Analysis of the C/EBP family of transcription factors in neuronal repair

PhDNeurons within the peripheral nervous system (PNS) have a remarkable ability to repair themselves after injury; however, neurons within the central nervous system (CNS) do not spontaneously regenerate. Therefore, understanding the molecular elements responsible for successful regenerative response in the PNS can help us to establish basic principles and strategies for promoting regeneration in CNS structures such as the spinal cord. Nerve repair in the PNS has been suggested to be in part due to the involvement of intrinsic molecules such as transcription factors. In this thesis, I am focusing on the C/EBP family of transcription factors and their potential role in axonal regeneration after PNS injury. I examined the expression of different C/EBP members in PNS after injury after, using the sciatic nerve crush injury model I found that C/EBPδ mRNA is upregulated 4, 24 and 72 hours in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) following injury, whereas C/EBPβ and C/EBPγ expression is transiently upregulated by 4 hours resuming background levels after 72 hours. Conversely, C/EBPα and C/EBPε did not show upregulation following injury. In order to determine the function of C/EBPs in axonal growth in an in vitro system I used the ND7/23 cell line where I found that upon neurite growth induced by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), the mRNA levels of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ were upregulated. Furthermore, the conditional expression of a C/EBP total inhibitor or a C/EBPδ antisense construct decreases neurite elongation in vitro. Additionally, I found that 24 hours after treatment of ND7/23 cells with trichostatin A (TSA) C/EBPδ expression is elevated. Subsequently, I found that in DRG cultures from C/EBPδ knock-out animals, the lack of C/EBPδ affects the intrinsic growth capacity of dorsal root ganglion neurons which show a 3 drastically reduced axonal growth in vitro. To address the role of C/EBPδ in vivo, peripheral nerve repair was assessed in transgenic C/EBPδ knock-out animals following sciatic nerve crush. C/EBPδ knock-outs show, by immunostaining, impaired nerve regeneration 3 days and 14 days after sciatic nerve injury. Furthermore, functional recovery and morphometric analysis indicate that nerve regeneration is delayed in C/EBPδ deficient animals. These data demonstrate that the C/EBPδ gene is involved in neuronal repair after peripheral nerve injury

Genetic diversity, origin and conservation of the sclerophyllous species of genus Quercus in the Balearic Islands

The study of the distribution of evergreen Quercus species (Q. ilex L. -holm oak-, Q. coccifera L. -kermes oak- and Q. suber L. -cork oak-) from the Balearic Islands and the using of chloroplast DNA molecular markers have allow the discussion about the origin of their populations and their affinities with those from other surrounding regions. The singularity of some haplotipos has favoured the identification of the areas and populations of greater interest for the application of strategies of conservation of the forest resources. The Balearic Islands are a reservoir of genetic diversity, containing Tyrrhenian and Iberian elements. Priorities for conservation should be focused on the maintenance of the peculiar populations that are fragmented or that show a low effective population size

Small-scale variation of vegetation in a mixed forest understorey is partly controlled by the effect of overstory composition on litter accumulation

We investigated how richness and composition of vascular plant species in the understory of a mixed hardwood forest stand varied with respect to the abundance and composition of the overstory. The stand is in central Spain and represents the southernmost range of distribution of several tree and herbaceous species in Europe. Understory species were identified in 46 quadrats (0.25 m2) where variables litter depth and light availability were measured. In addition, we estimated tree density, basal area, and percent basal area by tree species within 6-m-radius areas around each plot. Species richness and composition were studied using path analysis and scale-dependent geostatistical methods, respectively. We found that the relative abundance of certain trees species in the overstory was more important than total overstory abundance in explaining understory species richness. Richness decreased as soil litter depth increased, and soil litter increased as the relative proportion of Fagus sylvatica in the overstory increased, which accounted for a negative, indirect effect of Fagus sylvatica on richness. Regarding understory species composition, we found that some species distributed preferentially below certain tree species. For example, Melica uniflora was most frequent below Fagus sylvatica and Quercus petraea while the increasing proportion of Q. pyrenaica in the overstory favored the presence of Cruciata glabra, Arenaria montana, Prunus avium, Conopodium bourgaei, Holcus mollis, Stellaria media and Galium aparine in the understory. Overall, these results emphasize the importance of individual tree species in controlling the assemblage and richness of understory species in mixed stands. We conclude that soil litter accumulation is one way through which overstory composition shapes the understory community

Local variability of serotinous cones in a Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) stand

The endemic Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis) has an effective strategy to counteract fire disturbance in the short term. It has a mixed strategy that combines the presence of serotinous cones and thick barks with the ability to re-sprout from the trunk after a fire, a rare trait in pine species. High frequency of fires in the Canary Islands is related to human action, as natural fires by lightning or vulcan activity have very low frequency; hence, the how and whys of the presence of serotinous cones in the species is still a topic of debate. Previous studies showed that the frequency of serotinous cones varies from stand to stand. Here, we analyzed the presence of serotinous cones at a local scale. We selected a Canary Island pine stand in the transition zone between dry and humid forests in the south of Tenerife. Branches were pruned from 20 trees in order to evaluate the presence of serotinous vs. non-serotinous cones by direct verticile counting on the branches. The opening temperature of serotinous cones was assessed in the laboratory. Percentages of serotinous vs. non-serotinous cones varied from 0 to 93 %, showing high variability between trees. Opening temperatures were very high (above 65 ºC) as compared to other Mediterranean pine species with serotinous cone

El Pino Canario: Un superviviente entre volcanes

El pino canario constituye una singularidad dentro del conjunto de pinos, ya que presenta una amplia gama de estrategias que permiten su persistencia y que han sido adquiridas a lo largo de su evolución en un ambiente volcánico. Todos los pinos son especies que presentan adaptaciones frente al fuego y de centran en dos estrategias: 1) una eficiente dispersión posincendio basada en una gran capacidad dispersiva y en la presencia de piñas serótinas; y 2) la resistencia individual, con cortezas gruesas que les permiten alcanzar gran longevidad

Sensitivity Evaluation Method for Aerospace Digital Systems with Collaborative Hardening

Complexity of current digital systems and circuits involves new challenges in the field of hardening and measuring circuits sensitivity under SEEs. In this work, a new solution for evaluating the SEU sensitivity of space systems based on using programmable logic devices is proposed. This solution is able to perform a deep analysis of fault effects in systems with hardware functionality distribution, taking into account the high complexity of the hardware nodes (complex programmable logic devices) and their collaborative hardening properties

El Hayedo de Montejo, mucho más que hayas

El Hayedo de Montejo, uno de los bosques más emblemáticos de la Comunidad de Madrid, es también uno de los mejor conocidos y más estudiados gracias a un convenio de colaboración entre la Comunidad de Madrid y la Escuela de Montes de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Seguimiento del clima, inventarios forestales, estudios genéticos o ecofisiológicos y procesos de dispersión son algunos de los trabajos que vienen desarrollándose desde hace más de 17 años. Gracias a ellos descubrimos que El Hayedo de Montejo es mucho más que un bosque de hayas

Influence of renal dysfunction on the differential behaviour of procalcitonin for the diagnosis of postoperative infection in cardiac surgery

Producción CientíficaBackground: procalcitonin is a valuable marker in the diagnosis of bacterial infections; however, the impairment of renal function can influence its diagnostic precision. The objective of this study is to evaluate the differential behaviour of procalcitonin, as well as its usefulness in the diagnosis of postoperative pulmonary infection after cardiac surgery, depending on the presence or absence of impaired renal function. Materials and methods: A total of 805 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with extracorporeal circulation (CBP) were prospectively recruited, comparing the behaviour of biomarkers between the groups with and without postoperative pneumonia and according to the presence or absence of renal dysfunction. Results: Pulmonary infection was diagnosed in 42 patients (5.21%). In total, 228 patients (28.32%) presented postoperative renal dysfunction. Procalcitonin was significantly higher in infected patients, even in the presence of renal dysfunction. The optimal procalcitonin threshold differed markedly in patients with renal dysfunction compared to patients without renal dysfunction (1 vs. 0.78 ng/mL p < 0.05). The diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin increased significantly when the procalcitonin threshold was adapted to renal function. Conclusions: Procalcitonin is an accurate marker of postoperative infection in cardiac surgery, even in the presence of renal dysfunction. Renal function is an important determinant of procalcitonin levels and, therefore, its diagnostic thresholds must be adapted in the presence of renal dysfunction.Instituto de Salud Carlos III - (grant COV20/00491, PI18/01238, CIBERINFEC CB21/13/00051)Junta de Castilla y León - (grant VA321P18, GRS 1922/A/19, GRS 2057/A/19)Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación - (grant VA256P20)Fundación Ramón Areces - (grant CIVP19A5953)Instituto de Salud Carlos III y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)/Fondo Social Europeo - (grant CM20/00138

Mild hypophosphatasia may be twice as prevalent as previously estimated: an effective clinical algorithm to detect undiagnosed cases

Objectives: Since the prevalence of hypophosphatasia (HPP), a rare genetic disease, seems to be underestimated in clinical practice, in this study, a new diagnostic algorithm to identify missed cases of HPP was developed and implemented. Methods: Analytical determinations recorded in the Clinical Analysis Unit of the Hospital Universitario Clínico San Cecilio in the period June 2018 – December 2020 were reviewed. A new clinical algorithm to detect HPP-misdiagnosed cases was used including the following steps: confirmation of persistent hypophosphatasemia, exclusion of secondary causes of hypophosphatasemia, determination of serum pyridoxal- 5′-phosphate (PLP) and genetic study of ALPL gene. Results: Twenty-four subjects were selected to participate in the study and genetic testing was carried out in 20 of them following clinical algorithm criteria. Eighty percent of patients was misdiagnosed with HPP following the current standard clinical practice. Extrapolating these results to the current Spanish population means that there could be up to 27,177 cases of undiagnosed HPP in Spain. In addition, we found a substantial proportion of HPP patients affected by other comorbidities, such as autoimmune diseases (∼40 %). Conclusions: This new algorithm was effective in detecting previously undiagnosed cases ofHPP, which appears to be twice as prevalent as previously estimated for the European population. In the near future, our algorithm could be globally applied routinely in clinical practice to minimize the underdiagnosis of HPP. Additionally, some relevant findings, such as the high prevalence of autoimmune diseases in HPP-affected patients, should be investigated to better characterize this disorder.Instituto de Salud Carlos III grants PI21-01069 co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and by Junta de Andalucía grant PI-0268-2019Operational Programme for Youth Employment of the Junta de Andalucía with Ref: POEJ_04/2022-12Instituto de Salud Carlos III with co-funding by FEDER (CD20/00022)(FI19/00118 and CM21/00221) from Instituto de Salud CarlosPostdoctoral fellowship from the Junta de Andalucía (RH-0141-2020

Guía docente común de las titulaciones de Ingeniero en Electrónica en las universidades andaluzas

El presente documento constituye el resultado del trabajo elaborado de acuerdo con la Convocatoria de Elaboración de Guías Docentes de Titulaciones Andaluzas conforme al Sistema de Créditos Europeos (años 2005/2006) de la Dirección General de Universidades, dependiente de la Secretaría General de Universidades, Investigación y Tecnología de la Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía