PIGMENTATION OF THE HEART IN THE BICHIR, POLYPTERUS SENEGALUS

El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013. Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-078.The presence of melanin-containing cells in the heart has been documented in tetrapods, but not in fish. It has been even suggested that dark pigmented cells are exclusively associated with hearts having two atria and two ventricles. The aim here is to report the occurrence of pigment cells in the heart of the bichir, an extant representative of the polypteriformes, an ancient ray-finned fish lineage that split from the stem of the actinopterygians soon after their divergence from the sarcopterygians. The bichir heart is composed of sinus venosus, atrium, ventricle, conus arteriosus and bulbus arteriosus arranged sequentially within the pericardial cavity. Dendritic-shaped cells containing melanosomes were found in the five cardiac components of the 12 bichirs included in this study. Numerous melanophores were distributed regularly over the surface of all segments having myocardium in their walls, thus resulting in a marked pigmentation of the whole heart. The bulbus arteriosus, which in the bichir is reduced in size, showed an even more intense pigmentation. In all instances, the melanophores were localized in the subepicardial space. Pigment cells also occurred in the pericardium and ventral aorta. The functional role of melanocytes in the tetrapod heart remains obscure. Antiinflamatory activity, cytoprotection and effects on the viscoelastic properties of the cardiac tissue have been adduced as possible actions of such cells. The role of pigment cells in the bichir heart constitutes a new open question. Interestingly, however, the only cells that have been shown to form melanin-containing cells in the heart derive from the neural crest. If the melanophores of the bichir heart are indeed of neural crest origin, it would suggest a much more extensive contribution and persistence of elements from the neural crest in the primitive heart of jawed vertebrates as assumed so far in most papers devoted to vertebrate heart embryology.Proyecto CGL2010-16417/BOS; Fondos FEDER; Beca FPI ref. BES-2011-046901

The anatomical components of the cardiac outflow tract of the bichir, polypterus senegalus. Evolutionary significance

El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013.Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-077.In chondrichthyans and actinopterygians, the outflow tract of the heart, namely, the cardiac portion intercalated between the ventricle and the ventral aorta, consists of two anatomical components: conus arteriosus and bulbus arteriosus. In chondrichthyans and extant representatives of phylogenetically ancient actinopterygian groups, the conus and bulbus are well-developed in size, whereas in most teleosts, the bulbus is markedly larger than the conus. Current knowledge about the cardiac outflow tract of the polypteriformes is scarce and highly contradictory, a fact that contrasts with their crucial phylogenetic position at the source of the actinopterygian lineage. In fact, it remains uncertain whether they have a bulbus at the arterial pole of the heart. The present study aimed to elucidate the anatomical arrangement of the cardiac outflow tract of the bichir in an attempt to improve our understanding of the evolution of the vertebrate heart. We examined the hearts from 12 bichirs using histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Our findings showed that the outflow tract of the bichir consists of two components, namely, a long conus arteriosus, largely composed of myocardial tissue and furnished with a variable number of valves at its luminal side, and a very short, elastin rich bulbus arteriosus, devoid of myocardium. The bulbus has an arterial-like histological composition. However, it differs from the aorta because it has a thicker wall, shows a different arrangement of the histological elements, is covered by the epicardium and is crossed by coronary arteries. The present observations are consistent with the notion that the conus arteriosus and the bulbus arteriosus have coexisted from the beginning of the jawed vertebrate radiation. This is of particular interest, because there is evidence that the bulbus arteriosus, which is a second heart field derivative, is homologous with the intrapericardial portions of the aorta and pulmonary artery of birds and mammals.Proyecto CGL2010-16417/BOS; Fondos FEDER

Análisis del rol psicopedagógico en el trabajo con adolescentes en contextos no formales de libertad asistida y libertad asistida especial

Tesis (Psicopedagogo, Licenciado en Educación)La siguiente investigación cualitativa pretende analizar el rol del psicopedagogo bajo una perspectiva del quehacer orientador enfocado al trabajo con adolescentes infractores de ley asistentes a programas PLA, PLE y ASR. Dicho análisis se formula a través de la recopilación y análisis de información mediante diferentes entrevistas realizadas a psicopedagogos que trabajan dentro de centros de libertad asistida y libertad asistida especial, en conjunto con el programa de reinserción escolar ASR, además de la revisión de documentos investigativos y teóricos. En los resultados se observan diferencias y similitudes en el plan de acción de dichos programas. Se logra identificar y determinar factores que inciden de deserción escolar de los adolescentes infractores de ley. De forma paralela se proponen lineamientos que permiten combatir esta dificultad mediante la psicopedagogía.The following qualitative study attempts to analyze the role of psycho-pedagogy educators through the perspective of councilor work, focused on adolescent offenders attending the programs PLA, PLE and ASR. This analysis is formed through collection and analysis of information from interviews done by psycho-pedagogy educators working inside centers of assisted freedom, specifically centers working with the school reinsertion program ASR. Information was also compiled through document analysis rooted in theory. The results observe both similarities and differences in the “action plan” of each program. This research successfully identifies and determines factors that impact school drop-out rates in the population of adolescent offenders. Results implications propose guidelines which permit challenging these issues through the lenses of psycho-pedagogy

mtDNA Haplogroup A Enhances the Effect of Obesity on the Risk of Knee OA in a Mexican Population

[Abstract] To evaluate the influence of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups on the risk of knee OA in terms of their interaction with obesity, in a population from Mexico. Samples were obtained from (n = 353) knee OA patients (KL grade ≥ I) and (n = 364) healthy controls (KL grade = 0) from Mexico city and Torreon (Mexico). Both Caucasian and Amerindian mtDNA haplogroups were assigned by single base extension assay. A set of clinical and demographic variables, including obesity status, were considered to perform appropriate statistical approaches, including chi-square contingency tables, regression models and interaction analyses. To ensure the robustness of the predictive model, a statistical cross-validation strategy of B = 1000 iterations was used. All the analyses were performed using boot, GmAMisc and epiR package from R software v4.0.2 and SPSS software v24. The frequency distribution of the mtDNA haplogroups between OA patients and healthy controls for obese and non-obese groups showed the haplogroup A as significantly over-represented in knee OA patients within the obese group (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.22-4.05; p-value = 0.008). The subsequent logistic regression analysis, including as covariate the interaction between obesity and mtDNA haplogroup A, supported the significant association of this interaction (OR 2.57; 95% CI 1.24-5.32; p-value = 0.011). The statistical cross-validation strategy confirmed the robustness of the regression model. The data presented here indicate a link between obesity in knee OA patients and mtDNA haplogroup A.This work is supported by Grants from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI17/00210, PI16/02124, PI20/00614, RETIC-RIER-RD16/0012/0002 and PRB3-ISCIII-PT17/0019/0014) integrated in the National Plan for Scientific Program, Development and Technological Innovation 2013–2016 and funded by the ISCIII-General Subdirection of Assessment and Promotion of Research-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) “A way of making Europe” and Grant IN607A2017/11 from Xunta de Galicia. The authors further acknowledge AE CICA-INIBIC (ED431E 2018/03) for financial support. IRP is supported by Contrato Miguel Servet-II Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (CPII17/00026) and AD-S is supported by Grant IN606A-2018/023 from Xunta de Galicia, Spain. The Biomedical Research Networking Center (CIBER) is an initiative from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII)Xunta de Galicia; IN607A2017/11Xunta de Galicia; ED431E 2018/03Xunta de Galicia; IN606A-2018/02

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Multiple Sclerosis

To understand COVID-19 characteristics in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and identify high-risk individuals due to their immunocompromised state resulting from the use of disease-modifying treatments. Retrospective and multicenter registry in patients with MS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and available disease course (mild = ambulatory; severe = hospitalization; and critical = intensive care unit/death). Cases were analyzed for associations between MS characteristics and COVID-19 course and for identifying risk factors for a fatal outcome. Of the 326 patients analyzed, 120 were cases confirmed by real-time PCR, 34 by a serologic test, and 205 were suspected. Sixty-nine patients (21.3%) developed severe infection, 10 (3%) critical, and 7 (2.1%) died. Ambulatory patients were higher in relapsing MS forms, treated with injectables and oral first-line agents, whereas more severe cases were observed in patients on pulsed immunosuppressors and critical cases among patients with no therapy. Severe and critical infections were more likely to affect older males with comorbidities, with progressive MS forms, a longer disease course, and higher disability. Fifteen of 33 patients treated with rituximab were hospitalized. Four deceased patients have progressive MS, 5 were not receiving MS therapy, and 2 were treated (natalizumab and rituximab). Multivariate analysis showed age (OR 1.09, 95% CI, 1.04-1.17) as the only independent risk factor for a fatal outcome. This study has not demonstrated the presumed critical role of MS therapy in the course of COVID-19 but evidenced that people with MS with advanced age and disease, in progressive course, and those who are more disabled have a higher probability of severe and even fatal diseas

pilotSTRATEGY project 2021-2026: “CO2 Geological Pilots in Strategic Territories”

[EN] The pilotSTRATEGY (2021-2026) is investigating geological CO2 storage sites in industrial regions to support development of large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS). It is focused on deep saline aquifers–porous rock formations filled with brine several kilometres below ground – which promise a large capacity for storing captured CO2. The goal of the characterisation is to assess the site’s containment, injectivity, capacity, integrity, hydrodynamics, and monitorability in order to ensure safe and permanent storage of CO2. PilotSTRATEGY covers the initial stages of project development up to the pre-final investment decision (pre-FID), regulatory approval and permitting of storage, and applied on selected structures of Paris Basin in France, the Lusitanian Basin in Portugal and the Ebro Basin in Spain, and in lower detail, in West Macedonia in Greece and Upper Silesia in Poland.The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme (10.1 million Euros, No. 101022664).Peer reviewe

Post-Franco Theatre

In the multiple realms and layers that comprise the contemporary Spanish theatrical landscape, “crisis” would seem to be the word that most often lingers in the air, as though it were a common mantra, ready to roll off the tongue of so many theatre professionals with such enormous ease, and even enthusiasm, that one is prompted to wonder whether it might indeed be a miracle that the contemporary technological revolution – coupled with perpetual quandaries concerning public and private funding for the arts – had not by now brought an end to the evolution of the oldest of live arts, or, at the very least, an end to drama as we know it

States Of Discontent

Latin America’s recent inclusionary turn centers on changing relationships between the popular sectors and the state. Yet the new inclusion unfolds in a region in which most states are weak and prone to severe pathologies, such as corruption, inefficiency, and particularism. The first part of the chapter outlines an argument, developed at more length elsewhere, regarding how “state crises” helped drive the consolidation of three distinct party system trajectories among the eight South American countries where the Left would eventually win power. The second part of the chapter argues that these trajectories differed in three ways that likely conditioned how the concomitant inclusionary Left turn unfolded in each case: the institutionalization of left-wing parties, the occurrence of state transformation via constitutional reform, and the level of state capacity. The discussion helps highlight the central role of the state and its pathologies in both driving alternative paths of political development and in conditioning the politics of inclusion. By putting the emphasis on the state and its pathologies, we can better consider not just the sources of sociopolitical exclusion but also the limits of sociopolitical inclusion

El desafío de la paz: Colombia, Guatemala, Ucrania y El Salvador a la luz de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

Recoge las ponencias expuestas por treinta y una personalidades académicas y políticas de talla internacional además de las intervenciones de las autoridades académicas de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid y del Ministerio de Derechos Sociales y Agenda 2030, presentadas en cuatro seminarios, que comenzaron con los relativos a los procesos de paz en Colombia y Guatemala, a fines de 2021, que continuaron el 30 de marzo de 2022 con la jornada dedicada a las herramientas para buscar una solución diplomática a la guerra en Ucrania (solo un mes después de la invasión rusa) y en junio del mismo año con el relativo a los acuerdos de 1992 en El Salvador. Dichos seminarios fueron: "Los Acuerdos de Paz en Colombia, cinco años después". (Madrid, 29 y 30 de noviembre de 2021); "Los Acuerdos de Paz en Guatemala, veinticinco años después". (Madrid, 13 de diciembre de 2021); "Ucrania: Solución negociada, seguridad compartida". (Madrid, 30 de marzo de 2022); "Los Acuerdos de Paz de El Salvador, treinta años después, en el marco de la Agenda 2030". (Madrid, 22 de junio de 2022)Presentación / Juan Daniel Oliva, Carlos R. Fernández Liesa (pp.12-14). -- Prólogo / Lilith Verstrynge Revuelta, (pp. 15-16). -- Primera parte: Los acuerdos de paz en Colombia, cinco años después (p. 18). -- Apertura / Juan Romo Uroz (pp. 18-20). -- [Apertura] / Ione Belarra (pp. 20-23). -- Hacer la paz es más difícil que hacer la guerra / Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (pp. 23-27). -- No hay un acuerdo de paz que tenga un calado de reformas como el colombiano / Josefina Echavarría Álvarez (pp. 28-34). -- Juramos que nuestra única arma sería la palabra / Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri (pp. 34-38). -- Tuvisteis que hacer frente a una coyuntura política dificilísima / José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (pp. 38-42). -- Segunda mesa: Balance, implementación y Agenda 2030 / Enrique Santiago (pp. 43-46). -- Solicito la apertura del macrocaso de la responsabilidad del Estado / Álvaro Leyva Durán (pp. 47-53). -- En Colombia existen más de cien mil desaparecidos / Luz Marina Monzón Cifuentes (pp. 54-61). -- No hay contradicción entre la búsqueda de la paz y la de la justicia / Yesid Reyes Alvarado (pp. 62-67). -- Logramos el primer acuerdo de paz con enfoque de género / Gloria Inés Ramírez (pp. 68-74). -- Segunda parte. Los Acuerdos de Paz en Guatemala, veinticinco años después (p. 75). -- Apertura / J. Daniel Oliva Martínez (pp. 75-76) , Enrique Santiago Romero (pp. 77-78). -- Guatemala es hoy un Estado capturado por mafias / José Manuel Martín Medem (pp. 78-81). -- Se firmó la paz, pero falta la construcción de una cultura de paz / Olinda Salguero (pp. 81-85). -- Guatemala se halla en el peor escenario en materia de derechos humanos desde 1986 / Velia Muralles (pp. 85-90). -- Las comisiones de la verdad registraron unas doscientas mil personas desaparecidas y ejecutadas / Erik de León (pp. 90-94). -- El problema fundamental era y es la marginación de los grupos indígenas y la pobreza extrema / Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo (pp. 94-102). -- Guatemala está peor que cuando firmamos la paz / Pablo Monsanto (pp. 103-109). -- Guatemala es un barril de pólvora con la mecha prendida / Ana Isabel Prera (pp. 109-115). -- Clausura / Ione Belarra (pp. 115-120). -- Tercera parte. Ucrania: Solución negociada, seguridad compartida (p. 121). Apertura / María Luisa González Cuéllar Serrano, Ione Belarra (pp. 122-125). -- Debemos trabajar para exponer las amenazas de esta guerra. Es necesario para sobrevivir / Noam Chomsky (pp. 125-132). -- Primera Mesa - La negociación como herramienta de resolución de conflictos / Santiago Jiménez Martín (p. 133). -- Trabajar por la paz acarrea incomprensiones y entraña riesgos / Yago Pico de Coaña (pp. 134-139). -- La Unión Europea debe volver a un papel de potencia pacífica / Gianni Labella (pp. 140-145). -- Las armas no nos salvarán / Carmen Magallón Portoles (pp. 145-149). -- Segunda mesa: Construcción de paz y seguridad compartida en Europa / Cástor Díaz Barrado (pp. 149-150). -- Un mundo sin armas nucleares es necesario y posible / Carlos Umaña (pp. 151-154). -- Pedimos una solución diplomática negociada / Mariela Kohon (pp. 155-159). -- Hay que avanzar hacia una arquitectura de seguridad europea basada en la seguridad compartida / Vicenç Fisas Armengol (pp. 159-162). -- Que la guerra en Ucrania no nos lleve a olvidar los otros conflictos armados, que también requieren nuestro apoyo / Mabel González Bustelo (pp. 163-168). -- Clausura / Carlos Fernández Liesa, Enrique Santiago (pp. 168-173). -- Cuarta parte. Los Acuerdos de Paz de El Salvador, treinta años después, en el marco de la Agenda 2030 (p. 174). -- Apertura / Montserrat Huguet Santos, Enrique Santiago (pp. 175-178). -- Hicimos la paz a través del diálogo político en medio de la guerra / Óscar Santamaría (pp. 178-182). -- Agradecemos el acompañamiento y la solidaridad de la comunidad internacional / Nidia Díaz (pp. 183-190). -- El proceso de paz no fue una confrontación ideológica / Álvaro de Soto (pp. 190-196). -- Fue el momento más importante desde la independencia nacional / Rubén Zamora (pp. 196-201). -- Segunda mesa: Los Acuerdos de Paz treinta años después: Balance, implementación y Agenda 2030 / Daniel Oliva (pp. 202-203). -- El presidente Bukele se burla de los acuerdos de paz / David Morales (pp. 203-209). -- Están en riesgo los derechos conquistados por las mujeres / Lorena Peña (pp. 209-212). -- Necesitamos una alianza en defensa de los derechos humanos / José María Tojeira (pp. 213-216). -- Tenemos que construir la unidad opositora para desplazar a esta dictadura de nuevo tipo / Maricela Ramírez (pp. 217-222). -- Clausura / Matilde Sánchez, Ione Belarra (pp. 222-224). -- Epílogo / Federico Mayor Zaragoza (pp. 225-228)