Jessica Beltrán

Ulva sp. infection in seaweed is considered one of the most harmful infections, since it penetrates deep into the host cell wall and disorganizes the cortical tissue. In Gracilaria chilensis farms, epiphytism is one of the major biological problems and strong fluctuations in landings of this rhodophyte have been documented in the past decades. The...

Ulva sp. infection in seaweed is considered one of the most harmful infections, since it penetrates deep into the host cell wall and disorganizes the cortical tissue. In Gracilaria chilensis farms, epiphytism is one of the major biological problems and strong fluctuations in this rhodophyta landings have been documented in the past decades. The pre...

Background: Sexual assault and alcohol use are significant public health concerns, including for the United States (US) military. Although alcohol is a risk factor for military sexual assault (MSA), research on the extent of alcohol-involvement in MSAs has not been synthesised. Objective: Accordingly, this scoping review is a preliminary step in ev...

Macroalgal (seaweed) genomic resources are generally lacking as compared to other eukaryotic taxa, and this is particularly true in the red algae (Rhodophyta). Understanding red algal genomes is critical to understanding eukaryotic evolution given that red algal genes are spread across eukaryotic lineages from secondary endosymbiosis and red algae...

The red seaweed Gracilaria chilensis, a species extensively cultivated in Chile for agar extraction, was subjected to a bioassay to determine the susceptibility of tetrasporophytes, female and male gametophytes collected from natural and cultivated populations, to the red epiphyte Acrochaetium sp. and the brown epiphyte Ectocarpus sp. The settlemen...

Introduction Exercise-based interventions have established benefits for the treatment of depression and other psychological outcomes; however, limited data exist evaluating psychological, social, and functional outcomes for exercise outdoors. Methods The current study sought to expand knowledge about the breadth of effects following outdoor exerci...

The red seaweed Gracilaria chilensis, a species extensively cultivated in Chile for agar extraction, was subjected to a bioassay to determine the susceptibility of tetrasporophytes, female and male gametophytes collected from natural and cultivated populations, to the red epiphyte Acrochaetium sp. and the brown epiphyte Ectocarpus sp. The settlemen...

Macroalgal (seaweed) genomic resources are generally lacking as compared to other eukaryotic taxa, and this is particularly true in the red algae (Rhodophyta). Understanding red algal genomes is critical to understanding eukaryotic evolution given that red algal genes are spread across eukaryotic lineages from secondary endosymbiosis and red algae...

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent mental health disorder worldwide, including among U.S. service members. In addition to evidence-based treatments, activity-based approaches have been shown to effectively treat depressive symptoms, particularly when they occur in the natural environment. Methods This study compared t...

Residential posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research in military samples generally shows that in aggregate, PTSD symptoms significantly improve over the course of treatment but can remain at elevated levels following treatment. Identifying individuals who respond to residential treatment versus those who do not, including those who worsen, is...

Psychological comorbidity, the co‐occurrence of mental health disorders, is more often the rule than the exception among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research shows that prevalence estimates for specific psychological disorders differ by gender; however, little is known about whether these patterns persist in the presence...

Nowadays, the elderly population has increased considerably as well as health problems related to old age, such as dementia. Consequently, there is a need for constant monitoring, assistance and support provided by caregivers in people’s home causing high economic costs and a shortage of healthcare professionals. Informal caregivers, usually relati...

The number of people who experience anxiety disorders around the world has increased in the last few years. Studies report that meditation can reduce stress or anxiety. There are several videos on online platforms such as YouTube stating that they can reduce anxiety or stress. In this work, we present the results of a comparison between mediation a...

Heterozygosity has been positively associated with fitness and population survival. However, the relationship between heterozygosity and adaptive phenotypic plasticity (i.e., plasticity which results in fitness homeostasis or improvement in changing environments) is unclear and has been poorly explored in seaweeds. In this study, we explored this r...

General purpose robot hands are often badly suited for manipulating textiles and thin objects. One challenging task is the pushing (tucking) of textiles into small openings, which is an integral part of important tasks in manufacturing and is still largely unautomated. Current robot grippers are almost exclusively designed for grasping objects, or...

When manipulating textiles and thin objects, one challenging task is to push (tuck) of textiles into small openings. Further, for a number of manufacturing tasks it poses an obstacle to automation. However, current robot grippers are almost exclusively designed for grasping objects, or imitate the human hand with very fine mechanisms that break eas...

Lessonia spicata is a key dominant species along the Pacific coast of South America, providing a habitat for many organisms. However, this role can be affected by abiotic stress, such as metals. To counteract the toxic effect, L. spicata, among other seaweeds, releases exudates that bind metals. In this study, tolerances to copper of organisms rela...

Chimerism is produced by the somatic fusion of two or more genetically distinct conspecific individuals. In animals, the main cost of fusion is competition between genetically different cell lineages and the probability of original cell-line replacement by more competitive invasive lines, which limits its natural frequency (3-5%). In red and brown...

In brown macroalgae, intraspecific holdfast coalescence has only been studied in two species of Lessonia (Lessonia spicata and Lessonia berteroana). In both species coalescence followed the same general pattern: once the connection between holdfasts was established, the contact areas showed significant cellular morphological modifications. Typical...

IL-2, a cytokine with pleiotropic effects, is critical for immune cell activation and peripheral tolerance. Although the therapeutic potential of IL-2 has been previously suggested in autoimmune diseases, the mechanisms whereby IL-2 mitigates autoimmunity and prevents organ damage remain unclear. Using an inducible recombinant adeno-associated viru...

Exposición presentada en el congreso de la Sociedad Chilena de Ficología (Sochifico) en Abril del año 2014. La presentación fue premiada como la mejor exposición oral de alumnos de pre- y postgrado. En está se explican partes de los resultados preliminares del seminario de investigación que realicé en la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, y...

Although a population of T cells with CD3ζ chain deficiency has been found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and infectious disease, the role of CD3ζ chain in the disease pathogenesis remains unknown. To understand the contribution of CD3ζ deficiency to the expression of organ injury, we have performed the...

Coalescing macroalgae may fuse with conspecifics, forming genetically heterogeneous entities known as chimera. This process has been shown in taxa from roughly half the red algal orders and in the Codium species, a green alga. Field observations indicate that common and dominant kelps along central Chile exhibit a fused holdfast. We evaluated wheth...

Panel presentado en el congreso de Ecología del año 2012.

A population of T cells that lack the CD3 zeta (ζ) chain exists in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and infectious diseases. SLE is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by high production of autoantibodies and multi-organ tissue inflammation. However, the role of CD3ζ chain-deficient T cells in the pathogenesi...

The red alga Gracilaria chilensis is commercially farmed for the production of agar hydrocolloids, but some susceptible algae in farms suffer from intense epiphyte growth. We investigated the induced chemical defense response of G. chilensis against epiphytes and demonstrated that an extract of an epiphyte-challenged alga can trigger a defense resp...

Little is known about variation of sex ratio, the proportion of males to females, in natural populations of seaweed, though it is a major determinant of the mating system. The observation of sexual chromosomes in kelps suggested that sex is partly genetically determined. However, it is probably not purely genetic since the sex ratio can be modified...

The facultative red algal epiphyte Acrochaetium sp. liberated spores preferentially and recruited more successfully in laboratory cultures when its host Gracilaria chilensis C. J. Bird, McLachlan et E. C. Oliveira was present. The same effect was also induced by cell-free medium from G. chilensis, suggesting it contained a molecular signal. Antibio...

This study identified the most common epiphytes infecting the algal host Gracilaria chilensis on a farm in northern Chile. Simultaneously, the types of host–epiphyte interfaces were characterized and their relative abundance and temporal variability were monitored. Five types of anatomical relationships were detected. Infection type I included the...

The cover picture shows an epifuorescence‐microscopic view (excitation: 360 nm, emission: 460 nm) of a microalgal epiphytic community growing on a field‐collected branch of the red seaweed Gracilaria chilensis. Host cells and membranes are often damaged by penetrating epiphytes such as Acrochaetium sp. (shown as up to 2.5 mm‐long filaments in the p...

We investigated the wound response of the commercially important red alga, Gracilaria chilensis, in order to obtain insight into its interaction with epiphytic pests. After wounding, the host releases free fatty acids as well as the hydroxylated eicosanoids, 8R-hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acid (8-HETE) and 7S,8R-dihydroxy eicosatetraenoic acid (7,8-di...

This study integrates landings statistics and biological studies of the red algaGigartina skottsbergii Setchell & Gardner. The analysis of the landings and carrageenan production in Chile suggeststhat this resource will suffer a strong harvesting pressure during the nextyears. Biological results on sporulation, germination, sporeling growth and sur...

The red alga Gigartina skottsbergii is becoming increasingly valuable as a resource to providing the raw material for the carrageenan industry established in Chile and elsewhere. As a result, wild stocks of the species are subject to intense harvesting by local fishermen. With the current levels of harvesting, it seems likely that natural stands of...

This study provides evidence that the expression of a deformative disease in wild popula-tions of the red algal host Mazzaella laminarioides is strongly influenced by exogenous factors. This was particularly the case for a population in Matanzas, Chile, whose members developed the symptoms when they grew in a high-infection zone, regardless of thei...