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According to recent population studies of Latinx (1) in the United States from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, the Latinx population reached 62.5 million in 2021, accounting for [...]

Using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values, we analyzed the trophic position (TP) and the isotopic niche width of lanternfishes from three different areas in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Fishes from Perú had slightly higher [delta].sup.13C values compared with fish from Chilean areas. In contrast, [delta].sup.15N values increased with latitude (North to South). Myctophids TP differed between the three study areas (highest in Central Chile, lowest in Peru). Peruvian fishes had a smaller isotopic niche than the lanternfishes of those from Chile., Author(s): Carolina Cárcamo [sup.1] , Pepe Espinoza [sup.2] [sup.3] , Carlos Canales-Cerro [sup.4] , Stephanny Curaz-Leiva [sup.5] , Ana Brisca Guzman-Castellanos [sup.1] [sup.6] , Ivonne Quintanilla [sup.7] , Fernanda Vargas [...]

The objective of this study was to analyze children's perceptions of characters who try to disguise expressions of success and failure in situations of social comparison. In the case of upward comparison, when the character was surpassed by a peer, his/her expression was either one of disparagement or of admiration for the successful peer. In downward comparison situations, the character gained public social recognition for his/her achievement, and s/he expressed either modesty (self-depreciation) or immodesty. From these expressions of the character, participants (six and eight years old; N = 100) assessed the character's ability and niceness, and the appropriateness of his/her attitude. All the children reported that the unsuccessful envious character in the disparagement condition was unskillful and unfriendly, and his/her response was inappropriate; conversely, in the admiration condition, the unsuccessful character was considered skillful, friendly, and appropriate. Moreover, all participants believed that the successful character was skillful, regardless of his/her modest or immodest response. Only eight-year-olds considered the immodest response to be inappropriate and nasty. We discuss the results considering the consequences of following display rules and the dilemma of being honest in both social situations., Author(s): Laura Quintanilla [sup.1] , Marta Giménez-Dasí [sup.2] , Elena Gaviria [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.10702.34, 0000 0001 2308 8920, Departament of Methodology of Behavioral Science, Faculty of Psychology, National [...]

Biodiesel from four different renewable resources was produced. An optimization of the reference methodology by gas chromatography was conducted based on the construction of calibration curves for each biodiesel during fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) quantification. Therefore, in the proposed optimized methodology, pure commercial standards are not necessary. Consequently, a reduction in the research expenses is achieved, making this methodology a cost-effective alternative for FAME quantification. The calibration curves obtained for each biodiesel presented slope values between 0.5-0.7 and regression coefficients (R.sup.2) > 0.98 in all cases. These results were compared to those obtained by the conventional methodology. With respect to the validation of the optimized methodology, a comparison of the results obtained by this proposed methodology and the reference one is presented. Finally, a robust and promising technique to quantify FAME present in biodiesel was successfully developed in this study., Author(s): Erika L. Ponce A [sup.1], Valeria Ochoa-Herrera [sup.1] [sup.2], Francisco Quintanilla [sup.1], David A. Egas [sup.3], José R. Mora [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.412251.1, 0000 0000 9008 4711, Colegio [...]

A discussion facilitated by Jason Magabo Perez, Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University (CSU), San Marcos. Featuring commentary and analysis of the statements of solidarity curated by Natchee Blu Barnd included in this issue. KEYWORDS activism, ethnic studies, Statements of Solidarity, This historical conjuncture demands deep reflection, critical imagination, and continued action. In the midst of popular protest against continued state-sanctioned anti-Black violence; in the midst of an ongoing pandemic that [...]

Oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) is a promising approach in which WT or engineered viruses selectively replicate and destroy tumor cells while sparing normal ones. In the last two decades, different oncolytic viruses (OVs) have been modified and tested in a number of preclinical studies, some of which have led to clinical trials in cancer patients. These clinical trials have revealed several critical limitations with regard to viral delivery, spread, resistance, and antiviral immunity. Here, we focus on promising research strategies that have been developed to overcome the aforementioned obstacles. Such strategies include engineering OVs to target a broad spectrum of tumor cells while evading the immune system, developing unique delivery mechanisms, combining other immunotherapeutic agents with OVT, and using clinically translatable mouse tumor models to potentially translate OVT more readily into clinical settings., Introduction Oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) is a promising approach in which viruses selectively replicate in and destroy tumor cells while sparing normal ones. The biological amplification of oncolytic viruses (OVs) by [...]

In this essay we argue that the notion of machine necessarily includes its being designed for a purpose. Therefore, being a mechanical system is not enough for being a machine. Since the experimental scientific method excludes any consideration of finality on methodological grounds, it is then also insufficient to fully understand what machines are. Instead in order to understand a machine it is first required to understand its purpose, along with its structure, in clear parallel with Aristotle's final and formal causes. Obviously, purpose and structure are not machine components that can physically interact with other components; nonetheless they are essential to understanding their operation. This casts an interesting light on the relationship between mind and body: for just as an artifact's finality and structure explain its operation, so also consciousness is the explanation-not the efficient cause-of specifically human behavior. What machines and human beings have in common is that, in order to understand them, it is necessary to appeal to the principle of finality. Yet while finality is given and extrinsic in the case of machines, we human beings are characterized by the ability to self-propose our own ends. Since the principle of finality is essential to understanding the production of machines, the traditional view in modern Western philosophy that finality lies beyond the scope of objective/scientific knowledge should be rectified to allow for a genuine science of the artificial. We think a correct understanding of final causality will overcome current resistance to this principle., Author(s): Gonzalo Génova [sup.1] , Ignacio Quintanilla Navarro [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 2168 9183, grid.7840.b, Departamento de Informática, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, , Avda. Universidad 30, 28911, [...]

Dormant or slow-cycling tumor cells can form a residual chemoresistant reservoir responsible for relapse in patients, years after curative surgery and adjuvant therapy. We have adapted the pulse-chase expression of H2BeGFP for labeling and isolating slow-cycling cancer cells (SCCCs). SCCCs showed cancer initiation potential and enhanced chemoresistance. Cells at this slow-cycling status presented a distinctive nongenetic and cell- autonomous gene expression profile shared across different tumor types. We identified TET2 epigenetic enzyme as a key factor controlling SCCC numbers, survival, and tumor recurrence. 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), generated by TET2 enzymatic activity, labeled the SCCC genome in carcinomas and was a predictive biomarker of relapse and survival in cancer patients. We have shown the enhanced chemoresistance of SCCCs and revealed 5hmC as a biomarker for their clinical identification and TET2 as a potential drug target for SCCC elimination that could extend patients' survival., Introduction Cancer remains a deadly disease since patients often relapse after surgery and adjuvant therapy, progressing to advanced metastatic stages (1). Recent studies have shown that cancer cells, beyond their [...]

A quantitative study of the helicoidal bubble stability (HBS) of five different HDPE bimodal resins processed under the same conditions was conducted to determine their natural frequencies and how these are related to molecular weight distribution features and typical viscoelastic data. The natural frequency [ω.sub.n], of each resin was obtained by representing the HBS phenomenon as an undamped system under the influence of a harmonic force, whose solution required force balance and Fourier series analyses of video-recorded oscillations of the bubbles. It was found that [ω.sub.n] was directly related to the stability grading on these bimodal resins established by experimental technicians running the blown film line. The same trends were observed when comparing with the entanglement index, [Mw.sub.B]/Me, the characteristic retardation time [t.sub.67%] obtained from recovery compliance data, and the cross-over point frequency (COP). These trends were not linear, indicating perhaps the existence of a percolation threshold for [ω.sub.n] with respect to the entanglement index and to the mentioned rheological parameters., INTRODUCTION Films are primarily used in the packaging industry for food and other consumer products. One method for producing films with a good balance of mechanical properties is film blowing. [...]

Chagas disease, an often deadly disease widespread in the Americas, is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (1,2) and transmitted by hematophageous triatomine insects (3). In southern South America [...]

Klotho is a potent regulator of 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [[[1,25(OH).sub.2]D.sub.3]] formation and calcium-phosphate metabolism. Klotho-hypomorphic mice (kl/kl mice) suffer from severe growth deficits, rapid aging, hyper-phosphatemia, hyperaldosteronism, and extensive vascular and soft tissue calcification. Sequelae of klotho deficiency are similar to those of end-stage renal disease. We show here that the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone reduced vascular and soft tissue calcification and increased the life span of kl/kl mice, without significant effects on [[1,25(OH).sub.2]D .sub.3], FGF23, calcium, and phosphate plasma concentrations. Spironolactone also reduced the expression of osteoinductive Pit1 and Tnfa mRNA, osteogenic transcription factors, and alkaline phosphatase (Alpl) in calcified tissues of kl/kl mice. In human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs), aldosterone dose-dependently increased PIT1 mRNA expression, an effect paralleled by increased expression of osteogenic transcription factors and enhanced ALP activity. The effects of aldosterone were reversed by both spironolactone treatment and PIT1 silencing and were mitigated by FGF23 cotreatment in HAoSMCs. In conclusion, aldosterone contributes to vascular and soft tissue calcification, an effect due, at least in part, to stimulation of spironolactone-sensitive, PIT1-dependent osteoinductive signaling., Introduction Cardiovascular events are the leading cause of death in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD), and patients with CKD are considered among the highest risk group for cardio-vascular [...]

Phytomedicine doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2011.06.035 ARTICLE INFO Keywords; Boswellia serrata Diabetes Blood glucose Histochemistry Cytokines Pancreatic islets ABSTRACT Type 1-diabetes is an autoimmune disease, where a chronic inflammatory process finally causes β-cell [...]

Concern about pork quality has increased during last decades. Given the influence of fat content and composition on sensorial, nutritional, and technological variables of pork meat, an accurate knowledge about genetic control of pig lipid metabolism is required. This study focused on providing a broad characterization for serum and meat lipid trait heritability estimates in pigs. Analyses were performed on a population of 370 Duroc barrows and measured the additive polygenic background for the serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglyceride, and low- and high-density lipoproteins at 45 and 190 d of age (at slaughter), as well as intramuscular fat, cholesterol content, and C:12 to C:22 fatty acid content in longissimus thoracis et lumborum and gluteus medius muscles at slaughter. These traits were analyzed under Bayesian univariate animal linear models, and the statistical relevance of heritability estimates was evaluated through Bayes factor (BF); the model with polygenic additive effects was favored when BF >1. All serum lipid traits showed relevant genetic determinism, but the BF reached greater values at 190 d of age. Serum lipid traits displayed moderate modal estimates for heritability that ranged from 0.18 to 0.30. On the other hand, the genetic determinism for meat quality traits showed a heterogeneous behavior with large and less-than-1 BF. In general, longissimus thoracis et lumborum and gluteus medius muscles showed a similar pattern, with strong evidence of polygenic additive effects for intramuscular fat and palmitic, stearic, and cis-vaccenic fatty acids content, whereas oleic and muscle cholesterol content showed moderate to weak BF with moderate heritabilities. Similarly, results regarding linoleic, arachidonic, n-3, and n-6 fatty acids suggested a moderate genetic determinism, but only in gluteus medius muscle. For the remaining traits (myristic and palmitoleic fatty acids in both muscles, along with linoleic, arachidonic, n-3, and n-6 fatty acids in the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle), no statistical evidence for genetic control was observed in this study. As a whole, these results confirm the complexity of lipid metabolism in pigs. Key words: Bayes factor, cholesterol, fatty acid, heritability, lipoprotein, meat quality doi: 10.2527/jas.2009-2205

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.11.004 Byline: Alberto L. Teixido (a), Luis G. Quintanilla (a), Francisco CarreA[+ or -]o (b), David Gutierrez (a) Abstract: Changes in forested landscapes may have important consequences for ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. In northern Spain, major changes in land use occurred during the second half of the 20th century, but their impacts on forests have not been quantified. We evaluated the dynamics of landscape and forest distribution patterns between 1957 and 2003 in Fragas do Eume Natural Park (northwestern Spain). We used orthoimages and a set of standard landscape metrics to determine transitions between land cover classes and to examine forest distribution patterns. Eucalypt plantations showed the greatest increase in area (197%) over time. Furthermore, transitions to eucalypt plantations were found in all major land cover classes. Forest showed a net decline of 20% in total area and represented 30% of the landscape area in 2003. Forest losses were mainly due to eucalypt plantations and the building of a water reservoir, while forest gains were due to increases in shrubland, meadows and cultivated fields which had been recolonised. Forest patch size and core area decreased, and edge length increased over time. In turn, increases were obtained in mean distance between forest patches, and in adjacency to eucalypt plantations and to a water reservoir. These results suggest an increase in forest fragmentation from 1957 to 2003, as well as a change in the nature of the habitat surrounding forest patches. This study shows that land use changes, mostly from eucalypt plantation intensification, negatively affected forested habitats, although some regeneration was ongoing through ecological succession from land abandonment. Author Affiliation: (a) Area de Biodiversidad y Conservacion, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnologia, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipan s/n, Mostoles, E-28933 Madrid, Spain (b) Area de Geologia, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnologia, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipan s/n, Mostoles, E-28933 Madrid, Spain Article History: Received 13 March 2009; Revised 17 November 2009; Accepted 27 November 2009

Studies on genetic diversity help us to unveil the evolutionary processes of species and populations and can explain several traits of diploid--polyploid complexes such as their distributions, their breeding systems, and the origin of polyploids. We examined the allozyme variation of Dryopteris aemula and D. oreades, diploid ferns with highly fragmented habitats, and the allotetraploid D. corleyi to (1) analyze the putative relationship between both diploids and the tetraploid, (2) compare the levels of genetic variation among species and determine their causes, and (3) assess the breeding system of these taxa. The allozymic pattern of D. corleyi confirms that it derived from D. aemula and D. oreades. The lack of genetic diversity in D. aemula, a species of lowland habitats, may be due to genetic drift associated with the contraction of populations in the last glaciation. By contrast, the alpine D. oreades had moderate intrapopulation genetic variation, which may derive from the expansion of populations during the last glaciation. In the latter species, low interpopulational variation suggested effective gene flow (spore exchange), and genotype frequencies in Hardy--Weinberg equilibrium indicated cross-fertilization of gametophytes. Evolutionary history appears to be an essential element in the interpretation of genetic variation of highly fragmented populations. Key words: allozymes; breeding system; Dryopteridaceae; Dryopteris; ferns; fragmentation; genetic diversity; genetic drift; glacial refugia: Iberian Peninsula; polyploidy. doi: 10.3732/ajb.0900055

The purpose of this study was to assess, in a sample of 700 university students ages 18 to 40 years in El Salvador, the importance of sociodemographic variables (age, having a partner, and frequency of religious practice), personality traits (anger, hostility, and aggressiveness), sexual attitudes, and male chauvinist attitudes (erotophilia, double standard, and rape supportive attitudes) in explaining male sexual coercion. All these variables were assessed. Once the effect of social desirability had been controlled, the analysis showed the importance of trait anger along with a favorable attitude toward the use of violence against women, double standard, and negative attitudes toward sexuality in explaining male sexual coercion. Religious involvement, however, may act as a protective factor against such violence. Multidimensional models are needed to explain sexual violence against women by men in heterosexual relationships.