Estudio de sistemas líquido iónico/carbón activo y sus aplicación en la retención de contaminantes = Essays on ionic liquid/activated carbon systems and heir application to pollutants removal

Tesis doctoral inédita, leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Departamento de Química Física Aplicada. Fecha de lectura: 20-11-201

Livestock Drugs and Disease: The Fatal Combination behind Breeding Failure in Endangered Bearded Vultures

There is increasing concern about the impact of veterinary drugs and livestock pathogens as factors damaging wildlife health, especially of threatened avian scavengers feeding upon medicated livestock carcasses. We conducted a comprehensive study of failed eggs and dead nestlings in bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) to attempt to elucidate the proximate causes of breeding failure behind the recent decline in productivity in the Spanish Pyrenees. We found high concentrations of multiple veterinary drugs, primarily fluoroquinolones, in most failed eggs and nestlings, associated with multiple internal organ damage and livestock pathogens causing disease, especially septicaemia by swine pathogens and infectious bursal disease. The combined impact of drugs and disease as stochastic factors may result in potentially devastating effects exacerbating an already high risk of extinction and should be considered in current conservation programs for bearded vultures and other scavenger species, especially in regards to dangerous veterinary drugs and highly pathogenic poultry viruses

Procesamiento cerebral de la dirección motivacional y de la valencia afectiva en las frases de relación social: un estudio de ERP

El procesamiento afectivo de los estímulos está sujeto a debate sobre si lo que importa es la valencia de los estímulos, o la actitud y la dirección hacia los mismos (aproximación o evitación). Proponemos que valencia y dirección son igualmente relevantes para la cognición y la regulación del comportamiento. Dado que el lenguaje habría incorporado verbos actitudinales ("aceptar" vs. "rechazar") para describir aproximación/evitación hacia los estímulos, examinamos la integración de la valencia y la dirección en frases actitudinales. En un estudio de ERP se presentaron a cuarenta participantes (20 mujeres y 20 hombres) frases en las que primero se “valenciaba” un personaje (por ejemplo, "Arturo es cordial/arrogante"), seguido de una frase actitudinal de otro personaje hacia ellos ("Grisela acogió/ignoró a Arturo en la celebración"). Registramos la actividad electrofisiológica de los participantes mientras leían las frases, y medimos los potenciales cerebrales asociados al verbo actitudinal. Encontramos un clúster significativo entre los 270- 340 milisegundos tras la aparición del verbo, cubriendo parte del desarrollo de un componente tipo N400 más negativo en las condiciones incongruentes (positivoevitación; negativo-aproximación). Estos resultados apoyan que la valencia y la dirección deben integrarse para construir la representación de la situación interpersonal durante la comprensión de la frase. Además, este efecto N400 fue modulado por el género: las mujeres mostraron mayor negatividad en las frases que describían evitar a alguien positivo, y los hombres en las que describían aproximarse a alguien negativo. Los resultados se discuten dentro de la investigación sobre el procesamiento afectivo del lenguaje y los sesgos de atención de género en la cognición social.Affective processing of stimuli is subjected to debate whether it is the stimuli valence, or the attitudinal direction towards them (approach or avoidance) what matters. We propose that valence and direction should have different cognitive status and both would be relevant for cognition and behavioral regulation. As language would have incorporated attitudinal verbs (for example, “accept” vs. “reject”) to describe individual approach/avoidance towards stimuli, we examine the integration of valence and direction in attitudinal action-sentences. In a ERP study, forty participants (20 females and 20 males) were presented with sentences where firstly a character was valenced (i.e., “Arthur is cordial/arrogant”) followed by an attitudinal sentence from another character to them (“Grisela welcomed/ignored Arturo in the party”). We expected a greater cost of integration in incongruent conditions (positive-avoidance and negative-approach). We recorded the electrophysiological activity of participants, while they were reading sentences and measured brain potentials time-locked to the attitudinal verb (“welcomed” vs. “discriminated”, in the example). We found a significant cluster between 270-340 milliseconds after verb display, covering part of the development of a N400-type ERP, more negative in incongruent conditions (positiveavoidance; negative-approach). These results support that valence and direction are integrated to build up the representation of the interpersonal situation during understanding. Also, important, the ERP was modulated by gender: females showed greater negativity to sentences describing avoidance someone positive whereas males did to approach someone negative. Results are discussed in the context of research on affective processing of language, and gender attentional biases in attitudinal relationship actions in social cognition

The PHA Test Reflects Acquired T-Cell Mediated Immunocompetence in Birds

cological immunology requires techniques to reliably measure immunocompetence in wild vertebrates. The PHA-skin test, involving subcutaneous injection of a mitogen (phytohemagglutinin, PHA) and measurement of subsequent swelling as a surrogate of T-cell mediated immunocompetence, has been the test of choice due to its practicality and ease of use in the field. However, mechanisms involved in local immunological and inflammatory processes provoked by PHA are poorly known, and its use and interpretation as an acquired immune response is currently debated.) and plasma proteins circulating in the bloodstream, potentially involved in the immunological and inflammatory processes, through flow cytometry and electrophoresis.Our results showed stronger responses after a second PHA injection, independent of species, time elapsed and changes in body mass of birds between first and second injections, thus supporting the adaptive nature of this immune response. Furthermore, the concomitant changes in the plasma concentrations of T-lymphocyte subsets and globulins indicate a causal link between the activation of the T-cell mediated immune system and local tissue swelling.These findings justify the widespread use of the PHA-skin test as a reliable evaluator of acquired T-cell mediated immunocompetence in diverse biological disciplines. Further experimental research should be aimed at evaluating the relative role of innate immunocompetence in wild conditions, where the access to dietary proteins varies more than in captivity, and to ascertain how PHA responses relate to particular host-parasite interactions