Past and present potential distribution of the Iberian Abies species: A phytogeographic approach using pollen data and species distribution models

This is the accepted version of the following article: Alba-Sánchez, F., López-Sáez, J. A., Pando, B. B.-d., Linares, J. C., Nieto-Lugilde, D. and López-Merino, L. (2010), Past and present potential distribution of the Iberian Abies species: a phytogeographic approach using fossil pollen data and species distribution models. Diversity and Distributions, 16: 214–228, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2010.00636.x/abstract.Aim - Quaternary palaeopalynological records collected throughout the Iberian Peninsula and species distribution models (SDMs) were integrated to gain a better understanding of the historical biogeography of the Iberian Abies species (i.e. Abies pinsapo and Abies alba). We hypothesize that SDMs and Abies palaeorecords are closely correlated, assuming a certain stasis in climatic and topographic ecological niche dimensions. In addition, the modelling results were used to assign the fossil records to A. alba or A. pinsapo, to identify environmental variables affecting their distribution, and to evaluate the ecological segregation between the two taxa. Location - The Iberian Peninsula. Methods - For the estimation of past Abies distributions, a hindcasting process was used. Abies pinsapo and A. alba were modelled individually, first calibrating the model for their current distributions in relation to the present climate, and then projecting it into the past—the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Middle Holocene periods—in relation to palaeoclimate simulations. The resulting models were compared with Iberian-wide fossil pollen records to detect areas of overlap. Results - The overlap observed between past Abies refugia—inferred from fossil pollen records—and the SDMs helped to construct the Quaternary distribution of the Iberian Abies species. SDMs yielded two well-differentiated potential distributions: A. pinsapo throughout the Baetic mountain Range and A. alba along the Pyrenees and Cantabrian Range. These results propose that the two taxa remained isolated throughout the Quaternary, indicating a significant geographical and ecological segregation. In addition, no significant differences were detected comparing the three projections (present-day, Mid-Holocene and LGM), suggesting a relative climate stasis in the refuge areas during the Quaternary. Main conclusions - Our results confirm that SDM projections can provide a useful complement to palaeoecological studies, offering a less subjective and spatially explicit hypothesis concerning past geographic patterns of Iberian Abies species. The integration of ecological-niche characteristics from known occurrences of Abies species in conjunction with palaeoecological studies could constitute a suitable tool to define appropriate areas in which to focus proactive conservation strategies.The Andalusian Innovation, Science, and Industry Regional Ministry and the National Plan of the Spanish Government

SERS study of thiocarbonyl compounds adsorbed on metal nanoparticles

Thiocarbonyl compounds have been reported to exhibit interesting biological and pharmacological properties but they are many often characterized by their toxicological effects. However the chemistry of thiobenzoic acid (TBA) and thiobenzamide (TB) has not been fully studied yet. Some of the biological studies of TBA are related to the tautomerism of thiocarboxylic acids and the important role that the -C(=O)-S and -C(=S)-O functional groups play in the catalytic activities of enzymes such as cysteine or serine proteases.1 On the other hand, TB and derivatives are well known hepatotoxins and have been used as inhibitor in enzymatic reactions and in pharmacy due to their microbial activity.2 From a chemical point of view, thiocarboxylates are an interesting type of molecules having two different donor atoms, a soft sulfur donor atom and a hard oxygen donor one. The presence of these unlike groups can lead to the bonding with metal surfaces. Likewise the interaction of thiobenzamide and their derivatives with metals is of great interest because both the sulfur and nitrogen atoms are also able to coordinate with the surface. Therefore the high affinity of these molecules for metal surfaces makes them suitable SERS target adsorbates. Taking advantage of the fact that SERS spectroscopy is both surface selective and highly sensitive we have attempted to determine the molecular structure of TBA and TB once they are adsorbed on the metal. The main objective of this work is focussed on discussing the observed vibrational wavenumber shifts of TBA and TB upon adsorption on silver nanoparticles. In this work the SERS substrates have been prepared by using different colloidal silver solutions according to the method described by Creighton et al.3 and Leopold and Lendl.4 The analysis of the vibrational wavenumbers shifts of the Raman and SERS spectra allow us to know the adsorption process (Figure 1). In the case of TBA, the wavenumber of the SERS band assigned to (C=O) vibrational mode shows an important blue shift up to 40 cm-1 with respect to the Raman whereas the (C-S) band undergoes a red shift up to 40 cm-1. These results suggest a unidentate coordination of TBA to the silver surface through the sulfur atom. On the other hand, the SERS band assigned in the case of TB to Amide III (mainly (CN)) exhibits a significant blueshift up to 41 cm-1, and the SERS band assigned to Amide I (mainly (CS)) shows a red shift up to 11 cm-1. These wavenumber shifts indicate that TB interacts to the silver surface through the sulfur atom. Interestingly, in previous SERS studies of pyridinecarboxamides and benzamide we have observed that some SERS bands assigned to 1;ring, Amide I (mainly (C=O)) and Amide III (mainly C-N)) show wavenumber shifts of +50, -50 and +10 cm-1, respectively, which were attributed to the deprotonation of carboxamide group.5,6 Finally, in order to verify experimental results DFT calculations have been carried out for different silver complexes of TBA and TB concluding that the unidentate coordination is the most likely interaction of both of them.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Nikodym boundedness property for webs in sigma-algebras

[EN] A subset B of an algebra A of subsets of Omega is said to have property N if a B-pointwise bounded subset M of ba(A ) is uniformly bounded on A , where ba(A ) is the Banach space of the real (or complex) finitely additive measures of bounded variation defined on A with the norm variation. Moreover B is said to have property sN if for each increasing countable covering (B_m)_m of B there exists B_n which has property N and B is said to have property wN if given the increasing countable coverings (B_m_1 )_m_1 of B and (B_m_1m_2...m_pm_(p+1) )_m_(p+1) of B_m_1m_2...m_p , for each p,m_i &#8712; N, 1<= i <= p + 1, there exists a sequence (n_i )_i such that each B_n_1n_2...n_r , r &#8712; N, has property N. For a &#963;-algebra S of subsets of Omega it has been proved that S has property N (Nikodym Grothendieck), property sN (Valdivia) and property w(sN) (Kakol López-Pellicer). We give a proof of property wN for a &#963;-algebra S which is independent of properties N and sN. This result and the equivalence of properties wN and w2N enable us to give some applications to localization of bounded additive vector measures.This work was supported for the second named author by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under Grant MTM2014-58159-PLópez Alfonso, S.; Mas Marí, J.; Moll López, SE. (2016). Nikodym boundedness property for webs in sigma-algebras. Revista de la Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales Serie A Matemáticas. 110(2):711-722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13398-015-0260-4S7117221102Diestel, J.: Sequences and Series in Banach Spaces. Springer, New York (1984)Diestel, J., Uhl, J.J.: Vector Measures. Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, vol. 15. American Mathematical Society, Providence (1977)Dieudonné, J.: Sur la convergence de suites de measures de Radon. An. Acad. Brasi. Ciên. 23, 277–282 (1951)Ferrando, J.C.: Strong barrelledness properties in certain l_{0}^{\infty }({{\fancyscript {A}}} ) l 0 ∞ ( A ) spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 190, 194–202 (1995)Ferrando, J.C., López-Pellicer, M.: Strong barrelledness properties in $$l_{0}^{\infty }(X,{\cal A})$$ l 0 ∞ ( X , A ) and bounded finite additive measures. Math. Ann. 287, 727–736 (1990)Kakol, J., López-Pellicer, M.: On Valdivia strong version of Nikodym boundedness property, preprintKöthe, G.: Topological Vector Spaces I and II. Springer, Berlin (1979)López-Pellicer, M.: Webs and bounded finitely additive measures. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 210, 257–267 (1997)Nikodym, O.M.: Sur les familles bornées de fonctions parfaitement additives d’ensembles abstrait. Monatsh. Math. U. Phys. 40, 418–426 (1933)Schachermayer, W.: On some classical measure-theoretic theorems for non-sigma-complete Boolean algebras. Dissertationes Math. (Rozprawy Mat.) 214, 33 pp., 1982Valdivia, M.: On the closed graph theorem. Collect. Math. 22, 51–72 (1971)Valdivia, M.: On certain barrelled normed spaces. Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble) 29, 39–56 (1979)Valdivia, M.: On Nikodym boundedness property, RACSAM Rev. R. Acad. Cienc. Exactas Fís. Nat. Ser. A Mat. 107, 355–372, 201

Satisfacción con los servicios deportivos del Campus Universitario de Espinardo

This study aims to determine the degree of user satisfaction with sports services University campus of Espinardo. The study involved 61 subjects of both sexes and with an age range between 18 and 66 years. A validated instrument was used for conducting the survey, "Assessment Questionnaire sports services (EPOD2)". The results show that customers show a high degree of satisfaction in virtually all dimensions analyzed. Paragraphs variety, modernity and maintenance of materials and possibilities of suggestions are those with a higher degree of dissatisfaction on the part of users of the facilities, although overall satisfaction level in these items remains greater than 50%. In conclusion, the satisfaction of users is very high, showing only needs to improve specific aspects of some dimensions.El presente estudio tiene como objetivo conocer el grado de satisfacción de los usuarios con los servicios deportivos del Campus Universitario de Espinardo. En el estudio participaron 61 sujetos de ambos sexos y con un rango de edad entre 18 y 66 años. Para la realización de la encuesta se utilizó un instrumento validado, el "Cuestionario de valoración de servicios deportivos (EPOD2)". Los resultados muestran como los clientes manifiestan un alto grado de satisfacción en prácticamente todas las dimensiones analizadas. Los apartados de variedad, modernidad y mantenimiento de materiales y posibilidades de sugerencias son los que presentan un mayor grado de descontento por parte de los usuarios de las instalaciones, aunque a nivel general la satisfacción en estos ítems sigue siendo superior al 50%. En conclusión, la satisfacción por parte de los usuarios es muy alta, manifestando solo necesidades de mejora en aspectos concretos de algunas dimensiones

A cytoplasmic Slo3 isoform is expressed in somatic tissues

Slo3 is a pH-sensitive and weakly voltage-sensitive potassium channel that is essential for male fertility in mouse and whose expression is regarded as sperm-specific. These properties have proposed Slo3 as a candidate target for male contraceptive drugs. Nonetheless, the tissue distribution of Slo3 expression has not been rigorously studied yet. Applying computational and RT-PCR approaches, we identified expression of two short Slo3 isoforms in somatic mouse tissues such as brain, kidney and eye. These isoforms, which seem to result of transcription starting sites between exons 20 and 21, have an identical open reading frame, both encoding the terminal 381 amino acids of the cytosolic Slo3 domain. We corroborated the expression of these isoforms in mouse brain and testis by Western-blot. The complete isoform encoding the Slo3 ion channel was uniquely detected in testis, both at transcript and protein level. Although the functional role of the cytosolic Slo3 isoforms remains to be established, we propose that they may have a functional effect by modulating Slo channels trafficking and/or activity. This study confirms that expression of full-length Slo3 is sperm-specific but warns against developing contraceptive drugs targeting the C-terminal tail of Slo3 channels

Duración de sueño en personas mayores con síndrome metabólico

Sleep is a quality-of-life indicator. Sleep alterations have health consequences. The objective of the study was to analyze the sleep pattern in elderly people with metabolic syndrome. A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 326 participants of node 01 of the PREDIMEDPLUS study (University of Malaga). The hours of sleep were quantified objectively with an accelerometer, and subjectively, with a self-reported questionnaire. The average duration of sleep (hours) measured with the accelerometer was higher in women (6.6±0.1) than in men (6.2±0.1); these data differ from self-reported data of 6.7h±0.1 hours in men and 7.3h±0.1 in women. 43% of men and 30% of women sleep less than 6 hours. A high percentage of participants have a poor sleep. In addition, future methodological investigations of sleep assessment are needed.El sueño es un indicador de la calidad de vida. Sus alteraciones pueden afectar la salud. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar el patrón de sueño en personas mayores con síndrome metabólico. Se realizó un estudio transversal en 326 participantes del nodo 01 del Estudio PREDIMEDPLUS (Universidad de Málaga). Las horas de sueño se cuantificaron de forma objetiva con un acelerómetro, y de manera subjetiva, a partir de un cuestionario. La duración media del sueño (horas) medida con el acelerómetro fue mayor en mujeres (6,6 ± 0,1) que en hombres (6,2 ± 0,1); estos datos difieren de los auto-declarados de 6,7 ± 0,1 horas en hombres y 7,3 ± 0,1 en mujeres. Un 43 % de hombres y un 30 % de mujeres duermen menos de 6 horas. Un alto porcentaje de los participantes tienen un sueño deficiente. Además, se necesitan futuras investigaciones metodológicas de la evaluación del sueño

Unveiling the nature of the "Green Pea" galaxies

We review recent results on the oxygen and nitrogen chemical abundances in extremely compact, low-mass starburst galaxies at redshifts between 0.1-0.3 recently named to as "Green Pea" galaxies. These galaxies are genuine metal-poor galaxies ($\sim$ one fifth solar) with N/O ratios unusually high for galaxies of the same metallicity. In combination with their known general properties, i.e., size, stellar mass and star-formation rate, these findings suggest that these objects could be experiencing a short and extreme phase in their evolution. The possible action of both recent and massive inflow of gas, as well as stellar feedback mechanisms are discussed here as main drivers of the starburst activity and their oxygen and nitrogen abundances.Comment: To appear in JENAM Symposium "Dwarf Galaxies: Keys to Galaxy Formation and Evolution", P. Papaderos, G. Hensler, S. Recchi (eds.). Lisbon, September 2010, Springer Verlag, in pres

Does native Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin mediate growth inhibition of a mammary tumor during infection?

Indexación: Web of Science.Background: For several decades now an antagonism between Trypanosoma cruzi infection and tumor development has been detected. The molecular basis of this phenomenon remained basically unknown until our proposal that T. cruzi Calreticulin (TcCRT), an endoplasmic reticulum-resident chaperone, translocated-externalized by the parasite, may mediate at least an important part of this effect. Thus, recombinant TcCRT (rTcCRT) has important in vivo antiangiogenic and antitumor activities. However, the relevant question whether the in vivo antitumor effect of T. cruzi infection is indeed mediated by the native chaperone (nTcCRT), remains open. Herein, by using specific modified anti-rTcCRT antibodies (Abs), we have neutralized the antitumor activity of T. cruzi infection and extracts thereof, thus identifying nTcCRT as a valid mediator of this effect. Methods: Polyclonal anti-rTcCRT F(ab')(2) Ab fragments were used to reverse the capacity of rTcCRT to inhibit EAhy926 endothelial cell (EC) proliferation, as detected by BrdU uptake. Using these F(ab')(2) fragments, we also challenged the capacity of nTcCRT, during T. cruzi infection, to inhibit the growth of an aggressive mammary adenocarcinoma cell line (TA3-MTXR) in mice. Moreover, we determined the capacity of anti-rTcCRT Abs to reverse the antitumor effect of an epimastigote extract (EE). Finally, the effects of these treatments on tumor histology were evaluated. Results: The rTcCRT capacity to inhibit ECs proliferation was reversed by anti-rTcCRT F(ab')(2) Ab fragments, thus defining them as valid probes to interfere in vivo with this important TcCRT function. Consequently, during infection, these Ab fragments also reversed the in vivo experimental mammary tumor growth. Moreover, anti-rTcCRT Abs also neutralized the antitumor effect of an EE, again identifying the chaperone protein as an important mediator of this anti mammary tumor effect. Finally, as determined by conventional histological parameters, in infected animals and in those treated with EE, less invasive tumors were observed while, as expected, treatment with F(ab')(2) Ab fragments increased malignancy. Conclusion: We have identified translocated/externalized nTcCRT as responsible for at least an important part of the anti mammary tumor effect of the chaperone observed during experimental infections with T. cruzi.http://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-016-2764-