Using EIS to analyse samples of Al–Mg alloy AA5083 treated by thermal activation in cerium salt baths

This paper describes a study undertaken of the morphological and anticorrosive characteristics of surface layers formed on the Al–Mg alloy AA5083 from solutions of Ce(III), by means of various heat treatments while immersed in baths of cerium salts. SEM/EDS studies have demonstrated the existence of a heterogeneous layer formed by a film of aluminium oxide/hydroxide on the matrix and a series of dispersed islands of cerium deposited on the cathodic intermetallics. With the object of evaluating the degree of protection provided by the layers formed and of characterising the particular contribution of the electrochemical response of the system in NaCl, the results obtained by means of EIS are presented and discusse

Pharmacogenetic inhibition of the infralimbic cortex promotes reinstatement of cocaine-context memories in mice.

Funding: PID2020-113806RB-I00, 08-2021-AREA3, B1-2020_06, FPU20/00908, PRE2018-085673, PREDOC_01094, POSTDOC_ 21_00222. II Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la UMA.Relapse is one of the main problems concerning treatment of cocaine use disorder. It have been suggested that the infralimbic cortex (IL), a division of the medial prefrontal cortex, is involved in extinction and reinstatement of associative memories, including those involving drugs. However, more selective strategies are needed to elucidate the involvement of IL in the long-term maintenance of drug-related maladaptive behaviours. Here, we employed pharmacogenetics to assess the causal role of IL in the reinstatement of a cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). For this purpose, adult C57BL/6J mice received bilateral intra-IL microinjections of an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector containing the hM4Di designed receptor (AAV5-CaMKII-hM4Di-mCherry; AAV-hM4Di, n=11) or a control vector (AAV5-CaMKII-mCherry; AAV-control, n=9) prior receiving training in the cocaine-induced CPP model. After habituation, animals received compartment-paired conditioning by increasing doses of cocaine (2-16 mg/kg/day, i.p.) and were tested for cocaine-CPP, after which they were subjected to forced CPP extinction and then re-tested for cocaine-CPP. On day 37 after AAV infusion, mice received Clozapine N-oxide (CNO, 5 mg/kg, i.p.) and 30 min later were tested for cocaine-primed (7.5 mg/kg, i.p.) CPP reinstatement. Ninety minutes after, animals were perfused, and brains dissected. Our results indicated that both groups acquired and subsequently extinguished cocaine-CPP. However, only the AAV-hM4Di group showed a significant preference for the cocaine-paired compartment during the CPP reinstatement test. Immunofluorescence analyses of c-Fos expression in IL revealed a decrease of ~60% in mCherry+/c-Fos+ co-labelling in the AAV-hM4Di group, suggesting reduced IL neural activity during CPP reinstatement. Therefore, our data suggests that the IL plays a causal role in relapse to cocaine-related maladaptive behaviours, highlighting its importance as a potential therapeutic target.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Selective modulation of the infralimbic cortex activity regulates reinstatement of cocaine-context associations in mice.

Mechanisms underlying relapse into cocaine are not yet fully understood. Animal studies suggest a pivotal involvement of the infralimbic (IL) division of the medial prefrontal cortex, but causal evidence is lacking. Here, we employed chemogenetics to selectively modulate the IL during reinstatement of cocaine-related behaviours in the conditioned place preference (CPP) model. To this aim, C57BL/6J mice (N = 28) received intra-IL microinjections of adenoassociated viral vectors containing either silencing (AAV5-CaMKIIα-hM4Di-mCherry) or stimulatory (AAV5-CaMKIIα-hM3Dq-mCherry) designer receptors, or a control vector (AAV5-CaMKIIα-mCherry). Animals were trained to acquire a CPP induced by increasing doses of cocaine (2-16 mg/kg) and later submitted to forced extinction. Four weeks after AAV infusion, mice received Clozapine N-oxide (5 mg/kg) 30 minutes before undergoing a cocaine-primed (7.5 mg/kg) CPP reinstatement test. Ninety minutes later animals were perfused, and brains dissected to analyse the expression of mCherry and c-Fos proteins in the IL. We found that CPP reinstatement was significantly increased after silencing IL compared to the control group, while blocked after selective stimulation of this brain region. In turn, immunofluorescence analyses revealed a ~0.5-fold decrease and a ~3-fold increase in mCherry /c-Fos co-labelling in AAV-hM4Di and AAV-hM3Dq groups (respectively) compared to the control group. Taken together, our data indicate that the IL is causally involved in the reinstatement of cocaine-related maladaptive behaviours and stands out as a target for modulation to prevent cocaine relapse.Funding: PID2020-113806RB-I00, B4-2023-16, FPU20/00908, PREDOC_01094, POSTDOC_ 21_00222. II Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la Universidad de Málaga. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The infralimbic cortex and the hippocampal CA1-Subiculum are functionally involved in the extinction of cocaine-context associationes in mice.

Funding: PID2020-113806RB-I00, 08-2021-AREA3, B1-2020_06, PREDOC_01094, PRE2018-085673, FPU20/00908, POSTDOC_ 21_00222. II Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica de la Universidad de Málaga.Cocaine abuse is a health and social problem worldwide. Treatment seeking for cocaine use disorder is on the rise, and relapse prevention remains as a primary goal. Interventions based on extinction of cocaine-related associative memories are promising but so far have not been successful. In this sense, further research is needed to elucidate the neurobiological substrates of extinction learning. Here, we aimed to study the neural circuitry involved in extinction of cocaine-context associations in the Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) model. Adult C57BL/6J mice received habituation to the CPP apparatus followed by conditioning with increasing doses of cocaine (2, 4, 8 and 16 mg/kg/day). After testing for CPP acquisition, a group of mice was submitted to four sessions of forced extinction (CPP+EXT, n = 9) while another group was maintained at home-cage (CPP+ACQ, n = 6). Then, both conditions were retested for cocaine-CPP. Ninety minutes later, animals were perfused, and brains collected. Next, we analysed by immunohistochemistry the expression of c-Fos in a variety of addiction-related structures including the medial prefrontal cortex (prelimbic, infralimbic), the striatum (nucleus accumbens, caudate-putamen), the basolateral amygdala and the hippocampus. Our results indicated that both groups acquired cocaine-CPP, but only the CPP+EXT condition ceased to show preference for the cocaine-paired compartment during the CPP retest. Importantly, the CPP+EXT mice showed increased c-Fos expression in the infralimbic cortex (IL), and the hippocampal CA1-subiculum during the CPP retest, with no changes in the other brain areas examined. Multivariate analyses revealed a relationship between IL and CA1-subiculum activity and CPP extinction. This suggest that such structures are functionally involved in retrieval of extinction memory for cocaine-context associations, thus standing out as potential therapeutic targets.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Sequential treadmill exercise and cognitive training synergistically increase adult hippocampal neurogenesis in mice

Combining physical and cognitive training has been suggested to promote further benefits on brain and cognition, which could include synergistic improvement of hippocampal neuroplasticity. In this paper, we investigated whether treadmill exercise followed by a working memory training in the water maze increase adult hippocampal neurogenesis to a greater extent than either treatment alone. Our results revealed that ten days of scheduled running enhance cell proliferation/survival in the short-term as well as performance in the water maze. Moreover, exercised mice that received working memory training displayed more surviving dentate granule cells compared to those untreated or subjected to only one of the treatments. According to these findings, we suggest that combining physical and cognitive stimulation yield synergic effects on adult hippocampal neurogenesis by extending the pool of newly-born cells and subsequently favouring their survival. Future research could take advantage from this non-invasive, multimodal approach to achieve substantial and longer-lasting enhancement in adult hippocampal neurogenesis, which might be relevant for improving cognition in healthy or neurologically impaired conditions.This study received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI), which was cofounded by the European Regional Development Fund (AEI/FEDER, UE; PSI2017-82604R to L.J.S.); by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-113806RB-I00 to L.J.S); by the Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA; 08-2021-AREA3 to D.L.G.M) and by the University of Málaga (B1-2020_06 to D.L.G-M). Funding for Open Access charge: Universidad de Málaga/CBU

Tratamiento ortopodológico sustitutivo de una amputación a nivel de Chopart

Los autores describen todo el proceso de confección de una prótesis funcional a nivel de Chopart en una paciente, que sufrió una amputación traumática a nivel de esta articulación

Selección de especies de interés fenológico en la península ibérica e islas Baleares

Esta obra es el resultado del esfuerzo de una serie de personas comprometidas con el medio ambiente y con el objetivo de mejorar las observaciones fenológicas. El carácter práctico de este libro pretende acercarlo a la realidad de la observación fenológica actual en la medida que está dirigido a todos los interesados en la fenología, y en especial, a todos los colaboradores que integran la red fenológica de AEMET. De todas las especies que actualmente se observan en las diferentes estaciones que componen la red fenológica de AEMET este libro se centra en una serie de especies denominadas "diana", que han sido seleccionadas por reunir características como las siguientes: su fácil identificación, su relativa abundancia en gran parte del territorio, la manifestación de una fenología marcada, la representación de su presencia como potencial de bioindicador climático, su importante significación ecológica, su observación con el mismo fin en otros países europeos y, cuando es posible, la existencia de abundantes datos antiguos relativos a la fenología de la especie. En la estructura de esta publicación se distinguen dos partes bien diferenciadas, una parte con información sobre los tres grupos de especies seleccionadas: plantas, aves e insectos, y otra sobre la observación fenológica. Además, al final se incluyen dos anexos con información complementaria sobre las especies

Meteorología, educación y divulgación en el ámbito nacional (Medina) : unidades didácticas

El equipo de divulgación científica de AEMET, grupo MEDINA, ha elaborado unas unidades didácticas sobre meteorología y clima que responden a la necesaria actualización de los contenidos curriculares de la enseñanza

Wnt receptors, bone mass, and fractures: gene-wide association analysis of LRP5 and LRP6 polymorphisms with replication

Objectives. Genes explaining the susceptibility to osteoporosis have not been fully elucidated. Our objective was to explore the association of polymorphisms capturing common variations of the lipoprotein receptor related protein (LRP) 5 and 6 genes, encoding two Wnt receptors, with femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporotic fractures of the spine and the hip. Design. Cross-sectional, case-control and replication genetic association study. Methods. Thirty nine tagging and functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were analyzed in a group of 1043 postmenopausal women and 394 women with hip fractures. The results were replicated in a different group of 342 women. Results. Three SNPs of the LRP6 gene were associated with BMD (nominal uncorrected pvalues< 0.05) in the discovery cohort. One showed a significant association after multiple test correction; two of them were also associated in the replication cohort, with a combined standardized mean difference of 0.51 (p=0.009) and 0.65 (p<0.0001) across rs11054704 and rs2302685 genotypes. In the discovery cohort, several LRP5 SNPs were associated with vertebral fractures (odds ratio 0.67; p=0.01), with hip fractures (unadjusted odds ratios between 0.59 and 1.21, p=0.005-0.033, but not significant after multiple test- or age-adjustment), and with height and the projected femoral neck area, but not with BMD. Transcripts of LRP5 and LRP6 were similarly abundant in bone samples. Conclusions. In this study we found common polymorphisms of LRP5 associated with osteoporotic fractures, and polymorphisms of the LRP6 gene associated with BMD, thus suggesting them as likely candidates to contribute explaining the hereditary influence on osteoporosis