Preliminary data on the ovarian histological structures observed in black hakes (M. polli and M. senegalensis) off Mauritania

The black hakes, Merluccius polli and M. senegalensis, are target species of a trawl Spanish fleet in Mauritanian waters. M. polli is a deep-water hake while M. senegalensis shows a shallower distribution. Both species are mixed in the landings, although the deeper hake totals a greater fraction (85%) of the catch due to the fishing strategy of the trawl fleet. The female gonads of both hakes were collected during an experimental survey carried out in the Mauritanian EEZ. Mature ovaries were examined from the start of the reproductive season in this area. Ovaries were processed by a standard histological technique. Histological characteristics of ovarian tissues and oocyte stages were studied by light microscopy. The ovaries of black hakes showed various stages of oocyte development from the small sized, chromatin nuclear and perinucleolar oocytes, and the medium sized, cortical alveoli and vitellogenic oocytes. This last stage presents yolk granules occupying the cytoplasm at different levels. In the case of M. senegalensis, the presence of large sized oocytes with early migration of the nucleus to the animal pole, as well as fusion of oil droplets indicate maturation and imminent spawning, thus, indicating an earlier spawning than M. polli. Furthermore, postovulatory follicles observed in M. senegalensis indicate a recent batch spawning episode. This result is concordant with the values of GSI obtained for both species in these waters. The reproductive period extends from October to Mars with a defined peak in December - January for females of both hakes, although the shallower species, M. senegalensis, shows an earlier spawning in this study. Atretic stages were observed, but their incidence was low because the sampling corresponds to the beginning of the spawning period. The species are multiple batch spawners as suggested by their oocyte size frequency distribution in the ovary. The present study is a first approach to ovarian histology of M. polli and M. senegalensis, and intended to provide basic knowledge for further detailed studies on the reproductive biology of these species, essential for an adequate assessment of this stock.Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO

Inteligencia Artificial en Medicina y Salud: revisión y clasificación de las aplicaciones actuales y del futuro cercano y su impacto ético y social

This paper provides an overview of the current and near-future applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine and Health Care and presents a classification according to their ethical and societal aspects, potential benefits and pitfalls, and issues that can be considered controversial and are not deeply discussed in the literature. This work is based on an analysis of the state of the art of research and technology, including existing software, personal monitoring devices, genetic tests and editing tools, personalized digital models, online platforms, augmented reality devices, and surgical and companion robotics. Motivated by our review, we present and describe the notion of “extended personalized medicine”, we then review existing applications of AI in medicine and healthcare and explore the public perception of medical AI systems, and how they show, simultaneously, extraordinary opportunities and drawbacks that even question fundamental medical concepts. Many of these topics coincide with urgent priorities recently defined by the World Health Organization for the coming decade. In addition, we study the transformations of the roles of doctors and patients in an age of ubiquitous information, identify the risk of a division of Medicine into “fake-based”, “patient-generated”, and “scientifically tailored”, and draw the attention of some aspects that need further thorough analysis and public debate

STANDARDIZED CATCH RATES OF ALBACORE (THUNNUS ALALUNGA BONNATERRE, 1788) IN THE SPANISH SURFACE LONGLINE FISHERY IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN IN THE PERIOD 2009-2019

Standardized relative abundance indices of albacore (Thunnus alalunga Bonnaterre, 1788) caught by the Spanish surface longline (LLALB) in the western Mediterranean Sea were estimated for the period 2009-2019. Yearly standardized CPUE were estimated through Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Models (GLMM) under a negative binomial error distribution assumption. The main factors in the standardization analysis were year and season (quarter). The index shows an increasing trend from the beginning of the series (2009) to a maximum in 2011; following a decrease up to 2013, and a relatively stable trend fluctuating around a level three and a half times lower compared to the maximum abundance for the period 2013-2019.En prens

Clinical Utility of Ghrelin-O-Acyltransferase (GOAT) Enzyme as a Diagnostic Tool and Potential Therapeutic Target in Prostate Cancer

Recent data suggested that plasma Ghrelin O-Acyl Transferase enzyme (GOAT) levels could represent a new diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic/aggressiveness capacity of GOAT in urine, as well as to interrogate its putative pathophysiological role in PCa. We analysed urine/plasma levels of GOAT in a cohort of 993 patients. In vitro (i.e., cell-proliferation) and in vivo (tumor-growth in a xenograft-model) approaches were performed in response to the modulation of GOAT expression/activity in PCa cells. Our results demonstrate that plasma and urine GOAT levels were significantly elevated in PCa patients compared to controls. Remarkably, GOAT significantly outperformed PSA in the diagnosis of PCa and significant PCa in patients with PSA levels ranging from 3 to 10 ng/mL (the so-called PSA grey-zone). Additionally, urine GOAT levels were associated to clinical (e.g., Gleason-score, PSA levels) and molecular (e.g., CDK2/CDK6/CDKN2A expression) aggressiveness parameters. Indeed, GOAT overexpression increased, while its silencing/blockade decreased cell-proliferation in PCa cells. Moreover, xenograft tumors derived from GOAT-overexpressing PCa (DU145) cells were significantly higher than those derived from the mock-overexpressing cells. Altogether, our results demonstrate that GOAT could be used as a diagnostic and aggressiveness marker in urine and a therapeutic target in PCa

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from acidic soils favors production of tomatoes and lycopene concentration

This study was supported by FONDECYT 11170641 and MEC80190060 (P. Aguilera), MEC 80180077 (A. Seguel), from Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID, Chile

Oncogenic Role of Secreted Engrailed Homeobox 2 (EN2) in Prostate Cancer

Engrailed variant-2 (EN2) has been suggested as a potential diagnostic biomarker; however, its presence and functional role in prostate cancer (PCa) cells is still controversial or unknown. Here, we analyzed 1) the expression/secretion profile of EN2 in five independent samples cohorts from PCa patients and controls (prostate tissues and/or urine) to determine its utility as a PCa biomarker; and 2) the functional role of EN2 in normal (RWPE1) and tumor (LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3) prostate cells to explore its potential value as therapeutic target. EN2 was overexpressed in our two cohorts of PCa tissues compared to control and in tumor cell lines compared with normal-like prostate cells. This profile was corroborated in silico in three independent data sets [The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)/Grasso]. Consistently, urine EN2 levels were elevated and enabled discrimination between PCa and control patients. EN2 treatment increased cell proliferation in LNCaP/22Rv1/PC3 cells, migration in RWPE1/PC3 cells, and PSA secretion in LNCaP cells. These effects were associated, at least in the androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells, with increased AKT and androgen-receptor phosphorylation levels and with modulation of key cancer-associated genes. Consistently, EN2 treatment also regulated androgen-receptor activity (full-length and splicing variants) in androgen-sensitive 22Rv1 cells. Altogether, this study demonstrates the potential utility of EN2 as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for PCa and provides novel and valuable information to further investigate its putative utility to develop new therapeutic tools in PCa

EFFECTS OF ICCAT Rec [2016-05] SIZE REGULATION ON THE DISCARDS OF THE SPANISH LONGLINE FISHERY TARGETING SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEA

The ICCAT Commission, at its meeting on November 2016, approved a multi-annual recovery plan for the Mediterranean swordfish starting in 2017 and continuing through 2031 (ICCAT Rec [2016-05]). Among other provisions, the recovery plan proscribed a minimum landing size (MLS) of 100 cm (lower-jaw fork length- LJFL), which is 10 cm higher than the previously implemented (ICCAT Rec [2013-04]). The aim of this study is to assess the effect of the recently implemented MLS on the swordfish discarding activities by the Spanish surface longline fishery operating in the western Mediterranean for the period 2015-2017. Our results show that: i) as compared to the former MLS (ICCAT Rec [2013-04]), a higher percentage of undersized dead fish is now discarded at sea, with the additional risk that does not be reported and taken into consideration during the assessment of the stock; ii) the amount of fishing effort (number of hooks) for fulfilling the allocated quota has increased; iii) the fishing season must be longer to achieve the allocated quota. Both the increase in fishing effort and the lengthening of the fishing season have an adverse effect on the economic profitability of the surface longline fleet without achieving the intended reduction in the fishing mortality exerted on the juvenile fraction of the Mediterranean swordfish stock

STANDARDIZED CATCH RATES FOR MEDITERRANEAN SWORDFISH (XIPHIAS GLADIUS LINNAEUS, 1758) FROM THE SPANISH LONGLINE FISHERY. 1988-2018

Standardized relative abundance indices for swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) caught by the Spanish surface longline in the western Mediterranean Sea were estimated for the period 1988-2018. Standardized CPUEs in number were estimated through a General Linear Mixed Modeling (GLMM) approach under a negative binomial (NB) error distribution assumption. Standardized CPUEs in biomass were estimated through a General Linear Mixed Modeling (GLMM) approach under a log-normal error distribution assumption. The main factors in the standardization analysis were fishing area and time of the year (quarter). The standardized indices showed notable annual fluctuations without any definite trend for the period under studyEn prens