Trophic models and short-term dynamic simulations for benthic-pelagic communities at Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve (Mexican Caribbean): a conservation case

Banco Chinchorro is the largest reef in the Mexican Caribbean. Historically, spiny lobster, queen conch and over 20 other reef species have been exploited here. Multispecies intervention management from an ecosystem perspective has been developed in this area; however, an assessment of the effects of such practices on ecosystem health is required. Five quantitative trophic models were constructed using Ecopath with Ecosim. The results show that, in terms of biomass, benthic autotrophs are the dominant group in all communities. Ecosystem Network Analysis indices showed that Cueva de Tiburones was the most mature, developed, complex and healthy subsystem, but, El Colorado and La Baliza were the subsystems most resistant to disturbances. The fisheries mainly concentrate on primary (La Baliza and Cueva de Tiburones sites) and secondary consumers (La Caldera, Chancay, and El Colorado). The greatest propagation of direct and indirect effects, estimated by Mixed Trophic Impacts and Ecosim simulations, were generated by the benthic autotrophs, small benthic epifauna, benthic-pelagic carnivorous fish and benthic carnivorous fish, among others. In contrast, the System Recovery Time showed different patterns among subsystems, indicating several compartments that reduce resilience. Considering the structure, dynamics, trophic functioning and ecosystem health of Banco Chinchorro, its ecological heterogeneity highlights the need for the design of a specific (by subsystem) management strategy, particularly because different species or functional groups present greater sensitivity to human interventions in each community

Relación entre la cultura organizacional y la satisfacción del trabajador de salud a nivel mundial.: Relationship between organizational culture and healthy worker satisfaction worldwide

La cultura organizacional es el resultado de una variedad de procesos de interacción social que realizan los integrantes de una organización. Estos procesos son adquiridos, aprendidos y transmitidos. Una cultura organizacional exitosa une a las personas de la institución y las mantiene alineadas. El objetivo del presente estudio es mostrar una revisión panorámica de la relación que existe entre la cultura organizacional y la satisfacción laboral de médicos a nivel global, local y regional. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica en la que se encontraron varios artículos de diversas revistas nacionales e internacionales. Existe un sustento teórico que justifica que los centros de salud que han orientado su cultura organizacional hacia los empleados ofrecen mejores condiciones de desarrollo, crecimiento, autonomía y mayores oportunidades de aprendizaje, promoción y formación. Se concluye que, con una cultura organizacional basada en el respeto por la persona, en el crecimiento personal, profesional, familiar y social, en interacción con el entorno, se logrará un impacto en el rendimiento o desempeño de los que conforman una organización

The alpha-galactosidase A p.Arg118Cys variant does not cause a Fabry disease phenotype: data from individual patients and family studies

Acessível em: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4423738/Lysosomal α-galactosidase A (α-Gal) is the enzyme deficient in Fabry disease (FD), an X-linked glycosphingolipidosis caused by pathogenic mutations affecting the GLA gene. The early-onset, multi-systemic FD classical phenotype is associated with absent or severe enzyme deficiency, as measured by in vitro assays, but patients with higher levels of residual α-Gal activity may have later-onset, more organ-restricted clinical presentations. A change in the codon 118 of the wild-type α-Gal sequence, replacing basic arginine by a potentially sulfhydryl-binding cysteine residue - GLA p.(Arg118Cys) -, has been recurrently described in large FD screening studies of high-risk patients. Although the Cys118 allele is associated with high residual α-Gal activity in vitro, it has been classified as a pathogenic mutation, mainly on the basis of theoretical arguments about the chemistry of the cysteine residue. However its pathogenicity has never been convincingly demonstrated by pathology criteria. We reviewed the clinical, biochemical and histopathology data obtained from 22 individuals of Portuguese and Spanish ancestry carrying the Cys118 allele, including 3 homozygous females. Cases were identified either on the differential diagnosis of possible FD manifestations and on case-finding studies (n=11; 4 males), or on unbiased cascade screening of probands' close relatives (n=11; 3 males). Overall, those data strongly suggest that the GLA p.(Arg118Cys) variant does not segregate with FD clinical phenotypes in a Mendelian fashion, but might be a modulator of the multifactorial risk of cerebrovascular disease. The Cys118 allelic frequency in healthy Portuguese adults (n=696) has been estimated as 0.001, therefore not qualifying for "rare" condition

Generalized Toric Codes Coupled to Thermal Baths

We have studied the dynamics of a generalized toric code based on qudits at finite temperature by finding the master equation coupling the code's degrees of freedom to a thermal bath. As a consequence, we find that for qutrits new types of anyons and thermal processes appear that are forbidden for qubits. These include creation, annihilation and diffusion throughout the system code. It is possible to solve the master equation in a short-time regime and find expressions for the decay rates as a function of the dimension $d$ of the qudits. Although we provide an explicit proof that the system relax to the Gibbs state for arbitrary qudits, we also prove that above a certain crossing temperature, qutrits initial decay rate is smaller than the original case for qubits. Surprisingly this behavior only happens with qutrits and not with other qudits with $d>3$.Comment: Revtex4 file, color figures. New Journal of Physics' versio

Palynological and chemical volatile components of tipically autumnal honeys of the western Mediterranean

[EN] Twenty-five samples of autumnal honeys from the western Mediterranean (Mallorca and Eivissa, Balearic Islands) were examined for pollen content (qualitative and quantitative melissopalynological analysis), moisture, electrical conductivity, colour, sensorial qualities and volatile components. Quantitative analysis showed that the honey contained Maurizio's Class II: 64%, Class III: 28%, Class IV: 4% and Class V: 4%. Fifty-four pollen types, with an average number of 16.68 per sample, were identified, belonging to 29 botanical families. Only two taxa (Ceratonia siliqua and Erica multiflora) were found in all samples. Seventeen samples were unifloral (68%) - ten (40%) of C. siliqua, six (24%) of E. multiflora and one (4%) of Hedera helix. All honeys have a low honeydew index (<?0.09%), while the values for electrical conductivity and water content were high. The major honey volatile components are: cis- and trans-linalool oxides (64.2%) and hotrienol (10.4%) for the carob (C. siliqua) and trans-linalool oxide (13.4%), p-menthane-1,8-diol (11.1%), safranal (9.7%), limonene (5,4%), -pinene (3.7%) and oxoisophorone (3.4%) for the winter heather (E. multiflora).The authors would like to extend their gratitude to the Mallorca Rural 'Leader plus' programme and the beekeepers of Mallorca and Eivissa for their support and friendly collaboration. The authors also thank an anonymous reviewer for useful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript.Boi, M.; Llorens Molina, JA.; Cortés, L.; Lladó, G.; Llorens, L. (2013). Palynological and chemical volatile components of tipically autumnal honeys of the western Mediterranean. Grana. 52(2):93-105. doi:10.1080/00173134.2012.744774S93105522Andrade, P. B., Amaral, M. T., Isabel, P., Carvalho, J. C. M. F., Seabra, R. M., & Proença da Cunha, A. (1999). Physicochemical attributes and pollen spectrum of Portuguese heather honeys. Food Chemistry, 66(4), 503-510. doi:10.1016/s0308-8146(99)00100-4Anklam, E. (1998). A review of the analytical methods to determine the geographical and botanical origin of honey. Food Chemistry, 63(4), 549-562. doi:10.1016/s0308-8146(98)00057-0Bosch, J., Del Pino, F. G., Ramoneda, J., & Retana, J. (1996). FRUITING PHENOLOGY AND FRUIT SET OF CAROB, CERATONIA SILIQUA L. (CESALPINACEAE). Israel Journal of Plant Sciences, 44(4), 359-368. doi:10.1080/07929978.1996.10676657Bouseta, A., Collin, S., & Dufour, J.-P. (1992). Characteristic aroma profiles of unifloral honeys obtained with a dynamic headspace GC-MS system. Journal of Apicultural Research, 31(2), 96-109. doi:10.1080/00218839.1992.11101268Cajka, T., Hajslova, J., Pudil, F., & Riddellova, K. (2009). Traceability of honey origin based on volatiles pattern processing by artificial neural networks. Journal of Chromatography A, 1216(9), 1458-1462. doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2008.12.066Castro-Vázquez, L., Díaz-Maroto, M. C., González-Viñas, M. A., & Pérez-Coello, M. S. (2009). Differentiation of monofloral citrus, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, thyme and heather honeys based on volatile composition and sensory descriptive analysis. Food Chemistry, 112(4), 1022-1030. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.06.036Conti, M. E., Stripeikis, J., Campanella, L., Cucina, D., & Tudino, M. B. (2007). Characterization of Italian honeys (Marche Region) on the basis of their mineral content and some typical quality parameters. Chemistry Central Journal, 1(1). doi:10.1186/1752-153x-1-14Custódio, L., Serra, H., Nogueira, J. M. F., Gonçalves, S., & Romano, A. (2006). Analysis of the Volatiles Emitted by Whole Flowers and Isolated Flower Organs of the Carob Tree Using HS-SPME-GC/MS. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 32(5), 929-942. doi:10.1007/s10886-006-9044-9Cuevas-Glory, L., Ortiz-Vázquez, E., Pino, J. A., & Sauri-Duch, E. (2012). Floral classification of Yucatan Peninsula honeys by PCA & HS-SPME/GC-MS of volatile compounds. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 47(7), 1378-1383. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2012.02983.xDe Bolòs, O., & Molinier, R. (1984). Vegetation of the Pityusic Islands. Biogeography and Ecology of the Pityusic Islands, 185-221. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-6539-3_9De Maria, C. A. B., & Moreira, R. F. A. (2003). Compostos voláteis em méis florais. Química Nova, 26(1), 90-96. doi:10.1590/s0100-40422003000100016Guyot, C., Scheirman, V., & Collin, S. (1999). Floral origin markers of heather honeys: Calluna vulgaris and Erica arborea. Food Chemistry, 64(1), 3-11. doi:10.1016/s0308-8146(98)00122-8Herrera, J. (1988). Pollination Relationships in Southern Spanish Mediterranean Shrublands. The Journal of Ecology, 76(1), 274. doi:10.2307/2260469Jerković, I., & Marijanović, Z. (2010). 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Bee World, 59(4), 139-157. doi:10.1080/0005772x.1978.11097714Martins, R. C., Lopes, V. V., Valentão, P., Carvalho, J. C. M. F., Isabel, P., Amaral, M. T., … Silva, B. M. (2008). Relevant principal component analysis applied to the characterisation of Portuguese heather honey. Natural Product Research, 22(17), 1560-1582. doi:10.1080/14786410701825004Melliou, E., & Chinou, I. (2011). Chemical constituents of selected unifloral Greek bee-honeys with antimicrobial activity. Food Chemistry, 129(2), 284-290. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.04.047Pendleton, M. (2006). Descriptions of melissopalynological methods involving centrifugation should include data for calculating Relative Centrifugal Force (RCF) or should express data in units of RCF or gravities (g). Grana, 45(1), 71-72. doi:10.1080/00173130500520479Pérez, R. A., Sánchez-Brunete, C., Calvo, R. M., & Tadeo, J. L. (2002). Analysis of Volatiles from Spanish Honeys by Solid-Phase Microextraction and Gas Chromatography−Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50(9), 2633-2637. doi:10.1021/jf011551rPersano Oddo, L., Piana, L., Bogdanov, S., Bentabol, A., Gotsiou, P., Kerkvliet, J., … von der Ohe, K. (2004). Botanical species giving unifloral honey in Europe. Apidologie, 35(Suppl. 1), S82-S93. doi:10.1051/apido:2004045Persano Oddo, L., & Piro, R. (2004). Main European unifloral honeys: descriptive sheets. Apidologie, 35(Suppl. 1), S38-S81. doi:10.1051/apido:2004049Piana, M. L., Persano Oddo, L., Bentabol, A., Bruneau, E., Bogdanov, S., & Guyot Declerck, C. (2004). Sensory analysis applied to honey: state of the art. Apidologie, 35(Suppl. 1), S26-S37. doi:10.1051/apido:2004048Piasenzotto, L., Gracco, L., & Conte, L. (2003). Solid phase microextraction (SPME) applied to honey quality control. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 83(10), 1037-1044. doi:10.1002/jsfa.1502Radovic, B. S., Careri, M., Mangia, A., Musci, M., Gerboles, M., & Anklam, E. (2001). 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Cranial and extracranial giant cell arteritis do not exhibit differences in the IL6 -174 G/C gene polymorphism

Since interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pivotal proinflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis (GCA), we aimed to determine the potential association of the functional IL6 -174 G/C polymorphism with GCA as well as if the single base change variation at the promoter region in the human IL-6 gene may account for differences in the clinical spectrum of GCA between cranial and extracranial large vessel vasculitis (LVV)-GCA

Cranial and extracranial large-vessel giant cell arteritis share a genetic pattern of interferon-gamma pathway

OBJECTIVES: Two main different clinical phenotypes of giant cell arteritis (GCA) have been described, the classic cranial pattern and the extracranial large-vessel (LV) pattern. Since interferon gamma (IFNG) has shown to be a pivotal cytokine in the pathophysiology of GCA, our aim was to evaluate for the first time the influence of IFNG and IFNG receptor 1 (IFNGR1) polymorphisms in the different clinical phenotypes of GCA. METHODS: Two IFNG polymorphisms (rs2069718 G/A and rs1861493 A/G) and one polymorphism in IFNGR1 (rs1327474 G/A) were genotyped in 191 patients with biopsy-proven cranial GCA, 109 with extracranial LV-GCA and 490 healthy controls. A comparative study was conducted between patients with cranial and extracranial LV-GCA. RESULTS: No significant differences in genotype, allele, and haplotype frequencies of IFNG polymorphisms were found between GCA patients with the classic cranial pattern and the extracranial LV-GCA pattern. Similar results were found for genotype and allele frequencies of IFNGR1 polymorphism. It was also the case when patients with extracranial LV-GCA were compared with healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that IFNG and IFNGR1 polymorphisms do not influence the clinical phenotype of expression of GCA. Classic cranial GCA and extracranial LV-GCA seem to share a genetic pattern of IFNG pathway

The presence of both HLA-DRB1[*]04:01 and HLA-B[*]15:01 increases the susceptibility to cranial and extracranial giant cell arteritis.

Objectives: To determine if patients with the predominant extracranial large-vessel-vasculitis (LVV) pattern of giant cell arteritis (GCA) have a distinctive HLA-B association, different from that reported in biopsy-proven cranial GCA patients. In a further step we assessed if the combination of HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 alleles confers an increased risk for GCA susceptibility, either for the cranial and extracranial LVV phenotypes. Methods: A total of 184 patients with biopsy-proven cranial GCA, 105 with LVV-GCA and 486 healthy controls were included in our study. We compared HLA-B phenotype frequencies between the three groups. Results: HLA-B*15 phenotype was significantly increased in patients with classic cranial GCA compared to controls (14.7% versus 5.8%, respectively; p<0.01; OR [95% CI] =2.81 [1.54-5.11]). It was mainly due to the HLA-B*15:01 allele (12.5% versus 4.0%, respectively; p<0.01; OR [95% CI] =3.51 [1.77-6.99]) and remained statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. Similar HLA-B*15 association was observed in patients with the LVV-GCA (11.4% versus 5.8%, p=0.04, OR [95% CI] =2.11 [1.04-4.30]). This association was also mainly due to the HLA-B*15:01 allele (10.5% versus 4.0%, respectively; p=0.0054; OR [95% CI] =2.88 [1.19-6.59]). Noteworthy, the presence of HLA-B*15:01 together with HLA-DRB1*04:01 led to an increased risk of developing both cranial and extracranial LVV-GCA. Conclusions: Susceptibility to GCA is strongly related to the HLA region, regardless of the clinical phenotype of expression of the disease.This work was partially supported by RETICS Programs, RD08/0075 (RIER), RD12/0009/0013 and RD16/0012 from ‘‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’’ (ISCIII) (Spain). However, this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the commercial or not-for-profit sectors