Continuous spin reorientation in antiferromagnetic films

We study anisotropic antiferromagnetic one-layer films with dipolar and nearest-neighbor exchange interactions. We obtain a unified phase diagram as a function of effective uniaxial D_e and quadrupolar C anisotropy constants. We study in some detail how spins reorient continuously below a temperature T_s as T and D_e vary.Comment: 3 LaTeX pages, 3 eps figures. Submitted to JMMM on 25 May 2006. Accepted on 21 July 200

Uso solvente de recursos informacionales: una competencia transversal para el ingeniero del siglo XXI

En el presente trabajo se describe, en primer lugar, el diseño curricular de la competencia transversal ‘Uso solvente de los recursos de información’ en la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). Esta capacitación forma parte de un conjunto de 7 competencias genéricas que se imparten en las enseñanzas de grado de la EUETIB. El coordinador de la competencia es el encargado de integrar ésta en las distintas asignaturas obligatorias y optativas de la docencia de grado, con la participación activa de los bibliotecarios formadores del Servicio de Bibliotecas de la UPC. En la fase inicial de los estudios, se realiza una encuesta de evaluación inicial en la que se pretende conocer el nivel formativo de los estudiantes en materia de habilidades informacionales y, a la vez, conocer los hábitos que éstos tienen en la búsqueda y evaluación de la información. A partir de esta encuesta, en la asignatura Informática de fase inicial se realizan actividades formativas de nivel 1 que están totalmente integradas en el currículum de la asignatura. La docencia en recursos informacionales continúa a lo largo del grado con objetivos de tres niveles. En el presente trabajo se muestran los resultados de esta encuesta inicial, en la que se ponen de manifiesto los hábitos y percepciones del alumnado de primer curso de grado en búsqueda y evaluación de la información. Se analizan los resultados obtenidos tras la formación presencial y se comparan con los resultados de un grupo de alumnos control a los cuales se les impartió una docencia basada en tutoriales en línea. Por último, se comparan los resultados de las encuestas con la nota final de la evaluación de la competencia. La eficiencia en el uso de los recursos informacionales es una competencia fundamental para los/as ingenieros/as en el mundo actual. Los resultados muestran que el estudiantado se beneficia de la alfabetización informacional integrada en su currículum. En efecto, la formación mejora sus habilidades y su motivación por el uso de los recursos informacionales que están a su disposición en la Universidad, favoreciendo su futuro desarrollo profesional.We describe the design and implementation of the generic competence ‘Efficient use of Information’ in the UPC Also, we address the following specific research objectives: · What the students’ skills are regarding the generic competence ‘Efficient Use of Information’ when they enter in the Engineering studies. · Assess the formation they received in order to investigate if it is effective Research questions Based in the earlier research objectives, we are interested in answering the following questions: · Do the students have the informational skills required to successfully follow their Engineering studies? · Is the generic formation given to them in the syllabus correct and effective? · How the students perceive their training and their skills, related to Informational skills? Quantitative and qualitative results of an ad-hoc survey, and a comparison with the academic results of the activities regarding this competence are discussed. Efficiency in dealing with informational resources are a key competence in the XXIst century engineering curriculum. This work can be useful as a reference for other Engineering Colleges in the European Higher Education Area

siRNA-silencing of CD40 attenuates unilateral ureteral obstruction-induced kidney injury in mice

Ureteral obstruction; CD40; MiceObstrucción ureteral; CD40; RatonesObstrucció ureteral; CD40; RatolinsBACKGROUND: The costimulatory CD40-CD40L pathway plays a role in kidney inflammation. We have previously reported that renal CD40 upregulation precedes cellular interstitial infiltrate and fibrosis in the unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model. Here we sought to evaluate whether the administration of siRNA-CD40 has a therapeutic effect in a reversible unilateral ureteral obstruction (D-UUO) mice model. METHODS: Eight week-old C57BL6J male mice were divided into four groups: Vehicle (Phosphate-buffered saline) (n = 8); siRNA SC (non-specific siRNA) (n = 6); siRNA-CD40 (n = 8) and WT (wild type) (n = 6) mice. UUO was performed with a microvascular clamp. At day 3 after surgery, the ureteral clamp was removed and nephrectomy of the contralateral kidney was performed. Immediately, PBS, siRNA SC (50μg) or siRNA-CD40 (50μg) was administrated via the tail vein. Mice were killed 48h hours after the siRNA or saline administration. Wild type (WT) mice were used as controls. Blood samples were collected for measuring creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). Histology and kidney mRNA expression were performed. RESULTS: The administration of siRNA-CD40 reduced significantly the severity of acute renal failure associated with UUO. Pathologic analysis showed reduction of tubular dilation, interstitial fibrosis, F4/80 macrophage and CD3 (T cell) infiltration in animals treated with siRNA-CD40. Furthermore, kidney mRNA gene expression analysis showed significantly lower levels of macrophage markers (F4/80 and Mannose receptor), fibrosis matrix proteins (Fibronectin, MMP-9, Collagen IV and α-SMA), pro-inflammatory cytokines (iNOS and MCP-1) and the pro-fibrotic molecule TGF-β1 in siRNA-CD40. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of siRNA-CD40 therapy reduces the severity of the acute kidney injury induced by obstructive uropathy and promotes kidney repair. This strategy seems suitable to be tested in humans.Funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the project RD16/0009/ 0003 (Co-funded by European Regional Development Fund. ERDF, a way to build Europe

Subtle Visuomotor deficits and reduced benefit from practice in early treated phenylketonuria

Introduction: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare metabolic disease that causes slight-to-severe neurological symptoms. Slow performance has been observed in PKU but the influence of high-order (i.e., not purely motor) deficits and of temporary variations of the phenylalanine (Phe) level on this slowness has not been fully corroborated as yet. Response speed and the effect of motor practice during the performance of a visuomotor coordination task were measured, in a group of patients with early-treated phenylketonuria (ET PKU). Method: We compared the performance of a group of early-treated PKU patients with ages ranging from 11 to 25 years and a control group of healthy volunteers on a computerized visuomotor task. Participants performed rapid movements towards one of five response buttons, as indicated by a visual stimulus that could appear in five different positions on a computer screen. The results of our visuomotor task were correlated with neurobiological data (Phe levels) and with neuropsychological measures of motor (finger tapping) and executive functions (Stroop task). Results: The ET PKU group showed slower responses than the control group. Furthermore, an absence of a practice effect (i.e., faster response times at the end of the study) was found in the PKU group but not in the control group. Our results also revealed that this absence of practice effect correlated with higher Phe levels on the testing day with respect to the average Phe level of the previous 12 months and, although weakly, with performance on the Stroop task. Conclusions: This pattern of results indicates slower visuomotor performance and a less beneficial effect of practice in ET PKU. The correlations found among our visuomotor measures, the same-day Phe level, and the Stroop test may reflect the negative effects of dopamine reduction in brain areas involved in motor control, selective attention, and learnin

Capilaroscopia en el Síndrome de Sjögren Primario

La Síndrome de Sjögren primària (SSp) és una malaltia inflamatòria crònica autoimmune que afecta a les glàndules exocrines. Cursa amb símptomes de sequedat generalitzada i un terç dels pacients presenten afecció extraglandular, incloent Fenomen de Raynaud. Per investigar l'existència d'un patró capilaroscòpic típic o suggestiu de SSp es va practicar videocapilaroscòpia a 107 pacients, analitzant posteriorment les possibles relacions entre les alteracions trobades i el perfil immunològic i /o l'afecció sistèmica. No es va trobar un patró capilaroscòpic característic del SSp, però vàrem trobar mes alteracions capilaroscòpicas en els pacients amb afecció extraglandular, suggerint una utilitat pronòstica de la capilaroscòpiaEl Síndrome de Sjögren primario (SSp) es una enfermedad inflamatoria crónica autoinmune que afecta a las glándulas exocrinas. Cursa con síntomas de sequedad generalizada y un tercio de pacientes presentan afección extraglandular, incluyendo Fenómeno de Raynaud. Para investigar la existencia de un patrón capilaroscópico típico o sugestivo de SSp se practicó videocapilaroscopia a 107 pacientes, analizando posteriormente las posibles relaciones entre las alteraciones halladas y el perfil inmunológico y/o la afección sistémica. No se halló un patrón capilaroscópico característico del SSp, pero se hallaron más alteraciones capilaroscópicas en los pacientes con afección extraglandular, sugiriendo una utilidad pronostica de la capilaroscopia

CellPhoneDB v5: inferring cell-cell communication from single-cell multiomics data

Cell-cell communication is essential for tissue development, regeneration and function, and its disruption can lead to diseases and developmental abnormalities. The revolution of single-cell genomics technologies offers unprecedented insights into cellular identities, opening new avenues to resolve the intricate cellular interactions present in tissue niches. CellPhoneDB is a bioinformatics toolkit designed to infer cell-cell communication by combining a curated repository of bona fide ligand-receptor interactions with a set of computational and statistical methods to integrate them with single-cell genomics data. Importantly, CellPhoneDB captures the multimeric nature of molecular complexes, thus representing cell-cell communication biology faithfully. Here we present CellPhoneDB v5, an updated version of the tool, which offers several new features. Firstly, the repository has been expanded by one-third with the addition of new interactions. These encompass interactions mediated by non-protein ligands such as endocrine hormones and GPCR ligands. Secondly, it includes a differentially expression-based methodology for more tailored interaction queries. Thirdly, it incorporates novel computational methods to prioritise specific cell-cell interactions, leveraging other single-cell modalities, such as spatial information or TF activities (i.e. CellSign module). Finally, we provide CellPhoneDBViz, a module to interactively visualise and share results amongst users. Altogether, CellPhoneDB v5 elevates the precision of cell-cell communication inference, ushering in new perspectives to comprehend tissue biology in both healthy and pathological states.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures and 2 tables. Added previously missing figures and tables; Updated the reference for 'An integrated single-cell reference atlas of the human endometrium' pape

Open Access Escape Room a les biblioteques universitàries catalanes

Presentació de l'Escape Room d'Accés Obert realitzat per les biblioteques universitàries de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) i Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) durant els mesos d'octubre i novembre de 2019 amb l'objectiu comú de difondre l'accés obert entre els diferents col·lectius de la comunitat universitària a través d'una activitat lúdica. Es descriu l'experiència, els seus inicis, com es va preparar i portar a terme i finalment quins van ser els indicadors considerats per valorar-la com una acció d'èxit i amb moltes possibilitats de futur. L'activitat es va exposar al Seminari d'Experiències'20 organitzat pel Col·legi Oficial de Bibliotecaris-Documentalistes de Catalunya el 16 de desembre de 2020. Aquest seminari va substituir les 16es Jornades Catalanes d'Informació i Documentació, cancel·lades per la pandèmia de COVID-19

COVID-19 severity is related to poor executive function in people with post-COVID conditions

Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer NaturePatients with post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) conditions typically experience cognitive problems. Some studies have linked COVID-19 severity with long-term cognitive damage, while others did not observe such associations. This discrepancy can be attributed to methodological and sample variations. We aimed to clarify the relationship between COVID-19 severity and long-term cognitive outcomes and determine whether the initial symptomatology can predict long-term cognitive problems. Cognitive evaluations were performed on 109 healthy controls and 319 post-COVID individuals categorized into three groups according to the WHO clinical progression scale: severe-critical (n¿=¿77), moderate-hospitalized (n¿=¿73), and outpatients (n¿=¿169). Principal component analysis was used to identify factors associated with symptoms in the acute-phase and cognitive domains. Analyses of variance and regression linear models were used to study intergroup differences and the relationship between initial symptomatology and long-term cognitive problems. The severe-critical group performed significantly worse than the control group in general cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), executive function (Digit symbol, Trail Making Test B, phonetic fluency), and social cognition (Reading the Mind in the Eyes test). Five components of symptoms emerged from the principal component analysis: the “Neurologic/Pain/Dermatologic” “Digestive/Headache”, “Respiratory/Fever/Fatigue/Psychiatric” and “Smell/ Taste” components were predictors of Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores; the “Neurologic/Pain/Dermatologic” component predicted attention and working memory; the “Neurologic/Pain/Dermatologic” and “Respiratory/Fever/Fatigue/Psychiatric” components predicted verbal memory, and the “Respiratory/Fever/Fatigue/Psychiatric,” “Neurologic/Pain/Dermatologic,” and “Digestive/Headache” components predicted executive function. Patients with severe COVID-19 exhibited persistent deficits in executive function. Several initial symptoms were predictors of long-term sequelae, indicating the role of systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation in the acute-phase symptoms of COVID-19.” Study Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05307549 and NCT05307575.This research was supported by the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR) from the Generalitat de Catalunya (Pandemies, 202PANDE00053) and La Marató de TV3 Foundation (202111-30-31-32).Peer ReviewedArticle signat per 16 autors/es: Mar Ariza, Neus Cano, Bàrbara Segura, Ana Adan, Núria Bargalló, Xavier Caldú, Anna Campabadal, Maria Angeles Jurado, Maria Mataró, Roser Pueyo, Roser Sala‑Llonch, Cristian Barrué, Javier Bejar, Claudio Ulises Cortés on behalf of NAUTILUS Project Collaborative Group, Maite Garolera Carme JunquéPostprint (published version

A microscopic model for a class of mixed-spin quantum antiferromagnets

We propose a microscopic model that describes the magnetic behavior of the mixed-spin quantum systems R$_2$BaNiO$_5$ (R= magnetic rare earth). An evaluation of the properties of this model by Quantum Monte Carlo simulations shows remarkable good agreement with the experimental data and provides new insight into the physics of mixed-spin quantum magnets.Comment: revised version to be published in Phys. Rev.

Sex-specific association between the cortisol awakening response and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in healthy individuals

Previous studies have shown associations between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity (HPA). We aimed to investigate the association between obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms and HPA axis functionality in a non-clinical sample and to explore whether there are sex differences in this relationship. One hundred eighty-three healthy individuals without any psychiatric diagnosis (80 men, 103 women; mean age 41.3 ± 17.9 years) were recruited from the general population. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R) was used to assess OC symptoms. State-trait anxiety, perceived stress, and stressful life events were also assessed. Saliva cortisol levels were determined at 6 time points (awakening, 30 and 60 min post-awakening, 10:00 a.m., 23:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. the following day of 0.25 mg dexamethasone intake [that occurred at 23:00 p.m.]). Three HPA axis measures were calculated: cortisol awakening response (CAR), cortisol diurnal slope, and cortisol suppression ratio after dexamethasone (DSTR). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to explore the association between OC symptoms and HPA axis measures while adjusting for covariates. Our main analyses were focused on OCI-R total score, but we also explored associations with specific OC symptom dimensions. No significant differences were observed between males and females in OC symptoms, anxiety measures, stress, or cortisol measures. In the multiple linear regression analyses between overall OC symptoms and HPA axis measures, a female sex by OC symptoms significant interaction (standardized beta = − 0.322; p = 0.023) for the CAR (but not cortisol diurnal slope nor DSTR) was found. Regarding specific symptom dimensions, two other sex interactions were found: a blunted CAR was associated with obsessing symptoms in women, whereas a more flattened diurnal cortisol slope was associated with ordering symptoms in men. There are sex differences in the association between OC symptoms and HPA axis measures in healthy individuals