Las tobas/travertinos del barranco de Calabozo: Un ejemplo de construcción rápida de un edificio carbonático alimentado por una tubería de regadío

El barranco de Calabozo, en la Isla de Gran Canaria, muestra como rasgo excepcional la presencia de un edificio tobáceo/travertínico alimentado por una tubería de un sistema de regadío. La tubería se abasteció de pozos cuyas aguas son ricas en gases de origen volcánico y tienen temperaturas que alcanzan los 31ºC. En estas condiciones el agua se mineraliza con rapidez, enriqueciéndose en HCO3- y CO32-. Cuando sale de la tubería se desgasifica rápidamente (pierde el CO2) precipitando el carbonato que forma el edificio carbonático. El edificio del barranco de Calabozo es un edificio bioconstruido colgante, formado por: a) canal abastecedor (la tubería), b) pendiente c) barreras o cascadas y 4) pozas. El edificio funcionó escasas décadas y su tasa de crecimiento fue muy rápida. Esto explicaría los tres aspectos característicos de este edificio: 1) las barreras son bioconstrucciones de macrofitas, 2) las facies cristalinas gruesas son dominantes y responden a un desequilibrio fuerte por pérdida rápida de CO2 y 3) se observan rasgos diagéneticos a pesar de lo reciente que es el edificio. Las macrofitas ejercieron un papel de soporte para los precipitados inorgánicos, pero los microorganismos también jugaron un papel importante en la precipitación de las microfacies micríticas

Slavery and the african cultural legacy in the Caribbean

Con autorización de la editorial para este libro.[EN] The purpose of this book is to raise awareness among a wide audience of one of the most significant and shameful phenomena for humanity, as was the enslavement of over twelve and a half million Africans who were brought to America and forced to work and live as slaves. Many countries participated in the slave trade at different times and withvaried intensity (Great Britain, Portugal, France, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, United States...).[ES] El propósito de esta obra es dar a conocer a un público amplio uno de los fenómenos de mayor trascendencia y vergüenza para la humanidad como fue la esclavización de más de doce millones y medio de africanos que fueron trasladados a América, obligados a trabajar y vivir como esclavos. Muchos países participaron en la trata de esclavos en distintos momentos y con diferente intensidad (Gran Bretaña, Portugal, Francia, España, Dinamarca, Países Bajos, Alemania, Estados Unidos…).Connected Worlds: The Caribbean, Origin of Modern World. This project has received funding from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska Curie grant agreement Nº 823846. This project is directed by professor Consuelo Naranjo Orovio, Institute of History-CSIC.Peer reviewe

Recomendaciones –guía– en la lesión aguda medular intraoperatoria en cirugía correctora del raquis

Producción CientíficaEl objetivo del tratamiento quirúrgico para la escoliosis, cifosis y otro tipo de deformidades del raquis es la fusión de las vértebras para que la columna vertebral no pueda curvarse. Se colocan implantes metálicos (barras, tornillos, alambres, placas, etc.), para mantener el raquis mientras las vértebras se fusionan. La artrodesis vertebral se potencia con injerto (autogénico y/o alogénico) de hueso. El abordaje quirúrgico puede ser posterior, anterior o combinación de ambos. La cirugía toracoscópica se puede utilizar en el abordaje anterior del raquis dorsal. La cirugía correctora del raquis en pediatría y adultos es un procedimiento prolongado (en general más de 4 horas), tiene las complicaciones potenciales de la cirugía mayor (hemorragia grave, hipotermia, infección, embolismo graso o aéreo, hipotensión arterial, etc.)1,2 y entre las patrimoniales, las neurológicas (plejia, paresia) son las más catastróficas3,

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism combination pattern of the Klotho gene with non-cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality, with cardiovascular death being extensively investigated. However, non-cardiovascular mortality represents the biggest percentage, showing an evident increase in recent years. Klotho is a gene highly expressed in the kidney, with a clear influence on lifespan. Low levels of Klotho have been linked to CKD progression and adverse outcomes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Klotho gene have been associated with several diseases, but studies investigating the association of Klotho SNPs with noncardiovascular death in CKD populations are lacking. The main aim of this study was to assess whether 11 Klotho SNPs were associated with non-cardiovascular death in a subpopulation of the National Observatory of Atherosclerosis in Nephrology (NEFRONA) study (n ¼ 2185 CKD patients). After 48 months of follow-up, 62 cardiovascular deaths and 108 non-cardiovascular deaths were recorded. We identified a high non-cardiovascular death risk combination of SNPs corresponding to individuals carrying the most frequent allele (G) at rs562020, the rare allele (C) at rs2283368 and homozygotes for the rare allele (G) at rs2320762 (rs562020 GG/AG þ rs2283368 CC/CT þ rs2320762 GG). Among the patients with the three SNPs genotyped (n ¼ 1016), 75 (7.4%) showed this combination. Furthermore, 95 (9.3%) patients showed a low-risk combination carrying all the opposite genotypes (rs562020 AA þ rs2283368 TT þ rs2320762 GT/TT). All the other combinations [n ¼ 846 (83.3%)] were considered as normal risk. Using competing risk regression analysis, we confirmed that the proposed combinations are independently associated with a higher fhazard ratio [HR] 3.28 [confidence interval (CI) 1.51-7.12]g and lower [HR 6 × 10- (95% CI 3.3 × 10--1.1 × 10-)] risk of suffering a non-cardiovascular death in the CKD population of the NEFRONA cohort compared with patients with the normal-risk combination. Determination of three SNPs of the Klotho gene could help in the prediction of non-cardiovascular death in CKD

Association of candidate gene polymorphisms with chronic kidney disease : Results of a case-control analysis in the NEFRONA cohort

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Despite classical clinical risk factors for CKD and some genetic risk factors have been identified, the residual risk observed in prediction models is still high. Therefore, new risk factors need to be identified in order to better predict the risk of CKD in the population. Here, we analyzed the genetic association of 79 SNPs of proteins associated with mineral metabolism disturbances with CKD in a cohort that includes 2,445 CKD cases and 559 controls. Genotyping was performed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. We used logistic regression models considering different genetic inheritance models to assess the association of the SNPs with the prevalence of CKD, adjusting for known risk factors. Eight SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs2238135, rs1800247, rs385564, rs4236, rs2248359, and rs1564858) were associated with CKD even after adjusting by sex, age and race. A model containing five of these SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs1800247, rs4236, and rs2248359), diabetes and hypertension showed better performance than models considering only clinical risk factors, significantly increasing the area under the curve of the model without polymorphisms. Furthermore, one of the SNPs (the rs2248359) showed an interaction with hypertension, being the risk genotype affecting only hypertensive patients. We conclude that 5 SNPs related to proteins implicated in mineral metabolism disturbances (Osteopontin, osteocalcin, matrix gla protein, matrix metalloprotease 3 and 24 hydroxylase) are associated to an increased risk of suffering CKD

Insect trace fossils in aeolian deposits and calcretes from the Canary Islands: Their ichnotaxonomy, producers, and palaeoenvironmental significance

Insect trace fossils from Canary Islands have been known and discussed since the beginnings of the last century. The most common and widespread morphologies have been tentatively referred to the ichnogenera Celliforma, Palmiraichnus or Rebuffoichnus and attributed to bees, coleopterans, and locusts until now. Herein they are included in a new single ichnospecies: Rebuffoichnus guanche isp. nov., which can be distinguished from other ichnospecies by the presence of an antechamber. R. guanche are considered herein as coleopteran (Curculionidae or Scarabaeidae) pupation chambers. This is supported by themostly horizontal orientation in soils, ellipsoid shape, dispersion of sizes, and particularly the internal surface of the wall chamber that is completely smoothed, even in both extremes. In addition, it is supported by the finding of one adult weevil in a similar trace fossil and palaeoenvironment of Australia. All these characters argue against their assignation neither, to egg pods of a locust species nor to bee cells, the latter also contradicted by the lack of spiral closure. The wall of R. guanche shows the same petrological features of those of the palaeosol in which specimens are found. In those specimens found in aeolian deposits, the wall is composed of sand grains similar to those found in the dunes or sand sheets. The diversity of microfabrics found in calcretes is higher and depends on the calcrete hostrock and the degree of development of the calcretes. In poorly developed calcretes the trace fossils reflect very well the calcrete hostrock, whereas in more developed ones they usually show peloidal/ooidal or laminar microfabrics. These similarities indicate that, in contrast to some previous reports, insects utilised as building material that of the surrounding soil, as expectable for a coleopteran pupation chamber. Lower numbers of R. guanche are recorded in calcretes from the western Canary Islands, where no aeolian deposits are present, in contrast to the high densities in the aeolian deposits of the eastern Islands. Coleopterans would first colonise thin soils with calcretes developed on basaltic or sedimentary rocks in young islands and later colonise dunes as they appear when the islands aged. The widespread presence of calcretes, aeolian deposits, and trace fossils in the easternmost and older Canary Islands is driven by both the geological evolution of the Islands and climatic conditions. Both the calcretes and pupation chambers formed during the relatively wetter periods within otherwise prevailing arid to semiarid conditions

Las Hoyas

Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Respuesta de borraja ( Borago officinalis L.) a la fertilización con N, P, K, y S en el Centro Sur de Chile

Borage ( Borago officinalis L.) is an oilseed with a high gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) content in its seed. The objective of this study was to determine the response of borage seed yield, oil content, and fatty acid composition to N, P, K, and S fertilizer treatments. Three experiments were conducted in Osorno (40 o 22′S, 73 o 04′W; 72 m.a.s.l.), Chile. The first experiment was conducted during the 2005-2006 growing season, with four N rates (0, 100, 200, and 300 kg N ha -1 ), three P rates (0, 60, and 120 kg P 2 0 5 ha -1 ) and two K rates (0 and 150 kg K 2 0 ha -1 ). The second experiment was conducted in 2006-2007 and evaluated only the effect of four N rates (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N ha -1 ) was evaluated because there was no response to P and K in the first experiment. The third experiment was conducted in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 and evaluated only two rates of S, 0 and 40 kg S ha -1 were evaluated. Seed yield was not affected by N, P, K, or their interactions in any of the experiments. As N rates increased GLA content increased. Mean seed yield increased to 98 kg ha -1 when appliying of 40 kg S ha -1 . Results indicate that borage has a higher response to S applications than N. Further research is needed to determine the interactions between N and S applications, given that the experiments were conducted on soils with high levels of P and K levels.La borraja ( Borago officinalis L.) es una oleaginosa con alto contenido de ácido gamma-linolénico (GLA) en su semilla. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la respuesta en rendimiento de semillas, contenido y composición del aceite de borraja, a la fertilización con N, P, K y S. Tres experimentos fueron conducidos en Osorno (40º22’ S, 73º04’ O; 72 m.s.n.m.), Chile. El primer experimento fue conducido en la temporada 2005-2006, con cuatro dosis de N (0, 100, 200 y 300 kg N ha-1 ), tres dosis de P (0, 60 y 120 kg P2O5 ha-1 ) y dos dosis de K (0 y 150 kg K2O ha-1 ). El segundo experimento fue conducido en el 2006-2007, cuando sólo se evaluaron cuatro dosis de N (0, 50, 100, y 150 kg N ha-1 ) ya que en la primera temporada no se observó respuesta a P y K. El tercer experimento se realizó en 2005-2006 y 2006-2007 y se evaluaron dos dosis de S, 0 y 40 kg S ha-1. El rendimiento de semillas no fue afectado por la dosis de N, P, K o la interacción entre ellos en ninguno de los experimentos. A medida que aumentó la dosis de N se observó un aumento en el contenido de GLA. La fertilización con 40 kg S ha-1 aumentó en promedio el rendimiento de semillas en 98 kg ha-1 . Los resultados indican que la borraja tiene una mejor respuesta a S que a N en las condiciones evaluadas de suelos con alto nivel de P y K; sin embargo, se requiere de un estudio en mayor profundidad para determinar el efecto de las interacciones entre N y S