The biogeographic basis of Ebola-virus disease outbreaks: A model for other zoonotic diseases?

We first determined the differential role of favorability of environmental conditions and mammalian chorotypes in explaining the presence of the Ebola virus in Africa. We then combined environmental factors and chorotypes using fuzzy logic, which better explained the distribution of Ebola virus. The core area for the virus was associated with human infections of known animal origin, with infections of unknown source detected in areas that are biogeographically more peripheral. Variation in the environmental favorability for disease outbreaks may be monitored using indices of macroclimatic oscillations. This may provide the basis for an early warning system based on the variation in macroclimatic indices and the locations where human contact with multiple animal species tend to occur. We propose to study the biogeography of zoonoses by: 1) determining the potential spatial distribution of these diseases, according to environmental factors and the biogeographic structure of animals linked to the zoonosis cycle; 2) search for relationships between disease outbreaks and global atmospheric oscillations to forecast periods of higher risk of emergence of the infectious diseases.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Brotes de ébola y la presencia de murciélagos en áreas humanizadas: un análisis biogeográfico

Recientemente se ha demostrado que existe una relación positiva entre la deforestación en África y la aparición de brotes de Ébola en humanos. Sin embargo, los mecanismos que median en esta relación aún son desconocidos. Se ha sugerido la facilitación del acceso del ser humano a la selva, y por tanto su mayor contacto con la fauna autóctona; y el favorecimiento ambiental de la fauna capaz de transmitir el virus, incluidos los murciélagos de la fruta (familia Pteropodidae). Nuestro objetivo ha sido tratar de comprobar el posible papel de los murciélagos de la fruta en la transmisión del Ébola en zonas recientemente deforestadas, mediante un enfoque hipotético-deductivo basado en la biogeografía de estas especies. Las actividades humanas podrían haber contribuido significativamente a definir las áreas de distribución de 15 especies de murciélagos de la fruta. Esta contribución es más significativa aún cuando el área de estudio se restringe a África central y occidental, contexto biogeográfico favorable a la presencia del virus del Ébola en la naturaleza. La influencia humana se intensifica en el caso de tres especies en particular: Eidolon helvum, Epomops franqueti e Hypsignatus monstrosus, cuyo vínculo con el Ébola está demostrado a través de pruebas serológicas y biomoleculares. Además, nuestro análisis proporciona evidencias de que las zonas donde la actividad humana favorece la presencia de 7 especies de murciélagos de la fruta están significativamente solapadas con la localización de brotes de Ébola cuya relación con eventos de deforestación se ha sugerido con anterioridad. Entre éstas especies hay 5 cuya relación con el Ébola está confirmada en laboratorio: las tres antes citadas, más Micropteropus pusillus y Rousettus aegyptiacus. Esto sugiere la existencia de un vínculo positivo entre la pérdida de bosque y la presencia de murciélagos de la fruta con capacidad de transmitir la enfermedad, en zonas donde infecciones de Ébola en seres humanos han tenido lugar.UKAID y USAID a través de CIFOR Bushmeat Research Initiative; proyecto CGL2016-76747-R del Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competividad y Fondos FEDER. // Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Titanium Surface Properties Influence the Biological Activity and FasL Expression of Craniofacial Stromal Cells.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can be easily isolated form craniofacial bones during routine dentistry procedures. Due to their embryological origin from neural crest, they represent a suitable cell population to study cell-biomaterial interaction in the craniofacial field, including osteoinductive/osteointegrative processes. The biological and immunomodulatory properties of MSCs may be influenced by chemistry and topography of implant surfaces. We investigated if and how three different titanium surfaces, machined (MCH), sandblasted with resorbable blasting medium (RBM), and Ca++-nanostructured (NCA), may affect biological activity, osseointegration, and immunomodulatory properties of craniofacial MSCs. Cell proliferation, morphology, osteogenic markers, and FasL were evaluated on MSCs isolated from the mandibular bone after seeding on these three different surfaces. No statistically significant differences in cell proliferation were observed whereas different morphologies and growth patterns were detected for each type of surface. No difference in the expression of osteogenic markers was revealed. Interestingly, FasL expression, involved in the immunomodulatory activity of stem cells, was influenced by surface properties. Particularly, immunofluorescence analysis indicated that FasL expression increased on MCH surface compared to the others confirming the suggested role of FasL in promoting osteogenic differentiation. Titanium surface treatments and topography might reflect different biological behaviours of craniofacial MSCs and influence their osseointegration/immunomodulation properties

Testing intermediate-age stellar evolution models with VLT photometry of LMC clusters. I. The data

This is the first of a series of three papers devoted to the calibration of a few parameters of crucial importance in the modeling of the evolution of intermediate-mass stars, with special attention to the amount of convective core overshoot. To this end we acquired deep V and R photometry for three globular clusters of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), namely NGC 2173, SL 556 and NGC 2155, in the age interval 1-3 Gyr. In this first paper, we describe the aim of the project, the VLT observations and data reduction, and we make preliminary comparisons of the color-magnitude diagrams with both Padova and Yonsei-Yale isochrones. Two following papers in this series present the results of a detailed analysis of these data, independently carried out by members of the Yale and Padova stellar evolution groups. This allows us to compare both sets of models and discuss their main differences, as well as the systematic effects that they would have to the determination of the ages and metallicities of intermediate-age single stellar populations.Comment: 27 pages with 10 figures. Accepted by the Astronomical Journa

Towards a Sustainable, Participatory and Inclusive Wild Meat Sector

First paragraph: Expanding human demands on land, sea and fresh water have led to our planet experiencing unprecedented levels of wildlife declines and extirpations (Ceballos et al., 2017). The Living Planet Index (LPI) as an indicator of global vertebrate abundance declined by up to 58% between 1970–2012 (WWF, 2016). In the most recent version of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List as many as 32% of assessed vertebrate species are decreasing in terms of both population size and range (IUCN 2017). Larger species are suffering the steepest and most irreversible declines (Dirzo et al., 2014; Ripple et al., 2014, 2015). As wildlife is lost, biodiversity is reduced and ecosystem integrity suffers (Dirzo et al., 2014; Young et al., 2016)