Efficacy and safety of lenalidomide for refractory cutaneous lupus erythematosus

Introduction: Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is a chronic disease characterized by disfigurement and a relapsing course. Thalidomide has proven its efficacy in refractory cutaneous lupus disease, although it is not exempt from significant side effects and frequent relapses after withdrawal. New thalidomide analogues have been developed but lack clinical experience. The aim of this preliminary phase II study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of lenalidomide in patients with refractory CLE. Methods: Fifteen patients with refractory cutaneous lupus disease were enrolled in this single-center, open-label, non-comparative pilot trial between January 2009 and December 2010. Oral lenalidomide (5 to 10 mg/day) was administered and tapered according to clinical response. Patients were followed up for a mean of 15 months (range: 7 to 30). Primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving complete response, defined by a Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity index (CLASI) activity score of 0. Other secondary endpoints included development of side effects, evaluation of cutaneous and systemic flares, and impact on the immunological parameters.Results: One patient discontinued treatment due to side effects. All remaining patients saw clinical improvement and this was already noticeable after 2 weeks of treatment. Twelve of those patients (86%) achieved complete response but clinical relapse was frequent (75%), usually occurring 2 to 8 weeks after lenalidomide's withdrawal. No influence on systemic disease, immunological parameters or CLASI damage score was observed. Side effects including insomnia, grade 2 neutropenia and gastrointestinal symptoms, were minor (13%). These resolved after withdrawing medication. Neither polyneuropathy nor thrombosis was observed. Conclusion: Lenalidomide appears to be efficacious and safe in patients with refractory CLE, but clinical relapse is frequent after its withdrawal

¿Qué propone la orientación profesional ante las políticas de empleo de la España postcrisis? Un análisis cualitativo

La orientación es el primer eje de las políticas activas de empleo de la Estrategia Española de Activación para el Empleo. Esta disciplina presenta un claro posicionamiento teórico-formal justificado por el influjo de las directrices y modelos europeos, y por toda una red de normas educativas, formativas y sociolaborales. Así mismo, la coyuntura actual sitúa a la orientación ante el reto de aportar soluciones y mejorar la dinamización de las políticas de empleo. Estos retos y realidades en el marco sociolaboral se complejizan aún más ante la observación del terreno de actuación práctica real, condicionada por los efectos de la última crisis económica, que refleja un escenario de políticas, sistemas, estructuras y servicios de orientación con evidentes áreas de mejora. A partir de un diseño de Teoría Fundamentada, alineado con el paradigma cualitativo/interpretativo y los fundamentos del interaccionismo simbólico, se analizó a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas toda una diversidad de voces autorizadas, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, emergiendo un abanico de temas que dibujan el terreno actual de la orientación en las próximas décadas. Los resultados describen las debilidades, amenazas, fortalezas y oportunidades de nuestro sistema, especialmente en la compleja última década. Se concluye con la confianza en un futuro mejor, que pasa obligatoriamente por afrontar los retos y debilidades que emergen de esta investigación, así como el reforzamiento de las dinámicas más positivas que se observan en el sistema de orientación. Orientation is the first axis of active employment policies, structured in the Spanish Activation Strategy for Employment 2014-2016. This scientific discipline presents a clear theoretical and formal position, justified by the influence of European guidelines and models, and by a myriad of educational, training and socio-labor standards. Likewise, the present and future situation places professional orientation in the face of the challenge of providing solutions and improving the dynamisation of employment policies. These remains and realities that show the orientation in the socio-labor framework, are further complicated by the observation of the field of practical and real action, a territory conditioned by the effects of the last economic crisis, which draw a scenario of policies, systems, structures and services of professional orientation with evident areas of improvement. Based on a design of Grounded Theory, aligned with the qualitative / interpretative paradigm and the foundations of symbolic interactionism, a semi-structured interviews were analyzed through a variety of authorized voices, both nationally and internationally, emerging a range of themes that draw the current ground of orientation in the coming decades. The results describe the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities of our system, especially in the complex last decade. It concludes with confidence in a better future, which necessarily involves facing the challenges and weaknesses that emerge from this research, as well as reinforcing the most positive dynamics observed in the guidance system

Towards an automated analysis of video-microscopy images of fungal morphogenesis

7 páginas, 6 figuras.[EN] Fungal morphogenesis is an exciting field of cell biology and several mathematical models have been developed to describe it. These models require experimental evidences to be corroborated and, therefore, there is a continuous search for new microscopy and image analysis techniques. In this work, we have used a Canny-edge-detector based technique to automate the generation of hyphal profiles and calculation of morphogenetic parameters such as diameter, elongation rates and hyphoid fitness. The results show that the data obtained with this technique are similar to published data generated with manualbased tracing techniques and that have been carried out on the same species or genus. Thus, we show that application of edge detector-based technique to hyphal growth represents an efficient and accurate method to study hyphal morphogenesis. This represents the first step towards an automated analysis of videomicroscopy images of fungal morphogenesis.[ES] La morfogénesis de los hongos es un área de estudio de gran relevancia en la biología celular y en la que se han desarrollado varios modelos matemáticos. Los modelos matemáticos de procesos biológicos precisan de pruebas experimentales que apoyen y corroboren las predicciones teóricas y, por este motivo, existe una búsqueda continua de nuevas técnicas de microscopía y análisis de imágenes para su aplicación en el estudio del crecimiento celular. En este trabajo hemos utilizado una técnica basada en un detector de contornos llamado “Canny-edge-detector” con el objetivo de automatizar la generación de perfiles de hifas y el cálculo de parámetros morfogenéticos, tales como: el diámetro, la velocidad de elongación y el ajuste con el perfil hifoide, es decir, el perfil teórico de las hifas de los hongos. Los resultados obtenidos son similares a los datos publicados a partir de técnicas manuales de trazado de contornos, generados en la misma especie y género. De esta manera demostramos que la aplicación de esta técnica para el trazado de perfiles en hifas en crecimiento es un método eficaz y preciso para el estudio de la morfogénesis de hifas. Este trabajo representa el primer paso en la automatización de análisis de imágenes de video-microscopía de morfogénesis de hifas.This work was supported in part by the project Flora Micológica Ibérica V (REN2002-04068-C02-01GLO), Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, Spain. Dr. Diéguez-Uribeondo was supported by a NATO postdoctoral fellowship.Peer reviewe

EM Parametric Study of Length Matching Elements Exploiting an ANSYS HFSS Matlab-Python Driver

This work presents a Python-based driver for ANSYS HFSS for length matching elements (LME) implemented in Matlab. The driver allows full-wave EM parametric simulation of length matching elements, whose S-parameters are inserted in other circuit simulators, such as ADS, for a complete interconnect validation. Three different LME (i.e., trapezoidal, triangular, and rectangular) are analyzed using the driver in a common high-speed routing scenario. The driver proposed in this work allows verifying that the three LME considered have a similar performance up to 5 GHz, indicating that these LME can be used as mismatch (phase skew) compensation structures in some interfaces within this frequency band, such as USB 3.0, PCIe Gen3 or 1 GBASE Ethernet. On the other hand, the trapezoidal LME shows the best performance for frequencies higher than 5 GHz, with a low impact in the electromagnetic interference (EMI), making it the most recommended for high-speed interfaces with operating frequencies higher than 5 GHz

An Experiment to Test URL Features for Web Page Classification

Web page classification has been extensively researched, using different types of features that are extracted either from the page content, the page structure or from other pages that link to that page. Using features from the page itself implies having to download it before its classification. We present an experiment to proof that URL tokens contain information enough to extract features to classify web pages. A classifier based on these features is able to classify a web page without having to download it previously, avoiding unnecessary downloads.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2007-64119Junta de Andalucía P07-TIC-2602Junta de Andalucía P08- TIC-4100Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-09809-EMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-21744Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2008-04718-EMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-10811-EMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación TIN2010-09988-

Training the working memory in older adults with the “Reta tu Memoria” video game

[EN] The objective of this study was to train the visuospatial and semantic working memory of a sample of Colombian older adults through the design of a serious game. The sample was composed of 20 older adults whose ages ranged from 50 to 77 years and showed signs of normal ageing. The sample belonged to the Edad de Oro group from the Universidad de Ibagué in Colombia. Participation in this study was voluntary, and the socio-demographic data and Mini-Mental state examination questionnaires were administered. The video game’s creative process was developed over six months by a team made up of psychologists and systems engineers. The video game was created using 2D Construct3 game editor, and the use of JavaScript programming language and an advanced knowledge of HTML were required. Before training, two pilot sessions were carried out to adjust the video game structure. After that, the procedure was applied to the sample for 20 sessions. The time spent and errors made in the video game’s five levels were registered. The results show values of significant effect size. In conclusion, the Latin American samples help corroborate the central training hypothesis. Training through video games leads to improved visuospatial and semantic working memory performance.This work was supported by Universidad de Ibagué project reference 16-445-SEMPuerta-Cortés, DX.; Hernández, JK.; Olaya, AM.; Tovar, J.; Varela, D. (2020). Training the working memory in older adults with the “Reta tu Memoria” video game. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 341-349. https://doi.org/10.4995/INN2019.2019.10219OCS34134

From descriptive to substantive representation? Women and politics in Latin America

Estudiar la representación femenina en las asambleas legislativas es relevante porque el acceso de las mujeres a estos órganos y su participación en la toma de decisiones son fundamentales para hacer efectivo el derecho a participar por igual en la gobernanza democrática. Se ha constatado que una mayor presencia femenina en las asambleas legislativas no siempre conduce al acceso de las mujeres a los órganos de trabajo y decisión más importantes en igualdad con los hombres. Así, el objetivo de este artículo es analizar la participación de las mujeres en las cámaras bajas o únicas de 17 países latinoamericanos, desde dos dimensiones de la representación: descriptiva y sustantiva. Para estudiar este último tipo de representación se tienen en cuenta las comisiones legislativas. Se constata que un mayor porcentaje de mujeres ocupando un escaño no siempre se traduce en que éstas ejerzan en igual proporción las presidencias de las comisiones. También se observa que las mujeres ocupan, sobre todo, presidencias de comisiones de reproducción. Se concluye (1) que el acceso a cargos de representación política no se traduce necesariamente en el ingreso igualitario a puestos de poder dentro de las cámaras legislativas y (2) que las mujeres ocupan en menos proporción las comisiones más importantes, manifestando que las comisiones fuertes y que mayor poder representan siguen siendo para los hombres por la construcción de la política y su ejercicio como androcéntrica.Studying women's representation in legislatures is relevant because women's access to these bodies and their participation in decision-making are fundamental to realising the right to equal participation in democratic governance. It has been found that an increased female presence in legislatures does not always lead to women's access to the most important working and decision-making bodies on an equal footing with men. Thus, the aim of this article is to analyse women's participation in the lower or single chambers of 17 Latin American countries from two dimensions of representation: descriptive and substantive. The research is quantitative in nature. In order to study substantive representation, legislative committees are taken into account. It is found that a higher percentage of women occupying a seat does not always translate into women holding an equal proportion of committee chairmanships. It is also observed that women are predominantly the chairpersons of reproductive committees. It is concluded (1) that access to positions of political representation does not necessarily translate into equal access to positions of power within the legislative chambers and (2) that women occupy a smaller proportion of the most important committees, demonstrating that the strong and most powerful committees continue to be held by men due to the construction of politics and its exercise as androcentric