CARACTERIZACIÓN DEL SUBSECTOR SUBBÉTICO-MURCIANO (SECTOR SUBBÉTICO, PROVINCIA BÉTICA) (ESPAÑA)

Geological, bioclimatological, floristic and vegetational description of the Subbetic-Murcian chorological subsector (Subbetic sector, Betic province) is provided. Its presence is justified by bioclimatic, floristic and/or vegetational comparison with adjacent subsectors.Se presenta una descripción de la geología, bioclimatología, flora y vegetación, así como un mapa de los límites geográficos del subsector corológico Subbéiico-Murciano (sector Subbético, provincia Bética). Se justifica su presencia, comparándolo a nivel bioclimático, de flora y/o vegetación con los subsectores colindantes

Development of Ti–In alloys by powder metallurgy for application as dental biomaterial

Substantial progress has been made in Ti alloys’ properties and chemical composition. However, the effect of porosity and indium content on biocompatibility and corrosion behavior has not been sufficiently studied. Indium (In) is a promising nontoxic element that can replace other toxic elements, while porosity is associated with a good biological response. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the achievability of three Ti–In alloys with 2.5, 5, and 10 wt.% Indium by powder metallurgy methods as dental prostheses. The findings of the present work showed that In acted as a grain refiner, and allowed us to obtain an 11.2-fold reduction for the Ti–10In sample than for the Ti–2.5In alloy. The total porosity of the Ti–In alloys decreased according to In content, however, grain size and In content showed a greater effect on the mechanical behavior in comparison with the effect of porosity, probably because of the low porosity percentage. All the mechanical values fell within the ranges accepted in the literature for dental implant applications. The Ti3+ and In3+ ion releases were below the toxic concentrations for the human body, with a maximum of 0.43 and 0.016 μg cm−2 h−1, respectively. Corrosion sensitivity decreased with In addition due to its surface protective effect on the Ti-matrix. These results proved that utilizing powder metallurgy methods, Ti–In alloys are feasible candidates for dental prosthesis. Of the three prepared Ti–In alloys, the Ti–10In alloy properties made it the most appropriate Ti–In alloy to be used as a dental implant

Proper cytoskeleton α‐tubulin distribution is concomitant to tyrosine phosphorylation during in vitro capacitation and acrosomal reaction in human spermatozoa

Spermatozoa motility is a key parameter during the fertilization process. In this context, spermatozoa tyrosine protein phosphorylation and an appropriate cytoskeleton α‐tubulin distribution are some of the most important physiological events involved in motility. However, the relationship between these two biomarkers remains poorly defined. Here, we characterized simultaneously by immunocytochemistry the α‐tubulin (TUBA4A) distribution and the tyrosine phosphorylation at flagellum before capacitation, during different capacitation times (1 and 4 hr), and after acrosome reaction induction in human spermatozoa. We found that the absence of spermatozoa phosphorylation in tyrosine residues positively and significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with the terminal piece α‐tubulin flagellar distribution in all physiological conditions. Conversely, we observed a positive significant correlation (p < 0.01) between phosphorylated spermatozoa and continuous α‐tubulin distribution in spermatozoa flagellum, independently of the physiological condition. Similarly, the subpopulation of spermatozoa with tyrosine phosphorylated and continuous α‐tubulin increases with longer capacitation times and after the acrosome reaction induction. Overall, these findings provide novel insights into the post‐transcriptional physiological events associated to α‐tubulin and the tyrosine phosphorylation during fertilization, which present potential implications for the improvement of spermatozoa selection methods.This research was supported by Human Fertility Cathedra of the University of Alicante, VIOGROB-186, and the project of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness AGL2015-70159-P

Comparative Cytotoxic Activity of Hydroxytyrosol and Its Semisynthetic Lipophilic Derivatives in Prostate Cancer Cells

A high adherence to a Mediterranean diet has been related to numerous beneficial effects in human health, including a lower incidence and mortality of prostate cancer (PCa). Olive oil is an important source of phenolic bioactive compounds, mainly hydroxytyrosol (HT), of this diet. Because of the growing interest of this compound and its derivatives as a cancer chemopreventive agent, we aimed to compare the in vitro effect of HT isolated from olive mill wastewaters and five semisynthetic alkyl ether, ester, and nitro-derivatives against prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines. The effect in cell proliferation was determined in RWPE-1, LNCaP, 22Rv1, and PC-3 cells by resazurin assay, the effect in cell migration by wound healing assay, and tumorsphere and colony formation were evaluated. The changes in key signaling pathways involved in carcinogenesis were assessed by using a phosphorylation pathway profiling array and by Western blotting. Antiproliferative effects of HT and two lipophilic derivatives [hydroxytyrosyl acetate (HT-Ac)/ethyl hydroxytyrosyl ether (HT-Et)] were significantly higher in cancerous PC-3 and 22Rv1 cells than in non-malignant RWPE-1 cells. HT/HT-Ac/HT-Et significantly reduced migration capacity in RWPE-1 and PC-3 and prostatosphere size and colony formation in 22Rv1, whereas only HT-Ac and HT-Et reduced these functional parameters in PC-3. The cytotoxic effect in 22Rv1 cells was correlated with modifications in the phosphorylation pattern of key proteins, including ERK1/2 and AKT. Consistently, HT-Ac and HT-Et decreased p-AKT levels in PC-3. In sum, our results suggest that HT and its lipophilic derivatives could be considered as potential therapeutic tools in PCa

Unleashing the Diagnostic, Prognostic and Therapeutic Potential of the Neuronostatin/GPR107 System in Prostate Cancer

Certain components of the somatostatin-system play relevant roles in Prostate Cancer (PCa), whose most aggressive phenotype (Castration-Resistant-PCa (CRPC)) remains lethal nowadays. However, neuronostatin and the G protein-coupled receptor 107 (GPR107), two novel members of the somatostatin-system, have not been explored yet in PCa. Consequently, we investigated the pathophysiological role of NST/GPR107-system in PCa. GPR107 expression was analyzed in well-characterized PCa patient′s cohorts, and functional/mechanistic assays were performed in response to GPR107-silencing and NST-treatment in PCa cells (androgen-dependent (AD: LNCaP) and androgen-independent (AI: 22Rv1/PC-3), which are cell models of hormone-sensitive and CRPC, respectively), and normal prostate cells (RWPE-1 cell-line). GPR107 was overexpressed in PCa and associated with key clinical parameters (e.g., advance stage of PCa, presence of vascular invasion and metastasis). Furthermore, GPR107-silencing inhibited proliferation/migration rates in AI-PCa-cells and altered key genes and oncogenic signaling-pathways involved in PCa aggressiveness (i.e., KI67/CDKN2D/MMP9/PRPF40A, SST5TMD4/AR-v7/In1-ghrelin/EZH2 splicing-variants and AKT-signaling). Interestingly, NST treatment inhibited proliferation/migration only in AI-PCa cells and evoked an identical molecular response than GPR107-silencing. Finally, NST decreased GPR107 expression exclusively in AI-PCa-cells, suggesting that part of the specific antitumor effects of NST could be mediated through a GPR107-downregulation. Altogether, NST/GPR107-system could represent a valuable diagnostic and prognostic tool and a promising novel therapeutic target for PCa and CRPC

RELACIÓN ENTRE FACTORES DE RIESGO DEL CONSUMO DE DROGAS Y PRONÓSTICO ACADÉMICO EN ESTUDIANTES DE NUEVO INGRESO EN LA CARRERA DE ENFERMERÍA EN DOS UNIVERSIDADES LATINOAMERICANAS

 The objective of this study was to compare risk factors associated with licit and illicit drugs use and academic prognosis of first year nursing students from two Latin American universities.  The research design was non-experimental, transectional, and correlational-descriptive. Two questionnaires were used: Academic Prognosis Test (APT) by Bennett and Drug Use Screening Inventory (DUSI) test by OEA/CICAD.  The outcome indicates that the academic prognosis was different in both countries, and the most relevant risk factors associated with licit and illicit drugs abuse were recreation and free time use in students from both universities. It was found that abstract reasoning ability is a drug consumption protective factor. It is concluded that it is relevant to create preventive programs, based on psychosocial skills that make students develop thinking abilities and decision making as a life skill that helps them to withstand pressures from peer groups.El objetivo del estudio fue comparar los factores de riesgo del consumo de drogas y  el  pronóstico académico en estudiantes de nuevo ingreso de la carrera de enfermería en dos universidades latinoamericanas.  El diseño fue no experimental, de tipo transeccional, descriptivo-correlacional, se aplicaron dos instrumentos: el Test de Pronóstico académico (APT) de Bennett y la prueba DUSI (Drug Use Screening Inventory) de la OEA/CICAD.  Los hallazgos evidenciaron que el pronóstico académico fue diferente en ambos países, y los factores de riesgo mas relevantes para el consumo de drogas fueron la recreación y el uso del tiempo libre para estudiantes de ambas universidades. Se encontró que la presencia de un razonamiento abstracto es un factor protector del consumo de drogas, se concluye en la necesidad de crear programas preventivos, basados en el enfoque de habilidades psicosociales, que desarrollen en los estudiantes la capacidad de pensar y tomar decisiones como una habilidad para la vida que les permitiría resistir las presiones de grupos propias de la edad

Benchmarking a wide spectrum of metaheuristic techniques for the radio network design problem

The radio network design (RND) is an NP-hard optimization problem which consists of the maximization of the coverage of a given area while minimizing the base station deployment. Solving RND problems efficiently is relevant to many fields of application and has a direct impact in the engineering, telecommunication, scientific, and industrial areas. Numerous works can be found in the literature dealing with the RND problem, although they all suffer from the same shortfall: a noncomparable efficiency. Therefore, the aim of this paper is twofold: first, to offer a reliable RND comparison base reference in order to cover a wide algorithmic spectrum, and, second, to offer a comprehensible insight into accurate comparisons of efficiency, reliability, and swiftness of the different techniques applied to solve the RND problem. In order to achieve the first aim we propose a canonical RND problem formulation driven by two main directives: technology independence and a normalized comparison criterion. Following this, we have included an exhaustive behavior comparison between 14 different techniques. Finally, this paper indicates algorithmic trends and different patterns that can be observed through this analysis.Publicad

Integración de dispositivos de salud personal en la plataforma de telecuidado para diabetes PERSONA

La plataforma de telecuidado PERSONA se ha desarrollado en el marco del CIBER-BBN y tiene por objetivo soportar el autocuidado diario de pacientes con diabetes tipo 1. La plataforma proporciona acceso a herramientas de soporte a la decisión, de procesado automático de la información, de monitorización de las variables que afectan a la enfermedad y facilita la comunicación entre los agentes involucrados en el cuidado del paciente. La integración de dispositivos médicos interoperables es un requisito principal de la plataforma PERSONA. En este trabajo presentamos las soluciones adoptadas en cuanto a la integración de dispositivos médicos y analizamos las características de los protocolos de comunicación inalámbrica de los dispositivos considerados y los recursos necesarios para la comunicación con dispositivos móviles de telefonía

Reconstructing the universe history, from inflation to acceleration, with phantom and canonical scalar fields

We consider the reconstruction technique in theories with a single or multiple (phantom and/or canonical) scalar fields. With the help of several examples, it is demonstrated explicitly that the universe expansion history, unifying early-time inflation and late-time acceleration, can be realized in scalar-tensor gravity. This is generalized to the theory of a scalar field coupled non-minimally to the curvature and to a Brans-Dicke-like theory. Different examples of unification of inflation with cosmic acceleration, in which de Sitter, phantom, and quintessence type fields play the fundamental role--in different combinations--are worked out. Specifically, the frame dependence and stability properties of de Sitter space scalar field theory are studied. Finally, for two-scalar theories, the late-time acceleration and early-time inflation epochs are successfully reconstructed, in realistic situations in which the more and more stringent observational bounds are satisfied, using the freedom of choice of the scalar field potential, and of the kinetic factor.Comment: 22 pages, revtex, no figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Prevalencia de la obesidad en la población atendida en asistencia primaria de Girona, 1995–1999

ResumenObjetivosEstimar y comparar la prevalencia de la obesidad y el sobrepeso en la población de Girona, entre 1995 y 1999, estratificando geográficamente por sexo y edad.MétodosMedidas directas de talla y peso correspondientes a 24.554 usuarios mayores de 14 años (10.595 varones y 13.959 mujeres) atendidos en cuatro áreas básicas de salud (ABS): Girona 1, Girona 4, Salt y Camprodon, así como en un centro de atención primaria (CAP) de la provincia de Girona. Se calculó el índice de masa corporal (IMC) como el cociente entre el peso y la talla al cuadrado. La obesidad se define como los grados II y III del índice de Garrow (IMC ≥ 30 kg/m2) y el sobrepeso como el grado I (25 kg/m2 ≤ IMC < 30 kg/m2). Al no utilizarse una muestra aleatoria de sujetos, el cálculo de prevalencias y de sus errores estándar se corrigió mediante el uso de ponderaciones adecuadas. La comparación de las prevalencias entre dos ABS distintas para cada sexo se realizó utilizando un contraste paramétrico de diferencia de proporciones. La comparación entre las prevalencias de un determinado grado del índice de Garrow, controlando por sexo y edad, se llevó a cabo utilizando una regresión logística jerárquica.ResultadosLa prevalencia de la obesidad se estimó en 15,6% entre los varones de 20 a 74 años (desde el 14,0% en Girona 1 hasta el 22,4% en Camprodon) y en un 17,5% entre las mujeres (un 15,6% en Girona 1 y un 22,7% en Camprodon), un 16,7% de promedio ponderado. La prevalencia del sobrepeso se sitúa en el 44% en varones y en un 33% en mujeres, un 37,8% de promedio ponderado. Existe una gradación en las prevalencias de la obesidad, con diferencias estadísticamente significativas: Girona 1, Salt, Girona 4, Camprodon y Sils.ConclusionesLas estimaciones de la prevalencia de la obesidad y sobrepeso obtenidas en este trabajo no están tan alejadas como se creía de las estimadas en poblaciones de nuestro entorno. De hecho, podrían ser muy similares a las estimadas en la Unión Europea y, para algunos grupos de edad, incluso a las de Estados Unidos.AbstractObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of obesity and overweight in the population of Girona (Spain) between 1995 and 1999 and to divide the prevalences in geographical areas according to age and sex.MethodsHeight and weight were directly measures in 24,554 health care consumers older than 14 years (10,595 men and 13,959 women) treated in four primary health care areas: Girona 1, Girona 4, Salt and Camprodon and in one primary health care center in the province of Girona. Body mas index (BMI) was calcuted by dividing weight in kilograms bye height in meters squared. Obesity was defined as grades II and III of Garrow's index (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) and overweight as degree I (25 kg/m2 ≥ BMI < 30 kg/m2). Because the sample was not randomized, the prevalences were adequately weighted. The comparison between prevalences in two different primary health care areas for each sex (in the same Garrow's index and age group) was carried out using a parametric test of differences in proportions (Student's t-test). A hierarchical logistic regression was used to compare prevalences in the same grade Garrow's index, controlling for age and sex.ResultsThe prevalence of obesity was estimated as 15.6% in men aged from 20-74 years (from 14.0% in Girona 1 to 22.4% in Camprodon) and 17.5% for women (15.6% in Girona 1, 22.7% in Camprodon). The weighted mean was 16.7%. The prevalence of overweight was 44% in men and 33% in women and the weighted mean was 37.8%. The prevalence of obesity was graduated with statistically significant differences between Girona 1, Salt, Girona 4, Camprodon and Sils.ConclusionsThe estimates of the prevalences of obesity and overweight obtained in this study were closer to those of other studies in similar populations than previously believed. Inde-ed, the prevalences may be similar to those of the European Union and, in some age groups, to those of the United States