Saberes locales en el mundo global : huertas, agua y conocimiento agroecológico en la Alpujarra Alta Occidental

Programa de Doctorado en Estudios MedioambientalesTomando el saber ecológico local (Toledo, 2005; Berkes, 1999) como factor clave para la comprensión del mundo rural, el presente trabajo aborda la forma en que dicho saber se crea, se transmite y se modifica en un socioecosistema a partir de mecanismos de intercambio y aprendizaje social, así como la contribución del mismo al mantenimiento del propio socioecosistema. Partiendo de la hipótesis de que el bienestar de los sistemas naturales y sociales está estrechamente relacionado (Berkes y Folke, 1998; Adger, 2000), consideramos que la permanencia de un socioecosistema concreto está directamente asociada a ciertas prácticas locales (saber ecológico local) y a las formas de transmisión y relación social que lo sostienen. Dicho conocimiento, dinámico, adaptable y creativo a lo largo del tiempo, juega de hecho un importante papel en el devenir del mismo. El caso de estudio elegido para abordar la investigación es el municipio de la Taha, en la Alta Alpujarra Occidental, provincia de Granada, espacio de especial interés para observar las interrelaciones entre aspectos biofísicos y culturales a través de las prácticas agrícolas, el sistema hidráulico y las formas de relación social que los posibilitan, en un momento en el que se está produciendo un interesante diálogo entre el conocimiento local y foráneo.Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Antropología Social, Psicología Básica y Salud Públic

Búsqueda de modelos QSAR para la actividad repelente de sesquiterpenos naturales frente al mosquito de la Fiebre Amarilla, Aedes aegypti

El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido desarrollar modelos QSAR aplicando la topología molecular y el análisis de regresión multilineal para la predicción de la repelencia espacial frente al mosquito de la Fiebre Amarilla,  Aedesa egypti  de un grupo de sesquiterpenos naturales. Validados los modelos, se realiza un cribado molecular y se seleccionan nuevos sesquiterpenos potencialmente activos

Etnografía de la bicicleta en Granada

Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Antropología Social, Psicología Básica y Salud PúblicaVersión del edito

Carbon nanodot–based electrogenerated chemiluminescence biosensor for miRNA-21 detection

A simple carbon nanodot–based electrogenerated chemiluminescence biosensor is described for sensitive and selective detection of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21), a biomarker of several pathologies including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The photoluminescent carbon nanodots (CNDs) were obtained using a new synthesis method, simply by treating tiger nut milk in a microwave reactor. The synthesis is environmentally friendly, simple, and efficient. The optical properties and morphological characteristics of the CNDs were exhaustively investigated, confirming that they have oxygen and nitrogen functional groups on their surfaces and exhibit excitation-dependent fluorescence emission, as well as photostability. They act as co-reactant agents in the anodic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of [Ru(bpy)3]2+, producing different signals for the probe (single-stranded DNA) and the hybridized target (double-stranded DNA). These results paved the way for the development of a sensitive ECL biosensor for the detection of miRNA-21. This was developed by immobilization of a thiolated oligonucleotide, fully complementary to the miRNA-21 sequence, on the disposable gold electrode. The target miRNA-21 was hybridized with the probe on the electrode surface, and the hybridization was detected by the enhancement of the [Ru(bpy)3]2+/DNA ECL signal using CNDs. The biosensor shows a linear response to miRNA-21 concentration up to 100.0 pM with a detection limit of 0.721 fM. The method does not require complex labeling steps, and has a rapid response. It was successfully used to detect miRNA-21 directly in serum samples from heart failure patients without previous RNA extraction neither amplification processThis study is funded by the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) projects (TRANSNANOAVANSENS, S2018/NMT-4349, CAM/B2017/BMD-3686) and Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Spanish Government) projects: CTQ2015-71955-REDT (ELECTROBIONET), CTQ2014-53334-C2-1-R and PID2020-116728RB-I0

La revictimización de la víctima de violencia contra la mujer en la investigación preliminar del Ministerio Público de Independencia 2019

Esta investigación titulada “La Revictimización de la víctima de violencia contra la mujer en la investigación preliminar del Ministerio Público de Independencia 2019”, tiene como finalidad determinar si se hace una correcta interpretación por parte del titular de la acción penal con respecto a los casos de violencia contra la mujer y si realmente se brinda una protección tanto legal como emocional a las víctimas. Con respecto a la metodología de esta investigación, se empleó un enfoque cualitativo, con un diseño de teoría fundamentada y tipo de investigación básica, lo que permitió obtener una información apropiada a través de los instrumentos de recolección de datos. Asimismo, a través del análisis deductivoy descriptivo se obtuvo como resultado que la víctima de violencia contra la mujer es revictimizada debido a una incorrecta interpretación de la norma procesal y los actos de investigación reiterativos, lo que incrementa más aun el daño causado inicialmente a la víctima. Por último, se concluyó que, si bien el legislador planteó una posible solución refiriendo que las declaraciones de las víctimas se pueden realizar a través de la entrevista única, para que puedan ser tramitadas como prueba anticipada, sin embargo, en la práctica esto se ve limitada solo para los delitos contra la libertad y libertad sexual

Assessment of Quality of Life Following Diagnosis in Patients with Cervicofacial Non-melanoma Skin Cancer

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common neoplasm. The characteristics of this disease (location in aesthetically sensitive areas, the appearance of successive tumors during follow-up, and high rates of survival) are such that the concept of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is of particular importance. The aim of the present study was to describe and analyses patient quality of life following diagnosis with cervicofacial NMSC. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with cervicofacial NMSC, confirmed by skin biopsy. In each case, when the definitive diagnosis of NMSC was established, the patient completed the Skin Cancer Index questionnaire and demographic data, health status, and sun exposure habits were recorded. The study population was composed of 220 patients with histologically confirmed cervicofacial NMSC. The mean score obtained for the Skin Cancer Index questionnaire was 54.1 (SD 21.9), in which the social-aesthetic component had a mean score of 76.7 (SD 26.2), while the emotional component had a mean score of 23 (SD 25.1). Male patients, those with secondary or higher education, and those who had no history of anxiety or depression had significantly higher mean scores for HRQoL. This study demonstrated that the diagnosis of cervicofacial NMSC significantly impacts HRQoL and that certain population groups (women, persons with only primary or no education qualifications, and those a history of anxiety or depression) are more susceptible. The questionnaire scores obtained were lower than those reported in previous studies on this topic and reflect a particularly strong impact on emotional aspects of patient quality of life

Current status of L. infantum infection in stray cats in the Madrid region (Spain): implications for the recent outbreak of human leishmaniosis?

BACKGROUND: Since 2009, the incidence of human leishmaniosis in the SW of the Madrid region has been unusually high. Although dogs are the main reservoir for this disease, a role played by dogs in this outbreak has been ruled out and investigators are now considering other hosts (eg. cats, rabbits, hares) as possible alternative reservoirs. This study was designed to examine the Leishmania infantum status of stray cats in Madrid to assess its possible implications in the human leishmaniosis outbreak. METHODS: 346 captured stray cats were tested for antibodies against L. infantum by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique (IFAT) and nested-PCR methods were used to detect Leishmania DNA in blood samples of cats testing seropositive for L. infantum and/or retroviruses infection. Cats were also tested for Toxoplasma gondii using the direct agglutination test (DAT) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) antigen and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies (PetChek* FIV/FeLV). The presence of intestinal parasites was determined using a routine coprological method. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of L. infantum infection (cut off ≥ 1/100) was 3.2% (11/346). However, it was not possible to amplify Leishmania DNA in any of the blood samples. Seropositivity was not associated with sex, age, capture site, clinical status, retrovirus infection or T. gondii seropositivity. Of the 11 cats seropositive for L. infantum, 3 also tested positive for FIV, none for FeLV and 6 for T. gondii. It should be mentioned that the prevalence of FeLV p27 antigen was 4% and of FIV antibody was 9.2%. Although the seroprevalence of T. gondii was quite high at 53.5%, no T. gondii oocysts were found in any of the faeces samples analysed (n = 287). In contrast, intestinal parasites were detected in 76 (26.5%) samples, Toxocara cati being the most prevalent. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a stable L. infantum infection situation among the stray cats of the Madrid area; the disease is uncommon and no clinical cases have been reported to date. The detection of other zoonotic parasites such as T. gondii and T. cati in stray cats indicates a need to adopt strict control measures in this population

MoS2-Carbon Nanodots as a New Electrochemiluminescence Platform for Breast Cancer Biomarker Detection

In this work, we present the combination of two different types of nanomaterials, 2D molybdenum disulfide nanosheets (MoS2-NS) and zero-dimensional carbon nanodots (CDs), for the development of a new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) platform for the early detection and quantification of the biomarker human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), whose overexpression is associated with breast cancer. MoS2-NS are used as an immobilization platform for the thiolated aptamer, which can recognize the HER2 epitope peptide with high affinity, and CDs act as coreactants of the anodic oxidation of the luminophore [Ru(bpy)3]2+. The HER2 biomarker is detected by changes in the ECL signal of the [Ru(bpy)3]2+/CD system, with a low detection limit of 1.84 fg/mL and a wide linear range. The proposed method has been successfully applied to detect the HER2 biomarker in human serum samplesThis work has been financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PID2020-116728RB-I00, PID2020-116661RB-I00, CTQ2015-71955-REDT (ELECTROBIONET)), Community of Madrid (TRANSNANOAVANSENS, S2018/NMT-4349, and FotoArt (P2018/NMT4367), project S2018/NMT-4291 TEC2SPACE), MINECO (project CSIC13-4E-1794) and EU (FEDER, FSE). IMDEA Nanociencia receives support from the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (MINECO, Grant CEX2020-001039-S)

Vanadium Decreases Hepcidin mRNA Gene Expression in STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats, Improving the Anemic State

We are grateful for the support received from the Consejeria de Innovacion, Ciencia y Empresa, Andalusian Regional Government (Project P06-CTS-01435), and from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (SAF2011-29648); the CIBERehd is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.This paper forms part of the Doctoral Program in Nutrition and Food Science of the University of Granada.Diabetes is a disease with an inflammatory component that courses with an anemic state. Vanadium (V) is an antidiabetic agent that acts by stimulating insulin signaling. Hepcidin blocks the intestinal absorption of iron and the release of iron from its deposits. We aim to investigate the effect of V on hepcidin mRNA expression and its consequences on the hematological parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Control healthy rats, diabetic rats, and diabetic rats treated with 1 mgV/day were examined for five weeks. The mineral levels were measured in diet and serum samples. Hepcidin expression was quantified in liver samples. Inflammatory and hematological parameters were determined in serum or whole blood samples. The inflammatory status was higher in diabetic than in control rats, whereas the hematological parameters were lower in the diabetic rats than in the control rats. Hepcidin mRNA expression was significantly lower in the V-treated diabetic rats than in control and untreated diabetic rats. The inflammatory status remained at a similar level as the untreated diabetic group. However, the hematological profile improved after the V-treatment, reaching similar levels to those found in the control group. Serum iron level was higher in V-treated than in untreated diabetic rats. We conclude that V reduces gene expression of hepcidin in diabetic rats, improving the anemic state caused by diabetes.Consejeria de Innovacion, Ciencia y Empresa, Andalusian Regional Government P06-CTS-01435Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity SAF2011-29648Instituto de Salud Carlos III European Commissio