Desarrollo ontogénico y cambio socioambiental en la comarca Lozoya- Somosierra (Madrid). 1981-1996.

This work aims to describe and to analyse the effects of socio-environmental changes on bioanthropological characteristics in the Lozoya-Somosierra area (Madrid) during 15 years. Several statistical techniques were carried out on the cense, interviews and mesure data of a schoolchildren sample. Results show a favorable effect of socio-economic improve, population hetero * Sección de Antropología. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 223 M. D. Marrodán, et al. Desarrollo ontogénico y cambio socioambiental... genicity and nutritional and sanitary accesibility over the growth and maduration of children. These results are similar in other studies and they are in the same sense that the general idea about the human biological susceptibibility of the environment. RÉSUMÉ Le présent travail a pour objetif l'analyse de l'influence des changements socioenvironnementals qui ont eu place sur les charactéristiques bioantropologiques dans la région de Lozoya-Somosierra (Madrid) pendant 15 années. Les donnés, lesquels sont venues des registres censés, des enquêtes et des mesures sur un échantillon représentatif de la population scolaire, ont été analysées avec plusieurs techniques statistiques. Les résultats montre que les changements pour le progrès socioéconomique, la variabilité génétique et la accessibilité aux ressources nutritionnelles et sanitation, ont été un effet positif sur la croissance et la maduration de la population infantile. Ces resultats sont pareil avec d'autres études et avec la réflexion généralisée de la subceptibilité biologique humaine en face a l'environnement immédiat. 1.Este estudio describe y analiza las consecuencias bioantropológicas del cambio socioambiental acontecido en la comarca Lozoya-Somosierra (Madrid) durante 15 años. Los datos, procedentes de registros censales, encuestas y medición de una muestra representativa de la población escolar, se han analizado matemáticamente, empleando diferentes técnicas estadísticas. Los resultados indican que el cambio socioambiental que ha tenido lugar en la comarca entre los años 1981 y 1996, en el sentido de la mejora socioeconómica, la heterogenicidad poblacional y la accesibilidad a los recursos nutricionales y sanitarios, ha supuesto una repercusión positiva en el crecimiento y maduración de la población infantil. Son resultados en consonancia con otros estudios y con la reflexión generalizada de la susceptibilidad biológica humana frente a su entorno inmediato

Tryptophan depletion affects compulsive behaviour in rats:strain dependent effects and associated neuromechanisms

RATIONALE: Compulsive behaviour, present in different psychiatric disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and drug abuse, is associated with altered levels of monoamines, particularly serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and its receptor system. OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated whether 5-HT manipulation, through a tryptophan (TRP) depletion by diet in Wistar and Lister Hooded rats, modulates compulsive drinking in schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) and locomotor activity in the open-field test. The levels of dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and its metabolite were evaluated, as well as the 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(1A) receptor binding, in different brain regions. METHODS: Wistar rats were selected as high (HD) or low (LD) drinkers according to their SIP behaviour, while Lister hooded rats did not show SIP acquisition. Both strains were fed for 14 days with either a TRP-free diet (T−) or a TRP-supplemented diet (T+) RESULTS: The TRP depletion diet effectively reduced 5-HT levels in the frontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus in both strains of rats. The TRP-depleted HD Wistar rats were more sensitive to 5-HT manipulation, exhibiting more licks on SIP than did the non-depleted HD Wistar rats, while the LD Wistar and the Lister Hooded rats did not exhibit differences in SIP. In contrast, the TRP-depleted Lister Hooded rats increased locomotor activity compared to the non-depleted rats, while no differences were found in the Wistar rats. Serotonin 2A receptor binding in the striatum was significantly reduced in the TRP-depleted HD Wistar rats. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that alterations of the serotonergic system could be involved in compulsive behaviour in vulnerable populations

Effect of Intravitreous Anti–Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy on Choroidal Thickness in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Using Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

A critical method of monitoring patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) being treated with anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) is optical coherence tomography (OCT), which uses low-coherence interferometry of light to examine the retina in vivo on a micrometer scale.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-EY11289-25)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-EY13178-10)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-EY013516-07)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01-EY019029-02)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant FA9550-10-1-0551)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant FA9550-10-1-0063)Massachusetts Lions Club

Direct visualization of the native structure of viroid RNAs at single-molecule resolution by atomic force microscopy

[EN] Viroids are small infectious, non-protein-coding circular RNAs that replicate independently and, in some cases, incite diseases in plants. They are classified into two families: Pospiviroidae, composed of species that have a central conserved region (CCR) and replicate in the cell nucleus, and Avsunviroidae, containing species that lack a CCR and whose multimeric replicative intermediates of either polarity generated in plastids self-cleave through hammerhead ribozymes. The compact, rod-like or branched, secondary structures of viroid RNAs have been predicted by RNA folding algorithms and further examined using different in vitro and in vivo experimental techniques. However, direct data about their native tertiary structure remain scarce. Here we have applied atomic force microscopy (AFM) to image at single-molecule resolution different variant RNAs of three representative viroids: potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd, family Pospiviroidae), peach latent mosaic viroid and eggplant latent viroid (PLMVd and ELVd, family Avsunviroidae). Our results provide a direct visualization of their native, three-dimensional conformations at 0 and 4 mM Mg2+ and highlight the role that some elements of tertiary structure play in their stabilization. The AFM images show that addition of 4 mM Mg2+ to the folding buffer results in a size contraction in PSTVd and ELVd, as well as in PLMVd when the kissing-loop interaction that stabilizes its 3D structure is preserved.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) grants BIO2016-79618-R (funded by EU under the FEDER programme) to C.B. and BFU2104-56812-P to R.F., as well as by the Comunidad de Madrid grant S2018/NMT-4349 to L.V. 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Structure versus function: correlation between outer retinal and choroidal thicknesses measured by swept-source OCT with multifocal electroretinography and visual acuity

Background: To correlate retina-choroidal anatomy as assessed via swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) with retinal function as determined by best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG). Methods: Thirty-three eyes from 33 patients including 16 with neovascular AMD (nvAMD) and 17 controls were included. Patients were included in the present study after a complete ophthalmologic examination, including BCVA, slit-lamp study, intraocular pressure measurement, dilated fundus examination after tropicamide instillation, SD-OCT, SS-OCT, fundus photographs and mfERG. Age, sex, BCVA, number of anti-VEGF intravitreal injections in the nvAMD group, were recollected. Outer retinal and choroidal thickness were determined at the fovea and 500 μm temporal, superior, nasal and inferior. First-order response from mfERG was collected. P1 amplitude was recorded in R1, R2 and the average of R1 + R2. The measurements recollected from the SS-OCT, mfERG and BCVA were compared. Results: Better BCVA was found with thicker outer retina foveal thickness (r = 0.349; P = 0.047), with thicker subfoveal choroidal thickness (r = 0.443; P = 0.010), and with higher amplitude in P1 at R1 (r = 0.346; P = 0.037). Outer retina foveal thickness did not correlate with P1 amplitude at R1 (r = 0.072; P = 0.692), R2 (r = 0.265; P = 0.137) either with the average P1 amplitude at R1 + R2 (r = 0.253; P = 0.156). A thicker subfoveal choroidal thickness was related with higher amplitude in P1 at R1 (r = 0.383; P = 0.028), R2 (r = 0.409; P = 0.018) and the average of R1 + R2 (r = 0.419; P = 0.015). Conclusions: Choroidal thickness demonstrated a positive correlation with retinal function in the sample studied, so a thicker choroid is related to a better retinal function measured with mfERG and BCVA