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Ixodes ricinus ticks are distributed across Europe and are a vector of tick-borne diseases. Although I. ricinus transcriptome studies have focused exclusively on protein coding genes, the last decade witnessed a strong increase in long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) research and characterization. Here, we report for the first time an exhaustive analysis of these non-coding molecules in I. ricinus based on 131 RNA-seq datasets from three different BioProjects. Using this data, we obtained a consensus set of lncRNAs and showed that lncRNA expression is stable among different studies. While the length distribution of lncRNAs from the individual data sets is biased toward short length values, implying the existence of technical artefacts, the consensus lncRNAs show a more homogeneous distribution emphasizing the importance to incorporate data from different sources to generate a solid reference set of lncRNAs. KEGG enrichment analysis of host miRNAs putatively targeting lncRNAs upregulated upon feeding showed that these miRNAs are involved in several relevant functions for the tick-host interaction. The possibility that at least some tick lncRNAs act as host miRNA sponges was further explored by identifying lncRNAs with many target regions for a given host miRNA or sets of host miRNAs that consistently target lncRNAs together. Overall, our findings suggest that lncRNAs that may act as sponges have diverse biological roles related to the tick–host interaction in different tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 faced the traditional Spanish territorial problem through the recognition of a political autonomy that could be reached by nationalities and regions. The result has been a political system with a high level of decentralization. At the root cause were the special needs of some territories who were looking for a bilateral relationship with the central administration, but finally decentralization spread and the whole of the country was split into 17 autonomous territories. As an effect, multilateralism became the priority, and the system was leading to a federalizing development. Several federal instruments were adopted, and the political model seemed to turn into a functional federalism. However, this evolution has not prospered, and and in these pages an explanation is sought. The Sectorial Conferences, considered as the main tool for intergovernmental cooperation, are analyzed through the dynamic of their meetings and the evaluation of their tasks. This analysis provide two ideas about the problems the system generates: How a centralized power is going to adapt itself to a new decentralized system forgetting its previous position of superiority, and in parallel to how the Autonomous Communities are going to assume their full responsibility overcoming their political dependence on the central power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In municipalities with a declining population, there is a high percentage of vacant housing that paradoxically coexists with an insufficient offer of affordable and adequate homes for certain residents who either want to remain in town or settle there for work reasons. To put these vacant homes on the market at an affordable price and in adequate living conditions, a first step would be to identify and characterize them. In the research project Demographic Challenge and Housing (REVIVE), a mixed methodology has been applied to identify and characterize vacant housing in the two municipalities chosen as case studies, Montefrío and Arroyomolinos de León (Andalusia, Spain). In turn, the unsatisfied demand for housing, detected and potential, has been analyzed, qualifying it according to parameters such as the access or tenure regime. In this way, the aim is to determine whether the available stock can serve as a potential resource to facilitate the fixation of population in these municipalities. As a result, maps of vacant housing have been created in which the situations detected are characterized and the foundations are set for further fieldwork, aimed at reactivating vacant housing. The conclusions of the study indicate that the demand for housing of the native population and of workers and entrepreneurs can be satisfactorily solved through good management of the vacant housing stock detected, combining rehabilitation and mediation actions in the rental of these homes. At the same time, it points at the importance of carrying out diagnoses to support the development of effective strategies, which, in the case of municipalities of smaller size and population is not easy to do due to the lack of consistent information to carry out this kind of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is one of the most important food sources on Earth. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in wheat productivity. To identify wheat miRNAs as well as their expression profiles under drought condition, we constructed and sequenced small RNA (sRNA) libraries from the leaves and roots of three wheat cultivars (Kukri, RAC875 and Excalibur) under water and drought conditions. A total of 636 known miRNAs and 294 novel miRNAs were identified, of which 34 miRNAs were tissue- or cultivar-specific. Among these, 314 were significantly regulated under drought conditions. miRNAs that were drought-regulated in all cultivars displayed notably higher expression than those that responded in a cultivar-specific manner. Cultivar-specific drought response miRNAs were mainly detected in roots and showed significantly different drought regulations between cultivars. By using wheat degradome library, 6619 target genes were identified. Many target genes were strongly enriched for protein domains, such as MEKHLA, that play roles in drought response. Targeting analysis showed that drought-downregulated miRNAs targeted more genes than drought-upregulated miRNAs. Furthermore, such genes had more important functions. Additionally, the genes targeted by drought-downregulated miRNAs had multiple interactions with each other, while the genes targeted by drought-upregulated miRNAs had no interactions. Our data provide valuable information on wheat miRNA expression profiles and potential functions in different tissues, cultivars and drought conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have examined tick proteomes, how they adapt to their environment, and their roles in the parasite–host interactions that drive tick infestation and pathogen transmission. Here we used a proteomics approach to screen for biologically and immunologically relevant proteins acting at the tick‐host interface during tick feeding and, as proof of principle, measured host antibody responses to some of the discovered candidates. We used a label‐free quantitative proteomic workflow to study salivary proteomes of (i) wild Ixodes ricinus ticks fed on different hosts, (ii) wild or laboratory ticks fed on the same host, and (iii) adult ticks cofed with nymphs. Our results reveal high and stable expression of several protease inhibitors and other tick‐specific proteins under different feeding conditions. Most pathways functionally enriched in sialoproteomes were related to proteolysis, endopeptidase, and amine‐binding activities. The generated catalogue of tick salivary proteins enabled the selection of six candidate secreted immunogenic peptides for rabbit immunizations, three of which induced strong and durable antigen‐specific antibody responses in rabbits. Furthermore, rabbits exposed to ticks mounted immune responses against the candidate peptides/proteins, confirming their expression at the tick‐vertebrate interface. Our approach provides insights into tick adaptation strategies to different feeding conditions and promising candidates for developing antitick vaccines or markers of exposure of vertebrate hosts to tick bites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the fear avoidance beliefs on sick leave because of low back pain (LBP) among the citizens in Spain. LBP is also known as nonspecific or common low back pain and it is a kind of back pain that is located between costal margins and the inferior gluteal parts and associated with painful movement limitation.