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In the peripheral nervous system, glial cells, known as Schwann cells (SCs), are responsible for supporting and maintaining nerves. One of the most important characteristics of SCs is their remarkable plasticity. In various injury contexts, SCs undergo a reprogramming process that generates specialized cells to promote tissue regeneration and repair. However, in pathological conditions, this same plasticity and regenerative potential can be hijacked. Different studies highlight the activation of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) as a driver of SC phenotypic plasticity. Although SCs are not epithelial, their neural crest origin makes EMT activation crucial for their ability to adopt repair phenotypes, mirroring the plasticity observed during development. These adaptive processes are essential for regeneration. However, EMT activation in SCs-derived tumours enhances cancer progression and aggressiveness. Furthermore, in the tumour microenvironment (TME), SCs also acquire activated phenotypes that contribute to tumour migration and invasion by activating EMT in cancer cells. In this review, we will discuss how EMT impacts SC plasticity and function from development and tissue regeneration to pathological conditions, such as cancer.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) comprise a heterogeneous group of tumors with growing incidence. Recent molecular analyses provided a precise picture of their genomic and epigenomic landscape. Splicing dysregulation is increasingly regarded as a novel cancer hallmark influencing key tumor features. We have previously demonstrated that splicing machinery is markedly dysregulated in PanNETs. Here, we aimed to elucidate the molecular and functional implications of CUGBP ELAV-like family member 4 (CELF4), one of the most altered splicing factors in PanNETs. CELF4 expression was determined in 20 PanNETs, comparing tumor and non-tumoral adjacent tissue. An RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) dataset was analyzed to explore CELF4-linked interrelations among clinical features, gene expression, and splicing events. Two PanNET cell lines were employed to assess CELF4 function in vitro and in vivo. PanNETs display markedly upregulated CELF4 expression, which is closely associated with malignancy features, altered expression of key tumor players, and distinct splicing event profiles. Modulation of CELF4 influenced proliferation in vitro and reduced in vivo xenograft tumor growth. Interestingly, functional assays and RNA-seq analysis revealed that CELF4 silencing altered mTOR signaling pathway, enhancing the effect of everolimus. We demonstrate that CELF4 is dysregulated in PanNETs, where it influences tumor development and aggressiveness, likely by modulating the mTOR pathway, suggesting its potential as therapeutic target.

The kinetics of CO2 methanation using a 12%Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was modeled in a catalytic microreactor, considering the three-dimensional momentum, heat and species continuity balances in stationary state. The microreactor consisted of 80 microchannels with dimensions 0.45 × 0.15 × 50 mm3 in each one with an average 0.04 mm catalytic thickness. Several experimental tests were carried out at various conditions of flow rate (110, 130 and 140 mL/min), temperature (275, 300, 325 and 350 °C) and reactants partial pressure. Kinetic parameters were modeled and fitted using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0 and Matlab 2021 R. Using the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc), it was determined that a power kinetic model with a low kinetic exponent, 0.12 ≤ n ≤ 0.18, is adequate to represent a wide range of experimental CO2 conversion and CH4 yield (up to 86%) data. An activation energy around 83–85 kJ/mol was estimated, as well as a correlation between the different parameters of the power rate law. The temperature raise significantly increases the CO2 conversion and methane yield under the operational conditions used, due to the distance from thermodynamic equilibrium. It was numerically verified that under the experimental conditions the microchannels operate isothermally. Using this model, it is possible to evaluate the effect of operational variables (temperature, volumetric flow and H2/CO2 ratio) and reactor design (microchannel surface/volume ratio) on methane production, proving potential application in catalytic efficiency studies for Power-to-Gas applications. It is clear that processes intensification is useful to achieve higher CO2 conversions fostering sustainable development of closed-carbon production cycles.

La Real Academia de Arqueología y Geografía del Príncipe Alfonso (RAAGPA) desarrolló durante el período final del reinado de Isabel II una labor de difusión de la investigación arqueológica como forma de competir en influencia con la Real Academia de la Historia, institución que definía la estructura del discurso narrativo de la Historia de España en unión con la Escuela Superior de Diplomática a partir de los principios de la unidad territorial, política y lingüística de España desde la Edad Media, ideas a las que se sumaba el peso del cristianismo en el desarrollo y prestigio social de la monarquía española. La RAAGPA, con una amplia influencia en la Corte, desarrollará también una importante actividad política basada en la definición del papel de la Iglesia católica como apoyo de la reina tras los acuerdos recogidos en el Concordato de 1851, y en un período de convulsiones políticas entre conservadores y liberales que desembocarán en la Revolución de 1868. En enero de 1867, dos años después del fallecimiento del cardenal Nicholas Wiseman, José Pulido y Espinosa, profesor de Arqueología Sagrada en la RAAGPA, pronunció en su honor un discurso en el que empleó la figura y los logros de Wiseman no para explicar su vinculación con la investigación arqueológica, sino para remarcar la importancia del conservadurismo en la religión católica como un elemento esencial para la estabilidad del sistema político basado en los valores tradicionales, constituyendo una clara declaración de apoyo al reinado de Isabel II.

Desde la creación de la Escuela Superior de Diplomática en 1856, la docencia de la Prehistoria y la Arqueología estuvo supeditada a la construcción de un relato unificado de la Historia de España y a las necesidades del Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos. En 1917, un año después de conseguir la cátedra de Historia Universal Antigua y Media en la Universidad de Barcelona, Pere Bosch Gimpera impartió su primer curso monográfico sobre la Cultura Ibérica. El contenido de la asignatura antepondrá los resultados de la investigación arqueológica al conocimiento de las fuentes clásicas para el análisis de las estructuras territoriales, sociales, ideológicas y políticas de la Protohistoria de la península ibérica. Este cambio esencial caracterizará el pensamiento de los integrantes de la Escuela de Arqueología de Barcelona durante las décadas siguientes. Sin embargo la visión arcaica de la concepción de la Prehistoria y la Protohistoria como unos apartados menores en el estudio de la Historia seguirá en las universidades españolas, donde la investigación arqueológica tampoco fue axial. Este trabajo analiza los planteamientos de Bosch a partir de los apuntes tomados en sus clases por su principal discípulo, Lluís Pericot.

Tras las jornadas en Nairobi, los asistentes al Primer Congreso Panafricano de Prehistoria realizaron una gira a los principales yacimientos: Olduvai, Hell’s Gorge, Olorgesailie, Lago Naivasha y Cheke. Pericot describirá en su diario de viaje no solo las características de los mismos y la fauna y flora de la región, sino que analizará incisivamente los problemas sociales de la última etapa del colonialismo británico en África oriental, las formas de vida de las comunidades indígenas y la colonia hindú, y sabrá detectar los primeros datos de las reivindicaciones nacionalistas que estallarán pocos años después de su viaje en la lucha armada del movimiento de los Mau-Mau contra la presencia británica. Se trata de un relato que, como en su parte anterior, muestra el choque entre la mentalidad colonial europea a la que pertenece Pericot en ese momento, y la realidad política que se empezaba a imponer tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Abstract Background Patients with liver cirrhosis may develop hepatic encephalopathy. Rats with chronic hyperammonemia exhibit neurological alterations mediated by peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation. Motor incoordination is due to increased TNF-a levels and activation of its receptor TNFR1 in the cerebellum. The aims were to assess (a) whether peripheral inflammation is responsible for TNF-a induction in hyperammonemic rats, (b) the cell type(s) in which TNF-a is increased, (c) whether this increase is associated with increased nuclear NF-κB and TNFR1 activation, (d) the time course of TNF-a induction, and (e) if TNF-a is induced in the Purkinje neurons of patients who die with liver cirrhosis. Methods We analyzed the level of TNF-a mRNA and NF-κB in microglia, astrocytes, and Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum after 1, 2, and 4 weeks of hyperammonemia. We assessed whether preventing peripheral inflammation by administering an anti-TNF-a antibody prevents TNF-a induction. We tested whether TNF-a induction is reversed by R7050, which inhibits the TNFR1-NF-κB pathway, in ex vivo cerebellar slices. Results Hyperammonemia induced microglial and astrocyte activation at 1 week. This was followed by TNF-a induction in both glial cell types at 2 weeks and in Purkinje neurons at 4 weeks. The level of TNF-a mRNA increased in parallel with the TNF-a protein level, indicating that TNF-a was synthesized in Purkinje cells. This increase was associated with increased NF-κB nuclear translocation. The nuclear translocation of NF-κB and the increase in TNF-a were reversed by R7050, indicating that they were mediated by the activation of TNFR1. Preventing peripheral inflammation with an anti-TNF-a antibody prevents TNF-a induction. Conclusion Sustained (4 weeks) but not short-term hyperammonemia induces TNF-a in Purkinje neurons in rats. This is mediated by peripheral inflammation. TNF-a is also increased in the Purkinje neurons of patients who die with liver cirrhosis. The results suggest that hyperammonemia induces TNF-a in glial cells and that TNF-a released by glial cells activates TNFR1 in Purkinje neurons, leading to NF-κB nuclear translocation and the induction of TNF-a expression, which may contribute to the neurological alterations observed in hyperammonemia and hepatic encephalopathy.

Luis Pericot será el prehistoriador español más influyente en el ámbito internacional durante el tercer cuarto del siglo XX. Una parte de su prestigio se estructuró a partir de asistir en enero de 1947 al Primer Congreso Panafricano de Prehistoria celebrado en Nairobi. Su presencia en el mismo fue el resultado del interés político del Gobierno español por proyectar la imagen de la neutralidad española durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial a las potencias aliadas, al tiempo que se potenciaba el africanismo y las relaciones con los países árabes, uno de los ejes principales de la política exterior del Gobierno de Franco. Pericot dejará de su viaje algunas impresiones publicadas y, especialmente, unas notas inéditas en las que analiza no solo la investigación prehistórica en la zona, sino también la estructura social de las colonias británicas en África.

Arsenic (As) contamination of water is a serious problem in developing countries. In water streams, arsenic can be as As(V) and As(III), the latter being the most toxic species. In this work, an innovative adsorbent based on CaTiO3 nanoparticles (CTO) was prepared by the sol-gel technique for the removal of As(III) from aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction of the CTO nanoparticles powders confirmed the CTO phase. Transmission electron microscopy observations indicated an average particle size of 27 nm, while energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis showed the presence of Ca, Ti, and O in the expected stoichiometric amounts. The surface specific area measured by Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) isotherm was 43.9 m2/g, whereas the isoelectric point determined by Zeta Potential measurements was at pH 3.5. Batch adsorption experiments were used to study the effect of pH on the equilibrium adsorption of As(III), using an arsenite solution with 15 mg/L as initial concentration. The highest removal was achieved at pH 3, reaching an efficiency of up to 73%, determined by X-ray fluorescence from the residual As(III) in the solution. Time dependent adsorption experiments at different pHs exhibited a pseudo-second order kinetics with an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 11.12 mg/g at pH 3. Moreover, CTO nanoparticles were regenerated and evaluated for four cycles, decreasing their arsenic removal efficiency by 10% without affecting their chemical structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the CTO surface after removal experiments, showed that arsenic was present as As(III) and partially oxidized to As(V).

La figura de Pere Bosch Gimpera, debido a su doble bcondición de Conseller de la Generalitat republicana y rector de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona durante la Guerra Civil, ha adquirido el estatus de mito entre la clase política, intelectual y universitaria de Cataluña, aunque es mucho menos conocida y apreciada en el resto de España. Con el presente texto se pretende aportar un estudio matizado sobre Bosch Gimpera para comprender mejor la altura moral de sus rectificaciones, su compromiso con las ideas de Universidad, República y Cataluña, y el significado de su obra.

Julio Martínez Santa Olalla, appointed Commissioner-General for Archaeological Excavations at the Spanish Ministry of National Education and Fine Arts in 1939, established, with the support of the Falange (Spain’s fascist political organisation), relations with the Third Reich’s Das Ahnenerbe, a research institute that formed part of the Allgemeine SS commanded by Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler. The first collaboration between the two institutions comprised the excavation of the Visigothic necropolis of Castiltierra (Segovia). In October 1940, during Himmler’s official visit to Spain, the personal relationship established between Himmler and Martínez Santa Olalla resulted in a plan to set up a Falange-sponsored institution for archaeological research modelled on that of Das Ahnenerbe. Political, academic and personal relations were maintained between Martínez Santa Olalla and SS members Sievers, Wüst, Langsdorff and Jankuhn, and also with the Amt Rosenberg directed by Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg, until the fall of the Nazi regime. This study analyses these and other relations between Spanish archaeologists and Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1945. [Julio Martínez Santa Olalla, Comisario General de Excavaciones Arqueológicas del Ministerio de Educación Nacional y Bellas Artes desde 1939, estableció, con el apoyo de Falange, relaciones científicas y personales con la sociedad Das Ahnenerbe, una de las instituciones de investigación englobadas en la Allgemeine-SS dirigida por el Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler. La primera colaboración entre ambas instituciones se centró en la excavación de la necrópolis visigoda de Castiltierra (Segovia). En el mes de octubre de 1940, durante la visita oficial de Himmler a España, la relación personal entre Himmler y Martínez Santa Olalla se tradujo en un proyecto de desarrollo de una institución de investigación arqueológica copiada de Das Ahnenerbe y dependiente de Falange que substituyera a la Comisaría General. Las relaciones políticas, personales y científicas de Martínez Santa Olalla con los miembros de las SS Sievers, Wüst, Langsdorff y Jankuhn continuaron hasta la caída del régimen nazi, así como también con el Amt Rosenberg, dirigido por el Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg. El estudio analiza también las relaciones entre otros arqueólogos españoles y la investigación nazi entre 1939 y 1945.]

El presente trabajo estudia el contenido y estado del contrato psicológico en una muestra compuesta por 697 trabajadores pertenecientes a una organización de la Administración Pública española. Los resultados muestran que los empleados perciben que la organización realiza las promesas consideradas en un nivel medio (3.6 en una escala con rango de 1 a 7)) y presenta un grado de cumplimiento similar (3.7) mientras que las promesas realizadas por los empleados alcanzan niveles más elevados (5.6), según sus propias percepciones al igual que su cumplimiento (5.8). También se observa una mayor diversificación de la percepción de los tipos de promesas del empleador (agrupadas en: bienestar laboral, salario y estabilidad, y participación en la toma de decisiones) que en las del empleado (agrupadas en un único factor). Se han obtenido diferencias significativas en percepciones de promesas y cumplimiento en función del sexo (los varones presentan generalmente niveles más elevados en lo que se refiere a los empleadores) aunque no hay diferencias en las percepciones de equidad. En función del tipo de contrato, las promesas relativas al salario y a la estabilidad laboral muestran esultados mas elevados en los permanentes, aunque es mayor la percepción de equidad en los temporales. Finalmente, se han obtenido diferencias significativas en función del nivel jerárquico en el factor "bienestar laboral" y "participación en la toma de decisiones" de obligaciones del empleador, en los tres factores relativos al cumplimiento del empleador, en justicia y en confianza. Todos estos resultados se discuten y analizan señalándose las implicaciones teóricas y prácticas.

Este trabajo responde a los artículos de P. Moret y F. Quesada en los que se cuestiona el empleo por los iberos de sistemas poliorcéticos complejos de influencia mediterránea en la arquitectura militar de las defensas construidas entre los siglos V y III a. C. Una interpretación abierta de la documentación arqueológica y de las fuentes escritas greco-romanas permite defender el conocimiento de los sistemas de defensa ante los asedios antes de la Segunda Guerra Púnica.

El objetivo del presente trabajo es realizar un análisis de las características poliorcéticas de las fortificaciones ibéricas (siglos V-II a.C.) desde el punto de vista del desarrollo de la estrategia, táctica de asalto y defensa, después del desarrollo de los sistemas arquitectónicos complejos y la introducción de las máquinas de guerra en el Mediterráneo central y occidental. La documentación arqueológica se contrasta con los textos de las fuentes latinas y griegas referidas a los periodos de la Segunda Guerra Púnica y la represión catoniana (218-195 a.C.), y los relatos de las descripciones realizadas por los tratadistas griegos en el campo de la poliorcética.

El conjunto de piezas áticas del palacio-santuario de Cancho Roano (Zalamea de la Serena, Badajoz), con 410 individuos, es uno de los más importantes publicados hasta el presente en la Península Ibérica para el siglo V a.C. Destaca, con 360 piezas, la Copa Cástulo que ofrece una gran variedad morfológica y de características macroscópicas que permiten plantear la hipótesis de la existencia de materiales procedentes de diferentes centros productores. Para contrastar esta posibilidad se ha realizado un estudio arqueométrico por Fluorescencia de Rayos X y Difracción de Rayos X encaminado a la determinación de procedencia de los materiales, así como al estudio de su tecnología de producción. El conjunto caracterizado, con 60 individuos, es el más importante nunca publicado para esta cronología de siglo V a.C. en todo el Mediterráneo. Los resultados sugieren un origen ático, mientras que las grandes diferencias macroscópicas y tipológicas se deben a factores tecnológicos.

TrkA-mediated NGF signaling in PC12 cells has been shown to be compartimentalized in specialized microdomains of the plasma membrane, the caveolae, which are organized by scaffold proteins including the member of the caveolin family of proteins, caveolin-1. Here, we characterize the intracellular distribution as well as the biochemical and functional properties of the neuroendocrine long coiled-coil protein 2 (NECC2), a novel long coiled-coil protein selectively expressed in neuroendocrine tissues that contains a predicted caveolin-binding domain and displays structural characteristics of a scaffolding factor. NECC2 distributes in caveolae, wherein it colocalizes with the TrkA receptor, and behaves as a caveolae-associated protein in neuroendocrine PC12 cells. In addition, stimulation of PC12 cells with nerve growth factor (NGF) increased the expression and regulated the distribution of NECC2. Interestingly, knockdown as well as overexpression of NECC2 resulted in a reduction of NGF-induced phosphorylation of the TrkA downstream effector extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/ERK2) but not of Akt. Altogether, our results identify NECC2 as a novel component of caveolae in PC12 cells and support the contribution of this protein in the maintenance of TrkA-mediated NGF signaling.

Ghrelin-system components [native ghrelin, In1-ghrelin, Ghrelin-O-acyltransferase enzyme (GOAT) and receptors (GHS-Rs)] are expressed in a wide variety of tissues, including the pancreas, where they exert different biological actions including regulation of neuroendocrine secretions, food intake and pancreatic function. The expression of ghrelin system is regulated by metabolic conditions (fasting/obesity) and is associated with the progression of obesity and insulin resistance. Cortistatin (CORT), a neuropeptide able to activate GHS-R, has emerged as an additional link in gut-brain interplay. Indeed, we recently reported that male CORT deficient mice (cort-/-) are insulin-resistant and present a clear dysregulation in the stomach ghrelin-system. The present work was focused at analyzing the expression pattern of ghrelin-system components at pancreas level in cort-/- mice and their control littermates (cort +/+) under low- or high-fat diet. Our data reveal that all the ghrelin-system components are expressed at the mouse pancreatic level, where, interestingly, In1-ghrelin was expressed at higher levels than native-ghrelin. Thus, GOAT mRNA levels were significantly lower in cort-/- mice compared with controls while native ghrelin, In1-ghrelin and GHS-R transcript levels remained unaltered under normal metabolic conditions. Moreover, under obese condition, a significant increase in pancreatic expression of native-ghrelin, In1-ghrelin and GHS-R was observed in obese cort+/+ but not in cort-/- mice. Interestingly, insulin expression and release was elevated in obese cort+/+, while these changes were not observed in obese cort-/- mice. Altogether, our results indicate that the ghrelin-system expression is clearly regulated in the pancreas of cort+/+ and cort -/- under normal and/or obesity conditions suggesting that this system may play relevant roles in the endocrine pancreas. Most importantly, our data demonstrate, for the first time, that endogenous CORT is essential for the obesity-induced changes in insulin expression/secretion observed in mice, suggesting that CORT is a key regulatory component of the pancreatic function.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles that coordinate lipid storage and mobilization, both processes being especially important in cells specialized in managing fat, the adipocytes. Proteomic analyses of LDs have consistently identified the small GTPase Rab18 as a component of the LD coat. However, the specific contribution of Rab18 to adipocyte function remains to be elucidated. Herein, we have analyzed Rab18 expression, intracellular localization and function in relation to the metabolic status of adipocytes. We show that Rab18 production increases during adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. In addition, our data show that insulin induces, via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), the recruitment of Rab18 to the surface of LDs. Furthermore, Rab18 overexpression increased basal lipogenesis and Rab18 silencing impaired the lipogenic response to insulin, thereby suggesting that this GTPase promotes fat accumulation in adipocytes. On the other hand, studies of the β-adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol confirmed and extended previous evidence for the participation of Rab18 in lipolysis. Together, our data support the view that Rab18 is a common mediator of lipolysis and lipogenesis and suggests that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the link that enables Rab18 action on these two processes. Finally, we describe, for the first time, the presence of Rab18 in human adipose tissue, wherein the expression of this GTPase exhibits sex- and depot-specific differences and is correlated to obesity. Taken together, these findings indicate that Rab18 is involved in insulin-mediated lipogenesis, as well as in β-adrenergic-induced lipolysis, likely facilitating interaction of LDs with ER membranes and the exchange of lipids between these compartments. A role for Rab18 in the regulation of adipocyte biology under both normal and pathological conditions is proposed.