Health benefits of pistachio consumption in pre-diabetic subjects

La prediabetis i la diabetis tipus 2 (DT2) són actualment dos problemes greus de salut pública. La prediabetis és un estat metabòlic reversible situat entre la normoglucèmia i la DT2, que es caracteritza per presentar resistència a la insulina i s’associa a un major risc de malaltia cardiovascular i de DT2. Degut a que els fruits secs són una matriu rica i complexa de diferents macronutrients, micronutrients i altres molècules com els antioxidants, poden tenir un paper important en la modulació de la resistència a la insulina mitjançant diferents mecanismes. Entre els fruits secs, els festucs són rics en antioxidants, fibra i lípids que poden conduir a una millora del metabolisme de la glucosa. El nostre objectiu ha estat analitzar l'efecte del consum de festucs mitjançant paràmetres relacionats amb el metabolisme de la glucosa i la resistència a la insulina. Hem avaluat el perfil lipídic, inflamatori i oxidatiu, altres marcadors relacionats, el consum in vitro de glucosa en limfòcits i l'expressió de certs gens. Hem valorat la modulació de nous biomarcadors relacionats amb la glicèmia i amb la salut cardiovascular com ara els microRNAs i les lipoproteïnes (mida i concentració). Els nostres resultats mostren que el consum crònic de festucs, en el context d'una dieta saludable, redueix l'estat de insulinoresistència en pacients amb prediabetis. A més, el consum de pistatxos és capaç de millorar marcadors d'inflamació i sacietat, l’expressió de gens relacionats amb la inflamació i amb el transport de glucosa, així com també el consum de glucosa en limfòcits in vitro. Finalment, s’ha mostrat una millora significativa en microRNAs relacionats amb la DT2 i prediabetis i en el perfil de lipoproteïnes que pot reflectir una disminució del risc cardiovascular. En conjunt, el consum de festucs sembla efectiu per tal de millorar la prediabetis a un perfil metabòlic més saludable.La prediabetes y la diabetes tipo 2 (DT2) son actualmente dos importantes problemas de salud pública. La prediabetes es un estado metabólico reversible entre la normoglicemia y la DT2, que se caracteriza por presentar resistencia a la insulina y se asocia a un mayor riesgo cardiovascular y de DT2. Puesto que los frutos secos son una matriz rica y compleja de diferente macronutrientes y micronutrientes y otras moléculas antioxidantes, pueden tener un papel modulador de la resistencia a la insulina mediante diferentes dianas. Entre los frutos secos, los pistachos tienen un perfil de nutrientes rico en antioxidantes, fibra y lípidos que pueden originar una mejora en el metabolismo de la glucosa. Nuestro objetivo fue analizar el efecto del consumo crónico de pistachos sobre parámetros relacionados con el metabolismo de la glucosa y la resistencia a la insulina. Se evaluó también el perfil lipídico, inflamatorio, oxidativo y de otros marcadores relacionados, además de la captación in vitro de glucosa en linfocitos y la expresión de ciertos genes. Evaluamos también la modulación de nuevos biomarcadores relacionados con la glicemia y de salud cardiovascular como microRNAs y lipoproteínas (tamaño y concentración). Nuestros resultados mostraron que el consumo crónico de pistachos, en el contexto de una dieta saludable, reduce el estado de insulinorresistencia en pacientes con prediabetes. De forma importante, el consumo de pistachos fue capaz de mejorar marcadores de inflamación y saciedad y un conjunto de genes relacionados con la inflamación y el transporte de glucosa, así como con el consumo de glucosa en linfocitos in vitro. Finalmente, mostramos una mejora significativa en microRNAs relacionados con DT2 y prediabetes, y en el perfil de lipoproteínas que puede reflejar una disminución en el riesgo cardiovascular. En conjunto, el consumo de pistachos parece efectivo para mejorar la pre-diabetes hacia un perfil metabólico más saludable.Pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are considered two major public health problems. Pre-diabetes is a metabolic reversible state between normoglycemia and T2D which is characterized by insulin resistance and it is associated to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and T2D. As nuts are a rich and complex matrix of different macronutrients and micronutrients and other molecules such as antioxidants, they may have a modulatory role of insulin resistance via different targets. Among nuts, pistachios have a rich nutrient profile in antioxidants, fiber and fats which may lead to an improvement in glucose metabolism. Our objective was to analyze the effects of pistachio consumption on parameters related to glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. Additionally, we evaluated the lipid profile, inflammatory, oxidative and other related markers, together with in vitro lymphocytes’ glucose uptake and the expression of certain genes. We also evaluated the modulation of novel disease biomarkers related to glycemic and cardiovascular health such as microRNAs and lipoproteins (size and concentration). Our results showed that chronic pistachio consumption, into the context of a healthy diet, reduced the insulin resistant state of the subjects with pre-diabetes. Importantly, pistachio consumption was also able to improve inflammatory and satiety markers and a set of genes linked to inflammation and glucose transport, together with in vitro lymphocytes’ glucose intake. Finally, we reported a significant improvement in microRNAs related to T2D and pre-D and in lipoprotein profile which may reflect a reduced cardiovascular risk. Overall, pistachio consumption seems effective to ameliorate the pre-diabetes state towards a healthier metabolic profile

Los efectos económicos de la crisis de 2020 en España, Alemania, Francia e Italia

La pandemia del COVID-19 ha tenido unas de las mayores implicaciones negativas tanto sanitarias como económicas de los últimos 100 años. En este trabajo vamos a poder conocer la evolución sanitaria y económica desde que empezó la pandemia hasta mediados de 2021 en Alemania, España, Francia, Italia y la Unión Europea, e intentar analizar y explicar sus causas y sus efectos, así como las distintas medidas que se han llevado a cabo para mitigar las consecuencias negativas. A nivel sanitario, la pandemia nos ha dejado millones de contagios y de muertes, y a su vez las distintas restricciones llevadas a cabo para controlar el avance del virus se han trasladado al ámbito económico. A nivel económico hubo una fuerte caída inicial de la actividad que deterioro los datos de las principales variables macroeconómicas y posteriormente se produjo una progresiva recuperación gracias al papel de la política monetaria y fiscal y de la relajación de las medidas restrictivas, que tuvieron que volver a endurecerse en algunos momentos por el empeoramiento de la situación sanitaria, por lo que se ralentizo esa recuperación. A mediados de 2021 aún no se han recuperado los principales datos económicos previos a la pandemiaGrado en Economí

Una cabeza de caballo procedente del Castro de las Cogotas (Cardeñosa, Ávila)

A horse head in burnt c1ay, which was found in the site of Las Cogotas en 1986, has a remarkable interest in the context of the zoomorphic representations of the North Meseta, being an important example of this kind of art piece produced during the Second Iron Age.En 1986 aparecía en Las Cogotas una cabeza de caballo, en barro cocido, cuyo interés es destacable en el ámbito de la Meseta Norte, dentro de la figuración zoomorfa, siendo un importante exponente de este tipo de representaciones plásticas producidas durante la Segunda Edad del Hierro

Infrared temperature measurement sensors of overhead power conductors

Efficiency in power lines operation is becoming more crucial as the electrification increases and more renewable energies are connected into the grid. New methods and sensors are being added to create smart grids to face these challenges and conductor temperature sensors are one of them. Contact temperature sensors have several problems regarding safety and electronic damage due to the electromagnetic fields induced on the conductors. The goal of this paper is to describe an infrared temperature measurement sensor and to compare contact and non-contact temperatura measurements to estimate the temperature of power lines. Measurements were done for almost a year, storing around 150,000 measures of contact and infrared thermometers for many different weather and load conditions. The results conclude that the infrared system can be successfully used to control the temperature of the overhead conductor within a range of less than 4 _C difference with respect to contact temperature methods for the 88% of the samples and less than 6 _C for the 99%.This research was funded by the EU Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Spanish Government under the R+D initiative INNPACTO with reference IPT-2011-1447-920000, ENE-2013-42720-R and RETOS-COLABORACION RTC-2015-3795-3

PHF2 regulates homology-directed DNA repair by controlling the resection of DNA double strand breaks

Post-translational histone modifications and chromatin remodelling play a critical role controlling the integrity of the genome. Here, we identify histone lysine demethylase PHF2 as a novel regulator of the DNA damage response by regulating DNA damage-induced focus formation of 53BP1 and BRCA1, critical factors in the pathway choice for DNA double strand break repair. PHF2 knockdown leads to impaired BRCA1 focus formation and delays the resolution of 53BP1 foci. Moreover, irradiation-induced RPA phosphorylation and focus formation, as well as localization of CtIP, required for DNA end resection, to sites of DNA lesions are affected by depletion of PHF2. These results are indicative of a defective resection of double strand breaks and thereby an impaired homologous recombination upon PHF2 depletion. In accordance with these data, Rad51 focus formation and homology-directed double strand break repair is inhibited in cells depleted for PHF2. Importantly, we demonstrate that PHF2 knockdown decreases CtIP and BRCA1 protein and mRNA levels, an effect that is dependent on the demethylase activity of PHF2. Furthermore, PHF2-depleted cells display genome instability and are mildly sensitive to the inhibition of PARP. Together these results demonstrate that PHF2 promotes DNA repair by homologous recombination by controlling CtIP-dependent resection of double strand breaks.España Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion SAF2016-80626-REspaña, Fundación Canaria Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Canarias (FIISC) [PIFUN16/18

Vitamin D Intake and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review of Case-Control and Prospective Cohort Studies

Obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, high red meat consumption and alcohol, and tobacco are considered the driving factors behind colorectal cancer (CRC) worldwide. Both diet and lifestyle are recognized to play an important role in the prevention of CRC. Forty years later, the vitamin D-cancer hypothesis is considered consistent. However, the relationship between low vitamin D intake and CRC is still controversial. The aim of this meta-analysis is to determine the associations between Vitamin D intake and CRC. MEDLINE-PubMed and Cochrane databases were searched up to May 2020 for studies evaluating the association between vitamin D intake (from foods and supplements) and CRC. Two reviewers, working independently, screened all titles and abstracts to identify the studies that met the inclusion criteria (case-control or prospective cohort (PC) studies published in English). Data were pooled by the generic inverse variance method using a random or fixed effect model. Heterogeneity was identified using the Cochran Q-test and quantified by the I2 statistic. A total of 31 original studies were included for the quantitative meta-analysis, comprising a total 47.540 cases and 70.567 controls in case-control studies, and a total of 14.676 CRC-incident cases (out of 808.130 subjects in PC studies) from 17 countries. A significant 25% lower risk was reported comparing the highest vs. the lowest dietary vitamin D consumption and CRC risk (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.75 (0.67; 0.85)) in case-control studies, whereas a non-significant association was reported in case of prospective studies (hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.94 (0.79; 1.11). The present meta-analysis demonstrates that high dietary vitamin D is associated to CRC prevention. However, larger and high-quality prospective studies and clinical trials are warranted to confirm this association. View Full-Text Keywords: vitamin D intake; meta-analysis; systematic review; colorectal cancer; incidence; case-control; prospectiv

Supraspinal shaping of adaptive transitions in the state of functional connectivity between segmentally distributed dorsal horn neuronal populations in response to nociception and antinociception

In the anesthetized cat the correlation between the ongoing cord dorsum potentials(CDPs) recorded from different lumbar spinal segments has a non-random structure,suggesting relatively stable patterns of functional connectivity between the dorsalhorn neuronal ensembles involved in the generation of these potentials. During thenociception induced by the intradermic injection of capsaicin, the patterns of segmentalcorrelation between the spontaneous CDPs acquire other non-random configurationsthat are temporarily reversed to their pre-capsaicin state by the systemic injectionof lidocaine, a procedure known to decrease the manifestation of neuropathic painin both animals and humans. We have now extended these studies and utilizedmachine learning for the automatic extraction and selection of particular classes ofCDPs according to their shapes and amplitudes. By using a Markovian analysis, wedisclosed the transitions between the different kinds of CDPs induced by capsaicinand lidocaine and constructed a global model based on the changes in the behaviorof the CDPs generated along the whole set of lumbar segments. This allowed theidentification of the different states of functional connectivity within the whole ensembleof dorsal horn neurones attained during nociception and their transitory reversal bysystemic administration of lidocaine in preparations with the intact neuroaxis and afterspinalization. The present observations provide additional information on the stateof self-organized criticality that leads to the adaptive behavior of the dorsal hornneuronal networks during nociception and antinociception both shaped by supraspinaldescending influencesPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Markovian analysis of the sequential behavior of the spontaneous spinal cord dorsum potentials induced by acute nociceptive stimulation in the anesthetized cat

In a previous study we developed a Machine Learning procedure for the automatic identification and classification of spontaneous cord dorsum potentials (CDPs). This study further supported the proposal that in the anesthetized cat, the spontaneous CDPs recorded from different lumbar spinal segments are generated by a distributed network of dorsal horn neurons with structured (non-random) patterns of functional connectivity and that these configurations can be changed to other non-random and stable configurations after the noceptive stimulation produced by the intradermic injection of capsaicin in the anesthetized cat. Here we present a study showing that the sequence of identified forms of the spontaneous CDPs follows a Markov chain of at least order one. That is, the system has memory in the sense that the spontaneous activation of dorsal horn neuronal ensembles producing the CDPs is not independent of the most recent activity. We used this markovian property to build a procedure to identify portions of signals as belonging to a specific functional state of connectivity among the neuronal networks involved in the generation of the CDPs. We have tested this procedure during acute nociceptive stimulation produced by the intradermic injection of capsaicin in intact as well as spinalized preparations. Altogether, our results indicate that CDP sequences cannot be generated by a renewal stochastic process. Moreover, it is possible to describe some functional features of activity in the cord dorsum by modeling the CDP sequences as generated by a Markov order one stochastic process. Finally, these Markov models make possible to determine the functional state which produced a CDP sequence. The proposed identification procedures appear to be useful for the analysis of the sequential behavior of the ongoing CDPs recorded from different spinal segments in response to a variety of experimental procedures including the changes produced by acute nociceptive stimulation. They are envisaged as a useful tool to examine alterations of the patterns of functional connectivity between dorsal horn neurons under normal and different pathological conditions, an issue of potential clinical concern.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Feedback y autorregulación del aprendizaje en educación superior

Formative assessment and feedback are related to learning improvement and self-regulation processes. These processes can be understood as the interplay between personal, behavioural and contextual characteristics. For feedback to be effective it must be properly interpreted, reconstructed and internalized. This article presents the results of a research project on feedback that aimed two purposes. The first one was to describe and compare students’ perception about the feedback received and its relationship with the processes of self-regulated learning (SRA), in the different academic subjects of the project. The second one sought to generate an exploratory model about the relationships between the features of the feedback received, students’ opinion about it, and its effects on SRA and students’ satisfaction. A questionnaire was designed to measure students’ perception about the feedback received and filled by 603 students of seven subjects of six university degrees. The findings confirms the exploratory model generated and suggests that students construct a positive perception of feedback that exert a greater influence on SRA when the following elements are present at a basic level: a concurrent teacher feedback, oral, specific and task focused, clear and understandable; opportunities for the emergence of a dialogic e interactive peer-feedback; the use of the opportunities that offer virtual environments to give feedback; and a clear initial specification of the task or learning results expected (feed-up).La evaluación formativa y el feedback se relacionan con la mejora del aprendizaje y su autorregulación. Estos procesos deben entenderse desde la interacción entre características personales, comportamentales y contextuales. Para que el feedback sea eficaz debe ser adecuadamente interpretado, reconstruido e internalizado. Este artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación sobre feedback que persigue dos objetivos: describir y comparar las percepciones del alumnado acerca del feedback recibido y su relación con los procesos de autorregulación del aprendizaje (ARA). Y generar un modelo exploratorio de las relaciones entre las características del feedback percibido, las valoraciones del mismo por parte del alumnado, y sus efectos sobre la ARA y la satisfacción del alumnado. Se elaboró un cuestionario para medir la percepción del alumnado acerca del feedback recibido que fue completado por 603 estudiantes de siete asignaturas de seis titulaciones universitarias. Los hallazgos confirman el modelo exploratorio generado y sugieren que el alumnado construye una percepción positiva de feedback que ejerce una mayor influencia en sus procesos de ARA cuando se garantizan unos valores mínimos de los elementos siguientes: un feedback docente concurrente, oral, específico y centrado en la tarea, claro y comprensible; oportunidades para que se genere un feedback entre iguales dialógico e interactivo; el uso de las posibilidades que ofrecen los entornos virtuales para apoyar los procesos de feedback; y una clara especificación inicial de la tarea o del resultado de aprendizaje que se espera del alumnado

Early Evaluation of Mobile Applications’ Resource Consumption and Operating Costs

The explosive growth of the mobile application market in recent years has led to a large concomitant mobile software industry whose components are, in many cases, startups and small-size software providers. The success of these applications and the firms behind them depends on a subtle balance between different dimensions mainly affected by their architectural design, such as user satisfaction, resource consumption, operating costs, and timing. The present communication describes a framework with a specific set of practices for identifying the boundaries of different architectural designs —in this article we apply it to estimate both the smartphone’s resource consumption and the operating costs in the cloud— and thus help in the architectural decision-making process. This will enable mobile software developers to predict at early stages which architectural design best suits their business model in accordance with the number of users and the expected use of the application and even provide an advance alert of when architectural choices will need to be reviewed, obviating the need for costly architectural re-design in further phasesMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RTI2018-094591-B-I00Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PGC2018-094905-B-I00Junta de Andalucía APOLO (US-1264651)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación HORATIO (RTI2018-101204–B–C21)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades RED2018-102654-TInterreg V-A España-Portugal (POCTEP) 0499-4IE-PLUS-4-EJunta de Andalucía UMA18-FEDERJA-180Junta de Extremadura GR18112Junta de Extremadura IB1803