108 research outputs found

    Estrés oxidativo en peces inducido por retardantes de flama bromados, una revisión

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    Background. Flame retardants are compounds that are applied as additives to various products in order to reduce fire risks, among the most used are brominated flame retardants (BFR) due to their cost and efficiency. These compounds can reach and impact aquatic environments; however, a review of oxidative stress in fish is lacking. Goals. To provide a review on the induction of oxidative stress in fish induced by brominated flame retardants and to contribute new lines of research. Methods. A Google Scholar search was carried out and thirty articles were considered according to the inclusion criteria. Results. Brominated flame retardants are capable of inducing reactive oxygen species, damage to cell membranes, proteins and DNA, as well as mo- difying the response of biomarkers related to antioxidant defence. It was also found in in vitro studies that a possible cause of oxidative stress induction by these compounds occurs through alterations in mitochondrial activity that cause increases in the production of reactive oxygen species. Conclusions. It is necessary to increase studies that consider BFR mixtures, particularly tetrabromobisphenol A and the new brominated flame retardants because their presence in the environment is likely due to the absence of regulatory restrictions on their use. Carry out studies with fish species with reduced geographical distribution due to their high susceptibility to pollutants. Use biomarkers that involve oxidative damage and antioxidant defences to obtain a broad panorama of these phenomena in the same study and contribute to other toxicological investigations that collaborate in the establishment of standards that control the release of these pollutants into the environment.Antecedentes. Los retardantes de flama son compuestos que se aplican como aditivos a diversos productos con el fin de reducir riesgos de incendios, entre los más usados se encuentran los retardantes de flama bromados (RFB) por su costo y eficiencia. Estos compuestos pueden alcanzar e impactar a los ambientes acuáticos; sin embargo, se carece de una revisión sobre el estrés oxidativo que ocasionan en los peces. Objetivos. Proveer una revisión sobre la inducción de estrés oxidativo en peces ocasionado por retardantes de flama bromados y aportar nuevas líneas de investigación. Métodos. Se realizó una búsqueda en Google Académico y se consideraron treinta artículos de acuerdo a los criterios de inclusión. Resultados. Los retardantes de flama bromados son capaces de inducir especies reactivas del oxígeno, daños en las membranas celulares, proteínas y en el ADN, así como modificar la respuesta de biomarcadores relacionados con la defensa antioxidante. También se encontró en estudios in vitro que una posible causa de inducción de es- trés oxidativo por estos compuestos ocurre a través de alteraciones en la actividad mitocondrial que causa incrementos en la producción de especies reactivas del oxígeno. Conclusiones. Es necesario incrementar estudios que consideren mezclas de RFB, particularmente, al tetrabromobisfenol A y a los nuevos retardantes de flama bromados debido a que su presencia en el ambiente es probable por la ausencia de restricciones normativas en su uso. Realizar estudios con especies de peces con reducida distribución geográfica por su alta susceptibilidad a contaminantes. Utilizar biomarcadores que involucren al daño oxidativo y a las defensas antioxidantes en un mismo estudio para obtener un panorama amplio de estos fenómenos y contribuir con otras investigaciones toxicológicas que colaboren al establecimiento de normas que controlen la liberación de estos contaminantes al ambiente

    Association of heart rate and blood pressure among European adolescents with usual food consumption: the HELENA study

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    Background and aim: In adults, there is some evidence that improving diet reduces blood pressure (BP) and the subsequent risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, studies that analyse this association in adolescents are still scarce. The objective of the present study was to examine the associations between heart rate, systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) among European adolescents and usual intake of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat, fish, high-sugar foods and savoury snacks. Methods and results: In total, 2283 adolescents from the HELENA-study (12.5-17.5 years old; 1253 girls) were included. Dietary intake was assessed using two computerized 24-hour dietary recalls. Age, sex, body mass index, maternal educational level, physical activity and Tanner stage were considered as confounders. Associations were examined by mixed model analysis stratified by sex. Tests for trend were assessed by tertiles of intake while controlling for the aforementioned confounders. Dairy products and fish intake were negatively associated with BP and heart rate. Significant decreasing trends were observed for heart rate and BP across tertiles of dairy products, fish intake and high-sugar foods intake (p < 0.05). Significant increasing trends were observed for SBP and MAP across tertiles of savoury snack intake (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Significant but small inverse associations between fish and dairy products consumption with blood pressure and heart rate have been found in European adolescents. Dietary intervention studies are needed to explore these associations in the context of the modification of several risk factors for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases

    Treatment and reutilization of effluents: one Mediterranean project

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    The problematic of effluent treatment from olive oil industry as been the subject of an European Commission funded project (INCO-MED programme): “Mediterranean Usage of Biotechnological Treated effluent Water”. The potential that effluent offers to increase the availability of water, in mediterranean regions, was the final goal of the project, co-ordinated by INETI with partners from EU and MPC. In the project different systems for the treatment of this effluent had been studied: reactors systems (Intensive type) based on the jet-loop principle (JACTO) and an anaerobic UASB hybrid type reactor technology; lagoons (extensive type) for municipal wastewater treatment were also applied. The aerobic JACTO system demonstrated high unit capacity for biological conversion and operation at different loadings, allowing the removal of the pollutant organic load and the toxicity associated with this effluent. The use of this type of reactor for pre-treatment of OOWW prior to disposal on a lagoon system was tested at FSS (Morocco). Use of fungi as a pre-treatment was tested by UNITUS (Italy), EBC (Turkey) and CBS (Tunisia). In this way the effluent could be “improved” as demonstrated in the case of anaerobic digestion and biogas production (CBS). Effluent improvement and enrichment with phosphate was also tested by UNITUS. Analytical monitoring methodologies were developed at IA (Spain) and treated effluents were tested for a number of agricultural applications in different countries. The different alternatives studied will be analysed and compared taking account of technological and socio-economical criteria in relation with the project objectives

    The ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: Molecular Gas Reservoirs in High-redshift Galaxies

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    We study the molecular gas properties of high-z galaxies observed in the ALMA Spectroscopic Survey (ASPECS) that targets an ˜1 arcmin2 region in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF), a blind survey of CO emission (tracing molecular gas) in the 3 and 1 mm bands. Of a total of 1302 galaxies in the field, 56 have spectroscopic redshifts and correspondingly well-defined physical properties. Among these, 11 have infrared luminosities {L}{IR}\gt {10}11 {L}⊙ , i.e., a detection in CO emission was expected. Out of these, 7 are detected at various significance in CO, and 4 are undetected in CO emission. In the CO-detected sources, we find CO excitation conditions that are lower than those typically found in starburst/sub-mm galaxy/QSO environments. We use the CO luminosities (including limits for non-detections) to derive molecular gas masses. We discuss our findings in the context of previous molecular gas observations at high redshift (star formation law, gas depletion times, gas fractions): the CO-detected galaxies in the UDF tend to reside on the low-{L}{IR} envelope of the scatter in the {L}{IR}{--}{L}{CO}\prime relation, but exceptions exist. For the CO-detected sources, we find an average depletion time of ˜1 Gyr, with significant scatter. The average molecular-to-stellar mass ratio ({M}{{H}2}/M *) is consistent with earlier measurements of main-sequence galaxies at these redshifts, and again shows large variations among sources. In some cases, we also measure dust continuum emission. On average, the dust-based estimates of the molecular gas are a factor ˜2-5× smaller than those based on CO. When we account for detections as well as non-detections, we find large diversity in the molecular gas properties of the high-redshift galaxies covered by ASPECS

    Oncogenic Role of Secreted Engrailed Homeobox 2 (EN2) in Prostate Cancer

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    Engrailed variant-2 (EN2) has been suggested as a potential diagnostic biomarker; however, its presence and functional role in prostate cancer (PCa) cells is still controversial or unknown. Here, we analyzed 1) the expression/secretion profile of EN2 in five independent samples cohorts from PCa patients and controls (prostate tissues and/or urine) to determine its utility as a PCa biomarker; and 2) the functional role of EN2 in normal (RWPE1) and tumor (LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3) prostate cells to explore its potential value as therapeutic target. EN2 was overexpressed in our two cohorts of PCa tissues compared to control and in tumor cell lines compared with normal-like prostate cells. This profile was corroborated in silico in three independent data sets [The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)/Grasso]. Consistently, urine EN2 levels were elevated and enabled discrimination between PCa and control patients. EN2 treatment increased cell proliferation in LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3 cells, migration in RWPE1/PC3 cells, and PSA secretion in LNCaP cells. These effects were associated, at least in the androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells, with increased AKT and androgen-receptor phosphorylation levels and with modulation of key cancer-associated genes. Consistently, EN2 treatment also regulated androgen-receptor activity (full-length and splicing variants) in androgen-sensitive 22Rv1 cells. Altogether, this study demonstrates the potential utility of EN2 as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for PCa and provides novel and valuable information to further investigate its putative utility to develop new therapeutic tools in PCa

    Hsp90 orchestrates transcriptional regulation by Hsf1 and cell wall remodelling by MAPK signalling during thermal adaptation in a pathogenic yeast

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    Acknowledgments We thank Rebecca Shapiro for creating CaLC1819, CaLC1855 and CaLC1875, Gillian Milne for help with EM, Aaron Mitchell for generously providing the transposon insertion mutant library, Jesus Pla for generously providing the hog1 hst7 mutant, and Cathy Collins for technical assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Orbit and radiant of sporadic fireball imaged by the Spanish meteor network

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    The development of a network of meteor observing stations allows for a continuous monitoring of meteor phenomena. One of the main goals of the SPanish Meteor Network (SPMN) is the analysis of the physico-chemical properties of meteoroids from multiple station data. This provides useful data to improve our knowledge about meteoroid streams and meteoroids of sporadic origin, so that we can reach a better understanding of the mechanisms that deliver these materials to the Earth. In fact, the orbits of large sporadic meteoroids are an important source of impact hazard on the surfaces of artificial satellites. We have started a continuous monitoring program in order to get very reliable orbital data of such a stochastic source to be able to improve models of the meteoroid flux in the near-Earth environment [1]. We currently operate 29 meteor observing stations in Spain. Most of them employ high-sensitivity CCD video devices, although low-scan all-sky CCD cameras are also used. In this context, we have imaged on April 17, 2011 a four-station sporadic fireball with an absolute magnitude of about -7±1. The analysis of this bolide is presented here

    Communication, development, and social change in Spain: A field between institutionalization and implosion

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    This paper renders an account of the rapid institutionalization of the academic field of Communication for Development and Social Change (CDCS) in Spain in recent years following a period of neglect and marginalization. The ongoing expansion of the field of CDSC in the Spanish context is understood as a process of implosion, i.e. a collapse inwards, which results from the inconsistencies and weaknesses of fast and late institutionalization. The methodological approach for this inquiry is a documental review of both academic literature and research and institutional reports produced in Spain between 1980 and 2010. Based on this review, the paper contrasts the trajectory of the field in Spain with the debates at the international level, establishing relevant continuities and differences.This article is part of the Research Project (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain) CSO2014-52005-R titled ‘Evaluation and Monitoring of Communication for Development and Social Change in Spain: design of indicators to measure its social impact’ (2015–2017)17 página

    Shape of the oxygen abundance profiles in CALIFA face-on spiral galaxies

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    Y.A. acknowledges financial support from the Ramón y Cajal programme (RyC-2011-09461). Y.A. and A.I.D. acknowledge support from the project AYA2013-47742-C4-3-P from the Spanish MINECO, as well as the “Study of Emission-Line Galaxies with Integral-Field Spectroscopy” (SELGIFS) programme, funded by the EU (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IRSES-612701). Support for L.G. is provided by the Ministry of Economy, Development, and Tourism’s Millennium Science Initiative through grant IC120009, awarded to The Millennium Institute of Astrophysics, MAS. LG acknowledges support by CONICYT through FONDECYT grant 3140566. R.M.G.D. acknowledges support from the Spanish grant AYA2014-57490-P, and from the “Junta de Andalucía” P12-FQM2828 project. RAM thanks the Spanish program of International Campus of Excellence Moncloa (CEI). IM and A.d.O. acknowledge support from the Spanish MINECO grant AYA2013-42227P. JMA acknowledges support from the European Research Council Starting Grant (SEDmorph, P.I. V. Wild). Support for MM has been provided by DGICYT grant AYA2013-47742-C4-4-P. PSB acknowledges support from the Ramón y Cajal programme, grant ATA2010-21322-C03-02 from the Spanish MINECO. CJW acknowledges support through the Marie Curie Career Grant Integration 303912.We measured the gas abundance profiles in a sample of 122 face-on spiral galaxies observed by the CALIFA survey and included all spaxels whose line emission was consistent with star formation. This type of analysis allowed us to improve the statistics with respect to previous studies, and to properly estimate the oxygen distribution across the entire disc to a distance of up to 3-4 disc effective radii (re). We confirm the results obtained from classical H ii region analysis. In addition to the general negative gradient, an outer flattening can be observed in the oxygen abundance radial profile. An inner drop is also found in some cases. There is a common abundance gradient between 0.5 and 2.0 re of αO/H =-0.075 dex/re with a scatter of σ = 0.016 dex/re when normalising the distances to the disc effective radius. By performing a set of Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, we determined that this slope is independent of other galaxy properties, such as morphology, absolute magnitude, and the presence or absence of bars. In particular, barred galaxies do not seem to display shallower gradients, as predicted by numerical simulations. Interestingly, we find that most of thegalaxies in the sample with reliable oxygen abundance values beyond ~2 effective radii (57 galaxies) present a flattening of the abundance gradient in these outer regions. This flattening is not associated with any morphological feature, which suggests that it is a common property of disc galaxies. Finally, we detect a drop or truncation of the abundance in the inner regions of 27 galaxies in the sample; this is only visible for the most massive galaxies.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
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