BIOI. Tradicions biogràfiques dels poetes mítics grecs

[cat] La construcció de les tradicions biogràfiques dels poetes mítics grecs va començar a gestar-se des de les primeres manifestacions literàries gregues i es va prolongar durant segles. Al llarg d’aquest període, aquestes figures van ser adoptades amb finalitats diverses i van encaixar en els usos i les necessitats individuals o col·lectius d’autors literaris, grups de culte o interessos polítics. A més a més, la construcció biogràfica d’aquests poetes comparteix processos i mecanismes de caracterització similars als que van fer servir les tradicions dels poetes històrics i d’altres operadors culturals com els filòsofs. Així doncs, la tesi analitza els motius biogràfics principals que s’incorporaren a les figures dels poetes mítics, per blocs temàtics, i el procés com es generaren i s’aprofitaren els t pics i els motius biogràfics en els poetes considerats sovint iniciadors de la poesia grega. Les anàlisis d’aquesta recerca s’organitzen principalment al voltant de figures com Tàmiris, Orfeu, Museu, Eumolp, Epimènides, Linos, Olè, Filammó i Amfíon, entre d’altres, i s’estructuren seguint uns eixos temàtics com són els orígens (genealogia i pàtria), les relacions de magisteri i d’iniciació i altres motius típics de la biografia heroica (el viatge, els enfrontaments poètics i amb el poder, les invencions, la institució de cultes, la mort i la integració en la condició heroica). L’estudi dels motius biogràfics ha comportat la identificació d’una funció d’equivalència entre alguns d’aquests motius i s’hi ha detectat també una voluntat de jerarquització i competència, molt lligada al context cultual en què molts d’aquests poetes tenien presència. De manera similar, els biografemes han contribuït a assignar als poetes analitzats una funció instauradora per a la tradició literària i religiosa que els prenia com a referent, com a conseqüència de la relació constant i privilegiada amb la divinitat.[eng] The development of the biographical traditions of the Greek mythical poets started with the first Greek literary works and it lasted for centuries. Throughout this period these figures were adapted for different uses and they suited literary, cultic or political interests either particularly or collectively. Furthermore, the shaping of the traditions of these poets, generally considered previous to Homer, has similarities with the historical poets, philosophers, sages and others. So, the thesis analyses the main sets of biographical formulaic themes and the process in which these formulaic motifs were elaborated and reshaped. The poets studied are Thamyris, Orpheus, Musaeus, Eumolpus, Linus, Epimenides, Olen, Philammon and Amphion among others, and the topics are their genealogy and origin, poetic initiation and other traditional topics of the heroic biography (teacher-pupil relationship, travel, song contests, quarrel with authorities, inventions, establishment of new cults, death, heroization). The study of these biographical traditions has led to identify the equivalence among some formulaic themes and the intention to set up a hierarchy, tied to cultic context where these poets were used. Similarly, the biographemes contributed to assign them an authoritative role for the literary and religious tradition which took them as a referent, thanks to the constant and privileged relationship with deities

Biogeochemistry of plane trees as a tool to detect atmospheric pollution

The plane tree, which is a valuable tool to detect atmospheric pollution, is one of the most common trees in European cities. Soil and leaf samplings were carried out in Barcelona and its environs (NE Spain) to establish the soil-plant relationship. Dry and ashed leaves and soils were analyzed by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP/OES) at the ACTLABS laboratories in Ontario, Canada. Given that diesel is the main fuel used in vehicles in Europe, we sought to establish the role of diesel in atmospheric pollution. Diesel samples were obtained from service stations and analyzed after preconcentration using ICP/MS at the geochemistry laboratories of the University of Barcelona. The average content of diesel oil shows high values of Pb, Cu, Cr, Ag, Cd and Mn. High values of Pb, Cu, Au, Hg and Sb in leaves and soils were detected downtown and along main roads outside the city, whereas low levels of these elements were observed in rural areas.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Eco-socio-economic vulnerability assessment of Portuguese fisheries to climate change

Understanding ecological, and socio-economical vulnerabilities is fundamental towards developing and implementing regional adaptation strategies to climate change. The Portuguese coast is situated in a transition zone between temperate ecosystems to the north, and subtropical with Mediterranean characteristics, to the south, with distinct oceanographic regions (north, centre, and south), fish assemblages and socioeconomic realities of fish communities across these regions. We develop a framework to assess fisheries climate vulnerability in each port. A total of 32 ecological and socio-economic indicators were used to measure exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the fishing sector to climate change by combining i) environmental projections ii) information from fishing communities (surveys at ports) and iii) landings and socio-economic data from official statistics offices. The vulnerability to climate change across regions, and its expected impact on fishing fleets and local communities, was low-moderate. Such information will enable fishing communities and decision makers to respond to expected climate change effects and direct/indirect associated activities. This framework comprises background information for developing mandatory EU climate adaptation plans that aim to improve the resilience of fisheries socio-economic systemsFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDP/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. LA/P/0101/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. SFRH/BD/11426/2022Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. FJC2020–043449-IFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. SFRH/BD/06336/202Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0008Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. 2022.04803.CEECINDPortugal 2020 | Ref. SAICT-45-2017-02Portugal 2020 | Ref. ALG-01-0145-FEDER-028518Portugal 2020 | Ref. PTDC/ASP-PES/28518/2017MAR2020-FEAMP | Ref. MAR-01.03.02-FEAMP-005

Ecological sensitivity and vulnerability of fishing fleet landings to climate change across regions

The degree of exposure of fishing communities to environmental changes can be partially determined by the vulnerability of the target species and the landings composition. Hence, identifying the species that ecologically most contribute to the vulnerability of the landings are key steps to evaluate the risk posed by climate change. We analyse the temporal variability in intrinsic sensitivity and the ecological vulnerability of the Portuguese fisheries landings, considering the species proportions derived both from the weights and revenues. To account for the diversification of species of each fleet, we explored the species dependence of the fishery in combination with the vulnerability of them. The analyses were carried out separately for three fleet typologies and three regions. Opposite to what has been observed at a global scale, the ecological sensitivity of the fisheries landings between 1989 and 2015 did not display a decline across areas or fishing fleets. Considering each fleet independently, for trawling, where average vulnerability was lower than in the other fleets, the sensitivity of the landings increased since the 2000s. On the other hand, the high vulnerability found in multi-gear fleets was compensated by diversification of the species caught, while purse-seine fleets targeted low vulnerability species but presented a high fishery dependence on few species. The results highlight the importance of combining information on ecological vulnerability and diversification of fishing resources at a regional scale while providing a measure of the ecological exposure to climate change.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. SAICT-45-2017-02Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. ALG-01- 0145-FEDER-028518Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. PTDC/ASP-PES/28518/2017Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. MAR-01.03.02-FEAMP-0052Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. FCT DL57/2016/CP1361/CT000

Ecological sensitivity and vulnerability of fishing fleet landings to climate change across regions

The degree of exposure of fishing communities to environmental changes can be partially determined by the vulnerability of the target species and the landings composition. Hence, identifying the species that ecologically most contribute to the vulnerability of the landings are key steps to evaluate the risk posed by climate change. We analyse the temporal variability in intrinsic sensitivity and the ecological vulnerability of the Portuguese fisheries landings, considering the species proportions derived both from the weights and revenues. To account for the diversification of species of each fleet, we explored the species dependence of the fishery in combination with the vulnerability of them. The analyses were carried out separately for three fleet typologies and three regions. Opposite to what has been observed at a global scale, the ecological sensitivity of the fisheries landings between 1989 and 2015 did not display a decline across areas or fishing fleets. Considering each fleet independently, for trawling, where average vulnerability was lower than in the other fleets, the sensitivity of the landings increased since the 2000s. On the other hand, the high vulnerability found in multi-gear fleets was compensated by diversification of the species caught, while purse-seine fleets targeted low vulnerability species but presented a high fishery dependence on few species. The results highlight the importance of combining information on ecological vulnerability and diversification of fishing resources at a regional scale while providing a measure of the ecological exposure to climate change.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sardines at a junction: seascape genomics reveals ecological and oceanographic drivers of variation in the {NW} Mediterranean Sea

By evaluating genetic variation across the entire genome, one can address existing questions in a novel way while raising new ones. The latter includes how different local environments influence adaptive and neutral genomic variation within and among populations, providing insights into local adaptation of natural populations and their responses to global change. Here, under a seascape genomic approach, ddRAD data of 4609 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 398 sardines (Sardina pilchardus) collected in 11 Mediterranean and one Atlantic site were generated. These were used along with oceanographic and ecological information to detect signals of adaptive divergence with gene flow across environmental gradients. The studied sardines constitute two clusters (FST = 0.07), a pattern attributed to outlier loci, highlighting putative local adaptation. The trend in the number of days with sea surface temperature above 19°C, a critical threshold for successful sardine spawning, was crucial at all levels of population structuring with implications on the species' key biological processes. Outliers link candidate SNPs to the region's environmental heterogeneity. Our findings provide evidence for a dynamic equilibrium in which population structure is maintained by physical and ecological factors under the opposing influences of migration and selection. This dynamic in a natural system warrants continuous monitoring under a seascape genomic approach that might benefit from a temporal and more detailed spatial dimension. Our results may contribute to complementary studies aimed at providing deeper insights into the mechanistic processes underlying population structuring. Those are key to understanding and predicting future changes and responses of this highly exploited species in the face of climate change

Changes in Life History Traits of Small Pelagic Fish in the Western Mediterranean Sea

21 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, supplementary material https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.570354/full#supplementary-material.-- Data Availability Statement: The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because the dataset is available by request to the Spanish Institute of Oceanography. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to [email protected] pelagic fish (SPF) in the western Mediterranean Sea are key elements of the marine food web and are important in terms of biomass and fisheries catches. Significant declines in biomass, landings, and changes in the age/size structure of sardine Sardina pilchardus and anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus have been observed in recent decades, particularly in the northern area of the western Mediterranean Sea. To understand the different patterns observed in SPF populations, we analyzed key life history traits [total length at age, length at maturity, gonadosomatic index (GSI), and body condition (Kn)] of sardine and anchovy collected between 2003 and 2017, from different fishing harbors distributed along a latitudinal gradient from northern to southern Spain. We used Generalized Linear Models (GLM) to estimate the length at maturity and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to test the relationship with environmental variables (seawater temperature, water currents, and net primary productivity). The life history traits of both species presented seasonal, interannual and latitudinal differences with a clear decline in length at age, length at first maturity, and body condition, for both species in the northern part of the study area. In the southern part, on the contrary, life history traits did not present a clear temporal trend. The environmental conditions partially explained the long-term changes in life history traits, but the selected variables differed between areas, highlighting the importance of regional oceanographic conditions to understand the dynamics of small pelagic fish. The truncated length-at-age pattern for both species with the disappearance of the larger individuals of the population could have contributed to the poor condition of small pelagic fish populations in the northern part of the western Mediterranean Sea in recent years. In the south area, recent declines in body condition for sardine and anchovy were observed and could be a possible first sign for future population declines. This study highlights the importance of understanding the trade-off between the energy invested in reproduction, maintenance and growth at seasonal and interannual level to advance our knowledge on how environmental and human pressures influence population dynamics of small pelagic fish at local and regional scalesThis study was carried out within the Spanish Research project PELWEB (CTM2017-88939-R) funded by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the European Research Contract SPELMED (SC NR 02-TENDER EASME/EMFF/2016/032XXX) funded by EC EASME. Fisheries data collection has been co-funded by the EU through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) within the National Program of collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy (Regulation, EU 2017/1004)With funding from the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)Peer reviewe

Mitochondrial abnormalities in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a motor neuron disease caused by polyglutamine expansion mutation in the androgen receptor (AR). We investigated whether the mutant protein alters mitochondrial function. We found that constitutive and doxycycline-induced expression of the mutant AR in MN-1 and PC12 cells, respectively, are associated with depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane. This was mitigated by cyclosporine A, which inhibits opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. We also found that the expression of the mutant protein in the presence of ligand results in an elevated level of reactive oxygen species, which is blocked by the treatment with the antioxidants co-enzyme Q10 and idebenone. The mutant protein in MN-1 cells also resulted in increased Bax, caspase 9 and caspase 3. We assessed the effects of mutant AR on the transcription of mitochondrial proteins and found altered expression of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1 and the mitochondrial specific antioxidant superoxide dismutase-2 in affected tissues of SBMA knock-in mice. In addition, we found that the AR associates with mitochondria in cultured cells. This study thus provides evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction in SBMA cell and animal models, either through indirect effects on the transcription of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes or through direct effects of the mutant protein on mitochondria or both. These findings indicate possible benefit from mitochondrial therapy for SBMA

Ablation of PGC-1β Results in Defective Mitochondrial Activity, Thermogenesis, Hepatic Function, and Cardiac Performance

The transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1β (PGC-1β) has been implicated in important metabolic processes. A mouse lacking PGC-1β (PGC1βKO) was generated and phenotyped using physiological, molecular, and bioinformatic approaches. PGC1βKO mice are generally viable and metabolically healthy. Using systems biology, we identified a general defect in the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial function and, specifically, the electron transport chain. This defect correlated with reduced mitochondrial volume fraction in soleus muscle and heart, but not brown adipose tissue (BAT). Under ambient temperature conditions, PGC-1β ablation was partially compensated by up-regulation of PGC-1α in BAT and white adipose tissue (WAT) that lead to increased thermogenesis, reduced body weight, and reduced fat mass. Despite their decreased fat mass, PGC1βKO mice had hypertrophic adipocytes in WAT. The thermogenic role of PGC-1β was identified in thermoneutral and cold-adapted conditions by inadequate responses to norepinephrine injection. Furthermore, PGC1βKO hearts showed a blunted chronotropic response to dobutamine stimulation, and isolated soleus muscle fibres from PGC1βKO mice have impaired mitochondrial function. Lack of PGC-1β also impaired hepatic lipid metabolism in response to acute high fat dietary loads, resulting in hepatic steatosis and reduced lipoprotein-associated triglyceride and cholesterol content. Altogether, our data suggest that PGC-1β plays a general role in controlling basal mitochondrial function and also participates in tissue-specific adaptive responses during metabolic stress