Sex differences in behavioral traits related with high sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of cocaine

Cocaine is the most prevalent illegal stimulant drug in Europe among the adult population. Its abuse is characterized by a faster substance abuse disorder (SUD) development than other drugs, with high vulnerability to relapse. However, there does not exist an effective treatment for cocaine dependence. Sex differences have been reported in psychological disorders including SUD. For this reason, it is essential to identify risk factors that predict susceptibility or resilience to cocaine addiction for the development of effective prevention strategies considering sex differences. In the present study, the main objective was to determine more sensitive phenotypes to the conditioned reinforcing effects of cocaine in both sexes. Anxiety-like behavior and the locomotor response to novelty were evaluated in the elevated plus maze, and despair in the tail suspension test, as well as vulnerability traits linked with a high sensitivity to the reinforcing effects of a subthreshold dose of cocaine (1 mg/kg) in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in male and female mice. Our results indicated that only female mice with high anxiety, low locomotor response to novelty or low despair levels acquired CPP induced by cocaine, while male mice with low anxiety, high locomotor response to novelty or high despair levels presented a higher susceptibility to the rewarding effects of cocaine than others. These sex differences in the results reveal an opposite pattern in males and females on the relationship between anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors and cocaine vulnerability, demonstrating the need to include female mice in preclinical studies

Review of the present and future perspective of the forced share

Trabajo de fin de Grado. Grado en Derecho. Curso académico 2017-2018[ES] La legítima es una institución del Derecho de sucesiones que limita la libertad de disposición del causante a favor de determinadas personas denominadas legitimarios. Actualmente, los cambios sociales y económicos han provocado, nuevamente, el debate entre los defensores y detractores de la legítima. En consecuencia, es necesario realizar un análisis del presente y las perspectivas de futuro de la legítima en el Derecho común. Para ello, se analizará también la regulación de los diferentes Derechos forales y el Derecho comparado, además de los argumentos de la doctrina actual y la dirección de la jurisprudencia en esta materia[EN] The forced share is an institution of inheritance law that limits the freedom of testation of the deceased in favor of certain people called forced heirs. Currently, social and economic changes have caused, once again, the discussion among advocates and opponents of the forced share. Consequently, it is necessary to carry out a review of the present and future perspective of the forced share in the Spanish common law. To this end, the regulation of the Spanish regional law and Comparative law will also be analyzed, as well as the arguments from the current doctrine and the direction of jurisprudence in this matte

Aerosol scenario effect in elastic lidar data inversion for lidar ratio estimation: a case study over a coastal dust-influenced area

Comunicación presentada en: V Reunión Española de Ciencia y Tecnología de Aerosoles – RECTA 2011 celebrada del 27 al 29 de junio de 2011 en CIEMAT, Madrid

Aplicación de técnicas de biología molecular para la caracterización de la población microbiana en la degradación de compuestos orgánicos volátiles (COV) mediante biofiltros y biofiltros percoladores

Los compuestos orgánicos volátiles (COV) son unos de los principales contaminantes atmosféricos presentes en las emisiones gaseosas de una gran variedad de industrias. El conocimiento de los efectos nocivos que presentan estas sustancias sobre el medio ambiente y la salud humana ha tenido como consecuencia el desarrollo de normativas ambientales en la Unión Europea en relación al control de las emisiones industriales de COV. Esto ha originado, a su vez, el interés por el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías de depuración para la reducción de estos contaminantes. En este sentido, los sistemas biológicos como los biofiltros y los biofiltros percoladores se presentan como una alternativa de tratamiento eficaz, económica y respetuosa con el medio ambiente. En la actualidad existen numerosos estudios de laboratorio realizados bajo condiciones de operación controladas cuyo fin principal es determinar la eficacia del biotratamiento. Sin embargo, la información a nivel microbiológico del proceso es todavía escasa. El desarrollo de nuevas aplicaciones de las técnicas de biología molecular para la identificación microbiana en ecología ambiental proporciona nuevas posibilidades para profundizar en el papel que la comunidad microbiana tiene en el proceso de biofiltración, siendo ésta una de las líneas emergentes en este campo. La presente tesis doctoral se ha centrado en la identificación y el seguimiento de las comunidades microbianas en biofiltros y biofiltros percoladores para el tratamiento de emisiones gaseosas de COV, así como en la relación de las mismas con el funcionamiento de estos sistemas. El análisis de las comunidades bacterianas llevó a cabo mediante la puesta a punto y la aplicación de las siguientes técnicas de biología molecular: hibridación fluorescente in situ (FISH), electroforesis en gel con gradiente desnaturalizante (DGGE) y secuenciación del gen 16S ARNr. En una primera parte, las técnicas de biología molecular se aplicaron en experimentos de laboratorio bajo condiciones de funcionamiento controladas en los que se utilizaron tanto biofiltros como biofiltros percoladores para el tratamiento de emisiones gaseosas que contenían un único contaminante. Se realizaron tres estudios experimentales cada uno de ellos con uno de los siguientes compuestos: isopropanol, estireno y 2-butoxietanol; todos ellos constituyentes habituales de las emisiones gaseosas de numerosos sectores industriales. En una segunda parte, se procedió a la transferencia del proceso de biofiltro percolador para su aplicación industrial al tratamiento de las emisiones de COV procedentes del sector de recubrimientos. Se realizaron dos estudios experimentales centrados en la caracterización microbiana, uno a nivel de planta piloto y otro utilizando el proceso de biofiltro percolador como solución final de depuración de las emisiones de una instalación industrial. En los estudios de laboratorio se evaluó la influencia de los parámetros de operación: carga másica volumétrica (CV) y tiempo de residencia a volumen vacío (TRVV), así como del material de relleno y del inóculo empleado sobre la comunidad bacteriana desarrollada y la eficacia del proceso en cada biorreactor. A lo largo de los experimentos se detectó una dinámica de las poblaciones bacterianas con un incremento significativo de la abundancia relativa de grupos bacterianos que incluyen especies con capacidad para degradar compuestos orgánicos y/o para mantener su actividad metabólica en ambientes con elevadas concentraciones de dichos compuestos. En este sentido, el grupo Gammaproteobacteria y el género Pseudomonas sp. que destacan por esta capacidad presentaron finalmente elevada abundancia relativa. Las poblaciones bacterianas desarrolladas demostraron ser diferentes y más complejas a las identificadas en el inóculo. Además, se demostró que el uso de fango activado para la puesta en marcha de los biorreactores fue la mejor opción, ya que, a pesar de la ligera mejora en la capacidad de eliminación utilizando un cultivo puro no se justifica la complejidad que a nivel industrial supone el uso de cultivos puros frente al uso de fango activado para la inoculación de los biorreactores. A nivel industrial, se evaluó la influencia de los parámetros de operación, así como, de los patrones irregulares de emisión en cuanto a concentración y composición, demostrándose la efectividad del proceso de biofiltro percolador para el tratamiento de emisiones industriales. A nivel microbiológico, se corroboraron los resultados a escala de laboratorio indicando la capacidad del grupo Gammaproteobacteria para la degradación de COV.Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are one of the main air pollutants which are present in gaseous emissions from a wide range of industrial activities. The knowledge of the adverse effects on human health and environment caused by these substances has led to the development of environmental regulations in Europe related to the control of industrial VOC emissions. Thus, these regulations have generated interest on the development of new treatment technologies in order to reduce these pollutants. Therefore, biological processes, such as biofilters and biotrickling filters, provide a successful treatment, which is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative. Nowadays, there are many studies being carried out at laboratory-scale under controlled operational conditions with the aim of determining the biotreatment efficiency. However, information about the process from a microbiological point of view is still scarce. The development of novel applications of molecular biology tools for microbial identification on the field of environmental ecology provides new possibilities to deepen the role that the microbial community plays in the biofiltration process, with this being one of the emergent research subjects in this field. This doctoral thesis focuses on the identification and monitoring of microbial communities in biofilters and biotrickling filters for the removal of VOCs from gaseous emissions, as well as their relationship with the system performance. The analysis of bacterial communities has been carried out by the development and application of the following molecular biological tools: fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Firstly, the molecular biology tools have been applied in laboratory experiments under controlled operating conditions, in which biofilters and biotrickling filters were used for the treatment of gaseous emissions containing a single contaminant. Three experimental studies were performed, each of them with one of the following compounds: isopropanol, styrene and 2-butoxyethanol. All of these are the usual components of gaseous emissions of many industrial activities. Secondly, the process of biotrickling filter was scaled-up to industrial scale to be applied for the treatment of VOC emissions from the coating sector. Two experimental studies focused on the microbial characterization were carried out, one at pilot-scale and the other using a full-scale biotrickling filter as the final solution for the treatment of the waste gas emissions in an industrial facility. In the laboratory studies, the influence of the operational parameters: inlet load (IL) and empty bed residence time (EBRT) and the packing material and the inoculum source on the bacterial community and on the process efficiency in each bioreactor was evaluated. Throughout the experiments, a dynamic of the bacterial populations was observed, with an important increase in the relative abundance of bacterial groups that include species with the ability to degrade organic compounds and/or maintain their metabolic activity in environments with high concentrations of these compounds has been observed. In this sense, the Gammaproteobacteria group and the genus Pseudomonas sp., which were highlighted for this capability, finally presented the highest relative abundance. The bacterial populations were different and more complex than the bacterial community identified in the inoculum source. In addition, the use of activated sludge for the start-up of the bioreactors has been demonstrated as the best option. The slight improvement in the elimination capacity using a pure culture does not justify the complexity that supposes the use of pure cultures compared with the use of activated sludge for the bioreactor inoculation at the industrial scale. At the industrial level, the influence of the operational parameters and the irregular gaseous emission patterns of concentration and composition was evaluated. It demonstrated that the biotrickling filter process is effective for the treatment of industrial emissions. At microbiological level, it demonstrated the importance of the species belonging to the Gammaproteobacteria bacteria group in the degradation of organic solvents, corroborating the conclusions extracted from studies at laboratory and pilot plant scale

Study of Mass Oxygen Transfer in a Biotrickling Filter for Air Pollution Control

Biotrickling filtration is a potential and cost effective alternative for the treatment of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in air, so it is necessary to deepen into the key aspects of design and operation for the optimization of this technology. One of these factors is the oxygen mass transfer of the process. This study would facilitate the selection of the packing material and the mathematical modelling and simulation of bioreactors. Four plastic packing materials with a different specific surface area have been evaluated in terms of oxygen mass transfer. For the tested range of superficial liquid velocities, data show a relationship between the kLa and the superficial liquid velocity in all packing materials used, except for the biggest plastic rings. No significant differences in mass transfer coefficients at low liquid velocities were observed, however dependency between oxygen transfer and specific surface area increased considerably for high liquid velocities. No significant influences of the superficial air velocity were observed

Working memory effects in speeded RSVP tasks

The author may only post his/her version provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be provided by inserting the DOI number of the article in the following sentence: “The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/[insert DOI]”The present paper examines the effects of memory contents and memory load in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) speeded tasks, trying to explain previous inconsistent results. We used a one target (Experiment 1) and a two-target (Experiment 2) RSVP task with a concurrent memory load of one or four items, in a dual-task paradigm. A relation between material in working memory and the target in the RSVP impaired the identification of the target. In Experiments 3 and 4, the single task was to determine whether any information in memory matched the target in the RSVP, while varying the memory load. A match was detected faster than a non-match, although only when there was some distance between targets in the RSVP (Experiment 4). The results suggest that memory contents automatically capture attention, slowing processing when the memory contents are irrelevant to the task, and speeding processing when they are relevant.Data collection was made possible thanks to the financed research project by the ‘‘Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Plan Nacional I+D+i 2008–2011. Ref. PSI2010-20175’’. This work was also supported by MH47432

Heterocyclic GSK-3 allosteric modulators

[ES] La presente invención se refiere a derivados heterocíclicos de quinolinas sustituidas como inhibidores alostéricos del enzima glucógeno sintasa quinasa 3 (GSK-3). Estos compuestos, por tanto, son útiles para la fabricación de un medicamento para el tratamiento y/o prevención de enfermedades en las que GSK-3 esté implicada, tales como, enfermedades neurodegenerativas, enfermedades inflamatorias, cáncer, diabetes, así como para promover diversos procesos regenerativos.[EN] The invention relates to heterocyclic derivatives of substituted quinolines as allosteric inhibitors of the glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) enzyme. Thus, said compounds can be used in the production of a drug for the treatment and/or prevention of diseases in which GSK-3 is involved, such as: neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory diseases, cancer and diabetes, as well as to promote a plurality of regenerative processes.Peer reviewedConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España)A1 Solicitud de patente con informe sobre el estado de la técnic

Evolution of bacterial community in isopropanol-degrading biotrickling filters by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)

In this study, the bacterial population of two biotrickling filters (BFTs) treating isopropanol by using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is analyzed. The experimental system consists in two identical laboratoryscale BFTs named as BFT1 and BFT2. The two bioreactors were operated in parallel during an experimental period of one year working under intermittent feeding conditions Operating conditions and maintenance were identical in both BFT