Heparan sulfate proteoglycans undergo differential expression alterations in left sided colorectal cancer, depending on their metastatic character

Abstract Background Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are complex molecules which play a role in the invasion and growth and metastatic properties of cancerous cells. In this work we analyze changes in the patterns of expression of HSPGs in left sided colorectal cancer (LSCRC), both metastatic and non-metastatic, and the results are also compared with those previously obtained for right sided tumors (RSCRCs). Methods Eighteen LSCRCs were studied using qPCR to analyze the expression of both the proteoglycan core proteins and the enzymes involved in heparan sulfate chain biosynthesis. Certain HSPGs also carry chondroitin sulfate chains and so we also studied the genes involved in its biosynthesis. The expression of certain genes that showed significant expression differences were also analysed using immunohistochemical techniques. Results Changes in proteoglycan core proteins were dependent on their location, and the main differences between metastatic and non-metastatic tumors affected cell-surface glypicans, while other molecules were quite similar. Glypicans were also responsible for the main differences between RS- and LS- malignances. Regarding the biosynthesis of heparan sulfate chains, differential alterations in transcription depending on the presence or not of metastasis affected genes involved in the modification of uronic acid (epimerization and 2-O sulfation), and some isoforms responsible for sulfation of glucosamine (NDST1, HS6ST1). Moreover, in RSCRCs differences were preferentially found in the expression of genes involved in C6 and C3 sulfation of glucosamine, but not in NDSTs or SULFs. Finally, synthesis of chondroitin sulfate showed some alterations, which affected various steps, including polimerization and the modification of chains, but the main variations dependent on the presence of metastases were epimerization and 6C sulfation; however, when compared with RSCRCs, the essential divergences affected polymerization of the chains and the 6C sulfation of the galactosamine residue. Conclusions We evidenced alterations in the expression of HSPGs, including the expression of cell surface core proteins, many glycosiltransferases and some enzymes that modify the GAG chains in LSCRCs, but this was dependent on the metastatic nature of the tumor. Some of these alterations are shared with RSCRCs, while others, focused on specific gene groups, are dependent on tumor localization

The time course of visual foraging in the lifespan: Spatial scanning, organization search, and target processing

Visual foraging is a variant of visual search, consisting of searching for an undetermined number of targets among distractors (e.g., looking for various LEGO pieces in a box). Under non-exhaustive tasks, the observer scans the display, picking those targets needed, not necessarily all of them, before leaving the search. To understand how the organization of such natural foraging tasks works, several measures of spatial scanning and organization have been proposed in the exhaustive foraging literature: best-r, intertarget distances, PAO, and target intersections. In the present study, we apply these measures and new Bayesian indexes to determine how the time course of visual foraging is organized in a dynamic non-exhaustive paradigm. In a large sample of observers (279 participants, 4–25 years old), we compare feature and conjunction foraging and explore how factors like set size and time course, not previously tested in exhaustive foraging, might afect search organization in non-exhaustive dynamic tasks. The results replicate previous fndings showing younger observers’ searching being less organized, feature conditions being more organized than conjunction conditions, and organization leading to a more efective search. Interestingly, observers tend to be less organized as set size increases, and search is less organized within a patch as it advances in time: Search organization decreases when search termination is coming, suggesting organization measures as potential clues to understand quitting rules in search. Our results highlight the importance of studying search organization in foraging as a critical source of understanding complex cognitive processes in visual searchOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work was supported by the Research Grant Project PSI2015-69358-R (MINECO/FEDER) “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” (MINECO), and “Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional” (FEDER), given to Beatriz Gil-Gómez de Liaño as PI at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Also, part of the research of this study was done thanks to the Fulbright Commission, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, under Grant FORAGEKID 793268, also granted to Beatriz Gil-Gómez de Liaño at the University of Cambridge, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and BWH-Harvard Medical Schoo

Foraging behavior in visual search: a review of theoretical and mathematical models in humans and animals

Visual search (VS) is a fundamental task in daily life widely studied for over half a century. A variant of the classic paradigm—searching one target among distractors—requires the observer to look for several (undetermined) instances of a target (so-called foraging) or several targets that may appear an undefined number of times (recently named as hybrid foraging). In these searches, besides looking for targets, the observer must decide how much time is needed to exploit the area, and when to quit the search to eventually explore new search options. In fact, visual foraging is a very common search task in the real world, probably involving additional cognitive functions than typical VS. It has been widely studied in natural animal environments, for which several mathematical models have been proposed, and just recently applied to humans: Lévy processes, composite and area-restricted search models, marginal value theorem, and Bayesian learning (among others). We conducted a systematic search in the literature to understand those mathematical models and study its applicability in human visual foraging. The review suggests that these models might be the first step, but they seem to be limited to fully comprehend foraging in visual search. There are essential variables involving human visual foraging still to be established and understood. Indeed, a jointly theoretical interpretation based on the different models reviewed could better account for its understanding. In addition, some other relevant variables, such as certain individual differences or time perception might be crucial to understanding visual foraging in humansThe present work has been supported by the financed research project of the “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España, Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica”. Ref. PSI2015-69358-

Fibroblasts Collagen Production and Histological Alterations in Hereditary Gingival Fibromatosis

Hereditary gingival fibromatosis is a disorder for which the etiology remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the fibroblasts and histological alterations to give new clues. A father and a daughter of a family showing gingival hereditary fibromatosis were treated, and gingival biopsies were obtained. A histological study revealed dense fibrous tissue, basal lamina disruption, and epithelial cell migration into the connective tissue. Fibroblasts were cultured from the father and daughter and compared with those from a healthy control patient. The results of the biochemical analysis showed increased collagen synthesis, reduced antioxidant CoQ10 content, and high levels of lipid peroxidation. Additionally, fibroblasts culture incubation with the oxidant H2O2 increased collagen levels that have been reduced by the addition of the antioxidant CoQ10. We conclude that some fibroblasts metabolic alterations play a significant role in initiating and maintaining persistent fibrotic tissue. Oxidative stress influences the fibroblasts collagen production and could play a particular role in the pathogenesis of hereditary gingival fibromatosis

Co-benefits and trade-offs between biodiversity, carbon storage and water flow regulation

The trade-offs between biodiversity, carbon storage and water flow regulation were analysed in a biosphere reserve area. With the aim of proposing criteria for conservation plans that would include ecosystem services and biodiversity, a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach was designed to estimate and map the value of the biodiversity and ecosystem services. The actual protected areas, namely, coastal ecosystems and Cantabrian evergreen-oak forests, were found to be important for the overall biodiversity and included some important portions of the other services. The non-protected natural forests, such as the mixed-oak, beech and riparian forests, are biodiversity hotspots, and they contribute to the carbon storage and water flow regulation services. Thus, even though these areas are small, their inclusion in conservation proposals should be considered. The pine and eucalyptus plantations contribute to ecosystem services but have negative effects on biodiversity and cause environmental problems. In contrast to the plantations of fast-growing species, the increase in broadleaf plantations will exhibit a positive trend due to the benefits they provide. Our study highlights that the inclusion of ecosystem services in conservation planning has a great potential to provide opportunities for biodiversity protection; however, strategies of conservation based only on specific ecosystem services may be detrimental to the biodiversity and may cause other environmental problems

Co-Creation of Knowledge for Ecosystem Services Approach to Spatial Planning in the Basque Country

Sustainable development has to be based on scientific knowledge, social agreements, and political decisions. This study aimed to analyse the implementation of the ecosystem services approach (ESA) in the spatial planning of the Basque Country, via the co-creation of knowledge. This paper uses a proposal for a regional green infrastructure (GI) to examine the co-creation of knowledge process. It addresses the community of practice; a process of co-creation of knowledge through workshops and meeting, SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis using an online survey, and mapping and identification of the multifunctional areas that provide ecosystem services (ES) to develop a GI. Results indicate that ESA has been included in spatial planning actions at different scales (biosphere reserve, metropolitan area, and region). This subsequently created an avenue for understanding the political necessities at play, so that scientists can develop useful tools for sustainable development. The findings also draw attention to the importance of establishing a constructive and mutually comprehensible dialogue between politicians, technical experts and scientists. For ES to be part of spatial planning, ESA has to be taken into account at the beginning of the planning process. We conclude that building bridges between science and spatial planning can help establish science-based management guidelines and tools that help enhance the sustainability of the territory.This research was funded by the Department of Environment, Territorial Planning and Housing of the Basque Government, and by the Department of Sustainability and Natural Environment of the County Council of Biscay

Analysing the Synergies and Trade-Offs between Ecosystem Services to Reorient Land Use Planning in Metropolitan Bilbao (Northern Spain)

In the last decades, some European cities have undergone important changes in search of a more sustainable development. This is the case for the city of Bilbao (Bizkaia, Basque Country), where a Greenbelt has been maintained surrounding the urban areas allowing the periurban areas to deliver ecosystem services (ES) to society. However, the role of the different ecosystems in the provision of ES is not the same, which can lead to conflicts among them. The aim of this study is to analyze the synergies and trade-offs among the eight most important ES in the Bilbao Metropolitan Greenbelt (BMG) to orient their management strategies towards more multifunctional landscapes. We mapped the ES and overlapped them looking for the most relevant areas for the provision of multiple ES and areas that are mostly lacking ES provision. We identify also existing ES trade-offs and synergies between ES using correlations so that managers can prioritize preservation efforts of land use types in the rest of the area. The results show that provisioning ES had trade-offs with regulating and cultural ES and the latter showed synergies between them. The former are mainly delivered by semi-natural ecosystems, while regulating and cultural ES are delivered mainly by natural ecosystems. Moreover, the most relevant areas for the provision of multiple ES were proposed as potential components of a Green Infrastructure (GI). Their identification and ES bundles could help decision-makers to orient their management strategies towards sustainability in metropolitan areas.We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Departments of Environment and Education of the Basque Government; and from the Department of Environment of the County Council of Biscay

Visible Light Communication System Using an Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photodetector

A visible light communication (VLC) system using an organic bulk heterojunction photodetector (OPD) is presented. The system has been successfully proven indoors with an audio signal. The emitter consists of three commercial high-power white LEDs connected in parallel. The receiver is based on an organic photodetector having as active layer a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The OPD is opto-electrically characterized, showing a responsivity of 0.18 A/W and a modulation response of 790 kHz at -6 V.This work has been supported by Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid under project S2009/ESP-1781.Publicad

Key Elements of the White-Backed Woodpecker’s (Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi) Habitat in Its European South-Western Limits

In the last decade, the population of the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi) (WBW) in Navarre has been reduced mainly due to the loss of suitable habitat for this species from intensive forest management, leading almost to its extinction. This study aimed to identify the key structural elements of breeding habitats of the WBW and analyze their effect on the composition of the saproxylic fungi community within the habitats. In the Special Area of Conservation, namely Quinto Real in Navarre, 20 circular plots (500 m2) and 10 transects (150–300 m) were located inside and outside WBW territories. Within each sample plot, forest structure, deadwood, microhabitats, regeneration, and saproxylic fungi community were studied. The results showed that the key elements in the WBW territories were high trees, high diversity of deadwood (with a high presence of big and late-decay deadwood), high snag volume, and high microhabitat diversity. Although the past management is also evident in the variability of some of those characteristics, this species is well adapted to different structural and compositional conditions of the territory. The saproxylic fungi community was richer among the WBW territories, and in those areas, the presence of Fomes fomentarius was high, compared to non-WBW territories where it was not present. In conclusion, to maintain and protect the studied population, it is necessary to implement sustainable management that guarantees the conservation of the key elements for the WBW territories (structural heterogeneity and high deadwood diversity) in order to increase the suitability of the habitat for WBWs.We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Departments of Environment and Education of the Basque Government and from the Department of Environment of the County Council of Biscay