Internal Migration, Living Close to Family, and Individual Labour Market Outcomes in Spain

Migration is often viewed as a way to enhance occupational careers. However, particularly in Mediterranean countries, labour market outcomes may also depend on local family resources. We investigate how men’s and women’s labour market outcomes differ between (1) those who migrated and those who did not; and (2) those who live close to family and those who live farther away. Our main contributions are the investigation of the association between migration and labour market outcomes in a different context than the more commonly studied Northern and Western European countries and the United States, and of the role of living close to family in labour market outcomes. We used a sample of labour market participants from the “Attitudes and Expectations About Mobility” survey, conducted in Spain in 2019. Our results show that the likelihood of being a professional is greater for women who migrated than for those who did not, and that the likelihood of being unemployed or in a temporary job is lower for women who live close to family than for those who do not, but neither association was found for men. The finding for living close to family is in line with the notion that nearby family may protect women in particular from precarious labour market positions. The finding for migration differs from previous findings for Northern and Western Europe and the United States, which indicate that migration is beneficial to men in particular. This difference might be specific to a low-migration context, but data limitations prevent firm conclusions

On Real-Time AER 2-D Convolutions Hardware for Neuromorphic Spike-Based Cortical Processing

In this paper, a chip that performs real-time image convolutions with programmable kernels of arbitrary shape is presented. The chip is a first experimental prototype of reduced size to validate the implemented circuits and system level techniques. The convolution processing is based on the address–event-representation (AER) technique, which is a spike-based biologically inspired image and video representation technique that favors communication bandwidth for pixels with more information. As a first test prototype, a pixel array of 16x16 has been implemented with programmable kernel size of up to 16x16. The chip has been fabricated in a standard 0.35- m complimentary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) process. The technique also allows to process larger size images by assembling 2-D arrays of such chips. Pixel operation exploits low-power mixed analog–digital circuit techniques. Because of the low currents involved (down to nanoamperes or even picoamperes), an important amount of pixel area is devoted to mismatch calibration. The rest of the chip uses digital circuit techniques, both synchronous and asynchronous. The fabricated chip has been thoroughly tested, both at the pixel level and at the system level. Specific computer interfaces have been developed for generating AER streams from conventional computers and feeding them as inputs to the convolution chip, and for grabbing AER streams coming out of the convolution chip and storing and analyzing them on computers. Extensive experimental results are provided. At the end of this paper, we provide discussions and results on scaling up the approach for larger pixel arrays and multilayer cortical AER systems.Commission of the European Communities IST-2001-34124 (CAVIAR)Commission of the European Communities 216777 (NABAB)Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIC-2000-0406-P4Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIC-2003-08164-C03-01Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2006-11730-C03-01Junta de Andalucía TIC-141

Regulación de la supervivencia celular por sobreexpresión de NOS3 en la línea de hepatoma HepG2

El hepatocarcinoma (CHC) representa la tercera causa de muerte relacionada con el cáncer en el mundo. Además, debido a su relación con otras patologías como la diabetes o la obesidad, su incidencia y mortalidad asociada siguen en aumento. La esperanza de vida de la mayoría de los pacientes de CHC es corta y, en la mayoría de los casos, solamente la ablación percutánea de tumores pequeños, la cirugía de resección y el trasplante hepático son capaces de curar la enfermedad. No obstante, debido a que el diagnóstico del CHC suele realizarse en estadios avanzados de la enfermedad, el porcentaje de casos con probabilidad de recibir alguno de los tratamientos curativos se sitúa entre el 40-50%. Por ello, es necesario obtener un mayor conocimiento de la enfermedad que nos permita el desarrollo de nuevas terapias frente al CHC. Las líneas tumorales establecidas son valiosos modelos en investigación oncológica y, aunque no pueden reemplazar a los ensayos in vivo, constituyen una alternativa muy útil. El óxido nítrico (ON) es una molécula químicamente inestable y de vida media muy corta, la cual puede ser sintetizada en muchos tejidos (incluido el hepático) a partir de las óxido nitrico sintasas (NOS). El ON desempeña un relevante papel fisiopatológico en la transducción de la señal, ejerciendo diferentes efectos en función de distintos factores. El papel del ON como regulador de la apoptosis está bien establecido, pudiendo actuar como agente pro- o antiapoptótico. Sin embargo, el mecanismo molecular responsable de este efecto contradictorio no se conoce con profundidad. Como proapoptótico, el uso de donadores de ON ha sido sugerido como potencial terapia frente al cáncer. En este sentido, la sobreexpresión de la óxido nítrico sintasa endotelial (NOS3) también ha sido relacionada con la muerte celular a través del incremento del estrés nitro-oxidativo celular y de la expresión de p53 y del receptor de muerte Fas, y ha sido sugerida como posible terapia génica frente al cáncer. El objetivo de esta tesis fue identificar el mecanismo a través del cual la sobreexpresión de NOS3 se relaciona con la actividad antitumoral, en la línea celular de CHC humano HepG2 con sobreexpresión estable de la NOS3 (4TO-NOS). Asimismo, hemos valorado la sensibilidad de la línea 4TO-NOS a la muerte celular inducida por anti- Fas. Para ello, y considerando la naturaleza del ON y sus efectos fisiológicos, analizamos la localización de la NOS3, el efecto del ON sobre la cadena de transporte electrónico mitocondrial y el perfil de expresión diferencial de proteínas en la línea celular 4TO-NOS. Nuestros resultados demostraron que NOS3 se localiza en la membrana mitocondrial externa. La sobreexpresión de NOS3 se asoció con el incremento del contenido mitocondrial de proteínas nitradas, pero no con la alteración de la capacidad respiratoria celular. En este sentido, se observó un incremento del número de copias de ADN mitocondrial en la línea 4TO-NOS, que coincidió con una mayor expresión de proteína del complejo IV mitocondrial. La muerte celular y el estrés oxidativo relacionados con la sobreexpresión de NOS3 fueron asociados al incremento de la expresión de genes proapoptóticos y a una mayor expresión/actividad de las enzimas adrenodoxina oxidorreductasa mitocondrial (AR) y catepsina D (CATD). Interesantemente, la sobreexpresión de CATD en la línea celular 4TO-NOS se relacionó con la inducción de apoptosis de manera independiente a su actividad catalítica. Además, la inhibición de la actividad CATD no fue efectiva en bloquear la apoptosis inducida por anti-Fas. En resumen, la sobreexpresión de NOS-3 resultó en una mayor sensibilidad a la muerte celular inducida por anti-Fas, independientemente de la expresión de AR y de la actividad CATD.Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. In addition, due to its relationship with other pathologies such as diabetes and obesity, its incidence and associated mortality continues to increase. The life expectancy of most HCC patients is short and, in most cases, only surgery and liver transplantation are curative treatments. However, since the diagnosis of HCC is commonly made in advanced stages of the disease, the percentage of cases with the probability of receiving a curative treatment is between 40-50%. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain a greater knowledge of the disease that allows us the development of new therapies against HCC. Established tumor lines are valuable models in oncology research and, although they cannot replace in vivo assays, they are a very useful alternative. Nitric oxide (NO) is a chemically unstable molecule with a very short half-life, which can be synthesized in many tissues (including hepatic tissue) from NO synthases (NOS). NO plays a relevant role in signal transduction in pathophysiology, exerting different effects depending on several factors. The role of NO as a regulator of apoptosis is well established, having both antiapoptotic and proapoptotic functions. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for its opposite effect are not fully understood. As antiapoptotic, the use of NO donors has been suggested as a potential cancer therapy. In this sense, the overexpression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) has also been related to cell death through the increase of cellular nitro-oxidative stress and expression of p53 and Fas death receptor. In addition, NOS-3 overexpression has been suggested as a therapy against cancer. The aim of this thesis was to identify the mechanism by which the NOS3 overexpression is related to the antitumor activity in the human HCC cell line HepG2 with stable overexpression of NOS3 (4TO-NOS). Also, we assessed the sensitivity of 4TO-NOS cells to anti-Fas-induced cell death. Taking into account factors such as the chemical nature of NO and its physiological effects, we analysed the location of NOS3, the effect of NO on the mitochondrial electronic transport chain and the differential expression profile of proteins in the 4TO-NOS cell line. Our results showed that NOS3 is located in the outer mitochondrial membrane. This was associated with the increase in the mitochondrial content of nitrated proteins but it was not related to altered cellular respiratory capacity. In this sense, we observed an increase in mitochondrial DNA copy number in the 4TO-NOS cell line, which coincided with a greater expression of mitochondrial IV complex protein. Cell death and oxidative stress related to NOS3 overexpression were associated with the expression increase of proapoptotic genes and with a greater expression and/or activity of adrenodoxin oxidoreductase mitochondrial (AR) and cathepsin D (CATD) enzymes. Interestingly, overexpression of CATD in the 4TO-NOS cell line was related to the induction of apoptosis independently of its catalytic activity. In addition, inhibition of CATD activity was not effective in blocking anti-Fas-induced apoptosis. In summary, the NOS3 overexpression resulted in increased sensitivity to anti-Fas-induced cell death, independently of AR expression and CATD activity

Portugal: Leapfrogging Digital Transformation

This report is structured as follow: Section 1 presents details about Portugal enabling or inhibiting its digital transformation. Section 2 analyzes the main motivations for the digital transformation strategy; Section 3 summarizes its main challenges, while Section 4 presents the main components of the strategy. Section 5 analyzes the governance model, and Section 6, the legal and regulatory framework. Section 7 discusses critical enablers for the digital transformation of government services. Section 8 introduces 16 key initiatives of the strategy. Section 9 summarizes the lessons learnt, followed by an assessment of the strategy’s impact in Section 10. Section 11 synthesizes lessons for Latin American countries. Finally, Appendix A enumerates main legal and regulatory instruments supporting the digital transformation in Portugal, Appendix B presents a set of 18 sections providing details of the initiatives analyzed in the report1, and Appendix C explains how the digital transformation efforts contributed to face the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemics.Fil: Estevez, Elsa Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fillottrani, Pablo. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Linares, Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Cledou, Maria Guillermina. Universidade do Minho; Portuga

Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy and ventricular noncompaction presenting as sudden death in an adult male

Histiocytoid/oncocytic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a rare, distinctive arrhythmogenic disorder that presents as arrhythmia or sudden death in infants and children. Ventricular noncompaction (VNC) is a rare cardiomyopathy characterized by a thickened endocardial layer of noncompacted myocardium and a thin epicardial layer of compacted myocardium. Only six cases of the association of both cardiomyopathies have been reported previously in the literature. All these cases were in children. To the best of our knowledge, a case of HCM has not been described in the adult. We report the case of a 45-year-old man with an increased heart weight and involvement of both ventricles by HCM and VNC cardiomyopathy. Besides, multiple foci of myocardial disorganization were detected. He died suddenly while hiking. The association of both processes HCM and VNC was an unexpected finding at autopsy. The death was linked to functional abnormalities of the cardiac histiocytoid cells, and it was favored by a state of abnormal development of the heart

Sensitivity to anti-Fas is independent of increased cathepsin D activity and adrenodoxin reductase expression occurring in NOS-3 overexpressing HepG2 cells

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Stable overexpression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS-3) in HepG2 cells (4TO-NOS) leads to increased nitro-oxidative stress and upregulation of the cell death mediators p53 and Fas. Thus, NOS-3 overexpression has been suggested as a useful antiproliferative mechanism in hepatocarcinoma cells. We aimed to identify the underlying mechanism of cell death induced by NOS-3 overexpression at basal conditions and with anti-Fas treatment. The intracellular localization of NOS-3, the nitro-oxidative stress and the mitochondrial activity were analysed. In addition, the protein expression profile in 4TO-NOS was screened for differentially expressed proteins potentially involved in the induction of apoptosis. NOS-3 localization in the mitochondrial outer membrane was not associated with changes in the respiratory cellular capacity, but was related to the mitochondrial biogenesis increase and with a higher protein expression of mitochondrial complex IV. Nitro-oxidative stress and cell death in NOS-3 overexpressing cells occurred with the expression increase of pro-apoptotic genes and a higher expression/activity of the enzymes adrenodoxin reductase mitochondrial (AR) and cathepsin D (CatD). CatD overexpression in 4TO-NOS was related to the apoptosis induction independently of its catalytic activity. In addition, CatD activity inhibition by pepstatin A was not effective in blocking apoptosis induced by anti-Fas. In summary, NOS-3 overexpression resulted in an increased sensitivity to anti-Fas induced cell death, independently of AR expression and CatD activity.Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS 09/00185). G. Ferrín was supported by the Networked Biomedical Research Center Hepatic and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD)Peer Reviewe

Local Ties as Self-Reported Constraints to Internal Migration in Spain

The internal migration literature has identified various factors that deter migration and encourage staying, but has been less concerned with people’s own reports about what makes it difficult for them to migrate or makes them want to stay. We explore factors that make it difficult to change the place of residence—from here on denoted as constraints—reported in the Spanish survey on Attitudes and Expectations of Spatial Mobility in the Labour Force (N = 3892). These constraints were uniquely asked from all respondents through an open-ended question, regardless of their migration intentions. We find that many self-reported constraints correspond to factors that have previously been associated with decreased migration propensities. In order of frequency, respondents reported ties to family and friends, ties to their residential environment, financial limitations, and ties to work as constraints to migration. Our results further show that the likelihood of mentioning ties to family and friends as constraints decreased with age, was higher for women than for men and for people who lived close to most of their social network than for those who did not. Mentioning ties to the residential environment as constraints was positively associated with being partnered, and also with living in one’s birthplace. People who were unemployed were less likely to mention ties to work and were more likely to report financial limitations as constraints than people who had a permanent contract—whereas being self-employed was positively associated with mentioning ties to the residential environment

Indicateurs espèces thermophobes: État des populations de la gorgone blanche Eunicella singularis dans le Parc national de Port-Cros.

Étude réalisée par l’Universitat de Barcelona, dans le cadre d’un Partenariat Scientifique avec le Parc National de Port-Cros Contrat n° : 13-030 - 83400 PCLes gorgones sont des composantes courantes des communautés coralligènes et elles jouent un rôle très important dans certains écosystèmes méditerranéens de fond dur car il s’agit d’espèces ingénieures qui modèlent l’habitat. Cependant, ces espèces sont parmi les plus menacées par le réchauffement climatique, mais des informations sur leur démographie et leur distribution, aspect crucial pour la conservation et la gestion durable, sont encore rares. Par conséquent, nous avons caractérisé les populations de Eunicella singularis dans le Parc national de Port-Cros tout en examinant leur distribution spatiale et en profondeur, ainsi que la structure de tailles de ces populations et l’affectation des perturbations. Cette espèce est présente principalement dans la partie sud des îles, sur des sites exposés à des courants et à une profondeur allant de 9,5 à 38 m, mais montrant une grande variabilité dans les limites de distribution supérieures et inférieures entre les sites. Les valeurs de la densité, la taille et la mortalité des populations étudiées ont été très semblables aux études précédentes menées dans d'autres endroits de la Méditerranée. La plupart des populations étudiées ont été dominées par des colonies de taille moyenne, ont montré une faible proportion de colonies fortement endommagées, et les colonies les plus blessées avaient des épibiontes, suggérant que la plupart d'entre elles n'ont pas été exposées à de fortes perturbations récentes. Dans un seul site, Le Petit Sarranier, les populations de E. singularis montrent un pourcentage élevé de la surface endommagée, principalement sans épibiose, ainsi que des colonies mortes et une forte dominance de petites colonies. Ça semble indiquer que cette population, celle de moindre profondeur parmi les populations examinées, est exposée à des perturbations naturelles. Nos résultats montrent que les populations les moins profondes (moins de 15 m) présentent des signaux de mortalité récente avec une forte proportion de blessures par rapport aux populations les plus profondes. Ainsi, il semble que la température de l’eau, avec une formation d'une thermocline saisonnière, pourrait être le principal facteur qui affecte les populations peu profondes de E. singularis dans le Parc national de Port-Cros, bien que d'autres facteurs que la température pourraient avoir un rôle important dans le façonnement des tendances observées. Cette étude a fourni une base pour de futures études sur cette espèce dans le Parc, ce qui sera essentiel pour améliorer notre compréhension de la dynamique de cette espèce sur des échelles de temps plus grandes et de leurs tendances futures dans le cadre du scénario global de changement environnemental

High-Speed Character Recognition System based on a complex hierarchical AER architecture

In this paper we briefly summarize the fundamental properties of spikes processing applied to artificial vision systems. This sensing and processing technology is capable of very high speed throughput, because it does not rely on sensing and processing sequences of frames, and because it allows for complex hierarchically structured cortical-like layers for sophisticated processing. The paper describes briefly cortex-like spiking vision processing principles, and the AER (Address Event Representation) technique used in hardware spiking systems. Afterwards an example application is described, which is a simplification of Fukushima’s Neocognitron. Realistic behavioral simulations based on existing AER hardware characteristics, reveal that the simplified neocognitron, although it processes 52 large kernel convolutions, is capable of performing recognition in less than 10µs.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIC-2003-08164-C03-01Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC-2006-11730-C03-01European Union IST-2001-34124 (CAVIAR)Junta de Andalucía P06-TIC-0141

Experimental evidence of synergistic effects of warming and invasive algae on a temperate reef-builder coral

In the current global climate change scenario, stressors overlap in space and time, and knowledge on the effects of their interaction is highly needed to understand and predict the response and resilience of organisms. Corals, among many other benthic organisms, are affected by an increasing number of global change-related stressors including warming and invasive species. In this study, the cumulative effects between warming and invasive algae were experimentally assessed on the temperate reef-builder coral Cladocora caespitosa. We first investigated the potential local adaptation to thermal stress in two distant populations subjected to contrasting thermal and necrosis histories. No significant differences were found between populations. Colonies from both populations suffered no necrosis after long-term exposure to temperatures up to 29 °C. Second, we tested the effects of the interaction of both warming and the presence of invasive algae. The combined exposure triggered critical synergistic effects on photosynthetic efficiency and tissue necrosis. At the end of the experiment, over 90% of the colonies subjected to warming and invasive algae showed signs of necrosis. The results are of particular concern when considering the predicted increase of extreme climatic events and the spread of invasive species in the Mediterranean and other seas in the future