Mexican Geography at the beginning of the 21st

Sin resume

La difícil inserción de la geografía iberoamericana en el mundo de las publicaciones internacionales

The article studies the difficulties that Ibero-American geographers find to get their studies in the complex world of international publications, specially in English-speaking countries.El artículo analiza la difícil inserción de los estudios geográficos iberoamericanos en el complejo espacio de las publicaciones internacionales y, en especial, de las angloamericanas

La construcción y evolución del espacio turístico de Acapulco (México)

In the twentieth century, Acapulco was transformed from a commercial and fishing port into a tourist center, which modified the urban landscape, accelerated population growth, environmental degradation began and increased social inequalities. Tourism in Acapulco has had an impact on the economy of the port, as well as on the urban growth and the surrounding space. This paper deals with the his tory of tourism from a territorial perspective, its territorial effects on the economy, and social and political aspects of the city.-En el siglo XX, Acapulco pasó de ser un puerto comercial y pesquero a convertirse en un centro turístico, lo cual modificó el paisaje urbano, aceleró el crecimiento de población, inició el deterioro ambiental e incrementó las desigualdades sociales. El turismo en Acapulco ha tenido un impacto espacial de relevancia al ser la actividad dominante y de articulación de la economía del puerto, situación perceptible en la conformación urbano-territorial de la ciudad y en la constante expansión y transformación del espacio turístico. El artículo aborda la historia del turismo desde una perspectiva territorial, con los diversos efectos y su impacto en los ámbitos económico, político y social de la ciudad.Au XXe siècle, Acapulco a cessé d’être un port commercial et de pêche pour se convertir en centre touristique, ce qui a modifié le paysage urbain, a accéléré la croissance de population, a initié la détérioration de l’environnement et a augmenté les inégalités sociales. Le tourisme à Acapulco a eu un impact spatial important, pour être l’activité dominante, sur l’articulation de l’économie du port, dans la conformation urbaine et territoriale de la ville ainsii que dans l’expansion constante et la transformation de l’espace touristique. L’article aborde l’histoire du tourisme depuis une perspective territoriale et détaille ses conséquences dans les domaines économiques, politiques et sociaux de la ville

Steroidogenesis in peripheral and transition zones of human prostate cancer tissue

The peripheral zone (PZ) and transition zone (TZ) represent about 70% of the human prostate gland with each zone having differential ability to develop prostate cancer. Androgens and their receptor are the primary driving cause of prostate cancer growth and eventually castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). De novo steroidogenesis has been identified as a key mechanism that develops during CRPC. Currently, there is very limited information available on human prostate tissue steroidogenesis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate steroid metabolism in human prostate cancer tissues with comparison between PZ and TZ. Human prostate cancer tumors were procured from the patients who underwent radical prostatectomy without any neoadjuvant therapy. Human prostate homogenates were used to quantify steroid levels intrinsically present in the tissues as well as formed after incubation with 2 µg/mL of 17-hydroxypregnenolone (17-OH-pregnenolone) or progesterone. A Waters Acquity ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to a Quattro Premier XE tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer using a C18 column was used to measure thirteen steroids from the classical and backdoor steroidogenesis pathways. The intrinsic prostate tissue steroid levels were similar between PZ and TZ with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), pregnenolone and 17-OH-pregnenolone levels higher than the other steroids measured. Interestingly, 5-pregnan-3,20-dione, 5-pregnan-3-ol-20-one, and 5-pregnan-17-ol-3,20-dione formation was significantly higher in both the zones of prostate tissues, whereas, androstenedione, testosterone, DHT, and progesterone levels were significantly lower after 60 min incubation compared to the 0 min control incubations. The incubations with progesterone had a similar outcome with 5-pregnan-3,20-dione and 5-pregnan-3-ol-20-one levels were elevated and the levels of DHT were lower in both PZ and TZ tissues. The net changes in steroid formation after the incubation were more observable with 17-OH-pregnenolone than with progesterone. In our knowledge, this is the first report of comprehensive analyses of intrinsic prostate tissue steroids and precursor-driven steroid metabolism using a sensitive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry assay. In summary, the PZ and TZ of human prostate exhibited similar steroidogenic ability with distinction in the manner each zone utilizes the steroid precursors to divert the activity towards backdoor pathway through a complex matrix of steroidogenic mechanisms

Boolean analysis identifies CD38 as a biomarker of aggressive localized prostate cancer.

The introduction of serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing nearly 30 years ago has been associated with a significant shift towards localized disease and decreased deaths due to prostate cancer. Recognition that PSA testing has caused over diagnosis and over treatment of prostate cancer has generated considerable controversy over its value, and has spurred efforts to identify prognostic biomarkers to distinguish patients who need treatment from those that can be observed. Recent studies show that cancer is heterogeneous and forms a hierarchy of tumor cell populations. We developed a method of identifying prostate cancer differentiation states related to androgen signaling using Boolean logic. Using gene expression data, we identified two markers, CD38 and ARG2, that group prostate cancer into three differentiation states. Cancers with CD38-, ARG2- expression patterns, corresponding to an undifferentiated state, had significantly lower 10-year recurrence-free survival compared to the most differentiated group (CD38+ARG2+). We carried out immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for these two markers in a single institution (Stanford; n = 234) and multi-institution (Canary; n = 1326) cohorts. IHC staining for CD38 and ARG2 in the Stanford cohort demonstrated that combined expression of CD38 and ARG2 was prognostic. In the Canary cohort, low CD38 protein expression by IHC was significantly associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS), seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), extra-capsular extension (ECE) in univariable analysis. In multivariable analysis, ARG2 and CD38 IHC staining results were not independently associated with RFS, overall survival, or disease-specific survival after adjusting for other factors including SVI, ECE, Gleason score, pre-operative PSA, and surgical margins

La reestructuración industrial en México, cinco aspectos fundamentales

La modernización de la industria mexicana en la crisis ha implicado mayor peso del mercado exterior y una transformación del régimen de propiedad. Estos cambios se insertan en la crisis internacional de largo plazo del capitalismo, durante la cual las escalas de producción y los métodos productivos se transformaron al tenor de la recomposición del capital, el mercado y la revolución científico-técnica. La manufactura tradicional pierde peso en la economía de los países desarrollados y se fragmenta y dispersa por el mundo bajo el control de las trasnacionales. En este libro, Marco Gómez de la UAM-Xochimilco se acerca a los cambios internacionales del proceso de trabajo; Josefina Morales, del Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas (IIEc) de la UNAM -coordinadora del trabajo- presenta un análisis de la reestructuración industrial de México; Francisco Vidal, analista independiente, examina la privatización y los ajustes de la industria estatal; Olivia Sarahí Angeles, tambien del IIEc, reflexiona sobre la recomposición de las empresas y grupos privados que operan en la industria; y Atlántida Coll- Hurtado, del Instituto de Geografía de la UNAM, expone las manifestaciones espaciales del proceso industrial nacional

A simple method for detecting oncofetal chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans in bladder cancer urine

Proteoglycans in bladder tumors are modified with a distinct oncofetal chondroitin sulfate (ofCS) glycosaminoglycan that is normally restricted to placental trophoblast cells. This ofCS-modification can be detected in bladder tumors by the malarial VAR2CSA protein, which in malaria pathogenesis mediates adherence of parasite-infected erythrocytes within the placenta. In bladder cancer, proteoglycans are constantly shed into the urine, and therefore have the potential to be used for detection of disease. In this study we investigated whether recombinant VAR2CSA (rVAR2) protein could be used to detect ofCS-modified proteoglycans (ofCSPGs) in the urine of bladder cancer patients as an indication of disease presence. We show that ofCSPGs in bladder cancer urine can be immobilized on cationic nitrocellulose membranes and subsequently probed for ofCS content by rVAR2 protein in a custom-made dot-blot assay. Patients with high-grade bladder tumors displayed a marked increase in urinary ofCSPGs as compared to healthy individuals. Urine ofCSPGs decreased significantly after complete tumor resection compared to matched urine collected preoperatively from patients with bladder cancer. Moreover, ofCSPGs in urine correlated with tumor size of bladder cancer patients. These findings demonstrate that rVAR2 can be utilized in a simple biochemical assay to detect cancer-specific ofCS-modifications in the urine of bladder cancer patients, which may be further developed as a noninvasive approach to detect and monitor the disease

Identification of DEK as a potential therapeutic target for neuroendocrine prostate cancer

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is an aggressive subtype of prostate cancer which does not respond to hormone therapy. Research of NEPC has been hampered by a lack of clinically relevant in vivo models. Recently, we developed a first-in-field patient tissue-derived xenograft model of complete neuroendocrine transdifferentiation of prostate adenocarcinoma. By comparing gene expression profiles of a transplantable adenocarcinoma line (LTL331) and its NEPC subline (LTL331R), we identified DEK as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for NEPC. In the present study, elevated DEK protein expression was observed in all NEPC xenograft models and clinical NEPC cases, as opposed to their benign counterparts (0%), hormonal naïve prostate cancer (2.45%) and castration-resistant prostate cancer (29.55%). Elevated DEK expression was found to be an independent clinical risk factor, associated with shorter disease-free survival of hormonal naïve prostate cancer patients. DEK silencing in PC-3 cells led to a marked reduction in cell proliferation, cell migration and invasion. The results suggest that DEK plays an important role in the progression of prostate cancer, especially to NEPC, and provides a potential biomarker to aid risk stratification of prostate cancer and a novel target for therapy of NEPC