Zoonotic hepatitis E: animal reservoirs and emerging risks

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for enterically-transmitted acute hepatitis in humans with two distinct epidemiological patterns. In endemic regions, large waterborne epidemics with thousands of people affected have been observed, and, in contrast, in non-endemic regions, sporadic cases have been described. Although contaminated water has been well documented as the source of infection in endemic regions, the modes of transmission in non-endemic regions are much less known. HEV is a single-strand, positive-sense RNA virus which is classified in the Hepeviridae family with at least four known main genotypes (1–4) of mammalian HEV and one avian HEV. HEV is unique among the known hepatitis viruses, in which it has an animal reservoir. In contrast to humans, swine and other mammalian animal species infected by HEV generally remain asymptomatic, whereas chickens infected by avian HEV may develop a disease known as Hepatitis-Splenomegaly syndrome. HEV genotypes 1 and 2 are found exclusively in humans while genotypes 3 and 4 are found both in humans and other mammals. Several lines of evidence indicate that, in some cases involving HEV genotypes 3 and 4, animal to human transmissions occur. Furthermore, individuals with direct contact with animals are at higher risk of HEV infection. Cross-species infections with HEV genotypes 3 and 4 have been demonstrated experimentally. However, not all sources of human infections have been identified thus far and in many cases, the origin of HEV infection in humans remains unknown

Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services: An EU ecosystem assessment

This report presents an ecosystem assessment covering the total land area of the EU as well as the EU marine regions. The assessment is carried out by Joint Research Centre, European Environment Agency, DG Environment, and the European Topic Centres on Biological Diversity and on Urban, Land and Soil Systems. This report constitutes a knowledge base which can support the evaluation of the 2020 biodiversity targets. It also provides a data foundation for future assessments and policy developments, in particular with respect to the ecosystem restoration agenda for the next decade (2020-2030). The report presents an analysis of the pressures and condition of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems using a single, comparable methodology based on European data on trends of pressures and condition relative to the policy baseline 2010. The following main conclusions are drawn: - Pressures on ecosystems exhibit different trends. - Land take, atmospheric emissions of air pollutants and critical loads of nitrogen are decreasing but the absolute values of all these pressures remain too high. - Impacts from climate change on ecosystems are increasing. - Invasive alien species of union concern are observed in all ecosystems, but their impact is particularly high in urban ecosystems and grasslands. - Pressures from overfishing activities and marine pollution are still high. - In the long term, air and freshwater quality is improving. - In forests and agroecosystems, which represent over 80% of the EU territory, there are improvements in structural condition indicators (biomass, deadwood, area under organic farming) relative to the baseline year 2010 but some key bio-indicators such as tree-crown defoliation continue to increase. This indicates that ecosystem condition is not improving. - Species-related indicators show no progress or further declines, particularly in agroecosystems. The analysis of trends in ecosystem services concluded that the current potential of ecosystems to deliver timber, protection against floods, crop pollination, and nature-based recreation is equal to or lower than the baseline value for 2010. At the same time, the demand for these services has significantly increased. A lowered potential in combination with a higher demand risks to further decrease the condition of ecosystems and their contribution to human well-being. Despite the wide coverage of environmental legislation in the EU, there are still large gaps in the legal protection of ecosystems. On land, 76% of the area of terrestrial ecosystems, mainly forests, agroecosystems and urban ecosystems, are excluded from a legal designation under the Bird and Habitat Directives. Freshwater and marine ecosystems are subject to specific protection measures under the Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives. The condition of ecosystems that are under legal designation is unfavourable. More efforts are needed to bend the curve of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation and to put ecosystems on a path to recovery. The progress that is made in certain areas such as pollution reduction, increasing air and water quality, increasing share of organic farming, the expansion of forests, and the efforts to maintain marine fish stocks at sustainable levels show that a persistent implementation of policies can be effective. These successes should encourage us to act now and to put forward an ambitious plan for the restoration of Europe’s ecosystems.JRC.D.3-Land Resource

Security at football grounds: A study from the stadium White House (Quito, Ecuador)

Por violencia entendemos las acciones que, un individuo o bien un grupo de individuos, cometen con el fin de causar daño a los otros o a sus bienes. De ese perímetro conceptual de la violencia, podemos destacar el protagonismo que tienen las agresiones en el entorno del fútbol, en donde ciertos grupos de hinchas —en lugar de pasar como meros observadores pasivos del juego—, quebrantan el estatismo del espectador para manifestar comportamientos violentos; nos referimos, en concreto, a los hooligans, a los ultras y, en general, a las barras bravas. Este estudio, de perfil exploratorio, presenta los resultados de una encuesta aplicada a la hinchada del Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (Ecuador), un equipo que se considera el segundo con mayor hinchada del país. Los resultados señalan que, a pesar de las prohibiciones, unos cuatro de cada diez hinchas consumen alcohol antes o durante los partidos. Asimismo, se realiza una crítica o denuncia de la sensación de inseguridad en el imaginario de los hinchas de este equipo referencial del fútbol ecuatoriano, una conclusión que se aporta sin pretender su generalización, pero que podría servir como punto de partida para otras investigaciones.By violence, we understand the actions that an individual or a group of individuals committed with the purpose of causing harm to others or their property. In this conceptual scope of violence, we highlight the role of the attacks in the environment of football, where certain groups of fans — rather than acting as passive observers of the game— profane the statism of the viewer to manifest violent behaviors; we refer in particular to the hooligans or the ultras. This exploratory study presents the results of a survey of the fans of LDU Quito (Ecuador), a team that is considered the second with most supporters of the country. The results show that, despite the prohibitions, about four in ten fans consume alcohol before or during games. Also, a review or complaint of the sense of insecurity in the minds of the fans of this reference Ecuadorian football team, a conclusion that is provided without seeking its generalization is made, but that could serve as a starting point for further research

La seguridad en los campos de fútbol: un estudio a partir del estadio casa blanca (quito, ecuador)

Por violencia entendemos las acciones que, un individuo o bien un grupo de individuos, cometen con el fin de causar daño a los otros o a sus bienes. De ese perímetro conceptual de la violencia, podemos destacar el protagonismo que tienen las agresiones en el entorno del fútbol, en donde ciertos grupos de hinchas —en lugar de pasar como meros observadores pasivos del juego—, quebrantan el estatismo del espectador para manifestar comportamientos violentos; nos referimos, en concreto, a los hooligans, a los ultras y, en general, a las barras bravas. Este estudio, de perfil exploratorio, presenta los resultados de una encuesta aplicada a la hinchada del Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (Ecuador), un equipo que se considera el segundo con mayor hinchada del país. Los resultados señalan que, a pesar de las prohibiciones, unos cuatro de cada diez hinchas consumen alcohol antes o durante los partidos. Asimismo, se realiza una crítica o denuncia de la sensación de inseguridad en el imaginario de los hinchas de este equipo referencial del fútbol ecuatoriano, una conclusión que se aporta sin pretender su generalización, pero que podría servir como punto de partida para otras investigaciones.By violence, we understand the actions that an individual or a group of individuals committed with the purpose of causing harm to others or their property. In this conceptual scope of violence, we highlight the role of the attacks in the environment of football, where certain groups of fans — rather than acting as passive observers of the game— profane the statism of the viewer to manifest violent behaviors; we refer in particular to the hooligans or the ultras. This exploratory study presents the results of a survey of the fans of LDU Quito (Ecuador), a team that is considered the second with most supporters of the country. The results show that, despite the prohibitions, about four in ten fans consume alcohol before or during games. Also, a review or complaint of the sense of insecurity in the minds of the fans of this reference Ecuadorian football team, a conclusion that is provided without seeking its generalization is made, but that could serve as a starting point for further research

Security at football grounds: A study from the stadium White House (Quito, Ecuador)

Por violencia entendemos las acciones que, un individuo o bien un grupo de individuos, cometen con el fin de causar daño a los otros o a sus bienes. De ese perímetro conceptual de la violencia, podemos destacar el protagonismo que tienen las agresiones en el entorno del fútbol, en donde ciertos grupos de hinchas —en lugar de pasar como meros observadores pasivos del juego—, quebrantan el estatismo del espectador para manifestar comportamientos violentos; nos referimos, en concreto, a los hooligans, a los ultras y, en general, a las barras bravas. Este estudio, de perfil exploratorio, presenta los resultados de una encuesta aplicada a la hinchada del Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (Ecuador), un equipo que se considera el segundo con mayor hinchada del país. Los resultados señalan que, a pesar de las prohibiciones, unos cuatro de cada diez hinchas consumen alcohol antes o durante los partidos. Asimismo, se realiza una crítica o denuncia de la sensación de inseguridad en el imaginario de los hinchas de este equipo referencial del fútbol ecuatoriano, una conclusión que se aporta sin pretender su generalización, pero que podría servir como punto de partida para otras investigaciones.By violence, we understand the actions that an individual or a group of individuals committed with the purpose of causing harm to others or their property. In this conceptual scope of violence, we highlight the role of the attacks in the environment of football, where certain groups of fans — rather than acting as passive observers of the game— profane the statism of the viewer to manifest violent behaviors; we refer in particular to the hooligans or the ultras. This exploratory study presents the results of a survey of the fans of LDU Quito (Ecuador), a team that is considered the second with most supporters of the country. The results show that, despite the prohibitions, about four in ten fans consume alcohol before or during games. Also, a review or complaint of the sense of insecurity in the minds of the fans of this reference Ecuadorian football team, a conclusion that is provided without seeking its generalization is made, but that could serve as a starting point for further research

La seguridad en los campos de fútbol: un estudio a partir del estadio casa blanca (quito, ecuador)

Por violencia entendemos las acciones que, un individuo o bien un grupo de individuos, cometen con el fin de causar daño a los otros o a sus bienes. De ese perímetro conceptual de la violencia, podemos destacar el protagonismo que tienen las agresiones en el entorno del fútbol, en donde ciertos grupos de hinchas —en lugar de pasar como meros observadores pasivos del juego—, quebrantan el estatismo del espectador para manifestar comportamientos violentos; nos referimos, en concreto, a los hooligans, a los ultras y, en general, a las barras bravas. Este estudio, de perfil exploratorio, presenta los resultados de una encuesta aplicada a la hinchada del Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito (Ecuador), un equipo que se considera el segundo con mayor hinchada del país. Los resultados señalan que, a pesar de las prohibiciones, unos cuatro de cada diez hinchas consumen alcohol antes o durante los partidos. Asimismo, se realiza una crítica o denuncia de la sensación de inseguridad en el imaginario de los hinchas de este equipo referencial del fútbol ecuatoriano, una conclusión que se aporta sin pretender su generalización, pero que podría servir como punto de partida para otras investigaciones.By violence, we understand the actions that an individual or a group of individuals committed with the purpose of causing harm to others or their property. In this conceptual scope of violence, we highlight the role of the attacks in the environment of football, where certain groups of fans — rather than acting as passive observers of the game— profane the statism of the viewer to manifest violent behaviors; we refer in particular to the hooligans or the ultras. This exploratory study presents the results of a survey of the fans of LDU Quito (Ecuador), a team that is considered the second with most supporters of the country. The results show that, despite the prohibitions, about four in ten fans consume alcohol before or during games. Also, a review or complaint of the sense of insecurity in the minds of the fans of this reference Ecuadorian football team, a conclusion that is provided without seeking its generalization is made, but that could serve as a starting point for further research

TAU FIBRIL WITH MEMBRANE LIPIDS: INSIGHT FROM COMPUTATIONAL MODELING AND SIMULATIONS

The microtubule-binding protein tau has been the center of researches concerning Alzheimer’s disease (AD) due to several clinical trials of β-amyloid therapies failing recently. The availability of the tau fibril structure from AD brain enables computational modeling studies to calculate binding affinities with different ligands. In this study, the tau paired helical filaments (PHF-Tau) (PDB ID: 5O3L) was used as receptor and interactions with the lipids: 3- alpha-cholesterol; 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine; and C18:1 sphingomyelin, were explored with molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and natural bond orbital analysis. Docking sites upon solvation of the protein with transferable interatomic potential- 3 points reveal the amphipathic nature of PHF-Tau and molecular dynamics simulations show that the embedded phosphocholine at the tail side gives high potential energy values with some amino acids forming H-bond interactions