Discusión sobre el matamorfismo regional del Guadarrama oriental (Sistema Central español)

Se aportan datos que confirman que el metamorfismo del Guadarrama oriental corresponde al tipo distena-sillimanita, con un desarrollo zona1 que tiene grandes analogías con el trictaniorfismo barrowiense. Las zonas encontradas: cloritacloritoide-estaurolita-distena-sillimani, y el desarrollo generalizado del almandino en la mayor parte del ámbito metatii0rfico indican unas condiciones de presión elevada y de un gradiente geotérmico relativamente reducido. Este tipo de sucesión metamórfica es considerablemente diferente del que existe en otros sectores del del Guadarrama central y occidental, donde aparecen tipos de más baja presión y (o) más alta temperatura con andalucita o cordierita como minerales sintomáticos en grados elevados de este metamorfismo. Para este sector no son aceptables muchos de los datos y las conclusiones publicadas por BARD et al. (1970, 1971)

A procedure for testing the hypothesis of weak efficiency in financial markets: a Monte Carlo simulation

The weak form of the efficient market hypothesis is identified with the conditions established by different types of random walks (1–3) on the returns associated with the prices of a financial asset. The methods traditionally applied for testing weak efficiency in a financial market as stated by the random walk model test only some necessary, but not sufficient, condition of this model. Thus, a procedure is proposed to detect if a return series associated with a given price index follows a random walk and, if so, what type it is. The procedure combines methods that test only a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the fulfilment of the random walk hypothesis and methods that directly test a particular type of random walk. The proposed procedure is evaluated by means of a Monte Carlo experiment, and the results show that this procedure performs better (more powerful) against linear correlation-only alternatives when starting from the Ljung–Box test. On the other hand, against the random walk type 3 alternative, the procedure is more powerful when it is initiated from the BDS test

Lung function, allergic sensitization and asthma in school-aged children after viral-coinfection bronchiolitis

Our main objective was to compare the lung function, the rate of allergic sensitization and the prevalence of asthma at 7-9 years in children hospitalized for bronchiolitis with viral coinfection versus single viral infection. Observational study in children with previous bronchiolitis and current age 7-9 years. Clinical data were collected. Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) determination, spirometry and skin prick test for common aeroallergens were performed. A total of 181 children hospitalized for bronchiolitis (40 coinfections and 141 single infections), with median age of 8.3 years (IQR:7.5-9.1) were included. Single-HRV-infections showed lower basal FEV1(%) than coinfections (p = 0.04) and lower z-score FEV1 than single-RSV-infections (p = 0.04) or coinfections (p = 0.02). Also, single-HRV-infections had lower post-bronchodilator FEV1(%) and z-score FEV1 values than coinfections (p = 0.03 and p = 0.03). Single-HRV-bronchiolitis was an independent risk factor for FEV1  25 ppb was detected in 21(12.5%) cases, without differences between viral groups (p = 0.768). The prevalence of allergic sensitization was similar in coinfections (31.4%) versus single infections (38.7%), (p = 0.428). The highest frequency of allergic rhinitis was observed in single-HRV patients (p = 0.004). The respiratory morbidity at 7-9 years of coinfected patients was similar to the single-HRV ones. In contrast, the likelihood of current asthma was up to 5 times higher in RSV/HRV coinfections than in the single-RSV-infections ones (p = 0.012). The respiratory morbidity at 7-9 years of age after severe bronchiolitis is significantly higher in single-HRV or viral coinfection patients that in single-RSV ones. Single-HRV-bronchiolitis is independently associated with lower lung function at school-age.This study has been partially supported by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias –Spanish Health Research Fund Grant PI12/0129 and Grant from IX Convocatoria Proyectos de Investigación de la Fundación Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.S

The role of Ca2+ signaling in aging and neurodegeneration: Insights from caenorhabditis elegans models

Producción CientíficaCa2+ is a ubiquitous second messenger that plays an essential role in physiological processes such as muscle contraction, neuronal secretion, and cell proliferation or differentiation. There is ample evidence that the dysregulation of Ca2+ signaling is one of the key events in the development of neurodegenerative processes, an idea called the “calcium hypothesis” of neurodegeneration. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a very good model for the study of aging and neurodegeneration. In fact, many of the signaling pathways involved in longevity were first discovered in this nematode, and many models of neurodegenerative diseases have also been developed therein, either through mutations in the worm genome or by expressing human proteins involved in neurodegeneration (β-amyloid, α-synuclein, polyglutamine, or others) in defined worm tissues. The worm is completely transparent throughout its whole life, which makes it possible to carry out Ca2+ dynamics studies in vivo at any time, by expressing Ca2+ fluorescent probes in defined worm tissues, and even in specific organelles such as mitochondria. This review will summarize the evidence obtained using this model organism to understand the role of Ca2+ signaling in aging and neurodegeneration

Mitochondrial Ca2+ dynamics in MCU knockout C. elegans worms

Producción CientíficaMitochondrial [Ca2+] plays an important role in the regulation of mitochondrial function, controlling ATP production and apoptosis triggered by mitochondrial Ca2+ overload. This regulation depends on Ca2+ entry into the mitochondria during cell activation processes, which is thought to occur through the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter (MCU). Here, we have studied the mitochondrial Ca2+ dynamics in control and MCU-defective C. elegans worms in vivo, by using worms expressing mitochondrially-targeted YC3.60 yellow cameleon in pharynx muscle. Our data show that the small mitochondrial Ca2+ oscillations that occur during normal physiological activity of the pharynx were very similar in both control and MCU-defective worms, except for some kinetic differences that could mostly be explained by changes in neuronal stimulation of the pharynx. However, direct pharynx muscle stimulation with carbachol triggered a large and prolonged increase in mitochondrial [Ca2+] that was much larger in control worms than in MCU-defective worms. This suggests that MCU is necessary for the fast mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake induced by large cell stimulations. However, low-amplitude mitochondrial Ca2+ oscillations occurring under more physiological conditions are independent of the MCU and use a different Ca2+ pathway.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad - (Proyecto BFU2017-83509-R)Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) y Junta de Castilla y León - (Projecto VA011G18

Workers' remittances in the Spanish Balance of Payments

Artículo de revist

Analysis of Degree of Weak Efficiency in some European Financial Markets. The First Impact of COVID-19

En este artículo se evalúa el grado de cumplimiento de la hipótesis de eficiencia débil en los mercados financieros de España, Alemania, Francia e Italia en el período 1 de enero de 2010 a 15 de mayo de 2020. Los resultados indican que los mercados analizados son eficientes en la forma que establece el paseo aleatorio 3 si bien el español es el que muestra menor grado de eficiencia. Los cuatro mercados presentan la mayor volatilidad del período a mediados de marzo de 2020, tras la declaración de la pandemia del COVID-19 por la OMSIn this paper is evaluated the degree of fulfilment of the hypothesis of weak efficiency in the financial markets of Spain, Germany, France and Italy, from 1st January 2010 to 15th May 2020. The results show that the markets are efficient in the form established by the random walk 3. On the other hand, all the markets show their highest volatility in the middle of March 2020, just after the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemi

Association between elasticity of tissue and pain pressure threshold in the tender points present in subjects with fibromyalgia: a cross‑sectional study

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a multicomponent illness and despite its worldwide prevalence, a complete understanding of its aetiology and pathogenesis remains unclear. The goal of the study is to analyze the level of association between elastic properties of tissue measured by strain elastography (SEL) and pain pressure threshold (PPT) in the characteristic painful points described in patients suffering from FM. This was a cross-sectional, observational study. A sample comprised of 42 subjects with FM was recruited from a private care centre. The occiput, low cervical, trapezius, supraspinatus, paraspinous, lateral pectoral, second rib, lateral epicondyle, medial epicondyle, gluteus, greater trochanter, knee, and anterior tibial PPTs were bilaterally assessed using a standard pressure algometer and elastic properties of tissue were evaluated by SEL. Linear regression analysis showed significant associations between SEL and dominant trapezius PPT (β = 0.487, 95% CI [0.045, 0.930], p = 0.032) after adjustments for the age, body mass index, and menopause status (higher SEL and higher pain sensitivity). No significant associations between SEL and the other PPTs variables were found in women diagnosed with FM. The PPT of the dominant trapezius is associated with SEL measurements in subjects suffering from FM. More studies are required to fully explain the underlying mechanisms

Factores que predicen las estrategias de comprensión de la lectura de adolescentes con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad, con dificultades de comprensión lectora y con ambos trastornos

Numerosas investigaciones han respaldado que los problemas en la lectura de palabras y la pobre competencia lingüística se asocian con dificultades en la comprensión lectora, mientras que el rol de las funciones ejecutivas ha sido escasamente explorado. El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar el poder predictivo de diferentes factores cognitivos sobre el rendimiento en un test de procesos de comprensión lectora de cuatro grupos diferentes: trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad, dificultades de comprensión lectora y ambos trastornos y un grupo de comparación. Se evaluó el vocabulario, comprensión oral, acceso al léxico, memoria verbal y espacial, inhibición, atención y el mecanismo de supresión. Un análisis exploratorio de componentes principales identificó cinco factores latentes ¿ memoria, velocidad de procesamiento, acceso al léxico, procesamiento lingüístico y atención¿, que luego fueron utilizados en un análisis de moderación mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales multimuestra. Los resultados mostraron que los factores que estaban asociados con el rendimiento en comprensión lectora actuaban de la misma manera en los cuatro grupos, a excepción del factor de acceso al léxico que infl uía en el grupo de difi cultades de comprensión lectora y en el grupo de comparación, pero no en los dos grupos con trastorno de défi cit de atención con hiperactividad, con y sin difi cultades de comprensión lectora. El factor velocidad de procesamiento no fue estadísticamente signifi cativo en ningún caso

Prevalence of the colonization of Helicobacter pylori among students of the school of dentistry, University of Granada, Spain

The oral cavity is a reservoir for Helicobacter pylori, and occupations that involve close contact with it, like Dentistry, could entail a higher risk of colonization. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the length of stay at the School of Dentistry of the University of Granada could influence colonization by H. pylori, and to furthermore correlate colonization by H. pylori, with the state of oral health and oral hygiene habits. The study groups were: Group 1, 35 students of Odontology in their first year of studies; Group 2, the same 35 students when they were in their fifth academic year; Group 3, 35 students from University study programs unrelated with Health and of the same age as the group 2 students. All underwent H. pylori, colonization determinations by means of the urea breath test (UBT), stool antigen test and a serological test. Also studied were the variables plaque index, gingival index and the number of times teeth were brushed per day. The Student t test was used for comparisons among the three studied groups. The Chi-squared test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to determine any connection between colonization by H. pylori, and the variables studied. Comparisons between groups 1 and 2 and between groups 2 and 3 showed significant differences regarding colonization by H. pylori, plaque index, gingival bleeding index and tooth brushing. A positive correlation was found between being colonized by H. pylori, and having a gingival index higher than 10% and tooth brushing once a day or less, in all the studied groups. Colonization by H. pylori, among Dentistry students at the University of Granada decreased over a four-year time period at the University. Factors related with better oral health, such as a lower gingival index and more frequent tooth brushings, would explain these results