Síntesis de nuevos inhibidores de la actividad del virus de la Hepatitis C

La realización de un estudio detallado de la virología del virus de las Hepatitis C permitió comprender por qué la proteína NS3 es una de las dianas terapéuticas más estudiadas para el diseño de fármacos antivirales de acción directa. Se trata de una proteína esencial para el desarrollo de la infección que, aunque su función principal es contribuir a la fragmentación de la poliproteína viral, cumple además otras funciones que contribuyen al desarrollo de la forma crónica de la infección, convirtiéndose en una diana terapéutica de especial interés. A partir de una revisión de distintos trabajos ya realizados en nuestro Departamento y la información consultada en artículos publicados por otros autores, se planteó de forma razonada el diseño de una pequeña quimioteca de compuestos que pudieran tener actividad significativa y se procedió a su síntesis. Se trata de distintos derivados de N-fenilureas obtenidos a parir de un derivado de 2-metilpiperazina con unas características estructurales que ya habían demostrado ser útiles para el diseño de fármacos anti-VHC. Se obtuvieron cuatro productos finales sintetizados a partir de un compuesto de partida que se había sintetizado previamente. Los distintos productos fueron obtenidos y purificados de forma adecuada y se caracterizaron mediante la medición de su punto de fusión. Aplicando técnicas de espectrometría de 1H-RMN, 13C-RMN y MS se comprobó que los productos obtenidos coincidían con los planteados de forma teórica. Los procedimientos realizados se contextualizaron en la situación actual, evidenciando la importancia de todo el trabajo realizado en relación con las necesidades actuales con respecto al tratamiento de la Hepatitis C, y con el objetivo que se plantea hoy en día de forma más inmediata: disminuir el coste de los tratamientos anti-VHC de acción directa. Finalmente se procedió a la medición de la actividad de los productos obtenidosUniversidad de Sevilla. Grado en Farmaci

Vegetación acuática y helofítica de la depresión de Padul (Granada)

In the present work a study of aquatic and helophytic vegetation in the Depresion de Padu I is presented. Six water-plant communities, one annual and five helophytic belonging to the fitosociological classes: Lemnetea, Ceratophylletea, Charetea , Potametea, Isoeto-Nanojuncetea and Phragmitetea are recognized.Se presenta un estudio de la vegetación acuática y helofítica de la Depresión de Padul. Se reconocen seis comunidades acuáticas, una terofítica y cinco helofíticas pertenecientes a las clases fitosociológicas: Lemnetea,Ceratophylletea,Charetea Potametea, Isoeto-Nanojuncetea y Phragmitetea

Procedimiento para la enseñanza de la discriminación entre derecha e izquierda. Estudio de caso para un niño con deficiencia visual y discapacidad intelectual

El objetivo del estudio era la enseñanza de la discriminación entre derecha e izquierda a un niño de 7 años con deficiencia visual y discapacidad intelectual. Se abordó la enseñanza desde la perspectiva del análisis de los estímulos implicados en las discriminaciones. El programa de aprendizaje consistió en la enseñanza explícita de una discriminación simple, que incluyó un estímulo, una respuesta y una consecuencia y se probó (test) la transferencia a la discriminación condicional que incluyó dos estímulos, una respuesta y una consecuencia. Los resultados pusieron de manifiesto la transferencia del aprendizaje sin un entrenamiento explícito. El aprendizaje fue mantenido a los seis meses de seguimiento. El procedimiento descrito puede ser un método fácil de aplicar, que reduce el esfuerzo de los participantes.The aim of the research was the teaching of the discrimination between right and lelf in a seven-year-old child with visual impairment and intellectual disability. The teaching was approached from the perspective of the analysis of the stimuli implied in the discriminations. The learning procedure consisted of the explicit teaching of the simple discrimination which included a stimulus, an answer and a consequence testing the transfer to the condicional discrimination that included two stimuli, an answer and a consequence. The results showed the transfer of the learning without an explicit training. The learning was maintained during the six months of the follow-up. The procedure discribed can be a method, easy to apply, that reduces the effort of the participants

Fecal sacs attract insects to the nest and provoke an activation of the immune system of nestlings

Background: Nest sanitation is a widespread but rarely studied behavior in birds. The most common form of nest sanitation behavior, the removal of nestling feces, has focused the discussion about which selective pressures determine this behavior. The parasitism hypothesis, which states that nestling fecal sacs attract parasites that negatively affect breeding birds, was proposed 40 years ago and is frequently cited as a demonstrated fact. But, to our knowledge, there is no previous experimental test of this hypothesis. Results: We carried out three different experiments to investigate the parasitism hypothesis. First, we used commercial McPhail traps to test for the potential attraction effect of nestling feces alone on flying insects. We found that traps with fecal sacs attracted significantly more flies (Order Diptera), but not ectoparasites, than the two control situations. Second, we used artificial blackbird (Turdus merula) nests to investigate the combined attraction effect of feces and nest materials on arthropods (not only flying insects). Flies, again, were the only group of arthropods significantly attracted by fecal sacs. We did not detect an effect on ectoparasites. Third, we used active blackbird nests to investigate the potential effect of nestling feces in ecto- and endoparasite loads in real nestlings. The presence of fecal sacs near blackbird nestlings did not increase the number of louse flies or chewing lice, and unexpectedly reduced the number of nests infested with mites. The endoparasite prevalence was also not affected. In contrast, feces provoked an activation of the immune system as the H/L ratio of nestlings living near excrements was significantly higher than those kept under the two control treatments. Conclusions: Surprisingly, our findings do not support the parasitism hypothesis, which suggests that parasites are not the main reason for fecal sac removal. In contrast, the attraction of flies to nestling feces, the elevation of the immune response of chicks, and the recently described antimicrobial function of the mucous covering of fecal sacs suggest that microorganisms could be responsible of this important form of parental care behavior (microbial hypothesisPeer reviewe

Egg-recognition abilities in non-incubating males:Implications for the evolution of anti-parasitic host defenses

In the field of brood parasitism, it has been traditionally assumed that only the incubating sex rejects parasitic eggs, but this assumption has been rarely explored despite its important implications for the evolutionary relationship between brood parasites and hosts. Here, we used information on previous egg-rejection experiments to explore the recognition abilities of both males and females of Eurasian blackbirds Turdus merula towards experimental eggs with a variable degree of mimicry. We found that both sexes recognized non-mimetic eggs, supporting the idea that visits to the nest can favor the evolution of rejection abilities. In contrast, only females recognized mimetic eggs, indicating that although recognition abilities can evolve in both sexes, they are subsequently refined in females probably due to their more frequent interaction with parasitic eggs. Clutch size affected nest attendance since females, but not males, spent more time at the nest and visited it more frequently in larger clutches. Finally, our recordings showed that blackbird males are able not only to recognize, but also to eject parasitic eggs. Our results provide new insights into the main anti-parasitic defense in birds, egg rejection, and highlight the need of considering the role of the non-incubating sex in egg-rejection studies.Significance statementGiven the high costs associated to avian brood parasitism, both sexes are expected to evolve anti-parasitic defenses. However, in those species in which only females incubate, females have traditionally been assumed to be the responsible for egg rejection. Here, using the Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula), we investigated the existence of egg-rejection abilities in non-incubating males and compared them to those exhibited by females. We found that males can recognize non-mimetic eggs, although their recognition abilities were less fine-tuned compared to females, who also recognized mimetic eggs. Even though females were the responsible for most documented egg-ejection events, recordings confirmed that males could also be involved in egg ejection, which could have important implication for the evolution of anti-parasitic defenses in host populations

Vegetación acuática y helofítica de la depresión de Padul (Granada)

In the present work a study of aquatic and helophytic vegetation in the Depresion de Padu I is presented. Six water-plant communities, one annual and five helophytic belonging to the fitosociological classes: Lemnetea, Ceratophylletea, Charetea , Potametea, Isoeto-Nanojuncetea and Phragmitetea are recognized.Se presenta un estudio de la vegetación acuática y helofítica de la Depresión de Padul. Se reconocen seis comunidades acuáticas, una terofítica y cinco helofíticas pertenecientes a las clases fitosociológicas: Lemnetea,Ceratophylletea,Charetea Potametea, Isoeto-Nanojuncetea y Phragmitetea

Functional explanation of extreme hatching asynchrony: Male Manipulation Hypothesis

Hatching asynchrony in birds is considered an adaptation to facilitate brood reduction because under conditions of food scarcity, the smallest nestling usually dies soon after hatching, thereby minimizing parental effort. However, in species with extreme hatching asynchrony, the last hatchlings paradoxically experience a very low probability of survival and death can take so long that it can hardly be considered an adaptation. Here, we propose and experimentally tested a new adaptive hypothesis explaining the brood reduction paradox, namely the “Male Manipulation Hypothesis”. Our hypothesis suggests that by inducing asynchronous hatching, females increase the feeding requirements of the brood, which will induce males to increase provisioning effort. In addition, females may extend the period of male manipulation by feeding the smallest nestling just enough to sustain life. Our study showed that male common blackbirds (Turdus merula) increased their effort (i.e., number of food items per hour) in experimental asynchronous broods compared to synchronous broods, while females reduced their contribution, as predicted by the hypothesis

Estimation of internal abdominal fat from anthropometry measurements in children

Introduction: Internal abdominal fat (IAF) measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been proposed as subrogate of visceral adipose tissue, which is a cornerstone measurement for screening of metabolic syndrome1,2. However, measuring IAF is time-consuming, expensive and impractical for field studies with children. Since 1990, anthropometric models have been developed to estimate IAF in adults, but no models exist for children. Because of the high prevalence of childhood obesity, the assessment of IAF is a major factor in the evaluation metabolic risk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop an anthropometry-based model to estimate IAF in children. Methods: Forty-one (n=24 boys, n=17 girls) healthy Caucasian children (age 11.4±0.6 years, BMI 20.1±3.9 Kg/m2) were volunteers. Anthropometric measurements (waist and hip circumferences, abdominal sagittal diameter and skinfolds) were taken in accordance with ISAK guidelines. Total body and IAF (dependent variable) body composition were measured by DXA. Stepwise regression analysis was carried out to obtain the fittest variables and beta coefficients in order to develop the equation that predicts IAF with a high squared R and a low standard error of estimation. Results: The best-correlated variables with IAF were BMI, waist circumference, calf and subscapular skinfolds (r=0.900; r=0.946; r=0.901; r=0.900; respectively, all P<0.001). The best model for estimating the IAF included waist circumference and subscapular skinfold (R2=0.93 SEE=115.43; P<0.001). The estimated model was IAF (g) = -1332.89 + (18.515*WC) + (773.39*SubSKF). Conclusion: We developed a model, which accurately predict IAF in children, affording a practical tool to quantify this variable without expensive techniques such as DXA. However, external cross-validation must be performed in order to confirm the model validity. Additionally, construct validity should be carried out to determine the applicability of this measurement in children. References: 1. Hill AM, La_Forgia J, Coates AM, Buckley JD, Howe PR. Estimating abdominal adipose tissue with DXA and anthropometry. Obesity. 2007 Feb;15(2):504-10. 2. Kaul S, Rothney MP, Peters DM, Wacker WK, Davis CE, Shapiro MD, et al. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for quantification of visceral fat. Obesity. 2012 Jun; 20(6):1313-8.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (AP2010-0583), Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (DEP2011-30565) and University of Málaga. Campus of International Excellence Andalucía Tec

Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing students in the first wave : A cross-sectional survey

The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychological impact on nursing students at the end of period of confinement during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain. A cross-sectional study reported in line with the STROBE guidelines. Nursing students were invited to complete an online questionnaire at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year using convenience sampling. The questionnaire collected data on sociodemographic factors, work, and life experiences in relation to COVID-19, habits and lifestyle using the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index (WHO - 5) and the Generalized Anxiety disorder-7 scale. Variables related to anxiety were analysed using multiple lineal regression analysis, The prevalence of low psychological well-being in the 203 students was 44.3% and of anxiety 55.7%. In the multivariate analysis the variables associated with anxiety were having worked in the pandemic, having had symptoms of COVID-19 and having been afraid of getting infected. The levels of anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing students have been high, and levels of psychological well-being have been low. The fact of having worked during the pandemic, having had symptoms compatible with COVID-19 or being afraid of getting infected are associated with the highest scores for anxiety. This study gives more evidence on the psychological impact on nursing students during the first wave of the pandemic in Spain. This can be used to design anxiety management programmes for inclusion into teaching syllabuses. It also gives arguments for the setting up of psychological and emotional support services for these students and other healthcare professionals working during the pandemic