Recomendaciones para la informatización de los servicios de neonatología

El objetivo es proporcionar el marco para la recopilación de datos en el área de la salud de los recién nacidos que permitan la armonización de la asistencia sea cual sea su lugar de nacimiento. Para ello es necesario conocer la población atendida y la mayor dificultad es la ausencia de un sistema de recopilación de datos y de unos estándares asistenciales para todas las condiciones del recién nacido. Es imprescindible disponer de un registro único en el que se recojan los principales datos perinatales y neonatales de todos los recién nacidos. La Sociedad Española de Neonatología (SEN) debe ser el depositario y responsable de la base de datos, que debe cumplir todas las exigencias legales de privacidad y confidencialidad. A nivel de cada centro es posible conocer el peso relativo de la afección atendida por grupos de diagnósticos relacionados (DRG) y los resultados desde el aspecto de calidad asistencial. Mediante análisis comparativos (estudios de benchmarking,. . .) es posible establecer las pautas de diagnóstico y tratamiento. Es necesario conocer la población de recién nacidos atendida y definir criterios de diagnóstico y tratamiento para mejorar la calidad asistencial. La SEN desea dirigirse a los responsables asistenciales de los centros hospitalarios para pedirles su apoyo y colaboración en la puesta en marcha de estas recomendaciones

Dioxin Toxicity In Vivo Results from an Increase in the Dioxin-Independent Transcriptional Activity of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) is the nuclear receptor mediating the toxicity of dioxins -widespread and persistent pollutants whose toxic effects include tumor promotion, teratogenesis, wasting syndrome and chloracne. Elimination of Ahr in mice eliminates dioxin toxicity but also produces adverse effects, some seemingly unrelated to dioxin. Thus the relationship between the toxic and dioxin-independent functions of Ahr is not clear, which hampers understanding and treatment of dioxin toxicity. Here we develop a Drosophila model to show that dioxin actually increases the in vivo dioxin-independent activity of Ahr. This hyperactivation resembles the effects caused by an increase in the amount of its dimerisation partner Ahr nuclear translocator (Arnt) and entails an increased transcriptional potency of Ahr, in addition to the previously described effect on nuclear translocation. Thus the two apparently different functions of Ahr, dioxin-mediated and dioxin-independent, are in fact two different levels (hyperactivated and basal, respectively) of a single function

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Leaf metabolic traits reveal hidden dimensions of plant form and function

International audienceThe metabolome is the biochemical basis of plant form and function, but we know little about its macroecological variation across the plant kingdom. Here, we used the plant functional trait concept to interpret leaf metabolome variation among 457 tropical and 339 temperate plant species. Distilling metabolite chemistry into five metabolic functional traits reveals that plants vary on two major axes of leaf metabolic specialization—a leaf chemical defense spectrum and an expression of leaf longevity. Axes are similar for tropical and temperate species, with many trait combinations being viable. However, metabolic traits vary orthogonally to life-history strategies described by widely used functional traits. The metabolome thus expands the functional trait concept by providing additional axes of metabolic specialization for examining plant form and function

Regulation of Mouse Small Heat Shock Protein αb-Crystallin Gene by Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

The stress-inducible small heat shock protein (shsp)/αB-crystallin gene is expressed highly in the lens and moderately in other tissues. Here we provide evidence that it is a target gene of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) transcription factor. A sequence (−329/−323, CATGCGA) similar to the consensus xenobiotic responsive element (XRE), called here XRE-like, is present in the αBE2 region of αB-crystallin enhancer and can bind AhR in vitro and in vivo. αB-crystallin protein levels were reduced in retina, lens, cornea, heart, skeletal muscle and cultured muscle fibroblasts of AhR−/− mice; αB-crystallin mRNA levels were reduced in the eye, heart and skeletal muscle of AhR−/− mice. Increased AhR stimulated αB-crystallin expression in transfection experiments conducted in conjunction with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) and decreased AhR reduced αB-crystallin expression. AhR effect on aB-crystallin promoter activity was cell-dependent in transfection experiments. AhR up-regulated αB-crystallin promoter activity in transfected HeLa, NIH3T3 and COS-7 cells in the absence of exogenously added ligand (TCDD), but had no effect on the αB-crystallin promoter in C2C12, CV-1 or Hepa-1 cells with or without TCDD. TCDD enhanced AhR-stimulated αB-crystallin promoter activity in transfected αTN4 cells. AhR could bind to an XRE-like site in the αB-crystallin enhancer in vitro and in vivo. Finally, site-specific mutagenesis experiments showed that the XRE-like motif was necessary for both basal and maximal AhR-induction of αB-crystallin promoter activity. Our data strongly suggest that AhR is a regulator of αB-crystallin gene expression and provide new avenues of research for the mechanism of tissue-specific αB-crystallin gene regulation under normal and physiologically stressed conditions

Leaf metabolic traits reveal hidden dimensions of plant form and function

The metabolome is the biochemical basis of plant form and function, but we know little about its macroecological variation across the plant kingdom. Here, we used the plant functional trait concept to interpret leaf metabolome variation among 457 tropical and 339 temperate plant species. Distilling metabolite chemistry into five metabolic functional traits reveals that plants vary on two major axes of leaf metabolic specialization—a leaf chemical defense spectrum and an expression of leaf longevity. Axes are similar for tropical and temperate species, with many trait combinations being viable. However, metabolic traits vary orthogonally to life-history strategies described by widely used functional traits. The metabolome thus expands the functional trait concept by providing additional axes of metabolic specialization for examining plant form and function

Maslinic Acid, a Natural Triterpene, Induces a Death Receptor-Mediated Apoptotic Mechanism in Caco-2 p53-Deficient Colon Adenocarcinoma Cells

Maslinic acid (MA) is a natural triterpene present in high concentrations in the waxy skin of olives. We have previously reported that MA induces apoptotic cell death via the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in HT29 colon cancer cells. Here, we show that MA induces apoptosis in Caco-2 colon cancer cells via the extrinsic apoptotic pathway in a dose-dependent manner. MA triggered a series of effects associated with apoptosis, including the cleavage of caspases -8 and -3, and increased the levels of t-Bid within a few hours of its addition to the culture medium. MA had no effect on the expression of the Bax protein, release of cytochrome-c or on the mitochondrial membrane potential. This suggests that MA triggered the extrinsic apoptotic pathway in this cell type, as opposed to the intrinsic pathway found in the HT29 colon-cancer cell line. Our results suggest that the apoptotic mechanism induced in Caco-2 may be different from that found in HT29 colon-cancer cells, and that in Caco-2 cells MA seems to work independently of p53. Natural antitumoral agents capable of activating both the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways could be of great use in treating colon-cancer of whatever origin.This study was supported by grants Group BIO 157 from the Technology and Innovation Council of the Andalucian regional government and AGL2006-12210-C03-02/ALI, SAF2005-01627, ISCIII-RTICC (RD06/0020/0046) from the Spanish government and European Union FEDER funds

In Vivo Dioxin Favors Interleukin-22 Production by Human CD4+ T Cells in an Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR)-Dependent Manner

The transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) mediates the effects of a group of chemicals known as dioxins, ubiquitously present in our environment. However, it is poorly known how the in vivo exposure to these chemicals affects in humans the adaptive immune response. We therefore assessed the functional phenotype of T cells from an individual who developed a severe cutaneous and systemic syndrome after having been exposed to an extremely high dose of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD).T cells of the TCDD-exposed individual were studied for their capacity to produce cytokines in response to polyclonal and superantigenic stimulation, and for the expression of chemokine receptors involved in skin homing. The supernatants from T cells of the exposed individual contained a substantially increased amount of interleukin (IL)-22 but not of IL-17A, interferon (IFN)-γ or IL-10 when compared to nine healthy controls. In vitro experiments confirmed a direct, AhR-dependent, enhancing effect of TCDD on IL-22 production by CD4+ T cells. The increased production of IL-22 was not dependent on AhR occupancy by residual TCDD molecules, as demonstrated in competition experiments with the specific AhR antagonist CH-223191. In contrast, it was due to an increased frequency of IL-22 single producing cells accompanied by an increased percentage of cells expressing the skin-homing chemokine receptors CCR6 and CCR4, identified through a multiparameter flow cytometry approach. Of interest, the frequency of CD4+CD25(hi)FoxP3+ T regulatory cells was similar in the TCDD-exposed and healthy individuals.This case strongly supports the contention that human exposure to persistent AhR ligands in vivo induce a long-lasting effect on the human adaptive immune system and specifically polarizes CD4+ T cells to produce IL-22 and not other T cell cytokines with no effect on T regulatory cells