Luis Miguel Ortega Mora

A century of bovine besnoitiosis: an unknown disease re-emerging in Europe

Bovine besnoitiosis, which is caused by the cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite Besnoitia besnoiti, is a chronic and debilitating vector-borne disease characterized by both cutaneous and systemic manifestations. In Europe, this parasitic disease appeared in a few restricted areas in France and Portugal since the first recorded cases in the beginning of the 20th century. However, at present, the disease is considered to be re-emerging by the European Food Safety Authority due to an increased number of cases and the geographic expansion of besnoitiosis into cattle herds in several European countries. In this review, we will provide an update of the epidemiology and impact of B. besnoiti infection. Strategies to control this parasitic disease will also be discussed.

Besnoitia besnoiti among cattle in insular and northwestern Italy: endemic infection or isolated outbreaks?

BackgroundBovine besnoitiosis, caused by the apicomplexan Besnoitia besnoiti, is a chronic and debilitating disease considered as emerging in Europe. In Spain, Portugal and France it is endemic and foci of infection were recorded in Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Greece and Italy. In Italy, cases of bovine besnoitiosis were registered both in imported and autochthonous cattle, and mostly in central regions; high seroprevalence was also revealed by an epidemiological survey performed in the southern part of the country. Aiming to update information on the disease in northwestern and insular areas of Italy, where data on bovine besnoitiosis were missing, a serosurvey was designed for the present study.MethodsThree thousand one hundred and forty bovine blood samples from both dairy and beef farms (n = 126) were collected in northwestern regions (Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria) and in the island of Sardinia. Samples were analyzed by a standardized in-house ELISA and those resulted positive were re-tested by Western Blot (WB) for confirmation. On results obtained by both ELISA and WB, apparent (AP) and true prevalence (TP) were calculated at individual and herd levels. Further, a panel of sera resulted positive to ELISA was analyzed by IFAT.ResultsA total of 712 animals (AP = 22.7%; TP = 18.8%) and 109 farms (AP = 86.5%; TP = 88.2%) showed a positive reaction in ELISA. Only ten (AP = 0.3%; TP = 0%) specimens proceeding from five farms (AP = 3.9%; TP = 1.7%) from Lombardy were confirmed positive to the WB, corresponding to two Holstein Friesian cows and eight beef cattle. IFAT showed a low sensitivity (44.4%) scoring positive in only four samples out of 9 positive to WB.ConclusionsThe survey demonstrated that bovine besnoitiosis cannot still be considered endemic in whole Italy. In fact, independent foci of infection were registered only in Lombardy region. Therefore, a sanitary strategy aimed to increase control measures and to organize monitoring plans, by adequate diagnostic tools is necessary to avoid overestimation of B. besnoiti in Italy.

Use of an immunodominant P17 antigenic fraction of Neospora caninum in detection of antibody response in cattle.

A Neospora caninum 17 kDa protein fraction (p17) has been described as an immunodominant antigen (IDA) under reducing and non-reducing conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of p17 in cattle. In order to achieve this, p17 was purified by electroelution from whole N. caninum tachyzoite soluble extract and a p17-based Western blot (WB-p17) was developed. The p17 recognition was measured by densitometry and expressed as OD values to check the validity of the WB-p17. A total of 131 sera including sequential samples from naturally- and experimentally-infected calves and breeding cattle were analysed by WB-p17 and compared with IFAT using whole formalin-fixed tachyzoites as a reference test. The results obtained highlight the feasibility of using the N. caninum p17 in a diagnostic test in cattle. Firstly, the assay based on the p-17 antigen discriminated between known positive and negative sera from different cattle populations, breeding cattle and calves. Secondly, the p17 antigen detected fluctuations in the antibody levels and seroconversion in naturally- and experimentally-infected cattle. Significant differences in p-17 antigen recognition were observed between naturally infected aborting and non-aborting cattle, as well as significant antibody fluctuations over time in experimentally infected cattle, which varied between groups. Furthermore, the results obtained with WB-p17 are in accordance with the results obtained with the IFAT as high agreement values were obtained when all bovine subpopulations were included (kappa = 0.86).

Pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy of Bumped Kinase Inhibitor (BKI) 1553 in a pregnant sheep model of neosporosis

This work was supported by Community of Madrid (Grupo Estrategico 2000-2003), NIH, grant R01CA77575, and SAF 2001-2245.The transition step from the p3-dAMP initiation complex to the first elongated products, p3-(dAMP)2 and p3-(dAMP)3, requires a dATP concentration higher than that needed for the initiation reaction or for the further elongation of the p3-(dAMP)3 complex. The elongation in phi 29 DNA-protein p3 replication in vitro was strongly inhibited by salt. Under inhibitory salt concentration, the viral protein p6 greatly stimulated phi 29 DNA-protein p3 replication. The effect of protein p6 was not on the rate of elongation but on the amount of elongated product, stimulating the transition from initiation to formation of the first elongation products.Trabajo presentado en 44th Annual Meeting Society for Neuroscience, celebrado en Washington, DC (USA) del 15 al 19 de noviembre de 2014Recent studies have demonstrated that cytochrome c plays an important role in cell death. In the present study, we report that teniposide and various other chemotherapeutic agents induced a dose-dependent increase in the expression of the mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins cytochrome c, subunits I and IV of cytochrome c oxidase, and the free radical scavenging enzyme manganous superoxide dismutase. The teniposide-induced increase of cytochrome c was inhibited by cycloheximide, indicating new protein synthesis. Elevated cytochrome c levels were associated with enhanced cytochrome c oxidase-dependent oxygen uptake using TMPD/ascorbate as the electron donor, suggesting that the newly synthesized proteins were functional. Cytochrome c was released into the cytoplasm only after maximal levels had been reached in the mitochondria, but there was no concomitant decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential or caspase activation. Our results suggest that the increase in mitochondrial protein expression may play a role in the early cellular defense against anticancer drugs.Supported by Grant GM-08041 from the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.The results presented in this paper indicate that the phi 29 DNA polymerase is the only enzyme required for efficient synthesis of full length phi 29 DNA with the phi 29 terminal protein, the initiation primer, as the only additional protein requirement. Analysis of phi 29 DNA polymerase activity in various in vitro DNA replication systems indicates that two main reasons are responsible for the efficiency of this minimal system: 1) the phi 29 DNA polymerase is highly processive in the absence of any accessory protein; 2) the polymerase itself is able to produce strand displacement coupled to the polymerization process. Using primed M13 DNA as template, the phi 29 DNA polymerase is able to synthesize DNA chains greater than 70 kilobase pairs. Furthermore, conditions that increase the stability of secondary structure in the template do not affect the processivity and strand displacement ability of the enzyme. Thus, the catalytic properties of the phi 29 DNA polymerase are appropriate for a phi 29 DNA replication mechanism involving two replication origins, strand displacement and continuous synthesis of both strands. The enzymology of phi 29 DNA replication would support a symmetrical model of DNA replication.Aided by grants from the National Institutes of Health U.S. Public Health Service, and E. I. Du Pont de Neumours and Company, Inc.This work was supported in part by NRSA, National Institutes of Health Grants NS09463 and NS32501 and from National Science Foundation Grant 9310965.We have recently developed a new method to detect and characterize single base substitutions in transcribed genes which is based on the ability of RNAse A to recognize and cleave single base mismatches in RNA:RNA heteroduplexes. The RNAse A misrnatch cleavage assay was applied to screen human colon carcinoma cell lines and primary tumors for the presence of mutant e-X-ras oncogenes. We have determined that the mutant e-X-ras allele is overexpressed and amplified relative to the normal in the SX-CO-l human colon carcinoma cell lineo The oncogene mutation has been characterized by this method as a glycine to valine substitution at codon 12 of the e-X-ras gene. This result was confirmed by cloning and sequencing. We have previously reported that about 40% of primary human colon tumors contain e-X-ras genes mutant at codon 12 (Forrester et al, Nature 327: 298, 1987). We report here the characterization by molecular cloning and sequencing of the mutation in the e-X-ras oneogene from two of these tumors (tumors 3 and 28). We also describe the histopathologieal eharaeterization of these two tumors and demonstrate, by Southern blot hybridization of NIH3T3 transformants, the simultaneous presenee of mutant e-X-ras and N-ras oncogenes in villous adenoma 28. Our results provide evidence for the frequent assoeiation of ras somatie mutational aetivation in the early stages of tumor development in this common type of human eaneer.Aided by Grants AM-01845, AM-08953, and l-Sol-FR-05099 from the National Institutes o f Health, United States Public Health Service, and E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. A preliminary report o f this work was presented at the Second Meeting o f the Federation o f European Biochemical Societies (symposium on “Ribonucleic Acid-Structure and Function”), Vienna, April 21 to 24, 1965.1 pagina.-- Trabajo presentado al: 4th International Meeting on Apicomplexa in Farm Animals. (Madrid, Spain. 11-14 October ,2017).Supported by Grant GM-08041 from the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.Resumen del trabajo presentado al XXXIII Congreso de la Sociedad Espanola de Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular celebrado en Cordoba del 14 al 17 de septiembre de 2010.This article describes the expression pattern and functional analysis of Lazarillo, a novel cell surface glycoprotein expressed in the embryonic grasshopper nervous system, and a member of the lipocalin family. Lazarillo is expressed by a subset of neuroblasts, ganglion mother cells and neurons of the central nervous system, by all sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system, and by a subset of neurons of the enteric nervous system. It is also present in a few non neuronal cells associated mainly with the excretory system. A monoclonal antibody raised against Lazarillo perturbs the extent and direction of growth of identified commissural pioneer neurons. We propose that Lazarillo is the receptor for a midline morphogen involved in the outgrowth and guidance of these neurons.Poster presentado al Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students celebrado en California (US) del 7 al 10 de noviembre de 2012.The phage phi 29 regulatory protein p4 activates the late promoter A3 by stabilizing the binding of Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase (RNAP) as a closed complex. Interaction between the two proteins occurs through amino acid Arg120 in protein p4 and the C-terminal domain of the RNAP alpha subunit (alpha-CTD). In addition to its role as activator of the late transcription, protein p4 represses early transcription from the A2b and A2c promoters, that are divergently transcribed. Binding of p4 to its recognition site at the A3 promoter displaces the RNAP from promoter A2b, both by steric hindrance and by the curvature induced upon p4 binding. At the A2c promoter, the RNAP cooperates with p4 binding in such a way that promoter clearance is prevented. Interestingly, amino acid Arg120 in p4 and the alpha-CTD in B. subtilis RNAP are involved in the interactions that lead to transcription repression at promoter A2c. To investigate how this interaction leads to activation at PA3 and to repression at PA2c, mutant promoters were constructed. In the absence of a -35 consensus box for sigma A-RNAP activation was observed, while in its presence repression occurred. The results support the idea that overstabilization of RNAP at the promoter over a threshold level leads to repression.Resumen del poster presentado al XXXIII Congreso de la Sociedad Espanola de Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular celebrado en Cordoba del 14 al 17 de septiembre de 2010.Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens obtained by fine needle aspiration of pancreatic masses from 47 patients were examined retrospectively for cytology and the presence of mutant c-K-ras oncogenes. Point mutations of c-K-ras in codon 12 were detected by RNA-DNA RNAse A mismatch cleavage after in vitro DNA amplification of the cellular c-K-ras sequences by the polymerase chain reaction. Of the 36 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, mutant c-K-ras oncogenes were detected in 18 of 25 (72%) with malignant cytologies, 2 of 8 (25%) with atypical cytologies, and 0 of 3 with benign aspiration cytologies. The remaining 11 patients without pancreatic adenocarcinomas did not have mutant c-K-ras genes detectable by the assay. The diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma was based upon clinical follow-up. The presence of mutant c-K-ras oncogenes did not significantly affect survival in the patients studied. Mutant c-K-ras genes were found at the time of initial clinical presentation in the majority of pancreatic adenocarcinomas, suggesting an important role of the mutation in oncogenesis. In conjunction with cytology, our approach represents an application for cancer diagnosis at the molecular genetic level.Calorie restriction (CR) has been shown to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and retard aging in a variety of species. It has been proposed that alterations in membrane saturation are central to these actions of CR. As a step towards testing this theory, mice were assigned to 4 dietary groups (control and 3 CR groups) and fed AIN-93G diets at 95 % (control) or 60 % (CR) of ad libitum for 8 months. To manipulate membrane composition, the primary dietary fats for the CR groups were soybean oil (also used in the control diet), fish oil or lard. Skeletal muscle mitochondrial lipid composition, proton leak, and H(2)O(2) production were measured. Phospholipid fatty acid composition in CR mice was altered in a manner that reflected the n-3 and n-6 fatty acid profiles of their respective dietary lipid sources. Dietary lipid composition did not alter proton leak kinetics between the CR groups. However, the capacity of mitochondrial complex III to produce ROS was decreased in the CR lard compared to the other CR groups. The results of this study indicate that dietary lipid composition can influence ROS production in muscle mitochondria of CR mice. It remains to be determined if lard or other dietary oils can maximize the CR-induced decreases in ROS production.To investigate the relationship between RNA folding and ribozyme catalysis, we have carried out a detailed kinetic analysis of four structural derivatives of the hairpin ribozyme. Optimal and suboptimal (wild-type) substrate sequences were studied in conjunction with stabilization of helix 4, which supports formation of the catalytic core. Pre-steady-state and steady-state kinetic studies strongly support a model in which each of the ribozyme variants partitions between two major conformations leading to active and inactive ribozymez substrate complexes. Reaction rates for cleavage, ligation, and substrate binding to both ribozyme conformations were determined. Ligation rates (3 min 21 ) were typically 15-fold greater than cleavage rates (0.2 min 21 ), demonstrating that the hairpin ribozyme is an efficient RNA ligase. On the other hand, substrate binding is very rapid (k on 5 4 3 10 8 M 21 min 21 ), and the ribozymez substrate complex is very stable (K D < 25 pM ;k off < 0.01 min 21 ). Stabilization of helix 4 increases the proportion of RNA molecules folded into the active conformation, and enhances substrate association and ligation rates. These effects can be explained by stabilization of the catalytic core of the ribozyme. Rigorous consideration of conformational isomers and their intrinsic kinetic properties was necessary for development of a kinetic scheme for the ribozyme-catalyzed reaction.The human integrin VLA (very late activation antigens)-4 (CD49d/CD29), the leukocyte receptor for both the CS-1 region of plasma fibronectin (Fn) and the vascular cell surface adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), also mediates homotypic aggregation upon triggering with specific anti-VLA-4 monoclonal antibody (mAb). Epitope mapping of this integrin on the human B-cell line Ramos, performed with a wide panel of anti-VLA-4 mAb by both cross-competitive cell binding and protease sensitivity assays, revealed the existence of three topographically distinct epitopes on the alpha 4 chain, referred to as epitopes A-C. By testing this panel of anti-VLA-4 mAb for inhibition of cell binding to both a 38-kDa Fn fragment containing CS-1 and to VCAM-1, as well as for induction and inhibition of VLA-4 mediated homotypic cell adhesion, we have found overlapping but different functional properties associated with each epitope. Anti-alpha 4 mAb recognizing epitope B inhibited cell attachment to both Fn and VCAM-1, whereas mAb against epitope A did not block VCAM-1 binding and only partially inhibited binding to Fn. In contrast, mAb directed to epitope C did not affect cell adhesion to either of the two VLA-4 ligands. All mAb directed to site A, as well as a subgroup of mAb recognizing epitope B (called B2), were able to induce cell aggregation, but this effect was not exerted by mAb specific to site C and by a subgroup against epitope B (called B1). Moreover, although anti-epitope C and anti-epitope B1 mAb did not trigger aggregation, those mAb blocked aggregation induced by anti-epitope A or B2 mAb. In addition, anti-epitope A mAb blocked B2-induced aggregation, and conversely, anti-epitope B2 mAb blocked A-induced aggregation. Further evidence for multiple VLA-4 functions is that anti-Fn and anti-VCAM-1 antibodies inhibited binding to Fn or to VCAM-1, respectively, but did not affect VLA-4-mediated aggregation. In summary, we have demonstrated that there are at least three different VLA-4-mediated adhesion functions, we have defined three distinct VLA-4 epitopes, and we have correlated these epitopes with the different functions of VLA-4.Lazarillo, a protein recognized by the monoclonal antibody 10E6, is expressed by a subset of neurons in the developing nervous system of the grasshopper. It is a glycoprotein of 45x10(3) M(r) with internal disulfide bonds and linked to the extracellular side of the plasma membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol moiety. Peptide sequences obtained from affinity purified adult protein were used to identify an embryonic cDNA clone, and in situ hybridizations confirmed that the distribution of the Lazarillo mRNA paralleled that of the monoclonal antibody labeling on embryos. Sequence analysis defines Lazarillo as a member of the lipocalin family, extracellular carriers of small hydrophobic ligands, and most related to the porphyrin- and retinol-binding lipocalins. Lazarillo is the first example of a lipocalin anchored to the plasma membrane, highly glycosylated, and restricted to a subset of developing neurons.Trabajo presentado al Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students celebrada en Nashville (US) del 13 al 16 de noviembre de 2013.A cDNA has been isolated from human hippocampus that appears to encode a novel Na(+)-dependent, Cl(-)-independent, neutral amino acid transporter. The putative protein, designated SATT, is 529 amino acids long and exhibits significant amino acid sequence identity (39-44%) with mammalian L-glutamate transporters. Expression of SATT cDNA in HeLa cells induced stereospecific uptake of L-serine, L-alanine, and L-threonine that was not inhibited by excess (3 mM) 2-(methylamino)-isobutyric acid, a specific substrate for the System A amino acid transporter. SATT expression in HeLa cells did not induce the transport of radiolabeled L-cysteine, L-glutamate, or related dicarboxylates. Northern blot hybridization revealed high levels of SATT mRNA in human skeletal muscle, pancreas, and brain, intermediate levels in heart, and low levels in liver, placenta, lung, and kidney. SATT transport characteristics are similar to the Na(+)-dependent neutral amino acid transport activity designated System ASC, but important differences are noted. These include: 1) SATTs apparent low expression in ASC-containing tissues such as liver or placenta; 2) the lack of mutual inhibition between serine and cysteine; and 3) the lack of trans-stimulation. SATT may represent one of multiple activities that exhibit System ASC-like transport characteristics in diverse tissues and cell lines.

Valoración de la respuesta inmunitaria local y periférica en la toxoplasmosis en ovejas experimentalmente infectadas en los diferentes tercios de la gestación

Tesis llevada a cabo para conseguir el grado de Doctor por la Universidad de Complutense de Madrid.--2018-01-15.--Sobresaliente cum laudeContiene 7 documentos (1. Objetivos, alcance y publicaciones. 2. Registro y codigo) y 5 con el softwareespanolLas ciber amenazas afectan a todo tipo de organizaciones, causando frecuentes y costosos impactos globalmente. Recientemente, han surgido productos de ciberseguro con el potencial de reducir el impacto de los riesgos en el ciberespacio. Sin embargo, aun tienen que madurar. En este articulo presentamos varios modelos de analisis de riesgos que podrian facilitar la implantacion y adopcion de ciberseguros. Estos modelos, descritos como diagramas de influencia y diagramas de influencia bi-agente, aportan un marco para estimar el impacto economico de los ciber riesgos a los que se enfrentan aseguradores y asegurados, asi como tambien para calcular sus estrategias optimas de mitigacion y transferencia del riesgo. EnglishCyber threats affect all kinds of organisations with frequent and costly impacts worldwide. Cyber insurance products have recently emerged with the potential of lowering the impact of cyberspace risks. However, they have yet to mature. In this paper we present several risk analysis models that may facilitate the implementation and adoption of cyber insurance. These models, described in terms of influence diagrams and bi-agent influence diagrams, provide a framework for estimating the economic impact of cyber risks that may face insurers and insurees as well as calculating their optimal risk mitigation and transfer strategies.Trabajo presentado a la III Iberoamerican Conference on Supercritical Fluids celebrada en Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) del 1 al 5 de abril de 2013.Trabajo presentado a la 26th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, celebrada en Kyoto (Japon) del 17 al 22 de octubre de 2016.The Joint Iberian Meeting on Atomic and Molecular Physics (IBER), Barcelona, September 12-14th, 2017. -- http://iber2017.com/index.phpPoster presentado en el 10o Congreso de la Asociacion Iberica de Endocrinologia Comparada AIEC, celebrado en Castellon, Espana, del 23 al 25 de septiembre de 2015Resumen del trabajo presentado a la XI Reunion del Grupo de Microbiologia Molecular, celebrada en Sevilla del 6 al 8 de septiembre de 2016.Chinchilla-Rodriguez, Zaida; Miguel, Sandra; Perianes-Rodriguez, Antonio; Ovalle-Perandones, Antonia; Olmeda-Gomez, Carlos. (2016). Autonomy vs. dependency of scientific collaboration in scientific performance . 21st International Conference on Science and Technology Indicators, STI2016. Valencia, Spain, 14-16 September 2016XXV National Spectroscopy Meeting (XXV RNE), IX Iberian Spectroscopy Conference (IX CIE), Alicante, 20th-22nd July, 2016Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 43rd International Conference on Micro and Nano Engineering (MNE), celebrada en Braga (Portugal) del 18 al 22 de septiembre de 2017.Contiene 7 documentos (1. Objetivos, alcance y publicaciones. 2. Registro, interface y codigo) y 5 con el softwarePoster presentado en el congreso 4th SCARCE International Conference, celebrado en Cadiz, Espana el 25 y 26 de noviembre de 2013We present a Cultural Heritage conceptual data model built under the European INSPIRE ( Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community ) Directive. Our model develops the Data Specification on Protected Sites , part of the INSPIRE Annex I. Hence its orientation towards georeferenced heritage data. The data model has been developed by an interdisciplinary group made up of specialists in the field of Geomatics and Cultural Heritage. It is our aim to achieve a generic, extendable and interoperable schema. It should be generic enough to embrace all kind of protected heritage data, from an ancient pilgrim’s way to the last artifact found in an archaeological excavation, extendable to allow any kind of data producer to adapt the model to the nature of their own information and interoperable to combine spatial data sets from different sources through network services, via Internet. The achievement of these three characteristics features international norms and standards referred to our kind of data. This implies adaptation to INSPIRE as well as to several ISO norms: ISO 19100 series regarding geographical information, ISO 21127 (CIDOC-CRM Model) for heritage thematic data and ISO 15836 (Dublin Core) for document resources. The data model comprehends two main dimensions: cultural entities in a strict sense, and the legislative figures created to protect them. This allows for the representation of cultural objects (i.e. historical buildings or archaeological sites) and their link to their legislative protection, keeping them as separate realities. In order to describe the data model, an international common language has been used: UML (Unified Modeling Language), a standard itself. Thus, we present a class-diagram depicting all legal and cultural entities, in the form of classes with their corresponding relations, attributes, constraints and stereotypes.Trabajo presentado en el 11th Spanish-Italian Symposium on Organic Chemistry SISOC-XI celebrado en San Sebastian (Espana), del 13 al 15 de julio de 2016.Trabajo presentado en el XVIII Congreso Peruano de Geologia, celebrado en Lima (Peru), del 16 al 19 de octubre de 2016Poster presentado en las XXXIII Jornadas de la Asociacion Espanola de Entomologia, celebradas en Almeria, del 15 al 18 de noviembre de 2017This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through research projects POSTFIRE (CGL2013-47862-C2-1-R) and GEOFIRE (CGL2012-38655-C04-01)The main contribution of this work is the improvement of the efficiency of a PEMFC power system while guaranteeing conditions that also improve its durability. Adopting the NMPC scheme with the distributed parameter model and the nonlinear observer, the efficiency of the PEMFC-based system can be maximized guaranteeing at the same time the appropriate internal gas concentration profiles to avoid global and local hydrogen and oxygen starvation and proper membrane humidification.Trabajo presentado en la 13a Reunion de la Red Espanola de Bacterias Lacticas (RedBAL), celebrada en Madrid (Espana) del 17 al 18 de junio de 2019Memoria de tesis doctoral presentada por Uxue Tilves Matheu para obtener el titulo de Doctora en Ciencias del Mar por la Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), realizada bajo la direccion de la Dra. Ana Maria Sabates Freijo y de la Dra. Veronica Lorena Fuentes del Institut de Ciencies del Mar (ICM-CSIC).-- 149 pages, appendicesTrabajo presentado por Nuria Vallverdu Coll para la obtencion del grado de Master universitario en investigacion basica y aplicada en recursos cinegeticos, realizado en el Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM).Resumen del poster presentado a la 7th International Conference on Polyphenols and Health, celebrada en Tours (Francia) del 27 al 30 de octubre de 2015.Trabajo financiado con el Proyecto DR3AMCGL2014-55118 del MINECO (Proyecto coordinado del proyecto SALTACRES).Trabajo presentado en el Congreso Iberoamericano de Hidrogeno y Pilas de Combustible, celebrado en Barcelona (Espana) del 15 al 17 de octubre de 2014.El presente articulo describe el empleo del flujo de diseno basado en modelos para el desarrollo de bloques reconfigurables automaticamente para el procesado de imagenes sobre FPGA. Para ello se han concebido arquitecturas hardware que aprovechan caracteristicas especificas de algunos algoritmos de procesado y que pueden ser modificadas a traves de un novedoso procedimiento software. Este aspecto, unido a las restantes opciones de parametrizacion de los diferentes modulos, permite liberar al disenador de los detalles especificos de las implementaciones hardware asi como adaptar el consumo de recursos del FPGA a las necesidades de la aplicacion. El proceso de reconfiguracion automatica se ilustra con el bloque de convolucion generico realizando comparaciones entre implementaciones de diferentes arquitecturas sobre un FPGA Spartan-6 LX45.Trabajo presentado en el 8th European Meeting on Solar Chemistry and Photocatalysis, celebrado en Salonica (Grecia) del 25 al 28 de Junio de 2014.Resumen del poster presentado a las I Jornadas Cientificas del CIAL celebradas el 5 de junio de 2014 en Madrid.-- et al.Trabajo presentado en el 4th International Conodont Symposium, celebrado en Valencia (Espana), del 25 al 30 de junio de 2017Comunicacion presentada en el Aquaculture Europe 2014, celebrado en Donostia-San Sebastian, Espana, del 14 al 17 de octubre de 2014Triptico de la reunion celebrada en la Universidad de Murcia del 12 al 14 de Noviembre de 2015.Trabajo presentado en la 11a Reunion de la Red Espanola de Bacterias Lacticas (RedBAL), celebrada en Gijon (Asturias, Espana) del 28 al 30 de Junio de 2017Trabajo Fin de Master: Master en Catalisis Homogenea y Quimica Molecular. Grupo de Cristales liquidos y Polimeros, Departamento de Quimica Organica de la Universidad de Zaragoza (Curso 2014/2015).La elaboracion de este articulo se inscribe en el proyecto de investigacion “Innovacion oculta: cambio de paradigma en los estudios de innovacion” (FFI2011-25475), Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Gobierno de Espana.Poster presented at the 18th International Microscopy Congress (ICM 2014) that took place in Prague (Czech Republic) during 7-12th September 2014.Esta investigacion ha sido posible gracias a la financiacion de los proyectos del Plan Nacional CGL2012-36682 y CGL2016-75109-P del Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, y al Convenio Principado de Asturias-Universidad de Oviedo y MNCN-CSIC.Resumen del poster presentado a la 10th International Conference one Carbon Metabolism, vitamins B and Homocysteine, celebrada en Nancy (Francia) del 7 al 11 de julio de 2015.La celulosa es la fuente de energia mas abundante que hay en la Tierra. Su transformacion en glucosa se considera la etapa mas importante en la produccion de biocombustibles a partir de biomasa lignocelulosica. Para esta transformacion es necesaria la accion sinergica de tres tipos de enzimas que hidrolizan los enlaces s-1,4 de la celulosa: (i) las endoglucanasas, que actuan al azar sobre enlaces internos, (ii) las celobiohidrolasas, que operan progresivamente por los extremos reductores y no reductores de la cadena, y (iii) las s-glucosidasas (BGL), que hidrolizan celobiosa y los celooligosacaridos mas pequenos hasta glucosa. Los hongos filamentosos son la principal fuente de celulasas, siendo los crudos del genero Trichoderma los mas estudiados y comercializados historicamente. Sin embargo, estos hongos secretan niveles insuficientes de BGL para una conversion efectiva de la celulosa, por lo que con frecuencia requieren ser suplementados con preparaciones ricas en esta enzima procedentes de otros hongos. Recientemente, se han descrito cepas de Penicillium con gran capacidad para secretar altos niveles de BGL al medio extracelular. Ademas de su papel en la hidrolisis de la celulosa las BGL tambien pueden emplearse para sintetizar compuestos de interes industrial mediante reacciones de transglicosilacion. En este trabajo se ha estudiado una nueva cepa fungica productora de celulasas, identificada como Talaromyces amestolkiae, en base a un analisis molecular y morfologico. Se han purificado a homogeneidad electroforetica tres BGL (BGL-1, BGL-2 y BGL-3) secretadas por el hongo y se han caracterizado bioquimicamente. BGL-1 y BGL-2 son proteinas monomericas, mientras que BGL-3 es un dimero funcional. Los valores de actividad maxima de estas enzimas se obtuvieron a pH 4,0 y entre 50-60 oC, siendo estables en un rango de pH de 4-7 y a 50 oC. Las tres mostraron distinto comportamiento en funcion del sustrato (pNPG o celobiosa), ensayandose tambien el efecto de determinados compuestos quimicos e inhibidores en su actividad. Las tres pueden hidrolizar celooligosacaridos de diferente longitud, disminuyendo la eficacia de hidrolisis con el aumento de la polimerizacion, y no son activas frente a polisacaridos. Ademas, mostraron actividad de transglicosilacion, formando alquilglicosidos y celooligosacaridos de mayor longitud que los usados como sustratos. Las tres BGL se identificaron mediante huella peptidica y en base la alta homologia con otras BGL fungicas relacionadas filogeneticamente, se disenaron cebadores especificos que permitieron la secuenciacion de los genes que codifican cada una de ellas. El analisis de las secuencias aminoacidicas mostro que BGL-1 es miembro de la familia 1 de las glicosil hidrolasas, mientras que BGL-2 y BGL-3 pertenecen a la familia 3. Teniendo en cuenta que existen pocas BGL fungicas cristalizadas, se construyeron modelos moleculares de estas ultimas en base a las estructuras con las que presentaron mayor identidad. El crudo enzimatico de T. amestolkiae, rico en BGL, se uso de forma individual y como suplemento de otros cocteles comerciales en experimentos de sacarificacion a partir de slurry acido de paja de trigo. Los resultados obtenidos indican que el hongo secreta, ademas de celulasas, otras enzimas complementarias que potencian la liberacion de azucares fermentables. Se analizo el secretoma de T. amestolkiae usando Avicel o slurry acido de paja de trigo como fuente de carbono. Las celulasas fueron las enzimas mas abundantes en ambas condiciones, sin embargo, en el crudo obtenido a partir de los cultivos en slurry aumento la proporcion de BGL y otras enzimas distintas a las celulasas, indicando que para la degradacion de un sustrato complejo es necesaria mayor diversidad enzimatica. Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo abren nuevas vias para la formulacion de cocteles enzimaticos eficaces en el contexto de la degradacion de la biomasa lignocelulosica.Trabajo presentado en el 4th International Congress on Ichnology - ICHNIA 2016: Ichnology for the 21st century: (Palaeo) Biological Traces towards Sustainable Development, celebrado en Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal), del 6 al 9 de mayo de 2016Resumen del trabajo presentado al Joint European Magnetic Symposia (JEMS), celebrado en Glasgow (UK) del 21 al 26 de agosto de 2016.Vazquez, J. T. ... et. al.-- Inciativa Iberica para el Estudio de las Fallas Activas, Tercera Reunion Iberica sobre Fallas Activas y Paleosismologia IBERFAULT 2018 - Third Iberian Meeting on Active Faults and Paleoseismology, 11-13 June 2018, Alicante, Spain.-- 4 pages, 2 figuresLa infeccion temprana por Verticillium dahliae en olivar y la discriminacion entre niveles de severidad de la Verticilosis es viable mediante la utilizacion de imagenes termicas, multiespectrales e hiperespectrales adquiridas con vehiculos aereos no tripulados a escala de parcela o tripulados a escala de comarca. El indicador relacionado con la temperatura de copa (CWSI), indices de reflectancia (B, BG1, BR1) y la fluorescencia clorofilica (FLD3) se identifican como buenos indicadores para detectar la Verticilosis en etapas tempranas del desarrollo de la enfermedad, mientras que NDVI, PRI515, R/G, HI e indices de estimacion de clorofila y carotenos demuestran ser buenos indicadores para la cuantificacion de dano moderado o severo causada por Verticilosis, lo que puede ser de utilidad para el diseno de estrategias de control de la Verticilosis a escala de parcela y de comarca. La infeccion temprana por Verticillium dahliae en olivar y la discriminacion entre niveles de severidad de la Verticilosis es viable mediante la utilizacion de imagenes termicas, multiespectrales e hiperespectrales adquiridas con vehiculos aereos no tripulados a escala de parcela o tripulados a escala de comarca. El indicador relacionado con la temperatura de copa (CWSI), indices de reflectancia (B, BG1, BR1) y la fluorescencia clorofilica (FLD3) se identifican como buenos indicadores para detectar la Verticilosis en etapas tempranas del desarrollo de la enfermedad, mientras que NDVI, PRI515, R/G, HI e indices de estimacion de clorofila y carotenos demuestran ser buenos indicadores para la cuantificacion de dano moderado o severo causada por Verticilosis, lo que puede ser de utilidad para el diseno de estrategias de control de la Verticilosis a escala de parcela y de comarca. El olivo (Olea europaea L.) es el cultivo lenoso no tropical que ocupa mayor superficie en todo el mundo, con el 95% de la produccion mundial localizada en la cuenca mediterranea. Espana es el pais con mayor superficie de olivar del mundo con 2,6 MHa y aproximadamente el 39% de la produccion mundial. La Verticilosis, causada por el hongo de suelo Verticillium dahliae Kleb, constituye la principal amenaza para el olivar. Esta enfermedad afecta al olivo en todos los paises de tradicion olivarera y causa importantes perdidas de rendimiento y muerte de los arboles (Jimenez-Diaz y col., 2012). Este patogeno coloniza el sistema vascular de la planta, bloqueando el flujo del agua y finalmente induciendo estres hidrico (Van Alfen, 1989).Espana es el mayor productor de citricos de la Union Europea y el quinto a nivel mundial, con una produccion anual superior a cinco millones de toneladas (MAGRAMA, 2016). Este sector genera una gran cantidad de subproductos, con un elevado aporte energetico y alto contenido en pectinas y azucares, por lo que podrian usarse como materias primas en dietas para rumiantes. Sin embargo, los subproductos de citricos son muy diversos, por lo que su composicion quimica y valor nutritivo tambien puede ser variable (FEDNA, 2010; Feedipedia, 2016). El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar la composicion quimica y la produccion de gas in vitro de subproductos de citricos producidos en nuestro pais.Resumen del trabajo presentado a las I Jornadas Cientificas del CIAL celebradas el 5 de junio de 2014 en Madrid.The Indian Summer Monsoon onset is one of the meteorological events most anticipated in the world. Due to its relevance for the population, the India Meteorological Department has dated the onset over the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula (Kerala) since 1901. The traditional method to date the onset was based in the judgment of skilled meteorologist and because of this, the method was considered subjective and not adequate for the study of long-term changes in the onset.Resumen del poster presentado a las I Jornadas Cientificas del CIAL celebradas el 5 de junio de 2014 en Madrid.Trabajo presentado en el European Workshop on Experimental and Behavioral Economics (EWEBE), organizado por la Universidad de Bologna los dias 26 y 27 de mayo de 2017 con el titulo: The impact of deliberative structures on voting behavio.--Trabajo presentado en los Bilkent Microeconomics Seminars organizados por la Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey) el dia 29 de noviembre de 2017La compacidad del racimo es un rasgo de gran interes en la vid, dado que puede condicionar su calidad y rendimiento. Estos efectos se producen fundamentalmente a traves de su relacion, directa o indirecta, con la arquitectura del racimo, el comportamiento reproductivo y el grado o modo de exposicion de las bayas al ambiente. Respecto a los dos primeros, en un estudio previo, determinamos que tanto la longitud del raquis y sus primeras ramas como el numero de bayas por racimo son los caracteres con mayor incidencia en la compacidad entre los analizados. Ahora bien, el estudio de la base genetica responsable del numero de bayas requiere de su diseccion previa, dado que es una variable secundaria, resultado del numero de flores por inflorescencia y de la tasa de cuajado o conversion de flor en fruto. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio preliminar en el que se han caracterizado fenotipicamente 104 variedades de vid para estudiar su comportamiento reproductivo. Asi, sobre una base amplia de diversidad varietal, se han estimado variables como el numero de flores, la tasa de cuajado, corrimiento, millerandage, etc., evaluando su posible relacion con la compacidad del racimo. Este trabajo, una vez completado durante varios anos, permitira conocer la diversidad existente para el comportamiento reproductivo en la vid, asi como, de forma mas concreta, abordar la caracterizacion de los procesos geneticos responsables de las diferencias fenotipicas detectadas para el comportamiento reproductivo y sus elementos individuales y para la compacidad del racimo, identificando los posibles genes involucrados en dichos procesos.Trabajo presentado en la 11th International Conference on Grapevine Breeding and Genetics, celebrada en Pekin del 29 de julio al 2 de agosto de 2014.The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) is the first deep-space solar spectropolarimeter, on-board the Solar Orbiter (SO) space mission. It faces: stringent requirements on science data accuracy, a dynamic environment, and severe limitations on telemetry volume. SO/PHI overcomes these restrictions through on-board instrument calibration and science data reduction, using dedicated firmware in FPGAs. This contribution analyses the accuracy of a data processing pipeline by comparing the results obtained with SO/PHI hardware to a reference from a ground computer. The results show that for the analysed pipeline the error introduced by the firmware implementation is well below the requirements of SO/PHI.This work has been financed within the framework of the projects P/309307 Arqueoastronomia of the IAC, and Orientatio ad sidera III (AYA2011-26759) of the Spanish MINECO. ACGG is Ramon y Cajal researcher of the MINECO.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el proyecto RECUPERA 2020 del MINECO y EU-FEDER; y por el proyecto TRANS·FORMA (PP.TRA.TAA201600.9). La investigacion realizada por E. Rodriguez ha sido realizada gracias al programa DOC-INIA (INIA-FEDER).Trabajo presentado en el XXIV Congreso Iberoamericano de Catalisis (CICat 2014), “Catalisis para Biorrefineria”, celebrado en Medellin del 11 al 13 de septiembre de 2014.2 paginas y 1 tabla.- Trabajo presentado en el IX Congreso de Mejora Genetica de Plantas celebrado en Murcia entre el 18 y el 20 de septiembre de 2018.3 paginas, 1 tabla, 1 figura.--Trabajo presentado a las XVI Jornadas sobre Produccion Animal AIDA (Zaragoza, 19 al 20 de mayo, 2015).Poster presentado en el XVI International Clay Conference from the Oceans to Space Granada, Spain, July 17-21, (2017)XIII Reunion Iberica de Algas Toxicas y Biotoxinas Marinas (REDIBAL 2018) - XIII Reunion Iberica de Fitoplancton Toxico - XIII Iberian Toxic Algae and Marine Biotoxins Meeting, VI Simposio Internacional de Ciencias del Mar - VI International Symposium of Marine Sciences (ISMS 2018), 20- 22 June 2018, Vigo.-- 2 pagesThis research was financed with project AGL2011-22783 granted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness. M.C. Soto was supported by a CONACYT (Mexican Council of Sciences and Technology) doctoral fellowship.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (grants CGL2012-36251 and CGL2015-64727-P to X.B., and BFU2010-15906 to JLM), and Catalan Government (2014 SGR 619). The research has also benefited from FEDER funds.Trabajo presentado en el IX International Symposium on Grapevine Physiology and Biotechnology, celebrado en La Serena (Chile) del 21 al 26 de abril de 2013.5 paginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla.--Trabajo presentado a las: XLI Jornadas Cientificas y XVII Jornadas Internacionales de Ovinotecnia y Caprinotecnia. (Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Espana, 14-16 septiembre, 2016).Se presenta una revisión histórica de los equinodermos Ordovícicos de Portugal. Todos los registros conocidos hasta el momento pertenecen al Ordovícico Medio-Superior (Darriwiliense-Katiense) y las asociaciones presentan gran diversidad aunque en general los taxones están poco o mal conocidos. La mayor parte de los yacimientos se concentran en las regiones de Amêndoa-Mação y Buçaco, aunque también existen citas de equinodermos en Arouca, Dornes, Moncorvo y Valongo. Por último se comentan futuras líneas de trabajo que ayudarán a comprender mejor estas faunas, perfeccionar y completar el conocimiento del registro fósil del grupo en el Ordovícico centroibérico. Ordovician echinoderms from Portugal: state of the artResumen del trabajo presentado al 37o Convegno Internazionale dei Docenti della Rappresentazione de la Unione Italiana Disegno (UDI), celebrado en Torino (Italia) del 17 al 19 de septiembre de 2015.Trabajo presentado al Danish Days on Caloric Materials and Devices, celebrado en Roskilde (Dinamarca) del 2 al 3 de octubre de 2017.Trabajo presentado en el ImageNano 2015 (Bringing together Nanoscience and Nanotechnology), celebrado en Bilbao del 10 al 13 de marzo de 2015.Este estudio ha sido financiado por el proyecto AGL-2012-40172-C02-01 del Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO). AEF agradece al MINECO la financiacion de su contrato de investigacion (FPI).We present a detailed study of a X -ray selected sample of 5 submillimeter bright QSOs at

Influencia del procesamiento histológico del encéfalo fetal sobre la detección de lesiones en abortos ovinos

z\sim2

Experimental infection with Besnoitia besnoiti tachyzoites in calves and young bulls

, where the highest rates of star formation (SF) and further growth of black holes (BH) occur. Therefore, this sample is a great laboratory to investigate the co-evolution of star formation and AGN. We present here the analysis of the spectral energy distributions (SED) of the 5 QSOS, including new data from Herschel PACS and SPIRE. Both AGN components (direct and reprocessed) and like Star Formation (SF) are needed to model its SED. From the SED and their UV-optical spectra we have estimated the mass of the black hole (

Dose-titration of virulent Neospora caninum isolate Nc-Spain7 in pregnant sheep at 90 days of gestation

M_{BH} = 10^9 - 10^{10} M_{SUN}

Leucomalacia periventricular fetal asociada al aborto durante la fase aguda de la toxoplasmosis ovina

) and bolometric luminosities of AGN (

Abortos de fase aguda en la toxoplasmosis ovina. Caracterización lesional y posible patogenia

L_{BOL} = (0.8-20) \times 10^{13} L_{SUN}