Virtual Reference in Seville University Library: A shared experience.

Los servicios de referencia en las bibliotecas universitarias están lejos de desaparecer y las tecnologías, en este caso las de la web social, están facilitando e impulsando una cada vez más demandada referencia virtual, con aplicaciones al alcance de todos. LibraryH3lp es un software en código abierto, que ha permitido a la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Sevilla establecer un servicio de referencia virtual que comparten sus 19 bibliotecas de área, para atender preguntas generales o especializadas temáticas , así como las dudas sobre el uso de su catálogo Fama. Se presenta una primera valoración del servicio que se pondrá en completa explotación en este curso académico 2009‐2010. Palabras clave: Referencia virtual, Bibliotecas universitarias, software en cóigo abierto, LibraryH3lp, Biblioteca de la Universidad de SevillaReference services in academic libraries are far from dead and technologies of the social web are facilitating and encouraging an ever-increasing demand for virtual reference with applications available to everyone. The open source software LibraryH3lp has enabled the Library of the University of Seville to establish a virtual reference service shared among 19 libraries to answer common and specialized questions and explain the use of the Fama library catalog. We present a first assessment of the service that will go live in the academic year 2009-2010

Desarrollo de un programa de mentorías de matemáticas para los alumnos de grado de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales

Programa de mentorías por parte de alumnos de cursos superiores a alumnos de primer curso del Grado en Economía en asignaturas de matemáticas que les permita mejorar su motivación y los resultados logrados

Isotopic evidence for mobility in the Copper and Bronze Age Cemetery of Humanejos (Parla, Madrid): a diachronic approach using biological and archaeological variables

Over the last several decades, the application of aDNA and strontium isotope analyses on archaeologically recovered human remains has provided new avenues for the investigation of mobility in past societies. Data on human mobility can be valuable in the reconstruction of prehistoric residential patterns and kinship systems, which are at the center of human social organization and vary across time and space. In this paper, we aim to contribute to our understanding of mobility, residence, and kinship patterns in late Prehistoric Iberia (c. 3300–1400BC) by providing new strontium data on 44 individuals from the site of Humanejos (Parla, Madrid). The study presented here is multi-proxy and looks at these new data by interweaving biological, chronological, and archaeological information. This analysis found that 7/44 individuals buried at Humanejos could be identified as non-local to the necropolis. Although more men (n = 5) than women (n = 2) were found in the non-local category, and more non-local individuals were identified in the pre-Bell Beaker (n = 5) than in Bell Beaker (n = 1) or Bronze Age (n = 1), we find no statistically significant differences concerning sex or time period. This contrasts with other archaeological datasets for late prehistoric Europe which suggest higher female mobility, female exogamy, and male-centered residential patterns were common. At Humanejos, we have also identified one non-local female whose exceptional Beaker grave goods suggest she was an individual of special status, leading to additional questions about the relationships between gender, mobility, and social position in this region and time periodThe project leading to this publication has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 891776, project “WOMAM. Women, Men and Mobility: Understanding Gender Inequality in Prehistory.” This article was also supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Grants No. PID2019-105690 GB-I00 and HAR2013- 47776-R, the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural (Comunidad de Madrid) and the SFB 1070 “Ressourcenkulturen” (DFG

Albumin Lipidomics Reveals Meaningful Compositional Changes in Advanced Cirrhosis and Its Potential to Promote Inflammation Resolution

Albumin infusions are therapeutically used to revert hypoalbuminemia and to replace the extensively oxidized albumin molecule circulating in patients with acutely decompensated (AD) cirrhosis. Because albumin has high affinity for lipids, here we characterized the albumin lipidome in patients with AD and explored the albumin effects on the release of fatty acid (FA)-derived lipid mediators by peripheral leukocytes. Lipids and lipid mediators were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in albumin-enriched and albumin-depleted plasma fractions separated by affinity chromatography and in leukocyte incubations from 18 patients with AD and 10 healthy subjects (HS). Lipid mediators were also measured in 41 patients with AD included in an albumin therapy trial. The plasma lipidome associated with AD cirrhosis was characterized by generalized suppression of all lipid classes except FAs. In contrast to HS, albumin from patients with AD had lower content of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs), especially of the omega-3-PUFA docosahexaenoic acid. Consistent with this, the PUFA-derived lipid mediator landscape of albumin from patients with AD was dominated by lower content of monohydroxy FA precursors of anti-inflammatory/pro-resolving lipid mediators (i.e., 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid [15-HETE]). In addition, albumin from patients with AD was depleted in prostaglandin (PG) E2 , suggesting that this proinflammatory PG primarily travels disassociated to albumin in these patients. Incubation of leukocytes with exogenous albumin reduced PG production while inducing 15-lipoxygenase expression and 15-HETE release. Similar effects were seen under lipopolysaccharide plus N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-stimulated conditions. Finally, PG levels were lower in patients with AD receiving albumin therapy, whereas 15-HETE was increased after albumin treatment compared with baseline. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the albumin lipid composition is severely disorganized in AD cirrhosis and that administration of exogenous albumin has the potential to redirect leukocyte biosynthesis from pro-inflammatory to pro-resolving lipid mediators

Transcultural Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Bristol Foot Score (BFS-S)

[Abstract] The Bristol Foot Score is considered an instrument for measuring the impact of foot problems and pain. It was developed and validated in United Kingdom. Therefore, this aim was to perform the transcultural adaptation and validation of the Spanish version. The recommended forward/backward translation protocol was applied for the procedure of translation, transcultural adaptation and validation to Spain. Considering each domain and question, internal consistency and reliability were analyzed through the Crombach alpha (α) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). A very good internal consistency was shown for the 3 domains: concern and pain showed a Cronbach of 0.896, footwear and general foot health of 0.790, mobility 0.887. Each question had a very good test-retest reliability, ranged from 0.721 to 0.963 with no systematic differences (P>0.05) in each question of the Spanish Bristol Foot Score (BFS-S) questionnaire. The test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC 95%): concern and foot pain 0.950 (0.913-0971); footwear and general foot health 0.914 (0.851-0.950), mobility 0.973 (0.953-0.984) and there were no sistematic differences in any domain (P > 0.05). The BFS-S was shown to be a valid and reliable tool with an acceptable use in the Spanish population

Microstructure and mechanical properties of 5.8 GHz microwave-sintered ZrO2/Al2O3 ceramics

[EN] Aim of the present study is to sinter zirconia nanocomposite powders doped with ceria and toughened with alumina (10Ce-TZP/Al2O3) by non-conventional means, i.e. microwave sintering technology. The sintering effects of various microwave applicators and frequency generators were evaluated using an optimised experimental set-up. The microwave-sintered samples were compared with the composites sintered by the conventional method. The mechanical properties of the ceramic composites were evaluated by their hardness, fracture toughness and Young's modulus. Likewise, their density and microstructure were analysed.The authors thank the Generalitat Valenciana for the financial support provided to the PROMETEU/2016/040 project. A. Borrell is grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for her RyC contract (RYC-2016-20915).Gil-Flores, L.; Salvador Moya, MD.; Penaranda-Foix, FL.; Fernández, A.; Suárez-Menéndez, M.; Rosa, R.; Veronesi, P.... (2019). Microstructure and mechanical properties of 5.8 GHz microwave-sintered ZrO2/Al2O3 ceramics. Ceramics International. 45(14):18059-18064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.06.026S1805918064451

Downregulation of mTOR Signaling Increases Stem Cell Population Telomere Length during Starvation of Immortal Planarians

Reduction of caloric intake delays and prevents age-associated diseases and extends the life span in many organisms. It may be that these benefits are due to positive effects of caloric restriction on stem cell function. We use the planarian model Schmidtea mediterranea, an immortal animal that adapts to long periods of starvation by shrinking in size, to investigate the effects of starvation on telomere length. We show that the longest telomeres are a general signature of planarian adult stem cells. We also observe that starvation leads to an enrichment of stem cells with the longest telomeres and that this enrichment is dependent on mTOR signaling. We propose that one important effect of starvation for the rejuvenation of the adult stem cell pool is through increasing the median telomere length in somatic stem cells. Such a mechanism has broad implications for how dietary effects on aging are mediated at the whole-organism level.C.G.-E. was funded by a Contrato de Investigadores Miguel Servet (CP12/03214) and by the FLI. The FLI is a member of the Leibniz Association and is financially supported by the Federal Government of Germany and the State of Thuringia. O.G.-G. was funded by an LGSA scholarship. R.P. and B.F.-V. were funded by a grant (PI17-01401) from Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain) and FEDER funds. I.F. was funded by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (SAF2016-80406-R), Comunidad de Madrid (S2017/BMD-3875), and the Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (RD12/0042/0045). The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505). A.A.A. was funded by grants from the BBSRC (BB/K007564/1) and MRC (MR/M000133/1), and S.S. by a University of Oxford Clarendon Fund Scholarship.S

Use of the Barthel Index to Assess Activities of Daily Living before and after SARS-COVID 19 Infection of Institutionalized Nursing Home Patients

[Abstract] The objective of the present study was to evaluate the activities of daily living (ADLs) using the Barthel Index before and after infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and also to determine whether or not the results varied according to gender. The ADLs of 68 cohabiting geriatric patients, 34 men and 34 women, in two nursing homes were measured before and after SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)) infection. COVID-19 infection was found to affect the performance of ADLs in institutionalized elderly in nursing homes, especially in the more elderly subjects, regardless of sex. The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to having claimed many victims, especially in the elderly population, has led to a reduction in the abilities of these people to perform their ADLs and caused considerable worsening of their quality of life even after recovering from the disease

Use of the Barthel Index to Assess Activities of Daily Living before and after SARS-COVID 19 Infection of Institutionalized Nursing Home Patients

[EN] The objective of the present study was to evaluate the activities of daily living (ADLs) using the Barthel Index before and after infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and also to determine whether or not the results varied according to gender. The ADLs of 68 cohabiting geriatric patients, 34 men and 34 women, in two nursing homes were measured before and after SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)) infection. COVID-19 infection was found to affect the performance of ADLs in institutionalized elderly in nursing homes, especially in the more elderly subjects, regardless of sex. The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to having claimed many victims, especially in the elderly population, has led to a reduction in the abilities of these people to perform their ADLs and caused considerable worsening of their quality of life even after recovering from the disease.S

Cannabinoid receptor CB2 drives HER2 pro-oncogenic signaling in breast cancer

Pharmacological activation of cannabinoid receptors elicits antitumoral responses in different models of cancer. However, the biological role of these receptors in tumor physio-pathology is still unknown. We analyzed CB2 cannabinoid receptor protein expression in two series of 166 and 483 breast tumor samples operated in the University Hospitals of Kiel, Tübingen and Freiburg between 1997 and 2010. CB2 mRNA expression was also analyzed in previously published DNA microarray datasets. The role of CB2 in oncogenesis was studied by generating a mouse line that expresses the HER2 rat ortholog (neu) and lacks CB2, and by a variety of biochemical and cell biology approaches in human breast cancer cells in culture and in vivo, upon modulation of CB2 expression by si/shRNAs and overexpression plasmids. CB2-HER2 molecular interaction was studied by co-localization, coimmunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assays. We show an association between elevated CB2 expression in HER2+ breast tumors and poor patient prognosis. We also demonstrate that genetic inactivation of CB2 impairs tumor generation and progression in MMTV-neu mice. Moreover, we show that HER2 upregulates CB2 expression by activating the transcription factor ELK1 via the ERK cascade, and that an increased CB2 expression activates the HER2 prooncogenic signaling machinery at the level of the tyrosine kinase c-SRC. Finally, HER2 and CB2 form heteromers in cancer cells. Our findings reveal an unprecedented role of CB2 as a pivotal regulator of HER2 pro-oncogenic signaling in breast cancer, and suggest that CB2 may be a biomarker with prognostic value in these tumors