Análisis de la disponibilidad y acceso de alimentos en familias rurales de los municipios de Rivas, San Juan del Sur y Tola departamento de Rivas, año 2016

La investigación se realizó en 14 comunidades rurales de los municipios de Rivas, San Juan del Sur y Tola del departamento de Rivas, que son atendidas por el Programa de Extensión Rural de la Universidad Internacional Antonio de Valdivieso. El estudio es descriptivo y de corte transversal, donde se analizó el estado actual de la Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional desde los pilares disponibilidad y acceso a los alimentos que poseen las familias. Para ello, se aplicó una encuesta semiestructurada, validada y compuesta por 35 preguntas a 67 familias, además se realizaron 5 entrevistas dirigidas a líderes comunitarios. Entre los hallazgos, se logró determinar que existe mayor presencia masculina en los territorios, las edades predominantes para ambos sexos son de 15-50 años (población en edades de trabajar), el nivel de escolaridad que prevalece es el de primaria incompleta, las familias tienen acceso a agua, sin embargo, desconocen su procedencia y calidad. La principal actividad económica es la agricultura con mano de obra familiar. Se cuenta con herramientas, equipos e infraestructura productiva mínima para la producción. Los rubros principales son frijol, maíz, arroz y sorgo destinando el 65% al autoconsumo en época de primera, y en postrera las áreas y rendimientos de los cultivos aumentan 12 veces para la zona de Rivas, 9 veces para la zona de San Juan del Sur y 16 veces para la zona de Tola y son destinados en un 32 % para autoconsumo y el 68% para la comercialización; además, poseen rubros como musáceas y yuca que explotan todo el año. La producción pecuaria se basa en crianza de gallinas, cerdos y bovinos, a la venta de productos como huevos y sub productos como la cuajada. La mayor parte de los ingresos que se obtienen es por producción agropecuaria y venta de fuerza de trabajo, únicamente en el municipio de Rivas el 16% de los ingresos es por remesas familiares. Asimismo, se estimó que el 59% de las familias en los municipios no alcanzan la canasta básica alimentaria. Según los resultados es urgente desarrollar acciones que contribuyan a la sostenibilidad de la disponibilidad y el acceso de alimentos en los municipios estudiados

Caracterización del factor de splicing cwf15 y su relación con el procesamiento del ARNm y la inestabilidad genómica

Introducción: Los daños en el ADN que no se reparan llevan a la senescencia celular, la apoptosis y a la generación de tumores. Los R-loop son híbridos que de ADN:ARN que se forman cuando se producen problemas con la transcripción o la replicación del material genético. Estos R-loops conducen inevitablemente a la formación roturas de doble cadena (DBS) y, por ende, a la inestabilidad genómica. En los últimos años, se han identificado numerosos factores de procesamiento de ARN conservados evolutivamente que previenen la inestabilidad genómica mediada por la formación de R-loop (Li y Manley, 2005; Santos-Pereira et al., 2014). En este proyecto fin de máster se caracteriza, utilizando la levadura de fisión Schizosaccharomyces pombe, un mutante en un factor asociado al spliceosoma, cwf15, que produce inestabilidad genómica asociada al metabolismo del ARNm.Métodos: Para el estudio de la función del gen cwf15 se aplicaron técnicas celulares, moleculares y de microscopia confocal en células vivas a tiempo real y análisis genéticos para la caracterización del fenotipo mutante, así como aproximaciones trascriptómicas para determinar qué aspectos del procesamiento de ARN están afectados. Resultados y conclusiones: Diversas interacciones genéticas negativas con factores de procesamiento de ARNm confirman que la proteína cwf15 está implicada en splicing. Sin embargo, sorprendentemente, la pérdida de función del gen provoca la incapacidad de elongación del huso, un defecto específico en la segregación del material genético esencial para el mantenimiento de la integridad genómica. La formación de numerosos acúmulos del marcador rad22 en el núcleo pueden apuntar a problemas de hiperrecominación causados por un aumento de los daños en el ADN. Este aumento se reduce drásticamente por la sobrexpresión de la RNAsaH, lo que lleva a pensar que la causa molecular de la inestabilidad genómica es la formación masiva de R-loops. Por otro lado, los datos de RNA-seq parecen indicar que existen defectos en la terminación de la transcripción, sugiriendo una novedosa conexión entre la maquinaria de splicing, o algunos de sus factores, y el procesamiento del extremo 3´del mRNA.

Low prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci in clinical samples from hospitalized patients of the Canary Islands, Spain

Over the last decade vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have emerged as nosocomial pathogens. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of VRE in clinical samples from hospitalized patients in the Canary Islands. From April to November 2000, 437 enterococci were isolated from patients hospitalized at the four main health care centers in those islands. Identification to the species level was performed with the GPS-TA (Vitek 1) or the Wider I system. A PCR assay was used to determine the genotype of glycopeptide resistance (vanA, vanB, vanC1, and vanC2/C3 genes). Only three (0.7%) VRE were detected: one vanA Enterococcus faecalis, and two vanC1 Enterococcus gallinarum. To our knowledge, this is the first VRE study carried out in the Canary Islands hospitals, and the results showed a low prevalence of VRE

Occurrence and identification of microplastics along a beach in the Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote

This work studied the accumulation of plastic debris in a remote beach located in La Graciosa island (Chinijo archipelago, Canary Islands). Microplastics were sampled in the 1–5 mm mesh opening range. An average plastic density of 36.3 g/m2 was obtained with a large variability along the 90 m of the beach (from 8.5 g/m2 to 103.4 g/m2). Microplastic particles preferentially accumulated in the part of the beach protected by rocks. A total number of 9149 plastic particles were collected, recorded and measured, 87% of which corresponded to fragments. Clear colours and microscopic evidence of weathering corresponded to aged plastics wind-driven by the surface Canary Current. The chemical composition of plastics particles corresponded to PE (63%), PP (32%) and PS (3%). Higher PE/PP ratios were recorded in the more protected parts of the beach, suggesting preferential accumulation of more aged fragment

Occurrence and identification of microplastics along a beach in the Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote

This work studied the accumulation of plastic debris in a remote beach located in La Graciosa island (Chinijo archipelago, Canary Islands). Microplastics were sampled in the 1&#-5&;8239#mm mesh opening range. An average plastic density of 36.3 g/m2 was obtained with a large variability along the 90 m of the beach (from 8.5 g/m2 to 103.4 g/m2). Microplastic particles preferentially accumulated in the part of the beach protected by rocks. A total number of 9149 plastic particles were collected, recorded and measured, 87% of which corresponded to fragments. Clear colours and microscopic evidence of weathering corresponded to aged plastics wind-driven by the surface Canary Current. The chemical composition of plastics particles corresponded to PE (63%), PP (32%) and PS (3%). Higher PE/PP ratios were recorded in the more protected parts of the beach, suggesting preferential accumulation of more aged fragments

R-loops and regulatory changes in chronologically ageing fission yeast cells drive non-random patterns of genome rearrangements

Aberrant repair of DNA double-strand breaks can recombine distant chromosomal breakpoints. Chromosomal rearrangements compromise genome function and are a hallmark of ageing. Rearrangements are challenging to detect in non-dividing cell populations, because they reflect individually rare, heterogeneous events. The genomic distribution of de novo rearrangements in non-dividing cells, and their dynamics during ageing, remain therefore poorly characterized. Studies of genomic instability during ageing have focussed on mitochondrial DNA, small genetic variants, or proliferating cells. To characterize genome rearrangements during cellular ageing in non-dividing cells, we interrogated a single diagnostic measure, DNA breakpoint junctions, using Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model system. Aberrant DNA junctions that accumulated with age were associated with microhomology sequences and R-loops. Global hotspots for age-associated breakpoint formation were evident near telomeric genes and linked to remote breakpoints elsewhere in the genome, including the mitochondrial chromosome. Formation of breakpoint junctions at global hotspots was inhibited by the Sir2 histone deacetylase and might be triggered by an age-dependent de-repression of chromatin silencing. An unexpected mechanism of genomic instability may cause more local hotspots: age-associated reduction in an RNA-binding protein triggering R-loops at target loci. This result suggests that biological processes other than transcription or replication can drive genome rearrangements. Notably, we detected similar signatures of genome rearrangements that accumulated in old brain cells of humans. These findings provide insights into the unique patterns and possible mechanisms of genome rearrangements in non-dividing cells, which can be promoted by ageing-related changes in gene-regulatory proteins

A voz levantada: cuerpo y espacio de la literatura Hispano-Lusa

Memoria ID-160. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2019-2020

Excitotoxic inactivation of constitutive oxidative stress detoxification pathway in neurons can be rescued by PKD1

Excitotoxicity, a critical process in neurodegeneration, induces oxidative stress and neuronal death through mechanisms largely unknown. Since oxidative stress activates protein kinase D1 (PKD1) in tumor cells, we investigated the effect of excitotoxicity on neuronal PKD1 activity. Unexpectedly, we find that excitotoxicity provokes an early inactivation of PKD1 through a dephosphorylation-dependent mechanism mediated by protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) and dual specificity phosphatase-1 (DUSP1). This step turns off the IKK/NF-kappa B/SOD2 antioxidant pathway. Neuronal PKD1 inactivation by pharmacological inhibition or lentiviral silencing in vitro, or by genetic inactivation in neurons in vivo, strongly enhances excitotoxic neuronal death. In contrast, expression of an active dephosphorylation-resistant PKD1 mutant potentiates the IKK/NF-kappa B/SOD2 oxidative stress detoxification pathway and confers neuroprotection from in vitro and in vivo excitotoxicity. Our results indicate that PKD1 inactivation underlies excitotoxicity-induced neuronal death and suggest that PKD1 inactivation may be critical for the accumulation of oxidation-induced neuronal damage during aging and in neurodegenerative disorders

Development of an activity disease score in patients with uveitis (UVEDAI)

To develop a disease activity index for patients with uveitis (UVEDAI) encompassing the relevant domains of disease activity considered important among experts in this field. The steps for designing UVEDAI were: (a) Defining the construct and establishing the domains through a formal judgment of experts, (b) A two-round Delphi study with a panel of 15 experts to determine the relevant items, (c) Selection of items: A logistic regression model was developed that set ocular inflammatory activity as the dependent variable. The construct "uveitis inflammatory activity" was defined as any intraocular inflammation that included external structures (cornea) in addition to uvea. Seven domains and 15 items were identified: best-corrected visual acuity, inflammation of the anterior chamber (anterior chamber cells, hypopyon, the presence of fibrin, active posterior keratic precipitates and iris nodules), intraocular pressure, inflammation of the vitreous cavity (vitreous haze, snowballs and snowbanks), central macular edema, inflammation of the posterior pole (the presence and number of choroidal/retinal lesions, vascular inflammation and papillitis), and global assessment from both (patient and physician). From all the variables studied in the multivariate model, anterior chamber cell grade, vitreous haze, central macular edema, inflammatory vessel sheathing, papillitis, choroidal/retinal lesions and patient evaluation were included in UVEDAI. UVEDAI is an index designed to assess the global ocular inflammatory activity in patients with uveitis. It might prove worthwhile to motorize the activity of this extraarticular manifestation of some rheumatic diseases