MEDEA: A DSGE Model for the Spanish Economy

In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to a new macroeconometric model of the Spanish economy named MEDEA (Modelo de Equilibrio Dinámico de la Economía EspañolA). MEDEA is a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model that aims to describe the main features of the Spanish economy for policy analysis, counterfactual exercises, and forecasting. MEDEA is built in the tradition of New Keynesian models with real and nominal rigidities, but it also incorporates aspects such as a small open economy framework, an outside monetary authority such as the ECB, and population growth, factors that are important in accounting for aggregate fluctuations in Spain. The model is estimated with Bayesian techniques and data from the last two decades. Beyond describing the properties of the model, we perform different exercises to illustrate the potential of MEDEA, including historical decompositions, long-run and short-run simulations, and counterfactual experiments.DSGE Models, Likelihood Estimation, Bayesian Methods

Diagnóstico de Leishmaniosis canina mediante la técnica de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) : un procedimiento simple para uso en la clínica

Para detectar la presencia de Leishmania ssp, en distintas muestras clínicas de perros sospechosos de padecer esta enfermedad, se ha utilizado la técnica PCR, amplificando para ello un fragmento del gen SSU rRNA, repetido más de 100 veces en el genoma del parásito. El método se ha optimizado para utilizarlo como método de rutina en la clínica. El procesado de las muestras es rápido y simple. El diagnóstico se ha realizado por presencia/ausencia del parásito, utilizando para ello muestras de sangre, médula ósea y ganglio linfático principalmente. En el caso de existir el parásito en el huésped se visualiza una banda nítida de un tamaño de 603 bp y en el caso de que el parásito esté ausente, no se detecta la presencia de esta banda. Los mejores resultados se obtuvieron cuando la muestra de partida fue médula o ganglio linfático. El método presenta la ventaja adicional de detectar portadores asintomáticos, incluidos los titulas de IFI dudosos. La técnica PCR se presenta como test de diagnóstico rutinario, siendo más rápida, eficaz y económica que los métodos de diagnóstico clásicos

An Update on Autophagy in Prion Diseases

Autophagy is a dynamic intracellular mechanism involved in protein and organelle turnover through lysosomal degradation. When properly regulated, autophagy supports normal cellular and developmental processes, whereas defects in autophagic degradation have been associated with several pathologies, including prion diseases. Prion diseases, or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the accumulation of the pathological misfolded isoform (PrPSc) of the physiological cellular prion protein (PrPc) in the central nervous system. Autophagic vacuoles have been described in experimental models of TSE and in the natural disease in humans. The precise connection of this process with prion-related neuropathology, or even whether autophagy is completely beneficial or pathogenic during neurodegeneration, is poorly understood. Thus, the biological role of autophagy in these diseases is still open to debate. During the last years, researchers have used a wide range of morphological, genetic and biochemical methods to monitor and manipulate the autophagic pathway and thus determine the specific role of this process in TSE. It has been suggested that PrPc could play a crucial role in modulating the autophagic pathway in neuronal cells, and the presence of abnormal autophagic activity has been frequently observed in several models of TSE both in vitro and in vivo, as well as in human prion diseases. Altogether, these findings suggest that autophagy is implicated in prion neuropathology and points to an impairment or failure of the process, potentially contributing to the pathogenesis of the disease. Additionally, autophagy is now emerging as a host defense response in controlling prion infection that plays a protective role by facilitating the clearance of aggregation-prone proteins accumulated within neurons. Since autophagy is one of the pathways of PrPSc degradation, and drug-induced stimulation of autophagic flux (the dynamic process of autophagic degradation activity) produces anti-prion effects, new treatments based on its activation have been tested to develop therapeutic strategies for prion diseases. In this review, we summarize previous and recent findings concerning the role of autophagy in TSE

The ferrimagnetic compounds CoM[M'(EDTA)]2.4H2O (M,M'=Co,Ni): Magnetic characterization of CoCo[Ni(EDTA)]2.4H2O

Under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to their work.We report on the magnetic properties of the ordered bimetallic compound CoCo(NiEDTA)2⋅4H2O (abbreviated as [CoCoNi]). The structure consists of ordered bimetallic layers formed by alternating octahedral sites of Co and Ni(II); tetrahedral Co sites connect different Co‐Ni layers. We discuss the low‐dimensional ferrimagnetic behavior of this compound in terms of a model that assumes three spin sublattices exchange coupled by an Ising interaction.This work was supported by the Comision Interministerial en Ciencia y Tecnologia (Grant No. PB 85-OI06-C02-02), the Iustitucio Valenciana d'Estudis i Investigació, and the National Science Foundation (Grant No. DMR-8515224). F. S. andP. G. R. thank the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia for a predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowship, respectively.Peer Reviewe

Effect of Gd polarization on the large magnetocaloric effect of GdCrO4 in a broad temperature range

The ferromagnetic zircon-type phase of GdCrO4 presents high values for the magnetocaloric (MC) parameters. This compound has large isothermal entropy changes ¿ST under the magnetic field action in a wide temperature range, from 5 to 35 K, reaching a maximum |¿ST|=29.0±0.1J/kgK at 22 K, for a field increment ¿B=9 T. It orders ferromagnetically at TC=21.3K via the Cr-Cr exchange interaction and shows a second transition at 4.8 K due to the ordering of the Gd sublattice. The large MC effect is enhanced by the polarization of the Gd3+ ions by the Cr5+ ones via a weaker Gd-Cr interaction. This effect is an interesting feature to be considered in the search for new compounds with a high MC effect in the range of liquid hydrogen or natural gas, regarding the liquefaction of gases by magnetization-demagnetization cycles. This paper contains experimental measurements of magnetization, heat capacity, and direct determinations of the MC effect. The magnetic contribution to the heat capacity Cm has been obtained after subtracting the lattice component. Approximate values for the exchange constants J1 (Cr-Cr) and J3 (Gd-Cr) have been deduced from Cm

Effect of Gd polarization on the large magnetocaloric effect of GdCrO4 in a broad temperature range

The ferromagnetic zircon-type phase of GdCrO4 presents high values for the magnetocaloric (MC) parameters. This compound has large isothermal entropy changes ΔST under the magnetic field action in a wide temperature range, from 5 to 35 K, reaching a maximum |ΔST|=29.0±0.1J/kgK at 22 K, for a field increment ΔB=9 T. It orders ferromagnetically at TC=21.3K via the Cr-Cr exchange interaction and shows a second transition at 4.8 K due to the ordering of the Gd sublattice. The large MC effect is enhanced by the polarization of the Gd3+ ions by the Cr5+ ones via a weaker Gd-Cr interaction. This effect is an interesting feature to be considered in the search for new compounds with a high MC effect in the range of liquid hydrogen or natural gas, regarding the liquefaction of gases by magnetization-demagnetization cycles. This paper contains experimental measurements of magnetization, heat capacity, and direct determinations of the MC effect. The magnetic contribution to the heat capacity Cm has been obtained after subtracting the lattice component. Approximate values for the exchange constants J1 (Cr-Cr) and J3 (Gd-Cr) have been deduced from Cm.This work has been funded by the Spanish MINECO through Projects No. MAT2013-44063-R and No. MAT2013-44964-R, DGA Consolidated Group E100, and Comunidad de Madrid Project No. S2009/PPQ-1626.Peer Reviewe

Thermophysical properties of the lanthanide sesquisulfides. IV. Schottky contributions, magnetic, and electronic properties of ϵ‐phase Yb2S3 and Lu2S3

The heat capacities of ϵ‐phase Yb2S3 and Lu2S3 have been determined from 6 to 350 K and their thermodynamic properties evaluated. The resolution of the Schottky and magnetic properties by evaluation of the lattice heat capacity is shown to be in accord with spectroscopically determined energy levels. The lattice heat capacity of Yb2S3 was determined by means of the Komada–Westrum phonon distribution model. Excess heat‐capacity contributions were thus evaluated and analyzed as Schottky and magnetic heat capacities. A phase transition associated with magnetic ordering was detected in the heat capacity of Yb2S3 near 7 K with an entropy content of 0.68R. The entropies at 298.15 K are 22.77R and 19.74R for Yb2S3 and for Lu2S3.  Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70016/2/JCPSA6-98-2-1458-1.pd

Low-temperature heat capacity and thermodynamic functions of IrO2

The heat capacity from 5 to 350 K of IrO2 has been measured by quasi-adiabatic equilibrium calorimetry. The values for the thermodynamic properties at 298.15 K have been calculated as Cp, m(T)/R = 6.687, [Delta]0TSmo/R = 6.133, [Delta]0THmo/(R [middle dot] K) = 1039.5, and [Phi]mo(T, 0)/R = 2.647. The low-temperature heat capacity shows typical metallic behavior with an electronic coefficient [gamma]/R = 0.00067 K-1. The entropy at 298.15 K is shown to be consistent with the volumetric dependence of this quantity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27003/1/0000570.pd

Structure and genetic relationships between serrana de Teruel breed and other cattle breeds reared in Spain

In this work we analyze by microsatellite markers the genetic diversity, structure and relationships of the indigenous endangered Serrana de Teruel cattle breed with different breeds reared in Spain. All loci were polymorphic and a total of 198 alleles were observed across loci, with a mean of 6.79. Observed and expected heterozygosities values shown the high variability of Serrana de Teruel breed with values of 0.67 and 0.68 respectively. The neighbour net based on Reynolds distances shown the close genetic relationship among Serrana de Teruel and the mountain Parda de Montaña and Pirenaica breeds. STRUCTURE results showed a 47.5% of correctly assigned individuals to Serrana de Teruel breed using a q>0.8 threshold. The admixed animals shown a clear influence of Parda de Montaña breed.En este trabajo se analiza la variabilidad genética de la raza autóctona en peligro de extinción Serrana de Teruel, así como su relación con las ra-zas bovinas explotadas en España: Albera, Pajuna, Avileña-Negra Ibérica, Serrana Negra, Pirenaica y Parda de Montaña. La caracterización genética se ha realizado mediante marcadores microsatélites, todos han resultado polimórficos detectándose un total de 198 alelos con una media de 6,79 alelos por locus. Las heterocigosidades observadas y esperadas fueron altas y similares en el equilibrio, con valores de 0,67 y 0,68 respectivamente. A partir del estudio de las relaciones filogenéticas se ha podido observar la cercanía de la raza Serrana de Teruel con las razas de montaña Pirenaica y Parda de Montaña. Mediante el estudio de la estructura genética se observó que el porcentaje de animales correctamente asignados a la Serrana de Teruel para q>0,8 fue del 47,5%, apreciándose una clara influencia de la raza Parda de Montaña en los individuos mezclados

Empty Urbanism: the bursting of the Spanish housing bubble

The depth of the Spanish housing crisis manifests itself in the collapse of construction activity and in the amount of housing and land stocks. The geography of the crisis shows its widespread nature, and the intensity of the previous bubble explains spatial differences. Resulting from this collapse are some problematic areas of 'empty urbanism'. An enormous land bubble, emerging from the peculiar Spanish urban development model, was a key factor in the impacts - caused by the crisis - on the territory and land-use plans. The crisis has demonstrated the unsustainability of this and the urgency of change in the existing land-use plans