Submarine deposits associated with the giant slide of Puerto del Rosario (north of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands)

En la costa occidental de Fuerteventura, al norte del Puertito de Los Molinos, aflora la superficie basal de deslizamiento de Puerto del Rosario. Sobre esta superficie, aparecen una serie de niveles de brechas, conglomerados y arenas, intercalados con lavas almohadilladas y brechas de fragmentos de almohadillas, que representan una secuencia de flujos en masa subacuáticos. Los flujos que han dado lugar a brechas y arenas representan la transformación subacuática de avalanchas de escombros relacionadas con el deslizamiento principal de Puerto del Rosario y con otros deslizamientos secundarios. Los flujos representados por conglomerados proceden de la transformación subacuática de flujos hiperconcentrados subaéreos y del colapso de las lavas almohadilladas presentes en deltas de lava costeros. La aparición de estos materiales subacuáticos por encima del nivel del mar actual parece estar relacionada con un levantamiento generalizado de la parte occidental de Fuerteventura, posiblemente relacionado con el reajuste isostático sufrido por esta parte de la isla como consecuencia de la enorme liberación de masa provocada por el deslizamiento de Puerto del RosarioOn the western coast of Fuerteventura, north of Puertito de Los Molinos, the basal shear surface of the Puerto del Rosario slide crops out. Over the surface, several levels of breccias, conglomerates and sands occur, interspersed with pillow-lavas and pillow-lavas fragment breccias, which represent a sequence of subaqueous mass flows. Flows that deposited the breccias and sands represent the underwater transformation of debris avalanches related to the main landslide of Puerto del Rosario and with other secondary landslides. Flows represented by conglomerate resulted from the underwater transformation of hyper-concentrated subaerial flows and from the collapse of the pillow-lavas present in coastal lava deltas. The occurrence of these submarine materials above the current sea level seems to be related to a generalized uplift of the western part of Fuerteventura, possibly related to the isostatic readjustment suffered by this part of the island as a result of the enormous mass release caused by the Puerto del Rosario slid

First nearly complete skull of Gallotia auaritae (lower-middle Pleistocene, Squamata, Gallotiinae) and a morphological phylogenetic analysis of the genus Gallotia

The Canary Islands are an Atlantic archipelago known for its high number of endemic species. Among the most known endemic vertebrate species are the giant lizards of the genus Gallotia. We describe the cranial osteology of the first almost complete and articulated fossil skull of the taxon Gallotia auaritae, recovered from the lower-middle Pleistocene of the La Palma island. In this work, X-ray computed microtomography images were used to perform an exhaustive phylogenetic analysis where most of the extant and fossil species of the genus Gallotia were included for first time. This analysis recovered a monophyletic Gallotia clade with similar topology to that of molecular analyses. The newly described specimen shares some characters with the group formed by G. bravoana, G. intermedia and G. simonyi, G. auaritae, and its position is compatible with a referral to the latter. Our study adds new important data to the poorly known cranial morphology of G. auaritae, and the phylogenetic analysis reveals an unexpected power of resolution to obtain a morphology-based phylogeny for the genus Gallotia, for inferring the phylogenetic position of extinct species and for helping in the identification of fossil specimens.Fil: Cruzado Caballero, Penélope. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Alto Valle. Instituto de Investigaciones en Paleobiología y Geología; ArgentinaFil: Castillo Ruiz, Carolina. Universidad de La Laguna; EspañaFil: Bolet, Arnau. University of Bristol; Reino Unido. Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; España. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Colmenero, Juan Ramón. Universidad de Salamanca; EspañaFil: De la Nuez, Julio. Universidad de La Laguna; EspañaFil: Casillas, Ramón. Universidad de La Laguna; EspañaFil: Llacer, Sergio. Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; España. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Bernardini, Federico. Centro di Studi e Ricerche “Enrico Fermi”; Italia. Museo Storico della Fisica. Centro Fermi; ItaliaFil: Fortuny, Josep. Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; Españ

The lava delta of Igueste de San Andrés (Anaga, Tenerife, Canary Islands)

Los restos de un delta de lava afloran dentro de la Serie I Media del Macizo de Anaga, en la parte nororiental de la isla de Tenerife (Islas Canarias), en el tramo bajo del Barranco de Igueste de San Andrés, a unos 90 metros de altura. El delta está formado principalmente por flujos de lavas basálticas de baja viscosidad que cubren lavas almohadilladas, brechas de fragmentos de almohadillas, más o menos resedimentadas, e hialoclastitas, ordenadas en foresets con buzamientos altos hacia el sur. Cubren erosivamente el delta aglomerados constituidos por fragmentos procedentes de las diferentes facies del delta y niveles de lavas y piroclásticos subaéreos, formados por pequeñas erupciones estrombolianas costerasThe remains of a lava delta occur within the volcanic succession called Serie I Media in the Anaga Massif, in the northeastern part of Tenerife Island (Canary Islands). The outcrop is located in the lower part of the ravine of Igueste de San Andrés, at about 90 meters high. The delta is formed mainly of flows of low viscosity basaltic lavas that cover pillowlavas, roughly resedimented pillow-fragment breccias, and hyaloclastites, in foreset bodies with high dips towards the S. The delta is covered by agglomerates constituted by fragments from the different facies of the delta and levels of lavas and subaerial pyroclasts, formed of small coastal strombolian eruption

Whence come detrital zircons in Siluro-Devonian rocks from Iberia?

Seven Silurian and Devonian samples from the Cantabrian and Central Iberian zones of the Variscan belt have been investigated for paleogeographic purposes using detrital zircon U-Pb ages. A total of 764 analyses were performed. All samples contain four main age populations in variable relative proportions: Ediacaran–Cryogenian (ca. 0.55–0.8 Ga), Tonian–Stenian (0.85–1.2 Ga), Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8–2.2 Ga) and Archean (ca. 2.5–3.3 Ga). The two first groups constitute ca. 60–80% of the total population in all samples. In addition, 5 samples contain very minor Paleozoic (Cambrian) zircons and 6 samples contain minor but significant zircons of Middle and Early Mesoproterozoic age (Ectasian–Calymmian). These data, used in conjunction with detrital zircon U-Pb data of underlying Ordovician and Ediacaran strata constrain the evolution of the northern margin of west Gondwana, highlighting the transition from an arc environment (Cadomian-Avalonian arc orogeny) to a stable platform following the opening of the Rheic Ocean and the drift of Avalonian terranes. Variations in detrital zircon populations in Middle–Late Devonian times reflect the onset of Variscan convergence between Laurussia and Gondwana. The abundance (up to ca. 50%) of zircons of Tonian–Stenian age in Devonian sedimentary rocks, that could not have been recycled from the underlying strata, may be interpreted in different ways: a) the existence of a large Tonian–Stenian arc terrane exposed in the NE African realm (in or around the Arabian-Nubian shield) that was progressively exhumed throughout the Paleozoic, b) the participation from Ordovician times onwards of a more easterly alongshore provenance of Tonian–Stenian zircons. In this scenario, the South China block could have furnished Tonian– Stenian zircons to the Ordovician and Siluro-Devonian basins of Iberia, c) increase in the relative proportion of Tonian–Stenian zircons with respect to the Ediacaran– Cryogenian population (arc-derived zircons) due to the drift of the Avalonian-Cadomian ribbon continent following the opening of the Rheic Ocean.Peer Reviewe

Age of the submarine volcanic and plutonic rocks of the Basal Complex of La Palma: implications in the early geological evolution of the island

Se presentan los primeros resultados geocronológicos (método U-Pb en circones y Ar-Ar en biotitas y anfíboles) fiables de las rocas volcánicas submarinas y plutónicas del Complejo Basal de La Palma. Teniendo en cuenta que el complejo lóbulo-hialoclastítico traquítico submarino es la formación rocosa aflorante más antigua de la isla, se puede estimar un mínimo de edad para la etapa de crecimiento submarino de la isla de La Palma de 3,10 Ma. Las lavas almohadilladas traquibasálticas que se encuentran por encima de estas rocas traquíticas tienen una edad de 2,48 Ma. Por otro lado, de las edades aquí determinadas en las rocas plutónicas datadas se deduce que los edificios volcánicos subaéreos de Garafía y Taburiente Inferior constituyen dos complejos vulcano-plutónicos sucesivos: con rocas volcánicas o extrusivas, por un lado, formando dos grandes edificios en escudo, y, por otro, con rocas plutónicas que representan las cámaras magmáticas que alimentaban la actividad de estos edificios volcánicos y que los grandes deslizamientos gravitacionales acaecidos en este sector de la isla y la propia erosión han dejado parcialmente al descubierto en el fondo de la Caldera de Taburiente. Una interesante radiografía de estos complejos vulcano-plutónicos lo constituyen las paredes y el fondo de la impresionante Caldera de TaburienteThe first reliable geochronological results (U-Pb method in zircons and Ar-Ar in biotites) of the plutonic and submarine volcanic rocks of the La Palma Basal Complex are presented. Bearing in mind that the submarine trachytic lobe-hialoclastitic complex is the oldest outcropping rock formation on the island, a minimum age can be estimated for the submarine growth stage of the La Palma island of 3.10 Ma. The trachybasaltic pillow lavas found above these trachytic rocks have an age of 2.48 Ma. On the other hand, from the ages obtained here for the plutonic rocks it is deduced that the subaerial volcanic edifices of Garafía and Lower-Taburiente constitute two successive volcano-plutonic complexes: with volcanic or extrusive rocks, on one side, forming two large shield volcanoes, and, on the other side, with plutonic rocks that represent the magmatic chambers that fed the activity of these volcanic edifices and that large gravitational landslides occurred in this sector of the island and the erosion itself have partially left uncovered in the bottom of the Caldera de Taburiente. An interesting snapshot of these volcano-plutonic complexes can be observed at the walls and the bottom of the impressive Caldera de Taburient

Ghrelin attenuates hepatocellular injury and liver fibrogenesis in rodents and influences fibrosis progression in humans

El pdf del artículo es la versión pre-print.-- et al-There are no effective antifibrotic therapies for patients with liver diseases. We performed an experimental and translational study to investigate whether ghrelin, an orexigenic hormone with pleiotropic properties, modulates liver fibrogenesis. Recombinant ghrelin was administered to rats with chronic (bile duct ligation) and acute (carbon tetrachloride) liver injury. Hepatic gene expression was analyzed by way of microarray analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The hepatic response to chronic injury was also evaluated in wild-type and ghrelin-deficient mice. Primary human hepatic stellate cells were used to study the effects of ghrelin in vitro. Ghrelin hepatic gene expression and serum levels were assessed in patients with chronic liver diseases. Ghrelin gene polymorphisms were analyzed in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Recombinant ghrelin treatment reduced the fibrogenic response, decreased liver injury and myofibroblast accumulation, and attenuated the altered gene expression profile in bile duct-ligated rats. Moreover, ghrelin reduced the fibrogenic properties of hepatic stellate cells. Ghrelin also protected rats from acute liver injury and reduced the extent of oxidative stress and inflammation. Ghrelin-deficient mice developed exacerbated hepatic fibrosis and liver damage after chronic injury. In patients with chronic liver diseases, ghrelin serum levels decreased in those with advanced fibrosis, and ghrelin gene hepatic expression correlated with expression of fibrogenic genes. In patients with chronic hepatitis C, polymorphisms of the ghrelin gene (994CT and 604GA) influenced the progression of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Ghrelin exerts antifibrotic effects in the liver and may represent a novel antifibrotic therapy. Copyright © 2010 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.Supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Investigación (SAF2005-06245), from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS2005-050567, FIS 2008-PI08/0237 and PI070497), and from the European Community FP6 (LSHB-CT-2007-036644 - DIALOK) and by fellowships from Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (to M. M. and M. D.), the Fundación Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (to M. D.) and the Fundació Clínic (to P. S. B.).Peer Reviewe

LegalTech y JudicialTech: la transformación digital de la abogacía y del servicio público de justicia, con especial referencia a habilidades para el ejercicio profesional

La transformación digital está cambiando el mundo, por eso en este proyecto pretendemos hacer hincapíé en los cambios en la administración de justicia y en la profesión de abogado. Haremos especial referencia a las habilidades profesionales precisas.Depto. de Derecho Procesal y Derecho PenalFac. de DerechoFALSEsubmitte