Estudio de la especificidad funcional de AID en el proceso de hipermutación somática

Tesis doctoral inédita. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 19/01/201

Yellowtail Flounder Length at Maturity in the Grand Bank (1995-98)

In this paper yellowtail length at maturity estimates based data collected in the spring Spanish surveys in the Regulatory Area of Divisions 3NO are presented. Female length at 50 % maturity decreased from 35 cm in 1995 to 23 cm in 1998. In males, this parameter decreased from 23 cm in 1995 to 19 cm in 1998. The differences in L50 estimates in females were significant between 1997 and the previous years , and between 1998 and both 1996 and 1995, and were not significant between 1997 and 1998. In males, differences were significant between all the years, except between 1997 and 1998. The covariance analysis between the linearized maturity curves were highly significant in both sexes

Data on sharks in NAFO Divisions 3LMNO: 1991-1998

A review of the species composition, distribution and abundance of sharks in both the Spanish commercial catches (1991-98) and research surveys (1988-98) are carried out. Shark species are by-catches of Greenland halibut fishery. The proportion of shark species in the total catch is small and the main retained species is the black dogfish, whereas the main discard is the boreal shark. Since 1996 the retained proportion of black dogfish increase notably, as well as the proportion of total sharks. In the surveys this shark is the species with the highest biomass index. Black dogfish is found in the deepest waters. The length range of black dogfish is mainly between 50 and 80 cm, with a mode about 62-63 cm. No evident geographic pattern in the length distribution is observed during the studied period

Content, implementation strategies and knowledge assessment tool on venous leg ulcers: An e-Delphi study

Aim: To get consensus on the knowledge and skills that nursing students need to acquire regarding venous leg ulcer care, the strategies that can be applied during education and to design a first draft of a questionnaire to assess knowledge to be validated. Background: Venous leg ulcers’ care is included on undergraduate nursing education programmes but without specifying the content and training implementation strategies. Different tools have been validated to assess knowledge, but have been found inadequate. Design: An e-Delphi study. Methods: The participants were Chronic Wound Care expert nurses. Two questions were constructed and agreed on by the research team to define the problem. To answer the third question, a search was conducted for publications on venous leg ulcers, to help design the questionnaire. A 2-round e-Delphi study was conducted from January to March 2022. A panel of 17 experts participated in both rounds. The data were analysed using statistical and qualitative analysis. Results: Content must fulfil knowledge-skill areas: epidemiology, venous pathophysiology and aetiology, classification scales, knowing how to determine a differential diagnosis, treatment, measures for prevention and care of the venous return circuit, quality-of-life scales. As implementation strategies, proposals were made in four areas: subject profile where training is to be acquired, theoretical teaching, practical teaching in the classroom and clinical practice. The average consensus of the questionnaire proposal was high (>86 %) both in relevance and clarity in both rounds. We thereby obtained a questionnaire with 72 items. Conclusions: Seven categories and eight subcategories were created regarding knowledge/skills that nursing students should acquire. Four categories were recognised as strategies that can be implemented during education. A high level of consensus was reached on the items in the initial versions of the questionnaire.Open Access funding provided by University of Basque Country

Antifungal activity of chitosan oligomers-amino acid conjugate complexes against Fusarium culmorum in spelt (Triticum spelta L.)

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a complex disease of cereals caused by Fusarium species, which causes severe damages in terms of yield quality and quantity worldwide, and which produces mycotoxin contamination, posing a serious threat to public health. In the study presented herein, the antifungal activity against Fusarium culmorum of chitosan oligomers (COS)–amino acid conjugate complexes was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. The amino acids assayed were cysteine, glycine, proline and tyrosine. In vitro tests showed an enhancement of mycelial growth inhibition, with EC50 and EC90 effective concentration values ranging from 320 to 948 µg·mL−1 and from 1107 to 1407 µg·mL−1 respectively, for the conjugate complexes, as a result of the synergistic behavior between COS and the amino acids, tentatively ascribed to enhanced cell membrane damage originating from lipid peroxidation. Tests on colonies showed a maximum percentage reduction in the number of colonies at 1500 µg·mL−1 concentration, while grain tests were found to inhibit fungal growth, reducing deoxynivalenol content by 89%. The formulation that showed the best performance, i.e., the conjugate complex based on COS and tyrosine, was further investigated in a small-scale field trial with artificially inoculated spelt (Triticum spelta L.), and as a seed treatment to inhibit fungal growth in spelt seedlings. The field experiment showed that the chosen formulation induced a decrease in disease severity, with a control efficacy of 83.5%, while the seed tests showed that the treatment did not affect the percentage of germination and resulted in a lower incidence of root rot caused by the pathogen, albeit with a lower control efficacy (50%). Consequently, the reported conjugate complexes hold enough promise for crop protection applications to deserve further examination in larger field trials, with other Fusarium spp. pathogens and/or Triticum species

e-VALUACIÓN en tiempo real

Los sistemas de evaluación de prácticas actuales, incluyendo los automáticos, plantean el problema de que un estudiante entrega una práctica y no sabe la nota hasta transcurrido un tiempo, sin darle la posibilidad de corregir sus errores. Todo esto puede provocar en el estudiante desmotivación, abandono, falta de seguimiento, desconocimiento y, consecuentemente, el suspenso. Como una forma de solucionar este problema y teniendo en cuenta nuestro trabajo y aportaciones en los proyectos de investigación docente referidas al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES, ver [1] y [2]), planteamos la evaluación de prácticas mediante un sistema automático de control de entrega online, disponible las 24 horas del día, y con carácter objetivo al 100%. Dicho sistema presenta muchas ventajas tanto para el estudiante (actualización instantánea de la nota, feedback inmediato para corregir posibles fallos) como para el profesor (dedicar más tiempo a enseñar y no a corregir, seguimiento continuo del trabajo de los estudiantes).Peer Reviewe

Genetic variability of the 16S rRNA gene of Nocardia brasiliensis, the most common causative agent of actinomycetoma in Latin America and the Caribbean

Mycetoma is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016. It is characterized by the progressive growth of nodules and granulomatous lesions on the legs, arms, and trunk. It is potentially disfiguring and causes disability or amputations in working-age people from marginalized areas. The causative agents can be fungi (eumycetoma) or actinobacteria (actinomycetoma), the latter being the most common in America and Asia. Nocardia brasiliensis is the most important causal agent of actinomycetoma in the Americas. Taxonomic problems have been reported when identifying this species, so this study aimed to detect the 16S rRNA gene variations in N. brasiliensis strains using an in silico enzymatic restriction technique. The study included strains from clinical cases of actinomycetoma in Mexico, isolated from humans and previously identified as N. brasiliensis by traditional methods. The strains were characterized microscopically and macroscopically, then subjected to DNA extraction and amplification of the 16S rRNA gene by PCR. The amplification products were sequenced, and consensus sequences were constructed and used for genetic identification and in silico restriction enzyme analysis with the New England BioLabs® NEBcutter program. All study strains were molecularly identified as N. brasiliensis; however, in silico restriction analysis detected a diversity in the restriction patterns that were finally grouped and subclassified into 7 ribotypes. This finding confirms the existence of subgroups within N. brasiliensis. The results support the need to consider N. brasiliensis as a complex species

¿Qué son los determinantes sociales de la salud?

Resumen La salud se ha convertido en un punto primordial de debate, tanto a nivel internacional como nacional, así como en la piedra de toque para las instituciones gubernamentales y de diversos organismos internacionales, dirigidos hacia el desarrollo y a evitar las desigualdades en salud entre los países como al interior de los mismos. En dichos debates persiste el enfoque biomédico, que da una visión reducida de la realidad de la salud y enfermedad, al dejar fuera del análisis el contexto en que la vida de las personas se desarrolla, favoreciendo la permanencia de las desigualdades en salud. El enfoque de los determinantes sociales de la salud ha evidenciado la urgente necesidad de retomar las condiciones de vida de las personas para comprender debidamente el proceso de la salud y enfermedad, y brindar así respuestas más adecuadas que mejoren las condiciones de salud de la población y modifiquen las inequidades. Sin embargo, aún se tiene un desconocimiento sobre su concepto y cómo integrar este enfoque en las políticas de salud. Abstract Health has become a key point of discussion both at the international and national levels, as well as in the touchstone for government institutions and various international organizations, directed towards development and to avoid inequalities in health both among countries and inside them. In these discussion the biomedical approach persists, which gives a reduced view of the reality of health and disease, leaving out of the analysis the context in which people’s lives develop, favoring the permanence of inequalities in health. The focus of the Social Determinants of Health has evidenced the urgent need to consider the living conditions of the people to properly understand the health and disease process and thus provide more adequate responses that improve the health conditions of the population and modify the inequities. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about their concept and even more about how to integrate this approach into health policies. &nbsp

¿Qué son los determinantes sociales de la salud?

Resumen La salud se ha convertido en un punto primordial de debate, tanto a nivel internacional como nacional, así como en la piedra de toque para las instituciones gubernamentales y de diversos organismos internacionales, dirigidos hacia el desarrollo y a evitar las desigualdades en salud entre los países como al interior de los mismos. En dichos debates persiste el enfoque biomédico, que da una visión reducida de la realidad de la salud y enfermedad, al dejar fuera del análisis el contexto en que la vida de las personas se desarrolla, favoreciendo la permanencia de las desigualdades en salud. El enfoque de los determinantes sociales de la salud ha evidenciado la urgente necesidad de retomar las condiciones de vida de las personas para comprender debidamente el proceso de la salud y enfermedad, y brindar así respuestas más adecuadas que mejoren las condiciones de salud de la población y modifiquen las inequidades. Sin embargo, aún se tiene un desconocimiento sobre su concepto y cómo integrar este enfoque en las políticas de salud. Abstract Health has become a key point of discussion both at the international and national levels, as well as in the touchstone for government institutions and various international organizations, directed towards development and to avoid inequalities in health both among countries and inside them. In these discussion the biomedical approach persists, which gives a reduced view of the reality of health and disease, leaving out of the analysis the context in which people’s lives develop, favoring the permanence of inequalities in health. The focus of the Social Determinants of Health has evidenced the urgent need to consider the living conditions of the people to properly understand the health and disease process and thus provide more adequate responses that improve the health conditions of the population and modify the inequities. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about their concept and even more about how to integrate this approach into health policies. &nbsp

The A54T polymorphism in the FABP2 gene and its relationship with obesity

Introduction: Obesity is a complex, multifactorial, and mostly preventable disease affecting, along with overweight, more than a third of today’s world population. Variations in the nucleotide sequence of both metabolic and appetite control genes have been counted among these non-modifiable factors and are associated with BMI, lipidic profile, and abdominal circumference alterations. Methods: An analytical, non-experimental, and transversal research was done with the purpose to assess the presence of A54T polymorphism in the FABP gene in a sub-sample from the Maracaibo City Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence Study. Results: 154 individuals eight subjects were carriers of the A54Tpolymorphism, namely, a genotypic frequency of 5.19 %, with a sex distribution of 50 % for women (n=4) and 50 % (n=4) for men. In respect of alleles similarity degree, 75 % (n=6) were homozygous, and 25 % (n=2) were heterozygous. Obesity diagnosis throughout BMI was only present in 12.50 % (n=1) of the A54T carriers. Conversely, 25 % (n=2) of the carriers were overweighed; 50 % (n=4) were presented as normal-weight people; and only 12.50 % (n=1), in one underweighted person. Conclusion: As in many other studies, we do not find an association between Ala54Thr polymorphism and obesity. This result reinforces the fact of the multifactorial character of these diseases and a carrier state of this polymorphism is not necessarily to experience a higher obesity risk, at least, in our environment.La obesidad es una enfermedad compleja, multifactorial y en su mayor parte prevenible que afecta, a más de un tercio de la población mundial actual. Las variaciones en la secuencia de nucleótidos de los genes de control del metabolismo y del apetito se consideran hasta ahora como factores no modificables y se asocian con alteraciones del IMC, del perfil lipídico y de la circunferencia abdominal. Métodos: Se realizó una investigación analítica, no experimental y transversal con el propósito de evaluar la presencia del polimorfismo A54T en el gen FABP en una submuestra del Estudio de Prevalencia del Síndrome Metabólico de la Ciudad de Maracaibo. Resultados: De los 154 individuos de la submuestra ocho sujetos fueron portadores del polimorfismo A54T, es decir, una frecuencia genotípica de 5,19 %, con una distribución por sexo de 50 % para las mujeres (n=4) y 50 % (n=4) para los hombres. Con respecto al grado de similitud de los alelos, el 75 % (n=6) eran homocigotos y el 25 % (n=2) heterocigotos. El diagnóstico de obesidad a lo largo del IMC sólo estuvo presente en el 12,50 % (n=1) de los portadores de A54T. Por el contrario, el 25 % (n=2) de los portadores tenían sobrepeso; el 50 % (n=4) se presentaron como personas de peso normal; y sólo el 12,50 % (n=1) en la categoría de peso insuficiente. Conclusión: No se encontró una asociación entre el polimorfismo de Ala54Thr y la obesidad. Este resultado refuerza el carácter multifactorial de estas enfermedades y que un estado portador de este polimorfismo no es causa necesaria para padecer obesidad, al menos, en nuestro medio