Women & Politics in the Americas: Political Representation and Policy Agendas in the Executive Branch, PRP 179

The report analyzes the extent of women’s engagement in political activities in the executive branch of government throughout the Americas. The first part examines women’s political representation worldwide and sets the international context for the analysis of the Americas. The second part focuses on specific case studies of women who have held executive power in the Americas. The report concludes by pulling together the main findings of the individual case studies and assessing the common themes that emerge from our analysis.Public Affair

Retrospective study of the clinical evolution of three clinical cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia in dogs.

Se expone un estudio comparativo de la evolución clínica de tres pacientes caninos (un Basset Hound de nueve años y dos Bóxer de seis y ocho años, respectivamente), los cuales presentaban antecedentes de hematuria y/o secreción uretral sanguinolenta en ausencia de micción. Una vez realizado el examen físico y los exámenes paraclínicos, el diagnóstico fue de Hiperplasia Prostática Benigna (HPB). Esta enfermedad es un cambio normal del envejecimiento y es la patología más común de la próstata canina. Las potenciales etiologías de esta enfermedad comprenden una proporción anormal de andrógenos y estrógenos, un incremento en el número de receptores androgénicos y sensibilidad tisular a los andrógenos; siendo la dihidrotestosterona el principal promotor de la HPB. El tratamiento principal de esta enfermedad es la orquiectomía y/o la medicación con hormonas anti-androgénicas.ABSTRACT. A comparative study of the clinical evolution of three canine patients (one nine years old Basset Hound and two Boxer –six and eight years old), who were taken to medical attention due to hematuria and urethral bloody secretion in absence of urination, is exposed. Once the physical examination and the paraclinical test were carried out, a Complex Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (CBPH) was diagnosed. This pathology is a normal change of aging and the commonest pathology of the canine prostate. The potential etiologies of this disease comprise an abnormal proportion of androgens and estrogens, increase in the number of androgenics receptors and increase of tissue sensitivity to androgens; which are mainly promoted by dihidrotestosterone. The main treatment of CBPH is the orchiectomy and/or the treatment with antiandrogenics hormones

High 2,3-butanediol production from glycerol by Raoultella terrigena CECT 4519.

Bioconversion of biodiesel-derived glycerol into 2,3-butanediol has received recently much attention due to its increasing surplus and its multiple uses in industry as bulk chemical. The influence of initial glycerol concentration on 2,3-butanediol production in batch runs has been studied. A concentration higher than 140 g/L produces an inhibitory effect on the final 2,3-butanediol concentration and its production rate. In batch mode, the highest yield respect to the theoretical maximum yield (71%) was reached employing 140 g/L as initial concentration 140 g/L. Based on these results, a high 2,3-butanediol production has been achieved through a fed-batch strategy. The reached 2,3-butanediol concentration was 90.5 g/L from pure glycerol and 80.5 g/L from raw glycerol. The 2,3-butanediol yield respect to the theoretical maximum yield was also improved through the fed-batch operation (90%). To date, this concentration is the highest produced amount employing as biocatalyst a non-pathogenic bacterium (level 1).pre-print478 K

1,3-Propanediol production from glycerol with a novel biocatalyst Shimwellia blattae ATCC 33430: Operational conditions and kinetics in batch cultivations

Shimwellia blattae ATCC 33430 as biocatalyst in the conversion of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol is herein evaluated. Several operational conditions in batch cultivations, employing pure and raw glycerol as sole carbon source, were studied. Temperature was studied at shaken bottle scale, while pH control strategy, together with the influence of raw glycerol and its impurities during fermentation were studied employing a 2 L STBR. Thereafter, fluid dynamic conditions were considered by changing the stirring speed and the gas supply (air or nitrogen) in the same scale-up experiments. The best results were obtained at a termperature of 37ºC, an agitation rate of 200 rpm, with free pH evolution from 6.9 and subsequent control at 6.5 and no gas supply during the fermentation, employing an initial concentration of 30 g/L of raw glycerol. Under these conditions, the biocatalyst is competitive, leading to results in line with other previous works in the literature in batch conditions, reaching a final concentration of 1,3-propanediol of 13.84 g/L, with a yield of 0.45 g/g and a productivity of 1.19 g/(L·h) from raw glycerol

Expression of Novel Opsins and Intrinsic Light Responses in the Mammalian Retinal Ganglion Cell Line RGC-5. Presence of OPN5 in the Rat Retina

The vertebrate retina is known to contain three classes of photoreceptor cells: cones and rods responsible for vision, and intrinsically photoresponsive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) involved in diverse non-visual functions such as photic entrainment of daily rhythms and pupillary light responses. In this paper we investigated the potential intrinsic photoresponsiveness of the rat RGC line, RGC-5, by testing for the presence of visual and non-visual opsins and assessing expression of the immediate-early gene protein c-Fos and changes in intracellular Ca2+mobilization in response to brief light pulses. Cultured RGC-5 cells express a number of photopigment mRNAs such as retinal G protein coupled receptor (RGR), encephalopsin/panopsin (Opn3), neuropsin (Opn5) and cone opsin (Opn1mw) but not melanopsin (Opn4) or rhodopsin. Opn5 immunoreactivity was observed in RGC-5 cells and in the inner retina of rat, mainly localized in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Furthermore, white light pulses of different intensities and durations elicited changes both in intracellular Ca2+ levels and in the induction of c-Fos protein in RGC-5 cell cultures. The results demonstrate that RGC-5 cells expressing diverse putative functional photopigments display intrinsic photosensitivity which accounts for the photic induction of c-Fos protein and changes in intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. The presence of Opn5 in the GCL of the rat retina suggests the existence of a novel type of photoreceptor cell

Proteomic approach to Botrytis cinerea survival structures

Comunicaciones a congreso

Applying proteomic technology to dissect molecular aspect of phytopathogenic fungi, a Botrytis cinerea approach

Comunicaciones a congreso

Error source in AOD retrieval from filter radiometer data in the UV due to filter band function

The filter band function of filter radiometers is frequently used in AOD retrieval to improve the accuracy of the Rayleigh and gaseous absorption contributions to the total optical depth. These contributions to the total optical thickness are overestimated when the band-pass filter curve used in the computation exceeds the lower limit of the detector response range (around 320 nm). It can be the case for some typical band-pass filters used in the ultraviolet region (e.g. 340 or 380 nm). This error can involve a strong impact on the aerosol optical depth accuracy, underestimating its value. Errors as large as 0.047 in the evaluation of ozone optical depth at 340 nm, and 0.009 in the Rayleigh optical depth were found, leading to final errors of 50–100% in the AOD for remote locations, like Polar regions or high mountains. To avoid this significant error, the detector spectral response must be taken into account in the computations. Further, it is recommended to discard the filter band-pass function when the transmittance falls below 1% of its maximum value at the central wavelength

Analysis of aerosol optical depth evaluation in polar regions and associated uncertainties

Some available processing algorithms used to calculate the aerosol optical depth from radiometric measurements were tested. The aim was to evaluate the associated uncertainties in polar regions due to the data processing, in order to adjust the methodology of the calculation and illustrate the importance of these error sources. The measurements were obtained during a sun photometer campaign in Ny-Ålesund within the framework of the POLAR-AOD project