Methods to Monitor and Quantify Autophagy in the Social Amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

Autophagy is a eukaryotic catabolic pathway that degrades and recycles cellular components to maintain homeostasis. It can target protein aggregates, superfluous biomolecular complexes, dysfunctional and damaged organelles, as well as pathogenic intracellular microbes. Autophagy is a dynamic process in which the different stages from initiation to final degradation of cargo are finely regulated. Therefore, the study of this process requires the use of a palette of techniques, which are continuously evolving and whose interpretation is not trivial. Here, we present the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as a relevant model to study autophagy. Several methods have been developed based on the tracking and observation of autophagosomes by microscopy, analysis of changes in expression of autophagy genes and proteins, and examination of the autophagic flux with various techniques. In this review, we discuss the pros and cons of the currently available techniques to assess autophagy in this organism

Draft genome sequence of the bacterium Gordonia jacobaea, a new member of the Gordonia genus

Gordonia jacobaea was isolated and characterized in the Department of Microbiology, University of Santiago de Compostela, in 2000. Here we present the draft genome sequence of this species, which will improve our understanding of the diversity and the relation of the cell wall proteins of G. jacobaea with other mycolata

Calibration of semi-analytic models of galaxy formation using Particle Swarm Optimization

We present a fast and accurate method to select an optimal set of parameters in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and evolution (SAMs). Our approach compares the results of a model against a set of observables applying a stochastic technique called Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a self-learning algorithm for localizing regions of maximum likelihood in multidimensional spaces that outperforms traditional sampling methods in terms of computational cost. We apply the PSO technique to the SAG semi-analytic model combined with merger trees extracted from a standard $\Lambda$CDM N-body simulation. The calibration is performed using a combination of observed galaxy properties as constraints, including the local stellar mass function and the black hole to bulge mass relation. We test the ability of the PSO algorithm to find the best set of free parameters of the model by comparing the results with those obtained using a MCMC exploration. Both methods find the same maximum likelihood region, however the PSO method requires one order of magnitude less evaluations. This new approach allows a fast estimation of the best-fitting parameter set in multidimensional spaces, providing a practical tool to test the consequences of including other astrophysical processes in SAMs.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Comments are welcom

Multidisciplinary consensus statement on the clinical management of patients with pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the most aggressive tumors with an increasing incidence rate and reduced survival. Although surgical resection is the only potentially curative treatment for PC, only 15-20% of patients are resectable at diagnosis. To select the most appropriate treatment and thus improve outcomes, the diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for each patient with PC should be discussed within a multidisciplinary expert team. Clinical decision-making should be evidence-based, considering the staging of the tumor, the performance status and preferences of the patient. The aim of this guideline is to provide practical and evidence-based recommendations for the management of PC

Coercivity and squareness enhancement in ball-milled hard magnetic-antiferromagnetic composites

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.The room-temperature coercivity,HC, and squareness, MR/MS (remanence/saturation magnetizations), of permanent magnet,SmCo5powders have been enhanced by ball milling with antiferromagnetic NiO (with Néel temperature, TN=590 K). This enhancement is observed in the as-milled state. However, when the milling of SmCo5 is carried out with an antiferromagnet with TN below room temperature (e.g., for CoO, TN=290 K), the coercivity enhancement is only observed at low temperatures after field cooling through TN. The ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic exchange coupling induced either by local heating during milling(SmCo5+NiO) or field cooling (SmCo5+CoO) is shown to be the origin of the HC increase

La reforma Energética Mexicana en el Marco de la Pesca y el Petróleo en el Golfo de México

México modificó en 2014 su andamiaje legal para permitir la inversión privada directa en la explotación de hidrocarburos en su territorio, este proceso se denominó Reforma Energética (RE). Este documento presenta una revisión de la RE en cuanto la sostenibilidad en los acuerdos de convivencia necesarios para permitir la coexistencia de la pesca artesanal y la industria petrolera en el Golfo de México (GM), sitio donde se extrae la mayor parte del petróleo en México. Describimos 1) el concepto de sostenibilidad y los argumentos para estudiarla en las industrias petroleras y pesqueras; 2) las reglas definidas para llevar a cabo los estudios de impacto ambiental y social en los nuevos puntos de extracción y 3) las condiciones de la RE para lograr la sostenible coexistencia de la extracción petrolera y la pesca en el GM. Se concluye que, para mantener la sostenibilidad de la extracción petrolera, se requerirá de mayores esfuerzos del Estado por construir con acciones, una narrativa que sustente para quienes viven en las costas del GM la idea de que esta RE resultará en beneficio de lo nacional, en una sociedad productiva, limpia e incluyente en la que los mexicanos aspiran a vivir

SHARDS: Constraints on the dust attenuation law of star-forming galaxies at z~2

We make use of SHARDS, an ultra-deep (<26.5AB) galaxy survey that provides optical photo-spectra at resolution R~50, via medium band filters (FWHM~150A). This dataset is combined with ancillary optical and NIR fluxes to constrain the dust attenuation law in the rest-frame NUV region of star-forming galaxies within the redshift window 1.5<z<3. We focus on the NUV bump strength (B) and the total-to-selective extinction ratio (Rv), targeting a sample of 1,753 galaxies. By comparing the data with a set of population synthesis models coupled to a parametric dust attenuation law, we constrain Rv and B, as well as the colour excess, E(B-V). We find a correlation between Rv and B, that can be interpreted either as a result of the grain size distribution, or a variation of the dust geometry among galaxies. According to the former, small dust grains are associated with a stronger NUV bump. The latter would lead to a range of clumpiness in the distribution of dust within the interstellar medium of star-forming galaxies. The observed wide range of NUV bump strengths can lead to a systematic in the interpretation of the UV slope ($\beta$) typically used to characterize the dust content. In this study we quantify these variations, concluding that the effects are $\Delta\beta$~0.4.Comment: 13 pages, 11+2 figures, 3 tables. MNRAS, in pres

The Mexican Energy Reform in the Fishing and Oil Framework of the Gulf of Mexico

México modificó en 2014 su andamiaje legal para permitir la inversión privada directa en la explotación de hidrocarburos en su territorio, este proceso se denominó Reforma Energética (RE). Este documento presenta una revisión de la RE en cuanto la sostenibilidad en los acuerdos de convivencia necesarios para permitir la coexistencia de la pesca artesanal y la industria petrolera en el Golfo de México (GM), sitio donde se extrae la mayor parte del petróleo en México. Describimos 1) el concepto de sostenibilidad y los argumentos para estudiarla en las industrias petroleras y pesqueras; 2) las reglas definidas para llevar a cabo los estudios de impacto ambiental y social en los nuevos puntos de extracción y 3) las condiciones de la RE para lograr la sostenible coexistencia de la extracción petrolera y la pesca en el GM. Se concluye que, para mantener la sostenibilidad de la extracción petrolera, se requerirá de mayores esfuerzos del Estado por construir con acciones, una narrativa que sustente para quienes viven en las costas del GM la idea de que esta RE resultará en beneficio de lo nacional, en una sociedad productiva, limpia e incluyente en la que los mexicanos aspiran a vivir.Mexico amended its legal framework in 2014 to allow direct private investment in the exploitation of hydrocarbons in its territory, this process was called the Energy Reform (RE). This study presents a review of the RE regarding the sustainability of coexistence agreements to allow the coexistence of artisanal fisheries and the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico (GM), where most of the oil is extracted in Mexico. We describe: 1) the concept of sustainability and the arguments to study the oil and fishing industries; 2) the rules defined to carry out environmental and social impact studies in the new extraction points; and 3) the current conditions to achieve sustainability in fishing and oils extraction in the GM. It is concluded that, in order to maintain the sustainability of the oil extraction, it will require greater efforts to build a vision, a narrative, that sustains for those who live on the shores of the GM the idea that this RE will benefit the national, in a productive, clean and inclusive society in which Mexicans aspire to live