Fisiología Animal ambiental y control de plagas. II. Pesticidas de tercera generación y la fisiología de los insectos

Conferencia de Clase: Las aplicaciones de la ciencia son a menudo impredecibles. El conocimiento de la regulación endocrina de la metamorfosis de los insectos, iniciado por Vincent Wigglesworth en 1934, ha devenido en toda una generación de insecticidas llamados Reguladores del Crecimiento (IGR, por sus siglas en inglés: Insect Growth Regulators). Además, Sláma y Williams en 1965 dieron cuenta del hallazgo “fortuito” del “Factor Papel (Paper Factor)”: estos autores observaron que el papel fabricado a partir de madera del abeto balsámico (Abies balsamea) emitía vapores con un potente efecto análogo a la hormona juvenil en heterópteros; este grupo de compuestos se denominó Juvabionas, y poseen una importante función en determinados vegetales como defensas contra insectos. El conocimiento del papel de las hormonas juvenil y de la muda, así como de la biosíntesis de lípidos cuticulares ha facilitado la síntesis y aplicación de 7 grupos de materias activas con diferentes modos de acción insecticida (IRAC, Insecticide Resistance Action Committee). Estos grupos se basan en sus diferentes modos de acción como análogos y antagonistas de las hormonas juvenil y de la muda, inhibidores de la biosíntesis de quitina y disruptores de la muda. Ha sido una verdadera revolución en el desarrollo de materias con efecto insecticida, ya que los IGR son más específicos que los insecticidas clásicos, disminuyen los riesgos ambientales y para la salud humana, y reducen la aparición de fenómenos de resistencia. Estas materias con efecto hormonoide, junto al empleo de feromonas y de bacterias (Bacillus), hongos (p. ej. Beauveria) y virus entomopatógenos, se denominan insecticidas biorracionales. Actualmente, se investigan los mecanismos moleculares en la modulación de la expresión génica de estas hormonas, y tal vez podamos asistir en un futuro a una nueva generación de insecticidas altamente específicos de las plagas agrícolas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Immune-Related Disorders Associated With Ménière's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective. To analyze evidence supporting an association between immune-related diseases and Ménière's disease (MD) since it has long been thought to be related to autoimmune disorders and allergies. Data Sources. We retrieved records from Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane Library to identify studies published between January 2002 and October 2022. Review Methods. Articles were independently assessed by 2 reviewers and verified by a third reviewer. Published cross-sectional studies, cohort/longitudinal studies, case series, and noncomparative cohort studies were considered eligible for inclusion. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to a registered protocol on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Selected studies were classified into 2 groups: epidemiological and genetic association studies. Relative frequencies and odds ratios (ORs) for each autoinflammatory/ autoimmune disease or genetic marker reported to be associated with MD. Results. Fifteen studies from 6 countries met our inclusion criteria. Nine are epidemiological studies and 6 are genetic association studies. The epidemiological studies were used to perform 3 different meta-analyses. Airway allergic disease and autoimmune thyroid disease showed a significant association with MD (OR = 2.27 [2.08-2.48] and OR = 1.35 [1.25-1.46]); while rheumatoid arthritis did not (OR = 0.63 [0.28-1.41]). Other comorbidities also showed a significant association with MD like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, vitiligo, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and psoriasis. Conclusion. Epidemiological evidence supports an association between MD and immune-related disorders in European and Asian populations, with population-specific effects. The evaluation of thyroid diseases, airway allergic diseases, and other inflammatory diseases should be implemented in the clinical management of MD patients.Genetics in Ménière's disease by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Grant# PI20‐1126)Andalusian Research and Innovation Department (PY20‐00303)The Andalusian Health Department (Grant# PI027‐2020)The Meniere's Society, I+UK (CLINMON‐2)Fellowship (ISCIII, CD20/00153)Universidad de Granada/CBU

Extensibility of adaptation capabilities in the CAIN content adaptation engine

Also published online by CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org, ISSN 1613-0073)This paper describes the extensibility mechanism that has been incorporated to the CAIN Adaptation Engine, that provides audiovisual content adaptation based on user preferences, network capabilities and terminal limitations. The integration of new adaptation modules needs no code modifications in the core system, so it does not have to be recompiled for adding or modifying adaptation modules.This work is partially supported by the European Commission 6th Framework Program under project FP6-001765 (aceMedia). This work is also supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of the Spanish Government under project TIN2004-07860 (MEDUSA) and by the Comunidad de Madrid under project P-TIC-0223-0505 (PROMULTIDIS). The authors want to thank Víctor Fernández-Carbajales for successful testing of the extensibility mechanism

Estudio estacional de la calidad ecológica del río Cinca según sus comunidades de macroinvertebrados bentónicos a su paso por las comarcas del Sobrarbe y Somontano de Barbastro (Huesca)

El río Cinca es uno de los principales afluentes del río Ebro y uno de los ríos pirenaicos con mayor valor ambiental. Sin embargo, se encuentra sometido a diferentes actividades de origen antrópico que producen una perturbación en el ecosistema fluvial. Desde noviembre de 2012 hasta julio de 2013 se realizó un estudio para evaluar el efecto del sistema de embalses existente en su cauce, así como de otros impactos que contribuyen a su degradación y al empeoramiento de su calidad. Para ello, se establecieron seis puntos de muestreo a lo largo de su cauce y se realizaron cuatro muestreos correspondientes a cada estación del año. Los puntos de muestreo se seleccionaron de manera que estuviesen situados aguas abajo de un embalse o azud y se llevaron a cabo mediciones tanto de parámetros físico-químicos, como de concentración de clorofila-a contenida en el perifiton para determinar el estado trófico del río. Por otro lado, se empleó la comunidad de macroinvertebrados bentónicos para evaluar la calidad ecológica de cada uno de los puntos mediante el índice biótico IBMWP, ya que éste es uno de los grupos que mejor responde las perturbaciones causadas por actividades humanas a corto y largo plazo. Además se determinó la abundancia de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados y se aplicaron los índices de diversidad de Shannon, de riqueza taxonómica y de equidad de Pielou que posteriormente fueron tratados estadísticamente. También se analizó la estructura y composición de la comunidad de macroinvertebrados mediante un Análisis de Componentes Principales (PCA), el cálculo de la abundancia EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera), quironómidos y oligoquetos. Se llevó a cabo el estudio de varias de sus características ecológicas como la estrategia trófica, la preferencia de microhábitat, el grado de eutrofia, la altitud o el tipo de corriente que prefieren. Los resultados indicaron que el estado ecológico de las aguas del río Cinca en general es bueno, sobre todo otoño y primavera. Y es el punto de muestreo situado en Laspuña donde mejor calidad presenta el río. Los embalses existentes en el tramo estudiado modifican el régimen hidrológico del río y sus características fisico-químicas. Esta alteración es más evidente bajo los dos embalses de mayor capacidad: Mediano y El Grado. Además, en ambos embalses, la concentración de oxígeno disuelto es menor que en el resto del río por los procesos de eutrofización que tiene lugar en ellos. La diversidad se mantuvo constante a lo largo del año con picos máximos en el parador de Bielsa, Laspuña y El Grado. Y los taxones EPT fueron más abundantes en el tramo alto y medio, al contrario que ocurrió con los quironómidos, indicando un aumento por la contaminación orgánica río abajo. Contaminación que procede de diversas fuentes, como los vertidos de aguas residuales urbanas o industriales de las poblaciones que el río atraviesa. O de vertidos de tipo agrícola o ganadero

Go/rGo as reinforcing nanofiller in carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite systems

Interfacial interactions between matrix and reinforcement of composites influences greatly in final properties of the material. Carbon Fibers are characterized for to have low interactions with resins when forming a composite material. In the present study, 0.3 wt% of GO/rGO were incorporated in three systems of epoxy resin/carbon fiber as reinforcing fillers, trying to profit the chemical affinity between aromatics structures of GO/rGO and polar interactions with epoxy resin. GO/rGO were characterized by XPS, TGA was performed on carbon fiber, epoxy resins and composites obtained and SEM was utilized to observe composite samples in detail once mechanical tests were conducted. Composites experienced noticeable enhancements by employing Bisphenol Epoxy (BP) cured with methyl cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride (MCHDA) as matrix and carbon fiber of 300 g/cm2 as reinforcement; Youngs modulus, rupture stress and elongation to fail- ure increased almost twofold compared to non-modified composites by adding GO in the system and even superior boosts can be appreciated with rGO, which additionally improves the flexural stress from 14.6 to 30.1 GPa.Postprint (published version

Genomic, serologic, and clinical case-control study of Chlamydia pneumoniae and peripheral artery occlusive disease

Objectives: Chlamydia pneumoniae has been related to atherosclerotic disease in both seroepidemiologic and genomic studies. We performed a case-control study to determine seropositivity and DNA detection in arteries of patients with peripheral artery occlusive disease and of healthy subjects. Methods: The study included 64 patients with peripheral artery occlusive disease, and 50 control subjects who underwent varicose vein surgery, matched to the patient group for age, sex, and tobacco use. The fibrinogen level in all study subjects was measured as a marker of inflammation. Blood samples were taken from all subjects for determination of immuno- globulin (Ig) G elementary bodies (EB) against C pneumoniae with microimmunofluorescence (MIF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and of IgA EB with ELISA. The cutoff titers were 1:32 for MIF and 1.1 for ELISA. Biopsy specimens of arterial atheromatous plaque were obtained from patients, and of pudendal artery and saphenous vein from control subjects, and were studied with hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction. Results: There were no differences in fibrinogen level between patients and controls. The prevalence of IgG anti-EB with MIF was 78% in patients and 24% in control subjects (P .0001; odds ratio [OR], 11.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.7-27.2). Prevalence of IgG anti-EB with ELISA was 75% in patients and 16% in control subjects (P .0001; OR, 15.7; 95% CI, 6.1-40). There were no differences in IgA anti-EB titers. Bacterial DNA was detected in 67% of atheromatous plaques versus 12% of pudendal arteries (P .0001) and 4% of saphenous veins. A weak correlation was found between seropositivity and the presence of intravascular DNA. Conclusions: Our results support the hypothesis that C pneumoniae is related to the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic peripheral artery occlusive diseas

Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in the arterial wall of patients with peripheral vascular disease

Background: Chlamydia pneumoniae is a human respiratory pathogen that has recently been related to the genesis of symptomatic atherosclerosis. C. pneumoniae has been studied more widely in relation to coronary atherosclerosis than to peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD). The present study aimed to retrospectively analyze the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA in patients with PAOD. Materials and methods: A seminested PCR method was applied on 85 samples from 71 patients with PAOD secondary to surgical treatment. The control group comprised 50 patients with chronic superficial venous insufficiency who required varicose resection surgery. Results: The number of patients, number of samples studied and percentage of patients found to be positive in the PCR study were 17, 18 and 59%, respectively, for arteries of the lower extremities; 15, 16 and 60% for aneurysm of the abdominal aorta; 22, 23 and 73% for carotid stenosis and 17, 18 and 65% for aortic stenosis. C. pneumoniae DNA was found in six external pudendal arteries (12%) of the control group, significantly lower than the incidence in the patient group (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: A causal relationship between chronic C. pneumoniae infection and PAOD cannot be ruled out. On the contrary, the high incidence of C. pneumoniae DNA detected in our patients suggests that C. pneumoniae infection may play some role in the pathogenesis of peripheral vascular disease

Monitoring the Microclimate in the Shoe-foot Interface

A new continuous monitoring portable system device is presented here, it allows to reduce the complications that arise from diabetic foot ulcer, because of temperature and humidity disorders. This device monitors the microclimate of the shoe and consists of one array of 10 sensors to obtain the temperature and humidity data between the foot and the insole interface of the shoe. It has also a software interface for viewing and analyzing the data. Temperature monitoring of the participants showed an average range of 23.90 °C to 29.34 °C and 51.57 % to 69.78 % relative humidity