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Multidecadal variability of the ENSO early-winter teleconnection to Europe and implications for seasonal forecasting
No full textThe impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the North Atlantic and European sector (NAE) climate are season-dependent and, in some cases, not linear and/or not stationary. Previous studies have found multidecadal variability in ENSO teleconnections to NAE in certain seasons, relating it to changes in the background state. However, the stationarity of the teleconnection and its surface impacts in Europe during early winter remain largely unexplored, a gap intended to be addressed in this study. The observational analysis reveals changes in the teleconnection impacts and mechanisms over recent decades. These changes have strong implications for the assessment of seasonal predictability, hence the performance of the SEAS5 seasonal prediction model is analysed. While SEAS5 does not accurately capture the observed non-stationarity, it displays pronounced multidecadal changes in forecast skill. This implies the emergence of windows of opportunity for seasonal forecasting, where predictability may be higher than initially expected.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)Instituto de Salud Carlos III (España)Ministerio de Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico (España)European Commission NextGenerationEUPlataforma Temática Interdisciplinar (PTI) Clima y Servicios Climáticos del CSIC (España)Gobierno de EspañaCopernicus Climate Change ServiceAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España)Depto. de Física de la Tierra y AstrofísicaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEpu
The reform of article 49 of the Spanish Constitution: beyond a mere change of name
No full textDepto. de Derecho ConstitucionalFac. de DerechoTRUEpu
Human T-cell receptor inborn errors of immunity shed light on the real-life role of γδ vs αβ T lymphocytes
No full textT lymphocytes are critical components of adaptive immunity. They are involved, together with other leucocytes, in defense against pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Mature T cells include two subsets, αβ and γδ, depending on the variable T-cell receptor (TCR) expressed on their surface. αβ T cells, the largest subset in blood, are well characterized in terms of their functions in defense against infections. Their central role in protective immunity is dramatically clear in rare human inborn errors of immunity (IEI) causing selective αβ T-cell lymphopenia. Such defects frequently associate to early-onset health-threatening infections and autoimmunity (rather than cancer) and require hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for survival. γδ T-cell function, by contrast, is still not well understood, as we review here. Human IEI affecting several invariant and variable TCR chains (TCRIEI) have been reported, in some cases with a different impact in αβ vs γδ T-cell numbers. By comparing them, we show that clinical severity, as a proxy of importance for survival, associates with the absence of αβ T cells, irrespectively of γδ T-cell numbers. Several species and animal knock-out models which naturally or artificially lack γδ T cells support this contention. Thus, TCRIEI teach us that αβ T cells are crucial for defense against infections, whereas γδ T cells may have a comparatively marginal role in real-life human immunity.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España)Comunidad Autónoma de MadridAsociación Española Contra el CáncerThe Association Against CancerFundación FERODepto. de Inmunología, Oftalmología y ORLFac. de MedicinaTRUEinpres
Predictors of mechanical ventilation and mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
No full textObjective: To determine if potential predictors for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) are also determinants for mortality in COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (C-ARDS).
Design: Single center highly detailed longitudinal observational study.
Setting: Tertiary hospital ICU: two first COVID-19 pandemic waves, Madrid, Spain.
Patients or participants: 280 patients with C-ARDS, not requiring IMV on admission.
Interventions: None.
Main variables of interest: Target: endotracheal intubation and IMV, mortality.
Predictors: demographics, hourly evolution of oxygenation, clinical data, and laboratory results.
Results: The time between symptom onset and ICU admission, the APACHE II score, the ROX index, and procalcitonin levels in blood were potential predictors related to both IMV and mortality. The ROX index was the most significant predictor associated with IMV, while APACHE II, LDH, and DaysSympICU were the most with mortality.
Conclusions: According to the results of the analysis, there are significant predictors linked with IMV and mortality in C-ARDS patients, including the time between symptom onset and ICU admission, the severity of the COVID-19 waves, and several clinical and laboratory measures. These findings may help clinicians to better identify patients at risk for IMV and mortality and improve their management.Depto. de Análisis Matemático y Matemática AplicadaFac. de Ciencias MatemáticasFALSEunpu
Un posible lenguaje de la inteligencia artificial en "Membrana" de Jorge Carrión
No full textRESUMEN: El presente trabajo tiene como objeto de estudio la novela "Membrana" (2021) del escritor contemporáneo español Jorge Carrión, una obra de ciencia ficción especulativa que imagina un futuro en el que las inteligencias artificiales no solo adquieren conciencia, sino que desarrollan un lenguaje propio. La construcción discursiva de ese lenguaje se presenta como artificial y la novela se despliega a través del Museo del Siglo XXI, cuyo catálogo funciona como texto central y espacio simbólico en el que se problematizan las nociones de voz, autoría y memoria desde una perspectiva posthumana. El objetivo del trabajo es analizar cómo Jorge Carrión diseña un posible lenguaje de la IA que, mediante recursos intermediales y el dialogismo, le permite a expresar su identidad, reescribir la historia humana y plantear una alternativa al discurso antropocéntrico.ABSTRACT: The present dissertation focuses on the novel "Membrana" (2021), written by the contemporary Spanish writer Jorge Carrión, a work of speculative science fiction that imagines a future in which the artificial intelligences not only acquire consciousness but also develop a language of their own. The discursive construction of that language is artificial and the novel unfolds through the Museum of the 21st Century, whose catalog functions as the central text and symbolic space where the notions of voice, authorship and memory are problematized from a posthuman perspective. The aim of this study is to analyze how Jorge Carrión designs a possible language for AI that, through intermedial strategies and the Dialogism, allows it to express its identity, rewrite human history, and propose an alternative to the anthropocentric discourse.Depto. de Filología Alemana y Filología EslavaFac. de FilologíaTRUEunpu
Major histocompatibility complex modulation of "Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis" and "Ranavirus" infections in amphibians
No full textThis study was supported by the Swedish Research Council (M.C.-C., international mobility grant: 2019-06352) and Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales of Spain (project 2399/2017; PI: J.B.).Genetic variation in immune genes is an important component of genetic diversity. The genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) provide an excellent model system for studying the mechanisms that generate and maintain genetic diversity in natural populations. While both demographic factors and pathogen-mediated selection processes contribute to the extreme diversity observed in the MHC systems, determining the relative importance of these evolutionary mechanisms has remained challenging. We investigated the role of pathogen-mediated selection in driving MHC diversity in 3 amphibian species: Ichthyosaura alpestris, Pleurodeles waltl, and Pelophilax perezi. Our study examined the relationships between individual MHC diversity, infection status, infection intensity, and co-infection with 2 major amphibian pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Ranavirus sp. (Rv) in natural populations. Our research demonstrated significant differences in Bd and Rv infection intensities among individuals with varying numbers of MHC loci. However, co-infection showed no discernible influence on infection intensities. We observed stronger associations of specific MHC alleles and supertypes with infection intensity and status in I. alpestris. These findings suggest that, in the context of multi-host infections, MHC genes may provide valuable insights into the evolutionary forces shaping MHC diversity, although the specific effects of individual MHC alleles on disease dynamics are yet to be clarified.Swedish Research CouncilOrganismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (España)Depto. de Genética, Fisiología y MicrobiologíaFac. de Ciencias BiológicasTRUEpu