Mujeres y menores inmigrantes en la prensa vasca

El último estudio que sobre inmigración en Euskadi ha elaborado el Observatorio Ikuspegi constata que en los últimos años la actitud de la población vasca se ha vuelto menos tolerante, más crítica y más restrictiva hacia los inmigrantes. Una de las preguntas que surge en este contexto es cómo incide la información difundida por la prensa vasca sobre los colectivos especialmente desfavorecidos, como son las mujeres y los menores inmigrantes, en la formación de la imagen que de ellos percibe la ciudadanía vasca. La necesidad de comprender la mencionada incidencia de los medios justifica este trabajo de investigación cuyo propósito final es conocer en qué medida los diarios vascos aplican las recomendaciones deontológicas que propugnan un periodismo alejado de la discriminación, el sensacionalismo o los estereotipos negativos.The latest study made by Ikuspegi Observatory on immigration in Euskadi notes that in recent years the attitude of the Basque population towards immigrants has become less tolerant, more complaining and more restrictive. One question that arises in this context is how the information displayed by the Basque press affects to disadvantaged groups -such as women and migrant children in their quality of active or passive subjects of the news- by shaping the image Basque citizens have of them. The need to understand the mentioned impact of the media justifies this work of investigation, the final aim of which is to know how the Basque dailies follow the ethical recommendations and support a type of journalism that is not connected with discrimination, sensationalism or negative stereotypes

How Spanish Journalists consider minorities and vulnerable groups should be treated by media

La mayoría de los códigos deontológicos generalistas europeos recoge el deber profesional de los periodistas de no discriminar por razones de sexo, de etnia (o de raza) y de religión. Algunos textos van más allá y hablan del origen nacional, cultural o social, del idioma o de la ideología. El estudio se centra en el grado de asunción de dichas pautas en la praxis profesional de los periodistas de cuatro comunidades autónomas que representan el 52% de toda la población del Estado Español: Euskadi, Andalucía, Cataluña y Madrid. Partiendo de la base de que su inobservancia afecta, sobre todo, a los colectivos desfavorecidos -tales como inmigrantes, mujeres, homosexuales, discapacitados, ancianos, etc.-, a los informadores se les plantea la cuestión de si a la hora de presentar la noticia es admisible algún tipo de discriminación ‘positiva’.The majority of the general European codes include among their principles that professionals have a duty not to discriminate for reasons of sex, of etnia (or of race) and of religion. Some texts go beyond and speak about the national, cultural or social origin, language or ideology. This study focuses on how much are assumed these guidelines in the professional activity of journalists from four regions (autonomous communities) that add up to more than half of population of Spanish state (52 %): Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid and Basque Country. The discrimination affects often to groups that are socially or economically deprived or marginalized -as immigrants, women, homosexuals, disabled and elderly peopleand, besides the usual questions that arise in this area, news people are faced with the issue whether is it admissible to act with some kind of ‘positive discrimination’

Una variedad blanca (Vitis vinifera L.) de alto interés comercial, y en vías de extinción. Sinonimias y homonimias

Comunicación presentada al X Congreso Nacional de Ciencias Hortícolas, celebrado en Pontevedra en mayo de 2003.Peer reviewe

Archaeological History of a Fijian Island: Moturiki, Lomaiviti Group

Moturiki is one of the high islands in the Lomaiviti Group, central Fiji. In this article we present exhaustive empirical information on archaeological survey and test pit excavations carried out in 2008 and 2010. An interesting archaeological landscape emerged, with 89 archaeological sites found on Moturiki and neighboring islands Yanuca Levu, Leleuvia, and Caqalai. The sites include ring-ditch villages, terraced villages, isolated house mounds (yavus), and burial sites. Results from one of the test pits on the southeast of the island indicate possible landscape changes in the last millennium, since the ancient coastline is currently buried at around 1 m below the surface. This lowland area has therefore received large amounts of sediment from higher areas, a likely result of human activity. We also documented remains from a previously recorded Lapita site in the island. Overall, a shift in the settlement patterns from the coast, to the interior areas, back to the coast, has been documented. This shift, taking place on extremely small islands, can hardly be explained by environmental changes. The article puts together our findings and hypothesis, as well as providing the emphasis of our methodological approach

Diagnosis and Molecular Characterization of Chikungunya Virus Infections

In recent years, large-scale outbreaks of chikungunya arbovirus (CHIKV), which is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, have enabled the rapid propagation of the virus across the world. After acute infection phase with commonly fever, joint pain, headache, or rash, chronic rheumatism (arthralgia or myalgia, anorexia, and concentration disorders) up to 40% of cases is observed. The chronic form is defined by symptoms persisting for more than 3 months, and up to years, after initial diagnosis. Chronic discomfort has been linked to one of the four genotypes described. These genotypes represent different geographic lineages (classification based on partial sequence of viral E1 glycoprotein): West African, East-Central-South-African (ECSA), ECSA-diverged or Indian Ocean Lineage (IOL), and Asian. The first marker detected in CHIK infection is the viral RNA, usually by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This marker can be identified in samples within 8 days of symptom onset. The infection can also be diagnosed with serological testing to detect CHIKV-specific immunoglobulin IgG and/or IgM. Sequencing studies can determine the infecting genotype

Intrasession and Intersession Repeatability of a new PCT-200 Corneal Topographer on Calibrated Steel Surfaces and Healthy Eyes

PURPOSE: To assess intrasession and intersession repeatability of a new tilted-cone, Placido-disc based corneal topographer (PCT-200, Optopol Tech., Poland) on calibrated steel surfaces and healthy human eyes. METHODS: Five repeated measures of surface topography were obtained on a set of four different calibrated steel spherical surfaces and on a sample 30 healthy human eyes in each of two sessions. Variance of apical radius, eccentricity and Fourier Indices was assessed both within and between sessions using analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired samples t-test and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). RESULTS: Repeated measurements on calibrated steel surfaces and human eye sample of all parameters were not significantly different within session (ANOVA) nor between sessions (paired samples t-test), p-values exceeded greatly 0.05 in all cases. ICCs were greater than 0.98 and 0.77 for steel surfaces and human eyes, respectively, for all parameters analysed. CONCLUSIONS: The new tilted-cone corneal topographer performs well in both spherical surfaces and healthy human eyes, providing with repeatable measures of corneal topography, comparable to other Placido-based devices currently in the market

Extracellular histones disarrange vasoactive mediators reléase through COX-NOS interaction in human endothelial cells

Extracellular histones are mediators of inflammation, tissue injury and organ dysfunction. Interactions between circulating histones and vascular endothelial cells are key events in histone-mediated pathologies. Our aim was to investigate the implication of extracellular histones in the production of the major vasoactive compounds released by human endothelial cells (HUVECs), prostanoids and nitric oxide (NO). HUVEC exposed to increasing concentrations of histones (0.001 to 100 μg/ml) for 4 hrs induced prostacyclin (PGI2) production in a dose-dependent manner and decreased thromboxane A2 (TXA2) release at 100 μg/ml. Extracellular histones raised cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostacyclin synthase (PGIS) mRNA and protein expression, decreased COX-1 mRNA levels and did not change thromboxane A2 synthase (TXAS) expression. Moreover, extracellular histones decreased both, eNOS expression and NO production in HUVEC. The impaired NO production was related to COX-2 activity and superoxide production since was reversed after celecoxib (10 μmol/l) and tempol (100 μmol/l) treatments, respectively. In conclusion, our findings suggest that extracellular histones stimulate the release of endothelial-dependent mediators through an up-regulation in COX-2-PGIS-PGI2 pathway which involves a COX-2-dependent superoxide production that decreases the activity of eNOS and the NO production. These effects may contribute to the endothelial cell dysfunction observed in histone-mediated pathologies

Extracellular histones trigger oxidative stress-dependent induction of the NF-kB/CAM pathway via TLR4 in endothelial cells.

Extracellular histones have been reported to aggravate different pathophysiological processes by increasing vascular permeability, coagulopathy, and inflammation. In the present study, we elucidate how extracellular histones (10-100 mu g/mL) concentration dependently increase cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) production using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, we identify cyclooxygenase (COX) and NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity as sources of ROS production in extracellular histone-treated HUVEC. This COX/NOX-mediated ROS production is also involved in enhanced NF-kB activity and cell adhesion molecules (VCAM1 and ICAM1) expression in histone-treated HUVEC. Finally, by using different toll-like receptor (TLR) antagonists, we demonstrate the role of TLR4 in CAMs overexpression triggered by extracellular histones in endothelial cells. In conclusion, our data suggest that through TLR4 signaling, extracellular histones increase endothelial cell activation, a mechanism involving increased COX- and NOX-mediated ROS. These findings increase our understanding on how extracellular histones enhance systemic inflammatory responses in diseases in which histone release occurs as part of the pathological processes

La química a través de la lente de la ciencia forense: validación de pruebas a la gota para la identificación presuntiva de sustancias controladas

Un químico forense es un profesional que analiza la evidencia que se obtiene de una escena de crimen y llega a una conclusión basada en su alto nivel de conocimiento analítico y su capacidad de manejo instrumental y de los respectivos métodos de validación. Desde el punto de vista didáctico, es posible aplicar principios químicos de una manera clara y accesible en el área forense e investigación criminal como medio del proceso enseñanza y aprendizaje. En este trabajo se presenta una propuesta para el desarrollo de protocolos experimentales para la identificación de drogas mediante pruebas a la gota, así mismo presenta una propuesta para validar la cuantificación de dichas pruebas utilizando el software SigmaScan®.A forensic chemist is a profesional analyzing the evidence obtained from a crime scene and reaches a conclusion based on its high level of analytical knowledge and ability to instrumental management and the respective validation methods. From the educational point of view, it is possible to apply chemical principles in a clear and accessible way in forensics and criminal investigation as a means of teaching and learning process. In this work aproposal for the development of experimental protocols for drug identification tests is presented and a proposal to validate the quantification of such tests using the software SigmaScan®

Prognostic implications of surgical specimen quality on the oncological outcomes of open and laparoscopic surgery in mid and low rectal cancer

Purpose: Determine differences in pathologic outcomes between laparoscopic (LAP) and open surgery (OPEN) for mid and low rectal cancer and its influence in long-term oncological outcomes. Methods: Retrospective case matched study at a tertiary institution. Adults with rectal cancer below 12 cm from the anal verge operated between January 2005 and September 2018 were included. Primary outcomes were quality of specimen, overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and local recurrence (LR). Results: The study included 311 patients, LAP = 108 (34.7%), OPEN = 203 (65,3%). A successful resection was accomplished in 81% of the LAP group and in 84.5% of the OPEN (p = 0.505). No differences in free distal margin (LAP = 100%, OPEN = 97.5%; p = 0.156) or circumferential resection margin (LAP = 95.2%, OPEN = 93.2%; p = 0.603) were observed. However, mesorectum quality was incomplete in 16.2% for LAP and in 8.1% for OPEN (p = 0.048). OS was 91.1% for LAP and 81.1% for OPEN (p = 0.360). DFS was 81.4% for LAP and 77.5% for OPEN (p = 0.923). Overall, LR was 2.3% without differences between groups. Conclusions: Laparoscopic approach could affect the quality of surgical specimen due to technical aspects. However, if principles of surgical oncology are respected, minor pathologic differences in the quality of the mesorectum may not influence on the long-term oncologic outcomes