Animal models of alcohol (ethanol) self‐administration are crucial to dissect the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alcohol dependence, yet only a few of these induce pharmacologically relevant ...levels of alcohol consumption and rarely the alcohol self‐administration co‐occurs with other addictive behaviours. The present study aims to validate a novel model of voluntary ethanol consumption in male Wistar rats, in which ethanol access follows a binge eating experience. Over 10 sessions, Wistar rats were exposed to binge or control eating (i.e., the ingestion of 11.66 and 0.97 kcal/3 min, respectively, derived from a highly palatable food), immediately followed by two‐bottle choice intake tests (2%, 6%, 10% or 14% w/w ethanol vs. water). Rats exposed to binge eating drank significantly more 6% or 10% (w/w) ethanol than control peers, reaching up to 6.3 gEtOH/kg. Rats stimulated with 2%, 6%, 10% or 14% ethanol after binge eating, but not those given those ethanol concentrations after control eating, exhibited significant within‐group increases in ethanol drinking. This ethanol consumption was not altered by quinine adulteration (up to 0.1 g/L), and it was blocked by naltrexone (10 mg/kg), administered immediately before binge eating. Blood ethanol levels significantly correlated with ethanol consumption; and the more ethanol consumed, the greater the distance travelled in an open field test conducted after the two‐bottle choice test. Altogether, this self‐administration model seems a valid and robust alternative with remarkable potential for research on different stages of the alcohol addiction and, particularly, to assess interactions between alcohol consumption and others addictive‐like behaviours.
This study validated a novel model of voluntary ethanol consumption in male Wistar rats, in which ethanol access follows a binge eating experience. Rats stimulated with 2%, 6%, 10% or 14% ethanol immediately after binge eating, but not those given those ethanol concentrations after control eating, exhibited significant within‐group increases in ethanol drinking. This ethanol consumption was not altered by quinine adulteration (up to 0.1 g/L), and it was blocked by naltrexone (10 mg/kg), administered immediately before binge eating.
The paper aims at understanding the intersections between technology and the professional practices in some of the new trends in journalism that are using the new tools: multimedia journalism, ...immersive journalism, and data journalism. The great dilemma facing journalism when training new professionals--especially the youngest--is not the training in new technologies anymore. The main concern lies in taking advantage of their skills to create a new computational model while keeping the essence of journalism. There is a twofold objective: answering questions about which tools are being used to produce pieces of news, and which kind of knowledge is needed in the present century. Based on the review of reports from professional organizations and institutes, an exploratory research to 25 European and American journalists was developed. The authors selected three cases of study. The cases allowed the authors to conclude that the technology matrix is going to remain and that change and digital process is not turning back and demands to evolve and adapt to new dynamics of work in multidisciplinary teams where the debate between journalists and technologists must be ongoing. Different approaches nourish the double way of skills and competences in the profiles of the current technological journalist, which professionals perceive as a demand in the present ecosystem.
Emerging infectious diseases are one of the most important global health challenges because of their impact on human and animal health. The vector-borne West Nile virus (WNV) is transmitted between ...birds by mosquitos, but it can also infect humans and horses causing disease. The local circulation of WNV in Spain has been known for decades, and since 2010, there have been regular outbreaks in horses, although only six cases were reported in humans until 2019. In 2020, Spain experienced a major outbreak with 77 human cases, which was followed by 6 additional cases in 2021, most of them in the Andalusian region (southern Spain). This study aimed to characterize the genomes of the WNV circulating in wild-trapped mosquitoes during 2020 and 2021 in Andalusia. We sequenced the WNV consensus genome from two mosquito pools and carried out the phylogenetic analyses. We also compared the obtained genomes with those sequenced from human samples obtained during the outbreak and the genomes obtained previously in Spain from birds (2007 and 2017), mosquitoes (2008) and horses (2010) to better understand the eco-epidemiology of WNV in Spain. As expected, the WNV genomes recovered from mosquito pools in 2020 were closely related to those recovered from humans of the same outbreak. In addition, the strain of WNV circulating in 2021 was highly related to the WNV strain that caused the 2020 outbreak, suggesting that WNV is overwintering in the area. Consequently, future outbreaks of the same strain may occur in in the future.
Journalism is once again facing a context of technological and social changes. The current stage is characterized for being mobile, multi-screen, and visual. Citizens have adopted with ease the new ...mobile media for content consumption. Transmedia narratives emerge as structures that can help creators to adapt contents to all platforms and to open the door to new audiences. This article analyzes transmedia strategies in the news offered during the coverage of Greek elections (20-S) by four of the most important news media brands in Europe: El País (ES), The Guardian (UK), La Repubblica (IT), and Público (PT). Results show that mobile platforms have been incorporated into the news coverage following a repurposing strategy as regards web content. The increasing number of published stories, the prioritization of their updating, and the multimedia enrichment make the World Wide Web the main platform of the analyzed practices. The patterns for commenting and sharing do not match, but the most commented and disseminated include multimedia contents.
Digitization has expanded the boundaries of a journalistic field that was built up over more than a century and has led to questions about media, journalism, and the public spheres. The main ...objective of this article is to review and analyze the complex scenario in which journalism and digital journalism are developing, affecting legacy and digital native media, the profession and citizens, who, as an audience, occupy an increasingly central position. In the first phase of the study, the main axes and actors driving the metamorphosis of digital journalism are analyzed, to assess its functions and relevance using focus groups with academics and professionals in the area. The second phase focuses on the study of audiences and their relationship with journalism through a systematized literature review. The results show that the public is one of the main forces driving journalism. Placing them at the center of journalistic strategy involves understanding their needs, offering quality content, promoting transparency and credibility, and promoting literacy for critical media consumption. Prioritizing audiences is fundamental for establishing a solid and long-term relationship based on trust, an essential attribute for the success and sustainability of journalism in the digital era.
La digitalización ha ampliado las fronteras del campo periodístico construido durante más de un siglo y ha obligado a revisar las cuestiones relacionadas con los medios, el periodismo y las esferas públicas. En este artículo partimos del objetivo general de revisar y analizar el escenario complejo en el que se desarrolla el periodismo y el periodismo digital, que afecta a medios matriciales y nativos digitales, la profesión y la ciudadanía, que como audiencia ocupa una posición cada vez más central. Para ello se analizan los principales ejes y actores que impulsan la metamorfosis del periodismo digital para valorar sus funciones y relevancia empleando la técnica del grupo de discusión de académicos y profesionales del área. La investigación se enfoca, en una segunda fase, en el estudio de las audiencias y su relación con el periodismo a través de una revisión sistematizada de literatura. Los resultados evidencian que los públicos son uno de los motores principales en el impulso del periodismo. Situarlos en el centro de la estrategia periodística implica entender sus necesidades, ofrecer contenido de calidad, promover la transparencia y credibilidad, y alfabetizar desde la base para un consumo crítico de medios. Priorizar a las audiencias es fundamental para establecer una relación sólida y duradera basada en la confianza, un atributo esencial para el éxito y la sostenibilidad del periodismo en la era digital.
Reports of West Nile virus (WNV) associated disease in humans were scarce in Spain until summer 2020, when 77 cases were reported, eight fatal. Most cases occurred next to the Guadalquivir River in ...the Sevillian villages of Puebla del Río and Coria del Río. Detection of WNV disease in humans was preceded by a large increase in the abundance of Culex perexiguus in the neighbourhood of the villages where most human cases occurred. The first WNV infected mosquitoes were captured approximately one month before the detection of the first human cases. Overall, 33 positive pools of Cx. perexiguus and one pool of Culex pipiens were found. Serology of wild birds confirmed WNV circulation inside the affected villages, that transmission to humans also occurred in urban settings and suggests that virus circulation was geographically more widespread than disease cases in humans or horses may indicate. A high prevalence of antibodies was detected in blackbirds (Turdus merula) suggesting that this species played an important role in the amplification of WNV in urban areas. Culex perexiguus was the main vector of WNV among birds in natural and agricultural areas, while its role in urban areas needs to be investigated in more detail. Culex pipiens may have played some role as bridge vector of WNV between birds and humans once the enzootic transmission cycle driven by Cx. perexiguus occurred inside the villages. Surveillance of virus in mosquitoes has the potential to detect WNV well in advance of the first human cases.
The liver X receptors α and β (LXRα and LXRβ) are oxysterol-activated transcription factors that coordinately regulate gene expression that is important for cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism. In ...addition to their roles in lipid metabolism, LXRs participate in the transcriptional regulation of macrophage activation and are considered potent regulators of inflammation. LXRs are highly similar, and despite notable exceptions, most of their reported functions are substantially overlapping. However, their individual genomic distribution and transcriptional capacities have not been characterized. Here, we report a macrophage cellular model expressing equivalent levels of tagged LXRs. Analysis of data from chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with deep sequencing revealed that LXRα and LXRβ occupy both overlapping and exclusive genomic regulatory sites of target genes and also control the transcription of a receptor-exclusive set of genes. Analysis of genomic H3K27 acetylation and mRNA transcriptional changes in response to synthetic agonist or antagonist treatments revealed a putative mode of pharmacologically independent regulation of transcription. Integration of microarray and sequencing data enabled the description of three possible mechanisms of LXR transcriptional activation. Together, these results contribute to our understanding of the common and differential genomic actions of LXRs and their impact on biological processes in macrophages.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Recently, the term metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been ...proposed and adapted to body mass index (BMI). This study describes the impact on prevalence of the application of both criteria in overweight and lean patients.
Patients who were evaluated for liver steatosis by transient elastography were included and divided according to BMI (≥25 kg/m
and <25 kg/m
) and classified as NAFLD or MAFLD, according to metabolic abnormalities. Differences in prevalence were evaluated applying both criteria. A multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate independent associations of metabolic abnormalities and liver steatosis in lean patients.
3847 patients were included. In overweight patients (61%), the prevalence NAFLD was 63.6% and 65.3% for MAFLD (
= 0.22). In contrast, the prevalence of MAFLD was lower (7.9% vs. 18.3%,
≤ 0.001) in lean patients. In this group, higher age, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and waist circumference showed independent association with liver steatosis.
The application of NAFLD/MAFLD criteria did not show prevalence differences in overweight patients. With MAFLD criteria, the prevalence is lower in lean patients, but patients with high risk of progression of liver disease for steatosis were identified, according to their metabolic abnormalities.
Early-onset high myopia (EoHM) is a disease that causes a spherical refraction error of ≥-6 diopters before 10 years of age, with potential multiple ocular complications. In this article, we report a ...clinical and genetic study of 43 families with EoHM recruited in our center. A complete ophthalmological evaluation was performed, and a sample of peripheral blood was obtained from proband and family members. DNA was analyzed using a customized next-generation sequencing panel that included 419 genes related to ophthalmological disorders with a suspected genetic cause, and genes related to EoHM pathogenesis. We detected pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in 23.9% of the families and detected variants of unknown significance in 76.1%. Of these, 5.7% were found in genes related to non-syndromic EoHM, 48.6% in genes associated with inherited retinal dystrophies that can include a syndromic phenotype, and 45.7% in genes that are not directly related to EoHM or retinal dystrophy. We found no candidate genes in 23% of the patients, which suggests that further studies are needed. We propose a systematic genetic analysis for patients with EoHM because it helps with follow-up, prognosis and genetic counseling.
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