Cultura y desarrollo territorial: un análisis de las ciudades medianas españolas mediante la herramienta europea Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor

Aplicamos la herramienta Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (MCCC) para medir el desempeño cultural de las 81 ciudades españolas de 50 000 a 100 000 habitantes y evaluamos su contribución a la comprensión de los ecosistemas culturales estudiados. Expuestas las cuestiones teóricas y las hipótesis que se pretende verificar, obtenemos primero los 29 indicadores que describen la vitalidad cultural, la economía creativa y la calidad del entorno para la cultura en cada ciudad, superando los retos planteados por las fuentes. Para conseguir el segundo objetivo, contrastamos el comportamiento de diferentes tipos de ciudades según los índices de desempeño cultural generados, particularmente el índice C3. También exploramos la relación del índice y diversas características socioeconómicas y, mediante un análisis clúster, establecemos una tipología de ciudades según el perfil dominante –vitalidad cultural, economía creativa, contexto socio espacial– en sus respectivos ecosistemas. Los resultados dejan patente que el MCCC mejora la comprensión de los ecosistemas culturales captando sus diferencias intrínsecas. Se evidencian variaciones de comportamiento entre ciudades metropolitanas, no metropolitanas o turísticas y se obtienen agrupamientos coherentes de ciudades, que pueden compartir de ese modo sus estrategias para que las políticas culturales urbanas sean una parte central de la política local

Association between ribs shape and pulmonary function in patients with Osteogenesis Imperfecta

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that ribs shape changes in patients with OI are more relevant for respiratory function than thoracic spine shape. We used 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify rib cage morphology in OI patients and controls, and to investigate its relationship with forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), expressed as absolute value and as percentage of predicted value (% pred). Regression analyses on the full sample showed a significant relation between rib shape and FEV1, FVC and FVC % pred whereas thoracic spine shape was not related to any parameter. Subsequent regression analyses on OI patients confirmed significant relations between dynamic lung volumes and rib shape changes. Lower FVC and FEV1 values are identified in OI patients that present more horizontally aligned ribs, a greater antero-posterior depth due to extreme transverse curve at rib angles and a strong spine invagination, greater asymmetry, and a vertically short, thoraco-lumbar spine, which is relatively straight in at levels 1–8 and shows a marked kyphosis in the thoraco-lumbar transition. Our research seems to support that ribs shape is more relevant for ventilator mechanics in OI patients than the spine shape.This project was funded by grants of the Fundacion Eresa (grant number: BF14_005), the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (grant number: CGL2015-63648-P), the Care4 Brittlebones Foundation (grant number: OTR2016-15543INVES), and the University of Valencia (grant number: UV-INV_AE18-773873)

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Cost-utility, Metformin, Modelling, Rosiglitazone, Type-2-diabetes-mellitus

Bicyclic alpha-Iminophosphonates as High Affinity Imidazoline I-2 Receptor Ligands for Alzheimer's Disease

Imidazoline I2 receptors (I2-IR), widely distributed in the CNS and altered in patients that suffer from neurodegenerative disorders, are orphans from a structural point of view, and new I2-IR ligands are urgently required for improving their pharmacological characterization. We report the synthesis and three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies of a new family of bicyclic α-iminophosphonates endowed with relevant affinities for human brain I2-IR. Acute treatment in mice with a selected compound significantly decreased Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD) in the hippocampus, a key signaling mediator of neuroprotective actions. Additionally, in vivo studies in the familial Alzheimer's disease 5xFAD murine model revealed beneficial effects in behavior and cognition. These results are supported by changes in molecular pathways related to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, bicyclic α-iminophosphonates are tools that may open new therapeutic avenues for I2-IR, particularly for unmet neurodegenerative conditions.status: publishe