Polymerized-Type I Collagen Induces Upregulation of Foxp3-Expressing CD4 Regulatory T Cells and Downregulation of IL-17-Producing CD4+ T Cells (Th17) Cells in Collagen-Induced Arthritis

Previous studies showed that polymerized-type I collagen (polymerized collagen) exhibits potent immunoregulatory properties. This work evaluated the effect of intramuscular administration of polymerized collagen in early and established collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice and analyzed changes in Th subsets following therapy. Incidence of CIA was of 100% in mice challenged with type II collagen. Clinimorphometric analysis showed a downregulation of inflammation after administration of all treatments (P < 0.05). Histological analysis showed that the CIA-mice group had extensive bone erosion, pannus and severe focal inflammatory infiltrates. In contrast, there was a remarkable reduction in the severity of arthritis in mice under polymerized collagen, methotrexate or methotrexate/polymerized collagen treatment. Polymerized Collagen but not methotrexate induced tissue joint regeneration. Polymerized Collagen and methotrexate/polymerized collagen but not methotrexate alone induces downregulation of CD4+/IL17A+ T cells and upregulation of Tregs and CD4+/IFN-γ+ T cells. Thus, Polymerized Collagen could be an effective therapeutic agent in early and established rheumatoid arthritis by exerting downregulation of autoimmune inflammation

Redes neuronales y patrones de analogías aplicados al downscaling en modelos climáticos

Ponencia presentada en: I Congreso de la Asociación Española de Climatología “La climatología española en los albores del siglo XXI”, celebrado en Barcelona del 1 al 3 de diciembre de 1999.[ES]Este artículo describe un sistema experto para la simulación climática local utilizando las salidas de los modelos climáticos sobre un área limitada supra-peninsular y buscando analogías en las bases de datos de cada modelo. Éste conjunto de analogías entrena a una red neuronal sobre los datos locales de cualquier observatorio resultando un sistema objetivo para interpretar localmente las salidas de los modelos climáticos.[EN]This article describes an expert system for the climatic simulation using the low resolution outputs of the climatic models ver a supra-peninsular limited area and looking for similar configurations in the data bases of each model. These allow to train a neural net using the local data of any observatory as output. It provides an objective system in order to interpret the outputs of the climatic models locally

Selective pressure against horizontally acquired prokaryotic genes as a driving force of plastid evolution

Altres ajuts: del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas- Argentina (CONICET) i del Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo (IBERCAROT).The plastid organelle comprises a high proportion of nucleus-encoded proteins that were acquired from different prokaryotic donors via independent horizontal gene transfers following its primary endosymbiotic origin. What forces drove the targeting of these alien proteins to the plastid remains an unresolved evolutionary question. To better understand this process we screened for suitable candidate proteins to recapitulate their prokaryote-to-eukaryote transition. Here we identify the ancient horizontal transfer of a bacterial polyphenol oxidase (PPO) gene to the nuclear genome of an early land plant ancestor and infer the possible mechanism behind the plastidial localization of the encoded enzyme. Arabidopsis plants expressing PPO versions either lacking or harbouring a plastid-targeting signal allowed examining fitness consequences associated with its subcellular localization. Markedly, a deleterious effect on plant growth was highly correlated with PPO activity only when producing the non-targeted enzyme, suggesting that selection favoured the fixation of plastid-targeted protein versions. Our results reveal a possible evolutionary mechanism of how selection against heterologous genes encoding cytosolic proteins contributed in incrementing plastid proteome complexity from non-endosymbiotic gene sources, a process that may also impact mitochondrial evolution

Aplicación de métodos de clasificación al downscaling estadístico

Ponencia presentada en: V Simposio Nacional de Predicción, celebrado en 2001 en Madrid.En este artículo se analizan diversas alternativas para la predicción probabilística de meteoros utilizando el método de análogos, y se presentan resultados de validación en la red principal de estaciones del INM en las diversas cuencas peninsulares. En primer lugar se comparan distintas especificaciones (tamaño de la rejilla y rango horario) del vector 4D que define el “estado de la atmósfera” en base a las predicciones de un modelo numérico. Seguidamente, se describe la forma más conveniente de comprimir esta información, eliminando redundancias, utilizando componentes principales. A continuación, se analizan distintas técnicas de clasificación para obtener un conjunto de estados de la atmósfera análogos a uno dado, de entre aquellos disponibles en una base de datos de estados históricos (reanálisis). Finalmente, se muestra la forma de mejorar la resolución de una predicción realizada por el modelo numérico a partir de la estadística de los meteoros locales observados en las fechas correspondientes a los análogos hallados para el estado definido por la predicción

Escenarios regionales probabilísticos de cambio climático en Cantabria: termopluviometría

La Estrategia de lucha frente al Cambio Climático de Cantabria, 2008-2012, es el marco de actuación para la mitigación y adaptación frente a este problema global en el ámbito de nuestra Comunidad (ver http://www.cambioclimaticocantabria.es). En dicho documento se detallan las medidas concretas para hacer frente al problema, con desglose temporal y competencial, dentro del ámbito organizativo regional. El desarrollo del trabajo para la realización de los Escenarios Regionales de Cambio Climático, cuyos resultados se describen en este libro, se enmarca dentro de las medidas de actuación contenidas en la Estrategia Regional de lucha frente al Cambio Climático, como una actuación prioritaria dentro del área de adaptación al Cambio Climático, orientada a identificar los efectos en el clima de nuestra Comunidad, y poder con esta base, planificar medidas concretas de adaptación coste-eficientes

Ancient DNA evidence for the ecological globalization of cod fishing in medieval and post-medieval Europe

Understanding the historical emergence and growth of long-range fisheries can provide fundamental insights into the timing of ecological impacts and the development of coastal communities during the last millennium. Whole-genome sequencing approaches can improve such understanding by determining the origin of archaeological fish specimens that may have been obtained from historic trade or distant water. Here, we used genome-wide data to individually infer the biological source of 37 ancient Atlantic cod specimens (ca 1050-1950 CE) from England and Spain. Our findings provide novel genetic evidence that eleventh- to twelfth-century specimens from London were predominantly obtained from nearby populations, while thirteenth- to fourteenth-century specimens were derived from distant sources. Our results further suggest that Icelandic cod was indeed exported to London earlier than previously reported. Our observations confirm the chronology and geography of the trans-Atlantic cod trade from Newfoundland to Spain starting by the early sixteenth century. Our findings demonstrate the utility of whole-genome sequencing and ancient DNA approaches to describe the globalization of marine fisheries and increase our understanding regarding the extent of the North Atlantic fish trade and long-range fisheries in medieval and early modern time

Escenarios regionales probabilísticos de cambio climático en Cantabria: termopluviometría

Así, en el proyecto "Generación de Escenarios Regionales de Cambio Climático en Cantabria", financiado por la Consejería de Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de Cantabria y realizado durante el período 2008-2009, se planteó como objetivo principal la caracterización del régimen termopluviométrico en la región a alta resolución (1 km) y su proyección futura según distintos escenarios de cambio climático a lo largo del siglo XXI (2011-2040, 2041-2070, y 2071-2100). Para ello se utilizaron técnicas de regionalización (downscaling) para proyectar las proyecciones globales de los modelos del cuarto informe del Panel ntergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático IPCC (IPCC-AR4) y para cuantificar la incertidumbre. No obstante, también se analizaron de manera preliminar otros aspectos novedosos, como la regionalización del clima marítimo (no descritos en el presente manuscrito).Proyecto financiado por la Consejería de Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de Cantabri

Sex-related differences of fatty acid-binding protein 4 and leptin levels in atrial fibrillation

Aims: Adiposity plays a key role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Our aim was to study the sex differences in adipokines levels according to AF burden. Methods and results: Two independent cohorts of patients were studied: (i) consecutive patients with AF undergoing catheter ablation (n = 217) and (ii) a control group (n = 105). (i) Adipokines, oxidative stress, indirect autonomic markers, and leucocytes mRNA levels were analysed; (ii) correlation between biomarkers was explored with heatmaps and Kendall correlation coefficients; and (iii) logistic regression and random forest model were used to determine predictors of AF recurrence after ablation. Our results showed that: (i) fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) and leptin levels were higher in women than in men in both cohorts (P < 0.01). In women, FABP4 levels were higher on AF cohort (20 ± 14 control, 29 ± 18 paroxysmal AF and 31 ± 17 ng/mL persistent AF; P < 0.01). In men, leptin levels were lower on AF cohort (22 ± 15 control, 13 ± 16 paroxysmal AF and 13 ± 11 ng/mL persistent AF; P < 0.01). (ii) In female with paroxysmal AF, there was a lower acetylcholinesterase and higher carbonic anhydrase levels with respect to men (P < 0.05). (iii) Adipokines have an important role on discriminate AF recurrence after ablation. In persistent AF, FABP4 was the best predictor of recurrence after ablation (1.067, 95% confidence interval 1-1.14; P = 0.046). Conclusion: The major finding of the present study is the sex-based differences of FABP4 and leptin levels according to AF burden. These adipokines are associated with oxidative stress, inflammatory and autonomic indirect markers, indicating that they may play a role in AF perpetuation.This study was supported by projects (PI16/01282 and PI18/01584) integrated in the Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2016–2019 and cofounded by ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER). J.N.L.-C. and M.R.-M. were a recipient of a Sociedade Galega de Cardioloxía (SOGACAR) research grant. D.d.G.-C. was a recipient of a Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación grant from the Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities (IJCI-2016-29393). CIBER Cardiovascular (CB16/11/00403 to V.Ll.-C. and D.d.G.-C.) is a project from Carlos III Health Institute.Peer reviewe

The role of retinal fluid location in atrophy and fibrosis evolution of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration long-term treated in real world

Purpose: To assess the effect of clinical factors on the development and progression of atrophy and fibrosis in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) receiving long-term treatment in the real world. Methods: An ambispective 36-month multicentre study, involving 359 nAMD patients from 17 Spanish hospitals treated according to the Spanish Vitreoretinal Society guidelines, was designed. The influence of demographic and clinical factors, including the presence and location of retinal fluid, on best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and progression to atrophy and/or fibrosis were analysed. Results: After 36 months of follow-up and an average of 13.8 anti-VEGF intravitreal injections, the average BCVA gain was +1.5 letters, and atrophy and/or fibrosis were present in 54.8% of nAMD patients (OR = 8.54, 95% CI = 5.85-12.47, compared to baseline). Atrophy was associated with basal intraretinal fluid (IRF) (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.09-3.20), whereas basal subretinal fluid (SRF) was associated with a lower rate of atrophy (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.23-0.71) and its progression (OR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.26-0.75), leading to a slow progression rate (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.14-0.83). Fibrosis development and progression were related to IRF at any visit (p < 0.001). In contrast, 36-month SRF was related to a lower rate of fibrosis (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.29-0.81) and its progression (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.31-0.81). Conclusion: Atrophy and/or fibrosis were present in 1 of 2 nAMD patients treated for 3 years. Both, especially fibrosis, lead to vision loss. Subretinal fluid (SRF) was associated with good visual outcomes and lower rates of atrophy and fibrosis, whereas IRF yields worse visual results and a higher risk of atrophy and especially fibrosis in routine clinical practice