Los hábitats artificiales marinos favorecen a largo plazo a una única especie: la dominancia de Boops boops en las jaulas de acuicultura en mar abierto

Off-shore fish cages are new artificial habitats that can affect pelagic fish assemblages and constitute an important food source for wild fish assemblages. This aggregation has noticeable ecological consequences in cage areas in impoverished ecosystems such as those in the Canary archipelago (NE Atlantic Ocean). However, this new habitat could be dominated by a single species, reducing its positive ecological effects. Wild fish assemblages associated with an off-shore fish lease on the northeastern coast of Tenerife (Canary Islands) were sampled for six years. Fish assemblage structure beneath fish cages and at controls ( > 500 m from cages) differed significantly between locations, with 13 times greater abundance at cage locations. These differences were mainly explained by the dominance of bogue (Boops boops) around fish cages. This trend was consistent in the long-term throughout the study period (2004-2009), affecting local fisheries. The presence of fish cages significantly altered wild fish assemblages in the study area, enhancing mainly biomass and abundance of one species, bogue, and causing shifts in species composition.Las jaulas de acuicultura en mar abierto constituyen un hábitat artificial nuevo que puede afectar a las poblaciones de peces pelágicos porque constituyen una fuente importante de alimentación para las comunidades de peces salvajes. Esta congregación tiene consecuencias ecológicas notables en áreas caracterizadas por ecosistemas empobrecidos como ocurre en el archipiélago canario (Atlántico Noreste). Sin embargo, este nuevo hábitat puede encontrarse dominado por una única especie, limitando sus efectos ecológicos positivos. Las comunidades salvajes de peces asociadas a jaulas en mar abierto localizadas en la costa noreste de la isla de Tenerife (Islas Canarias) fueron muestreadas a lo largo de 6 años. La estructura de la comunidad íctica varió significativamente entre las localidades de las jaulas y los controles ( > 500 m de distancia de las jaulas), con abundancias que fueron 13 veces superiores en las jaulas. Estas diferencias fueron debidas principalmente a la dominancia de la boga (Boops boops) alrededor de las jaulas de acuicultura. Esta tendencia fue consistente a lo largo del período de estudio (2004-2009), afectando a las capturas de los pescadores locales. La presencia de las jaulas de acuicultura afectó de forma significativa las poblaciones de peces en el área de estudio, con un incremento de la biomasa y abundancia de una especie, la boga, que determinó cambios en la composición de las especies

Regulated proteolytic processing of Reelin through interplay of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, and their modulators

The extracellular signaling protein Reelin, indispensable for proper neuronal migration and cortical layering during development, is also expressed in the adult brain where it modulates synaptic functions. It has been shown that proteolytic processing of Reelin decreases its signaling activity and promotes Reelin aggregation in vitro, and that proteolytic processing is affected in various neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, neither the pathophysiological significance of dysregulated Reelin cleavage, nor the involved proteases and their modulators are known. Here we identified the serine protease tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and two matrix metalloproteinases, ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5, as Reelin cleaving enzymes. Moreover, we assessed the influence of several endogenous protease inhibitors, including tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), α-2-Macroglobulin, and multiple serpins, as well as matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) on Reelin cleavage, and described their complex interplay in the regulation of this process. Finally, we could demonstrate that in the murine hippocampus, the expression levels and localization of Reelin proteases largely overlap with that of Reelin. While this pattern remained stable during normal aging, changes in their protein levels coincided with accelerated Reelin aggregation in a mouse model of AD

Determinants in the Underdiagnosis of COPD in Spain—CONOCEPOC Study

Respiratory symptoms; Spirometry; UnderdiagnosisSíntomas respiratorios; Espirometría; InfradiagnósticoSímptomes respiratoris; Espirometria; InfradiagnòsticFactors such as seeking medical attention for respiratory symptoms and health professionals ordering spirometry come into play in the underdiagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The objective of this study was to analyze seeking medical attention and the use of spirometry in individuals with chronic respiratory symptoms and to compare these results with those obtained in the 2005 and 2011 surveys. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, epidemiological study was conducted via phone interview in December 2020 in Spain, with a representative sample from 17 autonomous communities. The study design was identical to that of the studies carried out in 2005 and 2011 to evaluate the changes that have occurred in seeking medical attention and performing spirometry in Spain, as well as the variability between autonomous communities. Results: From 89,601 phone contacts, a total of 6534 respondents were obtained. A total of 24.8% reported having some chronic respiratory symptom, and 17.9% reported a respiratory disease. Only 51.6% of those who had some chronic respiratory symptom had seen their doctor, which was less likely among current smokers (OR: 0.599, 95% CI: 0.467–0.769, p < 0.001) and those living in a rural setting (OR: 0.797, 95% CI: 0.651–0.975, p = 0.027). A total of 68.7% of the individuals who saw a doctor reported having undergone spirometry, most frequently males (OR: 1.535, 95% CI: 2.074–1.136, p < 0.005), former smokers (OR: 1.696, 95% CI: 2.407–1.195, p < 0.003), and those seen by a pulmonologist (OR: 6.151, 95% CI: 8.869–4.265, p < 0.001). With respect to the 2005 survey, more frequent use of spirometry has been observed (42.6 vs. 68.7%), without any change in seeking medical attention for respiratory symptoms. There is a clear variability according to the autonomous community (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Many individuals with chronic respiratory symptoms do not seek medical attention and although the use of spirometry has increased in the past 15 years, it is still an important area that needs improving in the primary care setting, especially among women. Both of these factors can be determinants in the underdiagnosis of COPD and its variability between autonomous communities.This study has been promoted and sponsored by the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR). We thank GlaxoSmithKline Spain for its financial support in carrying out the study; grant number 214465. The financing entities did not participate in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, publication, or preparation of this manuscript

Lack of association of a variable number of aspartic acid residues in the asporin gene with osteoarthritis susceptibility: case-control studies in Spanish Caucasians

A recent genetic association study has identified a microsatellite in the coding sequence of the asporin gene as a susceptibility factor for osteoarthritis (OA). Alleles of this microsatellite determine the variable number of aspartic acid residues in the amino-terminal end of the asporin protein. Asporin binds directly to the growth factor transforming growth factor beta and inhibits its anabolic effects in cartilage, which include stimulation of collagen and aggrecan synthesis. The OA-associated allele, with 14 aspartic acid residues, inhibits the anabolic effects of transforming growth factor beta more strongly than other asporin alleles, leading to increased OA liability. We have explored whether the association found in several cohorts of Japanese hip OA and knee OA patients was also present in Spanish Caucasians. We studied patients that had undergone total joint replacement for primary OA in the hip (n = 303) or the knee (n = 188) and patients with hand OA (n = 233), and we compared their results with controls (n = 294) lacking overt OA clinical symptoms. No significant differences were observed in any of the multiple comparisons performed, which included global tests of allele frequency distributions and specific comparisons as well as stratification by affected joint and by sex. Our results, together with reports from the United Kingdom and Greece, indicate that the stretch of aspartic acid residues in asporin is not an important factor in OA susceptibility among European Caucasians. It remains possible that lifestyle, environmental or genetic differences allow for an important effect of asporin variants in other ethnic groups as has been reported in the Japanese, but this should be supported by additional studies

Smoking and COPD Knowledge in the General Spanish Population: A CONOCEPOC Study

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Knowledge; Tobacco useMalaltia pulmonar obstructiva crònica; Coneixement; Consum de tabacEnfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica; Conocimiento; Consumo de tabacoBackground: The objective of this analysis is to evaluate tobacco use and the level of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) knowledge among the general adult population in Spain and to compare these results to those obtained in the 2011 survey. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational, epidemiological study was conducted by telephone interviews and stratified by sex, age, and setting. The study design was identical to that of the study conducted in 2011. Results: Of a total of 89,601 phone contacts, there were 6534 respondents. The average age was 61.5 years. With respect to smoking, 30.9% reported being former smokers and 14.7% were current smokers, 63.6% of whom reported having attempted to quit. Among the current smokers, 19.7% claimed to use electronic cigarettes, although 88% believe these pose a health risk. No significant differences were found in smoking prevalence or frequency of attempts to quit according to residential setting (rural/urban). The highest prevalence of current smoking in men was recorded in the 55–64 years age range (31.6%), while in women it was from 45 to 54 years (34.6%). Smoking has decreased with respect to 2011, from 21.1% to 16.1% in men and from 17.9% to 13.2% in women, with a clear variability according to region. Of the population surveyed, 32.5% had spontaneous knowledge about COPD, with significant geographic variability. The most frequent sources of information about the disease were social media and the Internet (39.6%), followed by the media (35.2%). Conclusions: The prevalence of tobacco use in adults has considerably decreased and there is greater knowledge about COPD in Spain, although there is significant variability according to region, which could explain the geographic variability in the prevalence of COPD. Strategies are needed to increase COPD education and awareness and to reinforce smoking prevention measures among women.This study has been promoted and sponsored by the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR). We thank GlaxoSmithKline Spain for its financial support in carrying out the study (grant number 214465). The financing entities did not participate in the design of the study, data collection, analysis, publication, or preparation of this manuscript

Suppressive soil against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum as a source of potential biocontrol agents: selection and evaluation of Clonostachys rosea BAFC1646

The fungal diversity structures of soils that are suppressive and non-suppressive to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were characterised and screened for fungal strains antagonistic to the S. sclerotiorum pathogen. Soil suppressiveness was associated with a particular fungal diversity structure. Principal component analysis showed that antagonism by fungal species in suppressive soils was associated with the occurrence of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Talaromyces flavus var. flavus and Clonostachys rosea f. rosea. In particular, C. rosea f. rosea occurred exclusively in suppressive soil samples, suggesting that this morpho-species plays an important role in suppression of S. sclerotiorum diseases. One strain of C. rosea f. rosea (BAFC1646) was selected for further experiments. Dual-culture assays confirmed the antagonistic behaviour of C. rosea f. rosea BAFC1646 against three different S. sclerotiorum strains. Antifungal activity was corroborated by diffusion assays with metabolite extracts. Greenhouse assays with soybean plants showed that the selected C. rosea f. rosea strain reduced the percentage of dead plants when co-inoculated with S. sclerotiorum. In addition, inclusion of C. rosea f. rosea alone increased shoot lengths significantly. In this work, we established the involvement of fungal species in soil suppressiveness and in further assays confirmed that C. rosea f. rosea BAFC1646 exhibits a bioprotective effect against S. sclerotiorum in soybean plants.Fil: Rodriguez, Maria Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Rothen, Carolina Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Lo, Tai En. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Gabriela Myriam. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Godeas, Alicia Margarita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; Argentin

Monumentos conmemorativos del noroeste argentino

Conocer lo que somos, dónde vivimos y de dónde venimos requiere una serie de saberes, desde distintas circunstancias. Para ello nada mejor que recurrir en la docencia a las fortalezas que nos trasmiten los monumentos públicos, mudos testigos de épocas y tendencias. En el devenir del tiempo se suceden etapas diferentes, que dependen de sus protagonistas y las influencias propias de la naturaleza, de los intereses de quienes ejercen un liderazgo político y de corrientes externas que se introducen para enriquecer o torcer el cauce de los emblemas imperantes. Sumamente interesante resulta el estudio de las diversas modificaciones. Palabra

Efectos de las salvaguardias sobre la agencia naviera J&M en el año 2015

En el 2013, en la ciudad de Guayaquil, la Agencia del Pacífico J&M S.A inicia sus actividades agenciando la línea de la empresa Cosco Container Lines (COSCO), con sede en China, logrando ocupar un nicho importante en el mercado ecuatoriano. Posteriormente, consecuencia de la crisis global que inicia en el 2008 y se ha extendido hasta la actualidad, el gobierno ecuatoriano decide intensificar las políticas restrictivas a las importaciones con la finalidad de precautelar la dolarización, siendo una de las políticas más agresivas la implementación de salvaguardias en el año 2015, imponiendo tasas que, dependiendo del bien, pueden ser de entre el 5% y el 45%. Las salvaguardias, que debían extinguirse a mediados del 2016, se prologaron tentativamente por un año más, lo cual está afectando negativamente al desempeño de la mayoría de las empresas cuyo negocio gira alrededor de las importaciones, como lo es el caso de las agencias navieras. El presente estudio analiza la situación de la empresa J&M durante la coyuntura del año 2015, en la cual experimenta dos factores exógenos que influyen fuertemente sobre el desarrollo organizacional, analizado desde las perspectivas: financiera, del cliente, de los procesos internos y del aprendizaje y crecimiento; siendo el primero las salvaguardias y el segundo la fusión de la empresa COSCO con la empresa CSCL, lo cual incrementó significativamente su poder de mercado. La fusión señalada, complementada con políticas internas implementadas por J&M para enfrentar las salvaguardias, ha permitido que pese a la coyuntura desfavorable producto de las políticas públicas del Ecuador, la empresa haya experimentado un crecimiento importante, el cual se mantiene hasta el año en curso

Diseño integral para niños trastornos del espectro autista (TEA)

La propuesta reflexiona sobre el campo de acción y el sentido que adquiere el diseñador al ser creador de espacios que aportan un sinfín de sensaciones a los usuarios. El proyecto parte del concepto de diseño interior terapéutico destinado a niños en condición TEA El objetivo es mejorar su calidad de vida utilizando elementos que resulten motivantes para que el niño dedique mayor tiempo al desarrollo de sus habilidades. Si bien no existe una solución específica, ya que la misma se ajustará a las particularidades de cada caso, sugerimos el cómo y por qué plantearse el diseño para niños TEA

Metabolites from the Dark Septate Endophyte Drechslera sp. Evaluation by LC/MS and Principal Component Analysis of Culture Extracts with Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors

Secondary metabolites from the cultures of the dark septate fungal endophyte (DSE) Drechslera sp., isolated from the roots of rye grass (Lollium sp.) and cultured under different experimental conditions, are described here for the first time. The use of suberoylanilidehydroxamic acid (SAHA) and other histone deacetylase inhibitors as epigenetic modifiers in the culture medium was evaluated by LC/MS and LC/MS/MS. Several differences in the metabolite production were detected by means of supervised principal component analysis (PCA) of LC/MS data. The presence of the compounds in the culture medium or in the mycelium was compared. In order to confirm their structure, many of these natural products were isolated from a larger scale culture. These metabolites were characterized as prenylhydroxybenzoic acids and chromans, two compounds, one of each class were previously undescribed, prenylquinoids, diketopiperazines and macrosphelides. Some of the compounds, which were released to the medium, showed good antifungal activity, suggesting that these compounds could protect Lollium from fungal phytopatogens. The use of SAHA as an additive of the cultures also induced the release of hexosylphytosphyngosine to the culture medium. The biotransformation of the inhibitors was observed in addition to the production of antifungal metabolites, showing the ability of this endophytic strain to control xenobiotics.Fil: Siless, Gastón Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Gallardo, Gabriela Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Maria Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Rincon Galan, Yuliet Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Godeas, Alicia Margarita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Gabriela Myriam. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; Argentin