Contribución al Atlas Polínico de la Flora Ornamental de Interés Apícola en las Islas Canarias, España

XV lnternational A.P.L.E. Symposium of Palynolog

Typification of names of plants described by Carlos Pau from Morocco (1908-1922)

The vascular plant names proposed by Carlos Pau from Morocco between 1908 and 1922 were studied and, when necessary and possible, typified. Nine lectotypes have been designated; most of them preserved in MA and BC herbaria (isolectotypes at BCN, G, LD, and P)

Orchestrated control of filaggrin-actin scaffolds underpins cornification

Epidermal stratification critically depends on keratinocyte differentiation and programmed death by cornification, leading to formation of a protective skin barrier. Cornification is dynamically controlled by the protein filaggrin, rapidly released from keratohyalin granules (KHGs). However, the mechanisms of cornification largely remain elusive, partly due to limitations of the observation techniques employed to study filaggrin organization in keratinocytes. Moreover, while the abundance of keratins within KHGs has been well described, it is not clear whether actin also contributes to their formation or fate. We employed advanced (super-resolution) microscopy to examine filaggrin organization and dynamics in skin and human keratinocytes during differentiation. We found that filaggrin organization depends on the cytoplasmic actin cytoskeleton, including the role for α- and β-actin scaffolds. Filaggrin-containing KHGs displayed high mobility and migrated toward the nucleus during differentiation. Pharmacological disruption targeting actin networks resulted in granule disintegration and accelerated cornification. We identified the role of AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1), which controls binding preference and function of heat shock protein B1 (HspB1), facilitating the switch from actin stabilization to filaggrin processing. Our results suggest an extended model of cornification in which filaggrin utilizes actins to effectively control keratinocyte differentiation and death, promoting epidermal stratification and formation of a fully functional skin barrier

BRG1 interacts with SOX10 to establish the melanocyte lineage and to promote differentiation

Mutations in SOX10 cause neurocristopathies which display varying degrees of hypopigmentation. Using a sensitized mutagenesis screen, we identified Smarca4 as a modifier gene that exacerbates the phenotypic severity of Sox10 haplo-insufficient mice. Conditional deletion of Smarca4 in SOX10 expressing cells resulted in reduced numbers of cranial and ventral trunk melanoblasts. To define the requirement for the Smarca4 -encoded BRG1 subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, we employed in vitro models of melanocyte differentiation in which induction of melanocyte-specific gene expression is closely linked to chromatin alterations. We found that BRG1 was required for expression of Dct, Tyrp1 and Tyr, genes that are regulated by SOX10 and MITF and for chromatin remodeling at distal and proximal regulatory sites. SOX10 was found to physically interact with BRG1 in differentiating melanocytes and binding of SOX10 to the Tyrp1 distal enhancer temporally coincided with recruitment of BRG1. Our data show that SOX10 cooperates with MITF to facilitate BRG1 binding to distal enhancers of melanocyte-specific genes. Thus, BRG1 is a SOX10 co-activator, required to establish the melanocyte lineage and promote expression of genes important for melanocyte function

Identification of a new cholesterol-binding site within the IFN-γ receptor that is required for signal transduction.

The cytokine interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is a master regulator of innate and adaptive immunity involved in a broad array of human diseases that range from atherosclerosis to cancer. IFN-γ exerts it signaling action by binding to a specific cell surface receptor, the IFN-γ receptor (IFN-γR), whose activation critically depends on its partition into lipid nanodomains. However, little is known about the impact of specific lipids on IFN-γR signal transduction activity. Here, a new conserved cholesterol (chol) binding motif localized within its single transmembrane domain is identified. Through direct binding, chol drives the partition of IFN-γR2 chains into plasma membrane lipid nanodomains, orchestrating IFN-γR oligomerization and transmembrane signaling. Bioinformatics studies show that the signature sequence stands for a conserved chol-binding motif presented in many mammalian membrane proteins. The discovery of chol as the molecular switch governing IFN-γR transmembrane signaling represents a significant advance for understanding the mechanism of lipid selectivity by membrane proteins, but also for figuring out the role of lipids in modulating cell surface receptor function. Finally, this study suggests that inhibition of the chol-IFNγR2 interaction may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for various IFN-γ-dependent diseases

Incorporación de la información territorial al modelo 3·D urbanístico en el ámbito del Besòs

Hi ha una tendència clara en el mon GIS cap als models SIG 3·D i SIG Online. En aquest projecte final s'ha realitzat una incorporació de les dades bidimensionals proporcionats pel Consorci del Besòs al model 3D a l'àmbit del riu Besòs. Per aconseguir això ha estat necessària la conversió de les dades en format VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Languaje) a format Multipatch, llegible en ArcGIs i així poder incorporar la informació i tenir una visió temàtica de les entitats del nostre model. En aquest treball s'ha volgut treure partit a l'anàlisi de les dades geogràfiques integrant-les dintre del model 3D, el que permetre tenir una visió espacial realista. Mitjançant Arcmap s'analitzen i modifiquen les dades en format multipatch. Aquestes dades corresponen a la informació cadastral, descripció i tipus de sol, superfície, etc.Existe una tendencia clara en el mundo GIS hacia los modelos SIG 3·D y SIG Online. En este proyecto final se ha realizado una incorporación de los datos bidimensionales proporcionados por el Consorci del Besòs al modelo 3D en el ámbito del rio Besòs. Para esto ha sido necesaria la conversión los datos en formato VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) a Multipatch formato legible en ArcGis para así poder incorporar la información y tener una visión temática de las entidades de nuestro modelo. En este trabajo se ha querido sacar partido al análisis de los datos geográficos integrándolos dentro del modelo 3D, lo que permite visión espacial realista. A través de Arcmap se analizan y modifican los datos en formato multipatch. Estos datos corresponden a la información catastral; descripción y tipo de suelo, superficie etc.Theres a clear tendency to the 3·D and Online GIS in the GIS world. In this final project It's been done an incorporation of geographical 2D data, provided by Consorci del Besòs, to the 3d model on Besòs field. It's been necessary the conversion of the data from VRML to Multipatch, a readable format in ArcGis, in order to incorporate the information and have a thematic view of the entities of our model. The aim of the Project is to take the most of the geographical data, integrating them in the 3D model, what allow to have a realistic vision. Throw ArcMap, It has been analysed and modified the Multipatch data corresponding to the cadastre

The Behaviour Of Cosmological Models With Varying-G

We provide a detailed analysis of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes in a wide range of scalar-tensor theories of gravity. We apply solution-generating methods to three parametrised classes of scalar-tensor theory which lead naturally to general relativity in the weak-field limit. We restrict the parameters which specify these theories by the requirements imposed by the weak-field tests of gravitation theories in the solar system and by the requirement that viable cosmological solutions be obtained. We construct a range of exact solutions for open, closed, and flat isotropic universes containing matter with equation of state $p\leq \frac{1}{3}\rho$ and in vacuum. We study the range of early and late-time behaviours displayed, examine when there is a `bounce' at early times, and expansion maxima in closed models.Comment: 58 pages LaTeX, 6 postscript figures, uses eps

Formation of the University Faculty in Methodological Stategies to Incorporation of E-Learning in European Space of Higher Education

El documento que presentamos, es una síntesis de una propuesta que presentamos al Ministerio de Educación español, y se acoge a la línea de trabajo sobre «el proceso de aprendizaje en el marco del EEES: estrategias universitarias», centrándonos más concretamente en el desarrollo de nuevas metodologías docentes y del evaluación del aprendizaje así como en el análisis y creación de estrategias para la docencia universitaria orientadas al desarrollo del aprendizaje electrónico.The document that present, is a synthesis of a proposal that present to Department of Spanish Education, and is received to the line of work on the «process of learning in Europe Space for Higher Education: university strategies», centering us more concretely in the development educational of new methodologies and of the evaluation of the learning as well as in the analysis and creation of strategies for the university teaching oriented toward development of the electronic learning

Brain structural trajectories in youth at familial risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder according to development of psychosis spectrum symptoms

Background: The evaluation of child and adolescent offspring of patients with schizophrenia (SzO) or bipolar disorder (BpO) may help understand changes taking place in the brain in individuals at heightened risk for disease during a key developmental period. Methods: One hundred twenty-eight individuals (33 SzO and 46 BpO, considered jointly as 'Familial High Risk' (FHR), and 49 controls) aged 6-17 years underwent clinical, cognitive and neuroimaging assessment at baseline, 2- and 4-year follow-up. Twenty FHR participants (11 SzO and 9 BpO) developed psychotic spectrum symptoms during follow-up, while 59 FHR participants did not. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on a 3Tesla scanner; cortical surface reconstruction was applied to measure cortical thickness, surface area and grey matter volume. Results: FHR participants who developed psychotic spectrum symptoms over time showed greater time-related mean cortical thinning than those who did not and than controls. By subgroups, this effect was present in both BpO and SzO in the occipital cortex. At baseline, FHR participants who developed psychotic spectrum symptoms over time had smaller total surface area and grey matter volume than those who did not and than controls. Over time, all FHR participants showed less longitudinal decrease in surface area than controls. In those who developed psychotic spectrum symptoms over time, this effect was driven by BpO, while in those who did not, this was due to SzO, who also showed less grey matter volume reduction. Conclusion: The emergence of psychotic spectrum symptoms in FHR was indexed by smaller cross-sectional surface area and progressive cortical thinning. Relative preservation of surface area over time may signal different processes according to familial risk. These findings lay the foundation for future studies aimed at stratification of FHR youth

Identifying clinical clusters with distinct trajectories in first-episode psychosis through an unsupervised machine learning technique

The extreme variability in symptom presentation reveals that individuals diagnosed with a first-episode psychosis (FEP) may encompass different sub-populations with potentially different illness courses and, hence, different treatment needs. Previous studies have shown that sociodemographic and family environment factors are associated with more unfavorable symptom trajectories. The aim of this study was to examine the dimensional structure of symptoms and to identify individuals’ trajectories at early stage of illness and potential risk factors associated with poor outcomes at follow-up in non-affective FEP. One hundred and forty-four non-affective FEP patients were assessed at baseline and at 2-year follow-up. A Principal component analysis has been conducted to identify dimensions, then an unsupervised machine learning technique (fuzzy clustering) was performed to identify clinical subgroups of patients. Six symptom factors were extracted (positive, negative, depressive, anxiety, disorganization and somatic/cognitive). Three distinct clinical clusters were determined at baseline: mild; negative and moderate; and positive and severe symptoms, and five at follow-up: minimal; mild; moderate; negative and depressive; and severe symptoms. Receiving a low-dose antipsychotic, having a more severe depressive symptomatology and a positive family history for psychiatric disorders were risk factors for poor recovery, whilst having a high cognitive reserve and better premorbid adjustment may confer a better prognosis. The current study provided a better understanding of the heterogeneous profile of FEP. Early identification of patients who could likely present poor outcomes may be an initial step for the development of targeted interventions to improve illness trajectories and preserve psychosocial functioning