Influence of cerebral vasodilation on blood reelin levels in growth restricted fetuses

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is one of the most important obstetric pathologies. It is frequently caused by placental insufficiency. Previous studies have shown a relationship between FGR and impaired new-born neurodevelopment, although the molecular mechanisms involved in this association have not yet been completely clarified. Reelin is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein involved in development of neocortex, hippocampus, cerebellum and spinal cord. Reelin has been demonstrated to play a key role in regulating perinatal neurodevelopment and to contribute to the emergence and development of various psychiatric pathologies, and its levels are highly influenced by pathological conditions of hypoxia. The purpose of this article is to study whether reelin levels in new-borns vary as a function of severity of fetal growth restriction by gestational age and sex. We sub-grouped fetuses in: normal weight group (Group 1, n = 17), FGR group with normal umbilical artery Doppler and cerebral redistribution at middle cerebral artery Doppler (Group 2, n = 9), and FGR with abnormal umbilical artery Doppler (Group 3, n = 8). Our results show a significant association of elevated Reelin levels in FGR fetuses with cerebral blood redistribution compared to the normal weight group and the FGR with abnormal umbilical artery group. Future research should focus on further expanding the knowledge of the relationship of reelin and its regulated products with neurodevelopment impairment in new-borns with FGR and should include larger and more homogeneous samples and the combined use of different in vivo techniques in neonates with impaired growth during their different adaptive phases. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Mesozooplankton distribution, production and respiration in the global ocean.

Mesozooplankton biomass, abundance and mass-specific physiological rates as well as community production and respiration in the upper 2000 m were assessed from samples collected during the Malaspina circumnavigation expedition (~35ºN-40ºS) using an image-based analysis system (IBS). Equations relating metabolic rates, temperature, and body weight, were developed according to temperature ranges found at the different ocean regions and depth layers. High abundance and biomass were observed in the epipelagic zone and decreasing with depth as expected. However, high biomass was also found beyond 1000 m related to the colder and productive waters of the eastern regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Specific growth and respiration rates followed a similar pattern and were highly correlated with temperature (r2=0.835 and 0.806 , respectively). Therefore, higher values were observed in the tropical and subtropical zones as the effect of higher temperature. Community production and respiration were considerably higher in the epipelagic layer, matching the distribution of biomass, with high values below 1000 m in the eastern Pacific/Indian Oceans. Global metabolism assessed through the IBS was similar to previous results based on data review.MALASPINA (CSD2008-00077

Consenso colombiano de atención, diagnóstico y manejo de la infección por SARS-COV-2/COVID-19 en establecimientos de atención de la salud Recomendaciones basadas en consenso de expertos e informadas en la evidencia

The “Asociación Colombiana de Infectología” (ACIN) and the “Instituto de Evaluación de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Salud” (IETS) created a task force to develop recommendations for Covid 19 health care diagnosis, management and treatment informed, and based, on evidence. Theses reccomendations are addressed to the health personnel on the Colombian context of health services. © 2020 Asociacion Colombiana de Infectologia. All rights reserved

RICORS2040 : The need for collaborative research in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent and poorly known killer. The current concept of CKD is relatively young and uptake by the public, physicians and health authorities is not widespread. Physicians still confuse CKD with chronic kidney insufficiency or failure. For the wider public and health authorities, CKD evokes kidney replacement therapy (KRT). In Spain, the prevalence of KRT is 0.13%. Thus health authorities may consider CKD a non-issue: very few persons eventually need KRT and, for those in whom kidneys fail, the problem is 'solved' by dialysis or kidney transplantation. However, KRT is the tip of the iceberg in the burden of CKD. The main burden of CKD is accelerated ageing and premature death. The cut-off points for kidney function and kidney damage indexes that define CKD also mark an increased risk for all-cause premature death. CKD is the most prevalent risk factor for lethal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the factor that most increases the risk of death in COVID-19, after old age. Men and women undergoing KRT still have an annual mortality that is 10- to 100-fold higher than similar-age peers, and life expectancy is shortened by ~40 years for young persons on dialysis and by 15 years for young persons with a functioning kidney graft. CKD is expected to become the fifth greatest global cause of death by 2040 and the second greatest cause of death in Spain before the end of the century, a time when one in four Spaniards will have CKD. However, by 2022, CKD will become the only top-15 global predicted cause of death that is not supported by a dedicated well-funded Centres for Biomedical Research (CIBER) network structure in Spain. Realizing the underestimation of the CKD burden of disease by health authorities, the Decade of the Kidney initiative for 2020-2030 was launched by the American Association of Kidney Patients and the European Kidney Health Alliance. Leading Spanish kidney researchers grouped in the kidney collaborative research network Red de Investigación Renal have now applied for the Redes de Investigación Cooperativa Orientadas a Resultados en Salud (RICORS) call for collaborative research in Spain with the support of the Spanish Society of Nephrology, Federación Nacional de Asociaciones para la Lucha Contra las Enfermedades del Riñón and ONT: RICORS2040 aims to prevent the dire predictions for the global 2040 burden of CKD from becoming true

First Report of Spiroplasma citri in celery in Spain

Alfaro Fernández, AO.; Hernández Llopis, D.; Ibañez, I.; Rodríguez León, F.; Ferrándiz, J.; Sanjuan, S.; Font San Ambrosio, MI. (2015). First Report of Spiroplasma citri in celery in Spain. Plant Disease. 99(8):1175-1175. doi:10.1094/PDIS-11-14-1103-PDNS1175117599

Diel vertical migrants and the ocean carbon pump: is there a ladder of migration?

Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Aquatic Sciences: Global And Regional Perspectives - North Meets South, 22-27 February 2015, Granada, SpainActive flux performed by migrant biota is still a gap in the knowledge of the biological pump in the ocean. These organisms mainly feed upon epipelagic zooplankton and transport this carbon due to their feeding at the shallower layers and their defecation, respiration, excretion and mortality at depth. The recent finding that mesopelagic fish biomass in the ocean is one order of magnitude higher indicates that the active flux should be thoroughly evaluated. Here, we show enhanced plankton biomass, ranging from bacteria to zooplankton, reaching down to 4,000 m depth below the Atlantic and Pacific equatorial upwelling systems. We also found a striking close relationship between the zooplankton backscatter enhancement in the epi-, meso- and bathypelagic zones. Backscatter increased in a similar proportion along the subtropical, tropical, and equatorial areas in the three zones. Literature, recent data in subtropical waters, and these results suggest an intense active carbon transport from the epipelagic layer to the deep sea driven by zooplankton and micronekton, enhancing the efficiency of the biological pump and promoting true carbon sequestration beyond 1000 m depth.Peer Reviewe