Psychosocial Outcomes in Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate psychosocial outcomes in a sample of prelingually deaf, early-implanted children, adolescents, and young adults who are long-term cochlear implant (CI) users and to examine the extent to which language and executive functioning predict psychosocial outcomes. DESIGN: Psychosocial outcomes were measured using two well-validated, parent-completed checklists: the Behavior Assessment System for Children and the Conduct Hyperactive Attention Problem Oppositional Symptom. Neurocognitive skills were measured using gold standard, performance-based assessments of language and executive functioning. RESULTS: CI users were at greater risk for clinically significant deficits in areas related to attention, oppositional behavior, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and social-adaptive skills compared with their normal-hearing peers, although the majority of CI users scored within average ranges relative to Behavior Assessment System for Children norms. Regression analyses revealed that language, visual-spatial working memory, and inhibition-concentration skills predicted psychosocial outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that underlying delays and deficits in language and executive functioning may place some CI users at a risk for difficulties in psychosocial adjustment

A Statistical Study of Photospheric Magnetic Field Changes During 75 Solar Flares

Abrupt and permanent changes of photospheric magnetic fields have been observed during solar flares. The changes seem to be linked to the reconfiguration of magnetic fields, but their origin is still unclear. We carried out a statistical analysis of permanent line-of-sight magnetic field ($B_{\rm LOS}$) changes during 18 X-, 37 M-, 19 C- and 1 B-class flares using data from Solar Dynamics Observatory/Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager. We investigated the properties of permanent changes, such as frequency, areas, and locations. We detected changes of $B_{\rm LOS}$ in 59/75 flares. We find that strong flares are more likely to show changes, with all flares $\ge$ M1.6 exhibiting them. For weaker flares, permanent changes are observed in 6/17 C-flares. 34.3\% of the permanent changes occurred in the penumbra and 18.9\% in the umbra. Parts of the penumbra appeared or disappeared in 23/75 flares. The area where permanent changes occur is larger for stronger flares. Strong flares also show a larger change of flux, but there is no dependence of the magnetic flux change on the heliocentric angle. The mean rate of change of flare-related magnetic field changes is 20.7 Mx cm$^{-2}$ min$^{-1}$. The number of permanent changes decays exponentially with distance from the polarity inversion line. The frequency of the strength of permanent changes decreases exponentially, and permanent changes up to 750 Mx cm$^{-2}$ were observed. We conclude that permanent magnetic field changes are a common phenomenon during flares, and future studies will clarify their relation to accelerated electrons, white light emission, and sunquakes to further investigate their origin.Comment: Piblished in Ap

Carbon-fiber tips for scanning probe microscopes and molecular electronics experiments

We fabricate and characterize carbon-fiber tips for their use in combined scanning tunneling and force microscopy based on piezoelectric quartz tuning fork force sensors. An electrochemical fabrication procedure to etch the tips is used to yield reproducible sub-100-nm apex. We also study electron transport through single-molecule junctions formed by a single octanethiol molecule bonded by the thiol anchoring group to a gold electrode and linked to a carbon tip by the methyl group. We observe the presence of conductance plateaus during the stretching of the molecular bridge, which is the signature of the formation of a molecular junction.Comment: Conference Proceeding (Trends in NanoTechnology 2011, Tenerife SPAIN); Nanoscale Research Letters, (2012) 7:25

Trabajos escritos

Tercera unidad de la serie “Administración empresarial básica. Metodología” en la que se describen conceptos y fundamentos para la elaboración de informes y trabajos escritos.Third unit of the series “Basic business administration. Methodology ”in which concepts and foundations for the preparation of reports and written works are described.Utilización del lenguaje -- Formas gramaticales -- Estructuras sintácticas -- Ortografía -- Definición -- Principales reglas ortográficas -- Elaboración de trabajos escritos -- Redacción de párrafos -- Redacción de documentos -- Elaboración de tablas, figuras y notas -- Elaboración de citas -- Elaboración de referenciasna110 página

Terapia génica: ¿Qué es y para qué sirve?

Gene therapy has developed as a method of approach to the treatment of human diseases based on the transfer of genetic material to the cells of an individual. Normally, the aim of this transfer of genetic material is to re-establish a cellular function that has been abolished or is defective, to introduce a new function or to interfere with an existing function. Thus, the different gene therapy strategies are based on the combination of three key elements: the genetic material to be transferred, the method of transfer and the cellular type that will incorporate this genetic material. Attention was initially centred on the treatment of monogenic hereditary diseases, but subsequently the majority of clinical trials (over four hundred) have concerned the treatment of cancer. In China a genetic product has been approved for commercialisation: an adenovirus that transfers the correct version of the tumour suppressor gene p53. And, in the late 1990s, a group of children with severe combined immunodeficiency were successfully treated through the ex vivo transfer of the correct version of the altered gene to their bone marrow, although some of these children later developed lymphoproliferative syndromes due to the activation of an oncogen in the corrected cells. Human gene therapy is feasible and can be useful, but the tools need improving for it to become part of the therapeutic arsenal

In-depth description of Electrohydrodynamic conduction pumping of dielectric liquids: physical model and regime analysis

In this work, we discuss the fundamental aspects of Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping of dielectric liquids. We build a mathematical model of conduction pumping that can be applied to all sizes, down to microsized pumps. In order to do this, we discuss the relevance of the Electrical Double Layer (EDL) that appears naturally on nonmetallic substrates. In the process, we identify a new dimensionless parameter related to the value of the zeta potential of the substrate-liquid pair, which quantifies the influence of these EDLs on the performance of the pump. This parameter also describes the transition from EHD conduction pumping to electro-osmosis. We also discuss in detail the two limiting working regimes in EHD conduction pumping: ohmic and saturation. We introduce a new dimensionless parameter, accounting for the electric field enhanced dissociation that, along with the conduction number, allows us to identify in which regime the pump operates.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PGC2018-099217-B-I0

Synchronous genitourinary lichen sclerosus signals a distinct urinary microbiome profile in men with urethral stricture disease.

PurposeAlterations in the urinary microbiome have been associated with urological diseases. The microbiome of patients with urethral stricture disease (USD) remains unknown. Our objective is to examine the microbiome of USD with a focus on inflammatory USD caused by lichen sclerosus (LS).MethodsWe collected mid-stream urine samples from men with LS-USD (cases; n = 22) and non-LS USD (controls; n = 76). DNA extraction, PCR amplification of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene, and sequencing was done on the samples. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were defined using a > 97% sequence similarity threshold. Alpha diversity measurements of diversity, including microbiome richness (number of different OTUs) and evenness (distribution of OTUs) were calculated and compared. Microbiome beta diversity (difference between microbial communities) relationships with cases and controls were also assessed.ResultsFifty specimens (13 cases and 37 controls) produced a 16S rRNA amplicon. Mean sample richness was 25.9 vs. 16.8 (p = 0.076) for LS-USD vs. non-LS USD, respectively. LS-USD had a unique profile of bacteria by taxonomic order including Bacillales, Bacteroidales and Pasteurellales enriched urine. The beta variation of observed bacterial communities was best explained by the richness.ConclusionsMen with LS-USD may have a unique microbiologic richness, specifically inclusive of Bacillales, Bacteroidales and Pasteurellales enriched urine compared to those with non-LS USD. Further work will be required to elucidate the clinical relevance of these variations in the urinary microbiome