Novel SCAMPs Lacking NPF Repeats: Ubiquitous and Synaptic Vesicle-Specific Forms Implicate SCAMPs in Multiple Membrane- Trafficking Functions

In vertebrates, secretory carrier membrane proteins (SCAMPs) 1–3 constitute a family of putative membrane-trafficking proteins composed of cytoplasmic N-terminal sequences with NPF repeats, four central transmembrane regions (TMRs), and a cytoplasmic tail. SCAMPs probably function in endocytosis by recruiting EH-domain proteins to the N-terminal NPF repeats but may have additional functions mediated by their other sequences. We now demonstrate that SCAMPs form a much larger and more heterogeneous protein family than envisioned previously, with an evolutionary conservation extending to invertebrates and plants. Two novel vertebrate SCAMPs (SCAMPs 4 and 5), single SCAMP genes in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, and multiple SCAMPs in Arabidopsis thaliana were identified. Interestingly, the novel SCAMPs 4 and 5 lack the N-terminal NPF repeats that are highly conserved in all other SCAMPs. RNA and Western blotting experiments showed that SCAMPs 1–4 are ubiquitously coexpressed, whereas SCAMP 5 is only detectable in brain where it is expressed late in development coincident with the elaboration of mature synapses. Immunocytochemistry revealed that SCAMP 5 exhibits a synaptic localization, and subcellular fractionations demonstrated that SCAMP 5 is highly enriched in synaptic vesicles. Our studies characterize SCAMPs as a heterogeneous family of putative trafficking proteins composed of three isoforms that are primarily synthesized outside of neurons (SCAMPs 2–4), one isoform that is ubiquitously expressed but highly concentrated on synaptic vesicles (SCAMP 1), and one brain-specific isoform primarily localized to synaptic vesicles (SCAMP 5). The conservation of the TMRs in all SCAMPs with the variable presence of N-terminal NPF repeats suggests that in addition to the role of some SCAMPs in endocytosis mediated by their NPF repeats, all SCAMPs perform a “core” function in membrane traffic mediated by their TMRs

Aplicación de un programa de educación psicomotriz en un caso con síndrome de Down

Está demostrado que el movimiento es el fundamento de la maduración física y psíquica del ser humano, de ahí la importancia de adquirir un buen desarrollo psicomotor. Investigaciones previas han confirmado que el desarrollo psicomotor en los sujetos con síndrome de Down es mucho más lento que en niños con un desarrollo típico. El objetivo del presente estudio es mostrar cómo la práctica psicomotriz, a través de la aplicación de un programa de intervención psicomotor, mejora el nivel de estructuración corporal y las habilidades fonológicas de esta población. El programa de intervención se aplica a un sujeto varón con síndrome de Down de 11,9 años. La evaluación está formada por un conjunto de pruebas estandarizadas y no estandarizadas, que se le administran al niño al principio y al final del programa de intervención. Esta consta de 10 sesiones de unos 40min de duración, basadas en actividades de estructuración espacial, estructuración temporal y habilidades articulatorias. Los resultados permiten confirmar cómo un programa de intervención psicomotriz ayuda en este caso a desarrollar y mejorar aquellas capacidades psicomotrices que se encuentran más retrasadas y que le sirven de apoyo para mejorar su comunicación e interacción social

Renal lithiasis in children

Justification and objective: Renal lithiasis is due to the precipitation of crystals due to an imbalance in the urine between promoting substances and inhibitory substances. It is a pathology with a prevalence between 2–10% in the pediatric population, with an incidence that has increased in the last 25 years; for this reason this study aims to know the prevalence, clinical and metabolic manifestations of renal lithiasis in the pediatric population of the National Children's Hospital of Costa Rica. Methods: Tthis is a retrospective, descriptive and observational study, through the review of records of patients under 18 years of age with the diagnosis of renal lithiasis, attended at the National Children's Hospital, in the period from January 2000 to 2018. Results: A total of 106 patients were included. The average age at diagnosis was 6.6 ± 3.8 years; the frequency of cases has increased 5.5 times in the last 5 years. Risk factors detected: urinary tract abnormalities 22.6% and family history of lithiasis 17.9%. Metabolic analysis showed low urine output in 74.3%, hyperphosphaturia in 43.2%, hypomagnesuria 39.2% and hypercalciuria 37.8%. Etiologies determined: metabolic 54.7%, urinary tract malformations 16% and idiopathic in 30.9%. Intracorporeal lithotripsy was applied in 61.2%. Recurrence was observed in 28.5% of cases, and a relationship was found between the incidence of recurrence and the size of the lithotripsy (p = 0.001) and surgical treatment (p = 0.010). Conclusions: There is an increase in the frequency of cases of pediatric lithiasis with a multifactorial etiology at the National Children's Hospital of Costa Rica

Thickness and fluctuations of free and adsorbed liquid films

Effective mesoscopic Hamiltonians with the thickness of the adsorbed liquid films as a collective variable have been widely used in the study of adsorbed systems. In the present work, we show that the intrinsic surface of a liquid-vapor interface provides a very accurate way to evaluate the instantaneous film thickness in computer simulations. This film thickness follows with quantitative accuracy the predictions of simple model Hamiltonians, even for films as thin as one monolayer, and the effective interfacial potential has the simplest exponential form with a surprising accuracy, from a single monolayer to very thick films. For both the free liquid slabs and the adsorbed films and despite of the low vapor density, we have found that the fluctuations associated with the evaporation of particles to the vapor and their condensation in the liquid layer give an important contribution to the probability distributions of the liquid film thickness in our canonical (NVT) simulationsWe acknowledge the support of the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation (Grant No. FIS2010-22047-C05) and the Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid under program MODELICO (Grant No. S2009/ESP-1691

Capillary wave spectrum at adsorbed liquid films

Capillary wave fluctuations at the edges of liquid wetting layers are analyzed in Monte Carlo simulations of a Lennard-Jones fluid adsorbed on a planar wall substrate. The analysis is based on the Fourier modes of the liquid surface, constructed via the intrinsic sampling method. For films thinner than four molecular layers we can quantify the damping of the capillary waves due to the wall potential. Our results are presented in the theoretical framework of the effective surface Hamiltonians, to establish a quantitative link between the molecular structure and the mesoscopic descriptions used for renormalization-group analysis. We observe the predicted exponential decay of the wall damping, with the correlation length of the liquid bulk. However, associated with the molecular layering of the density profiles, we observe a strong oscillatory dependence with respect to the mean film thickness, not included in any theoretical prediction. We discuss the possibility of finite-size effects in this respect. Three different definitions of the intrinsic surface at molecular level are tested, to show that the square gradient terms of the Hamiltonian are robust, while the surface bending (or nonlocal) terms are tied to each specific definitionWe acknowledge the support of the Spanish Minister of Science and Innovation (Grant No. FIS2010-22047-C05) and the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid under program MODELICO (Grant No. S2009/ESP-1691

Self-Esteem and Resilience in Students of Teaching: Evolution Associated with Academic Progress

Resilience is the ability of the person to face adverse situations and emerge stronger from them. On the other hand, self-esteem is the general assessment that a person makes of himself. In the educational field, situations that can be related to both factors converge. Not too many studies have focused so far on knowing how these variables evolve during the training of future teachers. In the present study, we intend to check the levels of self-esteem and resilience in a sample of teaching students as well as to explore whether there is an association between the different levels of self-esteem and the resilience of the participants. (is is a crosssectional descriptive investigation through an evaluation instrument. (e sample consists of 1547 students aged 17–57 years. (e sample consisted of 916 primary education students (59.2%) and 631 early childhood education students (40.8%). Of these, 337 were men, 1195 were women, and 14 of them did not indicate their gender. (e results confirm a positive association between selfesteem and resilience. Furthermore, an increase in the levels of both variables has been found as students progress in their studies. (ese data verify that the students seem to be in a position to face adverse situations, as well as qualified to transfer these competencies during the performance of their future teaching work

Amphibian survival compromised by long-term effects of chytrid fungus

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Mesoscopic Hamiltonian for the fluctuations of adsorbed Lennard-Jones liquid films

We use Monte Carlo simulations of a Lennard-Jones fluid adsorbed on a short-range planar wall substrate to study the fluctuations in the thickness of the wetting layer, and we get a quantitative and consistent characterization of their mesoscopic Hamiltonian, H[ξ]. We have observed important finite-size effects, which were hampering the analysis of previous results obtained with smaller systems. The results presented here support an appealing simple functional form for H[ξ], close but not exactly equal to the theoretical nonlocal proposal made on the basis a generic density-functional analysis by Parry and coworkers. We have analyzed systems under different wetting conditions, as a proof of principle for a method that provides a quantitative bridge between the molecular interactions and the phenomenology of wetting films at mesoscopic scalesWe acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Grants No. FIS2010- 22047-C05 and No. FIS2013-47350-C5

Modelos de ocupación durante el Paleolítico medio: el nivel K del Abric Romaní (Capellades, Barcelona, España)

This paper presents the results of the archaeological remains and spatial patterning studies from the Abric Romaní level K. This is the first level of all the stratigraphic sequence where excavation of the whole surface (279 m2) was possible, because there is no disturbance by the ancient excavations (Bartrolí et al. 1995). This interdisciplinary work includes a technological and functional analysis of the lithic industry, a zooarchaeological and taphonomical analysis of faunal assemblages, a spatial patterning and refitting studies of archaeological remains. The main goal is to determine the technical activities realised and their spatial organisation. This kind of study allows us to establish what kind of behaviour and occupation strategies was carried out by the Neanderthals groups. This archaeological level is one example of the spatial structuring degree into the Middle Palaeolithic settlement patterns organisation