Arquitectura y Símbolo. Iconografía de la Catedral de Málaga.

Voy a centrarme en este discurso de la Dra. Camacho, probablemente uno de los más emblemáticos de toda su trayectoria. Fue leído el día 24 de septiembre de 1987 durante su recepción académica en la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Telmo de Málaga con el deseo expreso de homenajear al padre Andrés Llordén, a quien sucedió tras su fallecimiento en dicha institución, enlazándolo, de este modo, con sus estudios sobre la Catedral. Al mismo tiempo, quiso conmemorar una fecha tan importante para la ciudad, como fue el Quinto Centenario de su adhesión a la Corona de Castilla, en 1487. Con su discurso, la Dra. Camacho desarrolló una lectura de la Catedral mediante la conexión entre forma, imagen y símbolo. Además, con el rigor científico y la claridad expositiva que la caracterizan, realizó un minucioso y amplio recorrido de la misma, tanto histórico como arquitectónico, desde el siglo XV al XIX, haciendo recuento de los interventores más importantes en su configuración, junto con otras curiosidades, como el proyecto de planta utópica en forma de concha de tortuga del Canónigo Bolea y Sintas (siglo XIX). Así mismo, para esta investigación pretendió esclarecer cuestiones sobre sus orígenes, edificación y autoría, por lo que su estudio podría calificarse de inédito, para lo cual se apoyó en un importante y variado legado documental

Ideas sobre la imagen de El Escorial en su época. Un estudio léxico-terminológico de las descripciones de la “octava maravilla del mundo” y la “historia de la Orden de San Jerónimo”

El objetivo principal de esta tesis es realizar un análisis léxico-terminológico de las descripciones escurialenses más relevantes, desde la época fundacional del Monasterio de El Escorial hasta el siglo XIX, para concluir cuáles son los conceptos esenciales y originarios a la construcción del edificio (la esencia para la que fue construido) y cuáles han sobrevivido al paso del tiempo o han sido modificado en el transcurso de los años. De este modo, la presente comunicación consiste en un análisis léxico-terminológico siguiendo criterios de lexicometría y utilizando estrategias básicas de análisis de la Lingüística de Corpus.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Aberrant Brain Neuroplasticity and Function in Drug Addiction: A Focus on Learning-Related Brain Regions

This chapter will review the altered brain structure and function associated to drug addiction, with a focus on brain regions involved in learning and motivated behavior. As evidenced by both clinical and preclinical studies, repeated drug exposure affects whole brain neuroplasticity including the mesolimbic system which is a main locus for reward, an action-control center such as the dorsal striatum, and limbic brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala that are involved in behavioral control, memory, and mood. In this way, the drug-seeking actions that were initially intentional responses become involuntary habits governed by the dorsal striatum. Drug addiction may also curse with a reduced ability to experience rewards that are unrelated to drugs and emotional dysregulation, while the impairment on limbic regions contributes to generate cognitive symptoms. These entail persistent memories for previous experiences with the drug contrasting with a global cognitive decline that may hamper the acquisition of new, adaptive learnings. Overall, these features promote a desire for the drug, leading to relapse in drug use. Further drug exposure, in turn, aggravates its consequences on the brain and behavior, creating the harmful “addiction cycle.

How Healthy Is It to Fortify Cocoa-Based Products with Cocoa Flavanols? A Comprehensive Review

Background: Cocoa’s healthy benefits may be attributed to the potent antioxidant activity of cocoa polyphenols, mainly flavanols, which have been characterised as existing in a high concentration in cocoa. However, the phenolic composition of cocoa and cocoa-derived products is highly variable, and manufacturing processes might significantly reduce their phenolic content. For that reason, the full characterisation of cocoa and cocoa-derived products before evaluating their bioactivity is crucial. The aim of this review is to analyse the available evidence on the effect of flavanol-fortified cocoa-derived products on human health. (2) Methods: Forty-eight clinical trials focused on the health effect of consuming flavanol-fortified drinks, bars and chocolate have been reviewed, with a total of 1523 subjects. (3) Results: Although studies differ widely in methodology, dosage, duration, and target population, beneficial effects of flavanol-rich cocoa consumption have been observed at doses ranging from 45.3 mg/d to 1078 mg/d, especially on cardiovascular health and cognitive function. (4) Conclusions: Considering the high consumption and acceptability of cocoa and cocoa-derived products, the fortification of cocoa products as well as other highly consumed foods with cocoa flavanols could be an effective strategy for health promotionGrant PID2020-114374RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Universidad, Investigación e Innovación—Proyect P21_0077

Papel del receptor del ácido lisofosfatídico LPA1 en la neurogénesis hipocampal adulta y la memoria espacial en situaciones de estrés crónico

Este estudio muestra que los ratones carentes del receptor del ácido lisofosfatídico LPA1 (LPA1-nulos) presentan déficit de memoria espacial. Además, el efecto del estrés crónico sobre la neurogénesis hipocampal adulta y la memoria espacial es más severo en los LPA1-nulos que en animales normales, demostrándose que la ausencia del receptor agrava las consecuencias del estrés. La modulación de la señalización mediada por el LPA1 podría intervenir en la patología asociada al estrés y al hipocampo

Diseño de un modelo de optimización multiobjetivo para la estructuración de una cadena de suministro sustentable de biocombustible de segunda generación

El objetivo del 10% para el consumo de energías renovables en el sector del transporte, que ha sido establecido por la Directiva 2009/28 del Parlamento Europeo, requerirá la producción de aproximadamente 30 a 35 millones de toneladas de biodiesel en 2020(EBB, 2009). Sin embargo, a pesar de que los combustibles de nueva generación podrían ser más baratos que la gasolina, en corto plazo, estos son más propensos a permanecer más caros que las tecnologías convencionales de producción de primera generación(GBEP A. m., 2007). Por tanto, la investigación en biomasas, tecnologías de producción y gestión de la cadena de valor que permita encontrar una mejora en los costos de producción principalmente se justifican para que el biocombustible de segunda, tercera y cuarta generación puedan competir con los combustibles convencionales de origen fósil, ampliando su participación en la mezcla global de combustibles. De acuerdo con (IICA I. I., 2020), en el uso eficiente de las materias primas de origen biológico para producción de biocombustibles que se integran con el sector industrial y de transporte principalmente, se ha desarrollado una alternativa para enfrentar los problemas ambientales actuales, contribuyendo así con la reducción de los efectos del clima sobre el desarrollo de las regiones, disminución la pobreza e impulsar la economía de estas. De esta manera los biocombustibles se convierten en alternativa sustituta para combustibles de origen fósil (Toogood, 2017) que, además, contribuyen a la disminución del aporte en el calentamiento global, ya que disminuye las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero al ambiente y permite el aseguramiento de la alimentación para la población mundial. (Xuet al., 2018).Incluye referencias bibliográficas (páginas 90- 94) y anexo

How Healthy Is It to Fortify Cocoa-Based Products with Cocoa Flavanols? A Comprehensive Review.

Background: Cocoa’s healthy benefits may be attributed to the potent antioxidant activity of cocoa polyphenols, mainly flavanols, which have been characterised as existing in a high concentration in cocoa. However, the phenolic composition of cocoa and cocoa-derived products is highly variable, and manufacturing processes might significantly reduce their phenolic content. For that reason, the full characterisation of cocoa and cocoa-derived products before evaluating their bioactivity is crucial. The aim of this review is to analyse the available evidence on the effect of flavanol-fortified cocoa-derived products on human health. (2) Methods: Forty-eight clinical trials focused on the health effect of consuming flavanol-fortified drinks, bars and chocolate have been reviewed, with a total of 1523 subjects. (3) Results: Although studies differ widely in methodology, dosage, duration, and target population, beneficial effects of flavanol-rich cocoa consumption have been observed at doses ranging from 45.3 mg/d to 1078 mg/d, especially on cardiovascular health and cognitive function. (4) Conclusions: Considering the high consumption and acceptability of cocoa and cocoa-derived products, the fortification of cocoa products as well as other highly consumed foods with cocoa flavanols could be an effective strategy for health promotion.Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Effects of palmitoylethanolamide in cocaine-induced behaviours

Aims. Cocaine addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder characterized by the compulsion to seek and take the drug. Previous investigations have demonstrated that several drugs of abuse, as cocaine, can alter the levels of lipid-based signalling molecules such as the N-acylethanolamines (NAEs). In addition, NAEs levels in the brain are sensitive to cocaine self-administration and extinction training. In this context, this study aimed to investigate the effect of repeated and acute palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an endogenous NAE, on the behavioural effects of cocaine using mouse models of conditioned reward and psychomotor activation. Methods. Using male C57BL/6J mice, the ability of repeated PEA injections (1 or 10 mg/kg i.p) to modulate the development of a conditioned place preference (CPP) and behavioural sensitization (BS) induced by cocaine (20 mg/kg i.p.) was evaluated. In addition, the expression of cocaine-induced CPP and BS after acute PEA administration was also studied. Results. PEA (1 and 10 mg/kg i.p) significantly reduced the development of cocaine-induced BS, but did not modify the acquisition of cocaine-induced CPP. Furthermore, both doses of PEA were able to reduce the expression of BS and CPP. Conclusions. Altogether, these findings show that exogenous administration of PEA attenuated psychomotor activation and impaired the expression of CPP induced by cocaine. Our results may be relevant in order to understand the role of NAEs in the development and treatment of cocaine addiction.Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. PSI2013-44901-P, AP2010-2044, FPU13/04819, CD12/0045

Reduction of adult hippocampal neurogenesis modifies brain functional connectivity and enhances cocaine-seeking in mice

Recently, adult hippocampal neurogenesis has been proposed as a putative neuroplastic mechanism involved in those behavioural processes. In this work, we studied the effect of the inhibition of adult hippocampal neurogenesis using the DNA alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ), in cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) behaviour. In a first experiment, we investigated both CPP acquisition/expression and the functional brain circuits underlying CPP expression in control and neurogenesis-reduced conditions by analysing c-Fos immunoreactivity (c-Fos IR) in hippocampal and extrahippocampal addiction-related areas. A second experiment was designed to study the involvement of adult-born neurons in the extinction and cocaine-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking in the CPP model. We performed two independent studies where adult hippocampal neurogenesis was inhibited either before or after the CPP was acquired. Our results showed that TMZ treatment had no effect on the acquisition of the cocaine-induced CPP, but c-Fos IR associated to the test trial (CPP expression) revealed an increased activity in some of the analysed brain areas in the CPP-TMZ mice. Correlational and multivariate analysis revealed that, under normal conditions, the hippocampus showed widespread functional connectivity with other brain areas and strongly contributed to the functional brain network associated with CPP expression. However, mice with reduced neurogenesis showed an alternative brain circuit. The results of the second experiment revealed that mice acquiring the cocaine-induced CPP under neurogenesis-reduced conditions were delayed in extinguishing their drug seeking behaviour. However, when neurogenesis was inhibited after CPP acquisition, extinction was not affected but an enhanced long-term CPP retention was found, suggesting that the role of the adult-born neurons may differ depending on whether they are generated before or after drug-contextual associations are established. Importantly, cocaine-induced reinstatement of CPP behaviour was increased in the TMZ mice, regardless of the time of neurogenesis inhibition.Universidad de Málaga. Andalucía Tech, Campus de Excelencia Internacional. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI2013-44901-P to L.J.S.; Subprograma RETICS Red de Trastornos Adictivos RD12/0028/0001, to F.R.F.). Author E.C-O. holds a ‘Sara Borrell’ research contract from the Spanish Carlos III Health Institute, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiviness (grant number CD12/00455). Author D.L.G-M. holds a ‘FPU’ grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (grant number FPU13/04819)