The genetic basis of divergent melanic pigmentation in benthic and limnetic threespine stickleback.

Pigmentation is an excellent trait to examine patterns of evolutionary change because it is often under natural selection. Benthic and limnetic threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) exhibit distinct pigmentation phenotypes, likely an adaptation to occupation of divergent niches. The genetic architecture of pigmentation in vertebrates appears to be complex. Prior QTL mapping of threespine stickleback pigmentation phenotypes has identified several candidate loci. However-relative to other morphological phenotypes (e.g., spines or lateral plates)-the genetic architecture of threespine stickleback pigmentation remains understudied. Here, we performed QTL mapping for two melanic pigmentation traits (melanophore density and lateral barring) using benthic-limnetic F2 crosses. The two traits mapped to different chromosomes, suggesting a distinct genetic basis. The resulting QTLs were additive, but explained a relatively small fraction of the total variance (~6%). QTLs maps differed by F1 family, suggesting variation in genetic architecture or ability to detect loci of small effect. Functional analysis identified enriched pathways for candidate loci. Several of the resulting candidate loci for pigmentation, including three loci in enriched pathways (bco1, sulf1, and tyms) have been previously indicated to affect pigmentation in other vertebrates. These findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting pigmentation is often polygenic.

Disrupción académica provocada por COVID-19 en la educación médica superior. Respuestas inmediatas y propuestas de futuro / Academic disruption caused by COVID-19 in higher medical education. Direct responses and proposals for the future

RESUMEN Las instituciones de educación superior de Salud han afrontado un gran reto con la aparición de la pandemia de COVID-19. Esta situación generó una ruptura de los tradicionales modelos de formación, caracterizados por la presencialidad en el aula, obligando a pasar hacia la educación a distancia, conocida en esta situación como educación remota de emergencia. Este proceso de disrupción académica, determinó acciones para lograr, aun en estas condiciones, la continuidad del curso escolar, estructurándose las mismas en dos etapas sucesivas: la primera, con predominio del principio de depósito sin interacción (estantería o repositorio), y la segunda con predominio del principio de interacción (verdadero espacio virtual de intercambio) (AU).

ABSTRACT The institutions of higher health education have faced a major challenge with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation caused a rupture of the traditional training models, characterized by the presence in the classroom, forcing to move towards distance education, known in this situation as remote emergency education. This process of academic disruption determined actions to achieve, even under these conditions, the continuity of the school year, structuring them in two successive stages: the first, with predominance of the principle of non-interaction deposit (shelving or repository), and the second with predominance of the principle of interaction (true virtual space of exchange) (AU).

Does facial hair greying in chimpanzees provide a salient progressive cue of aging?

The greying of human head hair is arguably the most salient marker of human aging. In wild mammal populations, greying can change with life history or environmental factors (e.g., sexual maturity in silverback gorillas). Yet, whether humans are unique in our pattern of age-related hair depigmentation is unclear. We examined the relationship between pigmentation loss in facial hair (greying) to age, population, and sex in wild and captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Digital facial photographs representing three chimpanzee populations (N = 145; ages 1-60 years) were scored for hair greying on a scale of one [~100% pigmented] to six [~0% pigmented]. Our data suggest that chimpanzee head and facial hair generally greys with age prior to mid-life (~30 years old), but afterwards, greying ceases to increase incrementally. Our results highlight that chimpanzee pigmentation likely exhibits substantial variation between populations, and that both 'grey' and pigmented phenotypes exist across various age classes. Thus, chimpanzee facial hair greying is unlikely a progressive indicator of age beyond mid-life, and thus facial greying in chimpanzees seems different from the pattern observed in humans. Whether this reflects neutral differences in senescence, or potential differences in selection pressures (e.g. related to conspecific communication), is unclear and worthy of more detailed examination across populations and taxa.

Importancia de la sangre, hemoderivados y las donaciones voluntarias de sangre / Importance of voluntary blood donations. Blood and blood products

RESUMEN La terapia transfusional demanda de sólidos conocimientos para lograr planear y ejecutar un plan de trabajo integral para el logro del bienestar de la persona que lo requiera. El personal que desarrolla su profesión en aspectos relacionados con las transfusiones sanguíneas debe estar en una actualización continua de conocimientos, orientados a desarrollar nuevas técnicas así como medidas de seguridad. El objetivo de este trabajo fue abordar acerca de la importancia del uso de la sangre como recurso terapéutico, y el valor hermanado de la donación voluntaria y generoso de sangre lo que vincula al individuo a una nueva conducta y actitud hacia el mundo exterior natural, socia. La sangre constituye la materia prima esencial para los bancos de sangre, de ella se obtiene el plasma, glóbulos rojos, glóbulos blancos, plaquetas, hemoderivados y otros productos biológicos para terapias en la medicina transfusional. La donación voluntaria es una acción desprendida por el solo hecho de ayudar a otros a los que no se conoce, no sólo es la más generosa y la más ética, es el pilar de los servicios modernos de donación y transfusión sanguínea (AU).

SUMMARY Transfusion therapy demands solid knowledge to plan and perform a comprehensive work plan to achieve the wellbeing of persons needing it. The staff whose profession is related with blood transfusions should be continuously updating their knowledge, trying to develop new techniques and secure practices. The aim of this article was approaching the importance of using blood as therapeutic resource and the associated value of generous and voluntary donation, linking individuals to a new behavior and attitude to the natural and social outside world. Blood is the essential raw material for blood banks, obtaining from it plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, blood products and other biological products for therapies in transfusion medicine. Voluntary donation is a disinterested action just for the fact of helping unknown persons. It is not only the most generous and the most ethical action, but it is also the support of the modern blood donation and transfusion services (AU).

El especialista en Medicina General Integral en el perfeccionamiento medioambiental para un desarrollo sostenible / The specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine in the environmental improvement for a sustainable development

RESUMEN Es importante el desarrollo de la educación ambiental desde la simple atención a los aspectos físicos y biológicos locales, como también mantener un enfoque integral de las realidades ambientales. Existe una estrecha vinculación entre desarrollo económico y conservación o degradación del medio ambiente, así como la necesidad de una integración mundial. Es cardinal la conservación del medio ambiente y la necesidad de garantizar la sostenibilidad ambiental. En esta tarea se asume al hombre como el primordial recurso natural existente, que igualmente corre el riesgo de desaparecer ante la presente crisis ambiental. En el funcionamiento y desarrollo de las comunidades se perfila el rescate de la iniciativa y la búsqueda de solución a las dificultades ambientales más diversas, en las localidades y barrios, donde se involucren a todos sus miembros. Los autores de este trabajo se plantearon valorar la importancia de la participación del especialista en Medicina General Integral en el perfeccionamiento medioambiental para el logro de un desarrollo sostenible.

ABSTRACT Environmental education is very important, ranging from the simple attention to local biological and physical aspects to keeping an integral approach to the environmental realities. There is a tight relation between economical development and environmental conservation or degradation, and also the necessity of a worldwide integration. It is cardinal the environmental conservation and the necessity of guaranteeing the environmental sustainability. The man is the main natural resource and he is also at risk of disappearing as the result of the current environmental crisis. The functioning and development of the communities, villages and towns, should be based in rescuing the initiative and searching solutions to the most different environmental difficulties with the participation of all their members. The authors of this work aimed their work at assessing the importance of the participation of the specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine in the environmental improvement to achieve a sustainable development.

Allogrooming in Male-Female Pairs of Captive Owl Monkeys (Aotus nancymaae).

Owl monkeys (Aotus spp.) are socially monogamous, yet allogrooming is reported to be rare. Because Aotus are nocturnal and arboreal, allogrooming is difficult to observe in natural settings. We observed 21 male-female pairs of captive Aotus nancymaae during 2 nonconsecutive study periods in order to describe the details of allogrooming between mates (partner grooming). We found that grooming bouts are brief and consist of tugging the hair or skin with flexed fingers and/or the mouth. Males groomed females most often, and their rates of partner grooming were negatively related to age. Partner grooming occurred regardless of mating behavior. Camera trap data revealed that the rate of partner grooming (1.50 bouts/h) is greater than that recorded from our direct observations in the early evenings (0.51 bouts/h, in 2013; 0.37 bouts/h in 2003) given that most bouts occurred later in the night. A positive relationship between the rates of the parents' partner grooming and those of their offspring later in life suggests intergenerational transmission. This relationship is influenced by the fathers' rates of partner grooming. We conclude that allogrooming in Aotus is a normal part of their behavioral repertoire that likely serves social functions similar to those in other pair-bonded primates.

Bat Predation by Cercopithecus Monkeys: Implications for Zoonotic Disease Transmission.

The relationship between bats and primates, which may contribute to zoonotic disease transmission, is poorly documented. We provide the first behavioral accounts of predation on bats by Cercopithecus monkeys, both of which are known to harbor zoonotic disease. We witnessed 13 bat predation events over 6.5 years in two forests in Kenya and Tanzania. Monkeys sometimes had prolonged contact with the bat carcass, consuming it entirely. All predation events occurred in forest-edge or plantation habitat. Predator-prey relations between bats and primates are little considered by disease ecologists, but may contribute to transmission of zoonotic disease, including Ebolavirus.

Owl monkeys (Aotus spp.) perform self- and social anointing in captivity.

Several species of primates, including owl monkeys (Aotus spp.), anoint by rubbing their fur with odiferous substances. Previous research has shown that capuchin monkeys (Cebus and Sapajus) anoint socially by rubbing their bodies together in groups of two or more while anointing. Owl monkeys housed at the DuMond Conservancy have been observed to anoint over the last 10 years, and we report detailed new information on the anointing behavior of this population, including descriptions of social anointing which occurs frequently. We first investigated the occurrence of self-anointing in 35 Aotus spp. presented with millipedes. Detailed descriptions regarding body regions anointed were obtained for all anointers (n = 28). The median duration for a self-anointing bout was 3.6 min (range from approx. 2 s to 14.15 min). While the latency and length of anointing bouts showed considerable interindividual differences, no statistically significant differences were found between sexes, wild- or captive-born owl monkeys or across age groups. However, we found the lower back and tail were anointed at a rate significantly greater than other body parts, but there were no differences in these patterns across sex or wild- or captive-born owl monkeys. More recently, social anointing was investigated in 26 Aotus spp. presented with millipedes, of which half were observed to anoint socially. The average duration for all social anointing bouts was 72.88 s, with a median duration of 30 s (range 5-322 s). A detailed ethogram was also generated that included behaviors that were performed while anointing, including facial expressions and vocalizations. The intraindividual variability for 8 monkeys used in both investigations is discussed. These findings extend our knowledge of anointing and confirm the existence of social anointing in another genus with a unique biology (nocturnal and socially monogamous) distinct from capuchins.

Propuesta del Sitio Web Aprendiendo a aprender como guía para la orientación del aprendizaje / Proposing the web site Learning to learn as a guide to direct learning

Comenzar la universidad es, para los estudiantes, un verdadero desafío, ya que se enfrentan a nuevas experiencias académicas. Esto nos motivó a realizar una investigación de tipo descriptiva prospectiva con los estudiantes de primer año de Medicina de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas Juan Guiteras Gener, de Matanzas, la cual se llevó a cabo en tres etapas. En una primera etapa se aplicó una encuesta a la muestra seleccionada, donde fueron identificadas necesidades de orientación para el aprendizaje. Los resultados se presentaron en tablas para su discusión, tomando como medida resumen los números absolutos y porcientos En una segunda, se confeccionó el Sitio Web Aprendiendo a aprender para guiar al estudiante en el proceso de aprendizaje, el cual está conformado por 10 capítulos. Y en la última, el sitio fue valorado por un grupo de expertos, los cuales lo consideraron adecuado para orientar a los estudiantes, y recomendaron su utilización para validación.

Beginning university studies is, for students, a truly challenge, because they affront new academic experiences. It motivated us carrying a prospective, descriptive, three-stage study with the first year medicine students of the Medical University Dr. Juan Guiteras Gener of Matanzas. In the first stage we applied enquire, in which the selected sample identified necessities of directing learning. The results were showed in tables for discussion, taking as a final measure absolute numbers and percents. In a second stage we prepared the 10 chapter web site Learning to learn to direct the student during the learning process. In the last stage the web site was evaluated by a group of experts, who considered it adequate to direct students, and recommended to use it for validation.

Propuesta metodológica para la superación de los profesores de Morfofisiología de la provincia de Matanzas / Methodological proposal to elevate de pedagogical knowledge of Morphophysiology teachers of the province of Matanzas

Se realizó una propuesta metodológica de superación para los docentes que imparten la disciplina Morfofisiología, en la carrera de Medicina, en los distintos escenarios docentes de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas Dr Juan Guiteras Gener, de Matanzas. Dicha propuesta incluye las ciencias básicas biomédicas (Embriología, Anatomía, Histología, Bioquímica y Fisiología), las Tecnologías de la Informática y las Comunicaciones (TICs) en la educación universitaria, y la Metodología de la Enseñanza. Esta última no está incluida en el plan de estudios de la carrera de Medicina, por lo que los profesores, al adquirir su categoría docente una vez finalizada la carrera, deben estar preparados para enfrentar este nuevo reto de formar otros médicos en la Atención Primaria de Salud (APS).

We presented a methodological proposal to elevate the knowledge of docents, teaching the matter Morphophysiology in the specialty of Medicine, in the different teaching settings of the Medical University of Matanzas. This proposal includes basic biomedical sciences (Embryology, Anatomy, Histology, Biochemistry, and Physiology), Informatics and Communication Techniques in high education, and Methodology of Teaching. The last one is not included in the subject plans taught in the specialty of medicine, so the docents, when they acquire a docent category after finishing studies, have to be prepared to affront this new challenge of preparing other physicians in Primary Health Care.