El aceite de oliva extra virgen y su fracción polifenólica previenen la respuesta inflamatoria y el daño articular en un modelo de artritis experimental en murino

The consumption of EVOO in Mediterranean countries has shown beneficial effects. A wide range of evidence indicates that the phenolic compounds present in EVOO are endowed with anti-inflammatory properties. In this work, we evaluated the effects of dietary EVOO and treatment with its phenolic extract (PE) in a model of RA, the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. On day 0, DBA-1/J mice were immunized with bovine collagen type II (CII). On day 21, the mice received a booster injection. We have demonstrated that EVOO and its PE decreases joint edema, cell migration, cartilage degradation and bone erosion. Our data indicate that dietary EVOO and PE treatment inhibit JNK, p38 and signal transducer and STAT-3. In addition, both EVOO and PE decrease NF-κB translocation leading to the down-regulation of the arthritic process. These results support the interest of natural diet components in the development of therapeutic products for arthritic conditions.El consumo de Aceite de oliva virgen extra (AOVE) en los países mediterráneos ha demostrado tener efectos beneficiosos. Una amplia gama de pruebas indica que los compuestos fenólicos presentes en el AOVE tienen propiedades anti-inflamatorias. En este trabajo, se evaluaron los efectos de AOVE y el tratamiento en dieta de su fracción polifenólica (FP) en un modelo de la artritis reumatoide inducida por colágeno (CIA) en ratones. En el día 0, los ratones DBA-1/J se inmunizaron con colágeno bovino tipo II (CII). En el día 21, los ratones recibieron una inyección de refuerzo. Hemos demostrado que el AOVE y su FP disminuyen conjuntamente el edema, la migración celular, la degradación del cartílago y erosión ósea. Nuestros datos indican que la dieta con AOVE y el tratamiento con FP inhiben JNK, p38 y el transductor de señal y activador de la transcripción 3 (STAT-3). Además, tanto el AOVE como la FP disminuyen la translocación NF-κB que conduce a la mejora del proceso artrítico. Estos resultados apoyan el interés de una dieta con componentes naturales y el desarrollo de productos terapéuticos para desordenes artríticos

Bounds on the mass and abundance of dark compact objects and black holes in dwarf spheroidal galaxy halos

We establish new dynamical constraints on the mass and abundance of compact objects in the halo of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. In order to preserve kinematically cold the second peak of the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal (UMi dSph) against gravitational scattering, we place upper limits on the density of compact objects as a function of their assumed mass. The mass of the dark matter constituents cannot be larger than 1000 solar masses at a halo density in UMi's core of 0.35 solar masses/pc^3. This constraint rules out a scenario in which dark halo cores are formed by two-body relaxation processes. Our bounds on the fraction of dark matter in compact objects with masses >3000 solar masses improve those based on dynamical arguments in the Galactic halo. In particular, objects with masses $\sim 10^{5}$ solar masses can comprise no more than a halo mass fraction $\sim 0.01$. Better determinations of the velocity dispersion of old overdense regions in dSphs may result in more stringent constraints on the mass of halo objects. For illustration, if the preliminary value of 0.5 km/s for the secondary peak of UMi is confirmed, compact objects with masses above $\sim 100$ solar masses could be excluded from comprising all its dark matter halo.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Developmental distribution of plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase isoforms in chick cerebellum.

The plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) is highly expressed in the nervous system, but little information is available about its implication in neuronal development. We have analyzed the expression and localization of different isoforms of PMCA in membrane vesicles and sections of chick cerebellum from embryonic day 10 to hatching. We found that the relative amount of each PMCA isoform and their spatiotemporal distribution in the cerebellum are directly linked to precise cellular types during the cerebellar maturation, even in a non-neural tissue as choroid plexus. Purkinje cells contain the highest diversity of PMCA isoforms of the cerebellar cortex since the moment of its morphogenesis. From embryonic day 15, the PMCA2 was highly expressed in the whole Purkinje cell, while PMCAs 1 and 3 had a more restricted distribution in the soma and dendritic branches, and these distributions were evolving according with cell maturation. Other cellular types seem to contain a specific combination of isoforms, but with a well-defined distribution pattern at late moments of development. Thus, PMCAs 1 and 3 were located in the soma of molecular layer interneurons, and only the PMCA2 was observed in granule cells at hatching. Furthermore, PMCA isoforms are also expressed in cellular compartments characterized by a high amount of synapses, suggesting a key role of these proteins in synaptogenesis and in the maturation of neuronal electrophysiological properties.post-print1698 K

On the relevance of uncorrelated Lorentzian pulses for the interpretation of turbulence in the edge of magnetically confined toroidal plasmas

Recently, it has been proposed that the turbulent fluctuations measured in a linear plasma device could be described as a superposition of uncorrelated Lorentzian pulses with a narrow distribution of durations, which would provide an explanation for the reported quasi-exponential power spectra. Here, we study the applicability of this proposal to edge fluctuations in toroidal magnetic confinement fusion plasmas. For the purpose of this analysis, we introduce a novel wavelet-based pulse detection technique that offers important advantages over existing techniques. It allows extracting the properties of individual pulses from the experimental time series, and quantifying the distribution of pulse duration and energy, as well as temporal correlations. We apply the wavelet technique to edge turbulent fluctuation data from the W7-AS stellarator and the JET tokamak, and find that the pulses detected in the data do not have a narrow distribution of durations and are not uncorrelated. Instead, the distributions are of the power law type, exhibiting temporal correlations over scales much longer than the typical pulse duration. These results suggest that turbulence in open and closed field line systems may be distinct and cast doubt on the proposed ubiquity of exponential power spectra in this context.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Recovering star formation histories: Integrated-light analyses vs stellar colour-magnitude diagrams

Accurate star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies are fundamental for understanding the build-up of their stellar content. However, the most accurate SFHs - those obtained from colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of resolved stars reaching the oldest main sequence turnoffs (oMSTO) - are presently limited to a few systems in the Local Group. It is therefore crucial to determine the reliability and range of applicability of SFHs derived from integrated light spectroscopy, as this affects our understanding of unresolved galaxies from low to high redshift. To evaluate the reliability of current full spectral fitting techniques in deriving SFHs from integrated light spectroscopy by comparing SFHs from integrated spectra to those obtained from deep CMDs of resolved stars. We have obtained a high signal--to--noise (S/N $\sim$ 36.3 per \AA) integrated spectrum of a field in the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) using EFOSC2 at the 3.6 meter telescope at La Silla Observatory. For this same field, resolved stellar data reaching the oMSTO are available. We have compared the star formation rate (SFR) as a function of time and the age-metallicity relation (AMR) obtained from the integrated spectrum using {\tt STECKMAP}, and the CMD using the IAC-star/MinnIAC/IAC-pop set of routines. For the sake of completeness we also use and discuss other synthesis codes ({\tt STARLIGHT} and {\tt ULySS}) to derive the SFR and AMR from the integrated LMC spectrum. We find very good agreement (average differences $\sim$ 4.1 $\%$) between the SFR(t) and the AMR obtained using {\tt STECKMAP} on the integrated light spectrum, and the CMD analysis. {\tt STECKMAP} minimizes the impact of the age-metallicity degeneracy and has the advantage of preferring smooth solutions to recover complex SFHs by means of a penalized $\chi^2$. [abridged]Comment: 23 pages, 24 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A (6 Sep 2015

ZONAS ECONÓMICAS ESPECIALES: CARTAGO Y EL TECNOLÓGICO DE COSTA RICA

The objective of this study is to deepen the results obtained to date in the Special Economic Zone of Cartago and the measures that can be taken to enhance its achievements. To carry out this study, the Knowledge Management and Generation Methodology was used. A review of the emergence of Special Economic Zones was carried out and the case of the Cartago Special Zone was selected for study, which was created in 2009 led by the Technological Institute of Cosa Rica and in coordination with its Liaison Center. Among its main results are the support in the installation of at least 25 new companies and the generation of more than 7000 new direct jobs. It is recommended that an action plan be carried out to overcome the results obtained by the year 2025, taking into account aspects such as innovation, quality systems, protection of the results obtained, and taking into account the 2030 Agenda and the Objectives of Sustainable development.El objetivo del presente estudio es profundizar en los resultados obtenidos hasta el presente en la Zona Económica Especial de Cartago y en las medidas que se puedan tomar para potenciar sus logros. Para la realización de este estudio se utilizó la Metodología de Gestión y Generación del Conocimiento. Se realizó una revisión del surgimiento de las Zonas Económicas Especiales y se seleccionó para su estudio el caso de la Zona Especial de Cartago, que se creó en el año 2009  liderado por el Tecnológico de Cosa Rica y con la coordinación de su Centro de Vinculación. Entre sus principales resultados se encuentran el apoyo en la instalación de al menos 25 empresas nuevas y la generación de más de 7000 nuevos empleos directos. Se recomienda realizar un plan de acción que permita superar los resultados obtenidos para el año 2025, teniendo en cuenta aspectos tales como la innovación, los sistemas de calidad, la protección de los resultados obtenidos, y tomar en consideración la Agenda 2030 y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

A Multi-Omics Analysis Pipeline for the Metabolic Pathway Reconstruction in the Orphan Species Quercus ilex

Holm oak (Quercus ilex) is the most important and representative species of the Mediterranean forest and of the Spanish agrosilvo-pastoral “dehesa” ecosystem. Despite its environmental and economic interest, Holm oak is an orphan species whose biology is very little known, especially at the molecular level. In order to increase the knowledge on the chemical composition and metabolism of this tree species, the employment of a holistic and multi-omics approach, in the Systems Biology direction would be necessary. However, for orphan and recalcitrant plant species, specific analytical and bioinformatics tools have to be developed in order to obtain adequate quality and data-density before to coping with the study of its biology. By using a plant sample consisting of a pool generated by mixing equal amounts of homogenized tissue from acorn embryo, leaves, and roots, protocols for transcriptome (NGS-Illumina), proteome (shotgun LC-MS/MS), and metabolome (GC-MS) studies have been optimized. These analyses resulted in the identification of around 62629 transcripts, 2380 protein species, and 62 metabolites. Data are compared with those reported for model plant species, whose genome has been sequenced and is well annotated, including Arabidopsis, japonica rice, poplar, and eucalyptus. RNA and protein sequencing favored each other, increasing the number and confidence of the proteins identified and correcting erroneous RNA sequences. The integration of the large amount of data reported using bioinformatics tools allows the Holm oak metabolic network to be partially reconstructed: from the 127 metabolic pathways reported in KEGG pathway database, 123 metabolic pathways can be visualized when using the described methodology. They included: carbohydrate and energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The TCA cycle was the pathway most represented with 5 out of 10 metabolites, 6 out of 8 protein enzymes, and 8 out of 8 enzyme transcripts. On the other hand, gaps, missed pathways, included metabolism of terpenoids and polyketides and lipid metabolism. The multi-omics resource generated in this work will set the basis for ongoing and future studies, bringing the Holm oak closer to model species, to obtain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying phenotypes of interest (productive, tolerant to environmental cues, nutraceutical value) and to select elite genotypes to be used in restoration and reforestation programs, especially in a future climate change scenario

Responses and Differences in Tolerance to Water Shortage under Climatic Dryness Conditions in Seedlings from Quercus spp. and Andalusian Q. ilex Populations

Analyzing differences in tolerance to drought in Quercus spp., and the characterization of these responses at the species and individual population level, are imperative for the selection of resilient elite genotypes in reforestation programs. The main objective of this work was to evaluate differences in the response and tolerance to water shortage under in five Quercus spp. and five Andalusian Q. ilex populations at the inter- and intraspecies level. Six-month-old seedlings grown in perlite were subjected to drought treatments by withholding water for 28 days under mean 37 °C temperature, 28 W m-2 solar irradiance, and 41% humidity. The use of perlite as the substrate enabled the establishment of severe drought stress with reduction in water availability from 73% (field capacity) to 28% (dryness), corresponding to matric potentials of 0 and −30 kPa. Damage symptoms, mortality rate, leaf water content, photosynthetic, and biochemical parameters (amino acids, sugars, phenolics, and pigments) were determined. At the phenotypic level, based on damage symptoms and mortality, Q. ilex behaved as the most drought tolerant species. Drought caused a significant decrease in leaf fluorescence, photosynthesis rate, and stomatal conductance in all Quercus spp. analyzed, being less pronounced in Q. ilex. There were not differences between irrigated and non-irrigated Q. ilex seedlings in the content of sugar and photosynthetic pigments, while the total amino acid and phenolic content significantly increased under drought conditions. As a response to drought, living Q. ilex seedlings adjust stomata opening and gas exchange, and keep hydrated, photosynthetically active, and metabolically competent. At the population level, based on damage symptoms, mortality, and physiological parameters, the eastern Andalusian populations were more tolerant than the western ones. These observations inform the basis for the selection of resilient genotypes to be used in breeding and reforestation programs

Development and validation of a software application to analyze thermal and kinematic multimodels of Stirling engines

The work developed presents, for the first time, a tool to analyze all the thermodynamic models used in the study and development of Stirling engines: isothermal, ideal adiabatic and adiabatic with losses, combined adiabatic thermodynamic with finite speed (CAFS), thermodynamic with finite speed (FST), ideal polytropic and polytropic with losses (PSVL), allowing a comparative study of them. This software (ASCE-UMA), designed and implemented in a Matlab GUI® allows to obtain the operating parameters of these engines, calculating the thermodynamic parameters, power output and efficiency. Additionally, the thermodynamic models can be evaluated with different me- chanical configurations, for which different drive mechanisms are implemented: Sinusoidal, Alfa Ross yoke types, Alfa Ross V yoke, Beta rhombic type and free piston Stirling engine (FPSE). Thermoacoustic and other, models could be analyzed by virtue of their similarity of movement with some of the implemented models. In the same way, ASCE-UMA allows the study of various exchanger configurations, as well as various regenerator models. The versatility of ASCE-UMA allows the development analysis of all the fundamental elements of a new prototype as well as the analysis of experimental data by performing a customized and detailed calculation. To test the effectiveness of ASCE-UMA, its performance is verified by analyzing Ross Yoke D-90 models and a GM GPU-3 engine. This is a tool that allows to analyze and comparing the different models and the different existing mechanisms for the multiple configurations of Stirling engines in an easy and intuitive application with a high-quality graphical interface.Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU