¿Es la industria alimentaria española competitiva a nivel internacional? Evidencias desde la Ventaja Comparativa Revelada (2015-2019)

[ES] España ha demostrado ser un país muy competitivo globalmente cuando se trata de alimentos, tanto en fresco como sometidos a algún proceso industrial, agregándoles así valor y promoviendo la producción agropecuaria. En este marco, el objeto del trabajo es proporcionar un diagnóstico de la posición, en términos de competitividad, de los flujos de exportación de la industria de alimentos de España en comparación con las exportaciones totales de la misma industria en el mundo, en el periodo 2015-2019. Se establece a partir de las mediciones de la Ventaja Comparativa Revelada, mediante la aplicación de los Índices de Ventaja Comparativa Revelada Normalizada de Yu, Cai y Leung (heredero el conocido Índice de Balassa), y de Ventaja Relativa Comercial de Vollrath, y tomando como punto de referencia el flujo de alimentos manufacturados (exportaciones e importaciones) de España y del resto del mundo ofrecido por la base de datos International Trade Map. Los resultados sugieren que la industria de alimentos española ostenta ventaja comparativa en 29 de las 44 partidas arancelarias; es decir, según el índice de Yu, Cai y Leung, las exportaciones españolas están especializadas en orden decreciente en los siguientes artículos alimentarios: vino de uvas frescas y mosto, hortalizas sin congelar preparadas o conservadas sin vinagre, preparaciones y conservas de pescado y caviar, jugos de frutas u otros frutos y de hortalizas, productos de panadería, pastelería o galletería, artículos de confitería sin cacao, embutidos y productos similares, tomates preparados o en conserva sin vinagre, agua, alcohol etílico sin desnaturalizar, aguardientes y licores, hojuelas, copos de maíz, productos a base de cereales insuflados o tostados, confituras, jaleas y mermeladas, cacao en polvo, preparaciones para salsas y salsas preparadas, preparaciones para sopas, potajes o caldos, alcohol etílico y aguardiente desnaturalizados de cualquier graduación, helados, vermut, hortalizas, frutas u otros frutos preparados o conservados en vinagre, setas y demás hongos y trufas preparados o conservados sin vinagre, vinagre y sucedáneos y crustáceos, moluscos y demás preparados o conservados. Además, según el índice de Vollrath se añadirían también: extractos y jugos de carnes, pescados, crustáceos y moluscos, agua sin adición de azúcar, grasas y aceites de cacao, preparaciones y conservas de carne, agua con adición de azúcar y demás bebidas no alcohólicas y extractos de malta.[EN] Spain has proven to be a very competitive country globally when it comes to food, both fresh and subjected to some industrial process, thus adding value and promoting agricultural production. In this framework, the purpose of the work is to provide a diagnosis of the position, in terms of competitiveness, of the export flows of the Spanish food industry compared to the total exports of the same industry in the world, in the period 2015-2019. It is established from the measurements of the Revealed Comparative Advantage, by applying the Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage Indices of Yu, Cai and Leung (heir to the well-known Balassa Index), and of Vollrath's Relative Commercial Advantage, and taking as a point reference the flow of manufactured foods (exports and imports) from Spain and the rest of the world offered by the International Trade Map database. The results will suggest which tariff items of the Spanish food industry have a comparative advantage among the 44 items analyzed.Liberós Picó, S. (2021). ¿Es la industria alimentaria española competitiva a nivel internacional? Evidencias desde la Ventaja Comparativa Revelada (2015-2019). Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/169571TFG

Estudio de la enfermedad de Huntington como una deficiencia de tiamina asociada a slc19a3 y sus implicaciones terapéuticas

Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de Lectura: 01-07-2022La enfermedad de Huntington (EH) es un trastorno neurodegenerativo hereditario con afectación de los ganglios basales para el cual no existe tratamiento. Las proteínas de unión a elementos de poliadenilación citoplásmica (CPEB1-4) son una familia de proteínas que regulan la traducción de ARN mensajeros (ARNm) específicos induciendo alargamiento o acortamiento de la longitud de la cola de poli(A). Al caracterizar el estatus de las CPEBs y la poliadenilación global del ARNm en modelos animales de la EH, observamos una marcada deadenilación del transcrito de Slc19a3 (que codifica para el transportador de tiamina 2, ThTr2). Mutaciones en SLC19A3 causan la enfermedad de ganglios basales sensible a biotina y tiamina (BTBGD), un trastorno neurológico devastador con afectación estriatal que puede ser revertido con un tratamiento de altas dosis de biotina y tiamina. Por tanto, la observación de una deadenilación de Slc19a3 evidenció que los pacientes con la EH podrían sufrir una deficiencia de tiamina asociada a SLC19A3. Lo cual, además, sugería que los pacientes con la EH podrían beneficiarse de la terapia vitamínica que corrige la BTBGD. El primer objetivo de la presente tesis fue evaluar si la EH cursa con déficit de ThTr2 y una consiguiente deficiencia de tiamina. Se encontró una disminución en los niveles de proteína de ThTr2 en el cerebro de los individuos con la EH. Además, al igual que en los pacientes de BTBGD, los individuos con la EH mostraron una disminución de tiamina en el líquido cefalorraquídeo (LCR), específicamente, de tiamina monofostato (TMP), lo cual además podría tener valor como biomarcador de progresión de la enfermedad. Asimismo, los individuos con la EH mostraron una disminución en las concentraciones estriatales de tiamina pirofosfato (TPP), la forma metabólicamente activa de la tiamina. Para un estudio preclínico del potencial de la suplementación con tiamina para la EH, se evaluaron los niveles de ThTr2 y tiamina en ratones modelo de la EH. Al igual que en los pacientes, en los ratones modelo de la EH se observó una disminución de ThTr2 y de la concentración de TPP. Esto nos llevó a administrar biotina y tiamina a altas dosis (en el rango de las que se administran a los pacientes con BTBGD) a los ratones modelo de la EH. El tratamiento fue capaz de atenuar la deficiencia de tiamina y de mejorar el fenotipo radiológico, neuropatológico y motor de los ratones. Finalmente, se estudió la posible conexión mecanística entre la descrita alteración de las CPEBs y la disminución patogénica de ThTr2. Pudimos concluir que la disminución de CPEB4 es suficiente para inducir la disminución de la poliadenilación del ARNm de SLC19A3 y que corregir los niveles de CPEB4 mejora los niveles de ThTr2 y el fenotipo de los ratones EH. En su conjunto, estos datos demuestran que la EH cursa con deficiencia de tiamina y, a la vista de las mejoras comportamentales y neuroanatómicas de los modelos animales tras la suplementación con biotina y tiamina, sugieren una terapia fácil de implementar en los pacientes con E

Huntington's disease-specific mis-splicing unveils key effector genes and altered splicing factors

Correction of mis-splicing events is a growing therapeutic approach for neurological diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy or neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis 7, which are caused by splicing-affecting mutations. Mis-spliced effector genes that do not harbour mutations are also good candidate therapeutic targets in diseases with more complex aetiologies such as cancer, autism, muscular dystrophies or neurodegenerative diseases. Next-generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has boosted investigation of global mis-splicing in diseased tissue to identify such key pathogenic mis-spliced genes. Nevertheless, while analysis of tumour or dystrophic muscle biopsies can be informative on early stage pathogenic mis-splicing, for neurodegenerative diseases, these analyses are intrinsically hampered by neuronal loss and neuroinflammation in post-mortem brains. To infer splicing alterations relevant to Huntington's disease pathogenesis, here we performed intersect-RNA-seq analyses of human post-mortem striatal tissue and of an early symptomatic mouse model in which neuronal loss and gliosis are not yet present. Together with a human/mouse parallel motif scan analysis, this approach allowed us to identify the shared mis-splicing signature triggered by the Huntington's disease-causing mutation in both species and to infer upstream deregulated splicing factors. Moreover, we identified a plethora of downstream neurodegeneration-linked mis-spliced effector genes that-together with the deregulated splicing factors-become new possible therapeutic targets. In summary, here we report pathogenic global mis-splicing in Huntington's disease striatum captured by our new intersect-RNA-seq approach that can be readily applied to other neurodegenerative diseases for which bona fide animal models are available.Extremadura Research Centre for Advanced Technologies (CETA-CIEMAT), funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). CETA-CIEMAT belongs to CIEMAT and the Government of Spai

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: what do we need to know?

AbstractCommunity-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has become a matter of concern worldwide, in particular in the USA. For the analysis of emergence and spread, clear definitions based on epidemiological origin are needed for discrimination between CA-MRSA, healthcare-associated community MRSA, and healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). Although its role in pathogenesis is currently under debate, the capability for Panton–Valentine leukocidin formation is associated with the majority of CA-MRSA isolates from North America and from Europe. Most CA-MRSA isolates are attributed to clonal lineages different from HA-MRSA; there are, however, clonal lineages from which both HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA have been reported (e.g. ST1, ST5, ST8, and ST22); CA-MRSA ST8 (USA300), which is most frequent in the USA, has meanwhile been reported from Europe. CA-MRSA ST80 is widely disseminated in Europe; because of its pronounced oxacillin heteroresistance phenotype, cefoxitin-based assays are advisable for reliable detection. So far, CA-MRSA infections seem to be much less frequent in Europe than in the USA, where patients with particular predispositions and low social status are at especial risk

Large Genomic Imbalances in Brugada Syndrome

Purpose Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a form of cardiac arrhythmia which may lead to sudden cardiac death. The recommended genetic testing (direct sequencing of SCN5A) uncovers disease-causing SNVs and/or indels in ~20% of cases. Limited information exists about the frequency of copy number variants (CNVs) in SCN5A in BrS patients, and the role of CNVs in BrS-minor genes is a completely unexplored field. Methods 220 BrS patients with negative genetic results were studied to detect CNVs in SCN5A. 63 cases were also screened for CNVs in BrS-minor genes. Studies were performed by Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification or Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Results The detection rate for CNVs in SCN5A was 0.45% (1/220). The detected imbalance consisted of a duplication from exon 15 to exon 28, and could potentially explain the BrS phenotype. No CNVs were found in BrS-minor genes. Conclusion CNVs in current BrS-related genes are uncommon among BrS patients. However, as these rearrangements may underlie a portion of cases and they undergo unnoticed by traditional sequencing, an appealing alternative to conventional studies in these patients could be targeted NGS, including in a single experiment the study of SNVs, indels and CNVs in all the known BrS-related genes

CPEB alteration and aberrant transcriptome-polyadenylation lead to a treatable SLC19A3 deficiency in Huntington's disease

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder of the basal ganglia for which disease-modifying treatments are not yet available. Although gene-silencing therapies are currently being tested, further molecular mechanisms must be explored to identify druggable targets for HD. Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding proteins 1 to 4 (CPEB1 to CPEB4) are RNA binding proteins that repress or activate translation of CPE-containing transcripts by shortening or elongating their poly(A) tail. Here, we found increased CPEB1 and decreased CPEB4 protein in the striatum of patients and mouse models with HD. This correlated with a reprogramming of polyadenylation in 17.3% of the transcriptome, markedly affecting neurodegeneration-associated genes including PSEN1, MAPT, SNCA, LRRK2, PINK1, DJ1, SOD1, TARDBP, FUS, and HTT and suggesting a new molecular mechanism in neurodegenerative disease etiology. We found decreased protein content of top deadenylated transcripts, including striatal atrophy–linked genes not previously related to HD, such as KTN1 and the easily druggable SLC19A3 (the ThTr2 thiamine transporter). Mutations in SLC19A3 cause biotin-thiamine–responsive basal ganglia disease (BTBGD), a striatal disorder that can be treated with a combination of biotin and thiamine. Similar to patients with BTBGD, patients with HD demonstrated decreased thiamine in the cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, patients and mice with HD showed decreased striatal concentrations of thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), the metabolically active form of thiamine. High-dose biotin and thiamine treatment prevented TPP deficiency in HD mice and attenuated the radiological, neuropathological, and motor HD-like phenotypes, revealing an easily implementable therapy that might benefit patients with HD

Cucumis metuliferus como potencial portainjerto de melón para el control de Meloidogine spp.

Se evaluó la eficacia de C. metuliferus sobre las densidades de población de M. incognita, la producción y calidad de melón, y la potencial selección de poblaciones virulentas. El melón cv. Paloma, sin injertar o injertado sobre C. metuliferus, se cultivó en primavera y verano en invernadero en rotación con tomate susceptible cv. Durinta, sin injertar o injertado en el portainjerto resistente Aligator, en suelo sin infestar e infestado con M. incognitaPostprint (published version

Contaminants of emerging concern in freshwater fish from four Spanish Rivers

This study investigated the occurrence of 135 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) – pharmaceuticals, pesticides, a set of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (parabens, bisphenols, hormones, triazoles, organophosphorus flame retardants and triclosan), UV-filters, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) – in 59 fish samples, collected in 2010 in 4 Spanish Rivers (Guadalquivir, Júcar, Ebro and Llobregat). Of the 135 CECs, 76 including 8 pharmaceuticals, 25 pesticides, 10 EDCs, 5 UV-filters, 15 PFASs and 13 HFRs were detected. Pharmaceuticals were the less frequently found and at lower concentrations. Pesticides, EDCs, UV-filters, PFASs and HFRs were detected more frequently (>50% of the samples). The maximum concentrations were 15 ng/g dry weight (dw) for pharmaceuticals (diclofenac), 840 ng/g dw for pesticides (chlorpyrifos), 224 ng/g dw for EDCs (bisphenol A), 242 ng/g dw for UV-filters (EHMC), 1738 ng/g dw for PFASs (PFHxA) and 64 ng/g dw for HFRs (Dec 602). The contaminants detected in fish are commonly detected also in sediments. In light of current knowledge, the risk assessment revealed that there was no risk for humans related to the exposure to CECs via freshwater fish consumption. However, results provide detailed information on the mixtures of CECs accumulated that would be very useful to identify their effects on aquatic biota.This research has been supported by the European Union 7th Framework Programme funding under Grant Agreement No. 603629-ENV-2013-6.2.1-Globaqua, by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups 2017 SGR 1404 - Water and Soil Quality Unit) and by the Generalitat Valenciana (ANTROPOCEN@, PROMETEO/2018/155).Peer reviewe

Monitorización del consumo de sustancias de abuso legales e ilegales en España a través de las aguas residuales en el marco de la red ESAR-Net

Trabajo presentado en el 4th Congreso Internacional y XLIX Jornadas Nacionales de Socidrogalcohol - VIII Congreso Nacional Patología Bio-Psicosocial, celebrado en Tenerife del 06 al 08 de octubre de 2022