Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress: Focus in Obese Pregnancies

The prevalence of obesity in women of childbearing age around the globe has dramatically increased in the last decades. Obesity is characterized by a low-state chronic inflammation, metabolism impairment and oxidative stress, among other pathological changes. Getting pregnant in this situation involves that gestation will occur in an unhealthy environment, that can potentially jeopardize both maternal and fetal health. In this review, we analyze the role of maternal obesity-induced oxidative stress as a risk factor to develop adverse outcomes during gestation, including reduced fertility, spontaneous abortion, teratogenesis, preeclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction. Evidences of macromolecule oxidation increase in reactive oxygen species generation and antioxidant defense alterations are commonly described in maternal and fetal tissues. Thus, antioxidant supplementation become an interesting prophylactic and therapeutic tool, that yields positive results in cellular, and animal models. However, the results from most meta-analysis studying the effect of these therapies in complicated gestations in humans are not really encouraging. It is still to be analyzed whether these therapies could work if applied to cohorts of patients at a high risk, such as those with low concentration of antioxidants or obese pregnant women

Evolution of the relation between the mass accretion rate and the stellar and disk mass from brown dwarfs to stars

The time evolution of the dependence of the mass accretion rate with the stellar mass and the disk mass represents a fundamental way to understand the evolution of protoplanetary disks and the formation of planets. In this work, we present observations with X-shooter of 26 Class II very low-mass stars (< 0.2 M⊙) and brown dwarfs in the Ophiuchus, Chamaeleon-I, and Upper Scorpius star-forming regions. These new observations extend the measurement of the mass accretion rate down to spectral type (SpT) M9 (∼0.02 M⊙) in Ophiuchus and Chamaeleon-I and add 11 very-low-mass stars to the sample of objects previously studied with broadband spectroscopy in Upper Scorpius. We obtained the spectral type and extinction, as well as the physical parameters of the sources. We used the intensity of various emission lines in the spectra of these sources to derive the accretion luminosity and mass accretion rates for the entire sample. Combining these new observations with data from the literature, we compare relations between accretion and stellar and disk properties of four different star-forming regions with different ages: Ophiuchus (∼1 Myr), Lupus (∼2 Myr), Chamaeleon-I (∼3 Myr), and Upper Scorpius (5−12 Myr). We find the slopes of the accretion relationships (L* − Lacc, M∗ − Ṁacc) to steepen in the 1−3 Myr age range (i.e., between Ophiuchus, Lupus, and Chamaeleon-I) and that both relationships may be better described with a single power law. We find that previous claims for a double power-law behavior of the M∗ − Ṁacc relationship may have been triggered by the use of a different SpT–Teff scale. We also find the relationship between the protoplanetary disk mass and the mass accretion rate of the stellar population to steepen with time down to the age of Upper Scorpius. Overall, we observe hints of a faster evolution into low accretion rates of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. At the same time, we also find that brown dwarfs present higher Mdisk/Ṁacc ratios (i.e., longer accretion depletion timescales) than stars in Ophiuchus, Lupus, and Cha-I. This apparently contradictory result may imply that the evolution of protoplanetary disks around brown dwarfs may be different than what is seen in the stellar regime

Good practices and universal accessibility to urban buses of children prams

[ES] La presente publicación se realiza a partir de los resultados obtenidos en el proyecto de investigación ¿Determinación de los requisitos de accesibilidad y seguridad en la utilización de carritos de niños en vehículos de transporte público (ASUCAR)¿. Como objetivos particulares se pretendía analizar las condiciones de accesibilidad de los carritos de niños (CdN) en todas sus posibilidades, estudiar y definir las necesidades de utilización de sistemas de retención para los cochecitos y sus ocupantes, analizar la resistencia de los actuales modelos de carritos de niños, así como el desarrollo de un nuevo dispositivo de sistema de retención para los carritos de niños que pudiera utilizarse de la forma más universal en autobuses urbanos de transporte público. Los resultados se han concretado en la definición de un ¿Código de Buenas Prácticas para el Transporte de Carritos de Niños en Vehículos de Transporte Público¿, que podrá servir como base científica para el desarrollo de futuras normativas de seguridad relacionadas con este colectivo.[EN] Present work has been performed with the results achieved in the research project: ¿Determination of the accesibility and safety requirements of the use of prams and pushchairs in public transport (ASUCAR)¿. The specific objectives pretended were: the determination of the accessibility conditions of the children prams, the study and definition of the needs of use of restraint systems for these devices and their occupants, to analyze the strength of the prams structures, as well as, the development of a new restraint system for children prams that could be used in the most universal way in urban buses. The results were implemented in a good practice code that could be the basis for new regulation regarding the transport of children in buses.Alcala Facio, E.; Dols Ruiz, JF.; Martín, A.; Valles, B.; Aparicio Izquierdo, F.; Pons Sendra, V. (2011). Buenas prácticas y accesibilidad universal a los autobuses urbanos de carritos de niños. Securitas Vialis. 3(10):7-27. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/30878S72731

Sphyrna tudes, Smalleye Hammerhead

The Smalleye Hammerhead (Sphyrna tudes) is a medium-sized (to 150 cm total length) shark that occurs in the Western Central and Southwest Atlantic from Colombia to the Rio de La Plata, Argentina. It inhabits inshore waters over the continental shelf at depths of 5–80 m. It is captured in intense and largely unmanaged commercial and artisanal beach seines, gillnets, longlines, and trawls throughout its geographic range. This shark is targeted or retained as bycatch for its meat, which is consumed or sold locally. There are few data on population reduction but these intensive unmanaged fisheries are suspected to have caused reductions and possibly local extinctions throughout this species' range. For example, in Brazil, this hammerhead has not been recorded in 35 years from Ceará state and it is considered by local fishers to be depleted in Bahia state. This shark is supposed to be strictly protected in Brazil, but it is clear that it is still landed and traded in various states. Overall, due to intense and largely unmanaged fisheries across its range, lack of refuge at depth, suspected declines in many areas and local extinctions suspected from an absence of records (despite continued sampling and observation), and its relatively unproductive life history, it is suspected that the Smalleye Hammerhead has undergone a population reduction of >80% over the past three generations (37 years), and it is assessed as Critically Endangered A2bd.Fil: Pollom, R.. University Fraser Simon; CanadáFil: Barreto, R.. Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservacao Da Biodiversidade; BrasilFil: Charvet, P.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Chiaramonte, Gustavo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia". Estación Hidrobiológica de Puerto Quequén (sede Quequén); ArgentinaFil: Cuevas, J. M.. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados UnidosFil: Faria, V.. Universidade Federal Do Ceara; BrasilFil: Herman, K.. Georgia Aquarium; Estados UnidosFil: Lasso Alcala, O.. Fundación la Salle de Ciencias Naturales; VenezuelaFil: Marcante, F.. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande.; BrasilFil: Mejía Falla, P.A.. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados UnidosFil: Montealegre Quijano, S.. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Motta, F.. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Navia, A. F.. Fundación Squalus; ColombiaFil: Nunes, J.. Universidade Federal Do Maranhao.; BrasilFil: Paesch, L.. Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos; UruguayFil: Rincon, G.. Universidade Federal Do Maranhao.; Brasi

Código de buenas prácticas para la utilización de carritos de niños en vehículos de transporte públicos

La presente publicación muestra los resultados obtenidos en el proyecto de investigación "Determinación de los requisitos de Accesibilidad y Seguridad en la Utilización de CARritos de niños en vehículos de transporte público" (ASUCAR), financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, dentro del Programa de Proyectos de Estímulo a la Transferencia de Resultados de Investigación (PETRI 2008). El proyecto ha sido coordinado por la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV), a través del grupo de investigación de Ingeniería de Vehículos Adaptados y Transportes (GIVAT) adscrito al Instituto de Diseño y Fabricación (IDF), y en el mismo han participado el Instituto Universitario de Investigación del Automóvil (INSIA) adscrito a la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, y las Empresas Municipales de Transportes de Madrid (EMT Madrid) y Valencia (EMT Valencia). El objetivo principal del proyecto consistió en el análisis de la accesibilidad y seguridad de los niños en sus carritos a los autobuses de transporte público. Entre los resultados finales obtenidos, mostrados en esta publicación, destaca el diseño y desarrollo de un nuevo sistema de retención para carritos de niños para su utilización en todo tipo de vehículos, así como la definición de un "Código de Buenas Prácticas para el Transporte de Carritos de Niños en Vehículos de Transporte Público".Dols Ruiz, JF.; Aparicio Izquierdo, F.; Alcala Facio, E.; Pons Sendra, V.; Martínez Sáez, L.; Martín López, ÁL.; Vallés Fernández, B. (2012). Código de buenas prácticas para la utilización de carritos de niños en vehículos de transporte públicos. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/1699

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

K

To Eat and To Be : food as Differenciation Policy in Spanish America, 16th and 17th Centuries

ABSTRACT: This paper demonstrates that food served as a marker of social differentiation during the 16th and 17th centuries in the Spanish possessions in America, not only in economic terms but also in the sense that food was associated with the social stratum to which a person belonged. Each one was oblidged to eat foods associated with his or her "natural" stratum. This complex hierarchical model of society was based on European patterns coming from the Middle Ages, such as the Great Chain of Being and humoral theory. This model was reinforced in the early modern period, and it took on new characteristics in America, where it was used to differentiate Spaniards, Creoles, Mestizos and Indians.RESUMEN: Este artículo muestra cómo la alimentación servía como un elemento de diferenciación social durante los siglos XVI y XVII, en la América española, no solo como un factor económico, sino asociado a la calidad o estado al que pertenecieran las personas. En este sentido, a cada uno le correspondía comer aquello que era propio de su condición estamental. Este complejo modelo de jerarquización social estaba basado en principios europeos que venían desde la Edad Media, como la gran cadena del ser y la teoría humoral. En la edad moderna, el modelo se reforzó y en América tomó nuevas características, por la forma en que se buscó diferenciar entre españoles, criollos, mestizos e indios

Outcomes of elective liver surgery worldwide: a global, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study

Background: The outcomes of liver surgery worldwide remain unknown. The true population-based outcomes are likely different to those vastly reported that reflect the activity of highly specialized academic centers. The aim of this study was to measure the true worldwide practice of liver surgery and associated outcomes by recruiting from centers across the globe. The geographic distribution of liver surgery activity and complexity was also evaluated to further understand variations in outcomes. Methods: LiverGroup.org was an international, prospective, multicenter, cross-sectional study following the Global Surgery Collaborative Snapshot Research approach with a 3-month prospective, consecutive patient enrollment within January–December 2019. Each patient was followed up for 90 days postoperatively. All patients undergoing liver surgery at their respective centers were eligible for study inclusion. Basic demographics, patient and operation characteristics were collected. Morbidity was recorded according to the Clavien–Dindo Classification of Surgical Complications. Country-based and hospital-based data were collected, including the Human Development Index (HDI). (NCT03768141). Results: A total of 2159 patients were included from six continents. Surgery was performed for cancer in 1785 (83%) patients. Of all patients, 912 (42%) experienced a postoperative complication of any severity, while the major complication rate was 16% (341/2159). The overall 90-day mortality rate after liver surgery was 3.8% (82/2,159). The overall failure to rescue rate was 11% (82/ 722) ranging from 5 to 35% among the higher and lower HDI groups, respectively. Conclusions: This is the first to our knowledge global surgery study specifically designed and conducted for specialized liver surgery. The authors identified failure to rescue as a significant potentially modifiable factor for mortality after liver surgery, mostly related to lower Human Development Index countries. Members of the LiverGroup.org network could now work together to develop quality improvement collaboratives