Cellular Hyperproliferation and Cancer as Evolutionary Variables

Technological advances in biology have begun to dramatically change the way we think about evolution, development, health and disease. The ability to sequence the genomes of many individuals within a population, and across multiple species, has opened the door to the possibility of answering some long-standing and perplexing questions about our own genetic heritage. One such question revolves around the nature of cellular hyperproliferation. This cellular behavior is used to effect wound healing in most animals, as well as, in some animals, the regeneration of lost body parts. Yet at the same time, cellular hyperproliferation is the fundamental pathological condition responsible for cancers in humans. Here, I will discuss why microevolution, macroevolution and developmental biology all have to be taken into consideration when interpreting studies of both normal and malignant hyperproliferation. I will also illustrate how a synthesis of evolutionary sciences and developmental biology through the study of diverse model organisms can inform our understanding of both health and disease

LA METACOGNICIÓN Y LAS HABILIDADES INTELECTUALES DE ORDEN SUPERIOR

En la “era del conocimiento” los enfoques de enseñanza-aprendizaje memorísticos no son pertinentes. El interés ahora es formar personas capaces de aprender para la vida, resolver problemas complejos, pensar creativa y críticamente, etc. La meta es lograr que los estudiantes desarrollen las habilidades intelectuales de orden superior. Después de haber hecho una revisión de la literatura metacognitiva, se sugiere que la estrategia de enseñanza-aprendizaje conocida como “pensar en voz alta durante la resolución de problemas”, puede contribuir al desarrollo de las habilidades intelectuales de orden superior

Personas mayores con discapacidad afectadas por inundaciones en la ciudad de Monterrey, México. Análisis de su entorno físico-social

El estudio analiza los factores que determinan el entorno físico-social peligroso para las personas mayores con discapacidad afectadas por inundaciones en la ciudad de Monterrey, México. La metodología emplea los datos de una encuesta a personas mayores con discapacidad en zonas de inundación, y elabora una cartografía a escala de colonia. Los resultados muestran la situación de alta vulnerabilidad social de las personas mayores con discapacidad afectadas por inundaciones y asociada a problemas de exclusión social y dependencia en la ciudad. También, se indica que los factores determinantes de un entorno físico-social peligroso para las personas mayores con discapacidad afectadas por inundaciones son la exposición del ambiente habitado (vivienda y colonia), el acceso al apoyo institucional y la capacidad para adaptarse a los cambios del ambiente (barreras arquitectónicas, resiliencia, reconstrucción, forma de convivencia). Además, se propone desarrollar políticas sociales y urbanas encaminadas a favorecer ciudades amigables para las personas mayores con discapacidad, así como propiciar una gestión del riesgo gerontológica, enfocada a la atención de este grupo social, con objeto de favorecer su adaptación y resiliencia ante los retos del cambio climático en América Latina y el CaribeThe study analyzes the factors that determine the dangerous physical-social environment for disabled older people affected by flooding in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. The methodology uses data from a survey of seniors with disabilities in flood zones, and develops a neighborhood scale mapping. The results show the situation of high social vulnerability of older people with disabilities affected by flooding, associated problems of social exclusion and dependence in the city. It also indicates that the determinants of danger physical-social environment for elderly people with disabilities affected by flooding are inhabited exposure environment (housing and neighborhood), access to institutional support, and the ability to adapt to changes environment (architectural barriers, resilience, reconstruction, way of living). Also, is proposed the development of social and urban policies to promote friendly cities for older people with disabilities, and encourage risk management gerontology, focused attention to this social group, in order to facilitate their adaptation and resilience to the challenges of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbea

Trophic ecology of the Endangered Darwin's frog inferred by stable isotopes

Indexación: Scopus.Acknowledgements. We thank Dr. Mauricio González-Chang for his contribution to invertebrate identification and Sally Wren for the revision of an earlier version of the manuscript. We are also extremely grateful to Tomás Elgueta Alvarez for providing Video S1. B.E.M.B. has a fellowship awarded by Universidad Andres Bello. This research project was approved by the Bioethics Committee at the Universi-dad Andres Bello, Chile (N°13/2015), and by permits N°5666/2013, N°230/2015, and N°212/2016 of the Chilean Agriculture and Livestock Service, and N°026/2013 and N°11/2015 IX of the Chilean National Forestry Corporation. This study was funded by the Dirección General de Investi-gación y Doctorados, Universidad Andres Bello, through grant N°DI-53-11/R and national funds through FONDE CYT N°11140902 and 1181758 (to C.S.A.).Darwin's frogs Rhinoderma spp. are the only known mouth-brooding frogs on Earth. The southern Darwin's frog, R. darwinii, is found in the temperate forests of southern South America, is listed as Endangered and could be the only extant representative of this genus. Based on stomach contents, invertebrate prey availability and stable isotope analysis, we determined for the first time trophic ecological parameters for this species. Our results showed that R. darwinii is a generalist sit-and-wait predator and a secondary consumer, with a trophic position of 2.9. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition indicated that herbivore invertebrates are their main prey, detected in 68.1% of their assimilated food. The most consumed prey included mosquitoes, flies, crickets, grasshoppers and ants. Detritivore and carnivore invertebrates were also ingested, but in lower proportions. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the feeding habits of this fully terrestrial amphibian and provide the first insight into their role linking low forest trophic positions with intermediate predators. We provide valuable biological information for in situ and ex situ conservation which can be used when developing habitat protection, reintroduction and captive breeding programmes. As revealed here, stable isotope analysis is a valuable tool to study the trophic ecology of highly endangered and cryptic species. © The authors 2018.https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v36/p269-278

Slicing across Kingdoms: Regeneration in Plants and Animals

Multicellular organisms possessing relatively long life spans are subjected to diverse, constant, and often intense intrinsic and extrinsic challenges to their survival. Animal and plant tissues wear out as part of normal physiological functions and can be lost to predators, disease, and injury. Both kingdoms survive this wide variety of insults by strategies that include the maintenance of adult stem cells or the induction of stem cell potential in differentiated cells. Repatterning mechanisms often deploy embryonic genes, but the question remains in both plants and animals whether regeneration invokes embryogenesis, generic patterning mechanisms, or unique circuitry comprised of well-established patterning genes

Neuropsychological Functioning in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are eating disorders in which a wide range of neuropsychological alterations are exhibited; however, the neuropsychology of bulimia nervosa has been poorly studied, and inconsistency has been found in results from different studies. Therefore, the aim of this chapter is to evaluate the differences in the neuropsychological functioning among women with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and with no eating disorders. Seventy‐two women participated in this study: 18 with anorexia nervosa, 24 with bulimia nervosa and 30 without any eating disorder; all of them answered the neuropsychological version of the Wechsler Adults Intelligence Scale‐III (WAIS‐III), the Rey Complex Figure Test, the Tower of London Task and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Overall, the results showed similar difficulties in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa groups, such as in the visuoconstructive process, executive functioning (specifically in planning skills to achieve a goal, cognitive flexibility and working memory), in selective attention and in nonverbal reasoning and common sense judgment when facing complex problems. These findings open the possibility to reformulate intervention programs for management of bulimia nervosa and consider the use of cognitive remediation therapy, which is already used in anorexia nervosa with a good prognosis

Integrated management of water resources and water security in community water management : case of autonomous drinking water committees in Alto Lerma Basin

La Cuenca Lerma ha sufrido infinidad de intervenciones humanas, desde el trasvase a mediados del siglo XX hasta la urbanización e industrialización. Los municipios que forman parte del Curso Alto en esta Cuenca, se han organizado de distintas formas para poder tener acceso al agua. El proceso de descentralización se ha visto cuestionado de manera local, ya que no se ha conseguido los resultados esperados, y las organizaciones gestoras del agua: comités municipales, comités autónomos, organizaciones de vecinos se encuentran en un proceso de adaptación para no desaparecer. Las distintas prácticas realizadas por las organizaciones gestoras y por los habitantes beneficiarios corresponden o no con los modelos nacionales previstos. Por lo que, el objetivo de esta ponencia es, por un lado identificar a los actores y las relaciones existentes en la gestión del agua de tres municipios integrantes del curso Alto de la Cuenca del Alto Lerma, y posteriormente analizar a partir de la Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos (GIRH) y la Seguridad Hídrica (SH), las posibilidades y los retos que se encuentran en esta región. La metodología consiste en la revisión documental sobre la política hídrica de México, la aplicación de entrevistas semiestructuradas a los gestores del agua en cada municipio y la aplicación de un cuestionario a los pobladores. Concluyendo que: existe una diversidad amplia de gestión local y comunitaria del agua en la microrregión seleccionada, esta variabilidad tiene que ver con fenómenos urbanos como el crecimiento demográfico, la construcción desordenada de la vivienda y la política hídrica; cada municipio si bien tiene límites físicos, sus relaciones hacen una sobreposición territorial compleja, que evoca áreas de influencia diferenciadas, por lo que es necesario pensar en formas de planificación territorial y de gestión de los servicios que superen las limitaciones tradicionales y apoyen la política hídrica nacional. En este sentido, la GIRH y la SH, conceptualmente, se encuentran limitados por las condiciones contextuales que tienen las localidades, las adaptaciones locales de la política y las capacidades de los actores; pero de manera simultánea se pueden encontrar elementos de estos que son aplicables y observables en las organizaciones gestoras del agua, como lo es el caso de los comités de agua potable y su gestión comunitaria.The Lerma Basin has suffered countless human interventions, from the transfer in the midtwentieth century to urbanization and industrialization. The municipalities that are part of the High Course in this Basin have been organized in different ways to have access to water. The process of decentralization has been locally questioned since the expected results have not been achieved, and the water management organizations such as municipal committees, autonomous committees, and neighborhood organizations are in a process of adaptation to not disappear. The different practices carried out by the managing organizations and the beneficiary inhabitants correspond or do not correspond to the national models foreseen. Therefore, on the one hand, the purpose of this paper is to identify the actors and existing relationships in water management of three municipalities that are part of the Alto de la Cuenca of Alto del Lerma course. On the other hand, to analyze the possibilities and challenges that are found in this region based on the Integrated Management of Water Resources (GIRH, its Spanish acronym) and Water Security (SH, its Spanish acronym). The methodology consists of the documentary review of the water policy of Mexico, the application of semi-structured interviews to the water managers in each municipality, and the application of a questionnaire to the inhabitants. As a conclusion, there is a wide diversity of local and community water management in the selected micro-region. This variability has to do with urban phenomena such as population growth, the disordered construction of housing, and water policy. Although each municipality has physical limits, its relations make a complex territorial overlap that evokes different areas of influence, so it is necessary to think of territorial planning and service management methods that overcome traditional limitations and support national water policy. In this sense, the GIRH and SH, conceptually, are limited by the contextual conditions of the localities, the local adaptations of the policy, and the capacities of the actors. Simultaneously, we can find elements of these kind that are applicable and observable in water management organizations, as it is the case of drinking water committees and their community managementFil: Pliego Alvarado, Esmeralda. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoFil: Sánchez Nájera, Rosa María. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Méxic

El diálogo socrático y las ventajas de su aplicabilidad en el aula. Una reivindicación del pensamiento crítico a través de la autonomía

Partiendo del contexto histórico cultural y social en el que se engendra el método socrático y ayudándome principalmente de las teorías de W. Jaeger, entre otros, se expondrá en qué consiste dicho método. Posteriormente se llevará a cabo un análisis sobre la posibilidad de aplicación del método socrático en la actualidad en el ámbito educativo a través de la teoría de M. Nussbaum para comprobar los beneficios e inconvenientes que este podría acarrear al aplicarlo analógicamente en la actualidad, siempre con una serie de modificaciones acordes al devenir histórico. El análisis conducirá a la necesidad de promover una enseñanza basada en el método socrático que sea orientativa y reflexiva en la que garantice la libertad del individuo, algo que difícilmente se respeta en el modelo de enseñanza imperante

A Machine Learning Approach for Studying the Comorbidities of Complex Diagnoses

The study of diagnostic associations entails a large number of methodological problems regarding the application of machine learning algorithms, collinearity and wide variability being some of the most prominent ones. To overcome these, we propose and tested the usage of uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP), a very recent, popular dimensionality reduction technique. We showed its effectiveness by using it on a large Spanish clinical database of patients diagnosed with depression, to whom we applied UMAP before grouping them using a hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis. By extensively studying its behavior and results, validating them with purely unsupervised metrics, we show that they are consistent with well-known relationships, which validates the applicability of UMAP to advance the study of comorbidities