Environmental enrichment results in both brain connectivity efficiency and selective improvement in different behavioral tasks

Exposure to environmental enrichment (EE) has been a useful model for studying the effects of experience on brain plasticity, but to date, few is known about the impact of this condition on the brain functional networks that probably underlies the multiple behavioral improvements. Hence, we assessed the effect of an EE protocol in adult Wistar rats on the performance in several behavioral tasks testing different domains (Open field (OP): locomotor activity; Elevated-zero maze (EZM): anxiety-related behaviors; 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT): attentional processes; 4-arm radial water maze (4-RAWM): spatial memory) in order to check its effectiveness in a wide range of functions. After this, we analyzed the functional brain connectivity underlying each experimental condition through cytochrome C oxidase (COx) histochemistry. Our EE protocol reduced both locomotor activity in the OP and anxiety-related behaviors in the EZM. On the other hand, enriched rats showed more accuracy in the 4-RAWM, whereas 5-CSRTT performance was not significantly ameliorated by EE condition. In relation to COx functional connectivity, we found that EE reduced the number of strong positive correlations both in basal and training conditions, suggesting a modulating effect on specific brain connections. Our results suggest that EE seems to have a selective effect on specific brain regions, such as prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, leading to a more efficient brain connectivity.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/3

ATIPICIDADES EN UN CASO CON DISPLASIA ARRITMOGÉNICA DEL VENTRÍCULO DERECHO O ENFERMEDAD DE UHL / Report of an atypical case with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia or Uhl´s anomaly

ResumenLa displasia arritmogénica del ventrículo derecho es una miocardiopatía caracterizada por arritmias ventriculares malignas y anomalías estructurales progresivas, que afectan primariamente al ventrículo derecho. Se presenta por una sustitución progresiva parcial o masiva del miocardio por tejido adiposo o fibroadiposo. La enfermedad de Uhl puede ser una manifestación extrema y generalizada de la displasia arritmogénica del ventrículo derecho, trastorno congénito muy poco frecuente con ausencia de miocardio ventricular derecho, por lo que sus paredes son delgadas como el papel. Se comenta el caso de un paciente masculino de 56 años que presentó pérdida de conocimiento y se le realizó el diagnóstico clínico y ecocardiográfico. Se discuten las características clínicas, el diagnóstico y la conducta a seguir ante esta cardiopatía potencialmente letal en pacientes que sufren síncope, taquicardia ventricular o parada cardíaca. / AbstractArrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia is a cardiomyopathy characterized by malignant ventricular arrhythmias and progressive structural abnormalities, affecting primarily the right ventricle. It appears due to a partial or massive progressive replacement of the myocardium by fibroadipose or adipose tissue. Uhl's disease may be an extreme and widespread manifestation of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, a rare congenital disorder with absence of right ventricular myocardium, so that its walls are paper thin. The case of a 56 year old male patient who had loss of consciousness and underwent clinical and echocardiographic diagnosis is presented. The clinical features, diagnosis and action to take against this potentially fatal heart disease in patients with syncope, ventricular tachycardia or cardiac arrest are discussed

Strain variations in a seismogenic normal fault (Baza Sub-basin, Betic Chain): Insights from magnetic fabrics (AMS)

AMS and structural analysis are here applied to study the deformed zone associated with a large-scale, active normal fault in the central Betic Cordillera (Spain), namely the Baza fault system, to determine: i) the kinematics of structures and their relation with fault zone architecture and segmentation degree, ii) the correlation between deformational structures and the different types of magnetic fabrics and iii) the evolution of magnetic fabrics patterns, from sedimentary to shear-related, associated with normal faults. Five outcrops (969 samples) were analysed along the fault trace, which shows different degrees of segmentation along strike and strong localization of deformation along narrow fault zones. A first, main set of magnetic fabric data corroborates the normal kinematics of the Baza fault, showing magnetic lineations parallel to the dip-slip, transport direction. A second, secondary set of magnetic lineations, is parallel to the intersection lineation, and can be related to less intense deformation in the fault rocks. Furthermore, a detailed study (523 samples) of a trench excavated across the fault zone, where two fault splays tend to coalesce in a linkage relay zone indicates that i) lithology and distance to fault planes are two factors that control the development of extension-related magnetic fabrics in weakly deformed sediments, ii) the development of shear-related fabrics in fault zones entails the mechanical rotation of minerals, iii) different orientation of magnetic lineations are related to different intensity of bulk deformation and iv) magnetic lineation is useful to define local deviations of deformation axes produced by changes in the local extension direction (from fault-perpendicular to fault-parallel extension) in the linkage zone between adjacent fault splays

Prevalencia de síntomas osteomusculares en trabajadores de un colegio privado de Cali, Colombia.

Work related Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are increasingly common worldwide and are the leading cause of occupational morbidity in Colombia. Determining the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in workers is important in order to develop strategies that prevent and reduce their occurrence. Objective: Determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms (MES) among workers in a private school in Cali, Colombia. Methodology: A descriptive observational study was conducted in 114 workers of a private school in Cali. Sociodemographic data were collected. MES were surveyed with Nordic Questionnaire. Frequencies were compared with X2 test, considering a 0,05 alpha. Results: MES were detected in 73.7% of the participants and 66.7% reported MES in two or more areas with the highest prevalence in spine and lower limbs (39.3%). The prevalence of pain was significantly more frequent in women (P = 0.004). The work group that reported more MES was teachers followed by transportation, and maintenance workers. Conclusions: The prevalence of MES is high among teachers, especially in women. It is important to design strategies in order to reduce their frequency and determine the work related causes and those outside of work.Los desórdenes musculoesqueléticos (DME) relacionados con el trabajo son cada vez más frecuentes en el mundo y actualmente constituyen la primera causa de morbilidad profesional en Colombia. Es importante determinar la prevalencia de síntomas osteomusculares (SOM) en los trabajadores y desarrollar estrategias con el fin de prevenir su ocurrencia. Objetivo:  Determinar la prevalencia de SOM en los trabajadores de un Colegio privado de la ciudad de Cali, Colombia. Metodología: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, realizado en 114 trabajadores de una institución educativa privada. Se recolectaron datos sociodemográficos y laborales a través de una encuesta y se utilizó el Cuestionario Nórdico para el análisis de SOM. Se compararon frecuencias con el test de X2, considerando 0,05 como error alfa. Resultados: El 73.7% de los entrevistados refirieron SOM y de estos el 66.7% refirió dolor en dos o más zonas, con mayor prevalencia en columna y miembros inferiores (39.3%). La prevalencia de dolor fue más frecuente en mujeres que en hombres (P=0.004). El grupo que más reportó SOM fueron los docentes, seguidos por los empleados de transporte y de mantenimiento. Conclusiones: La prevalencia de SOM en docentes es alta, siendo las mujeres las más afectadas. Es importante implementar medidas para disminuir la aparición de SOM, particularmente en columna y miembros inferiores, así como determinar las causas laborales y extralaborales

A mitochondrial genome assembly of the opal chimaera, Chimaera opalescens Luchetti, Iglésias et Sellos 2011, using PacBio HiFi long reads

Chondrichthyans (sharks, rays and chimeras) are a fascinating and highly vulnerable group of early branching gnathostomes. However, they remain comparatively poorly sampled from the point of view of molecular resources, with deep water taxa being particularly data deficient. The development of long-read sequencing technologies enables the analysis of phylogenetic relationships through a precise and reliable assembly of complete mtDNA genomes. The sequencing and characterization of the complete mitogenome of the opal chimera Chimera opalescens Luchetti, Iglésias et Sellos 2011, using the long-read technique PacBio HiFi is presented. The entire mitogenome was 23,411 bp long and shows the same overall content, i.e. 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, as all other examined Chondrichthyan mitogenomes. Phylogenetic reconstructions using all available Chondrichthyan mitogenomes, including 11 Holocephali (chimeras and ratfishes), places C. opalescens within the Chimaeridae family. Furthermore, the results reinforce previous findings, showing the genus Chimera as paraphyletic and thus highlighting the need to expand molecular approaches in this group of cartilaginous fishes