptors was mediated by σ1R whereas the effect on OX1 receptors was mediated by σ2R. Amphetamine did potentiate the negative cross-talk occurring within the CRF2-OX1 receptor heteromer context, likely by a macromolecular complex involving the two sigma receptors and the two GPCRs. Finally, in vivo microdialysis experiments showed that amphetamine potentiated orexin A-induced dopamine and glutamate release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Remarkably, the in vivo orexin A effects were blocked by a selective CRF2R antagonist. These results show that amphetamine impacts on the OX1R-, CRF2R- and OX1R/CRF2R-mediated signaling and that cross-antagonism is instrumental for in vivo detection of GPCR heteromers