Compact Hausdorff group topologies for the additive group of real numbers

This volume contains the contributions presented by several colleagues as a tribute to the mathematical and human qualities of Jos e Mar a Montesinos Amilibia on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The editors would like to express their thanks to the contributors and their very especial gratitude to Jos e Mar a for his example through many years of scienti c and personal contactWe deal with an example of a topology for the additive group of real numbers R, which makes it a compact Hausdor topological group. Further, (R; ) is connected, but neither arcwise connected, nor locally connected. Thus, it is nei- ther a Lie group, nor a curve in the sense of H. Mazurkiewicz. The contribution of this short note is to provide an elementary proof of the fact that it is not arcwise connected.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Solvency requirement in a unisex mortality model

Following the EU Gender Directive, that obliges insurance companies to charge the same premium to policyholders of different genders, we address the issue of calculating solvency capital requirements (SCRs) for pure endowments and annuities issued to mixed portfolios. The main theoretical result is that, if the unisex fairness principle is adopted for the unisex premium, the SCR at issuing time of the mixed portfolio calculated with unisex survival probabilities is greater than the sum of the SCRs of the gender-based subportfolios. Numerical results show that for pure endowments the gap between the two is negligible, but for lifetime annuities the gap can be as high as 3-4%. We also analyze some conservative pricing procedures that deviate from the unisex fairness principle, and find that they lead to SCRs that are lower than the sum of the gender-based SCRs because the policyholders are overcharged at issuing time

Configuraciones de identidad en territorios del turismo. Condiciones generales en Galicia

The phenomenon of enhancing territory value within a tourism context reflects the existence of several categories of references when defining a cultural identity. Geographic analysis arises from dynamic interaction among territory, identity and image. Definition, representation and spreading of an identity proposal imply nowadays a set of relevant processes within a particular territory not only for identification and consolidation of its tourism personality but also for creating diverse potential uses in the global tourism sphere. Several illustrated considerations about Galicia are presented in this study.El fenómeno de la puesta en valor del territorio para el turismo refleja categorías de referentes en la definición de una identidad cultural. El análisis geográfico parte de la interacción dinámica entre territorio, identidad e imagen. La definición, la representación y la difusión de una propuesta de identidad configuran en la actualidad un conjunto de procesos relevantes en el territorio tanto para identificar y afianzar su carácter turístico como para generar diversas potencialidades de uso en el escenario global del turismo. Se presentan una serie de consideraciones ilustradas en Galicia

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived kidney organoids toward clinical implementations

The generation of kidney organoids from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has represented a relevant scientific achievement in the organoid field. Importantly, hPSC-derived kidney organoids contain multiple nephron-like structures that exhibit some renal functional characteristics and have the capacity to respond to nephrotoxic agents. In this review, we first discuss how bioengineering approaches can help overcome current kidney organoid challenges. Next, we focus on recent works exploiting kidney organoids for drug screening and disease modeling applications. Finally, we provide a state of the art on current research toward the potential application of kidney organoids and renal cells derived from hPSCs for future renal replacement therapies

Heterologous protective immunization elicited in mice by Pasteurella multocida fur ompH

Different strategies have been developed to produce vaccines against Pasteurella multocida. The approach described herein involves overexpression on the bacterial cell surface of Fur-regulated IROMPs (iron-regulated outer-membrane proteins). Accordingly, the ability of fur mutants to promote heterologous protection was examined in a Swiss mouse animal model. Two fur mutants derived from P. multocida were isolated, one of which was also defective in the OmpH protein. In mice challenged with virulent P. multocida, outer-membrane protein (OMP) extracts of fur cells conferred the same protection as obtained with wild-type cells grown in iron-depleted medium. Total protection was achieved with 40 μg of OMP extract from the fur ompH mutant. Mice administered heat-inactivated fur ompH cells were 60% cross-protected. The presence of a galE mutation in these cells did not further increase the protection level. Additionally, cell disruption by sonication provoked a higher level of protection than conferred by heat-treated cells. Taken together, the results showed that P. multocida fur ompH cells offer a simple and suitable approach for cross-protecting animals against infection with P. multocida. [Int Microbiol 2008; 11(1):17-24

Regenerative strategies for kidney engineering

The kidney is the most important organ for water homeostasis and waste excretion. It performs several important physiological functions for homeostasis: it filters the metabolic waste out of circulation, regulates body fluid balances, and acts as an immune regulator and modulator of cardiovascular physiology. The development of in vitro renal disease models with pluripotent stem cells (both human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells) and the generation of robust protocols for in vitro derivation of renal-specific-like cells from patient induced pluripotent stem cells have just emerged. Here we review major findings in the field of kidney regeneration with a major focus on the development of stepwise protocols for kidney cell production from human pluripotent stem cells and the latest advances in kidney bioengineering (i.e. decellularized kidney scaffolds and bioprinting). The possibility of generating renal-like three-dimensional structures to be recellularized with renal-derived induced pluripotent stem cells may offer new avenues to develop functional kidney grafts on-demand

Enlazando cultura del vino, identidad, turismo y desarrollo rural en un territorio con Denominación de Origen (Noroeste de España)

El papel de las sinergias entre cultura del vino, identidad territorial y turismo puede ser crucial para el desarrollo rural. El enfoque de la investigación considera la percepción y experiencia de los actores locales sobre esta cuestión, en el territorio de la Denominación de Origen Ribeira Sacra (Noroeste de España). La metodología está basada en la realización de entrevistas en profundidad. La cultura del vino, junto con su paisaje y patrimonio, favorece la consolidación de las estrategias turísticas. Las sinergias entre cultura del vino, identidad y turismo generan valores esenciales para el desarrollo rural.The role played by synergies between wine culture, territorial identity and tourism may be crucial for rural development. This research focuses on the perception and experiences about this topic by the local actors in the territory of the Denomination of Origin Ribeira Sacra (NW Spain). The research relied on twelve in-depth interviews. The wine culture, along with its landscape and heritage, favors the consolidation of tourism strategies. The synergies between the world of wine, identity and tourism generate values that are essential for rural development

Kidney organoids for disease modeling

The kidney is formed during development by reciprocal interactions between the ureteric bud (UB) and the metanephric mesenchyme (MM), which promote the induction of nephron patterning and differentiation. Traditionally, UB and MM cells including nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) have been very difficult to isolate and maintain in culture due to their propensity to differentiate when outside their developmental niche. Remarkably, in recent years researchers have succeeded in prolonging the lifespan of mouse [1], rat [1], and human [2] NPCs in vitro, offering an avenue to expand the current knowledge of mammalian kidney development, and eventually for disease modelling and drug screening studies. Alternatively, renal progenitors have also been generated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) by mimicking early kidney developmental signals in vitro. Recently, different laboratories have been able to partially reproduce kidney organogenesis in a dish using hPSCs, successfully generating so-called kidney organoids [3,4,5,6]. Kidney organoids contain self-organized nephron-like structures composed of early podocyte cell clusters connected to tubular structures expressing markers of proximal tubules, loops of Henle and distal tubules [3,4,5,6]. In addition, kidney organoids display proximal tubular functionality in vitro, showing selective endocytosis of dextran cargoes [5,6], as well as responding to nephrotoxic agents [4,5,6]