A Storyteller: Mario Vargas Llosa Between Civilization And Barbarism

In A Story-Teller, Braulio Munoz offers a critical appraisal of Mario Vargas Llosa\u27s literary and political production from a sociotheoretical perspective. He engages the debate concerning the role of the writer in Latin America, the merits and shortcomings of modernist and postmodernist thought, and the differences between neoliberalism and alternative democractic positions

Synapse-specific expression of mu opioid receptor long-term depression in the dorsomedial striatum

The dorsal striatum is a brain region involved in action control, with dorsomedial striatum (DMS) mediating goal-directed actions and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) mediating habitual actions. Presynaptic long-term synaptic depression (LTD) plasticity at glutamatergic inputs to dorsal striatum mediates many dorsal striatum-dependent behaviors and disruption of LTD influences action control. Our previous work identified mu opioid receptors (MORs) as mediators of synapse-specific forms of synaptic depression at a number of different DLS synapses. We demonstrated that anterior insular cortex inputs are the sole inputs that express alcohol-sensitive MOR-mediated LTD (mOP-LTD) in DLS. Here, we explore mOP-LTD in DMS using mouse brain slice electrophysiology. We found that contrary to DLS, DMS mOP-LTD is induced by activation of MORs at inputs from both anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal cortices as well as at basolateral amygdala inputs and striatal cholinergic interneuron synapses on to DMS medium spiny neurons, suggesting that MOR synaptic plasticity in DMS is less synapse-specific than in DLS. Furthermore, only mOP-LTD at cortical inputs was sensitive to alcohol’s deleterious effects. These results suggest that alcohol-induced neuroadaptations are differentially expressed in a synapse-specific manner and could be playing a role in alterations of goal-directed and habitual behaviors

Conectividad del enebro marítimo (JUNIPERUS OXYCEDRUS SUBSP MACROCARPA) en el suroeste de España

El enebro marítimo es una conífera nativa de las costas mediterráneas cuyos bosques representan la etapa madura de dunas y acantilados arenosos sometidos al aerosol marino. En Andalucía, sus poblaciones se distribuyen a lo largo del Golfo de Cádiz, presentando una distribución muy fragmentada. La fragmentación y el aislamiento de las poblaciones del enebro dificultan su conservación debido a la interrupción de las interacciones ecológicas entre el enebro y sus dispersores. Este trabajo analiza la fragmentación de la población de enebro y su pérdida de conectividad en la costa oeste de Huelva desde 1956, el área potencial actual para la recuperación de sus poblaciones y la conectividad ecológica para un organismo dispersor de semillas de enebro. Para ello se ha empleado el Cost Distance del módulo espacial de ArcGIS y modelos de diseño de corredores ecológicos Corridor Designer, utilizando como principales fuentes de información el mapa de usos y coberturas vegetales del suelo de Andalucía y fotografías aéreas 1956-2004. Los resultados muestran una reducción del 70% en el área ocupada y una pérdida de conectividad debido al desarrollo urbano y de infraestructuras. Finalmente se proponen medidas de restauración para la especie en el área de estudio.Maritime juniper is a conifer native from the Mediterranean basin which woodlands represent the mature successional stage on sandy dunes and cliffs under salt spray deposition. In Andalusia, juniper populations show a fragmented distribution along the Gulf of Cádiz. Fragmentation and isolation of juniper populatios make difficult its conservation due to the interruption of ecological interactions between juniper and their seed dispersers. This work analyses the fragmentation of juniper population and the lost of connectivity since 1956 in the western coast of Huelva, the current potential distribution area and the connectivity for a juniper seed disperser. Analyses were carried out using Cost Distance (ArcGIS) and Corridor Designer models, along with the land uses/land cover map for Andalusia and aerial photographs from 1956 and 2004. Results show a reduction of 70% in the distribution area and a lost of connectivity due to urban development. Finally, restoration measures are proposed

Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome as a cause of acute abdomen: case report

The case of a young adult woman who came to the emergency room with acute surgical abdomen is presented. As part of her treatment, laboratory studies were performed, highlighting leukocytosis at the expense of neutrophilia. An abdominal CT study with contrast was also performed, which showed free fluid in the abdominal cavity without diagnostic confirmation, so a diagnostic laparoscopy was performed where perihepatic adhesions were evident on violin strings suggestive of Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome. Fitz Hugh Curtis syndrome is an entity little reported in the surgical literature. Its manifestations are nonspecific with generalized abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever. It is a diagnostic challenge since it can be confused with other surgical gastrointestinal pathologies such as appendicitis or cholecystitis, occurs in both genders, although it is more common in women of reproductive age, its diagnosis is usually a postoperative finding, the prognosis will depend on the postoperative findings and non-surgical management. We present a review of the literature and a reported case

A High-fat, High-sugar ‘Western’ Diet Alters Dorsal Striatal Glutamate, Opioid, and Dopamine Transmission in Mice

Understanding neuroadaptations involved in obesity is critical for developing new approaches to treatment. Diet-induced neuroadaptations within the dorsal striatum have the capacity to drive excessive food seeking and consumption. Five-week-old C57BL/6J mice consumed a high-fat, high-sugar ‘western diet’ (WD) or a control ‘standard diet’ (SD) for 16 weeks. Weight gain, glucose tolerance, and insulin tolerance were measured to confirm an obese-like state. Following these 16 weeks, electrophysiological recordings were made from medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the medial (DMS) and lateral (DLS) portions of dorsal striatum to evaluate diet effects on neuronal excitability and synaptic plasticity. In addition, fast-scan cyclic voltammetry evaluated dopamine transmission in these areas. WD mice gained significantly more weight and consumed more calories than SD mice and demonstrated impaired glucose tolerance. Electrophysiology data revealed that MSNs from WD mice demonstrated increased AMPA-to-NMDA receptor current ratio and prolonged spontaneous glutamate-mediated currents, specifically in the DLS. Evoked dopamine release was also significantly greater and reuptake slower in both subregions of WD striatum. Finally, dorsal striatal MSNs from WD mice were significantly less likely to demonstrate mu-opioid receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity. Neuronal excitability and GABAergic transmission were unaffected by diet in either striatal subregion. Our results demonstrate that a high-fat, high-sugar diet alters facets of glutamate, dopamine, and opioid signaling within the dorsal striatum, with some subregion specificity. These alterations within a brain area known to play a role in food motivation/consumption and habitual behavior are highly relevant for the clinical condition of obesity and its treatment

Actividades motrices en contacto con la naturaleza: una oportunidad en la educación rural para re-conectarnos con nuestro entorno

A lo largo de la historia las escuelas rurales han actuado al alero de lógicas globales y modernizantes que conducen sus prácticas pedagógicas. En este sentido, la educación rural muchas veces se descontextualiza respondiendo a intereses homogeneizadores del sistema educativo, lo que se ve reflejado en la omisión de aprendizajes informales y en la invisibilización o desaprovechamiento de los recursos presentes en su entorno. A pesar de ello, las organizaciones escolares rurales aún poseen rasgos distintivos que las sitúan en espacios caracterizados por lo natural, en donde se generan mecanismos de resistencia cultural. Al respecto, estas particularidades aportan en la construcción de formas de acción social e influyen en las estrategias de desarrollo asumidas por la comunidad. Generando así procesos que visibilizan sus culturas y garantizan identidades colectivas en el contexto rural. A la luz de estos antecedentes, se estructura el relato de una profesora que busca poner en evidencia la importancia de potenciar espacios de vinculación con el entorno. En esta línea, narra su experiencia como profesora (practicante) de un taller de actividades motrices en contacto con la naturaleza en una escuela rural básica de la región del Maule. Para ello, transita entre aspectos descriptivos, emocionales y relacionales de lo vivido por estudiantes y docentes. Asimismo, se reflexiona sobre el carácter situado de los aprendizajes de los/as estudiantes a través del vínculo indisociable entre el ser y su entorno. 

Stercoraceous perforation, rare but potentially fatal cause: case report

Stercoraceous perforation is an infrequent pathology but with high mortality rates, it is increasingly recognized as a consequence of chronic constipation, it occurs in elderly people, the diagnosis is a surgical challenge, sudden abdominal pain is the initial symptom associated with signs of peritoneal irritation and the diagnostic study of choice is tomography, the treatment of choice is early surgery, the prognosis is related to the patient's comorbidities. We present the clinical case and review of the subject of a 72-year-old woman who presented stercoraceous perforation secondary to chronic constipation, emergency surgery was performed with resection of the affected bowel, colostomy and Hartmann's pouch with favorable short-term results