Relaciones entre la estructura del 16PF-5 y el modelo de cinco grandes factores de personalidad

Este estudio fue diseñado para evaluar las relaciones del 16PF-5 y el modelo de Cinco Grandes factores de personalidad evaluado a partir de un listado de adjetivos unipolares propuestos por Goldberg (1992). Mediante sucesivos análisis factoriales se obtuvo un listado de 40 adjetivos, 8 para cada uno de los Cinco Grandes, que presentaron una estructura robusta y una consistencia interna aceptable. Al comparar los cinco factores del 16PF-5 con los Cinco Grandes, mediante análisis correlacionales y factoriales, se observa que Surgencia (Extraversión), Neuroticismo (Ansiedad) y Responsabilidad (Auto-Control) son dimensiones muy parecidas en ambos instrumentos y coincidentes con los resultados obtenidos por otros autores entre el NEO-PI, NEO-PI-R y el 16PF. Las dimensiones de Extraversión e Independencia del 16PF-5 están muy relacionadas entre sí, en cambio Independencia y Dureza tienden a relacionar más con el factor de Intelecto de Goldberg. Se estudian tres estructuras factoriales de 3, 4 y 5 factores a partir de los cinco factores de segundo orden de Cattell y los cinco factores de Goldberg. Se discute sobre la equivalencia de ambas estructuras.

Replicabilidad de los factores de segundo orden del 16PF-5 en muestras americanas y españolas

El objetivo de este estudio fue replicar las estructuras de 5 y 6 factores de segundo orden del 16PF-5. Para la estructura de 5 factores se toma como referencia teórica la estructura obtenida por Russell y Karol (1995), y para la estructura de 6 factores (incluyendo un factor adicional de Razonamiento) la obtenida en muestras americanas por Cattell y Cattell (1995). Se utilizan tres procedimientos para el estudio de la replicabilidad, a) análisis factorial exploratorio, b) análisis de la estructura ortogonal Procrustes, y c) análisis de los índices de congruencia entre las tres matrices factoriales. Las matrices factoriales obtenidas en el presente estudio son similares a las informadas en los estudios de referencia, aunque la solución Procrustes se revela ligeramente más parecida. Los índices de congruencia en ge- neral son aceptables por lo que se concluye que el 16PF-5 demuestra buena replicabilidad.

Avances en el estudio del "torrao" o cribado del tomate

El "torrao" es una enfermedad presente en nuestro país desde 2001, que sigue presentándose en cada campaña de tomate con mayor o menor incidencia según el año. Las plantas afectadas muestran necrosis en la parte basal de los foliolos que puede evolucionar a cribado, manchas longitudinales en los peciolos y manchas necróticas en fruto, que terminan por rajarlo. El presente trabajo es la continuación del publicado en el número 32 de esta revista titulado "Necrosis del tomate: "torrao" o cribado" y surge de los resultados obtenidos tras la reciente publicación de la identificación y caracterización del nuevo virus "Tomato torrado virus" (ToTV) como agente implicado en la enfermedad conocida como "torrao". En este estudio se seleccionaron 94 muestras procedentes de prospecciones realizadas en invernaderos de Murcia durante los años 2003 a 2006. La aplicación RT-PCR e hibridación molecular para la detección de ToTV ha permitido detectar la presencia de esta nueva virosis en 87 de las muestras analizadas. En 83 de ellas, se encontró la presencia conjunta de este nuevo virus con el Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV), mayoritariamente con el aislado tipo Chileno 2 (Accesión number: DQ00095). Se plantean nuevos estudios para determinar la implicación de ambos virus, ToTV y PepMV, en el desarrollo del síndrome conocido como "torrao" del tomate.

The null divergence factor

Let (P, Q) be a C 1 vector field defined in a open subset U ⊂ R2 . We call a null divergence factor a C 1 solution V (x, y) of the equation P ∂V + Q ∂V = ∂P + ∂Q V . In previous works ∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y it has been shown that this function plays a fundamental role in the problem of the center and in the determination of the limit cycles. In this paper we show how to construct systems with a given null divergence factor. The method presented in this paper is a generalization of the classical Darboux method to generate integrable systems.

A survey on the inverse integrating factor

The relation between limit cycles of planar differential systems and the inverse integrating factor was first shown in an article of Giacomini, Llibre and Viano appeared in 1996. From that moment on, many research articles are devoted to the study of the properties of the inverse integrating factor and its relationwith limit cycles and their bifurcations. This paper is a summary of all the results about this topic. We include a list of references together with the corresponding related results aiming at being as much exhaustive as possible. The paper is, nonetheless, self-contained in such a way that all the main results on the inverse integrating factor are stated and a complete overview of the subject is given. Each section contains a different issue to which the inverse integrating factor plays a role: the integrability problem, relation with Lie symmetries, the center problem, vanishing set of an inverse integrating factor, bifurcation of limit cycles from either a period annulus or from a monodromic ω-limit set and some generalizations.

Signalling by neurotrophins and hepatocyte growth factor regulates axon morphogenesis by differential β-catenin phosphorylation

Tyrosine phosphorylation of ß-catenin, a component of adhesion complexes and the Wnt pathway, affects cell adhesion, migration and gene transcription. By reducing ßcatenin availability using shRNA-mediated gene silencing or expression of intracellular N-cadherin, we show that ß-catenin is required for axon growth downstream of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) signalling. We demonstrate that receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) Trk and Met interact with and phosphorylate ß-catenin. Neurotrophins (NT) stimulation of Trk receptors results in phosphorylation of ß-catenin at residue Y654 and increased axon growth and branching. Conversely, pharmacological inhibition of Trk or a Y654F mutant blocks these effects. ß-catenin phospho(P)-Y654 colocalizes with the cytoskeleton at growth cones. However, HGF that also increases axon growth and branching, induces ß-catenin phosphorylation at Y142 and a nuclear localization. Interestingly, dominant negative ΔN-TCF4 abolishes the effects of HGF in axon growth and branching, but not of NT. We conclude that NT and HGF signalling differentially phosphorylate ß-catenin, targeting ß-catenin to distinct compartments to regulate axon morphogenesis by TCF4-transcription-dependent and independent mechanisms. These results place ß-catenin downstream of growth factor/RTK signalling in axon differentiation.

Chemokines induce axon outgrowth downstream of Hepatocyte Growth Factor and TCF/β-catenin signaling

Axon morphogenesis is a complex process regulated by a variety of secreted molecules, including morphogens and growth factors, resulting in the establishment of the neuronal circuitry. Our previous work demonstrated that growth factors [Neurotrophins (NT) and Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF)] signal through β-catenin during axon morphogenesis. HGF signaling promotes axon outgrowth and branching by inducing β-catenin phosphorylation at Y142 and transcriptional regulation of T-Cell Factor (TCF) target genes. Here, we asked which genes are regulated by HGF signaling during axon morphogenesis. An array screening indicated that HGF signaling elevates the expression of chemokines of the CC and CXC families. In line with this, CCL7, CCL20, and CXCL2 significantly increase axon outgrowth in hippocampal neurons. Experiments using blocking antibodies and chemokine receptor antagonists demonstrate that chemokines act downstream of HGF signaling during axon morphogenesis. In addition, qPCR data demonstrates that CXCL2 and CCL5 expression is stimulated by HGF through Met/b-catenin/TCF pathway. These results identify CC family members and CXCL2 chemokines as novel regulators of axon morphogenesis downstream of HGF signaling.

Mutant huntingtin impairs the post-Golgi trafficking of brain-derived neurotrophic factor but not its Val66Met polymorphism.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) polymorphism is associated with the pathophysiology of several neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington"s disease. In view ofthese data andthe involvement of huntingtin in intracellular trafficking, we examined the intracellular transport and release of Val66Val BDNF (Val-BDNF) and Val66Met BDNF (Met-BDNF) in transfected striatal knock-in cells expressing wild-type or mutant full-length huntingtin. Colocalization studies with specific markers for endoplasmic reticulum showed no differences between the Val-BDNF and Met-BDNF and were not modified by mutant huntingtin. However, post-Golgi trafficking was altered by mutant huntingtin dependent on the BDNF form. Thus, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and inverse FRAP analysis showed retention of Met-BDNF inthe Golgi apparatus with respectto Val-BDNF in wild-type cells. Strikingly, mutant huntingtin diminished post-Golgi trafficking of Val-BDNF, whereas Met-BDNF was not modified. Accordingly, a reduction in the number of transport vesicles was only observed in mutant huntingtin cells transfected with Val-BDNF but not Met-BDNF. Moreover, mutant huntingtin severely affectedthe KCl-evoked release of Val-BDNF, although it had little effect on Met-BDNF regulated release. The constitutive release of Val-BDNF or Met-BDNF in mutant cells was only slightly reduced. Interestingly, mutant huntingtin only perturbed post-Golgi trafficking of proteins that follow the regulated secretory pathway (epidermal growth factor receptor or atrial natriuretic factor), whereas it did not change those that follow the constitutive pathway (p75 NTR ). We conclude that mutant huntingtin differently affects intracellular transport and release of Val-BDNF and Met-BDNF. In addition, our findings reveal a new role for huntingtin in the regulation of the post-Golgi trafficking of the regulated secretory pathway.

Caída de bloques de hielo en los frentes del glaciar de casquete de la Isla Livingston (Archipiélago de la Shetland del Sur). Detección por métodos sísmicos. Influencia de las variables ambientales.

Se han utilizado los datos procedentes de una red (array) sísmica situada en la isla Livingston para estudiar la evolución de las caídas de bloques de hielo en los frentes de los glaciares (calving). Pa rtiendo de que la causa fundamental de las caídas de bloques es el flujo del hielo, se ha estudiado la influencia de la temperatura ambiental, la variación del nivel de la marea, la humedad y la velocidad del viento sobre este fenómeno. Como principal conclusión se deduce que la temperatura ambiental es el factor que ejerce una mayor y más directa influencia sobre las caídas de los bloques de hielo.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha transactivates the mitochondrial alanine aminotransferase gene in the kidney of Sparus aurata

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) plays an important role in amino acid metabolism and gluconeogenesis. The preference of carnivorous fish for protein amino acids instead of carbohydrates as a source of energy lead us to study the transcriptional regulation of the mitochondrial ALT (mALT) gene and to characterize the enzyme kinetics and modulation of mALT expression in the kidney of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) under different nutritional and hormonal conditions. 5′-Deletion analysis of mALT promoter in transiently transfected HEK293 cells, site-directed mutagenesis and electrophoretic mobility shift assays allowed us to identify HNF4α as a new factor involved in the transcriptional regulation of mALT expression. Quantitative RT-PCR assays showed that starvation and the administration of streptozotocin (STZ) decreased HNF4α levels in the kidney of S. aurata, leading to the downregulation of mALT transcription. Analysis of the tissue distribution showed that kidney, liver, and intestine were the tissues with higher mALT and HNF4α expression. Kinetic analysis indicates that mALT enzyme is more efficient in catalyzing the conversion of L-alanine to pyruvate than the reverse reaction. From these results, we conclude that HNF4α transactivates the mALT promoter and that the low levels of mALT expression found in the kidney of starved and STZ-treated fish result from a decreased expression of HNF4α. Our findings suggest that the mALT isoenzyme plays a major role in oxidazing dietary amino acids, and points to ALT as a target for a biotechnological action to spare protein and optimize the use of dietary nutrients for fish culture.

A common BACE1 polymorphism is a risk factor for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

The β site APP cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is the rate-limiting β-secretase enzyme in the amyloidogenic processing of APP and Aβ formation, and therefore it has a prominent role in Alzheimer"s disease (AD) pathology. Recent evidence suggests that the prion protein (PrP) interacts directly with BACE1 regulating its β-secretase activity. Moreover, PrP has been proposed as the cellular receptor involved in the impairment of synaptic plasticity and toxicity caused by Aβ oligomers. Provided that common pathophysiologic mechanisms are shared by Alzheimer"s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) diseases, we investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge a possible association of a common synonymous BACE1 polymorphism (rs638405) with sporadic CJD (sCJD). Our results indicate that BACE1 C-allele is associated with an increased risk for developing sCJD, mainly in PRNP M129M homozygous subjects with early onset. These results extend the very short list of genes (other than PRNP) involved in the development of human prion diseases; and support the notion that similar to AD, in sCJD several loci may contribute with modest overall effects to disease risk. These findings underscore the interplay in both pathologies of APP, Aβ oligomers, ApoE, PrP and BACE1, and suggest that aging and perhaps vascular risk factors may modulate disease pathologies in part through these key players

Manifestaciones orales del sida: perspectiva actual

Con esta revisión se pretende remarcar al odontoestomatólogo los aspectos clínicos que con mayor frecuencia se asocian a la infección producida por el VIH. Entre ellos cabe resaltar las infecciones producidas por virus (herpes simple, herpes varicela-zoster, citomegalovirus. papilomavirus), hongos (sobre todo candidiasis) y bacterias (caries y patología periodontal); la patología tumoral asociada (sarcoma de Kaposi, linfoma no Hodgkin, carcinomas); así como otras manifestaciones patológicas que tienen su asiento en el territorio del aparato estomatognático (ulceraciones atípicas, alteraciones neurológicas, patología glandular. etc.). No puede concluirse el trabajo sin recordar la importancia que tiene seguir un protocolo en la atención odontológica de estos pacientes seropositivos, que debería hacerse extensivo al resto de nuestros pacientes.

Persistence of tracer in the application site -a potential confounding factor in nerve regeneration studies

Selective reinnervation of peripheral targets after nerve injury might be assessed by injecting a first tracer in a target before nerve injury to label the original neuronal population, and applying a second tracer after the regeneration period to label the regenerated population. However, altered uptake of tracer, fading, and cell death may interfere with the results. Furthermore, if the first tracer injected remains in the target tissue, available for 're-uptake' by misdirected regenerating axons, which originally innervated another region, then the identification of the original population would be confused. With the aim of studying this problem, the sciatic nerve of adult rats was sectioned and sutured. After 3 days, to allow the distal axon to degenerate avoiding immediate retrograde transport, one of the dyes: Fast Blue (FB), Fluoro-Gold (FG) or Diamidino Yellow (DY), was injected into the tibial branch of the sciatic nerve, or in the skin of one of the denervated digits. Rats survived 2-3 months. The results showed labelled dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells and motoneurones, indicating that late re-uptake of a first tracer occurs. This phenomenon must be considered when the model of sequential labelling is used for studying the accuracy of peripheral reinnervation.

Adaptación del Cuestionario de Voluntad de Trabajo a una muestra de universitarios españoles

El objetivo del presente estudio es evaluar las propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Voluntad de Trabajo adaptado a una muestra de estudiantes universitarios españoles, tanto en su versión de autoinforme como en la versión destinada a evaluar los pares. Los participantes de este estudio son 194 estudiantes de la Universidad de Barcelona, a los que se aplicaron tanto el cuestionario de Voluntad de Trabajo (CVT) como su versión para evaluar a los pares (CVT-P), así como las subescalas de Perseverancia y Distorsión del Big Factor Questionnaire. Los resultados sugieren la eliminación de dos de los ítems de los cuestionarios CVT y CVT-P. Las correlaciones ítem-total corregidas y la consistencia interna fue adecuada para ambos, y el análisis factorial confirmatorio confirma su unidimensionalidad. La relación entre la escala CVT y las demás medidas criterio es adecuada. En conclusión, podemos afirmar que las escalas CVT y CVT-P obtuvieron unas adecuadas propiedades psicométricas tras la depuración de las mismas.

L’experiència del CRAI de la UB en la migració consorciada a Millennium

Aquest article pretén reflectir l'experiència viscuda a la Universitat de Barcelona (UB) en el procés viscut fa poc de canvi de sistema de Catàleg Col·lectiu de les Universitats de Catalunya (CCUC) i dels catàlegs de les institucions del Consorci de Biblioteques Universitàries de Catalunya (CBUC). Es recullen les principals actuacions i fites tècniques i organitzatives que ha assolit l'equip responsable de la implementació en les diferents fases del projecte, des d'un punt de vista professional però, sobretot, des del punt de vista personal d'implicació, de repte, de satisfacció i d'esforç. Es conclou destacant, d'una banda, la rellevància del treball en equip com a factor d'èxit en el desenvolupament d'un projecte complexi, de l'altra, la necessitat d'una reflexió global sobre els processos i fluxos de treball, per tal d'explotar al màxim les possibilitats d'un sistema de gestió integral i aconseguir el màxim d'eficiència.