Moths behaving like butterflies. Evolutionary loss of long range attractant pheromones in Castniid Moths: A Paysandisia archon model

Background: In the course of evolution butterflies and moths developed two different reproductive behaviors. Whereas butterflies rely on visual stimuli for mate location, moths use the"female calling plus male seduction" system, in which females release long-range sex pheromones to attract conspecific males. There are few exceptions from this pattern but in all cases known female moths possess sex pheromone glands which apparently have been lost in female butterflies. In the day-flying moth family Castniidae ("butterfly-moths"), which includes some important crop pests, no pheromones have been found so far. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a multidisciplinary approach we described the steps involved in the courtship of P. archon, showing that visual cues are the only ones used for mate location; showed that the morphology and fine structure of the antennae of this moth are strikingly similar to those of butterflies, with male sensilla apparently not suited to detect female-released long range pheromones; showed that its females lack pheromone-producing glands, and identified three compounds as putative male sex pheromone (MSP) components of P. archon, released from the proximal halves of male forewings and hindwings. Conclusions/Significance: This study provides evidence for the first time in Lepidoptera that females of a moth do not produce any pheromone to attract males, and that mate location is achieved only visually by patrolling males, which may release a pheromone at short distance, putatively a mixture of Z,E-farnesal, E,E-farnesal, and (E,Z)-2,13-octadecadienol. The outlined behavior, long thought to be unique to butterflies, is likely to be widespread in Castniidae implying a novel, unparalleled butterfly-like reproductive behavior in moths. This will also have practical implications in applied entomology since it signifies that the monitoring/control of castniid pests should not be based on the use of female-produced pheromones, as it is usually done in many moths.

La síndrome del dolor miofascial i la punció seca.

Introducció. La punció seca (PS) és una tècnica invasiva per al tractament de la síndrome del dolor miofascial (SDM), un trastorn no inflamatori que presenta un conjunt de símptomes originats per un punt gallet miofascial (PGM). Objectius. Comprovar si la punció seca és efectiva per al tractament de la SDM i dels PGM i si acompanyada d’altres tècniques podria augmentar la seva efectivitat. Material i mètodes. Es realitza una revisió bibliogràfica d’estudis experimentals (queden excloses altres revisions bibliogràfiques) a les bases de dades següents: Medline, Cochrane, PEDro, Enfispo, Scopus i Dialnet. La recerca es limita a treballs experimentals amb humans publicats en els últims 10 anys que utilitzin la punció seca com a tractament de la SDM i dels PGM. En total es revisen 4 articles. Resultats i discussió. En dos dels estudis revisats s’afirma que la punció seca juntament amb un programa d’exercicis actius i d’estiraments de la musculatura és, almenys, igual d’efectiva que la injecció d’anestèsic local i l’administració de flurbiprofen oral (AINE) en el tractament de la SDM (18,19). També s’afirma que la PS és més efectiva que el placebo (21). I com a resultat del quart article revisat s’obté que la PS i la manipulació de colze no són més efectius que el placebo en la SDM (20). Conclusions. Després de l’anàlisi i la discussió dels resultats obtinguts es conclou que falten més estudis i de més qualitat per tal d’aportar evidència a la PS en el tractament de la SDM i dels PGM.

Epigenetic Activation of SOX11 in Lymphoid Neoplasms by Histone Modifications

Recent studies have shown aberrant expression of SOX11 in various types of aggressive B-cell neoplasms. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms leading to such deregulation, we performed a comprehensive SOX11 gene expression and epigenetic study in stem cells, normal hematopoietic cells and different lymphoid neoplasms. We observed that SOX11 expression is associated with unmethylated DNA and presence of activating histone marks (H3K9/14Ac and H3K4me3) in embryonic stem cells and some aggressive B-cell neoplasms. In contrast, adult stem cells, normal hematopoietic cells and other lymphoid neoplasms do not express SOX11. Such repression was associated with silencing histone marks H3K9me2 and H3K27me3. The SOX11 promoter of non-malignant cells was consistently unmethylated whereas lymphoid neoplasms with silenced SOX11 tended to acquire DNA hypermethylation. SOX11 silencing in cell lines was reversed by the histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA but not by the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor AZA. These data indicate that, although DNA hypermethylation of SOX11 is frequent in lymphoid neoplasms, it seems to be functionally inert, as SOX11 is already silenced in the hematopoietic system. In contrast, the pathogenic role of SOX11 is associated with its de novo expression in some aggressive lymphoid malignancies, which is mediated by a shift from inactivating to activating histone modifications.

Presencia de la icnoespecie Dactyloidites Ottoi en el complejo de abanico costero de Sant Llorenç del Munt (Eoceno, Cuenca del Ebro, NE de España).

The presence of Dactyloidites ottoi is first recorded in the Eocene Sant Llorenç del Munt fan-delta complex. This constitutes the first citation for the Paleogene. The ichnospecies occurs in the lower part of a prograding fan-delta front sequence, associated to other traces produced by sediment-feeders. This association is substituted in the upper part of the sequence by abundant vertical Ophiomorpha indicating an increase of energetic conditions. The paleoenvironmental setting interpreted for Dactyloidites is consistent with that of previous described occurrences.

Drenaje torácico cerrado. Sistema de recogida no reutilizable: Pleur-evac®

Funcionamiento del sistema desechable de recogida Pleur-evac®. Se trata de un sistema compacto de recogida de drenaje con sello de agua de manejo fácil construido sobre la base del sistema convencional de montaje de drenaje de aspiración de tres botellas. Este sistema se basa en el utilizado en 1876 por Gotthard Bülau para el tratamiento de empiemas y que ha dado nombre a los sistemas de recogida...

Estudio del desarrollo y conectividad de las neuronas vasotocinérgicas en el prosencéfalo de pollo

En este Trabajo de Fin de Grado se estudia el origen embrionario de las distintas poblaciones neuronales que forman la amígdala medial extendida. La amígdala es una estructura del cerebro anterior involucrada en otorgar un significado emocional a los estímulos ambientales y en el control de distintos aspectos del comportamiento social (p.ej. comportamientos sexual, maternal, agresivo y afiliativo). Ante dichos estímulos, la amígdala pone en marcha una serie de reacciones de carácter motor, autonómico y endocrino que constituyen la respuesta emocional. Algunos desórdenes de carácter neuropsiquiátrico en humanos están relacionados con una disfunción en el control de las emociones y del comportamiento social, y varios de ellos se asocian a alteraciones en el desarrollo de la amígdala. El objetivo del presente trabajo ha sido investigar el origen de las neuronas de la amígdala medial extendida en embriones de pollo (E15 y E18) mediante ensayos de inmunocitoquímica, técnica utilizada para localizar las células que contienen el neuropéptido vasotocina (AVT) y proteínas reguladoras del desarrollo (la producida a partir del gen Otp) para ayudar en la delimitación de los distintos dominios embrionarios del prosencéfalo y distintas subdivisiones de la amígdala extendida. Los resultados de estos ensayos se combinaron con ensayos de trazado de conexiones para analizar la conectividad de las neuronas vasotocinérgicas de esta estructura. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que las neuronas AVT-positivas podrían derivar del dominio Supra-Opto-Paraventricular (SPV), y algunas poblaciones alcanzarían su posición definitiva dentro del propio dominio por migración radial, mientras que otras invadirían otros dominios cerebrales por migración tangencial. En conclusión, la investigación proporciona importantes datos que clarifican aspectos relevantes del desarrollo y organización adulta de la amígdala extendida, y ayuda a establecer las bases para una mejor comprensión del control neural de las emociones y el comportamiento social en condiciones normales y patológicas.

Característiques bàsiques de l’organització d’espais, d’ambients i dels tipus de materials que hauria d’estar present en les escoles d’educació infantil (3-6) per garantir pràctiques educatives de qualitat

Amb el present treball es vol aprofundir en la manera que influeix l’organització d’espais, d’ambients i les característiques dels materials en el procés educatiu. A partir d’una recerca teòrica en base les necessitats educatives de la societat actual, les necessitats evolutives dels infants, i en base a l’observació i anàlisi d’escoles reggianes i catalanes referents que tenen en compte com a agent educador l’espai, els ambients i els materials, es volen reunir quines són les característiques bàsiques de l’organització dels espais, ambients i materials per garantir una educació de qualitat a l’etapa infantil (3-6).

Cognició i emoció: Sobre les relacions entre memòria i emoció i la congruència del record amb l'estat afectiu

El següent treball tracta sobre les principals relacions existents entre la memòria i les emocions. Una vegada revisats els dos conceptes de manera separada, el nostre objectiu serà vincular els dos conceptes, per tal de saber com influeixen les emocions en el processos mnèmics com són la codificació, la consolidació i el record. Per assolir aquest objectiu, també realitzarem una part empírica en la qual prendrem com a referent la teoria de la Memòria Dependent de l'Estat d'Ànim proposada per Bower (1981). En la línia d'aquesta teoria, la hipòtesi general que ens plantegem a la part empírica és que si induïm a un subjecte a un estat d'ànim determinat i li fem aprendre un llistat de paraules amb diferent valència emocional, recordarà millor les paraules que coincideixin amb l'estat afectiu del subjecte en el moment de l'aprenentatge. Per a resoldre aquesta hipòtesi prendrem com a referent el disseny experimental de Meilan, Carro, Guerrero, Carpi, Gómez & Palmero (2012). Els nostres resultats recolzen les hipòtesis basades en la teoria de congruència afectiva de Bower (1981) i, parcialment el disseny d'investigació de Meilan et. al (2012).

A Virtual Laboratory Structure for Developing Programming Labs

Virtual Laboratories are an indispensablespace for developing practical activities in a Virtual Environment. In the field of Computer and Software Engineering different types of practical activities have tobe performed in order to obtain basic competences which are impossible to achieve by other means. This paper specifies an ontology for a general virtual laboratory.The proposed ontology provides a mechanism to select the best resources needed in a Virtual Laboratory once a specific practical activity has been defined and the maincompetences that students have to achieve in the learning process have been fixed. Furthermore, the proposed ontology can be used to develop an automatic and wizardtool that creates a Moodle Classroom using the practical activity specification and the related competences.

Worldwide trends in diabetes since 1980: a pooled analysis of 751 population-based studies with 4.4 million participants.

One of the global targets for non-communicable diseases is to halt, by 2025, the rise in the age-standardised adult prevalence of diabetes at its 2010 levels. We aimed to estimate worldwide trends in diabetes, how likely it is for countries to achieve the global target, and how changes in prevalence, together with population growth and ageing, are affecting the number of adults with diabetes. We pooled data from population-based studies that had collected data on diabetes through measurement of its biomarkers. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in diabetes prevalence-defined as fasting plasma glucose of 7.0 mmol/L or higher, or history of diagnosis with diabetes, or use of insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs-in 200 countries and territories in 21 regions, by sex and from 1980 to 2014. We also calculated the posterior probability of meeting the global diabetes target if post-2000 trends continue. We used data from 751 studies including 4,372,000 adults from 146 of the 200 countries we make estimates for. Global age-standardised diabetes prevalence increased from 4.3% (95% credible interval 2.4-7.0) in 1980 to 9.0% (7.2-11.1) in 2014 in men, and from 5.0% (2.9-7.9) to 7.9% (6.4-9.7) in women. The number of adults with diabetes in the world increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014 (28.5% due to the rise in prevalence, 39.7% due to population growth and ageing, and 31.8% due to interaction of these two factors). Age-standardised adult diabetes prevalence in 2014 was lowest in northwestern Europe, and highest in Polynesia and Micronesia, at nearly 25%, followed by Melanesia and the Middle East and north Africa. Between 1980 and 2014 there was little change in age-standardised diabetes prevalence in adult women in continental western Europe, although crude prevalence rose because of ageing of the population. By contrast, age-standardised adult prevalence rose by 15 percentage points in men and women in Polynesia and Micronesia. In 2014, American Samoa had the highest national prevalence of diabetes (>30% in both sexes), with age-standardised adult prevalence also higher than 25% in some other islands in Polynesia and Micronesia. If post-2000 trends continue, the probability of meeting the global target of halting the rise in the prevalence of diabetes by 2025 at the 2010 level worldwide is lower than 1% for men and is 1% for women. Only nine countries for men and 29 countries for women, mostly in western Europe, have a 50% or higher probability of meeting the global target. Since 1980, age-standardised diabetes prevalence in adults has increased, or at best remained unchanged, in every country. Together with population growth and ageing, this rise has led to a near quadrupling of the number of adults with diabetes worldwide. The burden of diabetes, both in terms of prevalence and number of adults affected, has increased faster in low-income and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Wellcome Trust.

Social Networks for learning : wikis, blogs and tagging in education

Fast developments in information and communications technologies and changes in the behaviour of learners demand educational institutions to continuously evaluate their pedagogical approaches to the learning and teaching process, both in face-to-face and virtual classrooms.

Analyzing lifelong learning student behavior in a progressive degree

Peer-reviewed

Metadata for describing learning scenarios under European Higher Education Area paradigm

In this paper we identify the requirements for creating formal descriptions of learning scenarios designed under the European HigherEducation Area paradigm, using competences and learning activities as the basic pieces of the learning process, instead of contents and learning resources, pursuing personalization. Classical arrangements of content based courses are no longer enough to describe all the richness of this new learning process, where user profiles, competences and complex hierarchical itineraries need to be properly combined. We study the intersection with the current IMS Learning Design specification and theadditional metadata required for describing such learning scenarios. This new approach involves the use of case based learning and collaborativelearning in order to acquire and develop competences, following adaptive learning paths in two structured levels.

Learning 2.0 : concepts and experiences with social networks and software

Peer-reviewed

La Formación de Bellmunt (Unidad del Cadí, Pirineo Oriental): aportaciones bioestratigráficas de los sistemas lacustres y palustres asociados

La Formación de Bellmunt es una unidad aluvial de carácter sinorogénico relacionada con el emplaiamiento de 1os mantos pirenaicos.En suzonainferior-media intercala numerosos tramos lacustres y palustres que contienen una abundante fauna y flora fósil. Estos restos fósiles han permitido realizar la reconstrucción paleoambiental y paleoclimática de la zona, asi como precisar la cronoestratigrafia de la unidad, que corresponde a Bartoniense inferior-rnedio en base a las carófitas y a 1os restos de mamíferos.