Memantine protects cholinergic and glutamatergic septal neurons from Aβ1-40-induced toxicity

The medial septal region (medial septum and diagonal band of Broca, MS/DB) controls hippocampal excitability and synaptic plasticity. MS/DB cholinergic neurons degenerate early in Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD). The presence of MS/DB glutamatergic neurons that project to the hippocampus and are vulnerable to Aβ suggests that excitotoxicity plays a role in AD septal degeneration and hippocampal dysfunction. To demonstrate the presence of excitotoxicity in Aβ-induced septal damage, we compared rats injected with Aβ1-40 into the MS/DB with animals treated with memantine prior, during and after Aβ1-40 injections. Controls were injected with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). MS/DB cholinergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons were immunochemically identified. The number of MS/DB neurons was estimated using stereology. Our results show that memantine blocks Aβ1-40-induced septal damage and suggest that excitotoxicity plays a role in basal forebrain neurodegeneration

Memantine protects cholinergic and glutamatergic septal neurons from Aβ1-40-induced toxicity

The medial septal region (medial septum and diagonal band of Broca, MS/DB) controls hippocampal excitability and synaptic plasticity. MS/DB cholinergic neurons degenerate early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The presence of MS/DB glutamatergic neurons that project to the hippocampus and are vulnerable to Aβ suggests that excitotoxicity plays a role in AD septal degeneration and hippocampal dysfunction. To demonstrate the presence of excitotoxicity in Aβinduced septal damage, we compared rats injected with Aβ1–40 into the MS/DB with animals treated with memantine prior, during and after Aβ1–40 injections. Controls were injected with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). MS/DB cholinergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons were immunochemically identified. The number of MS/DB neurons was estimated using stereology. Our results show that memantine blocks Aβ1–40-induced septal damage and suggest that excitotoxicity plays a role in basal forebrain neurodegeneration

Early feeding to modify digestive enzyme activity in broiler chickens

Objective. To evaluate the effect on digestive enzyme activity in broiler chickens by providing food in the first 48 hrs. after birth. Materials and methods. After incubating 300 fertile eggs from Hubbard breeding and immediately after hatching, the chicks were randomly assigned to treatments: fasting (from hatching to 48 hrs.); Hydrated Balanced Food (HBF) from birth to 48 hrs.; commercial hydrating supplement (CHS) from birth to 48 hrs. The diets were provided ad libitum. After 48 hrs. a commercial diet was fed. At birth and at 48 and 72 hrs. of age 30 chicks/treatment were sacrificed to determine the enzyme activity of maltase, sucrase, alkaline phosphatase, phytase, a-amylase, trypsin and lipase in samples of duodenal or pancreatic homogenate. Results. The supply of HBF or CHS during the first 48 hrs. of life increased the activity of maltase, sucrase and phytase in the first 3 days of life, with values between 1.2 and up to 4-fold compared to the control (p<0.05). Chickens that fasted for the first 48 hrs. had higher activity of the pancreatic enzymes a-amylase, trypsin, and lipase at 72 hrs. of life (p<0.05). Conclusions. The food supply in the first 48 hrs. after hatching increases the duodenal enzyme activity in the intestinal brush border during the first 3 days of age in broiler chickens

Recuperación de las interacciones entre el haya (Fagus sylvatica) y los hongos ectomicorrícicos 140 años después del fin de la actividad minera

Even the increasing use of restoration, it does not always imply a shortterm answer in ecosystems that guarantees the recovery of their structure, functions, and services. So far, most studies evaluating ecosystem recovery have used metrics that ignore the complexity needed to structure communities of organisms that form ecosystems. Here, we analyze the recovery of species interactions (metric with a certain level of complexity) in a large time scale ('100 years). In particular, we characterized, using molecular identification, the ectomicorrhyzal (EcM) fungal communities present in 18 beech trees inside and seven outside an ancient iron in Navarra (northern Spain), in use from the XIV century until 140 years ago, as well as seven beech trees from a nearby oldgrowth forest. Species richness of EcM fungi was similar for the three locations, while differences were found for species composition in the area damaged by mining and compare to outside the mine and the reference beech forest. Our results suggest the need to assess ecosystem recovery with more complex metrics (e.g. architecture of interaction networks) in order to accurately estimate the real time required for ecosystems to fully recover. © 2019 Los Autores.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Plan Nacional de Investigación RETOS (CGL2015-70452-R) y la acreditación de excelencia “María de Maeztu” 2018-2022 (MDM-2017-0714). ARU fue financiada por el programa de becas predoctorales (2016) de la Fundación Tatiana Guzman el Bueno

Hydrodynamics and water quality assessment of a coastal lagoon using environmental fluid dynamics code explorer modeling system

Ciénaga de Mallorquín is a coastal lagoon designated as a RAMSAR site due to its ecological regional and international importance. In this work, the environmental fluid dynamics code explorer modeling system was implemented to determine the spatiotemporal distribution of temperature, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand and nutrient levels, and assess the trophic status of Ciénaga de Mallorquín. The model was set up with field measurement data taken during transition period and wet season, and secondary information obtained from local authorities and environmental agencies. The results of model simulations were calibrated and verified by the root mean square error method, achieving a consistent fit for all considered variables. Average velocities were between 0.006 m/s and 0.013 m/s during the analyzed periods. The temperature was higher in the wet season than in the transition period (29°C and 31.5°C, respectively). The dissolved oxygen was similar in both periods (6.6 and 6.7 mg/L). NO3 concentrations were higher during the transition period (3.28 mg/L), with a minimum of 1.76 mg/L and a maximum of 5.09 mg/L. The lowest NO3 concentrations were found in the area influenced by the connection with the Caribbean Sea. PO4 concentrations in the wet season were lower than in the transition period (0.20 mg/L). Finally, Ciénaga de Mallorquín exhibits high productivity levels with Trophic State Index > 50 and temporal variations of mesotrophic to eutrophic. The use of Trophic State Index is useful for the management of water body eutrophication and productivity, making it particularly important in aquatic ecosystems

Assessing the Emergence of Resistance: The Absence of Biological Cost In Vivo May Compromise Fosfomycin Treatments for P. aeruginosa Infections

BACKGROUND: Fosfomycin is a cell wall inhibitor used efficiently to treat uncomplicated urinary tract and gastrointestinal infections. A very convenient feature of fosfomycin, among others, is that although the expected frequency of resistant mutants is high, the biological cost associated with mutation impedes an effective growth rate, and bacteria cannot offset the obstacles posed by host defenses or compete with sensitive bacteria. Due to the current scarcity of new antibiotics, fosfomycin has been proposed as an alternative treatment for other infections caused by a wide variety of bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, whether fosfomycin resistance in P. aeruginosa provides a fitness cost still remains unknown. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We herein present experimental evidence to show that fosfomycin resistance cannot only emerge easily during treatment, but that it is also cost-free for P. aeruginosa. We also tested if, as has been reported for other species such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis, fosfomycin resistant strains are somewhat compromised in their virulence. As concerns colonization, persistence, lung damage, and lethality, we found no differences between the fosfomycin resistant mutant and its sensitive parental strain. The probability of acquisition in vitro of resistance to the combination of fosfomycin with other antibiotics (tobramycin and imipenem) has also been studied. While the combination of fosfomycin with tobramycin makes improbable the emergence of resistance to both antibiotics when administered together, the combination of fosfomycin plus imipenem does not avoid the appearance of mutants resistant to both antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: We have reached the conclusion that the use of fosfomycin for P. aeruginosa infections, even in combined therapy, might not be as promising as expected. This study should encourage the scientific community to assess the in vivo cost of resistance for specific antibiotic-bacterial species combinations, and therefore avoid reaching universal conclusions from single model organisms

Chocolate, Air Pollution and Children's Neuroprotection: What Cognition Tools should be at Hand to Evaluate Interventions?

Indexación: Web of ScienceMillions of children across the world are exposed to multiple sources of indoor and outdoor air pollutants, including high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O-3). The established link between exposure to PM2.5, brain structural, volumetric and metabolic changes, severe cognitive deficits (1.5-2 SD from average IQ) in APOE 4 heterozygous females with >75 - <94% BMI percentiles, and the presence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) hallmarks in urban children and young adults necessitates exploration of ways to protect these individuals from the deleterious neural effects of pollution exposure. Emerging research suggests that cocoa interventions may be a viable option for neuroprotection, with evidence suggesting that early cocoa interventions could limit the risk of cognitive and developmental concerns including: endothelial dysfunction, cerebral hypoperfusion, neuroinflammation, and metabolic detrimental brain effects. Currently, however, it is not clear how early we should implement consumption of cocoa to optimize its neuroprotective effects. Moreover, we have yet to identify suitable instruments for evaluating cognitive responses to these interventions in clinically healthy children, teens, and young adults. An approach to guide the selection of cognitive tools should take into account neuropsychological markers of cognitive declines in patients with Alzheimer's neuropathology, the distinct patterns of memory impairment between early and late onset AD, and the key literature associating white matter integrity and poor memory binding performance in cases of asymptomatic familial AD. We highlight potential systemic and neural benefits of cocoa consumption. We also highlight Working Memory Capacity (WMC) and attention control tasks as opened avenues for exploration in the air pollution scenario. Exposures to air pollutants during brain development have serious brain consequences in the short and long term and reliable cognition tools should be at hand to evaluate interventions.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphar.2016.00232/ful

Memoria, responsabilidad, resistencia. Apuntes sobre ética y política en la ficción de José Saramago

Las tres nociones teóricas que constituyen el dispositivo conceptual de la propuesta aquí presentada, que lleva por título: Memoria, responsabilidad, resistencia (apuntes sobre ética y política en la ficción de José Saramago) y que tienen como eje articulador la marginalidad (desde que opera –benjaminianamente – sobre las relaciones de desigualdad y exclusión), orientan el trabajo heurístico con los textos escogidos como corpus y circunscriben sus alcances y limitaciones. Lo que se pretende en esta nueva etapa –entendida como continuidad de un proceso – es construir una teoría de análisis del discurso saramaguiano desde su intelección ético-política , tomando como referenciales las nociones bajtinianas de «discurso, epistemología, antagonismo, ideología, sujeto y poder». Y para ello, el «recorte» procedimental de las categorías enunciadas sirve como línea transversal de lectura que despliega las significaciones narrativas y las transforma en enunciados de valor y toma de posición. «Memoria» entendida en singular recoge las tesis benjaminianas sobre el «concepto de historia» que operan sobre ese radical campo de estudio que es el «pasado» y recuperan las voces acalladas de los «oprimidos» de la historia, postulando una lectura «a contrapelo » de la historia nacional y global. Situándose, en el caso de las referencialidades saramaguianas, en el contexto que articula la dictadura antes y después de su presencia en el escenario del siglo XX, el trabajo analítico focalizará en los modos de perduración de la memoria y la capacidad pregnante de irrumpir en el presente instaurando nuevos modos discursivos de resistencia. La noción de «responsabilidad» tiene una herencia múltiple en el equipo de investigación pero –sobre todo– conjuga con las tesis de Tzvetan Todorov sobre la ética de las víctimas, adentrándose en el estudio de la «alteridad» como presupuesto indiscutible y con el concepto de eticidad, vinculado a la teoría del reconocimiento desarrollada por Axel Honneth. Por último, la «resistencia» abre hacia una lectura política de la ficción de José Saramago que el procedimiento heurístico y hermenéutico de la investigación, a partir de los enunciados de Foucault y de Said –entre otros– pretende radicalizar. La conjunción tripartita de las nociones destacadas y su dinamicidad dialéctica aseguran la constitución de un referencial teórico que pretende instalar en el aparato crítico sobre la ficción del autor portugués, un dispositivo conceptual a partir del cual dialogar con el pensamiento y la filosofía contemporáne

The OTELO survey. A case study of [O III]4959,5007 emitters at <z> = 0.83

The OTELO survey is a very deep, blind exploration of a selected region of the Extended Groth Strip and is designed for finding emission-line sources (ELSs). The survey design, observations, data reduction, astrometry, and photometry, as well as the correlation with ancillary data used to obtain a final catalogue, including photo-z estimates and a preliminary selection of ELS, were described in a previous contribution. Here, we aim to determine the main properties and luminosity function (LF) of the [O III] ELS sample of OTELO as a scientific demonstration of its capabilities, advantages, and complementarity with respect to other surveys. The selection and analysis procedures of ELS candidates obtained using tunable filter (TF) pseudo-spectra are described. We performed simulations in the parameter space of the survey to obtain emission-line detection probabilities. Relevant characteristics of [O III] emitters and the LF([O III]), including the main selection biases and uncertainties, are presented. A total of 184 sources were confirmed as [O III] emitters at a mean redshift z=0.83. The minimum detectable line flux and equivalent width (EW) in this ELS sample are $\sim$5 $\times$ 10$^{-19}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{2}$ and $\sim$6 \AA, respectively. We are able to constrain the faint-end slope ($\alpha = -1.03\pm0.08$) of the observed LF([O III]) at z=0.83. This LF reaches values that are approximately ten times lower than those from other surveys. The vast majority (84\%) of the morphologically classified [O III] ELSs are disc-like sources, and 87\% of this sample is comprised of galaxies with stellar masses of M$_\star$ $<$ 10$^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$.Comment: v1: 16 pages, 6 figures. Accepted in Astronomy \& Astrophysics. v2: Author added in metadat

Galaxy classification: deep learning on the OTELO and COSMOS databases

Context. The accurate classification of hundreds of thousands of galaxies observed in modern deep surveys is imperative if we want to understand the universe and its evolution. Aims. Here, we report the use of machine learning techniques to classify early- and late-type galaxies in the OTELO and COSMOS databases using optical and infrared photometry and available shape parameters: either the Sersic index or the concentration index. Methods. We used three classification methods for the OTELO database: 1) u-r color separation , 2) linear discriminant analysis using u-r and a shape parameter classification, and 3) a deep neural network using the r magnitude, several colors, and a shape parameter. We analyzed the performance of each method by sample bootstrapping and tested the performance of our neural network architecture using COSMOS data. Results. The accuracy achieved by the deep neural network is greater than that of the other classification methods, and it can also operate with missing data. Our neural network architecture is able to classify both OTELO and COSMOS datasets regardless of small differences in the photometric bands used in each catalog. Conclusions. In this study we show that the use of deep neural networks is a robust method to mine the cataloged dataComment: 20 pages, 10 tables, 14 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics (in press