Publications by authors named "Perez-Ortega S"

Oceanic islands have been recognized as natural laboratories in which to study a great variety of evolutionary processes. One such process is evolutionary radiations, the diversification of a single ancestor into a number of species that inhabit different environments and differ in the traits that allow them to exploit those environments. The factors that drive evolutionary radiations have been studied for decades in charismatic organisms such as birds or lizards, but are lacking in lichen-forming fungi, despite recent reports of some lineages showing diversification patterns congruent with radiation.

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Background And Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune condition that can highly impact patients' quality of life (QoL). However, there is a lack of knowledge about SLE, affecting the general population and health care professionals (HCPs) alike. This lack of knowledge has negative implications for patients and the healthcare system, worsening prognosis, negatively impacting QoL, and increasing healthcare utilization.

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Evolutionary radiations are one of the most striking processes biologists have studied in islands. A radiation is often sparked by the appearance of ecological opportunity, which can originate in processes like trophic niche segregation or the evolution of key innovations. Another recently proposed mechanism is facilitation mediated by the bacterial communities associated with the radiating species.

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Introduction: Hygiene in critical patients is an essential daily care, provided under safe conditions, to promote comfort and maintain the integrity of skin and mucous membranes, however, it can generate feelings of dependence and vulnerability in patients. The aim of this post hoc study is to know the differences in satisfaction and lived experience regarding bed hygiene in an intensive care unit according to biological sex and gender perspective.

Methods: Observational, descriptive and prospective study in which an ad hoc questionnaire was administered to 148 conscious and oriented patients of legal age.

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This study explores the diversity of photobionts associated with the Mediterranean lichen-forming fungus . For this purpose, we sequenced the whole ITS rDNA region by Sanger using a metabarcoding method for ITS2. A total of 41 specimens from Greece, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain were studied.

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Objective: to analyze the emotional response of critically-ill conscious patients during daily hygiene procedures in a Cardiology Intensive Care Unit and to compare it based on the existence of previous experiences or not.

Method: a prospective and descriptive study. A 30-item ad hoc survey based on the first-day hygiene procedures was applied to 148 patients.

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The development of diagnostic methods to accurately assess the effects of treatments on lithobiont colonization remains a challenge for the conservation of Cultural Heritage monuments. In this study, we tested the efficacy of biocide-based treatments on microbial colonization of a dolostone quarry, in the short and long-term, using a dual analytical strategy. We applied a metabarcoding approach to characterize fungal and bacterial communities over time, integrated with microscopy techniques to analyze the interactions of microorganisms with the substrate and evaluate the effectiveness.

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Lichens thrive in rocky coastal areas in temperate and cold regions of both hemispheres. Species of the genus Lichina, which form characteristic black fruiting thalli associated with cyanobacteria, often create distinguishable bands in the intertidal and supralittoral zones. The present study uses a comprehensive specimen dataset and four gene loci to (1) delineate and discuss species boundaries in this genus, (2) assess evolutionary relationships among species, and (3) infer the most likely causes of their current geographic distribution in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

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Introduction: Mitral valve-in-valve implantation is a new therapeutic tool in the field of structural interventional cardiology for patients with bioprosthetic dysfunction due to severe mitral valve regurgitation and high surgical risk. The objective was to develop an individualised nursing care plan for a patient undergoing this procedure; the first case in our centre.

Case Description: A 75-year-old woman, independent for activities of daily living, with a history of chronic renal failure and biological mitral valve replacement due to rheumatic valve disease.

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Background: Clinical debriefing (CD) improves patient safety and builds team resilience.

Purpose: We describe the current use of CD by multiprofessional Spanish cardiology team members.

Methods: A self-administered survey exploring 31 items was disseminated online in October 2020.

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Speciation in oceanic islands has attracted the interest of scientists since the 19th century. One of the most striking evolutionary phenomena that can be studied in islands is adaptive radiation, that is, when a lineage gives rise to different species by means of ecological speciation. Some of the best-known examples of adaptive radiation are charismatic organisms like the Darwin finches of the Galapagos and the cichlid fishes of the great African lakes.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many hospitalized patients and deaths worldwide. Coronavirus patients were isolated from their relatives and visits were banned to prevent contagion. This has brought about a significant change in deeply rooted care habits in Mediterranean and Latin American countries where the family normally accompanies vulnerable hospitalized patients.

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Two lichenicolous fungi, one growing on the thallus of in the United Kingdom (Scotland) and the other in apothecia of and in northwestern North America (Alaska and British Columbia) and northeast Asia (Russian Far East, Khabarovsk Krai), show similarities to the species originally described as (later transferred to s. lat and ) from a s. lat.

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Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a worldwide health and social crisis directly impacting the healthcare system. Hospitals had to rearrange its structure to meet clinical needs. Spain has been experiencing a shortage of working nurses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies suggest that the widespread distribution of lichens, traditionally attributed to their dispersal ability, may actually involve hidden speciation and limited ranges in certain fungi lineages.
  • Focus on the fungal genus Pseudephebe reveals three phylogenetic species with origins linked to glacial cycles, diverging between the Miocene and Pliocene eras, and shows that P. minuscula is the only species with an amphitropical range, including populations in Antarctica.
  • Microevolutionary analysis hints that P. minuscula likely originated in the Northern Hemisphere and may have migrated to the Southern Hemisphere through various geographic features during the Pleistocene, with Antarctic populations forming distinct genetic clusters.
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Lichens are widely acknowledged to be a key component of high latitude ecosystems. However, the time investment needed for full inventories and the lack of taxonomic identification resources for crustose lichen and lichenicolous fungal diversity have hampered efforts to fully gauge the depth of species richness in these ecosystems. Using a combination of classical field inventory and extensive deployment of chemical and molecular analysis, we assessed the diversity of lichens and associated fungi in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (USA), a mixed landscape of coastal boreal rainforest and early successional low elevation habitats deglaciated after the Little Ice Age.

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Article Synopsis
  • Glacier forefields act as natural laboratories to study how microbes and plants colonize previously uninhabited areas, but research on high polar systems like moraine rocks is limited.
  • This study investigates the microbial communities (bacteria, fungi, and algae) on moraine rocks and soil at Hurd Glacier forefield in Antarctica, finding different succession patterns depending on the substrate and the time since ice retreat.
  • The research highlights that microbial community structure evolves significantly over time, with greater consistency in soil communities compared to those on rocks, indicating that different ecological processes affect microbial colonization in these distinct environments.
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Article Synopsis
  • Lichens are a unique symbiotic relationship primarily between fungi and photosynthetic organisms, specifically investigating the partnership between the fungal species Mastodia tessellata and Prasiola algae in Antarctica.
  • The study aimed to analyze the photosynthetic abilities and water relation benefits, like desiccation tolerance and freezing resistance, of both free-living and lichenized forms of Prasiola.
  • Findings showed that while lichenized Prasiola displayed better freezing tolerance, it came with a reduced carbon balance and indicated that lichenization is a complex compromise in terms of benefits and costs.
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Lichen-inhabiting fungi are highly specialized mycoparasites, commensals or rarely saprotrophs, that are common components of almost every ecosystem, where they develop obligate associations with lichens. Their relevance, however, contrasts with the relatively small number of these fungi described so far. Recent estimates and ongoing studies indicate that a significant fraction of their diversity remains undiscovered and may be expected in tropical regions, in particular in hyperdiverse fog-exposed montane forests.

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Article Synopsis
  • Two proposals have been put forward to allow DNA sequences to be used as types for naming certain fungi, which could fundamentally alter the definition of nomenclatural types and lead to various issues in scientific reproducibility and nomenclatural instability.
  • The authors argue against these proposals, suggesting that they would not effectively address the challenges of naming taxa based solely on DNA and propose instead that formulas for naming candidate taxa could be a better solution without changing existing nomenclature rules.
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A previously established chronosequence from Pia Glacier forefield in Tierra del Fuego (Chile) containing soils of different ages (from bare soils to forest ones) is analyzed. We used this chronosequence as framework to postulate that microbial successional development would be accompanied by changes in functionality. To test this, the GeoChip functional microarray was used to identify diversity of genes involved in microbial carbon and nitrogen metabolism, as well as other genes related to microbial stress response and biotic interactions.

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Symbiotic associations between green algae (Chlorophyta) and fungi give rise to morphologically and eco-physiologically distinct entities, or so-called, lichens. In one of the most peculiar of these associations, the partners are species of the macroscopic genus Prasiola (Trebouxiophyceae) and the ascomycete Mastodia tessellata (Verrucariaceae). This is the only known case of a lichen symbiosis involving a foliose green alga.

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Foliicolous lichens are formed by diverse, highly specialized fungi that establish themselves and complete their life cycle within the brief duration of their leaf substratum. Over half of these lichen-forming fungi are members of either the Gomphillaceae or Pilocarpaceae, and associate with Trebouxia-like green algae whose identities have never been positively determined. We investigated the phylogenetic affinities of these photobionts to better understand their role in lichen establishment on an ephemeral surface.

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