Sangre y sexo en el cine de terror español

En un contexto sociopolítico donde nada escapaba a los ojos del censor, se desarrolló un tipo de cine que hoy en día sorprende por su crudeza sanguinolenta, así como por sus excesos sexuales. El desdén de la censura por el cine de terror español producido en las décadas de los sesenta y setenta permitió que se convirtiera en el espacio idóneo donde los espectadores de laépoca encontraron la válvula de escape a la represión a la que estaban sometidos. La muerte del general Francisco Franco y el aperturismo provocaron que las ansiedades eróticas de un buennúmero de espectadores se centraran en otro tipo de cine. Sin embargo, ese corto pero intenso periodo de tiempo, caracterizado por una altísima producción de género terrorífico, ha legado imágenes con una gran carga erótica, sexual y violenta, muy desconocidas, que merecen ser rescatadas. Para ello, haremos un repaso histórico por el género en España para, finalmente, centrarnos en el análisis de cuatro filmes representativos de los setenta.Abstract:A rawness and crudity cinema was developed in Spain, in a socio-political context where everything was always subject to censorship, through the sixties and seventies. Still today, thisbloody and erotic cinema may cause surprise to the audience. Censorship showed a scornful attitude to this cinema, and spectators considered it as a release-valve, due to the repressionthey were suffered. This fact permitted an intense production of this kind of movies in a really short time. The death of Francisco Franco and the brand new openness caused that all this audiencefocused their attention in another kind of cinema. Nevertheless, that brief but extremely intense period allowed us to enjoy those erotical and violent images, that today remains almost unknown,and, withouth a doubt, it deserves to be rescued. For that, we will make a skim though this genre in Spain and, eventually, we will analyze four emblematic films of the seventies

Innovación y desarrollo local en una ciudad media de Andalucía. El caso de Antequera (Málaga)

Proyecto de I+D+i financiado por el Ministerio Educación y Ciencia y con Fondos FEDE

RepA-WH1 prionoid: Clues from bacteria on factors governing phase transitions in amyloidogenesis

10 p.-1 fig.In bacterial plasmids, Rep proteins initiate DNA replication by undergoing a structural transformation coupled to dimer dissociation. Amyloidogenesis of the ‘winged-helix’ N-terminal domain of RepA (WH1) is triggered in vitro upon binding to plasmid-specific DNA sequences, and occurs at the bacterial nucleoid in vivo. Amyloid fibers are made of distorted RepA-WH1 monomers that assemble as single or double intertwined tubular protofilaments. RepA-WH1 causes in E. coli an amyloid proteinopathy, which is transmissible from mother to daughter cells, but not infectious, and enables conformational imprinting in vitro and in vivo; i.e. RepA-WH1 is a ‘prionoid’. Microfluidics allow the assessment of the intracellular dynamics of RepA-WH1: bacterial lineages maintain two types (strains-like) of RepA-WH1 amyloids, either multiple compact cytotoxic particles or a single aggregate with the appearance of a fluidized hydrogel that it is mildly detrimental to growth. The Hsp70 chaperone DnaK governs the phase transition between both types of RepA-WH1 aggregates in vivo, thus modulating the vertical propagation of the prionoid. Engineering chimeras between the Sup35p/[PSI*] prion and RepA-WH1 generates [REP-PSI*], a synthetic prion exhibiting strong and weak phenotypic variants in yeast. These recent findings on a synthetic, self-contained bacterial prionoid illuminate central issues of protein amyloidogenesis.Research on RepA-WH1 amyloids at CIBCSIC is currently financed by Spanish MINECO grants BIO2012-30852 and CSD2009-00088.Peer reviewe

Aligned copper nanowires as a cut-and-paste exclusive electrochemical transducer for free-enzyme highly selective quantification of intracellular hydrogen peroxide in cisplatin-treated cells

The role and reliable quantification of intracellular hydrogen peroxide during cancer therapy constitutes an unexplored and fascinating application. In this work, we report the fabrication of vertically aligned copper nanowires (v-CuNWs) using electrosynthesis on templates, and their application as a cut-and-paste exclusive and flexible electrochemical transducer. This easily adaptable electrodic platform is demonstrated for a fast, simple and free-enzyme selective quantification of intracellular hydrogen peroxide in Cisplatin-treated human renal HK-2 cells. The v-CuNWs sensor was compared with an HRP-enzyme-based biosensor showing excellent correlation and indicates the good selectivity and analytical performance of the v-CuNWs. This sensing approach opens novel avenues for monitoring cell death processes and shows the potential of H2O2 as a cellular damage biomarker, with a clear potency for further developments for in vitro diagnosis and its implication in cancer therapy.Comunidad de MadridMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovació

A Bacterial Shortcut to Amyloidosis

21 p.-10 fig.The synthetic bacterial prionoid RepA-WH1 causes a vertically transmissible amyloid proteinopathy in Escherichia coli that inhibits growth and eventually kills the cells. Recent in vitro studies show that RepA-WH1 builds pores through model lipid membranes, suggesting a possible mechanism for bacterial cell death. By comparing acutely (A31V) and mildly (ΔN37) cytotoxic mutant variants of the protein, we report here that RepA-WH1(A31V) expression decreases the intracellular osmotic pressure and compromise bacterial viability under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Both are effects expected from threatening membrane integrity and are in agreement with findings on the impairment by RepA-WH1(A31V) of the proton motive force (PMF)-dependent transport of ions (Fe3+) and ATP1 synthesis. Systems approaches reveal that, in aerobiosis, the PMF-independent respiratory dehydrogenase NdhII is induced in response to the reduction in intracellular levels of iron. While NdhII is known to generate H2O2 as a by-product of the autoxidation of its FAD cofactor, key proteins in the defense against oxidative stress (OxyR, KatE), together with other stress-resistance factors, are sequestered by co-aggregation with the RepA-WH1(A31V) amyloid. Our findings suggest a route for RepA-WH1 toxicity in bacteria: a primary hit of damage to the membrane, compromising bionergetics, triggers a stroke of oxidative stress, which is exacerbated due to the aggregation-dependent inactivation of enzymes and transcription factors that enable the cellular response to such injury. The proteinopathy caused by the prion-like protein RepA-WH1 in bacteria recapitulates some of the core hallmarks of human amyloid diseases.This work has been supported by grants from Spanish AEI / EU-FEDER (BIO2012-30852, BIO2015- 68730-R and CSD2009-00088) and CSIC (i-LINK0889) to R.G. We acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).Peer reviewe

Dense strontium hexaferrite-based permanent magnet composites assisted by cold sintering process

[EN] The use of rare-earth-based permanent magnets is one of the critical points for the development of the current technology. On the one hand, industry of the rare-earths is highly polluting due to the negative environmental impact of their extraction and, on the other hand, the sector is potentially dependent on China. Therefore, investigation is required both in the development of rare-earth-free permanent magnets and in sintering processes that enable their greener fabrication with attractive magnetic properties at a more competitive price. This work presents the use of a cold sintering process (CSP) followed by a post-annealing at 1100 °C as a new way to sinter composite permanent magnets based on strontium ferrite (SFO). Composites that incorporate a percentage ≤ 10% of an additional magnetic phase have been prepared and the morphological, structural and magnetic properties have been evaluated after each stage of the process. CSP induces a phase transformation of SFO in the composites, which is partially recovered by the post-thermal treatment improving the relative density to 92% and the magnetic response of the final magnets with a coercivity of up to 3.0 kOe. Control of the magnetic properties is possible through the composition and the grain size in the sintered magnets. These attractive results show the potential of the sintering approach as an alternative to develop modern rare-earth-free composite permanent magnets.This work has been supported by the Ministerio Español de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN), Spain, through the projects MAT2017-86540-C4-1-R and RTI2018-095303-A-C52, and by the European Commission through Project H2020 No. 720853 (Amphibian). C.G.-M. and A.Q. acknowledge financial support from MICINN through the “Juan de la Cierva” program (FJC2018-035532-I) and the “Ramón y Cajal” contract (RYC-2017-23320). S. R.-G. gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, Germany. A.S. acknowledges the financialsupport from the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, for an “Atracción de Talento Investigador” contract (No. 2017-t2/IND5395)

Recursos patrimoniales y organización territorial: el caso de Andalucía

El artículo pretende identificar y categorizar el patrimonio natural y cultural que cuenta con algún tipo de reconocimiento oficial en Andalucía, centrando la atención en su dimensión espacial. Para ello se utilizan las unidades territoriales recogidas en las Bases para una Carta sobre Patrimonio y Desarrollo en Andalucía: áreas urbanas, litorales, vegas y campiñas y zonas de montaña. En primer lugar se atiende al patrimonio natural, y posteriormente al cultural. En ambos casos se enumeran cuáles son las figuras de reconocimiento internacional, nacional y autonómico existentes en la región, y posteriormente se atiende a su distribución en las unidades territoriales anteriormente mencionadas. Se concluye argumentando que sólo a través del tratamiento conjunto de los activos patrimoniales con que cuenta un territorio se podrá conseguir que éstos se conviertan en un recurso para su desarrollo y, en este sentido, la territorialización patrimonial planteada en este artículo puede constituir un buen punto de partida

Beneficial Effect of Ursodeoxycholic Acid in Patients with ACOX2 Deficiency-Associated Hypertransaminasemia

Background: A variant (p.Arg225Trp) of peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase 2 (ACOX2), involved in bile acid (BA) side-chain shortening, has been associated with unexplained persistent hypertransaminasemia and accumulation of C27-BAs, mainly trihydroxycholestanoic acid (THCA). Aims: To investigate the prevalence of ACOX2 deficiency-associated hypertransaminasemia (ADAH), its response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), elucidate its pathophysiological mechanism and identify other inborn errors that could cause this alteration. Methods & results: Among 33 patients with unexplained hypertransaminasemia from 11 hospitals, and 13 of their relatives, 7 individuals with abnormally high C27-BA levels (>50% of total BAs) were identified by HPLC-MS/MS. The p.Arg225Trp variant was found in homozygosity (exon amplification/sequencing) in 2 patients and 3 family members. Two additional non-related patients were heterozygous carriers of different alleles: c.673C>T (p.Arg225Trp) and c.456_459del (p.Thr154fs). In ADAH patients, impaired liver expression of ACOX2, but not ACOX3, was found (immunohistochemistry). Treatment with UDCA normalized transaminases levels. Incubation of HuH-7 liver cells with THCA, which was efficiently taken up, but not through BA transporters, increased ROS production (flow cytometry), ER stress biomarkers (GRP78, CHOP and XBP1-S/XBP1-U ratio), and BAX¿ expression (RT-qPCR and immunoblot), whereas cell viability was decreased (MTT). THCA-induced cell toxicity was higher than that of major C24-BAs and was not prevented by UDCA. Fourteen predicted ACOX2 variants were generated (site-directed mutagenesis) and expressed in HuH-7 cells. Functional tests to determine their ability to metabolize THCA identified six with the potential to cause ADAH. Conclusion: Dysfunctional ACOX2 has been found in several patients with unexplained hypertransaminasemia. This condition can be accurately identified by a non-invasive diagnostic strategy based on plasma BA profiling and ACOX2 sequencing. Moreover, UDCA treatment can efficiently attenuate liver damage in these patients.This study was supported by the following grants: CIBERehd (EHD15PI05/2016); Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain (PI19/00819 and PI20/00189), co-funded by European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund, “Investing in your future”; “Junta de Castilla y León” (SA074P20); Fundació Marato TV3 (201916–31); AECC Scientific Foundation (2017/2020), Spain; and “Centro Internacional sobre el Envejecimiento” (OLD-HEPAMARKER, 0348_CIE_6_E), Spain. We also acknowledge support from grants PID2019-111669RBI- 100, PID2020-115055RB- I00 from Plan Nacional de I+D funded by the “Agencia Estatal de Investigación” (AEI) and the center grant P50AA011999 Southern California Research Center for ALPD and Cirrhosis funded by NIAAA/NIH, as well as support from AGAUR of the “Generalitat de Catalunya” SGR-2017- 1112, European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST) ACTION CA17112 Prospective European Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Marta Alonso-Peña was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from “Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte” (BOE-A- 2015- 9456; FPU-14/ 00214) and a Mobility Grant for Short Stays from “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades” (EST17/00186). Ricardo Espinosa-Escudero is the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from “Junta de Castilla y León” and “Fondo Social Europeo” (EDU/574/2018). The funding sources were not involved in the research design or preparation of the articl

Compromising between European and US allergen immunotherapy schools: Discussions from GUIMIT, the Mexican immunotherapy guidelines

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has a longstanding history and still remains the only disease-changing treatment for allergic rhinitis and asthma. Over the years 2 different schools have developed their strategies: the United States (US) and the European. Allergen extracts available in these regions are adapted to local practice. In other parts of the world, extracts from both regions and local ones are commercialized, as in Mexico. Here, local experts developed a national AIT guideline (GUIMIT 2019) searching for compromises between both schools. Methods: Using ADAPTE methodology for transculturizing guidelines and AGREE-II for evaluating guideline quality, GUIMIT selected 3 high-quality Main Reference Guidelines (MRGs): the European Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (EAACI) guideines, the S2k guideline of various German-speaking medical societies (2014), and the US Practice Parameters on Allergen Immunotherapy 2011. We formulated clinical questions and based responses on the fused evidence available in the MRGs, combined with local possibilities, patient's preference, and costs. We came across several issues on which the MRGs disagreed. These are presented here along with arguments of GUIMIT members to resolve them. GUIMIT (for a complete English version, see Supplementary data) concluded the following: Results: Related to the diagnosis of IgE-mediated respiratory allergy, apart from skin prick testing complementary tests (challenges, in vitro testing and molecular such as species-specific allergens) might be useful in selected cases to inform AIT composition. AIT is indicated in allergic rhinitis and suggested in allergic asthma (once controlled) and IgE-mediated atopic dermatitis. Concerning the correct subcutaneous AIT dose for compounding vials according to the US school: dosing tables and formula are given; up to 4 non-related allergens can be mixed, refraining from mixing high with low protease extracts. When using European extracts: the manufacturer's indications should be followed; in multi-allergic patients 2 simultaneous injections can be given (100% consensus); mixing is discouraged. In Mexico only allergoid tablets are available; based on doses used in all sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) publications referenced in MRGs, GUIMIT suggests a probable effective dose related to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) might be: 50–200% of the monthly SCIT dose given daily, maximum mixing 4 allergens. Also, a table with practical suggestions on non-evidence-existing issues, developed with a simplified Delphi method, is added. Finally, dissemination and implementation of guidelines is briefly discussed, explaining how we used online tools for this in Mexico. Conclusions: Countries where European and American AIT extracts are available should adjust AIT according to which school is followed

Relatório Diagnóstico sobre o ensino superior e a ciência pós-covid-19 na Ibero-América : perspectivas e desafios 2022

O principal impacto no ensino a partir da declaração da pandemia foi a transição urgente e não planejada para modalidades de ensino remoto de emergência. A pandemia chegou e surpreendeu os países e instituições de ensino superior com capacidades diferentes para o desenvolvimento do ensino remoto de emergência e isso se refletiu nos resultados desiguais e nos desafios que tiveram que superar. Inicialmente apresentada como breve, a suspensão da presencialidade em muitos países da região ultrapassou 40 semanas e é o período sem aulas presenciais mais longo do mundo. A primeira reação das instituições foi criar comitês de crise para lidar com a emergência e garantir a continuidade do ensino de forma remota. A pandemia da covid-19 obrigou asinstituições universitárias a empreenderem esforços institucionais, acadêmicos,tecnológicos, etc., que não estavam em suas agendas e para os quais, em muitos casos,não houve preparação prévia. Esses esforços não foram apresentados de forma equilibrada no panorama regional. Embora as universidades da região já utilizassem plataformas virtuais de apoio ao ensino e à aprendizagem antes da pandemia, a maioria não eram propostas institucionais, mas sim iniciativas individuais. Esta foi a base para a continuidade da aprendizagem durante a emergência, e como a suspensão da presencialidade durou mais tempo, as instituições foram fortalecendo as propostas pedagógicas remotas de emergência no nível institucional, incorporando ferramentas e capacitação de professores. No nível institucional, para favorecer a continuidade da aprendizagem, as universidades não propuseram uma metodologia única, deixando para o pessoal docente a decisão sobre o uso das salas de aulas virtuais. Nelas, foram ministradas a maioria das aulas on-line sincronizadas, pelo menos em um primeiro momento. Embora os esforços das IES para oferecer apoio à comunidade universitária para garantir a continuidade da aprendizagem nas melhores condições possíveis sejam evidentes, havia limitações tecnológicas, tanto em termos de conectividade quanto de equipamentos, que nem sempre puderam ser cobertas. Também foram evidenciadas limitações pedagógicas, apesar do empenho para desenvolver competências básicas nos professores, visando facilitar o uso das possibilidades da educação a distância; e, por último, limitações socioemocionais, com esforços institucionais para reduzir a ansiedade e o stress gerados pelo isolamento e a desconexão social. A função de P&D universitária produziu um duplo movimento: por um lado, parou o planejamento e as ações em desenvolvimento até o surgimento da pandemia e, por outro, teve que disponibilizar e redirecionar recursos para produzir conhecimento sobre o SARS-CoV-2 e a covid-19, bem como para produzir recursos tecnológicos e auxiliar o sistema de saúde na prevenção do contágio, e no atendimento aos doentes e aos efeitos psicossociais da pandemia. As ações dos atores universitários para a contenção epidemiológica quanto à produção tecnológica e de conhecimento, são muito relevantes. Em alguns casos, surgiram de iniciativas institucionais nas IES com um histórico de capacidade de intervenção sociocomunitária e de articulação com o setor produtivo. Nesse sentido, as decisões políticas implementadas e os resultados obtidos foram, em maior ou menor grau, produto da articulação dos setores científicos e governamentais. No campo das IES, foram realizados muitos estudos e pesquisas sobre a SARS-CoV-2, a covid-19, a pandemia e seus efeitos em diferentes campos disciplinares. Em muitos casos, os esforços institucionais foram orientados para a produção e disponibilidade de recursos tecnológicos ou dispositivos de apoio social, especialmente para lidar com os efeitos dos processos do confinamento e luto pessoal. As pesquisas que não estão ligadas à covid-19 ou que não puderam ser mantidas foram adiadas em muitos países e podem enfrentar severas restrições para sua continuidade. Este risco é maior nas universidades dos países mais pobres que dependem de agências doadoras para o financiamento