Bicolored Hawk, Accipiter bicolor in Guayaquil city (Western Ecuador)

Accipiter bicolor is a widely distributed Neotropical raptor but knowledge about its ecology is poor, particularly in urban areas. In this work, we document the presence of A. bicolor in the city of Guayaquil and in nearby forested areas, in addition, we provide new records on its diet and discuss possible foraging strategies in synanthropic environments. Also, reports of this species are considered on citizen science platforms. Accipiter bicolor was observed consuming an individual of Columbina bluckeyi and another of Artibeus fraterculus; near a colony of this species of bat. Finally, we found 59 records of A. bicolor between 2007 and 2022 for Guayaquil and its surrounding areas, 14 records were in urban habitats. Observations in different urban and peri-urban habitats are discussed, as well as their feeding habits

Molecular Pathways Leading to Induction of Cell Death and Anti-Proliferative Properties by Tacrolimus and mTOR Inhibitors in Liver Cancer Cells

Background/Aims: Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the recommended treatment for patients at early stages of hepatocarcinoma (HCC) with portal hypertension and/or increased bilirubinemia, but without vascular-associated diseases. Tumor recurrence, which is the main drawback for the survival of patients submitted to OLT for HCC, has been related to tumor-related variables and the immunosuppressive therapies. We have previously shown that Tacrolimus (FK506) exerts a more potent pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects than the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors (Sirolimus and Everolimus) in liver cancer cells. This study identified the role of the immunosuppressant partners such as FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs) in the induction of cell death and arrest of cell proliferation by immunosuppressants in two representative liver cancer cells. Methods: The regulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, apoptosis/autophagy, cell proliferation, and FKBPs expression was determined in Tacrolimus-, Sirolimus- and Everolimus-treated primary human hepatocytes, and hepatoma HepG2 and Huh7 cell lines. The functional repercussion of FKBPs on cell death and proliferation was also addressed using the siRNA technology. The assessed antitumoral properties of the immunosuppressants were associated to microRNAs (miRNAs) pattern. Results: The enhanced pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative properties of Tacrolimus versus mTOR inhibitors were associated with increased protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK)-related ER stress, Ser15 P-p53/p53 ratio and p21 protein expression that may counterbalance the risk of proliferative upregulation caused by enhanced Thr172 P-Cdk4/ Cdk4 activation in liver cancer cells. The inhibition of the mTOR pathway by Sirolimus and Everolimus was related to an induction of autophagy; and at a high dose, these drugs impaired translation likely at a very early step of the elongation phase. Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors increased the protein expression of FKBP12 and FKBP51 that appeared to play pro-survival role. Interestingly, the administration of immunosuppressants yields a specific pattern of miRNAs. Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors decreased miR-92a-1-5p, miR-197-3p, miR-483-3p and miR- 720, and increased miR-22-3p, miR-376a-3p, miR-663b, miR-886-5p, miR-1300 and miR-1303 expressions in HepG2 cells. Conclusion: The more potent pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative properties of Tacrolimus versus mTOR inhibitors were associated with an increased activation of PERK and p53 signaling, and p21 protein expression. FKBP12 and FKBP51 appeared to be the most relevant partners of Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors exerting a pro-survival effect in HepG2 cells. The observed effects of immunosuppressants were related to a specific miRNA signature in liver cancer cellsEspaña Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) cofinanced by the ERDF (BFU2016-75352-P AEI/FEDER, EU

Molecular Pathways Leading to Induction of Cell Death and Anti-Proliferative Properties by Tacrolimus and mTOR Inhibitors in Liver Cancer Cells

[Background/Aims] Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the recommended treatment for patients at early stages of hepatocarcinoma (HCC) with portal hypertension and/or increased bilirubinemia, but without vascular-associated diseases. Tumor recurrence, which is the main drawback for the survival of patients submitted to OLT for HCC, has been related to tumor-related variables and the immunosuppressive therapies. We have previously shown that Tacrolimus (FK506) exerts a more potent pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects than the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors (Sirolimus and Everolimus) in liver cancer cells. This study identified the role of the immunosuppressant partners such as FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs) in the induction of cell death and arrest of cell proliferation by immunosuppressants in two representative liver cancer cells.[Methods] The regulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, apoptosis/autophagy, cell proliferation, and FKBPs expression was determined in Tacrolimus-, Sirolimus- and Everolimus-treated primary human hepatocytes, and hepatoma HepG2 and Huh7 cell lines. The functional repercussion of FKBPs on cell death and proliferation was also addressed using the siRNA technology. The assessed antitumoral properties of the immunosuppressants were associated to microRNAs (miRNAs) pattern.[Results] The enhanced pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative properties of Tacrolimus versus mTOR inhibitors were associated with increased protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK)-related ER stress, Ser15P-p53/p53 ratio and p21 protein expression that may counterbalance the risk of proliferative upregulation caused by enhanced Thr172P-Cdk4/Cdk4 activation in liver cancer cells. The inhibition of the mTOR pathway by Sirolimus and Everolimus was related to an induction of autophagy; and at a high dose, these drugs impaired translation likely at a very early step of the elongation phase. Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors increased the protein expression of FKBP12 and FKBP51 that appeared to play pro-survival role. Interestingly, the administration of immunosuppressants yields a specific pattern of miRNAs. Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors decreased miR-92a-1-5p, miR-197-3p, miR-483-3p and miR-720, and increased miR-22-3p, miR-376a-3p, miR-663b, miR-886-5p, miR-1300 and miR-1303 expressions in HepG2 cells.[Conclusion] The more potent pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative properties of Tacrolimus versus mTOR inhibitors were associated with an increased activation of PERK and p53 signaling, and p21 protein expression. FKBP12 and FKBP51 appeared to be the most relevant partners of Tacrolimus and mTOR inhibitors exerting a pro-survival effect in HepG2 cells. The observed effects of immunosuppressants were related to a specific miRNA signature in liver cancer cells.We thank the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCiii) cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund “A way to achieve Europe” (ERDF) (PI13/00021, P16/00090 and PI19/01266), as well as the Andalusian Ministry of the Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment (CTS-6264) and Andalusian Ministry of Health (PI13/00025, PI16/0198, PIP-0215-2020 and PI-0216-2020) for their financial support to J.M. We also thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) cofinanced by the ERDF (BFU2016-75352-P AEI/FEDER, EU) for their financial support to J.d.l.C. We thank Biomedical Research Network Center for Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBERehd) founded by the ISCiii and cofinanced by the ERDF for their financial support. E.N-V. acknowledges IFI18/00014 fellowship from the ISCiii. P.d.l.C-O. acknowledges FPU17/00026 fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education (MEC). L.C. acknowledges FPU16/05127 fellowship from the MEC

Coupling to breakup channels using a transformed harmonic oscillator basis

The application of a recently proposed procedure for discretizing the continuum to collision processes involving weakly bound nuclei is studied. In particular, the coupling to breakup states in the collision of d 1208 Pb at 50 MeV is discussed. For illustrative purposes, only the s-wave component of the bound state of the deuteron is considered, and the study is restricted to the case of nuclear s-wave breakup. The continuum discretization procedure provides a basis of transformed harmonic oscillator wave functions to accomplish the necessary calculations. Appropriate convergence of the elastic and breakup cross sections with increasing dimension of the basis is reported. In addition, it is shown that the results obtained converge to those of a standard continuum discretized coupled channels calculation, with the advantage that the convergence of the method is determined by only one parameter, namely the dimension of the basis

Mediterranean alcohol-drinking pattern, low to moderate alcohol intake and risk of atrial fibrillation in the PREDIMED study

[Background and aims] There is ongoing controversy about the effect of a low to moderate alcohol consumption on atrial fibrillation (AF). Our aim is to assess the association between adherence to a Mediterranean alcohol drinking pattern and AF incidence.[Methods and results] A total 6527 out of the 7447 participants in the PREDIMED trial met our inclusion criteria. A validated frequency food questionnaire was used to measure alcohol consumption. Participants were classified as non-drinkers, Mediterranean alcohol drinking pattern (MADP) (10–30 g/d in men and 5–15 g/day in women, preferably red wine consumption with low spirits consumption), low-moderate drinking (<30 g/day men y and < 15 g/day women), and heavy drinking. We performed multivariable Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of incident AF according to alcohol drinking patterns. After a mean follow up of 4.4 years, 241 new incident AF cases were confirmed. Alcohol consumption was not associated to AF incidence among low-moderate drinkers (HR: 0.96; 95%CI: 0.67–1.37), adherents to MADP (HR: 1.15 95%CI: 0.75–1.75), or heavy drinkers (HR: 0.92; 95%CI: 0.53–1.58), compared with non-drinkers.[Conclusions] In a high cardiovascular risk adult population, a Mediterranean alcohol consumption pattern (low to moderate red wine consumption) was not associated with an increased incidence of AF.[Clinical trials] URL: http://www.controlled-trials.com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN35739639.PREDIMED trial was supported by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish government (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) RTIC G03/140 (Coordinator: Dr Estruch) and RTIC RD 06/0045 (Coordinator: Dr Martínez-González). We also acknowledge grants from the National Institutes of Health, United States (1R01HL118264-01); Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria– Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (PI04/0233, PI05/0976, PI07/0240, PI10/01407, PI10/02658, PI11/00049, PI11/02505 and AGL2010-22319-C03-03); Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0105/2007), and by the Generalitat Valenciana, Spain (ACOMP/2013/165 and ACOMP/2013/159)

Interaction of 8He with 208Pb at near-barrier energies: 4He and 6He production

Angular distributions for the inclusive 4He and 6He production cross sections in the 8He+208Pb system at incident energies of 16 and 22 MeV measured at the SPIRAL facility of the GANIL laboratory are presented. Using a combination of kinematical arguments and distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) calculations, neutron transfer reactions were inferred to be the dominant contributors to both inclusive cross sections. Model-dependent values for the ratios of two- to one-neutron stripping, s2n/s1n, were derived and compared with previous results for 8He and 6He projectiles incident on other heavy targets. Three- and four-neutron stripping were inferred to be the main processes leading to 4He production, although the exact mechanism remains to be elucidated.The authors would like to thank the staff of the GANIL accelerator facility for providing the high-quality 8He beam. This work was supported in part by Grants No. FPA-2010-22131-CO2-01 (FINURA) and No. FPA2013-47327-C2-1-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, UNAM-PAPIIT IA103218 (Mexico); Grant No. N202 033637 from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland; the National Science Centre of Poland under Contracts No. 2013/08/M/ST2/00257 (LEA-COPIGAL) and No. 2014/14/M/ST2/00738 (COPIN-INFN Collaboration); and Grant No. EUI2009-04163432 (EUROGENESIS) from the European Science Foundation

Regulation of cell death receptor S-nitrosylation and apoptotic signaling by Sorafenib in hepatoblastoma cells

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a relevant role during cell death regulation in tumor cells. The overexpression of nitric oxide synthase type III (NOS-3) induces oxidative and nitrosative stress, p53 and cell death receptor expression and apoptosis in hepatoblastoma cells. S-nitrosylation of cell death receptor modulates apoptosis. Sorafenib is the unique recommended molecular-targeted drug for the treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The present study was addressed to elucidate the potential role of NO during Sorafenib-induced cell death in HepG2 cells. We determined the intra- and extracellular NO concentration, cell death receptor expression and their S-nitrosylation modifications, and apoptotic signaling in Sorafenib-treated HepG2 cells. The effect of NO donors on above parameters has also been determined. Sorafenib induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells. However, low concentration of the drug (10nM) increased cell death receptor expression, as well as caspase-8 and -9 activation, but without activation of downstream apoptotic markers. In contrast, Sorafenib (10 µM) reduced upstream apoptotic parameters but increased caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation in HepG2 cells. The shift of cell death signaling pathway was associated with a reduction of S-nitrosylation of cell death receptors in Sorafenib-treated cells. The administration of NO donors increased S-nitrosylation of cell death receptors and overall induction of cell death markers in control and Sorafenib-treated cells. In conclusion, Sorafenib induced alteration of cell death receptor S-nitrosylation status which may have a relevant repercussion on cell death signaling in hepatoblastoma cells.Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI13/00021Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BFU2012-32056Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía BIO-0216Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía CTS-6264Consejería de Salud, Junta de Andalucía PI13/ 0002

Association between serum copper levels and risk of cardiovascular disease: a nested case-control study in the PREDIMED trial

Background and aim: Certain trace elements have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between serum copper (SeCu) levels and the risk of a first event of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a population of older adults with high cardiovascular risk. Methods and results: We conducted a case-control study nested within the PREDIMED trial. During a median follow-up of 4.8 years, a total of 207 incident cases diagnosed with CVD were matched for sex, age, and intervention group with 436 controls. Personal interviews, reviews of medical records, and validated questionnaires were used to assess known CVD risk factors. Biological serum samples were collected annually. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis was used to determine SeCu levels. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated using multivariate conditional logistic regression models. All participants had SeCu levels within the reference values, 750 mg/L to 1450 mg/L. Among men, but not among women, the mean SeCu concentration was higher in cases 1014.1 mg/L than in controls 959.3 mg/L; (p Z 0.004). In men, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for CVD was 2.36 (95% CI 1.07e5.20 for the comparison of the highest vs. the lowest quartile; p for trend Z 0.02), in women, it was 0.43 (95% CI 0.11 e1.70; p for trend Z 0.165). Conclusion: In older Spanish men with high cardiovascular risk, a significant association was observed between high SeCu levels, but still within the reference values, and an increased risk of a first event of CVD. Our findings suggest a sex difference in CVD risk and SeCu levels. To confirm this relationship and to analyze the differences observed between men and women, further studies are needed.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA. This research was funded by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish government, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through grants provided to research networks specifically developed for the trial (RTIC G03/140; RTIC RD 06/0045 “PREDIMED”), and JR14/00008, and through Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), and by grants from Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC06/2007), the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (Proyecto de Investigación (PI04-2239, PI05/2584, CP06/00100, PI07/0240, PI07/1138, PI07/0954, PI 07/0473, PI10/01407, PI10/02658, PI11/01647, P11/02505 and PI13/00462), the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Recursos y teconologia agroalimentarias (AGL)-2009-13906-C02 and AGL2010-22319-C03 and AGL2013-49083C3-1-R), the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-Fondos FEDER-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (UNGR15-CE-3380), the Fundación Mapfre 2010, the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0105/2007), the Public Health Division of the Department of Health of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, the Generalitat Valenciana (Generalitat Valenciana Ayuda Complementatia GVACOMP) 06109, GVACOMP2010-181, GVACOMP2011-151), Conselleria de Sanitat y AP; Atención Primaria (CS) 2010-AP-111, and CS2011-AP-042), Regional Government of Navarra (P27/2011), and Centre Català de la Nutrició de l'Institut d'Estudis Catalans. Hojiblanca and Patrimonio Communal Olivarero donated extra-virgin olive oil; the California Walnut Commission donated walnuts; Borges donated almonds; La Morella Nuts donated hazelnuts