Chromosomal mapping of rRNA genes, core histone genes and telomeric sequences in Brachidontes puniceus and Brachidontes rodriguezi (Bivalvia, Mytilidae)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chromosome rearrangements are an important part of the speciation process in many taxa. The study of chromosome evolution in bivalves is hampered by the absence of clear chromosomal banding patterns and the similarity in both chromosome size and morphology. For this reason, obtaining good chromosome markers is essential for reliable karyotypic comparisons. To begin this task, the chromosomes of the mussels <it>Brachidontes puniceus </it>and <it>B. rodriguezi </it>were studied by means of fluorochrome staining and fluorescent <it>in situ </it>hybridization (FISH).</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Brachidontes puniceus </it>and <it>B. rodriguezi </it>both have 2n = 32 chromosomes but differing karyotype composition. Vertebrate-type telomeric sequences appear at both ends of every single chromosome. <it>B. puniceus </it>presents a single terminal major rRNA gene cluster on a chromosome pair while <it>B. rodriguezi </it>shows two. Both mussels present two 5S rDNA and two core histone gene clusters intercalary located on the long arms of two chromosome pairs. Double and triple-FISH experiments demonstrated that one of the 5S rDNA and one of the major rDNA clusters appear on the same chromosome pair in <it>B. rodriguezi </it>but not in <it>B. puniceus</it>. On the other hand, the second 5S rDNA cluster is located in one of the chromosome pairs also bearing one of the core histone gene clusters in the two mussel species.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Knowledge of the chromosomal distribution of these sequences in the two species of <it>Brachidontes </it>is a first step in the understanding of the role of chromosome changes on bivalve evolution.</p

Revisiting Explicit Negation in Answer Set Programming

[Abstract] A common feature in Answer Set Programming is the use of a second negation, stronger than default negation and sometimes called explicit, strong or classical negation. This explicit negation is normally used in front of atoms, rather than allowing its use as a regular operator. In this paper we consider the arbitrary combination of explicit negation with nested expressions, as those defined by Lifschitz, Tang and Turner. We extend the concept of reduct for this new syntax and then prove that it can be captured by an extension of Equilibrium Logic with this second negation. We study some properties of this variant and compare to the already known combination of Equilibrium Logic with Nelson’s strong negation.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; TIC2017-84453-PXunta de Galicia; GPC ED431B 2019/03Xunta de Galicia; 2016-2019 ED431G/01, CITICCentre International de Math´ematiques et d’Informatique de Toulouse; ANR-11-LABEX-004

A Polynomial Reduction of Forks Into Logic Programs

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract] In this research note we present additional results for an earlier published paper [1]. There, we studied the problem of projective strong equivalence (PSE) of logic programs, that is, checking whether two logic programs (or propositional formulas) have the same behaviour (under the stable model semantics) regardless of a common context and ignoring the effect of local auxiliary atoms. PSE is related to another problem called strongly persistent forgetting that consists in keeping a program’s behaviour after removing its auxiliary atoms, something that is known to be not always possible in Answer Set Programming. In [1], we introduced a new connective ‘|’ called fork and proved that, in this extended language, it is always possible to forget auxiliary atoms, but at the price of obtaining a result containing forks. We also proved that forks can be translated back to logic programs introducing new hidden auxiliary atoms, but this translation was exponential in the worst case. In this note we provide a new polynomial translation of arbitrary forks into regular programs that allows us to prove that brave and cautious reasoning with forks has the same complexity as that of ordinary (disjunctive) logic programs and paves the way for an efficient implementation of forks. To this aim, we rely on a pair of new PSE invariance properties.We wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions that have helped to improve the paper. This work was partially supported by MICINN, Spain, grant PID2020-116201GB-I00, Xunta de Galicia, Spain, grant GPC ED431B 2019/03, Universidade da Coruña/CISUG, Spain, (funding for open access charge) and National Science Foundation, USA, grant NSF Nebraska EPSCoR 95-3101-0060-402Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2019/03USA. National Science Foundation; EPSCoR 95-3101-0060-40

Forgetting Auxiliary Atoms in Forks

©2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/. This version of the article has been accepted for publication in Artificial Intelligence. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artint.2019.07.005Versión final aceptada de: F. Aguado, P. Cabalar, J. Fandinno, D. Pearce, G. Pérez, and, C. Vidal, "Forgetting Auxiliary Atoms in Forks", Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 275, pp. 575-601, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.artint.2019.07.005[Abstract]: In this work we tackle the problem of checking strong equivalence of logic programs that may contain local auxiliary atoms, to be removed from their stable models and to be forbidden in any external context. We call this property projective strong equivalence (PSE). It has been recently proved that not any logic program containing auxiliary atoms can be reformulated, under PSE, as another logic program or formula without them – this is known as strongly persistent forgetting. In this paper, we introduce a conservative extension of Equilibrium Logic and its monotonic basis, the logic of Here-and-There, in which we deal with a new connective ‘|’ we call fork. We provide a semantic characterisation of PSE for forks and use it to show that, in this extension, it is always possible to forget auxiliary atoms under strong persistence. We further define when the obtained fork is representable as a regular formula.We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers of the Artificial Intelligence Journal, and previously, to the reviewers of the workshop ASPOCP'17, for their comments and suggestions that have helped improve the paper substantially. This work has been partially supported by MINECO (grant TIN2017-84453-P) and Xunta de Galicia (grants GPC ED431B 2019/03 and 2016-2019 ED431G/01 for CITIC center), Spain; by the Salvador de Madariaga programme, Spain; by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); and by the Centre International de Mathématiques et d'Informatique de Toulouse (CIMI) through contract ANR-11-LABEX-0040-CIMI within the programme ANR-11-IDEX-0002-02.Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2019/03Xunta de Galicia; 2016-2019 ED431G/0

Guías actuales de práctica clínica en la diabetes mellitus tipo 2: ¿cómo aplicarlas en atención primaria?

ResumenLas guías de práctica clínica deben elaborarse con una metodología sistemática basada en la mejor evidencia disponible. La elaboración de las recomendaciones debe comprender la evaluación de la calidad global de la evidencia y la graduación de la fuerza de las recomendaciones. Asimismo, hay documentos de consenso que combinan la revisión de evidencias con la opinión de expertos buscando obtener algún acuerdo en áreas de incertidumbre por ausencia de pruebas concluyentes. El debate que suscitan los nuevos tratamientos propicia la aparición de documentos en los que se recomienden sus usos, aun cuando haya pocos estudios a largo plazo acerca de su eficacia y seguridad.En el ámbito internacional hay guías sobre diabetes metodológicamente muy bien elaboradas (NGC, NICE, SIGN, CAD, ADA), centrándose el debate más reciente en el algoritmo terapéutico, tras la propuesta conjunta de la ADA-EASD. En España, la elaboración de guías de práctica clínica con análisis de la evidencia y graduación de las recomendaciones aún es escasa, si bien se aprecia un esfuerzo en el rigor de las publicadas más recientemente. Más común es la elaboración por sociedades científicas de documentos de consenso, que pretenden combinar la evidencia externa con la experiencia y la reflexión. Asimismo, en nuestro país hay organismos recopiladores (como GuíaSalud o Fisterra) que facilitan el acceso gratuito a guías elaboradas por grupos nacionales.AbstractClinical practice guidelines should be drawn up with systematic methodology based on the best available evidence. Recommendations should be based on evaluation of the overall quality of the evidence and grading of the strength of recommendations. Consensus documents combine a review of the evidence with expert opinion in an attempt to reach some agreement in areas of uncertainty due to the lack of conclusive proof. The debate aroused by new treatments stimulates the production of documents advocating their use even when there are few long-term studies on their safety and efficacy.There are several methodologically rigorous international guidelines on diabetes (NGC, NICE, SIGN, CAD, ADA). The most recent debate has centered on the ADA-EASD treatment algorithm. In Spain, the production of clinical practice guidelines with analysis of the evidence and grading of recommendations remains scarce, although the most recent published guidelines show greater rigor. More common is the drafting of consensus documents by scientific societies with the aim of combining external evidence with experience and reflection. In Spain there are also organisms (such as GuíaSalud or Fisterra) that facilitate free access to guidelines drawn up by Spanish groups

Anemia and risk factors in pregnant women

Introducción:La anemia en el embarazo constituye un grave problema de salud, dada su alta prevalencia, en este grupo de pacientes y su relación con las complicaciones que empeoran el pronóstico materno-fetal.Objetivo: Caracterizar la anemia en el embarazo y su relación con algunos factores de riesgo. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal, en gestantes perteneciente al Policlínico Docente ¨Luis Li Trigent¨, de abril de 2018 a marzo de 2019. Las variables estudiadas fueron: La edad, la paridad, el periodo Intergenésico, los signos y síntomas de la anemia y el tipo, según la etiología. El universo de estudio estuvo constituido por 36 gestantes que presentaron valores de hemoglobina inferiores a 11 g/dl, en cualquier trimestre del embarazo. Resultados:Predominaron las gestantes de 25 a 29 años con anemia, que se encontraban en el tercer trimestre del embarazo, en el 16.66 % y una prevalencia de las secundíparas en el 22.22 %. Sobresalieron las gestantes con periodo intergenésico corto en el 22.22 %. La astenia, la palidez cutánea y de mucosa fueron los síntomas y signos que predominaron en el 25 y el 22.22 %. El tipo de anemia que preponderó según su etiología y cifra de hemoglobina, fue la ferropénica leve en el 47.22 %. Conclusiones:Existe una alta frecuencia de anemia la ferropénica leve en las gestantes que se encuentran en el tercer trimestre del embarazo. Predomina el periodo intergenésico corto, la palidez cutánea y de mucosa.Introduction:Anemia in pregnancy constitutes a critical health problem, because of its high prevalence, in this group of patients and its relation with complications that get worse the maternal-fetal prognosis.Objective: To characterize anemia in pregnancy and its relation with some risk factors. Methods: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional, in pregnant women from ¨Luis Li Trigent¨ Teaching Policlinic, from April, 2018 to March, 2019. The studied variables were: age, parity, short interpregnancy interval, signs and symptoms of anemia and type, according to etiology. The universe under study was formed by 36 pregnant women who presented values of hemoglobin lower than 11 g/dl, at any trimester of pregnancy. Results:Pregnant women from 25 to 29 years old with anemia prevailed, as well as the ones in the third trimester of their pregnancies, in the 16.66 % and a prevalence of women in their second pregnancy in a 22.22 %. Pregnant women with short interpregnancy interval prevailed with a 22.22 %. Asthenia, cutaneous and mucosa pallor were the symptoms and signs that prevailed in the 25 and 22.22 %. The type of anemia that prevailed according to its etiology and values of hemoglobin was slight ferropenic in the 47.22 %.onclusions:There is a high frequency of slight ferropenic anemia in pregnant women in the third trimester. The short interpregnancy interval and cutaneous and mucosa pallor prevaile

Anemia y factores de riesgo en mujeres gestantes

Introducción: La anemia en el embarazo constituye un grave problema de salud, dada su alta prevalencia, en este grupo de pacientes y su relación con las complicaciones que empeoran el pronóstico materno-fetal. Objetivo: Caracterizar la anemia en el embarazo y su relación con algunos factores de riesgo. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal, en gestantes perteneciente al Policlínico Docente ¨Luis Li Trigent¨, de abril de 2018 a marzo de 2019. Las variables estudiadas fueron: La edad, la paridad, el periodo Intergenésico, los signos y síntomas de la anemia y el tipo, según la etiología. El universo de estudio estuvo constituido por 36 gestantes que presentaron valores de hemoglobina inferiores a 11 g/dl, en cualquier trimestre del embarazo. Resultados: Predominaron las gestantes de 25 a 29 años con anemia, que se encontraban en el tercer trimestre del embarazo, en el 16.66 % y una prevalencia de las secundíparas en el 22.22 %. Sobresalieron las gestantes con periodo intergenésico corto en el 22.22 %. La astenia, la palidez cutánea y de mucosa fueron los síntomas y signos que predominaron en el 25 y el 22.22 %. El tipo de anemia que preponderó según su etiología y cifra de hemoglobina, fue la ferropénica leve en el 47.22 %. Conclusiones: Existe una alta frecuencia de anemia la ferropénica leve en las gestantes que se encuentran en el tercer trimestre del embarazo. Predomina el periodo intergenésico corto, la palidez cutánea y de mucosa

NANOIMPLANT: nanostructured biocompatible coatings to prevent orthopedic implant infections

Comunicación presentada en el ImagineNano, celebrado en Bilbao del 10 al 13 de marzo de 2015.Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on orthopedic implants is one of the worst possible scenarios in orthopedic surgery, in terms of both patient prognosis and healthcare costs. Tailoring the surface of these orthopedic implants to actively promote bone bonding, while avoiding bacterial colonization, represents an interesting challenge to reach better clinical outcomes. Currently, it has been demonstrated a strong dependence of structural features in the nano-scale with antibacterial effects. Several naturally existing surfaces such as plant leaves and insect wings are capable of maintaining a contaminant-free status despite the innate abundance of contaminants in their surrounding environments. These properties are related to the presence of a periodic topography of hexagonal arrays of nanopillar on their surfaces. By mimicking the nature, and to translate this effect to orthopedic metallic biomaterials, a Ti6Al4V alloy of medical grade has been coated with Ti nanostructures employing the glancing angle deposition technique by magnetron sputtering. The resulting surfaces have a high density of nanocolumnar structures based on Ti, providing high roughness and a notable decrease of wettability. These nanostructured coatings exhibit a selective behavior towards osteoblast and bacteria proliferation. While these nanotextured surfaces strongly impair bacteria adhesion and inhibit biofilm formation, the osteoblasts exhibit almost identical behavior than that obtained onto the initial Ti6Al4V substrates. This selective behavior is discussed on the basis of a “lotus leaf effect” induced by the nanostructured surface and the different size of osteoblasts and bacteria. The obtained results provide new perspectives for manufacturing Ti6Al4V-based implants to prevent infections. Moreover, it is also worth noticing that our work has won the 2014 IDEA² Madrid Award of the Madrid-MIT M+Vision Consortium, a partnership of the regional government of Madrid and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which fosters innovation in biotechnology.Peer Reviewe

Unexpected behavior of irradiated spider silk links conformational freedom to mechanical performance

Silk fibers from Argiope trifasciata and Nephila inaurata orb-web weaving spiders were UV irradiated to modify the molecular weight of the constituent proteins. Fibers were characterized either as forcibly silked or after being subjected to maximum supercontraction. The effect of irradiation on supercontraction was also studied, both in terms of the percentage of supercontraction and the tensile properties exhibited by irradiated and subsequently supercontracted fibers. The effects of UV exposure at the molecular level were assessed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. It is shown that UV-irradiated fibers show a steady decrease in their main tensile parameters, most notably, tensile strength and strain. The combination of the mechanical and biochemical data suggests that the restricted conformational freedom of the proteins after UV irradiation is critical in the reduction of these properties. Consequently, an adequate topological organization of the protein chains emerges as a critical design principle in the performance of spider silk

Evolución histórica de las enfermedades causadas por micobacterias no pigmentadas de crecimiento rápido en un Hospital Universitario

Non-pigmented rapidly growing mycobacteria (NPRGM) are a group of organisms of increasing interest due to the growing number of potential patients and the difficulties for a proper treatment in many of them. However, the evolution of these diseases in a long period of time and its evolutionary changes has been described only in a scanty number of reports. Material and methods. We performed a retrospective study between January 1st 2004 and December 31st 2017 in order to evaluate the clinical significance and types of diseases caused by NPRGM. Patients with isolates of NPRGM during this period were selected for the study, and clinical charts were reviewed using a predefined protocol. Results. During this period we identified 59 patients (76 clinical samples) with isolates of NPRGM, with 12 cases of clinical disease and one patient with doubtful significance (including 6 respiratory tract infections, 2 catheter infections, 1 skin and soft tissue infection, 1 disseminated infection, 1 conjunctivitis, 1 prosthetic joint infection and 1 mastitis). Fifty percent of M. chelonae isolates, 37.5% of M. abscessus isolates and 23.33% of M. fortuitum isolates were clinically significant. None of the isolates of other species were significant. Conclusions. Most isolates in respiratory samples were contaminants/colonizations. M. abscessus was the main etiological agent in respiratory syndromes, whereas M. chelonae and M. fortuitum were more frequently associated with other infections, especially clinical devices and skin and soft tissue infections.Las micobacterias no pigmentadas de crecimiento rápido (MNPCR) son un grupo de organismos de interés creciente debido al número cada vez mayor de pacientes potenciales y a las dificultades en el tratamiento. Sin embargo, el número de estudios que analizan la evolución de estos casos a lo largo de un periodo de tiempo largo es escaso. Material and métodos. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo entre el 1 de enero de 2004 y el 31 de diciembre de 2017 para evaluar el significado clínico y los tipos de enfermedades causados por MNPCR. Se seleccionaron para ello aquellos pacientes con aislamientos de MNPCR, y se revisaron las historias clínicas mediante un protocolo predefinido. Resultados. Se identificaron 59 pacientes (76 muestras) con aislamientos de MNPCR, de los cuales 12 presentaron enfermedad y uno tuvo un significado dudoso (incluyendo 6 infecciones respiratorias, 2 infecciones asociadas a catéter, 1 infección de piel y partes blandas, 1 infección diseminada, 1 conjuntivitis, 1 infección de prótesis osteoarticular y 1 mastitis). El 50 % de los aislamientos de Mycobacterium chelonae, el 37,5 % de Mycobacterium abscessus y el 23,33 % de Mycobacterium fortuitum fueron clínicamente significativos. Ninguno de los aislamientos de otras especies fue significativo La mayoría de los aislamientos de muestras respiratorias resultaron ser contaminantes/ colonizaciones. M. abscessus fue el principal agente etiológico en las infecciones respiratorias, mientras que M. chelonae y M. fortuitum fueron asociados con mayor frecuencia a otras infecciones, especialmente infecciones de piel y partes blandas e infecciones asociadas a dispositivos biomédico