La educación superior del futuro

Convocada por la UNESCO se llevó a cabo en Paris (Francia) del 5 al 8 de agosto ppdo, la CONFERENCIA MUNDIAL DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR 2009 (CMES 2009) - Las Nuevas Dinámicas de la Educación Superior y de la Investigación para el Cambio Social y el Desarrolloque contó con la presencia de no más de 1.200 asistentes de 143 países miembros, lo cual habla de una absoluta restricción a la posibilidad de asistencia de educadores y gestores de la Educación Superior de todo el mundo, recordando solo como hecho anecdótico, que la primer Conferencia Mundial llevada a cabo, también en Paris, en octubre de 1998, contó con la presencia de casi 5.000 asistentes, lo que muestra la diferencia de contexto en que se discutieron las líneas políticas de desarrollo de la Educación Superior en el futuro

The evolution and diversity of intra-male sperm translocation in Odonata: a unique behaviour in animals

Behavioural diversity is a basic component of biodiversity, with implications in ecological interactions at the intra- and interspecific levels. The reproductive behaviour of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) is unique among insects and conditioned by the anatomical separation between the male’s reproductive organs and the intromittent organ. Prior to mating, males must translocate sperm from the genital pore in the ninth abdominal segment to the seminal vesicle located ventrally in the second abdominal segment. This behaviour, exclusive to odonates, is known as intra-male sperm translocation (ST). Here, we review the literature on ST and use phylogenetic comparative analyses to investigate the evolution of ST within the Odonata. Information on ST was compiled for 176 species, with the commonest variant being ST once per mating, after tandem formation (66%). Other variants found were ST involving precopulatory genital touching (10%), ST by the male alone before tandem (16%) or after copulation (5%), and repetition of ST during the same copulation (3%). The precopulatory genital touching might have evolved to detect female receptivity. ST before tandem formation might be favoured when mating opportunities are scarce and copulations are brief. ST after mating might be favoured if males need to be ready to copulate fast. Finally, repeated ST could have evolved through postcopulatory sexual selection in males with limited sperm removal ability, as a means to improve their sperm competition. The most plausible scenario for the evolution of ST is that the ancestors of the Odonata produced a spermatophore and attached it to the body, leading towards the evolution of the secondary genitalia in males. Our study emphasises the role of behavioural diversity to understand behavioural evolution.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. BES-2015-071965Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014-53140-

Widespread Wolbachia infection in an insular radiation of damselflies (Odonata, Coenagrionidae)

Wolbachia is one of the most common endosymbionts found infecting arthropods. Theory predicts symbionts like Wolbachia will be more common in species radiations, as host shift events occur with greatest frequency between closely related species. Further, the presence of Wolbachia itself may engender reproductive isolation, and promote speciation of their hosts. Here we screened 178 individuals belonging to 30 species of the damselfly genera Nesobasis and Melanesobasis — species radiations endemic to the Fiji archipelago in the South Pacific — for Wolbachia, using multilocus sequence typing to characterize bacterial strains. Incidence of Wolbachia was 71% in Nesobasis and 40% in Melanesobasis, and prevalence was also high, with an average of 88% in the Nesobasis species screened. We identified a total of 25 Wolbachia strains, belonging to supergroups A, B and F, with some epidemic strains present in multiple species. The occurrence of Wolbachia in both males and females, and the similar global prevalence found in both sexes rules out any strong effect of Wolbachia on the primary sex-ratio, but are compatible with the phenotype of cytoplasmic incompatibility. Nesobasis has higher species richness than most endemic island damselfly genera, and we discuss the potential for endosymbiont-mediated speciation within this group.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. CGL2008-02799Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014-53140-

BIOSHIELD: Innovación en soluciones sostenibles para el tratamiento de plagas en los cultivos de Jalisco

El proyecto consiste en el desarrollo de un agente de control biológico para la protección de cultivos agrícolas. El objetivo es ofrecer una solución innovadora, eficiente y ecológica para combatir las plagas que afectan los cultivos, reduciendo el uso de pesticidas químicos y minimizando el impacto ambiental. La metodología utilizada para el diseño de la solución se basó en la aplicación de Design Thinking, que permitió identificar las necesidades y requerimientos de los clientes potenciales, así como los desafíos y oportunidades del mercado. Se llevo un seguimiento cercano con los grupos de interés para el diseño de la solución final, en este caso siendo un microencapsulado de un consorcio de microorganismos obtenidos de residuos agroindustriales con el fin del control biológico de plagas en los suelos de los cultivos mexicanos. Se concluye que la cooperación entre diferentes actores del sector agrícola es esencial para el desarrollo de soluciones sostenibles y socialmente responsables.Además, la colaboración con la industria permite que la innovación científica tenga un impacto más amplio y llegue a los consumidores finales.ITESO, A.C

Nesobasis rito sp. nov. (Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae), a new species of forest damselfly from Vanua Levu, Fiji

Nesobasis rito sp. nov. (Holotype ♂, Fiji, Vanua Levu, Drawa, 31 v 2018, A. Rivas-Torres leg.) from the comosa group is here described, illustrated, diagnosed, and compared with morphologically close species of the genus. Nesobasis rito can be distinguished from its related congeners by the shape of the caudal appendages and the ligula. The most similar species are N. comosa and N. heteroneura, which, like N. rito, have the caudal appendages covered by dense setae (especially the first species), but the shape differs clearly in lateral view, with N. rito having longer and more slender appendages, and a basal tooth clearly seen in dorsal view, absent in other members of the comosa group. The specific status of the collected specimens is also supported by the results of genetic analyses, where N. rito appears as a well-supported monophyletic clade. Nesobasis rito also has a distinct distribution from its most similar congeners: it is found on Vanua Levu, while N. comosa is found on Viti Levu and the closely related N. heteroneura is found on Viti Levu and Ovalau. All species of this group are found in streams with native forest riparian vegetation on their respective islands

Attention modulates adaptive motor learning in the ‘broken escalator’ paradigm

The physical stumble caused by stepping onto a stationary (broken) escalator represents a locomotor aftereffect (LAE) that attests to a process of adaptive motor learning. Whether such learning is primarily explicit (requiring attention resources) or implicit (independent of attention) is unknown. To address this question, we diverted attention in the adaptation (MOVING) and aftereffect (AFTER) phases of the LAE by loading these phases with a secondary cognitive task (sequential naming of a vegetable, fruit and a colour). Thirty-six healthy adults were randomly assigned to 3 equally sized groups. They performed 5 trials stepping onto a stationary sled (BEFORE), 5 with the sled moving (MOVING) and 5 with the sled stationary again (AFTER). A 'Dual-Task-MOVING (DTM)' group performed the dual-task in the MOVING phase and the 'Dual-Task-AFTEREFFECT (DTAE)' group in the AFTER phase. The 'control' group performed no dual task. We recorded trunk displacement, gait velocity and gastrocnemius muscle EMG of the left (leading) leg. The DTM, but not the DTAE group, had larger trunk displacement during the MOVING phase, and a smaller trunk displacement aftereffect compared with controls. Gait velocity was unaffected by the secondary cognitive task in either group. Thus, adaptive locomotor learning involves explicit learning, whereas the expression of the aftereffect is automatic (implicit). During rehabilitation, patients should be actively encouraged to maintain maximal attention when learning new or challenging locomotor tasks

Antitubercular drugs for an old target: GSK693 as a promising InhA direct inhibitor

AbstractDespite being one of the first antitubercular agents identified, isoniazid (INH) is still the most prescribed drug for prophylaxis and tuberculosis (TB) treatment and, together with rifampicin, the pillars of current chemotherapy. A high percentage of isoniazid resistance is linked to mutations in the pro-drug activating enzyme KatG, so the discovery of direct inhibitors (DI) of the enoyl-ACP reductase (InhA) has been pursued by many groups leading to the identification of different enzyme inhibitors, active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), but with poor physicochemical properties to be considered as preclinical candidates. Here, we present a series of InhA DI active against multidrug (MDR) and extensively (XDR) drug-resistant clinical isolates as well as in TB murine models when orally dosed that can be a promising foundation for a future treatment

Mutational spectrum of GNAL, THAP1 and TOR1A genes in isolated dystonia: study in a population from Spain and systematic literature review

[Objective] We aimed to investigate the prevalence of TOR1A, GNAL and THAP1 variants as the cause of dystonia in a cohort of Spanish patients with isolated dystonia and in the literature.[Methods] A population of 2028 subjects (including 1053 patients with different subtypes of isolated dystonia and 975 healthy controls) from southern and central Spain was included. The genes TOR1A, THAP1 and GNAL were screened using a combination of high-resolution melting analysis and direct DNA resequencing. In addition, an extensive literature search to identify original articles (published before 10 August 2020) reporting mutations in TOR1A, THAP1 or GNAL associated to dystonia was performed.[Results] Pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in TOR1A, THAP1 and GNAL were identified in 0.48%, 0.57% and 0.29% of our patients, respectively. Five patients carried the variation p.Glu303del in TOR1A. A very rare variant in GNAL (p.Ser238Asn) was found as a putative risk factor for dystonia. In the literature, variations in TOR1A, THAP1 and GNAL accounted for about 6%, 1.8% and 1.1% of published dystonia patients, respectively.[Conclusions] There is a different genetic contribution to dystonia of these three genes in our patients (about 1.3% of patients) and in the literature (about 3.6% of patients), probably due the high proportion of adult-onset cases in our cohort. As regards age at onset, site of dystonia onset, and final distribution, in our population there is a clear differentiation between DYT-TOR1A and DYT-GNAL, with DYT-THAP1 likely to be an intermediate phenotype.This work was supported by the Carlos III Health Institute-European Regional Development Fund (ISCIII-FEDER) [PI14/01823, PI16/01575, PI18/01898, PI19/01576], the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Economics, Innovation, Science and Employment [CVI-02526, CTS-7685], the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health and Welfare [PI-0741-2010, PI-0471-2013, PE-0210-2018, PI-0459-2018, PE-0186-2019], and the Alicia Koplowitz and Mutua Madrileña Foundations. Pilar Gómez-Garre was supported by the "Miguel Servet" program [MSII14/00018] (from ISCIII-FEDER) and “Nicolás Monardes” program [C-0048-2017] (from the Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health). Silvia Jesús was supported by the "Juan Rodés" program [B-0007-2019] and Daniel Macías-García by the “Río Hortega” program [CM18/00142] (both from ISCIII-FEDER). María Teresa Periñán was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education [FPU16/05061]. Cristina Tejera was supported by VPPI-US from the University of Seville.Peer reviewe