Rate equations approach to simulate world population trends

According to UN statistical data and projections world population will begin to decrease by the middle of this century. This paper uses rate equations (fully analogous to those employed in condensed matter physics) to simulate the time evolution of world population, making use of UN population data in the time interval 1900-2010, and to extrapolate the evolution of world population into the near future. This approach has not been used in economics and population dynamics. The simulation predicts a population decline by midcentury. The economic consequences of population decline would be far reaching

BOCADEVA 0714 Gulf of Cadiz Anchovy Egg Survey and 2014 SSB preliminary estimates

This working document provides a brief description of the survey, laboratory analysis and estimation procedures used to obtain the Gulf of Cadiz anchovy SSB by DEPM for 2014 in the South-Atlantic Iberian Stock. Results are preliminary, because the estimation of the spawning fraction is not available yet

Liver Transplantation in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Across Milan Criteria

Milan criteria are the most frequently used limits for liver transplantation (LT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but our previous experience with expanded criteria showed encouraging results. The aim of this study was to investigate whether our expanded Clinica Universitaria de Navarra (CUN) criteria (1 nodule up to 6 cm or 2-3 nodules up to 5 cm each) could be used to select patients with HCC for LT. Eighty-five patients with HCC fulfilling CUN criteria were included as candidates for LT. Survival of transplanted HCC patients was compared with survival of patients without HCC (n = 180). After the exclusion of 2 patients with tumor seeding of the chest wall due to pre-LT tumor biopsy, survival and recurrence rates were compared according to tumor staging. Twenty-six out of 85 (30%) patients exceeded Milan criteria. Twelve patients had tumor progression on the waiting list. Patients exceeding Milan criteria had a higher dropout rate due to tumoral progression. One-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 10-year survival rates of the 73 transplanted HCC patients were 86%, 74%, 70%, 61%, and 50%, respectively. Survival of patients with HCC was significantly lower than that of patients without HCC, but by multivariate analysis, HCC was not associated with lower survival. Tumor recurrence and survival rates were similar for patients fulfilling Milan and CUN criteria. Pathological staging showed 55 patients within Milan criteria, 7 patients exceeding them but within CUN criteria, and 9 patients exceeding CUN criteria. Tumor recurrence rates were 2/55 (4%), 0/7 (0%), and 4/9 (44%) in each of these groups, respectively. In conclusion, following CUN criteria could increase the number of HCC patients who could benefit from LT, without worsening the results. Because of the short number of patients in this series, these data need external validation

Temporal coincidence of the annual eelgrass Zostera marina and juvenile scallops Argopecten ventricosus (Sowerby II, 1842) in Bahía Concepción, Mexico

Temporal coincidence of the annual eelgrass Zostera marina and juvenile scallops Argopecten ventricosus (Sowerby II, 1842) in Bahia Concepcion, Mexico

The Differentiation and Promotion of Students’ Rights in Portugal

This investigation includes a differential study (Study 1) and a quasi-experimental research (Study 2). In Study 1, the objective was to establish to what extent students’ rights existed and analyse the differentiation between students’ rights with Portuguese and immigrant mothers, throughout school years. The sample consisted of 537 students with Portuguese and immigrant mothers, distributed by different school years (7th, 9th and 11th grades). The Children’s Rights Scale (Hart et al., 1996; Veiga, 2001) was used. In Study 2, the purpose was to analyse the effects on students’ rights of the use by teachers of a communicational intervention program, supervised by school psychologists. The sample involved 7th and 9th grade students, in a total of four classes, two forming the experimental groups (n = 36) and two the control groups (n = 43); as in Study 1, the Children’s Rights Scale was used. The results indicated the effectiveness of the communicational intervention program on students’ rights and are consistent with previous studies. An implication is that psychologists and teachers, working together and taking a human rights perspective, may develop an important role in projects to promote the students’ rights

Evaluación de pacientes con fractura de radio distal tratados con fijación percutánea

En fracturas del radio distal existe una tendencia hacia la reducción abierta y fijación interna, sin embargo, el tratamiento mediante reducción cerrada y enclavamiento percutáneo continúa ofreciendo buenos resultados pero es necesaria una terapia física y rehabilitación temprana y adecuada. Material y métodos: Evaluamos a pacientes con fractura de radio distal tratados mediante reducción por maniobras y enclavamiento percutáneo, utilizamos escalas clínicas funcionales como la escala de DASH, la escala de muñeca de la Clínica Mayo y Escala Visual Análoga para valorar dolor. Los resultados de los pacientes fueron comparados a las 12 y 24 semanas. Así mismo comparamos a pacientes con o sin rehabilitación. Resultados: se evaluó a 60 pacientes con la escala DASH, en pacientes con rehabilitación obtuvieron 4.3 puntos, mientras que sin rehabilitación fue de 10.5 puntos (p = 0.00001), en la escala de la Clínica Mayo con rehabilitación tuvieron 86.7 puntos y sin rehabilitación tuvieron 77.8 puntos (p = 0.00001). El EVA no fue significativo. Conclusión: Todos los pacientes mostraron mejoría en sus escalas de evaluación clínica. Sin embargo, al comparar a pacientes con rehabilitación y sin rehabilitación la diferencia fue mayor en la escala de la Clínica Mayo y en la escala de DAS

Risk factors of lung, head and neck, esophageal, and kidney and urinary tract carcinomas after liver transplantation: the effect of smoking withdrawal

Liver transplant recipients have an increased risk of malignancy. Smoking is related to some of the most frequent causes of posttransplant malignancy. The incidence and risk factors for the development of neoplasia related to smoking (head and neck, lung, esophageal, and kidney and urinary tract carcinomas) were studied in 339 liver transplant recipients. Risk factors for the development of smoking-related neoplasia were also studied in 135 patients who had a history of smoking so that it could be determined whether smoking withdrawal was associated with a lower risk of malignancy. After a mean follow-up of 7.5 years, 26 patients were diagnosed with 29 smoking-related malignancies. The 5- and 10-year actuarial rates were 5% and 13%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, smoking and older age were independently associated with a higher risk of malignancy. In the smoker subgroup, the variables related to a higher risk of malignancy were active smoking and older age. In conclusion, smoking withdrawal after liver transplantation may have a protective effect against the development of neoplasia

Specific interaction of methionine adenosyltransferase with free radicals

Although free radicals have been traditionally implicated in cell injury, and associated to pathophysiological processes, recent data implicate them in cell signaling events. Free radicals are naturally occurring oxygen-,nitrogen-and sulfur-derived species with an unpaired electron, such as superoxide, hydroxyl radical or nitric oxide. In order to assess the role of free radicals in cell signaling, we have studies the modulator effect of oxygen and nitrogen active species on liver methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT), a key metabolic enzyme. The presence of 10 cysteine residues per subunit, makes liver MAT a sensitive target for oxidation/nitrosylation. Here we show that purified MAT from rat liver is nitrosylated and oxidized in vitro. Incubation with H202 or the NO donor S-nitrosylated GSH (GSNO), diminish MAT activity in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, the inactivation derived from both oxidation and nitrosylation, was reverted by GSH. MAT inactivation originates on the specific and covalent modification of the sulphydryl group of cysteine residue 121. We also studied how free radicals modulate MAT activity in vivo. It was previously shown that MAT activity is strongly dependent on cellular GSH levels. Generation of oxygen and nitrogen active species in rats by injection of LPS, induced a decrease of liver MAT activity. This effect might derive from nitrosylation and/or oxidation of the enzyme. Modulation of liver MAT by NO is further supported by the inactivation of this enzyme observed in experimental models in which NO is produced; such as the administration of NO donors to rats and in hepatocytes cultured in hypoxia, a condition that induces the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Oxidation also controls liver MAT activity in a cell environment as shown in CHO cells stably transfected with rat liver MAT cDNA upon addition of H2O2 to the culture medium. This effect depends upon the generation of the hydroxyl radical. On the basis of the metabolic implications of liver MAT, together with the structural features accounting for the sensitivity of this enzyme to active oxygen and nitrogen species, we propose that modulation of MAT by these agents could be a mechanism to regulate the consumption of ATP in the liver, and thus preserve cellular viability under different stress conditions