Dossier: Federico Fellini (Italia, 1920-1993)

The fellinian moment is not the reductionism around the circus, but it lies in what slapstick implies: exaggeration, iconoclast behaviour, carelessness and self-confidence, the confusion between fantasy and reality, the construction of improbable characters, the sensation of attending a show commanding by thedirector voice. That’s why we love Federico. And we love so much.El momento felliniano no es el reduccionismo circense sino que yace en lo que implica la bufonada: la exageración, la iconoclastia, la desfachatez y el desparpajo, la confusión entre fantasía y realidad, la construcción de personajes inverosímiles, la sensación de estar asistiendo a un espectáculo en el que la voz comandante es la del director. Por eso queremos tanto a Federico

Dossier: Luis Buñuel (España, 1900-1983)

From pure surrealism to the golden age of Mexican cinema, back to the motherland and with a flourish during self-exile in France, Luis Buñuel’s work is delusional, symbolic, perverse, cruel, misogynist, heretic, nihilistic, not politically correct and deserves excommunation. Like a razor in the eye. We fall short on merits.Del surrealismo puro a la edad de oro del cine mexicano, de vuelta a la madre patria y con broche de oro durante el autoexilio en Francia, la obra de Luis Buñuel es delirante, simbólica, perversa, cruel, misógina, hereje, nihilista, políticamente incorrecta y merecedora de la excomunion. Como un navajazo en pleno ojo. Nos quedamos cortos en méritos

Androgen receptor gene and sociosexuality. Does fighting ability moderate the effect of genetics in reproductive strategies?

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to juris dictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Sociosexuality is a reliable proxy to evaluate the trade-off between short-term and long-term human mating strategies. The androgen receptor (AR) gene CAG-repeats polymorphism regulates the effect of testosterone and the expression of testosterone-related traits commonly associated with short-term mating strategies. According to the strategic pluralism hypothesis, a more effective receptor would prompt a short-term mating strategy to maximize the number of sexual partners, but studies are inconclusive and contradictory. The effect of a particular gene in behavior is frequently small and affected by the social environment and other variables, particularly psychological and personality traits. In the current study we propose the effect of the AR gene polymorphism in sociosexuality to be moderated by self-perceived fighting ability, a psychological attribute relevant in intrasexual competition. Our objective is to reveal if the CAG polymorphism is associated with a short-term strategy as expected from the strategic pluralism hypothesis, or conversely with long-term investments to maximize parental care. We fail to find any effect of the CAG polymorphism over mating strategies. However, self-perceived fighting ability is related to short-term mating orientation but not to the number of past sexual partners. In conclusion, we find no clear evidence about the potential role of CAG polymorphism of the AR gene over sociosexual attitudes and behavior. However, results from other studies suggest that there is evidence that genetic factors influence sociosexuality, but it is necessary to consider simultaneously more than a single genetic polymorphism and other psychological and physiological variablesThis study was supported by a postdoctoral proj ect from Universidad del Desarrollo for author Nohelia T. Valenzuela and funded by the project BIOUAM03-2019 of the Departmento de Biología of the Universidad Autónoma de Madri

Water Supply Source Evaluation in Unmanaged Aquifer Recharge Zones: The Mezquital Valley (Mexico) Case Study

The Mezquital Valley (MV) hosts the largest unmanaged aquifer recharge scheme in the world. The metropolitan area of Mexico City discharges ~60 m3/s of raw wastewater into the valley, a substantial share of which infiltrates into the regional aquifer. In this work, we aim to develop a comprehensive approach, adapted from oil and gas reservoir modeling frameworks, to assess water supply sources located downgradient from unmanaged aquifer recharge zones. The methodology is demonstrated through its application to the Mezquital Valley region. Geological, geoelectrical, petrophysical and hydraulic information is combined into a 3D subsurface model and used to evaluate downgradient supply sources. Although hydrogeochemical variables are yet to be assessed, outcomes suggest that the newly-found groundwater sources may provide a long-term solution for water supply. Piezometric analyses based on 25-year records suggest that the MV is close to steady-state conditions. Thus, unmanaged recharge seems to have been regulating the groundwater balance for the last decades. The transition from unmanaged to managed recharge is expected to provide benefits to the MV inhabitants. It will also be likely to generate new uncertainties in relation to aquifer dynamics and downgradient systems

Low peripheral blood chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 and tumor necrosis factor α gene expression is associated with unfavorable progression of respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis in infants

Objectives: We aimed to analyze whether the expression of inflammatory and antiviral genes in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-infected infants' peripheral blood is associated with bronchiolitis progression. Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 117 infants between 2015 and 2023. The expression levels of nine genes were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Infants were classified according to their clinical evolution during hospital admission: (i) non-progression (n = 74), when the RSV bronchiolitis severity remained stable or improved; (ii) unfavorable progression (n = 43), when the RSV bronchiolitis severity increased. The association analysis was performed by logistic regression, adjusted by age, gender, prematurity, and RSV bronchiolitis severity in the emergency room. Results: Infants were 57.3% male, and the median age of the study population was 61 days. Thirty-five infants (30.7%) were admitted to the intensive care unit after hospital admission. Univariate logistic models showed that tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand (CCL5) gene expression at baseline were inversely associated with unfavorable progression, which was confirmed by multivariate analyses: TNFα (adjusted odds ratio = 0.8 [95% confidence interval = 0.64-0.99], P-value = 0.038) and CCL5 (adjusted odds ratio = 0.76 [95% confidence interval = 0.62-0.93], P-value = 0.007). Conclusions: An inadequate immune response to RSV, characterized by reduced gene expression levels of CCL5 and TNFα in peripheral blood, was associated with an unfavorable progression of RSV bronchiolitis.The study was funded by the CIBER -Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red- (CB 2021), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea – NextGenerationEU (grant # CB21/13/00044 to SR)S

Drogas, un problema de salud mundial

Drug is a general term that designates any substance with the capacity to alter a biological or chemical process in a living organism, with a determined purpose such as fighting a disease, increasing physical resistance or modifying the immune response. The research was carried out with the objective of describing drugs, their behavior in the world and their prevention; to conduct this research 20 literature references were searched. Drugs constitute a global health problem that affects the population, and it is fought with preventive actions by working teams and community participation in order to achieve a satisfactory health status.Droga es un término general por el que se designa a cualquier sustancia con capacidad de alterar un proceso biológico o químico en un organismo vivo, con un propósito determinado como combatir una enfermedad, aumentar la resistencia física o modificar la respuesta inmunológica. La investigación se realizó con el objetivo de describir las drogas, su comportamiento en el mundo y su prevención. Para ello se utilizaron un total de 20 referencias bibliográficas. Las drogas constituyen un problema de salud mundial, que afecta a la población y se combate con acciones preventivas en equipo y con la participación comunitaria, para lograr un estado de salud satisfactorio

Intermediate Molecular Phenotypes to Identify Genetic Markers of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity Risk.

Cardiotoxicity due to anthracyclines (CDA) affects cancer patients, but we cannot predict who may suffer from this complication. CDA is a complex trait with a polygenic component that is mainly unidentified. We propose that levels of intermediate molecular phenotypes (IMPs) in the myocardium associated with histopathological damage could explain CDA susceptibility, so variants of genes encoding these IMPs could identify patients susceptible to this complication. Thus, a genetically heterogeneous cohort of mice (n = 165) generated by backcrossing were treated with doxorubicin and docetaxel. We quantified heart fibrosis using an Ariol slide scanner and intramyocardial levels of IMPs using multiplex bead arrays and QPCR. We identified quantitative trait loci linked to IMPs (ipQTLs) and cdaQTLs via linkage analysis. In three cancer patient cohorts, CDA was quantified using echocardiography or Cardiac Magnetic Resonance. CDA behaves as a complex trait in the mouse cohort. IMP levels in the myocardium were associated with CDA. ipQTLs integrated into genetic models with cdaQTLs account for more CDA phenotypic variation than that explained by cda-QTLs alone. Allelic forms of genes encoding IMPs associated with CDA in mice, including AKT1, MAPK14, MAPK8, STAT3, CAS3, and TP53, are genetic determinants of CDA in patients. Two genetic risk scores for pediatric patients (n = 71) and women with breast cancer (n = 420) were generated using machine-learning Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression. Thus, IMPs associated with heart damage identify genetic markers of CDA risk, thereby allowing more personalized patient management.J.P.L.’s lab is sponsored by Grant PID2020-118527RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011039; Grant PDC2021-121735-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011039 and by the “European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR”, the Regional Government of Castile and León (CSI144P20). J.P.L. and P.L.S. are supported by the Carlos III Health Institute (PIE14/00066). AGN laboratory and human patients’ studies are supported by an ISCIII project grant (PI18/01242). The Human Genotyping unit is a member of CeGen, PRB3, and is supported by grant PT17/0019 of the PE I + D + i 2013–2016, funded by ISCIII and ERDF. SCLl is supported by MINECO/FEDER research grants (RTI2018-094130-B-100). CH was supported by the Department of Defense (DoD) BCRP, No. BC190820; and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), No. R01CA184476. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is a multi-program national laboratory operated by the University of California for the DOE under contract DE AC02-05CH11231. The Proteomics Unit belongs to ProteoRed, PRB3-ISCIII, supported by grant PT17/0019/0023 of the PE I + D +i, 2017–2020, funded by ISCIII and FEDER. RCC is funded by fellowships from the Spanish Regional Government of Castile and León. NGS is a recipient of an FPU fellowship (MINECO/FEDER). hiPSC-CM studies were funded in part by the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation under the project code HR18-00304 and a Severo Ochoa CNIC Intramural Project (Exp. 12-2016 IGP) to J.J.S

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Jardins per a la salut

Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia. Assignatura: Botànica farmacèutica. Curs: 2014-2015. Coordinadors: Joan Simon, Cèsar Blanché i Maria Bosch.Els materials que aquí es presenten són el recull de les fitxes botàniques de 128 espècies presents en el Jardí Ferran Soldevila de l’Edifici Històric de la UB. Els treballs han estat realitzats manera individual per part dels estudiants dels grups M-3 i T-1 de l’assignatura Botànica Farmacèutica durant els mesos de febrer a maig del curs 2014-15 com a resultat final del Projecte d’Innovació Docent «Jardins per a la salut: aprenentatge servei a Botànica farmacèutica» (codi 2014PID-UB/054). Tots els treballs s’han dut a terme a través de la plataforma de GoogleDocs i han estat tutoritzats pels professors de l’assignatura. L’objectiu principal de l’activitat ha estat fomentar l’aprenentatge autònom i col·laboratiu en Botànica farmacèutica. També s’ha pretès motivar els estudiants a través del retorn de part del seu esforç a la societat a través d’una experiència d’Aprenentatge-Servei, deixant disponible finalment el treball dels estudiants per a poder ser consultable a través d’una Web pública amb la possibilitat de poder-ho fer in-situ en el propi jardí mitjançant codis QR amb un smartphone

Nicholas Ray (Estados Unidos, 1911-1979): “La imaginación es una fuente de protección muy preciosa”

Legend surrounding Nicholas Ray’s life and excesses has transcended his films, whichare often seen from the halo of curse that North American director would have permeatedviciously at a time when prudishness and modesty were brand in film industry. The impact of certain films of him at the time cannot be denied but, beyond the eyepatch, Ray’s cinema follows the classic parameters in good part of his  filmography. This should not be an element that reduces the value of his work as a whole, a corpus full of important references in filmic tradition.La leyenda en torno a la vida y a los excesos de Nicholas Ray ha trascendido sus películas, las que a menudo son vistas desde el halo del malditismo que el director norteamericano habría impregnado con mala saña en una época en que la mojigatería y el pudor eran marca de fábrica en la industria de las estrellas. No se puede negar el impacto de algunas de sus películas en su momento pero, más allá del parche en el ojo, el cine de Ray sigue los parámetros clásicos en buena parte de su filmografía. Ello no debe ser un elemento que reste valor al conjunto de su obra, plagada de referentes importantes en la tradición cinematográfica