Morphological abnormalities in a population of Pleurodeles waltl (Caudata: Salamandridae) from southwestern Spain

Prevalence of morphological abnormalities usually is less than 5% in most amphibian populations (Ouellet et al. 1997, Vandenlangenberg et al. 2003, Mester et al. 2015). Morphology is closely related to whole-organism performance in amphibians (Zamora-Camacho 2018, Zamora- Camacho and Aragón 2019a), and thus, is under strong selection (Watkins 1996). Therefore, this low frequency likely reflects the negative effects of abnormalities on whole-organism performance (Zamora-Camacho and Aragón 2019b). However, amphibian populations are experiencing an alarming increase in morphological abnormality rates worldwide (Lanoo 2008, Johnson and Bowerman 2010, Laurentino et al. 2016). Amongst these, the most common are limb malformations, such as misshapen or fused limbs, and missing, or presence of extra limbs and toes (Harris et al. 2008, Johnson and Bowerman 2010, Reeves et al. 2013).The author was partially supported by a Juan de la Cierva-Formación postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad

Synthesis of molybdenum oxide nanoparticles by nanosecond laser ablation

Phothermal therapy (PTT) is one of the most promising techniques to treat cancer. Finding the ideal PTT agent nanomaterial has remained a challenge and has brought the interest of several researchers. In this work, we report the synthesis of molybdenum oxide (MoOx) nanoparticles (NPs), which exhibit absorption in the biological optical window ~840 nm, by using the laser ablation of solids in liquids (LASL) technique with nanosecond (ns) pulses. A Nd:YAG laser was used to synthesize the NPs in deionized (DI) water, free of surfactants or additives, which were optically characterized by absorption spectroscopy and TEM-EDX microscopy. Semi spherical NPs with a suitable average size and shape for potential use as PTT agents were obtained by laser ablation and ablation + fragmentation. The calculated band gap is 3.1 eV, which corresponds to MoO3. Micro-Raman spectroscopy studies determined that these NPs are composed of amorphous molybdenum oxide hydrates (MoO3 · xH2O)

Perspectivas etnográficas: La observación y la entrevista

Desde sus mismos inicios la práctica etnográfica ha confiado fundamentalmente, para recolectar la información que sirve de base a sus reflexiones e interpretaciones, en dos estrategias o técnicas: la observación y la entrevista. Observar y entrevistar, he aquí los dos instrumentos que usa el investigacor etnográfico para proveerse de los materiales informativos que pueden dar sustento a sus planteamientos acerca de las formas de empleo de una lógica social como la estructura simbòlica que da cuenta, en última instancia, de las motivaciones racionales y emocionales para resolver problemas o interpretar acontecimientos de la vida cotidiana que emplea un determinado conjunto de seres humanos

Papel del factor de transcripción FOXC1 en la transición epitelial-mesenquimal en cáncer de mama.

Introducción: El cáncer de mama es la neoplasia más común en las mujeres de México, se ha clasificado en cuatro subtipos principales. Los pacientes con cáncer de mama triple negativo (TNBC) generalmente jóvenes, descendientes de afroamericanos y latinos, sufren una alta tasa de metástasis a cerebro y pulmón. Recientemente, el factor de transcripción Forkhead Box C1 (FOXC1) fue identificado como biomarcador potencial para este subtipo de cáncer, una alta expresión se correlaciona con pobre sobrevida. En la actualidad, el mecanismo exacto por el cual los tumores BLBC son tan agresivos y proliferan tan rápido que no se ha elucidado. La transición epitelial mesenquimal (EMT) es un proceso por el cual las células epiteliales pierden su morfología apico-basal, dejando su fenotipo epitelial adquiriendo un fenotipo mesenquimal con alta migración e invasión. FOXC1 se ha relacionado con este proceso en muchos otros tipos de cáncer. Objetivo: Determinar el papel de FOXC1 en la transición Mesenquimal-Epitelial en TNBC Materiales y Métodos: Se empleó la línea celular MDAMB231 como modelo de TNBC y se silenció el gen FOXC1 con siRNA de Thermo Fisher Scientific. Con la linea HCC1395 se utillzć el plásmido CMV-FOXC1 para su sobreexpresión transfectando con el agente determinó la invasión celular mediante un ensayo de cultivo celular en tercera dimensión. los marcadores MMP7, N-Cadherina y TJP1 no cambiaron sus niveles de expresión de la EMT afectanto tanto en el silenciamiento como en la Clonetech) Se obtuvo la expresión génica con las sondas de hidrólisis evaluando marcadores de EMT (VIM, FN1, CDH1, CDH2, SNAI1, SNA12, MMP7, TJP1) y GAPDH como endógeno. Se Resultados: El porcentaje de silenciamiento del gen FOXC1 fue del 65% y se correlacionó con los cuentos EMT como Cadherina-E, Vimentina y Slug al inhibir su expresión. Los signos de Fibronectina y Caracol no se relacionan con la expresión de FOXC1 La mayor sobreexpresión de FOXC1se a las 48 horas y se obtuvieron los marcadores sobreexpresión a CDH1. FN1, SNAI2 FOXC1, al disminuir la expresión de FOXC1 también disminuye la invasión celular Conclusión: La sobreexpresión y el silenciamiento de la expresión de FOXC1 correlacionó con los niveles de 4 marcadores principales (FN1, CDH1, SNAI2 y ViM) de la EMT, no se encontraron diferencias significativas en el resto. La expresión de FOXC1 afecta la invasión celular en un modelo in vitro de cultivo celular en tercera dimensión FOXC1 es un gen que afecta a EMT pero no es el único regulador maestro en este proceso en cáncer de mama

The relationships between toad behaviour, antipredator defences, and spatial and sexual variation in predation pressure

Background: Animal behaviour is under strong selection. Selection on behaviour, however, might not act in isolation from other fitness-related traits. Since predators represent outstanding selective forces, animal behaviour could covary with antipredator defences, such that individuals better suited against predators could afford facing the costs of riskier behaviours. Moreover, not all individuals undergo equivalent degrees of predation pressure, which can vary across sexes or habitats. Individuals under lower predation pressure might also exhibit riskier behaviours. Methods: In this work, I tested these hypotheses on natterjack toads (Epidalea calamita). Specifically, I gauged activity time, exploratory behaviour and boldness in standard laboratory conditions, and assessed whether they correlated with body size and antipredator strategies, namely sprint speed, parotoid gland area and parotoid gland colour contrast. Additionally, I compared these traits between sexes and individuals from an agrosystem and pine grove, since there is evidence that males and agrosystem individuals are subjected to greater predation pressure. Results: Sprint speed as well as parotoid gland contrast and size appeared unrelated to the behavioural traits studied. In turn, body mass was negatively related to activity time, boldness and exploration. This trend is consistent with the fact that larger toads could be more detectable to their predators, which are mostly gape unconstrained and could easily consume them. As predicted, females exhibited riskier behaviours. Nonetheless, agrosystem toads did not differ from pine grove toads in the behavioural traits measured, despite being under stronger predation pressure

Age structure of a lizard along an elevational gradient reveals nonlinear lifespan patterns with altitude

We thank the personnel from the Espacio Natural de Sierra Nevada for their constant support. We are also grateful to Concepción Herna´ndez, from the Centre of Scientific Instrumentation at the University of Granada, for her help with the freezing microtome. We are also in debt to Humbert Salvadó (University of Barcelona) for allowing us to use the microscope. Comments from 3 anonymous referees greatly improved the manuscript.Lifespan is one of the main components of life history. Shorter lifespans can be expected in marginal habitats. However, in the case of ectotherms, lifespan typically increases with altitude, even though temperature—one of the main factors to determine ectotherms’ life history—declines with elevation. This pattern can be explained by the fact that a shorter activity time favors survival. In this study, we analyzed how lifespan and other life-history traits of the lizard Psammodromus algirus vary along a 2,200m elevational gradient in Sierra Nevada (SE Spain). Populations at intermediate altitudes (1,200–1,700 m), corresponding to the optimal habitat for this species, had the shortest lifespans, whereas populations inhabiting marginal habitats (at both low and at high altitudes) lived longest. Therefore, this lizard did not follow the typical pattern of ectotherms, as it also lived longer at the lower limit of its distribution, nor did it show a longer lifespan in areas with optimal habitats. These results might be explained by a complex combination of different gradients along the mountain, namely that activity time decreases with altitude whereas food availability increases. This could explain why lifespan was maximum at both high (limited activity time) and low (limited food availability) altitudes, resulting in similar lifespans in areas with contrasting environmental conditions. Our findings also indicated that reproductive investment and body condition increase with elevation, suggesting that alpine populations are locally adapted.Junta de AndalucíaParque Nacional de Sierra Nevada (referencias GMN / GyB / JMIF y ENSN / JSG / JEGT / MCF

Inter-Individual Differences in Ornamental Colouration in a Mediterranean Lizard in Relation to Altitude, Season, Sex, Age, and Body Traits

Animals frequently show complex colour patterns involved in social communication, which attracts great interest in evolutionary and behavioural ecology. Most researchers interpret that each colour in animals with multiple patches may either signal a different bearer’s trait or redundantly convey the same information. Colour signals, moreover, may vary geographically and according to bearer qualities. In this study, we analyse different sources of colour variation in the eastern clade of the lizard Psammodromus algirus. Sexual dichromatism markedly differs between clades; both possess lateral blue eyespots, but whereas males in the western populations display strikingly colourful orange-red throats during the breeding season, eastern lizards only show some commissure pigmentation and light yellow throats. We analyse how different colour traits (commissure and throat colouration, and the number of blue eyespots) vary according to body size, head size (an indicator of fighting ability), and sex along an elevational gradient. Our findings show that blue eyespots function independently from colour patches in the commissure and throat, which were interrelated. Males had more eyespots and orange commissures (which were yellow or colourless in females). Throat colour saturation and the presence of coloured commissures increased in older lizards. The number of eyespots, presence of a coloured commissure, and throat colour saturation positively related to head size. However, while the number of eyespots was maximal at lowlands, throat colour saturation increased with altitude. Overall, our results suggest that this lizard harbours several colour signals, which altitudinally differ in their importance, but generally provide redundant information. The relevance of each signal may depend on the context. For example, all signals indicate head size, but commissure colouration may work well at a short distance and when the lizard opens the mouth, while both throat and eyespots might work better at long distance. Meanwhile, throat colouration and eyespots probably work better in different light conditions, which might explain the altitudinal variation in the relative importance of each colour component.Spanish government (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación)European Union (project CGL2009-13185)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (FPU programme) FJZC (AP2009-3505) and SR (AP2009- 1325

Internal architecture of the Tuxtla volcanic field, Veracruz, Mexico, inferred from gravity and magnetic data

"The Tuxtla Volcanic Field (TVF) is a basaltic volcanic field emerging from the plains of the western margin of the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican State of Veracruz. Separated by hundreds of kilometers from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt to the NW and the Chiapanecan Volcanic Arc to the SE, it stands detached not only in location but also in the composition of its rocks, which are predominantly alkaline. These characteristics make its origin somewhat puzzling. Furthermore, one of the large volcanoes of the field, San Martin Tuxtla, underwent an eruptive period in historical times (CE 1793). Such volcanic activity conveys particular importance to the study of the TVF from the perspective of volcanology and hazard assessment. Despite the above circumstances, few investigations about its internal structure have been reported. In this work, we present analyses of gravity and aeromagnetic data obtained from different sources. We present the complete Bouguer anomaly of the area and its separation into regional and residual components. The aeromagnetic data were processed to yield the reduction to the pole, the analytic signal, and the upward continuation to complete the interpretation of the gravity analyses. Three-dimensional density models of the regional and residual anomalies were obtained by inversion of the gravity signal adding the response of rectangular prisms at the nodes of a regular grid. We obtained a body with a somewhat flattened top at 16 km below sea level from the inversion of the regional. Three separate slender bodies with tops 6 km deep were obtained from the inversion of the residual. The gravity and magnetic anomalies, as well as the inferred source bodies that produce those geophysical anomalies, lie between the Sontecomapan and Catemaco faults, which are proposed as flower structures associated with an inferred deep-seated fault termed the Veracruz Fault. These fault systems along with magma intrusion at the lower crust are necessary features to understand the origin and structure of the TVF.

Impact of Temperature, Gum Arabic and Carboxymethyl Cellulose on Some Physical Properties of Spray-Dried Grapefruit

[EN] Spray-dried fruit powder may be an interesting alternative for the purposes of promoting fruit consumption among consumers. The use of carrier agents is especially necessary for the production of spray-dried fruit powders. As they may affect some physical properties of the powder, it is important to adjust the amount at which they have to be added to the minimum in order to achieve the necessary effects. The final aim of the study was to identify the most suitable atomization temperature, as well as the optimal concentration of gum Arabic (GA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to be used as carriers, in order to obtain grapefruit powder with the maximum dry matter yield (DMY) and porosity, the minimum water content and, simultaneously, with suitable color characteristics. The results of the study don¿t recommend the use of CMC and suggest that the best color, the one that corresponds to a free-flowing powder, corresponds to a very luminous one, low in chroma and with a hue that is much more yellow than reddish orange.The authors thank the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad for the financial support given through the Project AGL 2012-39103. This mentioned received funding did not lead to any conflict of interests regarding the publication of this manuscript. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.Gonzalez-Zamora, F.; Igual Ramo, M.; Camacho Vidal, MM.; Martínez Navarrete, N. (2018). Impact of Temperature, Gum Arabic and Carboxymethyl Cellulose on Some Physical Properties of Spray-Dried Grapefruit. International Journal of Food Engineering. 14(5-6). https://doi.org/10.1515/ijfe-2017-0387S145-

Why most molecular clouds are gravitationally dominated

Funding: RJS gratefully acknowledges an STFC Ernest Rutherford fellowship (grant ST/N00485X/1).Observational and theoretical evidence suggests that a substantial population of molecular clouds (MCs) appear to be unbound, dominated by turbulent motions. However, these estimations are made typically via the classical virial parameter α virclass⁠, which is an observational proxy to the virial ratio between the kinetic and the gravitational energy. This parameter intrinsically assumes that MCs are isolated, spherical, and with constant density. However, MCs are embedded in their parent galaxy and thus are subject to compressive and disruptive tidal forces from their galaxy, exhibit irregular shapes, and show substantial substructure. We, therefore, compare the typical estimations of α virclass to a more precise definition of the virial parameter, α virfull⁠, which accounts not only for the self-gravity (as α virclass⁠), but also for the tidal stresses, and thus, it can take negative (self-gravity) and positive (tides) values. While we recover the classical result that most of the clouds appear to be unbound, having α virclass > 2⁠, we show that, with the more detailed definition considering the full gravitational energy, (i) 50 per cent of the total population is gravitationally bound, however, (ii) another 20 per cent is gravitationally dominated, but with tides tearing them apart; (iii) the source of those tides does not come from the galactic structure (bulge, halo, spiral arms), but from the molecular cloud complexes in which clouds reside, and probably (iv) from massive young stellar complexes, if they were present. (v) Finally, our results also suggest that, interstellar turbulence can have, at least partially, a gravitational origin.Peer reviewe