Estudio de especialistas egresados en Farmacia Industrial y Galénica de la Universidad de Alcalá

La Especialidad de Farmacia Industrial y Galénica de la Universidad de Alcalá, es una Especialidad en Ciencias de la Salud en régimen de alumnado (RD 127/1984 de 15 de octubre). Comenzó su puesta en marcha en la Universidad de Alcalá en el año 2005 continuando en la actualidad. Esta Especialidad se imparte por profesores universitarios y cuenta además, con la inestimable colaboración de expertos de la Asociación Española de Farmacéuticos de la Industria, Farmaindustria, laboratorios farmacéuticos, profesionales de la Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios e inspectores de la Comunidad de Madrid. En este trabajo, se pretende mostrar la experiencia profesional de los alumnos egresados de ocho promociones así como el nivel de aceptación con respecto a la organización y desarrollo del curso, las instalaciones, infraestructura y recursos utilizados, la calidad y motivación del profesorado. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la elevada adquisición de destrezas y habilidades de todos los estudiantes y su alto nivel de formación para acceder a un puesto de trabajo en la industria farmacéutica y otras instituciones o empresas tras cursar la Especialidad de Farmacia Industrial y Galénica. Se pone de manifiesto también la adecuación de las infraestructuras y recursos de nuestra Universidad

Opinión de los alumnos respecto a la asignatura del grado de farmacia “Formulación Magistral”

La asignatura Formulación Magistral es una asignatura optativa del Grado de Farmacia de la Universidad de Alcalá de carácter tanto teórico como práctico, se ha implementado en el presente curso académico 2014-15, con la intervención de varios profesores. Con objeto de ver la satisfacción de los alumnos en el diseño y puesta en marcha de esta asignatura así como su utilidad se ha diseñado un cuestionario de carácter anónimo para los alumnos matriculados. Este cuestionario fue cumplimentado por el 100% de los alumnos lo cual muestra un gran compromiso dado su carácter voluntario. El análisis de los resultados obtenidos muestra entre otros la gran utilidad de esta asignatura para su futuro profesional al adquirir no sólo conocimientos teóricos sino habilidades prácticas y competencias profesionales (56%). Además el 69% de los alumnos manifiestan que se han alcanzado los objetivos de la asignatura al proporcionar los conocimientos necesarios en el correcto diseño, elaboración, dispensación y aspectos legales de las formulaciones magistrales tanto a nivel hospitalario como de Oficina de Farmacia. El 42% de los alumnos han encontrado que las prácticas facilitan el autoaprendizaje. Aunque otros resultados sugieren la introducción de algunas mejoras para el próximo curso académico

Enkapsulacija askorbinske kiseline u hidrofobnom silikagelu

Self-assembled hybrid organo-silica sol-gel materials are rapidly expanding for newand novel applications. The microporous solid silica matrix was used as a carrier for the controlled release of ascorbic acid (AA), selected as cargo molecule. One-step synthesis procedure was optimized for the preparation of silica–molecule composites by using tetraethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane as precursors. The hydrophobic silica xerogel matrices were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. Specific surface area and porosity parameters were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique and the matrix surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The observed release pattern could be interesting for the development of AA-fortified food and for use in food packaging.Hibridni, organsko-silikatni sol-gel materijal sve se više primjenjuje u prehrambenoj industriji. Stoga je kao nosač za kontrolirano otpuštanje askorbinske kiseline upotrijebljen mikroporozni čvrsti silikatni matriks. Optimirana je jednostupanjska sinteza kojom su dobiveni silikatni kompoziti uz pomoć prekurzora: tetraetoksisilana i metiltrimetoksisilana. Matriksi su hidrofobnog silikagela okarakterizirani Fourier transformiranom infracrvenom spektroskopijom (FTIR) i difrakcijom X-zraka. Specifična površina i poroznost matriksa ispitane su Brunaer-Emmett-Teller (BET) metodom, dok su morfološka svojstva površine matriksa određena skenirajućim elektronskim mikroskopom (SEM). Utvrđeno je da se askorbinska kiselina ovako može upotrijebiti za proizvodnju hrane s dodanom vrijednošću, te za pakiranje prehrambenih proizvoda

Enkapsulacija askorbinske kiseline u hidrofobnom silikagelu

Self-assembled hybrid organo-silica sol-gel materials are rapidly expanding for newand novel applications. The microporous solid silica matrix was used as a carrier for the controlled release of ascorbic acid (AA), selected as cargo molecule. One-step synthesis procedure was optimized for the preparation of silica–molecule composites by using tetraethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane as precursors. The hydrophobic silica xerogel matrices were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. Specific surface area and porosity parameters were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique and the matrix surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The observed release pattern could be interesting for the development of AA-fortified food and for use in food packaging.Hibridni, organsko-silikatni sol-gel materijal sve se više primjenjuje u prehrambenoj industriji. Stoga je kao nosač za kontrolirano otpuštanje askorbinske kiseline upotrijebljen mikroporozni čvrsti silikatni matriks. Optimirana je jednostupanjska sinteza kojom su dobiveni silikatni kompoziti uz pomoć prekurzora: tetraetoksisilana i metiltrimetoksisilana. Matriksi su hidrofobnog silikagela okarakterizirani Fourier transformiranom infracrvenom spektroskopijom (FTIR) i difrakcijom X-zraka. Specifična površina i poroznost matriksa ispitane su Brunaer-Emmett-Teller (BET) metodom, dok su morfološka svojstva površine matriksa određena skenirajućim elektronskim mikroskopom (SEM). Utvrđeno je da se askorbinska kiselina ovako može upotrijebiti za proizvodnju hrane s dodanom vrijednošću, te za pakiranje prehrambenih proizvoda

Enhancement of Magnetic Hyperthermia by Mixing Synthetic Inorganic and Biomimetic Magnetic Nanoparticles

In this work we report on the synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles of two distinct origins, one inorganic (MNPs) and the other biomimetic (BMNPs), the latter based on a process of bacterial synthesis. Each of these two kinds of particles has its own advantages when used separately with biomedical purposes. Thus, BMNPs present an isoelectric point below neutrality (around pH 4.4), while MNPs show a zero-zeta potential at pH 7, and appear to be excellent agents for magnetic hyperthermia. This means that the biomimetic particles are better suited to be loaded with drug molecules positively charged at neutral pH (notably, doxorubicin, for instance) and releasing it at the acidic tumor environment. In turn, MNPs may provide their transport capabilities under a magnetic field. In this study it is proposed to use a mixture of both kinds of particles at two different concentrations, trying to get the best from each of them. We study which mixture performs better from different points of view, like stability and magnetic hyperthermia response, while keeping suitable drug transport capabilities. This composite system is proposed as a close to ideal drug vehicle with added enhanced hyperthermia response.We wish to thank FPU2016 grant (Ref. FPU16-04580), RYC-2014-6901 (MINECO, Spain), CGL2016-76723 (MINECO, Spain and FEDER, EU), Unidad Científica de Excelencia UCE-PP2016-05 (UGR) and Plan Propio Beca de iniciación a la investigación para estudiantes de master (UGR)

Unique Fock quantization of scalar cosmological perturbations

We investigate the ambiguities in the Fock quantization of the scalar perturbations of a Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker model with a massive scalar field as matter content. We consider the case of compact spatial sections (thus avoiding infrared divergences), with the topology of a three-sphere. After expanding the perturbations in series of eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operator, the Hamiltonian of the system is written up to quadratic order in them. We fix the gauge of the local degrees of freedom in two different ways, reaching in both cases the same qualitative results. A canonical transformation, which includes the scaling of the matter field perturbations by the scale factor of the geometry, is performed in order to arrive at a convenient formulation of the system. We then study the quantization of these perturbations in the classical background determined by the homogeneous variables. Based on previous work, we introduce a Fock representation for the perturbations in which: (a) the complex structure is invariant under the isometries of the spatial sections and (b) the field dynamics is implemented as a unitary operator. These two properties select not only a unique unitary equivalence class of representations, but also a preferred field description, picking up a canonical pair of field variables among all those that can be obtained by means of a time-dependent scaling of the matter field (completed into a linear canonical transformation). Finally, we present an equivalent quantization constructed in terms of gauge-invariant quantities. We prove that this quantization can be attained by a mode-by-mode time-dependent linear canonical transformation which admits a unitary implementation, so that it is also uniquely determined.Comment: 19 pages, minor impovementes included, typos correcte

The roasting process and place of cultivation influence the volatile fingerprint of Criollo cocoa from Amazonas, Peru

The Criollo cocoa bean is classified as “fine” or flavor cocoas, being perceived as aromatic or smooth with fruity, raisin, floral, spicy, nutty, molasses, and caramel notes. In the present work, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used to study the volatile fingerprint of roasted and unroasted Criollo cocoa from four Amazon districts: Nieva, Cajaruro, Copallín and La Peca located in the Amazon Region of Peru. The results showed that the main sensory perception of cocoa is fruit, and this decreases as the roasting intensity increases. A total of 96 volatile compounds were found, of which the esters had a greater presence in the volatile fingerprint of Criollo cocoa. Propyl acetate (3.5%), acetoin acetate (1.3%) and diethyl succinate (0.8%) were found as the characteristic compounds of Criollo cocoa analyzed, which give it its fruit perception. The linalool/benzaldehyde ratio was between 0.56 and 0.89 for La Peca and Cajaruro cocoa. Principal component analysis revealed that the Criollo cocoa in each district has a different volatile fingerprint, whether it is roasted or unroasted beans. The roasting process generates a greater differentiation of the volatile fingerprint of Criollo cocoa

Geographical distribution of COPD prevalence in Europe, estimated by an inverse distance weighting interpolation technique

Existing data on COPD prevalence are limited or totally lacking in many regions of Europe. The geographic information system inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation technique has proved to be an effective tool in spatial distribution estimation of epidemiological variables, when real data are few and widely separated. Therefore, in order to represent cartographically the prevalence of COPD in Europe, an IDW interpolation mapping was performed. The point prevalence data provided by 62 studies from 19 countries (21 from 5 Northern European countries, 11 from 3 Western European countries, 14 from 5 Central European countries, and 16 from 6 Southern European countries) were identified using validated spirometric criteria. Despite the lack of data in many areas (including all regions of the eastern part of the continent), the IDW mapping predicted the COPD prevalence in the whole territory, even in extensive areas lacking real data. Although the quality of the data obtained from some studies may have some limitations related to different confounding factors, this methodology may be a suitable tool for obtaining epidemiological estimates that can enable us to better address this major public health problem

When the optimal is not the best: parameter estimation in complex biological models

Background: The vast computational resources that became available during the past decade enabled the development and simulation of increasingly complex mathematical models of cancer growth. These models typically involve many free parameters whose determination is a substantial obstacle to model development. Direct measurement of biochemical parameters in vivo is often difficult and sometimes impracticable, while fitting them under data-poor conditions may result in biologically implausible values. Results: We discuss different methodological approaches to estimate parameters in complex biological models. We make use of the high computational power of the Blue Gene technology to perform an extensive study of the parameter space in a model of avascular tumor growth. We explicitly show that the landscape of the cost function used to optimize the model to the data has a very rugged surface in parameter space. This cost function has many local minima with unrealistic solutions, including the global minimum corresponding to the best fit. Conclusions: The case studied in this paper shows one example in which model parameters that optimally fit the data are not necessarily the best ones from a biological point of view. To avoid force-fitting a model to a dataset, we propose that the best model parameters should be found by choosing, among suboptimal parameters, those that match criteria other than the ones used to fit the model. We also conclude that the model, data and optimization approach form a new complex system, and point to the need of a theory that addresses this problem more generally

Análisis de las opiniones de los alumnos universitarios sobre la calidad docente de las prácticas de farmacia clínica

En un afán por mejorar la Calidad Docente Universitaria se propuso una mejora en los cuestionarios utilizados en el anterior curso académico sobre la docencia práctica de la asignatura Farmacia Clínica de la Facultad de Farmacia de la Universidad de Alcalá, con el fin de proporcionar a los profesores una herramienta sólida y veraz sobre la evaluación, por parte de los alumnos, de las dimensiones de la calidad de su docencia práctica. El proceso de aprendizaje del estudiante debe enriquecerse, por ello, a partir de la información obtenida con dichos cuestionarios, se han incluido estrategias para mejorar las clases prácticas, incrementar el estímulo en la enseñanza de los alumnos y fomentar el interés práctico de esta asignatura. El cuestionario se ha efectuado por segundo año consecutivo, a 60 alumnos, de forma voluntaria. En el curso académico 2011-12 se implementó por primera vez para dar a conocer a los profesores la opinión que tienen sus alumnos sobre su trabajo docente, además de pretender mejorar la enseñanza docente práctica, de modo que se puedan llevar a cabo mejoras a su desempeño docente. El análisis de los resultados de las encuestas del curso académico 2012-13 revela que los alumnos están satisfechos con las clases prácticas que reciben y perciben que constituyen una pieza de interés para su formación