Mechanisms Involved in Treadmill Walking Improvements in Parkinson's Disease

[Abstract] Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) improve gait after treadmill training and while they are walking over the treadmill. However, the mechanisms of these improvements have not been addressed. We designed a treadmill simulator without a belt that could move on a walkway in a constant speed, in order to explore the mechanism underlying treadmill walking improvements in PD. All subjects were tested in three different sessions (treadmill, simulatorassisted and simulatornot assisted). In each session, subjects first walked overground and then walked using the treadmill or simulator with the hands over the handrails (simulatorassisted) or with the hands free (simulatornot assisted). Step length, cadence, double support time, swing time, support time and the coefficient of variation (CV) of step time and double support time were recorded. Over the treadmill PD patients increased their step length and reduced significantly their cadence and CV of double support time in comparison with overground walking. In the simulatorassisted condition PD patients reduced significantly the CV of double support time in comparison with overground walking. With the simulatornot assisted both groups decreased their step length and increased their cadence and CV of double support time, compared with walking overground. These findings suggest that the step length improvement observed in PD patients, walking over a treadmill, is due to the proprioceptive information generated by the belt movement, since no improvement was reported when patients using a treadmill simulator.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; PSI2008-03175Xunta de Galicia; 2009/00

Gender and Community Shaping Migration Experiences: A Women's Community as a Symbolic and Material Space of Resistance

Esta tesis describe el contexto migratorio actual griego acontecido los últimos 4 años y analiza los aspectos que han provocado e influido en el deterioro de la situación. Se presentan alternativas de acción directa como respuestas diferentes organizadas desde abajo, la base del tejido social, así como formas distintas de intervención. Estas alternativas son examinadas como un conjunto que se opone al enfoque humanitario tradicional y profesionalizado. Se profundiza en el análisis de Melissa Network (MN) como una de las iniciativas de base que contribuye de forma novedosa y positiva al sector humanitario y de intervención social.Para hacer una descripción rigurosa del contexto se han revisado protocolos,convenciones, acuerdos y medidas tomadas por instituciones internacionales y la Unión Europea en particular, relacionadas con Derechos Humanos y migración, además de la lectura de artículos de investigación que analizan dichos mecanismos. Se ha practicado la observación participante continuada, apoyada en mi estancia en el campo, en la ciudad y el espacio donde se ubica Melissa físicamente, durante los cuatro años de trabajo de tesis.El mapeo y análisis de las iniciativas de base, movimientos y colectivos sociales ha sido posible gracias a mi intervención en el contexto, como trabajadora en dos de las organizaciones de base más importantes en Grecia que realizan su trabajo con población refugiada, y mi militancia en colectivos sociales.Por último, como contribución original y significativa se documenta el procesoorganizativo de la red de mujeres migrantes y refugiadas en Grecia, Melissa Network (MN), tratando de demostrar el éxito del enfoque utilizado y diseñado por la propia red.Su meta es trabajar con las mujeres y mostrarlas como agentes de cambio, en contraste con el discurso hegemónico, propio del sector humanitario, que insiste en presentarlas como víctimas y sujetos pasivos, receptores de violencia. Los medios utilizados para documentar y extraer las conclusiones en este aspecto han sido el análisis de los estados de ánimo y las narrativas diarias de las mujeres integrantes de la red en las sesiones, grupos y actividades gracias a la observación participante y la intervención de la autora como miembro del equipo profesional de la red. A su vez se describe el momento de los procesos en tres niveles: el individual de las mujeres que han llegado a Grecia en los últimos tres años en busca de asilo, el grupal/asociativo de las que llevan más tiempo en el país de acogida y, finalmente, el de la propia red. En este último se apoya a las recién llegadas y en proceso de organización. La red hace las veces de paraguas, ofreciendo la estructura y las bases para el desarrollo de la comunidad. De este modo, las mujeres unidas generan estrategias de resistencia y acción directa, en cuyas narrativas se aprecian capacidades y actos de subversión y cambio.En definitiva, se presenta y analiza un problema social ubicado en Grecia, en este caso, que impacta a la población refugiada y solicitante de asilo, y a la población griega.Esta última ha tomado un papel activo en la creación y desarrollo de iniciativasalternativas que buscan aliviar la situación de las personas en busca de refugio y protección internacional. Desde la localización y situación del conocimiento y la experiencia hemos podido reconstruir cronológicamente los obstáculos a los que se enfrentan las personas solicitantes de asilo y refugiadas una vez llegan al territorio griego desde 2015, ofrecer un discurso de apoyo alternativo desde abajo, darle el valor que se merece y visibilizar los logros y buenas prácticas que funcionan y vienen de estas iniciativas, en concreto la de la red Melissa Network. La contribución particular de esta tesis es la posibilidad de replicar aspectos positivos del caso griego y de MN en otros Estados del sur de Europa como Italia o España que conforman la frontera sur de Europa junto con Grecia.ABSTRACT This thesis describes the last 4 years in the Greek migration context, analyzing the aspects that have caused and influenced the deterioration of the situation. Direct action alternatives are presented as different responses organized from the grassroots, from below what we understand as the basis of the social fabric. Different forms of intervention are also presented. Various possibilities are examined as an array of alternatives that opposes traditional and professionalized humanitarian approaches. Here Melissa Network is presented and thoroughly analyzed as one of the grassroots initiatives offering positive contributions and developments to the humanitarian and social intervention sector. To make a rigorous description of the context, the protocols, conventions, agreements and measures taken by international institutions and the European Union (in particular related to Human Rights and migration) have been reviewed, in addition to numerous research articles that analyze these core tools. Continuous participant observation has been practiced while I was working and living in the field during the four years of this thesis work. A mapping and analysis of grassroots initiatives, movements and social groups has been possible thanks to my engagement as a worker in two of the most important grassroots refugee organizations in Greece and the militancy in social groups. Finally, as a special contribution, the organizational process of the network of migrant and refugee women in Greece, Melissa Network (MN), has been documented, with the aim of demonstrating the positive impact on the lives of the women and the success of the approach used and designed by the network itself. Its goal is to work with women and support them as agents of change, in contrast to the hegemonic discourse typical of the humanitarian sector, which insists on presenting them as victims, passive subjects and recipients of violence. The means used to document and extract conclusions regarding the network’s approach and contributions have included: the analysis of the states of mind of women members of the network, daily narratives in the sessions, groups and activities gathered through participant observation, and the intervention of the author as a member of the network’s professional core team. In parallel, three basic processes are described: the individual processes of the newcomers, women who arrived in Greece in the last three years seeking asylum; the group/associative processes of those who have been in the host country for a while; and, finally, the network’s processes which support both newcomers and those who are in the process of organizing their own associations. Melissa Network serves as an umbrella offering the structure and the bases to help develop the community. Ultimately, it generates strategies of resistance and promotes direct actions, therefore women’s narratives convey their capacities and become acts of change and subversion. In essence, a major social challenge existing in Greece is presented and analyzed in this work. A social problem suffered by the refugee and asylum seeker population, as well as the Greek population, which has taken an active role in the creation and development of alternative initiatives aiming to alleviate the situation of people seeking refuge and international protection. By situating knowledge and experience we have, since 2015, been able to chronologically reconstruct obstacles faced by asylum seekers and refugees once they arrive in Greek territory. We are able to offer an alternative support speech from the grassroots, giving it a deserved value that should be recognized, and acknowledging the achievements and good practices that function within these initiatives, especially at the Melissa Network. The contribution based on the information provided in this work, by making visible, documenting, and analyzing the work at MN, might open up options and approaches, in order to replicate some of the positive aspects of the Greek case. MN can become a case study to be contrasted and adapted, not only in the Mediterranean but also in similar contexts where migration is an undeniable and major reality challenging the top institutional frameworks.<br /

El enfoque de la resiliencia en la intervención social con mujeres víctimas de violencia de género: un nuevo rumbo para la intervención del Trabajo Social

La resiliencia es una capacidad personal que favorece el empoderamiento de las mujeres que han sufrido una situación de violencia de género y su activación se puede realizar desde la intervención del Trabajo Social. Para llevar a cabo esta intervención se ha realizado un estudio de los niveles de resiliencia individuales, a través del empleo de dos instrumentos, la Rueda de la Resiliencia y los Pilares de la Resiliencia, con la finalidad de introducir esta capacidad en los Diagnósticos individuales y grupales en los que fundamentar los Proyecto de Intervención que tenga como finalidad su activación. Se ha desarrollado dentro del Modelo de Atención Integral Violencia Cero de Castilla y León y los resultados obtenidos nos verifican que se puede implementar el enfoque de la resiliencia y aporta mejoras en cuanto a que a la función asistencial añade la función promocional y puede emplearse en la prevención e investigación aplicada

Campaña Abonos Getafe C.F. 2017 / 2018

Manteniendo el tono de comunicación que viene manejando el club en los últimos años presentamos un spot con un protagonista muy especial, Arturito. Mediante este singular personaje realizamos una campaña que busca acabar con la falta de asistencia al estadio Coliseum Alfonso Pérez usando un lenguaje actual y dirigido a un público más jóven que se puede sentir atraído por nuestro club. Planteamos una línea de diseño muy minimalista, no queremos que elementos ajenos distraigan del mensaje que deseamos transmitir, hay que dejarse de excursas e ir al estadio a animar.Grado en Publicidad y Relaciones Pública

Differences in the effects of a startle stimulus on rate of force development between resistance-trained rock climbers and untrained individuals: Evidence for reticulospinal adaptations?

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to determine if chronic rock climbing and climbing-specific resistance training (RT) would modify the reticulospinal tract (RST) efficacy. Sixteen healthy, elite level climbers (CL; n = 16, 5 F; 29.8 ± 6.7 years) with 12 ± 7 years of climbing and climbing-specific RT experience and 15 healthy recreationally active participants (CON; n = 15, 4 F; 24.6 ± 5.9 years), volunteered for the study. We quantified RST efficacy by comparing the effects of a startle stimulus over reaction time (Rtime) and measured rate of force development (RFD) and surface electromyography (sEMG) in representative muscles during powerful hand grip contractions. Both groups performed two Rtime tasks while performing rapid, powerful gripping with the right hand (Task 1) or during 3-s-long maximal voluntary right hand grip contractions in response to an imperative visual signal alone (V), or combined with a auditory-non startle stimulus (A) or/and startling auditory stimulus (S). We also tested the reproducibility of these responses on two separate days in CON. Intersession reliability ranged from 0.34 to 0.96 for all variables. The CL versus CON was 37% stronger (p = 0.003). The S stimulus decreased Rtime and increased RFD and sEMG in both groups during both tasks (all p < 0.001). Rtime was similar between groups in all conditions. However, CL had a greater RFD from 50 to 100 ms compared with CON only after the S stimulus in both tasks (p < 0.05, d = 0.85–0.96). The data tentatively suggest that chronic rock climbing and climbing-specific RT might improve RST efficacy, by increasing RST input to the α-motoneurons13 página

Disentangling the effects of context change and context familiarity on Latent Inhibition with a Conditioned Taste Aversion procedure

Contextual specificity of Latent Inhibition (LI) has been demonstrated using an ample range of experimental procedures. Context dependence has not been consistently obtained, however, when LI has been induced using a Conditioned Taste Aversion (CTA) procedure. This paper presents two experiments designed to analyze whether the context plays the same role in LI with a CTA paradigm as compared to other Pavlovian techniques. Experiment 1 compared the effect on LI of a context change between the conditioning and test stages as a function of whether the testing context was new or the animals’ home cage. The results of this experiment showed that using the animals’ home cage as context at testing enhanced the expression of LI. Experiment 2 manipulated context novelty and familiarity beforehand to introduce different context changes. The results indicate that, as compared to the no context change condition, the strength of LI increased when the conditioning context was different from that of preexposure and testing (ABA). Conversely, a context change from preexposure to conditioning/test stages (ABB) disrupted LI, but only when the animals had been pre-familiarized with the new context introduced at conditioning. These results are similar to those obtained with other conditioning procedures different from CTA.Junta de Andalucia SEJ-02618Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España PSI2009-7536Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España PSI2012-3207

Peripheral and central fatigue after high intensity resistance circuit training

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of high intensity resistance circuit (HIRC) and traditional strength training (TST) on neuromuscular fatigue and metabolic responses.Methods: Twelve trained young subjects performed HIRC and TST in a counterbalanced order with 1 week rest in-between. The amount of workload and the inter-set time for each local muscle group were matched (180 s), however, the time between successive exercises differed. The twitch interpolation technique was used to test neuromuscular function of the knee extensor muscles. Blood lactate concentration was used to evaluate metabolic responses.Results: Maximum voluntary contraction and resting potentiated twitch amplitude (Qtw) were significantly reduced after HIRC, but there were not changes after TST, while reductions in voluntary activation were similar. Lactate concentration increased significantly more after HIRC.Conclusions: The higher lactate concentration after HIRC probably impaired excitation-contraction coupling, indicating larger peripheral fatigue than after TS

Simulación en Gazebo de robots móviles para tareas de transporte y manipulación

Hoy en día desechamos toneladas de basura reciclable que acaba sin ser separada. Es una tarea tediosa, sobre todo cuando se trata de acumulaciones de basura en espacios públicos como los pequeños plásticos de las playas o los macrobotellones. Si una tarea es costosa y aburrida, es tarea para un robot. En este proyecto, se va a presentar la base de una implementación motivada por la recogida de basura y el reciclaje de la misma. Se ha usado el entorno de trabajo ROS. A pesar de la importancia que tiene ROS, una de las limitaciones para nuevos usuarios que quieran usar este entorno de trabajo es que los tutoriales existentes están dirigidos a la puesta en marcha de cada funcionalidad. Saber utilizar fácilmente las funcionalidades ya implementadas a alto nivel no es lo más útil para aprender a desarrollar una nueva aplicación, por lo que en este proyecto se ha recopilado la información necesaria para explicar cada funcionalidad de forma que se sepa aprovechar la información para desarrollar otras funcionalidades. Además, este trabajo se ha centrado en la base móvil de TurtleBot 3, el brazo robótico de OpenManipulator y la unión de ambos. Se ha usado el conjunto de software, librerías y paquetes de ROS asociados a estos robots para llevar a cabo la tarea propuesta.En primer lugar, se ha estudiado el entorno de trabajo ROS y algunas de las posibilidades que ofrece. Posteriormente, se han visto, explicado y extendido las funcionalidades que ROS ofrece para las plataformas de TurtleBot 3 y el brazo robótico de OpenManipulator, además de analizarlas para trabajar con el conjunto de forma coordinada. Para ello, se han seguido varios tutoriales y se ha recopilado información para aprender la forma en la que trabaja ROS para llevar a cabo cada funcionalidad.Finalmente, recopilando los conocimientos adquiridos y estudiando el código desarrollado para implementar futuras aplicaciones, se llega a la conclusión de que los objetivos de este trabajo se han cumplido satisfactoriamente.<br /

The Effects of Startle and Non-Startle Auditory Stimuli on Wrist Flexion Movement in Parkinson's Disease

[Abstract] Startle stimuli lead to shorter reaction times in control subjects and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, non-startle stimuli also enhance movement initiation in PD. We wanted to examine whether a startle-triggered movement would retain similar kinematic and EMG-related characteristics compared to one induced by a non-startle external cue in PD patients. In this study we investigated the electromyography pattern and the reaction time during a wrist flexion movement in response to three different stimuli: a visual imperative stimulus; visual stimulus simultaneous with a non-startle auditory stimulus and with a startle auditory stimulus. Ten PD patients and ten aged matched controls participated in this study. The reaction times were faster for startle and non-startle stimuli in comparison with the visual imperative stimulus, in both patients and control subjects. The startle cue induced a faster reaction than the non-startle cue. The electromyography pattern remained unchanged across the conditions. The results suggest that the startle reaction effect for upper limb movements are unimpaired in PD patients and has different characteristics than the effect of non-startle stimuli.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; DEP2011-2246

Different effects of unexpected changes in environmental conditions on prepulse inhibition in rats and humans

The reduction of the startle response to an auditory stimulus caused by the presentation of another stimulus of lower intensity closely preceding it, a phenomenon known as prepulse inhibition (PPI), can be modulated by changes in dopaminergic activity. Schmajuk, Larrauri, De la Casa, and Levin (2009) demonstrated that this dopaminergic modulation of PPI in rats can be influenced by manipulating the experimental context, specifically by introducing changes in the ambient lighting condition that include novel elements. In this paper we analyze the effects of introducing changes in context illumination on PPI in male rats (Experiment 1) and humans (Experiment 2). The results with rats showed a reduction of PPI when the illumination condition switched from dark to light, but not from light to dark. In the experiment with human participants the reduction of PPI occurred for both changes in illumination conditions. The animal experiment results are interpreted in terms of competing exploratory behavior that appear when the context is illuminated after the dark–light transition; while in the case of human participants a perceptual and/or attentional mechanism after both illumination transitions is proposed, which may result in a reduced processing of the prepulse and subsequent lower PPI.Junta de Andalucía SEJ-02618Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España PSI2009-753