Genomic Information Systems applied to Precision Medicine: Genomic Data Management for Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment

The Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders in our current society. The study of the genetic characteristics of every patient, makes possible the study of significant DNA variations in order to ease an early diagnosis, essential to stop the progression of the disorder. The problem is that the vast amount of available information makes necessary the use of a method designed to adequately store and manage this data in an optimal way for its exploitation. In this context, the Information Systems Engineering in general and the conceptual modelling techniques in particular, provide a suitable solution in order to determine which data is relevant and how to manage the corresponding information. With these fundamentals in mind, this paper introduces a particular example to bear the methodological treatment of the search, filter and load of genomic variations related to Alzheimer’s Disease for its later exploitation with clinical purposes

Xerophytic Lichens from Gypsiferous Outcrops of Arid Areas of Andalusia as a Source of Anti-Phytopathogenic Depsides

In a survey to evaluate the potential of lichens associated with gypsum areas as sources of new antifungal metabolites, six species of lichens were collected in the gypsum outcrops of the Sorbas Desert (Diploschistes ocellatus and Seirophora lacunosa) and the Tabernas Desert (Cladonia foliacea, Acarospora placodiformis, Squamarina lentigera and Xanthoparmelia pokornyi) in southern Spain. Raw lichen acetone extracts were tested against a panel of seven phytopathogenic fungi, including Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp cubense TR4, Fusarium ploriferaum, Magnaporthe grisea, Verticillium dahliae and Zymoseptoria tritici. Active extracts of Cladonia foliacea, Xanthoparmelia pokornyi and Squamarina lentigera were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS and Molecular Networking to identify possible metabolites responsible for the antifungal activity. A total of ten depside-like metabolites were identified by MS/MS dereplication and NMR experiments, of which one was a new derivative of fumaroprotocetraric acid. The compounds without previously described biological activity were purified and tested against the panel of fungal phytopathogens. Herein, the antifungal activity against fungal phytopathogens of 40-O-methylpaludosic acid, divaricatic acid and stenosporic acid is reported for the first time. Stenosporic and divaricatic acids displayed a broad antifungal spectrum against seven relevant fungal phytopathogens in a micromolar range, including the extremely resistant fungus F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (TR4). 40-Omethylpaludosic acid exhibited specific antifungal activity against the wheat pathogen Z. tritici, with an IC50 of 38.87 g/mL (87.1 M) in the absorbance-based assay and 24.88 g/mL (55.52 M) in the fluorescence-based assa

Caring fathers in Europe: Toward universal caregiver families?

Increasingly, men are challenging the assumption that care is a feminine task and are involving themselves in childcare and the care of dependent adults. However, this does not necessarily have consequences for their work, as they very rarely make costly adaptations in their working lives. In this study, we propose a definition of a man in care (MIC) as a working father who, in order to meet care needs, has adapted his working life in a way that potentially entails a financial penalty. We analyze the prevalence of men in care among men living with children below the age of 15 across the EU-27 plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK using recent representative data (the European Labour Survey and its 2018 ad hoc module on work-life balance). We find that although the number of men engaging in costly work adaptations is still very low when compared to their female counterparts, the characteristics of these men can be clearly outlined: they have a non-manual occupation (managers excluded), they have temporary contracts or are self-employed, they are partnered to women who hold jobs of 40 or more hours a week and have a high educational attainment, and they work in family-friendly companies. Also, at the context level, the prevalence of MIC is clearly related to gender equality and values. However, we do not find evidence of any country having reached the universal caregiver model proposed by Nancy Fraser, including those with more advanced gender and welfare regimes

Towards the understanding of the graphene oxide structure: How to control the formation of humic- and fulvic-like oxidized debris

Former structural models of graphene oxide (GO) indicated that it consists of graphene-like sheets with oxygen groups, and no attention was paid to the resulting sheet size. We now provide evidence of the complex GO structure consisting of large and small GO sheets (or oxidized debris). Different oxidation reactions were studied. KMnO4 derived GO consists of large sheets (20–30 wt.%), and oxidized debris deposits, which are formed by humic- and fulvic-like fragments. Large GO sheets contain oxygen groups, especially at the edges, such as carbonyl, lactone and carboxylic groups. Humic-like debris consists of an amorphous gel containing more oxygenated groups and trapped water molecules. The main desorbable fraction upon heating is the fulvic-like material, which contains oxygen groups and fragments with high edge/surface ratio. KClO3 in HNO3 or the Brodie method produces a highly oxidized material but at the flake level surface only; little oxidized debris and water contents are found. It is noteworthy that an efficient basal cutting of the graphitic planes in addition to an effective intercalation is caused by KMnO4, and the aid of NaNO3 makes this process even more effective, thus yielding large monolayers of GO and a large amount of humic- and fulvic-like substances.The authors thank the Government of Spain, Ministry for Economy and Competiveness, for financial support of project CTQ2013-44213-R, and Generalitat Valenciana for projects PROMETEOII/2014/007 and ISIC/2012/008. IRP thanks the Government of Spain, Ministry of Science and Education, for PhD Scholarship in the FPU program

Towards an Experimental Framework for Measuring Usability of Model-Driven Tools 1

Abstract. According to the Model-Driven Development (MDD) paradigm, analysts can substantially improve the software development process concentrating their efforts on a conceptual model, which can be transformed into code by means of transformation rules applied by a model compiler. However, MDD tools are not widely used in industry. One of the reasons for this poor adoption is the lack of usability of MDD tools. This paper presents a framework to evaluate the usability of such tools. The framework will be used as a basis for a family of experiments to get clear insights into the barriers to usability that prevent MDD tools from being widely adopted in industry

An empirical approach for evaluating the usability of model-driven tools

MDD tools are very useful to draw conceptual models and to automate code generation. Even though this would bring many benefits, wide adoption of MDD tools is not yet a reality. Various research activities are being undertaken to find why and to provide the required solutions. However, insufficient research has been done on a key factor for the acceptance of MDD tools: usability. With the help of end-users, this paper presents a framework to evaluate the usability of MDD tools. The framework will be used as a basis for a family of experiments to get clear insights into the barriers to usability that prevent MDD tools from being widely adopted in industry. To illustrate the applicability of our framework, we instantiated it for performing a usability evaluation of a tool named INTEGRANOVA. Furthermore, we compared the outcome of the study with another usability evaluation technique based on ergonomic criteria.This work has been developed with the support of the Intra European Marie Curie Fellowship Grant 50911302 PIEF-2010, MICINN (TIN2008-00555, PROS-Req TIN2010-19130-C02-02), GVA (ORCA PROMETEO/2009/015), and co-financed with ERDF. We also acknowledge the support of the ITEA2 Call 3 UsiXML (20080026) and financed by the MITYC under the project TSI-020400-2011-20. Our thanks also to Ignacio Romeu for the video data gathering setup.Condori-Fernandez, N.; Panach Navarrete, JI.; Baars, AI.; Vos, TE.; Pastor López, O. (2013). An empirical approach for evaluating the usability of model-driven tools. Science of Computer Programming. 78(11):2245-2258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scico.2012.07.017S22452258781

Mechanical behaviour at high temperature of alkali-activated aluminosilicates (geopolymers)

This study was designed to determine the effect of temperature on the mechanical strength (in both in vivo and post-exposure trials) of two alkaline cements (without OPC): (a) 100% fly ash (FA) and (b) 85% FA + 15% bauxite, the activated alkaline solution used was 85% 10-M NaOH + 15% sodium silicate. A Type I 42.5 R Portland cement was used as a control. Two series of trials were conducted: (i) in vivo trials in which bending and compressive strength, fracture toughness and modulus of elasticity were determined at different temperatures; and (ii) post-firing trials, assessing residual bending and compres-sive strength after a 1-h exposure to high temperatures and subsequent cooling. The findings showed that from 25 to 600 C, irrespective of the type of test (in vivo or post-firing), compressive mechanical strength rose, with the specimens exhibiting elastic behaviour and consequently brittle failure. At tem-peratures of over 600 C, behaviour differed depending on the type of test: (i) in the in vivo trials the high temperature induced pseudo-plastic strain and a decline in mechanical strength that did not necessarily entail specimen failure; (ii) in the post-firing trials, compressive strength rose

Hydrogenation of 4-nitrochlorobenzene catalysed by cobalt nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped activated carbon

The hydrogenation of nitroarenes to produce the corresponding amines using dihydrogen as reducing agent has an important industrial role, since it allows to obtain important added-value products. This reaction needs the help of a catalyst to proceed. Many catalysts have been already tested and studied. Most of them are based on noble metals supported on metal oxides. These catalysts perform well, but they are expensive and thus, alternative systems are needed. In this context, cobalt-based catalysts have emerged as adequate alternatives, despite cobalt nanoparticles per se are not very active for this reaction. A way to improve the catalytic activity of cobalt nanoparticles is by supporting them on a support with functional groups that are able to change their intrinsic properties and to enhance their catalytic properties. In this sense, N-containing carbons are promising candidates to be used as support, since nitrogen functionalities may modify the catalytic properties of cobalt. In this work, cobalt nanoparticles supported on N-doped activated carbons have been prepared and studied as catalysts for the hydrogenation of 1-chloro-4-nitrobencene to the corresponding chloro-aniline. It is demonstrated that the catalytic activity is enhanced by the presence of nitrogen species in the support. When the temperature of the catalyst activation treatment (reduction under flowing hydrogen) is increased, the catalytic activity increases drastically in the presence of nitrogen functionalities on the support. The catalysts have been characterised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopi (XPS) and N2 adsorption at 77 K. It has been found that the enhanced catalytic activity was due to two different factors, namely the interaction of the cobalt particles with the nitrogen functional groups (forming Co4N), and the development of mesopores in the support during the activation process that increases the accessibility of reactants to the active sites.Authors acknowledge financial support by MINECO (Spain) through the projects MAT2017-86992-R and MAT2016-80285-P and the European Union for the project “eForFuel”, grant agreement 763911. J. C. S. R. would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for financial support through the Ramón y Cajal Program, Grant: RYC-2015-19230 J. C. S. R. would also like to thank Junta de Andalucía for financial support through the projects PY18-RE-0012 and IE18_0047_FUNDACIÓN LOYOLA