Ars Medicine

Me propusieron hablar sobre las relaciones entre arte y biología. Pensé en mis hijos, uno de ellos pediatra cardiólogo y otro licenciado en artes, para lo cual invertí varios domingos con ellos, y el domingo es sagrado para muchos, significa originariamente dies solis o día del sol, ha terminado siendo el dominicus dies o día del señor, para dedicar a escribir este ensayo en reciprocidad a uno de mis maestros, patólogo Ricardo Pineda Castrejón, mi amor filial teknon y el respeto al lector

Testing models with non-minimal Higgs sector through the decay t->q+WZ

We study the contribution of charged Higgs boson to the rare decay of the top quark t->q+WZ (q=d,s,b) in models with Higgs sector that includes doublets and triplets. Higgs doublets are needed to couple charged Higgs with quarks, whereas the Higgs triplets are required to generate the non-standard vertex HWZ at tree-level. It is found that within a model that respect the custodial SU(2) symmetry and avoids flavour changing neutral currents by imposing discrete symmetries, the decay mode t->b+WZ, can reach a branching ratio of order 0.0178, whereas the decay modes t->(d,s)+WZ, can reach a similar branching ratio in models where flavour changing neutral currents are suppressed by flavour symmetries.Comment: Typeset using REVTEX and EPSF, 5 pag, 2 figure

Caracterizacion de la sequia en pastos anuales en Dehesas / Characterization of pasture drought in dehesas of Spain

La sequía es un término meteorológico que significa un periodo seco prolongado. El objetivo de este trabajo es caracterizar el fenómeno estacional de la sequía en pastos anuales de dehesa. Durante 2010 y 2011 se realizó un seguimiento del pasto herbáceo en El Cubo de Don Sancho (Salamanca), Trujillo (Cáceres) y Pozoblanco (Córdoba). Se midió la producción herbácea y se caracterizó botánicamente cada zona, además se midió mensualmente la variación del contenido de agua en el suelo mediante un TDR y la precipitación. Los datos de campo de precipitación, humedad del suelo y cantidad de pasto en pie, y los datos estimados de evaporación se han comparado con la evolución del índice de vegetación para seguros de sequía por teledetección determinado por Agroseguro. Los resultados mostraron un retardo entre la acumulación de agua en el suelo y el crecimiento del pasto, que se transfiere a las medidas del índice de vegetación por teledetección. En los dos años de estudio los periodos de sequía sucedieron al inicio de crecimiento, justo después de la sequía estacional típica del verano

Comments on the calculation of the specific growth rate in experiments with untagged individuals

Postprint1,006

Shotgun and targeted MS analyses pinpoint the zampanolide-tubulin interacting site

Comunicaciones a congreso

Percepción del ambiente educacional en dos escuelas de medicina con currículo tradicional. Estudio longitudinal;

Background: To establish an educational environment that ensures the quality of the teaching-learning process is a challenge for any educational institution. The questionnaire DREEM (Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure) is used to identify strengths and weaknesses of an educational environment and to compare different medical schools. Aim: To evaluate the changes in the perception of educational environment by students of the Schools of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza, UZar (Spain) and the University of Chile, UCh (Chile) at two points in their curricula. Material and Methods: DREEM questionnaire was answered by 90 students from the UZar and 87 students of the UCh, when they were in the first year (2009) and in the fourth year of their career (2012). Results: At both universities the overall mean scores of DREAM were significantly higher in students in their first year than those obtained in the fourth year (137.5/118.3 for UZar and 128.6/118.8 for UCh). Items with worse perception in the fourth year were observed in subscales Learning Perception and Atmosphere Perception. Items with good evaluation (= 3.0) were the subscales Perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of Environment and Social Self-perception. Conclusions: The perception of Chilean and Spanish students about their educational environments indicates that the stage of their medical training is more important than the geographical context or educational institution

Obstrucción por cuerpos extraños localizados en esófago : terapéutica endoscópica. Tres casos clínicos

Se presentan tres casos clínicos de obstrucción esofágica por cuerpos extraños en posición precardial que son extraídos por técnica endoscópica con fibroencloscopio flexible.Three clinical cases of oesophagus obstruction due to foreign bodies in precardial position are described. These-foreign bodies have been removed by endoscopical technic with flexible fiberscope

Enhancing resistance against African weevils through development of transgenic sweetpotato cultivars (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) expressing cry7Aa1, cry3Ca1 and ET33-34 genes.

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the most important food crops in tropical and subtropical countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, sweetpotato is mainly produced for consumption and as a source of income by resource-poor farmers. However, their production is limited by severe damage caused by pests and diseases. The African weevils Cylas puncticollis and C. brunneus are the main biological constraints that may cause losses between 50 and 100%. Biotechnological approaches to control weevils include the introduction of genes encoding Cry proteins found to be active against these pests. To that end, several protocols for sweetpotato regeneration and transformation by organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis have been developed but their efficiency remains largely genotype-dependent and time-consuming. In this study, 31 African sweetpotato cultivars from CIP genebank were screened for regeneration and transformation efficiencies by organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis. Additionally, “Jewel” and “Jonathan” cultivars were used as organogenic and embryogenic controls, respectively. Regeneration by organogenesis was conducted using a two-step protocol including 2,4-D then thidiazuron, zeatin or kinetin while regeneration by embryogenesis was performed using a three-step protocol, each one using a different hormone (2,4,5-T, ABA and AG3). Higher than 40% regeneration efficiencies were obtained for 8 cultivars (Jewel, Imby, Kawogo, Luapula, Mafutha, CIP440163, Zambezi and Ukerewe) with an organogenesis protocol and 8 cultivars (Jonathan, Imby, K51/3251, Bwanjule, CIP440163, SPK004, New Kawogo and KSP 11) with an embryogenesis protocol. Genetic transformation of sweetpotato with Jewel by organogenesis and Imby, CIP440163 and Jonathan by somatic embryogenesis has been achieved using chimerical genes coding for three of the most active proteins (Cry7Aa1, ET33-34, and Cry3Ca1) against African weevils. Transgenic events have been confirmed by kanamycin resistant calli test, PCR and Southern blot. Transcriptional activity and Cry protein accumulation are being tested in leaves and storage roots by Real time PCR and DAS-ELISA respectively

Changes in Lolium perenne L. rhizosphere microbiome during phytoremediation of Cd- and Hg-contaminated soils

The contamination of soil and water by metals such as mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) has been increasing in recent years, because of anthropogenic activities such as mining and agriculture, respectively. In this work, the changes in the rhizosphere microbiome of Lolium perenne L. during the phytoremediation of soils contaminated with Hg and Cd were evaluated. For this, two soil types were sampled, one inoculated with mycorrhizae and one without. The soils were contaminated with Hg and Cd, and L. perenne seeds were sown and harvested after 30 days. To assess changes in the microbiome, DNA isolation tests were performed, for which samples were subjected to two-step PCR amplification with specific 16S rDNA V3-V4 primers (337F and 805R). With mycorrhizae, changes had been found in the absorption processes of metals and a new distribution. While with respect to microorganisms, families such as the Enterobacteriaceae have been shown to have biosorption and efflux effects on metals such as Hg and Cd. Mycorrhizae then improve the efficiency of removal and allow the plant to better distribute the absorbed concentrations. Overall, L. perenne is a species with a high potential for phytoremediation of Cd- and Hg-contaminated soils in the tropics. Inoculation with mycorrhizae modifies the phytoremediation mechanisms of the plant and the composition of microorganisms in the rhizosphere. Mycorrhizal inoculation and changes in the microbiome were associated with increased plant tolerance to Cd and Hg. Microorganism-assisted phytoremediation is an appropriate alternative for L. perenne